Saving Equisby TheAuthorIsSickChaptersQueen Chrysalis the Mare Missile.*Deus ex Machina Nightmare.*The Talk.*Operation: Repopulation.It is Always Better the Morning After...A Sudden Change in Weather.*Never Let Your Guard Down.Buck Off!Horns are Very Sensitive.Things are Looking Up.Interlude at the Oasis.The Search for Barium Seal.A Kiss for the Victor.The Sand has Eyes.What Was That About Letting Your Guard Down?Acting on an Instinct.Love thye Body.Love is Bittersweet.Mornings are Beautiful.Not Everything in Dreams is Meaningless.Ari's Letter.I Dreamt of Moonbutt.Persistence Pays Off.The Third Time's the Charm.Strange Things Happen When you Don't Sleep.Two Becomes...Three?There's a Light in the Window.Be Careful What You Wish For.Enter Shallow Shale.Some Things Just Shouldn't be Done...I'm Going to be a Father!Consequences and Revelations.Killers and Reflections.A Spy, Politics, and an Assassin.The 'Ship of Death'.Two Types of Stalkers.Let's Talk...Escaping, Part 1.Escaping, Part 2.Escaping, Part 3.Escaping, Part 5.That Awkward Moment.Knowing Can Be Awkward.Enter Zebrica.The Feast.Freeway Model Airship and One Last Delivery.An Intruder and A Change of Heart.The Tip-Tapping of Nails.Hide and Seek.The Plan Comes Together.Manners.Enter Equestria...Cake and Politics, Part 1.Cake and Politics, Part 2.I'm the Villain?!*Plans Unravelled. Part 2.Something Wicked This Way Flew...Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 1.Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 2.Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 3.Meddling Gods, Genderbending, and Worried Princesses.*Lost and Found.Sometimes the Best Part of Being With Ponies is When They Leave.Escaping, Part 4.The Final Preparations.Plans Unravelled. Part 1.Queen Chrysalis the Mare Missile.*Queen Chrysalis the Mare Missile.* **** Hunger, unending and as deep as a chasm tore my stomach chitin apart. I don’t know how long I had walked through these infernal woods, food was nigh impossible to come by. Was it worth it to keep searching for life? Did I deserve to live after letting down my subjects? I was supposed to save them, keep them safe in Equestria from the sulphuric floods that had only been plaguing our hive land these last years. I couldn’t help but hate those ignorant Alicorns living in paradise while the world suffers, while my family dies. Perhaps I should join them, I’m useless now. Queen of noling, no one is left. I was just about ready to lie down and die when he dropped into my life, Literally. he was screaming his handsome head off as he plummeted towards the ground, at the last second he seemed to remember that he had wings and rather crudely corrected his descent. I still jumped behind a tree, had he seen me? Was he hostile…Was he tasty? Nononononon focus! No, his head was down now. What was he doing? A horn? no, I truly must be losing my wit, I need to sustenance soon. What happened next confused me: he screamed shrilly and fell over in a faint. After a few seconds I stepped out from behind the trunk with only minor swimming of my vision. What just happened? Throughout my reign I had seen many strange ponies, I had eventually become those ponies at one point or another but this stallion was certainly taking first place. Curiosity was winning as my stomach couldn’t help but grumble at the thought of love; I wonder how his love would taste. Green fire flowed up my body as my disguise took hold. His eyes opened, the blue orbs stared ahead at me. As his head turned away and he started to sit up on his rump I approached him. He wasn’t looking at me though, he like all males was fascinated with his dick. I swear, all the stallions I have feed off of were so sensitive about them. “The steel rod”, “Jr”, “little me”, and soo many other ridiculous names I have heard stallions name their penis. Shaking my head out those thoughts I started forward again, food had arrived. “Hello hunk, where did you come from?” I popped the “k” and lidded my eyelids in a interested fashion. He started in place and looked up from his thoughts and my vision blurred once again. **** What stood before me was strangely beautiful, in a sad sort of way: a one winged Pegasus. My nostrils sucked in air unconsciously trying to gain its scent. Tart lemonade with a hint of thyme, an odd combination which made me feel oddly thirsty and hungry when I hadn’t been moments before. Taking another whiff I couldn’t help but close my eyes as my equine brain rapidly sorted out the information present: sweet jasmine told my mind she was a mare, a slight smell of burning wood spoke of something that I couldn’t quite put my hoof on, and a underlining spicy cinnamon which I just loved. It was hard to understand at first, how the smells told me so much about this mare. What her voice told was completely different though: 'I’m going to use you'. It had a fake tone to it not to mention no lady, mare whatever, pops out of nowhere and tries to come onto you. I know I wouldn’t. She had stopped a couple feet away looking at me, wait she asked a question didn’t she? “Uh, I just decided to drop in. This is going to sound odd but where did I land?” Not to mention why was I falling… “Looks like we are in the same boat then handsome, I haven’t a clue where we are” This time she actually winked! My everlasting patience was dying and I don’t know what she could possibly be playing at. I wasn’t some idiot that she could…Wait what could she do? Rob me? Nope, I’m as naked as a pony can be. Kill me? Unlikely since I’m a good three feet taller than her and I’m still sitting down…Rape me? Creepy, but possible if she drugged me, she knows the local fauna better than me after all. Who knows what hallucinogenic stuff she could find…Note to self: don’t eat anything she offers. Maybe I will play with her a little bit too, I let a “friendly” smile pop onto my face. “Well then little one how about we work together then? I’m Ari… just Ari” oops, I almost said my real name. I hope Ari is a male name here. Also take that tall ones, who’s short now?! “I’m sure between our shared intellect we can find some civilization” I add. A flash of surprise flashed passed over eyes before they returned to their calculating depths. “Sure thing stud lead the way!” Rape is looking very likely now, this is going to be a long journey if she keeps dropping these oh so subtle hints. Now back to leaving this forest, she came from…Huh, I can’t tell directions with the sun above my head. “What direction did you come from miss….” Yah, not at all suspicious when she didn’t give her name in response to when I gave my name. “I….landed in the northern section of the woods.” Ah, that might explain the whole missing a wing bit, sounded like a crash landing to me. Now I feel kind of bad, I thought this one winged mare was a actually going to harm me? When she is just as lost as me and also crash landed? Okay, she is still suspicious but perhaps she just is trying to play the whole “damsel in distress” card. “I didn’t catch your name there miss.” And there is that face! Her mask is falling, desperation warring in her eyes. Her ears flicked to the side in what I suppose were the equine equivalent to worry. I know im taller but I hope I'm not that scary. “I didn’t give it” she mumbled. “What is your name then? It seems only fair that I know yours since you know mine” come on, just spill it! What are you hiding little mare? “Uhh… Silver Stream.” Pfft that’s what she came up with? I think my fake name was better, Ari short for my real name: Ariel. No mermaid jokes please. At least, mine was believable! Her fake name is...Stupid really, like she just looked at two random objects and put them together. Not that I know how pegasi in my dreams should be named, wait, that means my imagination is this stupid?! I was brought back from thoughts at the sound of scuff, blinking I returned to focus just to see her puckered face come flying at my face. Instinctively I lowered my head to avert my eyes for the incoming mare missile. KLONK. Fuckityfuckity flying fuck! That hurt! She connected with my forehead or should I say the big ass horn that I failed to notice sticking out of there. Need a pain comparison? Okay spread your legs, ready, good now...I’M GONNA SMASH A HAMMER ON YOUR GONADS! In pain? Good, now transfer that pain to your head, right between your eyes. With squinting eyes I peeked from between my hooves which had instinctively rushed to clutch the pain in my horn I noticed a completely new mare lying spread eagle before me. Gone was the grey one winged Pegasus mare and in her place was a black and green one winged mare. I don’t really know what I was looking at, she had shiny skin that was black except for a green section that wrapped around her torso where her wing sprouted from. Her wing was even more curious, compared to my black feathered one hers were papery like a damselfly wing, rounded with silvery veins shimmering in it. She had a horn as well, but it was jagged like it couldn’t decide if it was going left or right. I could forget about the “little” comment I had made earlier as well, she had grown three heads taller making her my equal in height. Leave the horn smashing bug-horse. Take and interrogate the odd mare. Leave her. Take her. I couldn’t believe I did that. Deus ex Machina Nightmare.*Deus ex Machina Nightmare.* Somewhere in the Multiverse Faust "Ugh I hate this part!!!" My audience member released some energy, a sigh in this form. "Dare I ask what 'part' you hate? Nothing has even happened yet, including me giving you the message!" "Hmph! Excuse me kind audience member, I have a gender bent Alicorn to “deus ex machina” as my brothers so eloquently put it." "We don't 'put it that way', I have never even said that-Faust, wait! Come back here!" **** Somewhere, Where? I don't know. Ari Remember that dream theory I had? Well, I think it is wrong now, completely impossible actually. No matter how weird becoming an 'Alicorn' was and getting attacked by a bug-pony thing happened to be on my 'wierd stuff that I lived through' list, I just can't rationalize dreaming in a dream, that is like matrix level crazy, and I wasn't crazy! Please allow me to explain. I had managed to walk, after some stumbles, and managed to work out a plan. It was rough but it was all that I could think to do, following whatever ramblings I had caught from pamphlets and television programs of what to do when you are lost. I looked for shelter...All while dragging the mare. That was surprisingly not too hard, given that we were the same size. I managed to get her light form all the way to a cave at the bottom of the nearest mountain. Once there I had discovered a cool ability, well okay, I squealed when it happened, but I just went with it. This was a cool dream, whenever I willed something strongly enough a yellow glow would surround the object to say levitate it or as I found infinitely more useful: combust. That is how I built this fire. I didn’t find any food but shelter and warmth was a good start. Finding water was next on my list, since water might mean food, I figured the dream would continue with the dream logic. Except for the heavy feeling I felt deep inside, almost like I was...A yawn escaped me, confusing me. You don't sleep in dreams right? I don’t know when I drifted off, hell, I still don't think you could sleep in a dream. But what happened next though made me accept my new reality, that is to say, this wasn't a dream. Blinking 'awake' I felt nothing, I didn't know what to feel after everything. A blank canvas was spread out before me. I looked to the left and the right, all around actually, and I couldn’t see anything but the color white. “Hello?” I felt the blankness of the plane pressing in on me then, like the feeling of someone hovering over you. So I started walking in a direction, hoping to escape the feeling. Was I going crazy? After ten minutes my walk had turned into a trot. The space was endless, no wind, no shadow or anything to produce shadow, not to mention any indication of where the lightness of the white was coming from. Unease creeped in, I unconsciously started fluffing my wings. There was certainly no point of reference to tell me how far I had traveled. If I had even traveled at all...I was feeling a lot of doubt lately, of my reality, sanity, and most certainly concerning my identity. Was I really a horse? No, that is exactly the sort of talk that lands you in a nice padded cell next to your mother, her voices might even like your new 'horse' form. This was just a bad dream, I really bad dream. I wasn't crazy...Was I? By then I was in a full out gallop, my horn burned, my sides heaved, and my wings were spread as they started their instinctual flapping. Were they real? A feeling of dread had creep in and I couldn’t help myself as new instincts, eons old in nature took over my body. It wasn't my body, couldn't be. How do I wake up as horse? Now soaring, I galloped against the open air, it felt just as solid as the ground...So was I even flying? Which way was the ground now? It was all white, all white, all white, and I couldn’t escape the emptiness. My ears twitched as noise reached them, waiting I realized that that was the silence I was hearing...Was that even possible? Could it be that it was so quiet that I was just hearing things? The answers didn't come to me, and I kept moving. To what, what was I moving to? Why did I bother? It was white everywhere, in any direction I looked it was the same. Above me was white, below was white, behind, in front, left, and obviously to my right. My fear ceased then as hopelessness took over. This was a escapeless whatever it was. Plane of existence? Torture chamber? I didn't care. I stopped flapping, but still I felt no change, like all that effort did nothing. Taking it all in confused me, I didn’t fall to my death or float on waves, I just was, almost like movement itself was an illusion here. Now you see. Jumping at the monotone voice, my heart sped up again. It was impossible to say how far I jumped or in what direction. What was direction in a white void after all? And It wasn’t actually a voice, more like a thought in my head that wasn’t in my own thinking voice, if that made any sense. Still not crazy, I'm definitely not crazy...It was just a voice in my head, during a dream within a dream, in which I'm another species and gender. That doesn't sound like any mental illness I have ever heard of. So just what was happening then? All your confusion is pointless. Male is female and female is male, it is all alive. What the hell, it was something to do in this void, it erased the white noise. “So I am still the same then, a human is a flying unicorn-“ ALI-Corn! Really? Someone sure is anal, but whatever, it was talking with me. “So a human is a Alicorn, a woman is a man, and what philosophy school did you go to Voice?” The voice was monotone and I was leaning towards male….Well, my voice was a deep baritone now too but the voice wasn’t my new voice either. Correc- HEY! Don’t get smart with me you block of rotting flesh! I made you and I can also UN-make you. Who do you think gave you that body? Brought you to this world? YOU OWE ME FLESHBAG! That feeling of dread was back but I couldn’t move. So I wasn't crazy, possibly, instead, I was stuck in a whitescape with a voice. I didn’t know where I was much less how to get away from this very offended voice that claims to have 'made me'. Obviously being quiet was the wrong answer as I felt my body heat up and my wing tips started to burn. Although not visible, I felt the flames like they were there, and I should have been relieved at the sensation...I guess. It was a sensation after all, not more of the endless white field that was devoid of even temperature before. My muzzle opened as I tried screaming. That action turned out that was also a wrong answer as well as my mouth sealed shut, lips forcibly growing together with a fine layer of fur rapidly growing over the line that used to be my mouth. I started hyperventilating and my legs collapsed under me from the strain and stress. I wasn't crazy, he was! All this from being quiet?! Okay, Quit being such a drama queen, look, I may have overreacted a bit but do you realize how much work I put into you? I gave you magic, flight, changed your entire DNA structure while still retaining your identity! Just because I changed your shell doesn’t mean the soul inside is any different. Do you feel like”Ariel” still? The burning faded as I thought his words over. Was I still the same? Maybe? I still loved cinnamon buns...Although, I wasn’t sure if I could even have eat them anymore, since I was an 'Alicorn' now. Going over my memories, I still cared for my family, still remembered them even as distant as we had grown these last ten years. So I did feel “myself” if that could make sense. Despite having some new instincts but I still was Ariel, just in a different form...With a dick...Why was that necessary? The Alicorn part of the change was actually pretty interesting, wings, horn, but a new gender, really? I could have done without that part. HUU-MANS! Every time I … Okay. Fleshbag, you understand now right? You are my creation and as your creator I rule you. Therefore when I say 'save a planet': you say 'in what way almighty creator'. Capieche? If I had a mouth able to open my jaw would have dropped. So when I am gracious enough to return you, you will have to stop two other Alicorns. They have been messing with the sun and the moon, which has set a clock on the planet your on, so you have to. There is very little wiggle room left. You see, the whole saying of “with great power comes great responsibility” is very true in this case. The magic you have, well, they can do it as well. In fact, everything on that doomed planet has some magic so keep your wits about you fleshy! Wow, just wow. So a powerful god-like entity kidnapped me, changed my form, and sent me to a dying planet. Sorry, I meant DROPPED me there like a fricken toy in the toybox, took away my right to choose, and expects me to save a GODDAMN DOOMED PLANET!! NONONONONNOONONONONONNONOONONOOOO! Oh ho! I see I struck a chord fleshy. I’m not even finished explaining what you will do my new little demigod. You might be interested you know. I think you will simply love it! That tone reminded me of that mare, needing something from me, the used car salesman that just happened to have the perfect car for you.I hated it. You see, I made you into the same fleshy form as those near immortal Alicorns. I’m near immortal now?! And that is a very important detail. My stomach dropped at his tone. You see, the last three Alicorns are females— WTF! NO, JUST NO! I could feel my eyes bug out as I started hyperventilating in earnest now as my mind went there. -And I made you male and an Alicorn so you could re— It was at that point that I tried to surge forward from my position on the floor. I have to get out of here! -Populate the Alicorns. But I think you already came to that conclusion flesshhyy. By this time I had already staggered up and started out at a desperate, uneven gallop. I galloped away from this voice and hopefully away this crazy world. Flesshhyyyyyyy- I didn’t care that I wasn’t moving, I was moving. Right, I had to be moving, right? -Poor little icky Fleeesssshhhhyyyyyyy, frightened? I couldn’t tell distance but I had to try to escape. Right? Didn’t we already do this? He sounded annoyed now. “Yes but I’m near immortal now,” I couldn’t help but think in response, my mouth still grown over. …… Reallllyyy? Restrained laughter followed that and that one word seemed embodied with a promise, of what I wasn’t sure but I know I didn’t want to find out. I pumped my legs harder, trying to get traction. Black, as if the lights were shut off, and I started to feel a downward sensation. I was falling. Obviously you have trouble with the simplest of lessons Fleshbag- I suddenly miss the endless whiteness. -So here is your only rundown- When does it end? -Stop those ignorant mares- Is this the dream where I really die? -From moving the sun and the moon- Am I really just a pawn on his chessboard? -FOREVER, then breed them- Do my wants even matter? -Or breed them then stop them from touching those celestial bodies- What do I even want to do? - I don’t care what order you choose to do it in. I choose- The Talk.*The Talk.* **** ?????? ???????? Queen Chrysalis Warmth. I can’t remember the last time I was warm, truly warm, there is only so much the sun can do. With all the preparation for the invasion I hadn’t had the luxury of a warm fire, never mind a full meal. What could a fire do anyway? Warmth wasn’t love, couldn’t fill hungry bellies. Now all I needed was some love... The fire crackled as it latched onto more kindling, popping and fizzing as I listened to my body's complaints. Hold on...Fire... More crackling and shuffling sounded, my ears swiveled to try and follow the sound. Smoke reached my nose, woody and calming, that crackling was definitely a fire. But I didn’t make a fire. A small sneeze came as I came to the only conclusion, that stallion! My eyes shot open only to be blinded by the miniature sun that cackled at me in mirth. I squinted against the glare finally noticing what I was looking for. The Alicorn stallion rested across from me looking into the flames. I hadn't lost my mind, there was a Alicorn stallion looking across the flames at me...Perhaps I was crazy though, he didn't have a cutie mark, his mane didn't discharge magic. There wasn't Alicorn stallions... So then what was I looking at? No that was inconsequential, whatever he really was he wasn't a changeling, noling would choose such an unbelievable disguise. What now? I was exposed, naked of my disguise. I barely had the strength for that disguise to begin with and I blew it! I didn’t see his fast reaction or his horn till the last second. I couldn’t fight back. I couldn’t fool him. I wouldn’t make it to the next town, I had doomed changelings again, if only myself being the last one this time. “What’s your real name?” Although he was talking to me his eyes were still in the flame, still not looking at my disgusting form. Why is he even bothering asking? Why am I still alive… “I don’t want have to make up a name for you mare” Did he just sneer at me?! “JUST KILL ME-“ “ANSWER THE QUESTION!” I was speechless as his eyes stared into mine, they were no longer the friendly orbs of before, a cold blue had replaced them. “Qu-," I paused. I wasn’t a queen anymore was I? “Chrysalis.” “Good. Now let’s start over. Hello Chrysalis, my name is Ari. I believe we both need help getting of this forest-“ I wasn’t really listening anymore. Was he going to bring me before the princesses? Will he kill me in my sleep? Why haven’t I heard of him before? I thought I knew all the royalty, I h-had changelings posted in every city and plenty in the castle. “-I hope we can work together.” Together? Just what is he playing at? “Enough of this farce, just what are you playing at pony?” I didn’t like to play games. “No farce Chrysalis. I just have a mutual desire to escape this hellhole.” I gave a quiet chuckle, a pony that swears? I can see why I have never heard of him, those princesses would have a panic attack. “Big talk, but we both know that you know exactly who I am and that you will turn me over to Sunbutt and Moonbutt as soon as we reach a town.” I couldn’t help but sneer at him, did he really think that losing a wing made me stupid! “I’m afraid to admit but I didn’t know who you were, I just found your provided name very fake. I mean who is named Silver Stream anyway? In the future just use your real name, it sounds possible at least. I must know who are “Sunbutt” and “Moonbutt”? They *PFFT* must be teased mercilessly for those names. I mean-HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA“ I snorted at him, maybe this stallion isn’t so bad. “You don’t know Princess Celestia or Princess Luna? The rulers of Equestria? Your fellow royalty?” A myriad of emotions flitted across his muzzle as his laughter faded: shock, anger, and finally resignation. “Look, I’m new here okay? I’m not royalty *snort* I am nothing in this world. I literally fell from the heavens today. You make it sound like they are important, that you are important, that any of this is important…Well it is NOT to me! You could be a bug, or a Pegasus, or an Alicorn but it doesn’t change anything to me. All I want to do is learn more of where I landed.” I gulped, in my many years ruling I had learned to spot the signs of a liar, a maniac, and many more wastes of my time. He wasn’t one of them. His eyes held no crazy glint, nor calculating glances, nor even fear. He was determined and I couldn’t help but shiver at the intensity. “Are you cold?” His head cocked to the side, wings rustling as if considering hugging me...I may be losing my mind. “N-no, your conviction surprised me…Ari” He clearly didn't believe my words, but nodded anyway. Eyes scrunched as he looked at his hooves for a second. “Hmmm” Perhaps I should get down to my needs then, seeing as he wasn't a chatterbox like most ponies tended to be. “Do you know what I am?” “No.” Blunt and to the point, but his ears were focused on me again. “I’m a Changeling." No reaction still, not even a subtle tell. "I change into ponies and feed off their love.” His eyes widened then scrunched.“So you launched yourself at me to eat my love-“ “Yes.” My frustration bleed into frustration as he asked such a stupid question... “-and you can eat an emotion?” He sounded doubtful, eyebrow raising as he shifted on the spot, but I still answered. “Yes.” “How?” Like he had never heard of an emotionvore, it wasn't even like changelings were the only type. Surely where ever he came from they had something of the sort? I blinked at him as I tried to process his ignorance, ”How do I eat love?” He nodded. “I absorb the emotion through touch, such as holding hooves, sharing a kiss, but the best love is from a lover.” I may have purred a little at the thought, considering I haven't eaten anything in months it was very impressive that was all I was doing. “Why –“ *Gurgle* We both looked at my stomach chitin, heat moving up my muzzle...This hasn’t happened in a while. He shook his head quickly. “Why did you feel the need to disguise yourself?” I looked at myself then at him and then back again. Silence, he was looking attentively for my answer still. “I’m not exactly a pony, am I?” “So?” Ari sounded genuinely confused, doing the head tilt again that was becoming increasing adorable, just like a giant overgrown foal. Did I really have to say this? “I am not what is considered beautiful, would you give love to one such as me?” Again he didn't seem to have any knowledge, asking something even sillier, “Does it hurt ponies?” I blinked, remembering Shining Armor as I worded my answer carefully. “No, it can be draining if too many feed at once," or if you feed at a increased rate, forcing the food out of them, "But one changeling is not enough to hurt. At worst a pony would feel a tad dizzy for a couple of seconds.” Again he thought about what I had said, but this time instead of asking more foal level questions he got up, walking around to me and awkwardly laying down beside me. There were still a couple inches separating my chitin from his fur. Looking up from it I saw him lay his head on his hooves. “Night.” He closed his eyes but he wasn’t asleep yet. His breathing was too hurried to be natural. I felt paralyzed to the cave floor, he was offering to feed me, without me having any disguise or deceit...An Alicorn...I don’t know how to feel about that, but I certainly won’t refuse his clear offer. Scooting my chitin over the last couple, I gasped as I felt his concern, his worry, and most importantly his small sweet love through his fur. The love wasn’t for me mind you, but it was still water in a desert for me. My feeling of emptiness faded slightly as his emotions filled me, lulling me into his warmth and in turn the land of dreams. Operation: Repopulation.**** Canterlot University Spike With a sigh I scratched at my scales, which were seriously in need of a bath after days in a library. Well, I lived in a library but this one was different.Twilight had been running around like a mad mare for days now and that of course meant that the latest issue of power ponies and things like basic hygiene went out the window. This craziness was all to help for the Princess’s most troubling scientific announcement or a 'dozy' as Pinkie Pie put it. The “Male to Female Fertility and Birthrate Study” had just been conducted for the first time in five hundred years and the results had shown some troubling conclusions. Perhaps it should have been done much sooner as the study had shown startling low birthrates, staggering differences in filly to colt births, and an embarrassing reduction in stallion fertility...Really, I’m so glad dragons don’t have that problem. Well, I think we don’t anyway. Twilight won't let me read up on that, saying I'm too young for the birds and the bees. But I never ask her about that, just about dragon stuff. Right, suffice to say that the mad mare behavior was completely called for in Twilight’s opinion. A book enclosed in purple magic went flying to a growing pile in the University's library. “Twilight?” I asked tentatively, already tensing as the lavender mare muttered something absently, one ear twitching in my direction. I shouldn't have opened my big mouth! The distraction sent a new book sailing over my head causing me to duck, more out of practice than necessity. I mean, I kept my scales hard and ready for a fight...When I wasn't forced to stay in strange library that didn't even have a bath much less a shower. “AH!…Twilight!” My reaction didn't help. Two more books flew off the shelf behind me and I barely had enough time hug the floor. Really, those princesses gotta send a tranquilizer with their letters; if one thing needed fixing then EVERYTHING needed fixing according to Twilight. Once she even made problems because there wasn’t anything happening! It was sort of her thing though, but I still could do with a little more tranquilizers in my life… When in doubt -“IT'S ONE ‘O'CLOCK!”- mention the time. It was instantaneous, “WHAT! Spike I am not ready and you were supposed to let me know when it was twelve thirty! I *GASP* have SO much to do!” And there she went again, dashing back and forth between the tables she had confiscated from those poor students. I like to think that those fillies ran away to get to class and not away from a twitchy-eyed Twilight, however their screams suggested otherwise. I will be glad when the princesses arrive, Twilight can get all this information to them and I can get a decent sleep. I really should get paid for this. The doors were encased in gold magic and opened revealing the ladies of the hour. Celestia and Luna had come alone, which, while strange to see it wasn’t completely unlike them. I mean what could take out Celestia…Wait never mind, that happened just couple of months ago at the wedding. But, I know for sure nothing could take out both princesses at once at least. “Hello princesses! Twilight’s a little busy still...” I trailed off as I joined them watching the chaos that was hurricane Twilight. A swarm of lavender encased books had risen from their piles and preceded to shelf themselves. I stepped behind Celestia’s nearest foreleg, this was crazy. They shot at their respective place on the shelf, many crashed as they crossed paths, all the while Twilight was simultaneously reading a book she levitated, and her hooves were busy adding to her report. It was at twenty pages last time I checked...She was still just on herbal remedies. No, I wasn't kidding, and she still insisted on searching for magic enchantments, cursology, virology, and many more topics that I had tuned out. Her teacher was unfazed though, not even a ear twitch at the mess the library was becoming. “Hello Twilight, how has the research gone so far” Celestia asked in her calm, motherly tone. I still don’t know how she stayed so calm when Twilight went all mad mare on us. **** Princess Luna Internally I was face hoofing at my sister’s student. Here was a bright, magically gifted unicorn and she was reduced to this, this lunacy over a simple request. All she had to do was provide some logical starting points for the research team to divide among themselves to explore. But my darling sister didn’t mention to twilight that she wasn’t to be part of said research team, the team that would take several days to weeks to gather. And now my sister's immature actions have turned her student into a one mare research team. I honestly believe my sister did this on purpose. My sister’s greeting went unanswered, which I’m not terribly surprised at with all the focus Twilight was putting into her magic. But the air was so thick with her magic, it drove me up the wall. A thousand years with only your own magic to contend with and you forget the magical hum that society has. “QUIET THYSELF TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Like a wrench had been through in her gears the books dropped mid-flight, Twilight Sparkle's concentration broke as she blinked. I quickly put a hoof in front of my muzzle to hide the grin I felt coming on, and sister says that the Canterlot voice wasnt’t needed anymore. Only a slight widening of her smile indicated my sister's amusement. “What topics have gathered for the team miss Sparkle?” I glanced at Tia just in time to see her nod at me, looks like she was letting me deal with her student. She reminded me of fish the way she gaped at me. I almost laughed at her until a hair sprang free from her mane. Then the chaos resumed. I blinked and missed it. Twilight Sparkle popped up right in front of me so quickly that my wings sprang up in surprise, my feathers standing on end. Was that a snicker dear sister? As if she was channeling her friend Pinkie Pie, Twilight opened her muzzle and fired off at a rapid pace.“ImsoosorryprincesslunaididntseeyouandCelestiathere.Pleaseforgiveionlyjustfinishedmynotesonthebontanical-,” and so my sister’s student continued on and on about the fertility enhancing properties of the Tribulus fruit versus the Palmetto berry. My stomach felt a little queasy at some of her in depth descriptions to the processes, I can assuredly say that I never wanted to know exactly how mobile sperm needed to be, nor the optimum consistency of ejaculation. I mean, I have known about rutting for a thousand plus years, but I knew only what was expected as a ruler and mare. My eye twitched as she went into depth on the benefits of Viago root for flaccidness of the penis. Why did my sister ask for her help again? Exactly the same reason she let me address her manic pupil now: Tia was avoiding the problem through distraction. She never could handle pressure, not healthily anyway. While Twilight was extremely expressive under pressure Tia was the polar opposite. She bottled it deep down inside herself, the more stressed she was the more she smiled and focused on others...In fact, that is probably why Twilight was the perfect student for Tia; the neurotic unicorn was the mirror image of the 'internal' Celestia. How do I know that? Well, after nearly two thousand years together we have seen each other at our worst. Celestia’s happened to be when she had just reached adulthood which also coincided with when our parents died. Mine was but a thousand years ago when I fell to my darker emotions. “I’m sorry Twilight. We appreciate your research but it wasn’t necessary; you see we already have a team arriving here in couple hours.” Celestia spoke up, ears somehow not moving as she looked contritely at the stack of papers Twilight held up with her magic. I wished my ears would stay still like that, they were such easy tells. Fluffy bunnies, Tia was looking to me now. What had I missed? I may have tuned out Twilight...But I really didn’t need to know about fertility nor did I want to thank you very much. “Wa…Wa…Wah” Oh no, now her ears were quivering as they splayed out, Twilight Sparkle looked like she was going to burst into tears. I sighed and gave my sister a pointed look, this whole mess could have been avoided if Tia wasn’t so immature. I let Tia counsell Twilight and explain that we may have a different job for her in the operation...Wait, What? Just what are you on about Tia? There wasn’t- “And that is why I trust you to help coordinate sex education classes with Mayor Mare and the School. You know many different aspects of fertility already after just three days of research." Twilight's ears slowly perked up, and her eyes blinked away the tears. "I trust that you can help the ponies of Ponyville get the best education on that matter.” Hurricane Twilight Sparkle started to recover speed, her head held up as lavender magic began humming, grabbing a thick stack of papers and a protesting dragon from behind my sister. Dear Faust Sister, what did Ponyville ever do to you?! Twilight was beaming now as my sister continued, “-Now I if will please excuse us. Luna and I must make the announcement.” I really should be sleeping sister, thou are very lucky that we love thee so. **** Celestia I could tell that Lulu was not happy with me but I couldn’t bring myself to face my ponies alone. How do you tell the ones you care for that they must change their believes? Change their very lifestyle? The ramifications of our decision won’t be over for a couple of years at the soonest, more likely not for ten years. In fact, I almost miss Luna’s Cake Prohibition of 1859 in the face of today’s announcement; it had all been started on the claim that the cake was a magical inhibitor… And now I had to bring back a law that had not seen the light of day since even longer, the year 1610, our father himself had ousted the law then. He was right to though, it wasn’t necessary then anymore as he and mother had harnessed the elements and stabilized Equestria. But now it looks like it is needed. I can only hope they will understand. I went to my happy place and brought a smile from there before stepping forward onto the balcony. Luna brushed her withers to mine. Thank you, Lulu. I know I will need you for this. “My little ponies I stand before you with concerning news and an even harder answer. As you may know since my sister’s absence there have been many things put on hold as I was only one mare. Now with Luna’s return we have started to hear and continue with some of those matters.” I paused and Luna stepped forward as they cheered for her, I could practically feel her happiness from her subject’s support. Once Luna stepped back I held a hoof up for silence. “One such matter was our annual birth and fertility census. It was last done five hundred years ago and Luna wisely brought forth support to it again. Although it was successfully completed it brought to light some concerning facts. We have fewer foals born today than ever before and of those precious foals very few are colts.” A low buzz started and I tensed my ears to keep them forward. “The low birth rates when combined with a lower stallion fertility and extended time between estrus have forced-“ Luna pressed as close as the buzz grew louder and I swayed a little. “-Us to re-enact an old law that once existed before Luna and I were even born. From a time when ponies had little sway over the seasons and weather, a time when they faced exactly we now face.” I paused and raised my hoof to regain some quiet, the worried murmurs had grown and I hadn’t even gotten to the most shocking part yet. They grew quiet again but only just and with a heavy tension. “With the great difference in stallions to mares standing as it is we, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna do reinstate the Law of the Herd. The Law of the Herd allows a stallion to have as many mares as he can effectively provide for-“ The silence was deafening now. “- and requires that all single stallions be matched with available mares.” I paused and closed my eyes as my little pony's fear grew to a crescendo of voices. We, no, I had caused their fear. If I hadn’t dismissed the study based on a nobles pride we might have caught this pattern sooner. Allowed for more time, so I wouldn’t have to go to where we are now. A quiet hush had fallen and I dared to open my eyes, beside me Luna held up her hoof and spoke in her Royal Canterlot voice, “CALM THYSELF PONIES, THE LAW OF THE HERD SHALL NOT BE FOREVER AND WHILE IT IS NEEDED WE SHALL HAVE EQUESTRIA’S BRIGHTEST MINDS STUDYING WHY THIS HAS OCCURRED AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO REVERSE IT. THE ROYAL CANTERLOT UNIVERSITY WILL BE OPEN TO ALL PONIES THAT WISH TO HAVE FERTILITY TESTING DONE, FREE OF CHARGE OF COURSE.” Although my ears were ringing from Lulu’s help I couldn’t help but feel relieved, now it was time to deal with the chaos. “I understand that many of may have concerns and question regarding the re-enactment of such an old law, we are more than happy to answer them during court. As a reminder to all I will be holding court from eight am to noon and one pm to five pm. My sister’s night court, which is usually less busy and always open to those that can't make it during Day court, is open from six pm to midnight.” And with that we left the balcony and headed to court, for this first day Lulu had agreed to stay through the late day court to support me. It is Always Better the Morning After...??????? ????????? Ari The phrase “everything looks better in the morning” did not apply to this morning. Sure yesterday seemed hard to beat in awful craziness. I had literally fallen onto a new world, woken up in a new body that was complete with new equipment, and been told in the creepiest ways possible that I’m god’s toy pony. Sorry, I meant ALI-corn*mumbleyou anal fuck mumble*. So that leads me to how my morning could be worse than that, I have two words for you: morning wood. Just because I had sort of accepted my male status, well had to really, no bananas had turned up after all, didn't mean I understood what it all meant. My forced acceptance didn’t mean I had considered all the ramifications of my new body, I was just beyond the fall over in a faint stage, and was just realizing that there was plenty more pressing things than my body. Being male meant a lot more than balls. This fact I learned the hard way. At first, I thought had rolled onto a stick, then after feeling a jolt of pleasure and discomfort with every scrap on the cave floor it dawned on me. I realized I could feel it and it was very uncomfortable with how hard it was. Trying to remain calm, the next thing I noticed was even worse. Chrysalis, the changeling mare I had fed last night was still asleep beside me. The nail in my coffin was that during the night Chrysalis had rested her head on my neck just so her horn rested above mine. I couldn’t move without alerting her and I certainly didn’t want to send the wrong message by letting her see my erection. I mean she is beautiful, with her eyes a blue-green color like the Gulf of Mexico, but we had just met yesterday and it had already been an awkward first meeting if there ever was one. She launched herself at my face! Okay it was just to eat some love, a act which was harmless enough. But I had no warning, no asking at all before she cam e at my face. Since I couldn’t move to relieve it I tried plan b: think it away. Okay deep breaths, close my eyes, and imagine a pile of mutilated kittens….Nope it’s still there. Come on, guts pouring out, eyes deflated, and this still wasn’t working. All I felt was nauseous. What else was unattractive? Sagging old people! Genius, okay I’m imagining sagging skin, food caught in cracks that food never should be near…I want to hurl now on top of being near painfully hard. I know I can’t vomit but I wish I could right now…There has to be a way to make this hard on magically disappear. MAGIC! Of course, I can use my magic like last night when I gathered firewood. Now rise Chrysalis! She just twitched her ear in response to my magic command thought and my yellow magic field thing didn’t appear. Maybe I did it wrong? What did I have to do last time? I looked at the firewood and got really frustrated at not being able to pick it up and started focusing of how I would lift it. Okay, so I had to focus and intend for it to happen I think. I stared at Chrysalis out of the corner of my eye and imagined her floating in a nice yellow field just like the logs did last night…And I almost gasped when I saw the yellow magic grow from my horn and surround her, levitating her slightly. But not enough clearance for me to get up. So if a little focus and intent made her levitate a few inches then a little more intent should raise her above me the last couple of inches. I thought wrong. My little extra thought of “higher” was too much and she hit the cave’s roof. She actually was a light sleeper in hindsight; I mean it was just a wall of rock to the head…and horn. Okay that part had to hurt. Maybe It was a little bit of a hard hit. Chrysalis’s eyes shot open and quickly locked on to mine, they promised pain, lots of pain. I lost focus and she landed awkwardly on her hooves, staggering slightly but still upset. Did I mention she had a horn too? Cause she does, and the green magic surrounding it told me I better run. I slowly sat up and backed away from the angry mare only for her horn to return to normal. She was staring at me with a weird expression. Oh shit, I forgot about that. I followed her eyes downward and almost groaned out loud at the sight of my erection just waving at her. Maybe I could talk my way out of this? “Now I know this looks bad but if you allow me to explain I’m sure you will understand.” I paused and waited till I caught her eye. “I woke up with this I tried really hard to will away but I couldn’t and I couldn’t get up with you laying on me. So I tried levitating you off of me but I overdid it as I haven’t had much practice with it so far.” She hadn’t interrupted me so far which I was considering a win. “You could have just woken me.” She said bluntly. “I thought that might send the wrong message considering we just met yesterday.” She glanced at my cock and shrugged. “Eh, I have done worse.” Blinking at the mare I watched in shock as she looked away at the end. Sure the flirting from before might have been a hint...Chrysalis wasn't looking at me still. I guess it brings back bad memories. “Still, I will try and see if it goes away without any help. I know you feed on love but I didn’t get this from any arousal so I don’t think it would help you anyway. Speaking of love, did mine help last night?” I could feel my ears perk and wings flutter as I waited for her answer. I didn’t want her to sleep hungry as well last night and I took her by her word that I wouldn’t be harmed by her feeding. Turns out she is pretty truthful, you know, once she wasn't trying to take it without asking. Not that would matter; with my luck god would probably just revive me. Her forehoof scuffed at floor and she looked away again in contemplation. “It was…I am…Why did you give me your love? I am a Changeling. I’m a hideous, emotion stealing parasite.” My heart ached at her expression and her self-deprecating words. Her beautiful eyes had gone incredibly wide and her shiny black ears had flattened in a way that my new mind said was fear. I stood and walked towards her, throwing my forehooves around her neck in the best imitation of a hug I could come up with in this form. “You are not a hideous, “emotion stealing parasite”. That is very far the truth, I never even felt you take the love,” I paused and went with my instincts on this one, nuzzling her cheek I thought of cinnamon buns just like I had done last night. “I didn’t want you to go hungry when I could easily feed you.” Releasing Chrysalis, I stepped back and widened my eyes as she leaned forward to follow my contact, my love for cinnamon buns. A sigh escaped her as our cheeks touched again, her chitin warm against my fur, and strangely soothing. At least, my equine mind found the contact nice. “I don’t know who told you that they were obviously jealous. I mean I wish I could be so efficient as to feed off emotion instead of toiling for months to grow fruits and vegetables." Black ears twitched in my peripheral, "But from the sounds of it ponies don’t care much about the truth if they thought that.” I huffed at the thought, just what kind of world had I landed in? Chrysalis was a perfectly reasonable mare, a little starved but she wasn’t unreasonable about it. Especially when you consider she woke up in a strange cave with a strange stallion and didn’t run screaming or assault me upon waking. All in all she seemed to be handling this well. She just blinked at me as her ears started to perk up, I felt her chitin move up against cheek before she pulled herself backwards. Sea-green eyes watching me as I realized something. My erection was gone! With that successfully extinguished and my new friend fed I had only one thing left to do, find my own breakfast. I felt like I had been starved for a month, my stomach rolling in discontentment. “Was breakfast good?” I cocked my head at the mare before me. Suddenly feeling energized, as if feeding her had somehow fed me. My spirit perhaps, if all it took was thinking of a delicious pastry to help her I don’t see how this mission god gave me could be so hard. Well, the second half of his “request” was still a no-go to me. There was so much wrong with that part I didn’t even know where to start on it. “Uh… Yes, thank you. Did-“ My stomach repeated what Chrysalis’s had told her last night, in much the same way, and seemly louder as she stared at me for the longest second. Finally she giggled, trying to contain her shaking chest with a dark hoof, “I guess that answers my question. Let’s get you some breakfast then.” I felt a little dazed, that giggle was so cute, like a tinkling bell. Chrysalis brought me out of it asking in a playful tone, “Coming?” she was already at the mouth of the cave, looking over her wither with a raised eyebrow. With that invitation I joined her. **** Faust and audience member Meddling God and Unwilling Prisoner BEST GOD EVER Dwaaaaw! Now isn’t that adorable*sniff* my little colt is already got a new friend. Oh just tugs at my h- ……..!!!.... Come on now! I had to do something! … If I didn’t tie you to the chair you would have run, right? …*nods* I still think you overreacted, I mean I thought I let him off quite nicely. I could have dropped him in a pile of all the creatures that have already died due to those meddling Alicorns. *grumbles* ….*raises an eyebrow* Come on now I am totally different! I am helping the multiverse one planet at a time, I am healing worlds! I am not tossing a ball of gas and hunk of rock around like those presumptuous upstarts. Humph! …. Why I never! I see I will need the tape after all. Just watch and realize just how great I am! *mumbles much better than Zeus, all he does is make little light shows mumbles* A Sudden Change in Weather.*A Sudden Change in Weather.* **** ??????? ???????? Ari Turns out I was looking for food in all the wrong places last night, I thought that since this was a forest there would be berries and herbs I could munch near the ground. Nope, Chrysalis just shook her head at my foraging and led me to a tree. The tree was the same old pine-like trees around it but it had a thick woody vine wrapped around it. Looking up the trunk I saw the strangest plant adaption: the vines had wrapped around the upper branches forming “bushes” made up of tinier vines. Berry bushes to be exact, I wasn’t expecting that. My mouth opened and closed, just how was I supposed to reach those berries? As if taunting me a dark purple berry fell and went splat on the end of my muzzle. I licked the squashed berry off my muzzle and moaned in contentment, it was sweet and smelled a little like anise. I will call you anise berries and I shall eat you. “Wow, they are really ripe-,“ Chrysalis had started to say but I tuned her out. How do I climb this tree? Circling the tree I realized there were no low branches to grab, then I realized something even more problematic, I had hooves now. It might take awhile for me to get used to the whole no thumbs part of this Alicorn body…That’s it! I am a flying, magical being! With my horn and wings I could easily get the berries down. “So Chrissy” I turned to her and gave the unsuspecting mare the widest eyes I could, “Will you explain flying to me?” The changeling blinked owlishly at me. Maybe it was the nickname? I turned up the charm anyway, “Pretty please, I promise to do whatever you say! I would really owe you one if you would.” I almost had to break out the trembling lip, which I’m not even sure would have the right effect on her since I had a muzzle, until she gave the universal sign of defeat. She sighed, a really long drawn out sigh. “Are you serious?" I nodded enthusiastically, "Fine, fine okay listen up." My ears were perked and ready, "First lift your wings into an upstroke then as you move into the down stroke push off the ground with your legs. After that it’s more a matter upstrokes and downstrokes with minor adjustments to change direction.“ Well, I was expecting a more scientific answer than 'flap your wings'. “That’s it?” Chrissy simply nodded. OK! Time to fly, my muzzle turned into a grin at the thought. I mean I suppose I should have been nervous after yesterday’s experience but I wasn’t, I really wanted to fly. Quickly raising my wings to their full height, I paused as the muscles twinged at the base like they hadn’t ever been used, which I suppose they really hadn’t. Chrysalis had to backup has my wingspan hit what I would guess was fourteen feet, with each wing around seven feet long. Just as quickly I brought my wings straight down and pushed up with my legs. I really overshot that tree. Hurtling upward for quite awhile as the world blurred, this lasted what was really only a couple of seconds before I remembered to lift up again. Catching my breath as my heart raced I hovered there a second before remembering to flap, although I did it flap in smaller arcs and at a much slower rate after seeing what a full flap did. Hovering there, I barely noticed the view before I heard a small voice from below. Oh yeah, Chrissy was still down there! My hypothesis proved correct as slowing my flapping further allowed me to descend. The tree top was still a good fifty feet away though. I really would need to watch my strength if one strong flap sends me up two hundred feet! I landed on the closest branch and dug in. I know I said these berries were sweet before but they were really, really sweet, like addictly sweet. Hunger was hitting me full force then. I eventually tucked my wings in and hopped from branch to branch, eating all the berries on each bush. Below, Chrysalis had stopped calling out whatever she had been saying before was just gazing at me in wonder. I suppose I did look like a giant equine crow eating the berries the way I was. With the last of the anise berries eaten I jumped the last twenty feet down to Chrysalis. “Thank you.” I really did mean it, I wouldn’t have thought to look up for berries, nor would I have tried flying without the explanation. Even if it was too easy to mess up. “Wow, are you always this…Hungry? I mean, you just demolished a tree’s worth of berries. That had to be close to thirty pounds of Charona berries!” So that’s what they are called! “Was it really that much? Because believe it or not, I’m still hungry.” I put a hoof to my mouth in thought, I was really hungry still. I don’t remember ever eating that much before. I looked at my still flat stomach. How had thirty pounds of berries fit in there? Was this another Alicorn thing? Chrysalis's eye twitched and she started mumbling what I'm sure were curses about Alicorns and cake, before she headed…I couldn’t tell the direction,the sun was directly above us again! But it was just sunrise a couple of hours ago… I caught up with Chrysalis. “So I noticed the sun is always overhead, how do we tell what direction we are going in?” She sighed, ears going back as she walked away, “Tired of me already-“ “What?! No, I find you to be great company when you aren’t starving." I tried for a smile, yet she didn't smile back, instead watching me carefully. "I also don’t know what direction anywhere is. I still want to find civilization and figure out this wor-“ BANG! RUMBLE RUMBLE... We both jumped up, our wings were raised, my muscles tense and ready to get away if necessary. We looked at each other then above as a shadow dimmed the sun. The wind ruffled my feathers as they returned to my back. “Run!” Chrissy had started to gallop in the direction of the cave. I didn’t move, run from a cloud? I mean sure it looked like a rain cloud but a little rain wouldn’t hurt. Her magic was enveloping my hooves trying to drag me forward. This was getting silly. “Are you afraid of a rain cloud?” She was at my side now, trying to move me which much to her chagrin only made me want to not move. ‘Frustrating’ was a common adjective my friends would use to describe me. That is they would, but I am probably never getting home… “It's not JUST a rain cloud, it’s a storm!" A storm wouldn't kill us. "Come on, we have to find cover.” As if to back Chrysalis up, a bolt of lightning struck the tree behind us. We froze and turned around. There was a smoldering stump stood behind us now. The tree I had been flitting about earlier was just gone. *Poof* Chrysalis almost fell as I got up and bolted into a gallop for the cave, I could feel her breath on my tail as she quickly caught up. Funny how lightning puts some motivation in a pony. **** ??????? ???????? Chrysalis Honestly, stallions can be so foalish. I shook out my mane only to be splattered by the stallion in question. Ari shook himself like a dog and honestly looked a little rugged with his mane messy like that. But now I was wet again. Scowling I looked around the cave he had brought us to. There was still some kindling and logs left. Other than that we had a rock floor to sleep on, I just know my chitin was going to be sore after another night in this cave. I couldn’t believe him though, me afraid of rain? No. But there hasn’t been just a rain cloud outside of Equestria in years. But it did give me idea where I was now. Lightening that powerful had only been seen in the Diamond Mountains. Which wasn’t really a problem for the Diamond dogs that lived here, they just tunneled deeper. Outside, the wind was starting to pick up, almost howling at the cave opening. I shuddered as it reminded me of the dogs that lived on these ranges. I must have the lucky mare on my side to have not run into them yet. *crackle* I jumped and looked to see Ari lighting a log on fire with his magic. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you Chrissy.” He gave a weak smile. Latching onto the only thing I could think of, I asked, “Chrissy?” “Er, yes. You didn’t seem to object to it when I called you it earlier so I figured…,” he trailed off looking nervously at the fire. I have never had such a nickname, usually my other titles were more, well, dark to put it simply. I had been called everything from a whorse to a demonic bug from Tartarrus, never “Chrissy”. I liked it. Perhaps this meant I could have a fresh start...A nice thought but unlikely anyway, I won't look the gift Alicorn in the mouth. Ari had laid down now and looked troubled. “I don’t mind it, I just haven’t been called something so…Nice. Usually my other titles have been more along the lines of an insult.” He perked up, his wings rising in excitement. Like I said, he was very foalish to get excited from me accepting a nickname. Speaking of his wings, they looked horrid with feathers displaced and loose. I walked up to him and looked at the ground beside him and back at him with a raised eyebrow. Ari smiled and patted the ground in invitation, I settled in beside him. I couldn’t help but close my eyes as his emotions rushed over me. I don’t know what I did to deserve his arrival but I’m so glad I did whatever it was. I didn’t feel nearly as weak as yesterday, a week of this and I would be normal again. Perhaps I should pay him back in some way? His feathers irked me... “Can I help you preen?” This may have been too presumptuous on my part, but his wings truly looked a mess. Wings were a special place for pegasi, never mind a Alicorn. Only their friends and family ever helped with preening as it was a rather sensual experience for the recipient. So, I was really out of line since we just met. But...They were so...Messy! My eye twitched as I stared at one feather standing straight up. He blinked at me, “Sure-,“ he trailed off as I grabbed a hold of a loose primary that was just holding on. I wasn't wasting this opportunity. He extended his wing and I slid back along his barrel before setting to work. I could feel actually his muscles relax beside me as I started at the secondary flight feathers, they seemed to be the least messy. Although, they certainly were sensitive if his wings twitching was any indication. Soon, my muzzle was tucked in along his wing bone, my tongue twisting around base of his feathers, lining them up and pulling the few that were making way for new feathers. He gave a low moan as I pulled out a couple more. This continued on at relaxed pace as the storm raged outside, the fire keeping us warm as I worked on his wing and he let me know how good I was doing with low moans. I kind of liked this in a strange way, of course the love he was radiating helped make this a mutually enjoyable act. It was strange doing this for him, wanting to do this for him. Before long I had to move to reach his furthest primaries, his wings were a good seven feet long, each. Ari caught me off guard when he used his wing to push me back against his barrel when I started sliding towards his wing tip, this time he kept his wing half tucked so I wouldn’t have to move. He looked at me briefly before closing his eyes again, a very serene look his face. I hummed, oddly at ease with his silent askance, and placed my muzzle at his wing tip. My tongue wound around his feathers with ease and before long I was gazing back at my finished work, my stomach growing pleasantly full. You could clearly see the difference between his right one, although he had black feathers they seemed to shine with a renewed vigor after a expert preening under my mouth. Long tongues are quite a blessing for preening, although I don’t personally preen my own with their unique material. A simple buzz removes any dirt, it was a blessing to be so low maintenance. I look at his other wing, which was still a embarrassment. I got up and stepped over him before laying on his other side. Shuddering as I laid down. The rock was cold but that would soon change. Like a well oiled machine I licked, twisted, and pulled his feathers and he complimented each expert move with a moan. Before long I needed his wing tip again and Ari was expecting it this time, bringing in his wing to a half tucked position. With one last feather fixed I slid up his barrel intent on using his neck as a pillow. Perhaps tomorrow he won’t wake me up the way he did today. Never Let Your Guard Down.\/\/\/\/\//\/\//\ Chrysalis Humming in contentment I couldn’t help but think how nice it is to wake up warm and not on the ceiling today. Ari’s feathers tickled my chitin and my wing gave a half hearted buzz underneath his wing. This was perfect. *grumble* Of course the storm would still be there. Hopefully it blows over today, I would like a proper bed again, and even a pile of leaves would do at this point. *grumble* I didn’t want to open my eyes, this sensation of love and warmth was almost too good to be true. Of course now that I said that, Celestia’s began to raise the sun, it seems even thousands of miles away she still manages to aggravate me. Little known fact about changelings is that we have incredible night vision. *rumble* Wait the sun's out, then what is making that sound? Once again my thoughts are derailed, this time not by wavering thoughts but by my living blanket and pillow, also known as Ari. He stood and stretched his wings and then his back, giving me a perfect view to his morning problem. “I appreciate waking on the ground this morning.” I said with a playful sass before I stood as well, cracking my back. Did his eye just twitch? “Sorry about that.” Ari still looked sheepish but in a endearing way, not nearly as stupid as he had been. “Did you hear all the noise just before the sun rose?” “No, maybe it was the end of the storm?” I looked outside, there the baleful ball of gas was still raising the sun, in minutes it would reach its position and all sense of direction would be lost again. Interestingly there wasn’t a cloud left in the sky, I didn’t know they could move that fast without pegasi. “Did you want some breakfast before we hit the road?” What a strange expression, what road are we traveling in this forest and why would we hit it? I gave him a raised eyebrow. “What?” “Hit the road?” I sat back and made air brackets with my hooves. “Oh, sorry that just an expression from where I came from, it just means “get going”. I wasn’t sure if you had enough love last night.” Well that explained it, sort of; actually it was just filling me with more questions the longer I thought about it. “The food was more than sufficient. I think your love is actually managing to taste better. I could use some breakfast but I can eat as we travel, you are right to “hit the road” as I have been in the Diamond Mountains for way too long.” He looked like he was going question me so I quickly explained about the lightning storms being centralized in the Diamond Mountains. Mind you, I hadn’t seen a lightning storm till today but all that really proved was Mother Nature's recent level of craziness. With an approximate location I felt better at least, Ari did too if his reaction was any indication. He perked up with the seemingly endless energy that Alicorns are known for, that and their appetite, which is disgustingly large. Ari glanced at me again before we left the cave. Outside it looked horrible. Aside from the trees by the base of mountain, which looked the best by far, most trees were worse for wear. Once beautiful branches were snapped and splatters of ruined berries dotted the mushy forest floor like a sickening purple rug. There was also a handful of black stumps that gave the forest a eerie feeling. It probably didn't help that it was completely silent. We were both speechless at what Mother Nature had done. That was mostly true. Once again Sunbutt and her sister had managed to live in what seemed to be the only place that wasn’t suffering. Equis’s weather was going a little crazy. And I didn’t mean estrus level crazy, which was quite scary for unsuspecting stallions, no, I meant the laugh girlishly before killing you type of crazy. Trust me on this, I have been there. Ari was the first to snap out of the stupor and I trotted to catch up, keeping my chitin in contact with his fur for some love on the go. “So where are you from? I have never heard of your saying before. I have been to quite few countries, save the Dragon's Badlands of course. They don’t have any love or I should say they have so little love and live in such a dangerous terrain that it isn't worth the risk.” I really hated the draconic badlands, it was nearly all volcanoes and lava pits. The dragons were only slightly better. He seemed to stew my question over before asking a question that in hindsight made complete sense. “There are dragons here?” “Yes! Aren’t there dragons where you came from?!” “…Nope, I am not from around here you could say. On Earth dragons are just a myth, a story to amaze children with. Err, I mean foals.” After climbing over a particularly thick downed tree we resumed our conversation. “Where is earth? I don’t think I have travelled there before? I might actually want to visit if everyone is as generous as you. You know nopony would ever give love freely like you do. I usually have to disguise myself among other less enjoyable steps to get my food.” I trailed off, I felt suddenly cold as it sunk in. All the disguises, research, and training had turned out to be for nothing. My family never got their safety and food, they had died in hunger and pain. While even now those uninvolved tyrants live in a dreamland, never looking beyond their walls, or perhaps they do know and just don’t care. I’m not sure which reality is worse. He must have felt my change in mood because he raised his wing and curled it around me in a hug. Looking both thoughtful and sad he nuzzled my ear. “I’m sorry you had to do that I didn’t know that ponies here were soo selfish. But I’m afraid I’m the only earthling you will probably ever meet, I’m from a whole other planet. You see, heh, this sounds really crazy. You see I was taken one day, went to sleep in my bed and woke up hurtling towards the ground. The…cocksucking bastard that took me told me that I had to stop two Alicorn’s from moving the sun and the moon, among other things. Apparently they are killing the planet by moving the sun and moon. I think you know the Alicorn’s I’m talking about.” Ari gave me a mad grin, but I just blinked stupidly after that. How do I even respond to that? The truth was radiating from him. I could feel no deceit only a righteous anger, a strong emotion that almost made me step away from him. Ari was foal-napped from his home, which was on another planet, and has no way home. For even with my extensive research into magic I have never even heard of planetary magic of the nature that could allow beings to move to other planets, the distance was just too great! That could only mean whoever took him was pretty much a god in magical power alone. The task Ari was given was pretty crazy as well. Why give one Alicorn the task of stopping TWO Alicorns? Not to mention Lovebutt, Shiny, and the elements of harmony would stand against him in such a battle! I glanced at him, I knew I looked disgusting with the pity in my eyes but I thought I had it bad. “You are doomed, you know that right?” He chuckled at my statement, his anger replaced with mirth. “Yes, I figured that out.Two very experienced Alicorn’s against one inexperienced Alicorn is a death wish. I haven’t a clue how to get them to stop. Since you seem to know of them anything you could tell me about them would help.” “You are actually going to try to stop them?” I felt a small feeling of hope. This time he sighed, “Yes, you see although I want to impale the god who brought me here on my horn, I do have to agree with him. Their meddling with the sun and the moon isn’t natural and doesn’t seem to be working out if that crazy storm is any sign. It is also very annoying that I can’t tell where I’m going or what time it is with their meddling with the sun.” I giggled at his frustration before it hit me. He was right, the weather was crazy and it had only been getting worse. “Your right, the weather has been crazy. Every year the storms and droughts and floods get worse…” Ari’s attention was completely on me I could feel his hope rising. I cant believe i'm about to do this. “I could help you, I know all about the princesses I had to study them intensivly before the…” I trailed off, I had just put my hoof in my mouth, and now he was curious. Not an unpleasant emotion but I had hoped to never mention this to him. “Preparing for?” he left it open in a obvious question and I glanced around, noticing we had almost reached the edge of the forest. A rock field lay ahead of us. There was no avoiding this I guess. “I had staged an invasion of Equestria, the country the Alicorn princesses live in. It was a desperate act I realize now. My family was starving, I was starving. Our hiveland was being swallowed by burning waters that we couldn’t drink. We had to travel farther everyday to find water and gathering love was becoming harder as fewer changelings were available to gather love. I knew I had to do something or we would die, then it hit me. Why not take over the only country NOT being affected by the unnatural weather?!” I couldn’t bring myself to finish, they were dead because of me. He stopped; we were on the rock field now. I felt his fur press against my neck, now Ari was tucking my head under his while his wing tightened its hold over me. His love was flowing stronger now, with a hint of sadness marring the otherwise perfect moment in his warmth. “I failed. We lost and were sent flying over a thousand miles away. I have been searching for months for survivors but I only found bodies. I am the last. I am flightless and alone.” I could feel my eyes burn as I said the truth that I had refused to say these long months. A couple tears escaped and my knees collapsed as my emotions boiled over. I was alone. I was broken. I had killed thousands of my kind, my family, with a half baked plan that I could now see was desperate and doomed from the start. I don’t how long my emotions poured out but Ari just lay with me on the cold ground with his wing hugging me close. I slowed my hiccupping breaths and nestled my head into his wing. Damn I just ruined my preening job with my snot. I couldn’t believe I just broke down, I mean Ari was ripped from his home he didn’t even so much as a sniffle. Pathetic. “This is embaras-“ *rumble grumble* We both froze and looked up at the sky. It was clear, no clouds in sight. Then where- *GGRRRR* My eyes widened in recognition, but before I could warn Ari he was hit with a green sphere and unconscious. Five Diamond Dogs had popped out of the ground, surrounding us with green spheres ready. Diamond Dogs truly are a ugly lot. They walk on two legs, had paws instead of hooves, and just like their name suggests looked like a dog.They were one of the few creatures that like dragons I never gathered love from if I could help it, almost for the same reasons as the dragons coincidently. Before I could manage a attack one of the green spheres shattered in my face, releasing a noxious green miasma that forced me unconscious. Buck Off!**** Diamond Mountains Ari One moment I’m comforting a sobbing mare and next thing I know I’m hit in the face and knocked unconscious. The orb that hit me shattered, but I didn’t even have a chance to feel the pain from the glass shards before it released a gas that knocked me out. I’m really starting to dislike this world. Now I was cold, groggy, and more than a little pissed off. I mean, does anyone even respect me? First, I was dropped from a lethal height. I have had the previously mentioned mare launch herself at me, and now I’m assaulted by some sort of knockout gas. I just wasn’t getting any breaks. Did I mention my face hurt? I think I should point out that several spots feel like something is lodged in it. My muzzle fur feels stiff too, like something sticky was dried in it. I don’t even want to think about what it could be. Why? The smell here is horrible. I’m not even trying to take in the scents, but just breathing is enough to take in the wet dog, feces, musty air smell. It tells me all I need to know. Mainly that, I’m going to hate opening my eyes. I called it. In front of me was a rusty cell door, looking around it didn’t look much better. Rock ceiling, slightly slimy rock floor, and matching rock walls. There wasn’t even a window in this cell, isn’t that like a prerequisite to prisons? Give the prisoners a tiny hole of window that provides just enough light to highlight how gloomy their cell is but not big enough to escape from. Whoever captured me is doing it all wrong. The need to sleep was starting to fade when several important facts hit me. Chrissy wasn't with me anymore. My hooves are hand- no hoof cuffed to a chain attached to the wall. My horn itches and my wings are tied to my barrel. Wow, my mission just went doomed to not a chance in hell of happening. I don’t even know what to feel at that. Chrissy had just agreed to help me too. But then she was so upset, she had suffered and those rulers did nothing. I hope she is okay. *jingle* *grumble* Something was coming, something with keys! I stood up, taking longer than normal due to the shackles. What approached threw me off: three really ugly dogs walking on two legs. Well, they weren’t the Fido you would picture per say, they came in a range of brown and grays with the oddest tails, at the end of them a spiked club tip. Their faces all had large jaws and tiny black eyes, those jaws were fascinating in a way. They jutted outward so their lower jaw never touched their top jaw. It looked uncomfortable to me, it also let their bad breath waft out of their maws. “Graw grumble raw mu.”, said the dark gray dog thing on the right, he was pointing at me. I am not explaining how I knew he was a he. Here’s a hint: they don’t wear clothes. “Mu gra.” The tallest and only brown dog thing replied in what I assume was a condescending tone. It was hard to tell when they all sounded so gravelly and low. “Mu.” The gray one on the left stated, he had a…Monotone voice. It was kind of creepy with his black eyes looking at me. They were looking all staring at me now. I couldn’t tell if this was good or bad, their eyes weren’t very expressive. But I decided to try and make the best of this situation, I had my captors here after all. “Hello there. Why did you capture me?” They just continued looking at me. The tall brown dog cocked his head at me. “Mu gra?” The brown dog said, he sounded confused. “Ra, ra. MU RAW!” The one on the right seemed pretty serious when he said that. Well, it looked like they either don’t understand me or don’t care to tell me why I’m in a cell. Somehow I’m leaning towards the latter with the way my life has been going. “Mu raw? *snicker* Awo Mu gras.” The brown one hit him on the back of the head. At least I get a little entertainment. I think the gray one on the left thought so too, he was looking at them with a toothy grin. “MU RAWWW!” Well, now the gray one was angry at the brown one, and the brown one didn’t seem to care for shouting as his upper lip started twitching revealing lots of sharp incisors. I really should avoid getting bit; with their huge jaws they could easily snap my neck. I backed up slightly, as a prey animal now my instincts screamed that these dogs were bad news. As a rule if something locks me up for no reason then they are guaranteed to be bad news. The jingling of my chains caught the other gray dog’s attention. He looked at his keys then at me, as he did so a glint entered his eyes, and I’m not sure I liked that look. We all froze as the keys started jingling, left gray dog was looking for the right key. After finding it he looked at his pack mates, “Mu gra o raw. Grawo.” They looked at each other and nodded. I didn’t like where this was going. “So mind letting me in on the secret?” my voice trembled a bit, call me crazy but I like to know what my jailers have planned for me. The left gray dog opened the door and walked up to me. I stood my ground, a mix of fear and uncertainty holding me in place. Maybe they were like real dogs and could smell fear? I just needed to be strong to get their respect. I know I could smell new smells now, although with him around I wouldn’t for much longer. He was right in front of my muzzle now. Consider yourself lucky you can’t smell his breath, they really could use it instead of that gas. “Stay.” I blinked in shock. He knew what I was saying? He could speak English?! My ears flattened, he had got to be kidding. I was brought out my anger by a tug on my shackles, I nearly lost my balance, and my wings trying to escape their bindings to help me balance. I really hated these shackles. They kept my front hooves and back hooves close together making walking hard. Another tug and I followed the dog, my ears pinned back the whole time. Did i get to choose anything?! Maybe their leader wants to talk or I could be walking to my death, yet at this point I’m not sure why I bother. Outside the cell it opened into a large circular cavern, stalactites hung from the cave ceiling, and I could several tunnel openings along the walls. The stalactites dripped into small puddles on the floor. I couldn’t help but lick my lips at the sight of the water. We had been traveling for hours without finding any streams. I jumped in place and pinned my ears, those dogs were touching my tail. For some reason that irked me, actually this whole situation irked me. Was I just a toy for everyone? Not everyone I guess, Chrissy sort of respected me. She actually cared enough to ask me questions unlike everything else I have met so far. Then something poked my ball sack. I reacted more on instinct than anything else, my ears flattened even further and I squealed in anger and surprise. Once I caught sight of the dog that was back there my bottom lowered and I gave a double kick. It sent the gray one with the keys flying into the nearest wall. Snorting I turned around to face him, he didn’t move. The satisfaction was short lived before I knew it the brown dog grabbed my mane and jumped on my back. Instincts flared back up and I started to buck. With every buck we moved around the cavern, somehow he kept missing the stalactites when I went airborne. Or not, I heard a crunch but I didn’t stop, I wasn’t stopping till this dog was off my back. To the dog’s credit, he did know how to ride a buck. When I sailed into the air with my back arched he gripped my barrel with his legs and when I went down he tried to use my mane to flex my head into a choke hold. It wasn’t working though, I felt like I could buck all day and I think his legs were getting tired if is waning grip was any evidence. We both decided to change it up around the same time, I strained my wings against the ropes as I went up and he grabbed my horn. When we landed I stopped straining my wings and lowered my head. A satisfying crunch echoed as he hit wall across from my cell. I was breathing hard but I had won, looking around I grimaced at the sight. That crunch turned out to be the other gray dog’s head, my stomach felt uneasy at the sight of his caved in face. No, he wasn’t getting up from that. Averting my eyes, I looked at the other gray dog on the wall. He also wasn’t ever getting up if the new puddle was any sign. wow, I had killed three dog people...But now wasn’t the time to lament my captors deaths. I had to find Chrissy. My heart was racing, okay, first things first, these shackles had to come off. Float to me keys. Nothing happened. Maybe I didn’t use enough intent? Again, I tried harder, scrunching my eyes in concentration. My horn burned but nothing was happening! Sighing, I opened my eyes and walked over to the keys. I stared at the keys in contempt: they were lying partially in the dog’s blood. Why me? Sitting down I began the fun task of struggling with the twenty odd keys. It was not easy to twist a key with your mouth, much less line it up with the hole to begin with. The worst part was when the key would give a half turn before letting me know that it was the wrong one. Lucky number thirteen was the one though. I rubbed my hocks, they were missing a little fur where the shackles had been. Those shackles could really dig in, I hope they weren’t covered in any diseases. That would just be what I needed. My horn still bugged me. Did they damage it? Was it broken? I touched the tip of horn hesitantly, it was still there! Making my way down my horn I noticed something new. It felt like a shackle, circling around my base and interlocking in a strange pattern. I tried to levitate a small rock while touching my horn shackle. All that did was make the shackle warmer under my hoof. Great, apparently you can lock up magic. Not to mention, I still needed to find Chrysalis. Keys in tow, I looked at my options. Across from cell there was five large tunnel openings, I knew that the dogs came from one of the ones on the left. Should I go the direction they came from? There might be a whole pack of these crazy creatures waiting for me, or it could lead to the entrance, or an office, or- I could do this all day. Left does make the most sense though. Then I heard her scream in pain, the voice unmistably Chrissy. It ricocheted off the cavern walls and without a thought I dropped the keys, Turned tail, and broke into a gallop towards the tunnel it came from. **** Batshit Crazy Help me Best God Ever and prisoner Friend Unworthy Pion Well I’m ready for some more popcorn! Did you want any? *Glares* I’m going to take that as “Yes sir. Please feed me.” *Shakes head* Did you want some candy instead? Nachos? I have a chocolate fountain I could break out. Oh! That is a great idea. You’re welcome. No, no, YOU ARE welcome- *thrashes in chair* Stop making so much NOISE! You can deliver my stupid brother’s message AFTER you watch my genius and admit that I’M THE BETTER GOD!!!! Horns are Very Sensitive.**** Diamond Mountains Ari My adrenaline was still pumping. I couldn’t believe I just did that! All I could feel was hate for those dogs, they had hurt Chrissy, and they had imprisoned other ponies. In the question of fight or flight, it was a no-brainer. Literally, my thoughts faded, and I just reacted with my instinct. When I started to think again I was looking at Chrissy. Going with my instincts I nuzzled her and she nuzzled back. “Took you long enough.” She sounded so weak to me. Her wound had bled enough to leave a puddle, a green puddle, but still enough to make me concerned. How much blood can a pony lose? I would have continued sending her love if I wasn't interrupted by a disgusted voice. “A Changeling!” Looks like Chrissy was right about how ponies viewed her, I was really hoping she just had some self esteem issues. We both turned and looked at the couple, both ponies had their ears folded back in fear with their eyes darting around the room. The stallion was trying to keep the mare behind him, which would have been sweet if their attitude didn’t grate on my nerves. If a pony didn’t know better they would say the couple had seen a ghost with how pale their faces looked. But it could have just been my entrance, or the body pooling in its own blood in the middle of the cavern, or even the fact that one dog escaped. But their statement said it probably was the changeling mare. I wasn’t worried about the dog that got away, he looked terrified for his life. I could have killed him, if I’m honest I would have killed him if I had remembered to. But I had bigger worries than a lone dog. Might as well hear how bad it was...I just stared at them, waiting to hear the discrimination I felt coming. “What are you doing with that Changeling?! I thought you were here to rescue us?” I didn’t know how to respond. The way the stallion said changeling irked me. Almost like saying it was synonymous with dirt. He was awfully presumptuous…I mean, of course I would free them but I had really come for Chrissy. I couldn’t help the pettiness in my response, really, he had it coming. You never act disrespectful to a potential rescuer, it just wasn’t done. But I guess they couldn't help their response, Chrissy did invade their country recently and all. However, she was still my friend and friends don’t let other friends get disrespected. “I’m sorry but we haven’t met yet. My name is Ari. This is my friend Chrissy.” Although I kept a cordial tone I stressed the word ‘friend’. They both blinked rapidly after that, I may have broken their small minds. A pony being friends with a ickie Changeling?! The scandal! The turquoise mare spoke for the first time, “My name is Azure Heights. This is my friend Barium Seal. Thank yo-“ I could see where this was going, they honestly still thought I was here for them. “I was actually coming to rescue Chrissy. I didn’t even know who you were until now. But I suppose since I will be undoing her shackles anyway…” I trailed off on purpose then, call me what you will, I wanted to tease them a little. I was just a little pissed off at this whole situation. You have your coping methods, I have mine. Chrissy bumped her nose against my neck, someone must be hungry. “Speaking of chains, I hope that dog has the keys to them, cause I dropped the last set a couple caverns back.” The ponies were actually kind of funny when i said that, their faces went from shocked, to happy, then worried. I think Chrissy was enjoying their performance if her grin was any sign. A mare after my own humor. Not waiting for a response I trotted over the body. Like the rest he had no clothes, therefore no pockets, and therefore no keys. My ears fell, I had to go all the way back! “What’s wrong?” Azure asked but I think she knew already what I was going to answer. “No keys. I have to go back.” I looked back at Chrissy, “Are you going to be all right if I run back and grab the keys? Do you want some more food first?” Both ponies looked horrified at my question. I really didn’t have time for this. “What is the matter with you two? You act like we are going to do something horrifying.” I laid down beside Chrissy to prove my point. “It doesn’t hurt you know.” Chrissy sighed when our bodies met, melting into me a little. Cocking her head, Azure asked, “So you don’t become brainwashed and weak?” “Azure!” Barium reprimanded as he was looked between us with fear. Yes, the partially bound Alicorn and restrained, injured changeling, so scary. I had to stop myself from face hoofing at her ludicrous idea. No wonder Chrissy was so shocked that I fed her, if this was what ponies thought. “Nope, I don’t even feel her feeding and I most certainly am myself. No brainwashing here.” Barium looked interested now. “So your feeding her right now then?” Almost like he couldn’t believe it was this easy. I almost couldn’t myself, I hadn’t heard of this, this, emotionvore before I landed in this world. “Yes. I’m feeding Chrissy right now.” She was here too and she had a name...Okay, I'm a little sensitive about their racism still. Chrissy had remained silent the whole time, glancing at her I saw that her eyes were shimmering. I went to cover her with a wing only to feel a resistance. They were still bound. “Hey Chrissy, do you think you could untie my wings? I can’t reach the knot from here.” She regarded the knot in the center of my back a second before setting to work on it. Something sharp touched my back and I almost jumped up before I realized it was her teeth. They were a little sharp. Why did she have canines if she ate emotion? Wings now freed I raised them to their full span, a wing tip just brushing the couple and startling them out of their fish impression. My wings were so stiff, but I felt better. Yes, my magic was still bound, my face still stung, and I was hungry but I felt lighter being able to move my wings. I settled one over her and let her feed. I was surprisingly comfortable against her hard chitin. Once again, Barium ruined the moment. “You’re an ALICORN!-" Yes, just yell that in this echoing cavern, "-Sweet Celestia I didn’t know there were any besides the princesses.” Azure was practically jumping up and down , “This is incredible, are you-“ She continued to barrage me with inane questions, like did I like cake too? It was a little silly so I just closed my eyes and thought of glorious cinnamon buns, vastly superior to cake. I was so hungry. I hadn’t had a full belly since I got here…Two days ago I think, unless I had been unconscious for a while. It didn’t really matter though, this moment was quite relaxing, you know, for cuddle feeding in a dim, stinky cavern. However our companions weren’t so inclined to enjoy the peace, they had stopped questioning me when they realized I wasn't answering. But apparently they still had needs I suppose. “Are you going to get the keys?” I raised an eyebrow at Barium, could he not ruin a moment for me. “I-I mean what if the dog comes back?” Azure nodded rapidly at that. I would kill the dog after what he did. But Barium was right, we should leave while we still could. I had had surprise on my side the last two times I faced the dogs. But Murphy’s law said my third time wouldn’t be as lucky. Shooting an apologetic look at Chrissy I separated from her, I could have sworn I heard a whimper. “Barium, I hate to admit it but you are right. I trust you can all make friends while I get the keys. If the dogs return just scream.” I gave the ponies a pointed look: don’t mess with Chrissy. With one last glance I left back down the way I came, starting at a quiet walk I realized something. I didn’t know where the exit was. I was unconscious when I was brought down here so how was I going to get out? What would the ponies do once they were free? Settling down my emotions I broke into to a trot. Ahead the cavern opened up, three openings. Through the one across from me I continued on my mental map. Speaking of a map…No, I had to at least release them first then I could double back. I still needed, no, I wanted to know where in this world Equestria was. Somehow I don’t think my ‘maker’ was going to accept me not knowing where I’m going as a reason for not doing what he asked and I didn’t want to find out what he would do about any failure. The tunnel went by faster this time but my heart was racing. What if they heard me? What if I the last victories were flukes? The torch light gleamed ahead and I broke into a gallop. If I’m going to make noise I might as well be quick about it. Another tunnel and I reached my starting point. I paused, the air felt different. Inhaling I took stock of the smells: feces, wet dog, and fresh air. The musty smell was gone. I must have been closer to an exit than I thought. Luck did like me after all! Now all I had to do was free everyone and we could go back here. Just four tunnels to choose from, I mean, what could go wrong? Shaking the thought from my head I grabbed the keys and galloped to the next cavern. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. Finally I was back and my heart calmed down. The ponies hugged each other and Chrissy smugly said, “Told you so.” Sounds like there was some doubt about my return, but, I was happy at the thought that at least Chrissy trusted me to return. I still hate keys. After fumbling around with the keys for what felt like an hour I finally had Chrissy’s shackles off. The ponies also learned some new words, but they did need some educating. Chrissy enjoyed the words at least. Unshackling her horn shackle was a fun experience though. We both had horns, very long horns if the unicorn beside us was any comparison. Now you had to see the key to believe it, it was so tiny I thought I might swallow it if I moved it wrong. My horn was also shackled so I couldn’t just magic my way out this and my hooves-although willing to act like hands sometimes- objected to holding keys. This lead to me trying to not hit our horns together with every turn, yes, this shackle was fitted together with three bolts, so there was lots of turning. They were basically safe locks for the horn. And despite my best attempts I still managed to knock our horns together, it didn’t hurt but it did make my stomach coil in a way that wasn’t needed right now. Chrissy’s moans didn’t help my problem in the way I needed right now either. Her horn free, I passed her the key. She looked at it, then me, with a nervous expression. “Could I get a little love here?” I nodded; of course she wasn’t feeling good after that. I glanced at her chest wound, at least it had stopped bleeding. Laying down I heard her sigh in relief when chitin met fur, before setting to work on my shackle. I think she was knocking horns on purpose this time, for one thing she could have used magic to float the key but didn't, and one time I swore she tapped her horn against mine three times in a row. That gave me shivers, horns are sensitive to both pain and pleasure. I knew she was moaning low on purpose this time, I caught her peeking at me out of the corner of her eye. Every single touch, I swear she could feel my stirring and wanted to rile me up. Maybe it feed her more but I couldn't let her enjoy it with an audience. So I Stubbornly ignored the sensations and the audience, the audience wasn’t making it easy though. I wasn’t a changeling but even I could feel the anticipation in the air. Azure was even leaning closer to me, as if that would speed up the process. Barium was starting to look annoyed when my shackle finally fell off, I felt a rush of energy fill me, not the get and go type of energy but an internal feeling that passed through me like caffeine. Like when my wings were bound I felt heavy, when my magic was bound I felt emptier and more tired than I should be. Not a bad feeling, just a wrong feeling. My magic field carried the key to Azure’s horn and unlocked her shackle. She sighed in relieve, maybe it isn’t just me that feels that emptiness from the shackle. I jingled the keys in my magic, I wasn’t doing all the work, and Chrissy was still hungry so I was stuck like this. While Azure and Barium were occupied with the keys, Chrissy gave me a serious look. “Listen, before we leave we need to find the dog's communications room. When they…The Diamond dogs, they mentioned that I’m worth a bounty now. I need to find out who wants me.” I started to imitate a fish now, what do I say to that? I’m not too surprised really; I mean she did invade a country, someone was bound to want her dead. It just was a lot to take in. “I don’t want to hinder your mission. I still would like to travel with you, help you set this world right. So noling else has to starve…” “Sorry, that is, I would love to have your help! I don’t know the first thing about…Well I have never had to save a world before, much less one I know nothing about. But I’m afraid all I can offer in return is free food and a better world at the end of it.” I chuckled in nervous joy as something was actually going towards my goal. “That’s all I could ask of you.” She whispered as her head made itself comfortable on my back. Going with the whisper mood she was in I added, “I think I found a strategy room when I was trying to find you. It had some books, a map, and a desk. It sounds like a good place to start looking.” “Mmhmm” Looking over my wither I could see Chrissy’s eyes fluttering shut. I liked her thinking, sleep sounded good and the shared warmth was soothing my adrenaline fried nerves to the point that I almost did. This time is was Azure that interrupted. “Are you ponies coming?” While I was ecstatic on the inside that she was over her fear of Chrissy I was missing the personal space that the fear had allowed. She was literally in front of my muzzle, eye to eye in fact. I swore she was staring at me stars in her eyes. At this point i'm not dismissing that, magic was possible here after all. I was grateful when Barium came up muttering and dragged her to the tunnel entrance by her tail. Creepily enough she never broke eye contact with me the whole time. He seemed in a hurry to leave and I wasn’t about to stop them. After several minutes I gathered the motivation to speak again, “We should check out that room I guess.” “Mmhmm.” Not a muscle twitch. “You have to get up.” “Mmhmmmmmmm.” She turned her head and nuzzled into my neck. “We need to get out of here.” Also, I was really hungry, berries just didn’t cut it. “Fine.” She moved her head off my body but didn’t move to get up. I stood and looked down at her; she looked up at me. “Fiiiinnne,” Chrissy conceded. Although she stood rather stiffly she was fine, but I still stood wither to wither with her, ready in case she collapsed. After wobbling for several steps she woke up enough to walk and we picked up the pace. We started down the tunnel, comfortable in our silence. There wasn’t anything to really say. She was feeding, I was enjoying the feeling of her being there, and I wasn’t alone in my mission anymore. I led her to the plank door without running into any gaurds or Azure and Barium. I paused, had I closed the door last time? We entered and Chrissy seemed to come to life. She glanced at the map briefly before making her way to the desk. Chrissy started rummaging through it as I took the time to look at the map this time. I couldn’t read it. The northern part of the map was what looked like a wall of ice, underneath the ice area was a castle with a blue heart beside it. In the North West there was a forest with small mountains dotting it, in the north east a gray mountain range was labelled in the strange blocky symbols that were written over various landmarks. Following the mountain range, it continued to zig zag down the map with a different label for the center east and the south east portions. In the southern most part of the mountain range it turned into a red area with what looked like volcanoes drawn over it. The red volcano are turned yellow as it got closer to the center, south west went from red to dark gray before connecting to another mountain range. This mountain range had crudely drawn griffins by its peak. In the center west a beautiful green area lay and stick Minotaurs drawn across it. In the center of the map was another castle. Although the map’s depictions were interesting, there was so much mountains! Which one was the Diamond Mountain range? “Chrissy , where are we on this map? I can’t read it.” She looked up from her small stack of papers, trotted over and gave it a look then looked at me in what I guess was surprise. “You can’t read this? It’s Equus, your speaking it right now…” Her eyebrow was raised. “Actually I am speaking English. Those letters aren’t English.” “I guess Equus and English only sound similar then…” She trailed off again this time in thought “Chrissy?” She jumped out of her thoughts and I looked between her and the map. “Right, right. We are here-,“ She touched the mountain range behind the yellow area, ”- And the princesses are here in Canterlot.” Her hoof went to the castle in the middle of the map. I nodded and she returned to her papers. How was I supposed to get to them and what would I do once I got there? Ask them to just stop doing what they do? I doubt they would listen to a complete stranger. Alicorn or not, I would sound like a lunatic. Like if I had suggested that we needed to start moving earth’s sun and moon. So, how do I change their minds, and convince them of the crazy reality that is happening? Things are Looking Up.Chrysalis When I saw the strategy room I was ecstatic, this looked like the right place to find out who wanted me desperately enough to associate with Diamond dogs. I wasn’t the only one that found them repulsive and abhorrent to work with, most wouldn't never mind the princesses, imagine the scandal. I quickly went to work on the desk at the back; I needed to get out of this mountain. Back in the cavern I had gotten stupidly comfortable when Ari arrived. After that earth pony had practically told Sunbutt herself with his yelling it would be tempting fate by staying any longer. But, Can you really blame a mare for relaxing around him, when he came charging in, all feral and raw, my heart was beside itself. Now that was a stallion. After seeing and impersonating many mares I can truthfully say most stallions are weak willed and soft. You think after all of the Manticore attacks, Dragon rampages, and Parasprite invasions they would start developing some combat skills. Pony logic said no, in fact all it did was make ponies travel in herds more. Not the herds of old and not the lewd herds of Saddle Arabia, they just walked around in large groups for safety in numbers. Of course we had only known each other for a couple days, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate his qualities. His size alone would have the mares swarming, particularly the tall mares. When you tower over most stallion’s traditional pleasure gets hard and awkward to come by. I would be lying if said he was anything but an ideal stallion: protective, considerate, and honest. Okay, maybe I looked for honesty more than the average mare, given my history I felt that it was needed. That and a- Snap out it! Looking back at the papers I had pulled from the desk I was having trouble focusing on them. My tail swished and I felt my stomach roll and coil up. Maybe I needed a little more love. Before I could ask Ari though he called me over, ““Chrissy, where are we on this map? I can’t read it.” Well that brought a new slew of questions, he had to be joking. “You can’t read this? It’s Equus, your speaking it right now…” “Actually I am speaking English. Those letters aren’t English.” Ari frowned at the end of his statement; I hadn’t even thought that he being from different planet might mean he spoke a different language. His Equus was flawless after all. If his entire language is different I wonder what else is different, what did I really know about him? I would have to explore that later, if we going to travel together it wouldn’t hurt to get to know him. He actually had- “Chrissy?” Ari asked, bringing me back to him. I have to focus! My mind is just a mess lately, I swear I usually don’t breakdown or get lost in my thoughts. “Right, right. We are here-“I placed my hoof the mountain range behind Saddle Arabia. ”- and the princesses are here in Canterlot.” My hoof went to Sunbutt’s castle in the middle of the map. Ari nodded before turning back to the map with unfocused eyes, glad i wasn't the only distracted one. Speaking of focussing, I was supposed to find out who wants me. Turning back to the meager hoofful of papers that made the desk their home, I flipped through them. A change in leadership had happened recently according to a letter to Alpha Lograw, a request for more ‘workers’ for the dragons which was code for live food, and some interpack political drivel. Diamond dogs were incredibly petty, they could remember debts from generations in the past. But they never wrote it down, so you could have grandpappy fall in a skirmish and never know about a debt… I think you get the idea. Jewels were their life. My gasp caught Ari’s attention and he came over. Before us was a wanted poster, my picture drawn with startling likeness and a sum of ten thousand gems printed underneath ‘alive’. “Wow, I guess they didn’t think killing off your family was enough. That’s a lot of money-“ “That’s not money, that means literal gems and jewels. One gem could be worth fifty to one hundred bits…” Ari eyes crossed and he began muttering. “So you are worth half a million to one million bits! That is still a lot. Does it say who posted the wanted poster?” Wait, what? “I thought you couldn’t read?” My eyes narrowed at him. “I can’t read Equus but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the numbers under your picture is how much your worth to them.” I blinked, he did have a point. Blushing, I turned away from Ari and nodded my acceptance. Even though I could feel his honesty through his fur I still jumped to the possibility that he was lying. This whole situation still felt surreal, that I had somepony that cared enough to feed me, to comfort me, and even come to my rescue. Most stallions would have saved themselves rather than helping me, but Ari wasn’t most stallions. Glancing back to the poster I knew where we were going. “This poster says the Saddle Arabian monarchy wants me alive. Think we-“ I paused to listen, I thought I heard something. Ari started to swivel his ears trying to pick up any noise as well. Then I heard a light taping and scratching. Ari heard it as well as he started to move quietly towards the door. “Diamond dogs?” He whispered. I nodded and his expression went grim. My thoughts exactly, our stay is over. His magic wrapped around the door knob as I went over to him, leaving the paper behind. Slowly he cracked it open before peeking out. It was all clear outside but now the sound of the dog's paws were louder. **** Ari With Chrissy at my side I entered the tunnel, it was clear for now but I wasn’t going to wait around for that to change. With that thought I continued my quiet pace trying to appear strong for Chrissy, I could feel her heart racing beside me. We continued along the cavern, both silent for a different reason this time. It sounded like alot of dogs were ahead, their grumbling and growls getting louder as we crept closer to our doom. I wasn’t feeling quite very confident about killing any dogs now. Like I had said before, I caught the last couple groups by surprise but I wasn’t so sure if my skill level was up for a real fight. Not to mention I don’t think Chrissy is up for a fight, she still had a chest wound the size of my hoof, and she was feeding constantly. We paused at the entrance to the cavern, it was empty. In fact it was quiet, the pawfalls had abruptly ceased. I lashed my tail and flexed my wings, this felt wrong. I looked at Chrissy, she was flaring her nostrils as she took in scents, I started to as well. She twitched her tail and shivered, exactly, i had to agree with her reaction, the wet dog smell was really strong. They had passed through here very recently. Thank lady lucky we had missed them. Now I just had to figure out which of the four tunnels led to the outside. Throwing my head in the direction of the possible exits I caught Chrissy’s attention, she nodded and we starting creeping along again. Ahead was the cavern I had started in, we had paused in the entrance. My first, second, and third kills lay exactly where I dropped them, her eyes were glued to them. I looked at her eyes, she looked at the bodies then at me. She mouthed “you?” and I nodded. I looked away from her, I didn’t mean to kill them. I still don’t regret it, but there was still the stigma killing had, which being a herbivore now I presume would be even more prominent. Chrissy gave my face a nuzzle, I turned and looked at her with the question in my eye. Was this alright with her? She gave another nuzzle, in confirmation of the unasked question. i sighed in relief and relaxed my shoulders which had tensed. Chrissy looked at the cavern then back at me, I nodded. It was time to go, there was nothing there afterall. Halfway across the cavern I started to get goosebumps, like I was being watched, so I stopped and glanced around. The other openings were clear, a dim blue glow could be seen from two of the tunnels. I glanced at Chrissy, she had stopped beside me and looked every bit as on guard as I felt. I heard whoosh as if something was launched and looked up in time to catch a green sphere in my magic. We stared at it in confusion before looking up; beady eyes stared down at us. My eye twitched as twenty Diamond dogs dropped from the stalactites. Of course everything has to be up high, berry bushes, dogs, what next? Chrissy quickly turned to face the dogs on our rear, her horn flaring green, and I widened my stance in preparation for a fight. The exits were blocked and time seemed to freeze as we regarded each other. Five of the dogs wore belts with more green orbs holstered and ten carried clubs. Touching flanks with Chrissy I tensed and tossed the sphere at several club wielding dogs. It missed. The dogs dove to the side and with that they attacked. I felt several bodies hit my barrel as I heard orbs sail through the air. Time to test out my magic, catching the orbs in my magic I tossed them back at the throwers. They caught them and grinned with their oversized jaws. I barely had time to rage at them as the dogs that had hit me grabbed my mane and the base of my wings. Don’t touch my wings! My horn flared as I sent them back into the crowd. Two more dogs came at me and more orbs sailed at me to my increasing frustration. I needed to end this. Behind me I heard Chrissy grunt and I felt her wobble, loosing contact with my flank. I had to think of something, I blasted second set of dogs off my barrel when it hit me. The club that is, not an idea. Glancing back I saw Chrissy was straining her horn against a club. The other club dog was at my flank, club raised for a second hit. He was still behind me, you think they would know better than to stand behind a horse. I lifted one back leg and gave a quick kick sending the dog sailing back into an orb bearer. Two down, bonus since I had one less source of knock out gas to worry about. Wait a moment; knock out gas, that’s it! After sending back the last three orbs that had come flying at me I focused on my biggest threat: the spheres. They need to be captured. My horn glowed yellow and the already airborne spheres froze in my field, increasing my focus I grabbed the remaining orbs from their holsters to the dog’s surprised gawking. The dogs on my side of the circle seemed freeze as I levitated the dozen orbs filled with gas in front of me. It seems they understood my plan as they halted their approach and widened their stances in preperation to dodge my attack. I sent the orbs left; the dogs went to the right. Gotcha! I changed the orbs direction last minute. Increasing the speed of the spheres the dogs had no chance, fourteen down. Glancing at Chrissy I immediately turned to face her opponents. Without any knockout gas left in the battle I felt like I could win. Rearing up I roared at them, they turned their attention to me and roared back. It seems they are more confident in a pack. Chrissy’s horn was sputtering a green glow as she blasted two of the dogs back into the cell door. But she was starting to shake after that. This had to end, Chrissy wasn’t doing soo well and if I’m to be frank I feel a little light headed myself. My horn went through the dog’s skull as I charged forward, tossing his twitching body at the others, I shouted. “Run!” The remaining three dogs were trapped under the body and tangled in their limbs so we made a break towards the nearest tunnel. As soon as we reached the entrance a dog poked his head out, I charged ahead of Chrissy and impaled him. I aimed too low this time. The dog was skewered through his stomach but still very much alive. All I could see was him, his paws grabbed my neck, claws digging in. My thoughts slowed as pain took over, I grunted at the stinging of his claws and started to shake my head him trying to dislodge him. But that only made him dig deeper into my neck. Warmth trailed down my neck and my heart beat faster. I shook my head faster, feeling out of breath and nauseous from his close proximity to my nose. A green magic field pulled him off my horn, sending him careening back into his packmates, and splattering my face in his blood as my horn left his body. I looked at Chrissy in relieve, I had forgotten about my magic for a second. We shared a weak smile and headed down the tunnel leaning against each other. I could already feel my adrenaline fading but I carried on feeding her and walking. It was almost over, I could rest soon. Ten minutes into the tunnel we saw a faint light ahead, freedom! I squinted against the sunlight as we stepped out of the tunnel. After being in such dim caverns this was quite a change to my eyes, they stung as the ultraviolet rays assaulted them. We stood on a ledge above the clouds, I could see a river of clouds all the way to the rising sun. I took in a breath of the cool mountain air. We were free. “Where did you want to head first?” Chrissy’s eyes were struggling to focus on me, “Somewhere without dogs.” “Can do…Do you think I could lift you?” I spread my wings and gave them a good stretch. “what?!” She looked scared now. “Well, the way I see it. Since you cant fly and we are on a cliff I could either fly us down or we could go back in, look for another exit, and hope that we don’t run into more dogs.” She sighed and her tail twitched, “keep a good grip on me.” With that I flung my wings into a down stroke. I thought I had put less power into it but I still shot up a hundred feet. Slowly hovering down I positioned my chest over her withers, with my hooves around her barrel I slowly ascended again. She was tense for a second, wing and tail hitting me as she adjusted to the sensation of being carried. Now where to first, below us was surely the forest we had left. These must be the mountains that I had seen before. She said Saddle Arabia wanted her, which was north of here. The princesses were also north. The sun was almost down rising to my right so that made in front of me north. So With a strong flap we started north, away from the dogs. Chrissy stayed silent as we soared over wispy clouds, I didn’t mind as I was too tired to maintain any sort of conversation anyway. My wings started to act on autopilot, angling to weave between the mountain tops that ran like a row of canines along the range was done without a thought. We were past the mountain tops now and before me was the rock field where we had been at yesterday. The land turned yellow as the rock turned into sand, it just kept going as it went into the horizon with fewer and fewer plants to be seen as it went on. I shot a worried look at Chrissy as I felt her go slack in my arms. She was asleep. Looking for a safe place to land I spotted a small grove of trees just before the dessert, they were perfect. My landing was less than perfect; I went too fast and landed on my passenger. Chrissy just grunted and rubbed her head into the sand in her sleep. I couldn’t make myself move, there were trees overhead now, I had a warm body pillow, and I was exhausted. It wasn’t that she was heavy to carry; it was more like I had been going all night without rest, fighting and running. I felt my muscles cry out in protest at any movement and my eyelids drooped as her warmth lulled me into sleep. My wings folded over us and I slid off her down her back, forelegs still wrapped around her barrel. I would deal with this later. Interlude at the Oasis.**** Chrysalis A feather duvet was underneath me, I couldn’t believe it. I rubbed my face against the blanket marveling at the feel of a proper bed, it had been months since I had been in one. I looked around the room, it was a elegantly decorated bedroom like I had seen at the palace. Large ornate windows showed a full moon surrounded by millions of stars. The four poster bed was illuminated in the moon’s glow and I couldn’t help but sigh. This was perfect. A shadow grew across the floor, looking up I saw a black Alicorn descending into my room. Opening the windows it touched down, it was Ari. He was looking at me with his cool blue eyes; they stayed with me as he approached my bed. I could feel my heart almost beat out of my chest, the air felt too hot, too humid. My stomach was in knots, I was having trouble focusing on his approach so I took a deep breath. It didn’t settle my nerves, it drove them insane. A strong spicy smell flooded my nose, it was amazing, my senses went in overdrive. My chitin was burning, my wing went rigid, and I started panting as the temperature in the room skyrocketed. Focusing my eyes on Ari I saw him take in my scent, that sent my blood wild, I wanted him to smell more of me. Flagging my tail I looked at him, practically whimpering as he scented the air again. My eyes wandered lower taking in his length, dropping rapidly from his sheath. Yes, that was what I needed. I turned my plot to him and flagged my tail. Come on, just a little closer. Ari approached putting his muzzle to my lips, I winked and my tail twitched as he breathed in my scent. Wetness was beginning to form as I wiggled my rump a little in anticipation, I was burning up. I needed – My head exploded in pain and I scrunched my eyes. Opening my eyes I found myself looking at trees, a Magoo fruit rolling to a stop in front of me. My bed was a black wing and the matching wing was wrapped around my barrel like a blanket. I blinked in shock, it had felt soo real. The burning, the smell, and the…Wetness dripped from my lips and my tail twitched. I needed a moment. My hooves were impossible to get underneath myself, looking at my barrel it made sense. Ari had wrapped his hooves around me, holding me an iron grip. My magic was out of the question, I had overused it already yesterday. Not to mention he would surely wake up and smell my situation. Not that I didn’t like him. No, Ari was a perfect gentlestallion and I liked him a lot more than I’m comfortable admitting. I didn’t want to ruin this friendship we just started. If he wanted more than a friendship he would have indicated already, stallions are pretty straightforward that way. I could still drop hints though. But back to the matter at hoof, I needed some private time. Shimmiing in his hold I made my way down his barrel. This went well until something poked my back; I flicked my tail more as I felt the arousal from his fur. It’s okay, I could still get out of this. Taking a deep breath I prepared to move again, then the spicy musk from my dream flooded my nose, exactly what I needed. Ari’s grip tightened, my ears went back. I had no choice now. “Ari get up.” He continued to sleep, a grin on his muzzle. “ARI!” I yelled in a voice that rivalled the Royal Canterlot voice, his ear twitched before he nuzzled into my neck. Was it getting hotter? Apparently he was a heavy sleeper. Sighing I looked around where he landed us. It looked to be around two acres of trees, a mix of Magoo trees and Tronana trees, and a small pond. Through the sagging trees I could see the yellow desert; it still appeared to go on forever. I guess the Arabians haven’t expanded much in the last hundred years. I had been to Saddle Arabia before, not that they knew it was me. Then I was favoring a sienna furred unicorn as my disguise. It was a nice disguise, her cutie mark was the desert with heat waves coming off and I appropriately named her Desert Heat. She caught every stallion’s eye and I was always well fed as her. But times changed, now I favored the grey Pegasus I have given the moniker of ‘Silver Stream’, which is not a strange name as Ari insisted. ‘Ari’ is a far exotic sounding name. My last visit had been all too easy; the Saddle Arabians were incredibly open minded about sex and still practiced herding. Saddle Arabia is the last remaining country to do so if I recall correctly, it was done on the premise of not having enough stallions. Which I could see some logic to, finding a free stallion was hard last time. There was no such thing as a single mare in the country, as soon as they were old enough they had either already joined a herd or were drafted into a herd. I still got a lot of love on that trip, the stallion may have been a little soft but his love was very tasty. Though I don’t think he minded when I left the herd; there were many eager mares on his wait list. He had been a well respected guard, the type every herd wanted their filly to be associated with. Which brings up another issue, with Ari’s size he could easily come off as a tall local, but he would attract a lot of mares. Like I said tall stallions always get swarmed, and those wings… He would need a thobe to hide them, which wouldn’t stand out as they are very practical in this country. If a Arabian wasn’t wearing a thobe he would at least be wearing the hat portion of their kanturas to block out the sweltering heat. But coming across a thobe before we reached a city was very hard. A yawn brought me back from my planning, Ari was waking up. “Good mmmmoorningg.” He said when another yawn escaped him. It would have been cute except he started shifting in his half awake state, rubbing his arousal all over my back, sending my tail twitching again. That dream was still affecting my body, which annoyed me to no end. Everything had been going out of my control lately. I had had a emotional breakdown with a practical stranger, then I was taken by surprise and captured, and today it was my own body. I swear I was acting like a mare in heat. My blood froze as I realized the truth in that. I had never been in heat myself but I knew the symptoms very well, after counseling many young nymphs on the subject before it should have been second nature. The vivid dreams, followed by the physical changes like fevers, and finally the instincts take over. Many stallions feared the last stage. For a good reason, I have witnessed mobs of crazed mares literally chase down stallions for their fulfillment, which would usually never come for them. For some reason ponies had a harder time conceiving and being that successful fertilization stops the heat, most ponies were out of luck. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions; I might just be picking up on his good dream through my chitin. Perhaps my dreams can be influenced by the emotions I absorb overnight and I just never noticed before. Dear Faust I hope so. “Good morning to you too, as much as I enjoy the breakfast I need to get a drink-“ An alcoholic drink preferably. “-and you need to address a morning visitor.” Before I address it and solve both our problems. That seemed to wake him up as he released his hold on me and tried to sputter out an apology, it was kind of cute with how he was blushing. “Don’t worry about it.” I waved a hoof in the air. “I could help you with that.” I purred at the second half, I couldn’t help it but I remembered how delicious his lust tasted. It was what made a lover’s love all the more delicious, the added lust and desire. On their own, they were candy but paired with love it became a three course meal. Ari being the gentlestallion that he was, replied, “No need for that Chrissy. Not that you wouldn’t be a help, but I couldn’t ask that of you.” Horseapples, he was too oblivious sometimes. Couldn’t he smell exactly how sincere my help was? What I mean is, now I could finally get up and get that drink. It had been several days since I got a good drink and love could only get me soo far. With Ari wandering off into the grove I made my way over to the pond. Clear water lapped at the edges reflecting the blue sky, it tasted fresh, and looking at the edges I knew I wasn’t the only one that had thought so. “Isn’t the water wonderful?” I yelled out to Ari, I couldn’t see him anymore. Ari came galloping through the trees, “WATER!” He immediately started drinking, cock still in the process of retracting. Nononono, Focus! He obviously didn’t make those hoof prints, that means someone was here recently. While he drank I had time to take stock of our situation. He was a mess, I was a weak mess as well , we had to stop the princesses from moving the sun and moon, and now I had a bounty on my head. First problem first, I needed to feed the black hole that was a Alicorn, then he could feed me. Then we could clean up. I don’t even want to know how bad I look if Ari was the standard. He had feathers sticking out in all directions, leaves, dirt, and blood stained his coat, and he had something shiny lodged in his muzzle. What was that? I walked up to his muzzle and squinted, it was glass. He must have got it when they smashed the knock out gas orb in his face. Thank goodness I didn’t have such weak chitin. Ari blinked at me, having just noticed me staring at him. “Chrissy?” “Hold still.” He cocked his head at me. “Tccchhh! I said hold still!” I didn’t wait for his response this time, I gripped the biggest shard in my mouth and yanked it. “AHHHHHHHH!” My ears were ringing, that stallion has a killer Royal Canterlot voice. Ari stopped and licked his muzzle before looking at the shard in my mouth. “I thought my face hurt. That was huge! Thanks Chrissy, I guess I owe you again. Is there anymore glass there?” Yes, a whole sphere’s worth. “Don’t move till I tell you and you don’t owe me…You said we’re friends, right?” I held back the nervous shake that threatened to enter my voice. It was another first, a friend that wasn’t family. He nodded, “of course!” “Then HOLD STILL! I can’t help you if you keep nodding.” I couldn’t help but grin, this was fun. He didn’t respond. “Are you ok?” His eyes went from me to his nose. “You can talk, just don’t nod.okay?” “Okay!” I started pulling more out with my mouth; my magic was being saved for special occasions. “Buck.” Another big shard, “cocksucker”, Ari had a colourful vocabulary and I almost couldn’t wait for him to meet the princesses. With the last one out I started cleaning his muzzle. I licked over the freshly opened wounds, mixing my plasma over them as a sort of bandage, and adding my scent to his. “Chrissy?” What was I doing? I stopped mid-lick and looked at him. “What was that about?” He sounded nervous. “Nothing. I was just cleaning your wounds. Any friend would do that.”, any marefriend more like. “Oh I’m sorry then. I don’t know all the culture on Equis yet.” Thank goodness, I didn’t have any other excuse. “Hold still.” I indulged myself a little more and re-licked his wounds, if he didn’t know what it meant it wasn’t wrong really. Not to mention it would tell the other mares exactly what they are up against. “All done. But we are preening later, your wings are atrocious.” “Okay, can you-“His stomach gurgled and we both looked at it. “Breakfast time it is then. You landed us in the right oasis; there are lots of Magoo and Tronana trees.” “What?” Right, different planet, “Edible fruit on the trees.” I was surprised at how fast he moved, one moment I’m looking at a black stallion the next second a black blur. Alicorn metabolism, I once watched Celestia consume twelve cakes in one day when I was disguised, TWELVE THREE TIERED CAKES! I don’t know where it goes. Ari was flitting between trees, not even bothering to peel the red Tronana fruit. He must have an iron stomach, I had heard the peel was extremely sour. After decimating half the grove’s fruit trees he landed beside me, touching his fur to my chitin. I trilled at the sensation, his happiness added a refreshing zing to the usual love. Time for a thank you, “In the pond, now.” He shrugged and we entered the water, I was horrified at the result. Small waves of brown and red floated away from us making the water murkier. I started paddling to the center and he followed. “So what I was going to ask was how do you preen wings? If I knew how I could preen your wing for you.” Such a sweetheart, if only it needed preening, like I said I’m low maintenance. “I could show you but it is hard to preen yourself, most have friends and family preen them. It can be quite a sight when pegasi form a preening circle. As for myself, all I have to do is give my wing a quick buzz to remove the dirt.” I demonstrated and splashed Ari in the face. A grin grew across his face before he raised his wings to their full span. “Don’t-“ I was too late in my warning, he brought his wings down on the water, sending me a small wave to the face. Two can play that game. I swam away till touched ground again, turning I reared up and brought my own splash down on him. Ari seemed to come to life and he reared up, splashing me back. What a foal. I loved it though. I started chasing him through the water; he wasn’t going to get away with this. His tail finally in my mouth after several feints I gave him a triumphant look, but he didn’t accept my win. Turning around he reared over me, his forelegs pushing on my back. My balance was lost and I let go, he turned his head to my rump and grabbed my tail. I whinnied in surprise, wing stiffening in arousal. I had picked the wrong game. “Fine, you win! Just let go already…” Before I do something that could ruin our friendship. Letting my tail go and removing his forelegs from my back he grinned, “Okay, I haven’t done that in forever. It is nice after everything, ya know?” “Yah yah, come on, I still need to preen your wings.” I started for shore and before I knew it we were lying barrel to barrel again. His wing in front of me, I started on his second primaries, explaining how important it was to use the tongue to get between these tightly packed and small feathers. I'm not sure he got it all between his moans but I still continued anyway. it kept my mind off of sweat forming on my fur. When I used my muzzle to remove some of the dead feathers I demonstrated on his wing the difference in a askew feather and a dead feather. Then it was plucking, his primaries, and the wing tip. All the while I was trying to control my tail, which was determined to flag and twitch whenever he moaned. Both wings done I stood and cracked my back, letting the warm breeze waft over me. “Ready to ‘hit the road’?” He stood beside me, “Yup! I feel soo much better now with the diamond dog stink off me. Which way should we go?” I looked out at the dunes, “it doesn’t really matter. We will run across a city eventually.” “Gottcha.” We started walking out of the cool oasis and the reality of this being a desert hit me. I don’t remember it being this hot last time. Sweat was beading from my mane within ten minutes. Our walk wasn’t an exciting one, the dunes went up and down. Some held evidence of packs of Hinns, phantom dogs that were attracted to evil emotions and intent, but they weren’t any threat to the average traveler. We both were full of questions though. “So how do you plan to stop the princesses?” This had been bugging me for a while now, even with my help i'm not sure how we could overpower them. “I actually was just thinking about this. Do they have any weaknesses?” “Does cake count? I did beat Celestia when I invaded but I was beaten by the elements of harmony. If you went after the princesses they would try to stop you. Not to mention Lovebutt and Shiny would try and stop us. They really hate me.” “Lovebutt? Shiny?” Oh boy, here we go. “Princess Cadence and her husband Shining Armour are a little angry that I ruined their wedding by using their love to launch my invasion. I also may have locked her in a cavern and pretended to be her…” I bowed my head, ready for the outrage, the disgust at my actions. But it never came. “Wow! You really did put a lot of thought into the invasion. I'm actually impressed, I don’t think I could pretend to be a whole other person, not to mention the timing was perfect. No one would suspect a bride of acting odd when her wedding is coming up!” I blinked at that, he just got it and he wasn’t disgusted by my actions? “Really?!” “Yup, I don’t think we could do that for this plan though, seeing as there is two of them and only one of us is a master of disguise. Perhaps if we bound their magic like those shackles that were put on our horns we could stop them from raising the sun and the moon?” Maybe, the idea had potential. “That might work. But there isn’t any magical inhibator strong enough for a Alicorn at full strength. Also once they got them off what’s to stop them from going back to raising the sun and the moon?” Ari mulled over my questions before his face lit up ad he trotted in place. “What?!” He looked at me with a huge smile, “We MAKE a magical inhibitor strong enough to hold a Alicorn, i'm willing to bet we can. I'm willing to bet no one has tried to capture them with one before with one and you can even test it on me to make sure it works! As to the problem of them reverting, I say we drag them out of the castle and show them the results of messing with nature!” I blinked and thought it over, it could work, but… “How do you plan to capture two princesses, evade their guards, and drag the reluctant princesses away from their kingdom? I for one don’t want to have to listen to their whining the whole time.” “Umm, a surprise attack… and is there any transportation that we could take them in? Like a car,a plane, even a blimp would do?!” I didn’t know what those were but there was something that might work. I didn’t like the idea, we would have to go to what I heard was a place full of savages, a dangerous part of the world. I really didn’t want to lose him before our mission even starts. “Yes…A airship might work. But I have only heard rumors of them, on the Zebrican coast. They were developed to explore the Endless Sea. But I haven’t heard nice things about Zebrica, they are supposed to be pony eating savages. Even if we made it, airships are ridiculously expensive…” “That’s perfect! Don’t worry, I’m sure we can earn some money. Maybe we could rent one?” I felt a grin crept up my face, maybe we could do this. At least it was a start, I started humming at the thought. My humming was interrupted by a shrill scream, Charging at us was a certain turquoise unicorn, a mare that was just a little too friendly last time she was around Ari. My eye twitched. Why was Azure Heights here?! The Search for Barium Seal.Ari Lately I can’t seem to find any peace, one moment I will be having a conversation with somepony the next second something will come screaming at me. I know that is very specific,that is because it actually happened. One moment I’m finalizing a plan with Chrissy the next thing Azure is galloping over the sand dune screaming her head off. “Helpmehelpmehelpme!” I blinked at the unicorn as she spoke rapidly, noticing that Barium Seal wasn’t with her. Also how had we missed them on our way out? “Slow down, what happened?” I was getting worried now; Azure was gasping for breath and covered in sweat, leaning against my chest for support. “Ba-baa-“ “Spit it out already!” Chrissy snarled at her. Okay, she just went from happy to angry in five seconds. Is it her time of the month or something? Azure glared at Chrissy through her panting, “Bandits!” I tensed and looked at the dune in front of us, that wasn’t good, bandits are usually a rough bunch of thieves. Which meant Barium might be dead, the poor always interrupting stallion. Chrissy’s glare morphed into a worried look and she pressed closer to me, “I don’t see any.” We all looked at the dune. After several moments we still couldn’t hear anything but Azure’s panting, nothing had popped over the dune. “I have to agree with her on that.” Looking back at Azure I saw her looking at the dune then us then back at the dune. Her ears were splayed sideways and her eyes watered. “B-But, there really was bandits. They were chasing me a-and they got Barium!! We have to save him! Pleasepleaseplease-.“ My ears went back as she broke down, pushing her head into my chest. I swore I heard a growl close by but looking at the dune I saw nothing still. Wait a minute, they just escaped from the Diamond Dogs, and they had no bags with them! “What were the bandits after?” Azure blinked up at me and Chrissy looked stunned too, we all had nothing on us to steal. Did that make them ponynappers then? That seemed to bring a stupefied calm over the unicorn. “I don’t know, we had just made it to a set of ruins when a-a monster stepped out from behind a boulder and started singing. Barium seemed soo out of it and then they strolled out from the ruins…I ran a-and th-“ ; but she lost it just as quickly, shoving her snotty nose into my fur. This didn’t make any sense. Chrissy was giving me a confused look as well; you can’t rob something if they have nothing to begin with. Not to mention why would a monster sing at you when attacking was much were debilitating? “So what did the monster and ponynappers look like?” It couldn’t hurt to help her. Okay, it was more like I probably would feel like shit for not trying to do something. Those bandits could also attack us, with my luck, I wouldn’t bet against it. “You are going to help me?” She peeked out of my fur, her pupils dilating as hope entered them. Crap, I glanced at Chrissy, “mmph” she grunted and looked away from me. That was real helpful, thanks friend. “Yes-“ She started chanting gibberish as she stood and wrapped her hooves around my neck in a hug. Wow she was soft, I mean, I had only felt chitin and the coarse hair of the dogs before, pony fur was soo plushy. That was until her legs went out from under her, my neck protested as she grabbed my throat harder to stay upright. After a second of nearly choking, I lowered my neck and she finally let go to and got back on her hooves, but now she was glaring at Chrissy. I guess she still doesn’t like changelings. With feeling back in my neck I got back to my original question. Ignoring the glaring-Chrissy now glaring back from my side- I asked, “So what exactly are we looking for?” It seemed like one question at a time would be easier for her, she seemed very unstable right now if her gibberish was any indication to her mental ability right now. “It was half pony and half dragon, with scales all over it’s face. It was horrifying! I mean it makes your changeling mare look nice in comparison.” Azure went from horrified to catty in less than a minute; looks like females don’t change that much between planets. It still made my ears flatten. Chrissy wasn't my mare, she wasn't property. Not to mention she is beautiful, no wonder she has self esteem issues, I really should tell her how beautiful she is. I steeled my anger though, pushing past her I started walking again. I might as well get this over with, then she will be out of my mane.I miss the quiet time already. “ARI!” Chrissy yelled in surprise as she caught up, pressing against my side again. A wave of guilt washed over me, I hadn’t given her any warning before walking off. But that guilt faded as Azure came up to my other side, pressing into it. That irked me, just like when the dog touched my wings I felt an instinctual indignation at them touching me. They didn’t have a right. Back on earth I might have brushed it off and accepted it. But here my new body's instincts said that that was too close, that she wasn't to be trusted in my personal space. My instincts hadn’t proved me wrong yet. I didn’t trust my words to not hurt the mare so I went to step away from her, only to find myself squeezed between them like a shute. Both mares seemly determined to be as close as possible. I couldn’t think of a response. I now was walking in the boiling sun and tucked snug between two very warm mares. I was boiling alive in my black fur. Going down the dune I continued the questioning. “How many ponies were there? What did they look like?” “I saw six of them not including the monster. They were a weird mix. There were three gryphons, two Komondors, and a Minotaur. They were armed a-and-.” Azure turned her muzzle into my barrel, which she just barely reached. If she was any shorter she would be walking under me like a foal. A tail flicked my rump. “And just what is a Komondor?” I looked down at Azure as the desert didn’t really hold much interest with its endless dunes. “A muscle bound, bipedal lizard. With about the same about the amount of brain power as a lizard too.” Chrissy growled out, her wing buzzing in what I would call anger. It was definitely her time of the month. “Ok, so we have at least three muscle guys and two fliers…fun. Are we going the right way Azure?” She shivered against my fur and nodded. Two tails hit my rump this time. My ears folded back as I tried to ignore them and keep my annoyance under control, they obviously were having personal issues. Chrissy understandably was annoyed; Azure had basically called her slightly better than a monster after all. Azure just seemed to be anti-changeling and therefore Chrissy herself was probably a aggravation. We continued to walk on in the sweltering heat, the sun making it impossible to know just how long but I felt it was long enough. During the walk I was caught between some unspoken battle. Chrissy couldn’t stop flicking me with her tail, I kept giving her a questioning look but she was too busy giving Azure the evil eye to notice. Not that Azure was any more mature about it. She was glaring right back and was soo uptight that her tail was sticking up in the air. Not to mention the smell that had begun to fill the air, the effect of three sweating bodies pressed together, it was hard to concentrate. Part of the smell wasn’t soo bad, there was Chrissy’s unique smell of cinnamon which I loved. But the smell of mares, jasmine flowers to be exact, was extremely strong. It was having a strange effect on my body, i almost felt light headed and i had to stop myself from breathing more of it in. That on top of melting under the sun and I wasn’t a happy camper. Heck, I was almost looking forward to fighting those ponynappers just to get some breathing space. I couldn’t just ask Chrissy to stop feeding when she is still healing and I didn’t feel right telling an upset mare to stop touching me. If my experience has shown me anything so far it’s that they are very touch oriented, I likened it to calming down from petting a cat. My prayers were answered as we went over the latest dune, before us I could see a beige colored ruin in the distance. It was hard to make out the details but it was clearly a ruined building. I turned to Azure for confirmation but her look said all I needed to know. Her eyes were wide, he ears were pressed back in fear, and her tail was tucked between her tail. “Do you want to stay here?” I wasn’t sure what use she would be if her first reaction was to run away, really she was a liability in a fight. She shook her head, “I need to rescue Barium!” A new determination twinkled in her eyes. I could work with this. “Okay then, when we get there your job is to get Barium Seal from them and protect him. We will handle the others.” Chrissy snorted, “Fine the sooner we get this done the better.” As we approached the ruins, they showed just how massive they truly were. Stacks of large stone bricks were partially stacked, each brick four feet tall and nearly as wide. The remains of the entrance held two crumbling pillars; they were snapped in half but still towered over me. I looked at the tops just in case; I had learned my lesson from the diamond dogs. This time there was nothing above. Chrissy nudged my shoulder and looking over I saw why. There were tracks in the sand. They were representatives of nearly all prints: cloven hooves, horse hooves, paws, talons, and what I supposed were lizard footprints. I took a whiff of the air: sweat, musk, jasmine, urine, and several other scents that I rather not mention. Sorting through the smells I identified at least eight different individual’s scents. At least one was a female or had been with one recently. It wasn’t Azure’s scent, she smelt like cranberries and orange. Barium had been here, his harsh smell of rosemary still hung in the air. My ability to discern scents and their meanings had improved. I was finding every creature had a species scent, for example changelings smelt like burnt wood; every individual also had a personal scent. Mares always seemed to smell like jasmine flowers. Smells aside, this only meant one thing: we had to follow them. I could only hope there wasn’t more waiting for us. “I guess we follow the tracks.” The mares nodded in agreement, glaring forgotten with this change in plan. As we moved forward into the ruins I couldn’t help but notice the strong smell of jasmine and cinnamon again, it was invading my nostrils at an alarming rate. The smell thankfully was soon removed as a strong breeze moved in. I didn’t like this breeze, flashbacks of the mountain storm popped up. “So Chrissy, what sort of crazy weather does Saddle Arabia get?” I gazed at the mini sand twisters popping up with a growing sinking feeling. Gazing at the rapidly evolving sand twisters Chrissy replied, “Last time I was here there were just sandstorms. But that was a couple hundred years ago. Who knows what has changed since then.” My eye twitched, she was at least how old now?! I know you aren’t supposed to ask but I really wanted to now. Was this normal here? More importantly, I only knew a little about the deserts on earth but I knew you definitely didn’t want to be caught in a sand storm. I glanced at the edge of the ruins which was fast approaching us in our trek through them. “Maybe we should hunker down here, I feel like a sandstorm could be coming.” It was only a question of when now; the wind was increasing its howling against the stubborn ruins, which refused to fall under its force. Chrissy looked conflicted, chewing on her lip. Azure was conflicted as well, “What if we lose their tracks? Won’t the storm cover them up?” She was right of course. It was a paradox, on one hand I wanted everyone to be safe but on the other hand I didn’t want to lose track of the ponynappers. I didn’t know how we could track them down with out the tracks so I conceded, “You're right, we have to keep moving. Let’s pick up the pace though.” With that we broke into a trot. The tracks became less jumbled the further out we went, eventually forming a line. However the wind was slowly obscuring the tracks and soon I wouldn’t be able to tell what direction we needed to go. We were all panting, have slowed to a walk, and I desperately needed a cool drink. I miss the oasis right now; I really should invest in some bags to carry water in. Although Azure’s point had been the most logical it was not the most comfortable. I had sand whipping into any open orifice right now, my eyes, ears, and nose. I was sure it was even worse for Chrissy with her chest wound. Glancing at it I noted it had scabbed over at least. The trek was taking hours and my mind wandered onto several problems. Both Chrissy and myself couldn’t just enter a town the way we are, the ponies reactions would be problematic. While they would probably try to bow to me, thinking I’m royalty they would be just as quick to run away from Chrissy. I chuckled at that. “What?” Chrissy asked keeping her eyes squinted against the flying sand. “I was just thinking what a pair we make. If we walked into a town the ponies would be tripping over themselves trying to decide whether or not they should bow or run. I don’t think they should run but I have seen someponies reaction to you already and I don’t doubt others share it.” “Hey! We have a good reason to be! She and her army invaded and tried to take over Canterlot. How do we not fear that? How is any of that good?!” Azure had her ears pinned back, looking me defiantly in the eye. “Well-.” I was interrupted by Chrissy. “Yes I invaded your selfish, ignorant country! My family, my people were starving. We were being flooded out of our hiveland by water that we couldn’t even drink! DON’T EVEN PRETEND TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I DID!!” By the end of it Chrissy had stopped walking and was both screaming and crying. I wrapped her in my wing, trying to send more love her way. Azure stared in shock at Chrissy’s vehemence. She opened her mouth several times but nothing came out, her righteousness having fled. “Really?” “Yes…” I nuzzled Chrissy, she sounded exhausted again. On a brighter note the wind was slowing. Wanting to move on I started herding them out of this melancholy mood pushing them forward with my wings, both mares tails started twitching and they looked at me in surprise. But they started walking and I resumed my position between them. We had just caught sight of a stone building up ahead when I heard mare’s voice start singing. I couldn’t say for sure what she was singing, it was like opera in the sense that it was all about the feeling it evoked rather the words. Azure had heard it as well and looked into my face with a worried expression. “Ari?” Azure squeaked out. “Yes, whats up?” My answer brought relieve to her face, “That voice was what Barium heard before he got this dazed look on his face.” He really must not get out much if this lovely voice was enough to throw him off. “I mean it is a nice voice but I don’t see what the big deal is. Maybe he fancied her when he saw her?” She pinned her ears at me, “He would never!” I struck a nerve. “I knew it! You two are a couple!” Azure sputtered and blushed at my statement Before she could respond the owner of the voice appeared from the building. Azure said it was a monster. Well, I guess that was her crude way of saying that she and I have never seen anything like this mare before. She was equine in the basic shape: four legs and hooves, a golden mane and tail, and even a flank tattoo that seemed to be popular with the ponies. It was two musical notes. Her fur was a creamy yellow but the fur was only on her bottom half. It blended into pale yellow scales halfway up her back, they continued to cover her front half. Her muzzle was opened in song and showed sharp canines along with her equine teeth. A long horn spiralled out of her forehead and It was glowing pink as she locked her draconic yellow eyes with me. We stopped walking with about fifty feet between the house and us. I stared right back at the dragon pony, a shit eating grin coming over my face. “Hello, have you seen a pony named Barium? i could have sworn we misplaced him around here somewhere. You know how it is, you turn your back and 'poof' they just wander off.” I teased her. I knew she was part of the ponynappers but like I said, teasing was my coping mechanism. She stopped singing and blinked owlishly at me for a couple seconds. Chrissy and Azure looked confused as well, apparently my humor is off today. “Okay that was a bad. Look how about you just hand over the pony and we can call ourselves even. No need to fight.” Now Chrissy was just shaking her head at me and Azure was looking at me like I was crazy. But I really didn’t want to hurt her, before when I fought it was against smelly, scheming dogs. This was a mare and I just don’t feel right hitting her. Her answer to my question was to start singing, louder this time. It sounded almost sad as it cascaded from her throat, yet a touch of hopeful higher notes were mixed in. “You are a good singer but we didn’t come to listen.” Her eyes were tearing up now, “Woah there!” I held up a hoof. “No need to cry, I just meant that we actually have like three different missions going on right now and are short on time this time. If we pass through again I’m sure we will listen.” And now tears were running down her scales. What did I say? I mean I used to be a lady for crying out loud, I thought I was being very nice. Maybe I just don’t get mares. My thoughts were cut short as the shadows started to move in the building's doorway. A Kiss for the Victor.Ari The house had no window panes and no door in the doorway, but it was surprisingly modern with its square corners. I was almost expecting a round wooden hut or a tent as desert architecture, again this world surprises me. When the ‘bandits’ emerged from the house I felt my muscles tense on instinct and my wings start to ruffle at the presence they exuded. The air around them seemed to say ‘we kill ponies before breakfast’. My tail lashed back and forth, unintentionally hitting the mares as I tried to tame my rising instincts. I don’t blame Azure for running when she saw them, if I didn’t have to rescue Barium for her I wouldn’t ever approach them. The minotaur exited first. He had to duck his head and twist his horns to exit the doorway, standing at nine feet tall he towered over even me, I would be lying if i said his size didn't intimidate me. The greek legends of minotaurs didn’t do him justice. His tan hide showed off his many muscles and had long white scars littering it, showing he wasn’t new to fighting. A ox tail flicked between his white shorts and a smirk was plastered across his face. He made me both angry at his confident smirk and protective of Chrissy all in one glance. Taking him down was going to hard and I almost looked forward to the challenge. There was no way that he would just hand over Barium, he looked like the type of guy that relished fighting. And while i usually did not enjoy fighting for him i would make an exception. The two fellows following him must have been the Komonodors. Standing at five foot tall they were underwhelming compared to the minotaur. Like a lizard they had scales, one had a burnt sienna type color and the other was a light gray, there faces and neck were a pale white like a lizard’s underbelly. They both actually wore a full set of clothing, a white baggy shirt and matching pants. My eyes briefly focused on their tails but what really held my attention was the schimiters held in there hands. I knew what I was disarming first. Finally the three gryphons exited. They were the shortest being just taller than Azure. All three had tawny feathers and fur. They were almost as odd as looking at the dragon pony, their front half was an eagle while their back half was a lion. I didn’t know what to make of them. In terms of killing intent they actually felt the least likely to kill me, the crying mare being the least likely of course. She didn’t seem to be able to hurt a fly. While I was staring at them like a rube the mare had started talking to herself, “La la ymkn ‘an yakun!” Oh joy, they speak another language too, I hope Chrissy speaks it. The minotaur swaggered past the mare, not even acknowledging her presence. He was walking like he owned the desert itself and that made my eye twitch, I was willing to bet he was a cocky bastard of a bull. If there was one thing that made me angry it was cocky guys, they just rubbed me the wrong way. Back on Earth I usually ended up taking them down a peg or two, you see back when I was a woman I was just a ‘trophy’ for them to acquire. They just had to get the ‘hottie’ as they had put it, most got a quick kick to the balls instead. Not that I was a prude, I actually enjoyed sex a lot, in fact I swung both ways, I just had standards. Standards always were hard for them to get their under used brain cells around. His posey flanked his sides as we squared off, complete with a tumbleweed rolling between us. I couldn’t see Barium Seal but I could smell him, he was proably in the house. Which the muscle gang had conviently made a living wall in front of. I pinned my ears, We were going to be have to fix that. Chrissy had widened her stance beside me while Azure had flared her horn, a blue magic shining brightly. Looks like she does have more guts than I thought, I honestly expected her to be half way back across the dune by now. The minotaur spoke in a deep bellow of a voice, “Tabdu al’awladu, hisan haida!” I don’t know what he said but I didn’t like the way his followers chuckled at it. Were they making fun of us? Chrissy angry whispered in my ear, “He just called us whorses.” I’m not surprised that she can speak his Saddle Arabian considering she had been here before, this will actually make this easier. But I don’t know why she was angry, we are horses after all. Was it an insult? Like calling an African American the N word? “Why are you angry? What does that mean?” I whispered back, ears turning to her, curious to know the answer. She snorted, “It means we are sexually promiscoussss.” She hissed the last word in anger. I almost felt sorry for them, she was PMSing hard, and unless her mood changed I wouldn’t be surprised if she slaughtered them. Also now I had another reason to hate him, I was never one to sleep around. Which is probably why the thought of sleeping with two strange mares horrifies me, that and I wasn't asked. It wouldn't have helped but I would feel better. Azure heard Chrissy and her face turned red from anger, she snorted before focusing her horn on the bull. He sure knew how to piss ponies off. The dragon mare was crying louder behind the Minotaur, I felt horrible. I probably said something really rude. “Chrissy, any idea what I said that upset her this much?” I continued to whisper. “Mahlaan…: The bull said quietly looking at us, i think his eye twitched. “No.” Dragon mare walked up to the Minotaur sniffling as she tried to compose herself, “ Jabbar raja-.” I couldn’t understand her but she sounded desperate. Whatever she was going to say was lost as he kicked her backwards, sending her sprawling on the sand. “Eahirat hadia. La taftarid alaitisal bi bialasm.” I didn’t need to know what he said to know it was condescending, cocky bullshit. My eye twitched, he just hit her. “What did he say? I couldn’t hear it over the smell of his bullshit.” I spoke loudly this time, narrowing my eyes at the bull. He snorted before switching to Equus, of course he could speak Equus. “The name is Jabbar. My sincerest apologies for the rude behavior of my eahira, she forgets her place. She is usually an obedient eahira but she seems to be overcome with the female condition. I’m sure you understand?” he gave me a smirk at the end. I don't know what a eahira was but I didn't like his tone, it sounded like a derogatory term if I ever heard one. Azure and Chrissy snorted, readying their horns. Jabbar didn’t seem to even see them as a threat, looking me in the eye instead. I know I should stay cool, hear him out, but I just wanted to pummel him. “I'm afraid I don’t.” I lifted my wings spreading them above my head. “We are here for the pony you took, hand him over.” I purposely didn’t give him a 'or else' option, I didn’t think I was getting out of here without a fight, and after his bullshit I would love a reason to lay into him. Leveling my eyes with him I waited for his choice. “A Alicorn?!” He looked stunned for a moment before shaking his head. “Now I have seen everything, what alfuju did you crawl out from pony? There is no black Alicorns, much less a stallion. You think I’m a MAJNUN, A MUHIMAT SAHLA?!” Well someone has a temper. His gryphons looked annoyed, shifting their claws in the sand. The Komondors grinned at me, getting into a crouch, scimitars moved to their sides. The mare had gotten up and pink magic enveloped her horn as she stared me down,her tears gone but in their place a dead eyed look had taken over. In response, Azure stepped away from my side and widened her stance, while Chrissy started to chew something, her cheeks filling out. “I’m afraid I can’t hand him over, I have to eat you see. Alqabd ealayha!” I didn’t need to know what he said at the end, his tone said it all. Let the fight begin. With a downstroke I sailed upwards, looking down I saw I made the right choice, the Komondors were crouched where I just stood, scimitars buried in the sand. They looked up at me and I grinned triumphantly at them before a gryphon shaped rocket collided with my stomach. It sent us a good hundred feet back in the air and stole my breath. He tried to raise his head, snapping his beak, as I corrected my flight. Now hovering we grappled midair, pushing his head into my armpit for a chokehold. Beak immobilized and tail whipping around, I grabbed his wings with my hooves, and began twisting them back. He gave a silent cry at the pain, but before I could snap them I heard Azure cry out from below. Below a battle raged. Chrissy had just spit some sort of slime in Jabbar’s face, the bull was momentarily blinded, before she turned and faced the Komondors. Her magic was holding back the swords but both the Komondors and Chrissy were sweating in the struggle. Several feet away, Azure was lying on the ground her horn sputtering blue sparks as the dragon mare stood on it. Nononononoonon! I grabbed the gryphon in my magic and sent him crashing down beside the dragon mare, the resulting crash wave sent her flying back from Azure. Now where wer-. I was hit from behind and started plummeted towards the ground as my wings vibrated in pain from the gryphon projectiles. Two sets of arms were clamped around my barrel, the talons digging into my chest and drawing beads of blood. With the ground approaching I started to spin myself into a barrel roll, their claws dug in further trying to keep their holds. While I was willing to bet that my magic couldn’t release their grip I knew could use it for other things. Azure met my eyes as I descended faster, she struggled to get her hooves under her, failing to do so, but that was okay. I waited till the last second to use my magic, a good scare is good for these bird brains. Just before I touched Azure a golden translucent step appeared, then more formed stairs, as they appeared and disappeared as I climbed higher I couldn't help but grin. I was now ascending the magic borne stairs at a gallop, the gryphons gripping me in fear rather than intent to harm now. The fight was but a speck below me when I dissipated the last step and entered a sharp, spiraling descent, my wings tucking in as much as they could with my opponents still attached. Halfway through the descent one let go and flew clumsy away from my descent. I grinned and adjusted my angle. Looking for Jabbar I spotted him starting to charge at Chrissy, horns lowered to impale. With the remaining gryphon holding me in a death grip I started towards the bull. We locked eyes, we were going too fast to stop now. Narrowing my eyes I tucked my neck in and I bit the gryphon’s talon. His screech of pain spurred me on as I turned my body. The gryphon met jabbar’s head straight on but I still felt like I was hit by a truck. Overhead the blue sky blurred and refocused, I was lying on my back free of gryphons. Turning my head I saw what remained of my cushion, his spine was broken, poking out of his fur. It would have hurt had he lived through the crash. Behind the body the bull was sprawled on his back. His chest was still rising, damn it! Chrissy was still fighting the Komondors. Before I coud go help her Azure appeared over me panting. “Don’t do that EVER again Ari!” I grinned up at her, “Come on I was just joking with you!” She glared at me, I needed to help Chrissy and end this fight. “Think you could find your stallionfriend while I finish this fight?” It was like I turned on the lights, she seemed to get a second wind before galloping over Jabbar on towards the house. They totally were a couple. Wobbling to my hooves I balanced with my wings, my vision was now swimming but at least I could focus again. I focused on the gray komondor, grabbing his sword in my magic I swung the hilt down where the sun doesn’t shine. He went down snout contorted into a silent wail. What, it was fair. First rule in fighting: there are no rules. Chrissy’s whimper of pain brought me back, she had the tip of the other sword jabbed in her shoulder, the magic that was combating the blade flickering in its hold. A rush of adrenaline hit me as I reared up whinnying my anger at him, he looked at me just in time to see the scimitar decapitate him. Killing him was easy, not that i'm a killer but when they threaten what is mine the restriction that 'I can’t kill' disappears… Speaking of disappearing, Where had that other gryphon gone to? Looking around at the scene I made my way to Chrissy, two dead bodies, two were alive but unconscious, and two were missing. I didn’t see where the dragon mare landed and the other gryphon must have fluttered off somewhere. All in all a successful battle, the only way it could get better is if Barium is still alive. A grieving mare would slow down our quest a bit. “Hey-“ I went to brush my muzzle against her cheek, she turned her head to talk to me, and then it happened. We kissed, our lips pressed together through our poorly planned movements. I looked into her sea green eyes in surprise and saw her surprise fade, eyes closing as she pressed against my lips. The kiss increased in passion, from accident it morphed into purposeful exploration. My head turned as I started to deepen it, she didn’t seem to mind. I could feel my wings stiffen and rise into the air but it didn’t matter, she pressed her tongue against my teeth, I opened my mouth for her and our tongues met with a moan. “WOW! And here you were teasing me about Bari being my coltfriend when your friend is really your marefriend.” Azure smirked at me with a dazed Barium Seal at her side. We blushed and parted looking at each other then at Azure. “What?!” We all shouted at Azure. “I’m your coltfriend?” Barium looked like he was on cloud nine, a goofy smile on his muzzle. “…took you long enough, I wondered what I had to do to get you to back off!” “You-“ Wait what did Chrissy just say? I looked at Chrissy, she wasn’t looking at me a deep red blush covering her muzzle. Did she just say that? “Sorry, I think I misheard you Chrissy, what did you say?” My heart was practically beating out of my chest. She sighed as our audience watched on in fascination, “I said, ‘Ari will you be my stallion and have me as your marefriend’.” I blinked at her I did not know what to say, we were kind of in the middle of desert surrounded by our dead or unconscious enemies. But I might as well say the truth anyway, “Chrissy, I know we haven’t known each for very long so I can’t truthfully say that I’m madly in love with you right now like a stallion should be. But I really like you as an individual. You get my humor, are kind, caring, and I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention how beautiful you are. I guess what I mean is I really like you and I wouldn’t mind seeing where being your stallion might lead.” Giving her a little nervous smile i shuffled my hooves. This was always the awkward part in a relationship, the uncertainty, the exploration, and at the same time this was one of the best parts. The time when a relationship begins. Azure awed at me, “Now that is a soo sweet! Why can’t you ask me like that Bari? Ari that was soo romantic, I wish-.” She never got to finish her wish as a frustrated Barium kissed her. As if that was her cue Chrissy turned back to me and kissed me hard, I could get used to this, the kisses not the dead bodies. Heck , it would probably be both. The Sand has Eyes.Chrysalis I can’t believe how clueless Ari is. Through the walk through the desert, which was a part of the rescue mission that he signed us up for I might add; I was trying to ward off the turquoise menace. Azure was reading too much into his help and thought he wanted her as a marefriend when really Ari was just too nice to not help a mare in need. While trying to protect my claim I was also trying to persist with the foalish notion that I wasn’t in heat. The latter was truly justified, in the nearly five hundred years I have been alive I have never entered estrus, it just never happened. My mother obviously experienced the heat, but she had experienced her first one at one hundred years old not as late as I have. The best way I understood it from her is that the most long lived creatures such as Queen and king Changelings as well as Alicorns had the hardest time reproducing; it was nature’s population failsafe. If we entered estrus as often as ponies did the world would be overpopulated with creatures living up to ten thousand years old; the math still terrified me as much as it did when she first told me. However the failsafe was also a curse, Alicorns were down to just three mares and there was just myself for the changeling race now. Stallions of any species had this habit of charging into battle for some reason and dying, crazy I know. But back to the problem at hand, I knew she could clearly smell me over his face and wings but the mare still insisted on challenging my claim. Okay, it wasn’t official then but I still intended to have him, I was willing to wait too. This wasn’t my heat talking either; I liked him for more than his body. He actually cared for me, was protective, and had a good sense of humor. But I digress, he was a gentlestallion so I shouldn’t have been shocked that she took a liking to him. He had a stallion attitude that most were missing from their soft lifestyles, hence why most were ‘coltfriends’ not ‘stallions’. That doesn’t mean I had to accept her interest without a fight though. But I couldn’t just fight her without getting his acceptance as a marefriend first, not only would that confuse him it would probably scare him away. I don’t think I could handle it if I lost him, I had nothing left in this world. Just short of directly confronting her I was impeding her attempts. When she put her head on his chest I struggled to silence my warning growl, that is when she knew that I wasn’t going to physically touch her like a real challenge even though I had my scent all over him. Then she felt bolder and hugged him. I could feel his surprise and enjoyment at her hug and lost some restraint, he was looking at the dune, and she had her legs wide open to attack. That’s how she learned physical contact was still fair game if he couldn’t see me do it. Ari didn’t even seem to acknowledge my intent. While at first I thought he wasn’t interested, it hit me that he may have different courting practices on Earth. It became that that was true when Azure had the gall to flag her tail at him, a screaming sign that said ‘rut me’ to any stallion. He was just feeling confused at the display; even so, I retaliated with what I could safely do: glaring and wafting my own scent over hers, my tail was working overtime as it flicked to spread my scent. However that is all in the past now, we have Barium with us now and had some new resources. Jabbar and his gang had probably stolen them anyway. We were ready, I had healed myself from that small nick that Ari insisted on fussing over, I really had to show him healing magic when we had some down time. Ari was now wearing a white thobe and a set of saddle bags were draped over each of our backs. In them we had water, food, money, a compass, and a map. The ponies didn’t even protest when we took them, they looked nervous, but lost it when Ari pointed out the conclusion that I had come to as well. Those brutes were slave traders, among the other diversions I believed they did. The Minotaur looked almost like a hired thug, a successful thug if his exotic, hybrid eahira was any indicator. Azure was thankfully walking pressed to her new coltfriend’s side leaving me to have Ari all to myself, my stallion. I could feel my heart race every time I thought of him. Not only was he my first stallionfriend but he was the first stallion I actually had a long term interest in, he actually had the same lifespan as me. And our first kiss, oh, it sent my tail twitching just remembering it. I was going to have to tell him about my heat soon, perhaps when we were alone again. I shuddered as a sudden chill went over my chitin. What was that? I looked around and even above at Celestia’s sun, but nothing was there. Now, where was I? Azure was walking with her coltfriend and I had my stallion. We weren’t alone yet but soon enough we would be. My gentlestallion had generously offered to walk them to the Equestrian border, which was about three days of travel away if we don’t hit any sandstorms. Then we would double back and find out why I was a wanted mare, I wasn’t naïve on that matter, it was going to be trouble. This wasn't the tame Equestrian rulers that wanted me for my invasion like they easily could have, no it was Saddle Arabia, a country I hadn’t been to for several hundred years. I hadn't a clue what they wanted. A silence had fallen over us, I could feel Ari’s happiness, love, and nervousness. Then I felt curiosity enter him. “Why were you guys in the Diamond Mountains anyway? That seems a long way to go for a date with your coltfriend.” I looked at the new couple, my ears perked forward, this should be good. Azure and Barium looked guilty at each other. “We were leaving Equestria, we just couldn’t handle the princess’s decision to bring back that barbaric old law. Azure didn't agree with the law as well so we ran.” We both blinked at the couple, my ears slowly flattening as a inkling of an idea at what law they meant. “What law is this?” Ari asked, tensing under his thobe. I pressed my muzzle against his cheek. “You really haven’t heard?" Azure looked at our expressions in shock, before a look of pity entered her eyes. “No.” But I had a good guess, I just hope I was just being a insecure foal, making a anthill into a mountain. “The herding law was brought back." Buck. "Basically all single stallions must be paired with as many mares as they can handle. Azure was my best friend and I loved her but she was single and I was single. I don’t want anyone but her-“ Azure nuzzled him at that. “-But I knew some unwilling mares would get matched to me and Azure might have ended up with somepony else.” I looked at Ari’s face as anger came through his fur through the thobe, ears pinned he looked ready to bite somepony. Barium thought so too as he backed up with his mare before nodding at Ari. “I understand how you feel as well, it is a scary and cruel law. It was chaos when we left, we weren’t the only ones leaving either.” “Ari?” He let loss a string of explelatives that had Azure and Barium spluttering at, those princesses were really in for it. Calming down with some snorts he responded, “Well now I wonder what the hell you are thinking going back to such a backwards place. I mean, herding has been dead forever for a reason right? Why change it?” I didn’t have the heart to point out that the country we were in practised it still, somehow I didn’t feel that would make him feel better. “Well for starters, with our birth rates so low we are looking at a population problem in the near future. Not enough foals are being born and less colts are being born as well. I mean no offense but I think the princesses were crazy for going down this route. We don’t want to return but we see now we can’t make it outside of Equestria.” They both looked dejected and Ari looked sad but didn’t argue with them. I mean Azure was beaten by that mare in less than ten seconds and that mare was the weakest member of the group. What Azure added made my blood boil and ears go back, “I actually feel sorry for you now Chrysalis, as a Alicorn, Ari will be able to handle multiple mares easily-“ I narrowed my eyes at her. “-not mention he is the ONLY Alicorn stallion, I think the princesses will want to meet him for that reason alone. You don’t have any brothers Ari? Anymore Alicorns that could help them in your stead?” I think Azure was going for helpful with those last couple of questions, but it failed. Ari was radiating sadness now. “Nope, just me.” He looked down as we walked, anger fading and ears dropping at the reminder that he could probably never get home. Azure and Barium picked up on his mood and grew silent. We walked on over the sand dunes in silence after that, I tried to comfort him as best I could with nuzzles but I could feel his deep sorrow. I wanted to erase it so badly. **** Saddle Arabia Ari I know exactly why I was brought here, exactly what I am required to do, but it doesn’t mean I agree with all of it. Saving this planet wouldn’t be so bad if there was a set timeline, a set time to return home. Not that I didn’t like being with Chrissy but the thought of my home still made me miss it, I wouldn’t mind it if I had the option to return. Listening to Chrissy’s breathing, smelling her scent, and feeling her presence was comforting to me and reminded me of a good reason I couldn’t leave: my marefriend. From the beginning I thought Chrissy was beautiful. But as she opened up, fought by my side, and listened to me I realized how much I really liked her, maybe even loved her. My thoughts were derailed at a sound, I halted and Chrissy stopped as well. Our ears started to swivel as we kept our heads high and scanned the horizons. Nothing but boulders in the distance to our left and right, ahead there was nothing as well. Was it the gryphon? Looking up I saw a clear sky, not even a cloud floated by. Azure and Barium turned back to us. “What is the problem?” Barium started looking around as well, the feeling of being watched wasn’t just felt by us. A shiver passed through me in the heat, goosebumps forming along my back. “We are being watched.” Chrissy spoke quietly as she swivaled her ears behind me. I understood her meaning and looked Barium in the eyes before swiveling my ears back then forward. He narrowed his eyes and Azure started looking around wildly as she caught on. At a normal tone I spoke, “It was nothing, lets keep going the first town should be up ahead soon. “ With that we moved out again but it was hard to get the earlier mood back after the topic of home and then the knowledge that something was watching us. I don’t even want to know what creatures existed in this desert, the Diamond dogs were ugly enough. I wanted to know something though. Looking at Chrissy I turned my ears forward, “Can you teach me how to speak Saddle Arabian?” She cocked her head at me before chuckling, “Yes, I suppose you do need to be able to order for us.” What did she mean? She must have caught my look because she gave a strained smile, “Saddle Arabia is still a very chauvinistic country compared to Equestria. Here they still practice herding, for the same reasons Sunbutt has reinstated the old herding law. Here stallions are expected to be in charge, not that you will have a problem with that my hubun.” Chrissy purred the foreign word over her tongue with what i'm sure was lust, her tail twitched and hit me. I latched onto the first thing I could think of, “ ‘Hoo-bun’?” I pronounced it, it felt strange rolling off my tongue. “Love.” She purred out with a half lidded look. Azure watched us, turned Barium and said, “My hubun.” Barium repeated it back to her with a smile on his face. They made a good couple. “ ‘Ahbak.” Chrissy purred at me. “ Ah-ba-ka.” I repeated back to her, ignoring her active tail. “I love you.” We continued on like that for the next hour, I was eventually remembering the basic phrases in small sentences like ‘marhabaan aismi Ari’, which was ‘hello my name is Ari’. In that time Azure and Barium had moved to walk beside Chrissy and I, they were very interested in learning a new language. Not to mention it was being taught by an icky changeling, who would have thought that they could change. Our lesson was interrupted as we noticed the sun moving, we had thirty minutes at the best to find shelter for the night. This was extremely inconvenient, I couldn’t wait till it moved on it's own. Breaking into a trot we headed to the left, where two hundred feet away a small collection of large rocks formed a slightly protected clearing. I could have sworn I heard someone behind me, but looking back I saw nothing but sand flying from hooves and a setting sun. The rocky clearing was sparse with a few scraggly bushes being the only vegetation, they were practically tumbleweeds. We slowed down as we entered the clearing, trotting done for the day. I slid my saddle bags off my shoulder, hearing a satisfying clunk as my new supplies landed on the rock. Using my magic I removed my thobe from my body, it was like wearing a giant bed sheet with the way it just slipped onto my neck. But it hid my wings. I folded it in my magic as Chrissy rubbed her body alongside me as she walked ahead to pick out a spot on the wall. Her tail lingered a second longer than I expected and I caught a blast of her scent, causing a stirring below. Floating my thobe and bags over to her I laid down beside her. Across from us Azure and Barium had settled down beside each other. Eating an oat cake I prepared for bed, wing over Chrissy and my thobe over both of us as a ward against the growing chill. The sun had left only to be replaced by a crescent moon, the night was beautiful though. Good nights exchanged with Azure and Barium I turned to Chrissy, “Tusbih ealaa khayr, ‘iinaa ahbk.” Good night, I love you. She purred sleepily and replied, “Ahbk ‘aydaan.” I love you too. I was feeling very happy with life in this moment, I had a beautiful marefriend and I was learning my first second language, this world was being good to me. I settled my head down as a day’s worth of fighting and walking caught up to me. A breeze ran through my feathers I cracked my eyes not quite ready to get up. The sun was just starting to rise. In my blurry vision I saw a yellow pony like shape holding my thobe to up to their face, really Barium? What are you doing? I yawned and closed my eyes, I felt so sleepy after everything. The oat cakes hadn’t even touched my appetite. Another breeze ruffled my feathers and Chrissy scrunched her face as she moved closer to me. “Barium give me back my thobe. The air is still cold, yah knooowww!” Another yawn left my muzzle as I felt my blanket float onto my back, much better. As I drifted back asleep, the smell of water lilies drifted by and quiet hoof steps echoed in my ears. “Ari! Why did you drink all my water?!” I opened my eyes and looked over at Chrissy in confusion, she stood in front of our bags holding her canteen upside down. “I didn’t touch your water *yawn* Ask Barium, he was messing with my thobe before. He took it earlier this morning but he did give it back when I asked. Though I don’t think you want the water back now.” I snickered at my joke earning me a light jab from Chrissy’s hoof as she walked past, over to her unsuspecting victim. Barium was hugging Azure in his sleep, a innocent grin on his muzzle. I stood and stretched before joining her in gazing down at his sleeping form. “What are you going to do to the water thief o' mare of mine?” despite my previously awkward morning wood I felt very mischievous this morning, Chrissy grinned at my question before yelling “GRUUUU Y RAW” , right in his ear. We all jumped in the air at Chrissy, she sounded just like a Diamond dog! Barium landed on his hooves as Azure stumbled on her hooves. “What the buck is your problem Chrysalis?!” Azure screamed in Chrissy’s face. “I was just waking your coltfriend here with some Grumbleshooke, I thought I let him off easy considering he drank all my water.” Grumbleshooke? Barium looked confused, “What?! I haven’t touched your water! Did you Azure?” She shook her head and we all looked at each other. “I thought it was you, Barium, cause you took my thobe around sunrise.” I said slowly having a bad feeling about this. He looked freaked out now, “I wasn’t awake earlier and I didn’t touch your thobe…” He trailed off and we all looked at each other fear reflecting in our eyes. Our stalker had gotten bolder; we had almost forgotten that we being watched with all the fun we were having learning Saddle Arabian. What Was That About Letting Your Guard Down?Ari After waking like that we stuck around just long enough to check the map, Ras Taneighra was the first city we would hit today. Most cities were within a day’s walk of each other so we only had to hit another couple cities before we could drop the new couple off at the border. I for one was looking forward to that, I had questions for Chrissy that I felt I just shouldn’t ask in front of them. No need for them to know exactly how ignorant i was to Equus culture. Like what did all the tail language mean? Sometimes I knew, like flicking it in anger, but what did the other body language mean? With how much she was doing it a lot, I felt like I must be missing a whole conversation in the culture I didn’t know. Speaking of stuff I don’t know about, whatever took Chrissy’s water. There wasn’t any hoofprints, or anything sign that someone was there except the water having been drunk, but there was the question of what they were thinking taking my thobe but giving it back when I asked. Did thieves just function on a different mindset here or was it just a lost traveler….yah I didn’t believe the latter either. “So riddle me this: What stalker is also a thief, is yellow, and returns things if asked?” Okay my riddle wasn’t that good but it wasn’t too cringe worthy. I looked at the group, yup there was no cringing. “I said I didn’t do it!” Barium said in frustration from his position walking beside me. “I know I didn’t say you did, I said something yellow did. I was half asleep and only saw a blurry yellow pony shape holding my thobe to their face.” Well now I was receiving raise eyebrows and frowns. “and you just…”Azure looked confused. “I asked for it back of course and you gently floated onto my back…” I trailed off as something hit me, Barium didn’t have a horn. “Well now that I review it, that doesn’t add up. You’re not secretly magical are you Barium?” He shook his head as he stepped around a tumbleweed, they were popping up more and more as we got closer to civilization. Chrissy looked confused, “The thief had your thobe to their face? Like holding it in their mouth or …?” She trailed off as my face morphed into a look of disgust. I realized that the pony had had my it held up to their nose, like they were sniffing it. I felt a little creeped out now, just a little. It’s not every day somepony comes in the wee hours of the morning to sniff my clothing and steal water. As my muzzle scrunched up I looked behind us, was it listening even now? How had we not seen it in this endless sea of sand? “Ari is it there?” I turned back to Chrissy, “I don’t know, I just don’t get it. The pony was holding it to their nose sniffing it. They would have seen my wings so I don’t know why did nothing, I mean everyone I have ever met here is all ‘look a Alicorn’. This whole thing doesn’t make sense.” Azure looked contemplative, “maybe they are just following us till we reach a town but are too scared to show themselves.” Barium gave her a dead eye stare, “The pony was sniffing his clothes! Not to mention we haven’t seen anyone besides those slavetraders, where would this lost pony come from, I haven’t seen any tracks.” I looked back at Azure who was wilting a little as her theory came under fire, “I just thought that what the pony was doing to Ari and us didn’t seem mean...” “It drank my water! Do you know how expensive water is here? I do, it cost me ten bits for a liter last time. With the drought they have now water is probably double to triple that price now, at least that much.” I gave her cheek a kiss, “You can share mine. We still have around two hundred bits and we can always get more.” She deflated a little before looking ahead and perking up. We followed her gaze and saw the barest dozens and dozens of beige dots, this must be Ras Taneighra. According to Chrissy it was one of the smaller cities, the furthest inward from the border, and a bustling trading post town. Or it had been last time she was here. I really wanted to know exactly how old she was, maybe I should just ask? A wave of magic brushed my side, I looked over and saw a gray one winged pegasis. We all jumped away from it in surprise. Then Chrissy’s voice came from it’s mouth, “Really you forgot how we met already? I thought this form would cause less trouble than my real look.” Her eyes looked a little pained before a mischievous look came over her eyes. “Ohh-“ I didn’t even to finish my sentence when she launched herself at my face, lips attaching to mine. We were sent tumbling down the dune we had just climbed. I grabbed a hold of her barrel, kissing her back. My tongue asked for permission that she quickly gave me with a long moan and my trapped wings stiffened at her response, she was kissing me like a mad mare as her tail was twitching and flicking my inner thighs. I turned my head, wrestling her tongue harder; this seemed to turn her on, as she started grinding her newly furred belly against my sheath. It sent shots of pleasant tingles down my spine and I groaned loudly, this really wasn’t fair to me, I mean with her smelling like she did and her ministrations I was going to be very uncomfortable for the rest of the walk. “Really?!” Chrissy raised her chest from mine breaking the kiss, thankfully not yet removing her body from mine. I was a little indecent right now. Azure and Barium stood looking at us with withering looks, Azure’s tail was twitching again, and Barium’s eye twitched as he glanced at Azure I could only blink at them, the kiss had been hot and I got lost in it a little, okay a lot. Nothing wrong with that but the mood was fading under their presence. “what? I was reliving a moment, cant you wait?” she slid back over my arousal and I threw my head back as the pressure felt just right. I don’t remember quite so much kissing and grinding when we met but I wasn’t going to complain. “Perhaps a-another time hubun?” I pleaded with my eyes, looking back the way we came. The message hit its mark as she got off me and started scanning the dunes behind me. “Fine, lets get going. And from now to the border I am ‘Silver Stream’.” And with her acquiescence I dusted myself off and we started up the dune again. Funny how knowing you are being watched by a something can kill a erection. As we drew closer to the city I noticed how the sand turned into a brick road, one of three brick roads leading into the main city street. All the streets were laid brick but we could hardly see the street for all the ponies and other creatures milling about. These ponies looked more refined than Azure and Barium, taller, and more fine boned in their legs and faces. I still was taller than them but only by a small amount, they came up to the base of my neck. Other creatures such as Minotaurs and Komondors intermingled in what looked like a market place, stalls and rugs spread out with many different wares. Chrissy kept close to me as calls from vendors rang out throughout the market, we were hardly given any notice by the other shoppers as others came trickling into town from the other two roads. Unlike the desolate and modern house Jabbar had inhabited the houses in town were actually pleasant half houses. That is to say half of the house was above ground and the other half was below, small stairwells were near every house. There was actual glass in the windows and doors in the doorways. The city was divided into blocks, around twenty blocks in all held the populace of Ras Taneighra. That made it very crowded and hard for our group to manage to stay together. We were heading straight down main street when we reached the town square, well it really a circle but that’s not the point. When we arrived I spoke to Chrissy, “Alyasar?” Left? Chrissy nodded and we continued down the left street, I’m sure it had a name but I couldn’t see any street signs. Weaving through the vendors I nearly froze as goose pimples went across my fur, I nudged Chrissy’s cheek to get her attention. I flicked my ears back and forth slowly which was now a universal sign for ‘we were being followed’. She nodded and her eyes flicked around, the crowd continue moving ignoring us, no one even looking from their busy day. Then she stopped and facehooved, my eyebrow raised in confusion. “Ma alkhata’a?” What is wrong? Arabian isn’t really soo hard, however I only say that because I only just learned basic questions. If a local asked me anything I probably wouldn’t know what they said, which is where Chrissy comes in. In this country, apparently the stallion does most of the talking which is fine until except I don’t speak Arabian well enough after just a one day crash course. Not to mention, If we spoke any Equuis here we would be instant targets for all the thieves and con artists in a two kilometer radius. However that was all according to the Saddle Arabia Chrissy remembers from two hundred years ago, but as she puts it “peaceful ponies aren’t quick to change”. I couldn’t help but agree with her there. “Azure. Barium.” Her disguised wing fluttered its feathers as I looked around, they were gone. My ears went back, I wanted to curse god right now, of course leading them to the border wouldn’t be easy. Nothing was easy on this planet. Now we had to find them and get more water, luckily a turquoise mare stands out here. Most of the Arabians were shades of brown, red, orange, and yellow. Some were gray, white, or black, but those were the uncommon colors. I jerked my back and we began moving in sync back to the square, all the while I felt like someone was watching me. We were forced to stop as up ahead two stallions had gotten into a brawl, over what I didn’t know but a crowd had formed blocking out my view and the road as well. Chrissy and I exchanged a scowl, just our luck. I cocked my head in the direction of a alleyway to our right to which she shook her head negatory. Watching her face I saw it morph from boredom, irritation, and most interesting was lust. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure about the last one, I mean why would she feel- “Barium!!” Azure’s panicked screech called out up ahead somewhere, crap. Had she lost him? Going with my gut I threw my head towards the crowd and Chrissy fell into step with me. We didn’t get far before we couldn’t move again. That was it, no more being polite. I snorted and pinned my ears at the stallion in front of me, the stallion’s face went from amused to fearful as he craned his neck up to look me in the eyes. After the stallion moved five mares followed his lead which caught the attention of the crowd ahead of me. Not feeling like using my words I simply gave them a stern look which caused the crowds to part in patches, as the herds moved as one out of our way. Getting closer Chrissy’s tail started flicking me again and the dim sound of the fight became clearer. “Omphh!” Barium just went flying from a hoof to the muzzle, his opponent was orange colt with a greasy mane. I snorted, was he really fighting someone younger than him? And even more embarrassing he was losing, I didn’t Azure to see her new coltfriend like this. Taking the last step into the fight circle the catcalls and battering grew silent, Azure met my eyes from the sides, pleading , “Musaeada Ari.” Help Ari. The colt had a black eye and looked angry, probably one of those boys with chips on their shoulder. I snorted and our eyes met, “Tawaquf.” Stop. He snorted with confidence before he looked at Chrissy confusion evident. “Ladayk faqat fars wahid, hal ‘ant ks?” His arrogant tone annoyed me, I believe he just insulted me. Looking at Chrissy I confirmed it, her one wing was twitching in anger as her ears were pinned back. The only thing stopping her from tearing into him was the crowd, we didn't need anymore attention. So we had to take the high road, no matter how unsatisfying it could be. I ignored him and we walked over to Barium’s downed form, Chrissy glued to my side. Barium was panting and had blood leaking from his nostril. He’d live. “Mahlaan, Kus!” I rolled my eyes at the colt as I nudged Barium, he didn’t get up. “Azure!” She came running over and I started levitating him to my back. Halfway through levitating Barium I felt something hit me, it wasn’t painful it was more like getting a basketball to the arm. The colt had attempted to punch me, I say attempt because he was probably never fought if his strength was any indicator. Giving them the attention they want only sends the wrong message, so i carried on. With Barium on my back and Azure on my other side looking at him worriedly we began to leave, a path already opening as they saw me approach. Finally we could get on with this trip, we still had a planet to save as well. Then the brat bit my tail. Chrissy and Azure scrambled out of the way as I swung around, unprepared for that, my tail slipped out of the colt’s mouth. I pulled back my head before I reached down and bit his neck. This not only made me feel better but it also seemed to freeze him in shock. Waiting for a second I realized he wasn’t going to retaliate. So, adjusting Barium I made my way to the open path with Chrissy and Azure rejoining me, Chrissy’s tail was raised high. Which reminded me I had to learn more on the body language here, some was universal like the eyebrow raise but others I had no context for. Humans didn’t have tails and the only tail language I got was that some tail swishing meant somepony was annoyed. Drama over with, the crowd resumed its chaotic state. I picked up the pace to a fast walk as I restrained my curiosity and anger. I wanted to know how in the world Barium managed to pick a fight in the ten minutes we had been in town, not to mention I was angry over that same fact. We were supposed to be keeping a low profile, pass through here, then we would go through Jozan, then the border town: Taymare. It was supposed to be foal proof! Chrissy nudged me and I looked at where she was looking: a water vendor was coming up. Exactly what we needed, I changed direction and we made our way over, the sign had number sixty written beside a pictograph of a canteen. Looks like the price has gone up, with that we could only fill three of the six we had. Yes, we took all of his canteens, he took traded in ponies so i think it was a more than fair exchange. He got pain and I got supplies. “Ma’ min, fadlik.” I levitated the coin purse and three of the canteens to Chrissy, letting her hoof over the bits and fill the canteens. From up on my back Barium was stirring, he looked around before he met my gaze, ears dropping he settled back on my back. That’s right, you know what you did. With a lighter coin purse and full canteens we finally left the city, in front of us lay another expanse of dunes and tumbleweeds. I think I could even see a small skeleton of a tree in the distance. As the road disappeared back into sand I switched back to Equuis. “What happened to keeping a low profile?” I placed him back on the ground, it was impossible to lose him out here. Azure immediately started nuzzling him, she stopped when she brushed by his eye and he winced. Her horn glowed blue as his black eye faded to a yellow eye, looking like it was nearly gone instead of just happened. I needed to learn how to do that. Barium looked sheepishly at me, “He called Azure an eahira-“He spat at that, “Azure is not a whorse!” I could already see him getting worked up; he was a sweet stallion that way. He had a good sense of right and wrong, although he lacked the skills to back his chivalry up. We started up another dune as I sighed at his foolishness, I had babysat one too many brats to fall for their teasing. “You know he was just a foal right? He probably thought Azure was pretty and did what all awkward colts do: pick on the filly they like most. I have foal sat a fair number of brats to recognise that.” Everyone looked shocked, “What?” I looked around and saw nothing. Chrissy nuzzled my neck, “You actually took the time to take care of other’s foals, most stallions won't foal sit, ever. That is soo sweet, you wou-.” She caught herself and I raised an eyebrow to coax her on but she just shook her head. “You are a real stallion.” My chest still puffed out at her praise, i know she was just distracting me, but I think I was alright with that. Barium picked up his pace, did that hurt his feelings? Transitioning into a trot we caught up with him. “You know there isn’t anything wrong with being you, everyone is different. I like to believe that opposites are nessceary in life.” He remained silent. “And sometimes it isn’t what the world wants it’s what you feel comfortable with, Azure seems to like you the way you are. Isn’t that what counts?” no response, oh well I might as well let him wallow if he wants to. I broke into a gallop up the next hill with Chrissy at my side; we were almost out of sight of Ras Traneighra which meant her disguise could come off. We had another day before we reached Jozan, a lot of desert to cover. At the top we finally couldn’t see the city anymore and Chrissy slumped against me as a green fire destroyed her disguise. I couldn’t help but smile at her true form, it had been strange to see the small round pegasis when I’m used to a tall, sleek Chrissy. Pulling back I gave her a kiss, “I missed the real you.” My stomach growled. Chrissy giggled, which is adorable, “Thank you-“ She nuzzled my cheek and twitched her tail. “- lets head over to the rock and have some lunch.” Azure’s and Barium’s stomachs growled in concurance. Shade cooled our fur and chitin as we settled against the cool stone, today’s lunch: apples and trail mix. If this world had anything going for it it was the delicious food, the apple crunched just right and was only slightly warm from the desert, but the sweetness more than made up for that. I heard a stomach grumble. “Did someone want seconds?” Chrissy whispered, “That wasn’t us.” Everyone was tense now and I paused mid bite, it was still following us. What should I do? It wasn’t attacking, or really doing anything besides costing us an extra sixty bits…actually that sucked, I didn’t have any income here so every bit was going to count. we couldn’t just let it steal from us again tonight. Finishing my apple, I stood and looked around, trying to hear its reaction,“look whatever, whoever you are we have nothing of value, so following us going to get you nowhere. Come on out and we can talk this out.” A shuffling from above us, looking up but I couldn’t see anypony, it might be invisible... That probably is possible in this world, I wish we could turn invisible. Then it hit me, we were in Saddle Arabia, it might not speak Equuis. I turned to Chrissy, “Can you try repeating that in Arabian? It just occurred to me that our stalker might not speak Equuis.” And soo she did, not too surprisingly there was no response. We left shortly after, the day would only last soo long after all. Another two hours and the wind started to pick up, in the distance I could see a yellow cloud, “What’s that?” Chrissy’s reply was not unexpected, “A sandstorm, we should find cover.” I nodded in agreement and we started to trot to the rock archway on our right. By the time we made it there the sand was whipping around in earnest, through squinted eyes I could see a small alcove in the base of the archway. Like lady luck actually liked me for once, the storm hit in full force as we made ourselves comfortable inside. It was still daytime, but you wouldn’t know it with how dark it was with sandstorm. The sand blasted around in a twisted dance with the wind outside the opening and i was grateful for how deep it was, not enough to be a cave but deep enough so we were protected. We were huddled together against the sand in our respective couplings, my thobe and saddle bags removed. It appeared we were going to be here awhile, I didn’t even bother asking. The last storm I had been in had lasted a whole day. My wings stretched out before hugging Chrissy to my side, I really loved this. Cuddling, kissing, and just being with Chrissy in general. She must have felt the love as she tucked herself closer to my barrel with a purr, head under my wing. Her tail’s near constant twitching had slowed, sleep was creeping up on her as well. With one last look at the raging storm I let myself drift into the peace of sleep, my mare friend curled into my side. Life was good. A faint humming reached my ears as I came to, it was pleasantly upbeat but also soothing like a lullaby. Not wanting it to end, I tightened my wings around my living body pillows. This drew a squeak from the one that was humming. Wait a minute. I opened my eyes and looked to under my left wing, there yellow draconic eyes stared back, they were widening just as much as I’m sure mine were. Across from us Azure started screaming and things got crazy. Acting on an Instinct.Ari I believe I have said before that this world seems to love throwing me curveballs, like waking up with the dragon mare that was part of the slave traders we fought earlier. Now I know that sounds bad but don’t go jumping the gun, I did nothing to her, in fact I hadn’t seen her since I sent a gryphon hurtling at her. No I didn’t hit her with it, the thought of hitting her repulses me. I mean she just seems so sad, i hate seeming someone in tears. Okay now she is scared, but she has every reason to be, I know I would be. While I was in a daze, wondering how I slept through her crawling under my wing among other pressing questions, Azure was having a panic attack. Her panic attacks happened to be bomb alarm grade screams, They caused the dragon mare to flinch, her eyes scrunching and ears pinning back. her body started quivering slightly, She must be expecting pain. I don’t really wonder why, Jabbar’s attitude made her life pretty clear to me. One can only hope he dies, if I ever see him again… Azure’s cries of panic did more than send the mare under my left wing into a state of panic they woke Barium and Chrissy. Barium jumped to his feet a dazed look in his eyes as he tried to look around our small alcove. The poor stallion had got the screams right in his ear, good thing he loves her. After His eyes found the odd mare out, he pinned his ears at her, squaring up in preparation for action. Very understandable, she may have been part of the reason he was captured by the slave traders, not that he stood a chance against them. But, she just made it embarrassingly easy. Apparently with just her voice but I have heard her, it isn’t exactly hypnotizing but I’m an alien, what do I know? I DO know that you should never make a PMSing mare angry. When Chrissy heard the screaming she shot up from under my wing looking around wildly before she looked down at me. To be specific she saw the mare that was attempting to disappear under my wing. Surprise morphed to annoyance, then her nostrils flared and anger dominated her face. With her ears pinned her horn started to glow green and I had flashbacks to the cave when I had accidently levitated her into the ceiling. Pain was in the future. I needed to defuse this situation now, not because I enjoy waking up to strange mares but the mare wasn’t hurting us and therefore we probably shouldn’t attack her. It could also be that last time I saw her she broke down into tears for no reason and got kicked by her… I don’t know what Jabbar was to her but he called her a whorse so I can assume some interactions took place, still hating him. Standing up I tucked my wings in but kept the body contact with the trembling mare, Chrissy’s eye twitched. “Chrissy, calm down, let’s talk-“ I didn’t have a chance to finish as I was pushed to the side and Chrissy charged at the terrified mare, she quite understandly ran out away and out of the alcove. Getting off of Azure I left the cave, closely followed by Azure and Barium. Outside the sand storm may have left but a new type of chaos was happening in its place. Chrissy was galloping after the dragon mare and she she didn’t seem inclined to stop anytime soon, the mare was holding her distance dspite having slightly shorter legs. “what just happened?” I really meant that, I go to sleep and wake up with a new mare by my side that my marefriend is now set on chasing down. This didn’t make any sense to me. “if I read her correctly she is having a mare challenge right now.” My head cocked as I looked at Azure, shouldn’t she be freaking out or something? She was too calm for my liking. “I’m really not from here you know. What exactly is a ‘mare challenge’?” Now they cocked their heads back at me. “So you didn’t kn-“ Azure stopped herself and glanced at Barium “It is when a mare wants in a herd or to be with a stallion and challenges the head mare or marefriend to a fight over the right. The loser doesn’t get into the herd or get a chance with the stallion.” I blinked at that, they were fighting over me? “Usually it doesn’t last long, since it’s mostly instinctual the fights don’t usually have any magic involved. Since you don’t have herds in Equestria anymore, I mean didn’t have herds, you don’t see it anymore. But I have read about it in some romance novels and Equestrian Discovery magazines.” “Really Azure? And here I thought you bought those for Opal…” Barium grumbled and Azure pinned her ears back before a squeal of pain echoed in the archway stole our attention. Looking back I saw that Chrissy was gaining on the dragon pony, having just bit her rump, before adrenaline helped the mare launch herself forward again. They both seemed to be slowing down, I hoped so anyways. “So they are fighting over who gets to be my marefriend? That doesn’t make any sense, I mean I should get to choose who I date. Not ro mention I only met that mare once! She never even spoke to me.” I glared at the scene infront of me, this wasn’t like the Chrissy I know. “Well in a herd the stallion still can veto the results of the challenge…She lasted longer than I thought she would.” What does that mean? “I actually expected her to do this to me when I started traveling with you to rescue Barium. With her heat starting and her not having consummated her claim on you her nerves must have been going crazy.” Azure was blushing now and looking away from me. Oh hell no, she did not just say heat, that meant there wasn’t periods here but estrus cycles, I didn’t anything about horse estrus. My eye twitched as I thought the implications this new twist in life meant. Azure had apparently been wanting to be my marefriend earlier…Well that might explain the look she was giving me and how angry Chrissy was acting toward her. Chrissy was squealing now as the dragon mare executed a sharp turn to grab her tail. Should I stop this? The mare was hanging on as Chrissy started spinning, the golden tail just inches from her muzzle. She started to buck, her hooves just inches from dragon pony’s head. That was close, I need to stop this. Dragon mare had the same thought as she let go of Chrissy’s tail and lunged forward trying to bite her neck. Unfortunaely for her, she didn’t realize how hard chitin was and couldn’t get a hold. Chrissy knew this and swung her torso around to bite her neck which was also hard and smooth, scales to be exact. Now at a impasse they separated and started circling, snorting at each other. “Hu mutajahatun, wanahn min almftrd ‘an yakun. Hu alfahi alwahid limuqawamat ‘ayi waqt madaa baladi alsihr.” The dragon mare said almost desperately. I didn’t know enough Arabian to translate it all, she did say stallion so I assumed I was still the main topic. In response Chrissy snorted, “Hu baladay alfahl!” Circling like that it went back and forth between the mares for a good ten minutes, if anything they were gaining their breaths again. I needed a way to end-. Azure interrupted my thoughts with a great point, “You know you could just settle this so we could get go-.” She was interrupted as more squealing broke out, they were now reared up and grappling with their hooves. I knew the result as soon as they reared, Chrissy was the taller mare and had the advantage. Chrissy hit her in the withers, knocking her onto her side. Chrissy placed herself over the losing mare and seeing the dragon mare close her eyes, Chrissy got off her While I was concerned for the losing mare I was also thinking how adorable it was to see Chrissy do a victory prance around the mare, her tail was held high. Maybe a high tail meant happiness or pride? As if seeing me for the first time she nickered at me, forgoing words in what I can only assume was instinct. I really needed to ask them about the heat later. Anyway she was now heading my way and to be honest I was a little nervous, I mean what do I say after this? I still liked her but I didn’t understand the culture completely and this kind of unnerved me. It also brought up a whole slew of questions and facts that I had to accept, like the fact that I was a stallion and it looked like I would be in this world indefinitely. The implications sent a tingle in my sheath, it probably didn’t help that Chrissy smelt amazing, cinnamon, just like my favorite food. She was now standing in front of me, sneaking up on me when I was lost in thought, I looked to Azure and Barium for a idea what to do. They were gone, I looked around and saw that they stood at least one hundred feet behind me. She wasn’t that scary was she? Turning back to see why they had moved back I came face to face with Chrissy’s raised bottom. Her tail was raised out of the way giving me a perfect view of her dripping lips, they were a glistening ebony and I couldn’t help my jaw from unhinging. This was a first, now I was the stallion, and my instincts told me take in her scent. My instincts have never proven me wrong yet, so I went with it. Leaning forward I took a deep breath of it, feeling my sheath stir from it. Her personal smell of cinnamon was so strong I nearly licked her to see if she tasted like cinnamon buns. I was always hungry now. My thoughts felt mildly hazy as the smell of her marehood took over my central focus, whimpering dragon mare, and other couple forgotten for this moment. What could a little taste hurt after all? Glancing at her face for askance I was shocked to see her face in a red blush, she was panting and looking back at me with unfocused eyes. It made me hesitate, was this of her violation? Did she even know it was me? “Azure, are mares aware of what they are asking during the heat?”, not taking my eyes off Chrissy I waited for her answer. “Y-yes Ari, we are very much aware. It is more like our inhibitions go down, if we thought how cute a colt is but never acted we are more likely to act during this time. But at this point Chrissy is practically all instincts, the last stage of estrus.” I tried to listen but Chrissy had started swaying her hips, wafting her already strong scent into my face and I felt my cock start to drop. Nope, this didn’t feel right without her asking me. Or me asking her, it was the same point: permission. Not that I could help my body’s reaction much but I still had to snap her out of it. Shaking my head I walked up to her muzzle and gave her a light kiss. “Chrissy are you sure you want this? I mean we only just started being special some ponies recently. We can always do this another time.” I glanced pointedly at our audience. The dragon mare had her tail up and was looking at us in anticipation, while Azure and Barium were trying and failing to look away. Blinking owlishly at me Chrissy followed my gaze, her blush darkened, and her bottom lowered with the tail still raised. I think I now understand the tail raising and I feel like an idiot for missing all the instances, while she preened me and after I disciplined that colt in the market being the first that come to mind… “What?” She asked quietly, looking a little dazed. Whispering, I explained, “I would love to continue at a later date. Without an audience preferably, plus we still have to deal with the mare.” At the mention of the mare Chrissy pinned her ears and focused on her. Looks like there was still some issues. I laid down beside Chrissy, folding my wing over her, causing her to lean into me with a moan, It was the least I could do when she was soo aroused and most likely hungry. Like I told her, I don’t like an audience and need a little time getting over the whole fact that we are still getting to know each other. It didn’t mean I wasn’t interested in having sex with her, make no mistake about that. “Come on guys we need to talk about some things.” I looked back at the dragon mare to make sure she knew that meant her too. She galloped over to me, going to lay beside me only to freeze, Chrissy was hissing at her. Deciding she didn’t want a second fight the mare sat several feet to my left, Chrissy watching her over my back. Azure and Barium laid down in the sand across from us, getting settled in. “Do you speak Equuis?” I looked to the pale yellow mare, hoping it was a yes. “Y-y-yes I speak Equuis, it was my mother’s native tongue.” Well that helps, I nodded at her. “Excellent, I’m sure you understand that we have soo many questions still about what just happened. The answer ‘the heat’ is not acceptable miss…” Now everyone was looking at her with perked ears. After taking a deep breath she gave us a nervous smile. “Well, my name is Lyrical Dazzle and i'm…i'm half siren. I know I look a little odd but i'm just like you ponies. Um, I-I saw you resist my magic and it reminded of the story my mother told me about her one true love who was resistant to siren magic, a sign of a powerful stallion. After you left I started following you, I just had to be with-.” What the… “Hold up there, Lyric you need to slow down. Okay? First off: What is a siren? And Secondly: what is siren magic?” I could practically feel my brain melting from the heat out here, or was that a effect of what I was learning? Chrissy answered for her, “A siren is a sea pony that uses mind magic through their voice, a feat no other pony can perform. She is indeed correct in saying that resisting her magic is a sign of a powerful stallion, BUT she is out of line to think that following any stallion that so much as resists her magic a little is a good idea. If you were to follow that principle you end up with anyone.” Well that certainly is something to think about, there were sirens in this world. What was next, manticores? Hydras? Wait, I might have just jinxed myself, those are sounding very plausible right now. I was curious as to the magic, they used words almost like a spell. Should I have been using spells instead of focus and intent? Which was better? My mind was swimming so I rested my head on the sand, I was just supposed to save the planet. Not be a rescuer, travel guide, and now ‘the one’ to Lyric. Not to mention the god wanted me to breed with the Alicorns like some brainless stud. “Ari?” Lyric sounded worried, scooting closer. “So, this is a lot to take in. What did you think following us would get you?” Now she splayed her ears and looked panicked, “it wasn’t supposed to be like this! You were supposed to be the one, my stallion, and I was going to be happy again. I-I didn’t want to be a w-whorse for my whole life!” I was planning a rebute that would send her packing but now she was sobbing. As if I needed more… “Lyric-“ Her sobbing slowed as she and everyone listened in, “-I won't lie to you, that sounds very unrealistic. I can't promise what you want-“ Cue more tears and shimmering eyes, “-but if Chrissy and you can agree to get along and you pull your weight on the mission then you can come with us. We can see where life takes us.” With that stupid idea out of my mouth I looked over at Chrissy, her muzzle was set in a frown as her ears went sideways. Lyric was looking at her with bated breath, water works forgotten at chance to be with us. “Fine, but Ari is my stallion and I’m his marefriend.” I nuzzled her as Lyric started whinnying in joy, tears leaking from her eyes. She looked like wanted to hug us but wisely held back. “What mission?” We turned to look at Azure; I glanced at Chrissy as she glanced at me, now what? “Why getting you to the border of course, I like calling things missions.” I smiled at her, I hope it looked natural. “But you said-“Chrissy interrupted to my relief. “And a personal matter, now, are we taking you to the border?” The tone she said it in was pretty final, they gulped under her look, before standing having decided the border was looking better. “Let me grab my bags.” Chrissy stayed glued to my barrel, releasing me as I put my thobe and bags on, before reattaching. With that issue settled we set out back onto the dunes, Lyric walking beside me with a happy look on her face. Oh, why was I such a sucker for tears? Now climbing what must be the millionth sand dune in this desert I felt like asking those burning questions. “So, not that I’m complaining, but why aren’t you freaking out over me being a Alicorn? And how did we never see you following us?” Glancing at her, I saw a guilty look. “Well you see I was shocked at first when you spread your wings but then I thought it made sense, my stallion would have to be an Alicorn. As to your other question, I’m just really good at illusion magic.” She then disappeared in one blink, well that I had to learn! No question about it. “What?!” She reappeared, “Well I mean our species, or my mother’s anyway, are really magically powerful so it makes sense that I would need to find one who is also magically powerful. I sort of decided to ignore the 'where you came from' part since I had never heard of an Alicorn prince before. You know, don’t turn down a blessing and all that.” Great now Azure and Barium had thoughtful looks on their faces. Question time was digging me a hole that I couldn't fill without risking the princesses hearing about it. I ignored their looks focusing instead on the horizon; life would be easier without them around. For one thing, we could discuss the saving the planet/kidnapping the princesses mission. Now that we had Lyrical Dazzle on our team it would be easier, mind you she doesn’t even know what our mission is yet. Another hundred dunes and I saw what I supposed was our destination, the city of Jozan. At least fifty clusters of tall buildings shimmered in the heat. Chrissy was enveloped in a green fire and ‘Silver Stream’ now walked with me. To her credit Lyric didn’t even blink. Love thye Body.Chrissy My tail was a twitching like mad, the sand felt cool to me, and I was constantly catching myself leaning on Ari to breathe in his scent. All in all I was a mess. I felt my tail flag again, scrunching my eyes I tried calm it by counting down. 3… I hate Azure. 2… And Barium. 1… But I hate the heat most of all. My tail was finally down but I didn’t know how my mother did it, no, how ANY mare handled the heat. With the fever, constant need to rut, and no escape from it, even in my dreams. My dreams were the worst. I would just get to a good part, like Ari’s tip at my entrance, about to rut me numb, and I would wake up. Waking up from that only seemed to make the daytime need worse. I wasn’t sure if I could wait another day to rut, at this rate I would end up jumping him. That actually didn’t sound so bad, just jump on his-Nononononono! That was bad; stallions don’t like to be raped. I don’t want Ari to hate me, I mean he accepted my sudden mare challenge and even resisted my presentation. We did have Azure and Barium there though. My stallion in particular doesn’t want an audience, glancing at our group I realized I would have to do something drastic to get some loving with the ways things were now. But that would have to wait till tonight; the city of Jozan loomed ahead of us. Jozan had been the size of Ras Taneighra back in the day, now it was almost triple the size. Like most cities in Saddle Arabia it had a wide laid brick road leading into the city, they didn’t bother paving too far into the desert. I could understand, with all the sandstorms the roads would be covered just as quick they could build them. Jozan was mostly made up of inns and restaurants; they were built tall to accommodate the large volume of travelers. Looking around I took in the new additions, most notably the Arabian guards posted at the cities entrance. Well this is just peachy. “’Silver Stream’ what do we do?” Ari whispered in Equuis, looking at the guards. I didn’t know what to tell him, they certainly weren’t guards posted here before. Had there been a war recently? An invasion…Well mine was in Canterlot so I don’t think it was of much news here, but I hadn’t been to a city since for months before Ras Taneighra, anything could have happened. My stomach tossed and turned as I saw them halt a herd coming in from the side road to our right. Something was very wrong here. As the herd’s bags were searched and their faces examined I realized exactly what was going on. “They are searching for somepony… Act casual and let me or Lyric do the talking if you don’t understand what they say. Just nod, okay Ari?” Searching his eyes I saw them widen as he figured out what I meant, who I meant. They were looking for changelings, checking for our magic’s green reflection in the eyes, the absence of real food in the bags…Luckily we had real food in our bags, but my green reflection would still shine through, I couldn’t avoid that. I must have looked worried because Ari gave my ear a nibble in his lips, which sent my temperature soared and my tail flagged without any hesitation. I felt wonderful and horrible all at once, my legs felt like jelly, I was using Ari to prop me up, and I also felt a brief spark of desire from him. That was new, he desired me. He released my ear tip before moving quickly in to pull it, this time almost making my control over my actions falter, not to mention disguise. What was he doing? This – My thoughts were interrupted as we were now in front of the guards. They were decked out in full regalia, laminar armor over a rough cotton thobe. Their helmets bore the Saddle Arabian monarchy’s insignia, two scimitars supporting a crown. My eyes couldn’t help but wander to their scimitars, despite being the scimitar on the guards being clicked onto their belt I didn’t exactly feel safe. The royal guards were hardly ever seen outside of the capital, Jozan was at least four days from Whinnyadh. Whatever it was they wanted me for must be important, you don’t sent ponies trekking across the sweltering desert in metal armor for nothing. “Tawaquf liltaftish.” Halt for Inspection. The brown guard was looking Ari up and down with some trepidation, yeah my stallion was BIG, and I might be a little hot and bothered from the ear tugging. I could feel the guard’s eyes were glancing at me in his peripheral vision. Perhaps it was due to my red muzzle, or it could have been my shallow panting, either way I was drawing unwanted attention. This was Ari’s fault, getting me aroused like that. Okay to be fair, most touches were sending my nerves tingling, but it is still not helping us in the slightest, if anything it was making tonight seem like a perfect time…Focus, focus on the wonderful spicy musk coming off my stallion, he smelt soo good! My tail flicked in agreement. Got to pay attention! Coming back to now, Ari had halted in front of the brown guard, but I could feel his confusion, he hadn’t understood what was said at all. I gave his wither a rub in support, I could feel his confidence grow, now if his- There were two of them, of course. Stepping forward, the yellow guard scrutinized our merry band. Lyric pressed into Ari’s side under the scrutiny but I couldn’t concentrate anymore. Ari’s tail was whipping my marehood now. Anger coursed through him as the brown stallion inspected his eyes, placing a hoof on his chin to tilt it to different angles. His tail’s flicks felt so good, hinting at more before leaving, then returning to tease me again. Screw waiting around, he was obviously asking for me and I needed him. NOW! I quickly trotted forward, knocking the unsuspecting guard that was inspecting Ari out of the way with strength that I think he wasn’t expecting from my little pegasis disguise. Now in front of my stallion I looked back and locked eyes with him, attention captured I hoisted my rump, his eyes widened as I presented myself to him. My tail folded back over my back he had a clear view of my moist marehood, I winked at him hoping he understood that message: Rut me. Starting to pant from my own fever I looked at Ari with a confused look, he was ear nibbling and ear tugging just a second ago. He had said we would rut later, it was later! Why wasn’t he doing anything? Every pony was staring at us, well me, but right now but I couldn’t care less. I needed my stallion to be a stallion, we can keep a low profile later… A new smell hit my nose. “Madha?” What. The brown guards yelled in surprise, getting back up and looking at me with a scrunched up muzzle. I smell water lilies. “Riyad, ‘iinaha fi alhararati, laha alfahl im yakhdae laha hataa alan.” Riyad, she's in heat, her stallion has not yet rutted her. The yellow guard came over and looked at the brown one, Riyad, in good humor. Where was that smell coming from, I glanced over my other shoulder. “Waqal ‘anah yjb faqat rawt laha, wahadha hu muhraj limushahadatin!” He should just rut her, this is embarrassing to watch! I agreed with the first part, but this wasn’t embarrassing in the slightest for me, I mean I have done much worse to feed my family. Over my shoulder I could see Lyric had her tail flagged, joy I had competition. Here I was hoping she had quit, you think after I beat her claim she would get the point. I mean she rubbed herself all over his body, while he was asleep! Actually, he was a deep sleeper… Nope not going there. “Riyad, hayth sataqae fi alsuhra’I? waqal ‘anah min alwadh ‘ana altabqat ‘akthar min dhalik.” Where would he rut in the desert? He has more class than that. Ari is a gentlestallion, unfortunately for right now, all I want him is to take me but he won’t, stupid Azure and Barium. “Akram.” “Nem fielaan, Riyad” Yes, Riyad. “ La tafeal dhalika, wazuajatik in yadrubani faqat litamakanaka min alqiam bdhlk marat ‘ukhraa walakun sawf yakun zawjati darbuni kdhlk!” Do not do ‘that’, your wives will not only beat me for letting you do this again, but they will have my wives beat me as well! Akram chuckled at that, shaking his head at his fellow guard pony. Wow, Riyad is weak! I would have laughed if I wasn’t trying to sway my rump just right to get Ari to make the move. I could smell his arousal at my body, my actions, despite it not being his favorite form of mine he still loved my scent. Behind me Azure and Barium looking like they would like to be anywhere but here right now, Lyric was leaning into my stallion nuzzling him. He was transfixed by my plot though, not noticing her adding more of her scent to his, my head was confused as I both wanted to turn and bite her and stay like this, ready for when accepted me as his marefriend in the fullest way possible. My heart fluttered a little as I realized that he wasn’t even noticing her as she was flagging her tail as well, he still choose me over that siren! Supressing a purr at the thought I focused on the guards again, our guard Akram was holding a piece of paper to Ari and speaking. “Hana, ‘iieta’ hdha ‘iilaa ‘amirat fi-“ Akram went on but I was having trouble focusing, the point is he was giving a voucher for a room at a inn so Ari can rut me. Thank Faust! Raising my body up was easy with the knowledge that I would be getting a good rutting soon, well Ari doesn’t know that but he will soon enough. Reaching forward I grabbed the voucher in my mouth and started trotting into the city, Ari and the group hurried to catch up. They caught up just as the guard’s laughter faded. **** Ari I might not know Saddle Arabian well but I think I know body language pretty well now. For example, when Chrissy gets into the same position in front me that she had been in not even three hours ago I know she really must need sex. This was both concerning and flattering, I worry more on the grounds that if this was the normal here, then it’s a wonder that Equestria is ruled by mares one hundred percent of the time. Who rules when they enter their heat? I mean Chrissy is struggling to function right now, she is driven by instinct but then again I let myself follow my instincts so that might not be completely bad here. This culture confuses me. Despite my confusion I couldn’t help feeling my blood heat at the thought that she was choosing me. I tried to stay focused, Chrissy’s display doesn’t have the same effect this time as when it’s her real form, but her scent is making up for it and stirring something in my sheath. However her display did draw the wrong attention. To get in this extremely provocative position she did have to knock the guard that was in front of me out of the way first. That fact alone was a bit of a cold shower to my libido, she may have just doomed us to imprisonment, not to mention the guards are looking for her. Not that Chrissy is my only distraction. Beside me Lyric is pressed into my thobe so hard I swear they might see the outline of my wings under it. I felt something touch my butt, looking back I can’t help but narrow my eyes at the offending tail. Lyric had her tail held high like a flag, which I now know means she wants sex. Here I was hoping against stalker logic that she had truly given up on me being ‘the one’. Mind you I could be overreacting; having thought about it I realized Azure has flagged her tail at me before too. It was a common reaction i was starting to notice among the mares, it just didn't seem normal, or at least to earth culture. But we had a good ratio of males to females. Equus's culture still seemed weird, i was adapting, but really?! I mean I just met Azure and Lyric, were real stallions soo hard to find that mares latched onto the first slightly appealing one they ran across? Or were all mares on a heat cycle that happened around the same time or something? But back to the plot, err, I meant guards, they might not take kindly to a horny mare shoving them out of the way. That part was actually almost comical: a tall Saddle Arabian guard getting knocked over by a short one winged pegasis. Right, the guards were talking now. I wasn’t able to follow what was said besides the words ‘mare’ and ‘stallion’, so they must be deciding what to do with us. Glancing back at Azure and Barium I felt a little better, they were looking at everything but Chrissy, Lyric, and I , very understandable. I took a small amount of joy from from their discomfort, my mission was lagging a little due to their failed runaway plan, that and my conscious wouldn’t let me leave them. Just another day and a half and they would get their wish. Focusing on what they were saying was getting harder to do with Chrissy’s marehood in front of my muzzle, the smell alone- The yellow stallion was pulling out a piece paper from his armor. With the paper in his mouth he looked expectantly at me then the paper, I couldn’t help but imitate a fish. He chuckled behind the paper and winked at me, his eyes glancing at ‘Silver Stream’ with a twinkle. I didn’t get it, was he fining me for something? Was- My confusion was interrupted as Chrissy shot up from her position on the road, grabbed the paper, and took off down the street showing her marehood still. Before I could process what happened my legs were moving and I felt this need to make sure every pony on the street knew that she was my mare. The others hurried to catch up as well, trotting into the bustling main street. Instincts guiding me, I trotted up to Chrissy’s side butting her neck lightly and nuzzling her ears, causing her to slow down to a walk. Lyric was quick to press against my other side while Azure and Barium walked close to us. Keeping an ear on them, we forged ahead into the main street. To the sides there was shadowed, narrow alley ways acting as shortcuts between the city blocks. This ‘city’ actually felt like a city unlike the last one, with tall buildings, and actual storefronts with pictographs showing what they specialized in, a big improvement to the organized chaos of rugs and stalls in Ras Taneighra. I wasn’t going lose them here, oops, I meant I shouldn’t be able to lose them. Walking along I was more following Chrissy than leading, she stopped at the intersection we had reached and looked at the paper with her hoof, I as usual couldn’t read the letters, although more so than usual as Arabiac was more squiggly than Equuis letters. Before us was three roads, all looking busy as travelers of all sizes and shapes hurried down them, the light seeming to change as I gazed in amazement at the scale of this city. Looking up at the sky I understood why the light had seemed to change, the sun was beginning its descent at the usual hurried pace. Something tells me we aren’t making it to the desert before it sets and I’m willing to bet that twenty bits won’t get us a room anywhere. Chrissy must have noticed as well, breaking into a trot she continued straight with us hurrying after her. Where was she leading us? My answer was soon answered after a couple more sudden stops and turns. In front of our group was a building that stood a little shorter than the six story behemoths surrounding it, a small staircase lead down to a cracked, wooden door. In the fading light I could see the buildings sign depicted a large rose on a bed, an inn perhaps? I followed her as she motioned to the door, flapping the paper around. With Lyric still stuck to me like glue and Azure and Barium following in silence, we followed her inside as she opened the door. Inside I was nearly overwhelmed, it was straight from the medieval period inn. There were about twenty five tables scattered in the middle of the room, three legged stools acting in the place of proper chairs. I really wondered how safe they were as a minotaur plonked himself down rather roughly on his stool, causing the unmistakable creak of wood under strain, with his it was a matter of when not if it would collapse under him. The room itself was square like the building, a long wooden counter along the back wall, a fireplace crackling to life on the left wall and a staircase directly to our right. Chrissy had moved back to my side as the nearly full room gazed at us, I’m sure we looked odd. An extremely tall ‘unicorn’ stallion in a thobe with a one winged pegasis and a half siren mare pressed to his sides, followed by an obviously Equestrian couple. Nothing low profile about that… I wasn’t planning on stopping at an inn but a sandstorm just had to pop up. “Marhabaan ya saydi , kayf yumkinuni musaeadatek?” Hello sir, how can I help you? A white Arabian mare was approaching us. She was actually beautiful, with a purple headband keeping her mane back and a well practiced smile on her muzzle. If I didn’t know better I would say she was smelling us. “Marhabaan-“ I was cut off as Chrissy snorted and shoved the paper at the mare, who only gave a small intake of breath before focusing on the squiggles on the paper. Humming she tucked it under her headband, chuckling about something in Saddle Arabian as she turned and walked to the bar. Moments later she returned with two keys,I understood what the guard had given us now: a room to stay…Wait a minute, he gave it after…And Chrissy was… My brain short circuited. Taking the keys in my mouth in a daze I heard the inn owner giggle and point her hoof towards the staircase. On one key the number thirteen was printed on it in black lettering while the other said fourteen. Chrissy’s tail was flagging as we made our way to the stairs. The guard had given us free rooms, with the idea that she needed sex. If I was to base her reactions since then I would have to say she intends exactly that. This made me nervous at the thought of being the stallion in the relationship, but also more accepting as i thought of Chrissy, this was obviously hard for her, a genius that planned a whole invasion using stealth and intelligence to now be soo uninhibited would be very hard. My only solace is that Azure said that this instinctual behavior was the last stage of their heat, maybe she would be done in a couple of days, and i could pray that she was really consensual about this. Sure God would probably just bring me back if she killed me, I was his pawn afterall, but I didn't want to lose her relationship. i mean then what would I have after I save the planet? Myself surely, but what joy is there in being alone, I had tried that already. It was all too lonely. Chrissy and to my growing discomfort Lyric were practically pressing me forward up these stairs. On the landing now I barely could take it all in as the beige hallway hurried past me, I was rushed past rooms one to ten then up a second, longer set of stairs. All the while, my body was betraying my earlier resolve. Creeping out of my sheath, my cock pointed out some great points in favor of sex.She is more than eager for it, all the heat is doing is speeding the process along. But- Azure said it just lowers her inhibitions not to mention she will get fed from it as well. You know you have been having a dry spell, why not end it. She is your marefriend after all. Well that is true, her actions are just what she wanted deep down I guess, and she is my marefriend so I’m not having sex with a stranger. I mean she has even offered to help with my morning erection. We are dating, but… I glanced at Lyric. Perhaps having my stalker in the room isn’t such a good idea. Speaking of the rooms we had just reached them, I looked at Azure and Barium as they looked back with raised eyebrows. They must have come to the same conclusion as I have. Raising an eyebrow I levitated the key to room fourteen over to Azure, taking it in her magic she blushed before setting to work on her lock. Good now to- Lyric was still at my side. I motioned to room fourteen causing her to widen her eyes and splayed her ears in what must have been the equine equivalent of the puppy dog look. Before I could rebuke her again Chrissy hissed at her, a very non-pony sound that thankfully no one was in the hallway to hear. Faster than I thought possible Lyric dashed through the crack of Azure’s closing door. Shaking my head out of its shock I levitated my key and unlocked our door, Chrissy rushed forward immediately. She looked eager with her shining eyes and perked ears, she closed the door when I followed her in, although I walked in at a slower walk, my thobe covered the reason. My body was more than willing now that my mind had accepted it. Green fire engulfed 'Silver Stream', leaving behind a panting and very aroused Chrissy. Love is Bittersweet.**** Ari Although I was pushed to do this, I think most relationships require a little nudge to get the ball rolling. Denying my desire for this would be foalish at this point, I was more than a little excited, heck I was at full mast already. Closing the door, I levitated my bags and thobe off, they weren’t necessary for this adventure. Stretching my wings I took a quick look around the room, a large two pony bed and a night dresser occupied the right half while a small window let in the moonlight into the center of the room, and it illuminating Chrissy’s true form from where she stood. Her true form was the best form in my opinion. With her sleek chitin, delicate looking wing, and long mane and tail i was doing my best not to stare this afternoon and we all know how that went. Standing in the moonlight Chrissy shimmered in a fine sheen of sweat, her face red, and her tongue peeking out of her lips as she panted. I scented the air out of instinct, letting my wings rise and stiffen, perhaps so I appeared strong? It was irrelavent as my nerves were blazing as her scent screamed at me to rut her. Looking her in the eyes I started to close the distance, savoring the lustful look in her sea green eyes, which were following my every step with a new hunger in them. Now standing before Chrissy I touched our noses together, by instinct we both sucked in each other’s scent, and we both gave a soft moan at our scents. I could smell my scent on her chitin, but it was weak, like she wasn’t quite mine yet. She needed to be drenched in my scent and I was going to do just that. Starting to walk down her side I rubbed my fur along chitin, mixing our scents, I wanted her to feel exactly how much I loved her, desired her. By the time we stopped she would be soo full. I think she felt it as she purred the whole time I made my way down her side. Snorting my nostrils as I approached her rump I turned so I faced her marehood, which shot into the air as soon as my breath landed on it. Its ebony splendor glistened with moisture and my cock twitched against my belly as I gazed at it. Then it winked at me, revealing a pink bud and tunnel as her hooves shuffled restlessly against the floor, a small whimper escaping her mouth. Although I had a mission, a desire, I couldn’t help but tease her. After all, you aren’t doing it right if they can still walk away after. Almost immediately after my tongue touched her lips Chrissy gave a squeal, then her panting grew louder, pausing with tongue still on her marehood I listened to the beautiful noise, Just a little more couldn't hurt. Ignoring the tingle of desire that shot down my spine I continued, returning to licking along her slit, being rewarded with more squeals. After a minute of licking I saw her shaking legs tense before my muzzle was squirted in her juices, a loud squealing whinny signaling her end. Well her first one anyway. She wasn’t done till was done. I glanced at her face and groaned at the glorious sight. Her earlier look when she first asked in the desert was nothing to this, with unfocused, half lidded eyes she gazed back at me, breathing heavily, and blushing just as heavily. It was beautiful. A groan escaped my muzzle as she started her hypnotic sway, hips moving in a rhythm as old as time that stirred a whisper I had held back before: mount her, breed her, and make her scream! Giving Chrissy one last long lick I backed up, causing her to whimper then fall still, as if she knew exactly what I was doing. Taking in her sweating form I glanced at my cock which was infallibly a horse cock, including the length, which was a good eighteen inches. Eyeing her marehood which was raised high in the air I knew this was going to take some maneuvering. Starting with the obvious need for height I reared up, horn inches from the ceiling and wings nearly brushing the walls. With balance accomplished I took a hesitant step forward eyeing the trajectory, it was perfect. She had just started to whimper at my absence when I made my move, tip hitting her entrance and freezing us both for a second from the pleasure that shot from the contact, giving way to groans as I squared my stance, rubbing my tip against her opening. My thoughts faded as I was in position, I whinnied and hilted myself in her, her scream tearing through the air. Her hole undulating over my cock as she gave weak little bucks against me, squirming in pleasure. As her voice quieted I started moving, hooves on her back just by the base of her wings, wing really but the other wing stub was still there. She gave a heavy snort and I gave long groan as I pulled back, fuck! she contracted around me, keening at the thought of me leaving. Moving my hooves up to her wing bases I pressed down, she better relax before she breaks me. “R-relax” I groaned out, pressing harder on her wing’s bases, her dainty wing stiff as a board now. She keened and shifted against my cock, not releasing her hold but at the same time not understanding why I wasn’t moving back in. Going with the feeling I grabbed her mane in one hoof, yanking hard for control. “Relax!” To which she changed tactics and backed herself onto me, hilting herself, and a throaty neigh sounding into the room. Finally I could move again, the room was filled with her pants and whimpers, obviously my mare didn’t want slow and hard thrusts, and that was fine. I wasn’t really able to think straight enough to do that right now. Pulling back just as quick I thrust forward, her frame almost moving forward from the power behind the thrust. A low moan was my only reward from the move; going back I grabbed her tail in my mouth, backing till just my tip rested at her entrance. She keened and I couldn’t help the twitch that went through my cock, hitting her clit and getting a throaty scream. “P-please, more, more. ARI!” I gave her tail a final yank before fully hilting my cock again, moving my hooves to her hips I began pounding her flank, a scream of pleasure echoing for every wet slap. Her marehood was soaking my fur and leaving a puddle on the floor, filling the room with her scent. I grit my teeth as she gushed again, her second end not getting a break as I continued to pound throughout her climax, creating a chorus of whimpers after her screams. Reaching for her mane again, I yanked her head back, and grabbed her long mane in my teeth. I needed to hear her scream my name. Her mane in my mouth I tugged her back as I plowed her forward, her screams and whimpers turning to keening and snorts as she tensed around me for a third time. This time I stilled as she convulsed around my cock, massaging it, and building the already unbearable pleasure that was building, her hot hole contracting and relaxing as she tried to milk me. Looking at her, I waited, nearly closing eyes as the pressure built. She slowed and gave me a dazed look as I let go of her mane, groaning as I slowly pulled it out, the chill in the air hardly registering as I prepared to re-enter. Pushing hard with my legs I sunk into her, this time hitting her cervix, my mare screamed my name as I felt the pressure build to a new height I never knew about. In search of more I began thrusting faster and faster as my release came closer and closer, pounded into her cervix. “ARRRRIIIIIIIII!” Finally. I grunted as the pressure was released and pleasure shot through my senses, my mare a squealing mess as she released with me. Strings of cum and fluid leaking out of her marehood as her legs quit quivering, folding under her as they were spent. We sank to the ground panting, satisfied grins on our muzzles. “Better?” She looked over her wither at me, “I-I…yes.” With drooping eyes I could feel her relax against me. “More” she panted as she tried to raise her legs, “later…” Chrissy trailed off again, tired and satisfied for now, but I wasn’t complaining. For my first orgasm with bigger than any I had had on earth, the enormity of the sensation was demanding a quick rest at least. Wings softening I wrapped them around Chrissy, pulling my mare onto her side as I laid down intent on taking advantage of the break. A squelch sounding as my stallionhood twisted inside her as we moved. It sounded like I might be up all night if she really wanted more. I really need to find out exactly how long estrus lasted for them. **** Lyrical Dazzle They didn’t put up a silencing spell, not even a weak muffling spell, and I couldn’t decide if I loved or hated that fact. Hearing all the moans, whimpers, and screams left me throbbing down below and grinding my teeth in frustration at knowledge that I couldn’t join them. I had lost the mare challenge and nothing could change that result, especially since Ari is against herding. But like my mother had once said ‘anything can be yours if you try hard enough’ and look where that got mom: she ended up with an amazing stallion and then me! I had all the time in the world to change his mind after all, now he may not be interested in herding but soon he will see the truth in the need for herds and in being the way we are…The double edged sword of being magically powerful: a long life span. One day he will want me, he will realize that all the average ponies and creatures are soo fragile, so finite, that being with them is more painful than being alone. “…more, ARI!” I winced and pinned my ears at Chrissy’s screaming, which will get us kicked out at that decibel. However i dont think i would be any quieter about it. Looking at the other occupants of this room I sighed, “Azure and Barium was it? I suppose you want the bed?” Just at a glance, i knew the bed wasn’t big enough for three ponies to comfortably spread out, despite how petite the equestrians were. Not that i wanted to be sleeping next to them when Ari is just a room away. Luckily there was plenty of floor space. “YES! You can have the floor y-you you!” Barium was stuttering with his ears pinned back, a typical response from ponies. I was almost over the hate ponies had for me now, it wasn’t my fault they were too weak to resist my magic, and their views did not matter in the long run anyway. “Siren?” I filled the inarticulate moment he was having with a raised eyebrow, scowling at his racism, he had seemed to accept me despite what I had to do to him, but that was only when Ari was around apparently. “Yes! You vile, conniving siren!” Rolling my eyes at his anger I trotted over to the bed and took the blanket in my mouth. I would have preferred Ari’s wing but I could live with this tonight. “Hey! That’s ours, give it back.” Azure piped up, her magic attempting to grab the blanket from my mouth. My pink magic grabbed the blanket from my mouth and tugged it along to the farthest corner from them. “You two have the soft bed, the comfy pillows, and each other. I think you can spare the blanket.” Letting my bitterness leak into the words I gave Azure a hard look, she stared back at me before her eyes widened and closed in understanding. Now with the blanket to myself I began turning it into a nest, ear cocked on the equestrian couple, just in case. “What?! Azure, why did you let her have the blanket? She-“ “SHHH!” Looking at Azure through my peripheral vision I noted her blue eyes had narrowed at her coltfriend. “Be quiet! She is upset and yes I’m still upset she helped the slave traders that captured you BUT she isn’t anymore now is she? She is trying to help us get home now, Ari trusts her enough to leave her with us. I think we can extend the favor!” Azure was now right in his muzzle as he tried to process her words. Barium opened and closed his mouth before grumbling and hoping up onto the bed, Azure looking back at me with a frown before following her coltfriend onto the bed. I guess she has a heart after all, but from what i observed before it sounds like she had been vying for Ari's attentions, and as her current coltfriend shows: she lost. Chrissy was tough competition, knowing him the longest, and now needing him the most with her heat happening. Her screams and the scent of sex creeping into the room a testament to how well he was at helping those sorts of needs. At least I have time on my side, persistence and patience worked for my mother and it will certainly work for me. Settling down on my blanket I tried to imagine I was elsewhere, as screams of pleasure reached me from the other room yet again, his room, I couldn’t help but wish that was me in there. Screaming into the air as he rutted me, releasing a shuddering sigh I knew I couldn’t barge in there, my body didn't believe me though. I had to be alone for now. Even my mother and father were no longer here to comfort me. I could feel my eyes start to fill with tears as I thought of them, for a while there I had my father but he had to leave me, not I blame him. He hadn’t expected it to work…And I hadn't planned to be alone, at that point anyone would do in the world, which of course led me to a rough couple of years. But I wasnt a whorse anymore and I was adamant to never let myself get to that point again. As if sensing my pain Chrissy screamed Ari’s name in completion. Tears spilled over and I couldn’t help but wish once again that that was me. Even a wing to hug me would be better than this near infinite feeling of emptiness. 'You're giving up that easily my little Lyric?' i could almost hear mother ask, disbelieve in her voice. My resolve reforming I flicked my tail at my previous attitude. No, I don’t need to feel empty; my mother was able to and looked even less like a pony than I do.Tomorrow I will renew my efforts and I will be sleeping under his wing again. But the next time it will be of his own choice. I had gone from daughter, to whorse, and now I was given the opportunity to be a mare, and have a stallion to support me through the millennia we will live through. My heart sped up at the thought, I still had many chances left, after all i can always challenge Chrissy again. I might not even need to. It was a good start to our relationship soo far. Ari obviously didn’t fear me or hate me despite my…eccentric method to be with him, it wasn’t necessarily stalking if I just happened to be going in the same direction he went. He wasn’t even offended when I tried to control him when we first met, I mean, even after my attempt to captivate him he just politely asked for Barium. Then after I had taken his thobe he just asked for it back, although he might have been half asleep then… But when I had snuck under his wing he didn’t try to harm me or send me packing meaning he obviously cared in some way about me! Instead of being like Barium he actually listened to me like I was just another pony and now I am along on for his mission. Whatever it really was, his lie earlier was quite obvious to me even if the silly equestrian’s bought it. Taking them to the border was one of his goals but it was just part of the real mission, I wouldn’t have long to wait to find out what it was though, Taymare was just ahead. Oh I feel soo excited now! Tomorrow is going to be great, the first step in getting my stallion, even if I may have to share, and he was worth it. Mornings are Beautiful.**** Ari I loved mornings, especially if they all began like this one. A tongue was nibbling along my wing bone, attempting to preen what it could, which really wasn’t much, but Chrissy’s effort was appreciated. Humming in contentment I nibbled her ear earning me a appreciatory moan, putting my nose in her mane I inhaled her scent, no, our scent. Her cinnamon slightly spicier than it was yesterday. “More?” Chrissy mumbled from my wing, tongue twisting around a primary a little longer than nessaccary. I would have said yes had I not felt the sun through my eyelids, the knowledge that we had a schedule to keep, if only because I didn’t have enough bits for a room. However after last night it was also the knowledge that my mare would keep me in bed… Wait I never made it to bed, opening my eyes I saw that I was on the floor. “I want to say yes but I also want to get rid of certain ponies sooner rather than later…” I trailed off content to stay on the floor with my mare wrapped in my arms and wings despite what I was saying. Having a mission doesn’t always mean wanting to do it, somedays I would prefer to laze around and do nothing. Today was starting to feel like that, unfortunately today was one day I couldn’t relax. After I get rid of those two I can relax with Chrissy for a day or two, sex and cuddles sounded good. Except Lyric will still be there, a dampener on my mood. I still had to get her caught up on the mission which could be interesting considering I said it was getting Azure and Barium to Equestria. Sex in front of her didn't sound like a good idea either. At the thought of Equestria the words of the god replayed in my mind, I was supposed to breed them and stop them from raising the sun and moon. Basically he wanted me to make babies and take away the princesses namesakes, which was theoretically their only purpose; I mean I didn’t know much about them at all really. I felt wrong doing that, not the whole saving the planet bit, the part about breeding them like they were fucking cattle, er, broodmares in this case. If they were anything like the ponies and creatures I have met then they were people, fallible beings that can be both good and bad, beings with their own wants. But I believe that the god thinks we are toys if his callous treatment of me is any standard, that god was definitely a special sort of crazy. “I need a bath, I smell like sex and sweat.”Chrissy said with half heartedly disdain as she released my wing from her mouth. “But you feel better now?” I questioned as I nuzzled her cheek. “Mmm, infinitely better, I can actually think about something besides sex now. I know you wanted to wait but glad you didn’t.” She gave me a light kiss, “Thank you.” At her words I felt a small rush of happiness at her relieve. “It was my pleasure-.” Chrissy giggled at that.”- I actually feel better about it too. I’m not sure if this makes sense but it feels like…” Chrissy twisted around to face me looking curious as i trailed off. I wasn’t sure if my instincts were better left in my head, but she felt like mine now, and that made my heart feel a sense of contentment that my previous relationships hadn’t provided. Surely it wouldn’t be bad to share such a sentiment? “It feels like your really my mare now, not that-“I never finished as Chrissy attacked my lips, purring against them as her tail started flicking against my sheath. We weren’t getting out of here anytime soon if this continued. With a lot of regret I separated from her mouth, a little breathless, and a disappointed sigh sounding. “We need to shower now if we want to be rid of some ponies tomorrow. Otherwise I assure I wouldn’t be soo insistent to move on.” Sighing, Chrissy rolled away from grip. I think I may have done my job too well as she used her back hooves to shakily raise her rump from the floor, then her front hooves to raise her chest from the floor. The view alone was a reason to stay down but alas, my coin purse reminded me that I couldn’t afford to enjoy the view right now. Standing up I made my way to her side, enjoying her smooth chitin on my fur, and the way she leaned on me ever so slighty. It felt good to be needed. I motioned to the previously forgotten door on the left side of the room, nodding, we made our way to it on stiff and shaky legs. New muscles protesting from the sudden abuse last night, still no regrets though. The sun was still rising as we entered the bathroom. This country was understandably poorer than mine but I was still underwhelmed at their facilities. For a toilet we had a large clay bowl that was low to the ground, a small green jewel sat embeded in the middle of the bowl. The shower was a smooth slab floor with a brass shower head overhead; I couldn’t see where the knobs were to turn it on though. In fact I couldn’t see any way of flushing the ‘toilet’... Was I supposed to dump it in the street? Let it sit? I never had this problem on the road. Wait a minute! The road was clean and didn’t smell like Victorian England so they can’t toss it into the street like a chamber pot, I was going to regret asking this but I did need to know. “Chrissy, you can laugh at me but how does this bathroom work? Mine look a little different on earth.” Beside me Chrissy blinked rapidly before giving me a wry smile then surprising me with a nod. I guess my ignorance is getting pretty normal for her now. “Come on then I will show you, it’s not that hard.” This caused me to blink and splay my ears, I mean I was ready to shower with her BUT the toilet seemed a little too personal. “err-“ She giggled and walked shakily to the shower pointing at a light blue jewel on the left wall in the shower stall. “Put your hoove or horn on the enchanted gemstone once to turn it on, tap it twice to turn it off.” Joining her in the stall I looked at the blue gem that I had dismissed as decoration before, “Really? That seems too easy. Where does the water come from and where does it drain?” I looked at the floor seeing a green gemstone embedded in the floor but no drain. Instead of answering me she rolls her eyes and touches her horn to the blue gem, almost instantaneously warm water started to fall from the showerhead. Giving a surprised snort I looked up through the water at the showerhead then at the wall, then I glanced at the smooth shower floor where the green gem was glowing as the water touched it. “Magically enchanted gemstones?” Another giggle and nod, Chrissy moving back to my side with water running down her chitin. My mane was soaked and my fur was no better as I kissed her. Releasing her lips I glanced at the floor as white foam rinsed from my fur, “No shampoo?” She sighed and shook her head, “Sorry the guard just gave us a basic room, it is a little low end but still pretty generous considering he didn’t have to.” Yeah, he was pretty generous but then agian he probably just wanted us to leave. But if I ever see him again I will have to thank him, best night ever, I felt amazing today. Nodding my understanding I let the warm water wash over me, this was definitely needed, travelling through the desert all day had made me a sweaty, not ot mention dirty. Looking back at Chrissy I noted how she looked clean as a whistle now, no dirt in the water running off her body. Before long the water leaving my fur was clear as well and I tapped the blue jewel twice, ending the warm stream. “Hold on, let me leave first handsome. I remember how you get dry.” What did she- Nope, now I know, giving her a shit eating grin I decided I didn’t hear her. “No-no, d-“ But she was too late. Shaking my whole body and fluttering my wings to remove the water, I looked at the mess I had made with my ears forward. The shower’s walls and the bathrooms walls were covered in water droplets, the floor had the same treatment, and my mare stood in the center of it with her ears pinned back and her eyes scrunched shut. Eyes opening, I grinned at the sea green eyes looking at me now, taking joy at the look there. It promised a great amount of fun. “Run.” I gave a playful whinny as I barged into our room, I spun around, ready for her comeback. *Knock knock knock* Chrissy paused in her pursuit, grin falling from her muzzle as she gazed at the door. I looked at the door, reminded that we had certain interrupting ponies to be rid of first. Grumbling I made my way over to Chrissy, “Sorry.” I whispered in her ear before I turned back to the door. “Aintazar.” Hold on. I called out as we got ourselves presentable, Chrissy being engulfed in green fire as her disguise took hold and me reaching for my thobe. But before I could put my thobe on the door opened, I froze with the thobe in my magic, only to relax at the pony at the door. Lyric stood there with a tray of food balanced in her magic, a nervous smile on her muzzle, faltering for a second as her nostrils flared. “Wajabat ‘iiftar?” Breakfast? My stomach answered for me, giving a sheepish smile back I nodded. Forgoing my thobe for now I laid down on a clean patch of the floor, motioning for Lyric to enter, closing the door she approached nervously. Chrissy laid down into my barrel and surprisingly ignored Lyric, I wasn’t complaining though, a peaceful interaction between them is a good sign. Not being a expert on this planet’s culture I could only assume this was a good sign. She levitated the tray in front of me, gently placing it on the ground she looked around my room shuffling her hooves. This was kind of painful to watch, she looked uncomfortable, and a little fearful. Not that it is uncalled for given the way she met Chrissy, nor the interactions after. I couldn’t think of a single positive interaction between them off the top of my head. They had fought, Lyric had been bitten, hit, and hissed at by Chrissy mostly, a few sentences of biting words was the most they had actually conversed. We still had to travel with her to through the Minotaur lands, the Gryphon mountains, and across the sea to Zebrica…Then back again in a airship. This might be a long trip if they don’t get along. Not mention my mare needs female friends to talk mare things with, right? “Soo…Are you hungry Lyric? I think there is enough to share.” And there was, on the tray five steaming bowls of porridge each topped with an orange fruit, while one small piece of chocolate cake in the shape of a heart sat in the middle. We weren’t subtle at all. “Aren’t those Azure and Barium’s breakfasts?” Chrissy asked, looking at Lyric with a raised eyebrow. I looked at her as well, there were five of us and five bowls, which was one too many but no one had to know that Chrissy didn’t eat the conventional food. “They were, now they are Ari’s.” Lyric’s nervousness was forgotten for a moment as she gave a small smirk. I really couldn’t help myself, I started chuckling at that, even Chrissy gave a small amused snort. Lyric might end up being fun on this trip. “Fair enough, I won’t complain I haven’t felt full since I landed here-“ Shit. Now I had some explaining to do, Lyric didn’t exactly know about me or my mission yet. “Landed h-“, I interrupted her question, “Not now, later, after we drop them at the border. Okay?” I gave her a serious look and she looked a little taken aback before nodding. With that over with we tucked in to breakfast. The porridge wasn’t really different than earth porridge but the orange fruit wasn’t citrus or peachy like I expected, it reminded me more of a strawberry in flavor. Cake was still cake here, although Chrissy rolled her eyes when I moaned at the chocolatly goodness. After having fruit and nuts for the last couple of day chocolate was pure nirvana for my tastebuds. “I guess it is true…” Lyric muttered. “What is?” “Alicorns love cake and never get full.” I had to blink at that assumption, it was ludicrous, I just was appreciating the sugar rush, cinnamon buns are still far superior. I wonder if they exist here? Not to mention I haven’t eaten enough to fill a human belly since the I left the oasis, a apple and trail mix just didn’t cut it for anybody. “I actually am not partial to cake, cinnamon buns are much tastier. As for getting full, I have hardly eaten at all the last couple of days, a apple and trail mix doesn’t count.” “The thirty pounds of Charona berries? The acre of Tronana and Magoo trees? Does any of that ring a bell Ari?” Chrissy was giving me a doubtful look that was soon joined by Lyric’s raised eyebrow. “Really, that does sound like a lot of food. I hope that wasn’t all at once.” Gulping down the last bowl of porridge I defended myself, “No that was over-“ The door burst open as Azure and Barium barged in stumbling over each others words. “S-she-“ “Lyric is-“ “- Gone!” They finished for each other. I shared looks with Chrissy and Lyric before we all looked back at them, innocent looks on our faces as we waited for the couple to calm down. After a second they realized that Lyric was not in fact gone, but had fetched breakfast, and then they locked eyes on the empty bowl floating back to the tray in my magic. “Our breakfast!” Barium shouted as I got up, slipping on my thobe, and trying to keep from laughing at his expression. “Was very delicious, if you every make your way back here you should try it.” Chrissy and Lyric snorted before getting up as well. “That wasn’t very nice Ari.” Azure frowned at me, trying to go for a disapproving look i'm sure, but on her small stature it just made her look cute, sort of like a kid pouting. “No it wasn’t, but you the saying ‘the early bird gets the worm’, and you were late. the sun has been up for at least a hour now, late birds have to get moving.” They both pinned their ears at me as I walked towards them, “Come on we are losing daylight.” Pushing past them I stood in the hallway looking at their scowling faces. “Hayaa!” Come on. I said heading down the hall, looking over my wither as I heard them grunt, ‘Silver Stream’ and Lyric were trotting to catch up to me. Grumbling Azure and Barium started trotting to catch up. All the way down the stairs, hallway, and final set of stairs Lyric was trying to stay by my side, while her touch didn’t bother me like Azure’s did, I already had a mare. A mare that didn’t want to share which was perfect for me, the whole idea of a polygamous relationship was just another new idea that I just couldn’t wrap my head around. It was crazy enough that I was doing this to begin with, never in my wildest dreams would I imagine changing genders, species, and going to a new world. Chrissy was quiet about Lyric’s closeness but kept an eye on Lyric’s movements the whole time. On the main floor, it was nearly empty with just the inn keeper and a brown stallion talking quietly by the counter. They looked up from their conversation, the mare blushing while the stallion rolled his eyes. “Sabah alkhyr Ari.” Good morning Ari. The inn keeper greeted me cheerily, while I just a despondent good morning from the stallion beside her. How did she know my name? “Sabah alkhyr ya anisa. Shukraan lak eali altaeam.” Good morning miss. Thank you for the food. I gave her a big smile to let her know exactly how good it was, it may not have filled me but it sure tasted good. Chrissy nudged me and Lyric pressed into my side as the mare gave me a big smile back, I can take a hint, the mares were trying to guide me towards the door.“Wadea. ‘atamanaa lak yawm jaydin!” Goodbye. Have a good day! I called to her as we exited the inn. Back up on the street we looked around in interest as stores were opening up and the first customers of the day milled down the streets, a few store owners waved at me trying to entice my business, to which I merely waved back. Maybe when I had more than twenty bits to my name. We made our way back to Main Street and I couldn’t help but smile, not because I just had another day of Azure and Barium, but because this world felt soo alive now. There was people milling about, joking, hurrying to work, and the scent of many new and exotic food stuffs hung in the air. Nuzzling the top of Chrissy’s head I couldn’t help but sigh at how nice this was. We traveled in a happy silence down main street, the sights of the wakening city keeping our attention, soo much so, that before we knew it we could see the desert again, although this time there was a scattering of trees across the sand dunes. But before we could reach the freedom of the sand dunes there was another squad of guards at the exit. You can imagine my excitement. Glancing at Chrissy I gave her big eyes to which she shook her head at, darn I was hoping she repeat what she did last time but it appears her ‘itch’ has been scratched for now. Sighing I turn to Lyric, only to jump as I feel Chrissy nip my wither. Okay maybe I won’t ask Lyric to do that. Turning back to Chrissy I gave a sheepish smile, she snorted and motioned to the exit, ahead of us another group was exiting without inspection… Of course, anyone in the city would have already been cleared! I have my stupid moments. We passed past the guards with a nod, the sand on our hooves again, in the near distance I could see a faint cluster of beige dots. Traymare must be a half day's walk ahead, I could practically see the border in my mind. Not Everything in Dreams is Meaningless.**** Princess Luna Entering the dream world came later tonight once again, after a week with the new law in effect I was finding my court overrun with ponies. Most were petitioning to see the research, which I gladly provided. After the general masses of Canterlot were calmed the other ponies of Equestria began to flood the royal courts asking the same questions, I began admitting ponies in groups based on questions to speed up questions. It helped, but not by much truthfully. Then the registration of herds began, we had to make a new wing in the Canterlot archive specifically for this procedure. Current couples were given priority in registering however the process was still a royal headache that not even cake could fix. Sister was still using the cake method however as her current state shows it wasn’t helping at all, in fact if it wouldn’t cause a scandal I’m sure she would be devouring cake during court as well as in her chambers. Why couldn’t we have found an alternative to the Law of the Herd? Even I recognize the tyrannical undertones of the registration of herds and conscripting mares and stallions to form new herds was breaching the pony's rights, but... Shaking my mane out, I focused on the task at hand. Ponies were already dreaming. I was once again late and a good percentage of the dreams were nightmares as a result of our decision. It was a reality I truly hated to see, Tia had seemed soo assured when she said they would understand, I had even laughed at her quip about the young studs enjoying this law, the thought of the young colts that would be very excited somehow hilarious to me. However just like the young colts would soon find out, herds are a big undertaking, with many far reaching implications. Some stallions and mares had already left the country as a result of this law. But I had a dream world to manage and couldn't bring those ponies back to let them see that it wasn't the end of the world. The 'dream world' was more of a 'dream state' really; a magical meditation that let me view other's minds unconscious thought, or more commonly known as dreams. It was a path of the school of mind magic that my mother was keen on teaching Tia but Tia wasn’t interested in dreamwalking, instead preferring the ‘important work’ as she called it, that father did. She loved planetary magic, the feeling of ‘actually doing something’ as she once said when we were foals. And then she wondered why she bedwetting dreams till she was in her twenties, i needed to practice dream manipulation on somepony first! Of course I would never mess with some ponies dreams now unless they were a nightmare, like the one I see over there. In the dream ‘bubble’ a mare is stepping onto a train as she leaves her family behind, the train fades as the mare, in tears, is forced to the ground the shadow of a stallion above her. I had seen enough of her nightmare and placed my horn to the bubble, entering her unconscious mind. My magic dissolving the shadowy figure, this wouldn’t do, and with that thought I changed the bedroom to a ice cream parlor. I left as she was pressed to the glass trying to decide which of fifty two flavors to try. I barely had a moment to wallow in the state that nightmares currently were in before another dream -similar to the last one I had visited- popped up, this time it was a widowed mare. Her stallion’s funeral playing out before us dream Celestia and Luna assigned her to a stallion, the stallion's figure cast in shadows like the previous nightmare, I quickly banished the shadow pony. But I was at a loss at how to fix her dream, it had gone back to the funeral, and looking at it I recognized this mare now. Three months ago the changelings had launched an invasion at our niece Cadence’s wedding, I had most embarrassingly slept through it. Not just the practice run and the wedding, but the invasion itself. Not only that but I had not even noticed that my own niece had been replaced by the changeling queen. She had been right there at breakfast, lunch and dinner! Though Tia has tried to assail my guilt over the fact, pointing out that I hardly knew Cadence and that I was still adjusting to the new pony society after my time on the moon, I still knew I could have done better. If I was still this naïve at one thousand two hundred years old then what hope did I have to match mother’s wisdom? But alas all I could do for the mourning mare was to send her a visage of her late stallion, whispering sweet nothings and reassurances to her fears. If I had woken during the invasion i'm sure I could have prevented her stallion from even having to fight, he never would have been near the building when it collapsed, but then I could just as easily condemn the construction ponies from putting off tearing down the building till after the royal wedding. Blame was getting us nowhere, making our heart ache. Perhaps we needed to view a fun dream before we tended to more nightmares. Looking across the dream bubbles I passed over many, none were traumatizing enough to warrant immediate interference, the few good dreams I found were sweet. Scenes of foals cuddling with giant teddy bears and young lovers sharing a chaste first kiss played across my mind, but I still did not feel my mood change despite the happy images. Reaching to the furthest reaches of Equestria’s domain I looked for a fun dream, perhaps a traveling merchant dreaming of his travels, or a traveling musician. I paused over a dream bubble that was distorting shape under a yellow field of magic which was repelling a white field of magic. This was new, My mother had briefly mentioned magic protecting dreams bubbles, although she had appeared shakened when she took sister and I under her wings and explained how that was the most magical of beings stepping in on a pony’s dream, protecting them. Her explanation had been paltry then, but I had been a foal then, just learning the schools of magics before I choose my specialties. This was real, it wasn’t a story mother told be once upon a stormy night, it was really happening. I wanted to burst into action to protect the pony but my mind stopped me, her words coming back to me, the most ‘magical of beings’ was protecting this pony. What chance did I stand against the beings such as that? However as I watched, wings outstretched in preparation to act, the white field of magic stilled. My eyes locked onto the white magic and I could have sworn I heard a stallion laugh hysterically before the magic dissipated with a flash. Blinking at the sudden flash I noticed the yellow field was gently fading from the uneven dream bubble. Who was this pony, I wanted to know more so I touched my horn to the bubble. Inside I was blown away, it was chaos. Trumpets were blaring of their own accord, a horde of off color Tronanas were clapping their little gloved hands, and a stage held something, no somepony I didn’t dare believe existed. A black Alicorn stallion stood holding a cinnamon bun in his magic as the Tronanas cheered him on, the trumpets growing louder as he brought it closer to his muzzle. “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THYE DREAM?!” All activity halted as my voice echoed back at me. The stallion unpinned his ears, cocking his head to the right, looking me over as the Tronanas faded into the blackness and the trumpets faded. I jumped and flew over to his stage, the cinnamon bun fading as he sat on his rump. “This is a weird dream…Why did I make up a Alicorn mare? I mean-“ “I’m not made up, I’m real! My name is-“ He shook his head. “Nope, you are an obviously a dream. The banana is still here.” Looking where he was looking, there was a yellow Tronana on the stage now. “What?!” “If I’m dreaming there is always a banana somewhere, it is just a thing my mind does. Speaking of my mind, why did I dream up you? Am I horny or something?” For the second time tonight I started blinking owlishly, I couldn’t decide what I felt. The one thing I had to know was if he was real, a real Alicorn. Father, mother, my sister, and now cadence were the only Alicorns I had ever seen. My parent’s parents having passed away over eight thousand years before my birth. He couldn’t be real. Narrowing my eyes I circled him, he looked like a stallion, although an old world version of a stallion not the new world stallions that existed now. He had a lithe muscled body, well defined proportions, and a good deal of height. If I had to guess he was half a hand taller than Tia and he most certainly towered over me. Moving on to his wings, His feathers ruffled a little but they still shined in the stage light, a truly masterful dream to get such details down. His mane and tail were plain black, not an ethereal wave to them at all, a trait I know all true Alicorn’s had. It was our way of burning excess magic, all Alicorn foals and made Alicorns had regular manes and tails. It was a sign of power to have an ethereal mane. On top of the absence of a proper mane he also had no cutie mark. I had seen enough, he was clearly a fake. Those magical beings must be having a riot for pranking the princess of the night. Snorting I made to leave his dream, looking what last time at his face, confusion clear on it. I shall make this perfectly clear to him. “Good bye fake Alicorn.” With that I returned to the dream world intent to see sister in her dream and let her know of this craziness. Finding her dream bubble was not terribly hard, however what I found filled me with worry. Entering my sister’s dream I found it more appropriate to call it a nightmare, she was a young adult again with just a faint bit of ethereal wave to her mane then, and my younger self stood beside her in tears. It was our parent’s funeral. Unbidden tears flowed from my eyes as the procession of mourners brought forth their varying gifts, noble fillies gave sympathetic hugs and bows to my sister as I cried freely beside her. Tia’s eyes were dry, her words strained, and body stiff with expert control at such a young age. I didn’t remember it this way, my tears providing a curtain to the ponies that expressed grieve and by the end wishing us good luck ruling. Even then I hated the majority of the noble pony’s insincerity and duplicity. Blinking back tears I swept a wing across the scene leaving us in her chambers, albeit still in her dreamscape. “Luna?” She said in her normal voice, her youth left in the other dreamscape. “Yes Tia?” I replied solemnly, moving to nuzzle her neck. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I-I have been feeling troubled lately, I fear I have failed as a princess. It is not my imagination that the nightmares you consol now are from the law.” I looked away from her shimmering eyes, my ears dropping, her statement held more truth than I wanted to let her know, than I wanted their to be. No longer did most ponies fear nightmare moon, they feared The Law of the Herd. Tia’s voice broke, “I thought as much.” Sniffling, sister put on a fake smile, “I am a big pony you know Lulu, a little thinking and my sadness will pass, and before you know it the ponies will understand why we did this.” There really wasn’t much I could say to that, my sister was determined to bottle her feelings from me, even in her dreams. Her stubbornness was one of the traits that made her a great ruler but it also held her back, it had taken nearly a thousand years of my absence for her to delve into lost magic and create an Alicorn to sooth her loneliness. Unfortunately there wasn’t any true Alicorns around anymore, our reproduction being a slow and unpredictable nature. The fake Alicorn seemed like court gossip now, petty, and not worth Tia’s time. It wasn’t my job to judge what ponies dreamt of, although I did avoid some ponies dreams like parasprites. Giving her a wing hug I left her dream, I knew she wouldn’t cry in front of me. A quick scan showed the great beings weren’t back; the distorted dream bubble was gone as well. But before me were thousands of nightmares playing out, needing reassurance and peace, though my sister may deny help from us these ponies still needed it. **** Princess Celestia Luna had given me space for the last two days, not visiting in the dreamscape, nor visiting my chambers in the changing hours. I felt bad for keeping my feelings from her but I am supposed to be strong, how can I expect her to stay strong if I don’t maintain my composure? I was supposed to be the older sister, take care of Luna, a task which I had already failed once before. Making my way from my chambers I squared my shoulders and set my ears forward, I was the princess of the sun, I was strong. Outside my doors the guards in front of my chambers flanked me, on guard for anypony that wished to hurt me, a reality that was seeming more possible everyday. After Queen chrysalis defeated me three months ago I began hearing the odd court gossip that I was old, weak, and naïve. With the fact that I not only didn’t recognize Cadance, the mare I known since she was a filly, as being replaced. That fact brought my supposedly well hidden flaws to their attention, like how had I let my sister get to the point that darkness consumed her? 'Wasn’t Celestia just an awful sister?' was a common sentiment along with the equally painful, ‘Be careful or Celestia might send you to the moon!’ It all hurt soo much, even my guards that walked beside me I have heard use that ‘joke’ thinking I could not hear them. The most recent law however had started a even more troubling rumor, Golden Script just had to put our secret in his findings, the same report that was now one of the most widely read scientific reports of this century. ‘Were they sterile?’ ‘How can they carry on the line if there isn’t any male Alicorns?’ I could hear the court mares talking already as I made my way straight to the throne room, breakfast would only make the day court last longer than it would already, and as such i dismissed it. Eventually the court would have to quiet, i just had to make it till then. Whispers were already quieting ahead of me as the doors opened. Although my ears were trained forward, my understanding smile was beaming, and wings were settled, it was all a act. If I were honest I would be locked in my room, crying my eyes out, a cake halfway down my throat. However I couldn’t be a pony, I was princess of the sun and I had to answer for my decisions. Father would have been proud. Thirty two redirections to the herd registration department, twenty two petitions against The Law of the Herd, and four mares trying to petitioned for a right to keep same sex couples together before I was stunned out of my façade. “Presenting Azure Heights and Barium Seal of Manehattan.” Loud Script, my herald, announced to the room. “Hello, my ponies how can I help you today?” Before me a turquoise unicorn mare levitating a letter and a yellow earth stallion stood, suddenly losing their nerve, and shuffling their hooves on the carpet. I could already see the petition unfolding in my head, they- “Princess we come bearing important news and most likely even more important mail.” The mare took a deep breath, confidence returning. “We request a audience with both you and Princess Luna, we were told to deliver this letter to both of you.” This was new, but I wouldn’t wake my sister without a just cause, her night court was filled to the brim every night now. Some Ponies petitioning never left the castle grounds I have been told, simply petitioning both night and day court. “Surely whatever you say can be passed along to her later, she is asleep at the moment.” “NO! Ari said this was for both of you, YOU have to. This-“ My eye twitched, “Azure Heights I am sure it can wait-“ “-is incredually important! We met an Alicorn!” The whole court froze at her words, quills at the ready as everyponies eyes locked onto me. My body heated under the looks, feathers twitching. “Azure perhaps-“, I tried to help her save her muzzle, there wasn’t any other Alicorns. After over a thousands years I knew without a doubt there were no other Alicorns, I had been resigned to that when we never went into heat. Our mother had explained it as magic requirements, in layman’s terms, we had a lot of magic so it took a lot of magic to reproduce. No magic, no estrus, equals no foals. “My mare isn’t lying, the bucking Alicorn saved our lives twice and this is the least we can do to help him…And Azure was going to come here anyway.” Barium Seal spoke for the first time, his ears pinned back and a scowl on his muzzle. Turning to a guard I sighed, “Wake my sister.” She may prank me for years to come but I wasn’t going to get rid of them till I brought her here, and the court was running even further behind at this rate. “May I have the letter?” Azure Heights floated the letter over to me, my golden magic taking it from her blue magic as the castle shook slightly. My sister was awake. In record time Luna had the doors opened, marching with heavy hoof steps to the side of the throne. Her eyes had bags under them, her wings looked slightly ruffled, and her tiara was slightly crooked. “Luna-“ “SPEAK THY BUSSINESS PONIES. WE ARE MOST TIRED AT THIS HOUR.” My ears rung as the court pinned theirs back at her Royal Canterlot voice, a old tradition I felt she was purposely forgetting to not use indoors. She was going to deafen me at this rate. “U-um, we met a Alicorn.” The previously brave mare was crouched low to the ground at Luna’s presence. “Go on…” We all looked at my sister in shock, she wanted to hear more, and she wasn’t using the Royal voice anymore. Just what was she planning? Was this all just an elaborate prank? Azure picked herself up from the floor as everyone gave her their attention. “Well, like I said we met a Alicorn. But we met him by accident, you see we ran away-“ “Him?!” “You ran away?” We looked at each other in shock. How Luna was more interested in the gender of the supposed Alicorn than the fact that these ponies had ran away from Equestria was ridiculous! “Err-“, she looked between us her tail flicking nervously,”- yes him, Ari is very much a stallion. Anyway, we left Equestria but we were captured by Diamond Dogs-” Gasps echoed around the room as everyone leaned forward slightly wondering how they had escaped, I was fuming inside. We had a deal with those dogs and they broke it by the sounds of it. “-However they also captured Ari and his…mare. Well she wasn’t officially his then. Anyway-“ “Diamond dogs were able to subdue and capture a Alicorn Stallion?” Luna looked as skeptical as I felt, that made no sense. “They must have caught him when he was sleeping, cause he slaughtered them when he got free. He is a brute.” Barium replied, unknowingly annoying his mare. “Ari’s a gentlestallion!” “He yelled at us.” “He unlocked our shackles.” “No he gave you the key after he used it on his…mare first. You unlocked our shackles.” “But he helped rescue you from the slave traders in Saddle Arabia!” A gasp echoed around room at that. “Because…” “I ran into him by chance… But he gave us food and water!” “He ate our breakfast at the inn.” “He had just rutted his mare senseless last night, he needed the energy!” A blush was on Azure’s face now. “Yes, he could have got us kicked out with her screaming; he didn’t even put up any sound or smell wards!” “But He’s really hot! The inn keeper mare wouldn’t have kicked him out.” “He’s a too tall jerk.” This verbal tennis match seemed to be going more of a personal direction, perhaps they needed to see the relationship consoler. I will have to- “CEASE THY BICKERING, WE HAVE QUESTIONS!” There went my hearing again. “How did this stallion look like?” Luna asked Azure with a look in her eyes that if I didn’t know better I would call panic. “Ari is all black, has the most amazing wings, and is taller than even Princess Celestia!” Azure chirped out, seeming to love to talk about Ari. Although I was a tad hopeful now, this could be a actual Alicorn. The only question that remained was where he had hidden himself all this time… Coming back to my thoughts I noticed a dark blue magical line hovering halfway up my horn. “Is he about ye tall?” “Yes!” “And no cutie mark?” “y-yes…” “AND HIS MANE LAYS LIKE YOURS DOES?” Azure and Barium just nodded, cowering before Lulu’s voice. If I was being honest I was starting to think my sister knew something with the way she described him. Had she heard of him and not told me? I know we had been busy but I would think she would tell me if she met or heard of another Alicorn. My thoughts were interrupted as Luna started muttering to herself, eyes darting around. I stepped up to her, hoof raised to calm her, only to have her fall over in a faint. I caught her in my magic but I couldn’t contain the chaos that had exploded in the throne room, Loud Script tried to be heard above the barrage of questions but was failing. Worry for my little Lulu dominating my thoughts I used the Royal Canterlot voice, ”DAY COURT IS POSTPONED, NIGHT COURT WILL BE AS SCHEDULED UNLESS ANNOUNCED OTHERWISE.” With that I teleported my little sister to my chambers, she most definitely knew something about this ‘Ari’ stallion. Ari's Letter.**** Princess Luna Waking up I felt confused, moments before I had been in the Day court, I had been called there by my sister, the ponies… My blood froze as I remembered why they had asked for me during the day: the Alicorn stallion. ‘Ari’ I believe the mare had called him, the stallion that matched the description of the stallion I had met in the Dream world. I had called him a fake Alicorn, a mistake I knew I had to correct. Dear Faust, if his temper was anything like father’s was then I was already six feet under- “Luna I know you are awake. We have to talk.” I cracked open a eye, my sister stood above me with her motherly disapproving frown that she had perfected over the centuries. Despite how much regret I held over my reaction to Ari, that seemed to pale in comparison to Tia's disapproval. She was understandably hurt, an emotion I had hoped to console her on, not to be the cause of. But at the time not telling her of his strange dream bubble had seemed like a sound idea, she had been upset and I had been behind in my work. It was time to explain myself though. Opening my other eye I saw I was in Tia’s chambers, resting on her bed’s golden sheets as the sun shinned through the grand windows. Her chambers didn’t seem in any worse of wear despite the large quantities of cake I know she had been having delivered daily. It was making her mane extremely ethereal lately, with all the extra magic being produced. Sitting up with my legs folded underneath me I looked back at her, ears slowly dropping at lack of emotion her face was portraying. She was really, really upset. “Welllll, I mean, it just didn’t seem important at the time. You were upset and I figured you wouldn’t want to hear about the…the ‘fake’ Alicorn.” I cringed a little as I finally said it, knowing my sister would understand exactly what I had done. “Luna,” She took a deep breath as the room felt warmer, “Did you just say ‘fake Alicorn’?” I nodded keeping my eyes averted from my sister as the temperature in her chambers increased again. “He certainly didn’t sound fake, those ponies truly believed what they said and with the fact that you could describe him exactly I assume you know he isn’t fake after today.” There was a bite to her voice now. “Y-yes sister I am aware.” What else could I say, I had acted rashly and now I would have to live with the consequences. However, she still- “Is there anything else you haven’t told me?” “Actually yes-“, I flinched as the temperature started increasing again, gulping I explained, “-I only noticed his dream bubble due to its distortion. Its surface wasn’t holding its shape and…and-“ A knock sounded from the door, causing me to flinch, and my sister to glare at the offending sound. “P-Princess C-Celestia?” It was Celestia’s court herald, Loud Script. “Yes. Has the court left then?” “Y-yes, I brought the letter Azure Heights delivered. How-“ He never was able to finish his sentence as my sister opened the door, using her magic to bring the letter to the bed. “Thank you Loud Script, you have been most professional throughout today’s…developments. I do hope you take the rest of the off, it is certainly deserved.” Tia gave him a warm smile, her mask partially on. She really does care for the ponies but she, just like myself, are only ponies, and as such have our limits. She was rushing through the formalities, but I think the herald was glad for her speed, I can only imagine how scary my sister was when I fainted. Slouching in relief at his princess’s smile he quickly looked at me, “It is a relief to see you are better Princess Luna, I hope your night court is...quick.” The stallion didn’t know what to say, quick was a more accurate description to how he wanted this conversation to go. Although even he realized that I was undoubtedly going to get swamped doubly so after my presence in the day court. I could hear the nobles now, questioning my knowledge of the Alicorn, carrying their petty petitions over from the disrupted day court. “Thank ye Loud Script, we were merely overcome at thee moment. We are feeling better.” With a quick bow to my sister and me he left, closing the door in his magic. “A letter?!” Tia nodded before hopping up onto her bed, settling beside me. Her wing wrapping around my barrel, “They were asked by Ari to deliver it to both of us, apparently it is important.” She paused and narrowed her eyes at the scroll, “Important enough to be sealed. It will be easy for either one of us to break, but I think Ari wanted this to stay between us.” “Ah, sister remember the question you asked before we were interrupted, “ Tia nodded, “Well, his dream bubble was not only distorting but two magics were with it. A golden magic was shielding it from a white magic field that was trying to break in, I believe they were great magical beings… like the ones mother told us about. Strangely enough I could have sworn I heard somepony laugh hysterically before both magic fields disappeared." Tia gave me a nod, "I guess my point is that he must be very important.” All the while I was explaining the peculiar event Tia was growing more and more concerned, “The beings didn’t try to do you any harm? They just left when you noticed them?” “Y-yes, that’s when I entered Ari’s dream and met him, but…” I trailed off as something hit me. “Yes?” “He thought I was part of the dream, he didn’t know who I was!” A nervous chuckle left my throat, “He actually questioned if he was aroused to dream me up! Tia can you-“ My sister held up a hoof and i could have sworn her eye twitched, “Perhaps we should read his letter, I have many questions. As happy as I am that the stallion thinks you're attractive enough to dream about I am concerned that such powerful beings have an interest in him. That they would let you view the dream his mind that they were protecting and attacking respectably, it seems like a trap.” She was right. That had occurred to me, why else would they suddenly stop their efforts when I was a lesser being than them? Her golden magic wove around the scroll before a green double helix of magic appeared around the scroll, woven to prevent its opening. My sister hummed in concern before using her magic to unwind the helix from the scroll, it fading into the air as the connection was broken. Sharing a determined look we unrolled the letter, in it the letter read: Dear Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, It is with both great excitement and trepidation that I am writing to you, the excitement as this has been taken a good week to happen, although it will be longer than that by the time this reaches you. Azure and Barium should be delivering this letter safely to you, although I can’t guarantee that Azure won’t have at least tried to read it. The trepidation I feel in writing to you both lies in what small information I have heard of regarding yourselves and the nature of our future meeting. I squirmed a little as read that, he was going to meet with us, and I had insulted him. When he realizes it was me that insulted him he won’t be happy to see us at all. It was the Gryphon negations of 1854 all over again. But before I continue I would like to inform you I only know small details about both of you, details that I will admit are just small pieces of the bigger picture, and I will try to hold my final judgement till I learn of the bigger picture. However, perhaps you should look at the bigger picture as well? As I read his query I felt confusion, what exactly was he referring to? Tia must have been a couple sentences behind me, as just as I paused to reflect on his words I felt her body heat up beside me. Controlling the sun she took on certain characteristics since her magical core was linked to it, normally they were kept hidden however under extreme emotion they appeared, like now. He had obviously offended her somehow. Sweating a little now I continued reading, he might explain it... Firstly, an issue that has been brought to my attention that is completely barbaric in my opinion: The Law of the Herd. I would love to know exactly how a low birth rate and low fertility prompted this law to return, off the top of my head I can think of three ways to increase births without taking away your citizen’s freedom to choose their partners. If Azure and Barium are any sign of how your citizen’s feel about the law then I think you both should consider amending the law. If your miniscule brains can truly not think of any changes than here are some I thought of: Foal benefits packages – Take a chunk out of the royal treasury and pay ponies to have foals, it will allow even the lowest income pony to have foals. Fertility doesn’t understand rich and poor after all. Artificial Insemination- Pay virile stallions for their sperm, then give it free to any and all couples with a sterile stallion, couple this with the Foal Benefits package and I think they will like that. This will also allow same sex couples to stay together, no herd stallion needed. Surrogate Mares- Give any infertile mares the opportunity to have a another mare carry a foal for her, pay for all the surrogate’s needs and before you know it you will have plenty of mares interested in such a job. There are the three law related changes that I think could help the unease your barbaric law has caused, of course I still believe you should be looking at pony genetics as well. Research some fertility remedies and give them to your citizens for free. If you are concerned for the country’s future enough to take away your citizen’s right to choose then I think you are invested enough to afford to sponsor the repopulation effort. Now I’m afraid I’m going to have to shatter your ignorant excuses for brain cells, but have you looked at what you do every dawn and dusk respectively? Moving a giant ball of gas and a hunk of space rock around your planet…I hate to break it to you but despite what the ponies think it isn’t natural, in reality the planet should be doing the moving around the sun and the moon around the planet. At least that is how the world works where I came from was like. Please let it be known that because of your ignorance, the damage you have done, I have been taken from my world, my home, and I am very angry about that fact. Do you know what it feels like to never be able to return home, to be tossed into a world as a god’s toy pony to solve problems that I didn’t even have anything to do with? As much as I would love to tell you exactly how much you fucking messed up my life and many other lives on this planet I will refrain for now. In two to three weeks time I will be in Canterlot to meet with you both. I trust we will have much to discuss. Till then, Ari **** Princess Celestia I could feel my heart race as I read his letter, as the pieces fell into place, and I started to feel the room spin. My control was wavering, even Luna noticed as she shifted besides me, my body's temperature increasing. It was one of side effects of planetary magic that I hated. But he had insulted us, no, insulted our family, even though I knew what he said was true about the old orbiting pattern, I couldn't help but feel that he didn't really understand our reasons. Taking a deep breath I recalled he even wrote that he doesn't know much about us. Perhaps he is simply uninformed, uninformed and rude, but uninformed all the same. But there was a lot to process from such a short letter. An orderly assessment was surely the easiest way to handle this, taking a couple of steadying breaths I went over his letter again. Ari not surprisingly thought poorly of our response to the population crisis we were facing and I felt hurt at his statements, if not a little annoyed, I mean of course it was barbaric. It was created over five thousand years ago! No matter how much truth I saw in his words i couldn't help but hold my tongue, perhaps I can explain it to him when he arrives. Another deep breath as i processed the underlying feeling of hurt, those words coming from the only Alicorn beside my sister held more weight. No that too was only a half truth. It was also his status as the only Alicorn stallion that held sway, for after all the talk of my sister and I’s possible sterility and impossibility of continuing the monarchy as things stood he presented us with a hope. A real relationship where our stallion would not grow old with age before us. Perhaps we could be seen as mares, a feeling we had never had the chance to truly experience, as soon as we both had towered over the stallions they stopped even considering us as possible marefriends. I wasn’t alone in this sentiment, tall mares everywhere faced the same problem, although we were considered attractive we were intimidating to mount, requiring a mounting block, and I know of no stallion that likes to look up to his mare. But that was neither here nor there now, my thoughts are already running away on me as I read on, keeping a firm grip on my emotions. He was simply unaware of somethings. Ari’s points on the law held some truth and reminded me why I had chosen it in the first place: I didn’t and still don’t believe my ponies object to having herds and herds on average have more foals than a couple. However, the arranged herds was what they feared and admittedly not the best part of the law to keep. Not that I blamed the ponies for fearing arranged herds. Although not a filly anymore, I understood the fears they must feel being paired with a strange stallion, my parents had considered it for us briefly. It wasn’t something I enjoyed the thought of nor something I wished on them but it had been included in the original law, which was all I could think of at the time. Perhaps I will try to make the amendments Ari suggested, they sound like wise decisions, amendments that in hindsight I should have made before announcing the reinstatement of the law. A law that was originally made when pony society wasn’t as civilized as it was now surely required amending. His rude comments made my blood boil before I re-read the next part of his letter. Moving down his letter I looked at the next part I could make sense of and I felt my fur heat as I saw red, he had blatantly disrespected our intelligence. Although I could understand somewhat when my ponies questioned it lately, they were filled with fear and weren't thinking clearly. But this audacious stallion who even freely admitted he would reserve his final judgement seems to have a pretty clear opinion of us, quite frankly I thought this stallion had more respect than this. Luna flinched as a small spark flew off my mane. Okay deep breaths, reacting now wasn't going to help anything now, I could address this when he comes. After I felt my heart slow i continued, he did make sense for most his point. The part where on us raising the sun and the moon was true, but we have always known how it used to work before our Father and Mother had developed the planetary branch of magic to stabilize the country’s weather and seasons. It was instrumental to the development of the Equestrian economy, a fact still recognized as bits were still the main coin across the continent, and would be eventually around the world. But his words still hung in my mind and I’m sure Luna’s as well, if her slack jawed look meant what I thought it did. He was taken from his home because we were causing 'destruction', a foalish thought when we did not leave Equestria nor did we have any wars going on, it was more accurately and likely that he was taken on some beings whim and spoon fed false information. Mother had mentioned how some ‘great magical beings’ or 'gods' as I called them, were tricksters and cruel entities that enjoyed messing with mortals. However I had never heard of a god messing with a demi-god level entity such as an Alicorn. Looking at my sister I could see tears in her eyes, she knew how he felt most closely, she had a thousand years to be alone after all, and he was surely alone in our world. I could hope that we could see eye to eye after the meeting, Lulu could use more friends. His foul language and insult was still offensive but in light of what he has been through I believe a little rudeness is acceptable. That did not mean I would not be asking for a formal apology for such disrespect but I could see where he had come from. “So Ari is coming to meet with us.” My voice sounded weak to my ears and though the room had stilled I felt that my world slowly tilting. “Yes sister and he is already angry with us, he has been so before I even insulted him." A sniffle sounded from beside me,"I am sorry for my foalish action, I was rash, It se-“ “No Luna I have done actions far more foalish than that.” Luna widened her eyes as she understood my words, nuzzling my muzzle. I didn’t feel any better but I appreciated her love, despite not deserving it, the ponies were right about some things. Lulu deserved a better sister. “I have told you time and time again sister, I was a mad mare then, and you were protecting our people. There is no fault in protecting others…” Although I could see the wisdom in that I still felt bad that Lulu had suffered so much. I shuffled my wing and tucked my little sister close, she was here now at least, and neither of us was alone. Placing Ari’s letter on my desk I turned to Luna, “Would you stay with me today? Due to some pony fainting, Day court has been canceled and I haven’t the will to tell them otherwise.” That got me a giggle. “Why of course sister, only if thy intends to join us in Night court. I fear it shall be even busier than last night. Perhaps if we end it early we could go to the dreamscape together? I know it is not thy favorite magic but…” I thought over Lulu’s words, of course Night court will be crazy from the gossip. Not only was Luna called to Day court, fainted in Day court, and the cause of me ending Day court early. But all of that was due to the announcement of an Alicorn, an Alicorn stallion in a population crisis. It would be foalish for me not to go after all that. Not to mention Luna of course wanted to try and find Ari again in the dream world, to apologize to him, and most likely give him a hug. I would like to see him as well. “No worry Lulu, I won’t let you face the madness alone and I would like to come met Ari as well, even if it is only his unconscious self.” “Thank you sister.”With that we both elected for a nap as both of us would be awake for Night court for once. It would be exciting; I haven’t held night court in quite a while. **** I opened my eyes just as the call of the sunset went over my magic’s core, blinking I looked over at Luna. She was just rousing herself as well, giving a cute yawn that reminded me of her as a foal, just nestled up to mother’s belly after feeding. Where has the time gone? Removing myself from Lulu’s cuteness I made my way to my balcony, wincing as I felt my regalia move along my fur, I had forgotten to remove it. Magic opening the doors, I looked out over Canterlot and beyond. Somewhere out there was another Alicorn. Hearing the quiet hoof falls of I waited till she made it my side, “Good evening sister, it is nearly time.” Luna gave me another small yawn before her stomach replied, I blinked before my stomach agreed with hers causing us both to giggle. We had forgone lunch, a act that we would have remedy lest we cause even more scandal than we already have, unfortunately, our stomachs were very much as great and endless as our magic. Perking up, her horn glowed a dark blue as my horn shown with a golden light, pulling the sun from its position in the sky. As ponies shuffled to get home and a few gazed up at us my sister’s orb began to fill the western sky, glowing bright in its ascent. With my sun put to sleep, I stopped my magic to appreciate the stars that appeared in Lulu’s sky. She still did it better than me. That was merely due to her proficiency in illusion magic, as the stars would always be mostly the same. They were too far for our planetary magic’s to reach, a fact that still bothered Luna I’m sure. Although she made elaborate illusions of stars to keep the idea that the entire night was her domain, it truly wasn’t, we were merely maestros with a limited baton over the world’s music. A fact that was most apparent with the arrival of Ari. With our duty down, moon held stationary in the sky, we entered my bedroom again. Luna was frowning as she looked back at her moon, a frown that I didn’t share, surely she remembered why we must move them. “Sister, do you recall the part where he said we have caused destruction…That we are ignorant and have ruined lives? I can’t help but wonder if there could be some truth to his words. Why else would he say such statements?” “Lulu, he has been taken from his world, most likely by a malevolent god, I’m sure he is just upset. Father and mother wouldn’t do something that would hurt other ponies.” Lulu grew silent again, giving me a faint nod in the moonlight. “Let us get dinner dear sister.” **** Princess Luna Dinner was a quiet affair, nothing to talk about as we had caught up during the day due to today’s events, and I felt too concerned to converse. Ari’s distorted dream bubble hadn’t been there the last two nights, I hadn’t been looking for it but his bubble was hard to miss among the undisturbed bubbles. Was he alright? Would he forgive my transgression? “Luna?” Sister waited at the door to the throne room, looking at me with concern in her eyes. To everyone else she looked the image of perfection but I knew the signs of hidden emotions, I had once practiced it after all. But bottled feelings aside I broke into a trot, nodding my readiness to Tia before the doors opened. I was expecting chaos. Before us the throne room was decorated in my colors, banners were showing the glorious moon, and before the throne my night guard formed a line. Behind the line of my thestral guards, ponies stood quietly, a silence hung above them that I was unsure about. But despite my unease I had to begin the Night court. After we were seated I began in a regular voice, the hush making my Royal Canterlot voice unnecessary. “Good evening ponies and welcome to Night court. Tonight will be a different affair than usual. As I am sure you have all heard of what happened in late Day court, we have much to discuss and announce. Due to those events my sister has elected to join us for Night court tonight.” Tia nodded to the ponies, though still the ponies remained silent, gazing at me with looks of worry. “As to the rumors you have most likely heard I will dispel them as much of them as I can. Another Alicorn has been found. He calls himself Ari and will be meeting with us in around a fortnight. Fear not for from what we can gather he has good intentions, having saved a couple of ponies from both capture and enslavement.” That started a round of whispers that my guards quieted with a look. “Please proceed with thy questions and petitions now.” And with that my guards let the first pony through their line. By the time the last group of petitioners had left my wings were twitching, as were my sister’s. Although my guards had provided an excellent buffer to the more salacious questions I could see where some mare’s thoughts were going after the discovery and I wished that our minds held more resistance to such words. Not only were we mildly interested but we were, or at least I was very offended by the end of it. Most well wishing and excitement had the audacity to be double edged, while congratulating us on the discovery of a male Alicorn they also managed to insult our intelligence. How had we not known of him? Were our head's tucked under our wings? Well, we did withhold the part where he had been taken from his homeworld to deal with our ‘ignorance’ and ‘destruction’, after The Law of the Herd his situation wouldn’t go over well for us. But the ponies had been easily distracted at our ending statement; we were having a royal announcement in a couple of days on The Law of the Herd. Ari’s law amendments were our hope to ease the crowds in the court. Giving a grateful smile to my guards, my sister and exited the throne room, turning to go to our respective wings in the castle. We would see each other in the Dream world. I Dreamt of Moonbutt.**** Ari Three days ago My eyes opened and my vision started off fuzzy, becoming clearer as little banana men started appearing for a reason I still couldn’t understand why. They wore little Mickey Mouse gloves but had no faces. A little creepy but I was used to this. Next they started to clap in rhythm, a rhythm that i soon heard as a trumpet sounded off behind me, making me jump in place. Looking back I saw a dozen trumpets floating in the air, and behind them a red curtain hung. I was on a stage I realized as the trumpets started blaring out a dramatic set. Why the pizzazz? I understood as the holiest of all pastries had appeared: the cinnamon bun. It even was steaming like it had come fresh from the oven. That was what I missed on this planet. No warning sounded before it started to fall from the spot it held in the air, almost taking my chance at dream happiness, and my magic enveloped without a second thought. A cheer rang out from the bananas. How did they cheer without mouths? Cinnamon wafted into nose, bringing me back to the treat in front of me, it was clearly meant for me. The clapping resumed and the trumpets multiplied, growing louder in a wave of sound as I brought the sacred pastry closer to my muzzle. Now how did it- “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THYE DREAM?” I jumped in place yet again, cinnamon bun forgotten at the new voice yelling at me, the new mare’s voice. Looking at the mare before me my ears perked up and I cocked my head. The fanfare faded as I really took her in, she was flying over to me now, dark blue wings hardly flapping at the effort. A soft clink and hollow thud echoed as her hooves landed on the stage. She was wearing horseshoes, not the earth variety though; these were literal metal shoes with a part of it traveling up the front of her pastern. Following her pastern I took in her angry expression, ears back, and ethereal mane flowing in a nonexistent breeze. She had a horn. Blinking I followed her body line with my eyes, she was smaller than me, around the size of Lyric, and wore a tiara behind her horn. For some reason she had a tattoo of a moon on her rump and a matching necklace on. Why were ponies obsessed with tattoos on their rumps? Better yet why had I dreamed up an attractive Alicorn mare with a tattoo on her butt? I don’t remember being overly turned on by tattoos before, not that it didn’t accentuate her flank and work with her fur color but it just didn’t seem like me. I mean Azure’s tattoo didn’t hold my attention, nor did Barium’s. This was another culture thing I had to remember to ask about. The mare was still looking at me expecting a response, “This is a weird dream…Why did I dream up an Alicorn mare? I mean-“ She, of course, interrupted me, “I’m not made up, I’m real. My name is-“ This happens every once in awhile, where a figment of my imagination tries to insist it is real, usually it is a banana but this was still a banana, err, I mean dream. This was still a dream. Shaking my head I explained to my subconscious apparition, “Nope, you’re obviously a dream. The banana is still here.” The mare looked at the banana but still didn’t get it, “What?!” Why had I dreamed up a dumb mare, any dream thing should understand the importance of the banana. But I guess this must be a reflection of some stupidity going in my life. “If I’m dreaming there is always a banana somewhere, it is just a thing my mind does. Speaking of my mind, why did I dream you up? Am I horny or something?” That seemed to upset the dream mare as she narrowed her eyes at me before she started slowly circling me. I could feel her breath on my fur as she inspected my wings, causing my body to give a slight shiver as her hooves tapped around me , she inspected my body. For some reason I wanted to puff out my chest and spread my wings for her inspection, but I ignored the urge, instead focusing on her face. It was going from confused to sad and then settling on angry, ears pinned back. She suddenly jumped into the air, looking back at me with scorn, “Good bye fake Alicorn.” With the dark blue Alicorn suddenly gone I looked around for the cinnamon bun, I might as well finish my dream snack. It wasn’t there anymore. In fact a lot of things weren’t here anymore, the instruments were gone, and the banana and stage were becoming transparent. The transparency taking a sudden turn as it flared into a light, it grew to blinding proportions, forcing me to close my eyes. Now what? Opening my eyes I looked at the short grass in front of my face, looking around I noticed the absence of a banana, this was real. I don’t usually remember my dreams but this one was sticking to me, or should I say the mare in my dream was. But if I was going to dream of a mare, why not my mare or even my stalker, Lyric? A mare I had met before made more sense than my mind making up a mare, a mare with a moon on her butt. Moon…Butt Moonbutt! My eyes widened and my heart raced as I realized I had dreamt of the moon princess, or at least my version of her, but why would I? Was the god messing with me? Was he manipulating my mind to be attracted to her? What if it was the real Princess Luna? Taking a deep breath I banished my panic and remembered my dream. No, I wasn’t feeling any emotions that didn’t make sense. I thought her body was nice, but her personality was just awful. I mean, If he was really trying to make me like her then he would have made her more likeable, not have her yell and contradict me. She could be real...Nay, now that sounded crazy. Dream magic? Unlikely, meaning that was probably just my brain worrying about how the princesses would react to the letter, when I mentioned the weather going crazy and me being from another world it might make me sound more than a little crazy. Did the letter sound too out there? I needed to talk to Chrissy, make sure the letter didn’t sound too crazy. She had said I shouldn’t say some things and I agreed, mentioning that it was all their fault did sound like a bad idea in hindsight. How would I get into the castle to abduct them and show them the damage they are causing if I didn’t stay civil with them after all? Looking under my right wing my expression softened at Chrissy’s sleeping face, a small grin on her muzzle as she tucked her head against my shoulder. Her horn thankfully was pointed down as I turn my muzzle to her ear. “Chrissy” “mmmmm” Her eyes were still closed as she nuzzled into my fur. “Chrisssyyy” My voice a little louder now, I didn’t want to wake Lyric who was completely hidden under my left wing, and thankfully still asleep. “Wake up.” “No.” I blinked at her response, she was awake…I think, she could be talking in her sleep but I didn’t feel like that was the case. Now to- “Go to sleep my Hubun.” Lyric said is a sleepy voice, nuzzling deeper into my side. Before I process what Lyric had said I heard Chrissy growl beside me, now she was awake, and upset. My questions would have to wait. “Lyrical Dazzle is that a challenge?” Chrissy’s wing was buzzing angrily under my wing as her eyes narrowed at Lyric. Please- “N-no Chrissy I simply misspoke, I was half a-asleep.” Lyric shivered against me, trying to appear smaller under my wing. This was her own fault though, that mare needed to quit flirting with me, I really didn't want her getting hurt. But I also didn't want another marefriend, I just got my first one after all. Snorting at Lyric, Chrissy laid her head back down, eyes narrowed at Lyric. Well, this tension is nice and all but I had important business to take care of: breakfast. Giving my mare a quick kiss and my st- new friend an even quicker nuzzle on her nose I stood up, raising my wings to the sky in a stretch. Below me there were a couple of annoyed grunts as the mares fell on their sides as their support left, followed by a couple of groans and grumbles as they tried to get comfortable again, ending in a eerie silence. Looking at them I saw why, my morning visitor was awake, and had caught the eyes of both mares. Although I was used to it by now, walking around with it hanging out, that was with only Chrissy around, Azure and Barium never saw it. Now my former stalker was looking at it with her eyes bugging out. This was awkward. “Sooo… I’m going to go find breakfast.” Now I was walking away from the gawking mares, not daring to look back. Except I was moving backwards, looking back I saw a green magic field around my tail, dragging me back to Chrissy. “No, Lyric is going to find breakfast. We will wait here.” Chrissy gave a wide smile at the now frowning siren. “O-of course I was, be back in a jiffy. What did you want for breakfast Ari?” Lyric was now standing, smiling and waiting to hear what I would want. Chrissy scowled from her position beside me. “Anything edible! I feel like I haven’t eaten in weeks.” I could feel my ears perk up and my wings flutter as I thought of food, beside me I heard Chrissy give a giggle as Lyric’s eye twitch. She must have remembered my appetite. It might take her awhile… “Of course, don’t go any where, I will be back in…Soon.” I felt kind of bad as she walked into the woods, the mare looked really down after she remembered my appetite, I know Chrissy probably wanted alone time but it didn’t feel right. That could be the part where I let a mare wander off into the forest alone. “There isn’t anything that could-“ **** Chrissy As soon as Lyric was out of my sight I pounced on Ari, my stallion, it was time to show exactly who his mare was. Also, it was breakfast time and I needed some love. We landed in a heap, my muzzle kissing his as he lay beneath me. Purring I ground on his cock, he loved this, I could feel the sweet emotion trickling in as I massaged his sheath with my body. After being forced to make do with a constant slow trickle of food, a trickle that was further slowed by his thobe. He would never wear that heinous thing again if I had any say. Feeling the love increase with my pace I couldn’t help but grin in the kiss, I was going to make him scream. Ari squirmed under me, my tail suddenly flagging as I realized I could have a full meal, he was my stallion. He had already rutted me into a whimpering mess already during my heat, my first heat. He had been amazing, preparing me, hitting all the right spots, and I swore I saw stars by the end. I wanted to return the favor. “Ari, remember when I said that I absorb love from contact,“ I ground my marehood hard on his erection causing us both to moan. He nodded, leaning up to nibble on my ear. Fuck, yes, I needed this. “Well, I absorb a little trickle from touching, more from kissing, BUT-“Pushing my body forward along his chest till his tip touched my lower lips,”-I receive a - FUCK- a full meal from rutting. Understand?” Ari had bucked when my marehood settled on his tip and I couldn’t help but yell, even without my heat induced sensitivity I still had sensitive nerves down there. Ari understood alright, he used his wings to prop himself up to a sitting position and lightly bit my ear causing me to raise my bottom up and give a light nicker. His hooves coming around my barrel, holding my crouched body to his chest, nibbles growing harder and more demanding. I finally had had enough, folding my knees I dropped down onto his cock, spearing myself in one thrust, and letting out a loud squeal at the pleasure. I hope she heard me. Twisting my hips a little I got comfortable on him, Ari moaning low at my movements. I could feel him in my furthest reaches, twitching faintly in my grip, and giving him a little clench I began. As I stood he groaned, tightening his grip on my barrel, and locking lips with him I slammed down. I squealed into his mouth as his cock hilted in me again, dear Faust, I needed more. Feeling a small tension start in my lower stomach I broke the kiss, stood and slammed myself onto him again, we both neighed at the sensation. I needed more, faster, harder. Quickening the pace I was able to feel my legs burn as i continued my new pace, my wing jerking stiffly as I continued to slam myself on his cock. The coil in my belly was tightnening and my squeals had dissolved to pants, I was soo close. Ari’s hooves gripped my hips and started increasing the pace, his cock give a twitch nearly every second in my tunnel, if I could time this just- A loud scream escaped my mouth as his muzzle clamped down on the back of my neck, holding me close as he filled me with his warmth and I clamped my walls down on him. Our juices dripping from my marehood and onto his sheath and balls, my pants sounding in my scream’s echo as I rested my head on his neck, exhausted and full in more than one way. Releasing his hold on my neck he relaxed his wings and lowered us to the grass. “I love you.” I purred at his statement, practically glowing from the full meal, much better than when we rutted before. There were more flavors to the love, it felt richer, and I felt not only happy from being full but happy from just him. This stallion, Ari, he was definitely the one for me. He could make me laugh, smile, and scream, “I love you as well, and you are most definitely the stallion for me.” His chest puffed up a little under me, but that was alright, why pretend he wasn’t the one when he was. Lying never got me anywhere good. As I felt his cock soften and retreat to his sheath I heard rustling in the bushes to the left of us, we both took in the breeze coming our way. I smelled water lilies. Lyric’s rump exited the bush first followed by the rest of her body, her tail raised as she dragged a log full of fruits in her magic. It looked heavy but I wasn’t sure it was heavy enough to require her to enter the clearing ass first. We had a problem here, obviously she didn’t understand that Ari didn’t understand our customs, and he wasn’t interested in her like that. Getting off Ari I added my magic to her load, yanking it past her and into the clearing. That was apparently a smart move as he was instantly sitting in front of it, rubbing his hooves as a little drool starting at his muzzle. My stallion had a endless appetite, which i suppose was good as that meant he must have a large magical core. Lyric snapped out of her arousal and our magic faded as he started consuming the fruits and odd nut with a speed that was disgusting. Not that he made a mess with his breakfast. It entered his mouth with hardly a squirt or dribble, but even still, I felt nauseous at his speed and I didn't even eats solid food. Well my body technically can break it down but that is leftover from before changelings were strictly emotionvores, we get no nutrition from pony food now. “I hope you ate something out there, this is just a warm up for him.” “I-I did...Really?” Her voice sounded kind of scared at the thought that a ten foot long log sled filled with food wouldn’t keep him full. I made my way to her side, slowly of course, my rump was a little tender still. Sitting down beside her I whispered in her ear, “Yes…Still interested?” I swear her eyes narrowed at me before a ‘innocent’ smile appeared on her muzzle, nodding she turned back to Ari only to open her mouth. Scowling at her answer I turned to see what she was so shocked about. In the ten seconds we had looked away he had finished the food. “That was delicious! Was there anymore left where you found these?” My face broke into a smile at his expression, his eyes shone as he smacked his lips, ears forward, and wings giving slight flutters at the happiness he got from the meal. It was disgusting at the amount he ate but seeing him happy made me happy for him, although I had a feeling that he was going to need his own orchard just to handle that stomach of his after- Lyric couldn’t let my moment last. “Of course! Follow me Ari!” Her pep was back, his appetite hadn’t scared her away unfortunately, and my mare challenge had not seemed to have any lasting effects. We were going to have to have a long talk. Ari rose and followed her while I stayed close to his side, glaring at her tail which was swishing in wide arcs to show flashes of her marehood. He noticed it as well but kept his eyes averted from her direction after the second glimpse, subtlety wasn’t her strong suit. “Lyric I think I should explain some things to you about our mission. But first, Was there anything that you didn’t understand yesterday?” She slowed and started to walk closer to his side, one ear on me, the other on Ari. “I think I understand. You were taken from your world by a crazy god so you can stop the princesses from moving the sun and moon. The unnatural movement of the sun and moon is affecting the planet’s weather system and causing super weather, storms, and other types like the drought in Saddle Arabia.” He nodded at her. “Well, the only question I guess is how do we stop two powerful, millennia old Alicorns? Do you know any special magic to do that?” He stopped midstride and started moving his mouth as nothing came out and his eye twitched, I think she broke him. “Ari?” I purred in his ear but he didn’t react, Lyric had the same worried expression that I had as she nuzzled his neck from her side. Still no reaction, I was about to kiss him when a yellow muzzle beat me to his lips. The rising growl died in my throat as he blinked and looked around. “WHAT?!” Lyric jumped back at his sudden volume and my ears pinned themselves to my head. “They are how old again? Better yet what is considered normal for a lifespan on Equis?” It was exactly as I thought; Earth had a different lifespan for Alicorn’s there. “Well I don’t know how much magic Earth has but because of the magic innate in our bodies and on the planet we can live quite awhile. The bigger your magical core the longer your lifespan. Does that work like that on Earth?” “N-no, there isn’t any magic on earth.” He gulped before continuing, “Before coming here I had never used magic, hence why when I levitated you that time I had little control over how high. I never used to be able to eat more than what Lyric usually eats and….Males are only expected to live for eighty five years, female’s maybe ninety five years at best in my country.” Now it was my turn to be surprised, which turned to fear as my heart raced, he would have only lived till he was eighty five years old? He would live a little longer than an earth mare, but still significantly less than me. Taking a deep breath to quell my coming heart ache I thought over his words. He ate a normal earth pony amount before and but now his increased appetite and ability to use magic where he couldn’t before had to mean he would live the normal lifespan for Alicorns now. Right? He was just like an Alicorn from here now, except for his mane and lack of cutie mark. Ari just had to be, I don’t think I will ever find anyone that accepts me like he does. “W-wait so you don’t live up to your ten millennia like Alicorn’s here?” Lyric was crying now, stepping back from Ari, and looking like her heart was breaking. I know I didn’t want to share him and did not want her to keep making advances on him but I couldn’t help but feel for her. After experiencing it watching my family age and die over generations I had felt it too often. I had felt that empty void for quite a while now. Ari extended his wing and tugged her close, the other wing unfurling itself to wrap around me. “I think I probably will live as long as the Alicorn’s that live here, Earth has a very different atmosphere and I have changed a lot since coming here. I doubt I still have the same constraints as before… However I also have no knowledge this planet either. Chrissy has been filling in some gaps but I still have some questions. How about i explain our plan after I learn some more things first, who knows it might change our plans.” He paused and stopped, looking at our faces with serious eyes, we both nodded to him in understanding. Now we both were walking pressed into Ari, it was very comforting after that little scare. However, that comfort might be a bad thing, I don’t think Lyric was even leading us to the second breakfast for Ari anymore… “Our saddle bags!” I gasped as I realized we had left them in the clearing. Ari and Lyric both face hoofed and we all turned around the way we come from, second breakfast forgotten at the fear of losing our map, compass, and water. We had run out of food last night, hence the foraging this morning. He began with a question I had honestly been expecting much sooner, it was a classic ice breaker, and most stallions like to know exactly how young their mare is. Which made me nervous as i wasn't exactly in my first century anymore. “I hope I am not being rude by asking but I am curious how old are you?” “Five hundred thirteen years old.” “One thousand one hundred fifty three years old.” Lyric answered and I blinked owlishly at her age, she was almost as old as the princesses! How was the most emotional one here the oldest?! Our ages may have thrown Ari off as well as he blinked at us, blushing before he gave his age, “t-thirty two years old.” A long silence stretched during our walk as we processed our age differences, they really didn’t matter in the long scheme of things with our life spans but it still felt weird. Ari was actually the youngest of us and knowing what I know of Earth now I should have expected that but it still sounded young compared to me, although we both were young compared to Lyric. Ironically enough, she was certainly the most immature of us but was the oldest of the three of us… That just seemed wrong, not that I wanted her as a mature competitor for Ari's love, but it still seemed to be reversed. The clearing opened up before us, the smell of sex still faintly in the air, and our bags still where we left them. “Well now I feel like the foal of the group-“ I interrupted my stallion with a purr, rubbing down his side before trotting out from under his wing, giving my tail a slight sway to show him his work. He was no foal that was for sure. Hearing no hoof steps behind me I looked behind me, Lyric was showing exactly how much of a stallion she thought he was, with her scaly muzzle plastered to his face, nibbling along his jaw line. Now that was a challenge! Ears back I turned to face her when a roar sounded out faintly ahead of us, freezing us in place, as we both moved towards Ari’s sides. Levitating the bags onto my back and onto Lyric’s back I pressed into his barrel, feeling his wing cover me again. “Let’s keep moving, we can talk as we go," Ari frowned before looking at Lyric, "and Lyric while I appreciate the kiss...I mean, that is, I got the point from Chrissy, you two don’t think of me as a foal but I’m just not from a herd culture. I hope we can still be friends?” Thank you Ari! You finally said something about her blatant flirting, it was beginning to get- “O-okay…. Can I still sleep with you and help you preen?” Her smile was hopeful but her eyes held a different message, she wasn’t taking ‘no’ as a answer, I hate that stubborn mare. “Oh course!” Ari appeared relieved that she was taking it well, apparently not realizing that she doesn’t hear rejection. With that drama over with for now we continued on our way, taking our positions at his side again, both of us rubbing against his wings with every step across the uneven ground. That peace was short lived as he said something that made my heart freeze. “Soo...Is there dream magic by any chance? I know that sounds silly but I swear I totally dreamt about Moonbutt last night.” Persistence Pays Off.Ari Let it be known that I am excellent at asking all the wrong questions. Like asking an attractive mare in my dream why I dreamt her up, yes, I too don’t know how that would be answered. Another stupid one was asking myself in front the mare if I was horny to dream her up. My latest question though must have taken the prize so far, as I asked my marefriend if dream magic was a thing I also admitted that I dreamt of a mare other than her. Yah, it wasn’t my finest moment. So I was expecting anger, a kick, maybe a little laughs, and a rebuttal that magic cant do everything. None of that happened; first Chrissy froze in place while Lyric started to press into me almost to the point of knocking me over, and then I froze as I realized something was really wrong. They both held a slight tremble now, it made me look around for the creature that had roared earlier. But the trees and shaded grass were empty with the faint bird song in the background. What was going on with them? “Chrissy?” Moving into her side I gave her a nudge with my nose, this wasn’t looking good if her reaction was what I think it was… “What did she say?” Her fear was plain to hear and see, coupled with Lyric’s response it was like a big resounding ‘yes, you did just meet the princess of the moon’ to my mind. A strong wind whistled through the trees as you considered the dream. “Well first she just appeared, yelling at me in old Engli-err, old Equus, wanting to know what my dream meant. Then, huh, it’s a little fuzzy now, anyway she was trying to convince me she was real and trying to tell me her name but…” I trailed off as I realized I had inadvertently called her attractive, which was going to bite me in the butt later. “But?” Lyric prodded me with a slight edge to her voice. “But I didn’t believe her and she began circling me, inspecting me I think, before she called me a fake Alicorn and disappeared.” I heard two sighs of relief beside me. “That is okay then, she doesn’t know you exist yet, Azure and Barium have another couple days to reach Canterlot and I think we can all agree that it is better for the plan if she doesn’t know where you are. She can find out many things with dream magic-“ “Actually dream magic is really a form of mind magic-“ With a glare at Lyric Chrissy continued, “As I was saying since she can access your mind with dream magic we should travel when she is awake and sleep when she is asleep. So we are going to be nocturnal while we are in Equestria. Then she won’t be able to visit you anymore!” Well that seemed actually pretty airtight, if not a little inconvenient today as I was going to have to pull an all nighter. But I wasn’t going to complain about not have Moonbutt in my head, which seemed like a good idea. I could do without her screaming and I didn’t want to see her reaction after she read the letter. Eventually I would of course but that would be on my own ground, with a magic inhibitor and wing restraints on hoof. Speaking of that… “I completely agree Chrissy. I definitely don’t need her in my head.” Giving my mare a reassuring nuzzle to her neck which got me a cute trill, I continued, “However that got me thinking about our plan or rather the fact that Lyric doesn’t know about it yet.” Lyric was now giving me her full attention, which was actually kind of cute, with her sparkling eyes and scales. Chrissy nodded before looking into the space beside her. Shaking myself out of my thoughts I continued, “So we are traveling to Zebrica where we are going to get an airship and make some Alicorn grade magic inhibitors for their horns and Alicorn grade wing restraints, then I’m going to meet with them.” Lyric looked very concerned at that, but there was nothing to worry about, I had had plenty of time to work out some details. “I will probably drug them like the Diamond dogs did to me with their gas, abduct them, and then we are going on a two week tour of the continent to show them the damage they have caused. By the end of it they will understand and we will return them after they promise to stop moving the sun and moon.” Lyric had gone from attentive to scared, doubtful, and finally thoughtful. “After that is all over I think we will find a cozy spot somewhere on the planet and hide from the princesses.” I added with a slight chuckle and a grin. My grin was fading as both maresstill looked thoughtful, then concerned, finally settling on downright disapproval. I was starting to feel worried as Lyric got a strange look in her eye. Starting to walk again, Chrissy spoke in a slow voice, like she was scared of upsetting me. “Ari I know I said that was a great idea but after thinking about it we need to make some changes. For one, I’m pretty sure none of us know how to make magic inhibitors of any variety nor restraints, we need to find a trade pony for that part, and that means we need to find another pony that is sympathetic to our cause- “And doesn’t mind working with a changeling and a siren.” Lyric muttered loudly, we both stared at her. “What?! I am just saying ponies can be weak willed, snobbish, and complete prudes. For example, Do you know how many friends I had growing up?” Lyric looked at us, actually waiting for an answer, so I shook my head no. Chrissy frowned and shook her head. “NONE! When your mother’s mere presence makes mares jealous wrecks and their weak willed stallions putty not many ponies want to be around you! My aunts, my six thousand year old aunts were my friends growing up!” At this point Lyric was yelling and shaking. I didn’t know what to do for her, we started on the topic of the plan but it quickly took turn into left field causing me to realize I knew basically nothing about her. Lyric was a very flirtatious pony, was half siren on her mother's side, and presumably had a dead mother since she wasn’t with her anymore. She had had a rough time under Jabbar as his bait for catching ponies and apparently I was the first stallion to not be affected by her mind magic. That fact caused her to stalk me, challenge my marefriend to a mare challenge, and then continue to flirt with me after joining the group. Really I didn’t know anything about her other than she was really close to her aunts and mother growing up. Well I felt like shit now, I hadn’t stopped to really try to get to know her, at least she tried to even if it was in a extreme fashion. “I- I didn’t know Lyric.” Although my voice was soft, apologetic, she still started to cry, and I still hated tears. My mind raced as I tried to think of what was appropriate to do to calm her, come on instincts, you got to throw me a bone here! As if my brain listened my body had an urge and I let it go with it, I don’t know much body language here, and words are definitely not helping. My instincts had helped me before. I licked up Lyric’s tears, an odd sensation of scales on my tongue combined with the saltiness of her tears, continuing to even as her sobs turned to hiccups. Another win for instincts- A sniff sounded from my other side halting my relief, as if in slow motion I looked at Chrissy, tears were filling up her eyes. I had messed up. “Chrissy?” My voice sounded as nervous as I felt, I had made her cry. “I-I thought I was your marefriend?! Why are your putting-“ She stopped herself and shook her head before continuing, “Ari you don’t know what licking means do you?” Thinking it over realized I must be missing some context for licking, Chrissy had done it at the oasis but she had said it was a thing friends did, however maybe she meant a different type of friend than I understood. Such a thought made me narrow my eyes at her, had she been sugar coating her explanations before? How long had she wanted to be more than traveling companions? “So when you licked my muzzle at the oasis and said friends did that did you really mean mare friends do that?” Meanwhile Lyric was watching our conversation with interest, tears forgotten as her ‘rival’ was put on the spot. I’m not blind and quite frankly I think Lyric has been putting a lot of moves on me that I just don’t see, I mean Chrissy had been. I really only noticed when it was right in my face, err, in light of earlier with Lyric and Chrissy flashing me I think that’s very appropriate, although not entirely what i meant. “Y-yes, I just didn’t want to scare you away and my heat was just starting so I couldn’t help it... But your muzzle did heal nicely because if the licking!” She sounded a little desperate now, worried, maybe at my reaction. Although she was right about my muzzle it was fully healed and looked no worse for wear from the glass shards. Although I was a little off put that she had been twisting her words to get her way, I understood and could see why she went with that, she had probably grown up doing that. Chrissy probably never had true honesty before, ponies needing to be fooled into feeding Changelings, a fact that still rubbed me the wrong way. I loved Chrissy, maybe not the overly romantic speal I have read about but I surely enjoyed her company, her personality, and especially her body. However, these word games and twisted meanings couldn't continue. “Just be more honest next time okay?” Chrissy nodded her head before giving me a couple of licks on the muzzle. “You too Lyric, we should be honest about this sort of stuff.” Lyric nodded as well and moved in to lick my muzzle, I saw it coming and raised my eyebrow at her. “I thought I said no more flirting?” “It’s not flirting if you added your scent to me first.” Lyric winked at me, retracting her tongue despite her words suggesting otherwise, it threw me off. “Sooo, I have to agree with Chrissy on getting a trade pony, we can test it on you, but think we would butcher it if any of us tried to make one. We need to get this done right the first time, surprise is our biggest weapon here it seems.” And with that Lyric brought us back from left field. Speaking of field, the forest was starting to thin out turning into a field, not the pretty meadow type of field though. This field had the drowned yard look, soggy grass, and the glisten of water just waiting to become a mud puddle. A faint sulfuric smell hung in the air and in the distance I swore I saw a large froglike creature, it was the size of a sheep from our spot the three hundred feet away from us. They noticed my distraction and took in our environment as well, wrinkling their noses as the smell reached them as we stepped into the soggy field. My skin crawled at the sensation of the mud in my hooves, which while being hard enough to take days of travel they were still sensitive enough to feel the follicles of fur beneath them when touching a pony. Well right now they felt the grass sinking into the mud that had hid beneath the surface. “Huh we walked faster than I thought.” I commented and the mares nodded in concurrence. We were much closer to Minotaria if the land was a good sign. “We will be in Minotaria by tomorrow, if we stick along the border we can make it to the Gryphon Kingdom’s mountain range in three or four days-“ I interrupted Chrissy’s well memorized route, “Wait!” It just hit me now after nearly a day after getting rid of the ponies, “We totally forgot to double back in Saddle Arabia-“ “No I let you forget about that, it isn’t important, after thinking on it I realized I don’t want anything to do with them. They can hunt me till the end of time for all I care. After we are done saving the planet we are finding a nice place away from ponies-“ This time Lyric interrupted Chrissy, “By ‘we’ you mean me as well right?” Chrissy snorted and looked at me. I raised an eyebrow back to which she threw her head in my direction. Why did she have to make it my choice? Couldn’t she see that I wasn’t doing soo good with it soo far with choies, I mean if I had just said ‘no’ to Azure I could have saved us plenty of trouble and time. If I had said ‘no’ to Lyric Chrissy wouldn’t have to use breakfast as a way to get time to have her own special breakfast! But…I wasn’t alone anymore due to my actions, I had a marefriend and a very flirty new friend, maybe- A roar sounded from further on, even with the sun shining down on us I couldn’t see anything up ahead, even the frog creature was gone. That was a bad sign. We all tensed and went quiet, strategy talk put on backburner as we all knew something lay not so far ahead of us in the swamped field. “What can make that sound?” I whispered to the mares, eyes trained at the now silent tree line, although we were still moving we were definitely moving at a crawling pace now. **** Lyric Just when I was going to get Ari’s acceptance that roar had to return, I swear it was worse than Chrissy, well it was definitely scarier than her. She was acting weird though, I was expecting a outright ‘no’, a hiss, maybe even a bite for being soo bold. So when she differed to him to decide my brain halted, was she accepting me more or was she truly not worried about his decision? I could feel that he was accepting me into his herd, well not his full acceptance, and I certainly wasn’t going to say the word ‘herd’ around him till after he realizes his acceptance. But I was a step closer to being his mare, he had started putting his scent on me, had attempted at flirting with me… I think so on that last one, it is kind of hard to tell with him what is on purpose and what was just a cultural mix up. I sort of feel that was why Chrissy didn’t tell him certain cultural meanings, I mean, I’m still allowed to sleep next to him and preen him because of her twisted words. She really was a mare after my own heart, if she would only share him I wouldn’t have anything to complain about. The echo of the roar still rang through my ears, I really hope we don’t run across whatever made that. Did Ari say something? “Well there is really many things that could have made that roar.” Chrissy’s whisper had my attention, so that is what he had asked. “Like?” Ari looked apprehensively at her, which was kind of cute considering he knocked out that rock headed bull I… well let’s forget about that shall we. Ari was a very strong Alicorn, let’s put it that way. Jabbar was still unconscious when I left him and I certainly didn’t leave him in a nice way. If he lived he would be angry but I doubt that he did live, no water in the desert is basically a death sentence after all. Might as well inform him… “Like chimeras, dragons-“ “Highly unlikely! Hydras are more likely to roam this type of terrain.” Chrissy just had to interrupt; again, if she keeps this up I just might take her up on the challenge. Not that I want to be head mare and have to handle all the challenges that would come pouring in when Equestria discovered his existence, but I would love to kick her flank a little. I squeaked in surprise as something wet hit my flank and heard Chrissy give a squeak on the other side of Ari. Ari had just whipped me with his muddy tail! Oh it was soo on, I flicked my mud tipped tail right back to his rump, splattering his fur in droplets of mud. I heard Chrissy’s tail have the same idea as mine, it’s tip also dipped in the growing mud pit we found ourselves in. Around us the mud was growing deeper, slowly transforming into a fen, I knew a swamp must be ahead. The smell was really giving it away. In fact it was the only thing I could unfortunately smell, Ari’s scent overshadowed by the offending odor, and any other scents were obscured as well. The smell of rotten eggs had taken over my nostrils. My thoughts were interrupted as something wet and slimey landed on my head with a plop. With a squeal I was immeatiately airborne, bucking as best as I could in this mud hole, and in the process losing both my saddle bags and the terrifying…Frog. I was a little surprised, it was a perfectly reasonable reaction! “HAHAHAHAHAHAA” Ari was now stomping his fore hoof into the mud laughing his head off at me. I wasn’t that unreasonable was- A mudball hit me straight in the muzzle, which although felt nice against my dried out scales, shocked me into blinking and opening my mouth. I heard Ari gasp in surprise to my right, looking over I saw he had been pushed over into the mud, and looking down at him was a very brown Chrissy. We were soo dead. Chrissy looked up from Ari’s mud splattered form and locked eyes with me, I having more sense than the stallion in the mud ran for the trees like a scared filly. Ducking behind the nearest tree I caught four more mud balls to the flank but I missed most of them if the resounding splats on the trunk were accurate. Crouched behind the tree I waited, I’m not entirely what for as there was endless mud around us for ammo, and I had no intention to leave Ari… I jumped in place as I heard Chrissy squeal and lots of mud squelching. What was going on out there? Curiosity won over my instincts which told me this was a bad idea, this would draw attention to myself, and I would become a target for mud again. It’s a shame I didn’t listen to that thought. Peeking my muzzle around the trunk I saw Chrissy galloping away from at least a two dozen mudballs and Ari following with a manic grin. Oh dear Faust, that is going to take forever to get out of her mane. Ari saw me unfortunately and turned his head giving me a wink. Wha- A shadow fell over me, looking up it filled me with dread while at the sense time made perfect sense, a pile of mud levitated over me in golden magic. My ears pinned themselves just in time as the magic vanished and it fell on me all within the span of a couple of seconds. Mud was everywhere now. It ran down my scales, through my fur, and coated my mane and tail. The coolness felt heavenly on my dry skin and scales, solidifying that I wasn’t visiting Saddle Arabia for at least a century, and we were never, ever living there. I was a sea pony, we would find somewhere with water, lots of water. Chrissy was squealing again, a reminder that I had a stallion to deal with. Getting up I gave myself a quick shake, mud flying everywhere before I finally removed the mud from my eyes. Trotting into the area I quickly gathered a couple of mudballs in my magic. Now where was- Again I was hit from above. Looking up I saw Chrissy holding a second mudball in her magic, her eyebrow raised as my eyes twitched, she was being held up Ari as he hovered above me. Ganging up me were they? I will show exactly what a millennia and growing up with my overly enthusiastic aunts as friends resulted in. Did I mention I was part siren, a sea pony? I could practically feel their confusion as I grinned back at them, scowl forgotten as I prepared my revenge. Feeling the water in the mud I drew it to me, its innate magic feeling the call of my magic, and I put forth the shape I needed. The feeling of the water brought about a sigh before I looked back to my younger opponents. “ARI Fl-“ But Chrissy had noticed my towering wave of water too late to spare them, it crashed over them and surrounded me with it’s soothing embrace. It reminded me of mother, when she would take me below the surface to see the reefs, and I couldn’t help but add a bit of salt to the water surrounding me. Later I would ask him. Releasing the water from my hold, I opened my ears and eyes to take in my victory. Ari and Chrissy were both lying on their chests coughing up water and looking liking they had lost their will to fight. Did it matter that I might have started the fight when I reacted quite reasonably to a slimy thing dropping on my head, and after hearing roaring twice already it was called for. Ari was the first to stand up, his wings dragging in the mud a little under the weight of the water, and a manic grin on his muzzle. Horse apples, maybe he wasn’t done. Looking at me with the same grin as before he trotted over to me, “That was awesome Lyric! I mean the water felt amazing and the magic was just WOW. That was soo much fun!” He trotted up to my side with what I realized was actually a smile and gave me a wing hug and did something that had me blushing like a filly. He gave me a hard rub along my neck to my muzzle, I think he meant to nuzzle me but I wasn’t complaining, in fact I was hoping that it was on purpose, he didn’t mean no flirting really. However I also realized at the same moment he did that that his marefriend, the lead mare, was getting up. Looking over at her with my muzzle blazing red, i saw her face go from to annoyed to an expression that I couldn’t quite read. Her ears flicking between sideways and forward, her lips set in a thin line, and her eyes meeting met mine, emotionless, before closing. How was I not dead yet? My brain went between my shock and joy for a good minute before let it sink in, Chrissy was accepting me slowly in her own way. They were still learning to share, I could live with this though, afterall the ‘no’ they kept insisting on was slowly changing. I had a definite ‘maybe’ from them now. The Third Time's the Charm.**** Chrissy I had realized something was wrong almost the moment we met Lyric, although it didn’t hit me exactly what was odd until after I was done my heat. Thinking clearly now I realized that a sea pony in the Saddle Arabian desert was just the surface of what was wrong with the picture. The most basic fact being that sirens hadn’t been seen in over a millennia. According to the books in my library the last three sirens were last seen rampaging across the Equestrian countryside, causing disharmony and anger before being ‘dealt with’ by Starswirl the Bearded himself, we all know what 'dealt with' means though. The books hadn’t mentioned any other sirens or any foals, which is what Lyric must have been around that time. This also begs the question of where her father was and why they both weren’t mentioned in the history books. The more I thought of her unique nature and situation the more grim the conclusion I came to, a conclusion all too similar to the way the history books portrayed my species. We were vile, emotion stealing parasitic bugs. Sirens were cruel, stallion stealing enchantresses. Both statements being completely ignorant to the reality of our species, and a sadly unsurprising fact given Equestria’s history of racism and magical might. They were also present in all the history books in their schooling system, yes the ‘magic of friendship’ was a fickle thing, only applying to those that fit into their society. I could faintly remember my mother tucking me into our nest and answering my questions, my mind still upset at the notion that all I knew was wrong after reading that particular chapter in 'The History of Equestria'. She had chittered to me faintly before curling her warm body around my much smaller body, chitin to chitin, letting her love for me flow over, and I had trilled back in contentment. ‘They fear what they don’t understand my little nymph, the old king and queen cast their opinion of us and other emotionvores long ago.’ I could almost hear my hopeful squeak of a voice replying. ‘But surely the princesses, err, princess is different? She might listen to us! We can show the ponies how we aren’t scary. Maybe-‘ My chest ached as I remembered her next words. 'NO.' I had opened my mouth to ask why but she continued on, bitter sadness covering the sweet love, 'I’m sorry my little princess but Princess Celestia has already given us her answer, she will not listen to our ‘vile lies’. She ended the negotiation before we could get a word in. We have nothing left to say to the ponies of Equestria.’ Knowing that I grew up knowing that one of the creatures I get food from hated me, feared me, and that their ruler was perfectly fine with that. Did it hurt our feelings? Having to tell every new nymph that we must never show the ponies mercy in a fight for they would never show us the same luxury. That instead we had to teach them to avoid fighting, with disguises to hide in and how to concoct lies to hide behind, all to obtain one of their most basic needs. I hated that reality. Lyric must have hated that reality just as much as I did, do still. Despite not being a changeling I could tell she knew exactly what I had gone through. Only some words and locations might be different. But from her words I knew the experience was the same: ponies fear her, hate her, and she must use her innate talents to get by. In truth we really weren’t that different. We both saw a stallion that held no prejudice or distrust to us, despite both of our unique meetings. I still can hardly believe I came at his face like that, my brain was not functional then obviously. Although I can’t say her method was any better. She wasn’t bad though, just different, and just maybe tolerable when she remembered that I was- No, I am his mare...But, if he wanted it and she listened to me then it might not to be bad to have a herd. A small herd, no more than what we were now, it wouldn’t be bad to have Lyric around. If- My body froze as a thought hit me, foals, nymphs, and whatever sirens call their young. Can we even have nymphs together? Or would I call them foals? I glanced at Ari’s groin as they looked for the second set of saddlebags, the first one dripping from on Lyric’s back. Were we even capable of reproducing, a emotionvore and herbivore, we had evolved from the same ancestor but…Would- “Chrissy I can’t find your saddlebags, can you give it a try?” Blinking I focused on his face, his muzzle was covered in mud again from his interesting way of searching for it, an embarrassed grin twisting his muzzle. He looked like a pig with his face like that and holding back a facehoof I looked to see where the other member of our…Where Lyric was. Ugh, I could decide what to call us later! I didn’t have to look far for the magical siren, she was just letting him get completely muddy. I was going to have to teach him a little magic, this was just sad, and her a little manners. “Really Lyric? You couldn’t use your elemental magic and move the water from the dirt? Or better yet-“ I thought of the compass and map, letting them be a focus point as I located the bags some twenty meters behind them. Adding the intent needed the pack shot out of the mud with a loud squelch, levitating in my magic as I looked at my herdmates. Fuck it, might as well go all in, she isn’t the worse mare to be stuck with. I mean it’s not like I have to share with- Not going there, just no. Anyways, she was over a millennia old, I can't think of a excuse to forgetting locating and retrieval spell. The nervous laugh said it all. “Oops, guess I forgot about that.” Her ears were splayed as Ari pinnined his ears back at her, snorting mud onto her face. I don’t blame him, the stench must be horrible. Ari What had started as a slight sulphuric smell now was a all dominating, nausea inducing smell. I had started looking for the saddlebags with my hooves but that wasn’t working, my horn and wings certainly weren’t options so I used the only thing I could think of: my muzzle. Which Lyric didn’t point out was silly, or even try to use her magic to help find the bag, and really I think she must be a little sore about the whole two against one thing at the end of the fight to even let me do that. But, in our defense Lyric didn’t appear to need any help, she knocked us right out of the sky. Magic was so awesome, it’s a shame I forget to use it sometimes. Chrissy shook the saddle bags out and placed them on her chitin with a disgusted look, I can't smell anymore but I'm sure they smell like swamp mud now. In fact we all smell like the swamp now. Not that I regret this mud fight at all, it really helped me relax, and even Chrissy seems less stiff with Lyric now. It did us all a little good to relax but we had to continue on, the planet’s destruction wasn’t slowing for us and I certainly didn’t want this to take longer than it had to. I did want a life after this, even if it was different than the life I always imagined for myself. My thoughts stopped as I felt Chrissy assume her usual side, feeding off my love on the go as was the norm for her. Lyric perked up on my other side, smiling widely at us, for some reason very happy. “So are we ready to go again?” The mares nodded and we headed in what I think was the right direction, after a while everything looks the same, but I could just be disoriented by that damnable immobile sun. How in the world did magic stop that thing anyway? Could all Alicorn’s do that? The sun wanted to prove me a liar and started to move downward, towards our horizon. It was slowly adding a slight chill to the warm air. Watching it descend in silence we marched on, the high steps wearing my legs as I had the mud sucking me down with every step, and my muddied wings resting on my mare’s backs- Wait I meant my mare’s and Lyric’s backs, slip of the mental tongue, which thankfully Chrissy couldn’t hear or I would be dealing with a very angry mare right now. Anyway the sun finally set and the moon ascended the sky, illuminating our rather murky path, and waking the nocturnal inhabitants of the swamp. A chorus of crickets, or what I thought sounded like crickets, started up as several wet plops up ahead drew my interest. Lyric shuddered at the sound, probably remembering her reaction to the frog. I had to remember that for the future. However for now we had hours of muddy marching to do, all night long, it’s almost like I signed up for a boot camp. Actually I would have taken boot camp, it would have had less mud. Our pace was tiring but necessary, if we ‘rested’ in any capacity besides pausing to float one of the canteens to our lips I knew we wouldn’t get up again. Both mares were leaning on me in a way that betrayed their tired state, Chrissy had even tried to rest her head on my wither but had quickly given up on that, muttering how I was moving to much to be a good pillow. And we still had at least a week before we hit Zebrica…Wait Zebrica is a whole other continent, horse apples I knew I missed something. “So, I just realized something kind of important,” Both mares turned their ears to me and grunted in a way I took as ‘go on’. “Well we have to get the airship from Zebrica right? No one inland makes them right?” “Yes, I think I see your point Ari. To answer your question, no, no one on this continent makes airships. In fact they are quite a uncommon sight in Equestria altogether, even at the docks. How do we cross the narrow sea? We are a very noticeable -err- we stand out as an Alicorn, changeling, and siren. We almost sound like some bad joke.” Chrissy wasn’t sounding very hopeful right now. “So we are going to be noticed any way we do this, crossing the sea, and then flying around in a airship. Maybe we should just paint it with a bull’s-eye while we are at it!”I couldn’t help but feel frustrated at myself, why did I have to be a seven foot tall Alicorn stallion, why couldn’t I have been a cutesy little pony, I would have blended in no problem then. Not only that I had fallen in love with the one mare that the princesses would probably be more than happy to murder but I had another mare, mare traveling with us, that stood out like a sore thumb as well…At least Chrissy could disguise herself, Lyric on the other hand was going to be interesting to disguise, I mean I could wear a cape or something over my wings but it was Lyric’s entire front half that stood out. Not to mention she was taller than the average pony if Azure and Barium were an average size. “There is always pirates.” The whole swamp seemed to pause at her words, the crickets went silent and the croaks echoed into nothing, it left only the faint sound of the swamp water to our right moving against the shore. We turned our heads to look at Lyric, my ears forward as I processed what she said. Chrissy was the first to break the silence, “So you really think a group of pirates would listen to us, to Ari? Then what?! They would happily sail us across the sea free of charge, feed us- “ At that point she looked pointedly at me like it was my appetite that took all the food from the bags, which it wasn't, that was a group effort! “-, and not breathe a word of this to the princesses. I assume they will also donate some money for a airship while they are at it? Is that how you pictured it?!” Did the air just get colder? While Chrissy was questioning Lyric’s suggestion, I felt the cold turn into a sliver of unease. Was it the plan? Maybe, I mean pirates were known for being ruthless, greedy, and just downright unmoral. They could kill us in our sleep sooner than help us. But…I know it was wrong, but what if we took a pirate ship, right from under their noses? Chrissy was good at disguising herself, she could easily infiltrate them. Or if we had to fight I knew Lyric could entrance the stallions while Chrissy and I take them down. I know I wasn’t exactly trained for combat, just a couple of scuffles defending my friends and then what my instincts guide me to do since I have been here, but- The moon’s light vanished. Looking up I saw why. Above us gleamed five sets of red eyes, glowing in the dark as they narrowed their draconic slits and met my slowly widening blue eyes. The eyes were part of a brown, scaly snout that dripped swamp water on my back, my eyes stuck in the ‘oh shit’ look I followed the five long necks down where they met a well muscled lump of a body that was still half submerged in the swamp. My heart started racing, adrenaline racing through me as I realized that this was the biggest creature I had ever seen and I almost wanted Jabbar as an opponent again, he was only slightly taller than me in comparison. This thing was towering over me. I was expecting the logical flight instinct to kick in at the sight of the eighteen foot tall monstrosity before me, but instead my instinct screamed ‘FIGHT’. Something about having two mares with me and a predator facing me said running wasn’t an option anymore. That wasn’t unsound logic and I had to agree with the urge, I did need practice fighting. It was time to protect my mares- No, my mare and Lyric. Snorting I arched my neck, keeping eye contact with the same head I raised my wings, spreading them as high and wide as I could. Chrissy and Lyric snapped out their stupor at my snort, turning their ears to me before they readied their horns, green and pink magic at the ready. As if time stood still we all waited in the new darkness, the sound of water dripping and magic charging buzzing on horns made every twitch and breeze stand out in sharp detail. Then a head I wasn’t looking at came hurtling at me, I saw it coming all too late, and knew I couldn’t dodge in time without leaving them unprotected. I didn’t want it to hit us and thought of the first thing that came to mind: a shield. That head crashed into a translucent golden shield that was connected from my horn, now to- I was flying through the air now my thoughts to slow to comprehend that I had not one enemy but five, each head capable of separate moves by the feel of it. Pain lanced across my left wing as I hit the tree, causing me to close my eyes as the feeling going up my wing felt reminiscent of when I hit my funny bone, only with twice the pain. I slid down the bark of the tree that caught me, groaning as I tried to make sense of my senses, and opening my eyes I stumbled upright. My hooves swimming before my eyes, I started to panic inside, snorting unintentionally. Were they alright? Looking up I saw Chrissy and Lyric had constructed a bubble around themselves which both filled me with relief and determination. Both of them shot a glance at me as I groaned my pain, they appeared to relax slightly at me stumbling around. Okay, my body felt like it was hit by a car but that was fading and the creature was swaying its many heads around, it was still above my mares, my-oh hell it doesn’t matter, the creature was over what I wanted to protect, and I was still a good twenty feet away from them thanks to the hit. The creature decided to strike again, two heads going hitting Lyric’s bubble while the remaining heads hit Chrissy’s bubble, this caused both mare’s to grunt and close their eyes. And here I was just standing here. Feeling the call to act I went with the shield theme my mind conjured before and conjured a golden sword, yes I didn’t know a thing about swords but I it couldn’t be that hard, it was magic after all. Breaking into a gallop I charged it aiming for the side, my wings spread and ready for a quick evasion. Although the ground slipped and squished under my hooves I still was going a good sixty kilometers a hours when I ran past it, my magic sword taking first blood in the fight, and I immediately regretted it. The blood was burning my fur as it hit me. Unable to help myself I squealed at the pain and bucked, making contact with the monster’s belly, and surprisingly sending him back a couple of feet. Slowing the buck, I stood in front of Chrissy and Lyric’s bubbles, my eyes watering at the pain that lingered on my skin. Dear lord that thing had acidic blood. Speaking of blood, the blood still gushed from the long gash I had made along it’s neck, however my aim had faltered as soon the blood hit me causing the cut that was supposed to behead it to cut diagonly down it’s chest. With my focus gone my sword disappeared as well, pain now coming from my left wing and along my back. “What is that?” I spat the word out, hate was a good word to how I felt towards it. “A hydra,” Chrissy didn’t sound smug like I would expect, rather she sounded resigned and a little strained, telling me I wasn't the only one was in pain. Of course, fuck my luck, I don’t get the easy daisy lined road to the coast, no I get the swampy, hydra blocked road. Anger bubbled in my chest at my life, overtaking my pain as I stared the swaying beast down. Was it taunting me? Did it think just because it hadn’t moved a inch out of it’s territory that it was winning? I didn’t have to cut something to kill it. Snorting again I reared up and stomped the ground, saying in no uncertain terms ‘come at me’. I could feel the hydra shift, rumbling the ground, and I could hear the mares back up from me. Lighting my horn I spread my wings, ignoring the horrible pull I felt in my left one, this would only work once after all. The hydra finally lumbered forward, one scaley stump of a leg leaving the water and rumbling the ground, using this free leg it pushed itself up and out of the swamp. That added a good five feet to it’s already daunting height. Not waiting for the monster to make the move I rocketed upward with one downstroke, now two hundred feet above the hydra I began my descent just as quickly, with my muzzle downward I saw my weak link. The far left head was staring off into space, ignoring the mares and me as well, it was too easy. Although some muscles and joints protested I changed course to the zoned out head, my horn sparking and grabbing a hold of it in my magic as I whizzed by, giving another flap I ascended again with the head in tow. The howl of pain echoed through the swamp as I cranked its neck up with my magic, raising the hydra a foot off the ground before dropping my wings and aiming for the small space between the next two necks. It appeared slightly off balance at my actions but remained upright, if not a whole lot angrier. I was almost to the gap when I saw it coming in my peripheral vision, a long thin tail rose from the water, sailing at with a whoosh. However the tail never hit me, green and pink bubbles simultaneously appeared in front of incoming lashing. Relief crossed my mind as I made it through the gap, the head trailing me in my magic’s grasp, and I began to weave between the necks. While I weaved the hydra continued to try and tail whip me, it’s heads unable to reach me from my spot, and I was never more thankful for the green and pink walls protecting me from it. With the final neck nearly behind me I felt my muzzle start to go upward in a grin, this was actually working! I turned around the last neck sealing it off with the now limp head in my magic, now all - Then the hydra started to pass out, necks wilting faster than I expected, coming down at me with all the literal tons of deadweight. However much that scared me that was not the problem, the problem lay in my wing, and previously it had been just a pain. That pain had been dulled by my anger, my adrenaline to protect my mares, but it also hid the fact that something was clearly wrong with it and getting worse with my continuing use. That something chose now to return with interest. With that my left wing seized in the air, signals not traveling to the muscles to tell them to move, and I felt true panic set in. “ARI!” Chrissy and Lyric called to me from the ground, most likely seeing my wing hang limply at my side. My magic faltered around the hydra's head as my mind raced, tucking my remaining wing to my barrel I attempted to descend faster than the necks however I weighed less than the hydra falling behind me. I could feel the hydra’s weight nearly upon me, hear the panicked yells from my mares, and see the faint glimmer of the moon’s light as the head’s revealed the moon. That light gave me a crazy idea and I spread out my good wing as it took hold of my mind. The magic pooled in my horn as I tried to think of how I should form this, this brace, no, more like a framework for my wing to rest on. Wind whipped by as the ground approached and my magic finally flowed free with my intent clear. It worked for all of ten seconds, allowing me enough time to glide out of the body’s descent, however the strain the magic put on my wing by forcing it to conform had me seeing spots. Pain was taking over my mind, so I finally let go of the magic frame I had made for my limp wing. This caused me to land slightly off center I landed in a stumbling trot before I stopped and turned to face the hydra. What greeted my face was not a nearly twenty five foot tall hydra’s body but two mares coming at me at a full gallop. “Hey-“ My welcome and reassurance knocked out of me as I staggered under their assault, both mares nickering softly and rubbing themselves along my neck. It felt amazing despite my pain, the smooth scales and chitin pressing on my fur, the rubbing prompted my own happy nicker and rubbing. Alternating my attention between Chrissy's neck and Lyric's neck I couldn’t help but feel my chest swell, a certain sort of pride at protecting them from the hydra that most certainly would have eaten us. Glancing past them I saw the offending hydra, narrowing my eyes in the dim light the rise and fall of the hydra could be seen. Not on my watch, that hydra will cause trouble, if not for me in the future than surely for other creatures. Golden magic grabbed the weak head and resumed tension on it as I resumed ressuring my mares. Yeah I just give up on correcting my mind, I mean it was half correct at least, Chrissy was mine while Lyric was a mare traveling with my group. It was a small technical point but it still eased my mind to point it out, I was not- The hydra began thrashing against the ground, sending tremors through the swamp, it was not quite conscious but also not yet dead. It would be dead soon. Any introspection into my wiliness to kill for them was lost as soon as Chrissy kissed me, shaking slightly, and then Lyric began nibbling on neck. I guess they noticed my distraction. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Lyric was muttering into my neck and Chrissy broke the kiss and rubbed the other side of my neck in time to her muttering, but relief coated her voice. It was a feeling I could understand well now. Seeing them get assaulted, even behind protective bubbles, had me scared. They still appeared to slightly affected by the hits and if the hit had landed… Well I didn’t want to think about that but it filled me with fear for them. Despite how I had met them they were my rocks, after I finished the one mission I had accepted I was counting on their company for the rest of my years, whatever my life brought me now. “Yes, Lyric you are definitely coming with us after we are done the whole saving the world mission.” Beside me I could see her tense before launching herself at my mouth, not the first time she has kissed me, but despite my insistence of not being into her that way I felt a little affection towards her in that moment. Chrissy turned herself around and pressed her still trembling form to my side, giving a cute sigh as her body relaxed against mine. A thump sounded from the hydra. I finally felt the tension leave my body as the hydra’s body stilled my mind relaxing now that the threat had been removed. This night felt like it was going to be a long one if this was any sign of my luck. Strange Things Happen When you Don't Sleep.Ari It didn’t matter what world I was in, something’s never changed about how people of any species showed they cared. This was clear with how much Chrissy and Lyric were trying to fuss over my wounds, keyword was trying. I was never a good patient when I was in pain. “Stay still! If you keep moving I can’t clean them!” Chrissy growled in frustration as she tried to lick the angry red spots again, that was where the hydra’s blood had burned through my fur. Weirdly enough she wasn’t trying to use magic on them or to stop me from moving. Not that I was going to point that out to her. Having moved closer to Lyric now to escape Chrissy’s tongue I immediately regretted it as I felt Lyric’s horn touch my limp wing, sidestepping into Chrissy and away from the even worse pain I started to realize I couldn’t avoid this fussing. The pain was inevitable and they were trying to help me, despite their initial ignoring of my pain. I mean Lyric just suddenly jabs her horn at my wing joint roughly, okay I may be oversensitive there right now but it did hurt. No warning what so ever and lots of pain shooting down my wing. What did they expect me to do, welcome the pain? “If you stopped hurting me I would stay still! Just jabbing me with your horn and touching my burns like that hurts you know.” This got me a snort from both mares, “Quit being such a foal about it and take it like a stallion!” Lyric snarled at me. This made me freeze, not due to her words but her tone, I don’t think I had ever heard her frustrated with me before, and quite frankly it scared me a little. I mean I had only known for like five days now so really we were still getting to know each other but I still felt I should know her better. I only knew Chrissy for a week before she was my marefriend, I couldn’t help but feel a mild confusion over the speed of the relationships. Was the god telling the truth about me being me still? Yes I did like women before this but I certainly wasn’t attracted to a horse, which was new, and strangely enough not strange to my mind. Looking at Chrissy, Lyric, and hell even Princess Luna I could see what features were attractive. In fact they were much the same as what I thought was attractive on women before: a lithe figure, a little muscle, and a nice butt. Not that I didn’t appreciate the non physical attributes of honesty, kindness, and a good sense of humor; but I guess I’m trying to understand if I am still me. And I sort of was still me, except for one pattern I was noticing with my thoughts. I never was violent before I became a stallion, sure I would kick an asshole till he went down, but I had never killed anyone before coming here. The deer I hit notwithstanding I was a very civilized modern woman, defending my friends from men who didn’t know what the word ‘no’ meant, and holding my tongue with the perpetually stupid. It was a big jump to go from beating up jerks to killing them. But since I killed those Diamond dogs I was completely open to killing, I felt a strong drive to protect, and honestly my instincts were starting to seem suspicious to my doubtful mind. Were they just my new hormones or were they part of a bigger plan? Was I- “OW!” I didn’t move away from the pain this time as my thoughts were interrupted, Lyric had moved to my side and was touching her glowing horn to parts of my wing bone. It hurt! But… I could feel my wing twitching now as I thought of moving it, whatever she was doing to it was helping. “S-sorry Lyric, whatever you are doing it is helping. Let me help find the bags.” I might as well do something and I really wanted to learn how Chrissy found them soo quickly before. “Chrissy how did you-“ I paused midsentence as I looked back at Chrissy. She had licked my wounds, coating them in the same translucent material she had used on my muzzle before. The pain was dull now, a faint whisper in my mind, no longer quite as urgent. “What is that stuff you put on my burns Chrissy?” “It is what we use to make cocoons. It’s used to seal cracked chitin, make nests, and anything that really needs something sticky and cool.” This caused me to blink owlishly at her. “So like a bug’s spit?” “No, not like a bug!” I jumped in place at that, not expecting such a reaction. She looked a little embarrassed as she noticed my reaction, “Well sort of like a bug, changelings did evolve from the same ancestors as yours though. We just needed to rely on alternative food sources and that’s how we began feeding on love-.“ She continued on as my mind drifted with this new information, a changeling was a pony that had bug like characteristics. Just how bug like was she if she went into heat like a mammal but produced cocoon spit like a bug? “-do you have any questions?” She finished talking and I was left grasping at straws, what had she said? “Yes, three that I can think of actually, Firstly how do I find the saddlebags like you did before? Also what is 'the heat' exactly? Can you explain in what way Changelings are like a mammal and what way you are like a bug?” My barrage of questions may have broken her. With an eye twitching Chrissy looked at Lyric who just shrugged her withers back at the look. “W-well let’s start with the easiest one, to locate the bags concentrate on something in the bag to start with. If you focus on the whole bag it uses more magic and therefore more energy, energy and magic go hoof in hoof, understand?” I nodded and my horn glowed gold as I pictured the horrible thobe that I had stuffed in the bag, seeing my horn glow that she continued, “Okay now before you command it to come to you-“ As soon as she said that I willed it to me. The thobe came firing out of the mud, giving me a idea where one of the bags were, it also earned me a long sigh. “Sorry.” My ears splayed a little as Chrissy’s eyes narrowed at me. “As I was saying, when you have the object pictured, use it to feel the surroundings, and then encompass those in your magic and levitate it.” “Why don’t you just teleport it?” Lyric asked in a curious voice, looking at Chrissy with a weird expression. You can teleport here?! That explained the postal system in Saddle Arabia, oh, the possibilities with teleportation! “That would take a lot of magic, why use a lot of magic when a little is all that is needed.” That was sound logic, not that I didn’t want to learn how to teleport things, and enchant things. Oh there was soo much to learn here! I was not a nerd. I just happened to find magic amazing, and I couldn’t help but think that I will love this world…After I save it and figure out my mind though. The latter wasn’t, well didn’t seem really as important right now, the instincts had actually helped me for the most part, and Chrissy wasn’t in heat anymore so I didn’t have that distraction for my mind. Seriously her natural scent is delicious enough without it being increased like it had been. Involuntarily I inhaled at the thought of her scent. It smelled normal, well a little spicier and richer but not overpowering like in her heat. Wait, when do mares go into heat, or more importantly when does Lyric? My eyes widening as I considered Chrissy’s behavior, the only base I had for what might be normal, and I shivered at the thought of Lyric like that. I didn’t want to deal with that, sure she was attractive, had a nice personality, and even liked me in that way. But I was in a committed relationship with a mare that wasn’t into herds, not that I was, well I did think they worked for the Saddle Arabians but I still didn’t know how to feel after growing in a monogamous society. I really needed to learn about the heat, if there was one thing that will distract me it is that. With the heat on my mind now I made haste retrieving the bags as well as testing a theory. Focusing on both the compass and a water canteen, one item from each bag, I imagined their surroundings and then willed them to levitate. It actually worked, both bags floating in my golden magic, dripping mud but still intact. A feeling of pride glowed in my chest again and I looked to Chrissy and Lyric, levitating the bags to them as well. Both mares were done their fussing over me and looked at the bags, then back at me. “That’s actually pretty good!” Lyric gave me a happy smile, still looking a little tired. “See, you don’t need to teleport them, levitating is a much more efficient use of magic. Save your magic for later.” Chrissy looked even more tired than I felt but she gave me a happy smile anyway. My wings fluttered a little at the praise and accomplishment of doing that, only a little twinge of discomfort coming from the left one after Lyric’s magic. Despite just killing a Hydra I felt pretty good, good being the equivalent of sore muscles and a pressing feeling of hunger, well I was hungrier than before. Wait… Was my Appetite connected to my magic then? If it was connected to my energy then… I shook my head. Thinking could happen later, I had to get out of Equestria. All this nocturnal business was way too dangerous. “Thanks! Although it would be handy to know how to teleport things I’m pretty tired for tonight, maybe tomorrow,” I placed the bags on their backs, leaving the thobe in the mud, only a little feeling of guilt at losing the resource. It stunk of dried sweat though and they didn’t seem to protest so I left it. Starting off at a walk I didn’t have to wait long for Chrissy and Lyric to catch up to my side. However my thoughts also caught up to me, I would have thought my tiredness would have banished my thoughts but instead the left over adrenaline brought them into focus again. Not even the squelching of mud distracted me. With the dead body behind us I began, “So this is going to be awkward but can you explain ‘the heat’ to me? On earth, uh, females don’t have ‘the heat’ as you call it, they have ‘periods’ instead. ‘Periods’ are basically the estrus cycle, they happened every month, but they certainly didn’t have the uh, symptoms you did Chrissy.” **** Lyric Well that both answered a couple of questions I had and raised a whole slew of new ones. Clearly Ari didn’t know much about this world, he was still learning magic, and about the species here. He didn’t even know what a Hydra was! But this takes the cake; Ari, a magically gifted stallion, is traveling with Chrissy and myself, two magically gifted mares, and he doesn't know about 'the heat'! I can’t speak for Chrissy but from my knowledge, due to our magical core requiring such a high presence of magic to enter estrus we didn’t go into heat often, and Ari certainly had the magical presence to cause it. So this situation was just asking for lots of good rutting in my opinion, he was one of the few males capable of signaling to our bodies to enter estrus, and both of us were willing… In fact, thinking about it now, there is so few stallions left magically strong enough to induce heats in beings like us that I would almost be willing to bet that was Chrissy’s first heat, especially with the way she acted. After being through several myself I can safely say that control is a learned skill, let’s just say my first one was incredibly embarrassing. If it wasn’t for- “Well where should I begin…” Chrissy looked lost, her eyes getting a faraway look. I don’t blame her, I was not expecting to have this sort of talk with my future stallion either, might as well help a mare out. Pausing to hop over a log I thought back to my mother’s explanation, “Let me be the first to say WOW those poor mares, every month? That would be hard, even if they don’t get the same symptoms, I wouldn’t wish that on any pony. Right Chrissy?” Trying to get her engaged in the conversation didn’t work if anything it just showcased how out of it she was. Ari noticed this as well. “Chrissy you okay?” Her eyes weren’t focusing on anything anymore, the light of the moon showing a distant look. Something was- “EEEEEEK” We all jumped in place as an owl swooped down ahead of us, grabbing a frog off a lily pad. This also got Chrissy out of her thoughts though. “Sorry what did you say Lyric?” She sounded calm now, interested in what I said, and most certainly fake. Glancing at Ari I caught him glancing at me with worry clear in his eyes, there wasn’t anything I could tell him though. How do I convince a Changeling to talk when they are known as master infiltrators, able to create intricate lies at the drop of their hoof? That was one stereotype that was true about them. Chipper smile back on my muzzle I repeated myself, “Oh just how much it would suck to be a mare on Earth, having estrus every month, I mean I thought the ponies had it bad right?” “EVERY MONTH and Earthlings are monogamous still?” Chrissy was actually ‘here’ now, eyes wide and ears back in fear of what she heard. “Well, yes, but the estrus on earth isn’t the same as… well every female is different but most just get a little stomach ache for four days, bleed a little, and feel a little extra emotional. I have never heard of anyone, err, anypony acting the way Chrissy did.” Ari was blushing a little now, looking at Chrissy with a nervous smile. My heart raced, they actually bled every month?! “I think I will stick with a week of the heat, the ‘period’ that sounds horrible!” Chrissy nodded, remaining silent, slowly retreating into herself again. Buck what was up with her? I mean I sort of cared how she felt, she had given me far more chances than I thought she would, and in battle I totally saw her watching by shield. She looked like she had my back, almost like we were herdmates. I could hope. Ari laughed at us, “That’s exactly what an Earthling would say about your estrus cycle. Anyway, how long does your ‘heat’ last for?” Again Chrissy was silent. “Well like on earth it varies but most mare’s are in heat for five to eight days, I’m not really sure how often mare’s are going into nowadays but it used to be every three months… Actually Chrissy would know, she’s had to disguise herself as one recently!” He looked at me confused, “I thought we were all ponies? You talk about it like mares are separate from you two…” Chrissy finally tuned back into us, “Actually most mares are going into heat every six to eight months now.” “WOW!” Both Ari and I said at the same time, although for very different reasons. I could hardly believe that they were soo infrequent now, just what was going on with them? It wasn’t like they were getting magically stronger, I hadn’t been in heat for at least six hundred years, not that I was complaining. I wouldn’t mind it if I had Ari around though. “Ari, I don’t know if you noticed but there isn’t exactly lots of Royal Changelings or Sirens running around anymore,” I took a deep breath at the reminder that my family wasn’t in this world right now. “Well, we are sort of programmed with a ‘population control’ in our body, Alicorns have it as well. Mares with a large magical core need a large magical presence before their body will enter estrus, and once in estrus conception is even harder. A lot of magic is needed to make a foal and with our lifespan it is probably best that it is that way, we can all live up to ten thousand years old. But after the last power struggle resulted in soo many deaths the 'population control' turned into a curse… Most of the stallions had fought to the death, or been killed in the resulting executions, that left a lot of mares single and foals orphaned. I don’t know the full details as I wasn’t even born yet but my mother hated talking about even centuries later.” I stopped and looked at my audience, Ari looked worried with his ears splayed out, while Chrissy was lost in her thoughts again. That was a hard topic to properly explain to them, Chrissy hadn’t been born then and i'm sure she had a controlled education with all the anti-Changeling propaganda that was present still to this day, and Ari just didn’t know what he meant to this world. He was the only Alicorn stallion. Silence dominated us as we all were lost in our thoughts, inattentively observing the swamp as the night time orchestra went in one ear and out the other. Hours had to have passed as the terrain shifted again, now a large swamp spanned before us. The opposite shore was invisible in the dim moonlight and heavily canopied trees. We stopped of course, like we were going to go swimming in that filth, especially after a Hydra popped out of the last swamp. There was a thick layer of scum on the surface but no lily pads, no logs to paddle around either, and Ari was in no condition to fly us over. He had started yawning awhile back, Chrissy wasn’t much better as she wobbled along in the mud while trying to stay pressed to Ari, and I felt like being nocturnal just wasn’t for me. Stifling a yawn I asked what I knew must be going around and around our sleep deprived brains, “How do we get across that?” I received to grunts in response to my question. Amateurs, there are ways to staying awake they just don’t know them. I used the quickest one that wouldn’t start a mare challenge, well most likely wouldn’t.Two outraged squeals sounded out as they both kicked back, well thank goodness I used my magic to pull their tails, I wouldn’t have gotten up from a those kicks. Now they were awake. Ari pinned his ears at me, eyes narrowed as Chrissy gave a loud hiss to back up their sentiment. “Now as I just asked, how are we getting across that swamp?” Chrissy gave a snort, “Make a boat and paddle across, then we will be in Minotaria” Glancing at the lack of logs along the shore I snorted right back at her, “With what logs?” She looked along the shore as well, “Lily pads then.” “There are no lily pads.” With that she closed her eyes, “Vines?” “Sorry, wrong swamp.” Chrissy opened her eyes to glare at me, looking for all metaphorical purposes like death warmed other, when we heard it and paused. Something was creaking. Looking between us we noticed the glow Ari’s horn was emitting as a golden axe was connected to it, hacking into the trunk of a tree to our left. He was hardly blinking, looking at the tree with a single minded focus that comes in when sleep deprivation exhaustion sets in. Another sliver of trunk went flying as the axe bit into the tree, pulling back the magic born axe cut into the trunck just as fast as it left, just over halfway now. I was speechless as a couple swift hacks later the tree was cut down, giving a ominous creak before it fell into the shore, and involuntarily splattering us with mud. We were never getting this smell off at this rate. He wasn’t done though, attempting to chop the log in half before realizing that it was near impossible, without any hard surface to brace against the log just sunk in the mud further with ever attempt. The axe faded as Ari looked thoughtful; seeming to decide on an action he nodded to himself and trotted to the log’s middle point. Looking uncertain he added some magic to his horn before letting it lose, the magic cutting down the center as his horn lowered the beam through it. Seeing his plan work her speed up, changing sides and halving that, he repeated this once more, looking at the pile of split logs then at us. Each log was a little longer than Ari’s body length and cut in half, it was the base of a raft. The beam of magic shifted into a chisel as Ari began creating jagged joints along half of the logs before starting on the other half to compare. Chrissy moved beside me and watched as he assembled the raft, a act that surprised me, but didn’t compare to what she did next. She pressed her chitin to my scales and fur. My attention was now solely on Chrissy as she pressed into me, steadying herself before closing her eyes. My mind barely comprehended the splash of the raft as I stared at the Royal Changeling pressed up to me, the lead mare that less than a week ago wanted me gone. Was she that out of it that she is mistaking me for Ari? What- “Hey! I thought we said no sleeping Chrissy!” Ari looked at us from his finished creation; it was bobbing up and down briefly under his weight before settling at a level. A proud but tired smile on his face as his make shift set of paddles entered the swampy water. Opening her eyes, Chrissy nudged my shoulder. Right we needed to get on that! I took slow steps as i supported Chrissy , she seemed very tired, not that Ari and I weren’t but she seemed excessively so. With us on the raft Ari squeezed between us and laid down, I lay down without a second thought and I heard Chrissy follow suit with a sigh. This night was more than we bargained for. Giving another tired yawn Ari looked at Chrissy, “Am I pointed the right way?” A soft snort escaped her as her magic brought out the compass before us, miraculously not broken, it showed we were pointing west. “Okay then, if I remember right this is the last stretch of Equestria,” A tired grunt came from Chrissy. “That means we can sleep all day tomorrow, but in the meantime any pony know a good ghost story to keep us awake?” Two Becomes...Three?**** Ari I stayed awake alright, although not due to fright like I initially imagined I would. Maybe I was just desensitized from Earth culture where murder was often portrayed soo ’glamorously’ and common in the media. Or maybe after killing so frequently here I don’t see it as much as a scary, taboo act anymore. But whatever the reason ‘Slendermare’, ‘Bloody Marey’, and ‘The Headless Mare’ caused me to ponder the parallel nature of Equis to Earth more than be afraid of the murdering ponies and I couldn’t help but laugh at the puns. I was laughing soo hard that it started to become the silent type of laughing, mouth open but no sound escaping. We really needed to do this more often, oh and go to the beach, I think we would all like that after this swamp. They weren’t impressed by my reaction to put it nicely but they ‘bravely’ continued to tell Equus’s scary stories, even some that didn’t involve ponies. Apparently Minotaurs had a habit of eating silverware accidentally so one story involving them centered around that, let’s just say it involved a cursed rock, a angry king, and guts going everywhere. While it was a fascinating to look at the Minotaur culture it didn’t scare me, disgusted me was a more accurate description of my feeling towards it. I mean how do you accidently eat your fork? At least they were a ‘peaceful’ country, but I took that with a grain of salt, Equestria was peaceful too but look at the racism I encountered and I haven’t even entered a city there yet. “Did you want to hear some Earth stories now? I assure you I know a few to scare-“ I paused my teasing as I saw the moon had started descending, “-well maybe I won’t need to.” Feeling my mares shift against my sides as we all started yawning at the sight of the moon’s departure, knowing sleep was coming. Well, sleep was coming for them anyway. I still had to steer the raft, but thankfully not for much longer as the Minotarian shore was visible and fast approaching as I put a little extra speed to my paddles. Weaving around a tree root just in time before the sky went dark, looking up the moon had finished descending and the darkness held the sky for several second before the sun began to rise. The unnatural speed still surreal to watch, I missed proper sunrises and sunsets, soon it would be normal once again though. I wonder how long it will take for the world to return to normal after they stop moving them. “Finally!” Lyric slurred out sleepily from beside me, looking at the rising sun with half lidded eyes. Chrissy was silent and a glance at her confirmed my thoughts, she was already asleep. Which was okay by me, she seemed more tired than both Lyric and I, a fact that I wanted to contribute to the fact that she had been traveling longer than both of us but I wasn’t so sure about that. With how distant she was earlier something just felt off. “Mhmm” I hummed back giving a Lyric a quick nuzzle on the top of her head, “Take a rest, the shore is still an hour away.” Lyric pressed into me at that, joining Chrissy within seconds. Looking at the shore, the beginning of Minotaria, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to travel through. According to Chrissy it was a farming country with a few mines at the Gryphon border, a ‘peaceful’ country. However I still wondered how such a peaceful country could produce bulls like Jabbar, just what constituted peaceful nowadays? Not to mention the weather, now that we were out of Equestria the weather would be all sorts of crazy again… Blinking out of my thoughts as my paddle became wedged in the mud, the shore now a mere five feet away. I pulled out the paddle and began the last stretch with small strokes until the raft became beached on the shore. Now I had a new problem, mainly where to carry these two sleepy heads to so we could all get some sleep. Before us the trees seemed to all but disappear, evidence of civilization apparent in the unnatural way the swampy forest ended and turned into an open field. The field held tall grass, a little taller than Azure was, but it was still manageable though. With another yawn I levitated the mares above me, Chrissy’s face contorting into a grimace as her trickle of food disappeared, and slowly walked into the grass with heavy hoofs. There was grass everywhere I looked, tall, spindly, delicious smelling grass. Maybe my stomach was malfunctioning but I wanted to eat it, it smelt soo sweet, did ponies eat hay here too? I sure hope so, cause then I have found a veritable smorgasbord in this field. My walk through the grass lasted all of ten minutes before I realized that by a farming country she meant endless fields of grass and no trees, something that bugged my instincts. But despite my instincts initial unease I felt the call of sleep and a nest was necessary. Don’t ask me why I said nest, nest just felt right, maybe there was bird genetics somewhere in Alicorns but it felt right and I felt slightly better knowing the grass would hide us. Using my wings and rump I made a small clearing where I stood, flattening the grass, and scanning the area. Again the feeling of unease pestered my mind so I sniffed the ground and then the air. All was clear, no predators nearby so my body relaxed, apparently it had tensed up but I hadn’t noticed at all. Feeling safe I settled onto the grass bed, making sure to levitate Chrissy and Lyric gently to rest under my wings. Wrapping my wings around them before finally closed my eyes. **** Chrissy “Achooo” Ari sneezed beside me and the grass rustled in front of us, I was warm, worries forgotten as his love poured in, and I sighed at the peace in this situation. Ari tucked between us, Lyric mumbling something on his other side in her sleep. The grass rustling in the- Wait, there was no wind. I tensed my muscles, eyes still shut, as my heart raced. My newest worry coming to the forefront of my mind again at the possibility of a threat nearby. Had my heat ended or was it ended? Was I- “See I told ya!” Hooves clopped on the earth in an odd rhythm leaving me guessing at what they were doing. “Whoa!” Inhaling the air I smelled manure, hay, and the faint smell of apples. The smell told me it was definitely a Minotaur however the voice sounded young, high pitched and feminine. Now the question was if they would leave us be? “Hey!” The second voice interjected, it was a slightly more masculine calf’s voice. Beside me I heard Ari start doing a strange snort, sounding almost like… I cracked my closest eye open and wanted to facehoof at the sight, this was calves for you. A stick was being stuck up Ari’s nostril. Ari was a very, very deep sleeper. “Don’t do that! What if it wakes up?” The bull calf sounded nervous. “Mmmmm… harder…” As if Lyric knew what the calf said she chose now to sleep talk. Just what was she dreaming about? The heifer calf quickly retracted the stick and I closed my eye again, I could feel them looking at us, and I was never more thankful for the ignorance of calfhood. They didn’t know what I was or they would have run screaming from me by now, gathered their folks, and well I shuddered just thinking about it. They were just curious thankfully. “It moved!” The bull calf squeaked out earning a snort from the bolder calf. “No it didn’t, it was just talking in it’s sleep-“ “Not the yellow one, the one with the blue mane!” “It didn’t!” “Did too!” “Did NOT!” “TOO!” “NOT!” Calves, there were as bad as foals with arguing! “DID TOOOO!” The bull calf yelled causing my sensitive ears to ring and pin themselves to my skull. That’s it, screw waiting around for them to leave I needed sleep! These calves needed a lesson in letting sleeping bears lie, or in my case Changelings. “Actually he is right, I did move.” I gave them a wide grin as I lifted my head and opened my eyes, making sure to show my sharp canines. Adding the finishing touch I raised an eyebrow, “I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of how delicious some fresh calf would taste right about now.” The Two calves were shaking in their overalls now, looking like they were ready to bolt at my first move. Licking my muzzle I drove the point home, “You two don’t happen to know where I could find some do you?” The first calf dropped her stick and turned around, nearly running into her friend as he had the same idea, both hightailing it back through the grass. I gave a weak chuckle as I thought of how they wouldn’t be forgetting this anytime soon, it was necessary though. Poking sleeping things is a very bad idea but unfortunately most learned that lesson the hard way, it certainly wasn’t fun learning this as a foal but teaching the lesson was immensely funny. Almost enough to get my head out of the thoughts that were troubling me. I couldn’t help my gaze from straying to my stallion’s still sleeping form. Were we compatible? Is that why my heat ended, not due to that being the last day but because a nymph or foal was conceived? I didn’t know the answer, Alicorns had never bred with changelings, and really there was no research into hybridism. This was completely unexplored territory for me, for the world really, however it was a possibility, Lyric existed after all. Perhaps it was too soon to tell, it hadn’t been too long since my heat after all, and I really didn’t have any symptoms yet- Well that one was explainable. Being tired didn’t really count...But I felt exhausted after my heat despite the huge amount of love I took in and my breakfast only slightly helped that feeling, the full meal feeling smaller than before… But we had fought a Hydra, which had to account for some of this. No, I had felt this way before the Hydra. But I didn’t have any other symptoms…those would only come later. I could feel my heart race as I thought of explaining this to Ari, which I would have to eventually, when the nesting behavior started it would be a dead giveaway. But would it start at the fourth week or the eightieth week? I wasn’t even sure what this pregnancy would be like, my eyes filled up at the thought, I was really pregnant. The heat had ended too early, no matter how much I would like to force myself to believe I wasn’t I couldn’t deny that fact that I was. We had consummated our relationship and the burning just stopped, with no residual burning in my loins, and no post heat dreams. I was most certainly with his foal. But would the pregnancy be like an Alicorn pregnancy or a Changeling pregnancy? Then a horrible thought hit me. This was a bad time to be pregnant, in just less than two weeks we would have two very angry princesses traveling with us, and I know I’m certainly not their favorite person. They wouldn’t let- No don’t think about that. A deep breath, in through the nose- What? Taking another deep inhale I looked over Ari’s neck where Lyric was, where the scent of arousal was coming from. Real bucking nice, just what I needed, well maybe she is just having a really erotic dream by pure coincidence. Not with my luck. Looking at the sun above it occurred to me that we should get going if we didn’t want to travel at night, not that there were many predators in Minotaria. Standing was the easy part today, waking Ari would the hard part, if he can sleep through a stick up his nose I don’t know what to do for him. “Ari get up, we have to get going.” Unsurprisingly no movement, well time to try something pleasant first, tail pulling can come later. I licked his horn, while it did make him squirm and moan it did not wake him. “What are doing Chrissy?” His squirming did wake Lyric. “Waking him up, we don’t want to travel all night again so we need to get walking. Not to mention while you two slept we were found by two calves that I had to scare away.” “Had to?” I snorted at her for pointing that out, “Okay I understand-“ She looked at her rear as she stood, eyes going to pinpricks as she looked back at me. “Wait, before you do anything! Please know that I can’t help it and I’m totally better at controlling myself when I’m in heat than you were.” I grit my teeth at her pointing that out, that wasn’t my finest moment. Before she could babble herself into an incoherent mess over a fact we couldn’t change and quite frankly I thought might happen since he made my body go into estrus, I stepped towards to her. I might as well get this over with, she was actually nice to be around after she learned her place a little, and I could use the free foalsitting. “Look he isn’t into herds but if you are content to stay second mare you can stay in the herd, I will have to talk him into herding but I think he likes you anyway so…” “REALLY?!” Sending her a glare I motioned to my, no, our stallion now who was thankfully still asleep. Now I had to get something even harder out of the way. “Yes, but… I…” My eyes filled with tears as my ears splayed, I just couldn’t say it. It was position I had never expected with no other Royal Changelings left. But as a herdmate she would have to know, I will need her to handle any future mare challenges, and possibly help me tell Ari the news. Actually I would need her help for sure if I could hardly tell her the news. Dear Faust this was sad, I used to have a backbone, confidence. Where had it run to? Probably where my brain went when I planned the invasion. Lyric hesitated before coming over to my side and giving me her love although it was marred a little by her concern, which left a odd salty flavor in my mouth, “Are you okay? What is up with you, first last night you were out-“ “Pregnant.” I whispered out, tears flowing down my face at the word, not sad but not happy either, I just felt overwhelmed after everything. Sure I had always dreamed as a filly of have my own little nymph to chitter to one day, which was before I realized how impossible it was without any royal Changelings left. Well, really there wasn’t many magically gifted stallions left of any species now, Discord didn't really count, he was...both and neither at the same time. He confused me immensely. **** Lyric I’m a part of a herd! My heart had soared when she said that, I could hardly contain myself from whinnying in joy. I had new family, well I would get my family back eventually but I wasn’t alone anymore in the most permanent sense: a herd. Ari still had to be convinced to accept the herd idea but I think it will be easy. I still believe most of his hesitance stemmed from Chrissy not wanting a herd, not his strange monogamous culture. Then Chrissy started to act weird again, no not weird, she was clearly upset this time. She was clearly torn up over something and to my surprise she didn’t need much prodding to tell me this time. Chrissy said what now? “What?” She looked at Ari's sleeping form, “I’m pregnant, my heat ended early, after we rutted…” My brain was trying to understand this, why was she crying? Wasn’t having a foal a good thing? “That’s wonderful! Why are you acting soo upset? I know you probably didn’t intend to get pregnant but I’m sure Ari won't mind. I saw his expression when he saw the foals walk by in the herds, he probably loves foals!” Chrissy gave me a weak smile at that. “Actually he used to foal sit all the time, foals that weren’t even his own. I know he will be a good father but…The princesses are going to be with us in less than two weeks and they will surely notice my symptoms, not mention Ari will by then, well might.” She looked uncertain now and I gave her a little nuzzle to encourage her. “I’m not sure if it will be the length of a changeling pregnancy or the length of a Alicorn pregnancy, I don’t even know what symptoms will appear and what won’t-“ I could see her worry rising again so I interrupted, “Don’t worry about it! I will totally cover for you and as for the symptoms I totally can help you with that, what are herd mates for right? “Right what?” We both froze and looked at our disoriented stallion, getting up he stretched his wings before taking a canteen from my bag and emptying it into his endless stomach. Just how much had he heard? “We were just discussing the right way to wake you up,” Chrissy said with a smile, looking suddenly very different than the worried mare she was a second ago, tears gone and ears forward. Was she going to tell him? “Since you are awake now I guess we can get going now.” Nope she is avoiding the topic. “Okay I guess… You aren’t hungry? You seemed really wiped out last night.” “Well I’m a little hungry but I can feed later. I don’t want to be traveling at night again.” He paused to think that over before nodding, “Okay then let’s get going!” We trotted over to his side as he started off at a trot, eager to make up lost time. I couldn’t help but wrinkle my noise at our smell though, eau de swamp with a coat full of mud, we needed to bathe soon. We walked for what must have been hours, the scenery changing from hay field to corn field alternatively till we finally arrived at a fruit orchard. The orchard had a well that we used to fill up our canteens and plenty of pears that were bruised, we helped them recycle those. Okay Ari did mostly, he consumed a ridiculous amount of food and still said he was hungry when we stopped him, only sellable pears left on the branches. I tried to get Chrissy’s attention several times during the walk but she refused to meet my eyes and by the time we left the orchard I was fuming at her foalish behavior. There was no need for her silence, we hadn’t seen or heard any pony or any minotaur’s yet, nor had we run across any settlements. She needed to breach the whole herd bit to him before my heat got too bad, it was only the first day but the sooner he accepted it the better he would take it when I couldn’t control my instincts anymore. We were at the edge of yet another corn field when the sun started setting and Ari started scouting for a sleeping spot, leaving us to rest for a second. “Are you going to bring it up with him?” I whispered to Chrissy as Ari circled out further, seeming to be unhappy with the open area. “Are you going to take really long bathroom break while I feed?” A raised eyebrow and a look that said I would be anyway, that was more of a demand than question. She must be really hungry. “If you actually talk to him about starting a herd while you feed, I would love to get some real relief this time around.” The meaning was not lost on Chrissy as she look appalled at the suggestion of going through the heat without relief and she was correct to feel that way. It had been torture even with several interesting spells my aunts knew I still only got a couple hours of relief the last couple of times. But Why would I use those when I have the real relief traveling with me? There was no guarantee of a foal anyway, my mother and father had tried alot of times before i was conceived, not even taking into account that I was already a hybrid and the amount of magic needed to make a foal between us would be greater I’m sure. “Hey Ari i'm going to take a long bathroom break,” Not waiting for his reply I went into the field to wait for them to finish rutting. It didn’t take long before I heard the first squeal followed by the sound of hooves galloping, listening to rutting was always interesting, it was like charades for my ears trying to guess what they were doing. Chrissy helped though she was very vocal about her pleasure, not as bad as my mother but she was a siren so it came with the territory. “ARI” I could feel my marehood leak at her scream, my imagination picturing his endowment pounding into her, sweat dri- No I wasn’t going there, this was the heat talking I did not want to watch Ari plow my lead mare…But I should make sure she actually brings up becoming a herd to him. Standing back up I crept back to the edge of the field where I had left them. My tail flagged and I started winking at sight I came back to, before me was truly arousing scene. Ari was mounted on Chrissy, his head thrown back and his wings spread as he pounded into her. She took it with a moan as she was plowed forward, head resting on the ground as her hind legs trembled under the assault. “More,” Chrissy whispered, “Faster!” Now thrusting her rump back into his thrusts, she whinnied in completion and the sound of their juices echoed into the field. However he kept plowing into her at the same hurried pace, my hoof made it’s way down my chest, stopping at my moist marehood. That was what I wanted. Ari was giving quiet nickers now as Chrissy was reduced to panting, eyes closed and a smile on her muzzle. The thrusting slowed, Ari removing his impressive length till just the tip rested in her entrance before hilting himself in her folds again. After a minute of slow and hard thrusting he stilled, suddenly clamping his mouth on the back of her neck, causing her to scream her orgasm as the moon rose. My hoof couldn't compare to that. Chrissy turned her head then and looked me in the eyes, no anger there, just disappointment at my control, but it was hard to resist the sounds. It really was with the knowledge that I would have my stallion soon and my heat just adding fuel to the desire I already had for him. But she knew I was here, that alone was enough to stop my hoof’s ministrations, that and he seemed- “A-Ari, do you think you could handle another mare?” Chrissy had lowered her rump to the ground, looking back at Ari with a raised eyebrow and a happy smile. His body stilled as he finished pulling out, juice covered cock retreating into his sheath, and I couldn’t help but follow the action licking my lips. Just a taste wouldn’t hurt ri- “What’s this about Chrissy? I know you aren’t into to herds… Is this about how I have been treating Lyric?” He looked nervous now, scanning the rows of corn for me, and shifting his hooves. “Yes it’s about Lyric, how do you feel about her?” Ari gulped and laid down beside Chrissy, the moon illuminating the look on his face, he was scared. “W-well she is really nice, considerate, and really fun to be around. I-I know she likes me but-“ “Do you or do you not like her?” Chrissy was looking a little impatient now as he tried to avoid answering her. “Yes I do care for her but I never would stray from you, I really am committed to you! I love you!” Ari looked soo panicked with his ears back and eyes wide, he really didn’t want to lose her. Chrissy let him panic a second before smiling happily, “Good, I would hate it if you didnt like your second mare.” His jaw dropped at her words, “We talked about it before you woke up and I decided I wouldn’t mind having her around, she is okay with not being the lead mare, and well she really likes you. I know you didn’t grow up with herds but give it some thought.” “W-what?.....” Ari sighed, looking lost in his thoughts. “I will think about it, just give me time, okay Chrissy?” She gave him a purr and nod before looking at where I was hidden, “LYRIC!” Although my ears weren’t happy with the volume she called me at I understood her reason, if he was undecided right now imagine what he would feel like if he knew I watched them rut without an invitation. I didn’t want to risk my chance, sure I might get others but I didn’t want to hear any rejection from Ari, he really felt like the one for me. Dropping my wet hoof back to the ground I trotted from the field to my stallion’s side, I tried to calm my tail but it stayed raised as the area was still bathed in the smell of their recent activity. He noticed as well but didn’t show any surprise, looking very out of it. Apprehension held me still as I looked at his free side. His wing was still tucked up to his barrel, the other draped over Chrissy, she was mouthing ‘go on’ while darting her eyes to his side. Did he still want me to sleep by them? Was he angry? His wing unfurled itself, the tip making the ‘come hither’ motion to his side. I didn’t waste any time, closing the distance in a second, rubbing my body on his as I slid into position. With that his wing wrapped itself around me again as I wished them good night, energy bouncing through me despite the time and walking we had done. Now all I had to do was wait for him to decide, a answer I was near certain on now that Chrissy had vouched for me, hopefully he decided sooner rather than later. His spicy scent wasn’t helping me sleep at all though. There's a Light in the Window.**** Ari Waking up was interesting to say the least. I was used to waking with morning wood but this time it was near impossible to get rid of, there was something about the smell in the air that made me very aroused. Inhaling I tried to make sense of it: cinnamon a touch spicier and richer with a hint of nutmeg, a strong smell of water lily, and the near intoxicating smell of jasmine. Letting my nose follow the near overwhelming smell of jasmine and waterlily it lead me to Lyric. Well that made a lot of sense now. I was nearly one hundred percent sure Lyric was in heat, she was flagging last night, her mare smell was to the intoxicating point that Chrissy’s had gotten when she was in heat, and she was very into rubbing herself on me last night. I was really trying to sleep, well trying to think really, and her scales and fur kept caressing me in a way that I knew she was awake still. Let’s just say it took me awhile to get to sleep. Wait, was Lyric’s heat really why Chrissy was suddenly into herds? It didn’t make any sense when Chrissy’s near exact words when she allowed Lyric to travel with us were ‘he’s my stallion and I’m his marefriend’, that didn’t sound like a mare that wanted to form a herd to me. Sure they had been getting closer with less hissing and growling going on, but going from friends to herd mates seems like a big jump to me. She may have said they talked but... Not to mention they had to discuss this now, while we are traveling across the continent with the main goal to abduct the princesses and show them the damage they are causing. It was the worst possible time save for when the princesses are actually with us. Dear lord, I bet the god that brought me here is just rolling around laughing his head, err, does he have a head? Never mind, the point is that he is probably finding this very funny, here I was telling him I wouldn’t be his stud for the last Alicorn mares and now I was having sex with the last Changeling and considering a relationship with a siren. She was possibly the last Siren as well, she hadn't said her family was dead but they weren't with her either. However much I sympathized with the whole extinction thing I wasn’t really interested in the princesses. Would anypony be interested in them though? After seeing Moonbutt’s attitude to me in the dream, not mention hearing about the racism that they are allowing it must only be their magic or money that is stopping a war from happening. According to the map there is many more species and countries than Equestria, many non pony nations, perhaps they would finally point out the racism once the princesses stopped controlling the seasons and they didn’t have to worry about their weather going haywire anymore. The princesses just weren't looking very nice quite frankly, I know I should hold my judgement till i meet them but when your marefriend is considered a 'vile parasitic bug' by their people and therefore them it is kind of hard to not judge. I think the scariest part of this whole situation is that I don’t feel as angry anymore about what that god did, annoyed? Hell yes, but I actually am enjoying my time with my mares, that’s not to say that I don’t miss my friends or family but… I have a full life here. In the short time I have been here I have fallen for Chrissy and… I really like Lyric, not to the same degree but I think that is more due to holding myself back. It is hard to undo a childhood of learning that you will find the ‘one’, never had it been the ‘ones’ or anything quite so polygamous. Not that I was into polygamy, okay it was the word that made me cringe, the connotations of something vile and immoral. I was very much okay with the idea of having the two mares with me forever, of eventually adopting kids down the line as i'm pretty sure we are different species, and having a nice life doing whatever I found enjoyable in this world. World saving wasn’t exactly a career choice, it was more like a ‘do it or perish as well’ sort of task. It was a task that I wouldn’t wait for me to will away my erection. Stretching my wings I stood, basking in the warm sun, and a little happy to see some of the last mud flake off of me. I felt much better, okay I still felt conflicted about forming a herd, but it was sort of like when I was a tween and saying sex was the big taboo. Oh how simple those days were, no erections or having to save the world. My mares grumbled a little as I left them, Chrissy being the first to wake. She gave me a tired look before rising, rump first as she looked at my erection hanging out. “Breakfast?” I asked her, giving a cheeky smile at the new meaning to the word. Knowing that she wasn’t one to say no to a full meal and if nothing else we did enjoy sex just for the sake of sex. It was a amazing feeling when I heard her scream, moan, and squeal for me. Leaving her saddle bags beside Lyric Chrissy stood. I hadn’t really looked at Lyric’s sleeping form and now I wished I hadn’t. Her tail was hiked up, signalling to the entire world what she wanted, and was surely dreaming about if her content smile was a hint. Chrissy had already trotted to me, tail flagging,draping her blue tail over her back, she paused her in her approach as she followed my gaze. “It is a symptom of the heat, the erotic dreams only get worse before the physical symptoms take hold.” Now rubbing her chitin on me it occured to me that Chrissy sounded very accepting about it, the heat. “I thought you didn’t want to share, you even said so in the desert.” She turned and reached a hoof under me to stroke my cock, I twitched under her hoof and let loose a moan. “Yes I said that but things have changed…I don’t think she is bad, she can even be enjoyable to be around.” “Soo you didn’t just bring up becoming a herd because she is going into heat?” I gave her a quick nip on her dock, her ministrations while pleasurable were getting to the point where I needed more. Stopping her ministrations Chrissy turned back around, presenting her marehood to me. “W-well that certainly added a level of urgency to the situation. She likes you and you like her, it would only make sense to offer her relief during her heat.” She braced her hind legs as she spoke, winking at me as her juices started to pool at her entrance. Snaking out my tongue I ran it up her slit, tasting her tangy juices and a little of what I was sure was myself from last night. She squirmed and gave a moan as she launched some juices at my muzzle. “What do you mean relief? It will end after five to eight days anyway right?” “Well it ends early if-f-FUCK YES!” Chrissy’s original sentence was lost as I mounted her in thrust, I couldn’t hold back anymore I’m sure she could understand. With Lyric’s smell teasing me and Chrissy ready and moist already holding back was near impossible. Chrissy's ‘Breakfast’ increased in rhythm, Chrissy howling her pleasure as she came yet again, but I still felt like going after my first time cumming for once. My length stiffening again as my mind wandered and thought of the most delightful thing: the real mile high club. I had wings now after all and Chrissy used to have two wings. She might actually love it, flying again. “Chrissy did you want to try sex while flying?” She paused underneath me before looking at me over her wither, I saw her eyes dilate as I felt her marehood clench around my cock. With a nicker she ground her rump against my groin, building a delicious friction. I will take that as a yes. Wrapping my forelegs around her barrel I got myself comfortably hilted in her before I tested my stiff wings. Although they were stiff from my arousal they were still maneuverable. Relying mostly on my wings for take off we still rocketed upwards at a amazing speed, a action that I immediately regretted, my wings becoming even stiffer as she clenched around my length. Chrissy’s stiff wing buzzed as much as it could as we continued to rise, the pressure increasing in groin as gravity pulled her as deep as she could go on me. Not caring who saw or heard us I turned the climb into a forward motion hoping to last longer without gravity plowing her into me, but Chrissy had other plans. Her walls starting massaging me, our previous emissions squelching as she milked me, and I felt a little pre leave me. The field looked so small beneath us as we panted, both our releases close. With another strong grip on my erection I lost it and sent us into steep descent, the world spinning around us as our releases claimed us sooner than I thought. My mouth found Chrissy’s ear, clamping down on the tender flesh as we rode the pleasure out. A squeal of pleasure sounded from her as I realized a growing problem: the ground. We would have to do this again, slower of course, and at a higher height so I could do a longer dive. Slowing our descent I took us down in a wide spiral before landing at the edge of the cornfield once again. As I my cock retreated into my sheath I looked to Chrissy, “Full?” Resting on the grass she seemed to glow with the sweat and happiness she exuded, sex was definitely more than just feeding for her. “For now, I expect that every morning!” My eyebrow raised at that, surely she would get bored of feeding the same way every morning, there was touching and kissing i could feed her with as well. “I mean it, you get to eat at least a full meal everyday so I need a full meal every day.” I wasn’t going to argue with that, but she was doing fine before- “There you two are! I’m not a mule you know, come take your bag back Chrissy!” Lyric walked out of the cornfield, mane a mess, and a heavy blush on her muzzle. Immediately her scent hit me and I had shake my head before I could focus on what she had said. Chrissy however looked unfazed by the smell, the lucky mare, and grabbed her bag in her magic to place it on her back. “S-“ “I know Ari, you had to feed her, I saw.” Lyric sounded very annoyed with me or more likely sexually frustrated. I felt a little horrified as I realized I hadn’t even considered her presence when we started having sex nor did I consider her condition, guilt was setting in. Two mares would be a lot of work. Chrissy stood on shaky legs with a happy smile, and like clockwork she made her way to my side as Lyric huffed before trotting over to my far side. I swear Lyric took the long way to her side on purpose to flash me, her tail apparently stuck in a permanent flagging position. Not that I was looking there as her voluminous golden tail hit my face on the way by, leaving a new wet spot on my muzzle. I wasn't going to think about that. I guess there was a deadline on that answer. **** Lyric As we moved out I tried to practice my deep, calming breaths, reciting the alphabet backwards then forwards, and finally moving on to the Saddle Arabian alphabet. However all I think I did was make it worse, I could smell my stallion’s spicy scent and the lingering heady smell of sex with every breathe. I really don’t know how long I can last if they keep rutting every day like this. We continued to walk onward, the Gryphon mountain range now a small speck on the horizon as we continued to walk at the edges of the various fields. That was until we heard a small trickling sound, Chrissy glanced back at me and I shot her a glare. Real funny Chrissy, I’m laughing, really. Ari however knew the sound, "Water!" Moving together we transitioned into a fast trot, the presense of water worth its weight in gold at this point with how bad we smell. You do not want to smell three days worth of swamp mud, sweat, and sex in the summer heat, really it was practically a monster repellant at this stage. As the hour wore on the faint trickle turned into a powerful roar of a river, only problem was we still couldn’t see any body of water. The fields lay to our right, changing every acre or two into a new crop, and a bush and boulder filled field spanned our left side. “Where is that water?” Ari questioned, rotating his ears as he tried to pinpoint a direction. I was mesmerized by his mouth, it was perfectly kissable, and what that tongue could do- Nononononono! I have much better control than this! ‘But he is yours’ No, not yet he isn’t. “Ar-“ “There it is!” Ari rocketed off the ground towards a large boulder ahead of us. I blinked and looked at Chrissy who just looked back just as surprised, seeing that she didn’t seem to know what to do either I looked at the boulder. It was surrounded by slightly smaller boulders however it was still a good fifteen feet tall, the ground nearby seemed very lush, the grass a good two inches taller at the boulder’s base. Perhaps there was water near it after all. But I finally had Chrissy alone. “Are you going to tell him about…” I let the question trail off as I looked at her stomach pointedly, it was still flat but that wouldn’t be the case in a couple months. The sooner she told him the better this would be in my opinion, although that was also my thought on his answer to us becoming a herd. I wanted to have more restraint than Chrissy did, she actually had a good excuse as it was her first heat but I had no excuse. I had even foalishly bragged that i had better control, which I had when I was a filly and I didn't have my herd mates rutting everyday. Speaking of excuses… “No I will wait till the princesses are gone before I tell him. He has a lot to think about already.” There she is making excuses and avoiding the issue, she is infuriating to me right now, well her sudden lack of confidence anyway. Wasn’t she supposed to have run a hive? She was royalty for Faust’s sake! Not to mention he adores her, heck if anything he would be doting over Chrissy when he learns of the coming foal. As if the sky sensed my sour mood, clouds began to gather. “Really Chrissy, if you tell him he will be overjoyed! He loves foals and he loves you, just tell him!” I was whisper yelling now at her, my ears pinned back in my frustration. “Somepony needs a good rutting.” “I would if-“ A splash sounded from up ahead making us pause. “Come on guys! The water is perfect!” Snorting at Chrissy I transitioned into a trot, she caught up to me within seconds. But I kept my eyes averted from her, first she says she will tell him then she doesn’t, it was maddening! Oh buck she is right, this is all mostly from my heat. After watching them rut twice now I was feeling the call to rut already, a couple days earlier than I recalled last time I was in heat, not to the point where I was going to drop everything and present myself. But I was still dropping obvious hints, even Ari noticed them, I was sure I saw him looking earlier. Ari was floating on his back when we made our way around the boulder, well really he was on his back in a pool of murky water. It was being fed into a small opening in the boulder’s base, running downhill from the mountain range which had inched closer somehow, no longer a speck on the horizon. The clouds continued to darken the sky but I paid it no heed, my instincts called out to me, not my heat ones though but my sea pony instincts. It had been months since I last had a good soak, oasis’s weren’t very common in Saddle Arabia, and streams were unheard of now with drought. With a joyous whinny I let loose and jumped into the pool. Chrissy held my bags in her magic before placing them beside hers as she stared at me, entering the pool at a normal pace, but I paid her no mind, my blood was singing its praise as the water rushed over my scales. The pool was not very wide or long but it was deep. Taking advantage of that I dived down, opening my eyes as I paddled below the surface and enjoyed the sights under the water. Algae clung to the bottom as little fish fry darted away from my approach, sticking to the dark corners. I blinked as two shadows flitted overhead, looking up I watched my soon to be herd mates paddle in the cool mountain water, circling each other. My lungs started to protest after five minutes in the depths and I frowned at my reduced lung power, when I was a filly I could last for a good half an hour. As I was going up though Ari was diving down to me, his eyes frantic before they latched onto mine, and I felt a tingle surround my body- I blinked at the sudden change of scenery, I was now floating in a golden field of magic above the pool, dripping water as Ari slowly lowered me. “I told you she was alive, she is part sea pony after all.” “She doesn’t have gills! I think it’s perfectly reasonable to worry when she doesn’t come up for air.” Chrissy gave a amused snort as I entered the water again, the golden magic dissipating. My heart raced as I realized he had been worried about me, my scales started to heat up as I felt a blush start, and I gave a happy nicker as my control slipped. I rushed forward and kissed Ari, moaning as his muzzle returned the kiss, his muzzle opened and his tongue asked for entrance. My answer was obvious. As our tongues become locked in a battle for dominance Chrissy came over and squeezed herself between us, purring she started flicking her tail between my legs. I opened my eyes and gave her a curious look, was she serious? “Ari I take it that you accept her as your second mare? We are a herd right?” Chrissy had a sly look as Ari started to choke on my tongue, eventually gaining control he broke the kiss he looked between Chrissy and I. Come on! Say- *RUMBLE CRASSSHH RUMBLLLLE* We all jumped in place and looked up, the ‘innocent’ clouds of before had darkened and were shifting at a alarming shape, forming a looming mass that promised rain if not more. Ari was the first to come to, nudging us to the shore, there he quickly placed our bags back on our back. Placing his wings over us he looked at the clouds with his ears splayed, “We should get going, I think mother nature is going to show us exactly how crazy she can be.” *CRAAASSSSHHH* We jumped at the noise began a quick trot, no need to tell us twice. Storms were the main reason I stayed in Saddle Arabia, just sand storms and drought there, both problems are much easier to handle than the storms in the other countries. The rain started after several more thunderous roars echoed across the sky and with the rain came the wind, not that we really noticed the rain as we were already soaked. It must have been hours now, we had been forced to slow down to a walk against the wind and we hadn’t found any form of shelter. There was no trees or large bushes to cower under, or any- Hold that thought. I maybe shaking from the cold but that still looks like a light ahead of us, “Is that a light?” I have to yell above the howl of the wind. My herd mates look up, squinting and looking where my hoof is pointing, and it does seem to shine like a light. I feel the slight pressure on my shoulder and move with them as we change direction, going slightly to the left now. Another ten minutes and we are upon the light source, a rundown plank and thatch hut with a small, ramshackle wood shed attached to it. It was beautiful to me though, with the lantern glowing in the window, and the smoke drifting from the chimney. Ari did stop and sniff the air before sneezing out the torrents of rain that came at his face, I hadn’t bothered telling him that no one could smell anything in this weather, I had assumed it was a given. Ari started walking forward again but held us back with his wings as he crept up to the lone window, looking in before giving us a nod. Well it looked like a nod, the rain made it hard to tell, but my lead mare moved forward so I took her cue and followed. Holding the door open for us, Ari stood tense and ready for anything as he gazed into the dark storm. Hearing the thud of the door closing I took stock of the shack. A small brick fireplace stood before us with a impressive pyramid of quartered firewood beside it, to the left of the room a simple straw mattress lay and to the right a collection of shelves and cupboards acting as a larder of sorts. I was still wet and the fire was inviting me over so I gave my body a light shake, but just as I was about to step towards it I found myself soaked again. “ARI! Learn to shake off like a normal pony, you don’t need to shake it quite soo, soo-“ “Doglike?” Chrissy added for me, a understanding grin on her muzzle. “Yes, there is no need to be such a dog about it. Watch me.” I gave my body a slight shake, mane and tail coming back to their original place in half a second, “There! See how I didn’t have to shake my body so hard?” “Mhmmm” Looking at the look in his eyes I felt my blush return and my warm up, was he really interested in me like that? He did kiss me… He did a near perfect shake as Chrissy shook the water off her chitin as well and he moved out of the puddle we had formed at the doorway. We were at his side in a second as the fire place became our destination. A mix of sighs and grunts echoed in the shack as we lay down before the dwindling fire, Ari added another log to the fire and it crackled to life as something occurred to me. “Where’s the owner of this shack?” Chrissy answered for Ari as she began preening him, “Probably hiding out somewhere till the storm blows over, we will be gone by the time they return, and as long as somepony doesn’t eat any of their food they will never even know we were here.” It made sense, only the crazy would be out in a storm like this, not that we were but this was the first shelter we found out there. I started on his other outstretched wing, mouth pausing on a feather as another thought hit me, a even more important thought if my growing heat was correct. “So am I your mare?” Our eyes locked onto Ari as he closed his eyes and sighed, a look of thought his face before he opened his eyes, “ You are a amazing mare Lyric, going through the world without your family and still finding the will to go on. If I hadn’t met Chrissy I might not have stuck around soo long, you have a lot of determination,” He smiled at me then giving a slight chuckle. “I didn’t want to lose Chrissy so when I started to think you were attractive or nice I buried it deep down or I would check her reaction and I just want to say I’m sorry.” My face fell at that word. “I’m sorry for taking soo long to realize what an amazing mare you are and that I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better as a marefriend or second mare, whatever the proper term is-“ I didn’t let him finish his glorious sentence, my heart was racing, my tail flagged and I gave him a kiss. Pouring my passion for him into the kiss I nickered into his mouth as he started to give me just as much passion back. I broke the kiss panting for air, damn that’s good. But a trickle going down my thigh reminded me of a growing problem. “So since we are a herd now…Will you rut me?” Ari blinked at me, “Now?” “The sooner the better, I-I am only on my second day but my control is harder to keep up this time…Especially when you two are rutting every day,” Seeing their raised eyebrows I snorted at them. “Well you aren’t exactly hiding it, hell I woke up this morning to him mounting you right in front of me!” Chrissy and Ari shared a glance, “Tomorrow?” Ari said with a question, looking appropriately guilty. He better be, I mean I love him and all but I wasn’t sure how many more days I could take of this before I forced the issue. “First thing, before you feed Chrissy?” “Agreed, are you okay with that Chrissy?” “No.” We turned to look at her more closely, a grin breaking out on her muzzle now, “I want to be fed as you rut her, don’t forget I still get food from touching and kisses.” “O-okay.” A blush shone through Ari’s dark fur and we shared giggle at his reaction before nodding our confirmation about tomorrow, both of us not shy about rutting at this point in our lives. He really was wonderful about it though, despite being from a monogamous culture and younger than us, he didn’t dilly dally with his choice like I thought he would. Maybe that was due to Chrissy pressing the topic but I wasn’t about to question it, I was blessed with a new family. I had a stallion now! My happiness nearly bubbled over as I went back to preening his wing, nickering softly as I twisted my tongue around his feathers, finding my rhythm again as the fire crackled before me. I could get used to this, my stallion, Chrissy, and the foal in her belly. Before I knew it his wing was finished, no residual swamp mud left, and Ari wrapped it around me before giving me a soft kiss. Chrissy was already asleep as I drifted off to join her. Be Careful What You Wish For.**** Ari I was having another one of those moments, the ones where I am left wondering what went wrong and I proceed to try my hardest not to freak out. It started out normal enough, I was half asleep, watching the dimming embers of last night’s fire, my mares nestled against my sides. My thoughts were hazy at best and I really don’t remember what they were, but if I had to guess it would be about my mares or saving the world. Not remembering them isn’t from being half asleep though it was when my mind went out the window and my instincts took over. You would too if an axe slammed into the floor infront of your face. The initial relief that the axe missed my horn was quickly replaced with panic, fear for my mares, and the need to defend my herd. My instincts were black or white really, not taking into the fact that I was in someone else’s home as I stood. Trying to look big I flared my wings, feeling the tips brush the bed and shelves, as I started searching the room. The left side of the shack was clear and the right side was untouched as well, that only left one spot: behind me. Ears pinned back I tried to listen to whoever or whatever had entered, only hearing a racing heartbeat I snorted and tensed my muscles as I turned around to face my attacker. Behind me stood a light blue Minotaur bull, he was very different than Jabbar though. He stood at only six feet tall letting me see the mud pit that was outside, his horns smaller than I would expect from his stature, with one tip broken off at an awkward angle. A surprised look was on his face as his eyes stared at my horn. However distracted he appeared to be I wasn’t relaxing till he dropped the pickaxe he held in his other hand. “You’re an Alicorn?!” His voice wasn’t nearly as gruff as Jabbar’s was, it sounded young almost as it cracked over the word ‘Alicorn’ like a tween going through puberty. Dear lord was he not fully grown yet?! My words were slow to form as I stepped forward, slightly in front of my mares now, “Yes.” I continued to watch the pick axe in his hand, looking back and forth between his tool and his face. After a minute he caught on and nervously placed it beside the shelves. My instincts calmed down slightly at that action and I could feel my logic kick start itself, lowering my wings slightly as he showed me his empty hands in the apparently universal sign that he was unarmed. That was stupid however, as soon as he saw Chrissy’s sleeping form his face turned into one of terror and he lunged for his pickaxe. Wasting no time I enveloped him in my magic, freezing him midair as he moved his eyes between the axe and my herd. Well this was just dandy. If I let him go now he would attack us, if I let him go later he would tell everyone he knows about the changeling, siren, and Alicorn which would most likely attract a mob, and if I killed him I would feel like shit. This was his house after all, we were the intruders. Maybe I can reason with him or I wake up my mares and see if they know any mind magic to erase his memories of us. “So let’s just get this over with…” I gathered my thoughts, how do I convince him to not kill or send a mob after us? “ My name is Ari, I am a Alicorn, these are my mares-,” Adding a snort over that I narrowed my eyes at him, “-Chrissy and Lyric.” Pointing at in each in turn I continued to try and keep my cool, this was excellent practice for conversing with the princesses after all. “Yes she is a changeling, no, she isn’t a ‘vile parasitic bug’, and if I hear any of that racist drivel come from your mouth I will wash it out with soap, understood?” Putting on my best disappointed face that I used with kids, I waited for his understanding. It took him a second to realize he couldn’t nod in my magic and a look of panic went over his face, I realized that at the same time and lessened my hold on his head slightly. He nodded a slow, strained nod. “Good, now we will be out of your way shortly. With the storm sneaking up on us soo suddenly we just entered the first shelter we found and no I didn’t raid your pantry. All we did was burn some of your firewood and sleep on your floor.” Pausing I took in his expression, it had changed from fearful to confused. His poor brain must not be able to handle the fact that an Alicorn, what I understand was associated with good, and a changeling, a species that is seen in a negative light, are together. Something tells me this was going to be a normal reaction, I’m just lucky he isn’t freaking out over Lyric too. “You look confused, what’s there to be confused about?” I released his head completely now, keeping his body encased still. “Well aren’t you an Alicorn-“I nodded, “-and isn’t she a changeling.” Again I nodded, seeing where he was going with this. “Yes and we are happily stallionfriend and marefriend, I have heard that ponies were racist towards them but apparently it is every species. I-“ This was just getting worse. Lyric chose now to flag her tail, releasing her aroused scent into the room. Both of us being healthy males we noticed her scent immediately although we both had different reactions. He looked at the ceiling trying to avoid eye contact with both Lyric and myself, probably due to my glare. “So did you have anything intelligent to ask?” “Uhh why are… Are you going to kill me? I swear I won’t tell anyone not that anyone is out this way anymore. B-but just please don’t kill me! My mom would be heartbroken, my little sis, shit she-“ I had heard enough, immobilizing his head again I thought over his words, well his begging really. He acted like I must be evil to be with a changeling, a sad thought but impossible to help with the racism present, it’s no wonder they were both soo shocked by my nice treatment towards them. But his words made me curious, no one is out here? This was a farming country I don’t just see them neglecting a whole section of flat land just because it is near the Gryphon’s mountains. That may mean the weather is worse- Wait, Does any of the other countries even know what the princesses have done either to affect their weather? Letting his head go again and placing myself in front of Lyric for good measure I tested the waters so to speak. “I am new here and I couldn’t help but notice the crazy amount of rain and wind you have, is that normal for Minotaria?” The young bull looked a little more confident as he answered me, “N-no, I mean it has been slowly been getting worse but the last two years the floods and rain has been extremely horrible. I-I mean just last year the whole Popov clan of upper Esso were completely flooded out of their land, a whole three hundred acres suddenly underwater…” He trailed off as my eyes widened and I sat down. It was one thing seeing the power in the ‘super’ lightening storms and the extreme drought in the desert but hearing about the actual devastation it was causing real families. A whole clan was displaced permanently, not only that but three hundred acres is a lot of produce and income lost for them. How are they feeding themselves? Where do they live? Where will the future displaced families go when everyone is forced further inland? Before we found the river the fields were beautiful, the ground stable, and most of all the weather was normal in Minotaria. I should have known better than to assume the whole country was like this. “Do you know why there are such weather patterns now?” A interested look came over him as he studied my face, hearing something in my voice most likely. “No, you are starting to sound like you do though.” How right he was, but first he needed to understand something. “Have you traveled before…” I raised a eyebrow as I asked for his name, might as well know who I am talking to if i'm going to be here a while explaining. “Gennady, my name is Gennady and no, I have not gone further than the Gryphon Mountains where I work.” He looked curious now so l slowly released his torso, levitating the pickaxe to my side just in case. Adding a smile I continued, “Well, Gennady I have done my fair amount of travels so far as have my mares and we have seen some troubling things.” I had his attention as he leaned his free body slightly forward, no matter the age people loveda story. “I started my journey in the Diamond Mountains; there all seemed fine till the lightning storms came. The bolts vaporized trees down to their stumps in one zap! That is also where I met Chrissy; she had been thrown there after her invasion of Canterlot failed.” Seeing his fear return I jumped into her story, “Now Gennady, do you know why she took her whole family from her hiveland and launched a invasion on the capital of Equestria when three Alicorns were present?” He looked a little confused now, thinking over the obvious problem with the plan. “No, that is stupid! That is so, so-“ “Desperate?” “Yes!” “That’s because it was her last resort, her people were starving, the hivelands were being flooded with sulphuric water, and it wasn’t drinkable in any way. So the ones that usually gathered food had to gather water now and her family slowly started to starve, she knew that the other countries were not any better…” I released the rest of his body as I saw his mind working overtime with the new information. “She’s not lying? I know that they can-“ I raised a eyebrow at his counter argument, “No she hasn’t lied about anything, Saddle Arabia is in a extreme drought, Minotaria is getting flooded as you can see, and i'm willing to bet the rain is flooding more than the Badlands now.” “Yes, it has started to wash away the Gryphon’s mountainside homes and, and the Badlands are on the southern side of the mountains soo... They are getting flooded as well! Dear Faust we are all doomed!” Now he understood. “Actually I passed through the Equestrian border and they don’t have any weather problems there, in fact some Equestrian citizens were shocked at the state of the other countries.” I let him stew it over before I dropped the bombshell. “I was enlightened on the reason behind this disparity in the weather between the countries around Equestria and in Equestria itself. Simply put the princesses are manipulating the sun and moon to Equestria’s good fortune, nice weather, and the optimal growing seasons.” I had him now. “It has been throwing the natural cycle of the weather off and causing these ‘super’ storms, that is why I have been brought here. We are on a journey to save the entire planet.” “Wait how?” **** Chrissy My stallion is a strange one, not the fact that he is from another world but the situations he gets himself into. Today I woke up expecting to rut and continue on our way with the owner none the wiser about our little sleep over. That went out of my head when the first thing I saw was an axe lodged in the floor boards and felt Ari missing from beside me. I immediately stood up, hissing as I scanned the room, fear rushed through my veins at thought of Ari being possibly dead. It was possible, even though there wasn’t any blood and no damage done to the room, it didn’t mean he couldn’t have stepped outside to fight. But I wasn’t going out there alone. Not having any time to be gentle about Lyric’s condition I grabbed her tail in my magic, yanking her up as my hoof covered her squeal. With my hoove covering her muzzle I looked at the axe before looking back at her, her eyes went wide and teared up. Exactly what I felt, wasting no more time I pointed to the door. I could a male’s voice talking outside, it was faint but I knew I heard Ari’s name. Nodding to Lyric we lept into action, opening the door with a bang as it hit the side of the shack, jumping outside with our horns glowing, but my thoughts halted at the sight before me. “Hey Chrissy, Lyric” Ari trotted over to us and gave us a happy kiss each before gesturing to the light blue Minotaur he had been talking with before. “This is Gennady, he-“ “Axe in the floor!” My eye was twitching as my knees shook slightly in relief, he had scared me half to death! When he wasn’t dead he was just having a friendly chat with a Minotaur outside. Maybe I am just overreacting but we were having a foal, I couldn’t lose him now. No, i couldn't lose him anyway, he was my love. “Oh yah he threw it at us when he saw that he had intruders and we sort of forgot to pick it up…BUT he totally understands what we are doing and can help us get to the coast! He was just telling me about the underground railway they use to transport the gems and ores.” Ari stopped his excited explanation as I collapsed onto the ground. “Chri-“ “Don’t do that again! We were scared you were dead, I just can’t lose you-“ I stopped myself from saying ‘when I’m with foal’, some things are best not said right now, especially with prying ears around. Gennady saw me narrow my eyes at him as Ari and Lyric helped me up. “Don’t worry Chrissy, Ari told me all about what happened and I’m sorry what happened to your family. Around here we are starting to get flooded out too. The whole western half of Minotaria is turning into swamp, my family was displaced by the floods actually. I was actually telling Ari about my sister earlier, she is a apprentice under a smith over at Shallow Shale, and I’m sure if I asked her she would make the those, uh, special restraints you guys needed.” His happy smile threw me off, “You aren’t running screaming from me? You really are going to help us?” I watched his face as he nodded, giving me a smile that I couldn’t find any dishonesty in. That seemed wrong somehow, not that I wanted to be hated but the thought of not being hated or feared by others was foreign to me still. “Thank you then.” Ari was beaming, practically trotting in place with his joy as Lyric gave me a nudge, I knew they were happy for me but I was overwhelmed again. How was this Gennady accepting me so easily? Had Ari learned mind magic overnight…Or was this what happened when you asked for help and others actually listened. I hope Ari can make this world change, if not just for us than for our foal, the world can be cruel. We walked over to the map and I was surprised at how simple the railway was. The tracks were nearly a straight path through the Gryphon’s mountains, and they may save us a day or two of travel thanks to the speed of the train. This seemed too good to be true- “Where are we going to hide on a train filled with gems? It isn’t exactly made for a comfortable ride.” This serious statement was hard to focus on with Lyric flagging Ari at the same time, a fact that both males were very embarrassed about, looking at the map instead. But Lyric made a good point and I was actually impressed with her ability to think soo clearly with the heat upon her, as much as I hate to admit it I wasn’t quite soo coherent at that stage. “Well I work in at Gryphon mines at the border, I can get you past the border and into the mine. All you have to do is hop onto the caboose and enjoy the ride.” Gennady looked very happy with his plan. I saw a problem though. “So we-“ I gestured to the herd, “ –are just going to waltz up the train with no one falling all over themselves running away or bowing.” “Well I have some old blankets I could turn into cloaks for you guys, but…And not to be rude but couldn’t you just, you know, change your form to blend in?” My eyes must have betrayed my panic Lyric stepped up for me, “Wouldn’t it be odd to have one pony without a cloak in a herd that is cloaked? Plus she will stand out anyway.” She was looking at my wing, which I folded down a little self-consciously as everypony’s eyes were on it. The panic stemmed from my realization that I couldn’t really use my magic as much as before with the foal needing soo much of it already, even my favorite disguise was a little tiring after we had left Saddle Arabia. Lyric would have to pitch in a bit more till it was born. As to flying, sure I had months to get used to not being able to fly, months to grieve over my loss, but it still stung when others focused on my lack of wing. Focusing on my inability which in turn only showed how I had been a loved ruler, a counselor for nymphs, and a competent opponent in battle. That was all gone now, just bittersweet memories that can never come to be again, not that I wanted all of it back. My life was different now, I was a loved mare with a strong stallion, a future mother, and to my dismay ground bound… Well not completely I guess, Ari did promise me some midair rutting, everyday in fact. Speaking of rutting, I needed breakfast and Lyric wasn’t going to last long if her dripping and shifting was anything to go by. “Oh I hadn’t-“ “Ari…breakfast?” I interrupted Gennady but I didn’t care at this point, this foal was clearly part Alicorn with how often I needed a full meal. It was getting ridiculous, I had eaten two full meals yesterday, one the day before, and had a near continuous stream of snacking all throughout that. Before a full meal could last me three days approximately, I had gotten most of my love from smaller snacks and was never quite this empty. “Breakfast?” Gennady looked confused at the change of topic but Ari blushed and looked at Gennady with a nervous look. Before Ari could say anything Lyric walked by in front of him heading to the bushes behind Gennady’s shack, that was the idea, I didn’t stick around listen to Ari explain this one to the bull. Breakfast has many meanings in our herd and we both wanted this version of breakfast right now. **** Lyric As much as I wanted to congratulate Ari for finding a quicker way to the coast I was having trouble concentrating on the conversation. My last dream playing out over and over in my mind, driving up my tail with arousal as the imaginary cock filled me, but the lack of friction below clashing with my senses in an agonizing way. I knew what this was, the heat, driving me to get even a minute of relief with my stallion, even when I knew I had to wait till after they were finished talking about whatever drivel it was. Wait, did that bull say we were riding a train? Might as well point out the obvious, they took it well though, and that problem was solved at least. But Ari said he would solve my problem today, first thing in fact, yet here we are still talking. A shiver ran down my spine and I twitched my already flagged tail as my excitement trickled down my inner thigh, but it was okay, just deep- No, deep breaths is a bad idea and the alphabet didn’t work last time. Come on ponies hurry up with this talking! Taking a deep breath anyway, I held in my shudder and moan, before trying once again to come back to the conversation. Surely there was something I could say to move it along, well besides ‘rut me’, even that was a tad too bold for me now. Wait he said something, It took a second for what the bull had said to sink in but I had already seen Chrissy’s expression and I jumped in before I realized what I was saying. It worked though. Then the conversation faded again as the warmth overtook my thoughts, the burning under my fur and scales. Time was a strange thing when every second seemed like a burning torture of the senses, teasing me with sensations that seemed to speed up time and pleasure, only to slow time even more in the next second. Letting myself get caught up my dream again I felt my hooves shift as my nose flared to take in my stallion’s scent, fresh, male, and all mine now. The moisture continued to grow in my marehood till it overflowed again, slowly trickling down my fur, and I winked to let more escape. He would have to help soon. Although now keeping my hind hooves together seemed to be harder to do as they drifted apart the warmer I felt, the faster I tried to take in that sweet elixir that Ari gave off. If he- “…breakfast?” I almost squirted when that word reached my ears, that was what I needed, Chrissy’s version of breakfast anyway. My hooves moved on their own as I made my way to the bushes behind the shack, making sure Ari saw me wink before I started clearing the area of sticks. That was quickly done as Chrissy showed up partway through my busy work, helping me stay focused as my heart raced. I knew was she feeding off me as well but I didn’t care, it was an energy that I never noticed anyway and the foal would need it now. Chrissy murmured comforting words, I think anyway, i wasn't able to focus on them, male voices quietly conversed in the background, but I couldn’t really hear anything above my pounding heart. At the sound of a new set of hooves coming over my body burned with a new vengeance and I inhaled. YES! My legs spread almost immediately as his spicy scent reached me I knew he would help me, help- My whinny echoed over the muddy fields as he came up behind me and licked along my marehood, finally! Clarity returning to my thoughts i nickered to him, winking rapidly as I encouraged him to mount me, i knew he was ready, his erection was bobbing in my peripheral vision. I forced myself to rest my head on the cool ground as I felt my coil tighten deep in me again, I shifted against his lapping muzzle when a new sensation met my lips and brought me into focus. Chrissy was kissing me as she lay her chitin in the muddy ground, moaning into my mouth as I began squealing into hers from Ari’s newest foreplay. I didn’t need foreplay, my nerves did not need the extra licks and nips own there. To get my message across I backed into his muzzle, winking, before my coil finally snapped at his ministrations. His lips had grasped my nub and sucked, sending me into orgasm. Chrissy released my mouth as we panted together, the smell of her arousal hitting my nose a second before I felt a tingle of pleasure at my entrance. Unable to form the words to let him to let him know i was more than ready I began to bend my knees, moving my butt up and down along his length, which sent new shots of pleasure to my core as his enflamed tip was quickly coated in my juices. Chrissy looked over my shoulder before dominating my mouth again in hers. I whimpered into her as he stilled me with his forehooves, grabbing my hips before slowly sliding his cock into my marehood. The slowly inching forward entrance he was doing to me was killing me, it built a new pressure deep in me, and having had enough of his 'consideration' for me I pushed myself backwards. “BUCK MEEEE!” i screamed into the air as i finally felt all of him. My words found me again i murmured his name now. I was finally filled, his tip pressing against my cervix and leaving my sensitive nerves tingling as my second climax grew near. With a shaking breathes I started twisted my hips around his length, needing the pleasure that was soo close, yet- Shuddering around his cock as the second orgasm rode my body, a silent scream stuck in my throat as I felt him finally start moving. It took most of my self control to not clamp down on his length as he pulled out to his tip, we both moaned as he twitched slightly. As he thrust back in as I was reminded of Chrissy’s presence as she bit down hard on my ear, tongue flicking the edge where scale met flesh, which caused me to whimper. This was a ganging up i didn't mind, everyday wouldn't be bad if it was like this. “Pick up the pace Ari, I want my breakfast still you know.” Chrissy teased after she releasing my ear and I tried to slow my shallow breaths. The effort to gain control over my heart was in vain as Ari complied with her request and I was left panting again. He was picking up the pace with a barrage of quick, powerful thrusts, his length twitching and throbbing in my hold. Tension increasing I forgot about my lead mare as all that mattered was the sweet release that was coming, clamping down on him I began milking his cock, before I felt his mouth grab my mane. Screaming into Chrissy’s conveniently placed mouth I rode out the pleasure with small thrusts back as cool relief washed over my body as he came in me. Warmth coated my walls as I felt body relax, burning gone for now, and Chrissy’s helping mouth leaving mine i gasped into the morning air. I could feel a dopey smile spread across my muzzle as I felt my body finally relax after three days of torture. “Lyric, I’m sorry it was soo quick, we will be longer next time. I do hope it helped a little.” Ari sounded a little sorry and out of breath as he released my mane and nuzzled me quickly. My stallion took a deep breath and removed his hooves from where they gripped my hips, painful in the most pleasurable way. With a squelch of our juices he removed his length from my folds and I let my legs finally relax and tail drop down. That was amazing! I can only hope this relief lasts longer than my aunt’s spells did. My eyes drooped as Chrissy disappeared from my vision; I understood why she did this every day now. **** I was awoken by a kiss on the muzzle and it took me second to wake myself up, scowling at the mud on my belly before I sighed as no burning met my nerves, Ari’s relief was still in effect. Thank goodness, I was going mad with him close by and my body on fire with need. The question is now how long before the symptoms returned. “Morning Lyric, did that help?” I smiled and nodded at Ari, my stallion, before I noticed the plate in his magic and the fact that Chrissy lay a couple feet from me smiling a wide smile. That probably was how mine looked. My stomach growled as the smell of hash browns hit my nose, well anything would be nice since it had been a while since I ate those pears. “Breakfast?” Both Chrissy and I giggled at the word, no longer able to take it in the meaning most ponies would. Breakfast passed by quickly as I shoveled the potatoey goodness into my muzzle, for all purposes imitating Ari in sheer enthusiasm. Eventually we had to meet Gennady for the walk to the mine, the bull not looking us in the eye when he handed us our crudely fashioned cloaks and a small wrapped lunch each for the trip. Even Chrissy got a lunch pack, which caused us to look at us to look at him weirdly till he cracked, “Uh my mom always said to send guests on the road with a full belly and I can’t really package love so I thought you could use that to feed yur herd mates when you feed off them.” We blinked at him in surprise. I hadn’t thought Minotaurs knew much about emotionvores or magic. “My sister works under a smith, he makes enchanted shackles all the time and she just loves talking about magic.” Seeing our hopeful looks he frowned, “But he has never made shackles t-to contain Alicorns. I hope you do though, this can’t continue on like this.” We nodded at his statement before we set out. Gennady wasn’t kidding about flooding. We followed a narrow, muddy, path that was slightly above the water, which stretched to the horizon, this used to be farmland. Occasionally we saw the tell tale triangle of a roof floating by, a testament to the destructive power of the floods, which only served to trouble my herd mates. Finally making it to the mine entrance, we stopped as Gennady stopped and explained about us ‘doing undercover work for the crown’ to the guard. That one was all Chrissy, she seemed to find it hilarious that we were here about the royalty, just not the type of work they might think. Though Ari might have won over one Minotaur it didn’t mean that every Minotaur would be quite so open. With a nod to the guard we kept our heads down and followed Gennady down into the mine, taking the first left we came out of the tunnel onto a stone train platform. The train was pulling in as we arrived, breaks screeching as it stopped and Minotaurs dressed in overalls and soot rushed to the train to load what they had onto it, leaving room for what I assume other stops would fill. It was a simple work train, colored a dull gray right down to the wheels, and well taken care of despite its daily labor in the mine. “You ponies take care now, be careful of swindlers don’t give that letter to just anyone-“ Gennady handed us his letter to his sister, wrote last minute as Ari pointed out that no one would believe us just on our word, he continued, “-ask to speak with Dinara Vasiliev at The Steel Anvil. She is always working every time I write to her so you can’t miss her, not that I think she would be hard to miss.” “Why’s that?” Ari asked. “She is taller than you, gets it from our dad. He is a giant among Minotaurs! I know I’m tall for a Minotaur but he is huge!” The train whistle sounded and we hopped onto the back of the caboose, a narrow ledge with a short railing being our only hold as the train gained speed. We swayed with the train as it took the corners, our sides pressed together in the clickety-clack filled silence between us. Our stops becoming less frequent as the train cars were almost filled to the brim. After a long time I had just ended up resting my head on Ari as Chrissy did the same, propping him up. That was until he perked up, glancing around I understood why: the cave was lightening up, lanterns dim in comparison to the light approaching. Straightening our cloaks we squinted as the train full of gems glittered and we exited the mine. Enter Shallow Shale.**** Ari After leaving the mine, the train continued chugging along for a solid five minutes before it hit the final station. During that time I took in the sights, well after my eyes stopped seeing spots. We had been on that train, in dim lighting, for a good ten hours before reaching daylight again. But it had turned a two day trek over muddy mountains into a ten hour train ride through them so I wasn’t going to complain. Thank goodness they had trains in this world. I couldn’t help but wonder what else they had in this world as I gazed at what was easily the biggest city I had seen here so far. “So this is Shallow Shale huh?” Beside me Chrissy and Lyric hummed in confirmation, both relaxed against my barrel with half lidded eyes, Lyric was actually not flagging for once. A guy, err, girl, stallion can only take soo much teasing, in fact she actually doesn’t smell as strong as before, thank goodness for small reliefs, that 'heat' is crazy stuff. When people's lives weren't being ruined everyday we wasted I wouldn't mind enjoying it at a more leisure pace, all it takes is a little sex after all. Still I couldn't help but smile at their relaxed state, even if they both were not really taking in the wondrous sight that was the city. It probably wasn’t the first time they had seen it so that might have something to do with it, but to me the view was incredible, like something out a storybook. I wonder what princess or prince ruled here. Ok I didn't want to meet them or anything, I may have liked reading bedtime stories a little too much, and this looked soo picturesque that it brought back the stories I loved: fairy tales, despite how unrealistic they were they were the funnest to read. You can only imagine how it bugged me more than a little that I couldn’t read anything here. Although It had made this journey a little interesting so far, trusting others on their word only, well and common sense, but that didn’t always work. Berry bushes in trees anyone? Right anyway, we were coming out from a high point of the mountain, allowing us to see nearly the whole city. From up here it appeared to be divided into districts, the buildings appeared to be mere building blocks from here but they were still close enough to hint at the purposes they served. Closest to the station we were entering was a collection of brown, blue, and beige two story houses, small balconies showcasing various plants and statues that were unmistakably hoof carved. It appeared to be residential area, most likely for the families of those that worked in the mines, and was currently busy with a variety of beings. Some of the beings I had never even seen before. Multicolored fish people conversed in a strange language that sounded like a mix of screeches and dolphin clicks; they were walking on two scaly legs and breathing on land despite having gills. Ironically enough Striped and spotted cat people strolled around among them as well, shifting their large, slitted eyes and oversized ears at every sound, they were walking on two feet like a human which through me off, they get to be bipedal but ponies don’t? What was slightly less strange to me was Hippogryphs. I at first thought I was imagining things as I saw a bright orange Gryphon, only to realize it had a pony’s lower half complete with a tattoo of a sword and shield on its flank. What is it with pony flanks and tattoos? Even the princess had one, the princess! But i'm getting off topic, the Hippogryphs came in all sorts of colors like the fish people did, although they still favored the earthy tones that Gryphons seemed to only come in. Beyond the residential district I saw streets lined with stores, all the way down a hill before reaching a busy market place. I had to double check when I saw what looked like fish down there. The fact that fish were being sold seemed surreal in a world of ponies, still there was bins piled high with them and many other various seafood, some I didn’t even recognize. But I tried not to linger on that section, I guess there was sentient fish people and non-sentient fish… that disturbed me a little but Gryphons and the cat people had to eat something, I guess I really should be glad nothing eats pony here. I might have jinxed myself, I thought as a tingle went down my back suddenly. Past the market was the harbor, from our spot I could see huge boats coming and going and even a lone airship hovering at a raised platform. I really wanted to know how you parked an airship. Did you anchor it or just stop the engines? This was going to be fun… I had to get my hooves on one of those for this plan to happen and they looked like a nice ride too with a slim aerodynamic design, and... Woah, getting carried away here. The fact that I only had five bits to my name was going to make this hard. Getting here it didn't really occur to me how I would get the money. So it looks like I might go with Lyric’s suggestion on stealing a pirate ship, or hell, why not just steal the airship that is parked there? I immediately smacked that idea, stealing a airship, in a bustling city, with no clue how it works. Genius was not the word for that plan, the pirate ship possible still seemed possible as I have steered a boat before, mind you it was powered by a engine and these ones looked…well they had the classic colonial look with huge sails and a mess of ropes that was just asking for someone to be tied up in them. It couldn't be that hard. When did stealing become soo attractive? Sure it is immoral to steal but this was saving the fucking planet we are talking about here, a little bending of the rules is called for I think. I was not a bad…Pony, I babysat my friend’s munchkins, I volunteered at the library reading stories, and although I hadn’t visited my mother in ten years I still sent her cards and presents. Money had been tight lately and I have some trouble handling her. But my morals were up in the air right now, like i was when I was tossed here with little thought to my life. I'm adjusting pretty darn well if I do say so. But If we are going to point out moral grey areas let me point out how I’m planning to drug and abduct royalty for crying out loud, though it is for a good cause. Everypony's lives seemed like as good a reason as any to do what was generally 'bad' actions. But my introspective on morals can wait as the train has finally stopped, nearly deafening me again with it’s breaks, but it still got us here in one piece. We get off and start off down the road leading into the city, stretching our legs and adjusting our cloaks and the saddle bags, letter tucked away safely. Further into the city I can see even more blocks of different buildings, ranging from what I would call German in design choices to Spanish with their clay tile roofs. It was a real jumble of culture here, with a catacophony of different languages conversing, and many conflicting scents flowing through the street that seemed determined to assault my nose. I was beginning to miss the quiet of the countryside. “So have you been here before?” I looked at each mare on either side of me, ears perked forward as I strained to hear what their response would be over the chatter around us. “Yes, long, long ago.” Lyric looked in the direction of the harbor in the distance, feeling what I was sure was sadness as her ears folded down underneath her hood. Right, she probably missed her mother, a seapony would be from the sea after all. “Many times, it’s a great place to learn things.” Chrissy had her hood pulled even further down her face than Lyric, her horn not even visible, but I could still see her muzzle turn into a happy grin as she walked along. I’m glad someone has some good memories of this place. We continued moving through the crowd as a herd, following nothing in particular at the moment, but I wasn’t worried. My mares knew this place a little and I could always ask somepony where The Steel Anvil was…If we saw anypony that is. Though we didn’t stand out too much from the crowd for with our cloaks, our equine shape was definitely rarer in the streets. I could clearly see some Saddle Arabians in the crowd and they waved at us when we passed by, most likely thinking we were a herd of Arabians. I wasn’t going to correct them. The sun was still beating down above us when I decided to add some purpose to our stroll in the coastal city. “So do you lovely mares want to stop anywhere before head to The Steel Anvil? See the sights or whatever while we are still anonymous?” I turned up the charm, trying to get Lyric to smile mostly; she was looking off into nowhere. It also wouldn’t hurt to maybe do something romantic, I mean sure I could do dates after the world wasn’t dying but I felt like I went in reverse with them. Although…they seemed very into going forward in the relationship, they had actually initiated most of it now that I thought about, not that I was resisting it nor am I complaining about our relationship but it left me wondering if it was a culture thing like flank tattoos were? “What do you mean Ari? Aren’t we trying to get this whole business done as fast as possible?” Chrissy sounded confused and a little worried at my words, leaning into me more. I regretted making her worried but couldn’t help my words. I had been thinking about the ‘after’ portion of the mission lately. Would the princesses really let me run around free after capturing them? Sure I was going to return them but I didn’t believe they would let this go away so easily, I know I wouldn’t, in fact I imagine they will be quite angry even after I explain why. However I know they won’t just listen to my ‘crazy’ words when it is not visible to them in Equestria. Even with the polite letter explaining the situation a bit that I had Chrissy write to them for me I still expected some hostility, it was a given the nature of the talk. My nerves over basically telling them they had been causing uncalculated destruction, death, and assumed poverty due to their actions over the last millennia were completely founded. I was saying they were the 'bad' guys here, but there wasn't any real 'bad' or 'good' just ways to take others actions, i'm sure they felt justified in their actions. My status as the only Alicorn stallion also didn’t seem like a good thing either, sure it was probably going to get me in the door but if they took a interest in me I was screwed then. I had two loving mares that happened to be strongly disliked by ponies and somehow I don’t see these princesses accepting that, sure we were all rational adults, some older than others but adults still. Right? Well, if the strong presence of instincts that I had in my mind and the way the heat, a hormone based state, can turn a mare into what is essentially a sex crazed flasher, then I don’t hold much hope for them understanding my big 'no'. But the bottom line was I didn’t know how I escape unharmed after I returned them, that part of the plan was blank still. I knew I needed more help. As much as I loath to admit it, I don’t know how to do the complicated forms of magic that would be necessary to enchant the inhibitors, or how to properly talk to royalty without insulting them twenty ways to Sunday unintentionally, and I didn’t know how to drive, err, steer an airship. I knew very little and that would have to be changed. With a glance to the airship parked in the distance I turned back to Chrissy and Lyric who had been very patiently waiting for my explanation. “Well, after this all is over every pony will know of us, or at the very least me, and even then it won’t take long for others to find out about you. So I thought if you wanted to see any interesting sights now I wouldn’t object, since it’s probably the only time I’m going to be able to move soo freely in the city.” They shared a glance at my words, bodies tense beside me. “We could consider it a date or something, see the harbor or whatever statues they have here. I only have five bits but im sure we could find someone that would trade labor for food.” I gave them a hopeful smile, I wanted them to be happy again. They were still stuck up on the first half of my statement, not even cracking a smile at the date suggestion. “Maybe we can go on dates after, when we aren’t trying to save the world.” Chrissy didn’t sound very hopeful about that though, she sounded like she was lost in her thoughts, each word following the other without a natural flow. I wished she would just tell me what was wrong with her, sure I could ask but her current state made me believe she would evade me. “B-but aren’t we going to hide away somewhere? Take a vacation from this world? Maybe we could…even visit a new one?” Lyric’s voice cracked over the words ‘new world’ and I felt curious now, was there a magic to jump worlds? And just where was this ‘new world’ bit coming from? We had never talked about this before. “Lyric-“ Chrissy started hesitantly, almost sounding panicked if I didn’t know any better, but there wasn't anything to panic over. “Are you saying you know a magic to allow us to visit another world, maybe even Earth?” My heart raced and my eyes shone for a second at the thought of home before reality came crashing down on me, making my heart ache something fierce. I wish I had splurged on that plane ticket now and visited my mother, sure the institution made me nervous but she was still my mother. She couldn't help being Schizophrenic. And Josie and Ethan would never get to hear the end of the story we had started, not my way anyway, with the ridiculous accents and reactions that they giggled over. Now I wasn’t human anymore and no world hopping spell could change that. He had changed my DNA at the base level, miraculously keeping my personality intact even if as he added some extra instincts. There was no going back- We stopped suddenly as Lyric stood frozen looking out at sea below us, she blinked back tears before turning back to us, looking at Chrissy apologetically before turning to me. Ignoring the crowd as they weaved around us, my full attention was on her face; Lyric’s unshed tears tearing at my heart as I wished I could use my wings to hug, show her I was here for her. I had Chrissy and Lyric now, my mares, my rocks in this journey. Yes our relationship progressed quickly but my instincts didn’t seem to mind terribly, and after all this was said and done we did have millennia to get to know each other. “N-no Ari, there is something you don’t know-“ She shifted closer to me and for a second I thought she was going to rub herself on me from her heat but she was just shuffling her hooves, a sign of her uncertainty. She continued at a solemn pace, “-my, no, I miss my family very much. They were sent to another world, well my mother and aunts anyway, my father…” She sniffed and broke her fragile mask as a tear fell, soon followed by more as she started to sob. I quickly licked her muzzle off as more and more tears fell and I fought to keep my wings down, to not comfort her in the most natural way, I pressed into her more trying to will my love to her. It didn’t work completely, but her sobs slowed slightly. Luckily Chrissy had more sense than us and nudged us forwards, steering us as we blended back into the crowd, the stares fading as we moved down a new street, it was full of bakeries and resturants. We couldn’t afford to draw attention to ourselves. Giving a grateful nod to Chrissy, I continued to press into Lyric began to process what she had said, what had probably been kept inside her all this time. It was no wonder now why she accepted me being from another world so easily. Lyric was trying to figure out how to reach her family that were trapped in another world. “What happened to your father?” I whispered to her as her sobs had nearly ended, the shops slowly faded to the background as Lyric became my sole focus. Chrissy steered us down another street, this one a residential, middle class if the cookie cutter look of the homes was an accurate parallel to Earth’s middleclass home design. But the appeal of this city already beginning fade like the light around us, the sun was setting. We had walked around longer than I thought. But despite the darkness falling I felt no rush to tuck in for the night, I had hardly walked at all really compared to the previous days of walking for eight hours and more. I know I’m a horse but you should really see my muscles after all the walking, I was getting very fit here to my joy. On Earth I wasn't always quite so active, bookstores don’t exactly need a lot of physical labor besides lifting books, reaching, and finger aerobics…Typing to be exact. Anyway the night didn’t scare me in the city, there were no monsters of the Hydra variety and I knew I could handle any ‘swindlers’ as Gennady put it. We had to find The Steel Anvil, not that we could afford a room even if we wanted one. I was sort of counting on Dinari letting us bunk with her till we acquired a ship. After a lengthy pause Lyric answered “He tried and tried to bring them back, experiment after experiment, till one time he heard a rumor of a magic mirror. ‘I’m going on a research trip’ he said, ‘I will be back in a couple days’ he promised me, only he never returned. I eventually tracked his route, it lead all the way to the mirror, it was hidden in the Canterlot castle itself.” Chrissy and I were paying all our attention to Lyric now the street forgotten, leaning closer as we felt something important coming. “I found his bag dropped in front of it, filled with the letters and cards I made mother every year since her banishment. I also found a letter he had hastily written. He had appeared to have found the same magical signature that he found when he tried tracking spells.” Lyric gave a sad smile now, “But, my silly father had never looked for a way back before he jumped right in, or more likely there is no way back. He made it through to her through the mirror but I was u-unable to f-follow. I-It d-didn't...” Tears filled her eyes again as she stuttered over her words. With that bombshell dropped I felt empty and sad at the same time for her, this was why she had latched onto me soo readily, she had her family literally disappear under her nose. Determination growing in my heart, I knew I would help her find them, return them to this world. I might have to do the whole meet the parents bit after all. “Lyric, I-I care, no, I love you.” I paused as I gulped down my remaining nerves, that had been hard to say, not that I didn’t mean every word but it was because I meant every word that it was an immense statement to say. “I would do anything for you-“ looking at Chrissy now, “-, both of you to be happy. I think I speak for the herd when I say we will look for a way to get your family back. Perhaps we should linger a little and do some research here, there has to be a library in this city right?” Lanterns were lit as the moon began rising, highlighting the new tears rolling down Lyric’s face, and showing Chrissy starting to cry. My ears splayed as I saw the new tears, had I- Both of my mares leaned in and kissed the sides of my muzzle. I wasn’t expecting that but I enjoyed it all the same, a relieved smile on my muzzle now, those had been happy tears then. But the street was emptying now as we walked on, the middleclass homes having shifted to shops, and now warehouses stood before us as we approached the docks. Our hooves had taken us towards the boats it would seem. The warehouses were dimly illuminated by small lanterns and surprisingly free of trash. Looking around I felt uneasy at the clean area, this wasn’t a good place to be according to my instincts, my fur raising slightly as the feeling of being watched descended on my mind. Turning to Chrissy I went to ask her opinion on where to go instead of here only to freeze at the sight behind her. She quickly caught on and turned around, I could feel Lyric shiver beside me in the warm night air. We watched our visitors approach with a bated breath. Stepping out of the shadows that rested between the warehouses was cat person followed by several Diamond dogs, a creature I hadn’t seen yet in this city. I snorted as the cat walked confidently from the shadows, his fur a mottled mix of tan and grey, and his clothing screaming narcissist to me. I don’t know any man, err, tomcat I guess, that would wear a suit with the shirt buttons half way undone, did I mention he was also wearing a neon pink cravat. The cravat looked especially useless to me when his shirt was open anyway. He even wore what I swear was real alligator boots, or maybe it would be dragon hide here, somehow I don’t think ‘pleather’ exists here, and it was custom made if the golden ‘A’ carved into them was a hint. He gave me the creeps anyway as I looked at him, had I not been trying to stay anonymous I would have flared my wings out and challenged him here and now, he felt like danger. It could have been that he was a carnivore but I think it was more the reaction my mares were having. Especially the way Chrissy trembled slightly against me, probably remembering our last encounter with Diamond dogs. Lyric’s breath suddenly hitched beside me. “Why hellooo there my equine friends! Fancy seeing folks like yourself out these ways…at night, and soo alone. Did you need help finding anything in particular?” A cheshire grin spread across his face as he finished his banter, I guess I would call it that, though it felt more like a taunt to me. He looked at us, grin growing as I turned my herd to face him. My instinct told me not to turn my back on him as I looked at him from under my hood, holding in another snort as I just felt that would break the fragile feeling in the air, which told of bloodshed at one wrong move. “No, I’m sorry sir, we were simply leaving. No need to bother yourself with us, we will gone in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.” He looked at me strangely for a second, something flashing in his eyes before his grin returned. “Well how could I forget my manners? My name is Arch and helping lost…souls is my game. I couldn’t help but notice that you poor ponies are out here, my territory if you will, alone I will gladly escort you somewhere safer.” A small chuckle before he continued his talk, “No charge of course, I wouldn’t dare-“ I interrupted his long winded explanation, it was telling me to leave. “Sorry we were are leaving, have a pleasant evening.” A firm but polite statement to let him know we are as good as gone. With that said, we turned to leave, not needing to confirm our direction, as there was really only one way to go: the city. Turning around while keeping them in my peripheral vision I almost relaxed, only to shift my wings under my cloak as our steps were cut short with more Diamond dogs coming out of the shadows from where we came from. Fuck, I tempted fate tonight, just had to think there would be no trouble at night. I wouldn’t be doing that again. “You seem to misunderstand me pony, you will be escorted somewhere safer-“ My mind began racing as I tried to figure out how to get out of here without flying and revealing myself. “- and more private. The streets aren’t safe at this hour after all.” I could fight my way out of this, Chrissy and Lyric are pretty good at magic. But if there were any police forces in this world this would attract them and I didn’t want to gather their attention. “Ari?” Chrissy said quietly, fear in her voice, which made me worry even more. She had been off lately, less confident I guess, maybe I was just reading too much into her reaction at Gennady’s but I felt like I was missing something. Her fear seemed too great for the measly six dogs and one cat we were surrounded by. “Aww is the little mare scared? Don’t worry we will take care of her.” My eye twitched at his tone, the care sounding like something perverted and I felt my magic thrum in my horn, and the golden glow illuminating my face before it hit me. An idea, a crazy idea that might not even work, but I had to try. “OH! A unicorn, this will be fun! Boys-“ I never heard the end of what he said as my magic enveloped Chrissy, Lyric and I. My body feeling like it was swirling on a breeze as I pictured my destination: a bakery we had passed on the way down the hill. As my magic dimmed I opened my eyes and immediately saw the wooden bakery sign in the shape of a cinnamon bun, it was why I remembered it in the first place. My stomach was never full here. A thump beside me made me look over, Chrissy and Lyric had landed in a heap in the empty street, my golden glow dissipating from them. Landings would have to be worked on, but I figured out teleporting at least. It was like the locating spell except I pictured the particles rearranging themselves like in ‘The Time Machine’ only this time it would be teleporting not time travel, I figured if magic was intent and focus it might work. If not we would have fought so it was all good. Even with my less than stellar landing I couldn’t help but give a small whinny of happiness and broke into a prance around my mares, my cloak billowing with the speed of my victory prance. My happiness was overflowing, we were safe, and I learn- "Ari!” “ARI!” I stopped and looked at them, they were giving me a weird look, “I teleported!” And with that I gave them each a quick kiss. They looked at each other then back to me, “We saw.” Chrissy stated in a tone I didn’t understand, it was flat but with an edge. Something was off, now Lyric was giving her an odd look too. At least it wasn’t just me that thought Chrissy was being strange. “What’s the matter? Shouldn’t you be happy, we escaped those skeeveballs!” Lyric turned her attention to me and gave me a kiss back as she raised an eyebrow playfully at me, “Skeeveballs?” “Yup they gave me the creeps and I am soo glad that worked!” My adrenaline was still pumping as I hugged them with my forelegs, it felt a little different than wing hugs but I went with it. “No, those were Diamond dogs Ari, that means- we were soo close to being captured! They are slave traders!” Chrissy sounded afraid still and it made sense, being a slave would be scary. Going to her side I placed my neck over hers, no one would touch her. Especially those slave traders, we might have to investigate them, I mean slavers really shouldn’t have a boat, right? Giving me a trill in response Chrissy took a deep breath and smiled, it was a little faked, worry still leaking through, but she was still trying to calm herself. Again the topic of slaves was coming up and that troubled me. The Diamond dogs, Jabbar and his gang, and now Arch. Perhaps there was more than the weather going wrong in this world. But the pressing question is who would even buy slaves? I hadn’t seen any in the city, or any, well, anywhere! This was something I would have to figure out later, we had to find Dinara still. “But we weren’t captured, we are safe and strong. I know we could have taken them in a fight but the less attention we get the better.” Looking at her I saw the worry slowly fade from her smile. “Anyway since a date is out of the question now and the library is probably closed, how about we start looking for Gennady’s sister now? He said she is always working and nothing bad could happen to us, we are the only ones in the street.” I felt Lyric come to my other side, ready to start looking. “Plus I can-“ A thump sounded from behind us. Jumping around with our horns ready, with golden, green, and pink magic thrumming, we all turned around to face absolutely nothing. “What? Who’s there?” I asked the thin air, not believing that the thump was nothing. We waited for a good minute and nothing jumped out of the shadows, no doors opened, and no nets came down from above. Relaxing my stance I looked at my mares than back at the empty street, our hoods were down from the sudden turn and I could see my confusion mirrored on their faces. “Maybe that’s a good idea.” Lyric piped up, looking at the shadows with weary eyes and ears pinned back in fear, eager to be inside chatting with our new helper right now instead of here. Giving her a nuzzle I turned to Chrissy to see her opinion, she was gazing at a shadowy alleyway two shops back, blue green eyes unblinking. I looked at the darkness then back at Lyric before she too gave that spot a gaze as well. “I don’t see anything.” I stated looking at Chrissy. “Me neither.” Lyric chimed in. Chrissy gazed at the spot a second longer before sighing and kissing me, “I-it must have been just a cat. Let’s get going.” I felt her glance back before we pulled our hoods up again and started off. Following Chrissy’s lead we took a turn down a new street. As we moved down the unfamiliar streets a fact hit me, there were no homeless sleeping in the archways here, there was no litter, and yet there were slaves. What the hell world? But I tried to focus on the here and now. Like how the road was gradually leading us to a trades district, the shops having open storefronts, showing still glowing kilns, bag upon bag filled with partially polished gems, and most importantly anvils. That fact alone made me pick up our pace. After taking a left Chrissy halted at the corner, gazing at the shop in front of us. I couldn’t tell if it was the one, the writing was hieroglyphs to me but the pictograph of a gray anvil made me think we were at The Steel Anvil. Looking to my mares I smiled at their happy smiles, which confirmed that this was our destination. This was The Steel Anvil. It was a slightly more elaborate shop than the other smith’s shops around it, for starters it was actually fully enclosed, with a ten foot tall door that was twice as wide as the other shop doors. I was filled with a little trepidation at the size of the door and what lay beyond, no who lay beyond, a potential helper that can do what I can’t. There was still somepony up, a faint ting of metal being hit reaching my ears even with the doors closed. Grabbing Gennady’s letter from the bag, I held it in my magic as I held a hoof to the grand door. This was it, I looked at our appearance quickly: three ponies in poorly made cloaks, that if anyone looked closely could tell they used to be blankets and our faces were covered by the hoods. We were arriving in the middle of the night as well. Not suspicious at all. I’m soo glad I thought of having him write a letter now, this would save some confusion hopefully, and really I just didn’t want to go through the whole ‘she is a changeling AND she isn’t going to kill you’ bit again. Anyway here goes nothing, knocking my hoof on the door three times, the polite number I believe, I took a step back and waited. The soft tinging ceased inside and muffled thumps could be heard, shuffling my hooves I looked around. The street was still empty, the moon still shone, and I began to sweat beneath my cloak. I couldn’t help but be a little nervous about meeting her. What if it isn’t Dinari but her mentor that answers the door? What if- My worries were interrupted as the door swung inwards, the handle being held by a tall, slate gray Minotaur much to my relief. No dealing with her mentor tonight, unless her mentor was a minotaur too... No this minotaur was eight feet tall, taller than me like Gennady said his sister would be. The Minotaur was a obviously a heifer, her assets covered by a off white cotton shirt and further protected by a thick, black apron. A sweat soaked bandana was tied across her forehead, a forehead that was scrunched in confusion now. Caution clearly warred in her eyes with curiosity as well, glancing at the letter I held in my magic, then back at us. “Sorry I don’t speak Saddle Arabian, do you speak Equis?” It took me second to realize what she meant and I guess it made sense. We were taller than the Equestrians after all. “Actually I speak Equis better than Saddle Arabian, although my mares are quite fluent in Arabian if you wanted to learn. But I digress, Are you Dinari Vasiliev?” Surprise flicked across her face before it turned into a stone mask, eyes cold. “Yes and who am I talking to?” Her voice sounded guarded now, most likely wondering how I knew her name, being a suspicious looking pony in the middle of the night and all. I might as well gain some trust here. Flicking back my hood I passed the letter in front of her hands, she grabbed it after a second, still looking at me. “My name is Ari, Gennady said you wouldn’t mind doing some…special work for us.” I stressed the word special, locking my eyes with her. “He wrote a letter for you, it should explain everything. May we come in and talk?” Her face was unchanged, before giving a snort and opening the door wider for us. Some Things Just Shouldn't be Done...**** Lyric I stuck close to Ari as we entered the shop. Despite the many things that called the shop home the first thing I noticed was the temperature. It was a good ten degrees warmer than outside, that was quite a feat considering it was summer. It was Saddle Arabia all over again, I could practically feel my scales drying out as we stood in the front room, we weren’t even near the forge yet. This cloak certainly wasn’t helping. But uncomfortable temperature aside, the shop was very grandiose and quite frankly impressed me, watching my father work on his enchantments had given me a discerning eye for quality work and these were very fine pieces from what I could see. A glass case occupied the majority of the front room, acting as the front counter, and displaying the masterpieces. It held both standard and foal magic inhibitors, which was rare for a average smith, but I could already tell by the various swords and shields beside the inhibitors that this master smith had a eye for detail. We were definitely in the right place, the apprentice was sure to be something special, no smith puts this much effort into their work to accept just any being. Not only was the shop grandiose in presence and quality of the pieces for sale, but the technology in here was first rate as well. Whoever owned this shop must also be a master enchanter, no journeyman could refine the jewels and enchant them to such a level nor could they afford the amount of money it would take to get this quality of work done. I couldn’t even feel the magic leakage, a telltale sign of the enchanted jewels. I could practically feel my father’s joy at seeing these enchantments. Looking around my eyes lit up as all the steel and bronze glittered under the light. Above me a light topaz illuminated the store with such magical efficiency that you couldn’t even hear the thrum of the magic powering it anymore, unlike the older models of jewels I had seen in Saddle Arabia’s underbelly. This enchantment lasted longer as well, not cracking after two years of use. Now if only- Sorry, I get carried away I just love enchantments. I couldn’t enchant worth my scales even after a millennia of practice, but I still had a love for them. Anyway, we followed Dinari further into the shop, past the display case, and through the door that lead to where the real magic happened. We stopped in front of a forge as she sat down on a bench, looking pensively at the letter then us. Now seated in front of the still steaming coals in her forge, she roughly opened the letter, tossing the envelope into the coals. I noticed an empty bucket sat beside the forge, dripping water onto floor, it looked like she quickly shut down the forge at our arrival. As she opened the letter a slight smile broke her mask, before it was lost in her mask as her eyes traveled down the letter. Have nothing to do while she read I looked around the back of the shop. A series of tall bookshelves framed in a work desk in the far left corner that was covered in scrolls, one was unrolled with various diagrams scribbled out. Opposite to it, a tool rack hung on the wall, tools ordered from smallest to largest, with several covered wine barrels standing against the same wall. Presumably they held parts for projects. Letting my eyes wander I realized with a jolt that there was no windows back here, just door and a set of stairs leading upstairs. We didn’t have an escap- “Take off your cloaks.” Dinari was gazing at us with her unreadable face again, the letter crumpled in her fist, and I couldn’t help but notice her neck muscles flex a little. My mind instantly recalled Jabbar, the signs before he would get violent, and I couldn’t help but flinch under the cloak. Usually the punches had been directed at others, but sometimes it had been me, again that was not my proudest time in my life. I looked at my herd mates, judging their reactions, the uneasy feeling I got from her commanding tone could all be in my head after all. Not that I had been expecting being welcomed with open arms and hugs but the tone coupled with her species still wore at my nerves, many nights lying awake from pain were hard to forget. A little relief went through my nerves as Ari stepped forward, removing his cloak in one motion, he stood before the Minotaur as naked as the day he had been born. With a slight nervous flutter of his wings he gave her a smile, “So I guess it still sounds pretty crazy on paper, huh?” She opened her mouth and quickly shut it, looking at his horn before frowning as she tossed the letter in the coals, the coals more than happy to eat the evidence of our plan. I tensed as I noticed her body hadn’t completely relaxed itself, her fists were still clenching and unclenching as she frowned at us, well Chrissy and I now. Ari noticed her attention on us and gave us a smile. “Chrissy, Lyric I think you can remove your cloaks, she seems to be taking this-“ Dinari’s fist flew at his face, sending him landing back into coals, as he thrashed on them trying to get up she grabbed a hammer that had been hidden on the other side of the forge. Well all rational thought went out the window then. Let it be known that you should never attack a herd stallion in front of his mares, especially when a mare is with foal. Chrissy was pretty much screaming at the heifer as she forgot all about using magic, her instincts probably screaming louder than mine were, I didn’t have the foal in my belly after all. She forgot all about the anonymity Ari was aiming for, that there was the master smith still asleep in the shop. Not that I was doing any better than her at keeping quiet when our stallion was getting attacked. I just hope the smith is a deep sleeper…A really deep sleeper. Chrissy and I ditched the cumbersome cloaks and bags, springing at the Minotaur that dared to attack our stallion, anger and fear coursing through my body as I readied myself to attack the eight foot tall heifer. My horn glowed as thoughts that would have pointed out Ari was an Alicorn and was perfectly capable of fighting for himself were beaten down but the need to protect the herd. Instincts being in control were never a good thing. However my brain was interrupted in my effort to protect my stallion when I heard him in pain. Ari was squealing as he tried to get away from the coals, that cow would have to wait. Chrissy could handle her for now. My horn glowed as I launched a jet of water at Ari, soaking the coals, and muffling his sounds of pain under the torrent of water. His poor back, those Hydra blood burns were still healing too. With my stallion not catching fire anymore I turned back to the threat, rearing up and preparing to stomp the, the… Well I sort of froze at the sight and fell back onto my rump. I was all prepared to kick her furry heifer hide to Zebrica and back but Chrissy beat me to it. The scene before me was almost comical if I wasn’t getting a little worried for Chrissy, her belly was exposed to the heifer, one good head butt or misplaced horn… Anyway, she had the Minotaur on the floor, cowering under her. Dinari lay there, unable to move her body as she was literally stuck to the floor. The spit that just days ago had helped Ari’s back heal was now holding the eight foot tall behemoth down no trouble at all. It was made to hold food in cocoons after all. I was gratefully for it and my lead mare in this moment. Her quick thinking had ended the fight and if the silence above us was correct then we had by some miracle not woken the smith! My trance was broken as a soaked Ari exited the now thoroughly soaked coal bed, wincing a little as he got back on his hooves. “Ari!” I was at his side in an instant, supporting him as we walked over to Chrissy and Dinari, that Minotaur might not be long for this world if the growling and magic thrumming off Chrissy was a sign. “Well, I guess you don’t want to help us after all.” Ari frowned at his own words, looking away from Dinari for a second before turning to me. “Lyric do you know any mind magic to make her forget about us? It would probably be for the best if she didn’t remember us…” His voice petered off before a new look entered his eyes that I hadn’t seen before, “Or better yet is there any way to make her make the magical inhibitors for us and not remember it afterward? She doesn’t need to be aware of helping ‘icky changelings’ after all.” Chrissy looked at him oddly now too. He took me by surprise by suggesting that. While what he said was true, I could use my mind magic on her with a little modification as my innate branch was meant for males after all, female minds could be accessed as well it just took a little more focus. Not that reflected intelligence, it was more reflective to my innate skill, there was some truth to us enchanting sailors... It was as a prank okay? Nopony ever died over it. But Ari hadn’t crossed into that area before. The area that gave ponies nightmares about this branch of magic: to be controlled against your will. Even with my innate skill in the art using my mind magic was not always my favorite answer, people hated it, and It garnered the fear that had made my family outcasts. Though my aunts would have laughed at using it on ponies, and I agreed partially with them there, there was still the pain of hearing the words ‘monster’ spat at your muzzle. Only a ‘monster’ would defend themselves with what they had right? Mind magic still was part of the problem of my species perception. No magic had been fully developed yet to counter our innate mind magic and this made using it a damning act around ponies. At one point I hadn’t cared, it allowed me to stay with the gang, and I wasn’t alone then. But I wasn’t happy either. Although part of me still agreed that if the ponies couldn’t resist a little mind magic it wasn’t our fault they were weak or that they hadn’t developed a counter magic yet, I didn’t want to have anymore hate directed at me. Ari hadn’t seen the power of my magic yet, seen ponies soo enthralled in my spell that they would kill their friends if I asked them to. It was a magic that inspired fear and from that hate, a reason my family wasn’t in this world anymore. But he didn’t know that, he is just using what he has on hand to try and make the world a better place. He can’t help it that the average being is weak willed. Ponies really did fear anything that was stronger than them, no that wasn’t completely true, they feared anything that didn’t benefit them. The princess of the night was actually extremely proficient in the mind arts, perhaps even better than my mother, but she called it in the public eye ‘dream magic’ to avoid panic among the masses. If Princess Celestia and Princess Luna didn’t have to answer to their people, providing them with the perfect seasons and pretty festivals I’m sure the people wouldn’t find them soo attractive as leaders. They are just as powerful as anyone one of us in the herd after all. We don’t have to answer to anyone though. Ari may be right about us being under scrutiny after saving the world. We were powerful, more so than the general populace, with the few exceptions being individuals like my father and that bearded unicorn. Which is probably what my stallion was starting to realize now, that he was a powerful stallion on Equis, and he was didn’t need to do things the hard way anymore. My silence must have been too long because Ari shook his head before narrowing his eyes at the downed heifer. “So was that your answer Dinari, that I should be burned for trying to save the world?” “You’re not a changeling?!” Her face was contorted in fear and shock now, looking between the mare ready to kill her and the stallion that was slowly losing his patience. I sighed and watched as my stallion’s eye twitched, this fear of the powerful was understandable but also getting old to me, I had lost track how many had that expression when they saw me. Not to mention the fact that Chrissy wasn’t even at full power, she was probably only using a small portion of it. In fact, though the Minotaur didn’t know it the power she used today would probably leave her hungrier than ever, with all the extra food the foal had to be consuming, Alicorn genetics shinning through. At least I thought so, she had even started snacking on me now! Well that and she could trust me more too, I’m sure she had heard all of the stories of my heritage. “I’m not, but what if I was? Surely Gennady wrote how in his letter how they have affected even more than Minotaria, how Chrissy is the literally last one.” I could feel his tail start swishing behind me as he talked, creating a nice cool breeze on my scales. Nuzzling my stallion I watched as Dinari absorb his words, her face becoming a mask again. Chrissy looked at me at his words, eyes wide and nostrils flared as the fact that she still hadn’t told him about the foal. I mouthed ‘later’ to her, we really did have to come up with a way to broach this subject to him, and get her over this mental block she has with telling him. “Your mare, ‘Chrissy’, lead the invasion-“ “She was looking out for her family! They were starving, DYING out there! It was either die at home or leave the hive and live! I thought you would understand that type of loss at least, your brother said you were displaced by the crazy shit show the world is facing. But I was wrong-“ “NO! Don’t you dare say I don’t understand loss, I have had to deal with more than you could possibly ever know! Let me up cha- mare.” Dinari was struggling under her cocoon casing, looking angry, and I had couldn’t help pressing into my stallion for more comfort, she really reminded me of Jabbar’s fits of rage too much for my comfort. “I have a name heifer and why would I let you up when you attacked my stallion? I may have failed at my invasion but I’m not stupid. Don’t think for a second-“ “Chrissy?” Ari was looking at her with a frown and intent ears, “You’re shaking, come here. Are the cloaks blocking the love too much? Cause we can go slower and take feeding breaks.” And she was, as she stood over the Minotaur her legs were trembling. It caused me to be worried now, had she absorbed soo little love that she the small act of cocooning Dinari and charging her horn did this? Chrissy didn’t seem to know what to do. She was looking at her legs like they had betrayed her, looking for all sakes lost on what to say to Ari. Taking that as my cue I trotted over to her far side, nudging her shoulder chitin lightly I got her moving to Ari. He had a wing up, a wing hug ready for Chrissy. A worried smile was on his muzzle even as she walked over. She was walking fine but I think that was on her will alone and I think Ari figured that out. For some reason I have yet to understand Chrissy was determined to hide her pregnancy like it was some horrible thing. Such a silly thought when my parents were ecstatic to have me. They tried for years to have a foal, with the only results of their rutting being temporary relief from the heat and lots of great sex. It was a siren thing I think, she never really explained that to me. Mind you, it was ‘tell you when you are older’ sort of topic, she had a couple of those. Securing his wing around Chrissy I heard her sigh a tired sigh as I made my way to his other side. A smile leapt to my face as I saw a wing ready to hug me as well. “I love the anonymity of the cloaks and all but not using my wings is hard, it’s like wearing that thobe all over again!” His words got a small smile from Chrissy, though it was clearly forced. The urge to just blurt it out was growing in me, if I didn’t fear her wraith I just might, but…It wasn’t my news to tell. Taking a deep breath Ari turned to what we thought would be our helper, “So, as Chrissy said, why should we release you? What is stopping you from attacking me again?” His voice was calm but his eyes were cold, mind magic still an option in his mind. Dinari gulped, “I will help you, I am the pot calling the kettle black, you are not…Evil. Changelings are not…bad. They choose a bad path…It can happen to anytaur- anypony...” She closed her eyes, giving a long sigh. It didn’t take a changeling to feel Ari’s excitement growing as he started trotting in place from her words, “Really? Thank you, thank you, thank you! You will not regret it…Well I gue-“ “OWW” We looked over at Chrissy, she had ‘lightly’ bit his neck, “Quit jumping around you are making me nauseous.” “Sorry.” And he did look sorry although more worried than anything else at her statement; she turned away with a huff. “I’m still on the floor.” Snorting at Dinari’s complaint, Chrissy walked over to where the substance glued down the Minotaur’s arm and neck, and opened her mouth wide to give her a clear view of her sharp canines. Understandably with those teeth in such close proximity to her throat the heifer stopped moving. Her eyes were pleading with Ari and I, the message clear. “Don’t be a calf about this.” Chrissy gave a chuckle before bringing her open mouth closer to Dinari’s throat. My stallion still didn’t move so I didn’t either, not that wanted to, this was getting good. Ari looked manically happy with a wide grin as he watched Dinari sweat in the face of the canines. I guess his back demanded a little retribution. A snap echoed in the shop and I had to stop my giggle from escaping, the look on Dinari’s face! Beside me, Ari was shaking as a quiet laugh escaped his muzzle. He quickly put a hoof over his mouth as Chrissy went back to his side with a sway in her hips and a grin. That mare is a genius! “W-what?!” Dinari was looking open mouthed at her freed arm and then back at a grinning Chrissy. “Just rip the rest off, unless the little calf needs help getting out of her cocoon?” With a snort, the heifer ripped the rest of the casing off of her body. Giving us a shake of her head before standing and moving to the work desk in the corner, ready to get down to business. The brawl forgotten as she set up a blank scroll with a focus that I had scarcely seen in these last hundred years, a excellent sign of the quality of her work. “Come on then Ari, we have to discuss these inhibitors. I haven’t made any to contain Alicorn’s before-” Seeing Ari frown, she quickly added, “-But I think I could once I know something’s first.” Ari seemed pleased with her attitude so we settled around the work desk to discuss one of the most crucial parts of this plan. If the princesses broke free from their restraints we were all going to be sent to the moon, if not outright killed. Well, they might not kill Ari since he was an Alicorn, but he would suffer of that I’m sure. With a foal on its way, this had to work. “So we need to figure out your power output to figure out how many gates and what level of power the en-“ She paused seeing Ari’s face scrunched up and head cocked to the side. “Continue.” Ari said waving a hoof at the frowning Minotaur. “You look confused.” “I am.” “What was confusing about that?” “Nearly all of it, I know nothing about the finer workings of magic. My understanding begins with focus and ends with intent.” Ari had a sheepish smile on his face, aware of how ridiculous he sounded. A full grown stallion, with an immense amount of magic, and only a little more than foal’s understanding of magic. He had improved, now knew how to locate objects, create astral objects, and teleport. Okay that last one I wasn’t so sure he got. I have never had a teleportation feel like that before, it was like I was everywhere at once then in one place all too quickly, very disorienting. Dinari looked at Chrissy then me for a answer, I could only nod at her and I’m sure Chrissy was doing something similar. “You are serious? How can you not know-“ “Yes I don’t know now can we please move on.” She crossed her arms at his tone. “I am from a world without magic, it is because of that I know next to nothing on it, my mares are teaching me as we go. So whatever you say they will teach me about later.” After a second of thinking she grabbed an inhibitor from the case and placed it on the table before starting again. “Okay, see these slots, they are called gates. Each gate is enchanted with a string of cuneal writing-.“ She gave a sigh at his look, “-,runes, they connect and disconnect when you turn the primary rune key in the gate. Do you understand?” I understood and I had to hold in my eye roll at her simplification of it, this was like a lesson from my dad all over again. Turning to Ari I smiled the sight of his happy expression and enthusiastic nodding. I can only imagine how hard it would be to be in a world with a new set of rules, language, and skills. He has had to learn soo much… Maybe we should relax, unwind here for a bit. Find a little out of the way sea cave and take a dip, preen, snuggle, maybe more if he is up for it. Who am I kidding? With the way Chrissy is there will be more. “Good, so there are usually three gates on a standard inhibitor, one on a foal inhibitor, and two on a second rate, cheap hack of an inhibitor.” Dinari snorted before continuing, “For the ones I am going to make I will have to go above that, however, there is no record of inhibitors requiring over three gates so I will need to do some research in Star Swirl’s laws of magic and then test it on you. Are you okay with that?” My eye may have twitched at the name of that pretentious- Sorry, never mind me I’m just going to take some deep breathes. “Yes, now I was wondering-“ Grumbles echoed into the room. Ari paused and cocked his head looking at himself then me. Actually, everyone was staring at me now. My scales were heating up under the gazes. “What?!” Dinari chuckled before getting up, “Sounds like you could use a midnight snack, all of you probably. What can I get you? Sorry we don’t have any cake here.” She smirked a little at Ari. “Please anything but cake, the icing is always too sweet. And you know you aren’t the first one to make that joke. I’ll have you know not everything you hear about Alicorns is true.” She was halfway up stairs now, “Tell me about it, I was expecting a long floating mane and tail.” As we listened to rustling upstairs Ari turned to us, “What does she mean by that? Moonbutt had a weird ethereal mane and tail too, is that normal here? Actually while I’m talking about normal why do most ponies have a flank tattoo? Is it like a coming of age thing here because it seems pretty standard here?” I looked at Chrissy and she looked back, our expressions matching as we realized he still needed to learn a lot before we even sprung the news of the foal on him. Motioning to Chrissy to start I levitated a canteen out of the bag, taking a drink as I watched his face. “A mane and tail can act as an easy way for Alicorns to burn off excess magic so it doesn’t lead to magical outbursts. I think you just must not have reached your magical capacity yet since you haven’t been here that long. Or maybe you’re a different variety of Alicorn since you’re from Earth.” “Oh,” He played with mane a little, squinting at it before dropping it, looking back at Chrissy. She motioned to me. Sighing at her foalishness I started with the most basic explanation, “The ‘tattoo’ as you put it is called a cutie mark, every equestrian pony has one.” They both raised their eyebrows at me, “I’m quarter Equestrian!” Nods followed, “Anyway, It appears when we have found what we are best at, our calling.” Pointing at my cutie mark, a treble clef and a quaver, “I’m good at singing so I have a music related cutie mark. I think I agree with Chrissy’s theory, you just haven’t gotten there yet, give it time.” Ari perked up, although I couldn’t tell if it was over the possibility of getting his own cutie mark or the plates loaded with apples and hay fries that Dinari was carrying down. “I know it’s not much but-“ It can be assumed that what I am beginning to think of as ‘the black hole’ struck. Dinari was not prepared at all, she looked at the plate then Ari, and I didn’t blame her. Once her hooves had hit the main floor the food on his plate had levitated itself straight to his mouth. This took less than ten seconds. “You could have waited till she made it over here Ari.” Chrissy was ‘scolding’ him. Somehow I think she enjoyed him hurting the poor Minotaur’s head, either that or all those kisses and nuzzles meant she was horny, or hungry. I couldn’t tell since feeding and rutting was basically the same at this point. I took my plate from her in my magic, keeping it away from ‘the black hole’ that I foalish was still standing beside. Seeing that he was giving the heifer an apologetic smile I turned back to my plate. A crunch sounded beside me as the smell of apple hit my nose and whipped my head at the sound. Where did he get an apple to chew? He doesn’t even chew if he can help it, the only thing he chewed was that cake at the inn and I think that’s because he secretly loves cake. With a wide smile devoid of food he looked at me and Chrissy giggled, glancing at Dinari I was surprised to find even her cracking a smile. What was soo funny? Everyone looked like they were ready to break down into giggles any second and I suddenly felt like the punch line. Grunting as my annoyance built, yes I was used to being the punch line from my aunts but that didn’t mean that I enjoyed it. Deciding to not feed their joke anymore I turned back to my food. It was gone. This was the joke?! This wasn’t funny, I was hungry! Ready to give Ari a good nip, Chrissy’s anger be damned. That was my food. I turned to him with my mouth open only to blink in confusion as my canines sunk into tart flesh and juice ran down my chin. “Sorry, Lyric. I couldn’t resist it, I just feel soo happy. We are one step closer to saving the planet now.” Grabbing the apple with my magic I bit into it, licking up the sweetness as it dribbled off. “Not funny, where is the rest of my food?” “On your plate.” Looking at where his hoof pointed I saw that my apples and hay fries had returned to my plate, minus an apple but I was too tired to care. Chrissy and Dinari shared a chuckle before Dinari made to go back up with Ari’s empty plate. My adrenaline from the events of tonight was catching up to me. With a tired snort I began eating, the food filling my belly only increasing the need to sleep. **** Ari I tightened my wing around Lyric, she looked like she was about ready to drop off after eating and with the way Chrissy was leaning on me I would say that she wasn’t far off. “Dinari, I hate to ask for more from you, but we didn’t quite plan where we stay while we are here-“ “Yes.” “I didn’t finish asking yet.” I gave her a cheeky grin, “Thank you for your life’s savings though.” She shook her head at my attempt at a joke. “You are a real jokester huh? Let me get you ponies some blankets. Go make your selves comfortable in my room. It’s just through the door there. We can talk more in the morning. I’m going to go to bed soon anyway, I actually need to work in the morning.” Not needing to be told twice I floated Lyric’s plate to her outstretched hand and herded my tired mares to her bedroom. It was a simple bedroom, not even decorated with family pictures or posters. On further thought it would probably be portraits here. Although it was hard to tell if they had cameras here, Chrissy’s wanted poster had been a picture, really more of a printing. Anyway, my curiosity aside the room was had an odd feel to it. In the middle was a long bed, surely custom built for the extra tall Minotaur. On the left side of the bed a small wooden dresser stood with a calendar hanging above it. The calendar’s design similar to the calendars on earth, It had a picture above a grid that supposedly had numbers. The print was of a sword coming down on a shield, and I almost believed I had found a ‘normal’ thing here, until I noticed this grid had sixty days on it, nearly half of them with a ‘x’ through them. Another thing for me to learn, soo excited. Odd calendar system aside this room actually depressed me the more I considered it. It was so empty and clinical, that was the part that got me the most, the cleanliness, the lack of personality. I could almost picture the calendar being a welcoming gift with it being the sort of thing you give people that you don’t know well. A calendar was practical, slightly personalized, and not going to break the bank…I had done it before. Don’t judge me, I was leaving work and it was all I could think to bring to the secret Santa party when all the stores were closed. Chrissy’s yawn brought me back, she was leaning heavily on me now as we stood in the doorway, Lyric was doing slightly better: standing upright with a half lidded eyes. Choosing the right side of the room I got Chrissy and Lyric settled beside me as I fluffed my wings, the feathers were slightly ruffled from the cloak. But for once Chrissy, the preening queen herself, was too tired to preen them, and even Lyric wasn’t making the effort. Was I going to? Nope, I wasn’t going to put out that energy when I would be under the same feather musser tomorrow anyway. The door clicked shut as Dinari returned, arms laden with blankets and our stuff. I gave her a grateful smile, they hadn’t thought straight when she had sucker punched me, heck I wasn’t thinking straight when she had done that. My back still hurt but I don’t think it was that bad, for one thing I didn’t smell burning fur anymore, and the fact that I hadn’t noticed the slight ache till now was a good sign. As she set her load in front of me I felt a yawn creep up, sorting the load I looked over at her, our new helper. She was undressing with her back to me, quite brazenly actually, at least to me. I wouldn’t have, but the beings here were more accepting of nudity. Take ponies for example we were naked all the time, but Minotaurs were more humanlike than ponies, our bits were hidden on our undercarriage and by our tails, not as in your face as a Minotaur’s were. Levitating a light blanket down onto my herd with my magic I took stock of everything: my mares were tucked in, the supplies were neatly stacked, and we had a new ally. “Thank you Dinari, you have no idea how much this means.” She simply grunted and touched a yellow jewel that was affixed to her wall which sent the room into darkness. My mares shuffled against my sides briefly before murmuring their good nights, I gave each of a nuzzle on the top of their head before I entered the dream world. **** Luna For the last couple of days I felt my worry over Ari grow, his mind was not there when my sister and I looked, she had left disappointed and more melancholy than I had seen her in quite some time. I think she really wanted to meet him, study his mind maybe, we hadn’t met another Alicorn besides our mother and father after all. It had always been two, the sun and the moon, the aking minds to soothe and the unconscious mind to soothe. My job used to be mother’s, she would take us to this plane of dreams, and we would giggle over some of the craziest dreams. Once there was- No, I had a mission to complete tonight, one that I shall never tell my sister about. There are just some things one should never do with dream magic, and this was one of them. I could clearly feel why my mother warned against it, my physical body felt a ache that transcended deep within, almost like a strain on my magical core itself. It was a state of discomfort that was acceptable though, I would get closure I needed. Perhaps I would even enlighten him to the truth behind our magic, if I could last that long. The further I went from Equestria the further the sensation of being stretched grew, the more persistent the ache became. But I persevered, the forgiveness and future relations with the only Alicorn stallion was what was at stake here. Yes he was coming to see us, and maybe he had other duties to attend to first but I had to see him before he arrived. Another fortnight was too long to wait for such a transgression to go without an apology, it ate at me already and it had only been two nights. With the need to end that all too familiar feeling of guilt and regret on my mind I continued to push onward against the invisible force that made me want to rush to my body. I reminded myself of why I was doing this to help create more focus. This apology could dictate how our future relations are. It would decide if we fight, are cordial with each other, or as I hope to do: grow close to him. There is only soo much conversation I can have with my sister before we travel the same routes of words again. Though now I have plenty to talk about a third or fourth conversationalist wouldn’t be terrible to have. Perhaps I am being a touch melodramatic. The dream world passed by me, now the dreams of the citizens of Minotaria, as I searched for Ari’s distinct bubble. Not seeing any distorted dream bubble I carried on over to the Gryphon’s mountains. The distortions in his bubble while memorable still troubled me greatly. Mother had never mentioned distortions in the bubbles before. She had explained to Tia and I the intricacies of spotting a nightmare, a pleasant dream, and ‘specialpony’ dream as she had put it. Spotting such dreams based on the color of the bubble, but the ‘bubble’ appearance itself was based on the walls of the mind. That meant when I entered the ‘bubble’ I simply used my magic to match the pony’s magical wavelength. To have a distorted bubble…And to be under the attentions of ‘gods’ is most troubling, my main theory on his bubble’s distortion is that they have damaged him somehow, perhaps in bringing him from his own world or perhaps from all the activity around his bubble. Nothing good could come of such immense magic being done outside his mind’s walls. As I looked at the many bubbles of the Gryphons I almost chuckled at the memory that resurfaced in my mind, I certainly felt damaged afterwards and Tia had a joyous time. I wish she would smile more, true smiles. Since mother’s death I had been slated to take over the night’s duties, however she hadn’t had time to fulfill her promise. She had promised to show me a ‘specialpony’ dream and how to assist in them if they ever turned into nightmares. However she would only when I was a mature filly, saying that those dreams can be hard to read, requiring a strong mental fortitude and were most often are left alone. That left Tia to show me, and she did. It had been enlightening to see it first hoof instead of in books, even if I was never able to look that stallion in the eye. That had been a problem…He had been part of my sister’s solar guard and had followed her nearly everywhere. I still think she knew that before we entered his dream. But distraction aside, my body is growing tired of this search; the ache on my core is making my focus waver, even so much as to cause distortions over my astral body. To save time I think I will go as far as the coast then try the other directions tomorrow night, I still had to banish more nightmares in Equestria before I could go for dinner. I did not want to have to explain why I was overly tired to my sister at her breakfast, our plates were full enough wading through the legal jargon and hoops to amend The Law of the Herd. You would think with how much the citizen’s applauded our changes the legal team would allow it to happen immediately, but no they had look over all the ramifications of changing a five thousand year law. It almost made me wish for the days when father could just say some was and was, then and there with no discussion or councils needed. Strangely enough, as I moved over the Gryphon’s dreams the ache on my core started to dull, fading to the back of my mind. With a sigh of relief and a faint niggling worry at the sudden change I continued on my search, it was the last place I would search tonight after all. The Narrow Sea ahead of me if the glimpses of waves and boats in the bubbles were correct, but I didn’t see any distorted bubbles, no- An astral flash blinded me as to my right five magic forces careened into the dream world. The gods were here, and that might mean Ari is as well. Of course there might be a different reason for their appearance but I doubted that, mainly because what I am certain is the same white magic from before is making a beeline to an emerging bubble. It was growing as the being slipped into the dream world and distorting before my eyes, it was Ari, and he was unaware of the god about to enter his dream. Yet again I wanted to help him, but what could I do that the four gods chasing it couldn’t do? I gazed at the once in a lifetime sight: the four gods protecting Ari’s mind from the white one that was tartarus bent on reaching him, deflecting his strikes, and encompassing Ari’s bubble in their magic. Tia would be am- But I can’t tell her about this, not only would the moon- My astral body froze as the attacking god stopped mid strike and the laughing voice from before spoke to me. Hello little fleshbag, fancy seeing you again. Come to check on your future prince charming? A reaction eluded me. His words stunned me, insulted me, and made me terribly curious all at once. Thought the tone left something to be desired and had my sister been here she would have left, not willing to listen to the lies of the trickster gods. But couldn’t help myself, I had to know what he meant at least. “What do thou mean?” The golden god left its post protecting Ari and took a shot at the white god, missing as he began weaving between the surrounding bubbles to evade. Sorry dear, my brother doesn’t like me talking to you…BUT HE ISNT ANY BETTER BY BEING HERE AS WELL! Although this was not really my body my astral ears still folded back at the mental volume, it was like having the Royal Canterlot voice spoken directly in my ear…In my mind. As if the white god’s yelling had offended the other gods, the remaining blue, pink, and orange magical beings shot after him. The god was successful at evading them, taking sharp corners around bubbles, and even using some as shields. However, this game of cat and mouse was quickly escalated as he started throwing himself at the pink god. This caused the orange god to go ballistic. Orange bolts of pure magic charging from it, narrowly missing the white god and thankfully missing the minds that surrounded them on this plane. Then one bolt of magic flew above my wing and a thought struck me instead: sticking around while five gods duel was a bad idea. With that in mind I made a hasty retreat, even more worried for Ari now. As the ache faded and Equestria came into my astral vision I promised to return and speak with the stallion…when he isn’t surrounded by gods. I'm Going to be a Father!**** Ari I getting used to being the first one awake in the herd, it was actually my favorite part of the day, the one thing that never changed as we traveled. Just my mares snuggled up to my side, the post sleep feeling of warmth and comfort, that if I let it would lull me back to sleep. Although I wasn’t the only up, the empty bed and noise in the back room told me that Dinari was an even earlier riser than I was. She must have some dedication to still get up early after being up soo late with us. I can only hope that means her work is top notch, the shop certainly suggests so, I was amazed at some of the swords in the case. Although I had never been into weapons before I could definitely see myself becoming a collector just by looking at those masterpieces. My possible obsession with pointy things aside, I did need to get up. Today was going to be a busy day, although not my usual ‘busy’, I wasn’t trotting across a desert of field, for once I was actually in a city. With that came its own type of legwork. I had to do some investigating on those slave traders we encountered at the docks, while it wasn’t directly part of the whole 'saving the world' bit. It might help to know about them and If Arch was at the docks he might have a ship docked there or he might be part of a crew of pirates.Either way I looked at it it still equalled a ship. I didn’t exactly see any pirate skull and crossbones flying in the sky, but then again I would like to think they wouldn’t just announce their presence to the world. So I would have to scope out the boats and maybe find a nice secluded spot on the beach, oh maybe even a private beach that some rich pony only visits one week out of the year. Even though Chrissy had said 'later' to the date suggestion I knew it would be nice to have a date. Not to mention I don’t think Dinari would appreciate me feeding Chrissy the way she preferred to eat. But Chrissy was off still. I know I have said that before but she was obviously getting worse, I mean yesterday she was literally shaking from just charging her horn and cocooning Dinari! She is the one who said we were ponies with a immense amount of magic and when such a little amount of magic usage causes that sort of reaction it tells me she needs to rest, that or she is sick. But I won’t make her starve all day, I’m going to ask Lyric to stay with her, which I’m sure she will agree to. I figure if she spends a day or even two resting here, not expending any energy while I investigate and help Dinari figure out the magic inhibitors, then she will recover enough to travel again. I can only hope Chrissy will understand though, we haven’t been separated since the Diamond dog incident, and that was plenty frightening. This was going to be hard for me, my instincts were very much into twenty four seven touching, and I'm sure her instincts were similar. One thing I understood now is this physical reaction my body has to the presence of other ponies, or more specifically the ponies that feel right. If they were a pony I liked or was comfortable with the touch brought me comfort, relaxing me, like my body knew the culture already it craved the closeness. But if they, say, were Azure Heights, a mare that both offended me with her racist views and creeped me out with her sexual advances, then my skin literally crawled with the compulsion to get away from her. Touch was a key part of the culture here, that I knew. I only hoped that Lyric would be enough for Chrissy for the day. It was due to this extreme comfort I received from them that when I got up I had to fight down the urge to return to them under the blanket. Leaving them curled up in the warmth and made my way to the door, placing my ear to wooden structure I listened. I couldn’t just step into the shop if Dinari’s master was up and about and I wasn’t wearing that cloak till I left the shop. “Come on out Ari, we have to talk.” Whether I wasn’t as quiet as I thought I was or Minotaurs simply hear better, Dinari knew I was up. Entering the back of the store I saw Dinari was at work on a long strip of metal, using an almost comically small chisel and mallet to inscribe symbols into the white hot metal. I didn’t quite know what to say as I closed the door behind me. It was beautiful: the metal, the symbols, and most of all the dedication and focus she kept to her work as she shuffled over on her work bench. Taking a quick glance around room, I listened, it was quiet upstairs and in the front room, so I took a seat beside her. She snorted at me, probably seeing my awkward looking way of sitting, I hadn’t sat on a chair since I was a human, and it showed as I tried to coordinate my longer limbs. It felt even more awkward than I knew it looked. “Your master isn’t up?” “No, she left already. She wants to talk to you when she returns. I told her you wouldn’t be going anywhere till you got your magical inhibitors.” On the outside I was trying remain calm, but my feathers started ruffling as it hit me, they was no way we hadn’t woken her master last night. Chrissy’s battle cry was nearly deafening! But why hadn’t the master smith come downstairs to investigate? “I guess we woke her up?” “Yes.” That either meant she heard everything or just bits and pieces, I didn’t know how sound proof the floors were. But it all came down to what she would do about the information, how she would react to having a changeling and siren hybrid in her home. I hoped she was the merciful type of pony. “How did she seem to be taking it?” “…She will decide on whether or not to call the city guard after she speaks with you.” Dinari paused and turned to me, “Don’t lie to her.” Well that didn’t help me get a understanding of her headspace at all. Shuffling my wings I looked at her work, “Are those the runes you mentioned last night?” “Yes. This will be the prototype for your magical inhibitors. I believe five gates will be a good starting point, although Kapera believes seven would be a more magical conducive number.” “Kapera?” “My mentor.” The way her tone didn’t shift was interesting and matched her room to a ‘T’, it made me wonder about her. Was she ok? This was exactly my mother had been when they first tried her on medications: dead to her emotions. Sure Dinari had gotten angry, fearful, and eventually happy last night but now that was gone. Kapera must have been pretty serious for her to lock up like this, I really thought we had won her over last night, you know after the fight. “Ok…well I was wondering if I can ask a favor of you? Again, I know.” **** Chrissy Warmth was surrounding me, love trickled through my chitin slowly, filling my stomach as I purred lightly. But like all good things it didn’t last, I was growing hungrier and the warmth was become overbearing under the blanket. Not so much for me to open my eyes and face the day but enough that I was aware of reality that soon I would be forced to wake up. I really didn’t want to face today; Lyric would surely be trying to corner me for another ‘talk’. Beside me my food source shifted, rubbing scales against my chitin. Wait, scales? Opening the minimum eyes required I looked beside me, it was Lyric, curled into cute little ball and pressed against my side. Opening my other eye I huffed as I realized my stallion had woken before me and was most likely stuffing his muzzle. The paltry snack he had received last night wouldn’t have lasted more than a second in his stomach I’m sure. But there was nothing to worry about, Dinari actually wanted to help us. My stomach growled causing Lyric to shift beside me again, well I better get up and find Ari, I could use a full meal. Then we had to plan the inhibitors with Dinari, and look into getting a ship to Zebrica. Although we wouldn’t be doing it Lyric’s way, no way were we stealing a Pirate’s ship. We would have to fight them for it, it would be noisy, and attract the guard…And I may feel a tad unconfident in my strength after last night. I knew I wasn’t consuming enough love but I didn’t know how to ask for more without actually telling him why I needed more. Ari did not need that worry on his mind and really…I wasn’t sure how he would feel about having foals with me so soon after becoming my stallion, and now he had a herd with Lyric here…It was a lot for him to adjust to on top of learning about this world and saving it as well. As a changeling that had responsibilities thrust upon myself suddenly I knew I couldn’t do that to him, even if he had a hand in our foal’s creation, it wasn't fair to throw more at him now. I was actually still waiting for him to ask if I was pregnant since he didn't pull out, at thirty two years old he should know about the birds and the bees… “Mmm, where’s Ari?” Lyric was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and looking around. “Probably clearing out Dinari’s pantry.” I brushed the blanket off me and got up. Lyric wasn’t far behind me, “Are you feeling better? You can feed off me if you still don’t want to tell Ari-“ Lyric paused as Dinari entered the room, a tray piled high with sandwiches in her hand. “Good you are awake now-.” She continued talking but I wasn’t listening, looking behind her for Ari. He didn’t walk in. “Where’s Ari?” Dinari sighed and sat down on her bed, offering Lyric a sandwich before placing the rest on the bed and facing us with a slightly nervous look. “He went out to investigate the docks. I think he said that, he was talking really fast. But, he did ask me to make sure you two stayed put and relaxed.” Dinari locked eyes with my panicking ones, “I suggest you rest, he was really worried about you.” I didn’t know what to say to her, it wasn’t her fault he went off by himself nor was it her job to watch me. I wasn’t some delicate flower to be foalsat. I had killed sandworms bigger than dragons, I had ruled my people at the drop of the hat. If I could keep my head on straight while ruling my people, my panicked family, while I planned my mother’s funeral and repelling the worm’s invasion then I could handle a pregnancy. Don’t think my mother to be weak, on the contrary, she was stronger than I have ever been. Mother had faced the invading sand worms, beasts hundreds of feet long, even as her magical core was giving out. Nothing could prevent it, it would eventually happen to me as well, one day it will just fail…My body will rapidly age till I am little more than a husk…At least it was a quicker death than my father got. But enough of the past, as it stands I still didn’t need a watcher, despite what Ari must believe from my performance last night.As soon as I ate enough he would see that his worries were unfounded. Lyric nudged me, looking into my eyes, “You okay Chrissy? I think he just wanted you to feel bet-“ “I KNOW what he meant by it!” I snapped at her, angry at myself, angry at this situation. “If you just told-“ I placed a hoof over her mouth looking at her then Dinari, “As you said ‘later’.” Sighing I removed my hoof and turned to Dinari who was looking very amused at our display. “Thank you for your hospitality Dinari, we shall be sure to remember it…And we will spread your name far and wide after you create those magic inhibitors.” That got me a smile, “You will have them,” she finished her sandwich and stood, “And my mentor knows you are here, don’t leave this room till she talks to your stallion. She is still…Thinking about you and your story so I wouldn’t approach her when she returns. Have a good rest.” With that she left us alone with the reminder of the sandwiches and a whole new worry in my head. What if her mentor decides I wasn’t telling the truth? She would call the guard and then- Lyric poked me on the nose. “You okay there Chrissy? You are spacing out a lot for someone that is ‘alright’.” “I was just thinking-“ “About how you are going to tell Ari about-“ I placed my hoof over her muzzle and rotated my ears, the faint ting of metal on metal reached them. Removing my hoof, I put it in front of my lips and shushed her. “Really Chrissy? I don’t think the big, fat COW can hear us,” We paused and listened as the clinking of the metal continued at the same pace, I guess she really can’t hear us. “See, now as I saying you have to tell him, at the very least so he can get more food into you! He would probably let you travel in the middle, and then you could feed from both of us at once.” Lyric really didn’t understand, to her this foal was a blessing. But despite her age Lyric didn’t know the feeling of responsibility that comes from being the protector and provider for someling else. She was the baby of her family and even if the siren had been away from them for awhile the immaturity of being doted on still showed. Perhaps that was why she wasn’t telling him yet. “You don’t seem to be jumping up and telling him.” “It’s not my foal to tell about, I’m trying to be respectful here. I don’t need another nip in the rump thank you very much.” I cocked my head at her, she definitely misunderstood what I meant. “That’s not what I meant Lyric, I didn’t see you telling your wonderful news to Ari.” I pointed a hoof to her slim belly as she reached for a sandwich. “What?” She sounded confused as she froze looking at my hoof and her belly, “You are mistaken, it is just a temporary relieve. Happened to my mother all the time, they would rut, she would end her heat early, and then go into heat the next time like clockwork. That is till she had me.” I felt confused now as Lyric continued on smiling and munching away. What she said sounded more like miscarriages to me, that the magic didn’t have enough power to form a foal completely. “That sounds like miscarriages to me, when the heat ends early it means you are pregnant. There is no such thing as early relieve, sure some spells can aid the symptoms, but it never takes away all of them. Surely your mother told you that?” As I sat there my herd mate went from a smiling to frowning. “Really?!” “Yes, so when are you going to tell him about your foal, hmm-urk? I began to smirk only to have my throat crushed in her forelegs as she hugged me, rubbing her scales on my chitin as she used her hind legs to lift us up. With her joy finally expensed and to my relief she finally stopped rubbing and let me collapse in a gasping heap on the floor. She was stronger than she looks; those slim legs were really earth pony like in strength. As I sat up she looked a little sorry at my state before saying the stupidest thing I could have thought to do in this situation, “As soon as he gets home we are telling him! He is going to be soo surprised and happy!” “NO! We are not doing that, there is no way that that we are telling him, think of how he will feel-“ “He feels really worried for you, I had to assure him that I wouldn’t let you leave…many, many times before he left.” We both froze and looked at Dinari standing in the doorway. “How much did you hear?” “Well I heard more than I’m sure you wanted this big, fat cow to have heard.” Lyric had the modesty to blush at that while my mind scrambled as I took in Dinari words. Ari was really worried about me and before long it would be both of us, the Alicorn part of this pregnancy demanding more food… “Err, sorry Dinari…But see Chrissy, even Dinari thinks we should tell him.” “And what does she know? The responsibilities he already has are-“ “I know enough about foals to know that if you don’t feed them enough you will be having a miscarriage or hurting yourself and the foal.” They gazed at me as I scrunched my eyes closed, I hated that word…I hated that they were right. I hadn’t even considered how waiting would affect the foal, yes, I was thinking about it, how to keep us safe. But they were correct, I was getting weaker. I felt Lyric move to my side, love trickling in. “I will be there for you too…Besides he loves foals! Think how happy he will to have two of his own.” “I think he should know…Nothing is worse than finding out news of that importance from somepony else.” I looked up at that just in time to see the door close, leaving us alone again. Lyric started talking a mile a minute with her speculation on the foals, how they would look, act, and of course their genders. Eventually I joined in, my mind still reeling a little as I realized I was going to have a foal, not that I didn’t know that before, but telling Ari seemed to make it official somehow. **** Ari Moving around a cart, I caught myself humming again. A herd passed by and waved to me, I waved back, “Sabah alkhyr!” Good morning. I actually called out to them. I was in a very good mood now. After my worry over leaving my mares in Dinari’s hands was abated the giddiness of exploring a new city took over. The docks were still my goal but I was okay taking a scenic route, I wasn’t even getting that many looks anymore. Dinari was right to keep my hood down. I could see the city better and just like in Saddle Arabia most ponies assumed I was just a really tall Saddle Arabian stallion. This city was amazing though, I had been walking around for hours now and during that time I had seen more varieties of food than I thought possible or appetizing really. There were fried radishes, toasted golden at one stall. Another had what I think was variation on donuts, they were fried,circular rings of bread, but they had toasted carrot as a topping and came with a sugar glaze to dip them in. To my disappointment I didn’t find any cinnamon buns nor could I afford anything, everything was at least eight bits. What I needed right now was some money- Something glittered by the alleyway, moving closer I saw it was a bit. Every bit helps after all, I thought with a chuckle as I folded down my legs to pick it up, magic forgotten as habits welled up. As I knelt down I heard the street grow louder before something brushed over my rump and a crash rang out in the street. Looking up with the bit in my mouth I saw why, there was a hay wagon lodged in a fritter stall. Dropping the bit I rushed over to help, a crowd already forming around the unfortunate hay wagon and market stall. A couple of fish men were trying to pull the the hay wagon from the stall while the panicked and rightly upset merchant was crying their eyes out. I hate tears, really they should be outlawed…and the fish men weren’t having any luck removing the cart. With a sigh I encased the cart and hay in my magic, levitating them with ease away from the fritter stall. Almost immediately the crowd’s eyes were on me, staring. Thankfully the fish men were thinking and cleared a spot in the crowd. “Set it down here sir.” With my load set down I received a round of applause from the crowd for some reason, blushing through my fur I turned back to the merchant, a gryphon, who was gazing at me in awe. “Did you need help cleaning up?” The wide eyed look didn’t change so I took it as a obvious ‘yes’, there was fritters scattered everywhere among smashed open bales of hay. The binder twine having busted open, leaving flakes of hay and seed heads all over the street. As I gathered the fallen fritters in my magic I couldn’t help but lick my lips. If I found that bit I dropped maybe he would let me have one for six bits, I had brought the saddle bags with the money in it after all. The crowd dispersed as I worked, a sigh sounding from the Griffin as he gazed what was nearly his whole stock of food in my magic, “All that wasted…” He looked at me after what I guess wasn’t a subtle lick of my lips before chuckling sadly, “Did you want it? I can't sell it now and I would hate for Freda to find out all her work went to waste.” I nodded soo fast the world blurred. “Okay then, let me get a bag for you and…” There was no need as I inhaled the fritters one after another, my stomach and taste buds in heaven as a crowd started to gather again. “Where is it all going?” “Oh dear and I thought your father was bad…” “Now that is sweet! Look at that stallion go!” With that ‘problem’ taken care of I noticed the crowd around the damaged fritter stall, again they looked like I had just pulled a rabbit out of a hat. “W-well I guess you were p-pretty hungry huh?” I didn’t bother telling him that I was still hungry, although the fritters made me feel fuller than fruit it still left me wanting more. “Yes, I'm afraid I have been down on my luck, do you know of anyone looking for some help today? The pay doesn’t matter and I'm a hard worker.” “Maybe, what experience do you have?” “I worked in a bookstore last so I'm very good with books...But I'm afraid my reading level in equis is quite…poor at the moment. Before that I helped my uncles around with their construction business, they built decks mostly. Lets see I was a clerk once in a store, I am good at math-“ “I think I can find some work for you right now actually. Do you think you could help me fix my stall? I can’t pay above minimum wage but I figure it would help.” For the next two hours I helped Mr. Berg repair his stall, carrying lumber and hammering in nails. The stall looked brand new at the end of it, white wood standing out against what remained of the old darkened siding, most of which we had to bring to the trades district to trade for new lumber. Apparently they recycled the lumber here since it wasn’t treated in chemicals. I was liking this world even more when I learned that, it was still so innocent to much of science. Eventually he waved goodbye to me and I left thirty bits richer and a little sore, a beam of wood had come of nowhere and thumped me good in the neck. It wasn’t enough to knock me over but it still ached fiercely. Making my way down a new street that was mostly populated by cafes and restaurants I began to get a bad feeling but brushed it off, I would see my mares soon enough, and I had to master my instincts not the other way around. They were small and quaint, each one a different theme. For some reason one was pony themed…It was creepy actually with cat women and fish women wearing pony ears and tails, definitely never going there. My fur rose as I felt the presence of eyes on me, not the usual glance I was receiving on each new street but a ‘stared at’ feeling. Looking around I saw no pony looking at me, listening I didn’t hear anything behind me, and I just about chalked it up to my imagination when I caught sight of my admirer. A little kitten was gazing at me from a cafe as his mother ordered something at the counter. I gave him a smile before deciding to go to the café, the colorful drinks on the tables out front looked delicious and I had some money now. As I entered the shop he hid between his mother’s legs and I chuckled before turning to the menu, judging what to get by the pictograpghs featured beside the letters. I was almost certain I wanted the greeny yellow smoothie with the umbrella in it when I heard a clunk. Before me sat the exact drink I had been looking at again, looking at the waitress who had placed it in front of me I lifted a hoof and pointed at myself. “Yup, from the…gentlecolt at the table over-“ She trailed off as I followed her paw: the table was empty. Shrugging I thanked her and grabbed a straw, now I could finally taste this interesting looking concoction. Taking a quick sniff I was puzzled by the scent of almonds, I was expecting apple or kale but they had probably added almond milk. Waving off the unexpected smell, I was about to take a sip when a hand pounded itself on my back. Startled my magic faltered and the glass shattered, spilling my free drink all over the floor to my dismay. Somewhere in the street someone screamed in rage, my thoughts exactly, all that juice was wasted! Turning around I saw a familiar grey heifer, I quickly smiled before it hit me. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching my mares for me?” “Yes, but my mentor returned and said she would watch them…She wanted me to grab some stuff from the market place since you are staying with us till it’s done.” The waitress came over then and looked at the mess I had made, with an apology and Dinari paying for the glass we quickly left the café. “So does that mean she still wants to talk to me?” “Yes…But not about what you think, she trusts you, your mares won her over you could say.” I didn’t know what to say but I nodded as we made our way down to the market before the docks. The stalls there were bustling with cats and fish men. Up ahead it seems the crowd’s wishes were being answered and a new shop was in the final stages of construction, the scaffolding in front of it loaded with paint, tar, and other supplies. Beside it a crew of fish men crunched on some fish sandwiches…Again, I'm trying to avoid thinking about that. Was it cannibalism since they were fish too? As we passed in front of it I turned and looked at Dinari again, “So what does Kapera think-“ Dinari pushed me out of the way as the scaffolding came crashing down behind me. Paint cans exploded blues and whites all over down the street as the crew rushed over to the fallen scaffolding, helping other passerbys up and gathering the smashed cans and tools. I stood on shaky legs as I looked at the scene until a heard a groan, Dinari had paint can dumped on her head. With a grunt she sat up and removed it, her fur looking like a brighter version of her brother’s blue fur. “You okay Dinari?” Her response was to grunt and stand up, rather wobbly I noticed. “Are you two okay?” A fishman was walking over with a worried look on his face, his eyes on Dinari’s new complextion. “Yes, just a bit of paint nothing that won't come out.” I soothed him, “But what happened there? It looked as sturdy as any scaffodiling I have ever seen…” It had, shiny metal that was free of rust and no wobbles even under the strong sea breeze passing through here. “Don’t know, it had been carrying everyfish just fine earlier.” “Hey look at this Grundle!” Another crew member shouted from the base of the scaffolding. “COMING! Sorry I gotta go, but I’m glad you guys aren’t hurt.” With that he left and we continued on our way, Dinari eventually walking straight again. Parting ways at the end of the market I promised to meet Dinari back at the shop and turned onto the docks. This time I made it to the water’s edge, no robbers, swindlers, or slave traders in sight. Just the sea’s choppy waves rushing at the docks with a ferocity that wasn’t there yesterday and the impressive ships that were moored here lay before my eyes. Ships came in every size here. There was a handful of tiny dinghies, plenty of large fishing boats, and three enormous colonial ships. The last type looking fit to cross any storm the sea could throw at it, and perfect to hide any pirates. As I approached the large ships I noticed that the airship was gone from the raised platform and that the sun was setting, just my luck. I guess I can always come back tomorrow and the horn shackles aren’t done yet anyway, I still had time. With that in mind I began my walk to this city’s home for me, resolved to not waste so much time tomorrow. When I got home I walked in on something very strange, in the back room my mares were curled up together facing a…Well I want to say weasel or packrat but that seemed like the wrong species. It had pale golden fur that was covered by a smock, small rounded ears, and tiny black eyes. What I noticed when she smiled was the slightly protruding muzzle with lots of tiny sharp teeth. “H-hello you must be Kapera, right?”As I looked at the master smith I noticed Lyric nudging Chrissy, using her muzzle to point in my direction. The voice that responded to me surprised me. It was like velvet to my ears, smooth, but with a edge to it. “I am and ye are Ari, correct?” With a nod from me she looked at my mares, giving them both a pointed look, especially Chrissy. Something tells me she knows what is going on with- “We will discuss the inhibitors after dinner, in the mean time I think your mares have something they want to say. Pop upstairs when you are ready. Oh, and no rutting on the premises stud, it will take forever to get the smell out of here. Don’t need my customers thinking I run some brothel here.” Kapera left us then, shambling up the stairs as her poofy tail waved behind her. I blinked at her retreating form before trotting over to my mares, removing my cloak and bags as I kissed them. “I missed you two, it was really weird being alone out there. You aren’t mad are you?” “No…I think I needed this break. But I'm not a… I mean I don’t need a watcher-“ “Yesterday?” I raised a eyebrow at another clear lie, sure she may be a adult but something was obviously wrong and I didn’t want her getting hurt or collapsing on me. “I-I just didn’t eat enough.” “I fed you a whole meal that morning and you snacked all day while we sat on the train, and after that as well. That sure sounds like a lot of love to me…you used to be ok with that much food, I don’t think you suddenly need more food. What’s really going on?” As I was talking Lyric was mouthing ‘tell him’ to Chrissy as she looked even more scared, her ears folding back, and her wing buzzing irratically as she looked away. With a sigh she looked back at me. “Do you love me?...Do you see yourself with me for your life?” She saw my confused look, “I need to know that before I tell you, ok?” Looking away from me now, a scared look in her eyes, it hurt my heart to see her soo scared, unsure. So I moved to her free side and draped my wing over them, getting me a sigh of relief as she leaned against me slightly. “I think we have gone a little faster than I am used to in my relationships but it feels right, I think I really could see us together for the long haul…If you want to that is, I certainly love you and Lyric." She was tearing up again, "Don’t be scared please, whatever is wrong we can fix it.” A silence stretched as she shuffled against me and I let it happen, she was soo close to telling me that I wasn’t going to push her. “I’m pregnant…L-Lyric is as well.” ……….. Time seemed to slow down as talk and talk with Dr. Krause, my gynecologist came back to me, reminding exactly how infertile I was. Explaining how my tubes were still trying to heal, they were never going to be perfect, and there was no guarantee that the treatment. The words of my ex-fiancé as he couldn’t stand the thought of not having his own child to hold, adoption wasn’t a option for him…And here I was in a world with a new body. Of course this god would fix my part when he remade my body. How else would his toy pony repopulate the Alicorns? They were still waiting for a response, eyes growing wider and ears flattening as they took my silence as me being upset with their news. I was quite the opposite actually, I had always wanted kids, and, well, I guess it was foals now. “A-Ari?” Lyric looked ready to cry and Chrissy already had tears going down her muzzle. Crap, I took too long, “That’s wonderful! I really didn’t expect that but I sort of was already planning on bringing up adoption later in the relationship.” I squeed a little as it hit me. “I’m going to be a father!” Reaching under my wing I nuzzled the spot where their stomachs were, still nonexistent this early. “When are they due?” Popping my head back up, another thing hit me, “I know nothing on pregnancies here? How-“ Chrissy kissed me, breaking it to nuzzle my face. “We don’t know either, I do know that I’m around a week ahead of Lyric but other than that there is no literature in hybridism…Alicorn’s have never had nymphs or foals with Royal Changelings before-“ “Same with Sirens!” Lyric was smiling now as she reached over and stole a kiss from me, purposely ignoring Chrissy’s eye roll. “Well that is okay, as long as it’s long enough that you two won’t be in danger when we are doing the whole saving the world gig.” They nodded with happy smiles, ears forward, and a quiet purr coming from Chrissy. “They will be fine, we will be fine...But we shouldn’t waste anytime, the sooner we can get settled somewhere the sooner we can let the instincts run their course.” There was the other shoe. There was always an instinct in this slightly more primal parallel of Earth, the draw of touch, the sex obssesion of the heat, and now the pregnancy hormones that would need to ‘run their course’. “What does that mean exactly?” “It means another long explanation yah clueless stallion now get up here and eat! We don’t have all night to talk. Some of us have a job that isn’t as whimsical as ‘saving the world’.” Kapera stood at the top of the stairs a fork in her hand that she was pointing at me with. I couldn't argue with that, it was dinnertime. Consequences and Revelations.**** Luna That was one of the stupidest things I had ever done. Returning to Equestria hadn’t been hard, the god hadn’t followed me, or if he had, he had decided not make himself known. The night had been routine after that. There were still more nightmares than before the law had started, but it was changing. Since we had announced the coming amendments there was more happy dreams, filled with hope, with foals. I came to the realization of how many mares wanted foals but had no means to have one, it hadn’t occurred to me exactly how many were wishing, were trying for them and failing. Ari’s amendments were already making a lot of mares, a lot of families happy. After I had finished with the last of my duties, I slowly pulled my astral body from the dream world; I had been expecting some magical fatigue from pushing myself so hard. The sensations I had felt on my core as I pushed past my normal borders were not a good sign, in fact I was amazed that they disappeared soo quickly when I was within Equestrian borders. But I had practice concealing pain from my sister. A little fatigue would be- “UAAAGHH!” My body felt like my nerves were on fire, burning through my limbs from the inside out and causing my body to spasm under the magical distress I felt my core experience, aertheratic lines constricting to the point that I felt as weak as a newborn foal...My legs had given out. I couldn’t stand or even manage words as I clamped my muzzle shut, holding in my agony. “Princess!” Something was poking my muzzle, “Princess can you hear me?” I opened my eyes, they had closed sometime in my torturous return to this plane. Moonlit Echo, my personal guard, stood before my spinning vision. He called for me for what felt like an agonizing five minutes before I could manage a weak response, “F-fine…” It had not even occurred to me how he had entered my room, why he was there, till what felt like an hour had passed. During that time, which being the dedicated colt-guard that he is, he stayed by my side waiting for a more affirmative answer than my feeble ‘fine’. Although it had only been ten minutes time had passed slowly as my body quieted, the spasms were stilling, and the fire cooling to a slight sting that traveled along my whole body. Standing had been interesting, but I had finally stood, and I had persuaded…Commanded really, my loyal guard pony to let me leave my own chambers to attend breakfast. I loved my lunar guard dearly but now was a bad time for their care to be seen. Tia had to remain unaware of my excursion and of the sights I saw, as interesting as they were. I knew I would be deafened in my waking body if not worse for my foalish actions. That brings us to the present. I have a happy smile plastered to my face as I try to focus on appearing normal. Right…Normal was enjoying my sister’s pancakes, pineapple topping them to make the pancakes appear to be sticking their tongue out at me. “Do you not like them? I could always have the chef prepare some-“ “No!” Sister’s ear twitches as she looks at earnestly now, I had answered with a little too much force. “Tia, I am just tired from all the extra nightmares since the law’s reintroduction. It is beginning to catch up to me.” “Surely there must be fewer nightmares since we announced the amendments? Every pony was ecstatic Luna, you saw their tears of joy!” “Yes, but there is still a great deal of upset and anxious ponies out their sister, one announcement that has not even been cleared by those mules in suits is not going to alleviate all their worries. What of the already conscripted?” I sighed and clenched my jaw as another round of needles ran through my battered nerves. “This is a difficult time sister.” I know part of the reason those mules in suits existence was because of my…absence. It had doubled the workload on my then distraught sister. So she had done the rational thing and created more committees to ease decision making and a royal legal team to assist in the making and amending of laws…But perhaps they should go, I was back to stay after all. Hatred was a strong word for what I felt towards them, although irritation seemed too much of an understatement. I had made one jest of bringing back the cake prohibition and suddenly I’m the under scrutiny for the possible ramifications of such a thing, now my decisions were immediately sent to them. Whether it is the simplest decision it still made it to them, unlike my sister’s choices. They didn’t fear that she would crack. No, I was the loose cannon, there was presidence for my ability to become something else. Why does no one ever consider that she is just as flawed as me? She just hid it better. Anyway, they had gone on and on about how the parties that would need new catering protocols, and let us not forget the uprisings at the economic losses in bakeries across the country…They couldn’t take a joke. You can assume my pranks have been significantly lower compared to the time before those mules existed. But I had no energy for mischief at the moment, keeping my muzzle set in a normal expression as opposed to the grimace it wanted to twist into was taxing enough. The ache was now a throbbing headache and by some good fortune my mane was still flowing despite how hard I pushed myself last night. Why mother would ever have to- “LUNA!” I jumped in place and folded my ears back, I hadn’t even told her and she was using the royal Canterlot voice on me! “Yes Tia? There is no need to shout.” Unless you want to ensure that I may never hear Ari’s angry voice when he arrives. “What did I say before that then?” Horse apples, she had me there, “I do not know…But I just a lot to think about, this shall pass…” She looked at me doubtfully, my skill in hiding things was lacking apparently. I looked down to my pancakes, the face mocking me. Taking the pineapple that made up the tongue I munched on it as my sister sighed. “I can’t make you share your thoughts with me but…Just promise me you will tell me if you feel upset. I am here for you…I-I don’t want to lose you Lulu.” And now she was upset again, her smile gone. “Tia it is nothing like that! I would tell you if I was upset with you…Well now that you mention it…” Tia leaned forward over her breakfast slightly as she tried to hear what I was going to say. “You have been rather distant with this whole law debacle; we haven’t had tea together in quite awhile.” She slumped back onto her seat with a relieved sigh, “We can do that,” a smile breaking across her muzzle, “Perhaps you can help me respond to Cadence’s letter then.” Crisis adverted, “Of course, it can’t be too hard can it?” The rest of dinner went by without anymore prying question, sticking to more banal topics such as the ridiculous petitions we were still receiving in court despite our daily redirections to more appropriate venues. Ponies looking for a loan for a new business? Go to the bank. The protocol for the proper amount of cupcakes to be present for a cupcake-cake? I was dumbfounded that somepony actually thought of such a question. But even with all the common conversation returned sister still suspected something was up, her eyes following every bite I took, and her focused ears were subtle. I will give her that but they were not invisible to me. Thankfully she did not press the subject anymore but I felt that the dreaded questions would return later… She learned patience from the best of the best after all. Mother could withstand the idiosyncrasies of the yaks far better than father ever could, Tia said I took after him in that way. Whenever they reopened their borders Tia has made it perfectly clear that I am not to engage in conversation with them beyond the required greeting. My mask aside, pain was my constant companion right now, so when I was finally able to retire to my chambers again I was more than eager to. However, my display from earlier wasn’t exactly forgettable and Moonlit Echo seems to have spread the word around his fellow lunar guards. That was the only reason I could think for me to be flanked my six of them at the moment, my chambers weren’t that perilous or far. Perhaps I use this to my advantage though. “Moonlit Echo?” “Yes your highness!” He promptly saluted me, eyes wandering over my face and body, both of which I’m sure weren’t hiding my pain well to his trained eyes. A sudden hesitancy hit me, would this request make it to my sister’s attention? It was unlikely, if I worded it right no pony would be the wiser of my true reason. We were in front of my chamber doors now, tall, grand, and embossed with my crescent moon insignia. Behind these doors I could finally gain some sorely needed rest, I will not try to make anymore visits to Ari till I felt normal once more, he wasn’t worth robbing myself of the ability to do my duties. “I would have a task of ye…If thou feels up to it.” “Of course your highness, say it and I shall do it!” Moonlit looked really eager to do something for me. His monotony of patrolling must be quite boring I reminded myself. “Come inside, secrecy is of utmost importance. The rest of you are dismissed, we thank ye for your diligence.” The remaining guards reluctantly left us as I closed the doors, leaving me alone with the only witness to my moment of weakness. I had to do something while I waited for Ari to arrive, and a fortnight is too long for any apology to wait. **** Somewhere in the Multiverse Aphrodite I had gotten involved in this ‘crisis’ completely by accident, in fact my husband is the one who made this very annoying molehill into an Olympus size problem. Here I had been peeking in on various couples, enjoying their special moments, their smooches, and then I ran across the strangest thing. On a little planet, in the middle of a desert, a mare was displaying herself to her intended stallion in front of what looked to be some sort of guard. It was beautiful! I of course stuck around to see how it turned out. Would he rut her then and there? The feelings of love and lust coming off of him almost made me think so but he surprised me and resisted her. I would have ended my viewing then and there with the possible scandalous scene diffused, a bore was no fun to watch, but I noticed something odd about this stallion. That is, his mind was rippling like a shirt that had been stretched and couldn’t return to its old shape, he had been altered. When I focused my magic to see his past state I couldn’t see any shimmers on his form, like I could on the mare’s form, she was hiding her true self from him. Did he know? Better yet, why was his mind altered? As I pondered whether he had discovered some great secret like some unfortunate mortals had before and required adjusting or whether it was another one of Faust’s experiments. They were popping up a dime a dozen now. If that sick son of Gaia liked anything in his eternal existence it was creating, well, I saw it more as experimenting since all the universes had been set up to regulate creation themselves now. My pondering didn’t go unanswered, before I could even blink into the next universe the sick excuse for a god showed up. “Enjoying the show?! Well this planet was-.” I won’t bore you with his ramblings but the point of it was he was meddling where he shouldn’t be…again. That should have bothered me more than the mild annoyance it caused but you get used to your siblings after a while, I could have done without this brother though. Eventually I just left, he didn’t even notice for once, completely enraptured in his own grandeur. As I zipped along the multiverse I eventually ran into my existence partner, he was watching earth, or more specifically the new machines the humans had made for their welding. Whipping around his astral body I settled above him, magic touching as I felt his stable presence. “What is the matter?” “…Nothing much...” “Hermes?” “NO! I’m done with him, you know he fancies Zeus, I won’t get between two gods feeling true love!” He grunted at that. “Hera needs to find a new partner anyway…Oh that’s too funny what if I paired her with Faust?! I mean they both are crazy right?”I couldn’t help but giggle at that, they ‘hated’ each other, it was perfect! “What did he do this time?” Turning away from Earth his magic focused on me. I think that’s where it got out of hand, explaining Faust’s latest stunt. Hephaestus got angry, he told Apollo, who then told his sister, and we all know how she is like. She then flew into a rage and…Well let’s just say Apollo got the short straw in that talk, and as her brother was stuck on ‘watch the poor mortal’ duty. Faust didn’t take our interference with his meddling well, so what started as a little guard duty quickly escalated in to full blown duels. When he went after me during the last duel I had had enough, he was being ridiculous about this whole thing! With a weary feeling in my magic I finally called in Zeus, I really didn’t want to, we all had times in our existence where the temptation to skirt around the rules he laid down occurred. For the most part we humored each other, avoiding calling down the big lightening, but this was the thirtieth year in a row with Faust sticking his magic where he shouldn’t. It was out of my control now, Zeus can discipline him, and hopefully fix the poor human. **** Ari My mind was still going a mile a minute throughout dinner, mostly the thought that I was going to be a father. Wow I never thought I would say that, ‘father’, well I had never thought I would be an Alicorn nor have a herd before now. Although the eye rolls and ‘get a room’ comments suggested my new level of joy was not as widely received. But what mattered to me was that Chrissy enjoyed the attention and from her trills I knew she did. I’m sure there was some small talk but I couldn’t remember it even if my life depended on it. There was so many questions I wanted to ask however with my brain was still coming back online from the amazing news, there was going to be a lag time. True to her word Kapera got straight work. “Snap out of it stud, just because you can’t keep your dick in your sheath don’t mean yah can forget about the world.” Kapera was ahead of us again, stoking the forge. Looking annoyed with our pace, ears back and teeth peeking through in a small snarl, “I didn’t agree to help you so you could suck face, get over here and try Dinny’s prototype out. Let’s see if she is correct.” With that we stopped kissing and took a seat around the forge, everyone full from dinner except Chrissy and I. Our herd arrangement was nice if a bit odd with Lyric beside Chrissy instead of beside me, but since I was blueballed from feeding her that particular way this was going to be the arrangement. Dinari got up. Returning with what I assume had been the long strip of metal she was engraving this morning. Now it was in the shape of a ring, narrower at one end to imitate the horn shape, and had five gates. With little warning she slid it down my horn. It the Diamond dogs all over again, except I wasn’t awake when my magic was contained then. Boy am I so glad I wasn’t awake then too, it was like all my energy and all my will to move was gone, slowly draining into a place I couldn’t access it from. I laid my head down on my hooves as the sensation of what I can only call ‘blah’ washed over me. Chrissy started cooing to me, giving my mane nibbles, while Lyric looked worried at Kapera, “Is that normal? I know magical inhibitors are supposed to leave ponies feeling drained but this seems…more.” “He hasn’t even tried fighting the inhibitor yet! Don’t worry about him.” She turned to me, “So stud is this really all you can do?! Fight against it, an Alicorn, even one as weak as you should be able to handle five suppression rings!” Weak? I wasn’t weak, this awful magic inhibitor just made my body feel like I was trying to swim through syrup. “How do I fight a magic inhibitor?” “Reach down your aetheratic channels and force more magic to your horn than usual, like you are charging a really powerful spell!” I snorted at her, pinning my ears back, it seems she doesn’t understand that I don’t understand magic. It was like jumping into astrophysics around me, of course I don’t get it, and I wasn’t going to get because she willed it so. The nibbling on my mane stopped, “Ari, I need you to close your eyes and feel for a thrumming deep inside, it will feel faint but if you feel anything like that try to latch onto it okay?” She rested her head on my neck as I closed my eyes. Darkness covered my world. The back of my eyelids danced with flashes of color as I tried to focus on my internal ‘aetheratic channels’ as Kapera had put it. Colors eventually turned to patterns and my feeling of emptiness grew, there was no magic channels appearing in my mind or senses, I didn’t even know how they should look like. The only feeling I was getting was frustration, this wasn't a simple think and point 'spell', and quite frankly I didn’t know what feeling to follow in my body. There was no thrumming. “I-I can’t feel any thrumming. What should a channel even look like? I don’t think I can do this, I couldn’t even break out of a standard magic inhibitor before.” I knew my voice sounded weak but I really needed help, a giant arrow to what to do. Everything had been fairly easy to pick up before. It was all modifying my focus and intent. Levitation, simply focus on the object and want it to. Astral projections like my staircase and weapons, imagine it, will it to be, and voila it exists. Locating objects? Just more of the same steps as the other magic I learned. Even teleportation was more of the same thought and determination, nothing more than one variation of one process. Dinari was frowning at me before heading over to the bookshelves, Lyric had her ears splayed out at my statement and Chrissy had begun grooming my mane again, while Kapera looked thoughtful. “How did you think you were going to test our work? Did you think that I would risk the lives of innocent foals to test- no, you didn’t know then I suppose. Tell me then: what do you know? From what I gather you were given to us by a god, a great being of magic, for some reason. Although I can’t fathom why any god would choose you now, sure you are a Alicorn. But what can you even do besides rut and wave your magic around as carelessly as a foal?!” I didn’t know how to answer that. She was right. My knowledge of everything on this planet was limited and the goal of impossibly big to me still. When all things were considered I was hoping that the generosity of others would help, that others would see my goal and help out of the good the completion would bring. But I knew a little on economics. Kapera and Dinari weren’t receiving anything for their time and expertise, not to mention the expense of housing us. As of right now I could be an insane oddity for all they know, I know I certainly didn’t seem like much of anything compared to them, especially a world saver. I couldn’t smith, couldn’t weave runes in metal, and I most certainly wasn’t from here. Perhaps I was not a Changeling as Dinari had first thought. I used to be human, a magic less being, with my biggest worry being if I could have eventually have kids. My words still held a touch of fantasy to them, a little unbelievable, and weren’t even my own. That was why I didn’t just fly myself over to Canterlot in the beginning, there was that small doubt that I was just a meaningless pawn in a god’s chess game, that I was really a experiment with nothing more to my existence. But then I always asked myself why and realized it made no sense to send me on this big journey, that I had seen the changes that were happening firsthoof, and that I had met the people behind the goal. There were real people of different forms that were in the dark still to why their lives were ruined. “He is trying! I would like to see you adjust to the knowledge that something-.” Raising my head, I tiredly kissed my mare, it was sweet to defend my ignorance but Kapera was right in the fact that I know nothing. Ignorance shouldn’t be defended. Chrissy’s ears flicked forward again as I turned back to Kapera, “You are right…I am not the hero I’m sure the world needs.” Taking a deep breath, I look at her, “But I’m willing to try-.” “Try?! You don’t try to save the damned world you, you… Wajinga!” At this point Kapera was in my face, her lips pulled back, with spit flying and hitting my muzzle at the end. Just as fast as she was in my face she was gone, flying up the stairs, “Kwe nini nilikuwa nimekwama nay yeye!” The words were unknown to me but the meaning was clear I had angered her, whatever hope Kapera had that I would succeed was dwindling, and she wasn’t necessarily wrong. It was unlikely, especially now that she hadn’t removed the inhibitor. My thoughts were interrupted as a thin book dropped down in front of my hooves. It had a sketch of a foal levitating an apple on the cover. Chrissy leaned forward and hummed at Dinari’s choice of literature before giving me a slight nudge, looking at the book then back at me. “Hey! What’s got her tail in knot Dinari?” Lyric was scowling at the stairs, looking very much like she would like to follow her up. “Ari can’t help not knowing this. He has only been here for two weeks!” “But he can learn.” After that I grabbed the book in my hoof and started to Dinari’s room, our temporary home. Chrissy and Lyric were in their old positions now, pressing into to me. But their support wasn’t touching the feeling the truth or the inhibitor was giving me. The feeling of being out of my element, which I was, a human woman turned Alicorn stallion. Why had I thought I could do this again? By some miracle I had run into a friendly face, well she wasn’t really then, but she was open to being my friend. I had received some explanation, done some things by accident, and then I just let my new instincts take over. Of course that would bite me later. I just assumed it would be after the world was out of peril, not when I’m just starting out. But my instincts couldn’t learn new things, they were ingrained in me as were the instincts of my mares, and they couldn’t solve everything. I’m sure the god, the princesses, and even Dinari don’t let their instincts take over. There was a planet that needed saving, countries that needed ruling, and work that needed to get done. All of that needed the full attention of my mind, not the small portion that said ‘mare smell good’. Here I was thinking that I was going to save a whole fricken planet, enjoy a nice life, and not have to really worry about stuff like this. I had time right? Kapera was right. Dinari was right and she had given me a chance to improve, to do more than try to save a planet, my planet now. Lying down on the blanket, I placed the book down in front of me. “Would you mind helping me read this?” Killers and Reflections.**** Lyric How do you explain a skill that took a good year to get the basics of to somebeing who has only had access to magic for two weeks? Chrissy seems to think that I might have some deep, wise insight into this predicament, that with one thousand fifty three years of life experience I have I might know the answer. She doesn’t realize the irrelevancy of my age in this matter. It doesn’t automatically make me wise, enlightened to secrets, or the one with the right answer. I have never had to help somepony with a foal level grasp of magic before. No one would ever let a defenseless foal near ‘the monster’ to start with. But didn’t I have the forethought to see this coming? The reality of the situation was that I, like Chrissy, hadn’t considered how we would test the magic inhibitors. Sure I had known that since Ari was an Alicorn and they were meant for Alicorns he had to test them. But the shock of meeting him had consumed me, the fist Alicorn I had ever met, the first Alicorn stallion I had heard of since King Arcturus. The resistance to my mind magic had given me hope, no one outside my family had resisted it before, and then the rest was history. I followed him, joined his group, then his herd. Now I was pregnant. So with everything going on I had ended up just as guilty as mt herdmates for skimming over the finer details. Magic control was a pretty big detail in hindsight. All foals started out with the instinct driven, focus and intent type of magic that Ari knew, in fact foals were mostly instinct, which is exactly why foal magic inhibitors were invented. Magical outbursts were a parent’s nightmare, teleporting to unknown locations, levitating objects, and…And sooner than I ever thought I would have all that and more. But first I had to help my stallion find the ‘thrumming’ of his aetheratic channels. Chrissy’s wording was perhaps not the best for him. In example, to me my aetheratic channels were more of humming feeling in my center, almost like a familiar tune. It changed notes as I altered the flow of magic through the channels. Maybe- “No, it should be a thrumming deep inside Ari! Close your eyes, clear your mind, and try again. You have to have it in you, otherwise you couldn’t perform magic.” Ari was clearly not getting it, her explanation that is to say. He understood that magic was inside him, we had covered that fact two chapters ago. While I’m sure she must have dealt with nymphs before I don’t think her channels sound the same as his must. Through his straining, his scrunched up muzzle, I started to read ahead in the book. It was clearly a old magic kindergarten textbook, from the year 1906 if I’m to believe the copyright page. Although rather old it was accurate, but for this case I feel it is lacking, the chapters skimmed over the finer details that the reader would already know. Our stallion wasn’t the intended reader. While I’m unable to speak for nymphs I know most foals aren’t taught the finer control of spells, aetheratic control, until around five years old. Even I had my own version of it on the road and mother loves to remind me of my adventures as the ‘mysterious enchanting foal’. I was the type of foal that teleported everywhere. But, my point was we had to jam five years of experience into Ari overnight. That is five years of foals learning the ins and outs of their unique magical system: aetheratic channels, magical core, and any natural talents they may be inclined to. “I-I still can’t feel any thrumming, I just hear my heart beating and see the back of my eyelids!”Ari was getting louder and more frustrated with each failed attempt and after over an hour of trying to do what chapter four described and what Chrissy insisted on…I didn’t blame him for feeling like this. Sighing I closed the book, “Perhaps we should go to bed then, tackling this after some sleep seems like a good idea.” “Ari can do this, he just has to-.” “Sleep sounds good.” Chrissy looked like she was about to continue, to try to encourage him, but saw his expression and thought it was better not to. His ears were folded back, his withers slouched, and his eyes downcast. This constant stream of failure wasn’t good for his spirit, his usual happy determined attitude was lost, and pressing on wasn't helping the matter. I tucked us in, Ari unable to with the inhibitor still on. Kapera had flown off in such a rage that she failed to remove it or even give us the primary gate keys. But that was a thing for the morning, another thing to take up our time. **** Somewhere in Shallow Shale ???????? This was supposed to be an easy job. Sure my client was a meathead, but he was a wealthy meathead. One target, one hundred thousand bits. No special instructions, just one warning. Which was actually less than I was usually told, so I wasn't complaining. Apparently the target was 'extremely dangerous', a herd stallion, and travelling with…How did that thug word it? ‘A total Changeling bitch’ was what I got out of his half drunken yells, they were slightly slurred so don’t quote me. The target also had a unicorn mare but she was an Equestrian, weak, and unfortunately not part of the contract. However if she ended up dead, well, that would be too bad, truly a tragedy. He kept stressing what a dangerous stallion the target was, how he was 'crazy ballsy', and…Hold on a second while I laugh. That half drunk fool thinks the stallion was an Alicorn! Excuse me while I laugh again, an Alicorn! You heard me right, if there was one I would have heard of him by now, there would have a coronation, an announcement of some sort, and he wouldn’t be in the middle of the desert. Newspapers across the continent would have flocked to that wretched country and that clearly hadn’t happened. Clearly my client was the victim of an extremely proficient illusionist, a magically gifted unicorn surely, but not an Alicorn. That didn’t mean I would be handling my target with kid gloves though. Any stallion able to get one over my client in a head to head to head fight was not to trifled with, not mention it can be assumed he has a strong instinctual drive, most Equestrian stallions had trouble with one mare. He might be…No, I was looking too far into my target again. Following him was interesting. His trail lead to a Hydra’s corpse, it was only a day old at the most. Thankful for the resource, I filled my stocks from the corpse’s blood and took some other parts for sale later. It was good to have a plan B. The swamp was harder to navigate than the forest but sticking to the canopy I eventually made it to Minotaria. Dodging through the fields was the hardest part of that country, he had left an obvious trail, and from the smell of his resting spots, rutted often. That was the easy part, now I had to use more stealth. Using the same route he took I made it to the quaint, coastal town of Shallow Shale. I hated this town. Keeping my disgust for the city from my mind was the trick to getting this job done as soon as possible, which wouldn't be a tall order, like the fields the target traveled I located him without any trouble. It went downhill from there. I quickly realized why my client was bested by this unicorn and why he would mistake it for an Alicorn. He was huge! Taller than the sun princess herself if I was right, this stallion was at least seven feet tall, easily towering over my small form. Not that I was as small as a puny Equestrian but few creatures would beat my target in height. But that wasn’t the part that threw my initial plan out the window, it was the fact that he was with the most wanted mare on the continent, Queen Chrysalis herself. Yes, yes I would like to retire young. Thank you mare of luck! My mother, cousins, they would be overjoyed at my early return and I would never have to work another day in my life. Shamkar would be upset at first but I’m sure if I gave him a little payout all would be good. Now I had a million bits literally pop into existence, it stood unaware in the middle of the street beside my one hundred thousand bit contract and…If I saw correctly the traitor herself, my client would like to see her again. I guess this one likes the exotics, or perhaps he is weak to mind magic and merely enchanted…But, whatever the truth actually was it didn’t matter, this job wasn’t easy anymore. But it was a hell of a paycheck if I could bring them all in, well, maybe I will kill the target first. Stallions can be downright nasty to deal with when they have a herd. But killing this stallion was downright hard! For starters he was staying at her place, that mnunuzi’s damnable shop. She was the lowest of low, having the gall to remain here after- No, she also was a creature I couldn’t afford to mess with, that was the bottom line. What she lacked in height she made up for in deadly skill. Swords that honed in on magical signatures, slicing foes apart at the users command, and even more fantastical new enchantments that I didn’t have the time to strategize against, this was one Mongofu I wouldn’t be messing with. Having him die in his sleep was out of the question. She had purposely picked that shop for its lack of windows. The paranoid old Mongofu was going to be impossible to get around and the heifer she keeps around is also a creature I couldn’t touch. Not for her strength mind you, there were certain people that wanted her unharmed, not that they knew I was here but it was expected that any being not touch her. By some stroke of luck he left the shop alone. That same luck deserted me mere hours later. My first plan was for him to have a accident, a rogue hay wagon smashing his brains over the cobblestones…That bucker knelt down to pick up a measly bit, of all the things! Surely he didn't need bits that badly? And right when... Staying calm I followed him as he helped the gryphon, dropping a plank that I felt sure would snap his neck, but it didn’t even knock him over! Seeing as he was physically a brick wall of a unicorn I knew I had to use a more tactful approach. The idea of poisonous darts crossed my mind but I passed over it when I saw him make his way over to a café…One free drink and cyanide pill later I was across the street, watching as he meticulously added a straw and sniffed the drink. Then that heifer came in and ruined my plans, he dropped the drink. I screamed my rage. For Faust’s sake, this fucking stallion must have preternatural senses! …Or perhaps I’m just getting rusty, maybe he smelled the poison and ‘accidently’ dropped it? One chance left with the day ending. No creature wandered the streets after dark, especially my kind; I was essentially walking property in this town. It was a long shot, and I might hit the heifer but I needed to get back to the shop to stake out my next paycheck. The bigger and final reward, then- As you can assume that since I’m in front of the shop again that the stallion once again lives. My position was perfect, I had to get him today...And once again fortune was smiling at me as he left the shop alone. **** Chrissy Ari was up before us again. I hoped he was feeling better about learning aetheratic control. He had been very upset last night after constantly failing...The book on teaching foals to control their magic had not helped, but we had only gotten four chapters in. There was still a chance that the remaining four chapters could hold the secret to help my stallion. So far it had covered ‘What is Magic’, ‘The Anatomy of a Pony’, ‘The Difference Between Instinctual Magic Use and Spelled Magic Use’, ‘How to find your Aetheratic Channels’. That last chapter is where we lost him completely. Ari just couldn’t find his magical ‘thrum’ inside, but I haven’t given up hope yet, he can do magic so he had to have them. Shifting I scooted closer to Lyric, my stomach cried out for food, and while her love was nice it was not the same. It was like comparing a hoofmade meal with one created with magic, the hoofmade one would always tasted fresher, had more flavor, and had the true heart of the creator in it. To translate, she saw me more on the level of friend, more than an acquaintance but not quite a ‘good’ friend or a ‘best’ friend. Not anywhere close to the love our stallion felt for me. The air heated up as I waited beside my restless herd mate, our stallion still wasn’t back, but Ari would have to come back here. We had the book. “Mmmm…Ari?” Lyric yawned and looked around, looking very much like a foal with the wide yawn. “No, he is up already, probably in the kitchen.” “You know he does other stuff besides eat right? He isn’t some walking black hole!” I gave a raised eyebrow; she did know we were talking about the stallion that eats more than five ponies do, all without blinking an eye. “Well he is black and anything that enters his muzzle never comes out, so I think you described Ari perfectly. Although I didn’t take you for a pony that was into astronomy, I would have figured you would be into musical instruments or singing.” I looked at her cutie mark for emphasis. Lyric shifted her scales against my chitin, sitting up more, “Good point! Our stallion is sort of a black hole, I actually was starting to think of him as one yesterday, but not because of those reasons.” We shared a chuckle, “My cutie mark may be for singing but I do like to do other things-“ “Ari doesn’t count you know, if you are in the herd it is sort of required.” Sending me a smile, Lyric set her head on her hooves, “I wasn’t into astronomy before, but I think I started learning about it sometime after it was just me on the road. Trying to guess which stars were what and seeing when meteors were falling when took my mind off the…the hole that they left behind.” Sadness flowed through our bond now, a particularly heavy, sour taste to my mouth. “You know I started watching the stars for a similar reason-” She looked up at me, curiosity tickling my taste buds. “-My mother was always busy during the day, you know.” Looking to Lyric I realized she didn’t, “Well, maybe you don’t but the point is I wanted to do something with her. An activity that wasn’t grooming me for the throne or involved other changelings, just my mother and me, and one day it hit me: stargazing. If she had her whole day booked then that must mean her night was free!” I paused and took a deep breath, “At first she didn’t get it and really I didn’t either, it was just twinkling little stars... But she eventually relaxed and I relaxed when I saw her so…Content and we just enjoyed it. There was no crisis or petition, just the countless other worlds above us. I mean l loved my extended family but some days I wondered how we got on with their nymphness.” My herd mate didn’t respond for awhile but I felt the love change taste slightly, sweeter almost. “You know I think all families are that way, my aunts are some of the most annoying mares you will ever meet! Sonata especially, she loved to pretend she didn’t understand me, mostly when I wanted something she had. By the time she ‘understood’ me the treat was usually eaten already and…And I never really thought of that before, that Changelings had a family before…You had a mother too.” Giving her ear nip I looked her in the eye, “So you just assumed I just appeared? That Changelings reproduced by just appearing onto Equis?” “Well, I really hadn’t dared travel in the Badlands before and I guess I just took those rumors and sayings with a grain of salt. I knew they couldn’t all be true but I wasn’t going to risk my life either. You wouldn’t have welcomed me with open arms then, right? The ‘monster’, a sea pony hybridized with a land pony,” I nodded my head, ear splayed, we would have thought of her as food or an enemy. “Don’t feel bad most creatures wouldn’t have welcomed me in anyway.” “You…you’re not a monster you know, I’m not a monster. I think Ari has more than proven that point, all those thoughts, those slurs, are just ‘racist drivel’ as he puts it.” Lyric looked away, frowning as the bitter taste in my mouth increased, “What are we going to tell our foals? ‘Those ponies are stupid’ and make up our own slurs for them?” My herd mate made an interesting point, “So what if I do that? They started it! When they started throwing mud on our names! Our foals will learn of their cruelty whether we want them to or not, the world is unkind…You of all ponies should know that.” “Do you remember why we were called those names?” “Yes, they hate us for our strength, our abilities. Emotionvores aren’t understood, mind magic doesn’t have any branches of magic able to counter it.” “Perhaps that is part of it…But although I may not know much about ruling, I remember the time after The Great War. My mother told me of the great battles, the many stallions that fought to the death-.” Interrupting her I folded my ears back, if I didn’t need her love I would have left. I wasn’t a nymph! Such simplified stories were an insult to my intelligence. “I know that!” She snorted at me. “Then you also know that the winners write the history books and it’s what they didn’t write in those books that prevent our side from being seen in any good light.” What she said was true, we have- “Wakey, wakey! Breakfast time you stupid-.” Kapera stood in the doorway, frying pan in hand, and looking at us with a confused expression. “Where’s your stud?!” I could feel my heart rate increase slightly, “What do you mean? Isn’t he in the kitchen eating?” “Uh, no…I figured that lazy stud was still asleep, Dinari said you were up late reading to him and practicing.” Kapera looked awkwardly at us now, before looking at her paws as they shuffled. “Hold on a second…DINNY GET DOWN HERE!” Our ears went back at her volume, was that really necessary? Better yet was her anger really necessary last night? Yes, our stallion was unprepared but he didn’t have a chance to learn that on our journey so far. It's just, she just irritated me with her attitude. Her respect for our upcoming foals was appreciated but other than that her loud, disrespectful attitude to our stallion was wearing my patience thin. Where was Ari? “DINNYYYYY!” The Minotaur didn’t appear. **** Ari When I was little I thought I would be a figure skater. Like other little girls I thought the pretty skirts and shiny skates were the epitome of a perfect life. That if I had those and figure skated everything would be all right, I would never have to listen to another mean word from Heather Alester, that I would magically become this tall, beautiful swan on the ice rink. Well, aside from never growing to be very tall I also found out that there was a lot of work behind the scenes that no one ever mentions. At the crack of dawn, most of the time before dawn; I woke on wobbly legs to be driven down to the ice rink. Then my mother wasn’t quite crazy yet, I knew she was different than the other kid’s mothers, but I couldn’t exactly say why I thought that then. Anyway, on my half asleep legs I went onto the ice and fell…A lot, I was actually teased more there than at school. How I was that clumsy I couldn’t say why but I kept trying and failing, kind of like now. It didn’t matter how many times I did what Chrissy said, or tried to picture the channels as they were illustrated in the textbook, something just didn’t click. So I did what my coach told me to do back then: walk it off. My tries at a doing a spiral was, to put it nicely, abysmal. Every time I would work up to it I either couldn’t get the momentum or if by some chance I did I would look at the ice and fall. Look where you want to go and get back up I was told. But that didn’t help. When I walked I thought better, particularly if I was alone. My mares meant well but maybe like with the skating I was stressing too much and needed my subconscious to deal with it. The street was busy just like yesterday, although I kept my hood up, the magic inhibitor was still on. But I wasn’t going to ask Kapera to remove it. She said I should be able to remove it, and the master smith was probably right. The princesses were even stronger than me anyway, my mane was still a short, regular styled thing, and knew next to nothing about...Everything. I ducked as another plank flew by my head. These construction workers were almost as klutzy as I was as a kid. Taking a right, I was on the main road now, heading down to the docks. Another right at the edge of the waterfront, the waves jumping onto the stones and misting my cloak. If I had to guess I would say a storm was moving in. Although, if it was a storm front it was moving in slower than the others had further inland. Maybe the sea takes some of the bite out of them on the coast? Anyway, I took another right, walking away from the moored boats, and towards the beach. The beach was deserted and oh so beautiful to me at the moment. I had been to a beach before but this one seemed almost surreal, the sand was a pale pink, and if I looked closely I could see tiny fragments of coral among the white grains of sediment. Above the beach small white birds circled, not quite seagulls, or sterns, or even sandpipers. They were another species altogether, beautiful and unique to this world. I would have to ask Lyric what they were called. Just stepping onto the soft, undisturbed sand relaxed my mind somewhat. The ‘blah’ feeling fading to the background as the waves pounded the shore. But it was still quite an open area, so I moved on, walking as close to the waves as I dared. Coming out here was half a desire to relax and half the urge to take my mares on a date, to do something to get to know them better. My instincts, while useful in guiding me on what a mare likes were not helping me in forming a deeper connection with them. And if I had the time to learn to control my magic I certainly had time for the two most important mares in my life. The beach narrowed and I was forced to walk in the warm waves briefly, hugging the cliff’s base as I rounded the corner and arrived in a cave. It wasn’t the doom and gloom type cave either, it was actually very shallow as caves went, open as well, the ceiling was a good fifty feet above my head. It was actually kind of ominous, like a gaping maw about to swallow-. A splash sounded from behind me. Turning around I saw the waves hit the rocks again, a piece of bamboo bobbed along, and the sunny sky shone overhead. Waiting for a minute I could hear no other sound so continued my exploration. All the travels through swamps and such had messed with my senses, like I expected every sound to be a big monster. Well, there probably were sea serpents here. I knew I had to return but…This was so nice, but I wasn’t relaxed anymore from the splash, and I wasn’t leaving till I found the perfect spot to unwind at. A couple extra days to relax with my mares, to learn a valuable skill, and go on a date wouldn’t hurt the world. Halfway into to the cave there was a turn, and going around the bend I realized that this wasn’t a cave but it was actually a tunnel. Sunlight peeked in from up ahead, showing a glimpse of more coral infused sand ahead. As I picked up pace, dodging around the various boulders I tripped. Apparently cantering in a dimly lit tunnel was beyond me…I’m blaming the inhibitor. “OWWW!” Tripping with me wasn’t done half assed, I went over one boulder, going head over withers as I tumbled in a roll, a boulder too large to roll over stopping my travels. “SSSSSS!” Just as I thought my pain was over my rump began stinging with a vengeance. Picking myself I continued, although a little slower and sore. The little lagoon that opened up before me was beautiful, the blue-green water shimmering under the sun, the flora swaying in the slight breeze. Wobbling onto the sand I looked around and realized I couldn’t see the city from here. It was the perfect spot. With some difficulty I removed my cloak, I didn’t need it here, it was out of the way and I was alone. My vision shimmered as I thought that. Being alone, it wasn’t something I desired to be anymore. Finally I had found a partner, two really, that loved me, and the icing on the cake we were having foals. Just that thought alone made my worries vanish, the urge to puff out my chest and flap my wings strong, and what the hell. It couldn’t hurt. Spreading my wings I gave them a light flap, only to find myself kissing the sand. When did this happen? Brushing off the sudden return of my clumsiness, I tried to focus on the sand in front of me. Why was it spinning? Trying to get my hooves underneath me I huffed and my heart began to hammer in my chest. Had I hit my head harder than I thought? My thoughts were feeling like I was drowning in syrup, my legs, well I don’t know where they had gone. A cold numbness was spreading through my body, at least I thought so, it was hard to tell with the world turning into something out of a kaleidoscope tube. A little rest couldn’t hurt, could it? I had been going strong for two weeks now, maybe my body’s hunger was finally catching up to me… A Spy, Politics, and an Assassin.**** Moonlit Echo To become part of the Lunar guard you had to undergo rigorous training. Rigorous was defined as nearly a full year of constant training, only two weeks off for holidays, that left fifty weeks of ten hour days. We had hoof to hoof fighting daily, spear handling, and ceremonial training. If you were defeated more than seventy percent of the time you out of the program, it was a weak sixty percent loss ratio for the Solar guard. And ponies wondered why invasions happened during the day in Equestria! Sorry, hedging aside we train every day for most of a year before we are allowed to serve as part of the Lunar guard. I had somehow made it into her personal guard, or to the citizen I was one of twelve recruits handpicked by the Princess of the Night herself. As a Thestral it was a point of pride to be part of the Lunar guard even more of a honor to be a part of her personal guard, it meant I could handle anything. Which is why this is incredibly embarrassing. The Princess sends me out to ‘check on’ that ‘Alicorn’ stallion that suddenly appeared. Was I doubtful? Tartarus yes, I don’t believe for one second that this isn’t a plot to take over Equestria. It is a coincidence that just over three months after the Changelings failed to overthrow the diarchy a Alicorn stallion appears…Right after a population crisis is uncovered…And there are no Alicorn stallions to continue the line. The picture is pretty clear to me: the Changeling King is trying his hand at taking over the country. So I was off to ‘check on’ this fake Alicorn when this storm straight out of Everfree Forest rolls in. The best way to describe Everfree forest is…Well: crazy. The magic there is wild and practically untameable. It is so dangerous that it is actually part of the final exam to join any branch of the guards. Bad ponies and Bad creatures alike call that place home of all things. However for some reason the weather from there has decided to take a vacation, unfortunately it choose the same spot I did: Minotaria. I thought I could handle this rain storm, but the way in moved in under fifteen minutes left me with little time to brace myself. So here I am now, clutching to some farmer’s chimney like a weak little foal. Which I am clearly not, it’s just, this wind isn’t like anything I have had to fly against before. Sure we had some extreme flight exercises, flying through small twisters and strong gusts, but those winds weren’t strong enough to literally push you backwards. No matter which way I tilted my wings I was just blown back. It was almost like the weather was trying to tell me something. Giving up wasn’t in my protocol, something had caused a ‘great disturbance’ when the princess went to view his dreams last night, and that something wasn’t going to just go away if my mission meant anything- “AHHH!” A shovel flew up from the ground almost hit me in the head. I know it was just wind but… “BUCK YOU TOO WIND!” I felt a little better now. Rain continued to pelt me, producing a dull ringing in my ears as it hit my light armor in a continuous beat. My mane was plastered to my coat which despite being covered in armor was also soaked, and my saddle bags were lost somewhere in the field below. So far my first solo mission was starting out very bad, a big fail, and my immediate future wasn’t looking any better. It had to have been hours since I first began hugging this chimney, really I had given up paying attention to the time, and my watch was in my bag. My arms were beginning to go numb and I was starting to worry about my safety. While the rain had been a minor annoyance before, it was now a very real problem, or should I say the rising water. Yes, what had begun as puddles grew to small ponds, those ponds grew and grew. In fact the water is still growing as I am talking. It was halfway up the one story house now. How long would it take for the water to reach my vantage point? Wait a second…Why was no pony exiting the house? Horse apples! Don’t tell me they are asleep still?! No. Not letting go of this chimney, I might- They might drown. In training protecting the civilians is priority number one, even for the princess’s personal guards, they would send to look after the citizens rather than themselves. Even though they aren’t citizens of Equestria, I can’t just turn my back on them, not when they are unaware of the danger. All I have to do is wake them up, that’s it, and then they should be fine. Detaching my weary arms from the chimney, I slid down the thatched roof. My wings staying hugged to my body as I fell, landing in the oddly freezing waters. It was summer! Where did such cold water come from?! Well, complaining wasn’t going to rescue the inhabitants, so I started to paddle to the house. Paddling in armor, even light armor meant for stealth, is quite an exercise. It tried to drag me down as waves started to form. I swam wearily to the door, it was a doggie paddle that would have made the captain send me back to training. But it was the best I could give right now. The windows were dark and the door was pressed closed from the water pressure, I almost thought that no one was home till I heard a creak from inside. “Hello? Is any pony in there?! It’s flooding out here you have to leave!” A creak sounded from inside. Of course they would be deep sleepers! Although, it could have been the howling wind or the pounding of the rain, but most noise was drowned out here, a great chaotic mess of noise. But I couldn’t ignore that creak, someone was in there. With the pressure of the water on the door it was impossible to open, that only left the window. There wasn’t anything around me to break it with, the tools floated away or flung away by the wind long ago, and that meant it was just what I had left on me. That wasn’t much, since I was out of country I wasn’t permitted from carrying my usual spear, or regular helmet…But my helmet was still metal. Time was slipping away as the frigid water continued to rise; looking away as the glass went flying out, I quickly entered the farm house. I didn’t have time to pay attention to details of the first Minotarian house I had ever been in but I did notice a doorway leading to the back, another room. I doggy paddled my aching arms towards it, up and over the angry water. “BUCK ME!” A smug creak answered back. The water started churning faster as I entered the room, face to face with the sleeping citizen, the reason I was risking my tail in this storm, and…It was a rocking chair. I had risked my life for a piece of furniture. Just buck my life, I still wasn’t anywhere near the coast and- It creaked again, mocking me, and forcing me to take a deep breath. This wasn’t so bad, Luna would laugh her head off when-No, if I told her. But I had a mission to do- “Ahhh!” I couldn’t help but yell as a wave picked me and almost scrapped my wings against the ceiling. This was getting crazy, I couldn’t fly and now the water was getting violent. Making my way out of the room I was thrown up a couple more times by the waves, each time closer and closer to the ceiling, wait…Ceiling! That’s it! Not rafters, but a ceiling, there was an attic then. In the dim light I searched the ceiling, but I couldn’t see a thing in- A flash lit up the room, illuminating a darker square in the ceiling. Yahtzee! Riding the waves I made it to the attic entrance and tugged it open, just as the stairs dropped down a wave slammed into me. My mouth filled with water, eyes scrunched shut, and my ears folded back. They don’t prepare you for this in training. Rumbles and grumbles echoed above me as the waves receded, slowing slightly, and I took advantage of that. As swiftly as I could in my harried state I clamored up the ladder to the attic. Pulling the ladder up just as quickly and slamming the hatch shut behind me. The attic was small, dusty, and almost exactly like my grandpa’s. A small slated window illuminated the area, showing that there were boxes and boxes of old memorabilia, some old tools, and what I assume was a old calf’s bed occupying this space with me. Dear Luna what have I gotten myself into?! **** Princess Celestia “While we think the first amendment is commendable, truly a generous and noble change that will not only bring about more foals but change the economic balance for the better. That one was applauded.” The five remaining members of the Royal Legal team gave a polite round of applause, before looking to their chairpony, “Although, we do have concerns with the other amendments that were proposed.” Quick Quill paused in his speech and looked at me. I smiled wider at the suited stallion. It didn’t take a law degree to know where he was going with this. “Reviewing the ‘Artificial Insemination Clause’ and the ‘Surrogate Mare Clause’ it was unanimously agreed that there are too many risk factors involved with them.” In…One, two, three, four, and out. “And what risk factors would those be?” A collected, even pronunciation, no rush, and remember to smile. I could solve this. Quick Quill smiled, ears twitching, “To put it simply your highness, it all comes down to inheritance and responsibility. Although, Platinum Scale made an excellent point on the psychological strain that surrogates and donors may feel, the surrogates especially, the hormones that would demand a foal to mother when there would be none. The complications this would place on the reading of a will and the additional cost to our health care system-.” And in and out, slowly, they were just trying to see all the angles on the amendments, that was why I paid them after all. “I will pay the difference.” Their jaws dropped for a second before the barrage continued, I resumed my relaxation exercises. “B-but Princess Celestia think for a second,” Quick Quill started to sweat, “This is more than the money, this is whole families that may need artificial insemination to continue. What if the donating stallion or surrogate mare wants to be part of the family? The civil suits-.” I closed my eyes and breathed out, steam blowing through my nostrils. It was all bloodlines, money, and titles with some ponies. Where have the days gone when there was comradery among ponies? Opening them, I fixed my eyes on the leader of this farce. “While I appreciate your thoughts and recommendations on this sensitive matter I’m afraid I’m going to get a second opinion on those clauses,” a round of gasps went throughout the finely furnished room. There was no nicer way to say that the words coming of his mouth were horse apples. We were in a population crisis for crying out loud! The thought of which pony gets what should be the least of their worries now. “So we wasted our time then? We did all this work for nothing?!” “Nothing? No, I trust your opinions on this matter and I appreciate all of the time you have taken to review the clauses, but this isn’t the time to be squabbling over possessions and titles. Furthermore I also trust that ponies will take this situation with the utmost seriousness, as we all should be.” Whispers flew around the room. Purposely ignoring them I focused on a white unicorn stallion, Timely Justice. “What progress has been made with the herd conscription?” Every pony froze before opening the files that were in front of them, flipping through till there were six very thick bundles of paper looming before me. Just what I needed: more paper. “The good news is that since you have had herd conscription halt we have had time to review the legitimacy of the reasoning behind that part of the law…” Timely Justice trailed off, blushing and splaying his ears as he looked at the paper in front of him, not quite sure how to say what was written. Silence stretched and the other members shuffled in their seats. As I was about to ask if he was okay to continue he started again, “W-well your highness with a average of twenty percent of stallions being fertile, conscripting all the stallions is not a wise idea, from what we can gather the fertility of stallions then was quite different than it is now.” “Oh?” “Yes, so it is recommended to permanently remove that clause from the law immediately and dissolve the already conscripted herds if they wish to separate.” “I couldn’t agree more.” I gave them a wide smile, the type that mother had when I performed a new spell right, I was proud of them. They were learning, slowly, but my ponies were learning an important lesson on duty. The nobles may flood my courts for a brief time but most of my ponies would be happy and we would be well on our way to getting out of this crisis. Finally something was going right. Next on the agenda was tea with Luna, court was closed today and around my many meetings I had secured a full hour to spend some much needed time with my sister. “Lulu!” Entering the sunroom I trotted up to my little sister. My forelegs wrapped around her neck, lingering a second before giving a quick nuzzle and sitting down beside her. “Tia! How were the mules today?” Picking up my teacup I snorted at her, “They aren’t mules Lulu, although they certainly acted like it at first…” I sighed, “But I think everything is going to get better now. The herd conscription is as good as gone, the first of Ari’s amendments went over wonderfully and I feel the other two will be accepted by tomorrow’s afternoon court session.” “It was their title loss wasn’t it?” I nodded in response before sipping my tea, a light herbal blend for today. Luna snorted, “Even after a thousand years they still care about their precious titles, you would think after the war that they would see the pointlessness in titles.” “My thoughts exactly sister, we should renounce our titles too then,” I let a small smirk enter my smile. “To be fair, I mean if they are meaningless-.” Luna’s feathers ruffled themselves, “I think I get thy point sister, but I just wish that they could see beyond a title to the pony behind it, not just the duke, prince, or princess.” This was beyond the issue titles now. Few ponies treated us as the ponies we are, and although I have come to terms with that Lulu hasn’t. For her these last couple of years were just a continuation from the snubbing of the nobles from our early years, a thousand years before. She couldn’t hold her tongue sometimes and it had caught up to her, the noble ponies took advantage of her honesty, and as such my sister ended up as a lot of their gossip fodder. Like many things in my life I should have done more for Lulu. “Twilight sees you as a pony, the elements of harmony see you as a pony, and so do Cadence and Shinning Armor…Luna it takes time for ponies to see past our title of princess, and it is quite a daunting title.” “Perhaps…But, you said you needed help responding to Cadence’s letter? What could she have possibly wrote that would be hard to answer?” I gulped at that, Luna hasn’t had much time to visit with our adopted niece. She doesn’t understand the Princess of Love’s eccentricities. Teleporting the letter onto the table, I sipped my tea as it was read. Her reactions were similar to mine: blushes, splayed ears, and choking. “Our sweet, little niece wrote that?!” I nodded, looking down at the letter with a frown. “She’s not so little anymore, unforntunately.” “She knows we haven’t actually met him right? That marriage isn’t even in the realm of possibility at this point! Ari is more likely to walk out on the meeting than propose to us! How? Why?” She gulped down the rest of her tea, “Is that normal for Cadence?” “Yes, her title is rather fitting in this case. It is quite literally her magical specialty and we are now her number one targets, no I mean ‘cases’.” I gave a little giggle at that, “The last time she was set on getting two ponies together it was rather humorous though.” Luna folded her ears back, understandably worried. “Humorous? Pray tell how exactly was her actions laugh worthy?” “Well, I believe it was five years ago. Cadence had seen the way a guard was gazing at a mare selling flowers with what she swore was a look of ‘longing, desire, and a deep hunger’. Well, to make the story short, by the time she was done helping them see that they loved other there was nearly ten thousand bits worth of damage to repair in Canterlot.” My sister’s mouth began to imitate a fish, “She was using overpowered spells due to her relative inexperience with Alicorn magic…Although, in the end they did fall in love!” Luna groaned, “But it was a year after Cadence gave up and funnily enough it turned out the poor guard was just looking at her flowers with a hunger, not the mare.” “And she believes he is the one for…” Luna reread the letter, “BOTH of us?!” “Yes, you see why I needed your help answering her.” “I think our niece needs our help more…” **** Shallow Shale ??????? Most contracts are pretty straightforward with how they want their proof of completion. A newspaper article or something physical to identify them usually satisfied the client. It would have been easy to watch my other paychecks that day had my target been in a public place when I finally killed him. If he had been in the market…The guards would have rushed over, confirmed the death, and the paper would have published his name in the obituary section. Not that I knew his name, but he was very unique so that fact was irrelevant to the contract. Anyway, his little solo walk was taking him onto private land. For some reason my target felt the need to wander off to a secluded section of the beach, trying to make my job harder most likely. How would the target know I was trying to kill him? I don’t know but it was the only explanation for his behavior. All day I had been trying to injure him and he had been dodging the planks, paint cans, and other items I have thrown at him. A slight head duck, sidestep, or hop, he was untouchable! I knew I still had my poisons though and no unicorn could withstand those… I think you get my point now. Nopony can just dodge all those projectiles without either being having god on their side or being aware of my attempts, I’m going with the latter. As further proof, when he arrived at the private lagoon he took off his cloak, performed his illusion spell, and puffed out his chest. Trying to look big, he was incredible at illusions; he even made it look like the light reflected off the wings. If Alicorns weren’t in such short supply I might have believed his illusion to be real. That unicorn has serious magic, magic with a capital ‘M’. So here we are now, my target and I, isolated, in a private area of the beach. I grabbed one of my empty bags and a knife, as I had said I needed proof for that meathead. Which was easy enough to get, I take something unique to the target, that my client will be sure to recognize. In the past I cut out cutie marks, as they are the easiest to recognize, horns were another favorite of mine. There were also hooves, tails, and heads to take clients. But those were easier to fake and seen as a weak form of proof, easy to fake, yes, even a head. Illusion spells were quite advanced now, grab any old head, and with enough skill it could look like your target. But it was bad business, that’s how to end your career. His head was a little bulky so I wasn’t going to cut it off, it would splatter, not mention it might enrage my other paychecks. As I approached I realized his illusion was still on. He wasn’t quite dead yet, I knew I should have tripled his dose. Grabbing another dart, I stabbed his rump with it. Now he had four times the regular lethal dose of curare in his system, it was only a matter of- This damned stallion doesn’t have a cutie mark! How has he gotten this far and not gotten his cutie mark? Snorting, I pinned my ears back at his corpse. Even in death my target likes to make my life hard. No matter, I still have other ways to prove his death. Grabbing his tail in my teeth I severed the hair past his tailbone, my knife running through it like paper. A smile broke across my lips, one hundred thousand bits tied up and bagged…Well maybe I better take another form of proof, always have a plan B if possible. I jumped several feet in the air as something touched my leg. Looking down I saw his illusion of feathers were fluttering in the wind, and still present- Wait, his illusion of feathers touched me?! Okay, deep breath. What did that drunken bull say again? The target was crazy, ballsy, a herd stallion and an Alicorn, this was an Alicorn. But…It can’t be! He wasn’t with the princesses in the castle, he wasn’t wearing any regalia, no guards, and he was hiding under a cloak! My heart was racing now, dropping my hood now I twitched my ears, nothing but the waves. Definitely no guards hiding in the bushes, it was just the body and me. This was impossible, improbable really. By all rights he shouldn’t exist and he certainly wasn’t a changeling, he would have dropped the disguise…But how?! I tentatively touched his wing, watching his chest. It wasn’t moving. His mane and tail weren’t moving either. He couldn’t be an Alicorn, even if his feathers were as soft a newborn foal’s coat, it didn’t explain the million other reasons why he can’t be one. Grabbing a mouthful of feathers I tugged them out and placed them with his lock of tail hair in my bag…Maybe he was an Alicorn. I had just killed an Alicorn. The only Alicorn Stallion on Equis was dead and I did it… This job was worth way more than one hundred thousand bits, this was worth at least a million bits if not more. I would be famous, I would…Be sent to the moon, then the sun, before I was beheaded. Leaving the country sounded very good right now. Although…Maybe an extra million bits couldn’t hurt, to help pay for my forced seclusion. I just wish I knew why he was hidden away with some of the most wanted mares on this continent. This whole situation felt like a set up, like a piece of the puzzle was missing. Wait, if he was a Alicorn, big if still, then that Minotaur is going to want to be absolutely sure he is dead. Anyone can bring back some hair and feathers, but the horn, that would prove it, that the target was dead. Dead Alicorns don’t need horns after all. Standing again, I brought the bag and knife over to his head, and I nearly choked on my tongue. He was wearing a bucking magical inhibitor of some sort, only thing that was strange was that it had five key holes, not three, I had never even heard of one with five key holes before…The stallion didn’t have this on yesterday…Just what the Tartarus happened overnight? Snap out of it! I had a dead stallion to process; the tip of his horn would have to- A spear whizzed past my eyes, Tumbili dung that was too close for comfort. Turning my head to the sea, my jaw dropped, they were here, pulling into the lagoon. I grabbed my bag, sheathed my knife and ran back the way I came. This would have to do as proof, there was no way I’m dealing with that sadistic bastard. I think he remembered our last encounter; the amount of spears he showered with was really flattering. But I had bigger bounties to cash, he could keep the body. I wonder if I could leave the planet instead, Arch still wants to kill me, the Alicorns are going to want me dead, and the target’s mares will as well. Retirement was looking very nice right now. The 'Ship of Death'.**** Chrissy It has been four days since Ari ‘went for a walk’. I felt my control breaking once again, one push away from breaking down into hysterics…Again. So, I was more than a little depressed. “Chrissy?” Lyric asked quietly from beside me, ears splayed, and eyes raw like mine most likely were. Tears hadn’t helped me, but they still came with little effort, there was a lot for me to cry about in life. From the beginning ‘life’ seemed to want to challenge my family, my species. Only by ‘life’ I meant Equestrians, the princesses to be exact, even when I was a nymph they were hard at work. I only knew of this after mother had died, it had occurred when I was just a nymph, before I could even form words or lasting memories. It was our first attempt at peace since the war five centuries prior, father had gone with a small group of dignitaries to propose new treaties with the Equestrian kingdom. At that time it was just Sunbutt on the throne, now a monarchy, she had sent her own sister to the moon. “Hello? Equis to Chrissy?” I looked away from her, she probably wanted to try and make me believe her sweet words again. Well, for some reason my father and his dignitaries were met with misunderstanding and hostility by the guards. Why was that strange? He had been exchanging letters with the princess herself for weeks, she was expecting them. One thing led to another and before they knew it one of my very estranged cousins was dead, beheaded in the throne room, defending my father of course. Understandably when the princess finally made her appearance things were already out of control. A rogue spell had reflected back from our shields and killed two unicorn guards. That is what she saw when she entered: two dead Equestrians and the ‘peaceful’ party she was to meet. Not listening to my father’s ‘vile lies’ she sentenced him to death as retribution for the murders, the other option she gave was war. He chose to die rather than risk our lives. “Chrissy?!” Lyric was trying to get my attention by nibbling at my ear now, while it did feel nice, it just reminded me that Ari used to do that. Perhaps my perception of these events is due to the fact that I’m just a little depressed and scared for my, no, our future. But after that it seemed to have just gone downhill. Until most recently I was given a hope. A stallion that loved me, he could grow old with me, and our foal. It was all too perfect… “CHRISSY!” Lyric was determined to talk apparently, nothing good had come of her pep talks the last fifty times, but I think they weren’t for me at this point. I knew exactly where my family was while she was stuck in a perpetual limbo. Who knows where that mirror led? Might as well play along, I wasn’t allowed to do anything anyway, not that I felt up to moving around. “Y-yes…” My voice was cracking from the hours of disuse after I finished screaming, more fresh tears threatening to spill over as my sorrow came back, thinking of why I was distressed. Where was he? Lyric shifted against me, putting her neck over mine as she tried to think loving thoughts for me. But the bitter, throat drying taste of sorrow, worry, and sadness clung to her like a shadow. Even if she had been happier, I needed more love than she could give through her passive contact. “She will find something, he wouldn’t just disappear. You saw how excited Ari was at the news of our foals!” I didn’t respond to her words, as I said, this was the fiftieth time today she had said that or a variant or it. Her words were half hearted at this point, like her hope for her family’s return it was more a lullaby to soothe her nerves. She doubted it. But my herd mate didn’t know what else to say in this situation, like me. What could be said? A loving, happy stallion that is expecting foals just disappears. It was wrong; it made no sense to any pony. Even Kapera, the cranky old Mongofu was suspicious about it. She had seen his reaction, the honesty in it. Below us a door closed, Kapera wished another customer well before it opened again, another customer. I could faintly hear Kapera curse in Zebrican under her breath as the faint click of claws echoed down below, another browser. I would have enjoyed her karma a little if not for the fact that she was running the store alone today was due to Dinari searching the town for our stallion. Why weren’t we out there looking for our stallion? I’m sure you must be wondering why we are camped out on the second floor of the shop in front of a fireplace, acting like mares in distress? Well it wasn’t our choice, trust me. If I wasn’t so weak right now I could have taken her, started my own brand of searching…And probably sent the town into a complete panic as well, I couldn’t manage a disguise right now. Taking to the streets in search of Ari was our first reaction when he didn’t come back that night. But as our hosts pointed out, no pony wandered the streets at night, we were with foal, and Ari might have just gotten lost and had some nice citizen put him up for the night. Another way of placating us, Kapera was a little too considerate of the foals sometimes. I mean there wasn’t much to damage yet, I wasn’t even two weeks along. I had at least thirty weeks left, at the most I had forty six weeks. We would find him before then. When he didn’t wander in by the morning of the second day we were near hysterical with worry, this was not Ari at all. Kapera thought he might be pulling a prank on us, sure he jokes around but this wasn’t his type of joke. Kapera started to look a little guilty then, as she should. She was the one who hadn’t removed the magic inhibitor, and…No, something had definitely happened to him, that was the only answer that made sense to me, that we could accept. Yesterday Dinari had started combing the streets, looking for any trace of Ari, and had returned with nothing. The west side of the city was clear and no being there had seen him. Today she was checking the east side, a more slightly more grey area of Shallow Shale, home to questionable shops and services. Hopefully it held some answers. Kapera was preparing dinner when Dinari returned. “So find anything new out there Dinny?” Kapera looked up at her apprentice, looking very subdued as she dished out dinner. Dinari looked thoughtful, scratching her chin, not responding for a minute. This made us look up from our pile by the fire. “Well…I have a theory, but it doesn’t make any sense in some ways.” I cleared my throat, “Any theory right now is better than nothing, please Dinari!” It was the truth; I didn’t care if she suggested he got sent home to Earth, anything was better than not knowing. It would at least stop my imagination, and give me direction. The Minotaur folded her ears back and took a seat, “I think some being killed him.” A small squeak escaped my throat as my tears overflowed, the bitterness choked me as Lyric felt the same despair at her words. That was the one option that made sense, we both had refused to say it, but it explained his long absence. But what could kill an Alicorn? Kapera slammed her mug on to the table, “DINNY! Don’t start spouting that sort of stuff without explaining yourself! You…Think of the foals, you’re stressing them!” “Well, I started asking all the merchants if they had seen him and one had. The day before Ari went missing he had worked for a fritter stall,-” I wanted to face hoof despite my sadness, of course he would have been where food was, “-helping to repair it. A rogue hay wagon had literally rolled over your stallion’s back before hitting the stall,” We all quirked an eyebrow while looking at the uncharacteristically talkative heifer, coincidence perhaps, wagons aren’t always easy to control. “If Ari hadn’t been hunched over picking a dropped bit his head would have been plowed into the street-.” “So what’s your point Dinny? He was very lucky-.” “That was the same day the scaffolding almost crushed us…The same scaffolding that looked brand new, not a scrap of rust, nor a dent in it. So I went down to the Seaside market to talk to the crew about that. Do you know what they said?!” We all stared at her, my brain already having an idea where she was going. “The scaffolding was cut, sabotaged! Something had cut a clean chunk of metal out of the supports.” “Shit…” Kapera took a seat, looking exactly how I felt, but it wouldn’t help him now. Something wet landed on my chitin, startling me out of my own tears. I followed its path up and saw Lyric silently crying. ‘Shit’ didn’t begin to even cover this. My heart was racing as I tried to calm down, breath again. It sounded like somepony was out to get our stallion…Perhaps they already had since he hadn’t returned. But maybe I was just trying to jump on any reason, no matter how bad, Alicorns were really hard to kill. They had won the Great War after all. “Was it just those two instances? That seems more like coincidence. You wouldn’t believe how bad our luck can be-.” “No. There was more, when I met Ari at a café, a gentlecolt had brought him a drink. Strange thing was we never saw the fellow. When we looked at the table he wasn’t there, he hadn’t even ordered a drink for himself.” “Wait a minute Dinny. I know we are progressive now a days. But a stallion buying a stallion a drink? That sounds like-.” Dinari snorted at her mentor, interrupting her. “As I was saying, the waitress told me she thought it must be a colt because she had never seen a mare wear such a hideous cloak nor keep such bad hygiene. He kept the hood down, and didn’t talk once to her. He just pointed at the drink and Ari before giving her some bits.” I frowned at that, my composure returning somewhat, that colt was definitely suspicious. Why would a stallion buy another stallion a drink only to not stick around to receive any thanks? “That idiot of a waitress! Who would serve such a- No,” Kapera took a deep breath, trying for once to control herself. “What matters now is how did stud react to the drink?” “Well there is the thing: he never got to drink it, got so startled when I greeted him that he dropped it, after that I didn’t notice anything odd happen, except for the scaffolding the day seemed normal.” “Alicorns don’t die that easily…” Lyric whispered, although we all heard her. I agreed, nodding the best I could underneath her, “Exactly, he can’t be dead! Maybe he was just ponynapped?” That notion caused Lyric to nod rapidly on my and a giggle escaped me at her new attitude. We were both feeling a new sense of purpose, something we could focus our efforts on. “Hmm,” Kapera hummed, looking at our sorry state before looking back at her apprentice. “So now what mares, it sounds like your stallion has made some enemies already, any ideas who might want him dead?” Isn’t that the million bit question? My ears folded back as I considered who might want him dead. There were the Diamond dogs from the mountains. They knew what he looked like, and we had seen some in the city by the docks, although the likelihood of those dogs being from the same pack was highly unlikely. How would they know we would go to the coast? No, maybe-. “Jabbar.” Lyric said his name quietly but with such fear that it hurt to listen to her. He really did a number on her. “Ja-who? Is this fellow likely to come after Ari?” Kapera looked at Lyric as we all did, with patience and interest. The salty, bitter flavor of guilt stung at my taste buds. She seemed unable to answer so I filled in the blanks for our hosts. “Oh! So this bastard really hates Ari then. I can just imagine being a big strong bull and getting my rump handed to me by this cocky stallion, who is also an Alicorn. In a fight, even a weak Alicorn like Ari can easily handle a Minotaur, so he must have got outside help…But the question is, if he was unconscious last time you saw him how would he know where you went after you left? The guilt I was receiving from Lyric was practically choking me now, “Well, I may have strung him up from the rooftop after you guys left…” I raised my eyebrow, and turned to look at her as best as I could from underneath her neck, that wouldn’t make him annoyed at all. “I-I also, may have bucked him around a little…” Kapera sighed at that, “He was just coming to when I realized how long I had taken…So I left him there to die while I followed your group.” I face hoofed, she hadn’t mentioned this before. This would have been very nice to know earlier! We may be a herd but we obviously needed to clear the air more often, get to know each other more, so more skeletons don’t fall on us from the closet…After we figure out where Ari is. He was an Alicorn, he couldn’t die, easily anyway…Right? Kapera screeched in frustration as she looked at Lyric, “Anything else we should know, any other potential killers out there looking for you two and your stallion?!” “Well, maybe that vildkatt we met at the docks the first day we got to the city. We didn’t really do anything to him, but he wanted to ‘help’ us. Although Ari did teleport us away from there before anything could happen. That’s all I can think of right now, we were trying to stay hidden.” “Did that vildkatt give his name?” Dinari got up and was slowly backing away from the Mongofu, as Lyric and I would have done if we were close to her. The master smith was looking at the butter knife a little too intently, her teeth bared, and the sound of her breathing increasing. She looked ready to kill something. “HIS NAME?!” Our ears folded back at her volume, “He said it was Arch.” Like a switch had been hit she released her real feelings, and as worried as I was for Ari she terrified me more in that minute. Kapera screamed a scream of anger, agony, emotions that broke our hearts and nearly our eardrums as she let them out. She grabbed the knife, causing us all to flinch as she broke out into a string of Zebrican curses, stabbing the table like it was the vildkatt, I assume that’s who she was picturing anyway. I gave up trying to follow her rant; sure I could speak a little Zebrican, as my mother had insisted I learn as many languages as possible. But it had been at least a hundred years since I practiced, and she was yelling them quite rapidly. We all just stayed back until her anger left, dark eyes eventually getting a thousand yard stare, while her knife stilled in her table. That poor piece of furniture bearing quite a few new marks from her assault…I don’t want to be Arch right now. “That bucker has crossed a line, stud was supposed to save the world! He-They,” Kapera snarled and looked at Lyric and I, “We got ourselves a killer to catch and hopefully he is…compliant. I would love to have a heart to heart talk that kimwili…” She trailed off looking at her knife, “It was a long time coming.” **** Ari Time was a funny thing, or should I say the perception of time is, even more specifically, the perception of time when pain is involved. Speaking from current experience I can say that pain draws out every minute to become an hour, every hour a day, and so forth. So if you asked me how long I had been like this I couldn’t rightly say, it felt like weeks though. These are the first clear thoughts I can recall after what felt like quite some time, little sensations of memories and voices linger at the edge of my mind, but they mean very little to me right now. What matters is that the pain is now within a threshold that I am not in and out of consciousness constantly. I would have celebrated this state had I been able to. Tell me if you have heard this before. I go to sleep and wake up in a new location…You have?! So have I, like two other times in this world, and I haven’t even been here a month yet. Then you know the rest of the story, I wake up tied up and annoyed. Where was I? No idea, I can’t really look around with this blindfold on, and moving around was just a joke at this point. Taking stock of how I feel, the best description is that I feel like a thousand four year olds are screaming in my ears constantly. While they attempt to beat me with baseball bats, from the inside out, and I swing around like their piñata. My stomach lurched as the world moved again, causing me to swing to the left suddenly. I felt like a giant Alicorn shaped piñata right now, post party obviously. Still don’t know how I went from a beach to swinging around on a rope. So to summarize: I can hear nothing, feel way too much, see nothing, and my mouth tastes like a shitty hangover. The only sense that has given me any clue where I might be is my sense of smell. Where ever I am smells like strongly of salt, iron, and feces. There were some undertones of urine, mares, and a strange herbal smell. But that didn’t tell me anything really, it could mean too many things still, although I was betting on a prison cell. Where- Something touched me. What the hell?! Something was here with me. I would have given nearly anything to see what was touching me. It felt a smooth surface on my sensitive fur, coasting a smooth edge along my neck. I know how this ends in the movies, hello swinging corpse draining out. No thank you! So I attempted to flare my wings…They were bound…It hit me then that I didn’t have my cloak on, whoever had me knew I was an Alicorn. “Lrkk…” My attempt at speaking to my captor was horrible at best. My throat was dry and felt stiff. That was the best word for it, like I hadn’t used it in a couple of days. How much time had passed? My ears twitched and strained, a faint murmur came into focus, added to the ringing. Someone was whispering something in my ear, a muzzle tickling my fur. “Kushikilia bado…” My panic eased a bit as I heard a feminine voice, replaced by apprehension as the smooth, cold object continued going up my neck, now going up the back of my head. I think that must have meant goodbye, it was spoken so quietly and seriously-. “ROOOWWWW!” The blade sliced through my fur and into my skin as the world felt like it was turning again, this time I was swung to the right. The smell of iron hit my nose and I began to shake my head rapidly. “Plrease nru! Don’t krill mwe!” I sounded like I was across the room to my ears and horribly distorted still, but it was easier to form words at least. Although it was not enough to persuade my captor for killing me, or torturing me, either way I was in for more pain. I stilled my head as I felt the blade touch down at the back of my head, seeming to line it up for a cut before creeping down… My blindfold went slack over my eyes, before falling away like the blade, it was gone. The world returned me to a centered position as spots swam in my vision. I was finally able to see, although white seemed too brilliant for a second. There was a lot of white before me. I was in a room, planked walls to either side, and a wall of rusty bars at the farthest part of the room. It was dim in here though, my eyes were drawn to the few lanterns around the room. They were something that made sense. Sense made me feel safe, a feeling that I needed dearly with the upside down vision in front of me… Zebras, zebras stood or lay as far as I could see, all the way to the bars. There was some equestrians mixed in as well but it was mostly zebras, and they were gazing right back at me. They might have a different name here but to me they were still zebras. Standing at least a head taller than the Equestrian ponies, the zebras were striped black and white just like their earth counterparts. But I couldn’t help but stare at their rump. The rump closest to me in fact, it had a black and white version of a cutie mark, like a Rorschach blot, but I couldn’t quite understand what it was. It almost blended in with their coat. If it wasn’t for my knowledge that ponies had them I wouldn’t have thought to- “Excuse me…” A heavily accented voice whispered above the ringing in my ears and I twisted my head to my left…There was the mare attached to the rump that I had just been staring at, somepony should slap me, of course there was a pony attached to the butt. My brain was a little slow today. It was not only a mare, but the mare with the sharp piece of metal. She had cut my blindfold off and I had ogled her butt. “Rh-…Hello,” finally I had said something without sounding like damned Scooby Doo! I still felt my muzzle heat up with a blush though. What was I thinking staring at her butt?! Maybe she will be forgiving and explain where I am… We were eye to eye as I swung slightly with the swaying of the room…Why was the room swaying? Clearing my throat I looked at the zebra, “So where exactly am I? Last thing I remember I was walking on a beach.” A murmuring spread throughout the room, a mix of whatever language she had spoken in at first and Equus, and I felt a little nervous at her look. Green eyes looked at me with pity, sadness, as she ran a hoof through my mane. While that felt nice it still didn’t tell me where I was…Although I had a suspicion, but my presumption didn’t exactly give me hope. “Ship of death,” was her curt reply as she stood up on her hind legs. The zebra mare reached up to my rope with the sharpened scrap of metal in one hoof. Her leg was a foot too short. I saw what her plan was: cut down the Alicorn and escape. That would be my plan anyway, even with my magic shut off I could still buck and stab. “Can somepony give her a boost? I could be a help us escape if I could actually move.” To my disappointment nopony stepped up. Not that many looked strong enough to support her really, most were pretty slim…Okay that was a understatement, some looked downright starved, those ones weren’t even standing anymore. ‘Ship of death’ seemed pretty accurate right now, I was going to guess slave ship but I guess that was the same thing. There was death on either one. My helper pinned her ears back and snorted at the others before carefully placing the MacGyvered knife in her mouth. “What are you-mmmmm!” She had used my chest as a vaulting horse, bringing her onto my chest…And her marehood over my muzzle. A squeal echoed around the room as my attempt at talking...Stimulated her. It also forced her to drop the sharp piece of metal on my chest. Shit! That was so close, it landed on its width thankfully, but having what was essentially a knife falling on my belly had nearly scared the shit out of me. First I stare at her butt like some pervert, now I am muzzle deep in her marehood, I am making such a great impression on these mares. Yes I said mares, there wasn’t the scent of any stallions in this room…But in all seriousness, I’m going to be lucky if she doesn’t buck me in the balls after this. The others seemed to get a kick out of this though. Snickers echoed around the room as they observed our new predicament, however I clamped my muzzle shut, tasting her more was not going give her any better of a impression of me. Not that she tasted bad, but an erection wasn’t exactly easy to explain away or appropriate in such a situation. Again, I did the wrong thing. She had started to push herself up at the same time I had clamped my muzzle down, with my luck that meant her clit got caught in my muzzle as I closed it. It took me a second to realize I had something in my mouth, my eyes crossing as I tried to see what could be there; however my release of her clit triggered her release. Mare juice splattered my face as the room was filled with her squeal. My pain was forgotten as the smell of fresh berries filled my nostrils and dripped into my mouth, causing a stirring down below. Closing my eyes I started thinking of disgusting things, willing my cock to stay in my sheath if it treasured its life. Panting came from her as her back legs started flailing by my head, gaining purchase on my forearms to push her body all the way onto mine. I opened my eyes as my chest flared with pain. She was wobbling on me now, knees looking like they wanted to collapse, and I had a perfect view to her…Well, let’s just say she certainly is determined-. “Oomph!” The rope holding us up severed easily under her knife. It was the only thing keeping us up in the air, so with it severed we came crashing to the ground, more pain joining the pain party that was my body, and effectively killing any stirring down below. My legs spread out and I sighed in relief, I hadn’t realized how cramped they were being hog tied like that. After a few seconds the prone mare on my chest rolled off of me, blushing as she searched for her ‘knife’. Looking around I spotted it. “It’s over there.” I pointed past my rump. I rolled onto my stomach and considered my situation again. Since I was on a ship it can be assumed that I can’t just walk out of here…Even if I could, how could I just leave all these ponies here? No, I needed to get free first, and then I could free them. Wait…They weren’t even shackled up! I was the only that had been hog tied, although with flimsy ropes, but that doesn’t explain some things. How are they not storming the bars? There had to be at least sixty mares in here, most looked thin but if they worked together I’m sure they could bust down the wall. My assistant was back at my side, “So why haven’t you guys just stormed the ship already? Those bars don’t look too hard to kick out.” She set to work on the ropes binding my wings, ignoring my question. “Look I’m sorry about staring at your flank…You see I have never seen a zebra before…And I’m sorry about that,” A blush returned to my muzzle. “I wasn’t expecting you to jump up on me. No hard feelings?” The ropes fell away as she looked at me frowning, ears splayed, and a heavy blush. “I-I…It was not a problem…” I was not going to read anything into that, my mares were waiting for me probably, and she probably just wanted to get to the escaping part of this plan. Why else would she cut me down if not to escape from the ‘ship of death’? “The name is Ari by the way.” “A pleasure to meet you Ari,” We shook hooves, “My name is Ayodele. And as to why we don’t break…” She trailed off and a couple of gasps echoed around the cell as I stretched my wings, my farthest tips brushing the tops of several mares’ heads. ‘Alicorn shock’ I think that’s what I’m going to have to start calling it. Everywhere I go its either attack, disbelieve, or awe, sometimes all three. Hooves clattered on the wooden floor as three Equestrian’s rushed forward, pegasi, ducking under my extended wings. I blinked for a second before it hit me, the craving of touch, and another instinct I knew all too well. I would have to keep my instincts in check here and pray no mare went into heat. Sure I had two mares I loved at home but the heat is a scary thing, the smell mares give off is almost hypnotizing, and I didn’t want to explain another foal to my herd. Chrissy and Lyric must be worried sick. My thoughts were interrupted as the pegasi huddled closer to me under my wings, their touch not unpleasant although not the same as my mares pressed to my sides. I felt bad for them though; their eyes were scrunched shut while shudders racked their thin frames, if they were anything like Azure and Barium then this must be a shock to their systems. No pony princesses here. “Some of them have been here awhile; I have only been here…Perhaps two weeks? It is hard to say, they feed us every second or third day, and hose us off every week I think.” Ayodele said, dropping her weapon before lying down beside me, well, beside the shaking pegasi under my wing. “Every week,” a weak voice spoke up from the crowd, but I couldn’t pinpoint who said it. My ears still had a faint ringing to them, but it had improved dramatically since I was right side up. I took that information in; it answered one question, if these ponies got fed. But I had other questions that needed answering. Like who was running this ship, why no pony had overpowered the measly wall separating them from the staircase? Why was just one mare willing to cut me down? Actually, why was this room just full of mares? Shuffling my wings I looked at the faces around me, dull eyes, dirty coats, and emaciated bodies. “So I’m assuming you don’t storm the gate because you are all kept too weak?” Looking at Ayodele, I saw her scrunched up her muzzle. “Not entirely…Even if we could get out of here we are in the middle of the sea, sea serpents and worse surrounding the ship, and the slavers.” A shudder passed through her. “Disgusting dogs and the captain…” “I can handle them; I have killed Diamond dogs in this state before!” And I had, “They are dead as dead gets.” Was Diamond dogs all this was? Been there, killed that. Tucking my wings to my body, I ignored the whimpers from the pegasi as I stood up. The crowd cleared a path for me as I made my way to the gate; it swung outward which was perfect for this. I spun my rump around, lifting my hind leg and adjusting my distance from the door. I squared my front hooves, lowered my hind end, and let loose. The world went dark. I opened my eyes in confusion; the ceiling was above me now, the bars were across the room still looking as untouched as ever. “W-what happened?” Bodies shifted against mine as a pair of green eyes looked down at me with sadness, “The greatest enchanted bars to ever be forged are what happened, revolutionary enough to hide their own hum of magical discharge, and crafted by the best smith…Nothing can break them...” Two Types of Stalkers.Shallow Shale ??????? The sound of flapping came from behind me. Reacting on instinct I turned and threw my knife. I missed and blinked as the crow flew off, cawing loudly as it went. Retrieving it, I ducked back down. Then I crawled back over to my position overlooking the shop, back to wait. Every since I had killed their stallion they had not left that fortress of a shop, I was almost considering burning them out at this point. It would involve some risk, some other being may end up seeing my paychecks, but I couldn’t stay here forever waiting for them. Sooner or later the whole continent will know that Ari was dead. Yes, his name had made the paper two days ago; he was expected by the princesses, only he wouldn’t be going now. And, well, I wasn’t putting anything above their magic. I needed to be cashing my checks soon. Any moment now the Minotaur would exit the shop, the open sign would be flipped, and I would be in store for another boiling summer stakeout. They were nothing if not predictable. Like clockwork the Minotaur left, the sign flipped, and the wait resumed. Something had to change… It wasn’t so bad waiting; it was actually the easiest part of this job. Sure I ended up smelling like a buckball player after a three hour game but I didn’t have to do much, just watch, and plan their demise. Actually killing the target, well, it was part of the job, what else can be said- Hold that thought. The heifer was back and she was pulling a huge box on a trolley behind her. Checking my watch I did a double take, the Minotaur was only gone for two hours this time. Looking at the box I realized why, it said ‘Scrappy’s Metal Emporium’. It had been just a shopping trip. Settling back down, I waited. Muffled yelling made it to the street from the shop, attracting the attention of the passerby’s, and my curiosity. Just what was going on in there? Did she purchase the wrong type of steel? After another hour the Minotaur left, off to return the trolley, and the noise from the shop stopped. I swiveled my ears, hearing nothing more. I blinked as I saw the sign flip over again. It wasn’t even noon yet! Curiosity sated moments later as two familiar cloaked figures were thrown into the street. This was perfect! It looks like they overstayed their welcome, and coincidently I am more than happy to put up with them. Jumping to the next rooftop I ducked down as they took a left, nearly seeing me if they looked up. I continued to jump between the roof tops till I got to the market on main. Here the stores were too small and the roofs too steep to stealthily travel on them. Stretching my right hind hoof till it touched the top of the far alleyway wall; I braced my forelegs on the gutter as my left one got into position. I hated this part. Using as much speed as I could I slid down walls, descending in a split before righting myself. They all tell me that that is the fun part. I’m sure it is, if you were a vildkatt or a gymnast. Myself? Not so lucky physically, the job had helped somewhat, but poisons were far easier to work with. When it comes to murder, poisons are often overlooked, ponies favoring the bloodier methods. But poison crafting was a true art, taking finesse, planning, and an intimate knowledge of all the ingredients. For example, too much curare kills, but too little acts as a sedative, which was exactly what I needed. I poked my head out of the alley. To the left, no one, and to the right, no one was looking at me. The mares were standing at the crossroads deciding where to go. Blending into the crowd, I continued following them. The beach was practically calling to me now, telling me of all the smoothies I would have, and how happy my family will be to see me. What had it been, seven years now? I forgot, either way it has been way too long. Well, first I did need to catch them but that wasn’t hard, contrary to what ponies thought, you can dart a changeling. They weren’t hard everywhere. Short stuff stomped her hoof on the cobblestones, before turning left. This behavior continued on for awhile, the traitor stomping before leading the changeling queen around, a funny dynamic but I have heard that the small ones are the scariest. Anyway, this continued till they managed to get themselves lost in the east side of town. This suited me just fine. Folks around here wouldn’t mind I helped myself to these two, if I kept their hoods up that is, otherwise I might get some competition. Glancing at my watch I cursed, they wouldn’t make it out of the town before nightfall and that meant I wouldn’t either. Taking a slow breath I realized I had to make my move soon, if I worked fast I could still catch a ‘mover’ to help me, I would at least make it to the edge of the city then. My stock of curare was a little low thanks to their stallion’s metabolism, but I had enough for at least four more kills. With that in mind I began my approach, as expected no one was paying me any attention. I was fifty feet away now. The targets were still unaware, taking another corner. As inconspicuously as possible I added some speed to my walk, closing the distance, forty feet now. My heart pounded as they took another corner, thirty feet. It was possible to take the shot now, but if they heard it there was still plenty of time to dodge. Closer, I was almost in a trot at this point, my fast walk walking the line between nonchalant and purposeful. Twenty feet, taking small steadying breaths, I felt my leg freeze as I reached for the dart. Not this again. I tried to remember what Shamkar had told me when I started, back when I was innocent to this job. ‘We’ve all got the power in our hooves to kill, but most ponies are afraid to use it; the ones who aren’t afraid, control life itself’, I was the one in control of my life now. And I choose to go home rich beyond my wildest dreams. Repeating that mantra I grabbed the first dart, sliding it down my blow gun, I loaded the second dart into the second gun. They were approaching another intersection, I had three hours till sundown…It was now or never. Acting quickly I raised the first gun, a big breath in, putting it to my lips. Controlling my fate I released my breath, sealing my retirement, changing my life forever. With adrenaline coursing through my veins I watched almost in slow motion as the main mare-target began shaking. Her frame beneath the cloak swaying as her fate approached with- “Oomph!” My head rang as I stared at the stone by my muzzle, the smell of burning wood reaching my nostrils. The world was ringing as I tried to make sense of what was happening. Not much was clear except that something, no, somepony was on my back. They were amateurs. Relaxing in their hold for a second, I waited, and it didn’t take long before they responded in kind. It wasn’t even a conscious action for most ponies, merely a fight or flight aspect of our nature, I stopped fighting and they mimicked me. The gap between my cloak and the chest grew. Now! Coiling, tightening my muscles, I sprang up from the street. Adding an extra buck for good measure, my assailant was flung off, and I tore off down the street. Shaking the ringing from my head I looked back and felt my heart drop. My ‘main mare’ was nothing more than a city guard on stilts. His partner was removing his disguise as well. I had been tricked. My assailant was nowhere to be seen. Taking the corner sharply I turned right, further into the poor side of town, and toward the edge of town. Slightly off balance from the turn I was forced to slow and correct myself, my heart pounding as felt valuable time ticking away. Right side up again I broke into a gallop, glancing for alleyways, open shops, even a vase to hide in. But there was none. I don’t mean that figuratively either, the spaces where the gaps between shops used to be were just GONE! There wasn’t anyone behind me; there weren’t any crates, vases, nothing. THE WHOLE STREET WAS EMPTY! A light pattering started to grow in my ears as I stopped running, my gaze darting around the street, all the escape routes were nonexistent. Movement was caught in my peripheral vision. Turning slowly back the way I came I shrank down at the sight, the noise in my ears intensifying, growing louder and quicker. The siren was in front of me. Whimpers escaped my throat as I cowered before her approaching form, my ears becoming one with my skull as something wet rolled down my fur. I was crying, trapped before this monster, slitted eyes promising a fate worse than death. One thought rang out in my head though. Where was-. **** Somewhere in Minotaria Moonlit Echo My eyes scrunched shut as my bed shook, most likely Velvet Cloud trying to wake me early, didn’t she know I had to- Wait a second, I was on the mission…Then why was I in a bed? Last thing I recall was- A creak sounded in front of me. I opened my eyes in time to witness the source of the noise; water consumed my vision as the wall in front of me collapsed inward. Sunlight and murky water rushed into my ‘safe’ room, sweeping away years of dust, and pushing me back as well. Still damp stealth armor became soaked once again, frigid water causing my body to start shaking, but it also woke me up. Thinking fast I took a deep breath, clamping my muzzle shut as I squinted past the rushing water. No other openings and the room was filling up fast. The only way out was through the torrent of water. With adrenaline fueling me I pumped my recharged legs against the current, slowly getting closer to the widening hole in the attic’s wall. Releasing my breath I stole another one and resumed a harder stroke, my cold enemy pushing harder as I neared the last feet to my freedom. A slightly more ominous creak sounded. My hoof grabbed the splintered wall as the very house itself seemed to lurch, as I pulled myself forward toward the opening, finally sunlight warmed my nose. Hugging the wall with my body I hauled myself through the hole, the torrent slowing its onslaught. Outside the flooded house the world looked like a very different place than it did last night. What was once a field of market vegetables was now a part of what I would have called swamp had I not seen it yesterday afternoon. The Gryphon kingdom in the background marking the end of the country, the end of the chilly swamp before me, turning around I gazed at the way I had come. The ground was extremely damp, sopping wet, but not flooded. The reports I had read up on hadn’t indicated any flooding in this country, in fact if I recalled the map correctly then there wasn’t any swamps in this country. So where exactly had this one come from? Better yet, where had that crazy storm come from? Luna would be very interested to hear of this development, but she would prefer to learn how Ari is doing. Sighing, I started to paddle away from the wreck of a house, off towards the mountains. …. Hours, that was how long I had been paddling and I was growing tired of my view, yes I was warm from the exercise now, and of course I was glad not to be dead. But all I had to view was the sky, mountains, and the murky water. Occasionally I would see a pointed outline approach but it only disappointed me, revealing it to be a detached roof or half submerged wall. My legs were burning a little, not used to this much paddling after standing guard most days. This wasn’t at all what I expected when I agreed to this mission. I was hoping to unmask the changeling king, maybe get to see the sights a little, and return home a hero. Maybe even a kiss on the cheek from the princess of the night herself…What?! A stallion can hope! You have no idea how it felt to hear the princess scream in pain, agony that she wouldn’t be feeling if not for that imposter, and I wouldn’t have had to watch her lay immobile at my hooves. I hate him for what he has done to her. A splash brought me out of my thoughts, focusing on the world around me I looked around confusion. There was nothing in front- Splash, right behind me. Paddling like mad I spun around and nearly vomited at what lay behind me. It was a dead body, a dead gryphon to be exact, beak down in the water. The water was getting dyed burgundy, the murkiness of the water taking on a new type gloom. Where had it come from? Looking around I saw no being, I don’t- My jaw dropped as another body fell into the water…From the sky, it was raining dead bodies. Tilting my head up I felt the color drain from my muzzle. Far above me was something I had only read about in Equestrian Discovery magazines: an airship. I nearly forgot to paddle as I froze in place looking at the massive piece of modern technology. Even from my spot down here I could see the four enormous steam engines creating their own clouds as it continued its course, heading for the Gryphon kingdom. Off to kill more innocent gryphons, most likely. But where had such an enormous ship come from? Watching it continue on I suddenly felt very weak, very small, as a new, terrifying thought hit me. What if that ship is filled with changelings? These poor birds may just be the extras that they don’t need any more, that ship was big enough to hold a small army easily. I had to investigate that, yes, it could not be filled with changelings, but it still wasn’t a friendly ship. Giving a snort I began paddling after the ominous ship, eyes focused on its vast retreating form. I had no hope of catching it but that wasn’t going to stop me. We were going the same direction, somehow that doesn’t fill me excitement. More hours passed and the mountains were nearly upon me. The entrance to ‘The Rocky Flagg Mining Company’ laid ahead, a dry path maintained by sandbags forming a wall two bags thick and ten bags high. It was huge and impossible to climb in my weakened state; flying was out of the question too. Those muscles still ached from fighting the bucking wind last night. The wall spanned a good mile leading to a make shift dock, four boats were parked. With legs protesting from swimming for at least five hours, I made my way weakly to the ramshackle collection of planks and nails. Eyes fluttering with exhaustion as my body started to relax with the sight of land; I raised a weak hoof and grabbed the edge of the dock, managing to haul my upper half on before resting. A quick rest wouldn’t hurt. “Hey there pal, are you okay?” I snapped awake, looking up at a light blue bull. “J-just taking a breather sir,” He screwed up his nose and gave me a once over. “The names Gennady, notsir that would be my father, no way I wanna be like him…” The blue giant looked at me. “Well? You got a name colt?” “The name is Moonlit Echo, notcolt.” I snorted and began to drag myself onto the dock, well tried to; my muscles didn’t even move me. Shaking his head at me he hoisted me up onto the dock, “There Moonlit, now I won’t have to worry about you drowning while I eat.” “Eat?” “Yup, I forgot my lunch in my boat this morning,-” He gestured to the nearest boat, “-was in such a rush being late and all…” I gave him a nod and spread my wings under the sun, wincing as the muscles protested. Luna won’t believe this weather, mind you she might not believe me when I unmask the fake Alicorn…How do I prove he isn’t real to her? She was so worried for him, getting attached already even though she had just met him once in a dream. But her banishment had been long and very alone, I just, I wish she would see the love I hold for her… Maybe- A rustle distracted my planning, as I rested on the dock the bull grabbed a burlap sack and sat cross-legged beside me, “So what’s a pony doing all the way out here?” He looked at my limp form, “Can’t be for a job with your muscle…Did you get flooded out? No, never mind that was stupid of me to say.” I wasn’t getting rid of him apparently, “No I’m not here to get a job, although you were half right.” As he munched on his apple, he raised an eyebrow at me. “I was flooded out, but it wasn’t my home. I was just staying there till the weather blew over.” Swallowing his bite he looked at his sack, then at me. “You are hungry I suppose?” Not waiting for my reply he placed an apple in front of my muzzle. Grunting I pulled myself into a sitting position, I might as well enjoy the friendly company and recharge a little. “Thank you, I lost my saddle bags in the storm and I can’t fly home for a while now.” He nodded starting on a roll of bread, silence reigning as we enjoyed our food. “So what would you would be the easiest way over the Gryphon Kingdom?” Silence before he started chuckling at me, “Now why would a strange pony like you want to cross those heaps of mud? Not to mention no one crosses over anything anymore.” Here I was hoping that he had dropped the ‘why is a pony out here’ question. It wasn’t that telling this Minotaur would affect the mission in any way, but Luna had said secrecy was of the utmost importance, that I couldn’t tell any pony about what I was doing. Hence the stealth armor, not even bearing her insignia, officially I wasn’t here. The silence stretched. “Look you don’t really need to tell it’s just I haven’t seen pony around these parts for forever. Then a week ago I see three and now you. It’s just strange. Yah know what I mean?” He gestures to me then scratches at his broken horn. I was about to answer when he said that, that somepony had met him a week ago. It was probably nothing but…It wouldn’t hurt to ask, maybe they were more runaways from Equestria. “I am looking for a pony that is supposed to be on the coast, in Shallow Shale to be exact, and-.” “Hey that’s where Ari and his herd were heading! Sure is getting to be a popular place nowadays…Maybe sis was onto something?” Ari… The Ari?! It was too much of a coincidence; Ari wasn’t a common name, unheard for a pony, but… “Was he taller than you, all black, no cutie mark, and an Alicorn?” Gennady started to nod, before looking at me with narrowed eyes, “That would be him. I take he is the one you are looking for?” I nodded, causing him to frown and tense, “And what do you need to find him for?” “Err, well, I’m not really allowed to say-,” it hit me then, “-but did you say he had a herd?!” Crossing his arms he gave me a stern look, “I did say that and I’m getting the feeling you are going to be trouble for him and his mares.” He must have seen my mouth drop because he continued, “Yah I said mares, he has two of the most loyal mares I have ever seen…Not that have seen a lot of mares around here, but they are very, very protective of him…Maybe it would be best if I came along.” My brain stalled as Gennady said that. Why would I bring him along? He obviously likes the fake Alicorn, could possibly be a changeling too, and doesn’t trust me now. But I can’t betray Luna, she is counting on me! “NO! I mean no, I don’t think I need any help. I’m just here to-,”I put a hoof to my muzzle. “I mean I’m perfectly capable of handling a couple of mares,” horse apples that came out wrong. For a couple seconds he just stared at me, and then he broke into loud laugh, attracting his buddies from inside the mine. “What’s up Gen?” “Did I miss a good joke?” “Is that a pony?” They looked at me and I looked back, my sopping wet fur and tired muscles, their rippling muscles and dirt smudged fur. Buck me, I couldn’t escape them. “This pony, Moonlit Echo is looking for Ari.” They all crossed their arms, muscles bulging as they gave me the stink eye. “Won’t tell me why and thinks he can handle Ari’s mares!” Another louder round of laughs and chuckles started. I pinned my ears back, snorting as another dagger went into my pride. So I’m a colt, huh? Can’t handle two mares? I was part of Luna’s bucking personal guard! She handpicked me from a hundred recruits, and although I’m not the best swimmer I was a fierce fighter. “I can handle two mares! I was handpicked by Luna herself; two mares will be foal’s play!” Silence fell as Gennady stood suddenly, his buddies tensing up, expressions telling me I said the wrong thing. “What makes you think you even get past Ari to ‘handle’ them as you put it?” We locked eyes before he continued, “Ovon, can you tell the boss I’m taking a sudden trip to visit my sister?” The shortest tan bull nodded. I gulped, what was that code for? “So what does ‘see your sister’ mean exactly?” The bull blinked, giving me a strange look as his friends shook their heads. “It means exactly that, I sent Ari to my sister. He is either there still or she will be able to tell us where he went. You really are kind of strange…" Shrugging he picked me up, "Oh well, come on then.” His buddies really left no room for argument. Let's Talk...**** Ari After being blown back and knocked unconscious by those bars I had woken up on my back, surrounded by mares, not in the a room full of mares sense either, although that was accurate as well. No, I was, for lack of a better term, I was in a pony pile, with me being the bottom and center of it, and it was uncomfortable on many levels. Seeing as all I have is pain and time, let me enlighten you. The sexual harassment was pretty consistent for starters, despite their ‘weakened’ state quite a few zebras had started to get grabby, which is why I’m on my stomach now. That and the pegasi are really into preening right now; touching too. But in general, the eleven equestrians here are not taking this whole captivity bit well, not just the pegasi. Myself? I am pretty calm in comparison about being locked in the hull of a ship, but only because I know I can escape…Somehow, I’m still working on that part of the escaping plan. Anyway, like I was saying. This was lots of touching, both the calming type and the unwanted type, it would seem im a giant Alicorn teddy bear/pillow/bed. Apparently zebras have all the same instincts as ponies. That and my theory that stallions must be in short supply there as well. I just don’t know how else there happened to be a room full of just mares. If they did separate by genders I wouldn’t have been tied up in here, with the mares…Unless that bastard of a god could intervene like this too…I wouldn’t put it past him. Then the typical twenty questions began, starting with the obvious one, go on guess it. “S-so you are really an Alicorn?” A timid voice spoke from under my wing. No, I’m just a unicorn. This wing over you, it's not real! You were preening thin air! Sorry I'm just a tad bit angry at being captured, tied up, and separated from my mare, again. Calm was relative, it depended what I focused on. Looking over two zebras I saw the source of the question: a light green pegasis. She was one of the three that had rushed to me earlier. “Yes, and not to be presumptuous but everyone asks me these questions, so here goes. I am an Alicorn. But I am not royalty or a leader of anything really. Oh and most importantly, I’m not from here so please explain everything to me. Don’t assume I know what you mean.” All eyes were on me now…Maybe I was too presumptuous? It just was getting a little old, the whole ‘Alicorn shock’ and ‘from another world’ explanations, I really just needed to make a pamphlet for this or something. The staring was really creepy though. There was five pegasi, six regular ponies, and forty nine zebras…I felt like I was making a report or something, ears splaying a little, it was making my book reports in high school look easy. That had been only thirty people at least, not sixty, not that I was afraid of public speaking. It was more than just awkward, like I never knew if I was saying the right thing. Although, now it was practically impossible to say the wrong thing, I mean, I have already accidently brought one to orgasm, it can’t get much more damning than that. “So where are you from then? Oh! Are you from across the endless sea?” Ayodele piped up from spot on my back, scooting forward slightly to rest her head on my withers, brushing the bases of my wings in the process. Tingles ran up my spine and my wings couldn’t help but twitch from the sensations, I was a little sensitive there. “C-could you not move around up there?” She giggled and nodded, something tells me she knew exactly what she did though, a gut instinct if you will. “And no, I am not from across the Endless Sea. In fact I’m not even from this planet. Which is no one here has probably heard of me, I just got here…two weeks ago, maybe three now. How long was I out?” “Four days,” Ayodele responded, “They parked the boat and next thing we know they are hauling in your handsome body. The scumbag of a captain really did a number on you…” She gave me a nuzzle as my ears folded back. I had been knocked out for four days… My brain forgot what I was going to tell them as my heart dropped. My mares really must be worried sick. Chrissy must be starving…Shit, trying to turn back and look at my cling on, I felt rage building again, my ears back for a different reason now. “Wait, so he was the one that knocked me out?” I couldn’t fathom how he would have, heck I didn’t even know what he looked like, but I was clearly alone on the beach. “Maybe, I really don’t know? He likes to talk so I just sort of tuned him out half way through, what I do remember is that he said you were practically gift wrapped. But seriously, you were soo out of it! He kicked you for quite awhile before he left, you didn’t even twitch a muscle during it!” Of course I didn’t wake up from whatever bastard was kicking the shit out of me. I always have been a deep sleeper. I was the one that would fall asleep first usually at sleepovers and get pranked…But I still don’t know why I was unconscious in the first place. But now I know that it may or may not have been the captain, the captain that… “Hold on a second here, he just had me strung up in this room, and you mares didn’t fight him?! You clearly out pony him, just a good buck in his berries and you could probably get him-OWWW!” I received a lot of nips for that comment, still surrounded by mares. “No we couldn’t! If he doesn’t deliver us to…,” She gulped and shuddered, “Well, then his associates will come looking for him, and our family will be next!” I cocked my head at that, why had she cut me down then? This triggered a sigh from on my back, “Rigghhhttt, you aren’t from here. Well here is the rundown for you then. A couple centuries ago Equestria ‘discovered’ Zebrica, trade opened up, and our nation prospered as our economics and technology grew. But eventually the princess, being the only one on the throne then, had to focus on other things, and we were soon just another report. But not by every being forgot about us, the explorers still came, with them came supply ships, and of course the pirates and slavers.” Ayodele pushed her muzzle deep into my mane, taking a deep breath. What she said sunk in. “And why would your family be affected if you were caught, I mean, how would they even know who or where they were?” Escaping was the last thing on my mind as I heard some mares break down, sobs cutting through the stagnant air, along with mournful outcries in their language. I understood this situation was bad, but why the tears?! They just brought back bad memories okay... “Our country is a joke now. They run it now from the shadows and we can’t even hope to compete with their technology, the magic they possess. We are stuck in a cycle, we pay them to ‘protect’ us from other pirates, if we can’t afford their price…Or sometimes if they just need the numbers we end up here.” “But you were freeing me for a reason right? To escape this ship and return home?” The sobs tapered off again, “It was a foalish hope, you are an Alicorn and I thought, maybe, just maybe…” She trailed off, sighing. “But it doesn’t matter now. You can’t break the bars so what hope do we have of you freeing our country. I thought you must be different, looking for your special skill or something.” She tapped my blank flank with her hind hoof. “And I hated seeing you just hanging there…But even if we escaped they would only grab our family next, they have numbers to fill after all. So if you can’t help our country, then forget I even mentioned escaping. ”Her voice spoke the disgust and sorrow I felt. This was just a business to them, a sick game with real lives, and it made me very, very angry. “And then what happens to them, to us?” My heart was speeding up as their situation sunk in, they weren’t given any chance, and they were without aid from the country that had started the surge of trade. Ayodele shook on me and the preening stopped, they all seemed to hold their breath, “Well, we are property now. Anything could happen…Some say slaves go to be worked in the mines, others say we are used as exotic sex slaves in Saddle Arabia, and some say we are dragon food.” Well shit, fuck, I really don’t know what else to say. That really wasn’t much of a choice for me. I had figured there had to be more to this slavery that kept popping up in this world, it couldn’t be just a coincidence or a small part of this world…And I was right, slavery was huge, a whole country essentially run by slavers… “Wait! How have the princesses not noticed this? A whole country enslaved…How does no pony visiting notice and report back to them?!” She gave a sad chuckle, “These Equestrians are the few visitors from that country, look where they ended up. The princesses never leave their country anymore.” I felt more tears soak my sides, “As to their ignorance? The princess has better things to do obviously. Why would she pay attention to the country she discovered by accident centuries ago? When all the treaties are signed and the cushy diplomats make appearances on occasion, all is well right? As for any of us complaining personally, well, I don’t want to be the one to tell her highness that, none of the brave ones that leave Zebrica ever return, and the last time Sunbutt was angry she sent her sister to the moon for a thousand years.” That was nice to know, ignoring the fact that Moonbutt shouldn’t be alive after one thousand years without air, food, or water; that was huge. No wonder my mares were skeptical about me taking on the princesses. If that’s what Sunbutt does when she gets mad, even her own sister isn’t safe- “T-that’s not the whole truth! Don’t lie to him.” The light green pegasi spoke up. A dark dappled grey pegasi beside her added in an exasperated voice, “A little over simplified.” “Oh hush Spring Dew, Feather Quill! It is true, she didn’t want her sun blocked and-.” “NO! Her sister went crazy and wanted to plunge the world into eternal night! She had to do something.” The grey one, Feather Quill interjected, with Spring Dew nodding. Well that adds a whole new issue, the mare in my dream used to be crazy, and has the power to make eternal night…Perhaps that god was onto something about stopping them, even if the world wasn’t in jeopardy that was essentially the lives of everyone she held in her power. “How is she even alive still?! The moon has no air, no food, and no water!” I let my head fall onto my living pillow, really they were everywhere around me, it was unavoidable. Ayodele stroked my mane, “Yah, that’s magic for you.” “But her…own sister, I don’t have any siblings but even I wouldn’t send my family that far away!” The equestrians I could see didn’t even look up, “so I guess that means she must be pretty messed up?” I struck a nerve with that last part, “NO! She had to or nightmare moon would have put the world into eternal night!” “Yes I got that, although I think eternal night is the quicker death than the one coming…But my point is, she discovers a country but doesn’t put any effort into maintaining a invested relationship with it, doesn’t visit it. And she does that to her own flesh and blood! Frankly I am not looking forward to meeting her now.” After that every pony was silent again, and I welcomed it, they had given me a lot to think over. Well it lasted for a minute, “What do mean by the ‘quicker death’ and why are you meeting her?” Ayodele sounded very nervous and I felt bad, she didn’t need to worry about this…But she didn’t deserve to be lied to either. “Well, I didn’t come to this doomed planet by choice,” a round of gasps, “I was stolen from my bed and plopped here, told by a jackass of a god that I had to stop the princesses from accidentally destroying the planet. To put in the simplest terms, by moving the sun and moon around so unnaturally they had upset the natural balance. This has unleashed super storms across the continent and we can assume the globe, so I’m meeting with them to bring about that change. Any questions?” “So that explains the tsunami last year…” she muttered from on my back. “The rainstorms,” a mare in the crowd muttered. “No, but I think that is the stupidest plan I have ever heard!” A brown mare with a cream mane was standing, squared up, and looking very much like she would like to sock me. “You are assuming that I told you the whole plan, aren’t you?” A stumped look came on her face. “You mean you didn’t?” “Correct. Why would I tell equestrians my plan? When we escape you are just going to repeat it to the princesses and ruin it. Am I right?” Ayodele squirmed on my back, “Escape? Wait, you did hear my explanation on why we can’t right? Unless...Does that-.” The equestrian’s face shone in the dim lantern’s glow, tears, as she shook her head, interrupting the zebra. “No, I have waited for a month, A MONTH! They never came…No one even knows that I’m missing…” A couple of other equestrian mares nodded, looking dejected, similar situations no doubt. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when I’m free, but I certainly don’t think I could look them in the face right now, I just…want to do something mean to them. It hurts to be forgotten and…I never even considered this existed before. That there are dozens of other boats like this doing exactly the same thing...They don’t mention this in school.” Another negative for the princesses, I think I’m going need to add anger management to my preparation steps for meeting with them after this. “Well, I’m sorry you have had to experience a month of this shit, but that is just you that won’t tell-.” A chorus of arguments rose above my voice, all saying the same thing; they all felt angry at the princesses. Not surprising considering they have been here awhile by the sounds of it and essentially have no help or support from the most powerful beings on the planet. What happened to all those Zebras that went seeking help from the princess? Is there a mini prison on the moon or something? “Okay then…Well, the plan is that I will visit them, drug them, and place magic inhibitors on them. Show them the damage they have caused and not return them till they truly understand the lives they have ruined. In fact, I was actually working on part of my plan when I was knocked out and captured. See this magic inhibitor? It is a specially forged prototype for an Alicorn grade version. Although I was on the beach trying to-.” I cut myself off; no way was I telling them that. Ayodele moved closer to my neck, “Go on, you were trying to?” “I would rather not say.” “Why?” The brown mare looked confused, really they all did. Might as well get the laughing over with, “You understand that I’m not from here right? Well on my planet there is no magic.” Unsurprisingly gasps and ‘really’ rang out, “Yes, so when I arrived here I had to learn how to use magic. I’m currently learning to access my aetheratic channels…With no success so far, I just can’t find the ‘thrumming’.” “You mean the tinkling?” Spring Dew spoke up, looking confused. A pink mare responded, “No I think he meant the ‘beating’ of his channels.” “I heard from my cousin’s friend that it sounded like water flowing!” Sorry, but fuck! I pinned my ears back and snorted. Why can’t it just be easy for once? “You mean it sounds different for every pony?” “Yup, you just have to find your sound deep inside!” Ayodele sounded really cheerful now, probably thinking this was a piece of cake. She wasn’t the one that had to find it. “Okay then, that’s my first order of business then. No point smashing through a wall or floor if I can't fight them at my full power right? I will be able to get us out for sure if I can access my magic. Just be nice and quiet while I try to break this inhibitor, okay?” They all responded with affirmatives, sounding hopeful, eyes shining, and ears forward. I tried to quiet my mind, but as soon as my eyes closed my new reality ran in circles in my mind. There was slavery here, slavers practically running a country, and the most magically powerful creatures were ignorant of it…Well I hoped so, the other option painted a far more worrying reality. They were already unaware of the destruction that was occurring to the planet, to lives, and it sickened me. This had to change. Not only would I stop the extreme weather, but I had to find a way to free them from this slavery trap, this cycle of helping such despicable beings. But how to go about that, and where would I fit it in? I was already in the middle of saving the planet, then I had to find a way to get to the mirror in…Shit, after I piss off the princesses I need to use their mirror to get Lyric’s family back, slight problem. There was no way I could explain the need for it before, if I even said siren I was willing to bet I would get some racist comments, and explaining how I even knew it existed was hard too. I was from another world, supposed to be clueless about their stuff. That would require more thought. Anyway, after that I promised them we would hide away for them to let their instincts run their course, have the foals, and figure what to do with my life. But that was looking to be bumped again. Slavery wasn’t going to wait for the foals to be born, not to mention we will have Lyric’s siren family back by then...That would be four extra sets of hooves to help and I’m sure they would understand, I wouldn’t think they would want grand foals in a world with slavers around. However, before I could even start on that there was still the matter of escaping, and I had to stop thinking for a change. This called for action, for magic! Feeling the aches around my body come into focus, I scrunched my eyes, settling my neck on my slightly boney mare pillow. Bodies shifted around me, clicking echoing faintly from above as I tried to focus inward. Darkness around me, I tried to ignore the clicking above me, the breathing around me, and the swaying of the ship in the gentle waves as we moved steadily onward to our destination. Step one was to clear my mind. …. The sounds were fading to nothing but faint echoes as I breathed steadily, in and out. Next I had to focus on the feeling inside, the feeling that should come when I’m performing magic. Chrissy said a thrumming, but now I knew it could be anything from the descriptions I received. Which made all the noises I had been ignoring seem important again, and I didn’t know what to ignore. I guess I would have to sort through each one, one by one. **** Chrissy Lyric can really pull her weight in the herd. I mean, of course I had heard the stories of how powerful sirens were but she was putting those tales to shame. Not only had she focused her mind magic to just affect the assassin. She controlled what he saw and it was amazing to watch. When Lyric let the assassin see her, that bastard looked like he was ready to keel over then and there. I just can’t help but be impressed when He didn’t even see Dinari, the eight foot giantess, standing behind him. Just ‘wow’ I was blown away. Amazement aside, we had ourselves a killer to interrogate. Currently we were on our back to Kapera’s shop. Dinari had our smelly prisoner in her arms, unconscious and tied up. Lyric was pressed to my cloaked side, her own cloak back up as well, with a mix of happiness and regret coming from her. Kapera had the two nervous guards by the ears, the ponies fearing her more than Lyric and I at the moment. “So why didn’t you do that when we faced the Hydra?” “Well, it’s just not something you do lightly or often; it would be like asking you to use your ability for giggles…Ponies get scared when I do that and I didn’t want to scare away the stallion of my dreams. I’m sure you were like that at first with him.” I shrugged my withers as we walked, taking a right. “Well, not really. I was starving so when I first met him I disguised myself and went in for the kiss.” I giggled, “It actually ended horribly, see he had just fell from the sky, just arrived on Equis. So there I was trying to flirt and get some love from him and he was busy freaking out, it was a bad combination. When I went in for the kiss he tucked his head and BAM,” The guards jumped, tails tucking between their legs. “We ended in smashing our heads together. He brought me to a cave and offered to feed me, the rest is history!” “Wow, that is really…Generous of him? Suddenly I don’t feel as bad stalking him. OW!” Chuckling, I looked away from her, she did need some discipline. I couldn’t let her get away with everything. “I don’t think stalking is much better.” Before long we had made it back to the shop and Kapera sent the guards on their way, which they were more than happy to leave us. Convincing them to go along with the plan had taken some time, but that really does Mongofu know everything in this city. All she said was ‘the high tailed mink’ and they stopped all their arguments, she would have made a good changeling. “So you think they will keep their word?” Kapera laughed evilly as she set up our interrogation area, “Oh they will, if not, well, let’s just say their word won’t mean anything anymore.” “Oh.” Something told me it was best not to ask how she was so good at this, I really should be just grateful she came up with a plan so fast. I watched with Lyric as the living area on the second floor was transformed. Before where there had been a couch and chairs there was now a makeshift bonfire, it was situated on an enchanted sheet of metal, and above it a hook hung from the rafters. Finally, with the fire crackling to life we could string up our prisoner. Dinari stepped forward and placed the unconscious zebra before us, the smell coming off him was repulsive. Lyric cut off the colt’s cloak and tossed the offensive article into the fire. “Well that’s something you don’t see every day!” Lyric said, cocking her head at the strange apparatus on the murderer, almost harness like in design. “It’s a mare!” Kapera said scratching her head from her position by the rear, “A female assassin, you know, I wasn’t expecting that.” And they were both correct, our would be killer was a Zebrican mare, wearing what looked like something out of a dominatrix clothing boutique: it was a collection of form fitting straps, with a second layer made into loops, most of the loops were filled. Everything in the loops came out. There were daggers, ropes, wire, and vials of different substances. What stood out was the one bag she had strapped to her side. It bulged with something bulky in it, but upon removing it I found the contents to be strangely soft. Looking at the others, I released the drawstring on it, everyone looking just as curious as I felt about the contents. Dumping the contents on the floor in front of me I felt the world slow down, though not from my famished state. A couple of feathers and a wrapped chunk of hair fell out of the pouch, they were black. Emotions flooded my body, both my own and Lyric’s as this new reality sunk in. The urge to break down was present in my mind but I quickly pushed it back down, replacing it with a much more useful emotion: anger. Lyric channeling the same emotion beside me, the course of action was clear to us. Faster than you could blink the zebra was enveloped in pink magic and strung up over the fire. Kapera and Dinari wisely stepped back from us as we stepped forward, the door glowed pink for a second, and my herd mate gave me a nod. I hoped she screamed. Wasting no time I punched our captive in the muzzle, her body swung back on the chain as her eyes flew open. My eyes locked with her hazel eyes as she swung closer to us again. “Answer the questions quickly and it won’t hurt…” She nodded rapidly, her greasy, monochrome mane flopping wildly. “…Much.” Her face fell and her eyes closed, despair. Lyric steadied the chain in her magic as I began. “Let’s start with an easy one. What color is the sky?” She blinked at me, confused at my question, taking several seconds to answer. “B-blue?” “Correct,” I punched her in the stomach, a grunt coming from her. “But I’m expecting faster answers, now when I ask what color the sky is, you say?” “Blue!” Keeping my word I didn’t hit her this time, some trust had to be gained for this interrogation to work. If there is one useful skill I learned from the prosecution of my species it is that fear has many uses. To get compliance this mare had to fear disobeying me, for an unaltered answer she had to fear focusing on anything other than the answer. And by following through on my rules she would learn to trust that they would always be the same, she would know what to expect and in turn what behavior was acceptable. We did what we had to do to survive and I had no qualms going back to it, my stallion’s life was in question after all. “Good…Do you understand why you are here?” “Y-yes,” tears escaped her eyes as the zebra’s sobs returned. “And why do you think you’re here…” I trailed off as Lyric nudged me, pointing a hoof at the damning evidence our would-be assailant carried. Sobs shook the slim frame of the zebra as she tried to form the words, after ten seconds her sobbing slowed, “I-I-I k-killed the t-target and n-now…I am going to d-die.” I cranked her head back, punching her disgusting muzzle. “Too slow,” I looked at her terrified, sad form. This was pathetic, she couldn’t have killed Ari. I wasn’t even using my full strength and she crying like a little filly, afraid that nightmare moon was going to eat her. “You may die at the end of this, but you also may not, it depends on how useful you are to us. Tell me; are these from your t-target?” I pointed a hoof to the evidence of her work; Lyric was staring at it, caressing the hair slightly with a faraway look in her teary eyes. “Y-yes!” Taking a deep breath I forced the hysteria down, the crushing darkness, and focused on the more important questions. “How did you kill h- that target?” “P-poison,” A sigh of relieve went through the room, Alicorns had ironclad immune systems. Ari was alive then, probably unconscious and in pain, but he was alive. “Where is Ari then?” My heart raced as I asked the most pressing question, legs shaking. Her eyes dilated and she started sobbing again, shaking her head franticly. “I-I’m s-sorry-.” I nodded to Dinari, the clink of metal on wood echoed around the room. “P-PLEASE NOOO, I REALLY DON’T KNOW!” Another wooden clink sounded as the smell of burning hair and grease reached our nostrils. We stayed silent as she screamed her head off, unintelligible Zebrican spewing forth from her muzzles as her mane continued catching on fire. Her screams didn’t make that emptiness disappear though, I was hoping to enjoy them more. After most of it had caught on fire I signaled to the scowling heifer and she raised the blubbering mare to her original height above the flames. “So what use to us are you then? You must be a pretty pathetic assassin, not even knowing where you kill your targets. Don’t you even have any guesses?” I struggled to keep my voice cool, sinister, all I wanted to do was bare my fangs at her, burn her. Pain, I wanted her to feel the pain we had felt the last four days, the damage she could be causing our foals. But most of all I wanted Ari back. “I-I was forced to l-leave the b-body in the Matumbawe c-cove, Arch and his crew were pulling in, and quite hostile. If he is still alive they would have-.” The zebra halted her speaking. In fact we all stopped looking at her as Kapera blew a fuse when the vildkatt was mentioned. Her rage lasted nearly a minute before she calmed down. “That fucker, no, it’s okay, we can track him. He has regular stops…And I’m going to call in a favor, this has to end. Dinny get the-.” Kapera stopped, looking behind us in confusion. Dinari looked shocked and almost dropped the chain she was holding, the squeal of the mare bringing her attention back, “Gennady?” Both Lyric and I turned around, confusion on our muzzles. I thought we locked the front door and why would Gennady be here? That confusion didn’t linger on our muzzles for long as we locked eyes with quite possibly the worst possible creature to see us: a Thestral. Escaping, Part 1.**** Shallow Shale Moonlit Echo At the moment I felt like Gennady, that giant of a Minotaur was really a sales pony and not the miner he claimed to be. For the whole ride under the mountain he was ‘Ari this’ and ‘Ari that’, exulting the many amazing things Ari had apparently done. I thought the ‘Alicorn’ had only been here a couple weeks. Not that it mattered, I was convinced the Minotaur must be brainwashed with how he went on and on, or related to the element of laughter. Though I think either one is scary, the latter thankfully very unlikely. It was good and all that Ari had rescued those two ponies, brave of him to rescue the stallion from the slave traders, and honorable of him to escort them home. But all those actions a changeling would do just as easily! Just look at the solar guards, regular citizens, and even the princess of love herself; they were all impersonated by changelings and we didn’t even notice that they had been replaced. I had stood and looked the princess of love in the eye for weeks and never seen the falsities that lay there, the lies Queen Chrysalis spouted. No pony had. What had hurt most of all was waking up, looking at the solar guard above my muzzle in confusion, only to watch horror as his face burned away. The green flames revealing the grinning face of a changeling. For the months following there was sweeps, identity checks, and distrust among the guards. Who was real? My world had been turned upside down. But now, this Minotaur and his buddies were convinced this ‘Alicorn’ was going to save the world that he was sent to us by a god, and blah, blah, blah. It was the biggest load of crock I had ever heard. Save the world from what? They wouldn’t tell me. Which God? They don’t know. Anyway, you can not imagine how relieved I was to be off that train and on my way to this imposter. If only this Minotaur would shut up… “And then my sister took over and it was all ‘rumble rumble’. She actually could move that boulder! I mean, I may have loosened it, but she was amazing! Anyway with that-,” He continued on and on like this. I simply nodded along, walking beside him, and thinking of how nice it will be to hear Princess Luna’s words of thank you for- “OW! HEY! What is the idea Gennady?!” I looked back over my wither as the bull released my tail, I quickly tucked close to me, the brute. He was frowning at me while pointing at a double set of ten foot tall doors, “I said, ‘we are here’.” “You’re sure this is the one?” I raised an eyebrow at my guide. He had us backtrack three times now. “Of course I am! The sign says ‘Kapera’s Enchanted Forge’; it is exactly like my sister said it looks like.” I looked at the store and frowned, “It says that it’s closed.” “No it isn’t.” He stood there with the door partially open, motioning for me to follow. We weren’t supposed to be here. I could feel that as soon as I followed him into the dimly lit shop, but he walked through the store like he owned it, calling out before he stopped. Looking up from the display case I saw why, he held up two cloaks, standing at the bottom of a staircase leading to a second floor. “Come on they must be upstairs! You can finally meet him and get rid of your doubts. We can finally get this out of the way.” Eventually we stopped in front of the most likely door; it was glowing pink with magic. Obviously it had a spell on it. When he opened it though my world stopped for a second, I was right. The changeling queen was standing there, about to have roast zebra. The weird scaled pony, giant rodent, and even taller Minotaur were nothing to me as I locked eyes with Queen Chrysalis. I had to tell Luna. “Gennady,” one of them called out in a confused voice. My legs moved faster than I thought possible, sending me down a couple of steps and over the railing in seconds. Landing with a heavy thump, I looked back for a second only to see a pair of Minotaur hooves following, coming down on top of me. Scrambling out of the way, I headed for the nearest barrel, on my way to the door. They were full of spears. A heavier thud echoed through the shop just as I knocked over the barrel, letting them clatter, knowing the Minotaur wasn’t far behind me. I grabbed two in my hooves, sending them flying at cracked open front door, before I grabbed a third one in my hoof. “HELP! HELP! CH-.” My cry for help was cut off as I was forced to duck, a butcher knife flying where my head had been. Before me was something out of a nightmare. The queen of the changelings stood, hissing at me with murder in her eyes. Beside her was some sort Franken mare, the front half of her scaled while the back half was furred like a pony. She also had a horn, her magic holding up several daggers. And behind those monsters a giant rodent was snarling at me, sharp teeth bared as it crouched. While the giant Minotaur siblings looked very serious, the ‘little’ sister holding the maneless sobbing zebra like a buckball. “Seriously Moonlit Echo, I thought you understood what Ari was about?” I didn’t have time to humor him or pity the zebra at the moment though, while I had been gawking at the lineup something cold and metallic had snaked around the hind hock. As I jumped backwards from the chain they pressed forwards, crouched, and ready to attack me. “Come on Echo, I told you, you can’t handle his mares! They are- Hey guys where is Ari anyway?” At this point everyone was ignoring the bull’s questions. But where was Ari? Kicking away another chain enveloped in pink magic, I focused back on the situation at hand: surviving. They obviously had no qualms inflicting pain on ponies if the bound mare is a sign. Who was I kidding? This was a changeling! Death was certain unless I could defeat her, which I couldn’t, at least not alone. I was outnumbered so I had one option: I had to hope to lose them outside, get the city guard. Even if they were a mixed species guard they were better than nothing. Glancing at the changeling’s back again I saw that she was missing a wing, exactly like I thought I saw. I shuffled backwards again, keeping my eyes trained on the closest threats: the mares, Ari’s mares apparently. He was the changeling king alright, no doubt about it now. A warm breeze wafted in behind me, telling me I was almost there. “BUCK!” Dodging to left, the thumps of daggers impaling the spot I had been reached my ears. I deflected another rogue dagger with my spear. Franken mare had forced me to move, launching the daggers at me, too many to deflect at once. Good thing they can't fly. Taking a deep breath, I flapped my wings and took to the air, soaring over the surprised beings as I made my way back upstairs. There had to be a window up here somewhere. Thunder echoed behind me as my wings folded up and I abandoned my spear, galloping down the- SHIT! The Franken mare just appeared in front of me. Planting my hooves down, I braked and spun around, terror dominating my mind. I was dead, so dead, and behind me was an immovable wall of muscle. The Minotaurs stood there, daring me to try and get by them. Below me the creaking of wood and grunts resonated above my heavy breathing, the front door, it was my only way out. My eyes darted between the murderous mare behind me and the wall of muscle in front of me…Wait, wall that is it! If I couldn’t see past these cows then neither could the mare, meaning I will only have ten seconds at best before she can see where she will teleport to. “Look can’t we just talk Echo? This is really important-.” Grabbing my dropped spear, I spun around, feeling the shaft brush the wall. Feinting a throw at the mare, I ducked and spun around, hurtling the spear at the heifer. She clutched her shoulder and bellowed in pain, pinned to the wall as I made my break for it. Down the stairs, a flap of my wings and I soared over the incoming rodent, the sound of hooves clamoring behind me. Maybe five seconds to make it to the door now. However I still had one last obstacle in my way: Queen Chrysalis. She was squared up in front of the door, it was still cracked open, the spears shafts cracked but otherwise holding strong. Even if she was missing a wing she still terrified me. At nearly seven feet tall she towered over me, had an impervious shell, and was magically a powerhouse. She had defeated Princess Celestia! I feinted to the right before resuming my course for the door. The gap was closing in, but she hadn’t moved from her position. Buck me. There was only three feet of the gap above her horn; I would have to fly directly over her horn to make it, a perfect kill shot. Her horn…Feinting to the left, I kept an eye on her horn, it wasn’t even sparking. Something felt off here, but the clamor behind me demanded I continue to the gap. Folding my wings, my nose breathed in the scent of the street, and my front hoof gripped the frame. My muscles ached as I attempted to propel myself forward through the gap that was an inch too narrow for me. “THIEF,” An angry voice called from behind me. I could feel my muzzle twist into confusion as I looked at the beings in the street, some workers from the surrounding shops stopped what they were doing and stood, eyes boring into me. Buck, they had them fooled...Or were they changelings too? “CHANG-AHHH!“ My cry morphed into one of pain as the crack tightened, slamming the door into my ribs, and almost knocking the breath out of me. I wasn’t dying here! Stuck in the door crack I started bucking, each of my hooves making contact with something. One hoof kicked away something warm; the other hit something smooth and metal. These were double doors. Keeping up the pressure with my hoof I felt the pressure ease up on my chest before I suddenly shot forward into the street. Yes, now to get the guard! My legs wobbled with my horrible landing, my chest hurt, but I took off down the street anyway. I didn’t need to look back to know I was being pursued, the ground rumbled behind me as the streets grew empty. Clearing the way maybe, I wasn’t stopping to think about that or check. Turning left, I nearly collided with a squad of city guards. There were two earth stallions and three Minotaur bulls, perfect! “HELP ME!” I stopped to catch my breath, “In the name of-.” “THIEF! STOP THAT THIEF!” The same voice yelled from where I came. As they heard that the guards turned their spears to my throat, I was surrounded and running out of time. “WAIT! Wait a second! They are lying, I have nothing on me, see?” The bulls raised an eyebrow at me, “They are changelings or league with the changelings, check their eyes if you don’t believe me! You have to help me fight-.” My plea was interrupted as they came around the corner. The changeling queen wasn’t among them; it was just the Minotaurs and the rodent. Were they escaping as we speak? And where was the changeling king? “Is this the thief?” The tallest bull said, addressing the golden rodent while looking at the bleeding heifer. “No! I-,” One of the spear shafts spun around and hit me in the head, not hard; it was a warning from the stallion. Hooves shuffled on the dirt side street as the yellow demon bared her teeth at me, “Yes! That is the scum that broke into my shop. I had just closed my shop early when my apprentice’s brother came over for a visit when he barges in, trying to steal my new designs. In the scuffle he even injured my apprentice! Do you know how behind that is going to put my orders?! Cuff the bastard; I’m bringing him to the office.” “Wait, he has made some pretty big-.” The tall bull shrunk under the gaze of the two taller Minotaurs and the snarling bundle of golden fur, “No, you listen here! I’m having this scum deported back to where ever he belongs. So you shackle him up or I will!” Turning to the heifer she continued, “Dinny be a dear and grab those pony shackles we have in the back and don’t be a hightailed mink about it!” “Now Kapera-,” the shortest bull started only to be interrupted by one of the stallions. “We will see you there mam,” the taller of the stallions saluted the crazy she demon. “Shackle him!” The tan bull saluted the stallion, “Yes captain!” My jaw dropped at his words, spears lowered as I was forced down and shackled. I struggled against the Minotaur’s hold in vain, dirt filling my muzzle as I tried to talk. I swear the other stallion was scuffing his hoof on purpose, making more dirt blind me. What the hell was happening? **** Somewhere on the Narrow sea Ari I shot awake, spluttering as salt water gagged me, filling my nostrils, and blinding me all at once. Around me squeals rang out and hooves clattered. Trying to open my eyes or back away from the onslaught was proving futile, it was like I had a pressure washer to my face. What the hell?! “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA, RUN YOU FILTHY WHORSES, RUN!” That voice was male and sounded oddly familiar. But I couldn’t get my eyes open to see just who it was, not that I knew many guys here, stallion or otherwise. Damn that salt water stung, I still had the cut on the back of my head. Eventually my brain woke up that I remembered my feathery appendages, so I raised my wings, using them to block some of the spray. It wasn’t perfect but it allowed my eyes to squint against the sudden assault. What I could see through my feathers was a lineup of figures, shadowed by the bright daylight coming from behind them. They were shorter than me, even the tallest one in the center was only six feet at best, and they were holding whatever was spraying us. Anger started to fill my mind, almost crackling to me as I squinted at them, thoughts fading. They were the reason I was here, and unfortunately for them they were on the wrong side of the ‘unbreakable’ bars. With a snort I rose and charged forward, the mares sticking to the back and leaving me a free path. The water stung at my wound and eyes as my hooves closed the distance, forcing myself against the water, almost there. Dropping my wings from my face I collided with my target. Well, a target, I didn’t exactly aim. Hitting him was not as satisfying as my instincts said it would be. The sound of the water stopped as we rolled on the slick floor, in fact I couldn’t hear much besides our grunts as I grappled my unknown foe, trying to stomp his face in. I couldn’t see much around the spots of color with this sudden change of light either, and as to my other senses, well, they were still recovering from the rude wake up call. Claws dug into my back as my shorter opponent tried to choke hold my chest, trying to avoid my stomping hooves and gnashing teeth. Instincts screaming at me to dominate him, arching my neck, I snapped my teeth down at him. Until finally my mouth found purchase on something rough, almost like leather. A horrible gravelly squeal rang in my ears just as some other being landed on my back, something very familiar, it felt like a Diamond dog. Hell no. I faintly heard the sound of metal clinking as I began bucking. My foes grunted and squealed loudly in my ears as we moved up and down wildly. Suddenly something sharp and long wrapped around my wing, cutting into it like a razor, and filling the air with the smell of iron.“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH,” I screamed as I came crashing down on my side, releasing the ear from my teeth as I tried to escape whatever had my wing. Wings are apparently very sensitive to pain, as are horns. It was all the extra nerves I guess, pain and pleasure in the same area. “YOU FUCKER!” I yelled as a boot connected with my forehead, sending my pain to new heights,it was almost like I was hit in the- My whimper cut through the air as I attempted to curl into a very small ball, I wanted to vomit, shit, and cry like a baby all at once. “Well, well, well, what do we have here boys?” The two diamond dogs removed themselves from my body and I curled further into myself. Fuck, how could I kick men there? “I SAID, what do we have here boys?!” That voice was familiar but I just couldn’t place my hoof on it. An unpleasant chorus of gravely whimpers sounded by my head, adding an auditory form of pain, “A Alicorn Ar-.” The smell of iron spiked in the air again as something swung through the air, my eyes remained scrunched in pain. “I CAN SEE THAT IT IS AN ALI-CORN! But do you mutts see where he is NOT?!” Negatives sounded out, “Well,” the voice turned sickly sweet then, as the weapon wrapped around my wing dug further into my flesh, stealing another whimper from me. “I see a fully mobile Alicorn, when I left him he was strung up!” I opened my eyes as the tallest figure turned around, his back to me. “SO WHORSES,” he yelled as something soft swept over my ear. “Can any one of you explain to me WHY he is walking around like he owns the joint?!” In front of him I could see the mares cowering at the back of the cell, huddled together. A dark whip smacked the floor, drawing whimpers. “Do we get to do this the hard way?” The smell of arousal hit my noise as the soft item passed over my muzzle again. That voice…The sweet edge was familiar, almost like that skeeveball- Shit, I looked closer at the boots. They were engraved with a golden ‘A’, that fucking cat was a slave trader after all. I guess this what he meant by 'take care of my mare', fuck. “B-boss we need these ones, we need to make-.” A wet smack followed that sentence as the whip came back and slapped him into the bars, which in turn shot the unconscious dog at the mares. They scattered away from the prone form of their jailer. A quick crack of his whip and a new dog stepped forward, his tail club tucked between his legs. Had I not been in pain I would have laughed at the irony of a cat leading a pack of dogs, but I was more worried about what this bastard meant by ‘the hard way’. “Any whorse want to step up and tell me how he managed to get free,” the blades jerked my wing and looking over at it, I saw I wasn’t too far off the mark. He had a whip made of serrated blades wrapped several times around my wing, just before the joint, I could see the dark red droplets drip down the whip. “Really? No one wants to own up?! Well, I guess I’m going to have to make another trip to Zebrica and pick up some more product, maybe look at some pastel ponies. Thank-,” he stopped and I gasped, uncurling slightly as I saw a familiar zebra tumble forward. A yellow mare still had her hooves outstretched, having thrown her to the dogs. Why had she done that? I thought we were all against him, he was selling us to the highest bidder or to his clients, whatever, we were nothing but bits to him! The ship swayed as crackles sounded in my ears, my anger growing at the sight. Maniacal giggles echoed as more dogs stepped forward, grabbing Ayodele, and the yellow mare to her horror. Ayodele merely shook in place as she was placed before Arch, clamping her muzzle shut as we gazed at each other. Her eyes saying exactly what I felt, we are fucked. While the other mare squealed like a pig, “Wait! Wait, I can help you!” The soft caresses swept over me faster, tan hair appearing in my peripheral vision. It was getting kind of annoying, crackling sounded as i thought that, heck that was annoying too. Start meditating and you start noticing every little creak and click. “And why pray tell would I need help from my cargo?” Arch turned his attention to her, we all did, and I felt my horror grow as she spoke again. “B-because I know his plan,” I could see the mare lean into something as my anger and fear grew, the desire to hit the mare rising. In a sickly sweet voice he quered, “And what is his plan dear?” “He-he plans on d- AAAAHHHHH!” Ayodele had broken free of her captor and shot forward, sinking her teeth into the other mare’s neck. Relief swept through me at her action that had been too close. But, like all my actions and thoughts seem to be, I was wrong. The whip came down on her flank, cutting her hide, red streaks appearing. Her scream of pain was muffled as her jaw stayed locked on the traitor’s neck, causing in more screams and squeals to come from the equestrian. It felt surreal to me, the air crackling even as my body seemed to freeze, and the tears flowed from my eyes for a change. This wasn’t supposed to be like this. All the other mares cowered as the remaining nine mutts stood as a lineup before them, too afraid to act. As the crazy bastard continued to whip Ayodele, ‘accidently’ hitting the golden mare more and more frequently, I was trying to figure out what to do. My own pain was fading to merely a nauseous sensation, which was tolerable. All was recovering except for my wing, which was a steady throb of pain. Pain, anger, and- Fuck! *Crackle* I can’t focus with that god damn tail swishing over my face! The more I focused on my annoyance the more I noticed a new sensation, or I should say I heard it, a-Fuck! I lost my train of thought again. That damned…Glorious tail. Following it with eyes, I ignored the crackling in my ears as I timed it, one, two, and... “RAAAAAAARRRRRRWWWWWWW!” Everypony folded their ears. The dogs clutched at their ears and collapsing as Arch tried to detach me from his tail. That left the mares free from his assault, but I couldn’t spare them a glance. I was his newest target. On my hooves now I fought to remain upright as he chased his tail, or rather, he chased me since I attached his tail. I tried to keep behind him. Clamping my teeth together harder as he twisted his right wrist, trying to pull me around with the razor whip, while he beat on me with the whip in his other hand. I was starting to see spots as the pain was building up, my stomach threatening to desert me, and I knew I had to get away from him. This just wasn’t working. Pulling back on his tail I attempted to bring down, back with me, “FUCCCKKKK!” That only drove the blades in deeper, I didn’t think they could go any, any, I couldn’t hold in the screech as it covered up the crack I had felt in me. I couldn’t feel my wing. Silence rang over the room, my mind growing silent as a quiet fizzing started, pushing aside of all my other plans and worries as the thought repeated itself. I can’t feel my wing. I couldn’t feel my wing. My wing is gone! Where was, oh there it was, but when, when did I grow…I blinked as the tail slipped through my teeth, “B-bone?” Contemplation forgotten as a boot connected with my jaw, sending me back just like I wanted, only problem was he didn’t come down with me. He dropped the whip that was wrapped around my wing, going to grab the remaining whip with two hands. Slightly dazed as pain dominated my mind, I stared at him in confusion, my anger crackling below the surface. I kept it down though; it wasn’t helping me, unless lying beaten on a slimy floor was my goal. Forgetting the mares for a second, how do I end the pain, this battle? He looked ready to kill me, huffing, and winding up for a lashing. He wouldn’t kill me, right? The look in his eyes spoke pain, he would. His scent told me of anger and arousal, a strange combination. Garish clothes attempted to show off his body and I didn’t quite care right now. I wanted to vomit, then beat his sorry ass, help these mares…Mares, I wanted my mares, and he was being a right annoyance about me leaving. This cat should die, this time it wasn't just my mares motivating that homicidal thought, no, this little fuck thinks of us as playthings, bits, a fucking paycheck! But first... Arch brought the whip down on me and I couldn’t even bother to move, my skin almost numb from the pain built up. That pathetic amount he was trying to give me nothing compared to what I was already feeling. It was strange, to feel so much pain that you don’t feel, like my body was shutting down those impeding nerves. I had never felt this way. I was supposed to be better than him, an Alicorn. Groans and whines came from in front of me, behind the pompous sadist. And I couldn’t help but notice he was sporting a little tent right now. Was he getting off on my pain? He was getting off from their pain. The crackling was louder now, covering the sound of the whip as it came down again and again, crimson flying in my vision. Where the hell was that sound coming from? *Crackle* It annoyed the hell out of me. Here I was trying to figure out how to kill this sadistic tom and something had the gall to distract me. It was- Ayodele was staggering over now, the other mare still unconscious, Arch hadn’t noticed her, and I couldn’t focus on her. All I could hear was- My eyes widened as I realized my ears twitched but couldn’t track the noise, it was internal. Holy fuck! It was one of the sounds I hadn’t gone through yet, I hope anyway, I had gone through so many already…It couldn’t hurt to try this one, not more than I felt now anyway. Focusing my attention inward I gritted my teeth against his onslaught of lashes. There it was, I think, it was hard to describe going inside your mind. You saw some things like they were in front of you, in you, when all that was there was the back of your eyelids. That was what I saw though, something that couldn’t be there, cords, channels of yellow light coming from what must be my source of magic. It was too bright to see a shape, but it felt right, real to me. But the image in my head, the channels of power that may or may not be they were irrelevant. What did matter was the sound that I could ‘see’ they gave off. In my mind they crackled, sparking in time with my annoyance, almost like my emotions were connected to their function…It could explain the fact that my instincts don’t call for me to use magic often, my instincts come from anger mostly. That suggestion to use magic usually happens from my actual brain, the logical part. That was also irrelevant now, sure I had found my channels, but my focus on it was fragile, pain bordering on agony now. Passing the field of numbness and returning with a vengeance. As I have been searching for the magic inside me the slavers had slowly recovered, Arch had kept whipping away at my flesh. Now, how did I use this magic? Chrissy and Lyric hadn’t mentioned this step yet, Kapera had said I had to ‘force more magic’ through my channels. How do I force an intangible energy to do my will? “RWAAAARRRRR!” My eyes popped open, before me a bloody and determined zebra was hanging onto his tail. The dogs that had started to move again were forced to cover their oversensitive ears, the mares looked uncertain, maybe… “FIGHT BACK! THERE ARE FOUR TIMES AS MANY OF US THAN THEM!” I had to yell above Arch to be heard, and even through my wavering vision I saw their eyes change slightly. Maybe one more push, “I AM ALMOST THROUGH THIS INHIBITOR, YOU CAN HANDLE THOSE PUPPIES!” And I believed they could, they were like earth ponies, strong. Focusing on my magic, trying to ‘force’ it to listen, ‘remove this shackle’ I tell mymagic. No response. I still don’t know what the hell I’m doing! Arch heard me as well, the slight smell of fear coming from him, before I could even blink he clamped his jaw shut and grabbed her, nails extended. Now she was screaming as her coat turned red, his claws digging in. As I struggled to my hooves again, he was off through the open door, and she was a whimpering mass on the floor. The dogs, well, I was tuning out their screams now. Karma was a bitch. FUCK. As I finally stood, I could hear the dripping of blood, mine I’m sure. The skin ripping wider as I struggled to move, the crackle of my channels barely staying in my focus as I felt a new form of agony. I just needed more power, magic. If I asked Kapera, I’m sure she would point out how inexperienced in fighting I was. I was a foal in world. Heck, I would take her heckling over this this any day. Where was that bastard going? Following him anyway, I staggered up the stairs, into the light. Blinking at the daylight, I looked around. It was a deck, clean, bright, and surreal from the scene below. Sails billowed, birds called out to each other, and the wheel was steering itself. The deck was also empty, free of that bastard. Where- Then his voice reached my ears, turning I saw a door cracked open, which was probably the captain’s quarters. Who was he talking to? Creeping closer I tried to make out what he was saying, “…mer, you have to. He-,” someone responded, sounding far away like they were on a telephone. Peeking into the room I saw I was close, he was talking to a pink jewel as he had a head set styled device on, with pink jewels over his ears. As he prattled on as I narrowed my eyes at him. It was too late to stop his transmission for help but I could still listen in while I try to get my magic to listen. Okay, the first step was to feel the magic and I could now. Next, next I had to ‘force the magic’…That seemed wrong, it responded to my thoughts before. Why did I need to force it? Better yet, how? The crackling seemed to flow like my emotions, it was jumping around when I annoyed, and…I let my anger bleed through, thinking of how everything was going wrong. My channels shrunk as I thought that, most anyway, magic was streamlining from the mass in my center to the ones going down…To my hooves. It was all clicking now. When I was acting on instinct I was angry, instincts that brought my magic to my ‘earth’ pony attributes, amplifying my strength. Earth ponies holding the same, slightly smaller, shape as our ancestors, which is where the instincts stem from. When my logical side was in control, the channels seemed evenly balanced. Then…I thought of flying, gearing up my muscles for a flap. I watched in my head as the channels changed flow again, most of the magic going to my side channels, my wings. Following logic didn’t work out though. You would assume then that focusing on performing magic, or a ‘spell’ as Kapera had put it, would be the answer. But the answer is no. Asking my magic to remove the shackle did not cause any change in my channels besides them sparking with my annoyance. If ‘foal magic’ was the think and shoot type, then maybe a spell was like they had on earth? A set of words, a planned complicated string of thoughts, like…‘A bright lightning bolt shooting from my horn.’ Nothing happened, but an idea did occur to me. Perhaps I couldn’t force my magic, but I could make a spell, watch my channels as I say the sounds, words. Wait was it-. And I was flying backwards. Looks like spacing out wasn't the smartest move when my opponent is still alive. Fu- Wait, was that a flicker? I stood shakily; grimacing as I tried to dodge his boot, just because he was terrified didn’t make him declawed. Distance, I ducked behind the mast, letting him expel his energy and trying to figure what I thought that caused the sudden surge. Ducking a boot coming at my head, my vision swam. Fu- a flicker on my channels and another boot coming at my head, was it that sound? FU- The channel that seemed to run between my eyes flared more. Fuck. And it died as I said the whole word, okay, so ‘FU’ is a magic word, and the swear word isn’t. My ears folded back as I heard something coming up the stairs behind me. Just great, focusing the only magic word I knew I felt a heat build, between my eyes, and I grinned a little at Arch’s expression. He looked like he was going wet himself; my horn must be doing something, perfect. Focusing more on the word, my fur felt hot, but the release didn’t come. Where was the magic? It felt like more and more pressure was building behind my eyes, my channel was blinding in my mind, but- “GLUR! RAW-.” The Diamond dog was sent back as I automatically kicked him back down the stairs, swaying a little as most of my magic had left my legs, most of the feeling had left them really. ‘GLUR’ this you- I was blown back as the pressure released from my horn, the world turning white as I was flying back into-. ... ... ... "Ari?" ... "Is he breathing?" ... "So that's why they rule a country!" Escaping, Part 2.**** Shallow Shale ?????? I just couldn’t relax, not knowing if they were going to kill me or not. It grated on my already frazzled nerves. Logically, I should be dead. Queen Chrysalis had said I would live as long as I was useful, and I just didn’t see any use for me anymore. Not that I didn’t want to be useful, to live…But that traitorous Mongofu probably knew more than I could tell them about Arch and his crew. Arch had Ari now, he was alive…Of course I couldn’t kill an Alicorn. There was no doubt I would die for my attempt, now the question was just when and how. “Mfphmpfh! MMMMFFFFFF!” At least they have a new punching bag, that equestrian, and I couldn’t help but crack a small smile at that. According to the bull, Gennady, the bat pony’s name was Moonlit Echo. But names don’t mean much when you’re going to die and really he was just a weak flying rat. He did have guts though, for I second I almost believed he would escape…Echo had seemed so close to escaping…But like me, he was tricked by those guards that were in the Mongofu’s pockets, and now the bat pony is back. “OH, SHUT UP, you damned pony! I have a headache.” The changeling queen hissed at the bat pony as she rubbed a hoof to her forehead, swaying as the siren hybrid supported her shoulder. The heifer smiled and hit in the back of Echo’s head, happily knocking him out, at least I think he was just knocked out. He really had no reason to stay alive either and why he wasn’t dead yet…I didn’t know. This whole situation made no sense to me, like right now. “Can you last the whole trip? I-I could get one of the stallions,” Kapera queried, looking at Queen Chrysalis before glancing at the siren with a raised eyebrow. I watched in fascination as another strange thing occurred, this odd group was full of them, but I was mesmerized watching this drama. I mean…What else was there to do? She sniffed at the Mongofu then looked at the changeling, “I would prefer we don’t use my voice as a ‘get out of jail free card’, they do remember all their actions even if they can’t control them.” This was an interesting dynamic. Every being was catering to these two mares, even though the Mongofu was leading this plan, she was catering to them. Here she was offering to bring the queen food and she wasn’t even a changeling. I can only guess being Ari’s mares had its perks. “No, I-I don’t want another stallion to feed me…I will wait for Ari.” He didn’t seem that great, annoying was more like it. “Look here, Chrissy, I know you love him but he wouldn’t want-.” ‘Chrissy’ interrupted her, packing her things as she went. “NO! You listen here! His absence does not mean I go around feeding off any being…I want him and only him that way.” As the Mongofu went to open her mouth again, “And that is my final word on it, Lyric will have to feed me till then.” If I didn’t know better it sounded like the queen of the changelings was weak right now…Those were her weak punches?! Well, buck, I’m lucky I guess. Those hurt plenty I don’t want to feel her punches at full power. It would explain why I haven’t seen her use any magic yet, only the siren has been using magic. “FINE,” Kapera snarled, “You are just thinking of yourself, selfish mare. See if I care what happens, NO, you will hear plenty of this from your stallion when I tell him.” She crossed her arms as bags clicked shut and cloaks fluttered. Something was going on here. Why was the queen so weak? It was only four days without her stallion, from the looks of it, her…Herd mate…Lyric was providing her with love. There was so much that didn’t make sense here. But more concerning than the nonsensical nature of this group was what they were doing. “You sure I can come Kapera?” The young bull asked, grabbing a satchel and filling it with food. She sighed, “YES,” the heifer snorted at her, which she ignored. “How many times do I have to repeat myself,” he opened his mouth, “That was a rhetorical question you daft calf.” As for myself? Of course I was coming to rescue the damned Alicorn, couldn’t help it when I was hogtied and being carried around like sack of flour. Not that I liked the alternative, despite disliking this situation it was still a step above being dead. I felt my position shift as suddenly I was held away from the Minotaur, all eyes were on me now, “What should I do with her?” That damned heifer had to bring that up. “Well,” the Mongofu’s claws grasped my muzzle, looking me in the eyes as I fought to keep my body from shaking. Damn it, I felt a shiver travel down my back. “I don’t think she knows much about where Arch will be visiting. Do you zebra?” Still shaking, I shook my head no, not trusting my voice. “So I don’t see why we should bring another mouth to feed.” “Hey!” The bull piped up from bringing the fifth bag to the door, they had quite a pile going. Every being was watching Kapera, even the mares who had been giving me the stink eye seconds ago. “Don’t be so sensitive calf, you are going to be a big help. No, this is just a predicament.” She sighed, “We don’t have a use for her, can’t exactly let her roam free anymore like that lunar guard, and we can’t kill her here.” “Let’s just bring her anyway; she can be sea serpent bait or something. But we have to get going!” Queen Chrysalis was already under her cloak, saddle bags on, and was looking anxiously at the clock above the doorway. We had less than two hours before sunset. Every being looked at the clock before nodding, bags being double checked, latched, and loaded onto the minotaur’s backs. I was placed on my side beside the unconscious stallion as the heifer went to the back room. “So stripes,” I turned to the rodent, she was coming at me with a chain in her paw. “It looks like your coming with us then. I hope you can share!” Wrapping the chain around my muzzle and giggling as she made spoke the last part, I could only stare at her. What- Heavy hoof steps came from behind. Turning my head I saw the mares snicker at me, why- Oh, Tartarus no, anything but that. Turning back to the one in charge of this, I pleaded my case, “Plrmrmppmrpmrp!” I heard a hollow thump behind me, “Arrrrrrmph!” The heifer lifted me by my bonds, “Nrr, nrr, nrr! Arr lmmpg krr mr ommph!” “Let me think…No, now shut up already!” With that response from the changeling I was unceremoniously dropped. It was a very small crate. Although you might not believe me I am afraid of confined spaces, now you may wonder then why I became an assassin since that can involve hiding in small spaces, and simply put: I can leave those spots if I need to. Here I was trapped, curled around myself, and unable to- BUCK! They dropped that damn bat in here with me. He really emphasized just how small the crate was, I already was cramped in here and now my nose was trapped somewhere I would rather not think about. “Come on Dinny, we have a boat to borrow!” With that ‘Dinny’ nailed on the lid…Wait a second, where were the air holes in here?! **** Somewhere on the Narrow sea Ari It was like I could feel everything and nothing all at once, the sensations were so many that it amounted to nonsense to my senses. Worse than the time I ended up in the infirmary after taking on an asshole who also happened to be a bodybuilder. Let’s just say that after that I wasn’t allowed to defend my friend’s honor anymore, and now at thirty two I really shouldn’t have to anymore. I couldn’t now…But that point aside, I felt like hell. “…Ari…” Explaining the sensations is hard, there was too many to focus on one part. I guess starting at the top would help. My horn feels sore, like some- Never mind, Arch did kick me there. But I also feel better than I should have, lighter, happier. It was probably the breeze, gentle wafting over my fur. It spoke of freedom; it told me inhibitor was gone! My fur felt sticky, the ground, no wood, was wet. Did it rain? The clip clop of many hooves reached my ears, getting fainter then louder. Keeping my eyes closed, I focused on the rest of my body. Throat, dry, torso, well, that felt like it was stiff and burning. Don’t ask me how, it was hot, dry, and something told me that moving would be a bad idea. I was going to listen to that thought for now. Forelegs, stiff and sticky, okay next would be my wings. Pain lanced through me as I accidently moved the tip of my wing. Wait- “C-can you hear me Ari?” That voice seems very familiar. “Ari, if you can hear give me a sign. Please!” The sound of hooves growing fainter by my sides, before growing louder, closer to me, and my ears twitched as I tried to track the pony. Or was it ponies? There was a lot of hooves clip clopping now, a lot of gasps and murmurs too. But what was more important was if I should move. Exactly how much damage did my body take on? There was only one way to find out. Right, what was after the torso? My lower half, okay, that was sticky, stiff- Get your head out of the gutter! Not that, no, I felt like my skin was pulled taut, stretched thin, and the fur was clumped. Hind legs and rump felt the same, just like my torso…. Why did my tail feel so light? Flicking it again I realized I couldn’t feel the breeze my tail used to make, I hadn’t even paid much attention to that before, as it usually acted on its own. I had to see this, everything just felt wrong. I could understand some of what happened to make my body sore and stiff, it had to be the whipping I took, but…Where was the rest of my tail? No. Where was my other wing? Opening my eyes was hard, not due to the gunk that builds up from sleeping, but from the dread of what I might see. Last thing I remember was a blinding whiteness, and whiteness always makes me think back to that endless white plane the god had me trapped in. Despite my status as an Alicorn I still feared that god, crazy bastard. Blue, a bright, cloudless, light blue spanned above me, filled with small dots circling, birds. The waves swayed the boat, gently, like they knew already that I was in pain. Voices conversed in the background, hooves slowly made their way towards me again. “Ari!” Casting my eyes down, they froze, my eyes not the ponies. It wasn’t the bloody and battered group of mares making their way towards my form, no, it was what was behind them. More accurately, something was missing. “Are you okay? Can we help you up?” The brown mare asked while supporting a swaying zebra. They were walking over, slowly, and almost cautiously. No, that wasn’t right, in fact this whole picture didn’t add up. I couldn’t focus on them when the ship was missing its mast, steering wheel. Heck, everything above the deck level in front of me was just gone. A jagged stump showed where the mast used to be. Behind that, the jagged points of wood indicated where the captain’s quarters used to be, the entire frame just GONE! Fuck, what did I do?! “A-Ari?”It was the mare again, looking at me uncertainly. Exactly, that was how I felt, “What the hell happened?!” More mares came up from below and I felt relieve as it sunk in: we won. “You…Beat Arch…Are you feeling okay? You were unconscious for awhile.” She scuffed her hooves on deck, bringing up dark shavings. It took a couple blinks to come to my senses from her question, “I feel like I was run over by a semi-,” A round of confused stares and opening mouths. “Never mind, it’s an earth thing. I feel a lot of pain. All the dogs are dead?” “Yes, b-but we lost some ponies.” She looks like she is going to be sick as she says that, not that anything would come up from her boney frame, but…To come from a paradise to end up like this, seeing all this. I can relate, sure earth is bad, but it isn’t this bad. At least not my corner of it. “I-I’m sorry,” and I was, no pony, zebra, or human should have to see this. I sighed, “Nothing can make that better but we need to live. There is still plenty to do…Can I get a hoof up?” I held up a hoof, not trusting my own strength or muscles, I was so stiff, and I still didn’t- “HOLD IT!” A zebra mare shot forward, grabbing the outstretched hoof that the brown mare was extending to me. This zebra had such a serious look on her face that I lowered my hoof again. She had that look, the look that demanded you listen, ears back, eyes narrowed, and mouth set in a grim line. “Marble! Didn’t I just explain why we moved him to the open area? Did you forget about that?!” “OH! Sorry Folami, I f-forgot.” Marble took her hoof back and looked and me, grimacing. Folami sighed and pointed behind me, “Take her to the cabin and bring me back a plank-” she glanced at me. “-about four feet long, not any longer than that, and don’t forget the wrappings!” With Marble and her group gone Folami turned back to me, looking slightly more relaxed, but with a tired look in her eyes. “So, we won huh?” All she could give me was a sad smile, “This battle, yes, but we still have to make it back to Zebrica before the other ships become aware of our victory…You are still going to help us?” Her eyes roamed my body, not sexually, more like analyzing my ability to help. I knew I mustn’t look very impressive right now. “Yes, if my magic can do that-,” I pointed where the chunk of the ship was missing, “- then I don’t think I should have a problem. Only…” I hesitated not sure if I should wait to tell her. “Only?” Sooner was probably better, I didn’t know how many pirates, slavers, whatever, were coming or what they would have with them. They had teleportation and magic transmitters, theoretically they could have bullets, guns, and quite frankly I don’t think I could survive a bullet in the brain. “Only that I have to get back to my mares too.” She blinked, looking at me strangely, ears splaying and with an odd look in her eyes. That wasn’t quite what I meant to say, but it was true none the less. “And I overheard Arch talking to some being over the jewel communications device thing…Which is now gone.” Then it sunk in. No, not the fact that Chrissy and Lyric were guaranteed to be worried sick now, I already knew that, I mean four days is self explanatory. It was the fact that I had blasted away our steering system. No mast meant we didn’t have any sail, no wheel meant we had no rudder control, and no communications meant exactly what it sounded like. I messed up, we were stranded. “Buck, just buck,” Folami cursed, stomping the deck. I wasn’t sure to what exactly; anything about this situation was applicable to swearing. Marble returned then, a plank in her mouth and a red bag on her back. “Perfect, set it down there.” The earth pony placed the items by my right wing, “Great, now go place your hooves on his chest, hold him down when I say ‘one’, okay?” That sinking feeling was coming back to me as Marble got into position. “Wait a second…” I turned my head to the right, my wing, oh shit. “D-don’t you guys know a spell? Or something magical, not THIS,” Folami moved my wing to slide the plank under it, pain tingled through those nerves, and she was being gentle with it. “No Ari, we don’t have that sort of magic. But I was my town’s healer so I think I can handle this, it’s just like a broken leg.” I guess that’s what her cutie mark of a bottle pouring out means. “No-ssssss,” I was about to protest but Marble’s hooves pressed down into my open wounds. I bite my cheek as the pain increased; she was plucking feathers around the bone sticking out. She was going fast but between the agony I had already been in, Marble’s hooves, and Folami’s plucking it was hard to think straight. “COMING THROUGH!” A blur of stripes galloped past me to the room behind us. “Three…” I closed my eyes, “two…” A deep breath through my nose, and I began tensing of my muscles, shit-“ONE!” A loud crack sounded, I think, my screaming dominated my mind. Somewhere in my mind I knew it was mine. It was loud, I know, but I couldn’t keep it in, damn this hurt. Hmm, What? “Up, get UP!” Bleary I did, my eyes swimming with tears. I swayed for a second, wanting to vomit from the pain. Something was wrapping around my torso, blinking, I slowed my breathing and looked back. They were wrapping my wing to my body…Okay. I guess that solves that problem. Damn I miss Lyric’s horn now, it was gentle in comparison to this method…I miss her, really, both of them in general. I had to get back to them, wherever that was. “Are you going to be okay?” I nodded, slowing my breathing as the pain faded to a dull ache. “Good, come on, I have more ponies to tend to and they need to see their leader.” Leader? Tucking my other wing to my body I saw the door the zebras had ran to. We walked stiffly to the room; although I was the most injured of the three of us they weren’t unscathed. Folami had a scratch on her face and many on her rump, while Marble had three long scratches on her back. This was pretty good considering this was after being fed very little for an extended period of time, so I was impressed. “Buck!” I swore, looking inside the room, it was a little shocking to see. What I’m sure must have been the mess hall was now a make shift infirmary. Tables pushed to the side walls with blankets on them, now makeshift beds, and all of them were filled. Lanterns hung from the ceiling, swaying in time with the ship as the most able ponies hobbled around to tend to the most injured. There was a lot of bloody gauze and bandages; it almost looked like we had come from a war movie. Every pony froze and looked at us as we entered…There seemed to be less than I remembered or it could be because the room was bigger than the cell. Then I remembered Marble’s words, some had died in the fight. “H-how many did we lose?” My voice sounded dry to me, cracking as I felt a sadness descend upon me. “Ten…So far,” Folami answered solemnly, moving from my side to the back of the room. There was a collection of bags, wrappings, and bottles set before a fireplace. “But there are still more on the edge…Can you help grab some bales from the hull.” She looked back at me, probably seeing my confusion, “You have your magic back and we don’t have the strength to lift them right now. Some food would do us a world of good.” Bales, like hay bales? Well I guess we are horses technically. I nodded to her. Then looked to the ponies as many went back to work, while many more began murmuring, whispering among themselves as they looked at me. Seven zebra were dead. But many more ponies were alive at least. There was four pegasi I could see, two of which looked much like me, their wings wrapped up. Four earth ponies were left. I scanned the crowd again; I couldn’t see the yellow one. Marble was still pressed into my side, “Did the yellow pony die?” She nodded, looking away from my gaze. “Y-yes, Pumpkin Spice was…She was losing it, I think.” Marble gulped, turning back to me. “Can I help you?” She gestured to the door leading to the kitchen and I nodded. What else could I say? We were stuck in this together and she didn’t seem like she was going to pull a Pumpkin Spice on me, her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears. But… “A-Ayodele?” I stuttered out, feeling somewhat attached to the brave mare, the only one willing to do something to get free, I owed her one. Okay I owed her more than one, she had helped distract Arch, and helped give the others courage. “Yes, she is alive. On one of the tables I think. She was almost trampled during the fight.” I released a breath I didn’t even realize I had been holding, I’m glad she is alive. Entering the kitchen I was immediately reminded of an important fact, I hadn’t eaten in almost five days. The setting sun shone in through the window, casting the island countertop and sinks in an orange glow. I looked around, not seeing the food, my stomach grumbling my confusion as I tried to make sense of this. “Where are the bales? Better yet where is any food?” A hollow tap made me look down, a hatch blended in with the floor; I gave her a sheepish smile. “Thanks Marble.” My magic crackled as soon as I thought of opening it. Even faster than before, with just the slightest bit of will and it shot up…I might need to work on that. Marble had jumped at how fast it moved and I almost did too, the hatch was thankfully very sturdy, it only cracked a little from the force. Even though I wasn’t imagining my channels I still heard them, like I couldn’t ‘unhear’ them once I was in tune with them…Cool! With a pained bounce to my step I went down the staircase. Heaven was a pantry. Pantry was the wrong word for it, it was a whole room, double the size of the mess hall, and filled with food. Not all of it was useful mind you; I could see barrels marked with pictographs of steaks, cows, fish, and pig heads. That would have been useful had I been a human still. But I was a horse now, which is why those stacks and stacks of hay looked mouth watering to me. *Drip* I looked down, huh? Oh! I was still bleeding. Going to have to take care of that eventually. Let’s see…Five bales should be a good start, they instantly became trapped in my magic. And…I looked around, spotting something that looked even better; I grabbed that barrel in my magic as well. “Uhh,” Marble looked at me then the food. “Can I grab one?” Chuckling I turned around, heading up the stairs, “Sure, grab one.” I started snickering as she snorted at them, me really. “You know I can’t when you have them up there!” They might have been touching the ceiling, just maybe. “Mhmm,” I stopped giggling, feeling calmer as she approached, “You know are helping just by being with me, I don’t need help with the food. Besides it is nice to get away from the gore a little you know?” She returned to my side, silent. “You know I was just a civilian on my planet, right? I lived a nice peaceful life, far away from stuff like this.” I motioned to the ‘infirmary’ as we entered it. She had a new look to her face, I didn’t know what it meant, and I’m sure the rest of the group was listening in now too. “R-really?” “Yup,” I placed the bales and barrel down in the middle of the room, “I was just a civilian, a nopony before coming here. This-,” I gestured to the injured ponies, many with wrappings dotted with red, “-isn’t my old normal. But I want to stop this from being my new normal. So I need to stop these slavers and those, your princesses.” As I opened the barrel she looked at the floor. I inhaled an apple before holding out an apple to her. “They really aren’t my rulers anymore, I-I don’t know if I can follow them, live in their country after seeing this.” She grabbed the apple from me, ears splayed as she looked at it. With a nod to her, darkness snuck into the room, the sun was gone. I lay down, wincing as my skin protested; she joined me soon after, looking to be deep in thought. “Well that’s okay. I don’t want to follow them either…No, I won’t be joining Equestria.” The equestrians were giving me their full attention now. “Besides I have many things left to do. Most pressing is how we are going to make it to land, where ever that is…And,” I took a deep breath. “Arch had got a call out before I could stop him so we have a deadline now.” I started distributing more apples as more ponies joined us in the middle, looking worriedly at me and hungrily at the food. Folami approached me, “Can you gently levitate the ponies off the table? The body heat here will help them heal.” I nodded, levitating the twelve ponies on their blankets to the growing pony pile. Now where was- There! I gently lowered Ayodele in front of me, frowning as I took in her form. It was mostly wrapped up in bandages, bulging from the amount of gauze that was under them. With a small splint on her hind hock she really looked like she was almost trampled. Snapping the binder twine on the bales, I sighed before I looked at the assembled ponies. We certainly were an unlikely group, but we would have to win, families were at stake here. Distributing hay and apples I looked around, “Ok so here is the situation. The good news is we have tons of food, water, and all the slavers are dead. We are still fifty ponies strong, I broke the magic inhibitor-,” happy murmurs started up, but I cut them off, “-but the bad news is Arch managed to send out a call before I killed him.” And I wiped off like half the deck, the important steering half too. “So we need to come up with a plan to handle whoever might come. Who knows anything about these slavers, anything at all?” “They use a variety of species in their crews!” “Except for Arch, he only liked working with the Diamond dogs.” “They pick up new loads every eight weeks!” Folami sighed, “The pirates have our leaders ensnared, some are bribed, but most are held hostage by the same fear we have.” Again, the timeline of families at risk. “Okay, so are they organized? Are they competitive over their areas? Are they separated by fleets? Cause Arch was definitely calling for help.” The munching of hay filled the room as every pony dug in, and I had to restrain myself. Eating slow was hard as I waited for her finish her bite. “I wouldn’t call them organized but they definitely have a code of some sort. There is one group of slavers that no being will cross…Rumor has it that the captain is from beyond the Endless sea,” a hush spread through the room as we all leaned towards her. “He is said to be as tall as the princesses, walks on two legs like a Minotaur, but remains as flexible as a Vildkatt!” Raising a hoof I looked at her. “Yes?” “What’s a Vildkatt?” Marble interjected as Folami sighed, “It was what Arch was.” I nodded to her, nuzzling her in thank you, before turning back to Folami. “As I was saying, they all differ to him. If he wants what any pirate has they give it to him…Or die. He isn’t known for being merciful. I don’t know his name but he is called many things, ‘The Pirate King’, ‘God of the Seas’, and many other ones. But those two are the most common.” That gave me a lot to think about, he was making Arch sound like a baby. If he has garnered the fear of a whole nation, the fear of his fellow pirates…I mean, he sounds pretty bad to me, evil even. “So how long do you think we have till he, or some other pirate gets here?” “A couple of days at best, more if we can move this ship, somepony destroyed the navigation room.” I winced at Folami’s words. That was my bad. What else can I say? I have lots of magic in me, but I have no idea how to control it. Especially now that I can access my magic reserves. "Well, we should get planning then!" Escaping, Part 3.The Narrow Sea Chrissy Kapera shouldn’t surprise me anymore, yet she did that night. She was able to get a boat easily. Despite it being half an hour before sunset, they hardly batted an eye at her calling in a favor, the captain seeming, dare I say relieved that she had called in her favor. That overly worried Mongofu had something on every being it seemed, or at least the ones that had something useful, no being had even tried to stop us when we took the zebra back in the street. But he might have been so willing because he was also on a ‘vacation’ from fishing right now, something about the seas being a bad place to be. His reasoning was a half baked lie of some sort, the captain was sweating as he spoke, and none of us cared why he was clearly nervous. Kapera was an intimidating Mongofu when she wanted to be. Not to mention, I had wanted Ari desperately, I still miss him. The sky had been clear then, not a cloud in sight, and it still was today as well. Nothing to be nervous about, in fact it was a perfect day to be out on the water. Lyric insisted it was, she had been eyeing the water with excitement the whole trip actually. We had been sailing along the coast for three days now, leaving me with plenty of time to think. Like how I hate boats or more specifically, I hate the motion of boats. The first day, night really, it wasn’t too bad. Lyric had tittered around me like a mother hen, propping up cushions, and making sure there was plenty of water and a bucket nearby at all times. That was incredibly silly on her part, the bucket, seeing as I don’t eat physical varieties of food. But I had been suffering through another spell of nausea, which was horrible; at least if Lyric felt nauseous she could get some relief by vomiting, nothing happened if I tried. Although I really should be grateful, thankful that Kapera was keeping true to her word to not bother me. My patience was practically nonexistent now as Lyric has already found out. Now it was the third day and I felt even worse than when I first met Ari, yesterday I thought I was getting better, the headache had finally quit. But then I woke up today. It was like my stomach was eating itself, the foal demanding what I just didn’t have for it. Meanwhile, a pickaxe was threatening to split my skull apart and no amount of Lyric’s kisses and attempts at smothering me in love had stopped it so far. “This may be a stupid question,” another crunch as Lyric bit into her fifth apple, her foal was starting to make itself known. “But you have teeth, throat, and a stomach; you know…All the equipment to eat. Can you eat, like, regular food?” “No Lyric,” I sighed wincing as the pickaxe took another attempt at shattering my skull. “I can’t taste regular food or digest it…My digestion track is different than our ancestors, shrunk if you will. I have different organs that take up that space that your larger stomach and intestines would.” She paused in her eating, munching being replaced by silence. Followed by hums of thinking coming from her perch on my back, a spot she theorized would be better for love absorption, more contact. It did help, but not by much. It was a crude way I had explained feeding to her, contact just increased the speed at which I took it in, it was also dependent on quantity, and Ari’s amount of love still overshadowed hers. “So what about the foal then, does it, will it eat regular food?” “I just don’t know if it will. Lyric, foals eat whatever the mare eats, and…” She sighed, knowing exactly why I had trailed off. There were too many ifs and variables to give any clear answers. “I know, but Kapera did say-.” “And what did I say?” Kapera asks walking into our cabin, her face smudged with dirt. We haven’t left it all day. I was conserving my energy, obviously, and also apparent was Lyric’s presence. Although she wasn’t just present for my wellbeing, I think she was feeling our stallion’s absence stronger than she wanted to let on, and her mask was nearly perfect. But I was a changeling. Sensing emotions, feeding on emotions had some advantages, despite what right now felt like. I could sense her sorrow, growing as the days did. It had been a whole week. “Um, that we are approaching Arch’s next pick-up point soon?” Lyric responded before I saw her magic grab another apple. “Correct, since he stopped in at the cove his next stop could be at several hideaway ports along the coast, if he had any ‘cargo’ to pick up. We have already passed them. So his largest port remains ahead. Then-.” She cut herself off looking pensive, “How long ago did the Badlands flood? Was it to the coast yet?” I could see where she was going with this. The slave ring must have had a port at the edge of the Badlands, probably where we bordered the sea with the volcanic strait. My heart clenched a little at the thought that they had been so close to my hiveland. It did make sense though, the volcanic strait lead straight to the Dragon’s homelands, it passed by Saddle Arabia, and by the Diamond mountain range. “Chrissy? Are you there?” “What? Yes, I’m here…I can’t say anything about the coastal area of the Badlands but the central area was nearly completely flooded, and it had already flooded the underground portions of the hive when we left. That was four months ago, the port may well be under water by now.” Her face scrunched up and we all ignored the muffled voices outside, our prisoners were less than happy about their situation right now, very understandable really. “Might as well keep course with this route anyway, we have to catch up with them eventually…Arch is too much of a wimp to take north way around, he will double back…” Kapera trailed off but I had already understood her meaning, his return trip would follow the same route. But would Ari be on it? Lyric broke the silence, finishing her sixth apple. “So why did you come to see us Kapera?” “Just wondering if you wanted to come out on the deck? You know, see the sights, and enjoy the breeze…Maybe interrogate that spy? Toss the Zebra overboard…” I gave a weak chuckle, immediately regretting it as the migraine struck in retaliation. Some air might help the nausea at least. I knew the migraine wouldn’t quite till I ate more. “Sure why not? Why haven’t you chucked her overboard yet anyway?” Kapera pointed at Lyric and I felt the lounging pillow we were resting on levitate. “Well, as much as I would love to toss her, she did this to your stallion and I felt it was your right to decide her fate…Although I’m all for tossing her to the serpents, in case you were curious. Both of them actually, we have too many mouths here to feed.” **** Moonlit Echo Throw me overboard? Horse apples, I better get moving. I started to saw harder at my restraints, a stray nail from the crate tightly gripped in my teeth, making miniscule progress at the rope. Only three strands were frayed out of the twenty or so there. It was better than nothing though. Adrenaline filled my body as I saw Kapera exit the captain’s quarters, worried for a second they had seen the nail. A muffled sigh escaping the side of my muzzle as I realized they were looking at each other, they hadn’t seen me yet. The changeling queen was coming though, and I heard her voice again so I quickly tucked the nail into the rope, just the head peeking out from the bundle. Why was I trying to break out of these ropes I’m sure you are wondering? Sure, I was shackled underneath the ropes but if I could get my wings free then I could fly for help, that was the one thing they couldn’t do right now. By some small mercy, the mare of luck had taken one of the changeling’s wings. Speaking of that parasite… Trying to look innocent, I watched them approach, unable to help but raise an eyebrow at the spectacle the changeling queen was becoming. She was levitating over on a cushion…That was ridiculous and worrying. Could she catch me if I flew using that flying cushion? I didn’t know, but the fact that she wasn’t even walking was supporting my emerging theory. Over the last couple of days I had witnessed many strange things that had brought me to a confusing and surreal conclusion: Queen Chrysalis was weak and possibly, hopefully dying. For Luna’s sake don’t give me that look! Let me explain, trust me on this; I know it sounds crazy but I have proof. At first, I thought she must have been faking her headaches and wobbling steps, trying to get my guard down, to get my sympathy or something like that. But I don’t know any other way to explain this, it seemed too real. She was affected nearly all the time, in fact earlier today she had tried to come out to join them for breakfast and practically collapsed in the doorway! Even as the others fussed over her she was resisting, trying to shove off their help...It seemed genuine, like when Night Glider refusing a hoof up after losing, too prideful to be faked. Furthermore, for three days she had not used one ounce of magic that I could see. Not one spark of green. She also did not take the kill shot back in the shop, or disguise herself to catch me on the street. The others had done all the work, especially her herd mate. Sorry for shuddering there, it is just; well there is no nice way of putting it. The mare was hideous to look at, some sort of hybrid I think, and a bad mix in my opinion. I know we were supposed to be polite to the other species but some ponies took it a step too far and we got things like this mare. It is no surprise that the only things that will have her are the parasites. I think she was a dragon-pony hybrid, the scales suggested it, and the way the zebra looked at her in fear. Did she breathe fire? Anyway…Right, the changeling had not left her herd mate’s side and vice versa. The point is they were attached at the hip. Well, back right now. Franken mare was lying on the changeling’s back, levitating them out on a cushion…She isn’t even bothering to walk out anymore, I know I already said that, but isn’t that proof enough? The other beings weren’t even blinking at this display, like it was expected…Not only was the queen weak but everyone seemed to be skirting around the issue, avoiding saying- “So what do you want to do with the spy?” This got the attention of the Minotaurs, who had been talking quietly by the helm of the boat, they came over looking at me with disdain. The Zebra looked at me, eyes tired, blank, and ears flicking in the strong gust that ripped across the deck. I don’t even want to know how long they have had her prisoner. “Hmm, I don’t–nrggh-know Kapera...Has he said anything yet?” “No, the flying rat has been tight lipped, mind you; I haven’t had the time to give him a good interrogation. We have been trying to catch as many breaks with the wind as possible. I think we have gained a good half a day, maybe a whole day on Arch’s ship, especially if he stops at the port.” Another strong gust pushed against me, actually moving me slightly on my rope. Sorry, the villains had me hanging upside down from a plank they had nailed to the mast. I was joined, of course, by the zebra. They brought us down for feeding and a sip of water, but as you can imagine from the rodent’s complaint, we were extra mouths to feed, on a limited timeline. They hadn’t spoken a word to the zebra mare since removing us from that crate, yes, I woke up in a crate, and I am not talking about that. It was embarrassing and, and, no! Now they were talking about tossing me overboard, well, the other prisoner too. But…I didn’t want to die, at least not without confessing my love to Luna first, and then I could die a happy stallion. So, escaping was my only option. “Good,” The changeling gave a smile to her, an almost grateful smile. Weird, actually this whole situation was weird. “I guess we might as well question him since we are still…” Her muzzle went into a frown and she winced, her headache I assumed. The scaled mare attempted to comfort her to my alarm, “Don’t worry if he gets loud again we can always toss him overboard!” Shut up! Even more worrying was the fact that the heifer and rodent looked more than happy to help with that, the heartless criminals. Gennady seemed unsure then, his disdain gone, and making eye contact with me, shrugging. I still couldn’t believe him. He had seemed so innocent, helpful, back at the makeshift dock…But, so had the changelings when they were in disguise. “Lyric, you know that’s not a good idea. Thestrals don’t just wander to the coast; they are part of the Lunar guard…” She squinted her eyes at me, cocking her head. “He is definitely part of the guard, the stealth armor, and I remember seeing him around the castle. His name was night-something or other…Or moon-something or other, I can’t remember. Though, he was always by Moonbutt.” M-moonbutt?! “My name is Moonlit Echo and don’t you dare disrespect Princess Luna you, you bug!” I yelled at her, my ears folding back as the anger coursed through me. How dare she?! Her eyes turned cold, “And why should I respect your princess?” She spat out the word ‘respect’ like it was disgusting to her. “What has she ever done to command my respect?” Despite her dead eyes her voice was venomous now, far more passionate than her eyes let on. “She raises the same moon you hide under, scuttling like the insect you are. Controls the stars that you use to guide your nefarious plans, direct your wayward life! And she destroys nightmares! Without her and Princess Celestia you wouldn’t have night and day! I think that is more than worthy of respect you insect!” I grinned at them, feeling victorious. That was irrefutable- “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,” Queen Chrysalis was laughing at me… I narrowed my eyes at her, what an ungrateful- “Dear Faust! Can he hear himself? He sounds like an echo of some bucking propaganda.” The rodent shook her head at me as I heard some cracking. Looking over I quickly saw why, the Minotaur siblings were looking very eager to try a pony punching bag, namely me. I guess she really took that spear to heart; it wasn’t anything personal, although it might be. Why were all the Minotaurs I had met so far on Ari’s side, the changeling’s side? A swoosh reached my ears- “Ahhhhh!” I cried out as the zebra attached herself to my neck. After a couple seconds she let go, swinging away from me, “Nenda buck mwenyewe Thestral! Umeharibu nchi yangu!” I don’t know what in Tartarus she just said but I think she hates me, or at least hated something I said. “YOU CRAZY SAVAGE!” I know, not the smartest thing to do, insult the violent mare just a swing away from trying to eat you. Sure every pony says the stories of pony-eating zebras are just stories, but I’m starting to feel like there was some truth in them. She was bearing her teeth at me, with a clump if my fur stuck in them. The hybrid just gave me a sad look as I looked at the group before me. “I know, and that is why I left.” I looked over at the rodent, she wasn’t looking at me, she was staring at the savage while frowning, a sad frown as her eyes softened. Why was the yellow demon sad? Was she one of those Zebrica savages? Then why- Lyric interrupted my thoughts though, “You are from Zebrica?” “Well, yes.” The rodent looked at the group before releasing a sigh, ears folding back, and tail dropping. “But my family left many years ago. Our rebellion against the king of pirates was failing, our village slated for extinction…” My neck pain fading as I was sucked in by her voice, whatever story she had started spinning. What was she on about? ‘King of Pirates’ and extinction, just what story was she crafting? It didn’t matter. I wasn’t some foal that would fall for her tale. A heavily accented voice spoke from beside me, “Nguvu...What really happened there?” “That name I haven’t heard in a long time…Well the bucking truth is we were outnumbered, overpowered, and we all died or fled.” She looked at me, like really looked at me then, her golden eye narrowing as she assessed me. “And don’t you DARE spout your bucking propaganda at me you bucking tartarus bound racist!” She turned back to the savage she was, removing her apron to our gasps. “THIS IS BUCKING REAL!” A paw pointed at her c-chest, “I AM SICK OF HEARING YOUR PRAISES AND PRAYERS TO THAT IGNORANT PRINCESS! BECAUSE OF THEM-,” She suddenly stopped, taking deep breaths, “-they brought the trade but they never regulated it…The pirates, no, the slave traders had taken over, still run the country.” Silence dominated the deck for a second, this turned into many as I gazed at her chest…That wasn’t fake, it was disgusting, and I didn’t know what to say. K-Kapera’s chest, abdomen really, was screwed up in a criss-cross of raised skin. It was furless, pattern less, and white from scar tissue. I had only seen such images in sketches in the medical training manuals, the old ones, the really, really old ones. From the time just after the great war, when ponies came home bearing such wounds, now spells had come so far, and most recruits couldn’t handle the images in the old books. I’m no scholar but I believed in being prepared…I wasn’t prepared for this twist. This was real, something was really happening, scars like that don’t happen from a petty training accident. What was it? I looked at the beings before me, glancing at the sav- zebra beside me. Why? The queen of changelings suddenly invaded four months ago, after nearly half a millennia of remaining hidden, and lost. Why was she still so weak? Where were this herd mate and the king during the invasion? Strategy wise, it could have gone off without a hitch if he had replaced the groom- “You are very quiet there Moonlit Echo. I hope you aren’t thinking of escaping now, are you?” This time the queen interrupted my contemplation, her voice cold and dead. Looking up, I blinked in her direction, my anger replaced with confusion. “Why? I don’t understand.” I looked around the deck at the motley crew before me. “That is a pretty broad question there Echo, you will have to be more specific.” Sighing as frustration welled up inside me, there was soo much I didn’t know. Gaps and inconsistencies that poked at my theories, “None of this makes sense.” My foreleg jerked in the ropes as I tried to gesture to the group before me. “Why did you invade without the changeling king? Why then and not before? Where was that, that, h-hybrid during the invasion? Why are you so weak? Wh-.” A snort sounded before I was hit with a ball of water. I spluttered in shock for a second before I looked at the mares, their ears were back, and another orb of water was suspended in the air like a snowball. Why does my hoof like my mouth so much? The bull’s uncertain voice reached me, “What changeling king?” “Really Gennady?! You are still acting innocent? After leading me to my death you are still playing that Ari is an Alicorn?! I’m not a foal!” Water hit the deck, “You really think Ari is a changeling?” “Ari is certainly not a changeling. He is however the only chance we have to saving the world,” Her eyes narrowed at me, “Your world. Now don’t go giving me that look. To answer your questions, Ari is an Alicorn that was brought to our planet by a god to save this world from the unbalance your princesses have caused. SHUT IT!” I did, “By moving the sun and moon around they have upset the balance so Ari is going to meet them and convince them to stop. However we are now on this boat due to some zebra,” She turned her glare to the mare hanging beside me,“Trying to kill him, which had lead to him getting captured, and us going to rescue him. Any more questions bat?” My eyebrow twitched and I swallowed my reaction to correct the bat slur. I had so many questions. If, and it was a big if still, if she was telling the truth then that left several new questions. “Yes.” Kapera groaned, putting her apron back on before face pawing, muttering to herself. “Why didn’t Ari just go with those two ponies he rescued from the slave traders? How is the world in peril? Everything seems okay to me.” More snorts, this time from the whole group, and the mare hanging beside me. “That is complicated…” Queen Chrysalis began, looking at the others. ‘Dinny’ spoke up, “Mother Nature is unbalanced, causing storms that are destroying the countries around Equestria.” “Exactly! Remember the water you swam through? The storm you had to find shelter in? That swamp used to be fields, families used to have homes throughout there, and then the rain came. It has flooded out…killed many Minotaurs, so many…” His little sister brought him in for a one armed hug. The storm raged in my mind. All that rain, the relentless wind, and the house creaking as it had been torn open. It was empty, they had known…Then why? Looking up from my thoughts I looked at the cushion bound queen, “Then why the airship?” “W-What?” Queen Chrysalis looked at me in confusion and fear, ears splaying, and mouth opening to ask me again. “A-a a-airship?” Kapera repeated. The hesitance in her voice surprised me, the bold rodent sounding more like a scared filly in that moment. I paused before I answered her. “Yes! The one that-,” I gulped down the bile, closing my eyes, “-that tossed those dead griffins into the water. It nearly scared the piss out of me!” My eyes opened and froze at the sight before me. “We don’t have an airship.” The changeling spoke with a seriousness that almost held my attention, but my attention was elsewhere. Kapera had a strange look in her eyes, almost like she wasn’t here anymore, “Was it the largest bucking thing you have ever seen?” I nodded dumbly, my eyes unable to focus on her shaking body anymore. The waves licked the hull of the boat; the birds went silent as a dark cloud moved in the distance. Slowly my brain came back to me. She continued, “That would be t-the pirate king then…” I’m sure the group made some appropriately surprised remarks, but everything was quickly settling in my brain. Blinking, I tried to clear my eyes, I was not crying. Was I going crazy? No, no, I was in some deep manure now, if I wasn’t dead before I was now, that- Squinting under the sun, my ears twitched and let my jaw drop. My mouth finally responding to my brain’s frantic signals, “T-that is it! I’m sure of it!” The group turned around, looking at what had captured my eyes, at the rapidly growing airship in our horizon. It approached as a black blimp against the otherwise clear sky. The same thought was echoed around- **** Ari Shit! I shifted uncomfortably in the pony pile, Ayodele’s muzzle uncomfortably close to mine, breath mixing with mine. A new weight that was partially on my back wiggled and groaned, rubbing against the base of a wing, sending my feathers further out of order as a shiver traveled down my body. This whole moment ruffled my feathers. It had seemed like a good idea to let them cuddle around me after we finished the planning session, a uneventful one mind you, our minds just weren’t into it. My instincts were certainly all for sleeping that way. Calm had dominated my mind with so many ponies around, like my worries had been blown away in the breeze, and I had welcomed some peace after what had happened. I had been exhausted. Now, waking up was a different story. Counting to ten I tried what had been working so far, thinking of the families that had been displaced by the storms, and now the families that had been torn apart by slavery. Like a bucket of cold water my morning visitor retreated from my thoughts, choosing to hide in the safety of my sheath. Following my next bodily urge, I began to gently levitate mares off of me. Grumbles echoed as I adjusted the sleeping arrangements. I stood with some groaning as my stiff skin protesting, pain coming in waves as my wounds began oozing blood again. Damn I hate whips, slavers; okay I hate all of it. Nothing about this was fun. Maneuvering through the mares was interesting, I was very glad for my magic now…Although I did wonder what my magic did to the inhibitor. One moment it had been there and the next it was gone, the world was white, and I was blown back. Definitely have to work on control…After I eat though, more slavers were coming after all. As I entered the kitchen I saw it was already occupied. Folami, the unofficial healer of our group, was standing on slightly wobbly hind legs while she chopped some herbs. “Morning Ari, Did you have a good sleep?” I nodded, raising my muzzle as the calming scents of many herbs reached my nose, almost as calming as a pony pile. “Can you start by bringing up breakfast? Then I want to treat those wounds, okay?” Giving her another nod and shaking off my sleepiness I opened the hatch rather awkwardly with my hooves. Last time I tried my magic it had been a tad bit loud, and they needed all the sleep they could get. I heard her sigh and the chopping resume… How does she chop with a hoof? I know the book explained earth pony qualities as strength, but that requires grip. How does a flat hoof grip a knife? Sorry, I will have endless questions I guess; just it hits me sometimes. But now I needed food, my stomach was awake again. Hay sounded good; it was actually an interesting experience. You would think it would be bland like bran and dry, but really it varied. For example, some of the hay was sweet and moist, really green, but that was few and far between out of the bales last night. Most were mild, like squirrel bread, not really ‘wow’ but still edible. Ahh, there is some more apples! With my prizes in tow I made it back to the kitchen, it was awash in scents similar to thyme, rosemary, and coriander. Although the herbs being chopped and now into a green paste looked nothing like those herbs, those were the closest I could come to describing their scents. “I just meant enough for breakfast, oh well; it will save us a trip later.” She was looking at the ten bales I had brought while shaking her head. Yes, I had held back last night. I figured stuffing my face after four days of no food was a bad idea. Today I was determined to be full. “Actually five of the bales are for me.” Folami raised an eyebrow at that, “Really? I suppose next thing you will tell me is that you love cake too. Just how much of what I hear about Alicorns is true?” Setting most of them to the infirmary I left five with me in the kitchen. “Not all, I actually am not a fan of cake. Cinnamon buns are much better, although I haven’t had the chance to try those on this planet-yet! Eventually I will recreate them.” My stomach grumbled, “Exactly, its breakfast time!” “Oh, that…Okay, that is kind of disgusting there.” I almost choked when I felt a hoof touch my side. Of course I side stepped away, but the hoof followed, along with a soft slap on my flank. Damn mares. “Hold still, we can’t have our leader injured, can we?” Leader? Again with that word, it was time to nip this in the butt. Ignoring the grumbles from the infirmary we locked eyes as I willed my body not to move away from her physical exam. “What do you mean by leader? I already told you when we were captive that I’m not a leader of anything, and quite frankly I think I’m a bad choice to lead any pony.” She just raised an eyebrow again, “No, really. I’m not good at public speaking, I know nothing of this world, and I haven’t ever lead a project before.” It was true I just was the general laborer in my uncle’s business, I didn’t lead any projects, and I was just a clerk at the bookstore. Worst choice possible to lead some pony, especially in such a situation, I didn’t know what she was thinking. “You would be a better choice than me.” Musical accented laughter filled the air, “It’s not the speaking skill, scholarly knowledge, or prior experience that makes a good leader. Sometimes it just takes a sense of justice, a good heart, and ponies wanting to follow the pony.” I shook my head franticly at her. Did she not hear me? This was not a good idea. I didn’t want to fail any pony or have any pony mad at me. There were lives at stake here! Hoof steps echoed in the doorway, Marble stood there with her head cocked, and a frown on her muzzle. “Ayodele’s asking for you Ari.” Thank you, a reason to escape this talk. Brushing past her I moved into the slowly waking group. Some had dispersed to various spots around the room, chatting and eating. Though, as soon as I entered it grew quiet, eyes followed my stiff steps to the snorting zebra on the floor. “I’m not an invalid Marble Cake!” She called out, pinning her ears, and faced away from me. “She didn’t say that you were, just that you were asking for me. Although the fact that you have to deny it makes me wonder. How are you feeling?” A long sigh echoed around the room, highlighting the otherwise silent mares, watching us. This was not at all suspicious. “Good, I guess, all things considered I’m happy to be alive…” She looked me over as I stepped over, laying in front of her. “You still haven’t got those treated yet? Don’t they hurt?” She grimaced while looking at my body, confirming my belief that I looked really bad; alive was still a win though. “Y-.” Our talk was cut short as Folami and Marble came out of the kitchen, a familiar red bag and green mush with the zebra, and a light blue crystal grasped in Marble’s mouth. “Emira, grab a couple towels.” A zebra mare rushed back to the kitchen, “Ari you can talk later, first I want to clean you, to the deck.” Waving a reluctant good bye to Ayodele I went to the deck. It was horrible. The only enchanted jewel with water they could find was one of those pressurized ones…Yah, I squealed like a mare through that and I had a surprising amount of blood in my fur. Then drying off…I think wrapping me up was the easiest part of it, it was the least painful at least. All the zebra mares joked that I looked like a zebra Alicorn with how much white I was sporting now. Of course I made the black, white, and red all over joke…It went over horrible too, they didn’t get it, and the timing was bad. But ever mobile mare it seems was blushing or sporting some red. After that Ayodele decided she ‘forgot’ what she was going to talk to me about, it had nothing to do with the mares talking around her. Actually, she seemed out of the conversation after that, really out of it. I wasn’t even gone that long…Oh well, I suppose not being able to walk was hard. Folami insisted she not walk if she could help it, not that the work we had to do she would be able to do. Today we were taking stock of down below, or rather who we lost. We had all agreed last night to toss the dead slavers overboard, sure they had families at home, I’m sure anyway. But we weren’t keeping such things on deck, or below deck for that matter. We started out with ten mares and myself going down to sort through the mess, six mares remained by the time we were done…It wasn’t easy, I somehow didn’t vomit but I really wanted to. Dogs tore into them like, well, dogs did to prey. I learned just how weak our skulls were; several had a spiked tail ball through them. I had to wrap and levitate those ones out, touching them just wasn’t an easy option, in one mare’s case it wasn’t possible. “Omph!” I caught Marble Cake as she always went down. “You okay?” Her expression didn’t change but her cheeks heated up. “Of course I am.” Humming my confirmation, I placed her on my back, keeping her still with my magic as she squirmed. A stubborn one, she probably pushed herself too hard helping Folami, she was still rail thin, and would be for a while I’m sure. “I can walk! P-put me down already,” the other mares were beginning to watch us, some snickering. It really was cute, with the size of the equestrians they were the smallest ponies here, the foal sized group members, and I was the biggest. “Yes, you do know how to walk. I’m glad to hear that.” I made my way around the deck, letting the mares get their dose of humor at the sight of us, god knows they need it. “That’s not what I meant you silly colt! Now put me down already.” Chuckling, I made my way back to the infirmary, pausing at the pony in the doorway. Ayodele stood there, swaying, and with a red face. Not another one. I don’t want to see her hurt… Sighing, I grabbed Ayodele in my magic, and readjusted Marble on my back. Ayodele didn’t protest when I placed her securely behind my neck, draping Marble over my rump. I could see her face from the corner of my eye. She was smiling and taking deep breaths, exactly how I felt, ponies were like a calming agent on my nerves. Not that I needed that right now. I was still hungry and it must be lunch time. When I entered the room I received many nuzzles as I passed, many murmured 'thank you', and nodded. Everypony was feeling better, they were still worried, but we were grieving. Yes, I hadn’t known those ponies but they haven’t known me either, yet they still fought at my prompt. The funeral was to be this evening, the bodies piled where the captain’s cabin had been. For now, we were eating, resting, and in the case of Folami, changing bandages. “Ayodele! There you are,” the mare in question shrunk a little on my back, being caught. “What part of ‘rest’ don’t you understand?” Silence from my back as she shoved her muzzle into my feathers, trying to hide behind my tucked in wing, a muffled reply came from there. “Why do I even bother?! All three of you should be resting, especially you Ari. Your mares won’t be happy if you die out here! Not that we will be either, we need our leader, you,” I scrunched up my muzzle at her. “Especially since you destroyed the ship’s deck cannons when you blew away half the deck…Not that you shouldn’t use that spell against the slavers that come, but aim high okay?” She looked a little nervous for second before moving on to her next patient. There were cannons there? Shit again. “WAIT!” “W-what,” Ayodele stuttered out, “We-.” I shook my head at Folami’s retreating rump, “I won’t die, they are waiting for me, and I will make back to them.” A long silence descended as I levitated some hay over and grabbed some apples from the open barrel. The healer ignoring me as more mares joined the area I was laying in. Spring Dew and Feather Quill settling in under my good wing. “Wait, hold on a second. What m-mares were Folami referring to?” Marble asked, stuttering over the plural word…She probably didn’t know about the law of the herd yet, shit, explaining that would be fun. I could practically hear their ears rotate to listen in. Mares, wherever I was, they always liked gossip it seemed. “Well, the two mares that are worried sick about me. I went for a walk and as far as they know I never returned.” “T-two?!” Ayodele added, sounding more upset than disgusted. I guess herding wasn’t practiced in Zebrica? That would explain Folami’s expression too. Nodding I finished my mouthful of hay. “Yup, although I don’t want you to think I’m some plays stallion or something; I grew up in a monogamous society. But my marefriend convinced me think over herding and well the rest is history, we are a very happy herd now.” “But isn’t herding…Old?” I don’t think that’s what she wanted to say. “I’m pretty sure it must be illegal in Equestria at least.” Marble added as Ayodele kept silent. I felt my smile drop as I realized I would have to explain what happened while the ponies were kept captive. “Well, actually there is a funny story there. You see…Well, the princess re-enacted a old law that makes herding mandatory in Equestria now-.” “WHAT?!” Feather Quill yelled from beside me. “Yes, and when you return-,” I felt Marble tense on my back, “-okay, if you return there is a mandatory conscription to form herds. It’s exactly what it sounds like; you get paired with whatever stallion needs more mares.” Another round of silence and murmurs came from the mares, the zebras looking at their equestrian companions in pity. “Do you need more mares then or are you going to have the princesses as mares in your herd too?” She queried as Ayodele started nibbling on my wing bone, tail swishing slightly. I hope she is okay, this is a lot to take in. “Well, that is another reason I’m not staying in Equestria. It would be inevitable that some mare would try to match me with them…But I can’t really see myself with them and that’s not just because my mares hate them. I really don’t like what have heard of them…Seen the results of their actions.” I looked at the mares watching me, the equestrians were shaking, and I’m pretty sure Spring Dew was crying into my side. Folami came back from putting away her supplies and grabbed an apple before nodding to me to continue; in fact I think all the mares were present and enraptured in my words. “There isn’t really much else to say, I mean, when I heard about that law I sent a letter to the princesses stating how they could change the law and still solve their population problem. Not that they will probably listen, but I still put in my two cents. I mean I have tons of experience in that department.” Taking a deep breath I continued, “I went through tons of fertility treatment on my planet, I was infertile you know. But something during the whole planetary travel fixed that and, and now I’m expecting foals!” A happy laugh escaped me at the end, this felt so good to tell some pony that, euphoric even. The sound of an apple crunching broke the silence. Ayodele finally spoke, “C-congratulations Ari, I’m h-happy for you.” Her voice wavered as she probably was at a loss as what to say, I mean it was sort of out of left field. I hadn’t really mentioned them to the other mares before. Every pony was taking this pretty good. That is to say, they weren’t focusing my former infertility. That always made moments awkward for my friends, they had refused to say the ‘P’ word around me for a whole year when I first told them, a little too considerate. More congratulations were echoed from the others and I felt joy, this was going to be alright! Somepony should stick my hoof in my mouth; I triggered Murphy’s Law, as soon as I thought that life was good my world was rocked. Really, the boat was. The sound of splintering wood reached my ears followed swiftly by the sound of water trickling in below us. “Fuck!” I swore before it hit me, they were here really fast, faster than I would have liked. “Every pony stay calm!” Totally wasn’t calm, I wanted to scream in frustration. Can’t I get a break here? “I will handle it.” Removing Marble and Ayodele from my back I went to face the cannon fire, ignoring the worried murmurs and the quiet sobs. Why did I have to take on slavery too? Uh huh, those bodies lying before me on the deck, there were families that were going to be grieving all over again…And I had the chance to change that, no more families torn apart, I was given this power, and I wasn’t going to sit on my butt like the others that had it. Escaping, Part 5.**** The Narrow Sea Chrissy For the record, I was never was one to back down in a fight. Growing up, I had been groomed for leadership, taught extensively on all topics. Everything from aphrodisiacs to linguistics and as you might expect education was my mother’s primary focus when we interacted. My duties required that I be more than able to pull off any disguise, be it a horny wife, noble ruler, or even a skilled guard. And as the latter indicated my family regularly sparred with me, teaching me everything from hoof to hoof combat to weapon use. Overall I was a pretty good warrior…If I was being modest, although it was true to say noling in the hive could beat me. Mother was the exception. But she was winding down then, not having ‘time’ to spar with me, really her core was dying out. No, I was not crying. Anyway, my point was that I was no slouch in a fair fight. Fights where I wasn’t pregnant with a miniature black hole, pinned under my herd mate, or when I felt sicker than a Diamond dog at a chocolate shop. Due to all that and more, like looking for my stallion, today was not a good day for a fair fight. Especially when our opponent might have well have been a virtual recluse with how little any being knew about him. In the whole time I had been alive, with my many scouts, and time traveling abroad I hadn’t heard of him. It felt like he came out of thin air. Yes, we knew the basics of basics. He was a he, walked on two legs, was feared by Arch. Arch being a sadistic slaver that had captured my stallion, the assassin that was responsible for that occurring even feared this slaver, and the feared slaver was apparently terrified of our opponent. We had just discovered more about our opponent, I refuse to call him the ‘king of pirates’ as he was no king to me. Anyway, Kapera had failed to mention that this waste of flesh had an airship that dwarfed our borrowed ‘large’ fishing vessel. That it had at least twenty charge cannons, more than fifty regular cannons, and engines that could easily overtake a sailing ship if they turned on. I can say all that because we are currently trying to outrun him, the key word was trying. He was playing with us, every being knew it, and some were taking this news better than others. “PLEASE KILL ME NOW!” The assassin screamed from her position on the mast, looking like she really did want to die. Her eyes were dilated with terror as she gazed at the languidly following airship. I didn’t blame her, if he caught us she was a bargaining chip or a distraction to help us escape, that is assuming he hadn’t heard of my bounty already… The hum of the engines continued. Arrogant bastard of a pirate, treating this like a game, I mean he could overtake us at any time he wanted and…I hate pricks like that. “Shut up! We don’t have time to kill you.” Kapera, our now fearful helms-Mongofu turned back to the unofficial navigator. “Dinny, do we have any littorals coming up?” Checking the map, the Minotaur grimaced and shook her head, “Not for-,” she checked her compass and map, “-another ten miles.” “Bays?! Any ports,” she steered us sharply around a sharp rock jutting up from the increasingly rough waters, not hearing my stomach curse her. The slap of the waves against the wall of rock were loud in my ears, the sea bird’s caws and squawks long gone, having sensed that something bad was coming long ago. We were getting closer and closer to the cliff side as we went, looking for an escape route, any way away from this crazy being. Another head shake came from Dinari, causing her older brother to gulp and step closer to her till they were touching head to shoulder. “Oy! Siren, what’s your excuse? Can’t you make them act stupid or something?!” Kapera turned her attention to Lyric, who had been huddled on my back, trying to cover up her fear. That started up the previously dazed lunar spy, “SIREN?!” The poor zebra he was by winced, receiving an earful. He looked at my herd mate with the exact look that made her not want to use her own power, fear. It was almost as bad as the barely contained squeals he was making, a fearsome royal guard he was, yup, fear inspiring filly squeals. “SHUT UP!” I screamed at him, clutching my aching head in my hooves. By some grace of Faust he did. We did not need this, not now. Just when we had been getting through to him that we were trying to save our world…But before I had time to explain why I had invaded his city, and of course explain Lyric’s story, a bucking pirate had to show up. Oh, not just any pirate, the head honcho pirate himself. Lyric snorted at him, gathering another water ball, and hitting him in the muzzle again. “Racist.” There was a long pause as Kapera kept her gaze on my herd mate, eyes narrowed as she steered, and lips drawn in a grim line. My herd mate just nuzzled into my mane, bitter tasting fear growing, and wet drops started rolling down my neck. Kapera broke it, seeing as Lyric wasn’t breaking it. “Look,” pausing she took on a softer tone, “Lyric we are going to all die a bloody death or a quick death by that-,” pointing a shaking paw at the clearly superior airship following us, “-bastard if we don’t do something. And I am trying to respect your wishes here. Heck, I understand why you refrain from using it. Looking at what they did to your family for using it. BUT, I don’t want to die and Ari would be heartbroken if you died. He would want you to fight for…” Trailing off, her gaze traveled to the spy. He didn’t need to know why, at least not when we weren’t even sure if he was going to kill us in our sleep, not to mention he would most certainly tell Luna anything we said in front of him. Bat colt was catching on though, “You are a siren hybrid?!” His eyes were bugging out as the mare hanging beside him gave a look that said ‘are you stupid’. I didn’t blame her for thinking that. He thought that Ari was a changeling king and he lived in a sheltered country. That last part said it all really, slavery didn’t exist in their minds, super storms would be laughed at, and starvation was no longer a reality. Siren hybrids weren’t real either. “Yes,” came a muffled reply from my mane, getting clearer as she removed her muzzle, nervous energy popped on my tongue. Kapera’s ears perked up from the bow. “Yes, I can try to stop them…But if they are strong like my dad or Ari are then they could easily resist the magic.” Leaning over my neck, she gave my cheek a kiss. “I need to stand for this.” This caused a sigh of relief from every being, except for the Thestral; he looked at her with fear. “Thank you…Come to me when they are here and I can make some custom rings, for free.” Kapera looked at our stomachs pointedly, “Anything you want.” A relieved chuckle escaped her lips then, her shoulders relaxing slightly as she steered us. Lifting her legs awkwardly, Lyric extracted herself from between my wing bases, my single one popping up and buzzing till it was a blur. I was a little nervous; considering that if this failed our situation would only get worse. My buzzing slowed as I felt the drain of the foal, she continued to make her way to the stern, but I wasn’t going to call her back, no matter how much the faint ache my muscles were getting worried me. Lyric was around one hundred fifty feet from the low flying air vessel, as close as she could be without wings. A series of clicks sounded as she arrived at the back of the boat, a slight charge filled the air, and the rolling of dozens of balls reached my sensitive ears. Buck, if this failed… Gennady suddenly went past me, running up the stairs to stand by Lyric. I turned my head and raised my eyebrows at him as he gave her a warm smile. This wasn’t unwanted, just unexpected…He hadn’t seen us in awhile but was actually very genuine in helping us, whatever Ari had told him must have really won him over. “Stay behind me Gennady…” She trailed off, squaring her shoulders as we took another sharp turn, rocks popping up left and right, threatening to rend our hull open. “If…If this doesn’t work, don’t grab for me…Okay?” He looked dumbfounded, like she told him to kick a puppy. “Grab Chrissy and think of all the love you hold for your family and friends.” Another shifting of hooves, glancing at them like they could help her, and evidently they told her no more than they told me. Lyric would… He finally gave a slow nod, gulping as he glanced back at his sister. Although I was feeling weaker, I kept my eyes fixed on Lyric as she opened her muzzle wide, taking in a big breath of the warm sea air. This was her element. Golden draconic eyes glittered in the sun, a slightly reddish hue enveloping them as she let out the first note, a middle c if I recalled my music lessons correctly. It flowed long and dark, full of her sorrow. It was entrancing in the skill she performed, magic filling the air with a pressure as it looked for susceptible hosts, and even Gennady had to slap himself to stay focused. I could see why her cutie mark was musical notes, she was better than any changeling I had ever heard. The pirate’s agreed. Engines sputtered on the airship, half of them appearing to be shutting down, the dark clouds disappearing with the wind. Charge cannons flickered off, their glow dying. As that happened, some female voices sounded from the ship, confused. Then a dull roar came from the ship. In less time than Ari took to eat, most of the male crew was at the bow, leaning over the railing with enchanted expressions, some crying. It was working…Wait a second. Lyric started swishing her tail, ears splaying, and I immediately saw why. The ship was still moving. In fact, as her tone turned richer, almost in the range of a contralto, the remaining two engines turned faster. More plumes of dark clouds turning one hundred and fifty feet turned to one hundred in less than ten seconds, but the larger vessel still gained speed. Siren’s songs enchant don’t they?! The one used in the street apparently wasn’t ‘true siren’ magic, it was Lyric’s modified variety of their songs, concentrated in mind magic and specified for the target the caster had in mind. Apparently it was a head ache to do, requiring a lot of focus and manipulation for Lyric to maintain. Which would be impossible for her against the crew of a ship this size, so we were stuck with the wide spread enchantment that was native to sirens. All that meant was that they wanted us even more, although for a different reason than before, wasn’t that just perfect. Hold on…That might just be perfect. Kapera took us around the corner, the rough rock close to our rat lines as we took it sharply. I looked from the cliff to the Mongofu, then back at the sharp points of rock. Fifty feet now, the pirates were clamoring at the railing as they drew ever nearer to our stern, the siren. “Keep us near the cliff! Weave between rocks, anything sharp Kapera!” I yelled at her, noticing the confused looks on the prisoner’s muzzles, “You want to live?!” They looked to me, pausing for a second, and then franticly nodded like terrified foals. The look of confusion was on her face disappeared just as Lyric switched to a higher note, lilting between that and a high c, beckoning them. A splash sounded and some being whispered ‘wow’ as pirates began to throw themselves over the railing, trying to jump the closing gap, turning the crowd of fifty to forty in minutes. Forty feet of water left and a jagged shore line ahead. Metal crunched, wood creaked ominously as they took the corner after us, it was working- Then the long ship suddenly pulled away from the rock as its crew heard the sound. Some were looking around at their crewmates in confusion. My heart plummeted at that. Yes, there was still a good percentage of the crew under her spell, but it might not last long if the other pirate’s anger was any indicator. ‘They still remember what they did afterwards.’ And she was right about that, the awakened crew was shaking the enchanted members, and several female crew members were coming onto the deck looking homicidal. Buck. My nausea was growing too. My cushion shifted, left, right, and then left once again. Kapera was following my orders to a ‘T’ and I hated it. A foal could knock me out at this point, okay, maybe I’m exaggerating, but it certainly felt like that. “Nitakuua!” The zebra spat at the lunar guard as he swung away again, her face scrunched up and ears pinned. She was going to give him a world of pain. “OWW” He groaned out, looking like he already was on his way there. The pirates disappeared for a second as we took the next corner, “Omph!” My breath was knocked out of me as the ship tilted and I was thrown into the railing. Lyric’s song faltered as she lost her grip as well, sliding with Gennady towards the rails. Our fate was sealed, that second of quiet combined with the crew clamoring to snap the enchanted back to reality was our undoing. They came around the corner, traveling smartly a safe distance from the rock face now, all looking appropriately angry and confused. All our little stunt did was dent the metal frame of their balloon and scratch up their hull a little, nothing to slow them down. Righting the ship, Kapera called to Lyric. “Do it again! Maybe-” I never heard what she said; a loud crackle forced my ears back and sent Gennady scrambling back from his position by the railing. A gaping hole through the deck where he and my herd mate had been seconds ago. Splashes echoed as wood splinters fell to the dark water below. She was gone. My heart skipped a beat, pounding erratically for a second in my aching head as I gazed at the empty spot. I felt sick and it wasn’t from the foal this time. Why…How will I explain this to Ari? That is…If we ever make it to him, which was looking less and less likely, especially with, with her gone. I was al-. Clunks brought me back to the scene before me. Flashes of silver as grappling hooks were flung across the gap and were secured to our railings, being pulled taunt.Gennady looked at us in fear as he ran back to the mast, while I blinked, stupefied at what was happening. Kapera cursed in Zebrican, almost louder than the Zebra. She was sobbing and begging for death in Zebrican, which was all I could figure out from her blubbering. All the while, the spy looked like death warmed over, completely overwhelmed, the poor ignorant equestrian… One thing appeared clear to me, our deaths were inevitable. That thought brought on the fatigue of knowing the end was coming, it washed over me, causing me to slump and rest my muzzle on my hooves. All the fighting and traveling for this end, before we even change the world? The hooks tugged our boat off course, pulling us away from the cliff, and rocking the deck. Jagged outcroppings of rocks tore our hull open, creating new wounds. It slowed us down, the wind pulling franticly at our sails as they began letting in the tempestuous water inside. Our escape was halted, rocks holding us captive, and most certainly ensuring our deaths. My eyes felt too heavy, too wet, and I wanted to scream. Ari was out there somewhere and I would never find him now, he might die, unable to remove the magic inhibitor…Like killing my herd mate, who was also my new friend and only source of food wasn’t enough for them to do! And according to some pirates it wasn’t enough. Beams of white energy sailed over my head, filling the air with the smell of burnt ozone, and a splintering of wood. Everything moved in slow motion to my eyes for a second. Kapera jumping to the right and scampering away on all fours, dodging the falling ropes and beams with her tail tucked in. Dinari jumping to the left, dodging some falling beams, before she finally succumbed, becoming tangled in the many ropes. The noise of it all was nearly deafening. Squeals of fear and panic coming from the falling prisoners as the mast took them down with it. A heavy thump rocked the deck, vibrating my teeth for a second as the sails to catch a breeze from their new position. Suddenly, I was snapped up. Emotions swirled around, fear, surprise, and love mixing in a strange cocktail in my stomach. The cushion I had been on exploded in a puff of pastel colored feathers and fabric as cannon balls began raining down. Gennady’s run was short, stopping at the mast’s base, and coincidently, the unharmed prisoners, they were still hogtied and terrified. Once there he began trying to untangle his sister, Kapera popping up seconds later to help him. They worked fast, pulling, tugging, and even biting through the ropes. A thump of wood on wood brought caught my attention. What the- “YAH,” many boisterous voices shouted, the excitement coming from them was almost palatable, but the fear from the bull holding me was palatable, coating my stomach in another vile emotion. “Finally some action,” a couple of males giggled, looking at the zebra mare and me with eager expressions. Many more chuckled at what they had planned in their minds. I like to think it was killing themselves, I know it would make me happy, very happy. Some just yelled battle cries as they boarded us, lining the railings with cutlasses drawn. They continued taunting us, but stayed far away from us, not even swiping at us. Perhaps it was due to the fact that they knew we were trapped, that our options were limited now. But it worried me. I knew couldn’t fight without losing the foal…That is, if I haven’t lost it already. A shudder passed through me at the thought, adding to my nausea. Lyric was…dead, Gennady wasn’t trained in wielding anything bigger than a pickaxe as far as I knew, and Dinari was trapped. Kapera had her teeth and claws, but compared to the pirates that had swords and easily outnumbered us, that brought little hope. In fact, it just got worse. More and more pirates boarded till we had close to fifty on the deck, all the while adding more planks, and watching us with their hungry eyes. Although, it wasn’t just the hunger for killing, there were many different types of hunger present. Some screamed lust to me, others had the expected barely reigned in bloodlust, but the female crew members promised revenge with their eyes. One Gryphon in particular was giving me the evil eye while running her tongue along her blade, looking much more eager than even her lustful crewmates. Just what I needed, one hen that really would push for the ‘long tortuous death’ option when- The thunder of paws and fins suddenly halted, more planks were laid down forming a solid looking bridge. Then a path was cleared, the workers scrambling back to the railing as a hush fell upon the pirates. Gennady and Kapera stopped and looked back from their work as we gazed at the ugliest thing I had ever seen in my life. Walking across the planks was a creature I had never seen before, never even heard of, and I understood why. If I was whatever it was I would be too embarrassed to leave my room, let alone the ship, and judging by some of the looks on the pirate’s faces they thought so too. Faust must hate him, I mean look at him! He walked bowlegged on two very hairy legs, not enough to be considered fur, and had grotesque reversed knees. It was almost like a vildkatt’s legs but more extreme, and certainly not visually pleasing. His paws were just as ugly, bearing five digits instead of four, one looking like a dew claw but wrong. It was too long, and too far to the side and back. The paws also had almost no hair. Really, I wanted to say fur but I couldn’t, his covering of follicles was soo thin I could see many spots where grayish blue skin showed, more than I would like to see. The worst part from my perspective was right in front of me, especially with so little hair…He was also not wearing any clothing. A thing most respectable bipedal beings avoided, as their genitals were often in line with their quadruped friend’s faces. Apparently he was above such practices. His nakedness allowed me to see the clearly defined muscles on his body, tense in the sunlight, highlighting the bulging biceps that made Gennady’s muscles look small. But despite the muscular endowment he had I still believe Faust must have hated him when he made the pirate’s face. The nose was all scrunched up and tiny, nostrils set wide apart, but with no muzzle to speak of, useless really. Then the god of creation had slapped two blue eyes on there, except they were too tiny to function, like little buttons. Unlike the over sized ears of Vildkatts or the nonexistent ears of Samaki, his ears were odd, looking once again too small for his face. Sticking out like little immovable ovals, not twitching to track the subtle shifting of his crew, it was unnerving. Like his whole body was written wrong, to a nonsensical pattern that would have made the god of chaos nod in approval. Take that fact that his hair was most concentrated around his crown, chin and mouth. It made no sense; wouldn’t the mouth hair attract crumbs and other food wastes? “Well, well, well. I won the jackpot-,” no being spoke as he paused, looking at his crew with narrowing eyes, “- and no lucky dice needed this time!” This time a roar of laughs came from them. He mock bowed from his position at the end of the planks, just a hop from our deck. The gryphon hen was trying to get his attention, looking at me then him, very obviously. The other crew members quieted and sighed. Her captain turned to her, “Yeesssss Maja? Something on your mind?” His gruff voice spoke softer than before, quieting the sighs as they all watched the interaction. We did as well, not knowing what else to do; we had no hope of winning. “MayIkillthechangeling?” Maja rushed out, her voice rivaling the pink menace in speed, the eagerness was one of dark intentions, though, although parties didn’t seem her style. The sword was twitching in her grip. “NO!” His voice suddenly turned dark, a toothy snarl revealing a mix of sharp canines and dull incisors. “That-,” his hairy paw pointed to me, “-is our paycheck! One million bits ALIVE! Worth more than any other loot on this ship,” the meaty paw gestured to the rest of my companions as he said loot. Her head lowered, shoulders slumping in disappointment, the poor hen doesn’t get to kill a changeling…My sympathies were nonexistent. “Can I…Torture it then?” She looked up hopefully, with the expression some being might use for more cake. The captain thought it over…For all of one second. “Of course my little blade! Maim away, just leave her intact and alive.” The rest of the crew chuckled at her enthusiasm, like you have guessed I was less than impressed, in my state any torture would…My heart sank then. “Omph!” Chuckles and laughs died down as he literally had his feet taken out from under him, landing face first on our deck. A deathly hush fell over the every being, I tasted fear. A wave had knocked the boards out. The wave that had sprung up and grabbed the boarding planks paused unnaturally, holding the wood in its watery clutch as it stayed raised, and around the deck eyes grew wide. I felt hope enter my chest, this was magic, elemental water magic, and only… “Lyric?!” I whispered into the tense air, my heart racing as I recognized her wave trick from the swamp. The raised wave came crashing down on the pirates, soaking them, and sending some sprawling. A dark chuckle rose from the prone creature on the deck, it was full of mirth, and his crew began to give him space. Several crew members even looked over the railing in fear, like that rocky water was more inviting. One vildkatt was too slow to back away; the ‘poor’ tom was grabbed by the ankle and dragged down. There was no protesting. We stood paralyzed as in less than ten seconds the tom’s neck was snapped, flopping slightly under the meaty paw of his captain. Shaking with emotion the captain stood, grabbing the sword from the body before tossing his former crew member overboard like he weighed little more than a pillow. But his anger was still there after that, digits curling in to make fists, breathing turning ragged, and his eyes had a wild look to them. He looked like a vision from nightmare night, looking for something to eat. Sharp canines ground together as he looked around the deck for the culprit. Our eyes locked. As his blue eyes mine I wanted to run from this fight, never before feeling the empty depths like those eyes, it was…Madness…I couldn’t move, too weak to struggle out of the bull’s grip, and even if I could…I was too weak to run. I could only do one thing from my position. “Hello and you are?” Feigning ignorance, I had to get him talking, make time for Lyric to think of a way free us. Every being had their eyes on me, many emotions ran through the crowd, but most looked to be wondering if I had gone mad. I hadn’t, at least not the type they thought. “HUHUHUHUHUH!” He laughed, slapping his knee with his free hand, and leaning against the sword. A complete change from his angry self that was here only seconds ago. Wiping imaginary tears from the corners of his eyes he looked at me, serious now. “Now, that is a stupid question if I ever heard one. Were you so hive bound that you never heard of me?!” I couldn’t reply, it was accurate, “WELL?!” With that he closed the gap jumping down from the stern, flipping in midair before landing in front of Gennady, blocking Dinari’s view. The bull tried to push me behind him, closer to our prisoners. The key word, again, was tried. The captain had me by the throat while Gennady had me around the abdomen. I was caught in a tug of war and didn’t know who was winning, couldn’t bother to care then, it was just more pain and nausea inducing emotions. “Obviously idiocy runs in your group, now let go of my paycheck you bucking cow!” And he did let go of me. “AAAHHHHH!” Not of his own choice though, Gennady lost his arm. My back throbbed as I was remembered losing my own appendage, I don’t think the arm was any less sensitive. It thumped as it hit the deck, red spraying from the stump as we looked on in shock. His screams and pants as he tried to clutch it, and failing to do so without causing more pain. Kapera jumped, removing her apron to- My view changed, world blurring for a second as I was roughly handled. That damn hen was just staring at me, eyes distant. A tall Minotaur at the back looked away while a vildkatt beside him shrugged, yawning before leaning on the bull. Holding me by my neck, their captain raised me up high to show his crew. “This is our paycheck-,” Cheers blasted my ears as I dangled there, “-so tell it who it’s paying!” “THE KING OF PIRATES!” Snorting came from behind me, thrashing and snips muffled under the cheers. “Boss!” “MASTER OF THE SEA!” “Falmer! BOSS!” The same voice that called out before yelled out above the din causing a silence to fall, but that could have been my hearing going as his strong grip turned to the point of strangulation. Were there always stars in the daytime? “Boss! Boss! Boss,” A brown and tan hypogryph came flying over the gap, franticly waving some glowing headset in his paws…He never made it across, Lyric’s wave rose up and grabbed him, pulling the struggling pirate down. She was trying, but there was only so much she could do with us on board. “What no-.” He, ‘Falmer’, the bastard never finished his question. We both were sent sprawling, a roar reaching my ears as I rolled to a stop. After a dazed second I looked up to Kapera dragging me away from the part of the deck where an enraged eight foot tall heifer was wrestling with a muscle bound seven foot tall thing. The match went back and forth for several minutes. As we watched bids were being yelled out between the pirate crew…All on how long it would take their captain to wipe the deck with her. This was just another damn game to them! Gennady looked above the battle at something on the stern that I’m sure only his pain addled brain could see, and all the while the apron was slowly growing darker. All this seemed pointless, we were just their entertainment. “GRUUUHHHH” She grunted as he had her pinned. A thump and grunt came from him next as she got her arm around his neck and him pinned. Slapping the deck, he looked about out of it, eyes dropping. Her grip loosened reflectively, a small satisfied grin growing on her muzzle. Yes! We- Like with his ship, he had played with her, as soon as she relaxed he threw his head back. Her surprised scream of pain was overshadowed by the jeers and cheering of his crew as he flipped her, now under him the smith struggled with a taste of her own medicine. Her brother wasn’t even watching her, shock most likely setting in, the stern capturing his focus. After a couple minutes Falmer stood, dusting off his hair while showing the crew his teeth, cheers continued. More minutes passed and he finally put up a paw, they stopped instantaneously thankfully, my migraine was threatening many evil things if they hadn’t. “Enough! These games are costing us too much time, who wants fresh meat?” Cheers, “I thought so, let’s get these-.” Lyric could hear him; water rose from the Narrow Sea and grabbed a group of his crew members close to the edge. Twenty to be exact, that mare is full of surprises. “Well…Buck, we are going to have to fix that.” He nodded to the sea and several Samaki looked at each other, seeming to get an idea, chattering in their language that was impossible for land beings to replicate, leaving me in the dark. But it didn’t take long for my muzzle to drop as did Kapera’s as she noticed their actions. Those bucking walking fish all jumped over the railings, gills flashing along with their confident smirks. Fifteen Samaki were too much for Lyric, even with her affinity to the water. No Samaki has ever drowned. A gasp sounded from the side of the hull, by the water, she must be- Her squeal broke my heart. I could barely concentrate, my heart was going a mile a minute, and, and another bucking pirate ship just came around the corner. The prisoners were looking at me with wide eyes now, confused at my lack of action. They did not understand why I was immobile. They didn’t feel my body’s aches, all the heart ache and panic at being useless. I was a queen! Once anyway, but now I reduced to this. My herd, new family, it was all falling apart. Our new opponent was coming at our beached, sinking vessel at full speed. “And there is…” He trailed off as the ship grew closer, two hundred feet away and Falmer’s mouthed turned down. “What is HE doing here? I sent him after Arch…” He looked around for a second. “WHERE IS BRONZE GYLPH?” He yelled, forcing my ears back and another axe at my brain. Maja, the gryphon hen, looked at the deck, “The siren got him, and he had the communicator with him.” “Buck!” He paused before turning to his ship that was hovering patiently slightly above the crashing waves. “QUICKFIT LET THE BITCH KNOW HOW I FEEL!” A clatter was heard on his deck as he muttered, “That bottle licker is going the wrong way…” A red unicorn came bumbling out to the airship’s deck, rushing to a charge cannon, once there he put a hoof on both jewels that were on the cannons stand. Crackling sounded in the air. Then white energy formed a beam, firing off a narrow beam of magic at the approaching ship’s cabin. It was reflecting. My heart raced as I saw a familiar shield pop up, deflecting the beam into the sky. Jaws dropped and the captain scratched his head, confused at the shield. My ears perked up, finding new energy. Ari called it a ‘medieval’ shield when I had asked him, his version of our magic shield. Before I could celebrate Ari’s achievement in stealing a pirate ship a wet smack brought my attention back to the deck. Thin rivulets of watery blood ran along the deck, leaving the beaten and unconscious form of my herd mate. Lyric was missing a couple of scales around her muzzle, her tail looked crooked, and her eyes were closed. Breathing slightly erratically, she was still alive, but definitely not in any way capable of helping. Ari was here…I think so; it was an earth ‘medieval’ styled shield I saw. Although it was gone, maybe I was too hopeful? What was the chance that another unicorn slaver knew that style of shield? “Buck, that isn’t part of his ship!” I just grinned and winked at my companions, they didn’t understand at first, then Kapera mouthed ‘Ari’. I nodded, a sense of peace settling over me as I turned back to- More ships were coming in behind Ari’s ship; nine pirate ships were chasing him. No, wait, they all looked a little roughed up. Actually, at one hundred feet I could clearly see that Ari’s was missing a cabin, all were missing one of their cabins, and some had giant holes in their sails… These ships were all his?! At fifty feet now the captain took notice of the ship’s shape too, “That isn’t the drunkard bitch, FFIIIIRRRREE!” Another beam came from the airship, this time at one of the other ships. We could clearly see the golden glow as the new captain of the pirate ship walked up the stairs to his ship’s bow; a medieval shield appeared in front of the targeted ship. The beam was useless. Falmer’s rage faded to the background as I took in my long lost stallion. Seven days had passed now and we both looked worse for wear. Ari was looking a lot like…I snorted and folded my ears slightly. Was that a zebra on his back and coming up beside him? No, that makes sense. The zebras were the usual victims, he probably has met plenty of zebras, and of course they were helping him. Right, anyway, after a week my stallion looked a lot like a zebra. He was wrapped in so many bandages that his black fur was just peeking through; from flank to wither he was bandaged. Even one of his wings was splinted and tied to his body. His muzzle was scraped up, and his eyes…They locked onto mine as his ship got within thirty feet. So much passed through that look, he was happy, brow rising, and then scrunching as his face contorted in confusion, before finally settling into a tense expression with his nostrils flaring. I managed a weak smile as pain came from my muscles. Falmer was as good as dead, those eyes held that almost feral look in them that I hadn’t seen in quite a while. Last time…he stomped the dogs to death. His assassin brought me back, looking at the ships with fear, “Can I ask you for a quick death?” Taking a double take, my eyes went between her and my stallion’s fleet. I hadn’t been thinking of her fate much, Ari had been on my mind, and really, her questioning had been interrupted by Moonbutt’s spy. But we still didn’t have time for this. “You can ask, but it is still Ari’s decision in the end.” I looked at her, then the spy. “Same for you Echo, Ari is the one you want to beg for forgiveness…Changeling king? Really? That princess must be losing it.” “Ari?” The captain said, all the pirate’s looking at us like they had won another jackpot. Kapera was punched back in an instant and I was hoisted up by my neck again, Gennady reached for me, but was easily kicked away. “You know this pony, eh?” I kept silent as he gazed at me. “Just as I thought, you know him-,” he grinned wider as my ear twitched from the breeze, “-no, you don’t just know him…A mare, a stallion; he is your stallion I’m willing to bet. No stallion gets this worked up from any mare getting roughed up.” And glancing over I had to admit he was right, Ari had his ears pinned, neck arched, and his short tail was whipping back and forth. If the ponies hadn’t been pressing into him and whispering, a fact which I was trying to ignore, then he would have crossed the gap and stomped Falmer to death already. With the gap just twenty feet now, Ari snorted and bent down to whisper something to the zebra beside him. She wore almost a complete replica of the headset that the hippogriff had…Like magic the ships all changed course, breaking away from their previous formation to travel in a line, eventually forming a circle around us, the cliff behind us completing the cage. “READY,” Ari called in his royal Canterlot voice while his eyes narrowed at the disgusting creature behind holding me prisoner. “AIM,” the small round of thunder coming from the nine ships ended as he said that, clicks sound from them now. Falmer heard this too of course. “Grab the loot and get back on the ship!” And with that command they, my…Friends, were swarmed by the remaining pirates, maybe thirty, but too much for us still. Nausea returning, I closed my eyes as my world moved rapidly and noise hammered my head. A glimpse of the sea passed, a solid thump sounding as we stopped moving. Squeals still sounded behind me as our prisoners became their prisoners, I didn’t hear Kapera as more thumps sounded. Opening my eyes I saw why, she had her muzzle locked around a vildkatt’s arm as they tried to carry her across the newly provided planks. Lyric was being dragged like a heavy sack, the Samaki letting the rails hit her as they ran over. I would have snorted at their treatment of her had I the energy, I was so tired. Dinari was being hefted over by the glassy eyed Minotaur that couldn’t watch when she was choked, or when Gennady lost an arm. Funny how they care once it’s their species, I was willing he didn’t feel any remorse for all the zebras he has helped ship. Gennady followed the Minotaur quietly, keeping his head turned towards Ari. “HOLD.” Shaking me until a strangled squeak escaped by my lips, Falmer looked at my stallion, “Uh, uh , uh, my troublesome unicorn-.” Kapera was thrown to the deck and pinned, “ALICORN!” Her angry voice yelled at her long time enemy. “Or to you, your death-,” a kick from the bleeding Vildkatt shut her up, gasps for air coming from her. Ari’s horn glowed and a faint ethereal bridge started appearing, one plank flickering at a time, till it connected to the airship’s railing. My stallion ignored the beast, instead turning to the zebra beside him. “Get more of your paste ready.” She just looked at me then him. “You better be explaining this.” He gave her a sad smile, “Of course I will be.” Ari then turned to the other mare, a brown earth pony. “Can you go help her?” Indicating to the way the zebra went, to which the mare nodded slowly, looking sideways at me with splaying ears. “Good, then see you soon.” A second passed and we all blinked as he began to take long strides across his bridge. “WAIT, WHAT ABOUT-.” The mare started to ask, only to be interrupted by the creature, he was grinding his teeth, and his paw tightened around me. “Really, does this thing mean nothing to you?” He shook me slightly, making my neck chitin ache, among other things. Ari’s answer was a snort as he kept walking. “I mean, you look like something out of the desert, half wrapped, and about to be dead.” Touching down on the deck, my stallion ignored him, taking in the status of everyone. Before he blinked, as did every other being, if any had thought they were imagining they now knew they weren’t. He had an injured zebra mare on his back. Ari’s narrowed gaze finally settling on Falmer. His eyes widened, cocking his head to the left, then right. What was so confusing? The pirate was ugly as manure was stinky. I was hanging by my neck here! “Are you a ‘Planet of the Apes’ reject? I mean I can tell you are an ape…But-,” He pointed a chipped hoof at Falmer’s feet, “-your feet are still so primitive.” A ‘aha’ look came, “Are you a Neanderthal?” “RRRREEEAAALLLYYYY?! EVERY DAMNED TIME!” He paused to breath and let the ringing leave my ears, “I’m an Mbzuzi! Muu-bu-zoo-ze, got that you pathetic whorse?!” The insult passed over Ari completely, but the mare on his back pinned her ears at the ‘Mbzuzi’. “Rrrriiiggghhhtt…A Mbzuzi, you know ‘ape’ is shorter right? Or monkey, I mean I already know-.” Ari stopped suddenly, cocking his head. “No, maybe I don’t. Anyway, I’m sure you know why I’m here ape.” Maja looked ready to kill him, clicking her beak as her wings ruffled. “He has a name you disrespectful colt,” He turned to look at her, to which she ruffled her chest feathers, puffing up. “That’s right, you are in the presence of the king of pirates, ruler of the seas, and-.” “Look, I don’t know how much he fucks you for you to kiss his ass this much, and I don’t care. You obviously idol him, that’s sick in my opinion, but good for you to have happiness…I guess.” Falmer stuck his tongue out at that. “I hate to ruin your thing but he has to die, and you too if you side with him. The Narrow Sea is going to be slaver free,” He turned to Falmer, “Pirate free.” Laughter came from the crew, paws, hooves, and fins slapped the deck as the idea of thirty one pirates losing to him went over as well as expected. “Really, Mr. Alicorn? What are you going to do? Hit me with the sun? Send me to the moon? Trap me in eternal night till I cry uncle?” He brought me to the forefront then. “Face it colt, you ain’t no Sunbutt or Moonbutt, your mane doesn’t even float. In fact, I had never even heard of you till Arch told me he found you! You-.” “Don’t exist,” Ari finished for him, looking serious again. With a snort he continued, “I get that everywhere I go, it is kind of annoying. But like I said-,” his horn glowed, “-you are going to diieee. AH!” Ari’s shot went off course as the ship shook, the spell hitting the cliff and sending rocks into the water. But no shots had been fired at us…Why did we lurch like that? We all waited for a second, silence. They continued, Falmer looking cheeky. “You are bluffing, no good stallion would hit their mare and that’s exactly what you appear to be. I mean those pathetic excuses for bits convinced you to help them, after many years decades of being little sheep, following the flock, if they deserved to live they would have fought back.” “WE DID YOU BASTERD!” Kapera yelled, “Omph.” “As I was saying, the many ships you stole are useless to you when you can’t fire a single shot! You are smarter than Sunbutt I will give you that…But you ain’t no genius, just a hormone driven upstart. Eh, colt? How right am I?” My stomach flipped as I was shaken again, until a snort sounded, letting the world slow down. “You will unhand my mare.” What was a hand? The mbzuzi was enjoying this, “And why would I throw away one million bitsaaAAAAHHHHH!” I was dropped, again, red raining down my neck. Blinking I realized it wasn’t mine. A force pulled me across the deck and I blinked, watching as the blubbering form of Falmer grew further away, yellow knife dissipating beside the stump where Falmer’s hand had been. Ari was looking down at me, a smile on his muzzle, tired eyes crinkling, “Hey Chrissy.” I didn’t know what to say, my brain could finally think again with that awful screaming gone, and I was soo happy to- Snapping to attention, Ari ducked as a punch came flying at him. With the momentum Falmer brought his face, teeth really, at my stallion’s neck. Squealing at the contact, he reared up, taking the mare and Falmer with him. That squeal turned into a roar, as the mare’s grip let go, freeing the males to duke it out, magic was long forgotten in Ari’s mind. Feral eyes screamed unmistakable hatred for each other. Locked in battle they pushed against each other, Falmer with his good arm pushing on Ari’s wither while his maw got soaked in Alicorn blood, and Ari with his hooves stomping at the muscled shoulders. Suddenly fear coated my tongue, a warm hoof on my flank, the injured mare. We locked eyes, her eyes uncertain, fearful, and…Curious? I didn’t know what to say to do, in her state she wasn’t any threat, and I wasn’t any threat. Our ears both splayed as the stare off continued, sadness flowed in, then new stronger fear flowed in. My stomach started shouting obscenities at the influx of bitter emotions. The deck thudded as they continued to battle, the crowd silent this time. “Either, think of something happy and loving or get your hoof off my flank.” I pinned my ears at her to make the message clear. Just because I knew I couldn’t move to back it up didn’t mean she knew that. Her hoof shook, confusion muting the flavors. “What?” “Fear tastes horrible.” She jumped further onto me, dodging the dancing hooves and ‘hands’, whatever those were. With a snort I looked back at her. “I’m an emotionvore.” She looked from her body that was half on my flank, then Ari, then to me, cocking her head, and sweet love flowed in. “Like that?” “Exactly like that.” Muzzle opening like she wanted to say more, it froze, fear becoming dominate again. I just sighed; she must have realized just what she was on: a changeling. Changelings never really went to Zebrica, too long to travel back and forth. But we were still spoken of there, ‘the fanged dark flyers’, ‘night bugs’ or something equally as complimentary. Changelings got the short stick everywhere. Not as short as Falmer must be feeling. Ari was towering over the mbzuzi now. They had broken apart some time and had just come back to try and break each other, so much for the restraint he had showed before…Not I didn’t find his performance captivating, but Lyric was unconscious, Gennady was still bleeding, and Dinari was also unconscious. This would have been quicker if Ari had used magic. Reared up, he was now at least two feet taller than Falmer. But that also left his chest wide open, which the pirate was more than happy to use to his advantage. Hairy arms went out, one trailing blood, with the odd squirt squelching out, the other had their clawless digits outstretched. Well used hooves came down- The airship lurched, sending Falmer flailing backwards from Ari, and hooves followed him. “GRAAAAAAAAAAA!” Cracks sounded out from the ‘hands’ under Ari’s hooves. Oops, isn’t that just too bad? More cracks sounded, causing every being to turn their head to our wrecked ship, there a large green scaled head poking out of the now nonexistent deck. The fins rippled along from its neck to head, long snout scrunching up as nostrils flared. This was another one of the reasons that changelings never crossed the sea, that no being had ever come back from the Endless sea, sea serpents were bigger than most dragons and just as vicious. “Fuck.” I looked over to Ari, his eyes dilating before they franticly went around the deck. Locking on the Minotaur that still held Dinari, his horn glowed, and a pop sounded from beside the Minotaur. Gennady was gone. Falmer turned his head to the sound of the pop, “Grab the loot-AHHHH,” the serpent narrowed its eyes, focusing on the noise. “START THE ENGINES NOW! FIRE THE CANNONS!” He continued to call orders unnecessarily, his crew was already running to the cannons and the control panels. Except none of them were bothering to secure us, not that I blame them, living was always better in my book. Another three pops sounded, Kapera and the prisoners were gone. But the Minotaur was just standing there, his black horns lowering slightly as they gazed at each other. Thumps reached my ears, followed by panicked squeals from Ari’s vessel. The zebra with the headset was back. “ARI HURRY IT UP, WE HAVE A WHOLE-,” the mare’s yell was cut off as the ship turned sideways, righting itself just barely, a purple fin breached the water heading for the airship. With that the green head broke through the hull, wood flying as it made to follow the purple fin. All that was left was Lyric, Dinari, the zebra, and I. Unfortunately the Samaki still had Lyric by the leg, the Minotaur had Dinari, and Ari was busy trying to keep himself between Falmer and me. “GET THE OTHERS TO MOVE OUT,” Ari yelled to her before turning his eyes to the Minotaur, “Release my friend.” Their eyes narrowed And to every being’s surprise he dropped her; with a pop she was gone. With an angry snort he started walking to the help the crew take off, “Take better care of her, the sea is no place for her or her brother.” How did he- The sound of wood breaking tore at my ears. Ari’s ships started to move, and to my eyes widened as many more fins showed through the choppy sea. Crackles started up as the lightshow began, hitting the sea at random, every shot clearly hitting something as they illuminated the water. Greens, blues, and purples glittered in a haunting visage, and it was enough for even the Samaki to turn fin and run to the cannons as shouts for help came from the crew. Falmer still gazed at me hungrily as another pop rang out. “YOU!” Ari looked to the downed captain. “YOU BROUGHT THEM HERE,” He made a stumble towards us and Ari just turned his back on him, facing the zebra and me with a smile. After giving us both a nuzzle, the love making me sigh, his horn started to glow. A rumble started from the ship, followed by a thump, and more crackling. Twangs, ropes whipped the deck, inches from my flank, more fear came, and a buzz of magic flicked across my chitin. Blinking it disappeared. My stallion was now bucking as Falmer gripped his flank, the kicks doing little to deter him. “ARI!” The mare was still there on his bow, but the boat was turning and rocking, fins circling it. Even more worrying to our current position were the sounds coming for below the airship. As the airship lifted sluggishly, creaking sounding from down below, the sea seemed to be full of serpents. “PLEASE ARI, LET THE SERPANTS GET HIM!” Ari’s ear twitched as mine folded back. A snort and whimper came from my back, the fear turning to anger, and with careful hurried clip clops the injured mare hobbled up to the mbzuzi. She stomped on his ‘hand’. It was awkwardly done on three legs but was very effective anyway. Howling, he arched his back, off balance as he couldn’t find any ease from the pain. Grip failing, Ari’s short kicks drew he back, till he got one in that sent him flying, over the railing and roaring the whole way. A flash and bang brought our eyes to the sky, the blue horizon seeming to bend under our gaze. Then a moment of quiet noise overtook the deck, huffing from Ari and the zebra, a stunned murmur growing from the pirates. Metal screeching caused every being to cover their ears, splashing followed. “IT GOT OUR ENGINE!” The airship continued to slowly rise above Ari’s ship anyway, three more engines working double time. Pops cracked in my ears as my stomach swam, and the world became a kaleidoscope of color. It settled finally on black and white. Blinking it cleared further, forming the shapes of many zebras. Where was I? Looking around I could tell I was in a medical area of some kind, groups of zebras and…Several equestrians trotted around the room, all wobbling with the ship while carrying red bags and other supplies. A muzzle popped in front of me, “I trust you to be a good patient now.” I was speechless; the zebra didn’t hold any terror in her gaze, so I nodded to her, trying to wrap my mind around this. No fear. I was in an infirmary…And no being was running from me, well the equestrian’s were sneaking fearful looks at me, but they were still carrying on with their tasks. Did I die? **** Ari Please, please, please die! I couldn’t help but think as I watched the sea serpents swarm the airship. Their huge bodies, easily a hundred feet long for some, were wrapping themselves around any part they could reach. Unfortunately for us, my ship was still in easy reach, our escape progress was slow to nonexistent with the waves pushing us towards the rocks, the serpents circling around us like oversized sharks, and the wind whipping around like no one’s business. It wasn’t helpful, the others had at least made it out farther, already grower smaller in the horizon. At least the ape was serpent food now. Scales scraped our hull, causing the zebras on deck to look to me. “Any idea how to kill a sea serpent,” I asked Folami, she sighed and looked down at the deck before moving into my side. I didn’t tense this time, like I had the first time, she was just trying to help. “Not unless you can get manage another beam and blast it right between the eyes. They have multiple hearts according to legend, so a headshot is our only guarantee…Their scales are pretty much magic resistant, unless it was a beam of the caliber you used on Arch. It wouldn’t do more than anger the serpent.” Not what I wanted to hear. Don’t get me wrong, I probably could get a couple more beams of that power out, but there was way more than two in the water…And I was magically exhausted. Capturing these ships had done a number on my already starving and injured body, physically I felt like I was just floating. These hooves had smashed nearly six hundred and fifty chains, they were numb, cracking. All while my muscles felt like I had run a marathon. Marble came trotting up then, “Ari…” She trailed off as she looked at me. Another bump rocked the deck. “Yes?” “Uh, you are bleeding…” That didn’t surprise me, my neck felt wet, and I had just wrestled an ape of some sort. That last part still left so many questions about this world. A talking, pirating ape, ‘Apes of the Caribbean’, dear god it hurt my brain. “Just take them off, wrap me up after I get rid of these damn over grown sharks.” Puzzled looks came to me. “Earth water predator, let me think…” So they began unwrapping me, bloodied bandages piling up on the deck. I looked at the nearly soaked fabric, knowing I couldn’t swim to fight them if I was bleeding this much. That would just be asking for- That’s it! More creaks sounded and I gave Marble a worried look, there was still half of my body left. Conjuring scissors, I started clipping through them faster then she could bite. “Come on,” I muttered to myself as my core and channels dimmed suddenly, hunger increasing. She backed off. “Ari?” They questioned uncertainly as every pony watched and the boat wasn’t moving, the wind changed, but the sea serpents were keeping us immobile. Levitating the bloody bandages I started to bring them over the railing, “They are just giant, magic resistant sharks, attracted by blood.” As the distance grew over the rough waters they started to drip, small red drops making a trail to the big airship full of blood sacks. It was survival here…His crew also needed to pay for their actions, I had found many dead mares in these hulls, and not all were starved. Another boom forced me to look up, the air was rippling and bending in the sky…And the sun was beginning its descent. That should be far enough. “Any more bloody bandages around here?” Most of the serpents were wandering over to the pile I dropped but some stuck around. Marble nodded, fetching more with surprising speed. Repeating the process, I brought it out to airship’s area. I squinted my eyes, black smoke obscuring my view as the engines were in a tug of war with the sea serpents. We were moving. Sighs of relief went out across the deck, almost drowned out the gales sending us after my fleet. They were still way ahead of us but that was okay, we had the headset still. “Tell the fleet to head for home.” I slowly wobbled my way down the steps; Chrissy didn’t look too good when I saw her. “Home?” Folami questioned as I touched down on the deck, she sounded it out slowly, like it was a foreign word for her. “You do live in Zebrica right?” I looked back at her open mouth, “I just assumed since Ayodele said your family would be affected that you were from there.” Finally she nodded, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Pink glow started up from her as every pony gathered around, eyes were glassing over, and the screams and booms faded into the background. “H-hello,” Folami stuttered out met with a chorus of greetings from the nine captains I had unofficially made. “S-set a course for home, we are going home.” Raucous cheers and stomping echoed out from every mare on deck, heads peeked out, and then the cheers traveled. The king of pirates was dead. Slipping off the headset and dropping the jewel she rushed to me, Marble joining in, hugging with all their hearts. Tears even threatened to come from me; truly, this was a feeling unlike any other. I was speechless, any words I could think of putting to the reality of what I had done were too little, it hadn’t even occurred to me all of what this meant to them. Some ideas had occurred but, seeing the tears, the joy, it was overwhelming. Giving them some minutes to wear themselves out, the light dimming with my energy, adrenaline could only take me so far. “Hey, I’m feeling a little tired. I’m going to go catch up with my mares.” Silence fell, the hugs ended and I felt the question in the many splayed ears and uncertain looks. “Yes, my mares are unconventional-.” “She’s a changeling.” Marble stated, like the sky was blue. I continued to the infirmary door, “Yes and she has been just as affected by the crazy weather as the rest of every pony, except her land really was ruined to the point of no return.” Opening the door I continued, every ear was turned to me. “Her home was flooded out, her people were starving and no pony would freely feed an emotionvore,” I rolled my eyes at that. “So she came with a plan, not a perfect plan-,” we locked eyes, Chrissy looking at me with wide eyes, “-but it was from the right place. She could have killed me when we first met, drained me dry or any other silly story you may have heard.” I crossed the last steps to her. “But she didn’t, she was upset, just like some of you must be, her entire family was dead, and she expected death from me.” “You didn’t kill her.” A small, scared voice asked. The source had me frowning, “No, it made sense to try everything to save your family, especially when no one would help…” I stood frozen in front of Chrissy, staring at the sight, it made no sense…Weren’t they all zebras? “Why are you tied up?” Looking beside her I saw a bat winged pony also hog tied. “Can some pony please explain this?” My knees started protesting, so I settled in beside Chrissy, wrapping my good wing over her. Murmurs grew over her sigh of relief; still no one moved to answer the question. I looked around; Kapera was stroking Dinari’s head, which was laid beside her brother. Wincing I moved on…He had lost an arm and what more could be said. They were exhausted. Lyric…She was being patched up still, her tail bone quirked at an odd angle. Bat pony didn’t seem too chatty, looking at me with wide eyes and splayed ears. All that was left was the zebra herself. “What is your name?” … “Look I don’t bite; I just like to know who I’m addressing.” A very audile gulp sounded and she muttered something out, Chrissy didn’t help me hear it by snorting. Sighing I levitated her over; this caused her to look at me fearfully. “There is no need to look like that, I just want to know why they haven’t untied you yet…Or attended to your burns.” Her mane was gone and the back of the neck was scattered with angry red burns. “Pleasedon’tkillme!” I blinked at her and cocked my head at her, before it hit me. She didn’t know me, having just come from slavers, and was still tied up. Giving her as warm a smile as I could, I untied her. Chrissy shifted beside me and the other zebras grew tense. “There,” I put her down in front of me. “We aren’t with the slavers as you can see so there is no need to fear us. Why would I want to kill you?” “Ayomide,” taking a deep breath she looked wearily up at me. “That’s my name.” I nodded to her, “Hello Ayomide, it is nice to-.” Kapera interrupted me, “ARGH!” We turned to look at her, my mare sighing. “Ari, I can’t take this anymore! That mare tried to kill you! We had to run her down in the street and interrogate her to find out who had you.” By this time I turned back to look at Ayomide, she didn’t scream ‘killer’, her pitiful wet eyes and crouched position before me was actually the opposite. My heart was so confused. “She poisoned you! If she hadn’t you wouldn’t have been unconscious on that beach for Arch to find in the first place!” Deep breath, this didn’t make sense. Why would I have this tiny mare trying to kill me? I had never met her before. Although, I don’t remember what happened on the beach and I was unconscious for four days…Ayomide just didn’t seem the type to kill. “Ayomide,” she flinched, “Please explain.” Another deep breath and I tightened my wing around Chrissy. “It was my job. I would get one hundred thousand bits for killing you…And you just wouldn’t die!” Snorts came from many mares. I didn’t know how to feel about that, what do I say when ‘not dying’ is a negative to a mare? Groans came from Dinari and Lyric, they shifted slightly, and that was good news in my book. Turning back to Ayomide, “I wouldn’t die…I don’t think I can apologize for that, really, I like living. So who was going to pay you these bits?” “It doesn’t matter does it? You aren’t going to let me live anyway.” Awkward silence, every zebra looking at me, Chrissy looked at me with a frown, and Ayodele was making her way over with wide eyes. What do I say? Nothing in my life every prepared me for any person wanting to kill me, much less failing to and telling me. Forgiveness seems too…Problematic, she could just try again when it seems like I have forgotten. But killing her in retaliation didn’t seem too realistic either. What if her assassin friends came after me? I mean technically she hadn’t killed me so more were bound to be coming anyway. Most pressing in this room was that fact that she was a zebra, when I had been fighting for the freedom of the zebras from slavers, from death. How could I offer the same fate as a slaver? “Why?” She looked at me in shock and I nodded to her. “Well, for money.” I raised an eyebrow. “Zebrica isn’t exactly booming with job opportunities, every zebra is, was sucking every bit they could from the tourists and traders, we needed to pay-.” “I’m aware of the previous status the slavers had left your country, I am changing that, changed that I hope. Maybe some minor pirates floating around…But they will be easy, especially when they don’t have hostages. Just one spell and I get them all in their cabins, fish in a barrel. But why killing, one hundred thousand bits is a lot, more than one bribe?” A sad chuckle escaped her as a body slumped against my other side, it was Ayodele. “It was a silly dream…I wanted my family to never have to worry about another bribe there whole life, maybe enough to convince the pirates to leave us along.” Like a popped balloon the tenseness slowly left the room, unsure looks replacing it, looking to me on my decision. “Not silly, naïve maybe…But I’m just as guilty of that trait as Kapera loves to point out, but it kept me going. Although stopping and thinking it through was needed…Is needed.” Pausing I looked around the lantern lit room, at all the lives that are going to go on now. “If you lived what would you do with your life?” Ayomide fidgeted under my gaze, I was watching her, and I could feel Chrissy tense beside me. I thought of our foal, love for my mare, and also what I would tell them. “She would come home.” Ayodele spoke from my side, eyes narrowed at the mare. “My cousin would kiss her mother and apologise, she would help in the potion shop, and never poison another being. Live a happy life free of pirates, and eventually find a nice stallion and have foals.” Turning to me she gave me a sad smile, I was too shocked, reeling from this to response. Eyes looked between us and I was put at a loss. “Chrissy?” She hummed and shifted, “Do you feel alright with her living?” We were a herd, this wasn’t just my decision, and it would affect our future, the foal’s safety. Not to mention she was master of disguise, I’m sure she could detect a lie. “I want to hear her say it; sure, her cousin certainly believes it. But Ayomide has killed before, how do we don’t know she won’t turn to that if bits get tight?” Murmurs of thought went around and I had to admit that was a solid point, it was certainly more lucrative than the couple of hours I worked. “I-I would! My cousin, Ayodele is correct…Killing is, was the worst part of the job.” Her eyes seemed genuine, shinning with tears, and I wanted to believe her but I was soo tired. Wanting this over could just be my tiredness talking. A yawn escaped me at that thought, all day fighting… “Look, for the sake of me getting some rest, can we agree to a probation period? Ayomide gets checked up on, reintegrated or whatever needs to happen, and we see if she can handle it. If, on the odd chance that the urge to murder comes back well we can talk it over, but I really don’t want to kill her.” Another yawn came out, looking around I spotted Lyric, all bandaged up. I brought her over, moving Ayodele to her usual position. Every pony was looking at my would be assasin still. I sighed, of course. With a squeak from her I pulled her under my chin, and rested her body under my neck. “There! She is contained, besides she has nowhere to go, the sea serpents are probably around somewhere out there.” Shudders went through the group and they slowly went back to whatever they had been doing, glancing at us from time to time. Closing my eyes I felt my muscles relax, my fur was clumped with new blood but I didn’t care, I could- “What about me?!” A strident male voice asked. Cracking an eye I looked and found the bat pony looking around incredulously as no pony paid him attention. Fuck, I just want to rest, is that too hard?! “I fought slavery all day long, I need rest. Also you clearly did something wrong if no pony has untied you yet. So good night and all that, talk in the morning, okay?” Hissing came from Chrissy and I looked over, a hoof was touching her back. Dear lord! I closed my eyes as she quieted down. Good- More hisses, I didn’t even need to open my eyes to know why as the light dimmed through my eyelids and bodies started piling up. Pony pile up time. More ponies opting for Lyric’s side than Chrissy’s, I think the hissing turned them off, go figure. To me it wasn’t threatening, saying ‘go to sleep’, and ‘don’t open that can of worms, unless you want to be up all night’. “Chrissy.” “Yes, Ari,” she replied tersely. “Can we talk about this in the morning? Before or after breakfast, it’s your choice.” Silence reigned, till she sighed in my ear, “Fine, but I expect two breakfasts.” I nodded faintly, my head feeling like it was weighted down. “Tomorrow…” That Awkward Moment.Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Knowing Can Be Awkward.**** The Narrow Sea Moonlit Echo I didn’t know what to make of Ari, really, he just so seemed so unlikely. Everything about him seemed wrong. So I let my mind wander, to try and let my subconscious make sense of him, and that’s when it came back to me. Years ago, when I was still too young to enter the guard training program, much less the guard itself, I attended ESSTs. Standing for ‘Extreme Situation Strategy Talks’, a military program any pony could go to, although most ponies admittedly didn’t really take it seriously till a couple of months ago. Funny how it takes almost becoming bug food to do that. But i digress, this was before the invasion. I was an eager colt then, soaking up all I could guard training wise. This was one of my favorite ways to practice for the program as I counted my days, weeks, and years to the entrance exam. Being a guard was my dream job, incase it wasn't obvious already. I mean if you weren’t a Lunar guard there really wasn’t much out there for employment, at least in my mind, especially considering most ponies were diurnal. Sure the opportunities had increased but… Sorry, Where was I? That always bugs me, the misunderstanding that...You know I'm going to shut up now, back to the memory. Right, that particular ESST featured the grand, grand, grand, well you get the point. He was the far reaching descendant of a pony that had participated in the Great War. A subject most yawned at now; I know I was sceptical as to what he could add to the talk since he wasn’t even part of the guard. He had been a scholar and practitioner in the defensive arts of hoof to hoof combat. Back then the hoof to hoof moves had fascinated me more than his words, really his ancestor’s advice, but now as I find myself letting my mind go over my unique situation, they return with surprising clarity. ‘Gaining the trust of the enemy is the hardest task but the most needed one, then, and only then do they allow you the knowledge to escape.’ He had been one of the few prisoners of war to live, so I think his words may have had merit. But, escaping doesn’t seem like the sane route anymore and I don’t think that is stockhoof syndrome talking either. I can see why the memory came up, that had been my goal before Ari talked to me today, however, Thinking about what I have learned…Despite what I know must be right, has to be true about my princesses; Ari and his herd have been able to poke holes in my reality. Sirens were vanquished hundreds of years ago by Starswirl the Bearded himself. Yet I saw one in action yesterday, felt the weight of the magic in the air. Changelings were vile, conniving insects…That had only reappeared four months ago, with little information recorded on them, and now the queen of them has given a possible reason...It didn't sound too crazy either. Maybe I was going mad? There was supposed to be no other Alicorns. Sure the storms exsisted and that is why he was called here, but…Why haven’t the princesses heard of them before? We trade the Minotaurs for hay every month, diplomats visit all the time it seems, and treaties are brought up on occasion. Surely some pony would have mentioned these storms? This whole situation felt like it was missing something and I couldn’t put my hoof on what it was. I had to get to the bottom of this, I mean; she would ask me the same questions. My princess would want to know the all the specifics as well. I had come out here with the intention of easing the confusion that my princess was feeling, not increasing it. She worried for his safety…Which she was right to do actually; he did get captured by a pirate. Can you believe it? Him a…That was another point of dissention. Was he really an Alicorn or a Royal changeling? Now I felt he was an Alicorn, however that brought back the why questions again. If the reason the bug had given…No, surely that storm had been a fluke, a random occurrence. The water was real though. Maybe there was some truth in the story. That he was an Alicorn from another planet, world, and he was sent here to stop the princesses from destroying the world…Unintentionally. But how could they not know? They had lived longer than any other being, save Discord, that thing didn’t really count. He was insane…And posing in the Royal Canterlot gardens. No, he didn’t do this, but the water was real, and the stallion in the room certainly seemed real. My head felt like it was spinning and I don’t think it was the fumes from my vomit, wavering back and forth, yes and no. Physically, in the most basic sense, he looked like an Alicorn. He had an equine body, long horn, and feathered wings. I had spent at least a minute searching his face, blue eyes, and never seen a trace of shimmering green. His magic field even was a golden yellow, a color not reported from any changelings from the battle of Canterlot. But as the battle proved, we don’t really know that much about changelings after all. Ari seemed honest and physically was an Alicorn, although several facts suggested it could be a disguise. His mane didn’t wave and he didn’t even have a cutie mark. But maybe his world was just different? He was certainly different. Different, but... When it came down to his authenticity…All of these mares, Minotaurs, and even that rodent believed him to be a Alicorn. They were ready to defend him and offer support at the flick of a tail. I am serious about that last part; they defended him even when he rutted the queen of the changelings, something that no Alicorn would ever do…They were one of Equestria’s enemies in the Great War and most recently they proved why again! Yet, he, an Alicorn, rutted the bug like she was just another mare, more than once if the insect’s screams of pleasure were to be believed. I woke up to that. Loud, ear piercing squeals calling his name. Explaining that nightmare to my princess was going to be interesting and hopefully not as painful as commenting on the vile union had been. Allow me to explain, you see their nausea inducing racket had woken every pony in the cabin, it was that loud and sick. Most had the normal reaction: look at the floor, twitch an eye, and try to block out the evidence of the offending act going on. But some actually…Well, of course his depraved hybrid mare looked excited to hear them. She wasn’t alone. That was actually more horrifying than hearing them go at it, the fact that more than several mares looked interested in the copulating below us, except with them in place of the changeling. Stomach rolling, I tell you! That is when I had to remind them what he plowing into and what that said about him…For some reason all the mares took offence to that, even the ones that didn’t enjoy the auditory assault he was gracing us with. One even went down to check on him. An Equestrian…She returned a panting mess, eyes wide, and brown muzzle stained red. I couldn’t help but ask how much she had vomited at the sight of him stuffed inside a disgusting bug…For a starved earth pony she was still really strong. The stallion didn’t even have any shame when he returned with it, foul changeling odor coming off him in waves, that and the heady smell of rutting. But then again, maybe he was just simple…I mean he even looked surprised when the headset wearing zebra wouldn’t look at him. In fact, now that I’m not getting pummeled by hoofs I can’t help but notice how oblivious he was to most signals the mares were giving him, I know he is from another planet but surely some of our equine body language must translate? We even speak the same language for Luna’s sake! What a- Ari “-idiot I was! I mean when they said ‘unbreakable’ I really should have figured they didn’t just say that for giggles.” Chrissy face hoofed and Lyric just shook her head, “Exactly! And the weirdest thing was that was the only ship with them, every other one had shackles.” “So what happened to the ship?” Kapera yelled from ‘her’ corner, arms crossed over a huge chest scar. Don’t ask, don’t ask, no, stop staring! Ripping my eyes from her chest I gave a weak chuckle, “Well, you see eventually when we got out of the cell-.” “HOW?!” She had stood, ears back, and eyes wide in…Disbelieve? I mean I did say unbreakable but that didn’t quite equal inescapable. “The cuneal writing was perfect, not even a raging sea serpent should have crac-.” Warmth flooded my body as I heard that, my muscles screamed to move as my logical mind shouted to wait. Crackling flooded my channels as my heart pounded, unsure whether to move to my hooves or horn. It sounded like, no she had all but said that she had helped him. Kapera had made the cell that had doomed many ponies, maybe other species as well, she was responsible for… Why had she made the cage for a slaver? “Ari?!” A female voice called in surprise. Tensing my muscles, I stood in one swift movement, causing forelegs to wrap around my neck with a panicked squeak, and hooves touched my withers. But I only had eyes for one being. Like a wave, the crowd parted, I couldn’t tell what their expressions were. Fear? Anger? Did it really matter when she had helped with the transport of real, live ponies to their death or enslavement? Her expression changed from one that had said the wrong words back to a one of anger as I slowed my approach. Restraining the urge to attack her, she… Deep breath. Silence held the cabin now, even the hooves outside seeming to fade into nothingness. And release. Before me stood a, well, I really didn’t know what she was. Her short rounded ears were folded back, almost as flat as her muzzle, which was set in a grim line. Kapera was braced for something to go down, using a paw to push her rising apprentice down, keeping the siblings out of her mess. In. My body felt like a heavy weight was upon it, muscles stuck as we locked eyes, blue and gold clashing. She still hadn’t explained herself. “Anything you want to say?” Claws clipped the planks beneath us, one side then the other. “No? Nothing you want to say to the last victims of your work?” Her muzzle tightened as she cast her eyes to my hooves, ears splaying as she looked at them. “These old cracks?” I stomped a hoof, wincing as the crack on my wall widened ever so slightly and vibrations of agony traveled up my foreleg. “Well, don’t worry they aren’t from your cage, I got these smashing chains.” “Really?” Gennady spoke up, leaning forward to look at the two cracks that were splitting the front of my hooves, helped by the chips along the circumference. “Yes, over six hundred,” I didn’t turn away from Kapera, “While I can’t speak for every other pony that was stuck in that hull…” Ruffling my good wing I felt Ayodele still on my back, “Some for two weeks,” looking over at Marble, she met my eyes after a second, a frown on her muzzle, “Others for four weeks or longer, I feel pretty darn pissed off.” Snorting I realized that was an understatement, “No, I feel angry, justified to know why you made such a thing?” Another deep breath to push back the anger, “When I had heard such good things about you…You agreed to help us…Why, no, how could you have allowed such a thing to happen?” Ears were all on her, her eyes blanked, and face stilled into a mask. “Are you done?” I nodded, breathing out as I felt my thoughts just hang out there. “Ari, sometimes beings don’t tell the whole truth...” As she trailed off I felt the slap, not a physical one, no, it was the irony. I was just an Alicorn stallion after all, nothing else. “Many, many years ago, I was just trying to get my business to make any money, any at all.” I must have showed my disbelief. “Come on Ari, use your brain!” Her tone then turned soft, “Have you really seen any being like me in your time here?” She raised her paws and gestured to her body. Backing up, my anger slightly diffused as I took in her appearance. Without the apron she was laid bare, short golden chest fur turning to white lumpy scar tissue, it followed no pattern like my whip marks did. It spoke of a lot of pain, no scar like that was made from a little cut. “No, I have never seen any being like you.” My eyes couldn’t leave her chest, morbid curiosity getting the better of me. “How,” I queried, gesturing to her general chest area. Everypony crowded in, my mares returning to my sides, nuzzling me as my muscles relaxed. Was I still angry? Hell yes! But I was also aware that there was a reason now, it sounded like Arch had tricked her, and that racism was still as strong then as it was now. At least the racism on Earth was slightly more discreet. “This old thing?!” She patted her chest, sporting a toothy grin, while causing every pony to wince. It just looked painful to see her touch it. But within seconds her voice quickly turned slow and soft. “Oh, I just got this escaping from my home in Zebrica.” WHAT?! A murmur of Zebrican started through the crowd. “See Ari, my people, my family, we were warriors.” Golden eyes smiled as something returned to them, a life. “And we had been fighting the slavers for awhile…But their technology; the magic beat our physical abilities more often than not. My tribe couldn’t handle it and it was decided that we would go to the mainland for help, learn the new technology, and gather support.” A shudder passed through her body as her tail wilted. “They expected that though and my family was lost…So I hid low, learned the technology for when more escaped.” She met my eyes and I felt I knew what she was going to say. “No more came, I later learned my village had been essentially vaporized, a Mongofu hunt from the air.” Well, I didn’t quite know what to say to that. I felt really bad for her now, at least my family was still alive, even if I would never see them again. Not that I visited them anyway, but my friends would be missing me. Not that one reality was better, both were hard to accept. No pony said anything for a while as we took it in, Kapera having been through just as much as us, she was against the slavers like we were. “It’s at the bottom of the Narrow Sea.” Kapera looked up from her paws, blinking rapidly; tears shimmered in her eyes as a small smile started on her muzzle. “Your runes were flawless, I couldn’t buck my way through. We fought our way out.” Her mouth started to open, “And yes, I did break your inhibitor too, it did throw quite a kickback though.” A chuckle escaped her, fluffy tail rising, “Really?” “Really, really!” I shot her a grin, “Definitely make it stronger next time.” I paused, it just hit me. “If you still will that is? No pressure…I kind of overreacted, no, I just feel so angry after seeing all those ponies in the ships…Not all of them made it and that hurt.” “I know…When I found out…It was too late and I was just one.” A long sigh followed. Maybe I was just one, but one became two and then three… “Well, that is changing. Most if not all of the slavers are dead, their leader is dead, and over six hundred zebras are going home.” I chuckled, “All due to my idiocy.” Kapera snorted, a sound that sounded odd coming from her muzzle. The air seemed to lose pressure, “Maybe I was wrong about that Ari.” I blinked at that, was that an apology? “You do stupid stuff, especially in the morning.” Nope. “I mean really Ari?! Right below us and without a silencing spell! I think you might have traumatized the bat.” Blood rushed to my muzzle, of course she would point out that. My mares giggled, somehow sounding unapologetic for my actions, or they just liked seeing me squirm. “I don’t know one! Remember, no magic on Earth?” “Well that doesn’t mean there was no manners there I hope!” She sat down, grinning at my puzzled expression, “That means you are on breakfast duty, stud.” Rolling my eyes at her nickname, I turned and went to escape her teasing. She hadn’t really changed that much, but I will take what I can get. Just like the Thestral, Kapera had her reasons. I can’t even fathom being on my own in the beginning, without Chrissy’s help. All the way to the door I grew more aware of a sensation, pleasant, calming, and troublesome. “Ayodele, do you want to stay up here? I mean we didn’t clean up down there really.” The mouth stilled and the body squirmed, “N-no, I mean, I’m fine up here-.” Chrissy snorted and I felt her eyes on my back, while Lyric muttered something. “Hmm,” I asked turning to her. “Nothing Ari, I will tell you later.” “Actually Ari, we need to talk privately.” Chrissy added, her long tail flicking Ayodele and I in the rump. Nodding my understanding to my mare, levitated the mare off my back, setting her down gently. She looked worried, “I’m just getting breakfast-,” giggles came from Lyric, “-Not that type!” I snorted, but couldn’t bring myself to be angry with her; I was the one that started that silly joke. “See you in a jiffy.” Was it weird that I felt guilty for leaving her alone? With that we made our way to the pantry, this time for food, and not just because I really didn’t have the energy in me for a third round. We were all hungry. Even better, Lyric didn’t even ask about the hatch, instead humming a happy tune until we entered the pantry. The wood was stained where the puddle used to be. “Kapera was a bit harsh Ari, I hope you didn’t take her words to heart. She really believes in you, you should have seen the resources she has.” Lyric gave a almost musical giggle at whatever she was thinking of, probably the stain. “I didn’t take it to heart; I figure that is just ‘her’.”I grabbed two barrels with apple pictographs, sticking them by the door. “Are you feeling alright?” My eyes made their way to her tail, carefully bandaged and splinted. A wince passed over face, “Well, as good as I’m going to be. Unsurprisingly, the Samaki didn’t go easy on me.” Sighing she continued to look around as I wondered what in the world a ‘Samaki’ was, “That’s just the cost of using my siren song.” I paused in moving bales, “Yes Ari, I had to use it. We didn’t know you were around the corner, and Falmer was on our tail.” Falmer? Oh that must be the ape. I nodded, wincing as my wing automatically tried to extend to cover her, definitely not healed. She noticed my expression, raising an eyebrow at it. "Arch liked whips and he had a blade sort of whip wrapped around there…It was stronger than my bone.” I admitted as I tucked it in again. Understanding, she nodded, a small smile growing on her muzzle. “Hold him still Chrissy.” Chitin pressed into me, forcing me to square up as she leaned into me, hard. I guess she was feeling-Then the pain returned, my eyes whipping over to the pink glow. Fuck, healing spells hurt. Holding back my whimper, I focused on my breathing as the pain grew from a sharp pain to a dull, fading ache. In and out, the pain going slowly leaving with it. I wasn’t ungrateful but damn I swear all the spell did was speed up the pain I would go through. Eventually the warmth faded, the glow dimmed and I snorted several times at the sensation. Fuck, damn, and all the rest of the curse words. Maybe I will research painless healing spells. Yes, that was still better than waiting weeks for it to heal, but damn it hurt. “Better?” I nodded to Lyric as she removed the splint, not trusting myself to not swear. “Good, next I will heal that…Ayodele was her name?” “Yes, she hurt her back hock in the fight. If it wasn’t for her the others wouldn’t have gotten the courage to fight back.” I smiled at the memory, “She was the only one to help me, an amazing pony, and friend.” Chrissy’s actions with Folami and Marble came back to me then. “Actually a lot of them are excellent friends, brave, helpful…What happened earlier,” I looked pointedly at Chrissy, “You two don’t have to worry about my eyes wandering.” I tentatively blanketed them with my wings, hardly any pain now. “I love both of you very much.” For a second we enjoyed the silence, basking in each other’s warmth and scent. Tensely Chrissy broke it, “Ari, I know you see them as friends but many aren’t acting like they want to be just friends.” Fuck. I was afraid of that. “For example Marble, that earth pony, she was all over your rump last night. Nuzzling into your flank…I felt love coming from her.” Nope. “It could have just been my scent?” Shifting hooves, I inspected a barrel filled with small round grains, “All the mares seemed to take a sniff every once in awhile to calm down.” Lyric shared a glance with her, “Okay, your scent is really calming…But Ari, there is a line between calming instincts and intimate actions, signals to the other sex that they are interested. Remember my attempts to get your attention?” Yes, I remembered…But, “Good, now there are other signals too.” “But they-.” “Ari! Listen,” I shut my mouth, still thinking about how I had even told the mares I didn’t know body language that well. “Thank you. I’m sure Chrissy might know more…But mane nibbling, full body grooming, and nuzzling is beyond friends.” Oh, but… “Friendly nuzzles are short and brief, anything longer than a couple seconds, unless they are family, is considered intimate. Preening is family and special pony territory generally, unless the pony is a long time friend.” The pegasi too...I lowered my head, “Licking, kissing, rubbing, and tail grooming are definitely beyond friends.” “Fuck!” That’s all I could say, even after I told them they still were trying to get my attention. Chrissy nodded, looking almost sadly at me with her ears back, “Yes, exactly." Her expression turned to one of clear annoyance, ears growing flatter. "There are quite a few that are interested in you…And although I know you weren’t looking at them in that way, I couldn’t help but feel territorial.” She watched my face, looking in my eyes for an answer. But I was still fuming, trying to process every little interaction I had with them. “They know.” “What,” they both asked, sharing a confused looked. “The mares all know I don’t know body language, I told them the same time I told them about both of you.” Lyric perked up, “Yes, they also know about the foals.” I frowned considering the facts. Even after I basically said ‘hey I’m an alien that doesn’t know the meaning of anything unless you spell it out for me’ they still kept at it. Foals on the way? Still interested in me. Ayodele still has been grooming my neck, lying on my back, even after seeing my herd…That actually is impressive in a way, she wasn’t turned off by race. Maybe we could be friends still, it can’t be real love yet, and we haven’t even known each other long. Mind you I didn’t know my mare friends long before they became my mares. “OW!” “You zoned out for a second,” Lyric gave the spot a kiss, “Sorry.” A long sigh escaped me, “So what do I do now? I can think of at least three that are still interested even after meeting you.” They snorted at that. “Well, there was more before they saw the competition.” I chuckled at that, Chrissy was the tallest mare in the room, and if I remember correctly Azure said they have to challenge the lead mare to enter the herd. Thankfully I still held veto power…I think. Clarify later. Chrissy gave my stack of hay bales an eye roll before motioning for us to leave, “Nothing.” My disbelieve showed, “We will be rid of them in a day and if none of those fillies have the guts to actually use words after what you told them, then don’t use words either.” Seeing me nod she continued, “Don’t encourage the behavior either though,” a snort escaped me, “But don’t comment on it either, those fillies just have a crush on you.” Dear lord, school all over again. ‘Check yes if you like me.’ Well, not acknowledging the ‘note’ would be mean but if they couldn’t say it… Levitating the food we began our ascent, comfortable in the silence. The deck was clear; no pony was even by the wheel. Instead it was locked in place with a mop. Zebrica was growing larger, the land appearing wider and taller as we approached. Above us, the sky was still clear as well, no birds or clouds, just a bright calming expanse of blue. It just made me want to fly, soar above my problems, but I knew that would have to wait. Breakfast first; turning to the cabin I noticed the door. It was closed. Cocking my head, I expanded my focus and twisted the knob in my magic. The door opened easily and we entered after a shared confused look. Placing down the hay and barrels in the middle of the room, I noted the lack of talking, every pony was gathered around Folami who was grinning like a mad mare. What the hell did I walk into? “Hello? What’s up?” “They can see the docks!” I blinked at Folami before a big smile broke free, that was awesome. She was talking to me again and the land was getting closer! “And they say that almost all the ports are open, it’s clear sailing ahead!” A round cheers rose to the ceiling, accompanied by clapping from Kapera and Dinari. I joined in as well, enjoying the moment of relieve. Sure I was still in pain but this was great news, no pirates ahead, and our destination was less than a day away. Why had the door been closed though? It was- a new thought hit me then. Glancing to Chrissy as we made our way to Folami, my mares just following me with confused expressions and splayed ears, “Can I borrow the headset?” She nodded and I took it as some ponies started distributing the food. “Thank you.” Now how do I word it nicely? ‘I have a changeling as a marefriend’, or ‘please don’t react badly’, or even ‘remain calm’? I was stuck, better to ask. “Folami, how racist are zebras in general?” You could have heard a pin drop. “Racist?” I nodded, gesturing a hoof to my herd. “You see on the main land if my mares walked around they would be met with plenty of slurs and most likely assaulted.” Frowning at her, I let the seriousness settle in, “And you all know exactly why no harm must come to them.” A confused look on the Thestral while every being nodded, and somepony even responded with a ‘yes’, “Well, then I want to make sure that I moment we step off the boat I’m not walking into a mob.” “Changelings aren’t treated with the level of fear Equestrians hold for them, they really haven’t interacted much with us.” Folami started, glancing at my mares. “So they are more legend, little more than a word, which is to say we don’t have anything against them.” I called ahead anyway, met with surprise mostly; they hadn’t been close enough to seem who was on the airship. But they assured me that they would prepare the crowds for us. Dear lord, the crowds, and most likely the officials… But, more pressing than the crowds was the mission. We still needed the airship. “Okay then, does any pony know a good place to buy an airship?” I settled down, returning the headset to Folami. No pony answered as most had turned to stuffing their faces. Following their lead I levitated a dozen apples over and was surprised as Lyric went to town on them. Between the two of us we were making quick work on the pile. I will ask again after they eat. Like clockwork, the offbeat clip clop of a three legged mare met my ears. I tensed, knowing why she was coming over now. Ayodele liked me for a more intimate reason than friendship and if I was honest that upset me, I wanted female friends again. She had seemed so nice, helping me down, hanging out with me after I was blown back from the bars, and just having my back in general. But I don’t know if I could handle the thought of three mares, my two were already pregnant, and I still had so much more to do before the foals got here. The hoof steps stopped, waiting, and I looked over at her. Actually it was Ayodele and Ayomide, both wearing matching looks of discomfort. “Soooo,” Ayodele started, dragging out the word to an awkward degree. “So…” I glanced at Lyric, the perfect way to get rid of her excuse. “Lyric said she would heal your hock for you,” They locked eyes, green eyes blinking as the zebra cocked her head. “It will hurt at first but it saves weeks of agony.” I gave a weak flap of my wings, one slightly less feathered than the other, but both flapping strong. “Wow.” Lyric took the lead then, “So I take that as a yes?” A tentative nod, ears splayed, and a questioning look to her as Lyric’s pink magic filled air. “Come closer, I don’t bite.” I snorted at that, right, like she didn’t bite my neck earlier. “Ari, you zoned out.” Returning to Ayodele, “But seriously, I need to touch my horn to the break.” With her cousin supporting her she made it around to our front. “You might want to lay down for this, Ari wasn’t exaggerating, it is effective but we don’t have any potions for pain.” They shared a nod after she had clumsily laid down, Chrissy tense despite her claims that this was just a crush. Well, I sort of see her reason for the tenseness. Ayodele had placed her back against my chest, in an oh so subtle move, she shimmied her fur along my chest tuft. Getting comfortable took a long minute. Lyric’s head wasn’t nodding when the mare was done. Horn to hock, the pink magic seemed to jump to the desired area, ignoring the splint as a rose glow spread along the hock. Eyes were on us as the pain hit her, squeals escaping her lips, and making me close my eyes. I know that pain all too well now. Rosy magic faded as i opened my eyes, my mare looking just as sorry as I felt for the panting mare pressed to my front. Her cousin removed the splint slowly, nothing from the pained zebra. Lyric slowly flexed the leg for Ayodele, smiling to the crowd as they went back to their hay. “See, all better.”A sad smile, “I wish I knew a better spell, but it was what my mother used on me hundreds of years ago and still works the same.” She shuddered, “Exactly the same unfortunately.” Also unfortunately, she didn’t leave, to her cousin’s discomfort and mine now that I knew what this meant. But she still didn’t say anything about it so no pony else did. This continued on like that, every pony talking and eating. A generally lazy day, nothing to mention really, except maybe the fact that I still ate more than Lyric, but now she came pretty close to matching me. Foals are scary, I definitely don’t want to be dealing with what ever the ‘instincts’ are and the princesses. Eventually the day ended. Golden rays and reflections on the window panes disappearing as shadows and darkness traded places with them. Lanterns were lit, the moon rose, and Moonlit Echo was given a sponging off and blanket. The cooler sea winds creeping in among the giddy passengers, for despite the dull nature of the day’s events, the day to come was going to be big. This excitment had actually been building all day. We had been ‘discreetly’ peeking over the railings all day. An eye always finding the impressive land mass, home for many here, as it was growing clearer. By morning it would be upon us, the docks, zebras, and most importantly the airship engineers. Dimming the lantern nearest to us, I yawned, feeling better than I had in days. “Good night,” it came out slightly muffled as another yawn crept up my throat. They were so catchy once they started. Kissing scales and chitin I stifled another one as my eyes found the green and hazel ones below my chin. Every time we had gotten up to walk or get food, they were there, Ayodele really. I think Ayomide was just too nervous to leave her side. Fuck it, if they wanted to be pillows so be it. We would e saying goodbye tomorrow anyway. Not one complaint came. Enter Zebrica.**** Zebrica Ari What lay before made me wish I had taken up traveling before, it looked a lot more interesting than the bookstore. A Lush green forest stood strong along the coast line, thinning out into a stretch of beach. Even from the sea I could see colorful flowers of red, yellow, and white peeking through the waving canopy of reddish brown barked trees. The coy scent of sweet, ripening fruits hung on the breeze that blew past us as we basked in the sight, there was land. I was sick of the sea; it was time to get the mission started. “Nyumbani, Nyumbani,” was exclaimed excitedly from many zebras, accompanied by tears. It was also home for some. The long expanse of sand was partially obscured by the sea of black and white bodies crowding the harbor. Most zebras were surely from the nine ships, still being unloaded of their food and other more somber packages. A murmur was rising from them, traveling to my ears as it grew louder. I couldn’t help but swivel them sideways as my nerves hit me again. “Relax Ari,” Chrissy soothed even as her wing was buzzing, “They are probably just as nervous as you are, you will probably be the first Alicorn they will have seen in quite awhile.” She was probably right of course; though quelling my worries was harder than she thought. Silly worries, like would they would welcome me with open hooves? Or what if I wasn’t what they expected? My mind was racing as I guided the ship slowly up to the shore, letting Folami direct the others in preparing the ship for anchoring. A heavy click sounded as the bow was almost in place, between two wooden docks, that click was followed by a loud rush of clunks and a splash. Everybeing sprung into action then. Ropes were tightened, tied down as Dinari lowered the ramp. I grabbed Moonlit Echo and the eight ponies still not fully mobile with my magic, joining Kapera and Gennady by the railing as the final sails were rolled up. Folami took the lead still, shouting over the ever increasing din, checking the ropes as my mares tried to nuzzle me into a semi calm state. Which wasn’t happening, but at least I had lost the Ayo’s in the crazy morning preparation. This preparation continued, the running around. Until finally, the ropes were deemed tight enough, knots properly tied, and every being accounted for. I still wasn’t calm by then. That was a lot of zebras. Although we were ready, no one dared move a hoof. Looking behind me, I wanted to laugh at the sight. We all looked like a jittery group of kids, shifting from hoof to hoof, and looking at the land like it was a candy store. We were ready, no luggage to speak of, bandages clean, and all accounted for on the deck. But no one was moving even as tails flicked in impatience. Eyes and ears were actively taking in the crowd as they watched us. “Fine! If no pony else is going to go then I am. It was nice and all sailing with you, but I’m sick of this boat.” My hooves moved on their own down the ramp as I took in the crowd. Face after face before me, a monochromatic sea that was clearly more than the five hundred zebras that went ahead of us. At least a thousand zebras were there, probably way more, holding my attention. Maybe I don’t like crowds after all, but that could just be the pressure talking. A ‘magical powerhouse’ is quite a title to live up to. Behind me I was dimly aware of the group following, but my ears stuck forward with my nerves as we descended the plank. My wings twitched with the urge to cover my mares. Deep breathes. In. They are not a mob. Out. They look excited, happy. The crowd only appeared to be growing as we left the ship, more trotting in from the town that I just noticed. Located just beyond the edge of the beach, it was full of two story homes and businesses. They were not very big accommodations compared to Shallow Shale, but all were very well maintained, sporting brightly colored coats of paint. It was what many would call a quaint and cozy town. This opinion being firmly driven in by several signs that depicted a waving zebra and more writing that I couldn’t read. It looked almost like something off a postcard, too perfect to be real. As my hooves moved us down the dock, I noticed a bright orange and red…Hat? It bobbed up and down through the crowd, the trotting body attached to it eventually coming into view as my herd reached the sand. You would think the zebra’s hat would have kept my attention but it didn’t, no, it's neck did, bearing five gold bands, stacked on top of each other. I couldn’t help but think of Africa then, and going one step further my jumbled mind jumped to ‘Planet of the Ponies’. I shook my head at that, obviously my mind was trying to make sense of this. Clearly the ape was quite free when I killed him. Although equines did seem to be the dominant species on this planet… Why is he looking around? “Hello,” I nodded to the zebra, unsure of what was a proper greeting since he seemed to be in charge. A nod was polite right? Upon closer inspection I noted this official was an actual stallion, that was rare. “I’m Ari and you are?” Maybe nodding wasn't the right greeting? Zebras streamed by us from the ship, calling out as many saw faces they recognized. And I was able to pass off some of the immobile mares to others on the shore, healers I think from their cutie marks of bottles in different states. For a second I watched as the mares left, being galloped off to the town. Still more silence from the hat wearing zebra, really it was more like a wrapping of orange and red cloth, not a hat like I had thought. He observed me for a moment, eyes traveling over my wounds, wings, and horn. Nodding, he quickly glanced at my mares, the three mares I still was levitating, and my prisoner. Moonlit Echo earned me a raised eyebrow before the stallion went back to looking around the crowd. Happy zebras were mingling, yelling joyfully on occasion, and even the Equestrians were following some friends they had made. Looking pensive, he stopped his search and wiggled his nose. “I am Wekasi…” He trailed off, looking for some pony again, until he jumped. He only did so as I had jumped; something had run into my hind legs. As my luck would have it, it was exactly who I was trying not to give false signals to, having ignored her for most of yesterday…But I felt bad not asking if she was alright. That was just a friendly thing to do right? “Are you two okay?” Getting up quickly, Ayomide just nodded, while her cousin wasn’t as discreet. “More than better Ari, we are home.”She rushed around and grabbed my neck in a hug. “Thank you, thank you, oh thank you!” All the while rubbing her cheek on mine. I came to the conclusion that she was marking me. Ponies were very scent oriented as I was learning, and touch oriented. All the ‘do’s and don’ts’ my mares had explained either involved touch or scent distribution, sometimes both. Which made sense I guess, this culture wasn’t based entirely on human aspects, though just enough on like my culture to make me question everything. She was still rubbing on me…In front of the chief zebra too! Just have to not respond, I’m sure her family will take her off my hooves soon enough. I hope so, otherwise Chrissy looks like she might turn into a carnivore. Baring teeth was pretty much a universal threat, at least I would like to think so. Wekasi chuckled at her actions, his withers relaxing some. “So I have heard the truth then,” glancing to my hooves he continued, “An Alicorn did free us from the slavers,” A grin split his muzzle as his gleeful eyes returned to my face, “To that we are most grateful. I will spread the word of your great deed.” I think I was blushing then. Had it always been this warm? “Do not look so modest Ari, we are-,” he glanced around once again, “-WE ARE-,” at that two panting zebras popped out of the noisy crowd, scrambling to his side. His secretaries I assumed from the saddle bags almost overflowing with quills and parchment. Pausing, he waited while I released the remaining mares to healers, leaving me with just the prisoner in my magic. It was about that time that Kapera and the Minotaurs joined us. She finally stopped! With his assistants found and panting at his side, Wekasi gave a quick nod to the smiths and miner before he continued, “As I was trying to say, we are in your eternal debt.” I blinked and refocused on him, my thoughts going a mile a minute. This was perfect. “However this isn’t the best place to discuss such…” He seemed to be searching for a word, licking his lips nervously, “…Delicate subjects. If you wouldn’t mind coming with me, perhaps we could talk over the events at the main hall.” Sharing a nod with my group I replied our consensus, “Of course, lead the way.” Oh, crud. I stopped the group a second later as I felt the warm breathes on my hocks. Turning around to Ayodele and Ayomide, they were still following us, staying close to my haunches. It was clear to see that Ayomide was just along for the ride, looking at the sand with a frown and splayed ears. “You guys should go mingle, see your family and friends.” I gave them what I hoped as a friendly smile. I heard Wekasi’s hooves stop ahead of us. “Don’t worry Ari, we will be catching up with them later.” I frowned and went to reply but she pushed on. “Besides they are further inland in a different village and we are coming to help you.” Blinking I cocked my head. “On the mission,” She gestured vaguely to the Narrow Sea. The closed door, the assembled ponies, oh shit! My eyes went to prisoner…He was shooting me daggers from his spot in my magic field, jaw stuck closed, and a good thing too if his flared nostrils were an indication of how he felt. “You told him?!” My voice cracked a little as panic set in. Did that mean- “Of course, every being knows the plan and when you went to get breakfast we talked about how we could help you.” Chrissy snorted, which was exactly what I felt, like this whole plan was just getting whipped away. “Don’t worry,” She nuzzled my leg, it was traitorously calming, especially the extra sec- Nononono. With a deep breath I racked my mind, “So what can you do to help?” Holding my face as blank as possible, I felt a tail start to whip me. Flicking her ears, Ayodele gave me half smile, “It’s Ayomide that is going to provide the assistance really. You see I suggested to her that to make her feel better she should help you…” Her cousin gave me a clearly fake smile, her eyes not into it. “Since you know,” I nodded. She had almost killed me. “So I said since her dose did that to you, it would be perfect for your targets, since they wouldn’t die either.” My shocked expression must have showed as it hit me. Then why was she-“I knew you would see it! And I thought that coming along to support her would be the right thing to do!” She was right…This would solve the knocking them out portion of the kidnapping plan. I mean, sure it would be nice not to kidnap them, especially since I wouldn’t have to have her along and risk pony homicide, but…My whole story still sounded crazy, chances are talking wouldn’t work…But…Was it right? Low hissing brought me back. Contemplation aside, her help would only help if I live through this mission, which was still up for debate. “Uhh, that is a pretty good idea-.” I never was able to finish as she appeared to have took that as a ‘come along’, grabbing my neck in her forelegs, and more rubbing. Hissing, lots of hissing, the crowd was only watching us. No fear here, some chuckles and head shaking though. That is actually perfect…No fear! When she finally released me, she was somehow alive and already trotting ahead to the waiting zebra stallion…With a very noticeable sway in her hips. Were all mares this forward? Cause I am seeing a trend here. Chrissy and Lyric weren’t much help, choosing to rub my cheeks instead of offer advice. Kapera just looked amused; same with the siblings, and the Thestral looked depressed now. With a sigh I returned to following the town…Mayor? Leader? I didn’t know, but we were off again. Weaving through the crowd my mind was still a mess, every being silent in our group, my mares pressed into my sides as their eyes watched the crowd cautiously. Ayodele forgotten as the crowds were surrounding us, mingling, and very excited. The Zebras for the most part were taking the whole Alicorn status well: blinking, gaping, but no obvious questions so far. The birds were even chirping a happy tune, this seemed perfect. Before long the sand turned to dirt, the town around us now. Like I said, it was picturesque and small, really not what I pictured for a coastal town that was visited every once in a while by slavers. The town was clearly a tourist trap, colorful paint and flowers everywhere with carefully manicured entrances to the various businesses. There was a bakery, complete with a rustic outdoor clay oven. A flower shop, filled with tropical and exotic looking flora. Interspaced with pretty homes and other shops that were less obvious to me what their purpose was. Eventually we reached a section of just cafes and restaurants. They passed by as a blur of the same set up with different color schemes, until we finally reached a large clearing. In the center it held a large, imposing statue of a zebra in similar headdress as Wekasi. It was standing beside a larger…Alicorn. Was that Celestia? My observation on the statue was cut short, “Coming Ari?” The stallion was waiting in front of a building at the opposite side of the clearing. Ayodele waved happily from beside the open doors, held open by his assistants. “Oh! Yes, I’m sorry; everything is still so new to me. I’m afraid the culture here is still a bit distracting.” I gave him a small smile as my herd and I followed him into the building, only to find myself slack jawed again at the sight of the interior of the town hall. “No worries Ari, it was made to be distracting.” A chuckle, “It is what brings in the bits after all. Distracting was a great word for it. On the outside it had appeared like a slightly more somber building than the rest, gray and the tallest at three storeys high. But on the inside, oh, that is where the culture showed. It opened into a standard waiting room set up, except with an African, actually Zebrican flare. Artwork lined the walls, mostly tapestries depicting plains and veldts filled with brightly decorated zebra tribes. With the odd shield spaced between them. In the center of the room, instead of cushy chairs there were mats. Dyed to be rich deep reds, greens, browns, and yellows, they were weaved into exquisite and elaborate designs. Also unique was the caged in bonfire pit that the mats circled. No stone fireplaces here, although the building had wood plank floors. A hall ran along the right side of the room, passing by a desk, clearly made by hoof. All the joints flawless locked in place, not an errant gap visible. It made me wish that I could take a picture of it; Uncle Ron would drool over the craftspony work. Shaking my head, I ignored the amused chuckles from Kapera from my staring and followed my guide to the staircase at the end of the hall. “Quite an entrance isn’t it?” He asked, as his assistants rushed ahead. “You can say that again! It reminds me of the African culture back on earth,” a round of interested looks turned to me as I paused to adjust Moonlit Echo. I just couldn’t keep quiet, half truth time. “I’m not from here.” The stallion looked surprised but soon enough nodded for me to continue. “Long story, but the culture there looks pretty similar to here actually. Not that I have been to Africa, but I had read up on it in passing. There is also zebras there, although they are taller.” He hummed in interest as we arrived on the second floor, which was another hallway lined with tapestries and doors, and of course a set of stairs was at the end of it. “So you have traveled a long ways then?” “That’s one way of saying it; I’m on an unexpected trip.” “Where is ‘Earth’ then?”He paused as we ascended the stairs, some creaking under his scrutiny as I thought of a not crazy way to say the truth… Nothing came to me, “Well, it is somewhere in the universe. But I’m not quite sure where, you see a god took me from my world in less than ideal ways.” The expected raised eyebrow, “I know how it sounds, but,” A deep breath, “I’m supposed to save the world.” I continued on with the spiel, watching as Wekasi went from doubtful to thoughtful. He didn’t call me crazy though. Super storms had sounded crazy to me too, even more so since I hadn’t seen one in a week, but that could just mean I still have time. “We have been getting more storms off the sea of late." We all paused as a frantic dinging of a bell came from below us. “Rufaro,” with just that simple gesture the mare half of his assistants took off in a hurried trot. His office was official looking, that was the best way to put it. Dominating the room, a large, low standing desk sat in the middle of the room. With flat, lumpy pillows that appeared to have been woven with the same materials as the mats in the main entrance. There were three on the visitor side of the desk and one on his side. They didn’t appear to be very comfortable. Like all desks seem to be, it was littered with various papers or scrolls of parchment in this case. Tall, imposing bookcases framed the room, they reminded me of the type you would see in law offices, with dark wood and thick volumes that screamed ‘important’. A mantle took up the back wall, framing the two narrow windows, looking over the town statue like eyes. A shield on the mantle appearing like a long officious nose. My host noticed my stare and like all things here seemingly were, he was easily distracted by my interest. “That is my tribe’s insignia,” He said pointing to the narrow oblong shield bearing three hoof prints in various tones of orange, white zig zags trimmed the top and bottom of the shield. “It’s beautiful,” I added as he seemed to be waiting for a response. The seaside view out the narrow rectangular windows was quite a sight, the masts of the ships easily visible. It would have been calming if I wasn’t about to talk with the mayor, repeat that again, a mayor. Talking to officials wasn’t normal for me, nothing I was doing anymore was, but this made me very nervous. Just be calm and stick to the facts. He waited patiently while we all got settled down, Kapera, Dinari, and Gennady standing in the back. I passed off Echo to Dinari after feeling a little lost as to where to place him. But what was even more troubling than where to put my captive…Wow, that still sounds weird. Right, even worse than dealing with him was my very persistent follower. There were three cushions and five ponies. Like you probably assumed I took the middle one, across from Wekasi, while my mares took the ones on either side. And if you guessed that Ayodele leaped onto my back with a happy spring then you would have been correct. Ayomide slowly backed away as a buzzing filled the air, choosing the safer option of the wall. And now the nuzzling was back! Chrissy’s plan was dangling out the window now. It was getting harder and harder to not comment on her behavior, ignorance really had been bliss. Not that it didn’t feel nice, the attention. But I didn’t need nor want any more mares. Lyric was…We connected, okay? And, and maybe this stallion would know of a shop that sells poisons…That I could ask for very, very nicely, seeing as the last thirty eight bits I owned were in Kapera’s shop still…Or at the bottom of the of the sea. “So, Ari, I see-,” amused chuckles escaped his muzzle before he could bring his hoof up to stop it, “-that you are quite the mare’s stallion.” I groaned at that, such a skill was not what I needed, not unless that could convince the princesses to stop. “That’s not a bad thing; you know many stallions wish to attract the mares like that. Enjoy it!” Chrissy interrupted in a terse voice, ears glued back, “You wanted to speak about the events? Or did we hear you wrong?” Yeah, we definitely don’t want Ayodele coming along. Lyric snorted from my other side. Definitely not. Thankfully he picked up on their signals; turning cordial again as he nodded an apology to my mares. “Ah, I see.” He turned to me. “So from my understanding you have killed the ‘pirate king’?” Muzzle scrunching up like he ate something sour, “And killed the ten other crews?” “Yes.” “I see, and what of their clients?” Mhmm, there was that half. “You didn’t deal with them did you?” Sighing, I shook my head. “Truthfully, I figured they would be in the dark for a while.” Another raised eyebrow. “Doesn’t the weather getting fixed seem more prominent?” Still no response, “Well, I know how it sounded; the damage clearly isn’t that bad out here yet. But in the flatter areas, the mainland areas like Minotaria,” I pointed to the Minotaur siblings, “Where it is getting really bad, or the Badlands, which is completely flooded out. The-.” Wekasi nodded, holding up a hoof. “Yes, those are legitimate problems and I am sincerely sorry for your losses.” He looked at Chrissy then before his serious expression returned. “But please understand that right now the storms aren’t that big here, however when the buyers.” Ears went back then, “When the wealthy nobles of Saddle Arabia, the rogue dragons.” He must not have liked my expression. But 'rogue dragon' really meant nothing to me, I hadn’t seen a dragon before. “Those are the biggest dragons, fueled completely by instincts.” I gulped at the thought of more skyscraper sized monsters coming after me, except on land instead of the sea. “Exactly, and the Diamond dogs learn of this…Well, you can understand that those situations are my priority. When you leave, when the world learns of you being all the way over there and leaving us open to new slavers…What do you think they will do?” This had occurred to me, but I didn’t have the answer. “If they were smart they would move in then while I was preoccupied, there would be no chance of help coming from Equestria either since I would be there…” A somber air hung in the room then, broken by a muffled set of voices from below us. “Go check on her.” With that the male assistant trotted away. “I think you see my problem Ari, although I owe you a great debt, the minute you leave my zebras become targets again.” He leaned forward, looking at me intently, “No being would attack an Alicorn.” It didn’t stop Jabar, Arch, Falmer, and all the other beings that tried to kill me so far. No, snark wasn’t helping. There had to be a solution, I mean, I needed an airship, and he didn’t sound keen on giving me something that would take me away from here. I could see his reasoning on that; I don’t want them being free only to be slammed with a new group of pirates or worse. But the whole world was in jeopardy…It should only take a week or two. “You make a valid point, points.” I frowned and gathered my thoughts again, yes, that could work. “How about we make a deal?” Wekasi’s ears stayed forward, but his brown eyes were unreadable. “Continue.” “In this deal you will gain my presence here as well as my services killing any pirates, slavers, ectra that threaten the beings here.” His eyes narrowed, waiting for the other shoe. “However, I would receive a modest sized airship, some poison, and sanctuary for whomever I wish here.” A snort from him, “You have my interest, we would benefit from you staying around here, but there are some problems,” he saw my frown grow, “With what you want.” My heart plummeted, “The airship is no problem, however I think I know where you would take it first and I have no guarantee you will return. Ah!” He held up a hoof as I went to explain. “While I’m sure you intend to, those are just words...But I think you have the solution with you already and she appears more than willing.” That shit eating grin, he was on her side. “No.” “I didn’t even propose it, but if you don’t want the-.” Chrissy interrupted, ears back, and teeth bared at the zebra in a very faint semblance of a friendly smile. “He means yes.” Translation: Ari, take the damn deal or I will bite something. “My mare is right, I misspoke. Please explain your conditions.” Was that a headache starting? “Excellent, as I was saying. I need an assurance that you will return. I also, unfortunately, cannot provide you with any poisons. Poisons are forbidden to trade at the moment, not a peaceful product. Do you understand?” I nodded and felt Ayodele’s tail start wagging almost like a dog’s. “And since you have two young, eager zebra mares that happen to know how to make poisons with you…” He trailed off, smiling like he had the best idea ever. Ayodele seemed to like the plan, love it you could say. It did make sense. “I understand.” But I didn’t want it to. “And about my last condition, is that allowed as well?” “Well, that one is tricky. You sounded like you had some being in mind, and I can’t say yes to that under good faith, I mean what if it was Discord?!” I just gave him a blank look. Another reference I didn’t get. “You really haven’t heard of him?” I nodded. “Oh, well don’t worry. He was still locked up last time I heard. Who were thinking of?” Now here was the whammy, time to test the racism here. “As you can see my herd is very diverse. I want sanctuary for my mares, and any family that we may find of theirs.” He looked from Chrissy to Lyric, cocking his head as he was stuck on my sea based mare, eyes traveling along her form. “She is half siren,” I clarified. Screeches and yelling came muffled from the floor, causing the stallion to hold his head in his hooves and mutter. Then it went quiet. “Well, I can say yes then. HOWEVER-,” he raised his head, voice growing louder above the din coming from on the second floor now, “-Any that are allowed sanctuary here have to sign citizenship papers, meaning they are bound to the same laws as every other being here.” He narrowed his eyes at me, scanning mine. “Is that acceptable?” “Deal,” I reached over the desk and shook his hoof, both of our muzzles breaking into big smiles. It was a win- “REALLY,” A female screeched as she flew into the room, slamming the door open with a shuttering rattle, causing every being to jump and back away from the doorway. My wings even flared open on reflex, covering my mares as we turned to stare at the intruder. A gryphon stood there, open beaked as her green eyes whipped between the room’s occupants. Rather slowly, the assistants caught up to her, out of breath. “Mayor…Wekasi…Isn’t…seeing any…being right…now.” The assistants panted out in unison. “R-r-really…” She trailed off. They were way too late, he needed better assistants. A female gryphon had already made it past them. Cocking my head at her, I took in our intruder. Her feathered half was a dull gray, blending into a creamy white furred feline half, and finishing in a thin lion’s tail that was puffing up as she entered ‘Alicorn shock’. Like this was normal, the mayor went from happy to cordial in an instant. “Miss Bente, I see you have returned.” She was staring at my wings, turning red through her feathers. “I believe my appointments are still the same, if not more so booked after today’s meetings.” “Alicorn,” her brain was obviously rebooting. “Yes, my name is Ari, I was just in the middle of-.” She repeated herself and I sighed, giving up on talking for now, it was one of those moments. Relaxing my wings, we all waited for her to either move or talk. Finally it did reboot. “An Alicorn, a changeling, and a…Hybrid,” we nodded, “Minotaurs, a Thestral, and a…Rat?” “Close enough yah hen.” Kapera mumbled out from a scowl. Harrumphing, Wekasi got her attention. “I will see you at the appointed time Miss Bente, please leave.” She sat herself down in the doorway, looking smugly at him, my presence forgotten. “Well then Ari, now that she is gone let’s continue, if you will?” I nodded to him, turning around with my mares, folding wings over them this time. I didn’t quite trust her. “Right, so we had a deal?” He nodded, smiling at me again, “Great, now I hope it’s not too much trouble but could I just give those ships to you? I only need one ship, an airship.” “What ships?” Bente queried, but we ignored her. She would have to leave, childish maybe, but obviously the assistants weren’t able to stop her. I really didn’t want to get involved, knowing this world it would just throw my plan off again. “Really you are willing to give us those ships for free?” He looked amazed, blinking at his assistants for a second, “How much are they worth?” They quickly pulled out some parchment and began calculating, the final number must have been big bits, as all of them gave me wide eyes. “Really, I don’t need ten ships, the amount of work alone that needs to be put into them before they would be in tip top order again…Well, I could do it but I just want one airship. It is simply much more manageable for my herd.” My mares seemed happy with that, murmuring their consensuses as I finished. All was seeming to be good, staying around a less racist country with plenty of water nearby for Lyric and her family, check. Poison, airship, and ‘ever after’ were looking good so far as well. However, Bente was looking at me like I was a lunatic. “Are you sure?” He asked again. I nodded, never having been surer that I wanted the airship. Sure having a fleet of ships was nice, but I had no crew and although I liked the water, respected Lyric’s seapony heritage, I wasn’t swimming unless I was sure those monsters weren’t around. “Perhaps I could have some of the food off of them first? I don’t mean to be a pig but I am always hungry and still healing.” I waved a hoof at my wounds. “Of course,” he exclaimed, looking like he won the jackpot. “By the end of the day we can have the sale finalized, just need you to sign some papers you know, and perhaps I could convince you to stay the evening? Enjoy some hospitality? I know you want to be-.” Bente had to cut in, “Are you stupid? The world is flooding, storming and you are giving up ten ships?!” Would this world ever be peaceful? I mean, her voice was pretty hard to ignore... “It was Bente right?” She nodded, “Okay Bente, why are you here?” Stupid question I know, but maybe she wasn’t here about the weather. “The weather of course,” she all but screeched at me, wings extending as she puffed her chest out. “I am from the Gryphon Republic.” I nodded, keeping my ears on her as I tried to ignore the movement along my wing’s bases. “After many messengers failed to return from the Equestrian nation, and no response from the Minotarian capital, we, I have come to ask the Zebrican tribes for their aid.” That actually seemed like a decent plan, except the part where she didn’t mention their neighbor: Saddle Arabia. Sure it was in a drought, but logically they would have asked them too? Was I missing something? “Okay, but the Zebrican tribes are recovering from being ruled by slavers.” She wilted as the mayor nodded to that, “However, I am currently on a mission to stop the bad weather.” Eyebrow raise, typical reaction. “The weather is from the Alicorn princesses messing with the sun and moon’s orbit. So if I stop the princesses from doing that then theoretically the weather should return to normal.” “Really?” Every being nodded with various expressions of 'of course', “You all know about this?” Another group confirmation, “And you are leaving tomorrow to stop them?” My head hurt from all this nodding. Kapera must have felt the same, “Yes, he, we are leaving tomorrow.” She rolled her eyes at my expression, “Yes Ari, I will make them as soon as I get home; it shouldn’t take longer than a day.” I gave her a big smile; those rings were the final piece of the plan. “So miss Bente you can fly on home cause I think stud here wants a little alone time before he has to deal with the Equestrian diarchy.” “What?” “Go. Home. Gryphon.” Kapera said very slowly, and to my surprise the gryphon actually got up and left, blinking and moving her beak in a stunned expression. I choose you Kapera! Now if only she could rid me o-of, okay...Maybe after she finishes getting that knot out of my mane…And after her hoof stops massaging my wing base fluff. But Kapera is excellent had intimidation skills. “Well,” Wekasi started, ears splayed slightly. “I guess I should thank you for clearing a couple hours from my schedule?” A tentative smile as we both looked at the retreating flank. “Don’t mention it.” Waving a hoof at the golden rodent, “Kapera is a very effective motivator and smith. Seriously if you want high quality enchantments she is the being to see.” Was I shamelessly plugging her? Yes, yes I was. He just laughed at that, “Of course, of course.” Seriousness returned, “But I really must say thank you again Ari, we are…Not as well equipped as we would like to be and are grateful for your ‘deal’. We will be having a celebratory feast tonight, please stay for it, I think you will like it.” “Sure, where can we stay tonight?” “In one of the guest rooms here,” They had rooms here? I assumed those were all offices. “They haven’t been used in a while but I’m sure it won’t take long to get them ready. Go and mingle, I will send Rufaro to fetch you and your group when they are ready.” With that we rose and shook hooves one more time, a win-win deal struck, and a future hopefully secured for my herd. Until he spoke, “Bahati njema,” I turned my muzzle in time to see his eyes locked to my back. One was opening from a clear wink. That smile did not bode well for my ‘ignore mare’ plan. The Feast.Author's Note Sorry folks, I tried to do another double post but the next chapter needs more editing first. Next chapter he finally leaves for Shallow Shale...On a airship. This one is necessary, happy reading. The Feast. **** Zebrica Chrissy Keeping my eye on Ayodele wasn’t difficult, she didn’t hide her intentions. In fact one could argue that the sun was more subtle. Really, all I needed to do was look on my stallion’s back to see her blatant disrespect. My stallion… That very, very bold mare had decided that was the perfect spot to be. At first I had assumed it was due to her injury, it had prevented her from walking, and I persevered to stay rational. But…She wasn’t injured anymore and the eight other mares that couldn’t walk, well, I didn’t see them perched on top of my stallion, riding him- A small snort of hot air escaped my muzzle as I tensed at the thought of what she was doing. It was horrible, clearly a challenge, and though I begrudgingly admit it…The action was genius. Any pony that didn’t know better would think we were a herd, that she- Calm, I am staying calm. At least that is what I keep telling myself, life would get complicated if I allowed the other thoughts to take over. Not for the reasons you may think, I had no problem with kicking her flank. Injured? She didn’t know the meaning of pain with her little scratches on her barrel. Try having your wing snapped off. That was pain. No, my problem in following though with my thoughts lay not with any ethics. The conundrum lay in the fact that she was a very conniving zebra in the land of zebras. I couldn’t logically kill her without throwing Ari’s plan to the sandworms and therefore our future as well. Not to mention, physically we were both in bad shape, enough that neither one of us was ready to put our hoof down and start a proper mare challenge. Although I entertained the thought that I was in slightly better shape…But I still wasn’t willing to test my theory when I was with foal. A foal that may not…No, deep breaths, you feel better. He or she is still there. See, follow the humming, that tiny channel is growing. Right, with those reasons both Lyric and I were in a stalemate and Ayodele knew it. That zebra was taking every opportunity to wiggle her way into the herd. I was almost certain that she reveled in rubbing it in. Why else would she choose the one spot where she was able to lay her scent all over Ari, bond with my stallion, and remain safe from any repercussions from us? That interloper was certainly smarter than I had originally taken her for. Whether Ari realized it or not, she had already wormed her way into his instinctive level of thinking. He wasn’t repulsed by her touch. And asking if she was alright when it was her fault for running into him? Not removing her from his back even when we left the office? On the most primal level he was okay with it. That wouldn’t last for long though… My herd mate and I were going to nip this filly's infatuation in the rump before it could progress to more; our stallion had made it clear that he didn’t want more mares. That was the thing, ‘were’ going to, it seemed she had figured out every angle to stay with my stallion. Somehow, she had even gotten the support of the mayor, in less than five bucking minutes. Oh, don’t even get me started on that slime licking politician, he was enabling her to continue to do this…Actually they all were. As soon as we left the room back on the ship, those stallion stealing whorses had started plotting who would be first to try to woo him. No, I didn’t hear them, but it doesn’t take a Starswirl to figure out what they were talking about. He had somehow gaining the amorous attentions of at least twenty mares in only a week. But our combined efforts weren’t enough to dissuade that one bucking zebra; the nineteen other mares had seemed to back down, but not her. Not that I blamed her reasoning, it was hard to find a stallion in Zebrica, a single stallion that is. Even rarer than that, a stallion that herded outside of Saddle Arabia and one that was fertile enough to give foals…Ari really was sent by the gods. Faust, please just send another for Ayodele, soon- “Chrissy?” A warm puff of air washed over my muzzle, blinking I turned to see Ari and the mare in question looking at me. She was rubbing her muzzle in his dark mane like he was her new teddy bear, soft, silky, and hers. Ari was my stallion. “Yes?” I returned, not quite sure what we had been talking about before I got caught in my thoughts. Again, I might add, they were all one big circle, all leading back to getting rid of her. My stallion chuckled at me, giving me the sweetest smile, he understood what had been on my mind. Lyric’s mind as well if her quiet huffing was from what I thought it was. “I asked how you are feeling lovewise, since I was going to dig in,” He glanced at the platters leaving the houses, “I wanted to make sure you were both getting enough to eat.” Guilt came across his fur, stomach churning and thick with its mixture of sour and salty flavors. He still felt bad about taking that walk. “Please stop feeling so guilty, you did not know that you had an assassin after you!” Said assassin shrunk, looking appropriately regretful. “How were you supposed to know to what was going to happen? I am just glad you are here.” I ended with a purr, giving him a kiss, and adding my tongue for good measure. A new snort reached my ears. Smiling into the kiss, we wrestled tongues for a few seconds more, Ari’s love and desire ridding him of guilt and sweetening our moment. Almost as sweet as the effect it was having on the zebra. We broke the kiss, smiling lazily at each other. “I take it you-,” my stallion never was able finish his comment as my herd mate took over. Moving his muzzle over to her with a hoof behind his head, forcing him bend his neck down slightly for her shorter stature, the sweetness and full flavor increasing with their time. Releasing each other’s lips, they shared another content smile and I was okay with that, it wasn’t all mares I disliked giving him attention, just most. The zebra wilted a little as I watched her, looking at their exchange with far away eyes. Before long, the moment had passed, tantalizing aromas drifting to Ari’s nose, they nearly sent him into the blanketed tables with the speed he took off at. All along the streets, lines of tables were braced in front of homes and storefronts alike. They were braced not from the platters and pots being loaded onto them but for the black hole that was devouring all dishes that were sacrificed to it. Never invite an Alicorn to a feast. It was one of those moments where I looked to my own stomach with trepidation, knowing a form of that type of appetite was in there. With the black hole came a new pink- No, never mind, the analogy doesn’t work with her. But Lyric was rivaling him with a new passion that made Ari’s decision to take the ship’s food make a lot more sense. How would our foals be like? Winged, scaled, or furred? They would surely have a horn… Shaking my head, I had to remind myself of an important fact. We still hadn’t kidnapped the princesses yet…Dear Faust, the food from that plan alone was going to be astronomical. It was going to happen, then peace. We traveled around the town, Ari and Lyric trying every dish they could, and I couldn’t help but smile at their antics. Despite the presence of Ayodele I still managed to enjoy my stallion’s presence, the warmth of his fur, and the sweet stream of love coming off him. Ari still managed to smooth my chitin, smiling despite the arcs of pain that I tasted now and then. He- “There you are Ari!” We turned as a unit, ignoring the crowds of striped equines as our new friends made their way over. Kapera and the Minotaurs stood above the sea of zebras with ease, thankfully still carrying the Thestral. Ari of course attempted to talk, the words coming out as pure nonsense with a full mouth, only sending mashed up bits of fried Tronana onto the street. “I think he meant 'hello',” I filled the amused Mongofu in. Her eyes took us in as Ari swallowed, he paused to nod to a passing group of zebra mares, clearly from the ships by their emaciated frames. “I see that.” Another brief chuckle before her eyes narrowed, jumping between the zebra and me. “But I was wondering if I could borrow your stallion for a little bit, got to discuss business…And save some of the food for the locals.” She was surprisingly helpful for such an opinionated being. “Of course, I trust you will return him in one piece?” Although I jested with her, I still flashed a toothy smile. Kapera returned it just as quick, “Of course and no magical inhibitors attached this time.” We all shared a happy chuckle, even Ayodele, although hers was a tad strained. “Coming Ari,” the smith asked, turning and making her way to the beach. Chuckling in good humor, our stallion looked to us briefly, satisfied with what he saw he levitated the zebra off of his back, “Be back soon!” He called, grabbing five pieces of chin-chin as he passed by, a braided pastry that he had fallen in love with. “You and your food…” Kapera muttered, smiling all the while as the crowd parted for their procession. We watched the group of beings move to the beach, Ari chatting animatedly with them as we were left alone. This fact was not lost on Ayodele, who splayed her ears as our gazes locked, looking smaller then in that moment. “Let’s talk somewhere quieter.” Lyric motioned towards a gap in the crowd, a small path beyond the zebras, well worn and leading into the woods. Perfect. Ayodele’s eyes darted around the crowd and finding no help from them looked to her cousin. Ayomide was looking at the floor but still sticking close to her, supporting but not very helpful. Finally she responded, “O-okay.” Placing myself behind the zebras, I let them lead the way, looking to any being that didn’t know better like they were taking us for a tour…Of the woods. My lips remained upturned, cordial as I followed the mare through the town, weaving at their slow pace through the crowd. Until we reached the edge of the jungle, her hoof hovered over the path, eyes glancing fearfully at me then the shadowed trail. Lyric nudged the frozen zebras in the rump, sending them stumbling down the path. Small bushes brushed by our legs, birds chattered and called in the afternoon heat and the path grew darker beneath the canopy. Further we went into the Zebrican jungle. Their tails twitched and swished with a nervous rhythm, back, forth, and back again as the route winded through the towering trees. A clearing opened up ahead of us, perfectly situated far away from the village. The mare seemed to know what this meant, “Sooooo…” She elongated the word in her awkward fashion, turning to face us as her nervous voice trailed off. Birds ceased their songs and gossiping as the air grew heavy. At least this sunk through to her. My ears were flattened, teeth bared, and wing buzzing with an anger that I think she wasn’t expecting. My stallion… Beside me Lyric was a picture of cooler anger, a rigid mask concealing what her heart felt, containing the burning sting of her emotion. Our Stallion… “She just-,” Ayomide weakly started only to cut herself off as my herd mate turned her mask of a face on her. Even if you weren’t a changeling the subdued anger was clear. Taking a deep breath I listened to the calming breeze, the parchment like fluttering of leaves filling the humid air. I just had to be blunt, tell her the truth; no mare wants to waste her time on a stallion that doesn’t want them. A snort broke the silence, shuffling of hooves. “I think what you meant to say was that you keep both of your hooves away from our stallion. Wasn’t that right?” Better to not beat around the bush, seeing as the other signals were blatantly disrespected. However Ayodele didn’t seem to hear me. “Ari isn’t yours-,” pink magic grabbed Ayodele by the neck as soon as she started, cutting off her blasphemous words. Lyric’s gaze was on me. Do not kill the zebra; you cannot kill her…Yet. A curt nod to my narrowed gaze, the zebra gasped as the hold lessened. Hot air rushed from my nose, joining the humid air as I stared into the eyes of her, “You are right,” her eyes widened as she panted. “He is ours.” I gestured a hoof to Lyric, her mask now broken with narrowed eyes and gritted teeth. “And despite what pitiful connection you may feel towards him it is pointless to pursue it.” She went to protest but I kept on over her stuttered beginnings, “You are bucking the wrong tree. Ari isn’t interested.” Green eyes blinked. Her cousin looked off into the bush. With a cocked head we looked at each other. “Ari wanted to help you not become your stallionfriend, he was very upset when he learned what your-,” I felt my anger rise and ears fold back again, “-actions meant. Back off.” The final push, the simple fact was he didn’t want any more mares. Why hadn’t she seen that he wasn’t responding like an interested stallion would? He wasn’t smiling her way, blushing at her attempts show off her skeleton like figure, or taking in her scent. Lyric set her down, sadness mixing into the anger beneath her scowl. “B-but…” The mare stuttered out, not making any move to get up from the ground. The former assassin looked at her; ears folding back as she helped her cousin up. “So you see that while we appreciate the help you offered to give we need you to understand that he isn’t agreeing to take you as a mare. Ari just wants to live, wants every being to live.” “But he herds!” Her eyes were tearing up as she watched us intently. I shook my head at that, “Quite frankly I had to convince him to take on Lyric.” Giving a brief nuzzle to Lyric’s head before I continued, trying to make the zebra understand. “Our stallion only started herding recently, rather reluctantly,” I chuckled as I thought back to that. My mother would laugh, noling had never thought of me as the type of mare to share a stallion. “W-why,” Ayodele finally got out, looking crushed as she leaned against her cousin. Small rivulets of tears sneaking down her muzzle as small squawks started up again from the canopy. “That is simple. He cared too much about how I felt to act on the attraction he felt to Lyric, it was a combination of her heat and our growing friendship that spurred the sudden move to becoming a herd.” I paused and watched her, her muzzle scrunching now as her ears splayed in a new confusion, eyes unfocused on the ground. “I don’t know what there is to be confused about, Ari isn’t from here, and he didn’t know half of signals you were giving him. If he gave any he didn’t mean them.” She looked at me then, serious in expression, her confusion gone as her ears went forward. “Yes?” “Well, I don’t see him complaining about them now and I take from your words that he does know what I’m doing now.” She paused, searching my face for something. All I could feel was dread coming as her confidence was growing. “The way I see it, you don’t like me and are trying to dissuade him from following his attraction.” Denial, she has bucking denial. “Really?” Words clearly weren’t convincing, time to show her the truth. “Then watch his reaction when we return. That should show you the truth.” **** Ari Kapera was a genius, not just with enchanting, but by letting my mares go off and handle Ayodele. That was actually the best route. Seeing as how they could speak to her without sending the wrong signals, I was more liable to either send signs of interest or confuse her by doing something contradicts what I’m saying. Personally, I didn’t want to hurt her, she had already been through who knows what horrors aboard the ship...But, it had to be done. Right now I wasn’t even giving her any signs that I liked her that way and she still persisted. My mares had been literally trying to scare her off but…Sometimes words are the only way to go. This land was crazy. Kapera carried on with her explanation on runes, oblivious to my turmoil. In all past relationships this situation had never occurred, no man or woman was ever this ignorant or dismissive of my lack of interest. These weren’t humans though, they, I, we were equines with polygamous tendencies…That was a whole different type of relationship experience. The lack of chattering drew me back. We locked eyes and her tail twitched, I hadn’t a clue how to respond. What had she said before? “You sure know how to attract the interesting ones,” Kapera said, ‘interesting’ sounding closer to the word crazy when she said it. I nodded blushing at her head shake, “The craziest part is I don’t even know what I did to get her attention.” She just laughed at that, drawing some odd looks from some zebras. “Ari, you are an Alicorn stallion you don’t need to do much to get a mare’s attention.” My flat look didn’t slow her down. “Not only that but you have two pregnant-,” Moonlit Echo gave me a look then. It was mix between ‘I want to vomit’ and betrayal, what I would have betrayed I have no clue, but he didn’t look like a happy pony. His look was so obvious that Kapera stopped and rolled her eyes at him. We waited for the inevitable comment, slur, or physical reaction. Nothing… Could this be progress? His eyes grew dull as tufted ears went back. But he didn’t call me out at all. Sharing a confused look with the rest of the group I turned my attention back to the smith. She was looking at the sand as we continued our stroll along the harbor, silent as well. We passed the boats, still being unloaded of their bales and barrels, and beyond the couple of raised docking stations that sat empty. “As I was saying Ari, you have two pregnant mares, you herd, and are basically as magically strong as a stallion can get.” She squinted at me, my mane really, “Or at least you will be, you still aren’t discharging magic through your mane yet. But to a mare from the little continent of Zebrica you are a catch.” “She doesn’t even know me.” I grumbled out, feeling my ears slide back as my thoughts swam around again. Gennady surprised us all and chortled a little. “Yes, Gen did you have something to add?” Kapera asked, ears swiveling at something in the tree line. Gennady shook his head, looking a little mystified at the lack of movement from his armless side for a second. I nuzzled his side for a second, guilt creeping in again as I looked at the stump. Could you mine with only one arm? Like she knew what line of thought I was thinking, or perhaps I was just too transparent with my emotions, but either way the smith waved a paw at my look. “Stop beating yourself up Ari,” a grin formed as she increased the pace, sending grit flying from her paws. “I needed a clerk anyway.” She continued, not looking back at our incredulous expressions. “I hate hobnobbing with those pretentious speciest, Gen is perfect at socializing. He doesn’t know when to shut up actually.” We all shared a laugh, relief from Gennady and his sister, and a mix of everything else from Kapera and me. Moonlit Echo stayed silent. “So I guess that is a good thing then…The slavers gone, you get to stay off the counter, and I get an airship…” I trailed off, my mares and Ayodele coming to mind again. “From what you said earlier, I take it stallions are in short demand everywhere.” I chuckled as my nerves crept up on me again, “Either that or mares are very forward here.” “Mares don’t go for stallions they like on earth? Are they all foal brained or something?” Even the minotaurs were raising their eyebrows at me. Giving her a head shake I thought of how to word it. “Well, you see-,” “I don’t.” Snorting I continued over her, “You see, on earth we don’t have a population problem of the same nature as Equis,” Heads cocked, even the Thestral perking up. “We have too many individuals, at almost an even split between the genders stuff like what is going on in Equestria is unheard of…As to females being forward, well, some are. But most still wait for the male to make a move. So I have never had such forward advances before.” “Oh,” she stated simply, filling the one article with many different emotions, in fact the entire group seemed to take a moment to process that information. “I take it that since mares are more common here that they are the ones to usually initiate the…Courting process here?” She nodded distractedly, rubbing her chin as she muttered something to herself. “And I take it that there was no ‘business’ we had to discuss?” Another distracted nod followed. I cocked my head at the absence of a witty comeback or insult for the stupid question. Great, I broke her. Bushes rustled, breezes carried the scent of salt and fruit, and we slowed our pace. It was a nice silence, not uncomfortable despite being long, and not quite silent, still filled with the sounds of Zebrica’s coastal jungle. We started to turn around soon enough, I wasn’t sure who changed our course, but as a group we went with it. Comfortable as the sun continued to beat down, warming the sand beneath my sore hooves. Despite the pain that hung in the backdrop of my mind I couldn’t help but look at the exotic trees slowly crawling by during our walk. They were foreign like all things were and yet strangely familiar to my eyes, large leaves reminiscent of trees you see on a postcard. This quiet area was a perfect place to raise foals. Foals, babies, they were my all too soon future, approaching faster than I would have ever guessed. I- I blinked. Moonlit Echo knew. And with that thought my heart skipped a beat, out of tune with the ebbing waves. He knew where I planned on living, my plan, and of my herd’s coming foals. That meant it was all but done, telling the princesses that is. Hiding, that’s a joke! “Hey, Echo.” Large tufted ears perked up, flicking to me as a frown started to grow on his muzzle. “How are you feeling?” His eye twitched. “Right, a stupid question…Listen, I know you probably don’t believe me completely about the weather but…They probably won’t believe me either and I want you to know really don’t want to have to kidnap the princesses.” No response from him, the waves just lazily came back in once more as a flock of blue parrot-like birds took up from the tree line. A strong breeze ran along my fur as I racked my brain trying to think of something I could say to get a reaction out of him. The harbor was getting closer. “Perhaps you could help me learn how to not insult them twenty ways to Sunday.” His eyebrow rose as he turned his muzzle to me. “As you probably have witnessed by now I’m pretty inept at body language here,” I chuckled at that as his lips twitched. “On earth I didn’t talk to officials or any being quite so fancy.” I had his complete attention now. “Really,” Moonlit asked, doubt lacing his query. A sense of relief came over me and a smile went to my face, “Yup, I sold books in quaint little bookstore by day and foalsat by night.” More silence, broken by a thoughtful hum from the Thestral. “If I show you how to interact with royalty…Will the princesses still be harmed?” My eyes bugged out a little, as did the others I’m sure. When had it been said that I would harm them? “You mean ponynap them.” Raised eyebrow met raised eyebrow as the boats bobbed in the water. “No, I meant harm them. How else were you planning to get them to stay still during the trip? You haven’t met the princesses Ari.” A dismissive snort, “They have fought way worse than one Alicorn.” He must not have liked what he saw as his tone turned stern, almost like a drill sergeant, “I will show you how to converse politely if you can guarantee,” It faltered there, losing the power. “No, promise me that you won’t kidnap them.” Waves continued to wash the shore. “I can’t promise that Echo,” I said, letting my own voice grow hard. “Thinking of the rest of the planet I have to do whatever it takes to convince them.” Our eyes locked, “And that may include kidnapping them if talking fails to garner the change that we need.” The crowds were approaching again, ponies crowding the shore, but still our gazes remained locked. Our eyes watching each other for any falsity or insincerity, my wings flexed slightly as I saw none in his face. I was surprised that he actually appeared to be satisfied, “Fine, but I can’t teach you when I’m tied up.” “So you are taking the deal then?” He nodded after a second, looking rather reluctant, but honest in his eyes. “Excellent, the deal begins once I get my airship. Then you will-.” I cut myself off as we reached the town, my mares trotting over to me, Chrissy standing tall above the crowd. A shot of excitement traveled through me. “We will discuss this later.” With that I started out at a light trot, ignoring the background noises of rustling bushes, clips of conversations, and sizzling food. My beautiful changeling was practically glowing as the sun reflected off her chitin and my siren’s scales shimmered in the rays, looking for atheistic purposes like plated gold. They looked happy and that can only mean… Nickers escaped me as we reached one another, soft and muted in the crowd, and although I felt nervous I gave their noses a playful lick. They both gave light snorts in response and I felt that they were more amused than annoyed. Looking between the two of them I gave them a quick nuzzle each, just in case I was reading them wrong. A happy look passed between them as they glued themselves to my side. That revealed a certain zebra that had been behind them, and she looked at me expectantly. Okay, friendly, friendly… “Hi Ayodele, did you mares enjoy the food?” Smooth as sandpaper. Just as her mouth opened Rufaro burst between us, creating a small cloud of dust as she skidded forward, looking back at the closing gap in the crowd with a small scowl. Thank you! And just like that we ended up following the winded mare, Ayodele staying a few paces back than usual. The crowd parting easily for our group, causing a bit of harshly toned Zebrican mutterings from the assistant, although I could have sworn that I heard some from Ayodele as well. She was backing off…Why did I feel so off? Before long I was back in the office staring at a pile of parchment. The hieroglyphic like symbols lost under my illiterate gaze. “Chrissy can you read this over for me,” I got odd looks from the Thestral and Zebras then but I ignored them, instead sliding the small stack over to her side. Unfortunately Ayodele had made her onto my back again…But was subdued, starting to groom me only to pause before trying another spot. Making me question how effective their talk had been. It was hard to tell with the way she was acting; my mares weren’t helping me form an answer as they had looked just as confused when she had jumped onto my back. Perking up, my mare scanned down the page, flipping through each consecutive scroll with a careful look on her muzzle. The others waited, listening to the rustle of parchment and the occasional flittering of her wing. Until Moonlit Echo could not contain his curiosity any longer, “Why are you having her read it? It is just a simple sale agreement.” He watched me intensely then and I realized that I would have to tell him. He would probably find out anyway, secrets and me don’t end well. “I am from another world, culture.” He still didn’t get it, cocking his head as he searched for the answer in my face. “Although by some cosmic blessing my English language happens to translate as Equus here, the written language does not translate, in a moment you all see how my language looks like.” He blinks his slitted eyes at me, stunned I would say. Yup, his jaw was trying to work the air. I was getting better at this. Kisses started on my neck, although I felt like they weren’t meant to be intimate, but comforting. Especially if Wekasi’s look from across the desk means sadness like I thought it did, ears splayed as my situation sunk in for him. With a last flip through the stack my mare slid it back, nodding to the quill and inkpot in front of me. “It is airtight. You are trading ten used trading ships, armed, and needing some reconstructive work for one Freeway model airship.” I raised an eyebrow at the name, immediately picturing a sea of honking, road rage fueled vehicles. “It is modestly sized,” Wekasi piped up, looking nervous as his ears twitched, watching my face carefully. “Three levels below deck, two cabins on the deck, and all the food from the ships will be loaded into the hull when it arrives.” “Arrives?” I question feeling like I missed something…Right the Airship stations were empty. He rubs a hoof on a spare quill, giving me a small smile, “You see I didn’t just want you to enjoy the festivities I needed to send out the order for it, inform the other leaders of today’s events.” He concluded. That explained the empty lobby; he must have been very busy. Remind me to never get into politics. “So our deal is still on?” He quickly replied with a yes, nodding with an excited energy as a big smile coming over his muzzle. That was good, but there was that one matter. “The citizenship papers for my herd?” “That will take me a couple days to get. I am waiting for the twenty four odd signatures from the other leaders, which can take awhile. But by the time you return I should have them ready.” Clapping his hooves excitedly he added, “How many more should I expect to make?” His eyes followed mine. Lyric looked ready to burst into tears when I glanced over, but with a quivering lip she whispered, “Four.” The stallion deflated slightly. He didn’t seem to know what to say to my mare and neither did I, maybe there wasn’t anything to say…I did still need to find out where in the castle the mirror was kept. So I settled with draping a wing over her, she gave a sniff before her head tucked into the dark cocoon it made. Shaking his head, he adopted a more controlled expression, looking at the quill then me. I still had to sign that form. With my mare calming herself I turned back to the parchment, gripping the quill in my magic with barely a thought now, I went to sign the first blank line only to pause. The pressure…Every being was leaning towards the paper. The wall huggers even took a couple steps closer. Clearing my throat, I dipped the tip of the quill in the inkpot. They leaned in further. Even Ayodele paused from her latest experiment with my mane. Dull chattering reached my ears from the streets. A quick tap on the rim of the small brown pot cleared the dark drop from the quill tip. It scratched ever so quietly in the room as the ink formed the letters of my male name, ‘A-R-I’. I stuck to plain print, not wanting to have to explain handwriting to them, and not having a new signature planned. “Oh,” Chrissy said, squinting at the letters, looking from my name to the clearly different set of squiggles surrounding it. “Yup, you can see why the others make no sense to me.” She nodded, as did the other occupants. Although Moonlit Echo looked like I had given him a riddle, eyes whipping left and right at nothing particular, lost in his own world. With that over with I went to the next roll, signing away those ten ships with every scratch on the off white form and dip to wet the quill. It was a almost calming set of motions that soon passed, getting me one step closer being able to live this new life I was…Forcefully given. “Excellent Ari!” the eager stallion exclaimed, ‘discreetly’ looking to his assistants to me and back again. They looked plum tuckered out; withers slouched as they rested by the bookcases. “Wake up, wake up!” Punctuating each phrase with a stomp on his desk, they snapped to attention. “Show our honored guests to their rooms.” As they made for the door he briefly turned back to me, “I hope you enjoy our hospitality, your ship should arrive mid morning at the latest.” After that he seemed to have dismissed us, pulling out a fresh piece of parchment to continue with whatever paperwork storm I had thrust him into. I almost felt bad, almost; this would change this country for the better I’m sure. The rooms were on the same floor so we didn’t have far to go, however only two rooms had been prepared. One for my herd and one for every other being…They weren’t going to be too jammed in, and really they were nice rooms. Especially when my room was free of zebras for a change, my mares looked to be on cloud nine when I removed Ayodele from my back. But I couldn’t look her in the eye, a niggling feeling of guilt at the back of my mind. Anyway, the room was essentially a large square with a small stand tucked into the back left and right corners, and of course the bed. It was the only indicator that this was a first rate room. As wide as it was long, it easily a king size bed. Although it looked strangely dipped, almost like a giant cushion. The sheets were a crisp white, pulled up to a veritable mountain of cream throw pillows. In celebration of the peace and quiet, and perhaps just to re-establish their scents after having Ayo on my back, we groomed each other. I was the one who suggested it, the ‘each other’ part. Chrissy was practically hopping in place to straighten out my feathers, which were and I quote ‘a laughable and pitiful state’. They weren’t that bad… But we still all got reacquainted, happily grooming each other as the moon rose. Soon enough though the sun rose, it was the morning, and I was buzzing with energy at the thought of our airship. But, seeing as I was the first to wake, I had to contend with waiting. I started by counting my feathers. They were in perfect alignment now, shiny with a fresh coat of whatever natural oil my pores produced. Moving on, I inspected the ceiling, it was flawless, no cracks to count or tiles to play dot to dot on. Sighing, I looked around the room for something to hold my attention. It didn’t hold much, not even a calendar or clock. Looking down I sighed again, not really wanting to leave the sense of comfort that came from being snuggled in, but also wanting to race down to the harbor and see if the ship was here yet. Whether it was the sighs or the sun shining down doing it, my mares were slowly waking up. Giving the cutest little sighs as their legs extended, shaking as they stretched then in the still quiet air, and smacking their lips as they assimilated to reality again. A white flicker caught my attention by the window. Outside there didn’t seem to be anything to flicker or flutter by the building. We were above the statue, the birds stuck to the trees, and no being could fly- no, that’s not true, two of the four remaining pegasi could fly. Hold that thought, it didn’t flicker or flutter but it was white. The airship was lowering down by the beach. Excitement filled me. Overflowed really, I stood up; wings give little flutters as I watched the window. The large vessel was moving down to the docking stations, flawless white balloon with its silver metal cage reflecting the sunlight. Even the hull of the ship attached beneath it was painted a shiny white. It was magnificent. I wasn’t being subtle, with a crick of their backs my mares also rose from the plush bed, both turning to look out the window as well. My reaction wasn’t too over the top as both Chrissy and Lyric imitated fish as they gazed at the vessel, our ship. “Thank you.” Chrissy managed to get out, Lyric nodding her agreement as her eyes shimmered. Nothing more was needed, it was perfect. Our excitement was soon forced aside as both Lyric and I were met with demands from our stomachs. Horrible, loud grumbles demanding we leave the sanctity of the bedroom and venture forth into the waking world. And so I cracked the door open, not a being was in sight. Opening it all the way, we turned right and made our way to Wekasi’s office. The door was open, showing a mess of papers, more so than usual. Almost like he had literally created a storm in his office, there was ink spilled on his desk, smudged and soaked up by some papers that were sure to be important. The floorboards half hidden in parchment. Wow, just wow. Snorting and angry Zebrican voices caught our ears, swiveling as we turned to look at the approaching group of stallions. Wekasi spotted us from his place among them, “Ari!” He called as he trotted up to me, they quieted, muttering amongst themselves. “I was just getting the warriors on this-,” a hoof pointed to the wrecked room, “-mess that some mchoraji made of my office.” I felt my mares tense up beside me, after they were blanketed under my wings I looked back to him, “When did this happen?” “That’s just the thing, I stayed late last night working on the papers…By the time I left the moon had been up for awhile." Slumping his withers, he continued, "I came in around seven this morning and found it like this.” He shook his head at his office before taking a deep breath. “By some luck nothing appears to be taken but I still have to look through everything.” He gestured to his stallions to continue and we let them pass by. Another tired sigh filled the hallway, rubbing his face with a hoof, “I take it you heard nothing?” Chrissy answered for us, “I know I heard nothing last night or this morning.” I shook my head at her curious look, “Ari didn’t either, but mind you, he can sleep through a stick being jabbed up his nose.” What? I wiggled my nose, suddenly feeling a nonexistent itch there. Looking between every being, “When did this occur? I feel like that would wake me up…” As she was about to answer the other bedroom door opened and the rest of our group exited. Pleasantries were exchanged, hellos, friendly grumbles, and silence from the thestral before every being fell silent, all of them also stumped by the chaos that had happened overnight. Echo narrowed his eyes at it, large ears twitching. Meanwhile Ayodele seemed to have gained a second wind, a literal hop to her step, and like a begrudging puppy dog her cousin followed, although at a more sedate pace. “Minotaria, the first night when we slept in that field,” She paused as I processed it. “Before you woke I was woken by the snorts of a couple of curious calves poking you up the nose.” My mouth moved up and down as a laugh was shared at my expense. They won’t be laughing when they need me awake. It was a serious problem; I have literally slept through a fire alarm! She saw my frown, “Don’t worry-,” a quick kiss, “-I think they ended up more scared of my smile than focused on your species.” Immaculate canines flashed the group as their laughter slowed down. Behind us the crew was rummaging through the room, whispering observations to each other in Zebrican. Wekasi composed himself with a loud clearing of his throat, “Well, while my crew get that,” a small snort escaped him as his eye twitched, “Let me show you your new ship, there is a lot to get through before you leave.” Freeway Model Airship and One Last Delivery.**** Zebrica Ari This morning’s break in had me on edge, my ears twitched at the slightest noise and an awkward taste had invaded my mouth, not literally mind you. I still hadn’t gotten any food as Wekasi was a stallion on a mission. His mission being getting me on the road, err, into the sky as fast as possible. Not that I blamed him, the sight of the trashed office unsettled me as well. At least I didn’t have to refile all those papers. Still, no being had heard anything…But Echo was twitching his ears when…No, he would have said something…Maybe…I would have to ask later. The question still stands unanswered, why trash the office? What would be in there that they wanted? Better yet who? Every being was very happy and friendly in the town, the equestrians were even learning the language and calling the village home…I didn’t blame them considering what they would have to go home to. I really wanted to ask the princesses exactly what they were thinking starting that law up. The stairs forced me to focus on placing my hooves for a second, my muzzle scrunched up as the hard wood made contact with them. I wasn’t heavy per say, actually I was quite trim from my experiences here. But even with careful measured steps the cracks in my hooves were unforgiving from the abuse I had put them through. Lyric didn’t know a spell for hoof cracks. Gently, gently now, slow and steady. I was not looking forward to the healing process. With the stairs behind us I retreated back to my thoughts. The mystery of the break in taunting me, forcing my earlier excitement to the background, all my experiences in this world told me that if something could go wrong it would. Maybe there was something else going on in Zebrica? Okay, there probably was plenty of stuff going on that I didn’t know about. No being is just going to hand me a list of national problems, and as I had learned, many problems were disguised and covered up in many layers of pastel paint. I mean this seemed like a happy town, it didn’t hint that slavers used to come and collect bits and zebras every so often. The weather didn’t exactly spell doom with the calming clear blue either, but the world was still ending, slowly, and at a near invisible pace in most parts. Why… A kiss brought me back to the road in front of me. Chitin left my muzzle as I felt her tense under my wing, my thoughts of the office fading as I was gently reminded of my beautiful emotionvore. I really would have to learn to control my emotions more. Turning to my mare I gave her a nuzzle and kiss in return, trying to keep myself centered in the moment, reflecting on the day could wait. She smiled a little, her happy expression being my focus before white and silver dominated my sights, such colors sent my wings into a ruffling fit, the urge to fly and express my excitement had come back. Small giggles escaped my marefriend’s muzzles, quickly joining the happy murmur of the crowd. It was smaller than the ape’s ship but so much more…Newer? That was the best word for it. The metal shined in the sun, the hull looked to be freshly polished, and the engines only gave off a well maintained purr that I could hear from here. We still had a long way to go though. Currently, we were following the languid and all too slow procession through the town, and no, I still didn’t know its name. No speech had been needed as all the zebras and former equestrians were well informed of my plan, talking of it to their family and so forth. That should have worried me more than it did, but in light of this morning’s chaos the town wide acceptance of my kidnapping the princess plan overnight was the least of my worries. After all, they were the least racist town I had been in so far. There was still the possibility of more assassins, Moonlit Echo turning, and…Deep breath, relax your wings before she notices again. I still felt the need to keep my mares under my wings. Somehow the feathery flesh shields felt like a master defensive mechanism…Instinct’s logic not mine, but I didn’t feel like arguing with myself on that, and I enjoyed feeling their presence too. My feathers were very sensitive at least, I could feel the slight changes in the fruit scented breeze as we walked. And I felt Ayodele behind as she walked with a high step, muzzle right by my tail…She was still so happy even after that break in. No, it was probably more to do with being near me. Definitely had to with my presence, her nose bumped my tail, again. Another exhalation of air spread across my inner thigh and forced me to distract myself. We will have different cabins at least. So I returned to the same line of questions as before and all of them were still no closer to being answered. The key fact still glaring out at me, no being had heard anything…Too convenient if you asked me, no floor was creak proof, and it had to be impossible to make that much mess and have remained completely quiet. The same questions ran through my thoughts again. Who had broken into the office? Nothing added up, the postcard ready town, the grateful, freed residents, and still as we moved along not a frown could be seen. Well, Echo didn’t count; he was allowed some angst considering his predicament. A predicament we would have to discuss later, especially since he now knew I could sleep through most things. First things first, we had to take off. Smiles were everywhere as our procession continued to inch through the main street, Wekasi and I had to stop and shake hooves on occasion. Unsurprisingly, those few hoof shakes snowballed into many, slowing us down even more, and the small town seeming to be more like a city in rush hour with how this crowd moved. Finally the beach was upon us, the beige sand soothing to my hooves, and the air was filled with even more excited voices. Skinny bodies crowded the shore line, looking at our rag tag group with perked ears and busy tails. All of that dissolved into the background as the sound of the engine grew, the idling ship hovered in place before us. An airship, a home of my own! My mares shared another amused look as my wings fidgeted; they still twitched faintly from my excitement even as I tried to rein them in through calming breaths. It was exciting for my herd, even if they scoffed intially, their eyes shined in the light. They were happy. We approached the raised platform, eventually climbing the dock, with our hoof steps echoing over the planks. On the way up I craned my neck to take it all in. The vessel was easily as tall as the city hall and that was not including the balloon half of the airship. Three levels of hull space indeed. My eyes traveled along the sleek vessel, the bottom half a shiny white hull reminiscent of a colonial ship. The only difference being that it had small reflections along the hull, the glittering in the sunlight only adding to the extravagance of the vessel. With a squint I confirmed my suspicions, they were small windows. Set in three lines parallel to each other, they ran along the length of the body, a clear mark of the different levels. The shiny line up only interrupted by a loading hatch like door that was laid out to the raised platform, dirty hoof marks printed to and fro along it. We all paused to take this in; Kapera even gave my shoulder a pat, a look over confirmed her reaction. She was grinning as her eyes traveled over it, nodding slowly and deliberately. Stomps that were quickly followed by hollow clip clopping alerted us to the Zebras before they exited the hull, a fine sheen of sweat was on their coats. But they looked happy as well. A fact that made my already excited smile grow, the thought of why they must be covered in sweat making my stomach cheer. Our food was loaded. They gave us a large wave as they noticed us, big smiles on their muzzles as well. I carefully waved a hoof back as they approached us. “I take it that the Freeway model is satisfactory?” Wekasi asked as he turned from them to look at us. “That’s a yes then?” He added with an amused smile as I couldn’t form any words, still smiling widely as I took in the structure. It was like getting a new car, the excitement and sheer newness of the vessel made me speechless, also accompanied by the urge to rub my cheek on it to feel the smoothness. “I’m afraid I don’t know much on airship’s inner workings but Nomalanga will give you the rundown. She is an expert on this ‘technology’.” He said technology like it was a foreign word and gestured to the deck above us, there a zebra looked over the railing. A dark hoof waved down at us madly, most likely at the mention of their name. “I’m afraid this is good bye for now, I still have a mess to make sense of.” He sighed, giving us a smaller smile. “But, by the time you return I am sure it will be sorted out and all members of your herd will just need to sign some papers.” Still a great deal, no regrets…Yet. I wasn’t trying to tempt Murphy. Returning his statement with big grin, I gave him a hearty hoof shake. “Thank you for hospitality and this amazing ship,” I stressed the ‘amazing’ part, hoping he understood just how much he had helped my herd. As I released his hoof and gestured to my marefriends. They hammered in my meaning, both of them were giving him big smiles, tears were pooling in Lyric’s eyes as she tried to blink them away. “We are very grateful for this.” I think he noticed my feathers moving with the muscle twitches. I don’t even know what my tail was doing but he looked very amused. “It was my pleasure my new friend,” he nodded to my mares, “Friends.” They returned a nod; Chrissy seemed to relax against me slightly as he said that. It hit me a little more then, how much it must have hurt. I can’t even imagine how it felt to finally be accepted. Racism was another thing to tackle while I was in Canterlot. “I wish that you all have a safe trip.” He finished, with a final wave farewell he turned and followed the exiting labors down the ramp. Still smiling I picked up the pace, now trotting to the loading ramp and entering my new ship, my group not far behind. The salty air was gone now, replaced by a clean pine-like scent; it was oddly refreshing to my nose. Crowds disappeared from our peripheral vision, replaced with the darker visage of the hull’s interior. Dim lighting made us pause while also allowing us time to take in the room or floor; I wasn’t quite sure how it was divided. We were inside the second level, a space that I’m sure was very expansive if the outside held true. But it was hard to tell when it was packed to the ceiling with stacks of hay bales and pyramids of barrels. Small paths were weaved in among the towers of food, left from the workers, and making the level feel almost like a dungeon with all the windows blocked off. Our only light was from a bright yellow jewel that illuminated the two sets of staircases in the center of the space, one leading up and the other down. They even had hoofrails, unlike the ships I had been on before. Quietly, talk started among Kapera and her assistants, even the cousins were giving appreciatory sounds as they stayed by my flank. The Thestral looked around from his perch in Dinari’s arms with his broody silence, only a stray snort escaped. Obvious observations were made among ourselves as we made our way up to the clearly new stairs. Like how they shined with a fresh coat of finish and were only marred by the many dirty hoof prints leading up and down both sets of stairs. I shared another quick nuzzle with my mares as we made our way up to the first level below the deck, happiness making me almost giddy. But while we were eager our group was also…In awe. This seemed like a dream after all I have had to endure, my own home, a safe place to live. No baddies jumped out as we ascended the stairs, nor were any traps sprung or assassins waiting above for us. It was a miracle, especially after his office. My brain faintly screamed that something was wrong, that was my instinctual brain mind you. It had also told me to run back and comfort Ayodele with my wings…Yah, you see how I might be taking its demands with a grain of salt. The instincts were going by ‘populate and protect’. It did not take into account the work and commitment a relationship involved, not even considering that I still had to meet with royalty, and all the work that went along with that. More hoofs thumped hollowly above us, echoing back to us in the new floor we had entered. The first floor wasn’t set up as any sort of thing yet; all it held was crates with pictographs of planks and gears on them. Those five crates were hanging out by the walls of the otherwise empty space. If this level was the same dimensions as the other two floors beneath us then I was thoroughly impressed with a ‘modest size’ airship. We were loaded in food! This room was easily over fifty feet long, and just like the other floor it was nine feet tall, providing clearance for even Dinari. And Wekasi still called this a modest model of an airship...Well, if you compared it to the ape’s then it was. Every being had stopped once again to take in the massive cavern of a hull, clearly as impressed as I was with it. I gazed down the level until sunlight flickering caught my attention, it highlighted the final staircase. My group began making our way over to it, absently I wondered at how it strangely enough wasn’t beside the one we just climbed. I swiveled my ears as I started to trot, listening as our hums of appreciation echoed back to us along with the clip clops. I have no idea what to even do with this floor; this whole vessel is really much larger than I was thinking of. Maybe I could turn it into a playroom or a workshop? Make some pony walls to separate things… When we reached the deck a feminine voice greeted us, “You must be Ari!” Stripes flashed before my eyes. A monochromatic backdrop that gave me no time to react as my hoof was grabbed and shook with a force that spoke of endless energy. She shook me with that energy too. “It’s a pleasure to meet such a hero.” She gushed, brown eyes coming into focus, they almost assuredly had stars in them. Snorts of surprise escaped from my mares as we all tensed and leaned back onto our haunches from the greeting. It wasn’t the energy, no; I had a friend that was very excitable like this. What held my attention had been the last word. Hero…Dear lord, just what have the locals been saying about me? It was called ‘doing the right thing’. Also, I needed to get free then anyway. I was not trying to be a hero or a leader, despite what Folami insisted. Think about it, who wanted to be in charge? That poor mayor acted like it was normal for angry Gryphon hens to burst into his office! I am going to be a dad to two magical foals, which sounds good enough to me. No politics needed thank you very much. We were still braced back as she let go of my hoof, backing up a couple of steps as she took us, well, mostly me in. Of course, I did the same to her. Goggles were hanging from her neck, smudges of an oily nature splattered here and there on her face and forelegs. A cutie mark of a big gear and wrench adorned her flank, which only confirmed that this mare knew her way around the ship. “Err, yes,” I started as she smiled at me, not sure how to respond to such a word as ‘hero’. “Uh, I am Ari and you must be-.” “Nomalanga,” She finished for me, ears twitching as she looked me over again. “And may I just say you look pretty fine for going against the king of pirates.” A long snort made her pause and I looked over to Chrissy who was very clearly saying back off with her ears back and bared teeth. “Oh, oh no, no way missy,” she was shaking her head very rapidly. “You got me all wrong miss changeling, I’m happily married and with foal.” She looked to me as I blinked, eyes straying to her stomach. There was marriage here? Wait, no, she was pregnant? Her stomach was still so narrow. “Don’t worry, I am not a herdwrecker.” Lyric slumped a little into me on hearing that, resting her head on my withers, whatever posturing she had been doing done. At that admission Chrissy also relaxed, ears splaying a bit, and a more hesitant smile replacing her threat. “Ah, perhaps I was quick to jump to conclusions and congratulations.” Her smile grew a little softer as she said the last word, eyes straying to the striped stomach. The mechanic gave a slow nod, winking with an easy smile at my mares. “Thank you! I can see why you would worry though; even with all those cuts on him he still has his looks. I’m surprised you even let him near other mares!” Calming down slightly, she turned back to me. “I’m sorry about that, I was just meaning that you did pretty well to only get covered in cuts and crack your hooves…” Her smile faltered then, “Is it true you cracked them breaking the chains of…Well?” “Yup,” I nodded, holding in the wince as I shifted my weight, breathing deeply as I tried to relax my muscles a little. First the office threw my instincts into overdrive and now her sudden greeting had riled them back up. The chains… Shaking off the images of the pirate’s hulls, I looked up from my hooves to see the zebra had resumed having stars in her eyes, at least for a second. They lasted for a moment longer before she shook her head. “So what do you know of airships?” I blinked once, twice, and nothing really intelligent came to me. I could say they looked like ships being carried by a large gas chamber or that they were propelled by two engines but any being could see that. Earth wasn’t exactly filled with airships, sure zeppelins come to mind but that was way before I was even born, and I only vaguely remembered the pictures from high school. So, “Actually I know nothing on how they work.” She blinked back at me, “Surely you heard that I’m not from around here?” A blush colored her muzzle as she muttered something about exaggerated gossip, but I continued, “On my planet we have them but you would have to be crazy rich and eccentric to have one. I was not rich or eccentric though.” Her attention was on me, every being was, soaking up my words. “I do know how to steer a boat, drive a car…” I trailed off at their blank looks. Explaining cars would bring up more questions, which could lead to a question I couldn’t wiggle out of. It was very easy to see myself holding an ‘Earth seminar’ if I even tried to explain myself. But the mare recovered quickly, “Okay so how about we start with a tour then,” I nodded as she carried on. “After that I can give you the manual to read up on and as your test flight you can fly me home!” With that she turned and began the tour at a brisk trot, off towards the bow of the deck before I could mention the problem. For now I just shared a shrug with my mares, knocking Lyric’s head off of my wither in the process, but she just yawned and carried on. Nomalanga would soon learn that although I love to read I couldn’t…Yet, it was on my very long to do list. “-And that is why the these railings double as excellent baby gates,” of course she would focus on that, she knows…There was that wink again, “That is until they start flying, I’m assuming they will have wings of course.” My eyes wandered to where her hoof was pointing, small runes were carved into the silver rail. Kapera noticed the runes as well, muttering to herself as she shook her head. Faintly I heard, “Poor work, just shoddy work, you aren’t supposed to leave the cuneal writing in plain sight to wear off.” Still our guide was looking at my herd for a reaction, ears perked and eyes eagerly looking between our faces. Thankfully my mares took over. “So do they protect against accidental magical outbursts? Do they contain ‘teleporters’,” Lyric asked, draconic slits narrowing at our guide. My ears splayed as I recalled the brief mention of that when they tried to teach me about my aetheratic channels, magical foals were going to be interesting. Nomalanga just cocked her head, eyes moving left and right at the empty air. The air had no hints. The master smith answered for her, “Nope, these will just stop the foals from walking or smashing through them…” She trailed off, stepping up to the railing to run her paw along them. “You will be re-enchanting these within five years with the placement of the writing too.” She gripped the railings, letting the palm of her paw sweep along it. “The wear and tear is going to be brutal from the winds.” “Uh, t-the, the captain’s quarters! Let me show you that!” A spirited recovery, her ears sat up from their splayed position as her smile shone with enthusiasm again. Really, it was hard to reply to Kapera, I mean it wasn’t like the mechanic enchanted the ship. Nomalanga was just the delivery mare. From the railing, she trotted over the large quarters taking up the bow, two doors on either side of the wall we faced. Both were white, as was the siding of the cabin, and the roof. Opening the door on the right, Nomalanga made a grand sweeping gesture with her hoof for us to enter. I knew was going to love this. Our new room took up only half the cabin but it was still huge. It was more long than wide, the back quarter holding an impressive sized bed, easily enough to hold myself and mares, with room left over for wiggly foals. Stepping inside she continued the obligatory tour. “Your bed,” she gestured to the giant square of promised comfort. “The sheets made from the finest silk, imported all way from Japony.” “Repeat that,” I deadpanned to the zebra. She didn’t know what to say, gaping maw struggling to think of what she had said that was confusing. I didn’t blame her but I just didn’t believe her, “You said Ja-pony.” I sounded it out, my logical mind questioning once again what sort of parallel world I had landed in. “Yes?” The poor mare was cocking her head at me; the others didn’t know what to do either, even my mares did not understand why that was so important to me. Their thoughtful eyes narrowing as I took a deep breath, “That is what I thought. I am sorry this world is quite similar and different to mine all at once. On Earth there is a country called Japan so I thought I misheard you.” My friendly smile and cordial tone moved her past the confusion and back to the tour. “Oh! That would be confusing, don’t worry about it.” She quickly turned with a hop, moving to a yellow jewel embedded in the wall. With the hoof to it a light came on behind a wooden door that had previously blended in with the wall appeared. The illuminated outline of the door was broken as she opened it, showing me the most magnificent bathroom I had seen so far in this world. I will be frank with you on that; the pirate ships didn’t really have nice bathrooms, or really bathrooms at all. Buckets folks, those were buckets with enchanted jewels tossed at the bottom, and baths were called rain out there. Even the inn in Saddle Arabia wasn’t as…Civilized as this room. A real porcelain bowl, also a porcelain sink, it was- Sorry, sorry, I am sure you don’t want to hear how amazing my bathroom is. But, when you have to literally go in the woods half the time and the other half of the time the facilities look like they were out of a third world country having porcelain again is a god send. The bath was huge too. Okay, I am shutting up about it now. After the bathroom our guide moved on to the cabin across the deck. It was exactly what I thought it would be. A mess hall that connected to large cabin filled with bunk beds, a nice bathroom and kitchen. Yes, some of the stuff was imported from countries with eerily familiar sounding names, but I truly didn’t care from where my plates had come from, and my brain needed rest from that sort of stuff. The lights were easy to use, the enchanted plumbing did create some questions but I filed those away for later. One room was left. “This is arguably one of the most important rooms on the ship,” Nomalanga started as she opened the left door on the captain’s quarters. It was the control room. “Wow,” I said ever so articulately. My eyes were big as they traveled around the ‘L’ shaped command room, a narrow hallway leading to a wide front that spanned the width of the ship. Glass windows took up the far wall, showing the waves futilely trying to reach us and puffy wisps of clouds looking down as they wondered why we weren’t joining them. “Exactly,” our guide chirped out. She started down the hallway, stopping to hit a purple gem before continuing. “This is where the magic happens!” A hum echoed throughout the ship and I tensed, unsure what was happening, “Don’t worry, I’m just closing the loading bay.” “Ah, thank you,” my ability to speak was growing, as was my smile. Relaxing slightly, I tucked my wings in and trotted ahead of her, looking at the panel that rested below the window. It was very similar to a modern boat’s control center; on second thought perhaps a plane’s control panel would be more accurate. There were no electronic elements per say, but the idea was there. In the center of the panel were two levers and a steering wheel. To the left of them were little containers that held water, water that was sprinkled with tiny red gems. Next to the jeweled water was a written scale on the metal board. It was measuring something, what it measured I hadn’t quite determined yet. More testing apparatuses were laid out as I looked further to the left. All with scales that were written in different languages, extra points to the designer for being inclusive of other cultures. Ignoring the prominent linguistic problem, I looked to the right of steering wheel and found five panels filled with a jewels, all labeled again with symbols in varying languages. But beyond those panels was a table secured to both the right wall and the control board. On the table lay a map, a very big map, and it looked even more filled in than the Diamond dog’s map. The east side of it anyway, the west was still a blank mass of dark blue beyond Zebrica. My self guided tour was soon cut short, “As I was saying Ari,” my tour guide appeared in front of my path, blocking my view of the map, “Before you can touch the control panel you have to read at least chapter one.” **** Moonlit Echo I still can’t tell if this is all an act, not Ari being a Alicorn, it was this ‘I don’t know how to read’ farce. Here he was explaining how he couldn’t read any of our languages, any, yes I call horse apples on that too. He wrote the princesses a letter. An illiterate Alicorn wrote a letter in Equus…Exactly, my point has been made. Sure, he could be illiterate; I mean his nonsensical signature and alien status had certainly made me consider it. But all I needed to do was think of that letter and my questions rose again. We needed to have a long talk, him and I, and not just about the how he should and shouldn’t act around royalty. But about what he knew, so many things still didn’t add up. My world felt forever changed, going from a regular routine guarding the peaceful city of Canterlot to this crazy place, this world that was impossible yet real. The world didn’t add up, nothing in the books made sense anymore. Pirates that didn’t exist had existed, slavers that were bad adventure fiction material were real, and then there was the role that the peaceful nation of Saddle Arabia and the other southern nations played in the slave trade. Almost as crazy as the swamp land that was now Minotaria and whatever mess the Griffin Republic was in. Yes, I believed Bente, that hen’s outrage was very real. This was real… Do the princesses know? No, I mean, that was unanswerable right now. So, going one step beyond that question, how had this world come to this? The books spoke of the Great War ending, world powers were balanced, and all the evil monsters were killed or trapped. Discord was trapped in stone, the changelings sent to the southern badlands, and every last shadow pony banished to Tartarus itself. But that sounded more like a foal’s tale now. These mares didn’t seem truly evil, at least not like the stories and events had suggested. For the life of me I couldn’t find an evil angle for freeing slaves, not one that they were doing anyway. Rescuing enslaved equines that weren’t even supposed to exist…To do what with them, feed off of them? Enchant them to make an army to take over Equestria? No, they could have done that and many other things but they just wanted…A home in exchange. Evil sirens and changelings that only asked for a place to live, sure they were…With foal. Deep breaths, I just have to remain calm and assess the situation. In. Out. In…He rutted the bug and somehow impregnated her…Out…And a siren hybrid. Despite their mercy on me so far that fact still disgusted me, on a base level it seemed wrong, I didn’t know why but it was definitely wrong. I wanted to buck his face in for doing that. But- A rumbling and tilting of the room alerted me that something was going wrong. “NO!” The shrill squeak of the goggle wearing zebra drew my eyes to her. I don’t know what her name was due to the fact that only had tuned in occasionally, evidently not when she was introduced. But really, why would I want to listen to how great the bucker’s ship was? Speaking of that bug lover, he was holding onto the right lever and slowly easing it down to the same spot as the left lever, ears splayed and a sheepish smile on his muzzle. “Sorry.” He offered as the room regained stability. He was such a…Ugh, I can’t wait till I was home, then…I don’t know what then, but it had to be better than being his prisoner. I mean he was denser than a young colt about some stuff. Well, that was actually okay, that is, it will work in my favor. With all this time I had come up with a new plan. The nail tucked away in my ropes, while a viable back up plan wasn’t going to cut it in the long run. It was due to becoming the teddy bear for ‘miss muscle’. You would think she would have to put me down some time, right? No, the Minotaur hadn’t let me go once; even when she slept…She snored, just in case you were wondering. I couldn’t really sleep with that long honking of hers blowing into my ear continuously. But I still didn’t see who broke in to the office, you know, the room’s door being closed and all. Not that they came up the stairs…Or down them. “You have to raise both at once,” the mare was looking intently at Ari, ears back. “At the same time,” Goggles was looking at Ari carefully as she repeated herself, placing both hooves on his as they gripped the levers. “Ready?” He nodded and I watched on in rapt attention, ready to make an emergency roll away if he crashed us. **** Ari After a few hiccups, okay, a lot of hiccups, I got the ship in the air. This was also after demonstrating that I knew what every button and contraption did. Knowing to hit the big black jewel on the fifth panel to shut off the engines in a emergency, or how to cut the magic to the other rooms and floors in case the output jewels needed replacing, all the basic controls. Frankly, it felt very similar to learning to drive all over again, complete with nervous backseat driver. “See Ari, you are a natural!” Nomalanga was laying it on a bit thick but I still appreciated the vote of confidence, my wings unable to help themselves as they puffed up. “When you do learn to read please give the manual a through look over, it is much cheaper to maintain the engines yourself than repair them. Parts aren’t cheap!” She added cheerfully at the end. “Okay…” I trailed off, “I think I have the hang of it and I promise to not accidently touch any buttons.” The mare nodded her understanding but didn’t move away. “This really isn’t too different than a boat from my planet, you can relax.” My ears went back and every being looked to her as well. Her hooves still didn’t move off the wheel. Nomalanga seemed to get the hint after a minute of staring, slowly releasing her iron grip from the wheel, one hoof left. “Sorry, it was just…” She slowly released the grip of her second hoof, sighing and deflating as the room stayed the same, no titanic flips or tilts. I may have over steered at first, not unlike a new driver taking race car driver corners at a high speed. That may be why she insisted that I didn’t raise the levers too far above the halfway point. Especially for long periods of time, however it also had to do with not overheating the engine in the summer heat. This was summer and I wasn’t even dying from the heat, I loved that fact. Anyway, aside from watching how far I raised the levers and adjusting my steering for such a large vessel I was ‘a natural’ as she put it, so with the wheel to myself I looked over the horizon. It was clear and blue as we were flying relatively low, just high enough that we wouldn’t hit the masts of the ships but not high enough to obscure our view with white cotton candy. Settling down on the shiny floor, I looked away from the great blue, “So where am I heading Nom?” My mares chuckled from my sides as Nomalanga scrunched her muzzle at me. “Don’t, that is just a no. It’s Just Nomalanga, okay Ari?” I nodded my acceptance, holding in my chuckle at her serious tone. With a sigh she nodded back before turning over to the map. “As to where we are going, it is just a quick flight from Malawia to Cape town, only four hours at half speed.” Quickly glancing at the clear skies to find them clear I turned back to the mechanic, just in time to see her hoof move north along the Zebrican coastline, settling on the middle of the east coast. So we had to return Malawia after this was over…And Moonlit Echo still hadn’t really given his acceptance. Sure, he verbally agreed to the deal and he seemed honest. But he was also given that deal or he would remain tied up for awhile. It was a clear winner in my book. His presence nagged at my instinctual mind, it saw the threat that he posed to my herd almost as clearly as my logic did. He knew about my sleep issue after all, what was to stop him from sneaking around when I was asleep? “Nomalanga,” said mare turned back to me a smile, goggles bobbing as she walked over. “At half speed how long does it take to cross the Narrow Sea? That is to say, how much distance can this vessel travel in a day?” With splayed ears she answered me, “Well, there isn’t an exact answer to that.” We were all watching her now, the others sitting up straighter from their spots on the floor. “There are many factors that could slow you down, such as daylight.” I cocked my head at her, “When you are back on the continent I don’t recommend flying low or at night.” Before I could ask why she continued, “Mountains have a way of sneaking up on you.” I nodded, remembering the river like mass of clouds from the Diamond Mountains. “Not to mention movement at night attracts monsters.” “So how long do you estimate it will take if all goes good and we don’t travel at night?” A dull echo filled the room as her hoof tapped, “Hmm, maybe two days.” Trotting over to the table, her eyes flicked between different points on the coast. “Well if you make a slow turn from Cape Town and head straight,” she dragged her hoof in a line from the east coast to the middle of the opposing shore, “To Shallow Shale then it should two days if you stick to traveling in the day.” Kapera grunted her approval as I nodded; looking back I saw that she was still crossing her arms over her chest…Should I be getting her clothes or something? Everything on two legs, with a certain ape shaped exception, wore some form of clothing. Beside her the Minotaur siblings were leaned back against the wall, looking at the passing horizon. Of course Echo was there as well, looking at the horizon with his ears back, and not much else to his expression. How had this plan gotten so complicated? This room had a clock, magically synchronized with the movements of the sun and moon, and according to it only two hours had passed. Due to the lack things to do we had all decided to lie down, my magic manning the wheel as we watched the small towns pop up and move on below us. They were small breaks of color in the otherwise green and beige coastline, occasionally a small patch of slate like rock would crop up, but that was even rarer than the towns. Along with the background purr of the engines there was a steady tapping; for the most part I ignored it, years of babysitting having conditioned a level tolerance in me that I would like to think was impressive. That and Jay, she was the excitable friend I mentioned before. Just like Jay, my airship instructor couldn’t handle the calm moments for too long. Two hours being this mare’s maximum tolerated quiet time. “So what are you two doing on the mission?” Nomalanga asked the Ayo’s, looking back to the cousins that were laid out beside each other. Just the purr remained, until some faint disgruntled cawing signaled we had disturbed another flock of white sea birds. They looked to each other as a thump sounded on the roof, promising me that I would be cleaning bird ‘presents’ off the roof in the near future. A large white feather fell across the window and held their gaze. After it passed they still didn’t seem to have come up with an answer so I chimed in, “Oh those two are here to help with incapacitating the princesses if they don’t listen to words.” Brown eyes flicked back over to me, energy back in them as her tail started flicking about. “Oh, are they making the magic inhibitors or-,” She cut herself off as I held up a hoof. “Oh, um okay.” The hint was received and her head turned, eyes looking around the room before settling on Gennady’s shoulder. “So how did you lose your arm?” With that, the overly social bull started explaining the ‘Battle for Freedom’ as he called it, the groans at that cringe worthy name only surprised him. With the explanation, not only was the mechanic distracted but I also learned some things too, like how Kapera now owed a captain a new ship. I had wondered where that ship had come from. The next two hours passed with many laughs and smiles, even Echo managed a smile at some points in the exaggerated retelling of the fight. At least I think he was smiling, Thestrals had pointed canines so it could have been a threat, or even a grimace…Anyway, Gennady proved himself to be very good entertainer. The tip tapping of talons sounded above the cabin before a flurry of white feathers, some seemed unusually large as they floated down the window, and the bird’s reason for leaving was a significantly larger town that had appeared on the horizon. “Cape Town!” Nomalanga shouted, the declaration reverberating back to us in the room. Keeping my ears pressed to my head in case she had any more statements to make, I watched the buildings close in, the town appearing to be made up almost half ship yard and the inner portion a collection of businesses. No small cottages or quaint townhouses, these buildings were five stories tall at the minimum, with most scoffing at such a small height, and trying to touch the sky with clearly added on floors. It was the closest to a big city I had seen so far, even the color scheme imitating the sheer ‘blah’ of a city with a meshing of dull browns and grays. On any other day I would have wanted to explore it, but we weren’t going to be stopping here for long, just long enough to unload the pregnant mechanic. Speaking of the mare, looking from the window and over Chrissy’s body I spotted the eager zebra. She was doing a short pace along the right side of the window; tail flicking and her smile growing as the folded sails came into view. “Hold on,” I said as my magic lowered the levers in sync, adjusting a knob on the left panel before I steered the ship toward the only empty parking space left for airships. “Agh!” My ethereal field flicked off momentarily as the hard edges of hooves jabbed into my back; opening scabbed over cuts that should really have stayed closed. This was followed by my neck being wrung in a painful imitation of a hug. Rosy hued magic plucked the excited zebra off of me as I parked the ship, the engines idling as I gasped for sweet oxygen. Despite her time enjoying our company the mare had the bay open with a hastily exclaimed thank you, galloping down the stairs faster than I could blink. We all rose from the floor and walked onto the deck, just in time for to see a poor stallion get bowled over on the platform. The nickering reached us on the deck as she nuzzled her equally happy husband who managed to get a quick sweep of wave to us. I gave a weak wave back, glancing at my mares as I did so. Chrissy appeared amused, ears forward and eyes relaxed as she leaned into me slightly, Lyric was very much the same, happily smiling as two small sighs escaped them. Nomalanga was only four months along. “Look at what you have to look forward to Ari,” Kapera said as she chuckled under her breath. “Yeah…” Leaving the happy couple behind us, I turned the ship, slowly, before I began our ascent into the increasingly cloud filled sky. My idea being that I could shave a day off the travel time if I flew high and at night. She had said I shouldn’t fly at night on the continent, not on the sea. Sea Serpents can’t fly, right? We only had three hours till sunset, at this pace we might make it to Shallow Shale early, late afternoon tomorrow…I hoped so anyway. Adjusting the gas again, I watched from between my napping mares as the white cumulus parted for us. I ignored the soft puffs of warm air on my rump. Clouds of all shapes drifted around the ship, looking ever so tempting, and drawing a yawn from me. The sun was closer and brighter than I had ever imagined it could be, taking up nearly the whole window with its filtered rays. But even so, the cabin seemed to get a chill as we climbed higher. Kapera left to search for some blankets as we all settled in, an odd crunch coming from somewhere, twitching my ears I waited. There, my wings relaxed over my mares as Gennady rolled around some more apples in the barrel that we had brought up during the trip. It was just that big lug. Dear lord, every since some being had sneaked by my herd, unhindered or undetected to the office…To put it nicely, my instincts were still in overdrive. Or maybe this world was making me paranoid, not everything had to be about me…Nah, I am pretty sure I had a growing list of haters. Would the princesses be joining that list? Soon enough we were settled, the sun set, rapidly making way for the moon. I saw why she had said not to travel at night. Inky darkness crept through the sky, faintly illuminated by the light reflected off the moon, and shadowy cumulus crept around the ship. The moon that dominated the night sky as the only source of light, soothing my nerves as I locked gazes with it, and forcing another yawn escaped my mouth. Looking at my herd, noticing absently that they were only bodies remaining in the room, and the warmest by default. Another yawn and my vision swam. Maybe a quick resting of the eyes was due. Squinting my watering eyes at the clock I saw I still had four hours, yes, four hours till sunrise. My magic had the wheel. The small creaks and tip tapping on the ship reminded me of home, even the purr of the engine was like the fridge. Just a little rest... An Intruder and A Change of Heart.**** Above the Narrow Sea Ari Pleasant shivers made their way down spine, raising my fur slightly as warm, moist appendages wrapped around the bases of my feathers. They handled them gently, stroking them and on one wing the appendage tugged experimentally on its chosen feather. Accompanying that heavenly feeling was the light humming and purring that came from either side of me, it filled the space I seemed to float in. All of soothing ministrations and reassuring sounds only added to the cocoon of warmth and peace that I was wrapped in. Lazily I buried my muzzle in my forelegs, the urge to ask for five more minutes rising in me as a persistent orange light shone through my eyelids. My instincts were almost quiet, as was my mind, almost. Sleep, that word sounded wrong, my mind blearily stumbled around the word in an attempt to figure out- Fuck. Shooting upright, I was greeted by the sight of a short two by four wedged up against the steering wheel. It creaked innocently as I stared at it. Wh-. “That was clever Ari,” my eyes shot over to Kapera, who was now standing in the open doorway dressed in a sheet that she had tied like a toga. “Here I was thinking that I was going to find a half-asleep Alicorn here this morning and instead I find that you used your head for once.” She finished, waving a paw at the plank. The dig went over me as I felt my heart start to beat harder, practically racing as the room felt wrong, like the little privacy I had in this world had been invaded. She hadn’t done this. I looked to my mares as I tried to push down my instinct’s screaming, pointing to the office break in as a sign to this happening. Both changeling and siren held a raven colored feather in their mouth, twiddling them absently as they looked around with eyes at half mast. Scales to fur, chitin to fur, and it was the latter that caused Chrissy’s feather to start to plummet. She splayed her ears and gave me a look that clearly asked what the matter was, her wing beginning to buzz, small bursts of worry as we looked at each other. Shit, ask them anyway, maybe her look doesn’t mean that, and don’t forget to breath! “Did either of you put that there,” I shakily motioned to the piece of wood, keeping my eyes on them. Already I could see the light bulb flash behind their eyes. My instincts screamed a huge ‘I told you so’ in the form of my feathers standing on end, my nostrils flaring, and ears swiveling like mad. Paranoid? No, my nerves were on fire, adrenaline rushed me to move as it simultaneously pushed out articulate thoughts. First the office break in and now this....Helpful action...Or they just didn't want to crash. Soft paw steps seemed to echo in the room, moving away from me as the engine seemed to grow to a muted roar, and every tick of the clock was maddening. I didn’t grab any plank. “Ari,” Chrissy questioned as she rose from her sitting position, Lyric right behind her. Their expressions were ones of concern now as I pressed my nose to the plank and inhaled, trying to call on the inner Scooby Doo in me to solve this mystery. Pine, dirt, oil, and…Jasmine, no, not just jasmine, there was something new there. Another deep breath in, it was definitely musky. “Hey stud, are you okay?” Kapera asked, her voice stressing the annoying nickname she had thrust upon me. I didn’t respond to her jab, instead I was trying to sort out the many scents that wafted in from the open door. Had they really left? Were they still here? Was it another assassin? No…What was the purpose of this? “Mmm,” her tone shifted, serious, and questioning as she watched me, my nose moving back to the plank. What was that musk? Come on instinct center do your magic. I looked up from the wood once more, getting nowhere with that elusive scent. Going through my senses again and began swiveling my ears once more. I frowned as they received nothing beyond the muted talking drifting in from across the deck, nothing new. The rest of the group was in the dining room. Still I knew some being had done this, invaded my ship. My wings wouldn’t tuck in to my barrel at that thought, choosing to clamp over my shifting mares. They weren’t shifting from giggling, this wasn’t some joke. Instead it came from the awareness that something wasn’t right, they moved from hoof to hoof as narrowed eyes scanned the room. Some being had got by them. The bat or one of the others, my mind naively suggested as my thoughts tried to form. I snorted at the idea, there was no way had Echo escaped. Kapera wouldn’t have been so relaxed and the others were equally as unlikely to have done this for the same reason, that smith would love to rub it in. She had appeared sure that I had. Adding all that to that new musky scent that was swirling in my mind and it pointed to an intruder. Unfortunately, it didn’t tell me where the intruder was and why they intruded. Had they taken anything? Looking around the room I didn’t see anything out of place, the map was embossed in the table so it couldn’t be taken, the window didn’t open and was unbroken. The clock told me it was nearly noon. Light gray clouds appeared before the window, with small black specks rising out of them in the distance. The panels were untouched; the readings on the left half were within the normal range. Staring at the red crystals I tried to calm myself, to quiet my urge smother my mares, and for the most part it worked. Do this in an orderly fashion, first I should secure the ship. Expectant looks met mine; bracing myself I expelled a long breath and let my wings drop a little. “I didn’t put that plank there; unless some being here did it,” My mares shook their heads confirming their innocence once again, ears twitched as they stayed pinned. I was afraid to look at Kapera, well aware that this wouldn’t have happened if I had stayed awake like I was supposed to. “Then we have a stowaway.” But my eyes strayed over to her anyway. As I feared, Kapera’s ears were pinned back and a muffled growl had escaped her scowling muzzle when we locked gazes. But she didn’t explode into a barrage of insults or reprimands; instead she fumed in place, her tail whipping the air with the force she probably wanted to use on a being. When she had calmed down I spoke up, “So I’d say that the first course of business is to search the ship, if they are still around then they have to be here somewhere. If they aren’t here then we still might find clues.” Nodding to each other we joined our companions in the mess hall. Our ears were active on the way over, but nothing stood out, and the clouds seemed to muffle even the sea bound avians that didn’t want to climb to this chilly height. The mess hall appeared normal; one large table dominated the room with the kitchen in the back, the table half full with the rest of our group. Nothing was out of place in the sudden silence. But our sweep of the dining room, kitchen and bedroom drew a crowd. Still no tracks or abnormal scuffs made themselves known, but some being had been here, the new scent was in the kitchen. Ayodele and Ayomide finally drew the line in our search when I went over to what I assumed was their bunk bed. “A-Ari,” the sheets were out of place, “No need to check our bed,” and the pillow was placed in the middle of the bed. “What is going on anyway?” Ayodele finished, cocking her head while side stepping in front their bunk. Blinking at their question I halted my search, “Unless one of you,” gesturing to the group following us, “Wedged a plank in the wheel,” heads shook slowly. “Then we have a stowaway.” Jaws dropped, the Ayo’s, Gennady, Dinari, and…Echo wasn’t pulsed. He was looking at the floor with twitching ears, a frown on his muzzle, and narrowed eyes. That fucker… Crackling started, muted in the back of my mind as I held him above us. “Care to share your thoughts on this Echo?” My voice sounded harsh even to me, but I felt my suspicions were confirmed by his lack of reaction. That look wasn’t shocked and he had never really responded about the office break in. He had been thinking an awful lot lately. Did he have back up here? Just what wasn’t he telling us? Perhaps we needed to talk more. All eyes were on the Thestral, Kapera muttering something to herself as we watched him. He didn’t so much as twitch an ear as we locked eyes. Two could play this game. “Really, withholding information isn’t going to help your situation. It definitely makes me want reconsider the deal.” I prompted him, narrowing my eyes even as a small smile started across his muzzle. “I have kept my end Ari,” Echo’s smile dropped, “It is you who hasn’t kept their half. Last night I was still somebeing’s plushy. Behind a closed door, I saw no being, and I hardly even heard them.” My bravado faltered then. I focused on the first half of his sentence, suddenly very aware that he was right, and like an uninvited guest, my guilt chimed in. I was giving him the same treatment as the slavers, well, not exactly the same, but I wasn’t keeping my word. He was still tied up. Not exactly trust building, was it? I sighed, I had been so focused on steering…Alright, and I really didn’t trust him still. Blind trust and hope were easier said than done. Though my instincts may be silly at times, both my logical half and instinctual half agreed that having him running around the ship was dangerous, a risk to the herd. We needed to address this elephant in the room. “I’m sorry to say that I don’t trust you.” He snorted but nodded, smiling like he expected that, “From my understanding you are a guard for the moon princess,” again he nodded, although slightly slower. “So I am to assume that there is a training process you went through.” I paused and waited. He was getting confused now, ears splaying as he watched me closely, “Of course I did, every guard did.” I nodded as he said that, “Just what are you getting at?” “Well, I don’t trust you for many reasons; the most obvious being that you were sent to watch me yet seemed convinced that I was a changeling before even meeting me...No, I believe the way it was retold to me was ‘a bug’, you thought I was a vile bug.” I snorted and wrapped my wing tighter over Chrissy. “This assumption you made, I assume it was based off the logic you had ingrained in you during your time in Equestria and the recent invasion no doubt didn’t help your thought pattern. So then I had to ask myself, do I trust a clearly racist guard that quite possibly hates my mare for her attempt to save her family? Do I risk my herd’s safety on the off chance that you aren’t lying through your teeth to have a chance to escape?” Silence hung stagnant in the air as every being watched him, the search forgotten as this issue was finally being addressed. “Do I trust you?” I asked him again, “And if yes, on what grounds? I offered you that deal on the grounds that you were seeing the truth in our words.” He dropped his gaze. “Aside from your agreement to teach me how to talk to royalty yesterday we haven’t really talked much. Even in that conversation you still believed that I was going to harm them, even after I was freeing ponies from enslavement!” I sighed and lowered my wings that had risen sometime in my rant, I was getting nowhere. Echo wouldn’t even look at me. “Then this morning you didn’t seem all too surprised to hear that somebeing was here. Frankly, I feel like you have been thinking too much, that you are getting ideas.” I looked at his lowered head, “Or perhaps you have been the one to do this? Perhaps you had back up all along?” He glared at me, ears back, and body hanging paralyzed in my magic field. Releasing an increasingly frustrated sigh, I motioned for Kapera to leave. Only after a hard look at me did she leave, taking the others with her. “-stupid headed-,” the angry muttering faded as she took the search to the other floors, a party of five being more than enough to handle anything that could be down there. Ayomide used to be an assassin after all; she was almost as sneaky as… Chrissy added her sigh, looking at the Thestral with a frown. “Ari, he isn’t going to change overnight.” Lyric nodded in agreement, rubbing against my neck. “I know,” I look away from him, the urge to rub a hoof over my face very strong. “Lyric is there any spell or illusion magic thing you can do to see what was here.” My mare just gave me a slow head shake, “Sorry Ari, all those spells require having something of the being to focus on or a species to focus on. Without knowing who or what entered they won’t work.” I gave her light nuzzle and a slow nod, I expected as much, even magic had some logic I guess. A light snort caught my attention, “So, on what grounds am I supposed to trust you?” I scrunched my muzzle at that, thinking back to the fact that we hadn’t killed him yet and the fact that we freed the slaves instead of doing who knows what evils he probably thought the ‘evil bug’ and others would do. “When you asked on my training, what were you trying to prove? I pledged my service to Princess Luna not some alien that may or may not be illiterate.” For god’s sake he was focused on that! Those eyes, narrowed, unchanging, and almost resolutely not getting my point. I wanted him to change, to give me a signal that he understood…But after the last two break-ins freeing him was a big ‘no’. My herd came first. With that a frustrating heaviness suddenly weighed on my mind, déjà vu from the stolen ship. Then we had circled this issue of trust and truth as well, and just like then there didn’t seem to be a point to it. He didn’t show any signs of changing; only the promise of trying to trick me with assumed compliance, yet he knew somebeing had been here and didn’t raise any alarm. “You know what?” What was the point trying to change him? You couldn’t force change. He had this hammered into head already in training; he was basically a brainwashed pony. I had been trying to undo years of brainwashing. What an idiot I was. “Maybe I meant nothing, maybe you are right, and maybe there were some really good shrooms in that swamp that made you hallucinate that storm.” I laughed as my ears folded back. “And those slaves you saw? All of them were actors, just like these cracks on my hooves, all fake.” Fuck this; I had an intruder somewhere on the ship. **** Chrissy The bitter frustration bled from his fur into my chitin, where it was tossed around in my belly as we explored the second level. Ari wasn’t talking, instead reminding me of a canine with the way he focused his muzzle to the floor with a single minded intent. He appeared to be over the Thestral but his emotions didn’t lie. “We are here if you want to talk about it,” I started, only getting an ear twitch back. Looking over to Lyric I frowned and motioned to his wings. “Ari, I know how you feel. Equestrians are frustrating to deal with. They are overly happy, manipulating, and wither deep in denial to the reality that others live in.” Dragging his head up from the floor, it hung as he snorted, “Is peace so hard to come by?” “I wondered that long ago too,” in my peripheral I saw him look to me, canting his head as he shivered under Lyric’s tongue. “But their hatred for changelings goes far deeper than my poorly thought out plan.” Our hoof steps echoed ahead of us, the sounds of the others mostly muffled by the stacks. “On this world, long before my birth there was a power struggle, now known as the Great War.” My stallion’s head rose. “Then there were many powerful beings like us. The Alicorns, although few are around now were plentiful, at least several herds were mentioned if I remember correctly.” “Herds,” My stallion queried, twitching his ear at the bales ahead of us. Rustling drew my eyes to the hay, and we watched as a small rodent darted across the alleyway we were now half heartedly searching. “Yes, although herds are uncommon now, back then that was the way it was done.” “What happened to them?” He gulped, “Why are only three left?” I snorted, “The Great War happened and of course some passed on from age as well. But the ‘center’ of the war seemed to circle around the proud Alicorn king, King Arcturus. He misunderstood some things about others and in turn others misunderstood him, a key topic of dissention was an emotionvore’s ability to feed for starters.” Closing my eyes, I tried to remember what the scroll said, only to come up with a blank. “The recording of the war I read was incomplete and I did read it many years ago,” like several hundred years ago. I splayed my ears as I gave him a weak smile. “It was mostly from my grandmother and grandfather’s side in the fight.” He nodded, love calming the turmoil his frustration had caused in my stomach. “But it was more than just racism then, territories were being fought over still, and more land was still being discovered. Of course many beings wanted a piece of the pie.” Right! That was it! Now let’s see if I remember correctly, “T-there was the Alicorns and the three tribes that followed them, the crystal ponies, shadow ponies, the dragons, Arabians, and…Of course there were changelings.” I left out the Draconequus, Discord was a whole topic by itself. There were many royal changelings then. “Chrissy, its okay, take all the-.” “Every being wanted to be to get the best deal in the negations during the formation of borders, and many believed they were the most powerful.” I chuckled at the irony, “And every being wanted a safe place to live.” It was coming back clearer now, “But back then different species didn’t really talk outside of negotiations, interspecies communication had only recently started. Some languages were still being translated, customs understood, and instincts were still running strong.” Ari tensed as I finished and his ears went back as we carried on the illusion of searching, the others had already searched here, but Ari insisted on starting here. This whole ‘being sneaking by him’ business had clearly got to him, his reactions screamed his worries to us. Spitting out a feather, Lyric jumped in, “Exactly! Just like my mother said, it was all those instincts running rampant.” Ari and I turned to her, our stallion cocked his head, “My mother said it because those dicks were acting like dicks that everything turned into the manure pile that it did.” We stared at her and she lowered her head slightly, “Okay, my auntie Aria said it that way.” Somewhere in the distance Dinari shouted, “All clear! We are going to the third level!” Our stallion shouted out his location and acceptance to them before we continued on, we could hear them below us, in the engine room. Now he was silent, a bitter cocktail of emotions leaving him. Ari was set in frown and the sweetness faltered completely, “So Chrissy, Lyric, please be honest with me here,” we nodded to him as we gave our stallion full attention. “Are equestrians and other stallions still ruled by instincts? Like would you say I’m like them? Do I overreact? ” That had to be a joke. “No Ari,” I snorted, thinking back to all the work I had to do to even get Shinning Armor to make a move on my Cadence disguise. “Those pastel colored ponies are about as instinct driven as a rock now-.” “So I’m strange then.” What was he on about? Of course he was strange; he came from a different planet and culture. This had been clear from the beginning. “Ari,” I gave him a kiss before I continued, “You are sort of expected to be odd considering you aren’t from here.” He shook his head, stopping in his tracks. “But we both love you,” slitted eyes met mine as I nodded; “All your oddities add a certain charm. You make me feel happy and safe.” I snorted down a giggle as I thought of my stallion’s antics, “And you make me laugh.” He sighed, looking at ceiling as he folded his ears back. “But every since I got here there has been this second thought or urge at the back of my mind, I kept calling it my instinctual mind.” He snorted, “From what you said it doesn’t sound normal for ponies now and I don’t want to cause problems in this world, I mean, I just got so frustrated with Moonlit Echo up there especially…I just feel like our safety is compromised.” Oh, this morning and yesterday…It was falling into place. “So your instincts are really strong right now?” “Yah, it feels like I have to protect you, little urges screaming to keep you close to me and protect you." he splayed his ears and studied the ground. “Sometimes I just react,” Lyric and I nodded, his earlier reaction coming to mind. A soft humming started to come from Lyric. “But how can they be good if you said that strong instincts was what helped start the whole war before and-.” I put my hoof on his lips, smiling as he raised his head. Lyric broke her soothing tune, “Having strong instincts isn’t necessarily bad.” A half smile curved her lips, “And I may have over exaggerated, Chrissy's explanation was probably more accurate. There was more than just hormones running around then.” Discord’s paw in the war was still under debate in most scholarly circles last time I checked. Nodding I drew his attention back. Ari still loved me, I could taste that. “Sweetie,” He blinked at me, tangy surprise popping up. With a brief giggle as I slowly walked ahead of him, “Being normal is overrated.” I swayed my hips slightly, looking over my shoulder as he sat there, eyes following my hips. “I like you the way you are, instincts especially.” Stopping I flicked my tail to the side, I heard a groan. Lyric was prodding the base of his wing with her tongue, “Especially your instincts.” **** Shallow Shale Moonlit Echo We were back in that Faust damned town and Ari was ignoring me, more than usual. Although I had appeared to be an afterthought in his ‘plan’ before, now I was more of a spirit, there only in name. I was even more invisible than whatever was on the ship. They didn’t find anybeing on the ship, not that I expected them to. I hadn’t heard any hooves clip clopping; whatever was out there had been very quiet or knew advanced illusion magic. Of course when they came up I hadn’t moved from the floor he had so gently dropped me on, that nail wasn’t going to do me any good when Ari already doubted my trust. Not to mention he could easily over take me with his huge wings, Tartarus, a wing slap from him could probably knock me out. So I lay there tied up and slowly losing feeling in my squished wing, and now I was still tied up, except now I was on the table watching while he inhaled his food. This was his second bale and he was still going strong. He placed an apple in front of me a couple of minutes ago, right lot of good that did when I couldn’t move my legs to grab it. Actually I can hardly feel my hooves anymore. Just how many days had I been tied up now? “Ari,” I queried, keeping my muzzle rigid as the pins and needles started again in my hocks. Just a twitch of his ear as he and the siren shoveled down hay, straight, with no preparation what so ever. The Zebras were off in the bedroom having another mare talk, the maneless one trying to bring her cousin out of denial. Really, Ayodele and Ari were both so frustrating and stupid they deserved each other. Both of them couldn’t see what was right in front of them! I tried again, folding my ears down against the muffled noises coming from the room. “Listen Ari,” another ear twitch, “I really can’t eat like this or-,” “Chrissy will show me how to act in front of royalty, she has done it before.” I should have expected that. Still… I blinked as I looked from the apple to him “You still have your muzzle, feel free to make a mess.” I snorted at him, “Well you obviously don’t trust me. Once again I ask you, why should I trust you?” I didn’t have an answer for him. Another ear twitch as his feathers puffed up and he went back to his hay. That wasn’t necessarily true, I trusted him. Trusted that he wouldn’t murder me in my sleep, poison my food, or otherwise harm me, he had let his own assassin go. This stallion wasn’t normal, and as I have noted before he was more than a little naïve on some matters, especially mare matters. He hadn’t even fully thought out his plan! Somehow he just assumed that my princesses would just roll over and listen if he restrained them. Ari wasn’t made for war from what I saw. He was capable of starting one with his magic, definitely. But his heart was soft. Who lets the mare that tried to kill them walk free?! Rustling from the bedroom caught his attention, he tensed, attention on the door before he relaxed. Giving his mares nuzzles as feathers slowly laid flat again, classic OPID, ‘Overly Prominent Instinctual Drive’. It was condition that had grown almost extinct in Equestrian culture, some rare cases reported in Appaloosa, but practically a fable. There were even potions for it, provided for free by the ministry of Health no less! But his overly active instincts didn’t excuse his backwards ways. Offering me a deal even when he didn’t trust me? Releasing a pony that was hired to kill you? I wouldn’t have just let somepony that tried to kill me walk free, especially on the word of a pony I had only known for a week. That was way too trusting, like, like me…Wasn’t I similar? No. Yes…Maybe. My mind hurt as that fact raised its head. I didn’t feel mad, no emotions really were present…And there were no ‘shrooms’ as Ari put it…But, who do I believe if not my own people? Who can you trust if not your own country; a country that possibly had lies along its foundation? Countless tomes and school textbooks spouted out ‘facts’ about these ‘evil’ creatures. Facts…Changelings drain the emotion from their victims, leaving them a weak husk…Yet Ari, Lyric, and every other pony that touched her, fed her, and appeared unaffected. But…Princess Luna seemed so concerned, honest, and I served her. Without her petitioning and Princesses Celestia’s progressive movements of integration I might have ended up a janitor or worse. It didn’t make sense; the two realities didn’t produce a cohesive picture. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna seemed so just in court, they didn’t kill, and they certainly wouldn’t lie. They had sworn an oath upon coronation…It was scared words spoken that were with honesty and intent…Though books were collections of organized words too, and so were works of fiction. Words were just that, only words, and even this Alicorn hadn’t kept his. Grimacing against the tingling going through my legs, I stared at the apple, my own oath repeated itself in my head. I swear I will faithfully, loyally, and honorably serve Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and their legitimate successors, and also dedicate myself to them with all my strength, be it magical or otherwise within my power. I assume the same commitment to the ponies of Equestria, be they common or noble. The faces of my friends floated in the front of my mind, the smiling ponies of the night market, and ponies that looked at me with respect and awe that being a trusted guard afforded. Furthermore I promise to the commanding captain and my other superiors, respect, fidelity, and obedience. This I swear! May Faust and his holy patrons assist me! What would my captain say? To go against my oath, my honor as a stallion and guard would break, that...It would be treason. But, looking at the changeling queen…Where was the threat? She had the power to defeat Princess Celestia and yet she didn’t appear to want revenge or the power of ruling, this went again against everything I had been told. She had the same wants as any other pony. “Do I have something on my muzzle Thestral?” The changeling was looking right at me, scowling as she watched my face watch hers. I hadn’t realized I was staring at her. But Chrysalis did look like a pony, somewhat, if I squinted. “Well, my mare asked you a question, answer it.” Ari spoke, watching me intently with pinned ears and ruffled wings. I might as well just ask. “How do you not want revenge on the princesses?” Gulping I continued, it couldn’t get much worse than all of their eyes being on me, “I would have expected since…Well, as the last one you would want to avenge them or some such plan.” Chrysalis looked between her herd mates; they gave her small nods, and Ari placing a kiss on her muzzle before he slowly expelled air. She began in slow, calm tone, like she was speaking to a foal. “I did at first, when I was wondering the mountains those first two months…But…No! I don’t want to risk my own life for nothing.” A big breath and her voice returned to it's slow pace, “Look, I already told you and you have already seen-,” her eyes briefly narrowed at the Alicorn, “-that I have no plans to return to your duplicitous country.” What? “I don’t understand, how is Equestria-.” Her hoofed slammed against the table and my apple rolled away in fear from the bared canines, successfully getting away from fuming mare. Raising her face from her hooves she locked gazes with me, jaw clenched, “Do you truly believe her actions were justified or do you have clouds stuck in your oversized ears?” I just gaped at her, “Not even when her niece killed the last of my family…” Her eyes closed for a couple seconds and I watched her shell like body shift about on the pillow as Ari comforted her. “How do you defend her actions when she lured my father to his death?” If I had a drink I would have down a spit take. “Oh,” teal eyes studied mine, “You haven’t read about her ingenious trap,” my mind couldn’t even begin to think of what she meant, when this would have happened, “Her victory over the vile Changeling king? How she left a young nymph fatherless.” Her head cocked as she watched me, her stallion had started rubbing his along her side. Again the tip tapping of talon tips sounded on the roof, followed by the sounds of flapping as more birds flew around the ship. The faint calls of sailors echoed in the harbor as I watched her chest shakily rise and fall. She took a deep breath in, “Of course you hadn’t, and even when I was in Canterlot as Lovebutt I couldn’t find a trace of it in the archives.” Her voice lost its edge, “It was like it never even happened.” “The Princesses wouldn’t do that! They would talk first, they only attacked in the invasion because you started it!” Despite being solid wood, the table beneath felt like it was breaking, like I was about to fall, and the room seemed too warm under her gaze. “Five hundred fourteen years ago.” I could stare wide eyed, “I was born and my father saw the way our hive was going, and he wanted to try for a better future.” She glanced to Ari, “He didn’t want us to be feared for such an ignorant misunderstanding so he exchanged letters with the only ruling princess then.” This wasn’t in the books. “She appeared more and more amicable till she agreed to allow him and a small group of his dignitaries in her castle to renegotiate and bring truth to the fables they had heard.” Were they all foal tales? “But when they arrived at the time they were misunderstood, a scuffle broke out, and a reflected spell killed some of her guards...” A slow exhalation as her herd mates moved in to comfort her, “That is when the princess arrived, late to her own meeting.” It couldn’t be…How did her father die then?I blinked at the upset changeling, “But-.” Chrysalis gave a shaky breath, “She was outraged of course and when it came down to it, an ultimatum was given.” Another shaky breath left her as she leaned on Ari, he looked horrified as she continued. “His life or a war, and my father choose his life. The others were sent home, and he died.” My heart was hammering as I looked at her and rest of the herd, this was genuine. I had not taken my eyes off them since she began. “So it was just one misunderstanding…” the back of her head bobbed from where she had stuffed it into his chest. “But…You appear honest, yet I have never heard of such a conflict. The death of a king in such a way would surely make the mandatory history books, even as a blurb on what happened after the war.” A hollow laugh came from Ari’s chest, sniffles punctuated it. “You see now why you live a duplicitous country now? They mollycoddle you like foals. You realize the books they stuff down your throat were made by the winners.” Chrysalis paused, “And some secrets are still going on.” We looked eyes again, her muzzle lined with shinny streaks, “Have you ever wondered how everything you saw recently isn’t front page news?” I nodded, gulping as my throat felt too small for a second, or maybe these words were too big. “We trade and deal with dignitaries every month it seems, yet not once has this been mentioned. The books don’t mention…A lot that I have seen.” “Perhaps your princesses aren’t what you thought, even the brief reports I was able to sneak from my family during my time in the castle...I heard the things they swept under the rug.” “Why?” That was all I could manage, it felt like my heart was breaking. Everything was wrong. They all looked to each other, the other two prompting Chrysalis to continue. “I don’t know exactly why, many reasons are possible. The sudden assumption of power went to their heads. They might also just hate other races or maybe they just don’t care for anything that isn’t pony. I haven’t found a single conclusive answer to the 'why' yet.” She sighed before straightening, “But we are going to get to the bottom to this,” her eyes narrowed as they all looked at me, “with or without your help.” ‘To protect the ponies, both common and noble’, that is what I swore. “Is the world really ending?” Ari answered this time, “Yes, why else would a god grab me out of bed and drop me out of the sky on another planet if not for something important. Despite how…Well, what he said hasn’t been proved false yet.” “Oh.” He was taken from his entire family, world, by a god…Gods were serious business, I mean, never has a god been recorded as interfering with life here. They were just beings that you prayed to, thanked, and respected. If the world ended then who would I protect? “Ari, is there any way I,” to protect the ponies, common and noble, “anything I can do to gain your trust?” My body’s discomfort didn’t matter then, nor the thought of escape, I was following my oath. Ponies would die if the world ended and although they looked to be the last to die, they wouldn’t know why, and I can still do something now. Gods don’t just take almighty Alicorns from other planets for giggles, they had the power for a reason. Thank you, Faust or whoever brought him here for giving us a chance to save ourselves. He took awhile to think, looking at me then eating, and even watching the waves outside the window. Chrysalis and Lyric watched me as I watched him, the silence eating away at my resolve. What if this was all a well thought out act? The siren can hypnotize masses with her voice. No. Gods don’t fool around. “You would work with somebeing that loves a ‘vile bug’,” cold blue eyes locked onto mine, “You would work hoof in hoof with us even if we did have to restrain your rulers?” I gulped and nodded as the oath repeated in my mind. I steeled myself as he gave me his full attention. “What made you change your mind, surely not one sob story from a ‘vile bug’?” I tried to appear as straight as I could while being tied up and laid on a table, “I don’t know how to prove to you I have changed, you are certainly right to not trust me, but I seek to learn the truth.” My eyes found Chrysalis’s as a door creaked off to the side. “The previous comments I made on you and your stallion were uncalled for, after seeing your work and feeding practices those words were incorrect. For that I ask for your forgiveness.” He waved a hoof at me as I glanced at him, “Furthermore, after what I saw and the fact that a god intervened I see the reality of your words…And what they mean for my oath. There would be no more ponies to defend and serve if the world ended.” His blue eyes were locked with Chrysalis’s before they returned to mine, slightly softer, at least I hoped I wasn't imagining it. “So I wish to help you under the understanding that no pony benefits if it all ends.” And to figure out exactly what kind of a pony I had pledged my services to. Calculating eyes watched me as I tried to stay still and match his gaze. Outside the harbor's activities continued on, the day still trailing on, and the smiths most likely were working on the inhibitors as we spoke. Quiet hoof steps drew our attention; the zebras exited the bedroom and looked between us before sitting across from Ari. His eyes locked onto Ayomide and she squirmed in place, shooting him a confused look as her ears splayed under his gaze. “Perhaps,” both Ayomide and I jumped in place, “I might trust you…But first I will talk with Kapera.” Glancing to the clock I saw that I still had two hours till they would return to have dinner with us and the pins and needles were back. I let my head lay back on the table as I listened to crunching of them eating. My eyes wandered around the room until an apple encased in gold landed in front of me. I blinked as the apple settled with a quiet thump on the table and the golden glow became a small knife. It began cutting the fruit into eights. Taking one into my muzzle I watched Ari, he didn’t so much as twitch an ear in my direction as he started his third bale. The Tip-Tapping of Nails.Author's Note This was supposed to be part of a double chapter...But editing is still underway on the second half so we are back to one chapter at a time. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be finished editing the other chapter. Happy reading The Tip-Tapping of Nails. **** Shallow Shale Ari A chill went up my back, despite the warm rays bathing me from the windows, and the sensation spread my feathers up and out. As they became a puffed up mess, i felt that odd gut feeling, like something was watching me. Releasing my breath, I swiveled my ears and tried to subtly glance around using my peripheral vision. Chrissy’s eyes were on my my wings as the mass of feathers rose and twitched, but it wasn’t her that I felt, the feeling came from behind me. Turning my head i saw nothing but clouds outside the windows. Maybe it was the fact that anybeing that could fly could just peek in and see me? A fact that even thinking about unnerved me. I wasn't supposed to be on this world, it was all god's choice, and quite frankly after all this. When the world is saved I'm disappearing with my new family, Zebrica will stay my home. I exhaled and looked around the room. Lyric and Chrissy appeared unaffected by the what I felt. Really, everybeing didn’t seem on edge. Echo was just lost in thought, his muzzle stuck in a frown after he had just essentially agreed to be an accomplice in the possible ponynapping of Equestria’s rulers. Chrissy gave me a small smile, her ears splayed and head cocked. Looking unsure as her smile wavered, she had yet to find the right words to dispel my instincts. She was aware of the paranoia I felt. But, until I solved the mystery of the ‘helpful’ intruder I was sure to feel like I was on the edge of a cliff. A intruder that helped was just so unlikely and nonsensical, especially when the last stalkers I had included a spy and assassin. So every time a shadow flitted past the window or the responsible birds landed with their subtle tip-taps on the roof I felt ready to go barreling into a fight. It was very strange to be aware of the craziness of my reaction yet be unable to stop it. Another shadow moved across the table. “It’s just the birds,” Lyric soothed again as I sucked in a breath, keeping her voice calm as my feathers slowly lay flat again. I was forcing them at that point. Right, of course it was just birds…And when Lyric followed me in the desert it was ‘just my imagination’, that feeling of somebeing watching me before in Shallow Shale wasn’t my assassin, and the princesses didn’t send a spy after me… I was having a hard time using logic on my instincts right now when every being wanted a piece of me, at least it seemed that way. Tip-tap… Beside me Chrissy started rubbing her muzzle along my neck, in a slow, drawn out fashion as she produced a light purr. My mare took care to avoid the few lashes that were at the base of my neck, instead nibbling at my mane, and it was sort of working. Her minstartions kept me from pacing the boat anyway. As smooth chitin moved along my side it pulled at my scabs, and I wanted to facehoof. I really should do something about my wounds before I saw the princesses. Walking in with half a tail, cracked hooves, and covered in scabbed over cuts wouldn’t be…It just didn’t seem like the best first impression. Be calm, you are so close to seeing the princesses, keep yourself in control. Exhaling slowly, I clenched my jaw as more noises that screamed ‘intruder’ came from the tin roof. The sweet smell of hay entered my nose as more birds danced, completely unrepentant to the havoc they were throwing on my instincts. I kept telling myself that their presence was to be expected. This was a harbor. But that didn’t really help my reactions. Okay, distract yourself; there is plenty to think about. Some topics I had already thought through, such as the trustworthiness of Moonlit Echo. He appeared honest, Chrissy even confirmed it with her uncanny ability to read ponies, and logically I could see his reasoning too. I mean, he goes from ‘the princesses are perfect, everything is great’ to this reality. If he didn’t resist the change, the sheer craziness of such a one eighty, then I would worry for his sanity and subsequent involvement in my affairs. But, I’m almost certain he really understands the precarious position the world is in now…Having said that, it didn’t mean I wasn’t going to get a second opinion and come up with a backup plan if he rebelled part way through the plan, his words only went so far. Or I could work out the plan more, a plan that was still very rough around the edges if I’m being honest. But I wasn’t used to planning for ponynapping or anything in that field and mystery novels only went so far. Maybe I should talk to Kapera and see her thoughts on it? Giggles brought me to the scene in front of me. Now the cousins were trying to subtly push the each other off the same pillow, wither to wither they were locked in place. Their brown and green eyes narrowed in a deadlock of will and determination as they tried to succeed in dethroning their opponent. Ignoring the fact that this table could seat twenty beings easily it was adorable. Ayomide’s lips turned up, ever so slowly as they snorted at each other. The apple she had been eating browned in the humid air. That smile alone was a reason to pause from my endless consumption and nearly equally endless trains of thoughts. My muzzle stretched into a smile as I watched their antics, Ayomide giggled slightly as Ayodele shifted under the strain, giving some cushion up to her cousin. It was a small smile that didn’t even show any teeth, but I think it was the first one I had seen her crack the whole time I had met her. The joy in the smile practically made her glow and it made her missing mane an insignificant afterthought. Warmth spread through my heart. To see my new friends reunited with their family and finally happy made me feel like I was actually doing something worhwhile. Not just that, it was the calm seas I spotted outside the window, languidly rocking the resting vessels along the many piers. Even the many beings that jeered and laughed jovially at each other as they ended another work day, that was normal and what I wanted for everybeing. The instincts stayed down, so I continued with the happy thoughts. My herd was well; Chrissy appeared content with her eyes half closed as she leaned against my barrel, and Lyric happily rubbing her full stomach. It was all-. Tip-tap, that sound repeated and sent my feeling of happiness off kilter again. Slowly I exhaled and looked to the clock. Come on Kapera, hurry up! I tried to block out the rapid pitter-patter of movement, focusing instead on the large hand as it edged closer to the top of the clock face. The small hand was so close to covering the six’s symbol, and all along the harbor beings were all going home to dinner. That meant Kapera would be stopping by, she would certainly distract me. I was now thankful that the gruff smith was so insistent on having dinner with us. Really, she was, even when I pointed out that she could probably get us out of her fur faster if she didn’t stay on the ship. That, if she instead spent that travel time making the inhibitors she wouldn't have to deal with my stupidity, the rodent had just repeated the time she would return. I like to think it was because we grew on her…Or it could be she noticed how twitchy I got after we didn’t find anybeing onboard, it was probably the latter. But, both my stomach and the clock agreed on the need for more food. And I, being now blessed with magic and currently stuck between two very cozy mares choose the new easier route to grab dinner. Faint crackles sounded in my head as I teleported a new barrel up, this one filled with those long purple fruits, and of course I brought up a plentiful amount of hay bales. They lined the center of the table and looked to be a richer green than the last batch. Which was better, they were less bran like then. Snaps echoed in the room as I cut the nearest binder twine, the ethereal knife disappearing as I licked my lips and prepared to dig in. “Not much of a cook, are you?” Echo said as his looked at the bales that flanked him with a raised eyebrow. “Truthfully, it hadn’t even crossed my mind to cook anything,” I gave him a weak chuckle as he gave me a deadpan look. It had crossed my mind. “We were on the road through mountains, the desert, swamps, and fields.” The terrain flashed through my mind, each place felt less and less hospitable, at least when compared to tropical Zebrica. “It was nice to just have food. I know I wasn’t picky about the state the food came in.” Especially when mythological beings like Hydras were just roaming about. Both of mares giggled and nuzzled me as I started on the sweet hay, happy for the brief respite it would provide me from my hunger pangs. "That's..." The thestral seemed at a loss as the bale of hay disappeared at a alarming rate. I remembered then why Chrissy thought I was always hungry: magic. She had once mentioned energy became magic, and if food was energy and I was a magical powerhouse then…Well, for perspective, an Alicorn can move the sun at full power. My theory was that since I had no magic before it meant I had to build up my magic. And consequently that meant I was always hungry, every moment of every day I had been here, and even now I was. Six bales felt like nothing to me. Not to mention what I noticed since I could see my aetheratic channels, it was my magical core. It always shone slightly brighter after I ate. Combined with Chrissy's information and that all but cemented my theory. “I can see that…” Echo finally got out, trailing off again as I continued to fight the empty feeling with a second bale. Chrissy narrowed her eyes at him, growing still beside me as Lyric snorted. With her ears back Lyric began, “There weren’t any chefs to cook for us, or any tables to eat off of, nor were there soft beds to curl up in.” Venom crept into her voice now and I began to worry for her, this reaction sounded like it was from more than his comment on the lack of culinary skill. Just what had he said to her while I wasn’t there? “We had to do what we could and made do with what we found.” Her eyes narrowed at Echo, “If you don’t like the options here,” she gestured to the table as her smile started to widen, “Our stallion will be more than happy to eat your portion.” He paused, looking from changeling to siren before gulping, and I almost felt bad for him. But he had to realize we weren't a castle and we were still recovering from fighting slavers. I hope the princesses don't need to be kidnapped, unlikely I know, especially when you considered the topic. But if they are like him... As giggles rose from my mares the colt snorted and started to track the knots and grains in the table. His ears splayed. Suddenly, he looked up at me. “I meant you do have a kitchen now, so you could make whatever you want now.” Okay, he wasn't the worst. Lyric’s expression softened somewhat at that. Her scales slid down my fur as she relaxed, cocking her head slightly at his frowning muzzle. Breathing deeply, I had new questions in my mind as I watched her muzzle go from frown to grimace, her eyes looking into the distance. That wall certainly did not hold any secrets. Questions like, just what had her foalhood been like? She briefly mentioned that she had learnt magic on the road, but that couldn’t have been easy. And why did they travel the roads with a foal? Was it normal a thousand years ago or was it because of the racism? Just how long had she lived like that? Better yet, how long had her family been gone? Would they be in for a culture shock too? It all crowded my mind as I watched her. As Lyric sensed my eyes she turned to me, a smile on her lips, and a dullness to her eyes. There was so much I didn’t know. But, before I wondered about my mare's family I had to focus on saving the world…Then I had to work out getting them back to this world. Oh joy, so much to do still. Aren’t I lucky? Bitterness welled up for a second, wishing for to rewind and see the exact moment I had doomed myself to capturing god's attention. Sure I loved my mares but...I was very sore and tired. Do you know how it feels to be constantly hungry? A light sensation came from my muzzle. I turned and saw Chrissy's muzzle retreating, another small smile on it. And I saw what was past her as well. Echo was staring at me now, eyes scanning my face as the bale shrunk in front of me. I hadn't even realized I was still eating. Stalks of hay tickled my throat as I looked back at him and waved a hoof in his general direction, which he just cocked his head at. Perhaps he didn't understand, but I had dismissed the idea of cooking long ago, about the same time I realized that the hunger never left me. Cooking would just prolong my hunger cramps. Sure, I still had the hope that I would reach a level of even partial fullness. I mean, the princesses surely didn’t live like this, they just couldn’t. As the hay incinerated in my stomach I let out a content sigh…And then there was the hunger again. It was several minutes after Echo returned to watching the clouds that loud bangs reverberated from the hull, one, two, and three slow thumps. And as it finished with a clap I smiled. Hallelujah, it was the signal to open up the ship. I realize it may sound paranoid to have a secret knock for a Airship. After all, who just comes up to an airship in a harbor? The harbor master maybe, but I wasn’t taking chances with this world. Do I need to remind everybeing of the stalker, assassin, and spy? Those were just the ones I was aware of. My instincts protested as I rose from between what both it and I agreed was both the most comforting and comfortable spot in the room. With stiff steps I made my way to the deck, and took a second to breathe in the salty sea breeze. It stank of fish. My hoof steps echoed slightly into the hull, the knocking stopped, and my ears swiveled. Then that tip-tapping had also returned, rapid as it repeated itself, and it sounded nearby. With a hoof poised to be set down, I listened behind me. Breath out. The noise was just birds. Just feathered nuisances that shouldn’t be calling anymore since the market had shut down for dinner time. In fact, I didn’t hear any bird’s caws or sailors. Yet the tip-tapping was still retreating. Breath in. It was gone, the noise that most definitely wasn’t birds ended nearly as soon as it had started. Shaking the agitated instincts from my thoughts, I made for the control room and opened the door. The light hum of gears turning filled the air for a short while, followed by the purposefully loud thumps of Kapera and the Minotaurs, and some vaguely disgusted noises. I think they were still a little annoyed that the smell still lingered on the second floor. Closing the hull, I waited by the staircase as they finally ascended it and blinked at the sight that greeted me. Before me my dinner guests stood laden with bags, far too many to be the project, and all were bulky. Intrigued by the sight I tried not to stare at the bags. “Well Ari, what’s with that look?” Kapera shot me a grin as she jostled her mysterious bags, producing soft thumps that drew my attention again. “Weren’t expecting any housewarming gifts?” Kapera certainly broke my expectation of her, I would have thought she would be more worried about the boat she owed somebeing then getting us welcoming gifts. I mean, she wouldn’t owe that boat if I hadn’t…Yeah, a lot of stuff wouldn’t have happened. Maybe I was growing on her? Recovering from the shock, I briskly shook my head, “Nope, can’t say that I expected this.” Not even a little bit. “It is…Wow,” I tried to articulate my surprise. Gennady looked giddy with his wide smile as he held his bag and watched my head go between them all. “Really, I wouldn’t have even guessed, I mean, I didn’t guess.” Dinari even looked happy as we made our over to the dining hall, the stoic heifer humming a upbeat tune. They had all cleaned up as well, something I still had to do. Kapera sported a red shirt, while the siblings both wore matching cream shirts. Gennady’s shirt was almost comical it was a couple sizes too big and hung loose on his muscled frame. It would have been funny had one sleeve not swung in the breeze. We all took a seat along the table, letting a comfortable silence reign as nods were given and pillows were sufficiently fluffed. With Echo’s position on the table only getting a slight raised eyebrow from the new additions. Satisfied with what she saw with the colt, Kapera roughly shoved a bale down the table so she could place the bags in front of me. A wide smile lit up her face as my mares looked between her and the bags. Kapera was very, very eager to see us open them, with small rounded ears wiggling as her eyes seemed to shine. “Okay, so this may not be what you were expecting from us," the upbeat tone made me chuckle. "But…I don’t know when I will be seeing you again and I wanted to p-prepare you,” her voice cracked slightly as her paw encompassed my herd in a sweeping gesture. We just smiled at her, the surprise getting to us as she reached in the first bag, which was the bag she had carried in. The bag itself was made of some reed or other woven stock, it was a nondescript brown and as plain as oatmeal. But it was what it contained that drew my interest, with its odd edges and bulging sides. “A book?” I queried as a thick, plain looking tome exited the bag with her paw. The bag lost some of its odd contours but remained bulky. Kapera just nodded, not speaking as she slid it across to me, but her smile got even wider as my herd and I looked at it. The hieroglyphs seemed very plainly stylized, with no pictures other than an ‘S’ shaped swirl that was embossed under the title. I wasn’t able to think of a more articulate response or appreciatory phrase, the old me would be very happy about receiving a book, but that me could read. It still intrigued me though, it might contain important knowledge like history or biology on Equus. Both my mares didn’t seem to know what to say either as the clock ticked onward. Her smile still grew wider, growing creepy as she grabbed the book and flipped through it, finally settling on a page that she turned to us. “I suggest you learn this spell sooner rather than later.” Everybeing peered at the book, eyebrows raised as their eyes traveled down the page. I looked imploringly at my mares for a translation of the page, but they were still reading it. I flashed a brief smile at the rodent before I looked back to my herd, what spell could she have suggested? A tracking spell or maybe security based spell? The Ayos snorted as Echo's chest shook. Sea-green eyes were locked with Kapera’s gaze. “Really,” my marefriend finally drawled out. My brow furrowed at her tone. “Consider it a friendly suggestion,” she replied as her smile turned down into a scowl, her nose scrunched into a flat expanse as her small ears flattened. Hearty laughter came from Dinari, while her brother had a hard, airless laugh going on. I have the strangest feeling that that isn't a spellbook, it almost felt like I am missing the punchline to a joke. No...Was it another cultural thing? Or was the spell a prank related one? My muzzle scrunched as they remained in a stare off. Lyric noticed my stupefied expression and filled me in, “it’s a localized noise canceling spell…” She didn’t finish whatever she planned on saying as I exchanged eyebrow raises with the smith; I tried to will my ears back as her meaning sunk in, and I failed and flinched at the help my mind provided. Memories of sleepless nights had returned, flashbacks of disturbing times where I would have to blare my headphones to cancel out my dorm mates guests…The laundry I would find afterwards, ugh, it wasn’t why I quit college but it had certainly made it easier to go through with it. “Point taken,” I acquiesced. After that, the gift reveal went on smoothly. Even my instincts took a backseat to the whole affair, the noises outside seemed to stay silent as well. From Kapera there were more books on various topics such as spell weaving and foal care, as well as a first aid kit. Strangely enough, the red and white bag also bore the Red Cross symbol, but when I asked them on the significance of the cross they just said it stood for increasing health, a literal plus sign. They didn’t know about any Geneva conventions or even any puns similar to it…Again, this world was very weird with it's selective nature of parallelism. Speaking of odd, Dinari got us blankets, lots of blankets. Really, all four bags she had were stuffed with blankets. But my mares fussed over them with great enthusiasm, rubbing their faces over them as the heifer gave me a wink. I was confused at the looks in everyone's eyes but couldn't think of how to word the question, instead filing it away for later. They were soft so I wasn’t complaining. But I still wondered if that wink hinted at cold winters. And it was right about then that it hit me. There weren’t any heating systems onboard or air conditioning either. Perhaps I should have ordered some…Sorry, problems for a different time. Lastly, Gennady got us gems. He brought us a bag full of enchantment grade gems along with the promise that if we needed one enchanted to just bring it in. Although Kapera grumbled about Gennady paying for the work on them he just hugged her. She didn't struggle. A happy grin was stuck on my face from such generosity, maybe it was their culture but it just made me feel a little more at home. The goodwill and thought in these gifts would be something my friends would have done, and…I had friends here now I guess. Foals were on the way. That grin wasn’t going to leave anytime soon. Soon enough the cool light of the moon peered into the dining room, watching on as the happy small talk drew to a lull, and oversaw the yawns that eventually escaped the Ayo’s muzzles. Both mares had given up on moving the each other off the pillow and simply ended up sharing it. “I think it might be bedtime for some of us.” I said, holding back an amused chuckle as the cousins opened their jaws wide again, their noses wrinkling as beads formed at the corners of their eyes. Blinking them away, Ayodele responded, “N-nooooope,” her muzzle started to part again before she clamped it down and shook her head. “Really,” I couldn’t help but smile as I watched their resistance; it reminded me of the twins, a bitter sweet comparison but none the less true. Ayodele stifled another yawn while Ayomide nodded…With her eyes closed. Exchanging a quick glance with my mares, I found their smiles echoed the amusement I felt, and I took that as a go ahead with my plan. This was just being merciful on the cousins since we still had a long journey ahead. Startled snorts came from the sleepy heads as most likely the pillow grew smaller to them, farther away from their wilting forms than they probably remembered, but their meager protests soon died as I added a slight rocking motion to my golden field that held them securely. The muted tactile sensation of the magic bringing a bittersweet smile to my face. Just like the twins too. Standing up, I couldn’t help by marvel at the similar effects rocking had on the equines, although I’m fairly sure ponies and zebras didn’t carry their babies around like humans did the rocking still worked like a tranquilizer on them. By the time I had walked all ten steps to the bedroom door they had given a final content yawn and adjusted themselves midair. Not bothering with the light, I walked into the room and deposited them barrel to barrel on their sheets. Their innocent murmurs and twitching hooves easily concealing the rebel slave and trained assassin that lay beneath, instead I saw two slightly small mares that lazily shuffled as the light washed over their bed from the dinning room. They looked at peace. My decision to let Ayomide live still felt right, especially now that she was happier…I didn’t see the same look that I saw in that cat’s eye. A look that was hard to describe, but it was the type that you got from Ted Bundy type characters, promising that the niceness was only surface deep. He relished in giving me pain, a mad happiness there. Echo didn’t have that look either. I returned to the dining room, carefully closing the door behind me as I noticed the near absence of hay bales on the table. That was…Eleven hay bales today, and I still felt the sensation of my stomach flexing, searching for a morsel it may have overlooked. The Thestral gave a yawn now, bringing me back to how late it was getting. If I wanted to leave tomorrow I had better ask Kapera for more restraints tonight. Getting comfortable between my mares, I glanced at his tied hocks and restrained leathery appenadages. My ears splayed a little as I looked over his unkempt state. His ropes were tight and his fur showed the days he had been stuck like this. A dark spot peeked through the ropes. That had to chaff. He was going to help me, our cause, and I still had him tied up. But the slowly blinking eyes and yawning muzzle covered up a trained guard. Despite what the god must have seen in me I still didn’t exactly qualify to take on guards. I wasn’t trained in any fighting techniques. My experience was limited to just bar fights, the fights I had in this world and my instincts. The last two were nearly the same thing until recently. I wasn’t completely confident that my meager experience would be enough. Well, it probably would be since I had magic and had killed far more than I would like to admit. But, with Chrissy not even using her magic and both of them recovering from the fight I wasn’t willing to take that bet. Even under the matted fur I saw his muscles ripple, they strained against the ropes as he tried to make the table comfortable. And Kapera was already volunteering to do so much…She had already done so much for me. My wing wrapped around Chrissy then, my tail moving on its own as I gazed at the smith as she chatted with her workers. Gennady had lost an arm, those don’t grow back. But I needed all the help I could get. I didn’t know quite how to start this request or even what would work to ensure his captivity. Thestrals could obviously fly, but they had no horn to perform spells, and possessed fangs…The presence of such canines suggesting a reason for them. Chrissy’s were defensive, Lyric’s were hereditary I assumed, and Kapera’s were practical as she had eaten fish last time we had dinner…But he ate the fruit without complaint and no being seemed concerned about his sharp canines, so maybe they were a trait that served no purpose anymore? I really didn’t know and those basic facts didn’t help me. It still boiled down to the fact that I knew next to nothing about Thestrals. In my peripheral vision I saw Echo’s eyes find my face, almost as if he knew I was thinking about him again. Releasing a sigh, I threw caution to the wind. “Please let it be known that I appreciate all that you are doing and have done for us,” I gestured a forehoof at the presents peeking out of their bags. Although one of the blankets may be taken soon if Chrissy’s attentive eye on it meant anything. The smith’s smile stayed sincere as she turned from her workers. Kapera merely waved a paw at the presents, “You are saving the world Ari, don’t read too much into my help.” She paused then, “But I still want to meet the foals,” Yellow eyes moved slightly to the slim forms of my mares. I didn’t know what she expected to see, they were only three and four weeks along after all. “Of course, somebeing needs to deliver the foal’s magic inhibitors.” Chrissy said, fluttering her wing slightly under mine. Lyric nodded, “And it couldn’t hurt to have a back up foalsitter,” we all blinked as she continued on, “Especially one as fierce as yourself.” Kapera laughed as she slapped the table and nodded to us, apparently not at all fazed at being assigned as our foalsitter. “My family will eventually want a break from foalsitting after all.” That final statement seemed to hang over us for a moment as the clock seemed especially loud, by then we were all aware of their absence. Echo squirmed in place and stared at Lyric, his eyes going wide for a second before he released a breath. A disgruntled squawk came somewhere down the pier. We all paused, ears twitched, and our breaths were held. Only the soft breathes sounded from the bedroom. But we all waited a second longer. No more noises sounded off, but I would be doing an evening check over the ship, just in case. Giving Lyric a small nuzzle I shifted on our cushion, feeling my feathers return to their places as I turned my focus to the present. “What I was getting at before was that I need to ask for some more help,” I let my eyes pointedly look to the prisoner shifting on my table before moving back to the smith. Her lips formed a flat line but she rolled her paw for me to continue. “You see, Echo here has seen the light and wants to help us, truly now.” I let a nervous chuckle escape me, “He came to realize that gods don’t just toss beings around for giggles and that he if the world ends he becomes obsolete.” Sighing, I let it out; I knew it was pointless to keep my thoughts from him. “But as much as I want to untie him I need a backup plan in case he decides I’m crazy or that my treatment of his rulers is too extreme.” Golden eyes watched me, one pair turned into a calculating look, while the other started off surprised before they narrowed. “You don’t trust me still?” The narrowed eyes watched me, following everything from my twitching tail to my splayed ears. Shaking my head at him I tried to keep my smile on as I felt guilt well up. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust his words, but seeing it in action was different. Moonbutt would probably feel betrayed; his rulers would try anything to get his help. I know I would. “I just can’t stand the thought of risking my new family and the fate of the world. You honestly sound like you can relate to that at least, surely you want the best for your country, and of course your family.” With a slow exhaled sigh he nodded, hesitating for a second before he responded, “I understand.” “Okay.” Heads turned back to the master smith as she observed the Thestral. Scratching her chin, she muttered something to herself, golden eyes traveled up and down his body as he lay as rigid as he could under them. “Untie the colt for me, I want to measure something.” The Thestral's eyes practically bugged out of his head as I lifted him into the air, his mouth trying to produce words that failed to make sense. The rope slowly uncoiled itself, starting around his wings before it connected to the bundle of rope binding his legs. All the while he looked shocked, almost afraid that he was dreaming this, and his tufted ears were frozen in a splayed position. We all watched as the rope formed a pile on the table. Almost there, just a little bit more. My magic brought the thick rope around again and again, only this time something reflected dully in the glow from the gem lighting the room. With the rope holding it captive gone the nail floated freely in my golden field, and it also revealed the intent of my prisoner. He was good, very good. I had to give him that. My mares snorted as they tensed beside me, both probably looking as intense as the rodent across from me. Changing the course of the rope, I made it slither around the colt’s neck, coiling around the unkempt fur till his eyes were pleasantly bugged out again. Our eyes locked and the room shrank down to him. “So, I would say you had better get talking before I forget why I trusted you, because this-,” I levitated the nail in front of his line of sight, “-Doesn’t remind me why. In fact it makes my herd look foalish for even believing you.” I really had believed his words, they made sense, and Chrissy had sensed truth in them…But, maybe he was a really good liar. That would make sense. Guards had to remain in control under pressure right? Perhaps I was going too far threatening him after he had agreed to help us, but I was holding myself back considering I wanted to bite and stomp him. He had fooled us. A nail had been at the ready to bail him out when the opportunity arose. Why? Many reasons jumped out at me but it all boiled down to the fact that he had a way to escape, he had a plan. What else had he been planning? An audible gulp came from him. “I tucked that away before I met you…You have to understand what I walked in on,” He shuddered. But I didn’t let that affect me, he wanted my sympathy, and my mare’s had mentioned his bad timing. “How I suspected…What I thought I was going to meet, to not look for a way to escape would have been naïve.” He took a deep breath; the phantom feeling of his fur on my magic ruffled my feathers. "But…Then you, all of you showed me a new world,” more like a worse world. His wide draconic eyes scanned the room, “And I started to find inconsistencies in my knowledge.” So we proved you wrong, that isn’t hard to do considering where you lived. Snorts traveled around the room and small sleepy neighs escaped the closed door. The clock ticked away, the hand steadily creeping closer to nine. “But you didn’t toss it, the nail was there the whole time, and I’m willing to bet that if Dinari hadn’t kept hold of you we wouldn’t be talking now.” My other wing wrapped around Lyric as visions of my mares being surrounded by copies of the Thestral flooded my mind. It didn’t take a genius to deduce what he would do if he escaped. Echo’s eyes dropped, “Yes, I planned to run and get help.” My heart raced as I snorted at him. He simply sighed and deflated under our gazes as he looked up. “But I didn’t know if your deal was real, what you would really do, and I can’t, couldn’t just betray the ponies responsible for the integration of my species into equestrian life.” His eyes looked at me, big and desperate for my sympathy. But my mind halted there, the anger derailed at his words, and curiosity took front seat. That was an interesting statement…Wait, the pieces clicked into place a little. He was a species from Equestria, but Chrissy had mentioned the three tribes, not four. Earth ponies, Pegasus, and Unicorns… Where had the Thestrals come from then? The nail could wait. His ears perked up as he found something in my expression, slitted eyes growing brighter under the moon’s light as I cocked my head. “What do you mean by that exactly?” “I mean that if it weren’t for Princess Luna my ancestors would have remained traveling nomads, going from cave to cave for shelter and scavenging orchards-.” “Hold up,” he stopped, jaw hanging open as I pressed onward. “So when did Luna do this? I am trying to piece this whole thing together still.” As he closed his eyes and thought of the answer I threw pointed looks to my mares, especially Chrissy, and both nodded after a second. Kapera started, “Well, I could tell you that-.” But Echo seemed to have gathered his thoughts and blurted out, “Over a thousand years ago!” The smith scowled but I ignored her grumbles, this seemed important. Why would rulers that were clearly racist suddenly include a new race to their country? “Long, long ago King Arcturus and Queen Carinae died. With their death their daughters were placed in charge of the country, and by default the sun and moon.” He shuffled a little in place, “It caused uproars across the continent-.” “Tonight bat,” the smith snarled out. With a snort at her he turned back to me, watching as I removed the remaining rope from his legs, and opted for it to encircle his entire neck. I trusted her a hell lot more than him. “R-right, cre…O-other beings became uneasy and change was in the air. Princess Luna took over the moon and night sky. But most ponies slept through the night and she felt unhappy with ponies sleeping through her gift to them. But, Thestrals are nocturnal and when she met Chief Shadow Moon she was overjoyed. Treaties among the clans were drawn at first, but soon those were turned into integration policies, and soon after that all the Thestral clans were officially made Equestrian citizens.” A happy smile lingered on his face before he pressed on, chest expanding as he looked at me, “And the princess even replaced her entire Lunar guard with warriors from the clans, one from each clan originally. We were better suited to the night than the unicorn and pegasi were.” He watched me as I looked to Chrissy, she nodded, and then I turned to Lyric. She also confirmed his story with a terse nod. “So your princess gave your species a home in the world, a special job,” and apparently that gives you permission to be racist. “But as generous as that is that still doesn’t excuse her, no, their continuing racism to other species. In fact, I don’t see how that is supposed to make me trust you more; you have a deep seated loyalty to those princesses and you hid a nail for a possible escape.” I watched his face closely, “What is to stop you from scrounging up another nail or worse?” The rope held his attention for a second, “Nothing really…But my oath says I’m supposed to protect ponies and I can’t if they all die.” He looked at me, muscles tightening under my magic, “Besides, I was sent to watch you and make sure you were all right…Princess Luna…She was afraid that something bad was going to happen to you.” Is she a prophet too or was she working with the pirates? No, that was silly I had encountered them by accident…Maybe? That could explain how the princesses don’t do anything about slavery, or any of this world’s problems. But that doesn’t quite add up, he believes her too intensely. Something about this whole puzzle is off. How would they maintain a facade so well publicly? They surely can't be idiots... He appeared sincere...And I could always catch him. My mares looked as conflicted as I felt. “Here Kapera, measure away,” I shrugged, releasing the rope as I looked inward. Nodding to myself as I followed the flow of magic. Yellow and bright, the crackling energy was immense, and more than enough to handle him. I also had a couple spell books that could hold a solution. A barrier spell surely existed or maybe a spell that would stick him to the floor till I released it? He seemed to believe his oath and his princess's orders. The smith gave me a long look as I lowered him onto the table, watching as he wobbled in place before she shrugged. Grabbing the rope quickly, her paws proceeded to measure the distance between his hocks and hocks to his neck using the rope, marking places on the rope with her claws as her eyes focused on the task. As Kapera finished up she gave me another long look, “Are you sure about this Ari?” It felt like every being in the room watched me then, ears forward as my internal thoughts warred against each other. It was a risk. My mares leaned into me. But Gennady’s recommendation of his sister and this smith’s apprentice had proved to be amazing, not to mention Kapera's previous work had been horribly effective. That backwave of energy had wiped me out. She was beyond what I expected. “Yes Kapera, I am sure.” A short nod escaped the master smith as she made for the bedroom, running her digits along the rope as she went. “Kapera,” the smith paused as did her workers, “In the morning can I talk the plan through with you? I would really appreciate the advice of a seasoned warrior.” The corner of her mouth twitched. “Is that a yes?” Her head bobbed, “Yah, I suppose I have will have five minutes to spare.” She started to open the door, “Oh and I should have the inhibitors and shackles done by lunch time tomorrow.” That proved to be her final word on the matter as the smiths and Gennady retired to the room, powering on the light to the disgruntled murmurs of the zebras. The Minotaurs gave us quick goodnights as yawns tried to escape them, and seven became four. Yes, they left the wobbling colt on the table top for me to deal with. He was trying to steady himself as we watched him now. He was snorting and muttering about Tartarus as his fore legs finally gave out, Echo got a really close view of the table then. Levitating him to the ground I shared a look with my mares, both of which had splayed ears as they looked at his weak shaking. “So I guess not using your legs is catching up?” He snorted once again as I grabbed the bags in my magic and let him go. “Ouch,” I stood over him as he kissed the floor. My mares stuck to my barrel. “You know it’s getting late and we have a lot to do tomorrow, how about we take a walk?” I know what I said. He looked at me incredulously as my mares did the same. “A walk,” Chrissy questioned, looking at me closely, and failing to find something she frowned. “Exactly, he needs to regain feeling in his legs and I won’t be able to fall asleep till I have searched the ship again.” No being responded as murmurs trickled out from the bedroom. “I don’t think it was just birds making noise,” I began to walk to the door. “In fact, this world has practically proven that these feelings of being watched are usually true.” My mares caught up, Chrissy chewed her lip while Lyric had her ears back and eyes glued to the floor. But Moonlit Echo was still wobbling slowly forward, far behind us. “Hey!” Ignoring him I continued levitating him along with the bags, “Right so this takes care of two things at once, maybe even three if I catch somebeing.” With barely any thought I touched a hoof to the jewel on the wall; if I didn’t think about the jewel then it was just like a light switch back home. The moonlight highlighted the worry in Chrissy’s face, her ears splayed and eyes wide. “But what if it’s Diamond dogs? Or what if they have knock-out gas?” “I can teleport things now.” Her mouth opened again and I darted in for a kiss pushing my love for her in it, “Chrissy, I promise you I will just search the ship. I won’t leave it unless this colt decides to make a break for it, and even then everybeing will be in such a shock seeing me I will have plenty of time to get away if they attack.” With a shaky nod she pressed into me, her wing buzzing faintly still. Looking at Lyric I saw a similar sight, her ears splayed and eyes wide. My last walk was probably fresh in their minds, it didn’t help that this was the same town it had happened in. “So when we have cleared the ship, I will tuck him in with Dinari and head straight back to you.” I nuzzled both briefly as I opened our bedroom door. “Then we finally test out our bed, or cuddle, or sleep. We will do whatever you two want to do.” I placed the bags beside the nightstand and looked back and forth between my mares. “Okay?” Hesitantly Chrissy nodded and Lyric quietly asked, “You will come back?” I winced as her father's trip came back to me, there was no way I would do that to her. “Definitely,” I exclaimed before exchanging a final nuzzle good bye, taking Echo with me to the control room. I was on my own ship after all, in a nearly empty harbor, and I’m sure the other darkened boats were harmless. They were just fishing vessels after all. Hide and Seek.Author's Note Let's see who was right and who can guess why... Also, double chapter post! Hurrah! After these two ones we hit the sky and we all the know what that means Happy reading Hide and Seek. **** Shallow Shale Moonlit Echo My fur tried to stand on end but the mats inhibited the action, and the shaking of my muscles added a new pain on top of the tugging. Well, it was more of a fear of pain, although there was pain in my muscles. My imitation of a new born foal was accurate to the floor worship. This had better be worth it. Little Grims from Tartarus seemed to hover around my legs, sticking me even tinier pins as they giggled behind their cloven hooves. Spasms ran through my muscles through their dark magic and yet I was still helping search my warden’s ship…No, Ari was ‘helping’ me regain feeling in my legs. I had feeling in them. That feeling he couldn’t be ignorant to, everypony has felt a little of this sensation before, but he appeared as unrepentant to the situation as the invisible Grims were for inflicting the pain. That stallion’s ‘slow’ pace was too fast for me still. Keeping my wings outstretched I grimaced and took another step. Only half paying attention to his glances back at me and the subsequent frowns he shot my way. Complaining wasn’t worth it at this point. It still was taking a lot of self control to not ask him what he was looking at, it wasn’t like I was going to fly off. My word meant more than that. And I had to solve this mystery, not just who was following him, although that intrigued me as well. But the real question of just who were the princesses? How much of what I knew was real? And of course to what end was this all going to? They spoke of peace and friendship…But they had fought the most conflict.They liberated the crystal ponies, well, sort of. But they banished discord! Yet, they less than a week’s flight away from them there was slavers capturing beings and they didn’t know?! Looking at the moon through the control room’s window I couldn’t help but sigh. Ari moved around the room for the fourth time, his rough shape contrasting with the white spires of the castle I held in my mind. The orderly barracks at the base of the spire so far from this world, they had order, and weren’t… I blinked as the scabs on the Alicorn’s back shifted in the cool light. My pain was still present as I felt confusion cloud my mind, the harried circles of thought running around on how I was not dead yet. Not that I wanted to die, this pain would pass. It was just that I should have been bucked halfway to the moon or at the very least tied up again. Instead I was walking, wobbling around a control room while my target searched for a trace for the intruder. Should I be helping? Probably, but I was still working on being able to walk without using my wings for balance. And I didn’t mind letting him look on his own, again, not that I wasn’t grateful to be free and walking. But, I would have loved to be free sooner, or at least not hogtied. Have you ever tried to use the washroom when you are tied up? But I digress, that never happened, especially if Night Glider asks. I went on vacation after all, not on a secret mission. A mission that had somehow, in a roundabout way had led to working with the stallion that I was sent to watch. Ari snorted before he silently walked back to the steering wheel. We had an intruder to find and the scarcely furnished control room was clearly empty. “Find anything yet?”I asked Ari as he sniffed the board for the umpteenth time; all the while I strained to keep my voice interested as pain ran through me. Before I could ask again I was forced to back pedal, my instincts saving me just in time to dodge his tail as he suddenly turned. Despite how he looked he moved very quickly. “Hmm,” he blinked as his eyes regained focus, and with a cocked head looked back at me. I froze under his cool stare. “Oh,” I said it slowly as I leaned forward a little in interest. “No, nothing different,” His voice was growing more disgruntled as his brow furrowed. “That weird smell is still here.” Weird smell, I inhaled and couldn’t understand what he meant, everything smelled normal to me. He noticed my confusion, “It’s that musky sort of smell. Do you recognize it?” Giving the clearly OPID suffering stallion a quick glance, in which I saw his intent look, and knew how my evening would be spent. Buck...I wanted his trust and so I returned to sniffing. Ari gave me a curt nod as he went to sniff the wheel. The little red jewels stayed suspended in their tube, occupying my eyes as I tried to filter through the scents. The moon seemed too foreign to me to kept my gaze on it, it called up feelings that didn’t help identify the ‘musk’ as Ari put it. Nothing was unusual in what I took in, nothing ‘musky’. Well, I didn’t know what he meant by ‘musk’, it was so vague. Like a cloud, musk could be any number of things, especially to those that are unfamiliar with the scent. So perhaps I could just be too familiar with everything. After getting tracking drilled into your nostrils for a good thirty weeks all smells sort of fade into one familiar mass, unless I was looking for one in particular this would be near impossible. There were simply too many types of musk. Might as well throw him a bone… “Well, I smell mares.” That was an easy one. But, instead of being satisfied with that he simply nodded and gave me his full attention. I really shouldn’t be encouraging this...It did, kind of, feel good to have him listen to me. Certainly, it was better than being carted around like a sack of flour. “I can also smell zebra, oil, dirt, changeling, your hybrid, and basically every other being that could have been on the ship.” There were so many scents and most of them didn’t strike me as suspicious. He looked a little deflated at my response, “I mean, who knows who handled that board before it came on the ship, or even what worked on this ship.” I took an uncertain step toward the door and winced as my muscles screamed again. “Zebrica has been hiring anybeing with skills for years to try and catch up with Equestria.” “I wonder why.” Ari muttered, and looking up from my hooves I saw his ears fold back. Blue eyes turned cold once more as he moved past me. The interest he held in my opinion was lost. My mouth loved my hoof. Of course they wanted to advance in technology! If I had the threat of being taken away to become some Dragon’s dinner or Arabian’s slave I would be fighting against it too. Species wouldn’t matter if they had a skill I needed…Thestrals were similar really; we had a skill that surpassed other species. Our night vision was on par with a vildkatt, if not better. Is that why Princess Luna chose us? No…Maybe…She just wanted ponies to appreciate the beauty that her night held. My eyes closed, she didn’t really make the night. I mean…Ari had said that they were both doing something unnatural with the sun and moon. They were supposed to move on their own. So was my princess just…I couldn’t even finish the question as the room boiled down to the glow of the moon. My ears dropped as a heavy weight settled inside my chest. Manipulating things was nothing new to them. And the weather…It was controlled as well, made to be what they approved, and that was just what I knew. Had I trained for a falsity as well? Shaking off the question I focused on the task at hand, the mission, this one and not the one Luna gave me. Ari was going to save Equestria from the fate the other countries were facing and I couldn’t just let this stalker do whatever they wanted. With the light powered down, Ari quietly sighed and moved hesitantly to the doorway, but my perception of the room still appeared clear to my eyes. The corners bathed in a clear distinctive light that didn’t come from the moonlight. Ahead of me Ari stepped forward, slowly making his way until the moonlight illuminated the deck in front of us, and only then did his hooves step sure again. Tense muscles relaxed slightly as well, letting his feathers lay flat. I had stopped even keeping track of that reaction, seeing as this situation really bugged him this defensive puffing was happening every five minutes…Okay, maybe less often but it happened a lot. I didn’t want to be the intruder. As we returned to the deck he surprised me and stopped. The stallion’s eyes were on me as his ears swiveled. “So you guarded the princesses, eh?” “Just Princess Luna actually, I am part of her personal guard.” He nodded along, keeping one ear on me, and the other still swiveling. “Although if Princess Celestia ever came to the night court I would guard her as well,” I replied as I thought back to the debacle that the court had become lately. Did he realize how much gossip his letter had started? “Court?” Ari practically snorted out the word as a small smile broke out onto his muzzle and I perked my ears at him. Some hope entered by chest, his eyes looked interested again. Keeping my composure I strained till I had caught up to him, “Yes, there is the Day Court and Night Court. A place where the populace may come and air their needs in the form of petitions,” a shudder passed through me as I recalled the amount of petitioners that had been storming the courts, it turned a relatively calm shift in a chaotic nightmare. If ponies still didn’t hold a fraction of fear for us then it would have been unmanageable. Another shudder almost came over me as I pictured the drama that would ensue when he turned finally turned up. Nothing was ever going to be normal again…The weight returned, twisting my heart and slowing my breath. Luna as she tried to keep her composure before me, her worry clearer than her moonlight. He continued to chuckle at the idea, before he grew quiet and he gazed at his hooves. Eerily familiar distance in his eyes as watched something I couldn’t see. I still had only three or four days to turn him into a normal stallion, somehow, and I know it would be hard. He didn’t seem to care for normal or more likely he didn’t know what normal was on Equus. Everything here must be strange for him. I couldn’t imagine landing in a new world…Unaware of the rules and told to save it. But Ari was handling it well, I guess. I really had no comparison for this. The breeze ruffled my fur, tugging at my mats once again, and lifting my wilting wings up. Adrenaline whispered in my memories as I had the sudden desire to soar and glide among the clouds…I was unbound. But I couldn’t fly. I wasn’t really expecting to be roaming free after he found the nail and this little amount of trust he was showing was precious. The truth was bound to come out with Ari around; he just had this way to throw status quo out the window. A siren hybrid existed, changelings weren’t evil, and the world wasn’t peaceful. Both our muzzles opened and sighs escaped. An intruder was out there and here I was wishing for stuff I couldn’t have, questioning the night’s light in a futile conversation. Our hooves make faint noises as the slow walk resumed and the faintest tugs deepened my scowl. The stairs approached and Ari waited for me, splaying his ears as I focused on remaining upright. “So the guards are divided into different types then?” The dark stallion queried, steadying me with a hoof as we looked down into the first floor. We didn’t move. “Yes, Solar and Lunar divisions. And each branch is divided into different squads. Not to mention each branch has a personal guard for the princess that commands it.” I replied automatically. Thankfully that was cadet level information, buck, I’m sure most school age colts knew that. My eyes and mind were elsewhere then. Never had stairs seemed as scary as they did right then, looking down the steep descent only added to the shaking in my knees as I tried to think this through. I could…No; one look at my shaking knees told me otherwise, I would certainly tumble, and my wings were cramping up. Perhaps I could slide down on my rump? It would be embarrassing but I wasn’t asking for help from Ari, I was a trained guard. This staircase was nothing compared to the Everfree Forest or the Living Maze. Yet it looked like a long way down. Ari nodded absently and started ahead of me. Carefully he placed his hooves on each step, growing more somber as he descended. The stallion’s muscles tensed with each step, the dark cracks on his hooves made a hollow echo with each new plank. But my hooves refused to move. My hooves didn’t have cracks at least, I could totally do this. Now- I blinked- I was floating in his magic again. Briefly I scowled at him before composing my expression to a grateful smile. Sure I was happy to avoid an embarrassing moment, but being levitated down was almost as bad as being carried around by the heifer again. I wasn’t a little colt that needed help; I had fought for my position! A sharp muscle spasm traveled across my wing and made me clench my jaw. But…I did need to recover. Days of staying still were still catching up to me. Yell artificial light illuminated the room and forced me to blink at the change. “Thank you,” it wouldn’t harbor good will if I was rude to him. Despite how much I would like to snap at him for assisting me I needed all restraint I could with him, especially after the nail incident. I shouldn’t be here, walking free, and yet he was allowing it. Sorry, I know I mentioned that already but it really grated on me. My captain wouldn’t have let a prisoner walk free like this; he would say it was crazy. Ari was crazy…The good type, I think. He just shrugged and looked down the spotless floor one way, and finding the right half empty he looked to the equally deserted left half. There was no pony here or any other being. But he cocked his head, swiveling his ears, and turned right again. The Alicorn was heading straight for the crate labelled ‘Katlego’s Supply Store’, his eyes were narrowed. Making my way over I saw why he had investigated it, the nails were missing from the lid’s corners, and although the lid was perfectly aligned it with the edges it wasn’t secured like the other four crates were. Was it a thief? No, nothing added up for a thief. Ari had nothing to steal, well nothing easy to steal. Who would steal an airship? Only a stupid thief…And they weren’t silent enough to be a competent thief. I had heard them padding around the dining room last night. Sure, they could walk with hardly a sound, but I wouldn’t have paid any attention to the noise if they hadn’t bumped into the table, several times. A clumsy thief…I doubted it, and last night also ruled out the intruder being a killer. Stabilizing the ship’s steering instead of killing the Alicorn right beside the wheel was just stupid. They didn’t even kill the changeling! It made no sense. So I didn’t know what to expect with the motivation so unclear. I fought down my shaking as we both tensed, he lifted the lid in his magic, and my training kicked in. Getting my unruly legs to fold into a crouch, I leaned back as the contents were revealed. We were ready for anything to pop out, yet nothing attacked us, and aside from the faint hum of his magic this floor remained quiet. Our mystified gazes took in the neatly stacked planks in the crate, noting the distinct gap between the top layers of odd sized ones. They had pried this open…But with what? Magic was ruled as any sane equestrian would have killed the changeling. So it had to have been opened by hoof. But there were no tools around. Leaning into the crate for a second, Ari looked to me and whispered, “The same smell is all over these boards.” Before I could comment on the possibility of workers his magic suddenly had me above the crate, Ari’s eyes pointedly looking from me to the crate. Exhaling slowly, I reached my muzzle down and inhaled, only finding the smells of zebras and gryphons, both of which could have been workers at the supply store. “Ari, all I smell is the workers.” Placing me back on the floor, I could tell he wasn’t backing down with how his eyes narrowed and his easy pinned back. “And what do the workers smell like? Anybeing have a musky smell?” His whisper grew more forceful as I frowned at him. “I don’t know what ‘musky’ means to you.” I let out a sigh, “But I smell zebra mares, zebra stallions, and gryphons of both genders as well. Which make sense, the coast often employ gryphons when there is heavy lifting or anything with heights is involved.” A frown was growing on his face, “But that doesn’t mean that somebeing isn’t on this ship.” That was for sure, something was definitely on the deck last night. I could understand his thought process though, the odd smell was most likely the intruder’s smell, and tracking down somebeing that felt the need to sneak around was pretty important. Why sneak around if they weren’t killing or stealing? Too little was known to make any sense right now, not to mention my lack of sleep was getting to me. Still, their actions were all over the place and would have had me searching the castle…If I were at home. The weight returned as I looked away from the crate, a strange disappointment went through me as I looked up. Back in Canterlot, Night Glider and I would have secured the area for the princesses before retiring for the night. Which, I guess is what Chrysalis and Lyric were to Ari, his princesses. He was constantly fawning over them or worse. Oh don’t shake your head at me. I wasn’t a prude or anything, but there was such thing as too much affection. Especially when I was still trying to not gag at the thought of him rutting either of his mares. They just weren’t my cup of tea. I bite my tongue, my eyes widening as the world moved once more. Golden magic lifted me once again as we descended to the literal maze of food. I would say it was enough to feed an army, but with the amount this Alicorn ate I didn’t see it lasting longer than a year. Setting me down he made eye contact and put a hoof to his lips, I nodded as I let the training in me take over. Ears upright and performing swivels every three seconds, tail held rigid to prevent accidental brushings, and slow, deep breaths through the nose. Okay, this is going to be fun. This felt just like the training exercises in week forty, which were stealth based operations. We had to navigate a living maze, The Living Maze, and our instructors laid traps for us. The exercises firmly reinforced the notion of never letting your guard down. It wasn’t that the traps were life threatening, it was more like everypony knew and would know for weeks if and where you had been caught. Pink dye, everywhere, and it certainly didn’t make the future missions easier. With a cautious wobbly step, followed by a slightly surer one, I proceeded slowly beside Ari. I stayed in a crouched position as we started down the first aisle. Quiet bore down on us. His attention was ahead of us, taking in the shadowed areas with apprehension as I focused on the sounds. With only the faint magical hum from below me to keep track of the time we crept on. The nearly silent hoof steps faded to the background as the white noise of the engines began to captivate me. Slowly the enchanted technology began to emit what resembled a lullaby to me; a calm humming that fought my training for control. Even as my hooves moved on my trained reactions continued to waver, my ears were stilling and tail drooping by the time we had reached the halfway point. The air was still. And the wood beneath me was covered in a menagerie of prints, all too mixed up to make heads or tails of them. But I tried to anyway, trying to picture the perfect hiding place down here. While the shadows of the bales and barrels loomed over me. Some were precariously stacked, silently threatening to topple on me. Humming continued from below as I tried to stay awake, somebeing was stalking the chance a god gave us to save ourselves. Come on, where would I hide in this maze? My steps grew more confident, surer as we encountered nopony in the long corridor. The shaky spasms slowing as my muscles ached more insistently, but they grew steadier. I felt happier as that realization occurred yet also more concerned as we moved on. Aside from the crate there was no sign of an intruder. With my motor control improving I took more time to scan the area, really looking over the food. If somebeing was down here they had to eat something. The hay bales were untouched, except from where Ari had been teleporting from, and they went right to the ceiling. The barrels were in the same condition except not stacked quite as high. There was no room underneath the stacks as they formed a gapless line and the space above the barrels was so small that hiding up there was foalish. Unless you were a small colt no being could fit. My frown deepened and nothing came to me, the food was as orderly and tightly packed as one could imagine. And this intruder made as much sense as what I had learned of this world, namely none. Who sneaks onboard, rustles around, helps to control the steering and doesn’t touch… Wait, I take that back. Unfurling a wing Ari blocked my path. We both halted as the same sight greeted us. I peeked over the dark feathers as they began to rise and my mouth tried to work the air before I closed it. We just stared at the barrel of Asipo melons. The lid was crooked. Blue eyes whipped from me to the barrel before he took a big breath in, probably trying to find his elusive scent. I humored him, knowing I would smell the zebra workers…Maybe it was a zebra? It really could be anybeing. I mean, I had tracked him through several countries and he had been to several before that, anybeing could want him, and not just the way Ayodele did. He had been making enemies along the way, who knows how many. Ayomide’s presence told me all I needed to know about how deeply somebeing felt for him. The smells on the barrel were interesting to say the least. Stallions, mares, ink, and hen all were present. Ink…With hen, such a combination was weird, curious, and made complete sense in a crazy way. “Ari,” I whispered, the sound making me cringe as I came to many conclusions. His eyes found mine even as his ears continued swiveling. “I smell ink.” His ears went back and he went to sniff it again. Seeing his eyes go wide I continued, “The intruder didn’t use the stairs at the city hall and it was the evening after…” I trailed off as it fell into place for him. His ‘musky’ smell that eluded him could be a gryphon’s natural smell, an earthy mixture usually. I wouldn’t have called it musky. But, the point was that we only saw one gryphon in that town. “Bente,” Ari whispered. Again I winced, she could still be here. Of course, it could be another gryphon. Though the likelihood was slim, not that I didn’t doubt that he probably annoyed a gryphon along the way. But, who would know he would be in Malawia when he didn’t even know he would be there? The way I understood it, Ari took a walk with a magic inhibitor on and was poisoned before some slavers found him. And Ari’s species made him instant front page news so they wouldn’t advertise that they had him, even among whatever criminal ring they traveled in. “Bente,” He repeated in a louder whisper, sounding just as confused as I was. She had seen him, received an explanation, and then left. He didn’t even have time to annoy her! I nodded in his direction as he straightened the lid and proceeded onward. Both of our steps were light, tense, and very aware that if she was here she would already know where we were. But I had to confirm my thoughts with him, I knew it was a stupid reaction…And even worse, It still didn’t answer why she was here or why she had torn apart the office. Silence resumed, it felt even hazier with that new knowledge floating around us. Neither of us had a clue as to why she had done what she did. So we slowly crept along, flank to flank, and hoped to catch the stowaway. I focused on the shadows and prints in front of me to tune out the screams from my underused muscles. Eventually, they were merely a buzzing in the back of my mind as my senses tuned in to my surroundings. The magical hum, his soft breathing, and the occasion whistle of a breeze that came from above. You couldn’t even hear any talking from the cabins down here. ‘Why’ buzzed through my head as Ari ruffled his feathers beside me, looking between the shadow’s arches with a new rigidity to his movements. Despite being a bookseller he moved at a steady pace, his muscles absorbing the sound of his hooves, and a silent determination on his muzzle in spite of his hoof’s cracks. The sight of such focus would have made my ‘Stealth 101’ instructor smile…If he smiled. Taking a right we froze, somewhere something had rustled, it was so slight that it could have been a mouse. If we didn’t know better…But mice didn’t produce that sort of rustle, trust me, I had spent hours hiding in the forest during the final exam. Mice sounded different, that sound was hay stalks shifting, dry and hollow. A mouse wouldn’t cause such a loud rustle, mice were just too light. We waited; blue eyes looked into mine as I strained to pinpoint which aisle it came from. Very faintly a ‘schlick’ sound echoed across the air. My mind raced until it found a comparison, it was almost like a feather running across something, and it was to our right. In the next aisle, I pointed my muzzle to the direction and we shared a brief nod before picking up our pace. Perhaps it was two or even three aisles over. But, it was hard to tell where the sound came from with the sound buffering the hay provided. Pausing I tried to slow my breathing but still couldn’t pinpoint the aisle. What if she gets away? The thought spurred me on. Slowly we resumed walking, faster than the slow creep now. My right ear stayed trained ahead of us as I tried to pick up her breathing with my left. No feedback came in. Then more rustling came from up ahead, faster, and louder as we closed in. But we kept our pace, staying quiet as we stalked forward. We didn’t want to give away our position. Even Ari had enough sense to play invisible till we confirmed her location. I waited at the corner to the second aisle, looking for movement in the shadows. Seeing none I nodded before we proceeded down the shadowed alley. The hay looked untouched and no barrels had crooked lids. But we continued down. Still more rustling sounded one aisle over. Did she know? Grinding my teeth I broke into a silent speed walk, rushing down the aisle. It was empty. So we turned the corner. It was just as empty, no hiding places in sight, and the rusting had stopped. I looked uncertainly to Ari as we paused, the sound and trail was lost to me. The whole room had traces of Gryphon and zebra. He raised his eyebrow to which I shrugged. Blue eyes went to the makeshift walls of the maze, a frown growing deeper on his muzzle before he shook his head. Ari looked back to me in the silent room pointing a hoof at his nose and the floor before using the same hoof to point at my eyes and in front of us. It could have been my ears but I understood the point, he wanted me to be his eyes and ears. Twitching my ears I kept pace with him as he literally put his nose to the floor. Moving it around before he settled on a trail, tail swishing as we crept forward. Silence reigned as the shadows didn’t change and even our steps didn’t sound out with how quiet it was. A right turn, left, and right once more. We zigzagged, following the trail to a ‘T’. My nagging sensation of tiredness returned as the monotony of movement didn’t change. Walls of hay towered above us as pyramids of barrels threw off my senses with the shadows they formed. Even Ari seemed to slowing down. Our withers started to slump as our tenth row proved fruitless. The next aisle and so forth provided no results, not many were left now, and I was certain she knew we were here. Bente had to be here. What were the chances that he had two stalkers at once? My face dropped as I realized what I had thought, this was Ari I was talking about. Dear Faust, this was crazy making. With each consecutive failure Ari’s muscles had grown increasingly taunt and his ears disappeared onto his head. His nose sucked up the dirt and debris as he tried to keep the scent and I winced as his eyes watered. But, he kept on moving forward even as I saw the faint illumination ahead of us. The stairs were up ahead and we had run out of aisles to search. Disappointment started to well up in me, no sounds of movement were reaching my ears, and the shadows stayed still. And as the aisle ended he looked up from the knots in the floor boards, watching my ears as I tried to figure where Bente went. But it was useless, the engines hummed on and no sounds of life came from the stacks. His eyes bore into me, searching for something as I frowned and shook my head. Buck, I wish I had a different answer. I wanted to find the bird, learn why she was here, and to truly earn his trust. But ultimately, I wanted for him to save the world and reveal the truth to the world’s duplicity. The wind whistled loudly for a second, filling the hull with a barrage of echoes. My mind raced as Ari looked at the staircase with a frown. After a long time he turned back to me, his expression one that made my inadequacies even more apparent. One gryphon…I had been caught in a trap. In fact, I walked right into the demonic rodent’s nest, and now…I couldn’t even find one gryphon. Something lodged itself in my throat as our eyes continued to stare, a blankness taking over mine as the cool blue orbs met mine. I knew everypony had bad nights but I wasn’t having any good ones lately. Luna’s blue wide eyes flashed in my mind’s eye for a second and I couldn’t help but grimace. And I still didn’t understand the most basic part…Why was this gryphon following him? Why Bente would be hiding here when she seemed to want the same thing as him back in Zebrica, assuming she was honest. If the Gryphon Republic had come to Zebrica for help and Ari was fixing the problem then why was the hen following Ari? My mind tried to spin crazy tales but I swatted those down, it usually never was a convoluted reason. That only happened in fiction. Most criminals, beings had simple motivations. Perhaps she just wanted a free ride? That still didn’t explain her trashing the office…Somehow I didn’t buy the old saying ‘as wild as a gryphon’, it held about as much water as the adage ‘changelings are evil’. Blue eyes grew too much for me so I tried to focus on the third staircase instead. Hiding in the engine room would be smart; it would be the loudest and most complex place. Surely it was filled with hiding places and stuff to use as weapons. “I just don’t understand.” I looked up from my observation of the third staircase. “Why is she following us?” He seemed to have abandoned silence so I sighed and followed suit. It wasn’t like we could even catch her without a way to sweep search the area; there were just too many places to hide. “I don’t know either, logically she should see you as an Alicorn that freed many slaves and feel satisfied to let you have the job of saving the world.” The stallion cocked his head and frowned. “I’m just saying that what you did is pretty impressive…But I don’t know why she trashed the office.” I paused as my other theories reared their heads, chiming in their cases. “It could not even be her; maybe there was another female gryphon, and Bente could have been traveling with others.” It was a bit farfetched but still possible. Would they send a Gryphon across the Narrow Sea alone if they knew about pirates and sea monsters? I doubted that theory though, she seemed too desperate to flock to him for a Gryphon flying with others, and that glint in her eye when she saw his wings…His raised eyebrow told me he held the same doubt. We were just grasping at stalks here. Exhaling loudly Ari made for the stairs, the stairs leading up. “Where are you going?” Pausing, he looked down at me, “I am tired, my mares are anxious, and I doubt Bente is even on this boat anymore.” Before I could point out the noises we had heard he pressed on. “Besides if I was her I wouldn’t stick around this boat when she has a mountain full of worried gryphons to inform about the new Alicorn.” His sudden turnabout had me flabbergasted. This stallion had gone from ‘search the ship and catch the intruder’ to ‘let’s sleep’! What in tartarus was wrong with him? Although, that was actually a good point, Bente would want to inform her counsel of the news. But why did she trash the office? Catching up to him on the first floor I watched his expression, which was still tense despite his claims of being ‘tired’. He probably had realized he couldn’t teleport to her or restrain her without seeing her. “Ignoring the fact that she could be hiding on the third floor,” Ari flinched and slowly exhaled but I pressed on. You don’t just give up and leave a floor unsearched!“What do you think she was looking for in the office?” You don’t trash an official’s office in the middle of the night when you want a ride, which she would have had secured if she was traveling out there. His wings ruffled a little more as the wind whistled down the stairs, “I don’t know.” He snorted at the stairs as he tried to settle his wings, “Maybe information on me?” Ari’s voice started to drop, losing gruffness as his ears went sideways. “Perhaps she needed to view a paper having to do with her country? I really don’t know this world’s situation completely. But, I don’t like what I do know.” By the end of his sentence he was back to a whisper. I nodded as I followed him; not wanting to push the issue anymore than I reasonably had to, my point was made. With one more glance back to the hull he continued, watching the stairs with a faraway look in his eyes. He was clearly lost in his thoughts. Meanwhile my own thoughts were catching up to me as well. My chest seemed too small as my mind whispered uncertainties in my head, and I began to fear returning home. What if it all was a lie? I still didn’t know what had happened to the Gryphon ambassador’s Bente claimed to have been in Equestria. She had said they didn’t return… **** Ari Closing the bedroom door behind me I felt strange. The light dimmed and I still couldn’t put my hoof on what was wrong. Was it ending my search early? Or leaving Echo untied when he could easily get help? A chuckle bubbled in my chest as I walked but I held it down. The day Echo makes it away from an eight foot tall Minotaur smith’s grip is the day I don’t eat. Dinari had muscles to spare. No…It wasn’t that. Maybe it was how chatty the Thestral had become? He was questioning this and that to no end it seemed. I understood that he was trying to be helpful, earn my trust and all that jazz. But his talking out loud bit hadn’t helped me. His scent identification helped, but now it left me with a whole new slew of questions and the sheltered guard wasn’t much use with answering those. At least Bente just seemed shocked at my herd from what I remembered. But she trashed that office…And secured the steering wheel. Bente didn’t appear to be exactly life threatening. I shook my head and thought back to something much more amusing. The scowl Dinari shot me as I woke her could had cowed the old me, but after everything it was just funny. Not funny for Echo of course. As she held him in a hold that was reminiscent to a sleeper hold I got the distinct impression that she was imagining me in his place. And the wary colt lay as rigid as he could in her arms. I knew would be hearing about this later though. His stink eye guaranteed it along with the grumbles from the other occupants. At least he had lost that dour mood he had on the way back. I know I felt conflicted on my decision but he seemed to take it worse for some reason. It wasn’t even like he had a herd to protect! Maybe it was something else, but his sudden change had bugged me. Even if he was a prisoner, it was just temporary, eventually I would have to release him, and then I whatever he chose to do would be out of my hooves. That part scared me more than a hen sending weird signals. But…He had changed since I met him. A yawn escaped me as I turned off the dining room light. That strange feeling put aside, my instincts were quieter since I found out it was her. And thinking through her actions I didn’t see a threat. She had two chances to harm my herd and didn’t. The Thestral was safely tucked in, the ship was mostly searched, and I was safe for now. No need to further tempt Murphy. I could return and test out my new bed… And try to ignore the fact that I might still have a gryphon hen playing hide and seek in my cargo hold for discernible reason. Nope, think on the Brightside…The positive of the night is that Echo seems to be really trying to help. Making my way back across the deck I looked up at the moon. It appeared so large, the many stars forming foreign constellations to my eyes, and although several large flashes came from the heavens they held no answers. Questions pressed on my mind as I stood frozen for a moment. Waves continued to lap at the docks and a pleasant flowery scent ran in with the breeze. I sighed, holding onto the feeling of peace. Around me the boats remained dark, the only yellow light coming from a far watch tower and my cabin. Sometimes I wondered what the hell that whack job was thinking throwing me here. Wouldn’t it have been better to change a local since they would know more on the situation? I mean if he could change my gender, species, and fertility then why bother grabbing me from earth when there were plenty of ponies here? The flashes transformed into blazing balls of light, comets or meteors. I couldn’t tell the difference. But it was still a nearly pointless to know, they were pretty, and either way I hadn’t found Bente. Bente’s image flashed into my mind. Her white and gray feathers working into creamy fur, her body held no clues as to her true reasoning but...I was grasping at straws as to why she acted that way, trying to see something I might have missed in the five minuets I saw her. Five minutes…This world still so vast and complex that a reasonable answer was not really possible from that. Well, besides the whole ‘there is a new Alicorn’ shtick that ran through everybeing. Going to the capital will at least get that over with; everybeing will know I exist then. A sigh escaped me as the cool breeze came off the water and soothed my increasingly itchy scabs. The breeze ran along my body, running through my feathers, and made me lean into it. As it settled down, a fluttering caught my ear; it was the wind struggled to snatch a feather. But mine remained firmly attached to my wings. Looking up I followed the wind, it stilled as I spotted a large white feather. It was wedged in the metal siding of my cabin, and seemed determined to stay there. You were up here Bente? The skies were clear, the docks empty. Ripping it from the spot it had wedged itself, I inspected while it floated in my magic. It was in excellent shape, a long primary feather, and the most interesting part was the fresh flowery scent it still held. I inhaled the scent, bringing the feather to my nose as I tried to remember the scent. The gryphon musk was present of course. But the personal scent reminded me of days running in the park, and how fresh the ground smelled when I tripped onto it. Putting my nose to the floor I briefly tracked her across the deck. The scent strongest around my cabin and faint around the stairs, she hadn’t returned to the hull then. But…My eyes scanned the deck taking in the air as I realized there wasn’t any place to hide. Her scent hadn’t been in the other cabin that I remembered and the control room held no fresh traces of her scent. She was definitely gone now, this was the freshest I had smelled her. Maybe she really was going to go spread the word… The thought didn’t help me lower my feathers. Keeping the feather in my grasp I entered my room, briefly glancing back at the harbor. It was still devoid of life. Closing the door quietly I smiled at the sight of my room. Chrissy and Lyric were already snuggled barrel to barrel under a new blanket, lazily purveying the remaining blankets in what had the most serious inspection of blankets I had seen. Beside the bed the bags had been folded, while the other presents had been unpacked and roughly sorted. The five books occupied the one nightstand, joining the clock that confirmed that it was far too late to be up. While the other nightstand had the bag of gems beside it and a precariously stacked mountain of blankets on it, the blankets that had been inspected in detail I assumed as another one floated from Lyric to the stack. What was with them and those blankets? Chrissy suddenly scowled as I watched in my confusion. She wiggled beside Lyric as if the luxurious bed wasn’t comfortable suddenly. But I still wasn’t acknowledged, the blanket held their focus as they adjusted it. This was new, she had never been this obsessive before, I mean of course she had been very into preening and grooming in general, but this was very odd. Finally I stepped in, shutting the door with a quiet click, “I returned!” They looked up from adjusting the favorite blanket. Both mares perked up, quickly making a space between them. Lyric levitated the blanket as they both gave quiet nickers which I answered with my own nickers. I immediately filled the gap between them, no encouragement needed for these sore hooves. The warmth radiated off them as the blanket settled back over us, bringing a sense of thoughtless comfort that I sorely needed after tonight’s drama. But their eyes were on the feather. Wiggling in the indention I was creating in the bed, I tried to think of a good segue into ‘a hen I met for five minutes is stalking us and I don’t really know why, but don’t worry she left’. It wasn’t coming to me and the longer I shifted the more my marefriends frowned at me. “So what was with the blankets?” They briefly looked to the pile of plush blankets then back to me, splaying their ears. I could see their eyes flicker to the feather as I held it above my head as I let the question sit with them. “Blankets,” Chrissy queried, cocking her head. I nodded, feeling a grin crept up as I twiddled the feather in my magic, ignoring their gazes. “Well, they are very cozy…” She trailed off, looking across my chest to Lyric. Lyric rolled her eyes and mouthed something I didn’t catch back at Chrissy. “That they are,” I wasn’t against blankets…But, I had stood there for a minute without acknowledgement! It makes one wonder just what was going on. Were they culturally significant? Was it related to the foals, like some sort of foal blanket thing? Better to find out now then find out the hard way later. A sigh escaped my changeling before she perked her ears and turned to look at me. “Look, I didn’t know when it would start.” I frowned at her, not really following her train of thought. “But,” a small smile wormed it’s way up from the frown, “It means that our foal is doing well.” Her voice cracked as she said foal, almost not finishing the sentence. I blinked, smiling wide as I began to rub against her. A purr rose from her as Lyric began rubbing on me in turn. If this was the instincts she mentioned then it would be no problem, I could handle blankets. We were all smiling widely for awhile. My happy thoughts were derailed as Lyric’s voice rose above the purr, “The feather?” That made me pause, the moment lost as I realized I still didn’t know how to explain this without causing worry. “So Echo is really trying to be helpful,” they nodded as I placed the feather on the nightstand; their eyes followed it, and narrowed before they shared raised eyebrows with each other. Shaking out my wings under the blanket, I adjusted them to cover Chrissy and Lyric as I let out a breath. Be smooth. “Thanks to him I finally figured what and who is following us.” They tensed beside me, ears splaying as I tried to keep calm. “Bente,” as I said her name Lyric started muttering in what I think was Saddle Arabian while Chrissy cursed that Tartarus place. “That’s her feather then?” I nodded to Chrissy. She slumped back down, lacy wing creating a muted buzz as she splayed her ears, “Why are you so calm if you didn’t find her?” Just like what Echo didn’t seem to get. Although, I had to keep telling myself it too, but my instincts were certainly calmer from the mantra, ‘she was gone and not a threat’. “Well think about it, she had the opportunity to do anything to us last night and she didn’t.”Their ears stayed splayed as I moved a foreleg over Chrissy’s wither, thinking loving thoughts as her chitin smoothed my fur. “Instead, she secured the steering wheel, which was very helpful.” And I shouldn’t have fallen asleep. “If she was hostile she could have easily grabbed a knife from the kitchen and slit my throat.” Both mares snorted as they tried to relax, but their muscles stayed rigid. Fuck, I could have worded that better. I started picking my teeth through the impeccable blue mane, getting a low moan as my mare’s head lowered onto the comforter, and her shoulders loosened up. Although that moan sent tingles to my sheath I focused on relaxing Chrissy, knowing her she might want some more love later anyway. But, now I needed to calm them down. My marefriends had never really gotten a break. From their family dying or disappearing to now it was one big struggle and we weren’t even to the biggest one yet. “But why did she trash the office?” Spitting out a bit of loose hair, I turned to Lyric. “I haven’t a clue.” That got me a frown from both of them. “But, aside from the mess Wekasi said nothing appeared to be missing.” My siren continued to frown as she eyed my work on Chrissy’s mane, her frown growing deeper the longer I worked. I started to get an odd, nagging feeling. “But I found the feather by our cabin; it was fresh so I am willing to bet she was making a beeline for the Gryphon Republic.” Slowly Lyric nodded while agreeable murmurs came from the mare under my foreleg. It made the most sense to me. Lyric seemed to be satisfied with my answer, but her eyes were glued to her herd mate’s face, and that feeling finally clicked. Now she was biting her lip. Pushing her closer to my chest I started on her golden mane, grooming it as Chrissy started to wiggle up against my side, pulling a new blanket from the ‘uninspected’ pile on the bed. With a flourish she spread it over the blanket already on us, intensifying the heat between us. It was summer, two thick blankets in the summer. But, I ignored the weirdness of that, if blankets made her instincts feel better I would simply learn to keep cool in other ways, and it wouldn’t be summer forever. My eyes were on Lyric as she made this odd light cooing sound, a musical quality to it as it changed pitches with my position on her mane. It made my heart race seeing Lyric melt under my teeth, her eyes closed in such a relaxed expression. Apparently sensitive pressure points were located along the maneline and all of them caused immense relaxation. At least that was the gist of what they had explained last time. With the last knot removed I felt my muzzle open of its device. The clock ticked on, insistently backing up my body’s signal. Darn, I had hoped to last a little longer. “So you will help me solidify the plan tomorrow right?” I didn’t really know what to expect for answers seeing as both Chrissy and Lyric had their eyes closed, but both murmured something unintelligible and low. “What was that?” Lyric’s horn glowed pink as a shadow fell over me. Before I could look up a mass of fluffy blankets covered us. She tucked her head into my chest, snorting slightly as her horn dimmed. Well, it was warm. Okay, it was almost to that point of too warm, but my body disagreed with another yawn. No more sounds escaped them. But now I was pleasantly trapped and half asleep in a very bright room. Instead of leaving the confines I focused on the jewel, producing an ethereal stick. She had said it responded to magic. The light dimmed on contact, till only the moon’s glow lit the room. Calm and cool, a full moon felt perfect for falling asleep under. My instincts were silent, happy with the night as well. Bente was gone…Tomorrow we would hit the skies again. And as strange as it was, the blankets and bodies didn’t overheat me despite the season. It was like being wrapped in a cozy Sunday morning cocoon from my childhood, and I was pretending to be a caterpillar again. The Plan Comes Together.**** I blinked and the clock looked back at me, equally as confused at my awake state as I was. It claimed to be six thirty. Yet, I knew that I got to sleep late last night so I knew and felt like I should still be asleep. Then why was I up? I shook my head as a heavy film clouded my mind, muddling my thoughts. My hooves were still slightly aching, my scabs didn’t feel too itchy yet, and my mares were still twitching their ears as they enjoyed dreamland. I should be in dreamland still. Nothing about that moment made sense to my half asleep brain. Blearily I yawned, using a hoof to remove the crustiness from the corners of my eyes as I tried to take it all in. Warmth surrounded me, grogginess still had me in a choke hold, and this was all still before the sun’s rays hit me. They were busy painting a dark plus sign on the opposite wall. Outside the cabin, sleepy yells of sailors echoed replies to each other, and a stray boat horn blasted as a boat left or entered the harbor…But I didn’t wake from noises. Thinking on why wasn’t working so I turned to something that held even more importance. Scrunching my eyes, I tried formulating a plan, the plan, and instead came up with the insistent grumbles of my insides. Food first… But, my muscles were unresponsive under the weight of so many blankets, the warmth adding a paralyzing effect. Grunting at the effort of shuffling, I let my body argued with it. I yawned as Lyric nuzzled further into my chest. This was nice. Celestia raised the sun further, distorting the shadowy sign that crept up my far wall, and further instilling the realty of being awake. An itch started, traveling from one scab on my back to the next with an almost malicious intent. Whether it was my choice or not, I was up, and the longer I lay there the more my scabs itched and other bodily functions became apparent. The itchy sensation moved to my chest scabs. Fuck, there really was no going back now; reality had me firmly in its clutches. Not to mention, I had a plan to finalize before I lost my smiths to their own daily grind. Slowly I untangled my forelimbs from my mares, placing Lyric’s head aside with minimal grumbles. Finally I was able to army crawled forward, holding my breath as the blankets filled the gap, and released it as they didn’t wake. My marefriends would probably enjoy the extra minutes of peace seeing as they were too out of it to notice my absence; only a scrunching of their eyes showing that they had felt my escape from the warm confines. They were so sweet when they slept, but my bladder pushed to keep moving. Soon enough I was relieved, exiting the bathroom, and staring at the door. I released a sigh as my scowl went nowhere, the door was still there. The smiths were still in the cabin across the deck. And the muted chatter of the nearby fish market leaked into the room. Looking back to my sleeping mares I knew they would have to be woken. A frown still crossed my muzzle at the thought. I knew there was no way I was crossing the deck of the only airship in the port and not be seen. But…Sleeping longer would be very nice, that would be good for everybeing involved. That thought was quickly stalled as the sunlight grew muted. Making my way over to the window I saw why. A mass of dark grey cumulus was moving in. And as I looked down from the incoming storm I saw the fleet of ships pulling in, fishing vessels, colonial ships, and a flood of dinghies. From here it looked like they were trying to outrun the weather. So much for the weather’s peaceful attitude, I furrowed my brow, and I hope Bente made it home alright. I had seen enough. The outcome was obvious as the din grew louder outside, the voices rising in pitch and volume as Mother Nature came to play. Sorry, I meant beat us to a pulp. Pausing at the edge of the bed I looked down at Chrissy and Lyric as they wiggled under the plush mountain. With a frown I reluctantly began to dismantle the cocoon they had created, levitating blanket after blanket off them, and folding them as I went. This went on till all fourteen blankets were piled at the head of the bed and my herd mates were scowling in their sleep. But they didn’t wake up. A wind started whistling under the door and they just twitched their ears. Dear lord, don’t make me wake them. I waited another minute but they didn’t move. Shrugging I scooted back onto the bed, letting a smile make its way onto my muzzle as my wake up plan took hold. They turned away when I blew on their ears. Wiggling filled the bed as my feathers trailed down their barrels. But still they refused to move, just smiling as they eventually made contact with each other. Across the deck I heard the heavy thumps of one of the Minotaur siblings. Soon the soft murmurs of the others drifted on the wind, but only just. The wind was growing stronger, louder. Suddenly a great rumbling filled the room. I turned a cautious eye to the ceiling as the clouds extended their note, holding the warning loud and deep. Sea-green and golden eyes snapped open, whipping around the room before they locked with mine. I gave a small smile to them, my ears folded back from the noise. “Good morning,” I shifted in front of them on the bed. “I had hoped to wake you gentler than…” I trailed off as we all gazed at the darkening window. Chrissy jumped up, briskly buzzing her wing before stretching, soon we followed her lead. Lyric was frowning at the window, “How long ago did it start?” As we stretched I snuck a look to the clock, “Oh, not that long.” Howling echoed ominously outside the door, drowning out the sailor’s yells for a second. “But I don’t think we should keep Kapera waiting, I don’t want her running around in any storm.” With that we hurried the morning routine, skipping the bath that felt we needed, and soon enough we were positioned in front of the door, Chrissy and I eyeing our resident illusion magic specialist intently. “You are sure you can cast that invisibility spell over all of us?” I asked for the second time, earning sighs from both sides of me. I snorted back, “I just want to make sure that no one sees us-,” we all jumped as a very audible crackling filled the air, “-out there.” My sentence finished but I felt antsy, like something was wrong. It was probably the storm… That tree flashed in my mind, becoming ash before my eyes. Sure I was far from the Diamond Mountains but that didn’t mean I trusted the weather any more in this location. Hundred foot long Sea serpents were out here! “Ari, I am completely confident that I can handle casting a localized invisibility spell for less than five minutes.” She raised an eyebrow, “I had to do it for hours in Saddle Arabia.” At that I gave a weak smile before giving her a kiss on the tip of her horn, earning me a disappointed groan as I moved away. With everything going on I had forgotten that part. Five minutes didn’t sound too hard then and she did have a lot of magic. But that antsy feeling remained. “Just remember to keep in contact during the spell.” They both moved in closer to my barrel as we eyed the doorway, “If you break contact with me it will wear off.” We all nodded as a pink field enveloped us, sending a shiver down my back as the magic did its work, and a light hum settled over my ears. I looked to my visible marefriends and spread my wings over them just in case. Outside it was just starting to spit. Darker masses of clouds blew in behind the initial cumulus as we looked on in apprehension, our feeling shared by the sailors scurrying around the piers below us. They were scrambling to anchor, tie down, and tie together anything and everything. Sails were being folded up, decks cleared, and dinghy’s loaded onto larger ships. We almost stopped and watched as the market became one mass of urgent beings, the stalls being sold out faster than I thought possible. Fuck. Last night I lose a stowaway only to gain a storm. Moving past the rush below us we hurried to the dining room, the hum that tickled my ears released as I closed the door. “Faust Ari, give us some warning!” Kapera scolded as she gripped the table, her fur on end as others snorted in agreement. All along the table the snorts and exhales petered off, with the Ayo’s sharing a wide eyed look as the Minotaur siblings slowly released the table’s edge. It was forever indented. Echo didn’t look too bothered by the sudden appearance but he was stuck between his favorite heifer and her brother…He was not smiling, instead narrowing his eyes at me, and he didn’t get any sleep if the red veins on his eyes were accurate. But I had to go over my plan with them. As I thought of it trepidation ran through me, slowing my advance to the table, and made my heart race. I shook out my wings trying to dispel the nervousness, tucking them away as we moved to our cushion. “Sorry,” I gave a wry grin as I saw Moonlit Echo’s scowl. “We didn’t want to become front page news.” I glanced to the partially filled table, dragging a bale down with my magic as Lyric did the same from my other side. “So are we still good for the restraints?” I peeked at Kapera as everybeing got back to breakfast. The smith just nodded, swallowing a bite as twin snaps sounded in the room. “Of course,” She held up her rope as she quickly took another bite of an oval shaped green fruit. The pale flesh glistened with juice and small dark seeds lined the center. Levitating one over, I began eating the nearly flavorless fruit as she finished her bite. “Now did you want my advice on your plan or something like that?” She questioned, fixing her gaze on me. Putting down the rope and giving me her full attention. Everybeing was watching me now, keeping me in their sight as the food slowly made its way into their maws. Let me add an extra fuck, fuck. I hadn’t really had time to finalize some things in my head and other factors were unknowns, some I just assumed. Sucking it up, I cleared my throat. “Well, it needs work…But first I’m going to clean up, see if I can heal or cover up these cuts and wrap up my hooves.” Howling rose above my voice, along with a clatter from outside the ship. The voices grew louder as the wind abated for a second. With a quieter wind bustling around the ship I continued. “As I was saying, I will clean myself and make sure we have the inhibitors,” I looked to Kapera as she immediately nodded, “And the poison.” My eyes found Ayomide’s rapidly wilting form. A couple of hesitant coughs left her muzzle as she seemed to flinch under my gaze, “I, uh,” swallowing audibly the former assassin straightened slightly.“What I mean is that I don’t have it, it was removed at the shop.” Everybeing turned to the smith as she nodded, “I will bring it and a saddle bag as well.” Ayomide’s muzzle dropped, “No way you are getting in that cloak of yours back.” We all stared and I began to cock my head, “What?!” The smith’s muzzle scrunched up, “That cloak stank like a hoofball player’s locker.” I laughed even as Ayomide turned red. Hoof-ball, I don’t know why but the image of horse’s playing sports seemed too funny. Kicking a ball around…Or was it throwing it around? That was something I had to see later, I wasn’t into sports but the novelty of seeing how hoofed beings play sounded interesting. Regaining some control, I smiled and looked up from the table and saw that everybeing was staring at me. Ayodele giving me a tight frown as her cousin lay down on the cushion, trying to hide below the table’s edge. Maybe that was an inside laugh… “No I didn’t mean that as a mean thing, it is just we have a similar sport on Earth and for some reason that just seemed so funny that there was one here too.” Brown eyes peeked up at me, the body slowly straightening. Outside a strong pattering started, plastering the windows with rain as we all frowned at them. “So…That’s right!” I perked my ears, getting the attention off the mare. “So with everything gathered and myself cleaned up I will carry it in my saddle bags to Canterlot. However, only I will be going to the capital,” Chrissy and Lyric folded back their ears at that, Chrissy frowning as my siren snorted. I was expecting this, turning to left I started, “As much as I respect your ability to fight and infiltrate the castle I can’t have you come for obvious reasons.” The frown intensified as her eyes narrowed, “You can’t use your magic without feeling weak still right?” Her widening eyes and silence answered for her. Turning my focus to the mare on my right I tried keep my will strong. “And you need to be there for Chrissy while I am meeting with the princesses.” Lyric’s mouth opened, “Despite how powerful you are I am not risking our foal.” My throat constricted as the image of many Thestrals surrounding us filled my mind. Her draconic eyes searched mine for a second; growing duller the longer I looked. The thought of the mysterious magical mirror filled my mind and made that antsy feeling intensify. I really needed to talk to her about it. “The first visit will be a sort of recon mission, to get a lay of the land so to speak. After that we will have to return,” My eyes slipped to the Lunar guard, sitting stiffly as he watched us. “Who knows if they moved it by now…” I let the thought sit with her as her frown grew at the unspoken question of how long. The question hung in the air for a tense moment. Till eventually her scaled neck was leaning on my wither, eyes downcast, and her bale was forgotten. Exhaling loudly, I tried to find my place in the plan. “So,” I looked at the smith, trying to work up emotions, any emotions that didn’t hang around that mirror. “I will park the airship on the outskirts of Equestria.” Nodding to myself I continued, “From there I will fly to Canterlot.” Wherever that is…It had a giant castle. How hard could it be to find it? “Once I am there I will go to the castle, ask to speak with the princesses, and somehow get a private meeting with them.” Kapera was starting to raise an eyebrow as my rough patch revealed itself. “Once I am meeting with them I will try my best to convince them of the truth using the etiquette and persuasion that Chrissy and Echo will teach me soon.” I winced as several more eyebrows rose. “And if they won’t see reason then I will slip some of the poison into their food and apply the-.” “HOLD UP!” A paw was raised, outstretched as the storm intensified. “So, in front of the millennia old princesses and their guards you are going to slip green poison in what?” It was Green? Don’t judge, I hadn’t seen what hit me. “They practically live off cakes and aren’t going to notice a whopping four times the lethal dose of poison in their sweets.” It had been four times the lethal dose?! I briefly glanced at my body and couldn’t believe I was still here. Echo was nodding along, “I agree with the rodent. That is stupid. Even if the Solar guards are less observant, I am sure Celestia’s personal guard will have their eyes on you the whole time.” He pointed a hoof at me, “You are an Alicorn! The whole country has been talking about you! Everypony has heard countless rumors about you!” His withers slumped as his voice returned to normal, “There is no way they won’t notice it.” The rain came down harder, pounding on the metal sheeting as we all took in the flaw. He had a good point…But, how else do I get it in them? Blow dart them? Perhaps a needle to the neck would work? No, that would be way too obvious and I didn’t have a needle…Really, I didn’t know anything on the substance. “W-well,” our eyes moved to Ayomide, “I-I mean you could sneak it into the icing. As long as it isn’t baked the poison should retain full potency.” I nodded at her as a new idea formed in my mind. “So all you need to do is…” She trailed off, glancing to her equally confused cousin as my smile grew. Chrissy snorted beside me, probably feeling my excitement growing. “You can come and sneak into the kitchen while I chat up the princesses!” Excitement flowed through me as that felt right somehow, it just clicked in my mind, and I wasn’t seeing any other being that would fit the bill. She was used to sneaking around, a veritable expert on poisons, it really couldn’t get more perfect! Echo didn’t count; he was liable to get second thoughts. The rain continued to pound down, a bright flash illuminating the room further as everybeing looked at me with a mixed reaction. Most notably was the slow nod that the master smith was giving me. “N-no,” the skinny zebra exclaimed, looking between her cousin and me. “I just got her back!” Ayodele’s voice cracked then and she pressed herself against her frowning cousin. I stayed silent, losing my smile as I realized what I was asking of the mare. But Ayodele pressed on, her voice rising above the wind, “F-for e-eight years,” her words caught in her throat as her cousin looked up at her, “I don’t want to lose her.” She had killed many beings…For eight years. Beside me Lyric was watching me, all eyes attentive as it fell into place. I had a flaw there too. “Actually, forget that.” Brown eyes widened in surprise while the green orbs beside them leaked a stray tear. “The presence of a zebra in Canterlot, the capital of racists will draw too much attention.” I eyed her maneless state, which would gather stares too. “So is that it?” Kapera inspected her claws as I frowned. “No.” My voice sounded almost petulant to my ears as I felt my fur bristle, not entirely at her but more at myself and this situation. I needed to show them what they were doing wrong… Was I approaching this from the wrong angle? The bottom line was convincing two millennia old Alicorns to listen when a thirty something ‘Alicorn’ that came out of nowhere and tells them to stop doing what they had been doing for millennia. My words didn’t hold water, wouldn’t, and they wouldn’t hold me on a pedestal like the other species seemed to…But the ponies would. My brow scrunched as a sick thought entered my mind, it was exactly what I hated to do, but it could work. “Echo,” I said his name in question, watching as he turned to me with a curious expression. “The princesses received my letter, right?” He remained rigid as he became center of our attention, nodding briefly as a heavy feeling started in my stomach. If I continued…Chrissy would understand, hopefully, and Lyric should see the point. “And how did they react to it? Did you see or hear anything in that way?” My eyes strayed to the Ayo’s faces as they frowned at me. As the Lunar guard went from scowling to frowning I tried to tamp down my emotions. This was just a mission and I had to use what I had. Finally the guard ended in a long sigh and I felt my resolve harden then. I could fake it…Probably…If I kept the talk civil. “Yes.” He licked his lips, eyes darting around the table top, “Everypony knows you are coming.” He closed his eyes as my thoughts were confirmed, “Princess Luna already showed a lot of care for you and Princess Celestia had expressed great interest in meeting you. T-there niece has even heard of you all the way up in the Crystal Kingdom.” Crystal Kingdom? No, ignoring that kingdom I was happy in a bitter sort of way. It confirmed that I could use my…Manly wiles? Was that the term? All I knew was that god knew what he was doing, giving this planet a ‘male’ of a near extinct species. I wasn’t touching the whole ‘going to rut them’ part he assigned me, hell no. But, I would save the world. Chrissy’s voice came out as a hiss at first, sighing before she managed out, “Really?” The way her lips frowned told me she knew so I nodded briskly. This topic felt awkward the more I thought of faking interest in two racist mares. Ayodele’s narrowed eyes didn’t help. “If they want to meet me and if I am the only,” I paused briefly as thought how to word it, but gave up as the eyes across from me widened. “Well, if I am the only stallion and they are Alicorns too then I believe I have some sway over their choices,” inside I was cringing, “Although not much but enough to perhaps, get them alone.” I looked to the rodent as she smiled wide. My skin crawled as I thought that but it was true, they were even in a population crisis so their minds would be going down that way. “Now you are thinking stud!” I winced at the word. A chuckle followed and voices carried on the wind wrapped around the ship. But…My eyes wandered to Chrissy as she remained silent. Her muzzle shut tight as her ears went from the sides to the back and sideways once more. What about after the mission? A voice of doubt whispered but I quickly shut it down. I wouldn’t commit to anything with the princesses. Then I would let them down easy…And run for the Zebrican forests as fast as I could. Then the mirror, it whispered, my mind circling around the fact that I didn’t quite know how to bring it up. Lyric… A jolt of static jumped through me as the smooth sensation of scales on my scabs caught my attention. Lyric wouldn’t meet my eyes but I could see her wither flexing. I didn’t want to play with the hearts of two mares. But…If I needed to I would to secure the world for my mares and foals. The diarchy might have the oddity of including a nomadic race in their racist country going for them and Moonlit Echo’s praises…But perhaps something more was going on? No, that didn’t cover up the banishment of a sibling to the moon or the execution of Chrissy’s father. The more I thought of it the harder my determination grew. For at least a century slavery had been going on, supposedly without their knowledge. That accompanied by unconfirmed and subsequent pony eating and whatever the hell the nobles in Saddle Arabia did made it hard for my reluctance to hold ground. Considering they herded I doubted sex was all they had a slave do Turning my attention to the room, I was surprised at how the energy drained from it slightly. “Okay Ari,” Her enthusiasm was gone, a serious expression on her face. “What are you going to do to get the poison in them then? And How in Tartarus do think you are just going to waltz out of there with two dead weights?” Echo was taking deep breathes now, leathery wings twitching until Dinari leaned in closer, forcing him to stay still. I started to open my mouth but paused. How the hell was I going to get away? Flying away into sunset sounded doable, until I took into account the guards that would be following her, then it sounded like suicide. “How many guards are employed and working on any given day?” But I was an Alicorn…Couldn’t I teleport them? Tufted ears remained splayed as my prisoner frowned. A sigh came from beside me, frustration bleeding into it, “Several hundred guards worked there last time I checked, but if you go in the day time you will face the most pathetic force imaginable. Even my youngest warriors incapacitated them.” I nodded, ignoring the snort from beside the heifer. Small equestrian ponies sounded easy anyway…In small amounts that is, I didn’t want to face hundreds of ponies. So teleporting was the way to go. “Thanks Chrissy,” she purred as I said that, shuddering against me as I focused on my memories of her. A little extra love never hurt, which maybe what my other mare needed as well. Dividing my attention was hard sometimes, more so with the nagging reminder from my conscious about finding the mirror. Focusing on Lyric I nuzzled her till a sigh escaped her, slowly nuzzling me back as she kept her eyes down. A sigh was better than before at least. Kapera was glancing at the clock now, a worried look on her muzzle as the airship creaked in the storm. “And the poison will come in the form of cake,” a grin spread as I looked at the Thestral, “I will bake them a cake, if they are anything like me they will eat it before I can blink.” A smile was on Kapera’s muzzle as I continued, confidence growing as the plan ran through my head. It sounded better every second. “I will arrive around lunch time, bringing the desert to the special occasion, and since my words obviously won’t work I will teleport them away.” My head tilted, “They can’t track teleportation can they?” “Not the last time I checked,” Chrissy muttered as her eyes scrunched up and a frown grew, “But Starswirl the Bearded was-,” a sudden loud snort caused her to stop. The whole room turned to my scaled mare as her expression turned to one of anger, ears pinned back at the table. As nothing came from Lyric Chrissy hesitantly continued. But both of our eyes watched our herd mate carefully. “That old, unicorn stallion was developing a generalized teleportation tracking spell but never finished it, the reason was obvious though.” Seeing my eyes on her she gave me a grin, “Only those with a lot of magic can teleport and even then many don’t because of the risks associated with their concentration breaking.” We shared a wide smile and even Lyric managed a small one. Entry to exit I had it down. Well, except for the castle layout, but I was sure they could fill me in on that. Sharp teeth were exposed as my conspirator looked back at me, a glint in her eyes as they left the clock once more, “I don’t think you need me here anymore then.” The reminder of the forgotten green fruit was hastily shoved into her maw, going down with a loud gulp. “See yah,” Her eyes squinted at the ticking face, “Around one.” She frowned at the soaking window pane, “Probably.” With that Kapera stood, stretching as her workers joined her. I rose to let them out. As I opened the door we all cringed at the torrent that slammed against us, whipping water at us in near bucketfuls with how wet we grew. Securing the door I looked to the group, narrowing my eyes against the onslaught. They were pushing on, shouting something that was lost as a slam stole my focus. We stared as a bucket rolled across the deck, pushed on by wind before it was suddenly hurled off into the water. I paused on my way to the control room, ignoring the disturbance in my feathers as a whisper of flowers whipped past my senses. But I shook it off, the gray sheet surrounding my ship and the far away flashes insisted I move on. And so I did, knowing that the wind would have blown away the scent, that the source was long gone, and almost guiltily aware of why I might have imagined it. That scent stirred a memory of wild joy and childhood relaxation in me, something I was sorely missing here. Gears turned as I gazed out at the sea, frowning against the waves as they grew in height and choppiness. Looking back to the town that withstood Mother Nature’s beating, I grew somber. A faint smell of acrid smoke was coming in from the inner reaches of the city. While the mountains that lay behind them were completely obscured in the dark atmosphere, and it was only nine in the morning. Another white bolt arched across the sky, skipping across black cumulus on its way to the outskirts of the town till it struck at the ground. Through the gray sheet I could almost see dark plumes rising into the rain. My own comfort didn’t matter much right now. **** Chrissy As soon as my stallion left with our helpers the Thestral was up and stretching his back. Popping as we all stared at him. I felt conflicted on Ari’s plan still but this bat clearly had more issues with it. Even as pops came from him his muscles bulged as soon as he rested, frown capturing the look in his eyes perfectly. “So just how interested is Moonbutt in Ari?” Just like I thought he flinched at my insinuation. It would figure that the socially awkward one would latch onto him after one dream encounter. But my wing still couldn’t help but buzz at the thought of her presence on the ship. “I see, well, please work on growing the balls to tell her how you feel,” Lyric scooted over to me as he nearly choked on the fruit he had just bitten into. “Just because I shouldn’t kick an incapacitated mare in a mare challenge doesn’t mean I won’t if she pursues my stallion.” Lyric straightened up, nodding just as Ari opened the door. All that was missing was the dramatic lightening to highlight him and he would have the guard quaking in his hooves. Blocking out unrelenting downpour, Ari dragged himself over to a corner and shook his wings one at a time. As he did so Echo made a beeline for the pillow, straightening his back, and rustling his wings. Trying a little too obviously to keep in my stallion’s good graces, sharing an eye roll with Lyric I felt a little better. “Are you ok?” He asked as we made space for him between us, this time we shared a frown. Just a little better, not one hundred percent better. My stallion wants to purposely lead on two mares that are extremely powerful and hate me. “No.” Lyric remained silent, her tail started to swish. Drops rolled onto my chitin, cool, and indifferent to his unpleasant worry. “I know it’s not the best way…But I can’t think of any better ones.” Sweet love poured in as I looked away, “You know I love you both very much.” “Can’t you just be polite, laugh when they laugh?” Lyric’s voice cracked at the end, and I felt her pain. The sweetness grew sour, a frown set on our stallion’s muzzle, “I will be as polite as I can be and laugh when appropriate…Truly though, I am not good at faking things so I won’t be preening them or anything now that I know what that means.” Involuntarily I sighed, letting my eyes wander to the zebras, and Ayodele in particular. Pitying the mare as her eyes widened. My affection for Ari was great…But his ignorance to Equus culture was hard to understand and had hurt me at first when I learned of it…But that was mostly over with. Ari paused as he waited, looking at me with perked ears before they dropped again. “I won’t mention either of you and if you want you don’t have to leave the cabin when they are here.” His dark ears were splayed now, wings shifting uneasily, and an all together uncertain look in eyes as his gaze flitted between us. Echo would tell, somebeing would slip up, and yet no being seemed to want to say it. “That isn’t true.” I take that back, my scaled herd mate was going there. “The Thestral will spill his guts to them as soon as they get here.” Ari just nodded, sadness and fear leaking through the wall of sweetness he was trying to maintain. “You don’t know have everything planned out yet.” He winced but briefly dipped his head once more, “And you don’t have a clue about the mirror.” Wind howled long and low for a second as his blue eyes disappeared. “Of course I don’t know Lyric,” he rested he chin on her head as I leaned into him. “But I would love to learn more about the mirror if you feel up to talking about it.” **** Lyric My heart ached fiercely, as if it was wrapped in a vice like grip. I knew he wouldn’t know about the mirror. I knew he was trying to keep me happy while he figured out things. But, I was tired of going along with his attempts to keep moving, it never ended then. Not when one sister was banished or the grey coltcuddler himself disappeared. I just kept moving. And nothing changed. Talking became hard, the grip having moved to my throat. You would think after this long it would be easy, easier, but it never was. “You don’t have to now-.” Interrupting him with a kiss, I felt a warm tears roll down my scales before I released his muzzle. With a couple rubs of our muzzles, the soft fur soothed me. I felt a small medium of calm descend upon me, enough to continue. “Of course I do!” The way it came out shocked me into silence. “S-sorry,” but his eyes just returned to their concerned expression. Chrissy looking sympathetic and the audience across the table appeared very far away. Echo knew everything already anyway; we can’t even leave him alone anymore. Grabbing some hay, I chewed the flavorless mouthful as my mind tried to recall the facts, not that they were hard to remember. It was more the process of time, the when’s and where’s that moved on but at the same time didn’t change at all. Rain pounded on, the seconds ticked inaudibly, and I swallowed that dry mush resigned to the pain. “The mirror is strange,” my eyes closed as the mirror stood alone in the black expanse of my mind. “It almost looks like a regular body mirror, oval with a purple frame and trim…But the base is welded to a platform.” The room expanded in my mind’s eye to include blurry desks and a slumped over bag. “All around the platform purple horseshoes are encircling it, small cuneal writing engraved on them.” Images of determined guards and sparkling checkered floors flew by in my mind as I could almost hear their hoof steps pounding down the imaginary hallway. Damp feathers wrapped around my body, stilling a shaking I hadn’t noticed till then. “But I don’t remember what the room looked like, not really…It had a plain brown desk, a white marble floor, and plain walls.” I wish I were even half as skilled at enchanting as my father was, is. Then I could have decoded what the writing meant. “Not that that matters, surely it has been moved or the room redecorated with whomever is on the new castle design now.” A second basked in silence before his low query broke it. “How,” my stallion trailed off growing rigid beside me, but I knew what he meant. Hollowness filled me then. Cold nights and empty relationships with the bodies beside me, all easily lulled into laying with me, and all even quicker to leave a monster. “Long enough,” They all accepted that, even the mares across from us looking solemn. “Do you remember anything that might be important?” As a herd we all did a variant of a cringe, the redundancy of the question was obvious but necessary. Somehow it was easier not having to explain it all at once, the prompts keeping me here instead of there. The Thestral was watching me intently then. My pillow seemed to sink away as I remembered the worst part. “I had snuck past the guards, so easy they were to distract then, and entered the room.” The glow had almost blinded me. “The chimes had just begun, from some clock in the room, and a silver sheen passed over the mirror’s surface. It blinded before I spotted my father’s bag on the floor.” Sympathetic murmurs came from my herd and to my surprise the zebras. As the muted splashing sounded came from the sea I let their comfort wash over me, erasing the images. My herd was here. “Well, perhaps a very interested researcher will have me inquire about such a well crafted enchanted mirror.” I did a double take, blinking rapidly as he continued with his playful grin. “I could easily go there with a list of issues, this world is full of them, and getting your, no, our family home is pretty important.” His eyes traveled to my stomach briefly and I felt a small burst of hope. Setting my lips in a serious line I channeled my inner Chrissy, “But don’t make them too eager,” I let my eyes flick to the skinny mare that watching me intently. “My aunts told me mother was terribly possessive when she was carrying me.” I didn’t look at the beings across from me, instead relishing the smile that lightened Ari’s muzzle. Although we could hardly hear the time pass over the storm, it was. We kept to eating mostly, my herd mates and I comfortable with the silence, while our tagalongs looked around the room. But I didn’t pay them any mind, my chance was paying off. If I hadn’t taken that chance, following what could have easily been my mind losing itself in the desert’s heat, and then I wouldn’t have ended up curled up beside my stallion. Well, our stallion, but my herd mate wasn’t the way some were. I didn’t scrunch up my muzzle the way my father did to herding. Soon enough my lazing was disturbed, Ari was squirming and Chrissy was buzzing as she wiggled. She probably felt too exposed again, her hormones kicking in. Something I wasn’t quite looking forward to. She described it as feeling vulnerable for no reason and so nesting came into play. Wings adjusted themselves over me as I glanced at the clock, frowning and nudging my stallion. He looked at the clock and joined me in a frown, it was past one. But before he could comment a dull thumping whispered under the wind. With an apologetic smile he was out the door, returning several minutes later with a soaking wet saddle bag draped over his back. Closing the door he muttered to himself before he shook out his mane. “Kapera gives her apologies,” we watched as he placed it the on the table. “But she wants to make it home before the storm gets too bad.” Rolling his eyes he muttered the end, “Like it wasn’t bad out there already.” “She’s not staying to wait it out?” I frowned, sharing a worried look with Chrissy as the thunder rumbled outside. “No-pe,” Ari sounded out, snorting before opening the saddlebags onto the table. The jingling of chains filled the room as a curious set of shackles fell out of the bag. One was obviously for the hocks, being four shackles connected by a chain, and the other was not so obvious. They were two rings engraved with various runes. Inspecting them, I tried to recall the meaning in the writing, but only some of the basic symbols were popping out at me. “Kapera said to apply those to the base of his wings, they should block off his aetheratic channels.” We turned to the Thestral. He was frowning at restraints. But as bad as it may sound I was happy that Ari had kept his guard up. Slitted eyes scanned my herd mates and I, even glancing at the zebras, but they just shrugged. A grunt made me look over to my stallion, his horn was encased in gold yet I didn’t see what he was manipulating. “What are you doing?” Chrissy asked, cocking her head as he scrunched his eyes. His horn grew brighter before it petered out, “Trying to levitate the restraints over to the-,” I interrupted him. Encasing the small gate keys in my magic I unlocked the restraints, dropping the keys and grabbing the wing shackles. “If the cuneal writing isn’t broken it keeps relaying the effect, which in this case is a general magical restraint.” The eyebrows rose on every being’s face. “My father is an enchanter; I picked up a little bit watching him.” “That’s such a cool skill!”Ari exclaimed, fluttering his wings as I blushed and Echo muttered to himself. That muttering proved to remind my stallion of what we had been doing. My blush faded as he nodded to the restraints. Placing them on Moonlit Echo was easy, the Lunar guard even standing as a golden field added the hock shackles. Every being’s eyes traveled to the still bulging pocket. Looking to Ari and back to the bag I felt a surge of excitement travel up me, my scales tingled as he unlatched it and let the contents roll out. Several vials filled with a green powder and several more filled with a dark red liquid came out first. Ayomide gasped as we all looked at the vials curiously. “W-why did she send the hydra blood?” She flinched under the stares, “Well, you see…When I was tracking you down I ran across the Hydra you killed and pocketed some blood for selling later.” Her cousin’s gaze went to Ari and he just shrugged. “You can keep it,” he said as he grimaced at the vials. “Just don’t let that near me, that stuff burns like acid.” With a brisk nod from her we turned back to the bag watching as the key components of the plan appeared. My father would love to see them. They weren’t like a standard magic inhibitor or even like the prototype my stallion had worn. Both were more like safety cones than shackles, taking up nearly the whole length of Ari’s horn, and with twelve gates. I was speechless, my herd felt the same as we inspected the finely crafted inhibitors. Scratch what I said about my father, he will want worship the ground Kapera walks on, especially if they work. And with twelve gates I don’t see how they won’t work. It was a magic number, mind you, it was one that no being had done much research on seeing as twelve was seen as overkill for the being with an average magical core. When three did the trick why use all the extra material and put in the time? “Well, now all we need is the storm to end,” I looked to Ari as jingles made my ears twitch. He turned from Chrissy, meeting my gaze before looking across the table. “As soon as it lets up we are hitting the air.” I slowly nodded, feeling uneasy for some reason. Chrissy managed to pinpoint why, “What if it’s night time then?” Our stallion frowned, chewing his lip for a second, “I doubt that it is going to let up anytime soon. The last storm we were in lasted a whole day. So, I guess I meant at the first light we head for Equestria!” Manners.**** Above Shallow Shale Ari For the most part the storm was over. Yet, I felt no better knowing that fact. It was just one storm of many that this planet faced. The aftermath just a another fact for the beings outside of Equestria. Buildings, lives, and lands lost with a frequency that made me worry. What if this didn't work? As the sun rose it had been plain to see that the gray clouds still lingered above the city, the only change being the color. Lightening to the color of ash rather than the charcoal they had been last night. Although, that small change didn’t exactly make me feel better, more rain was clearly coming in. The far reaches of the Narrow Sea’s horizon was as black as night despite the celestial body clearly peeking down through the dense covering of cumulus. But I didn’t have time to measure the approach of the storm. We needed to be up and over the Gryphon Republic today. It would the hardest area to maneuver in and as such would probably take most of the day, if not all day. I mean, by underground rail it took eight hours or so. And that was without fog, the possibility of storms, and maybe even air traffic. It was the Gryphon Republic after all. But Minotaria was flat, so I could make up time there. A smile curved up my muzzle, widening as a sudden thought struck me. My eyes found the lever stuck at the lowest setting, keeping the airship idle, and somewhere in me I wanted to ignore the mechanic’s warning and crank it all the way up. Let it run crazy for a small amount of time. My wings flexed against my barrel at the prospect, strangely excited. I shouldn’t be excited to almost stress an engine, my new home, but any thought of movement made my instincts rustle around my skull in a desire to do something. Releasing a breath I clamped them down, I would need that energy later. First, before I could test my speed I had to cross that mountain range. Yes, that one behind the white wall of pseudo clouds. So, I took a big breath in and focused on getting us up and over the mountains. The engine was purring, all the instruments were showing optimum levels of magic, and the various oils we used were hardly touched according to the meters. Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to raise the lever. My gaze had been caught in the columns of dark smoke as they rose toward the sky, originating from somewhere in the city. It was a clear ‘SOS’ signal to the world if I ever saw one. “Ari,” Chrissy queried quietly, sidling closer as she leaned further into me. Obviously wondering why we were still here when everything was ready. But I couldn't tear my eyes away. That was somebeing's home. Everybeing followed my gaze to the coastal city, ears twitching slightly as faint yells drifted under the door from the crowds. Since the sun rushed to position it had been like this. The words were unimportant, but the panicked tones and frequent occurrence of the yells told me all I needed to know. More storms, more fires, and somewhere there was more flooding. I was willing to bet on that. It was a picture so plain to see that it made me tense up under the weight of it. It wasn’t just the destruction that ruffled my feathers, it was the fact that anybeing could remain ignorant to it as Echo was and apparently the princesses as well. This would be front page news on Earth. Something was definitely off in Equestria and I didn’t quite know what to do about it besides ponynap the rulers and say 'look at it'. From what I know they control the celestial bodies and weather, making their land a paradise. Surely that was genius levels of magic, controlling nature herself. Yet, how could anybeing miss the fact that messing with one thing created a ripple effect outward? It was basic cause and effect, magic seemed to follow that rule, yet…I just didn’t see how this had gone on. Racism was one of my first thoughts for motivation outside of ‘who doesn’t want to live in paradise’, but something didn’t add up with that theory…Thestrals mainly. That logic was clearly missing a motivation or a detail along that way, yet no being here either saw it or thought to inform me of it. And the god thought I would be a good choice, the ignorant alien. God sucked. Chrissy and Lyric were beside me though, my rocks in this chaos, and so I exhaled away my worries for now. I would have my answers soon enough. No words were needed as I turned to my mares, looking first to Chrissy as she frowned at scene outside, and then my gaze went to Lyric. Her lips were turned up into a weak smile as we made eye contact, it didn’t quite inspire confidence though. Around me were the rest of my traveling companions, half of which were settled in, and they also bore splayed ears and other signs of worry for the city. Pausing in their pillow fluffing to stare at the scene, since this was going to be a boring trip they had brought cushions from the dining room into the control room, and I had teleported more food up. Going through my mental checklist I felt little calmer. We were set to leave, nothing more could really be done to the room, and I wasn’t waiting around for the sea storm to move in. The wind whispered by the door as I raised the levers simultaneously, sending the engines out of their purring and into a rhythmic thrumming. With a turn of the knob more gas was added, sending us both up and forward simultaneously, only a slight lurch letting me know we had moved. Heartbeats fluttered in my ears as I felt a brief shot of excitement course through me. The harbor was growing smaller with every second, the many ships around the piers and moored on the beaches becoming dots. The beings frozen in open mouthed stares as we looked down at them. Can they see us? I glanced at my mares with a frown, stilling my wings as they went to blanket my herd. Keeping my magic’s grip on steering wheel tight, I started the wide turn around, and leaned into Chrissy as a tilt started. Slowly I kept on it, ignoring the masculine snort and scrapping of hooves on wood as I focused on the rocks closing in on the ship’s right side. I could see the water foaming against them as the wind angrily howled against our hull. Pitch black clouds still remained a great distance away, for now. But, dear lord those rocks were close to the bow, I leaned back as well as into the turn as the dark cliff got closer. My herd and companions joined me in the lean, as if that would slow our forward momentum somewhat. As we got a closer look at the weathered formations, I noted they were still shiny with moisture, and small puddles had formed among the dips among the stones. We were that close. Somehow parking it facing the sea didn’t seem so smart anymore. Sure I wasn’t liable to tear off somebeing’s roof in a botched liftoff, but the obstacles around the water looked much worse in this light. Not that turning right would have made much of a difference with how wide I had to turn the ship, modest it was not. Alongside the harbor were the beaches, which were bordered by craggy sea cliffs that I could now see were teeming with sea birds of various species. The fact that I could identify their nests made me quite aware that we still hadn’t cleared the cliffs in the liftoff. And with collections of rocky outcrops along the cliffside it made me a tad overzealous about completing my turn as fast as possible, the tilt of the deck already telling me it was much sharper than Nomalanga would have liked. But it still was not my worst turn. I slumped down to the pillow as the bow just scraped past the cliff, shortly joined by my mares as the room gave a collective sigh of relief. The harbor in Malawia was much easier to maneuver, less cliffy. The fog shrouded mountains were in my sights now, separated from the dull rooftops by fog that extended all the way up into the clouds. Slowing the engines for a second, I let the gas go wild in the balloon above us. Holding my silence, I started to fluff my feathers as a new worry occured. Just how tall were the mountains? There was only so much of the city to pass over before the white began. Faster and faster we rose into the storm clouds, the variety of brown clay roofing tiles growing smaller before disappearing as gray started swirling past the window. The sound of gas filling the balloon took up the the room as we watched endless ashen landscape make way for us, not daring to jinx the moment with words. This dark view carried on till we finally crested the clouds. Well, that layer of cumulus anyway. A brief moment of awe came over the room then as we discovered a unique place that lay between the gray masses. It shone in a diluted light that inspired both melancholy and the urge to touch the clouds. For illuminated above us was another layer of clouds, slightly lighter in color as it covered the bright orb that was unnaturally held in place over us. Puffy cumulus dominated my vision, gray and white swirling around, and even in front of the ship there was a wall of white fog that completed the feeling of being surrounded. It was the type of solid fog that made you nervous to step a hoof into. My awe was certainly gone then, the mountains weren't visible, and I almost missed the amazed stares of the townsfolk over this challenge. I could see the stares at least, the mountain, not so much. Not that I wanted the attention, my actions alone might have jump started the rumor mill since not many airships went into the continent. That was just another reason to park it at the edge of Equestria. Ponies would start searching for the princesses and I didn’t want everypony knowing the giant white airship had the only Alicorn stallion on it. Breathing slowly, I tried to calm myself, tried. You would think leaving the crowded city behind would have alleviated some of the dread that viewing the destruction created…Well, it didn’t. The mountains ahead of us would have had been hit as well, and possibly Minotaria. So, it was basically out with one worry and in with a new list of them, starting now and ending when my missions ended. At least my tour of destruction was only going to be too easy to give…Which was…Good? Was that a good thing? What was my timeline on this? Was I some deus ex machina for an all powerful god as time ran out…? Somehow I doubted that, that bastard could have been kinder about everything, really. But…He did, sort of, in a very twisted, self serving way answer my wish to have kids. However , I had to talk with royalty first. Feathers spread themselves out as that thought hit me, like really hit me. Me talk to royalty, it was almost unreal. Royalty…No, I ignored their title for the moment. I had to converse with mostly racist mares that would almost assuredly be thinking of exactly along the lines of what god wanted from me. And one had killed my mare friend’s father, while quite possibly both were responsible for sending my other mare friend’s family to another world…I really wish there was a way to describe how fucked I felt about the upcoming meeting. But, there was Chrissy and Moonlit Echo’s experience to draw on… “So,” I briefly glanced at Chrissy before turning my attention to the approaching wall of fog, “How do you talk to royalty?” Both Echo and my mare raised an eyebrow at that. Right, maybe that was the wrong word, “Properly I mean. You know all that etiquette stuff?” Just ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ wouldn’t cut it for princesses; call it a ‘feeling’, but nothing was ever that easy. Her muzzle opened to answer me when a strident voice exclaimed, “Did you just say etiquette stuff?” I nodded at the Thestral, glancing at the fog before returning to his pinned ears. “This is a key part of your plan! Why are you talking about it like it is the gossip column in the local paper?” Finished for then, he huffed at me, trying to look intimidating, and he failed at that in my opinion. The matted fur and shackles just made me feel bad for him. Baths were in the future… “Look Echo, I didn’t mean it like that.” I narrowed my eyes at the fog but it didn’t get any clearer, so I turned the ship slightly, so we ended up parallel to the mountain rather than heading straight for it. We watched the wall a minute longer before releasing our disquiet in various sighs, rustles, and even a gulp. The tips of the mountain were still absent. Coming back to the cabin I gave him a small smile, “After everything I have had to learn I just feel a little played out,” sighing, I nuzzled Chrissy’s cheek. At least they brought some sanity to my crazy life. “So I meant that more in the sense that I don’t even know if I am using the right term for this planet.” He blinked as his withers lowered. “I really appreciate the help everybeing is giving.” Ears perked up from the cushions around my herd, Ayodele’s eyes shined slightly, even as my mares leant into my barrel slightly harder than normal. The correlation wasn't lost on me, but that was so far down my list I let it slide. “So,” I locked eyes with him, “Since you work with Luna every night, what tips do you have for conversing with them?” Golden orbs just blinked before they focused on the floor. Dividing my attention once more I adjusted our path slightly and brought a bale closer. Disappointment on my mind as I noticed the straw-like color of it, bran flavored breakfast. And the barrel of apples was in my siren’s clutches…She couldn’t eat all of them, right? My magic tipped the barrel slightly as rose colored magic held the apples in, draconic eyes started to narrow, and with that I quickly returned it to its upright position. Half of it was gone already, so maybe with the foal helping her she could finish it. I would just get another one later. Settling for the hay, I began inhaling breakfast, instantly understanding her reaction. The rolling of my stomach coming to the forefront of my mind with each bite. I wouldn’t give up my food with this consuming feeling inside me. The clearing of a throat made me pause in my ‘chewing’ as I watched the guard shift his rump on the pillow. We waited and all eyes were on the colt as the ship continued to climb higher. Bringing back the question, just how tall was the Gryphon Republic? I mean, we couldn’t even see a hint of the town anymore! Endless gray surrounded us, more clouds gathering, along with the white wisps of fog that clung to the rocky spires in sheets. Another clearing of his throat echoed around the room, thankfully this time he finally managed to produce his thoughts. “For starters,” his eyes grew hard, “Don’t arrive late to a set time.” A pause hung in the air as I scrambled internally to count the nights...It had been almost three weeks now, possibly, I wasn’t one hundred percent certain on that. I wasn’t late, was I? Looking to Chrissy, I panned my head slightly, suddenly very uncertain if my timeline was correct. Being knocked out in the hull of ship didn’t make for great time keeping, and the ponies imprisoned with me hardly made good watches. She was counting as well, tapping an ebony hoof in time as Lyric cocked her head. “You did put my arrival time as three weeks, right?” It would be just my luck that Chrissy would put it as two weeks instead of including the important ‘or’ in the letter. “Of course I did Ari!” I looked between her and my siren, who was still thinking, “And we are definitely going to make it!” She turned her muzzle to me, frowning, possibly at what I suggested. “I merely edited some of your redundancies and added more detail where it was needed.” Her frown held, but her eyes wavered between mine and Lyric’s with her ears following suit as I looked back at her. I tried to think back to what parts she meant but it was all a blur. Hell, the hydra seemed like a blur of swamp gas, burning pain, and rapid fire movement in my scattered memories. Releasing my breath I shook my head at the floor, “Sorry, it is just I can’t quite recall exactly what I said and I didn’t know what you edited-.” I cut myself off, opting to breathe deeply for a second. My heart slowed down, “I was just worried that I broke the first rule…It wouldn’t due to be walking into a meeting with two already pissed off Alicorns.” The slap of a hoof to a face sounded as I finished. “And don’t swear!” I turned from the growing scowls on my mare’s muzzles to look at the exasperated look on the guard’s face. Noticing my eyes on him Echo pinned his ears, more confident as he continued. Just bite him… “You won’t make far in the castle talking like an uneducated dirt muncher.” His mouth continued to move, but I ignored his words, slowly narrowing my eyes at him instead. That phrase almost sounded racist with that tone he had said it in. Those pinned ears grated on my nerves as well. Stealing a glance at the zebras to the left of him I confirmed it was definitely derogatory. The way their eyes narrowed, ear flattened, and nostrils flared all but screamed what they desired to do to him. And I did want to keep to my word… “W-AHH,” the exclamation cut through the chatter as I felt a grin make its way up my face. I really didn’t mind this part of the deal. Echo watched the ethereal paddle fade, huffing noisily as the mares and I restrained our laughter. Violence didn’t solve all my problems, but it certainly made them more amusing. Blinking at the sudden smooth sensation on my body, my humor was replaced by confusion. A pair of tails whispered across my butt, slowly dragging themselves down to my short length of a tail as I turned to glance at the owners. The grins they wore grew almost conspiratory in nature. I didn’t mind that one bit. Slowly I extended my wings, spreading them over my herd as we watched the colt in amusement. His nostrils flaring as he struggled to calm himself. But I let him struggle, learning wasn’t always easy, and quite frankly I wouldn’t mind if he took the hard way. My magic was still growing. We still hadn’t cleared the fog but I was caring less and less about that, we had hours left in the morning, and a whole afternoon to use as well. Finally, he came to his senses. Shooting me a glare, Echo simply ground out, “Don’t swear, they will take offense.” Well, wasn’t that elementary. Don’t use profanity around officials, sheer genius. “I wasn’t planning on doing that,” I had some common sense. “Anything else I shouldn’t do?” I looked between Chrissy and Echo as both grew thoughtful. “Bow-,” Echo started. My mare interjected, “No!” Both Echo and I gaped at Chrissy, “He shouldn’t bow.” As they became locked in a scowl-off complete with ears pinned back. I couldn’t help but cock my head at Lyric, and finding no answer I turned to the cousins. They splayed their ears back at me, raising eyebrows as the opinions clashed silently across the room. “Okay, I give.” Turning to my marefriend, “Why should I not bow? Cause I was figuring that bowing or kissing hooves would be more along the lines of respecting royalty?” Common sense said ‘yes’. Her ears perked up, considering my face for moment before a twinkle came into her eyes. The scowl was gone and that worried me more than her anger. Rising from under my wing she trotted around to face me. By this time we all were watching her with looks of confusion. Averting her eyes from mine she folded a foreleg to her chest, extending the other far ahead of her chest while her face tucked into the gap between her forelegs. I slowly came to realize this was a bow of sorts for equines. I watched the demonstration intently and yet I didn’t see the point as the clock ticked on, she wasn’t moving. Was there more to it? The ticking started to echo in my ears as she remained in position. Lyric looked at me pointedly, her eyes whipping between mine and Chrissy’s prone form as the seconds grew longer, a minute having passed then. Mouthing ‘what’ back at Lyric, I gesticulated at the form of our herd mate. I didn’t know what to do. And the mares across from me weren’t helping when they looked at me expectantly. The fog was still outside the windows, hints of something darker peeking through as I tried to catch Chrissy’s eye. But she had them closed; even her wing was silent and folded to her chitin. “Chrissy?” I watched her intently, an odd sensation of discomfort clenching at my stomach as I watched her continue to prostrate herself before me. Despite having her rump high in the air there was nothing alluring about the pose. I didn’t feel respected either, but maybe it took a special mindset for that. My ears were gravitating backwards slowly as even the guard didn’t have an answer to my look. She still remained in position. I just about to use force make her move from the pose when the guard spoke up, “You have to allow her to rise.” His tone was almost automatic in its nature. While his ears were splayed at the display and a faraway look hung in his eyes. Controlling the discomfort for a second, I turned back to my mare. “You can get up Chrissy.” Like a switch had been thrown she rose with a grace that eased my discomfort somewhat, although it still lingered with the image of her bowed low in my mind. It was just wrong, both my instincts and logic agreed on that. The phrase My mare didn’t mean lower than me and if that was a bow… “Are you feeling alright my liege?” Chrissy asked in a flat tone, a tone that I pinned my ears fully at. A smirk slowly grew on her muzzle, “I see that you saw my point.” Confusion briefly filled me as I pondered over the last two minutes of awkwardness. “As everybeing seems to forget, I had to be Lovebutt for awhile and you would be surprised what you learn about them when the public isn’t around.” She seemed to be waiting for something as sea-green eyes glanced at Moonlit Echo then back to my deflating feathers. The mountains tops were slowly growing clearer. “Well,” I questioned. My wing lifting as she pressed up to me with a relieved sigh, shifting on the cushion for a second before looking to me. Dulling eyes searching mine with a grim line on her muzzle. “It isn’t entirely about being proper with them; they are schooled in keeping a straight face through anything, even a verbal slip up.” As a second sigh escaped my marefriend I turned and started nibbling at her ear, but she just shook me off. “Thank you, but I can’t concentrate like that,” a small smile played at her lips as my mare nuzzled me in return, and I smiled back. Turning to look at Echo her smile retreated, “Even around their guards they have a pretense to keep up.” He simply slumped his withers, most likely already coming to that conclusion. A flash of slick rock caught my eye as more cumulus swirled behind us in our seemly endless ascent. Her eyes returned to mine, “What I was trying to make you all see is how much bowing separates the royalty from the ponies. It felt odd to be bowed to, didn’t it?” I nodded slowly, already seeing the way it would come across. “So I think I don’t need to say how unattractive that is when you want an equal partner, assuming they do.” Yeah, I had to act interested in mares that ruined and tore up my mare friend’s families…What a nice reminder. “But you met them; surely you have an idea of what they are like? I mean you were disguised as an Alicorn so they must have revealed some things.” She had hinted at it. I looked intently at Chrissy as her frown deepened under everybeing’s gaze. “I almost blew my cover.” We all blinked at her admission. Ears splayed she began, “I-I may have missed some fact or quirk from when I observed Cadence for the mission.” My grip on her was quick to tighten as her brow furrowed, and she looked down, “Whether it was due to Moonbutt’s time with Lovebutt or my own failure to cover all the bases in my disguise, somewhere along the line I messed up. Sunbutt turned distant to me partway through the mission, Moonbutt grew unsure and awkward in my presence…Even the nobles seemed to grow suspicious.” A light buzzing was added to the whisper of gas and thrumming of the engine. “They would hush up whenever I entered a room and would only talk of mindless diversions when the guards were around.” As she paused to stretch out her legs it hit me. What about the third Alicorn? Before I could question that possible obstacle Echo spoke up. “Of course they do.” We turned our attention to him, the confusion practically tangible as he gave an eye roll. “The nobility of Canterlot are renowned for considering status above practicality; it isn’t really suspicious that they talk of pastimes you consider mindless.” Several snorts came from the mares in the room, but he only had eyes for my changeling. “Besides, didn’t you have changelings disguised as nobility too?” Like a tennis match our eyes went to Chrissy as she gave an eye roll in return, “I did, but they never got anywhere with the others.” For a second she clenched her jaw, “In fact, several almost blew their cover when they asked questions for me. Even subtly worded questions like ‘what do think of Princess Cadence’ were met with standard complementary answers, cookie cutter responses,” the Lunar guard was frowning, ears splayed while he slumped down onto his cushion. “Your princesses are clever, they, or should I say Celestia has kept up the act for over a millennia.” Chrissy’s eyes met mine then, “It is so ingrained in her that she can hide her suspicions behind mask after mask.” Her eyes were fearful to me as they dilated. My head hurt a little at that. Okay, it was racing and pounding as my instincts demanded and pleaded with my common sense to abort the mission. Not only did I have a third Alicorn floating around somewhere in this plan, very possibly working with the diarchy, but I am dealing with mares that sound like they could lie their way out of a murder…While covered in blood and stabbing the body still. Were the nobility in on it? Where did that leave the guard? I looked to our resident guard…How had he believed they were so altruistically good if… Excuse me if I felt a little overwhelmed. “Chrissy,” I rubbed a hoof to my head, breathing deeply before continuing, “Just where is Lovebutt?” Looking up I saw her mouth form a ‘oh’ before she rubbed her chitin along my neck. “Don’t worry Ari, she has her own kingdom to run in the north,” a rueful chuckle escaped her muzzle, “And that magical mess is going to keep her pretty occupied.” I didn’t ask what that entailed, but that was more because I didn’t want to know what sort of ‘magical mess’ took up an Alicorn’s attention for awhile. With that out of my system I went back to etiquette training. Bowing was a big ‘no’ if I wanted to attract them, along with the common sense of ‘be on time’ and ‘don’t swear’. Obviously I wasn’t going to touch them, well, when they were conscious, and I certainly wasn’t making any of the mistakes I made around Ayodele...Actually, being overly friendly might work if they weren't complete stiffs. Speaking of that mare, she suddenly twisted around as my eyes unconsciously traveled to her. The zebra’s ears shot up as she gazed outside with her best impression of a fish. Following her line of sight I went with that reaction as well. The fog was finally below us. Feathers ruffled along my wings at the sheer expanse of dark peaks before me, my mouth couldn’t form words for the sight. The Diamond Mountains had nothing on this view. For as far as I could see there were rounded points breaking the expanses of pale wisps, slick stone shiny in the muted light hitting them, and some tips were just indents in the mountain top. I focused on the nearest one as it came near, the spider web of cracks, and the matte look odd beside the otherwise shiny stone spires. Just what had made those? Recovering a little, I started to spin the wheel to the right while I slowed the whisper of gas. The airship was high enough to clear them now, but the endless horizon of peaks and valleys didn’t inspire relieve. Most were too far to really tell how tall they were. Taking a breath look back at the way we had come as we the slow turn I lost the smile that had come to me. It was just dark. Different shades of storms merging to smother the sea in a deadly blanket. Facing away from the super storm, I snorted and turned to group. “Some weather, huh?” The responses were unimportant; I meant it more as a rhetorical question and my mares seemed to pick up on that, staying silent. Laying my head down, I filed that image away for my motivation, placing it right beside my herd in my mind. “When you meet with them sit up straight,” I perked my ears towards Echo, who also hadn’t bothered rising. Nodding into the cushion I watched him wiggle, faintly jingling the chains under his body. “And never pin your ears at them, or snort, or really anything disrespectful.” “So I just smile, nod, flirt,” He was nodding along with each word, “And don’t inform them about the coming doom the rest of the world is facing because of their actions.” And that was when he stopped nodding, instead blinking as I quirked an eyebrow his way. I had accepted already that it was unavoidable to say or do something negative. In fact, I would be suspicious if somebeing was all smiles and cordial behavior, which was just unnatural-. “Mmm,” I hummed out. His reaction was lost on me then as Lyric had started licking at my scabs, muscles that I hadn't realized were tense relaxed, and I melted into the fluffy seat. Pure heaven, the itching had come third to eating and steering, but it had been there still. Her moist tongue spread over each lash with a slow care, removing errant hairs that had folded into the cuts. And then Chrissy started on my other side, her tongue narrower when compared to Lyric’s, but none the less very effective at soothing my wounds. We did have hours to talk... Before I could fully turn my head and start on Lyric’s mane a snort captured my attention. Muzzle poised over my mare’s head I simply swiveled my ear in his direction, “Yes?” “Can you ever not do that?” The way he spoke, ‘that’ was synonymous with murdering puppies. Sighing, I felt Lyric shudder but tried to ignore them. “Look, I need to have some fun, some joy in this twist my life has been thrown in.” His ears slowly moved to the side as I raised my head, arching it as I continued. “We all know that I won’t get this luxury when your rulers get here.” The urge to bite him rose again. “Even if I hide my herd you will tell them everything,” everything. I held back the wince, replacing it with pinning my ears back, “And I won’t get a break.” What about after? “Even my new home isn’t safe, is it?” My herdmates paused in their ministrations, replacing the moist warmth of their mouths with their hot breaths as muzzles pressed into my mane. I watched the ears fold back on my new friends as they watched the Thestral with me. He was watching the window. Quietly a sound came from him, too low and quick for me to catch. The sea of fog stretched on beyond the glass barrier. As I opened my mouth to ask him to speak up his shoulders shook with his breath in. Pausing, I watched him, relaxing my neck as he shuddered once more. “I couldn’t quite say where you came from to anybeing that didn’t…” He trailed off, his own batlike wings hugging his barrel before he continued, “If they are aware, then I won’t really be a guard anymore.” Exhaling he finished quietly, “My Luna isn’t one that would allow that destruction…Then she might not be my Luna.” Keeping my muzzle shut I laid my head back down, the feeling of relief at his words not feeling as sweet as it should be. What if I couldn’t change their mind? Mountains passed by below us, indifferent to the stale atmosphere in the room. The idea of being right had never felt so bad. My herd had settled into the same state as the rest of the room. Dull, only twitching an ear or eating on occasion. The clock showed it had passed into the early afternoon when the feeling grew too much. This moping can’t be good for the foal. I glanced at the dark crown of my mare’s head. I’m not changing anything like this. Among the things left to do some were last minute things, the cake would be baked the morning before I left, and the pack would be packed the day of as well. But, the horizon ahead of us hadn’t differed much from the black and white mountain range, I was going to hitting Minotaria tomorrow which was still better than walking. I wasn’t doing that if I could help it. But I could do my favorite activity on lazy days, reading. Crackling sounded as I imagined the stack of books appearing, the golden glow attracting everybeing’s attention. Yawns reverberated around me as the tomes appeared. The five nondescript books that I laid out before my herd. Eyebrows rose as the covers revealed themselves, sliding the two obvious foal centered ones aside I looked between the last three. One had the stylized ‘S’ on the cover, beside it the other two looked slightly interesting if only due to the easier to understand cover engravings. One had a hoof arranging symbols along a line and the other had a picture of an Alicorn’s silhouette dominating the cover. Yet I understood none of it. “So which book do you think would have a healing spell in it?” I looked between Chrissy and Lyric, the latter frowned at the ‘S’ book as I had come to think of it as. Using her hoof, Chrissy dragged that book forward, indifferent to the pinning of Lyric's ears. “Probably Star Swirl’s Compendium…” I stared at the massive tome with a dropping jaw; it was easily a thousand pages. As if she saw my look, a grin played over her muzzle, “That is volume one, he was a magical prodigy in his time.” Lyric simply snorted and whipped her tail around. We all looked at her, a frown growing as I thought back. “Starswirl,” I said hesitantly. Her eyes closed and she started to breathe deeply, her brow furrowed and jaw working. Just as I thought, there was a dislike…Strong dislike for that stallion. But he was dead, at least it sounded that way. Chrissy had said he was old and that he was a prodigy, of course he could just be retired and senile. Moving on from the clearly sore topic I tightened my wing over them and flipped the book open to what appeared to be a table of contents. “Oh fun…” Lyric muttered as her eyes opened to scan the page with me, the only ‘reading’ I was doing was trying to find common symbols. Which I did, sort of, there were over thirty different symbols that I counted so far. “Flip.” Dutifully I did, nearly groaning as I saw the headings and subheadings multiple. This would be so much easier if I could read… “Flip.” As I did this time I caught a peek of what appeared to be at least five more flips worth of the table of content. It didn’t surprise me when I heard the order given again or even when Ayodele and Ayomide grabbed a book to read. Echo went back to watching the fog below us. Once more they called in unison, “Flip.” The mountain range looked about as endless as well. Enter Equestria...Author's Note Hello readers, Happy triple chapter posting! In this one Ari enters Equestria and runs into somebeing that may not who he thought they were. Also paranoia, lots of that. Next two Chapters are strictly the princesses. Happy Reading! Enter Equestria... **** Above Equestria Ari Warm air turned cool against my skin, almost trying to soothe the nagging thought to return to the ship, and I almost did. But the world wouldn't save itself. So I continued. My fur was blown back as I streaked over the literal paradise below me. I had almost forgotten how deep the greens went. With the canopies practically a hoof length away as I traveled at a low altitude it was hard not to notice the swampy forest. It soothed my urge to flee, aside from the smell that is, that rotten egg like scent was jarring to say the least. Of course, there was the fact that I was traveling this low to begin with. I had started up in the clouds to be able to watch my ship and such; however it occurred to me that I didn’t want to attract too much attention as the only black dot in the blue sky. I had descended rapidly after that. After staying hidden for so long being in the open had me a little tense, not that this was completely open, but I didn’t trust the environment. The surrealism of a dry desert being right next to this controlled micro climate didn’t sit well with me. The only saving grace so far being that I could hide in the canopy if something flew overhead, which was possible since the full scope of predators was still unclear to me. But the word dragon still hung in my mind. Dragons, they were still an unclear vision of scales, fire, and teeth. I didn’t want to test that, they had sharp teeth and that was that. Better to stay on the safe side when I considered that as an option, especially if they are anything like Sea serpents. Faint croaks reached my ears as I glided along on a wind. My mind was occupied with trying to work through the imaginary conversations with faceless mares, and I was failing at it. I just wanted to blurt out the truth when I thought of the scope of the destruction around me. How were they ignorant?! I needed to calm down. Below me the oddly familiar yet new varieties of trees brought me some comfort as the open sky before made my instincts more active than I felt they should be. Deep breathes, in and out. This was the country whose citizens thought slavery was a forgotten fable. It had the tiniest equines I had ever seen, the most naive beings as well. So, excluding the rulers I should be mostly safe. I was huge in comparison, powerful, and I could easily teleport. Safe…Hydra…Right, and the other creatures my mares had mentioned offhandedly. Still, it was beautiful out, no storms or tragedies were below me. Yet, I still felt like something was wrong. Was it too quiet? Looking up at the fluffy white clouds I didn’t see why I should be worried. There were no monsters in the sky, despite how vulnerable my back felt. That probably was because of how often I had hurt it so far. And they controlled the weather here, not the clouds. Well, the cumulus was part of the weather, but that wasn’t the point. This country was harmless compared to the rest, Azure hadn’t even considered slavers. Assassins… I shook my head at that, looking below once more to scan the tree tops as my mind pointed out all the ways it wasn’t safe, especially for me. Ayomide had traversed through the swamp below me and several countries to track me down…But, no being knew where I was, the air trail didn’t lead back to me. Really, I had no papers, all there was my signature on the forms in Malawia, and those hadn’t been taken. Of course there were the ponies that I would pass by eventually. Generally Equestrians were wildcards. The ones that I had met were a mixed group of good, bad, and maybes. Although they were the smallest intelligent species I had met they also were extremely racist, dare I say the most racist. The memory of Azure and Barium still made me frown. A ‘vile bug’ is what they had called Chrissy, when she was in the same boat that they were in then…But…A half smile worked its way up my face at their change of heart, mostly Azure’s, and it gave me hope. Not even a week later and they were working with the same ‘bug’, even if I had put my hoof down a little. Equestria would hopefully be that easy to change like those two. This really wasn’t just the rulers I had to show, they were just the starting point. Weather manipulation would have to stop. Pegasi would have to do something else for a living…Maybe form a storm watch? I would have to think on that. That would be hard for them to handle, ‘natural’ weather was unnatural in their eyes, even though it was natural everywhere else... Did they realize that? Swerving around the trees as they started to grow taller I felt my fur raise and the feeling of being watched started. Did they know and not want to end their little country of Eden? But the dark covering of leaves didn’t show anything moving, no eyes looking back. Looking to my left I saw the vast expanse of Minotaria, the small speck a mountain filling me with determination. My herd needed this. They would see the truth, they had too, and everybeing in this country couldn’t be as extreme as the ponies I had met. Especially, considering the princesses had to deal with the ambassadors from other countries regularly, sign papers, and all the other responsibilities that came with running a country. They had to know. Maybe they just didn’t know what to do about it? They did have a country to run already… No. I sighed, mentally hitting myself for the momentary stupidity. If they knew then why had Kapera, Wekasi and the zebras still been living in fear of enslavement? That didn’t fit the image of the innocent and just mares that Echo knew of. Unless they thought zebras and others were second class beings, which could be a problem. But this speculation wasn’t helping me, even as a distraction it was-. What was that? Swiveling my ears I slowed my flight, pausing to hover as I tried to identify what had caught my attention. It was quiet up here, before me the expanse of trees were broken by a few small mountains, and beyond that there were more forests. The trees far ahead were clearly spaced wider apart, allowing me to see that something had been there recently. Along the bare ground there wasn’t any grass, in fact it was slightly gray from my vantage point. But the rivets in the ground were deep, unnatural, and had me snorting at the thoughts of mythological monsters. Yet, when I flared my nostrils and scoured the air there weren’t any fresh scents that screamed danger. Not that I would be able to smell any danger with wind blowing away from me. Predators could smell me. Keeping aloft, I couldn’t shake that feeling of being watched, and something had made a noise somewhere here. Even if I hadn’t consciously noticed it my ears had picked up a faint noise nearby. It was near me then. Green leaves fluttered beneath my hooves as I hovered, the few birds that were in the canopy were quiet and hopping around with little tip-taping of their nails on the smooth wood. Somewhere below the birds a muffled rippling sounded, water was below then, and since I was still on the outer reaches of the swamp it might have been a frog. Just a frog then… Had I imagined it? No matter what direction I moved my ears I didn’t hear anything out of sorts, yet my feathers tried to move out of order as the feeling persisted. Exhaling, my wings moved on autopilot, knowing I needed to head north, and it let me think. My focus was solely on my surroundings as I started off slower. Sure I could have gone faster, maybe out flown my seemly imaginary enemy, but that didn’t sit well with me. It couldn’t have been a frog. I needed to get moving but I wasn’t going to pretend that my ears were faulty or that the area ahead wasn’t the likely territory of a predator. The gashes in the ground were parallel to each other, claw marks to my instinct fueled mind, and I agreed with that deduction. And I had thought the land was harmless. For a while longer I felt eyes on me, my ears were in near constant motion as I traveled, and my eyes scanned the paradise before me for snakes. But none made themselves known. As I moved along the border, veering around the now close mountainous forest, I could have sworn I smelled grass. Behind the first mountain were many more rocky spires. None were as tall as the Gryphon Republic but all were worrying in their own right. What sort of creature could carve up rocks? And I mean shred the sides, I was sure that those matching sets of grooves didn’t just appear midway up the face of a mountain. I certainly wasn’t going to linger down here anymore. Quickly climbing higher, I focused on the mountains, noting more and more marks on the light rock as I went. This was defiantly something’s home, the markings almost reminding me of bear claws with the way they were lined up. As I was clearing one of the smaller precipices that jutted out I heard it, a flap. At least I assumed it was since I was in the air, and I wasn’t sticking around to check when I had irreplaceable cargo with me. My brief curisoty gone as reality hit me. I had very strong wings, I didn’t need to face off against whatever wanted a Alicorn snack, and my herd was safe. This was a big ‘nope’. Starting off with a large flap I shot forward like a bullet, already knowing that this border flight of mine would have to end eventually. Canterlot was at the center most part of the country. Should I just turn now then? As the small mountains came at me I was unsure, the map had a particular forest I was supposed to hit before I turned, ‘Everfree’ forest according to Echo. From there it was a easy, straight path. No. Hell no. Whatever had spotted me was still following me, where they were exactly I wasn’t exactly sure but they were flying if the rapid beating behind me meant what I thought it did. Evasive manoeuvres! So I began to turn towards the rapidly approaching woods, beating my wings harder as I heard the predator’s wings go faster. A rapid drumming surrounded me as I looked forward, eyes locked at my sanctuary, there were large gaps between trees, much better than open sky. Not glancing back I secured my bag with my magic and dived for the tree line. I heard the flapping speed up once more, it sounded like a drum in my ears as adrenaline started running in me, and then I saw the shadow of a wing over mine. Small, deceiving, and possibly pony if it was accurate. A cool feeling overtook my back as the creature flew over me, diving just as fast at first, until I gulped and tucked my wings all the way around my barrel. Then I started to creep forward, leaving the shadow behind. First it slipped over my wings, then behind them. But it caught on. It literally caught me to be more specific. Sharp talons that were most certainly not a pony’s gripped my hips, my bag catching drafts of air as I continued the dive. My mind started screaming bloody murder, air was coming to me erratically as panic set in, and that made me change my course. Wind whipped me as the new target was acquired, my thoughts only on ridding myself of the predator. The sharp tips of the talons broke my skin as the creature tried to pull me back, backwards and back on the previous track between the trees. But the sound of wings beating behind me only made me bring mine out and beat back, pinning my ears against the air whistling by me as the tree came into a watery focus. I knew the rough work of the healing spell. But what had my hips in their talons still held on, burying their tips all the way in as we both screamed into the wind. Perhaps it was a little extreme, but I wasn’t letting a little blood and pain stop this plan. “AAAA-,” we were both yelling louder, our focus was on the imminent crash, and my eyes locked on the swirl riddled bark that wavered in and out of my vision. It was about then that my racing mind caught up with itself. Those talons were no bigger than my hooves. Pressing my bag even harder onto my back I started to pull up, my face hurting at the velocity I fought against, and eventually flipped backwards. At least I intended to. The action was awkward, really more of a flail backwards than a proper flip, but the sudden change in movement sent the creature scrambling and thus freed my hips from its hold. A crack followed, echoing with a faint grunt into the woods before me. With flailing wings and a swimming vision I hovered somewhat in place. Shaking my head I tried to orient myself. Breathing heavily from the rush, flaring my nostrils, and wincing as a wind brushed by my new wounds I hovered there for a moment longer. Fuck, just fuck. That was intense. Dark red drops held my sight as I tried to slow my racing heart. After a small while the corners of the small red puddles came into focus, with the warm trickle only a minor distraction as it ran down the outsides of my legs. “E-easy my ass,” a strained voice said from ahead of me. My head shot up and my wings stilled for second. Forgetting to move them I landed on the ground with a heavy thump, the couple of feet I had dropped not even fazing me. Pain was the last thing on my mind as I gazed at the being before me. Sprawled out in an obviously pained position was Bente. And all I could think of was, “What the HELL?!” It didn’t stay in my head of course. The dirt hit my rump as I sat back and stared at the hen, blinking rapidly at the scene determine if it was real. It appeared to be. Her talons were dyed red. Silence filled the space as she made no move to get up and I didn’t dare move to help. Both of us taking time to understand what had happened. Her wincing face was stuck in my vision. Why was she here? Had I misjudged her intent? Bente went to Zebrica for help, finds out I’m on the weather issue, and appears to leave. That evening she breaks in, doesn’t take anything, and then stows away on my ship. But she left in Shallow Shale, safely arrived home and was able to say an Alicorn was dealing with it. Which was a big deal with how beings reacted to me. Then she appears here, and…I don’t even know why. But my mind went to the office, the only odd piece in the whole story. Her eyes met mine, narrowing as she tried to get up. Upon falling back several times, Bente clacked her beak at the ground before looking at me. “Well, can a hen get a talon up?” Blinking away my confusion, I frowned. “You tried to take me out of the sky.” “N-,”she started, but I interrupted. “YES,” she had almost seriously injured me, almost damaged the cakes, and we didn’t have any poison left. “You stowed away on my ship, stalked me, and sunk your talons in me!” That last part really stuck with me, I was on her side of things, I had thought so anyway. Yet out of nowhere she comes and attacks me? Like I can just let her walk off…This had to be handled carefully, something was clearly missing from this picture. My eyes followed her tail as it smacked the ground and she clacked her beak at me. Both of us seemed to be unable to think of a retort as we watched the other carefully. From my spot I could see her far shoulder was slightly raised, feathers in a state of disarray, and clearly injured in some way. The bare spot on the trunk where she hit it came to mind as a cause, but only a wince came to my mind. If she had just said ‘hello’ or ‘can we talk’ this wouldn’t have happened. Still Bente didn’t defend her actions or deny the accusations, which were really facts then. Instead the wind just whistled by. My time was ticking by as well, “You really don’t have anything to say for yourself?” Her talons dug into the ground as a loud exhale filled the space between us. I didn’t have time for this lolly gagging; I had to make Canterlot before they set the sun. As I stood she spoke, “I wasn’t trying to take you out of the sky.” Green eyes flicked left and right as I waited, ears perked at the hen, and both of our feathers were ruffled. “Well?” “I-,” she exhaled loudly, lowering her rising wings somewhat, “-I was trying to help you.” I snorted at that, help doesn’t usually involve taking a being out of the sky, and she realized how her words sounded with her next ones. “But I panicked,” a sigh, “And I’m sorry.” Her eyes had been watching mine the whole time, her beak looking more downward at the base, and the small feathers along her cheeks puffing out. Yet the apparent disappointment in my lack of favorable reaction didn’t sway me. My hips hurt and several facts were still unanswered. “You were expecting some other reaction?” I got a tail lash in my direction as she winced. Taking in a deep breath I continued, “I don’t understand you Bente,” my hooves began to ache and I shifted my weight under her watchful eyes. “Once I thought I had. I thought you wanted help with the weather that was tormenting your home and I told you I was working on that.” Green eyes gazed intently at me, almost through me as she listened. “But you tore apart Wekasi’s office,” I found her gaze, and narrowed my eyes as she cringed. Somewhere in the forest something cracked, a sound that stole both of our attention for a moment. But as nothing more than a bird fluttered off I returned my full focus on my attacker. “A-Ari,” she fidgeted her wings, trying once more to rise, and when the hen failed once more she turned to me with wide eyes. The desperation shining in them threw me off, almost as much as what she said next. “It isn’t safe here, f-for either of us,” another glance at around us sent her feathers up in alarm. “P-please, I promise you Ari, there are forces at work here that are big,” I kept my muzzle still as her words half confirmed my suspicions. When I didn’t move she pleaded once more, her voice staying low, fast, and was stridently urgent. “Ari! These ponies aren’t nice, please get us out of here I will explain everything when we aren’t surrounded.” I glanced around the apparently clear area. Boulders stood impassively behind me at the base of the mountains, varying in sizes, and quiet. The trees before me were tall, imposing, and covered in a canopy of small rounded leaves that shook in the breeze going by. But that warm wind was just as harmless. As I inhaled deeply I scented nothing that my instincts recognized as danger, the smell of fresh herbs and grass wafting by was actually intriguing to my nose, but nothing was flashing my innate warning bells. Except for her, Bente was clearly serious, and I remembered her words from the office. Her previous messengers had gone missing when they visited Equestria. Perhaps we weren’t surrounded but with that fact in my head I didn’t feel like taking that chance. She could have killed me on my ship and didn’t. Tossing my head at my decision I walked closer to the panicking gryphon, eyeing her talons and clawed hind paws with trepidation. This could be a trap; it would be ingenious to pretend to be with the gryphon republic if she was a double agent. But as I watched her she didn’t make an offensive move, only stilling as my shadow fell over her. “Please, please, please,” she muttered, half to herself I think, as she had taken to watching the sky fearfully. “I just learned this spell,” Bente’s attention was on me, “So I need you to be patient and calm, alright?” A weird coo like sound was her answer, her breath coming in quick bursts before she relaxed. Making a hopping side step around her beak I ignored my hip’s protests and looked at the space between her shoulder and the trunk. Wow, her hit had been a lucky one, sure it was clearly smashed, but if she had hit it any harder it would have been her neck, and in any other direction it would have been equally as painful. Losing a wing would have hurt and my spell didn’t heal bones, but everything else would be no problem. Like I had theorized, spells were formed of will, or as they preferred to put it: focus, and a core sound. Or as I called them: magic words. Every magic word was attuned to different branches and therefore intentions, and that was about all I followed when they explained spell work. The healing magical branch favored soft, quiet sounds, and so I had to focus on the word ‘Ah-mm’. Those spells were also easier to perform if your aetheratic channels naturally were attuned to a soft sound, or at least I thought so. Lyric was the best at healing spells and I don’t think it was just her extra experience. My crackling, well, I always thought of it like lightening. Powerful energy that flowed, not a humming or thrumming as my mares described their own channels. Sorry, right, the healing spell. ‘Ah-mm’ was how they pronounced it for me; they also had me focus on the patient’s wound repairing itself. At as small a scale as I could, focusing on the skin and muscle coming together, and picturing it was easy. But, as I put my horn to her rapidly swelling shoulder to cast it I paused, narrowing my eyes at her once more. “If you try anything I will stab you with my horn.” Her beak could damage my neck. A quick nod happened before I let my magic crackle to life, blindingly bright as I closed my eyes. I pictured the shoulder looking like her other one, together, and full of healthy muscles. And aside from some heavy breathing on her part I think it went well. Stepping back with a stiff jerk I observed my progress with a smile. The feathers were a little askew still and the area still looked off to my eye, lumpy almost, but the swelling was gone. As soon as I had given her space she hauled herself up, gasping and scrunching her eyes shut when the weight went on her lumpy shoulder, “Tha…Thank you.” Bente’s beak hung open in a pant as she stood there, more injuries clearly somewhere else, and maybe some broken bones in the shoulder. Yet her need to escape this area was more important to her as she attempted to lift off. Hovering in place she seemed to be doing fine until she did another large flap, that caused a squeak to escape her, and she landed in a heap. Guilt set in, faintly tickling at my mind as I watched her struggle again. I may have over reacted to the sound of her flying. Somewhere deeper in the forest another snap sounded, closer, and serving as a reminder of the reason for our cooperation. There were worse beings out there. “Stay still,” I splayed my ears at the idea, but didn’t see any other quick way out of here. Bente watched me hesitantly as I moved to her, stilling as I stopped and frowned. “Tuck your wings in.” “W-what?” She did after a second of my staring, her paws flexing as I moved once more. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way,” wide green eyes looked up at me. Clearly wondering how she was supposed to take it. “I don’t know if this is okay or not,” my hooves shifted and brushed against her feathers, “But I don’t know any other healing spells so this is the other option.” The gryphon between my legs slowly nodded before straightening out. With a quick moment to square up I grabbed her around her chest with my forelegs, trying not to breathe in her scent as I rocketed upward. Of course I failed, my nose filled with her fresh scent that sent my heart racing weirdly enough as I also tried not to wince. Both from her grunts of pain and my own pain, still we continued to travel upwards into the clouds. “So-,” she shushed me. “Not until we are over the clouds.” I snorted and complied, the air buffeting us as I flapped harder, and the world became a brief blur. After a short time we broke the cloud coverage. The view was impressive, the sea of green before me nearly captivating, but not enough to distract me from the reason we were up here. “Did you know I am currently on my way to the princesses,” the feathers on the back of her head rose. “Well I was, but now I have to clean up and deal with you,” muscles squirmed briefly in my hold, “I suggest you start explaining just how you helping me.” The breeze whipped our feathers around as we continued north, just because I had to learn what was going on exactly didn’t mean I was wasting time flying her to my ship or anything. She winced in my grasp as her shoulder pressed against my foreleg. Maybe I would send her there later though…My spell only mended skin and tissue, bones were another mater, and Lyric knew how to handle those. “We are still learning about them,” she paused, hesitant and quivering in my arms for a second before continuing, “But we found our messengers that went missing.” It was the way she said missing that struck me, not only did she not believe it, but the word was spoken low and quiet like the bold gryphon feared the clouds overhearing us. The clouds were white and puffy below us, clear of traffic as I scanned the area. Bente didn’t need prodding, as I opened my muzzle once more she continued. “The minotaurs found them…What was left of them.” As the fact hit me I slowed my flight, my common sense trying to put on the breaks. I can assume the messengers said something the princesses didn’t like…And now they can’t say anything. “You are sure it wasn’t-.” “NO!” Her protest echoed across the sky for a tense moment, “I mean that some parts still had…Had the weapon marks on them, the parts of the swords in them.” That admission had us both gulping. Yes, I believed her. Sure I couldn’t read minds or sense emotions but I could tell, no, I could feel the truth in her reactions. This fact scared the hen in my arms and quite frankly scared me too. If several trained ambassadors, well, she said messengers, but I assumed they were trained in politics. If they couldn’t handle the Alicorn princesses then what hope did I have? I spoke like a dirt muncher and loved a mare that I knew had to be very wanted, both mares were probably on the wanted list. Hesitantly I pressed on, “So, these equestrians,” there was no nice way to say this, “They killed the gryphons your country sent to ask for help?” Her head dipped and rose below me, a fact that didn’t help my case. “And they were specifically asking for help with the weather problem, not anything else.” I could hope. “Yes.” Fuck. “O-okay,” stay calm, positive, “And you’re sure it was the equestrians that killed them? Not a vengeful minotaur?” I doubted it. “Or perhaps a robbery gone wrong,” I added. Highly doubtful, robbers in this paradise didn’t sound right. Alicorns sort of had that effect. “They bore our flag on their bags, our official letters of permission and the proper permits of sanctioned air travel allowed by the treaty between our nations. There was no way anybeing would risk attacking them unless they had the power to back up the repercussions.” Which the Alicorn sisters did, they didn’t have any power higher than them, save the god, at least not any that I knew of. “You don’t have any bags or permits on you.” And she didn’t, both times I had seen her she was naked, which we all were, but the essential ‘protections’ she spoke of were missing. “My fellow ambassadors had them and look where that landed them.” I hummed my agreement, she had survived this long. Of course she hadn’t gone to Equestria as far as I knew or Saddle Arabia for that matter. “Saddle Arabia wasn’t an option?” Her silence fueled my racing heart, as did her scans of the area. “No,” another shift below and a bigger wince, “They…Aren’t speaking to any of our representatives.” That sounded like there was more to it but she didn’t explain, instead sucking in a big breath and screeching, “Higher!” Although I didn’t see the source of her distress I gave several strong flaps upward, not really paying attention to what was ahead anymore as my mind had a lot to chew on, racing at the sudden panic in her voice. There had been gryphons in Saddle Arabia; in fact there had been a whole mix of species, including Minotaurs. But there was no rule that said all beings must live in their own country. This didn’t explain the office though. “Can you explain your actions in…?” I swiveled my ears as my own paranoia set in. What had she heard or saw that I missed? Bente understood though, “I needed a copy of your form.” Before I could form the appropriate question to the need for such a thing she filled me in, “Vegard offers a home in the mountains…Especially if you can offer what you have offered them.” The vagueness of her words kept in tune with my instincts. Somebeing was watching us. “That is not a decision for me to make alone.” My eyes flitted along below me as the clouds seemed to form strange shapes. “Distance is important to us.” I can’t be anywhere near the princesses. “I understand.” Although she probably did, her voice went low with what I assumed was disappointment. “Would you consider traveling? A target is harder to find when it is on the move.” Bente’s head turned so our eyes met, her eyes were wide as her tail moved closer to parts that would be better left alone. Keeping my thoughts on the world ending I tensed, whipping my tail and gazing back. “The answer remains the same, it is not a singular decision, and I have more pressing matters to take care of first.” “What I heard from their gossip is true then?” My eyes widened before I shook my head and focused on the strange clouds. Of course, “Perhaps, time is of the essence though.” I needed to get back on track. “Is there anything you can tell me of the forces against me?” Our eyes scanned the clouds below us. Pony shaped clouds in my paranoid scanning. After a moment her throat cleared, “Don’t trust Anypony with power.” Feathers rose and tickled the bare patches on my chest, “The ponies you met before…They appear to be innocents of the country, maybe even rebels, but they had no real power from what I overheard. Bakers, florists, cloud pushers…Other grunt work.” A clack from her beak filled the pause, “Please be careful,” another scan of the white cumulus below us showed no enemies, “And be quick about your plan. Nothing you have to say will be welcome.” Didn’t I know that! The whole ponynapping part came from that fact. I hummed my acknowledgment, thinking on the heavy information I had just received, and tried to still my heart. Bente could hear that, I was sure of it. My suspicions were sounding more and more accurate to my growing dread. Celestia sure had a lot of ambassadors die for being a peaceful country. But, “You are sure it wasn’t-.” “Yes. The blade tips were confirmed as magically infused steel, the pommels were in a style typical of solar guards.” Perhaps only half of the diarchy was in on this then? At least I hoped so, that could explain the whole ‘Nightmare Moon’ fable, and give me something to work with. The gryphon hen suddenly wiggled as she squinted at the horizon. I followed suit as she began whispering into the wind, “You can drop me off here.” Raising an eyebrow down at the gryphon I found her beak clamped tight and her gaze set on a far mountain top. It was just a speck in the far right from here. “I don’t want to be any closer to the capital.” “Oh,” I said quietly, understanding what that mountain must mean. It must have the castle in the middle of the map. Did I believe her still? Yes, I did. Sure there were reasons not too but they paled in comparison to the reasons to believe her. Bringing my wings and chest up I slowed our momentum till I was hovering, “Can you fly?” she clacked her beak and swished her tail before nodding. “Okay…If you still need healing,” I might not come back, “Then please stop by my home.” Bente was peering up at me; green eyes watched me carefully for a few seconds more, before looking down with a shake of her head. The next words wouldn’t come at first as I gulped, stuck on what I had learned, and trying to contain my plan that was trying to jump overboard. “And tell everybeing about this, please Bente.” All I received was a nod, words seeming to fail both of us as I released her. I couldn’t help but feel wholly unprepared for the distant mountain as I let go of my new…Ally, of sorts. For lack of want for the worse reality I wanted her to be an ally. My herd was very capable. Watching the Gryphon clumsily fly left, into the northern reaches of Minotaria, and hopefully to my herd, I couldn’t help but wish I had fingers to cross. This felt like all sorts of wrong. Not just sending a injured, drunkenly flying hen into the open air space alone, or even sending her to my herd, that was a small concern oddly enough. It was what I was flying into that scared me the most. Warmth caught my attention as I stopped myself from scenting the wind after her retreating rump, my instincts not fully understanding the loss of my herd mates and probably looking for comfort in all the wrong places. I wanted her to live, not get torn apart by two pregnant mares. But this warmth trailing its way down my side took precedence. I was still bleeding…A trail through the sky and by default the ground it landed upon. Casting my gaze around the clouds I found them devoid of life, puffy, and deceivingly innocent. I didn’t believe it. Slowing my beating I lowered through a gap among them. And wow, Equestria still amazed me. It took my breath for a second anyway; my nerves wouldn’t stay down though, already they were on edge, more so than before with the clashing realty around me. If it looked nice it wasn’t always safe. I was paranoid that pegasis were hiding behind every cloud and mountain, the trees below me too, and seeing that there were no ponies under the clouds didn’t change my belief. This view may have made it hard to believe that I was in a dangerous country, but not impossible. Something had made those groves back at the mountains. Below me was a wide expanse of trees, that wasn’t the part that had amazed me. From this altitude I could see the rises and dip of the land before me, the colorful settlements dotting the vast expanses of virtually untouched nature. It was something I would see in National Geographic or the pictures of the past, surreal was the best word for it. And Paradise, that was still very accurate at the surface level. As I looked at the foreground, just beyond the lush canopy below was what appeared to be an orchard. My stomach growled insistently as I spotted the distant red on the perfectly parallel fruit trees. Just a bite couldn’t hurt… Shaking my head I moved on with my gaze. I needed a source of water…Farms had water…And ponies. Ponies that probably were fit, possibly armed, and definitely wouldn’t react well to a thief. Alicornism didn’t give me a ‘get out of jail free’ card, I’m sure if I pissed off the citizens enough I would get a warrant, bounty or whatever else just like any other being. And I didn’t want to see any ponies; my nerves couldn’t handle any more surprises. Assassin farmers wouldn’t surprise me at this point. No, I needed water and a safe place to land…The small town beyond the farm didn’t look safe either, going by the assumption that all ponies needed caution with approaching and my luck allowed for anything bad to happen. Murphy had my number it seemed. Really, who else gets assassins sent after them or captured by pirates, slave driving pirates at that?! Perhaps something closer then, some source of water had to be nearby for this canopy to stay so thick. No one was in the sky. Lowering myself closer to the canopy I smiled as a flash of blue greeted my eyes. A small gap in the branches showed an odd drooping tree and a water source. But caution was needed still, I squinted my eyes at the gap as I let myself drop. I would have to be very careful, Chrissy worked very hard on getting my feathers in place, and I was probably already in deep trouble for doing that lift with Bente. Dodging the branches I went down, marveling at the amount of wooden obstacles that fit in this space till I was forced to tuck my wings in and perch on a branch to travel lower. I watched the damp floor with an uneasy feeling, the encroaching shadows and darkness promised predators. But the pond was only a couple branches away, serene looking green pads floating, and the water as clear as a spring day. Nope, stop scenting the air. She is gone! I could have used a companion for my nerves at least, these instincts were like whispering voices in my head, and right now they wanted to find that hen…I ignored them, replacing them with curses at god. Landing with a squelch, I quickly swiveled my ears in the descending gloom, tense as the few calling avians hidden among the branches grew silent. But nothing appeared and soon they started up once more, high pitched chirping that was soon joined by the droning of dragon fly like insects. The only differences being that these ones had three sets of brightly colored wings and were fearless as they approached my still form to rest. Nothing popped out still, despite what my paranoia said. The willow-like tree at the far side of the pool stirred in the wind but nothing else moved. The wind held the scent of herbs, mostly foreign, but still very soothing. Moist undergrowth registered in my mind as mildew, the source hidden in the numerous trails coming from the muddy sides of the pool. Still, I waded in quickly, levitating my bag up as I rinsed my haunches in the pristine water, and of course watching the tree line attentively. As dragon flies danced from the disturbed water I almost relaxed. Little red streams shimmered across the surface, catching my eye, and further creating a sense of flowing peace. Then damp squishing steps echoed into my ears, the source as unknown as the cloud’s reflections on the water’s surface, and both my instincts and I agreed to hurry up. Channeling the healing spell I flexed and arched my neck, moving from one hip then the other as quickly as my magic would allow. It was on the second hip that I heard it…Or didn’t hear it to be more accurate. The steps that had traveled across the pond had ceased. Quiet descended for a second as I held my breath, neck stuck in a turned position, and knee deep in water. On my open flank’s side something cracked, followed by a whispered curse. Whipping my head from its vulnerable position at the same time I couldn’t tell if that was a word or a growl, but blue eyes looked back at me wide and unblinking as I finally gave in to the screaming of my instincts. Predator! Branches slapped and whipped me, covering the sound of a splash as I rocketed upward and away from the threat. Of course…Echo would be rolling his eyes at me. This had to be Everfree Forest since I could see the central mountain from here. Yet, I was more worried about the water than the predators then. At least I could kill or run from the beasts below me, I couldn’t do either with my current mission. My eyes wandered once more to the blue below me, seriously considering facing a predator rather than the princesses. What? You learn that the racist leaders you have to talk to about horrible topics kill ambassadors that bring up difficult news and see how you feel before you meet them! No, I needed to be strong, to appear invaluable beyond the whole ‘only hope for purebred Alicorns’ bit, which would probably be important to them since they hadn’t gotten with anybeing since…Ever, I think from what I heard. And they were expecting me! Several strong flaps and I cleared the clouds once more. Nothing followed me. Adding an increase in speed as the sense of urgency pounded in me I barreled forward at the speck of the mountain.The paranoia was back in full vengeance from the darkened paths around the river, well, and the words of Bente. Those didn’t help at all. The wind buffeted my face as I flew as fast I could. And my fast was very fast apparently; I hadn’t really tested this before, and then briefly wondered why I hadn’t. However that was quickly brushed aside, not changeable, and it was probably for the best in the long run. I wouldn’t have met Gennady if we hadn’t walked. Beating my wings actually quieted my instincts. Orchards, towns, and forests blurred momentarily, filling my veins with adrenaline at the knowledge that I could do this. The world seemed to disappear, and with it my concerns. I flapped hard and frequently against the suddenly strong winds that prevailed in the higher altitudes, not even feeling a chill like when I was on my deck. I didn’t think at all in that time, just feeling the sensations as I released my energy, and reveled in the mental image of my aetheratic channels overflowing with light. From the watering of my eyes to the erratic gusts that tried to enter my forward momentum, it was all so exhilarating. Warm updrafts would pass by under me at times trying to lift me as I turned around them , birds and other colored blurs that I didn’t linger on would squawk in alarm as I whipped by, and my heart thumped a steady beat to this feeling of speed. Not even out of breath or tired I felt like I was winning some race. All over I was strangely happy, light, and refreshed, even as the gray mass grew into focus. Slowing the rhythm of my beat I smiled absently, no thoughts really present as the bright blue regained detail. I felt like I could have done it for hours more but my reality was coming at me sooner than I had expected. And ponies too, there were ponies above the sparse clouds with me, they hadn’t been quite as noticeable when the world was a kaleidoscope. Chariots were almost frozen in midair as I went by them at a leisure pace, trying to ignore the cloth wearing unicorns in them that weren’t even complaining as the pegasi pulling them faltered and dropped slightly. I tried not to do the same as those drivers But they were making it very hard; I couldn’t even see the castle yet. Although I knew it must be close, somewhere below and ahead of me I supposed. The sights up here were very odd for me to take in. Yellow, purple, pink, and more feminine colors were present in the dresses that the mares wore. Their male counterparts matched them in sophistication with tuxedo tops of impeccable ebony and ivory, yet they didn’t wear the bottoms. Their bows matched the mare’s dresses; of course, I could practically smell the upper class aura coming off of them. All the pegasi pulling them or otherwise hanging around the incoming stream of traffic wore a form of armor. Some were silver, but most were a polished gold, and all looked to be an almost Greek or Rome inspired ensemble. Part of it covered their haunches, withers, while the rest of the armor consisted of a tufted helmet and metal horse shoes. The only part breaking the look was the dark collar pushing back on their wither armor. Their chariots made me think of Rome, looking almost exactly like what you would picture a horse drawn chariot to appear, except they were very decorative. What appeared to be coats of arms or house symbols adorned the sides of the shiny metal vehicles. I cocked my head as I passed some as it stayed aloft, even when the driver had trouble coordinating their wings. All of them must have been enchanted, it fit with their attitude. Thank goodness for safety features I guess. The chaos that I was witnessing already didn’t sit well with me. I had a feeling this was just the beginning of the Alicorn shock. According to everybeing in Equestria there shouldn’t have been me. I used to agree with that. But dooming a world where I could actually have a successful relationship, have ki-foals, and do amazing magical feats seemed a little hasty. Of course letting me buck the god in the face wouldn’t hurt…Hint, hint god. Speaking of a doomed world, I should probably land somewhere, I had to get to the castle, and stop ogling the racist’s magic. But that proved to be more complicated than I had originally thought. It didn’t take me long to eliminate landing in the castle grounds, the implication of just landing in their yard was beyond acceptable disrespect. Yet landing at the edge of Canterlot and making my way through town seemed too long and hard on my hooves. For even as I was thinking of my best route I was descending, down past the sparse covering of clouds and towards the common ground. Pausing to hover as I scratched my chin absently and considered the sight before me, it somehow suited the racists. Medieval Europe wasn’t any better…Which is what I thought of as the parallel of this city. Canterlot was certainly a capitol; it wasn’t shy about letting the world know either. The dramatic show of wealth that was expected for such a title was seen in the propensity for cobbled streets and a tall, wide wall made of white stone, and as if that wasn’t impressive enough it was bordered in gold leaf. Not just the impressive entrance arch greeted me, but pastel colored clothing I could see it from here told me Canterlot held the ponies that had wealth as well. No fishmongers or baking gryphons graced the streets, it was all equine, and a little strange to my senses after traveling. In fact, it set me on edge when I digested the reason why. Powerful ponies, my opposers from what Bente said, and they were all I could see. Keeping my ears forward, I slowed down even more, of course watching the wide eyed ponies with an equally cautious eye. Would they attack in broad daylight or were they of the sneaky variety? My thoughts were derailed as I saw a new reaction to my presence. One chariot was descending rapidly from the cumulus as the armored pegasis fell into a faint, dragging the cart with it, and several fans were levitating now as I scanned the frozen display of air traffic. Their eyes bore into mine, some of the braver mares were letting them traveling along my body. All of the attention was completely unwarranted, and more than a little much. I hadn’t done anything yet and this was how they reacted?! I wasn’t walking through the city, no way. Changing my course I flapped harder, forward, and past the ogling mares. I flew right into a whole new form of torture. Never had I thought of attention as torture before, but they made me feel like an object with their stares and excited whispers. It was clear where their thoughts were going as I flew over them. No being needed to stare at my undercarriage that long with half lidded eyes. Mares were really common here… And I missed my mares more than ever, but if they scared them off it might cause mass panic, still I was almost eager for that over the bedroom eyes. Look at the stallion right next to you lady! I’m sure most guys or girls wouldn’t mind being looked at with desire but I was freaked out inside then. The sounds of my possible attackers would be muffled by the excited crowd, as would the sight. My killers would most assuredly be an equestrian pony. And smelling them was out of the question. Jasmine, roses, and many more floral scents assaulted my nose. None of them was calming me in the slightest. Below me they flowed like one rainbow mass, gold armored guards marching along with the clamoring crowd. My pace was easy, ears were the very picture of ease, and my bags were lumpy but secure. Still it felt off, like I was the lady wandering towards the killer in the woods. Except here the woods was a bright white washed city out of the middle ages, and the killer’s hide out was the oddly jumbled looking white castle at the furthest part of the city. It ended in a cliff with a waterfall…Perfect for dumping dead bodies. Possible corpses aside, the Canterlot castle was a work of art. A slightly Picassoesque piece with the way the four towers took sudden ninety degree turns before going straight up, and there were several peaked chambers popping out of the stone home with no apparent symmetry. But the main chamber that they were sure to hold their courts in was clear as it sat in the center most point of the structure. As I left the city’s limit and flew over the long cobbled path leading to the castle gate flapping joined me. Stilling my reaction to fly faster, I first craned my head to see a squadron of armored pegasi rapidly flanking me. Grim lines under their helmets told me they were all business, as did the sheathed roman swords at their hips, but I only raised an eyebrow. Be cool. “G-good day sir,” the deep voice of the guard leading the formation spoke, sounding slightly winded as he accelerated to get parallel with my head. “Hello,” my voice seemed to quiet the crowd trailing below us. When nopony responded I asked my only concern I could verbalize. “Am I allowed to be flying in this area? I can walk if that is easier.” But I would rather fly. The stallion blinked and exchanged a wide eyed look with his companions as they got into a diamond formation around me, “Oh, no sir…May I ask for some privilege with yourpony?” I nodded slowly, trying to follow where this was going. More pegasi were rising to flock around the squadron. “You may have heard but several months ago we had a security breach,” Changeling protocols, “We have to follow the new protocol since then.” Called it… He was waiting for some sign that he could continue but all I could see in my mind was thousands of miniature Chrissy’s being sent flying, turning into green puddles as they hit trees and rocks, and I didn’t have polite words with that imagery stuck in my head. Breathing out to calm my instincts, reminding myself that this was more than thousands of lives, it was whole countries and many living families on the line. It must have been louder than I thought because the next thing I know, the captain of sorts was closing in, and growing some balls. “Sir,” I couldn’t find the words as I watched him enter my bubble, although the urge to bat him down did pop up briefly. “Please allow us to clear you before you enter her majesties grounds!” Sighing I looked him dead in the eye, “See, no green shine.” Shoving my anger down, I continued at a softer tone, “Anything else?” He was watching my eyes, a sweat drop forming, and his ears rapidly wilting as I didn’t sugar coat my eyes well enough it seemed. I couldn’t tell if it was the lack of green going over my eyes or the intensity of my eyes but he looked backwards, and I was reminded of Saddle Arabia’s other anti-changeling measure. Luggage checks… My heart started to race as I realized I didn’t have any mare in heat to distract this guard, nor any coins to bribe him, and clocking him wasn’t the best course of action. “Look at his flank!” The mare’s shout made my feathers rise midflight, pulling at odd angles as I fought to control my heart. Okay, I could work with that. My guard was losing focus and the will to continue the search; I was an Alicorn for crying out loud. For him it was probably the closest thing to talking to a god. “Let’s make this a easy procedure,” I glanced below, “I am not stopping to land when I am quite possibly late to a meeting I set three weeks ago and you don’t really think I’m a changeling.” I paused for effect, “Do you?” “His mane,” another voice whispered from one of the pegasis flying outside the diamond of guards, the tone was shocked and almost…Hopeful, and that was silly. The stress was already getting to me. “Of course not sir,” the white stallion exclaimed, sounding shocked that I would suggest it. “Exactly, glad to hear that.” Very glad, “Now I will save you the acrobatic work of searching my bag midflight if you don’t tell the princesses what is in there, deal?” He narrowed his eyes, frowning as he glanced at the ponies around him, all of which were watching me with perked ears. And he was in, “Deal.” For once I was grateful for the stereotypes I had learned, “Cake,” his frown slowly turned into a smile. Almost as if I had told a joke every pony around us started to giggle, some laughing, and I just shrugged. “It’s a surprise,” a mare’s voice called from the crowd. Nodding I focused on the destination once more, my feathers back in place and the captain breaking to the side to give me a little space. More questions flowed around the group, even some chariots adding to the strange procession, and I breathed deeply as I pictured my marefriends smiling faces. This was going to end. Cake and Politics, Part 1.**** Canterlot Castle Princess Celestia My day had been rapidly going downhill, a fact that unfortunately wasn’t a new fact of late. But today it seemed especially so. Ever since afternoon court had started the redundant petitions had come out in full force. It was leaving me actually pondering if they had saved them all for this one afternoon. In the last two hours alone I had had no less than ten questions on pastry standards, two on hay standards, and one from a small filly on proper hay consumption. All of which could have been answered by their clients, bosses, the agricultural board, or in the filly’s case, her mother. This was stretching even my sense of disbelieve! However, I wasn’t complaining that they trusted and valued my thoughts…It was my job after all. But, sometimes, especially of late, I wished Luna got these questions instead. Of course, it was partially my fault that she didn’t, hadn’t, definitely still didn’t…Maybe. It was hard to say since I hadn’t spoken more than ten words to her in the last couple of days, and only slightly more than that the week before. Still, that was beside the point. Sharing the dimness our citizens occasionally experienced wouldn’t go unappreciated. It might even break her slump. Nothing else had helped her. Ari’s absence on the two week mark had been interesting to say the least of that fiasco. It was also around that time that her words slowed down to an obligatory trickle, ponies began talking as the change of mood flowed into her court, and I had started receiving the most dreadful questions. ‘Is Nightmare Moon returning?’ ‘Can’t you do something?’ And the answer was no on all accounts. Although she was my little sister she was her own pony and I held about as much sway as nightmare moon did over her now, namely none. Her feelings aside, the three week mark was here and that would change something, I hoped against all precedence that it would. If not improving her consonance then it might quiet the citizen’s unrest over the matter. Questions around Ari were just as common as questions on my sister’s health. Those would only increase with time as well… Yet, at this most fortunate moment I wasn’t being questioned on his home country, age, or some other inane fact they wished to know that I didn’t have knowledge of. We only knew he was taken from another world by a god, was then confused by said god, and held our intelligence in low standing as a result. Neither of us was going to admit that to our ponies. Celestial heat filled my core as the thought of his insults spurred my magic outward, a fact that was only noticed in the small beads of sweat that formed on the guards nearest to my throne, and the previously nervous colt that had just stepped before the five steps leading up to my throne. Now he was more than simply nervous, he felt the magic I had unwilling released and was unsure what he had done to cause it. His eyes darting across my face as I maintained the smile and clear eyes, they always assumed it was something they did. I took a deep breath in and focused on him once more, mentally chastising myself for ignoring the concern he thought needed my insight on. Noticing my full attention on him he stilled his tail and gulped. “Good afternoon Quiet Hooves. How may I may I help you this fine day?” And it was a fine day, the Canterlot weather team was showing off the full rays of my sun this summer afternoon. “Urm, I was wondering,” my current petitioner shifted his namesake hooves from side to side with nary a sound, looking around the room with wide eyes and splayed ears. “I mean, you would know,” mother, please bless me with your patience and understanding, “If there was a possibility, perhaps…” The aquamarine colt trailed off once more and I fought the sigh that was rising in my throat. “Do you…,” a red blush started up his neck, “Have any tips on courting?” Had I been drinking I felt sure I would have expelled it onto his face, for the moment I could only stare at the colt with a rigid smile stuck in place. And here I had thought only the mares were into that line of questioning…Actually perhaps they had just gotten more elaborate in their method of questioning. I could see quite a few noble mares tittering behind fans, their eyes clearly shinning from curiosity. “Is that truly your question Quiet Hooves?” The warmth rose to turn his muzzle and splayed ears an interesting purple red, all but confirming the truth of my suspicions. “I can assure you there are plenty of books on the topic and an audience with Princess Candace would glean you more information for your situation than my words could.” His neck straightened as he cleared his throat loudly. Several fillies in the crowd were whispering to each other now, a fact that I couldn’t help but smile wider at. That could be his reason. Doors opened and closed in the halls as his struggling bravado met my even gaze. Quiet Hooves had heard the as well, his ears swiveled their direction. But he didn’t back down. “B-but I was hoping to hear your tips since, uh,” his pause occurred as my herald narrowed his eyes in the colt that was here for ‘personal advice’, “Well, you had to have done something to catch his interest. And I was wondering what you do to get their -his- attention?” Perhaps he truly wanted to impress some fillies now that he was free having an obligatory herd. However, Loud Script would have to screen my petitions more closely; this appeared to be just another Ari based question. One that was based off of one of the many theories surrounding Ari, they had developed as a result of our tight lipped status on any information regarding the Alicorn stallion. Many believed that I had found the stallion and ‘wooed’ him into visiting our country, contrary to the impossibility of that fact. With only one day away from court and that day being filled with signing paperwork and attending meetings I would never have time to even find him, much less court him. “Quit Hooves I see your intention,” flicking my eyes to the two fillies that were now watching the colt’s flank with interest, and back to the sincere colt before me. “With my years of experience and my young niece so far away I can see your reasoning in asking me. However I am afraid most of my ‘tips’ would be rather outdated for today’s times.” A few giggles came from the crowd at my statement, most likely assuming that I was simply keeping a tight muzzle. “I-I see.” His gaze went to the yellow carpet that his soundless hooves scuffed it. But I meant my words. No stallion was expected to fend off other stallions to secure their mare, or mares as my father’s time had seen, nor were any mares seen as mare like or even liable to heed the call of their instincts and follow through with mare challenges over the limited stallions available. The ponies of today were much too…Subdued. It was a very peaceful time compared to the ‘good old days’ as my sister put it, however it wasn’t bad. No, our society had progressed far more than I expected. Even if at the cost of Luna and I becoming among the few that could recall those times of conflict, that had access to such genetics that bore those impulses that the time of the Great war and following century held in importance. That was worth it though, not only for the happiness I saw around me once more, but for the arrival of Ari. My heart sped up, the fact unnoticeable on the outside, even by my nearby guard ponies. “So, you don’t have any tips that might help me? Even the ones that you used to get Ari’s attention?” At least his question wasn’t on how many tiers of cake was standard or some such pastry related question. “As I said, none of the rules of courtship I once followed would help you attract a filly’s attentions.” A smile grew somewhat as I continued, “The best advice I could think to give you would be to be yourself.” His expectant expression fell, as did many of the noble ponies watching me closely. “It would be the wisest course of action in my opinion.” A sigh came from the colt and my heart went out to him, but I had no better advice. Too many relationships failed from false expectations, the same advice I had passed onto my niece and the former captain of my guards, and they were happily married. Quiet Hooves held his tongue in silence as the room waited for his acceptance of the advice, the hallway growing louder with whispers as the ponies behind the doors waited for their turn. And somewhere out there was Ari. It was a common topic I went to these days, the only Alicorn stallion, albeit a misguided one. The prospect of breaking his foundation of lies made my stomach churn with butterflies. But, my butterflies soon disappeared when I thought of all the positive change I had been responsible for, it hardened my believe that I could definitely steer him in the right direction, get to the bottom of the god’s ploy, and hopefully gain a stallion out of the whole debacle. He was sure to apologize after he heard what was really going on! Buzzing whispers grew outside, the hallway erupting in hooves and doors in movement. Quiet Hooves, the nobles in attendance, and my guards all turned back to the set of doors. My Herald stepping back from the door he had stood beside, lest it burst open, and somehow I held that expectation that it would from the racket outside. It was quite possible that anything could happen with the way life had been going. And the fact that a rabble appeared to be rising outside was not outside the realm of possibility at the moment, it only brought forth the urge to bury my face in my hooves. What now? Excited voices competed amongst one another in a rare show of break from the Canterlot decorum, and my ears truly perked as it grew in volume. No mask needed for my curiosity. Heads turned to watch the flock of pegasi descending down at the gate and ears swiveled back at the colorful mob of ponies that followed the flock of pegasi. They were coming inside the castle like that? Not that I didn’t long to ‘break their masks’ as Lulu put it, but I knew I wasn’t the cause of this unrest. Or at least I saw no cause for it. The weather was right on schedule. My aetheratic connection to the sun was as strong as ever and it was still an appropriate time to have the sun up. As the obvious surroundings failed to enlighten me to the state of my ponies, I tried to review the morning’s paper in my mind. It was sketchy, overshadowed by the many questions I had heard, and what I did recall held no answers. The weather was as I said and thought it to be, sunny and following the summer’s schedule to a ‘T’. Gossip was tame this week, with only several mares being called out for wearing chartreuse when magenta was in this week. It was a column I only perused for the sake of nipping a problem in the flank before it grew to gala sized proportions and became a court issue. I had never been more grateful for the necessity of wearing only the official crowns, pedatyls, and shoes. The politics of fashion was nearly as intimidating as the reality of international politics. I had enough to fret over without keeping an up to date wardrobe, like what had my ponies in a tizzy. The un-noble like noise coming from the entrance hall made Quiet Hooves impossible to hear if he did have any further questions on love, a topic that my sister would be the first to tell everypony I had no business talking about. The inability to continue the questioning was but a small mercy in the face of what I could only describe as a discordian style mess that sounded to be approaching the court. Surely it was for me, the problems always ended up here, Ponyville and Appaloosa holding second and third place in that respect. Now chariots were arriving. Louder and louder they grew, my solar guards trying in vain to shush what sounded like all of Canterlot coming my way. I steeled my nerves, praying that it wasn’t related to my student’s new independent research. Reminding her to not abuse her liberties as my student didn’t happen often, but my law hadn’t even escaped her and that had led to a visit from the apple family which all parties agreed would never happen again. Had I misjudged her control once more? Voices ceased as almost as soon as they reached a crescendo behind the closed doors, shocking the audience and Quiet Hooves into silence as well. Doing a once over of myself I found nothing wrong. Yet I still had the nervous colt before me, twiddling his small bowtie as he glanced between the deathly silent hallway and me. As if to ask if should continue. One problem at a time, “I’m sorry Quiet Hooves. I am afraid I haven’t any better advice for you, although if you were so inclined I would recommend a trip to the Crystal Empire. My niece is quite skilled at the art of love and would love to have a private meeting over your particular situation.” She would also go overboard if she fell in love with your predicament. “However, I would highly recommend approaching the filly or fillies and asking them out on a date first, as yourself of course,” the fillies that had been ogling him blushed as I caught their eyes. “I think you would find the trip to be unnecessary.” Colts these days were certainly more fragile than when I was a filly, if a colt liked you then they just said so. No need for fear or hoof hopping. But now he needed assurance that the fillies wouldn’t scorn him, and that the world wouldn’t end with a ‘no’. “T-thank you,” his eyes found theirs and I couldn’t help but grin as the blush spread to them. They quickly found mine as he burned bright red. Sensing the end of his question, one of my guards made her way around the outside of the room to check on the status of my antechamber or what was left of it. “Ah, I mean, thank you for your time Princess Celestia. I am most honored to receive such wise advice from your highness!” It came out as a rushed, almost apologetic garble of rehearsed words that made my real smile wane somewhat. Right, etiquette hadn’t changed much in the last millennia. As he bowed the door cracked open, but it wasn’t my guard that exited. “You are most welcome Quiet hooves,” the fake smile hurt a little, “I wish you a good day and luck with those fillies.” He remained bowed, ‘showing his respect’ as my father and various other council members had explained and hammered in long ago, but that mattered little to me. I knew they respected me without bowing; there was endless ways they made that fact clear. My eyes had trouble staying with the current petitioner as what appeared to be the city guard’s captain, Captain Strong Shield, which came trotting briskly over to Loud Script. My eyes followed his seeming glowing expression as everypony was trying to inconspicuously watch their exchange as well, even the bowed colt before me. No pony noticed as I leaned forward slightly to try and catch the words that were making my herald practically prance in place. It must be good news then. “You may rise,” Quiet Hooves rose and stepped to the side, sitting precariously on the edge of the filled bench to watch the antics. My guardsmare didn’t join the captain. Where was my guardsmare and why wasn’t Strong Shield patrolling the Canterlot skies with his squadron? My attention shifted from the now excited captain that stepped back to guard the cracked door, ready to push it open, to the even more enthused herald that was practically hyperventilating as he tried to speak. As if to further pad my curiosity he opened his mouth and nothing came out. His wide eyes flicked from his open mouth to me to the door, back to me, and finally to Strong Shield. Something akin to horror was taking a hold of his eyes as he could only manage a squeak. He hadn’t looked this panicked since his first day. Not a whisper broke the scene as he all but shoved the captain through the crack and slammed the door with his magic. The thud echoed around the chamber, causing my guards hovering outside the windows to peek in and the remaining Solar guards around my throne to look at each other with slightly raised brows. As a unit their eyes asked me to give the word for them to help, but I raised a hoof at their uncertainty. It couldn’t be a threat; those either tended to barge in, rain obscene liquids onto my coat, or impersonate my family. We were still free of screaming and chocolate rain so I was pretty confident it was good news of some kind, despite the disappearance of my guardsmare. That would be explained soon, Loud Script was just nervous, and that meant it was something big. Perhaps it was a fertility cure for the stallions had been discovered by accident, Twilight may have found the cause. Oh, that would lighten my heart tremendously! Not that the amendments hadn’t provided hope but finding the cause for such a trend and subsequent cure was more prevalent in my mind. And in the minds of everypony really, the ministry of health had been working hundreds of hour’s overtime since the news first went public, even more once Ari’s suggestions had come in. The urge to open the door and deal with the ponies directly was rising as only muffled voices reached my ears through the door that was too effective at blocking out noise for my current taste. The sounds rose and fell in pitch as different stallions spoke, leaving my tail itching to express my anxiety. Eventually something happened. A deep baritone spoke clearer as a creak started, reaching our ears as the door was enveloped in a familiar golden field, and I resisted the urge to look at my horn as I knew I wasn’t a foal anymore. Somepony else was opening the door. “I still don’t understand why you have to announce me.” Neither did I, this male didn’t sound like any noble I had heard recently or any ambassador that I had met before, yet he had nearly enticed a mob from the sounds of it. The suspense was killing me. Loud Script piped up, clearly uncomfortable with the moment, but still digging in his hooves at the petitioner’s break of protocol. I smiled at his words despite my frustration, “No, no, no! It is my job! A-and, and…Now just tell me your proper title and I can-.” “There is no need,” a clop echoed into the court, “They know I am coming.” My heart raced as the mysterious male spoke the last part. My mind immediately went to Ari; hope fluttering in my stomach as he was the only one that came to mind, no ambassadors were set to arrive till the fall. And they clearly had magic; the only one I was expecting with magic was Ari. It swung open under his magic. Just in time I had straightened my posture and steeled my composure, before my widening eyes was Ari. Wearing only some wrappings and a lumpy saddle bag he stood in the doorway in a state of wonder. He was tall, taller than me, and most definitely taller than all of the ponies around him. My eyes were still stuck on him as he slowly entered the court. No matter what eyes flickered to me or what my mind whispered at me I could only watch him gaze around the chamber with big eyes. Yes, the letter came to my mind, but his insults paled under the crescendo of emotion I felt at the sight of another new Alicorn, never mind a stallion. His eyes were turning back from my guard mare, who had fainted in the hallway from the look of the fan levitating in front of her muzzle by a concerned noble mare, then back to look at me. Blue, that was all I saw for a second as our gazes met. A deep blue that spoke of troubled thoughts and shocked expectations. It was expected, I knew he would be confused…And, shocked, we were both shocked. Those blue orbs held mine as they were widening, just as his nostrils were. My own urge to scent the air rose as I saw his obvious interest, any other time I would have thought he was taking in the scents of the room, but he held my gaze as he did the deliberate action. I was stronger than that…And yet I couldn’t help it. The urge to breath forced me to. Gulping in deep breathes as the air I had been holding escaped me with a ‘whoosh’, the result intake filled my nose with his spicy scent as it traveled down the aisle to me on a breeze from the open doors held by the enraptured onlookers. Sooner than I wanted his eyes broke contact with mine, traveling over my form as I fought to stay still for the inspection. My instincts were at war with my reality. I couldn’t bare my wings for his inspection or inspect him quite as boldly as I wished to as a princess, I had to be collected, and show him just how intelligent I really was. Ari thought of me as dim in his letter. That thought proved enough to calm my hormones, a splash of cold water on his otherwise interested inspection. Was he really interested in this ‘dim’ mare? His wings weren’t flared up to impress me, his ears weren’t relaxed in their position of interest, and he held his body so tensely that I could see his muscles flex. Yet he dared not move from his spot in front of the open door. Separately I might have assumed he was simply polite or coltish but together it painted a different picture. Fear, the nostril flaring wasn’t interest at all. With my spirit plummeting, I figured Inspecting Ari in return couldn’t hurt. He probably wouldn’t even notice in the world the lies the god had trapped him in. Beyond his eyes and masculine muzzle he was a dark black in both coat and mane, no undertones of chocolate were present, although he did look a little battered. That readily apparent fact made my stomach clench, matching the wide eyed looks he was receiving from many mares. All clearly wondered who would challenge an Alicorn stallion. My father had all beings tripping over themselves to keep in his good standing. Yet, those were bandages wrapped around his forelegs, all the way up his pastern and doubling back around his knee. Further enforcing the battered look he showed the room of dressed up elite, his chest and apparently under carriage held a criss-cross pattern of bare skin that had me puzzled. Those weren’t patterned after any paws I knew of…Unless…It wasn’t an attack he had suffered, but a disease he had acquired here. Yes, that could make sense, made more sense actually, especially since he wasn’t from this world. His defences would be different. I had heard of mange in Diamond Dogs before, mites in Gryphons, but neither of those conditions caused such unusual markings. It was strips of fur missing, not patches seen in mange, and from what I could see his exposed skin wasn’t red with irritation. No disease left it looking so perfect… Maybe it wasn’t from this world, they could be very old after all, and his fur could have just not grown back properly. Yes, that would make sense, the most sense anyway. It was a rationale I could stomach until I asked him about them. Then I would have to ask about his lack of certain features. Unlike his other features I had listed, which all were within the expectations of a pony, he had certain oddities about his body…Despite Luna’s noting of them and those two ponies confirmation of them his key features still didn’t quite click. Like looking at an abstract painting for the first time I was thrown off guard by the sheer contrary nature of his species compared to his features. Most evident was his mane that hung limply on his neck and withers, not even showing a flicker of magical output. Which made my composure slip in the form of the corners of my eyes starting to scrunch. I looked over his form quickly once more, and found exactly what I had first seen. He was clearly well fed based off of his musculature and he was every bit an adult. Yet, he was as limp as a foal in both his mane and tail, and appeared even more foal like as my perusal lead my eyes to his bare flank. It bore no cutie mark just as my sister had described, a fact I will admit some doubt to as I had never seen a blank flanked adult before. As if to complete the strange package that was Ari, his equally limp tail was oddly cut short while his mane remained long. Usually stallions either went all short or all long in their mane cuts, such as the military based ponies and male models for opposing extremes in the styles. The mane style must be from his home world as well… Luna was right…My jaw almost dropped at my admittance, my mask returning. Luna! It hit me like a buck to the chest. My sister would want to meet him and that he had said he would be meeting with both of us. He was standing here waiting to meet us and I was eyeing him up like I had never seen a stallion before! If I could have sunk down and covered my face I would have. The eyes of every noble were on me even as I tried to still my racing heart. The news would have a hay day over my behavior, more gossip would spread, and the questions…I suppressed the groan, only showing a wide smile at the patient stallion. His nostrils flaring again didn’t help the matter, nor did his suddenly active tail. I knew I should have sped up the production of a second throne. Rounded Stone’s pride had been important then, but we needed a united front now! My eyes strayed from twitching tail of Ari to grand clock on the back wall. I still had a little over an hour left before court was officially over and that left me at a crossroads. Did I talk to him here? One look over the shuffling crowd that had spilled into the court room, hugging the walls, and filling up the hall was enough to decide for me. Court would end early, not only did Ari appear uncomfortable with the ponies pressing in on him from all sides, my presence especially if the signs were what I believed they were, but Luna would be more at ease if the nobles weren’t watching us as well. Her royal ‘we’ was hard enough to break in private let alone in public. I could only hope he didn’t hold her rash comment against her still, we didn’t need that on top of a fear of me. Glancing quickly to my right I caught the eye of Quick Thrust, one of my fastest solar guards, and coincidently the last guard to wake my sister earlier than her appointed time. “Wake my sister.” A quick nod escaped him, only his eyes betraying the fear such a task produced. My guards had recovered from their shock, as had every pony else, including Ari. His eyes still watched me, yet not quite as shocked as before, and a flat line on his muzzle told me all needed to know about his mental state. Damage control time, I had been letting my control slip, my eyes wandering over his body in such an obvious manner that no royal should be caught doing. “Good Afternoon Ari,” by some chance I didn’t let my nerves butcher his foreign name as it rolled off my tongue with practiced ease. Everypony hung on my words, eyes turning to the stallion, and unaware of my struggle. I hadn’t been idle the past weeks; it wouldn’t do if I blew a fuse before he could explain his comments. And several facts needed time to digest, such as the implications Azure Heights had left with us. The implications appeared to be false, at least if his lone presence held true to his relationship status, which I hoped so. Although my niece claimed to love Shinning Armor knowing she would outlive I didn’t see that as fair, when he was withering with age she would look not any older than she had on their wedding night. I couldn’t see an Alicorn with a normal pony anymore, not that I would stop her heart. It would just take her longer to realize that fact. He nodded his head in return, looking at the ponies that were frozen with a raised eyebrow, “A good day to you as well Celestia.” Silent gasps started from some of my more stringent council members as he stepped forward slightly, not addressing me with my title, and furthering the ‘disrespect’ by not bowing. I only could smile wider at his familiarity, somewhat relieved that he felt comfortable enough to drop the pretences that royalty was expected to maintain. If only I could so bold. He paused as a small wave of scandalized whispers started. But several of the braver pegasi stallion guards stepped forward and gave him shooing motions with their wings and big smiles. My mask almost slipped as he laughed, “I see that it is…Encouraged, dare I say okay if I approach the throne then?” A hush came over the room as they several nobles tensed, a few crouching. “Yes,” one of my feathers twitched disobediently as I looked at slight curve happening on his muzzle. An errant breeze brought his spicy scent to my muzzle once more, my muscles loosening at his easy smile. It held my eyes as my instincts started whispering again and I almost forgot to continue, only the words of the letter collaring my excited instincts now. He thought I was stupid already, no need to feed the lie. “Please-,” a shudder seemed to rack the castle for a second, and I cursed my sister in that moment. Not aloud of course, no need to be rude. Ari didn’t know what to make of the noise that echoed from hall behind me. A clamor of hooves clattered down towards us as metal met marble, under the clatter a panicked Quick Thrust was trying to speak, and my sister’s faint old Equus reached me. My possible suitor didn’t hear the voices evidently as he was paused with a back hoof poised in the air, ebony wings were half unfurled as if to take flight, and ears held pricked in the hallway’s direction. Raising my voice above the noise behind my throne I steeled my disappointment in his change as I addressed the stallion, “My apologies Ari, I sent a guard to wake my sister and she seems to have taken your arrival with a great deal of…Enthusiasm.” I watched with a restrained sigh as his wings tucked in, very slowly they twitched as the tenseness locked in his eyes remained glued to the corridor with what I swore was an eye twitch and mutter. But as I blinked I didn’t see any sign it had been there at all. His leg didn’t lower to the floor though. “Did you have a pleasant trip?” I spoke over the din of metallic clip clopping, hoping to distract him before his nerves got the better of him. Mentally adding the question that I was dying to know, just what had the god told you to get you so nervous? The noise of what sounded to be my sister and half a squadron of armored guards approaching grew quiet, as if she had felt my earlier mental face hoof and was composing herself. I hoped she was. We didn’t want to scare him away, an act that wouldn’t be difficult at this rate, and there wasn’t a second chance or other ‘fish in the sea’ as fillies said now a days. He was the only one. Keeping his hind leg perched in a lazy hold; he plastered a smile on his muzzle as he went to answer me, his ears held in a tense upright position. I wanted to frown at his attempt to hide his nerves, at his nerves in general. We weren’t as scary as this god might have him believe. “Oh, I am sure you know how it is, beautiful views,” I swore he looked me over as he said that, “and good weather for days.” His eyes didn’t match the curve of his lips, the tips of his ears twitched faintly even in the quiet of court, and his feathers were still out of place. My observation must have been noticeable, “Oh, sorry about this,” he turned his head to his wings, “My startle reflex is a little strong is all. In a moment or so they should go down.” Startle reflex…Odd bald patches, and covered forelegs…Oh, it suddenly clicked. A possibility besides the god putting fear in him, that whatever had happened to him must have left a bigger impact than the surface level bald patches. It made my stomach settle at least. Yet my intuition said there was more to it than some PTSD. Like Discord’s sweetly worded lies his words betrayed his meaning, they didn’t flow in the easy going attitude he was aiming for with the smile…But, my sister could have really spooked him, in this moment or in a previous one, she wasn’t always forward about everything…And the crowd did seem to hold his attention more than I did. A fact I struggled not to ruffle my feathers at that, my internal voice piping up at the prospect that his many signals of fear could have been unrelated to my presence. That he really was single since no ordinary mare would be able to compete with an Alicorn stallion’s lifespan. And that he would be very open to me in a more private setting. My day court, castle, and presence were all new to him, that was all, and something had traumatized him at one point. That was all this was. He was simply off guard, “Do not fret Ari; I assure you that no offence is taken.” I said with the softest smile I could produce. Although you could stop flexing your flank, put down the hoof, and step closer. “As I was saying, feel free to approach,” the restraints of the noble’s expectations closed in tighter on my posture, the expected words hard to produce as my mind wanted to ease his discomfort somehow; I needed to get away from them for all of us to really talk. “When Princess Luna arrives we shall adjourn the day court to have the meeting you booked with us over a fortnight ago.” At that he smiled wider, feathers dropping into place, and eyes shining. Many noble mares and stallions exchanged glances, assuring me with there would be multiply editions of the paper tonight. And night court was still to come… My poor sister, I could imagine her turmoil. Stiffly he nodded, stepping forward even as his whole body seemed to protest with its initial jerky steps. Black ears tracked the pegasi guards at his blank flank, his nose twitched faintly, and the corners of his eyes appeared taunt from here. My eyes tracked his slow progress, noting how he never relaxed his muscles, and put his forehooves down softly as if he was afraid to ruin the quiet that the normally gossiping nobles usually struggled with. Appreciation of their silence aside, I could identify a mask quite easily and my otherworldly visitor was clearly wearing one, and badly. Of course it could also be PTSD, but that was still my assumption, he hadn’t said anything to indicate it. Still, I had seen foals with better poker faces. Bandaged hooves were just a step from climbing the small set of stairs leading up to my golden seat when he paused, ears going forward as Luna’s voice came closer, clearer to the quiet court room. “Keep up!” There was the little sister I knew, “We must not leave our guest waiting.” Her slump appeared to have been forgotten as my guard had to break into a fast trot to reach the door first. With Quick Thrust holding the door for her, Luna and her wide eyed chamber guards entered without any announcement. Loud Script having forgotten his job as the magnitude of this event had taken hold of him as well. A luxury I couldn’t afford with the magnitude of aftermath this historic event would produce. It was only by sheer will that I had not broken my composure to either bare my wings for his inspection as my inner voice reminded me would be best when meeting this new male or alternatively correct him for his presumptuous previous insults before. His own restrained interest and nervous air had helped my instincts tremendously. Now I was caught in a crossroads, unsure as to how this meeting would end. She had called him fake to his muzzle and entered his mind when he apparently did not need her services. Not that he knew about them, but he surely knew the transgression by now. A silent gasp seemed to hold the room. Both Ari and my eyes met with Lulu’s as she froze mid-step, her own blue eyes widening nearly as much as Ari’s did. Somewhere a choking sound was made. But my eyes were locked on my sister’s eyes, silently pleading with her to not mess up this encounter with an emotional outburst. Her blue eyes didn’t see me. Nostrils flared on both parties as they showed about the same restraint to my mirth and regret. A scowl threatened to break through as they began a slow circle and forced Luna’s trailing guards to move with them. Luna had more of my sympathy as she had just woken up to the news that our otherworldly stallion she had clearly been interested in was finally here and had walked into a court room so packed it reminded me more of a hoofball stadium in Fillydelphia than Canterlot’s esteemed court room. She didn’t hold much weight in his insults. As if they had coordinated the introduction they both proceeded to initiate an inspection of the other, Black and blue wings beginning to unfurl as they began the oldest displays of interest and power. My own voice pestered me to join and twitched my feathers as I watched them. Internally I was cursing my inability to join in under the eyes of the nobles. The nobles were mostly watching the event with awe, some unhinging their jaws at the wingspan of the stallion. But my worries were only expanding at the sight. Was he more interested in her than me? Had he not been restraining himself but didn’t find me attractive? Did the god ruin my chance with him? Shaking my head at the thoughts I reminded myself that they were probably both overwhelmed and I knew nothing about him, he could have had a mare and foal waiting for him that he was snatched away from. He could be in a relationship. Their display did bug me despite that reminder. It was still uncouth, improper, and so much more that Lulu had never cared for. She had chosen, freely, to take up mother’s mantle, especially knowing that the most petulant of nobles were diurnal. Although she wanted more ponies to enjoy her time she didn’t quite enjoy all ponies, a fact that had even the most eccentric nobles enduring long waits to see me. The fact still held true as my ears heard the hooves of some of them now. Dozens of delayed appointments with various council members flashed in my mentally constructed schedule, all of which were slightly different shades of the elite eccentrics; unfortunately they were none of the types that favored night court. And the ivory horn that proudly jutted upward in the shuffling crowd made my head hurt in realization. Of course he would have heard. I agreed with my sister on some things and this foal of a colt was one of them. The fact being that he possessed all the maturity of a foal and only slightly more restraint than one. But he was simply the most extreme of his lineage...So far, I didn’t doubt the possibility of whatever poor mare was paired with him would bear another one. He was fertile, a fact that I didn’t need to inquire about. He had announced it to me in court. An act that was one of many that forced me to remind myself what his family had done had been integral to many historical significant events in Equestria’s history and at the time honoring them with more privilege had seemed to work to calm them. His family had always been rather loud in their complaints. “AUNTIES,” the exclamation captured every pony’s attention as the crowd parted, Luna twitched an eye at the confident form approaching from the rapidly clearing path, her inspection our guest forgotten as she realized who was approaching. Meanwhile Ari observed us all with a raised eyebrow and fading blush. The meaning in his blush didn’t reach me as Blueblood tossed his mane and shot Ari a smile. Faust, help my patience. " Cake and Politics, Part 2.**** Canterlot Castle Princess Celestia I wasn’t perfect and naming the blood’s honorary princes had been one of my more foalish moves in retrospect. A title that he was sure to bring up in a bid to get close to Ari; this was just what I needed. “OH!” The horror was crept onto my features before I could catch it as the white stallion rapidly closed in on my future stallion. “You are Prince Ari I presume? I am Prince Blue Blood.” Not even missing a beat he turned to me just as my mask returned, although he also clearly missed the ruffled frowns on both my sister and Ari’s muzzles. “Aunty,” I fought the wince as he butchered the word in his usual manner when he wanted something, “Aren’t you going to call off day court? We have a very important guest with us.” WE, US…I could practically feel the question being drilled into me by my fellow Alicorns as I mentally baulked over the assumption. When had I invited him? His level of familiarity was…hard to handle. Keeping a smile on my muzzle I replied, “Right after my sister arrived,” said mare straightened under my glance and tucked her wings in with a frown and pointed glance at our ‘nephew’ and guest. I couldn’t agree more, there was no way we could get to the bottom of this confusion if he was present. Ari already wasn’t comfortable with the colt and he hadn’t even been here for five minutes. Turning back to the enraptured ponies I addressed them, “Please understand that I am deeply sorry for all the ponies that came out to speak with me today, but as Prince Blueblood was right to assume Princess Luna and I had a meeting set with Prince Ari, and we have much to discuss still.” Simple, polite, and official enough that everypony understood that only Lulu and I would be seeing Ari. Only some grumbled in reply, as most were standing in an instant and allowed the somewhat forced end to Day court and subsequent escort out to the antechamber. Luna’s chamber guards mixed with my Solar guards to form a protective formation around our group. And Blueblood had somehow slipped in, cozying up to a tense Ari. Standing with a shuffling of my wings, I took the lead, and the group followed with only Blueblood chattering on as we made our way to the dining hall. Doors rapidly closed and opened as Ari gazed around in appreciation, his ears swiveling in interest at the banners hanging by the windows, and ignorant to the frown on my sister’s muzzle. Soon enough the journey ended, the ceiling opening up before us, and once more it impressed the world traveler. I wonder what his castle is like if this made his jaw drop. Discarding that thought I focused on the more important problem, getting rid of-. “So where are you from out on the Endless Sea Ari?” Taking an uncertain look at the seat cushion Ari sat, looking over at us with a panned head as I tried to think of the perfect cover story. Ari was too fast, “Sorry?” The smile never faltered though, “I am afraid I have never been on an endless sea,” he looked between Lulu and I as we brought our rumps into the seats across from him, “I mean, every sea ends, right?” Blue Blood just blinked rapidly before sitting next to Ari. “Yes, I suppose so.” He concurred slowly, his eyes already scanning our otherworldly guest for a hint at which rumor was closest to the truth. None had guessed interplanetary travel yet. Before he could wind up again the chefs sprung into action, coming out of the staff door with trolleys of the best food for Alicorns, cake, cakes of all sorts. “Sister, truly,” I smiled widely at her questioning tone, the irritation only showing in my eyes as I let them crinkle. Lulu looked at the sweets before her, raising a slice in her magic, and glancing to Ari. “Must thou have cake for dinner?” I kept my smile even as our nephew promptly nodded in agreement while the darkest member seated watched on with twitching ears. “Actually, cake is perfect for such a meeting.” I thought so. It would also test a theory I had about his mane, the idea that he might not have enough sugar in his diet. Which I know sounds ridiculous, sugar was practically addicting to Alicorns, but it couldn’t hurt to get some magic in that stallion on the off chance I was correct. It was very possible that he may not use his mane to output extra magic at all, but it would still make me feel better to see some calories in him. Those bags he carried didn’t look big enough to carry even one day’s worth of food a stallion would need. “Aunty Luna?” Our ivory nephew looked to his frowning aunt with an betrayed look, apparently having missed her realization. If he didn’t get his way he would leave, it was just the way he was. Our guest watched with a weak smile as the colt turned to me. I simply smiled and turned to Ari, opening my mouth to ask the nervous stallion what his favorite cake was. Somepony had to break the ice and small risk free facts like that were perfect till we bored our nephew away. With his attention span it shouldn’t take long. But he was also rude, “Have some cake aunty,” the slice of white cake in light blue magic blocked my muzzle and the frown that grew as I was ignored. Remember the etiquette…He is just a colt, a small, immature colt. You are mature, in control, and will make a great first impression. “So Prince Ari…,” the colt trailed off in shock once more. Ari had ignored him, looking to my sister with a considering look and smile before politely taking the cake she had offered him. Her muzzle was the opposite of what I would have wanted to my dismay. Blue lips drawn and tense after the exchange as a familiar glazed look entered her eyes. Her fear of our father’s temper was once well known and was back in full force since her transgression. I was sure in her mind she was waiting for his explosion, one that I didn’t see happening. Blueblood had everypony on edge. Did he say something? I turned back to the males and frowned inside. Of course the stallions didn’t notice my sister’s troubled state as they seemed have caught each other’s eye and was squaring up to the other with a much less intimate inspection. An uncharacteristically serious looking expression on the ivory prince as it appeared we had missed something as well, whatever he had uttered had drawn Ari’s attention. Feathers were rising once again and once more I worried at what could have happened to him for the fear to be this strong. It certainly wasn’t from the shorter, unassuming colt beside him. And I assumed it wasn’t from myself, although I was mildly annoyed at Ari’s insults I hadn’t informed him of that yet. The urge to ask was rising, in fact, I was surprised no had asked him yet. Instead both my sister and I were watching the rare event take place, not able to recall ever seeing a frown on the colt’s face. Luna didn’t seem inclined to share what I had missed, nor did the equally watchful guards. However our nephew was oblivious to his audience it seemed and continued staring into blue eyes, now with an innocent pan of his head. Not at all sensing the tension that both my sister I could feel coming off Ari in bright illuminated signs to my mind. Perhaps it was time he left. Several coughs and creaks echoed in the tense silence and effectively broke it, our nephew blinked rapidly in response, frowning before a wide smile returned to his muzzle. “Ahm, as I was saying, Prince Ari-,” a long exhale went down into Blueblood’s muzzle and made him pause. Muscles flexed on Ari, feathers ruffled in a small breeze as staff peeked out from the kitchen door. “Perhaps you didn’t catch my words when I told the announcing pony but I have no title that is relevant in this country.” Eyes met once more, Ari’s blue eyes seeming to have darkened even as the nerves seemed to have dissipated as they finished their once over again and locked eyes, “And on the topic of titles.” Blueblood blinked, stance faltering at the change of topic. “Your title is ‘prince’ from what I gathered.” His white chest expanded with his ego, eyes twinkling as Ari let his eyes wander over his body again, settling on the spotless barrel with a raised eyebrow. “Yet, I am confused as to why you hold that title,” slowly the proud look on Blue Blood’s muzzle dropped and their eyes met again, “Since everything I have heard across the continent and beyond,” Blueblood’s eye twitched to my surprise, “Has involved Princess Luna, Celestia, or Cadence.” Something flashed in Blue Blood’s eyes at the end, an emotion that was unfamiliar to me and was gone in a quick blink with Ari’s next words, the target feeling to have been thrown my way. “Never have I heard of a prince or any non-Alicorn royalty.” Luna was gulping down the goblet before her to cover her smile as our nephew tossed his mane. I gulped down a mouthful of the water, almost wishing for the nervous stallion again. How was this going to show him I was smart, especially with Blueblood as the representative of my past decisions? I wasn’t going to stop this though, recognizing that this was the most genuine expression I had seen on Ari’s muzzle since he came. And he would have found out eventually, along with all the good I had done for Equestria. Not to mention seeing our nephew squirm made his presence more bearable and more likely to leave. “M-my title is honorary,” Blueblood’s chin jutted upward as he turned to Ari’s openly curious expression, “My family has provided integral services to the royal family,” eyes met, “So much that her majesty, Princess Celestia-,” ah, the pointed look my way,“-honored our many achievements with the title prince!” “Hmm,” blue eyes narrowed across from me, “I believe I understand now. Thank you for taking the time to explain such a thing to me.” The obviously fake smile widened but the colt didn’t appear to notice as he puffed his chest out once more. A small slice of cake moved in a light blue field as the honorary prince continued, having also accepted the cake to my chagrin. Luna flattened her ears as he carried on, “You are most welcome, and we princes have to-.” “Unfortunately,” Ari paused as we all watched him with varying degrees of interest, “I had set the meeting up to be private.” The curve of his smile softened to a more believable smile as Luna shared a smile with me; Blueblood was still trying to process it as his mouth and ears moved out of sync, and his piece of cake plopped rather ungracefully onto the plate. “You-,” his response was cut off to Luna’s increasing joy, her nerves over the ‘fake Alicorn’ comment forgotten for the moment. “What I am trying to say is that I am sure we will have topics to discuss in the future,” ebony pin feathers twitched on his barrel. “But today and most assuredly tomorrow I have many items of importance to discuss with the Princesses.” A frown was crossing the white muzzle as Ari finished, “You understand I hope?” Tittering whispered over from the staff door. Some guards shifted as they traded looks with their companions. It took several seconds for the composure to return to our nephew’s face, the fact that wasn’t lost on our guest, and real fear flickered across the blue eyes for a moment. Which was almost enough to send Luna over the edge and into full blown laughter, the ivory colt was about as scary as a foal. Despite his mandated defence training it was no secret that he had whined and whimpered throughout the whole procedure, enough that his father had paid for an ‘accelerated’ program. The instructor was crying tears of joy when a smug colt left six months early, or so I overheard from some of the more boisterous guards. But he had matured, somewhat. “Perfectly,” a bang came from the side door as the staff made a hasty retreat. Rising with a flourish of his blond mane, Blueblood trotted back to court room, keeping his head held high the whole way. Even as several guards flanked him, knowing that we wouldn’t want a return visit from him. Beside me I could feel the tickle of feathers as Lulu released a breath and shaky giggle. “Thou are most skilled in handling foals.” As we watched he gave us an awkward smile and laugh. “No need to be modest! My sister and I were just contemplating ways to rid ourselves of his presence.” You could hear the clock tick and guards breathing as he looked around, suddenly unsure once more. The fear in his eyes came back to me, along with the questions regarding it. We needed our special guest to relax…My eyes found my sister’s blues as I looked from her to her guards and then to my guards before ending on the fidgeting stallion before us. He wasn’t even nibbling at his cake. She nodded as her eyes widened. “Guards,” a stiff clank echoed around the room as they stood at attention, “Please wait outside the doors and let no pony disturb us.” Luna did the same with hers. Strangely enough, that didn’t calm Ari at all. If anything he began to take big breathes and ruffle his wings as they filed out the four doors of the room. The mask was a farce at best at this point, smile waning as the awkward silence went on, and even my sister was shooting me looks to question his nervous state. No time like the present. “Ari,” his withers lowered as he tried to appear calm, “Is everything alright?” He nodded quickly, “We are completely alone, no pony will disturb us.” I exhaled and released my stiff shoulders from their locked position, might as well set the precedence for the meeting. “The nobility aren’t around so there is no need to be quite so formal. We can talk about the business you spoke of in your letter in privacy,” raising a hoof at the empty room. “Exactly, thou have nothing to be nervous over!” I cleared my throat, mouthing ‘thou’ to her perplexed eyes. We didn’t need him thinking we were behind the times. Nervously she laughed, ears splaying as he watched us with curious eyes. “What we meant-,” I coughed before taking a sip, “What I meant to say is that we have the finest security you can imagine. Our guards will be sure to secure our peace and quiet.” “Ah,” he took a deep breath in, scrunching his eyes before opening them. Calmness seemed to shine through then, although his eyes weren’t making contact with us, instead favoring the large narrow windows that lined the hall with a faintly twitching smile. Something had changed, they were calm, but not…All there. I watched him, trying to figure out what it was about him that was odd. What had him on edge? But I held my curiosity back, surveying his ruffled state as if it would offer me clues. It didn’t but it did catch his attention and brought his gaze back from where it was. He was nervous again. “Sorry once again, my startle reflex is rather strong and this has been quite a whirlwind adventure so far.” He glanced between us as we gave him our full attention, “You can imagine my surprise waking up in another world, much less by a god that did everything but ask me to inhabit it.” That would do it, meeting us must be as nerve racking for him as it is for us. His whole life had been turned upside down. Perhaps we should start with that topic then, god’s intervention in his life. Never had this been recorded before, no, not world traveling. Starswirl had delved into that particular magic field many centuries ago. It was the very apparent coincidence of a male Alicorn appearing right when a population crisis was noticed and when no stallions were left. And by a god’s hoof no less. Yet, the god spread malevolent lies about us to what I concluded was its blessing for us, a confusing act that I didn’t see the logic in, but I didn’t know how god’s worked. That could be all part of its plan for us, give us the challenge of courting a reluctant stallion. Changing his mind shouldn’t be hard though. I nodded, “Yes, we did receive your letter.” Perking his ears at me, he smiled as my sister turned distant once more. “However we would like to review some points of it with you. Is that acceptable?” My tone wasn’t as kind as it could have been but I was lucky that my connection with the sun wasn’t shinning through as my ‘small brain cells’ were most likely overwhelmed from the memory of the letter. Even after weeks of accepting his confusion the statements still stung. Blue eyes widened, both across and beside me, and both ears stayed splayed. Ari slowly nodded watching our expressions closely as the dilation passed over them again. That wasn’t nerves, it was fear I was seeing. The puffed up wings were expressing fear not nervousness…And it hurt, under my anger it hurt that he feared me. Just what had he been told? I pressed on from the sinking feeling in my stomach that came from such thoughts. Reminding myself that he may be the only stallion of our kind but he had insulted our family. I should start with that, the fear would fade… With a pop I teleported the scroll to the table, unsealing it as I watched a frown try to wheedle its way onto the muzzle across from me, I started with the good news. “Your suggestions have already been made part of the law.” “Really,” He gave a genuine exclamation, eyes wide as they searched our faces. I couldn’t help but smile at the beginnings of the real him poking through, “Yes, programs are being set up as we speak and many ponies are in agreement with the practices.” Not all though, our minister of health being a prominent sceptic, luckily I could override his decisions. “However, I was curious.” The dark stallion hummed and looked up from his cake, still not eating, but more at ease with us at least. “I was wondering if these practices you suggested were used on your world. It would help dispel some concern among the skeptics if you could vouch for their success.” “They are used on my planet, more now than ever and for the most part they are successful.” Raising a bandaged hoof to his chin he scratched before speaking, “Actually those were just the basic ones I could recall when I made the letter, if I tried I might be able to remember more.” A fork began scraping the icing off the cake, “However I am still not sure how far your technology extends in this strange parallelism.” Both Luna and I looked at each other in confusion, her nerves gone as his odd wording filled our minds. Part of it sprang from the strange cake scrapping, but most was from the obvious implication of his world’s advancement and the parallelism. Finished with his strange removal of icing he inhaled his slice. Our eyes went to the unattractive blob of sugary paradise that rested on his plate; it was the best part too. An essential part of any Alicorn’s diet. Luna had reached her limit to curiosity, latching onto the most obvious oddity. “Did you not have cake on your world?” “Of course I did.” We blinked between the blob and him, “I am just not a fan of sweets and I find the icing is usually the sweetest part so-,” he swiped the fork in the air,”-I scrapped it off.” Nonchalantly he grabbed another slice, “I meant no offence by it, I’m sure it is just as delicious as your cake, and all your cakes look beautiful.” His gaze washed over us in the end, shutting down my thoughts, and bringing uncalled comparisons from my instincts. Meanwhile my sister was picking up on my previously growing suspicion, that is before he gave me a once over again. As she ate a cake and moved her gaze between Ari and me I tried to shush my inner voice, steeling my expression to bemusement before I questioned him. When I failed to act fast enough she spoke, “Does thou not wish to be a strong stallion?” Not quite what I was going for. “Pardon,” he questioned, losing his smile as the question through off his attempts at flirting. At least I think he had been. “Why do you neglect the most important part of the dessert?” He didn’t know what to say as he looked between us, utterly clueless. Snorting, Luna pressed on with a new confidence, “We know you enjoy sweets. Why else would thou dream of eating that swirled pastry if thou hated sweets? It had icing on it, did it not? Why would thou,” I coughed in our ongoing lesson, receiving a snort before she finished, “Why would you not wish to have a full core?” Silence reigned as he and I processed that, my curiosity soon replaced with a mental face hoof, and dread for her as I realized where she had to have gone to know that. “Oh.” “Oh,” she queried back, missing her slip into the territory that she had been worried about. “Oh…,” now she caught herself. “I never got to eat it.” I blinked at him as a frown started on his muzzle, “But I do recall seeing you there.” His ears perked, “But that was all in the past, right?” His wide smile seemed genuine. Her ears perked up faster than I could blink happiness clear as a big grin broke across her muzzle, “Truly?” “Truly,” another slice of cleaned cake entered his mouth. A second passed before he gave a small smile, “What else in the letter did you want to review next? I have received quite a few business topics since sending the letter. You know how it is, they hear I’m meeting with the two most powerful beings on the continent and suddenly it’s all ‘can you ask them this and that’.” Ari waited as I steadied myself with a deep breath, I was calm. His insults to my family and self were done in ignorance. I would hear him out, “Actually yes, I did have more points to discuss.” “Oh.” “Sister, perhaps that should-,” I raised my eyebrow at her, effectively silencing her protest. This was a delicate subject though, “The god that brought you here…Did it have a name? And how did it contact you for such an occurrence to happen?” “He…” a whap echoed as his tail beat the cushion, “He didn’t give me his name, or warning, and quite frankly had little sense in his choice of bringing me here.” The venom in his words made my next questions halt on their way out. “I hold no great love or worship for the god that quite literally plucked me out of my bed and dropped me in the middle of nowhere…There is no need to worry about that.” Luna started to lean forward, trying to will his eyes to look up. “And not to be repetitive but this land is beautiful in ways.” A stare off began between Lulu and him, the message unclear to both my sister and I. “But, perhaps everything looks beautiful in the moonlight,” flirting, he was flirting with her. But it didn’t add up with her scrunched brows…Of course nopony had flirted with her in at least a millennia. “However not everything is as nice as it appeared to be.” His cryptic words paused as he looked to me, “Did my explanations in the letter cover most of that problem?” My mind went to the old orbital system; we had already covered the Law of the Herd, and nothing else in that letter was really a problem that fit. We couldn’t help that a god had brought him here on a lark, even if I didn’t want to help him leave. “Were you aware of the reality of what you were doing?” “Of course we are!” His feathers rising made me soften my tone, “I think you misunderstand us Ari, our parents created the planetary branch of magic to bring prosperity and wealth to Equestria and extension the world.”His muzzle was blank now. “No ponies face starvation, homelessness, or even poverty. Aside from our most recent fertility problem, which has shown no connection the orbiting of the sun or moon, Equestria have no problems.” His face didn’t change still, unmoved by my words, or perhaps just absorbing the news. He must have had to learn a lot in the last three weeks and now to learn what he had been told was a lie…Well, I pitied him. Still he didn’t express any emotion, only his frozen feathers betraying the turmoil he had felt throughout our previous discussion. “Truly, Ari, we have no destruction like you mentioned in your letter.” My sister gave him a big smile. What had he been doing for three weeks? A sigh escaped him, followed by a tired smile that grew and filled me with an unease that overshadowed my sadness for his situation, his eyes were growing darker. “I see.” Yet I felt he didn’t really see, my inner voice was whispering warnings, and I feared he was taking the news that his god’s reason was nothing more than a fib badly. “Your land is a beautiful sight, perhaps I was misinformed.” However, there was one part that irked me, that despite his emotional turmoil I couldn’t drop. “We do not have ‘ignorant excuses for brain cells’ then?” His brain cells must have been fuzzy as it took him a second to filter through confusion, realization, and embarrassment to name a few. His ears, eyes, and lips as open as a picture book. Luna kept an ear on him as she gave me look that said ‘really’. Nervous chuckling broke his silence. “Well, that was…That is to say that I do not believe you to be ignorant. Quite the contrary, you two must be some of the smartest mares I have met, if not the smartest.” He was laying it on a little thick, but he had said mares, not stallions, and Star Swirl excluded, my sister and I were quite well versed in the academic literature. And I could imagine he hadn’t met my student yet. I would have heard about that. Another nervous laugh followed an awkward second as he scratched at his chest, “As I said I was simply misinformed and more than a little frustrated then. No hard feelings I hope? I even brought-,” “Yes,” I exclaimed at his apology, mentally grasping at the familiar sound of progress that escaped him. He truly understood! “What,” he exclaimed in return, golden magic paused as it held a tin above his saddle bags, and looking horrified as his wings nearly shot out from the shock. He mirrored the emotion as it rose in me. That wasn’t what I meant to do! “NO,” my turn to splay my ears as I glanced between his eyes and the tin, “I meant there were no hard feelings.” Laughing with my own new nerves at my slip I watched him carefully, ignoring my sister’s muttering and wing cuff. My excitement at Ari’s revelation had overcome me; this whole meeting was surreal really. “I completely understand, our mother explained to us that gods are rarely honest, even with demigods such as ourselves.” Gesturing to the group I watched as his smile grew larger, still off, most likely from my exclamation. But, it was closer to a real one. I was a step closer to clearing the falsities from his demeanor, “Did the god mention anything else besides the ‘destruction’?” Humming with a hoof to his muzzle he added another glob of icing to the growing pile. Luna watched it with a twitch of her eyes as I mouthed ‘calm’ to her, his habits may be self destructive in our view but may be normal for him. We didn’t know anything about Earth based Alicorns after all. And the parallelism he had mentioned fit with what I remembered from Star Swirl’s multiverse theory. “Not that I can recall, I assume you already assumed some things from the unique…Situation you have.” We nodded, Lulu blushing and looking away at the implication. My own blush was easier to suppress as I occupied myself with his aversion to icing, a fact that still made no sense. It was one of the most magically boosting substances in existence. His cough brought my thoughts back. A nervous smile wavered on his muzzle as he brought the tin forward, shifting as he placed it in the center of the table. “I made these on the off chance that I said something…Stupid,” he watched our faces carefully before continuing, “And on that likely chance that I would I made some cakes.” Luna sat back, “Cakes?” “I was thinking that they would make a good end to the meeting when we got there.” We were both surprised, Lulu more so than I was. Besides the Thestrals and some late working farmers that frequented her court she didn’t usually receive much in the way of gifts. Even now they were only slowly growing in number, Nightmare Night’s change having helped her popularity tremendously. “Prince Ari that wasn’t necessary,” worry took over took his face and his feathers ruffled, clearly concerned that his present was being rejected. “Although, we will gladly eat them,” a big smile broke over his muzzle, relief shone clearly in his eyes. “Are they a recipe from your home world?” Shifting on his cushion, he smiled as his ears splayed, “Yes. Although I had help with the icing since some of the ingredients here are not the same as on Earth. But it should taste good!” “Earth,” my sister said the word in much the way I felt of it, confusion. “Yes, you see I am from the planet Earth.” An awkward chuckle escaped him as I wanted to hit myself for not asking him sooner, “Which, as I learned here, is the word meaning dirt or a type of pony.”Everybeing reacts that way.” Seriousness returned to him as we hummed our acknowledgement. But my mind swarmed with new questions, most importantly, where had he been? No paper had anything on him, for three weeks. That was unheard of, even if he had been in Saddle Arabia it would have been big news. However I just nodded, there was plenty of time to ask about his travels. Seeing our acceptance, he seemed to relax, focusing on the cakes with an enthusiasm that made me smile. His speed increasing and making my heart feel some peace. Ari trusted us enough to eat unhindered now, he wasn’t looking at us with fear, and we had gotten the truth across rather easily. During the moment of comfortable quiet, we paused to drink and eat as well, our eyes oddly mesmerized as across the table more and more icing left the slices. Eventually slowing down he shot us big smile, “But I have a whole list of topics to get through. Of course we won’t go over all today I assume you have court and other duties to attend to.” “We do…” Beside me blue ears folded back as reality caught up with us, unfortunately just when we had been making progress. A slow nod followed from Ari, looking more natural than before, “Ah, I thought so. We have a lot to discuss in general as well. You know, get to know each other and everything like that.” His grin turned sheepish, “So I suppose I will start on my oldest request before I let you have some of my famous cake.” We both straightened up and gave him our full attention, the prospect of learning more of where he had been to meet them occupying my thoughts. His eyes flicked between the two of us, his mouth parting slightly as if to consider the words. Wind slipped in under the kitchen staff’s door, filling the decisive silence with a sharp whistling. “I met the requestor in Saddle Arabia,” we already knew he had been there but I smiled my encouragement to him anyway, “A lost soul of sorts,” his ears folded back as he went back to the moment. “They didn’t tell me their real mission at first…But when I heard of their story I couldn’t help but offer some help, even with all the confusion of being in a new world their sorrow was, is, great.” Honest sadness shone in the corners of the blue eyes before me. “It isn’t my story to tell…But the gist of it is that their father was brilliant, a true genius if their words do the stallion justice, and,” a gulp filled the space. “The father left them to pursue a goal; however that was many years ago, and all they heard was that there was a mirror involved.” Luna broke the quiet, “I do not see how this relates to us-.” “The mirror was last rumored to be at Canterlot castle,” blue eyes turned serious at the mention of our home, wings fidgeted in a nervous display, “A magical mirror made with only the finest enchantments. He was an exquisite enchanter they said. Their father just disappeared though.” My throat felt too dry to respond as the implication of what he was trying to say hit home. After a long sip I met his gaze, not bothering to mask my worry, “Did they say what the mirror did?” We had plenty of mirrors in the castle, some enchanted to critique the current fashion and others to distort images…It was very unlikely it was that mirror, even more so since our magical breakthrough was never made public. Giving us a half smile, he swished his tail before continuing, “I think it is a little out there, but they claimed the mirror led to another world.” My sister shot me the look, eyes narrowed, and mouth set in a tight line. Luna had heard the rumors of such pursuits before I banished her and strongly opposed it. Surprise, little sister…But killing wasn’t a option anymore…Killing beings prone to chaotic magic didn’t sit well with me anymore, they all had the same anguish in their eyes. The same that had briefly sparked deep in Luna’s when I sent her to the moon. Execution only got harder as the years stretched. But the problem stood out clear as they waited for my confirmation. I hadn’t had time to bring up that event’s detail yet with my own sister in her Equestrian history lessons, much less any current generation of pony, and we had never went beyond the one artifact. Even that mirror proving to be imperfect. Star Swirl’s mirror didn’t just take those with chaos magic, it took anybeing that touched it. “That is…Most interesting.” I didn’t know what else to say, it sounded like the mirror, and if it was that left a near inconceivable possibility. A foal…Star Swirl had had a foal at some point and left them in Saddle Arabia to pursue his studies. But that didn’t fit the Starswirl I remembered. “Sister,” she started in a dry tone before I could form the rest of my inquiry, she half turned to our rapt guest. “I would say that that would be impossible but my dear sister makes it seem like it was completed.” Air cascaded around my muzzle as she deflated, “He managed to make one?” I nodded, warmth climbing unwelcomed on my muzzle as our obvious suitor watched. But, like the etiquette of nobles she didn’t show much care for it in her moment of high emotion. “Why?” My muzzle wouldn’t open and Ari was watching me closely, eyes narrowing in some indecipherable emotion.“No, not why, that can wait for a different time.” Turning to the concentrating stallion she frowned, “Who asked about this mirror?” He ruffled his feathers at the request. Eyes watched our swaying banners for a second before he came back with a smile, regression clear in his distant eyes. “Afraid I was asked not to reveal their name, however their equestrian heritage…,” he said the last word in almost a question before trailing off. “Sorry, I mean to say, they wish to know if it resides here and they could view it at the least. Their father was quite obsessed with it.” Few reasons came to me as to why they would know and want to remain as anonymous as Ari made them. “Their father’s name,” I queried as I straightened my mask. Bandaged hoof met frowning muzzle with a thump and groan. “I-I never asked…But I can say they have an interesting reaction whenever somebeing mentions a Swirl fellow…Star beard, no, Swirl Star?” “Star Swirl…” my voice broke as my mind raced to understand what it sounded like had occurred. One of the greatest unicorns in the magical community had a secret foal in Saddle Arabia, a fact that while was a little out of character for him was not impossible. As Cadence put it ‘love works in magical ways’ and he was a frequent visitor of that country for me during my sister’s absence…Actually when she was around as well, Luna was a little too brash at emotional times to be sent in alone. And then he disappeared just years after clearing the countryside of the last remnant of chaos based creatures. His foal shouldn’t have to hide… “So am I right that they react quite strongly to Star Swirl’s name?” Yes. “And they are of an older age?” Another affirmative came across to my sister’s excited eyes and me. Now for the real question, “And what does viewing it do for them?” “Closure,” he straightened his posture, and despite his leftover signs of nervousness he appeared quite serious. “They are still distraught about the situation...Still…After what had to be a century…I think it would bring them closure to see the object that is now their obsession, to know exactly what fueled their father.” A silence followed as my sister and I raised eyebrows at each other. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, meeting the son or daughter of Star Swirl, and following one of our favorite families in the newest generation of them. I wanted to know the story behind this. Why did he leave them? Why didn’t they just come to us years ago? Nervous laughter caught our attention as we digested the information, “I assure you they are a good individual, a little misguided at first but good underneath the mask they wear.” He watched our faces intently, “They really would appreciate this, you have no idea.” It was all so clear what our decision would be, the reality so unlikely and as a result very exciting. When he had disappeared I had thought the worst but perhaps this might help fill in the gaps…Although if they hadn’t found their father then we still might not as well. But they certainly deserved to know what he had devoted his time to. Despite Luna’s disapproval for its very existence she was the first to respond, “When did they wish to view it?” I nodded my approval to her searching glance. Although, she may just wish to see the impossibility in the complex enchanting worked into metal frame itself. I certainly wouldn’t blame her. I could hardly believe how intricately the cuneal writing had been engraved. Whistling sounded again from an open window somewhere down in the kitchens. My nod had not been what she wanted though. A frown started on her muzzle. “We do still have it here, don’t we dear sister?” Lulu most definitely wanted to see it and hear why I had agreed to fund such a project; it was far beyond Star Swirl’s wealth and magical output. Her eyes went wide as if to say ‘tell me’ as I smiled at her, letting her sweat. “Yes, we do.”Chocolate breath buffeted me then, warm, and sweet. “Excellent!” Happiness shone from his eyes, a mission complete in his mind, and a pony soon to be satisfied in many accounts. I couldn’t help but smile back. After a second the previous question appeared to have sunk in, our sister’s eyes boring into him a big help in that matter. “Right, I don’t know quite when. But I imagine as soon as I’m done discussing everything with you both I can relay that…And I can’t stress just how happy this will make them!” Smiles were beaming between us, everypony satisfied in one way or another even with some questions hanging around. A sense of completion settled over our awkward meeting, the cake disappearing as smiles were exchanged back and forth, all genuine, and comments on the quantity we consumed were not made. We all had the same metabolism, the same thoughts it seemed as well. For no sooner had the last cake been cleared than our eyes found the clock over the kitchen staff entrance. Night court would begin soon. My little sister acknowledged her acceptance of the unfortunate change with a regret filled sighed, my own long sigh following shortly after. Although our first meeting had begun in a most unusual manner, all of us a little unsettled with the new encounter and the extra pony, we had ended on such a good note that I brushed his previous aside. Ari understood his unfortunate yet blessed arrival more than ever and accepted it remarkably well…He probably would express his anger at his losses in more private quarters, but I couldn’t fault him there. I had ended a meeting on a ‘yes’ instead of a ‘no’ or an angry, confused stallion storming out. Life was good, great, and it felt like it could only get better as he brought the plain tin to the center of our focus again. Revealing the two yellow iced cakes with a nervous smile and rising feathers. Seeing his worry, Luna attempted to soothe him, “No need to worry Ari, they smell delicious!” Which they did, a sugary aroma left the tin like an enticing perfume, with only a slightly bitter, metallic after smell that made me think he needed a new tin. That only caused him to shift side to side, that is until I grabbed my cake in my golden field, and nodded to my sister as she followed suit. He went stock still, giving us a hopeful smile as we inspected the pale treats. He was so sweet. “I can’t imagine anything made by you to be in bad taste, especially a cake.” A stallion that bakes! Not rare but certainly a plus in my book. Aside from his previous ignorant insults and slightly neurotic startle response he seemed to be a fine stallion. Those two negatives were corrected, mostly. He was nervous still; rather eager to get our approval on his cakes, and that was understandable. He clearly had put a lot of planning into this meeting to wait three weeks from sending the letter. Cadence would love him, Ari could even handle our ‘nephew’ without bribing, bucking, or threatening him! As the icing passed over my taste buds I stood, sat corrected in my opinion of his ability to bake. We were both frozen mid-chew as my eyes found my sister’s, the agreement unanimous, and the question raising its ugly head between our gaze. Do you tell the stallion that was literally the only one of your species that his homemade cakes were the equivalent of swamp gas in taste? He clearly told us that he had to replace some ingredients due to our world not having them; yet, I didn’t imagine it would be quite this…Bad. It was cake, sugary, magic boosting food that was near impossible to mess up. And he had ruined it. My throat protested as the icing seemed to stick to it in a bitter, swamp sludgey way that I had never quite experienced before. Not even when some fillies gifted me a cake shaped charcoal. Yet, I preserved, ignoring the urge to wash my suddenly dry mouth out as I gazed into his increasingly fearful eyes. Dear Faust, I needed to fix this. This stallion had meant to make peace and foster goodwill with these and we were acting like he was trying to poison us! With a loud, dry gulp my sister followed my lead. “I must say, it is unlike any cake I have ever tasted.” Her nod and erratic flickering on her tail backed up my words. “Ah, s-so the recipe is a keeper then?” Blue eye snapped between us as his uncertainty showed in splayed ears. The fear was gone at least. “Perhaps,” think, think, “But I am afraid it might need a little sugar.” My stomach flip flopped in a strange fashion, my magic even popped louder in my mind as if the very idea of more of that swamp cake repulsed it. My heart began to race, the words hard to find, and all the usual phrases to brush aside its sheer awfulness seemed inadequate with the stallion before me. He was leaning forward in concern, and most certainly wanting acceptance. Our niece would lecture us for eternity if we ruined this chance of a lifetime, a literal gift from a god. “Sugar, everything else is alright?” Baritone echoes rang in my ears briefly, wavering out of focus as I tried to follow his explanation of the substitutes and…And maybe I should tell him how bad it was. This cake that he hadn’t even said the name of was rapidly becoming a bodily based distraction. Letting my withers drop a little under the weight that the simply letting down of our future seemed to have created, I focused on his smiling muzzle. “W-w…,” what was I asking? Right, “W…Whap flav…or…Wu…Was it?” That sentence didn’t work out quite the way I imagined it would, the warmth seemed to be everywhere now, and he didn’t seem to mind. I think was blushing, dear Faust, I couldn’t think straight. My stomach flip flopped, protesting something. My vision swam again, thoughts wandering aimlessly until I blinked and realized the seat before me was empty. Was this a dream? The colors popping at the corners of my eyes certainly made it appear so…Luna was giving me a dream…But why? Confusion grew in my popping head, as did the sound of my beating heart. Colors flashed brighter in my peripheral as something pressed up by my flank, causing me to jump, and spun my world into chaos as I tried to see what it was, my wings somehow very far away. Sounds came in slow and distant then, like someone was saying them at the back of a crowded room, and all this occurred despite the foggy assurance that something nice was touching me. I wanted to run, the wrongness was all consuming. That cake was wrong. Something…Spicy trickled in my nose, that hard to focus on thought alone calmed the brief rise of panic at this…What was this? I didn’t know, but I did know the table was brown, and strangely hard and soft. Almost like it was padded with foam, but such a contradicting sensation faded into a strange numbness, and…The black muzzle was back. I'm the Villain?!*Author's Note Welcome back, I hope you enjoy the ~~double~~ post This first scene killed me...~~Four~~ five rewrites later, RL stuff, and it is finally done. Rewriting the details was 'argh' inducing so Let me know how it turned out. I have been working on my action scenes, so hopefully better. Constructive criticism welcomed. Also congradulations to all that guessed correctly Originally was part of a two parter...But, I am satisfied with this half and I feel RL rearing its head again so I figured everybeing would like to get a look at what has held me up. Hopefully part two will make it past my review station this week and join this after the weekend. UPDATE: NEW version posted June 11, 2018 Happy reading. I'm the Villain?!* Canterlot Castle, Equestria Ari Their carefully crafted masks of calmness were broken, thrown away by the poison laced icing covering the cakes. The fact that I had willingly poisoned somebeing was a fact I didn't linger on for long. I had to get out of here after all. Escaping…It was unclear if I would be. Their eyes were clearly and honestly disgusted with the taste of my trap and one step away from sealing their path to change...Or my death. And as such, I couldn’t have been a more nervous wreck. Suddenly very aware that so much could go wrong still. So much had gone south already...Enough that I wasn’t completely sure if I could change their minds with such a Equestria centered mindset present. Death was looking more likely as they exchanged glances. Magenta eyes stared back, almost in confirmation as I leaned forward, my own eyes wide and panicked at the silence. I gulped, watching their bulging cheeks with bated breath. Another glance was exchanged, eyebrows rising in their secret sibling language. Did they know what was in it? Would they swallow it? It didn't look like they would. I felt my heart sped up as I leaned forward even further to watch them. A loud gulp echoed into the room as both throats bobbed, bulges disappearing as they gave me a small smile, or it could have been wince. “I must say, it is unlike any cake I have ever tasted,” Celestia said it in what could have been the stiffest tone possible. Were they really unaware? "Ah, s-so the recipe is a keeper then?" I tried to hold onto the faint hope that it was all my imagination. Seconds passed as her smile turned lop sided, “Perhaps.” Celestia paused eyes darting across the tabletop before meeting mine. “But I am afraid it might need a little sugar.” I nearly collapsed then and there. “Sugar, everything else is alright?” I checked in, looking between the sisters, edging forward as I looked for deception in their eyes. Strangely enough, I saw none. Relaxing my stance somewhat, I held my breath as Celestia attempted to question me, her muzzle moving slowly and out of sync. Perfect. Looking beside her I could see Luna was fairing no better. Her ears twitching as she blinked rapidly against the sudden urge to sleep, the drowsiness she was no doubt feeling was still all too familiar in my memory, and thankfully that level of sedation didn’t allow for any threat to be made from the odd string of movements. It had felt like swimming through syrup soaked cotton balls. But Celestia wasn’t going down, only blinking at me slightly faster than before. I turned my attention to her, “I am really glad to hear that, sugar is really easy to add.” Come on. “Do you like the icing?” No! But my mouth kept moving, not even slowing as my thoughts went unheard. “It is a combination of Treeme fruit and Bruneberries!” fake excitement oozed from my words, “I thought it would be a good combination,” but, Celestia didn’t seem to notice the falsity. She also didn’t relax. So I went with my instincts, I pictured Lyric’s smiling face when I got home, calm, her eyes lighting up brighter than when she found the pond, and my muzzle curved upward, the nerves gone. Hopefully radiating the calm Celestia needed to let the drugs take her under. Fuck, really? The reigning princess was gazing at me, unaffected apparently. Deep breath, my muscles relaxed even further at the thought of the mirror. I was so close. Still, Sunbutt was watching me. Okay. A big smile grew wider as I turned to her sister, and thankfully Luna was losing the battle. Just smile, it had to work. Celestia’s gaze turned unfocused just as Luna’s head fell onto her plate with a loud ‘plonk’. But I didn’t comment or draw any attention to her. In fact, her sister didn’t even seem to notice it. I held my breath. Nothing more came from the elder sister. One more push, my smile grew slightly strained as home crept ever closer in my mind, and with it Night Court did as well. But, we would be gone long before any Thestrals arrived. Breathe and smile…And convincing them couldn’t be that hard. The evidence I had to show them was pretty damning if I do say so. Stay positive. Celestia snorted but I didn’t stop smiling. Home...Peace, and cute foals. Another snort followed soon after. But - “W-w…,” she trembled out – I leaned closer still.“W…Whap flav…or…Wu…Was it?” I didn’t repeat the answer, at this point I didn’t think she was all there anyway. Instead I smiled wider, my fears melting away, bobbing away really. Celestia’s head was already dropping as I watched. It was only a matter of time now, less time if I gave her a little push. Moving to sit between the mares I frowned at my instincts that popped up at the proximity. Traitorously they sent contradicting messages again, at least they contradicted with my morals. My body was unfortunately slightly receptive to the urges, craving comfort that it found in mares...Almost...As if the god had added this to my new equine programming.I wouldn’t put it past him. Because, logically, I didn’t want to sniff them no matter how nice their scents were, impressing the royal sisters with my wingspan wasn’t even part of the plan, and I was not nuzzling them no matter how insistent my equine mind chimed in to comfort them. That would imply that I wanted to be any sort of friendly relation with planet dooming murderers, which I didn’t. I wanted a peaceful life, some foals, and a happy reunited herd. Sounded simple, right? Not with that god's meddling it wasn't, it had to be him. I turned my head away from the flickering manes and exhaled behind me, frowning as the urge to take in a deep whiff of their vanilla and blueberry scents grew. Think of Chrissy, she would be furious. They, no, Celestia executed her father for crying out loud! They would gladly banish her...No, hurt her...And Lyric. And with reality check my morals won over my instincts, the urge to protect my marefriends thankfully stronger than the thought to check these new ones out. Speaking of Celestia, she was taking my close presence well. That is to say, as I was snug between the sisters she was still looking at my seat, brow furrowing as the time ticked on. The process was still slow in my eyes. But perhaps that was a good thing as my thoughts were running away on me again, the melancholy of the full spectrum returning with the thought of the end of my mission. Yes, that would have to come up. Chrissy and Lyric didn't know about me, the whole daunting task of saving the world and changing nearly everything had taken my entire focus, and that would be ending soon. The first one anyway...Yet, the idea of telling them both was terrifying and somehow needed. Sure, I could keep fudging the truth, skirting around the issue of my human words and references that would eventually slip in. But...I didn't want to have to tell half truths for what would be thousands of years. "Ar..Eeee," Celestia tried to form words and failed as I blinked down at her. The sound was odd and quiet, surreal as I looked at the last Alicorn mares. Damn...There was that too. I had to restore the Alicorns. Which I sort of was doing already, by accident mind you…My foals would be half Alicorn. Unplanned bundles of joy with mares I hadn't even had a date with yet...I needed more time. This was way too much. First though, deep breath, I had to contend with these two royal pains. And pain was no exaggeration. Celestia was still trying to raise her head. The clock was ticking onward, loud to my nerves as I sighed down at her, settling their breathing somewhat. Anytime now- I blinked and looked at the clock – I would be home w-without the mirror. Fuck! And no sooner did I realize my fault did a dull thump echo throughout the room, bringing forth the urge to groan aloud. Murphy had caught up to me. But my eyes still found the princess’s heads…Already slumped forward. No, please no! It went unheard. Luna’s muzzle was half opened in a weak gurgle, salvia pooling as my stomach seemed to drop out from under me. Her eyes were still closed under the effects of the drug. My eyes followed the drool over to the elder sibling, the only pony that knew where the mirror. Celestia didn’t seem to see me, blinking rapidly on the tabletop as panic widened her eyes impossibly more. Hallelujah! Ivory wings started twitching as I moved in closer, placing my muzzle and flank hard against her, rocking her to the side in my haste. Her wings stilled. My lips hovered beside her ear. “Hello C-Celestia,” her magenta orbs shakily found mine and I frowned at the distant look growing in them. “I was wondering where the mirror is?” I let out a long breath in her face, watching and hoping she was lucid enough to understand and answer me. My scent should get her attention. And like she knew, her nostrils flared out as if to take in my scent and soon after her muzzle opened as if to try and answer me. But my hopes were soon dashed by the flickering of her eyelids. That pit that has opened up growing colder as ivory ears started twitching in the same manner her sister’s had done. It was then I knew god hated me. He must have heard my previous complaints. Like a sick joke it ended, her eyelids dropping down. “Of fucking course,” I muttered to the quiet room. I was teleporting home without the mirror that held my mare’s happiness hostage, not even the room’s location available as a clue, and two mares that were sure to be particularly unhelpful. Sighing, I grabbed the magic inhibitors and key from my saddle bag. At least this part was going along perfectly. My inhibitors weren’t even scratched. Looking at their eyes for any twitch or sign of awareness I slowly lowered the metal cuffs down their horns, stopping once I heard the delicate clink of metal against metal. Yet their tiaras stayed in place, despite their slumped forward position and new accessory. A ear went to both doors. The guards were still silent from their posts outside the doors and the princesses were dead to the world. So, without any further ado I brought the key to the base of Celestia’s horn, the first gate, and started to smile. Easy-peasy. A sharp click filled the air as I thought that, slightly muffled as it traveled around the room. My eyes shot to the key in the lock, stationary in my magic. Just like I feared…I hadn’t quite turned the key yet. In fact, the noise sounded like it was from behind me. My smile faltered as my ears swiveled back. Fucking Murphy. I looked behind me only to lock gazes with a grey pegasi colt. He looked like I had told him Santa Claus wasn’t real. His eyes were wide, ears going sideways, and jaw dropping as I watched in mirth. The only catch here was that this pegasis wasn’t little anymore; he was an adult and a fully trained solar guard if the armor was accurate. And there I was sitting behind two clearly unconscious princesses with two custom made magical inhibitors in the process of being locked in place over their horns. A fact that I knew wouldn’t go over well, especially if the slack jawed look he was sporting was a good sign of what was to follow. My body wouldn’t move a muscle in the stare off, my mind miles away at the sight before me. God really hated me...Or a more likely, more calming thought,that the guards were regularly patrolling the windows…I hadn’t thought of that. His wide eyes locked onto mine. Logically I saw his course of action as one of two options. Option one, that open mouth would erupt into an unholy scream for help and I would be soon surrounded by hundreds of little pony guards. Or the greatly preferred and therefore stupider option in his book, the one where he uses the pony length spear strapped to his side and charged through that window to face me stallion to stallion. Guess which one was more likely given my obvious height and magical advantage. His wings were already proving my theory correct as they started to change their beat, faltering for a second as I narrowed my eyes at the guard, mentally cursing once more before he banked hard to the right and doubled back to spread the word. And I couldn't just grab a guard out of the open air, other guards would see me. The click of the first gate closing followed as I watched him escape, my magic almost acting on its own as a fear raced my heart. I guess they are smarter than Chrissy thought. Snorting my fear out at the shrinking golden speck I turned back to the princess, moving onto the next gate with a shaky breath in and out, the beating of my heart loud in my ears as how very little time I had hit me, even less time if the guards actually believed that the only Alicorn stallion was cuffing their princesses up like criminals. This would confirm Bente’s words though. Did all the ponies with power truly know what was going on? Echo knew where to go and he was sent by Luna, yet he didn’t know about the slaves, murders, and climate disaster taking place outside his country. That didn’t exclude the rest of the guards. I mean, even Blueblood knew I had been on the coast… As cuneal writing joined with an audible click, twice, thrice, and onward I realized I couldn’t just teleport these murdering mares onto my ship without them being restrained. No being knew how long the drug would last for Alicorns or what teleportation did to drugged Alicorns. Unsurprisingly I wasn’t in the mood to test that with my herd’s lives. Safety aside, the dizzying display of ethereal pastel colored mane could count as a signal for help by itself. It grew before me, moving faster and more erratically in my face as I passed the third gate. But my eyes were unflinching as they watched the ivory mare for signs of life. It may have been a signal, for a din reached my ears soon after. Bente was right. It had been less than a minute and they were already coming. The only other noise was the wind whistling under the door the waiter ponies had come from, it momentarily filling the air with the sound as I clicked on. The speed at which I closed the gates continued to increase until I hit gate number seven. That one made my magic falter as my eyes widened. “Preposterous,” was exclaimed then as well, the voice unfamiliar, soon followed with muted clangs and whispers. But, my eyes were glued to the scene before me, the fact that I had to sped up not reaching my magic. Celestia’s almost living mane and tail just dropped like they were suddenly soaked. Not only did it become as limp as my own but the pastel rainbow colors flickered away like a hologram to reveal a singular pastel pink underneath, almost the shade you would see in strawberry ice-cream. Suffice to say I was speechless at the effect, faintly acknowledging that ethereal manes truly must be an effect of magic discharge, and furthermore how weak I was then. “Perfectly!” A succinct reply to some request rang throughout the hall, everything about it snapping me out of my wonderment. That damn colt was coming too. A pause in noise made me frown…They were moving at a snail's pace to stop me. The sound that returned made the frown a permanent feature. “-utterly ridiculous-,” brief snippets of conversation drew my ears down, “-Tell-,” but I closed the gate that lay near her tip and moved the small key to the base of Luna’s magic inhibitor. No sense in waiting for them to arrive. However, before I could begin the process a small rumble started, freezing me in place. What now? It wasn’t from behind me. Above me the crystal chandelier started chattering as the crystals hit one another, but my gaze looked around for an enemy in confusion. It wasn’t coming from any of the four doors; they were even momentarily silent from the sudden movement. My gaze narrowed at the room in suspicion, the possibility of enchantments briefly coming to mind. But I quickly dismissed it as I gave the entire space another perusal. The practicality of a enchantment that shook a room was lost on me, and the room was normal, nothing glowed with magic. Above me, the roof was domed making it was impossible to be from anybeing marching up there, definitely not enough to produce this room shaking volume and power. Yet the almost seismic like motions only increased with time. Eventually to the point that it jostled Luna’s inhibitor up and down with metallic clinks. A thought hit me then, this could be a earthquake, and following that train of thought, that I didn’t want to be around when Equestria had its first earthquake. It was the only possibility I could see, I guessed planet was closer to doomsday than I had thought. “-That? What is that stallion doing?! I thought you-” He called out, blaming the earthquake on me of all beings. As if I could do much beyond foal magic…Not that he knew that. More partial sentences reached me as I snapped to attention. “Y-yes, but-,” a particularly strong movement sent the speaker clanging and the chandelier shattering crystals on the floor. The planet paused. What? My heart raced as everybeing paused with it and then the shaking started to return, faster though, and more insistent at dislodging us from it. Still, Blueblood’s angry voice reached me again between the equally loud crashes in the hallway, those priceless vases now priceless shards, “-Don’t care! Call in the bolts, the bats, anypony we can get! Get-,”I didn’t pay attention after that. Closing the rune encircled locks with a new speed, ignoring his conversation, and forcing my heart and magic into a race against his rapid and increasingly loud clip clop of hooves. I have to escape! A hushed reply beyond the door eluded me but the response nearly stopped my heart, “Of course I meant them!” It was the way he said it, like 'them' was the equivalent to something big, bad and a thing I clearly didn’t want to stick around to see. Gates…Lock gates. My mind swam as I turned my broken focus back to Luna. Like with her older sister her mane went increasingly wild, except against my forelegs rather than my face, but I pressed in closer, caught between the two mares and already counting down the gates to my escape. Nine left. One ears swiveled to the opposing hallway as the faint metallic clanging or armor reached my ears, just what I needed on top of an earthquake. Eight, seven, six, and five gates left. They went by in rapid succession. The seventh gate turned her mane from a starry expanse to a light pastel blue that hung limply across her neck. Definitely magic related. But it didn’t slow me down that time; I could already hear the distant clanking of a running guard somewhere in this cavernous building. Back up was coming…Joy. I rushed through the remaining gates, grinding my teeth against the great thumping shakes that suddenly had started, replacing the shudders in a grim progression of earth based power. My ears ignored the rushed sound of hooves, the clatters, and small shards of crystals that were raining onto us in favor of the finish line I could literally see. A big breath escaped me as the last gate closed. Suddenly the room gave a final thundering rumble and shudder before slowing down to a constant low grade vibration that had my feathers quivering. I eyed the ominously creaking death trap above the table and snorted once more. Now all I had to do was-. A click echoed in the room, followed by a hum of magic, and I tried not to panic. I tried to react rationally and teleport away since I had both princesses touching me. But I failed, the key slipped from my magic hold, and my mind scrambled in a familiar nervous panic to respond to my most prominent thought and ignore the urge to run. The ship, focus on the ship. “Now what was the meaning of that..,” the words froze like I had begun to at the sound of the door’s handle, my eyes widening at the reality I had just found myself in. It felt like a bad dream come to life, the niggling churning in my stomach returning with a dash of ice water for my veins. My magic didn’t seem to hear me then as it converged on my leg’s channels. Run, run, run... “I had a feeling it would come to this…But I really had expected more from the princesses...,” He trailed off again as I could almost feel his eyes on my horn. The speaker was Blueblood, his family’s services being not so innocent if his off handed comment had meant anything. A gust of air and sweat accompanying him promised company, the clanging armor wearing variety. “It is a shame though…”My fear turned its head at that familiar tone he responded in. No... Arch…Bite I agreed with my instincts. This was different than before though. “Princess Luna…” The eager voice came in muffled as I snapped my eyes up to watch the opposing entrance, my eyes narrowing at my luck. Focus…Just Focus on home. He won’t attack you with the princesses as meat shields. My body still wouldn’t move to face the surely shocked ‘prince’ or focus on teleporting as it stayed turned to the door across from me, my focus more on redirecting my errant magic. Their arrival didn't help matters. The grand entrance opened wide to reveal a darker furred, more familiar fear of mine, and I found myself unintentionally gulping in response. Thestrals, the hall held a small squad of six. The ebony armored bat-like ponies stood stock still as the solar guards opening the door for them also froze before trading pointed looks. Pointed tufts twitched with their large ears as I made eye contact with the newest arrivals, all came in a range of purple, gray, and dark blue. Surprise and shock dominated their expressions as I processed my own surprise, no, it was more like trepidation. I was nearly surrounded...There was still two - I nearly jumped at the bang reverberated around the room -. The kitchen door had been blown open by the wind that rushed in unhindered. My eyes watched the door as I waited for something to appear, but no being did…Breathe…Then it closed with slam, sending a shiver down my back I tried to get back to focusing on escaping. Teleport. The thought hit me like a bolt of energy and fired me into action, pulling my focus back on directing my crackling magic back to my horn. “Well, are you going to assist us? This vagabond has-,” I tuned out the suddenly whiny voice of Blueblood as I focused on my ship, charging my horn with the image of the dinning cabin in mind. Somebeing said something before I felt eyes return to my flank and heard the crunch of crystal. “-And here I thought we could work with you.” Yup, that is why you were calling everybeing you could think of. Slitted eyes watched my glowing horn as their hooves reached back to their spears. But no pony was willing to make the first attack...Not that I was complaining. I willed the princesses and I to be teleported, calling up the sensation of my molecules pulling apart and coming together in the safe walls of my ship. “Oop-ssy,” was whispered from behind me as more crystals crunched. And all I could do was frown as my magic crackled restlessly against an invisible barrier. “But I suppose that was a tad naïve on my part,” several Solar guards humphed in response to his continuation, but the Lunar guards didn't even appear to react to it. Evil eyes directed at me. “I'm sure you know the feeling though. Given what you are known for and the rumors circulating your heinous actions...The fact that you still came to carry out your evil plan.” Bat-like hissing came from the beings in front of me, their eyes darting between their princess and me. Heinous, I know I killed beings but they were slavers…A long snort reached me, confident in my silence, and closer to the vildkatt’s tone than I was comfortable with. “Well, are you going to let them go now? You aren't leaving here you know, in case that wasn't obvious to your small mind.” He was still behind me, spouting nonsense no less...And my dining room was nowhere in sight. My herd was still very far away. “Fuck,” I squinted my eyes harder, trying again. Heat pooled around my gold encased horn, muffled giggles reached me as the energy crackled and pounded in forehead with a steady pressure filled beat. My second attempt at teleporting had also got me nowhere. I realized then with a sense of dread that I had underestimated the security of the castle, that my attempts were getting me nowhere fast. My magic had nowhere to go to. Of course they would have anti-teleporting runes placed somewhere on the expanse of polished marble made available to them. “Now that word was uncalled for,” the clip of a hoof moving closer had me turning my upper body to face the approaching honorary prince, ears pinning back as I noted a cowering mass of guards in the doorway. Half were pegasi and the other unicorns, with not an earth pony to be seen. They were looking me up and down with fear, glancing with wide eyes at their rulers...And their weapons. What now? They had families...But they were also all against me. Not to mention that they wouldn’t blink if they killed a changeling…Or a desperate ambassador apparently. I squared my shoulders and scanned the crowd. "It is rude to keep a prince waiting." Keeping an eye on the swords and spears clipped to their armor I snorted back at Blueblood. My words escaped me so I let the magic go in a flurry of golden sparks, a flurry of hooves backed up as I frowned at his increasingly confident smile and the tone he had used. I was an Alicorn, not some snarling puppy to admonish. “Fuck off.” “Oh, I'm so scared,” he adjusted his bowtie with his magic. Why wasn't he scared? “But not surprised at your vocabulary for an uncouth colt such as yourself.” In the corner of my eye I could see the Lunar guards silently inching forward from the hall, braver than their solar counterparts and more prepared with their wings half unfurled already. I stomped a hind hoof at their nice but futile move, as if my puffed up wings could manage more than a flap with the ice water in my blood. But flying might be my only option. I had more than enough enemies now. The clangs of more guards sounded from far behind him confirming that as he watched me. What else could I do? Nothing came to mind, nothing except that this had to be a set up. They seemed to know what I had done the whole time; he had said my plan as if he knew it. The way his eyes had grown cold when we stared off...And the princesses had to know as well then. Everybeing had been playing along till I revealed my hand, hoof. And I fell for their ‘breaking’ decorum acts hook, line, and sinker. It wouldn’t surprise me if half the castle knew what was happening already, the guards were certainly prepared to react so quickly even if they didn’t quite know what I would be doing to their rulers. Everybeing was ready to fight me. This wasn't going to be easy... “Said the colt,” I retorted, my frustration coming out in the pitiful schoolyard style insult, with no idea if I could even break the windows to fly away I felt paralyzed to my spot. There might be runes stopping that as well. Blueblood simply tossed his mane at my words, radiating confidence as he nodded to the guards. As if to say to them that I wasn't a threat. And that was when a new urge hit me, my instincts louder than ever at his proximity again. I wanted to grab him by the neck and drop him to the hard floor, make him squeal in fear just like many other beings had done. The ice quickly faded from my veins as I snorted at him. The cold sensation replaced by a righteous simmer as I let the flooded lands, displaced families and thousands of surely already dead slaves fill me instead. Hurt, bite... I agreed with my instincts. I could fight my way out instead, I could still use magic after all. Hurting the prince and guards wouldn’t be too bad; they obviously don’t possess enough empathy to see the help the ambassadors needed. They had magic whatever-you-call-it steel embedded in them after all…And I wouldn’t kill them. At least I told myself that. "Move colt." I prodded him, wishing his hooves forward. The adrenaline already was adding a pleasant sensation to my racing heart. It was just like old times, except the drunken asshole was replaced by a racist pony prince. Wow that sounded weird. "Colt?" The twitching and narrowing of his eyes did not reveal what he intended to do in retaliation, but I had an idea that delayed execution was close to the mark. They did need an heir after all. After that it was anybeing’s guess. The vibrations slowed as we held each other’s gaze. "Yup, a over confident colt." I added a little cheer in it, loving every second of his controlled anger. I would crush him stallion to...Colt. I could practically walk over him. “Really,” the word was more than a question when he spoke it. It was the urge to pommel one another that flowed between our eyes, the sheer equine rage that I had felt towards Arch and the rest rising once more. My tail whipped against the princesses as I raised an eyebrow at him. I just wanted to hurt him then. He made me angry; Blueblood had even tried to push me over the edge before. Taunting me with ‘How was the Narrow sea’. Yes, how was a slave producing, sea serpent filled hellhole? It was a world of pain I had wanted to shout at him, but I maintained my composure, filing away the fact that it was one that he seemed to be okay with. The standoff cemented it, I was the villain for wanting to change the world...Putting a stop to their perfect weather. As if the last chime of the quivering chandelier was a signal his entourage of nine guards slowly filtered in on shaky legs, determination filling their uniform blue and brown eyes as they fanned out across the wall. Blueblood stepped closer with a crunch, less than four feet separated us then, and his own horn had charged light blue during the bold move. Really? You want to go against me in a magic battle? My instincts piped up in with disgust at his ever encroaching presence. It was worse than the urge to bite Echo or keep away from Azure, and I was in no position to move from my captives, they were the reason I wasn’t in pain yet. Though, the Lunar guards certainly wanted to take more risks, their actions bolder and slightly independent from the soldiers behind the prince. It was only a matter of time till they made a move. His eyes left my horn and neck once more shining with confidence, like the anger had never been there. The confidence briefly puzzled me. He was one pony. A racist colt that was half my size and most probably half my magical core or less. His idea of a threat was to ask me how the Narrow sea had been. Which was more an admission to his knowledge of the slavers in my book than anything, or an attempt to cow me into backing down when our eyes met; it was kind of hard to read him when he went from petulant child to cocky prince within a hour. The latter had shined through then as he had then followed that question with a quietly comment, almost whisper bragging to me. 'I wouldn't, I have special training, special training you could only dream of'. What was I supposed to take from the fact that he had been in a special training program? It had only increased the unexplained urge to push away his seat, an urge that had actually started as soon as he sat down beside me. Not to mention, it clued me to what services his family was known for. ‘Special’, yah, and ‘integral to Equestria’s history’, yes, I could imagine what he did. The look in his eyes then and in that moment was one I had seen not even a week ago in a vildkatt’s eyes. Perhaps that sadistic pleasure he found in controlling my actions was why he was here like this. He was sure he had an Alicorn with the fifteen guards he had slowly surrounding me. He was wrong. I had killed a crew of fifteen without blinking; disarming these racists wouldn’t be that hard. My lack of response had him prodding me again, falling right into my bid for time.“Are you really trying to pretend you didn’t sink a fleet of ships?” Sink? “…What,” was all I could say in response, more than a little off guard at such a statement. What rumors had he heard? Actually, who would have…Never mind, there was that call for help. But he was on a roll it seemed, “You threatened a merchant captain and took his wares for your own wealth?” Oh, merchants were they? Snorting I arched my neck to meet his approach, turning my body to face him fully, with my fur bristling at his blatant lies. I was trying hard to save this screwed up world! “Funny words coming from a racist such as yourself,” my wings unfurled with a snap that caused the solar guards to jump in place. A pegasi stallion backed up into the window with a gulp and clink. However, Blueblood just raised an eyebrow at the display of size, eyeing my short whipping tail and bald patches before quickly tapping the floor twice with his right hind hoof. My eyes followed his action with a frown. Nothing happened so I pressed on. "I mean, if killing a lot of beings got everybeing the title of ‘prince’ then I wouldn’t be so quick to call others uncouth, colt.” I smiled as the eye twitch and a frown grew on his face. Not to mention, the way his eyes flicked between me and the guards behind me worriedly, like they were going to save his sorry ass. But they were silent, only a light rustling coming from the wall that had the kitchen door. Just what I needed, the waiters were probably listening in again. “And merchants? Is that a joke? Those were-,” I was forced to duck as a blur appeared in my peripheral, forcing me to duck, “-You fucker!” A feathered dart was sunk halfway into the table, quivering from the power behind it. I looked around in confusion. The Thestrals had paused in their approach to look at me closely, frowning as their ears twitched at the left corner by the kitchen…Interesting. But as I looked at them I saw they didn’t have anything to hold darts. Same with the Solar guards, although they looked significantly more confident with the dart coming out of nowhere and continued to fan out though as I waited for his next move, an ear now directed to the left. It appeared to be empty but I knew better than to trust my senses in this magic land. A snort answered my insult, his ears pinning back at me before he continued. “Why I never,” but the blue eyes across from me didn’t match the sentiment his words and ears sought to invoke in our audience. “That means little coming from a…,” Go on, I dare you, “A pirate such as yourself!” A whole barracks worth of golden guards turned the corner at that moment, breaking into a brisk trot as they saw my wings held out and over their slumped forward leaders. “Flank the prince,” One shouted to the others. But their appearance didn’t quite register in my mind then. I am going to have to buck that muzzle in before I leave. It was the only solution I could think of for his confidence. When I got out of the castle I could theoretically teleport again but till then it was an 'any way out' sort of moment. “Now, you are clearly,” Blueblood continued to move his muzzle but my instincts were rising and I agreed with them. Pirate…He just called me a pirate. Words failed me at first, thoughts stalling and ability to plan fizzing out with such a contradicting statement rattling around my head. I had lost everything, set to work to save my new home...And I get this?! "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I muttered as it came home. They didn’t care, maybe didn’t know of the state out there, but they certainly wouldn’t care from what I saw. What did sparing their lives really do? What was the point in convincing them? Why save the Alicorns? I just wanted to hit something, but my legs wouldn’t move, everybeing seemed glued to the prince's words. The compass on his flank was taunting my inability to make the final step and act against his presumptuous rump. Still, that was weird. No pony seemed to know what to do in the standoff. Instead, Solar guards watched me closely, tense and determined. But they were largely immobile. Many had already gripped the bases of their roman short swords and spears in preparation for a fight. While the Lunar guard were sending off narrowed looks and nods, ear twitches forming a strange pattern of sorts as they were traded between the ebony gilded guards. But words didn’t fail me for long, my anger boiling over the strange sensation as I focused once more on the prince before me. He was painting me like the villain to them, “Don’t go fucking twisting this onto me Blueblood!” The scowl deepened, offence clearly taken to something, and his hoof tapped the floor once again. “I am not the bad guy here! Freeing slaves,” the clang of armor filled the room in an ear folding cacophony of noise, my words almost a whisper in comparison. “That does not make me a pirate!," I rose my voice to be heard over the din, "It is you-,” I halted at the sound of a flap of leathery wings and something whizzing through the air. The smile in front of me fell into a scowl as it hit me, well, hit my magic really… He was playing me...Darts...Stalling for time. That was where his confidence came from! I stomped another hind hoof down, my desire to cause him pain overriding the urge to fly momentarily. But several more darts bounced off my hastily conjured shield, forcing my ears back, and with that I heard a shuffle…Behind me. Whipping around I looked back in time to see the cause. One dark furred Thestral had made his way towards the princesses. The intent was clear to me as he glanced between his armored hoof touching the table and the outstretched hoof reaching for Luna, or the key on the table, I didn’t really care as the slitted eyes met my face again. The dark gray muzzle dropping as I let my anger flow out. I couldn’t kill him, but the faint reminder didn’t slow my body. My golden shield disappeared as the crackling in my head traveled downward at a breakneck pace. Whipping back to face the conniving pony before me I bunched up my muscles as I watched the smug look on Blueblood’s face with a single minded focus. He could die. Roaring out my frustration I reared up before him, slamming down a second later with a shudder. The grimace producing aftershock sent him scrambling back in fear. This farce was over! I missed the over inflated head before me, but his light blue magic did sputter out, and the sour smell of urine hit me soon after. Just in time too. The crowd of guards reached the room then as well, but they hastily stepped back into the hall from the brief growth in my shadow. Fear etched in their eyes as I looked at them with a pained scowl. “Back off!” I warned them. A clink brought my attention back behind me. Not waiting to aim I tucked my rump down and shot my hooves back. The manly squeal telling me I was either too slow or he was too quick. Take your pick. Either way he was still alive, but not near my princesses anymore, wait, no -never mind-. I had had enough of this. I was only digging myself a hole now. Scooting back between the unconscious mares I kept my wings outstretched over them and returned my gaze to the wide eyed noble who was still several steps back from my range after that experience, still dripping on the marble. Time to go, that colt won’t be approaching me anytime soon. But as I raised my wings higher I hesitated, internal conflict growing as I watched the guards with doubt, my mind to the hole the prince had started digging for me and I had probably grown. They were going to think I was evil or something with what he had said…Some could be innocent to the knowledge of this apathetic regime, Echo had been. Just to clear the air… Exhaling I faced the crowd, “Blueblood, don’t go confusing me for the slavers I was stopping-,” my words were cut off as I was suddenly looking at a bright blue bolt of magic. A shield appeared out of instinct, deflecting it at the last second with a resounding shatter of glass and clatter of armor as guards threw themselves to the sides of the window I had shattered. Grunts echoed among the sharp sound of glass shards on marble. A jagged hole looked back at me through the golden shield, metal cross supports bent outward from the power. The guards were regrouping and Blueblood was done playing. Perhaps that wasn’t bragging when he mentioned his special training…I glanced back to the prince, slightly happy to see him panting from the effort. And maybe I was magically powerfulwith giant ass wings. Before I could get a flap in I found my smile dropping as leathery snaps sounded in the air behind me. A smug nod was sent my direction. "Really," No response came from him, but his actions said 'really, really'. He lowered his horn to me, still dripping as I looked to the other horns being lowered in my direction, twenty to be exact, and the pointy spears rising from the pegasi guards were even more numerous. I eyed the princesses, myself, and jagged hole in brief calculation…It was possible, if only just, and I couldn’t mess up the entry angle or I would be cut up…But it sure beat the pain I felt coming my way. Already the pegasi guards were unfurling their wings in unison to mimic their night time counterparts behind me; the newly arrived guards had also regained their bravado and followed the lead of the already present ponies, more horns charged, pegasi ready for liftoff, and all were waiting for either Blueblood or myself to make a move. Letting my eyes stray behind me, I could already see more dark armored guards galloping down that hall, joining the small amount that had turned up to escort Luna to Night Court. No. There was too many guards, they would block me, tackle me to the ground...I needed a bigger hole. Charging my horn I looked at Blueblood, his own horn was sputtering a charging spell as well as he met my gaze, fear still present in his gaze. Fu…“Bye-bye colt,” and I released the small drop of power up into the dome before he could get his off, A hunk of marble taller than me crashed down before I could blink, the sheer weight of the monstrosity sending chunks of tile and dust flying around the room. But I didn’t stay to watch his next move as I ducked the flashes of light that were aiming where my head had been. Holding a shield over my flank I made a break for it, taking several tingling hits as I turned and grabbed each mare around their barrel. The room rang with clangs of metal, crashes, hums of magic, and flapping as dust and feathers filled the air. With a glance back at the flurry of noise covered in dark grey debris I gave a powerful thrust up. And I nearly choked on the air as my body was filled with an unexpected heaviness, ripping me down, and forcing me to channel more magic to my forearms. The magic now evenly divided between my legs and wing channels. This was going to interesting. Dust and stone continued to fly around me as the room shook, the ceiling half crumbling still from the force of my poorly charged spell as I rose. But the larger hole where half the ceiling had been was perfect for my wingspan and too wide for the guards to block me if they did overtake me. I angled my body to the unmistakable opening as many guards could be heard following suit, my plan not being exactly subtle. Luckily for me Pegasi couldn’t shoot magic. "GET HIM,” the prince ordered and they tried to comply with their prince's demand. However they didn’t hold my attention. Even as twenty odd flashes of rainbow colors continued to seek me out in the dust cloud the room had become I powered on. I was focusing on staying airborne. My forelegs certainly weren't prepared for this. Even with the magical boast of strength they strained under the combined weight of the sisters. “Princess,” a chorus of calls for them came from everywhere. But my small grunts of protest seemed louder as I manoeuvred with the dead weights in my forelegs to my freedom. Cursing my own magic as it resisted me, fighting to rejoin the stronger focus on my wing channels. Crap! My wings faltered for half a second, knocked off course by a falling rock before I straightened out. I had to focus. I had to get higher, faster! Kicking a hoof back into the air in frustration at the lack of height I was gaining I felt something hard connect with it before a metallic crash sounded behind me. Guess they weren’t completely useless guards. Of course, it wasn't surprising that they could catch up without two mares weighing them down. “Release the princesses!” Nope. Surprisingly they weren't overtaking me. Instead, more hooves attempted to grasp my hind hooves as I ascended. Those were soon joined by spear tips, prodding at my rump and forearms as I maintained my lead. Why? They should have been able to over take me, disable my wings by now…I mean, the powerful ascending thrust I had put into the first flap had only brought me to a quarter of the usual distance I would travel. What were they up to? As I climbed higher I could already feel that my wings were working double time. A glance down confirmed it and showed that my chest muscles were even bulging under the new weight. To top this mess off it was slightly unbalancing sensation I had mentioned, it was tilting me with just a glance down at my pursuers. But, the filtered light was still growing closer despite my slow ascent. “Halt,” another guard screamed, just inches from my tail, "Halt -horseapples!" The sudden change of tone almost had me looking down again, and then Leathery flapping held my attention as the feeling of warm breath on my hocks disappeared suddenly. Wh-. "FIRE!” And then what had to be a dozen spears began to fly at me, sailing over my head by millimetres it felt like, my fur moving with each projectile’s passing. One even thwacked my ear on its way down. "Fuck!" "Princess," came the call of desperation. The unearthly bat war screeches following it adding a burst of adrenaline to my beating wings. "Halt!" A spear skimmed over my dock as I thanked the single use nature of throwing spears. Warm air buffeted my hocks seconds later as more flapping joined the chaotic lightshow once more, but I didn’t break my pace to look back again. Something was up and the screeches were a very convincing encouragement that demanded I make it out of castle. There couldn’t possibly be runes outside the castle for teleporting as well. Come on, just a little more, then I can teleport! A spear flew by my muzzle, grazing my nose and sending iron dripping into my open muzzle as I focused harder on the filtered light. More cries of 'stop' reaching me just as I broke into the sunlight and saw the gardens from what would usually be a breathtaking view. But the dozens of hurried wings not far behind me impeded that, only encouraging me to continue to pump my wing muscles harder against gravity. Sneaking a look back I could see dozens of angry faces, some less than a flap away from my hooves with their open hooves outstretched. More than a few Thestrals tickling the underside of my hoof during my brief look back, their faces telling me that wasn't what they were going for. Only once I escaped their hooves could I teleport. I flapped faster towards the sun, breathing easier knowing that it shouldn’t be lo- I nearly froze at what I saw in the sky. What was that? Plans Unravelled. Part 2.Plans Unravelled. Part 2. **** Above Equestria Ari Green melted into brown and returned to green once more, on and on it went, half the time not even registering to my eyes. I was almost ready to beg the bastard god himself to do something! I kicked back another batch of hooves as yet another waterfall passed by under me, the cool spray misting up to me and releasing a long, tired sigh from my chest. Just name your price god! Unsurprisingly no being answered me, like the endless questions of ‘why’ and ‘how’ that had gone unanswered before this failed plan had proven his apathy, he proved himself no different now. Yet another orchard was approaching. My enthusiasm at the red dots of fruit was weak, my magic softly crackling as I thought back on my time. It had been hours…Yes, for fucking hours I had been flying away from the mob, holding onto my precious cargo, and all to no avail. Gaining a gap was impossible. There was no if, ands, or buts about it. Determination was their first, middle, and last name it seemed. They had traversered over forests, fields, and, of course, cities in pursuit. That was where my problem started and ended really, the cities and towns dotting the country. Like clockwork my pursers would call for help and a new wave of pegasi would rise from whatever settlement we happened to be near, desperate hooves would try and grasp at me, and some brave souls would try and cut me off. But I stayed ahead of them…by mere millimetres sometimes. The head on collisions had come pretty close, cling-ons even more frequent as I grew tired. Yet, nothing had occurred to me between dodging those and looking for an escape so I had just kept on, beating my wings up and down, pushing myself forward, and I got nowhere. My body wasn’t that generous, my swerving, and more constant steadying had a price. And that meant that I obviously hadn’t teleported, not with at least several sets of hooves closing in on me at all times. I felt ready to drop. Sweat was clouding my vision, collecting in my fur, and putting my grip on the princesses in peril as I crept ever closer to the green expanse of Minotaria. The clouds were strangely absent. “Ha…lt!” But not close enough as the tired voice of my followers liked to remind me. I ignored their persuasive one worded arguments and continued to treasure the air I had. Cool, sweet oxygen, free of pollutions. It didn’t help though. When will they drop off? I hadn’t planned to be airborne this long and I was starting to wonder if this was their plan. Tire the Alicorn out… Well, it was working. As I caught a slight break, my body lifting up and forward on a generous updraft, I heard it. What was it you may wonder? Well, I could only blink when I first heard it, the sheer oddity of the sound among the now normal protests grabbing a hold of me. Thrumming, that what it felt like as it filled the air, almost engine-like, but too loud and too constant of a sound to be an engine. It was almost enough to make me look behind, almost; I stopped myself just in time as I felt the light headedness that this pace had created return. My head pounded in retribution. Clouds started to return, whipping by below me as I steadied my breathing, ears pinned back to the new sound. What made-. “In the name of Equestria and all that is harmonious you are under arrest, Ari of the,” a half second of pause happened before the mare pushed forward, not seeing me roll my eyes, “…Endless Sea.” And to her credit whoever was making that powerful noise didn’t wait several seconds. Instead they powered on, growing louder…Closer. Acres and acres of fruit trees loomed below me. I kept silent as a new shade of blue crept into my peripheral vision. “Halt in the name-.” I cut the pony off as I rolled into them, ignoring the squeal as I began to spin out to the side. I was creating curses from my followers but I just cracked a grin at their words. They wanted what I had, there was no need to repeat it so damn much. I knew exactly what I was doing. Like losing them, the border would be upon me soon enough, and that meant home, my mares. Blurring green landscapes flew by. “Stop in-.” They were trying again, staying just outside of the perimeter of my roll if the dark blue creeping into my peripheral was what I thought it was…Yup, the feathers started to gain focus as my roll slowed. The comet tailed ponies were back. God, that wasn’t what I meant by ‘do something’! All around me I could see them forming a triangle, one below and the other two on either side of my flank. None were overtaking me, yet that is. There might be more to this. I scanned the horizon again, “-failure to adhere to the Equestrian special air forces will force us-,” blah, blah, blah. I tuned out there standard exclamation, the info that they were just another force of guards not even fazing me. Dark green held my sight, no, it called like a siren to me. ‘Everfree forest isn’t a place anypony lingers, any sane one.’ Moonlit Echo’s rant on the notable landmark came back with a grin. Special air force or not, that spot was held in fear by the guards, at least that was the way he spoke of it, and that meant I stood more of a chance losing them in the forest then up here. A glance showed my…Spandexed…Yeah, wow, well, my followers were still around me. The panting behind me a affirmative that the rest of the equestrian force hadn’t disappeared. It was almost upon me. Something bit my wing just as began to tuck it in. Pain spread from down the tip as I found my course faltering, my wing trapped in somepony’s jaws. It didn’t take long for the other tip to be arrested in the other pony’s maw. Pain built up. Blood reached my nose. Sweat flew. I snorted away the coppery tinged sweat from my nostrils and zeroed in on my goal again. It was the forest that was at the end of the dirt road, past the empty looking town, and far away from these pests. There were three pests though… My mind focused in on my aetheratic channels and I cut off the flow to my wings, sending it charging up to my horn. The feeling was immediate, a powerful burst of energy filling my horn. Lightly thrumming in my blood as I looked down, flying was just like driving, you look where you want to go. And I wanted to go through that blue maned stallion below me. Fuuuu… My core shrunk before my inner eye, dimming as maintained the channels as well. Our eyes met, mine narrowing as his grew large. Tugs of pain registered in my mind, the sensations becoming one with the hard blows hitting my shoulder. “DON’T YOU DARE-.” One mare shouted, releasing my wing to bite at my wither instead. As if her action could even faze my level of exhaustion now. Arch whipped harder than that. A muffled grunt of protest reached me above the crackling filling my senses, my focus on keeping my grip and fuuu… Letting go of the magic was easy. Squeals of fear met my senses as light blinded me to my actions; I was flying over it, almost through it. The warmth of the magic causing sweat to drip and fur to burn under me, somewhere metal was melting with its sour odor. Yet no fucks could be managed. My wings were free of new pain, lighter, and moving in towards my barrel as I rocketed down. The light left me with spots of color, even as it stayed behind me the rainbow dots held their place in my vision. Breathing in as my nostrils flared back I soared on the feeling, the velocity that was growing. Any exclamations of further surprise appeared and disappeared in my ears before I could blink, It seemed like my whole body seemed to know the routine now, my entire being consumed in the perfecting the dive. Every feather clamping down to become more aerodynamic, my eyes narrowing and releasing tears in the movement, I was getting ahead of them. Safety… My instincts whispered, and I nodded slightly at the assumption. My heels were cooler than they had been in quite a while. Gasps still reached me though. Looking up quickly I saw why. The sun…Even blurring by I could see it was approaching the mountains, setting itself, and without their ruler’s help. Shocking… Suddenly flashes of green and brown hit me; I was forced to look down as flashbacks of a certain brown whip came with it. I was forced to squint my eyes as I entered head first through the canopy, the brown of the branches nearly identical to my memory. Calm…A deep breath in, and out again. A smack reverberated through me though, whether it was here or then I couldn’t tell. I just gasped at the sharp contact. If my heart could have gone faster it would have. A roar echoed around me soon after, louder than the snaps of wood, and louder than the equine squeals I involuntarily produced as the more resilient branches snapped back at my flank. Producing a shield didn’t help much. The forest didn’t seem to have an end to its canopy. Golden magic started to flicker, my core dimming as my head felt the muted sensation of every hit. Food… Eventually the seemly endless slideshow of branches, leaves, strange bug goop, and even more questionable mildew leaf litter played ended…With a loud crack of course, my shield failed then as well. My trench had ended with a large tree. A very solid tree that sent shudders throughout my forelegs. And the princesses took most of the hit, a fact that I was going to hear about that later. But in the moment I just let myself fall back onto the forest floor, still clutching my, no, I scolded myself, I was clutching the mares for dear life. Feeling their shallow breathes go out of synch with my gulping display of exhaustion, air having suddenly become sweeter than any food. Never again, ever, ever, ever again would I do that, it could have killed me. By some miracle it hadn’t killed anybeing yet. Seconds past and no pony appeared to have followed my crash course. Exhaling heavily I looked around, my initial scan finding a familiar and now bent golden tiara on the ground. The sight both puzzled and stilled my body for a second. For starters, how had it not come off before? Like during the many dives or the most likely event, the barrel roll? Silence surrounded me, providing me with no answers. Probably some strange magic that I broke…The crown was useless now anyway. Actually, I had a better question for the world. Did I truly lose them? Turning my aching neck skywards I groaned under my breath. A blue dot was hovering over the long, gaping hole I had made in the canopy…Had made, shit. Holy mother of shit, I take back my ‘any cover is better than nothing’ thought, this was crazy. I was crazy. As I watched the trees creaked into action, the birds and other creatures still silent as foliage moved with an unnatural speed and intent, creating shadow after shadow till a deep darkness closed over my rapidly blinking eyes. I understood Echo’s fear a hell of a lot more now; I think I just developed a new one actually. Were all the plants in here sentient or something? For an herbivore that was pretty bad news. Even more so if the sentient plants realized I was starving, exhausted, and wouldn’t have thought twice about munching on some of the fruitier looking plants I had spotted lining the trails around me. How had they not woken from that? Continuing to blink at the oddness of the moment I noticed a faint glow starting around me, a luminescent light blue that traveled up the bark of several nearby trees. It was a moss, I think so anyway. Its actions were slow. Dare I say it? They almost appeared hesitant to glow as I watched them, it was growing brighter the longer the quiet persisted. My breathing was growing quieter as well as I looked around in fascination. Stranger than the moss was the large arrow shaped leaves it illuminated beneath it; they seemed to point their arrow heads left and right as if they could see…Which plants obviously couldn’t. I knew that, I wasn’t crazy…It was probably some sort of adaptation to keep nervous herbivores like myself from eating it. All around more plants appeared to come alive as well; even the tree we had hit seemed to have squirming bark as I gazed up at it. Within seconds the bare spot on the trunk was loosely covered by a lighter, thinner bark. But I was just delaying the inevitable with my wonder, enjoying the quiet and rest after that fresh hell I had created for myself. My wings were already cramping against my barrel in retaliation, stomach screaming for sustenance and permission to vomit all at once. Despite my immobility my forelegs protested, still more complaints rose as I relaxed them, the sensation of letting the mares roll beside me causing a stiff cramp to form in them. I wasn’t made for this sort of thing. I just wasn’t- wait- teleporting, I could teleport now! Focusing on home I grabbed at my remaining magic, the warm crackling responding in kind. It traveled up my horn, sparks jumping as I breathed in. … And nothing happened. Closing and opening my eyes I frowned and gripped the mares tighter, focusing on the open deck instead, the fresh look of the light brown planks as they lay all in perfect order, with only a errant black hoof print from our mechanic still here and there. Even the rat lines that could be seen criss-crossing over the railings appeared clear in my mind. Focus…Will it, intent, believe it will happen. My magic flowed out from my horn, warm and golden in my slitted sights as it flowed along my fur like a hot gel, a strange sensation that hadn’t happened before, but I allowed it. My magic was a little odd and I was still learning. Teleport! A jolt ran through me, firing off random nerves with pain as my crackling magic hit the dead weights in my forelegs. It didn’t stay there long before retreating back into my horn rapidly and against my will I noticed with dread. The pain had not made me stop…It was the mares themselves, the unconscious mares…Wearing magic inhibitors . It hit me with the obviousness now. I couldn’t even levitate the inhibitors when they were closed…They were closed…And I…Fuck. Once again I was left wondering what to do. The sky was out of the question now; the forest had made sure of that. Teleporting was out of the question as well thanks to my stupidity, and that left walking…With two unconscious mares that wouldn’t want to let me carry their heavy rumps to my ship when they awoke. Another fact I was unsure about. I was walking home...Joy. **** Everfree Forest Rd, Equestria ?????? The market had ended earlier than I had anticipated; my potions still clinked in my saddle bags as a reminder that they were still vastly unsold. But I didn’t blame that fact on the small mindedness of the town’s ponies, they had come a long way from my first day here…Which was a tale for a different time I’m afraid, no, this time my wares were left unsold due to a new oddity. A occurrence that wasn’t all too unfamiliar to the small town I had been stationed in, but it was of such a different nature that it stood out among the random Cockatrices and Manticores that had taken to wandering in. It had started like any other weekend, my saddle bags loaded to the brim with the extra wares I had produced that week thanks to the increase in rain in the forest. A event solely of its own making, the pegasi having no control over that area to their chagrin. Applebloom and her family had met me on my way to the market, pleasantries were exchanged, it was the usual cordial ‘yups’ and excited stories of that week’s exploits in the search for cutie marks. The law of the herd being merely a thing of the past in comparison to how that week’s talent wasn’t the one for my young friend. And before long the road led us to our familiar spots in the town market. We each set up our own stalls, smiles plentiful now. At least from some, the suspicious looks still were cast my way but some bolder agents in the town. But they didn’t try anything as usual, the presence of the element of honesty keeping them at bay…Anyway, we then proceeded to garner customers for our wares, as per usual, it was a novel act that filled the morning with much laughter. However, the afternoon was where it went polisi umbo. Shudders grew beneath me, slowly growing till even Applejack looked down to me from her stall in question. I could only blink in disbelieve at her as a unwelcome reminder of home came to me and tore up the market place, rumbling louder and faster as it sent ponies screaming and whinnying in distress. An earthquake was happening in Equestria. Truly, was I awake? Had the princess of the night caught on to me? I had to be awake though. “What in tarnation?” “Ahh,” Applebloom exclaimed as her hooves slipped out from under her from the erratic movements of the planet. More exclamations of surprise had risen as the ponies were puzzled over the events, the few pegasi in the town even rising to the air to check for a ‘monster’, a common occurrence in this small town bordering Everfree forest. “Nothing…There isn’t any monster at all?!” I could have told them that, if they had cared to ask I would have told them exactly what I believed was happening, but no pony did. Some eyes did burn a hole in my flank but I wasn’t paying them any mind; it was unlikely that they could pin it on me. No pony seemed to have ever encountered an earthquake before, as they continued to clumsily gallop about the square in confusion, looking for an invisible enemy as the fact that Equis could do this didn’t occur to them. Simply wazimu to think that the world got on fine before the Alicorns, wasn’t it? It was here. Just as they feared my forest home due to natural weather…Foals. But some of the smarter ponies such as the element of magic were right to look around the market in calm confusion, earthquakes didn’t happen here, but they did exist…Something was wrong, something that surely had to do with my hallucination at the pond this morning. This requires investigating before I add it to the report. And with that I rolled out from under my stand and started packing up my potions and salves despite the shaking around me. Only seconds later did others catch on to the idea. So everybeing left the square, scurrying back to their homes as fast as they could, with many not even bothering to take their wares with them as their survival instincts took hold. Which I understood, but in reality it was a minor quake at best. It only rattled the signs of stores on their flimsy chains and jostled wares around. I had seen worse. But I wasn’t volunteering that information; I liked living thank you very much. Which is what led an awkward conversation, it was just after we had left the market place, my pony friends having wasted no time to join me on the shared long walk home. “Yah’ sure yah’ don’t need a-,” Applejack gulped as she glanced at the darkened entrance further down my fork in the road, “-a’ hoof getting home Zecora? Yah don’t know what crazy monsters might be stompin’ around to make that racket.” A smile curved my mouth easily as I glanced from the soothing presence of the magic infused forest to the kind pony before me, happy, for of all things I could have seen I saw genuine concern in her eyes. My young friend held concern as well as she gazed up at me, her eyes large and fighting my protocol as it nagged me to hurry up and investigate. Best not to ruin it yet, “Thank you for your warm southern charm, but I don’t believe I shall come to any harm.” My rhyme brought a frown to her sister’s face, green eyes scanning mine, and narrowing in frustration as she found no lies. As usual it worked. Nothing in there caused me fear. And my rhymes kept my word choice in the forefront of my mind, avoiding the previous breaks-. “Yah’ sure, Zecora? I’m sure my big brother wouldn’t mind escorting you home at all!” Applebloom exclaimed with all the subtlety of a Manticore and missed the wince that traveled among us as she looked between Big Macintosh and me. Her hooves practically pranced in place with the sheer excitement that coursed through her. “I am sure young Applebloom, that this one can do more than thou assumes.” That poor stallion had been hounded by mares for weeks, all desperate to not be sent away to other stallions in neighboring towns when the herd act came into effect, and by some Stetson wearing miracle he had ended up just as single as he had been before the law had happened. “Uh, sorry, I meant, uh,” it didn’t stop the gears from going in young Applebloom’s head though. Her head shot up, “I only meant-,” her eyes shone again, “-you might enjoy the company!” And now I ‘needed’ a stallion around the hut, the inhabitants of the forest were now ‘too much’ after me living alone out there for years. Miss Fluttershy, the element of kindness, was only an hour’s trot away at worst. Of course that was partly my own fault again. ‘Wasn’t I happy’ she had queried and I couldn’t give her an honest answer, not even a passable rhyme, and that had only made her try harder to push us together. Giving the red stallion an apologetic smile, I took a step back and struggled to maintain my smile at my young friend. “I assure you, this one is not blue.” Her sister nodded at me with narrowed eyes, having surely caught on to my wording. My fur was black and white after all. “A’ think Zecora will be fine suga’ cube…Wouldn’t she know the creatures of Everfree best?” Applebloom nodded absently as her sister herded her to the cart, half full baskets of apples jumping into action as their brother started off down their road. Her Stetson tipped my way, “and wouldn’t she know the best paths to her house? Big Mac doesn’t even know the way back anyway. Yah wouldn’t want to him teh’ git lost would yah?” “N-no,” Applebloom stuttered, looking between her brother and me with worried eyes. And her sister continued on, waving a hoof at me as she tried to dissuade her little sister from her filly fantasies. All the while keep her moving down their road. Watching them go I waved a hoof in good bye. Waving until they rounded the corner and slipped behind the view of trees, then my hoof dropped and my heart grew heavy. “Good bye Apples.” With a quiet sigh I turned to my home, my empty hut waiting for me, and my family thousands of miles away. But I have a report to add to…A pond to investigate. My ears snapped to attention. Always alert, never allow yourself to be alone. Protocol rang through my veins, cooling my emotions as I watched the bushes and skies, not even a rustle of Pinkie Pie reached my ears. Something was wrong. But I didn’t know what, the usual agents hadn’t started anything, and the weather was right on schedule. A strange thought still, but all was normal before me. The tenseness persisted until I reached the cover of the Anthu trees, there I breathed deeper. The trees opened up before me, creaking in their familiar way, just as I expected. The sound very much a part of the word home as my hut was here. With the soft sound they seemed to bring a tighter grip around my increasingly unstable emotions, the familiar damp scent they exuded a balm to my senses. Ponies weren’t the same, not all of them. It no longer bothered me that I was more at home here than I could expect to be in this country. As I was engulfed in the cool shade the branches already moving to obscure the entrance I came in from any following agents. And I stood there, breathing in the moist air, now rich in the scent of herbs. “Assante,” I whispered to the trees, hating to break the peace that came from their silent form of support. A sign that my years of toil had some well wishers at least, I know the agents would sooner have me servicing their allied Arabians or dragons than ‘corrupting’ their fillies with my ‘savage’ ways. Letting my withers slump I stared at the few strands of grass that leaned towards the kufufua moss that gave me sight. My work is still so vast, almost too much for one being…They were everywhere out there. A sigh left me as I looked at the trees around me, my sole friends and protectors in this mission. Save for the ambassadors, but they were hardly friends, it was more like we had a common cause and had to work together to get even the smallest task done. Nearly all of them were equally stringent and hard to talk with at the best of times. They were always cautious to take my reports, understandably though. Ponies were small and numerous, everywhere at times, all times in Equestria. Creaking caught my ears as I adjusted my bags. And as I watched my friends parted to create an opening. Now groaning the unused trees as they formed a new path to my left, one that hadn’t been there in all the years I had traveled here. It looked like no being had used it in quite awhile. Had the agents actually braved the forest? No, no pony had entered the forest behind me. That left was no reason for their sudden action, at least none that I could see. I blinked as the roots literally smoothed themselves into the ground ahead of me, the trunks moving to lean away from the new area they made for me. Why? Looking to the right I noted my usual path had closed up, leaving no other route. “Unataka nini kwangu,” I asked the forest in wonder, receiving little taps on my rump by errant Klava vines in response. But I had already begun stepping onto the new trail without their assistance, my curiosity peaked. Most of the time they enjoyed confusing travelers, pony travelers mind you, they had never shown me the same treatment. They had given me sanctuary, allowed me to thrive in their territory, and never communicated without undue cause. Something was definitely ahoof. **** Everfree Forest, Equestria Ari Living trees…Check. Strange vines that like to flick my rump if I so much as brushed by them, yup. And let’s not forget the growing backache I was developing along with my overexerted muscles from earlier, things were just peachy. My muscles were already stiffer than the time Katie dragged me to the gym, under the claim that building decks wasn’t a good enough exercise plan…Her instructor happened to be single. Anyway, the point was it wasn’t even the day after yet and I ached. That was also to say, if I made it out of here before the next day started. It had felt like hours, so maybe it was the next day already. Time was hard to track down below the canopy. With darkness, various luminescent flora, and exhaustion setting in it was near impossible. Right, I was by carrying the princesses on my back like some sort of pack mule…Wait, were there mules here? And weren’t mules-. A snap echoed throughout the forest then, interrupting tired thoughts, knocking them away as a new awareness filled me. That was the first big sound in hours. But I didn’t have the energy to do anything besides pivot my ears around me. Nothing came charging out. The insects kept chirping, the birds kept warbling, and so I felt no need to do anything. It was probably a deer or some other harmless creature. Softer padding came from my right but the occupants of the forest carried on, so I thought nothing of it. Just a deer… I was not stopping for anything less than an enemy. Especially when the spandex wonders and the guards would eventually grow enough balls to enter the forest. Most likely when they had enough ponies to cover the area or enough to take down an Alicorn, although it didn’t feel like much was needed now. A growl filled the air. My stomach growled again, against my actions, and nearly as empty as when I first arrived on this planet. But I ignored it. No being would just give up on their rulers. And I had to be out of it by the time the mob entered, when ever that was. Fuck. The ground zoomed in for a second. Grunting and teetering I hopped around the root that rose to trip me…Lovely. They wanted to hurt me as well as the population of Equestria. Air left my lungs in protest as I stabilized again, glaring at another root as it creaked back during its retreat, and I put that to the back of my mind. Don’t start fights with magical plants. So I trudged forward on the path I had started on with a deeper frown, my hoof throbbing in disagreement. One dead plant couldn’t h-. “Fuck!” the word was whipped out of me this time, the vines testing my patience as I could feel they curl in the air behind me, ready to repeat themselves. They were poking me, wanting something. I wasn’t crazy…But this had to mean something. Magical plants didn’t just beat up herbivores in some twisted role reversal, right? The sound of air swishing had me side stepping, grunting as my load wobbled preciously and my muscles screamed in protest. The soft clink of yet another horse shoe hitting the floor held my ear’s attention, for too long though. Within a second the vine came back and whapped me on the head. It gave me no choice. Pain lanced up my forelegs as I broke into a trot, grunting and correcting myself when the mares hopped up and down haphazardly on my back, smashing down on the bases of my stiff wings. I had to get out of here, even an empty field would do, heck, that orchard would do. Another vine snapped against the leaf litter, sending it flying at my tail as I snorted. This was just getting ridiculous! Nothing in the enchanted woods made sense though. For starters it was the only forest, woods, or place that really seemed to capture the ‘magicness’ of the land so far. The plants had sensed my approach, my exact location, and moved in response. Creaking as I hurried past them, as if to watch me make my way through what I felt was their home; they certainly acted like it was. However the various flora around me didn’t seem keen on giving me any hints on where the exit was so I could leave them. No, that would be too easy. They almost took a special sort of joy in chastising me for the slightest things instead. I wasn’t going to argue with a plant though; all I wanted then was to go home, a place that still seemed too far away. Where was the border? “AH,” a yelp escaped me as a particularly powerful lash hit me, causing me to jump forward at the difference in pressure, the pain returning with the following sting in my flank. What did I do now? As I came down with a heavy thump I looked back at the annoyed vine with a scowl. I was leaving faster, what more could they want? The tree it hung off of groaned, literally leaning away from me as I watched. I leaned away from it in turn…I still was getting over that part. It was like a time lapse on crack taking place before my very eyes. Trees groaning in protest all along my left, opening up before me, and growing illuminated by steadily brightening moss. Did it want me- “Ah,” I yelped once more – it did want me to take that path. Maybe it was going to lead me out of here? I could only hope. Slowing down to a walk I turned left onto the new route, cautiously stepping around the untouched plants hugging the tree’s trunks. It was clearly new, unused for quite awhile, and the birds were louder than ever as I went deeper down this rabbit hole. No vines encouraged me along and no roots tripped me up, but my body still gave a constant string of complaints. This had better be the way out of the damned forest…And not into the hooves of angry ponies. After awhile the path started winding, left and right, my patience was being tested, and my nerves were growing. There was this feeling that something was out there, which logically there had to be, but the- I paused- feeling was intense. Something snapped, loud and sharp in the avian chorus around me. That was why I thought something was out there. It was too close then, practically in bushes skirting the trees. My eyes stayed glued ahead, my hooves kept on moving, but I started to rotate my ears and take in the nearby scents. Herbs, plants, and mildew filled my senses, along with the ever present mix of vanilla and blueberry. Several ear swivels into the investigation and I latched onto a rapid sound, unmistakably breathing, and quick breathing at that. A deer…I continued on though, listening to the rhythm and guessing what it could be. It was too slow for a deer, too loud for a predator. Not to mention, a predator would have jumped me already. Dread filled me at the thought I dared not voice. There, again a snap echoed along the trail, louder, closer, and quicker. Following me…I could hear the soft movements on the moist litter growing louder then as I increased my pace to a fast walk, running hard and risky. Weren’t you supposed to not run from predators? Whatever it was they were definitely following me. Did I risk stopping to investigate? Confront it? Maybe… Tracking it wasn’t helping my thoughts and ignoring it seemed less and less advantageous. If it was a lone guard that had somehow found me they wouldn’t reveal themselves, it would be too risky for them. No, they would follow me, track my destination, and maybe lay a trap for me. The world seemed to slow down as my heart pounded faster, pain faded to the background. A trap… Canterlot had felt like a trap, had been one, it had started out so innocent as well…This could be one as well. They knew that this forest was magical; Echo had even mentioned how the guards used it for training. It wasn’t too farfetched to assume they would know every knock and cranny here. Oh hell no! Stopping on the dime I turned to face the muffled steps, steps that halted as soon as I glared into the inky expanse of the forest. Blue illumination climbing the bark did nothing to reveal my stalker. So I narrowed my gaze, glaring in the black area where the canopy lay then around the trunks and into the bushes that skirted them. Nothing jumped out at me still. The birds carried on. But the air seemed too still despite their songs, like somebeing was holding their breath. Growing quiet, I arched my neck at the unknown, my tail starting up as I scented the air, yet there were only the same scents as before. I wasn’t imagining it though. “Show yourself,” I demanded, keeping my voice steady, listening to my deep voice echo back faintly, and a frown growing as I heard an exhale of a held breath on the left side of the trail. I stared harder and didn’t see anything in the darkness. But, they wouldn’t reveal themselves to me…Even if I was closer than I had been to exhaustion than I had been in a while I was far from defenceless. They would fear me, an Alicorn…I blinked at the darkness. No, maybe…Bente, she feared me slightly, had tried to get my attention before, and horribly as well. Had she not made it to my ship? The thought was better than the rest at least. “Bente, Is that you?” A feminine gasp echoed out and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Look, Bente it is safe,” I looked myself over before watching the blackness again; I didn’t look that safe right now with mud in my fur and my feathers askew. “Relatively speaking,” no response, “Bente,” I tried again. Was she worried about what I would do? Was she angry? “You know that was an accident, right?” Heavy breathing answered me. “I just thought you were one of those watchers you mentioned…And…Are you there?” Doubt nagged at me as creaks echoed from far away in the forest, the implications of the sound stalling my prodding. Why would she hide from me? As I started to look from the patch of darkness I was sure she was hidden in I heard soft step from in it, a second one slowly following as I scanned the path I had already tread. Nothing… Letting the sound grow closer I finished my initial scan, already shifting my hooves from the lack of noticeable enemies. That had to be why Bente didn’t reveal herself, she-. “You know Bente of Stavanger?” My head snapped to the left, “The ambassador?” The mare before me stopped as I blinked at her, confusion evidently on my face as I followed her hooves up to her muzzle. She watched my face instead of moving closer. A squint in her eyes as I absorbed the strange sight before me. She was a zebra, her neck ordained with four golden bands not unlike Wekasi’s, and her striped mane was styled in a Mohawk, while a small set of saddle bags peeked over on her haunches. I wasn’t sure if I should flee or relax with her sudden appearance. Zebras weren’t with Equestria…Right? Then why was a zebra in Equestria? As I saw her ears fold back and eyes dart to my cargo I shouted, “I know Bente!” The echoes of it making me flinch, but only startling her at the sudden volume. I was a tad scared she would run. She obviously knew of her, but in what context I didn’t know. And the sight of her had thrown my world for a loop again. Not to mention what she must think seeing me like this? Did she like the princesses like the rest of the ponies or was she with Zebrica? What did she know? The blue eyes returned to mine. Gulping I returned to the question at hand, “Why are you in the Everfree forest…In Equestria at all,” And ‘how did you get here’ I wanted to add, but that seemed like a footnote compared to the why. They were clearly racist and zebras were sparse outside of Zebrica, save for my assassin. But I somehow doubted she got out by any normal means of transport. Her eyes wandered to the princesses once more, scrunching up. “Are you sure you know her?” My eyes flicked around to the shadows. Was she stalling or was it my species again? “I know her.” Blue eyes flicked between my horn and wings, “Describe her…In detail, my morning has been too far consumed in retail.” I blinked at the odd wording, this almost rhyming to her sentences. “She’s a white and grey gryphon,” the mare’s eyes watched as I shifted my withers under the weight that continued to press down, “With a heavy dose of rudeness at times. She interrupted my meeting when we first met. ” Barging into a town hall with all the subtly of a freight train as an ambassador?! I couldn’t think of any other words for her behavior, especially if she really was a official ambassador for a country. It seemed accurate though as the tightness around her eyes lessened somewhat, at least it appeared to in the dim lighting. Excellent, “Look I need to know if you are going to be a problem.” “A problem,” the zebra inquired, apparently confused at my change of topic. I wasn’t confused though, my body forced me to think about what I had to do to get home…I had to fly up to my ship still, tired muscles be damned. And my back was under the pressure of not only saving the world but the weight of what had to be two adult human’s worth of limp Alicorn. That was my minimum weight guess too, it could have been more, but at that point everything felt heavy. She was unneeded. “Yes,” I grunted and shifted my hooves. “It’s great that both know the hen but you were clearly following me and are a long way from home…” I watched her muscles bunch up as she gulped, eyeing me carefully. With a big exhale she started, “It isn’t every day the princesses pass through the Everfree forest,” her eyes lingering on their horns. Touché, “They are off to get some fresh air,” our eyes connected, “And get some new education on the world’s state of affairs.” And that opened up her expression, her jaw dropping for a split second. Stepping closer she panned her head at me, muzzle scrunching up. “You know?” Copying the mare, I took a step towards her, “Yes,” she obviously knew. “But the question still remains. Why are you so far from home if you know what your friends and family faced?” “Faced?” I nearly cursed at my slip, instead gritting my teeth as I watched her blink at me, emotions filtered far too rapidly for me to track. She didn’t know… “Yes…,”more creaking echoed down to us, the path closing in behind me, “As in they don’t currently face enslavement, won’t ever again if I make it out of this forest.” As I watched her mind put the pieces of the puzzle together I felt a weird chill crawl up my spine. Vines… I ignored it in favor of watching her muzzle twist up, slow and hesitant as she looked up at me, “Slavery is done… for now.” I could see the questions pooling in her eyes, doubt still present as well. A reasonable thing considering it was a pretty bold statement in any circumstance. I wouldn’t have believed some random stallion in the middle of the woods. Heck, I was still wondering why she was here, if I was hallucinating this mare. “Well?” Blinking was cast my way as her attention was brought back. “Why are you here and are you going to be trying to stop me?” “Why…” The word was said more to herself than me, whispered into the air in stupefaction. “I tried. I was supposed to, composed to…,” the mare trailed off as she looked between me and the princesses, “I was the spy, a set of eyes on why.” She had my attention, “They never acted to aid us when the pirates raided us.” a silence extended as blue eyes flicked around. “Are you helping us? The weight increased as she put me on the spot, not unlike Bente had with her offer of a home in the mountains. “Yes…But,” there was no nice way to say it, “I am here to save the world first and foremost, then I will be helping Zebrica.” Her muzzle opened as my back creaked in protest, “Look, I see that you are here for good reasons and all that so perhaps you could help me out.” A brisk nod followed. “Good,” this time my back creaked, “Now which way is the Minotarian border? I have a lot of guards on my butt and my back is killing me.” Mystery mare’s eyes considered me for a moment, narrowing and flicking from to the left and right rapidly. “…You were followed…” the statement was once more made more to herself, quiet, and unsettling enough that a second chill traveled along my nerves. Was that a past statement or a current one? “Yes,” she looked at me in surprise. “Now if you could just point me to the exit I would be very grateful miss…” I trailed off, “You didn’t say who you were.” She pursed her lips, the hope closed off, “You don’t know me? Yet you claim to be-,” I snorted at her rhyming, “Never mind.” My hooves screamed in protest as my mind caught up, “No, miss insider I am on a mission here and your name and existence didn’t come up in my travels.” I snorted and shifted the weight as more creaking reached us, louder. “And quite frankly I am caring a lot less about your name and more on if you are helping or not. Cause, if you aren’t comfortable aiding my escape than just say so!” Exasperation leaked through as my heart rate started to increase, the sounds filling me with images of guards. “It’s Zecora…Ari,” a long silence fell between us as we locked eyes, gauging each other. “Follow me. We have a lot of land to cover…And please ignore the flora, they are here to help.” As if they heard her, the trees creaked before us, wavering in and out of the path as the noise behind us grew. “Fine! Let’s get going!” Something Wicked This Way Flew...Author's Note I'm back! These next two chapters are mostly build up that I didn't really want to cut, the third chapter that I'm getting betaed, 'Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 2.' will be up shortly (ET: Dec 8/9, 2018) and has the big talk between the alicorns. Happy Reading everybeing! Something Wicked This Way Flew... **** The outskirts of Ponyville, Equestria Twilight Sparkle My legs traveled of their own accord around the library, trying to expel some of the swirling energy going that was going around and around my head. Around, around and…No, I would not have a complete meltdown. Those times were behind me. “Huwoo,” I blew out into the room. It still doesn’t make sense though… Earthquakes don’t happen in Equestria, didn’t happen anyway. Perhaps they did in the geologically unstable volcanic straits on the other side of Saddle Arabia, a small maybe then, but not in Equestria. Historically there was no evidence, not a note or hoof scribbled recording any such geological event. At least, none in the sister’s era, and that was the extent of my library’s history section. The Arceuteus Era might have seen some, maybe even during the Great War’s relatively short era, but I didn’t have access to those scrolls, fragile and few as they were. They were locked up in the Royal Canterlot library or lost to time in the sister’s old castle in Everfree forest. Both of which were a ways away. They wouldn’t help me though. It was beyond odd geological activity at that point. Princess Celestia wasn’t taking mail. No, I don’t mean not responding. I mean that when Spike had flamed the letter it just dropped down to the floor of the library, humming with magic but otherwise the same. Not even attempting to transfer to her location, to even halfway follow her magical signature. And that meant one of two things. One, that she was dead…I didn’t like lingering on that option in particular. Spike didn’t like it either; she was his other mother figure of sorts, although he would never say so out loud. So, we both were leaning to the more likely and almost equally as troubling reality, which was that she had cut off the connection on purpose. And closing off the instantaneous form of communication could only spell trouble, trouble that had to surely be related to the earthquake. Discord? Maybe… But, she wouldn’t just close it down, that just wasn’t her, Princess Celestia wouldn’t…I know she wouldn’t. ‘-Anytime, you may send a letter to me anytime Twilight. I always look forward to your stories and questions.’ She had said that, explicitly, even when I was worried about interrupting Day court, or a meeting with ambassadors. I didn’t want to cause her trouble or have her apologise on my behalf. But she had smiled and said that, her honesty had shined through. Deep breathe in. Then that left me with the harder questions. What could stop her from responding? Why wouldn’t she take it? Wouldn’t communication be critical in a crisis? No answer came to me as I stilled, facing her sun once again, as if it would tell me what was happening in the capital. The warmth bathed me as it crept slowly down the sky, setting. It made my eyes squint but I breathed deeply, picturing Celestia, trying to hear what she would say in such a situation. The sun continued to remain silent. It wasn’t all bad…The sun was still working, therefore she definitely wasn’t…Dea-Defeated. As I shook my head from that train of thought Spike approached my flank.I could see his claws had the letter gripped tightly, our proof to this state of unrest. “Twilight?” I turned an ear down to him. “I don’t suppose you should try Luna? I mean, maybe something is happening in Canterlot or maybe…” He trailed off as I let a long breath go, his ridges wilting as I met his gaze. Of course I had thought of Luna and had come to the same conclusion, after the wedding she had started preparing a system…So she wouldn’t be unconscious for any future invasions. The lunar princess would know and probably be in the same state. “Spike, how does that make any of this better? If Celestia is unreachable then Princess Luna would be the same. And what of the unexplained earthquake?” I calmed my racing thoughts with yet another deep breath in and out. It wasn’t his fault. “The princesses aren’t responding, the books have nothing, and I am this close to-.” The sound of trumpets filled the air with a brisk ‘triptt’, catching us both by surprise. Coming down from my startle I shared a wide eyed gasp with Spike. “Princess Celestia!” I gathered Spike and my humming letter in my magic and broke for the door, heart racing as I watched her chariot soar overhead. The tall sun emblazoned sides shrouding her from view as her sun crept lower behind the mountains, practically motionless, slower than normal to my eyes as I raced forward. Why had she slowed the sunset? But I soon realized she wasn’t alone in the visit. A choreographed symphony of spears clinging and clanging against armor was ringing out in the background as I entered my front yard. Guards, the day guard, the night guard, and even Equestria’s Special Forces were coming in with a marked precision that I couldn’t recall ever seeing; the final force’s tricks of near unmatchable athletic ability were forgotten as they circled the royal sun chariot, scanning the horizon for something. I could even see what I swear was Captain Spitfire’s trademark flame styled mane whipping about from the movement of air they had disturbed in their speed. All the way from the library’s sign I saw this odd sight and I paused to take it in. Just what was going on? The Wonderbolts paused as well, their heads moving to look towards us, or perhaps the town, it was hard to say at that distance. Either way their circling ended, they instead were banking around her to form a half diamond formation to flank the chariot’s guards. Which were layer upon layer thick, more so than any social call. But I knew this couldn’t be a social call; it had to be related to the earthquake. Was she coming to get us herself? Was it the changelings or Discord? A new threat?! More and scenarios swam in my head. But none fit in the earthquake. Discord didn’t know subtlety. “I thought that stallion was coming any day now…” Spike said out of the blue from on my back, his claws gripping my neck tightly as he ended in an almost conspiratorially whisper. The noise felt almost too loud as we watched the guards go on and on behind the chariot. He should be here any day now too…But that was neither here nor there now. It doesn’t explain the earthquake…Or where Princess Luna is…It could explain the force. Blinking I started forward again, “Yes, but…Maybe something attacked him? Maybe he sent word for help?” The rest of the events didn’t fit, however neither did his existence. All the herds had died, either in the war or shortly after. “I don’t know Twilight…” My reply escaped as a whisper, the atmosphere stealing my voice, “Me neither…” Looking around I could hardly understand what I was seeing, the magnitude of force present. Everypony with wings or access to a chariot was apparently here. Some had already landed ahead of Princess Celestia and were setting something up, moving rustling packages about, and propping up what looked like tents in some corners of the empty field before the forest. Not the smartest thing if you asked me but I didn’t think to warn them, they were familiar with idiosyncrasies of the forest as well. This had to have a good reason for this…Yet I couldn’t find one that made the most sense. The set up they were building looked closest to a…No that was silly. I guess I would have to find out. Before I could get anywhere, the clip clopping of hooves grew in volume, catching my hoof mid lift with the sudden increase in volume. Most of the guards were landing ahead of the princess and it was seemingly all around me as my head pounded with thoughts. Shaking my head clear I noticed that her chariot drivers were starting to look for a place to land, slowly circling the far back of the guard outfit that had landed before her. As Spike and I shared a look the forest seemed to grow darker behind them, the suns rays not reaching past the first layer of bushes anymore, more ominous than ever before. All of that started to create a thick weight on my legs. Could I even help? A new tenseness seemed to hover over the whole affair now. It filled the air actually, carried with every taut guard that descended. New ponies, civilians, they carried it especially as they trailed on behind the royal procession. There were many, many pegasi and all were fixed with a serious expression. Something was very wrong. I could try to-. “Twilight! Twilight!” I turned and saw Pinkie Pie bounding up the path from Ponyville, her pink tail alternating between twitching and buzzing in every arch. It looks like I wasn’t too far off. “Ye-“ “Oh, it’s a dozy! A really, illy, big one!” She announced while coming to a hopping halt before me. I waited for a second, feeling Spike shift on my back as we waited for more, his own growing tail starting to wave over my rump as we watched her vibrate in place with an unseen energy. The Pinkie sense was still one that I had yet to properly document. It didn’t make any sense yet, but it wasn’t wrong. She still didn’t elaborate, “I don’t know Pinkie, Princess Celestia just arrived-.” “Hours ago,” she exclaimed, looking from the forest to me, or perhaps looking from the procession to me, either way there was a new energy to her wide eyes as she saw the chariot. “No, she just arrived.” I corrected with a frown and looked back to the princess’s chariot as it descended in front of the Everfree forest, half of Equestria’s army flanking her. With the quick set up of the tent and amount of guards it was easy to assume she had been here for awhile. The urgency they were giving off wasn’t abating as she hopped in place. “Pinkie we need to go, something is definitely wrong there.” If she said anything else I didn’t hear it. I was already taking off down the road, my tail held still with the tension. And judging by Spike’s new grip on my mane he wasn’t any better off. Pinkie wasn’t always right anyway…The sense was vague really. As we trotted forward Pinkie Pie joined us as best as she could, hopping along with a frown on her muzzle. “…But, she didn’t…” My friend whispered, mostly to herself I think. I didn’t reply, soon I would see the princess and all would be explained. Before we had gotten too far down the road a heavy flapping reached our ears, growing closer as we closed in on the crowd. “Guys,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she hovered before us. “Did you see them?!” At the lack of enthusiastic response she blustered on, “Spitfire is here! The Wonderbolts are in Ponyville!” Her forelegs pointed dramatically to the group in question. “Yes,” my tone caught her smile, “And Princess Celestia brought the entire pegasis division of her Day guard, all of Luna’s guard, and won’t take my letters.” Rainbow slowed her flaps, rubbing her chin as she looked down at us. “I don’t think that is a good sign Rainbow, the Wonderbolts are the special Air forces, if they-.” “I know!” We slowed our trot to look up, “Look, I get it. What happened at the market today was odd and I…Look, I just was excited. You know I want to be a Wonderbolt?” A sigh escaped her as her ears splayed. I just nodded, unable to really form a sentence at the moment. “Did you find anything on that planet shaky thing that happened?” “Earthquake,” she just shrugged at my correction of her diction, “And no.” The air seemed to grow colder as I spoke the truth out loud. A glance showed that the sun was immobile, at least to my eyes; it should have crossed the mountains already. The orange tint bathing the armor clad soldiers ahead of us didn’t help me one bit. Deep breathe in, “At least, I haven’t learned anything from my library. The princess should know though,” and deep breathe out. “I know they should have some idea at least.” I added as an afterthought. After that we couldn’t manage more than a nod, all of our ears splayed as we considered the scene coming closer. First were the lower ranks of guards, trotting around with a mission in their eyes, and after them were…volunteers? There were so many pegasi with no armor on, not nearly as much the armored ones, but still enough to raise a brow at. What did they know? Judging by the looks on their faces they knew something, more than us. The more I looked at the busy camp before me the more I noticed. City guards were here as well, small country teams made up of neighbors, and…My eyes were glued to several packages, bundles of spears, swords, and the rarer jeweled magic spheres that hadn’t left Canterlot R&D department yet, supposedly anyway. I had only heard rumor of them in the National Discoverer! But…Then…Was it war then? I could see the measures for a war. From the programmable enchanted orbs to the many bundles of spears carried between many squads. Mainly the Thestral guards with the latter. They were almost unbelievable with their silence with only their large tufted ears pivoting in their code. So, yes, it could be war…Although with whom I hadn’t a clue. As I watched at the edge of the crowd of guard I noticed that they were separating those bundles of spears to different squadrons, even to some of the pushier volunteers. Anypony got one it seemed. “This is pretty serious, huh?” Rainbow asked. “Yup!” Pinkie chimed in while I nodded. Rainbow gulped at that, flying lower and closer as we forged our way into the rapidly forming camp. At the front of this…War…Camp…Was Princess Celestia’s chariot, seemly empty from our distance, of course her high walled model would make that easy to assume. But I knew she was there, I didn’t see an Alicorn with flowing mane and tail walking around after all. Creaking stole our attention. A crude stand was being erected in front of the forest. Voices were reaching us then as more of the town’s folk were coming up the path behind us, and a look back showed that their ears were perked up in interest. Some had there eyes on papers in their hooves but most were watching the soilders. That was when the guards seemed to pay us attention. I steeled my shoulders and nodded to the soldiers as I passed them. I am the element of magic, Celestia’s student…I belong here. Some splayed their ears at us in return; an uneasy look rising in their eyes, others just turned away, while still more frowned at our presence. This went on, hammering at my nerves as we drew nearer, close enough to allow me to call out anyway. I had to break this hush. “Princess Celestia!” “Twilight…” Pinkie started, looking at me slowly as her tail went wild with a vibration of Pinkie sense. “Princess Celestia!” I tried again, calling louder as I trotted faster, and missing the shuffle of Rainbow’s wings. Her chariot was empty. The light golden hued seat was clearly missing a princess, although the impression of a rump was still partially visible from my spot before it. Had she entered the forest already? Did this have to do with her old castle? “Miss Sparkle-,” a solar guard started, wings twitching as he stepped towards me. “Good evening,” another voice interjected, Canterlot accent exuding from each word. “I believe we only had the chance to meet a hoof full of times, Miss Sparkle was it?” I looked to my left, past the podium that was being placed on the stand, and towards the familiar source of Canterlot pride. I was speechless to say the least. “I apologize if I confused you, but it was the only one to be prepared on such short notice.” Prince Blueblood? “Uh-,” I started, but my muzzle was frozen at the implications. “I told you Twilight! Princess Celestia-.” A loud clearing of the throat caught our attention, causing what I swore was a scowl to start on Pinkie Pie’s muzzle. “Pardon me, but I do I have a speech to give. I trust that it will answer any worries you have over the princesses.” Worries? Worries?! Wo- My expression must have said it all because the next thing I heard was, “Officer Eagle Eye, escort miss Sparkle and her friends to the front row.” He was having a guard ‘escort’ us to a front row area before the stand and podium?! We were element bearers! We should be-. Blinking away from my thoughts I found Pinkie and Spike prodding me along as I couldn’t take my eyes off the empty chariot. The guard simply gave us the instructions ‘wait here’ in front of the stage, as if that answered anything and left to whisper something in the Prince’s ear. What else should I be worried about? Is it why she slowed the sunset? Is there a threat in Everfree forest? An ancient magic that requires all of her focus to combat? “Meany, sourpuss, dilly head-,” Pinkie was muttering to herself as I blinked my shock away. “Rainbow,” Rainbow Dash descended, choosing to sit beside me, “Pinkie,” and the muttering stopped, “We need to focus. Something is very wrong.” Pinkie pressed in, “The prince never makes speeches outside of charity galas and something tells me he isn’t interested in supporting Fluttershy’s Cockatrice rehabilitation efforts.” Their pressing into my barrel intensified as we tried to still our hearts and shared a nod. I could feel theirs racing through their fur even as we shared our breath a little. A more welcome and familiar voice reached me then. “Howdy Twilight!” Applejack stepped through the crowd, looking around at the new ponies and observing the Canterlot guards with a growing frown, “Ya’ll wouldn’t happen to know why the Princess has this whole set up going on?” A pause as she looked at the podium, “And here of all places. Doesn’t she make them speeches at her castle usually?” I didn’t know what to say, my muzzle was not working as I tried to come to terms of what this could mean, what worries the Prince assumed I had. I had way too many to count. What did I tell her? As if Faust knew how compound my problem, Rarity choose this moment to arrive. “Darlings! Did you see the flyers?!” Her almost hysterical tone had us in an instant. “Flyers?” Everyone echoed, looking back to our friend as she tossed her mane and presented the simple paper. “Yes, it says that-,” I tuned her out as I read it; reread it, and triple checked that it was of royal grade parchment. Sweet Celestia, it was a national emergency. **** Canterlot Castle ????? ?????? Princess Luna and Princess Celestia were missing…To who knows where…And the current reigning Prince was alright with that…He even had friends that would…Kill them, her. I could hardly keep my breath from shaking as I glided along the ceiling, armorless, silent, and none the less scared. But surely not everypony was like that? The key was gripped in my hooves, almost cutting into my frog as I had forgone with my shoes as well. I had to be silent, invisible, and get the Tartarus out of the Castle, a mission that was growing increasingly harder. You would think, ‘yah, but didn’t most of the guards take off after that stallion’. And you wouldn’t be wrong. But the unicorns were still here, the nobles. All while my squad mates were halfway across Equestria helping the Prince with his farce. That didn’t sound like a joke. Did they know? I turned a corner and held my breath. A maid was stationary below me, low tones coming up as she caught the ear of another that had been elsewhere when the disaster had happened. “-Prince Blueblood-.” The name reached me up here, sending a shudder through me as I perched on a nearby arch to listen in. "-Will he attack-," I tried to focus on their speculation but my mind wouldn't focus. He was a unicorn...They were unicorns. My mind kept drawing more and more conclusions as every new shadow joining the gossip circle in the hall stood out. Was it everypony? Only the nobles? Were my squad mates in on it?! “-Can’t believe that he would do that?” The other nodded as I perked up. “You would think he would be eager, I mean you know what would happen?” “What?” “Well, it’s obvious really! He is the only one Alicorn stallion!” The other maid frowned, “But didn’t the Hoof Setter say that he might be a changeling?” That only garnered a sigh as they entered into the legitimacy of one of the hundreds of theories that had been floating around. That one was gaining more merit though… Soon enough they parted, the setting sun triggering their need to appear busy. A slow breath escaped me as they walked slowly down the hall. I was on my own for this…escape…Wasn’t I? My destination was still unclear. And to be blunter than a Minotaur, I wasn’t sure how to think of things anymore. If Prince Blueblood was more than okay with leaving his rulers, the ponies that for all magical purposes kept us safe…Wait…No…There was the elements of harmony. They stepped up when the princesses couldn’t. But if he was going to them…Their direction, I didn’t like the sound of that. He was all for getting rid of them from the sounds of it, or at least leaving them to die. “-Why would he-.” The maids continued below me. The elements of harmony…The thought wouldn’t escape me, the temptation rising to seek them out. Were the elements enough to take down an Alicorn stallion? Better yet, could they be trusted? And did I risk flying in the direction the Prince had gone? The hall grew quiet once more as I gave a silent flap, slowly swallowing my fear. My princess was that way too… Shaking my head I listened for any new voices, the hum of magic, and when none sounded I re-examined what had happened. I had escaped the room, ditched my over armor and weapons…And all to go where? Better yet, why had it been so easy? Perhaps it had been sheer luck, perhaps they were really naïve like my squad mates had joked about, or perhaps they had only pretended to fall for my trick… Was it a trap? I scanned the halls again and saw no pony. The sky beckoned me…Hmm…Looking down the hall again I frowned. Either way, the guards had burst into the room and left soon after, not even checking the cupboard that I had acquiesced in my haste. They supported the Prince; at least I had to suppose they did. They had heard his plan after all and made no complaint. Did everypony feel that way? I hadn’t heard anything in my barracks of this nature, or even from the other workers in the castle. The maids hadn’t heard. There were too many unknowns. Resting on a ledge I looked out across the courtyard before me. It was empty, the sun was nearly set, and…I wasn’t as eager to set off after the other guards. The Prince was there. Looking away from that I looked to the east. Our allies might not help...And is it wise to alert them to this disaster? Especially so soon after the changeling invasion-. My thoughts froze and I looked from the south to the north. It was possible, genius if it was true. She had fooled everypony after all. That invasion failure was a ruse…Wasn’t it? This was the true invasion…And she had the most experience with that. I spared the setting sun one last frown before I alighted from my ledge. They had saved Equestria before…But they would be where he was. Instead, I needed somepony that was familiar with changelings, which actually made the most sense. Prince Blueblood wasn’t that ruthless after all, he was a colt, which was why he only handled minor crimes. That wasn’t the prince; no way would he know anypony stronger than the princesses. My heart was already calming. So slipping out the window and up to the roof I began my journey. Sneaking along the remains of the polished dome with a careful step and active ear, it appeared clear still. Any murmurs were just far off echoes, low, and conspiratorial in the face of such events of this afternoon. But the orange glow of the sun had me pausing in the shade of a tower. I looked at the sun again, eyes squinting at the subtle, minuet movement. How was it moving still? **** Equestria-Minotaria border Ari The Everfree forest seemed to go on forever, darkness ever reaching as I puffed along. A fact that my impromptu guide looked increasing confused by, I was almost tempted to ask her to try carrying double her weight for hours while dodging spears and magic blasts. But silence seemed the smarter option…It also let me have the most oxygen, which I wasn’t going to waste at that point. A glow pervaded the area, bright in the dim setting. The moss was lighting up as we approach and fading as we passed by, funny how it was courteous all of a sudden. No vines dared to whip me now either. Were they her doing? One look at the unsuspecting potion laden mare dashed it. Not only did she seem too much in a hurry trying to follow the sudden changes in the trees before her but the books I had been read hadn’t mentioned earth ponies controlling nature to this degree, even the ones with ‘cutie marks’ related to it. I was obviously too tired for thoughts, thinking, ugh… Pain persisted as we kept a fast trot through the forest, silent, and stiff. Those rustlings had grown louder and more frequent as we had left the initial path. They hadn’t popped up again but I swore I had heard some voices whispering out there, the snapping of twigs at least. I hadn’t heard that in a while… Hours seemed to pass before we saw a change in the forest, a big one, that is to say: it ended. Trees closed in on our flanks as we paused at the edge, my limpy trot putting me behind her despite my taller stature. Stars lit up the small clearing before us. It was dotted with sparse trees, different trees that caused me to give a small smile. They didn’t have any glowing moss growing off them or cheeky vines wrapped around the trunks. A new forest appeared to be on the other side, slightly brighter under the canopy as the stars peeked through. Squinting in the low light, I could make out a little beyond that…what appeared to be the familiar tips of the small mountains that I had run into Bente at. So close… “Where to now?” The quiet whisper caught my attention, breaking the otherwise silent night. “Well…,” I shifted my cargo and looked at her, Zecora, “I presume you will go to your home, back there,” I gestured to the area we had come from, “And I will go to my home to educate these mares.” I knew where to go now, the land didn’t seem quite as hostile either. She didn’t move from beside me, matching the hushed tone we had started. “Do you understand the situation we are in? I am in?” I just watched her, exhaling a deep breath as pain lanced up all my legs. “If I go back I won’t make it home.” Ears went back as she squared up to me, the air behind us giving me a eerie feeling, one that was unfortunately very familiar from my earlier travels in the woods without her. Vines… “But-.” “I haven’t seen an ambassador in weeks! The whole country has been in a ghasia because of you! And this meek-,” Whisper yelling she jabbed a waving hoof into my scarred chest, “-Ma-.” My long snort at her prod caused her muzzle to fall, jaw growing tight before me as I reigned in my pain and instincts that had flared up at the unwelcome touch. “No, no…I mean, there is only two suspects for you managing to make it through the forest...This is the hardest entry and exit point of Equestria’s borders after all.” And Moonlit Echo called it a training ground, a test of skill…An understatement clearly. “When they don’t find you what happens to me?” Her sudden somber tone had me frowning, my eyes watching her intently. A new instinct was rising as I noticed the crinkling in her blue eyes, the splaying of her ebony tipped ears. A question rose as I shoved the twitches in my wings down. Who else could have been familiar enough with the woods that they would be suspected in helping the ‘bad guy’? Or better yet, wouldn’t be suspected? It sounds like she is the only one… At my lack of immediate reaction she continued, tone and head growing lower as she looked ahead, back and finally over my slumped appearance. “Seeing as you seem…Foreign,” I didn’t react as she watched my eyes, waiting, “You wouldn’t know that between the element of kindness and me, I would be-.” “’It’s the zebra’s fault’,” I parroted out, pushing past the reference to an element and interrupting her speech. The situation had hit me full circle. She had thanked the vines and trees along the way as they opened up for her, quite familiar, and if only two suspects could be had I could assume she wasn’t living among the ponies. They suspected her at least. “I understand enough to know that those ‘bad’ ponies see you as inferior, labor, and…Food.” Bugs started chirping and cricking again. “But, I am tired, sore, and quite frankly eating myself inside out from this whole mission. I don’t have the time or energy to help you on your mission or foalsit you while I finish my own so-.” “Where to now,” Zecora’s question didn’t sound as relaxed as before. The understanding perhaps growing or maybe it was the only option in her mind, it made sense. Grunting low I watched her, feeling the pain rise again in a wave as she stared me down. Her blue eyes narrowed before going wide under my scrutiny. Fuck this. She wouldn’t tell the ponies and she was only one being…My instincts still snorted internally, demanding I dominate the challenge from the mare but I couldn’t be bothered. Make lots of noise during the escape? Nope. Exactly. “Hey!” I pressed my ears back and trotted faster, wincing as my hooves pounded the ground nosily. “Ari!” I whipped my tail back, frowning as the pain ran through me, my wings prickling numb by then. Snorts followed as the warmth of a body made itself known beside me. Sue me if I wanted food and sleep. Trees, oddly shaped branches, and the accompanying moving shadows that danced across my wrapped hooves held my attention as we walked on. Our silence grew louder between us. My part in it mostly from my heavy breathing, hers from uncertainty, her eyes would flick over me every minute or so. She was harmless…Curious…Brimming over with questions. And she was. Glancing sideways, I could see her emotions flicker across her eyes more than her muzzle, although I didn’t recognize or acknowledge all of them I recognized the curiosity, it was very familiar to me. Sighing I started the inevitable, “What do you need to know?” Pain answered from my body as she began. “So you aren’t a changeling…,” I couldn’t help the groan that echoed out, “And are an adult Alicorn yet no being has ever heard of you…With no skill mark- Cutie mark…” Fuck this was a getting old. “This may surprise you-.” **** Outside Everfree Forest, Equestria Twilight Sparkle “-But I witnessed it first hoof, as the ill reputed scoundrel ponynapped our princesses!” Blueblood’s words rang over the crowd, chilling me more than the loss of the sun had. “He got under their guards, sweet talking his way into their good graces! That changed stallion knocked them out-,” we exchanged wide eyed looks, Applejack scowling at the thought, implication, yet he continued, “-spouting lies and falsities at us even as he fled….” Trailing a hoof across the floor, the prince looked uncharacteristically saddened, before looking over the crowd once more, “If I hadn’t come back to confirm something with her majesty he might have escaped without a trace.” My heart started pounding out in a cantering rhythm, growing erratic even under my friend’s onslaught of nuzzles. The flyers weren’t a joke, this was real, and I didn’t have the slightest idea what I could do. Murmurs grew as he paused, exhaling the weight of the event over the crowd. She was gone…And another evil Alicorn was about. The why of this entire event still didn’t click into place. And I think he must have known, I mean, I wasn’t exactly subtle when I visited the castle. Everypony knew how much I loved to ask why. He met my wide eyed stare, possibly even seeing the questions that were rising up like waves. I was drowning. “I-We, the day guard, night guard, and brave citizens of Equestria pursued him to this very forest, Everfree forest.” He gestured to the darkened edge behind the stage, ears pinning back with a determination in his eyes. “And we don’t intend on leaving it till we have tracked him down, returned our princesses, and delivered justice for this act of-,” he paused and looked around, a hush followed as I felt myself lean in, “-War!” War? The part of my brain that wasn’t scrambling around the earthquake or royal ponynapping latched onto the odd diction. Isn’t that a misnomer? He did commit a crime, but nothing has pointed to war…anything that Blueblood has shared, anyway. I watched the gesticulating stallion closely as he elaborated on the chase, replaying his words in my head. Ponynapped…Why? The logic of the preliminary questions helped me somewhat. The process of going through them was driving back the swirling cloud that was fogging up my thoughts. Why did he come here? No pony knows. Wouldn’t removing the princesses, the two most powerful beings on the planet, leave the castle wide open to attacks? Mostly…Was the Crystal Empire okay? Their status was still unknown… Nopony else seemed to come to that conclusion. All around us ponies stomped the ground, guards and citizens alike cheering as the meaning hit us, but I couldn’t find my voice. A new word was replaying in my head, his diction being most peculiar. Changed…As in changelings? The rare, nearly unheard of beings that tried to invade out of the blue four months ago…The beings that were hardly mentioned aside from where they were banished to after the Great war…Hundreds of years in isolation, seeming isolation anyway. Why? Heart pounding I watched as the crowd crowed their support. I didn’t dare say anything. My friends didn’t cheer either. Instead, they covertly nudged me, growing more persistent as the cheering dimmed. What could we do? I blinked at Rainbow’s hard shove, Rarity shooting a hard look between me and the prince as I glanced her way. And it hit me harder…Why? I didn’t know. Was this real? Possibly…Discord’s doing? No, too subtle, and no punch line in sight. As a final attempt I considered the infamous sisterly wars. Was this a prank by Luna? No. The hum of the unsent letter reached me. This was too serious for that. Looking to my right I saw Pinkie mouthing something, but I couldn’t hear her over the crowd or make sense of her muzzle with all the clutter in my head. She was trying to make me act most likely. I knew I had to. Nothing added up yet. “In the meantime, I shall alleviate some of the administration duties that require attention. This measure is only temporary, I assure you. A trusted collection of board members and I shall persevere only as long as it is needed, and only as needed to ensure that our country remains standing until," He puffed his chest forward, "When, our princesses return.” Applejack reached over and nudged me hard, pointing a hoof at the stage. But my hooves wouldn’t move, my mind racing again. Why not ponynap all of the royalty if this was a real war or invasion? Why such…Was it on purpose? Did getting caught mess with whatever plan he had? Silence followed, the night echoing it’s emptiness into my head. It was spinning, I was spinning. This couldn’t be true? It didn’t make any sense. An old question resurfaced as I tried to slow down. Why did the changelings, evil aligned beings, keep Cadence alive? Why would he not kill the princesses if he was one? Why wait three weeks? Wait. The sun, it was still moving… Questions were being raised around the clearing as the soft orange glow gathered their attention; it was creeping down over the mountains. “It shouldn’t be moving still, should it?” I heard Lyra Heartstrings whisper, Bon Bon’s response was lost as another pony piped up. “Are the elements doing it?” Everypony was shooting us glances then, looking between the setting sun and our shocked faces. My ears splayed. I couldn’t do that, I didn’t even know if Cadence could. Another shove met my wither. “No, but we will get her back,” I shot a look to the prince as I spoke; he had turned back from an officer just in time to smile widely at me, stomping a hoof in cheer before the sun was gone in a last shift of the orb over the mountains. Silence followed as we all blinked in the dim. The sun had still set, she was alive. And the crowd was coming to similar conclusion as I had. Mainly, the cycling of the sun and moon, the latter had stared back at me as I tried to form more specific words. I needed a plan, no, information. “Exactly! We won’t stop till this Alicorn is found!” Prince Blueblood reiterated for the crowd, amplifying his voice to be heard over the shocked gasps that had taken route with the darkness. Talk of Nightmare Moon spreading as strange new star alignments grew apparent. “T-Twilight?” Spike’s quiet whimper stole my attention. A silver of a moon was absent from the arrangement; the entire moon was gone to be precise. “S-shh, I-it’ll be fine darling, Twilight can figure this out.” Sweet Celestia he must be just as worried! “I-I know Spike, I-,” “We,” my friends interjected, “-We will find Princess Celestia, no pony just strolls through Everfree forest.” Not even Fluttershy, it had an attitude for her sometimes, but, not always. Yes... I started breathing deeply, looking up at the dirty blonde mane of our resident prince as my resolve grew. We have beaten Nightmare Moon, Discord, and faced many challenges. The Elements could handle one evil Alicorn, we had before after all. My muzzle opened as I stepped forward, Rainbow and Applejack mimicking me with a shared nod. Perhaps a mutter of ‘finally’ was spoken, it was hard to say in the crowd. Pinkie and Rarity were not far behind us. Fluttershy was absent, but we figured she was fast asleep given how early she rose. Had she slept through this? That thought didn’t last long. “Ahem-,” Our approach slowed, the prince finished whispering to a assembly of officers that had grown behind him, and I focussed on him, “-I know this is a very challenging time for everypony but I must ask for some calmness as we go about this rescue operation.” He glanced back at the forest before catching my eye again, a crinkle forming at the corner. “Now,” the smile grew, unnerving for such a colt. We had heard about the grand galloping gala disaster from Rarity, a lot, trust me. He shouldn’t be so calm. “I know it is late, the news shocking, but does anypony wish to volunteer-.” He didn’t even get to finish, we didn’t even get a word in as the crowd surged forward, clamoring to be heard. “Ahh! Twilight!” Spike exclaimed, clinging to me tighter as warm bodies pushed my hooves into the ground, my body held in place by barely constrained muscles. My friends weren’t doing much better. Rarity was almost run over, clinging to Pinkie Pie as she used her Earth pony strength to remain immobile. In fact, she was almost too still. Narrowing my eyes I couldn’t come up with a coherent thought. None except that Pinkie was never that grim, her ears were back and everything. Why- “QUIET Y’ALL!” Applejack’s voice rang out over the procession, even catching the prince’s attention as I swear he narrowed his gaze at her. “I mean…Listen up to the prince…” … “Ahem-hem!” His loud clearing of his through broke the sudden silence, “As I was saying, if anypony wishes to volunteer their time we will be breaking up into different teams, rotations of teams as well. No pony is unwanted.” He had their rapt attention, ours as well. Although a glance at Rarity showed her confusion, surprise even. “Officer Eagle Eye,” A pegasus Day guard stepped forward, nodding to the prince then the crowd, “Will be in charge of-.” I tuned him out as a prodding was made apparent on my right hind leg, small and light. “T-Twi-Twilight?” My ears perked up as I turned to look, Fluttershy. She had squeezed herself between Applejack, Rainbow Dash and me, had hid herself really. I blinked at the Pinkie like position she had wedged herself in. Perhaps when the crowd had surged forward she had come to us? That couldn’t be comfortable. Applejack’s muzzle scrunched up as she looked between her legs at our clearly freaked out friend. Crowds were not her ‘thing’ as Rarity put it. And Rainbow just frowned, concern leaking into her eyes and splayed ears. Where had she come from? “-And Captain Moonstruck,” I looked up in time to see a silvered Thestral step forward, fangs bared in a serious scowl that even now ponies cringed at, “He will lead the Northwest sky patrol, I believe I speak for him when I say he wants only the best-.” Frowning at the speech I kept an ear turned to the prince as I looked to the cowering pegasi mare before me. Had she met the ‘changed’ stallion? It made the most sense; this had to be some twisted back up plan. However the entire goal of it was in that moment lost to me. Celestia was missing, Luna was missing, and Fluttershy might have seen the culprit! “Flu-,” a yellow hoof met my muzzle and Spike looked shocked. I was. Blueblood continued on though. “Anypony that knows first aid or any healing art is advised to stay behind in our medic tent.” He paused then, I did as well. Ivory ears flicked back at the Wonderbolts that flanked the stage, before he gulped slowly and continued. “A-although anypony is welcome, I say that with a warning that should you continue you take your life into your own hooves. He, Ari is a very dangerous stallion. While the full parameters of his plan are unknown we do know that he will use lethal force when confronted. He attempted to kill both Captain Soarin,” said stallion stepped up, looking away sheepishly as his teammates rushed forward to flank him in his tattered uniform, the edges singed, “And myself.” Gasps rang out and talking started amongst the ponies. Deep breathes. Prince Blueblood coughed and the voices dimmed again, “We need to enter the forest now, please think long and hard on this, if you choose to volunteer your services please find us within the half hour. No more than a dozen to a team.” Ending on that somber tone he turned and started to talk with the officers and captains behind him. Soon after a map table flashed into existence, complete with little pony figures. He was smiling as he directed the various group leaders, thrilled it seemed. But the pressure on my snout wasn’t changing, forcing my eyes back down. Fluttershy wasn’t moving her hoof from my muzzle or getting out from under our friends. His promises didn’t seem to quell her nerves in the slightest. “P-please Twilight, we need to leave,” her wide eyes darted over to the prince at her slightly louder tone, closer to a normal whisper. I didn’t bother trying to tell her that no pony would hear her over the din that was rising from the crowd. The prince’s own ears were pulled back at the indecision that had risen in his speeches wake, but his hooves were soon waving over the table, “…n-now.” With everything that was going on this was something I could latch onto. She was afraid…Lived at the edge of Everfree forest…And…I blinked as it occurred to me. Fluttershy hadn’t been looking at the prince but rather past him, to the forest, where the stallion had last been seen entering. He was in there, hostile, and she was petrified of him. Was he watching us even now? I looked at the crowd. Were any of these ponies changed as well? “Okay,” I cleared my throat softly; my words still sounding a little faint to my own ears, “Let’s go.” I needed to hear her out, question her, the princesses were grown mares…Breathing out I steeled my heart. They should be able to handle themselves for an hour more, there was plenty of ponies getting ready anyway… And there was, everywhere I looked was a different pony, so many that I didn’t recognize. “T-thank you,” the relief very clear, I nodded to our friends. Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity all nodded along in turn. Spike gave her a wan smile in my peripheral. “How about my place, girls? I know Granny Smith and Big Mac will be eager to know just what has happened.” We all herded up wordlessly, the consent clear, and moved out. This needed planning if my hunch was correct and chances were if the Everfree forest didn’t scare the possible changeling that kidnapped the princesses then the search party wasn’t going to do much. I had a concrete lead before me. Fluttershy. She had seen something. That was clear; even as we moved off she kept an ear towards the stage, the forest behind it. She was our best lead, save for Zecora; they were the only two to live so close to the unrestrained magic that flowed unfiltered there. Zecora! It hit me hard. “Zecora!” I whisper shouted, several ponies turning their ears and heads my way as the town’s, country’s only Zebrican citizen was mentioned. She was alone in there with-. “She’s fine Twilight.” At Fluttershy’s uncharacteristically sure statement I turned away from the forest, a new question forming until I locked eyes with her. A glance at Applejack provided me with a nod. She was being honest. Curiosity and worry gnawed at my heart and I nodded slowly in return, already finding us mobile once more. The sound of guards assembling ringing in my ears, even with them pinned back. Dear Celestia hang on. Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 1.**** Shit, I don’t really care where I was, it was near my home though. Ari I had an inkling to how marathoners felt then. Perhaps it was the nearly overwhelming state of constant of pain, born from both exhaustion and injuries that they pushed through. Or it could have been the presence of an annoyingly pain free companion for the final sprint, trot, of the race. But I believed it was the breath of fresh air that entered my heart as I saw the bow of my airship peek out from behind a hill of a mountain at me that cemented the conclusion. Home! “Ari,” I could hear the question rising in said companion’s voice before her muzzle finished moving, it was the normal for the hours and hours we had been trotting. “Zecora,” I interrupted, not taking my eyes off the curves of the shiny bow, “This is,” a ragged breath out interrupted my sentence, air, sweet air, “My home.” For now I silently added. Looking at the behemoth of technology I couldn’t help but feel that it was fragile. Your herd is, my mind whispered in response, they don’t know you, not all of you. My new recurring dread snuck up on me then, reminding me that this whole mission sucked. I tried to push past it though. The ship, home was right there after all. I had to show the princesses the disaster the continent was in and then I could tackle the numerous other issues. The white metal and wood grew sharper and brighter the longer I looked at it. And soon I found myself frozen to the grassy patch before it. My body had taken over with it’s priority list that it had been shoving in my consciousness for hours. What could one second of weakness hurt? The air was clear and the anticipation was enough to keep me on my hooves. Air. I couldn’t argue with that desire, then flying, I wish I could argue against that then…Sleep, shower? No I had…Fuck. Blue eyes looked to me as the head panned, looking between my home and me. So with shaking muscles, a pounding head, and new adrenaline racing around, I faced her. “Ari, are we-.” Swallowing the thick mucus that had built up during our hurried time together I took the lead, “Look, Zecora,” another thick gulp and I shifted my weight to try and alleviate the dull pain that had jumped to a sharp spike. It didn’t help. “I can’t just let you up there without some promises from you.” My brain is going to need a jump start after this, should have asked this sooner. Waiting a moment to breathe in, I between at the ship and the Zebrican spy. She knew about invasion Chrissy had launched months ago, might even have a prejudice against them after living in Equestria. It was hard to say what she would do. “Promises,” a hard look entered her eyes, tail going still. “I blew my entire cover to help you!” Her tone never rose above a whisper in the dawn. “Hasn’t that been proof enough that I support ‘re-educating’,” her forehooves came up and bobbed in the air then, “Equestria’s royalty," Her hooves slammed down on the grassy terrain, "That I want your change to stay!” Letting a deep breath shake its way out of me I tried to square up. Pushing back my weary withers as blue met blue, “Yes, but I need everybeing on my ship to be safe as well.” “The zebras and Bente-.” “Not just them.” I had her attention again. “My herd as well.” I had only briefly mentioned them, mostly as an instinctive knee jerk reaction. She had suggested that I wished to…Breed…The sisters after they had seen the truth. And while I didn’t think they were hard on the eyes, I knew I couldn’t bring myself to, well, do them. A fact that Zecora had taken with more than a little shock, my herd was just a convenient excuse, a reminder of why not to. Spiting the god was up there but not the number one reason anymore. She waited for a second, probably thinking over everything she had learned so far. Until she came to a conclusion that didn’t surprise me for one that labeled themselves as a spy, “Why would I harm your mares? While I found your vehemence on not being with the royal sisters surprising I didn’t mean that I wanted you to be with them.” Zecora seemed to consider her next words, “The papers just seemed to suggest, in the wake of the population crisis, and obvious state of your species that you had come forward then to-.” “No,” I gritted my teeth, holding back my volume, my pain. “I don’t and wouldn’t.” Taking a deep breath I continued, “I met two wonderful, misunderstood mares in my journey though. And I need your assurance that no matter what you think of them you will not move to harm them.” I stepped into her bubble, “Not even if your instincts tell you to.” Although my back demanded I get it over with I watched her patiently. Striped fur scrunched up and ears splayed as her mind worked overtime, a tongue darted out to lick her lips and her eyes watched the ship with a new apprehension. “Will they hurt me?” ‘They’ was spoken more like ‘it’ in tone. Pausing over the question I frowned, ‘no’ was the automatic answer I wanted to give but I didn’t trust that. They had grown firmer in their methods, mare challenges mainly, and the hormones might start soon. Another topic to question them on. Yet, looking at the mare before me I didn’t notice any affection her gaze, she hadn’t pressed into me on the way here, and had even insisted we maintain the logically fast pace to the ship. This zebra mare shouldn’t be a problem that way. “Do you like me?” Her ears splayed as she considered the answer now, perhaps trying to figure out what was the best answer. “You are perfectly safe if you don’t interfere with our mission, show affection for me, or loyalty to the princesses.” “What?” I tried to chuckle over my deep breathing, it didn’t sound pretty, “My marefriends are very possessive and I am new to the culture.” At her blank stare I continued, “I gave the wrong signals to some mares by accident before. But don’t worry, I was told the difference after.” I winced at the end, pain arching again. And the memory of Ayodele pinned to the floor. I didn’t want that to happen again. “Oh…,” she looked between me and the ship again, just as a ray of pink broke through the dawn gloom. “You don’t have to worry about that.” A dry throated chuckle followed, “I promise I won’t attack or interfere with your process.” Pink was mixed with a yellowy orange as I felt my muscles collapse; I hadn’t realized I was so tense till then. She seemed honest, my instincts were in agreement as well. A smile slowly broke free and I sat back, letting the princesses’ slide over my saddle bags and off my haunches. “Good,” my back quivered and I closed my eyes at the freeing sensation. “Good," breath deeply, "Now can you balance?” I cracked an eye as I stood tall. She slowly nodded as I started stretching my back. My wings extended slowly seconds later. Pain may have been traveling through me, across my face, but a feeling of relief was growing. One more flight and I can rest. “W-wow,” escaped in a whisper beside me. An experimental flap had me wincing; my eyes clenched shut at the muscles protest, the prickles along the nerves I hadn't acknowledged all night. I might only have one flight left in them. Turning to the only conscious mare I gave a smile, slightly crooked in the pain. “Yah and I am about ready for bed so can you hop on?” Zecora’s muzzle started to open, her eyes looking between her laden saddle bags and my back, the latter was twitching with muscle spasms that I couldn’t help. They were tensing at the thought of more weight. At least she was small, smaller. “This morning please!” I frowned at myself, my lack of patience, “I would love to surprise my mares with a good morning kiss.” And I said I would be back sooner, much sooner. “Are you well to do that?” Caution leaked into her voice as I huffed. “Yes,” I backed up over the princesses nudging them into place, “Now if would kindly hop on I will fly up, you can find yourself a bunk with everybeing else, and I can rest.” Exhaling I continued, wings outstretched, and forearms grasped around the barrels of my cargo, “Please.” Thankfully she didn’t need any more convincing, taking a clinking hop onto my back with athleticism that I shouldn’t have been shocked at with her occupation. It was the weight shocked me. I felt every extra pound as a pinching of my nerves, an internal scream from my body. Down! Down! Get down Adrenaline pumped through me seconds’ later, home, my wings rose and the hooves shook on my back, just one more flap. Dropping my wings and pushing up with my legs I felt pain everywhere, briefly, but the air cooled it. Rushing by me the light and sound faded until I was forced to pump them. Slowing down before me was the polished ivory hull of the airship, the railing still a good twenty feet above me. If I didn’t have the extra weights on me and in my forelegs I would have made it. Fuck. Another flap had a cramp forming, seizing up my left wing just as the yellow glow grew to illuminate the shaded deck. Falling I could only grunt. Fuck. The deck was sturdy at least, my pillows soft and furry. We still made a loud thump. The clinking of glass bottles and feminine equine squeal moved from above me to my side as I pressed my eyes closed. “N-not,” a big gasp in, “My,” in and out this time, “Best landing,” a snort and clink beside me confirmed it. Seconds grew longer as I let my body relax, my grip loosening as I focused on slowing my breathing. It wouldn’t do to-. “Ari,” the familiar voice reached me as I cracked an eye open from my sprawled position. “ARI!” Clip clopping filled my ears, my nostrils flaring as the hint of burnt cinnamon hit me. Water lilies followed soon after, just in time for a smooth muzzle to jam themselves into my mane. Hoof steps were everywhere. Letting my eyes drift shut again I smiled, “Hey Chrissy,” another smooth muzzle went into my neck, “Lyric.” This was wonderful. “Sorry,” my nose found a spicy mane, “I ran into,” Cinnamon, “Some trouble.” My body just went limp, relief finding my mind and body in that moment. “A changeling?!” Zecora’s loud voice hushed the deck. My wings weren’t able to manage the rise I wanted so I settled for propping up my head on Lyric’s neck, pushing her closer. Our new companion was looking like I had said something along the lines of ‘I love Blueblood’. “Yes.” My heart started to pump harder again, “I trust you remember your promise?” Ayodele and Ayomide were looking at the new zebra in confusion. Actually, Chrissy and Lyric looked perplexed as well. The Thestral looked horrified…At me…Right. Standing on shaking legs I positioned myself above the princesses and between the chained guard and my prisoners, his boss, bosses. Another problem, taking a narrowed gaze and deep breathe to assess the deck I cleared my throat. “Look,” Chrissy caught my eye from where she had tucked herself under my wing, “This has been a long day and night. Zecora here helped me escape the country, blew her- ,” I froze, suppressing a groan as I counted the bodies. “-cover.” Bente was absent. “Is Bente still resting?” I didn’t want to repeat all of this in five minutes when we woke her with the addition of Zecora. “Bente,” Lyric and Chrissy queried at once. Looking back from a wide eyed Zecora to me. Zecora looked at little…Alarmed? Her ears went even further back, her wide eyed glance swiftly passing over us. Her mind was practically broadcasting its thoughts. The battered Alicorn standing over two unconscious Alicorns with a changeling and hybrid pressed in…Two zebras on the side with one chained Thestral for dessert…Bente be damned, that sleepy hen was the least of my problems. From my knowledge of spies she trusted me loosely at best, understandable, really, I had no proof. I trusted her mainly on the grounds that she wouldn’t be supporting the enslavement of her species, but… No getting paranoid. Not everybeing is out to get you, this is not a trap. She blew her cover for you! We had made it this far. My breathing slowed down a little but I didn’t move from atop the mares. Turning more of my body to the Zecora I flicked my tail in pain, “Yes,” my eyes found my marefriends. And looking between there panned heads I didn’t feel so good. “That gryphon hen that followed us? She’s an ambassador-,” Zecora was edging back now, “-and should have arrived here earlier this afternoon. She warned me of the ‘eyes everywhere’.” That seemed to halt Zecora but had everybeing else confused. “Ari,” Chrissy’s hesitant tone had me tensing, my worry slowly building, “We haven’t seen any visitors since your arrival.”At that both mares pressed into me, their breathing buffeting my stiffening fur. “Fuck.” The one word statement was enough to tell the deck what I meant. Silence pervaded the area as I felt the pain arching again. That is until Lyric took the lead, rising from under my neck, “Perhaps we should move into the dining room?” No being moved, all eyes going between me and Zecora. I didn’t know what those potions did. Changelings didn’t seem to be her favorite subject either; no zebra had reacted quite so bad. Chrissy stepped slowly away from me, facing the new mare. Her wing buzzed lightly as I stared after her. “We don’t bite,” my own wings started twitching as my instincts screamed to move in front of her, “Unless you choose to bite.” The zebra didn’t move but the Ayo’s began moving towards Moonlit Echo, herding the tense stallion to the open door. He was moving very slowly, eyes glued to the princesses. A mind numbing attempt by my starving stomach to eat itself settled it. “Questions will be answered,” her attention was on me now as I took a step closer, “I know you risked a lot but I am risking just as much.” Warmth touched my flanks, smooth and soothing. “My only family possible is here, wanted,” Chrissy looked away, “Persecuted,” Lyric averted her gaze as Zecora considered her, “And newly freed.” Yes, although Ayodele wanted more I considered them friends, new ones, but appreciated. I didn’t have a way home, looking back wasn’t something I did; I didn’t feel I could sanely do that. Convenient having the world end, huh god? “Please Zecora, listen to us, talk with us, and try to understand why we had to do what we have done.” Silence and narrowed blue eyes looked back. “Either way I will bring you home, safely.” “Kusubiri,” the Ayo’s paused in the doorway looking at the hurrying zebra in confusion, “Kuzungumza na mimi. Ni Mzuri?!” “Nini,”Ayomide said in a confused tone. Her cousin was just as confused, “Hu?” Zecora repeated the last bit of her sentence, “Ni. Mzuri?!” And that started one of the most rapid exchanges of Zebrican I had heard so far. I could only watch with my mares as the zebra’s ears flicked to and fro with every question. It definitely sounded like a lot of questions. One problem sort of solved. But I had to transport the two dead weights still. **** Princess Celestia The fur rose slowly along my back as I realized I couldn’t see anything. My chest ached in tandem with the length of my too tense wings. Smells were oddly distant and spicy for the most part as I sucked in a big breath. Spicy? The latter part wasn’t too worrying actually, odd really. But the musk of spice was a balm to the slowly rising alarm. My eyes still wouldn’t open, in fact my chest was heavier the more I tried, rising higher only with a great deal of focus. Something was off… And it was more than the sensations I felt, or rather didn’t feel. My fur felt thick and muted, unfamiliar, it was almost like my skin was numb. Trying to pivot my ears didn’t garner anything either. Sounds weren’t even there, just a faint thrumming in the background, and that was most likely my own heart beat. The culmination of the lack of input was the sense of direction I had prized in life disappearing. I couldn’t make up from down. My thoughts started swimming in nonsensical circles the longer I tried, inner guide torn between alarm and laid back calmness. What happened? My chest started to heave against whatever I was on. I couldn’t tell still, my bed hopefully, but that hope was very low…My senses were in chaos. I couldn’t even feel the deep warmth inside- I could have screamed as I pushed harder against the weight on my barrel. As if in slow motion my mind had caught its own observation. I could only mutely question it. Chaos?! The conclusion came faster than any other sense that had left in me, crystal clear. Discord… Then…Dear Faust no! My plea caught in my throat as it refused to work, dry and stiff in the face of the overwhelming darkness. Why he did this didn’t matter then or even how he had accomplished it from the garden. I had to act. So I struggled harder to awaken, to move, anything more at that point. Lift! My body ignored me. MOVE! Now! The demands didn’t work, my mind was scattered and subdued all at once. I was only able to see shifting in the dark of my eyelids as my limbs remained immobile. My eyelids only managed to flicker in the beating of my demands, once, briefly, causing a millimeter of change in the form of a new grayness in the bottom of my view. No, not gray, it was a moving shadow, a shadow that seemed to hang over my body, dark and large. It's far points almost forming an equine shape in my peripheral, but I couldn’t focus my eyes to see if that was real or merely a candle's effect. Still, no matter how much I willed them to contract or relax nothing happened. That was apparently the limits to my ability then. Why? My heart sped up. I was trapped, immobile, and…I took deep breath. The sweet chocolate scent of the Draconequus was absent. No. And just as fickle as the male my heart slowed a little, ignoring my fear. This isn’t Discord’s work. He would want me to know it was him. The lack of sensory input came to me next…This had to be just a dream, a poorly constructed one, but concerning none the less. Now I have to wake up, I have talk to Luna about her new pranks. Perhaps…No, Nightmare Moon is long banished. She wouldn’t put me in a nightmare. I focused on my aetheratic channels next, trying to line up my thoughts…Where-. The darkness just shifted slightly as I realized I still couldn’t find the blazing sound or even the blinding color of the sun in me. It wasn’t my imagination. Only a pale yellow line appeared in my mind, almost gray and nonexistent as it trailed inwards to my core. My discomfort grew. Dreams didn’t take magic, even those affected by dream magic. My body didn’t let me pinpoint why it was so small though, my focus was fading away just as soon as I realized I couldn’t move anything else to check my horn. I still had my horn...Right? Tarturus, they, whoever wouldn’t break my horn?! My hooves couldn’t reach it, couldn't budge…And my body grew heavier as something constricted around my barrel with the attempt. Fighting it only made my lungs scream for air. But, I had to see, had to feel-… … …. I didn’t remember fading away. But I realized I must have. Squinting under a heavy weight cinching my wings and barrel, my lungs themselves it felt like, I frowned as I came to the conclusion that I didn’t remember much at all. Except the reason I was even conscious, the sweet smell in the air that called to me. I smelled apples, with a pleasant spice under laying the cloying scent. Yet, the first scent my attention, it was an all consuming smell, apples, food. I would sell my magic for a lick. Except…Why did I feel this weak and hungry? My sluggish body answered for me in a loud room shaking growl. Oops. I must have ignored dinner after meeting with…Dinner…The word tingled at my mind as I tried to make heads or tails of it, but not for long. The fruit’s call held my attention as a low whistle of air brought more to my nose, a slightly old and musty hint in its scent. But it was the unmistakable scent of apples and irresistible to me. Again my mind tried to dig deeper, my inner guide demanded I pay attention to more. I didn’t have apples for breakfast; I had to- Wait -raise the sun! My eyelids were too heavy to lift all the way, yet I managed to get them to half mast. The blurry sign of light perking my struggling body, it was not the artificial light of magic either. I would recognize the shifting light of the sun anywhere… That took all of a second to hit me. My window was moving? The castle didn’t move! With an urgent whinny my mask broke and I was rocketing forward to see the light closer, my focus still blurry, only to find my muzzle kissing smoothed wood planks seconds later. My rump hoisted rather awkwardly in the air as I slowly blinked, the weight lifting off of them as the new awareness filled me. There were no apples. No, more importantly, the heavy weights that felt to be all over me held me in place. They were new and unexplained. My body felt almost as heavy as when I was a foal, difficult to coordinate, why my foalhood as a reference to the sensation I couldn’t quite recall in the haze. But, I knew it was familiar and very unnatural at the same time. Just as I knew my marble floor and solar themed area rug were supposed to be under me if I had fallen out of bed. The soft surface I had been on wasn’t my bed though; it was too low to the ground. There were no wood floors in the castle. Where was I? A small table and cushion came into focus as I craned my head to look behind me. Shuffling my muzzle forward again I frowned and blinked, rather slowly still. That didn’t help, nothing had any logos or brands…Glancing left and right I quickly realized I was in a room. A room that was appeared to be moving, the clouds were passing by at a fast pace. And not a soul was in sight. Perfect, I could escape; find out who is behind this…ponynapping…and better yet how I got here. There was the table behind me, which appeared much longer than I had originally thought as I could see it stretching from one end of the narrow room to the other. There was just ten feet of clear floor between the opposing doors of the room. Both doors appeared to have neither locks nor any signs to point out their contents, even a language to clue me in on what faction took action. In fact, as my heart tried to pump harder, to care more about why I was here, I noticed two more doors before me. Why can’t I focus? They were closed just like the others but appeared different, perhaps narrower. I was struggling to focus as the urge to stand grew, my rump held uncomfortably in the air. Why was I in a…dining room? Looking back I didn’t know. The thought and energy sluggishly formed in my head. My magic seemed too far away to grasp. I have to remain calm…And find some food, calmly, with the decorum expected of a princess. Sucking in a deep breath I tried to school my face. What did I remember last? That might explain why could hardly move, both energy wise and physically. It almost felt like I was bound, my legs certainly weren’t able to separate themselves from each other, and my wings felt pinched somehow. Yesterday’s morning came in clear as a bell, the exchange short with my sister. The day court had gone on in a monotony of menial requests and petitions that bored me more than they should have. Until he showed up, I would remember the first stallion of my kind I had seen in millennia forever. I found my nostrils flaring to take in Ari’s intoxicating scent as I remembered his awkward gait and hesitant look around. His words were vague, yet powerful. He knew of the mirror, the honorary prince had been present for part of it, and…My thoughts swirled a little around how we had left. I didn’t remember saying goodbye. Had someone or something attacked us? A large gap in the meeting was growing in my mind. I didn’t remember setting the sun either. The sun should have set already… “Csleshtia,” a small and muffled exclamation had me looking around from my spot on the floor. I wasn’t alone? A blush was soon rising as I realized how I looked sprawled forward. Possibly in the same room as a drunk if the slurring was an indication. However, that just raised more questions. A drunk Equuis speaking female was here. Where? My reply was just as eloquent, “Wshat?” What was wrong with me? “Whst- Csleshtia?!” I looked back in confusion, my eyes squinting at the light peeking through the windows behind me. She started again, “Cslest?” The plea was lost on me as I recognized the voice then to be my sister’s voice. She was nearby, and not much better than me by the sounds of it. But more important than those facts was the fact that my eyes connected with the sight of my bound hooves. An off white cloth of sorts was crisscrossed between them and up to my barrel, preventing me from separating both my front and hind hooves as well as raising my wings. Whoever had me, us, wanted us to stay still. It didn’t take long for me to find my sister as her body soon rose from across the table behind me. Yet, when we looked at each other I couldn’t find my previous embarrassment anymore, only worry and fear as my wits came back to me. Not only was I bound, I was…inhibited in the worst way. Stiffening behind me was my pink tail; the weight on my neck I now realized was my mane lying limp and matching as well if my eyes were seeing things correctly. Pink! No, no, no, this can’t be happening. Luna had a long…Inhibitor…On her horn, which was the most likely cause of the flashbacks I was having from her mane. And I had to presume she was bound similarly to myself from the awkward way she was slouched forward. With a sharp hop around I saw that to be correct. A cloth was criss crossed between her hooves and barrel. Lulu’s eye were watering as she watched me. “Lsuna?” My mouth seemed to move better as we looked each other over. “Ls-,” I coughed and smacked my lips, “-Luunna?” Satisfied that I said one word clearly I threw my rump back, sitting similarly to my little sister. “Whas-,” again I slowed it down, “Whaaat-.” A squeak caught my question in my muzzle. Behind us, peeking out the right narrow door was a muzzle. And even more worrying to my mind was the stripes on it. A zebra? Why was a zebra here? Where were we? Why?! Discord might have made more sense then. Nothing was clicking in my sluggish mind. “Ayo-,” the voice from the room she was exiting halted, the speaker having pushed open the door from behind the first speaker and made eye contact with us. Another Zebra mare, the only difference being the lack of mane on this mare, and another shadow came up behind that one, also striped of course. Beyond that the room was too shadowed to tell. But masculine whimpers came from far in the room. Who else do they have? Wait, where is Ari? We never said good bye-. A small masculine whimper halted my thoughts as I couldn’t understand why the zebras would take us. Gulping at the scene I took the matter into my own hooves, “Whos arse you,” I cringed at my disobeying mouth. Starting slower, “Why,” good, “are,” she seemed to grow calm as I continued, “We here?” Somewhere that was either in the middle of a gale storm or on an airship, either situation provided me no leads on what zebra or zebra aligned being could be behind this. She, the one missing her mane, pushed the first zebra back into the room. “Watch him, very closely.” The whimpers stopped. No, what have they done to Ari?! Luna attempted to get her attention, “Wshat duo mean?” But she was ignored just the same as I was. “I will wake him,” the other, timid ‘Ayo’ turned away, “Don’t worry; they won’t kill me or anything when this is on the line.” “Mimi si…Naweza kufanya hivyo.” Lulu game me a confused look, having not mastered the Zebrican tongue yet. But I frowned, keeping the knowledge to myself. It wasn’t time to let the…Helpers…Of our captor know our linguistic weaknesses; Instead of replying to anypony I shook my head at her opening muzzle. We would meet our newest adversary soon. **** Equestria – Crystal Kingdom border ????? ?????? The sun had set and rose once already of their own accord. Their progress had been painstakingly slow and uncertain without the princesses, almost as slow as my progress actually. Despite flying all night and most of the morning I was no faster than a lame donkey. Sure, the dim, early hours allowed for less ponies noticing me. But that was on days without our princesses being ponynapped. Pegasi were stationed everywhere. Unicorns were erecting wards like never before…And everypony knew. I, of course, hid from them. How was I to know who was a changeling? Ari had fooled the city guard; he had fooled the princesses themselves. The changelings had found ways around our protocols obviously. All of that made the upcoming border even harder to cross. Before me was a rising wall of pink magic, not being casted live I hoped. Rumor had it the royals up north had sunk quite a fortune in upgrading the kingdom, funding the enchantment trade and research department of both their own kingdom and Equestria. This was with the promise of use of the enchantments. Dear Faust I didn’t blame them. I only wished we had done more. Not only had my entire squadron and I been caught unaware but the princesses themselves had failed to notice the change…twice now! My ears folded back as I saw the border office before me, below me, and saw the crowd at it. Already the word must have spread. Everypony was outside the smallish crystalline train station, watching the struggling sun that had been rising to its home above us for well over half an hour. How long it could maintain that was uncertain, hopefully long enough for Princess Luna and Celestia to escape. “Halt,” a pink stallion rose to the air to greet me. His spear was raised to my dismay. I complied though, searching his glittering opal like eyes with a racing heart. No splash of green raced across the pupil like I had heard but maybe they had fixed that flaw in their magic. Maybe it was just a signal to other changelings? Our tufted ears were more flexible than pony ears after all. Silver armor glittering he stared back at me, trying to read my eyes as he gave my sweaty body a once over as well. “Well, state your business Thestral!” “Official business with Princess Cadence,” I held back the urge to cower as the crystal pony looked harder at me. But I held my ground, a few facts holding me there. The crystal kingdom had been preparing for a counter wave of changelings and that they hadn’t been out of stasis during the invasion. They couldn’t have any spies in the ranks. I just hoped it was enough. My reply had him giving the tail twitch twice. Two more guards rose, one a topaz mare and the other an azure stallion. “Name?” I tucked the hoof with the key in. “Name,” he repeated. Their spears shifting told me enough, “Officer Night Glider.” All three exchanged a raised eyebrow. “Allow me to pass,” they watched me closer, “Please,” I couldn’t see past the pink barrier but I squinted at it briefly, very aware of the power they held. “I have information that will affect the security of-.” “We heard.” The mare spoke up, ignoring the jab of her wide eyed guard mate. “That news was delivered straight to the castle and then to us just half an hour ago. Let them know we are aware and-.” A jab from the pink stallion’s spear shut her muzzle quicker than a cake in the dining hall with the princesses. “Excuse trainee Glittering Shard’s break of protocol.” My nod had him continuing. “We were not told to expect an officer, much less one of the Night Guard...,” he watched the slowly moving orb to our right with a frown, “In the daytime.” Buck. I shifted the key as I considered the options. This key and news, the truth, not whatever fallacy the imposter prince had sent over had said, it had to be known. Just telling the guards here, on the border stretch would be suicide for me; I felt it had to be. Yet I also knew they were suspicious of me, my actions made no sense when they could receive news via the emergency FCS system started up, only running between the Crystal Kingdom and Equestria so far, it was rather new, from Saddle Arabia no less. Bless Luna for her ideas. “Well?” The head guard of the trio prompted me out of my thoughts. Right, I needed to give enough information to get me on the shuttle to the kingdom. Sparing the thought of the magic ridden and frozen wasteland beyond the barrier I straightened my expression. Ears forward, “New, confidential information has been discovered; news that even the prince would not want to risk transportation through the FCS. It is to be delivered by wing and hoof with as much secrecy as possible.” I had all of their attention now. “I was never here.” Especially if a day guard arrives. They exchanged a quick glance, the stallion before me frowning harder, “Stay still.” And I did, the tip of his spear was pushing under my muzzle, involuntarily raising my chin as my veins retreated. They all held my gaze as I gulped under the scrutiny. “Under moon and star I pledge my loyalty-,” I started to recite my vow quietly as my nerves mounted, I counted down slowly, “-to Princess Luna-,” but I didn’t break contact. “Quiet.” I continued the private oath in my head. This was to be expected. I could understand waking up to a hostile enemy having invaded without your knowledge. Crystal ponies were even more insecure than my squad mates I believed, now knew for sure if this was a sign. I mean, a magical sleep spanning centuries is hard to recovery from. Seconds dripped onward as the sun continued to bath us in a warm glow. This continued on till he snorted and relaxed his tail slightly. “Sorry Officer, I’m not used to seeing Thestrals still and after the news this morning…” He cleared his throat as he pointed a wing to the platform below us. I followed after him. “We are just a little worried somepo-some being- is going to come after our princess.” We touched down and I transferred the key as quickly as I could in the rustle of four sets wings retracting. Hopefully they wouldn’t question the key. “It was odd enough when the existence of the new Alicorn was reported, too convenient we thought.” We all nodded and made our sounds of agreement, a large breath escaping me as I realized I was safe, well, among a changeling free guard. “Guess it shouldn’t have surprised us when he turned out to be a flawed jewel.” Glittering Shard spoke up a relaxed grin turning her lips up, “Nothing is that good.” She must have doubted the legitimacy of the claim as well. Eyeing the path in the crowd to the empty shuttle car ahead I shifted my legs and responded to the now eager faces I found looking at me. “He appeared to be an Alicorn at least.” My wording wasn’t lost on the officer before me. “But to believe the words of two ponies,” I nodded, frowning as I recalled the lack of follow up in the papers with the only witnesses. “With only a letter between them as the words of the new stallion,” again we shared a long look, “I mean, it just feels foalish to consider now!” “It must be hard being the only mares left,” I put out there. Watching as their eyes turned away. Exactly my feeling on the matter, it was crushing to think of it like that. Echo had been the first pony to bring that up with me and it stuck with me. The only ones left, with no hope for foals, at least not natural born foals. The newest princess was an artificial Alicorn, the only one in history, and was raised by both Celestia and her biological parents. A shared motherhood, it couldn’t possibly have been the same. The shuttle called to me, the key cold in my grip. Coughing had my eyes going to the glittering eyes of Officer Kunzite, the sparkle being more than the crystalline nature of his being. “Well, I suppose you had better deliver the news.” My heart lurched a little as the words were spoken, the relaxation I had gained in their presence draining away as I was brought back to ‘Blueblood’s’ words. ‘Ponies of that caliber don’t just die of natural causes, at least not all at once.’ “Yes, I should.” With that we parted ways. The inhibitor key and I safely bundled up in the shuttle and whistled down the line to the Crystal Kingdom. The sights were little to none. White snow upon white snow whipping by as the magic pushed through even the strongest gale. But that was probably for the best, my nerves couldn’t handle too much. I just hope I am not too late. Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 2.Author's Note Happy 2019 Readers! This is one of many chapters to come, hopefully the next one next week. This one is the first to have a actual editor but no guarantees still, we are only human after all. My chapter clumping will be ending as it was proving to be a stalemate in progress and I was worrying too much to put it simply. Especially as we enter this ark's rising action. Fair warning that important issues will be getting to the meat of it soon. Happy Reading! Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 2. **** Minotaria Ari Sleep hadn’t reached me yet. Pain had come, gone and returned more than I cared for. A bath had occurred, thankfully enough. My mares had found me, of course, to be a little rank. They had swarmed me in nuzzles, which of course led to the bath, bathes by that point. I stank in more ways than one according to them. A yawn escaped me as I let the afternoon sun beat down on me through my window. I wished I could close my eyes sometime between all of that in the morning, in some small part of my mind I had anyway, but, I knew that I could have that later. Too much had been made apparent when we had dispersed to our respective beds…And I was out for four days from this drug so those mares should take at least half that time. A small mercy, I could use a whole week to sleep. What was left to the focus of the rest of my mind and subsequent attention was still pleasanter than sleep somehow, at least to my soul. My mare’s concerned pampering and questions soothed the stress that had built nearly unnoticeably during our absence. Both were impossible to ignore from the moment they saw me. Only one question had lingered in my mind during their administrations, one that they held as well: the lack of a griffin hen on my ship. Where was she? Bente wouldn’t just ditch the chance to watch me educate the princesses of Equestria, to know their truth. My mind wandered back to her as I lay between my mares. Where is she? A yawn, my body’s attempt to stay awake, went through me as I reviewed the scene I had left. Bente stood out with her white plumage and yellow beak. The sky was clear, the mountains quiet, and the wind hadn’t brought any pony scents our way…At least none that stood out as near and fresh. It was the nation of ponies after all. The equine scent was faintly coated on everything at that point. We were by the jagged small mountains… Nothing popped out at me yet again. I fought down another yawn, the ticking of the clock in the flight cabin reaching me, lulling me, it was-. “Hea-sssss,” shudders of raw nerves ran through my back without any warning, breaking my train of thought. I let another sound escape my muzzle, “Hsss,” shit, as electricity seemed to travel down to my hind legs I questioned why the hell I had let my dick think for the last hour or so. Deep breathes echoed as I scrunched my eyes shut. Why indeed had I done that much more when I wanted to sleep moments before seeing them…Instincts? Pleasure? Stress relief? Feeding my emotionvore? Yes to all, but it also lay in easing a new emotion I hadn’t seen so prominent in them. Their eyes had been wide, searching my face, and moist. Not crying, but certainly filled with extra liquid, as if preparing for something. ‘Are you okay,’ I had asked them a little confused when the door closed behind us. They had simply pressed in tighter as I was distracted momentarily by the twisted tangle of blankets on our bed, arranged in a crescent moon fashion…they almost resembled a nest. I had blinked and looked from the bed to Chrissy, then to Lyric. More blinks answered me. They weren’t okay. ‘You don’t want an Alicorn…Right?’ Chrissy had questioned out of nowhere. Lyric pushed her nose into my neck. ‘No!’ The kneejerk reaction had ended the worries, well the verbalisation of them. Lyric had not been quite so blunt with her worries but she had showed me in other ways. The way she took to constantly rubbing along my body during and after the bathes, scenting, preening my feathers, and the new musical chittering that had filled the room when I had mounted her. She hadn’t even played any games, not even a little chase to break up the act. We really need to-. “H-humph.” Pain stole my thoughts again, my eyelids opened wide before closing in a wince. They were heavy as I lifted them again, yet they refused to stay down. I just couldn’t sleep. I could use some of that curare drug. Eventually the pain faded to the back of my mind again, my stomach even quiet in the moment. I needed more moments like this. Peace, I sucked in a big breath, quiet, the clock faded as the magic hum of our breathing filled my ears, and mares. They lay beside me, both apparently thoroughly exhausted. A twinge of pride at that fact warred with the guilt that niggled me anew. They had been overly concerned even after I had protested to wanting an Alicorn mare, had come home stinking of the sisters. Which I couldn’t help since it was part of the plan to educate them. So, two bathes to clean me, multiple rounds with both Chrissy and Lyric, the latter hadn’t been all lust I think. I mean, Lyric had started to get meticulous on grooming me…Before the bathes…Then in the water…Yah, I felt that might be redundant. But, she had groomed after the bathes as well and I didn’t have the heart or mental fortitude under their care to question her actions, both their actions by the end of it. But… It was a peaceful moment now, quiet, oh so quiet as we languished in each other’s warmth and mixed scent. A muffling spell and door the only things separating us from the not so perfect world. I loved it if I was honest. Wind whistled past the window. Soft breathes coasted over my still damp fur. Plush blankets closed us in from nearly every side. Let me repeat, I loved it, yet…I found it grating on my mind the longer we languished in peace, my subconscious filling the calm with thoughts that the chase, the pain, had kept away. Was I bad? I snorted at the first nagging issue that reared its head. What a silly question after everything–breath tickled at my ear as I lowered my head – no, I wasn’t bad. It wasn’t that easy. Bad AND good…They were as childish as me thinking I could go on without…I shook the thought away, the finishing statement seizing at my heart, one moral dilemma at a time. It was foalish either way. I wasn’t overstating their attention before, they were starting to feel the lack of base we had. We all really needed to sit back and get to know each other more. Hell, I didn’t even know their parent’s names! A soft, contented purr had me pausing once more. Could we make it work with the gaps in knowledge I had let grow between us? The time kept growing between meeting them and the truth. Looking to Chrissy I chewed at my lip. Her splayed out mane, smooth chitined belly, and lone wing resting on green carapiece, it didn’t reveal much of the state she had been in. So I turned my cheek to Lyric. Golden mane and scales greeted me, little fangs peeking out of her muzzle as felt my instincts swell in…Pride. Instincts…They were like my gut reaction? Sighing, I regarded the blanket instead. Was this situation even normal? No. I knew it wasn’t in the old human sense, what a silly thought. But I never wished to solve my infertility this way. I didn’t pray to any god. Never had any relationship felt so natural, fast, and needed. They were my sanity in a way. An answer came to me then, one I knew already, I am a hyprocrite. With another sigh I pushed past the murkiness I had left my past with my marefriends, my herd, and the carriers of my growing new family. New pain started in my forehead. Had I screwed up my new life already? The afternoon sun shining through my window of its own accord said no…But the distraught and confused guard chained in the crew bunk room would probably say yes to some degree. I did. I had ponynapped, murdered, and followed little guiding voices in my head... Shit that sounded worse than I imagined before. Despite all that questionable activity I did do some good. Ayodele and the other slaves were free. Echo saw the difference outside his sheltered home, the damage around the country, the world supposedly…But…He would have had me talk it out with them rather than drug his rulers, an optimist. While Ayodele and her kin would argue otherwise, using force to match the generations of slavery they had to live in fear of…Zecora could see why easily enough. Chrissy and Lyric supported me, their species being minorities, nonexistent now save for themselves. And they deserve so much- I couldn’t help the flinch as my mares chose then to coo and move closer to my sides. It wasn’t even kid- ponynapping that bothered me… ‘Let’s be honest in this relationship…’ I had said. … My heart was torn, my body and mind worn out. I just wanted to restart, to go back to bed, my bed, and failing all that, a good book to read, except…I couldn’t read a speck of any language here. One problem at a time…I had two mares in the dining room to educate first and foremost. I closed my eyes, praying for sleep as my head hurt in time with the rest of my body. Hooves shifted and brought me back to my bed. It was silent. Had I woken- “Ari,” Lyric’s soft voice had me shifting towards her place beside me. Of course I did. Purring rumbled up again from the other side as a hoof shifted forward. Shit. Was now the best time? Would there- Lyric was looking at me closely now, I was too quiet evidently. “Yes,” I queried quietly, hoping that Chrissy was still sound asleep. I let a smile rise as Lyric rolled even closer under my wing and twined her tail with mine. Adorable! Chrissy’s was already beginning to lazily flick in and out of it from my other side. Did I really want to ruin this moment of peace? After how insecure Chrissy was when I arrived and was still when I reassured her? Couldn’t this wait till the Alicorns were off the ship? The purring sealed my decision. Pressing her nostrils into my slightly damp mane Lyric continued, “You are tense.” I could only nod as I tried to get a feel of how much she could tell. What else can I say? I couldn’t, no, didn’t want to just say -“Why?” The truth...No, A truth…That was far easier…For now. “We have the two most wanted mares in the country onboard, mares that the ponies expect me to breed,” her flinch made me wrap her tighter under my wing. “I don’t know what to do besides show them the damage and hope they don’t think I’m…bad,” A partial truth but valid. Echo’s accusation came back as Chrissy shifted beside me in her sleep, “A changeling.” A life after this would be hard if they believed that. Buzzing started and had me glancing to the pink barrier on our doorway. It was still there. Chrissy apparently wasn’t tuckered out from earlier. “The dream that we can have a happily ever after this seems foalish.” Our foals…What life will they have? Humming from under both of my wings was the only response. I didn’t know what I really expected. “Is that all?” Chrissy was tensing beside me as Lyric pressed her cheek into my neck. Pulling my cracked hooves before me I frowned. Not even close. “No,” I had been so tired earlier, distracted when I first saw the bed, that I hadn’t the mind nor heart to inform her that I hadn’t even discovered the exact location in the castle…Among other truths that had risen in the face of the conclusion of my, our, mission. They hadn’t been in the right frame of mind either. Idiot. Fangs were soon buried in the base of my mane, soothing and deceptive as they worked through the post bath tangles, all too easy to fall for. I shook them off. She just moved down to my neck. “The mirror is in the castle still,” I almost flinched as scales rose around to circle my neck, a musical murmur rising even as I gulped. Chrissy stopped her grooming of my damp neck before I managed to get out, “But I failed to get them to say where it was.” There was the sliding down my neck, the disappointment clear. “Moonbutt didn’t seem to know it had been made though. Perhaps they have different views on it?” Ears perked into my fur at that, “it’s something we can work with.” “Really,” my chitined mare purred by my ear. Nodding even as I continued, a plan half forming, “Yes, in fact, there might be a lot for us to work with if Sunbutt turns out to be unrepentant. They obviously parted on bad terms at one point. Who is to say exactly why?” I didn’t believe that Moonbutt, Luna, could suddenly turn evil and try and fight her sister for eternal night, anybeing with half an understanding of plant biology could see the flaw in that. They, we, were herbivores! Sure, magic could be personality changing, it could be, but, it was unlikely still that it happened suddenly or over such an idiotic plan. It was an unlikelihood that I could work with. But the small possibility remained, “Lyric,” she pulled back to watch me. “You were alive then right?” Her muzzle bobbed up and down as it buried itself into my mane, Chrissy purring faintly in response. “Well, I suppose you know where I’m going with this.” No response as silence swept across the bed, “Sisters don’t just turn on each other. I find it hard to believe after seeing them today that she just turned evil and wanted to plunge the world into darkness.” Silence followed, “Were you near when that event happened,” I paused but got nothing, she had gone still. “I just really doubt-.” “I was alive when she plunged the world into night.” I paused and looked to Lyric, but her face was hidden in my mane. “But I wasn’t anywhere near Equestria then. I just remember the sun not rising like expected, the night lasting far too long,” A heavy sigh interrupted her speech before she pushed on, “It was already an odd time without that.” The wind groaned outside. “Magic is a funny force, maybe she did turn on her sister.” “Oh.” Had she really meant for eternal night then? Chrissy piped up before my ears could deflate, “That doesn’t mean you don’t have a good point Ari.” Lyric hummed, “Really. If the little sister didn’t even know of the mirror…,” She trailed off. “Then,” I prompted, my new plan not looking too bad. “Well, then she might not know a lot of things. Celestia only ‘discovered’ Zebrica around four centuries or so ago…” I understood now, Moonbutt, Luna might really be innocent. If Moonlit Echo was to be believed and this theory was true…I had half of a diarchy already- a knock echoed through the wall of pink and stole my thin veil of concentration. Blinking, I looked between the door and my marefriends, that can’t be good. The deck was silent still, one small mercy. They might not be fully awake then if it was about them at all. Then another knock echoed out. Lyric growled low before dropping the field of silence. “They are awake.” Like I thought, not good news. My ears pinned back as I exchanged a frown with my mares. Four days for me and only one for them, it wasn’t-. “And I don’t think adding more mares will help.” Ayo’s voice had me stunned. Snarky - An improvement…I guess. Removing the blankets encircling us I rose to face the music, opening the door with my magic as I went. “You don’t say?” Her nose flared out and her brown eyes widened before she saw my grin. The relief was obvious as her body went slack a little before she turned to the dinning cabin. Show time… **** Celestia Luna and I could only give a nod before the zebra left, off to bring whoever had the nerve to capture us. That left us waiting under the increasingly watchful eyes of the other striped mares. Mares that were watching us very closely, I watched them back in my peripheral vision, and I couldn’t help but notice in that moment that their interest was a little too intense. Yes, we were relatively unknown to them, we didn’t visit Zebrica…Ever. I was probably nothing more than a statue or article in the paper in their mental reference. So, the attention was to be expected to some degree, but, it wasn’t curiosity or surprise glittering in their eyes at our presence and predicament. Their look was almost accusatory: narrowed eyes and portions of muscles bulging up from their fur…Most fur…The one in the front was a little underfed and unkempt…However, I might have been a little paranoid then. It was unusual, as was this whole situation. Who did this? Clouds moved by as my mind picked up on other small details around me, flashes of indecipherable blue and green showing through the mass of cumulus as I tried to uncover this puzzle of where exactly we were as well. There were too many clouds enshrouding us to answer that. The initial wonder of who had was lost as well, I had some information present. It was a small force before me. One mare snorted as a low equine whine died down in the room before me. Remain calm…Think…Why would these Zebrican mares be accusing us? Our trade relations were pleasant with Zebrica. No ambassador had ever left in a fit of anger; they were always civil and polite, we always were. Even their population was stable, not growing or shrinking, but still disease free if the statistics were accurate, and their airship trade was still advancing if the reports were to be believed. This situation gave rise to a small doubt in those reports though. Would they be here, holding us captive, if all was well? My eyes flicked over the one missing fur again, something about the pattern called to me yet remained out of reach. Equestria’s crime was nonexistent now with the peace and harmony we had ushered in, even the Crystal Kingdom was restored! A small huff escaped my sister as I tried to follow the path my thoughts had opened up. Everything looked well yet wasn’t. Our population had seemed stable and fine…Perhaps…No, I would have to look those reports over again, and, better yet, visit the country after I got us out of this predicament. At the moment though, I still couldn’t think of a reason for their part in this crime, not a hint from any ambassador visits or reports. Typical, they didn’t care to elaborate on their look and I couldn’t manage more than an internal grumble at the fact. … The air seemed to still then. My heart seemed too loud. Thump. Thump. We were ponynapped, incapacitated and I was just irked? I panned my head as everything slowly faded away from my vision, my aetheratic channels came to the forefront of my mind as I felt the moment, truly examined the sensations of my disoriented body. A small gust of air escaped me as the room came back into focus. Nothing. No magic sparking, beaming, or churning. No anger. I blinked as it sunk in. There wasn’t any sign of my anger, even any unconscious suppression of it. I knew I should be angry, no, furious! Golden light peaked from my center at that, closer than usual, yet so far from my senses. What?! Thu-thu-thump. Thump. Thu- thump. Breathing in as deep as I could, I stilled on the cushion. In seconds my heart slowed down again. Turning back to observing our determinedly glaring audience and my confused sister I still couldn’t manage much else though. We were alive. My chest didn’t relax or tighten. Only an ear managed to twitch as I let it sink in, trying to care. Yet, the relief I should have felt from the latter was muted, smaller I believed possible, as absent as most of my emotions usually appeared to be. And we were captured, Ari as well, my feathers rose along my skin a little as it sank in more, the whining muffled now. But I still couldn’t manage more than an annoyance, just higher than being irked by my sister’s pranks, maybe a tiny thread of fear deep down. I truly couldn’t say as my mind racked itself for a reason why that hadn’t changed with my new consciousness. My heart did speed up. Whatever we had been dosed with was messing with me still, the thumping in my ears slowing within seconds of starting. I should be furious…Shouldn’t I? We had only done good for our country, their country, the continent, what would this treatment be for? Everypony stayed silent as the clip clop of their friend’s hooves grew faint. Calm, okay, what else was here? A table was steady behind me, four doors were around me at various points, six windows that I could see, various cushions, no food, and a safe to assume hostile crowd. Okay. Luna? My sister smacked her lips behind me and sniffed the air at the treatment as I spared her a glance, not as brash as I expected her usual response to be. But, if she was dosed with whatever was in me still then I didn’t know what else to expect. I still couldn’t think of what it could have been. It wasn’t everyday somebeing ponynapped us. I still couldn’t decide as the time moved on if I should be furious or afraid then, I only knew that I struggled to truly feel either emotion, anything beyond the slowly fading compulsion to lie down. My mind felt muted, my energy low. Deep breathe. And somebeing had enough forethought to do this: to capture us, subdue our magic and inner guides. Perhaps the worst part of all that was that I didn’t have an inkling how they did it or really why they choose to. We were easy to talk to…Right? The arrhythmia started again. Breathe out. Fixing my ears and straightening my body as best as I could, I ignored the soft equine whining escaping from the dark behind the mares, the side room that lay before me. Imaging the reasons why that plaintive noise was made wouldn’t help solve this. Ari was a grown stallion. Breathe in. If I couldn’t feel the appropriate anger, or afraid even, then I would have to use this muted emotional state to our advantage. It would be a day at the court room, without any effort this time. ‘Princesses were calm,’ my mother’s voice encouraged from within. Nothing was wrong. The hooves went still outside and a faint ticking grew prominent and echoed across the room as we waited, a clock was somewhere out of sight. Magic buzzed faintly in my ears. We waited some more in silence. It seemed like we had waited a good deal longer than required as I steeled my breathing; at least, from the way she had spoken it sounded like our assailant was nearby. A tingle of magic rippled across the air and had everypony’s ears pivoting to the closed door. The telltale shift of wood on wood had my heart speeding up again and my facial muscles tightening. My mother’s reminders on negotiations soon became a mantra as loud as the door was focused on. ‘Calm withers even with your sternum, a brisk step, and a neutral tail position. Civil attitude…Stay to the point’…The point…Which was our freedom, their reasons. Hooves, plural, several sets of them made their way to the door before the handle turned. Lulu shifted on her cushion behind me as I held my body still in the face of a foe, no, our new adversary that had captured us. I am a confident leader, we did not negotiate with…whatever this force was. Nothing had more magic than a Alicorn, I just needed to free us and- The door opened. -And suddenly breathing wasn’t a top priority. The sun illuminated the tall figure in the doorway, the same zebra from before slipping past it to the side room, I blinked, and I blinked again. Calm was out of the window now. “Ar- gl –wha –wh- I -,”my sister couldn’t decide what to say, squeaking out syllable after syllable in a most embarrassing display. I’m sure her face must have been hilarious. Dear…Faust… Thu-thu-thump. Thump thump. Thump. What did I say to visage in the doorway? Nothing, a spark of magic went off briefly inside me, I only looked between it and the suddenly quiet side room. I didn’t know what to say either. It wasn’t even sensible, logical! My heart sped up more and more. I couldn’t slow it anymore; the drug was just as overcome as I was. And I almost wished it hadn’t. My emotions returned in a wave of ice along my veins before settling in my stomach as a hard ball. I could taste a bitter flavor that I swear was pain. What in Tartarus is going on?! Was Discord behind this twist after all? Ari…My body forced me to gasp a breath in…It was him, the missing patches of fur, the wing joint with no feathers, and dear Faust –What had happened to his hooves?! Why?! The silence stretched longer and longer as my sister and I were paralyzed by this event. Not even a shuffle coming from her as I processed this odd reality, one that couldn’t and shouldn’t be true. My mind couldn’t find any reason –why – he would be behind this act. Why Ari of all would ponies’ would ponynap us? He was the last stallion of our kind…Well, he had been brought to our world for a reason, by a god no less, and it didn’t take much to do the math on what the god wanted. But…We weren’t to blame…I wasn’t anyway. Lulu wouldn’t…No, she wouldn’t wish that on any pony. Breathing was hard but I pushed forward, past the remnants of my remerging trust issues, and let his blue eyes hypnotize me. He-it was the work of a god. ‘Gods are tricky beings Celestia, they don’t really care for us mortals. Not in the way they will have you believe.’ Slowing down my irregular breathing I started to see it, the how of this. I couldn’t recall anything past meeting him, the end of the talk escaped me like the air I suddenly needed. All that was present was a calming spicy scent wafting in my nostrils. And really, my lack of memories surrounding the stallion, Ari, should have made me focus in on him. I knew better…He was the biggest oddity of that day really, the last three weeks, and he was the last one I saw - which I remembered - seeing anyway. But I had shoved the beginning of the idea away immediately. He was clearly held captive in the room… The room…Somepony was held captive. My eye twitched as my grayed aetheratic channel sparked yellow again. Breathe…Breathe…Bre…a…the… All that was left was the why. Why would he ponynap me, us? What could he gain from this? We didn’t bring him here, or even ask the gods for help with our personal crisis. A fiend from Tartarus escaping was more likely. Expanding my barrel as far as it would go I wrapped the rising emotions in a fine sheet of control. I was at the disadvantage, he was waiting for something, and my cracking wouldn’t be it. ‘Not every stallion is worth your tears,’ my sheet hardened over my heart, my mind echoing the deep timber of my father, ‘my sweet little filly. Suck them in, save them for a happier occasion.’ Ari was silent. Using the silence to my advantage I watched him. I couldn’t follow my returning instincts. Breathe in…And out. I breathed from my nostrils, his scent helping with its traitorous sensuous nature. We all seemed to be waiting for something then. After a few moments more of the awkward silence the door closed of its own accord, a strange gust blowing in with the force of it. Coastal flowers that tingled at my memory, burnt wood, the cloying scent of a pond flower I vaguely recalled from around Mount Eris, and a generous mix of gingerbread spices. All of which didn’t provide a clue as to where I might be over, although it narrowed it down. Perhaps we were by the-. “Come on,” we all cast an ear to the open doorway to my right as the stern voice of the maneless mare stole the spotlight, “We might as well sit in on this.” The other zebras didn’t budge, turning to look at the stallion. Ari. He breathed out deeply, a shudder racking his tense back, “She’s right you know.” A very crooked smile rose as his eyes found theirs. I fought down the urge to demand his attention, my magic sparking minutely around my core. We were in the room sti-. “Excuse yee!” Oh Lulu. His head snapped from the mares to my sister, an eye twitching as a single ebony ear flicked towards the slowly entering zebras. Finally he broke the stare off, starting a controlled walk to the head of the table. There he sat stiffly, his jaw working on something as it remained shut. She couldn’t take the silence still. An enraged whinny escaped her first, causing his muscles to twitch. “Is this a joke?! What in tartarus does thou believe thee we accomplish by this –this, by-,” Lulu was looking around the room as the zebras took seats around him delicately, leaving a empty seat on either side of him. Fear? No… “I see you have-.” He started only to shut his muzzle as my sister screamed higher and louder than his stilted words. I could only close my eyes and try to backtrack mentally. “SEE,” She exclaimed. “I don’t see anything! Why do you, no, how dare you-,” Lulu’s screeching burst of emotion was cut off as she elevated in a primal whinny, hopefully biting her tongue, and whipping her head around to glare at the window, momentarily without words. “Ari-,” I began, unsure as to start this most unexpected conversation, “I would like to understand what-.” It was his eyes that stopped me. Blue. Tired. They looked down to me with something I hadn’t seen in over a millennium: loathing. Nerves were clearly present but they were gone in the half second my controlled voice gave out. His eyes just closed at my loss of words, taking a deep breath in. I resumed my silence, shocked among other things, and tempering my equally unstable emotions. A snort of challenge had me turning to my sister, my autopilot response of thrusting down my emotions returning, trying to communicate the same to my sister. This wasn’t a zebra warlord coming out of hiding, a dubious Draconequus, or even a shadow pony like Sombra. Ari was a wildcard that felt strongly enough to reach the level of loathing that hurt, and- and she was staring at her tail. First glaring at the window and now her tail? Was she unable to look him in the eye? Was she mad? “I was expecting worse actually.” We turned to his deep voice, just in time to see Ari frowning, the loathing gone in his expression. “But I suppose that this is a blessing,” Ari continued quietly to himself. Deep breath. He has the key to these inhibitors and has to have a reason. Those eyes… “Good Afternoon,” he shuddered and twitched his wings as he looked down to Luna and I. What was good again? “I hope we can begin the real meeting now.” My barrel couldn’t expand anymore I pushed down my tongue and venomous words. The zebras stilled and exchanged a look before focusing all their attention on me. Ari wasn’t far behind them, and my fury was only slightly below that. It was rising up as I made petty comparisons that I couldn’t help. We had waited for weeks with baited breath and hadn’t pushed him in the, our, planned meeting. We had welcomed him with open wings and hooves even after his veiled insults-. “Let’s be frank.” For once both my sister and I were in sync as we snorted. “And be adults about this. I really don’t have the time or desire to dance around the issues I have been tasked with or have found…Unacceptable.” His eyes closed as if he was the one under duress. As if his words justified our treatment-, “Where to begin…,” I strained my ears forward, ignoring the whap of my sister’s tail on the seat. A click of a hoof had me staring at the form of my sister, leant forward, a little closer than before. Blue eyes opened, darker in the moment as they flickered between my sister and I, “Like I said, I was expecting worse,” his muzzle opened, closed, and started again. “I apologize that it had to come to this but, to be frank, when a god sees fit to snatch one from their bed and toss them into the foreign air of an uncannily similar planet to ones own,” A wave passed along his wings, feathers staying out of order as he pushed onward, “It does beg a thought.” His nostrils flared out as I tried to sort through the implications, my sister eerily silent as she scowled at him. “How much of what the irresponsible, kid-ponynapping bastard said has merit?” You could have heard a noble’s flatulence with how silent the room fell. “I was told that this planet, Equus, was doomed,” he paused and I racked my brain to say something intelligent, anything to him. Gods simply weren’t in the game of helping us! “And I haven’t seen anything to go quite as far as doomed but I would say that the planet is on its way there-.” “Lies,” Luna exclaimed, echoing my thoughts. “We – I may have been gone for a millennium but little has changed to suggest the doom you claim, surely our population-.” “He claimed.” We both blinked at his pointed interruption exchanging a glance as the zebras shifted uneasily. “Whatever god brought me to this planet demanded I fix it,” a strained laugh escaped him before his eyes strayed to the window and a serious line grew on his lips. “I think this world is unnatural…What prompted,” narrowed blue eyes filled my vision and sweet spices circled their way around my head, almost adding in a soft tip tap of hooves with them in the unnatural quality of the moment. “The meddling with nature disturbs me.” That had my mask wrinkling, “Pardon?” A swath of eyeballs snapped back to Ari. “How advanced is your science?” He pushed over me. “The sun and moon have a cycle that shouldn’t, no, couldn’t be messed with.” The firmness grew with his volume, “Your actions have set the world down the path that overdramatic bastard is so sure of!” Lulu beat me to the punch, screaming at him, “Our family has done no such-!” Ari’s voice boomed over hers, entering Royal Canterlot voice range of octaves as he stood, “I don’t care what you blindly believe! I know what I saw!” Spasms ran down his flank as I stared at his towering height, “When I arrived oh so gently,” the word was spat as turned down a different direction, “I met somebeing that had faced far more than I cared to believe possible.” His flank lowered before he continued, a little collected as his features twisted, “Do you know how it feels to be lost, alone…” His eyes searched my face before switching to my sister’s, “To lose a wing clear off your back…A house and friends…Your family right before your eyes?” He looked to continue but shut his muzzle prematurely; focusing on something I couldn’t see beyond my sister. We were getting somewhere. But was this really necessary? What lies did he believe? That story about our home being doomed couldn’t be the only reason he had done this. I held my tongue and halted my train of thought as that went around my mind. I had to try and keep my questions and emotions to the end, to focus and read between the lines at what he wanted. Ari wanted us to understand loss, that he-. “Does a millennium mean nothing,” my sister interjected quietly, quite loudly in the silence that had started. “No,” Ari affirmed. Wind whispered and hooves clicked in shifting around the table as he seemed to search Lulu’s face and body longer than I was sure was needed. Steeling my face I forced my way into the silence, “You are hurt Ari?” His eyes hit mine, the corners creasing as he ruffled his feathers at some thought. Calm withers, restate his words in your own understanding. “You lost your family, home, and familiar world all in one moment.” Come on, “Waking up alone and meeting another that was equally despairing.” The brief thought that he may have left a mare and foal behind had me flinching, the eyes of the many grieving ponies of centuries flashing through me as I tried to sympathize with him. He had to have a reason. Was he driven mad by grief? Perhaps, he was desperate for some control after having his life thrown around? “It must feel like you are missing a part of yourself,” the wing was a metaphor surely, nothing was missing… No sooner had I ended did start, “The being I met then was just the beginning.” Dear Faust. His first encounter wasn’t, despairing, it wasn’t welcoming at all if his tone was right. “It wasn’t long before I was captured,” I could feel a lump growing in my stomach as the looks of the mares around grew darker, his own look turning at something I couldn’t see outside. “You have to understand,” his eyes rejoined us, “Slavery isn’t something that is considered in my world anymore, not really…Not in ninety percent of the world anyway…And my new friend,”- my ears couldn’t help but twitch at the hope, a friend, “-and I were gassed, chained, and inspected by stinking mongrels.” The shortness of his tone left no question as to his feeling on the matter. I felt sick as the picture became clearer, “Multiple times and in different locals.” “Do you mean-,” he interrupted me again, emotion rippling forth as his body quaked in place. “You would know them as Diamond Dogs.” My sister found my gaze as looked to her, an ‘I told yee so’ hanging between our gaze. Her distrust in the change time had brought a long standing issue. Bu- no – I held my tongue as he calmed himself. They had signed a trade agreement centuries ago, they had respected it generally, save for a few rebel packs a couple years ago. But I had figured that those were related to the re-emergence of my sister, better known to them as ‘Night bringer’. They had been in support of her plan, or so I had heard after I had to send her to the moon. His body was quivering even as he continued, “Did you know there is lightning that can vaporize trees in one instant?” I blinked. Luna blinked out of her angry gloating as well. The mares before us didn’t seem to be fazed by the statement, though one avoided his gaze as it traveled down the table to us. “No?” I couldn’t retort in time, my throat suddenly dry as the sharp scent of cinnamon and burnt wood hit me. “I suppose you have no idea that Zebrican lives are being traded for their national safety?” He all but slammed forward as he grew closer, ears disappeared into his head, “I also suppose you don’t know of the drought in the dessert? The flooding-.”Snorting from my sister had him pausing, clicks filling the air. “You are upset-.” Luna threw her head about, trying to dispel something. “We are not upset! We are mortified, confused, horrified, and disillusioned by yee!” “Mhm,” he hummed, a new patience entering his gaze. My fur was rising a little as he glanced at me. “Lies-,” he made to interrupt but stopped as she slammed the edges of her bound hooves forward against the table, “-You claim nothing more than conspiracy theories of the half mad!” Tumultuous breathes escaped her as she leaned closer, over the table as if to touch noses with the stallion of the hour. “We have done no wrong since our banishment; we took the reins of a country drowned in grief without as much as a ceremony! WE ARE NOT THE CAUSE-.” A striped bullet latched itself to her neck with an unequine shriek, shoving her backwards and onto the floor. I could hardly move myself as the room’s occupants rose. “Luna!” I gasped out as they engaged in a trading of bites, muzzles growing closer and hitting vital areas harder with each snap. Both were squealing at the other to desist, yet neither was willing to back down. “Mares.” And soon the shadow of Ari overshadowed the joined pile rolling on the floor. The other zebras standing a few paces back with different expressions. The maneless one looking resigned, ears drooping as if it were a mess she would have to handle, while the strangely familiar one looked on with perked ears and an expression of surprise. “Hmpth –Hmpth,” Ari exhaled out, loudly and quite pointedly as I tried to discern what would be the best reaction. Should I interv- no. My balance wobbled as I shifted, oddly enough smelling the coastal flower scent of earlier as I righted myself. Perhaps he will? It appeared as if he was undecided as well, glancing at the mares around him as if looking for guidance. Exhaling I tried to rationalize it, quelling the urge to jump into the fray in my powerless state. I knew my sister was a grown mare, one that was more in tune with her instinctual side than was socially accepted, but a grown one nonetheless. She could, no, needed to gain control. “Ayodele,” the mares around him stepped back further at the tone, “Luna.” Neither seemed to twitch an ear as they grabbed onto what they could, the zebra in question beginning to raise a forehoof to punch my sister as his lips formed a firm, “Enough.” Luna blinked in shock, calming her wriggling wings as the attacker was lifted off her in a golden aetheratic cloud. Before I could process the quick moving altercation, much less speak so much as a thank you or reprimand to any party Ari was talking again, leaving me in a state of rapidly growing frustration. ‘A leader isn’t to be walked over.’ “Perhaps you have a point Ayodele,” blinking started as I fought to not interrupt our captor, “My words don’t mean shit unless we can back them up.” Her mouth wiggled in the field, immobilized.“Oh,” and down she went, free of any repercussions after attacking an unarmed mare, a restrained, unarmed mare. “I need to show them why they are going to change.” Images of me bucking him to the moon swam in my vision as he exchanged a slow grin with the mare that accosted my only living family member. Several yellow charges sparked off my core as I focused in on his neck. This stallion, species be damned, was edging very close to-. A corner of his mouth went up as his back shuddered, “Though,” his ears soon followed, “If you were going to attack anybeing it would have been the one that discovered your country.” What? “She is the one that has somehow justified not visiting for four centuries.” My reasons, my subjects and court battles raged around my conscious as I fought to get something out at this continuing slander. “I di-.” But it was all for nothing. “Or perhaps she was busy, very busy. I imagine making trade agreements does take time, not even counting the cover stories she must have fabricated to keep every pony her country ignorant.” He paused as he fixed me with a hard stare, the sight of loathing not even slowing me. “A bit too like big brother for my taste.” Big brother? My fury dissipated just quickly as it had risen. The larger picture was staring at me. He had seen something to prompt this fanatical believe that we were in the wrong. He had been cast into a position and situation that was wholly unfair. ‘Well I guess you will have to run the country now Princess…It was their wish for you both…Eventually…’ Unbidden empathy started in place of the fury at our treatment. His words made no sense to me, only raising more questions about his past and confusion over how to proceed. ‘To understand one’s enemy is key.’ My father hadn’t been wrong, intelligence on Sombra had been key in his unfortunate demise. I let my mask fall completely as I stared at the hard blue eyes before me. He had to lower his defences. There had to be some logic here. So, breathing out slowly, I let my ears express my confusion and fall to the side. Lulu was terrified in my peripheral. He was filled with hate. We couldn’t escape or move forward in any relationship like this. In…And out. “W-wait,” the stutter echoed around the room as I tried to back pedal the conversation, to reign in my nerves a little more. He had a brother, then, perhaps there was more, and, and our ‘meeting’ had been going someplace before, before Luna had intervened. “Let us talk about this. All of this.” They paused, Ayodele spitting out a clump of blue fur before facing me. Tails were too active. “You are all angry,” the questioning tone earned me some nods, “And feel that the reasons are connected to Equestria-.” “You,” the group of striped mares retorted. “Exactly, as they have said, most of the issues I have found can be traced back to you.” A small fire burned as I swished my tail, my mask gone for good, and my temper still simmering behind the empathy I felt. He didn’t deserve my politeness with his immature behavior. No, that wasn’t all of it. Ari sounded too much like yet another noble blaming me for the taxes they approved a year ago but didn’t realize would impact them. He wasn’t finished with me. “Celestia, you were the one that helped in the creation of the world mirror,” a loud exhalation was heard…But I couldn’t see who did it as his eyes captured mine, some unreadable emotion darkening them. The room was quiet to my left. “You have split families, doomed countless ponies to pain and suffering, and banished your own sister- no, that isn’t the point.” His composure returned just as mine broke even further. Luna was a different story, she didn’t mean to stop the moon, well, she did, but, I had no other option! My voice barely came out, “Luna, I-,” my urge to explain once again being inconsolable as she looked away from me. “I guess the point is that I am upset, many beings are, the world is upset in its most primordial way, and you claim to know nothing and as such offer to take no responsibility for that. We,” he looked around, “All of us,” magic buzzed as an undercurrent in the air now, “are more than prepared to educate you.” My heart started hammering as it appeared beside him. Other emotion put aside as my instincts faintly called to prepare for an attack. Burnt wood. The smell filled my nostril with a deep inhale. I flinched and couldn’t say why. Pink shimmering dust, no, pink aetheratic remains started to trickle away. My shoulders couldn’t stop tensing as prepared for whatever he had hidden. “I hope to release you, for peace between my herd and your country, but that is all in your hooves now.” Herd? They were his mares then…There was very little surprise among the zebras as the pink magic was painstakingly released. Such control…And…Pink magic? I thought his magic was a gold shade. For yet another time my nerves were stretched thin as my thoughts dwindled to nothing. Black feathers rose before me, wings following in seconds. The pink magic residue disappeared to reveal a dark horn, running down the previously unoccupied air jaggedly before shiny, hairless ear tips revealed themselves. No, not hairless skin, it was chitin. Unmistakeable as the turquoise mane hair was tossed about in the continuing reveal. No. Blue and green melded in the irises that smirked at me. Long fangs were not far behind in the sentiment. She, she, that insect lived. NO! “No…,” Lulu’s whisper was lost in the undercurrent of the magic. A golden flicker had my eyes ricocheting to his left side. A golden tip was materializing in the buzzing air, growing wider as it revealed a horn, another horn really, gleaming as it spiraled straight down to the source of the spell. Sun glanced off the ears as they came into existence, glittering in a way that gave me flashbacks to the fish markets of the coast. They were covered in scales. “No…,” she intoned again. “Yes,” the queen intoned back, a sinister twist to my sister’s words. Like a sheet had been pulled away I was face to face with a nightmare, on either side of him were forms, beings that were clearly there as true as the sunlight coming through the windows shone. Queen Chrysalis and some hybrid were here, behind the scenes. Yes, a hybrid, a once over of the narrowed vertical slitted eyed scaled, yet equine figure was enough for me to surmise that. Of what exactly I couldn’t presume but it’s magic was impressive. A gasp inward had me frowning, her. It was a mare, the jaw line was unmistakable. They were female…and he…said…herd..., “NooooO!” My voice rose to royal Canterlot octave as I felt something break in me. Where, I couldn’t say, but I was rushing through the emotion faster than I could rightly say, heat leaving me as ice was freezing me inside out in the next instant. His eyes closed, my control was a joke. This was all a farce! Blue fur flew towards him as my face contorted, "No, no, no," it was hard to say anything else. Nothing made sense anymore. I didn’t feel empathy or rage. I couldn’t feel anything then. Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 3.Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Meddling Gods, Genderbending, and Worried Princesses.*Meddling Gods, Genderbending, and Worried Princesses.* 'To say that the planet Equis had some problems would be an understatement; it was, like any planet in this multiverse, riddled with problems. However the problems it faced were soon going to come to an end. One such problem was the country of Equestria, it was ruled by two Alicorns, for all practical purposes demigods of power, with a lifespan of ten millennia they were practically immortal. Equestria had looming problems of their own but those paled in comparison to the problems they were causing the entire planet, I mean what is the looming extinction of one species when the whole planet is on its way out. The stage was set, the dominos lined up and slowly falling down towards the end. Now I just needed to show my hand, place my pawn ahead of the reaction and he would solve all the problems. Zeus never said I couldn't have some other being interfere with the forces of chaos... To be a touch dramatic, loyal audience member, the world was doomed.' "But I just-" "Hush! Now where was I? Right..." 'Outside the Equestrian borders, countries such as Saddle Arabia were facing sandstorms and droughts as their life giving Nile River shrank more and more every year. The Mountainous range that the Gryphon’s lived on faced storms of never before seen strength, powerful winds that ripped their trees from the slopes, allowing the torrential rain to create mudslides as the mountains increasingly eroded. Minotaria and the Badlands fared no better, Minotaria lay in the valley below the Gryphon’s mountains and as such were slowly losing ground as the waters from the mountain storms flooded their valley. The flood waters turning fields to swamps at an alarming rate. Changelings carved out a small existence in the Badlands and also faced the floods from the Gryphon’s mountains, however the water that flooded into the badlands became contaminated with sulphur, making the Changelings sick and incredibly desperate. These climatic shifts outside of Equestria may or may not have been caused by the two governing Alicorns that have made it their mission to prevent famine and drought for their "little ponies" by assuming control of the sun and moon, by default the seasons as well to allow their fields to thrive. But by taking over the gravitational pull and rotation of the sun and moon they have screwed up the planet’s orbit, and let’s not forget a certain Draconequus. With his power trip from a little freedom he sped up the destruction, increasing the planet’s storms by twice the amount in one day alone. That cocky, chaotic entity screwed up things more royally than any being on the planet had before or even realized, except maybe him. He did enjoy his chaos. Right now Equestria is ignorant to the climate signals their planet is screaming out, as a problem much closer to home is occurring. It is a much more noticeable crisis for them in their sheltered country: decreased birth rates coupled with even fewer colts being born. As it stands for every ten foals born only one will be a colt and with the average stallion’s lifespan being 70 years, the ponies of Equestria stand to be extinct within 200 years (if not a sooner with the planet’s meltdown). Not forgetting the doomed Alicorns. As it stands, with only three mares left, no stallions, and Alicorns requiring a large amount of magic to even enter estrus, not to mention conceive, they are (excuse the pun) royally screwed. For perspective, the most magical pony stallion is but a candle’s flickering light when compared to an Alicorn’s bonfire worth of magic.' "Now don’t look so bored, this is important." "Wait a second Fa-" "Why should you care? Well, I, Faust Albus Tommy Everfree, have made planet Equis my charity case this year. Every year I look for an interesting planet in the multiverse to help. Whether it is curing scale eating plagues or slowing down moon sized meteors, I have done it! In case you are interested, I actually could have stopped that meteor, but the planet really needed a little motivation to evolve. Ya’ know what I mean? All the crawling and grunting was really passé, it was getting embarrassing. Also I couldn’t just stop every act of chaos." "...Or you just don't want the bossman to stop your little games..." "No! It’s not because of my brother, he isn’t that scary." "So when Hades got his you know what stuffed you know where you didn't projectile vomit?" "I don’t care what he did to Hades, that corpse fucker got what he deserved. Really though, fucking a dead broad is just too much even for me." "Righhttt, you just play with the mortals a little. Give them 'happy endings' if what I remember the last hundred times you told me." "Hermes, Hermes, you annoying ass kisser. If I stopped every catastrophic event in the multiverse then it would be in the same state Equis is in now! Besides, the surviving beings on that planet are actually thriving they even ended up a bit hairless after evolution. Not to mention I simply love their adaptability-" "Humans?" "YESSS! I know they are called ‘humans’, I wasn’t done yet. If you keep this up I won’t let you watch the sh-plan, the plan is genius! Anyway, as I was saying, these ‘humans’ are amazingly adaptable, I am actually taking one of them and giving it to Equis as a solution." "Sooo, you are going to use what is essentially a hairless ape to save a world completely alien to it and restore another species with it? Well good luck with that plan all power*snorts*, come on, even I know Humans and-" "SHUT UP! Of course I will of course make the Human more…pony-like for both their adaption to Equis and for my plan to work. I am the God of Creation…Meaning I’m a genius! All I have to do is reform it, place it on Equis, and watch the show, err plan I mean. Since you’re here did you want to watch?" "I don't have a choice do I?" "No need to look so nervous, have a seat, and enjoy!" **** Ever get really, really drunk? Like so drunk that you hallucinate something so crazy you could have never thought of it in a million years? Yah, I am pretty sure that is what is happened, except without the whole being inebriated part. This had to be some crazy hallucination and now I was just waiting for the voices to start. I haven’t gotten that drunk in a long time, Dr. Krause said that would be a bad idea if I ever wanted to have kids. But to explain my situation simply: I woke up in midair. My body felt strange, tingling and seeming to be too large as I fell. I was plummeting at what I swear felt like light speed towards the forested ground. There was screaming ringing in my ears, it was nearly all I could hear, a masculine voice screaming and the wind whooshing past my now pointed ears. Equine ears my brain supplied from out of nowhere, illogical? Yes, but I wasn't inclined to ignore my gut feeling, it had helped me get out of a couple of bad situations before. The ground was still approaching at a breakneck speed. I mean that quite literally, I was pretty sure my neck was going to snap on impact. My mind didn’t even have time to register what was happening as my self-preservation instincts kicked in and to my surprise my wings started flailing in a motion reminiscent to flapping. This was not my finest moment. Despite what the flashes of my life going before my eyes told me I had managed to land without breaking my neck. It was a bit hard on my hooves, causing vibrations went up my legs, but I was alive. How else could i explain the sudden urge to worship the ground? I can see you are curious as to the whole equine ears, wings, and hooves part and I assure you it is important, I didn't go to sleep with them after all. But I will get to that bit in a moment, although, in retrospect it was kind of hilarious. The result of this adventure not the falling, hell, the falling was the tip of this crazy ball of yarn I’m going to spin you. Right, my new body had landed me in a grassy meadow, surrounded by tall trees that were vaguely reminiscent to pine trees. What held my attention though was a masculine ‘humph’ that echoed out into quiet forest. Out of everything that seemed to be what was the most out of place in what appeared to be the middle of a forest, then anyway. While still being in completely lost as to where I was, it still didn’t seem like the place to hear a deep baritone voice in. I was clearly alone in a meadow, with no men around to make such a noise, and I certainly didn’t make that sound. Although my voice could do interesting accents it definitely did not go down to such a deep level, ever. That is when it hit me, I had just ‘humphed’ from the impact. I had a male voice. My previous boyfriends, heck, my previous girlfriends had assured me I was a woman. Even the gynecologist knew me by my nickname! I was one hundred percent woman last time I checked. Don’t give me that look, Dr. Krause saw me often enough and we had a good, friendly relationship. Even though I left her office in tears more often than not it was still a healthy relationship. I did what any lady would do when she feels funny and sounded deeper than should be possible for a woman: I looked between my legs. It didn’t register then that it was my forelegs that I was gazing between, or even that black fur covered my body, it was the sheath and scrotum hanging out between my legs that sent my mind into a complete tailspin. I knew from enough visits to the petting zoo what that sheath meant: a penis. Following logical thought, a penis meant I wasn’t female anymore and that broke my brain a little, okay it shut it down faster than I could follow. There was no operation, no pill, I just woke up like this. You would have thought the fact that I was equine would have been more prominent but no, the penis was, it had shattered all my hard work to have kids and it had no explanation for being between my legs. Yes, that is when I sounded more like myself with a high pitched scream, not that I screamed often, but the pitch was closer to my normal voice. I followed that embarrassingly cliched feminine display with up with an even more clichéd act: I fainted. **** "See, isn’t this a fun show?" "'Fun', yes I totally see it, changing a woman's gender, species, and taking them to a another planet. The 'fun' is just so overwhelming..." "What? Hermes, you of all god-lings should know gender doesn’t matter. Don’t act like that silly head, when all I have to do is switch a chromosome and gender is irrelevant! Now, now no need to get up, he *snirk*does gets better. Zeus will be laughing his ass off when he sees this, I promise you!….Pinkie Promise? "We don't have pinkies, that is a human thing. Just how often do you watch that world anyway?" "It’s actually an Equestrian thing, don’t think about it too hard." "Trust me I'm not thinking too hard when it comes to you." "Spoil sport, I-you….Well I suppose I could have just made one of the Alicorn mares into an Alicorn stallion, but where is the fun in that? This way I also solved the planet’s climate issues as well!" "Of course it will! Why didn't I see it sooner? Taking another species, changing their species, gender, and using them to save the species that are dooming the planet to begin with...Why would any being do that? Faust be serious here, have you lost what little sanity you had?" "Uh nooooo, BUT, *Hehe* that is the beauty of it, no one even sees it coming!" "Well, since I clearly don't see it, can I deliver my message now?" "NO! YOU CAN TELL ME LATER! NOW WATCH THE SHOW ALREADY!...I didn’t suffer a magically induced headache making that stallion so you could critic me *grumble grumble*" **** I woke up to a massive headache, my legs throbbing dully with pain, and something squished uncomfortably under my side. My unusually furry side, had I landed on a rug or something? Movement eluded me as my thoughts tumbled over one another, trying to decide which one had the question that was the most important to answer first, and frankly I didn’t know. Am I hallucinating? Where am I? What am I now? How did I end up a guy? Better yet, why was I plummeting 100 miles an hour towards the ground?! Taking a deep, panicked breathe I took stock of what I last remembered. Waking up, normal morning, another disappointing test result: I was still infertile. Being barren I was one of the last of my friends to be kid less, Nathan didn’t count, as he was asexual. Anyway, it was as normal as my Friday could be. I babysat my friend’s munchkins or ‘practice kids’ as I joked with them, tonight it was Josie and Ethan, precious twins. Those twins just stole my heart every time, they cemented my desire to have my kids all the more. Well after tucking them in, I went home and tucked myself in. Then I woke up falling to my death. Maybe this was all a dream then? Sure I thought that, but the ground and pain certainly felt real, only time would tell on this one though. If a banana walks by then I will know for sure that this isn’t real, for some reason most of my dreams have a banana in them, don’t have a clue why either. No banana so far, but the strange trees aren’t exactly helping the argument for this being real. They are like pine trees but atsame time not. The tall trunk and needles of a pine but the branches twist and twirl giving them an unnatural look. The mountains in the distance held no answer either; they did not look familiar with their steep slopes and tips obscured by clouds. As to what I woke up as? That made me near certain I was dreaming. I could feel short fur all over my body, conal ears swivelling of their own accord on my head as the bushes rustled, and my eyes looked cross eyed at a black muzzle, my muzzle. Through my fall and landing I had also discovered my hooves and wings. My tail whipped in annoyance at the thought that popped into my head next: I’m a flying stallion, a fucking horse! At that point I wasn’t sure what bothered me more: being a horse or being male. Falling through the sky did make it seem like one of those “dropping to your death” dreams I had heard about. I sat up, sitting on my rump, my tail moved out of the way without a thought, as I stared between my hind legs at the most offending structures so far in this dream. The petting zoo had geldings so I knew my…penis…was tucked deep in my new sheath. The thought of it both repulsed me and brought out my curiosity. Every lady has her curiosities after all, mine lay my new…equipment…yes, that sounded much better than penis. As I raised a hoof slowly, looking between my equipment and it, another more lewd thought hit me. Should I test it? And all I could answer myself with was: why not? It was my dream and technically that made it my horse cock. I would just wake up feeling morally conflicted and every time I went to the petting zoo I would probably not be able to look the ponies in the eye, but ‘live and let the dice fall where they may’ right? I’m sure the banana will arrive soon, I am sure of it. **** Thousands of miles away from my newest paw- benefactor, two sisters faced each other before turning back to the four nervous scientists before them; they were at the University of Canterlot surrounded by this current generation’s brightest minds. …. No, they didn’t study under Artemis…Sheesh don’t get your thong in a bunch, watch the show you chatterbox. Anyway, the moon based upstart was confused. **** “We require ye repeat thyself scientist…” The unicorn named Golden Script flicked his ears, suddenly overcome with nervous energy. Why did he have to volunteer to head the Fertility study? It sounded easy enough: conduct a census of Canterlot, get willing couples, and study the…results of their breeding. It also may have helped that he got to work with three very attractive mares. However, with the unprecedented results painting a rather shocking picture he wished to be anywhere else but in front of rulers asking for this. “M–m–may I take a sample of your, “ at this point he looked a tomato and had begun to cower before their attention, “E-e-eggs.” “For the fertility study princesses! We need Alicorn genetics to help with our conclusion,” piped up Radiant Beaker, a lime green unicorn mare. A purple unicorn named Fuchsia Slide added, “When you next enter Estrus of course your highnesses!” an excited grin had crept onto her face. The sister rulers shared a dumbfounded look. Not only had they never entered estrus, a fact that they kept well hidden, but, what could their genetics possibly have to do with a standard fertility study? Well it used to be standard, but a certain solar princess may have cut the funding to it half a millenia ago when a very flaccid noble that was part of the study wouldn’t leave her alone. The stallion’s pride wounded at his poor performance which had to be the scientists fault... Suffice to say that the overworked princess was just trying to keep the court moving along at that point and saw no reason to deny the request then as the population was booming and her patience was straining. When the lunar princess returned she was a more than ecstatic to give funding for this study, along with several other dropped studies that she found interest in. “My little pony, I think I can safely say I speak for my sister and myself when I ask: what would Alicorn genetics do to help your study? We have seen this study conducted before and they were not necessary then, what has changed?” At this question, the tension increased in the room tenfold as the scientists exchanged glances, desperately trying to convince one another to tell of their findings so far. The princesses noticed the thickness in the air and exchanged another look. Something was wrong. Shadow Cell, a dark furred unicorn gulped and turned back to the main table in the room. Turning around she held a stack of papers in her indigo magic field. Luna’s midnight magic field wrapped around them as she took them from Shadow Cell. Luna’s eyes scanned past the fairly obvious hypothesis, a blush formed at the scientist’s detailed write ups of the participating couples, and finally her blush drained as she reached their current conclusion. Mares were entering estrus almost every six months now, which may have sounded nice for those lucky mares but it also meant less chances for foals. Foal births were down eighty percent in Canterlot alone since the last study and of the hundred and fifteen foals born last year only seven were colts. Stallion fertility was down as well; out of the twenty couples in the study only four stallions were firing real shots. Statistically speaking with only six percent of foals being colts and only twenty percent of stallions being fertile ponies were heading down the road to extinction. Celestia noticing her sister’s change in mood moved closer and read the report. Just like her sister the white Alicorn looked significantly paler by the end of it as Luna floated it to the desk seeing that her sister understood. Celestia and Luna looked grim as they realised what was happening and an unspoken agreement passed between their eyes before Celestia addressed them again. “I’m afraid we cannot help in that way Golden Script… we have never… entered estrus before.” Collectively the unicorn’s jaws dropped. “But we shall increase thee funds and allow thee to further study into fertility solutions.” Lost and Found.**** Diamond Mountains Ari I was almost reminded of the nightmare by this tunnel, It seemed to go on forever, and Chrissy hadn't screamed in awhile...I had been running for what felt like half an hour already, my hoof falls the only sound now. The walls all looked the same and without her voice I was losing my speed. Did that mean…nonono i'm not going there! Dark walls pressed in on me, did they shrink? I stopped; I was only just starting to get out of breath. Thank you my new equine body. The remnants of my hoof falls echoed for a second before silence. A scratching sound, very faintly came from the darkness ahead. A dim light flickered ahead; it wasn’t there a second ago and that meant I had company. Joy. Straining my ears I could barely make out the muffled grunts and growls that was the dog’s excuse for a language. After a tense second the voices faded again but the light remained ahead. Walking with stealth now I made my way to the end of the tunnel. I could see no guards and although I could smell the dogs it wasn’t the in the moment smell, it was more of a smell that stuck around from living in one place long enough. The light turned out to be a primitive torch propped in a crack in the wall, perhaps it was for their pack members that would have come this way. I wasn’t sorry for what I did to them…Okay, I feel I little bad killing. They didn’t even get a chance to explain to me why I was here. But if there grabby paws and lack of respect was any sign I can assume I was regulated to a piece of property like the equines of earth. Actually, it was Kind of ironic that dogs might have horses. The tunnel opened into another cavern, slightly smaller than the last. In front of me there was three pony sized openings to choose from. I paused to listen again. Fading paw falls came from the right tunnel. Somehow I didn’t want to try my luck with the dogs again so that was out of the question. That left me with straight ahead or left but neither tunnel shed any advice of which was best. Eenie Meenie Minnie Mo it was then. For the first time in a while the eenie Meenie Minnie mo failed me. I went left and ended up in a room that while fascinating held no Chrissy. If I could name its use I would call it an office, or a strategy room. Amazingly, it had an actual door which blew me away for some reason. Perhaps because it was the first real door I had seen since coming to this planet, not counting my cell door. A sign of civilization, it was the medieval wooden plank door. Only after I opened the door I realized that it had a door knob. I couldn’t believe it, my hoof just stuck to it and the door opened like I had a hand. Another level of weirdness to add to my life. In the room there was little furniture: a large table in the center, a writing desk by the back wall, and a small bookshelf. I wished I could have stayed longer to look. There was a large map opened on the table, a couple of books to read, and the enigma that was the desk. It could hold all sorts of resources. But, it didn’t have the one thing I was looking for. I kept my walk quiet as I made my way back to the small cavern, still no guards. Time to try the middle tunnel. It turned out to be another long tunnel, which my both hooves and nerves were starting to protest. It had been awhile since I heard Chrissy and I really didn’t want to lose the only pony that I have met. It helped that she agreed to help me and was easy to be around, not constantly chattering but also not apathetic enough to be awkward. A small humming and buzzing was coming from up ahead and I slowed my pace down even further. I wasn’t alone anymore. Now I could see a faint blue glow at the approaching exit. Then I heard the dogs. Practically crawling then, I made my way to the opening, and paused. Before me were two dogs, just as ugly as their brethren, and they appeared to have had just entered the cavern. The humming stopped but the buzzing got louder. They stopped in the middle of the cave and pointed at something on the left side of the room. I couldn’t see that side from my vantage point but now I was curious. All I needed was for them to turn their backs. Luck decided to ignore me again. They sat down and started talking, but they sat just so that they could see me if I so much as moved and ear. I won’t bore you with their conversation as I tuned it out after a minute of its nonsense. What did catch my eye, err ear, was a slight jingle. A chain? Was someone else here? My courage gathered, I crept forward and had bit my tongue to stop my gasp. Along the wall was rows and rows of shackles, most were empty, but three were occupied. A turqiouse furred unicorn mare lay prone on her side, a yellow furred stallion was pressed as close to her as possible, and finally my Chrissy was chained. My shock was fading quickly only to be replaced with anger that had me seeing red. The ponies looked to be half starved, with the beginnings of their ribs showing. But they looked better than Chrissy did. Her face was scrunched in pain, her remaining wing buzzed so fast it blurred, and a green fluid pooled around her prone form. The green liquid oozed from where a portion of her chitin was ripped off. What the hell? She didn’t deserve this! Those ponies didn’t deserve this! **** 1 hour ago Chrysalis They hadn’t changed at all. The mangy curs still smelt like Tartarus warmed over and looked none the better. I unsurprisingly woke in shackles and with a magic inhibitor on. Again, I am not surprised at the restraints but after the last infiltration we did twenty years ago I was actually expecting more advancement in their confinements. But, their puny dog brains are only capable of so much I guess. They still hadn’t learned from last time; these rock heads hadn’t even muzzled me. My roommates were in bad shape, poor little ponies. Soon they would be sent to the mine to work till they died or be traded as food for dragons. I wonder where your princesses are now little ones. If I didn’t know better I would say my fellow inmates were lovers with how the stallion was trying to be so close to the mare. Unfortunately they were too far for me to feed off their love. I could use the strength, not that I was not grateful to Ari, he has been feeding me willingly, a miracle in itself. But I was already quite weak when I met him. Hence why I foalishly thought that jumping him would work. Where was he? My ears twitched as the sound of my captors came down the tunnel set right across from me. Showtime. As dumb and dumber entered I smirked at them. “You really don’t learn do you?” They paused before walking up to me. They spoke in Grumbleshooke which although I could somewhat translate it still grated against my ears and annoyed me with their lack of courtesy, I know they knew how to speak Equus. Grumbleshooke was spoken at such a tone that my ears, twice as sensitive as a normal pony, were twitching with the effort of staying upright. I just needed them a little closer… “Come over here and we can discuss some business…,” The business of escaping, “I happen to know of some mines. I personally never touched them but we had no trouble finding carts worth of gems.” Now I had their attention, Diamond dogs were a fairly simple bunch. Eat jewels, find jewels, and of course capture some free laborers. It’s a miracle those princesses haven’t cracked down on them yet, them enslaving their ponies and all. I take love and get blasted away…Okay so I did outright invade them but still I am not as bad as these dogs. I started churning my plasma in my muzzle as they stepped closer, gems practically appearing in their eyes. One more step and I spat my load in the closest dog's face. My plasma was extremely sticky, normally used for cocooning unwilling food sources. Please remember I haven’t always been so lucky has to have a willing pony to feed me. Ari was a first. He looked surprised through the murky green plasma before grimacing. He couldn’t open his jaw. Now for the other mutt. I was too late though. He had turned his face away and swung his tail at my muzzle. It felt like a thousand suns were stabbing me, I couldn’t see straight for a second, but I was brought back to reality quickly. The remaining dog had his dirty paw clamped on my muzzle while his other paw hovered over my wing. I could feel his hate before he spoke. “Quiet bug, you werth many gems. Hate to gurt you. I will if you try that agrain.” I would have laughed at his horrible equus if I wasn’t shocked at his statement. I was a wanted mare now? I didn’t think the princesses were the type to associate with these dogs though… He released my muzzle and turned to help his packmate. But I just had to know more. “Who could possibly want to see me?” Not surprisingly I didn’t get a answer, they were still struggling to remove my plasma. Time for a classic tactic: lying. The good thing about these rock heads is that they spend so much time in the mines they don’t follow what goes on on the surface. “Don’t ignore me you flea bitten mutt! My swarm will be here soon and when they are we will force it out of you in the most painful way possible. I suggest you save yourself the pain and just tell me what I want to know.” I added a grin for good measure, I had them- “*snicker* Silly bug, we already know you have no hive. Pansy ponies beat you.” Just cause he was right didn’t mean it didn’t anger me, I can say it but if someling else points it out… I lunged at him, my canines lodging themselves in his arm. His whimpers were wonderful, but they didn’t last. His claws grappled at my chitin before digging in at a edge, I gasped at the sheer pain. They dug in further, creeping under my shell as I felt a ripping sensation start. But I held on, the mongrel would feel my pain. Then the other one started in on me. He grabbed my horn, sending pain through my face again, and I hardly had time to process that pain before a wave of pain came from my chest. His claws had tore off a section of my chitin. My scream of pain was involuntary. The open wound gushed and burned with a intensity that I lost all sense of my surroundings. All there was pain. I think the mutts said something but I could no longer pay attention. I was grateful when the darkness came. Coming to was unpleasant, I felt weaker than I had before I met Ari, my blood still trickled into a puddle under me. Usually that would disgust me, the dirtying of my chitin, but I only felt empty and in pain. I was alone. I missed his wings. I missed the love and comfort, the acceptance. Another breakdown was sneaking up on me so I hummed a song from long ago. A lullaby meant to sooth foals but it helped me all the same, even my wing seemed to remember as it buzzed in time with the lyrics in my head. Like all good things it had to end. They must have been feeling pretty cocky because they were even louder than last time. When our eyes met I glared at them, daring them to do there their worst. I was doomed after all. Instead of doing anything they just sat down. My eye twitched. What were they up to? Apparently nothing, they spoke more Grumbleshooke that grated on my already frazzled nerves. I couldn’t help but shift my hooves, ignoring the scrapping as I watched them closely. What were they planning? Then I heard him. Ari was reared up in the tunnel opening roaring in a fury. I couldn’t help flattening my ears it was so loud, my fellow prisoners started awake at it. Those dogs weren’t so brave now, their tails now hidden between their legs. Ari’s eyes were flashing in the dim light as he charged into the cavern. His horn was glowing against its shackle, his wings straining as he towered above the dogs. As he reared and came down again one dog was unfortunate enough to not roll his leg out if the way in time, he screamed and I couldn’t but giggle. I may not have a swarm but I had an angry Alicorn. They were doomed. He was acting almost feral as he chased the second dog away; the first dog wasn’t fast enough and fell with a sickening crack as Ari ran him over to chase the other dog. Snorting he came over to me and I froze. He was acting like a feral, which was supposed to be a fable, and most definitely wasn’t good for me. If he didn’t recognize me I was going to be…Well, I don’t like to think about that. My worry was unfounded as he spoke, “Hey, I found you.” He nuzzled my cheek and I sagged in relieve. “Took you long enough.” I nuzzled him back; even now I could fell his love, my relief. Sometimes the Best Part of Being With Ponies is When They Leave.**** Ari As Taymare came into focus the amount of plant life increased as well, tall deciduous trees popping up in every dune we passed over. Small scraggly bushes reminiscent of sage bushes were popping along with a wispy bush with small white flowers. The presence of vegetation filled me such a joyful exuberance that was humming. You would be too if you had to deal with them for as long as I have. “Must you hum?” Barium grumbled from behind me, the newest ‘flaw’ he had found in the last hour. Previously he had found fault in the way my walking flung up sand, the way my thobe shuffled too loudly, and most importantly how I was too tall. Someone is cranky this morning, it’s almost like he didn’t eat breakfast. No regrets there. “No, I could sing. Come on Lyric, I’m sure you know a good song!” “NOOO!” My ears folded back at his volume. “Then humming it is!” I began humming again, this time to the tune “we’re off to see the wizard”, a classic. I know it wasn’t nice of me to eat their breakfast but I was really hungry and sick of them, sure this is the last twenty four hours I have to deal with them, but due to rescuing him and now leading them to the border I am four to five days off schedule. Not mention Murphy’s Law states that my planned route will end up being longer, especially with Lyric around. That mare hasn’t given up on me being ‘the one’, I was willing to bet on it. Before long the afternoon had passed and Taymare stood in front of us. There were guards on duty but here it was more streamlined, with orderly lines with guards that merely glanced at the eyes before checking off something on a paper in front of them. That didn’t seem very effective at catching changelings, I mean I could only see the green reflection in Chrissy’s disguised eyes in just the right light, and they were looking at them for just a second. Their captain is going to have their heads probably, but I wasn’t going to tell them how ineffective this method is, it is going to help us after all. A quick glance and check off later we are through the gates, they actually had giant wrought iron gates to this city. It almost felt fancy compared to the other cities. After the organized chaos of Ras Taneighra, the maze of shops and inns that was Jozan, Taymare seemed almost tame in comparison. I was expecting a massive city with a bustling market like Ras taneighra and plenty of inns like Jozan but Taymare was not like that, it was quiet. Not like ghost town quiet, more like posh quiet, not only quiet but it was more civilized as well. There was a large mix of creatures but all of them wore some form of clothing. Other cities had plenty of unclothed ponies and Gryphons, not Minotaurs or Komondors thankfully, but here everyone wore something even if it was just a hat. Not only was there no calling out or loud conversations but in the conversations I could here there was Equus being spoken. Did that mean I could speak it again? Leaning down to Chrissy’s ear I whispered, “Tahduth Equus?” Speak Equus? My Arabian was still a little basic, but the message was clear. “Yes Ari, they speak Equus here. With the border so close it is considered a skill to have in this city.” I could feel a smile come onto my face and I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, I could talk normally again, no more three word sentences! Although I didn’t have much to say now, we were almost to the border, and I was content with this moment. Well I was until I started feeling a tail flick my back legs, it was Lyric’s of course. Trying to ignore it I looked at the stores we passed. A Fashion boutique with poniquins modelling dresses in the bay window, I guess ponies wear dresses. But to what? Do they have balls and parties? I mean exactly how much of earth culture is mirrored on Equis? The next store was a bakery….Nope can’t afford it, won’t even go there. We will never leave it and I would probably end up eating everything in the store, I felt like I was starving again. Chrissy probably saw my lingering eyes on it because she gave me a light head butt. Thank you Chrissy, you have saved me from doing something I’m not entirely sure I would regret. Right, the next store is a post office. So they have a postal system…How does that work in the desert? Can things teleport? Ever that moment when you are like ‘of course why didn’t I think of that sooner’ well I had that as I looked at the post office. “Azure, what’s the chance that you are going to tell the princesses all about this?” Tension hung in the air as I said that, Lyric walked into my side more with her ears splayed, most likely not understanding why the princesses would be involved. Her muscles tense and rock hard under her scales and fur. Chrissy was not much better, her feathers ruffling and ears pinned back as she gave my shoulder nuzzles, I think they were for her benefit more than mine. Azure looked liked she would like to disappear as we all looked at her, her coltfriend giving her a scowl. “Y-yes, but don’t you think the princesses should know? I mean-“ “I do think they should know, we will have to meet sometime after all. But in the meantime I would prefer they don’t know somethings-.” We all moved to the right as a carriage came around the corner. “-Someponies to be exact.” I glanced at ‘Silver Stream’ and knew that she would make the plan a little more complicated than it already was, I mean I can only imagine how much the princesses hate her after the failed invasion…during a wedding…a royal wedding. I’m not sure I can dig Chrissy out of that hole. “Wait really?! You’re really going to see them one day! That’s great, and then you can-.” Her excited smile fell as I narrowed my eyes at her. “I am, but you won’t like the result.” I paused before putting a grin on my muzzle, “For now I was thinking of writing them a letter. Perhaps you could deliver it if you are going that way.” It wasn’t necessary to look at Azure to know she was ecstatic, I could hear her hooves hitting the bricked road as she jumped up and down. “Soo let’s get some paper and a pen, anybody know the best store?” “A ‘pen’?" Chrissy gave me a raised eyebrow. “A writing utensil.” Sounds like pens aren’t a thing here, figures, with my luck they still use those feathers that you had to dip in ink. I looked back at the group, hoping anyone knew of a store, not surprisingly Chrissy and the Equestrian’s didn’t know of one but thankfully Lyric did, having recovered from her anxious moment she was nodding her head up and down a wide smile on her face. “Okay then, lead the way Lyric.” Taking us a couple streets over she took us a store with a quill and inkpot painted on the storefront window. Of course they still use medieval writing tools. They have magic gem plumbing systems, airships, and MAGIC but still haven’t perfected a pencil or a pen?! Where is the logic here? Well anyway, I purchased a literal roll of parchment, feather, and ink pot for the cheap price of fifteen bits… That left five bits to my name, a marefriend, former stalker as a traveling companion, and no job. How am I going to rent or buy an airship at this rate? Writing essentials tucked into my saddle bags we continued back to Main Street, which thanks to some smart city planning, leads to like an arrow straight to Equestria. If it wasn’t for the giant sign with a sun and moon on it I could have known by the pep in Azure and Barium’s step, no place like home I guess, even if home has law enforced polygamous relationships now. But I was trying not to judge, the herds we passed in the Saddle Arabian cities seemed really happy. It was actually cute to see the multiple mares looking after a mini herd of foals, not to mention foals are every bit as adorable as you would imagine a earth foal except with bigger eyes. I had to hold in my ‘squees’ a couple of times, Chrissy understood my spikes in joy after what was I’m sure the fifth herd with foals passing us by. Before us was a dirt road leading into a sparse forest, the grand city street of sand bricks ending abruptly where the sign was placed. An empty guard stall with a note on it was stationed right where the brick ended. I guess they are on lunch? Not one to squander my good fortune i kept moving, Azure and Barium walking rushing ahead down the road. The road being actually nice, not too dusty, well shaded by the leafy trees resting on the sides, and free of pot holes. Equestria does have some nice dirt roads, at least this one anyway. After driving down one to many country roads littered with pot holes I appreciated the smoothness. “Write your letter already! I have let my family know we’re back, let barium’s family know we’re back, and get us registered so he doesn’t get paired off to someone else!” I didn't have the heart to mention he probably would get at least on other mare if the definition of herd was anything to go by. Azure was literally trotting in place with excitement, a big smile on her face. I couldn’t help but feel happy for her, being home is a feeling I won't get for a while, I didn’t really have any place of my own on Equis. Smiling back at her i couldn’t help but chuckle at Barium’s expression. He was looking at Azure with a look I had only seen a few times before. The grumpy stallion did truly love her, despite her quirks. “Give me couple minutes. Why don’t you guys rest in the shade or something?” With a nod to Barium, I left him to corral her to the right side of the road as I went into the bushes on the left side. Pausing mid-step I looked back, Lyric was standing in the middle of the road still, with her ears splayed, biting her lip. “Come on, don’t just stand there, you are part of the team now Lyric!” I motioned to the bushes but it want necessary as she all but galloped to my side, pressing into my barrel like a furry, scaly missile of cuddles. She REALLY has attachment issues, mind you if I had had Jabbar as my previous experience I probably would act similarly, but the stalking still was a little creepy. Now we were away from them we could begin, well first I had to take care of some business. Concentrating I levitated the saddle bags off my back and then my thobe over my head. While I’m sure it would be smart to continue to wear it to cover my wings I couldn’t stand the cotton bed sheet any longer. Just because I didn’t voice my complaints to the group doesn’t mean I didn’t have any. It was making my fur itch, my feathers were ruffled to a degree that I was actually starting to feel self conscious about them, and it was starting to stink from my sweat. Suffice to say I folded it up in my magic and stuffed it in a saddle bag. Chrissy got the hint and dropped her disguise and saddle bags as well. “There will be lots of preening as soon as I finish writing the letter for you.” She said in a ‘I won’t take no for a answer’ voice, which was actually kind of hot so I just gave her a nod, no need to say something silly after all. I love that she is smart enough to remember I can’t read anything here, despite speaking Equus which is apparently the same as English to speak, and a little Saddle Arabian now. Lyric, however, didn’t get it. “What?! I thought Ari was writing the letter to the princesses?” Seeing her confusion I decided to go with the simplest route. I laid down on the short grass, wings spread out to air, and levitated the parchment and quill set over. Soon Chrissy slipped under my right wing, but Lyric still looked uneasy. We really had to move past this nervousness to do anything thing around me she has, I mean it was just a wing, touching was normal to the ponies or pony like species so we would end up doing this eventually. If at the very least cuddling to keep warm when the nights got chilly, especially when winter hit; I really hoped we were cozy somewhere before winter though. “Come on, you will learn a lot by listening to the letter.” Motioning to my left wing, I began to unfurl the roll for Chrissy. **** Lyrical Dazzle When he invited me under his wing I was cheering inside, I had done it in less than a day! He was very accepting of my touch which was a great sign considering how sensitive I read pegasi and therefore Alicorns are about their personal space and who touches them, especially their wings. As a bonus his wings will need preening today too! Something I was excited to learn to do, I mean I have read about preening before but mother and father didn’t have wings for me to practice on. Realizing I was still standing there with a crazy mare smile on my face I dived under Ari’s wing, a little dramatic I know, but I couldn’t help my excitement. Feeling a snort on my flank I shuffled around to face the parchment. This was going to be good, there had to be a important reason why he was having Chrissy write it. Maybe he was afraid they would recognize his scent? Maybe the princesses could track him through it? Maybe- Ari’s talking! I couldn’t help but open my jaw as I listened to him, this explained soo much and at the same time raised even more questions. I mean I knew there was other worlds, my mother , father and aunts were trapped in one somewhere. The thought that someone took him from his world was heartbreaking to me. Feeling tears fill my eyes I nuzzled Ari, he must feel horrible, no wonder he sticks to his mare like glue. Chrissy is all he has here. Not for much longer though. I will be his mare one day, even if I’m not the only mare or the head mare, I will have him at least. He is actually pretty decent as far as stallion’s go. He’s certainly better than Jabbar. He may be giving me a concerned look but its all right, I shake my head at his look, i'm fine. Ari is the one that needs the love. Ari is almost done the letter now and i'm more than shocked, i'm outraged, horrified, and a little overwhelmed. I mean, the princesses have been behind the climate changes, the drought I have suffered through these last couple of years. Do you know what that drought has done to my scales? Let's just say my aunts would faint at seeing how dull they are now, I am half siren, a sea pony. Water was kind of important. Eventually though, Chrissy finished writing the letter and we had to get up, I decided to be helpful and packed up the left over parchment, quill, and inkwell. They both seemed a little surprised when my magic grabbed it and put it away but it quickly faded, Chrissy giving me a nod , and Ari me a ‘thank you’ with his most amazing smile. I couldn’t help my grin, a little less toothy than before, I think he might like me. Levitating his saddle bag onto my back I kept my grin as he blinked and shrugged, I was pulling my weight, I mean Ari’s mission was one I could actually get behind. Those princesses certainly weren't my idols before and from what I learned only it made me hate them, their ignorance, the destruction they were causing was horrible. I wanted my family back. Following Ari back to the road, I couldn’t help but hope they would be my new family. I know my mother would love them, she always did like a pony with a spine, which both Ari and Chrissy certainly had. Chrissy had lost her entire family as well, although hers was in a more permanent nature than mine. The Equestrian couple got up as soon as we exited the bush, trotting over with blushes and smiles. “There you are Azure, one letter for the royal highnesses themselves. I trust you wouldn’t dare peak at royal mail. But just in case I added a seal.” Chrissy said with a smirk and flash of green around the rolled up letter. I couldn’t help but snort at that, Azure was a nosy mare, she seemed to need to know everything. If she had her way Ari would probably go straight to Canterlot so she could she him meet the princesses. Azure looked a bit sheepish at Chrissy before rushing forward and wrapping her forelegs around Ari’s neck in a hug. He looked shocked then ‘happy’ as he plastered another fake smile on his face for Azure’s benefit, his body was twitching though. He doesn’t like her at least, thank goodness. I agreed with his sentiment and couldn’t help the growl that rose from my throat, no pony heard mine though as Chrissy gave a very aggressive growl. If I wasn’t safe on the other side of Ari I would have backed away, she was vicious, my rump still felt bruised from her bite. Luckily her canines didn’t puncture me, but still, I don’t think she would have cared if she had. The hug had now turned into a awkward minute of fake smiles and growling, Barium bless his patience for her stepped up and grasped her tail in his mouth and began dragging her away. Both Chrissy and I snorted as she was finally removed, Chrissy giving me a narrowed eye look as she realized I had snorted as well. Watching Azure, Barium, and the letter walk off into the sunset was a amazing feeling that was echoed among the group. **** Chrissy With those parasprites of ponies finally gone I could talk freely again, act freely. I really hoped for some more rutting, not that I was in heat anymore, thankfully it had stopped. Although Lyric was still around she was decent, she actually had a sense of humor for one thing, and despite what I had heard about sirens being horrifying, stallion stealing enchantresses she had proven to be different. Yes she had tried to enchant him with her mind magic, stalk him, and tried to put a claim on him in his sleep. But despite all that she accepted her place below me and is trying to follow the conditions we gave her, although i'm starting to think she won’t be able to. But now I had something very important to do, I can analyze Lyric later. “Preening. Now.” It was hard to keep my voice stern when his arousal spiked at my voice, at least I knew what he likes. I wasn’t in the right head to make rutting enjoyable for him last time unfortunately, or as much as I could have anyway. Ari had gotten the hint and lead us into the woods, after ten minutes he stopped and looked around at the clearing we had entered. He sniffed the air, then the ground, before folding his legs under to lay down. Removing my saddle bags I joined him, shuffling my legs till they aligned just right. Lyric dropped her saddle bags laid down on his other side, leaning on his barrel. Narrowing my eyes at her I waited as Ari spread his wings, both of his wings. “You know she probably doesn’t even know how to preen Ari, I can get both of them.” He looked at me curiously, “But there is two wings and there is two of you, preening isn’t that hard. I'm sure Lyric can handle it.” “Yes but-“ “She is also part of the group now, so that makes her a new friend. You said friends preen each other right?” “y-yes, but only-“ “Soo?” He just didn’t understand and I was tired, I had been maintain my disguise for far too long, even after the rush of love I should have gotten from rutting I still felt drained. As a answer I started on his secondary flight feathers near the base, the feathers practically dropping out from the rough treatment the thobe had put them through. Moving up the base of his wing bone, I twisted my tongue around the bases, removing the dirt from the spaces between. The shower hadn’t truly touched the base of the feathers, the wings being made to roll water off them made cleaning them impossible unless they were submerged. “OWW” I opened my eyes from my work, had I pulled the wrong one? I was sure- “OW, Lyric!” What did I tell him, she doesn’t know how to preen? With a sigh I locked eyes with Lyric, “Listen up, don’t copy me and don’t pull willy-nilly. If the feather is ready to come out it will be easy to remove, any resistance and the feather isn’t ready. Also make sure to use your tongue on the base of the feathers, the dirt likes to stick there.” Watching her, she put her muzzle back to his wing, eyes going crossed eyed as she tried to look at the feathers in front of her tongue. She really had no experience. “Close your eyes, preening is all about feel. None of this cross eyed business, if you stick to a pattern you won’t need to look where you are going.” That seemed to fix her, with her eyes closed the preening went smother, Ari relaxed again and I continued with my wing. Before I knew it my wing was finished, the last primary at his wing tip glistening from my work bringing up the natural oils. Looking over at Lyric she was just starting his wing tip, the rest of the wing looked wonderful, shiny black feathers all in order, and a small pile of dead feathers at her hooves. My eyes fought to watch her finish though, the sun was setting, and Ari was wrapping me in his wing. Giving in to the warmth I figured she could handle the wing tip without me watching her. Escaping, Part 4.Author's Note The second arc is winding down, one more chapter before the Princess Arc begins. Escaping, Part 4. **** Ari Half expecting anger to cloud my mind, it never came as I stared at the bodies, nothing more than eerie lumps under discolored material. The futures gone, their status as sisters, daughters, and…Mothers, it was all gone. All I felt was sadness and a strange, calm determination to stop this, those princesses could wait. This shouldn’t take too long. I looked up from the bodies in time to see a white beam whiz by my cheek, causing screams to start behind me, it was buzzing with the charge of magic, and more importantly was risking the lives of the mares. Crackling filled the air, it wasn’t my channels, and the crackle of magic was the dissipating of the beam. I snorted as the beam finished fizzing out of existence, my ears folding as anger and the urge to protect those mares rose again. Calmness dangling from the railing as my instincts slowly picked away at it. Protect, kill threat. Comfort mares. My head snapped to the right as another boom reached my ears. The ship rocked again, waves sloshing against my recently won vessel, and I heard the unmistakable trickle of water rushing into our hull. More anger came and threw calmness overboard. Fuck! We were surrounded by water with no land in sight still, but what I saw next filled me with worry, pushing down my anger. Dark sails billowed to our north east, a large colonial styled pirate ship was turning its side to us, and the small gray patch of air blowing away in front of it the evidence to the hole it gave us. While a narrower sea vessel, smaller than my ship and the dark ship, approached us head on, its sleek lines and fully enclosed structure adding a new type of worry to my mind. Could we escape this without more casualties? Honestly, I naively enough wasn’t expecting more than one boat to respond to Arch’s call. But he must have mentioned I was an Alicorn; my memory of his words were a little fuzzy. But, it was two to one, no avoiding that. I grimaced at my chance of getting us away or beating them…Well, I could beat them, escaping to land was a different matter; we were taking on water, immobile. Actually, scratch that beating them part, they knew I was an Alicorn… Technology wise I didn’t know what they might have to counter that, logically they would have a back up if the princesses ever noticed, right? They have shown their cannon balls and magic cannon, but I’m sure they didn’t make it this far by playing not have a few tricks up their sleeves. Although considering I’m theoretically one of the most powerful beings magically, not counting gods, I was willing to bet they were pulling out all the stops. I knew I was pulling out all my tricks, really it was the only way to do this, although my spell may be all I need though. Especially with our fighting power…We had no cannons, only two pegasi that could fly, and no sail…Which is why I told the mares to let me handle it, there was nothing they could do to help from this distance. I at least had my magic, a small boon with the magic shooting ship in front of me. Speaking of magic, I could use that beam now. Take a deep breath- Buzzing reached my ears in time to stop me from closing my eyes, quick as I could, I created an ethereal shield. The beam deflecting off the gold shield and dissipated into the clear sky, the shield dropping as I realized they weren’t going to follow it up with more. Could they only shot one beam at a time…Did that mean they had unicorns with them? It didn’t matter though, slavers were slavers, and they were going to die. Okay, let’s try- A cannon boomed, the black ball soaring over my head. I folded my ears back at that. Third time’s the charm, right…Wood splintered below my snout, a second cannon ball, and I hadn’t even started my third attempt! I guess they want me dead. Fuck planning; I’m just going to- Thoughts were quickly scattered as a whole barrage of booms echoed from the approaching ship, muted jeers coming from the vessel reaching my ears. Reacting, I threw a shield up on my side, feathers tensing and ruffling as I prepared for the impact. This was really annoying me, there was a whole process, and charging that still needed to happen. Wood cracked behind me, screams rose, and all while buzzing grew louder in front of me. Looking behind me I saw what they did and red dominated my sights, not thinking anymore, I moved my shield, deflecting the beam from the small vessel. It was already one hundred feet from my ship, moving faster than I wanted it too. This whole situation was pushing my instincts to the forefront. Heart hammering, I struggled to focus on the incoming threats and not rush to check on the mares. Deep breath: they were adults; I think anyway, no, they can handle this. For at least two weeks those mares had survived in worse conditions, four weeks in some cases, and maybe longer for all I knew. I didn’t need to protect them. Folami was there, she could handle treating any injuries. All I had to do was get rid of these threats... Pushing back my instincts that coiled in my chest was feeling near impossible though, all I wanted to bite and stomp, magic was already crackling in my leg’s channels, growing louder as the seconds ticked by. But the ships just kept moving in closer, a hush coming from them. Twitching my ears I could hear the rising murmur of voices from the dark vessel, the outlines of the scumbags visible with trails of smoke rising in front of them, obscuring the view of my enemy. Curiosity filled me, what were they waiting for? Another deep breath, I watched the approaching ships, not moving from my position. … My heart slowed slightly and it hit me, what was I waiting for? I can just blast them away…I’m still not used to this. I’m a walking weapon! ‘FU’ , I held the word in my mind as the crackling grew inside me, the warmth in my horn channel filling me with confidence. Urges rushed past my dominating thought, the spell, threatening to break my focus. They whispered of showing off, pushing my chest out, and flaring my wings. Essentially, what got me into this mess into the first place, but I let them go. Giving into my instincts one too many times had caused more trouble than good for me. But today was different, I had too much riding on this…I was going to free a nation. But, which boat first? Cannon fire made my answer for me. I turned my head and let the word go. The white at the edges of my vision disappeared, electric yellow magic exploding from the center of my sight, culminating in a chaotic mess of noise as it hit its mark. Screams reached me next, coming from both my mares and the slavers Exhilaration then filled me for a brief second as I saw the result. The mast being blown in half, crashing down on the slavers, and causing a panicked clamor on their deck as splinters flew. Cannons were abandoned in favor of dodging the ropes and beams. Wow, I hadn’t even moved a single step yet; this battle seemed too easy- “Ahhhhhh!” I squealed in pain and surprise as a magic beam tore into my bandaged shoulder, slicing through muscles and nerves that responded by losing feeling in the leg. I stopped squealing, panting as I visually confirmed it was still there. Damn Murphy’s Law, damn second boat! The small boat picked up speed with a growing hum, suddenly rocketing past my boat, like it had a engine or something…Airships, right. I twisted my neck to try and follow its path, but lost sight of it around the hull, its engine going quiet. Anger filled me as I sensed a plan at foot, hoof, whatever, they were up to something. Fuck that! Charging my horn for another ‘FU’ spell took longer as I fought to stay focused over the fresh pain, it also reawakened the stiff pain I had been healing from, my other legs tensing to try and support me, as my body was getting little support from the senseless one right now… Whimpers brought me back from my attempt, the white being redirected to my leg channels, and reminding me the longer I stayed here the more they would be in danger. The magic boat was hiding, for what purpose I didn’t know, but I wasn’t going to let- A thump sounded below me. Several thumps followed. Black balls of iron flew at my ship, my mares. Folding my ears back I grabbed them in my magic, sending them careening back at the weathered hull of my opponent. Eight new wholes adorned their hull, matching the amount of cannons they had pointed at us. We were side to side now, fifty feet of water separating us. Mares whimpered before a shrill scream made it through the air. “Ari! They are below us!” Marble stated the obvious, coming out of the infirmary. Snorting, I didn’t taking my eyes off the slavers on the deck, counting as I went. “I know. Lock the pantry hatch, keep everyone together, and form a barricade with any remaining tables. If this goes according to plan we will be ahead in the end.” Somehow, still working on that actually, but she didn’t need to know that. “What?!” She just stood there, her gaze locked on my bleeding wither. Not wasting any time I swung completely around, holding back a wince in my face, “NOW!” I tried to imitate the look I had in Saddle Arabia, the one that moved the crowds. Her eyes went big, looking at my narrowed ones in confusion, and I snorted at her, motioning to the infirmary. Already, scared faces were peeking out, and I could see rays of sunlight where there hadn’t been any before. I turned back to the fifteen slavers looking at me in awe, letting a sigh go as her hoof steps receded back into the room, a click as she closed the door. Her voice muted into the background as I listened to the intruders making their way through the former prison cell below me, we hadn’t cleaned up the guts yet, just the bodies. How fun for them then, I smiled at the thought. Before a new realization hit me and took my smile away, I still had an audience, one that wouldn’t be stuck in ‘Alicorn shock’ forever. I created fifteen knifes with my magic, the golden projectiles hovering at the railing of my ship, causing nervous murmurs on the other boat, shifting of paws on the deck. A good distraction for now, fear, but I needed more time. Where were- There they were. Heavier splashing sounded below me again; clangs echoing closer to the hatch, followed by curses…We may have brought up all the lanterns, no pony had planned to return to that awful room. That splashing confirmed my theory though, we were filling up fast, and I had seen the titanic. Those holes only meant one thing now. Gazing at the slavers I noticed the holes I had added to their ship were not taking on water, too high on the hull… I cocked my head as I really took in their ship. Dark sails billowing in the wind, pinned against the deck by the splintered mast, the mast through the roof of the captain’s quarters. But otherwise it was damage free. Eight cannons pointed sideways at my hull, and one massive one at the helm…It was almost the same layout as my ship, except with more cannons…They still had a steering wheel and half a mast. Maybe a little magic, some nails, and a hammer…I could fix that. I want that boat. Like a chaos orchestra, booms sounded from their side of the water, causing cracking that covered the whooshing of the wind instruments. Fifteen sharp, precise instruments sang out as they launched themselves through the air and straight into the pirate’s hearts, assuming they had any. They dropped to the deck, clutching their chests, wet sounds of agony rising as more squeals sounded inside. Fishmen, diamond dogs, and vildkatts alike, all were dead…I was glad, almost proud. There were fifteen less slavers out there now, two ships worth, not bad for a new pony. With a snort I started levitating the bodies off the deck and into the sea, it wouldn’t do for my- the mares to see the corpses, ponies had a different culture. They didn’t see images of gore on television like I had on earth, or really have television, I think…Anyway, in that way I was partially desensitised to it, and really, this wasn’t the worst. That griffin’s spine jutting out still bothers me. It was certainly different seeing that carnage in front of you. Golden magic enveloped the first corpse, a poorly dressed blue fishman, and I looked at his empty eyes before I tossed him. They answered nothing. Why had he chosen to become a slaver? Confusion filled me as I waited for my next opponents to appear. Splash, I dropped him as I grabbed the next slaver. A vildkatt, a female one…Why? I had seen them running very successful fish market stalls in Shallow Shale. Next, a Diamond dog…It didn’t make sense, sure it was a business, and we were bits. But who started it and better yet, will some other being start another one when I destroy this ring of slavers? I knew the dragons were the main clients, maybe the Saddle Arabians too. They did want Chrissy really badly. What it boiled down to was more work, to start I needed to meet with the Zebrican officials and- It was too silent. They should have made it up by now. I looked at the hatch leading to the cell, surely they couldn’t have gotten that lost…Did they knock themselves out? No, I would figure if any were Vildkatts they might have night vision like regular cats did, they could see the bars. Stomping the floor awkwardly with one leg almost useless, I listened for a response, and only heard the creak of wood. … No more curses or voices rang out…Did they drown- Bangs suddenly rang from the direction of the infirmary, the other hatch…More bangs and muffled curses confirmed that Marble did listen. What a nice mare, she actually did something helpful, well, when I thought they weren’t going to be much help. With a new feeling of calm I moved back into the infirmary, the bodies could wait. I wanted to greet my guests. Maybe they would know more about this ‘king of pirates’ I heard about; since none of the beings on the dark ship seem to match the description I was given, he obviously wasn’t on either ship…Well I couldn’t see in the small boat, but I’m sure some hot shot pirate who goes around calling himself the ‘king of the pirates’ would come see me, especially in such a small ship. He had an ego…And officially, as many ponies had pointed out, there weren’t any Alicorn stallions. I didn’t exist. Fifty heads turned and looked at me. “We have some guests below,” I gave them a calm smile, my confidence growing even more as many eyes brightened at my approach, and I could actually deliver some good news. “The other crew was kind enough to leave us their ship before they went for a swim.” I looked to Folami, her eyes already losing their fear, determination filling it. In fact the fear was slowly leaving every pony’s expression. “I need you to bring every pony on deck; we are switching ships as soon as I kill the rats in our hull, since they blew too many holes in our ship.” She looked at the other mares for a second, looking to open her mouth before closing it. “I think I’m just going to blast them to oblivion so get ever pony ready to board the other ship, this one is going down.” She nodded, opening the table barricade, and started directing the mares. Now, I had slavers to kill…Well, that sounded more homicidal than usual, although not entirely uncalled for, these beings used other lives as currency. Snorting, I refocused on the task at hand. The hatch was weighted down with the two apple barrels, the remaining bales of hay, and a table…Excessive, but effective as well. But with every attempt they made I saw small slivers of cracks spread through the wood that showed. The crack from my earlier overpowered opening of it probably the reason it was starting to break like this… … Boredom replaced my calmness, they were making little to no progress, and all m-the mares were on the deck already giving me looks. What could I say to them? Talking to the slavers was really important, learning all about their ‘boss’ was top priority if I was going to stop him. Know your enemy and all that. Turning my ear, I could hear muffled panting down below, and their attempts stopped. Sighing, I gave the mares a nod, we didn’t have all- As if to prove my thought right, the ship lurched to my left, staying like that. Shrill screams echoed in the air, we were going down. I guess I was winging it again. ‘FU’, crackles filled my inner channels as my core directed more magic to my horn channel, white began to dance on the edges of my vision. I waited a minute, the boat tipping more, and panicked yells sounding off before I released the spell. “Buck, that was awesome!” Marble had made it back to my side sometime during that. She was almost falling over with the ship, gazing at the gaping hole filling with water. Rapidly filling actually, no bodies in sight, the water was dyed red. Hello predator attractant, sea serpents if I had heard right. “Yeah, yeah,” I replied, trying to come up with a way to get fifty mares across before we sunk, well, flipped first. I turned around, grabbing and holding her to my back in my golden field. Hobbling as best as I could, we made it to the now panicking group of half-starved mares; they were gazing at the approaching water with wide eyes. Creaks and groans came from the ship; it was perilously close to flipping over. Those pirates must shot out some support in our side. For a brief moment my eyes raced across the deck, nothing was left to use as a plank, not that fifty foot plank existed but my levitation plan would take too long. The bodies, both alive and dead, were being pressed to the railing. I felt like a foal, unable to- wait, that is it! Foal magic. Point and shoot, or in this case, bridge. “Get ready!” They all snapped their eyes to me, glancing at the water slightly. “We are now boarding!” Picturing a simple board bridge, I willed it to appear, be solid like the stairs I had made once, and it did. Like water flowing into an empty cup, the golden bridge filled the space perfectly, connecting at just the right points on the railing. Amazed looks went on their faces; at least that is what it looked like to me. It was different reading pony faces. Some looks were odd, but awe was the best emotion I could place. Right, “Come on!” I motioned to the bridge, “It’s perfectly safe.” I pleaded with them, grabbing the most injured ones in my magic. Herding them with my muzzle, I placed Ayodele on my back, one less pony to carry in my magic. This was harder than it looked. My focus divided twelve different ways, and mares trying to hold a conversation with me. I quickly placed the remaining eleven blanket bound mares on the new ship, earning me grateful nickers and ‘thank yous’. Now I just had to wait for the rest to cross, Folami waited with me. “Go on.” I pointed my muzzle to the bridge. “You first,” She said with a cheeky grin, giving me a mock bow as the mares on my back squirming as they tried to watch or it could have been them being eager to get off this boat. Snorting I raised an eyebrow at her, “Don’t be silly, get moo-ving. This ship is sinking.” She didn’t move still, raising an eyebrow in return. Didn’t she see this wasn’t the time?! “I said move!” This time I started moving behind her rump, giving fake snaps at her butt, a clear threat on why she should move. Folami was nonplused by it. “Anything else you want to say?” I didn’t know where she was going with this, I could practically feel my hooves slipping on the tilting deck, and we didn’t have time for whatever this was. Narrowing my eyes at the frustrating mare, I grabbed her in my magic, floating her in front of me. “HEY!” Snickers answered her from my back. Mares made no sense, women I could understand somewhat, having been one, but mares were a different story. I mean pulling this while the ship is sinking? I wish the god had given me knowledge on them. That would have been helpful, I would have known about the heat, and instincts…Anything would have been better than this stumbling around! With a frustrated snort, I was crossing the bridge. The final loud crack coming from the ship, I grunted as the deck pressed down on the bridge, feeling like something was pressing against my channels, my head, damn that hurt. Hurried by that, I trotted with a limp the rest of the expanse. Dissipating the bridge as soon as my hooves touched the deck, relieving me of the pressure almost instantly, it had felt like I was holding up a boulder with my head. Every pony paused and watched as the boat sank; even Folami stopped squirming to watch it. Huge bubbles of air broke the surface, a white frothy torrent as water filled the ship. I could see the magic shooting boat now too, getting crushed under the larger vessel, the crunch of glass and creaking of wood, signally the end to a much easier battle. I guess I can say I sunk a ship now...And now I had a new, okay, newer ship. It needed repairs, which I could do thanks to my uncle, but first I had to take stock of what we had. What our rationing would be. Putting down Folami I looked around, wincing at the pain as my muscles protested flexing. She looked at me, nodding, and splaying her ears. “Okay, Folami what was that about? That-,” I pointed at the faint shadow in the water that was our old ship, “-is why we needed to move. I thought you were on the same page as me. Do you need to talk about something?” She looked at the water then over my shoulder, folding her ears back. “No, it was silly.” Her eyes glassed over a second before they locked slightly lower on my body, “You hurt yourself again?!” “Now you notice? They did it, some magic cannon thing.” I waved it off with a hoof, turning to look at the scene of the deck, and knew I would need some help. “But that can wait, we have to get our act together, get moving!” “F-fine,” a snort, “But you need to rest eventually mkaidi!” I gave her a gentle smile, “Agreed, thanks for caring Folami. It is nice to have good ponies around; I couldn’t have done what did for them.”Her passion for healing was evident, even if I will gladly take Lyric’s magic over the ‘natural’ way any day. I was really glad to be able to have her around. She was just like a calm rock through the whole ordeal so far, mind you this is probably is just another part of her life, normal for her…I wonder what Zebrica is like? First… Stomping my hoof for their attention…Which turned out to be was pointless. Really, they had been watching our talk the whole time. Some looked tired, but most looked excited, ears forward and eyes shining. “Thank you for your attention and welcome to our new ship. The first order of business is to search the ship, make sure we have no pirates hidden away, and dispose of the trash.” I lifted several corpses in my magic and dropped them overboard. That got me a round of hoof stomping and several nearby mares preceded to help, rolling and awkwardly lifting the remaining corpses over the railing, “Well, I wasn’t expecting that.” Really, I was just expecting a couple laughs, maybe a cheer, not for them to join in. “So, the trash is gone then. I guess we should start searching the ship. Hmmmm,” I looked at the mares in front of me, “I will admit, I don’t know every pony’s condition, so I will trust you to know yourself. Anyone that can’t walk up and down stairs will stay with the medical team and help search the deck, any mares that can handle stairs will come with me, Okay?” And they were really okay with it. I had a group of twenty mares in front of me quicker than I could shake a stick. It was almost unnerving, all of them looking eager to help. So I gave them thank you and nod, this shouldn’t take long. How- “HEY! Give back my helper!” We paused and looked back at Folami. I was confused for a second, “Wh-.” “Awww, come on! I can help, really!” Marble spoke from my rump, I had forgot I placed her there…She was really light, very skinny actually. Folami could use the help. With a sigh, I levitated her over to Folami, “Sorry Marble, she is right. Besides I think we have enough ponies to search below deck.” Twenty was a little crowded, but I didn’t want to go into a trap underprepared. She was frowning now, “And you should rest and get better, we all will soon, after we clear the search we are moving off, land Ho and all that!” “Then why is Ayodele coming? She can’t walk and needs her rest more than me!” Marble’s eyes narrowed as I felt a muzzle tuck under my wing. She had a point. “That is a great point-.” “Kumwambia nihitaji kuja kwa afya yangu!” Ayodele said in a desperate tone, switching Zebrican for some reason. Zebra mares started to gather. Folami snorted and pinned her ears back, “Kwa nini nitafanya hivyo? Uongo, sio uongo!” Ayodele replied in zebrican, snorting, and pointing a fore hoof at our medic. Folami replied in a cold tone, stomping a forehoof in retaliation. What the hell was happening? Obviously it was a private issue since they switched to the language they must know I don’t know, Marble and the other equestrians looked just as confused as I did. The brown earth pony even gave me an apologetic smile, seeing as she had brought this up. Ten minutes seemed to have passed and they still were arguing in Zebrican, more zebra mares were jumping in, adding quips with small smiles and sly grins. At this point I was annoyed, my legs were screaming at me to rest, and we still hadn’t moved the boat. I tried being polite. “You know what?! We have a timeline, so you two talk. I’m going to search the ship, be back soon.” With that I placed a surprised Ayodele on a blanket already occupied by another mare, said mare just shook her head at Ayodele. “Wai-.” Interrupting her, I repeated myself, “Talk it out. I expect to be quick but if not please let me know, I can always take a nap or something.” And I was gone, ignoring the mares I continued across the deck, dodging the ropes and stepping around the half dried red puddles. Hoof steps followed me as my helpers joined me. Like on the old ship, there was a large hatch behind the mast, except this one was wrought iron bars, not wooden. Bars were never good news. The last bars I met shot you backwards if you touched them wrong. Every pony knew this too, giving it a wide berth. Looking around grabbed a mop, levitating it over the hatch, I held my breath and dropped it. Dull clangs reverberated around the hull, the mop rolled side to side for a second before a collective expelling of breath marked our relief. Something was normal for a change. I opened it and we filed down the stairs, not needing to adjust to the change in light thanks to the eight new windows I installed recently. The room was the same size as our old cell, same plank walls, except for two differences. One was the hatch in the back; it was wooden and stood out, slightly ajar in the middle of the room. It worried me actually, there were many prints in the dirt around the opening, and a foul smell was permeating the room, seemingly from there. Not any less ominous was the second difference, a wooden plank style door standing in the back wall. Bloody prints led to it… Already I could hear some gag reflexes going, the smell and sight implied a lot. “If any pony wants to help Folami or take a breather I wouldn’t think any less of you. I don’t think we are going to find any…” Think of a nice word, “Threats down here.” Twelve left at my permission, eagerly rushing up the stairs. Fuck my decisions, why- No, just get it over with. The faster we search the boat the faster I can fix the mast, and get us moving, resting really. My legs hurt. We started with the back door, although I had four mares watch the hatch in case anything popped up from there. The door was locked. With a snort, I made an ethereal looking hand saw. Slipping the familiar tool in the crack, I followed it along till I felt the magic teeth hit something solid, the latch. For a long minute my mind ached, the scraping of the tool being doubled in my magical senses, until finally I was sawing thin air. Staying silent, I motioned for the hatch guards to stay as we pushed the door open, blinking at the dimly lit…Food storage room. “Okay I wasn’t expecting this.” I grabbed a mushy looking oblong purple fruit, sniffing it. I realized it smelt fresh still and swallowed it whole. “At least we have more food.” It wasn't half bad. Next was the hatch, it didn’t take much to lift it, the creak of the hatch causing shuffles and rapid steps to be heard inside. We all shared a nervous look before we descended into the dimly lit, rank depths of the ship. My heart seized at the room. Beside me the zebras whimpered and whispered in their language, luckily no equestrians had come; this was giving even me a heart ache. All around this level many zebras lay about, most alive, a couple I wasn’t so certain on. There were no bars here, just many chains and shackles. The smell was obvious as well, these poor ponies didn’t get the Arch wash treatment, this was weeks of travel in one room. “Tell Folami to get ready.” At my voice many heads weakly turned my way, dull eyes of green and brown looked at me, ears slowly moving forward. She left and I began the painstaking process of freeing them; I had thrown every slaver in the water, the keys probably with them. Moving forward to the nearest mare, she looked at me in awe, Alicorn shock. Tapping the chain didn’t send me flying, her look of confusion changed to fear as I reared up, anger flowed through me. Smashing my good hoof down on the chain I watched as it cracked, my leg vibrated slightly, and I grimaced. That was a stupid idea. Creating the hand saw again I began to saw. After a minute I realized the only thing I was gaining was a headache. “Damn it!” I let the magic dissipate, they must be enchanted to resist magic, anger bubbled up in. Letting my core direct more magic to my legs I reared up and crash my hooves down on the chain, the mare recovering her shock as the unmistakable crunch and clang of metal echoed around the room. Dry, scratchy voices began whispering louder as the first mare moved towards me, her broken chain dragging behind her wobbling legs. Brown eyes searched mine, looking for something, “Why?” Such a silly question, I smiled down at her. “Why not? This is wrong, evil, and I can stop it. So I am.” Whatever she was looking for she found, giving me a weak smile as two mares went to either side of her, supporting her and leading her to Folami. This left me with a large amount still chained, so moving to the next mare I reared up, ignoring my aches and blood dripping. … … For at least a hour I had reared, smashed, and sent mares upstairs. My sides heaved, exhausted from the effort, and my hooves were not to be trusted. They were numb from the abuse I had put them through, over fifty chains smashed. A small waif of a mare poked into my back, half conscious as we made it to the deck. Letting my supports lead me to the open door, I tried to maintain my posture, and was quickly fussed over. But I didn’t care anymore, the smells coming from the kitchen held my interest. I levitated the mare off my back, as I searched the room for a plate of food, soo hungry. “Lay him down already.” Folami rushed over, a bowl of paste on her back and red bag balanced on her rump. “Who’s steering?” She ignored me, pushing me to a blanket that I swear wasn’t there a second ago, “Laaaayyyy,” Her forehead was pressed against numb wither, pushing me. “Dooooowwwnn,” I finally relented, realizing she was not even thinking about the possibility of more slavers coming. “How many were there?” “Seventy one,” was her terse reply, focused on my wounds. Like a well oiled machine she started unwrapping the soiled bandages, Marble Cake and Feather quill appeared out of the kitchen with a basin of water and a sponge. This same treatment of ‘wash, dry, treat, and wrap’ was going on around the room; it was pretty cool to see, if a bit overwhelming. I mean, the room was packed with one hundred twenty one mares. Still haven’t seen a stallion yet. “Stand,” I complied and tried to keep my muscles steady as I was washed, water dripping red and foaming white with my sweat. Quick as she could I was dried, wrapped, and back to lying down. When every pony had been treated she returned. I was busy eating by then, some of the mares having heard my stomach scream. “So how are you feeling?” I frowned at her, “Better than you are looking right now.” Rising before she could protest, I placed her in my spot, her mouth imitating a fish. “Get some rest, I should be back soon; I’m feeling antsy to get going.” Her reply was a snort, I’m sure her ears were back too, but I wasn’t ready to handle this new Folami yet. Arguing for ten minutes when we are in a rush to get going? Refusing to cross the bridge when we are sinking to have a conversation? Not making any sense and I didn’t have the time to work through it right now. Repairing the mast was easy, sailing would be easy, but dealing with the feelings was hard. I felt tired, mentally exhausted, and I didn’t want another confusing and awkwardly timed conversation with any mare. So I did what my uncle taught me, I worked through the feelings. Starting with the mast of course, its circumference was the size of a medium pine tree and would be easy enough to line up. The floor below me held spare planks and it was easy find some nails, no wood glue, but that was just dreaming. Using my magically made saw I cut off the splinters, made grooves, and levitated the ends till they were snug together. After that it was easy to make a hammer and add some supports. “Wow!” Marble was looking at the restored mast, the sails starting to billow and catch the breeze. “Yah..." I trailed off, feeling calmer. "Did you want to help me steer?” I motioned to the wheel. A pause, “You aren’t coming back?” She looked at the doorway, ears splayed in confusion. I gave a weak wither shrug and started to the wheel, “After I set our direction…” She came trotting to my side. “This doesn’t have to do with the argument between Folami and Ayodele?” “Slightly, I’m just tired you know?” She nodded, pressing into me. “It is just…” Sighing I pushed on, “I know my mares must be worried sick, it has nearly been a week!” We finished climbing the stairs, the view from there capturing my attention. It was blue and white for nearly the whole horizon. Fluffy cumulus had formed, making fake mountains in the sky that taunted me, reminding me I still couldn’t rest. To my left a small dark mass was a pinprick in the horizon. We had drifted evidently, the odd floating plank showing where we had come from. Currents pulling the boat towards the dark horizon, land, I hoped. “A-Anything else bugging you Ari?” She looked up at me, eyes trying to communicate something while her ears splayed. Grabbing the wheel in my magic, I thought on it, and it occured to me that maybe she might know something on mares. Marble was a mare. “Well, I just don’t get all the strange behavior around here.” She gulped, “I mean something like, snapped in some of the mares. One night every pony is happy and recovering, then the next day it’s like the x-files.” A ‘what’ look was my answer, “It’s an earth…Play, I meant the conversation that Folami had at the bridge…No, and even before that. She was trying to insist that I was a leader.” Turning the ship, I gave a snort. “I mean ME! My family and friends would laugh; the only thing I have lead is a foal!” “A foal?” “I foal sat for my friends.” Looking away from her, I watched a flock of birds fly towards the horizon. “And that argument…I don’t understand them. Were they friends before, when they were imprisoned?” She shrugged. Right, I guess it would be hard for a pastel colored society to tell stripes apart, aside from the cutie marks they were very similar at first. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter, I don’t get mares.” Marble laughed, stomping her hoof, “I don’t believe that, you don’t form a herd by accident! Somewhere in there-,” She booped my nose, “-you know about mares.” We were riding a strong wind towards the hopeful land mass now. “Really?” She nodded, giving me a nuzzle. “I beg to differ, culturally, I was so dense that I had two mares literally flagging me and I didn’t realize it till after my marefriend explained it to me.” Her head went back, mouth moving up and down, “HOW!” Several heads popped out of the infirmary. “That is pretty bucking obvious!” Her surprise was turning into frustration, ears going back. “Earth was different, body language was different, and I hadn’t been on the dating scene for years. I was working on my fertility issues. But, my point was that I don’t understand mares…Chrissy and Lyric were still teaching me about this world when we were separated...So I know some things like nuzzling as friendliness, and flagging, obviously. But there is still a world of social cues I’m sure I miss, if it wasn’t for my base instincts I wouldn’t know how to react sometimes…Imagine not knowing anything from what to eat to where anything is.” Her face was one of realization, eyes wide, and lips forming a ‘o’. Marble never responded to me, but it was plenty clear by her look and further pulling the two zebras aside that every pony understood. Folami and Ayodele never argued again that day. In fact it ended quite calmly and happily, we found a spare ring of keys in the captain’s quarters. Shackles were removed, chaffing treated. As to my whole explanation that I was tiredly expecting to make, I was pleasantly enough, not having to do it. Folami had been answering questions for me while I had been working, and most of the mares were over Alicorn shock then. Excitement and hope was in the air, a bright, optimistic energy seemed to come over the group. Talk of home and freedom was going around as food was dispensed, although a couple mares did eat to fast and vomited, but it was all good in the end. The wind was guiding us to the land. … Unsurprisingly I was one of the last ponies to wake up, my body protested, as did the sleepy heads on and around me. As usual I was the center of a pile of ponies, a part that I think I will miss when it is just my mares and I again. It brought a great sense of peace to my soul being like this. Warmth in and around my wrapped fur, many scents mixing harmoniously, warm breaths blowing gently on me, I could have stayed like that all morning. It was not to be, it never was it seemed. The morning proved to be odd, not my urges, it was the usual in that regard. It was the mares. As soon as my eyes opened it seemed that every one that could hobble over did, thanking me and asking simple questions. Those that were bedridden called out their thanks. Okay, maybe that wasn’t strange considering what I did. But, never in my life have I received so many thanks…It filled me a happiness, pride, and the ‘fuzzies’. Protesting was useless. I learned this most when I was fed. Literally, they were bringing me food. It felt amazing, but eventually like with all good things, something annoying, realistic, and bad came along. This happened to take the form of a shrill buzzing noise. I looked around the room, seeing confusion around me. No pony here was making this noise. Getting up I stumbled a little. Off balance as a certain zebra clung to my back, repositioning her body so that she was snug between my shoulder blades, and holding her injured hock away from my butt. All the while the shrill buzzing seemed to grow more insistent, grating on the peace that I had been enjoying. Spotting Folami, I raised an eyebrow; she always seemed to know a lot. “Don’t give me that look, I don’t know what that sound is!” She narrowed her eyes for a second, looking past me, before the buzzing started to get to her. “But it really is annoying!” “Exactly!” Folding my ears back I began to walk around the room, trying to get closer to whatever was making that noise, it only took half a circuit of the room to realize that it was coming from outside. But it wasn’t like the sound of the magic beam, which was a different kind of buzzing. Stepping outside, I quickly identified the source of the noise, well, the room. It was coming from the captain’s quarters. The roof was partially collapsed in still, and from here I could see a eerie pink glow coming from inside the room. Walking slowly I approached the room, hushed whispers, and quiet clip clops following me. Opening the ornate door I gazed around the room, it was exactly how we left it. The large bed unmade and cold, the map curling on the wall, and the desk in the far right corner was still there. But the jewel in the center of the desk glowed bright pink in the daylight, almost making me cover my eyes. A gasp announced Folami’s arrival. “What do I do?” “You have to answer it! If they think these ones failed they will send more, more than before!” The panic was evident in her voice. Smiling at her, I slipped the headset on with my magic, “Okay, on it. How do I answer?” “Just keep it in your hoof and push some magic into it.” I did, regretting it as several voices blared loudly into the room, one was clear though. “Oy! Rrrroooorrrra, youuu alive there? What spoils did Arch leave yah?!” An enthusiastic and gruff voice answered, sounding drunk to me. Before I could answer he continued, “Nefermind deearr, I seeee yoouu!” He hiccupped, and we all moved outside, horror blooming on everyone’s faces. Fuck a duck! There goes my whole morning. That drunkard was only two hundred feet away, as was a dark Cliffside that he was following. Even more worrying was the fleet of boats further ahead of his boat, all following along the same route despite the different flags and sails flying. “DEAAARRR! Answar me, I can hear youuuu.” He sing songed out in response, the sound of sloshing coming through. I closed my eyes, letting out a deep breath, “I haven’t been called dear in quite a while.” A smirk grew on my face as I heard a gasp; I climbed the steps to the wheel, confidence growing with each step. “Did you hear about that Alicorn?” He actually responded, no fear in his embodiment of stupid drunk. “Uhhh, Yerr? Weren’t that why yous was called out there? Is *hiccup* this Nolo?” “Nope,” I mouthed ‘load the cannons’ to the mares watching me, until they finally started moving, balls rolling across the deck. Folami saluted me, a happy grin on her muzzle now. “Any other guesses?” I turned the boat slightly, quietly grabbing more power from the wind. “Errruuummm?” He asked uncertainly. ‘FU’, yellow energy moved from my side channels and legs, rushing to my center channel. A chuckle escaped me, “Nope. Hey, is your crew resting too? If not you should send them to rest, have a drink to my success.” Cheers rang out over the headset, “Alreaaadyyyy onn itttt!” The clangs of glass on glass echoed, “Here is a twoast tooooo….Whooo’s cwalling?” He called us, but I didn’t mention that, “Ari.” “Toooo Arriiiii!” I placed the headset and jewel down on the deck. ‘FU….’, white light blasted from the center of my sight, gasps came from the deck, and the target ‘s cabin was wiped off the ship. I didn’t hit the hull or mast this time. A small swiping sound came from the jewel before it went silent. Cheers rang out from the mares, stomps echoing in the hull, as they celebrated our easy victory. My ship approached the crewless vessel, which I quickly boarded. All the while enjoying the light, playful nips from the mare on my back. Really I just felt great in general. Another ship down and…One, two, eight more, that I could see anyway, no small ships. It was just large slave ships. None of the specks of ships were turning back and I wasn’t either, my mares were probably frantically pacing Kapera’s shop right now, if not combing the city... This would be over before they even knew what was happening. The Final Preparations.Author's Note Happy Easter everypony! After some technical difficulties the chapters are done, thank you for the patience. Next chapter is a big one, we finally go back to our princesses. Happy reading! The Final Preparations. **** The Gryphon Republic and Minotaria Border Ari Today was the day. Yes, the day. Not just another endless blend of slogging through the land to get supplies or another boring flight, it was the final stretch before I reached the edge of Equestria, and everybeing knew it. My marefriends were super glued to me ever since we woke, their barrels pressed so close to mine that I could feel their breaths pressing against mine, and I had had a constant buzzing in my left ear as well. Not that I blamed them for being nervous, I certainly was. If all went according to plan, by nightfall I would be teleporting two unconscious racists onboard the ship. And if everything went pear shaped, well, that was a thought I tried to avoid focusing on. But, it would be infinitely worse. I felt butterflies twist in my stomach when I thought about that, moving my endless hunger to the side as knots formed in my stomach with every passing minute I spent on the possibility of failure. Although my nerves weren’t as bad as somebeing’s nerves, the Ayo’s were strangely jittery. Both of them jumping at every noise, from the wind whistling by up here to the faint whapping of a lose rope. Not to mention they had been gravitating to my haunches since they exited their cabin. Our prisoner just trailed behind them. Echo was in a bit of a slump. He wasn’t crying outright or anything quite as dramatic as that, but I could feel the sadness in the way he was acting on autopilot. The shackles didn’t seem to exist to him as he shuffled behind us this morning, his slitted eyes were dull, and I didn’t receive anymore manners lessons from him after he went silent yesterday. I didn’t feel it was my correction either; it wasn’t that bad of a hit, more of a tap really. Still, despite what he had said, the racist beliefs that were clearly still inside his psyche, I didn’t like seeing him like that. He believed that he was in the right before and to consider his whole life and aspirations were causing suffering across the continent couldn’t be an easy message to take in. Even Equestrians like Marble Cake were affected by their mess. How she didn’t have ponies looking for her still puzzled me. Echo certainly didn’t indicate that he had heard of any missing pony reports on any of them. So I just let Moonlit Echo be, there was nothing I could say that would help him. It was more of an internal dilemma he faced and only the arrival of his princess would help clear his conscious…Or spin him into a depression so bad he considered other options. It was hard for me to tell which way the princesses really were aligned. But, aside from the clearly nervous air on the ship, the day was going well so far. Yesterday we had just made it to the edge of the mountain range, descending slightly before the sun started to set on us. The last stretch had been the major time waster as the fog had moved in, which combined with a light drizzle and ominous roaring that we heard added to our immense joy…And also made me drive very slowly. So today we started out with a slightly cloudy, mountain free expanse to fly over. I really, really wanted to floor it. The clouds were even starting to drift away as my herd and I made our way to the control room. The warm breezes were deceiving to my mood as I saw the endless pool below us, continuing into the horizon before patches of green began. “Feeling better Ari?” A feminine voice called from up ahead. Looking away from the devastation, I saw Ayodele had trotted ahead of me, my hooves having stalled at the sight of flooded farmland. She was turned back to me, while her cousin stood beside her and tried a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Be friendly. Breaking into a smile I perked my ears at her, “Much better!” That book actually had had a useful healing spell. “Not even an itch this morning!” But, “I just hope we can find a fur growing spell next.” Ayodele’s smile faltered a little as she gazed at me, gulping before turning back towards the control room, and swishing her tail in wide arcs. “Y-you look fine!” I raised an eyebrow at that, glancing between my bald patches and the zebra. I looked questionable at best with the many long, thin bald patches that inter connected at points, a tail no longer than my dock, and my wing joint was still missing the feathers around it where Folami had plucked them. “Define ‘fine’ for me because this doesn’t look like a good first impression to me.” My mares snorted at my form, but nothing came from the slowly jingling colt behind us, not even a dig at how looking odd wouldn’t be proper. Her ear twitched back my way as her cousin alternating between looking at my bald patches and Ayodele’s set of near matching furless areas. Okay, so we both looked a little worse for wear, but she wasn’t trying to talk to royalty. My ‘Alicorn card’ would only take me so far. We had to find something to make me look better than this. I would bet one of their first questions would be ‘what happened’ and that would lead down a rabbit hole I couldn’t let them know about till I had them restrained. And if they were aware of slavery…I didn’t like to think about that, my plan would be infinitely harder then. Moving on from that depressing line of thought, we trickled into the control room. Our prisoner curling up with a long sigh as we shared a frown around him, wide eyed looks and eye pointing gave me a unspoken ‘do something’ message, like I had some control over him. Shaking my head at the colt and by default the rest of the group as well, I moved on to the control panel and started checking the oil levels, and finding the overall level of everything good I raised the levers. First I stopped slightly above the halfway point, crouching slightly as we lurched forward, and a smile started to grow. Thrumming came in from the open door as Chrissy and Lyric settled beside me on the cushion. As everybeing was settled I started to raise the levers more, the wind whistling by the cabin as several sets of wide eyes found mine. Shrugging my withers at them I watched the ground turn into a blur of green, blue, and brown. Patches of other colors blending in as my heart pounded. I was shaving days of travel this way…It’s too bad I can’t fly this in Equestria. “Okay,” I addressed everybeing, happy to note that their eyes had returned to normal. Now for food, several pops filled the room, and our breakfast arrived as I tried to get my head on straight. Although I wasn’t an automobile junkie like my uncle could be at times, I still appreciated the speed. Although, maybe a little too much.“Today is going to be big,” my mares exhaled beside me, tensing as I continued. “So I was hoping I could count on you,” I looked at Ayodele, “To steer while I get ready.” “Me?” She questioned, looking me strangely. Her head cocking as her eyes searched my face. I didn’t know why it was so strange to her; she had practically…Actually she had forced herself on this trip, claiming she was ‘here to help’. I suspected her help wasn’t entirely for Ayomide’s or my benefit. “Of course Chrissy and Lyric will be here to help if you want to take a break,” I paused as she frowned, letting her ears splay for a second. It was kind of hard of me to justify her presence on this trip, the ploy had been very obvious, and it would be helpful if I didn’t have to steer for a little bit…I also needed to give my mares sometime to hopefully end the crush she had on me. The first talk obviously didn’t work. Just sitting and watching us couldn’t be fun for Ayodele. So, having her steer sounded good. She was there for the intro on how the ship worked and could actually read the manual if anything went wrong. Having my herd stay with Ayodele also prevented her from being alone with the Thestral, he may be down now, but that could be a well thought out act… I wasn’t paranoid. Echo was clearly upset; even as the ship rushed forward, and breakfast was dispersed he still wasn’t really eating. “Really,” Ayodele asked, looking uncertainly between my herd mates. Chrissy just rolled her eyes, leaning her body onto me to sprawl out as Lyric paused in her breakfast to narrow her eyes at the zebras. Silence edged into the room as I let the unspoken message transfer. As her eyes went down, I swallowed my mouthful of hay, answering in the kindest way I could. “Of course, it would be a big help if you could manage the controls.” Her eyes rose slightly, watching me as I perked my ears. Excitement bubbled up, replacing the anxiety as I thought of how close we were. “And my herd will be here in case…,” I trailed off, letting my eyes wander over to our despondent prisoner. A sigh was the only sign he had heard me. Her eyes returned to mine, green orbs bright in the sunlight as her ears rose. Wind blew by the door, rattling it as she opened her mouth, paused, and closed it to nod. The energy back in her somewhat, not as much as before, but enough that I didn’t feel like such a dick about sending the wrong signals before…Actually, I did tell that I didn’t know the culture here…Well, I still felt a little bad upsetting her. But, it wouldn’t have worked out anyway. I still had thousands of years left in me apparently. That fact actually made me freeze, a cold shiver settling in as a fact really hit me. They still had thousands of years left. If this did go…Then…I would have to pray that they were merciful, that they could settle for being friends. Glancing between my mares I noticed their focused stares at what must be an interesting expression on my face. Looking at Chrissy, I gave a wan smile, pushing away that thought for now. “Sorry, my emotions are kind of all over the place today,” as sea green eyes softened and a smile grew on her muzzle I turned to Lyric, “This just feels pretty big to me.” Lyric nodded since her mouth was full of fruit at the movement. It never would have worked out. Turning away from my herd I found brown eyes. They widened slightly as Ayomide realized I was looking at her, after a second they blinked and grew further away. Suddenly shy under my gaze, I broke the stare off as I glanced at her stubbly remains of a mane. Frowning for second, I let my words form in my head, still unsure on how to handle myself around somebeing that tried to kill me. The mindset alone to do that…The fortitude she would have needed to take life after life for coin…It was still a little flabbergasting to me. Still, she was just another being in this world, a world I was mostly unfamiliar with. My knowledge of earth’s poisons were limited to the few included in mystery novels and that knowledge was next to useless in this world. I needed her help on this. “Ayomide,” the mare in question slowly nodded, sitting straighter as I continued, “I need your help this morning baking the cakes and icing.” A quick nod followed, no words coming forth as her eyes seemed dull with the real meaning of my words. Help me poison the princesses. Her ears twitched in an attempt to splay out, going down slightly before standing rigidly upright. But no argument or question was started, not even a question of when I would ask for her assistance came from her tightly drawn lips. Flexing my wings a little, I smiled at her before looking back out the window. Loving thoughts were slow to come to me as I saw the blur, knowing that the murky water was before us, but they slowly trickled in as we moved on. Picking up speed as a strong wind began, I raised the lever a little more, and the thrumming sputtered a little. Clunks and fizzes sounded as several calls of my name rang out, ending as I lowered the levers a notch. Maybe I wouldn’t go quite that fast. As I rhythmic thrumming started to even out again I got settled in. Nips notwithstanding it had totally been worth flooring it. The clock ticked onward and the bales diminished, being replenished several times over as we marveled at the land before us. Patches of almost all the colors of the rainbow passed by in the blur of hours, easily one hundred thousand acres of farmland that was yet to be touched by the encroaching flood waters. Among the fields I swore there were small dots of red, blue, tan, and black. The Minotaurs that almost moved by too fast for me to track as they too moved around in a great orchestra of movement, only stilling as our shadow approached and provided a moment of shade under the summer sun. Some even appeared to run after us. Whether they were chasing the shade or knew it was me was still unclear, the latter very unlikely from my altitude. But the sight still brought a smile to my face. The entire world wasn’t ruined yet. With my mares content and lightly dozing against my barrel I found I was growing sleepy myself, the rhythmic thrumming almost lulling me into a lazy lull, that is until I saw the new horizon. Dark green forests lay ahead, an endless canopy that was mere hours away, and from there I would head due east towards the onyx anthills in the furthest distance. My heart started to pump harder, faster, and I couldn’t stop my feathers from puffing up. Chrissy’s eyes found mine in the next instant, and a slow buzz started as Lyric’s tail started swishing. All I could give them was a smile. It didn’t do my nerves justice, but I didn’t know what to tell them. So I turned to our company, finding my helpers lazily dozing in a patch of sun. Clearing my throat and effectively gaining the attention of the zebras, I stood and let my magic fade from the steering wheel. The wheel moved slightly. It turned either way for a moment as Ayodele got up, nuzzling her cousin as she also rose, and both made their way to their respective destinations. Giving my mares a brief nuzzle as well, I rose and started off to the cabin with Ayomide trailing behind me. Ayomide wasn’t bad, not in the true sense of the word, but her choice in earlier career made the walk over distinctly awkward, at least on my part. I couldn’t think beyond her past during that time. We walked at a sedate pace over, the world below us passing by in a brightly colored blur. Only the whizzing sound of air going past us taking up the space between us, the gap seemed large though. I didn’t have to talk to her, but it felt like I should get an idea where her head was at. One hundred thousand bits was a lot of money…No, it wasn’t even that. I was curious, really fascinated at the idea of somebeing just deciding ‘yup, assassination is the way to go’. Of course I knew it might not be that simple, but she had left her family, country, and ended up doing that. Of course, asking the questions I wanted answered was easier said than done. “So, have you been…,” I trailed off as the answer came to me, of course she was enjoying the time with her cousin. Before I could think of a smarter question we entered the dining room and she quickly turned to the bedroom, off to get her poison I assumed. That went well. Making my way to the kitchen I shook off the frustration and tried to move past my blankness of what to talk to her about. The topic of killing, assassination kept coming up in my mind, and quite frankly it appeared like she wanted to move past that chapter in her life. Any conversation I had overheard between them had centered on how the potion shop was doing, family matters, or various cultural points that made no sense to me out of context. Instead of trying to deal with my mental block I focused on what cake would be easiest to bake. And that was a great question since I wasn’t even a good baker, maybe mediocre at best, I mean, I was very familiar with Betty Crocker. But, unfortunately my kitchen didn’t come with pre-made cake mix, which was really a miracle considering everybeing seemed to have made a cake joke about me at one time. Cake was just too sweet, well, the icing was anyway. I didn’t like sugary sweets generally. What they had left me was sort of useful, I couldn’t read the bins when we had the tour but mares seemed happy, and I settled for that. The design of the kitchen was nice at least; very similar to the one I had at home. Blue gems adorned my lower cupboards, one for each door, while the upper cabinets and drawers were free of gems. The countertops were a smooth, lacquered light wood. It curved around the room, only bulging where a black stove stood out slightly; still it made an ‘L’ shape that hugged the long island that took up the center of the room. As I began looking through the cupboards a slow clip clopping reached my ears, swiveling them back I continued with my search. They stopped behind me, before soft clips in place caught my attention. “Just put the vials on the island, I need to find the ingredients still.” My voice echoed back from my place in the cupboard. The hoof steps started up again, ending when a clink of the vials on the island. But I tuned it out, grabbing several canisters to examine them. The first one held white powder, the second had off white powder, and the third…Pink powder? My eyebrow rose but I placed the lids back on and the canisters on counter. The next hieroglyph decaled containers I found confused me even further, all had different shades of purple crystals, and the texture was almost like sugar or salt. But the smells didn’t match any that I recognised. “Can I help you…gather anything?” Ayomide’s voice piped up, a little hesitant, and offer sounded unsure. As if she wasn’t sure she wanted to. I sighed, putting down the containers. “Actually, you could,” I looked the other cupboards, grabbing the knobs in my magic as a frown worked its way onto my face. “I don’t know what ingredients are the same as earth,” I looked at the canisters that had the white powder, flour I assumed, “And what is like what I need.” Levitating the many canisters out, I began to list the ingredients, “Flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, and butter…Or margarine.” Her eyes remained blank, “Something with oil or fat in it. Lard maybe?” Slowly Ayomide nodded, “Right,” she made her over to the counter, watching my close form with a tense posture for a second before peeking into each cylinder with a practiced ease, seemingly forgetting my presence. As she began dismissing some I levitated more down for her, replacing them till she held up a hoof. The island holding five canisters already, “Do you want to make chocolate cake or anything specific?” “No,” I finished returning the containers to their original places, “Just a plain white cake.” We turned to the island, a bright light filling my mind’s eye as I grabbed the bowls. She grabbed the spoons and measuring cups, standing a little ways from me, as if my wings would pop out and smack her at the wrong move. Her voice was very hesitant, nervous eyes flicking to my face and then the ingredients. “Did you want me to…,” the question trailed off as our eyes met, brown orbs widening in a trance. Frustration grew in me as her stare carried on, the cake not getting made, and my nerves just not able to stand this tip toeing around her. “You are uncomfortable around me.” I didn’t mean to sound quite so blunt, but I didn’t know what else to say, and I was just as uncomfortable. Working with somebeing that tried to kill you was a little surreal, even after everything it was still up there on the ‘WTF’ list. “Y-yes,” she blinked, trotting past me to the stove. There she stood on her hind legs and tapped the orange gem twice, the gem glowing a darker orange with each tap. Her gaze pointedly avoiding mine, the nervous mare that was sticking to my haunches earlier appeared to be gone without her cousin around. Now I had this cautious filly of a mare, more awkward than I would expect for somebeing that killed people for a living for eight years. How in the world did her life come to that anyway? “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I feel about the same.” One ear swivelled in my direction as she started to organize the bowls by hoof, pushing the largest one in the middle. “No being has every tried to kill me before.” Although some guys may have wished I didn’t exist. “I don’t really know what to say to you and your cousin,” pausing I listened for movement, and finding none I continued. “Really, I don’t know what to say to her.” Any tips? That broke her silence, the spoon clattering into the large bowl before me as her ears went back. “So you let your marefriends do the dirty work then?” The lack of emotion in her question scared me more than the words themselves. I slowly looked over to her, gulping at the truth in it. “The way I understand it the mares here are sort of in charge of herd management.” She cocked her head at me, “I mean, when Lyric joined the herd it was after a mare challenge and Chrissy’s acceptance…Of course I did have to say yes too, but that seems like a footnote in the whole process from the way they talked about it.” My ears splayed a little as I inspected the different dry ingredients. Still no response, “Sure, I can veto their decisions and challenge results but it sort of sounded like…” I already said that, “And it feels like mares do a lot more in the courting part of the relationship.” “Really,” she asked, genuinely sounding confused. “That’s why you didn’t say anything to my cousin? Del goes on and on about you.” We locked eyes, her hooves measuring the beige powder by feel alone, and she was seemed to be pretty accurate from what I could see. “She doesn’t believe your mares,” a snort escaped her as a small grin twisted its way up her muzzle, “Even when I point out the lack of interest you show.” “Maybe now she will…” We continued measuring for a while longer, the bowls slowly filling up as the silence grew between us. I didn’t know what to else to say to that. Would my words work on Ayodele then if the most obvious ploys to have my mares sort it out didn’t? Placing the last of the dirty cups in the sink she stood on her hind hooves beside the island, the sight made me pause in my mixing. Hooves still puzzled me, even after the generalized explanation of ‘earth pony’ magic being present in everybeing I still didn’t quite understand the how the magic produced grip. Wasn’t earth magic a connection to the ground as well? How did it decide to switch? Was it unconscious or something else that made the switch? But that was for another moment. The sight of her mixing the icing was strangely mesmerising, as she slowly emptied the vials one by one into the bowl, and turned the icing a pale green. Brown eyes looked up from their work, glancing between the bowl before me and the spoon I had suspended in my magic. “Did you want me to?” Shaking my head, I blinked to clear my thoughts and I started on mixing the dry ingredients. Slowly adding water as my eyes kept going to the icing. “So, know any flavors I could say that icing is?” “Treeme,” Ayomide said, almost questioning her choice of whatever it was. “Would whatever that is be believable though? I feel like the color is still odd and I need them to eat all of it.” It may have been the doubt in my voice, but as I finished mixing the cake she rolled her eyes and looked to the cupboards. “Grab me the gro-,” she stopped herself, sighing before continuing, “-The dark blue powder.” Nodding I levitated the canister over, watching as it turned the icing a dark yellow. “So, just remember it is a special icing recipe with Treeme fruit extract and ground Bruneberry.” “Bruneberry and Treeme fruit, I got it.” Setting the icing aside, I poured the mix into two round cake pans, and set those in the oven that was nearly the same as a modern one. Except it didn’t have a timer or a digital display at all. All it had was five orange gems. “How do I know when to take it out?” Ayomide looked over from her search, rustling around in a cupboard beneath the island that I hadn’t noticed before. “Hmm,” raising her eyebrow at me she frowned, “You look at the clock like any other being? Don’t they do that on Earth?” I nodded, “Yes, but most appliances have clocks and timers on them.” “A-HA!” I jumped in place at the outburst. Apparently she had finally found what she wanted. Muffled bangs came from the space as I peered at her head stuck under there, after a short time she backed out of the space with a large tin in her mouth. A second later her hoof went back in, coming out with the lid. “Sorry about that…” She trailed off, tensing as she put them on the counter. I just laughed in relief and mild embarrassment, a way to carry the cakes was one part I hadn’t quite thought of yet. I was just glad it was something actually bad that had caused her outburst; my nerves couldn’t handle another surprise today. Catching my breath, I smiled down at her wide eyed stare, “No problem, you know you don’t have to be anything…Proper,” that was the wrong word, “Or fake around me. Being an Alicorn doesn’t mean much besides more magic and longer live expectancy, I’m just like you on the inside.” “Mhm,” she grabbed the empty vials in her hoof and went to the door, frowning at the floor the whole way. I followed, expecting more from her. You don’t just say ‘mhm’ in that tone and not follow it with something. “Well?” “Well what?” She snapped at me, ears going back as we entered the main cabin. “You know what it feels like to make your first kill, forced to chose between your life and somebeing else?” I walked beside her now, frowning at her words. How do you answer that? It was pretty specific and most beings I assumed wouldn’t know. I sure as hell didn’t know that feeling. The clock ticked on as I failed to answer. “I have to go home and explain to my aunt, the mare that practically raised me that I had been killing beings for the last eight years, and that I can’t even bring home any bits to show her!” A ‘scritch’ came from her mouth as she clamped her teeth together. Tail whipping, she continued to my growing horror, “All of my bits are trapped in my hide out,” her eyes closed, “Which is probably raided already since I didn’t come back with your head.” We arrived at the crew bedroom, her withers shaking as I opened the door for her, and my wing twitched with uncertainty at this situation. Would it be too forward to give her a wing hug? Her entire career changed, eight years of moral anguish was all for nothing. Nothing could really erase that. Still, Zebrica had changed. “But I will be around to keep the slavers down, no being needs to pay them off,” she nodded as the vials slipped under her pillow. “And from what Ayodele said the shop doesn’t sound to be in a bad state or anything like that,” again, another nod. But her head was slowly rising as she turned to face me, a fact that had my ears up again. A bang echoed from across the deck. We both winced at each other, likely having the same thoughts. The signs were obvious even to me this morning. She gave me a small smile, her eyes crinkling under my widening stare. “Thanks,” exhaling a big breath the former assassin glanced at the clock, “You should take the cake out in forty minutes.” Making our way back I was dreading what we would find, but strangely happy with how the cake making had gone. The icing making didn’t really need Ayomide there, I could have easily just had her explain it to me, yet I felt like we needed to clear the air. Not just between Ayomide and me, I had noticed the sidelong looks from Ayodele yesterday, and I tried not to think of the way her eyes sparkled at me. What we found wasn’t what I expected. My bets were on Chrissy, all the way. I loved that mare, but she was the more vocal one with her agitation. Yet, that was clearly Lyric pinning Ayodele to the floor. Looking to Chrissy, “Mare challenge,” I asked, already knowing the answer. And she nodded, glancing between Ayomide and I with a raised eyebrow. Turning to my siren as Chrissy made her way to my side, I watched as she slowly removed her hoof from the mare’s neck. The message having made itself very well known as Ayodele just laid there, not even twitching as her cousin curled up beside her prone form. It was then that my brain noticed the other oddity. Echo was steering. Watching him as Lyric crooned her way to me, I noticed his eyes briefly glance at the scene before nodding at me. “Baths,” ears swivelled in my direction, “We are going to need a bath.” Complicated thoughts escaped me, yet I knew I needed to cleanse my scent a little, on the small chance that Celestia recognized the smell of changelings. As scales met fur I turned my herd around, keeping an ear back on the odd scene. Ayodele wasn’t even physically hurt, the victory appearing to have been a swift one from the lack of noise we had heard. And as we exited the control room and entered our own I still didn’t hear anything. The ship didn’t start to nosedive or turn; in fact it felt like it was going faster. Running the water, I watched as Lyric practically glowed beside me. She was even prancing in place a little. The victory still seemed to linger in her mind, clearly a big deal for her and a nice development in my opinion as well. Ayodele can’t have any doubts after that! “I guess she wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Chuckling to myself until Lyric got a odd look in her eye. Making her high pitched crooning sound again, she twisted herself around my body. Dragging her tail under my chin as it rose and flipped over, tightening my stomach as I felt the familiar sensation begin. Chrissy giggled beside me, starting to twist the other way. Her blue tail held my attention, slowly rising as I tried focus, “Didn’t we already do this today?” Her eyes followed mine. Purring answered me, low and throaty as a pink glow enveloped the door. The heady mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, water lilies and some other sweet floral scent filled my nose. My herd’s scent almost clouded my senses as the blood continued to flow downward, growing heavier as my heart sped up. Flaring my nostrils as my instincts reared their head and I went with it. Before I could start anything hooves reached under my barrel, forcing a small whinny of surprise from me at the sudden contact with my stallionhood. But I soon melted under their ministrations as the hooves increased in speed, moving in tandem, up and down. Nickering back at them, I turned my head and could only see the winking forms of my mares, and their heads were slowly lowering. My cock grew hard as hot bursts of air flowed over my base, the resulting twitches highlighted by the slapping sound against my stomach. With the heavenly smell of my mares filling my nostrils I gave an instinctually bucked forward into their hooves, my sack swinging, and a heavy feeling taking hold in them. Yet the smooth caresses didn’t really match the real deal, the source of the smell that was driving me crazy. Flexing my neck, the sight encouraged me. Golden lips winked at me, letting a small dribble out as the moist tunnel moved away. Ignoring the splashing of water hitting porcelain I grabbed her by the dock, finding my prize as a hoof faltered, and rested softly on my glans. Trapped between my fur and her hoof, I groaned and slowly thrust my hips with the lone hoof stroking me, and the time grew harder to keep track of. Pushing the dark form of my mare over with me as I turned around in the small space of the bathroom, facing Lyric’s shuddering form, and increasing the tempo of my tongue. A squeal brought me back. Her legs spread momentarily, eyes lidded as Chrissy’s hoof left my cock wanting more, but as I reared up she darted around. The following splash had me on her tail, airborne for a second as I jumped after her. Clattering and splashing filled the room for a moment. A sparkle shone in her eyes as a wide grin spread across her muzzle, her tail swishing on her back and beckoning me over. Quickly settling my hooves on her scales, I positioned myself with a couple of sloshes of water, and a horn grazed by wing as I entered. Slowly, the pressure pounding in my member as moist warmth overtook me. She clenched around me, mewling as pink sparks flickered in front of me. And with that I lost what control I had, plowing into her tight form with one loud squelch. As her tunneled milked me my breaths came out in pants. The pressure built in me as a tongue started on the base of my wing, sending them outward, and into the walls with a wince on my part. But the slick bodies around me fueled my instincts onward. Grabbing her mane in my mouth I quickly started moving, starting with a slow rhythm as I tried to calm down, which was quickly thrown away as she started backing into my hips. Faster and faster, the pressure building as the water went everywhere. We would wash each other after, definitely after. Beneath me a loud squeal started, gripping me as I tried to reach that point, and small waves started. My mare moving forward with a muffled splash, the water at our bellies, but that only seemed to spur her on. The end was so close, the water coming up and washing my sides as a warm mouth sorted through my feathers. I froze in balls deep in her as the water actually hugged the my balls, caressing them like they had hands, and I was lost. Relief spread through, mixing with the pleasure as anther squeal started below me. Hot ropes of stress releasing into my siren as a hot squirt splashed back onto my sac. It lasted for a while before I had enough reasoning to release my grip, letting her mane and body fall. But the water just swirled around her like a living being, almost cradling her above it. Mesmerizing me almost as much as her content smile and closed eyes. They matched how I felt. My muscles felt so loose, begging to sink down into the water. An ebony hoof entered my line of sight as it rested on top of the shining scales, “My turn.” I wasn’t one to refuse. Eventually though we did leave the bathroom, having actually cleaned each other after relaxing, and although I was a little worried at returning to the control room I didn’t need to be. Ayomide was exiting the dining hall as we came out. The time! “Don’t worry they just came out, I wasn’t expecting you out so soon.” I managed a small smile at her guess, my ears splaying at my timing. Chuckling quietly, we soon met her midway. Stopping to watch the world go by, I looked between the room and Ayomide. Raising my eyebrow in what I hoped was a obvious question. And it was. “She is…Recovering.” A frown started on my muzzle, an action that Ayomide just shook her head at, “Once we get home she will work herself through it.” Our eyes met as her ears came forward, “You aren’t her first crush, you know?” “She isn’t physically hurt,” Lyric spoke up, ear going sideways under our gaze. Her cousin just shook her head at my herd, “Just give her sometime before you go back in.” As Chrissy’s mouth opened, “Don’t worry about the bat, he is just focused on what his Pwecious Luna would really do.” With the forests approaching, growing clearer, and not much left to do I teleported our cushion to the deck, settling on it as I considered my hooves. The cake would have to cool before I iced it, but these obvious conversation starters needed work. The healing spell didn’t affect hooves. You imagine my disappointment when I learned that, and my surprise. Kapera had almost thought of everything. Before I could open my mouth Chrissy said just one word, “Bandages.” After a couple of blinks I gathered my magic and brought the red kit before us with a pop. Rose tinted magic took the kit from my magic, retrieving the rolls of bandages, and dropped one before me before starting on the closer hoof. Taking the white bandages in my field of magic I looked at the crack, it almost went to the base of my hoof, and I cringed inside at the glimpse of blood that peeked from deep within the crack. The porcelain wasn’t gentle on it, but I hadn’t noticed at the time. Copying Lyric’s method I started just above my knee, moving down my pastern, and ending at my hoof. Cocking my head at the finished results, I rose and craned my head to examine the work. It was a stark difference from my dark fur but it looked almost sporty, certainly not as gruesome as the sight before. Nerves tingled along my back, raising my fur as I excused myself to prepare the cakes, but I passed them off as nerves. A little sex didn’t erase the fact that I was lying and more than likely ponynapping the two most important figures in Equestria. Icing the cake didn’t take long at all and so within minutes I had two white cakes, covered in a innocent yellow icing, and packed in a equally inconspicuous tin. Exiting the dining cabin I froze mid-step as the ship slowed down, shuddering under my hooves as it slowed to a crawl. The door to the control room opened. In the short time it had taken me to prepare the cakes, word had spread across the ship. Jingling and clip clopping sounded as my good bye party stood by my herd, the saddle bags already full and held aloft for me to slip on. Walking slowly over, I felt the pressure build a little. Beings were counting on this, even if they didn’t know it, and that felt very heavy on my mind. I hadn’t even flown very far before... Releasing my breath, I pushed the nerves down. Beings were dead either way, my way just meant less death, even if I may become the most wanted stallion afterwards. Ayodele watched the deck, never quite raising her head enough to look me in the eye. But I just smiled at her and wished it could have been different. Her cousin and Echo had almost matching looks, their eyes holding determination as they nodded to me, although the Lunar guard also held another emotion in his eyes. It flickered in and out as I nodded back. My herd had most of my attention though. Even though it would just be the afternoon the looks they gave me made it look like it was going to be forever. Standing before them, I felt wrong leaving them, even for the short time I had to, and from the way I could see how Chrissy was shifting her hooves she felt the same way. Nothing really came to me at first, the silence only broken by the wind, and her hooves. “I will be back for dinner,” glancing at Echo, “And I will on my best behaviour.” He snorted at my grin. Though the grin faltered for a second as the pack was placed on my back. Carefully cramming the tin in the empty bag, I paused and mentally checked everything off. Poisoned cake, magical inhibitors, and a mostly tidy appearance…All good, then it occurred to me. We were in the middle of a wide open plain. A dark green far below us and the forest a good distance away still. Nothing was hiding the ship, if any curious onlooker glanced or even down with our shadow… This bugged the hell out of my instincts, not only was I leaving my pregnant marefriends to do something very risky, but I was leaving them in the open. Hell no, “Actually,” my feathers ruffled, “Can you move the ship towards the small mountain over there?” Pointing to the closest tall mass, which was still a ways off, but it was some cover. I saw my mare’s mouths open and quickly interjected, “I will definitely find you, don’t worry. I just don’t want the ship in the open like this.” Nods came from the group, my herd mates slow to nod as they fixed me with hard stares. The message was very clear but I only smiled. Unless they blasted away the dining room I couldn’t mess up the teleportation. So, with nothing more to really say, nothing that could be said anyway, and everything accounted for I spread my wings for liftoff. One step back, the warm breeze whispered under my feathers, and I let them ruffle for a second before I shot forward. A single flap taking me a couple hundred feet forward, the following flaps sending my towards Equestria, and away from the rumble of my airship flying away. Plans Unravelled. Part 1.Plans Unravelled. Part 1. **** Above Canterlot Gardens, Equestria Ari I blinked at the sunlight. Was I going mad? I narrowed my eyes. No? The idea was still possible, hell, it might explain how this whole situation came to be. Yet it felt too real… Gray, crackling comets flew before me...In the daytime. I know, but it was real, and they were rocketing across the blue sky in an impossible way, diving down, weaving around the garden’s tall hedges and statues as they made their way towards me. It was as if…They weren’t comets at all. That made a strange sort of sense in this world. Warmth sailed by dock, the smell of burning hair reaching me a second later. My throat was suddenly dry. So squinting harder against the sun, I continued my ascent, pumping my wings as I watched the unnatural movements. Definitely not comets… And I soon proved my thought to be correct as I found the producers of said stormy trails. Blurry elongated forms that didn’t seem to be a form of celestial rock, at least none that I had ever seen. But that left me even further puzzled. What were they then? Whizzing about I couldn’t get a read on them. Better yet, what were they up to? They swerved around my position, still too fast for detail to be known. And everything was making no sense. It had to be ponies, or, if not that, then something made by ponies to attack me. Thinking on it, if you could fly that fast then why not knock me out? Was it just me that thought of that? I hoped not. However, it could be the fact that I’m holding the princesses, no pony would want me to drop those. Spears halted behind me, out of ammo, but the presence of the angry ponies still lingered. And seconds later the ‘comets’ were circling back to the gaping hole I was currently exiting from. The comets started to angle down towards me a second later. Not shockingly they were after me. Not wasting a moment I ended my ascent, angling my own frantic wings at the horizon, as far away from the strange things as I could be. A spear whizzed by my muzzle then, as if to remind me I couldn’t escape with my magic yet. Then yelling reached me from above, indistinct but none the less worrying, and quite possibly a source for the new spears. My heart started to hammer in a staccato beat only a little bit later, the exertion of carrying the mares not even hitting me yet. But the reality of what I had done was taking over. I have royalty in my hooves. And Blueblood’s words came back to me as my mind went into overrdrive. ‘Them’ he had called these ponies, if they even were ponies. They were going as fast I felt like when I was rushing over before. That was a lot of magic, energy to have. Yet, I wasn’t staying around to see if there was any other reason why he spoke of them like that. Rushing out over the castle’s ornamental gardens I put the pedal to the metal. My eyes locking onto a far grey dot and my lungs releasing a big sigh of relief, it wasn’t too far. I had made it to the castle in an afternoon. Losing them was possible. Momentum grew as I arrowed forward, air whipping at my ears. Surprisingly the crackle of the comet pony things faded and my hurried flaps actually made headway on a gap. Except my mind wouldn’t cheer from that fact, my magic was locked in, occupied with maintaining the gap and holding onto the princesses. Still the noise wasn’t getting any closer. Why was their pursuit nonexistent? They- I swerved to the right. A bright beam of magic soared under my wing, where my body used to be…Hmm, yah, maybe I will think of the ‘why’ later. I am a giant black target in the sky. So I pumped my wings harder, focusing on the air growing cooler, lighter, and louder as the manicured garden flashed by increasingly faster it seemed. But the view of the acres of extravagance was lost in the mantra I had started. A grasp at sanity in this horrible twist… Up, down, up, down. And continued to go faster and harder. I pushed my body, ignoring the wind tugging on my cargo, and frowning at the hum growing with my needed distance. It wasn’t a crackle like my magic or the comet trails. It was growing louder by the second, clearer, and more like an angry buzz. Looking behind me, I was just in time to see the comet trails disappear back over the castle proper. But I was unfortunate enough to see that the guards were following me from the dining hall at a harried pace still. And following them was a jumble of angry voices and tangled exclamations. They reached me in a muted roar. It seemed the strange blue ponies were just the beginning of this new hell I had brought upon myself, a very odd beginning at that. The numbers behind me didn’t add up to the cacophony of the roar though. It was more like an angry concert mob than the few squadrons of guards behind me, gaining on me I dare say. Where? I looked ahead of me at the clear skies before returning my gaze at the angry guards. There was nothing- shit- nothing that could be worse It couldn’t have been just a couple dozen guards that patrolled the windows, no, that wouldn’t be enough for an Alicorn. I deserved the Royal treatment as the flock from Canterlot had proved earlier. And never let it be said that Canterlot did anything by halves. Pegasi were coming out of the marble work in droves, rising over the castle proper like a pastel wave of anger as they honed in on me. And not just the guards leaving their posts by the windows, there were citizens that had flown from the city with me, chariot drivers charging onward and the unicorn nobles seated in the aforementioned vehicles, all were surely spouting promises of pain. Even on the ground the ponies were galloping out from any exit in a rage, almost like ants from my altitude. Ponies were everywhere and all had evil eyes for me as they plotted amongst each other in the mess of noise behind me. Like I had thought, the whole town knew. And I was already sweating bullets as the guards, pegasi and chariots began to flank me again. Treating the gap I had gained like it was nothing. Ahead of me the mountains, my ship was too far, and my following too great. Warmth gathered on my hocks before I felt the inevitable behind me. Dozens of fresh hooves were trying with all their might to latch onto something to slow me down. The cold metal tips of the guards hooves brushing up at my fetlocks in a frenzied pace. Everypony was just as eager as the next to be my literal downfall. New spears sailed over me in a heart attack producing build up of whizzing wood and steel. Most missed me almost comically; a few were still too close to my wings and other important under bits for my own comfort. It was a clack of teeth hitting the air by my hock was my last straw. “Fuck,” I bunched up my hind legs and bucked in midair, “Off!” Ignoring the heat crackled by my wing I repeated the act once more, the grunts of contact behind me spurring me on. Hurting them caused a momentary silence, deafening, before they exploded with emotion. It didn’t help. From then on, the crowd always seemed to have a pony ready to fill the gap behind me. Like a relay race, chase to accurate, and I was feeling more and more doomed. My wings seemly did nothing but knock the faster ones back, another useless action. My gap didn’t exist anymore. Hooves and jaws reached for me. The world swarmed below me with enraged ponies. Nobles were attempting to hit me while not hitting their own guards. The mob was huge and growing if the volume of their voices was a sign. Yet no being was overtaking me. Wind continued to go by, stinging my nose as small insects slammed into my shallow cut. It was all-.Then a screech rose above the mob’s anger, grabbing my attention, hooves and magic put to the back. I looked down. “Get him!” And with that dozens more Thestrals alighted from the Cliffside as I passed over it, which was exactly what I needed. Looking back at my followers I gave another air buck as new hooves joined the mob, grinding my teeth as my emotion swirled inside. My instincts not providing any answers to this puzzle, looking down at the thundering waterfall below me I snorted at myself. A gap? That was a joke. I was trying my hardest, but my plan was-. Shit. “Fuck,” I ground out as another hoof tried to snake its way up my fetlock, falling off as I kicked out. My magic crackling in my forearms and wings as if to shrug at me, it was in use, I needed to stop flying or carrying double my weight…I wasn’t letting go of them. Where could I lose them? Before me the valley was opening up, lush and green, a perfect place to get lost in. But it was also home to ponies. I could already see pastel dots poking up through the canopy as I continued to pump my wings harder over it. No, I needed to do something to lose them first. Whereevver I went here there would be ponies. A distraction or way to-. “Release the princesses’ criminal!” Again with the interruptions… “Release the princesses!” Another guard commanded behind me, at me, apparently still unclear about the likelihood of that happening. To be clear, it wasn’t happening, I was saving this world whether they liked it or not. “Stop this madness pirate,” an ivory noble called next from a chariot in my far peripheral vision, but I ignored him, knowing it was useless defending my actions to him. Bente had been right so far, no need to look a gift hen in the beak. The nobles were all bound to be lost causes. What to do? It was obvious, I needed to teleport. I needed to escape their pursuit. So I went with the easiest maneuver and focused on the specks of mountains in the distance once more, concentrated at putting distance between myself and the ponies. Surely I could outlast them? If magic is energy, well, energy equalling magic, then as a being that supposedly had a lot of magic, way more than Blueblood based on his performance anyway, then I should be able to outlast them. “Release them!” Another noble demanded. It might take awhile though. As I continued to put my heart and soul into escaping several more hooves tickled the ends of fetlock hair. The sensation wasn’t too much of a concern, it wasn’t like they were the comet trails from earlier, and the air bucking hadn’t helped much anyway. They would have to fall behind eventually. That is, I believed so until one set of hooves grasped my tail. The sudden weight dragged me back for a second. And I blinked, no, briefly crossing my mind. But, before I could buck off the cling the hooves that had been tickling me latched on to my legs. No, no, no! “Slow him down,” was echoed by many behind me. “Get the princesses,” came from many more. My wits returned this time and I bucked back in response, halfway instinctual as I let my instincts take control. I watched them in my peripheral, holding on like parasites. My neck arched as a snort escaped me, the anger rising again, and the nearly overwhelming urge to dominate returned in the face of their challenge. Another buck exploded out of me as I lost all pretence of direction. The strangest noise I had ever heard escaping my muzzle, deep and resonating through the air before I lost my leg weights. But my tail extension held on, even going as far as to flare out his wings like a drag Shute. Just peachy…Bucking wasn’t working; I could already feel the tips of more hooves tickling me. My efforts were useless with the extra weight. Another two soon latched onto my hind legs, wrapping both sets of hooves around them as I snorted. Screw it. It was survival of the fittest and all that, alright? They weren’t foals… I gripped the mares tighter. Before the mob could descend I threw myself to the right. Quickly tucking in my right wing and sending more magic to my forelegs as the green canopy started to blur before me, spinning out of focus. The panicked squeals that followed me seconds later were music to my ears. My heart sang with adrenaline. Cool breezes buffeted me as I closed my eyes, lost in the freedom of the fall. Brave in the knowledge that any would fall off, I would descend faster than them. Then I would be gone. Why hadn’t I done this before? Crackling filled my senses. “Pirate,” the insult broke my peace. Bringing a frown to my face as more repetitions of the same tired insult soon followed. I threw open my wing, spin decreasing as it hit me. I needed more space; the warmth of angry breathing was still on my fetlocks. So I opened my eyes, angled myself downwards, and wrapped my wings around my precious cargo as the velocity increased, almost in time with the grunts and squeals by my rump. A glance back showed they were still there, armored meteors following me. I was going faster and faster as the crowd continued to grow at my tail, hooves still grasping at me the whole time. But I wasn’t gaining any real distance. My heart was beating faster as the forest came into focus, there was not much else I could do. The plan wasn’t working. How were they keeping up? No, never mind that…What was I to do to lose them? The air ahead of me wasn’t going to last much longer. The edge of a hoof dug into my skin, sharp and cold. Looking to the left I saw more trees, the right held even more, and before me the forest appeared endless. Tilting sideways my body I felt the inertia start, dead weights flailing about in my arm as I let the velocity make my course. Come on, gravity! And it appeared to work. As the spinning slowed I felt the absence of hooves on me which sent me banking to the right with a triumphant snort escaping. The world was a mess of colors and wind. Yet everything felt lighter, exhilarating again, and I almost laughed at the cool air rushing past my hocks and tail. My pony free hocks and tail. Now I could teleport! Then leaves tickled my forearms, some twigs snapping off as cries of reality before I could blink, fuck, and I snapped out my wings on instinct, magic rushing out to the channels as I frowned. Rising slightly, I coasted on an up draft. I saw my first town up ahead. Great, more ponies. It wasn’t like I had a following already – a glance back confirmed it-. “HELP US!” Fuck off guys! “Get him!” And of course the ponies peeked out of their houses at the call, some braver pegasi ascending to assist, while many more just gaped. I could hardly believe it myself. “Fuck,” the swear word escaped my mind as a hoof grazed my own once more, holding it for several seconds as I comprehended just what was happening, again. More joined as it was dragging me back, not wasting any second this time. I blinked before I jerked my leg up to my barrel, kicking out erratically as my thoughts streamlined to survival. The ground looked up at me then, green and inviting. I needed shelter, to escape, and this might be the spot. I dived again for the lush forest below, the river shinning out like a beacon as the faint crash of another waterfall reached me. Faints yells blurred as I felt the earth grab at me. Looking back I smiled. The gap was slowly growing, centimeter by centimeter as I pushed my body harder in the dive. Soon I could try to teleport, so soon. Yet a glance back proved me wrong. I wasn’t losing everybeing and the second I diverted magic from my wings they would surely close the gap, latch on, and…I needed a miracle. **** Canterlot Castle, Equestria ??????????? The world slowed down for a moment. Grey occluded my vision as a thousand year old architectural masterpiece crumbled before my eyes, magic flew through the air in colorful streaks, and war cries rose to fill the it soon after. My princess…was gone. She was gone? The blue sky stared back at me for who knows how long as the metal on my hoof tingled with residual magic. My head buzzed with the noise of angry citizens as they rushed through the castle to get somewhere. I was alive? My wings twitched in response to my finding, demanding I move…Move? A tingle from my occupied hoof settled it. This was real and I had to act. This was very important. Rolling to a stand I looked around at the debris. It was everywhere, chunks of ceiling and even wall creating an abstract art form around me. Dust had settled over everything, showing hoof prints going out all of the doors leading to the gardens. Blinking at the silent room it hit me that I was alone. The prince was gone. The other guards as well… Princess Luna was ponynapped. A look to my hoof confirmed it. I had the key to her shackle. Shackle…My mind slowly came reeling back in. The key! I needed to find the prince! The princesses will need this! With that my wing grabbed the key and my hooves began moving of their own accord, heading to open door leading to the gardens. The most likely place to find the remaining royalty, a frown crossed me at that fact. Prince Blueblood was all that we had now…No matter how cowardly he was I had to get this to him. Stepping around the remains of the chandelier and over the shattered imported crystal I stepped out of the room. Past the threshold I hurried, down the hall and nearly muzzle first into a maid. She was running back into the castle, small bonnet askew and a sour expression warping her face. “Wait!” She glanced at me, slowing down as I held her gaze. “Please direct me to Prince-.” “He’s busy! As you should be too, bat.” My wings tucked in closer as she shot a quick derisive look at my membraned wings. “Why aren’t you in the air after the criminal?” I blinked and considered her words, long enough that she was already trotting back to the doorway when my muzzle opened. A look to the horizon showed the large group in pursuit of ‘Ari’, if that even was his real name. We all knew something was wrong when Moonlit Echo went on ‘vacation’. I mean, it was Moony for Luna’s sake! And he disappears soon after a fourth Alicorn makes themselves known…Mhmm, convenient. Then Princess Luna has the sudden collapse, well, it just raised our suspicions. But the fact that my squad had been right wasn’t helping me, I needed to deliver this key, I needed to get the princess, princesses, back. The day maid’s tail flicked in annoyance as looked after her with a snort. Trotting after her I soon caught up, “I have official business with his highness,” her expression didn’t change much, eyebrow raising a little as she had no doubt heard this before, “I need to inform him of important information concerning the perpetrator before I begin pursuit of him.” We passed through the threshold of the ruined dinning room as she pointed a hoof down the next hall, to the next intersection, “Just down there, he grabbed a bunch of noble ponies to strategize with. Was calling everypony in to catch this Alicorn…menace,” her eyes lit up with a new energy, loose lips taking hold. Every maid of every species seemed to have the inclination, “To think, the first evil Alicorn in history right here and now of all times?! Can you believe the luck of it?” She continued to prattle on as I picked up the pace, passing her swiftly. “Thank you miss,” crystal crunched beneath my hooves as I nodded to her, “Carry on, excellent work!” And I broke into a gallop, my spear echoing down the hall ahead of me. That is until I heard the unmistakable exclamation of the prince, “-I DID NOT!” The decibels rising even before I approached the first corner. Folding my ears back I softened my pace to a trot. Murmuring filled the hall, indistinct at this distance. “I CAN and WILL call them in!” Slowly I transitioned into a floating trot, silent in my approach, ears perked to the corner. The single creak of a horse shoe had me pausing, rumors flying through my head, a tingle running through the air. “Were you there Fancy? Did you see that-,” the sound of his voice suddenly cut out, silence taking hold as I realized whom they were talking about. The Alicorn stallion, Ari, and I had a very important piece of evidence from him. If nothing else it would allow us to trace his trail. You could learn a lot about a smith from their work, it was surely a custom job. I had never heard of much less seen an inhibitor like those on their horns. “-Risk isn’t worth it. Wasn’t it you that said it we needed them?” An unfamiliar responded loudly. Still, the response was slightly muffled. I continued to move forward. Yet something about the tone was off and left me frowning. Just what had I missed? How long had I been knocked out? The group following the stallion had still been visible. Silence followed, the prince lacking any response bringing forth new worry along with curiosity. Who was them? The key continued to push me forward. I ignored the tenseness in the air, magic uneasy on my fur. Princess Luna was counting on us and she clearly wasn’t back yet. Taking a step forward, I rounded the corner and froze. A chorus of hoof taps echoed, covering my surprise. Everypony’s back was to me, the day guard holding the door to the assembly room open. The Wonderbolts stood before them, rising from a clearly rushed bow. Their ears back and tails busy, surely having seen the chaos that the Alicorn had caused. An Alicorn was too much for any one pony, not even the Wonderbolts were an exception it seemed. With the door open I could only see the base of the assembly benches, where the true criminal cases were held, the hall where the many committees held their meetings, and the prince ruled. Just because he was cowardly didn’t mean he was useless, acting on behalf of the princesses when necessary, and acting as judge over minor crimes. A dignified snort escaped the room. “-Rise. Captain Spitfire what was the situation?” A voice that tickled at my memory spoke, emotionless despite the weight of the question. Her voice quivered, her famous strength wavering, “T-they were u-unconscious sir,” Spitfire’s wings tensed, “With some variant of magic inhibitor on their horns.” I started to step forward, sensing the perfect moment, “Are you calling them in?” My hoof froze and wing clenched around the key. The way them was uttered not sitting well with my instincts. “Hmm?” I could practically see the smirk on the colt of a Prince’s muzzle. “No.” The tip tap of hooves on carpet followed, hushed and hurried whispers as I found myself silently stepping back to the corner. Again with the ‘them’, it was too vague. The fact that my ruler and species ambassador was missing was still very apparent, a little alarm that nagged at me to act. But the air around had me in a tighter hold, the words of my captain ringing in my head. ‘Would a colt of a pony really run the country?’ The meaning of his question had not always made sense to me, but in this moment I pondered it, I kept the urge to act down. “How fast was he going?” If his voice didn’t turn up like the prince’s did I wouldn’t have believed that the brevity in the tone came from him. The prince never sounded like that, he was too…colt-like…for that. “Fast enough that your armored guards would have a hard time keeping up with him for a while, but slow enough that he would make the pony Olympics.” Shuffling followed as I leaned back, behind the cover of the wall, “We flew circles around him.” Then where were the princesses? “Good,” more movement, “I want you to-.” “Wait!” A shrill yelp echoed as something clattered to the ground. “Wait! I know a better way!” By that time my mind was reeling. What better way was there to rescue the princesses? I could already picture the bolts corralling the worn out stallion while the guards caught the princesses, my key releasing their aetheratic channels. If that would even be necessary, nothing could stop Alicorns, magically speaking. But Ari didn’t appear to be exuding magic for some reason. The sense of wrongness continued to grow the longer I thought on it. “-Let them be captured.” Air escaped my lungs as my head whipped to the open doorway. The Wonderbolts looked just as shocked, looking to the speaker with slack jaws. It had to be a joke…A horrible, sick joke. “Explain yourself-,” a snort halted the familiar male voice. Spitfire stepped forward, “Look, Duke Golden Dreams, Duchess…,” her voice trailed off before gulping, “I understand where you are coming from…And Forgive my language, but Tartarus they aren’t the best choices to rule sometimes. The herding law? That was foalish and…Many more instances I believe you know of. I won’t bore you with their inadequacies. But they keep the countries at peace,” I was glued to her face, “The cictizens love them.” Another small pause as her words seemed to have not caused the desired effect, the most logical effect. What could they possibly gain from letting our diarchy get captured? “Nothing can defeat an Alicorn-.” “Not,” my heart sped up, “Nothing,” The mare interrupted. A shiver traveled down my spine in the pause, some tired sighs reaching me, like this was old news. Yet I knew nothing could defeat an Alicorn, as a guard I had had to learn all about the possible enemies of the country and nothing of that calibur was mentioned. Discord was sealed when they were still under a thousand years old! “The Alicorns were almost defeated once before after all.” My heart beat faster as I leaned forward, that was true. The Great War had eliminated herds of them, but... “Ponies of that caliber don’t just die all at once, at least not of natural causes.” Shakes traveled up me as I looked to the windows, the sky was deceptively clear, and then my eyes went back to the scene before me. It had to be a nightmare. I was dreaming. There was no way the nobles would even consider anything like this…They loved Celestia, right? Everypony loved her at least. Their parents had won the great war, had secured Equestria’s territories and made ties to all land bound countries...This was a dream, our princess would show up anytime, and she would change this to the truth. Why though? The sky looked back at me, cool and blue, the hallway silent save for the breathing coming from around the corner. Biting my lip I closed my eyes, thinking of home, wishing for any happy memory instead, and ended up wincing. Holding back a grunt I opened my eyes, the pain lingering, growing as I blinked at the scene before me. It was…real…They really…This was real?! Obviously I was not as quiet as I thought. The unicorn guard moved his ears back as I watched on. His tail going rigid as I quickly backpedaled to the safety of the other hall, not a sound reaching them as his armor clanged at the same time. “Your majesty,” he still queried, his training kicking in as much as mine was. If this was reality…I grabbed my spear with my other wing tip. The key still curled up inconspicuously in the other…The key…That they wouldn’t be needing anymore. “Hush!” A soft snort reached me as I didn’t dare to move. But it wasn’t for me, “I see the merits in that…But what of the Crystal Kingdom?” “You don’t think the ‘princesses of Love’ will want to help?” Another voice piped up…Silver Sterling I think. Silence followed, “I think she will.” Murmurs grew. A hoof stepped forward, “And why would the newly minted prince and princess risk their li-,” shuffling started, “Don’t you try that colt!” More tapping of hooves escaped the room, far too many for this to be new, “Why? Tell me why?” “Foals play, really. The information we received, well, it does make the stallion look quite,” I stepped back as shuffling started again, “changed.” Snorts rose as I continued to back up, my instincts screaming to run, my heart hurting more than the racing was cause for. “Changelings,” Fleetfoot exclaimed. The masculine growl of Soarin followed, “Those parasitic bastards!” Prince Blueblood chuckled then, low, and triumphant, “Well then, Fancy Pants, Golden Dreams, and assembled ponies of much esteem, do I have your agreement that they are needed?” “But-,” the objection and following murmurs were quickly interrupted. “A weak,” snorts rose, “Weaker Alicorn stallion and Alicorn mare, two unconscious Alicorns under restraints, and a unicorn are not much for my friends…,” the air stilled, Prince Blueblood’s cough breaking it, “Our friends, they would be happy to help…More than happy. Our peace would be maintained and our problems would be gone.” I continued to back up, watching the corner with wide eyes, almost not believing that I was awake. But my lip still stung where I had bit it. I was awake, had to be awake. My chest wanted to burst, my fur to tight and hot. Captain Spitfire started briskly, “Where do we come into it then?” He laughed again, short and caustic to my ears, “Do what you always do,” the wall dipped inward slightly, a doorway, “Give,” my hoof grabbed the doorknob like a lifeline, “Them,” A click echoed in the air, “A show.” Hooves rushed to the corner as I slipped into the room and clicked it closed. Only my heart pounded in my ears as gazed around the office. A desk stood in the center, cabinets flanking it, bookshelves between them, and a singular bay window behind it all. Seconds later the hoof steps slowed. “Shh,” whispered through the door, muted by the wood. The window called to me as the hooves steps increased down the hall and my mind raced. Who would believe me? I flung the window open. Did I believe my own ears? Yes. I moved fast, faster than my legs felt able to go then. A slam echoed into the room as my eyes pressed closed, my breathing erratic and unresponsive to my will, and the illuminated darkness providing no comfort. Wind whipped around the room, almost louder than the snorts filling it. Dear Luna, what would you do?
Queen Chrysalis the Mare Missile.*Queen Chrysalis the Mare Missile.* **** Hunger, unending and as deep as a chasm tore my stomach chitin apart. I don’t know how long I had walked through these infernal woods, food was nigh impossible to come by. Was it worth it to keep searching for life? Did I deserve to live after letting down my subjects? I was supposed to save them, keep them safe in Equestria from the sulphuric floods that had only been plaguing our hive land these last years. I couldn’t help but hate those ignorant Alicorns living in paradise while the world suffers, while my family dies. Perhaps I should join them, I’m useless now. Queen of noling, no one is left. I was just about ready to lie down and die when he dropped into my life, Literally. he was screaming his handsome head off as he plummeted towards the ground, at the last second he seemed to remember that he had wings and rather crudely corrected his descent. I still jumped behind a tree, had he seen me? Was he hostile…Was he tasty? Nononononon focus! No, his head was down now. What was he doing? A horn? no, I truly must be losing my wit, I need to sustenance soon. What happened next confused me: he screamed shrilly and fell over in a faint. After a few seconds I stepped out from behind the trunk with only minor swimming of my vision. What just happened? Throughout my reign I had seen many strange ponies, I had eventually become those ponies at one point or another but this stallion was certainly taking first place. Curiosity was winning as my stomach couldn’t help but grumble at the thought of love; I wonder how his love would taste. Green fire flowed up my body as my disguise took hold. His eyes opened, the blue orbs stared ahead at me. As his head turned away and he started to sit up on his rump I approached him. He wasn’t looking at me though, he like all males was fascinated with his dick. I swear, all the stallions I have feed off of were so sensitive about them. “The steel rod”, “Jr”, “little me”, and soo many other ridiculous names I have heard stallions name their penis. Shaking my head out those thoughts I started forward again, food had arrived. “Hello hunk, where did you come from?” I popped the “k” and lidded my eyelids in a interested fashion. He started in place and looked up from his thoughts and my vision blurred once again. **** What stood before me was strangely beautiful, in a sad sort of way: a one winged Pegasus. My nostrils sucked in air unconsciously trying to gain its scent. Tart lemonade with a hint of thyme, an odd combination which made me feel oddly thirsty and hungry when I hadn’t been moments before. Taking another whiff I couldn’t help but close my eyes as my equine brain rapidly sorted out the information present: sweet jasmine told my mind she was a mare, a slight smell of burning wood spoke of something that I couldn’t quite put my hoof on, and a underlining spicy cinnamon which I just loved. It was hard to understand at first, how the smells told me so much about this mare. What her voice told was completely different though: 'I’m going to use you'. It had a fake tone to it not to mention no lady, mare whatever, pops out of nowhere and tries to come onto you. I know I wouldn’t. She had stopped a couple feet away looking at me, wait she asked a question didn’t she? “Uh, I just decided to drop in. This is going to sound odd but where did I land?” Not to mention why was I falling… “Looks like we are in the same boat then handsome, I haven’t a clue where we are” This time she actually winked! My everlasting patience was dying and I don’t know what she could possibly be playing at. I wasn’t some idiot that she could…Wait what could she do? Rob me? Nope, I’m as naked as a pony can be. Kill me? Unlikely since I’m a good three feet taller than her and I’m still sitting down…Rape me? Creepy, but possible if she drugged me, she knows the local fauna better than me after all. Who knows what hallucinogenic stuff she could find…Note to self: don’t eat anything she offers. Maybe I will play with her a little bit too, I let a “friendly” smile pop onto my face. “Well then little one how about we work together then? I’m Ari… just Ari” oops, I almost said my real name. I hope Ari is a male name here. Also take that tall ones, who’s short now?! “I’m sure between our shared intellect we can find some civilization” I add. A flash of surprise flashed passed over eyes before they returned to their calculating depths. “Sure thing stud lead the way!” Rape is looking very likely now, this is going to be a long journey if she keeps dropping these oh so subtle hints. Now back to leaving this forest, she came from…Huh, I can’t tell directions with the sun above my head. “What direction did you come from miss….” Yah, not at all suspicious when she didn’t give her name in response to when I gave my name. “I….landed in the northern section of the woods.” Ah, that might explain the whole missing a wing bit, sounded like a crash landing to me. Now I feel kind of bad, I thought this one winged mare was a actually going to harm me? When she is just as lost as me and also crash landed? Okay, she is still suspicious but perhaps she just is trying to play the whole “damsel in distress” card. “I didn’t catch your name there miss.” And there is that face! Her mask is falling, desperation warring in her eyes. Her ears flicked to the side in what I suppose were the equine equivalent to worry. I know im taller but I hope I'm not that scary. “I didn’t give it” she mumbled. “What is your name then? It seems only fair that I know yours since you know mine” come on, just spill it! What are you hiding little mare? “Uhh… Silver Stream.” Pfft that’s what she came up with? I think my fake name was better, Ari short for my real name: Ariel. No mermaid jokes please. At least, mine was believable! Her fake name is...Stupid really, like she just looked at two random objects and put them together. Not that I know how pegasi in my dreams should be named, wait, that means my imagination is this stupid?! I was brought back from thoughts at the sound of scuff, blinking I returned to focus just to see her puckered face come flying at my face. Instinctively I lowered my head to avert my eyes for the incoming mare missile. KLONK. Fuckityfuckity flying fuck! That hurt! She connected with my forehead or should I say the big ass horn that I failed to notice sticking out of there. Need a pain comparison? Okay spread your legs, ready, good now...I’M GONNA SMASH A HAMMER ON YOUR GONADS! In pain? Good, now transfer that pain to your head, right between your eyes. With squinting eyes I peeked from between my hooves which had instinctively rushed to clutch the pain in my horn I noticed a completely new mare lying spread eagle before me. Gone was the grey one winged Pegasus mare and in her place was a black and green one winged mare. I don’t really know what I was looking at, she had shiny skin that was black except for a green section that wrapped around her torso where her wing sprouted from. Her wing was even more curious, compared to my black feathered one hers were papery like a damselfly wing, rounded with silvery veins shimmering in it. She had a horn as well, but it was jagged like it couldn’t decide if it was going left or right. I could forget about the “little” comment I had made earlier as well, she had grown three heads taller making her my equal in height. Leave the horn smashing bug-horse. Take and interrogate the odd mare. Leave her. Take her. I couldn’t believe I did that.
Deus ex Machina Nightmare.*Deus ex Machina Nightmare.* Somewhere in the Multiverse Faust "Ugh I hate this part!!!" My audience member released some energy, a sigh in this form. "Dare I ask what 'part' you hate? Nothing has even happened yet, including me giving you the message!" "Hmph! Excuse me kind audience member, I have a gender bent Alicorn to “deus ex machina” as my brothers so eloquently put it." "We don't 'put it that way', I have never even said that-Faust, wait! Come back here!" **** Somewhere, Where? I don't know. Ari Remember that dream theory I had? Well, I think it is wrong now, completely impossible actually. No matter how weird becoming an 'Alicorn' was and getting attacked by a bug-pony thing happened to be on my 'wierd stuff that I lived through' list, I just can't rationalize dreaming in a dream, that is like matrix level crazy, and I wasn't crazy! Please allow me to explain. I had managed to walk, after some stumbles, and managed to work out a plan. It was rough but it was all that I could think to do, following whatever ramblings I had caught from pamphlets and television programs of what to do when you are lost. I looked for shelter...All while dragging the mare. That was surprisingly not too hard, given that we were the same size. I managed to get her light form all the way to a cave at the bottom of the nearest mountain. Once there I had discovered a cool ability, well okay, I squealed when it happened, but I just went with it. This was a cool dream, whenever I willed something strongly enough a yellow glow would surround the object to say levitate it or as I found infinitely more useful: combust. That is how I built this fire. I didn’t find any food but shelter and warmth was a good start. Finding water was next on my list, since water might mean food, I figured the dream would continue with the dream logic. Except for the heavy feeling I felt deep inside, almost like I was...A yawn escaped me, confusing me. You don't sleep in dreams right? I don’t know when I drifted off, hell, I still don't think you could sleep in a dream. But what happened next though made me accept my new reality, that is to say, this wasn't a dream. Blinking 'awake' I felt nothing, I didn't know what to feel after everything. A blank canvas was spread out before me. I looked to the left and the right, all around actually, and I couldn’t see anything but the color white. “Hello?” I felt the blankness of the plane pressing in on me then, like the feeling of someone hovering over you. So I started walking in a direction, hoping to escape the feeling. Was I going crazy? After ten minutes my walk had turned into a trot. The space was endless, no wind, no shadow or anything to produce shadow, not to mention any indication of where the lightness of the white was coming from. Unease creeped in, I unconsciously started fluffing my wings. There was certainly no point of reference to tell me how far I had traveled. If I had even traveled at all...I was feeling a lot of doubt lately, of my reality, sanity, and most certainly concerning my identity. Was I really a horse? No, that is exactly the sort of talk that lands you in a nice padded cell next to your mother, her voices might even like your new 'horse' form. This was just a bad dream, I really bad dream. I wasn't crazy...Was I? By then I was in a full out gallop, my horn burned, my sides heaved, and my wings were spread as they started their instinctual flapping. Were they real? A feeling of dread had creep in and I couldn’t help myself as new instincts, eons old in nature took over my body. It wasn't my body, couldn't be. How do I wake up as horse? Now soaring, I galloped against the open air, it felt just as solid as the ground...So was I even flying? Which way was the ground now? It was all white, all white, all white, and I couldn’t escape the emptiness. My ears twitched as noise reached them, waiting I realized that that was the silence I was hearing...Was that even possible? Could it be that it was so quiet that I was just hearing things? The answers didn't come to me, and I kept moving. To what, what was I moving to? Why did I bother? It was white everywhere, in any direction I looked it was the same. Above me was white, below was white, behind, in front, left, and obviously to my right. My fear ceased then as hopelessness took over. This was a escapeless whatever it was. Plane of existence? Torture chamber? I didn't care. I stopped flapping, but still I felt no change, like all that effort did nothing. Taking it all in confused me, I didn’t fall to my death or float on waves, I just was, almost like movement itself was an illusion here. Now you see. Jumping at the monotone voice, my heart sped up again. It was impossible to say how far I jumped or in what direction. What was direction in a white void after all? And It wasn’t actually a voice, more like a thought in my head that wasn’t in my own thinking voice, if that made any sense. Still not crazy, I'm definitely not crazy...It was just a voice in my head, during a dream within a dream, in which I'm another species and gender. That doesn't sound like any mental illness I have ever heard of. So just what was happening then? All your confusion is pointless. Male is female and female is male, it is all alive. What the hell, it was something to do in this void, it erased the white noise. “So I am still the same then, a human is a flying unicorn-“ ALI-Corn! Really? Someone sure is anal, but whatever, it was talking with me. “So a human is a Alicorn, a woman is a man, and what philosophy school did you go to Voice?” The voice was monotone and I was leaning towards male….Well, my voice was a deep baritone now too but the voice wasn’t my new voice either. Correc- HEY! Don’t get smart with me you block of rotting flesh! I made you and I can also UN-make you. Who do you think gave you that body? Brought you to this world? YOU OWE ME FLESHBAG! That feeling of dread was back but I couldn’t move. So I wasn't crazy, possibly, instead, I was stuck in a whitescape with a voice. I didn’t know where I was much less how to get away from this very offended voice that claims to have 'made me'. Obviously being quiet was the wrong answer as I felt my body heat up and my wing tips started to burn. Although not visible, I felt the flames like they were there, and I should have been relieved at the sensation...I guess. It was a sensation after all, not more of the endless white field that was devoid of even temperature before. My muzzle opened as I tried screaming. That action turned out that was also a wrong answer as well as my mouth sealed shut, lips forcibly growing together with a fine layer of fur rapidly growing over the line that used to be my mouth. I started hyperventilating and my legs collapsed under me from the strain and stress. I wasn't crazy, he was! All this from being quiet?! Okay, Quit being such a drama queen, look, I may have overreacted a bit but do you realize how much work I put into you? I gave you magic, flight, changed your entire DNA structure while still retaining your identity! Just because I changed your shell doesn’t mean the soul inside is any different. Do you feel like”Ariel” still? The burning faded as I thought his words over. Was I still the same? Maybe? I still loved cinnamon buns...Although, I wasn’t sure if I could even have eat them anymore, since I was an 'Alicorn' now. Going over my memories, I still cared for my family, still remembered them even as distant as we had grown these last ten years. So I did feel “myself” if that could make sense. Despite having some new instincts but I still was Ariel, just in a different form...With a dick...Why was that necessary? The Alicorn part of the change was actually pretty interesting, wings, horn, but a new gender, really? I could have done without that part. HUU-MANS! Every time I … Okay. Fleshbag, you understand now right? You are my creation and as your creator I rule you. Therefore when I say 'save a planet': you say 'in what way almighty creator'. Capieche? If I had a mouth able to open my jaw would have dropped. So when I am gracious enough to return you, you will have to stop two other Alicorns. They have been messing with the sun and the moon, which has set a clock on the planet your on, so you have to. There is very little wiggle room left. You see, the whole saying of “with great power comes great responsibility” is very true in this case. The magic you have, well, they can do it as well. In fact, everything on that doomed planet has some magic so keep your wits about you fleshy! Wow, just wow. So a powerful god-like entity kidnapped me, changed my form, and sent me to a dying planet. Sorry, I meant DROPPED me there like a fricken toy in the toybox, took away my right to choose, and expects me to save a GODDAMN DOOMED PLANET!! NONONONONNOONONONONONNONOONONOOOO! Oh ho! I see I struck a chord fleshy. I’m not even finished explaining what you will do my new little demigod. You might be interested you know. I think you will simply love it! That tone reminded me of that mare, needing something from me, the used car salesman that just happened to have the perfect car for you.I hated it. You see, I made you into the same fleshy form as those near immortal Alicorns. I’m near immortal now?! And that is a very important detail. My stomach dropped at his tone. You see, the last three Alicorns are females— WTF! NO, JUST NO! I could feel my eyes bug out as I started hyperventilating in earnest now as my mind went there. -And I made you male and an Alicorn so you could re— It was at that point that I tried to surge forward from my position on the floor. I have to get out of here! -Populate the Alicorns. But I think you already came to that conclusion flesshhyy. By this time I had already staggered up and started out at a desperate, uneven gallop. I galloped away from this voice and hopefully away this crazy world. Flesshhyyyyyyy- I didn’t care that I wasn’t moving, I was moving. Right, I had to be moving, right? -Poor little icky Fleeesssshhhhyyyyyyy, frightened? I couldn’t tell distance but I had to try to escape. Right? Didn’t we already do this? He sounded annoyed now. “Yes but I’m near immortal now,” I couldn’t help but think in response, my mouth still grown over. …… Reallllyyy? Restrained laughter followed that and that one word seemed embodied with a promise, of what I wasn’t sure but I know I didn’t want to find out. I pumped my legs harder, trying to get traction. Black, as if the lights were shut off, and I started to feel a downward sensation. I was falling. Obviously you have trouble with the simplest of lessons Fleshbag- I suddenly miss the endless whiteness. -So here is your only rundown- When does it end? -Stop those ignorant mares- Is this the dream where I really die? -From moving the sun and the moon- Am I really just a pawn on his chessboard? -FOREVER, then breed them- Do my wants even matter? -Or breed them then stop them from touching those celestial bodies- What do I even want to do? - I don’t care what order you choose to do it in. I choose-
The Talk.*The Talk.* **** ?????? ???????? Queen Chrysalis Warmth. I can’t remember the last time I was warm, truly warm, there is only so much the sun can do. With all the preparation for the invasion I hadn’t had the luxury of a warm fire, never mind a full meal. What could a fire do anyway? Warmth wasn’t love, couldn’t fill hungry bellies. Now all I needed was some love... The fire crackled as it latched onto more kindling, popping and fizzing as I listened to my body's complaints. Hold on...Fire... More crackling and shuffling sounded, my ears swiveled to try and follow the sound. Smoke reached my nose, woody and calming, that crackling was definitely a fire. But I didn’t make a fire. A small sneeze came as I came to the only conclusion, that stallion! My eyes shot open only to be blinded by the miniature sun that cackled at me in mirth. I squinted against the glare finally noticing what I was looking for. The Alicorn stallion rested across from me looking into the flames. I hadn't lost my mind, there was a Alicorn stallion looking across the flames at me...Perhaps I was crazy though, he didn't have a cutie mark, his mane didn't discharge magic. There wasn't Alicorn stallions... So then what was I looking at? No that was inconsequential, whatever he really was he wasn't a changeling, noling would choose such an unbelievable disguise. What now? I was exposed, naked of my disguise. I barely had the strength for that disguise to begin with and I blew it! I didn’t see his fast reaction or his horn till the last second. I couldn’t fight back. I couldn’t fool him. I wouldn’t make it to the next town, I had doomed changelings again, if only myself being the last one this time. “What’s your real name?” Although he was talking to me his eyes were still in the flame, still not looking at my disgusting form. Why is he even bothering asking? Why am I still alive… “I don’t want have to make up a name for you mare” Did he just sneer at me?! “JUST KILL ME-“ “ANSWER THE QUESTION!” I was speechless as his eyes stared into mine, they were no longer the friendly orbs of before, a cold blue had replaced them. “Qu-," I paused. I wasn’t a queen anymore was I? “Chrysalis.” “Good. Now let’s start over. Hello Chrysalis, my name is Ari. I believe we both need help getting of this forest-“ I wasn’t really listening anymore. Was he going to bring me before the princesses? Will he kill me in my sleep? Why haven’t I heard of him before? I thought I knew all the royalty, I h-had changelings posted in every city and plenty in the castle. “-I hope we can work together.” Together? Just what is he playing at? “Enough of this farce, just what are you playing at pony?” I didn’t like to play games. “No farce Chrysalis. I just have a mutual desire to escape this hellhole.” I gave a quiet chuckle, a pony that swears? I can see why I have never heard of him, those princesses would have a panic attack. “Big talk, but we both know that you know exactly who I am and that you will turn me over to Sunbutt and Moonbutt as soon as we reach a town.” I couldn’t help but sneer at him, did he really think that losing a wing made me stupid! “I’m afraid to admit but I didn’t know who you were, I just found your provided name very fake. I mean who is named Silver Stream anyway? In the future just use your real name, it sounds possible at least. I must know who are “Sunbutt” and “Moonbutt”? They *PFFT* must be teased mercilessly for those names. I mean-HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA“ I snorted at him, maybe this stallion isn’t so bad. “You don’t know Princess Celestia or Princess Luna? The rulers of Equestria? Your fellow royalty?” A myriad of emotions flitted across his muzzle as his laughter faded: shock, anger, and finally resignation. “Look, I’m new here okay? I’m not royalty *snort* I am nothing in this world. I literally fell from the heavens today. You make it sound like they are important, that you are important, that any of this is important…Well it is NOT to me! You could be a bug, or a Pegasus, or an Alicorn but it doesn’t change anything to me. All I want to do is learn more of where I landed.” I gulped, in my many years ruling I had learned to spot the signs of a liar, a maniac, and many more wastes of my time. He wasn’t one of them. His eyes held no crazy glint, nor calculating glances, nor even fear. He was determined and I couldn’t help but shiver at the intensity. “Are you cold?” His head cocked to the side, wings rustling as if considering hugging me...I may be losing my mind. “N-no, your conviction surprised me…Ari” He clearly didn't believe my words, but nodded anyway. Eyes scrunched as he looked at his hooves for a second. “Hmmm” Perhaps I should get down to my needs then, seeing as he wasn't a chatterbox like most ponies tended to be. “Do you know what I am?” “No.” Blunt and to the point, but his ears were focused on me again. “I’m a Changeling." No reaction still, not even a subtle tell. "I change into ponies and feed off their love.” His eyes widened then scrunched.“So you launched yourself at me to eat my love-“ “Yes.” My frustration bleed into frustration as he asked such a stupid question... “-and you can eat an emotion?” He sounded doubtful, eyebrow raising as he shifted on the spot, but I still answered. “Yes.” “How?” Like he had never heard of an emotionvore, it wasn't even like changelings were the only type. Surely where ever he came from they had something of the sort? I blinked at him as I tried to process his ignorance, ”How do I eat love?” He nodded. “I absorb the emotion through touch, such as holding hooves, sharing a kiss, but the best love is from a lover.” I may have purred a little at the thought, considering I haven't eaten anything in months it was very impressive that was all I was doing. “Why –“ *Gurgle* We both looked at my stomach chitin, heat moving up my muzzle...This hasn’t happened in a while. He shook his head quickly. “Why did you feel the need to disguise yourself?” I looked at myself then at him and then back again. Silence, he was looking attentively for my answer still. “I’m not exactly a pony, am I?” “So?” Ari sounded genuinely confused, doing the head tilt again that was becoming increasing adorable, just like a giant overgrown foal. Did I really have to say this? “I am not what is considered beautiful, would you give love to one such as me?” Again he didn't seem to have any knowledge, asking something even sillier, “Does it hurt ponies?” I blinked, remembering Shining Armor as I worded my answer carefully. “No, it can be draining if too many feed at once," or if you feed at a increased rate, forcing the food out of them, "But one changeling is not enough to hurt. At worst a pony would feel a tad dizzy for a couple of seconds.” Again he thought about what I had said, but this time instead of asking more foal level questions he got up, walking around to me and awkwardly laying down beside me. There were still a couple inches separating my chitin from his fur. Looking up from it I saw him lay his head on his hooves. “Night.” He closed his eyes but he wasn’t asleep yet. His breathing was too hurried to be natural. I felt paralyzed to the cave floor, he was offering to feed me, without me having any disguise or deceit...An Alicorn...I don’t know how to feel about that, but I certainly won’t refuse his clear offer. Scooting my chitin over the last couple, I gasped as I felt his concern, his worry, and most importantly his small sweet love through his fur. The love wasn’t for me mind you, but it was still water in a desert for me. My feeling of emptiness faded slightly as his emotions filled me, lulling me into his warmth and in turn the land of dreams.
Operation: Repopulation.**** Canterlot University Spike With a sigh I scratched at my scales, which were seriously in need of a bath after days in a library. Well, I lived in a library but this one was different.Twilight had been running around like a mad mare for days now and that of course meant that the latest issue of power ponies and things like basic hygiene went out the window. This craziness was all to help for the Princess’s most troubling scientific announcement or a 'dozy' as Pinkie Pie put it. The “Male to Female Fertility and Birthrate Study” had just been conducted for the first time in five hundred years and the results had shown some troubling conclusions. Perhaps it should have been done much sooner as the study had shown startling low birthrates, staggering differences in filly to colt births, and an embarrassing reduction in stallion fertility...Really, I’m so glad dragons don’t have that problem. Well, I think we don’t anyway. Twilight won't let me read up on that, saying I'm too young for the birds and the bees. But I never ask her about that, just about dragon stuff. Right, suffice to say that the mad mare behavior was completely called for in Twilight’s opinion. A book enclosed in purple magic went flying to a growing pile in the University's library. “Twilight?” I asked tentatively, already tensing as the lavender mare muttered something absently, one ear twitching in my direction. I shouldn't have opened my big mouth! The distraction sent a new book sailing over my head causing me to duck, more out of practice than necessity. I mean, I kept my scales hard and ready for a fight...When I wasn't forced to stay in strange library that didn't even have a bath much less a shower. “AH!…Twilight!” My reaction didn't help. Two more books flew off the shelf behind me and I barely had enough time hug the floor. Really, those princesses gotta send a tranquilizer with their letters; if one thing needed fixing then EVERYTHING needed fixing according to Twilight. Once she even made problems because there wasn’t anything happening! It was sort of her thing though, but I still could do with a little more tranquilizers in my life… When in doubt -“IT'S ONE ‘O'CLOCK!”- mention the time. It was instantaneous, “WHAT! Spike I am not ready and you were supposed to let me know when it was twelve thirty! I *GASP* have SO much to do!” And there she went again, dashing back and forth between the tables she had confiscated from those poor students. I like to think that those fillies ran away to get to class and not away from a twitchy-eyed Twilight, however their screams suggested otherwise. I will be glad when the princesses arrive, Twilight can get all this information to them and I can get a decent sleep. I really should get paid for this. The doors were encased in gold magic and opened revealing the ladies of the hour. Celestia and Luna had come alone, which, while strange to see it wasn’t completely unlike them. I mean what could take out Celestia…Wait never mind, that happened just couple of months ago at the wedding. But, I know for sure nothing could take out both princesses at once at least. “Hello princesses! Twilight’s a little busy still...” I trailed off as I joined them watching the chaos that was hurricane Twilight. A swarm of lavender encased books had risen from their piles and preceded to shelf themselves. I stepped behind Celestia’s nearest foreleg, this was crazy. They shot at their respective place on the shelf, many crashed as they crossed paths, all the while Twilight was simultaneously reading a book she levitated, and her hooves were busy adding to her report. It was at twenty pages last time I checked...She was still just on herbal remedies. No, I wasn't kidding, and she still insisted on searching for magic enchantments, cursology, virology, and many more topics that I had tuned out. Her teacher was unfazed though, not even a ear twitch at the mess the library was becoming. “Hello Twilight, how has the research gone so far” Celestia asked in her calm, motherly tone. I still don’t know how she stayed so calm when Twilight went all mad mare on us. **** Princess Luna Internally I was face hoofing at my sister’s student. Here was a bright, magically gifted unicorn and she was reduced to this, this lunacy over a simple request. All she had to do was provide some logical starting points for the research team to divide among themselves to explore. But my darling sister didn’t mention to twilight that she wasn’t to be part of said research team, the team that would take several days to weeks to gather. And now my sister's immature actions have turned her student into a one mare research team. I honestly believe my sister did this on purpose. My sister’s greeting went unanswered, which I’m not terribly surprised at with all the focus Twilight was putting into her magic. But the air was so thick with her magic, it drove me up the wall. A thousand years with only your own magic to contend with and you forget the magical hum that society has. “QUIET THYSELF TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Like a wrench had been through in her gears the books dropped mid-flight, Twilight Sparkle's concentration broke as she blinked. I quickly put a hoof in front of my muzzle to hide the grin I felt coming on, and sister says that the Canterlot voice wasnt’t needed anymore. Only a slight widening of her smile indicated my sister's amusement. “What topics have gathered for the team miss Sparkle?” I glanced at Tia just in time to see her nod at me, looks like she was letting me deal with her student. She reminded me of fish the way she gaped at me. I almost laughed at her until a hair sprang free from her mane. Then the chaos resumed. I blinked and missed it. Twilight Sparkle popped up right in front of me so quickly that my wings sprang up in surprise, my feathers standing on end. Was that a snicker dear sister? As if she was channeling her friend Pinkie Pie, Twilight opened her muzzle and fired off at a rapid pace.“ImsoosorryprincesslunaididntseeyouandCelestiathere.Pleaseforgiveionlyjustfinishedmynotesonthebontanical-,” and so my sister’s student continued on and on about the fertility enhancing properties of the Tribulus fruit versus the Palmetto berry. My stomach felt a little queasy at some of her in depth descriptions to the processes, I can assuredly say that I never wanted to know exactly how mobile sperm needed to be, nor the optimum consistency of ejaculation. I mean, I have known about rutting for a thousand plus years, but I knew only what was expected as a ruler and mare. My eye twitched as she went into depth on the benefits of Viago root for flaccidness of the penis. Why did my sister ask for her help again? Exactly the same reason she let me address her manic pupil now: Tia was avoiding the problem through distraction. She never could handle pressure, not healthily anyway. While Twilight was extremely expressive under pressure Tia was the polar opposite. She bottled it deep down inside herself, the more stressed she was the more she smiled and focused on others...In fact, that is probably why Twilight was the perfect student for Tia; the neurotic unicorn was the mirror image of the 'internal' Celestia. How do I know that? Well, after nearly two thousand years together we have seen each other at our worst. Celestia’s happened to be when she had just reached adulthood which also coincided with when our parents died. Mine was but a thousand years ago when I fell to my darker emotions. “I’m sorry Twilight. We appreciate your research but it wasn’t necessary; you see we already have a team arriving here in couple hours.” Celestia spoke up, ears somehow not moving as she looked contritely at the stack of papers Twilight held up with her magic. I wished my ears would stay still like that, they were such easy tells. Fluffy bunnies, Tia was looking to me now. What had I missed? I may have tuned out Twilight...But I really didn’t need to know about fertility nor did I want to thank you very much. “Wa…Wa…Wah” Oh no, now her ears were quivering as they splayed out, Twilight Sparkle looked like she was going to burst into tears. I sighed and gave my sister a pointed look, this whole mess could have been avoided if Tia wasn’t so immature. I let Tia counsell Twilight and explain that we may have a different job for her in the operation...Wait, What? Just what are you on about Tia? There wasn’t- “And that is why I trust you to help coordinate sex education classes with Mayor Mare and the School. You know many different aspects of fertility already after just three days of research." Twilight's ears slowly perked up, and her eyes blinked away the tears. "I trust that you can help the ponies of Ponyville get the best education on that matter.” Hurricane Twilight Sparkle started to recover speed, her head held up as lavender magic began humming, grabbing a thick stack of papers and a protesting dragon from behind my sister. Dear Faust Sister, what did Ponyville ever do to you?! Twilight was beaming now as my sister continued, “-Now I if will please excuse us. Luna and I must make the announcement.” I really should be sleeping sister, thou are very lucky that we love thee so. **** Celestia I could tell that Lulu was not happy with me but I couldn’t bring myself to face my ponies alone. How do you tell the ones you care for that they must change their believes? Change their very lifestyle? The ramifications of our decision won’t be over for a couple of years at the soonest, more likely not for ten years. In fact, I almost miss Luna’s Cake Prohibition of 1859 in the face of today’s announcement; it had all been started on the claim that the cake was a magical inhibitor… And now I had to bring back a law that had not seen the light of day since even longer, the year 1610, our father himself had ousted the law then. He was right to though, it wasn’t necessary then anymore as he and mother had harnessed the elements and stabilized Equestria. But now it looks like it is needed. I can only hope they will understand. I went to my happy place and brought a smile from there before stepping forward onto the balcony. Luna brushed her withers to mine. Thank you, Lulu. I know I will need you for this. “My little ponies I stand before you with concerning news and an even harder answer. As you may know since my sister’s absence there have been many things put on hold as I was only one mare. Now with Luna’s return we have started to hear and continue with some of those matters.” I paused and Luna stepped forward as they cheered for her, I could practically feel her happiness from her subject’s support. Once Luna stepped back I held a hoof up for silence. “One such matter was our annual birth and fertility census. It was last done five hundred years ago and Luna wisely brought forth support to it again. Although it was successfully completed it brought to light some concerning facts. We have fewer foals born today than ever before and of those precious foals very few are colts.” A low buzz started and I tensed my ears to keep them forward. “The low birth rates when combined with a lower stallion fertility and extended time between estrus have forced-“ Luna pressed as close as the buzz grew louder and I swayed a little. “-Us to re-enact an old law that once existed before Luna and I were even born. From a time when ponies had little sway over the seasons and weather, a time when they faced exactly we now face.” I paused and raised my hoof to regain some quiet, the worried murmurs had grown and I hadn’t even gotten to the most shocking part yet. They grew quiet again but only just and with a heavy tension. “With the great difference in stallions to mares standing as it is we, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna do reinstate the Law of the Herd. The Law of the Herd allows a stallion to have as many mares as he can effectively provide for-“ The silence was deafening now. “- and requires that all single stallions be matched with available mares.” I paused and closed my eyes as my little pony's fear grew to a crescendo of voices. We, no, I had caused their fear. If I hadn’t dismissed the study based on a nobles pride we might have caught this pattern sooner. Allowed for more time, so I wouldn’t have to go to where we are now. A quiet hush had fallen and I dared to open my eyes, beside me Luna held up her hoof and spoke in her Royal Canterlot voice, “CALM THYSELF PONIES, THE LAW OF THE HERD SHALL NOT BE FOREVER AND WHILE IT IS NEEDED WE SHALL HAVE EQUESTRIA’S BRIGHTEST MINDS STUDYING WHY THIS HAS OCCURRED AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO REVERSE IT. THE ROYAL CANTERLOT UNIVERSITY WILL BE OPEN TO ALL PONIES THAT WISH TO HAVE FERTILITY TESTING DONE, FREE OF CHARGE OF COURSE.” Although my ears were ringing from Lulu’s help I couldn’t help but feel relieved, now it was time to deal with the chaos. “I understand that many of may have concerns and question regarding the re-enactment of such an old law, we are more than happy to answer them during court. As a reminder to all I will be holding court from eight am to noon and one pm to five pm. My sister’s night court, which is usually less busy and always open to those that can't make it during Day court, is open from six pm to midnight.” And with that we left the balcony and headed to court, for this first day Lulu had agreed to stay through the late day court to support me.
It is Always Better the Morning After...??????? ????????? Ari The phrase “everything looks better in the morning” did not apply to this morning. Sure yesterday seemed hard to beat in awful craziness. I had literally fallen onto a new world, woken up in a new body that was complete with new equipment, and been told in the creepiest ways possible that I’m god’s toy pony. Sorry, I meant ALI-corn*mumbleyou anal fuck mumble*. So that leads me to how my morning could be worse than that, I have two words for you: morning wood. Just because I had sort of accepted my male status, well had to really, no bananas had turned up after all, didn't mean I understood what it all meant. My forced acceptance didn’t mean I had considered all the ramifications of my new body, I was just beyond the fall over in a faint stage, and was just realizing that there was plenty more pressing things than my body. Being male meant a lot more than balls. This fact I learned the hard way. At first, I thought had rolled onto a stick, then after feeling a jolt of pleasure and discomfort with every scrap on the cave floor it dawned on me. I realized I could feel it and it was very uncomfortable with how hard it was. Trying to remain calm, the next thing I noticed was even worse. Chrysalis, the changeling mare I had fed last night was still asleep beside me. The nail in my coffin was that during the night Chrysalis had rested her head on my neck just so her horn rested above mine. I couldn’t move without alerting her and I certainly didn’t want to send the wrong message by letting her see my erection. I mean she is beautiful, with her eyes a blue-green color like the Gulf of Mexico, but we had just met yesterday and it had already been an awkward first meeting if there ever was one. She launched herself at my face! Okay it was just to eat some love, a act which was harmless enough. But I had no warning, no asking at all before she cam e at my face. Since I couldn’t move to relieve it I tried plan b: think it away. Okay deep breaths, close my eyes, and imagine a pile of mutilated kittens….Nope it’s still there. Come on, guts pouring out, eyes deflated, and this still wasn’t working. All I felt was nauseous. What else was unattractive? Sagging old people! Genius, okay I’m imagining sagging skin, food caught in cracks that food never should be near…I want to hurl now on top of being near painfully hard. I know I can’t vomit but I wish I could right now…There has to be a way to make this hard on magically disappear. MAGIC! Of course, I can use my magic like last night when I gathered firewood. Now rise Chrysalis! She just twitched her ear in response to my magic command thought and my yellow magic field thing didn’t appear. Maybe I did it wrong? What did I have to do last time? I looked at the firewood and got really frustrated at not being able to pick it up and started focusing of how I would lift it. Okay, so I had to focus and intend for it to happen I think. I stared at Chrysalis out of the corner of my eye and imagined her floating in a nice yellow field just like the logs did last night…And I almost gasped when I saw the yellow magic grow from my horn and surround her, levitating her slightly. But not enough clearance for me to get up. So if a little focus and intent made her levitate a few inches then a little more intent should raise her above me the last couple of inches. I thought wrong. My little extra thought of “higher” was too much and she hit the cave’s roof. She actually was a light sleeper in hindsight; I mean it was just a wall of rock to the head…and horn. Okay that part had to hurt. Maybe It was a little bit of a hard hit. Chrysalis’s eyes shot open and quickly locked on to mine, they promised pain, lots of pain. I lost focus and she landed awkwardly on her hooves, staggering slightly but still upset. Did I mention she had a horn too? Cause she does, and the green magic surrounding it told me I better run. I slowly sat up and backed away from the angry mare only for her horn to return to normal. She was staring at me with a weird expression. Oh shit, I forgot about that. I followed her eyes downward and almost groaned out loud at the sight of my erection just waving at her. Maybe I could talk my way out of this? “Now I know this looks bad but if you allow me to explain I’m sure you will understand.” I paused and waited till I caught her eye. “I woke up with this I tried really hard to will away but I couldn’t and I couldn’t get up with you laying on me. So I tried levitating you off of me but I overdid it as I haven’t had much practice with it so far.” She hadn’t interrupted me so far which I was considering a win. “You could have just woken me.” She said bluntly. “I thought that might send the wrong message considering we just met yesterday.” She glanced at my cock and shrugged. “Eh, I have done worse.” Blinking at the mare I watched in shock as she looked away at the end. Sure the flirting from before might have been a hint...Chrysalis wasn't looking at me still. I guess it brings back bad memories. “Still, I will try and see if it goes away without any help. I know you feed on love but I didn’t get this from any arousal so I don’t think it would help you anyway. Speaking of love, did mine help last night?” I could feel my ears perk and wings flutter as I waited for her answer. I didn’t want her to sleep hungry as well last night and I took her by her word that I wouldn’t be harmed by her feeding. Turns out she is pretty truthful, you know, once she wasn't trying to take it without asking. Not that would matter; with my luck god would probably just revive me. Her forehoof scuffed at floor and she looked away again in contemplation. “It was…I am…Why did you give me your love? I am a Changeling. I’m a hideous, emotion stealing parasite.” My heart ached at her expression and her self-deprecating words. Her beautiful eyes had gone incredibly wide and her shiny black ears had flattened in a way that my new mind said was fear. I stood and walked towards her, throwing my forehooves around her neck in the best imitation of a hug I could come up with in this form. “You are not a hideous, “emotion stealing parasite”. That is very far the truth, I never even felt you take the love,” I paused and went with my instincts on this one, nuzzling her cheek I thought of cinnamon buns just like I had done last night. “I didn’t want you to go hungry when I could easily feed you.” Releasing Chrysalis, I stepped back and widened my eyes as she leaned forward to follow my contact, my love for cinnamon buns. A sigh escaped her as our cheeks touched again, her chitin warm against my fur, and strangely soothing. At least, my equine mind found the contact nice. “I don’t know who told you that they were obviously jealous. I mean I wish I could be so efficient as to feed off emotion instead of toiling for months to grow fruits and vegetables." Black ears twitched in my peripheral, "But from the sounds of it ponies don’t care much about the truth if they thought that.” I huffed at the thought, just what kind of world had I landed in? Chrysalis was a perfectly reasonable mare, a little starved but she wasn’t unreasonable about it. Especially when you consider she woke up in a strange cave with a strange stallion and didn’t run screaming or assault me upon waking. All in all she seemed to be handling this well. She just blinked at me as her ears started to perk up, I felt her chitin move up against cheek before she pulled herself backwards. Sea-green eyes watching me as I realized something. My erection was gone! With that successfully extinguished and my new friend fed I had only one thing left to do, find my own breakfast. I felt like I had been starved for a month, my stomach rolling in discontentment. “Was breakfast good?” I cocked my head at the mare before me. Suddenly feeling energized, as if feeding her had somehow fed me. My spirit perhaps, if all it took was thinking of a delicious pastry to help her I don’t see how this mission god gave me could be so hard. Well, the second half of his “request” was still a no-go to me. There was so much wrong with that part I didn’t even know where to start on it. “Uh… Yes, thank you. Did-“ My stomach repeated what Chrysalis’s had told her last night, in much the same way, and seemly louder as she stared at me for the longest second. Finally she giggled, trying to contain her shaking chest with a dark hoof, “I guess that answers my question. Let’s get you some breakfast then.” I felt a little dazed, that giggle was so cute, like a tinkling bell. Chrysalis brought me out of it asking in a playful tone, “Coming?” she was already at the mouth of the cave, looking over her wither with a raised eyebrow. With that invitation I joined her. **** Faust and audience member Meddling God and Unwilling Prisoner BEST GOD EVER Dwaaaaw! Now isn’t that adorable*sniff* my little colt is already got a new friend. Oh just tugs at my h- ……..!!!.... Come on now! I had to do something! … If I didn’t tie you to the chair you would have run, right? …*nods* I still think you overreacted, I mean I thought I let him off quite nicely. I could have dropped him in a pile of all the creatures that have already died due to those meddling Alicorns. *grumbles* ….*raises an eyebrow* Come on now I am totally different! I am helping the multiverse one planet at a time, I am healing worlds! I am not tossing a ball of gas and hunk of rock around like those presumptuous upstarts. Humph! …. Why I never! I see I will need the tape after all. Just watch and realize just how great I am! *mumbles much better than Zeus, all he does is make little light shows mumbles*
A Sudden Change in Weather.*A Sudden Change in Weather.* **** ??????? ???????? Ari Turns out I was looking for food in all the wrong places last night, I thought that since this was a forest there would be berries and herbs I could munch near the ground. Nope, Chrysalis just shook her head at my foraging and led me to a tree. The tree was the same old pine-like trees around it but it had a thick woody vine wrapped around it. Looking up the trunk I saw the strangest plant adaption: the vines had wrapped around the upper branches forming “bushes” made up of tinier vines. Berry bushes to be exact, I wasn’t expecting that. My mouth opened and closed, just how was I supposed to reach those berries? As if taunting me a dark purple berry fell and went splat on the end of my muzzle. I licked the squashed berry off my muzzle and moaned in contentment, it was sweet and smelled a little like anise. I will call you anise berries and I shall eat you. “Wow, they are really ripe-,“ Chrysalis had started to say but I tuned her out. How do I climb this tree? Circling the tree I realized there were no low branches to grab, then I realized something even more problematic, I had hooves now. It might take awhile for me to get used to the whole no thumbs part of this Alicorn body…That’s it! I am a flying, magical being! With my horn and wings I could easily get the berries down. “So Chrissy” I turned to her and gave the unsuspecting mare the widest eyes I could, “Will you explain flying to me?” The changeling blinked owlishly at me. Maybe it was the nickname? I turned up the charm anyway, “Pretty please, I promise to do whatever you say! I would really owe you one if you would.” I almost had to break out the trembling lip, which I’m not even sure would have the right effect on her since I had a muzzle, until she gave the universal sign of defeat. She sighed, a really long drawn out sigh. “Are you serious?" I nodded enthusiastically, "Fine, fine okay listen up." My ears were perked and ready, "First lift your wings into an upstroke then as you move into the down stroke push off the ground with your legs. After that it’s more a matter upstrokes and downstrokes with minor adjustments to change direction.“ Well, I was expecting a more scientific answer than 'flap your wings'. “That’s it?” Chrissy simply nodded. OK! Time to fly, my muzzle turned into a grin at the thought. I mean I suppose I should have been nervous after yesterday’s experience but I wasn’t, I really wanted to fly. Quickly raising my wings to their full height, I paused as the muscles twinged at the base like they hadn’t ever been used, which I suppose they really hadn’t. Chrysalis had to backup has my wingspan hit what I would guess was fourteen feet, with each wing around seven feet long. Just as quickly I brought my wings straight down and pushed up with my legs. I really overshot that tree. Hurtling upward for quite awhile as the world blurred, this lasted what was really only a couple of seconds before I remembered to lift up again. Catching my breath as my heart raced I hovered there a second before remembering to flap, although I did it flap in smaller arcs and at a much slower rate after seeing what a full flap did. Hovering there, I barely noticed the view before I heard a small voice from below. Oh yeah, Chrissy was still down there! My hypothesis proved correct as slowing my flapping further allowed me to descend. The tree top was still a good fifty feet away though. I really would need to watch my strength if one strong flap sends me up two hundred feet! I landed on the closest branch and dug in. I know I said these berries were sweet before but they were really, really sweet, like addictly sweet. Hunger was hitting me full force then. I eventually tucked my wings in and hopped from branch to branch, eating all the berries on each bush. Below, Chrysalis had stopped calling out whatever she had been saying before was just gazing at me in wonder. I suppose I did look like a giant equine crow eating the berries the way I was. With the last of the anise berries eaten I jumped the last twenty feet down to Chrysalis. “Thank you.” I really did mean it, I wouldn’t have thought to look up for berries, nor would I have tried flying without the explanation. Even if it was too easy to mess up. “Wow, are you always this…Hungry? I mean, you just demolished a tree’s worth of berries. That had to be close to thirty pounds of Charona berries!” So that’s what they are called! “Was it really that much? Because believe it or not, I’m still hungry.” I put a hoof to my mouth in thought, I was really hungry still. I don’t remember ever eating that much before. I looked at my still flat stomach. How had thirty pounds of berries fit in there? Was this another Alicorn thing? Chrysalis's eye twitched and she started mumbling what I'm sure were curses about Alicorns and cake, before she headed…I couldn’t tell the direction,the sun was directly above us again! But it was just sunrise a couple of hours ago… I caught up with Chrysalis. “So I noticed the sun is always overhead, how do we tell what direction we are going in?” She sighed, ears going back as she walked away, “Tired of me already-“ “What?! No, I find you to be great company when you aren’t starving." I tried for a smile, yet she didn't smile back, instead watching me carefully. "I also don’t know what direction anywhere is. I still want to find civilization and figure out this wor-“ BANG! RUMBLE RUMBLE... We both jumped up, our wings were raised, my muscles tense and ready to get away if necessary. We looked at each other then above as a shadow dimmed the sun. The wind ruffled my feathers as they returned to my back. “Run!” Chrissy had started to gallop in the direction of the cave. I didn’t move, run from a cloud? I mean sure it looked like a rain cloud but a little rain wouldn’t hurt. Her magic was enveloping my hooves trying to drag me forward. This was getting silly. “Are you afraid of a rain cloud?” She was at my side now, trying to move me which much to her chagrin only made me want to not move. ‘Frustrating’ was a common adjective my friends would use to describe me. That is they would, but I am probably never getting home… “It's not JUST a rain cloud, it’s a storm!" A storm wouldn't kill us. "Come on, we have to find cover.” As if to back Chrysalis up, a bolt of lightning struck the tree behind us. We froze and turned around. There was a smoldering stump stood behind us now. The tree I had been flitting about earlier was just gone. *Poof* Chrysalis almost fell as I got up and bolted into a gallop for the cave, I could feel her breath on my tail as she quickly caught up. Funny how lightning puts some motivation in a pony. **** ??????? ???????? Chrysalis Honestly, stallions can be so foalish. I shook out my mane only to be splattered by the stallion in question. Ari shook himself like a dog and honestly looked a little rugged with his mane messy like that. But now I was wet again. Scowling I looked around the cave he had brought us to. There was still some kindling and logs left. Other than that we had a rock floor to sleep on, I just know my chitin was going to be sore after another night in this cave. I couldn’t believe him though, me afraid of rain? No. But there hasn’t been just a rain cloud outside of Equestria in years. But it did give me idea where I was now. Lightening that powerful had only been seen in the Diamond Mountains. Which wasn’t really a problem for the Diamond dogs that lived here, they just tunneled deeper. Outside, the wind was starting to pick up, almost howling at the cave opening. I shuddered as it reminded me of the dogs that lived on these ranges. I must have the lucky mare on my side to have not run into them yet. *crackle* I jumped and looked to see Ari lighting a log on fire with his magic. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you Chrissy.” He gave a weak smile. Latching onto the only thing I could think of, I asked, “Chrissy?” “Er, yes. You didn’t seem to object to it when I called you it earlier so I figured…,” he trailed off looking nervously at the fire. I have never had such a nickname, usually my other titles were more, well, dark to put it simply. I had been called everything from a whorse to a demonic bug from Tartarrus, never “Chrissy”. I liked it. Perhaps this meant I could have a fresh start...A nice thought but unlikely anyway, I won't look the gift Alicorn in the mouth. Ari had laid down now and looked troubled. “I don’t mind it, I just haven’t been called something so…Nice. Usually my other titles have been more along the lines of an insult.” He perked up, his wings rising in excitement. Like I said, he was very foalish to get excited from me accepting a nickname. Speaking of his wings, they looked horrid with feathers displaced and loose. I walked up to him and looked at the ground beside him and back at him with a raised eyebrow. Ari smiled and patted the ground in invitation, I settled in beside him. I couldn’t help but close my eyes as his emotions rushed over me. I don’t know what I did to deserve his arrival but I’m so glad I did whatever it was. I didn’t feel nearly as weak as yesterday, a week of this and I would be normal again. Perhaps I should pay him back in some way? His feathers irked me... “Can I help you preen?” This may have been too presumptuous on my part, but his wings truly looked a mess. Wings were a special place for pegasi, never mind a Alicorn. Only their friends and family ever helped with preening as it was a rather sensual experience for the recipient. So, I was really out of line since we just met. But...They were so...Messy! My eye twitched as I stared at one feather standing straight up. He blinked at me, “Sure-,“ he trailed off as I grabbed a hold of a loose primary that was just holding on. I wasn't wasting this opportunity. He extended his wing and I slid back along his barrel before setting to work. I could feel actually his muscles relax beside me as I started at the secondary flight feathers, they seemed to be the least messy. Although, they certainly were sensitive if his wings twitching was any indication. Soon, my muzzle was tucked in along his wing bone, my tongue twisting around base of his feathers, lining them up and pulling the few that were making way for new feathers. He gave a low moan as I pulled out a couple more. This continued on at relaxed pace as the storm raged outside, the fire keeping us warm as I worked on his wing and he let me know how good I was doing with low moans. I kind of liked this in a strange way, of course the love he was radiating helped make this a mutually enjoyable act. It was strange doing this for him, wanting to do this for him. Before long I had to move to reach his furthest primaries, his wings were a good seven feet long, each. Ari caught me off guard when he used his wing to push me back against his barrel when I started sliding towards his wing tip, this time he kept his wing half tucked so I wouldn’t have to move. He looked at me briefly before closing his eyes again, a very serene look his face. I hummed, oddly at ease with his silent askance, and placed my muzzle at his wing tip. My tongue wound around his feathers with ease and before long I was gazing back at my finished work, my stomach growing pleasantly full. You could clearly see the difference between his right one, although he had black feathers they seemed to shine with a renewed vigor after a expert preening under my mouth. Long tongues are quite a blessing for preening, although I don’t personally preen my own with their unique material. A simple buzz removes any dirt, it was a blessing to be so low maintenance. I look at his other wing, which was still a embarrassment. I got up and stepped over him before laying on his other side. Shuddering as I laid down. The rock was cold but that would soon change. Like a well oiled machine I licked, twisted, and pulled his feathers and he complimented each expert move with a moan. Before long I needed his wing tip again and Ari was expecting it this time, bringing in his wing to a half tucked position. With one last feather fixed I slid up his barrel intent on using his neck as a pillow. Perhaps tomorrow he won’t wake me up the way he did today.
Never Let Your Guard Down.\/\/\/\/\//\/\//\ Chrysalis Humming in contentment I couldn’t help but think how nice it is to wake up warm and not on the ceiling today. Ari’s feathers tickled my chitin and my wing gave a half hearted buzz underneath his wing. This was perfect. *grumble* Of course the storm would still be there. Hopefully it blows over today, I would like a proper bed again, and even a pile of leaves would do at this point. *grumble* I didn’t want to open my eyes, this sensation of love and warmth was almost too good to be true. Of course now that I said that, Celestia’s began to raise the sun, it seems even thousands of miles away she still manages to aggravate me. Little known fact about changelings is that we have incredible night vision. *rumble* Wait the sun's out, then what is making that sound? Once again my thoughts are derailed, this time not by wavering thoughts but by my living blanket and pillow, also known as Ari. He stood and stretched his wings and then his back, giving me a perfect view to his morning problem. “I appreciate waking on the ground this morning.” I said with a playful sass before I stood as well, cracking my back. Did his eye just twitch? “Sorry about that.” Ari still looked sheepish but in a endearing way, not nearly as stupid as he had been. “Did you hear all the noise just before the sun rose?” “No, maybe it was the end of the storm?” I looked outside, there the baleful ball of gas was still raising the sun, in minutes it would reach its position and all sense of direction would be lost again. Interestingly there wasn’t a cloud left in the sky, I didn’t know they could move that fast without pegasi. “Did you want some breakfast before we hit the road?” What a strange expression, what road are we traveling in this forest and why would we hit it? I gave him a raised eyebrow. “What?” “Hit the road?” I sat back and made air brackets with my hooves. “Oh, sorry that just an expression from where I came from, it just means “get going”. I wasn’t sure if you had enough love last night.” Well that explained it, sort of; actually it was just filling me with more questions the longer I thought about it. “The food was more than sufficient. I think your love is actually managing to taste better. I could use some breakfast but I can eat as we travel, you are right to “hit the road” as I have been in the Diamond Mountains for way too long.” He looked like he was going question me so I quickly explained about the lightning storms being centralized in the Diamond Mountains. Mind you, I hadn’t seen a lightning storm till today but all that really proved was Mother Nature's recent level of craziness. With an approximate location I felt better at least, Ari did too if his reaction was any indication. He perked up with the seemingly endless energy that Alicorns are known for, that and their appetite, which is disgustingly large. Ari glanced at me again before we left the cave. Outside it looked horrible. Aside from the trees by the base of mountain, which looked the best by far, most trees were worse for wear. Once beautiful branches were snapped and splatters of ruined berries dotted the mushy forest floor like a sickening purple rug. There was also a handful of black stumps that gave the forest a eerie feeling. It probably didn't help that it was completely silent. We were both speechless at what Mother Nature had done. That was mostly true. Once again Sunbutt and her sister had managed to live in what seemed to be the only place that wasn’t suffering. Equis’s weather was going a little crazy. And I didn’t mean estrus level crazy, which was quite scary for unsuspecting stallions, no, I meant the laugh girlishly before killing you type of crazy. Trust me on this, I have been there. Ari was the first to snap out of the stupor and I trotted to catch up, keeping my chitin in contact with his fur for some love on the go. “So where are you from? I have never heard of your saying before. I have been to quite few countries, save the Dragon's Badlands of course. They don’t have any love or I should say they have so little love and live in such a dangerous terrain that it isn't worth the risk.” I really hated the draconic badlands, it was nearly all volcanoes and lava pits. The dragons were only slightly better. He seemed to stew my question over before asking a question that in hindsight made complete sense. “There are dragons here?” “Yes! Aren’t there dragons where you came from?!” “…Nope, I am not from around here you could say. On Earth dragons are just a myth, a story to amaze children with. Err, I mean foals.” After climbing over a particularly thick downed tree we resumed our conversation. “Where is earth? I don’t think I have travelled there before? I might actually want to visit if everyone is as generous as you. You know nopony would ever give love freely like you do. I usually have to disguise myself among other less enjoyable steps to get my food.” I trailed off, I felt suddenly cold as it sunk in. All the disguises, research, and training had turned out to be for nothing. My family never got their safety and food, they had died in hunger and pain. While even now those uninvolved tyrants live in a dreamland, never looking beyond their walls, or perhaps they do know and just don’t care. I’m not sure which reality is worse. He must have felt my change in mood because he raised his wing and curled it around me in a hug. Looking both thoughtful and sad he nuzzled my ear. “I’m sorry you had to do that I didn’t know that ponies here were soo selfish. But I’m afraid I’m the only earthling you will probably ever meet, I’m from a whole other planet. You see, heh, this sounds really crazy. You see I was taken one day, went to sleep in my bed and woke up hurtling towards the ground. The…cocksucking bastard that took me told me that I had to stop two Alicorn’s from moving the sun and the moon, among other things. Apparently they are killing the planet by moving the sun and moon. I think you know the Alicorn’s I’m talking about.” Ari gave me a mad grin, but I just blinked stupidly after that. How do I even respond to that? The truth was radiating from him. I could feel no deceit only a righteous anger, a strong emotion that almost made me step away from him. Ari was foal-napped from his home, which was on another planet, and has no way home. For even with my extensive research into magic I have never even heard of planetary magic of the nature that could allow beings to move to other planets, the distance was just too great! That could only mean whoever took him was pretty much a god in magical power alone. The task Ari was given was pretty crazy as well. Why give one Alicorn the task of stopping TWO Alicorns? Not to mention Lovebutt, Shiny, and the elements of harmony would stand against him in such a battle! I glanced at him, I knew I looked disgusting with the pity in my eyes but I thought I had it bad. “You are doomed, you know that right?” He chuckled at my statement, his anger replaced with mirth. “Yes, I figured that out.Two very experienced Alicorn’s against one inexperienced Alicorn is a death wish. I haven’t a clue how to get them to stop. Since you seem to know of them anything you could tell me about them would help.” “You are actually going to try to stop them?” I felt a small feeling of hope. This time he sighed, “Yes, you see although I want to impale the god who brought me here on my horn, I do have to agree with him. Their meddling with the sun and the moon isn’t natural and doesn’t seem to be working out if that crazy storm is any sign. It is also very annoying that I can’t tell where I’m going or what time it is with their meddling with the sun.” I giggled at his frustration before it hit me. He was right, the weather was crazy and it had only been getting worse. “Your right, the weather has been crazy. Every year the storms and droughts and floods get worse…” Ari’s attention was completely on me I could feel his hope rising. I cant believe i'm about to do this. “I could help you, I know all about the princesses I had to study them intensivly before the…” I trailed off, I had just put my hoof in my mouth, and now he was curious. Not an unpleasant emotion but I had hoped to never mention this to him. “Preparing for?” he left it open in a obvious question and I glanced around, noticing we had almost reached the edge of the forest. A rock field lay ahead of us. There was no avoiding this I guess. “I had staged an invasion of Equestria, the country the Alicorn princesses live in. It was a desperate act I realize now. My family was starving, I was starving. Our hiveland was being swallowed by burning waters that we couldn’t drink. We had to travel farther everyday to find water and gathering love was becoming harder as fewer changelings were available to gather love. I knew I had to do something or we would die, then it hit me. Why not take over the only country NOT being affected by the unnatural weather?!” I couldn’t bring myself to finish, they were dead because of me. He stopped; we were on the rock field now. I felt his fur press against my neck, now Ari was tucking my head under his while his wing tightened its hold over me. His love was flowing stronger now, with a hint of sadness marring the otherwise perfect moment in his warmth. “I failed. We lost and were sent flying over a thousand miles away. I have been searching for months for survivors but I only found bodies. I am the last. I am flightless and alone.” I could feel my eyes burn as I said the truth that I had refused to say these long months. A couple tears escaped and my knees collapsed as my emotions boiled over. I was alone. I was broken. I had killed thousands of my kind, my family, with a half baked plan that I could now see was desperate and doomed from the start. I don’t how long my emotions poured out but Ari just lay with me on the cold ground with his wing hugging me close. I slowed my hiccupping breaths and nestled my head into his wing. Damn I just ruined my preening job with my snot. I couldn’t believe I just broke down, I mean Ari was ripped from his home he didn’t even so much as a sniffle. Pathetic. “This is embaras-“ *rumble grumble* We both froze and looked up at the sky. It was clear, no clouds in sight. Then where- *GGRRRR* My eyes widened in recognition, but before I could warn Ari he was hit with a green sphere and unconscious. Five Diamond Dogs had popped out of the ground, surrounding us with green spheres ready. Diamond Dogs truly are a ugly lot. They walk on two legs, had paws instead of hooves, and just like their name suggests looked like a dog.They were one of the few creatures that like dragons I never gathered love from if I could help it, almost for the same reasons as the dragons coincidently. Before I could manage a attack one of the green spheres shattered in my face, releasing a noxious green miasma that forced me unconscious.
Buck Off!**** Diamond Mountains Ari One moment I’m comforting a sobbing mare and next thing I know I’m hit in the face and knocked unconscious. The orb that hit me shattered, but I didn’t even have a chance to feel the pain from the glass shards before it released a gas that knocked me out. I’m really starting to dislike this world. Now I was cold, groggy, and more than a little pissed off. I mean, does anyone even respect me? First, I was dropped from a lethal height. I have had the previously mentioned mare launch herself at me, and now I’m assaulted by some sort of knockout gas. I just wasn’t getting any breaks. Did I mention my face hurt? I think I should point out that several spots feel like something is lodged in it. My muzzle fur feels stiff too, like something sticky was dried in it. I don’t even want to think about what it could be. Why? The smell here is horrible. I’m not even trying to take in the scents, but just breathing is enough to take in the wet dog, feces, musty air smell. It tells me all I need to know. Mainly that, I’m going to hate opening my eyes. I called it. In front of me was a rusty cell door, looking around it didn’t look much better. Rock ceiling, slightly slimy rock floor, and matching rock walls. There wasn’t even a window in this cell, isn’t that like a prerequisite to prisons? Give the prisoners a tiny hole of window that provides just enough light to highlight how gloomy their cell is but not big enough to escape from. Whoever captured me is doing it all wrong. The need to sleep was starting to fade when several important facts hit me. Chrissy wasn't with me anymore. My hooves are hand- no hoof cuffed to a chain attached to the wall. My horn itches and my wings are tied to my barrel. Wow, my mission just went doomed to not a chance in hell of happening. I don’t even know what to feel at that. Chrissy had just agreed to help me too. But then she was so upset, she had suffered and those rulers did nothing. I hope she is okay. *jingle* *grumble* Something was coming, something with keys! I stood up, taking longer than normal due to the shackles. What approached threw me off: three really ugly dogs walking on two legs. Well, they weren’t the Fido you would picture per say, they came in a range of brown and grays with the oddest tails, at the end of them a spiked club tip. Their faces all had large jaws and tiny black eyes, those jaws were fascinating in a way. They jutted outward so their lower jaw never touched their top jaw. It looked uncomfortable to me, it also let their bad breath waft out of their maws. “Graw grumble raw mu.”, said the dark gray dog thing on the right, he was pointing at me. I am not explaining how I knew he was a he. Here’s a hint: they don’t wear clothes. “Mu gra.” The tallest and only brown dog thing replied in what I assume was a condescending tone. It was hard to tell when they all sounded so gravelly and low. “Mu.” The gray one on the left stated, he had a…Monotone voice. It was kind of creepy with his black eyes looking at me. They were looking all staring at me now. I couldn’t tell if this was good or bad, their eyes weren’t very expressive. But I decided to try and make the best of this situation, I had my captors here after all. “Hello there. Why did you capture me?” They just continued looking at me. The tall brown dog cocked his head at me. “Mu gra?” The brown dog said, he sounded confused. “Ra, ra. MU RAW!” The one on the right seemed pretty serious when he said that. Well, it looked like they either don’t understand me or don’t care to tell me why I’m in a cell. Somehow I’m leaning towards the latter with the way my life has been going. “Mu raw? *snicker* Awo Mu gras.” The brown one hit him on the back of the head. At least I get a little entertainment. I think the gray one on the left thought so too, he was looking at them with a toothy grin. “MU RAWWW!” Well, now the gray one was angry at the brown one, and the brown one didn’t seem to care for shouting as his upper lip started twitching revealing lots of sharp incisors. I really should avoid getting bit; with their huge jaws they could easily snap my neck. I backed up slightly, as a prey animal now my instincts screamed that these dogs were bad news. As a rule if something locks me up for no reason then they are guaranteed to be bad news. The jingling of my chains caught the other gray dog’s attention. He looked at his keys then at me, as he did so a glint entered his eyes, and I’m not sure I liked that look. We all froze as the keys started jingling, left gray dog was looking for the right key. After finding it he looked at his pack mates, “Mu gra o raw. Grawo.” They looked at each other and nodded. I didn’t like where this was going. “So mind letting me in on the secret?” my voice trembled a bit, call me crazy but I like to know what my jailers have planned for me. The left gray dog opened the door and walked up to me. I stood my ground, a mix of fear and uncertainty holding me in place. Maybe they were like real dogs and could smell fear? I just needed to be strong to get their respect. I know I could smell new smells now, although with him around I wouldn’t for much longer. He was right in front of my muzzle now. Consider yourself lucky you can’t smell his breath, they really could use it instead of that gas. “Stay.” I blinked in shock. He knew what I was saying? He could speak English?! My ears flattened, he had got to be kidding. I was brought out my anger by a tug on my shackles, I nearly lost my balance, and my wings trying to escape their bindings to help me balance. I really hated these shackles. They kept my front hooves and back hooves close together making walking hard. Another tug and I followed the dog, my ears pinned back the whole time. Did i get to choose anything?! Maybe their leader wants to talk or I could be walking to my death, yet at this point I’m not sure why I bother. Outside the cell it opened into a large circular cavern, stalactites hung from the cave ceiling, and I could several tunnel openings along the walls. The stalactites dripped into small puddles on the floor. I couldn’t help but lick my lips at the sight of the water. We had been traveling for hours without finding any streams. I jumped in place and pinned my ears, those dogs were touching my tail. For some reason that irked me, actually this whole situation irked me. Was I just a toy for everyone? Not everyone I guess, Chrissy sort of respected me. She actually cared enough to ask me questions unlike everything else I have met so far. Then something poked my ball sack. I reacted more on instinct than anything else, my ears flattened even further and I squealed in anger and surprise. Once I caught sight of the dog that was back there my bottom lowered and I gave a double kick. It sent the gray one with the keys flying into the nearest wall. Snorting I turned around to face him, he didn’t move. The satisfaction was short lived before I knew it the brown dog grabbed my mane and jumped on my back. Instincts flared back up and I started to buck. With every buck we moved around the cavern, somehow he kept missing the stalactites when I went airborne. Or not, I heard a crunch but I didn’t stop, I wasn’t stopping till this dog was off my back. To the dog’s credit, he did know how to ride a buck. When I sailed into the air with my back arched he gripped my barrel with his legs and when I went down he tried to use my mane to flex my head into a choke hold. It wasn’t working though, I felt like I could buck all day and I think his legs were getting tired if is waning grip was any evidence. We both decided to change it up around the same time, I strained my wings against the ropes as I went up and he grabbed my horn. When we landed I stopped straining my wings and lowered my head. A satisfying crunch echoed as he hit wall across from my cell. I was breathing hard but I had won, looking around I grimaced at the sight. That crunch turned out to be the other gray dog’s head, my stomach felt uneasy at the sight of his caved in face. No, he wasn’t getting up from that. Averting my eyes, I looked at the other gray dog on the wall. He also wasn’t ever getting up if the new puddle was any sign. wow, I had killed three dog people...But now wasn’t the time to lament my captors deaths. I had to find Chrissy. My heart was racing, okay, first things first, these shackles had to come off. Float to me keys. Nothing happened. Maybe I didn’t use enough intent? Again, I tried harder, scrunching my eyes in concentration. My horn burned but nothing was happening! Sighing, I opened my eyes and walked over to the keys. I stared at the keys in contempt: they were lying partially in the dog’s blood. Why me? Sitting down I began the fun task of struggling with the twenty odd keys. It was not easy to twist a key with your mouth, much less line it up with the hole to begin with. The worst part was when the key would give a half turn before letting me know that it was the wrong one. Lucky number thirteen was the one though. I rubbed my hocks, they were missing a little fur where the shackles had been. Those shackles could really dig in, I hope they weren’t covered in any diseases. That would just be what I needed. My horn still bugged me. Did they damage it? Was it broken? I touched the tip of horn hesitantly, it was still there! Making my way down my horn I noticed something new. It felt like a shackle, circling around my base and interlocking in a strange pattern. I tried to levitate a small rock while touching my horn shackle. All that did was make the shackle warmer under my hoof. Great, apparently you can lock up magic. Not to mention, I still needed to find Chrysalis. Keys in tow, I looked at my options. Across from cell there was five large tunnel openings, I knew that the dogs came from one of the ones on the left. Should I go the direction they came from? There might be a whole pack of these crazy creatures waiting for me, or it could lead to the entrance, or an office, or- I could do this all day. Left does make the most sense though. Then I heard her scream in pain, the voice unmistably Chrissy. It ricocheted off the cavern walls and without a thought I dropped the keys, Turned tail, and broke into a gallop towards the tunnel it came from. **** Batshit Crazy Help me Best God Ever and prisoner Friend Unworthy Pion Well I’m ready for some more popcorn! Did you want any? *Glares* I’m going to take that as “Yes sir. Please feed me.” *Shakes head* Did you want some candy instead? Nachos? I have a chocolate fountain I could break out. Oh! That is a great idea. You’re welcome. No, no, YOU ARE welcome- *thrashes in chair* Stop making so much NOISE! You can deliver my stupid brother’s message AFTER you watch my genius and admit that I’M THE BETTER GOD!!!!
Horns are Very Sensitive.**** Diamond Mountains Ari My adrenaline was still pumping. I couldn’t believe I just did that! All I could feel was hate for those dogs, they had hurt Chrissy, and they had imprisoned other ponies. In the question of fight or flight, it was a no-brainer. Literally, my thoughts faded, and I just reacted with my instinct. When I started to think again I was looking at Chrissy. Going with my instincts I nuzzled her and she nuzzled back. “Took you long enough.” She sounded so weak to me. Her wound had bled enough to leave a puddle, a green puddle, but still enough to make me concerned. How much blood can a pony lose? I would have continued sending her love if I wasn't interrupted by a disgusted voice. “A Changeling!” Looks like Chrissy was right about how ponies viewed her, I was really hoping she just had some self esteem issues. We both turned and looked at the couple, both ponies had their ears folded back in fear with their eyes darting around the room. The stallion was trying to keep the mare behind him, which would have been sweet if their attitude didn’t grate on my nerves. If a pony didn’t know better they would say the couple had seen a ghost with how pale their faces looked. But it could have just been my entrance, or the body pooling in its own blood in the middle of the cavern, or even the fact that one dog escaped. But their statement said it probably was the changeling mare. I wasn’t worried about the dog that got away, he looked terrified for his life. I could have killed him, if I’m honest I would have killed him if I had remembered to. But I had bigger worries than a lone dog. Might as well hear how bad it was...I just stared at them, waiting to hear the discrimination I felt coming. “What are you doing with that Changeling?! I thought you were here to rescue us?” I didn’t know how to respond. The way the stallion said changeling irked me. Almost like saying it was synonymous with dirt. He was awfully presumptuous…I mean, of course I would free them but I had really come for Chrissy. I couldn’t help the pettiness in my response, really, he had it coming. You never act disrespectful to a potential rescuer, it just wasn’t done. But I guess they couldn't help their response, Chrissy did invade their country recently and all. However, she was still my friend and friends don’t let other friends get disrespected. “I’m sorry but we haven’t met yet. My name is Ari. This is my friend Chrissy.” Although I kept a cordial tone I stressed the word ‘friend’. They both blinked rapidly after that, I may have broken their small minds. A pony being friends with a ickie Changeling?! The scandal! The turquoise mare spoke for the first time, “My name is Azure Heights. This is my friend Barium Seal. Thank yo-“ I could see where this was going, they honestly still thought I was here for them. “I was actually coming to rescue Chrissy. I didn’t even know who you were until now. But I suppose since I will be undoing her shackles anyway…” I trailed off on purpose then, call me what you will, I wanted to tease them a little. I was just a little pissed off at this whole situation. You have your coping methods, I have mine. Chrissy bumped her nose against my neck, someone must be hungry. “Speaking of chains, I hope that dog has the keys to them, cause I dropped the last set a couple caverns back.” The ponies were actually kind of funny when i said that, their faces went from shocked, to happy, then worried. I think Chrissy was enjoying their performance if her grin was any sign. A mare after my own humor. Not waiting for a response I trotted over the body. Like the rest he had no clothes, therefore no pockets, and therefore no keys. My ears fell, I had to go all the way back! “What’s wrong?” Azure asked but I think she knew already what I was going to answer. “No keys. I have to go back.” I looked back at Chrissy, “Are you going to be all right if I run back and grab the keys? Do you want some more food first?” Both ponies looked horrified at my question. I really didn’t have time for this. “What is the matter with you two? You act like we are going to do something horrifying.” I laid down beside Chrissy to prove my point. “It doesn’t hurt you know.” Chrissy sighed when our bodies met, melting into me a little. Cocking her head, Azure asked, “So you don’t become brainwashed and weak?” “Azure!” Barium reprimanded as he was looked between us with fear. Yes, the partially bound Alicorn and restrained, injured changeling, so scary. I had to stop myself from face hoofing at her ludicrous idea. No wonder Chrissy was so shocked that I fed her, if this was what ponies thought. “Nope, I don’t even feel her feeding and I most certainly am myself. No brainwashing here.” Barium looked interested now. “So your feeding her right now then?” Almost like he couldn’t believe it was this easy. I almost couldn’t myself, I hadn’t heard of this, this, emotionvore before I landed in this world. “Yes. I’m feeding Chrissy right now.” She was here too and she had a name...Okay, I'm a little sensitive about their racism still. Chrissy had remained silent the whole time, glancing at her I saw that her eyes were shimmering. I went to cover her with a wing only to feel a resistance. They were still bound. “Hey Chrissy, do you think you could untie my wings? I can’t reach the knot from here.” She regarded the knot in the center of my back a second before setting to work on it. Something sharp touched my back and I almost jumped up before I realized it was her teeth. They were a little sharp. Why did she have canines if she ate emotion? Wings now freed I raised them to their full span, a wing tip just brushing the couple and startling them out of their fish impression. My wings were so stiff, but I felt better. Yes, my magic was still bound, my face still stung, and I was hungry but I felt lighter being able to move my wings. I settled one over her and let her feed. I was surprisingly comfortable against her hard chitin. Once again, Barium ruined the moment. “You’re an ALICORN!-" Yes, just yell that in this echoing cavern, "-Sweet Celestia I didn’t know there were any besides the princesses.” Azure was practically jumping up and down , “This is incredible, are you-“ She continued to barrage me with inane questions, like did I like cake too? It was a little silly so I just closed my eyes and thought of glorious cinnamon buns, vastly superior to cake. I was so hungry. I hadn’t had a full belly since I got here…Two days ago I think, unless I had been unconscious for a while. It didn’t really matter though, this moment was quite relaxing, you know, for cuddle feeding in a dim, stinky cavern. However our companions weren’t so inclined to enjoy the peace, they had stopped questioning me when they realized I wasn't answering. But apparently they still had needs I suppose. “Are you going to get the keys?” I raised an eyebrow at Barium, could he not ruin a moment for me. “I-I mean what if the dog comes back?” Azure nodded rapidly at that. I would kill the dog after what he did. But Barium was right, we should leave while we still could. I had had surprise on my side the last two times I faced the dogs. But Murphy’s law said my third time wouldn’t be as lucky. Shooting an apologetic look at Chrissy I separated from her, I could have sworn I heard a whimper. “Barium, I hate to admit it but you are right. I trust you can all make friends while I get the keys. If the dogs return just scream.” I gave the ponies a pointed look: don’t mess with Chrissy. With one last glance I left back down the way I came, starting at a quiet walk I realized something. I didn’t know where the exit was. I was unconscious when I was brought down here so how was I going to get out? What would the ponies do once they were free? Settling down my emotions I broke into to a trot. Ahead the cavern opened up, three openings. Through the one across from me I continued on my mental map. Speaking of a map…No, I had to at least release them first then I could double back. I still needed, no, I wanted to know where in this world Equestria was. Somehow I don’t think my ‘maker’ was going to accept me not knowing where I’m going as a reason for not doing what he asked and I didn’t want to find out what he would do about any failure. The tunnel went by faster this time but my heart was racing. What if they heard me? What if I the last victories were flukes? The torch light gleamed ahead and I broke into a gallop. If I’m going to make noise I might as well be quick about it. Another tunnel and I reached my starting point. I paused, the air felt different. Inhaling I took stock of the smells: feces, wet dog, and fresh air. The musty smell was gone. I must have been closer to an exit than I thought. Luck did like me after all! Now all I had to do was free everyone and we could go back here. Just four tunnels to choose from, I mean, what could go wrong? Shaking the thought from my head I grabbed the keys and galloped to the next cavern. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. Finally I was back and my heart calmed down. The ponies hugged each other and Chrissy smugly said, “Told you so.” Sounds like there was some doubt about my return, but, I was happy at the thought that at least Chrissy trusted me to return. I still hate keys. After fumbling around with the keys for what felt like an hour I finally had Chrissy’s shackles off. The ponies also learned some new words, but they did need some educating. Chrissy enjoyed the words at least. Unshackling her horn shackle was a fun experience though. We both had horns, very long horns if the unicorn beside us was any comparison. Now you had to see the key to believe it, it was so tiny I thought I might swallow it if I moved it wrong. My horn was also shackled so I couldn’t just magic my way out this and my hooves-although willing to act like hands sometimes- objected to holding keys. This lead to me trying to not hit our horns together with every turn, yes, this shackle was fitted together with three bolts, so there was lots of turning. They were basically safe locks for the horn. And despite my best attempts I still managed to knock our horns together, it didn’t hurt but it did make my stomach coil in a way that wasn’t needed right now. Chrissy’s moans didn’t help my problem in the way I needed right now either. Her horn free, I passed her the key. She looked at it, then me, with a nervous expression. “Could I get a little love here?” I nodded; of course she wasn’t feeling good after that. I glanced at her chest wound, at least it had stopped bleeding. Laying down I heard her sigh in relief when chitin met fur, before setting to work on my shackle. I think she was knocking horns on purpose this time, for one thing she could have used magic to float the key but didn't, and one time I swore she tapped her horn against mine three times in a row. That gave me shivers, horns are sensitive to both pain and pleasure. I knew she was moaning low on purpose this time, I caught her peeking at me out of the corner of her eye. Every single touch, I swear she could feel my stirring and wanted to rile me up. Maybe it feed her more but I couldn't let her enjoy it with an audience. So I Stubbornly ignored the sensations and the audience, the audience wasn’t making it easy though. I wasn’t a changeling but even I could feel the anticipation in the air. Azure was even leaning closer to me, as if that would speed up the process. Barium was starting to look annoyed when my shackle finally fell off, I felt a rush of energy fill me, not the get and go type of energy but an internal feeling that passed through me like caffeine. Like when my wings were bound I felt heavy, when my magic was bound I felt emptier and more tired than I should be. Not a bad feeling, just a wrong feeling. My magic field carried the key to Azure’s horn and unlocked her shackle. She sighed in relieve, maybe it isn’t just me that feels that emptiness from the shackle. I jingled the keys in my magic, I wasn’t doing all the work, and Chrissy was still hungry so I was stuck like this. While Azure and Barium were occupied with the keys, Chrissy gave me a serious look. “Listen, before we leave we need to find the dog's communications room. When they…The Diamond dogs, they mentioned that I’m worth a bounty now. I need to find out who wants me.” I started to imitate a fish now, what do I say to that? I’m not too surprised really; I mean she did invade a country, someone was bound to want her dead. It just was a lot to take in. “I don’t want to hinder your mission. I still would like to travel with you, help you set this world right. So noling else has to starve…” “Sorry, that is, I would love to have your help! I don’t know the first thing about…Well I have never had to save a world before, much less one I know nothing about. But I’m afraid all I can offer in return is free food and a better world at the end of it.” I chuckled in nervous joy as something was actually going towards my goal. “That’s all I could ask of you.” She whispered as her head made itself comfortable on my back. Going with the whisper mood she was in I added, “I think I found a strategy room when I was trying to find you. It had some books, a map, and a desk. It sounds like a good place to start looking.” “Mmhmm” Looking over my wither I could see Chrissy’s eyes fluttering shut. I liked her thinking, sleep sounded good and the shared warmth was soothing my adrenaline fried nerves to the point that I almost did. This time is was Azure that interrupted. “Are you ponies coming?” While I was ecstatic on the inside that she was over her fear of Chrissy I was missing the personal space that the fear had allowed. She was literally in front of my muzzle, eye to eye in fact. I swore she was staring at me stars in her eyes. At this point i'm not dismissing that, magic was possible here after all. I was grateful when Barium came up muttering and dragged her to the tunnel entrance by her tail. Creepily enough she never broke eye contact with me the whole time. He seemed in a hurry to leave and I wasn’t about to stop them. After several minutes I gathered the motivation to speak again, “We should check out that room I guess.” “Mmhmm.” Not a muscle twitch. “You have to get up.” “Mmhmmmmmmm.” She turned her head and nuzzled into my neck. “We need to get out of here.” Also, I was really hungry, berries just didn’t cut it. “Fine.” She moved her head off my body but didn’t move to get up. I stood and looked down at her; she looked up at me. “Fiiiinnne,” Chrissy conceded. Although she stood rather stiffly she was fine, but I still stood wither to wither with her, ready in case she collapsed. After wobbling for several steps she woke up enough to walk and we picked up the pace. We started down the tunnel, comfortable in our silence. There wasn’t anything to really say. She was feeding, I was enjoying the feeling of her being there, and I wasn’t alone in my mission anymore. I led her to the plank door without running into any gaurds or Azure and Barium. I paused, had I closed the door last time? We entered and Chrissy seemed to come to life. She glanced at the map briefly before making her way to the desk. Chrissy started rummaging through it as I took the time to look at the map this time. I couldn’t read it. The northern part of the map was what looked like a wall of ice, underneath the ice area was a castle with a blue heart beside it. In the North West there was a forest with small mountains dotting it, in the north east a gray mountain range was labelled in the strange blocky symbols that were written over various landmarks. Following the mountain range, it continued to zig zag down the map with a different label for the center east and the south east portions. In the southern most part of the mountain range it turned into a red area with what looked like volcanoes drawn over it. The red volcano are turned yellow as it got closer to the center, south west went from red to dark gray before connecting to another mountain range. This mountain range had crudely drawn griffins by its peak. In the center west a beautiful green area lay and stick Minotaurs drawn across it. In the center of the map was another castle. Although the map’s depictions were interesting, there was so much mountains! Which one was the Diamond Mountain range? “Chrissy , where are we on this map? I can’t read it.” She looked up from her small stack of papers, trotted over and gave it a look then looked at me in what I guess was surprise. “You can’t read this? It’s Equus, your speaking it right now…” Her eyebrow was raised. “Actually I am speaking English. Those letters aren’t English.” “I guess Equus and English only sound similar then…” She trailed off again this time in thought “Chrissy?” She jumped out of her thoughts and I looked between her and the map. “Right, right. We are here-,“ She touched the mountain range behind the yellow area, ”- And the princesses are here in Canterlot.” Her hoof went to the castle in the middle of the map. I nodded and she returned to her papers. How was I supposed to get to them and what would I do once I got there? Ask them to just stop doing what they do? I doubt they would listen to a complete stranger. Alicorn or not, I would sound like a lunatic. Like if I had suggested that we needed to start moving earth’s sun and moon. So, how do I change their minds, and convince them of the crazy reality that is happening?
Things are Looking Up.Chrysalis When I saw the strategy room I was ecstatic, this looked like the right place to find out who wanted me desperately enough to associate with Diamond dogs. I wasn’t the only one that found them repulsive and abhorrent to work with, most wouldn't never mind the princesses, imagine the scandal. I quickly went to work on the desk at the back; I needed to get out of this mountain. Back in the cavern I had gotten stupidly comfortable when Ari arrived. After that earth pony had practically told Sunbutt herself with his yelling it would be tempting fate by staying any longer. But, Can you really blame a mare for relaxing around him, when he came charging in, all feral and raw, my heart was beside itself. Now that was a stallion. After seeing and impersonating many mares I can truthfully say most stallions are weak willed and soft. You think after all of the Manticore attacks, Dragon rampages, and Parasprite invasions they would start developing some combat skills. Pony logic said no, in fact all it did was make ponies travel in herds more. Not the herds of old and not the lewd herds of Saddle Arabia, they just walked around in large groups for safety in numbers. Of course we had only known each other for a couple days, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate his qualities. His size alone would have the mares swarming, particularly the tall mares. When you tower over most stallion’s traditional pleasure gets hard and awkward to come by. I would be lying if said he was anything but an ideal stallion: protective, considerate, and honest. Okay, maybe I looked for honesty more than the average mare, given my history I felt that it was needed. That and a- Snap out it! Looking back at the papers I had pulled from the desk I was having trouble focusing on them. My tail swished and I felt my stomach roll and coil up. Maybe I needed a little more love. Before I could ask Ari though he called me over, ““Chrissy, where are we on this map? I can’t read it.” Well that brought a new slew of questions, he had to be joking. “You can’t read this? It’s Equus, your speaking it right now…” “Actually I am speaking English. Those letters aren’t English.” Ari frowned at the end of his statement; I hadn’t even thought that he being from different planet might mean he spoke a different language. His Equus was flawless after all. If his entire language is different I wonder what else is different, what did I really know about him? I would have to explore that later, if we going to travel together it wouldn’t hurt to get to know him. He actually had- “Chrissy?” Ari asked, bringing me back to him. I have to focus! My mind is just a mess lately, I swear I usually don’t breakdown or get lost in my thoughts. “Right, right. We are here-“I placed my hoof the mountain range behind Saddle Arabia. ”- and the princesses are here in Canterlot.” My hoof went to Sunbutt’s castle in the middle of the map. Ari nodded before turning back to the map with unfocused eyes, glad i wasn't the only distracted one. Speaking of focussing, I was supposed to find out who wants me. Turning back to the meager hoofful of papers that made the desk their home, I flipped through them. A change in leadership had happened recently according to a letter to Alpha Lograw, a request for more ‘workers’ for the dragons which was code for live food, and some interpack political drivel. Diamond dogs were incredibly petty, they could remember debts from generations in the past. But they never wrote it down, so you could have grandpappy fall in a skirmish and never know about a debt… I think you get the idea. Jewels were their life. My gasp caught Ari’s attention and he came over. Before us was a wanted poster, my picture drawn with startling likeness and a sum of ten thousand gems printed underneath ‘alive’. “Wow, I guess they didn’t think killing off your family was enough. That’s a lot of money-“ “That’s not money, that means literal gems and jewels. One gem could be worth fifty to one hundred bits…” Ari eyes crossed and he began muttering. “So you are worth half a million to one million bits! That is still a lot. Does it say who posted the wanted poster?” Wait, what? “I thought you couldn’t read?” My eyes narrowed at him. “I can’t read Equus but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the numbers under your picture is how much your worth to them.” I blinked, he did have a point. Blushing, I turned away from Ari and nodded my acceptance. Even though I could feel his honesty through his fur I still jumped to the possibility that he was lying. This whole situation still felt surreal, that I had somepony that cared enough to feed me, to comfort me, and even come to my rescue. Most stallions would have saved themselves rather than helping me, but Ari wasn’t most stallions. Glancing back to the poster I knew where we were going. “This poster says the Saddle Arabian monarchy wants me alive. Think we-“ I paused to listen, I thought I heard something. Ari started to swivel his ears trying to pick up any noise as well. Then I heard a light taping and scratching. Ari heard it as well as he started to move quietly towards the door. “Diamond dogs?” He whispered. I nodded and his expression went grim. My thoughts exactly, our stay is over. His magic wrapped around the door knob as I went over to him, leaving the paper behind. Slowly he cracked it open before peeking out. It was all clear outside but now the sound of the dog's paws were louder. **** Ari With Chrissy at my side I entered the tunnel, it was clear for now but I wasn’t going to wait around for that to change. With that thought I continued my quiet pace trying to appear strong for Chrissy, I could feel her heart racing beside me. We continued along the cavern, both silent for a different reason this time. It sounded like alot of dogs were ahead, their grumbling and growls getting louder as we crept closer to our doom. I wasn’t feeling quite very confident about killing any dogs now. Like I had said before, I caught the last couple groups by surprise but I wasn’t so sure if my skill level was up for a real fight. Not to mention I don’t think Chrissy is up for a fight, she still had a chest wound the size of my hoof, and she was feeding constantly. We paused at the entrance to the cavern, it was empty. In fact it was quiet, the pawfalls had abruptly ceased. I lashed my tail and flexed my wings, this felt wrong. I looked at Chrissy, she was flaring her nostrils as she took in scents, I started to as well. She twitched her tail and shivered, exactly, i had to agree with her reaction, the wet dog smell was really strong. They had passed through here very recently. Thank lady lucky we had missed them. Now I just had to figure out which of the four tunnels led to the outside. Throwing my head in the direction of the possible exits I caught Chrissy’s attention, she nodded and we starting creeping along again. Ahead was the cavern I had started in, we had paused in the entrance. My first, second, and third kills lay exactly where I dropped them, her eyes were glued to them. I looked at her eyes, she looked at the bodies then at me. She mouthed “you?” and I nodded. I looked away from her, I didn’t mean to kill them. I still don’t regret it, but there was still the stigma killing had, which being a herbivore now I presume would be even more prominent. Chrissy gave my face a nuzzle, I turned and looked at her with the question in my eye. Was this alright with her? She gave another nuzzle, in confirmation of the unasked question. i sighed in relief and relaxed my shoulders which had tensed. Chrissy looked at the cavern then back at me, I nodded. It was time to go, there was nothing there afterall. Halfway across the cavern I started to get goosebumps, like I was being watched, so I stopped and glanced around. The other openings were clear, a dim blue glow could be seen from two of the tunnels. I glanced at Chrissy, she had stopped beside me and looked every bit as on guard as I felt. I heard whoosh as if something was launched and looked up in time to catch a green sphere in my magic. We stared at it in confusion before looking up; beady eyes stared down at us. My eye twitched as twenty Diamond dogs dropped from the stalactites. Of course everything has to be up high, berry bushes, dogs, what next? Chrissy quickly turned to face the dogs on our rear, her horn flaring green, and I widened my stance in preparation for a fight. The exits were blocked and time seemed to freeze as we regarded each other. Five of the dogs wore belts with more green orbs holstered and ten carried clubs. Touching flanks with Chrissy I tensed and tossed the sphere at several club wielding dogs. It missed. The dogs dove to the side and with that they attacked. I felt several bodies hit my barrel as I heard orbs sail through the air. Time to test out my magic, catching the orbs in my magic I tossed them back at the throwers. They caught them and grinned with their oversized jaws. I barely had time to rage at them as the dogs that had hit me grabbed my mane and the base of my wings. Don’t touch my wings! My horn flared as I sent them back into the crowd. Two more dogs came at me and more orbs sailed at me to my increasing frustration. I needed to end this. Behind me I heard Chrissy grunt and I felt her wobble, loosing contact with my flank. I had to think of something, I blasted second set of dogs off my barrel when it hit me. The club that is, not an idea. Glancing back I saw Chrissy was straining her horn against a club. The other club dog was at my flank, club raised for a second hit. He was still behind me, you think they would know better than to stand behind a horse. I lifted one back leg and gave a quick kick sending the dog sailing back into an orb bearer. Two down, bonus since I had one less source of knock out gas to worry about. Wait a moment; knock out gas, that’s it! After sending back the last three orbs that had come flying at me I focused on my biggest threat: the spheres. They need to be captured. My horn glowed yellow and the already airborne spheres froze in my field, increasing my focus I grabbed the remaining orbs from their holsters to the dog’s surprised gawking. The dogs on my side of the circle seemed freeze as I levitated the dozen orbs filled with gas in front of me. It seems they understood my plan as they halted their approach and widened their stances in preperation to dodge my attack. I sent the orbs left; the dogs went to the right. Gotcha! I changed the orbs direction last minute. Increasing the speed of the spheres the dogs had no chance, fourteen down. Glancing at Chrissy I immediately turned to face her opponents. Without any knockout gas left in the battle I felt like I could win. Rearing up I roared at them, they turned their attention to me and roared back. It seems they are more confident in a pack. Chrissy’s horn was sputtering a green glow as she blasted two of the dogs back into the cell door. But she was starting to shake after that. This had to end, Chrissy wasn’t doing soo well and if I’m to be frank I feel a little light headed myself. My horn went through the dog’s skull as I charged forward, tossing his twitching body at the others, I shouted. “Run!” The remaining three dogs were trapped under the body and tangled in their limbs so we made a break towards the nearest tunnel. As soon as we reached the entrance a dog poked his head out, I charged ahead of Chrissy and impaled him. I aimed too low this time. The dog was skewered through his stomach but still very much alive. All I could see was him, his paws grabbed my neck, claws digging in. My thoughts slowed as pain took over, I grunted at the stinging of his claws and started to shake my head him trying to dislodge him. But that only made him dig deeper into my neck. Warmth trailed down my neck and my heart beat faster. I shook my head faster, feeling out of breath and nauseous from his close proximity to my nose. A green magic field pulled him off my horn, sending him careening back into his packmates, and splattering my face in his blood as my horn left his body. I looked at Chrissy in relieve, I had forgotten about my magic for a second. We shared a weak smile and headed down the tunnel leaning against each other. I could already feel my adrenaline fading but I carried on feeding her and walking. It was almost over, I could rest soon. Ten minutes into the tunnel we saw a faint light ahead, freedom! I squinted against the sunlight as we stepped out of the tunnel. After being in such dim caverns this was quite a change to my eyes, they stung as the ultraviolet rays assaulted them. We stood on a ledge above the clouds, I could see a river of clouds all the way to the rising sun. I took in a breath of the cool mountain air. We were free. “Where did you want to head first?” Chrissy’s eyes were struggling to focus on me, “Somewhere without dogs.” “Can do…Do you think I could lift you?” I spread my wings and gave them a good stretch. “what?!” She looked scared now. “Well, the way I see it. Since you cant fly and we are on a cliff I could either fly us down or we could go back in, look for another exit, and hope that we don’t run into more dogs.” She sighed and her tail twitched, “keep a good grip on me.” With that I flung my wings into a down stroke. I thought I had put less power into it but I still shot up a hundred feet. Slowly hovering down I positioned my chest over her withers, with my hooves around her barrel I slowly ascended again. She was tense for a second, wing and tail hitting me as she adjusted to the sensation of being carried. Now where to first, below us was surely the forest we had left. These must be the mountains that I had seen before. She said Saddle Arabia wanted her, which was north of here. The princesses were also north. The sun was almost down rising to my right so that made in front of me north. So With a strong flap we started north, away from the dogs. Chrissy stayed silent as we soared over wispy clouds, I didn’t mind as I was too tired to maintain any sort of conversation anyway. My wings started to act on autopilot, angling to weave between the mountain tops that ran like a row of canines along the range was done without a thought. We were past the mountain tops now and before me was the rock field where we had been at yesterday. The land turned yellow as the rock turned into sand, it just kept going as it went into the horizon with fewer and fewer plants to be seen as it went on. I shot a worried look at Chrissy as I felt her go slack in my arms. She was asleep. Looking for a safe place to land I spotted a small grove of trees just before the dessert, they were perfect. My landing was less than perfect; I went too fast and landed on my passenger. Chrissy just grunted and rubbed her head into the sand in her sleep. I couldn’t make myself move, there were trees overhead now, I had a warm body pillow, and I was exhausted. It wasn’t that she was heavy to carry; it was more like I had been going all night without rest, fighting and running. I felt my muscles cry out in protest at any movement and my eyelids drooped as her warmth lulled me into sleep. My wings folded over us and I slid off her down her back, forelegs still wrapped around her barrel. I would deal with this later.
Interlude at the Oasis.**** Chrysalis A feather duvet was underneath me, I couldn’t believe it. I rubbed my face against the blanket marveling at the feel of a proper bed, it had been months since I had been in one. I looked around the room, it was a elegantly decorated bedroom like I had seen at the palace. Large ornate windows showed a full moon surrounded by millions of stars. The four poster bed was illuminated in the moon’s glow and I couldn’t help but sigh. This was perfect. A shadow grew across the floor, looking up I saw a black Alicorn descending into my room. Opening the windows it touched down, it was Ari. He was looking at me with his cool blue eyes; they stayed with me as he approached my bed. I could feel my heart almost beat out of my chest, the air felt too hot, too humid. My stomach was in knots, I was having trouble focusing on his approach so I took a deep breath. It didn’t settle my nerves, it drove them insane. A strong spicy smell flooded my nose, it was amazing, my senses went in overdrive. My chitin was burning, my wing went rigid, and I started panting as the temperature in the room skyrocketed. Focusing my eyes on Ari I saw him take in my scent, that sent my blood wild, I wanted him to smell more of me. Flagging my tail I looked at him, practically whimpering as he scented the air again. My eyes wandered lower taking in his length, dropping rapidly from his sheath. Yes, that was what I needed. I turned my plot to him and flagged my tail. Come on, just a little closer. Ari approached putting his muzzle to my lips, I winked and my tail twitched as he breathed in my scent. Wetness was beginning to form as I wiggled my rump a little in anticipation, I was burning up. I needed – My head exploded in pain and I scrunched my eyes. Opening my eyes I found myself looking at trees, a Magoo fruit rolling to a stop in front of me. My bed was a black wing and the matching wing was wrapped around my barrel like a blanket. I blinked in shock, it had felt soo real. The burning, the smell, and the…Wetness dripped from my lips and my tail twitched. I needed a moment. My hooves were impossible to get underneath myself, looking at my barrel it made sense. Ari had wrapped his hooves around me, holding me an iron grip. My magic was out of the question, I had overused it already yesterday. Not to mention he would surely wake up and smell my situation. Not that I didn’t like him. No, Ari was a perfect gentlestallion and I liked him a lot more than I’m comfortable admitting. I didn’t want to ruin this friendship we just started. If he wanted more than a friendship he would have indicated already, stallions are pretty straightforward that way. I could still drop hints though. But back to the matter at hoof, I needed some private time. Shimmiing in his hold I made my way down his barrel. This went well until something poked my back; I flicked my tail more as I felt the arousal from his fur. It’s okay, I could still get out of this. Taking a deep breath I prepared to move again, then the spicy musk from my dream flooded my nose, exactly what I needed. Ari’s grip tightened, my ears went back. I had no choice now. “Ari get up.” He continued to sleep, a grin on his muzzle. “ARI!” I yelled in a voice that rivalled the Royal Canterlot voice, his ear twitched before he nuzzled into my neck. Was it getting hotter? Apparently he was a heavy sleeper. Sighing I looked around where he landed us. It looked to be around two acres of trees, a mix of Magoo trees and Tronana trees, and a small pond. Through the sagging trees I could see the yellow desert; it still appeared to go on forever. I guess the Arabians haven’t expanded much in the last hundred years. I had been to Saddle Arabia before, not that they knew it was me. Then I was favoring a sienna furred unicorn as my disguise. It was a nice disguise, her cutie mark was the desert with heat waves coming off and I appropriately named her Desert Heat. She caught every stallion’s eye and I was always well fed as her. But times changed, now I favored the grey Pegasus I have given the moniker of ‘Silver Stream’, which is not a strange name as Ari insisted. ‘Ari’ is a far exotic sounding name. My last visit had been all too easy; the Saddle Arabians were incredibly open minded about sex and still practiced herding. Saddle Arabia is the last remaining country to do so if I recall correctly, it was done on the premise of not having enough stallions. Which I could see some logic to, finding a free stallion was hard last time. There was no such thing as a single mare in the country, as soon as they were old enough they had either already joined a herd or were drafted into a herd. I still got a lot of love on that trip, the stallion may have been a little soft but his love was very tasty. Though I don’t think he minded when I left the herd; there were many eager mares on his wait list. He had been a well respected guard, the type every herd wanted their filly to be associated with. Which brings up another issue, with Ari’s size he could easily come off as a tall local, but he would attract a lot of mares. Like I said tall stallions always get swarmed, and those wings… He would need a thobe to hide them, which wouldn’t stand out as they are very practical in this country. If a Arabian wasn’t wearing a thobe he would at least be wearing the hat portion of their kanturas to block out the sweltering heat. But coming across a thobe before we reached a city was very hard. A yawn brought me back from my planning, Ari was waking up. “Good mmmmoorningg.” He said when another yawn escaped him. It would have been cute except he started shifting in his half awake state, rubbing his arousal all over my back, sending my tail twitching again. That dream was still affecting my body, which annoyed me to no end. Everything had been going out of my control lately. I had had a emotional breakdown with a practical stranger, then I was taken by surprise and captured, and today it was my own body. I swear I was acting like a mare in heat. My blood froze as I realized the truth in that. I had never been in heat myself but I knew the symptoms very well, after counseling many young nymphs on the subject before it should have been second nature. The vivid dreams, followed by the physical changes like fevers, and finally the instincts take over. Many stallions feared the last stage. For a good reason, I have witnessed mobs of crazed mares literally chase down stallions for their fulfillment, which would usually never come for them. For some reason ponies had a harder time conceiving and being that successful fertilization stops the heat, most ponies were out of luck. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions; I might just be picking up on his good dream through my chitin. Perhaps my dreams can be influenced by the emotions I absorb overnight and I just never noticed before. Dear Faust I hope so. “Good morning to you too, as much as I enjoy the breakfast I need to get a drink-“ An alcoholic drink preferably. “-and you need to address a morning visitor.” Before I address it and solve both our problems. That seemed to wake him up as he released his hold on me and tried to sputter out an apology, it was kind of cute with how he was blushing. “Don’t worry about it.” I waved a hoof in the air. “I could help you with that.” I purred at the second half, I couldn’t help it but I remembered how delicious his lust tasted. It was what made a lover’s love all the more delicious, the added lust and desire. On their own, they were candy but paired with love it became a three course meal. Ari being the gentlestallion that he was, replied, “No need for that Chrissy. Not that you wouldn’t be a help, but I couldn’t ask that of you.” Horseapples, he was too oblivious sometimes. Couldn’t he smell exactly how sincere my help was? What I mean is, now I could finally get up and get that drink. It had been several days since I got a good drink and love could only get me soo far. With Ari wandering off into the grove I made my way over to the pond. Clear water lapped at the edges reflecting the blue sky, it tasted fresh, and looking at the edges I knew I wasn’t the only one that had thought so. “Isn’t the water wonderful?” I yelled out to Ari, I couldn’t see him anymore. Ari came galloping through the trees, “WATER!” He immediately started drinking, cock still in the process of retracting. Nononono, Focus! He obviously didn’t make those hoof prints, that means someone was here recently. While he drank I had time to take stock of our situation. He was a mess, I was a weak mess as well , we had to stop the princesses from moving the sun and moon, and now I had a bounty on my head. First problem first, I needed to feed the black hole that was a Alicorn, then he could feed me. Then we could clean up. I don’t even want to know how bad I look if Ari was the standard. He had feathers sticking out in all directions, leaves, dirt, and blood stained his coat, and he had something shiny lodged in his muzzle. What was that? I walked up to his muzzle and squinted, it was glass. He must have got it when they smashed the knock out gas orb in his face. Thank goodness I didn’t have such weak chitin. Ari blinked at me, having just noticed me staring at him. “Chrissy?” “Hold still.” He cocked his head at me. “Tccchhh! I said hold still!” I didn’t wait for his response this time, I gripped the biggest shard in my mouth and yanked it. “AHHHHHHHH!” My ears were ringing, that stallion has a killer Royal Canterlot voice. Ari stopped and licked his muzzle before looking at the shard in my mouth. “I thought my face hurt. That was huge! Thanks Chrissy, I guess I owe you again. Is there anymore glass there?” Yes, a whole sphere’s worth. “Don’t move till I tell you and you don’t owe me…You said we’re friends, right?” I held back the nervous shake that threatened to enter my voice. It was another first, a friend that wasn’t family. He nodded, “of course!” “Then HOLD STILL! I can’t help you if you keep nodding.” I couldn’t help but grin, this was fun. He didn’t respond. “Are you ok?” His eyes went from me to his nose. “You can talk, just don’t nod.okay?” “Okay!” I started pulling more out with my mouth; my magic was being saved for special occasions. “Buck.” Another big shard, “cocksucker”, Ari had a colourful vocabulary and I almost couldn’t wait for him to meet the princesses. With the last one out I started cleaning his muzzle. I licked over the freshly opened wounds, mixing my plasma over them as a sort of bandage, and adding my scent to his. “Chrissy?” What was I doing? I stopped mid-lick and looked at him. “What was that about?” He sounded nervous. “Nothing. I was just cleaning your wounds. Any friend would do that.”, any marefriend more like. “Oh I’m sorry then. I don’t know all the culture on Equis yet.” Thank goodness, I didn’t have any other excuse. “Hold still.” I indulged myself a little more and re-licked his wounds, if he didn’t know what it meant it wasn’t wrong really. Not to mention it would tell the other mares exactly what they are up against. “All done. But we are preening later, your wings are atrocious.” “Okay, can you-“His stomach gurgled and we both looked at it. “Breakfast time it is then. You landed us in the right oasis; there are lots of Magoo and Tronana trees.” “What?” Right, different planet, “Edible fruit on the trees.” I was surprised at how fast he moved, one moment I’m looking at a black stallion the next second a black blur. Alicorn metabolism, I once watched Celestia consume twelve cakes in one day when I was disguised, TWELVE THREE TIERED CAKES! I don’t know where it goes. Ari was flitting between trees, not even bothering to peel the red Tronana fruit. He must have an iron stomach, I had heard the peel was extremely sour. After decimating half the grove’s fruit trees he landed beside me, touching his fur to my chitin. I trilled at the sensation, his happiness added a refreshing zing to the usual love. Time for a thank you, “In the pond, now.” He shrugged and we entered the water, I was horrified at the result. Small waves of brown and red floated away from us making the water murkier. I started paddling to the center and he followed. “So what I was going to ask was how do you preen wings? If I knew how I could preen your wing for you.” Such a sweetheart, if only it needed preening, like I said I’m low maintenance. “I could show you but it is hard to preen yourself, most have friends and family preen them. It can be quite a sight when pegasi form a preening circle. As for myself, all I have to do is give my wing a quick buzz to remove the dirt.” I demonstrated and splashed Ari in the face. A grin grew across his face before he raised his wings to their full span. “Don’t-“ I was too late in my warning, he brought his wings down on the water, sending me a small wave to the face. Two can play that game. I swam away till touched ground again, turning I reared up and brought my own splash down on him. Ari seemed to come to life and he reared up, splashing me back. What a foal. I loved it though. I started chasing him through the water; he wasn’t going to get away with this. His tail finally in my mouth after several feints I gave him a triumphant look, but he didn’t accept my win. Turning around he reared over me, his forelegs pushing on my back. My balance was lost and I let go, he turned his head to my rump and grabbed my tail. I whinnied in surprise, wing stiffening in arousal. I had picked the wrong game. “Fine, you win! Just let go already…” Before I do something that could ruin our friendship. Letting my tail go and removing his forelegs from my back he grinned, “Okay, I haven’t done that in forever. It is nice after everything, ya know?” “Yah yah, come on, I still need to preen your wings.” I started for shore and before I knew it we were lying barrel to barrel again. His wing in front of me, I started on his second primaries, explaining how important it was to use the tongue to get between these tightly packed and small feathers. I'm not sure he got it all between his moans but I still continued anyway. it kept my mind off of sweat forming on my fur. When I used my muzzle to remove some of the dead feathers I demonstrated on his wing the difference in a askew feather and a dead feather. Then it was plucking, his primaries, and the wing tip. All the while I was trying to control my tail, which was determined to flag and twitch whenever he moaned. Both wings done I stood and cracked my back, letting the warm breeze waft over me. “Ready to ‘hit the road’?” He stood beside me, “Yup! I feel soo much better now with the diamond dog stink off me. Which way should we go?” I looked out at the dunes, “it doesn’t really matter. We will run across a city eventually.” “Gottcha.” We started walking out of the cool oasis and the reality of this being a desert hit me. I don’t remember it being this hot last time. Sweat was beading from my mane within ten minutes. Our walk wasn’t an exciting one, the dunes went up and down. Some held evidence of packs of Hinns, phantom dogs that were attracted to evil emotions and intent, but they weren’t any threat to the average traveler. We both were full of questions though. “So how do you plan to stop the princesses?” This had been bugging me for a while now, even with my help i'm not sure how we could overpower them. “I actually was just thinking about this. Do they have any weaknesses?” “Does cake count? I did beat Celestia when I invaded but I was beaten by the elements of harmony. If you went after the princesses they would try to stop you. Not to mention Lovebutt and Shiny would try and stop us. They really hate me.” “Lovebutt? Shiny?” Oh boy, here we go. “Princess Cadence and her husband Shining Armour are a little angry that I ruined their wedding by using their love to launch my invasion. I also may have locked her in a cavern and pretended to be her…” I bowed my head, ready for the outrage, the disgust at my actions. But it never came. “Wow! You really did put a lot of thought into the invasion. I'm actually impressed, I don’t think I could pretend to be a whole other person, not to mention the timing was perfect. No one would suspect a bride of acting odd when her wedding is coming up!” I blinked at that, he just got it and he wasn’t disgusted by my actions? “Really?!” “Yup, I don’t think we could do that for this plan though, seeing as there is two of them and only one of us is a master of disguise. Perhaps if we bound their magic like those shackles that were put on our horns we could stop them from raising the sun and the moon?” Maybe, the idea had potential. “That might work. But there isn’t any magical inhibator strong enough for a Alicorn at full strength. Also once they got them off what’s to stop them from going back to raising the sun and the moon?” Ari mulled over my questions before his face lit up ad he trotted in place. “What?!” He looked at me with a huge smile, “We MAKE a magical inhibitor strong enough to hold a Alicorn, i'm willing to bet we can. I'm willing to bet no one has tried to capture them with one before with one and you can even test it on me to make sure it works! As to the problem of them reverting, I say we drag them out of the castle and show them the results of messing with nature!” I blinked and thought it over, it could work, but… “How do you plan to capture two princesses, evade their guards, and drag the reluctant princesses away from their kingdom? I for one don’t want to have to listen to their whining the whole time.” “Umm, a surprise attack… and is there any transportation that we could take them in? Like a car,a plane, even a blimp would do?!” I didn’t know what those were but there was something that might work. I didn’t like the idea, we would have to go to what I heard was a place full of savages, a dangerous part of the world. I really didn’t want to lose him before our mission even starts. “Yes…A airship might work. But I have only heard rumors of them, on the Zebrican coast. They were developed to explore the Endless Sea. But I haven’t heard nice things about Zebrica, they are supposed to be pony eating savages. Even if we made it, airships are ridiculously expensive…” “That’s perfect! Don’t worry, I’m sure we can earn some money. Maybe we could rent one?” I felt a grin crept up my face, maybe we could do this. At least it was a start, I started humming at the thought. My humming was interrupted by a shrill scream, Charging at us was a certain turquoise unicorn, a mare that was just a little too friendly last time she was around Ari. My eye twitched. Why was Azure Heights here?!
The Search for Barium Seal.Ari Lately I can’t seem to find any peace, one moment I will be having a conversation with somepony the next second something will come screaming at me. I know that is very specific,that is because it actually happened. One moment I’m finalizing a plan with Chrissy the next thing Azure is galloping over the sand dune screaming her head off. “Helpmehelpmehelpme!” I blinked at the unicorn as she spoke rapidly, noticing that Barium Seal wasn’t with her. Also how had we missed them on our way out? “Slow down, what happened?” I was getting worried now; Azure was gasping for breath and covered in sweat, leaning against my chest for support. “Ba-baa-“ “Spit it out already!” Chrissy snarled at her. Okay, she just went from happy to angry in five seconds. Is it her time of the month or something? Azure glared at Chrissy through her panting, “Bandits!” I tensed and looked at the dune in front of us, that wasn’t good, bandits are usually a rough bunch of thieves. Which meant Barium might be dead, the poor always interrupting stallion. Chrissy’s glare morphed into a worried look and she pressed closer to me, “I don’t see any.” We all looked at the dune. After several moments we still couldn’t hear anything but Azure’s panting, nothing had popped over the dune. “I have to agree with her on that.” Looking back at Azure I saw her looking at the dune then us then back at the dune. Her ears were splayed sideways and her eyes watered. “B-But, there really was bandits. They were chasing me a-and they got Barium!! We have to save him! Pleasepleaseplease-.“ My ears went back as she broke down, pushing her head into my chest. I swore I heard a growl close by but looking at the dune I saw nothing still. Wait a minute, they just escaped from the Diamond Dogs, and they had no bags with them! “What were the bandits after?” Azure blinked up at me and Chrissy looked stunned too, we all had nothing on us to steal. Did that make them ponynappers then? That seemed to bring a stupefied calm over the unicorn. “I don’t know, we had just made it to a set of ruins when a-a monster stepped out from behind a boulder and started singing. Barium seemed soo out of it and then they strolled out from the ruins…I ran a-and th-“ ; but she lost it just as quickly, shoving her snotty nose into my fur. This didn’t make any sense. Chrissy was giving me a confused look as well; you can’t rob something if they have nothing to begin with. Not to mention why would a monster sing at you when attacking was much were debilitating? “So what did the monster and ponynappers look like?” It couldn’t hurt to help her. Okay, it was more like I probably would feel like shit for not trying to do something. Those bandits could also attack us, with my luck, I wouldn’t bet against it. “You are going to help me?” She peeked out of my fur, her pupils dilating as hope entered them. Crap, I glanced at Chrissy, “mmph” she grunted and looked away from me. That was real helpful, thanks friend. “Yes-“ She started chanting gibberish as she stood and wrapped her hooves around my neck in a hug. Wow she was soft, I mean, I had only felt chitin and the coarse hair of the dogs before, pony fur was soo plushy. That was until her legs went out from under her, my neck protested as she grabbed my throat harder to stay upright. After a second of nearly choking, I lowered my neck and she finally let go to and got back on her hooves, but now she was glaring at Chrissy. I guess she still doesn’t like changelings. With feeling back in my neck I got back to my original question. Ignoring the glaring-Chrissy now glaring back from my side- I asked, “So what exactly are we looking for?” It seemed like one question at a time would be easier for her, she seemed very unstable right now if her gibberish was any indication to her mental ability right now. “It was half pony and half dragon, with scales all over it’s face. It was horrifying! I mean it makes your changeling mare look nice in comparison.” Azure went from horrified to catty in less than a minute; looks like females don’t change that much between planets. It still made my ears flatten. Chrissy wasn't my mare, she wasn't property. Not to mention she is beautiful, no wonder she has self esteem issues, I really should tell her how beautiful she is. I steeled my anger though, pushing past her I started walking again. I might as well get this over with, then she will be out of my mane.I miss the quiet time already. “ARI!” Chrissy yelled in surprise as she caught up, pressing against my side again. A wave of guilt washed over me, I hadn’t given her any warning before walking off. But that guilt faded as Azure came up to my other side, pressing into it. That irked me, just like when the dog touched my wings I felt an instinctual indignation at them touching me. They didn’t have a right. Back on earth I might have brushed it off and accepted it. But here my new body's instincts said that that was too close, that she wasn't to be trusted in my personal space. My instincts hadn’t proved me wrong yet. I didn’t trust my words to not hurt the mare so I went to step away from her, only to find myself squeezed between them like a shute. Both mares seemly determined to be as close as possible. I couldn’t think of a response. I now was walking in the boiling sun and tucked snug between two very warm mares. I was boiling alive in my black fur. Going down the dune I continued the questioning. “How many ponies were there? What did they look like?” “I saw six of them not including the monster. They were a weird mix. There were three gryphons, two Komondors, and a Minotaur. They were armed a-and-.” Azure turned her muzzle into my barrel, which she just barely reached. If she was any shorter she would be walking under me like a foal. A tail flicked my rump. “And just what is a Komondor?” I looked down at Azure as the desert didn’t really hold much interest with its endless dunes. “A muscle bound, bipedal lizard. With about the same about the amount of brain power as a lizard too.” Chrissy growled out, her wing buzzing in what I would call anger. It was definitely her time of the month. “Ok, so we have at least three muscle guys and two fliers…fun. Are we going the right way Azure?” She shivered against my fur and nodded. Two tails hit my rump this time. My ears folded back as I tried to ignore them and keep my annoyance under control, they obviously were having personal issues. Chrissy understandably was annoyed; Azure had basically called her slightly better than a monster after all. Azure just seemed to be anti-changeling and therefore Chrissy herself was probably a aggravation. We continued to walk on in the sweltering heat, the sun making it impossible to know just how long but I felt it was long enough. During the walk I was caught between some unspoken battle. Chrissy couldn’t stop flicking me with her tail, I kept giving her a questioning look but she was too busy giving Azure the evil eye to notice. Not that Azure was any more mature about it. She was glaring right back and was soo uptight that her tail was sticking up in the air. Not to mention the smell that had begun to fill the air, the effect of three sweating bodies pressed together, it was hard to concentrate. Part of the smell wasn’t soo bad, there was Chrissy’s unique smell of cinnamon which I loved. But the smell of mares, jasmine flowers to be exact, was extremely strong. It was having a strange effect on my body, i almost felt light headed and i had to stop myself from breathing more of it in. That on top of melting under the sun and I wasn’t a happy camper. Heck, I was almost looking forward to fighting those ponynappers just to get some breathing space. I couldn’t just ask Chrissy to stop feeding when she is still healing and I didn’t feel right telling an upset mare to stop touching me. If my experience has shown me anything so far it’s that they are very touch oriented, I likened it to calming down from petting a cat. My prayers were answered as we went over the latest dune, before us I could see a beige colored ruin in the distance. It was hard to make out the details but it was clearly a ruined building. I turned to Azure for confirmation but her look said all I needed to know. Her eyes were wide, he ears were pressed back in fear, and her tail was tucked between her tail. “Do you want to stay here?” I wasn’t sure what use she would be if her first reaction was to run away, really she was a liability in a fight. She shook her head, “I need to rescue Barium!” A new determination twinkled in her eyes. I could work with this. “Okay then, when we get there your job is to get Barium Seal from them and protect him. We will handle the others.” Chrissy snorted, “Fine the sooner we get this done the better.” As we approached the ruins, they showed just how massive they truly were. Stacks of large stone bricks were partially stacked, each brick four feet tall and nearly as wide. The remains of the entrance held two crumbling pillars; they were snapped in half but still towered over me. I looked at the tops just in case; I had learned my lesson from the diamond dogs. This time there was nothing above. Chrissy nudged my shoulder and looking over I saw why. There were tracks in the sand. They were representatives of nearly all prints: cloven hooves, horse hooves, paws, talons, and what I supposed were lizard footprints. I took a whiff of the air: sweat, musk, jasmine, urine, and several other scents that I rather not mention. Sorting through the smells I identified at least eight different individual’s scents. At least one was a female or had been with one recently. It wasn’t Azure’s scent, she smelt like cranberries and orange. Barium had been here, his harsh smell of rosemary still hung in the air. My ability to discern scents and their meanings had improved. I was finding every creature had a species scent, for example changelings smelt like burnt wood; every individual also had a personal scent. Mares always seemed to smell like jasmine flowers. Smells aside, this only meant one thing: we had to follow them. I could only hope there wasn’t more waiting for us. “I guess we follow the tracks.” The mares nodded in agreement, glaring forgotten with this change in plan. As we moved forward into the ruins I couldn’t help but notice the strong smell of jasmine and cinnamon again, it was invading my nostrils at an alarming rate. The smell thankfully was soon removed as a strong breeze moved in. I didn’t like this breeze, flashbacks of the mountain storm popped up. “So Chrissy, what sort of crazy weather does Saddle Arabia get?” I gazed at the mini sand twisters popping up with a growing sinking feeling. Gazing at the rapidly evolving sand twisters Chrissy replied, “Last time I was here there were just sandstorms. But that was a couple hundred years ago. Who knows what has changed since then.” My eye twitched, she was at least how old now?! I know you aren’t supposed to ask but I really wanted to now. Was this normal here? More importantly, I only knew a little about the deserts on earth but I knew you definitely didn’t want to be caught in a sand storm. I glanced at the edge of the ruins which was fast approaching us in our trek through them. “Maybe we should hunker down here, I feel like a sandstorm could be coming.” It was only a question of when now; the wind was increasing its howling against the stubborn ruins, which refused to fall under its force. Chrissy looked conflicted, chewing on her lip. Azure was conflicted as well, “What if we lose their tracks? Won’t the storm cover them up?” She was right of course. It was a paradox, on one hand I wanted everyone to be safe but on the other hand I didn’t want to lose track of the ponynappers. I didn’t know how we could track them down with out the tracks so I conceded, “You're right, we have to keep moving. Let’s pick up the pace though.” With that we broke into a trot. The tracks became less jumbled the further out we went, eventually forming a line. However the wind was slowly obscuring the tracks and soon I wouldn’t be able to tell what direction we needed to go. We were all panting, have slowed to a walk, and I desperately needed a cool drink. I miss the oasis right now; I really should invest in some bags to carry water in. Although Azure’s point had been the most logical it was not the most comfortable. I had sand whipping into any open orifice right now, my eyes, ears, and nose. I was sure it was even worse for Chrissy with her chest wound. Glancing at it I noted it had scabbed over at least. The trek was taking hours and my mind wandered onto several problems. Both Chrissy and myself couldn’t just enter a town the way we are, the ponies reactions would be problematic. While they would probably try to bow to me, thinking I’m royalty they would be just as quick to run away from Chrissy. I chuckled at that. “What?” Chrissy asked keeping her eyes squinted against the flying sand. “I was just thinking what a pair we make. If we walked into a town the ponies would be tripping over themselves trying to decide whether or not they should bow or run. I don’t think they should run but I have seen someponies reaction to you already and I don’t doubt others share it.” “Hey! We have a good reason to be! She and her army invaded and tried to take over Canterlot. How do we not fear that? How is any of that good?!” Azure had her ears pinned back, looking me defiantly in the eye. “Well-.” I was interrupted by Chrissy. “Yes I invaded your selfish, ignorant country! My family, my people were starving. We were being flooded out of our hiveland by water that we couldn’t even drink! DON’T EVEN PRETEND TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I DID!!” By the end of it Chrissy had stopped walking and was both screaming and crying. I wrapped her in my wing, trying to send more love her way. Azure stared in shock at Chrissy’s vehemence. She opened her mouth several times but nothing came out, her righteousness having fled. “Really?” “Yes…” I nuzzled Chrissy, she sounded exhausted again. On a brighter note the wind was slowing. Wanting to move on I started herding them out of this melancholy mood pushing them forward with my wings, both mares tails started twitching and they looked at me in surprise. But they started walking and I resumed my position between them. We had just caught sight of a stone building up ahead when I heard mare’s voice start singing. I couldn’t say for sure what she was singing, it was like opera in the sense that it was all about the feeling it evoked rather the words. Azure had heard it as well and looked into my face with a worried expression. “Ari?” Azure squeaked out. “Yes, whats up?” My answer brought relieve to her face, “That voice was what Barium heard before he got this dazed look on his face.” He really must not get out much if this lovely voice was enough to throw him off. “I mean it is a nice voice but I don’t see what the big deal is. Maybe he fancied her when he saw her?” She pinned her ears at me, “He would never!” I struck a nerve. “I knew it! You two are a couple!” Azure sputtered and blushed at my statement Before she could respond the owner of the voice appeared from the building. Azure said it was a monster. Well, I guess that was her crude way of saying that she and I have never seen anything like this mare before. She was equine in the basic shape: four legs and hooves, a golden mane and tail, and even a flank tattoo that seemed to be popular with the ponies. It was two musical notes. Her fur was a creamy yellow but the fur was only on her bottom half. It blended into pale yellow scales halfway up her back, they continued to cover her front half. Her muzzle was opened in song and showed sharp canines along with her equine teeth. A long horn spiralled out of her forehead and It was glowing pink as she locked her draconic yellow eyes with me. We stopped walking with about fifty feet between the house and us. I stared right back at the dragon pony, a shit eating grin coming over my face. “Hello, have you seen a pony named Barium? i could have sworn we misplaced him around here somewhere. You know how it is, you turn your back and 'poof' they just wander off.” I teased her. I knew she was part of the ponynappers but like I said, teasing was my coping mechanism. She stopped singing and blinked owlishly at me for a couple seconds. Chrissy and Azure looked confused as well, apparently my humor is off today. “Okay that was a bad. Look how about you just hand over the pony and we can call ourselves even. No need to fight.” Now Chrissy was just shaking her head at me and Azure was looking at me like I was crazy. But I really didn’t want to hurt her, before when I fought it was against smelly, scheming dogs. This was a mare and I just don’t feel right hitting her. Her answer to my question was to start singing, louder this time. It sounded almost sad as it cascaded from her throat, yet a touch of hopeful higher notes were mixed in. “You are a good singer but we didn’t come to listen.” Her eyes were tearing up now, “Woah there!” I held up a hoof. “No need to cry, I just meant that we actually have like three different missions going on right now and are short on time this time. If we pass through again I’m sure we will listen.” And now tears were running down her scales. What did I say? I mean I used to be a lady for crying out loud, I thought I was being very nice. Maybe I just don’t get mares. My thoughts were cut short as the shadows started to move in the building's doorway.
A Kiss for the Victor.Ari The house had no window panes and no door in the doorway, but it was surprisingly modern with its square corners. I was almost expecting a round wooden hut or a tent as desert architecture, again this world surprises me. When the ‘bandits’ emerged from the house I felt my muscles tense on instinct and my wings start to ruffle at the presence they exuded. The air around them seemed to say ‘we kill ponies before breakfast’. My tail lashed back and forth, unintentionally hitting the mares as I tried to tame my rising instincts. I don’t blame Azure for running when she saw them, if I didn’t have to rescue Barium for her I wouldn’t ever approach them. The minotaur exited first. He had to duck his head and twist his horns to exit the doorway, standing at nine feet tall he towered over even me, I would be lying if i said his size didn't intimidate me. The greek legends of minotaurs didn’t do him justice. His tan hide showed off his many muscles and had long white scars littering it, showing he wasn’t new to fighting. A ox tail flicked between his white shorts and a smirk was plastered across his face. He made me both angry at his confident smirk and protective of Chrissy all in one glance. Taking him down was going to hard and I almost looked forward to the challenge. There was no way that he would just hand over Barium, he looked like the type of guy that relished fighting. And while i usually did not enjoy fighting for him i would make an exception. The two fellows following him must have been the Komonodors. Standing at five foot tall they were underwhelming compared to the minotaur. Like a lizard they had scales, one had a burnt sienna type color and the other was a light gray, there faces and neck were a pale white like a lizard’s underbelly. They both actually wore a full set of clothing, a white baggy shirt and matching pants. My eyes briefly focused on their tails but what really held my attention was the schimiters held in there hands. I knew what I was disarming first. Finally the three gryphons exited. They were the shortest being just taller than Azure. All three had tawny feathers and fur. They were almost as odd as looking at the dragon pony, their front half was an eagle while their back half was a lion. I didn’t know what to make of them. In terms of killing intent they actually felt the least likely to kill me, the crying mare being the least likely of course. She didn’t seem to be able to hurt a fly. While I was staring at them like a rube the mare had started talking to herself, “La la ymkn ‘an yakun!” Oh joy, they speak another language too, I hope Chrissy speaks it. The minotaur swaggered past the mare, not even acknowledging her presence. He was walking like he owned the desert itself and that made my eye twitch, I was willing to bet he was a cocky bastard of a bull. If there was one thing that made me angry it was cocky guys, they just rubbed me the wrong way. Back on Earth I usually ended up taking them down a peg or two, you see back when I was a woman I was just a ‘trophy’ for them to acquire. They just had to get the ‘hottie’ as they had put it, most got a quick kick to the balls instead. Not that I was a prude, I actually enjoyed sex a lot, in fact I swung both ways, I just had standards. Standards always were hard for them to get their under used brain cells around. His posey flanked his sides as we squared off, complete with a tumbleweed rolling between us. I couldn’t see Barium Seal but I could smell him, he was proably in the house. Which the muscle gang had conviently made a living wall in front of. I pinned my ears, We were going to be have to fix that. Chrissy had widened her stance beside me while Azure had flared her horn, a blue magic shining brightly. Looks like she does have more guts than I thought, I honestly expected her to be half way back across the dune by now. The minotaur spoke in a deep bellow of a voice, “Tabdu al’awladu, hisan haida!” I don’t know what he said but I didn’t like the way his followers chuckled at it. Were they making fun of us? Chrissy angry whispered in my ear, “He just called us whorses.” I’m not surprised that she can speak his Saddle Arabian considering she had been here before, this will actually make this easier. But I don’t know why she was angry, we are horses after all. Was it an insult? Like calling an African American the N word? “Why are you angry? What does that mean?” I whispered back, ears turning to her, curious to know the answer. She snorted, “It means we are sexually promiscoussss.” She hissed the last word in anger. I almost felt sorry for them, she was PMSing hard, and unless her mood changed I wouldn’t be surprised if she slaughtered them. Also now I had another reason to hate him, I was never one to sleep around. Which is probably why the thought of sleeping with two strange mares horrifies me, that and I wasn't asked. It wouldn't have helped but I would feel better. Azure heard Chrissy and her face turned red from anger, she snorted before focusing her horn on the bull. He sure knew how to piss ponies off. The dragon mare was crying louder behind the Minotaur, I felt horrible. I probably said something really rude. “Chrissy, any idea what I said that upset her this much?” I continued to whisper. “Mahlaan…: The bull said quietly looking at us, i think his eye twitched. “No.” Dragon mare walked up to the Minotaur sniffling as she tried to compose herself, “ Jabbar raja-.” I couldn’t understand her but she sounded desperate. Whatever she was going to say was lost as he kicked her backwards, sending her sprawling on the sand. “Eahirat hadia. La taftarid alaitisal bi bialasm.” I didn’t need to know what he said to know it was condescending, cocky bullshit. My eye twitched, he just hit her. “What did he say? I couldn’t hear it over the smell of his bullshit.” I spoke loudly this time, narrowing my eyes at the bull. He snorted before switching to Equus, of course he could speak Equus. “The name is Jabbar. My sincerest apologies for the rude behavior of my eahira, she forgets her place. She is usually an obedient eahira but she seems to be overcome with the female condition. I’m sure you understand?” he gave me a smirk at the end. I don't know what a eahira was but I didn't like his tone, it sounded like a derogatory term if I ever heard one. Azure and Chrissy snorted, readying their horns. Jabbar didn’t seem to even see them as a threat, looking me in the eye instead. I know I should stay cool, hear him out, but I just wanted to pummel him. “I'm afraid I don’t.” I lifted my wings spreading them above my head. “We are here for the pony you took, hand him over.” I purposely didn’t give him a 'or else' option, I didn’t think I was getting out of here without a fight, and after his bullshit I would love a reason to lay into him. Leveling my eyes with him I waited for his choice. “A Alicorn?!” He looked stunned for a moment before shaking his head. “Now I have seen everything, what alfuju did you crawl out from pony? There is no black Alicorns, much less a stallion. You think I’m a MAJNUN, A MUHIMAT SAHLA?!” Well someone has a temper. His gryphons looked annoyed, shifting their claws in the sand. The Komondors grinned at me, getting into a crouch, scimitars moved to their sides. The mare had gotten up and pink magic enveloped her horn as she stared me down,her tears gone but in their place a dead eyed look had taken over. In response, Azure stepped away from my side and widened her stance, while Chrissy started to chew something, her cheeks filling out. “I’m afraid I can’t hand him over, I have to eat you see. Alqabd ealayha!” I didn’t need to know what he said at the end, his tone said it all. Let the fight begin. With a downstroke I sailed upwards, looking down I saw I made the right choice, the Komondors were crouched where I just stood, scimitars buried in the sand. They looked up at me and I grinned triumphantly at them before a gryphon shaped rocket collided with my stomach. It sent us a good hundred feet back in the air and stole my breath. He tried to raise his head, snapping his beak, as I corrected my flight. Now hovering we grappled midair, pushing his head into my armpit for a chokehold. Beak immobilized and tail whipping around, I grabbed his wings with my hooves, and began twisting them back. He gave a silent cry at the pain, but before I could snap them I heard Azure cry out from below. Below a battle raged. Chrissy had just spit some sort of slime in Jabbar’s face, the bull was momentarily blinded, before she turned and faced the Komondors. Her magic was holding back the swords but both the Komondors and Chrissy were sweating in the struggle. Several feet away, Azure was lying on the ground her horn sputtering blue sparks as the dragon mare stood on it. Nononononoonon! I grabbed the gryphon in my magic and sent him crashing down beside the dragon mare, the resulting crash wave sent her flying back from Azure. Now where wer-. I was hit from behind and started plummeted towards the ground as my wings vibrated in pain from the gryphon projectiles. Two sets of arms were clamped around my barrel, the talons digging into my chest and drawing beads of blood. With the ground approaching I started to spin myself into a barrel roll, their claws dug in further trying to keep their holds. While I was willing to bet that my magic couldn’t release their grip I knew could use it for other things. Azure met my eyes as I descended faster, she struggled to get her hooves under her, failing to do so, but that was okay. I waited till the last second to use my magic, a good scare is good for these bird brains. Just before I touched Azure a golden translucent step appeared, then more formed stairs, as they appeared and disappeared as I climbed higher I couldn't help but grin. I was now ascending the magic borne stairs at a gallop, the gryphons gripping me in fear rather than intent to harm now. The fight was but a speck below me when I dissipated the last step and entered a sharp, spiraling descent, my wings tucking in as much as they could with my opponents still attached. Halfway through the descent one let go and flew clumsy away from my descent. I grinned and adjusted my angle. Looking for Jabbar I spotted him starting to charge at Chrissy, horns lowered to impale. With the remaining gryphon holding me in a death grip I started towards the bull. We locked eyes, we were going too fast to stop now. Narrowing my eyes I tucked my neck in and I bit the gryphon’s talon. His screech of pain spurred me on as I turned my body. The gryphon met jabbar’s head straight on but I still felt like I was hit by a truck. Overhead the blue sky blurred and refocused, I was lying on my back free of gryphons. Turning my head I saw what remained of my cushion, his spine was broken, poking out of his fur. It would have hurt had he lived through the crash. Behind the body the bull was sprawled on his back. His chest was still rising, damn it! Chrissy was still fighting the Komondors. Before I coud go help her Azure appeared over me panting. “Don’t do that EVER again Ari!” I grinned up at her, “Come on I was just joking with you!” She glared at me, I needed to help Chrissy and end this fight. “Think you could find your stallionfriend while I finish this fight?” It was like I turned on the lights, she seemed to get a second wind before galloping over Jabbar on towards the house. They totally were a couple. Wobbling to my hooves I balanced with my wings, my vision was now swimming but at least I could focus again. I focused on the gray komondor, grabbing his sword in my magic I swung the hilt down where the sun doesn’t shine. He went down snout contorted into a silent wail. What, it was fair. First rule in fighting: there are no rules. Chrissy’s whimper of pain brought me back, she had the tip of the other sword jabbed in her shoulder, the magic that was combating the blade flickering in its hold. A rush of adrenaline hit me as I reared up whinnying my anger at him, he looked at me just in time to see the scimitar decapitate him. Killing him was easy, not that i'm a killer but when they threaten what is mine the restriction that 'I can’t kill' disappears… Speaking of disappearing, Where had that other gryphon gone to? Looking around at the scene I made my way to Chrissy, two dead bodies, two were alive but unconscious, and two were missing. I didn’t see where the dragon mare landed and the other gryphon must have fluttered off somewhere. All in all a successful battle, the only way it could get better is if Barium is still alive. A grieving mare would slow down our quest a bit. “Hey-“ I went to brush my muzzle against her cheek, she turned her head to talk to me, and then it happened. We kissed, our lips pressed together through our poorly planned movements. I looked into her sea green eyes in surprise and saw her surprise fade, eyes closing as she pressed against my lips. The kiss increased in passion, from accident it morphed into purposeful exploration. My head turned as I started to deepen it, she didn’t seem to mind. I could feel my wings stiffen and rise into the air but it didn’t matter, she pressed her tongue against my teeth, I opened my mouth for her and our tongues met with a moan. “WOW! And here you were teasing me about Bari being my coltfriend when your friend is really your marefriend.” Azure smirked at me with a dazed Barium Seal at her side. We blushed and parted looking at each other then at Azure. “What?!” We all shouted at Azure. “I’m your coltfriend?” Barium looked like he was on cloud nine, a goofy smile on his muzzle. “…took you long enough, I wondered what I had to do to get you to back off!” “You-“ Wait what did Chrissy just say? I looked at Chrissy, she wasn’t looking at me a deep red blush covering her muzzle. Did she just say that? “Sorry, I think I misheard you Chrissy, what did you say?” My heart was practically beating out of my chest. She sighed as our audience watched on in fascination, “I said, ‘Ari will you be my stallion and have me as your marefriend’.” I blinked at her I did not know what to say, we were kind of in the middle of desert surrounded by our dead or unconscious enemies. But I might as well say the truth anyway, “Chrissy, I know we haven’t known each for very long so I can’t truthfully say that I’m madly in love with you right now like a stallion should be. But I really like you as an individual. You get my humor, are kind, caring, and I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention how beautiful you are. I guess what I mean is I really like you and I wouldn’t mind seeing where being your stallion might lead.” Giving her a little nervous smile i shuffled my hooves. This was always the awkward part in a relationship, the uncertainty, the exploration, and at the same time this was one of the best parts. The time when a relationship begins. Azure awed at me, “Now that is a soo sweet! Why can’t you ask me like that Bari? Ari that was soo romantic, I wish-.” She never got to finish her wish as a frustrated Barium kissed her. As if that was her cue Chrissy turned back to me and kissed me hard, I could get used to this, the kisses not the dead bodies. Heck , it would probably be both.
The Sand has Eyes.Chrysalis I can’t believe how clueless Ari is. Through the walk through the desert, which was a part of the rescue mission that he signed us up for I might add; I was trying to ward off the turquoise menace. Azure was reading too much into his help and thought he wanted her as a marefriend when really Ari was just too nice to not help a mare in need. While trying to protect my claim I was also trying to persist with the foalish notion that I wasn’t in heat. The latter was truly justified, in the nearly five hundred years I have been alive I have never entered estrus, it just never happened. My mother obviously experienced the heat, but she had experienced her first one at one hundred years old not as late as I have. The best way I understood it from her is that the most long lived creatures such as Queen and king Changelings as well as Alicorns had the hardest time reproducing; it was nature’s population failsafe. If we entered estrus as often as ponies did the world would be overpopulated with creatures living up to ten thousand years old; the math still terrified me as much as it did when she first told me. However the failsafe was also a curse, Alicorns were down to just three mares and there was just myself for the changeling race now. Stallions of any species had this habit of charging into battle for some reason and dying, crazy I know. But back to the problem at hand, I knew she could clearly smell me over his face and wings but the mare still insisted on challenging my claim. Okay, it wasn’t official then but I still intended to have him, I was willing to wait too. This wasn’t my heat talking either; I liked him for more than his body. He actually cared for me, was protective, and had a good sense of humor. But I digress, he was a gentlestallion so I shouldn’t have been shocked that she took a liking to him. He had a stallion attitude that most were missing from their soft lifestyles, hence why most were ‘coltfriends’ not ‘stallions’. That doesn’t mean I had to accept her interest without a fight though. But I couldn’t just fight her without getting his acceptance as a marefriend first, not only would that confuse him it would probably scare him away. I don’t think I could handle it if I lost him, I had nothing left in this world. Just short of directly confronting her I was impeding her attempts. When she put her head on his chest I struggled to silence my warning growl, that is when she knew that I wasn’t going to physically touch her like a real challenge even though I had my scent all over him. Then she felt bolder and hugged him. I could feel his surprise and enjoyment at her hug and lost some restraint, he was looking at the dune, and she had her legs wide open to attack. That’s how she learned physical contact was still fair game if he couldn’t see me do it. Ari didn’t even seem to acknowledge my intent. While at first I thought he wasn’t interested, it hit me that he may have different courting practices on Earth. It became that that was true when Azure had the gall to flag her tail at him, a screaming sign that said ‘rut me’ to any stallion. He was just feeling confused at the display; even so, I retaliated with what I could safely do: glaring and wafting my own scent over hers, my tail was working overtime as it flicked to spread my scent. However that is all in the past now, we have Barium with us now and had some new resources. Jabbar and his gang had probably stolen them anyway. We were ready, I had healed myself from that small nick that Ari insisted on fussing over, I really had to show him healing magic when we had some down time. Ari was now wearing a white thobe and a set of saddle bags were draped over each of our backs. In them we had water, food, money, a compass, and a map. The ponies didn’t even protest when we took them, they looked nervous, but lost it when Ari pointed out the conclusion that I had come to as well. Those brutes were slave traders, among the other diversions I believed they did. The Minotaur looked almost like a hired thug, a successful thug if his exotic, hybrid eahira was any indicator. Azure was thankfully walking pressed to her new coltfriend’s side leaving me to have Ari all to myself, my stallion. I could feel my heart race every time I thought of him. Not only was he my first stallionfriend but he was the first stallion I actually had a long term interest in, he actually had the same lifespan as me. And our first kiss, oh, it sent my tail twitching just remembering it. I was going to have to tell him about my heat soon, perhaps when we were alone again. I shuddered as a sudden chill went over my chitin. What was that? I looked around and even above at Celestia’s sun, but nothing was there. Now, where was I? Azure was walking with her coltfriend and I had my stallion. We weren’t alone yet but soon enough we would be. My gentlestallion had generously offered to walk them to the Equestrian border, which was about three days of travel away if we don’t hit any sandstorms. Then we would double back and find out why I was a wanted mare, I wasn’t naïve on that matter, it was going to be trouble. This wasn't the tame Equestrian rulers that wanted me for my invasion like they easily could have, no it was Saddle Arabia, a country I hadn’t been to for several hundred years. I hadn't a clue what they wanted. A silence had fallen over us, I could feel Ari’s happiness, love, and nervousness. Then I felt curiosity enter him. “Why were you guys in the Diamond Mountains anyway? That seems a long way to go for a date with your coltfriend.” I looked at the new couple, my ears perked forward, this should be good. Azure and Barium looked guilty at each other. “We were leaving Equestria, we just couldn’t handle the princess’s decision to bring back that barbaric old law. Azure didn't agree with the law as well so we ran.” We both blinked at the couple, my ears slowly flattening as a inkling of an idea at what law they meant. “What law is this?” Ari asked, tensing under his thobe. I pressed my muzzle against his cheek. “You really haven’t heard?" Azure looked at our expressions in shock, before a look of pity entered her eyes. “No.” But I had a good guess, I just hope I was just being a insecure foal, making a anthill into a mountain. “The herding law was brought back." Buck. "Basically all single stallions must be paired with as many mares as they can handle. Azure was my best friend and I loved her but she was single and I was single. I don’t want anyone but her-“ Azure nuzzled him at that. “-But I knew some unwilling mares would get matched to me and Azure might have ended up with somepony else.” I looked at Ari’s face as anger came through his fur through the thobe, ears pinned he looked ready to bite somepony. Barium thought so too as he backed up with his mare before nodding at Ari. “I understand how you feel as well, it is a scary and cruel law. It was chaos when we left, we weren’t the only ones leaving either.” “Ari?” He let loss a string of explelatives that had Azure and Barium spluttering at, those princesses were really in for it. Calming down with some snorts he responded, “Well now I wonder what the hell you are thinking going back to such a backwards place. I mean, herding has been dead forever for a reason right? Why change it?” I didn’t have the heart to point out that the country we were in practised it still, somehow I didn’t feel that would make him feel better. “Well for starters, with our birth rates so low we are looking at a population problem in the near future. Not enough foals are being born and less colts are being born as well. I mean no offense but I think the princesses were crazy for going down this route. We don’t want to return but we see now we can’t make it outside of Equestria.” They both looked dejected and Ari looked sad but didn’t argue with them. I mean Azure was beaten by that mare in less than ten seconds and that mare was the weakest member of the group. What Azure added made my blood boil and ears go back, “I actually feel sorry for you now Chrysalis, as a Alicorn, Ari will be able to handle multiple mares easily-“ I narrowed my eyes at her. “-not mention he is the ONLY Alicorn stallion, I think the princesses will want to meet him for that reason alone. You don’t have any brothers Ari? Anymore Alicorns that could help them in your stead?” I think Azure was going for helpful with those last couple of questions, but it failed. Ari was radiating sadness now. “Nope, just me.” He looked down as we walked, anger fading and ears dropping at the reminder that he could probably never get home. Azure and Barium picked up on his mood and grew silent. We walked on over the sand dunes in silence after that, I tried to comfort him as best I could with nuzzles but I could feel his deep sorrow. I wanted to erase it so badly. **** Saddle Arabia Ari I know exactly why I was brought here, exactly what I am required to do, but it doesn’t mean I agree with all of it. Saving this planet wouldn’t be so bad if there was a set timeline, a set time to return home. Not that I didn’t like being with Chrissy but the thought of my home still made me miss it, I wouldn’t mind it if I had the option to return. Listening to Chrissy’s breathing, smelling her scent, and feeling her presence was comforting to me and reminded me of a good reason I couldn’t leave: my marefriend. From the beginning I thought Chrissy was beautiful. But as she opened up, fought by my side, and listened to me I realized how much I really liked her, maybe even loved her. My thoughts were derailed at a sound, I halted and Chrissy stopped as well. Our ears started to swivel as we kept our heads high and scanned the horizons. Nothing but boulders in the distance to our left and right, ahead there was nothing as well. Was it the gryphon? Looking up I saw a clear sky, not even a cloud floated by. Azure and Barium turned back to us. “What is the problem?” Barium started looking around as well, the feeling of being watched wasn’t just felt by us. A shiver passed through me in the heat, goosebumps forming along my back. “We are being watched.” Chrissy spoke quietly as she swivaled her ears behind me. I understood her meaning and looked Barium in the eyes before swiveling my ears back then forward. He narrowed his eyes and Azure started looking around wildly as she caught on. At a normal tone I spoke, “It was nothing, lets keep going the first town should be up ahead soon. “ With that we moved out again but it was hard to get the earlier mood back after the topic of home and then the knowledge that something was watching us. I don’t even want to know what creatures existed in this desert, the Diamond dogs were ugly enough. I wanted to know something though. Looking at Chrissy I turned my ears forward, “Can you teach me how to speak Saddle Arabian?” She cocked her head at me before chuckling, “Yes, I suppose you do need to be able to order for us.” What did she mean? She must have caught my look because she gave a strained smile, “Saddle Arabia is still a very chauvinistic country compared to Equestria. Here they still practice herding, for the same reasons Sunbutt has reinstated the old herding law. Here stallions are expected to be in charge, not that you will have a problem with that my hubun.” Chrissy purred the foreign word over her tongue with what i'm sure was lust, her tail twitched and hit me. I latched onto the first thing I could think of, “ ‘Hoo-bun’?” I pronounced it, it felt strange rolling off my tongue. “Love.” She purred out with a half lidded look. Azure watched us, turned Barium and said, “My hubun.” Barium repeated it back to her with a smile on his face. They made a good couple. “ ‘Ahbak.” Chrissy purred at me. “ Ah-ba-ka.” I repeated back to her, ignoring her active tail. “I love you.” We continued on like that for the next hour, I was eventually remembering the basic phrases in small sentences like ‘marhabaan aismi Ari’, which was ‘hello my name is Ari’. In that time Azure and Barium had moved to walk beside Chrissy and I, they were very interested in learning a new language. Not to mention it was being taught by an icky changeling, who would have thought that they could change. Our lesson was interrupted as we noticed the sun moving, we had thirty minutes at the best to find shelter for the night. This was extremely inconvenient, I couldn’t wait till it moved on it's own. Breaking into a trot we headed to the left, where two hundred feet away a small collection of large rocks formed a slightly protected clearing. I could have sworn I heard someone behind me, but looking back I saw nothing but sand flying from hooves and a setting sun. The rocky clearing was sparse with a few scraggly bushes being the only vegetation, they were practically tumbleweeds. We slowed down as we entered the clearing, trotting done for the day. I slid my saddle bags off my shoulder, hearing a satisfying clunk as my new supplies landed on the rock. Using my magic I removed my thobe from my body, it was like wearing a giant bed sheet with the way it just slipped onto my neck. But it hid my wings. I folded it in my magic as Chrissy rubbed her body alongside me as she walked ahead to pick out a spot on the wall. Her tail lingered a second longer than I expected and I caught a blast of her scent, causing a stirring below. Floating my thobe and bags over to her I laid down beside her. Across from us Azure and Barium had settled down beside each other. Eating an oat cake I prepared for bed, wing over Chrissy and my thobe over both of us as a ward against the growing chill. The sun had left only to be replaced by a crescent moon, the night was beautiful though. Good nights exchanged with Azure and Barium I turned to Chrissy, “Tusbih ealaa khayr, ‘iinaa ahbk.” Good night, I love you. She purred sleepily and replied, “Ahbk ‘aydaan.” I love you too. I was feeling very happy with life in this moment, I had a beautiful marefriend and I was learning my first second language, this world was being good to me. I settled my head down as a day’s worth of fighting and walking caught up to me. A breeze ran through my feathers I cracked my eyes not quite ready to get up. The sun was just starting to rise. In my blurry vision I saw a yellow pony like shape holding my thobe to up to their face, really Barium? What are you doing? I yawned and closed my eyes, I felt so sleepy after everything. The oat cakes hadn’t even touched my appetite. Another breeze ruffled my feathers and Chrissy scrunched her face as she moved closer to me. “Barium give me back my thobe. The air is still cold, yah knooowww!” Another yawn left my muzzle as I felt my blanket float onto my back, much better. As I drifted back asleep, the smell of water lilies drifted by and quiet hoof steps echoed in my ears. “Ari! Why did you drink all my water?!” I opened my eyes and looked over at Chrissy in confusion, she stood in front of our bags holding her canteen upside down. “I didn’t touch your water *yawn* Ask Barium, he was messing with my thobe before. He took it earlier this morning but he did give it back when I asked. Though I don’t think you want the water back now.” I snickered at my joke earning me a light jab from Chrissy’s hoof as she walked past, over to her unsuspecting victim. Barium was hugging Azure in his sleep, a innocent grin on his muzzle. I stood and stretched before joining her in gazing down at his sleeping form. “What are you going to do to the water thief o' mare of mine?” despite my previously awkward morning wood I felt very mischievous this morning, Chrissy grinned at my question before yelling “GRUUUU Y RAW” , right in his ear. We all jumped in the air at Chrissy, she sounded just like a Diamond dog! Barium landed on his hooves as Azure stumbled on her hooves. “What the buck is your problem Chrysalis?!” Azure screamed in Chrissy’s face. “I was just waking your coltfriend here with some Grumbleshooke, I thought I let him off easy considering he drank all my water.” Grumbleshooke? Barium looked confused, “What?! I haven’t touched your water! Did you Azure?” She shook her head and we all looked at each other. “I thought it was you, Barium, cause you took my thobe around sunrise.” I said slowly having a bad feeling about this. He looked freaked out now, “I wasn’t awake earlier and I didn’t touch your thobe…” He trailed off and we all looked at each other fear reflecting in our eyes. Our stalker had gotten bolder; we had almost forgotten that we being watched with all the fun we were having learning Saddle Arabian.
What Was That About Letting Your Guard Down?Ari After waking like that we stuck around just long enough to check the map, Ras Taneighra was the first city we would hit today. Most cities were within a day’s walk of each other so we only had to hit another couple cities before we could drop the new couple off at the border. I for one was looking forward to that, I had questions for Chrissy that I felt I just shouldn’t ask in front of them. No need for them to know exactly how ignorant i was to Equus culture. Like what did all the tail language mean? Sometimes I knew, like flicking it in anger, but what did the other body language mean? With how much she was doing it a lot, I felt like I must be missing a whole conversation in the culture I didn’t know. Speaking of stuff I don’t know about, whatever took Chrissy’s water. There wasn’t any hoofprints, or anything sign that someone was there except the water having been drunk, but there was the question of what they were thinking taking my thobe but giving it back when I asked. Did thieves just function on a different mindset here or was it just a lost traveler….yah I didn’t believe the latter either. “So riddle me this: What stalker is also a thief, is yellow, and returns things if asked?” Okay my riddle wasn’t that good but it wasn’t too cringe worthy. I looked at the group, yup there was no cringing. “I said I didn’t do it!” Barium said in frustration from his position walking beside me. “I know I didn’t say you did, I said something yellow did. I was half asleep and only saw a blurry yellow pony shape holding my thobe to their face.” Well now I was receiving raise eyebrows and frowns. “and you just…”Azure looked confused. “I asked for it back of course and you gently floated onto my back…” I trailed off as something hit me, Barium didn’t have a horn. “Well now that I review it, that doesn’t add up. You’re not secretly magical are you Barium?” He shook his head as he stepped around a tumbleweed, they were popping up more and more as we got closer to civilization. Chrissy looked confused, “The thief had your thobe to their face? Like holding it in their mouth or …?” She trailed off as my face morphed into a look of disgust. I realized that the pony had had my it held up to their nose, like they were sniffing it. I felt a little creeped out now, just a little. It’s not every day somepony comes in the wee hours of the morning to sniff my clothing and steal water. As my muzzle scrunched up I looked behind us, was it listening even now? How had we not seen it in this endless sea of sand? “Ari is it there?” I turned back to Chrissy, “I don’t know, I just don’t get it. The pony was holding it to their nose sniffing it. They would have seen my wings so I don’t know why did nothing, I mean everyone I have ever met here is all ‘look a Alicorn’. This whole thing doesn’t make sense.” Azure looked contemplative, “maybe they are just following us till we reach a town but are too scared to show themselves.” Barium gave her a dead eye stare, “The pony was sniffing his clothes! Not to mention we haven’t seen anyone besides those slavetraders, where would this lost pony come from, I haven’t seen any tracks.” I looked back at Azure who was wilting a little as her theory came under fire, “I just thought that what the pony was doing to Ari and us didn’t seem mean...” “It drank my water! Do you know how expensive water is here? I do, it cost me ten bits for a liter last time. With the drought they have now water is probably double to triple that price now, at least that much.” I gave her cheek a kiss, “You can share mine. We still have around two hundred bits and we can always get more.” She deflated a little before looking ahead and perking up. We followed her gaze and saw the barest dozens and dozens of beige dots, this must be Ras Taneighra. According to Chrissy it was one of the smaller cities, the furthest inward from the border, and a bustling trading post town. Or it had been last time she was here. I really wanted to know exactly how old she was, maybe I should just ask? A wave of magic brushed my side, I looked over and saw a gray one winged pegasis. We all jumped away from it in surprise. Then Chrissy’s voice came from it’s mouth, “Really you forgot how we met already? I thought this form would cause less trouble than my real look.” Her eyes looked a little pained before a mischievous look came over her eyes. “Ohh-“ I didn’t even to finish my sentence when she launched herself at my face, lips attaching to mine. We were sent tumbling down the dune we had just climbed. I grabbed a hold of her barrel, kissing her back. My tongue asked for permission that she quickly gave me with a long moan and my trapped wings stiffened at her response, she was kissing me like a mad mare as her tail was twitching and flicking my inner thighs. I turned my head, wrestling her tongue harder; this seemed to turn her on, as she started grinding her newly furred belly against my sheath. It sent shots of pleasant tingles down my spine and I groaned loudly, this really wasn’t fair to me, I mean with her smelling like she did and her ministrations I was going to be very uncomfortable for the rest of the walk. “Really?!” Chrissy raised her chest from mine breaking the kiss, thankfully not yet removing her body from mine. I was a little indecent right now. Azure and Barium stood looking at us with withering looks, Azure’s tail was twitching again, and Barium’s eye twitched as he glanced at Azure I could only blink at them, the kiss had been hot and I got lost in it a little, okay a lot. Nothing wrong with that but the mood was fading under their presence. “what? I was reliving a moment, cant you wait?” she slid back over my arousal and I threw my head back as the pressure felt just right. I don’t remember quite so much kissing and grinding when we met but I wasn’t going to complain. “Perhaps a-another time hubun?” I pleaded with my eyes, looking back the way we came. The message hit its mark as she got off me and started scanning the dunes behind me. “Fine, lets get going. And from now to the border I am ‘Silver Stream’.” And with her acquiescence I dusted myself off and we started up the dune again. Funny how knowing you are being watched by a something can kill a erection. As we drew closer to the city I noticed how the sand turned into a brick road, one of three brick roads leading into the main city street. All the streets were laid brick but we could hardly see the street for all the ponies and other creatures milling about. These ponies looked more refined than Azure and Barium, taller, and more fine boned in their legs and faces. I still was taller than them but only by a small amount, they came up to the base of my neck. Other creatures such as Minotaurs and Komondors intermingled in what looked like a market place, stalls and rugs spread out with many different wares. Chrissy kept close to me as calls from vendors rang out throughout the market, we were hardly given any notice by the other shoppers as others came trickling into town from the other two roads. Unlike the desolate and modern house Jabbar had inhabited the houses in town were actually pleasant half houses. That is to say half of the house was above ground and the other half was below, small stairwells were near every house. There was actual glass in the windows and doors in the doorways. The city was divided into blocks, around twenty blocks in all held the populace of Ras Taneighra. That made it very crowded and hard for our group to manage to stay together. We were heading straight down main street when we reached the town square, well it really a circle but that’s not the point. When we arrived I spoke to Chrissy, “Alyasar?” Left? Chrissy nodded and we continued down the left street, I’m sure it had a name but I couldn’t see any street signs. Weaving through the vendors I nearly froze as goose pimples went across my fur, I nudged Chrissy’s cheek to get her attention. I flicked my ears back and forth slowly which was now a universal sign for ‘we were being followed’. She nodded and her eyes flicked around, the crowd continue moving ignoring us, no one even looking from their busy day. Then she stopped and facehooved, my eyebrow raised in confusion. “Ma alkhata’a?” What is wrong? Arabian isn’t really soo hard, however I only say that because I only just learned basic questions. If a local asked me anything I probably wouldn’t know what they said, which is where Chrissy comes in. In this country, apparently the stallion does most of the talking which is fine until except I don’t speak Arabian well enough after just a one day crash course. Not to mention, If we spoke any Equuis here we would be instant targets for all the thieves and con artists in a two kilometer radius. However that was all according to the Saddle Arabia Chrissy remembers from two hundred years ago, but as she puts it “peaceful ponies aren’t quick to change”. I couldn’t help but agree with her there. “Azure. Barium.” Her disguised wing fluttered its feathers as I looked around, they were gone. My ears went back, I wanted to curse god right now, of course leading them to the border wouldn’t be easy. Nothing was easy on this planet. Now we had to find them and get more water, luckily a turquoise mare stands out here. Most of the Arabians were shades of brown, red, orange, and yellow. Some were gray, white, or black, but those were the uncommon colors. I jerked my back and we began moving in sync back to the square, all the while I felt like someone was watching me. We were forced to stop as up ahead two stallions had gotten into a brawl, over what I didn’t know but a crowd had formed blocking out my view and the road as well. Chrissy and I exchanged a scowl, just our luck. I cocked my head in the direction of a alleyway to our right to which she shook her head negatory. Watching her face I saw it morph from boredom, irritation, and most interesting was lust. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure about the last one, I mean why would she feel- “Barium!!” Azure’s panicked screech called out up ahead somewhere, crap. Had she lost him? Going with my gut I threw my head towards the crowd and Chrissy fell into step with me. We didn’t get far before we couldn’t move again. That was it, no more being polite. I snorted and pinned my ears at the stallion in front of me, the stallion’s face went from amused to fearful as he craned his neck up to look me in the eyes. After the stallion moved five mares followed his lead which caught the attention of the crowd ahead of me. Not feeling like using my words I simply gave them a stern look which caused the crowds to part in patches, as the herds moved as one out of our way. Getting closer Chrissy’s tail started flicking me again and the dim sound of the fight became clearer. “Omphh!” Barium just went flying from a hoof to the muzzle, his opponent was orange colt with a greasy mane. I snorted, was he really fighting someone younger than him? And even more embarrassing he was losing, I didn’t Azure to see her new coltfriend like this. Taking the last step into the fight circle the catcalls and battering grew silent, Azure met my eyes from the sides, pleading , “Musaeada Ari.” Help Ari. The colt had a black eye and looked angry, probably one of those boys with chips on their shoulder. I snorted and our eyes met, “Tawaquf.” Stop. He snorted with confidence before he looked at Chrissy confusion evident. “Ladayk faqat fars wahid, hal ‘ant ks?” His arrogant tone annoyed me, I believe he just insulted me. Looking at Chrissy I confirmed it, her one wing was twitching in anger as her ears were pinned back. The only thing stopping her from tearing into him was the crowd, we didn't need anymore attention. So we had to take the high road, no matter how unsatisfying it could be. I ignored him and we walked over to Barium’s downed form, Chrissy glued to my side. Barium was panting and had blood leaking from his nostril. He’d live. “Mahlaan, Kus!” I rolled my eyes at the colt as I nudged Barium, he didn’t get up. “Azure!” She came running over and I started levitating him to my back. Halfway through levitating Barium I felt something hit me, it wasn’t painful it was more like getting a basketball to the arm. The colt had attempted to punch me, I say attempt because he was probably never fought if his strength was any indicator. Giving them the attention they want only sends the wrong message, so i carried on. With Barium on my back and Azure on my other side looking at him worriedly we began to leave, a path already opening as they saw me approach. Finally we could get on with this trip, we still had a planet to save as well. Then the brat bit my tail. Chrissy and Azure scrambled out of the way as I swung around, unprepared for that, my tail slipped out of the colt’s mouth. I pulled back my head before I reached down and bit his neck. This not only made me feel better but it also seemed to freeze him in shock. Waiting for a second I realized he wasn’t going to retaliate. So, adjusting Barium I made my way to the open path with Chrissy and Azure rejoining me, Chrissy’s tail was raised high. Which reminded me I had to learn more on the body language here, some was universal like the eyebrow raise but others I had no context for. Humans didn’t have tails and the only tail language I got was that some tail swishing meant somepony was annoyed. Drama over with, the crowd resumed its chaotic state. I picked up the pace to a fast walk as I restrained my curiosity and anger. I wanted to know how in the world Barium managed to pick a fight in the ten minutes we had been in town, not to mention I was angry over that same fact. We were supposed to be keeping a low profile, pass through here, then we would go through Jozan, then the border town: Taymare. It was supposed to be foal proof! Chrissy nudged me and I looked at where she was looking: a water vendor was coming up. Exactly what we needed, I changed direction and we made our way over, the sign had number sixty written beside a pictograph of a canteen. Looks like the price has gone up, with that we could only fill three of the six we had. Yes, we took all of his canteens, he took traded in ponies so i think it was a more than fair exchange. He got pain and I got supplies. “Ma’ min, fadlik.” I levitated the coin purse and three of the canteens to Chrissy, letting her hoof over the bits and fill the canteens. From up on my back Barium was stirring, he looked around before he met my gaze, ears dropping he settled back on my back. That’s right, you know what you did. With a lighter coin purse and full canteens we finally left the city, in front of us lay another expanse of dunes and tumbleweeds. I think I could even see a small skeleton of a tree in the distance. As the road disappeared back into sand I switched back to Equuis. “What happened to keeping a low profile?” I placed him back on the ground, it was impossible to lose him out here. Azure immediately started nuzzling him, she stopped when she brushed by his eye and he winced. Her horn glowed blue as his black eye faded to a yellow eye, looking like it was nearly gone instead of just happened. I needed to learn how to do that. Barium looked sheepishly at me, “He called Azure an eahira-“He spat at that, “Azure is not a whorse!” I could already see him getting worked up; he was a sweet stallion that way. He had a good sense of right and wrong, although he lacked the skills to back his chivalry up. We started up another dune as I sighed at his foolishness, I had babysat one too many brats to fall for their teasing. “You know he was just a foal right? He probably thought Azure was pretty and did what all awkward colts do: pick on the filly they like most. I have foal sat a fair number of brats to recognise that.” Everyone looked shocked, “What?” I looked around and saw nothing. Chrissy nuzzled my neck, “You actually took the time to take care of other’s foals, most stallions won't foal sit, ever. That is soo sweet, you wou-.” She caught herself and I raised an eyebrow to coax her on but she just shook her head. “You are a real stallion.” My chest still puffed out at her praise, i know she was just distracting me, but I think I was alright with that. Barium picked up his pace, did that hurt his feelings? Transitioning into a trot we caught up with him. “You know there isn’t anything wrong with being you, everyone is different. I like to believe that opposites are nessceary in life.” He remained silent. “And sometimes it isn’t what the world wants it’s what you feel comfortable with, Azure seems to like you the way you are. Isn’t that what counts?” no response, oh well I might as well let him wallow if he wants to. I broke into a gallop up the next hill with Chrissy at my side; we were almost out of sight of Ras Traneighra which meant her disguise could come off. We had another day before we reached Jozan, a lot of desert to cover. At the top we finally couldn’t see the city anymore and Chrissy slumped against me as a green fire destroyed her disguise. I couldn’t help but smile at her true form, it had been strange to see the small round pegasis when I’m used to a tall, sleek Chrissy. Pulling back I gave her a kiss, “I missed the real you.” My stomach growled. Chrissy giggled, which is adorable, “Thank you-“ She nuzzled my cheek and twitched her tail. “- lets head over to the rock and have some lunch.” Azure’s and Barium’s stomachs growled in concurance. Shade cooled our fur and chitin as we settled against the cool stone, today’s lunch: apples and trail mix. If this world had anything going for it it was the delicious food, the apple crunched just right and was only slightly warm from the desert, but the sweetness more than made up for that. I heard a stomach grumble. “Did someone want seconds?” Chrissy whispered, “That wasn’t us.” Everyone was tense now and I paused mid bite, it was still following us. What should I do? It wasn’t attacking, or really doing anything besides costing us an extra sixty bits…actually that sucked, I didn’t have any income here so every bit was going to count. we couldn’t just let it steal from us again tonight. Finishing my apple, I stood and looked around, trying to hear its reaction,“look whatever, whoever you are we have nothing of value, so following us going to get you nowhere. Come on out and we can talk this out.” A shuffling from above us, looking up but I couldn’t see anypony, it might be invisible... That probably is possible in this world, I wish we could turn invisible. Then it hit me, we were in Saddle Arabia, it might not speak Equuis. I turned to Chrissy, “Can you try repeating that in Arabian? It just occurred to me that our stalker might not speak Equuis.” And soo she did, not too surprisingly there was no response. We left shortly after, the day would only last soo long after all. Another two hours and the wind started to pick up, in the distance I could see a yellow cloud, “What’s that?” Chrissy’s reply was not unexpected, “A sandstorm, we should find cover.” I nodded in agreement and we started to trot to the rock archway on our right. By the time we made it there the sand was whipping around in earnest, through squinted eyes I could see a small alcove in the base of the archway. Like lady luck actually liked me for once, the storm hit in full force as we made ourselves comfortable inside. It was still daytime, but you wouldn’t know it with how dark it was with sandstorm. The sand blasted around in a twisted dance with the wind outside the opening and i was grateful for how deep it was, not enough to be a cave but deep enough so we were protected. We were huddled together against the sand in our respective couplings, my thobe and saddle bags removed. It appeared we were going to be here awhile, I didn’t even bother asking. The last storm I had been in had lasted a whole day. My wings stretched out before hugging Chrissy to my side, I really loved this. Cuddling, kissing, and just being with Chrissy in general. She must have felt the love as she tucked herself closer to my barrel with a purr, head under my wing. Her tail’s near constant twitching had slowed, sleep was creeping up on her as well. With one last look at the raging storm I let myself drift into the peace of sleep, my mare friend curled into my side. Life was good. A faint humming reached my ears as I came to, it was pleasantly upbeat but also soothing like a lullaby. Not wanting it to end, I tightened my wings around my living body pillows. This drew a squeak from the one that was humming. Wait a minute. I opened my eyes and looked to under my left wing, there yellow draconic eyes stared back, they were widening just as much as I’m sure mine were. Across from us Azure started screaming and things got crazy.
Acting on an Instinct.Ari I believe I have said before that this world seems to love throwing me curveballs, like waking up with the dragon mare that was part of the slave traders we fought earlier. Now I know that sounds bad but don’t go jumping the gun, I did nothing to her, in fact I hadn’t seen her since I sent a gryphon hurtling at her. No I didn’t hit her with it, the thought of hitting her repulses me. I mean she just seems so sad, i hate seeming someone in tears. Okay now she is scared, but she has every reason to be, I know I would be. While I was in a daze, wondering how I slept through her crawling under my wing among other pressing questions, Azure was having a panic attack. Her panic attacks happened to be bomb alarm grade screams, They caused the dragon mare to flinch, her eyes scrunching and ears pinning back. her body started quivering slightly, She must be expecting pain. I don’t really wonder why, Jabbar’s attitude made her life pretty clear to me. One can only hope he dies, if I ever see him again… Azure’s cries of panic did more than send the mare under my left wing into a state of panic they woke Barium and Chrissy. Barium jumped to his feet a dazed look in his eyes as he tried to look around our small alcove. The poor stallion had got the screams right in his ear, good thing he loves her. After His eyes found the odd mare out, he pinned his ears at her, squaring up in preparation for action. Very understandable, she may have been part of the reason he was captured by the slave traders, not that he stood a chance against them. But, she just made it embarrassingly easy. Apparently with just her voice but I have heard her, it isn’t exactly hypnotizing but I’m an alien, what do I know? I DO know that you should never make a PMSing mare angry. When Chrissy heard the screaming she shot up from under my wing looking around wildly before she looked down at me. To be specific she saw the mare that was attempting to disappear under my wing. Surprise morphed to annoyance, then her nostrils flared and anger dominated her face. With her ears pinned her horn started to glow green and I had flashbacks to the cave when I had accidently levitated her into the ceiling. Pain was in the future. I needed to defuse this situation now, not because I enjoy waking up to strange mares but the mare wasn’t hurting us and therefore we probably shouldn’t attack her. It could also be that last time I saw her she broke down into tears for no reason and got kicked by her… I don’t know what Jabbar was to her but he called her a whorse so I can assume some interactions took place, still hating him. Standing up I tucked my wings in but kept the body contact with the trembling mare, Chrissy’s eye twitched. “Chrissy, calm down, let’s talk-“ I didn’t have a chance to finish as I was pushed to the side and Chrissy charged at the terrified mare, she quite understandly ran out away and out of the alcove. Getting off of Azure I left the cave, closely followed by Azure and Barium. Outside the sand storm may have left but a new type of chaos was happening in its place. Chrissy was galloping after the dragon mare and she she didn’t seem inclined to stop anytime soon, the mare was holding her distance dspite having slightly shorter legs. “what just happened?” I really meant that, I go to sleep and wake up with a new mare by my side that my marefriend is now set on chasing down. This didn’t make any sense to me. “if I read her correctly she is having a mare challenge right now.” My head cocked as I looked at Azure, shouldn’t she be freaking out or something? She was too calm for my liking. “I’m really not from here you know. What exactly is a ‘mare challenge’?” Now they cocked their heads back at me. “So you didn’t kn-“ Azure stopped herself and glanced at Barium “It is when a mare wants in a herd or to be with a stallion and challenges the head mare or marefriend to a fight over the right. The loser doesn’t get into the herd or get a chance with the stallion.” I blinked at that, they were fighting over me? “Usually it doesn’t last long, since it’s mostly instinctual the fights don’t usually have any magic involved. Since you don’t have herds in Equestria anymore, I mean didn’t have herds, you don’t see it anymore. But I have read about it in some romance novels and Equestrian Discovery magazines.” “Really Azure? And here I thought you bought those for Opal…” Barium grumbled and Azure pinned her ears back before a squeal of pain echoed in the archway stole our attention. Looking back I saw that Chrissy was gaining on the dragon pony, having just bit her rump, before adrenaline helped the mare launch herself forward again. They both seemed to be slowing down, I hoped so anyways. “So they are fighting over who gets to be my marefriend? That doesn’t make any sense, I mean I should get to choose who I date. Not ro mention I only met that mare once! She never even spoke to me.” I glared at the scene infront of me, this wasn’t like the Chrissy I know. “Well in a herd the stallion still can veto the results of the challenge…She lasted longer than I thought she would.” What does that mean? “I actually expected her to do this to me when I started traveling with you to rescue Barium. With her heat starting and her not having consummated her claim on you her nerves must have been going crazy.” Azure was blushing now and looking away from me. Oh hell no, she did not just say heat, that meant there wasn’t periods here but estrus cycles, I didn’t anything about horse estrus. My eye twitched as I thought the implications this new twist in life meant. Azure had apparently been wanting to be my marefriend earlier…Well that might explain the look she was giving me and how angry Chrissy was acting toward her. Chrissy was squealing now as the dragon mare executed a sharp turn to grab her tail. Should I stop this? The mare was hanging on as Chrissy started spinning, the golden tail just inches from her muzzle. She started to buck, her hooves just inches from dragon pony’s head. That was close, I need to stop this. Dragon mare had the same thought as she let go of Chrissy’s tail and lunged forward trying to bite her neck. Unfortunaely for her, she didn’t realize how hard chitin was and couldn’t get a hold. Chrissy knew this and swung her torso around to bite her neck which was also hard and smooth, scales to be exact. Now at a impasse they separated and started circling, snorting at each other. “Hu mutajahatun, wanahn min almftrd ‘an yakun. Hu alfahi alwahid limuqawamat ‘ayi waqt madaa baladi alsihr.” The dragon mare said almost desperately. I didn’t know enough Arabian to translate it all, she did say stallion so I assumed I was still the main topic. In response Chrissy snorted, “Hu baladay alfahl!” Circling like that it went back and forth between the mares for a good ten minutes, if anything they were gaining their breaths again. I needed a way to end-. Azure interrupted my thoughts with a great point, “You know you could just settle this so we could get go-.” She was interrupted as more squealing broke out, they were now reared up and grappling with their hooves. I knew the result as soon as they reared, Chrissy was the taller mare and had the advantage. Chrissy hit her in the withers, knocking her onto her side. Chrissy placed herself over the losing mare and seeing the dragon mare close her eyes, Chrissy got off her While I was concerned for the losing mare I was also thinking how adorable it was to see Chrissy do a victory prance around the mare, her tail was held high. Maybe a high tail meant happiness or pride? As if seeing me for the first time she nickered at me, forgoing words in what I can only assume was instinct. I really needed to ask them about the heat later. Anyway she was now heading my way and to be honest I was a little nervous, I mean what do I say after this? I still liked her but I didn’t understand the culture completely and this kind of unnerved me. It also brought up a whole slew of questions and facts that I had to accept, like the fact that I was a stallion and it looked like I would be in this world indefinitely. The implications sent a tingle in my sheath, it probably didn’t help that Chrissy smelt amazing, cinnamon, just like my favorite food. She was now standing in front of me, sneaking up on me when I was lost in thought, I looked to Azure and Barium for a idea what to do. They were gone, I looked around and saw that they stood at least one hundred feet behind me. She wasn’t that scary was she? Turning back to see why they had moved back I came face to face with Chrissy’s raised bottom. Her tail was raised out of the way giving me a perfect view of her dripping lips, they were a glistening ebony and I couldn’t help my jaw from unhinging. This was a first, now I was the stallion, and my instincts told me take in her scent. My instincts have never proven me wrong yet, so I went with it. Leaning forward I took a deep breath of it, feeling my sheath stir from it. Her personal smell of cinnamon was so strong I nearly licked her to see if she tasted like cinnamon buns. I was always hungry now. My thoughts felt mildly hazy as the smell of her marehood took over my central focus, whimpering dragon mare, and other couple forgotten for this moment. What could a little taste hurt after all? Glancing at her face for askance I was shocked to see her face in a red blush, she was panting and looking back at me with unfocused eyes. It made me hesitate, was this of her violation? Did she even know it was me? “Azure, are mares aware of what they are asking during the heat?”, not taking my eyes off Chrissy I waited for her answer. “Y-yes Ari, we are very much aware. It is more like our inhibitions go down, if we thought how cute a colt is but never acted we are more likely to act during this time. But at this point Chrissy is practically all instincts, the last stage of estrus.” I tried to listen but Chrissy had started swaying her hips, wafting her already strong scent into my face and I felt my cock start to drop. Nope, this didn’t feel right without her asking me. Or me asking her, it was the same point: permission. Not that I could help my body’s reaction much but I still had to snap her out of it. Shaking my head I walked up to her muzzle and gave her a light kiss. “Chrissy are you sure you want this? I mean we only just started being special some ponies recently. We can always do this another time.” I glanced pointedly at our audience. The dragon mare had her tail up and was looking at us in anticipation, while Azure and Barium were trying and failing to look away. Blinking owlishly at me Chrissy followed my gaze, her blush darkened, and her bottom lowered with the tail still raised. I think I now understand the tail raising and I feel like an idiot for missing all the instances, while she preened me and after I disciplined that colt in the market being the first that come to mind… “What?” She asked quietly, looking a little dazed. Whispering, I explained, “I would love to continue at a later date. Without an audience preferably, plus we still have to deal with the mare.” At the mention of the mare Chrissy pinned her ears and focused on her. Looks like there was still some issues. I laid down beside Chrissy, folding my wing over her, causing her to lean into me with a moan, It was the least I could do when she was soo aroused and most likely hungry. Like I told her, I don’t like an audience and need a little time getting over the whole fact that we are still getting to know each other. It didn’t mean I wasn’t interested in having sex with her, make no mistake about that. “Come on guys we need to talk about some things.” I looked back at the dragon mare to make sure she knew that meant her too. She galloped over to me, going to lay beside me only to freeze, Chrissy was hissing at her. Deciding she didn’t want a second fight the mare sat several feet to my left, Chrissy watching her over my back. Azure and Barium laid down in the sand across from us, getting settled in. “Do you speak Equuis?” I looked to the pale yellow mare, hoping it was a yes. “Y-y-yes I speak Equuis, it was my mother’s native tongue.” Well that helps, I nodded at her. “Excellent, I’m sure you understand that we have soo many questions still about what just happened. The answer ‘the heat’ is not acceptable miss…” Now everyone was looking at her with perked ears. After taking a deep breath she gave us a nervous smile. “Well, my name is Lyrical Dazzle and i'm…i'm half siren. I know I look a little odd but i'm just like you ponies. Um, I-I saw you resist my magic and it reminded of the story my mother told me about her one true love who was resistant to siren magic, a sign of a powerful stallion. After you left I started following you, I just had to be with-.” What the… “Hold up there, Lyric you need to slow down. Okay? First off: What is a siren? And Secondly: what is siren magic?” I could practically feel my brain melting from the heat out here, or was that a effect of what I was learning? Chrissy answered for her, “A siren is a sea pony that uses mind magic through their voice, a feat no other pony can perform. She is indeed correct in saying that resisting her magic is a sign of a powerful stallion, BUT she is out of line to think that following any stallion that so much as resists her magic a little is a good idea. If you were to follow that principle you end up with anyone.” Well that certainly is something to think about, there were sirens in this world. What was next, manticores? Hydras? Wait, I might have just jinxed myself, those are sounding very plausible right now. I was curious as to the magic, they used words almost like a spell. Should I have been using spells instead of focus and intent? Which was better? My mind was swimming so I rested my head on the sand, I was just supposed to save the planet. Not be a rescuer, travel guide, and now ‘the one’ to Lyric. Not to mention the god wanted me to breed with the Alicorns like some brainless stud. “Ari?” Lyric sounded worried, scooting closer. “So, this is a lot to take in. What did you think following us would get you?” Now she splayed her ears and looked panicked, “it wasn’t supposed to be like this! You were supposed to be the one, my stallion, and I was going to be happy again. I-I didn’t want to be a w-whorse for my whole life!” I was planning a rebute that would send her packing but now she was sobbing. As if I needed more… “Lyric-“ Her sobbing slowed as she and everyone listened in, “-I won't lie to you, that sounds very unrealistic. I can't promise what you want-“ Cue more tears and shimmering eyes, “-but if Chrissy and you can agree to get along and you pull your weight on the mission then you can come with us. We can see where life takes us.” With that stupid idea out of my mouth I looked over at Chrissy, her muzzle was set in a frown as her ears went sideways. Lyric was looking at her with bated breath, water works forgotten at chance to be with us. “Fine, but Ari is my stallion and I’m his marefriend.” I nuzzled her as Lyric started whinnying in joy, tears leaking from her eyes. She looked like wanted to hug us but wisely held back. “What mission?” We turned to look at Azure; I glanced at Chrissy as she glanced at me, now what? “Why getting you to the border of course, I like calling things missions.” I smiled at her, I hope it looked natural. “But you said-“Chrissy interrupted to my relief. “And a personal matter, now, are we taking you to the border?” The tone she said it in was pretty final, they gulped under her look, before standing having decided the border was looking better. “Let me grab my bags.” Chrissy stayed glued to my barrel, releasing me as I put my thobe and bags on, before reattaching. With that issue settled we set out back onto the dunes, Lyric walking beside me with a happy look on her face. Oh, why was I such a sucker for tears? Now climbing what must be the millionth sand dune in this desert I felt like asking those burning questions. “So, not that I’m complaining, but why aren’t you freaking out over me being a Alicorn? And how did we never see you following us?” Glancing at her, I saw a guilty look. “Well you see I was shocked at first when you spread your wings but then I thought it made sense, my stallion would have to be an Alicorn. As to your other question, I’m just really good at illusion magic.” She then disappeared in one blink, well that I had to learn! No question about it. “What?!” She reappeared, “Well I mean our species, or my mother’s anyway, are really magically powerful so it makes sense that I would need to find one who is also magically powerful. I sort of decided to ignore the 'where you came from' part since I had never heard of an Alicorn prince before. You know, don’t turn down a blessing and all that.” Great now Azure and Barium had thoughtful looks on their faces. Question time was digging me a hole that I couldn't fill without risking the princesses hearing about it. I ignored their looks focusing instead on the horizon; life would be easier without them around. For one thing, we could discuss the saving the planet/kidnapping the princesses mission. Now that we had Lyrical Dazzle on our team it would be easier, mind you she doesn’t even know what our mission is yet. Another hundred dunes and I saw what I supposed was our destination, the city of Jozan. At least fifty clusters of tall buildings shimmered in the heat. Chrissy was enveloped in a green fire and ‘Silver Stream’ now walked with me. To her credit Lyric didn’t even blink.
Love thye Body.Chrissy My tail was a twitching like mad, the sand felt cool to me, and I was constantly catching myself leaning on Ari to breathe in his scent. All in all I was a mess. I felt my tail flag again, scrunching my eyes I tried calm it by counting down. 3… I hate Azure. 2… And Barium. 1… But I hate the heat most of all. My tail was finally down but I didn’t know how my mother did it, no, how ANY mare handled the heat. With the fever, constant need to rut, and no escape from it, even in my dreams. My dreams were the worst. I would just get to a good part, like Ari’s tip at my entrance, about to rut me numb, and I would wake up. Waking up from that only seemed to make the daytime need worse. I wasn’t sure if I could wait another day to rut, at this rate I would end up jumping him. That actually didn’t sound so bad, just jump on his-Nononononono! That was bad; stallions don’t like to be raped. I don’t want Ari to hate me, I mean he accepted my sudden mare challenge and even resisted my presentation. We did have Azure and Barium there though. My stallion in particular doesn’t want an audience, glancing at our group I realized I would have to do something drastic to get some loving with the ways things were now. But that would have to wait till tonight; the city of Jozan loomed ahead of us. Jozan had been the size of Ras Taneighra back in the day, now it was almost triple the size. Like most cities in Saddle Arabia it had a wide laid brick road leading into the city, they didn’t bother paving too far into the desert. I could understand, with all the sandstorms the roads would be covered just as quick they could build them. Jozan was mostly made up of inns and restaurants; they were built tall to accommodate the large volume of travelers. Looking around I took in the new additions, most notably the Arabian guards posted at the cities entrance. Well this is just peachy. “’Silver Stream’ what do we do?” Ari whispered in Equuis, looking at the guards. I didn’t know what to tell him, they certainly weren’t guards posted here before. Had there been a war recently? An invasion…Well mine was in Canterlot so I don’t think it was of much news here, but I hadn’t been to a city since for months before Ras Taneighra, anything could have happened. My stomach tossed and turned as I saw them halt a herd coming in from the side road to our right. Something was very wrong here. As the herd’s bags were searched and their faces examined I realized exactly what was going on. “They are searching for somepony… Act casual and let me or Lyric do the talking if you don’t understand what they say. Just nod, okay Ari?” Searching his eyes I saw them widen as he figured out what I meant, who I meant. They were looking for changelings, checking for our magic’s green reflection in the eyes, the absence of real food in the bags…Luckily we had real food in our bags, but my green reflection would still shine through, I couldn’t avoid that. I must have looked worried because Ari gave my ear a nibble in his lips, which sent my temperature soared and my tail flagged without any hesitation. I felt wonderful and horrible all at once, my legs felt like jelly, I was using Ari to prop me up, and I also felt a brief spark of desire from him. That was new, he desired me. He released my ear tip before moving quickly in to pull it, this time almost making my control over my actions falter, not to mention disguise. What was he doing? This – My thoughts were interrupted as we were now in front of the guards. They were decked out in full regalia, laminar armor over a rough cotton thobe. Their helmets bore the Saddle Arabian monarchy’s insignia, two scimitars supporting a crown. My eyes couldn’t help but wander to their scimitars, despite being the scimitar on the guards being clicked onto their belt I didn’t exactly feel safe. The royal guards were hardly ever seen outside of the capital, Jozan was at least four days from Whinnyadh. Whatever it was they wanted me for must be important, you don’t sent ponies trekking across the sweltering desert in metal armor for nothing. “Tawaquf liltaftish.” Halt for Inspection. The brown guard was looking Ari up and down with some trepidation, yeah my stallion was BIG, and I might be a little hot and bothered from the ear tugging. I could feel the guard’s eyes were glancing at me in his peripheral vision. Perhaps it was due to my red muzzle, or it could have been my shallow panting, either way I was drawing unwanted attention. This was Ari’s fault, getting me aroused like that. Okay to be fair, most touches were sending my nerves tingling, but it is still not helping us in the slightest, if anything it was making tonight seem like a perfect time…Focus, focus on the wonderful spicy musk coming off my stallion, he smelt soo good! My tail flicked in agreement. Got to pay attention! Coming back to now, Ari had halted in front of the brown guard, but I could feel his confusion, he hadn’t understood what was said at all. I gave his wither a rub in support, I could feel his confidence grow, now if his- There were two of them, of course. Stepping forward, the yellow guard scrutinized our merry band. Lyric pressed into Ari’s side under the scrutiny but I couldn’t concentrate anymore. Ari’s tail was whipping my marehood now. Anger coursed through him as the brown stallion inspected his eyes, placing a hoof on his chin to tilt it to different angles. His tail’s flicks felt so good, hinting at more before leaving, then returning to tease me again. Screw waiting around, he was obviously asking for me and I needed him. NOW! I quickly trotted forward, knocking the unsuspecting guard that was inspecting Ari out of the way with strength that I think he wasn’t expecting from my little pegasis disguise. Now in front of my stallion I looked back and locked eyes with him, attention captured I hoisted my rump, his eyes widened as I presented myself to him. My tail folded back over my back he had a clear view of my moist marehood, I winked at him hoping he understood that message: Rut me. Starting to pant from my own fever I looked at Ari with a confused look, he was ear nibbling and ear tugging just a second ago. He had said we would rut later, it was later! Why wasn’t he doing anything? Every pony was staring at us, well me, but right now but I couldn’t care less. I needed my stallion to be a stallion, we can keep a low profile later… A new smell hit my nose. “Madha?” What. The brown guards yelled in surprise, getting back up and looking at me with a scrunched up muzzle. I smell water lilies. “Riyad, ‘iinaha fi alhararati, laha alfahl im yakhdae laha hataa alan.” Riyad, she's in heat, her stallion has not yet rutted her. The yellow guard came over and looked at the brown one, Riyad, in good humor. Where was that smell coming from, I glanced over my other shoulder. “Waqal ‘anah yjb faqat rawt laha, wahadha hu muhraj limushahadatin!” He should just rut her, this is embarrassing to watch! I agreed with the first part, but this wasn’t embarrassing in the slightest for me, I mean I have done much worse to feed my family. Over my shoulder I could see Lyric had her tail flagged, joy I had competition. Here I was hoping she had quit, you think after I beat her claim she would get the point. I mean she rubbed herself all over his body, while he was asleep! Actually, he was a deep sleeper… Nope not going there. “Riyad, hayth sataqae fi alsuhra’I? waqal ‘anah min alwadh ‘ana altabqat ‘akthar min dhalik.” Where would he rut in the desert? He has more class than that. Ari is a gentlestallion, unfortunately for right now, all I want him is to take me but he won’t, stupid Azure and Barium. “Akram.” “Nem fielaan, Riyad” Yes, Riyad. “ La tafeal dhalika, wazuajatik in yadrubani faqat litamakanaka min alqiam bdhlk marat ‘ukhraa walakun sawf yakun zawjati darbuni kdhlk!” Do not do ‘that’, your wives will not only beat me for letting you do this again, but they will have my wives beat me as well! Akram chuckled at that, shaking his head at his fellow guard pony. Wow, Riyad is weak! I would have laughed if I wasn’t trying to sway my rump just right to get Ari to make the move. I could smell his arousal at my body, my actions, despite it not being his favorite form of mine he still loved my scent. Behind me Azure and Barium looking like they would like to be anywhere but here right now, Lyric was leaning into my stallion nuzzling him. He was transfixed by my plot though, not noticing her adding more of her scent to his, my head was confused as I both wanted to turn and bite her and stay like this, ready for when accepted me as his marefriend in the fullest way possible. My heart fluttered a little as I realized that he wasn’t even noticing her as she was flagging her tail as well, he still choose me over that siren! Supressing a purr at the thought I focused on the guards again, our guard Akram was holding a piece of paper to Ari and speaking. “Hana, ‘iieta’ hdha ‘iilaa ‘amirat fi-“ Akram went on but I was having trouble focusing, the point is he was giving a voucher for a room at a inn so Ari can rut me. Thank Faust! Raising my body up was easy with the knowledge that I would be getting a good rutting soon, well Ari doesn’t know that but he will soon enough. Reaching forward I grabbed the voucher in my mouth and started trotting into the city, Ari and the group hurried to catch up. They caught up just as the guard’s laughter faded. **** Ari I might not know Saddle Arabian well but I think I know body language pretty well now. For example, when Chrissy gets into the same position in front me that she had been in not even three hours ago I know she really must need sex. This was both concerning and flattering, I worry more on the grounds that if this was the normal here, then it’s a wonder that Equestria is ruled by mares one hundred percent of the time. Who rules when they enter their heat? I mean Chrissy is struggling to function right now, she is driven by instinct but then again I let myself follow my instincts so that might not be completely bad here. This culture confuses me. Despite my confusion I couldn’t help feeling my blood heat at the thought that she was choosing me. I tried to stay focused, Chrissy’s display doesn’t have the same effect this time as when it’s her real form, but her scent is making up for it and stirring something in my sheath. However her display did draw the wrong attention. To get in this extremely provocative position she did have to knock the guard that was in front of me out of the way first. That fact alone was a bit of a cold shower to my libido, she may have just doomed us to imprisonment, not to mention the guards are looking for her. Not that Chrissy is my only distraction. Beside me Lyric is pressed into my thobe so hard I swear they might see the outline of my wings under it. I felt something touch my butt, looking back I can’t help but narrow my eyes at the offending tail. Lyric had her tail held high like a flag, which I now know means she wants sex. Here I was hoping against stalker logic that she had truly given up on me being ‘the one’. Mind you I could be overreacting; having thought about it I realized Azure has flagged her tail at me before too. It was a common reaction i was starting to notice among the mares, it just didn't seem normal, or at least to earth culture. But we had a good ratio of males to females. Equus's culture still seemed weird, i was adapting, but really?! I mean I just met Azure and Lyric, were real stallions soo hard to find that mares latched onto the first slightly appealing one they ran across? Or were all mares on a heat cycle that happened around the same time or something? But back to the plot, err, I meant guards, they might not take kindly to a horny mare shoving them out of the way. That part was actually almost comical: a tall Saddle Arabian guard getting knocked over by a short one winged pegasis. Right, the guards were talking now. I wasn’t able to follow what was said besides the words ‘mare’ and ‘stallion’, so they must be deciding what to do with us. Glancing back at Azure and Barium I felt a little better, they were looking at everything but Chrissy, Lyric, and I , very understandable. I took a small amount of joy from from their discomfort, my mission was lagging a little due to their failed runaway plan, that and my conscious wouldn’t let me leave them. Just another day and a half and they would get their wish. Focusing on what they were saying was getting harder to do with Chrissy’s marehood in front of my muzzle, the smell alone- The yellow stallion was pulling out a piece paper from his armor. With the paper in his mouth he looked expectantly at me then the paper, I couldn’t help but imitate a fish. He chuckled behind the paper and winked at me, his eyes glancing at ‘Silver Stream’ with a twinkle. I didn’t get it, was he fining me for something? Was- My confusion was interrupted as Chrissy shot up from her position on the road, grabbed the paper, and took off down the street showing her marehood still. Before I could process what happened my legs were moving and I felt this need to make sure every pony on the street knew that she was my mare. The others hurried to catch up as well, trotting into the bustling main street. Instincts guiding me, I trotted up to Chrissy’s side butting her neck lightly and nuzzling her ears, causing her to slow down to a walk. Lyric was quick to press against my other side while Azure and Barium walked close to us. Keeping an ear on them, we forged ahead into the main street. To the sides there was shadowed, narrow alley ways acting as shortcuts between the city blocks. This ‘city’ actually felt like a city unlike the last one, with tall buildings, and actual storefronts with pictographs showing what they specialized in, a big improvement to the organized chaos of rugs and stalls in Ras Taneighra. I wasn’t going lose them here, oops, I meant I shouldn’t be able to lose them. Walking along I was more following Chrissy than leading, she stopped at the intersection we had reached and looked at the paper with her hoof, I as usual couldn’t read the letters, although more so than usual as Arabiac was more squiggly than Equuis letters. Before us was three roads, all looking busy as travelers of all sizes and shapes hurried down them, the light seeming to change as I gazed in amazement at the scale of this city. Looking up at the sky I understood why the light had seemed to change, the sun was beginning its descent at the usual hurried pace. Something tells me we aren’t making it to the desert before it sets and I’m willing to bet that twenty bits won’t get us a room anywhere. Chrissy must have noticed as well, breaking into a trot she continued straight with us hurrying after her. Where was she leading us? My answer was soon answered after a couple more sudden stops and turns. In front of our group was a building that stood a little shorter than the six story behemoths surrounding it, a small staircase lead down to a cracked, wooden door. In the fading light I could see the buildings sign depicted a large rose on a bed, an inn perhaps? I followed her as she motioned to the door, flapping the paper around. With Lyric still stuck to me like glue and Azure and Barium following in silence, we followed her inside as she opened the door. Inside I was nearly overwhelmed, it was straight from the medieval period inn. There were about twenty five tables scattered in the middle of the room, three legged stools acting in the place of proper chairs. I really wondered how safe they were as a minotaur plonked himself down rather roughly on his stool, causing the unmistakable creak of wood under strain, with his it was a matter of when not if it would collapse under him. The room itself was square like the building, a long wooden counter along the back wall, a fireplace crackling to life on the left wall and a staircase directly to our right. Chrissy had moved back to my side as the nearly full room gazed at us, I’m sure we looked odd. An extremely tall ‘unicorn’ stallion in a thobe with a one winged pegasis and a half siren mare pressed to his sides, followed by an obviously Equestrian couple. Nothing low profile about that… I wasn’t planning on stopping at an inn but a sandstorm just had to pop up. “Marhabaan ya saydi , kayf yumkinuni musaeadatek?” Hello sir, how can I help you? A white Arabian mare was approaching us. She was actually beautiful, with a purple headband keeping her mane back and a well practiced smile on her muzzle. If I didn’t know better I would say she was smelling us. “Marhabaan-“ I was cut off as Chrissy snorted and shoved the paper at the mare, who only gave a small intake of breath before focusing on the squiggles on the paper. Humming she tucked it under her headband, chuckling about something in Saddle Arabian as she turned and walked to the bar. Moments later she returned with two keys,I understood what the guard had given us now: a room to stay…Wait a minute, he gave it after…And Chrissy was… My brain short circuited. Taking the keys in my mouth in a daze I heard the inn owner giggle and point her hoof towards the staircase. On one key the number thirteen was printed on it in black lettering while the other said fourteen. Chrissy’s tail was flagging as we made our way to the stairs. The guard had given us free rooms, with the idea that she needed sex. If I was to base her reactions since then I would have to say she intends exactly that. This made me nervous at the thought of being the stallion in the relationship, but also more accepting as i thought of Chrissy, this was obviously hard for her, a genius that planned a whole invasion using stealth and intelligence to now be soo uninhibited would be very hard. My only solace is that Azure said that this instinctual behavior was the last stage of their heat, maybe she would be done in a couple of days, and i could pray that she was really consensual about this. Sure God would probably just bring me back if she killed me, I was his pawn afterall, but I didn't want to lose her relationship. i mean then what would I have after I save the planet? Myself surely, but what joy is there in being alone, I had tried that already. It was all too lonely. Chrissy and to my growing discomfort Lyric were practically pressing me forward up these stairs. On the landing now I barely could take it all in as the beige hallway hurried past me, I was rushed past rooms one to ten then up a second, longer set of stairs. All the while, my body was betraying my earlier resolve. Creeping out of my sheath, my cock pointed out some great points in favor of sex.She is more than eager for it, all the heat is doing is speeding the process along. But- Azure said it just lowers her inhibitions not to mention she will get fed from it as well. You know you have been having a dry spell, why not end it. She is your marefriend after all. Well that is true, her actions are just what she wanted deep down I guess, and she is my marefriend so I’m not having sex with a stranger. I mean she has even offered to help with my morning erection. We are dating, but… I glanced at Lyric. Perhaps having my stalker in the room isn’t such a good idea. Speaking of the rooms we had just reached them, I looked at Azure and Barium as they looked back with raised eyebrows. They must have come to the same conclusion as I have. Raising an eyebrow I levitated the key to room fourteen over to Azure, taking it in her magic she blushed before setting to work on her lock. Good now to- Lyric was still at my side. I motioned to room fourteen causing her to widen her eyes and splayed her ears in what must have been the equine equivalent of the puppy dog look. Before I could rebuke her again Chrissy hissed at her, a very non-pony sound that thankfully no one was in the hallway to hear. Faster than I thought possible Lyric dashed through the crack of Azure’s closing door. Shaking my head out of its shock I levitated my key and unlocked our door, Chrissy rushed forward immediately. She looked eager with her shining eyes and perked ears, she closed the door when I followed her in, although I walked in at a slower walk, my thobe covered the reason. My body was more than willing now that my mind had accepted it. Green fire engulfed 'Silver Stream', leaving behind a panting and very aroused Chrissy.
Love is Bittersweet.**** Ari Although I was pushed to do this, I think most relationships require a little nudge to get the ball rolling. Denying my desire for this would be foalish at this point, I was more than a little excited, heck I was at full mast already. Closing the door, I levitated my bags and thobe off, they weren’t necessary for this adventure. Stretching my wings I took a quick look around the room, a large two pony bed and a night dresser occupied the right half while a small window let in the moonlight into the center of the room, and it illuminating Chrissy’s true form from where she stood. Her true form was the best form in my opinion. With her sleek chitin, delicate looking wing, and long mane and tail i was doing my best not to stare this afternoon and we all know how that went. Standing in the moonlight Chrissy shimmered in a fine sheen of sweat, her face red, and her tongue peeking out of her lips as she panted. I scented the air out of instinct, letting my wings rise and stiffen, perhaps so I appeared strong? It was irrelavent as my nerves were blazing as her scent screamed at me to rut her. Looking her in the eyes I started to close the distance, savoring the lustful look in her sea green eyes, which were following my every step with a new hunger in them. Now standing before Chrissy I touched our noses together, by instinct we both sucked in each other’s scent, and we both gave a soft moan at our scents. I could smell my scent on her chitin, but it was weak, like she wasn’t quite mine yet. She needed to be drenched in my scent and I was going to do just that. Starting to walk down her side I rubbed my fur along chitin, mixing our scents, I wanted her to feel exactly how much I loved her, desired her. By the time we stopped she would be soo full. I think she felt it as she purred the whole time I made my way down her side. Snorting my nostrils as I approached her rump I turned so I faced her marehood, which shot into the air as soon as my breath landed on it. Its ebony splendor glistened with moisture and my cock twitched against my belly as I gazed at it. Then it winked at me, revealing a pink bud and tunnel as her hooves shuffled restlessly against the floor, a small whimper escaping her mouth. Although I had a mission, a desire, I couldn’t help but tease her. After all, you aren’t doing it right if they can still walk away after. Almost immediately after my tongue touched her lips Chrissy gave a squeal, then her panting grew louder, pausing with tongue still on her marehood I listened to the beautiful noise, Just a little more couldn't hurt. Ignoring the tingle of desire that shot down my spine I continued, returning to licking along her slit, being rewarded with more squeals. After a minute of licking I saw her shaking legs tense before my muzzle was squirted in her juices, a loud squealing whinny signaling her end. Well her first one anyway. She wasn’t done till was done. I glanced at her face and groaned at the glorious sight. Her earlier look when she first asked in the desert was nothing to this, with unfocused, half lidded eyes she gazed back at me, breathing heavily, and blushing just as heavily. It was beautiful. A groan escaped my muzzle as she started her hypnotic sway, hips moving in a rhythm as old as time that stirred a whisper I had held back before: mount her, breed her, and make her scream! Giving Chrissy one last long lick I backed up, causing her to whimper then fall still, as if she knew exactly what I was doing. Taking in her sweating form I glanced at my cock which was infallibly a horse cock, including the length, which was a good eighteen inches. Eyeing her marehood which was raised high in the air I knew this was going to take some maneuvering. Starting with the obvious need for height I reared up, horn inches from the ceiling and wings nearly brushing the walls. With balance accomplished I took a hesitant step forward eyeing the trajectory, it was perfect. She had just started to whimper at my absence when I made my move, tip hitting her entrance and freezing us both for a second from the pleasure that shot from the contact, giving way to groans as I squared my stance, rubbing my tip against her opening. My thoughts faded as I was in position, I whinnied and hilted myself in her, her scream tearing through the air. Her hole undulating over my cock as she gave weak little bucks against me, squirming in pleasure. As her voice quieted I started moving, hooves on her back just by the base of her wings, wing really but the other wing stub was still there. She gave a heavy snort and I gave long groan as I pulled back, fuck! she contracted around me, keening at the thought of me leaving. Moving my hooves up to her wing bases I pressed down, she better relax before she breaks me. “R-relax” I groaned out, pressing harder on her wing’s bases, her dainty wing stiff as a board now. She keened and shifted against my cock, not releasing her hold but at the same time not understanding why I wasn’t moving back in. Going with the feeling I grabbed her mane in one hoof, yanking hard for control. “Relax!” To which she changed tactics and backed herself onto me, hilting herself, and a throaty neigh sounding into the room. Finally I could move again, the room was filled with her pants and whimpers, obviously my mare didn’t want slow and hard thrusts, and that was fine. I wasn’t really able to think straight enough to do that right now. Pulling back just as quick I thrust forward, her frame almost moving forward from the power behind the thrust. A low moan was my only reward from the move; going back I grabbed her tail in my mouth, backing till just my tip rested at her entrance. She keened and I couldn’t help the twitch that went through my cock, hitting her clit and getting a throaty scream. “P-please, more, more. ARI!” I gave her tail a final yank before fully hilting my cock again, moving my hooves to her hips I began pounding her flank, a scream of pleasure echoing for every wet slap. Her marehood was soaking my fur and leaving a puddle on the floor, filling the room with her scent. I grit my teeth as she gushed again, her second end not getting a break as I continued to pound throughout her climax, creating a chorus of whimpers after her screams. Reaching for her mane again, I yanked her head back, and grabbed her long mane in my teeth. I needed to hear her scream my name. Her mane in my mouth I tugged her back as I plowed her forward, her screams and whimpers turning to keening and snorts as she tensed around me for a third time. This time I stilled as she convulsed around my cock, massaging it, and building the already unbearable pleasure that was building, her hot hole contracting and relaxing as she tried to milk me. Looking at her, I waited, nearly closing eyes as the pressure built. She slowed and gave me a dazed look as I let go of her mane, groaning as I slowly pulled it out, the chill in the air hardly registering as I prepared to re-enter. Pushing hard with my legs I sunk into her, this time hitting her cervix, my mare screamed my name as I felt the pressure build to a new height I never knew about. In search of more I began thrusting faster and faster as my release came closer and closer, pounded into her cervix. “ARRRRIIIIIIIII!” Finally. I grunted as the pressure was released and pleasure shot through my senses, my mare a squealing mess as she released with me. Strings of cum and fluid leaking out of her marehood as her legs quit quivering, folding under her as they were spent. We sank to the ground panting, satisfied grins on our muzzles. “Better?” She looked over her wither at me, “I-I…yes.” With drooping eyes I could feel her relax against me. “More” she panted as she tried to raise her legs, “later…” Chrissy trailed off again, tired and satisfied for now, but I wasn’t complaining. For my first orgasm with bigger than any I had had on earth, the enormity of the sensation was demanding a quick rest at least. Wings softening I wrapped them around Chrissy, pulling my mare onto her side as I laid down intent on taking advantage of the break. A squelch sounding as my stallionhood twisted inside her as we moved. It sounded like I might be up all night if she really wanted more. I really need to find out exactly how long estrus lasted for them. **** Lyrical Dazzle They didn’t put up a silencing spell, not even a weak muffling spell, and I couldn’t decide if I loved or hated that fact. Hearing all the moans, whimpers, and screams left me throbbing down below and grinding my teeth in frustration at knowledge that I couldn’t join them. I had lost the mare challenge and nothing could change that result, especially since Ari is against herding. But like my mother had once said ‘anything can be yours if you try hard enough’ and look where that got mom: she ended up with an amazing stallion and then me! I had all the time in the world to change his mind after all, now he may not be interested in herding but soon he will see the truth in the need for herds and in being the way we are…The double edged sword of being magically powerful: a long life span. One day he will want me, he will realize that all the average ponies and creatures are soo fragile, so finite, that being with them is more painful than being alone. “…more, ARI!” I winced and pinned my ears at Chrissy’s screaming, which will get us kicked out at that decibel. However i dont think i would be any quieter about it. Looking at the other occupants of this room I sighed, “Azure and Barium was it? I suppose you want the bed?” Just at a glance, i knew the bed wasn’t big enough for three ponies to comfortably spread out, despite how petite the equestrians were. Not that i wanted to be sleeping next to them when Ari is just a room away. Luckily there was plenty of floor space. “YES! You can have the floor y-you you!” Barium was stuttering with his ears pinned back, a typical response from ponies. I was almost over the hate ponies had for me now, it wasn’t my fault they were too weak to resist my magic, and their views did not matter in the long run anyway. “Siren?” I filled the inarticulate moment he was having with a raised eyebrow, scowling at his racism, he had seemed to accept me despite what I had to do to him, but that was only when Ari was around apparently. “Yes! You vile, conniving siren!” Rolling my eyes at his anger I trotted over to the bed and took the blanket in my mouth. I would have preferred Ari’s wing but I could live with this tonight. “Hey! That’s ours, give it back.” Azure piped up, her magic attempting to grab the blanket from my mouth. My pink magic grabbed the blanket from my mouth and tugged it along to the farthest corner from them. “You two have the soft bed, the comfy pillows, and each other. I think you can spare the blanket.” Letting my bitterness leak into the words I gave Azure a hard look, she stared back at me before her eyes widened and closed in understanding. Now with the blanket to myself I began turning it into a nest, ear cocked on the equestrian couple, just in case. “What?! Azure, why did you let her have the blanket? She-“ “SHHH!” Looking at Azure through my peripheral vision I noted her blue eyes had narrowed at her coltfriend. “Be quiet! She is upset and yes I’m still upset she helped the slave traders that captured you BUT she isn’t anymore now is she? She is trying to help us get home now, Ari trusts her enough to leave her with us. I think we can extend the favor!” Azure was now right in his muzzle as he tried to process her words. Barium opened and closed his mouth before grumbling and hoping up onto the bed, Azure looking back at me with a frown before following her coltfriend onto the bed. I guess she has a heart after all, but from what i observed before it sounds like she had been vying for Ari's attentions, and as her current coltfriend shows: she lost. Chrissy was tough competition, knowing him the longest, and now needing him the most with her heat happening. Her screams and the scent of sex creeping into the room a testament to how well he was at helping those sorts of needs. At least I have time on my side, persistence and patience worked for my mother and it will certainly work for me. Settling down on my blanket I tried to imagine I was elsewhere, as screams of pleasure reached me from the other room yet again, his room, I couldn’t help but wish that was me in there. Screaming into the air as he rutted me, releasing a shuddering sigh I knew I couldn’t barge in there, my body didn't believe me though. I had to be alone for now. Even my mother and father were no longer here to comfort me. I could feel my eyes start to fill with tears as I thought of them, for a while there I had my father but he had to leave me, not I blame him. He hadn’t expected it to work…And I hadn't planned to be alone, at that point anyone would do in the world, which of course led me to a rough couple of years. But I wasnt a whorse anymore and I was adamant to never let myself get to that point again. As if sensing my pain Chrissy screamed Ari’s name in completion. Tears spilled over and I couldn’t help but wish once again that that was me. Even a wing to hug me would be better than this near infinite feeling of emptiness. 'You're giving up that easily my little Lyric?' i could almost hear mother ask, disbelieve in her voice. My resolve reforming I flicked my tail at my previous attitude. No, I don’t need to feel empty; my mother was able to and looked even less like a pony than I do.Tomorrow I will renew my efforts and I will be sleeping under his wing again. But the next time it will be of his own choice. I had gone from daughter, to whorse, and now I was given the opportunity to be a mare, and have a stallion to support me through the millennia we will live through. My heart sped up at the thought, I still had many chances left, after all i can always challenge Chrissy again. I might not even need to. It was a good start to our relationship soo far. Ari obviously didn’t fear me or hate me despite my…eccentric method to be with him, it wasn’t necessarily stalking if I just happened to be going in the same direction he went. He wasn’t even offended when I tried to control him when we first met, I mean, even after my attempt to captivate him he just politely asked for Barium. Then after I had taken his thobe he just asked for it back, although he might have been half asleep then… But when I had snuck under his wing he didn’t try to harm me or send me packing meaning he obviously cared in some way about me! Instead of being like Barium he actually listened to me like I was just another pony and now I am along on for his mission. Whatever it really was, his lie earlier was quite obvious to me even if the silly equestrian’s bought it. Taking them to the border was one of his goals but it was just part of the real mission, I wouldn’t have long to wait to find out what it was though, Taymare was just ahead. Oh I feel soo excited now! Tomorrow is going to be great, the first step in getting my stallion, even if I may have to share, and he was worth it.
Mornings are Beautiful.**** Ari I loved mornings, especially if they all began like this one. A tongue was nibbling along my wing bone, attempting to preen what it could, which really wasn’t much, but Chrissy’s effort was appreciated. Humming in contentment I nibbled her ear earning me a appreciatory moan, putting my nose in her mane I inhaled her scent, no, our scent. Her cinnamon slightly spicier than it was yesterday. “More?” Chrissy mumbled from my wing, tongue twisting around a primary a little longer than nessaccary. I would have said yes had I not felt the sun through my eyelids, the knowledge that we had a schedule to keep, if only because I didn’t have enough bits for a room. However after last night it was also the knowledge that my mare would keep me in bed… Wait I never made it to bed, opening my eyes I saw that I was on the floor. “I want to say yes but I also want to get rid of certain ponies sooner rather than later…” I trailed off content to stay on the floor with my mare wrapped in my arms and wings despite what I was saying. Having a mission doesn’t always mean wanting to do it, somedays I would prefer to laze around and do nothing. Today was starting to feel like that, unfortunately today was one day I couldn’t relax. After I get rid of those two I can relax with Chrissy for a day or two, sex and cuddles sounded good. Except Lyric will still be there, a dampener on my mood. I still had to get her caught up on the mission which could be interesting considering I said it was getting Azure and Barium to Equestria. Sex in front of her didn't sound like a good idea either. At the thought of Equestria the words of the god replayed in my mind, I was supposed to breed them and stop them from raising the sun and moon. Basically he wanted me to make babies and take away the princesses namesakes, which was theoretically their only purpose; I mean I didn’t know much about them at all really. I felt wrong doing that, not the whole saving the planet bit, the part about breeding them like they were fucking cattle, er, broodmares in this case. If they were anything like the ponies and creatures I have met then they were people, fallible beings that can be both good and bad, beings with their own wants. But I believe that the god thinks we are toys if his callous treatment of me is any standard, that god was definitely a special sort of crazy. “I need a bath, I smell like sex and sweat.”Chrissy said with half heartedly disdain as she released my wing from her mouth. “But you feel better now?” I questioned as I nuzzled her cheek. “Mmm, infinitely better, I can actually think about something besides sex now. I know you wanted to wait but glad you didn’t.” She gave me a light kiss, “Thank you.” At her words I felt a small rush of happiness at her relieve. “It was my pleasure-.” Chrissy giggled at that.”- I actually feel better about it too. I’m not sure if this makes sense but it feels like…” Chrissy twisted around to face me looking curious as i trailed off. I wasn’t sure if my instincts were better left in my head, but she felt like mine now, and that made my heart feel a sense of contentment that my previous relationships hadn’t provided. Surely it wouldn’t be bad to share such a sentiment? “It feels like your really my mare now, not that-“I never finished as Chrissy attacked my lips, purring against them as her tail started flicking against my sheath. We weren’t getting out of here anytime soon if this continued. With a lot of regret I separated from her mouth, a little breathless, and a disappointed sigh sounding. “We need to shower now if we want to be rid of some ponies tomorrow. Otherwise I assure I wouldn’t be soo insistent to move on.” Sighing, Chrissy rolled away from grip. I think I may have done my job too well as she used her back hooves to shakily raise her rump from the floor, then her front hooves to raise her chest from the floor. The view alone was a reason to stay down but alas, my coin purse reminded me that I couldn’t afford to enjoy the view right now. Standing up I made my way to her side, enjoying her smooth chitin on my fur, and the way she leaned on me ever so slighty. It felt good to be needed. I motioned to the previously forgotten door on the left side of the room, nodding, we made our way to it on stiff and shaky legs. New muscles protesting from the sudden abuse last night, still no regrets though. The sun was still rising as we entered the bathroom. This country was understandably poorer than mine but I was still underwhelmed at their facilities. For a toilet we had a large clay bowl that was low to the ground, a small green jewel sat embeded in the middle of the bowl. The shower was a smooth slab floor with a brass shower head overhead; I couldn’t see where the knobs were to turn it on though. In fact I couldn’t see any way of flushing the ‘toilet’... Was I supposed to dump it in the street? Let it sit? I never had this problem on the road. Wait a minute! The road was clean and didn’t smell like Victorian England so they can’t toss it into the street like a chamber pot, I was going to regret asking this but I did need to know. “Chrissy, you can laugh at me but how does this bathroom work? Mine look a little different on earth.” Beside me Chrissy blinked rapidly before giving me a wry smile then surprising me with a nod. I guess my ignorance is getting pretty normal for her now. “Come on then I will show you, it’s not that hard.” This caused me to blink and splay my ears, I mean I was ready to shower with her BUT the toilet seemed a little too personal. “err-“ She giggled and walked shakily to the shower pointing at a light blue jewel on the left wall in the shower stall. “Put your hoove or horn on the enchanted gemstone once to turn it on, tap it twice to turn it off.” Joining her in the stall I looked at the blue gem that I had dismissed as decoration before, “Really? That seems too easy. Where does the water come from and where does it drain?” I looked at the floor seeing a green gemstone embedded in the floor but no drain. Instead of answering me she rolls her eyes and touches her horn to the blue gem, almost instantaneously warm water started to fall from the showerhead. Giving a surprised snort I looked up through the water at the showerhead then at the wall, then I glanced at the smooth shower floor where the green gem was glowing as the water touched it. “Magically enchanted gemstones?” Another giggle and nod, Chrissy moving back to my side with water running down her chitin. My mane was soaked and my fur was no better as I kissed her. Releasing her lips I glanced at the floor as white foam rinsed from my fur, “No shampoo?” She sighed and shook her head, “Sorry the guard just gave us a basic room, it is a little low end but still pretty generous considering he didn’t have to.” Yeah, he was pretty generous but then agian he probably just wanted us to leave. But if I ever see him again I will have to thank him, best night ever, I felt amazing today. Nodding my understanding I let the warm water wash over me, this was definitely needed, travelling through the desert all day had made me a sweaty, not ot mention dirty. Looking back at Chrissy I noted how she looked clean as a whistle now, no dirt in the water running off her body. Before long the water leaving my fur was clear as well and I tapped the blue jewel twice, ending the warm stream. “Hold on, let me leave first handsome. I remember how you get dry.” What did she- Nope, now I know, giving her a shit eating grin I decided I didn’t hear her. “No-no, d-“ But she was too late. Shaking my whole body and fluttering my wings to remove the water, I looked at the mess I had made with my ears forward. The shower’s walls and the bathrooms walls were covered in water droplets, the floor had the same treatment, and my mare stood in the center of it with her ears pinned back and her eyes scrunched shut. Eyes opening, I grinned at the sea green eyes looking at me now, taking joy at the look there. It promised a great amount of fun. “Run.” I gave a playful whinny as I barged into our room, I spun around, ready for her comeback. *Knock knock knock* Chrissy paused in her pursuit, grin falling from her muzzle as she gazed at the door. I looked at the door, reminded that we had certain interrupting ponies to be rid of first. Grumbling I made my way over to Chrissy, “Sorry.” I whispered in her ear before I turned back to the door. “Aintazar.” Hold on. I called out as we got ourselves presentable, Chrissy being engulfed in green fire as her disguise took hold and me reaching for my thobe. But before I could put my thobe on the door opened, I froze with the thobe in my magic, only to relax at the pony at the door. Lyric stood there with a tray of food balanced in her magic, a nervous smile on her muzzle, faltering for a second as her nostrils flared. “Wajabat ‘iiftar?” Breakfast? My stomach answered for me, giving a sheepish smile back I nodded. Forgoing my thobe for now I laid down on a clean patch of the floor, motioning for Lyric to enter, closing the door she approached nervously. Chrissy laid down into my barrel and surprisingly ignored Lyric, I wasn’t complaining though, a peaceful interaction between them is a good sign. Not being a expert on this planet’s culture I could only assume this was a good sign. She levitated the tray in front of me, gently placing it on the ground she looked around my room shuffling her hooves. This was kind of painful to watch, she looked uncomfortable, and a little fearful. Not that it is uncalled for given the way she met Chrissy, nor the interactions after. I couldn’t think of a single positive interaction between them off the top of my head. They had fought, Lyric had been bitten, hit, and hissed at by Chrissy mostly, a few sentences of biting words was the most they had actually conversed. We still had to travel with her to through the Minotaur lands, the Gryphon mountains, and across the sea to Zebrica…Then back again in a airship. This might be a long trip if they don’t get along. Not mention my mare needs female friends to talk mare things with, right? “Soo…Are you hungry Lyric? I think there is enough to share.” And there was, on the tray five steaming bowls of porridge each topped with an orange fruit, while one small piece of chocolate cake in the shape of a heart sat in the middle. We weren’t subtle at all. “Aren’t those Azure and Barium’s breakfasts?” Chrissy asked, looking at Lyric with a raised eyebrow. I looked at her as well, there were five of us and five bowls, which was one too many but no one had to know that Chrissy didn’t eat the conventional food. “They were, now they are Ari’s.” Lyric’s nervousness was forgotten for a moment as she gave a small smirk. I really couldn’t help myself, I started chuckling at that, even Chrissy gave a small amused snort. Lyric might end up being fun on this trip. “Fair enough, I won’t complain I haven’t felt full since I landed here-“ Shit. Now I had some explaining to do, Lyric didn’t exactly know about me or my mission yet. “Landed h-“, I interrupted her question, “Not now, later, after we drop them at the border. Okay?” I gave her a serious look and she looked a little taken aback before nodding. With that over with we tucked in to breakfast. The porridge wasn’t really different than earth porridge but the orange fruit wasn’t citrus or peachy like I expected, it reminded me more of a strawberry in flavor. Cake was still cake here, although Chrissy rolled her eyes when I moaned at the chocolatly goodness. After having fruit and nuts for the last couple of day chocolate was pure nirvana for my tastebuds. “I guess it is true…” Lyric muttered. “What is?” “Alicorns love cake and never get full.” I had to blink at that assumption, it was ludicrous, I just was appreciating the sugar rush, cinnamon buns are still far superior. I wonder if they exist here? Not to mention I haven’t eaten enough to fill a human belly since the I left the oasis, a apple and trail mix just didn’t cut it for anybody. “I actually am not partial to cake, cinnamon buns are much tastier. As for getting full, I have hardly eaten at all the last couple of days, a apple and trail mix doesn’t count.” “The thirty pounds of Charona berries? The acre of Tronana and Magoo trees? Does any of that ring a bell Ari?” Chrissy was giving me a doubtful look that was soon joined by Lyric’s raised eyebrow. “Really, that does sound like a lot of food. I hope that wasn’t all at once.” Gulping down the last bowl of porridge I defended myself, “No that was over-“ The door burst open as Azure and Barium barged in stumbling over each others words. “S-she-“ “Lyric is-“ “- Gone!” They finished for each other. I shared looks with Chrissy and Lyric before we all looked back at them, innocent looks on our faces as we waited for the couple to calm down. After a second they realized that Lyric was not in fact gone, but had fetched breakfast, and then they locked eyes on the empty bowl floating back to the tray in my magic. “Our breakfast!” Barium shouted as I got up, slipping on my thobe, and trying to keep from laughing at his expression. “Was very delicious, if you every make your way back here you should try it.” Chrissy and Lyric snorted before getting up as well. “That wasn’t very nice Ari.” Azure frowned at me, trying to go for a disapproving look i'm sure, but on her small stature it just made her look cute, sort of like a kid pouting. “No it wasn’t, but you the saying ‘the early bird gets the worm’, and you were late. the sun has been up for at least a hour now, late birds have to get moving.” They both pinned their ears at me as I walked towards them, “Come on we are losing daylight.” Pushing past them I stood in the hallway looking at their scowling faces. “Hayaa!” Come on. I said heading down the hall, looking over my wither as I heard them grunt, ‘Silver Stream’ and Lyric were trotting to catch up to me. Grumbling Azure and Barium started trotting to catch up. All the way down the stairs, hallway, and final set of stairs Lyric was trying to stay by my side, while her touch didn’t bother me like Azure’s did, I already had a mare. A mare that didn’t want to share which was perfect for me, the whole idea of a polygamous relationship was just another new idea that I just couldn’t wrap my head around. It was crazy enough that I was doing this to begin with, never in my wildest dreams would I imagine changing genders, species, and going to a new world. Chrissy was quiet about Lyric’s closeness but kept an eye on Lyric’s movements the whole time. On the main floor, it was nearly empty with just the inn keeper and a brown stallion talking quietly by the counter. They looked up from their conversation, the mare blushing while the stallion rolled his eyes. “Sabah alkhyr Ari.” Good morning Ari. The inn keeper greeted me cheerily, while I just a despondent good morning from the stallion beside her. How did she know my name? “Sabah alkhyr ya anisa. Shukraan lak eali altaeam.” Good morning miss. Thank you for the food. I gave her a big smile to let her know exactly how good it was, it may not have filled me but it sure tasted good. Chrissy nudged me and Lyric pressed into my side as the mare gave me a big smile back, I can take a hint, the mares were trying to guide me towards the door.“Wadea. ‘atamanaa lak yawm jaydin!” Goodbye. Have a good day! I called to her as we exited the inn. Back up on the street we looked around in interest as stores were opening up and the first customers of the day milled down the streets, a few store owners waved at me trying to entice my business, to which I merely waved back. Maybe when I had more than twenty bits to my name. We made our way back to Main Street and I couldn’t help but smile, not because I just had another day of Azure and Barium, but because this world felt soo alive now. There was people milling about, joking, hurrying to work, and the scent of many new and exotic food stuffs hung in the air. Nuzzling the top of Chrissy’s head I couldn’t help but sigh at how nice this was. We traveled in a happy silence down main street, the sights of the wakening city keeping our attention, soo much so, that before we knew it we could see the desert again, although this time there was a scattering of trees across the sand dunes. But before we could reach the freedom of the sand dunes there was another squad of guards at the exit. You can imagine my excitement. Glancing at Chrissy I gave her big eyes to which she shook her head at, darn I was hoping she repeat what she did last time but it appears her ‘itch’ has been scratched for now. Sighing I turn to Lyric, only to jump as I feel Chrissy nip my wither. Okay maybe I won’t ask Lyric to do that. Turning back to Chrissy I gave a sheepish smile, she snorted and motioned to the exit, ahead of us another group was exiting without inspection… Of course, anyone in the city would have already been cleared! I have my stupid moments. We passed past the guards with a nod, the sand on our hooves again, in the near distance I could see a faint cluster of beige dots. Traymare must be a half day's walk ahead, I could practically see the border in my mind.
Not Everything in Dreams is Meaningless.**** Princess Luna Entering the dream world came later tonight once again, after a week with the new law in effect I was finding my court overrun with ponies. Most were petitioning to see the research, which I gladly provided. After the general masses of Canterlot were calmed the other ponies of Equestria began to flood the royal courts asking the same questions, I began admitting ponies in groups based on questions to speed up questions. It helped, but not by much truthfully. Then the registration of herds began, we had to make a new wing in the Canterlot archive specifically for this procedure. Current couples were given priority in registering however the process was still a royal headache that not even cake could fix. Sister was still using the cake method however as her current state shows it wasn’t helping at all, in fact if it wouldn’t cause a scandal I’m sure she would be devouring cake during court as well as in her chambers. Why couldn’t we have found an alternative to the Law of the Herd? Even I recognize the tyrannical undertones of the registration of herds and conscripting mares and stallions to form new herds was breaching the pony's rights, but... Shaking my mane out, I focused on the task at hand. Ponies were already dreaming. I was once again late and a good percentage of the dreams were nightmares as a result of our decision. It was a reality I truly hated to see, Tia had seemed soo assured when she said they would understand, I had even laughed at her quip about the young studs enjoying this law, the thought of the young colts that would be very excited somehow hilarious to me. However just like the young colts would soon find out, herds are a big undertaking, with many far reaching implications. Some stallions and mares had already left the country as a result of this law. But I had a dream world to manage and couldn't bring those ponies back to let them see that it wasn't the end of the world. The 'dream world' was more of a 'dream state' really; a magical meditation that let me view other's minds unconscious thought, or more commonly known as dreams. It was a path of the school of mind magic that my mother was keen on teaching Tia but Tia wasn’t interested in dreamwalking, instead preferring the ‘important work’ as she called it, that father did. She loved planetary magic, the feeling of ‘actually doing something’ as she once said when we were foals. And then she wondered why she bedwetting dreams till she was in her twenties, i needed to practice dream manipulation on somepony first! Of course I would never mess with some ponies dreams now unless they were a nightmare, like the one I see over there. In the dream ‘bubble’ a mare is stepping onto a train as she leaves her family behind, the train fades as the mare, in tears, is forced to the ground the shadow of a stallion above her. I had seen enough of her nightmare and placed my horn to the bubble, entering her unconscious mind. My magic dissolving the shadowy figure, this wouldn’t do, and with that thought I changed the bedroom to a ice cream parlor. I left as she was pressed to the glass trying to decide which of fifty two flavors to try. I barely had a moment to wallow in the state that nightmares currently were in before another dream -similar to the last one I had visited- popped up, this time it was a widowed mare. Her stallion’s funeral playing out before us dream Celestia and Luna assigned her to a stallion, the stallion's figure cast in shadows like the previous nightmare, I quickly banished the shadow pony. But I was at a loss at how to fix her dream, it had gone back to the funeral, and looking at it I recognized this mare now. Three months ago the changelings had launched an invasion at our niece Cadence’s wedding, I had most embarrassingly slept through it. Not just the practice run and the wedding, but the invasion itself. Not only that but I had not even noticed that my own niece had been replaced by the changeling queen. She had been right there at breakfast, lunch and dinner! Though Tia has tried to assail my guilt over the fact, pointing out that I hardly knew Cadence and that I was still adjusting to the new pony society after my time on the moon, I still knew I could have done better. If I was still this naïve at one thousand two hundred years old then what hope did I have to match mother’s wisdom? But alas all I could do for the mourning mare was to send her a visage of her late stallion, whispering sweet nothings and reassurances to her fears. If I had woken during the invasion i'm sure I could have prevented her stallion from even having to fight, he never would have been near the building when it collapsed, but then I could just as easily condemn the construction ponies from putting off tearing down the building till after the royal wedding. Blame was getting us nowhere, making our heart ache. Perhaps we needed to view a fun dream before we tended to more nightmares. Looking across the dream bubbles I passed over many, none were traumatizing enough to warrant immediate interference, the few good dreams I found were sweet. Scenes of foals cuddling with giant teddy bears and young lovers sharing a chaste first kiss played across my mind, but I still did not feel my mood change despite the happy images. Reaching to the furthest reaches of Equestria’s domain I looked for a fun dream, perhaps a traveling merchant dreaming of his travels, or a traveling musician. I paused over a dream bubble that was distorting shape under a yellow field of magic which was repelling a white field of magic. This was new, My mother had briefly mentioned magic protecting dreams bubbles, although she had appeared shakened when she took sister and I under her wings and explained how that was the most magical of beings stepping in on a pony’s dream, protecting them. Her explanation had been paltry then, but I had been a foal then, just learning the schools of magics before I choose my specialties. This was real, it wasn’t a story mother told be once upon a stormy night, it was really happening. I wanted to burst into action to protect the pony but my mind stopped me, her words coming back to me, the most ‘magical of beings’ was protecting this pony. What chance did I stand against the beings such as that? However as I watched, wings outstretched in preparation to act, the white field of magic stilled. My eyes locked onto the white magic and I could have sworn I heard a stallion laugh hysterically before the magic dissipated with a flash. Blinking at the sudden flash I noticed the yellow field was gently fading from the uneven dream bubble. Who was this pony, I wanted to know more so I touched my horn to the bubble. Inside I was blown away, it was chaos. Trumpets were blaring of their own accord, a horde of off color Tronanas were clapping their little gloved hands, and a stage held something, no somepony I didn’t dare believe existed. A black Alicorn stallion stood holding a cinnamon bun in his magic as the Tronanas cheered him on, the trumpets growing louder as he brought it closer to his muzzle. “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THYE DREAM?!” All activity halted as my voice echoed back at me. The stallion unpinned his ears, cocking his head to the right, looking me over as the Tronanas faded into the blackness and the trumpets faded. I jumped and flew over to his stage, the cinnamon bun fading as he sat on his rump. “This is a weird dream…Why did I make up a Alicorn mare? I mean-“ “I’m not made up, I’m real! My name is-“ He shook his head. “Nope, you are an obviously a dream. The banana is still here.” Looking where he was looking, there was a yellow Tronana on the stage now. “What?!” “If I’m dreaming there is always a banana somewhere, it is just a thing my mind does. Speaking of my mind, why did I dream up you? Am I horny or something?” For the second time tonight I started blinking owlishly, I couldn’t decide what I felt. The one thing I had to know was if he was real, a real Alicorn. Father, mother, my sister, and now cadence were the only Alicorns I had ever seen. My parent’s parents having passed away over eight thousand years before my birth. He couldn’t be real. Narrowing my eyes I circled him, he looked like a stallion, although an old world version of a stallion not the new world stallions that existed now. He had a lithe muscled body, well defined proportions, and a good deal of height. If I had to guess he was half a hand taller than Tia and he most certainly towered over me. Moving on to his wings, His feathers ruffled a little but they still shined in the stage light, a truly masterful dream to get such details down. His mane and tail were plain black, not an ethereal wave to them at all, a trait I know all true Alicorn’s had. It was our way of burning excess magic, all Alicorn foals and made Alicorns had regular manes and tails. It was a sign of power to have an ethereal mane. On top of the absence of a proper mane he also had no cutie mark. I had seen enough, he was clearly a fake. Those magical beings must be having a riot for pranking the princess of the night. Snorting I made to leave his dream, looking what last time at his face, confusion clear on it. I shall make this perfectly clear to him. “Good bye fake Alicorn.” With that I returned to the dream world intent to see sister in her dream and let her know of this craziness. Finding her dream bubble was not terribly hard, however what I found filled me with worry. Entering my sister’s dream I found it more appropriate to call it a nightmare, she was a young adult again with just a faint bit of ethereal wave to her mane then, and my younger self stood beside her in tears. It was our parent’s funeral. Unbidden tears flowed from my eyes as the procession of mourners brought forth their varying gifts, noble fillies gave sympathetic hugs and bows to my sister as I cried freely beside her. Tia’s eyes were dry, her words strained, and body stiff with expert control at such a young age. I didn’t remember it this way, my tears providing a curtain to the ponies that expressed grieve and by the end wishing us good luck ruling. Even then I hated the majority of the noble pony’s insincerity and duplicity. Blinking back tears I swept a wing across the scene leaving us in her chambers, albeit still in her dreamscape. “Luna?” She said in her normal voice, her youth left in the other dreamscape. “Yes Tia?” I replied solemnly, moving to nuzzle her neck. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I-I have been feeling troubled lately, I fear I have failed as a princess. It is not my imagination that the nightmares you consol now are from the law.” I looked away from her shimmering eyes, my ears dropping, her statement held more truth than I wanted to let her know, than I wanted their to be. No longer did most ponies fear nightmare moon, they feared The Law of the Herd. Tia’s voice broke, “I thought as much.” Sniffling, sister put on a fake smile, “I am a big pony you know Lulu, a little thinking and my sadness will pass, and before you know it the ponies will understand why we did this.” There really wasn’t much I could say to that, my sister was determined to bottle her feelings from me, even in her dreams. Her stubbornness was one of the traits that made her a great ruler but it also held her back, it had taken nearly a thousand years of my absence for her to delve into lost magic and create an Alicorn to sooth her loneliness. Unfortunately there wasn’t any true Alicorns around anymore, our reproduction being a slow and unpredictable nature. The fake Alicorn seemed like court gossip now, petty, and not worth Tia’s time. It wasn’t my job to judge what ponies dreamt of, although I did avoid some ponies dreams like parasprites. Giving her a wing hug I left her dream, I knew she wouldn’t cry in front of me. A quick scan showed the great beings weren’t back; the distorted dream bubble was gone as well. But before me were thousands of nightmares playing out, needing reassurance and peace, though my sister may deny help from us these ponies still needed it. **** Princess Celestia Luna had given me space for the last two days, not visiting in the dreamscape, nor visiting my chambers in the changing hours. I felt bad for keeping my feelings from her but I am supposed to be strong, how can I expect her to stay strong if I don’t maintain my composure? I was supposed to be the older sister, take care of Luna, a task which I had already failed once before. Making my way from my chambers I squared my shoulders and set my ears forward, I was the princess of the sun, I was strong. Outside my doors the guards in front of my chambers flanked me, on guard for anypony that wished to hurt me, a reality that was seeming more possible everyday. After Queen chrysalis defeated me three months ago I began hearing the odd court gossip that I was old, weak, and naïve. With the fact that I not only didn’t recognize Cadance, the mare I known since she was a filly, as being replaced. That fact brought my supposedly well hidden flaws to their attention, like how had I let my sister get to the point that darkness consumed her? 'Wasn’t Celestia just an awful sister?' was a common sentiment along with the equally painful, ‘Be careful or Celestia might send you to the moon!’ It all hurt soo much, even my guards that walked beside me I have heard use that ‘joke’ thinking I could not hear them. The most recent law however had started a even more troubling rumor, Golden Script just had to put our secret in his findings, the same report that was now one of the most widely read scientific reports of this century. ‘Were they sterile?’ ‘How can they carry on the line if there isn’t any male Alicorns?’ I could hear the court mares talking already as I made my way straight to the throne room, breakfast would only make the day court last longer than it would already, and as such i dismissed it. Eventually the court would have to quiet, i just had to make it till then. Whispers were already quieting ahead of me as the doors opened. Although my ears were trained forward, my understanding smile was beaming, and wings were settled, it was all a act. If I were honest I would be locked in my room, crying my eyes out, a cake halfway down my throat. However I couldn’t be a pony, I was princess of the sun and I had to answer for my decisions. Father would have been proud. Thirty two redirections to the herd registration department, twenty two petitions against The Law of the Herd, and four mares trying to petitioned for a right to keep same sex couples together before I was stunned out of my façade. “Presenting Azure Heights and Barium Seal of Manehattan.” Loud Script, my herald, announced to the room. “Hello, my ponies how can I help you today?” Before me a turquoise unicorn mare levitating a letter and a yellow earth stallion stood, suddenly losing their nerve, and shuffling their hooves on the carpet. I could already see the petition unfolding in my head, they- “Princess we come bearing important news and most likely even more important mail.” The mare took a deep breath, confidence returning. “We request a audience with both you and Princess Luna, we were told to deliver this letter to both of you.” This was new, but I wouldn’t wake my sister without a just cause, her night court was filled to the brim every night now. Some Ponies petitioning never left the castle grounds I have been told, simply petitioning both night and day court. “Surely whatever you say can be passed along to her later, she is asleep at the moment.” “NO! Ari said this was for both of you, YOU have to. This-“ My eye twitched, “Azure Heights I am sure it can wait-“ “-is incredually important! We met an Alicorn!” The whole court froze at her words, quills at the ready as everyponies eyes locked onto me. My body heated under the looks, feathers twitching. “Azure perhaps-“, I tried to help her save her muzzle, there wasn’t any other Alicorns. After over a thousands years I knew without a doubt there were no other Alicorns, I had been resigned to that when we never went into heat. Our mother had explained it as magic requirements, in layman’s terms, we had a lot of magic so it took a lot of magic to reproduce. No magic, no estrus, equals no foals. “My mare isn’t lying, the bucking Alicorn saved our lives twice and this is the least we can do to help him…And Azure was going to come here anyway.” Barium Seal spoke for the first time, his ears pinned back and a scowl on his muzzle. Turning to a guard I sighed, “Wake my sister.” She may prank me for years to come but I wasn’t going to get rid of them till I brought her here, and the court was running even further behind at this rate. “May I have the letter?” Azure Heights floated the letter over to me, my golden magic taking it from her blue magic as the castle shook slightly. My sister was awake. In record time Luna had the doors opened, marching with heavy hoof steps to the side of the throne. Her eyes had bags under them, her wings looked slightly ruffled, and her tiara was slightly crooked. “Luna-“ “SPEAK THY BUSSINESS PONIES. WE ARE MOST TIRED AT THIS HOUR.” My ears rung as the court pinned theirs back at her Royal Canterlot voice, a old tradition I felt she was purposely forgetting to not use indoors. She was going to deafen me at this rate. “U-um, we met a Alicorn.” The previously brave mare was crouched low to the ground at Luna’s presence. “Go on…” We all looked at my sister in shock, she wanted to hear more, and she wasn’t using the Royal voice anymore. Just what was she planning? Was this all just an elaborate prank? Azure picked herself up from the floor as everyone gave her their attention. “Well, like I said we met a Alicorn. But we met him by accident, you see we ran away-“ “Him?!” “You ran away?” We looked at each other in shock. How Luna was more interested in the gender of the supposed Alicorn than the fact that these ponies had ran away from Equestria was ridiculous! “Err-“, she looked between us her tail flicking nervously,”- yes him, Ari is very much a stallion. Anyway, we left Equestria but we were captured by Diamond Dogs-” Gasps echoed around the room as everyone leaned forward slightly wondering how they had escaped, I was fuming inside. We had a deal with those dogs and they broke it by the sounds of it. “-However they also captured Ari and his…mare. Well she wasn’t officially his then. Anyway-“ “Diamond dogs were able to subdue and capture a Alicorn Stallion?” Luna looked as skeptical as I felt, that made no sense. “They must have caught him when he was sleeping, cause he slaughtered them when he got free. He is a brute.” Barium replied, unknowingly annoying his mare. “Ari’s a gentlestallion!” “He yelled at us.” “He unlocked our shackles.” “No he gave you the key after he used it on his…mare first. You unlocked our shackles.” “But he helped rescue you from the slave traders in Saddle Arabia!” A gasp echoed around room at that. “Because…” “I ran into him by chance… But he gave us food and water!” “He ate our breakfast at the inn.” “He had just rutted his mare senseless last night, he needed the energy!” A blush was on Azure’s face now. “Yes, he could have got us kicked out with her screaming; he didn’t even put up any sound or smell wards!” “But He’s really hot! The inn keeper mare wouldn’t have kicked him out.” “He’s a too tall jerk.” This verbal tennis match seemed to be going more of a personal direction, perhaps they needed to see the relationship consoler. I will have to- “CEASE THY BICKERING, WE HAVE QUESTIONS!” There went my hearing again. “How did this stallion look like?” Luna asked Azure with a look in her eyes that if I didn’t know better I would call panic. “Ari is all black, has the most amazing wings, and is taller than even Princess Celestia!” Azure chirped out, seeming to love to talk about Ari. Although I was a tad hopeful now, this could be a actual Alicorn. The only question that remained was where he had hidden himself all this time… Coming back to my thoughts I noticed a dark blue magical line hovering halfway up my horn. “Is he about ye tall?” “Yes!” “And no cutie mark?” “y-yes…” “AND HIS MANE LAYS LIKE YOURS DOES?” Azure and Barium just nodded, cowering before Lulu’s voice. If I was being honest I was starting to think my sister knew something with the way she described him. Had she heard of him and not told me? I know we had been busy but I would think she would tell me if she met or heard of another Alicorn. My thoughts were interrupted as Luna started muttering to herself, eyes darting around. I stepped up to her, hoof raised to calm her, only to have her fall over in a faint. I caught her in my magic but I couldn’t contain the chaos that had exploded in the throne room, Loud Script tried to be heard above the barrage of questions but was failing. Worry for my little Lulu dominating my thoughts I used the Royal Canterlot voice, ”DAY COURT IS POSTPONED, NIGHT COURT WILL BE AS SCHEDULED UNLESS ANNOUNCED OTHERWISE.” With that I teleported my little sister to my chambers, she most definitely knew something about this ‘Ari’ stallion.
Ari's Letter.**** Princess Luna Waking up I felt confused, moments before I had been in the Day court, I had been called there by my sister, the ponies… My blood froze as I remembered why they had asked for me during the day: the Alicorn stallion. ‘Ari’ I believe the mare had called him, the stallion that matched the description of the stallion I had met in the Dream world. I had called him a fake Alicorn, a mistake I knew I had to correct. Dear Faust, if his temper was anything like father’s was then I was already six feet under- “Luna I know you are awake. We have to talk.” I cracked open a eye, my sister stood above me with her motherly disapproving frown that she had perfected over the centuries. Despite how much regret I held over my reaction to Ari, that seemed to pale in comparison to Tia's disapproval. She was understandably hurt, an emotion I had hoped to console her on, not to be the cause of. But at the time not telling her of his strange dream bubble had seemed like a sound idea, she had been upset and I had been behind in my work. It was time to explain myself though. Opening my other eye I saw I was in Tia’s chambers, resting on her bed’s golden sheets as the sun shinned through the grand windows. Her chambers didn’t seem in any worse of wear despite the large quantities of cake I know she had been having delivered daily. It was making her mane extremely ethereal lately, with all the extra magic being produced. Sitting up with my legs folded underneath me I looked back at her, ears slowly dropping at lack of emotion her face was portraying. She was really, really upset. “Welllll, I mean, it just didn’t seem important at the time. You were upset and I figured you wouldn’t want to hear about the…the ‘fake’ Alicorn.” I cringed a little as I finally said it, knowing my sister would understand exactly what I had done. “Luna,” She took a deep breath as the room felt warmer, “Did you just say ‘fake Alicorn’?” I nodded keeping my eyes averted from my sister as the temperature in her chambers increased again. “He certainly didn’t sound fake, those ponies truly believed what they said and with the fact that you could describe him exactly I assume you know he isn’t fake after today.” There was a bite to her voice now. “Y-yes sister I am aware.” What else could I say, I had acted rashly and now I would have to live with the consequences. However, she still- “Is there anything else you haven’t told me?” “Actually yes-“, I flinched as the temperature started increasing again, gulping I explained, “-I only noticed his dream bubble due to its distortion. Its surface wasn’t holding its shape and…and-“ A knock sounded from the door, causing me to flinch, and my sister to glare at the offending sound. “P-Princess C-Celestia?” It was Celestia’s court herald, Loud Script. “Yes. Has the court left then?” “Y-yes, I brought the letter Azure Heights delivered. How-“ He never was able to finish his sentence as my sister opened the door, using her magic to bring the letter to the bed. “Thank you Loud Script, you have been most professional throughout today’s…developments. I do hope you take the rest of the off, it is certainly deserved.” Tia gave him a warm smile, her mask partially on. She really does care for the ponies but she, just like myself, are only ponies, and as such have our limits. She was rushing through the formalities, but I think the herald was glad for her speed, I can only imagine how scary my sister was when I fainted. Slouching in relief at his princess’s smile he quickly looked at me, “It is a relief to see you are better Princess Luna, I hope your night court is...quick.” The stallion didn’t know what to say, quick was a more accurate description to how he wanted this conversation to go. Although even he realized that I was undoubtedly going to get swamped doubly so after my presence in the day court. I could hear the nobles now, questioning my knowledge of the Alicorn, carrying their petty petitions over from the disrupted day court. “Thank ye Loud Script, we were merely overcome at thee moment. We are feeling better.” With a quick bow to my sister and me he left, closing the door in his magic. “A letter?!” Tia nodded before hopping up onto her bed, settling beside me. Her wing wrapping around my barrel, “They were asked by Ari to deliver it to both of us, apparently it is important.” She paused and narrowed her eyes at the scroll, “Important enough to be sealed. It will be easy for either one of us to break, but I think Ari wanted this to stay between us.” “Ah, sister remember the question you asked before we were interrupted, “ Tia nodded, “Well, his dream bubble was not only distorting but two magics were with it. A golden magic was shielding it from a white magic field that was trying to break in, I believe they were great magical beings… like the ones mother told us about. Strangely enough I could have sworn I heard somepony laugh hysterically before both magic fields disappeared." Tia gave me a nod, "I guess my point is that he must be very important.” All the while I was explaining the peculiar event Tia was growing more and more concerned, “The beings didn’t try to do you any harm? They just left when you noticed them?” “Y-yes, that’s when I entered Ari’s dream and met him, but…” I trailed off as something hit me. “Yes?” “He thought I was part of the dream, he didn’t know who I was!” A nervous chuckle left my throat, “He actually questioned if he was aroused to dream me up! Tia can you-“ My sister held up a hoof and i could have sworn her eye twitched, “Perhaps we should read his letter, I have many questions. As happy as I am that the stallion thinks you're attractive enough to dream about I am concerned that such powerful beings have an interest in him. That they would let you view the dream his mind that they were protecting and attacking respectably, it seems like a trap.” She was right. That had occurred to me, why else would they suddenly stop their efforts when I was a lesser being than them? Her golden magic wove around the scroll before a green double helix of magic appeared around the scroll, woven to prevent its opening. My sister hummed in concern before using her magic to unwind the helix from the scroll, it fading into the air as the connection was broken. Sharing a determined look we unrolled the letter, in it the letter read: Dear Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, It is with both great excitement and trepidation that I am writing to you, the excitement as this has been taken a good week to happen, although it will be longer than that by the time this reaches you. Azure and Barium should be delivering this letter safely to you, although I can’t guarantee that Azure won’t have at least tried to read it. The trepidation I feel in writing to you both lies in what small information I have heard of regarding yourselves and the nature of our future meeting. I squirmed a little as read that, he was going to meet with us, and I had insulted him. When he realizes it was me that insulted him he won’t be happy to see us at all. It was the Gryphon negations of 1854 all over again. But before I continue I would like to inform you I only know small details about both of you, details that I will admit are just small pieces of the bigger picture, and I will try to hold my final judgement till I learn of the bigger picture. However, perhaps you should look at the bigger picture as well? As I read his query I felt confusion, what exactly was he referring to? Tia must have been a couple sentences behind me, as just as I paused to reflect on his words I felt her body heat up beside me. Controlling the sun she took on certain characteristics since her magical core was linked to it, normally they were kept hidden however under extreme emotion they appeared, like now. He had obviously offended her somehow. Sweating a little now I continued reading, he might explain it... Firstly, an issue that has been brought to my attention that is completely barbaric in my opinion: The Law of the Herd. I would love to know exactly how a low birth rate and low fertility prompted this law to return, off the top of my head I can think of three ways to increase births without taking away your citizen’s freedom to choose their partners. If Azure and Barium are any sign of how your citizen’s feel about the law then I think you both should consider amending the law. If your miniscule brains can truly not think of any changes than here are some I thought of: Foal benefits packages – Take a chunk out of the royal treasury and pay ponies to have foals, it will allow even the lowest income pony to have foals. Fertility doesn’t understand rich and poor after all. Artificial Insemination- Pay virile stallions for their sperm, then give it free to any and all couples with a sterile stallion, couple this with the Foal Benefits package and I think they will like that. This will also allow same sex couples to stay together, no herd stallion needed. Surrogate Mares- Give any infertile mares the opportunity to have a another mare carry a foal for her, pay for all the surrogate’s needs and before you know it you will have plenty of mares interested in such a job. There are the three law related changes that I think could help the unease your barbaric law has caused, of course I still believe you should be looking at pony genetics as well. Research some fertility remedies and give them to your citizens for free. If you are concerned for the country’s future enough to take away your citizen’s right to choose then I think you are invested enough to afford to sponsor the repopulation effort. Now I’m afraid I’m going to have to shatter your ignorant excuses for brain cells, but have you looked at what you do every dawn and dusk respectively? Moving a giant ball of gas and a hunk of space rock around your planet…I hate to break it to you but despite what the ponies think it isn’t natural, in reality the planet should be doing the moving around the sun and the moon around the planet. At least that is how the world works where I came from was like. Please let it be known that because of your ignorance, the damage you have done, I have been taken from my world, my home, and I am very angry about that fact. Do you know what it feels like to never be able to return home, to be tossed into a world as a god’s toy pony to solve problems that I didn’t even have anything to do with? As much as I would love to tell you exactly how much you fucking messed up my life and many other lives on this planet I will refrain for now. In two to three weeks time I will be in Canterlot to meet with you both. I trust we will have much to discuss. Till then, Ari **** Princess Celestia I could feel my heart race as I read his letter, as the pieces fell into place, and I started to feel the room spin. My control was wavering, even Luna noticed as she shifted besides me, my body's temperature increasing. It was one of side effects of planetary magic that I hated. But he had insulted us, no, insulted our family, even though I knew what he said was true about the old orbiting pattern, I couldn't help but feel that he didn't really understand our reasons. Taking a deep breath I recalled he even wrote that he doesn't know much about us. Perhaps he is simply uninformed, uninformed and rude, but uninformed all the same. But there was a lot to process from such a short letter. An orderly assessment was surely the easiest way to handle this, taking a couple of steadying breaths I went over his letter again. Ari not surprisingly thought poorly of our response to the population crisis we were facing and I felt hurt at his statements, if not a little annoyed, I mean of course it was barbaric. It was created over five thousand years ago! No matter how much truth I saw in his words i couldn't help but hold my tongue, perhaps I can explain it to him when he arrives. Another deep breath as i processed the underlying feeling of hurt, those words coming from the only Alicorn beside my sister held more weight. No that too was only a half truth. It was also his status as the only Alicorn stallion that held sway, for after all the talk of my sister and I’s possible sterility and impossibility of continuing the monarchy as things stood he presented us with a hope. A real relationship where our stallion would not grow old with age before us. Perhaps we could be seen as mares, a feeling we had never had the chance to truly experience, as soon as we both had towered over the stallions they stopped even considering us as possible marefriends. I wasn’t alone in this sentiment, tall mares everywhere faced the same problem, although we were considered attractive we were intimidating to mount, requiring a mounting block, and I know of no stallion that likes to look up to his mare. But that was neither here nor there now, my thoughts are already running away on me as I read on, keeping a firm grip on my emotions. He was simply unaware of somethings. Ari’s points on the law held some truth and reminded me why I had chosen it in the first place: I didn’t and still don’t believe my ponies object to having herds and herds on average have more foals than a couple. However, the arranged herds was what they feared and admittedly not the best part of the law to keep. Not that I blamed the ponies for fearing arranged herds. Although not a filly anymore, I understood the fears they must feel being paired with a strange stallion, my parents had considered it for us briefly. It wasn’t something I enjoyed the thought of nor something I wished on them but it had been included in the original law, which was all I could think of at the time. Perhaps I will try to make the amendments Ari suggested, they sound like wise decisions, amendments that in hindsight I should have made before announcing the reinstatement of the law. A law that was originally made when pony society wasn’t as civilized as it was now surely required amending. His rude comments made my blood boil before I re-read the next part of his letter. Moving down his letter I looked at the next part I could make sense of and I felt my fur heat as I saw red, he had blatantly disrespected our intelligence. Although I could understand somewhat when my ponies questioned it lately, they were filled with fear and weren't thinking clearly. But this audacious stallion who even freely admitted he would reserve his final judgement seems to have a pretty clear opinion of us, quite frankly I thought this stallion had more respect than this. Luna flinched as a small spark flew off my mane. Okay deep breaths, reacting now wasn't going to help anything now, I could address this when he comes. After I felt my heart slow i continued, he did make sense for most his point. The part where on us raising the sun and the moon was true, but we have always known how it used to work before our Father and Mother had developed the planetary branch of magic to stabilize the country’s weather and seasons. It was instrumental to the development of the Equestrian economy, a fact still recognized as bits were still the main coin across the continent, and would be eventually around the world. But his words still hung in my mind and I’m sure Luna’s as well, if her slack jawed look meant what I thought it did. He was taken from his home because we were causing 'destruction', a foalish thought when we did not leave Equestria nor did we have any wars going on, it was more accurately and likely that he was taken on some beings whim and spoon fed false information. Mother had mentioned how some ‘great magical beings’ or 'gods' as I called them, were tricksters and cruel entities that enjoyed messing with mortals. However I had never heard of a god messing with a demi-god level entity such as an Alicorn. Looking at my sister I could see tears in her eyes, she knew how he felt most closely, she had a thousand years to be alone after all, and he was surely alone in our world. I could hope that we could see eye to eye after the meeting, Lulu could use more friends. His foul language and insult was still offensive but in light of what he has been through I believe a little rudeness is acceptable. That did not mean I would not be asking for a formal apology for such disrespect but I could see where he had come from. “So Ari is coming to meet with us.” My voice sounded weak to my ears and though the room had stilled I felt that my world slowly tilting. “Yes sister and he is already angry with us, he has been so before I even insulted him." A sniffle sounded from beside me,"I am sorry for my foalish action, I was rash, It se-“ “No Luna I have done actions far more foalish than that.” Luna widened her eyes as she understood my words, nuzzling my muzzle. I didn’t feel any better but I appreciated her love, despite not deserving it, the ponies were right about some things. Lulu deserved a better sister. “I have told you time and time again sister, I was a mad mare then, and you were protecting our people. There is no fault in protecting others…” Although I could see the wisdom in that I still felt bad that Lulu had suffered so much. I shuffled my wing and tucked my little sister close, she was here now at least, and neither of us was alone. Placing Ari’s letter on my desk I turned to Luna, “Would you stay with me today? Due to some pony fainting, Day court has been canceled and I haven’t the will to tell them otherwise.” That got me a giggle. “Why of course sister, only if thy intends to join us in Night court. I fear it shall be even busier than last night. Perhaps if we end it early we could go to the dreamscape together? I know it is not thy favorite magic but…” I thought over Lulu’s words, of course Night court will be crazy from the gossip. Not only was Luna called to Day court, fainted in Day court, and the cause of me ending Day court early. But all of that was due to the announcement of an Alicorn, an Alicorn stallion in a population crisis. It would be foalish for me not to go after all that. Not to mention Luna of course wanted to try and find Ari again in the dream world, to apologize to him, and most likely give him a hug. I would like to see him as well. “No worry Lulu, I won’t let you face the madness alone and I would like to come met Ari as well, even if it is only his unconscious self.” “Thank you sister.”With that we both elected for a nap as both of us would be awake for Night court for once. It would be exciting; I haven’t held night court in quite a while. **** I opened my eyes just as the call of the sunset went over my magic’s core, blinking I looked over at Luna. She was just rousing herself as well, giving a cute yawn that reminded me of her as a foal, just nestled up to mother’s belly after feeding. Where has the time gone? Removing myself from Lulu’s cuteness I made my way to my balcony, wincing as I felt my regalia move along my fur, I had forgotten to remove it. Magic opening the doors, I looked out over Canterlot and beyond. Somewhere out there was another Alicorn. Hearing the quiet hoof falls of I waited till she made it my side, “Good evening sister, it is nearly time.” Luna gave me another small yawn before her stomach replied, I blinked before my stomach agreed with hers causing us both to giggle. We had forgone lunch, a act that we would have remedy lest we cause even more scandal than we already have, unfortunately, our stomachs were very much as great and endless as our magic. Perking up, her horn glowed a dark blue as my horn shown with a golden light, pulling the sun from its position in the sky. As ponies shuffled to get home and a few gazed up at us my sister’s orb began to fill the western sky, glowing bright in its ascent. With my sun put to sleep, I stopped my magic to appreciate the stars that appeared in Lulu’s sky. She still did it better than me. That was merely due to her proficiency in illusion magic, as the stars would always be mostly the same. They were too far for our planetary magic’s to reach, a fact that still bothered Luna I’m sure. Although she made elaborate illusions of stars to keep the idea that the entire night was her domain, it truly wasn’t, we were merely maestros with a limited baton over the world’s music. A fact that was most apparent with the arrival of Ari. With our duty down, moon held stationary in the sky, we entered my bedroom again. Luna was frowning as she looked back at her moon, a frown that I didn’t share, surely she remembered why we must move them. “Sister, do you recall the part where he said we have caused destruction…That we are ignorant and have ruined lives? I can’t help but wonder if there could be some truth to his words. Why else would he say such statements?” “Lulu, he has been taken from his world, most likely by a malevolent god, I’m sure he is just upset. Father and mother wouldn’t do something that would hurt other ponies.” Lulu grew silent again, giving me a faint nod in the moonlight. “Let us get dinner dear sister.” **** Princess Luna Dinner was a quiet affair, nothing to talk about as we had caught up during the day due to today’s events, and I felt too concerned to converse. Ari’s distorted dream bubble hadn’t been there the last two nights, I hadn’t been looking for it but his bubble was hard to miss among the undisturbed bubbles. Was he alright? Would he forgive my transgression? “Luna?” Sister waited at the door to the throne room, looking at me with concern in her eyes. To everyone else she looked the image of perfection but I knew the signs of hidden emotions, I had once practiced it after all. But bottled feelings aside I broke into a trot, nodding my readiness to Tia before the doors opened. I was expecting chaos. Before us the throne room was decorated in my colors, banners were showing the glorious moon, and before the throne my night guard formed a line. Behind the line of my thestral guards, ponies stood quietly, a silence hung above them that I was unsure about. But despite my unease I had to begin the Night court. After we were seated I began in a regular voice, the hush making my Royal Canterlot voice unnecessary. “Good evening ponies and welcome to Night court. Tonight will be a different affair than usual. As I am sure you have all heard of what happened in late Day court, we have much to discuss and announce. Due to those events my sister has elected to join us for Night court tonight.” Tia nodded to the ponies, though still the ponies remained silent, gazing at me with looks of worry. “As to the rumors you have most likely heard I will dispel them as much of them as I can. Another Alicorn has been found. He calls himself Ari and will be meeting with us in around a fortnight. Fear not for from what we can gather he has good intentions, having saved a couple of ponies from both capture and enslavement.” That started a round of whispers that my guards quieted with a look. “Please proceed with thy questions and petitions now.” And with that my guards let the first pony through their line. By the time the last group of petitioners had left my wings were twitching, as were my sister’s. Although my guards had provided an excellent buffer to the more salacious questions I could see where some mare’s thoughts were going after the discovery and I wished that our minds held more resistance to such words. Not only were we mildly interested but we were, or at least I was very offended by the end of it. Most well wishing and excitement had the audacity to be double edged, while congratulating us on the discovery of a male Alicorn they also managed to insult our intelligence. How had we not known of him? Were our head's tucked under our wings? Well, we did withhold the part where he had been taken from his homeworld to deal with our ‘ignorance’ and ‘destruction’, after The Law of the Herd his situation wouldn’t go over well for us. But the ponies had been easily distracted at our ending statement; we were having a royal announcement in a couple of days on The Law of the Herd. Ari’s law amendments were our hope to ease the crowds in the court. Giving a grateful smile to my guards, my sister and exited the throne room, turning to go to our respective wings in the castle. We would see each other in the Dream world.
I Dreamt of Moonbutt.**** Ari Three days ago My eyes opened and my vision started off fuzzy, becoming clearer as little banana men started appearing for a reason I still couldn’t understand why. They wore little Mickey Mouse gloves but had no faces. A little creepy but I was used to this. Next they started to clap in rhythm, a rhythm that i soon heard as a trumpet sounded off behind me, making me jump in place. Looking back I saw a dozen trumpets floating in the air, and behind them a red curtain hung. I was on a stage I realized as the trumpets started blaring out a dramatic set. Why the pizzazz? I understood as the holiest of all pastries had appeared: the cinnamon bun. It even was steaming like it had come fresh from the oven. That was what I missed on this planet. No warning sounded before it started to fall from the spot it held in the air, almost taking my chance at dream happiness, and my magic enveloped without a second thought. A cheer rang out from the bananas. How did they cheer without mouths? Cinnamon wafted into nose, bringing me back to the treat in front of me, it was clearly meant for me. The clapping resumed and the trumpets multiplied, growing louder in a wave of sound as I brought the sacred pastry closer to my muzzle. Now how did it- “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THYE DREAM?” I jumped in place yet again, cinnamon bun forgotten at the new voice yelling at me, the new mare’s voice. Looking at the mare before me my ears perked up and I cocked my head. The fanfare faded as I really took her in, she was flying over to me now, dark blue wings hardly flapping at the effort. A soft clink and hollow thud echoed as her hooves landed on the stage. She was wearing horseshoes, not the earth variety though; these were literal metal shoes with a part of it traveling up the front of her pastern. Following her pastern I took in her angry expression, ears back, and ethereal mane flowing in a nonexistent breeze. She had a horn. Blinking I followed her body line with my eyes, she was smaller than me, around the size of Lyric, and wore a tiara behind her horn. For some reason she had a tattoo of a moon on her rump and a matching necklace on. Why were ponies obsessed with tattoos on their rumps? Better yet why had I dreamed up an attractive Alicorn mare with a tattoo on her butt? I don’t remember being overly turned on by tattoos before, not that it didn’t accentuate her flank and work with her fur color but it just didn’t seem like me. I mean Azure’s tattoo didn’t hold my attention, nor did Barium’s. This was another culture thing I had to remember to ask about. The mare was still looking at me expecting a response, “This is a weird dream…Why did I dream up an Alicorn mare? I mean-“ She, of course, interrupted me, “I’m not made up, I’m real. My name is-“ This happens every once in awhile, where a figment of my imagination tries to insist it is real, usually it is a banana but this was still a banana, err, I mean dream. This was still a dream. Shaking my head I explained to my subconscious apparition, “Nope, you’re obviously a dream. The banana is still here.” The mare looked at the banana but still didn’t get it, “What?!” Why had I dreamed up a dumb mare, any dream thing should understand the importance of the banana. But I guess this must be a reflection of some stupidity going in my life. “If I’m dreaming there is always a banana somewhere, it is just a thing my mind does. Speaking of my mind, why did I dream you up? Am I horny or something?” That seemed to upset the dream mare as she narrowed her eyes at me before she started slowly circling me. I could feel her breath on my fur as she inspected my wings, causing my body to give a slight shiver as her hooves tapped around me , she inspected my body. For some reason I wanted to puff out my chest and spread my wings for her inspection, but I ignored the urge, instead focusing on her face. It was going from confused to sad and then settling on angry, ears pinned back. She suddenly jumped into the air, looking back at me with scorn, “Good bye fake Alicorn.” With the dark blue Alicorn suddenly gone I looked around for the cinnamon bun, I might as well finish my dream snack. It wasn’t there anymore. In fact a lot of things weren’t here anymore, the instruments were gone, and the banana and stage were becoming transparent. The transparency taking a sudden turn as it flared into a light, it grew to blinding proportions, forcing me to close my eyes. Now what? Opening my eyes I looked at the short grass in front of my face, looking around I noticed the absence of a banana, this was real. I don’t usually remember my dreams but this one was sticking to me, or should I say the mare in my dream was. But if I was going to dream of a mare, why not my mare or even my stalker, Lyric? A mare I had met before made more sense than my mind making up a mare, a mare with a moon on her butt. Moon…Butt Moonbutt! My eyes widened and my heart raced as I realized I had dreamt of the moon princess, or at least my version of her, but why would I? Was the god messing with me? Was he manipulating my mind to be attracted to her? What if it was the real Princess Luna? Taking a deep breath I banished my panic and remembered my dream. No, I wasn’t feeling any emotions that didn’t make sense. I thought her body was nice, but her personality was just awful. I mean, If he was really trying to make me like her then he would have made her more likeable, not have her yell and contradict me. She could be real...Nay, now that sounded crazy. Dream magic? Unlikely, meaning that was probably just my brain worrying about how the princesses would react to the letter, when I mentioned the weather going crazy and me being from another world it might make me sound more than a little crazy. Did the letter sound too out there? I needed to talk to Chrissy, make sure the letter didn’t sound too crazy. She had said I shouldn’t say some things and I agreed, mentioning that it was all their fault did sound like a bad idea in hindsight. How would I get into the castle to abduct them and show them the damage they are causing if I didn’t stay civil with them after all? Looking under my right wing my expression softened at Chrissy’s sleeping face, a small grin on her muzzle as she tucked her head against my shoulder. Her horn thankfully was pointed down as I turn my muzzle to her ear. “Chrissy” “mmmmm” Her eyes were still closed as she nuzzled into my fur. “Chrisssyyy” My voice a little louder now, I didn’t want to wake Lyric who was completely hidden under my left wing, and thankfully still asleep. “Wake up.” “No.” I blinked at her response, she was awake…I think, she could be talking in her sleep but I didn’t feel like that was the case. Now to- “Go to sleep my Hubun.” Lyric said is a sleepy voice, nuzzling deeper into my side. Before I process what Lyric had said I heard Chrissy growl beside me, now she was awake, and upset. My questions would have to wait. “Lyrical Dazzle is that a challenge?” Chrissy’s wing was buzzing angrily under my wing as her eyes narrowed at Lyric. Please- “N-no Chrissy I simply misspoke, I was half a-asleep.” Lyric shivered against me, trying to appear smaller under my wing. This was her own fault though, that mare needed to quit flirting with me, I really didn't want her getting hurt. But I also didn't want another marefriend, I just got my first one after all. Snorting at Lyric, Chrissy laid her head back down, eyes narrowed at Lyric. Well, this tension is nice and all but I had important business to take care of: breakfast. Giving my mare a quick kiss and my st- new friend an even quicker nuzzle on her nose I stood up, raising my wings to the sky in a stretch. Below me there were a couple of annoyed grunts as the mares fell on their sides as their support left, followed by a couple of groans and grumbles as they tried to get comfortable again, ending in a eerie silence. Looking at them I saw why, my morning visitor was awake, and had caught the eyes of both mares. Although I was used to it by now, walking around with it hanging out, that was with only Chrissy around, Azure and Barium never saw it. Now my former stalker was looking at it with her eyes bugging out. This was awkward. “Sooo… I’m going to go find breakfast.” Now I was walking away from the gawking mares, not daring to look back. Except I was moving backwards, looking back I saw a green magic field around my tail, dragging me back to Chrissy. “No, Lyric is going to find breakfast. We will wait here.” Chrissy gave a wide smile at the now frowning siren. “O-of course I was, be back in a jiffy. What did you want for breakfast Ari?” Lyric was now standing, smiling and waiting to hear what I would want. Chrissy scowled from her position beside me. “Anything edible! I feel like I haven’t eaten in weeks.” I could feel my ears perk up and my wings flutter as I thought of food, beside me I heard Chrissy give a giggle as Lyric’s eye twitch. She must have remembered my appetite. It might take her awhile… “Of course, don’t go any where, I will be back in…Soon.” I felt kind of bad as she walked into the woods, the mare looked really down after she remembered my appetite, I know Chrissy probably wanted alone time but it didn’t feel right. That could be the part where I let a mare wander off into the forest alone. “There isn’t anything that could-“ **** Chrissy As soon as Lyric was out of my sight I pounced on Ari, my stallion, it was time to show exactly who his mare was. Also, it was breakfast time and I needed some love. We landed in a heap, my muzzle kissing his as he lay beneath me. Purring I ground on his cock, he loved this, I could feel the sweet emotion trickling in as I massaged his sheath with my body. After being forced to make do with a constant slow trickle of food, a trickle that was further slowed by his thobe. He would never wear that heinous thing again if I had any say. Feeling the love increase with my pace I couldn’t help but grin in the kiss, I was going to make him scream. Ari squirmed under me, my tail suddenly flagging as I realized I could have a full meal, he was my stallion. He had already rutted me into a whimpering mess already during my heat, my first heat. He had been amazing, preparing me, hitting all the right spots, and I swore I saw stars by the end. I wanted to return the favor. “Ari, remember when I said that I absorb love from contact,“ I ground my marehood hard on his erection causing us both to moan. He nodded, leaning up to nibble on my ear. Fuck, yes, I needed this. “Well, I absorb a little trickle from touching, more from kissing, BUT-“Pushing my body forward along his chest till his tip touched my lower lips,”-I receive a - FUCK- a full meal from rutting. Understand?” Ari had bucked when my marehood settled on his tip and I couldn’t help but yell, even without my heat induced sensitivity I still had sensitive nerves down there. Ari understood alright, he used his wings to prop himself up to a sitting position and lightly bit my ear causing me to raise my bottom up and give a light nicker. His hooves coming around my barrel, holding my crouched body to his chest, nibbles growing harder and more demanding. I finally had had enough, folding my knees I dropped down onto his cock, spearing myself in one thrust, and letting out a loud squeal at the pleasure. I hope she heard me. Twisting my hips a little I got comfortable on him, Ari moaning low at my movements. I could feel him in my furthest reaches, twitching faintly in my grip, and giving him a little clench I began. As I stood he groaned, tightening his grip on my barrel, and locking lips with him I slammed down. I squealed into his mouth as his cock hilted in me again, dear Faust, I needed more. Feeling a small tension start in my lower stomach I broke the kiss, stood and slammed myself onto him again, we both neighed at the sensation. I needed more, faster, harder. Quickening the pace I was able to feel my legs burn as i continued my new pace, my wing jerking stiffly as I continued to slam myself on his cock. The coil in my belly was tightnening and my squeals had dissolved to pants, I was soo close. Ari’s hooves gripped my hips and started increasing the pace, his cock give a twitch nearly every second in my tunnel, if I could time this just- A loud scream escaped my mouth as his muzzle clamped down on the back of my neck, holding me close as he filled me with his warmth and I clamped my walls down on him. Our juices dripping from my marehood and onto his sheath and balls, my pants sounding in my scream’s echo as I rested my head on his neck, exhausted and full in more than one way. Releasing his hold on my neck he relaxed his wings and lowered us to the grass. “I love you.” I purred at his statement, practically glowing from the full meal, much better than when we rutted before. There were more flavors to the love, it felt richer, and I felt not only happy from being full but happy from just him. This stallion, Ari, he was definitely the one for me. He could make me laugh, smile, and scream, “I love you as well, and you are most definitely the stallion for me.” His chest puffed up a little under me, but that was alright, why pretend he wasn’t the one when he was. Lying never got me anywhere good. As I felt his cock soften and retreat to his sheath I heard rustling in the bushes to the left of us, we both took in the breeze coming our way. I smelled water lilies. Lyric’s rump exited the bush first followed by the rest of her body, her tail raised as she dragged a log full of fruits in her magic. It looked heavy but I wasn’t sure it was heavy enough to require her to enter the clearing ass first. We had a problem here, obviously she didn’t understand that Ari didn’t understand our customs, and he wasn’t interested in her like that. Getting off Ari I added my magic to her load, yanking it past her and into the clearing. That was apparently a smart move as he was instantly sitting in front of it, rubbing his hooves as a little drool starting at his muzzle. My stallion had a endless appetite, which i suppose was good as that meant he must have a large magical core. Lyric snapped out of her arousal and our magic faded as he started consuming the fruits and odd nut with a speed that was disgusting. Not that he made a mess with his breakfast. It entered his mouth with hardly a squirt or dribble, but even still, I felt nauseous at his speed and I didn't even eats solid food. Well my body technically can break it down but that is leftover from before changelings were strictly emotionvores, we get no nutrition from pony food now. “I hope you ate something out there, this is just a warm up for him.” “I-I did...Really?” Her voice sounded kind of scared at the thought that a ten foot long log sled filled with food wouldn’t keep him full. I made my way to her side, slowly of course, my rump was a little tender still. Sitting down beside her I whispered in her ear, “Yes…Still interested?” I swear her eyes narrowed at me before a ‘innocent’ smile appeared on her muzzle, nodding she turned back to Ari only to open her mouth. Scowling at her answer I turned to see what she was so shocked about. In the ten seconds we had looked away he had finished the food. “That was delicious! Was there anymore left where you found these?” My face broke into a smile at his expression, his eyes shone as he smacked his lips, ears forward, and wings giving slight flutters at the happiness he got from the meal. It was disgusting at the amount he ate but seeing him happy made me happy for him, although I had a feeling that he was going to need his own orchard just to handle that stomach of his after- Lyric couldn’t let my moment last. “Of course! Follow me Ari!” Her pep was back, his appetite hadn’t scared her away unfortunately, and my mare challenge had not seemed to have any lasting effects. We were going to have to have a long talk. Ari rose and followed her while I stayed close to his side, glaring at her tail which was swishing in wide arcs to show flashes of her marehood. He noticed it as well but kept his eyes averted from her direction after the second glimpse, subtlety wasn’t her strong suit. “Lyric I think I should explain some things to you about our mission. But first, Was there anything that you didn’t understand yesterday?” She slowed and started to walk closer to his side, one ear on me, the other on Ari. “I think I understand. You were taken from your world by a crazy god so you can stop the princesses from moving the sun and moon. The unnatural movement of the sun and moon is affecting the planet’s weather system and causing super weather, storms, and other types like the drought in Saddle Arabia.” He nodded at her. “Well, the only question I guess is how do we stop two powerful, millennia old Alicorns? Do you know any special magic to do that?” He stopped midstride and started moving his mouth as nothing came out and his eye twitched, I think she broke him. “Ari?” I purred in his ear but he didn’t react, Lyric had the same worried expression that I had as she nuzzled his neck from her side. Still no reaction, I was about to kiss him when a yellow muzzle beat me to his lips. The rising growl died in my throat as he blinked and looked around. “WHAT?!” Lyric jumped back at his sudden volume and my ears pinned themselves to my head. “They are how old again? Better yet what is considered normal for a lifespan on Equis?” It was exactly as I thought; Earth had a different lifespan for Alicorn’s there. “Well I don’t know how much magic Earth has but because of the magic innate in our bodies and on the planet we can live quite awhile. The bigger your magical core the longer your lifespan. Does that work like that on Earth?” “N-no, there isn’t any magic on earth.” He gulped before continuing, “Before coming here I had never used magic, hence why when I levitated you that time I had little control over how high. I never used to be able to eat more than what Lyric usually eats and….Males are only expected to live for eighty five years, female’s maybe ninety five years at best in my country.” Now it was my turn to be surprised, which turned to fear as my heart raced, he would have only lived till he was eighty five years old? He would live a little longer than an earth mare, but still significantly less than me. Taking a deep breath to quell my coming heart ache I thought over his words. He ate a normal earth pony amount before and but now his increased appetite and ability to use magic where he couldn’t before had to mean he would live the normal lifespan for Alicorns now. Right? He was just like an Alicorn from here now, except for his mane and lack of cutie mark. Ari just had to be, I don’t think I will ever find anyone that accepts me like he does. “W-wait so you don’t live up to your ten millennia like Alicorn’s here?” Lyric was crying now, stepping back from Ari, and looking like her heart was breaking. I know I didn’t want to share him and did not want her to keep making advances on him but I couldn’t help but feel for her. After experiencing it watching my family age and die over generations I had felt it too often. I had felt that empty void for quite a while now. Ari extended his wing and tugged her close, the other wing unfurling itself to wrap around me. “I think I probably will live as long as the Alicorn’s that live here, Earth has a very different atmosphere and I have changed a lot since coming here. I doubt I still have the same constraints as before… However I also have no knowledge this planet either. Chrissy has been filling in some gaps but I still have some questions. How about i explain our plan after I learn some more things first, who knows it might change our plans.” He paused and stopped, looking at our faces with serious eyes, we both nodded to him in understanding. Now we both were walking pressed into Ari, it was very comforting after that little scare. However, that comfort might be a bad thing, I don’t think Lyric was even leading us to the second breakfast for Ari anymore… “Our saddle bags!” I gasped as I realized we had left them in the clearing. Ari and Lyric both face hoofed and we all turned around the way we come from, second breakfast forgotten at the fear of losing our map, compass, and water. We had run out of food last night, hence the foraging this morning. He began with a question I had honestly been expecting much sooner, it was a classic ice breaker, and most stallions like to know exactly how young their mare is. Which made me nervous as i wasn't exactly in my first century anymore. “I hope I am not being rude by asking but I am curious how old are you?” “Five hundred thirteen years old.” “One thousand one hundred fifty three years old.” Lyric answered and I blinked owlishly at her age, she was almost as old as the princesses! How was the most emotional one here the oldest?! Our ages may have thrown Ari off as well as he blinked at us, blushing before he gave his age, “t-thirty two years old.” A long silence stretched during our walk as we processed our age differences, they really didn’t matter in the long scheme of things with our life spans but it still felt weird. Ari was actually the youngest of us and knowing what I know of Earth now I should have expected that but it still sounded young compared to me, although we both were young compared to Lyric. Ironically enough, she was certainly the most immature of us but was the oldest of the three of us… That just seemed wrong, not that I wanted her as a mature competitor for Ari's love, but it still seemed to be reversed. The clearing opened up before us, the smell of sex still faintly in the air, and our bags still where we left them. “Well now I feel like the foal of the group-“ I interrupted my stallion with a purr, rubbing down his side before trotting out from under his wing, giving my tail a slight sway to show him his work. He was no foal that was for sure. Hearing no hoof steps behind me I looked behind me, Lyric was showing exactly how much of a stallion she thought he was, with her scaly muzzle plastered to his face, nibbling along his jaw line. Now that was a challenge! Ears back I turned to face her when a roar sounded out faintly ahead of us, freezing us in place, as we both moved towards Ari’s sides. Levitating the bags onto my back and onto Lyric’s back I pressed into his barrel, feeling his wing cover me again. “Let’s keep moving, we can talk as we go," Ari frowned before looking at Lyric, "and Lyric while I appreciate the kiss...I mean, that is, I got the point from Chrissy, you two don’t think of me as a foal but I’m just not from a herd culture. I hope we can still be friends?” Thank you Ari! You finally said something about her blatant flirting, it was beginning to get- “O-okay…. Can I still sleep with you and help you preen?” Her smile was hopeful but her eyes held a different message, she wasn’t taking ‘no’ as a answer, I hate that stubborn mare. “Oh course!” Ari appeared relieved that she was taking it well, apparently not realizing that she doesn’t hear rejection. With that drama over with for now we continued on our way, taking our positions at his side again, both of us rubbing against his wings with every step across the uneven ground. That peace was short lived as he said something that made my heart freeze. “Soo...Is there dream magic by any chance? I know that sounds silly but I swear I totally dreamt about Moonbutt last night.”
Persistence Pays Off.Ari Let it be known that I am excellent at asking all the wrong questions. Like asking an attractive mare in my dream why I dreamt her up, yes, I too don’t know how that would be answered. Another stupid one was asking myself in front the mare if I was horny to dream her up. My latest question though must have taken the prize so far, as I asked my marefriend if dream magic was a thing I also admitted that I dreamt of a mare other than her. Yah, it wasn’t my finest moment. So I was expecting anger, a kick, maybe a little laughs, and a rebuttal that magic cant do everything. None of that happened; first Chrissy froze in place while Lyric started to press into me almost to the point of knocking me over, and then I froze as I realized something was really wrong. They both held a slight tremble now, it made me look around for the creature that had roared earlier. But the trees and shaded grass were empty with the faint bird song in the background. What was going on with them? “Chrissy?” Moving into her side I gave her a nudge with my nose, this wasn’t looking good if her reaction was what I think it was… “What did she say?” Her fear was plain to hear and see, coupled with Lyric’s response it was like a big resounding ‘yes, you did just meet the princess of the moon’ to my mind. A strong wind whistled through the trees as you considered the dream. “Well first she just appeared, yelling at me in old Engli-err, old Equus, wanting to know what my dream meant. Then, huh, it’s a little fuzzy now, anyway she was trying to convince me she was real and trying to tell me her name but…” I trailed off as I realized I had inadvertently called her attractive, which was going to bite me in the butt later. “But?” Lyric prodded me with a slight edge to her voice. “But I didn’t believe her and she began circling me, inspecting me I think, before she called me a fake Alicorn and disappeared.” I heard two sighs of relief beside me. “That is okay then, she doesn’t know you exist yet, Azure and Barium have another couple days to reach Canterlot and I think we can all agree that it is better for the plan if she doesn’t know where you are. She can find out many things with dream magic-“ “Actually dream magic is really a form of mind magic-“ With a glare at Lyric Chrissy continued, “As I was saying since she can access your mind with dream magic we should travel when she is awake and sleep when she is asleep. So we are going to be nocturnal while we are in Equestria. Then she won’t be able to visit you anymore!” Well that seemed actually pretty airtight, if not a little inconvenient today as I was going to have to pull an all nighter. But I wasn’t going to complain about not have Moonbutt in my head, which seemed like a good idea. I could do without her screaming and I didn’t want to see her reaction after she read the letter. Eventually I would of course but that would be on my own ground, with a magic inhibitor and wing restraints on hoof. Speaking of that… “I completely agree Chrissy. I definitely don’t need her in my head.” Giving my mare a reassuring nuzzle to her neck which got me a cute trill, I continued, “However that got me thinking about our plan or rather the fact that Lyric doesn’t know about it yet.” Lyric was now giving me her full attention, which was actually kind of cute, with her sparkling eyes and scales. Chrissy nodded before looking into the space beside her. Shaking myself out of my thoughts I continued, “So we are traveling to Zebrica where we are going to get an airship and make some Alicorn grade magic inhibitors for their horns and Alicorn grade wing restraints, then I’m going to meet with them.” Lyric looked very concerned at that, but there was nothing to worry about, I had had plenty of time to work out some details. “I will probably drug them like the Diamond dogs did to me with their gas, abduct them, and then we are going on a two week tour of the continent to show them the damage they have caused. By the end of it they will understand and we will return them after they promise to stop moving the sun and moon.” Lyric had gone from attentive to scared, doubtful, and finally thoughtful. “After that is all over I think we will find a cozy spot somewhere on the planet and hide from the princesses.” I added with a slight chuckle and a grin. My grin was fading as both maresstill looked thoughtful, then concerned, finally settling on downright disapproval. I was starting to feel worried as Lyric got a strange look in her eye. Starting to walk again, Chrissy spoke in a slow voice, like she was scared of upsetting me. “Ari I know I said that was a great idea but after thinking about it we need to make some changes. For one, I’m pretty sure none of us know how to make magic inhibitors of any variety nor restraints, we need to find a trade pony for that part, and that means we need to find another pony that is sympathetic to our cause- “And doesn’t mind working with a changeling and a siren.” Lyric muttered loudly, we both stared at her. “What?! I am just saying ponies can be weak willed, snobbish, and complete prudes. For example, Do you know how many friends I had growing up?” Lyric looked at us, actually waiting for an answer, so I shook my head no. Chrissy frowned and shook her head. “NONE! When your mother’s mere presence makes mares jealous wrecks and their weak willed stallions putty not many ponies want to be around you! My aunts, my six thousand year old aunts were my friends growing up!” At this point Lyric was yelling and shaking. I didn’t know what to do for her, we started on the topic of the plan but it quickly took turn into left field causing me to realize I knew basically nothing about her. Lyric was a very flirtatious pony, was half siren on her mother's side, and presumably had a dead mother since she wasn’t with her anymore. She had had a rough time under Jabbar as his bait for catching ponies and apparently I was the first stallion to not be affected by her mind magic. That fact caused her to stalk me, challenge my marefriend to a mare challenge, and then continue to flirt with me after joining the group. Really I didn’t know anything about her other than she was really close to her aunts and mother growing up. Well I felt like shit now, I hadn’t stopped to really try to get to know her, at least she tried to even if it was in a extreme fashion. “I- I didn’t know Lyric.” Although my voice was soft, apologetic, she still started to cry, and I still hated tears. My mind raced as I tried to think of what was appropriate to do to calm her, come on instincts, you got to throw me a bone here! As if my brain listened my body had an urge and I let it go with it, I don’t know much body language here, and words are definitely not helping. My instincts had helped me before. I licked up Lyric’s tears, an odd sensation of scales on my tongue combined with the saltiness of her tears, continuing to even as her sobs turned to hiccups. Another win for instincts- A sniff sounded from my other side halting my relief, as if in slow motion I looked at Chrissy, tears were filling up her eyes. I had messed up. “Chrissy?” My voice sounded as nervous as I felt, I had made her cry. “I-I thought I was your marefriend?! Why are your putting-“ She stopped herself and shook her head before continuing, “Ari you don’t know what licking means do you?” Thinking it over realized I must be missing some context for licking, Chrissy had done it at the oasis but she had said it was a thing friends did, however maybe she meant a different type of friend than I understood. Such a thought made me narrow my eyes at her, had she been sugar coating her explanations before? How long had she wanted to be more than traveling companions? “So when you licked my muzzle at the oasis and said friends did that did you really mean mare friends do that?” Meanwhile Lyric was watching our conversation with interest, tears forgotten as her ‘rival’ was put on the spot. I’m not blind and quite frankly I think Lyric has been putting a lot of moves on me that I just don’t see, I mean Chrissy had been. I really only noticed when it was right in my face, err, in light of earlier with Lyric and Chrissy flashing me I think that’s very appropriate, although not entirely what i meant. “Y-yes, I just didn’t want to scare you away and my heat was just starting so I couldn’t help it... But your muzzle did heal nicely because if the licking!” She sounded a little desperate now, worried, maybe at my reaction. Although she was right about my muzzle it was fully healed and looked no worse for wear from the glass shards. Although I was a little off put that she had been twisting her words to get her way, I understood and could see why she went with that, she had probably grown up doing that. Chrissy probably never had true honesty before, ponies needing to be fooled into feeding Changelings, a fact that still rubbed me the wrong way. I loved Chrissy, maybe not the overly romantic speal I have read about but I surely enjoyed her company, her personality, and especially her body. However, these word games and twisted meanings couldn't continue. “Just be more honest next time okay?” Chrissy nodded her head before giving me a couple of licks on the muzzle. “You too Lyric, we should be honest about this sort of stuff.” Lyric nodded as well and moved in to lick my muzzle, I saw it coming and raised my eyebrow at her. “I thought I said no more flirting?” “It’s not flirting if you added your scent to me first.” Lyric winked at me, retracting her tongue despite her words suggesting otherwise, it threw me off. “Sooo, I have to agree with Chrissy on getting a trade pony, we can test it on you, but think we would butcher it if any of us tried to make one. We need to get this done right the first time, surprise is our biggest weapon here it seems.” And with that Lyric brought us back from left field. Speaking of field, the forest was starting to thin out turning into a field, not the pretty meadow type of field though. This field had the drowned yard look, soggy grass, and the glisten of water just waiting to become a mud puddle. A faint sulfuric smell hung in the air and in the distance I swore I saw a large froglike creature, it was the size of a sheep from our spot the three hundred feet away from us. They noticed my distraction and took in our environment as well, wrinkling their noses as the smell reached them as we stepped into the soggy field. My skin crawled at the sensation of the mud in my hooves, which while being hard enough to take days of travel they were still sensitive enough to feel the follicles of fur beneath them when touching a pony. Well right now they felt the grass sinking into the mud that had hid beneath the surface. “Huh we walked faster than I thought.” I commented and the mares nodded in concurrence. We were much closer to Minotaria if the land was a good sign. “We will be in Minotaria by tomorrow, if we stick along the border we can make it to the Gryphon Kingdom’s mountain range in three or four days-“ I interrupted Chrissy’s well memorized route, “Wait!” It just hit me now after nearly a day after getting rid of the ponies, “We totally forgot to double back in Saddle Arabia-“ “No I let you forget about that, it isn’t important, after thinking on it I realized I don’t want anything to do with them. They can hunt me till the end of time for all I care. After we are done saving the planet we are finding a nice place away from ponies-“ This time Lyric interrupted Chrissy, “By ‘we’ you mean me as well right?” Chrissy snorted and looked at me. I raised an eyebrow back to which she threw her head in my direction. Why did she have to make it my choice? Couldn’t she see that I wasn’t doing soo good with it soo far with choies, I mean if I had just said ‘no’ to Azure I could have saved us plenty of trouble and time. If I had said ‘no’ to Lyric Chrissy wouldn’t have to use breakfast as a way to get time to have her own special breakfast! But…I wasn’t alone anymore due to my actions, I had a marefriend and a very flirty new friend, maybe- A roar sounded from further on, even with the sun shining down on us I couldn’t see anything up ahead, even the frog creature was gone. That was a bad sign. We all tensed and went quiet, strategy talk put on backburner as we all knew something lay not so far ahead of us in the swamped field. “What can make that sound?” I whispered to the mares, eyes trained at the now silent tree line, although we were still moving we were definitely moving at a crawling pace now. **** Lyric Just when I was going to get Ari’s acceptance that roar had to return, I swear it was worse than Chrissy, well it was definitely scarier than her. She was acting weird though, I was expecting a outright ‘no’, a hiss, maybe even a bite for being soo bold. So when she differed to him to decide my brain halted, was she accepting me more or was she truly not worried about his decision? I could feel that he was accepting me into his herd, well not his full acceptance, and I certainly wasn’t going to say the word ‘herd’ around him till after he realizes his acceptance. But I was a step closer to being his mare, he had started putting his scent on me, had attempted at flirting with me… I think so on that last one, it is kind of hard to tell with him what is on purpose and what was just a cultural mix up. I sort of feel that was why Chrissy didn’t tell him certain cultural meanings, I mean, I’m still allowed to sleep next to him and preen him because of her twisted words. She really was a mare after my own heart, if she would only share him I wouldn’t have anything to complain about. The echo of the roar still rang through my ears, I really hope we don’t run across whatever made that. Did Ari say something? “Well there is really many things that could have made that roar.” Chrissy’s whisper had my attention, so that is what he had asked. “Like?” Ari looked apprehensively at her, which was kind of cute considering he knocked out that rock headed bull I… well let’s forget about that shall we. Ari was a very strong Alicorn, let’s put it that way. Jabbar was still unconscious when I left him and I certainly didn’t leave him in a nice way. If he lived he would be angry but I doubt that he did live, no water in the desert is basically a death sentence after all. Might as well inform him… “Like chimeras, dragons-“ “Highly unlikely! Hydras are more likely to roam this type of terrain.” Chrissy just had to interrupt; again, if she keeps this up I just might take her up on the challenge. Not that I want to be head mare and have to handle all the challenges that would come pouring in when Equestria discovered his existence, but I would love to kick her flank a little. I squeaked in surprise as something wet hit my flank and heard Chrissy give a squeak on the other side of Ari. Ari had just whipped me with his muddy tail! Oh it was soo on, I flicked my mud tipped tail right back to his rump, splattering his fur in droplets of mud. I heard Chrissy’s tail have the same idea as mine, it’s tip also dipped in the growing mud pit we found ourselves in. Around us the mud was growing deeper, slowly transforming into a fen, I knew a swamp must be ahead. The smell was really giving it away. In fact it was the only thing I could unfortunately smell, Ari’s scent overshadowed by the offending odor, and any other scents were obscured as well. The smell of rotten eggs had taken over my nostrils. My thoughts were interrupted as something wet and slimey landed on my head with a plop. With a squeal I was immeatiately airborne, bucking as best as I could in this mud hole, and in the process losing both my saddle bags and the terrifying…Frog. I was a little surprised, it was a perfectly reasonable reaction! “HAHAHAHAHAHAA” Ari was now stomping his fore hoof into the mud laughing his head off at me. I wasn’t that unreasonable was- A mudball hit me straight in the muzzle, which although felt nice against my dried out scales, shocked me into blinking and opening my mouth. I heard Ari gasp in surprise to my right, looking over I saw he had been pushed over into the mud, and looking down at him was a very brown Chrissy. We were soo dead. Chrissy looked up from Ari’s mud splattered form and locked eyes with me, I having more sense than the stallion in the mud ran for the trees like a scared filly. Ducking behind the nearest tree I caught four more mud balls to the flank but I missed most of them if the resounding splats on the trunk were accurate. Crouched behind the tree I waited, I’m not entirely what for as there was endless mud around us for ammo, and I had no intention to leave Ari… I jumped in place as I heard Chrissy squeal and lots of mud squelching. What was going on out there? Curiosity won over my instincts which told me this was a bad idea, this would draw attention to myself, and I would become a target for mud again. It’s a shame I didn’t listen to that thought. Peeking my muzzle around the trunk I saw Chrissy galloping away from at least a two dozen mudballs and Ari following with a manic grin. Oh dear Faust, that is going to take forever to get out of her mane. Ari saw me unfortunately and turned his head giving me a wink. Wha- A shadow fell over me, looking up it filled me with dread while at the sense time made perfect sense, a pile of mud levitated over me in golden magic. My ears pinned themselves just in time as the magic vanished and it fell on me all within the span of a couple of seconds. Mud was everywhere now. It ran down my scales, through my fur, and coated my mane and tail. The coolness felt heavenly on my dry skin and scales, solidifying that I wasn’t visiting Saddle Arabia for at least a century, and we were never, ever living there. I was a sea pony, we would find somewhere with water, lots of water. Chrissy was squealing again, a reminder that I had a stallion to deal with. Getting up I gave myself a quick shake, mud flying everywhere before I finally removed the mud from my eyes. Trotting into the area I quickly gathered a couple of mudballs in my magic. Now where was- Again I was hit from above. Looking up I saw Chrissy holding a second mudball in her magic, her eyebrow raised as my eyes twitched, she was being held up Ari as he hovered above me. Ganging up me were they? I will show exactly what a millennia and growing up with my overly enthusiastic aunts as friends resulted in. Did I mention I was part siren, a sea pony? I could practically feel their confusion as I grinned back at them, scowl forgotten as I prepared my revenge. Feeling the water in the mud I drew it to me, its innate magic feeling the call of my magic, and I put forth the shape I needed. The feeling of the water brought about a sigh before I looked back to my younger opponents. “ARI Fl-“ But Chrissy had noticed my towering wave of water too late to spare them, it crashed over them and surrounded me with it’s soothing embrace. It reminded me of mother, when she would take me below the surface to see the reefs, and I couldn’t help but add a bit of salt to the water surrounding me. Later I would ask him. Releasing the water from my hold, I opened my ears and eyes to take in my victory. Ari and Chrissy were both lying on their chests coughing up water and looking liking they had lost their will to fight. Did it matter that I might have started the fight when I reacted quite reasonably to a slimy thing dropping on my head, and after hearing roaring twice already it was called for. Ari was the first to stand up, his wings dragging in the mud a little under the weight of the water, and a manic grin on his muzzle. Horse apples, maybe he wasn’t done. Looking at me with the same grin as before he trotted over to me, “That was awesome Lyric! I mean the water felt amazing and the magic was just WOW. That was soo much fun!” He trotted up to my side with what I realized was actually a smile and gave me a wing hug and did something that had me blushing like a filly. He gave me a hard rub along my neck to my muzzle, I think he meant to nuzzle me but I wasn’t complaining, in fact I was hoping that it was on purpose, he didn’t mean no flirting really. However I also realized at the same moment he did that that his marefriend, the lead mare, was getting up. Looking over at her with my muzzle blazing red, i saw her face go from to annoyed to an expression that I couldn’t quite read. Her ears flicking between sideways and forward, her lips set in a thin line, and her eyes meeting met mine, emotionless, before closing. How was I not dead yet? My brain went between my shock and joy for a good minute before let it sink in, Chrissy was accepting me slowly in her own way. They were still learning to share, I could live with this though, afterall the ‘no’ they kept insisting on was slowly changing. I had a definite ‘maybe’ from them now.
The Third Time's the Charm.**** Chrissy I had realized something was wrong almost the moment we met Lyric, although it didn’t hit me exactly what was odd until after I was done my heat. Thinking clearly now I realized that a sea pony in the Saddle Arabian desert was just the surface of what was wrong with the picture. The most basic fact being that sirens hadn’t been seen in over a millennia. According to the books in my library the last three sirens were last seen rampaging across the Equestrian countryside, causing disharmony and anger before being ‘dealt with’ by Starswirl the Bearded himself, we all know what 'dealt with' means though. The books hadn’t mentioned any other sirens or any foals, which is what Lyric must have been around that time. This also begs the question of where her father was and why they both weren’t mentioned in the history books. The more I thought of her unique nature and situation the more grim the conclusion I came to, a conclusion all too similar to the way the history books portrayed my species. We were vile, emotion stealing parasitic bugs. Sirens were cruel, stallion stealing enchantresses. Both statements being completely ignorant to the reality of our species, and a sadly unsurprising fact given Equestria’s history of racism and magical might. They were also present in all the history books in their schooling system, yes the ‘magic of friendship’ was a fickle thing, only applying to those that fit into their society. I could faintly remember my mother tucking me into our nest and answering my questions, my mind still upset at the notion that all I knew was wrong after reading that particular chapter in 'The History of Equestria'. She had chittered to me faintly before curling her warm body around my much smaller body, chitin to chitin, letting her love for me flow over, and I had trilled back in contentment. ‘They fear what they don’t understand my little nymph, the old king and queen cast their opinion of us and other emotionvores long ago.’ I could almost hear my hopeful squeak of a voice replying. ‘But surely the princesses, err, princess is different? She might listen to us! We can show the ponies how we aren’t scary. Maybe-‘ My chest ached as I remembered her next words. 'NO.' I had opened my mouth to ask why but she continued on, bitter sadness covering the sweet love, 'I’m sorry my little princess but Princess Celestia has already given us her answer, she will not listen to our ‘vile lies’. She ended the negotiation before we could get a word in. We have nothing left to say to the ponies of Equestria.’ Knowing that I grew up knowing that one of the creatures I get food from hated me, feared me, and that their ruler was perfectly fine with that. Did it hurt our feelings? Having to tell every new nymph that we must never show the ponies mercy in a fight for they would never show us the same luxury. That instead we had to teach them to avoid fighting, with disguises to hide in and how to concoct lies to hide behind, all to obtain one of their most basic needs. I hated that reality. Lyric must have hated that reality just as much as I did, do still. Despite not being a changeling I could tell she knew exactly what I had gone through. Only some words and locations might be different. But from her words I knew the experience was the same: ponies fear her, hate her, and she must use her innate talents to get by. In truth we really weren’t that different. We both saw a stallion that held no prejudice or distrust to us, despite both of our unique meetings. I still can hardly believe I came at his face like that, my brain was not functional then obviously. Although I can’t say her method was any better. She wasn’t bad though, just different, and just maybe tolerable when she remembered that I was- No, I am his mare...But, if he wanted it and she listened to me then it might not to be bad to have a herd. A small herd, no more than what we were now, it wouldn’t be bad to have Lyric around. If- My body froze as a thought hit me, foals, nymphs, and whatever sirens call their young. Can we even have nymphs together? Or would I call them foals? I glanced at Ari’s groin as they looked for the second set of saddlebags, the first one dripping from on Lyric’s back. Were we even capable of reproducing, a emotionvore and herbivore, we had evolved from the same ancestor but…Would- “Chrissy I can’t find your saddlebags, can you give it a try?” Blinking I focused on his face, his muzzle was covered in mud again from his interesting way of searching for it, an embarrassed grin twisting his muzzle. He looked like a pig with his face like that and holding back a facehoof I looked to see where the other member of our…Where Lyric was. Ugh, I could decide what to call us later! I didn’t have to look far for the magical siren, she was just letting him get completely muddy. I was going to have to teach him a little magic, this was just sad, and her a little manners. “Really Lyric? You couldn’t use your elemental magic and move the water from the dirt? Or better yet-“ I thought of the compass and map, letting them be a focus point as I located the bags some twenty meters behind them. Adding the intent needed the pack shot out of the mud with a loud squelch, levitating in my magic as I looked at my herdmates. Fuck it, might as well go all in, she isn’t the worse mare to be stuck with. I mean it’s not like I have to share with- Not going there, just no. Anyways, she was over a millennia old, I can't think of a excuse to forgetting locating and retrieval spell. The nervous laugh said it all. “Oops, guess I forgot about that.” Her ears were splayed as Ari pinnined his ears back at her, snorting mud onto her face. I don’t blame him, the stench must be horrible. Ari What had started as a slight sulphuric smell now was a all dominating, nausea inducing smell. I had started looking for the saddlebags with my hooves but that wasn’t working, my horn and wings certainly weren’t options so I used the only thing I could think of: my muzzle. Which Lyric didn’t point out was silly, or even try to use her magic to help find the bag, and really I think she must be a little sore about the whole two against one thing at the end of the fight to even let me do that. But, in our defense Lyric didn’t appear to need any help, she knocked us right out of the sky. Magic was so awesome, it’s a shame I forget to use it sometimes. Chrissy shook the saddle bags out and placed them on her chitin with a disgusted look, I can't smell anymore but I'm sure they smell like swamp mud now. In fact we all smell like the swamp now. Not that I regret this mud fight at all, it really helped me relax, and even Chrissy seems less stiff with Lyric now. It did us all a little good to relax but we had to continue on, the planet’s destruction wasn’t slowing for us and I certainly didn’t want this to take longer than it had to. I did want a life after this, even if it was different than the life I always imagined for myself. My thoughts stopped as I felt Chrissy assume her usual side, feeding off my love on the go as was the norm for her. Lyric perked up on my other side, smiling widely at us, for some reason very happy. “So are we ready to go again?” The mares nodded and we headed in what I think was the right direction, after a while everything looks the same, but I could just be disoriented by that damnable immobile sun. How in the world did magic stop that thing anyway? Could all Alicorn’s do that? The sun wanted to prove me a liar and started to move downward, towards our horizon. It was slowly adding a slight chill to the warm air. Watching it descend in silence we marched on, the high steps wearing my legs as I had the mud sucking me down with every step, and my muddied wings resting on my mare’s backs- Wait I meant my mare’s and Lyric’s backs, slip of the mental tongue, which thankfully Chrissy couldn’t hear or I would be dealing with a very angry mare right now. Anyway the sun finally set and the moon ascended the sky, illuminating our rather murky path, and waking the nocturnal inhabitants of the swamp. A chorus of crickets, or what I thought sounded like crickets, started up as several wet plops up ahead drew my interest. Lyric shuddered at the sound, probably remembering her reaction to the frog. I had to remember that for the future. However for now we had hours of muddy marching to do, all night long, it’s almost like I signed up for a boot camp. Actually I would have taken boot camp, it would have had less mud. Our pace was tiring but necessary, if we ‘rested’ in any capacity besides pausing to float one of the canteens to our lips I knew we wouldn’t get up again. Both mares were leaning on me in a way that betrayed their tired state, Chrissy had even tried to rest her head on my wither but had quickly given up on that, muttering how I was moving to much to be a good pillow. And we still had at least a week before we hit Zebrica…Wait Zebrica is a whole other continent, horse apples I knew I missed something. “So, I just realized something kind of important,” Both mares turned their ears to me and grunted in a way I took as ‘go on’. “Well we have to get the airship from Zebrica right? No one inland makes them right?” “Yes, I think I see your point Ari. To answer your question, no, no one on this continent makes airships. In fact they are quite a uncommon sight in Equestria altogether, even at the docks. How do we cross the narrow sea? We are a very noticeable -err- we stand out as an Alicorn, changeling, and siren. We almost sound like some bad joke.” Chrissy wasn’t sounding very hopeful right now. “So we are going to be noticed any way we do this, crossing the sea, and then flying around in a airship. Maybe we should just paint it with a bull’s-eye while we are at it!”I couldn’t help but feel frustrated at myself, why did I have to be a seven foot tall Alicorn stallion, why couldn’t I have been a cutesy little pony, I would have blended in no problem then. Not only that I had fallen in love with the one mare that the princesses would probably be more than happy to murder but I had another mare, mare traveling with us, that stood out like a sore thumb as well…At least Chrissy could disguise herself, Lyric on the other hand was going to be interesting to disguise, I mean I could wear a cape or something over my wings but it was Lyric’s entire front half that stood out. Not to mention she was taller than the average pony if Azure and Barium were an average size. “There is always pirates.” The whole swamp seemed to pause at her words, the crickets went silent and the croaks echoed into nothing, it left only the faint sound of the swamp water to our right moving against the shore. We turned our heads to look at Lyric, my ears forward as I processed what she said. Chrissy was the first to break the silence, “So you really think a group of pirates would listen to us, to Ari? Then what?! They would happily sail us across the sea free of charge, feed us- “ At that point she looked pointedly at me like it was my appetite that took all the food from the bags, which it wasn't, that was a group effort! “-, and not breathe a word of this to the princesses. I assume they will also donate some money for a airship while they are at it? Is that how you pictured it?!” Did the air just get colder? While Chrissy was questioning Lyric’s suggestion, I felt the cold turn into a sliver of unease. Was it the plan? Maybe, I mean pirates were known for being ruthless, greedy, and just downright unmoral. They could kill us in our sleep sooner than help us. But…I know it was wrong, but what if we took a pirate ship, right from under their noses? Chrissy was good at disguising herself, she could easily infiltrate them. Or if we had to fight I knew Lyric could entrance the stallions while Chrissy and I take them down. I know I wasn’t exactly trained for combat, just a couple of scuffles defending my friends and then what my instincts guide me to do since I have been here, but- The moon’s light vanished. Looking up I saw why. Above us gleamed five sets of red eyes, glowing in the dark as they narrowed their draconic slits and met my slowly widening blue eyes. The eyes were part of a brown, scaly snout that dripped swamp water on my back, my eyes stuck in the ‘oh shit’ look I followed the five long necks down where they met a well muscled lump of a body that was still half submerged in the swamp. My heart started racing, adrenaline racing through me as I realized that this was the biggest creature I had ever seen and I almost wanted Jabbar as an opponent again, he was only slightly taller than me in comparison. This thing was towering over me. I was expecting the logical flight instinct to kick in at the sight of the eighteen foot tall monstrosity before me, but instead my instinct screamed ‘FIGHT’. Something about having two mares with me and a predator facing me said running wasn’t an option anymore. That wasn’t unsound logic and I had to agree with the urge, I did need practice fighting. It was time to protect my mares- No, my mare and Lyric. Snorting I arched my neck, keeping eye contact with the same head I raised my wings, spreading them as high and wide as I could. Chrissy and Lyric snapped out their stupor at my snort, turning their ears to me before they readied their horns, green and pink magic at the ready. As if time stood still we all waited in the new darkness, the sound of water dripping and magic charging buzzing on horns made every twitch and breeze stand out in sharp detail. Then a head I wasn’t looking at came hurtling at me, I saw it coming all too late, and knew I couldn’t dodge in time without leaving them unprotected. I didn’t want it to hit us and thought of the first thing that came to mind: a shield. That head crashed into a translucent golden shield that was connected from my horn, now to- I was flying through the air now my thoughts to slow to comprehend that I had not one enemy but five, each head capable of separate moves by the feel of it. Pain lanced across my left wing as I hit the tree, causing me to close my eyes as the feeling going up my wing felt reminiscent of when I hit my funny bone, only with twice the pain. I slid down the bark of the tree that caught me, groaning as I tried to make sense of my senses, and opening my eyes I stumbled upright. My hooves swimming before my eyes, I started to panic inside, snorting unintentionally. Were they alright? Looking up I saw Chrissy and Lyric had constructed a bubble around themselves which both filled me with relief and determination. Both of them shot a glance at me as I groaned my pain, they appeared to relax slightly at me stumbling around. Okay, my body felt like it was hit by a car but that was fading and the creature was swaying its many heads around, it was still above my mares, my-oh hell it doesn’t matter, the creature was over what I wanted to protect, and I was still a good twenty feet away from them thanks to the hit. The creature decided to strike again, two heads going hitting Lyric’s bubble while the remaining heads hit Chrissy’s bubble, this caused both mare’s to grunt and close their eyes. And here I was just standing here. Feeling the call to act I went with the shield theme my mind conjured before and conjured a golden sword, yes I didn’t know a thing about swords but I it couldn’t be that hard, it was magic after all. Breaking into a gallop I charged it aiming for the side, my wings spread and ready for a quick evasion. Although the ground slipped and squished under my hooves I still was going a good sixty kilometers a hours when I ran past it, my magic sword taking first blood in the fight, and I immediately regretted it. The blood was burning my fur as it hit me. Unable to help myself I squealed at the pain and bucked, making contact with the monster’s belly, and surprisingly sending him back a couple of feet. Slowing the buck, I stood in front of Chrissy and Lyric’s bubbles, my eyes watering at the pain that lingered on my skin. Dear lord that thing had acidic blood. Speaking of blood, the blood still gushed from the long gash I had made along it’s neck, however my aim had faltered as soon the blood hit me causing the cut that was supposed to behead it to cut diagonly down it’s chest. With my focus gone my sword disappeared as well, pain now coming from my left wing and along my back. “What is that?” I spat the word out, hate was a good word to how I felt towards it. “A hydra,” Chrissy didn’t sound smug like I would expect, rather she sounded resigned and a little strained, telling me I wasn't the only one was in pain. Of course, fuck my luck, I don’t get the easy daisy lined road to the coast, no I get the swampy, hydra blocked road. Anger bubbled in my chest at my life, overtaking my pain as I stared the swaying beast down. Was it taunting me? Did it think just because it hadn’t moved a inch out of it’s territory that it was winning? I didn’t have to cut something to kill it. Snorting again I reared up and stomped the ground, saying in no uncertain terms ‘come at me’. I could feel the hydra shift, rumbling the ground, and I could hear the mares back up from me. Lighting my horn I spread my wings, ignoring the horrible pull I felt in my left one, this would only work once after all. The hydra finally lumbered forward, one scaley stump of a leg leaving the water and rumbling the ground, using this free leg it pushed itself up and out of the swamp. That added a good five feet to it’s already daunting height. Not waiting for the monster to make the move I rocketed upward with one downstroke, now two hundred feet above the hydra I began my descent just as quickly, with my muzzle downward I saw my weak link. The far left head was staring off into space, ignoring the mares and me as well, it was too easy. Although some muscles and joints protested I changed course to the zoned out head, my horn sparking and grabbing a hold of it in my magic as I whizzed by, giving another flap I ascended again with the head in tow. The howl of pain echoed through the swamp as I cranked its neck up with my magic, raising the hydra a foot off the ground before dropping my wings and aiming for the small space between the next two necks. It appeared slightly off balance at my actions but remained upright, if not a whole lot angrier. I was almost to the gap when I saw it coming in my peripheral vision, a long thin tail rose from the water, sailing at with a whoosh. However the tail never hit me, green and pink bubbles simultaneously appeared in front of incoming lashing. Relief crossed my mind as I made it through the gap, the head trailing me in my magic’s grasp, and I began to weave between the necks. While I weaved the hydra continued to try and tail whip me, it’s heads unable to reach me from my spot, and I was never more thankful for the green and pink walls protecting me from it. With the final neck nearly behind me I felt my muzzle start to go upward in a grin, this was actually working! I turned around the last neck sealing it off with the now limp head in my magic, now all - Then the hydra started to pass out, necks wilting faster than I expected, coming down at me with all the literal tons of deadweight. However much that scared me that was not the problem, the problem lay in my wing, and previously it had been just a pain. That pain had been dulled by my anger, my adrenaline to protect my mares, but it also hid the fact that something was clearly wrong with it and getting worse with my continuing use. That something chose now to return with interest. With that my left wing seized in the air, signals not traveling to the muscles to tell them to move, and I felt true panic set in. “ARI!” Chrissy and Lyric called to me from the ground, most likely seeing my wing hang limply at my side. My magic faltered around the hydra's head as my mind raced, tucking my remaining wing to my barrel I attempted to descend faster than the necks however I weighed less than the hydra falling behind me. I could feel the hydra’s weight nearly upon me, hear the panicked yells from my mares, and see the faint glimmer of the moon’s light as the head’s revealed the moon. That light gave me a crazy idea and I spread out my good wing as it took hold of my mind. The magic pooled in my horn as I tried to think of how I should form this, this brace, no, more like a framework for my wing to rest on. Wind whipped by as the ground approached and my magic finally flowed free with my intent clear. It worked for all of ten seconds, allowing me enough time to glide out of the body’s descent, however the strain the magic put on my wing by forcing it to conform had me seeing spots. Pain was taking over my mind, so I finally let go of the magic frame I had made for my limp wing. This caused me to land slightly off center I landed in a stumbling trot before I stopped and turned to face the hydra. What greeted my face was not a nearly twenty five foot tall hydra’s body but two mares coming at me at a full gallop. “Hey-“ My welcome and reassurance knocked out of me as I staggered under their assault, both mares nickering softly and rubbing themselves along my neck. It felt amazing despite my pain, the smooth scales and chitin pressing on my fur, the rubbing prompted my own happy nicker and rubbing. Alternating my attention between Chrissy's neck and Lyric's neck I couldn’t help but feel my chest swell, a certain sort of pride at protecting them from the hydra that most certainly would have eaten us. Glancing past them I saw the offending hydra, narrowing my eyes in the dim light the rise and fall of the hydra could be seen. Not on my watch, that hydra will cause trouble, if not for me in the future than surely for other creatures. Golden magic grabbed the weak head and resumed tension on it as I resumed ressuring my mares. Yeah I just give up on correcting my mind, I mean it was half correct at least, Chrissy was mine while Lyric was a mare traveling with my group. It was a small technical point but it still eased my mind to point it out, I was not- The hydra began thrashing against the ground, sending tremors through the swamp, it was not quite conscious but also not yet dead. It would be dead soon. Any introspection into my wiliness to kill for them was lost as soon as Chrissy kissed me, shaking slightly, and then Lyric began nibbling on neck. I guess they noticed my distraction. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Lyric was muttering into my neck and Chrissy broke the kiss and rubbed the other side of my neck in time to her muttering, but relief coated her voice. It was a feeling I could understand well now. Seeing them get assaulted, even behind protective bubbles, had me scared. They still appeared to slightly affected by the hits and if the hit had landed… Well I didn’t want to think about that but it filled me with fear for them. Despite how I had met them they were my rocks, after I finished the one mission I had accepted I was counting on their company for the rest of my years, whatever my life brought me now. “Yes, Lyric you are definitely coming with us after we are done the whole saving the world mission.” Beside me I could see her tense before launching herself at my mouth, not the first time she has kissed me, but despite my insistence of not being into her that way I felt a little affection towards her in that moment. Chrissy turned herself around and pressed her still trembling form to my side, giving a cute sigh as her body relaxed against mine. A thump sounded from the hydra. I finally felt the tension leave my body as the hydra’s body stilled my mind relaxing now that the threat had been removed. This night felt like it was going to be a long one if this was any sign of my luck.
Strange Things Happen When you Don't Sleep.Ari It didn’t matter what world I was in, something’s never changed about how people of any species showed they cared. This was clear with how much Chrissy and Lyric were trying to fuss over my wounds, keyword was trying. I was never a good patient when I was in pain. “Stay still! If you keep moving I can’t clean them!” Chrissy growled in frustration as she tried to lick the angry red spots again, that was where the hydra’s blood had burned through my fur. Weirdly enough she wasn’t trying to use magic on them or to stop me from moving. Not that I was going to point that out to her. Having moved closer to Lyric now to escape Chrissy’s tongue I immediately regretted it as I felt Lyric’s horn touch my limp wing, sidestepping into Chrissy and away from the even worse pain I started to realize I couldn’t avoid this fussing. The pain was inevitable and they were trying to help me, despite their initial ignoring of my pain. I mean Lyric just suddenly jabs her horn at my wing joint roughly, okay I may be oversensitive there right now but it did hurt. No warning what so ever and lots of pain shooting down my wing. What did they expect me to do, welcome the pain? “If you stopped hurting me I would stay still! Just jabbing me with your horn and touching my burns like that hurts you know.” This got me a snort from both mares, “Quit being such a foal about it and take it like a stallion!” Lyric snarled at me. This made me freeze, not due to her words but her tone, I don’t think I had ever heard her frustrated with me before, and quite frankly it scared me a little. I mean I had only known for like five days now so really we were still getting to know each other but I still felt I should know her better. I only knew Chrissy for a week before she was my marefriend, I couldn’t help but feel a mild confusion over the speed of the relationships. Was the god telling the truth about me being me still? Yes I did like women before this but I certainly wasn’t attracted to a horse, which was new, and strangely enough not strange to my mind. Looking at Chrissy, Lyric, and hell even Princess Luna I could see what features were attractive. In fact they were much the same as what I thought was attractive on women before: a lithe figure, a little muscle, and a nice butt. Not that I didn’t appreciate the non physical attributes of honesty, kindness, and a good sense of humor; but I guess I’m trying to understand if I am still me. And I sort of was still me, except for one pattern I was noticing with my thoughts. I never was violent before I became a stallion, sure I would kick an asshole till he went down, but I had never killed anyone before coming here. The deer I hit notwithstanding I was a very civilized modern woman, defending my friends from men who didn’t know what the word ‘no’ meant, and holding my tongue with the perpetually stupid. It was a big jump to go from beating up jerks to killing them. But since I killed those Diamond dogs I was completely open to killing, I felt a strong drive to protect, and honestly my instincts were starting to seem suspicious to my doubtful mind. Were they just my new hormones or were they part of a bigger plan? Was I- “OW!” I didn’t move away from the pain this time as my thoughts were interrupted, Lyric had moved to my side and was touching her glowing horn to parts of my wing bone. It hurt! But… I could feel my wing twitching now as I thought of moving it, whatever she was doing to it was helping. “S-sorry Lyric, whatever you are doing it is helping. Let me help find the bags.” I might as well do something and I really wanted to learn how Chrissy found them soo quickly before. “Chrissy how did you-“ I paused midsentence as I looked back at Chrissy. She had licked my wounds, coating them in the same translucent material she had used on my muzzle before. The pain was dull now, a faint whisper in my mind, no longer quite as urgent. “What is that stuff you put on my burns Chrissy?” “It is what we use to make cocoons. It’s used to seal cracked chitin, make nests, and anything that really needs something sticky and cool.” This caused me to blink owlishly at her. “So like a bug’s spit?” “No, not like a bug!” I jumped in place at that, not expecting such a reaction. She looked a little embarrassed as she noticed my reaction, “Well sort of like a bug, changelings did evolve from the same ancestors as yours though. We just needed to rely on alternative food sources and that’s how we began feeding on love-.“ She continued on as my mind drifted with this new information, a changeling was a pony that had bug like characteristics. Just how bug like was she if she went into heat like a mammal but produced cocoon spit like a bug? “-do you have any questions?” She finished talking and I was left grasping at straws, what had she said? “Yes, three that I can think of actually, Firstly how do I find the saddlebags like you did before? Also what is 'the heat' exactly? Can you explain in what way Changelings are like a mammal and what way you are like a bug?” My barrage of questions may have broken her. With an eye twitching Chrissy looked at Lyric who just shrugged her withers back at the look. “W-well let’s start with the easiest one, to locate the bags concentrate on something in the bag to start with. If you focus on the whole bag it uses more magic and therefore more energy, energy and magic go hoof in hoof, understand?” I nodded and my horn glowed gold as I pictured the horrible thobe that I had stuffed in the bag, seeing my horn glow that she continued, “Okay now before you command it to come to you-“ As soon as she said that I willed it to me. The thobe came firing out of the mud, giving me a idea where one of the bags were, it also earned me a long sigh. “Sorry.” My ears splayed a little as Chrissy’s eyes narrowed at me. “As I was saying, when you have the object pictured, use it to feel the surroundings, and then encompass those in your magic and levitate it.” “Why don’t you just teleport it?” Lyric asked in a curious voice, looking at Chrissy with a weird expression. You can teleport here?! That explained the postal system in Saddle Arabia, oh, the possibilities with teleportation! “That would take a lot of magic, why use a lot of magic when a little is all that is needed.” That was sound logic, not that I didn’t want to learn how to teleport things, and enchant things. Oh there was soo much to learn here! I was not a nerd. I just happened to find magic amazing, and I couldn’t help but think that I will love this world…After I save it and figure out my mind though. The latter wasn’t, well didn’t seem really as important right now, the instincts had actually helped me for the most part, and Chrissy wasn’t in heat anymore so I didn’t have that distraction for my mind. Seriously her natural scent is delicious enough without it being increased like it had been. Involuntarily I inhaled at the thought of her scent. It smelled normal, well a little spicier and richer but not overpowering like in her heat. Wait, when do mares go into heat, or more importantly when does Lyric? My eyes widening as I considered Chrissy’s behavior, the only base I had for what might be normal, and I shivered at the thought of Lyric like that. I didn’t want to deal with that, sure she was attractive, had a nice personality, and even liked me in that way. But I was in a committed relationship with a mare that wasn’t into herds, not that I was, well I did think they worked for the Saddle Arabians but I still didn’t know how to feel after growing in a monogamous society. I really needed to learn about the heat, if there was one thing that will distract me it is that. With the heat on my mind now I made haste retrieving the bags as well as testing a theory. Focusing on both the compass and a water canteen, one item from each bag, I imagined their surroundings and then willed them to levitate. It actually worked, both bags floating in my golden magic, dripping mud but still intact. A feeling of pride glowed in my chest again and I looked to Chrissy and Lyric, levitating the bags to them as well. Both mares were done their fussing over me and looked at the bags, then back at me. “That’s actually pretty good!” Lyric gave me a happy smile, still looking a little tired. “See, you don’t need to teleport them, levitating is a much more efficient use of magic. Save your magic for later.” Chrissy looked even more tired than I felt but she gave me a happy smile anyway. My wings fluttered a little at the praise and accomplishment of doing that, only a little twinge of discomfort coming from the left one after Lyric’s magic. Despite just killing a Hydra I felt pretty good, good being the equivalent of sore muscles and a pressing feeling of hunger, well I was hungrier than before. Wait… Was my Appetite connected to my magic then? If it was connected to my energy then… I shook my head. Thinking could happen later, I had to get out of Equestria. All this nocturnal business was way too dangerous. “Thanks! Although it would be handy to know how to teleport things I’m pretty tired for tonight, maybe tomorrow,” I placed the bags on their backs, leaving the thobe in the mud, only a little feeling of guilt at losing the resource. It stunk of dried sweat though and they didn’t seem to protest so I left it. Starting off at a walk I didn’t have to wait long for Chrissy and Lyric to catch up to my side. However my thoughts also caught up to me, I would have thought my tiredness would have banished my thoughts but instead the left over adrenaline brought them into focus again. Not even the squelching of mud distracted me. With the dead body behind us I began, “So this is going to be awkward but can you explain ‘the heat’ to me? On earth, uh, females don’t have ‘the heat’ as you call it, they have ‘periods’ instead. ‘Periods’ are basically the estrus cycle, they happened every month, but they certainly didn’t have the uh, symptoms you did Chrissy.” **** Lyric Well that both answered a couple of questions I had and raised a whole slew of new ones. Clearly Ari didn’t know much about this world, he was still learning magic, and about the species here. He didn’t even know what a Hydra was! But this takes the cake; Ari, a magically gifted stallion, is traveling with Chrissy and myself, two magically gifted mares, and he doesn't know about 'the heat'! I can’t speak for Chrissy but from my knowledge, due to our magical core requiring such a high presence of magic to enter estrus we didn’t go into heat often, and Ari certainly had the magical presence to cause it. So this situation was just asking for lots of good rutting in my opinion, he was one of the few males capable of signaling to our bodies to enter estrus, and both of us were willing… In fact, thinking about it now, there is so few stallions left magically strong enough to induce heats in beings like us that I would almost be willing to bet that was Chrissy’s first heat, especially with the way she acted. After being through several myself I can safely say that control is a learned skill, let’s just say my first one was incredibly embarrassing. If it wasn’t for- “Well where should I begin…” Chrissy looked lost, her eyes getting a faraway look. I don’t blame her, I was not expecting to have this sort of talk with my future stallion either, might as well help a mare out. Pausing to hop over a log I thought back to my mother’s explanation, “Let me be the first to say WOW those poor mares, every month? That would be hard, even if they don’t get the same symptoms, I wouldn’t wish that on any pony. Right Chrissy?” Trying to get her engaged in the conversation didn’t work if anything it just showcased how out of it she was. Ari noticed this as well. “Chrissy you okay?” Her eyes weren’t focusing on anything anymore, the light of the moon showing a distant look. Something was- “EEEEEEK” We all jumped in place as an owl swooped down ahead of us, grabbing a frog off a lily pad. This also got Chrissy out of her thoughts though. “Sorry what did you say Lyric?” She sounded calm now, interested in what I said, and most certainly fake. Glancing at Ari I caught him glancing at me with worry clear in his eyes, there wasn’t anything I could tell him though. How do I convince a Changeling to talk when they are known as master infiltrators, able to create intricate lies at the drop of their hoof? That was one stereotype that was true about them. Chipper smile back on my muzzle I repeated myself, “Oh just how much it would suck to be a mare on Earth, having estrus every month, I mean I thought the ponies had it bad right?” “EVERY MONTH and Earthlings are monogamous still?” Chrissy was actually ‘here’ now, eyes wide and ears back in fear of what she heard. “Well, yes, but the estrus on earth isn’t the same as… well every female is different but most just get a little stomach ache for four days, bleed a little, and feel a little extra emotional. I have never heard of anyone, err, anypony acting the way Chrissy did.” Ari was blushing a little now, looking at Chrissy with a nervous smile. My heart raced, they actually bled every month?! “I think I will stick with a week of the heat, the ‘period’ that sounds horrible!” Chrissy nodded, remaining silent, slowly retreating into herself again. Buck what was up with her? I mean I sort of cared how she felt, she had given me far more chances than I thought she would, and in battle I totally saw her watching by shield. She looked like she had my back, almost like we were herdmates. I could hope. Ari laughed at us, “That’s exactly what an Earthling would say about your estrus cycle. Anyway, how long does your ‘heat’ last for?” Again Chrissy was silent. “Well like on earth it varies but most mare’s are in heat for five to eight days, I’m not really sure how often mare’s are going into nowadays but it used to be every three months… Actually Chrissy would know, she’s had to disguise herself as one recently!” He looked at me confused, “I thought we were all ponies? You talk about it like mares are separate from you two…” Chrissy finally tuned back into us, “Actually most mares are going into heat every six to eight months now.” “WOW!” Both Ari and I said at the same time, although for very different reasons. I could hardly believe that they were soo infrequent now, just what was going on with them? It wasn’t like they were getting magically stronger, I hadn’t been in heat for at least six hundred years, not that I was complaining. I wouldn’t mind it if I had Ari around though. “Ari, I don’t know if you noticed but there isn’t exactly lots of Royal Changelings or Sirens running around anymore,” I took a deep breath at the reminder that my family wasn’t in this world right now. “Well, we are sort of programmed with a ‘population control’ in our body, Alicorns have it as well. Mares with a large magical core need a large magical presence before their body will enter estrus, and once in estrus conception is even harder. A lot of magic is needed to make a foal and with our lifespan it is probably best that it is that way, we can all live up to ten thousand years old. But after the last power struggle resulted in soo many deaths the 'population control' turned into a curse… Most of the stallions had fought to the death, or been killed in the resulting executions, that left a lot of mares single and foals orphaned. I don’t know the full details as I wasn’t even born yet but my mother hated talking about even centuries later.” I stopped and looked at my audience, Ari looked worried with his ears splayed out, while Chrissy was lost in her thoughts again. That was a hard topic to properly explain to them, Chrissy hadn’t been born then and i'm sure she had a controlled education with all the anti-Changeling propaganda that was present still to this day, and Ari just didn’t know what he meant to this world. He was the only Alicorn stallion. Silence dominated us as we all were lost in our thoughts, inattentively observing the swamp as the night time orchestra went in one ear and out the other. Hours had to have passed as the terrain shifted again, now a large swamp spanned before us. The opposite shore was invisible in the dim moonlight and heavily canopied trees. We stopped of course, like we were going to go swimming in that filth, especially after a Hydra popped out of the last swamp. There was a thick layer of scum on the surface but no lily pads, no logs to paddle around either, and Ari was in no condition to fly us over. He had started yawning awhile back, Chrissy wasn’t much better as she wobbled along in the mud while trying to stay pressed to Ari, and I felt like being nocturnal just wasn’t for me. Stifling a yawn I asked what I knew must be going around and around our sleep deprived brains, “How do we get across that?” I received to grunts in response to my question. Amateurs, there are ways to staying awake they just don’t know them. I used the quickest one that wouldn’t start a mare challenge, well most likely wouldn’t.Two outraged squeals sounded out as they both kicked back, well thank goodness I used my magic to pull their tails, I wouldn’t have gotten up from a those kicks. Now they were awake. Ari pinned his ears at me, eyes narrowed as Chrissy gave a loud hiss to back up their sentiment. “Now as I just asked, how are we getting across that swamp?” Chrissy gave a snort, “Make a boat and paddle across, then we will be in Minotaria” Glancing at the lack of logs along the shore I snorted right back at her, “With what logs?” She looked along the shore as well, “Lily pads then.” “There are no lily pads.” With that she closed her eyes, “Vines?” “Sorry, wrong swamp.” Chrissy opened her eyes to glare at me, looking for all metaphorical purposes like death warmed other, when we heard it and paused. Something was creaking. Looking between us we noticed the glow Ari’s horn was emitting as a golden axe was connected to it, hacking into the trunk of a tree to our left. He was hardly blinking, looking at the tree with a single minded focus that comes in when sleep deprivation exhaustion sets in. Another sliver of trunk went flying as the axe bit into the tree, pulling back the magic born axe cut into the trunck just as fast as it left, just over halfway now. I was speechless as a couple swift hacks later the tree was cut down, giving a ominous creak before it fell into the shore, and involuntarily splattering us with mud. We were never getting this smell off at this rate. He wasn’t done though, attempting to chop the log in half before realizing that it was near impossible, without any hard surface to brace against the log just sunk in the mud further with ever attempt. The axe faded as Ari looked thoughtful; seeming to decide on an action he nodded to himself and trotted to the log’s middle point. Looking uncertain he added some magic to his horn before letting it lose, the magic cutting down the center as his horn lowered the beam through it. Seeing his plan work her speed up, changing sides and halving that, he repeated this once more, looking at the pile of split logs then at us. Each log was a little longer than Ari’s body length and cut in half, it was the base of a raft. The beam of magic shifted into a chisel as Ari began creating jagged joints along half of the logs before starting on the other half to compare. Chrissy moved beside me and watched as he assembled the raft, a act that surprised me, but didn’t compare to what she did next. She pressed her chitin to my scales and fur. My attention was now solely on Chrissy as she pressed into me, steadying herself before closing her eyes. My mind barely comprehended the splash of the raft as I stared at the Royal Changeling pressed up to me, the lead mare that less than a week ago wanted me gone. Was she that out of it that she is mistaking me for Ari? What- “Hey! I thought we said no sleeping Chrissy!” Ari looked at us from his finished creation; it was bobbing up and down briefly under his weight before settling at a level. A proud but tired smile on his face as his make shift set of paddles entered the swampy water. Opening her eyes, Chrissy nudged my shoulder. Right we needed to get on that! I took slow steps as i supported Chrissy , she seemed very tired, not that Ari and I weren’t but she seemed excessively so. With us on the raft Ari squeezed between us and laid down, I lay down without a second thought and I heard Chrissy follow suit with a sigh. This night was more than we bargained for. Giving another tired yawn Ari looked at Chrissy, “Am I pointed the right way?” A soft snort escaped her as her magic brought out the compass before us, miraculously not broken, it showed we were pointing west. “Okay then, if I remember right this is the last stretch of Equestria,” A tired grunt came from Chrissy. “That means we can sleep all day tomorrow, but in the meantime any pony know a good ghost story to keep us awake?”
Two Becomes...Three?**** Ari I stayed awake alright, although not due to fright like I initially imagined I would. Maybe I was just desensitized from Earth culture where murder was often portrayed soo ’glamorously’ and common in the media. Or maybe after killing so frequently here I don’t see it as much as a scary, taboo act anymore. But whatever the reason ‘Slendermare’, ‘Bloody Marey’, and ‘The Headless Mare’ caused me to ponder the parallel nature of Equis to Earth more than be afraid of the murdering ponies and I couldn’t help but laugh at the puns. I was laughing soo hard that it started to become the silent type of laughing, mouth open but no sound escaping. We really needed to do this more often, oh and go to the beach, I think we would all like that after this swamp. They weren’t impressed by my reaction to put it nicely but they ‘bravely’ continued to tell Equus’s scary stories, even some that didn’t involve ponies. Apparently Minotaurs had a habit of eating silverware accidentally so one story involving them centered around that, let’s just say it involved a cursed rock, a angry king, and guts going everywhere. While it was a fascinating to look at the Minotaur culture it didn’t scare me, disgusted me was a more accurate description of my feeling towards it. I mean how do you accidently eat your fork? At least they were a ‘peaceful’ country, but I took that with a grain of salt, Equestria was peaceful too but look at the racism I encountered and I haven’t even entered a city there yet. “Did you want to hear some Earth stories now? I assure you I know a few to scare-“ I paused my teasing as I saw the moon had started descending, “-well maybe I won’t need to.” Feeling my mares shift against my sides as we all started yawning at the sight of the moon’s departure, knowing sleep was coming. Well, sleep was coming for them anyway. I still had to steer the raft, but thankfully not for much longer as the Minotarian shore was visible and fast approaching as I put a little extra speed to my paddles. Weaving around a tree root just in time before the sky went dark, looking up the moon had finished descending and the darkness held the sky for several second before the sun began to rise. The unnatural speed still surreal to watch, I missed proper sunrises and sunsets, soon it would be normal once again though. I wonder how long it will take for the world to return to normal after they stop moving them. “Finally!” Lyric slurred out sleepily from beside me, looking at the rising sun with half lidded eyes. Chrissy was silent and a glance at her confirmed my thoughts, she was already asleep. Which was okay by me, she seemed more tired than both Lyric and I, a fact that I wanted to contribute to the fact that she had been traveling longer than both of us but I wasn’t so sure about that. With how distant she was earlier something just felt off. “Mhmm” I hummed back giving a Lyric a quick nuzzle on the top of her head, “Take a rest, the shore is still an hour away.” Lyric pressed into me at that, joining Chrissy within seconds. Looking at the shore, the beginning of Minotaria, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to travel through. According to Chrissy it was a farming country with a few mines at the Gryphon border, a ‘peaceful’ country. However I still wondered how such a peaceful country could produce bulls like Jabbar, just what constituted peaceful nowadays? Not to mention the weather, now that we were out of Equestria the weather would be all sorts of crazy again… Blinking out of my thoughts as my paddle became wedged in the mud, the shore now a mere five feet away. I pulled out the paddle and began the last stretch with small strokes until the raft became beached on the shore. Now I had a new problem, mainly where to carry these two sleepy heads to so we could all get some sleep. Before us the trees seemed to all but disappear, evidence of civilization apparent in the unnatural way the swampy forest ended and turned into an open field. The field held tall grass, a little taller than Azure was, but it was still manageable though. With another yawn I levitated the mares above me, Chrissy’s face contorting into a grimace as her trickle of food disappeared, and slowly walked into the grass with heavy hoofs. There was grass everywhere I looked, tall, spindly, delicious smelling grass. Maybe my stomach was malfunctioning but I wanted to eat it, it smelt soo sweet, did ponies eat hay here too? I sure hope so, cause then I have found a veritable smorgasbord in this field. My walk through the grass lasted all of ten minutes before I realized that by a farming country she meant endless fields of grass and no trees, something that bugged my instincts. But despite my instincts initial unease I felt the call of sleep and a nest was necessary. Don’t ask me why I said nest, nest just felt right, maybe there was bird genetics somewhere in Alicorns but it felt right and I felt slightly better knowing the grass would hide us. Using my wings and rump I made a small clearing where I stood, flattening the grass, and scanning the area. Again the feeling of unease pestered my mind so I sniffed the ground and then the air. All was clear, no predators nearby so my body relaxed, apparently it had tensed up but I hadn’t noticed at all. Feeling safe I settled onto the grass bed, making sure to levitate Chrissy and Lyric gently to rest under my wings. Wrapping my wings around them before finally closed my eyes. **** Chrissy “Achooo” Ari sneezed beside me and the grass rustled in front of us, I was warm, worries forgotten as his love poured in, and I sighed at the peace in this situation. Ari tucked between us, Lyric mumbling something on his other side in her sleep. The grass rustling in the- Wait, there was no wind. I tensed my muscles, eyes still shut, as my heart raced. My newest worry coming to the forefront of my mind again at the possibility of a threat nearby. Had my heat ended or was it ended? Was I- “See I told ya!” Hooves clopped on the earth in an odd rhythm leaving me guessing at what they were doing. “Whoa!” Inhaling the air I smelled manure, hay, and the faint smell of apples. The smell told me it was definitely a Minotaur however the voice sounded young, high pitched and feminine. Now the question was if they would leave us be? “Hey!” The second voice interjected, it was a slightly more masculine calf’s voice. Beside me I heard Ari start doing a strange snort, sounding almost like… I cracked my closest eye open and wanted to facehoof at the sight, this was calves for you. A stick was being stuck up Ari’s nostril. Ari was a very, very deep sleeper. “Don’t do that! What if it wakes up?” The bull calf sounded nervous. “Mmmmm… harder…” As if Lyric knew what the calf said she chose now to sleep talk. Just what was she dreaming about? The heifer calf quickly retracted the stick and I closed my eye again, I could feel them looking at us, and I was never more thankful for the ignorance of calfhood. They didn’t know what I was or they would have run screaming from me by now, gathered their folks, and well I shuddered just thinking about it. They were just curious thankfully. “It moved!” The bull calf squeaked out earning a snort from the bolder calf. “No it didn’t, it was just talking in it’s sleep-“ “Not the yellow one, the one with the blue mane!” “It didn’t!” “Did too!” “Did NOT!” “TOO!” “NOT!” Calves, there were as bad as foals with arguing! “DID TOOOO!” The bull calf yelled causing my sensitive ears to ring and pin themselves to my skull. That’s it, screw waiting around for them to leave I needed sleep! These calves needed a lesson in letting sleeping bears lie, or in my case Changelings. “Actually he is right, I did move.” I gave them a wide grin as I lifted my head and opened my eyes, making sure to show my sharp canines. Adding the finishing touch I raised an eyebrow, “I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of how delicious some fresh calf would taste right about now.” The Two calves were shaking in their overalls now, looking like they were ready to bolt at my first move. Licking my muzzle I drove the point home, “You two don’t happen to know where I could find some do you?” The first calf dropped her stick and turned around, nearly running into her friend as he had the same idea, both hightailing it back through the grass. I gave a weak chuckle as I thought of how they wouldn’t be forgetting this anytime soon, it was necessary though. Poking sleeping things is a very bad idea but unfortunately most learned that lesson the hard way, it certainly wasn’t fun learning this as a foal but teaching the lesson was immensely funny. Almost enough to get my head out of the thoughts that were troubling me. I couldn’t help my gaze from straying to my stallion’s still sleeping form. Were we compatible? Is that why my heat ended, not due to that being the last day but because a nymph or foal was conceived? I didn’t know the answer, Alicorns had never bred with changelings, and really there was no research into hybridism. This was completely unexplored territory for me, for the world really, however it was a possibility, Lyric existed after all. Perhaps it was too soon to tell, it hadn’t been too long since my heat after all, and I really didn’t have any symptoms yet- Well that one was explainable. Being tired didn’t really count...But I felt exhausted after my heat despite the huge amount of love I took in and my breakfast only slightly helped that feeling, the full meal feeling smaller than before… But we had fought a Hydra, which had to account for some of this. No, I had felt this way before the Hydra. But I didn’t have any other symptoms…those would only come later. I could feel my heart race as I thought of explaining this to Ari, which I would have to eventually, when the nesting behavior started it would be a dead giveaway. But would it start at the fourth week or the eightieth week? I wasn’t even sure what this pregnancy would be like, my eyes filled up at the thought, I was really pregnant. The heat had ended too early, no matter how much I would like to force myself to believe I wasn’t I couldn’t deny that fact that I was. We had consummated our relationship and the burning just stopped, with no residual burning in my loins, and no post heat dreams. I was most certainly with his foal. But would the pregnancy be like an Alicorn pregnancy or a Changeling pregnancy? Then a horrible thought hit me. This was a bad time to be pregnant, in just less than two weeks we would have two very angry princesses traveling with us, and I know I’m certainly not their favorite person. They wouldn’t let- No don’t think about that. A deep breath, in through the nose- What? Taking another deep inhale I looked over Ari’s neck where Lyric was, where the scent of arousal was coming from. Real bucking nice, just what I needed, well maybe she is just having a really erotic dream by pure coincidence. Not with my luck. Looking at the sun above it occurred to me that we should get going if we didn’t want to travel at night, not that there were many predators in Minotaria. Standing was the easy part today, waking Ari would the hard part, if he can sleep through a stick up his nose I don’t know what to do for him. “Ari get up, we have to get going.” Unsurprisingly no movement, well time to try something pleasant first, tail pulling can come later. I licked his horn, while it did make him squirm and moan it did not wake him. “What are doing Chrissy?” His squirming did wake Lyric. “Waking him up, we don’t want to travel all night again so we need to get walking. Not to mention while you two slept we were found by two calves that I had to scare away.” “Had to?” I snorted at her for pointing that out, “Okay I understand-“ She looked at her rear as she stood, eyes going to pinpricks as she looked back at me. “Wait, before you do anything! Please know that I can’t help it and I’m totally better at controlling myself when I’m in heat than you were.” I grit my teeth at her pointing that out, that wasn’t my finest moment. Before she could babble herself into an incoherent mess over a fact we couldn’t change and quite frankly I thought might happen since he made my body go into estrus, I stepped towards to her. I might as well get this over with, she was actually nice to be around after she learned her place a little, and I could use the free foalsitting. “Look he isn’t into herds but if you are content to stay second mare you can stay in the herd, I will have to talk him into herding but I think he likes you anyway so…” “REALLY?!” Sending her a glare I motioned to my, no, our stallion now who was thankfully still asleep. Now I had to get something even harder out of the way. “Yes, but… I…” My eyes filled with tears as my ears splayed, I just couldn’t say it. It was position I had never expected with no other Royal Changelings left. But as a herdmate she would have to know, I will need her to handle any future mare challenges, and possibly help me tell Ari the news. Actually I would need her help for sure if I could hardly tell her the news. Dear Faust this was sad, I used to have a backbone, confidence. Where had it run to? Probably where my brain went when I planned the invasion. Lyric hesitated before coming over to my side and giving me her love although it was marred a little by her concern, which left a odd salty flavor in my mouth, “Are you okay? What is up with you, first last night you were out-“ “Pregnant.” I whispered out, tears flowing down my face at the word, not sad but not happy either, I just felt overwhelmed after everything. Sure I had always dreamed as a filly of have my own little nymph to chitter to one day, which was before I realized how impossible it was without any royal Changelings left. Well, really there wasn’t many magically gifted stallions left of any species now, Discord didn't really count, he was...both and neither at the same time. He confused me immensely. **** Lyric I’m a part of a herd! My heart had soared when she said that, I could hardly contain myself from whinnying in joy. I had new family, well I would get my family back eventually but I wasn’t alone anymore in the most permanent sense: a herd. Ari still had to be convinced to accept the herd idea but I think it will be easy. I still believe most of his hesitance stemmed from Chrissy not wanting a herd, not his strange monogamous culture. Then Chrissy started to act weird again, no not weird, she was clearly upset this time. She was clearly torn up over something and to my surprise she didn’t need much prodding to tell me this time. Chrissy said what now? “What?” She looked at Ari's sleeping form, “I’m pregnant, my heat ended early, after we rutted…” My brain was trying to understand this, why was she crying? Wasn’t having a foal a good thing? “That’s wonderful! Why are you acting soo upset? I know you probably didn’t intend to get pregnant but I’m sure Ari won't mind. I saw his expression when he saw the foals walk by in the herds, he probably loves foals!” Chrissy gave me a weak smile at that. “Actually he used to foal sit all the time, foals that weren’t even his own. I know he will be a good father but…The princesses are going to be with us in less than two weeks and they will surely notice my symptoms, not mention Ari will by then, well might.” She looked uncertain now and I gave her a little nuzzle to encourage her. “I’m not sure if it will be the length of a changeling pregnancy or the length of a Alicorn pregnancy, I don’t even know what symptoms will appear and what won’t-“ I could see her worry rising again so I interrupted, “Don’t worry about it! I will totally cover for you and as for the symptoms I totally can help you with that, what are herd mates for right? “Right what?” We both froze and looked at our disoriented stallion, getting up he stretched his wings before taking a canteen from my bag and emptying it into his endless stomach. Just how much had he heard? “We were just discussing the right way to wake you up,” Chrissy said with a smile, looking suddenly very different than the worried mare she was a second ago, tears gone and ears forward. Was she going to tell him? “Since you are awake now I guess we can get going now.” Nope she is avoiding the topic. “Okay I guess… You aren’t hungry? You seemed really wiped out last night.” “Well I’m a little hungry but I can feed later. I don’t want to be traveling at night again.” He paused to think that over before nodding, “Okay then let’s get going!” We trotted over to his side as he started off at a trot, eager to make up lost time. I couldn’t help but wrinkle my noise at our smell though, eau de swamp with a coat full of mud, we needed to bathe soon. We walked for what must have been hours, the scenery changing from hay field to corn field alternatively till we finally arrived at a fruit orchard. The orchard had a well that we used to fill up our canteens and plenty of pears that were bruised, we helped them recycle those. Okay Ari did mostly, he consumed a ridiculous amount of food and still said he was hungry when we stopped him, only sellable pears left on the branches. I tried to get Chrissy’s attention several times during the walk but she refused to meet my eyes and by the time we left the orchard I was fuming at her foalish behavior. There was no need for her silence, we hadn’t seen or heard any pony or any minotaur’s yet, nor had we run across any settlements. She needed to breach the whole herd bit to him before my heat got too bad, it was only the first day but the sooner he accepted it the better he would take it when I couldn’t control my instincts anymore. We were at the edge of yet another corn field when the sun started setting and Ari started scouting for a sleeping spot, leaving us to rest for a second. “Are you going to bring it up with him?” I whispered to Chrissy as Ari circled out further, seeming to be unhappy with the open area. “Are you going to take really long bathroom break while I feed?” A raised eyebrow and a look that said I would be anyway, that was more of a demand than question. She must be really hungry. “If you actually talk to him about starting a herd while you feed, I would love to get some real relief this time around.” The meaning was not lost on Chrissy as she look appalled at the suggestion of going through the heat without relief and she was correct to feel that way. It had been torture even with several interesting spells my aunts knew I still only got a couple hours of relief the last couple of times. But Why would I use those when I have the real relief traveling with me? There was no guarantee of a foal anyway, my mother and father had tried alot of times before i was conceived, not even taking into account that I was already a hybrid and the amount of magic needed to make a foal between us would be greater I’m sure. “Hey Ari i'm going to take a long bathroom break,” Not waiting for his reply I went into the field to wait for them to finish rutting. It didn’t take long before I heard the first squeal followed by the sound of hooves galloping, listening to rutting was always interesting, it was like charades for my ears trying to guess what they were doing. Chrissy helped though she was very vocal about her pleasure, not as bad as my mother but she was a siren so it came with the territory. “ARI” I could feel my marehood leak at her scream, my imagination picturing his endowment pounding into her, sweat dri- No I wasn’t going there, this was the heat talking I did not want to watch Ari plow my lead mare…But I should make sure she actually brings up becoming a herd to him. Standing back up I crept back to the edge of the field where I had left them. My tail flagged and I started winking at sight I came back to, before me was truly arousing scene. Ari was mounted on Chrissy, his head thrown back and his wings spread as he pounded into her. She took it with a moan as she was plowed forward, head resting on the ground as her hind legs trembled under the assault. “More,” Chrissy whispered, “Faster!” Now thrusting her rump back into his thrusts, she whinnied in completion and the sound of their juices echoed into the field. However he kept plowing into her at the same hurried pace, my hoof made it’s way down my chest, stopping at my moist marehood. That was what I wanted. Ari was giving quiet nickers now as Chrissy was reduced to panting, eyes closed and a smile on her muzzle. The thrusting slowed, Ari removing his impressive length till just the tip rested in her entrance before hilting himself in her folds again. After a minute of slow and hard thrusting he stilled, suddenly clamping his mouth on the back of her neck, causing her to scream her orgasm as the moon rose. My hoof couldn't compare to that. Chrissy turned her head then and looked me in the eyes, no anger there, just disappointment at my control, but it was hard to resist the sounds. It really was with the knowledge that I would have my stallion soon and my heat just adding fuel to the desire I already had for him. But she knew I was here, that alone was enough to stop my hoof’s ministrations, that and he seemed- “A-Ari, do you think you could handle another mare?” Chrissy had lowered her rump to the ground, looking back at Ari with a raised eyebrow and a happy smile. His body stilled as he finished pulling out, juice covered cock retreating into his sheath, and I couldn’t help but follow the action licking my lips. Just a taste wouldn’t hurt ri- “What’s this about Chrissy? I know you aren’t into to herds… Is this about how I have been treating Lyric?” He looked nervous now, scanning the rows of corn for me, and shifting his hooves. “Yes it’s about Lyric, how do you feel about her?” Ari gulped and laid down beside Chrissy, the moon illuminating the look on his face, he was scared. “W-well she is really nice, considerate, and really fun to be around. I-I know she likes me but-“ “Do you or do you not like her?” Chrissy was looking a little impatient now as he tried to avoid answering her. “Yes I do care for her but I never would stray from you, I really am committed to you! I love you!” Ari looked soo panicked with his ears back and eyes wide, he really didn’t want to lose her. Chrissy let him panic a second before smiling happily, “Good, I would hate it if you didnt like your second mare.” His jaw dropped at her words, “We talked about it before you woke up and I decided I wouldn’t mind having her around, she is okay with not being the lead mare, and well she really likes you. I know you didn’t grow up with herds but give it some thought.” “W-what?.....” Ari sighed, looking lost in his thoughts. “I will think about it, just give me time, okay Chrissy?” She gave him a purr and nod before looking at where I was hidden, “LYRIC!” Although my ears weren’t happy with the volume she called me at I understood her reason, if he was undecided right now imagine what he would feel like if he knew I watched them rut without an invitation. I didn’t want to risk my chance, sure I might get others but I didn’t want to hear any rejection from Ari, he really felt like the one for me. Dropping my wet hoof back to the ground I trotted from the field to my stallion’s side, I tried to calm my tail but it stayed raised as the area was still bathed in the smell of their recent activity. He noticed as well but didn’t show any surprise, looking very out of it. Apprehension held me still as I looked at his free side. His wing was still tucked up to his barrel, the other draped over Chrissy, she was mouthing ‘go on’ while darting her eyes to his side. Did he still want me to sleep by them? Was he angry? His wing unfurled itself, the tip making the ‘come hither’ motion to his side. I didn’t waste any time, closing the distance in a second, rubbing my body on his as I slid into position. With that his wing wrapped itself around me again as I wished them good night, energy bouncing through me despite the time and walking we had done. Now all I had to do was wait for him to decide, a answer I was near certain on now that Chrissy had vouched for me, hopefully he decided sooner rather than later. His spicy scent wasn’t helping me sleep at all though.
There's a Light in the Window.**** Ari Waking up was interesting to say the least. I was used to waking with morning wood but this time it was near impossible to get rid of, there was something about the smell in the air that made me very aroused. Inhaling I tried to make sense of it: cinnamon a touch spicier and richer with a hint of nutmeg, a strong smell of water lily, and the near intoxicating smell of jasmine. Letting my nose follow the near overwhelming smell of jasmine and waterlily it lead me to Lyric. Well that made a lot of sense now. I was nearly one hundred percent sure Lyric was in heat, she was flagging last night, her mare smell was to the intoxicating point that Chrissy’s had gotten when she was in heat, and she was very into rubbing herself on me last night. I was really trying to sleep, well trying to think really, and her scales and fur kept caressing me in a way that I knew she was awake still. Let’s just say it took me awhile to get to sleep. Wait, was Lyric’s heat really why Chrissy was suddenly into herds? It didn’t make any sense when Chrissy’s near exact words when she allowed Lyric to travel with us were ‘he’s my stallion and I’m his marefriend’, that didn’t sound like a mare that wanted to form a herd to me. Sure they had been getting closer with less hissing and growling going on, but going from friends to herd mates seems like a big jump to me. She may have said they talked but... Not to mention they had to discuss this now, while we are traveling across the continent with the main goal to abduct the princesses and show them the damage they are causing. It was the worst possible time save for when the princesses are actually with us. Dear lord, I bet the god that brought me here is just rolling around laughing his head, err, does he have a head? Never mind, the point is that he is probably finding this very funny, here I was telling him I wouldn’t be his stud for the last Alicorn mares and now I was having sex with the last Changeling and considering a relationship with a siren. She was possibly the last Siren as well, she hadn't said her family was dead but they weren't with her either. However much I sympathized with the whole extinction thing I wasn’t really interested in the princesses. Would anypony be interested in them though? After seeing Moonbutt’s attitude to me in the dream, not mention hearing about the racism that they are allowing it must only be their magic or money that is stopping a war from happening. According to the map there is many more species and countries than Equestria, many non pony nations, perhaps they would finally point out the racism once the princesses stopped controlling the seasons and they didn’t have to worry about their weather going haywire anymore. The princesses just weren't looking very nice quite frankly, I know I should hold my judgement till i meet them but when your marefriend is considered a 'vile parasitic bug' by their people and therefore them it is kind of hard to not judge. I think the scariest part of this whole situation is that I don’t feel as angry anymore about what that god did, annoyed? Hell yes, but I actually am enjoying my time with my mares, that’s not to say that I don’t miss my friends or family but… I have a full life here. In the short time I have been here I have fallen for Chrissy and… I really like Lyric, not to the same degree but I think that is more due to holding myself back. It is hard to undo a childhood of learning that you will find the ‘one’, never had it been the ‘ones’ or anything quite so polygamous. Not that I was into polygamy, okay it was the word that made me cringe, the connotations of something vile and immoral. I was very much okay with the idea of having the two mares with me forever, of eventually adopting kids down the line as i'm pretty sure we are different species, and having a nice life doing whatever I found enjoyable in this world. World saving wasn’t exactly a career choice, it was more like a ‘do it or perish as well’ sort of task. It was a task that I wouldn’t wait for me to will away my erection. Stretching my wings I stood, basking in the warm sun, and a little happy to see some of the last mud flake off of me. I felt much better, okay I still felt conflicted about forming a herd, but it was sort of like when I was a tween and saying sex was the big taboo. Oh how simple those days were, no erections or having to save the world. My mares grumbled a little as I left them, Chrissy being the first to wake. She gave me a tired look before rising, rump first as she looked at my erection hanging out. “Breakfast?” I asked her, giving a cheeky smile at the new meaning to the word. Knowing that she wasn’t one to say no to a full meal and if nothing else we did enjoy sex just for the sake of sex. It was a amazing feeling when I heard her scream, moan, and squeal for me. Leaving her saddle bags beside Lyric Chrissy stood. I hadn’t really looked at Lyric’s sleeping form and now I wished I hadn’t. Her tail was hiked up, signalling to the entire world what she wanted, and was surely dreaming about if her content smile was a hint. Chrissy had already trotted to me, tail flagging,draping her blue tail over her back, she paused her in her approach as she followed my gaze. “It is a symptom of the heat, the erotic dreams only get worse before the physical symptoms take hold.” Now rubbing her chitin on me it occured to me that Chrissy sounded very accepting about it, the heat. “I thought you didn’t want to share, you even said so in the desert.” She turned and reached a hoof under me to stroke my cock, I twitched under her hoof and let loose a moan. “Yes I said that but things have changed…I don’t think she is bad, she can even be enjoyable to be around.” “Soo you didn’t just bring up becoming a herd because she is going into heat?” I gave her a quick nip on her dock, her ministrations while pleasurable were getting to the point where I needed more. Stopping her ministrations Chrissy turned back around, presenting her marehood to me. “W-well that certainly added a level of urgency to the situation. She likes you and you like her, it would only make sense to offer her relief during her heat.” She braced her hind legs as she spoke, winking at me as her juices started to pool at her entrance. Snaking out my tongue I ran it up her slit, tasting her tangy juices and a little of what I was sure was myself from last night. She squirmed and gave a moan as she launched some juices at my muzzle. “What do you mean relief? It will end after five to eight days anyway right?” “Well it ends early if-f-FUCK YES!” Chrissy’s original sentence was lost as I mounted her in thrust, I couldn’t hold back anymore I’m sure she could understand. With Lyric’s smell teasing me and Chrissy ready and moist already holding back was near impossible. Chrissy's ‘Breakfast’ increased in rhythm, Chrissy howling her pleasure as she came yet again, but I still felt like going after my first time cumming for once. My length stiffening again as my mind wandered and thought of the most delightful thing: the real mile high club. I had wings now after all and Chrissy used to have two wings. She might actually love it, flying again. “Chrissy did you want to try sex while flying?” She paused underneath me before looking at me over her wither, I saw her eyes dilate as I felt her marehood clench around my cock. With a nicker she ground her rump against my groin, building a delicious friction. I will take that as a yes. Wrapping my forelegs around her barrel I got myself comfortably hilted in her before I tested my stiff wings. Although they were stiff from my arousal they were still maneuverable. Relying mostly on my wings for take off we still rocketed upwards at a amazing speed, a action that I immediately regretted, my wings becoming even stiffer as she clenched around my length. Chrissy’s stiff wing buzzed as much as it could as we continued to rise, the pressure increasing in groin as gravity pulled her as deep as she could go on me. Not caring who saw or heard us I turned the climb into a forward motion hoping to last longer without gravity plowing her into me, but Chrissy had other plans. Her walls starting massaging me, our previous emissions squelching as she milked me, and I felt a little pre leave me. The field looked so small beneath us as we panted, both our releases close. With another strong grip on my erection I lost it and sent us into steep descent, the world spinning around us as our releases claimed us sooner than I thought. My mouth found Chrissy’s ear, clamping down on the tender flesh as we rode the pleasure out. A squeal of pleasure sounded from her as I realized a growing problem: the ground. We would have to do this again, slower of course, and at a higher height so I could do a longer dive. Slowing our descent I took us down in a wide spiral before landing at the edge of the cornfield once again. As I my cock retreated into my sheath I looked to Chrissy, “Full?” Resting on the grass she seemed to glow with the sweat and happiness she exuded, sex was definitely more than just feeding for her. “For now, I expect that every morning!” My eyebrow raised at that, surely she would get bored of feeding the same way every morning, there was touching and kissing i could feed her with as well. “I mean it, you get to eat at least a full meal everyday so I need a full meal every day.” I wasn’t going to argue with that, but she was doing fine before- “There you two are! I’m not a mule you know, come take your bag back Chrissy!” Lyric walked out of the cornfield, mane a mess, and a heavy blush on her muzzle. Immediately her scent hit me and I had shake my head before I could focus on what she had said. Chrissy however looked unfazed by the smell, the lucky mare, and grabbed her bag in her magic to place it on her back. “S-“ “I know Ari, you had to feed her, I saw.” Lyric sounded very annoyed with me or more likely sexually frustrated. I felt a little horrified as I realized I hadn’t even considered her presence when we started having sex nor did I consider her condition, guilt was setting in. Two mares would be a lot of work. Chrissy stood on shaky legs with a happy smile, and like clockwork she made her way to my side as Lyric huffed before trotting over to my far side. I swear Lyric took the long way to her side on purpose to flash me, her tail apparently stuck in a permanent flagging position. Not that I was looking there as her voluminous golden tail hit my face on the way by, leaving a new wet spot on my muzzle. I wasn't going to think about that. I guess there was a deadline on that answer. **** Lyric As we moved out I tried to practice my deep, calming breaths, reciting the alphabet backwards then forwards, and finally moving on to the Saddle Arabian alphabet. However all I think I did was make it worse, I could smell my stallion’s spicy scent and the lingering heady smell of sex with every breathe. I really don’t know how long I can last if they keep rutting every day like this. We continued to walk onward, the Gryphon mountain range now a small speck on the horizon as we continued to walk at the edges of the various fields. That was until we heard a small trickling sound, Chrissy glanced back at me and I shot her a glare. Real funny Chrissy, I’m laughing, really. Ari however knew the sound, "Water!" Moving together we transitioned into a fast trot, the presense of water worth its weight in gold at this point with how bad we smell. You do not want to smell three days worth of swamp mud, sweat, and sex in the summer heat, really it was practically a monster repellant at this stage. As the hour wore on the faint trickle turned into a powerful roar of a river, only problem was we still couldn’t see any body of water. The fields lay to our right, changing every acre or two into a new crop, and a bush and boulder filled field spanned our left side. “Where is that water?” Ari questioned, rotating his ears as he tried to pinpoint a direction. I was mesmerized by his mouth, it was perfectly kissable, and what that tongue could do- Nononononono! I have much better control than this! ‘But he is yours’ No, not yet he isn’t. “Ar-“ “There it is!” Ari rocketed off the ground towards a large boulder ahead of us. I blinked and looked at Chrissy who just looked back just as surprised, seeing that she didn’t seem to know what to do either I looked at the boulder. It was surrounded by slightly smaller boulders however it was still a good fifteen feet tall, the ground nearby seemed very lush, the grass a good two inches taller at the boulder’s base. Perhaps there was water near it after all. But I finally had Chrissy alone. “Are you going to tell him about…” I let the question trail off as I looked at her stomach pointedly, it was still flat but that wouldn’t be the case in a couple months. The sooner she told him the better this would be in my opinion, although that was also my thought on his answer to us becoming a herd. I wanted to have more restraint than Chrissy did, she actually had a good excuse as it was her first heat but I had no excuse. I had even foalishly bragged that i had better control, which I had when I was a filly and I didn't have my herd mates rutting everyday. Speaking of excuses… “No I will wait till the princesses are gone before I tell him. He has a lot to think about already.” There she is making excuses and avoiding the issue, she is infuriating to me right now, well her sudden lack of confidence anyway. Wasn’t she supposed to have run a hive? She was royalty for Faust’s sake! Not to mention he adores her, heck if anything he would be doting over Chrissy when he learns of the coming foal. As if the sky sensed my sour mood, clouds began to gather. “Really Chrissy, if you tell him he will be overjoyed! He loves foals and he loves you, just tell him!” I was whisper yelling now at her, my ears pinned back in my frustration. “Somepony needs a good rutting.” “I would if-“ A splash sounded from up ahead making us pause. “Come on guys! The water is perfect!” Snorting at Chrissy I transitioned into a trot, she caught up to me within seconds. But I kept my eyes averted from her, first she says she will tell him then she doesn’t, it was maddening! Oh buck she is right, this is all mostly from my heat. After watching them rut twice now I was feeling the call to rut already, a couple days earlier than I recalled last time I was in heat, not to the point where I was going to drop everything and present myself. But I was still dropping obvious hints, even Ari noticed them, I was sure I saw him looking earlier. Ari was floating on his back when we made our way around the boulder, well really he was on his back in a pool of murky water. It was being fed into a small opening in the boulder’s base, running downhill from the mountain range which had inched closer somehow, no longer a speck on the horizon. The clouds continued to darken the sky but I paid it no heed, my instincts called out to me, not my heat ones though but my sea pony instincts. It had been months since I last had a good soak, oasis’s weren’t very common in Saddle Arabia, and streams were unheard of now with drought. With a joyous whinny I let loose and jumped into the pool. Chrissy held my bags in her magic before placing them beside hers as she stared at me, entering the pool at a normal pace, but I paid her no mind, my blood was singing its praise as the water rushed over my scales. The pool was not very wide or long but it was deep. Taking advantage of that I dived down, opening my eyes as I paddled below the surface and enjoyed the sights under the water. Algae clung to the bottom as little fish fry darted away from my approach, sticking to the dark corners. I blinked as two shadows flitted overhead, looking up I watched my soon to be herd mates paddle in the cool mountain water, circling each other. My lungs started to protest after five minutes in the depths and I frowned at my reduced lung power, when I was a filly I could last for a good half an hour. As I was going up though Ari was diving down to me, his eyes frantic before they latched onto mine, and I felt a tingle surround my body- I blinked at the sudden change of scenery, I was now floating in a golden field of magic above the pool, dripping water as Ari slowly lowered me. “I told you she was alive, she is part sea pony after all.” “She doesn’t have gills! I think it’s perfectly reasonable to worry when she doesn’t come up for air.” Chrissy gave a amused snort as I entered the water again, the golden magic dissipating. My heart raced as I realized he had been worried about me, my scales started to heat up as I felt a blush start, and I gave a happy nicker as my control slipped. I rushed forward and kissed Ari, moaning as his muzzle returned the kiss, his muzzle opened and his tongue asked for entrance. My answer was obvious. As our tongues become locked in a battle for dominance Chrissy came over and squeezed herself between us, purring she started flicking her tail between my legs. I opened my eyes and gave her a curious look, was she serious? “Ari I take it that you accept her as your second mare? We are a herd right?” Chrissy had a sly look as Ari started to choke on my tongue, eventually gaining control he broke the kiss he looked between Chrissy and I. Come on! Say- *RUMBLE CRASSSHH RUMBLLLLE* We all jumped in place and looked up, the ‘innocent’ clouds of before had darkened and were shifting at a alarming shape, forming a looming mass that promised rain if not more. Ari was the first to come to, nudging us to the shore, there he quickly placed our bags back on our back. Placing his wings over us he looked at the clouds with his ears splayed, “We should get going, I think mother nature is going to show us exactly how crazy she can be.” *CRAAASSSSHHH* We jumped at the noise began a quick trot, no need to tell us twice. Storms were the main reason I stayed in Saddle Arabia, just sand storms and drought there, both problems are much easier to handle than the storms in the other countries. The rain started after several more thunderous roars echoed across the sky and with the rain came the wind, not that we really noticed the rain as we were already soaked. It must have been hours now, we had been forced to slow down to a walk against the wind and we hadn’t found any form of shelter. There was no trees or large bushes to cower under, or any- Hold that thought. I maybe shaking from the cold but that still looks like a light ahead of us, “Is that a light?” I have to yell above the howl of the wind. My herd mates look up, squinting and looking where my hoof is pointing, and it does seem to shine like a light. I feel the slight pressure on my shoulder and move with them as we change direction, going slightly to the left now. Another ten minutes and we are upon the light source, a rundown plank and thatch hut with a small, ramshackle wood shed attached to it. It was beautiful to me though, with the lantern glowing in the window, and the smoke drifting from the chimney. Ari did stop and sniff the air before sneezing out the torrents of rain that came at his face, I hadn’t bothered telling him that no one could smell anything in this weather, I had assumed it was a given. Ari started walking forward again but held us back with his wings as he crept up to the lone window, looking in before giving us a nod. Well it looked like a nod, the rain made it hard to tell, but my lead mare moved forward so I took her cue and followed. Holding the door open for us, Ari stood tense and ready for anything as he gazed into the dark storm. Hearing the thud of the door closing I took stock of the shack. A small brick fireplace stood before us with a impressive pyramid of quartered firewood beside it, to the left of the room a simple straw mattress lay and to the right a collection of shelves and cupboards acting as a larder of sorts. I was still wet and the fire was inviting me over so I gave my body a light shake, but just as I was about to step towards it I found myself soaked again. “ARI! Learn to shake off like a normal pony, you don’t need to shake it quite soo, soo-“ “Doglike?” Chrissy added for me, a understanding grin on her muzzle. “Yes, there is no need to be such a dog about it. Watch me.” I gave my body a slight shake, mane and tail coming back to their original place in half a second, “There! See how I didn’t have to shake my body so hard?” “Mhmmm” Looking at the look in his eyes I felt my blush return and my warm up, was he really interested in me like that? He did kiss me… He did a near perfect shake as Chrissy shook the water off her chitin as well and he moved out of the puddle we had formed at the doorway. We were at his side in a second as the fire place became our destination. A mix of sighs and grunts echoed in the shack as we lay down before the dwindling fire, Ari added another log to the fire and it crackled to life as something occurred to me. “Where’s the owner of this shack?” Chrissy answered for Ari as she began preening him, “Probably hiding out somewhere till the storm blows over, we will be gone by the time they return, and as long as somepony doesn’t eat any of their food they will never even know we were here.” It made sense, only the crazy would be out in a storm like this, not that we were but this was the first shelter we found out there. I started on his other outstretched wing, mouth pausing on a feather as another thought hit me, a even more important thought if my growing heat was correct. “So am I your mare?” Our eyes locked onto Ari as he closed his eyes and sighed, a look of thought his face before he opened his eyes, “ You are a amazing mare Lyric, going through the world without your family and still finding the will to go on. If I hadn’t met Chrissy I might not have stuck around soo long, you have a lot of determination,” He smiled at me then giving a slight chuckle. “I didn’t want to lose Chrissy so when I started to think you were attractive or nice I buried it deep down or I would check her reaction and I just want to say I’m sorry.” My face fell at that word. “I’m sorry for taking soo long to realize what an amazing mare you are and that I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better as a marefriend or second mare, whatever the proper term is-“ I didn’t let him finish his glorious sentence, my heart was racing, my tail flagged and I gave him a kiss. Pouring my passion for him into the kiss I nickered into his mouth as he started to give me just as much passion back. I broke the kiss panting for air, damn that’s good. But a trickle going down my thigh reminded me of a growing problem. “So since we are a herd now…Will you rut me?” Ari blinked at me, “Now?” “The sooner the better, I-I am only on my second day but my control is harder to keep up this time…Especially when you two are rutting every day,” Seeing their raised eyebrows I snorted at them. “Well you aren’t exactly hiding it, hell I woke up this morning to him mounting you right in front of me!” Chrissy and Ari shared a glance, “Tomorrow?” Ari said with a question, looking appropriately guilty. He better be, I mean I love him and all but I wasn’t sure how many more days I could take of this before I forced the issue. “First thing, before you feed Chrissy?” “Agreed, are you okay with that Chrissy?” “No.” We turned to look at her more closely, a grin breaking out on her muzzle now, “I want to be fed as you rut her, don’t forget I still get food from touching and kisses.” “O-okay.” A blush shone through Ari’s dark fur and we shared giggle at his reaction before nodding our confirmation about tomorrow, both of us not shy about rutting at this point in our lives. He really was wonderful about it though, despite being from a monogamous culture and younger than us, he didn’t dilly dally with his choice like I thought he would. Maybe that was due to Chrissy pressing the topic but I wasn’t about to question it, I was blessed with a new family. I had a stallion now! My happiness nearly bubbled over as I went back to preening his wing, nickering softly as I twisted my tongue around his feathers, finding my rhythm again as the fire crackled before me. I could get used to this, my stallion, Chrissy, and the foal in her belly. Before I knew it his wing was finished, no residual swamp mud left, and Ari wrapped it around me before giving me a soft kiss. Chrissy was already asleep as I drifted off to join her.
Be Careful What You Wish For.**** Ari I was having another one of those moments, the ones where I am left wondering what went wrong and I proceed to try my hardest not to freak out. It started out normal enough, I was half asleep, watching the dimming embers of last night’s fire, my mares nestled against my sides. My thoughts were hazy at best and I really don’t remember what they were, but if I had to guess it would be about my mares or saving the world. Not remembering them isn’t from being half asleep though it was when my mind went out the window and my instincts took over. You would too if an axe slammed into the floor infront of your face. The initial relief that the axe missed my horn was quickly replaced with panic, fear for my mares, and the need to defend my herd. My instincts were black or white really, not taking into the fact that I was in someone else’s home as I stood. Trying to look big I flared my wings, feeling the tips brush the bed and shelves, as I started searching the room. The left side of the shack was clear and the right side was untouched as well, that only left one spot: behind me. Ears pinned back I tried to listen to whoever or whatever had entered, only hearing a racing heartbeat I snorted and tensed my muscles as I turned around to face my attacker. Behind me stood a light blue Minotaur bull, he was very different than Jabbar though. He stood at only six feet tall letting me see the mud pit that was outside, his horns smaller than I would expect from his stature, with one tip broken off at an awkward angle. A surprised look was on his face as his eyes stared at my horn. However distracted he appeared to be I wasn’t relaxing till he dropped the pickaxe he held in his other hand. “You’re an Alicorn?!” His voice wasn’t nearly as gruff as Jabbar’s was, it sounded young almost as it cracked over the word ‘Alicorn’ like a tween going through puberty. Dear lord was he not fully grown yet?! My words were slow to form as I stepped forward, slightly in front of my mares now, “Yes.” I continued to watch the pick axe in his hand, looking back and forth between his tool and his face. After a minute he caught on and nervously placed it beside the shelves. My instincts calmed down slightly at that action and I could feel my logic kick start itself, lowering my wings slightly as he showed me his empty hands in the apparently universal sign that he was unarmed. That was stupid however, as soon as he saw Chrissy’s sleeping form his face turned into one of terror and he lunged for his pickaxe. Wasting no time I enveloped him in my magic, freezing him midair as he moved his eyes between the axe and my herd. Well this was just dandy. If I let him go now he would attack us, if I let him go later he would tell everyone he knows about the changeling, siren, and Alicorn which would most likely attract a mob, and if I killed him I would feel like shit. This was his house after all, we were the intruders. Maybe I can reason with him or I wake up my mares and see if they know any mind magic to erase his memories of us. “So let’s just get this over with…” I gathered my thoughts, how do I convince him to not kill or send a mob after us? “ My name is Ari, I am a Alicorn, these are my mares-,” Adding a snort over that I narrowed my eyes at him, “-Chrissy and Lyric.” Pointing at in each in turn I continued to try and keep my cool, this was excellent practice for conversing with the princesses after all. “Yes she is a changeling, no, she isn’t a ‘vile parasitic bug’, and if I hear any of that racist drivel come from your mouth I will wash it out with soap, understood?” Putting on my best disappointed face that I used with kids, I waited for his understanding. It took him a second to realize he couldn’t nod in my magic and a look of panic went over his face, I realized that at the same time and lessened my hold on his head slightly. He nodded a slow, strained nod. “Good, now we will be out of your way shortly. With the storm sneaking up on us soo suddenly we just entered the first shelter we found and no I didn’t raid your pantry. All we did was burn some of your firewood and sleep on your floor.” Pausing I took in his expression, it had changed from fearful to confused. His poor brain must not be able to handle the fact that an Alicorn, what I understand was associated with good, and a changeling, a species that is seen in a negative light, are together. Something tells me this was going to be a normal reaction, I’m just lucky he isn’t freaking out over Lyric too. “You look confused, what’s there to be confused about?” I released his head completely now, keeping his body encased still. “Well aren’t you an Alicorn-“I nodded, “-and isn’t she a changeling.” Again I nodded, seeing where he was going with this. “Yes and we are happily stallionfriend and marefriend, I have heard that ponies were racist towards them but apparently it is every species. I-“ This was just getting worse. Lyric chose now to flag her tail, releasing her aroused scent into the room. Both of us being healthy males we noticed her scent immediately although we both had different reactions. He looked at the ceiling trying to avoid eye contact with both Lyric and myself, probably due to my glare. “So did you have anything intelligent to ask?” “Uhh why are… Are you going to kill me? I swear I won’t tell anyone not that anyone is out this way anymore. B-but just please don’t kill me! My mom would be heartbroken, my little sis, shit she-“ I had heard enough, immobilizing his head again I thought over his words, well his begging really. He acted like I must be evil to be with a changeling, a sad thought but impossible to help with the racism present, it’s no wonder they were both soo shocked by my nice treatment towards them. But his words made me curious, no one is out here? This was a farming country I don’t just see them neglecting a whole section of flat land just because it is near the Gryphon’s mountains. That may mean the weather is worse- Wait, Does any of the other countries even know what the princesses have done either to affect their weather? Letting his head go again and placing myself in front of Lyric for good measure I tested the waters so to speak. “I am new here and I couldn’t help but notice the crazy amount of rain and wind you have, is that normal for Minotaria?” The young bull looked a little more confident as he answered me, “N-no, I mean it has been slowly been getting worse but the last two years the floods and rain has been extremely horrible. I-I mean just last year the whole Popov clan of upper Esso were completely flooded out of their land, a whole three hundred acres suddenly underwater…” He trailed off as my eyes widened and I sat down. It was one thing seeing the power in the ‘super’ lightening storms and the extreme drought in the desert but hearing about the actual devastation it was causing real families. A whole clan was displaced permanently, not only that but three hundred acres is a lot of produce and income lost for them. How are they feeding themselves? Where do they live? Where will the future displaced families go when everyone is forced further inland? Before we found the river the fields were beautiful, the ground stable, and most of all the weather was normal in Minotaria. I should have known better than to assume the whole country was like this. “Do you know why there are such weather patterns now?” A interested look came over him as he studied my face, hearing something in my voice most likely. “No, you are starting to sound like you do though.” How right he was, but first he needed to understand something. “Have you traveled before…” I raised a eyebrow as I asked for his name, might as well know who I am talking to if i'm going to be here a while explaining. “Gennady, my name is Gennady and no, I have not gone further than the Gryphon Mountains where I work.” He looked curious now so l slowly released his torso, levitating the pickaxe to my side just in case. Adding a smile I continued, “Well, Gennady I have done my fair amount of travels so far as have my mares and we have seen some troubling things.” I had his attention as he leaned his free body slightly forward, no matter the age people loveda story. “I started my journey in the Diamond Mountains; there all seemed fine till the lightning storms came. The bolts vaporized trees down to their stumps in one zap! That is also where I met Chrissy; she had been thrown there after her invasion of Canterlot failed.” Seeing his fear return I jumped into her story, “Now Gennady, do you know why she took her whole family from her hiveland and launched a invasion on the capital of Equestria when three Alicorns were present?” He looked a little confused now, thinking over the obvious problem with the plan. “No, that is stupid! That is so, so-“ “Desperate?” “Yes!” “That’s because it was her last resort, her people were starving, the hivelands were being flooded with sulphuric water, and it wasn’t drinkable in any way. So the ones that usually gathered food had to gather water now and her family slowly started to starve, she knew that the other countries were not any better…” I released the rest of his body as I saw his mind working overtime with the new information. “She’s not lying? I know that they can-“ I raised a eyebrow at his counter argument, “No she hasn’t lied about anything, Saddle Arabia is in a extreme drought, Minotaria is getting flooded as you can see, and i'm willing to bet the rain is flooding more than the Badlands now.” “Yes, it has started to wash away the Gryphon’s mountainside homes and, and the Badlands are on the southern side of the mountains soo... They are getting flooded as well! Dear Faust we are all doomed!” Now he understood. “Actually I passed through the Equestrian border and they don’t have any weather problems there, in fact some Equestrian citizens were shocked at the state of the other countries.” I let him stew it over before I dropped the bombshell. “I was enlightened on the reason behind this disparity in the weather between the countries around Equestria and in Equestria itself. Simply put the princesses are manipulating the sun and moon to Equestria’s good fortune, nice weather, and the optimal growing seasons.” I had him now. “It has been throwing the natural cycle of the weather off and causing these ‘super’ storms, that is why I have been brought here. We are on a journey to save the entire planet.” “Wait how?” **** Chrissy My stallion is a strange one, not the fact that he is from another world but the situations he gets himself into. Today I woke up expecting to rut and continue on our way with the owner none the wiser about our little sleep over. That went out of my head when the first thing I saw was an axe lodged in the floor boards and felt Ari missing from beside me. I immediately stood up, hissing as I scanned the room, fear rushed through my veins at thought of Ari being possibly dead. It was possible, even though there wasn’t any blood and no damage done to the room, it didn’t mean he couldn’t have stepped outside to fight. But I wasn’t going out there alone. Not having any time to be gentle about Lyric’s condition I grabbed her tail in my magic, yanking her up as my hoof covered her squeal. With my hoove covering her muzzle I looked at the axe before looking back at her, her eyes went wide and teared up. Exactly what I felt, wasting no more time I pointed to the door. I could a male’s voice talking outside, it was faint but I knew I heard Ari’s name. Nodding to Lyric we lept into action, opening the door with a bang as it hit the side of the shack, jumping outside with our horns glowing, but my thoughts halted at the sight before me. “Hey Chrissy, Lyric” Ari trotted over to us and gave us a happy kiss each before gesturing to the light blue Minotaur he had been talking with before. “This is Gennady, he-“ “Axe in the floor!” My eye was twitching as my knees shook slightly in relief, he had scared me half to death! When he wasn’t dead he was just having a friendly chat with a Minotaur outside. Maybe I am just overreacting but we were having a foal, I couldn’t lose him now. No, i couldn't lose him anyway, he was my love. “Oh yah he threw it at us when he saw that he had intruders and we sort of forgot to pick it up…BUT he totally understands what we are doing and can help us get to the coast! He was just telling me about the underground railway they use to transport the gems and ores.” Ari stopped his excited explanation as I collapsed onto the ground. “Chri-“ “Don’t do that again! We were scared you were dead, I just can’t lose you-“ I stopped myself from saying ‘when I’m with foal’, some things are best not said right now, especially with prying ears around. Gennady saw me narrow my eyes at him as Ari and Lyric helped me up. “Don’t worry Chrissy, Ari told me all about what happened and I’m sorry what happened to your family. Around here we are starting to get flooded out too. The whole western half of Minotaria is turning into swamp, my family was displaced by the floods actually. I was actually telling Ari about my sister earlier, she is a apprentice under a smith over at Shallow Shale, and I’m sure if I asked her she would make the those, uh, special restraints you guys needed.” His happy smile threw me off, “You aren’t running screaming from me? You really are going to help us?” I watched his face as he nodded, giving me a smile that I couldn’t find any dishonesty in. That seemed wrong somehow, not that I wanted to be hated but the thought of not being hated or feared by others was foreign to me still. “Thank you then.” Ari was beaming, practically trotting in place with his joy as Lyric gave me a nudge, I knew they were happy for me but I was overwhelmed again. How was this Gennady accepting me so easily? Had Ari learned mind magic overnight…Or was this what happened when you asked for help and others actually listened. I hope Ari can make this world change, if not just for us than for our foal, the world can be cruel. We walked over to the map and I was surprised at how simple the railway was. The tracks were nearly a straight path through the Gryphon’s mountains, and they may save us a day or two of travel thanks to the speed of the train. This seemed too good to be true- “Where are we going to hide on a train filled with gems? It isn’t exactly made for a comfortable ride.” This serious statement was hard to focus on with Lyric flagging Ari at the same time, a fact that both males were very embarrassed about, looking at the map instead. But Lyric made a good point and I was actually impressed with her ability to think soo clearly with the heat upon her, as much as I hate to admit it I wasn’t quite soo coherent at that stage. “Well I work in at Gryphon mines at the border, I can get you past the border and into the mine. All you have to do is hop onto the caboose and enjoy the ride.” Gennady looked very happy with his plan. I saw a problem though. “So we-“ I gestured to the herd, “ –are just going to waltz up the train with no one falling all over themselves running away or bowing.” “Well I have some old blankets I could turn into cloaks for you guys, but…And not to be rude but couldn’t you just, you know, change your form to blend in?” My eyes must have betrayed my panic Lyric stepped up for me, “Wouldn’t it be odd to have one pony without a cloak in a herd that is cloaked? Plus she will stand out anyway.” She was looking at my wing, which I folded down a little self-consciously as everypony’s eyes were on it. The panic stemmed from my realization that I couldn’t really use my magic as much as before with the foal needing soo much of it already, even my favorite disguise was a little tiring after we had left Saddle Arabia. Lyric would have to pitch in a bit more till it was born. As to flying, sure I had months to get used to not being able to fly, months to grieve over my loss, but it still stung when others focused on my lack of wing. Focusing on my inability which in turn only showed how I had been a loved ruler, a counselor for nymphs, and a competent opponent in battle. That was all gone now, just bittersweet memories that can never come to be again, not that I wanted all of it back. My life was different now, I was a loved mare with a strong stallion, a future mother, and to my dismay ground bound… Well not completely I guess, Ari did promise me some midair rutting, everyday in fact. Speaking of rutting, I needed breakfast and Lyric wasn’t going to last long if her dripping and shifting was anything to go by. “Oh I hadn’t-“ “Ari…breakfast?” I interrupted Gennady but I didn’t care at this point, this foal was clearly part Alicorn with how often I needed a full meal. It was getting ridiculous, I had eaten two full meals yesterday, one the day before, and had a near continuous stream of snacking all throughout that. Before a full meal could last me three days approximately, I had gotten most of my love from smaller snacks and was never quite this empty. “Breakfast?” Gennady looked confused at the change of topic but Ari blushed and looked at Gennady with a nervous look. Before Ari could say anything Lyric walked by in front of him heading to the bushes behind Gennady’s shack, that was the idea, I didn’t stick around listen to Ari explain this one to the bull. Breakfast has many meanings in our herd and we both wanted this version of breakfast right now. **** Lyric As much as I wanted to congratulate Ari for finding a quicker way to the coast I was having trouble concentrating on the conversation. My last dream playing out over and over in my mind, driving up my tail with arousal as the imaginary cock filled me, but the lack of friction below clashing with my senses in an agonizing way. I knew what this was, the heat, driving me to get even a minute of relief with my stallion, even when I knew I had to wait till after they were finished talking about whatever drivel it was. Wait, did that bull say we were riding a train? Might as well point out the obvious, they took it well though, and that problem was solved at least. But Ari said he would solve my problem today, first thing in fact, yet here we are still talking. A shiver ran down my spine and I twitched my already flagged tail as my excitement trickled down my inner thigh, but it was okay, just deep- No, deep breaths is a bad idea and the alphabet didn’t work last time. Come on ponies hurry up with this talking! Taking a deep breath anyway, I held in my shudder and moan, before trying once again to come back to the conversation. Surely there was something I could say to move it along, well besides ‘rut me’, even that was a tad too bold for me now. Wait he said something, It took a second for what the bull had said to sink in but I had already seen Chrissy’s expression and I jumped in before I realized what I was saying. It worked though. Then the conversation faded again as the warmth overtook my thoughts, the burning under my fur and scales. Time was a strange thing when every second seemed like a burning torture of the senses, teasing me with sensations that seemed to speed up time and pleasure, only to slow time even more in the next second. Letting myself get caught up my dream again I felt my hooves shift as my nose flared to take in my stallion’s scent, fresh, male, and all mine now. The moisture continued to grow in my marehood till it overflowed again, slowly trickling down my fur, and I winked to let more escape. He would have to help soon. Although now keeping my hind hooves together seemed to be harder to do as they drifted apart the warmer I felt, the faster I tried to take in that sweet elixir that Ari gave off. If he- “…breakfast?” I almost squirted when that word reached my ears, that was what I needed, Chrissy’s version of breakfast anyway. My hooves moved on their own as I made my way to the bushes behind the shack, making sure Ari saw me wink before I started clearing the area of sticks. That was quickly done as Chrissy showed up partway through my busy work, helping me stay focused as my heart raced. I knew was she feeding off me as well but I didn’t care, it was an energy that I never noticed anyway and the foal would need it now. Chrissy murmured comforting words, I think anyway, i wasn't able to focus on them, male voices quietly conversed in the background, but I couldn’t really hear anything above my pounding heart. At the sound of a new set of hooves coming over my body burned with a new vengeance and I inhaled. YES! My legs spread almost immediately as his spicy scent reached me I knew he would help me, help- My whinny echoed over the muddy fields as he came up behind me and licked along my marehood, finally! Clarity returning to my thoughts i nickered to him, winking rapidly as I encouraged him to mount me, i knew he was ready, his erection was bobbing in my peripheral vision. I forced myself to rest my head on the cool ground as I felt my coil tighten deep in me again, I shifted against his lapping muzzle when a new sensation met my lips and brought me into focus. Chrissy was kissing me as she lay her chitin in the muddy ground, moaning into my mouth as I began squealing into hers from Ari’s newest foreplay. I didn’t need foreplay, my nerves did not need the extra licks and nips own there. To get my message across I backed into his muzzle, winking, before my coil finally snapped at his ministrations. His lips had grasped my nub and sucked, sending me into orgasm. Chrissy released my mouth as we panted together, the smell of her arousal hitting my nose a second before I felt a tingle of pleasure at my entrance. Unable to form the words to let him to let him know i was more than ready I began to bend my knees, moving my butt up and down along his length, which sent new shots of pleasure to my core as his enflamed tip was quickly coated in my juices. Chrissy looked over my shoulder before dominating my mouth again in hers. I whimpered into her as he stilled me with his forehooves, grabbing my hips before slowly sliding his cock into my marehood. The slowly inching forward entrance he was doing to me was killing me, it built a new pressure deep in me, and having had enough of his 'consideration' for me I pushed myself backwards. “BUCK MEEEE!” i screamed into the air as i finally felt all of him. My words found me again i murmured his name now. I was finally filled, his tip pressing against my cervix and leaving my sensitive nerves tingling as my second climax grew near. With a shaking breathes I started twisted my hips around his length, needing the pleasure that was soo close, yet- Shuddering around his cock as the second orgasm rode my body, a silent scream stuck in my throat as I felt him finally start moving. It took most of my self control to not clamp down on his length as he pulled out to his tip, we both moaned as he twitched slightly. As he thrust back in as I was reminded of Chrissy’s presence as she bit down hard on my ear, tongue flicking the edge where scale met flesh, which caused me to whimper. This was a ganging up i didn't mind, everyday wouldn't be bad if it was like this. “Pick up the pace Ari, I want my breakfast still you know.” Chrissy teased after she releasing my ear and I tried to slow my shallow breaths. The effort to gain control over my heart was in vain as Ari complied with her request and I was left panting again. He was picking up the pace with a barrage of quick, powerful thrusts, his length twitching and throbbing in my hold. Tension increasing I forgot about my lead mare as all that mattered was the sweet release that was coming, clamping down on him I began milking his cock, before I felt his mouth grab my mane. Screaming into Chrissy’s conveniently placed mouth I rode out the pleasure with small thrusts back as cool relief washed over my body as he came in me. Warmth coated my walls as I felt body relax, burning gone for now, and Chrissy’s helping mouth leaving mine i gasped into the morning air. I could feel a dopey smile spread across my muzzle as I felt my body finally relax after three days of torture. “Lyric, I’m sorry it was soo quick, we will be longer next time. I do hope it helped a little.” Ari sounded a little sorry and out of breath as he released my mane and nuzzled me quickly. My stallion took a deep breath and removed his hooves from where they gripped my hips, painful in the most pleasurable way. With a squelch of our juices he removed his length from my folds and I let my legs finally relax and tail drop down. That was amazing! I can only hope this relief lasts longer than my aunt’s spells did. My eyes drooped as Chrissy disappeared from my vision; I understood why she did this every day now. **** I was awoken by a kiss on the muzzle and it took me second to wake myself up, scowling at the mud on my belly before I sighed as no burning met my nerves, Ari’s relief was still in effect. Thank goodness, I was going mad with him close by and my body on fire with need. The question is now how long before the symptoms returned. “Morning Lyric, did that help?” I smiled and nodded at Ari, my stallion, before I noticed the plate in his magic and the fact that Chrissy lay a couple feet from me smiling a wide smile. That probably was how mine looked. My stomach growled as the smell of hash browns hit my nose, well anything would be nice since it had been a while since I ate those pears. “Breakfast?” Both Chrissy and I giggled at the word, no longer able to take it in the meaning most ponies would. Breakfast passed by quickly as I shoveled the potatoey goodness into my muzzle, for all purposes imitating Ari in sheer enthusiasm. Eventually we had to meet Gennady for the walk to the mine, the bull not looking us in the eye when he handed us our crudely fashioned cloaks and a small wrapped lunch each for the trip. Even Chrissy got a lunch pack, which caused us to look at us to look at him weirdly till he cracked, “Uh my mom always said to send guests on the road with a full belly and I can’t really package love so I thought you could use that to feed yur herd mates when you feed off them.” We blinked at him in surprise. I hadn’t thought Minotaurs knew much about emotionvores or magic. “My sister works under a smith, he makes enchanted shackles all the time and she just loves talking about magic.” Seeing our hopeful looks he frowned, “But he has never made shackles t-to contain Alicorns. I hope you do though, this can’t continue on like this.” We nodded at his statement before we set out. Gennady wasn’t kidding about flooding. We followed a narrow, muddy, path that was slightly above the water, which stretched to the horizon, this used to be farmland. Occasionally we saw the tell tale triangle of a roof floating by, a testament to the destructive power of the floods, which only served to trouble my herd mates. Finally making it to the mine entrance, we stopped as Gennady stopped and explained about us ‘doing undercover work for the crown’ to the guard. That one was all Chrissy, she seemed to find it hilarious that we were here about the royalty, just not the type of work they might think. Though Ari might have won over one Minotaur it didn’t mean that every Minotaur would be quite so open. With a nod to the guard we kept our heads down and followed Gennady down into the mine, taking the first left we came out of the tunnel onto a stone train platform. The train was pulling in as we arrived, breaks screeching as it stopped and Minotaurs dressed in overalls and soot rushed to the train to load what they had onto it, leaving room for what I assume other stops would fill. It was a simple work train, colored a dull gray right down to the wheels, and well taken care of despite its daily labor in the mine. “You ponies take care now, be careful of swindlers don’t give that letter to just anyone-“ Gennady handed us his letter to his sister, wrote last minute as Ari pointed out that no one would believe us just on our word, he continued, “-ask to speak with Dinara Vasiliev at The Steel Anvil. She is always working every time I write to her so you can’t miss her, not that I think she would be hard to miss.” “Why’s that?” Ari asked. “She is taller than you, gets it from our dad. He is a giant among Minotaurs! I know I’m tall for a Minotaur but he is huge!” The train whistle sounded and we hopped onto the back of the caboose, a narrow ledge with a short railing being our only hold as the train gained speed. We swayed with the train as it took the corners, our sides pressed together in the clickety-clack filled silence between us. Our stops becoming less frequent as the train cars were almost filled to the brim. After a long time I had just ended up resting my head on Ari as Chrissy did the same, propping him up. That was until he perked up, glancing around I understood why: the cave was lightening up, lanterns dim in comparison to the light approaching. Straightening our cloaks we squinted as the train full of gems glittered and we exited the mine.
Enter Shallow Shale.**** Ari After leaving the mine, the train continued chugging along for a solid five minutes before it hit the final station. During that time I took in the sights, well after my eyes stopped seeing spots. We had been on that train, in dim lighting, for a good ten hours before reaching daylight again. But it had turned a two day trek over muddy mountains into a ten hour train ride through them so I wasn’t going to complain. Thank goodness they had trains in this world. I couldn’t help but wonder what else they had in this world as I gazed at what was easily the biggest city I had seen here so far. “So this is Shallow Shale huh?” Beside me Chrissy and Lyric hummed in confirmation, both relaxed against my barrel with half lidded eyes, Lyric was actually not flagging for once. A guy, err, girl, stallion can only take soo much teasing, in fact she actually doesn’t smell as strong as before, thank goodness for small reliefs, that 'heat' is crazy stuff. When people's lives weren't being ruined everyday we wasted I wouldn't mind enjoying it at a more leisure pace, all it takes is a little sex after all. Still I couldn't help but smile at their relaxed state, even if they both were not really taking in the wondrous sight that was the city. It probably wasn’t the first time they had seen it so that might have something to do with it, but to me the view was incredible, like something out a storybook. I wonder what princess or prince ruled here. Ok I didn't want to meet them or anything, I may have liked reading bedtime stories a little too much, and this looked soo picturesque that it brought back the stories I loved: fairy tales, despite how unrealistic they were they were the funnest to read. You can only imagine how it bugged me more than a little that I couldn’t read anything here. Although It had made this journey a little interesting so far, trusting others on their word only, well and common sense, but that didn’t always work. Berry bushes in trees anyone? Right anyway, we were coming out from a high point of the mountain, allowing us to see nearly the whole city. From up here it appeared to be divided into districts, the buildings appeared to be mere building blocks from here but they were still close enough to hint at the purposes they served. Closest to the station we were entering was a collection of brown, blue, and beige two story houses, small balconies showcasing various plants and statues that were unmistakably hoof carved. It appeared to be residential area, most likely for the families of those that worked in the mines, and was currently busy with a variety of beings. Some of the beings I had never even seen before. Multicolored fish people conversed in a strange language that sounded like a mix of screeches and dolphin clicks; they were walking on two scaly legs and breathing on land despite having gills. Ironically enough Striped and spotted cat people strolled around among them as well, shifting their large, slitted eyes and oversized ears at every sound, they were walking on two feet like a human which through me off, they get to be bipedal but ponies don’t? What was slightly less strange to me was Hippogryphs. I at first thought I was imagining things as I saw a bright orange Gryphon, only to realize it had a pony’s lower half complete with a tattoo of a sword and shield on its flank. What is it with pony flanks and tattoos? Even the princess had one, the princess! But i'm getting off topic, the Hippogryphs came in all sorts of colors like the fish people did, although they still favored the earthy tones that Gryphons seemed to only come in. Beyond the residential district I saw streets lined with stores, all the way down a hill before reaching a busy market place. I had to double check when I saw what looked like fish down there. The fact that fish were being sold seemed surreal in a world of ponies, still there was bins piled high with them and many other various seafood, some I didn’t even recognize. But I tried not to linger on that section, I guess there was sentient fish people and non-sentient fish… that disturbed me a little but Gryphons and the cat people had to eat something, I guess I really should be glad nothing eats pony here. I might have jinxed myself, I thought as a tingle went down my back suddenly. Past the market was the harbor, from our spot I could see huge boats coming and going and even a lone airship hovering at a raised platform. I really wanted to know how you parked an airship. Did you anchor it or just stop the engines? This was going to be fun… I had to get my hooves on one of those for this plan to happen and they looked like a nice ride too with a slim aerodynamic design, and... Woah, getting carried away here. The fact that I only had five bits to my name was going to make this hard. Getting here it didn't really occur to me how I would get the money. So it looks like I might go with Lyric’s suggestion on stealing a pirate ship, or hell, why not just steal the airship that is parked there? I immediately smacked that idea, stealing a airship, in a bustling city, with no clue how it works. Genius was not the word for that plan, the pirate ship possible still seemed possible as I have steered a boat before, mind you it was powered by a engine and these ones looked…well they had the classic colonial look with huge sails and a mess of ropes that was just asking for someone to be tied up in them. It couldn't be that hard. When did stealing become soo attractive? Sure it is immoral to steal but this was saving the fucking planet we are talking about here, a little bending of the rules is called for I think. I was not a bad…Pony, I babysat my friend’s munchkins, I volunteered at the library reading stories, and although I hadn’t visited my mother in ten years I still sent her cards and presents. Money had been tight lately and I have some trouble handling her. But my morals were up in the air right now, like i was when I was tossed here with little thought to my life. I'm adjusting pretty darn well if I do say so. But If we are going to point out moral grey areas let me point out how I’m planning to drug and abduct royalty for crying out loud, though it is for a good cause. Everypony's lives seemed like as good a reason as any to do what was generally 'bad' actions. But my introspective on morals can wait as the train has finally stopped, nearly deafening me again with it’s breaks, but it still got us here in one piece. We get off and start off down the road leading into the city, stretching our legs and adjusting our cloaks and the saddle bags, letter tucked away safely. Further into the city I can see even more blocks of different buildings, ranging from what I would call German in design choices to Spanish with their clay tile roofs. It was a real jumble of culture here, with a catacophony of different languages conversing, and many conflicting scents flowing through the street that seemed determined to assault my nose. I was beginning to miss the quiet of the countryside. “So have you been here before?” I looked at each mare on either side of me, ears perked forward as I strained to hear what their response would be over the chatter around us. “Yes, long, long ago.” Lyric looked in the direction of the harbor in the distance, feeling what I was sure was sadness as her ears folded down underneath her hood. Right, she probably missed her mother, a seapony would be from the sea after all. “Many times, it’s a great place to learn things.” Chrissy had her hood pulled even further down her face than Lyric, her horn not even visible, but I could still see her muzzle turn into a happy grin as she walked along. I’m glad someone has some good memories of this place. We continued moving through the crowd as a herd, following nothing in particular at the moment, but I wasn’t worried. My mares knew this place a little and I could always ask somepony where The Steel Anvil was…If we saw anypony that is. Though we didn’t stand out too much from the crowd for with our cloaks, our equine shape was definitely rarer in the streets. I could clearly see some Saddle Arabians in the crowd and they waved at us when we passed by, most likely thinking we were a herd of Arabians. I wasn’t going to correct them. The sun was still beating down above us when I decided to add some purpose to our stroll in the coastal city. “So do you lovely mares want to stop anywhere before head to The Steel Anvil? See the sights or whatever while we are still anonymous?” I turned up the charm, trying to get Lyric to smile mostly; she was looking off into nowhere. It also wouldn’t hurt to maybe do something romantic, I mean sure I could do dates after the world wasn’t dying but I felt like I went in reverse with them. Although…they seemed very into going forward in the relationship, they had actually initiated most of it now that I thought about, not that I was resisting it nor am I complaining about our relationship but it left me wondering if it was a culture thing like flank tattoos were? “What do you mean Ari? Aren’t we trying to get this whole business done as fast as possible?” Chrissy sounded confused and a little worried at my words, leaning into me more. I regretted making her worried but couldn’t help my words. I had been thinking about the ‘after’ portion of the mission lately. Would the princesses really let me run around free after capturing them? Sure I was going to return them but I didn’t believe they would let this go away so easily, I know I wouldn’t, in fact I imagine they will be quite angry even after I explain why. However I know they won’t just listen to my ‘crazy’ words when it is not visible to them in Equestria. Even with the polite letter explaining the situation a bit that I had Chrissy write to them for me I still expected some hostility, it was a given the nature of the talk. My nerves over basically telling them they had been causing uncalculated destruction, death, and assumed poverty due to their actions over the last millennia were completely founded. I was saying they were the 'bad' guys here, but there wasn't any real 'bad' or 'good' just ways to take others actions, i'm sure they felt justified in their actions. My status as the only Alicorn stallion also didn’t seem like a good thing either, sure it was probably going to get me in the door but if they took a interest in me I was screwed then. I had two loving mares that happened to be strongly disliked by ponies and somehow I don’t see these princesses accepting that, sure we were all rational adults, some older than others but adults still. Right? Well, if the strong presence of instincts that I had in my mind and the way the heat, a hormone based state, can turn a mare into what is essentially a sex crazed flasher, then I don’t hold much hope for them understanding my big 'no'. But the bottom line was I didn’t know how I escape unharmed after I returned them, that part of the plan was blank still. I knew I needed more help. As much as I loath to admit it, I don’t know how to do the complicated forms of magic that would be necessary to enchant the inhibitors, or how to properly talk to royalty without insulting them twenty ways to Sunday unintentionally, and I didn’t know how to drive, err, steer an airship. I knew very little and that would have to be changed. With a glance to the airship parked in the distance I turned back to Chrissy and Lyric who had been very patiently waiting for my explanation. “Well, after this all is over every pony will know of us, or at the very least me, and even then it won’t take long for others to find out about you. So I thought if you wanted to see any interesting sights now I wouldn’t object, since it’s probably the only time I’m going to be able to move soo freely in the city.” They shared a glance at my words, bodies tense beside me. “We could consider it a date or something, see the harbor or whatever statues they have here. I only have five bits but im sure we could find someone that would trade labor for food.” I gave them a hopeful smile, I wanted them to be happy again. They were still stuck up on the first half of my statement, not even cracking a smile at the date suggestion. “Maybe we can go on dates after, when we aren’t trying to save the world.” Chrissy didn’t sound very hopeful about that though, she sounded like she was lost in her thoughts, each word following the other without a natural flow. I wished she would just tell me what was wrong with her, sure I could ask but her current state made me believe she would evade me. “B-but aren’t we going to hide away somewhere? Take a vacation from this world? Maybe we could…even visit a new one?” Lyric’s voice cracked over the words ‘new world’ and I felt curious now, was there a magic to jump worlds? And just where was this ‘new world’ bit coming from? We had never talked about this before. “Lyric-“ Chrissy started hesitantly, almost sounding panicked if I didn’t know any better, but there wasn't anything to panic over. “Are you saying you know a magic to allow us to visit another world, maybe even Earth?” My heart raced and my eyes shone for a second at the thought of home before reality came crashing down on me, making my heart ache something fierce. I wish I had splurged on that plane ticket now and visited my mother, sure the institution made me nervous but she was still my mother. She couldn't help being Schizophrenic. And Josie and Ethan would never get to hear the end of the story we had started, not my way anyway, with the ridiculous accents and reactions that they giggled over. Now I wasn’t human anymore and no world hopping spell could change that. He had changed my DNA at the base level, miraculously keeping my personality intact even if as he added some extra instincts. There was no going back- We stopped suddenly as Lyric stood frozen looking out at sea below us, she blinked back tears before turning back to us, looking at Chrissy apologetically before turning to me. Ignoring the crowd as they weaved around us, my full attention was on her face; Lyric’s unshed tears tearing at my heart as I wished I could use my wings to hug, show her I was here for her. I had Chrissy and Lyric now, my mares, my rocks in this journey. Yes our relationship progressed quickly but my instincts didn’t seem to mind terribly, and after all this was said and done we did have millennia to get to know each other. “N-no Ari, there is something you don’t know-“ She shifted closer to me and for a second I thought she was going to rub herself on me from her heat but she was just shuffling her hooves, a sign of her uncertainty. She continued at a solemn pace, “-my, no, I miss my family very much. They were sent to another world, well my mother and aunts anyway, my father…” She sniffed and broke her fragile mask as a tear fell, soon followed by more as she started to sob. I quickly licked her muzzle off as more and more tears fell and I fought to keep my wings down, to not comfort her in the most natural way, I pressed into her more trying to will my love to her. It didn’t work completely, but her sobs slowed slightly. Luckily Chrissy had more sense than us and nudged us forwards, steering us as we blended back into the crowd, the stares fading as we moved down a new street, it was full of bakeries and resturants. We couldn’t afford to draw attention to ourselves. Giving a grateful nod to Chrissy, I continued to press into Lyric began to process what she had said, what had probably been kept inside her all this time. It was no wonder now why she accepted me being from another world so easily. Lyric was trying to figure out how to reach her family that were trapped in another world. “What happened to your father?” I whispered to her as her sobs had nearly ended, the shops slowly faded to the background as Lyric became my sole focus. Chrissy steered us down another street, this one a residential, middle class if the cookie cutter look of the homes was an accurate parallel to Earth’s middleclass home design. But the appeal of this city already beginning fade like the light around us, the sun was setting. We had walked around longer than I thought. But despite the darkness falling I felt no rush to tuck in for the night, I had hardly walked at all really compared to the previous days of walking for eight hours and more. I know I’m a horse but you should really see my muscles after all the walking, I was getting very fit here to my joy. On Earth I wasn't always quite so active, bookstores don’t exactly need a lot of physical labor besides lifting books, reaching, and finger aerobics…Typing to be exact. Anyway the night didn’t scare me in the city, there were no monsters of the Hydra variety and I knew I could handle any ‘swindlers’ as Gennady put it. We had to find The Steel Anvil, not that we could afford a room even if we wanted one. I was sort of counting on Dinari letting us bunk with her till we acquired a ship. After a lengthy pause Lyric answered “He tried and tried to bring them back, experiment after experiment, till one time he heard a rumor of a magic mirror. ‘I’m going on a research trip’ he said, ‘I will be back in a couple days’ he promised me, only he never returned. I eventually tracked his route, it lead all the way to the mirror, it was hidden in the Canterlot castle itself.” Chrissy and I were paying all our attention to Lyric now the street forgotten, leaning closer as we felt something important coming. “I found his bag dropped in front of it, filled with the letters and cards I made mother every year since her banishment. I also found a letter he had hastily written. He had appeared to have found the same magical signature that he found when he tried tracking spells.” Lyric gave a sad smile now, “But, my silly father had never looked for a way back before he jumped right in, or more likely there is no way back. He made it through to her through the mirror but I was u-unable to f-follow. I-It d-didn't...” Tears filled her eyes again as she stuttered over her words. With that bombshell dropped I felt empty and sad at the same time for her, this was why she had latched onto me soo readily, she had her family literally disappear under her nose. Determination growing in my heart, I knew I would help her find them, return them to this world. I might have to do the whole meet the parents bit after all. “Lyric, I-I care, no, I love you.” I paused as I gulped down my remaining nerves, that had been hard to say, not that I didn’t mean every word but it was because I meant every word that it was an immense statement to say. “I would do anything for you-“ looking at Chrissy now, “-, both of you to be happy. I think I speak for the herd when I say we will look for a way to get your family back. Perhaps we should linger a little and do some research here, there has to be a library in this city right?” Lanterns were lit as the moon began rising, highlighting the new tears rolling down Lyric’s face, and showing Chrissy starting to cry. My ears splayed as I saw the new tears, had I- Both of my mares leaned in and kissed the sides of my muzzle. I wasn’t expecting that but I enjoyed it all the same, a relieved smile on my muzzle now, those had been happy tears then. But the street was emptying now as we walked on, the middleclass homes having shifted to shops, and now warehouses stood before us as we approached the docks. Our hooves had taken us towards the boats it would seem. The warehouses were dimly illuminated by small lanterns and surprisingly free of trash. Looking around I felt uneasy at the clean area, this wasn’t a good place to be according to my instincts, my fur raising slightly as the feeling of being watched descended on my mind. Turning to Chrissy I went to ask her opinion on where to go instead of here only to freeze at the sight behind her. She quickly caught on and turned around, I could feel Lyric shiver beside me in the warm night air. We watched our visitors approach with a bated breath. Stepping out of the shadows that rested between the warehouses was cat person followed by several Diamond dogs, a creature I hadn’t seen yet in this city. I snorted as the cat walked confidently from the shadows, his fur a mottled mix of tan and grey, and his clothing screaming narcissist to me. I don’t know any man, err, tomcat I guess, that would wear a suit with the shirt buttons half way undone, did I mention he was also wearing a neon pink cravat. The cravat looked especially useless to me when his shirt was open anyway. He even wore what I swear was real alligator boots, or maybe it would be dragon hide here, somehow I don’t think ‘pleather’ exists here, and it was custom made if the golden ‘A’ carved into them was a hint. He gave me the creeps anyway as I looked at him, had I not been trying to stay anonymous I would have flared my wings out and challenged him here and now, he felt like danger. It could have been that he was a carnivore but I think it was more the reaction my mares were having. Especially the way Chrissy trembled slightly against me, probably remembering our last encounter with Diamond dogs. Lyric’s breath suddenly hitched beside me. “Why hellooo there my equine friends! Fancy seeing folks like yourself out these ways…at night, and soo alone. Did you need help finding anything in particular?” A cheshire grin spread across his face as he finished his banter, I guess I would call it that, though it felt more like a taunt to me. He looked at us, grin growing as I turned my herd to face him. My instinct told me not to turn my back on him as I looked at him from under my hood, holding in another snort as I just felt that would break the fragile feeling in the air, which told of bloodshed at one wrong move. “No, I’m sorry sir, we were simply leaving. No need to bother yourself with us, we will gone in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.” He looked at me strangely for a second, something flashing in his eyes before his grin returned. “Well how could I forget my manners? My name is Arch and helping lost…souls is my game. I couldn’t help but notice that you poor ponies are out here, my territory if you will, alone I will gladly escort you somewhere safer.” A small chuckle before he continued his talk, “No charge of course, I wouldn’t dare-“ I interrupted his long winded explanation, it was telling me to leave. “Sorry we were are leaving, have a pleasant evening.” A firm but polite statement to let him know we are as good as gone. With that said, we turned to leave, not needing to confirm our direction, as there was really only one way to go: the city. Turning around while keeping them in my peripheral vision I almost relaxed, only to shift my wings under my cloak as our steps were cut short with more Diamond dogs coming out of the shadows from where we came from. Fuck, I tempted fate tonight, just had to think there would be no trouble at night. I wouldn’t be doing that again. “You seem to misunderstand me pony, you will be escorted somewhere safer-“ My mind began racing as I tried to figure out how to get out of here without flying and revealing myself. “- and more private. The streets aren’t safe at this hour after all.” I could fight my way out of this, Chrissy and Lyric are pretty good at magic. But if there were any police forces in this world this would attract them and I didn’t want to gather their attention. “Ari?” Chrissy said quietly, fear in her voice, which made me worry even more. She had been off lately, less confident I guess, maybe I was just reading too much into her reaction at Gennady’s but I felt like I was missing something. Her fear seemed too great for the measly six dogs and one cat we were surrounded by. “Aww is the little mare scared? Don’t worry we will take care of her.” My eye twitched at his tone, the care sounding like something perverted and I felt my magic thrum in my horn, and the golden glow illuminating my face before it hit me. An idea, a crazy idea that might not even work, but I had to try. “OH! A unicorn, this will be fun! Boys-“ I never heard the end of what he said as my magic enveloped Chrissy, Lyric and I. My body feeling like it was swirling on a breeze as I pictured my destination: a bakery we had passed on the way down the hill. As my magic dimmed I opened my eyes and immediately saw the wooden bakery sign in the shape of a cinnamon bun, it was why I remembered it in the first place. My stomach was never full here. A thump beside me made me look over, Chrissy and Lyric had landed in a heap in the empty street, my golden glow dissipating from them. Landings would have to be worked on, but I figured out teleporting at least. It was like the locating spell except I pictured the particles rearranging themselves like in ‘The Time Machine’ only this time it would be teleporting not time travel, I figured if magic was intent and focus it might work. If not we would have fought so it was all good. Even with my less than stellar landing I couldn’t help but give a small whinny of happiness and broke into a prance around my mares, my cloak billowing with the speed of my victory prance. My happiness was overflowing, we were safe, and I learn- "Ari!” “ARI!” I stopped and looked at them, they were giving me a weird look, “I teleported!” And with that I gave them each a quick kiss. They looked at each other then back to me, “We saw.” Chrissy stated in a tone I didn’t understand, it was flat but with an edge. Something was off, now Lyric was giving her an odd look too. At least it wasn’t just me that thought Chrissy was being strange. “What’s the matter? Shouldn’t you be happy, we escaped those skeeveballs!” Lyric turned her attention to me and gave me a kiss back as she raised an eyebrow playfully at me, “Skeeveballs?” “Yup they gave me the creeps and I am soo glad that worked!” My adrenaline was still pumping as I hugged them with my forelegs, it felt a little different than wing hugs but I went with it. “No, those were Diamond dogs Ari, that means- we were soo close to being captured! They are slave traders!” Chrissy sounded afraid still and it made sense, being a slave would be scary. Going to her side I placed my neck over hers, no one would touch her. Especially those slave traders, we might have to investigate them, I mean slavers really shouldn’t have a boat, right? Giving me a trill in response Chrissy took a deep breath and smiled, it was a little faked, worry still leaking through, but she was still trying to calm herself. Again the topic of slaves was coming up and that troubled me. The Diamond dogs, Jabbar and his gang, and now Arch. Perhaps there was more than the weather going wrong in this world. But the pressing question is who would even buy slaves? I hadn’t seen any in the city, or any, well, anywhere! This was something I would have to figure out later, we had to find Dinara still. “But we weren’t captured, we are safe and strong. I know we could have taken them in a fight but the less attention we get the better.” Looking at her I saw the worry slowly fade from her smile. “Anyway since a date is out of the question now and the library is probably closed, how about we start looking for Gennady’s sister now? He said she is always working and nothing bad could happen to us, we are the only ones in the street.” I felt Lyric come to my other side, ready to start looking. “Plus I can-“ A thump sounded from behind us. Jumping around with our horns ready, with golden, green, and pink magic thrumming, we all turned around to face absolutely nothing. “What? Who’s there?” I asked the thin air, not believing that the thump was nothing. We waited for a good minute and nothing jumped out of the shadows, no doors opened, and no nets came down from above. Relaxing my stance I looked at my mares than back at the empty street, our hoods were down from the sudden turn and I could see my confusion mirrored on their faces. “Maybe that’s a good idea.” Lyric piped up, looking at the shadows with weary eyes and ears pinned back in fear, eager to be inside chatting with our new helper right now instead of here. Giving her a nuzzle I turned to Chrissy to see her opinion, she was gazing at a shadowy alleyway two shops back, blue green eyes unblinking. I looked at the darkness then back at Lyric before she too gave that spot a gaze as well. “I don’t see anything.” I stated looking at Chrissy. “Me neither.” Lyric chimed in. Chrissy gazed at the spot a second longer before sighing and kissing me, “I-it must have been just a cat. Let’s get going.” I felt her glance back before we pulled our hoods up again and started off. Following Chrissy’s lead we took a turn down a new street. As we moved down the unfamiliar streets a fact hit me, there were no homeless sleeping in the archways here, there was no litter, and yet there were slaves. What the hell world? But I tried to focus on the here and now. Like how the road was gradually leading us to a trades district, the shops having open storefronts, showing still glowing kilns, bag upon bag filled with partially polished gems, and most importantly anvils. That fact alone made me pick up our pace. After taking a left Chrissy halted at the corner, gazing at the shop in front of us. I couldn’t tell if it was the one, the writing was hieroglyphs to me but the pictograph of a gray anvil made me think we were at The Steel Anvil. Looking to my mares I smiled at their happy smiles, which confirmed that this was our destination. This was The Steel Anvil. It was a slightly more elaborate shop than the other smith’s shops around it, for starters it was actually fully enclosed, with a ten foot tall door that was twice as wide as the other shop doors. I was filled with a little trepidation at the size of the door and what lay beyond, no who lay beyond, a potential helper that can do what I can’t. There was still somepony up, a faint ting of metal being hit reaching my ears even with the doors closed. Grabbing Gennady’s letter from the bag, I held it in my magic as I held a hoof to the grand door. This was it, I looked at our appearance quickly: three ponies in poorly made cloaks, that if anyone looked closely could tell they used to be blankets and our faces were covered by the hoods. We were arriving in the middle of the night as well. Not suspicious at all. I’m soo glad I thought of having him write a letter now, this would save some confusion hopefully, and really I just didn’t want to go through the whole ‘she is a changeling AND she isn’t going to kill you’ bit again. Anyway here goes nothing, knocking my hoof on the door three times, the polite number I believe, I took a step back and waited. The soft tinging ceased inside and muffled thumps could be heard, shuffling my hooves I looked around. The street was still empty, the moon still shone, and I began to sweat beneath my cloak. I couldn’t help but be a little nervous about meeting her. What if it isn’t Dinari but her mentor that answers the door? What if- My worries were interrupted as the door swung inwards, the handle being held by a tall, slate gray Minotaur much to my relief. No dealing with her mentor tonight, unless her mentor was a minotaur too... No this minotaur was eight feet tall, taller than me like Gennady said his sister would be. The Minotaur was a obviously a heifer, her assets covered by a off white cotton shirt and further protected by a thick, black apron. A sweat soaked bandana was tied across her forehead, a forehead that was scrunched in confusion now. Caution clearly warred in her eyes with curiosity as well, glancing at the letter I held in my magic, then back at us. “Sorry I don’t speak Saddle Arabian, do you speak Equis?” It took me second to realize what she meant and I guess it made sense. We were taller than the Equestrians after all. “Actually I speak Equis better than Saddle Arabian, although my mares are quite fluent in Arabian if you wanted to learn. But I digress, Are you Dinari Vasiliev?” Surprise flicked across her face before it turned into a stone mask, eyes cold. “Yes and who am I talking to?” Her voice sounded guarded now, most likely wondering how I knew her name, being a suspicious looking pony in the middle of the night and all. I might as well gain some trust here. Flicking back my hood I passed the letter in front of her hands, she grabbed it after a second, still looking at me. “My name is Ari, Gennady said you wouldn’t mind doing some…special work for us.” I stressed the word special, locking my eyes with her. “He wrote a letter for you, it should explain everything. May we come in and talk?” Her face was unchanged, before giving a snort and opening the door wider for us.
Some Things Just Shouldn't be Done...**** Lyric I stuck close to Ari as we entered the shop. Despite the many things that called the shop home the first thing I noticed was the temperature. It was a good ten degrees warmer than outside, that was quite a feat considering it was summer. It was Saddle Arabia all over again, I could practically feel my scales drying out as we stood in the front room, we weren’t even near the forge yet. This cloak certainly wasn’t helping. But uncomfortable temperature aside, the shop was very grandiose and quite frankly impressed me, watching my father work on his enchantments had given me a discerning eye for quality work and these were very fine pieces from what I could see. A glass case occupied the majority of the front room, acting as the front counter, and displaying the masterpieces. It held both standard and foal magic inhibitors, which was rare for a average smith, but I could already tell by the various swords and shields beside the inhibitors that this master smith had a eye for detail. We were definitely in the right place, the apprentice was sure to be something special, no smith puts this much effort into their work to accept just any being. Not only was the shop grandiose in presence and quality of the pieces for sale, but the technology in here was first rate as well. Whoever owned this shop must also be a master enchanter, no journeyman could refine the jewels and enchant them to such a level nor could they afford the amount of money it would take to get this quality of work done. I couldn’t even feel the magic leakage, a telltale sign of the enchanted jewels. I could practically feel my father’s joy at seeing these enchantments. Looking around my eyes lit up as all the steel and bronze glittered under the light. Above me a light topaz illuminated the store with such magical efficiency that you couldn’t even hear the thrum of the magic powering it anymore, unlike the older models of jewels I had seen in Saddle Arabia’s underbelly. This enchantment lasted longer as well, not cracking after two years of use. Now if only- Sorry, I get carried away I just love enchantments. I couldn’t enchant worth my scales even after a millennia of practice, but I still had a love for them. Anyway, we followed Dinari further into the shop, past the display case, and through the door that lead to where the real magic happened. We stopped in front of a forge as she sat down on a bench, looking pensively at the letter then us. Now seated in front of the still steaming coals in her forge, she roughly opened the letter, tossing the envelope into the coals. I noticed an empty bucket sat beside the forge, dripping water onto floor, it looked like she quickly shut down the forge at our arrival. As she opened the letter a slight smile broke her mask, before it was lost in her mask as her eyes traveled down the letter. Have nothing to do while she read I looked around the back of the shop. A series of tall bookshelves framed in a work desk in the far left corner that was covered in scrolls, one was unrolled with various diagrams scribbled out. Opposite to it, a tool rack hung on the wall, tools ordered from smallest to largest, with several covered wine barrels standing against the same wall. Presumably they held parts for projects. Letting my eyes wander I realized with a jolt that there was no windows back here, just door and a set of stairs leading upstairs. We didn’t have an escap- “Take off your cloaks.” Dinari was gazing at us with her unreadable face again, the letter crumpled in her fist, and I couldn’t help but notice her neck muscles flex a little. My mind instantly recalled Jabbar, the signs before he would get violent, and I couldn’t help but flinch under the cloak. Usually the punches had been directed at others, but sometimes it had been me, again that was not my proudest time in my life. I looked at my herd mates, judging their reactions, the uneasy feeling I got from her commanding tone could all be in my head after all. Not that I had been expecting being welcomed with open arms and hugs but the tone coupled with her species still wore at my nerves, many nights lying awake from pain were hard to forget. A little relief went through my nerves as Ari stepped forward, removing his cloak in one motion, he stood before the Minotaur as naked as the day he had been born. With a slight nervous flutter of his wings he gave her a smile, “So I guess it still sounds pretty crazy on paper, huh?” She opened her mouth and quickly shut it, looking at his horn before frowning as she tossed the letter in the coals, the coals more than happy to eat the evidence of our plan. I tensed as I noticed her body hadn’t completely relaxed itself, her fists were still clenching and unclenching as she frowned at us, well Chrissy and I now. Ari noticed her attention on us and gave us a smile. “Chrissy, Lyric I think you can remove your cloaks, she seems to be taking this-“ Dinari’s fist flew at his face, sending him landing back into coals, as he thrashed on them trying to get up she grabbed a hammer that had been hidden on the other side of the forge. Well all rational thought went out the window then. Let it be known that you should never attack a herd stallion in front of his mares, especially when a mare is with foal. Chrissy was pretty much screaming at the heifer as she forgot all about using magic, her instincts probably screaming louder than mine were, I didn’t have the foal in my belly after all. She forgot all about the anonymity Ari was aiming for, that there was the master smith still asleep in the shop. Not that I was doing any better than her at keeping quiet when our stallion was getting attacked. I just hope the smith is a deep sleeper…A really deep sleeper. Chrissy and I ditched the cumbersome cloaks and bags, springing at the Minotaur that dared to attack our stallion, anger and fear coursing through my body as I readied myself to attack the eight foot tall heifer. My horn glowed as thoughts that would have pointed out Ari was an Alicorn and was perfectly capable of fighting for himself were beaten down but the need to protect the herd. Instincts being in control were never a good thing. However my brain was interrupted in my effort to protect my stallion when I heard him in pain. Ari was squealing as he tried to get away from the coals, that cow would have to wait. Chrissy could handle her for now. My horn glowed as I launched a jet of water at Ari, soaking the coals, and muffling his sounds of pain under the torrent of water. His poor back, those Hydra blood burns were still healing too. With my stallion not catching fire anymore I turned back to the threat, rearing up and preparing to stomp the, the… Well I sort of froze at the sight and fell back onto my rump. I was all prepared to kick her furry heifer hide to Zebrica and back but Chrissy beat me to it. The scene before me was almost comical if I wasn’t getting a little worried for Chrissy, her belly was exposed to the heifer, one good head butt or misplaced horn… Anyway, she had the Minotaur on the floor, cowering under her. Dinari lay there, unable to move her body as she was literally stuck to the floor. The spit that just days ago had helped Ari’s back heal was now holding the eight foot tall behemoth down no trouble at all. It was made to hold food in cocoons after all. I was gratefully for it and my lead mare in this moment. Her quick thinking had ended the fight and if the silence above us was correct then we had by some miracle not woken the smith! My trance was broken as a soaked Ari exited the now thoroughly soaked coal bed, wincing a little as he got back on his hooves. “Ari!” I was at his side in an instant, supporting him as we walked over to Chrissy and Dinari, that Minotaur might not be long for this world if the growling and magic thrumming off Chrissy was a sign. “Well, I guess you don’t want to help us after all.” Ari frowned at his own words, looking away from Dinari for a second before turning to me. “Lyric do you know any mind magic to make her forget about us? It would probably be for the best if she didn’t remember us…” His voice petered off before a new look entered his eyes that I hadn’t seen before, “Or better yet is there any way to make her make the magical inhibitors for us and not remember it afterward? She doesn’t need to be aware of helping ‘icky changelings’ after all.” Chrissy looked at him oddly now too. He took me by surprise by suggesting that. While what he said was true, I could use my mind magic on her with a little modification as my innate branch was meant for males after all, female minds could be accessed as well it just took a little more focus. Not that reflected intelligence, it was more reflective to my innate skill, there was some truth to us enchanting sailors... It was as a prank okay? Nopony ever died over it. But Ari hadn’t crossed into that area before. The area that gave ponies nightmares about this branch of magic: to be controlled against your will. Even with my innate skill in the art using my mind magic was not always my favorite answer, people hated it, and It garnered the fear that had made my family outcasts. Though my aunts would have laughed at using it on ponies, and I agreed partially with them there, there was still the pain of hearing the words ‘monster’ spat at your muzzle. Only a ‘monster’ would defend themselves with what they had right? Mind magic still was part of the problem of my species perception. No magic had been fully developed yet to counter our innate mind magic and this made using it a damning act around ponies. At one point I hadn’t cared, it allowed me to stay with the gang, and I wasn’t alone then. But I wasn’t happy either. Although part of me still agreed that if the ponies couldn’t resist a little mind magic it wasn’t our fault they were weak or that they hadn’t developed a counter magic yet, I didn’t want to have anymore hate directed at me. Ari hadn’t seen the power of my magic yet, seen ponies soo enthralled in my spell that they would kill their friends if I asked them to. It was a magic that inspired fear and from that hate, a reason my family wasn’t in this world anymore. But he didn’t know that, he is just using what he has on hand to try and make the world a better place. He can’t help it that the average being is weak willed. Ponies really did fear anything that was stronger than them, no that wasn’t completely true, they feared anything that didn’t benefit them. The princess of the night was actually extremely proficient in the mind arts, perhaps even better than my mother, but she called it in the public eye ‘dream magic’ to avoid panic among the masses. If Princess Celestia and Princess Luna didn’t have to answer to their people, providing them with the perfect seasons and pretty festivals I’m sure the people wouldn’t find them soo attractive as leaders. They are just as powerful as anyone one of us in the herd after all. We don’t have to answer to anyone though. Ari may be right about us being under scrutiny after saving the world. We were powerful, more so than the general populace, with the few exceptions being individuals like my father and that bearded unicorn. Which is probably what my stallion was starting to realize now, that he was a powerful stallion on Equis, and he was didn’t need to do things the hard way anymore. My silence must have been too long because Ari shook his head before narrowing his eyes at the downed heifer. “So was that your answer Dinari, that I should be burned for trying to save the world?” “You’re not a changeling?!” Her face was contorted in fear and shock now, looking between the mare ready to kill her and the stallion that was slowly losing his patience. I sighed and watched as my stallion’s eye twitched, this fear of the powerful was understandable but also getting old to me, I had lost track how many had that expression when they saw me. Not to mention the fact that Chrissy wasn’t even at full power, she was probably only using a small portion of it. In fact, though the Minotaur didn’t know it the power she used today would probably leave her hungrier than ever, with all the extra food the foal had to be consuming, Alicorn genetics shinning through. At least I thought so, she had even started snacking on me now! Well that and she could trust me more too, I’m sure she had heard all of the stories of my heritage. “I’m not, but what if I was? Surely Gennady wrote how in his letter how they have affected even more than Minotaria, how Chrissy is the literally last one.” I could feel his tail start swishing behind me as he talked, creating a nice cool breeze on my scales. Nuzzling my stallion I watched as Dinari absorb his words, her face becoming a mask again. Chrissy looked at me at his words, eyes wide and nostrils flared as the fact that she still hadn’t told him about the foal. I mouthed ‘later’ to her, we really did have to come up with a way to broach this subject to him, and get her over this mental block she has with telling him. “Your mare, ‘Chrissy’, lead the invasion-“ “She was looking out for her family! They were starving, DYING out there! It was either die at home or leave the hive and live! I thought you would understand that type of loss at least, your brother said you were displaced by the crazy shit show the world is facing. But I was wrong-“ “NO! Don’t you dare say I don’t understand loss, I have had to deal with more than you could possibly ever know! Let me up cha- mare.” Dinari was struggling under her cocoon casing, looking angry, and I had couldn’t help pressing into my stallion for more comfort, she really reminded me of Jabbar’s fits of rage too much for my comfort. “I have a name heifer and why would I let you up when you attacked my stallion? I may have failed at my invasion but I’m not stupid. Don’t think for a second-“ “Chrissy?” Ari was looking at her with a frown and intent ears, “You’re shaking, come here. Are the cloaks blocking the love too much? Cause we can go slower and take feeding breaks.” And she was, as she stood over the Minotaur her legs were trembling. It caused me to be worried now, had she absorbed soo little love that she the small act of cocooning Dinari and charging her horn did this? Chrissy didn’t seem to know what to do. She was looking at her legs like they had betrayed her, looking for all sakes lost on what to say to Ari. Taking that as my cue I trotted over to her far side, nudging her shoulder chitin lightly I got her moving to Ari. He had a wing up, a wing hug ready for Chrissy. A worried smile was on his muzzle even as she walked over. She was walking fine but I think that was on her will alone and I think Ari figured that out. For some reason I have yet to understand Chrissy was determined to hide her pregnancy like it was some horrible thing. Such a silly thought when my parents were ecstatic to have me. They tried for years to have a foal, with the only results of their rutting being temporary relief from the heat and lots of great sex. It was a siren thing I think, she never really explained that to me. Mind you, it was ‘tell you when you are older’ sort of topic, she had a couple of those. Securing his wing around Chrissy I heard her sigh a tired sigh as I made my way to his other side. A smile leapt to my face as I saw a wing ready to hug me as well. “I love the anonymity of the cloaks and all but not using my wings is hard, it’s like wearing that thobe all over again!” His words got a small smile from Chrissy, though it was clearly forced. The urge to just blurt it out was growing in me, if I didn’t fear her wraith I just might, but…It wasn’t my news to tell. Taking a deep breath Ari turned to what we thought would be our helper, “So, as Chrissy said, why should we release you? What is stopping you from attacking me again?” His voice was calm but his eyes were cold, mind magic still an option in his mind. Dinari gulped, “I will help you, I am the pot calling the kettle black, you are not…Evil. Changelings are not…bad. They choose a bad path…It can happen to anytaur- anypony...” She closed her eyes, giving a long sigh. It didn’t take a changeling to feel Ari’s excitement growing as he started trotting in place from her words, “Really? Thank you, thank you, thank you! You will not regret it…Well I gue-“ “OWW” We looked over at Chrissy, she had ‘lightly’ bit his neck, “Quit jumping around you are making me nauseous.” “Sorry.” And he did look sorry although more worried than anything else at her statement; she turned away with a huff. “I’m still on the floor.” Snorting at Dinari’s complaint, Chrissy walked over to where the substance glued down the Minotaur’s arm and neck, and opened her mouth wide to give her a clear view of her sharp canines. Understandably with those teeth in such close proximity to her throat the heifer stopped moving. Her eyes were pleading with Ari and I, the message clear. “Don’t be a calf about this.” Chrissy gave a chuckle before bringing her open mouth closer to Dinari’s throat. My stallion still didn’t move so I didn’t either, not that wanted to, this was getting good. Ari looked manically happy with a wide grin as he watched Dinari sweat in the face of the canines. I guess his back demanded a little retribution. A snap echoed in the shop and I had to stop my giggle from escaping, the look on Dinari’s face! Beside me, Ari was shaking as a quiet laugh escaped his muzzle. He quickly put a hoof over his mouth as Chrissy went back to his side with a sway in her hips and a grin. That mare is a genius! “W-what?!” Dinari was looking open mouthed at her freed arm and then back at a grinning Chrissy. “Just rip the rest off, unless the little calf needs help getting out of her cocoon?” With a snort, the heifer ripped the rest of the casing off of her body. Giving us a shake of her head before standing and moving to the work desk in the corner, ready to get down to business. The brawl forgotten as she set up a blank scroll with a focus that I had scarcely seen in these last hundred years, a excellent sign of the quality of her work. “Come on then Ari, we have to discuss these inhibitors. I haven’t made any to contain Alicorn’s before-” Seeing Ari frown, she quickly added, “-But I think I could once I know something’s first.” Ari seemed pleased with her attitude so we settled around the work desk to discuss one of the most crucial parts of this plan. If the princesses broke free from their restraints we were all going to be sent to the moon, if not outright killed. Well, they might not kill Ari since he was an Alicorn, but he would suffer of that I’m sure. With a foal on its way, this had to work. “So we need to figure out your power output to figure out how many gates and what level of power the en-“ She paused seeing Ari’s face scrunched up and head cocked to the side. “Continue.” Ari said waving a hoof at the frowning Minotaur. “You look confused.” “I am.” “What was confusing about that?” “Nearly all of it, I know nothing about the finer workings of magic. My understanding begins with focus and ends with intent.” Ari had a sheepish smile on his face, aware of how ridiculous he sounded. A full grown stallion, with an immense amount of magic, and only a little more than foal’s understanding of magic. He had improved, now knew how to locate objects, create astral objects, and teleport. Okay that last one I wasn’t so sure he got. I have never had a teleportation feel like that before, it was like I was everywhere at once then in one place all too quickly, very disorienting. Dinari looked at Chrissy then me for a answer, I could only nod at her and I’m sure Chrissy was doing something similar. “You are serious? How can you not know-“ “Yes I don’t know now can we please move on.” She crossed her arms at his tone. “I am from a world without magic, it is because of that I know next to nothing on it, my mares are teaching me as we go. So whatever you say they will teach me about later.” After a second of thinking she grabbed an inhibitor from the case and placed it on the table before starting again. “Okay, see these slots, they are called gates. Each gate is enchanted with a string of cuneal writing-.“ She gave a sigh at his look, “-,runes, they connect and disconnect when you turn the primary rune key in the gate. Do you understand?” I understood and I had to hold in my eye roll at her simplification of it, this was like a lesson from my dad all over again. Turning to Ari I smiled the sight of his happy expression and enthusiastic nodding. I can only imagine how hard it would be to be in a world with a new set of rules, language, and skills. He has had to learn soo much… Maybe we should relax, unwind here for a bit. Find a little out of the way sea cave and take a dip, preen, snuggle, maybe more if he is up for it. Who am I kidding? With the way Chrissy is there will be more. “Good, so there are usually three gates on a standard inhibitor, one on a foal inhibitor, and two on a second rate, cheap hack of an inhibitor.” Dinari snorted before continuing, “For the ones I am going to make I will have to go above that, however, there is no record of inhibitors requiring over three gates so I will need to do some research in Star Swirl’s laws of magic and then test it on you. Are you okay with that?” My eye may have twitched at the name of that pretentious- Sorry, never mind me I’m just going to take some deep breathes. “Yes, now I was wondering-“ Grumbles echoed into the room. Ari paused and cocked his head looking at himself then me. Actually, everyone was staring at me now. My scales were heating up under the gazes. “What?!” Dinari chuckled before getting up, “Sounds like you could use a midnight snack, all of you probably. What can I get you? Sorry we don’t have any cake here.” She smirked a little at Ari. “Please anything but cake, the icing is always too sweet. And you know you aren’t the first one to make that joke. I’ll have you know not everything you hear about Alicorns is true.” She was halfway up stairs now, “Tell me about it, I was expecting a long floating mane and tail.” As we listened to rustling upstairs Ari turned to us, “What does she mean by that? Moonbutt had a weird ethereal mane and tail too, is that normal here? Actually while I’m talking about normal why do most ponies have a flank tattoo? Is it like a coming of age thing here because it seems pretty standard here?” I looked at Chrissy and she looked back, our expressions matching as we realized he still needed to learn a lot before we even sprung the news of the foal on him. Motioning to Chrissy to start I levitated a canteen out of the bag, taking a drink as I watched his face. “A mane and tail can act as an easy way for Alicorns to burn off excess magic so it doesn’t lead to magical outbursts. I think you just must not have reached your magical capacity yet since you haven’t been here that long. Or maybe you’re a different variety of Alicorn since you’re from Earth.” “Oh,” He played with mane a little, squinting at it before dropping it, looking back at Chrissy. She motioned to me. Sighing at her foalishness I started with the most basic explanation, “The ‘tattoo’ as you put it is called a cutie mark, every equestrian pony has one.” They both raised their eyebrows at me, “I’m quarter Equestrian!” Nods followed, “Anyway, It appears when we have found what we are best at, our calling.” Pointing at my cutie mark, a treble clef and a quaver, “I’m good at singing so I have a music related cutie mark. I think I agree with Chrissy’s theory, you just haven’t gotten there yet, give it time.” Ari perked up, although I couldn’t tell if it was over the possibility of getting his own cutie mark or the plates loaded with apples and hay fries that Dinari was carrying down. “I know it’s not much but-“ It can be assumed that what I am beginning to think of as ‘the black hole’ struck. Dinari was not prepared at all, she looked at the plate then Ari, and I didn’t blame her. Once her hooves had hit the main floor the food on his plate had levitated itself straight to his mouth. This took less than ten seconds. “You could have waited till she made it over here Ari.” Chrissy was ‘scolding’ him. Somehow I think she enjoyed him hurting the poor Minotaur’s head, either that or all those kisses and nuzzles meant she was horny, or hungry. I couldn’t tell since feeding and rutting was basically the same at this point. I took my plate from her in my magic, keeping it away from ‘the black hole’ that I foalish was still standing beside. Seeing that he was giving the heifer an apologetic smile I turned back to my plate. A crunch sounded beside me as the smell of apple hit my nose and whipped my head at the sound. Where did he get an apple to chew? He doesn’t even chew if he can help it, the only thing he chewed was that cake at the inn and I think that’s because he secretly loves cake. With a wide smile devoid of food he looked at me and Chrissy giggled, glancing at Dinari I was surprised to find even her cracking a smile. What was soo funny? Everyone looked like they were ready to break down into giggles any second and I suddenly felt like the punch line. Grunting as my annoyance built, yes I was used to being the punch line from my aunts but that didn’t mean that I enjoyed it. Deciding to not feed their joke anymore I turned back to my food. It was gone. This was the joke?! This wasn’t funny, I was hungry! Ready to give Ari a good nip, Chrissy’s anger be damned. That was my food. I turned to him with my mouth open only to blink in confusion as my canines sunk into tart flesh and juice ran down my chin. “Sorry, Lyric. I couldn’t resist it, I just feel soo happy. We are one step closer to saving the planet now.” Grabbing the apple with my magic I bit into it, licking up the sweetness as it dribbled off. “Not funny, where is the rest of my food?” “On your plate.” Looking at where his hoof pointed I saw that my apples and hay fries had returned to my plate, minus an apple but I was too tired to care. Chrissy and Dinari shared a chuckle before Dinari made to go back up with Ari’s empty plate. My adrenaline from the events of tonight was catching up to me. With a tired snort I began eating, the food filling my belly only increasing the need to sleep. **** Ari I tightened my wing around Lyric, she looked like she was about ready to drop off after eating and with the way Chrissy was leaning on me I would say that she wasn’t far off. “Dinari, I hate to ask for more from you, but we didn’t quite plan where we stay while we are here-“ “Yes.” “I didn’t finish asking yet.” I gave her a cheeky grin, “Thank you for your life’s savings though.” She shook her head at my attempt at a joke. “You are a real jokester huh? Let me get you ponies some blankets. Go make your selves comfortable in my room. It’s just through the door there. We can talk more in the morning. I’m going to go to bed soon anyway, I actually need to work in the morning.” Not needing to be told twice I floated Lyric’s plate to her outstretched hand and herded my tired mares to her bedroom. It was a simple bedroom, not even decorated with family pictures or posters. On further thought it would probably be portraits here. Although it was hard to tell if they had cameras here, Chrissy’s wanted poster had been a picture, really more of a printing. Anyway, my curiosity aside the room was had an odd feel to it. In the middle was a long bed, surely custom built for the extra tall Minotaur. On the left side of the bed a small wooden dresser stood with a calendar hanging above it. The calendar’s design similar to the calendars on earth, It had a picture above a grid that supposedly had numbers. The print was of a sword coming down on a shield, and I almost believed I had found a ‘normal’ thing here, until I noticed this grid had sixty days on it, nearly half of them with a ‘x’ through them. Another thing for me to learn, soo excited. Odd calendar system aside this room actually depressed me the more I considered it. It was so empty and clinical, that was the part that got me the most, the cleanliness, the lack of personality. I could almost picture the calendar being a welcoming gift with it being the sort of thing you give people that you don’t know well. A calendar was practical, slightly personalized, and not going to break the bank…I had done it before. Don’t judge me, I was leaving work and it was all I could think to bring to the secret Santa party when all the stores were closed. Chrissy’s yawn brought me back, she was leaning heavily on me now as we stood in the doorway, Lyric was doing slightly better: standing upright with a half lidded eyes. Choosing the right side of the room I got Chrissy and Lyric settled beside me as I fluffed my wings, the feathers were slightly ruffled from the cloak. But for once Chrissy, the preening queen herself, was too tired to preen them, and even Lyric wasn’t making the effort. Was I going to? Nope, I wasn’t going to put out that energy when I would be under the same feather musser tomorrow anyway. The door clicked shut as Dinari returned, arms laden with blankets and our stuff. I gave her a grateful smile, they hadn’t thought straight when she had sucker punched me, heck I wasn’t thinking straight when she had done that. My back still hurt but I don’t think it was that bad, for one thing I didn’t smell burning fur anymore, and the fact that I hadn’t noticed the slight ache till now was a good sign. As she set her load in front of me I felt a yawn creep up, sorting the load I looked over at her, our new helper. She was undressing with her back to me, quite brazenly actually, at least to me. I wouldn’t have, but the beings here were more accepting of nudity. Take ponies for example we were naked all the time, but Minotaurs were more humanlike than ponies, our bits were hidden on our undercarriage and by our tails, not as in your face as a Minotaur’s were. Levitating a light blanket down onto my herd with my magic I took stock of everything: my mares were tucked in, the supplies were neatly stacked, and we had a new ally. “Thank you Dinari, you have no idea how much this means.” She simply grunted and touched a yellow jewel that was affixed to her wall which sent the room into darkness. My mares shuffled against my sides briefly before murmuring their good nights, I gave each of a nuzzle on the top of their head before I entered the dream world. **** Luna For the last couple of days I felt my worry over Ari grow, his mind was not there when my sister and I looked, she had left disappointed and more melancholy than I had seen her in quite some time. I think she really wanted to meet him, study his mind maybe, we hadn’t met another Alicorn besides our mother and father after all. It had always been two, the sun and the moon, the aking minds to soothe and the unconscious mind to soothe. My job used to be mother’s, she would take us to this plane of dreams, and we would giggle over some of the craziest dreams. Once there was- No, I had a mission to complete tonight, one that I shall never tell my sister about. There are just some things one should never do with dream magic, and this was one of them. I could clearly feel why my mother warned against it, my physical body felt a ache that transcended deep within, almost like a strain on my magical core itself. It was a state of discomfort that was acceptable though, I would get closure I needed. Perhaps I would even enlighten him to the truth behind our magic, if I could last that long. The further I went from Equestria the further the sensation of being stretched grew, the more persistent the ache became. But I persevered, the forgiveness and future relations with the only Alicorn stallion was what was at stake here. Yes he was coming to see us, and maybe he had other duties to attend to first but I had to see him before he arrived. Another fortnight was too long to wait for such a transgression to go without an apology, it ate at me already and it had only been two nights. With the need to end that all too familiar feeling of guilt and regret on my mind I continued to push onward against the invisible force that made me want to rush to my body. I reminded myself of why I was doing this to help create more focus. This apology could dictate how our future relations are. It would decide if we fight, are cordial with each other, or as I hope to do: grow close to him. There is only soo much conversation I can have with my sister before we travel the same routes of words again. Though now I have plenty to talk about a third or fourth conversationalist wouldn’t be terrible to have. Perhaps I am being a touch melodramatic. The dream world passed by me, now the dreams of the citizens of Minotaria, as I searched for Ari’s distinct bubble. Not seeing any distorted dream bubble I carried on over to the Gryphon’s mountains. The distortions in his bubble while memorable still troubled me greatly. Mother had never mentioned distortions in the bubbles before. She had explained to Tia and I the intricacies of spotting a nightmare, a pleasant dream, and ‘specialpony’ dream as she had put it. Spotting such dreams based on the color of the bubble, but the ‘bubble’ appearance itself was based on the walls of the mind. That meant when I entered the ‘bubble’ I simply used my magic to match the pony’s magical wavelength. To have a distorted bubble…And to be under the attentions of ‘gods’ is most troubling, my main theory on his bubble’s distortion is that they have damaged him somehow, perhaps in bringing him from his own world or perhaps from all the activity around his bubble. Nothing good could come of such immense magic being done outside his mind’s walls. As I looked at the many bubbles of the Gryphons I almost chuckled at the memory that resurfaced in my mind, I certainly felt damaged afterwards and Tia had a joyous time. I wish she would smile more, true smiles. Since mother’s death I had been slated to take over the night’s duties, however she hadn’t had time to fulfill her promise. She had promised to show me a ‘specialpony’ dream and how to assist in them if they ever turned into nightmares. However she would only when I was a mature filly, saying that those dreams can be hard to read, requiring a strong mental fortitude and were most often are left alone. That left Tia to show me, and she did. It had been enlightening to see it first hoof instead of in books, even if I was never able to look that stallion in the eye. That had been a problem…He had been part of my sister’s solar guard and had followed her nearly everywhere. I still think she knew that before we entered his dream. But distraction aside, my body is growing tired of this search; the ache on my core is making my focus waver, even so much as to cause distortions over my astral body. To save time I think I will go as far as the coast then try the other directions tomorrow night, I still had to banish more nightmares in Equestria before I could go for dinner. I did not want to have to explain why I was overly tired to my sister at her breakfast, our plates were full enough wading through the legal jargon and hoops to amend The Law of the Herd. You would think with how much the citizen’s applauded our changes the legal team would allow it to happen immediately, but no they had look over all the ramifications of changing a five thousand year law. It almost made me wish for the days when father could just say some was and was, then and there with no discussion or councils needed. Strangely enough, as I moved over the Gryphon’s dreams the ache on my core started to dull, fading to the back of my mind. With a sigh of relief and a faint niggling worry at the sudden change I continued on my search, it was the last place I would search tonight after all. The Narrow Sea ahead of me if the glimpses of waves and boats in the bubbles were correct, but I didn’t see any distorted bubbles, no- An astral flash blinded me as to my right five magic forces careened into the dream world. The gods were here, and that might mean Ari is as well. Of course there might be a different reason for their appearance but I doubted that, mainly because what I am certain is the same white magic from before is making a beeline to an emerging bubble. It was growing as the being slipped into the dream world and distorting before my eyes, it was Ari, and he was unaware of the god about to enter his dream. Yet again I wanted to help him, but what could I do that the four gods chasing it couldn’t do? I gazed at the once in a lifetime sight: the four gods protecting Ari’s mind from the white one that was tartarus bent on reaching him, deflecting his strikes, and encompassing Ari’s bubble in their magic. Tia would be am- But I can’t tell her about this, not only would the moon- My astral body froze as the attacking god stopped mid strike and the laughing voice from before spoke to me. Hello little fleshbag, fancy seeing you again. Come to check on your future prince charming? A reaction eluded me. His words stunned me, insulted me, and made me terribly curious all at once. Thought the tone left something to be desired and had my sister been here she would have left, not willing to listen to the lies of the trickster gods. But couldn’t help myself, I had to know what he meant at least. “What do thou mean?” The golden god left its post protecting Ari and took a shot at the white god, missing as he began weaving between the surrounding bubbles to evade. Sorry dear, my brother doesn’t like me talking to you…BUT HE ISNT ANY BETTER BY BEING HERE AS WELL! Although this was not really my body my astral ears still folded back at the mental volume, it was like having the Royal Canterlot voice spoken directly in my ear…In my mind. As if the white god’s yelling had offended the other gods, the remaining blue, pink, and orange magical beings shot after him. The god was successful at evading them, taking sharp corners around bubbles, and even using some as shields. However, this game of cat and mouse was quickly escalated as he started throwing himself at the pink god. This caused the orange god to go ballistic. Orange bolts of pure magic charging from it, narrowly missing the white god and thankfully missing the minds that surrounded them on this plane. Then one bolt of magic flew above my wing and a thought struck me instead: sticking around while five gods duel was a bad idea. With that in mind I made a hasty retreat, even more worried for Ari now. As the ache faded and Equestria came into my astral vision I promised to return and speak with the stallion…when he isn’t surrounded by gods.
I'm Going to be a Father!**** Ari I getting used to being the first one awake in the herd, it was actually my favorite part of the day, the one thing that never changed as we traveled. Just my mares snuggled up to my side, the post sleep feeling of warmth and comfort, that if I let it would lull me back to sleep. Although I wasn’t the only up, the empty bed and noise in the back room told me that Dinari was an even earlier riser than I was. She must have some dedication to still get up early after being up soo late with us. I can only hope that means her work is top notch, the shop certainly suggests so, I was amazed at some of the swords in the case. Although I had never been into weapons before I could definitely see myself becoming a collector just by looking at those masterpieces. My possible obsession with pointy things aside, I did need to get up. Today was going to be a busy day, although not my usual ‘busy’, I wasn’t trotting across a desert of field, for once I was actually in a city. With that came its own type of legwork. I had to do some investigating on those slave traders we encountered at the docks, while it wasn’t directly part of the whole 'saving the world' bit. It might help to know about them and If Arch was at the docks he might have a ship docked there or he might be part of a crew of pirates.Either way I looked at it it still equalled a ship. I didn’t exactly see any pirate skull and crossbones flying in the sky, but then again I would like to think they wouldn’t just announce their presence to the world. So I would have to scope out the boats and maybe find a nice secluded spot on the beach, oh maybe even a private beach that some rich pony only visits one week out of the year. Even though Chrissy had said 'later' to the date suggestion I knew it would be nice to have a date. Not to mention I don’t think Dinari would appreciate me feeding Chrissy the way she preferred to eat. But Chrissy was off still. I know I have said that before but she was obviously getting worse, I mean yesterday she was literally shaking from just charging her horn and cocooning Dinari! She is the one who said we were ponies with a immense amount of magic and when such a little amount of magic usage causes that sort of reaction it tells me she needs to rest, that or she is sick. But I won’t make her starve all day, I’m going to ask Lyric to stay with her, which I’m sure she will agree to. I figure if she spends a day or even two resting here, not expending any energy while I investigate and help Dinari figure out the magic inhibitors, then she will recover enough to travel again. I can only hope Chrissy will understand though, we haven’t been separated since the Diamond dog incident, and that was plenty frightening. This was going to be hard for me, my instincts were very much into twenty four seven touching, and I'm sure her instincts were similar. One thing I understood now is this physical reaction my body has to the presence of other ponies, or more specifically the ponies that feel right. If they were a pony I liked or was comfortable with the touch brought me comfort, relaxing me, like my body knew the culture already it craved the closeness. But if they, say, were Azure Heights, a mare that both offended me with her racist views and creeped me out with her sexual advances, then my skin literally crawled with the compulsion to get away from her. Touch was a key part of the culture here, that I knew. I only hoped that Lyric would be enough for Chrissy for the day. It was due to this extreme comfort I received from them that when I got up I had to fight down the urge to return to them under the blanket. Leaving them curled up in the warmth and made my way to the door, placing my ear to wooden structure I listened. I couldn’t just step into the shop if Dinari’s master was up and about and I wasn’t wearing that cloak till I left the shop. “Come on out Ari, we have to talk.” Whether I wasn’t as quiet as I thought I was or Minotaurs simply hear better, Dinari knew I was up. Entering the back of the store I saw Dinari was at work on a long strip of metal, using an almost comically small chisel and mallet to inscribe symbols into the white hot metal. I didn’t quite know what to say as I closed the door behind me. It was beautiful: the metal, the symbols, and most of all the dedication and focus she kept to her work as she shuffled over on her work bench. Taking a quick glance around room, I listened, it was quiet upstairs and in the front room, so I took a seat beside her. She snorted at me, probably seeing my awkward looking way of sitting, I hadn’t sat on a chair since I was a human, and it showed as I tried to coordinate my longer limbs. It felt even more awkward than I knew it looked. “Your master isn’t up?” “No, she left already. She wants to talk to you when she returns. I told her you wouldn’t be going anywhere till you got your magical inhibitors.” On the outside I was trying remain calm, but my feathers started ruffling as it hit me, they was no way we hadn’t woken her master last night. Chrissy’s battle cry was nearly deafening! But why hadn’t the master smith come downstairs to investigate? “I guess we woke her up?” “Yes.” That either meant she heard everything or just bits and pieces, I didn’t know how sound proof the floors were. But it all came down to what she would do about the information, how she would react to having a changeling and siren hybrid in her home. I hoped she was the merciful type of pony. “How did she seem to be taking it?” “…She will decide on whether or not to call the city guard after she speaks with you.” Dinari paused and turned to me, “Don’t lie to her.” Well that didn’t help me get a understanding of her headspace at all. Shuffling my wings I looked at her work, “Are those the runes you mentioned last night?” “Yes. This will be the prototype for your magical inhibitors. I believe five gates will be a good starting point, although Kapera believes seven would be a more magical conducive number.” “Kapera?” “My mentor.” The way her tone didn’t shift was interesting and matched her room to a ‘T’, it made me wonder about her. Was she ok? This was exactly my mother had been when they first tried her on medications: dead to her emotions. Sure Dinari had gotten angry, fearful, and eventually happy last night but now that was gone. Kapera must have been pretty serious for her to lock up like this, I really thought we had won her over last night, you know after the fight. “Ok…well I was wondering if I can ask a favor of you? Again, I know.” **** Chrissy Warmth was surrounding me, love trickled through my chitin slowly, filling my stomach as I purred lightly. But like all good things it didn’t last, I was growing hungrier and the warmth was become overbearing under the blanket. Not so much for me to open my eyes and face the day but enough that I was aware of reality that soon I would be forced to wake up. I really didn’t want to face today; Lyric would surely be trying to corner me for another ‘talk’. Beside me my food source shifted, rubbing scales against my chitin. Wait, scales? Opening the minimum eyes required I looked beside me, it was Lyric, curled into cute little ball and pressed against my side. Opening my other eye I huffed as I realized my stallion had woken before me and was most likely stuffing his muzzle. The paltry snack he had received last night wouldn’t have lasted more than a second in his stomach I’m sure. But there was nothing to worry about, Dinari actually wanted to help us. My stomach growled causing Lyric to shift beside me again, well I better get up and find Ari, I could use a full meal. Then we had to plan the inhibitors with Dinari, and look into getting a ship to Zebrica. Although we wouldn’t be doing it Lyric’s way, no way were we stealing a Pirate’s ship. We would have to fight them for it, it would be noisy, and attract the guard…And I may feel a tad unconfident in my strength after last night. I knew I wasn’t consuming enough love but I didn’t know how to ask for more without actually telling him why I needed more. Ari did not need that worry on his mind and really…I wasn’t sure how he would feel about having foals with me so soon after becoming my stallion, and now he had a herd with Lyric here…It was a lot for him to adjust to on top of learning about this world and saving it as well. As a changeling that had responsibilities thrust upon myself suddenly I knew I couldn’t do that to him, even if he had a hand in our foal’s creation, it wasn't fair to throw more at him now. I was actually still waiting for him to ask if I was pregnant since he didn't pull out, at thirty two years old he should know about the birds and the bees… “Mmm, where’s Ari?” Lyric was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and looking around. “Probably clearing out Dinari’s pantry.” I brushed the blanket off me and got up. Lyric wasn’t far behind me, “Are you feeling better? You can feed off me if you still don’t want to tell Ari-“ Lyric paused as Dinari entered the room, a tray piled high with sandwiches in her hand. “Good you are awake now-.” She continued talking but I wasn’t listening, looking behind her for Ari. He didn’t walk in. “Where’s Ari?” Dinari sighed and sat down on her bed, offering Lyric a sandwich before placing the rest on the bed and facing us with a slightly nervous look. “He went out to investigate the docks. I think he said that, he was talking really fast. But, he did ask me to make sure you two stayed put and relaxed.” Dinari locked eyes with my panicking ones, “I suggest you rest, he was really worried about you.” I didn’t know what to say to her, it wasn’t her fault he went off by himself nor was it her job to watch me. I wasn’t some delicate flower to be foalsat. I had killed sandworms bigger than dragons, I had ruled my people at the drop of the hat. If I could keep my head on straight while ruling my people, my panicked family, while I planned my mother’s funeral and repelling the worm’s invasion then I could handle a pregnancy. Don’t think my mother to be weak, on the contrary, she was stronger than I have ever been. Mother had faced the invading sand worms, beasts hundreds of feet long, even as her magical core was giving out. Nothing could prevent it, it would eventually happen to me as well, one day it will just fail…My body will rapidly age till I am little more than a husk…At least it was a quicker death than my father got. But enough of the past, as it stands I still didn’t need a watcher, despite what Ari must believe from my performance last night.As soon as I ate enough he would see that his worries were unfounded. Lyric nudged me, looking into my eyes, “You okay Chrissy? I think he just wanted you to feel bet-“ “I KNOW what he meant by it!” I snapped at her, angry at myself, angry at this situation. “If you just told-“ I placed a hoof over her mouth looking at her then Dinari, “As you said ‘later’.” Sighing I removed my hoof and turned to Dinari who was looking very amused at our display. “Thank you for your hospitality Dinari, we shall be sure to remember it…And we will spread your name far and wide after you create those magic inhibitors.” That got me a smile, “You will have them,” she finished her sandwich and stood, “And my mentor knows you are here, don’t leave this room till she talks to your stallion. She is still…Thinking about you and your story so I wouldn’t approach her when she returns. Have a good rest.” With that she left us alone with the reminder of the sandwiches and a whole new worry in my head. What if her mentor decides I wasn’t telling the truth? She would call the guard and then- Lyric poked me on the nose. “You okay there Chrissy? You are spacing out a lot for someone that is ‘alright’.” “I was just thinking-“ “About how you are going to tell Ari about-“ I placed my hoof over her muzzle and rotated my ears, the faint ting of metal on metal reached them. Removing my hoof, I put it in front of my lips and shushed her. “Really Chrissy? I don’t think the big, fat COW can hear us,” We paused and listened as the clinking of the metal continued at the same pace, I guess she really can’t hear us. “See, now as I saying you have to tell him, at the very least so he can get more food into you! He would probably let you travel in the middle, and then you could feed from both of us at once.” Lyric really didn’t understand, to her this foal was a blessing. But despite her age Lyric didn’t know the feeling of responsibility that comes from being the protector and provider for someling else. She was the baby of her family and even if the siren had been away from them for awhile the immaturity of being doted on still showed. Perhaps that was why she wasn’t telling him yet. “You don’t seem to be jumping up and telling him.” “It’s not my foal to tell about, I’m trying to be respectful here. I don’t need another nip in the rump thank you very much.” I cocked my head at her, she definitely misunderstood what I meant. “That’s not what I meant Lyric, I didn’t see you telling your wonderful news to Ari.” I pointed a hoof to her slim belly as she reached for a sandwich. “What?” She sounded confused as she froze looking at my hoof and her belly, “You are mistaken, it is just a temporary relieve. Happened to my mother all the time, they would rut, she would end her heat early, and then go into heat the next time like clockwork. That is till she had me.” I felt confused now as Lyric continued on smiling and munching away. What she said sounded more like miscarriages to me, that the magic didn’t have enough power to form a foal completely. “That sounds like miscarriages to me, when the heat ends early it means you are pregnant. There is no such thing as early relieve, sure some spells can aid the symptoms, but it never takes away all of them. Surely your mother told you that?” As I sat there my herd mate went from a smiling to frowning. “Really?!” “Yes, so when are you going to tell him about your foal, hmm-urk? I began to smirk only to have my throat crushed in her forelegs as she hugged me, rubbing her scales on my chitin as she used her hind legs to lift us up. With her joy finally expensed and to my relief she finally stopped rubbing and let me collapse in a gasping heap on the floor. She was stronger than she looks; those slim legs were really earth pony like in strength. As I sat up she looked a little sorry at my state before saying the stupidest thing I could have thought to do in this situation, “As soon as he gets home we are telling him! He is going to be soo surprised and happy!” “NO! We are not doing that, there is no way that that we are telling him, think of how he will feel-“ “He feels really worried for you, I had to assure him that I wouldn’t let you leave…many, many times before he left.” We both froze and looked at Dinari standing in the doorway. “How much did you hear?” “Well I heard more than I’m sure you wanted this big, fat cow to have heard.” Lyric had the modesty to blush at that while my mind scrambled as I took in Dinari words. Ari was really worried about me and before long it would be both of us, the Alicorn part of this pregnancy demanding more food… “Err, sorry Dinari…But see Chrissy, even Dinari thinks we should tell him.” “And what does she know? The responsibilities he already has are-“ “I know enough about foals to know that if you don’t feed them enough you will be having a miscarriage or hurting yourself and the foal.” They gazed at me as I scrunched my eyes closed, I hated that word…I hated that they were right. I hadn’t even considered how waiting would affect the foal, yes, I was thinking about it, how to keep us safe. But they were correct, I was getting weaker. I felt Lyric move to my side, love trickling in. “I will be there for you too…Besides he loves foals! Think how happy he will to have two of his own.” “I think he should know…Nothing is worse than finding out news of that importance from somepony else.” I looked up at that just in time to see the door close, leaving us alone again. Lyric started talking a mile a minute with her speculation on the foals, how they would look, act, and of course their genders. Eventually I joined in, my mind still reeling a little as I realized I was going to have a foal, not that I didn’t know that before, but telling Ari seemed to make it official somehow. **** Ari Moving around a cart, I caught myself humming again. A herd passed by and waved to me, I waved back, “Sabah alkhyr!” Good morning. I actually called out to them. I was in a very good mood now. After my worry over leaving my mares in Dinari’s hands was abated the giddiness of exploring a new city took over. The docks were still my goal but I was okay taking a scenic route, I wasn’t even getting that many looks anymore. Dinari was right to keep my hood down. I could see the city better and just like in Saddle Arabia most ponies assumed I was just a really tall Saddle Arabian stallion. This city was amazing though, I had been walking around for hours now and during that time I had seen more varieties of food than I thought possible or appetizing really. There were fried radishes, toasted golden at one stall. Another had what I think was variation on donuts, they were fried,circular rings of bread, but they had toasted carrot as a topping and came with a sugar glaze to dip them in. To my disappointment I didn’t find any cinnamon buns nor could I afford anything, everything was at least eight bits. What I needed right now was some money- Something glittered by the alleyway, moving closer I saw it was a bit. Every bit helps after all, I thought with a chuckle as I folded down my legs to pick it up, magic forgotten as habits welled up. As I knelt down I heard the street grow louder before something brushed over my rump and a crash rang out in the street. Looking up with the bit in my mouth I saw why, there was a hay wagon lodged in a fritter stall. Dropping the bit I rushed over to help, a crowd already forming around the unfortunate hay wagon and market stall. A couple of fish men were trying to pull the the hay wagon from the stall while the panicked and rightly upset merchant was crying their eyes out. I hate tears, really they should be outlawed…and the fish men weren’t having any luck removing the cart. With a sigh I encased the cart and hay in my magic, levitating them with ease away from the fritter stall. Almost immediately the crowd’s eyes were on me, staring. Thankfully the fish men were thinking and cleared a spot in the crowd. “Set it down here sir.” With my load set down I received a round of applause from the crowd for some reason, blushing through my fur I turned back to the merchant, a gryphon, who was gazing at me in awe. “Did you need help cleaning up?” The wide eyed look didn’t change so I took it as a obvious ‘yes’, there was fritters scattered everywhere among smashed open bales of hay. The binder twine having busted open, leaving flakes of hay and seed heads all over the street. As I gathered the fallen fritters in my magic I couldn’t help but lick my lips. If I found that bit I dropped maybe he would let me have one for six bits, I had brought the saddle bags with the money in it after all. The crowd dispersed as I worked, a sigh sounding from the Griffin as he gazed what was nearly his whole stock of food in my magic, “All that wasted…” He looked at me after what I guess wasn’t a subtle lick of my lips before chuckling sadly, “Did you want it? I can't sell it now and I would hate for Freda to find out all her work went to waste.” I nodded soo fast the world blurred. “Okay then, let me get a bag for you and…” There was no need as I inhaled the fritters one after another, my stomach and taste buds in heaven as a crowd started to gather again. “Where is it all going?” “Oh dear and I thought your father was bad…” “Now that is sweet! Look at that stallion go!” With that ‘problem’ taken care of I noticed the crowd around the damaged fritter stall, again they looked like I had just pulled a rabbit out of a hat. “W-well I guess you were p-pretty hungry huh?” I didn’t bother telling him that I was still hungry, although the fritters made me feel fuller than fruit it still left me wanting more. “Yes, I'm afraid I have been down on my luck, do you know of anyone looking for some help today? The pay doesn’t matter and I'm a hard worker.” “Maybe, what experience do you have?” “I worked in a bookstore last so I'm very good with books...But I'm afraid my reading level in equis is quite…poor at the moment. Before that I helped my uncles around with their construction business, they built decks mostly. Lets see I was a clerk once in a store, I am good at math-“ “I think I can find some work for you right now actually. Do you think you could help me fix my stall? I can’t pay above minimum wage but I figure it would help.” For the next two hours I helped Mr. Berg repair his stall, carrying lumber and hammering in nails. The stall looked brand new at the end of it, white wood standing out against what remained of the old darkened siding, most of which we had to bring to the trades district to trade for new lumber. Apparently they recycled the lumber here since it wasn’t treated in chemicals. I was liking this world even more when I learned that, it was still so innocent to much of science. Eventually he waved goodbye to me and I left thirty bits richer and a little sore, a beam of wood had come of nowhere and thumped me good in the neck. It wasn’t enough to knock me over but it still ached fiercely. Making my way down a new street that was mostly populated by cafes and restaurants I began to get a bad feeling but brushed it off, I would see my mares soon enough, and I had to master my instincts not the other way around. They were small and quaint, each one a different theme. For some reason one was pony themed…It was creepy actually with cat women and fish women wearing pony ears and tails, definitely never going there. My fur rose as I felt the presence of eyes on me, not the usual glance I was receiving on each new street but a ‘stared at’ feeling. Looking around I saw no pony looking at me, listening I didn’t hear anything behind me, and I just about chalked it up to my imagination when I caught sight of my admirer. A little kitten was gazing at me from a cafe as his mother ordered something at the counter. I gave him a smile before deciding to go to the café, the colorful drinks on the tables out front looked delicious and I had some money now. As I entered the shop he hid between his mother’s legs and I chuckled before turning to the menu, judging what to get by the pictograpghs featured beside the letters. I was almost certain I wanted the greeny yellow smoothie with the umbrella in it when I heard a clunk. Before me sat the exact drink I had been looking at again, looking at the waitress who had placed it in front of me I lifted a hoof and pointed at myself. “Yup, from the…gentlecolt at the table over-“ She trailed off as I followed her paw: the table was empty. Shrugging I thanked her and grabbed a straw, now I could finally taste this interesting looking concoction. Taking a quick sniff I was puzzled by the scent of almonds, I was expecting apple or kale but they had probably added almond milk. Waving off the unexpected smell, I was about to take a sip when a hand pounded itself on my back. Startled my magic faltered and the glass shattered, spilling my free drink all over the floor to my dismay. Somewhere in the street someone screamed in rage, my thoughts exactly, all that juice was wasted! Turning around I saw a familiar grey heifer, I quickly smiled before it hit me. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching my mares for me?” “Yes, but my mentor returned and said she would watch them…She wanted me to grab some stuff from the market place since you are staying with us till it’s done.” The waitress came over then and looked at the mess I had made, with an apology and Dinari paying for the glass we quickly left the café. “So does that mean she still wants to talk to me?” “Yes…But not about what you think, she trusts you, your mares won her over you could say.” I didn’t know what to say but I nodded as we made our way down to the market before the docks. The stalls there were bustling with cats and fish men. Up ahead it seems the crowd’s wishes were being answered and a new shop was in the final stages of construction, the scaffolding in front of it loaded with paint, tar, and other supplies. Beside it a crew of fish men crunched on some fish sandwiches…Again, I'm trying to avoid thinking about that. Was it cannibalism since they were fish too? As we passed in front of it I turned and looked at Dinari again, “So what does Kapera think-“ Dinari pushed me out of the way as the scaffolding came crashing down behind me. Paint cans exploded blues and whites all over down the street as the crew rushed over to the fallen scaffolding, helping other passerbys up and gathering the smashed cans and tools. I stood on shaky legs as I looked at the scene until a heard a groan, Dinari had paint can dumped on her head. With a grunt she sat up and removed it, her fur looking like a brighter version of her brother’s blue fur. “You okay Dinari?” Her response was to grunt and stand up, rather wobbly I noticed. “Are you two okay?” A fishman was walking over with a worried look on his face, his eyes on Dinari’s new complextion. “Yes, just a bit of paint nothing that won't come out.” I soothed him, “But what happened there? It looked as sturdy as any scaffodiling I have ever seen…” It had, shiny metal that was free of rust and no wobbles even under the strong sea breeze passing through here. “Don’t know, it had been carrying everyfish just fine earlier.” “Hey look at this Grundle!” Another crew member shouted from the base of the scaffolding. “COMING! Sorry I gotta go, but I’m glad you guys aren’t hurt.” With that he left and we continued on our way, Dinari eventually walking straight again. Parting ways at the end of the market I promised to meet Dinari back at the shop and turned onto the docks. This time I made it to the water’s edge, no robbers, swindlers, or slave traders in sight. Just the sea’s choppy waves rushing at the docks with a ferocity that wasn’t there yesterday and the impressive ships that were moored here lay before my eyes. Ships came in every size here. There was a handful of tiny dinghies, plenty of large fishing boats, and three enormous colonial ships. The last type looking fit to cross any storm the sea could throw at it, and perfect to hide any pirates. As I approached the large ships I noticed that the airship was gone from the raised platform and that the sun was setting, just my luck. I guess I can always come back tomorrow and the horn shackles aren’t done yet anyway, I still had time. With that in mind I began my walk to this city’s home for me, resolved to not waste so much time tomorrow. When I got home I walked in on something very strange, in the back room my mares were curled up together facing a…Well I want to say weasel or packrat but that seemed like the wrong species. It had pale golden fur that was covered by a smock, small rounded ears, and tiny black eyes. What I noticed when she smiled was the slightly protruding muzzle with lots of tiny sharp teeth. “H-hello you must be Kapera, right?”As I looked at the master smith I noticed Lyric nudging Chrissy, using her muzzle to point in my direction. The voice that responded to me surprised me. It was like velvet to my ears, smooth, but with a edge to it. “I am and ye are Ari, correct?” With a nod from me she looked at my mares, giving them both a pointed look, especially Chrissy. Something tells me she knows what is going on with- “We will discuss the inhibitors after dinner, in the mean time I think your mares have something they want to say. Pop upstairs when you are ready. Oh, and no rutting on the premises stud, it will take forever to get the smell out of here. Don’t need my customers thinking I run some brothel here.” Kapera left us then, shambling up the stairs as her poofy tail waved behind her. I blinked at her retreating form before trotting over to my mares, removing my cloak and bags as I kissed them. “I missed you two, it was really weird being alone out there. You aren’t mad are you?” “No…I think I needed this break. But I'm not a… I mean I don’t need a watcher-“ “Yesterday?” I raised a eyebrow at another clear lie, sure she may be a adult but something was obviously wrong and I didn’t want her getting hurt or collapsing on me. “I-I just didn’t eat enough.” “I fed you a whole meal that morning and you snacked all day while we sat on the train, and after that as well. That sure sounds like a lot of love to me…you used to be ok with that much food, I don’t think you suddenly need more food. What’s really going on?” As I was talking Lyric was mouthing ‘tell him’ to Chrissy as she looked even more scared, her ears folding back, and her wing buzzing irratically as she looked away. With a sigh she looked back at me. “Do you love me?...Do you see yourself with me for your life?” She saw my confused look, “I need to know that before I tell you, ok?” Looking away from me now, a scared look in her eyes, it hurt my heart to see her soo scared, unsure. So I moved to her free side and draped my wing over them, getting me a sigh of relief as she leaned against me slightly. “I think we have gone a little faster than I am used to in my relationships but it feels right, I think I really could see us together for the long haul…If you want to that is, I certainly love you and Lyric." She was tearing up again, "Don’t be scared please, whatever is wrong we can fix it.” A silence stretched as she shuffled against me and I let it happen, she was soo close to telling me that I wasn’t going to push her. “I’m pregnant…L-Lyric is as well.” ……….. Time seemed to slow down as talk and talk with Dr. Krause, my gynecologist came back to me, reminding exactly how infertile I was. Explaining how my tubes were still trying to heal, they were never going to be perfect, and there was no guarantee that the treatment. The words of my ex-fiancé as he couldn’t stand the thought of not having his own child to hold, adoption wasn’t a option for him…And here I was in a world with a new body. Of course this god would fix my part when he remade my body. How else would his toy pony repopulate the Alicorns? They were still waiting for a response, eyes growing wider and ears flattening as they took my silence as me being upset with their news. I was quite the opposite actually, I had always wanted kids, and, well, I guess it was foals now. “A-Ari?” Lyric looked ready to cry and Chrissy already had tears going down her muzzle. Crap, I took too long, “That’s wonderful! I really didn’t expect that but I sort of was already planning on bringing up adoption later in the relationship.” I squeed a little as it hit me. “I’m going to be a father!” Reaching under my wing I nuzzled the spot where their stomachs were, still nonexistent this early. “When are they due?” Popping my head back up, another thing hit me, “I know nothing on pregnancies here? How-“ Chrissy kissed me, breaking it to nuzzle my face. “We don’t know either, I do know that I’m around a week ahead of Lyric but other than that there is no literature in hybridism…Alicorn’s have never had nymphs or foals with Royal Changelings before-“ “Same with Sirens!” Lyric was smiling now as she reached over and stole a kiss from me, purposely ignoring Chrissy’s eye roll. “Well that is okay, as long as it’s long enough that you two won’t be in danger when we are doing the whole saving the world gig.” They nodded with happy smiles, ears forward, and a quiet purr coming from Chrissy. “They will be fine, we will be fine...But we shouldn’t waste anytime, the sooner we can get settled somewhere the sooner we can let the instincts run their course.” There was the other shoe. There was always an instinct in this slightly more primal parallel of Earth, the draw of touch, the sex obssesion of the heat, and now the pregnancy hormones that would need to ‘run their course’. “What does that mean exactly?” “It means another long explanation yah clueless stallion now get up here and eat! We don’t have all night to talk. Some of us have a job that isn’t as whimsical as ‘saving the world’.” Kapera stood at the top of the stairs a fork in her hand that she was pointing at me with. I couldn't argue with that, it was dinnertime.
Consequences and Revelations.**** Luna That was one of the stupidest things I had ever done. Returning to Equestria hadn’t been hard, the god hadn’t followed me, or if he had, he had decided not make himself known. The night had been routine after that. There were still more nightmares than before the law had started, but it was changing. Since we had announced the coming amendments there was more happy dreams, filled with hope, with foals. I came to the realization of how many mares wanted foals but had no means to have one, it hadn’t occurred to me exactly how many were wishing, were trying for them and failing. Ari’s amendments were already making a lot of mares, a lot of families happy. After I had finished with the last of my duties, I slowly pulled my astral body from the dream world; I had been expecting some magical fatigue from pushing myself so hard. The sensations I had felt on my core as I pushed past my normal borders were not a good sign, in fact I was amazed that they disappeared soo quickly when I was within Equestrian borders. But I had practice concealing pain from my sister. A little fatigue would be- “UAAAGHH!” My body felt like my nerves were on fire, burning through my limbs from the inside out and causing my body to spasm under the magical distress I felt my core experience, aertheratic lines constricting to the point that I felt as weak as a newborn foal...My legs had given out. I couldn’t stand or even manage words as I clamped my muzzle shut, holding in my agony. “Princess!” Something was poking my muzzle, “Princess can you hear me?” I opened my eyes, they had closed sometime in my torturous return to this plane. Moonlit Echo, my personal guard, stood before my spinning vision. He called for me for what felt like an agonizing five minutes before I could manage a weak response, “F-fine…” It had not even occurred to me how he had entered my room, why he was there, till what felt like an hour had passed. During that time, which being the dedicated colt-guard that he is, he stayed by my side waiting for a more affirmative answer than my feeble ‘fine’. Although it had only been ten minutes time had passed slowly as my body quieted, the spasms were stilling, and the fire cooling to a slight sting that traveled along my whole body. Standing had been interesting, but I had finally stood, and I had persuaded…Commanded really, my loyal guard pony to let me leave my own chambers to attend breakfast. I loved my lunar guard dearly but now was a bad time for their care to be seen. Tia had to remain unaware of my excursion and of the sights I saw, as interesting as they were. I knew I would be deafened in my waking body if not worse for my foalish actions. That brings us to the present. I have a happy smile plastered to my face as I try to focus on appearing normal. Right…Normal was enjoying my sister’s pancakes, pineapple topping them to make the pancakes appear to be sticking their tongue out at me. “Do you not like them? I could always have the chef prepare some-“ “No!” Sister’s ear twitches as she looks at earnestly now, I had answered with a little too much force. “Tia, I am just tired from all the extra nightmares since the law’s reintroduction. It is beginning to catch up to me.” “Surely there must be fewer nightmares since we announced the amendments? Every pony was ecstatic Luna, you saw their tears of joy!” “Yes, but there is still a great deal of upset and anxious ponies out their sister, one announcement that has not even been cleared by those mules in suits is not going to alleviate all their worries. What of the already conscripted?” I sighed and clenched my jaw as another round of needles ran through my battered nerves. “This is a difficult time sister.” I know part of the reason those mules in suits existence was because of my…absence. It had doubled the workload on my then distraught sister. So she had done the rational thing and created more committees to ease decision making and a royal legal team to assist in the making and amending of laws…But perhaps they should go, I was back to stay after all. Hatred was a strong word for what I felt towards them, although irritation seemed too much of an understatement. I had made one jest of bringing back the cake prohibition and suddenly I’m the under scrutiny for the possible ramifications of such a thing, now my decisions were immediately sent to them. Whether it is the simplest decision it still made it to them, unlike my sister’s choices. They didn’t fear that she would crack. No, I was the loose cannon, there was presidence for my ability to become something else. Why does no one ever consider that she is just as flawed as me? She just hid it better. Anyway, they had gone on and on about how the parties that would need new catering protocols, and let us not forget the uprisings at the economic losses in bakeries across the country…They couldn’t take a joke. You can assume my pranks have been significantly lower compared to the time before those mules existed. But I had no energy for mischief at the moment, keeping my muzzle set in a normal expression as opposed to the grimace it wanted to twist into was taxing enough. The ache was now a throbbing headache and by some good fortune my mane was still flowing despite how hard I pushed myself last night. Why mother would ever have to- “LUNA!” I jumped in place and folded my ears back, I hadn’t even told her and she was using the royal Canterlot voice on me! “Yes Tia? There is no need to shout.” Unless you want to ensure that I may never hear Ari’s angry voice when he arrives. “What did I say before that then?” Horse apples, she had me there, “I do not know…But I just a lot to think about, this shall pass…” She looked at me doubtfully, my skill in hiding things was lacking apparently. I looked down to my pancakes, the face mocking me. Taking the pineapple that made up the tongue I munched on it as my sister sighed. “I can’t make you share your thoughts with me but…Just promise me you will tell me if you feel upset. I am here for you…I-I don’t want to lose you Lulu.” And now she was upset again, her smile gone. “Tia it is nothing like that! I would tell you if I was upset with you…Well now that you mention it…” Tia leaned forward over her breakfast slightly as she tried to hear what I was going to say. “You have been rather distant with this whole law debacle; we haven’t had tea together in quite awhile.” She slumped back onto her seat with a relieved sigh, “We can do that,” a smile breaking across her muzzle, “Perhaps you can help me respond to Cadence’s letter then.” Crisis adverted, “Of course, it can’t be too hard can it?” The rest of dinner went by without anymore prying question, sticking to more banal topics such as the ridiculous petitions we were still receiving in court despite our daily redirections to more appropriate venues. Ponies looking for a loan for a new business? Go to the bank. The protocol for the proper amount of cupcakes to be present for a cupcake-cake? I was dumbfounded that somepony actually thought of such a question. But even with all the common conversation returned sister still suspected something was up, her eyes following every bite I took, and her focused ears were subtle. I will give her that but they were not invisible to me. Thankfully she did not press the subject anymore but I felt that the dreaded questions would return later… She learned patience from the best of the best after all. Mother could withstand the idiosyncrasies of the yaks far better than father ever could, Tia said I took after him in that way. Whenever they reopened their borders Tia has made it perfectly clear that I am not to engage in conversation with them beyond the required greeting. My mask aside, pain was my constant companion right now, so when I was finally able to retire to my chambers again I was more than eager to. However, my display from earlier wasn’t exactly forgettable and Moonlit Echo seems to have spread the word around his fellow lunar guards. That was the only reason I could think for me to be flanked my six of them at the moment, my chambers weren’t that perilous or far. Perhaps I use this to my advantage though. “Moonlit Echo?” “Yes your highness!” He promptly saluted me, eyes wandering over my face and body, both of which I’m sure weren’t hiding my pain well to his trained eyes. A sudden hesitancy hit me, would this request make it to my sister’s attention? It was unlikely, if I worded it right no pony would be the wiser of my true reason. We were in front of my chamber doors now, tall, grand, and embossed with my crescent moon insignia. Behind these doors I could finally gain some sorely needed rest, I will not try to make anymore visits to Ari till I felt normal once more, he wasn’t worth robbing myself of the ability to do my duties. “I would have a task of ye…If thou feels up to it.” “Of course your highness, say it and I shall do it!” Moonlit looked really eager to do something for me. His monotony of patrolling must be quite boring I reminded myself. “Come inside, secrecy is of utmost importance. The rest of you are dismissed, we thank ye for your diligence.” The remaining guards reluctantly left us as I closed the doors, leaving me alone with the only witness to my moment of weakness. I had to do something while I waited for Ari to arrive, and a fortnight is too long for any apology to wait. **** Somewhere in the Multiverse Aphrodite I had gotten involved in this ‘crisis’ completely by accident, in fact my husband is the one who made this very annoying molehill into an Olympus size problem. Here I had been peeking in on various couples, enjoying their special moments, their smooches, and then I ran across the strangest thing. On a little planet, in the middle of a desert, a mare was displaying herself to her intended stallion in front of what looked to be some sort of guard. It was beautiful! I of course stuck around to see how it turned out. Would he rut her then and there? The feelings of love and lust coming off of him almost made me think so but he surprised me and resisted her. I would have ended my viewing then and there with the possible scandalous scene diffused, a bore was no fun to watch, but I noticed something odd about this stallion. That is, his mind was rippling like a shirt that had been stretched and couldn’t return to its old shape, he had been altered. When I focused my magic to see his past state I couldn’t see any shimmers on his form, like I could on the mare’s form, she was hiding her true self from him. Did he know? Better yet, why was his mind altered? As I pondered whether he had discovered some great secret like some unfortunate mortals had before and required adjusting or whether it was another one of Faust’s experiments. They were popping up a dime a dozen now. If that sick son of Gaia liked anything in his eternal existence it was creating, well, I saw it more as experimenting since all the universes had been set up to regulate creation themselves now. My pondering didn’t go unanswered, before I could even blink into the next universe the sick excuse for a god showed up. “Enjoying the show?! Well this planet was-.” I won’t bore you with his ramblings but the point of it was he was meddling where he shouldn’t be…again. That should have bothered me more than the mild annoyance it caused but you get used to your siblings after a while, I could have done without this brother though. Eventually I just left, he didn’t even notice for once, completely enraptured in his own grandeur. As I zipped along the multiverse I eventually ran into my existence partner, he was watching earth, or more specifically the new machines the humans had made for their welding. Whipping around his astral body I settled above him, magic touching as I felt his stable presence. “What is the matter?” “…Nothing much...” “Hermes?” “NO! I’m done with him, you know he fancies Zeus, I won’t get between two gods feeling true love!” He grunted at that. “Hera needs to find a new partner anyway…Oh that’s too funny what if I paired her with Faust?! I mean they both are crazy right?”I couldn’t help but giggle at that, they ‘hated’ each other, it was perfect! “What did he do this time?” Turning away from Earth his magic focused on me. I think that’s where it got out of hand, explaining Faust’s latest stunt. Hephaestus got angry, he told Apollo, who then told his sister, and we all know how she is like. She then flew into a rage and…Well let’s just say Apollo got the short straw in that talk, and as her brother was stuck on ‘watch the poor mortal’ duty. Faust didn’t take our interference with his meddling well, so what started as a little guard duty quickly escalated in to full blown duels. When he went after me during the last duel I had had enough, he was being ridiculous about this whole thing! With a weary feeling in my magic I finally called in Zeus, I really didn’t want to, we all had times in our existence where the temptation to skirt around the rules he laid down occurred. For the most part we humored each other, avoiding calling down the big lightening, but this was the thirtieth year in a row with Faust sticking his magic where he shouldn’t. It was out of my control now, Zeus can discipline him, and hopefully fix the poor human. **** Ari My mind was still going a mile a minute throughout dinner, mostly the thought that I was going to be a father. Wow I never thought I would say that, ‘father’, well I had never thought I would be an Alicorn nor have a herd before now. Although the eye rolls and ‘get a room’ comments suggested my new level of joy was not as widely received. But what mattered to me was that Chrissy enjoyed the attention and from her trills I knew she did. I’m sure there was some small talk but I couldn’t remember it even if my life depended on it. There was so many questions I wanted to ask however with my brain was still coming back online from the amazing news, there was going to be a lag time. True to her word Kapera got straight work. “Snap out of it stud, just because you can’t keep your dick in your sheath don’t mean yah can forget about the world.” Kapera was ahead of us again, stoking the forge. Looking annoyed with our pace, ears back and teeth peeking through in a small snarl, “I didn’t agree to help you so you could suck face, get over here and try Dinny’s prototype out. Let’s see if she is correct.” With that we stopped kissing and took a seat around the forge, everyone full from dinner except Chrissy and I. Our herd arrangement was nice if a bit odd with Lyric beside Chrissy instead of beside me, but since I was blueballed from feeding her that particular way this was going to be the arrangement. Dinari got up. Returning with what I assume had been the long strip of metal she was engraving this morning. Now it was in the shape of a ring, narrower at one end to imitate the horn shape, and had five gates. With little warning she slid it down my horn. It the Diamond dogs all over again, except I wasn’t awake when my magic was contained then. Boy am I so glad I wasn’t awake then too, it was like all my energy and all my will to move was gone, slowly draining into a place I couldn’t access it from. I laid my head down on my hooves as the sensation of what I can only call ‘blah’ washed over me. Chrissy started cooing to me, giving my mane nibbles, while Lyric looked worried at Kapera, “Is that normal? I know magical inhibitors are supposed to leave ponies feeling drained but this seems…more.” “He hasn’t even tried fighting the inhibitor yet! Don’t worry about him.” She turned to me, “So stud is this really all you can do?! Fight against it, an Alicorn, even one as weak as you should be able to handle five suppression rings!” Weak? I wasn’t weak, this awful magic inhibitor just made my body feel like I was trying to swim through syrup. “How do I fight a magic inhibitor?” “Reach down your aetheratic channels and force more magic to your horn than usual, like you are charging a really powerful spell!” I snorted at her, pinning my ears back, it seems she doesn’t understand that I don’t understand magic. It was like jumping into astrophysics around me, of course I don’t get it, and I wasn’t going to get because she willed it so. The nibbling on my mane stopped, “Ari, I need you to close your eyes and feel for a thrumming deep inside, it will feel faint but if you feel anything like that try to latch onto it okay?” She rested her head on my neck as I closed my eyes. Darkness covered my world. The back of my eyelids danced with flashes of color as I tried to focus on my internal ‘aetheratic channels’ as Kapera had put it. Colors eventually turned to patterns and my feeling of emptiness grew, there was no magic channels appearing in my mind or senses, I didn’t even know how they should look like. The only feeling I was getting was frustration, this wasn't a simple think and point 'spell', and quite frankly I didn’t know what feeling to follow in my body. There was no thrumming. “I-I can’t feel any thrumming. What should a channel even look like? I don’t think I can do this, I couldn’t even break out of a standard magic inhibitor before.” I knew my voice sounded weak but I really needed help, a giant arrow to what to do. Everything had been fairly easy to pick up before. It was all modifying my focus and intent. Levitation, simply focus on the object and want it to. Astral projections like my staircase and weapons, imagine it, will it to be, and voila it exists. Locating objects? Just more of the same steps as the other magic I learned. Even teleportation was more of the same thought and determination, nothing more than one variation of one process. Dinari was frowning at me before heading over to the bookshelves, Lyric had her ears splayed out at my statement and Chrissy had begun grooming my mane again, while Kapera looked thoughtful. “How did you think you were going to test our work? Did you think that I would risk the lives of innocent foals to test- no, you didn’t know then I suppose. Tell me then: what do you know? From what I gather you were given to us by a god, a great being of magic, for some reason. Although I can’t fathom why any god would choose you now, sure you are a Alicorn. But what can you even do besides rut and wave your magic around as carelessly as a foal?!” I didn’t know how to answer that. She was right. My knowledge of everything on this planet was limited and the goal of impossibly big to me still. When all things were considered I was hoping that the generosity of others would help, that others would see my goal and help out of the good the completion would bring. But I knew a little on economics. Kapera and Dinari weren’t receiving anything for their time and expertise, not to mention the expense of housing us. As of right now I could be an insane oddity for all they know, I know I certainly didn’t seem like much of anything compared to them, especially a world saver. I couldn’t smith, couldn’t weave runes in metal, and I most certainly wasn’t from here. Perhaps I was not a Changeling as Dinari had first thought. I used to be human, a magic less being, with my biggest worry being if I could have eventually have kids. My words still held a touch of fantasy to them, a little unbelievable, and weren’t even my own. That was why I didn’t just fly myself over to Canterlot in the beginning, there was that small doubt that I was just a meaningless pawn in a god’s chess game, that I was really a experiment with nothing more to my existence. But then I always asked myself why and realized it made no sense to send me on this big journey, that I had seen the changes that were happening firsthoof, and that I had met the people behind the goal. There were real people of different forms that were in the dark still to why their lives were ruined. “He is trying! I would like to see you adjust to the knowledge that something-.” Raising my head, I tiredly kissed my mare, it was sweet to defend my ignorance but Kapera was right in the fact that I know nothing. Ignorance shouldn’t be defended. Chrissy’s ears flicked forward again as I turned back to Kapera, “You are right…I am not the hero I’m sure the world needs.” Taking a deep breath, I look at her, “But I’m willing to try-.” “Try?! You don’t try to save the damned world you, you… Wajinga!” At this point Kapera was in my face, her lips pulled back, with spit flying and hitting my muzzle at the end. Just as fast as she was in my face she was gone, flying up the stairs, “Kwe nini nilikuwa nimekwama nay yeye!” The words were unknown to me but the meaning was clear I had angered her, whatever hope Kapera had that I would succeed was dwindling, and she wasn’t necessarily wrong. It was unlikely, especially now that she hadn’t removed the inhibitor. My thoughts were interrupted as a thin book dropped down in front of my hooves. It had a sketch of a foal levitating an apple on the cover. Chrissy leaned forward and hummed at Dinari’s choice of literature before giving me a slight nudge, looking at the book then back at me. “Hey! What’s got her tail in knot Dinari?” Lyric was scowling at the stairs, looking very much like she would like to follow her up. “Ari can’t help not knowing this. He has only been here for two weeks!” “But he can learn.” After that I grabbed the book in my hoof and started to Dinari’s room, our temporary home. Chrissy and Lyric were in their old positions now, pressing into to me. But their support wasn’t touching the feeling the truth or the inhibitor was giving me. The feeling of being out of my element, which I was, a human woman turned Alicorn stallion. Why had I thought I could do this again? By some miracle I had run into a friendly face, well she wasn’t really then, but she was open to being my friend. I had received some explanation, done some things by accident, and then I just let my new instincts take over. Of course that would bite me later. I just assumed it would be after the world was out of peril, not when I’m just starting out. But my instincts couldn’t learn new things, they were ingrained in me as were the instincts of my mares, and they couldn’t solve everything. I’m sure the god, the princesses, and even Dinari don’t let their instincts take over. There was a planet that needed saving, countries that needed ruling, and work that needed to get done. All of that needed the full attention of my mind, not the small portion that said ‘mare smell good’. Here I was thinking that I was going to save a whole fricken planet, enjoy a nice life, and not have to really worry about stuff like this. I had time right? Kapera was right. Dinari was right and she had given me a chance to improve, to do more than try to save a planet, my planet now. Lying down on the blanket, I placed the book down in front of me. “Would you mind helping me read this?”
Killers and Reflections.**** Lyric How do you explain a skill that took a good year to get the basics of to somebeing who has only had access to magic for two weeks? Chrissy seems to think that I might have some deep, wise insight into this predicament, that with one thousand fifty three years of life experience I have I might know the answer. She doesn’t realize the irrelevancy of my age in this matter. It doesn’t automatically make me wise, enlightened to secrets, or the one with the right answer. I have never had to help somepony with a foal level grasp of magic before. No one would ever let a defenseless foal near ‘the monster’ to start with. But didn’t I have the forethought to see this coming? The reality of the situation was that I, like Chrissy, hadn’t considered how we would test the magic inhibitors. Sure I had known that since Ari was an Alicorn and they were meant for Alicorns he had to test them. But the shock of meeting him had consumed me, the fist Alicorn I had ever met, the first Alicorn stallion I had heard of since King Arcturus. The resistance to my mind magic had given me hope, no one outside my family had resisted it before, and then the rest was history. I followed him, joined his group, then his herd. Now I was pregnant. So with everything going on I had ended up just as guilty as mt herdmates for skimming over the finer details. Magic control was a pretty big detail in hindsight. All foals started out with the instinct driven, focus and intent type of magic that Ari knew, in fact foals were mostly instinct, which is exactly why foal magic inhibitors were invented. Magical outbursts were a parent’s nightmare, teleporting to unknown locations, levitating objects, and…And sooner than I ever thought I would have all that and more. But first I had to help my stallion find the ‘thrumming’ of his aetheratic channels. Chrissy’s wording was perhaps not the best for him. In example, to me my aetheratic channels were more of humming feeling in my center, almost like a familiar tune. It changed notes as I altered the flow of magic through the channels. Maybe- “No, it should be a thrumming deep inside Ari! Close your eyes, clear your mind, and try again. You have to have it in you, otherwise you couldn’t perform magic.” Ari was clearly not getting it, her explanation that is to say. He understood that magic was inside him, we had covered that fact two chapters ago. While I’m sure she must have dealt with nymphs before I don’t think her channels sound the same as his must. Through his straining, his scrunched up muzzle, I started to read ahead in the book. It was clearly a old magic kindergarten textbook, from the year 1906 if I’m to believe the copyright page. Although rather old it was accurate, but for this case I feel it is lacking, the chapters skimmed over the finer details that the reader would already know. Our stallion wasn’t the intended reader. While I’m unable to speak for nymphs I know most foals aren’t taught the finer control of spells, aetheratic control, until around five years old. Even I had my own version of it on the road and mother loves to remind me of my adventures as the ‘mysterious enchanting foal’. I was the type of foal that teleported everywhere. But, my point was we had to jam five years of experience into Ari overnight. That is five years of foals learning the ins and outs of their unique magical system: aetheratic channels, magical core, and any natural talents they may be inclined to. “I-I still can’t feel any thrumming, I just hear my heart beating and see the back of my eyelids!”Ari was getting louder and more frustrated with each failed attempt and after over an hour of trying to do what chapter four described and what Chrissy insisted on…I didn’t blame him for feeling like this. Sighing I closed the book, “Perhaps we should go to bed then, tackling this after some sleep seems like a good idea.” “Ari can do this, he just has to-.” “Sleep sounds good.” Chrissy looked like she was about to continue, to try to encourage him, but saw his expression and thought it was better not to. His ears were folded back, his withers slouched, and his eyes downcast. This constant stream of failure wasn’t good for his spirit, his usual happy determined attitude was lost, and pressing on wasn't helping the matter. I tucked us in, Ari unable to with the inhibitor still on. Kapera had flown off in such a rage that she failed to remove it or even give us the primary gate keys. But that was a thing for the morning, another thing to take up our time. **** Somewhere in Shallow Shale ???????? This was supposed to be an easy job. Sure my client was a meathead, but he was a wealthy meathead. One target, one hundred thousand bits. No special instructions, just one warning. Which was actually less than I was usually told, so I wasn't complaining. Apparently the target was 'extremely dangerous', a herd stallion, and travelling with…How did that thug word it? ‘A total Changeling bitch’ was what I got out of his half drunken yells, they were slightly slurred so don’t quote me. The target also had a unicorn mare but she was an Equestrian, weak, and unfortunately not part of the contract. However if she ended up dead, well, that would be too bad, truly a tragedy. He kept stressing what a dangerous stallion the target was, how he was 'crazy ballsy', and…Hold on a second while I laugh. That half drunk fool thinks the stallion was an Alicorn! Excuse me while I laugh again, an Alicorn! You heard me right, if there was one I would have heard of him by now, there would have a coronation, an announcement of some sort, and he wouldn’t be in the middle of the desert. Newspapers across the continent would have flocked to that wretched country and that clearly hadn’t happened. Clearly my client was the victim of an extremely proficient illusionist, a magically gifted unicorn surely, but not an Alicorn. That didn’t mean I would be handling my target with kid gloves though. Any stallion able to get one over my client in a head to head to head fight was not to trifled with, not mention it can be assumed he has a strong instinctual drive, most Equestrian stallions had trouble with one mare. He might be…No, I was looking too far into my target again. Following him was interesting. His trail lead to a Hydra’s corpse, it was only a day old at the most. Thankful for the resource, I filled my stocks from the corpse’s blood and took some other parts for sale later. It was good to have a plan B. The swamp was harder to navigate than the forest but sticking to the canopy I eventually made it to Minotaria. Dodging through the fields was the hardest part of that country, he had left an obvious trail, and from the smell of his resting spots, rutted often. That was the easy part, now I had to use more stealth. Using the same route he took I made it to the quaint, coastal town of Shallow Shale. I hated this town. Keeping my disgust for the city from my mind was the trick to getting this job done as soon as possible, which wouldn't be a tall order, like the fields the target traveled I located him without any trouble. It went downhill from there. I quickly realized why my client was bested by this unicorn and why he would mistake it for an Alicorn. He was huge! Taller than the sun princess herself if I was right, this stallion was at least seven feet tall, easily towering over my small form. Not that I was as small as a puny Equestrian but few creatures would beat my target in height. But that wasn’t the part that threw my initial plan out the window, it was the fact that he was with the most wanted mare on the continent, Queen Chrysalis herself. Yes, yes I would like to retire young. Thank you mare of luck! My mother, cousins, they would be overjoyed at my early return and I would never have to work another day in my life. Shamkar would be upset at first but I’m sure if I gave him a little payout all would be good. Now I had a million bits literally pop into existence, it stood unaware in the middle of the street beside my one hundred thousand bit contract and…If I saw correctly the traitor herself, my client would like to see her again. I guess this one likes the exotics, or perhaps he is weak to mind magic and merely enchanted…But, whatever the truth actually was it didn’t matter, this job wasn’t easy anymore. But it was a hell of a paycheck if I could bring them all in, well, maybe I will kill the target first. Stallions can be downright nasty to deal with when they have a herd. But killing this stallion was downright hard! For starters he was staying at her place, that mnunuzi’s damnable shop. She was the lowest of low, having the gall to remain here after- No, she also was a creature I couldn’t afford to mess with, that was the bottom line. What she lacked in height she made up for in deadly skill. Swords that honed in on magical signatures, slicing foes apart at the users command, and even more fantastical new enchantments that I didn’t have the time to strategize against, this was one Mongofu I wouldn’t be messing with. Having him die in his sleep was out of the question. She had purposely picked that shop for its lack of windows. The paranoid old Mongofu was going to be impossible to get around and the heifer she keeps around is also a creature I couldn’t touch. Not for her strength mind you, there were certain people that wanted her unharmed, not that they knew I was here but it was expected that any being not touch her. By some stroke of luck he left the shop alone. That same luck deserted me mere hours later. My first plan was for him to have a accident, a rogue hay wagon smashing his brains over the cobblestones…That bucker knelt down to pick up a measly bit, of all the things! Surely he didn't need bits that badly? And right when... Staying calm I followed him as he helped the gryphon, dropping a plank that I felt sure would snap his neck, but it didn’t even knock him over! Seeing as he was physically a brick wall of a unicorn I knew I had to use a more tactful approach. The idea of poisonous darts crossed my mind but I passed over it when I saw him make his way over to a café…One free drink and cyanide pill later I was across the street, watching as he meticulously added a straw and sniffed the drink. Then that heifer came in and ruined my plans, he dropped the drink. I screamed my rage. For Faust’s sake, this fucking stallion must have preternatural senses! …Or perhaps I’m just getting rusty, maybe he smelled the poison and ‘accidently’ dropped it? One chance left with the day ending. No creature wandered the streets after dark, especially my kind; I was essentially walking property in this town. It was a long shot, and I might hit the heifer but I needed to get back to the shop to stake out my next paycheck. The bigger and final reward, then- As you can assume that since I’m in front of the shop again that the stallion once again lives. My position was perfect, I had to get him today...And once again fortune was smiling at me as he left the shop alone. **** Chrissy Ari was up before us again. I hoped he was feeling better about learning aetheratic control. He had been very upset last night after constantly failing...The book on teaching foals to control their magic had not helped, but we had only gotten four chapters in. There was still a chance that the remaining four chapters could hold the secret to help my stallion. So far it had covered ‘What is Magic’, ‘The Anatomy of a Pony’, ‘The Difference Between Instinctual Magic Use and Spelled Magic Use’, ‘How to find your Aetheratic Channels’. That last chapter is where we lost him completely. Ari just couldn’t find his magical ‘thrum’ inside, but I haven’t given up hope yet, he can do magic so he had to have them. Shifting I scooted closer to Lyric, my stomach cried out for food, and while her love was nice it was not the same. It was like comparing a hoofmade meal with one created with magic, the hoofmade one would always tasted fresher, had more flavor, and had the true heart of the creator in it. To translate, she saw me more on the level of friend, more than an acquaintance but not quite a ‘good’ friend or a ‘best’ friend. Not anywhere close to the love our stallion felt for me. The air heated up as I waited beside my restless herd mate, our stallion still wasn’t back, but Ari would have to come back here. We had the book. “Mmmm…Ari?” Lyric yawned and looked around, looking very much like a foal with the wide yawn. “No, he is up already, probably in the kitchen.” “You know he does other stuff besides eat right? He isn’t some walking black hole!” I gave a raised eyebrow; she did know we were talking about the stallion that eats more than five ponies do, all without blinking an eye. “Well he is black and anything that enters his muzzle never comes out, so I think you described Ari perfectly. Although I didn’t take you for a pony that was into astronomy, I would have figured you would be into musical instruments or singing.” I looked at her cutie mark for emphasis. Lyric shifted her scales against my chitin, sitting up more, “Good point! Our stallion is sort of a black hole, I actually was starting to think of him as one yesterday, but not because of those reasons.” We shared a chuckle, “My cutie mark may be for singing but I do like to do other things-“ “Ari doesn’t count you know, if you are in the herd it is sort of required.” Sending me a smile, Lyric set her head on her hooves, “I wasn’t into astronomy before, but I think I started learning about it sometime after it was just me on the road. Trying to guess which stars were what and seeing when meteors were falling when took my mind off the…the hole that they left behind.” Sadness flowed through our bond now, a particularly heavy, sour taste to my mouth. “You know I started watching the stars for a similar reason-” She looked up at me, curiosity tickling my taste buds. “-My mother was always busy during the day, you know.” Looking to Lyric I realized she didn’t, “Well, maybe you don’t but the point is I wanted to do something with her. An activity that wasn’t grooming me for the throne or involved other changelings, just my mother and me, and one day it hit me: stargazing. If she had her whole day booked then that must mean her night was free!” I paused and took a deep breath, “At first she didn’t get it and really I didn’t either, it was just twinkling little stars... But she eventually relaxed and I relaxed when I saw her so…Content and we just enjoyed it. There was no crisis or petition, just the countless other worlds above us. I mean l loved my extended family but some days I wondered how we got on with their nymphness.” My herd mate didn’t respond for awhile but I felt the love change taste slightly, sweeter almost. “You know I think all families are that way, my aunts are some of the most annoying mares you will ever meet! Sonata especially, she loved to pretend she didn’t understand me, mostly when I wanted something she had. By the time she ‘understood’ me the treat was usually eaten already and…And I never really thought of that before, that Changelings had a family before…You had a mother too.” Giving her ear nip I looked her in the eye, “So you just assumed I just appeared? That Changelings reproduced by just appearing onto Equis?” “Well, I really hadn’t dared travel in the Badlands before and I guess I just took those rumors and sayings with a grain of salt. I knew they couldn’t all be true but I wasn’t going to risk my life either. You wouldn’t have welcomed me with open arms then, right? The ‘monster’, a sea pony hybridized with a land pony,” I nodded my head, ear splayed, we would have thought of her as food or an enemy. “Don’t feel bad most creatures wouldn’t have welcomed me in anyway.” “You…you’re not a monster you know, I’m not a monster. I think Ari has more than proven that point, all those thoughts, those slurs, are just ‘racist drivel’ as he puts it.” Lyric looked away, frowning as the bitter taste in my mouth increased, “What are we going to tell our foals? ‘Those ponies are stupid’ and make up our own slurs for them?” My herd mate made an interesting point, “So what if I do that? They started it! When they started throwing mud on our names! Our foals will learn of their cruelty whether we want them to or not, the world is unkind…You of all ponies should know that.” “Do you remember why we were called those names?” “Yes, they hate us for our strength, our abilities. Emotionvores aren’t understood, mind magic doesn’t have any branches of magic able to counter it.” “Perhaps that is part of it…But although I may not know much about ruling, I remember the time after The Great War. My mother told me of the great battles, the many stallions that fought to the death-.” Interrupting her I folded my ears back, if I didn’t need her love I would have left. I wasn’t a nymph! Such simplified stories were an insult to my intelligence. “I know that!” She snorted at me. “Then you also know that the winners write the history books and it’s what they didn’t write in those books that prevent our side from being seen in any good light.” What she said was true, we have- “Wakey, wakey! Breakfast time you stupid-.” Kapera stood in the doorway, frying pan in hand, and looking at us with a confused expression. “Where’s your stud?!” I could feel my heart rate increase slightly, “What do you mean? Isn’t he in the kitchen eating?” “Uh, no…I figured that lazy stud was still asleep, Dinari said you were up late reading to him and practicing.” Kapera looked awkwardly at us now, before looking at her paws as they shuffled. “Hold on a second…DINNY GET DOWN HERE!” Our ears went back at her volume, was that really necessary? Better yet was her anger really necessary last night? Yes, our stallion was unprepared but he didn’t have a chance to learn that on our journey so far. It's just, she just irritated me with her attitude. Her respect for our upcoming foals was appreciated but other than that her loud, disrespectful attitude to our stallion was wearing my patience thin. Where was Ari? “DINNYYYYY!” The Minotaur didn’t appear. **** Ari When I was little I thought I would be a figure skater. Like other little girls I thought the pretty skirts and shiny skates were the epitome of a perfect life. That if I had those and figure skated everything would be all right, I would never have to listen to another mean word from Heather Alester, that I would magically become this tall, beautiful swan on the ice rink. Well, aside from never growing to be very tall I also found out that there was a lot of work behind the scenes that no one ever mentions. At the crack of dawn, most of the time before dawn; I woke on wobbly legs to be driven down to the ice rink. Then my mother wasn’t quite crazy yet, I knew she was different than the other kid’s mothers, but I couldn’t exactly say why I thought that then. Anyway, on my half asleep legs I went onto the ice and fell…A lot, I was actually teased more there than at school. How I was that clumsy I couldn’t say why but I kept trying and failing, kind of like now. It didn’t matter how many times I did what Chrissy said, or tried to picture the channels as they were illustrated in the textbook, something just didn’t click. So I did what my coach told me to do back then: walk it off. My tries at a doing a spiral was, to put it nicely, abysmal. Every time I would work up to it I either couldn’t get the momentum or if by some chance I did I would look at the ice and fall. Look where you want to go and get back up I was told. But that didn’t help. When I walked I thought better, particularly if I was alone. My mares meant well but maybe like with the skating I was stressing too much and needed my subconscious to deal with it. The street was busy just like yesterday, although I kept my hood up, the magic inhibitor was still on. But I wasn’t going to ask Kapera to remove it. She said I should be able to remove it, and the master smith was probably right. The princesses were even stronger than me anyway, my mane was still a short, regular styled thing, and knew next to nothing about...Everything. I ducked as another plank flew by my head. These construction workers were almost as klutzy as I was as a kid. Taking a right, I was on the main road now, heading down to the docks. Another right at the edge of the waterfront, the waves jumping onto the stones and misting my cloak. If I had to guess I would say a storm was moving in. Although, if it was a storm front it was moving in slower than the others had further inland. Maybe the sea takes some of the bite out of them on the coast? Anyway, I took another right, walking away from the moored boats, and towards the beach. The beach was deserted and oh so beautiful to me at the moment. I had been to a beach before but this one seemed almost surreal, the sand was a pale pink, and if I looked closely I could see tiny fragments of coral among the white grains of sediment. Above the beach small white birds circled, not quite seagulls, or sterns, or even sandpipers. They were another species altogether, beautiful and unique to this world. I would have to ask Lyric what they were called. Just stepping onto the soft, undisturbed sand relaxed my mind somewhat. The ‘blah’ feeling fading to the background as the waves pounded the shore. But it was still quite an open area, so I moved on, walking as close to the waves as I dared. Coming out here was half a desire to relax and half the urge to take my mares on a date, to do something to get to know them better. My instincts, while useful in guiding me on what a mare likes were not helping me in forming a deeper connection with them. And if I had the time to learn to control my magic I certainly had time for the two most important mares in my life. The beach narrowed and I was forced to walk in the warm waves briefly, hugging the cliff’s base as I rounded the corner and arrived in a cave. It wasn’t the doom and gloom type cave either, it was actually very shallow as caves went, open as well, the ceiling was a good fifty feet above my head. It was actually kind of ominous, like a gaping maw about to swallow-. A splash sounded from behind me. Turning around I saw the waves hit the rocks again, a piece of bamboo bobbed along, and the sunny sky shone overhead. Waiting for a minute I could hear no other sound so continued my exploration. All the travels through swamps and such had messed with my senses, like I expected every sound to be a big monster. Well, there probably were sea serpents here. I knew I had to return but…This was so nice, but I wasn’t relaxed anymore from the splash, and I wasn’t leaving till I found the perfect spot to unwind at. A couple extra days to relax with my mares, to learn a valuable skill, and go on a date wouldn’t hurt the world. Halfway into to the cave there was a turn, and going around the bend I realized that this wasn’t a cave but it was actually a tunnel. Sunlight peeked in from up ahead, showing a glimpse of more coral infused sand ahead. As I picked up pace, dodging around the various boulders I tripped. Apparently cantering in a dimly lit tunnel was beyond me…I’m blaming the inhibitor. “OWWW!” Tripping with me wasn’t done half assed, I went over one boulder, going head over withers as I tumbled in a roll, a boulder too large to roll over stopping my travels. “SSSSSS!” Just as I thought my pain was over my rump began stinging with a vengeance. Picking myself I continued, although a little slower and sore. The little lagoon that opened up before me was beautiful, the blue-green water shimmering under the sun, the flora swaying in the slight breeze. Wobbling onto the sand I looked around and realized I couldn’t see the city from here. It was the perfect spot. With some difficulty I removed my cloak, I didn’t need it here, it was out of the way and I was alone. My vision shimmered as I thought that. Being alone, it wasn’t something I desired to be anymore. Finally I had found a partner, two really, that loved me, and the icing on the cake we were having foals. Just that thought alone made my worries vanish, the urge to puff out my chest and flap my wings strong, and what the hell. It couldn’t hurt. Spreading my wings I gave them a light flap, only to find myself kissing the sand. When did this happen? Brushing off the sudden return of my clumsiness, I tried to focus on the sand in front of me. Why was it spinning? Trying to get my hooves underneath me I huffed and my heart began to hammer in my chest. Had I hit my head harder than I thought? My thoughts were feeling like I was drowning in syrup, my legs, well I don’t know where they had gone. A cold numbness was spreading through my body, at least I thought so, it was hard to tell with the world turning into something out of a kaleidoscope tube. A little rest couldn’t hurt, could it? I had been going strong for two weeks now, maybe my body’s hunger was finally catching up to me…
A Spy, Politics, and an Assassin.**** Moonlit Echo To become part of the Lunar guard you had to undergo rigorous training. Rigorous was defined as nearly a full year of constant training, only two weeks off for holidays, that left fifty weeks of ten hour days. We had hoof to hoof fighting daily, spear handling, and ceremonial training. If you were defeated more than seventy percent of the time you out of the program, it was a weak sixty percent loss ratio for the Solar guard. And ponies wondered why invasions happened during the day in Equestria! Sorry, hedging aside we train every day for most of a year before we are allowed to serve as part of the Lunar guard. I had somehow made it into her personal guard, or to the citizen I was one of twelve recruits handpicked by the Princess of the Night herself. As a Thestral it was a point of pride to be part of the Lunar guard even more of a honor to be a part of her personal guard, it meant I could handle anything. Which is why this is incredibly embarrassing. The Princess sends me out to ‘check on’ that ‘Alicorn’ stallion that suddenly appeared. Was I doubtful? Tartarus yes, I don’t believe for one second that this isn’t a plot to take over Equestria. It is a coincidence that just over three months after the Changelings failed to overthrow the diarchy a Alicorn stallion appears…Right after a population crisis is uncovered…And there are no Alicorn stallions to continue the line. The picture is pretty clear to me: the Changeling King is trying his hand at taking over the country. So I was off to ‘check on’ this fake Alicorn when this storm straight out of Everfree Forest rolls in. The best way to describe Everfree forest is…Well: crazy. The magic there is wild and practically untameable. It is so dangerous that it is actually part of the final exam to join any branch of the guards. Bad ponies and Bad creatures alike call that place home of all things. However for some reason the weather from there has decided to take a vacation, unfortunately it choose the same spot I did: Minotaria. I thought I could handle this rain storm, but the way in moved in under fifteen minutes left me with little time to brace myself. So here I am now, clutching to some farmer’s chimney like a weak little foal. Which I am clearly not, it’s just, this wind isn’t like anything I have had to fly against before. Sure we had some extreme flight exercises, flying through small twisters and strong gusts, but those winds weren’t strong enough to literally push you backwards. No matter which way I tilted my wings I was just blown back. It was almost like the weather was trying to tell me something. Giving up wasn’t in my protocol, something had caused a ‘great disturbance’ when the princess went to view his dreams last night, and that something wasn’t going to just go away if my mission meant anything- “AHHH!” A shovel flew up from the ground almost hit me in the head. I know it was just wind but… “BUCK YOU TOO WIND!” I felt a little better now. Rain continued to pelt me, producing a dull ringing in my ears as it hit my light armor in a continuous beat. My mane was plastered to my coat which despite being covered in armor was also soaked, and my saddle bags were lost somewhere in the field below. So far my first solo mission was starting out very bad, a big fail, and my immediate future wasn’t looking any better. It had to have been hours since I first began hugging this chimney, really I had given up paying attention to the time, and my watch was in my bag. My arms were beginning to go numb and I was starting to worry about my safety. While the rain had been a minor annoyance before, it was now a very real problem, or should I say the rising water. Yes, what had begun as puddles grew to small ponds, those ponds grew and grew. In fact the water is still growing as I am talking. It was halfway up the one story house now. How long would it take for the water to reach my vantage point? Wait a second…Why was no pony exiting the house? Horse apples! Don’t tell me they are asleep still?! No. Not letting go of this chimney, I might- They might drown. In training protecting the civilians is priority number one, even for the princess’s personal guards, they would send to look after the citizens rather than themselves. Even though they aren’t citizens of Equestria, I can’t just turn my back on them, not when they are unaware of the danger. All I have to do is wake them up, that’s it, and then they should be fine. Detaching my weary arms from the chimney, I slid down the thatched roof. My wings staying hugged to my body as I fell, landing in the oddly freezing waters. It was summer! Where did such cold water come from?! Well, complaining wasn’t going to rescue the inhabitants, so I started to paddle to the house. Paddling in armor, even light armor meant for stealth, is quite an exercise. It tried to drag me down as waves started to form. I swam wearily to the door, it was a doggie paddle that would have made the captain send me back to training. But it was the best I could give right now. The windows were dark and the door was pressed closed from the water pressure, I almost thought that no one was home till I heard a creak from inside. “Hello? Is any pony in there?! It’s flooding out here you have to leave!” A creak sounded from inside. Of course they would be deep sleepers! Although, it could have been the howling wind or the pounding of the rain, but most noise was drowned out here, a great chaotic mess of noise. But I couldn’t ignore that creak, someone was in there. With the pressure of the water on the door it was impossible to open, that only left the window. There wasn’t anything around me to break it with, the tools floated away or flung away by the wind long ago, and that meant it was just what I had left on me. That wasn’t much, since I was out of country I wasn’t permitted from carrying my usual spear, or regular helmet…But my helmet was still metal. Time was slipping away as the frigid water continued to rise; looking away as the glass went flying out, I quickly entered the farm house. I didn’t have time to pay attention to details of the first Minotarian house I had ever been in but I did notice a doorway leading to the back, another room. I doggy paddled my aching arms towards it, up and over the angry water. “BUCK ME!” A smug creak answered back. The water started churning faster as I entered the room, face to face with the sleeping citizen, the reason I was risking my tail in this storm, and…It was a rocking chair. I had risked my life for a piece of furniture. Just buck my life, I still wasn’t anywhere near the coast and- It creaked again, mocking me, and forcing me to take a deep breath. This wasn’t so bad, Luna would laugh her head off when-No, if I told her. But I had a mission to do- “Ahhh!” I couldn’t help but yell as a wave picked me and almost scrapped my wings against the ceiling. This was getting crazy, I couldn’t fly and now the water was getting violent. Making my way out of the room I was thrown up a couple more times by the waves, each time closer and closer to the ceiling, wait…Ceiling! That’s it! Not rafters, but a ceiling, there was an attic then. In the dim light I searched the ceiling, but I couldn’t see a thing in- A flash lit up the room, illuminating a darker square in the ceiling. Yahtzee! Riding the waves I made it to the attic entrance and tugged it open, just as the stairs dropped down a wave slammed into me. My mouth filled with water, eyes scrunched shut, and my ears folded back. They don’t prepare you for this in training. Rumbles and grumbles echoed above me as the waves receded, slowing slightly, and I took advantage of that. As swiftly as I could in my harried state I clamored up the ladder to the attic. Pulling the ladder up just as quickly and slamming the hatch shut behind me. The attic was small, dusty, and almost exactly like my grandpa’s. A small slated window illuminated the area, showing that there were boxes and boxes of old memorabilia, some old tools, and what I assume was a old calf’s bed occupying this space with me. Dear Luna what have I gotten myself into?! **** Princess Celestia “While we think the first amendment is commendable, truly a generous and noble change that will not only bring about more foals but change the economic balance for the better. That one was applauded.” The five remaining members of the Royal Legal team gave a polite round of applause, before looking to their chairpony, “Although, we do have concerns with the other amendments that were proposed.” Quick Quill paused in his speech and looked at me. I smiled wider at the suited stallion. It didn’t take a law degree to know where he was going with this. “Reviewing the ‘Artificial Insemination Clause’ and the ‘Surrogate Mare Clause’ it was unanimously agreed that there are too many risk factors involved with them.” In…One, two, three, four, and out. “And what risk factors would those be?” A collected, even pronunciation, no rush, and remember to smile. I could solve this. Quick Quill smiled, ears twitching, “To put it simply your highness, it all comes down to inheritance and responsibility. Although, Platinum Scale made an excellent point on the psychological strain that surrogates and donors may feel, the surrogates especially, the hormones that would demand a foal to mother when there would be none. The complications this would place on the reading of a will and the additional cost to our health care system-.” And in and out, slowly, they were just trying to see all the angles on the amendments, that was why I paid them after all. “I will pay the difference.” Their jaws dropped for a second before the barrage continued, I resumed my relaxation exercises. “B-but Princess Celestia think for a second,” Quick Quill started to sweat, “This is more than the money, this is whole families that may need artificial insemination to continue. What if the donating stallion or surrogate mare wants to be part of the family? The civil suits-.” I closed my eyes and breathed out, steam blowing through my nostrils. It was all bloodlines, money, and titles with some ponies. Where have the days gone when there was comradery among ponies? Opening them, I fixed my eyes on the leader of this farce. “While I appreciate your thoughts and recommendations on this sensitive matter I’m afraid I’m going to get a second opinion on those clauses,” a round of gasps went throughout the finely furnished room. There was no nicer way to say that the words coming of his mouth were horse apples. We were in a population crisis for crying out loud! The thought of which pony gets what should be the least of their worries now. “So we wasted our time then? We did all this work for nothing?!” “Nothing? No, I trust your opinions on this matter and I appreciate all of the time you have taken to review the clauses, but this isn’t the time to be squabbling over possessions and titles. Furthermore I also trust that ponies will take this situation with the utmost seriousness, as we all should be.” Whispers flew around the room. Purposely ignoring them I focused on a white unicorn stallion, Timely Justice. “What progress has been made with the herd conscription?” Every pony froze before opening the files that were in front of them, flipping through till there were six very thick bundles of paper looming before me. Just what I needed: more paper. “The good news is that since you have had herd conscription halt we have had time to review the legitimacy of the reasoning behind that part of the law…” Timely Justice trailed off, blushing and splaying his ears as he looked at the paper in front of him, not quite sure how to say what was written. Silence stretched and the other members shuffled in their seats. As I was about to ask if he was okay to continue he started again, “W-well your highness with a average of twenty percent of stallions being fertile, conscripting all the stallions is not a wise idea, from what we can gather the fertility of stallions then was quite different than it is now.” “Oh?” “Yes, so it is recommended to permanently remove that clause from the law immediately and dissolve the already conscripted herds if they wish to separate.” “I couldn’t agree more.” I gave them a wide smile, the type that mother had when I performed a new spell right, I was proud of them. They were learning, slowly, but my ponies were learning an important lesson on duty. The nobles may flood my courts for a brief time but most of my ponies would be happy and we would be well on our way to getting out of this crisis. Finally something was going right. Next on the agenda was tea with Luna, court was closed today and around my many meetings I had secured a full hour to spend some much needed time with my sister. “Lulu!” Entering the sunroom I trotted up to my little sister. My forelegs wrapped around her neck, lingering a second before giving a quick nuzzle and sitting down beside her. “Tia! How were the mules today?” Picking up my teacup I snorted at her, “They aren’t mules Lulu, although they certainly acted like it at first…” I sighed, “But I think everything is going to get better now. The herd conscription is as good as gone, the first of Ari’s amendments went over wonderfully and I feel the other two will be accepted by tomorrow’s afternoon court session.” “It was their title loss wasn’t it?” I nodded in response before sipping my tea, a light herbal blend for today. Luna snorted, “Even after a thousand years they still care about their precious titles, you would think after the war that they would see the pointlessness in titles.” “My thoughts exactly sister, we should renounce our titles too then,” I let a small smirk enter my smile. “To be fair, I mean if they are meaningless-.” Luna’s feathers ruffled themselves, “I think I get thy point sister, but I just wish that they could see beyond a title to the pony behind it, not just the duke, prince, or princess.” This was beyond the issue titles now. Few ponies treated us as the ponies we are, and although I have come to terms with that Lulu hasn’t. For her these last couple of years were just a continuation from the snubbing of the nobles from our early years, a thousand years before. She couldn’t hold her tongue sometimes and it had caught up to her, the noble ponies took advantage of her honesty, and as such my sister ended up as a lot of their gossip fodder. Like many things in my life I should have done more for Lulu. “Twilight sees you as a pony, the elements of harmony see you as a pony, and so do Cadence and Shinning Armor…Luna it takes time for ponies to see past our title of princess, and it is quite a daunting title.” “Perhaps…But, you said you needed help responding to Cadence’s letter? What could she have possibly wrote that would be hard to answer?” I gulped at that, Luna hasn’t had much time to visit with our adopted niece. She doesn’t understand the Princess of Love’s eccentricities. Teleporting the letter onto the table, I sipped my tea as it was read. Her reactions were similar to mine: blushes, splayed ears, and choking. “Our sweet, little niece wrote that?!” I nodded, looking down at the letter with a frown. “She’s not so little anymore, unforntunately.” “She knows we haven’t actually met him right? That marriage isn’t even in the realm of possibility at this point! Ari is more likely to walk out on the meeting than propose to us! How? Why?” She gulped down the rest of her tea, “Is that normal for Cadence?” “Yes, her title is rather fitting in this case. It is quite literally her magical specialty and we are now her number one targets, no I mean ‘cases’.” I gave a little giggle at that, “The last time she was set on getting two ponies together it was rather humorous though.” Luna folded her ears back, understandably worried. “Humorous? Pray tell how exactly was her actions laugh worthy?” “Well, I believe it was five years ago. Cadence had seen the way a guard was gazing at a mare selling flowers with what she swore was a look of ‘longing, desire, and a deep hunger’. Well, to make the story short, by the time she was done helping them see that they loved other there was nearly ten thousand bits worth of damage to repair in Canterlot.” My sister’s mouth began to imitate a fish, “She was using overpowered spells due to her relative inexperience with Alicorn magic…Although, in the end they did fall in love!” Luna groaned, “But it was a year after Cadence gave up and funnily enough it turned out the poor guard was just looking at her flowers with a hunger, not the mare.” “And she believes he is the one for…” Luna reread the letter, “BOTH of us?!” “Yes, you see why I needed your help answering her.” “I think our niece needs our help more…” **** Shallow Shale ??????? Most contracts are pretty straightforward with how they want their proof of completion. A newspaper article or something physical to identify them usually satisfied the client. It would have been easy to watch my other paychecks that day had my target been in a public place when I finally killed him. If he had been in the market…The guards would have rushed over, confirmed the death, and the paper would have published his name in the obituary section. Not that I knew his name, but he was very unique so that fact was irrelevant to the contract. Anyway, his little solo walk was taking him onto private land. For some reason my target felt the need to wander off to a secluded section of the beach, trying to make my job harder most likely. How would the target know I was trying to kill him? I don’t know but it was the only explanation for his behavior. All day I had been trying to injure him and he had been dodging the planks, paint cans, and other items I have thrown at him. A slight head duck, sidestep, or hop, he was untouchable! I knew I still had my poisons though and no unicorn could withstand those… I think you get my point now. Nopony can just dodge all those projectiles without either being having god on their side or being aware of my attempts, I’m going with the latter. As further proof, when he arrived at the private lagoon he took off his cloak, performed his illusion spell, and puffed out his chest. Trying to look big, he was incredible at illusions; he even made it look like the light reflected off the wings. If Alicorns weren’t in such short supply I might have believed his illusion to be real. That unicorn has serious magic, magic with a capital ‘M’. So here we are now, my target and I, isolated, in a private area of the beach. I grabbed one of my empty bags and a knife, as I had said I needed proof for that meathead. Which was easy enough to get, I take something unique to the target, that my client will be sure to recognize. In the past I cut out cutie marks, as they are the easiest to recognize, horns were another favorite of mine. There were also hooves, tails, and heads to take clients. But those were easier to fake and seen as a weak form of proof, easy to fake, yes, even a head. Illusion spells were quite advanced now, grab any old head, and with enough skill it could look like your target. But it was bad business, that’s how to end your career. His head was a little bulky so I wasn’t going to cut it off, it would splatter, not mention it might enrage my other paychecks. As I approached I realized his illusion was still on. He wasn’t quite dead yet, I knew I should have tripled his dose. Grabbing another dart, I stabbed his rump with it. Now he had four times the regular lethal dose of curare in his system, it was only a matter of- This damned stallion doesn’t have a cutie mark! How has he gotten this far and not gotten his cutie mark? Snorting, I pinned my ears back at his corpse. Even in death my target likes to make my life hard. No matter, I still have other ways to prove his death. Grabbing his tail in my teeth I severed the hair past his tailbone, my knife running through it like paper. A smile broke across my lips, one hundred thousand bits tied up and bagged…Well maybe I better take another form of proof, always have a plan B if possible. I jumped several feet in the air as something touched my leg. Looking down I saw his illusion of feathers were fluttering in the wind, and still present- Wait, his illusion of feathers touched me?! Okay, deep breath. What did that drunken bull say again? The target was crazy, ballsy, a herd stallion and an Alicorn, this was an Alicorn. But…It can’t be! He wasn’t with the princesses in the castle, he wasn’t wearing any regalia, no guards, and he was hiding under a cloak! My heart was racing now, dropping my hood now I twitched my ears, nothing but the waves. Definitely no guards hiding in the bushes, it was just the body and me. This was impossible, improbable really. By all rights he shouldn’t exist and he certainly wasn’t a changeling, he would have dropped the disguise…But how?! I tentatively touched his wing, watching his chest. It wasn’t moving. His mane and tail weren’t moving either. He couldn’t be an Alicorn, even if his feathers were as soft a newborn foal’s coat, it didn’t explain the million other reasons why he can’t be one. Grabbing a mouthful of feathers I tugged them out and placed them with his lock of tail hair in my bag…Maybe he was an Alicorn. I had just killed an Alicorn. The only Alicorn Stallion on Equis was dead and I did it… This job was worth way more than one hundred thousand bits, this was worth at least a million bits if not more. I would be famous, I would…Be sent to the moon, then the sun, before I was beheaded. Leaving the country sounded very good right now. Although…Maybe an extra million bits couldn’t hurt, to help pay for my forced seclusion. I just wish I knew why he was hidden away with some of the most wanted mares on this continent. This whole situation felt like a set up, like a piece of the puzzle was missing. Wait, if he was a Alicorn, big if still, then that Minotaur is going to want to be absolutely sure he is dead. Anyone can bring back some hair and feathers, but the horn, that would prove it, that the target was dead. Dead Alicorns don’t need horns after all. Standing again, I brought the bag and knife over to his head, and I nearly choked on my tongue. He was wearing a bucking magical inhibitor of some sort, only thing that was strange was that it had five key holes, not three, I had never even heard of one with five key holes before…The stallion didn’t have this on yesterday…Just what the Tartarus happened overnight? Snap out of it! I had a dead stallion to process; the tip of his horn would have to- A spear whizzed past my eyes, Tumbili dung that was too close for comfort. Turning my head to the sea, my jaw dropped, they were here, pulling into the lagoon. I grabbed my bag, sheathed my knife and ran back the way I came. This would have to do as proof, there was no way I’m dealing with that sadistic bastard. I think he remembered our last encounter; the amount of spears he showered with was really flattering. But I had bigger bounties to cash, he could keep the body. I wonder if I could leave the planet instead, Arch still wants to kill me, the Alicorns are going to want me dead, and the target’s mares will as well. Retirement was looking very nice right now.
The 'Ship of Death'.**** Chrissy It has been four days since Ari ‘went for a walk’. I felt my control breaking once again, one push away from breaking down into hysterics…Again. So, I was more than a little depressed. “Chrissy?” Lyric asked quietly from beside me, ears splayed, and eyes raw like mine most likely were. Tears hadn’t helped me, but they still came with little effort, there was a lot for me to cry about in life. From the beginning ‘life’ seemed to want to challenge my family, my species. Only by ‘life’ I meant Equestrians, the princesses to be exact, even when I was a nymph they were hard at work. I only knew of this after mother had died, it had occurred when I was just a nymph, before I could even form words or lasting memories. It was our first attempt at peace since the war five centuries prior, father had gone with a small group of dignitaries to propose new treaties with the Equestrian kingdom. At that time it was just Sunbutt on the throne, now a monarchy, she had sent her own sister to the moon. “Hello? Equis to Chrissy?” I looked away from her, she probably wanted to try and make me believe her sweet words again. Well, for some reason my father and his dignitaries were met with misunderstanding and hostility by the guards. Why was that strange? He had been exchanging letters with the princess herself for weeks, she was expecting them. One thing led to another and before they knew it one of my very estranged cousins was dead, beheaded in the throne room, defending my father of course. Understandably when the princess finally made her appearance things were already out of control. A rogue spell had reflected back from our shields and killed two unicorn guards. That is what she saw when she entered: two dead Equestrians and the ‘peaceful’ party she was to meet. Not listening to my father’s ‘vile lies’ she sentenced him to death as retribution for the murders, the other option she gave was war. He chose to die rather than risk our lives. “Chrissy?!” Lyric was trying to get my attention by nibbling at my ear now, while it did feel nice, it just reminded me that Ari used to do that. Perhaps my perception of these events is due to the fact that I’m just a little depressed and scared for my, no, our future. But after that it seemed to have just gone downhill. Until most recently I was given a hope. A stallion that loved me, he could grow old with me, and our foal. It was all too perfect… “CHRISSY!” Lyric was determined to talk apparently, nothing good had come of her pep talks the last fifty times, but I think they weren’t for me at this point. I knew exactly where my family was while she was stuck in a perpetual limbo. Who knows where that mirror led? Might as well play along, I wasn’t allowed to do anything anyway, not that I felt up to moving around. “Y-yes…” My voice was cracking from the hours of disuse after I finished screaming, more fresh tears threatening to spill over as my sorrow came back, thinking of why I was distressed. Where was he? Lyric shifted against me, putting her neck over mine as she tried to think loving thoughts for me. But the bitter, throat drying taste of sorrow, worry, and sadness clung to her like a shadow. Even if she had been happier, I needed more love than she could give through her passive contact. “She will find something, he wouldn’t just disappear. You saw how excited Ari was at the news of our foals!” I didn’t respond to her words, as I said, this was the fiftieth time today she had said that or a variant or it. Her words were half hearted at this point, like her hope for her family’s return it was more a lullaby to soothe her nerves. She doubted it. But my herd mate didn’t know what else to say in this situation, like me. What could be said? A loving, happy stallion that is expecting foals just disappears. It was wrong; it made no sense to any pony. Even Kapera, the cranky old Mongofu was suspicious about it. She had seen his reaction, the honesty in it. Below us a door closed, Kapera wished another customer well before it opened again, another customer. I could faintly hear Kapera curse in Zebrican under her breath as the faint click of claws echoed down below, another browser. I would have enjoyed her karma a little if not for the fact that she was running the store alone today was due to Dinari searching the town for our stallion. Why weren’t we out there looking for our stallion? I’m sure you must be wondering why we are camped out on the second floor of the shop in front of a fireplace, acting like mares in distress? Well it wasn’t our choice, trust me. If I wasn’t so weak right now I could have taken her, started my own brand of searching…And probably sent the town into a complete panic as well, I couldn’t manage a disguise right now. Taking to the streets in search of Ari was our first reaction when he didn’t come back that night. But as our hosts pointed out, no pony wandered the streets at night, we were with foal, and Ari might have just gotten lost and had some nice citizen put him up for the night. Another way of placating us, Kapera was a little too considerate of the foals sometimes. I mean there wasn’t much to damage yet, I wasn’t even two weeks along. I had at least thirty weeks left, at the most I had forty six weeks. We would find him before then. When he didn’t wander in by the morning of the second day we were near hysterical with worry, this was not Ari at all. Kapera thought he might be pulling a prank on us, sure he jokes around but this wasn’t his type of joke. Kapera started to look a little guilty then, as she should. She was the one who hadn’t removed the magic inhibitor, and…No, something had definitely happened to him, that was the only answer that made sense to me, that we could accept. Yesterday Dinari had started combing the streets, looking for any trace of Ari, and had returned with nothing. The west side of the city was clear and no being there had seen him. Today she was checking the east side, a more slightly more grey area of Shallow Shale, home to questionable shops and services. Hopefully it held some answers. Kapera was preparing dinner when Dinari returned. “So find anything new out there Dinny?” Kapera looked up at her apprentice, looking very subdued as she dished out dinner. Dinari looked thoughtful, scratching her chin, not responding for a minute. This made us look up from our pile by the fire. “Well…I have a theory, but it doesn’t make any sense in some ways.” I cleared my throat, “Any theory right now is better than nothing, please Dinari!” It was the truth; I didn’t care if she suggested he got sent home to Earth, anything was better than not knowing. It would at least stop my imagination, and give me direction. The Minotaur folded her ears back and took a seat, “I think some being killed him.” A small squeak escaped my throat as my tears overflowed, the bitterness choked me as Lyric felt the same despair at her words. That was the one option that made sense, we both had refused to say it, but it explained his long absence. But what could kill an Alicorn? Kapera slammed her mug on to the table, “DINNY! Don’t start spouting that sort of stuff without explaining yourself! You…Think of the foals, you’re stressing them!” “Well, I started asking all the merchants if they had seen him and one had. The day before Ari went missing he had worked for a fritter stall,-” I wanted to face hoof despite my sadness, of course he would have been where food was, “-helping to repair it. A rogue hay wagon had literally rolled over your stallion’s back before hitting the stall,” We all quirked an eyebrow while looking at the uncharacteristically talkative heifer, coincidence perhaps, wagons aren’t always easy to control. “If Ari hadn’t been hunched over picking a dropped bit his head would have been plowed into the street-.” “So what’s your point Dinny? He was very lucky-.” “That was the same day the scaffolding almost crushed us…The same scaffolding that looked brand new, not a scrap of rust, nor a dent in it. So I went down to the Seaside market to talk to the crew about that. Do you know what they said?!” We all stared at her, my brain already having an idea where she was going. “The scaffolding was cut, sabotaged! Something had cut a clean chunk of metal out of the supports.” “Shit…” Kapera took a seat, looking exactly how I felt, but it wouldn’t help him now. Something wet landed on my chitin, startling me out of my own tears. I followed its path up and saw Lyric silently crying. ‘Shit’ didn’t begin to even cover this. My heart was racing as I tried to calm down, breath again. It sounded like somepony was out to get our stallion…Perhaps they already had since he hadn’t returned. But maybe I was just trying to jump on any reason, no matter how bad, Alicorns were really hard to kill. They had won the Great War after all. “Was it just those two instances? That seems more like coincidence. You wouldn’t believe how bad our luck can be-.” “No. There was more, when I met Ari at a café, a gentlecolt had brought him a drink. Strange thing was we never saw the fellow. When we looked at the table he wasn’t there, he hadn’t even ordered a drink for himself.” “Wait a minute Dinny. I know we are progressive now a days. But a stallion buying a stallion a drink? That sounds like-.” Dinari snorted at her mentor, interrupting her. “As I was saying, the waitress told me she thought it must be a colt because she had never seen a mare wear such a hideous cloak nor keep such bad hygiene. He kept the hood down, and didn’t talk once to her. He just pointed at the drink and Ari before giving her some bits.” I frowned at that, my composure returning somewhat, that colt was definitely suspicious. Why would a stallion buy another stallion a drink only to not stick around to receive any thanks? “That idiot of a waitress! Who would serve such a- No,” Kapera took a deep breath, trying for once to control herself. “What matters now is how did stud react to the drink?” “Well there is the thing: he never got to drink it, got so startled when I greeted him that he dropped it, after that I didn’t notice anything odd happen, except for the scaffolding the day seemed normal.” “Alicorns don’t die that easily…” Lyric whispered, although we all heard her. I agreed, nodding the best I could underneath her, “Exactly, he can’t be dead! Maybe he was just ponynapped?” That notion caused Lyric to nod rapidly on my and a giggle escaped me at her new attitude. We were both feeling a new sense of purpose, something we could focus our efforts on. “Hmm,” Kapera hummed, looking at our sorry state before looking back at her apprentice. “So now what mares, it sounds like your stallion has made some enemies already, any ideas who might want him dead?” Isn’t that the million bit question? My ears folded back as I considered who might want him dead. There were the Diamond dogs from the mountains. They knew what he looked like, and we had seen some in the city by the docks, although the likelihood of those dogs being from the same pack was highly unlikely. How would they know we would go to the coast? No, maybe-. “Jabbar.” Lyric said his name quietly but with such fear that it hurt to listen to her. He really did a number on her. “Ja-who? Is this fellow likely to come after Ari?” Kapera looked at Lyric as we all did, with patience and interest. The salty, bitter flavor of guilt stung at my taste buds. She seemed unable to answer so I filled in the blanks for our hosts. “Oh! So this bastard really hates Ari then. I can just imagine being a big strong bull and getting my rump handed to me by this cocky stallion, who is also an Alicorn. In a fight, even a weak Alicorn like Ari can easily handle a Minotaur, so he must have got outside help…But the question is, if he was unconscious last time you saw him how would he know where you went after you left? The guilt I was receiving from Lyric was practically choking me now, “Well, I may have strung him up from the rooftop after you guys left…” I raised my eyebrow, and turned to look at her as best as I could from underneath her neck, that wouldn’t make him annoyed at all. “I-I also, may have bucked him around a little…” Kapera sighed at that, “He was just coming to when I realized how long I had taken…So I left him there to die while I followed your group.” I face hoofed, she hadn’t mentioned this before. This would have been very nice to know earlier! We may be a herd but we obviously needed to clear the air more often, get to know each other more, so more skeletons don’t fall on us from the closet…After we figure out where Ari is. He was an Alicorn, he couldn’t die, easily anyway…Right? Kapera screeched in frustration as she looked at Lyric, “Anything else we should know, any other potential killers out there looking for you two and your stallion?!” “Well, maybe that vildkatt we met at the docks the first day we got to the city. We didn’t really do anything to him, but he wanted to ‘help’ us. Although Ari did teleport us away from there before anything could happen. That’s all I can think of right now, we were trying to stay hidden.” “Did that vildkatt give his name?” Dinari got up and was slowly backing away from the Mongofu, as Lyric and I would have done if we were close to her. The master smith was looking at the butter knife a little too intently, her teeth bared, and the sound of her breathing increasing. She looked ready to kill something. “HIS NAME?!” Our ears folded back at her volume, “He said it was Arch.” Like a switch had been hit she released her real feelings, and as worried as I was for Ari she terrified me more in that minute. Kapera screamed a scream of anger, agony, emotions that broke our hearts and nearly our eardrums as she let them out. She grabbed the knife, causing us all to flinch as she broke out into a string of Zebrican curses, stabbing the table like it was the vildkatt, I assume that’s who she was picturing anyway. I gave up trying to follow her rant; sure I could speak a little Zebrican, as my mother had insisted I learn as many languages as possible. But it had been at least a hundred years since I practiced, and she was yelling them quite rapidly. We all just stayed back until her anger left, dark eyes eventually getting a thousand yard stare, while her knife stilled in her table. That poor piece of furniture bearing quite a few new marks from her assault…I don’t want to be Arch right now. “That bucker has crossed a line, stud was supposed to save the world! He-They,” Kapera snarled and looked at Lyric and I, “We got ourselves a killer to catch and hopefully he is…compliant. I would love to have a heart to heart talk that kimwili…” She trailed off looking at her knife, “It was a long time coming.” **** Ari Time was a funny thing, or should I say the perception of time is, even more specifically, the perception of time when pain is involved. Speaking from current experience I can say that pain draws out every minute to become an hour, every hour a day, and so forth. So if you asked me how long I had been like this I couldn’t rightly say, it felt like weeks though. These are the first clear thoughts I can recall after what felt like quite some time, little sensations of memories and voices linger at the edge of my mind, but they mean very little to me right now. What matters is that the pain is now within a threshold that I am not in and out of consciousness constantly. I would have celebrated this state had I been able to. Tell me if you have heard this before. I go to sleep and wake up in a new location…You have?! So have I, like two other times in this world, and I haven’t even been here a month yet. Then you know the rest of the story, I wake up tied up and annoyed. Where was I? No idea, I can’t really look around with this blindfold on, and moving around was just a joke at this point. Taking stock of how I feel, the best description is that I feel like a thousand four year olds are screaming in my ears constantly. While they attempt to beat me with baseball bats, from the inside out, and I swing around like their piñata. My stomach lurched as the world moved again, causing me to swing to the left suddenly. I felt like a giant Alicorn shaped piñata right now, post party obviously. Still don’t know how I went from a beach to swinging around on a rope. So to summarize: I can hear nothing, feel way too much, see nothing, and my mouth tastes like a shitty hangover. The only sense that has given me any clue where I might be is my sense of smell. Where ever I am smells like strongly of salt, iron, and feces. There were some undertones of urine, mares, and a strange herbal smell. But that didn’t tell me anything really, it could mean too many things still, although I was betting on a prison cell. Where- Something touched me. What the hell?! Something was here with me. I would have given nearly anything to see what was touching me. It felt a smooth surface on my sensitive fur, coasting a smooth edge along my neck. I know how this ends in the movies, hello swinging corpse draining out. No thank you! So I attempted to flare my wings…They were bound…It hit me then that I didn’t have my cloak on, whoever had me knew I was an Alicorn. “Lrkk…” My attempt at speaking to my captor was horrible at best. My throat was dry and felt stiff. That was the best word for it, like I hadn’t used it in a couple of days. How much time had passed? My ears twitched and strained, a faint murmur came into focus, added to the ringing. Someone was whispering something in my ear, a muzzle tickling my fur. “Kushikilia bado…” My panic eased a bit as I heard a feminine voice, replaced by apprehension as the smooth, cold object continued going up my neck, now going up the back of my head. I think that must have meant goodbye, it was spoken so quietly and seriously-. “ROOOWWWW!” The blade sliced through my fur and into my skin as the world felt like it was turning again, this time I was swung to the right. The smell of iron hit my nose and I began to shake my head rapidly. “Plrease nru! Don’t krill mwe!” I sounded like I was across the room to my ears and horribly distorted still, but it was easier to form words at least. Although it was not enough to persuade my captor for killing me, or torturing me, either way I was in for more pain. I stilled my head as I felt the blade touch down at the back of my head, seeming to line it up for a cut before creeping down… My blindfold went slack over my eyes, before falling away like the blade, it was gone. The world returned me to a centered position as spots swam in my vision. I was finally able to see, although white seemed too brilliant for a second. There was a lot of white before me. I was in a room, planked walls to either side, and a wall of rusty bars at the farthest part of the room. It was dim in here though, my eyes were drawn to the few lanterns around the room. They were something that made sense. Sense made me feel safe, a feeling that I needed dearly with the upside down vision in front of me… Zebras, zebras stood or lay as far as I could see, all the way to the bars. There was some equestrians mixed in as well but it was mostly zebras, and they were gazing right back at me. They might have a different name here but to me they were still zebras. Standing at least a head taller than the Equestrian ponies, the zebras were striped black and white just like their earth counterparts. But I couldn’t help but stare at their rump. The rump closest to me in fact, it had a black and white version of a cutie mark, like a Rorschach blot, but I couldn’t quite understand what it was. It almost blended in with their coat. If it wasn’t for my knowledge that ponies had them I wouldn’t have thought to- “Excuse me…” A heavily accented voice whispered above the ringing in my ears and I twisted my head to my left…There was the mare attached to the rump that I had just been staring at, somepony should slap me, of course there was a pony attached to the butt. My brain was a little slow today. It was not only a mare, but the mare with the sharp piece of metal. She had cut my blindfold off and I had ogled her butt. “Rh-…Hello,” finally I had said something without sounding like damned Scooby Doo! I still felt my muzzle heat up with a blush though. What was I thinking staring at her butt?! Maybe she will be forgiving and explain where I am… We were eye to eye as I swung slightly with the swaying of the room…Why was the room swaying? Clearing my throat I looked at the zebra, “So where exactly am I? Last thing I remember I was walking on a beach.” A murmuring spread throughout the room, a mix of whatever language she had spoken in at first and Equus, and I felt a little nervous at her look. Green eyes looked at me with pity, sadness, as she ran a hoof through my mane. While that felt nice it still didn’t tell me where I was…Although I had a suspicion, but my presumption didn’t exactly give me hope. “Ship of death,” was her curt reply as she stood up on her hind legs. The zebra mare reached up to my rope with the sharpened scrap of metal in one hoof. Her leg was a foot too short. I saw what her plan was: cut down the Alicorn and escape. That would be my plan anyway, even with my magic shut off I could still buck and stab. “Can somepony give her a boost? I could be a help us escape if I could actually move.” To my disappointment nopony stepped up. Not that many looked strong enough to support her really, most were pretty slim…Okay that was a understatement, some looked downright starved, those ones weren’t even standing anymore. ‘Ship of death’ seemed pretty accurate right now, I was going to guess slave ship but I guess that was the same thing. There was death on either one. My helper pinned her ears back and snorted at the others before carefully placing the MacGyvered knife in her mouth. “What are you-mmmmm!” She had used my chest as a vaulting horse, bringing her onto my chest…And her marehood over my muzzle. A squeal echoed around the room as my attempt at talking...Stimulated her. It also forced her to drop the sharp piece of metal on my chest. Shit! That was so close, it landed on its width thankfully, but having what was essentially a knife falling on my belly had nearly scared the shit out of me. First I stare at her butt like some pervert, now I am muzzle deep in her marehood, I am making such a great impression on these mares. Yes I said mares, there wasn’t the scent of any stallions in this room…But in all seriousness, I’m going to be lucky if she doesn’t buck me in the balls after this. The others seemed to get a kick out of this though. Snickers echoed around the room as they observed our new predicament, however I clamped my muzzle shut, tasting her more was not going give her any better of a impression of me. Not that she tasted bad, but an erection wasn’t exactly easy to explain away or appropriate in such a situation. Again, I did the wrong thing. She had started to push herself up at the same time I had clamped my muzzle down, with my luck that meant her clit got caught in my muzzle as I closed it. It took me a second to realize I had something in my mouth, my eyes crossing as I tried to see what could be there; however my release of her clit triggered her release. Mare juice splattered my face as the room was filled with her squeal. My pain was forgotten as the smell of fresh berries filled my nostrils and dripped into my mouth, causing a stirring down below. Closing my eyes I started thinking of disgusting things, willing my cock to stay in my sheath if it treasured its life. Panting came from her as her back legs started flailing by my head, gaining purchase on my forearms to push her body all the way onto mine. I opened my eyes as my chest flared with pain. She was wobbling on me now, knees looking like they wanted to collapse, and I had a perfect view to her…Well, let’s just say she certainly is determined-. “Oomph!” The rope holding us up severed easily under her knife. It was the only thing keeping us up in the air, so with it severed we came crashing to the ground, more pain joining the pain party that was my body, and effectively killing any stirring down below. My legs spread out and I sighed in relief, I hadn’t realized how cramped they were being hog tied like that. After a few seconds the prone mare on my chest rolled off of me, blushing as she searched for her ‘knife’. Looking around I spotted it. “It’s over there.” I pointed past my rump. I rolled onto my stomach and considered my situation again. Since I was on a ship it can be assumed that I can’t just walk out of here…Even if I could, how could I just leave all these ponies here? No, I needed to get free first, and then I could free them. Wait…They weren’t even shackled up! I was the only that had been hog tied, although with flimsy ropes, but that doesn’t explain some things. How are they not storming the bars? There had to be at least sixty mares in here, most looked thin but if they worked together I’m sure they could bust down the wall. My assistant was back at my side, “So why haven’t you guys just stormed the ship already? Those bars don’t look too hard to kick out.” She set to work on the ropes binding my wings, ignoring my question. “Look I’m sorry about staring at your flank…You see I have never seen a zebra before…And I’m sorry about that,” A blush returned to my muzzle. “I wasn’t expecting you to jump up on me. No hard feelings?” The ropes fell away as she looked at me frowning, ears splayed, and a heavy blush. “I-I…It was not a problem…” I was not going to read anything into that, my mares were waiting for me probably, and she probably just wanted to get to the escaping part of this plan. Why else would she cut me down if not to escape from the ‘ship of death’? “The name is Ari by the way.” “A pleasure to meet you Ari,” We shook hooves, “My name is Ayodele. And as to why we don’t break…” She trailed off and a couple of gasps echoed around the cell as I stretched my wings, my farthest tips brushing the tops of several mares’ heads. ‘Alicorn shock’ I think that’s what I’m going to have to start calling it. Everywhere I go its either attack, disbelieve, or awe, sometimes all three. Hooves clattered on the wooden floor as three Equestrian’s rushed forward, pegasi, ducking under my extended wings. I blinked for a second before it hit me, the craving of touch, and another instinct I knew all too well. I would have to keep my instincts in check here and pray no mare went into heat. Sure I had two mares I loved at home but the heat is a scary thing, the smell mares give off is almost hypnotizing, and I didn’t want to explain another foal to my herd. Chrissy and Lyric must be worried sick. My thoughts were interrupted as the pegasi huddled closer to me under my wings, their touch not unpleasant although not the same as my mares pressed to my sides. I felt bad for them though; their eyes were scrunched shut while shudders racked their thin frames, if they were anything like Azure and Barium then this must be a shock to their systems. No pony princesses here. “Some of them have been here awhile; I have only been here…Perhaps two weeks? It is hard to say, they feed us every second or third day, and hose us off every week I think.” Ayodele said, dropping her weapon before lying down beside me, well, beside the shaking pegasi under my wing. “Every week,” a weak voice spoke up from the crowd, but I couldn’t pinpoint who said it. My ears still had a faint ringing to them, but it had improved dramatically since I was right side up. I took that information in; it answered one question, if these ponies got fed. But I had other questions that needed answering. Like who was running this ship, why no pony had overpowered the measly wall separating them from the staircase? Why was just one mare willing to cut me down? Actually, why was this room just full of mares? Shuffling my wings I looked at the faces around me, dull eyes, dirty coats, and emaciated bodies. “So I’m assuming you don’t storm the gate because you are all kept too weak?” Looking at Ayodele, I saw her scrunched up her muzzle. “Not entirely…Even if we could get out of here we are in the middle of the sea, sea serpents and worse surrounding the ship, and the slavers.” A shudder passed through her. “Disgusting dogs and the captain…” “I can handle them; I have killed Diamond dogs in this state before!” And I had, “They are dead as dead gets.” Was Diamond dogs all this was? Been there, killed that. Tucking my wings to my body, I ignored the whimpers from the pegasi as I stood up. The crowd cleared a path for me as I made my way to the gate; it swung outward which was perfect for this. I spun my rump around, lifting my hind leg and adjusting my distance from the door. I squared my front hooves, lowered my hind end, and let loose. The world went dark. I opened my eyes in confusion; the ceiling was above me now, the bars were across the room still looking as untouched as ever. “W-what happened?” Bodies shifted against mine as a pair of green eyes looked down at me with sadness, “The greatest enchanted bars to ever be forged are what happened, revolutionary enough to hide their own hum of magical discharge, and crafted by the best smith…Nothing can break them...”
Two Types of Stalkers.Shallow Shale ??????? The sound of flapping came from behind me. Reacting on instinct I turned and threw my knife. I missed and blinked as the crow flew off, cawing loudly as it went. Retrieving it, I ducked back down. Then I crawled back over to my position overlooking the shop, back to wait. Every since I had killed their stallion they had not left that fortress of a shop, I was almost considering burning them out at this point. It would involve some risk, some other being may end up seeing my paychecks, but I couldn’t stay here forever waiting for them. Sooner or later the whole continent will know that Ari was dead. Yes, his name had made the paper two days ago; he was expected by the princesses, only he wouldn’t be going now. And, well, I wasn’t putting anything above their magic. I needed to be cashing my checks soon. Any moment now the Minotaur would exit the shop, the open sign would be flipped, and I would be in store for another boiling summer stakeout. They were nothing if not predictable. Like clockwork the Minotaur left, the sign flipped, and the wait resumed. Something had to change… It wasn’t so bad waiting; it was actually the easiest part of this job. Sure I ended up smelling like a buckball player after a three hour game but I didn’t have to do much, just watch, and plan their demise. Actually killing the target, well, it was part of the job, what else can be said- Hold that thought. The heifer was back and she was pulling a huge box on a trolley behind her. Checking my watch I did a double take, the Minotaur was only gone for two hours this time. Looking at the box I realized why, it said ‘Scrappy’s Metal Emporium’. It had been just a shopping trip. Settling back down, I waited. Muffled yelling made it to the street from the shop, attracting the attention of the passerby’s, and my curiosity. Just what was going on in there? Did she purchase the wrong type of steel? After another hour the Minotaur left, off to return the trolley, and the noise from the shop stopped. I swiveled my ears, hearing nothing more. I blinked as I saw the sign flip over again. It wasn’t even noon yet! Curiosity sated moments later as two familiar cloaked figures were thrown into the street. This was perfect! It looks like they overstayed their welcome, and coincidently I am more than happy to put up with them. Jumping to the next rooftop I ducked down as they took a left, nearly seeing me if they looked up. I continued to jump between the roof tops till I got to the market on main. Here the stores were too small and the roofs too steep to stealthily travel on them. Stretching my right hind hoof till it touched the top of the far alleyway wall; I braced my forelegs on the gutter as my left one got into position. I hated this part. Using as much speed as I could I slid down walls, descending in a split before righting myself. They all tell me that that is the fun part. I’m sure it is, if you were a vildkatt or a gymnast. Myself? Not so lucky physically, the job had helped somewhat, but poisons were far easier to work with. When it comes to murder, poisons are often overlooked, ponies favoring the bloodier methods. But poison crafting was a true art, taking finesse, planning, and an intimate knowledge of all the ingredients. For example, too much curare kills, but too little acts as a sedative, which was exactly what I needed. I poked my head out of the alley. To the left, no one, and to the right, no one was looking at me. The mares were standing at the crossroads deciding where to go. Blending into the crowd, I continued following them. The beach was practically calling to me now, telling me of all the smoothies I would have, and how happy my family will be to see me. What had it been, seven years now? I forgot, either way it has been way too long. Well, first I did need to catch them but that wasn’t hard, contrary to what ponies thought, you can dart a changeling. They weren’t hard everywhere. Short stuff stomped her hoof on the cobblestones, before turning left. This behavior continued on for awhile, the traitor stomping before leading the changeling queen around, a funny dynamic but I have heard that the small ones are the scariest. Anyway, this continued till they managed to get themselves lost in the east side of town. This suited me just fine. Folks around here wouldn’t mind I helped myself to these two, if I kept their hoods up that is, otherwise I might get some competition. Glancing at my watch I cursed, they wouldn’t make it out of the town before nightfall and that meant I wouldn’t either. Taking a slow breath I realized I had to make my move soon, if I worked fast I could still catch a ‘mover’ to help me, I would at least make it to the edge of the city then. My stock of curare was a little low thanks to their stallion’s metabolism, but I had enough for at least four more kills. With that in mind I began my approach, as expected no one was paying me any attention. I was fifty feet away now. The targets were still unaware, taking another corner. As inconspicuously as possible I added some speed to my walk, closing the distance, forty feet now. My heart pounded as they took another corner, thirty feet. It was possible to take the shot now, but if they heard it there was still plenty of time to dodge. Closer, I was almost in a trot at this point, my fast walk walking the line between nonchalant and purposeful. Twenty feet, taking small steadying breaths, I felt my leg freeze as I reached for the dart. Not this again. I tried to remember what Shamkar had told me when I started, back when I was innocent to this job. ‘We’ve all got the power in our hooves to kill, but most ponies are afraid to use it; the ones who aren’t afraid, control life itself’, I was the one in control of my life now. And I choose to go home rich beyond my wildest dreams. Repeating that mantra I grabbed the first dart, sliding it down my blow gun, I loaded the second dart into the second gun. They were approaching another intersection, I had three hours till sundown…It was now or never. Acting quickly I raised the first gun, a big breath in, putting it to my lips. Controlling my fate I released my breath, sealing my retirement, changing my life forever. With adrenaline coursing through my veins I watched almost in slow motion as the main mare-target began shaking. Her frame beneath the cloak swaying as her fate approached with- “Oomph!” My head rang as I stared at the stone by my muzzle, the smell of burning wood reaching my nostrils. The world was ringing as I tried to make sense of what was happening. Not much was clear except that something, no, somepony was on my back. They were amateurs. Relaxing in their hold for a second, I waited, and it didn’t take long before they responded in kind. It wasn’t even a conscious action for most ponies, merely a fight or flight aspect of our nature, I stopped fighting and they mimicked me. The gap between my cloak and the chest grew. Now! Coiling, tightening my muscles, I sprang up from the street. Adding an extra buck for good measure, my assailant was flung off, and I tore off down the street. Shaking the ringing from my head I looked back and felt my heart drop. My ‘main mare’ was nothing more than a city guard on stilts. His partner was removing his disguise as well. I had been tricked. My assailant was nowhere to be seen. Taking the corner sharply I turned right, further into the poor side of town, and toward the edge of town. Slightly off balance from the turn I was forced to slow and correct myself, my heart pounding as felt valuable time ticking away. Right side up again I broke into a gallop, glancing for alleyways, open shops, even a vase to hide in. But there was none. I don’t mean that figuratively either, the spaces where the gaps between shops used to be were just GONE! There wasn’t anyone behind me; there weren’t any crates, vases, nothing. THE WHOLE STREET WAS EMPTY! A light pattering started to grow in my ears as I stopped running, my gaze darting around the street, all the escape routes were nonexistent. Movement was caught in my peripheral vision. Turning slowly back the way I came I shrank down at the sight, the noise in my ears intensifying, growing louder and quicker. The siren was in front of me. Whimpers escaped my throat as I cowered before her approaching form, my ears becoming one with my skull as something wet rolled down my fur. I was crying, trapped before this monster, slitted eyes promising a fate worse than death. One thought rang out in my head though. Where was-. **** Somewhere in Minotaria Moonlit Echo My eyes scrunched shut as my bed shook, most likely Velvet Cloud trying to wake me early, didn’t she know I had to- Wait a second, I was on the mission…Then why was I in a bed? Last thing I recall was- A creak sounded in front of me. I opened my eyes in time to witness the source of the noise; water consumed my vision as the wall in front of me collapsed inward. Sunlight and murky water rushed into my ‘safe’ room, sweeping away years of dust, and pushing me back as well. Still damp stealth armor became soaked once again, frigid water causing my body to start shaking, but it also woke me up. Thinking fast I took a deep breath, clamping my muzzle shut as I squinted past the rushing water. No other openings and the room was filling up fast. The only way out was through the torrent of water. With adrenaline fueling me I pumped my recharged legs against the current, slowly getting closer to the widening hole in the attic’s wall. Releasing my breath I stole another one and resumed a harder stroke, my cold enemy pushing harder as I neared the last feet to my freedom. A slightly more ominous creak sounded. My hoof grabbed the splintered wall as the very house itself seemed to lurch, as I pulled myself forward toward the opening, finally sunlight warmed my nose. Hugging the wall with my body I hauled myself through the hole, the torrent slowing its onslaught. Outside the flooded house the world looked like a very different place than it did last night. What was once a field of market vegetables was now a part of what I would have called swamp had I not seen it yesterday afternoon. The Gryphon kingdom in the background marking the end of the country, the end of the chilly swamp before me, turning around I gazed at the way I had come. The ground was extremely damp, sopping wet, but not flooded. The reports I had read up on hadn’t indicated any flooding in this country, in fact if I recalled the map correctly then there wasn’t any swamps in this country. So where exactly had this one come from? Better yet, where had that crazy storm come from? Luna would be very interested to hear of this development, but she would prefer to learn how Ari is doing. Sighing, I started to paddle away from the wreck of a house, off towards the mountains. …. Hours, that was how long I had been paddling and I was growing tired of my view, yes I was warm from the exercise now, and of course I was glad not to be dead. But all I had to view was the sky, mountains, and the murky water. Occasionally I would see a pointed outline approach but it only disappointed me, revealing it to be a detached roof or half submerged wall. My legs were burning a little, not used to this much paddling after standing guard most days. This wasn’t at all what I expected when I agreed to this mission. I was hoping to unmask the changeling king, maybe get to see the sights a little, and return home a hero. Maybe even a kiss on the cheek from the princess of the night herself…What?! A stallion can hope! You have no idea how it felt to hear the princess scream in pain, agony that she wouldn’t be feeling if not for that imposter, and I wouldn’t have had to watch her lay immobile at my hooves. I hate him for what he has done to her. A splash brought me out of my thoughts, focusing on the world around me I looked around confusion. There was nothing in front- Splash, right behind me. Paddling like mad I spun around and nearly vomited at what lay behind me. It was a dead body, a dead gryphon to be exact, beak down in the water. The water was getting dyed burgundy, the murkiness of the water taking on a new type gloom. Where had it come from? Looking around I saw no being, I don’t- My jaw dropped as another body fell into the water…From the sky, it was raining dead bodies. Tilting my head up I felt the color drain from my muzzle. Far above me was something I had only read about in Equestrian Discovery magazines: an airship. I nearly forgot to paddle as I froze in place looking at the massive piece of modern technology. Even from my spot down here I could see the four enormous steam engines creating their own clouds as it continued its course, heading for the Gryphon kingdom. Off to kill more innocent gryphons, most likely. But where had such an enormous ship come from? Watching it continue on I suddenly felt very weak, very small, as a new, terrifying thought hit me. What if that ship is filled with changelings? These poor birds may just be the extras that they don’t need any more, that ship was big enough to hold a small army easily. I had to investigate that, yes, it could not be filled with changelings, but it still wasn’t a friendly ship. Giving a snort I began paddling after the ominous ship, eyes focused on its vast retreating form. I had no hope of catching it but that wasn’t going to stop me. We were going the same direction, somehow that doesn’t fill me excitement. More hours passed and the mountains were nearly upon me. The entrance to ‘The Rocky Flagg Mining Company’ laid ahead, a dry path maintained by sandbags forming a wall two bags thick and ten bags high. It was huge and impossible to climb in my weakened state; flying was out of the question too. Those muscles still ached from fighting the bucking wind last night. The wall spanned a good mile leading to a make shift dock, four boats were parked. With legs protesting from swimming for at least five hours, I made my way weakly to the ramshackle collection of planks and nails. Eyes fluttering with exhaustion as my body started to relax with the sight of land; I raised a weak hoof and grabbed the edge of the dock, managing to haul my upper half on before resting. A quick rest wouldn’t hurt. “Hey there pal, are you okay?” I snapped awake, looking up at a light blue bull. “J-just taking a breather sir,” He screwed up his nose and gave me a once over. “The names Gennady, notsir that would be my father, no way I wanna be like him…” The blue giant looked at me. “Well? You got a name colt?” “The name is Moonlit Echo, notcolt.” I snorted and began to drag myself onto the dock, well tried to; my muscles didn’t even move me. Shaking his head at me he hoisted me up onto the dock, “There Moonlit, now I won’t have to worry about you drowning while I eat.” “Eat?” “Yup, I forgot my lunch in my boat this morning,-” He gestured to the nearest boat, “-was in such a rush being late and all…” I gave him a nod and spread my wings under the sun, wincing as the muscles protested. Luna won’t believe this weather, mind you she might not believe me when I unmask the fake Alicorn…How do I prove he isn’t real to her? She was so worried for him, getting attached already even though she had just met him once in a dream. But her banishment had been long and very alone, I just, I wish she would see the love I hold for her… Maybe- A rustle distracted my planning, as I rested on the dock the bull grabbed a burlap sack and sat cross-legged beside me, “So what’s a pony doing all the way out here?” He looked at my limp form, “Can’t be for a job with your muscle…Did you get flooded out? No, never mind that was stupid of me to say.” I wasn’t getting rid of him apparently, “No I’m not here to get a job, although you were half right.” As he munched on his apple, he raised an eyebrow at me. “I was flooded out, but it wasn’t my home. I was just staying there till the weather blew over.” Swallowing his bite he looked at his sack, then at me. “You are hungry I suppose?” Not waiting for my reply he placed an apple in front of my muzzle. Grunting I pulled myself into a sitting position, I might as well enjoy the friendly company and recharge a little. “Thank you, I lost my saddle bags in the storm and I can’t fly home for a while now.” He nodded starting on a roll of bread, silence reigning as we enjoyed our food. “So what would you would be the easiest way over the Gryphon Kingdom?” Silence before he started chuckling at me, “Now why would a strange pony like you want to cross those heaps of mud? Not to mention no one crosses over anything anymore.” Here I was hoping that he had dropped the ‘why is a pony out here’ question. It wasn’t that telling this Minotaur would affect the mission in any way, but Luna had said secrecy was of the utmost importance, that I couldn’t tell any pony about what I was doing. Hence the stealth armor, not even bearing her insignia, officially I wasn’t here. The silence stretched. “Look you don’t really need to tell it’s just I haven’t seen pony around these parts for forever. Then a week ago I see three and now you. It’s just strange. Yah know what I mean?” He gestures to me then scratches at his broken horn. I was about to answer when he said that, that somepony had met him a week ago. It was probably nothing but…It wouldn’t hurt to ask, maybe they were more runaways from Equestria. “I am looking for a pony that is supposed to be on the coast, in Shallow Shale to be exact, and-.” “Hey that’s where Ari and his herd were heading! Sure is getting to be a popular place nowadays…Maybe sis was onto something?” Ari… The Ari?! It was too much of a coincidence; Ari wasn’t a common name, unheard for a pony, but… “Was he taller than you, all black, no cutie mark, and an Alicorn?” Gennady started to nod, before looking at me with narrowed eyes, “That would be him. I take he is the one you are looking for?” I nodded, causing him to frown and tense, “And what do you need to find him for?” “Err, well, I’m not really allowed to say-,” it hit me then, “-but did you say he had a herd?!” Crossing his arms he gave me a stern look, “I did say that and I’m getting the feeling you are going to be trouble for him and his mares.” He must have seen my mouth drop because he continued, “Yah I said mares, he has two of the most loyal mares I have ever seen…Not that have seen a lot of mares around here, but they are very, very protective of him…Maybe it would be best if I came along.” My brain stalled as Gennady said that. Why would I bring him along? He obviously likes the fake Alicorn, could possibly be a changeling too, and doesn’t trust me now. But I can’t betray Luna, she is counting on me! “NO! I mean no, I don’t think I need any help. I’m just here to-,”I put a hoof to my muzzle. “I mean I’m perfectly capable of handling a couple of mares,” horse apples that came out wrong. For a couple seconds he just stared at me, and then he broke into loud laugh, attracting his buddies from inside the mine. “What’s up Gen?” “Did I miss a good joke?” “Is that a pony?” They looked at me and I looked back, my sopping wet fur and tired muscles, their rippling muscles and dirt smudged fur. Buck me, I couldn’t escape them. “This pony, Moonlit Echo is looking for Ari.” They all crossed their arms, muscles bulging as they gave me the stink eye. “Won’t tell me why and thinks he can handle Ari’s mares!” Another louder round of laughs and chuckles started. I pinned my ears back, snorting as another dagger went into my pride. So I’m a colt, huh? Can’t handle two mares? I was part of Luna’s bucking personal guard! She handpicked me from a hundred recruits, and although I’m not the best swimmer I was a fierce fighter. “I can handle two mares! I was handpicked by Luna herself; two mares will be foal’s play!” Silence fell as Gennady stood suddenly, his buddies tensing up, expressions telling me I said the wrong thing. “What makes you think you even get past Ari to ‘handle’ them as you put it?” We locked eyes before he continued, “Ovon, can you tell the boss I’m taking a sudden trip to visit my sister?” The shortest tan bull nodded. I gulped, what was that code for? “So what does ‘see your sister’ mean exactly?” The bull blinked, giving me a strange look as his friends shook their heads. “It means exactly that, I sent Ari to my sister. He is either there still or she will be able to tell us where he went. You really are kind of strange…" Shrugging he picked me up, "Oh well, come on then.” His buddies really left no room for argument.
Let's Talk...**** Ari After being blown back and knocked unconscious by those bars I had woken up on my back, surrounded by mares, not in the a room full of mares sense either, although that was accurate as well. No, I was, for lack of a better term, I was in a pony pile, with me being the bottom and center of it, and it was uncomfortable on many levels. Seeing as all I have is pain and time, let me enlighten you. The sexual harassment was pretty consistent for starters, despite their ‘weakened’ state quite a few zebras had started to get grabby, which is why I’m on my stomach now. That and the pegasi are really into preening right now; touching too. But in general, the eleven equestrians here are not taking this whole captivity bit well, not just the pegasi. Myself? I am pretty calm in comparison about being locked in the hull of a ship, but only because I know I can escape…Somehow, I’m still working on that part of the escaping plan. Anyway, like I was saying. This was lots of touching, both the calming type and the unwanted type, it would seem im a giant Alicorn teddy bear/pillow/bed. Apparently zebras have all the same instincts as ponies. That and my theory that stallions must be in short supply there as well. I just don’t know how else there happened to be a room full of just mares. If they did separate by genders I wouldn’t have been tied up in here, with the mares…Unless that bastard of a god could intervene like this too…I wouldn’t put it past him. Then the typical twenty questions began, starting with the obvious one, go on guess it. “S-so you are really an Alicorn?” A timid voice spoke from under my wing. No, I’m just a unicorn. This wing over you, it's not real! You were preening thin air! Sorry I'm just a tad bit angry at being captured, tied up, and separated from my mare, again. Calm was relative, it depended what I focused on. Looking over two zebras I saw the source of the question: a light green pegasis. She was one of the three that had rushed to me earlier. “Yes, and not to be presumptuous but everyone asks me these questions, so here goes. I am an Alicorn. But I am not royalty or a leader of anything really. Oh and most importantly, I’m not from here so please explain everything to me. Don’t assume I know what you mean.” All eyes were on me now…Maybe I was too presumptuous? It just was getting a little old, the whole ‘Alicorn shock’ and ‘from another world’ explanations, I really just needed to make a pamphlet for this or something. The staring was really creepy though. There was five pegasi, six regular ponies, and forty nine zebras…I felt like I was making a report or something, ears splaying a little, it was making my book reports in high school look easy. That had been only thirty people at least, not sixty, not that I was afraid of public speaking. It was more than just awkward, like I never knew if I was saying the right thing. Although, now it was practically impossible to say the wrong thing, I mean, I have already accidently brought one to orgasm, it can’t get much more damning than that. “So where are you from then? Oh! Are you from across the endless sea?” Ayodele piped up from spot on my back, scooting forward slightly to rest her head on my withers, brushing the bases of my wings in the process. Tingles ran up my spine and my wings couldn’t help but twitch from the sensations, I was a little sensitive there. “C-could you not move around up there?” She giggled and nodded, something tells me she knew exactly what she did though, a gut instinct if you will. “And no, I am not from across the Endless Sea. In fact I’m not even from this planet. Which is no one here has probably heard of me, I just got here…two weeks ago, maybe three now. How long was I out?” “Four days,” Ayodele responded, “They parked the boat and next thing we know they are hauling in your handsome body. The scumbag of a captain really did a number on you…” She gave me a nuzzle as my ears folded back. I had been knocked out for four days… My brain forgot what I was going to tell them as my heart dropped. My mares really must be worried sick. Chrissy must be starving…Shit, trying to turn back and look at my cling on, I felt rage building again, my ears back for a different reason now. “Wait, so he was the one that knocked me out?” I couldn’t fathom how he would have, heck I didn’t even know what he looked like, but I was clearly alone on the beach. “Maybe, I really don’t know? He likes to talk so I just sort of tuned him out half way through, what I do remember is that he said you were practically gift wrapped. But seriously, you were soo out of it! He kicked you for quite awhile before he left, you didn’t even twitch a muscle during it!” Of course I didn’t wake up from whatever bastard was kicking the shit out of me. I always have been a deep sleeper. I was the one that would fall asleep first usually at sleepovers and get pranked…But I still don’t know why I was unconscious in the first place. But now I know that it may or may not have been the captain, the captain that… “Hold on a second here, he just had me strung up in this room, and you mares didn’t fight him?! You clearly out pony him, just a good buck in his berries and you could probably get him-OWWW!” I received a lot of nips for that comment, still surrounded by mares. “No we couldn’t! If he doesn’t deliver us to…,” She gulped and shuddered, “Well, then his associates will come looking for him, and our family will be next!” I cocked my head at that, why had she cut me down then? This triggered a sigh from on my back, “Rigghhhttt, you aren’t from here. Well here is the rundown for you then. A couple centuries ago Equestria ‘discovered’ Zebrica, trade opened up, and our nation prospered as our economics and technology grew. But eventually the princess, being the only one on the throne then, had to focus on other things, and we were soon just another report. But not by every being forgot about us, the explorers still came, with them came supply ships, and of course the pirates and slavers.” Ayodele pushed her muzzle deep into my mane, taking a deep breath. What she said sunk in. “And why would your family be affected if you were caught, I mean, how would they even know who or where they were?” Escaping was the last thing on my mind as I heard some mares break down, sobs cutting through the stagnant air, along with mournful outcries in their language. I understood this situation was bad, but why the tears?! They just brought back bad memories okay... “Our country is a joke now. They run it now from the shadows and we can’t even hope to compete with their technology, the magic they possess. We are stuck in a cycle, we pay them to ‘protect’ us from other pirates, if we can’t afford their price…Or sometimes if they just need the numbers we end up here.” “But you were freeing me for a reason right? To escape this ship and return home?” The sobs tapered off again, “It was a foalish hope, you are an Alicorn and I thought, maybe, just maybe…” She trailed off, sighing. “But it doesn’t matter now. You can’t break the bars so what hope do we have of you freeing our country. I thought you must be different, looking for your special skill or something.” She tapped my blank flank with her hind hoof. “And I hated seeing you just hanging there…But even if we escaped they would only grab our family next, they have numbers to fill after all. So if you can’t help our country, then forget I even mentioned escaping. ”Her voice spoke the disgust and sorrow I felt. This was just a business to them, a sick game with real lives, and it made me very, very angry. “And then what happens to them, to us?” My heart was speeding up as their situation sunk in, they weren’t given any chance, and they were without aid from the country that had started the surge of trade. Ayodele shook on me and the preening stopped, they all seemed to hold their breath, “Well, we are property now. Anything could happen…Some say slaves go to be worked in the mines, others say we are used as exotic sex slaves in Saddle Arabia, and some say we are dragon food.” Well shit, fuck, I really don’t know what else to say. That really wasn’t much of a choice for me. I had figured there had to be more to this slavery that kept popping up in this world, it couldn’t be just a coincidence or a small part of this world…And I was right, slavery was huge, a whole country essentially run by slavers… “Wait! How have the princesses not noticed this? A whole country enslaved…How does no pony visiting notice and report back to them?!” She gave a sad chuckle, “These Equestrians are the few visitors from that country, look where they ended up. The princesses never leave their country anymore.” I felt more tears soak my sides, “As to their ignorance? The princess has better things to do obviously. Why would she pay attention to the country she discovered by accident centuries ago? When all the treaties are signed and the cushy diplomats make appearances on occasion, all is well right? As for any of us complaining personally, well, I don’t want to be the one to tell her highness that, none of the brave ones that leave Zebrica ever return, and the last time Sunbutt was angry she sent her sister to the moon for a thousand years.” That was nice to know, ignoring the fact that Moonbutt shouldn’t be alive after one thousand years without air, food, or water; that was huge. No wonder my mares were skeptical about me taking on the princesses. If that’s what Sunbutt does when she gets mad, even her own sister isn’t safe- “T-that’s not the whole truth! Don’t lie to him.” The light green pegasi spoke up. A dark dappled grey pegasi beside her added in an exasperated voice, “A little over simplified.” “Oh hush Spring Dew, Feather Quill! It is true, she didn’t want her sun blocked and-.” “NO! Her sister went crazy and wanted to plunge the world into eternal night! She had to do something.” The grey one, Feather Quill interjected, with Spring Dew nodding. Well that adds a whole new issue, the mare in my dream used to be crazy, and has the power to make eternal night…Perhaps that god was onto something about stopping them, even if the world wasn’t in jeopardy that was essentially the lives of everyone she held in her power. “How is she even alive still?! The moon has no air, no food, and no water!” I let my head fall onto my living pillow, really they were everywhere around me, it was unavoidable. Ayodele stroked my mane, “Yah, that’s magic for you.” “But her…own sister, I don’t have any siblings but even I wouldn’t send my family that far away!” The equestrians I could see didn’t even look up, “so I guess that means she must be pretty messed up?” I struck a nerve with that last part, “NO! She had to or nightmare moon would have put the world into eternal night!” “Yes I got that, although I think eternal night is the quicker death than the one coming…But my point is, she discovers a country but doesn’t put any effort into maintaining a invested relationship with it, doesn’t visit it. And she does that to her own flesh and blood! Frankly I am not looking forward to meeting her now.” After that every pony was silent again, and I welcomed it, they had given me a lot to think over. Well it lasted for a minute, “What do mean by the ‘quicker death’ and why are you meeting her?” Ayodele sounded very nervous and I felt bad, she didn’t need to worry about this…But she didn’t deserve to be lied to either. “Well, I didn’t come to this doomed planet by choice,” a round of gasps, “I was stolen from my bed and plopped here, told by a jackass of a god that I had to stop the princesses from accidentally destroying the planet. To put in the simplest terms, by moving the sun and moon around so unnaturally they had upset the natural balance. This has unleashed super storms across the continent and we can assume the globe, so I’m meeting with them to bring about that change. Any questions?” “So that explains the tsunami last year…” she muttered from on my back. “The rainstorms,” a mare in the crowd muttered. “No, but I think that is the stupidest plan I have ever heard!” A brown mare with a cream mane was standing, squared up, and looking very much like she would like to sock me. “You are assuming that I told you the whole plan, aren’t you?” A stumped look came on her face. “You mean you didn’t?” “Correct. Why would I tell equestrians my plan? When we escape you are just going to repeat it to the princesses and ruin it. Am I right?” Ayodele squirmed on my back, “Escape? Wait, you did hear my explanation on why we can’t right? Unless...Does that-.” The equestrian’s face shone in the dim lantern’s glow, tears, as she shook her head, interrupting the zebra. “No, I have waited for a month, A MONTH! They never came…No one even knows that I’m missing…” A couple of other equestrian mares nodded, looking dejected, similar situations no doubt. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when I’m free, but I certainly don’t think I could look them in the face right now, I just…want to do something mean to them. It hurts to be forgotten and…I never even considered this existed before. That there are dozens of other boats like this doing exactly the same thing...They don’t mention this in school.” Another negative for the princesses, I think I’m going need to add anger management to my preparation steps for meeting with them after this. “Well, I’m sorry you have had to experience a month of this shit, but that is just you that won’t tell-.” A chorus of arguments rose above my voice, all saying the same thing; they all felt angry at the princesses. Not surprising considering they have been here awhile by the sounds of it and essentially have no help or support from the most powerful beings on the planet. What happened to all those Zebras that went seeking help from the princess? Is there a mini prison on the moon or something? “Okay then…Well, the plan is that I will visit them, drug them, and place magic inhibitors on them. Show them the damage they have caused and not return them till they truly understand the lives they have ruined. In fact, I was actually working on part of my plan when I was knocked out and captured. See this magic inhibitor? It is a specially forged prototype for an Alicorn grade version. Although I was on the beach trying to-.” I cut myself off; no way was I telling them that. Ayodele moved closer to my neck, “Go on, you were trying to?” “I would rather not say.” “Why?” The brown mare looked confused, really they all did. Might as well get the laughing over with, “You understand that I’m not from here right? Well on my planet there is no magic.” Unsurprisingly gasps and ‘really’ rang out, “Yes, so when I arrived here I had to learn how to use magic. I’m currently learning to access my aetheratic channels…With no success so far, I just can’t find the ‘thrumming’.” “You mean the tinkling?” Spring Dew spoke up, looking confused. A pink mare responded, “No I think he meant the ‘beating’ of his channels.” “I heard from my cousin’s friend that it sounded like water flowing!” Sorry, but fuck! I pinned my ears back and snorted. Why can’t it just be easy for once? “You mean it sounds different for every pony?” “Yup, you just have to find your sound deep inside!” Ayodele sounded really cheerful now, probably thinking this was a piece of cake. She wasn’t the one that had to find it. “Okay then, that’s my first order of business then. No point smashing through a wall or floor if I can't fight them at my full power right? I will be able to get us out for sure if I can access my magic. Just be nice and quiet while I try to break this inhibitor, okay?” They all responded with affirmatives, sounding hopeful, eyes shining, and ears forward. I tried to quiet my mind, but as soon as my eyes closed my new reality ran in circles in my mind. There was slavery here, slavers practically running a country, and the most magically powerful creatures were ignorant of it…Well I hoped so, the other option painted a far more worrying reality. They were already unaware of the destruction that was occurring to the planet, to lives, and it sickened me. This had to change. Not only would I stop the extreme weather, but I had to find a way to free them from this slavery trap, this cycle of helping such despicable beings. But how to go about that, and where would I fit it in? I was already in the middle of saving the planet, then I had to find a way to get to the mirror in…Shit, after I piss off the princesses I need to use their mirror to get Lyric’s family back, slight problem. There was no way I could explain the need for it before, if I even said siren I was willing to bet I would get some racist comments, and explaining how I even knew it existed was hard too. I was from another world, supposed to be clueless about their stuff. That would require more thought. Anyway, after that I promised them we would hide away for them to let their instincts run their course, have the foals, and figure what to do with my life. But that was looking to be bumped again. Slavery wasn’t going to wait for the foals to be born, not to mention we will have Lyric’s siren family back by then...That would be four extra sets of hooves to help and I’m sure they would understand, I wouldn’t think they would want grand foals in a world with slavers around. However, before I could even start on that there was still the matter of escaping, and I had to stop thinking for a change. This called for action, for magic! Feeling the aches around my body come into focus, I scrunched my eyes, settling my neck on my slightly boney mare pillow. Bodies shifted around me, clicking echoing faintly from above as I tried to focus inward. Darkness around me, I tried to ignore the clicking above me, the breathing around me, and the swaying of the ship in the gentle waves as we moved steadily onward to our destination. Step one was to clear my mind. …. The sounds were fading to nothing but faint echoes as I breathed steadily, in and out. Next I had to focus on the feeling inside, the feeling that should come when I’m performing magic. Chrissy said a thrumming, but now I knew it could be anything from the descriptions I received. Which made all the noises I had been ignoring seem important again, and I didn’t know what to ignore. I guess I would have to sort through each one, one by one. **** Chrissy Lyric can really pull her weight in the herd. I mean, of course I had heard the stories of how powerful sirens were but she was putting those tales to shame. Not only had she focused her mind magic to just affect the assassin. She controlled what he saw and it was amazing to watch. When Lyric let the assassin see her, that bastard looked like he was ready to keel over then and there. I just can’t help but be impressed when He didn’t even see Dinari, the eight foot giantess, standing behind him. Just ‘wow’ I was blown away. Amazement aside, we had ourselves a killer to interrogate. Currently we were on our back to Kapera’s shop. Dinari had our smelly prisoner in her arms, unconscious and tied up. Lyric was pressed to my cloaked side, her own cloak back up as well, with a mix of happiness and regret coming from her. Kapera had the two nervous guards by the ears, the ponies fearing her more than Lyric and I at the moment. “So why didn’t you do that when we faced the Hydra?” “Well, it’s just not something you do lightly or often; it would be like asking you to use your ability for giggles…Ponies get scared when I do that and I didn’t want to scare away the stallion of my dreams. I’m sure you were like that at first with him.” I shrugged my withers as we walked, taking a right. “Well, not really. I was starving so when I first met him I disguised myself and went in for the kiss.” I giggled, “It actually ended horribly, see he had just fell from the sky, just arrived on Equis. So there I was trying to flirt and get some love from him and he was busy freaking out, it was a bad combination. When I went in for the kiss he tucked his head and BAM,” The guards jumped, tails tucking between their legs. “We ended in smashing our heads together. He brought me to a cave and offered to feed me, the rest is history!” “Wow, that is really…Generous of him? Suddenly I don’t feel as bad stalking him. OW!” Chuckling, I looked away from her, she did need some discipline. I couldn’t let her get away with everything. “I don’t think stalking is much better.” Before long we had made it back to the shop and Kapera sent the guards on their way, which they were more than happy to leave us. Convincing them to go along with the plan had taken some time, but that really does Mongofu know everything in this city. All she said was ‘the high tailed mink’ and they stopped all their arguments, she would have made a good changeling. “So you think they will keep their word?” Kapera laughed evilly as she set up our interrogation area, “Oh they will, if not, well, let’s just say their word won’t mean anything anymore.” “Oh.” Something told me it was best not to ask how she was so good at this, I really should be just grateful she came up with a plan so fast. I watched with Lyric as the living area on the second floor was transformed. Before where there had been a couch and chairs there was now a makeshift bonfire, it was situated on an enchanted sheet of metal, and above it a hook hung from the rafters. Finally, with the fire crackling to life we could string up our prisoner. Dinari stepped forward and placed the unconscious zebra before us, the smell coming off him was repulsive. Lyric cut off the colt’s cloak and tossed the offensive article into the fire. “Well that’s something you don’t see every day!” Lyric said, cocking her head at the strange apparatus on the murderer, almost harness like in design. “It’s a mare!” Kapera said scratching her head from her position by the rear, “A female assassin, you know, I wasn’t expecting that.” And they were both correct, our would be killer was a Zebrican mare, wearing what looked like something out of a dominatrix clothing boutique: it was a collection of form fitting straps, with a second layer made into loops, most of the loops were filled. Everything in the loops came out. There were daggers, ropes, wire, and vials of different substances. What stood out was the one bag she had strapped to her side. It bulged with something bulky in it, but upon removing it I found the contents to be strangely soft. Looking at the others, I released the drawstring on it, everyone looking just as curious as I felt about the contents. Dumping the contents on the floor in front of me I felt the world slow down, though not from my famished state. A couple of feathers and a wrapped chunk of hair fell out of the pouch, they were black. Emotions flooded my body, both my own and Lyric’s as this new reality sunk in. The urge to break down was present in my mind but I quickly pushed it back down, replacing it with a much more useful emotion: anger. Lyric channeling the same emotion beside me, the course of action was clear to us. Faster than you could blink the zebra was enveloped in pink magic and strung up over the fire. Kapera and Dinari wisely stepped back from us as we stepped forward, the door glowed pink for a second, and my herd mate gave me a nod. I hoped she screamed. Wasting no time I punched our captive in the muzzle, her body swung back on the chain as her eyes flew open. My eyes locked with her hazel eyes as she swung closer to us again. “Answer the questions quickly and it won’t hurt…” She nodded rapidly, her greasy, monochrome mane flopping wildly. “…Much.” Her face fell and her eyes closed, despair. Lyric steadied the chain in her magic as I began. “Let’s start with an easy one. What color is the sky?” She blinked at me, confused at my question, taking several seconds to answer. “B-blue?” “Correct,” I punched her in the stomach, a grunt coming from her. “But I’m expecting faster answers, now when I ask what color the sky is, you say?” “Blue!” Keeping my word I didn’t hit her this time, some trust had to be gained for this interrogation to work. If there is one useful skill I learned from the prosecution of my species it is that fear has many uses. To get compliance this mare had to fear disobeying me, for an unaltered answer she had to fear focusing on anything other than the answer. And by following through on my rules she would learn to trust that they would always be the same, she would know what to expect and in turn what behavior was acceptable. We did what we had to do to survive and I had no qualms going back to it, my stallion’s life was in question after all. “Good…Do you understand why you are here?” “Y-yes,” tears escaped her eyes as the zebra’s sobs returned. “And why do you think you’re here…” I trailed off as Lyric nudged me, pointing a hoof at the damning evidence our would-be assailant carried. Sobs shook the slim frame of the zebra as she tried to form the words, after ten seconds her sobbing slowed, “I-I-I k-killed the t-target and n-now…I am going to d-die.” I cranked her head back, punching her disgusting muzzle. “Too slow,” I looked at her terrified, sad form. This was pathetic, she couldn’t have killed Ari. I wasn’t even using my full strength and she crying like a little filly, afraid that nightmare moon was going to eat her. “You may die at the end of this, but you also may not, it depends on how useful you are to us. Tell me; are these from your t-target?” I pointed a hoof to the evidence of her work; Lyric was staring at it, caressing the hair slightly with a faraway look in her teary eyes. “Y-yes!” Taking a deep breath I forced the hysteria down, the crushing darkness, and focused on the more important questions. “How did you kill h- that target?” “P-poison,” A sigh of relieve went through the room, Alicorns had ironclad immune systems. Ari was alive then, probably unconscious and in pain, but he was alive. “Where is Ari then?” My heart raced as I asked the most pressing question, legs shaking. Her eyes dilated and she started sobbing again, shaking her head franticly. “I-I’m s-sorry-.” I nodded to Dinari, the clink of metal on wood echoed around the room. “P-PLEASE NOOO, I REALLY DON’T KNOW!” Another wooden clink sounded as the smell of burning hair and grease reached our nostrils. We stayed silent as she screamed her head off, unintelligible Zebrican spewing forth from her muzzles as her mane continued catching on fire. Her screams didn’t make that emptiness disappear though, I was hoping to enjoy them more. After most of it had caught on fire I signaled to the scowling heifer and she raised the blubbering mare to her original height above the flames. “So what use to us are you then? You must be a pretty pathetic assassin, not even knowing where you kill your targets. Don’t you even have any guesses?” I struggled to keep my voice cool, sinister, all I wanted to do was bare my fangs at her, burn her. Pain, I wanted her to feel the pain we had felt the last four days, the damage she could be causing our foals. But most of all I wanted Ari back. “I-I was forced to l-leave the b-body in the Matumbawe c-cove, Arch and his crew were pulling in, and quite hostile. If he is still alive they would have-.” The zebra halted her speaking. In fact we all stopped looking at her as Kapera blew a fuse when the vildkatt was mentioned. Her rage lasted nearly a minute before she calmed down. “That fucker, no, it’s okay, we can track him. He has regular stops…And I’m going to call in a favor, this has to end. Dinny get the-.” Kapera stopped, looking behind us in confusion. Dinari looked shocked and almost dropped the chain she was holding, the squeal of the mare bringing her attention back, “Gennady?” Both Lyric and I turned around, confusion on our muzzles. I thought we locked the front door and why would Gennady be here? That confusion didn’t linger on our muzzles for long as we locked eyes with quite possibly the worst possible creature to see us: a Thestral.
Escaping, Part 1.**** Shallow Shale Moonlit Echo At the moment I felt like Gennady, that giant of a Minotaur was really a sales pony and not the miner he claimed to be. For the whole ride under the mountain he was ‘Ari this’ and ‘Ari that’, exulting the many amazing things Ari had apparently done. I thought the ‘Alicorn’ had only been here a couple weeks. Not that it mattered, I was convinced the Minotaur must be brainwashed with how he went on and on, or related to the element of laughter. Though I think either one is scary, the latter thankfully very unlikely. It was good and all that Ari had rescued those two ponies, brave of him to rescue the stallion from the slave traders, and honorable of him to escort them home. But all those actions a changeling would do just as easily! Just look at the solar guards, regular citizens, and even the princess of love herself; they were all impersonated by changelings and we didn’t even notice that they had been replaced. I had stood and looked the princess of love in the eye for weeks and never seen the falsities that lay there, the lies Queen Chrysalis spouted. No pony had. What had hurt most of all was waking up, looking at the solar guard above my muzzle in confusion, only to watch horror as his face burned away. The green flames revealing the grinning face of a changeling. For the months following there was sweeps, identity checks, and distrust among the guards. Who was real? My world had been turned upside down. But now, this Minotaur and his buddies were convinced this ‘Alicorn’ was going to save the world that he was sent to us by a god, and blah, blah, blah. It was the biggest load of crock I had ever heard. Save the world from what? They wouldn’t tell me. Which God? They don’t know. Anyway, you can not imagine how relieved I was to be off that train and on my way to this imposter. If only this Minotaur would shut up… “And then my sister took over and it was all ‘rumble rumble’. She actually could move that boulder! I mean, I may have loosened it, but she was amazing! Anyway with that-,” He continued on and on like this. I simply nodded along, walking beside him, and thinking of how nice it will be to hear Princess Luna’s words of thank you for- “OW! HEY! What is the idea Gennady?!” I looked back over my wither as the bull released my tail, I quickly tucked close to me, the brute. He was frowning at me while pointing at a double set of ten foot tall doors, “I said, ‘we are here’.” “You’re sure this is the one?” I raised an eyebrow at my guide. He had us backtrack three times now. “Of course I am! The sign says ‘Kapera’s Enchanted Forge’; it is exactly like my sister said it looks like.” I looked at the store and frowned, “It says that it’s closed.” “No it isn’t.” He stood there with the door partially open, motioning for me to follow. We weren’t supposed to be here. I could feel that as soon as I followed him into the dimly lit shop, but he walked through the store like he owned it, calling out before he stopped. Looking up from the display case I saw why, he held up two cloaks, standing at the bottom of a staircase leading to a second floor. “Come on they must be upstairs! You can finally meet him and get rid of your doubts. We can finally get this out of the way.” Eventually we stopped in front of the most likely door; it was glowing pink with magic. Obviously it had a spell on it. When he opened it though my world stopped for a second, I was right. The changeling queen was standing there, about to have roast zebra. The weird scaled pony, giant rodent, and even taller Minotaur were nothing to me as I locked eyes with Queen Chrysalis. I had to tell Luna. “Gennady,” one of them called out in a confused voice. My legs moved faster than I thought possible, sending me down a couple of steps and over the railing in seconds. Landing with a heavy thump, I looked back for a second only to see a pair of Minotaur hooves following, coming down on top of me. Scrambling out of the way, I headed for the nearest barrel, on my way to the door. They were full of spears. A heavier thud echoed through the shop just as I knocked over the barrel, letting them clatter, knowing the Minotaur wasn’t far behind me. I grabbed two in my hooves, sending them flying at cracked open front door, before I grabbed a third one in my hoof. “HELP! HELP! CH-.” My cry for help was cut off as I was forced to duck, a butcher knife flying where my head had been. Before me was something out of a nightmare. The queen of the changelings stood, hissing at me with murder in her eyes. Beside her was some sort Franken mare, the front half of her scaled while the back half was furred like a pony. She also had a horn, her magic holding up several daggers. And behind those monsters a giant rodent was snarling at me, sharp teeth bared as it crouched. While the giant Minotaur siblings looked very serious, the ‘little’ sister holding the maneless sobbing zebra like a buckball. “Seriously Moonlit Echo, I thought you understood what Ari was about?” I didn’t have time to humor him or pity the zebra at the moment though, while I had been gawking at the lineup something cold and metallic had snaked around the hind hock. As I jumped backwards from the chain they pressed forwards, crouched, and ready to attack me. “Come on Echo, I told you, you can’t handle his mares! They are- Hey guys where is Ari anyway?” At this point everyone was ignoring the bull’s questions. But where was Ari? Kicking away another chain enveloped in pink magic, I focused back on the situation at hand: surviving. They obviously had no qualms inflicting pain on ponies if the bound mare is a sign. Who was I kidding? This was a changeling! Death was certain unless I could defeat her, which I couldn’t, at least not alone. I was outnumbered so I had one option: I had to hope to lose them outside, get the city guard. Even if they were a mixed species guard they were better than nothing. Glancing at the changeling’s back again I saw that she was missing a wing, exactly like I thought I saw. I shuffled backwards again, keeping my eyes trained on the closest threats: the mares, Ari’s mares apparently. He was the changeling king alright, no doubt about it now. A warm breeze wafted in behind me, telling me I was almost there. “BUCK!” Dodging to left, the thumps of daggers impaling the spot I had been reached my ears. I deflected another rogue dagger with my spear. Franken mare had forced me to move, launching the daggers at me, too many to deflect at once. Good thing they can't fly. Taking a deep breath, I flapped my wings and took to the air, soaring over the surprised beings as I made my way back upstairs. There had to be a window up here somewhere. Thunder echoed behind me as my wings folded up and I abandoned my spear, galloping down the- SHIT! The Franken mare just appeared in front of me. Planting my hooves down, I braked and spun around, terror dominating my mind. I was dead, so dead, and behind me was an immovable wall of muscle. The Minotaurs stood there, daring me to try and get by them. Below me the creaking of wood and grunts resonated above my heavy breathing, the front door, it was my only way out. My eyes darted between the murderous mare behind me and the wall of muscle in front of me…Wait, wall that is it! If I couldn’t see past these cows then neither could the mare, meaning I will only have ten seconds at best before she can see where she will teleport to. “Look can’t we just talk Echo? This is really important-.” Grabbing my dropped spear, I spun around, feeling the shaft brush the wall. Feinting a throw at the mare, I ducked and spun around, hurtling the spear at the heifer. She clutched her shoulder and bellowed in pain, pinned to the wall as I made my break for it. Down the stairs, a flap of my wings and I soared over the incoming rodent, the sound of hooves clamoring behind me. Maybe five seconds to make it to the door now. However I still had one last obstacle in my way: Queen Chrysalis. She was squared up in front of the door, it was still cracked open, the spears shafts cracked but otherwise holding strong. Even if she was missing a wing she still terrified me. At nearly seven feet tall she towered over me, had an impervious shell, and was magically a powerhouse. She had defeated Princess Celestia! I feinted to the right before resuming my course for the door. The gap was closing in, but she hadn’t moved from her position. Buck me. There was only three feet of the gap above her horn; I would have to fly directly over her horn to make it, a perfect kill shot. Her horn…Feinting to the left, I kept an eye on her horn, it wasn’t even sparking. Something felt off here, but the clamor behind me demanded I continue to the gap. Folding my wings, my nose breathed in the scent of the street, and my front hoof gripped the frame. My muscles ached as I attempted to propel myself forward through the gap that was an inch too narrow for me. “THIEF,” An angry voice called from behind me. I could feel my muzzle twist into confusion as I looked at the beings in the street, some workers from the surrounding shops stopped what they were doing and stood, eyes boring into me. Buck, they had them fooled...Or were they changelings too? “CHANG-AHHH!“ My cry morphed into one of pain as the crack tightened, slamming the door into my ribs, and almost knocking the breath out of me. I wasn’t dying here! Stuck in the door crack I started bucking, each of my hooves making contact with something. One hoof kicked away something warm; the other hit something smooth and metal. These were double doors. Keeping up the pressure with my hoof I felt the pressure ease up on my chest before I suddenly shot forward into the street. Yes, now to get the guard! My legs wobbled with my horrible landing, my chest hurt, but I took off down the street anyway. I didn’t need to look back to know I was being pursued, the ground rumbled behind me as the streets grew empty. Clearing the way maybe, I wasn’t stopping to think about that or check. Turning left, I nearly collided with a squad of city guards. There were two earth stallions and three Minotaur bulls, perfect! “HELP ME!” I stopped to catch my breath, “In the name of-.” “THIEF! STOP THAT THIEF!” The same voice yelled from where I came. As they heard that the guards turned their spears to my throat, I was surrounded and running out of time. “WAIT! Wait a second! They are lying, I have nothing on me, see?” The bulls raised an eyebrow at me, “They are changelings or league with the changelings, check their eyes if you don’t believe me! You have to help me fight-.” My plea was interrupted as they came around the corner. The changeling queen wasn’t among them; it was just the Minotaurs and the rodent. Were they escaping as we speak? And where was the changeling king? “Is this the thief?” The tallest bull said, addressing the golden rodent while looking at the bleeding heifer. “No! I-,” One of the spear shafts spun around and hit me in the head, not hard; it was a warning from the stallion. Hooves shuffled on the dirt side street as the yellow demon bared her teeth at me, “Yes! That is the scum that broke into my shop. I had just closed my shop early when my apprentice’s brother came over for a visit when he barges in, trying to steal my new designs. In the scuffle he even injured my apprentice! Do you know how behind that is going to put my orders?! Cuff the bastard; I’m bringing him to the office.” “Wait, he has made some pretty big-.” The tall bull shrunk under the gaze of the two taller Minotaurs and the snarling bundle of golden fur, “No, you listen here! I’m having this scum deported back to where ever he belongs. So you shackle him up or I will!” Turning to the heifer she continued, “Dinny be a dear and grab those pony shackles we have in the back and don’t be a hightailed mink about it!” “Now Kapera-,” the shortest bull started only to be interrupted by one of the stallions. “We will see you there mam,” the taller of the stallions saluted the crazy she demon. “Shackle him!” The tan bull saluted the stallion, “Yes captain!” My jaw dropped at his words, spears lowered as I was forced down and shackled. I struggled against the Minotaur’s hold in vain, dirt filling my muzzle as I tried to talk. I swear the other stallion was scuffing his hoof on purpose, making more dirt blind me. What the hell was happening? **** Somewhere on the Narrow sea Ari I shot awake, spluttering as salt water gagged me, filling my nostrils, and blinding me all at once. Around me squeals rang out and hooves clattered. Trying to open my eyes or back away from the onslaught was proving futile, it was like I had a pressure washer to my face. What the hell?! “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA, RUN YOU FILTHY WHORSES, RUN!” That voice was male and sounded oddly familiar. But I couldn’t get my eyes open to see just who it was, not that I knew many guys here, stallion or otherwise. Damn that salt water stung, I still had the cut on the back of my head. Eventually my brain woke up that I remembered my feathery appendages, so I raised my wings, using them to block some of the spray. It wasn’t perfect but it allowed my eyes to squint against the sudden assault. What I could see through my feathers was a lineup of figures, shadowed by the bright daylight coming from behind them. They were shorter than me, even the tallest one in the center was only six feet at best, and they were holding whatever was spraying us. Anger started to fill my mind, almost crackling to me as I squinted at them, thoughts fading. They were the reason I was here, and unfortunately for them they were on the wrong side of the ‘unbreakable’ bars. With a snort I rose and charged forward, the mares sticking to the back and leaving me a free path. The water stung at my wound and eyes as my hooves closed the distance, forcing myself against the water, almost there. Dropping my wings from my face I collided with my target. Well, a target, I didn’t exactly aim. Hitting him was not as satisfying as my instincts said it would be. The sound of the water stopped as we rolled on the slick floor, in fact I couldn’t hear much besides our grunts as I grappled my unknown foe, trying to stomp his face in. I couldn’t see much around the spots of color with this sudden change of light either, and as to my other senses, well, they were still recovering from the rude wake up call. Claws dug into my back as my shorter opponent tried to choke hold my chest, trying to avoid my stomping hooves and gnashing teeth. Instincts screaming at me to dominate him, arching my neck, I snapped my teeth down at him. Until finally my mouth found purchase on something rough, almost like leather. A horrible gravelly squeal rang in my ears just as some other being landed on my back, something very familiar, it felt like a Diamond dog. Hell no. I faintly heard the sound of metal clinking as I began bucking. My foes grunted and squealed loudly in my ears as we moved up and down wildly. Suddenly something sharp and long wrapped around my wing, cutting into it like a razor, and filling the air with the smell of iron.“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH,” I screamed as I came crashing down on my side, releasing the ear from my teeth as I tried to escape whatever had my wing. Wings are apparently very sensitive to pain, as are horns. It was all the extra nerves I guess, pain and pleasure in the same area. “YOU FUCKER!” I yelled as a boot connected with my forehead, sending my pain to new heights,it was almost like I was hit in the- My whimper cut through the air as I attempted to curl into a very small ball, I wanted to vomit, shit, and cry like a baby all at once. “Well, well, well, what do we have here boys?” The two diamond dogs removed themselves from my body and I curled further into myself. Fuck, how could I kick men there? “I SAID, what do we have here boys?!” That voice was familiar but I just couldn’t place my hoof on it. An unpleasant chorus of gravely whimpers sounded by my head, adding an auditory form of pain, “A Alicorn Ar-.” The smell of iron spiked in the air again as something swung through the air, my eyes remained scrunched in pain. “I CAN SEE THAT IT IS AN ALI-CORN! But do you mutts see where he is NOT?!” Negatives sounded out, “Well,” the voice turned sickly sweet then, as the weapon wrapped around my wing dug further into my flesh, stealing another whimper from me. “I see a fully mobile Alicorn, when I left him he was strung up!” I opened my eyes as the tallest figure turned around, his back to me. “SO WHORSES,” he yelled as something soft swept over my ear. “Can any one of you explain to me WHY he is walking around like he owns the joint?!” In front of him I could see the mares cowering at the back of the cell, huddled together. A dark whip smacked the floor, drawing whimpers. “Do we get to do this the hard way?” The smell of arousal hit my noise as the soft item passed over my muzzle again. That voice…The sweet edge was familiar, almost like that skeeveball- Shit, I looked closer at the boots. They were engraved with a golden ‘A’, that fucking cat was a slave trader after all. I guess this what he meant by 'take care of my mare', fuck. “B-boss we need these ones, we need to make-.” A wet smack followed that sentence as the whip came back and slapped him into the bars, which in turn shot the unconscious dog at the mares. They scattered away from the prone form of their jailer. A quick crack of his whip and a new dog stepped forward, his tail club tucked between his legs. Had I not been in pain I would have laughed at the irony of a cat leading a pack of dogs, but I was more worried about what this bastard meant by ‘the hard way’. “Any whorse want to step up and tell me how he managed to get free,” the blades jerked my wing and looking over at it, I saw I wasn’t too far off the mark. He had a whip made of serrated blades wrapped several times around my wing, just before the joint, I could see the dark red droplets drip down the whip. “Really? No one wants to own up?! Well, I guess I’m going to have to make another trip to Zebrica and pick up some more product, maybe look at some pastel ponies. Thank-,” he stopped and I gasped, uncurling slightly as I saw a familiar zebra tumble forward. A yellow mare still had her hooves outstretched, having thrown her to the dogs. Why had she done that? I thought we were all against him, he was selling us to the highest bidder or to his clients, whatever, we were nothing but bits to him! The ship swayed as crackles sounded in my ears, my anger growing at the sight. Maniacal giggles echoed as more dogs stepped forward, grabbing Ayodele, and the yellow mare to her horror. Ayodele merely shook in place as she was placed before Arch, clamping her muzzle shut as we gazed at each other. Her eyes saying exactly what I felt, we are fucked. While the other mare squealed like a pig, “Wait! Wait, I can help you!” The soft caresses swept over me faster, tan hair appearing in my peripheral vision. It was getting kind of annoying, crackling sounded as i thought that, heck that was annoying too. Start meditating and you start noticing every little creak and click. “And why pray tell would I need help from my cargo?” Arch turned his attention to her, we all did, and I felt my horror grow as she spoke again. “B-because I know his plan,” I could see the mare lean into something as my anger and fear grew, the desire to hit the mare rising. In a sickly sweet voice he quered, “And what is his plan dear?” “He-he plans on d- AAAAHHHHH!” Ayodele had broken free of her captor and shot forward, sinking her teeth into the other mare’s neck. Relief swept through me at her action that had been too close. But, like all my actions and thoughts seem to be, I was wrong. The whip came down on her flank, cutting her hide, red streaks appearing. Her scream of pain was muffled as her jaw stayed locked on the traitor’s neck, causing in more screams and squeals to come from the equestrian. It felt surreal to me, the air crackling even as my body seemed to freeze, and the tears flowed from my eyes for a change. This wasn’t supposed to be like this. All the other mares cowered as the remaining nine mutts stood as a lineup before them, too afraid to act. As the crazy bastard continued to whip Ayodele, ‘accidently’ hitting the golden mare more and more frequently, I was trying to figure out what to do. My own pain was fading to merely a nauseous sensation, which was tolerable. All was recovering except for my wing, which was a steady throb of pain. Pain, anger, and- Fuck! *Crackle* I can’t focus with that god damn tail swishing over my face! The more I focused on my annoyance the more I noticed a new sensation, or I should say I heard it, a-Fuck! I lost my train of thought again. That damned…Glorious tail. Following it with eyes, I ignored the crackling in my ears as I timed it, one, two, and... “RAAAAAAARRRRRRWWWWWWW!” Everypony folded their ears. The dogs clutched at their ears and collapsing as Arch tried to detach me from his tail. That left the mares free from his assault, but I couldn’t spare them a glance. I was his newest target. On my hooves now I fought to remain upright as he chased his tail, or rather, he chased me since I attached his tail. I tried to keep behind him. Clamping my teeth together harder as he twisted his right wrist, trying to pull me around with the razor whip, while he beat on me with the whip in his other hand. I was starting to see spots as the pain was building up, my stomach threatening to desert me, and I knew I had to get away from him. This just wasn’t working. Pulling back on his tail I attempted to bring down, back with me, “FUCCCKKKK!” That only drove the blades in deeper, I didn’t think they could go any, any, I couldn’t hold in the screech as it covered up the crack I had felt in me. I couldn’t feel my wing. Silence rang over the room, my mind growing silent as a quiet fizzing started, pushing aside of all my other plans and worries as the thought repeated itself. I can’t feel my wing. I couldn’t feel my wing. My wing is gone! Where was, oh there it was, but when, when did I grow…I blinked as the tail slipped through my teeth, “B-bone?” Contemplation forgotten as a boot connected with my jaw, sending me back just like I wanted, only problem was he didn’t come down with me. He dropped the whip that was wrapped around my wing, going to grab the remaining whip with two hands. Slightly dazed as pain dominated my mind, I stared at him in confusion, my anger crackling below the surface. I kept it down though; it wasn’t helping me, unless lying beaten on a slimy floor was my goal. Forgetting the mares for a second, how do I end the pain, this battle? He looked ready to kill me, huffing, and winding up for a lashing. He wouldn’t kill me, right? The look in his eyes spoke pain, he would. His scent told me of anger and arousal, a strange combination. Garish clothes attempted to show off his body and I didn’t quite care right now. I wanted to vomit, then beat his sorry ass, help these mares…Mares, I wanted my mares, and he was being a right annoyance about me leaving. This cat should die, this time it wasn't just my mares motivating that homicidal thought, no, this little fuck thinks of us as playthings, bits, a fucking paycheck! But first... Arch brought the whip down on me and I couldn’t even bother to move, my skin almost numb from the pain built up. That pathetic amount he was trying to give me nothing compared to what I was already feeling. It was strange, to feel so much pain that you don’t feel, like my body was shutting down those impeding nerves. I had never felt this way. I was supposed to be better than him, an Alicorn. Groans and whines came from in front of me, behind the pompous sadist. And I couldn’t help but notice he was sporting a little tent right now. Was he getting off on my pain? He was getting off from their pain. The crackling was louder now, covering the sound of the whip as it came down again and again, crimson flying in my vision. Where the hell was that sound coming from? *Crackle* It annoyed the hell out of me. Here I was trying to figure out how to kill this sadistic tom and something had the gall to distract me. It was- Ayodele was staggering over now, the other mare still unconscious, Arch hadn’t noticed her, and I couldn’t focus on her. All I could hear was- My eyes widened as I realized my ears twitched but couldn’t track the noise, it was internal. Holy fuck! It was one of the sounds I hadn’t gone through yet, I hope anyway, I had gone through so many already…It couldn’t hurt to try this one, not more than I felt now anyway. Focusing my attention inward I gritted my teeth against his onslaught of lashes. There it was, I think, it was hard to describe going inside your mind. You saw some things like they were in front of you, in you, when all that was there was the back of your eyelids. That was what I saw though, something that couldn’t be there, cords, channels of yellow light coming from what must be my source of magic. It was too bright to see a shape, but it felt right, real to me. But the image in my head, the channels of power that may or may not be they were irrelevant. What did matter was the sound that I could ‘see’ they gave off. In my mind they crackled, sparking in time with my annoyance, almost like my emotions were connected to their function…It could explain the fact that my instincts don’t call for me to use magic often, my instincts come from anger mostly. That suggestion to use magic usually happens from my actual brain, the logical part. That was also irrelevant now, sure I had found my channels, but my focus on it was fragile, pain bordering on agony now. Passing the field of numbness and returning with a vengeance. As I have been searching for the magic inside me the slavers had slowly recovered, Arch had kept whipping away at my flesh. Now, how did I use this magic? Chrissy and Lyric hadn’t mentioned this step yet, Kapera had said I had to ‘force more magic’ through my channels. How do I force an intangible energy to do my will? “RWAAAARRRRR!” My eyes popped open, before me a bloody and determined zebra was hanging onto his tail. The dogs that had started to move again were forced to cover their oversensitive ears, the mares looked uncertain, maybe… “FIGHT BACK! THERE ARE FOUR TIMES AS MANY OF US THAN THEM!” I had to yell above Arch to be heard, and even through my wavering vision I saw their eyes change slightly. Maybe one more push, “I AM ALMOST THROUGH THIS INHIBITOR, YOU CAN HANDLE THOSE PUPPIES!” And I believed they could, they were like earth ponies, strong. Focusing on my magic, trying to ‘force’ it to listen, ‘remove this shackle’ I tell mymagic. No response. I still don’t know what the hell I’m doing! Arch heard me as well, the slight smell of fear coming from him, before I could even blink he clamped his jaw shut and grabbed her, nails extended. Now she was screaming as her coat turned red, his claws digging in. As I struggled to my hooves again, he was off through the open door, and she was a whimpering mass on the floor. The dogs, well, I was tuning out their screams now. Karma was a bitch. FUCK. As I finally stood, I could hear the dripping of blood, mine I’m sure. The skin ripping wider as I struggled to move, the crackle of my channels barely staying in my focus as I felt a new form of agony. I just needed more power, magic. If I asked Kapera, I’m sure she would point out how inexperienced in fighting I was. I was a foal in world. Heck, I would take her heckling over this this any day. Where was that bastard going? Following him anyway, I staggered up the stairs, into the light. Blinking at the daylight, I looked around. It was a deck, clean, bright, and surreal from the scene below. Sails billowed, birds called out to each other, and the wheel was steering itself. The deck was also empty, free of that bastard. Where- Then his voice reached my ears, turning I saw a door cracked open, which was probably the captain’s quarters. Who was he talking to? Creeping closer I tried to make out what he was saying, “…mer, you have to. He-,” someone responded, sounding far away like they were on a telephone. Peeking into the room I saw I was close, he was talking to a pink jewel as he had a head set styled device on, with pink jewels over his ears. As he prattled on as I narrowed my eyes at him. It was too late to stop his transmission for help but I could still listen in while I try to get my magic to listen. Okay, the first step was to feel the magic and I could now. Next, next I had to ‘force the magic’…That seemed wrong, it responded to my thoughts before. Why did I need to force it? Better yet, how? The crackling seemed to flow like my emotions, it was jumping around when I annoyed, and…I let my anger bleed through, thinking of how everything was going wrong. My channels shrunk as I thought that, most anyway, magic was streamlining from the mass in my center to the ones going down…To my hooves. It was all clicking now. When I was acting on instinct I was angry, instincts that brought my magic to my ‘earth’ pony attributes, amplifying my strength. Earth ponies holding the same, slightly smaller, shape as our ancestors, which is where the instincts stem from. When my logical side was in control, the channels seemed evenly balanced. Then…I thought of flying, gearing up my muscles for a flap. I watched in my head as the channels changed flow again, most of the magic going to my side channels, my wings. Following logic didn’t work out though. You would assume then that focusing on performing magic, or a ‘spell’ as Kapera had put it, would be the answer. But the answer is no. Asking my magic to remove the shackle did not cause any change in my channels besides them sparking with my annoyance. If ‘foal magic’ was the think and shoot type, then maybe a spell was like they had on earth? A set of words, a planned complicated string of thoughts, like…‘A bright lightning bolt shooting from my horn.’ Nothing happened, but an idea did occur to me. Perhaps I couldn’t force my magic, but I could make a spell, watch my channels as I say the sounds, words. Wait was it-. And I was flying backwards. Looks like spacing out wasn't the smartest move when my opponent is still alive. Fu- Wait, was that a flicker? I stood shakily; grimacing as I tried to dodge his boot, just because he was terrified didn’t make him declawed. Distance, I ducked behind the mast, letting him expel his energy and trying to figure what I thought that caused the sudden surge. Ducking a boot coming at my head, my vision swam. Fu- a flicker on my channels and another boot coming at my head, was it that sound? FU- The channel that seemed to run between my eyes flared more. Fuck. And it died as I said the whole word, okay, so ‘FU’ is a magic word, and the swear word isn’t. My ears folded back as I heard something coming up the stairs behind me. Just great, focusing the only magic word I knew I felt a heat build, between my eyes, and I grinned a little at Arch’s expression. He looked like he was going wet himself; my horn must be doing something, perfect. Focusing more on the word, my fur felt hot, but the release didn’t come. Where was the magic? It felt like more and more pressure was building behind my eyes, my channel was blinding in my mind, but- “GLUR! RAW-.” The Diamond dog was sent back as I automatically kicked him back down the stairs, swaying a little as most of my magic had left my legs, most of the feeling had left them really. ‘GLUR’ this you- I was blown back as the pressure released from my horn, the world turning white as I was flying back into-. ... ... ... "Ari?" ... "Is he breathing?" ... "So that's why they rule a country!"
Escaping, Part 2.**** Shallow Shale ?????? I just couldn’t relax, not knowing if they were going to kill me or not. It grated on my already frazzled nerves. Logically, I should be dead. Queen Chrysalis had said I would live as long as I was useful, and I just didn’t see any use for me anymore. Not that I didn’t want to be useful, to live…But that traitorous Mongofu probably knew more than I could tell them about Arch and his crew. Arch had Ari now, he was alive…Of course I couldn’t kill an Alicorn. There was no doubt I would die for my attempt, now the question was just when and how. “Mfphmpfh! MMMMFFFFFF!” At least they have a new punching bag, that equestrian, and I couldn’t help but crack a small smile at that. According to the bull, Gennady, the bat pony’s name was Moonlit Echo. But names don’t mean much when you’re going to die and really he was just a weak flying rat. He did have guts though, for I second I almost believed he would escape…Echo had seemed so close to escaping…But like me, he was tricked by those guards that were in the Mongofu’s pockets, and now the bat pony is back. “OH, SHUT UP, you damned pony! I have a headache.” The changeling queen hissed at the bat pony as she rubbed a hoof to her forehead, swaying as the siren hybrid supported her shoulder. The heifer smiled and hit in the back of Echo’s head, happily knocking him out, at least I think he was just knocked out. He really had no reason to stay alive either and why he wasn’t dead yet…I didn’t know. This whole situation made no sense to me, like right now. “Can you last the whole trip? I-I could get one of the stallions,” Kapera queried, looking at Queen Chrysalis before glancing at the siren with a raised eyebrow. I watched in fascination as another strange thing occurred, this odd group was full of them, but I was mesmerized watching this drama. I mean…What else was there to do? She sniffed at the Mongofu then looked at the changeling, “I would prefer we don’t use my voice as a ‘get out of jail free card’, they do remember all their actions even if they can’t control them.” This was an interesting dynamic. Every being was catering to these two mares, even though the Mongofu was leading this plan, she was catering to them. Here she was offering to bring the queen food and she wasn’t even a changeling. I can only guess being Ari’s mares had its perks. “No, I-I don’t want another stallion to feed me…I will wait for Ari.” He didn’t seem that great, annoying was more like it. “Look here, Chrissy, I know you love him but he wouldn’t want-.” ‘Chrissy’ interrupted her, packing her things as she went. “NO! You listen here! His absence does not mean I go around feeding off any being…I want him and only him that way.” As the Mongofu went to open her mouth again, “And that is my final word on it, Lyric will have to feed me till then.” If I didn’t know better it sounded like the queen of the changelings was weak right now…Those were her weak punches?! Well, buck, I’m lucky I guess. Those hurt plenty I don’t want to feel her punches at full power. It would explain why I haven’t seen her use any magic yet, only the siren has been using magic. “FINE,” Kapera snarled, “You are just thinking of yourself, selfish mare. See if I care what happens, NO, you will hear plenty of this from your stallion when I tell him.” She crossed her arms as bags clicked shut and cloaks fluttered. Something was going on here. Why was the queen so weak? It was only four days without her stallion, from the looks of it, her…Herd mate…Lyric was providing her with love. There was so much that didn’t make sense here. But more concerning than the nonsensical nature of this group was what they were doing. “You sure I can come Kapera?” The young bull asked, grabbing a satchel and filling it with food. She sighed, “YES,” the heifer snorted at her, which she ignored. “How many times do I have to repeat myself,” he opened his mouth, “That was a rhetorical question you daft calf.” As for myself? Of course I was coming to rescue the damned Alicorn, couldn’t help it when I was hogtied and being carried around like sack of flour. Not that I liked the alternative, despite disliking this situation it was still a step above being dead. I felt my position shift as suddenly I was held away from the Minotaur, all eyes were on me now, “What should I do with her?” That damned heifer had to bring that up. “Well,” the Mongofu’s claws grasped my muzzle, looking me in the eyes as I fought to keep my body from shaking. Damn it, I felt a shiver travel down my back. “I don’t think she knows much about where Arch will be visiting. Do you zebra?” Still shaking, I shook my head no, not trusting my voice. “So I don’t see why we should bring another mouth to feed.” “Hey!” The bull piped up from bringing the fifth bag to the door, they had quite a pile going. Every being was watching Kapera, even the mares who had been giving me the stink eye seconds ago. “Don’t be so sensitive calf, you are going to be a big help. No, this is just a predicament.” She sighed, “We don’t have a use for her, can’t exactly let her roam free anymore like that lunar guard, and we can’t kill her here.” “Let’s just bring her anyway; she can be sea serpent bait or something. But we have to get going!” Queen Chrysalis was already under her cloak, saddle bags on, and was looking anxiously at the clock above the doorway. We had less than two hours before sunset. Every being looked at the clock before nodding, bags being double checked, latched, and loaded onto the minotaur’s backs. I was placed on my side beside the unconscious stallion as the heifer went to the back room. “So stripes,” I turned to the rodent, she was coming at me with a chain in her paw. “It looks like your coming with us then. I hope you can share!” Wrapping the chain around my muzzle and giggling as she made spoke the last part, I could only stare at her. What- Heavy hoof steps came from behind. Turning my head I saw the mares snicker at me, why- Oh, Tartarus no, anything but that. Turning back to the one in charge of this, I pleaded my case, “Plrmrmppmrpmrp!” I heard a hollow thump behind me, “Arrrrrrmph!” The heifer lifted me by my bonds, “Nrr, nrr, nrr! Arr lmmpg krr mr ommph!” “Let me think…No, now shut up already!” With that response from the changeling I was unceremoniously dropped. It was a very small crate. Although you might not believe me I am afraid of confined spaces, now you may wonder then why I became an assassin since that can involve hiding in small spaces, and simply put: I can leave those spots if I need to. Here I was trapped, curled around myself, and unable to- BUCK! They dropped that damn bat in here with me. He really emphasized just how small the crate was, I already was cramped in here and now my nose was trapped somewhere I would rather not think about. “Come on Dinny, we have a boat to borrow!” With that ‘Dinny’ nailed on the lid…Wait a second, where were the air holes in here?! **** Somewhere on the Narrow sea Ari It was like I could feel everything and nothing all at once, the sensations were so many that it amounted to nonsense to my senses. Worse than the time I ended up in the infirmary after taking on an asshole who also happened to be a bodybuilder. Let’s just say that after that I wasn’t allowed to defend my friend’s honor anymore, and now at thirty two I really shouldn’t have to anymore. I couldn’t now…But that point aside, I felt like hell. “…Ari…” Explaining the sensations is hard, there was too many to focus on one part. I guess starting at the top would help. My horn feels sore, like some- Never mind, Arch did kick me there. But I also feel better than I should have, lighter, happier. It was probably the breeze, gentle wafting over my fur. It spoke of freedom; it told me inhibitor was gone! My fur felt sticky, the ground, no wood, was wet. Did it rain? The clip clop of many hooves reached my ears, getting fainter then louder. Keeping my eyes closed, I focused on the rest of my body. Throat, dry, torso, well, that felt like it was stiff and burning. Don’t ask me how, it was hot, dry, and something told me that moving would be a bad idea. I was going to listen to that thought for now. Forelegs, stiff and sticky, okay next would be my wings. Pain lanced through me as I accidently moved the tip of my wing. Wait- “C-can you hear me Ari?” That voice seems very familiar. “Ari, if you can hear give me a sign. Please!” The sound of hooves growing fainter by my sides, before growing louder, closer to me, and my ears twitched as I tried to track the pony. Or was it ponies? There was a lot of hooves clip clopping now, a lot of gasps and murmurs too. But what was more important was if I should move. Exactly how much damage did my body take on? There was only one way to find out. Right, what was after the torso? My lower half, okay, that was sticky, stiff- Get your head out of the gutter! Not that, no, I felt like my skin was pulled taut, stretched thin, and the fur was clumped. Hind legs and rump felt the same, just like my torso…. Why did my tail feel so light? Flicking it again I realized I couldn’t feel the breeze my tail used to make, I hadn’t even paid much attention to that before, as it usually acted on its own. I had to see this, everything just felt wrong. I could understand some of what happened to make my body sore and stiff, it had to be the whipping I took, but…Where was the rest of my tail? No. Where was my other wing? Opening my eyes was hard, not due to the gunk that builds up from sleeping, but from the dread of what I might see. Last thing I remember was a blinding whiteness, and whiteness always makes me think back to that endless white plane the god had me trapped in. Despite my status as an Alicorn I still feared that god, crazy bastard. Blue, a bright, cloudless, light blue spanned above me, filled with small dots circling, birds. The waves swayed the boat, gently, like they knew already that I was in pain. Voices conversed in the background, hooves slowly made their way towards me again. “Ari!” Casting my eyes down, they froze, my eyes not the ponies. It wasn’t the bloody and battered group of mares making their way towards my form, no, it was what was behind them. More accurately, something was missing. “Are you okay? Can we help you up?” The brown mare asked while supporting a swaying zebra. They were walking over, slowly, and almost cautiously. No, that wasn’t right, in fact this whole picture didn’t add up. I couldn’t focus on them when the ship was missing its mast, steering wheel. Heck, everything above the deck level in front of me was just gone. A jagged stump showed where the mast used to be. Behind that, the jagged points of wood indicated where the captain’s quarters used to be, the entire frame just GONE! Fuck, what did I do?! “A-Ari?”It was the mare again, looking at me uncertainly. Exactly, that was how I felt, “What the hell happened?!” More mares came up from below and I felt relieve as it sunk in: we won. “You…Beat Arch…Are you feeling okay? You were unconscious for awhile.” She scuffed her hooves on deck, bringing up dark shavings. It took a couple blinks to come to my senses from her question, “I feel like I was run over by a semi-,” A round of confused stares and opening mouths. “Never mind, it’s an earth thing. I feel a lot of pain. All the dogs are dead?” “Yes, b-but we lost some ponies.” She looks like she is going to be sick as she says that, not that anything would come up from her boney frame, but…To come from a paradise to end up like this, seeing all this. I can relate, sure earth is bad, but it isn’t this bad. At least not my corner of it. “I-I’m sorry,” and I was, no pony, zebra, or human should have to see this. I sighed, “Nothing can make that better but we need to live. There is still plenty to do…Can I get a hoof up?” I held up a hoof, not trusting my own strength or muscles, I was so stiff, and I still didn’t- “HOLD IT!” A zebra mare shot forward, grabbing the outstretched hoof that the brown mare was extending to me. This zebra had such a serious look on her face that I lowered my hoof again. She had that look, the look that demanded you listen, ears back, eyes narrowed, and mouth set in a grim line. “Marble! Didn’t I just explain why we moved him to the open area? Did you forget about that?!” “OH! Sorry Folami, I f-forgot.” Marble took her hoof back and looked and me, grimacing. Folami sighed and pointed behind me, “Take her to the cabin and bring me back a plank-” she glanced at me. “-about four feet long, not any longer than that, and don’t forget the wrappings!” With Marble and her group gone Folami turned back to me, looking slightly more relaxed, but with a tired look in her eyes. “So, we won huh?” All she could give me was a sad smile, “This battle, yes, but we still have to make it back to Zebrica before the other ships become aware of our victory…You are still going to help us?” Her eyes roamed my body, not sexually, more like analyzing my ability to help. I knew I mustn’t look very impressive right now. “Yes, if my magic can do that-,” I pointed where the chunk of the ship was missing, “- then I don’t think I should have a problem. Only…” I hesitated not sure if I should wait to tell her. “Only?” Sooner was probably better, I didn’t know how many pirates, slavers, whatever, were coming or what they would have with them. They had teleportation and magic transmitters, theoretically they could have bullets, guns, and quite frankly I don’t think I could survive a bullet in the brain. “Only that I have to get back to my mares too.” She blinked, looking at me strangely, ears splaying and with an odd look in her eyes. That wasn’t quite what I meant to say, but it was true none the less. “And I overheard Arch talking to some being over the jewel communications device thing…Which is now gone.” Then it sunk in. No, not the fact that Chrissy and Lyric were guaranteed to be worried sick now, I already knew that, I mean four days is self explanatory. It was the fact that I had blasted away our steering system. No mast meant we didn’t have any sail, no wheel meant we had no rudder control, and no communications meant exactly what it sounded like. I messed up, we were stranded. “Buck, just buck,” Folami cursed, stomping the deck. I wasn’t sure to what exactly; anything about this situation was applicable to swearing. Marble returned then, a plank in her mouth and a red bag on her back. “Perfect, set it down there.” The earth pony placed the items by my right wing, “Great, now go place your hooves on his chest, hold him down when I say ‘one’, okay?” That sinking feeling was coming back to me as Marble got into position. “Wait a second…” I turned my head to the right, my wing, oh shit. “D-don’t you guys know a spell? Or something magical, not THIS,” Folami moved my wing to slide the plank under it, pain tingled through those nerves, and she was being gentle with it. “No Ari, we don’t have that sort of magic. But I was my town’s healer so I think I can handle this, it’s just like a broken leg.” I guess that’s what her cutie mark of a bottle pouring out means. “No-ssssss,” I was about to protest but Marble’s hooves pressed down into my open wounds. I bite my cheek as the pain increased; she was plucking feathers around the bone sticking out. She was going fast but between the agony I had already been in, Marble’s hooves, and Folami’s plucking it was hard to think straight. “COMING THROUGH!” A blur of stripes galloped past me to the room behind us. “Three…” I closed my eyes, “two…” A deep breath through my nose, and I began tensing of my muscles, shit-“ONE!” A loud crack sounded, I think, my screaming dominated my mind. Somewhere in my mind I knew it was mine. It was loud, I know, but I couldn’t keep it in, damn this hurt. Hmm, What? “Up, get UP!” Bleary I did, my eyes swimming with tears. I swayed for a second, wanting to vomit from the pain. Something was wrapping around my torso, blinking, I slowed my breathing and looked back. They were wrapping my wing to my body…Okay. I guess that solves that problem. Damn I miss Lyric’s horn now, it was gentle in comparison to this method…I miss her, really, both of them in general. I had to get back to them, wherever that was. “Are you going to be okay?” I nodded, slowing my breathing as the pain faded to a dull ache. “Good, come on, I have more ponies to tend to and they need to see their leader.” Leader? Tucking my other wing to my body I saw the door the zebras had ran to. We walked stiffly to the room; although I was the most injured of the three of us they weren’t unscathed. Folami had a scratch on her face and many on her rump, while Marble had three long scratches on her back. This was pretty good considering this was after being fed very little for an extended period of time, so I was impressed. “Buck!” I swore, looking inside the room, it was a little shocking to see. What I’m sure must have been the mess hall was now a make shift infirmary. Tables pushed to the side walls with blankets on them, now makeshift beds, and all of them were filled. Lanterns hung from the ceiling, swaying in time with the ship as the most able ponies hobbled around to tend to the most injured. There was a lot of bloody gauze and bandages; it almost looked like we had come from a war movie. Every pony froze and looked at us as we entered…There seemed to be less than I remembered or it could be because the room was bigger than the cell. Then I remembered Marble’s words, some had died in the fight. “H-how many did we lose?” My voice sounded dry to me, cracking as I felt a sadness descend upon me. “Ten…So far,” Folami answered solemnly, moving from my side to the back of the room. There was a collection of bags, wrappings, and bottles set before a fireplace. “But there are still more on the edge…Can you help grab some bales from the hull.” She looked back at me, probably seeing my confusion, “You have your magic back and we don’t have the strength to lift them right now. Some food would do us a world of good.” Bales, like hay bales? Well I guess we are horses technically. I nodded to her. Then looked to the ponies as many went back to work, while many more began murmuring, whispering among themselves as they looked at me. Seven zebra were dead. But many more ponies were alive at least. There was four pegasi I could see, two of which looked much like me, their wings wrapped up. Four earth ponies were left. I scanned the crowd again; I couldn’t see the yellow one. Marble was still pressed into my side, “Did the yellow pony die?” She nodded, looking away from my gaze. “Y-yes, Pumpkin Spice was…She was losing it, I think.” Marble gulped, turning back to me. “Can I help you?” She gestured to the door leading to the kitchen and I nodded. What else could I say? We were stuck in this together and she didn’t seem like she was going to pull a Pumpkin Spice on me, her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears. But… “A-Ayodele?” I stuttered out, feeling somewhat attached to the brave mare, the only one willing to do something to get free, I owed her one. Okay I owed her more than one, she had helped distract Arch, and helped give the others courage. “Yes, she is alive. On one of the tables I think. She was almost trampled during the fight.” I released a breath I didn’t even realize I had been holding, I’m glad she is alive. Entering the kitchen I was immediately reminded of an important fact, I hadn’t eaten in almost five days. The setting sun shone in through the window, casting the island countertop and sinks in an orange glow. I looked around, not seeing the food, my stomach grumbling my confusion as I tried to make sense of this. “Where are the bales? Better yet where is any food?” A hollow tap made me look down, a hatch blended in with the floor; I gave her a sheepish smile. “Thanks Marble.” My magic crackled as soon as I thought of opening it. Even faster than before, with just the slightest bit of will and it shot up…I might need to work on that. Marble had jumped at how fast it moved and I almost did too, the hatch was thankfully very sturdy, it only cracked a little from the force. Even though I wasn’t imagining my channels I still heard them, like I couldn’t ‘unhear’ them once I was in tune with them…Cool! With a pained bounce to my step I went down the staircase. Heaven was a pantry. Pantry was the wrong word for it, it was a whole room, double the size of the mess hall, and filled with food. Not all of it was useful mind you; I could see barrels marked with pictographs of steaks, cows, fish, and pig heads. That would have been useful had I been a human still. But I was a horse now, which is why those stacks and stacks of hay looked mouth watering to me. *Drip* I looked down, huh? Oh! I was still bleeding. Going to have to take care of that eventually. Let’s see…Five bales should be a good start, they instantly became trapped in my magic. And…I looked around, spotting something that looked even better; I grabbed that barrel in my magic as well. “Uhh,” Marble looked at me then the food. “Can I grab one?” Chuckling I turned around, heading up the stairs, “Sure, grab one.” I started snickering as she snorted at them, me really. “You know I can’t when you have them up there!” They might have been touching the ceiling, just maybe. “Mhmm,” I stopped giggling, feeling calmer as she approached, “You know are helping just by being with me, I don’t need help with the food. Besides it is nice to get away from the gore a little you know?” She returned to my side, silent. “You know I was just a civilian on my planet, right? I lived a nice peaceful life, far away from stuff like this.” I motioned to the ‘infirmary’ as we entered it. She had a new look to her face, I didn’t know what it meant, and I’m sure the rest of the group was listening in now too. “R-really?” “Yup,” I placed the bales and barrel down in the middle of the room, “I was just a civilian, a nopony before coming here. This-,” I gestured to the injured ponies, many with wrappings dotted with red, “-isn’t my old normal. But I want to stop this from being my new normal. So I need to stop these slavers and those, your princesses.” As I opened the barrel she looked at the floor. I inhaled an apple before holding out an apple to her. “They really aren’t my rulers anymore, I-I don’t know if I can follow them, live in their country after seeing this.” She grabbed the apple from me, ears splayed as she looked at it. With a nod to her, darkness snuck into the room, the sun was gone. I lay down, wincing as my skin protested; she joined me soon after, looking to be deep in thought. “Well that’s okay. I don’t want to follow them either…No, I won’t be joining Equestria.” The equestrians were giving me their full attention now. “Besides I have many things left to do. Most pressing is how we are going to make it to land, where ever that is…And,” I took a deep breath. “Arch had got a call out before I could stop him so we have a deadline now.” I started distributing more apples as more ponies joined us in the middle, looking worriedly at me and hungrily at the food. Folami approached me, “Can you gently levitate the ponies off the table? The body heat here will help them heal.” I nodded, levitating the twelve ponies on their blankets to the growing pony pile. Now where was- There! I gently lowered Ayodele in front of me, frowning as I took in her form. It was mostly wrapped up in bandages, bulging from the amount of gauze that was under them. With a small splint on her hind hock she really looked like she was almost trampled. Snapping the binder twine on the bales, I sighed before I looked at the assembled ponies. We certainly were an unlikely group, but we would have to win, families were at stake here. Distributing hay and apples I looked around, “Ok so here is the situation. The good news is we have tons of food, water, and all the slavers are dead. We are still fifty ponies strong, I broke the magic inhibitor-,” happy murmurs started up, but I cut them off, “-but the bad news is Arch managed to send out a call before I killed him.” And I wiped off like half the deck, the important steering half too. “So we need to come up with a plan to handle whoever might come. Who knows anything about these slavers, anything at all?” “They use a variety of species in their crews!” “Except for Arch, he only liked working with the Diamond dogs.” “They pick up new loads every eight weeks!” Folami sighed, “The pirates have our leaders ensnared, some are bribed, but most are held hostage by the same fear we have.” Again, the timeline of families at risk. “Okay, so are they organized? Are they competitive over their areas? Are they separated by fleets? Cause Arch was definitely calling for help.” The munching of hay filled the room as every pony dug in, and I had to restrain myself. Eating slow was hard as I waited for her finish her bite. “I wouldn’t call them organized but they definitely have a code of some sort. There is one group of slavers that no being will cross…Rumor has it that the captain is from beyond the Endless sea,” a hush spread through the room as we all leaned towards her. “He is said to be as tall as the princesses, walks on two legs like a Minotaur, but remains as flexible as a Vildkatt!” Raising a hoof I looked at her. “Yes?” “What’s a Vildkatt?” Marble interjected as Folami sighed, “It was what Arch was.” I nodded to her, nuzzling her in thank you, before turning back to Folami. “As I was saying, they all differ to him. If he wants what any pirate has they give it to him…Or die. He isn’t known for being merciful. I don’t know his name but he is called many things, ‘The Pirate King’, ‘God of the Seas’, and many other ones. But those two are the most common.” That gave me a lot to think about, he was making Arch sound like a baby. If he has garnered the fear of a whole nation, the fear of his fellow pirates…I mean, he sounds pretty bad to me, evil even. “So how long do you think we have till he, or some other pirate gets here?” “A couple of days at best, more if we can move this ship, somepony destroyed the navigation room.” I winced at Folami’s words. That was my bad. What else can I say? I have lots of magic in me, but I have no idea how to control it. Especially now that I can access my magic reserves. "Well, we should get planning then!"
Escaping, Part 3.The Narrow Sea Chrissy Kapera shouldn’t surprise me anymore, yet she did that night. She was able to get a boat easily. Despite it being half an hour before sunset, they hardly batted an eye at her calling in a favor, the captain seeming, dare I say relieved that she had called in her favor. That overly worried Mongofu had something on every being it seemed, or at least the ones that had something useful, no being had even tried to stop us when we took the zebra back in the street. But he might have been so willing because he was also on a ‘vacation’ from fishing right now, something about the seas being a bad place to be. His reasoning was a half baked lie of some sort, the captain was sweating as he spoke, and none of us cared why he was clearly nervous. Kapera was an intimidating Mongofu when she wanted to be. Not to mention, I had wanted Ari desperately, I still miss him. The sky had been clear then, not a cloud in sight, and it still was today as well. Nothing to be nervous about, in fact it was a perfect day to be out on the water. Lyric insisted it was, she had been eyeing the water with excitement the whole trip actually. We had been sailing along the coast for three days now, leaving me with plenty of time to think. Like how I hate boats or more specifically, I hate the motion of boats. The first day, night really, it wasn’t too bad. Lyric had tittered around me like a mother hen, propping up cushions, and making sure there was plenty of water and a bucket nearby at all times. That was incredibly silly on her part, the bucket, seeing as I don’t eat physical varieties of food. But I had been suffering through another spell of nausea, which was horrible; at least if Lyric felt nauseous she could get some relief by vomiting, nothing happened if I tried. Although I really should be grateful, thankful that Kapera was keeping true to her word to not bother me. My patience was practically nonexistent now as Lyric has already found out. Now it was the third day and I felt even worse than when I first met Ari, yesterday I thought I was getting better, the headache had finally quit. But then I woke up today. It was like my stomach was eating itself, the foal demanding what I just didn’t have for it. Meanwhile, a pickaxe was threatening to split my skull apart and no amount of Lyric’s kisses and attempts at smothering me in love had stopped it so far. “This may be a stupid question,” another crunch as Lyric bit into her fifth apple, her foal was starting to make itself known. “But you have teeth, throat, and a stomach; you know…All the equipment to eat. Can you eat, like, regular food?” “No Lyric,” I sighed wincing as the pickaxe took another attempt at shattering my skull. “I can’t taste regular food or digest it…My digestion track is different than our ancestors, shrunk if you will. I have different organs that take up that space that your larger stomach and intestines would.” She paused in her eating, munching being replaced by silence. Followed by hums of thinking coming from her perch on my back, a spot she theorized would be better for love absorption, more contact. It did help, but not by much. It was a crude way I had explained feeding to her, contact just increased the speed at which I took it in, it was also dependent on quantity, and Ari’s amount of love still overshadowed hers. “So what about the foal then, does it, will it eat regular food?” “I just don’t know if it will. Lyric, foals eat whatever the mare eats, and…” She sighed, knowing exactly why I had trailed off. There were too many ifs and variables to give any clear answers. “I know, but Kapera did say-.” “And what did I say?” Kapera asks walking into our cabin, her face smudged with dirt. We haven’t left it all day. I was conserving my energy, obviously, and also apparent was Lyric’s presence. Although she wasn’t just present for my wellbeing, I think she was feeling our stallion’s absence stronger than she wanted to let on, and her mask was nearly perfect. But I was a changeling. Sensing emotions, feeding on emotions had some advantages, despite what right now felt like. I could sense her sorrow, growing as the days did. It had been a whole week. “Um, that we are approaching Arch’s next pick-up point soon?” Lyric responded before I saw her magic grab another apple. “Correct, since he stopped in at the cove his next stop could be at several hideaway ports along the coast, if he had any ‘cargo’ to pick up. We have already passed them. So his largest port remains ahead. Then-.” She cut herself off looking pensive, “How long ago did the Badlands flood? Was it to the coast yet?” I could see where she was going with this. The slave ring must have had a port at the edge of the Badlands, probably where we bordered the sea with the volcanic strait. My heart clenched a little at the thought that they had been so close to my hiveland. It did make sense though, the volcanic strait lead straight to the Dragon’s homelands, it passed by Saddle Arabia, and by the Diamond mountain range. “Chrissy? Are you there?” “What? Yes, I’m here…I can’t say anything about the coastal area of the Badlands but the central area was nearly completely flooded, and it had already flooded the underground portions of the hive when we left. That was four months ago, the port may well be under water by now.” Her face scrunched up and we all ignored the muffled voices outside, our prisoners were less than happy about their situation right now, very understandable really. “Might as well keep course with this route anyway, we have to catch up with them eventually…Arch is too much of a wimp to take north way around, he will double back…” Kapera trailed off but I had already understood her meaning, his return trip would follow the same route. But would Ari be on it? Lyric broke the silence, finishing her sixth apple. “So why did you come to see us Kapera?” “Just wondering if you wanted to come out on the deck? You know, see the sights, and enjoy the breeze…Maybe interrogate that spy? Toss the Zebra overboard…” I gave a weak chuckle, immediately regretting it as the migraine struck in retaliation. Some air might help the nausea at least. I knew the migraine wouldn’t quite till I ate more. “Sure why not? Why haven’t you chucked her overboard yet anyway?” Kapera pointed at Lyric and I felt the lounging pillow we were resting on levitate. “Well, as much as I would love to toss her, she did this to your stallion and I felt it was your right to decide her fate…Although I’m all for tossing her to the serpents, in case you were curious. Both of them actually, we have too many mouths here to feed.” **** Moonlit Echo Throw me overboard? Horse apples, I better get moving. I started to saw harder at my restraints, a stray nail from the crate tightly gripped in my teeth, making miniscule progress at the rope. Only three strands were frayed out of the twenty or so there. It was better than nothing though. Adrenaline filled my body as I saw Kapera exit the captain’s quarters, worried for a second they had seen the nail. A muffled sigh escaping the side of my muzzle as I realized they were looking at each other, they hadn’t seen me yet. The changeling queen was coming though, and I heard her voice again so I quickly tucked the nail into the rope, just the head peeking out from the bundle. Why was I trying to break out of these ropes I’m sure you are wondering? Sure, I was shackled underneath the ropes but if I could get my wings free then I could fly for help, that was the one thing they couldn’t do right now. By some small mercy, the mare of luck had taken one of the changeling’s wings. Speaking of that parasite… Trying to look innocent, I watched them approach, unable to help but raise an eyebrow at the spectacle the changeling queen was becoming. She was levitating over on a cushion…That was ridiculous and worrying. Could she catch me if I flew using that flying cushion? I didn’t know, but the fact that she wasn’t even walking was supporting my emerging theory. Over the last couple of days I had witnessed many strange things that had brought me to a confusing and surreal conclusion: Queen Chrysalis was weak and possibly, hopefully dying. For Luna’s sake don’t give me that look! Let me explain, trust me on this; I know it sounds crazy but I have proof. At first, I thought she must have been faking her headaches and wobbling steps, trying to get my guard down, to get my sympathy or something like that. But I don’t know any other way to explain this, it seemed too real. She was affected nearly all the time, in fact earlier today she had tried to come out to join them for breakfast and practically collapsed in the doorway! Even as the others fussed over her she was resisting, trying to shove off their help...It seemed genuine, like when Night Glider refusing a hoof up after losing, too prideful to be faked. Furthermore, for three days she had not used one ounce of magic that I could see. Not one spark of green. She also did not take the kill shot back in the shop, or disguise herself to catch me on the street. The others had done all the work, especially her herd mate. Sorry for shuddering there, it is just; well there is no nice way of putting it. The mare was hideous to look at, some sort of hybrid I think, and a bad mix in my opinion. I know we were supposed to be polite to the other species but some ponies took it a step too far and we got things like this mare. It is no surprise that the only things that will have her are the parasites. I think she was a dragon-pony hybrid, the scales suggested it, and the way the zebra looked at her in fear. Did she breathe fire? Anyway…Right, the changeling had not left her herd mate’s side and vice versa. The point is they were attached at the hip. Well, back right now. Franken mare was lying on the changeling’s back, levitating them out on a cushion…She isn’t even bothering to walk out anymore, I know I already said that, but isn’t that proof enough? The other beings weren’t even blinking at this display, like it was expected…Not only was the queen weak but everyone seemed to be skirting around the issue, avoiding saying- “So what do you want to do with the spy?” This got the attention of the Minotaurs, who had been talking quietly by the helm of the boat, they came over looking at me with disdain. The Zebra looked at me, eyes tired, blank, and ears flicking in the strong gust that ripped across the deck. I don’t even want to know how long they have had her prisoner. “Hmm, I don’t–nrggh-know Kapera...Has he said anything yet?” “No, the flying rat has been tight lipped, mind you; I haven’t had the time to give him a good interrogation. We have been trying to catch as many breaks with the wind as possible. I think we have gained a good half a day, maybe a whole day on Arch’s ship, especially if he stops at the port.” Another strong gust pushed against me, actually moving me slightly on my rope. Sorry, the villains had me hanging upside down from a plank they had nailed to the mast. I was joined, of course, by the zebra. They brought us down for feeding and a sip of water, but as you can imagine from the rodent’s complaint, we were extra mouths to feed, on a limited timeline. They hadn’t spoken a word to the zebra mare since removing us from that crate, yes, I woke up in a crate, and I am not talking about that. It was embarrassing and, and, no! Now they were talking about tossing me overboard, well, the other prisoner too. But…I didn’t want to die, at least not without confessing my love to Luna first, and then I could die a happy stallion. So, escaping was my only option. “Good,” The changeling gave a smile to her, an almost grateful smile. Weird, actually this whole situation was weird. “I guess we might as well question him since we are still…” Her muzzle went into a frown and she winced, her headache I assumed. The scaled mare attempted to comfort her to my alarm, “Don’t worry if he gets loud again we can always toss him overboard!” Shut up! Even more worrying was the fact that the heifer and rodent looked more than happy to help with that, the heartless criminals. Gennady seemed unsure then, his disdain gone, and making eye contact with me, shrugging. I still couldn’t believe him. He had seemed so innocent, helpful, back at the makeshift dock…But, so had the changelings when they were in disguise. “Lyric, you know that’s not a good idea. Thestrals don’t just wander to the coast; they are part of the Lunar guard…” She squinted her eyes at me, cocking her head. “He is definitely part of the guard, the stealth armor, and I remember seeing him around the castle. His name was night-something or other…Or moon-something or other, I can’t remember. Though, he was always by Moonbutt.” M-moonbutt?! “My name is Moonlit Echo and don’t you dare disrespect Princess Luna you, you bug!” I yelled at her, my ears folding back as the anger coursed through me. How dare she?! Her eyes turned cold, “And why should I respect your princess?” She spat out the word ‘respect’ like it was disgusting to her. “What has she ever done to command my respect?” Despite her dead eyes her voice was venomous now, far more passionate than her eyes let on. “She raises the same moon you hide under, scuttling like the insect you are. Controls the stars that you use to guide your nefarious plans, direct your wayward life! And she destroys nightmares! Without her and Princess Celestia you wouldn’t have night and day! I think that is more than worthy of respect you insect!” I grinned at them, feeling victorious. That was irrefutable- “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,” Queen Chrysalis was laughing at me… I narrowed my eyes at her, what an ungrateful- “Dear Faust! Can he hear himself? He sounds like an echo of some bucking propaganda.” The rodent shook her head at me as I heard some cracking. Looking over I quickly saw why, the Minotaur siblings were looking very eager to try a pony punching bag, namely me. I guess she really took that spear to heart; it wasn’t anything personal, although it might be. Why were all the Minotaurs I had met so far on Ari’s side, the changeling’s side? A swoosh reached my ears- “Ahhhhh!” I cried out as the zebra attached herself to my neck. After a couple seconds she let go, swinging away from me, “Nenda buck mwenyewe Thestral! Umeharibu nchi yangu!” I don’t know what in Tartarus she just said but I think she hates me, or at least hated something I said. “YOU CRAZY SAVAGE!” I know, not the smartest thing to do, insult the violent mare just a swing away from trying to eat you. Sure every pony says the stories of pony-eating zebras are just stories, but I’m starting to feel like there was some truth in them. She was bearing her teeth at me, with a clump if my fur stuck in them. The hybrid just gave me a sad look as I looked at the group before me. “I know, and that is why I left.” I looked over at the rodent, she wasn’t looking at me, she was staring at the savage while frowning, a sad frown as her eyes softened. Why was the yellow demon sad? Was she one of those Zebrica savages? Then why- Lyric interrupted my thoughts though, “You are from Zebrica?” “Well, yes.” The rodent looked at the group before releasing a sigh, ears folding back, and tail dropping. “But my family left many years ago. Our rebellion against the king of pirates was failing, our village slated for extinction…” My neck pain fading as I was sucked in by her voice, whatever story she had started spinning. What was she on about? ‘King of Pirates’ and extinction, just what story was she crafting? It didn’t matter. I wasn’t some foal that would fall for her tale. A heavily accented voice spoke from beside me, “Nguvu...What really happened there?” “That name I haven’t heard in a long time…Well the bucking truth is we were outnumbered, overpowered, and we all died or fled.” She looked at me, like really looked at me then, her golden eye narrowing as she assessed me. “And don’t you DARE spout your bucking propaganda at me you bucking tartarus bound racist!” She turned back to the savage she was, removing her apron to our gasps. “THIS IS BUCKING REAL!” A paw pointed at her c-chest, “I AM SICK OF HEARING YOUR PRAISES AND PRAYERS TO THAT IGNORANT PRINCESS! BECAUSE OF THEM-,” She suddenly stopped, taking deep breaths, “-they brought the trade but they never regulated it…The pirates, no, the slave traders had taken over, still run the country.” Silence dominated the deck for a second, this turned into many as I gazed at her chest…That wasn’t fake, it was disgusting, and I didn’t know what to say. K-Kapera’s chest, abdomen really, was screwed up in a criss-cross of raised skin. It was furless, pattern less, and white from scar tissue. I had only seen such images in sketches in the medical training manuals, the old ones, the really, really old ones. From the time just after the great war, when ponies came home bearing such wounds, now spells had come so far, and most recruits couldn’t handle the images in the old books. I’m no scholar but I believed in being prepared…I wasn’t prepared for this twist. This was real, something was really happening, scars like that don’t happen from a petty training accident. What was it? I looked at the beings before me, glancing at the sav- zebra beside me. Why? The queen of changelings suddenly invaded four months ago, after nearly half a millennia of remaining hidden, and lost. Why was she still so weak? Where were this herd mate and the king during the invasion? Strategy wise, it could have gone off without a hitch if he had replaced the groom- “You are very quiet there Moonlit Echo. I hope you aren’t thinking of escaping now, are you?” This time the queen interrupted my contemplation, her voice cold and dead. Looking up, I blinked in her direction, my anger replaced with confusion. “Why? I don’t understand.” I looked around the deck at the motley crew before me. “That is a pretty broad question there Echo, you will have to be more specific.” Sighing as frustration welled up inside me, there was soo much I didn’t know. Gaps and inconsistencies that poked at my theories, “None of this makes sense.” My foreleg jerked in the ropes as I tried to gesture to the group before me. “Why did you invade without the changeling king? Why then and not before? Where was that, that, h-hybrid during the invasion? Why are you so weak? Wh-.” A snort sounded before I was hit with a ball of water. I spluttered in shock for a second before I looked at the mares, their ears were back, and another orb of water was suspended in the air like a snowball. Why does my hoof like my mouth so much? The bull’s uncertain voice reached me, “What changeling king?” “Really Gennady?! You are still acting innocent? After leading me to my death you are still playing that Ari is an Alicorn?! I’m not a foal!” Water hit the deck, “You really think Ari is a changeling?” “Ari is certainly not a changeling. He is however the only chance we have to saving the world,” Her eyes narrowed at me, “Your world. Now don’t go giving me that look. To answer your questions, Ari is an Alicorn that was brought to our planet by a god to save this world from the unbalance your princesses have caused. SHUT IT!” I did, “By moving the sun and moon around they have upset the balance so Ari is going to meet them and convince them to stop. However we are now on this boat due to some zebra,” She turned her glare to the mare hanging beside me,“Trying to kill him, which had lead to him getting captured, and us going to rescue him. Any more questions bat?” My eyebrow twitched and I swallowed my reaction to correct the bat slur. I had so many questions. If, and it was a big if still, if she was telling the truth then that left several new questions. “Yes.” Kapera groaned, putting her apron back on before face pawing, muttering to herself. “Why didn’t Ari just go with those two ponies he rescued from the slave traders? How is the world in peril? Everything seems okay to me.” More snorts, this time from the whole group, and the mare hanging beside me. “That is complicated…” Queen Chrysalis began, looking at the others. ‘Dinny’ spoke up, “Mother Nature is unbalanced, causing storms that are destroying the countries around Equestria.” “Exactly! Remember the water you swam through? The storm you had to find shelter in? That swamp used to be fields, families used to have homes throughout there, and then the rain came. It has flooded out…killed many Minotaurs, so many…” His little sister brought him in for a one armed hug. The storm raged in my mind. All that rain, the relentless wind, and the house creaking as it had been torn open. It was empty, they had known…Then why? Looking up from my thoughts I looked at the cushion bound queen, “Then why the airship?” “W-What?” Queen Chrysalis looked at me in confusion and fear, ears splaying, and mouth opening to ask me again. “A-a a-airship?” Kapera repeated. The hesitance in her voice surprised me, the bold rodent sounding more like a scared filly in that moment. I paused before I answered her. “Yes! The one that-,” I gulped down the bile, closing my eyes, “-that tossed those dead griffins into the water. It nearly scared the piss out of me!” My eyes opened and froze at the sight before me. “We don’t have an airship.” The changeling spoke with a seriousness that almost held my attention, but my attention was elsewhere. Kapera had a strange look in her eyes, almost like she wasn’t here anymore, “Was it the largest bucking thing you have ever seen?” I nodded dumbly, my eyes unable to focus on her shaking body anymore. The waves licked the hull of the boat; the birds went silent as a dark cloud moved in the distance. Slowly my brain came back to me. She continued, “That would be t-the pirate king then…” I’m sure the group made some appropriately surprised remarks, but everything was quickly settling in my brain. Blinking, I tried to clear my eyes, I was not crying. Was I going crazy? No, no, I was in some deep manure now, if I wasn’t dead before I was now, that- Squinting under the sun, my ears twitched and let my jaw drop. My mouth finally responding to my brain’s frantic signals, “T-that is it! I’m sure of it!” The group turned around, looking at what had captured my eyes, at the rapidly growing airship in our horizon. It approached as a black blimp against the otherwise clear sky. The same thought was echoed around- **** Ari Shit! I shifted uncomfortably in the pony pile, Ayodele’s muzzle uncomfortably close to mine, breath mixing with mine. A new weight that was partially on my back wiggled and groaned, rubbing against the base of a wing, sending my feathers further out of order as a shiver traveled down my body. This whole moment ruffled my feathers. It had seemed like a good idea to let them cuddle around me after we finished the planning session, a uneventful one mind you, our minds just weren’t into it. My instincts were certainly all for sleeping that way. Calm had dominated my mind with so many ponies around, like my worries had been blown away in the breeze, and I had welcomed some peace after what had happened. I had been exhausted. Now, waking up was a different story. Counting to ten I tried what had been working so far, thinking of the families that had been displaced by the storms, and now the families that had been torn apart by slavery. Like a bucket of cold water my morning visitor retreated from my thoughts, choosing to hide in the safety of my sheath. Following my next bodily urge, I began to gently levitate mares off of me. Grumbles echoed as I adjusted the sleeping arrangements. I stood with some groaning as my stiff skin protesting, pain coming in waves as my wounds began oozing blood again. Damn I hate whips, slavers; okay I hate all of it. Nothing about this was fun. Maneuvering through the mares was interesting, I was very glad for my magic now…Although I did wonder what my magic did to the inhibitor. One moment it had been there and the next it was gone, the world was white, and I was blown back. Definitely have to work on control…After I eat though, more slavers were coming after all. As I entered the kitchen I saw it was already occupied. Folami, the unofficial healer of our group, was standing on slightly wobbly hind legs while she chopped some herbs. “Morning Ari, Did you have a good sleep?” I nodded, raising my muzzle as the calming scents of many herbs reached my nose, almost as calming as a pony pile. “Can you start by bringing up breakfast? Then I want to treat those wounds, okay?” Giving her another nod and shaking off my sleepiness I opened the hatch rather awkwardly with my hooves. Last time I tried my magic it had been a tad bit loud, and they needed all the sleep they could get. I heard her sigh and the chopping resume… How does she chop with a hoof? I know the book explained earth pony qualities as strength, but that requires grip. How does a flat hoof grip a knife? Sorry, I will have endless questions I guess; just it hits me sometimes. But now I needed food, my stomach was awake again. Hay sounded good; it was actually an interesting experience. You would think it would be bland like bran and dry, but really it varied. For example, some of the hay was sweet and moist, really green, but that was few and far between out of the bales last night. Most were mild, like squirrel bread, not really ‘wow’ but still edible. Ahh, there is some more apples! With my prizes in tow I made it back to the kitchen, it was awash in scents similar to thyme, rosemary, and coriander. Although the herbs being chopped and now into a green paste looked nothing like those herbs, those were the closest I could come to describing their scents. “I just meant enough for breakfast, oh well; it will save us a trip later.” She was looking at the ten bales I had brought while shaking her head. Yes, I had held back last night. I figured stuffing my face after four days of no food was a bad idea. Today I was determined to be full. “Actually five of the bales are for me.” Folami raised an eyebrow at that, “Really? I suppose next thing you will tell me is that you love cake too. Just how much of what I hear about Alicorns is true?” Setting most of them to the infirmary I left five with me in the kitchen. “Not all, I actually am not a fan of cake. Cinnamon buns are much better, although I haven’t had the chance to try those on this planet-yet! Eventually I will recreate them.” My stomach grumbled, “Exactly, its breakfast time!” “Oh, that…Okay, that is kind of disgusting there.” I almost choked when I felt a hoof touch my side. Of course I side stepped away, but the hoof followed, along with a soft slap on my flank. Damn mares. “Hold still, we can’t have our leader injured, can we?” Leader? Again with that word, it was time to nip this in the butt. Ignoring the grumbles from the infirmary we locked eyes as I willed my body not to move away from her physical exam. “What do you mean by leader? I already told you when we were captive that I’m not a leader of anything, and quite frankly I think I’m a bad choice to lead any pony.” She just raised an eyebrow again, “No, really. I’m not good at public speaking, I know nothing of this world, and I haven’t ever lead a project before.” It was true I just was the general laborer in my uncle’s business, I didn’t lead any projects, and I was just a clerk at the bookstore. Worst choice possible to lead some pony, especially in such a situation, I didn’t know what she was thinking. “You would be a better choice than me.” Musical accented laughter filled the air, “It’s not the speaking skill, scholarly knowledge, or prior experience that makes a good leader. Sometimes it just takes a sense of justice, a good heart, and ponies wanting to follow the pony.” I shook my head franticly at her. Did she not hear me? This was not a good idea. I didn’t want to fail any pony or have any pony mad at me. There were lives at stake here! Hoof steps echoed in the doorway, Marble stood there with her head cocked, and a frown on her muzzle. “Ayodele’s asking for you Ari.” Thank you, a reason to escape this talk. Brushing past her I moved into the slowly waking group. Some had dispersed to various spots around the room, chatting and eating. Though, as soon as I entered it grew quiet, eyes followed my stiff steps to the snorting zebra on the floor. “I’m not an invalid Marble Cake!” She called out, pinning her ears, and faced away from me. “She didn’t say that you were, just that you were asking for me. Although the fact that you have to deny it makes me wonder. How are you feeling?” A long sigh echoed around the room, highlighting the otherwise silent mares, watching us. This was not at all suspicious. “Good, I guess, all things considered I’m happy to be alive…” She looked me over as I stepped over, laying in front of her. “You still haven’t got those treated yet? Don’t they hurt?” She grimaced while looking at my body, confirming my belief that I looked really bad; alive was still a win though. “Y-.” Our talk was cut short as Folami and Marble came out of the kitchen, a familiar red bag and green mush with the zebra, and a light blue crystal grasped in Marble’s mouth. “Emira, grab a couple towels.” A zebra mare rushed back to the kitchen, “Ari you can talk later, first I want to clean you, to the deck.” Waving a reluctant good bye to Ayodele I went to the deck. It was horrible. The only enchanted jewel with water they could find was one of those pressurized ones…Yah, I squealed like a mare through that and I had a surprising amount of blood in my fur. Then drying off…I think wrapping me up was the easiest part of it, it was the least painful at least. All the zebra mares joked that I looked like a zebra Alicorn with how much white I was sporting now. Of course I made the black, white, and red all over joke…It went over horrible too, they didn’t get it, and the timing was bad. But ever mobile mare it seems was blushing or sporting some red. After that Ayodele decided she ‘forgot’ what she was going to talk to me about, it had nothing to do with the mares talking around her. Actually, she seemed out of the conversation after that, really out of it. I wasn’t even gone that long…Oh well, I suppose not being able to walk was hard. Folami insisted she not walk if she could help it, not that the work we had to do she would be able to do. Today we were taking stock of down below, or rather who we lost. We had all agreed last night to toss the dead slavers overboard, sure they had families at home, I’m sure anyway. But we weren’t keeping such things on deck, or below deck for that matter. We started out with ten mares and myself going down to sort through the mess, six mares remained by the time we were done…It wasn’t easy, I somehow didn’t vomit but I really wanted to. Dogs tore into them like, well, dogs did to prey. I learned just how weak our skulls were; several had a spiked tail ball through them. I had to wrap and levitate those ones out, touching them just wasn’t an easy option, in one mare’s case it wasn’t possible. “Omph!” I caught Marble Cake as she always went down. “You okay?” Her expression didn’t change but her cheeks heated up. “Of course I am.” Humming my confirmation, I placed her on my back, keeping her still with my magic as she squirmed. A stubborn one, she probably pushed herself too hard helping Folami, she was still rail thin, and would be for a while I’m sure. “I can walk! P-put me down already,” the other mares were beginning to watch us, some snickering. It really was cute, with the size of the equestrians they were the smallest ponies here, the foal sized group members, and I was the biggest. “Yes, you do know how to walk. I’m glad to hear that.” I made my way around the deck, letting the mares get their dose of humor at the sight of us, god knows they need it. “That’s not what I meant you silly colt! Now put me down already.” Chuckling, I made my way back to the infirmary, pausing at the pony in the doorway. Ayodele stood there, swaying, and with a red face. Not another one. I don’t want to see her hurt… Sighing, I grabbed Ayodele in my magic, and readjusted Marble on my back. Ayodele didn’t protest when I placed her securely behind my neck, draping Marble over my rump. I could see her face from the corner of my eye. She was smiling and taking deep breaths, exactly how I felt, ponies were like a calming agent on my nerves. Not that I needed that right now. I was still hungry and it must be lunch time. When I entered the room I received many nuzzles as I passed, many murmured 'thank you', and nodded. Everypony was feeling better, they were still worried, but we were grieving. Yes, I hadn’t known those ponies but they haven’t known me either, yet they still fought at my prompt. The funeral was to be this evening, the bodies piled where the captain’s cabin had been. For now, we were eating, resting, and in the case of Folami, changing bandages. “Ayodele! There you are,” the mare in question shrunk a little on my back, being caught. “What part of ‘rest’ don’t you understand?” Silence from my back as she shoved her muzzle into my feathers, trying to hide behind my tucked in wing, a muffled reply came from there. “Why do I even bother?! All three of you should be resting, especially you Ari. Your mares won’t be happy if you die out here! Not that we will be either, we need our leader, you,” I scrunched up my muzzle at her. “Especially since you destroyed the ship’s deck cannons when you blew away half the deck…Not that you shouldn’t use that spell against the slavers that come, but aim high okay?” She looked a little nervous for second before moving on to her next patient. There were cannons there? Shit again. “WAIT!” “W-what,” Ayodele stuttered out, “We-.” I shook my head at Folami’s retreating rump, “I won’t die, they are waiting for me, and I will make back to them.” A long silence descended as I levitated some hay over and grabbed some apples from the open barrel. The healer ignoring me as more mares joined the area I was laying in. Spring Dew and Feather Quill settling in under my good wing. “Wait, hold on a second. What m-mares were Folami referring to?” Marble asked, stuttering over the plural word…She probably didn’t know about the law of the herd yet, shit, explaining that would be fun. I could practically hear their ears rotate to listen in. Mares, wherever I was, they always liked gossip it seemed. “Well, the two mares that are worried sick about me. I went for a walk and as far as they know I never returned.” “T-two?!” Ayodele added, sounding more upset than disgusted. I guess herding wasn’t practiced in Zebrica? That would explain Folami’s expression too. Nodding I finished my mouthful of hay. “Yup, although I don’t want you to think I’m some plays stallion or something; I grew up in a monogamous society. But my marefriend convinced me think over herding and well the rest is history, we are a very happy herd now.” “But isn’t herding…Old?” I don’t think that’s what she wanted to say. “I’m pretty sure it must be illegal in Equestria at least.” Marble added as Ayodele kept silent. I felt my smile drop as I realized I would have to explain what happened while the ponies were kept captive. “Well, actually there is a funny story there. You see…Well, the princess re-enacted a old law that makes herding mandatory in Equestria now-.” “WHAT?!” Feather Quill yelled from beside me. “Yes, and when you return-,” I felt Marble tense on my back, “-okay, if you return there is a mandatory conscription to form herds. It’s exactly what it sounds like; you get paired with whatever stallion needs more mares.” Another round of silence and murmurs came from the mares, the zebras looking at their equestrian companions in pity. “Do you need more mares then or are you going to have the princesses as mares in your herd too?” She queried as Ayodele started nibbling on my wing bone, tail swishing slightly. I hope she is okay, this is a lot to take in. “Well, that is another reason I’m not staying in Equestria. It would be inevitable that some mare would try to match me with them…But I can’t really see myself with them and that’s not just because my mares hate them. I really don’t like what have heard of them…Seen the results of their actions.” I looked at the mares watching me, the equestrians were shaking, and I’m pretty sure Spring Dew was crying into my side. Folami came back from putting away her supplies and grabbed an apple before nodding to me to continue; in fact I think all the mares were present and enraptured in my words. “There isn’t really much else to say, I mean, when I heard about that law I sent a letter to the princesses stating how they could change the law and still solve their population problem. Not that they will probably listen, but I still put in my two cents. I mean I have tons of experience in that department.” Taking a deep breath I continued, “I went through tons of fertility treatment on my planet, I was infertile you know. But something during the whole planetary travel fixed that and, and now I’m expecting foals!” A happy laugh escaped me at the end, this felt so good to tell some pony that, euphoric even. The sound of an apple crunching broke the silence. Ayodele finally spoke, “C-congratulations Ari, I’m h-happy for you.” Her voice wavered as she probably was at a loss as what to say, I mean it was sort of out of left field. I hadn’t really mentioned them to the other mares before. Every pony was taking this pretty good. That is to say, they weren’t focusing my former infertility. That always made moments awkward for my friends, they had refused to say the ‘P’ word around me for a whole year when I first told them, a little too considerate. More congratulations were echoed from the others and I felt joy, this was going to be alright! Somepony should stick my hoof in my mouth; I triggered Murphy’s Law, as soon as I thought that life was good my world was rocked. Really, the boat was. The sound of splintering wood reached my ears followed swiftly by the sound of water trickling in below us. “Fuck!” I swore before it hit me, they were here really fast, faster than I would have liked. “Every pony stay calm!” Totally wasn’t calm, I wanted to scream in frustration. Can’t I get a break here? “I will handle it.” Removing Marble and Ayodele from my back I went to face the cannon fire, ignoring the worried murmurs and the quiet sobs. Why did I have to take on slavery too? Uh huh, those bodies lying before me on the deck, there were families that were going to be grieving all over again…And I had the chance to change that, no more families torn apart, I was given this power, and I wasn’t going to sit on my butt like the others that had it.
Escaping, Part 5.**** The Narrow Sea Chrissy For the record, I was never was one to back down in a fight. Growing up, I had been groomed for leadership, taught extensively on all topics. Everything from aphrodisiacs to linguistics and as you might expect education was my mother’s primary focus when we interacted. My duties required that I be more than able to pull off any disguise, be it a horny wife, noble ruler, or even a skilled guard. And as the latter indicated my family regularly sparred with me, teaching me everything from hoof to hoof combat to weapon use. Overall I was a pretty good warrior…If I was being modest, although it was true to say noling in the hive could beat me. Mother was the exception. But she was winding down then, not having ‘time’ to spar with me, really her core was dying out. No, I was not crying. Anyway, my point was that I was no slouch in a fair fight. Fights where I wasn’t pregnant with a miniature black hole, pinned under my herd mate, or when I felt sicker than a Diamond dog at a chocolate shop. Due to all that and more, like looking for my stallion, today was not a good day for a fair fight. Especially when our opponent might have well have been a virtual recluse with how little any being knew about him. In the whole time I had been alive, with my many scouts, and time traveling abroad I hadn’t heard of him. It felt like he came out of thin air. Yes, we knew the basics of basics. He was a he, walked on two legs, was feared by Arch. Arch being a sadistic slaver that had captured my stallion, the assassin that was responsible for that occurring even feared this slaver, and the feared slaver was apparently terrified of our opponent. We had just discovered more about our opponent, I refuse to call him the ‘king of pirates’ as he was no king to me. Anyway, Kapera had failed to mention that this waste of flesh had an airship that dwarfed our borrowed ‘large’ fishing vessel. That it had at least twenty charge cannons, more than fifty regular cannons, and engines that could easily overtake a sailing ship if they turned on. I can say all that because we are currently trying to outrun him, the key word was trying. He was playing with us, every being knew it, and some were taking this news better than others. “PLEASE KILL ME NOW!” The assassin screamed from her position on the mast, looking like she really did want to die. Her eyes were dilated with terror as she gazed at the languidly following airship. I didn’t blame her, if he caught us she was a bargaining chip or a distraction to help us escape, that is assuming he hadn’t heard of my bounty already… The hum of the engines continued. Arrogant bastard of a pirate, treating this like a game, I mean he could overtake us at any time he wanted and…I hate pricks like that. “Shut up! We don’t have time to kill you.” Kapera, our now fearful helms-Mongofu turned back to the unofficial navigator. “Dinny, do we have any littorals coming up?” Checking the map, the Minotaur grimaced and shook her head, “Not for-,” she checked her compass and map, “-another ten miles.” “Bays?! Any ports,” she steered us sharply around a sharp rock jutting up from the increasingly rough waters, not hearing my stomach curse her. The slap of the waves against the wall of rock were loud in my ears, the sea bird’s caws and squawks long gone, having sensed that something bad was coming long ago. We were getting closer and closer to the cliff side as we went, looking for an escape route, any way away from this crazy being. Another head shake came from Dinari, causing her older brother to gulp and step closer to her till they were touching head to shoulder. “Oy! Siren, what’s your excuse? Can’t you make them act stupid or something?!” Kapera turned her attention to Lyric, who had been huddled on my back, trying to cover up her fear. That started up the previously dazed lunar spy, “SIREN?!” The poor zebra he was by winced, receiving an earful. He looked at my herd mate with the exact look that made her not want to use her own power, fear. It was almost as bad as the barely contained squeals he was making, a fearsome royal guard he was, yup, fear inspiring filly squeals. “SHUT UP!” I screamed at him, clutching my aching head in my hooves. By some grace of Faust he did. We did not need this, not now. Just when we had been getting through to him that we were trying to save our world…But before I had time to explain why I had invaded his city, and of course explain Lyric’s story, a bucking pirate had to show up. Oh, not just any pirate, the head honcho pirate himself. Lyric snorted at him, gathering another water ball, and hitting him in the muzzle again. “Racist.” There was a long pause as Kapera kept her gaze on my herd mate, eyes narrowed as she steered, and lips drawn in a grim line. My herd mate just nuzzled into my mane, bitter tasting fear growing, and wet drops started rolling down my neck. Kapera broke it, seeing as Lyric wasn’t breaking it. “Look,” pausing she took on a softer tone, “Lyric we are going to all die a bloody death or a quick death by that-,” pointing a shaking paw at the clearly superior airship following us, “-bastard if we don’t do something. And I am trying to respect your wishes here. Heck, I understand why you refrain from using it. Looking at what they did to your family for using it. BUT, I don’t want to die and Ari would be heartbroken if you died. He would want you to fight for…” Trailing off, her gaze traveled to the spy. He didn’t need to know why, at least not when we weren’t even sure if he was going to kill us in our sleep, not to mention he would most certainly tell Luna anything we said in front of him. Bat colt was catching on though, “You are a siren hybrid?!” His eyes were bugging out as the mare hanging beside him gave a look that said ‘are you stupid’. I didn’t blame her for thinking that. He thought that Ari was a changeling king and he lived in a sheltered country. That last part said it all really, slavery didn’t exist in their minds, super storms would be laughed at, and starvation was no longer a reality. Siren hybrids weren’t real either. “Yes,” came a muffled reply from my mane, getting clearer as she removed her muzzle, nervous energy popped on my tongue. Kapera’s ears perked up from the bow. “Yes, I can try to stop them…But if they are strong like my dad or Ari are then they could easily resist the magic.” Leaning over my neck, she gave my cheek a kiss. “I need to stand for this.” This caused a sigh of relief from every being, except for the Thestral; he looked at her with fear. “Thank you…Come to me when they are here and I can make some custom rings, for free.” Kapera looked at our stomachs pointedly, “Anything you want.” A relieved chuckle escaped her lips then, her shoulders relaxing slightly as she steered us. Lifting her legs awkwardly, Lyric extracted herself from between my wing bases, my single one popping up and buzzing till it was a blur. I was a little nervous; considering that if this failed our situation would only get worse. My buzzing slowed as I felt the drain of the foal, she continued to make her way to the stern, but I wasn’t going to call her back, no matter how much the faint ache my muscles were getting worried me. Lyric was around one hundred fifty feet from the low flying air vessel, as close as she could be without wings. A series of clicks sounded as she arrived at the back of the boat, a slight charge filled the air, and the rolling of dozens of balls reached my sensitive ears. Buck, if this failed… Gennady suddenly went past me, running up the stairs to stand by Lyric. I turned my head and raised my eyebrows at him as he gave her a warm smile. This wasn’t unwanted, just unexpected…He hadn’t seen us in awhile but was actually very genuine in helping us, whatever Ari had told him must have really won him over. “Stay behind me Gennady…” She trailed off, squaring her shoulders as we took another sharp turn, rocks popping up left and right, threatening to rend our hull open. “If…If this doesn’t work, don’t grab for me…Okay?” He looked dumbfounded, like she told him to kick a puppy. “Grab Chrissy and think of all the love you hold for your family and friends.” Another shifting of hooves, glancing at them like they could help her, and evidently they told her no more than they told me. Lyric would… He finally gave a slow nod, gulping as he glanced back at his sister. Although I was feeling weaker, I kept my eyes fixed on Lyric as she opened her muzzle wide, taking in a big breath of the warm sea air. This was her element. Golden draconic eyes glittered in the sun, a slightly reddish hue enveloping them as she let out the first note, a middle c if I recalled my music lessons correctly. It flowed long and dark, full of her sorrow. It was entrancing in the skill she performed, magic filling the air with a pressure as it looked for susceptible hosts, and even Gennady had to slap himself to stay focused. I could see why her cutie mark was musical notes, she was better than any changeling I had ever heard. The pirate’s agreed. Engines sputtered on the airship, half of them appearing to be shutting down, the dark clouds disappearing with the wind. Charge cannons flickered off, their glow dying. As that happened, some female voices sounded from the ship, confused. Then a dull roar came from the ship. In less time than Ari took to eat, most of the male crew was at the bow, leaning over the railing with enchanted expressions, some crying. It was working…Wait a second. Lyric started swishing her tail, ears splaying, and I immediately saw why. The ship was still moving. In fact, as her tone turned richer, almost in the range of a contralto, the remaining two engines turned faster. More plumes of dark clouds turning one hundred and fifty feet turned to one hundred in less than ten seconds, but the larger vessel still gained speed. Siren’s songs enchant don’t they?! The one used in the street apparently wasn’t ‘true siren’ magic, it was Lyric’s modified variety of their songs, concentrated in mind magic and specified for the target the caster had in mind. Apparently it was a head ache to do, requiring a lot of focus and manipulation for Lyric to maintain. Which would be impossible for her against the crew of a ship this size, so we were stuck with the wide spread enchantment that was native to sirens. All that meant was that they wanted us even more, although for a different reason than before, wasn’t that just perfect. Hold on…That might just be perfect. Kapera took us around the corner, the rough rock close to our rat lines as we took it sharply. I looked from the cliff to the Mongofu, then back at the sharp points of rock. Fifty feet now, the pirates were clamoring at the railing as they drew ever nearer to our stern, the siren. “Keep us near the cliff! Weave between rocks, anything sharp Kapera!” I yelled at her, noticing the confused looks on the prisoner’s muzzles, “You want to live?!” They looked to me, pausing for a second, and then franticly nodded like terrified foals. The look of confusion was on her face disappeared just as Lyric switched to a higher note, lilting between that and a high c, beckoning them. A splash sounded and some being whispered ‘wow’ as pirates began to throw themselves over the railing, trying to jump the closing gap, turning the crowd of fifty to forty in minutes. Forty feet of water left and a jagged shore line ahead. Metal crunched, wood creaked ominously as they took the corner after us, it was working- Then the long ship suddenly pulled away from the rock as its crew heard the sound. Some were looking around at their crewmates in confusion. My heart plummeted at that. Yes, there was still a good percentage of the crew under her spell, but it might not last long if the other pirate’s anger was any indicator. ‘They still remember what they did afterwards.’ And she was right about that, the awakened crew was shaking the enchanted members, and several female crew members were coming onto the deck looking homicidal. Buck. My nausea was growing too. My cushion shifted, left, right, and then left once again. Kapera was following my orders to a ‘T’ and I hated it. A foal could knock me out at this point, okay, maybe I’m exaggerating, but it certainly felt like that. “Nitakuua!” The zebra spat at the lunar guard as he swung away again, her face scrunched up and ears pinned. She was going to give him a world of pain. “OWW” He groaned out, looking like he already was on his way there. The pirates disappeared for a second as we took the next corner, “Omph!” My breath was knocked out of me as the ship tilted and I was thrown into the railing. Lyric’s song faltered as she lost her grip as well, sliding with Gennady towards the rails. Our fate was sealed, that second of quiet combined with the crew clamoring to snap the enchanted back to reality was our undoing. They came around the corner, traveling smartly a safe distance from the rock face now, all looking appropriately angry and confused. All our little stunt did was dent the metal frame of their balloon and scratch up their hull a little, nothing to slow them down. Righting the ship, Kapera called to Lyric. “Do it again! Maybe-” I never heard what she said; a loud crackle forced my ears back and sent Gennady scrambling back from his position by the railing. A gaping hole through the deck where he and my herd mate had been seconds ago. Splashes echoed as wood splinters fell to the dark water below. She was gone. My heart skipped a beat, pounding erratically for a second in my aching head as I gazed at the empty spot. I felt sick and it wasn’t from the foal this time. Why…How will I explain this to Ari? That is…If we ever make it to him, which was looking less and less likely, especially with, with her gone. I was al-. Clunks brought me back to the scene before me. Flashes of silver as grappling hooks were flung across the gap and were secured to our railings, being pulled taunt.Gennady looked at us in fear as he ran back to the mast, while I blinked, stupefied at what was happening. Kapera cursed in Zebrican, almost louder than the Zebra. She was sobbing and begging for death in Zebrican, which was all I could figure out from her blubbering. All the while, the spy looked like death warmed over, completely overwhelmed, the poor ignorant equestrian… One thing appeared clear to me, our deaths were inevitable. That thought brought on the fatigue of knowing the end was coming, it washed over me, causing me to slump and rest my muzzle on my hooves. All the fighting and traveling for this end, before we even change the world? The hooks tugged our boat off course, pulling us away from the cliff, and rocking the deck. Jagged outcroppings of rocks tore our hull open, creating new wounds. It slowed us down, the wind pulling franticly at our sails as they began letting in the tempestuous water inside. Our escape was halted, rocks holding us captive, and most certainly ensuring our deaths. My eyes felt too heavy, too wet, and I wanted to scream. Ari was out there somewhere and I would never find him now, he might die, unable to remove the magic inhibitor…Like killing my herd mate, who was also my new friend and only source of food wasn’t enough for them to do! And according to some pirates it wasn’t enough. Beams of white energy sailed over my head, filling the air with the smell of burnt ozone, and a splintering of wood. Everything moved in slow motion to my eyes for a second. Kapera jumping to the right and scampering away on all fours, dodging the falling ropes and beams with her tail tucked in. Dinari jumping to the left, dodging some falling beams, before she finally succumbed, becoming tangled in the many ropes. The noise of it all was nearly deafening. Squeals of fear and panic coming from the falling prisoners as the mast took them down with it. A heavy thump rocked the deck, vibrating my teeth for a second as the sails to catch a breeze from their new position. Suddenly, I was snapped up. Emotions swirled around, fear, surprise, and love mixing in a strange cocktail in my stomach. The cushion I had been on exploded in a puff of pastel colored feathers and fabric as cannon balls began raining down. Gennady’s run was short, stopping at the mast’s base, and coincidently, the unharmed prisoners, they were still hogtied and terrified. Once there he began trying to untangle his sister, Kapera popping up seconds later to help him. They worked fast, pulling, tugging, and even biting through the ropes. A thump of wood on wood brought caught my attention. What the- “YAH,” many boisterous voices shouted, the excitement coming from them was almost palatable, but the fear from the bull holding me was palatable, coating my stomach in another vile emotion. “Finally some action,” a couple of males giggled, looking at the zebra mare and me with eager expressions. Many more chuckled at what they had planned in their minds. I like to think it was killing themselves, I know it would make me happy, very happy. Some just yelled battle cries as they boarded us, lining the railings with cutlasses drawn. They continued taunting us, but stayed far away from us, not even swiping at us. Perhaps it was due to the fact that they knew we were trapped, that our options were limited now. But it worried me. I knew couldn’t fight without losing the foal…That is, if I haven’t lost it already. A shudder passed through me at the thought, adding to my nausea. Lyric was…dead, Gennady wasn’t trained in wielding anything bigger than a pickaxe as far as I knew, and Dinari was trapped. Kapera had her teeth and claws, but compared to the pirates that had swords and easily outnumbered us, that brought little hope. In fact, it just got worse. More and more pirates boarded till we had close to fifty on the deck, all the while adding more planks, and watching us with their hungry eyes. Although, it wasn’t just the hunger for killing, there were many different types of hunger present. Some screamed lust to me, others had the expected barely reigned in bloodlust, but the female crew members promised revenge with their eyes. One Gryphon in particular was giving me the evil eye while running her tongue along her blade, looking much more eager than even her lustful crewmates. Just what I needed, one hen that really would push for the ‘long tortuous death’ option when- The thunder of paws and fins suddenly halted, more planks were laid down forming a solid looking bridge. Then a path was cleared, the workers scrambling back to the railing as a hush fell upon the pirates. Gennady and Kapera stopped and looked back from their work as we gazed at the ugliest thing I had ever seen in my life. Walking across the planks was a creature I had never seen before, never even heard of, and I understood why. If I was whatever it was I would be too embarrassed to leave my room, let alone the ship, and judging by some of the looks on the pirate’s faces they thought so too. Faust must hate him, I mean look at him! He walked bowlegged on two very hairy legs, not enough to be considered fur, and had grotesque reversed knees. It was almost like a vildkatt’s legs but more extreme, and certainly not visually pleasing. His paws were just as ugly, bearing five digits instead of four, one looking like a dew claw but wrong. It was too long, and too far to the side and back. The paws also had almost no hair. Really, I wanted to say fur but I couldn’t, his covering of follicles was soo thin I could see many spots where grayish blue skin showed, more than I would like to see. The worst part from my perspective was right in front of me, especially with so little hair…He was also not wearing any clothing. A thing most respectable bipedal beings avoided, as their genitals were often in line with their quadruped friend’s faces. Apparently he was above such practices. His nakedness allowed me to see the clearly defined muscles on his body, tense in the sunlight, highlighting the bulging biceps that made Gennady’s muscles look small. But despite the muscular endowment he had I still believe Faust must have hated him when he made the pirate’s face. The nose was all scrunched up and tiny, nostrils set wide apart, but with no muzzle to speak of, useless really. Then the god of creation had slapped two blue eyes on there, except they were too tiny to function, like little buttons. Unlike the over sized ears of Vildkatts or the nonexistent ears of Samaki, his ears were odd, looking once again too small for his face. Sticking out like little immovable ovals, not twitching to track the subtle shifting of his crew, it was unnerving. Like his whole body was written wrong, to a nonsensical pattern that would have made the god of chaos nod in approval. Take that fact that his hair was most concentrated around his crown, chin and mouth. It made no sense; wouldn’t the mouth hair attract crumbs and other food wastes? “Well, well, well. I won the jackpot-,” no being spoke as he paused, looking at his crew with narrowing eyes, “- and no lucky dice needed this time!” This time a roar of laughs came from them. He mock bowed from his position at the end of the planks, just a hop from our deck. The gryphon hen was trying to get his attention, looking at me then him, very obviously. The other crew members quieted and sighed. Her captain turned to her, “Yeesssss Maja? Something on your mind?” His gruff voice spoke softer than before, quieting the sighs as they all watched the interaction. We did as well, not knowing what else to do; we had no hope of winning. “MayIkillthechangeling?” Maja rushed out, her voice rivaling the pink menace in speed, the eagerness was one of dark intentions, though, although parties didn’t seem her style. The sword was twitching in her grip. “NO!” His voice suddenly turned dark, a toothy snarl revealing a mix of sharp canines and dull incisors. “That-,” his hairy paw pointed to me, “-is our paycheck! One million bits ALIVE! Worth more than any other loot on this ship,” the meaty paw gestured to the rest of my companions as he said loot. Her head lowered, shoulders slumping in disappointment, the poor hen doesn’t get to kill a changeling…My sympathies were nonexistent. “Can I…Torture it then?” She looked up hopefully, with the expression some being might use for more cake. The captain thought it over…For all of one second. “Of course my little blade! Maim away, just leave her intact and alive.” The rest of the crew chuckled at her enthusiasm, like you have guessed I was less than impressed, in my state any torture would…My heart sank then. “Omph!” Chuckles and laughs died down as he literally had his feet taken out from under him, landing face first on our deck. A deathly hush fell over the every being, I tasted fear. A wave had knocked the boards out. The wave that had sprung up and grabbed the boarding planks paused unnaturally, holding the wood in its watery clutch as it stayed raised, and around the deck eyes grew wide. I felt hope enter my chest, this was magic, elemental water magic, and only… “Lyric?!” I whispered into the tense air, my heart racing as I recognized her wave trick from the swamp. The raised wave came crashing down on the pirates, soaking them, and sending some sprawling. A dark chuckle rose from the prone creature on the deck, it was full of mirth, and his crew began to give him space. Several crew members even looked over the railing in fear, like that rocky water was more inviting. One vildkatt was too slow to back away; the ‘poor’ tom was grabbed by the ankle and dragged down. There was no protesting. We stood paralyzed as in less than ten seconds the tom’s neck was snapped, flopping slightly under the meaty paw of his captain. Shaking with emotion the captain stood, grabbing the sword from the body before tossing his former crew member overboard like he weighed little more than a pillow. But his anger was still there after that, digits curling in to make fists, breathing turning ragged, and his eyes had a wild look to them. He looked like a vision from nightmare night, looking for something to eat. Sharp canines ground together as he looked around the deck for the culprit. Our eyes locked. As his blue eyes mine I wanted to run from this fight, never before feeling the empty depths like those eyes, it was…Madness…I couldn’t move, too weak to struggle out of the bull’s grip, and even if I could…I was too weak to run. I could only do one thing from my position. “Hello and you are?” Feigning ignorance, I had to get him talking, make time for Lyric to think of a way free us. Every being had their eyes on me, many emotions ran through the crowd, but most looked to be wondering if I had gone mad. I hadn’t, at least not the type they thought. “HUHUHUHUHUH!” He laughed, slapping his knee with his free hand, and leaning against the sword. A complete change from his angry self that was here only seconds ago. Wiping imaginary tears from the corners of his eyes he looked at me, serious now. “Now, that is a stupid question if I ever heard one. Were you so hive bound that you never heard of me?!” I couldn’t reply, it was accurate, “WELL?!” With that he closed the gap jumping down from the stern, flipping in midair before landing in front of Gennady, blocking Dinari’s view. The bull tried to push me behind him, closer to our prisoners. The key word, again, was tried. The captain had me by the throat while Gennady had me around the abdomen. I was caught in a tug of war and didn’t know who was winning, couldn’t bother to care then, it was just more pain and nausea inducing emotions. “Obviously idiocy runs in your group, now let go of my paycheck you bucking cow!” And he did let go of me. “AAAHHHHH!” Not of his own choice though, Gennady lost his arm. My back throbbed as I was remembered losing my own appendage, I don’t think the arm was any less sensitive. It thumped as it hit the deck, red spraying from the stump as we looked on in shock. His screams and pants as he tried to clutch it, and failing to do so without causing more pain. Kapera jumped, removing her apron to- My view changed, world blurring for a second as I was roughly handled. That damn hen was just staring at me, eyes distant. A tall Minotaur at the back looked away while a vildkatt beside him shrugged, yawning before leaning on the bull. Holding me by my neck, their captain raised me up high to show his crew. “This is our paycheck-,” Cheers blasted my ears as I dangled there, “-so tell it who it’s paying!” “THE KING OF PIRATES!” Snorting came from behind me, thrashing and snips muffled under the cheers. “Boss!” “MASTER OF THE SEA!” “Falmer! BOSS!” The same voice that called out before yelled out above the din causing a silence to fall, but that could have been my hearing going as his strong grip turned to the point of strangulation. Were there always stars in the daytime? “Boss! Boss! Boss,” A brown and tan hypogryph came flying over the gap, franticly waving some glowing headset in his paws…He never made it across, Lyric’s wave rose up and grabbed him, pulling the struggling pirate down. She was trying, but there was only so much she could do with us on board. “What no-.” He, ‘Falmer’, the bastard never finished his question. We both were sent sprawling, a roar reaching my ears as I rolled to a stop. After a dazed second I looked up to Kapera dragging me away from the part of the deck where an enraged eight foot tall heifer was wrestling with a muscle bound seven foot tall thing. The match went back and forth for several minutes. As we watched bids were being yelled out between the pirate crew…All on how long it would take their captain to wipe the deck with her. This was just another damn game to them! Gennady looked above the battle at something on the stern that I’m sure only his pain addled brain could see, and all the while the apron was slowly growing darker. All this seemed pointless, we were just their entertainment. “GRUUUHHHH” She grunted as he had her pinned. A thump and grunt came from him next as she got her arm around his neck and him pinned. Slapping the deck, he looked about out of it, eyes dropping. Her grip loosened reflectively, a small satisfied grin growing on her muzzle. Yes! We- Like with his ship, he had played with her, as soon as she relaxed he threw his head back. Her surprised scream of pain was overshadowed by the jeers and cheering of his crew as he flipped her, now under him the smith struggled with a taste of her own medicine. Her brother wasn’t even watching her, shock most likely setting in, the stern capturing his focus. After a couple minutes Falmer stood, dusting off his hair while showing the crew his teeth, cheers continued. More minutes passed and he finally put up a paw, they stopped instantaneously thankfully, my migraine was threatening many evil things if they hadn’t. “Enough! These games are costing us too much time, who wants fresh meat?” Cheers, “I thought so, let’s get these-.” Lyric could hear him; water rose from the Narrow Sea and grabbed a group of his crew members close to the edge. Twenty to be exact, that mare is full of surprises. “Well…Buck, we are going to have to fix that.” He nodded to the sea and several Samaki looked at each other, seeming to get an idea, chattering in their language that was impossible for land beings to replicate, leaving me in the dark. But it didn’t take long for my muzzle to drop as did Kapera’s as she noticed their actions. Those bucking walking fish all jumped over the railings, gills flashing along with their confident smirks. Fifteen Samaki were too much for Lyric, even with her affinity to the water. No Samaki has ever drowned. A gasp sounded from the side of the hull, by the water, she must be- Her squeal broke my heart. I could barely concentrate, my heart was going a mile a minute, and, and another bucking pirate ship just came around the corner. The prisoners were looking at me with wide eyes now, confused at my lack of action. They did not understand why I was immobile. They didn’t feel my body’s aches, all the heart ache and panic at being useless. I was a queen! Once anyway, but now I reduced to this. My herd, new family, it was all falling apart. Our new opponent was coming at our beached, sinking vessel at full speed. “And there is…” He trailed off as the ship grew closer, two hundred feet away and Falmer’s mouthed turned down. “What is HE doing here? I sent him after Arch…” He looked around for a second. “WHERE IS BRONZE GYLPH?” He yelled, forcing my ears back and another axe at my brain. Maja, the gryphon hen, looked at the deck, “The siren got him, and he had the communicator with him.” “Buck!” He paused before turning to his ship that was hovering patiently slightly above the crashing waves. “QUICKFIT LET THE BITCH KNOW HOW I FEEL!” A clatter was heard on his deck as he muttered, “That bottle licker is going the wrong way…” A red unicorn came bumbling out to the airship’s deck, rushing to a charge cannon, once there he put a hoof on both jewels that were on the cannons stand. Crackling sounded in the air. Then white energy formed a beam, firing off a narrow beam of magic at the approaching ship’s cabin. It was reflecting. My heart raced as I saw a familiar shield pop up, deflecting the beam into the sky. Jaws dropped and the captain scratched his head, confused at the shield. My ears perked up, finding new energy. Ari called it a ‘medieval’ shield when I had asked him, his version of our magic shield. Before I could celebrate Ari’s achievement in stealing a pirate ship a wet smack brought my attention back to the deck. Thin rivulets of watery blood ran along the deck, leaving the beaten and unconscious form of my herd mate. Lyric was missing a couple of scales around her muzzle, her tail looked crooked, and her eyes were closed. Breathing slightly erratically, she was still alive, but definitely not in any way capable of helping. Ari was here…I think so; it was an earth ‘medieval’ styled shield I saw. Although it was gone, maybe I was too hopeful? What was the chance that another unicorn slaver knew that style of shield? “Buck, that isn’t part of his ship!” I just grinned and winked at my companions, they didn’t understand at first, then Kapera mouthed ‘Ari’. I nodded, a sense of peace settling over me as I turned back to- More ships were coming in behind Ari’s ship; nine pirate ships were chasing him. No, wait, they all looked a little roughed up. Actually, at one hundred feet I could clearly see that Ari’s was missing a cabin, all were missing one of their cabins, and some had giant holes in their sails… These ships were all his?! At fifty feet now the captain took notice of the ship’s shape too, “That isn’t the drunkard bitch, FFIIIIRRRREE!” Another beam came from the airship, this time at one of the other ships. We could clearly see the golden glow as the new captain of the pirate ship walked up the stairs to his ship’s bow; a medieval shield appeared in front of the targeted ship. The beam was useless. Falmer’s rage faded to the background as I took in my long lost stallion. Seven days had passed now and we both looked worse for wear. Ari was looking a lot like…I snorted and folded my ears slightly. Was that a zebra on his back and coming up beside him? No, that makes sense. The zebras were the usual victims, he probably has met plenty of zebras, and of course they were helping him. Right, anyway, after a week my stallion looked a lot like a zebra. He was wrapped in so many bandages that his black fur was just peeking through; from flank to wither he was bandaged. Even one of his wings was splinted and tied to his body. His muzzle was scraped up, and his eyes…They locked onto mine as his ship got within thirty feet. So much passed through that look, he was happy, brow rising, and then scrunching as his face contorted in confusion, before finally settling into a tense expression with his nostrils flaring. I managed a weak smile as pain came from my muscles. Falmer was as good as dead, those eyes held that almost feral look in them that I hadn’t seen in quite a while. Last time…he stomped the dogs to death. His assassin brought me back, looking at the ships with fear, “Can I ask you for a quick death?” Taking a double take, my eyes went between her and my stallion’s fleet. I hadn’t been thinking of her fate much, Ari had been on my mind, and really, her questioning had been interrupted by Moonbutt’s spy. But we still didn’t have time for this. “You can ask, but it is still Ari’s decision in the end.” I looked at her, then the spy. “Same for you Echo, Ari is the one you want to beg for forgiveness…Changeling king? Really? That princess must be losing it.” “Ari?” The captain said, all the pirate’s looking at us like they had won another jackpot. Kapera was punched back in an instant and I was hoisted up by my neck again, Gennady reached for me, but was easily kicked away. “You know this pony, eh?” I kept silent as he gazed at me. “Just as I thought, you know him-,” he grinned wider as my ear twitched from the breeze, “-no, you don’t just know him…A mare, a stallion; he is your stallion I’m willing to bet. No stallion gets this worked up from any mare getting roughed up.” And glancing over I had to admit he was right, Ari had his ears pinned, neck arched, and his short tail was whipping back and forth. If the ponies hadn’t been pressing into him and whispering, a fact which I was trying to ignore, then he would have crossed the gap and stomped Falmer to death already. With the gap just twenty feet now, Ari snorted and bent down to whisper something to the zebra beside him. She wore almost a complete replica of the headset that the hippogriff had…Like magic the ships all changed course, breaking away from their previous formation to travel in a line, eventually forming a circle around us, the cliff behind us completing the cage. “READY,” Ari called in his royal Canterlot voice while his eyes narrowed at the disgusting creature behind holding me prisoner. “AIM,” the small round of thunder coming from the nine ships ended as he said that, clicks sound from them now. Falmer heard this too of course. “Grab the loot and get back on the ship!” And with that command they, my…Friends, were swarmed by the remaining pirates, maybe thirty, but too much for us still. Nausea returning, I closed my eyes as my world moved rapidly and noise hammered my head. A glimpse of the sea passed, a solid thump sounding as we stopped moving. Squeals still sounded behind me as our prisoners became their prisoners, I didn’t hear Kapera as more thumps sounded. Opening my eyes I saw why, she had her muzzle locked around a vildkatt’s arm as they tried to carry her across the newly provided planks. Lyric was being dragged like a heavy sack, the Samaki letting the rails hit her as they ran over. I would have snorted at their treatment of her had I the energy, I was so tired. Dinari was being hefted over by the glassy eyed Minotaur that couldn’t watch when she was choked, or when Gennady lost an arm. Funny how they care once it’s their species, I was willing he didn’t feel any remorse for all the zebras he has helped ship. Gennady followed the Minotaur quietly, keeping his head turned towards Ari. “HOLD.” Shaking me until a strangled squeak escaped by my lips, Falmer looked at my stallion, “Uh, uh , uh, my troublesome unicorn-.” Kapera was thrown to the deck and pinned, “ALICORN!” Her angry voice yelled at her long time enemy. “Or to you, your death-,” a kick from the bleeding Vildkatt shut her up, gasps for air coming from her. Ari’s horn glowed and a faint ethereal bridge started appearing, one plank flickering at a time, till it connected to the airship’s railing. My stallion ignored the beast, instead turning to the zebra beside him. “Get more of your paste ready.” She just looked at me then him. “You better be explaining this.” He gave her a sad smile, “Of course I will be.” Ari then turned to the other mare, a brown earth pony. “Can you go help her?” Indicating to the way the zebra went, to which the mare nodded slowly, looking sideways at me with splaying ears. “Good, then see you soon.” A second passed and we all blinked as he began to take long strides across his bridge. “WAIT, WHAT ABOUT-.” The mare started to ask, only to be interrupted by the creature, he was grinding his teeth, and his paw tightened around me. “Really, does this thing mean nothing to you?” He shook me slightly, making my neck chitin ache, among other things. Ari’s answer was a snort as he kept walking. “I mean, you look like something out of the desert, half wrapped, and about to be dead.” Touching down on the deck, my stallion ignored him, taking in the status of everyone. Before he blinked, as did every other being, if any had thought they were imagining they now knew they weren’t. He had an injured zebra mare on his back. Ari’s narrowed gaze finally settling on Falmer. His eyes widened, cocking his head to the left, then right. What was so confusing? The pirate was ugly as manure was stinky. I was hanging by my neck here! “Are you a ‘Planet of the Apes’ reject? I mean I can tell you are an ape…But-,” He pointed a chipped hoof at Falmer’s feet, “-your feet are still so primitive.” A ‘aha’ look came, “Are you a Neanderthal?” “RRRREEEAAALLLYYYY?! EVERY DAMNED TIME!” He paused to breath and let the ringing leave my ears, “I’m an Mbzuzi! Muu-bu-zoo-ze, got that you pathetic whorse?!” The insult passed over Ari completely, but the mare on his back pinned her ears at the ‘Mbzuzi’. “Rrrriiiggghhhtt…A Mbzuzi, you know ‘ape’ is shorter right? Or monkey, I mean I already know-.” Ari stopped suddenly, cocking his head. “No, maybe I don’t. Anyway, I’m sure you know why I’m here ape.” Maja looked ready to kill him, clicking her beak as her wings ruffled. “He has a name you disrespectful colt,” He turned to look at her, to which she ruffled her chest feathers, puffing up. “That’s right, you are in the presence of the king of pirates, ruler of the seas, and-.” “Look, I don’t know how much he fucks you for you to kiss his ass this much, and I don’t care. You obviously idol him, that’s sick in my opinion, but good for you to have happiness…I guess.” Falmer stuck his tongue out at that. “I hate to ruin your thing but he has to die, and you too if you side with him. The Narrow Sea is going to be slaver free,” He turned to Falmer, “Pirate free.” Laughter came from the crew, paws, hooves, and fins slapped the deck as the idea of thirty one pirates losing to him went over as well as expected. “Really, Mr. Alicorn? What are you going to do? Hit me with the sun? Send me to the moon? Trap me in eternal night till I cry uncle?” He brought me to the forefront then. “Face it colt, you ain’t no Sunbutt or Moonbutt, your mane doesn’t even float. In fact, I had never even heard of you till Arch told me he found you! You-.” “Don’t exist,” Ari finished for him, looking serious again. With a snort he continued, “I get that everywhere I go, it is kind of annoying. But like I said-,” his horn glowed, “-you are going to diieee. AH!” Ari’s shot went off course as the ship shook, the spell hitting the cliff and sending rocks into the water. But no shots had been fired at us…Why did we lurch like that? We all waited for a second, silence. They continued, Falmer looking cheeky. “You are bluffing, no good stallion would hit their mare and that’s exactly what you appear to be. I mean those pathetic excuses for bits convinced you to help them, after many years decades of being little sheep, following the flock, if they deserved to live they would have fought back.” “WE DID YOU BASTERD!” Kapera yelled, “Omph.” “As I was saying, the many ships you stole are useless to you when you can’t fire a single shot! You are smarter than Sunbutt I will give you that…But you ain’t no genius, just a hormone driven upstart. Eh, colt? How right am I?” My stomach flipped as I was shaken again, until a snort sounded, letting the world slow down. “You will unhand my mare.” What was a hand? The mbzuzi was enjoying this, “And why would I throw away one million bitsaaAAAAHHHHH!” I was dropped, again, red raining down my neck. Blinking I realized it wasn’t mine. A force pulled me across the deck and I blinked, watching as the blubbering form of Falmer grew further away, yellow knife dissipating beside the stump where Falmer’s hand had been. Ari was looking down at me, a smile on his muzzle, tired eyes crinkling, “Hey Chrissy.” I didn’t know what to say, my brain could finally think again with that awful screaming gone, and I was soo happy to- Snapping to attention, Ari ducked as a punch came flying at him. With the momentum Falmer brought his face, teeth really, at my stallion’s neck. Squealing at the contact, he reared up, taking the mare and Falmer with him. That squeal turned into a roar, as the mare’s grip let go, freeing the males to duke it out, magic was long forgotten in Ari’s mind. Feral eyes screamed unmistakable hatred for each other. Locked in battle they pushed against each other, Falmer with his good arm pushing on Ari’s wither while his maw got soaked in Alicorn blood, and Ari with his hooves stomping at the muscled shoulders. Suddenly fear coated my tongue, a warm hoof on my flank, the injured mare. We locked eyes, her eyes uncertain, fearful, and…Curious? I didn’t know what to say to do, in her state she wasn’t any threat, and I wasn’t any threat. Our ears both splayed as the stare off continued, sadness flowed in, then new stronger fear flowed in. My stomach started shouting obscenities at the influx of bitter emotions. The deck thudded as they continued to battle, the crowd silent this time. “Either, think of something happy and loving or get your hoof off my flank.” I pinned my ears at her to make the message clear. Just because I knew I couldn’t move to back it up didn’t mean she knew that. Her hoof shook, confusion muting the flavors. “What?” “Fear tastes horrible.” She jumped further onto me, dodging the dancing hooves and ‘hands’, whatever those were. With a snort I looked back at her. “I’m an emotionvore.” She looked from her body that was half on my flank, then Ari, then to me, cocking her head, and sweet love flowed in. “Like that?” “Exactly like that.” Muzzle opening like she wanted to say more, it froze, fear becoming dominate again. I just sighed; she must have realized just what she was on: a changeling. Changelings never really went to Zebrica, too long to travel back and forth. But we were still spoken of there, ‘the fanged dark flyers’, ‘night bugs’ or something equally as complimentary. Changelings got the short stick everywhere. Not as short as Falmer must be feeling. Ari was towering over the mbzuzi now. They had broken apart some time and had just come back to try and break each other, so much for the restraint he had showed before…Not I didn’t find his performance captivating, but Lyric was unconscious, Gennady was still bleeding, and Dinari was also unconscious. This would have been quicker if Ari had used magic. Reared up, he was now at least two feet taller than Falmer. But that also left his chest wide open, which the pirate was more than happy to use to his advantage. Hairy arms went out, one trailing blood, with the odd squirt squelching out, the other had their clawless digits outstretched. Well used hooves came down- The airship lurched, sending Falmer flailing backwards from Ari, and hooves followed him. “GRAAAAAAAAAAA!” Cracks sounded out from the ‘hands’ under Ari’s hooves. Oops, isn’t that just too bad? More cracks sounded, causing every being to turn their head to our wrecked ship, there a large green scaled head poking out of the now nonexistent deck. The fins rippled along from its neck to head, long snout scrunching up as nostrils flared. This was another one of the reasons that changelings never crossed the sea, that no being had ever come back from the Endless sea, sea serpents were bigger than most dragons and just as vicious. “Fuck.” I looked over to Ari, his eyes dilating before they franticly went around the deck. Locking on the Minotaur that still held Dinari, his horn glowed, and a pop sounded from beside the Minotaur. Gennady was gone. Falmer turned his head to the sound of the pop, “Grab the loot-AHHHH,” the serpent narrowed its eyes, focusing on the noise. “START THE ENGINES NOW! FIRE THE CANNONS!” He continued to call orders unnecessarily, his crew was already running to the cannons and the control panels. Except none of them were bothering to secure us, not that I blame them, living was always better in my book. Another three pops sounded, Kapera and the prisoners were gone. But the Minotaur was just standing there, his black horns lowering slightly as they gazed at each other. Thumps reached my ears, followed by panicked squeals from Ari’s vessel. The zebra with the headset was back. “ARI HURRY IT UP, WE HAVE A WHOLE-,” the mare’s yell was cut off as the ship turned sideways, righting itself just barely, a purple fin breached the water heading for the airship. With that the green head broke through the hull, wood flying as it made to follow the purple fin. All that was left was Lyric, Dinari, the zebra, and I. Unfortunately the Samaki still had Lyric by the leg, the Minotaur had Dinari, and Ari was busy trying to keep himself between Falmer and me. “GET THE OTHERS TO MOVE OUT,” Ari yelled to her before turning his eyes to the Minotaur, “Release my friend.” Their eyes narrowed And to every being’s surprise he dropped her; with a pop she was gone. With an angry snort he started walking to the help the crew take off, “Take better care of her, the sea is no place for her or her brother.” How did he- The sound of wood breaking tore at my ears. Ari’s ships started to move, and to my eyes widened as many more fins showed through the choppy sea. Crackles started up as the lightshow began, hitting the sea at random, every shot clearly hitting something as they illuminated the water. Greens, blues, and purples glittered in a haunting visage, and it was enough for even the Samaki to turn fin and run to the cannons as shouts for help came from the crew. Falmer still gazed at me hungrily as another pop rang out. “YOU!” Ari looked to the downed captain. “YOU BROUGHT THEM HERE,” He made a stumble towards us and Ari just turned his back on him, facing the zebra and me with a smile. After giving us both a nuzzle, the love making me sigh, his horn started to glow. A rumble started from the ship, followed by a thump, and more crackling. Twangs, ropes whipped the deck, inches from my flank, more fear came, and a buzz of magic flicked across my chitin. Blinking it disappeared. My stallion was now bucking as Falmer gripped his flank, the kicks doing little to deter him. “ARI!” The mare was still there on his bow, but the boat was turning and rocking, fins circling it. Even more worrying to our current position were the sounds coming for below the airship. As the airship lifted sluggishly, creaking sounding from down below, the sea seemed to be full of serpents. “PLEASE ARI, LET THE SERPANTS GET HIM!” Ari’s ear twitched as mine folded back. A snort and whimper came from my back, the fear turning to anger, and with careful hurried clip clops the injured mare hobbled up to the mbzuzi. She stomped on his ‘hand’. It was awkwardly done on three legs but was very effective anyway. Howling, he arched his back, off balance as he couldn’t find any ease from the pain. Grip failing, Ari’s short kicks drew he back, till he got one in that sent him flying, over the railing and roaring the whole way. A flash and bang brought our eyes to the sky, the blue horizon seeming to bend under our gaze. Then a moment of quiet noise overtook the deck, huffing from Ari and the zebra, a stunned murmur growing from the pirates. Metal screeching caused every being to cover their ears, splashing followed. “IT GOT OUR ENGINE!” The airship continued to slowly rise above Ari’s ship anyway, three more engines working double time. Pops cracked in my ears as my stomach swam, and the world became a kaleidoscope of color. It settled finally on black and white. Blinking it cleared further, forming the shapes of many zebras. Where was I? Looking around I could tell I was in a medical area of some kind, groups of zebras and…Several equestrians trotted around the room, all wobbling with the ship while carrying red bags and other supplies. A muzzle popped in front of me, “I trust you to be a good patient now.” I was speechless; the zebra didn’t hold any terror in her gaze, so I nodded to her, trying to wrap my mind around this. No fear. I was in an infirmary…And no being was running from me, well the equestrian’s were sneaking fearful looks at me, but they were still carrying on with their tasks. Did I die? **** Ari Please, please, please die! I couldn’t help but think as I watched the sea serpents swarm the airship. Their huge bodies, easily a hundred feet long for some, were wrapping themselves around any part they could reach. Unfortunately for us, my ship was still in easy reach, our escape progress was slow to nonexistent with the waves pushing us towards the rocks, the serpents circling around us like oversized sharks, and the wind whipping around like no one’s business. It wasn’t helpful, the others had at least made it out farther, already grower smaller in the horizon. At least the ape was serpent food now. Scales scraped our hull, causing the zebras on deck to look to me. “Any idea how to kill a sea serpent,” I asked Folami, she sighed and looked down at the deck before moving into my side. I didn’t tense this time, like I had the first time, she was just trying to help. “Not unless you can get manage another beam and blast it right between the eyes. They have multiple hearts according to legend, so a headshot is our only guarantee…Their scales are pretty much magic resistant, unless it was a beam of the caliber you used on Arch. It wouldn’t do more than anger the serpent.” Not what I wanted to hear. Don’t get me wrong, I probably could get a couple more beams of that power out, but there was way more than two in the water…And I was magically exhausted. Capturing these ships had done a number on my already starving and injured body, physically I felt like I was just floating. These hooves had smashed nearly six hundred and fifty chains, they were numb, cracking. All while my muscles felt like I had run a marathon. Marble came trotting up then, “Ari…” She trailed off as she looked at me. Another bump rocked the deck. “Yes?” “Uh, you are bleeding…” That didn’t surprise me, my neck felt wet, and I had just wrestled an ape of some sort. That last part still left so many questions about this world. A talking, pirating ape, ‘Apes of the Caribbean’, dear god it hurt my brain. “Just take them off, wrap me up after I get rid of these damn over grown sharks.” Puzzled looks came to me. “Earth water predator, let me think…” So they began unwrapping me, bloodied bandages piling up on the deck. I looked at the nearly soaked fabric, knowing I couldn’t swim to fight them if I was bleeding this much. That would just be asking for- That’s it! More creaks sounded and I gave Marble a worried look, there was still half of my body left. Conjuring scissors, I started clipping through them faster then she could bite. “Come on,” I muttered to myself as my core and channels dimmed suddenly, hunger increasing. She backed off. “Ari?” They questioned uncertainly as every pony watched and the boat wasn’t moving, the wind changed, but the sea serpents were keeping us immobile. Levitating the bloody bandages I started to bring them over the railing, “They are just giant, magic resistant sharks, attracted by blood.” As the distance grew over the rough waters they started to drip, small red drops making a trail to the big airship full of blood sacks. It was survival here…His crew also needed to pay for their actions, I had found many dead mares in these hulls, and not all were starved. Another boom forced me to look up, the air was rippling and bending in the sky…And the sun was beginning its descent. That should be far enough. “Any more bloody bandages around here?” Most of the serpents were wandering over to the pile I dropped but some stuck around. Marble nodded, fetching more with surprising speed. Repeating the process, I brought it out to airship’s area. I squinted my eyes, black smoke obscuring my view as the engines were in a tug of war with the sea serpents. We were moving. Sighs of relief went out across the deck, almost drowned out the gales sending us after my fleet. They were still way ahead of us but that was okay, we had the headset still. “Tell the fleet to head for home.” I slowly wobbled my way down the steps; Chrissy didn’t look too good when I saw her. “Home?” Folami questioned as I touched down on the deck, she sounded it out slowly, like it was a foreign word for her. “You do live in Zebrica right?” I looked back at her open mouth, “I just assumed since Ayodele said your family would be affected that you were from there.” Finally she nodded, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Pink glow started up from her as every pony gathered around, eyes were glassing over, and the screams and booms faded into the background. “H-hello,” Folami stuttered out met with a chorus of greetings from the nine captains I had unofficially made. “S-set a course for home, we are going home.” Raucous cheers and stomping echoed out from every mare on deck, heads peeked out, and then the cheers traveled. The king of pirates was dead. Slipping off the headset and dropping the jewel she rushed to me, Marble joining in, hugging with all their hearts. Tears even threatened to come from me; truly, this was a feeling unlike any other. I was speechless, any words I could think of putting to the reality of what I had done were too little, it hadn’t even occurred to me all of what this meant to them. Some ideas had occurred but, seeing the tears, the joy, it was overwhelming. Giving them some minutes to wear themselves out, the light dimming with my energy, adrenaline could only take me so far. “Hey, I’m feeling a little tired. I’m going to go catch up with my mares.” Silence fell, the hugs ended and I felt the question in the many splayed ears and uncertain looks. “Yes, my mares are unconventional-.” “She’s a changeling.” Marble stated, like the sky was blue. I continued to the infirmary door, “Yes and she has been just as affected by the crazy weather as the rest of every pony, except her land really was ruined to the point of no return.” Opening the door I continued, every ear was turned to me. “Her home was flooded out, her people were starving and no pony would freely feed an emotionvore,” I rolled my eyes at that. “So she came with a plan, not a perfect plan-,” we locked eyes, Chrissy looking at me with wide eyes, “-but it was from the right place. She could have killed me when we first met, drained me dry or any other silly story you may have heard.” I crossed the last steps to her. “But she didn’t, she was upset, just like some of you must be, her entire family was dead, and she expected death from me.” “You didn’t kill her.” A small, scared voice asked. The source had me frowning, “No, it made sense to try everything to save your family, especially when no one would help…” I stood frozen in front of Chrissy, staring at the sight, it made no sense…Weren’t they all zebras? “Why are you tied up?” Looking beside her I saw a bat winged pony also hog tied. “Can some pony please explain this?” My knees started protesting, so I settled in beside Chrissy, wrapping my good wing over her. Murmurs grew over her sigh of relief; still no one moved to answer the question. I looked around; Kapera was stroking Dinari’s head, which was laid beside her brother. Wincing I moved on…He had lost an arm and what more could be said. They were exhausted. Lyric…She was being patched up still, her tail bone quirked at an odd angle. Bat pony didn’t seem too chatty, looking at me with wide eyes and splayed ears. All that was left was the zebra herself. “What is your name?” … “Look I don’t bite; I just like to know who I’m addressing.” A very audile gulp sounded and she muttered something out, Chrissy didn’t help me hear it by snorting. Sighing I levitated her over; this caused her to look at me fearfully. “There is no need to look like that, I just want to know why they haven’t untied you yet…Or attended to your burns.” Her mane was gone and the back of the neck was scattered with angry red burns. “Pleasedon’tkillme!” I blinked at her and cocked my head at her, before it hit me. She didn’t know me, having just come from slavers, and was still tied up. Giving her as warm a smile as I could, I untied her. Chrissy shifted beside me and the other zebras grew tense. “There,” I put her down in front of me. “We aren’t with the slavers as you can see so there is no need to fear us. Why would I want to kill you?” “Ayomide,” taking a deep breath she looked wearily up at me. “That’s my name.” I nodded to her, “Hello Ayomide, it is nice to-.” Kapera interrupted me, “ARGH!” We turned to look at her, my mare sighing. “Ari, I can’t take this anymore! That mare tried to kill you! We had to run her down in the street and interrogate her to find out who had you.” By this time I turned back to look at Ayomide, she didn’t scream ‘killer’, her pitiful wet eyes and crouched position before me was actually the opposite. My heart was so confused. “She poisoned you! If she hadn’t you wouldn’t have been unconscious on that beach for Arch to find in the first place!” Deep breath, this didn’t make sense. Why would I have this tiny mare trying to kill me? I had never met her before. Although, I don’t remember what happened on the beach and I was unconscious for four days…Ayomide just didn’t seem the type to kill. “Ayomide,” she flinched, “Please explain.” Another deep breath and I tightened my wing around Chrissy. “It was my job. I would get one hundred thousand bits for killing you…And you just wouldn’t die!” Snorts came from many mares. I didn’t know how to feel about that, what do I say when ‘not dying’ is a negative to a mare? Groans came from Dinari and Lyric, they shifted slightly, and that was good news in my book. Turning back to Ayomide, “I wouldn’t die…I don’t think I can apologize for that, really, I like living. So who was going to pay you these bits?” “It doesn’t matter does it? You aren’t going to let me live anyway.” Awkward silence, every zebra looking at me, Chrissy looked at me with a frown, and Ayodele was making her way over with wide eyes. What do I say? Nothing in my life every prepared me for any person wanting to kill me, much less failing to and telling me. Forgiveness seems too…Problematic, she could just try again when it seems like I have forgotten. But killing her in retaliation didn’t seem too realistic either. What if her assassin friends came after me? I mean technically she hadn’t killed me so more were bound to be coming anyway. Most pressing in this room was that fact that she was a zebra, when I had been fighting for the freedom of the zebras from slavers, from death. How could I offer the same fate as a slaver? “Why?” She looked at me in shock and I nodded to her. “Well, for money.” I raised an eyebrow. “Zebrica isn’t exactly booming with job opportunities, every zebra is, was sucking every bit they could from the tourists and traders, we needed to pay-.” “I’m aware of the previous status the slavers had left your country, I am changing that, changed that I hope. Maybe some minor pirates floating around…But they will be easy, especially when they don’t have hostages. Just one spell and I get them all in their cabins, fish in a barrel. But why killing, one hundred thousand bits is a lot, more than one bribe?” A sad chuckle escaped her as a body slumped against my other side, it was Ayodele. “It was a silly dream…I wanted my family to never have to worry about another bribe there whole life, maybe enough to convince the pirates to leave us along.” Like a popped balloon the tenseness slowly left the room, unsure looks replacing it, looking to me on my decision. “Not silly, naïve maybe…But I’m just as guilty of that trait as Kapera loves to point out, but it kept me going. Although stopping and thinking it through was needed…Is needed.” Pausing I looked around the lantern lit room, at all the lives that are going to go on now. “If you lived what would you do with your life?” Ayomide fidgeted under my gaze, I was watching her, and I could feel Chrissy tense beside me. I thought of our foal, love for my mare, and also what I would tell them. “She would come home.” Ayodele spoke from my side, eyes narrowed at the mare. “My cousin would kiss her mother and apologise, she would help in the potion shop, and never poison another being. Live a happy life free of pirates, and eventually find a nice stallion and have foals.” Turning to me she gave me a sad smile, I was too shocked, reeling from this to response. Eyes looked between us and I was put at a loss. “Chrissy?” She hummed and shifted, “Do you feel alright with her living?” We were a herd, this wasn’t just my decision, and it would affect our future, the foal’s safety. Not to mention she was master of disguise, I’m sure she could detect a lie. “I want to hear her say it; sure, her cousin certainly believes it. But Ayomide has killed before, how do we don’t know she won’t turn to that if bits get tight?” Murmurs of thought went around and I had to admit that was a solid point, it was certainly more lucrative than the couple of hours I worked. “I-I would! My cousin, Ayodele is correct…Killing is, was the worst part of the job.” Her eyes seemed genuine, shinning with tears, and I wanted to believe her but I was soo tired. Wanting this over could just be my tiredness talking. A yawn escaped me at that thought, all day fighting… “Look, for the sake of me getting some rest, can we agree to a probation period? Ayomide gets checked up on, reintegrated or whatever needs to happen, and we see if she can handle it. If, on the odd chance that the urge to murder comes back well we can talk it over, but I really don’t want to kill her.” Another yawn came out, looking around I spotted Lyric, all bandaged up. I brought her over, moving Ayodele to her usual position. Every pony was looking at my would be assasin still. I sighed, of course. With a squeak from her I pulled her under my chin, and rested her body under my neck. “There! She is contained, besides she has nowhere to go, the sea serpents are probably around somewhere out there.” Shudders went through the group and they slowly went back to whatever they had been doing, glancing at us from time to time. Closing my eyes I felt my muscles relax, my fur was clumped with new blood but I didn’t care, I could- “What about me?!” A strident male voice asked. Cracking an eye I looked and found the bat pony looking around incredulously as no pony paid him attention. Fuck, I just want to rest, is that too hard?! “I fought slavery all day long, I need rest. Also you clearly did something wrong if no pony has untied you yet. So good night and all that, talk in the morning, okay?” Hissing came from Chrissy and I looked over, a hoof was touching her back. Dear lord! I closed my eyes as she quieted down. Good- More hisses, I didn’t even need to open my eyes to know why as the light dimmed through my eyelids and bodies started piling up. Pony pile up time. More ponies opting for Lyric’s side than Chrissy’s, I think the hissing turned them off, go figure. To me it wasn’t threatening, saying ‘go to sleep’, and ‘don’t open that can of worms, unless you want to be up all night’. “Chrissy.” “Yes, Ari,” she replied tersely. “Can we talk about this in the morning? Before or after breakfast, it’s your choice.” Silence reigned, till she sighed in my ear, “Fine, but I expect two breakfasts.” I nodded faintly, my head feeling like it was weighted down. “Tomorrow…”
That Awkward Moment.Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Knowing Can Be Awkward.**** The Narrow Sea Moonlit Echo I didn’t know what to make of Ari, really, he just so seemed so unlikely. Everything about him seemed wrong. So I let my mind wander, to try and let my subconscious make sense of him, and that’s when it came back to me. Years ago, when I was still too young to enter the guard training program, much less the guard itself, I attended ESSTs. Standing for ‘Extreme Situation Strategy Talks’, a military program any pony could go to, although most ponies admittedly didn’t really take it seriously till a couple of months ago. Funny how it takes almost becoming bug food to do that. But i digress, this was before the invasion. I was an eager colt then, soaking up all I could guard training wise. This was one of my favorite ways to practice for the program as I counted my days, weeks, and years to the entrance exam. Being a guard was my dream job, incase it wasn't obvious already. I mean if you weren’t a Lunar guard there really wasn’t much out there for employment, at least in my mind, especially considering most ponies were diurnal. Sure the opportunities had increased but… Sorry, Where was I? That always bugs me, the misunderstanding that...You know I'm going to shut up now, back to the memory. Right, that particular ESST featured the grand, grand, grand, well you get the point. He was the far reaching descendant of a pony that had participated in the Great War. A subject most yawned at now; I know I was sceptical as to what he could add to the talk since he wasn’t even part of the guard. He had been a scholar and practitioner in the defensive arts of hoof to hoof combat. Back then the hoof to hoof moves had fascinated me more than his words, really his ancestor’s advice, but now as I find myself letting my mind go over my unique situation, they return with surprising clarity. ‘Gaining the trust of the enemy is the hardest task but the most needed one, then, and only then do they allow you the knowledge to escape.’ He had been one of the few prisoners of war to live, so I think his words may have had merit. But, escaping doesn’t seem like the sane route anymore and I don’t think that is stockhoof syndrome talking either. I can see why the memory came up, that had been my goal before Ari talked to me today, however, Thinking about what I have learned…Despite what I know must be right, has to be true about my princesses; Ari and his herd have been able to poke holes in my reality. Sirens were vanquished hundreds of years ago by Starswirl the Bearded himself. Yet I saw one in action yesterday, felt the weight of the magic in the air. Changelings were vile, conniving insects…That had only reappeared four months ago, with little information recorded on them, and now the queen of them has given a possible reason...It didn't sound too crazy either. Maybe I was going mad? There was supposed to be no other Alicorns. Sure the storms exsisted and that is why he was called here, but…Why haven’t the princesses heard of them before? We trade the Minotaurs for hay every month, diplomats visit all the time it seems, and treaties are brought up on occasion. Surely some pony would have mentioned these storms? This whole situation felt like it was missing something and I couldn’t put my hoof on what it was. I had to get to the bottom of this, I mean; she would ask me the same questions. My princess would want to know the all the specifics as well. I had come out here with the intention of easing the confusion that my princess was feeling, not increasing it. She worried for his safety…Which she was right to do actually; he did get captured by a pirate. Can you believe it? Him a…That was another point of dissention. Was he really an Alicorn or a Royal changeling? Now I felt he was an Alicorn, however that brought back the why questions again. If the reason the bug had given…No, surely that storm had been a fluke, a random occurrence. The water was real though. Maybe there was some truth in the story. That he was an Alicorn from another planet, world, and he was sent here to stop the princesses from destroying the world…Unintentionally. But how could they not know? They had lived longer than any other being, save Discord, that thing didn’t really count. He was insane…And posing in the Royal Canterlot gardens. No, he didn’t do this, but the water was real, and the stallion in the room certainly seemed real. My head felt like it was spinning and I don’t think it was the fumes from my vomit, wavering back and forth, yes and no. Physically, in the most basic sense, he looked like an Alicorn. He had an equine body, long horn, and feathered wings. I had spent at least a minute searching his face, blue eyes, and never seen a trace of shimmering green. His magic field even was a golden yellow, a color not reported from any changelings from the battle of Canterlot. But as the battle proved, we don’t really know that much about changelings after all. Ari seemed honest and physically was an Alicorn, although several facts suggested it could be a disguise. His mane didn’t wave and he didn’t even have a cutie mark. But maybe his world was just different? He was certainly different. Different, but... When it came down to his authenticity…All of these mares, Minotaurs, and even that rodent believed him to be a Alicorn. They were ready to defend him and offer support at the flick of a tail. I am serious about that last part; they defended him even when he rutted the queen of the changelings, something that no Alicorn would ever do…They were one of Equestria’s enemies in the Great War and most recently they proved why again! Yet, he, an Alicorn, rutted the bug like she was just another mare, more than once if the insect’s screams of pleasure were to be believed. I woke up to that. Loud, ear piercing squeals calling his name. Explaining that nightmare to my princess was going to be interesting and hopefully not as painful as commenting on the vile union had been. Allow me to explain, you see their nausea inducing racket had woken every pony in the cabin, it was that loud and sick. Most had the normal reaction: look at the floor, twitch an eye, and try to block out the evidence of the offending act going on. But some actually…Well, of course his depraved hybrid mare looked excited to hear them. She wasn’t alone. That was actually more horrifying than hearing them go at it, the fact that more than several mares looked interested in the copulating below us, except with them in place of the changeling. Stomach rolling, I tell you! That is when I had to remind them what he plowing into and what that said about him…For some reason all the mares took offence to that, even the ones that didn’t enjoy the auditory assault he was gracing us with. One even went down to check on him. An Equestrian…She returned a panting mess, eyes wide, and brown muzzle stained red. I couldn’t help but ask how much she had vomited at the sight of him stuffed inside a disgusting bug…For a starved earth pony she was still really strong. The stallion didn’t even have any shame when he returned with it, foul changeling odor coming off him in waves, that and the heady smell of rutting. But then again, maybe he was just simple…I mean he even looked surprised when the headset wearing zebra wouldn’t look at him. In fact, now that I’m not getting pummeled by hoofs I can’t help but notice how oblivious he was to most signals the mares were giving him, I know he is from another planet but surely some of our equine body language must translate? We even speak the same language for Luna’s sake! What a- Ari “-idiot I was! I mean when they said ‘unbreakable’ I really should have figured they didn’t just say that for giggles.” Chrissy face hoofed and Lyric just shook her head, “Exactly! And the weirdest thing was that was the only ship with them, every other one had shackles.” “So what happened to the ship?” Kapera yelled from ‘her’ corner, arms crossed over a huge chest scar. Don’t ask, don’t ask, no, stop staring! Ripping my eyes from her chest I gave a weak chuckle, “Well, you see eventually when we got out of the cell-.” “HOW?!” She had stood, ears back, and eyes wide in…Disbelieve? I mean I did say unbreakable but that didn’t quite equal inescapable. “The cuneal writing was perfect, not even a raging sea serpent should have crac-.” Warmth flooded my body as I heard that, my muscles screamed to move as my logical mind shouted to wait. Crackling flooded my channels as my heart pounded, unsure whether to move to my hooves or horn. It sounded like, no she had all but said that she had helped him. Kapera had made the cell that had doomed many ponies, maybe other species as well, she was responsible for… Why had she made the cage for a slaver? “Ari?!” A female voice called in surprise. Tensing my muscles, I stood in one swift movement, causing forelegs to wrap around my neck with a panicked squeak, and hooves touched my withers. But I only had eyes for one being. Like a wave, the crowd parted, I couldn’t tell what their expressions were. Fear? Anger? Did it really matter when she had helped with the transport of real, live ponies to their death or enslavement? Her expression changed from one that had said the wrong words back to a one of anger as I slowed my approach. Restraining the urge to attack her, she… Deep breath. Silence held the cabin now, even the hooves outside seeming to fade into nothingness. And release. Before me stood a, well, I really didn’t know what she was. Her short rounded ears were folded back, almost as flat as her muzzle, which was set in a grim line. Kapera was braced for something to go down, using a paw to push her rising apprentice down, keeping the siblings out of her mess. In. My body felt like a heavy weight was upon it, muscles stuck as we locked eyes, blue and gold clashing. She still hadn’t explained herself. “Anything you want to say?” Claws clipped the planks beneath us, one side then the other. “No? Nothing you want to say to the last victims of your work?” Her muzzle tightened as she cast her eyes to my hooves, ears splaying as she looked at them. “These old cracks?” I stomped a hoof, wincing as the crack on my wall widened ever so slightly and vibrations of agony traveled up my foreleg. “Well, don’t worry they aren’t from your cage, I got these smashing chains.” “Really?” Gennady spoke up, leaning forward to look at the two cracks that were splitting the front of my hooves, helped by the chips along the circumference. “Yes, over six hundred,” I didn’t turn away from Kapera, “While I can’t speak for every other pony that was stuck in that hull…” Ruffling my good wing I felt Ayodele still on my back, “Some for two weeks,” looking over at Marble, she met my eyes after a second, a frown on her muzzle, “Others for four weeks or longer, I feel pretty darn pissed off.” Snorting I realized that was an understatement, “No, I feel angry, justified to know why you made such a thing?” Another deep breath to push back the anger, “When I had heard such good things about you…You agreed to help us…Why, no, how could you have allowed such a thing to happen?” Ears were all on her, her eyes blanked, and face stilled into a mask. “Are you done?” I nodded, breathing out as I felt my thoughts just hang out there. “Ari, sometimes beings don’t tell the whole truth...” As she trailed off I felt the slap, not a physical one, no, it was the irony. I was just an Alicorn stallion after all, nothing else. “Many, many years ago, I was just trying to get my business to make any money, any at all.” I must have showed my disbelief. “Come on Ari, use your brain!” Her tone then turned soft, “Have you really seen any being like me in your time here?” She raised her paws and gestured to her body. Backing up, my anger slightly diffused as I took in her appearance. Without the apron she was laid bare, short golden chest fur turning to white lumpy scar tissue, it followed no pattern like my whip marks did. It spoke of a lot of pain, no scar like that was made from a little cut. “No, I have never seen any being like you.” My eyes couldn’t leave her chest, morbid curiosity getting the better of me. “How,” I queried, gesturing to her general chest area. Everypony crowded in, my mares returning to my sides, nuzzling me as my muscles relaxed. Was I still angry? Hell yes! But I was also aware that there was a reason now, it sounded like Arch had tricked her, and that racism was still as strong then as it was now. At least the racism on Earth was slightly more discreet. “This old thing?!” She patted her chest, sporting a toothy grin, while causing every pony to wince. It just looked painful to see her touch it. But within seconds her voice quickly turned slow and soft. “Oh, I just got this escaping from my home in Zebrica.” WHAT?! A murmur of Zebrican started through the crowd. “See Ari, my people, my family, we were warriors.” Golden eyes smiled as something returned to them, a life. “And we had been fighting the slavers for awhile…But their technology; the magic beat our physical abilities more often than not. My tribe couldn’t handle it and it was decided that we would go to the mainland for help, learn the new technology, and gather support.” A shudder passed through her body as her tail wilted. “They expected that though and my family was lost…So I hid low, learned the technology for when more escaped.” She met my eyes and I felt I knew what she was going to say. “No more came, I later learned my village had been essentially vaporized, a Mongofu hunt from the air.” Well, I didn’t quite know what to say to that. I felt really bad for her now, at least my family was still alive, even if I would never see them again. Not that I visited them anyway, but my friends would be missing me. Not that one reality was better, both were hard to accept. No pony said anything for a while as we took it in, Kapera having been through just as much as us, she was against the slavers like we were. “It’s at the bottom of the Narrow Sea.” Kapera looked up from her paws, blinking rapidly; tears shimmered in her eyes as a small smile started on her muzzle. “Your runes were flawless, I couldn’t buck my way through. We fought our way out.” Her mouth started to open, “And yes, I did break your inhibitor too, it did throw quite a kickback though.” A chuckle escaped her, fluffy tail rising, “Really?” “Really, really!” I shot her a grin, “Definitely make it stronger next time.” I paused, it just hit me. “If you still will that is? No pressure…I kind of overreacted, no, I just feel so angry after seeing all those ponies in the ships…Not all of them made it and that hurt.” “I know…When I found out…It was too late and I was just one.” A long sigh followed. Maybe I was just one, but one became two and then three… “Well, that is changing. Most if not all of the slavers are dead, their leader is dead, and over six hundred zebras are going home.” I chuckled, “All due to my idiocy.” Kapera snorted, a sound that sounded odd coming from her muzzle. The air seemed to lose pressure, “Maybe I was wrong about that Ari.” I blinked at that, was that an apology? “You do stupid stuff, especially in the morning.” Nope. “I mean really Ari?! Right below us and without a silencing spell! I think you might have traumatized the bat.” Blood rushed to my muzzle, of course she would point out that. My mares giggled, somehow sounding unapologetic for my actions, or they just liked seeing me squirm. “I don’t know one! Remember, no magic on Earth?” “Well that doesn’t mean there was no manners there I hope!” She sat down, grinning at my puzzled expression, “That means you are on breakfast duty, stud.” Rolling my eyes at her nickname, I turned and went to escape her teasing. She hadn’t really changed that much, but I will take what I can get. Just like the Thestral, Kapera had her reasons. I can’t even fathom being on my own in the beginning, without Chrissy’s help. All the way to the door I grew more aware of a sensation, pleasant, calming, and troublesome. “Ayodele, do you want to stay up here? I mean we didn’t clean up down there really.” The mouth stilled and the body squirmed, “N-no, I mean, I’m fine up here-.” Chrissy snorted and I felt her eyes on my back, while Lyric muttered something. “Hmm,” I asked turning to her. “Nothing Ari, I will tell you later.” “Actually Ari, we need to talk privately.” Chrissy added, her long tail flicking Ayodele and I in the rump. Nodding my understanding to my mare, levitated the mare off my back, setting her down gently. She looked worried, “I’m just getting breakfast-,” giggles came from Lyric, “-Not that type!” I snorted, but couldn’t bring myself to be angry with her; I was the one that started that silly joke. “See you in a jiffy.” Was it weird that I felt guilty for leaving her alone? With that we made our way to the pantry, this time for food, and not just because I really didn’t have the energy in me for a third round. We were all hungry. Even better, Lyric didn’t even ask about the hatch, instead humming a happy tune until we entered the pantry. The wood was stained where the puddle used to be. “Kapera was a bit harsh Ari, I hope you didn’t take her words to heart. She really believes in you, you should have seen the resources she has.” Lyric gave a almost musical giggle at whatever she was thinking of, probably the stain. “I didn’t take it to heart; I figure that is just ‘her’.”I grabbed two barrels with apple pictographs, sticking them by the door. “Are you feeling alright?” My eyes made their way to her tail, carefully bandaged and splinted. A wince passed over face, “Well, as good as I’m going to be. Unsurprisingly, the Samaki didn’t go easy on me.” Sighing she continued to look around as I wondered what in the world a ‘Samaki’ was, “That’s just the cost of using my siren song.” I paused in moving bales, “Yes Ari, I had to use it. We didn’t know you were around the corner, and Falmer was on our tail.” Falmer? Oh that must be the ape. I nodded, wincing as my wing automatically tried to extend to cover her, definitely not healed. She noticed my expression, raising an eyebrow at it. "Arch liked whips and he had a blade sort of whip wrapped around there…It was stronger than my bone.” I admitted as I tucked it in again. Understanding, she nodded, a small smile growing on her muzzle. “Hold him still Chrissy.” Chitin pressed into me, forcing me to square up as she leaned into me, hard. I guess she was feeling-Then the pain returned, my eyes whipping over to the pink glow. Fuck, healing spells hurt. Holding back my whimper, I focused on my breathing as the pain grew from a sharp pain to a dull, fading ache. In and out, the pain going slowly leaving with it. I wasn’t ungrateful but damn I swear all the spell did was speed up the pain I would go through. Eventually the warmth faded, the glow dimmed and I snorted several times at the sensation. Fuck, damn, and all the rest of the curse words. Maybe I will research painless healing spells. Yes, that was still better than waiting weeks for it to heal, but damn it hurt. “Better?” I nodded to Lyric as she removed the splint, not trusting myself to not swear. “Good, next I will heal that…Ayodele was her name?” “Yes, she hurt her back hock in the fight. If it wasn’t for her the others wouldn’t have gotten the courage to fight back.” I smiled at the memory, “She was the only one to help me, an amazing pony, and friend.” Chrissy’s actions with Folami and Marble came back to me then. “Actually a lot of them are excellent friends, brave, helpful…What happened earlier,” I looked pointedly at Chrissy, “You two don’t have to worry about my eyes wandering.” I tentatively blanketed them with my wings, hardly any pain now. “I love both of you very much.” For a second we enjoyed the silence, basking in each other’s warmth and scent. Tensely Chrissy broke it, “Ari, I know you see them as friends but many aren’t acting like they want to be just friends.” Fuck. I was afraid of that. “For example Marble, that earth pony, she was all over your rump last night. Nuzzling into your flank…I felt love coming from her.” Nope. “It could have just been my scent?” Shifting hooves, I inspected a barrel filled with small round grains, “All the mares seemed to take a sniff every once in awhile to calm down.” Lyric shared a glance with her, “Okay, your scent is really calming…But Ari, there is a line between calming instincts and intimate actions, signals to the other sex that they are interested. Remember my attempts to get your attention?” Yes, I remembered…But, “Good, now there are other signals too.” “But they-.” “Ari! Listen,” I shut my mouth, still thinking about how I had even told the mares I didn’t know body language that well. “Thank you. I’m sure Chrissy might know more…But mane nibbling, full body grooming, and nuzzling is beyond friends.” Oh, but… “Friendly nuzzles are short and brief, anything longer than a couple seconds, unless they are family, is considered intimate. Preening is family and special pony territory generally, unless the pony is a long time friend.” The pegasi too...I lowered my head, “Licking, kissing, rubbing, and tail grooming are definitely beyond friends.” “Fuck!” That’s all I could say, even after I told them they still were trying to get my attention. Chrissy nodded, looking almost sadly at me with her ears back, “Yes, exactly." Her expression turned to one of clear annoyance, ears growing flatter. "There are quite a few that are interested in you…And although I know you weren’t looking at them in that way, I couldn’t help but feel territorial.” She watched my face, looking in my eyes for an answer. But I was still fuming, trying to process every little interaction I had with them. “They know.” “What,” they both asked, sharing a confused looked. “The mares all know I don’t know body language, I told them the same time I told them about both of you.” Lyric perked up, “Yes, they also know about the foals.” I frowned considering the facts. Even after I basically said ‘hey I’m an alien that doesn’t know the meaning of anything unless you spell it out for me’ they still kept at it. Foals on the way? Still interested in me. Ayodele still has been grooming my neck, lying on my back, even after seeing my herd…That actually is impressive in a way, she wasn’t turned off by race. Maybe we could be friends still, it can’t be real love yet, and we haven’t even known each other long. Mind you I didn’t know my mare friends long before they became my mares. “OW!” “You zoned out for a second,” Lyric gave the spot a kiss, “Sorry.” A long sigh escaped me, “So what do I do now? I can think of at least three that are still interested even after meeting you.” They snorted at that. “Well, there was more before they saw the competition.” I chuckled at that, Chrissy was the tallest mare in the room, and if I remember correctly Azure said they have to challenge the lead mare to enter the herd. Thankfully I still held veto power…I think. Clarify later. Chrissy gave my stack of hay bales an eye roll before motioning for us to leave, “Nothing.” My disbelieve showed, “We will be rid of them in a day and if none of those fillies have the guts to actually use words after what you told them, then don’t use words either.” Seeing me nod she continued, “Don’t encourage the behavior either though,” a snort escaped me, “But don’t comment on it either, those fillies just have a crush on you.” Dear lord, school all over again. ‘Check yes if you like me.’ Well, not acknowledging the ‘note’ would be mean but if they couldn’t say it… Levitating the food we began our ascent, comfortable in the silence. The deck was clear; no pony was even by the wheel. Instead it was locked in place with a mop. Zebrica was growing larger, the land appearing wider and taller as we approached. Above us, the sky was still clear as well, no birds or clouds, just a bright calming expanse of blue. It just made me want to fly, soar above my problems, but I knew that would have to wait. Breakfast first; turning to the cabin I noticed the door. It was closed. Cocking my head, I expanded my focus and twisted the knob in my magic. The door opened easily and we entered after a shared confused look. Placing down the hay and barrels in the middle of the room, I noted the lack of talking, every pony was gathered around Folami who was grinning like a mad mare. What the hell did I walk into? “Hello? What’s up?” “They can see the docks!” I blinked at Folami before a big smile broke free, that was awesome. She was talking to me again and the land was getting closer! “And they say that almost all the ports are open, it’s clear sailing ahead!” A round cheers rose to the ceiling, accompanied by clapping from Kapera and Dinari. I joined in as well, enjoying the moment of relieve. Sure I was still in pain but this was great news, no pirates ahead, and our destination was less than a day away. Why had the door been closed though? It was- a new thought hit me then. Glancing to Chrissy as we made our way to Folami, my mares just following me with confused expressions and splayed ears, “Can I borrow the headset?” She nodded and I took it as some ponies started distributing the food. “Thank you.” Now how do I word it nicely? ‘I have a changeling as a marefriend’, or ‘please don’t react badly’, or even ‘remain calm’? I was stuck, better to ask. “Folami, how racist are zebras in general?” You could have heard a pin drop. “Racist?” I nodded, gesturing a hoof to my herd. “You see on the main land if my mares walked around they would be met with plenty of slurs and most likely assaulted.” Frowning at her, I let the seriousness settle in, “And you all know exactly why no harm must come to them.” A confused look on the Thestral while every being nodded, and somepony even responded with a ‘yes’, “Well, then I want to make sure that I moment we step off the boat I’m not walking into a mob.” “Changelings aren’t treated with the level of fear Equestrians hold for them, they really haven’t interacted much with us.” Folami started, glancing at my mares. “So they are more legend, little more than a word, which is to say we don’t have anything against them.” I called ahead anyway, met with surprise mostly; they hadn’t been close enough to seem who was on the airship. But they assured me that they would prepare the crowds for us. Dear lord, the crowds, and most likely the officials… But, more pressing than the crowds was the mission. We still needed the airship. “Okay then, does any pony know a good place to buy an airship?” I settled down, returning the headset to Folami. No pony answered as most had turned to stuffing their faces. Following their lead I levitated a dozen apples over and was surprised as Lyric went to town on them. Between the two of us we were making quick work on the pile. I will ask again after they eat. Like clockwork, the offbeat clip clop of a three legged mare met my ears. I tensed, knowing why she was coming over now. Ayodele liked me for a more intimate reason than friendship and if I was honest that upset me, I wanted female friends again. She had seemed so nice, helping me down, hanging out with me after I was blown back from the bars, and just having my back in general. But I don’t know if I could handle the thought of three mares, my two were already pregnant, and I still had so much more to do before the foals got here. The hoof steps stopped, waiting, and I looked over at her. Actually it was Ayodele and Ayomide, both wearing matching looks of discomfort. “Soooo,” Ayodele started, dragging out the word to an awkward degree. “So…” I glanced at Lyric, the perfect way to get rid of her excuse. “Lyric said she would heal your hock for you,” They locked eyes, green eyes blinking as the zebra cocked her head. “It will hurt at first but it saves weeks of agony.” I gave a weak flap of my wings, one slightly less feathered than the other, but both flapping strong. “Wow.” Lyric took the lead then, “So I take that as a yes?” A tentative nod, ears splayed, and a questioning look to her as Lyric’s pink magic filled air. “Come closer, I don’t bite.” I snorted at that, right, like she didn’t bite my neck earlier. “Ari, you zoned out.” Returning to Ayodele, “But seriously, I need to touch my horn to the break.” With her cousin supporting her she made it around to our front. “You might want to lay down for this, Ari wasn’t exaggerating, it is effective but we don’t have any potions for pain.” They shared a nod after she had clumsily laid down, Chrissy tense despite her claims that this was just a crush. Well, I sort of see her reason for the tenseness. Ayodele had placed her back against my chest, in an oh so subtle move, she shimmied her fur along my chest tuft. Getting comfortable took a long minute. Lyric’s head wasn’t nodding when the mare was done. Horn to hock, the pink magic seemed to jump to the desired area, ignoring the splint as a rose glow spread along the hock. Eyes were on us as the pain hit her, squeals escaping her lips, and making me close my eyes. I know that pain all too well now. Rosy magic faded as i opened my eyes, my mare looking just as sorry as I felt for the panting mare pressed to my front. Her cousin removed the splint slowly, nothing from the pained zebra. Lyric slowly flexed the leg for Ayodele, smiling to the crowd as they went back to their hay. “See, all better.”A sad smile, “I wish I knew a better spell, but it was what my mother used on me hundreds of years ago and still works the same.” She shuddered, “Exactly the same unfortunately.” Also unfortunately, she didn’t leave, to her cousin’s discomfort and mine now that I knew what this meant. But she still didn’t say anything about it so no pony else did. This continued on like that, every pony talking and eating. A generally lazy day, nothing to mention really, except maybe the fact that I still ate more than Lyric, but now she came pretty close to matching me. Foals are scary, I definitely don’t want to be dealing with what ever the ‘instincts’ are and the princesses. Eventually the day ended. Golden rays and reflections on the window panes disappearing as shadows and darkness traded places with them. Lanterns were lit, the moon rose, and Moonlit Echo was given a sponging off and blanket. The cooler sea winds creeping in among the giddy passengers, for despite the dull nature of the day’s events, the day to come was going to be big. This excitment had actually been building all day. We had been ‘discreetly’ peeking over the railings all day. An eye always finding the impressive land mass, home for many here, as it was growing clearer. By morning it would be upon us, the docks, zebras, and most importantly the airship engineers. Dimming the lantern nearest to us, I yawned, feeling better than I had in days. “Good night,” it came out slightly muffled as another yawn crept up my throat. They were so catchy once they started. Kissing scales and chitin I stifled another one as my eyes found the green and hazel ones below my chin. Every time we had gotten up to walk or get food, they were there, Ayodele really. I think Ayomide was just too nervous to leave her side. Fuck it, if they wanted to be pillows so be it. We would e saying goodbye tomorrow anyway. Not one complaint came.
Enter Zebrica.**** Zebrica Ari What lay before made me wish I had taken up traveling before, it looked a lot more interesting than the bookstore. A Lush green forest stood strong along the coast line, thinning out into a stretch of beach. Even from the sea I could see colorful flowers of red, yellow, and white peeking through the waving canopy of reddish brown barked trees. The coy scent of sweet, ripening fruits hung on the breeze that blew past us as we basked in the sight, there was land. I was sick of the sea; it was time to get the mission started. “Nyumbani, Nyumbani,” was exclaimed excitedly from many zebras, accompanied by tears. It was also home for some. The long expanse of sand was partially obscured by the sea of black and white bodies crowding the harbor. Most zebras were surely from the nine ships, still being unloaded of their food and other more somber packages. A murmur was rising from them, traveling to my ears as it grew louder. I couldn’t help but swivel them sideways as my nerves hit me again. “Relax Ari,” Chrissy soothed even as her wing was buzzing, “They are probably just as nervous as you are, you will probably be the first Alicorn they will have seen in quite awhile.” She was probably right of course; though quelling my worries was harder than she thought. Silly worries, like would they would welcome me with open hooves? Or what if I wasn’t what they expected? My mind was racing as I guided the ship slowly up to the shore, letting Folami direct the others in preparing the ship for anchoring. A heavy click sounded as the bow was almost in place, between two wooden docks, that click was followed by a loud rush of clunks and a splash. Everybeing sprung into action then. Ropes were tightened, tied down as Dinari lowered the ramp. I grabbed Moonlit Echo and the eight ponies still not fully mobile with my magic, joining Kapera and Gennady by the railing as the final sails were rolled up. Folami took the lead still, shouting over the ever increasing din, checking the ropes as my mares tried to nuzzle me into a semi calm state. Which wasn’t happening, but at least I had lost the Ayo’s in the crazy morning preparation. This preparation continued, the running around. Until finally, the ropes were deemed tight enough, knots properly tied, and every being accounted for. I still wasn’t calm by then. That was a lot of zebras. Although we were ready, no one dared move a hoof. Looking behind me, I wanted to laugh at the sight. We all looked like a jittery group of kids, shifting from hoof to hoof, and looking at the land like it was a candy store. We were ready, no luggage to speak of, bandages clean, and all accounted for on the deck. But no one was moving even as tails flicked in impatience. Eyes and ears were actively taking in the crowd as they watched us. “Fine! If no pony else is going to go then I am. It was nice and all sailing with you, but I’m sick of this boat.” My hooves moved on their own down the ramp as I took in the crowd. Face after face before me, a monochromatic sea that was clearly more than the five hundred zebras that went ahead of us. At least a thousand zebras were there, probably way more, holding my attention. Maybe I don’t like crowds after all, but that could just be the pressure talking. A ‘magical powerhouse’ is quite a title to live up to. Behind me I was dimly aware of the group following, but my ears stuck forward with my nerves as we descended the plank. My wings twitched with the urge to cover my mares. Deep breathes. In. They are not a mob. Out. They look excited, happy. The crowd only appeared to be growing as we left the ship, more trotting in from the town that I just noticed. Located just beyond the edge of the beach, it was full of two story homes and businesses. They were not very big accommodations compared to Shallow Shale, but all were very well maintained, sporting brightly colored coats of paint. It was what many would call a quaint and cozy town. This opinion being firmly driven in by several signs that depicted a waving zebra and more writing that I couldn’t read. It looked almost like something off a postcard, too perfect to be real. As my hooves moved us down the dock, I noticed a bright orange and red…Hat? It bobbed up and down through the crowd, the trotting body attached to it eventually coming into view as my herd reached the sand. You would think the zebra’s hat would have kept my attention but it didn’t, no, it's neck did, bearing five gold bands, stacked on top of each other. I couldn’t help but think of Africa then, and going one step further my jumbled mind jumped to ‘Planet of the Ponies’. I shook my head at that, obviously my mind was trying to make sense of this. Clearly the ape was quite free when I killed him. Although equines did seem to be the dominant species on this planet… Why is he looking around? “Hello,” I nodded to the zebra, unsure of what was a proper greeting since he seemed to be in charge. A nod was polite right? Upon closer inspection I noted this official was an actual stallion, that was rare. “I’m Ari and you are?” Maybe nodding wasn't the right greeting? Zebras streamed by us from the ship, calling out as many saw faces they recognized. And I was able to pass off some of the immobile mares to others on the shore, healers I think from their cutie marks of bottles in different states. For a second I watched as the mares left, being galloped off to the town. Still more silence from the hat wearing zebra, really it was more like a wrapping of orange and red cloth, not a hat like I had thought. He observed me for a moment, eyes traveling over my wounds, wings, and horn. Nodding, he quickly glanced at my mares, the three mares I still was levitating, and my prisoner. Moonlit Echo earned me a raised eyebrow before the stallion went back to looking around the crowd. Happy zebras were mingling, yelling joyfully on occasion, and even the Equestrians were following some friends they had made. Looking pensive, he stopped his search and wiggled his nose. “I am Wekasi…” He trailed off, looking for some pony again, until he jumped. He only did so as I had jumped; something had run into my hind legs. As my luck would have it, it was exactly who I was trying not to give false signals to, having ignored her for most of yesterday…But I felt bad not asking if she was alright. That was just a friendly thing to do right? “Are you two okay?” Getting up quickly, Ayomide just nodded, while her cousin wasn’t as discreet. “More than better Ari, we are home.”She rushed around and grabbed my neck in a hug. “Thank you, thank you, oh thank you!” All the while rubbing her cheek on mine. I came to the conclusion that she was marking me. Ponies were very scent oriented as I was learning, and touch oriented. All the ‘do’s and don’ts’ my mares had explained either involved touch or scent distribution, sometimes both. Which made sense I guess, this culture wasn’t based entirely on human aspects, though just enough on like my culture to make me question everything. She was still rubbing on me…In front of the chief zebra too! Just have to not respond, I’m sure her family will take her off my hooves soon enough. I hope so, otherwise Chrissy looks like she might turn into a carnivore. Baring teeth was pretty much a universal threat, at least I would like to think so. Wekasi chuckled at her actions, his withers relaxing some. “So I have heard the truth then,” glancing to my hooves he continued, “An Alicorn did free us from the slavers,” A grin split his muzzle as his gleeful eyes returned to my face, “To that we are most grateful. I will spread the word of your great deed.” I think I was blushing then. Had it always been this warm? “Do not look so modest Ari, we are-,” he glanced around once again, “-WE ARE-,” at that two panting zebras popped out of the noisy crowd, scrambling to his side. His secretaries I assumed from the saddle bags almost overflowing with quills and parchment. Pausing, he waited while I released the remaining mares to healers, leaving me with just the prisoner in my magic. It was about that time that Kapera and the Minotaurs joined us. She finally stopped! With his assistants found and panting at his side, Wekasi gave a quick nod to the smiths and miner before he continued, “As I was trying to say, we are in your eternal debt.” I blinked and refocused on him, my thoughts going a mile a minute. This was perfect. “However this isn’t the best place to discuss such…” He seemed to be searching for a word, licking his lips nervously, “…Delicate subjects. If you wouldn’t mind coming with me, perhaps we could talk over the events at the main hall.” Sharing a nod with my group I replied our consensus, “Of course, lead the way.” Oh, crud. I stopped the group a second later as I felt the warm breathes on my hocks. Turning around to Ayodele and Ayomide, they were still following us, staying close to my haunches. It was clear to see that Ayomide was just along for the ride, looking at the sand with a frown and splayed ears. “You guys should go mingle, see your family and friends.” I gave them what I hoped as a friendly smile. I heard Wekasi’s hooves stop ahead of us. “Don’t worry Ari, we will be catching up with them later.” I frowned and went to reply but she pushed on. “Besides they are further inland in a different village and we are coming to help you.” Blinking I cocked my head. “On the mission,” She gestured vaguely to the Narrow Sea. The closed door, the assembled ponies, oh shit! My eyes went to prisoner…He was shooting me daggers from his spot in my magic field, jaw stuck closed, and a good thing too if his flared nostrils were an indication of how he felt. “You told him?!” My voice cracked a little as panic set in. Did that mean- “Of course, every being knows the plan and when you went to get breakfast we talked about how we could help you.” Chrissy snorted, which was exactly what I felt, like this whole plan was just getting whipped away. “Don’t worry,” She nuzzled my leg, it was traitorously calming, especially the extra sec- Nononono. With a deep breath I racked my mind, “So what can you do to help?” Holding my face as blank as possible, I felt a tail start to whip me. Flicking her ears, Ayodele gave me half smile, “It’s Ayomide that is going to provide the assistance really. You see I suggested to her that to make her feel better she should help you…” Her cousin gave me a clearly fake smile, her eyes not into it. “Since you know,” I nodded. She had almost killed me. “So I said since her dose did that to you, it would be perfect for your targets, since they wouldn’t die either.” My shocked expression must have showed as it hit me. Then why was she-“I knew you would see it! And I thought that coming along to support her would be the right thing to do!” She was right…This would solve the knocking them out portion of the kidnapping plan. I mean, sure it would be nice not to kidnap them, especially since I wouldn’t have to have her along and risk pony homicide, but…My whole story still sounded crazy, chances are talking wouldn’t work…But…Was it right? Low hissing brought me back. Contemplation aside, her help would only help if I live through this mission, which was still up for debate. “Uhh, that is a pretty good idea-.” I never was able to finish as she appeared to have took that as a ‘come along’, grabbing my neck in her forelegs, and more rubbing. Hissing, lots of hissing, the crowd was only watching us. No fear here, some chuckles and head shaking though. That is actually perfect…No fear! When she finally released me, she was somehow alive and already trotting ahead to the waiting zebra stallion…With a very noticeable sway in her hips. Were all mares this forward? Cause I am seeing a trend here. Chrissy and Lyric weren’t much help, choosing to rub my cheeks instead of offer advice. Kapera just looked amused; same with the siblings, and the Thestral looked depressed now. With a sigh I returned to following the town…Mayor? Leader? I didn’t know, but we were off again. Weaving through the crowd my mind was still a mess, every being silent in our group, my mares pressed into my sides as their eyes watched the crowd cautiously. Ayodele forgotten as the crowds were surrounding us, mingling, and very excited. The Zebras for the most part were taking the whole Alicorn status well: blinking, gaping, but no obvious questions so far. The birds were even chirping a happy tune, this seemed perfect. Before long the sand turned to dirt, the town around us now. Like I said, it was picturesque and small, really not what I pictured for a coastal town that was visited every once in a while by slavers. The town was clearly a tourist trap, colorful paint and flowers everywhere with carefully manicured entrances to the various businesses. There was a bakery, complete with a rustic outdoor clay oven. A flower shop, filled with tropical and exotic looking flora. Interspaced with pretty homes and other shops that were less obvious to me what their purpose was. Eventually we reached a section of just cafes and restaurants. They passed by as a blur of the same set up with different color schemes, until we finally reached a large clearing. In the center it held a large, imposing statue of a zebra in similar headdress as Wekasi. It was standing beside a larger…Alicorn. Was that Celestia? My observation on the statue was cut short, “Coming Ari?” The stallion was waiting in front of a building at the opposite side of the clearing. Ayodele waved happily from beside the open doors, held open by his assistants. “Oh! Yes, I’m sorry; everything is still so new to me. I’m afraid the culture here is still a bit distracting.” I gave him a small smile as my herd and I followed him into the building, only to find myself slack jawed again at the sight of the interior of the town hall. “No worries Ari, it was made to be distracting.” A chuckle, “It is what brings in the bits after all. Distracting was a great word for it. On the outside it had appeared like a slightly more somber building than the rest, gray and the tallest at three storeys high. But on the inside, oh, that is where the culture showed. It opened into a standard waiting room set up, except with an African, actually Zebrican flare. Artwork lined the walls, mostly tapestries depicting plains and veldts filled with brightly decorated zebra tribes. With the odd shield spaced between them. In the center of the room, instead of cushy chairs there were mats. Dyed to be rich deep reds, greens, browns, and yellows, they were weaved into exquisite and elaborate designs. Also unique was the caged in bonfire pit that the mats circled. No stone fireplaces here, although the building had wood plank floors. A hall ran along the right side of the room, passing by a desk, clearly made by hoof. All the joints flawless locked in place, not an errant gap visible. It made me wish that I could take a picture of it; Uncle Ron would drool over the craftspony work. Shaking my head, I ignored the amused chuckles from Kapera from my staring and followed my guide to the staircase at the end of the hall. “Quite an entrance isn’t it?” He asked, as his assistants rushed ahead. “You can say that again! It reminds me of the African culture back on earth,” a round of interested looks turned to me as I paused to adjust Moonlit Echo. I just couldn’t keep quiet, half truth time. “I’m not from here.” The stallion looked surprised but soon enough nodded for me to continue. “Long story, but the culture there looks pretty similar to here actually. Not that I have been to Africa, but I had read up on it in passing. There is also zebras there, although they are taller.” He hummed in interest as we arrived on the second floor, which was another hallway lined with tapestries and doors, and of course a set of stairs was at the end of it. “So you have traveled a long ways then?” “That’s one way of saying it; I’m on an unexpected trip.” “Where is ‘Earth’ then?”He paused as we ascended the stairs, some creaking under his scrutiny as I thought of a not crazy way to say the truth… Nothing came to me, “Well, it is somewhere in the universe. But I’m not quite sure where, you see a god took me from my world in less than ideal ways.” The expected raised eyebrow, “I know how it sounds, but,” A deep breath, “I’m supposed to save the world.” I continued on with the spiel, watching as Wekasi went from doubtful to thoughtful. He didn’t call me crazy though. Super storms had sounded crazy to me too, even more so since I hadn’t seen one in a week, but that could just mean I still have time. “We have been getting more storms off the sea of late." We all paused as a frantic dinging of a bell came from below us. “Rufaro,” with just that simple gesture the mare half of his assistants took off in a hurried trot. His office was official looking, that was the best way to put it. Dominating the room, a large, low standing desk sat in the middle of the room. With flat, lumpy pillows that appeared to have been woven with the same materials as the mats in the main entrance. There were three on the visitor side of the desk and one on his side. They didn’t appear to be very comfortable. Like all desks seem to be, it was littered with various papers or scrolls of parchment in this case. Tall, imposing bookcases framed the room, they reminded me of the type you would see in law offices, with dark wood and thick volumes that screamed ‘important’. A mantle took up the back wall, framing the two narrow windows, looking over the town statue like eyes. A shield on the mantle appearing like a long officious nose. My host noticed my stare and like all things here seemingly were, he was easily distracted by my interest. “That is my tribe’s insignia,” He said pointing to the narrow oblong shield bearing three hoof prints in various tones of orange, white zig zags trimmed the top and bottom of the shield. “It’s beautiful,” I added as he seemed to be waiting for a response. The seaside view out the narrow rectangular windows was quite a sight, the masts of the ships easily visible. It would have been calming if I wasn’t about to talk with the mayor, repeat that again, a mayor. Talking to officials wasn’t normal for me, nothing I was doing anymore was, but this made me very nervous. Just be calm and stick to the facts. He waited patiently while we all got settled down, Kapera, Dinari, and Gennady standing in the back. I passed off Echo to Dinari after feeling a little lost as to where to place him. But what was even more troubling than where to put my captive…Wow, that still sounds weird. Right, even worse than dealing with him was my very persistent follower. There were three cushions and five ponies. Like you probably assumed I took the middle one, across from Wekasi, while my mares took the ones on either side. And if you guessed that Ayodele leaped onto my back with a happy spring then you would have been correct. Ayomide slowly backed away as a buzzing filled the air, choosing the safer option of the wall. And now the nuzzling was back! Chrissy’s plan was dangling out the window now. It was getting harder and harder to not comment on her behavior, ignorance really had been bliss. Not that it didn’t feel nice, the attention. But I didn’t need nor want any more mares. Lyric was…We connected, okay? And, and maybe this stallion would know of a shop that sells poisons…That I could ask for very, very nicely, seeing as the last thirty eight bits I owned were in Kapera’s shop still…Or at the bottom of the of the sea. “So, Ari, I see-,” amused chuckles escaped his muzzle before he could bring his hoof up to stop it, “-that you are quite the mare’s stallion.” I groaned at that, such a skill was not what I needed, not unless that could convince the princesses to stop. “That’s not a bad thing; you know many stallions wish to attract the mares like that. Enjoy it!” Chrissy interrupted in a terse voice, ears glued back, “You wanted to speak about the events? Or did we hear you wrong?” Yeah, we definitely don’t want Ayodele coming along. Lyric snorted from my other side. Definitely not. Thankfully he picked up on their signals; turning cordial again as he nodded an apology to my mares. “Ah, I see.” He turned to me. “So from my understanding you have killed the ‘pirate king’?” Muzzle scrunching up like he ate something sour, “And killed the ten other crews?” “Yes.” “I see, and what of their clients?” Mhmm, there was that half. “You didn’t deal with them did you?” Sighing, I shook my head. “Truthfully, I figured they would be in the dark for a while.” Another raised eyebrow. “Doesn’t the weather getting fixed seem more prominent?” Still no response, “Well, I know how it sounded; the damage clearly isn’t that bad out here yet. But in the flatter areas, the mainland areas like Minotaria,” I pointed to the Minotaur siblings, “Where it is getting really bad, or the Badlands, which is completely flooded out. The-.” Wekasi nodded, holding up a hoof. “Yes, those are legitimate problems and I am sincerely sorry for your losses.” He looked at Chrissy then before his serious expression returned. “But please understand that right now the storms aren’t that big here, however when the buyers.” Ears went back then, “When the wealthy nobles of Saddle Arabia, the rogue dragons.” He must not have liked my expression. But 'rogue dragon' really meant nothing to me, I hadn’t seen a dragon before. “Those are the biggest dragons, fueled completely by instincts.” I gulped at the thought of more skyscraper sized monsters coming after me, except on land instead of the sea. “Exactly, and the Diamond dogs learn of this…Well, you can understand that those situations are my priority. When you leave, when the world learns of you being all the way over there and leaving us open to new slavers…What do you think they will do?” This had occurred to me, but I didn’t have the answer. “If they were smart they would move in then while I was preoccupied, there would be no chance of help coming from Equestria either since I would be there…” A somber air hung in the room then, broken by a muffled set of voices from below us. “Go check on her.” With that the male assistant trotted away. “I think you see my problem Ari, although I owe you a great debt, the minute you leave my zebras become targets again.” He leaned forward, looking at me intently, “No being would attack an Alicorn.” It didn’t stop Jabar, Arch, Falmer, and all the other beings that tried to kill me so far. No, snark wasn’t helping. There had to be a solution, I mean, I needed an airship, and he didn’t sound keen on giving me something that would take me away from here. I could see his reasoning on that; I don’t want them being free only to be slammed with a new group of pirates or worse. But the whole world was in jeopardy…It should only take a week or two. “You make a valid point, points.” I frowned and gathered my thoughts again, yes, that could work. “How about we make a deal?” Wekasi’s ears stayed forward, but his brown eyes were unreadable. “Continue.” “In this deal you will gain my presence here as well as my services killing any pirates, slavers, ectra that threaten the beings here.” His eyes narrowed, waiting for the other shoe. “However, I would receive a modest sized airship, some poison, and sanctuary for whomever I wish here.” A snort from him, “You have my interest, we would benefit from you staying around here, but there are some problems,” he saw my frown grow, “With what you want.” My heart plummeted, “The airship is no problem, however I think I know where you would take it first and I have no guarantee you will return. Ah!” He held up a hoof as I went to explain. “While I’m sure you intend to, those are just words...But I think you have the solution with you already and she appears more than willing.” That shit eating grin, he was on her side. “No.” “I didn’t even propose it, but if you don’t want the-.” Chrissy interrupted, ears back, and teeth bared at the zebra in a very faint semblance of a friendly smile. “He means yes.” Translation: Ari, take the damn deal or I will bite something. “My mare is right, I misspoke. Please explain your conditions.” Was that a headache starting? “Excellent, as I was saying. I need an assurance that you will return. I also, unfortunately, cannot provide you with any poisons. Poisons are forbidden to trade at the moment, not a peaceful product. Do you understand?” I nodded and felt Ayodele’s tail start wagging almost like a dog’s. “And since you have two young, eager zebra mares that happen to know how to make poisons with you…” He trailed off, smiling like he had the best idea ever. Ayodele seemed to like the plan, love it you could say. It did make sense. “I understand.” But I didn’t want it to. “And about my last condition, is that allowed as well?” “Well, that one is tricky. You sounded like you had some being in mind, and I can’t say yes to that under good faith, I mean what if it was Discord?!” I just gave him a blank look. Another reference I didn’t get. “You really haven’t heard of him?” I nodded. “Oh, well don’t worry. He was still locked up last time I heard. Who were thinking of?” Now here was the whammy, time to test the racism here. “As you can see my herd is very diverse. I want sanctuary for my mares, and any family that we may find of theirs.” He looked from Chrissy to Lyric, cocking his head as he was stuck on my sea based mare, eyes traveling along her form. “She is half siren,” I clarified. Screeches and yelling came muffled from the floor, causing the stallion to hold his head in his hooves and mutter. Then it went quiet. “Well, I can say yes then. HOWEVER-,” he raised his head, voice growing louder above the din coming from on the second floor now, “-Any that are allowed sanctuary here have to sign citizenship papers, meaning they are bound to the same laws as every other being here.” He narrowed his eyes at me, scanning mine. “Is that acceptable?” “Deal,” I reached over the desk and shook his hoof, both of our muzzles breaking into big smiles. It was a win- “REALLY,” A female screeched as she flew into the room, slamming the door open with a shuttering rattle, causing every being to jump and back away from the doorway. My wings even flared open on reflex, covering my mares as we turned to stare at the intruder. A gryphon stood there, open beaked as her green eyes whipped between the room’s occupants. Rather slowly, the assistants caught up to her, out of breath. “Mayor…Wekasi…Isn’t…seeing any…being right…now.” The assistants panted out in unison. “R-r-really…” She trailed off. They were way too late, he needed better assistants. A female gryphon had already made it past them. Cocking my head at her, I took in our intruder. Her feathered half was a dull gray, blending into a creamy white furred feline half, and finishing in a thin lion’s tail that was puffing up as she entered ‘Alicorn shock’. Like this was normal, the mayor went from happy to cordial in an instant. “Miss Bente, I see you have returned.” She was staring at my wings, turning red through her feathers. “I believe my appointments are still the same, if not more so booked after today’s meetings.” “Alicorn,” her brain was obviously rebooting. “Yes, my name is Ari, I was just in the middle of-.” She repeated herself and I sighed, giving up on talking for now, it was one of those moments. Relaxing my wings, we all waited for her to either move or talk. Finally it did reboot. “An Alicorn, a changeling, and a…Hybrid,” we nodded, “Minotaurs, a Thestral, and a…Rat?” “Close enough yah hen.” Kapera mumbled out from a scowl. Harrumphing, Wekasi got her attention. “I will see you at the appointed time Miss Bente, please leave.” She sat herself down in the doorway, looking smugly at him, my presence forgotten. “Well then Ari, now that she is gone let’s continue, if you will?” I nodded to him, turning around with my mares, folding wings over them this time. I didn’t quite trust her. “Right, so we had a deal?” He nodded, smiling at me again, “Great, now I hope it’s not too much trouble but could I just give those ships to you? I only need one ship, an airship.” “What ships?” Bente queried, but we ignored her. She would have to leave, childish maybe, but obviously the assistants weren’t able to stop her. I really didn’t want to get involved, knowing this world it would just throw my plan off again. “Really you are willing to give us those ships for free?” He looked amazed, blinking at his assistants for a second, “How much are they worth?” They quickly pulled out some parchment and began calculating, the final number must have been big bits, as all of them gave me wide eyes. “Really, I don’t need ten ships, the amount of work alone that needs to be put into them before they would be in tip top order again…Well, I could do it but I just want one airship. It is simply much more manageable for my herd.” My mares seemed happy with that, murmuring their consensuses as I finished. All was seeming to be good, staying around a less racist country with plenty of water nearby for Lyric and her family, check. Poison, airship, and ‘ever after’ were looking good so far as well. However, Bente was looking at me like I was a lunatic. “Are you sure?” He asked again. I nodded, never having been surer that I wanted the airship. Sure having a fleet of ships was nice, but I had no crew and although I liked the water, respected Lyric’s seapony heritage, I wasn’t swimming unless I was sure those monsters weren’t around. “Perhaps I could have some of the food off of them first? I don’t mean to be a pig but I am always hungry and still healing.” I waved a hoof at my wounds. “Of course,” he exclaimed, looking like he won the jackpot. “By the end of the day we can have the sale finalized, just need you to sign some papers you know, and perhaps I could convince you to stay the evening? Enjoy some hospitality? I know you want to be-.” Bente had to cut in, “Are you stupid? The world is flooding, storming and you are giving up ten ships?!” Would this world ever be peaceful? I mean, her voice was pretty hard to ignore... “It was Bente right?” She nodded, “Okay Bente, why are you here?” Stupid question I know, but maybe she wasn’t here about the weather. “The weather of course,” she all but screeched at me, wings extending as she puffed her chest out. “I am from the Gryphon Republic.” I nodded, keeping my ears on her as I tried to ignore the movement along my wing’s bases. “After many messengers failed to return from the Equestrian nation, and no response from the Minotarian capital, we, I have come to ask the Zebrican tribes for their aid.” That actually seemed like a decent plan, except the part where she didn’t mention their neighbor: Saddle Arabia. Sure it was in a drought, but logically they would have asked them too? Was I missing something? “Okay, but the Zebrican tribes are recovering from being ruled by slavers.” She wilted as the mayor nodded to that, “However, I am currently on a mission to stop the bad weather.” Eyebrow raise, typical reaction. “The weather is from the Alicorn princesses messing with the sun and moon’s orbit. So if I stop the princesses from doing that then theoretically the weather should return to normal.” “Really?” Every being nodded with various expressions of 'of course', “You all know about this?” Another group confirmation, “And you are leaving tomorrow to stop them?” My head hurt from all this nodding. Kapera must have felt the same, “Yes, he, we are leaving tomorrow.” She rolled her eyes at my expression, “Yes Ari, I will make them as soon as I get home; it shouldn’t take longer than a day.” I gave her a big smile; those rings were the final piece of the plan. “So miss Bente you can fly on home cause I think stud here wants a little alone time before he has to deal with the Equestrian diarchy.” “What?” “Go. Home. Gryphon.” Kapera said very slowly, and to my surprise the gryphon actually got up and left, blinking and moving her beak in a stunned expression. I choose you Kapera! Now if only she could rid me o-of, okay...Maybe after she finishes getting that knot out of my mane…And after her hoof stops massaging my wing base fluff. But Kapera is excellent had intimidation skills. “Well,” Wekasi started, ears splayed slightly. “I guess I should thank you for clearing a couple hours from my schedule?” A tentative smile as we both looked at the retreating flank. “Don’t mention it.” Waving a hoof at the golden rodent, “Kapera is a very effective motivator and smith. Seriously if you want high quality enchantments she is the being to see.” Was I shamelessly plugging her? Yes, yes I was. He just laughed at that, “Of course, of course.” Seriousness returned, “But I really must say thank you again Ari, we are…Not as well equipped as we would like to be and are grateful for your ‘deal’. We will be having a celebratory feast tonight, please stay for it, I think you will like it.” “Sure, where can we stay tonight?” “In one of the guest rooms here,” They had rooms here? I assumed those were all offices. “They haven’t been used in a while but I’m sure it won’t take long to get them ready. Go and mingle, I will send Rufaro to fetch you and your group when they are ready.” With that we rose and shook hooves one more time, a win-win deal struck, and a future hopefully secured for my herd. Until he spoke, “Bahati njema,” I turned my muzzle in time to see his eyes locked to my back. One was opening from a clear wink. That smile did not bode well for my ‘ignore mare’ plan.
The Feast.Author's Note Sorry folks, I tried to do another double post but the next chapter needs more editing first. Next chapter he finally leaves for Shallow Shale...On a airship. This one is necessary, happy reading. The Feast. **** Zebrica Chrissy Keeping my eye on Ayodele wasn’t difficult, she didn’t hide her intentions. In fact one could argue that the sun was more subtle. Really, all I needed to do was look on my stallion’s back to see her blatant disrespect. My stallion… That very, very bold mare had decided that was the perfect spot to be. At first I had assumed it was due to her injury, it had prevented her from walking, and I persevered to stay rational. But…She wasn’t injured anymore and the eight other mares that couldn’t walk, well, I didn’t see them perched on top of my stallion, riding him- A small snort of hot air escaped my muzzle as I tensed at the thought of what she was doing. It was horrible, clearly a challenge, and though I begrudgingly admit it…The action was genius. Any pony that didn’t know better would think we were a herd, that she- Calm, I am staying calm. At least that is what I keep telling myself, life would get complicated if I allowed the other thoughts to take over. Not for the reasons you may think, I had no problem with kicking her flank. Injured? She didn’t know the meaning of pain with her little scratches on her barrel. Try having your wing snapped off. That was pain. No, my problem in following though with my thoughts lay not with any ethics. The conundrum lay in the fact that she was a very conniving zebra in the land of zebras. I couldn’t logically kill her without throwing Ari’s plan to the sandworms and therefore our future as well. Not to mention, physically we were both in bad shape, enough that neither one of us was ready to put our hoof down and start a proper mare challenge. Although I entertained the thought that I was in slightly better shape…But I still wasn’t willing to test my theory when I was with foal. A foal that may not…No, deep breaths, you feel better. He or she is still there. See, follow the humming, that tiny channel is growing. Right, with those reasons both Lyric and I were in a stalemate and Ayodele knew it. That zebra was taking every opportunity to wiggle her way into the herd. I was almost certain that she reveled in rubbing it in. Why else would she choose the one spot where she was able to lay her scent all over Ari, bond with my stallion, and remain safe from any repercussions from us? That interloper was certainly smarter than I had originally taken her for. Whether Ari realized it or not, she had already wormed her way into his instinctive level of thinking. He wasn’t repulsed by her touch. And asking if she was alright when it was her fault for running into him? Not removing her from his back even when we left the office? On the most primal level he was okay with it. That wouldn’t last for long though… My herd mate and I were going to nip this filly's infatuation in the rump before it could progress to more; our stallion had made it clear that he didn’t want more mares. That was the thing, ‘were’ going to, it seemed she had figured out every angle to stay with my stallion. Somehow, she had even gotten the support of the mayor, in less than five bucking minutes. Oh, don’t even get me started on that slime licking politician, he was enabling her to continue to do this…Actually they all were. As soon as we left the room back on the ship, those stallion stealing whorses had started plotting who would be first to try to woo him. No, I didn’t hear them, but it doesn’t take a Starswirl to figure out what they were talking about. He had somehow gaining the amorous attentions of at least twenty mares in only a week. But our combined efforts weren’t enough to dissuade that one bucking zebra; the nineteen other mares had seemed to back down, but not her. Not that I blamed her reasoning, it was hard to find a stallion in Zebrica, a single stallion that is. Even rarer than that, a stallion that herded outside of Saddle Arabia and one that was fertile enough to give foals…Ari really was sent by the gods. Faust, please just send another for Ayodele, soon- “Chrissy?” A warm puff of air washed over my muzzle, blinking I turned to see Ari and the mare in question looking at me. She was rubbing her muzzle in his dark mane like he was her new teddy bear, soft, silky, and hers. Ari was my stallion. “Yes?” I returned, not quite sure what we had been talking about before I got caught in my thoughts. Again, I might add, they were all one big circle, all leading back to getting rid of her. My stallion chuckled at me, giving me the sweetest smile, he understood what had been on my mind. Lyric’s mind as well if her quiet huffing was from what I thought it was. “I asked how you are feeling lovewise, since I was going to dig in,” He glanced at the platters leaving the houses, “I wanted to make sure you were both getting enough to eat.” Guilt came across his fur, stomach churning and thick with its mixture of sour and salty flavors. He still felt bad about taking that walk. “Please stop feeling so guilty, you did not know that you had an assassin after you!” Said assassin shrunk, looking appropriately regretful. “How were you supposed to know to what was going to happen? I am just glad you are here.” I ended with a purr, giving him a kiss, and adding my tongue for good measure. A new snort reached my ears. Smiling into the kiss, we wrestled tongues for a few seconds more, Ari’s love and desire ridding him of guilt and sweetening our moment. Almost as sweet as the effect it was having on the zebra. We broke the kiss, smiling lazily at each other. “I take it you-,” my stallion never was able finish his comment as my herd mate took over. Moving his muzzle over to her with a hoof behind his head, forcing him bend his neck down slightly for her shorter stature, the sweetness and full flavor increasing with their time. Releasing each other’s lips, they shared another content smile and I was okay with that, it wasn’t all mares I disliked giving him attention, just most. The zebra wilted a little as I watched her, looking at their exchange with far away eyes. Before long, the moment had passed, tantalizing aromas drifting to Ari’s nose, they nearly sent him into the blanketed tables with the speed he took off at. All along the streets, lines of tables were braced in front of homes and storefronts alike. They were braced not from the platters and pots being loaded onto them but for the black hole that was devouring all dishes that were sacrificed to it. Never invite an Alicorn to a feast. It was one of those moments where I looked to my own stomach with trepidation, knowing a form of that type of appetite was in there. With the black hole came a new pink- No, never mind, the analogy doesn’t work with her. But Lyric was rivaling him with a new passion that made Ari’s decision to take the ship’s food make a lot more sense. How would our foals be like? Winged, scaled, or furred? They would surely have a horn… Shaking my head, I had to remind myself of an important fact. We still hadn’t kidnapped the princesses yet…Dear Faust, the food from that plan alone was going to be astronomical. It was going to happen, then peace. We traveled around the town, Ari and Lyric trying every dish they could, and I couldn’t help but smile at their antics. Despite the presence of Ayodele I still managed to enjoy my stallion’s presence, the warmth of his fur, and the sweet stream of love coming off him. Ari still managed to smooth my chitin, smiling despite the arcs of pain that I tasted now and then. He- “There you are Ari!” We turned as a unit, ignoring the crowds of striped equines as our new friends made their way over. Kapera and the Minotaurs stood above the sea of zebras with ease, thankfully still carrying the Thestral. Ari of course attempted to talk, the words coming out as pure nonsense with a full mouth, only sending mashed up bits of fried Tronana onto the street. “I think he meant 'hello',” I filled the amused Mongofu in. Her eyes took us in as Ari swallowed, he paused to nod to a passing group of zebra mares, clearly from the ships by their emaciated frames. “I see that.” Another brief chuckle before her eyes narrowed, jumping between the zebra and me. “But I was wondering if I could borrow your stallion for a little bit, got to discuss business…And save some of the food for the locals.” She was surprisingly helpful for such an opinionated being. “Of course, I trust you will return him in one piece?” Although I jested with her, I still flashed a toothy smile. Kapera returned it just as quick, “Of course and no magical inhibitors attached this time.” We all shared a happy chuckle, even Ayodele, although hers was a tad strained. “Coming Ari,” the smith asked, turning and making her way to the beach. Chuckling in good humor, our stallion looked to us briefly, satisfied with what he saw he levitated the zebra off of his back, “Be back soon!” He called, grabbing five pieces of chin-chin as he passed by, a braided pastry that he had fallen in love with. “You and your food…” Kapera muttered, smiling all the while as the crowd parted for their procession. We watched the group of beings move to the beach, Ari chatting animatedly with them as we were left alone. This fact was not lost on Ayodele, who splayed her ears as our gazes locked, looking smaller then in that moment. “Let’s talk somewhere quieter.” Lyric motioned towards a gap in the crowd, a small path beyond the zebras, well worn and leading into the woods. Perfect. Ayodele’s eyes darted around the crowd and finding no help from them looked to her cousin. Ayomide was looking at the floor but still sticking close to her, supporting but not very helpful. Finally she responded, “O-okay.” Placing myself behind the zebras, I let them lead the way, looking to any being that didn’t know better like they were taking us for a tour…Of the woods. My lips remained upturned, cordial as I followed the mare through the town, weaving at their slow pace through the crowd. Until we reached the edge of the jungle, her hoof hovered over the path, eyes glancing fearfully at me then the shadowed trail. Lyric nudged the frozen zebras in the rump, sending them stumbling down the path. Small bushes brushed by our legs, birds chattered and called in the afternoon heat and the path grew darker beneath the canopy. Further we went into the Zebrican jungle. Their tails twitched and swished with a nervous rhythm, back, forth, and back again as the route winded through the towering trees. A clearing opened up ahead of us, perfectly situated far away from the village. The mare seemed to know what this meant, “Sooooo…” She elongated the word in her awkward fashion, turning to face us as her nervous voice trailed off. Birds ceased their songs and gossiping as the air grew heavy. At least this sunk through to her. My ears were flattened, teeth bared, and wing buzzing with an anger that I think she wasn’t expecting. My stallion… Beside me Lyric was a picture of cooler anger, a rigid mask concealing what her heart felt, containing the burning sting of her emotion. Our Stallion… “She just-,” Ayomide weakly started only to cut herself off as my herd mate turned her mask of a face on her. Even if you weren’t a changeling the subdued anger was clear. Taking a deep breath I listened to the calming breeze, the parchment like fluttering of leaves filling the humid air. I just had to be blunt, tell her the truth; no mare wants to waste her time on a stallion that doesn’t want them. A snort broke the silence, shuffling of hooves. “I think what you meant to say was that you keep both of your hooves away from our stallion. Wasn’t that right?” Better to not beat around the bush, seeing as the other signals were blatantly disrespected. However Ayodele didn’t seem to hear me. “Ari isn’t yours-,” pink magic grabbed Ayodele by the neck as soon as she started, cutting off her blasphemous words. Lyric’s gaze was on me. Do not kill the zebra; you cannot kill her…Yet. A curt nod to my narrowed gaze, the zebra gasped as the hold lessened. Hot air rushed from my nose, joining the humid air as I stared into the eyes of her, “You are right,” her eyes widened as she panted. “He is ours.” I gestured a hoof to Lyric, her mask now broken with narrowed eyes and gritted teeth. “And despite what pitiful connection you may feel towards him it is pointless to pursue it.” She went to protest but I kept on over her stuttered beginnings, “You are bucking the wrong tree. Ari isn’t interested.” Green eyes blinked. Her cousin looked off into the bush. With a cocked head we looked at each other. “Ari wanted to help you not become your stallionfriend, he was very upset when he learned what your-,” I felt my anger rise and ears fold back again, “-actions meant. Back off.” The final push, the simple fact was he didn’t want any more mares. Why hadn’t she seen that he wasn’t responding like an interested stallion would? He wasn’t smiling her way, blushing at her attempts show off her skeleton like figure, or taking in her scent. Lyric set her down, sadness mixing into the anger beneath her scowl. “B-but…” The mare stuttered out, not making any move to get up from the ground. The former assassin looked at her; ears folding back as she helped her cousin up. “So you see that while we appreciate the help you offered to give we need you to understand that he isn’t agreeing to take you as a mare. Ari just wants to live, wants every being to live.” “But he herds!” Her eyes were tearing up as she watched us intently. I shook my head at that, “Quite frankly I had to convince him to take on Lyric.” Giving a brief nuzzle to Lyric’s head before I continued, trying to make the zebra understand. “Our stallion only started herding recently, rather reluctantly,” I chuckled as I thought back to that. My mother would laugh, noling had never thought of me as the type of mare to share a stallion. “W-why,” Ayodele finally got out, looking crushed as she leaned against her cousin. Small rivulets of tears sneaking down her muzzle as small squawks started up again from the canopy. “That is simple. He cared too much about how I felt to act on the attraction he felt to Lyric, it was a combination of her heat and our growing friendship that spurred the sudden move to becoming a herd.” I paused and watched her, her muzzle scrunching now as her ears splayed in a new confusion, eyes unfocused on the ground. “I don’t know what there is to be confused about, Ari isn’t from here, and he didn’t know half of signals you were giving him. If he gave any he didn’t mean them.” She looked at me then, serious in expression, her confusion gone as her ears went forward. “Yes?” “Well, I don’t see him complaining about them now and I take from your words that he does know what I’m doing now.” She paused, searching my face for something. All I could feel was dread coming as her confidence was growing. “The way I see it, you don’t like me and are trying to dissuade him from following his attraction.” Denial, she has bucking denial. “Really?” Words clearly weren’t convincing, time to show her the truth. “Then watch his reaction when we return. That should show you the truth.” **** Ari Kapera was a genius, not just with enchanting, but by letting my mares go off and handle Ayodele. That was actually the best route. Seeing as how they could speak to her without sending the wrong signals, I was more liable to either send signs of interest or confuse her by doing something contradicts what I’m saying. Personally, I didn’t want to hurt her, she had already been through who knows what horrors aboard the ship...But, it had to be done. Right now I wasn’t even giving her any signs that I liked her that way and she still persisted. My mares had been literally trying to scare her off but…Sometimes words are the only way to go. This land was crazy. Kapera carried on with her explanation on runes, oblivious to my turmoil. In all past relationships this situation had never occurred, no man or woman was ever this ignorant or dismissive of my lack of interest. These weren’t humans though, they, I, we were equines with polygamous tendencies…That was a whole different type of relationship experience. The lack of chattering drew me back. We locked eyes and her tail twitched, I hadn’t a clue how to respond. What had she said before? “You sure know how to attract the interesting ones,” Kapera said, ‘interesting’ sounding closer to the word crazy when she said it. I nodded blushing at her head shake, “The craziest part is I don’t even know what I did to get her attention.” She just laughed at that, drawing some odd looks from some zebras. “Ari, you are an Alicorn stallion you don’t need to do much to get a mare’s attention.” My flat look didn’t slow her down. “Not only that but you have two pregnant-,” Moonlit Echo gave me a look then. It was mix between ‘I want to vomit’ and betrayal, what I would have betrayed I have no clue, but he didn’t look like a happy pony. His look was so obvious that Kapera stopped and rolled her eyes at him. We waited for the inevitable comment, slur, or physical reaction. Nothing… Could this be progress? His eyes grew dull as tufted ears went back. But he didn’t call me out at all. Sharing a confused look with the rest of the group I turned my attention back to the smith. She was looking at the sand as we continued our stroll along the harbor, silent as well. We passed the boats, still being unloaded of their bales and barrels, and beyond the couple of raised docking stations that sat empty. “As I was saying Ari, you have two pregnant mares, you herd, and are basically as magically strong as a stallion can get.” She squinted at me, my mane really, “Or at least you will be, you still aren’t discharging magic through your mane yet. But to a mare from the little continent of Zebrica you are a catch.” “She doesn’t even know me.” I grumbled out, feeling my ears slide back as my thoughts swam around again. Gennady surprised us all and chortled a little. “Yes, Gen did you have something to add?” Kapera asked, ears swiveling at something in the tree line. Gennady shook his head, looking a little mystified at the lack of movement from his armless side for a second. I nuzzled his side for a second, guilt creeping in again as I looked at the stump. Could you mine with only one arm? Like she knew what line of thought I was thinking, or perhaps I was just too transparent with my emotions, but either way the smith waved a paw at my look. “Stop beating yourself up Ari,” a grin formed as she increased the pace, sending grit flying from her paws. “I needed a clerk anyway.” She continued, not looking back at our incredulous expressions. “I hate hobnobbing with those pretentious speciest, Gen is perfect at socializing. He doesn’t know when to shut up actually.” We all shared a laugh, relief from Gennady and his sister, and a mix of everything else from Kapera and me. Moonlit Echo stayed silent. “So I guess that is a good thing then…The slavers gone, you get to stay off the counter, and I get an airship…” I trailed off, my mares and Ayodele coming to mind again. “From what you said earlier, I take it stallions are in short demand everywhere.” I chuckled as my nerves crept up on me again, “Either that or mares are very forward here.” “Mares don’t go for stallions they like on earth? Are they all foal brained or something?” Even the minotaurs were raising their eyebrows at me. Giving her a head shake I thought of how to word it. “Well, you see-,” “I don’t.” Snorting I continued over her, “You see, on earth we don’t have a population problem of the same nature as Equis,” Heads cocked, even the Thestral perking up. “We have too many individuals, at almost an even split between the genders stuff like what is going on in Equestria is unheard of…As to females being forward, well, some are. But most still wait for the male to make a move. So I have never had such forward advances before.” “Oh,” she stated simply, filling the one article with many different emotions, in fact the entire group seemed to take a moment to process that information. “I take it that since mares are more common here that they are the ones to usually initiate the…Courting process here?” She nodded distractedly, rubbing her chin as she muttered something to herself. “And I take it that there was no ‘business’ we had to discuss?” Another distracted nod followed. I cocked my head at the absence of a witty comeback or insult for the stupid question. Great, I broke her. Bushes rustled, breezes carried the scent of salt and fruit, and we slowed our pace. It was a nice silence, not uncomfortable despite being long, and not quite silent, still filled with the sounds of Zebrica’s coastal jungle. We started to turn around soon enough, I wasn’t sure who changed our course, but as a group we went with it. Comfortable as the sun continued to beat down, warming the sand beneath my sore hooves. Despite the pain that hung in the backdrop of my mind I couldn’t help but look at the exotic trees slowly crawling by during our walk. They were foreign like all things were and yet strangely familiar to my eyes, large leaves reminiscent of trees you see on a postcard. This quiet area was a perfect place to raise foals. Foals, babies, they were my all too soon future, approaching faster than I would have ever guessed. I- I blinked. Moonlit Echo knew. And with that thought my heart skipped a beat, out of tune with the ebbing waves. He knew where I planned on living, my plan, and of my herd’s coming foals. That meant it was all but done, telling the princesses that is. Hiding, that’s a joke! “Hey, Echo.” Large tufted ears perked up, flicking to me as a frown started to grow on his muzzle. “How are you feeling?” His eye twitched. “Right, a stupid question…Listen, I know you probably don’t believe me completely about the weather but…They probably won’t believe me either and I want you to know really don’t want to have to kidnap the princesses.” No response from him, the waves just lazily came back in once more as a flock of blue parrot-like birds took up from the tree line. A strong breeze ran along my fur as I racked my brain trying to think of something I could say to get a reaction out of him. The harbor was getting closer. “Perhaps you could help me learn how to not insult them twenty ways to Sunday.” His eyebrow rose as he turned his muzzle to me. “As you probably have witnessed by now I’m pretty inept at body language here,” I chuckled at that as his lips twitched. “On earth I didn’t talk to officials or any being quite so fancy.” I had his complete attention now. “Really,” Moonlit asked, doubt lacing his query. A sense of relief came over me and a smile went to my face, “Yup, I sold books in quaint little bookstore by day and foalsat by night.” More silence, broken by a thoughtful hum from the Thestral. “If I show you how to interact with royalty…Will the princesses still be harmed?” My eyes bugged out a little, as did the others I’m sure. When had it been said that I would harm them? “You mean ponynap them.” Raised eyebrow met raised eyebrow as the boats bobbed in the water. “No, I meant harm them. How else were you planning to get them to stay still during the trip? You haven’t met the princesses Ari.” A dismissive snort, “They have fought way worse than one Alicorn.” He must not have liked what he saw as his tone turned stern, almost like a drill sergeant, “I will show you how to converse politely if you can guarantee,” It faltered there, losing the power. “No, promise me that you won’t kidnap them.” Waves continued to wash the shore. “I can’t promise that Echo,” I said, letting my own voice grow hard. “Thinking of the rest of the planet I have to do whatever it takes to convince them.” Our eyes locked, “And that may include kidnapping them if talking fails to garner the change that we need.” The crowds were approaching again, ponies crowding the shore, but still our gazes remained locked. Our eyes watching each other for any falsity or insincerity, my wings flexed slightly as I saw none in his face. I was surprised that he actually appeared to be satisfied, “Fine, but I can’t teach you when I’m tied up.” “So you are taking the deal then?” He nodded after a second, looking rather reluctant, but honest in his eyes. “Excellent, the deal begins once I get my airship. Then you will-.” I cut myself off as we reached the town, my mares trotting over to me, Chrissy standing tall above the crowd. A shot of excitement traveled through me. “We will discuss this later.” With that I started out at a light trot, ignoring the background noises of rustling bushes, clips of conversations, and sizzling food. My beautiful changeling was practically glowing as the sun reflected off her chitin and my siren’s scales shimmered in the rays, looking for atheistic purposes like plated gold. They looked happy and that can only mean… Nickers escaped me as we reached one another, soft and muted in the crowd, and although I felt nervous I gave their noses a playful lick. They both gave light snorts in response and I felt that they were more amused than annoyed. Looking between the two of them I gave them a quick nuzzle each, just in case I was reading them wrong. A happy look passed between them as they glued themselves to my side. That revealed a certain zebra that had been behind them, and she looked at me expectantly. Okay, friendly, friendly… “Hi Ayodele, did you mares enjoy the food?” Smooth as sandpaper. Just as her mouth opened Rufaro burst between us, creating a small cloud of dust as she skidded forward, looking back at the closing gap in the crowd with a small scowl. Thank you! And just like that we ended up following the winded mare, Ayodele staying a few paces back than usual. The crowd parting easily for our group, causing a bit of harshly toned Zebrican mutterings from the assistant, although I could have sworn that I heard some from Ayodele as well. She was backing off…Why did I feel so off? Before long I was back in the office staring at a pile of parchment. The hieroglyphic like symbols lost under my illiterate gaze. “Chrissy can you read this over for me,” I got odd looks from the Thestral and Zebras then but I ignored them, instead sliding the small stack over to her side. Unfortunately Ayodele had made her onto my back again…But was subdued, starting to groom me only to pause before trying another spot. Making me question how effective their talk had been. It was hard to tell with the way she was acting; my mares weren’t helping me form an answer as they had looked just as confused when she had jumped onto my back. Perking up, my mare scanned down the page, flipping through each consecutive scroll with a careful look on her muzzle. The others waited, listening to the rustle of parchment and the occasional flittering of her wing. Until Moonlit Echo could not contain his curiosity any longer, “Why are you having her read it? It is just a simple sale agreement.” He watched me intensely then and I realized that I would have to tell him. He would probably find out anyway, secrets and me don’t end well. “I am from another world, culture.” He still didn’t get it, cocking his head as he searched for the answer in my face. “Although by some cosmic blessing my English language happens to translate as Equus here, the written language does not translate, in a moment you all see how my language looks like.” He blinks his slitted eyes at me, stunned I would say. Yup, his jaw was trying to work the air. I was getting better at this. Kisses started on my neck, although I felt like they weren’t meant to be intimate, but comforting. Especially if Wekasi’s look from across the desk means sadness like I thought it did, ears splayed as my situation sunk in for him. With a last flip through the stack my mare slid it back, nodding to the quill and inkpot in front of me. “It is airtight. You are trading ten used trading ships, armed, and needing some reconstructive work for one Freeway model airship.” I raised an eyebrow at the name, immediately picturing a sea of honking, road rage fueled vehicles. “It is modestly sized,” Wekasi piped up, looking nervous as his ears twitched, watching my face carefully. “Three levels below deck, two cabins on the deck, and all the food from the ships will be loaded into the hull when it arrives.” “Arrives?” I question feeling like I missed something…Right the Airship stations were empty. He rubs a hoof on a spare quill, giving me a small smile, “You see I didn’t just want you to enjoy the festivities I needed to send out the order for it, inform the other leaders of today’s events.” He concluded. That explained the empty lobby; he must have been very busy. Remind me to never get into politics. “So our deal is still on?” He quickly replied with a yes, nodding with an excited energy as a big smile coming over his muzzle. That was good, but there was that one matter. “The citizenship papers for my herd?” “That will take me a couple days to get. I am waiting for the twenty four odd signatures from the other leaders, which can take awhile. But by the time you return I should have them ready.” Clapping his hooves excitedly he added, “How many more should I expect to make?” His eyes followed mine. Lyric looked ready to burst into tears when I glanced over, but with a quivering lip she whispered, “Four.” The stallion deflated slightly. He didn’t seem to know what to say to my mare and neither did I, maybe there wasn’t anything to say…I did still need to find out where in the castle the mirror was kept. So I settled with draping a wing over her, she gave a sniff before her head tucked into the dark cocoon it made. Shaking his head, he adopted a more controlled expression, looking at the quill then me. I still had to sign that form. With my mare calming herself I turned back to the parchment, gripping the quill in my magic with barely a thought now, I went to sign the first blank line only to pause. The pressure…Every being was leaning towards the paper. The wall huggers even took a couple steps closer. Clearing my throat, I dipped the tip of the quill in the inkpot. They leaned in further. Even Ayodele paused from her latest experiment with my mane. Dull chattering reached my ears from the streets. A quick tap on the rim of the small brown pot cleared the dark drop from the quill tip. It scratched ever so quietly in the room as the ink formed the letters of my male name, ‘A-R-I’. I stuck to plain print, not wanting to have to explain handwriting to them, and not having a new signature planned. “Oh,” Chrissy said, squinting at the letters, looking from my name to the clearly different set of squiggles surrounding it. “Yup, you can see why the others make no sense to me.” She nodded, as did the other occupants. Although Moonlit Echo looked like I had given him a riddle, eyes whipping left and right at nothing particular, lost in his own world. With that over with I went to the next roll, signing away those ten ships with every scratch on the off white form and dip to wet the quill. It was a almost calming set of motions that soon passed, getting me one step closer being able to live this new life I was…Forcefully given. “Excellent Ari!” the eager stallion exclaimed, ‘discreetly’ looking to his assistants to me and back again. They looked plum tuckered out; withers slouched as they rested by the bookcases. “Wake up, wake up!” Punctuating each phrase with a stomp on his desk, they snapped to attention. “Show our honored guests to their rooms.” As they made for the door he briefly turned back to me, “I hope you enjoy our hospitality, your ship should arrive mid morning at the latest.” After that he seemed to have dismissed us, pulling out a fresh piece of parchment to continue with whatever paperwork storm I had thrust him into. I almost felt bad, almost; this would change this country for the better I’m sure. The rooms were on the same floor so we didn’t have far to go, however only two rooms had been prepared. One for my herd and one for every other being…They weren’t going to be too jammed in, and really they were nice rooms. Especially when my room was free of zebras for a change, my mares looked to be on cloud nine when I removed Ayodele from my back. But I couldn’t look her in the eye, a niggling feeling of guilt at the back of my mind. Anyway, the room was essentially a large square with a small stand tucked into the back left and right corners, and of course the bed. It was the only indicator that this was a first rate room. As wide as it was long, it easily a king size bed. Although it looked strangely dipped, almost like a giant cushion. The sheets were a crisp white, pulled up to a veritable mountain of cream throw pillows. In celebration of the peace and quiet, and perhaps just to re-establish their scents after having Ayo on my back, we groomed each other. I was the one who suggested it, the ‘each other’ part. Chrissy was practically hopping in place to straighten out my feathers, which were and I quote ‘a laughable and pitiful state’. They weren’t that bad… But we still all got reacquainted, happily grooming each other as the moon rose. Soon enough though the sun rose, it was the morning, and I was buzzing with energy at the thought of our airship. But, seeing as I was the first to wake, I had to contend with waiting. I started by counting my feathers. They were in perfect alignment now, shiny with a fresh coat of whatever natural oil my pores produced. Moving on, I inspected the ceiling, it was flawless, no cracks to count or tiles to play dot to dot on. Sighing, I looked around the room for something to hold my attention. It didn’t hold much, not even a calendar or clock. Looking down I sighed again, not really wanting to leave the sense of comfort that came from being snuggled in, but also wanting to race down to the harbor and see if the ship was here yet. Whether it was the sighs or the sun shining down doing it, my mares were slowly waking up. Giving the cutest little sighs as their legs extended, shaking as they stretched then in the still quiet air, and smacking their lips as they assimilated to reality again. A white flicker caught my attention by the window. Outside there didn’t seem to be anything to flicker or flutter by the building. We were above the statue, the birds stuck to the trees, and no being could fly- no, that’s not true, two of the four remaining pegasi could fly. Hold that thought, it didn’t flicker or flutter but it was white. The airship was lowering down by the beach. Excitement filled me. Overflowed really, I stood up; wings give little flutters as I watched the window. The large vessel was moving down to the docking stations, flawless white balloon with its silver metal cage reflecting the sunlight. Even the hull of the ship attached beneath it was painted a shiny white. It was magnificent. I wasn’t being subtle, with a crick of their backs my mares also rose from the plush bed, both turning to look out the window as well. My reaction wasn’t too over the top as both Chrissy and Lyric imitated fish as they gazed at the vessel, our ship. “Thank you.” Chrissy managed to get out, Lyric nodding her agreement as her eyes shimmered. Nothing more was needed, it was perfect. Our excitement was soon forced aside as both Lyric and I were met with demands from our stomachs. Horrible, loud grumbles demanding we leave the sanctity of the bedroom and venture forth into the waking world. And so I cracked the door open, not a being was in sight. Opening it all the way, we turned right and made our way to Wekasi’s office. The door was open, showing a mess of papers, more so than usual. Almost like he had literally created a storm in his office, there was ink spilled on his desk, smudged and soaked up by some papers that were sure to be important. The floorboards half hidden in parchment. Wow, just wow. Snorting and angry Zebrican voices caught our ears, swiveling as we turned to look at the approaching group of stallions. Wekasi spotted us from his place among them, “Ari!” He called as he trotted up to me, they quieted, muttering amongst themselves. “I was just getting the warriors on this-,” a hoof pointed to the wrecked room, “-mess that some mchoraji made of my office.” I felt my mares tense up beside me, after they were blanketed under my wings I looked back to him, “When did this happen?” “That’s just the thing, I stayed late last night working on the papers…By the time I left the moon had been up for awhile." Slumping his withers, he continued, "I came in around seven this morning and found it like this.” He shook his head at his office before taking a deep breath. “By some luck nothing appears to be taken but I still have to look through everything.” He gestured to his stallions to continue and we let them pass by. Another tired sigh filled the hallway, rubbing his face with a hoof, “I take it you heard nothing?” Chrissy answered for us, “I know I heard nothing last night or this morning.” I shook my head at her curious look, “Ari didn’t either, but mind you, he can sleep through a stick being jabbed up his nose.” What? I wiggled my nose, suddenly feeling a nonexistent itch there. Looking between every being, “When did this occur? I feel like that would wake me up…” As she was about to answer the other bedroom door opened and the rest of our group exited. Pleasantries were exchanged, hellos, friendly grumbles, and silence from the thestral before every being fell silent, all of them also stumped by the chaos that had happened overnight. Echo narrowed his eyes at it, large ears twitching. Meanwhile Ayodele seemed to have gained a second wind, a literal hop to her step, and like a begrudging puppy dog her cousin followed, although at a more sedate pace. “Minotaria, the first night when we slept in that field,” She paused as I processed it. “Before you woke I was woken by the snorts of a couple of curious calves poking you up the nose.” My mouth moved up and down as a laugh was shared at my expense. They won’t be laughing when they need me awake. It was a serious problem; I have literally slept through a fire alarm! She saw my frown, “Don’t worry-,” a quick kiss, “-I think they ended up more scared of my smile than focused on your species.” Immaculate canines flashed the group as their laughter slowed down. Behind us the crew was rummaging through the room, whispering observations to each other in Zebrican. Wekasi composed himself with a loud clearing of his throat, “Well, while my crew get that,” a small snort escaped him as his eye twitched, “Let me show you your new ship, there is a lot to get through before you leave.”
Freeway Model Airship and One Last Delivery.**** Zebrica Ari This morning’s break in had me on edge, my ears twitched at the slightest noise and an awkward taste had invaded my mouth, not literally mind you. I still hadn’t gotten any food as Wekasi was a stallion on a mission. His mission being getting me on the road, err, into the sky as fast as possible. Not that I blamed him, the sight of the trashed office unsettled me as well. At least I didn’t have to refile all those papers. Still, no being had heard anything…But Echo was twitching his ears when…No, he would have said something…Maybe…I would have to ask later. The question still stands unanswered, why trash the office? What would be in there that they wanted? Better yet who? Every being was very happy and friendly in the town, the equestrians were even learning the language and calling the village home…I didn’t blame them considering what they would have to go home to. I really wanted to ask the princesses exactly what they were thinking starting that law up. The stairs forced me to focus on placing my hooves for a second, my muzzle scrunched up as the hard wood made contact with them. I wasn’t heavy per say, actually I was quite trim from my experiences here. But even with careful measured steps the cracks in my hooves were unforgiving from the abuse I had put them through. Lyric didn’t know a spell for hoof cracks. Gently, gently now, slow and steady. I was not looking forward to the healing process. With the stairs behind us I retreated back to my thoughts. The mystery of the break in taunting me, forcing my earlier excitement to the background, all my experiences in this world told me that if something could go wrong it would. Maybe there was something else going on in Zebrica? Okay, there probably was plenty of stuff going on that I didn’t know about. No being is just going to hand me a list of national problems, and as I had learned, many problems were disguised and covered up in many layers of pastel paint. I mean this seemed like a happy town, it didn’t hint that slavers used to come and collect bits and zebras every so often. The weather didn’t exactly spell doom with the calming clear blue either, but the world was still ending, slowly, and at a near invisible pace in most parts. Why… A kiss brought me back to the road in front of me. Chitin left my muzzle as I felt her tense under my wing, my thoughts of the office fading as I was gently reminded of my beautiful emotionvore. I really would have to learn to control my emotions more. Turning to my mare I gave her a nuzzle and kiss in return, trying to keep myself centered in the moment, reflecting on the day could wait. She smiled a little, her happy expression being my focus before white and silver dominated my sights, such colors sent my wings into a ruffling fit, the urge to fly and express my excitement had come back. Small giggles escaped my marefriend’s muzzles, quickly joining the happy murmur of the crowd. It was smaller than the ape’s ship but so much more…Newer? That was the best word for it. The metal shined in the sun, the hull looked to be freshly polished, and the engines only gave off a well maintained purr that I could hear from here. We still had a long way to go though. Currently, we were following the languid and all too slow procession through the town, and no, I still didn’t know its name. No speech had been needed as all the zebras and former equestrians were well informed of my plan, talking of it to their family and so forth. That should have worried me more than it did, but in light of this morning’s chaos the town wide acceptance of my kidnapping the princess plan overnight was the least of my worries. After all, they were the least racist town I had been in so far. There was still the possibility of more assassins, Moonlit Echo turning, and…Deep breath, relax your wings before she notices again. I still felt the need to keep my mares under my wings. Somehow the feathery flesh shields felt like a master defensive mechanism…Instinct’s logic not mine, but I didn’t feel like arguing with myself on that, and I enjoyed feeling their presence too. My feathers were very sensitive at least, I could feel the slight changes in the fruit scented breeze as we walked. And I felt Ayodele behind as she walked with a high step, muzzle right by my tail…She was still so happy even after that break in. No, it was probably more to do with being near me. Definitely had to with my presence, her nose bumped my tail, again. Another exhalation of air spread across my inner thigh and forced me to distract myself. We will have different cabins at least. So I returned to the same line of questions as before and all of them were still no closer to being answered. The key fact still glaring out at me, no being had heard anything…Too convenient if you asked me, no floor was creak proof, and it had to be impossible to make that much mess and have remained completely quiet. The same questions ran through my thoughts again. Who had broken into the office? Nothing added up, the postcard ready town, the grateful, freed residents, and still as we moved along not a frown could be seen. Well, Echo didn’t count; he was allowed some angst considering his predicament. A predicament we would have to discuss later, especially since he now knew I could sleep through most things. First things first, we had to take off. Smiles were everywhere as our procession continued to inch through the main street, Wekasi and I had to stop and shake hooves on occasion. Unsurprisingly, those few hoof shakes snowballed into many, slowing us down even more, and the small town seeming to be more like a city in rush hour with how this crowd moved. Finally the beach was upon us, the beige sand soothing to my hooves, and the air was filled with even more excited voices. Skinny bodies crowded the shore line, looking at our rag tag group with perked ears and busy tails. All of that dissolved into the background as the sound of the engine grew, the idling ship hovered in place before us. An airship, a home of my own! My mares shared another amused look as my wings fidgeted; they still twitched faintly from my excitement even as I tried to rein them in through calming breaths. It was exciting for my herd, even if they scoffed intially, their eyes shined in the light. They were happy. We approached the raised platform, eventually climbing the dock, with our hoof steps echoing over the planks. On the way up I craned my neck to take it all in. The vessel was easily as tall as the city hall and that was not including the balloon half of the airship. Three levels of hull space indeed. My eyes traveled along the sleek vessel, the bottom half a shiny white hull reminiscent of a colonial ship. The only difference being that it had small reflections along the hull, the glittering in the sunlight only adding to the extravagance of the vessel. With a squint I confirmed my suspicions, they were small windows. Set in three lines parallel to each other, they ran along the length of the body, a clear mark of the different levels. The shiny line up only interrupted by a loading hatch like door that was laid out to the raised platform, dirty hoof marks printed to and fro along it. We all paused to take this in; Kapera even gave my shoulder a pat, a look over confirmed her reaction. She was grinning as her eyes traveled over it, nodding slowly and deliberately. Stomps that were quickly followed by hollow clip clopping alerted us to the Zebras before they exited the hull, a fine sheen of sweat was on their coats. But they looked happy as well. A fact that made my already excited smile grow, the thought of why they must be covered in sweat making my stomach cheer. Our food was loaded. They gave us a large wave as they noticed us, big smiles on their muzzles as well. I carefully waved a hoof back as they approached us. “I take it that the Freeway model is satisfactory?” Wekasi asked as he turned from them to look at us. “That’s a yes then?” He added with an amused smile as I couldn’t form any words, still smiling widely as I took in the structure. It was like getting a new car, the excitement and sheer newness of the vessel made me speechless, also accompanied by the urge to rub my cheek on it to feel the smoothness. “I’m afraid I don’t know much on airship’s inner workings but Nomalanga will give you the rundown. She is an expert on this ‘technology’.” He said technology like it was a foreign word and gestured to the deck above us, there a zebra looked over the railing. A dark hoof waved down at us madly, most likely at the mention of their name. “I’m afraid this is good bye for now, I still have a mess to make sense of.” He sighed, giving us a smaller smile. “But, by the time you return I am sure it will be sorted out and all members of your herd will just need to sign some papers.” Still a great deal, no regrets…Yet. I wasn’t trying to tempt Murphy. Returning his statement with big grin, I gave him a hearty hoof shake. “Thank you for hospitality and this amazing ship,” I stressed the ‘amazing’ part, hoping he understood just how much he had helped my herd. As I released his hoof and gestured to my marefriends. They hammered in my meaning, both of them were giving him big smiles, tears were pooling in Lyric’s eyes as she tried to blink them away. “We are very grateful for this.” I think he noticed my feathers moving with the muscle twitches. I don’t even know what my tail was doing but he looked very amused. “It was my pleasure my new friend,” he nodded to my mares, “Friends.” They returned a nod; Chrissy seemed to relax against me slightly as he said that. It hit me a little more then, how much it must have hurt. I can’t even imagine how it felt to finally be accepted. Racism was another thing to tackle while I was in Canterlot. “I wish that you all have a safe trip.” He finished, with a final wave farewell he turned and followed the exiting labors down the ramp. Still smiling I picked up the pace, now trotting to the loading ramp and entering my new ship, my group not far behind. The salty air was gone now, replaced by a clean pine-like scent; it was oddly refreshing to my nose. Crowds disappeared from our peripheral vision, replaced with the darker visage of the hull’s interior. Dim lighting made us pause while also allowing us time to take in the room or floor; I wasn’t quite sure how it was divided. We were inside the second level, a space that I’m sure was very expansive if the outside held true. But it was hard to tell when it was packed to the ceiling with stacks of hay bales and pyramids of barrels. Small paths were weaved in among the towers of food, left from the workers, and making the level feel almost like a dungeon with all the windows blocked off. Our only light was from a bright yellow jewel that illuminated the two sets of staircases in the center of the space, one leading up and the other down. They even had hoofrails, unlike the ships I had been on before. Quietly, talk started among Kapera and her assistants, even the cousins were giving appreciatory sounds as they stayed by my flank. The Thestral looked around from his perch in Dinari’s arms with his broody silence, only a stray snort escaped. Obvious observations were made among ourselves as we made our way up to the clearly new stairs. Like how they shined with a fresh coat of finish and were only marred by the many dirty hoof prints leading up and down both sets of stairs. I shared another quick nuzzle with my mares as we made our way up to the first level below the deck, happiness making me almost giddy. But while we were eager our group was also…In awe. This seemed like a dream after all I have had to endure, my own home, a safe place to live. No baddies jumped out as we ascended the stairs, nor were any traps sprung or assassins waiting above for us. It was a miracle, especially after his office. My brain faintly screamed that something was wrong, that was my instinctual brain mind you. It had also told me to run back and comfort Ayodele with my wings…Yah, you see how I might be taking its demands with a grain of salt. The instincts were going by ‘populate and protect’. It did not take into account the work and commitment a relationship involved, not even considering that I still had to meet with royalty, and all the work that went along with that. More hoofs thumped hollowly above us, echoing back to us in the new floor we had entered. The first floor wasn’t set up as any sort of thing yet; all it held was crates with pictographs of planks and gears on them. Those five crates were hanging out by the walls of the otherwise empty space. If this level was the same dimensions as the other two floors beneath us then I was thoroughly impressed with a ‘modest size’ airship. We were loaded in food! This room was easily over fifty feet long, and just like the other floor it was nine feet tall, providing clearance for even Dinari. And Wekasi still called this a modest model of an airship...Well, if you compared it to the ape’s then it was. Every being had stopped once again to take in the massive cavern of a hull, clearly as impressed as I was with it. I gazed down the level until sunlight flickering caught my attention, it highlighted the final staircase. My group began making our way over to it, absently I wondered at how it strangely enough wasn’t beside the one we just climbed. I swiveled my ears as I started to trot, listening as our hums of appreciation echoed back to us along with the clip clops. I have no idea what to even do with this floor; this whole vessel is really much larger than I was thinking of. Maybe I could turn it into a playroom or a workshop? Make some pony walls to separate things… When we reached the deck a feminine voice greeted us, “You must be Ari!” Stripes flashed before my eyes. A monochromatic backdrop that gave me no time to react as my hoof was grabbed and shook with a force that spoke of endless energy. She shook me with that energy too. “It’s a pleasure to meet such a hero.” She gushed, brown eyes coming into focus, they almost assuredly had stars in them. Snorts of surprise escaped from my mares as we all tensed and leaned back onto our haunches from the greeting. It wasn’t the energy, no; I had a friend that was very excitable like this. What held my attention had been the last word. Hero…Dear lord, just what have the locals been saying about me? It was called ‘doing the right thing’. Also, I needed to get free then anyway. I was not trying to be a hero or a leader, despite what Folami insisted. Think about it, who wanted to be in charge? That poor mayor acted like it was normal for angry Gryphon hens to burst into his office! I am going to be a dad to two magical foals, which sounds good enough to me. No politics needed thank you very much. We were still braced back as she let go of my hoof, backing up a couple of steps as she took us, well, mostly me in. Of course, I did the same to her. Goggles were hanging from her neck, smudges of an oily nature splattered here and there on her face and forelegs. A cutie mark of a big gear and wrench adorned her flank, which only confirmed that this mare knew her way around the ship. “Err, yes,” I started as she smiled at me, not sure how to respond to such a word as ‘hero’. “Uh, I am Ari and you must be-.” “Nomalanga,” She finished for me, ears twitching as she looked me over again. “And may I just say you look pretty fine for going against the king of pirates.” A long snort made her pause and I looked over to Chrissy who was very clearly saying back off with her ears back and bared teeth. “Oh, oh no, no way missy,” she was shaking her head very rapidly. “You got me all wrong miss changeling, I’m happily married and with foal.” She looked to me as I blinked, eyes straying to her stomach. There was marriage here? Wait, no, she was pregnant? Her stomach was still so narrow. “Don’t worry, I am not a herdwrecker.” Lyric slumped a little into me on hearing that, resting her head on my withers, whatever posturing she had been doing done. At that admission Chrissy also relaxed, ears splaying a bit, and a more hesitant smile replacing her threat. “Ah, perhaps I was quick to jump to conclusions and congratulations.” Her smile grew a little softer as she said the last word, eyes straying to the striped stomach. The mechanic gave a slow nod, winking with an easy smile at my mares. “Thank you! I can see why you would worry though; even with all those cuts on him he still has his looks. I’m surprised you even let him near other mares!” Calming down slightly, she turned back to me. “I’m sorry about that, I was just meaning that you did pretty well to only get covered in cuts and crack your hooves…” Her smile faltered then, “Is it true you cracked them breaking the chains of…Well?” “Yup,” I nodded, holding in the wince as I shifted my weight, breathing deeply as I tried to relax my muscles a little. First the office threw my instincts into overdrive and now her sudden greeting had riled them back up. The chains… Shaking off the images of the pirate’s hulls, I looked up from my hooves to see the zebra had resumed having stars in her eyes, at least for a second. They lasted for a moment longer before she shook her head. “So what do you know of airships?” I blinked once, twice, and nothing really intelligent came to me. I could say they looked like ships being carried by a large gas chamber or that they were propelled by two engines but any being could see that. Earth wasn’t exactly filled with airships, sure zeppelins come to mind but that was way before I was even born, and I only vaguely remembered the pictures from high school. So, “Actually I know nothing on how they work.” She blinked back at me, “Surely you heard that I’m not from around here?” A blush colored her muzzle as she muttered something about exaggerated gossip, but I continued, “On my planet we have them but you would have to be crazy rich and eccentric to have one. I was not rich or eccentric though.” Her attention was on me, every being was, soaking up my words. “I do know how to steer a boat, drive a car…” I trailed off at their blank looks. Explaining cars would bring up more questions, which could lead to a question I couldn’t wiggle out of. It was very easy to see myself holding an ‘Earth seminar’ if I even tried to explain myself. But the mare recovered quickly, “Okay so how about we start with a tour then,” I nodded as she carried on. “After that I can give you the manual to read up on and as your test flight you can fly me home!” With that she turned and began the tour at a brisk trot, off towards the bow of the deck before I could mention the problem. For now I just shared a shrug with my mares, knocking Lyric’s head off of my wither in the process, but she just yawned and carried on. Nomalanga would soon learn that although I love to read I couldn’t…Yet, it was on my very long to do list. “-And that is why the these railings double as excellent baby gates,” of course she would focus on that, she knows…There was that wink again, “That is until they start flying, I’m assuming they will have wings of course.” My eyes wandered to where her hoof was pointing, small runes were carved into the silver rail. Kapera noticed the runes as well, muttering to herself as she shook her head. Faintly I heard, “Poor work, just shoddy work, you aren’t supposed to leave the cuneal writing in plain sight to wear off.” Still our guide was looking at my herd for a reaction, ears perked and eyes eagerly looking between our faces. Thankfully my mares took over. “So do they protect against accidental magical outbursts? Do they contain ‘teleporters’,” Lyric asked, draconic slits narrowing at our guide. My ears splayed as I recalled the brief mention of that when they tried to teach me about my aetheratic channels, magical foals were going to be interesting. Nomalanga just cocked her head, eyes moving left and right at the empty air. The air had no hints. The master smith answered for her, “Nope, these will just stop the foals from walking or smashing through them…” She trailed off, stepping up to the railing to run her paw along them. “You will be re-enchanting these within five years with the placement of the writing too.” She gripped the railings, letting the palm of her paw sweep along it. “The wear and tear is going to be brutal from the winds.” “Uh, t-the, the captain’s quarters! Let me show you that!” A spirited recovery, her ears sat up from their splayed position as her smile shone with enthusiasm again. Really, it was hard to reply to Kapera, I mean it wasn’t like the mechanic enchanted the ship. Nomalanga was just the delivery mare. From the railing, she trotted over the large quarters taking up the bow, two doors on either side of the wall we faced. Both were white, as was the siding of the cabin, and the roof. Opening the door on the right, Nomalanga made a grand sweeping gesture with her hoof for us to enter. I knew was going to love this. Our new room took up only half the cabin but it was still huge. It was more long than wide, the back quarter holding an impressive sized bed, easily enough to hold myself and mares, with room left over for wiggly foals. Stepping inside she continued the obligatory tour. “Your bed,” she gestured to the giant square of promised comfort. “The sheets made from the finest silk, imported all way from Japony.” “Repeat that,” I deadpanned to the zebra. She didn’t know what to say, gaping maw struggling to think of what she had said that was confusing. I didn’t blame her but I just didn’t believe her, “You said Ja-pony.” I sounded it out, my logical mind questioning once again what sort of parallel world I had landed in. “Yes?” The poor mare was cocking her head at me; the others didn’t know what to do either, even my mares did not understand why that was so important to me. Their thoughtful eyes narrowing as I took a deep breath, “That is what I thought. I am sorry this world is quite similar and different to mine all at once. On Earth there is a country called Japan so I thought I misheard you.” My friendly smile and cordial tone moved her past the confusion and back to the tour. “Oh! That would be confusing, don’t worry about it.” She quickly turned with a hop, moving to a yellow jewel embedded in the wall. With the hoof to it a light came on behind a wooden door that had previously blended in with the wall appeared. The illuminated outline of the door was broken as she opened it, showing me the most magnificent bathroom I had seen so far in this world. I will be frank with you on that; the pirate ships didn’t really have nice bathrooms, or really bathrooms at all. Buckets folks, those were buckets with enchanted jewels tossed at the bottom, and baths were called rain out there. Even the inn in Saddle Arabia wasn’t as…Civilized as this room. A real porcelain bowl, also a porcelain sink, it was- Sorry, sorry, I am sure you don’t want to hear how amazing my bathroom is. But, when you have to literally go in the woods half the time and the other half of the time the facilities look like they were out of a third world country having porcelain again is a god send. The bath was huge too. Okay, I am shutting up about it now. After the bathroom our guide moved on to the cabin across the deck. It was exactly what I thought it would be. A mess hall that connected to large cabin filled with bunk beds, a nice bathroom and kitchen. Yes, some of the stuff was imported from countries with eerily familiar sounding names, but I truly didn’t care from where my plates had come from, and my brain needed rest from that sort of stuff. The lights were easy to use, the enchanted plumbing did create some questions but I filed those away for later. One room was left. “This is arguably one of the most important rooms on the ship,” Nomalanga started as she opened the left door on the captain’s quarters. It was the control room. “Wow,” I said ever so articulately. My eyes were big as they traveled around the ‘L’ shaped command room, a narrow hallway leading to a wide front that spanned the width of the ship. Glass windows took up the far wall, showing the waves futilely trying to reach us and puffy wisps of clouds looking down as they wondered why we weren’t joining them. “Exactly,” our guide chirped out. She started down the hallway, stopping to hit a purple gem before continuing. “This is where the magic happens!” A hum echoed throughout the ship and I tensed, unsure what was happening, “Don’t worry, I’m just closing the loading bay.” “Ah, thank you,” my ability to speak was growing, as was my smile. Relaxing slightly, I tucked my wings in and trotted ahead of her, looking at the panel that rested below the window. It was very similar to a modern boat’s control center; on second thought perhaps a plane’s control panel would be more accurate. There were no electronic elements per say, but the idea was there. In the center of the panel were two levers and a steering wheel. To the left of them were little containers that held water, water that was sprinkled with tiny red gems. Next to the jeweled water was a written scale on the metal board. It was measuring something, what it measured I hadn’t quite determined yet. More testing apparatuses were laid out as I looked further to the left. All with scales that were written in different languages, extra points to the designer for being inclusive of other cultures. Ignoring the prominent linguistic problem, I looked to the right of steering wheel and found five panels filled with a jewels, all labeled again with symbols in varying languages. But beyond those panels was a table secured to both the right wall and the control board. On the table lay a map, a very big map, and it looked even more filled in than the Diamond dog’s map. The east side of it anyway, the west was still a blank mass of dark blue beyond Zebrica. My self guided tour was soon cut short, “As I was saying Ari,” my tour guide appeared in front of my path, blocking my view of the map, “Before you can touch the control panel you have to read at least chapter one.” **** Moonlit Echo I still can’t tell if this is all an act, not Ari being a Alicorn, it was this ‘I don’t know how to read’ farce. Here he was explaining how he couldn’t read any of our languages, any, yes I call horse apples on that too. He wrote the princesses a letter. An illiterate Alicorn wrote a letter in Equus…Exactly, my point has been made. Sure, he could be illiterate; I mean his nonsensical signature and alien status had certainly made me consider it. But all I needed to do was think of that letter and my questions rose again. We needed to have a long talk, him and I, and not just about the how he should and shouldn’t act around royalty. But about what he knew, so many things still didn’t add up. My world felt forever changed, going from a regular routine guarding the peaceful city of Canterlot to this crazy place, this world that was impossible yet real. The world didn’t add up, nothing in the books made sense anymore. Pirates that didn’t exist had existed, slavers that were bad adventure fiction material were real, and then there was the role that the peaceful nation of Saddle Arabia and the other southern nations played in the slave trade. Almost as crazy as the swamp land that was now Minotaria and whatever mess the Griffin Republic was in. Yes, I believed Bente, that hen’s outrage was very real. This was real… Do the princesses know? No, I mean, that was unanswerable right now. So, going one step beyond that question, how had this world come to this? The books spoke of the Great War ending, world powers were balanced, and all the evil monsters were killed or trapped. Discord was trapped in stone, the changelings sent to the southern badlands, and every last shadow pony banished to Tartarus itself. But that sounded more like a foal’s tale now. These mares didn’t seem truly evil, at least not like the stories and events had suggested. For the life of me I couldn’t find an evil angle for freeing slaves, not one that they were doing anyway. Rescuing enslaved equines that weren’t even supposed to exist…To do what with them, feed off of them? Enchant them to make an army to take over Equestria? No, they could have done that and many other things but they just wanted…A home in exchange. Evil sirens and changelings that only asked for a place to live, sure they were…With foal. Deep breaths, I just have to remain calm and assess the situation. In. Out. In…He rutted the bug and somehow impregnated her…Out…And a siren hybrid. Despite their mercy on me so far that fact still disgusted me, on a base level it seemed wrong, I didn’t know why but it was definitely wrong. I wanted to buck his face in for doing that. But- A rumbling and tilting of the room alerted me that something was going wrong. “NO!” The shrill squeak of the goggle wearing zebra drew my eyes to her. I don’t know what her name was due to the fact that only had tuned in occasionally, evidently not when she was introduced. But really, why would I want to listen to how great the bucker’s ship was? Speaking of that bug lover, he was holding onto the right lever and slowly easing it down to the same spot as the left lever, ears splayed and a sheepish smile on his muzzle. “Sorry.” He offered as the room regained stability. He was such a…Ugh, I can’t wait till I was home, then…I don’t know what then, but it had to be better than being his prisoner. I mean he was denser than a young colt about some stuff. Well, that was actually okay, that is, it will work in my favor. With all this time I had come up with a new plan. The nail tucked away in my ropes, while a viable back up plan wasn’t going to cut it in the long run. It was due to becoming the teddy bear for ‘miss muscle’. You would think she would have to put me down some time, right? No, the Minotaur hadn’t let me go once; even when she slept…She snored, just in case you were wondering. I couldn’t really sleep with that long honking of hers blowing into my ear continuously. But I still didn’t see who broke in to the office, you know, the room’s door being closed and all. Not that they came up the stairs…Or down them. “You have to raise both at once,” the mare was looking intently at Ari, ears back. “At the same time,” Goggles was looking at Ari carefully as she repeated herself, placing both hooves on his as they gripped the levers. “Ready?” He nodded and I watched on in rapt attention, ready to make an emergency roll away if he crashed us. **** Ari After a few hiccups, okay, a lot of hiccups, I got the ship in the air. This was also after demonstrating that I knew what every button and contraption did. Knowing to hit the big black jewel on the fifth panel to shut off the engines in a emergency, or how to cut the magic to the other rooms and floors in case the output jewels needed replacing, all the basic controls. Frankly, it felt very similar to learning to drive all over again, complete with nervous backseat driver. “See Ari, you are a natural!” Nomalanga was laying it on a bit thick but I still appreciated the vote of confidence, my wings unable to help themselves as they puffed up. “When you do learn to read please give the manual a through look over, it is much cheaper to maintain the engines yourself than repair them. Parts aren’t cheap!” She added cheerfully at the end. “Okay…” I trailed off, “I think I have the hang of it and I promise to not accidently touch any buttons.” The mare nodded her understanding but didn’t move away. “This really isn’t too different than a boat from my planet, you can relax.” My ears went back and every being looked to her as well. Her hooves still didn’t move off the wheel. Nomalanga seemed to get the hint after a minute of staring, slowly releasing her iron grip from the wheel, one hoof left. “Sorry, it was just…” She slowly released the grip of her second hoof, sighing and deflating as the room stayed the same, no titanic flips or tilts. I may have over steered at first, not unlike a new driver taking race car driver corners at a high speed. That may be why she insisted that I didn’t raise the levers too far above the halfway point. Especially for long periods of time, however it also had to do with not overheating the engine in the summer heat. This was summer and I wasn’t even dying from the heat, I loved that fact. Anyway, aside from watching how far I raised the levers and adjusting my steering for such a large vessel I was ‘a natural’ as she put it, so with the wheel to myself I looked over the horizon. It was clear and blue as we were flying relatively low, just high enough that we wouldn’t hit the masts of the ships but not high enough to obscure our view with white cotton candy. Settling down on the shiny floor, I looked away from the great blue, “So where am I heading Nom?” My mares chuckled from my sides as Nomalanga scrunched her muzzle at me. “Don’t, that is just a no. It’s Just Nomalanga, okay Ari?” I nodded my acceptance, holding in my chuckle at her serious tone. With a sigh she nodded back before turning over to the map. “As to where we are going, it is just a quick flight from Malawia to Cape town, only four hours at half speed.” Quickly glancing at the clear skies to find them clear I turned back to the mechanic, just in time to see her hoof move north along the Zebrican coastline, settling on the middle of the east coast. So we had to return Malawia after this was over…And Moonlit Echo still hadn’t really given his acceptance. Sure, he verbally agreed to the deal and he seemed honest. But he was also given that deal or he would remain tied up for awhile. It was a clear winner in my book. His presence nagged at my instinctual mind, it saw the threat that he posed to my herd almost as clearly as my logic did. He knew about my sleep issue after all, what was to stop him from sneaking around when I was asleep? “Nomalanga,” said mare turned back to me a smile, goggles bobbing as she walked over. “At half speed how long does it take to cross the Narrow Sea? That is to say, how much distance can this vessel travel in a day?” With splayed ears she answered me, “Well, there isn’t an exact answer to that.” We were all watching her now, the others sitting up straighter from their spots on the floor. “There are many factors that could slow you down, such as daylight.” I cocked my head at her, “When you are back on the continent I don’t recommend flying low or at night.” Before I could ask why she continued, “Mountains have a way of sneaking up on you.” I nodded, remembering the river like mass of clouds from the Diamond Mountains. “Not to mention movement at night attracts monsters.” “So how long do you estimate it will take if all goes good and we don’t travel at night?” A dull echo filled the room as her hoof tapped, “Hmm, maybe two days.” Trotting over to the table, her eyes flicked between different points on the coast. “Well if you make a slow turn from Cape Town and head straight,” she dragged her hoof in a line from the east coast to the middle of the opposing shore, “To Shallow Shale then it should two days if you stick to traveling in the day.” Kapera grunted her approval as I nodded; looking back I saw that she was still crossing her arms over her chest…Should I be getting her clothes or something? Everything on two legs, with a certain ape shaped exception, wore some form of clothing. Beside her the Minotaur siblings were leaned back against the wall, looking at the passing horizon. Of course Echo was there as well, looking at the horizon with his ears back, and not much else to his expression. How had this plan gotten so complicated? This room had a clock, magically synchronized with the movements of the sun and moon, and according to it only two hours had passed. Due to the lack things to do we had all decided to lie down, my magic manning the wheel as we watched the small towns pop up and move on below us. They were small breaks of color in the otherwise green and beige coastline, occasionally a small patch of slate like rock would crop up, but that was even rarer than the towns. Along with the background purr of the engines there was a steady tapping; for the most part I ignored it, years of babysitting having conditioned a level tolerance in me that I would like to think was impressive. That and Jay, she was the excitable friend I mentioned before. Just like Jay, my airship instructor couldn’t handle the calm moments for too long. Two hours being this mare’s maximum tolerated quiet time. “So what are you two doing on the mission?” Nomalanga asked the Ayo’s, looking back to the cousins that were laid out beside each other. Just the purr remained, until some faint disgruntled cawing signaled we had disturbed another flock of white sea birds. They looked to each other as a thump sounded on the roof, promising me that I would be cleaning bird ‘presents’ off the roof in the near future. A large white feather fell across the window and held their gaze. After it passed they still didn’t seem to have come up with an answer so I chimed in, “Oh those two are here to help with incapacitating the princesses if they don’t listen to words.” Brown eyes flicked back over to me, energy back in them as her tail started flicking about. “Oh, are they making the magic inhibitors or-,” She cut herself off as I held up a hoof. “Oh, um okay.” The hint was received and her head turned, eyes looking around the room before settling on Gennady’s shoulder. “So how did you lose your arm?” With that, the overly social bull started explaining the ‘Battle for Freedom’ as he called it, the groans at that cringe worthy name only surprised him. With the explanation, not only was the mechanic distracted but I also learned some things too, like how Kapera now owed a captain a new ship. I had wondered where that ship had come from. The next two hours passed with many laughs and smiles, even Echo managed a smile at some points in the exaggerated retelling of the fight. At least I think he was smiling, Thestrals had pointed canines so it could have been a threat, or even a grimace…Anyway, Gennady proved himself to be very good entertainer. The tip tapping of talons sounded above the cabin before a flurry of white feathers, some seemed unusually large as they floated down the window, and the bird’s reason for leaving was a significantly larger town that had appeared on the horizon. “Cape Town!” Nomalanga shouted, the declaration reverberating back to us in the room. Keeping my ears pressed to my head in case she had any more statements to make, I watched the buildings close in, the town appearing to be made up almost half ship yard and the inner portion a collection of businesses. No small cottages or quaint townhouses, these buildings were five stories tall at the minimum, with most scoffing at such a small height, and trying to touch the sky with clearly added on floors. It was the closest to a big city I had seen so far, even the color scheme imitating the sheer ‘blah’ of a city with a meshing of dull browns and grays. On any other day I would have wanted to explore it, but we weren’t going to be stopping here for long, just long enough to unload the pregnant mechanic. Speaking of the mare, looking from the window and over Chrissy’s body I spotted the eager zebra. She was doing a short pace along the right side of the window; tail flicking and her smile growing as the folded sails came into view. “Hold on,” I said as my magic lowered the levers in sync, adjusting a knob on the left panel before I steered the ship toward the only empty parking space left for airships. “Agh!” My ethereal field flicked off momentarily as the hard edges of hooves jabbed into my back; opening scabbed over cuts that should really have stayed closed. This was followed by my neck being wrung in a painful imitation of a hug. Rosy hued magic plucked the excited zebra off of me as I parked the ship, the engines idling as I gasped for sweet oxygen. Despite her time enjoying our company the mare had the bay open with a hastily exclaimed thank you, galloping down the stairs faster than I could blink. We all rose from the floor and walked onto the deck, just in time for to see a poor stallion get bowled over on the platform. The nickering reached us on the deck as she nuzzled her equally happy husband who managed to get a quick sweep of wave to us. I gave a weak wave back, glancing at my mares as I did so. Chrissy appeared amused, ears forward and eyes relaxed as she leaned into me slightly, Lyric was very much the same, happily smiling as two small sighs escaped them. Nomalanga was only four months along. “Look at what you have to look forward to Ari,” Kapera said as she chuckled under her breath. “Yeah…” Leaving the happy couple behind us, I turned the ship, slowly, before I began our ascent into the increasingly cloud filled sky. My idea being that I could shave a day off the travel time if I flew high and at night. She had said I shouldn’t fly at night on the continent, not on the sea. Sea Serpents can’t fly, right? We only had three hours till sunset, at this pace we might make it to Shallow Shale early, late afternoon tomorrow…I hoped so anyway. Adjusting the gas again, I watched from between my napping mares as the white cumulus parted for us. I ignored the soft puffs of warm air on my rump. Clouds of all shapes drifted around the ship, looking ever so tempting, and drawing a yawn from me. The sun was closer and brighter than I had ever imagined it could be, taking up nearly the whole window with its filtered rays. But even so, the cabin seemed to get a chill as we climbed higher. Kapera left to search for some blankets as we all settled in, an odd crunch coming from somewhere, twitching my ears I waited. There, my wings relaxed over my mares as Gennady rolled around some more apples in the barrel that we had brought up during the trip. It was just that big lug. Dear lord, every since some being had sneaked by my herd, unhindered or undetected to the office…To put it nicely, my instincts were still in overdrive. Or maybe this world was making me paranoid, not everything had to be about me…Nah, I am pretty sure I had a growing list of haters. Would the princesses be joining that list? Soon enough we were settled, the sun set, rapidly making way for the moon. I saw why she had said not to travel at night. Inky darkness crept through the sky, faintly illuminated by the light reflected off the moon, and shadowy cumulus crept around the ship. The moon that dominated the night sky as the only source of light, soothing my nerves as I locked gazes with it, and forcing another yawn escaped my mouth. Looking at my herd, noticing absently that they were only bodies remaining in the room, and the warmest by default. Another yawn and my vision swam. Maybe a quick resting of the eyes was due. Squinting my watering eyes at the clock I saw I still had four hours, yes, four hours till sunrise. My magic had the wheel. The small creaks and tip tapping on the ship reminded me of home, even the purr of the engine was like the fridge. Just a little rest...
An Intruder and A Change of Heart.**** Above the Narrow Sea Ari Pleasant shivers made their way down spine, raising my fur slightly as warm, moist appendages wrapped around the bases of my feathers. They handled them gently, stroking them and on one wing the appendage tugged experimentally on its chosen feather. Accompanying that heavenly feeling was the light humming and purring that came from either side of me, it filled the space I seemed to float in. All of soothing ministrations and reassuring sounds only added to the cocoon of warmth and peace that I was wrapped in. Lazily I buried my muzzle in my forelegs, the urge to ask for five more minutes rising in me as a persistent orange light shone through my eyelids. My instincts were almost quiet, as was my mind, almost. Sleep, that word sounded wrong, my mind blearily stumbled around the word in an attempt to figure out- Fuck. Shooting upright, I was greeted by the sight of a short two by four wedged up against the steering wheel. It creaked innocently as I stared at it. Wh-. “That was clever Ari,” my eyes shot over to Kapera, who was now standing in the open doorway dressed in a sheet that she had tied like a toga. “Here I was thinking that I was going to find a half-asleep Alicorn here this morning and instead I find that you used your head for once.” She finished, waving a paw at the plank. The dig went over me as I felt my heart start to beat harder, practically racing as the room felt wrong, like the little privacy I had in this world had been invaded. She hadn’t done this. I looked to my mares as I tried to push down my instinct’s screaming, pointing to the office break in as a sign to this happening. Both changeling and siren held a raven colored feather in their mouth, twiddling them absently as they looked around with eyes at half mast. Scales to fur, chitin to fur, and it was the latter that caused Chrissy’s feather to start to plummet. She splayed her ears and gave me a look that clearly asked what the matter was, her wing beginning to buzz, small bursts of worry as we looked at each other. Shit, ask them anyway, maybe her look doesn’t mean that, and don’t forget to breath! “Did either of you put that there,” I shakily motioned to the piece of wood, keeping my eyes on them. Already I could see the light bulb flash behind their eyes. My instincts screamed a huge ‘I told you so’ in the form of my feathers standing on end, my nostrils flaring, and ears swiveling like mad. Paranoid? No, my nerves were on fire, adrenaline rushed me to move as it simultaneously pushed out articulate thoughts. First the office break in and now this....Helpful action...Or they just didn't want to crash. Soft paw steps seemed to echo in the room, moving away from me as the engine seemed to grow to a muted roar, and every tick of the clock was maddening. I didn’t grab any plank. “Ari,” Chrissy questioned as she rose from her sitting position, Lyric right behind her. Their expressions were ones of concern now as I pressed my nose to the plank and inhaled, trying to call on the inner Scooby Doo in me to solve this mystery. Pine, dirt, oil, and…Jasmine, no, not just jasmine, there was something new there. Another deep breath in, it was definitely musky. “Hey stud, are you okay?” Kapera asked, her voice stressing the annoying nickname she had thrust upon me. I didn’t respond to her jab, instead I was trying to sort out the many scents that wafted in from the open door. Had they really left? Were they still here? Was it another assassin? No…What was the purpose of this? “Mmm,” her tone shifted, serious, and questioning as she watched me, my nose moving back to the plank. What was that musk? Come on instinct center do your magic. I looked up from the wood once more, getting nowhere with that elusive scent. Going through my senses again and began swiveling my ears once more. I frowned as they received nothing beyond the muted talking drifting in from across the deck, nothing new. The rest of the group was in the dining room. Still I knew some being had done this, invaded my ship. My wings wouldn’t tuck in to my barrel at that thought, choosing to clamp over my shifting mares. They weren’t shifting from giggling, this wasn’t some joke. Instead it came from the awareness that something wasn’t right, they moved from hoof to hoof as narrowed eyes scanned the room. Some being had got by them. The bat or one of the others, my mind naively suggested as my thoughts tried to form. I snorted at the idea, there was no way had Echo escaped. Kapera wouldn’t have been so relaxed and the others were equally as unlikely to have done this for the same reason, that smith would love to rub it in. She had appeared sure that I had. Adding all that to that new musky scent that was swirling in my mind and it pointed to an intruder. Unfortunately, it didn’t tell me where the intruder was and why they intruded. Had they taken anything? Looking around the room I didn’t see anything out of place, the map was embossed in the table so it couldn’t be taken, the window didn’t open and was unbroken. The clock told me it was nearly noon. Light gray clouds appeared before the window, with small black specks rising out of them in the distance. The panels were untouched; the readings on the left half were within the normal range. Staring at the red crystals I tried to calm myself, to quiet my urge smother my mares, and for the most part it worked. Do this in an orderly fashion, first I should secure the ship. Expectant looks met mine; bracing myself I expelled a long breath and let my wings drop a little. “I didn’t put that plank there; unless some being here did it,” My mares shook their heads confirming their innocence once again, ears twitched as they stayed pinned. I was afraid to look at Kapera, well aware that this wouldn’t have happened if I had stayed awake like I was supposed to. “Then we have a stowaway.” But my eyes strayed over to her anyway. As I feared, Kapera’s ears were pinned back and a muffled growl had escaped her scowling muzzle when we locked gazes. But she didn’t explode into a barrage of insults or reprimands; instead she fumed in place, her tail whipping the air with the force she probably wanted to use on a being. When she had calmed down I spoke up, “So I’d say that the first course of business is to search the ship, if they are still around then they have to be here somewhere. If they aren’t here then we still might find clues.” Nodding to each other we joined our companions in the mess hall. Our ears were active on the way over, but nothing stood out, and the clouds seemed to muffle even the sea bound avians that didn’t want to climb to this chilly height. The mess hall appeared normal; one large table dominated the room with the kitchen in the back, the table half full with the rest of our group. Nothing was out of place in the sudden silence. But our sweep of the dining room, kitchen and bedroom drew a crowd. Still no tracks or abnormal scuffs made themselves known, but some being had been here, the new scent was in the kitchen. Ayodele and Ayomide finally drew the line in our search when I went over to what I assumed was their bunk bed. “A-Ari,” the sheets were out of place, “No need to check our bed,” and the pillow was placed in the middle of the bed. “What is going on anyway?” Ayodele finished, cocking her head while side stepping in front their bunk. Blinking at their question I halted my search, “Unless one of you,” gesturing to the group following us, “Wedged a plank in the wheel,” heads shook slowly. “Then we have a stowaway.” Jaws dropped, the Ayo’s, Gennady, Dinari, and…Echo wasn’t pulsed. He was looking at the floor with twitching ears, a frown on his muzzle, and narrowed eyes. That fucker… Crackling started, muted in the back of my mind as I held him above us. “Care to share your thoughts on this Echo?” My voice sounded harsh even to me, but I felt my suspicions were confirmed by his lack of reaction. That look wasn’t shocked and he had never really responded about the office break in. He had been thinking an awful lot lately. Did he have back up here? Just what wasn’t he telling us? Perhaps we needed to talk more. All eyes were on the Thestral, Kapera muttering something to herself as we watched him. He didn’t so much as twitch an ear as we locked eyes. Two could play this game. “Really, withholding information isn’t going to help your situation. It definitely makes me want reconsider the deal.” I prompted him, narrowing my eyes even as a small smile started across his muzzle. “I have kept my end Ari,” Echo’s smile dropped, “It is you who hasn’t kept their half. Last night I was still somebeing’s plushy. Behind a closed door, I saw no being, and I hardly even heard them.” My bravado faltered then. I focused on the first half of his sentence, suddenly very aware that he was right, and like an uninvited guest, my guilt chimed in. I was giving him the same treatment as the slavers, well, not exactly the same, but I wasn’t keeping my word. He was still tied up. Not exactly trust building, was it? I sighed, I had been so focused on steering…Alright, and I really didn’t trust him still. Blind trust and hope were easier said than done. Though my instincts may be silly at times, both my logical half and instinctual half agreed that having him running around the ship was dangerous, a risk to the herd. We needed to address this elephant in the room. “I’m sorry to say that I don’t trust you.” He snorted but nodded, smiling like he expected that, “From my understanding you are a guard for the moon princess,” again he nodded, although slightly slower. “So I am to assume that there is a training process you went through.” I paused and waited. He was getting confused now, ears splaying as he watched me closely, “Of course I did, every guard did.” I nodded as he said that, “Just what are you getting at?” “Well, I don’t trust you for many reasons; the most obvious being that you were sent to watch me yet seemed convinced that I was a changeling before even meeting me...No, I believe the way it was retold to me was ‘a bug’, you thought I was a vile bug.” I snorted and wrapped my wing tighter over Chrissy. “This assumption you made, I assume it was based off the logic you had ingrained in you during your time in Equestria and the recent invasion no doubt didn’t help your thought pattern. So then I had to ask myself, do I trust a clearly racist guard that quite possibly hates my mare for her attempt to save her family? Do I risk my herd’s safety on the off chance that you aren’t lying through your teeth to have a chance to escape?” Silence hung stagnant in the air as every being watched him, the search forgotten as this issue was finally being addressed. “Do I trust you?” I asked him again, “And if yes, on what grounds? I offered you that deal on the grounds that you were seeing the truth in our words.” He dropped his gaze. “Aside from your agreement to teach me how to talk to royalty yesterday we haven’t really talked much. Even in that conversation you still believed that I was going to harm them, even after I was freeing ponies from enslavement!” I sighed and lowered my wings that had risen sometime in my rant, I was getting nowhere. Echo wouldn’t even look at me. “Then this morning you didn’t seem all too surprised to hear that somebeing was here. Frankly, I feel like you have been thinking too much, that you are getting ideas.” I looked at his lowered head, “Or perhaps you have been the one to do this? Perhaps you had back up all along?” He glared at me, ears back, and body hanging paralyzed in my magic field. Releasing an increasingly frustrated sigh, I motioned for Kapera to leave. Only after a hard look at me did she leave, taking the others with her. “-stupid headed-,” the angry muttering faded as she took the search to the other floors, a party of five being more than enough to handle anything that could be down there. Ayomide used to be an assassin after all; she was almost as sneaky as… Chrissy added her sigh, looking at the Thestral with a frown. “Ari, he isn’t going to change overnight.” Lyric nodded in agreement, rubbing against my neck. “I know,” I look away from him, the urge to rub a hoof over my face very strong. “Lyric is there any spell or illusion magic thing you can do to see what was here.” My mare just gave me a slow head shake, “Sorry Ari, all those spells require having something of the being to focus on or a species to focus on. Without knowing who or what entered they won’t work.” I gave her light nuzzle and a slow nod, I expected as much, even magic had some logic I guess. A light snort caught my attention, “So, on what grounds am I supposed to trust you?” I scrunched my muzzle at that, thinking back to the fact that we hadn’t killed him yet and the fact that we freed the slaves instead of doing who knows what evils he probably thought the ‘evil bug’ and others would do. “When you asked on my training, what were you trying to prove? I pledged my service to Princess Luna not some alien that may or may not be illiterate.” For god’s sake he was focused on that! Those eyes, narrowed, unchanging, and almost resolutely not getting my point. I wanted him to change, to give me a signal that he understood…But after the last two break-ins freeing him was a big ‘no’. My herd came first. With that a frustrating heaviness suddenly weighed on my mind, déjà vu from the stolen ship. Then we had circled this issue of trust and truth as well, and just like then there didn’t seem to be a point to it. He didn’t show any signs of changing; only the promise of trying to trick me with assumed compliance, yet he knew somebeing had been here and didn’t raise any alarm. “You know what?” What was the point trying to change him? You couldn’t force change. He had this hammered into head already in training; he was basically a brainwashed pony. I had been trying to undo years of brainwashing. What an idiot I was. “Maybe I meant nothing, maybe you are right, and maybe there were some really good shrooms in that swamp that made you hallucinate that storm.” I laughed as my ears folded back. “And those slaves you saw? All of them were actors, just like these cracks on my hooves, all fake.” Fuck this; I had an intruder somewhere on the ship. **** Chrissy The bitter frustration bled from his fur into my chitin, where it was tossed around in my belly as we explored the second level. Ari wasn’t talking, instead reminding me of a canine with the way he focused his muzzle to the floor with a single minded intent. He appeared to be over the Thestral but his emotions didn’t lie. “We are here if you want to talk about it,” I started, only getting an ear twitch back. Looking over to Lyric I frowned and motioned to his wings. “Ari, I know how you feel. Equestrians are frustrating to deal with. They are overly happy, manipulating, and wither deep in denial to the reality that others live in.” Dragging his head up from the floor, it hung as he snorted, “Is peace so hard to come by?” “I wondered that long ago too,” in my peripheral I saw him look to me, canting his head as he shivered under Lyric’s tongue. “But their hatred for changelings goes far deeper than my poorly thought out plan.” Our hoof steps echoed ahead of us, the sounds of the others mostly muffled by the stacks. “On this world, long before my birth there was a power struggle, now known as the Great War.” My stallion’s head rose. “Then there were many powerful beings like us. The Alicorns, although few are around now were plentiful, at least several herds were mentioned if I remember correctly.” “Herds,” My stallion queried, twitching his ear at the bales ahead of us. Rustling drew my eyes to the hay, and we watched as a small rodent darted across the alleyway we were now half heartedly searching. “Yes, although herds are uncommon now, back then that was the way it was done.” “What happened to them?” He gulped, “Why are only three left?” I snorted, “The Great War happened and of course some passed on from age as well. But the ‘center’ of the war seemed to circle around the proud Alicorn king, King Arcturus. He misunderstood some things about others and in turn others misunderstood him, a key topic of dissention was an emotionvore’s ability to feed for starters.” Closing my eyes, I tried to remember what the scroll said, only to come up with a blank. “The recording of the war I read was incomplete and I did read it many years ago,” like several hundred years ago. I splayed my ears as I gave him a weak smile. “It was mostly from my grandmother and grandfather’s side in the fight.” He nodded, love calming the turmoil his frustration had caused in my stomach. “But it was more than just racism then, territories were being fought over still, and more land was still being discovered. Of course many beings wanted a piece of the pie.” Right! That was it! Now let’s see if I remember correctly, “T-there was the Alicorns and the three tribes that followed them, the crystal ponies, shadow ponies, the dragons, Arabians, and…Of course there were changelings.” I left out the Draconequus, Discord was a whole topic by itself. There were many royal changelings then. “Chrissy, its okay, take all the-.” “Every being wanted to be to get the best deal in the negations during the formation of borders, and many believed they were the most powerful.” I chuckled at the irony, “And every being wanted a safe place to live.” It was coming back clearer now, “But back then different species didn’t really talk outside of negotiations, interspecies communication had only recently started. Some languages were still being translated, customs understood, and instincts were still running strong.” Ari tensed as I finished and his ears went back as we carried on the illusion of searching, the others had already searched here, but Ari insisted on starting here. This whole ‘being sneaking by him’ business had clearly got to him, his reactions screamed his worries to us. Spitting out a feather, Lyric jumped in, “Exactly! Just like my mother said, it was all those instincts running rampant.” Ari and I turned to her, our stallion cocked his head, “My mother said it because those dicks were acting like dicks that everything turned into the manure pile that it did.” We stared at her and she lowered her head slightly, “Okay, my auntie Aria said it that way.” Somewhere in the distance Dinari shouted, “All clear! We are going to the third level!” Our stallion shouted out his location and acceptance to them before we continued on, we could hear them below us, in the engine room. Now he was silent, a bitter cocktail of emotions leaving him. Ari was set in frown and the sweetness faltered completely, “So Chrissy, Lyric, please be honest with me here,” we nodded to him as we gave our stallion full attention. “Are equestrians and other stallions still ruled by instincts? Like would you say I’m like them? Do I overreact? ” That had to be a joke. “No Ari,” I snorted, thinking back to all the work I had to do to even get Shinning Armor to make a move on my Cadence disguise. “Those pastel colored ponies are about as instinct driven as a rock now-.” “So I’m strange then.” What was he on about? Of course he was strange; he came from a different planet and culture. This had been clear from the beginning. “Ari,” I gave him a kiss before I continued, “You are sort of expected to be odd considering you aren’t from here.” He shook his head, stopping in his tracks. “But we both love you,” slitted eyes met mine as I nodded; “All your oddities add a certain charm. You make me feel happy and safe.” I snorted down a giggle as I thought of my stallion’s antics, “And you make me laugh.” He sighed, looking at ceiling as he folded his ears back. “But every since I got here there has been this second thought or urge at the back of my mind, I kept calling it my instinctual mind.” He snorted, “From what you said it doesn’t sound normal for ponies now and I don’t want to cause problems in this world, I mean, I just got so frustrated with Moonlit Echo up there especially…I just feel like our safety is compromised.” Oh, this morning and yesterday…It was falling into place. “So your instincts are really strong right now?” “Yah, it feels like I have to protect you, little urges screaming to keep you close to me and protect you." he splayed his ears and studied the ground. “Sometimes I just react,” Lyric and I nodded, his earlier reaction coming to mind. A soft humming started to come from Lyric. “But how can they be good if you said that strong instincts was what helped start the whole war before and-.” I put my hoof on his lips, smiling as he raised his head. Lyric broke her soothing tune, “Having strong instincts isn’t necessarily bad.” A half smile curved her lips, “And I may have over exaggerated, Chrissy's explanation was probably more accurate. There was more than just hormones running around then.” Discord’s paw in the war was still under debate in most scholarly circles last time I checked. Nodding I drew his attention back. Ari still loved me, I could taste that. “Sweetie,” He blinked at me, tangy surprise popping up. With a brief giggle as I slowly walked ahead of him, “Being normal is overrated.” I swayed my hips slightly, looking over my shoulder as he sat there, eyes following my hips. “I like you the way you are, instincts especially.” Stopping I flicked my tail to the side, I heard a groan. Lyric was prodding the base of his wing with her tongue, “Especially your instincts.” **** Shallow Shale Moonlit Echo We were back in that Faust damned town and Ari was ignoring me, more than usual. Although I had appeared to be an afterthought in his ‘plan’ before, now I was more of a spirit, there only in name. I was even more invisible than whatever was on the ship. They didn’t find anybeing on the ship, not that I expected them to. I hadn’t heard any hooves clip clopping; whatever was out there had been very quiet or knew advanced illusion magic. Of course when they came up I hadn’t moved from the floor he had so gently dropped me on, that nail wasn’t going to do me any good when Ari already doubted my trust. Not to mention he could easily over take me with his huge wings, Tartarus, a wing slap from him could probably knock me out. So I lay there tied up and slowly losing feeling in my squished wing, and now I was still tied up, except now I was on the table watching while he inhaled his food. This was his second bale and he was still going strong. He placed an apple in front of me a couple of minutes ago, right lot of good that did when I couldn’t move my legs to grab it. Actually I can hardly feel my hooves anymore. Just how many days had I been tied up now? “Ari,” I queried, keeping my muzzle rigid as the pins and needles started again in my hocks. Just a twitch of his ear as he and the siren shoveled down hay, straight, with no preparation what so ever. The Zebras were off in the bedroom having another mare talk, the maneless one trying to bring her cousin out of denial. Really, Ayodele and Ari were both so frustrating and stupid they deserved each other. Both of them couldn’t see what was right in front of them! I tried again, folding my ears down against the muffled noises coming from the room. “Listen Ari,” another ear twitch, “I really can’t eat like this or-,” “Chrissy will show me how to act in front of royalty, she has done it before.” I should have expected that. Still… I blinked as I looked from the apple to him “You still have your muzzle, feel free to make a mess.” I snorted at him, “Well you obviously don’t trust me. Once again I ask you, why should I trust you?” I didn’t have an answer for him. Another ear twitch as his feathers puffed up and he went back to his hay. That wasn’t necessarily true, I trusted him. Trusted that he wouldn’t murder me in my sleep, poison my food, or otherwise harm me, he had let his own assassin go. This stallion wasn’t normal, and as I have noted before he was more than a little naïve on some matters, especially mare matters. He hadn’t even fully thought out his plan! Somehow he just assumed that my princesses would just roll over and listen if he restrained them. Ari wasn’t made for war from what I saw. He was capable of starting one with his magic, definitely. But his heart was soft. Who lets the mare that tried to kill them walk free?! Rustling from the bedroom caught his attention, he tensed, attention on the door before he relaxed. Giving his mares nuzzles as feathers slowly laid flat again, classic OPID, ‘Overly Prominent Instinctual Drive’. It was condition that had grown almost extinct in Equestrian culture, some rare cases reported in Appaloosa, but practically a fable. There were even potions for it, provided for free by the ministry of Health no less! But his overly active instincts didn’t excuse his backwards ways. Offering me a deal even when he didn’t trust me? Releasing a pony that was hired to kill you? I wouldn’t have just let somepony that tried to kill me walk free, especially on the word of a pony I had only known for a week. That was way too trusting, like, like me…Wasn’t I similar? No. Yes…Maybe. My mind hurt as that fact raised its head. I didn’t feel mad, no emotions really were present…And there were no ‘shrooms’ as Ari put it…But, who do I believe if not my own people? Who can you trust if not your own country; a country that possibly had lies along its foundation? Countless tomes and school textbooks spouted out ‘facts’ about these ‘evil’ creatures. Facts…Changelings drain the emotion from their victims, leaving them a weak husk…Yet Ari, Lyric, and every other pony that touched her, fed her, and appeared unaffected. But…Princess Luna seemed so concerned, honest, and I served her. Without her petitioning and Princesses Celestia’s progressive movements of integration I might have ended up a janitor or worse. It didn’t make sense; the two realities didn’t produce a cohesive picture. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna seemed so just in court, they didn’t kill, and they certainly wouldn’t lie. They had sworn an oath upon coronation…It was scared words spoken that were with honesty and intent…Though books were collections of organized words too, and so were works of fiction. Words were just that, only words, and even this Alicorn hadn’t kept his. Grimacing against the tingling going through my legs, I stared at the apple, my own oath repeated itself in my head. I swear I will faithfully, loyally, and honorably serve Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and their legitimate successors, and also dedicate myself to them with all my strength, be it magical or otherwise within my power. I assume the same commitment to the ponies of Equestria, be they common or noble. The faces of my friends floated in the front of my mind, the smiling ponies of the night market, and ponies that looked at me with respect and awe that being a trusted guard afforded. Furthermore I promise to the commanding captain and my other superiors, respect, fidelity, and obedience. This I swear! May Faust and his holy patrons assist me! What would my captain say? To go against my oath, my honor as a stallion and guard would break, that...It would be treason. But, looking at the changeling queen…Where was the threat? She had the power to defeat Princess Celestia and yet she didn’t appear to want revenge or the power of ruling, this went again against everything I had been told. She had the same wants as any other pony. “Do I have something on my muzzle Thestral?” The changeling was looking right at me, scowling as she watched my face watch hers. I hadn’t realized I was staring at her. But Chrysalis did look like a pony, somewhat, if I squinted. “Well, my mare asked you a question, answer it.” Ari spoke, watching me intently with pinned ears and ruffled wings. I might as well just ask. “How do you not want revenge on the princesses?” Gulping I continued, it couldn’t get much worse than all of their eyes being on me, “I would have expected since…Well, as the last one you would want to avenge them or some such plan.” Chrysalis looked between her herd mates; they gave her small nods, and Ari placing a kiss on her muzzle before he slowly expelled air. She began in slow, calm tone, like she was speaking to a foal. “I did at first, when I was wondering the mountains those first two months…But…No! I don’t want to risk my own life for nothing.” A big breath and her voice returned to it's slow pace, “Look, I already told you and you have already seen-,” her eyes briefly narrowed at the Alicorn, “-that I have no plans to return to your duplicitous country.” What? “I don’t understand, how is Equestria-.” Her hoofed slammed against the table and my apple rolled away in fear from the bared canines, successfully getting away from fuming mare. Raising her face from her hooves she locked gazes with me, jaw clenched, “Do you truly believe her actions were justified or do you have clouds stuck in your oversized ears?” I just gaped at her, “Not even when her niece killed the last of my family…” Her eyes closed for a couple seconds and I watched her shell like body shift about on the pillow as Ari comforted her. “How do you defend her actions when she lured my father to his death?” If I had a drink I would have down a spit take. “Oh,” teal eyes studied mine, “You haven’t read about her ingenious trap,” my mind couldn’t even begin to think of what she meant, when this would have happened, “Her victory over the vile Changeling king? How she left a young nymph fatherless.” Her head cocked as she watched me, her stallion had started rubbing his along her side. Again the tip tapping of talon tips sounded on the roof, followed by the sounds of flapping as more birds flew around the ship. The faint calls of sailors echoed in the harbor as I watched her chest shakily rise and fall. She took a deep breath in, “Of course you hadn’t, and even when I was in Canterlot as Lovebutt I couldn’t find a trace of it in the archives.” Her voice lost its edge, “It was like it never even happened.” “The Princesses wouldn’t do that! They would talk first, they only attacked in the invasion because you started it!” Despite being solid wood, the table beneath felt like it was breaking, like I was about to fall, and the room seemed too warm under her gaze. “Five hundred fourteen years ago.” I could stare wide eyed, “I was born and my father saw the way our hive was going, and he wanted to try for a better future.” She glanced to Ari, “He didn’t want us to be feared for such an ignorant misunderstanding so he exchanged letters with the only ruling princess then.” This wasn’t in the books. “She appeared more and more amicable till she agreed to allow him and a small group of his dignitaries in her castle to renegotiate and bring truth to the fables they had heard.” Were they all foal tales? “But when they arrived at the time they were misunderstood, a scuffle broke out, and a reflected spell killed some of her guards...” A slow exhalation as her herd mates moved in to comfort her, “That is when the princess arrived, late to her own meeting.” It couldn’t be…How did her father die then?I blinked at the upset changeling, “But-.” Chrysalis gave a shaky breath, “She was outraged of course and when it came down to it, an ultimatum was given.” Another shaky breath left her as she leaned on Ari, he looked horrified as she continued. “His life or a war, and my father choose his life. The others were sent home, and he died.” My heart was hammering as I looked at her and rest of the herd, this was genuine. I had not taken my eyes off them since she began. “So it was just one misunderstanding…” the back of her head bobbed from where she had stuffed it into his chest. “But…You appear honest, yet I have never heard of such a conflict. The death of a king in such a way would surely make the mandatory history books, even as a blurb on what happened after the war.” A hollow laugh came from Ari’s chest, sniffles punctuated it. “You see now why you live a duplicitous country now? They mollycoddle you like foals. You realize the books they stuff down your throat were made by the winners.” Chrysalis paused, “And some secrets are still going on.” We looked eyes again, her muzzle lined with shinny streaks, “Have you ever wondered how everything you saw recently isn’t front page news?” I nodded, gulping as my throat felt too small for a second, or maybe these words were too big. “We trade and deal with dignitaries every month it seems, yet not once has this been mentioned. The books don’t mention…A lot that I have seen.” “Perhaps your princesses aren’t what you thought, even the brief reports I was able to sneak from my family during my time in the castle...I heard the things they swept under the rug.” “Why?” That was all I could manage, it felt like my heart was breaking. Everything was wrong. They all looked to each other, the other two prompting Chrysalis to continue. “I don’t know exactly why, many reasons are possible. The sudden assumption of power went to their heads. They might also just hate other races or maybe they just don’t care for anything that isn’t pony. I haven’t found a single conclusive answer to the 'why' yet.” She sighed before straightening, “But we are going to get to the bottom to this,” her eyes narrowed as they all looked at me, “with or without your help.” ‘To protect the ponies, both common and noble’, that is what I swore. “Is the world really ending?” Ari answered this time, “Yes, why else would a god grab me out of bed and drop me out of the sky on another planet if not for something important. Despite how…Well, what he said hasn’t been proved false yet.” “Oh.” He was taken from his entire family, world, by a god…Gods were serious business, I mean, never has a god been recorded as interfering with life here. They were just beings that you prayed to, thanked, and respected. If the world ended then who would I protect? “Ari, is there any way I,” to protect the ponies, common and noble, “anything I can do to gain your trust?” My body’s discomfort didn’t matter then, nor the thought of escape, I was following my oath. Ponies would die if the world ended and although they looked to be the last to die, they wouldn’t know why, and I can still do something now. Gods don’t just take almighty Alicorns from other planets for giggles, they had the power for a reason. Thank you, Faust or whoever brought him here for giving us a chance to save ourselves. He took awhile to think, looking at me then eating, and even watching the waves outside the window. Chrysalis and Lyric watched me as I watched him, the silence eating away at my resolve. What if this was all a well thought out act? The siren can hypnotize masses with her voice. No. Gods don’t fool around. “You would work with somebeing that loves a ‘vile bug’,” cold blue eyes locked onto mine, “You would work hoof in hoof with us even if we did have to restrain your rulers?” I gulped and nodded as the oath repeated in my mind. I steeled myself as he gave me his full attention. “What made you change your mind, surely not one sob story from a ‘vile bug’?” I tried to appear as straight as I could while being tied up and laid on a table, “I don’t know how to prove to you I have changed, you are certainly right to not trust me, but I seek to learn the truth.” My eyes found Chrysalis’s as a door creaked off to the side. “The previous comments I made on you and your stallion were uncalled for, after seeing your work and feeding practices those words were incorrect. For that I ask for your forgiveness.” He waved a hoof at me as I glanced at him, “Furthermore, after what I saw and the fact that a god intervened I see the reality of your words…And what they mean for my oath. There would be no more ponies to defend and serve if the world ended.” His blue eyes were locked with Chrysalis’s before they returned to mine, slightly softer, at least I hoped I wasn't imagining it. “So I wish to help you under the understanding that no pony benefits if it all ends.” And to figure out exactly what kind of a pony I had pledged my services to. Calculating eyes watched me as I tried to stay still and match his gaze. Outside the harbor's activities continued on, the day still trailing on, and the smiths most likely were working on the inhibitors as we spoke. Quiet hoof steps drew our attention; the zebras exited the bedroom and looked between us before sitting across from Ari. His eyes locked onto Ayomide and she squirmed in place, shooting him a confused look as her ears splayed under his gaze. “Perhaps,” both Ayomide and I jumped in place, “I might trust you…But first I will talk with Kapera.” Glancing to the clock I saw that I still had two hours till they would return to have dinner with us and the pins and needles were back. I let my head lay back on the table as I listened to crunching of them eating. My eyes wandered around the room until an apple encased in gold landed in front of me. I blinked as the apple settled with a quiet thump on the table and the golden glow became a small knife. It began cutting the fruit into eights. Taking one into my muzzle I watched Ari, he didn’t so much as twitch an ear in my direction as he started his third bale.
The Tip-Tapping of Nails.Author's Note This was supposed to be part of a double chapter...But editing is still underway on the second half so we are back to one chapter at a time. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be finished editing the other chapter. Happy reading The Tip-Tapping of Nails. **** Shallow Shale Ari A chill went up my back, despite the warm rays bathing me from the windows, and the sensation spread my feathers up and out. As they became a puffed up mess, i felt that odd gut feeling, like something was watching me. Releasing my breath, I swiveled my ears and tried to subtly glance around using my peripheral vision. Chrissy’s eyes were on my my wings as the mass of feathers rose and twitched, but it wasn’t her that I felt, the feeling came from behind me. Turning my head i saw nothing but clouds outside the windows. Maybe it was the fact that anybeing that could fly could just peek in and see me? A fact that even thinking about unnerved me. I wasn't supposed to be on this world, it was all god's choice, and quite frankly after all this. When the world is saved I'm disappearing with my new family, Zebrica will stay my home. I exhaled and looked around the room. Lyric and Chrissy appeared unaffected by the what I felt. Really, everybeing didn’t seem on edge. Echo was just lost in thought, his muzzle stuck in a frown after he had just essentially agreed to be an accomplice in the possible ponynapping of Equestria’s rulers. Chrissy gave me a small smile, her ears splayed and head cocked. Looking unsure as her smile wavered, she had yet to find the right words to dispel my instincts. She was aware of the paranoia I felt. But, until I solved the mystery of the ‘helpful’ intruder I was sure to feel like I was on the edge of a cliff. A intruder that helped was just so unlikely and nonsensical, especially when the last stalkers I had included a spy and assassin. So every time a shadow flitted past the window or the responsible birds landed with their subtle tip-taps on the roof I felt ready to go barreling into a fight. It was very strange to be aware of the craziness of my reaction yet be unable to stop it. Another shadow moved across the table. “It’s just the birds,” Lyric soothed again as I sucked in a breath, keeping her voice calm as my feathers slowly lay flat again. I was forcing them at that point. Right, of course it was just birds…And when Lyric followed me in the desert it was ‘just my imagination’, that feeling of somebeing watching me before in Shallow Shale wasn’t my assassin, and the princesses didn’t send a spy after me… I was having a hard time using logic on my instincts right now when every being wanted a piece of me, at least it seemed that way. Tip-tap… Beside me Chrissy started rubbing her muzzle along my neck, in a slow, drawn out fashion as she produced a light purr. My mare took care to avoid the few lashes that were at the base of my neck, instead nibbling at my mane, and it was sort of working. Her minstartions kept me from pacing the boat anyway. As smooth chitin moved along my side it pulled at my scabs, and I wanted to facehoof. I really should do something about my wounds before I saw the princesses. Walking in with half a tail, cracked hooves, and covered in scabbed over cuts wouldn’t be…It just didn’t seem like the best first impression. Be calm, you are so close to seeing the princesses, keep yourself in control. Exhaling slowly, I clenched my jaw as more noises that screamed ‘intruder’ came from the tin roof. The sweet smell of hay entered my nose as more birds danced, completely unrepentant to the havoc they were throwing on my instincts. I kept telling myself that their presence was to be expected. This was a harbor. But that didn’t really help my reactions. Okay, distract yourself; there is plenty to think about. Some topics I had already thought through, such as the trustworthiness of Moonlit Echo. He appeared honest, Chrissy even confirmed it with her uncanny ability to read ponies, and logically I could see his reasoning too. I mean, he goes from ‘the princesses are perfect, everything is great’ to this reality. If he didn’t resist the change, the sheer craziness of such a one eighty, then I would worry for his sanity and subsequent involvement in my affairs. But, I’m almost certain he really understands the precarious position the world is in now…Having said that, it didn’t mean I wasn’t going to get a second opinion and come up with a backup plan if he rebelled part way through the plan, his words only went so far. Or I could work out the plan more, a plan that was still very rough around the edges if I’m being honest. But I wasn’t used to planning for ponynapping or anything in that field and mystery novels only went so far. Maybe I should talk to Kapera and see her thoughts on it? Giggles brought me to the scene in front of me. Now the cousins were trying to subtly push the each other off the same pillow, wither to wither they were locked in place. Their brown and green eyes narrowed in a deadlock of will and determination as they tried to succeed in dethroning their opponent. Ignoring the fact that this table could seat twenty beings easily it was adorable. Ayomide’s lips turned up, ever so slowly as they snorted at each other. The apple she had been eating browned in the humid air. That smile alone was a reason to pause from my endless consumption and nearly equally endless trains of thoughts. My muzzle stretched into a smile as I watched their antics, Ayomide giggled slightly as Ayodele shifted under the strain, giving some cushion up to her cousin. It was a small smile that didn’t even show any teeth, but I think it was the first one I had seen her crack the whole time I had met her. The joy in the smile practically made her glow and it made her missing mane an insignificant afterthought. Warmth spread through my heart. To see my new friends reunited with their family and finally happy made me feel like I was actually doing something worhwhile. Not just that, it was the calm seas I spotted outside the window, languidly rocking the resting vessels along the many piers. Even the many beings that jeered and laughed jovially at each other as they ended another work day, that was normal and what I wanted for everybeing. The instincts stayed down, so I continued with the happy thoughts. My herd was well; Chrissy appeared content with her eyes half closed as she leaned against my barrel, and Lyric happily rubbing her full stomach. It was all-. Tip-tap, that sound repeated and sent my feeling of happiness off kilter again. Slowly I exhaled and looked to the clock. Come on Kapera, hurry up! I tried to block out the rapid pitter-patter of movement, focusing instead on the large hand as it edged closer to the top of the clock face. The small hand was so close to covering the six’s symbol, and all along the harbor beings were all going home to dinner. That meant Kapera would be stopping by, she would certainly distract me. I was now thankful that the gruff smith was so insistent on having dinner with us. Really, she was, even when I pointed out that she could probably get us out of her fur faster if she didn’t stay on the ship. That, if she instead spent that travel time making the inhibitors she wouldn't have to deal with my stupidity, the rodent had just repeated the time she would return. I like to think it was because we grew on her…Or it could be she noticed how twitchy I got after we didn’t find anybeing onboard, it was probably the latter. But, both my stomach and the clock agreed on the need for more food. And I, being now blessed with magic and currently stuck between two very cozy mares choose the new easier route to grab dinner. Faint crackles sounded in my head as I teleported a new barrel up, this one filled with those long purple fruits, and of course I brought up a plentiful amount of hay bales. They lined the center of the table and looked to be a richer green than the last batch. Which was better, they were less bran like then. Snaps echoed in the room as I cut the nearest binder twine, the ethereal knife disappearing as I licked my lips and prepared to dig in. “Not much of a cook, are you?” Echo said as his looked at the bales that flanked him with a raised eyebrow. “Truthfully, it hadn’t even crossed my mind to cook anything,” I gave him a weak chuckle as he gave me a deadpan look. It had crossed my mind. “We were on the road through mountains, the desert, swamps, and fields.” The terrain flashed through my mind, each place felt less and less hospitable, at least when compared to tropical Zebrica. “It was nice to just have food. I know I wasn’t picky about the state the food came in.” Especially when mythological beings like Hydras were just roaming about. Both of mares giggled and nuzzled me as I started on the sweet hay, happy for the brief respite it would provide me from my hunger pangs. "That's..." The thestral seemed at a loss as the bale of hay disappeared at a alarming rate. I remembered then why Chrissy thought I was always hungry: magic. She had once mentioned energy became magic, and if food was energy and I was a magical powerhouse then…Well, for perspective, an Alicorn can move the sun at full power. My theory was that since I had no magic before it meant I had to build up my magic. And consequently that meant I was always hungry, every moment of every day I had been here, and even now I was. Six bales felt like nothing to me. Not to mention what I noticed since I could see my aetheratic channels, it was my magical core. It always shone slightly brighter after I ate. Combined with Chrissy's information and that all but cemented my theory. “I can see that…” Echo finally got out, trailing off again as I continued to fight the empty feeling with a second bale. Chrissy narrowed her eyes at him, growing still beside me as Lyric snorted. With her ears back Lyric began, “There weren’t any chefs to cook for us, or any tables to eat off of, nor were there soft beds to curl up in.” Venom crept into her voice now and I began to worry for her, this reaction sounded like it was from more than his comment on the lack of culinary skill. Just what had he said to her while I wasn’t there? “We had to do what we could and made do with what we found.” Her eyes narrowed at Echo, “If you don’t like the options here,” she gestured to the table as her smile started to widen, “Our stallion will be more than happy to eat your portion.” He paused, looking from changeling to siren before gulping, and I almost felt bad for him. But he had to realize we weren't a castle and we were still recovering from fighting slavers. I hope the princesses don't need to be kidnapped, unlikely I know, especially when you considered the topic. But if they are like him... As giggles rose from my mares the colt snorted and started to track the knots and grains in the table. His ears splayed. Suddenly, he looked up at me. “I meant you do have a kitchen now, so you could make whatever you want now.” Okay, he wasn't the worst. Lyric’s expression softened somewhat at that. Her scales slid down my fur as she relaxed, cocking her head slightly at his frowning muzzle. Breathing deeply, I had new questions in my mind as I watched her muzzle go from frown to grimace, her eyes looking into the distance. That wall certainly did not hold any secrets. Questions like, just what had her foalhood been like? She briefly mentioned that she had learnt magic on the road, but that couldn’t have been easy. And why did they travel the roads with a foal? Was it normal a thousand years ago or was it because of the racism? Just how long had she lived like that? Better yet, how long had her family been gone? Would they be in for a culture shock too? It all crowded my mind as I watched her. As Lyric sensed my eyes she turned to me, a smile on her lips, and a dullness to her eyes. There was so much I didn’t know. But, before I wondered about my mare's family I had to focus on saving the world…Then I had to work out getting them back to this world. Oh joy, so much to do still. Aren’t I lucky? Bitterness welled up for a second, wishing for to rewind and see the exact moment I had doomed myself to capturing god's attention. Sure I loved my mares but...I was very sore and tired. Do you know how it feels to be constantly hungry? A light sensation came from my muzzle. I turned and saw Chrissy's muzzle retreating, another small smile on it. And I saw what was past her as well. Echo was staring at me now, eyes scanning my face as the bale shrunk in front of me. I hadn't even realized I was still eating. Stalks of hay tickled my throat as I looked back at him and waved a hoof in his general direction, which he just cocked his head at. Perhaps he didn't understand, but I had dismissed the idea of cooking long ago, about the same time I realized that the hunger never left me. Cooking would just prolong my hunger cramps. Sure, I still had the hope that I would reach a level of even partial fullness. I mean, the princesses surely didn’t live like this, they just couldn’t. As the hay incinerated in my stomach I let out a content sigh…And then there was the hunger again. It was several minutes after Echo returned to watching the clouds that loud bangs reverberated from the hull, one, two, and three slow thumps. And as it finished with a clap I smiled. Hallelujah, it was the signal to open up the ship. I realize it may sound paranoid to have a secret knock for a Airship. After all, who just comes up to an airship in a harbor? The harbor master maybe, but I wasn’t taking chances with this world. Do I need to remind everybeing of the stalker, assassin, and spy? Those were just the ones I was aware of. My instincts protested as I rose from between what both it and I agreed was both the most comforting and comfortable spot in the room. With stiff steps I made my way to the deck, and took a second to breathe in the salty sea breeze. It stank of fish. My hoof steps echoed slightly into the hull, the knocking stopped, and my ears swiveled. Then that tip-tapping had also returned, rapid as it repeated itself, and it sounded nearby. With a hoof poised to be set down, I listened behind me. Breath out. The noise was just birds. Just feathered nuisances that shouldn’t be calling anymore since the market had shut down for dinner time. In fact, I didn’t hear any bird’s caws or sailors. Yet the tip-tapping was still retreating. Breath in. It was gone, the noise that most definitely wasn’t birds ended nearly as soon as it had started. Shaking the agitated instincts from my thoughts, I made for the control room and opened the door. The light hum of gears turning filled the air for a short while, followed by the purposefully loud thumps of Kapera and the Minotaurs, and some vaguely disgusted noises. I think they were still a little annoyed that the smell still lingered on the second floor. Closing the hull, I waited by the staircase as they finally ascended it and blinked at the sight that greeted me. Before me my dinner guests stood laden with bags, far too many to be the project, and all were bulky. Intrigued by the sight I tried not to stare at the bags. “Well Ari, what’s with that look?” Kapera shot me a grin as she jostled her mysterious bags, producing soft thumps that drew my attention again. “Weren’t expecting any housewarming gifts?” Kapera certainly broke my expectation of her, I would have thought she would be more worried about the boat she owed somebeing then getting us welcoming gifts. I mean, she wouldn’t owe that boat if I hadn’t…Yeah, a lot of stuff wouldn’t have happened. Maybe I was growing on her? Recovering from the shock, I briskly shook my head, “Nope, can’t say that I expected this.” Not even a little bit. “It is…Wow,” I tried to articulate my surprise. Gennady looked giddy with his wide smile as he held his bag and watched my head go between them all. “Really, I wouldn’t have even guessed, I mean, I didn’t guess.” Dinari even looked happy as we made our over to the dining hall, the stoic heifer humming a upbeat tune. They had all cleaned up as well, something I still had to do. Kapera sported a red shirt, while the siblings both wore matching cream shirts. Gennady’s shirt was almost comical it was a couple sizes too big and hung loose on his muscled frame. It would have been funny had one sleeve not swung in the breeze. We all took a seat along the table, letting a comfortable silence reign as nods were given and pillows were sufficiently fluffed. With Echo’s position on the table only getting a slight raised eyebrow from the new additions. Satisfied with what she saw with the colt, Kapera roughly shoved a bale down the table so she could place the bags in front of me. A wide smile lit up her face as my mares looked between her and the bags. Kapera was very, very eager to see us open them, with small rounded ears wiggling as her eyes seemed to shine. “Okay, so this may not be what you were expecting from us," the upbeat tone made me chuckle. "But…I don’t know when I will be seeing you again and I wanted to p-prepare you,” her voice cracked slightly as her paw encompassed my herd in a sweeping gesture. We just smiled at her, the surprise getting to us as she reached in the first bag, which was the bag she had carried in. The bag itself was made of some reed or other woven stock, it was a nondescript brown and as plain as oatmeal. But it was what it contained that drew my interest, with its odd edges and bulging sides. “A book?” I queried as a thick, plain looking tome exited the bag with her paw. The bag lost some of its odd contours but remained bulky. Kapera just nodded, not speaking as she slid it across to me, but her smile got even wider as my herd and I looked at it. The hieroglyphs seemed very plainly stylized, with no pictures other than an ‘S’ shaped swirl that was embossed under the title. I wasn’t able to think of a more articulate response or appreciatory phrase, the old me would be very happy about receiving a book, but that me could read. It still intrigued me though, it might contain important knowledge like history or biology on Equus. Both my mares didn’t seem to know what to say either as the clock ticked onward. Her smile still grew wider, growing creepy as she grabbed the book and flipped through it, finally settling on a page that she turned to us. “I suggest you learn this spell sooner rather than later.” Everybeing peered at the book, eyebrows raised as their eyes traveled down the page. I looked imploringly at my mares for a translation of the page, but they were still reading it. I flashed a brief smile at the rodent before I looked back to my herd, what spell could she have suggested? A tracking spell or maybe security based spell? The Ayos snorted as Echo's chest shook. Sea-green eyes were locked with Kapera’s gaze. “Really,” my marefriend finally drawled out. My brow furrowed at her tone. “Consider it a friendly suggestion,” she replied as her smile turned down into a scowl, her nose scrunched into a flat expanse as her small ears flattened. Hearty laughter came from Dinari, while her brother had a hard, airless laugh going on. I have the strangest feeling that that isn't a spellbook, it almost felt like I am missing the punchline to a joke. No...Was it another cultural thing? Or was the spell a prank related one? My muzzle scrunched as they remained in a stare off. Lyric noticed my stupefied expression and filled me in, “it’s a localized noise canceling spell…” She didn’t finish whatever she planned on saying as I exchanged eyebrow raises with the smith; I tried to will my ears back as her meaning sunk in, and I failed and flinched at the help my mind provided. Memories of sleepless nights had returned, flashbacks of disturbing times where I would have to blare my headphones to cancel out my dorm mates guests…The laundry I would find afterwards, ugh, it wasn’t why I quit college but it had certainly made it easier to go through with it. “Point taken,” I acquiesced. After that, the gift reveal went on smoothly. Even my instincts took a backseat to the whole affair, the noises outside seemed to stay silent as well. From Kapera there were more books on various topics such as spell weaving and foal care, as well as a first aid kit. Strangely enough, the red and white bag also bore the Red Cross symbol, but when I asked them on the significance of the cross they just said it stood for increasing health, a literal plus sign. They didn’t know about any Geneva conventions or even any puns similar to it…Again, this world was very weird with it's selective nature of parallelism. Speaking of odd, Dinari got us blankets, lots of blankets. Really, all four bags she had were stuffed with blankets. But my mares fussed over them with great enthusiasm, rubbing their faces over them as the heifer gave me a wink. I was confused at the looks in everyone's eyes but couldn't think of how to word the question, instead filing it away for later. They were soft so I wasn’t complaining. But I still wondered if that wink hinted at cold winters. And it was right about then that it hit me. There weren’t any heating systems onboard or air conditioning either. Perhaps I should have ordered some…Sorry, problems for a different time. Lastly, Gennady got us gems. He brought us a bag full of enchantment grade gems along with the promise that if we needed one enchanted to just bring it in. Although Kapera grumbled about Gennady paying for the work on them he just hugged her. She didn't struggle. A happy grin was stuck on my face from such generosity, maybe it was their culture but it just made me feel a little more at home. The goodwill and thought in these gifts would be something my friends would have done, and…I had friends here now I guess. Foals were on the way. That grin wasn’t going to leave anytime soon. Soon enough the cool light of the moon peered into the dining room, watching on as the happy small talk drew to a lull, and oversaw the yawns that eventually escaped the Ayo’s muzzles. Both mares had given up on moving the each other off the pillow and simply ended up sharing it. “I think it might be bedtime for some of us.” I said, holding back an amused chuckle as the cousins opened their jaws wide again, their noses wrinkling as beads formed at the corners of their eyes. Blinking them away, Ayodele responded, “N-nooooope,” her muzzle started to part again before she clamped it down and shook her head. “Really,” I couldn’t help but smile as I watched their resistance; it reminded me of the twins, a bitter sweet comparison but none the less true. Ayodele stifled another yawn while Ayomide nodded…With her eyes closed. Exchanging a quick glance with my mares, I found their smiles echoed the amusement I felt, and I took that as a go ahead with my plan. This was just being merciful on the cousins since we still had a long journey ahead. Startled snorts came from the sleepy heads as most likely the pillow grew smaller to them, farther away from their wilting forms than they probably remembered, but their meager protests soon died as I added a slight rocking motion to my golden field that held them securely. The muted tactile sensation of the magic bringing a bittersweet smile to my face. Just like the twins too. Standing up, I couldn’t help by marvel at the similar effects rocking had on the equines, although I’m fairly sure ponies and zebras didn’t carry their babies around like humans did the rocking still worked like a tranquilizer on them. By the time I had walked all ten steps to the bedroom door they had given a final content yawn and adjusted themselves midair. Not bothering with the light, I walked into the room and deposited them barrel to barrel on their sheets. Their innocent murmurs and twitching hooves easily concealing the rebel slave and trained assassin that lay beneath, instead I saw two slightly small mares that lazily shuffled as the light washed over their bed from the dinning room. They looked at peace. My decision to let Ayomide live still felt right, especially now that she was happier…I didn’t see the same look that I saw in that cat’s eye. A look that was hard to describe, but it was the type that you got from Ted Bundy type characters, promising that the niceness was only surface deep. He relished in giving me pain, a mad happiness there. Echo didn’t have that look either. I returned to the dining room, carefully closing the door behind me as I noticed the near absence of hay bales on the table. That was…Eleven hay bales today, and I still felt the sensation of my stomach flexing, searching for a morsel it may have overlooked. The Thestral gave a yawn now, bringing me back to how late it was getting. If I wanted to leave tomorrow I had better ask Kapera for more restraints tonight. Getting comfortable between my mares, I glanced at his tied hocks and restrained leathery appenadages. My ears splayed a little as I looked over his unkempt state. His ropes were tight and his fur showed the days he had been stuck like this. A dark spot peeked through the ropes. That had to chaff. He was going to help me, our cause, and I still had him tied up. But the slowly blinking eyes and yawning muzzle covered up a trained guard. Despite what the god must have seen in me I still didn’t exactly qualify to take on guards. I wasn’t trained in any fighting techniques. My experience was limited to just bar fights, the fights I had in this world and my instincts. The last two were nearly the same thing until recently. I wasn’t completely confident that my meager experience would be enough. Well, it probably would be since I had magic and had killed far more than I would like to admit. But, with Chrissy not even using her magic and both of them recovering from the fight I wasn’t willing to take that bet. Even under the matted fur I saw his muscles ripple, they strained against the ropes as he tried to make the table comfortable. And Kapera was already volunteering to do so much…She had already done so much for me. My wing wrapped around Chrissy then, my tail moving on its own as I gazed at the smith as she chatted with her workers. Gennady had lost an arm, those don’t grow back. But I needed all the help I could get. I didn’t know quite how to start this request or even what would work to ensure his captivity. Thestrals could obviously fly, but they had no horn to perform spells, and possessed fangs…The presence of such canines suggesting a reason for them. Chrissy’s were defensive, Lyric’s were hereditary I assumed, and Kapera’s were practical as she had eaten fish last time we had dinner…But he ate the fruit without complaint and no being seemed concerned about his sharp canines, so maybe they were a trait that served no purpose anymore? I really didn’t know and those basic facts didn’t help me. It still boiled down to the fact that I knew next to nothing about Thestrals. In my peripheral vision I saw Echo’s eyes find my face, almost as if he knew I was thinking about him again. Releasing a sigh, I threw caution to the wind. “Please let it be known that I appreciate all that you are doing and have done for us,” I gestured a forehoof at the presents peeking out of their bags. Although one of the blankets may be taken soon if Chrissy’s attentive eye on it meant anything. The smith’s smile stayed sincere as she turned from her workers. Kapera merely waved a paw at the presents, “You are saving the world Ari, don’t read too much into my help.” She paused then, “But I still want to meet the foals,” Yellow eyes moved slightly to the slim forms of my mares. I didn’t know what she expected to see, they were only three and four weeks along after all. “Of course, somebeing needs to deliver the foal’s magic inhibitors.” Chrissy said, fluttering her wing slightly under mine. Lyric nodded, “And it couldn’t hurt to have a back up foalsitter,” we all blinked as she continued on, “Especially one as fierce as yourself.” Kapera laughed as she slapped the table and nodded to us, apparently not at all fazed at being assigned as our foalsitter. “My family will eventually want a break from foalsitting after all.” That final statement seemed to hang over us for a moment as the clock seemed especially loud, by then we were all aware of their absence. Echo squirmed in place and stared at Lyric, his eyes going wide for a second before he released a breath. A disgruntled squawk came somewhere down the pier. We all paused, ears twitched, and our breaths were held. Only the soft breathes sounded from the bedroom. But we all waited a second longer. No more noises sounded off, but I would be doing an evening check over the ship, just in case. Giving Lyric a small nuzzle I shifted on our cushion, feeling my feathers return to their places as I turned my focus to the present. “What I was getting at before was that I need to ask for some more help,” I let my eyes pointedly look to the prisoner shifting on my table before moving back to the smith. Her lips formed a flat line but she rolled her paw for me to continue. “You see, Echo here has seen the light and wants to help us, truly now.” I let a nervous chuckle escape me, “He came to realize that gods don’t just toss beings around for giggles and that he if the world ends he becomes obsolete.” Sighing, I let it out; I knew it was pointless to keep my thoughts from him. “But as much as I want to untie him I need a backup plan in case he decides I’m crazy or that my treatment of his rulers is too extreme.” Golden eyes watched me, one pair turned into a calculating look, while the other started off surprised before they narrowed. “You don’t trust me still?” The narrowed eyes watched me, following everything from my twitching tail to my splayed ears. Shaking my head at him I tried to keep my smile on as I felt guilt well up. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust his words, but seeing it in action was different. Moonbutt would probably feel betrayed; his rulers would try anything to get his help. I know I would. “I just can’t stand the thought of risking my new family and the fate of the world. You honestly sound like you can relate to that at least, surely you want the best for your country, and of course your family.” With a slow exhaled sigh he nodded, hesitating for a second before he responded, “I understand.” “Okay.” Heads turned back to the master smith as she observed the Thestral. Scratching her chin, she muttered something to herself, golden eyes traveled up and down his body as he lay as rigid as he could under them. “Untie the colt for me, I want to measure something.” The Thestral's eyes practically bugged out of his head as I lifted him into the air, his mouth trying to produce words that failed to make sense. The rope slowly uncoiled itself, starting around his wings before it connected to the bundle of rope binding his legs. All the while he looked shocked, almost afraid that he was dreaming this, and his tufted ears were frozen in a splayed position. We all watched as the rope formed a pile on the table. Almost there, just a little bit more. My magic brought the thick rope around again and again, only this time something reflected dully in the glow from the gem lighting the room. With the rope holding it captive gone the nail floated freely in my golden field, and it also revealed the intent of my prisoner. He was good, very good. I had to give him that. My mares snorted as they tensed beside me, both probably looking as intense as the rodent across from me. Changing the course of the rope, I made it slither around the colt’s neck, coiling around the unkempt fur till his eyes were pleasantly bugged out again. Our eyes locked and the room shrank down to him. “So, I would say you had better get talking before I forget why I trusted you, because this-,” I levitated the nail in front of his line of sight, “-Doesn’t remind me why. In fact it makes my herd look foalish for even believing you.” I really had believed his words, they made sense, and Chrissy had sensed truth in them…But, maybe he was a really good liar. That would make sense. Guards had to remain in control under pressure right? Perhaps I was going too far threatening him after he had agreed to help us, but I was holding myself back considering I wanted to bite and stomp him. He had fooled us. A nail had been at the ready to bail him out when the opportunity arose. Why? Many reasons jumped out at me but it all boiled down to the fact that he had a way to escape, he had a plan. What else had he been planning? An audible gulp came from him. “I tucked that away before I met you…You have to understand what I walked in on,” He shuddered. But I didn’t let that affect me, he wanted my sympathy, and my mare’s had mentioned his bad timing. “How I suspected…What I thought I was going to meet, to not look for a way to escape would have been naïve.” He took a deep breath; the phantom feeling of his fur on my magic ruffled my feathers. "But…Then you, all of you showed me a new world,” more like a worse world. His wide draconic eyes scanned the room, “And I started to find inconsistencies in my knowledge.” So we proved you wrong, that isn’t hard to do considering where you lived. Snorts traveled around the room and small sleepy neighs escaped the closed door. The clock ticked away, the hand steadily creeping closer to nine. “But you didn’t toss it, the nail was there the whole time, and I’m willing to bet that if Dinari hadn’t kept hold of you we wouldn’t be talking now.” My other wing wrapped around Lyric as visions of my mares being surrounded by copies of the Thestral flooded my mind. It didn’t take a genius to deduce what he would do if he escaped. Echo’s eyes dropped, “Yes, I planned to run and get help.” My heart raced as I snorted at him. He simply sighed and deflated under our gazes as he looked up. “But I didn’t know if your deal was real, what you would really do, and I can’t, couldn’t just betray the ponies responsible for the integration of my species into equestrian life.” His eyes looked at me, big and desperate for my sympathy. But my mind halted there, the anger derailed at his words, and curiosity took front seat. That was an interesting statement…Wait, the pieces clicked into place a little. He was a species from Equestria, but Chrissy had mentioned the three tribes, not four. Earth ponies, Pegasus, and Unicorns… Where had the Thestrals come from then? The nail could wait. His ears perked up as he found something in my expression, slitted eyes growing brighter under the moon’s light as I cocked my head. “What do you mean by that exactly?” “I mean that if it weren’t for Princess Luna my ancestors would have remained traveling nomads, going from cave to cave for shelter and scavenging orchards-.” “Hold up,” he stopped, jaw hanging open as I pressed onward. “So when did Luna do this? I am trying to piece this whole thing together still.” As he closed his eyes and thought of the answer I threw pointed looks to my mares, especially Chrissy, and both nodded after a second. Kapera started, “Well, I could tell you that-.” But Echo seemed to have gathered his thoughts and blurted out, “Over a thousand years ago!” The smith scowled but I ignored her grumbles, this seemed important. Why would rulers that were clearly racist suddenly include a new race to their country? “Long, long ago King Arcturus and Queen Carinae died. With their death their daughters were placed in charge of the country, and by default the sun and moon.” He shuffled a little in place, “It caused uproars across the continent-.” “Tonight bat,” the smith snarled out. With a snort at her he turned back to me, watching as I removed the remaining rope from his legs, and opted for it to encircle his entire neck. I trusted her a hell lot more than him. “R-right, cre…O-other beings became uneasy and change was in the air. Princess Luna took over the moon and night sky. But most ponies slept through the night and she felt unhappy with ponies sleeping through her gift to them. But, Thestrals are nocturnal and when she met Chief Shadow Moon she was overjoyed. Treaties among the clans were drawn at first, but soon those were turned into integration policies, and soon after that all the Thestral clans were officially made Equestrian citizens.” A happy smile lingered on his face before he pressed on, chest expanding as he looked at me, “And the princess even replaced her entire Lunar guard with warriors from the clans, one from each clan originally. We were better suited to the night than the unicorn and pegasi were.” He watched me as I looked to Chrissy, she nodded, and then I turned to Lyric. She also confirmed his story with a terse nod. “So your princess gave your species a home in the world, a special job,” and apparently that gives you permission to be racist. “But as generous as that is that still doesn’t excuse her, no, their continuing racism to other species. In fact, I don’t see how that is supposed to make me trust you more; you have a deep seated loyalty to those princesses and you hid a nail for a possible escape.” I watched his face closely, “What is to stop you from scrounging up another nail or worse?” The rope held his attention for a second, “Nothing really…But my oath says I’m supposed to protect ponies and I can’t if they all die.” He looked at me, muscles tightening under my magic, “Besides, I was sent to watch you and make sure you were all right…Princess Luna…She was afraid that something bad was going to happen to you.” Is she a prophet too or was she working with the pirates? No, that was silly I had encountered them by accident…Maybe? That could explain how the princesses don’t do anything about slavery, or any of this world’s problems. But that doesn’t quite add up, he believes her too intensely. Something about this whole puzzle is off. How would they maintain a facade so well publicly? They surely can't be idiots... He appeared sincere...And I could always catch him. My mares looked as conflicted as I felt. “Here Kapera, measure away,” I shrugged, releasing the rope as I looked inward. Nodding to myself as I followed the flow of magic. Yellow and bright, the crackling energy was immense, and more than enough to handle him. I also had a couple spell books that could hold a solution. A barrier spell surely existed or maybe a spell that would stick him to the floor till I released it? He seemed to believe his oath and his princess's orders. The smith gave me a long look as I lowered him onto the table, watching as he wobbled in place before she shrugged. Grabbing the rope quickly, her paws proceeded to measure the distance between his hocks and hocks to his neck using the rope, marking places on the rope with her claws as her eyes focused on the task. As Kapera finished up she gave me another long look, “Are you sure about this Ari?” It felt like every being in the room watched me then, ears forward as my internal thoughts warred against each other. It was a risk. My mares leaned into me. But Gennady’s recommendation of his sister and this smith’s apprentice had proved to be amazing, not to mention Kapera's previous work had been horribly effective. That backwave of energy had wiped me out. She was beyond what I expected. “Yes Kapera, I am sure.” A short nod escaped the master smith as she made for the bedroom, running her digits along the rope as she went. “Kapera,” the smith paused as did her workers, “In the morning can I talk the plan through with you? I would really appreciate the advice of a seasoned warrior.” The corner of her mouth twitched. “Is that a yes?” Her head bobbed, “Yah, I suppose I have will have five minutes to spare.” She started to open the door, “Oh and I should have the inhibitors and shackles done by lunch time tomorrow.” That proved to be her final word on the matter as the smiths and Gennady retired to the room, powering on the light to the disgruntled murmurs of the zebras. The Minotaurs gave us quick goodnights as yawns tried to escape them, and seven became four. Yes, they left the wobbling colt on the table top for me to deal with. He was trying to steady himself as we watched him now. He was snorting and muttering about Tartarus as his fore legs finally gave out, Echo got a really close view of the table then. Levitating him to the ground I shared a look with my mares, both of which had splayed ears as they looked at his weak shaking. “So I guess not using your legs is catching up?” He snorted once again as I grabbed the bags in my magic and let him go. “Ouch,” I stood over him as he kissed the floor. My mares stuck to my barrel. “You know it’s getting late and we have a lot to do tomorrow, how about we take a walk?” I know what I said. He looked at me incredulously as my mares did the same. “A walk,” Chrissy questioned, looking at me closely, and failing to find something she frowned. “Exactly, he needs to regain feeling in his legs and I won’t be able to fall asleep till I have searched the ship again.” No being responded as murmurs trickled out from the bedroom. “I don’t think it was just birds making noise,” I began to walk to the door. “In fact, this world has practically proven that these feelings of being watched are usually true.” My mares caught up, Chrissy chewed her lip while Lyric had her ears back and eyes glued to the floor. But Moonlit Echo was still wobbling slowly forward, far behind us. “Hey!” Ignoring him I continued levitating him along with the bags, “Right so this takes care of two things at once, maybe even three if I catch somebeing.” With barely any thought I touched a hoof to the jewel on the wall; if I didn’t think about the jewel then it was just like a light switch back home. The moonlight highlighted the worry in Chrissy’s face, her ears splayed and eyes wide. “But what if it’s Diamond dogs? Or what if they have knock-out gas?” “I can teleport things now.” Her mouth opened again and I darted in for a kiss pushing my love for her in it, “Chrissy, I promise you I will just search the ship. I won’t leave it unless this colt decides to make a break for it, and even then everybeing will be in such a shock seeing me I will have plenty of time to get away if they attack.” With a shaky nod she pressed into me, her wing buzzing faintly still. Looking at Lyric I saw a similar sight, her ears splayed and eyes wide. My last walk was probably fresh in their minds, it didn’t help that this was the same town it had happened in. “So when we have cleared the ship, I will tuck him in with Dinari and head straight back to you.” I nuzzled both briefly as I opened our bedroom door. “Then we finally test out our bed, or cuddle, or sleep. We will do whatever you two want to do.” I placed the bags beside the nightstand and looked back and forth between my mares. “Okay?” Hesitantly Chrissy nodded and Lyric quietly asked, “You will come back?” I winced as her father's trip came back to me, there was no way I would do that to her. “Definitely,” I exclaimed before exchanging a final nuzzle good bye, taking Echo with me to the control room. I was on my own ship after all, in a nearly empty harbor, and I’m sure the other darkened boats were harmless. They were just fishing vessels after all.
Hide and Seek.Author's Note Let's see who was right and who can guess why... Also, double chapter post! Hurrah! After these two ones we hit the sky and we all the know what that means Happy reading Hide and Seek. **** Shallow Shale Moonlit Echo My fur tried to stand on end but the mats inhibited the action, and the shaking of my muscles added a new pain on top of the tugging. Well, it was more of a fear of pain, although there was pain in my muscles. My imitation of a new born foal was accurate to the floor worship. This had better be worth it. Little Grims from Tartarus seemed to hover around my legs, sticking me even tinier pins as they giggled behind their cloven hooves. Spasms ran through my muscles through their dark magic and yet I was still helping search my warden’s ship…No, Ari was ‘helping’ me regain feeling in my legs. I had feeling in them. That feeling he couldn’t be ignorant to, everypony has felt a little of this sensation before, but he appeared as unrepentant to the situation as the invisible Grims were for inflicting the pain. That stallion’s ‘slow’ pace was too fast for me still. Keeping my wings outstretched I grimaced and took another step. Only half paying attention to his glances back at me and the subsequent frowns he shot my way. Complaining wasn’t worth it at this point. It still was taking a lot of self control to not ask him what he was looking at, it wasn’t like I was going to fly off. My word meant more than that. And I had to solve this mystery, not just who was following him, although that intrigued me as well. But the real question of just who were the princesses? How much of what I knew was real? And of course to what end was this all going to? They spoke of peace and friendship…But they had fought the most conflict.They liberated the crystal ponies, well, sort of. But they banished discord! Yet, they less than a week’s flight away from them there was slavers capturing beings and they didn’t know?! Looking at the moon through the control room’s window I couldn’t help but sigh. Ari moved around the room for the fourth time, his rough shape contrasting with the white spires of the castle I held in my mind. The orderly barracks at the base of the spire so far from this world, they had order, and weren’t… I blinked as the scabs on the Alicorn’s back shifted in the cool light. My pain was still present as I felt confusion cloud my mind, the harried circles of thought running around on how I was not dead yet. Not that I wanted to die, this pain would pass. It was just that I should have been bucked halfway to the moon or at the very least tied up again. Instead I was walking, wobbling around a control room while my target searched for a trace for the intruder. Should I be helping? Probably, but I was still working on being able to walk without using my wings for balance. And I didn’t mind letting him look on his own, again, not that I wasn’t grateful to be free and walking. But, I would have loved to be free sooner, or at least not hogtied. Have you ever tried to use the washroom when you are tied up? But I digress, that never happened, especially if Night Glider asks. I went on vacation after all, not on a secret mission. A mission that had somehow, in a roundabout way had led to working with the stallion that I was sent to watch. Ari snorted before he silently walked back to the steering wheel. We had an intruder to find and the scarcely furnished control room was clearly empty. “Find anything yet?”I asked Ari as he sniffed the board for the umpteenth time; all the while I strained to keep my voice interested as pain ran through me. Before I could ask again I was forced to back pedal, my instincts saving me just in time to dodge his tail as he suddenly turned. Despite how he looked he moved very quickly. “Hmm,” he blinked as his eyes regained focus, and with a cocked head looked back at me. I froze under his cool stare. “Oh,” I said it slowly as I leaned forward a little in interest. “No, nothing different,” His voice was growing more disgruntled as his brow furrowed. “That weird smell is still here.” Weird smell, I inhaled and couldn’t understand what he meant, everything smelled normal to me. He noticed my confusion, “It’s that musky sort of smell. Do you recognize it?” Giving the clearly OPID suffering stallion a quick glance, in which I saw his intent look, and knew how my evening would be spent. Buck...I wanted his trust and so I returned to sniffing. Ari gave me a curt nod as he went to sniff the wheel. The little red jewels stayed suspended in their tube, occupying my eyes as I tried to filter through the scents. The moon seemed too foreign to me to kept my gaze on it, it called up feelings that didn’t help identify the ‘musk’ as Ari put it. Nothing was unusual in what I took in, nothing ‘musky’. Well, I didn’t know what he meant by ‘musk’, it was so vague. Like a cloud, musk could be any number of things, especially to those that are unfamiliar with the scent. So perhaps I could just be too familiar with everything. After getting tracking drilled into your nostrils for a good thirty weeks all smells sort of fade into one familiar mass, unless I was looking for one in particular this would be near impossible. There were simply too many types of musk. Might as well throw him a bone… “Well, I smell mares.” That was an easy one. But, instead of being satisfied with that he simply nodded and gave me his full attention. I really shouldn’t be encouraging this...It did, kind of, feel good to have him listen to me. Certainly, it was better than being carted around like a sack of flour. “I can also smell zebra, oil, dirt, changeling, your hybrid, and basically every other being that could have been on the ship.” There were so many scents and most of them didn’t strike me as suspicious. He looked a little deflated at my response, “I mean, who knows who handled that board before it came on the ship, or even what worked on this ship.” I took an uncertain step toward the door and winced as my muscles screamed again. “Zebrica has been hiring anybeing with skills for years to try and catch up with Equestria.” “I wonder why.” Ari muttered, and looking up from my hooves I saw his ears fold back. Blue eyes turned cold once more as he moved past me. The interest he held in my opinion was lost. My mouth loved my hoof. Of course they wanted to advance in technology! If I had the threat of being taken away to become some Dragon’s dinner or Arabian’s slave I would be fighting against it too. Species wouldn’t matter if they had a skill I needed…Thestrals were similar really; we had a skill that surpassed other species. Our night vision was on par with a vildkatt, if not better. Is that why Princess Luna chose us? No…Maybe…She just wanted ponies to appreciate the beauty that her night held. My eyes closed, she didn’t really make the night. I mean…Ari had said that they were both doing something unnatural with the sun and moon. They were supposed to move on their own. So was my princess just…I couldn’t even finish the question as the room boiled down to the glow of the moon. My ears dropped as a heavy weight settled inside my chest. Manipulating things was nothing new to them. And the weather…It was controlled as well, made to be what they approved, and that was just what I knew. Had I trained for a falsity as well? Shaking off the question I focused on the task at hand, the mission, this one and not the one Luna gave me. Ari was going to save Equestria from the fate the other countries were facing and I couldn’t just let this stalker do whatever they wanted. With the light powered down, Ari quietly sighed and moved hesitantly to the doorway, but my perception of the room still appeared clear to my eyes. The corners bathed in a clear distinctive light that didn’t come from the moonlight. Ahead of me Ari stepped forward, slowly making his way until the moonlight illuminated the deck in front of us, and only then did his hooves step sure again. Tense muscles relaxed slightly as well, letting his feathers lay flat. I had stopped even keeping track of that reaction, seeing as this situation really bugged him this defensive puffing was happening every five minutes…Okay, maybe less often but it happened a lot. I didn’t want to be the intruder. As we returned to the deck he surprised me and stopped. The stallion’s eyes were on me as his ears swiveled. “So you guarded the princesses, eh?” “Just Princess Luna actually, I am part of her personal guard.” He nodded along, keeping one ear on me, and the other still swiveling. “Although if Princess Celestia ever came to the night court I would guard her as well,” I replied as I thought back to the debacle that the court had become lately. Did he realize how much gossip his letter had started? “Court?” Ari practically snorted out the word as a small smile broke out onto his muzzle and I perked my ears at him. Some hope entered by chest, his eyes looked interested again. Keeping my composure I strained till I had caught up to him, “Yes, there is the Day Court and Night Court. A place where the populace may come and air their needs in the form of petitions,” a shudder passed through me as I recalled the amount of petitioners that had been storming the courts, it turned a relatively calm shift in a chaotic nightmare. If ponies still didn’t hold a fraction of fear for us then it would have been unmanageable. Another shudder almost came over me as I pictured the drama that would ensue when he turned finally turned up. Nothing was ever going to be normal again…The weight returned, twisting my heart and slowing my breath. Luna as she tried to keep her composure before me, her worry clearer than her moonlight. He continued to chuckle at the idea, before he grew quiet and he gazed at his hooves. Eerily familiar distance in his eyes as watched something I couldn’t see. I still had only three or four days to turn him into a normal stallion, somehow, and I know it would be hard. He didn’t seem to care for normal or more likely he didn’t know what normal was on Equus. Everything here must be strange for him. I couldn’t imagine landing in a new world…Unaware of the rules and told to save it. But Ari was handling it well, I guess. I really had no comparison for this. The breeze ruffled my fur, tugging at my mats once again, and lifting my wilting wings up. Adrenaline whispered in my memories as I had the sudden desire to soar and glide among the clouds…I was unbound. But I couldn’t fly. I wasn’t really expecting to be roaming free after he found the nail and this little amount of trust he was showing was precious. The truth was bound to come out with Ari around; he just had this way to throw status quo out the window. A siren hybrid existed, changelings weren’t evil, and the world wasn’t peaceful. Both our muzzles opened and sighs escaped. An intruder was out there and here I was wishing for stuff I couldn’t have, questioning the night’s light in a futile conversation. Our hooves make faint noises as the slow walk resumed and the faintest tugs deepened my scowl. The stairs approached and Ari waited for me, splaying his ears as I focused on remaining upright. “So the guards are divided into different types then?” The dark stallion queried, steadying me with a hoof as we looked down into the first floor. We didn’t move. “Yes, Solar and Lunar divisions. And each branch is divided into different squads. Not to mention each branch has a personal guard for the princess that commands it.” I replied automatically. Thankfully that was cadet level information, buck, I’m sure most school age colts knew that. My eyes and mind were elsewhere then. Never had stairs seemed as scary as they did right then, looking down the steep descent only added to the shaking in my knees as I tried to think this through. I could…No; one look at my shaking knees told me otherwise, I would certainly tumble, and my wings were cramping up. Perhaps I could slide down on my rump? It would be embarrassing but I wasn’t asking for help from Ari, I was a trained guard. This staircase was nothing compared to the Everfree Forest or the Living Maze. Yet it looked like a long way down. Ari nodded absently and started ahead of me. Carefully he placed his hooves on each step, growing more somber as he descended. The stallion’s muscles tensed with each step, the dark cracks on his hooves made a hollow echo with each new plank. But my hooves refused to move. My hooves didn’t have cracks at least, I could totally do this. Now- I blinked- I was floating in his magic again. Briefly I scowled at him before composing my expression to a grateful smile. Sure I was happy to avoid an embarrassing moment, but being levitated down was almost as bad as being carried around by the heifer again. I wasn’t a little colt that needed help; I had fought for my position! A sharp muscle spasm traveled across my wing and made me clench my jaw. But…I did need to recover. Days of staying still were still catching up to me. Yell artificial light illuminated the room and forced me to blink at the change. “Thank you,” it wouldn’t harbor good will if I was rude to him. Despite how much I would like to snap at him for assisting me I needed all restraint I could with him, especially after the nail incident. I shouldn’t be here, walking free, and yet he was allowing it. Sorry, I know I mentioned that already but it really grated on me. My captain wouldn’t have let a prisoner walk free like this; he would say it was crazy. Ari was crazy…The good type, I think. He just shrugged and looked down the spotless floor one way, and finding the right half empty he looked to the equally deserted left half. There was no pony here or any other being. But he cocked his head, swiveling his ears, and turned right again. The Alicorn was heading straight for the crate labelled ‘Katlego’s Supply Store’, his eyes were narrowed. Making my way over I saw why he had investigated it, the nails were missing from the lid’s corners, and although the lid was perfectly aligned it with the edges it wasn’t secured like the other four crates were. Was it a thief? No, nothing added up for a thief. Ari had nothing to steal, well nothing easy to steal. Who would steal an airship? Only a stupid thief…And they weren’t silent enough to be a competent thief. I had heard them padding around the dining room last night. Sure, they could walk with hardly a sound, but I wouldn’t have paid any attention to the noise if they hadn’t bumped into the table, several times. A clumsy thief…I doubted it, and last night also ruled out the intruder being a killer. Stabilizing the ship’s steering instead of killing the Alicorn right beside the wheel was just stupid. They didn’t even kill the changeling! It made no sense. So I didn’t know what to expect with the motivation so unclear. I fought down my shaking as we both tensed, he lifted the lid in his magic, and my training kicked in. Getting my unruly legs to fold into a crouch, I leaned back as the contents were revealed. We were ready for anything to pop out, yet nothing attacked us, and aside from the faint hum of his magic this floor remained quiet. Our mystified gazes took in the neatly stacked planks in the crate, noting the distinct gap between the top layers of odd sized ones. They had pried this open…But with what? Magic was ruled as any sane equestrian would have killed the changeling. So it had to have been opened by hoof. But there were no tools around. Leaning into the crate for a second, Ari looked to me and whispered, “The same smell is all over these boards.” Before I could comment on the possibility of workers his magic suddenly had me above the crate, Ari’s eyes pointedly looking from me to the crate. Exhaling slowly, I reached my muzzle down and inhaled, only finding the smells of zebras and gryphons, both of which could have been workers at the supply store. “Ari, all I smell is the workers.” Placing me back on the floor, I could tell he wasn’t backing down with how his eyes narrowed and his easy pinned back. “And what do the workers smell like? Anybeing have a musky smell?” His whisper grew more forceful as I frowned at him. “I don’t know what ‘musky’ means to you.” I let out a sigh, “But I smell zebra mares, zebra stallions, and gryphons of both genders as well. Which make sense, the coast often employ gryphons when there is heavy lifting or anything with heights is involved.” A frown was growing on his face, “But that doesn’t mean that somebeing isn’t on this ship.” That was for sure, something was definitely on the deck last night. I could understand his thought process though, the odd smell was most likely the intruder’s smell, and tracking down somebeing that felt the need to sneak around was pretty important. Why sneak around if they weren’t killing or stealing? Too little was known to make any sense right now, not to mention my lack of sleep was getting to me. Still, their actions were all over the place and would have had me searching the castle…If I were at home. The weight returned as I looked away from the crate, a strange disappointment went through me as I looked up. Back in Canterlot, Night Glider and I would have secured the area for the princesses before retiring for the night. Which, I guess is what Chrysalis and Lyric were to Ari, his princesses. He was constantly fawning over them or worse. Oh don’t shake your head at me. I wasn’t a prude or anything, but there was such thing as too much affection. Especially when I was still trying to not gag at the thought of him rutting either of his mares. They just weren’t my cup of tea. I bite my tongue, my eyes widening as the world moved once more. Golden magic lifted me once again as we descended to the literal maze of food. I would say it was enough to feed an army, but with the amount this Alicorn ate I didn’t see it lasting longer than a year. Setting me down he made eye contact and put a hoof to his lips, I nodded as I let the training in me take over. Ears upright and performing swivels every three seconds, tail held rigid to prevent accidental brushings, and slow, deep breaths through the nose. Okay, this is going to be fun. This felt just like the training exercises in week forty, which were stealth based operations. We had to navigate a living maze, The Living Maze, and our instructors laid traps for us. The exercises firmly reinforced the notion of never letting your guard down. It wasn’t that the traps were life threatening, it was more like everypony knew and would know for weeks if and where you had been caught. Pink dye, everywhere, and it certainly didn’t make the future missions easier. With a cautious wobbly step, followed by a slightly surer one, I proceeded slowly beside Ari. I stayed in a crouched position as we started down the first aisle. Quiet bore down on us. His attention was ahead of us, taking in the shadowed areas with apprehension as I focused on the sounds. With only the faint magical hum from below me to keep track of the time we crept on. The nearly silent hoof steps faded to the background as the white noise of the engines began to captivate me. Slowly the enchanted technology began to emit what resembled a lullaby to me; a calm humming that fought my training for control. Even as my hooves moved on my trained reactions continued to waver, my ears were stilling and tail drooping by the time we had reached the halfway point. The air was still. And the wood beneath me was covered in a menagerie of prints, all too mixed up to make heads or tails of them. But I tried to anyway, trying to picture the perfect hiding place down here. While the shadows of the bales and barrels loomed over me. Some were precariously stacked, silently threatening to topple on me. Humming continued from below as I tried to stay awake, somebeing was stalking the chance a god gave us to save ourselves. Come on, where would I hide in this maze? My steps grew more confident, surer as we encountered nopony in the long corridor. The shaky spasms slowing as my muscles ached more insistently, but they grew steadier. I felt happier as that realization occurred yet also more concerned as we moved on. Aside from the crate there was no sign of an intruder. With my motor control improving I took more time to scan the area, really looking over the food. If somebeing was down here they had to eat something. The hay bales were untouched, except from where Ari had been teleporting from, and they went right to the ceiling. The barrels were in the same condition except not stacked quite as high. There was no room underneath the stacks as they formed a gapless line and the space above the barrels was so small that hiding up there was foalish. Unless you were a small colt no being could fit. My frown deepened and nothing came to me, the food was as orderly and tightly packed as one could imagine. And this intruder made as much sense as what I had learned of this world, namely none. Who sneaks onboard, rustles around, helps to control the steering and doesn’t touch… Wait, I take that back. Unfurling a wing Ari blocked my path. We both halted as the same sight greeted us. I peeked over the dark feathers as they began to rise and my mouth tried to work the air before I closed it. We just stared at the barrel of Asipo melons. The lid was crooked. Blue eyes whipped from me to the barrel before he took a big breath in, probably trying to find his elusive scent. I humored him, knowing I would smell the zebra workers…Maybe it was a zebra? It really could be anybeing. I mean, I had tracked him through several countries and he had been to several before that, anybeing could want him, and not just the way Ayodele did. He had been making enemies along the way, who knows how many. Ayomide’s presence told me all I needed to know about how deeply somebeing felt for him. The smells on the barrel were interesting to say the least. Stallions, mares, ink, and hen all were present. Ink…With hen, such a combination was weird, curious, and made complete sense in a crazy way. “Ari,” I whispered, the sound making me cringe as I came to many conclusions. His eyes found mine even as his ears continued swiveling. “I smell ink.” His ears went back and he went to sniff it again. Seeing his eyes go wide I continued, “The intruder didn’t use the stairs at the city hall and it was the evening after…” I trailed off as it fell into place for him. His ‘musky’ smell that eluded him could be a gryphon’s natural smell, an earthy mixture usually. I wouldn’t have called it musky. But, the point was that we only saw one gryphon in that town. “Bente,” Ari whispered. Again I winced, she could still be here. Of course, it could be another gryphon. Though the likelihood was slim, not that I didn’t doubt that he probably annoyed a gryphon along the way. But, who would know he would be in Malawia when he didn’t even know he would be there? The way I understood it, Ari took a walk with a magic inhibitor on and was poisoned before some slavers found him. And Ari’s species made him instant front page news so they wouldn’t advertise that they had him, even among whatever criminal ring they traveled in. “Bente,” He repeated in a louder whisper, sounding just as confused as I was. She had seen him, received an explanation, and then left. He didn’t even have time to annoy her! I nodded in his direction as he straightened the lid and proceeded onward. Both of our steps were light, tense, and very aware that if she was here she would already know where we were. But I had to confirm my thoughts with him, I knew it was a stupid reaction…And even worse, It still didn’t answer why she was here or why she had torn apart the office. Silence resumed, it felt even hazier with that new knowledge floating around us. Neither of us had a clue as to why she had done what she did. So we slowly crept along, flank to flank, and hoped to catch the stowaway. I focused on the shadows and prints in front of me to tune out the screams from my underused muscles. Eventually, they were merely a buzzing in the back of my mind as my senses tuned in to my surroundings. The magical hum, his soft breathing, and the occasion whistle of a breeze that came from above. You couldn’t even hear any talking from the cabins down here. ‘Why’ buzzed through my head as Ari ruffled his feathers beside me, looking between the shadow’s arches with a new rigidity to his movements. Despite being a bookseller he moved at a steady pace, his muscles absorbing the sound of his hooves, and a silent determination on his muzzle in spite of his hoof’s cracks. The sight of such focus would have made my ‘Stealth 101’ instructor smile…If he smiled. Taking a right we froze, somewhere something had rustled, it was so slight that it could have been a mouse. If we didn’t know better…But mice didn’t produce that sort of rustle, trust me, I had spent hours hiding in the forest during the final exam. Mice sounded different, that sound was hay stalks shifting, dry and hollow. A mouse wouldn’t cause such a loud rustle, mice were just too light. We waited; blue eyes looked into mine as I strained to pinpoint which aisle it came from. Very faintly a ‘schlick’ sound echoed across the air. My mind raced until it found a comparison, it was almost like a feather running across something, and it was to our right. In the next aisle, I pointed my muzzle to the direction and we shared a brief nod before picking up our pace. Perhaps it was two or even three aisles over. But, it was hard to tell where the sound came from with the sound buffering the hay provided. Pausing I tried to slow my breathing but still couldn’t pinpoint the aisle. What if she gets away? The thought spurred me on. Slowly we resumed walking, faster than the slow creep now. My right ear stayed trained ahead of us as I tried to pick up her breathing with my left. No feedback came in. Then more rustling came from up ahead, faster, and louder as we closed in. But we kept our pace, staying quiet as we stalked forward. We didn’t want to give away our position. Even Ari had enough sense to play invisible till we confirmed her location. I waited at the corner to the second aisle, looking for movement in the shadows. Seeing none I nodded before we proceeded down the shadowed alley. The hay looked untouched and no barrels had crooked lids. But we continued down. Still more rustling sounded one aisle over. Did she know? Grinding my teeth I broke into a silent speed walk, rushing down the aisle. It was empty. So we turned the corner. It was just as empty, no hiding places in sight, and the rusting had stopped. I looked uncertainly to Ari as we paused, the sound and trail was lost to me. The whole room had traces of Gryphon and zebra. He raised his eyebrow to which I shrugged. Blue eyes went to the makeshift walls of the maze, a frown growing deeper on his muzzle before he shook his head. Ari looked back to me in the silent room pointing a hoof at his nose and the floor before using the same hoof to point at my eyes and in front of us. It could have been my ears but I understood the point, he wanted me to be his eyes and ears. Twitching my ears I kept pace with him as he literally put his nose to the floor. Moving it around before he settled on a trail, tail swishing as we crept forward. Silence reigned as the shadows didn’t change and even our steps didn’t sound out with how quiet it was. A right turn, left, and right once more. We zigzagged, following the trail to a ‘T’. My nagging sensation of tiredness returned as the monotony of movement didn’t change. Walls of hay towered above us as pyramids of barrels threw off my senses with the shadows they formed. Even Ari seemed to slowing down. Our withers started to slump as our tenth row proved fruitless. The next aisle and so forth provided no results, not many were left now, and I was certain she knew we were here. Bente had to be here. What were the chances that he had two stalkers at once? My face dropped as I realized what I had thought, this was Ari I was talking about. Dear Faust, this was crazy making. With each consecutive failure Ari’s muscles had grown increasingly taunt and his ears disappeared onto his head. His nose sucked up the dirt and debris as he tried to keep the scent and I winced as his eyes watered. But, he kept on moving forward even as I saw the faint illumination ahead of us. The stairs were up ahead and we had run out of aisles to search. Disappointment started to well up in me, no sounds of movement were reaching my ears, and the shadows stayed still. And as the aisle ended he looked up from the knots in the floor boards, watching my ears as I tried to figure where Bente went. But it was useless, the engines hummed on and no sounds of life came from the stacks. His eyes bore into me, searching for something as I frowned and shook my head. Buck, I wish I had a different answer. I wanted to find the bird, learn why she was here, and to truly earn his trust. But ultimately, I wanted for him to save the world and reveal the truth to the world’s duplicity. The wind whistled loudly for a second, filling the hull with a barrage of echoes. My mind raced as Ari looked at the staircase with a frown. After a long time he turned back to me, his expression one that made my inadequacies even more apparent. One gryphon…I had been caught in a trap. In fact, I walked right into the demonic rodent’s nest, and now…I couldn’t even find one gryphon. Something lodged itself in my throat as our eyes continued to stare, a blankness taking over mine as the cool blue orbs met mine. I knew everypony had bad nights but I wasn’t having any good ones lately. Luna’s blue wide eyes flashed in my mind’s eye for a second and I couldn’t help but grimace. And I still didn’t understand the most basic part…Why was this gryphon following him? Why Bente would be hiding here when she seemed to want the same thing as him back in Zebrica, assuming she was honest. If the Gryphon Republic had come to Zebrica for help and Ari was fixing the problem then why was the hen following Ari? My mind tried to spin crazy tales but I swatted those down, it usually never was a convoluted reason. That only happened in fiction. Most criminals, beings had simple motivations. Perhaps she just wanted a free ride? That still didn’t explain her trashing the office…Somehow I didn’t buy the old saying ‘as wild as a gryphon’, it held about as much water as the adage ‘changelings are evil’. Blue eyes grew too much for me so I tried to focus on the third staircase instead. Hiding in the engine room would be smart; it would be the loudest and most complex place. Surely it was filled with hiding places and stuff to use as weapons. “I just don’t understand.” I looked up from my observation of the third staircase. “Why is she following us?” He seemed to have abandoned silence so I sighed and followed suit. It wasn’t like we could even catch her without a way to sweep search the area; there were just too many places to hide. “I don’t know either, logically she should see you as an Alicorn that freed many slaves and feel satisfied to let you have the job of saving the world.” The stallion cocked his head and frowned. “I’m just saying that what you did is pretty impressive…But I don’t know why she trashed the office.” I paused as my other theories reared their heads, chiming in their cases. “It could not even be her; maybe there was another female gryphon, and Bente could have been traveling with others.” It was a bit farfetched but still possible. Would they send a Gryphon across the Narrow Sea alone if they knew about pirates and sea monsters? I doubted that theory though, she seemed too desperate to flock to him for a Gryphon flying with others, and that glint in her eye when she saw his wings…His raised eyebrow told me he held the same doubt. We were just grasping at stalks here. Exhaling loudly Ari made for the stairs, the stairs leading up. “Where are you going?” Pausing, he looked down at me, “I am tired, my mares are anxious, and I doubt Bente is even on this boat anymore.” Before I could point out the noises we had heard he pressed on. “Besides if I was her I wouldn’t stick around this boat when she has a mountain full of worried gryphons to inform about the new Alicorn.” His sudden turnabout had me flabbergasted. This stallion had gone from ‘search the ship and catch the intruder’ to ‘let’s sleep’! What in tartarus was wrong with him? Although, that was actually a good point, Bente would want to inform her counsel of the news. But why did she trash the office? Catching up to him on the first floor I watched his expression, which was still tense despite his claims of being ‘tired’. He probably had realized he couldn’t teleport to her or restrain her without seeing her. “Ignoring the fact that she could be hiding on the third floor,” Ari flinched and slowly exhaled but I pressed on. You don’t just give up and leave a floor unsearched!“What do you think she was looking for in the office?” You don’t trash an official’s office in the middle of the night when you want a ride, which she would have had secured if she was traveling out there. His wings ruffled a little more as the wind whistled down the stairs, “I don’t know.” He snorted at the stairs as he tried to settle his wings, “Maybe information on me?” Ari’s voice started to drop, losing gruffness as his ears went sideways. “Perhaps she needed to view a paper having to do with her country? I really don’t know this world’s situation completely. But, I don’t like what I do know.” By the end of his sentence he was back to a whisper. I nodded as I followed him; not wanting to push the issue anymore than I reasonably had to, my point was made. With one more glance back to the hull he continued, watching the stairs with a faraway look in his eyes. He was clearly lost in his thoughts. Meanwhile my own thoughts were catching up to me as well. My chest seemed too small as my mind whispered uncertainties in my head, and I began to fear returning home. What if it all was a lie? I still didn’t know what had happened to the Gryphon ambassador’s Bente claimed to have been in Equestria. She had said they didn’t return… **** Ari Closing the bedroom door behind me I felt strange. The light dimmed and I still couldn’t put my hoof on what was wrong. Was it ending my search early? Or leaving Echo untied when he could easily get help? A chuckle bubbled in my chest as I walked but I held it down. The day Echo makes it away from an eight foot tall Minotaur smith’s grip is the day I don’t eat. Dinari had muscles to spare. No…It wasn’t that. Maybe it was how chatty the Thestral had become? He was questioning this and that to no end it seemed. I understood that he was trying to be helpful, earn my trust and all that jazz. But his talking out loud bit hadn’t helped me. His scent identification helped, but now it left me with a whole new slew of questions and the sheltered guard wasn’t much use with answering those. At least Bente just seemed shocked at my herd from what I remembered. But she trashed that office…And secured the steering wheel. Bente didn’t appear to be exactly life threatening. I shook my head and thought back to something much more amusing. The scowl Dinari shot me as I woke her could had cowed the old me, but after everything it was just funny. Not funny for Echo of course. As she held him in a hold that was reminiscent to a sleeper hold I got the distinct impression that she was imagining me in his place. And the wary colt lay as rigid as he could in her arms. I knew would be hearing about this later though. His stink eye guaranteed it along with the grumbles from the other occupants. At least he had lost that dour mood he had on the way back. I know I felt conflicted on my decision but he seemed to take it worse for some reason. It wasn’t even like he had a herd to protect! Maybe it was something else, but his sudden change had bugged me. Even if he was a prisoner, it was just temporary, eventually I would have to release him, and then I whatever he chose to do would be out of my hooves. That part scared me more than a hen sending weird signals. But…He had changed since I met him. A yawn escaped me as I turned off the dining room light. That strange feeling put aside, my instincts were quieter since I found out it was her. And thinking through her actions I didn’t see a threat. She had two chances to harm my herd and didn’t. The Thestral was safely tucked in, the ship was mostly searched, and I was safe for now. No need to further tempt Murphy. I could return and test out my new bed… And try to ignore the fact that I might still have a gryphon hen playing hide and seek in my cargo hold for discernible reason. Nope, think on the Brightside…The positive of the night is that Echo seems to be really trying to help. Making my way back across the deck I looked up at the moon. It appeared so large, the many stars forming foreign constellations to my eyes, and although several large flashes came from the heavens they held no answers. Questions pressed on my mind as I stood frozen for a moment. Waves continued to lap at the docks and a pleasant flowery scent ran in with the breeze. I sighed, holding onto the feeling of peace. Around me the boats remained dark, the only yellow light coming from a far watch tower and my cabin. Sometimes I wondered what the hell that whack job was thinking throwing me here. Wouldn’t it have been better to change a local since they would know more on the situation? I mean if he could change my gender, species, and fertility then why bother grabbing me from earth when there were plenty of ponies here? The flashes transformed into blazing balls of light, comets or meteors. I couldn’t tell the difference. But it was still a nearly pointless to know, they were pretty, and either way I hadn’t found Bente. Bente’s image flashed into my mind. Her white and gray feathers working into creamy fur, her body held no clues as to her true reasoning but...I was grasping at straws as to why she acted that way, trying to see something I might have missed in the five minuets I saw her. Five minutes…This world still so vast and complex that a reasonable answer was not really possible from that. Well, besides the whole ‘there is a new Alicorn’ shtick that ran through everybeing. Going to the capital will at least get that over with; everybeing will know I exist then. A sigh escaped me as the cool breeze came off the water and soothed my increasingly itchy scabs. The breeze ran along my body, running through my feathers, and made me lean into it. As it settled down, a fluttering caught my ear; it was the wind struggled to snatch a feather. But mine remained firmly attached to my wings. Looking up I followed the wind, it stilled as I spotted a large white feather. It was wedged in the metal siding of my cabin, and seemed determined to stay there. You were up here Bente? The skies were clear, the docks empty. Ripping it from the spot it had wedged itself, I inspected while it floated in my magic. It was in excellent shape, a long primary feather, and the most interesting part was the fresh flowery scent it still held. I inhaled the scent, bringing the feather to my nose as I tried to remember the scent. The gryphon musk was present of course. But the personal scent reminded me of days running in the park, and how fresh the ground smelled when I tripped onto it. Putting my nose to the floor I briefly tracked her across the deck. The scent strongest around my cabin and faint around the stairs, she hadn’t returned to the hull then. But…My eyes scanned the deck taking in the air as I realized there wasn’t any place to hide. Her scent hadn’t been in the other cabin that I remembered and the control room held no fresh traces of her scent. She was definitely gone now, this was the freshest I had smelled her. Maybe she really was going to go spread the word… The thought didn’t help me lower my feathers. Keeping the feather in my grasp I entered my room, briefly glancing back at the harbor. It was still devoid of life. Closing the door quietly I smiled at the sight of my room. Chrissy and Lyric were already snuggled barrel to barrel under a new blanket, lazily purveying the remaining blankets in what had the most serious inspection of blankets I had seen. Beside the bed the bags had been folded, while the other presents had been unpacked and roughly sorted. The five books occupied the one nightstand, joining the clock that confirmed that it was far too late to be up. While the other nightstand had the bag of gems beside it and a precariously stacked mountain of blankets on it, the blankets that had been inspected in detail I assumed as another one floated from Lyric to the stack. What was with them and those blankets? Chrissy suddenly scowled as I watched in my confusion. She wiggled beside Lyric as if the luxurious bed wasn’t comfortable suddenly. But I still wasn’t acknowledged, the blanket held their focus as they adjusted it. This was new, she had never been this obsessive before, I mean of course she had been very into preening and grooming in general, but this was very odd. Finally I stepped in, shutting the door with a quiet click, “I returned!” They looked up from adjusting the favorite blanket. Both mares perked up, quickly making a space between them. Lyric levitated the blanket as they both gave quiet nickers which I answered with my own nickers. I immediately filled the gap between them, no encouragement needed for these sore hooves. The warmth radiated off them as the blanket settled back over us, bringing a sense of thoughtless comfort that I sorely needed after tonight’s drama. But their eyes were on the feather. Wiggling in the indention I was creating in the bed, I tried to think of a good segue into ‘a hen I met for five minutes is stalking us and I don’t really know why, but don’t worry she left’. It wasn’t coming to me and the longer I shifted the more my marefriends frowned at me. “So what was with the blankets?” They briefly looked to the pile of plush blankets then back to me, splaying their ears. I could see their eyes flicker to the feather as I held it above my head as I let the question sit with them. “Blankets,” Chrissy queried, cocking her head. I nodded, feeling a grin crept up as I twiddled the feather in my magic, ignoring their gazes. “Well, they are very cozy…” She trailed off, looking across my chest to Lyric. Lyric rolled her eyes and mouthed something I didn’t catch back at Chrissy. “That they are,” I wasn’t against blankets…But, I had stood there for a minute without acknowledgement! It makes one wonder just what was going on. Were they culturally significant? Was it related to the foals, like some sort of foal blanket thing? Better to find out now then find out the hard way later. A sigh escaped my changeling before she perked her ears and turned to look at me. “Look, I didn’t know when it would start.” I frowned at her, not really following her train of thought. “But,” a small smile wormed it’s way up from the frown, “It means that our foal is doing well.” Her voice cracked as she said foal, almost not finishing the sentence. I blinked, smiling wide as I began to rub against her. A purr rose from her as Lyric began rubbing on me in turn. If this was the instincts she mentioned then it would be no problem, I could handle blankets. We were all smiling widely for awhile. My happy thoughts were derailed as Lyric’s voice rose above the purr, “The feather?” That made me pause, the moment lost as I realized I still didn’t know how to explain this without causing worry. “So Echo is really trying to be helpful,” they nodded as I placed the feather on the nightstand; their eyes followed it, and narrowed before they shared raised eyebrows with each other. Shaking out my wings under the blanket, I adjusted them to cover Chrissy and Lyric as I let out a breath. Be smooth. “Thanks to him I finally figured what and who is following us.” They tensed beside me, ears splaying as I tried to keep calm. “Bente,” as I said her name Lyric started muttering in what I think was Saddle Arabian while Chrissy cursed that Tartarus place. “That’s her feather then?” I nodded to Chrissy. She slumped back down, lacy wing creating a muted buzz as she splayed her ears, “Why are you so calm if you didn’t find her?” Just like what Echo didn’t seem to get. Although, I had to keep telling myself it too, but my instincts were certainly calmer from the mantra, ‘she was gone and not a threat’. “Well think about it, she had the opportunity to do anything to us last night and she didn’t.”Their ears stayed splayed as I moved a foreleg over Chrissy’s wither, thinking loving thoughts as her chitin smoothed my fur. “Instead, she secured the steering wheel, which was very helpful.” And I shouldn’t have fallen asleep. “If she was hostile she could have easily grabbed a knife from the kitchen and slit my throat.” Both mares snorted as they tried to relax, but their muscles stayed rigid. Fuck, I could have worded that better. I started picking my teeth through the impeccable blue mane, getting a low moan as my mare’s head lowered onto the comforter, and her shoulders loosened up. Although that moan sent tingles to my sheath I focused on relaxing Chrissy, knowing her she might want some more love later anyway. But, now I needed to calm them down. My marefriends had never really gotten a break. From their family dying or disappearing to now it was one big struggle and we weren’t even to the biggest one yet. “But why did she trash the office?” Spitting out a bit of loose hair, I turned to Lyric. “I haven’t a clue.” That got me a frown from both of them. “But, aside from the mess Wekasi said nothing appeared to be missing.” My siren continued to frown as she eyed my work on Chrissy’s mane, her frown growing deeper the longer I worked. I started to get an odd, nagging feeling. “But I found the feather by our cabin; it was fresh so I am willing to bet she was making a beeline for the Gryphon Republic.” Slowly Lyric nodded while agreeable murmurs came from the mare under my foreleg. It made the most sense to me. Lyric seemed to be satisfied with my answer, but her eyes were glued to her herd mate’s face, and that feeling finally clicked. Now she was biting her lip. Pushing her closer to my chest I started on her golden mane, grooming it as Chrissy started to wiggle up against my side, pulling a new blanket from the ‘uninspected’ pile on the bed. With a flourish she spread it over the blanket already on us, intensifying the heat between us. It was summer, two thick blankets in the summer. But, I ignored the weirdness of that, if blankets made her instincts feel better I would simply learn to keep cool in other ways, and it wouldn’t be summer forever. My eyes were on Lyric as she made this odd light cooing sound, a musical quality to it as it changed pitches with my position on her mane. It made my heart race seeing Lyric melt under my teeth, her eyes closed in such a relaxed expression. Apparently sensitive pressure points were located along the maneline and all of them caused immense relaxation. At least that was the gist of what they had explained last time. With the last knot removed I felt my muzzle open of its device. The clock ticked on, insistently backing up my body’s signal. Darn, I had hoped to last a little longer. “So you will help me solidify the plan tomorrow right?” I didn’t really know what to expect for answers seeing as both Chrissy and Lyric had their eyes closed, but both murmured something unintelligible and low. “What was that?” Lyric’s horn glowed pink as a shadow fell over me. Before I could look up a mass of fluffy blankets covered us. She tucked her head into my chest, snorting slightly as her horn dimmed. Well, it was warm. Okay, it was almost to that point of too warm, but my body disagreed with another yawn. No more sounds escaped them. But now I was pleasantly trapped and half asleep in a very bright room. Instead of leaving the confines I focused on the jewel, producing an ethereal stick. She had said it responded to magic. The light dimmed on contact, till only the moon’s glow lit the room. Calm and cool, a full moon felt perfect for falling asleep under. My instincts were silent, happy with the night as well. Bente was gone…Tomorrow we would hit the skies again. And as strange as it was, the blankets and bodies didn’t overheat me despite the season. It was like being wrapped in a cozy Sunday morning cocoon from my childhood, and I was pretending to be a caterpillar again.
The Plan Comes Together.**** I blinked and the clock looked back at me, equally as confused at my awake state as I was. It claimed to be six thirty. Yet, I knew that I got to sleep late last night so I knew and felt like I should still be asleep. Then why was I up? I shook my head as a heavy film clouded my mind, muddling my thoughts. My hooves were still slightly aching, my scabs didn’t feel too itchy yet, and my mares were still twitching their ears as they enjoyed dreamland. I should be in dreamland still. Nothing about that moment made sense to my half asleep brain. Blearily I yawned, using a hoof to remove the crustiness from the corners of my eyes as I tried to take it all in. Warmth surrounded me, grogginess still had me in a choke hold, and this was all still before the sun’s rays hit me. They were busy painting a dark plus sign on the opposite wall. Outside the cabin, sleepy yells of sailors echoed replies to each other, and a stray boat horn blasted as a boat left or entered the harbor…But I didn’t wake from noises. Thinking on why wasn’t working so I turned to something that held even more importance. Scrunching my eyes, I tried formulating a plan, the plan, and instead came up with the insistent grumbles of my insides. Food first… But, my muscles were unresponsive under the weight of so many blankets, the warmth adding a paralyzing effect. Grunting at the effort of shuffling, I let my body argued with it. I yawned as Lyric nuzzled further into my chest. This was nice. Celestia raised the sun further, distorting the shadowy sign that crept up my far wall, and further instilling the realty of being awake. An itch started, traveling from one scab on my back to the next with an almost malicious intent. Whether it was my choice or not, I was up, and the longer I lay there the more my scabs itched and other bodily functions became apparent. The itchy sensation moved to my chest scabs. Fuck, there really was no going back now; reality had me firmly in its clutches. Not to mention, I had a plan to finalize before I lost my smiths to their own daily grind. Slowly I untangled my forelimbs from my mares, placing Lyric’s head aside with minimal grumbles. Finally I was able to army crawled forward, holding my breath as the blankets filled the gap, and released it as they didn’t wake. My marefriends would probably enjoy the extra minutes of peace seeing as they were too out of it to notice my absence; only a scrunching of their eyes showing that they had felt my escape from the warm confines. They were so sweet when they slept, but my bladder pushed to keep moving. Soon enough I was relieved, exiting the bathroom, and staring at the door. I released a sigh as my scowl went nowhere, the door was still there. The smiths were still in the cabin across the deck. And the muted chatter of the nearby fish market leaked into the room. Looking back to my sleeping mares I knew they would have to be woken. A frown still crossed my muzzle at the thought. I knew there was no way I was crossing the deck of the only airship in the port and not be seen. But…Sleeping longer would be very nice, that would be good for everybeing involved. That thought was quickly stalled as the sunlight grew muted. Making my way over to the window I saw why. A mass of dark grey cumulus was moving in. And as I looked down from the incoming storm I saw the fleet of ships pulling in, fishing vessels, colonial ships, and a flood of dinghies. From here it looked like they were trying to outrun the weather. So much for the weather’s peaceful attitude, I furrowed my brow, and I hope Bente made it home alright. I had seen enough. The outcome was obvious as the din grew louder outside, the voices rising in pitch and volume as Mother Nature came to play. Sorry, I meant beat us to a pulp. Pausing at the edge of the bed I looked down at Chrissy and Lyric as they wiggled under the plush mountain. With a frown I reluctantly began to dismantle the cocoon they had created, levitating blanket after blanket off them, and folding them as I went. This went on till all fourteen blankets were piled at the head of the bed and my herd mates were scowling in their sleep. But they didn’t wake up. A wind started whistling under the door and they just twitched their ears. Dear lord, don’t make me wake them. I waited another minute but they didn’t move. Shrugging I scooted back onto the bed, letting a smile make its way onto my muzzle as my wake up plan took hold. They turned away when I blew on their ears. Wiggling filled the bed as my feathers trailed down their barrels. But still they refused to move, just smiling as they eventually made contact with each other. Across the deck I heard the heavy thumps of one of the Minotaur siblings. Soon the soft murmurs of the others drifted on the wind, but only just. The wind was growing stronger, louder. Suddenly a great rumbling filled the room. I turned a cautious eye to the ceiling as the clouds extended their note, holding the warning loud and deep. Sea-green and golden eyes snapped open, whipping around the room before they locked with mine. I gave a small smile to them, my ears folded back from the noise. “Good morning,” I shifted in front of them on the bed. “I had hoped to wake you gentler than…” I trailed off as we all gazed at the darkening window. Chrissy jumped up, briskly buzzing her wing before stretching, soon we followed her lead. Lyric was frowning at the window, “How long ago did it start?” As we stretched I snuck a look to the clock, “Oh, not that long.” Howling echoed ominously outside the door, drowning out the sailor’s yells for a second. “But I don’t think we should keep Kapera waiting, I don’t want her running around in any storm.” With that we hurried the morning routine, skipping the bath that felt we needed, and soon enough we were positioned in front of the door, Chrissy and I eyeing our resident illusion magic specialist intently. “You are sure you can cast that invisibility spell over all of us?” I asked for the second time, earning sighs from both sides of me. I snorted back, “I just want to make sure that no one sees us-,” we all jumped as a very audible crackling filled the air, “-out there.” My sentence finished but I felt antsy, like something was wrong. It was probably the storm… That tree flashed in my mind, becoming ash before my eyes. Sure I was far from the Diamond Mountains but that didn’t mean I trusted the weather any more in this location. Hundred foot long Sea serpents were out here! “Ari, I am completely confident that I can handle casting a localized invisibility spell for less than five minutes.” She raised an eyebrow, “I had to do it for hours in Saddle Arabia.” At that I gave a weak smile before giving her a kiss on the tip of her horn, earning me a disappointed groan as I moved away. With everything going on I had forgotten that part. Five minutes didn’t sound too hard then and she did have a lot of magic. But that antsy feeling remained. “Just remember to keep in contact during the spell.” They both moved in closer to my barrel as we eyed the doorway, “If you break contact with me it will wear off.” We all nodded as a pink field enveloped us, sending a shiver down my back as the magic did its work, and a light hum settled over my ears. I looked to my visible marefriends and spread my wings over them just in case. Outside it was just starting to spit. Darker masses of clouds blew in behind the initial cumulus as we looked on in apprehension, our feeling shared by the sailors scurrying around the piers below us. They were scrambling to anchor, tie down, and tie together anything and everything. Sails were being folded up, decks cleared, and dinghy’s loaded onto larger ships. We almost stopped and watched as the market became one mass of urgent beings, the stalls being sold out faster than I thought possible. Fuck. Last night I lose a stowaway only to gain a storm. Moving past the rush below us we hurried to the dining room, the hum that tickled my ears released as I closed the door. “Faust Ari, give us some warning!” Kapera scolded as she gripped the table, her fur on end as others snorted in agreement. All along the table the snorts and exhales petered off, with the Ayo’s sharing a wide eyed look as the Minotaur siblings slowly released the table’s edge. It was forever indented. Echo didn’t look too bothered by the sudden appearance but he was stuck between his favorite heifer and her brother…He was not smiling, instead narrowing his eyes at me, and he didn’t get any sleep if the red veins on his eyes were accurate. But I had to go over my plan with them. As I thought of it trepidation ran through me, slowing my advance to the table, and made my heart race. I shook out my wings trying to dispel the nervousness, tucking them away as we moved to our cushion. “Sorry,” I gave a wry grin as I saw Moonlit Echo’s scowl. “We didn’t want to become front page news.” I glanced to the partially filled table, dragging a bale down with my magic as Lyric did the same from my other side. “So are we still good for the restraints?” I peeked at Kapera as everybeing got back to breakfast. The smith just nodded, swallowing a bite as twin snaps sounded in the room. “Of course,” She held up her rope as she quickly took another bite of an oval shaped green fruit. The pale flesh glistened with juice and small dark seeds lined the center. Levitating one over, I began eating the nearly flavorless fruit as she finished her bite. “Now did you want my advice on your plan or something like that?” She questioned, fixing her gaze on me. Putting down the rope and giving me her full attention. Everybeing was watching me now, keeping me in their sight as the food slowly made its way into their maws. Let me add an extra fuck, fuck. I hadn’t really had time to finalize some things in my head and other factors were unknowns, some I just assumed. Sucking it up, I cleared my throat. “Well, it needs work…But first I’m going to clean up, see if I can heal or cover up these cuts and wrap up my hooves.” Howling rose above my voice, along with a clatter from outside the ship. The voices grew louder as the wind abated for a second. With a quieter wind bustling around the ship I continued. “As I was saying, I will clean myself and make sure we have the inhibitors,” I looked to Kapera as she immediately nodded, “And the poison.” My eyes found Ayomide’s rapidly wilting form. A couple of hesitant coughs left her muzzle as she seemed to flinch under my gaze, “I, uh,” swallowing audibly the former assassin straightened slightly.“What I mean is that I don’t have it, it was removed at the shop.” Everybeing turned to the smith as she nodded, “I will bring it and a saddle bag as well.” Ayomide’s muzzle dropped, “No way you are getting in that cloak of yours back.” We all stared and I began to cock my head, “What?!” The smith’s muzzle scrunched up, “That cloak stank like a hoofball player’s locker.” I laughed even as Ayomide turned red. Hoof-ball, I don’t know why but the image of horse’s playing sports seemed too funny. Kicking a ball around…Or was it throwing it around? That was something I had to see later, I wasn’t into sports but the novelty of seeing how hoofed beings play sounded interesting. Regaining some control, I smiled and looked up from the table and saw that everybeing was staring at me. Ayodele giving me a tight frown as her cousin lay down on the cushion, trying to hide below the table’s edge. Maybe that was an inside laugh… “No I didn’t mean that as a mean thing, it is just we have a similar sport on Earth and for some reason that just seemed so funny that there was one here too.” Brown eyes peeked up at me, the body slowly straightening. Outside a strong pattering started, plastering the windows with rain as we all frowned at them. “So…That’s right!” I perked my ears, getting the attention off the mare. “So with everything gathered and myself cleaned up I will carry it in my saddle bags to Canterlot. However, only I will be going to the capital,” Chrissy and Lyric folded back their ears at that, Chrissy frowning as my siren snorted. I was expecting this, turning to left I started, “As much as I respect your ability to fight and infiltrate the castle I can’t have you come for obvious reasons.” The frown intensified as her eyes narrowed, “You can’t use your magic without feeling weak still right?” Her widening eyes and silence answered for her. Turning my focus to the mare on my right I tried keep my will strong. “And you need to be there for Chrissy while I am meeting with the princesses.” Lyric’s mouth opened, “Despite how powerful you are I am not risking our foal.” My throat constricted as the image of many Thestrals surrounding us filled my mind. Her draconic eyes searched mine for a second; growing duller the longer I looked. The thought of the mysterious magical mirror filled my mind and made that antsy feeling intensify. I really needed to talk to her about it. “The first visit will be a sort of recon mission, to get a lay of the land so to speak. After that we will have to return,” My eyes slipped to the Lunar guard, sitting stiffly as he watched us. “Who knows if they moved it by now…” I let the thought sit with her as her frown grew at the unspoken question of how long. The question hung in the air for a tense moment. Till eventually her scaled neck was leaning on my wither, eyes downcast, and her bale was forgotten. Exhaling loudly, I tried to find my place in the plan. “So,” I looked at the smith, trying to work up emotions, any emotions that didn’t hang around that mirror. “I will park the airship on the outskirts of Equestria.” Nodding to myself I continued, “From there I will fly to Canterlot.” Wherever that is…It had a giant castle. How hard could it be to find it? “Once I am there I will go to the castle, ask to speak with the princesses, and somehow get a private meeting with them.” Kapera was starting to raise an eyebrow as my rough patch revealed itself. “Once I am meeting with them I will try my best to convince them of the truth using the etiquette and persuasion that Chrissy and Echo will teach me soon.” I winced as several more eyebrows rose. “And if they won’t see reason then I will slip some of the poison into their food and apply the-.” “HOLD UP!” A paw was raised, outstretched as the storm intensified. “So, in front of the millennia old princesses and their guards you are going to slip green poison in what?” It was Green? Don’t judge, I hadn’t seen what hit me. “They practically live off cakes and aren’t going to notice a whopping four times the lethal dose of poison in their sweets.” It had been four times the lethal dose?! I briefly glanced at my body and couldn’t believe I was still here. Echo was nodding along, “I agree with the rodent. That is stupid. Even if the Solar guards are less observant, I am sure Celestia’s personal guard will have their eyes on you the whole time.” He pointed a hoof at me, “You are an Alicorn! The whole country has been talking about you! Everypony has heard countless rumors about you!” His withers slumped as his voice returned to normal, “There is no way they won’t notice it.” The rain came down harder, pounding on the metal sheeting as we all took in the flaw. He had a good point…But, how else do I get it in them? Blow dart them? Perhaps a needle to the neck would work? No, that would be way too obvious and I didn’t have a needle…Really, I didn’t know anything on the substance. “W-well,” our eyes moved to Ayomide, “I-I mean you could sneak it into the icing. As long as it isn’t baked the poison should retain full potency.” I nodded at her as a new idea formed in my mind. “So all you need to do is…” She trailed off, glancing to her equally confused cousin as my smile grew. Chrissy snorted beside me, probably feeling my excitement growing. “You can come and sneak into the kitchen while I chat up the princesses!” Excitement flowed through me as that felt right somehow, it just clicked in my mind, and I wasn’t seeing any other being that would fit the bill. She was used to sneaking around, a veritable expert on poisons, it really couldn’t get more perfect! Echo didn’t count; he was liable to get second thoughts. The rain continued to pound down, a bright flash illuminating the room further as everybeing looked at me with a mixed reaction. Most notably was the slow nod that the master smith was giving me. “N-no,” the skinny zebra exclaimed, looking between her cousin and me. “I just got her back!” Ayodele’s voice cracked then and she pressed herself against her frowning cousin. I stayed silent, losing my smile as I realized what I was asking of the mare. But Ayodele pressed on, her voice rising above the wind, “F-for e-eight years,” her words caught in her throat as her cousin looked up at her, “I don’t want to lose her.” She had killed many beings…For eight years. Beside me Lyric was watching me, all eyes attentive as it fell into place. I had a flaw there too. “Actually, forget that.” Brown eyes widened in surprise while the green orbs beside them leaked a stray tear. “The presence of a zebra in Canterlot, the capital of racists will draw too much attention.” I eyed her maneless state, which would gather stares too. “So is that it?” Kapera inspected her claws as I frowned. “No.” My voice sounded almost petulant to my ears as I felt my fur bristle, not entirely at her but more at myself and this situation. I needed to show them what they were doing wrong… Was I approaching this from the wrong angle? The bottom line was convincing two millennia old Alicorns to listen when a thirty something ‘Alicorn’ that came out of nowhere and tells them to stop doing what they had been doing for millennia. My words didn’t hold water, wouldn’t, and they wouldn’t hold me on a pedestal like the other species seemed to…But the ponies would. My brow scrunched as a sick thought entered my mind, it was exactly what I hated to do, but it could work. “Echo,” I said his name in question, watching as he turned to me with a curious expression. “The princesses received my letter, right?” He remained rigid as he became center of our attention, nodding briefly as a heavy feeling started in my stomach. If I continued…Chrissy would understand, hopefully, and Lyric should see the point. “And how did they react to it? Did you see or hear anything in that way?” My eyes strayed to the Ayo’s faces as they frowned at me. As the Lunar guard went from scowling to frowning I tried to tamp down my emotions. This was just a mission and I had to use what I had. Finally the guard ended in a long sigh and I felt my resolve harden then. I could fake it…Probably…If I kept the talk civil. “Yes.” He licked his lips, eyes darting around the table top, “Everypony knows you are coming.” He closed his eyes as my thoughts were confirmed, “Princess Luna already showed a lot of care for you and Princess Celestia had expressed great interest in meeting you. T-there niece has even heard of you all the way up in the Crystal Kingdom.” Crystal Kingdom? No, ignoring that kingdom I was happy in a bitter sort of way. It confirmed that I could use my…Manly wiles? Was that the term? All I knew was that god knew what he was doing, giving this planet a ‘male’ of a near extinct species. I wasn’t touching the whole ‘going to rut them’ part he assigned me, hell no. But, I would save the world. Chrissy’s voice came out as a hiss at first, sighing before she managed out, “Really?” The way her lips frowned told me she knew so I nodded briskly. This topic felt awkward the more I thought of faking interest in two racist mares. Ayodele’s narrowed eyes didn’t help. “If they want to meet me and if I am the only,” I paused briefly as thought how to word it, but gave up as the eyes across from me widened. “Well, if I am the only stallion and they are Alicorns too then I believe I have some sway over their choices,” inside I was cringing, “Although not much but enough to perhaps, get them alone.” I looked to the rodent as she smiled wide. My skin crawled as I thought that but it was true, they were even in a population crisis so their minds would be going down that way. “Now you are thinking stud!” I winced at the word. A chuckle followed and voices carried on the wind wrapped around the ship. But…My eyes wandered to Chrissy as she remained silent. Her muzzle shut tight as her ears went from the sides to the back and sideways once more. What about after the mission? A voice of doubt whispered but I quickly shut it down. I wouldn’t commit to anything with the princesses. Then I would let them down easy…And run for the Zebrican forests as fast as I could. Then the mirror, it whispered, my mind circling around the fact that I didn’t quite know how to bring it up. Lyric… A jolt of static jumped through me as the smooth sensation of scales on my scabs caught my attention. Lyric wouldn’t meet my eyes but I could see her wither flexing. I didn’t want to play with the hearts of two mares. But…If I needed to I would to secure the world for my mares and foals. The diarchy might have the oddity of including a nomadic race in their racist country going for them and Moonlit Echo’s praises…But perhaps something more was going on? No, that didn’t cover up the banishment of a sibling to the moon or the execution of Chrissy’s father. The more I thought of it the harder my determination grew. For at least a century slavery had been going on, supposedly without their knowledge. That accompanied by unconfirmed and subsequent pony eating and whatever the hell the nobles in Saddle Arabia did made it hard for my reluctance to hold ground. Considering they herded I doubted sex was all they had a slave do Turning my attention to the room, I was surprised at how the energy drained from it slightly. “Okay Ari,” Her enthusiasm was gone, a serious expression on her face. “What are you going to do to get the poison in them then? And How in Tartarus do think you are just going to waltz out of there with two dead weights?” Echo was taking deep breathes now, leathery wings twitching until Dinari leaned in closer, forcing him to stay still. I started to open my mouth but paused. How the hell was I going to get away? Flying away into sunset sounded doable, until I took into account the guards that would be following her, then it sounded like suicide. “How many guards are employed and working on any given day?” But I was an Alicorn…Couldn’t I teleport them? Tufted ears remained splayed as my prisoner frowned. A sigh came from beside me, frustration bleeding into it, “Several hundred guards worked there last time I checked, but if you go in the day time you will face the most pathetic force imaginable. Even my youngest warriors incapacitated them.” I nodded, ignoring the snort from beside the heifer. Small equestrian ponies sounded easy anyway…In small amounts that is, I didn’t want to face hundreds of ponies. So teleporting was the way to go. “Thanks Chrissy,” she purred as I said that, shuddering against me as I focused on my memories of her. A little extra love never hurt, which maybe what my other mare needed as well. Dividing my attention was hard sometimes, more so with the nagging reminder from my conscious about finding the mirror. Focusing on Lyric I nuzzled her till a sigh escaped her, slowly nuzzling me back as she kept her eyes down. A sigh was better than before at least. Kapera was glancing at the clock now, a worried look on her muzzle as the airship creaked in the storm. “And the poison will come in the form of cake,” a grin spread as I looked at the Thestral, “I will bake them a cake, if they are anything like me they will eat it before I can blink.” A smile was on Kapera’s muzzle as I continued, confidence growing as the plan ran through my head. It sounded better every second. “I will arrive around lunch time, bringing the desert to the special occasion, and since my words obviously won’t work I will teleport them away.” My head tilted, “They can’t track teleportation can they?” “Not the last time I checked,” Chrissy muttered as her eyes scrunched up and a frown grew, “But Starswirl the Bearded was-,” a sudden loud snort caused her to stop. The whole room turned to my scaled mare as her expression turned to one of anger, ears pinned back at the table. As nothing came from Lyric Chrissy hesitantly continued. But both of our eyes watched our herd mate carefully. “That old, unicorn stallion was developing a generalized teleportation tracking spell but never finished it, the reason was obvious though.” Seeing my eyes on her she gave me a grin, “Only those with a lot of magic can teleport and even then many don’t because of the risks associated with their concentration breaking.” We shared a wide smile and even Lyric managed a small one. Entry to exit I had it down. Well, except for the castle layout, but I was sure they could fill me in on that. Sharp teeth were exposed as my conspirator looked back at me, a glint in her eyes as they left the clock once more, “I don’t think you need me here anymore then.” The reminder of the forgotten green fruit was hastily shoved into her maw, going down with a loud gulp. “See yah,” Her eyes squinted at the ticking face, “Around one.” She frowned at the soaking window pane, “Probably.” With that Kapera stood, stretching as her workers joined her. I rose to let them out. As I opened the door we all cringed at the torrent that slammed against us, whipping water at us in near bucketfuls with how wet we grew. Securing the door I looked to the group, narrowing my eyes against the onslaught. They were pushing on, shouting something that was lost as a slam stole my focus. We stared as a bucket rolled across the deck, pushed on by wind before it was suddenly hurled off into the water. I paused on my way to the control room, ignoring the disturbance in my feathers as a whisper of flowers whipped past my senses. But I shook it off, the gray sheet surrounding my ship and the far away flashes insisted I move on. And so I did, knowing that the wind would have blown away the scent, that the source was long gone, and almost guiltily aware of why I might have imagined it. That scent stirred a memory of wild joy and childhood relaxation in me, something I was sorely missing here. Gears turned as I gazed out at the sea, frowning against the waves as they grew in height and choppiness. Looking back to the town that withstood Mother Nature’s beating, I grew somber. A faint smell of acrid smoke was coming in from the inner reaches of the city. While the mountains that lay behind them were completely obscured in the dark atmosphere, and it was only nine in the morning. Another white bolt arched across the sky, skipping across black cumulus on its way to the outskirts of the town till it struck at the ground. Through the gray sheet I could almost see dark plumes rising into the rain. My own comfort didn’t matter much right now. **** Chrissy As soon as my stallion left with our helpers the Thestral was up and stretching his back. Popping as we all stared at him. I felt conflicted on Ari’s plan still but this bat clearly had more issues with it. Even as pops came from him his muscles bulged as soon as he rested, frown capturing the look in his eyes perfectly. “So just how interested is Moonbutt in Ari?” Just like I thought he flinched at my insinuation. It would figure that the socially awkward one would latch onto him after one dream encounter. But my wing still couldn’t help but buzz at the thought of her presence on the ship. “I see, well, please work on growing the balls to tell her how you feel,” Lyric scooted over to me as he nearly choked on the fruit he had just bitten into. “Just because I shouldn’t kick an incapacitated mare in a mare challenge doesn’t mean I won’t if she pursues my stallion.” Lyric straightened up, nodding just as Ari opened the door. All that was missing was the dramatic lightening to highlight him and he would have the guard quaking in his hooves. Blocking out unrelenting downpour, Ari dragged himself over to a corner and shook his wings one at a time. As he did so Echo made a beeline for the pillow, straightening his back, and rustling his wings. Trying a little too obviously to keep in my stallion’s good graces, sharing an eye roll with Lyric I felt a little better. “Are you ok?” He asked as we made space for him between us, this time we shared a frown. Just a little better, not one hundred percent better. My stallion wants to purposely lead on two mares that are extremely powerful and hate me. “No.” Lyric remained silent, her tail started to swish. Drops rolled onto my chitin, cool, and indifferent to his unpleasant worry. “I know it’s not the best way…But I can’t think of any better ones.” Sweet love poured in as I looked away, “You know I love you both very much.” “Can’t you just be polite, laugh when they laugh?” Lyric’s voice cracked at the end, and I felt her pain. The sweetness grew sour, a frown set on our stallion’s muzzle, “I will be as polite as I can be and laugh when appropriate…Truly though, I am not good at faking things so I won’t be preening them or anything now that I know what that means.” Involuntarily I sighed, letting my eyes wander to the zebras, and Ayodele in particular. Pitying the mare as her eyes widened. My affection for Ari was great…But his ignorance to Equus culture was hard to understand and had hurt me at first when I learned of it…But that was mostly over with. Ari paused as he waited, looking at me with perked ears before they dropped again. “I won’t mention either of you and if you want you don’t have to leave the cabin when they are here.” His dark ears were splayed now, wings shifting uneasily, and an all together uncertain look in eyes as his gaze flitted between us. Echo would tell, somebeing would slip up, and yet no being seemed to want to say it. “That isn’t true.” I take that back, my scaled herd mate was going there. “The Thestral will spill his guts to them as soon as they get here.” Ari just nodded, sadness and fear leaking through the wall of sweetness he was trying to maintain. “You don’t know have everything planned out yet.” He winced but briefly dipped his head once more, “And you don’t have a clue about the mirror.” Wind howled long and low for a second as his blue eyes disappeared. “Of course I don’t know Lyric,” he rested he chin on her head as I leaned into him. “But I would love to learn more about the mirror if you feel up to talking about it.” **** Lyric My heart ached fiercely, as if it was wrapped in a vice like grip. I knew he wouldn’t know about the mirror. I knew he was trying to keep me happy while he figured out things. But, I was tired of going along with his attempts to keep moving, it never ended then. Not when one sister was banished or the grey coltcuddler himself disappeared. I just kept moving. And nothing changed. Talking became hard, the grip having moved to my throat. You would think after this long it would be easy, easier, but it never was. “You don’t have to now-.” Interrupting him with a kiss, I felt a warm tears roll down my scales before I released his muzzle. With a couple rubs of our muzzles, the soft fur soothed me. I felt a small medium of calm descend upon me, enough to continue. “Of course I do!” The way it came out shocked me into silence. “S-sorry,” but his eyes just returned to their concerned expression. Chrissy looking sympathetic and the audience across the table appeared very far away. Echo knew everything already anyway; we can’t even leave him alone anymore. Grabbing some hay, I chewed the flavorless mouthful as my mind tried to recall the facts, not that they were hard to remember. It was more the process of time, the when’s and where’s that moved on but at the same time didn’t change at all. Rain pounded on, the seconds ticked inaudibly, and I swallowed that dry mush resigned to the pain. “The mirror is strange,” my eyes closed as the mirror stood alone in the black expanse of my mind. “It almost looks like a regular body mirror, oval with a purple frame and trim…But the base is welded to a platform.” The room expanded in my mind’s eye to include blurry desks and a slumped over bag. “All around the platform purple horseshoes are encircling it, small cuneal writing engraved on them.” Images of determined guards and sparkling checkered floors flew by in my mind as I could almost hear their hoof steps pounding down the imaginary hallway. Damp feathers wrapped around my body, stilling a shaking I hadn’t noticed till then. “But I don’t remember what the room looked like, not really…It had a plain brown desk, a white marble floor, and plain walls.” I wish I were even half as skilled at enchanting as my father was, is. Then I could have decoded what the writing meant. “Not that that matters, surely it has been moved or the room redecorated with whomever is on the new castle design now.” A second basked in silence before his low query broke it. “How,” my stallion trailed off growing rigid beside me, but I knew what he meant. Hollowness filled me then. Cold nights and empty relationships with the bodies beside me, all easily lulled into laying with me, and all even quicker to leave a monster. “Long enough,” They all accepted that, even the mares across from us looking solemn. “Do you remember anything that might be important?” As a herd we all did a variant of a cringe, the redundancy of the question was obvious but necessary. Somehow it was easier not having to explain it all at once, the prompts keeping me here instead of there. The Thestral was watching me intently then. My pillow seemed to sink away as I remembered the worst part. “I had snuck past the guards, so easy they were to distract then, and entered the room.” The glow had almost blinded me. “The chimes had just begun, from some clock in the room, and a silver sheen passed over the mirror’s surface. It blinded before I spotted my father’s bag on the floor.” Sympathetic murmurs came from my herd and to my surprise the zebras. As the muted splashing sounded came from the sea I let their comfort wash over me, erasing the images. My herd was here. “Well, perhaps a very interested researcher will have me inquire about such a well crafted enchanted mirror.” I did a double take, blinking rapidly as he continued with his playful grin. “I could easily go there with a list of issues, this world is full of them, and getting your, no, our family home is pretty important.” His eyes traveled to my stomach briefly and I felt a small burst of hope. Setting my lips in a serious line I channeled my inner Chrissy, “But don’t make them too eager,” I let my eyes flick to the skinny mare that watching me intently. “My aunts told me mother was terribly possessive when she was carrying me.” I didn’t look at the beings across from me, instead relishing the smile that lightened Ari’s muzzle. Although we could hardly hear the time pass over the storm, it was. We kept to eating mostly, my herd mates and I comfortable with the silence, while our tagalongs looked around the room. But I didn’t pay them any mind, my chance was paying off. If I hadn’t taken that chance, following what could have easily been my mind losing itself in the desert’s heat, and then I wouldn’t have ended up curled up beside my stallion. Well, our stallion, but my herd mate wasn’t the way some were. I didn’t scrunch up my muzzle the way my father did to herding. Soon enough my lazing was disturbed, Ari was squirming and Chrissy was buzzing as she wiggled. She probably felt too exposed again, her hormones kicking in. Something I wasn’t quite looking forward to. She described it as feeling vulnerable for no reason and so nesting came into play. Wings adjusted themselves over me as I glanced at the clock, frowning and nudging my stallion. He looked at the clock and joined me in a frown, it was past one. But before he could comment a dull thumping whispered under the wind. With an apologetic smile he was out the door, returning several minutes later with a soaking wet saddle bag draped over his back. Closing the door he muttered to himself before he shook out his mane. “Kapera gives her apologies,” we watched as he placed it the on the table. “But she wants to make it home before the storm gets too bad.” Rolling his eyes he muttered the end, “Like it wasn’t bad out there already.” “She’s not staying to wait it out?” I frowned, sharing a worried look with Chrissy as the thunder rumbled outside. “No-pe,” Ari sounded out, snorting before opening the saddlebags onto the table. The jingling of chains filled the room as a curious set of shackles fell out of the bag. One was obviously for the hocks, being four shackles connected by a chain, and the other was not so obvious. They were two rings engraved with various runes. Inspecting them, I tried to recall the meaning in the writing, but only some of the basic symbols were popping out at me. “Kapera said to apply those to the base of his wings, they should block off his aetheratic channels.” We turned to the Thestral. He was frowning at restraints. But as bad as it may sound I was happy that Ari had kept his guard up. Slitted eyes scanned my herd mates and I, even glancing at the zebras, but they just shrugged. A grunt made me look over to my stallion, his horn was encased in gold yet I didn’t see what he was manipulating. “What are you doing?” Chrissy asked, cocking her head as he scrunched his eyes. His horn grew brighter before it petered out, “Trying to levitate the restraints over to the-,” I interrupted him. Encasing the small gate keys in my magic I unlocked the restraints, dropping the keys and grabbing the wing shackles. “If the cuneal writing isn’t broken it keeps relaying the effect, which in this case is a general magical restraint.” The eyebrows rose on every being’s face. “My father is an enchanter; I picked up a little bit watching him.” “That’s such a cool skill!”Ari exclaimed, fluttering his wings as I blushed and Echo muttered to himself. That muttering proved to remind my stallion of what we had been doing. My blush faded as he nodded to the restraints. Placing them on Moonlit Echo was easy, the Lunar guard even standing as a golden field added the hock shackles. Every being’s eyes traveled to the still bulging pocket. Looking to Ari and back to the bag I felt a surge of excitement travel up me, my scales tingled as he unlatched it and let the contents roll out. Several vials filled with a green powder and several more filled with a dark red liquid came out first. Ayomide gasped as we all looked at the vials curiously. “W-why did she send the hydra blood?” She flinched under the stares, “Well, you see…When I was tracking you down I ran across the Hydra you killed and pocketed some blood for selling later.” Her cousin’s gaze went to Ari and he just shrugged. “You can keep it,” he said as he grimaced at the vials. “Just don’t let that near me, that stuff burns like acid.” With a brisk nod from her we turned back to the bag watching as the key components of the plan appeared. My father would love to see them. They weren’t like a standard magic inhibitor or even like the prototype my stallion had worn. Both were more like safety cones than shackles, taking up nearly the whole length of Ari’s horn, and with twelve gates. I was speechless, my herd felt the same as we inspected the finely crafted inhibitors. Scratch what I said about my father, he will want worship the ground Kapera walks on, especially if they work. And with twelve gates I don’t see how they won’t work. It was a magic number, mind you, it was one that no being had done much research on seeing as twelve was seen as overkill for the being with an average magical core. When three did the trick why use all the extra material and put in the time? “Well, now all we need is the storm to end,” I looked to Ari as jingles made my ears twitch. He turned from Chrissy, meeting my gaze before looking across the table. “As soon as it lets up we are hitting the air.” I slowly nodded, feeling uneasy for some reason. Chrissy managed to pinpoint why, “What if it’s night time then?” Our stallion frowned, chewing his lip for a second, “I doubt that it is going to let up anytime soon. The last storm we were in lasted a whole day. So, I guess I meant at the first light we head for Equestria!”
Manners.**** Above Shallow Shale Ari For the most part the storm was over. Yet, I felt no better knowing that fact. It was just one storm of many that this planet faced. The aftermath just a another fact for the beings outside of Equestria. Buildings, lives, and lands lost with a frequency that made me worry. What if this didn't work? As the sun rose it had been plain to see that the gray clouds still lingered above the city, the only change being the color. Lightening to the color of ash rather than the charcoal they had been last night. Although, that small change didn’t exactly make me feel better, more rain was clearly coming in. The far reaches of the Narrow Sea’s horizon was as black as night despite the celestial body clearly peeking down through the dense covering of cumulus. But I didn’t have time to measure the approach of the storm. We needed to be up and over the Gryphon Republic today. It would the hardest area to maneuver in and as such would probably take most of the day, if not all day. I mean, by underground rail it took eight hours or so. And that was without fog, the possibility of storms, and maybe even air traffic. It was the Gryphon Republic after all. But Minotaria was flat, so I could make up time there. A smile curved up my muzzle, widening as a sudden thought struck me. My eyes found the lever stuck at the lowest setting, keeping the airship idle, and somewhere in me I wanted to ignore the mechanic’s warning and crank it all the way up. Let it run crazy for a small amount of time. My wings flexed against my barrel at the prospect, strangely excited. I shouldn’t be excited to almost stress an engine, my new home, but any thought of movement made my instincts rustle around my skull in a desire to do something. Releasing a breath I clamped them down, I would need that energy later. First, before I could test my speed I had to cross that mountain range. Yes, that one behind the white wall of pseudo clouds. So, I took a big breath in and focused on getting us up and over the mountains. The engine was purring, all the instruments were showing optimum levels of magic, and the various oils we used were hardly touched according to the meters. Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to raise the lever. My gaze had been caught in the columns of dark smoke as they rose toward the sky, originating from somewhere in the city. It was a clear ‘SOS’ signal to the world if I ever saw one. “Ari,” Chrissy queried quietly, sidling closer as she leaned further into me. Obviously wondering why we were still here when everything was ready. But I couldn't tear my eyes away. That was somebeing's home. Everybeing followed my gaze to the coastal city, ears twitching slightly as faint yells drifted under the door from the crowds. Since the sun rushed to position it had been like this. The words were unimportant, but the panicked tones and frequent occurrence of the yells told me all I needed to know. More storms, more fires, and somewhere there was more flooding. I was willing to bet on that. It was a picture so plain to see that it made me tense up under the weight of it. It wasn’t just the destruction that ruffled my feathers, it was the fact that anybeing could remain ignorant to it as Echo was and apparently the princesses as well. This would be front page news on Earth. Something was definitely off in Equestria and I didn’t quite know what to do about it besides ponynap the rulers and say 'look at it'. From what I know they control the celestial bodies and weather, making their land a paradise. Surely that was genius levels of magic, controlling nature herself. Yet, how could anybeing miss the fact that messing with one thing created a ripple effect outward? It was basic cause and effect, magic seemed to follow that rule, yet…I just didn’t see how this had gone on. Racism was one of my first thoughts for motivation outside of ‘who doesn’t want to live in paradise’, but something didn’t add up with that theory…Thestrals mainly. That logic was clearly missing a motivation or a detail along that way, yet no being here either saw it or thought to inform me of it. And the god thought I would be a good choice, the ignorant alien. God sucked. Chrissy and Lyric were beside me though, my rocks in this chaos, and so I exhaled away my worries for now. I would have my answers soon enough. No words were needed as I turned to my mares, looking first to Chrissy as she frowned at scene outside, and then my gaze went to Lyric. Her lips were turned up into a weak smile as we made eye contact, it didn’t quite inspire confidence though. Around me were the rest of my traveling companions, half of which were settled in, and they also bore splayed ears and other signs of worry for the city. Pausing in their pillow fluffing to stare at the scene, since this was going to be a boring trip they had brought cushions from the dining room into the control room, and I had teleported more food up. Going through my mental checklist I felt little calmer. We were set to leave, nothing more could really be done to the room, and I wasn’t waiting around for the sea storm to move in. The wind whispered by the door as I raised the levers simultaneously, sending the engines out of their purring and into a rhythmic thrumming. With a turn of the knob more gas was added, sending us both up and forward simultaneously, only a slight lurch letting me know we had moved. Heartbeats fluttered in my ears as I felt a brief shot of excitement course through me. The harbor was growing smaller with every second, the many ships around the piers and moored on the beaches becoming dots. The beings frozen in open mouthed stares as we looked down at them. Can they see us? I glanced at my mares with a frown, stilling my wings as they went to blanket my herd. Keeping my magic’s grip on steering wheel tight, I started the wide turn around, and leaned into Chrissy as a tilt started. Slowly I kept on it, ignoring the masculine snort and scrapping of hooves on wood as I focused on the rocks closing in on the ship’s right side. I could see the water foaming against them as the wind angrily howled against our hull. Pitch black clouds still remained a great distance away, for now. But, dear lord those rocks were close to the bow, I leaned back as well as into the turn as the dark cliff got closer. My herd and companions joined me in the lean, as if that would slow our forward momentum somewhat. As we got a closer look at the weathered formations, I noted they were still shiny with moisture, and small puddles had formed among the dips among the stones. We were that close. Somehow parking it facing the sea didn’t seem so smart anymore. Sure I wasn’t liable to tear off somebeing’s roof in a botched liftoff, but the obstacles around the water looked much worse in this light. Not that turning right would have made much of a difference with how wide I had to turn the ship, modest it was not. Alongside the harbor were the beaches, which were bordered by craggy sea cliffs that I could now see were teeming with sea birds of various species. The fact that I could identify their nests made me quite aware that we still hadn’t cleared the cliffs in the liftoff. And with collections of rocky outcrops along the cliffside it made me a tad overzealous about completing my turn as fast as possible, the tilt of the deck already telling me it was much sharper than Nomalanga would have liked. But it still was not my worst turn. I slumped down to the pillow as the bow just scraped past the cliff, shortly joined by my mares as the room gave a collective sigh of relief. The harbor in Malawia was much easier to maneuver, less cliffy. The fog shrouded mountains were in my sights now, separated from the dull rooftops by fog that extended all the way up into the clouds. Slowing the engines for a second, I let the gas go wild in the balloon above us. Holding my silence, I started to fluff my feathers as a new worry occured. Just how tall were the mountains? There was only so much of the city to pass over before the white began. Faster and faster we rose into the storm clouds, the variety of brown clay roofing tiles growing smaller before disappearing as gray started swirling past the window. The sound of gas filling the balloon took up the the room as we watched endless ashen landscape make way for us, not daring to jinx the moment with words. This dark view carried on till we finally crested the clouds. Well, that layer of cumulus anyway. A brief moment of awe came over the room then as we discovered a unique place that lay between the gray masses. It shone in a diluted light that inspired both melancholy and the urge to touch the clouds. For illuminated above us was another layer of clouds, slightly lighter in color as it covered the bright orb that was unnaturally held in place over us. Puffy cumulus dominated my vision, gray and white swirling around, and even in front of the ship there was a wall of white fog that completed the feeling of being surrounded. It was the type of solid fog that made you nervous to step a hoof into. My awe was certainly gone then, the mountains weren't visible, and I almost missed the amazed stares of the townsfolk over this challenge. I could see the stares at least, the mountain, not so much. Not that I wanted the attention, my actions alone might have jump started the rumor mill since not many airships went into the continent. That was just another reason to park it at the edge of Equestria. Ponies would start searching for the princesses and I didn’t want everypony knowing the giant white airship had the only Alicorn stallion on it. Breathing slowly, I tried to calm myself, tried. You would think leaving the crowded city behind would have alleviated some of the dread that viewing the destruction created…Well, it didn’t. The mountains ahead of us would have had been hit as well, and possibly Minotaria. So, it was basically out with one worry and in with a new list of them, starting now and ending when my missions ended. At least my tour of destruction was only going to be too easy to give…Which was…Good? Was that a good thing? What was my timeline on this? Was I some deus ex machina for an all powerful god as time ran out…? Somehow I doubted that, that bastard could have been kinder about everything, really. But…He did, sort of, in a very twisted, self serving way answer my wish to have kids. However , I had to talk with royalty first. Feathers spread themselves out as that thought hit me, like really hit me. Me talk to royalty, it was almost unreal. Royalty…No, I ignored their title for the moment. I had to converse with mostly racist mares that would almost assuredly be thinking of exactly along the lines of what god wanted from me. And one had killed my mare friend’s father, while quite possibly both were responsible for sending my other mare friend’s family to another world…I really wish there was a way to describe how fucked I felt about the upcoming meeting. But, there was Chrissy and Moonlit Echo’s experience to draw on… “So,” I briefly glanced at Chrissy before turning my attention to the approaching wall of fog, “How do you talk to royalty?” Both Echo and my mare raised an eyebrow at that. Right, maybe that was the wrong word, “Properly I mean. You know all that etiquette stuff?” Just ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ wouldn’t cut it for princesses; call it a ‘feeling’, but nothing was ever that easy. Her muzzle opened to answer me when a strident voice exclaimed, “Did you just say etiquette stuff?” I nodded at the Thestral, glancing at the fog before returning to his pinned ears. “This is a key part of your plan! Why are you talking about it like it is the gossip column in the local paper?” Finished for then, he huffed at me, trying to look intimidating, and he failed at that in my opinion. The matted fur and shackles just made me feel bad for him. Baths were in the future… “Look Echo, I didn’t mean it like that.” I narrowed my eyes at the fog but it didn’t get any clearer, so I turned the ship slightly, so we ended up parallel to the mountain rather than heading straight for it. We watched the wall a minute longer before releasing our disquiet in various sighs, rustles, and even a gulp. The tips of the mountain were still absent. Coming back to the cabin I gave him a small smile, “After everything I have had to learn I just feel a little played out,” sighing, I nuzzled Chrissy’s cheek. At least they brought some sanity to my crazy life. “So I meant that more in the sense that I don’t even know if I am using the right term for this planet.” He blinked as his withers lowered. “I really appreciate the help everybeing is giving.” Ears perked up from the cushions around my herd, Ayodele’s eyes shined slightly, even as my mares leant into my barrel slightly harder than normal. The correlation wasn't lost on me, but that was so far down my list I let it slide. “So,” I locked eyes with him, “Since you work with Luna every night, what tips do you have for conversing with them?” Golden orbs just blinked before they focused on the floor. Dividing my attention once more I adjusted our path slightly and brought a bale closer. Disappointment on my mind as I noticed the straw-like color of it, bran flavored breakfast. And the barrel of apples was in my siren’s clutches…She couldn’t eat all of them, right? My magic tipped the barrel slightly as rose colored magic held the apples in, draconic eyes started to narrow, and with that I quickly returned it to its upright position. Half of it was gone already, so maybe with the foal helping her she could finish it. I would just get another one later. Settling for the hay, I began inhaling breakfast, instantly understanding her reaction. The rolling of my stomach coming to the forefront of my mind with each bite. I wouldn’t give up my food with this consuming feeling inside me. The clearing of a throat made me pause in my ‘chewing’ as I watched the guard shift his rump on the pillow. We waited and all eyes were on the colt as the ship continued to climb higher. Bringing back the question, just how tall was the Gryphon Republic? I mean, we couldn’t even see a hint of the town anymore! Endless gray surrounded us, more clouds gathering, along with the white wisps of fog that clung to the rocky spires in sheets. Another clearing of his throat echoed around the room, thankfully this time he finally managed to produce his thoughts. “For starters,” his eyes grew hard, “Don’t arrive late to a set time.” A pause hung in the air as I scrambled internally to count the nights...It had been almost three weeks now, possibly, I wasn’t one hundred percent certain on that. I wasn’t late, was I? Looking to Chrissy, I panned my head slightly, suddenly very uncertain if my timeline was correct. Being knocked out in the hull of ship didn’t make for great time keeping, and the ponies imprisoned with me hardly made good watches. She was counting as well, tapping an ebony hoof in time as Lyric cocked her head. “You did put my arrival time as three weeks, right?” It would be just my luck that Chrissy would put it as two weeks instead of including the important ‘or’ in the letter. “Of course I did Ari!” I looked between her and my siren, who was still thinking, “And we are definitely going to make it!” She turned her muzzle to me, frowning, possibly at what I suggested. “I merely edited some of your redundancies and added more detail where it was needed.” Her frown held, but her eyes wavered between mine and Lyric’s with her ears following suit as I looked back at her. I tried to think back to what parts she meant but it was all a blur. Hell, the hydra seemed like a blur of swamp gas, burning pain, and rapid fire movement in my scattered memories. Releasing my breath I shook my head at the floor, “Sorry, it is just I can’t quite recall exactly what I said and I didn’t know what you edited-.” I cut myself off, opting to breathe deeply for a second. My heart slowed down, “I was just worried that I broke the first rule…It wouldn’t due to be walking into a meeting with two already pissed off Alicorns.” The slap of a hoof to a face sounded as I finished. “And don’t swear!” I turned from the growing scowls on my mare’s muzzles to look at the exasperated look on the guard’s face. Noticing my eyes on him Echo pinned his ears, more confident as he continued. Just bite him… “You won’t make far in the castle talking like an uneducated dirt muncher.” His mouth continued to move, but I ignored his words, slowly narrowing my eyes at him instead. That phrase almost sounded racist with that tone he had said it in. Those pinned ears grated on my nerves as well. Stealing a glance at the zebras to the left of him I confirmed it was definitely derogatory. The way their eyes narrowed, ear flattened, and nostrils flared all but screamed what they desired to do to him. And I did want to keep to my word… “W-AHH,” the exclamation cut through the chatter as I felt a grin make its way up my face. I really didn’t mind this part of the deal. Echo watched the ethereal paddle fade, huffing noisily as the mares and I restrained our laughter. Violence didn’t solve all my problems, but it certainly made them more amusing. Blinking at the sudden smooth sensation on my body, my humor was replaced by confusion. A pair of tails whispered across my butt, slowly dragging themselves down to my short length of a tail as I turned to glance at the owners. The grins they wore grew almost conspiratory in nature. I didn’t mind that one bit. Slowly I extended my wings, spreading them over my herd as we watched the colt in amusement. His nostrils flaring as he struggled to calm himself. But I let him struggle, learning wasn’t always easy, and quite frankly I wouldn’t mind if he took the hard way. My magic was still growing. We still hadn’t cleared the fog but I was caring less and less about that, we had hours left in the morning, and a whole afternoon to use as well. Finally, he came to his senses. Shooting me a glare, Echo simply ground out, “Don’t swear, they will take offense.” Well, wasn’t that elementary. Don’t use profanity around officials, sheer genius. “I wasn’t planning on doing that,” I had some common sense. “Anything else I shouldn’t do?” I looked between Chrissy and Echo as both grew thoughtful. “Bow-,” Echo started. My mare interjected, “No!” Both Echo and I gaped at Chrissy, “He shouldn’t bow.” As they became locked in a scowl-off complete with ears pinned back. I couldn’t help but cock my head at Lyric, and finding no answer I turned to the cousins. They splayed their ears back at me, raising eyebrows as the opinions clashed silently across the room. “Okay, I give.” Turning to my marefriend, “Why should I not bow? Cause I was figuring that bowing or kissing hooves would be more along the lines of respecting royalty?” Common sense said ‘yes’. Her ears perked up, considering my face for moment before a twinkle came into her eyes. The scowl was gone and that worried me more than her anger. Rising from under my wing she trotted around to face me. By this time we all were watching her with looks of confusion. Averting her eyes from mine she folded a foreleg to her chest, extending the other far ahead of her chest while her face tucked into the gap between her forelegs. I slowly came to realize this was a bow of sorts for equines. I watched the demonstration intently and yet I didn’t see the point as the clock ticked on, she wasn’t moving. Was there more to it? The ticking started to echo in my ears as she remained in position. Lyric looked at me pointedly, her eyes whipping between mine and Chrissy’s prone form as the seconds grew longer, a minute having passed then. Mouthing ‘what’ back at Lyric, I gesticulated at the form of our herd mate. I didn’t know what to do. And the mares across from me weren’t helping when they looked at me expectantly. The fog was still outside the windows, hints of something darker peeking through as I tried to catch Chrissy’s eye. But she had them closed; even her wing was silent and folded to her chitin. “Chrissy?” I watched her intently, an odd sensation of discomfort clenching at my stomach as I watched her continue to prostrate herself before me. Despite having her rump high in the air there was nothing alluring about the pose. I didn’t feel respected either, but maybe it took a special mindset for that. My ears were gravitating backwards slowly as even the guard didn’t have an answer to my look. She still remained in position. I just about to use force make her move from the pose when the guard spoke up, “You have to allow her to rise.” His tone was almost automatic in its nature. While his ears were splayed at the display and a faraway look hung in his eyes. Controlling the discomfort for a second, I turned back to my mare. “You can get up Chrissy.” Like a switch had been thrown she rose with a grace that eased my discomfort somewhat, although it still lingered with the image of her bowed low in my mind. It was just wrong, both my instincts and logic agreed on that. The phrase My mare didn’t mean lower than me and if that was a bow… “Are you feeling alright my liege?” Chrissy asked in a flat tone, a tone that I pinned my ears fully at. A smirk slowly grew on her muzzle, “I see that you saw my point.” Confusion briefly filled me as I pondered over the last two minutes of awkwardness. “As everybeing seems to forget, I had to be Lovebutt for awhile and you would be surprised what you learn about them when the public isn’t around.” She seemed to be waiting for something as sea-green eyes glanced at Moonlit Echo then back to my deflating feathers. The mountains tops were slowly growing clearer. “Well,” I questioned. My wing lifting as she pressed up to me with a relieved sigh, shifting on the cushion for a second before looking to me. Dulling eyes searching mine with a grim line on her muzzle. “It isn’t entirely about being proper with them; they are schooled in keeping a straight face through anything, even a verbal slip up.” As a second sigh escaped my marefriend I turned and started nibbling at her ear, but she just shook me off. “Thank you, but I can’t concentrate like that,” a small smile played at her lips as my mare nuzzled me in return, and I smiled back. Turning to look at Echo her smile retreated, “Even around their guards they have a pretense to keep up.” He simply slumped his withers, most likely already coming to that conclusion. A flash of slick rock caught my eye as more cumulus swirled behind us in our seemly endless ascent. Her eyes returned to mine, “What I was trying to make you all see is how much bowing separates the royalty from the ponies. It felt odd to be bowed to, didn’t it?” I nodded slowly, already seeing the way it would come across. “So I think I don’t need to say how unattractive that is when you want an equal partner, assuming they do.” Yeah, I had to act interested in mares that ruined and tore up my mare friend’s families…What a nice reminder. “But you met them; surely you have an idea of what they are like? I mean you were disguised as an Alicorn so they must have revealed some things.” She had hinted at it. I looked intently at Chrissy as her frown deepened under everybeing’s gaze. “I almost blew my cover.” We all blinked at her admission. Ears splayed she began, “I-I may have missed some fact or quirk from when I observed Cadence for the mission.” My grip on her was quick to tighten as her brow furrowed, and she looked down, “Whether it was due to Moonbutt’s time with Lovebutt or my own failure to cover all the bases in my disguise, somewhere along the line I messed up. Sunbutt turned distant to me partway through the mission, Moonbutt grew unsure and awkward in my presence…Even the nobles seemed to grow suspicious.” A light buzzing was added to the whisper of gas and thrumming of the engine. “They would hush up whenever I entered a room and would only talk of mindless diversions when the guards were around.” As she paused to stretch out her legs it hit me. What about the third Alicorn? Before I could question that possible obstacle Echo spoke up. “Of course they do.” We turned our attention to him, the confusion practically tangible as he gave an eye roll. “The nobility of Canterlot are renowned for considering status above practicality; it isn’t really suspicious that they talk of pastimes you consider mindless.” Several snorts came from the mares in the room, but he only had eyes for my changeling. “Besides, didn’t you have changelings disguised as nobility too?” Like a tennis match our eyes went to Chrissy as she gave an eye roll in return, “I did, but they never got anywhere with the others.” For a second she clenched her jaw, “In fact, several almost blew their cover when they asked questions for me. Even subtly worded questions like ‘what do think of Princess Cadence’ were met with standard complementary answers, cookie cutter responses,” the Lunar guard was frowning, ears splayed while he slumped down onto his cushion. “Your princesses are clever, they, or should I say Celestia has kept up the act for over a millennia.” Chrissy’s eyes met mine then, “It is so ingrained in her that she can hide her suspicions behind mask after mask.” Her eyes were fearful to me as they dilated. My head hurt a little at that. Okay, it was racing and pounding as my instincts demanded and pleaded with my common sense to abort the mission. Not only did I have a third Alicorn floating around somewhere in this plan, very possibly working with the diarchy, but I am dealing with mares that sound like they could lie their way out of a murder…While covered in blood and stabbing the body still. Were the nobility in on it? Where did that leave the guard? I looked to our resident guard…How had he believed they were so altruistically good if… Excuse me if I felt a little overwhelmed. “Chrissy,” I rubbed a hoof to my head, breathing deeply before continuing, “Just where is Lovebutt?” Looking up I saw her mouth form a ‘oh’ before she rubbed her chitin along my neck. “Don’t worry Ari, she has her own kingdom to run in the north,” a rueful chuckle escaped her muzzle, “And that magical mess is going to keep her pretty occupied.” I didn’t ask what that entailed, but that was more because I didn’t want to know what sort of ‘magical mess’ took up an Alicorn’s attention for awhile. With that out of my system I went back to etiquette training. Bowing was a big ‘no’ if I wanted to attract them, along with the common sense of ‘be on time’ and ‘don’t swear’. Obviously I wasn’t going to touch them, well, when they were conscious, and I certainly wasn’t making any of the mistakes I made around Ayodele...Actually, being overly friendly might work if they weren't complete stiffs. Speaking of that mare, she suddenly twisted around as my eyes unconsciously traveled to her. The zebra’s ears shot up as she gazed outside with her best impression of a fish. Following her line of sight I went with that reaction as well. The fog was finally below us. Feathers ruffled along my wings at the sheer expanse of dark peaks before me, my mouth couldn’t form words for the sight. The Diamond Mountains had nothing on this view. For as far as I could see there were rounded points breaking the expanses of pale wisps, slick stone shiny in the muted light hitting them, and some tips were just indents in the mountain top. I focused on the nearest one as it came near, the spider web of cracks, and the matte look odd beside the otherwise shiny stone spires. Just what had made those? Recovering a little, I started to spin the wheel to the right while I slowed the whisper of gas. The airship was high enough to clear them now, but the endless horizon of peaks and valleys didn’t inspire relieve. Most were too far to really tell how tall they were. Taking a breath look back at the way we had come as we the slow turn I lost the smile that had come to me. It was just dark. Different shades of storms merging to smother the sea in a deadly blanket. Facing away from the super storm, I snorted and turned to group. “Some weather, huh?” The responses were unimportant; I meant it more as a rhetorical question and my mares seemed to pick up on that, staying silent. Laying my head down, I filed that image away for my motivation, placing it right beside my herd in my mind. “When you meet with them sit up straight,” I perked my ears towards Echo, who also hadn’t bothered rising. Nodding into the cushion I watched him wiggle, faintly jingling the chains under his body. “And never pin your ears at them, or snort, or really anything disrespectful.” “So I just smile, nod, flirt,” He was nodding along with each word, “And don’t inform them about the coming doom the rest of the world is facing because of their actions.” And that was when he stopped nodding, instead blinking as I quirked an eyebrow his way. I had accepted already that it was unavoidable to say or do something negative. In fact, I would be suspicious if somebeing was all smiles and cordial behavior, which was just unnatural-. “Mmm,” I hummed out. His reaction was lost on me then as Lyric had started licking at my scabs, muscles that I hadn't realized were tense relaxed, and I melted into the fluffy seat. Pure heaven, the itching had come third to eating and steering, but it had been there still. Her moist tongue spread over each lash with a slow care, removing errant hairs that had folded into the cuts. And then Chrissy started on my other side, her tongue narrower when compared to Lyric’s, but none the less very effective at soothing my wounds. We did have hours to talk... Before I could fully turn my head and start on Lyric’s mane a snort captured my attention. Muzzle poised over my mare’s head I simply swiveled my ear in his direction, “Yes?” “Can you ever not do that?” The way he spoke, ‘that’ was synonymous with murdering puppies. Sighing, I felt Lyric shudder but tried to ignore them. “Look, I need to have some fun, some joy in this twist my life has been thrown in.” His ears slowly moved to the side as I raised my head, arching it as I continued. “We all know that I won’t get this luxury when your rulers get here.” The urge to bite him rose again. “Even if I hide my herd you will tell them everything,” everything. I held back the wince, replacing it with pinning my ears back, “And I won’t get a break.” What about after? “Even my new home isn’t safe, is it?” My herdmates paused in their ministrations, replacing the moist warmth of their mouths with their hot breaths as muzzles pressed into my mane. I watched the ears fold back on my new friends as they watched the Thestral with me. He was watching the window. Quietly a sound came from him, too low and quick for me to catch. The sea of fog stretched on beyond the glass barrier. As I opened my mouth to ask him to speak up his shoulders shook with his breath in. Pausing, I watched him, relaxing my neck as he shuddered once more. “I couldn’t quite say where you came from to anybeing that didn’t…” He trailed off, his own batlike wings hugging his barrel before he continued, “If they are aware, then I won’t really be a guard anymore.” Exhaling he finished quietly, “My Luna isn’t one that would allow that destruction…Then she might not be my Luna.” Keeping my muzzle shut I laid my head back down, the feeling of relief at his words not feeling as sweet as it should be. What if I couldn’t change their mind? Mountains passed by below us, indifferent to the stale atmosphere in the room. The idea of being right had never felt so bad. My herd had settled into the same state as the rest of the room. Dull, only twitching an ear or eating on occasion. The clock showed it had passed into the early afternoon when the feeling grew too much. This moping can’t be good for the foal. I glanced at the dark crown of my mare’s head. I’m not changing anything like this. Among the things left to do some were last minute things, the cake would be baked the morning before I left, and the pack would be packed the day of as well. But, the horizon ahead of us hadn’t differed much from the black and white mountain range, I was going to hitting Minotaria tomorrow which was still better than walking. I wasn’t doing that if I could help it. But I could do my favorite activity on lazy days, reading. Crackling sounded as I imagined the stack of books appearing, the golden glow attracting everybeing’s attention. Yawns reverberated around me as the tomes appeared. The five nondescript books that I laid out before my herd. Eyebrows rose as the covers revealed themselves, sliding the two obvious foal centered ones aside I looked between the last three. One had the stylized ‘S’ on the cover, beside it the other two looked slightly interesting if only due to the easier to understand cover engravings. One had a hoof arranging symbols along a line and the other had a picture of an Alicorn’s silhouette dominating the cover. Yet I understood none of it. “So which book do you think would have a healing spell in it?” I looked between Chrissy and Lyric, the latter frowned at the ‘S’ book as I had come to think of it as. Using her hoof, Chrissy dragged that book forward, indifferent to the pinning of Lyric's ears. “Probably Star Swirl’s Compendium…” I stared at the massive tome with a dropping jaw; it was easily a thousand pages. As if she saw my look, a grin played over her muzzle, “That is volume one, he was a magical prodigy in his time.” Lyric simply snorted and whipped her tail around. We all looked at her, a frown growing as I thought back. “Starswirl,” I said hesitantly. Her eyes closed and she started to breathe deeply, her brow furrowed and jaw working. Just as I thought, there was a dislike…Strong dislike for that stallion. But he was dead, at least it sounded that way. Chrissy had said he was old and that he was a prodigy, of course he could just be retired and senile. Moving on from the clearly sore topic I tightened my wing over them and flipped the book open to what appeared to be a table of contents. “Oh fun…” Lyric muttered as her eyes opened to scan the page with me, the only ‘reading’ I was doing was trying to find common symbols. Which I did, sort of, there were over thirty different symbols that I counted so far. “Flip.” Dutifully I did, nearly groaning as I saw the headings and subheadings multiple. This would be so much easier if I could read… “Flip.” As I did this time I caught a peek of what appeared to be at least five more flips worth of the table of content. It didn’t surprise me when I heard the order given again or even when Ayodele and Ayomide grabbed a book to read. Echo went back to watching the fog below us. Once more they called in unison, “Flip.” The mountain range looked about as endless as well.
Enter Equestria...Author's Note Hello readers, Happy triple chapter posting! In this one Ari enters Equestria and runs into somebeing that may not who he thought they were. Also paranoia, lots of that. Next two Chapters are strictly the princesses. Happy Reading! Enter Equestria... **** Above Equestria Ari Warm air turned cool against my skin, almost trying to soothe the nagging thought to return to the ship, and I almost did. But the world wouldn't save itself. So I continued. My fur was blown back as I streaked over the literal paradise below me. I had almost forgotten how deep the greens went. With the canopies practically a hoof length away as I traveled at a low altitude it was hard not to notice the swampy forest. It soothed my urge to flee, aside from the smell that is, that rotten egg like scent was jarring to say the least. Of course, there was the fact that I was traveling this low to begin with. I had started up in the clouds to be able to watch my ship and such; however it occurred to me that I didn’t want to attract too much attention as the only black dot in the blue sky. I had descended rapidly after that. After staying hidden for so long being in the open had me a little tense, not that this was completely open, but I didn’t trust the environment. The surrealism of a dry desert being right next to this controlled micro climate didn’t sit well with me. The only saving grace so far being that I could hide in the canopy if something flew overhead, which was possible since the full scope of predators was still unclear to me. But the word dragon still hung in my mind. Dragons, they were still an unclear vision of scales, fire, and teeth. I didn’t want to test that, they had sharp teeth and that was that. Better to stay on the safe side when I considered that as an option, especially if they are anything like Sea serpents. Faint croaks reached my ears as I glided along on a wind. My mind was occupied with trying to work through the imaginary conversations with faceless mares, and I was failing at it. I just wanted to blurt out the truth when I thought of the scope of the destruction around me. How were they ignorant?! I needed to calm down. Below me the oddly familiar yet new varieties of trees brought me some comfort as the open sky before made my instincts more active than I felt they should be. Deep breathes, in and out. This was the country whose citizens thought slavery was a forgotten fable. It had the tiniest equines I had ever seen, the most naive beings as well. So, excluding the rulers I should be mostly safe. I was huge in comparison, powerful, and I could easily teleport. Safe…Hydra…Right, and the other creatures my mares had mentioned offhandedly. Still, it was beautiful out, no storms or tragedies were below me. Yet, I still felt like something was wrong. Was it too quiet? Looking up at the fluffy white clouds I didn’t see why I should be worried. There were no monsters in the sky, despite how vulnerable my back felt. That probably was because of how often I had hurt it so far. And they controlled the weather here, not the clouds. Well, the cumulus was part of the weather, but that wasn’t the point. This country was harmless compared to the rest, Azure hadn’t even considered slavers. Assassins… I shook my head at that, looking below once more to scan the tree tops as my mind pointed out all the ways it wasn’t safe, especially for me. Ayomide had traversed through the swamp below me and several countries to track me down…But, no being knew where I was, the air trail didn’t lead back to me. Really, I had no papers, all there was my signature on the forms in Malawia, and those hadn’t been taken. Of course there were the ponies that I would pass by eventually. Generally Equestrians were wildcards. The ones that I had met were a mixed group of good, bad, and maybes. Although they were the smallest intelligent species I had met they also were extremely racist, dare I say the most racist. The memory of Azure and Barium still made me frown. A ‘vile bug’ is what they had called Chrissy, when she was in the same boat that they were in then…But…A half smile worked its way up my face at their change of heart, mostly Azure’s, and it gave me hope. Not even a week later and they were working with the same ‘bug’, even if I had put my hoof down a little. Equestria would hopefully be that easy to change like those two. This really wasn’t just the rulers I had to show, they were just the starting point. Weather manipulation would have to stop. Pegasi would have to do something else for a living…Maybe form a storm watch? I would have to think on that. That would be hard for them to handle, ‘natural’ weather was unnatural in their eyes, even though it was natural everywhere else... Did they realize that? Swerving around the trees as they started to grow taller I felt my fur raise and the feeling of being watched started. Did they know and not want to end their little country of Eden? But the dark covering of leaves didn’t show anything moving, no eyes looking back. Looking to my left I saw the vast expanse of Minotaria, the small speck a mountain filling me with determination. My herd needed this. They would see the truth, they had too, and everybeing in this country couldn’t be as extreme as the ponies I had met. Especially, considering the princesses had to deal with the ambassadors from other countries regularly, sign papers, and all the other responsibilities that came with running a country. They had to know. Maybe they just didn’t know what to do about it? They did have a country to run already… No. I sighed, mentally hitting myself for the momentary stupidity. If they knew then why had Kapera, Wekasi and the zebras still been living in fear of enslavement? That didn’t fit the image of the innocent and just mares that Echo knew of. Unless they thought zebras and others were second class beings, which could be a problem. But this speculation wasn’t helping me, even as a distraction it was-. What was that? Swiveling my ears I slowed my flight, pausing to hover as I tried to identify what had caught my attention. It was quiet up here, before me the expanse of trees were broken by a few small mountains, and beyond that there were more forests. The trees far ahead were clearly spaced wider apart, allowing me to see that something had been there recently. Along the bare ground there wasn’t any grass, in fact it was slightly gray from my vantage point. But the rivets in the ground were deep, unnatural, and had me snorting at the thoughts of mythological monsters. Yet, when I flared my nostrils and scoured the air there weren’t any fresh scents that screamed danger. Not that I would be able to smell any danger with wind blowing away from me. Predators could smell me. Keeping aloft, I couldn’t shake that feeling of being watched, and something had made a noise somewhere here. Even if I hadn’t consciously noticed it my ears had picked up a faint noise nearby. It was near me then. Green leaves fluttered beneath my hooves as I hovered, the few birds that were in the canopy were quiet and hopping around with little tip-taping of their nails on the smooth wood. Somewhere below the birds a muffled rippling sounded, water was below then, and since I was still on the outer reaches of the swamp it might have been a frog. Just a frog then… Had I imagined it? No matter what direction I moved my ears I didn’t hear anything out of sorts, yet my feathers tried to move out of order as the feeling persisted. Exhaling, my wings moved on autopilot, knowing I needed to head north, and it let me think. My focus was solely on my surroundings as I started off slower. Sure I could have gone faster, maybe out flown my seemly imaginary enemy, but that didn’t sit well with me. It couldn’t have been a frog. I needed to get moving but I wasn’t going to pretend that my ears were faulty or that the area ahead wasn’t the likely territory of a predator. The gashes in the ground were parallel to each other, claw marks to my instinct fueled mind, and I agreed with that deduction. And I had thought the land was harmless. For a while longer I felt eyes on me, my ears were in near constant motion as I traveled, and my eyes scanned the paradise before me for snakes. But none made themselves known. As I moved along the border, veering around the now close mountainous forest, I could have sworn I smelled grass. Behind the first mountain were many more rocky spires. None were as tall as the Gryphon Republic but all were worrying in their own right. What sort of creature could carve up rocks? And I mean shred the sides, I was sure that those matching sets of grooves didn’t just appear midway up the face of a mountain. I certainly wasn’t going to linger down here anymore. Quickly climbing higher, I focused on the mountains, noting more and more marks on the light rock as I went. This was defiantly something’s home, the markings almost reminding me of bear claws with the way they were lined up. As I was clearing one of the smaller precipices that jutted out I heard it, a flap. At least I assumed it was since I was in the air, and I wasn’t sticking around to check when I had irreplaceable cargo with me. My brief curisoty gone as reality hit me. I had very strong wings, I didn’t need to face off against whatever wanted a Alicorn snack, and my herd was safe. This was a big ‘nope’. Starting off with a large flap I shot forward like a bullet, already knowing that this border flight of mine would have to end eventually. Canterlot was at the center most part of the country. Should I just turn now then? As the small mountains came at me I was unsure, the map had a particular forest I was supposed to hit before I turned, ‘Everfree’ forest according to Echo. From there it was a easy, straight path. No. Hell no. Whatever had spotted me was still following me, where they were exactly I wasn’t exactly sure but they were flying if the rapid beating behind me meant what I thought it did. Evasive manoeuvres! So I began to turn towards the rapidly approaching woods, beating my wings harder as I heard the predator’s wings go faster. A rapid drumming surrounded me as I looked forward, eyes locked at my sanctuary, there were large gaps between trees, much better than open sky. Not glancing back I secured my bag with my magic and dived for the tree line. I heard the flapping speed up once more, it sounded like a drum in my ears as adrenaline started running in me, and then I saw the shadow of a wing over mine. Small, deceiving, and possibly pony if it was accurate. A cool feeling overtook my back as the creature flew over me, diving just as fast at first, until I gulped and tucked my wings all the way around my barrel. Then I started to creep forward, leaving the shadow behind. First it slipped over my wings, then behind them. But it caught on. It literally caught me to be more specific. Sharp talons that were most certainly not a pony’s gripped my hips, my bag catching drafts of air as I continued the dive. My mind started screaming bloody murder, air was coming to me erratically as panic set in, and that made me change my course. Wind whipped me as the new target was acquired, my thoughts only on ridding myself of the predator. The sharp tips of the talons broke my skin as the creature tried to pull me back, backwards and back on the previous track between the trees. But the sound of wings beating behind me only made me bring mine out and beat back, pinning my ears against the air whistling by me as the tree came into a watery focus. I knew the rough work of the healing spell. But what had my hips in their talons still held on, burying their tips all the way in as we both screamed into the wind. Perhaps it was a little extreme, but I wasn’t letting a little blood and pain stop this plan. “AAAA-,” we were both yelling louder, our focus was on the imminent crash, and my eyes locked on the swirl riddled bark that wavered in and out of my vision. It was about then that my racing mind caught up with itself. Those talons were no bigger than my hooves. Pressing my bag even harder onto my back I started to pull up, my face hurting at the velocity I fought against, and eventually flipped backwards. At least I intended to. The action was awkward, really more of a flail backwards than a proper flip, but the sudden change in movement sent the creature scrambling and thus freed my hips from its hold. A crack followed, echoing with a faint grunt into the woods before me. With flailing wings and a swimming vision I hovered somewhat in place. Shaking my head I tried to orient myself. Breathing heavily from the rush, flaring my nostrils, and wincing as a wind brushed by my new wounds I hovered there for a moment longer. Fuck, just fuck. That was intense. Dark red drops held my sight as I tried to slow my racing heart. After a small while the corners of the small red puddles came into focus, with the warm trickle only a minor distraction as it ran down the outsides of my legs. “E-easy my ass,” a strained voice said from ahead of me. My head shot up and my wings stilled for second. Forgetting to move them I landed on the ground with a heavy thump, the couple of feet I had dropped not even fazing me. Pain was the last thing on my mind as I gazed at the being before me. Sprawled out in an obviously pained position was Bente. And all I could think of was, “What the HELL?!” It didn’t stay in my head of course. The dirt hit my rump as I sat back and stared at the hen, blinking rapidly at the scene determine if it was real. It appeared to be. Her talons were dyed red. Silence filled the space as she made no move to get up and I didn’t dare move to help. Both of us taking time to understand what had happened. Her wincing face was stuck in my vision. Why was she here? Had I misjudged her intent? Bente went to Zebrica for help, finds out I’m on the weather issue, and appears to leave. That evening she breaks in, doesn’t take anything, and then stows away on my ship. But she left in Shallow Shale, safely arrived home and was able to say an Alicorn was dealing with it. Which was a big deal with how beings reacted to me. Then she appears here, and…I don’t even know why. But my mind went to the office, the only odd piece in the whole story. Her eyes met mine, narrowing as she tried to get up. Upon falling back several times, Bente clacked her beak at the ground before looking at me. “Well, can a hen get a talon up?” Blinking away my confusion, I frowned. “You tried to take me out of the sky.” “N-,”she started, but I interrupted. “YES,” she had almost seriously injured me, almost damaged the cakes, and we didn’t have any poison left. “You stowed away on my ship, stalked me, and sunk your talons in me!” That last part really stuck with me, I was on her side of things, I had thought so anyway. Yet out of nowhere she comes and attacks me? Like I can just let her walk off…This had to be handled carefully, something was clearly missing from this picture. My eyes followed her tail as it smacked the ground and she clacked her beak at me. Both of us seemed to be unable to think of a retort as we watched the other carefully. From my spot I could see her far shoulder was slightly raised, feathers in a state of disarray, and clearly injured in some way. The bare spot on the trunk where she hit it came to mind as a cause, but only a wince came to my mind. If she had just said ‘hello’ or ‘can we talk’ this wouldn’t have happened. Still Bente didn’t defend her actions or deny the accusations, which were really facts then. Instead the wind just whistled by. My time was ticking by as well, “You really don’t have anything to say for yourself?” Her talons dug into the ground as a loud exhale filled the space between us. I didn’t have time for this lolly gagging; I had to make Canterlot before they set the sun. As I stood she spoke, “I wasn’t trying to take you out of the sky.” Green eyes flicked left and right as I waited, ears perked at the hen, and both of our feathers were ruffled. “Well?” “I-,” she exhaled loudly, lowering her rising wings somewhat, “-I was trying to help you.” I snorted at that, help doesn’t usually involve taking a being out of the sky, and she realized how her words sounded with her next ones. “But I panicked,” a sigh, “And I’m sorry.” Her eyes had been watching mine the whole time, her beak looking more downward at the base, and the small feathers along her cheeks puffing out. Yet the apparent disappointment in my lack of favorable reaction didn’t sway me. My hips hurt and several facts were still unanswered. “You were expecting some other reaction?” I got a tail lash in my direction as she winced. Taking in a deep breath I continued, “I don’t understand you Bente,” my hooves began to ache and I shifted my weight under her watchful eyes. “Once I thought I had. I thought you wanted help with the weather that was tormenting your home and I told you I was working on that.” Green eyes gazed intently at me, almost through me as she listened. “But you tore apart Wekasi’s office,” I found her gaze, and narrowed my eyes as she cringed. Somewhere in the forest something cracked, a sound that stole both of our attention for a moment. But as nothing more than a bird fluttered off I returned my full focus on my attacker. “A-Ari,” she fidgeted her wings, trying once more to rise, and when the hen failed once more she turned to me with wide eyes. The desperation shining in them threw me off, almost as much as what she said next. “It isn’t safe here, f-for either of us,” another glance at around us sent her feathers up in alarm. “P-please, I promise you Ari, there are forces at work here that are big,” I kept my muzzle still as her words half confirmed my suspicions. When I didn’t move she pleaded once more, her voice staying low, fast, and was stridently urgent. “Ari! These ponies aren’t nice, please get us out of here I will explain everything when we aren’t surrounded.” I glanced around the apparently clear area. Boulders stood impassively behind me at the base of the mountains, varying in sizes, and quiet. The trees before me were tall, imposing, and covered in a canopy of small rounded leaves that shook in the breeze going by. But that warm wind was just as harmless. As I inhaled deeply I scented nothing that my instincts recognized as danger, the smell of fresh herbs and grass wafting by was actually intriguing to my nose, but nothing was flashing my innate warning bells. Except for her, Bente was clearly serious, and I remembered her words from the office. Her previous messengers had gone missing when they visited Equestria. Perhaps we weren’t surrounded but with that fact in my head I didn’t feel like taking that chance. She could have killed me on my ship and didn’t. Tossing my head at my decision I walked closer to the panicking gryphon, eyeing her talons and clawed hind paws with trepidation. This could be a trap; it would be ingenious to pretend to be with the gryphon republic if she was a double agent. But as I watched her she didn’t make an offensive move, only stilling as my shadow fell over her. “Please, please, please,” she muttered, half to herself I think, as she had taken to watching the sky fearfully. “I just learned this spell,” Bente’s attention was on me, “So I need you to be patient and calm, alright?” A weird coo like sound was her answer, her breath coming in quick bursts before she relaxed. Making a hopping side step around her beak I ignored my hip’s protests and looked at the space between her shoulder and the trunk. Wow, her hit had been a lucky one, sure it was clearly smashed, but if she had hit it any harder it would have been her neck, and in any other direction it would have been equally as painful. Losing a wing would have hurt and my spell didn’t heal bones, but everything else would be no problem. Like I had theorized, spells were formed of will, or as they preferred to put it: focus, and a core sound. Or as I called them: magic words. Every magic word was attuned to different branches and therefore intentions, and that was about all I followed when they explained spell work. The healing magical branch favored soft, quiet sounds, and so I had to focus on the word ‘Ah-mm’. Those spells were also easier to perform if your aetheratic channels naturally were attuned to a soft sound, or at least I thought so. Lyric was the best at healing spells and I don’t think it was just her extra experience. My crackling, well, I always thought of it like lightening. Powerful energy that flowed, not a humming or thrumming as my mares described their own channels. Sorry, right, the healing spell. ‘Ah-mm’ was how they pronounced it for me; they also had me focus on the patient’s wound repairing itself. At as small a scale as I could, focusing on the skin and muscle coming together, and picturing it was easy. But, as I put my horn to her rapidly swelling shoulder to cast it I paused, narrowing my eyes at her once more. “If you try anything I will stab you with my horn.” Her beak could damage my neck. A quick nod happened before I let my magic crackle to life, blindingly bright as I closed my eyes. I pictured the shoulder looking like her other one, together, and full of healthy muscles. And aside from some heavy breathing on her part I think it went well. Stepping back with a stiff jerk I observed my progress with a smile. The feathers were a little askew still and the area still looked off to my eye, lumpy almost, but the swelling was gone. As soon as I had given her space she hauled herself up, gasping and scrunching her eyes shut when the weight went on her lumpy shoulder, “Tha…Thank you.” Bente’s beak hung open in a pant as she stood there, more injuries clearly somewhere else, and maybe some broken bones in the shoulder. Yet her need to escape this area was more important to her as she attempted to lift off. Hovering in place she seemed to be doing fine until she did another large flap, that caused a squeak to escape her, and she landed in a heap. Guilt set in, faintly tickling at my mind as I watched her struggle again. I may have over reacted to the sound of her flying. Somewhere deeper in the forest another snap sounded, closer, and serving as a reminder of the reason for our cooperation. There were worse beings out there. “Stay still,” I splayed my ears at the idea, but didn’t see any other quick way out of here. Bente watched me hesitantly as I moved to her, stilling as I stopped and frowned. “Tuck your wings in.” “W-what?” She did after a second of my staring, her paws flexing as I moved once more. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way,” wide green eyes looked up at me. Clearly wondering how she was supposed to take it. “I don’t know if this is okay or not,” my hooves shifted and brushed against her feathers, “But I don’t know any other healing spells so this is the other option.” The gryphon between my legs slowly nodded before straightening out. With a quick moment to square up I grabbed her around her chest with my forelegs, trying not to breathe in her scent as I rocketed upward. Of course I failed, my nose filled with her fresh scent that sent my heart racing weirdly enough as I also tried not to wince. Both from her grunts of pain and my own pain, still we continued to travel upwards into the clouds. “So-,” she shushed me. “Not until we are over the clouds.” I snorted and complied, the air buffeting us as I flapped harder, and the world became a brief blur. After a short time we broke the cloud coverage. The view was impressive, the sea of green before me nearly captivating, but not enough to distract me from the reason we were up here. “Did you know I am currently on my way to the princesses,” the feathers on the back of her head rose. “Well I was, but now I have to clean up and deal with you,” muscles squirmed briefly in my hold, “I suggest you start explaining just how you helping me.” The breeze whipped our feathers around as we continued north, just because I had to learn what was going on exactly didn’t mean I was wasting time flying her to my ship or anything. She winced in my grasp as her shoulder pressed against my foreleg. Maybe I would send her there later though…My spell only mended skin and tissue, bones were another mater, and Lyric knew how to handle those. “We are still learning about them,” she paused, hesitant and quivering in my arms for a second before continuing, “But we found our messengers that went missing.” It was the way she said missing that struck me, not only did she not believe it, but the word was spoken low and quiet like the bold gryphon feared the clouds overhearing us. The clouds were white and puffy below us, clear of traffic as I scanned the area. Bente didn’t need prodding, as I opened my muzzle once more she continued. “The minotaurs found them…What was left of them.” As the fact hit me I slowed my flight, my common sense trying to put on the breaks. I can assume the messengers said something the princesses didn’t like…And now they can’t say anything. “You are sure it wasn’t-.” “NO!” Her protest echoed across the sky for a tense moment, “I mean that some parts still had…Had the weapon marks on them, the parts of the swords in them.” That admission had us both gulping. Yes, I believed her. Sure I couldn’t read minds or sense emotions but I could tell, no, I could feel the truth in her reactions. This fact scared the hen in my arms and quite frankly scared me too. If several trained ambassadors, well, she said messengers, but I assumed they were trained in politics. If they couldn’t handle the Alicorn princesses then what hope did I have? I spoke like a dirt muncher and loved a mare that I knew had to be very wanted, both mares were probably on the wanted list. Hesitantly I pressed on, “So, these equestrians,” there was no nice way to say this, “They killed the gryphons your country sent to ask for help?” Her head dipped and rose below me, a fact that didn’t help my case. “And they were specifically asking for help with the weather problem, not anything else.” I could hope. “Yes.” Fuck. “O-okay,” stay calm, positive, “And you’re sure it was the equestrians that killed them? Not a vengeful minotaur?” I doubted it. “Or perhaps a robbery gone wrong,” I added. Highly doubtful, robbers in this paradise didn’t sound right. Alicorns sort of had that effect. “They bore our flag on their bags, our official letters of permission and the proper permits of sanctioned air travel allowed by the treaty between our nations. There was no way anybeing would risk attacking them unless they had the power to back up the repercussions.” Which the Alicorn sisters did, they didn’t have any power higher than them, save the god, at least not any that I knew of. “You don’t have any bags or permits on you.” And she didn’t, both times I had seen her she was naked, which we all were, but the essential ‘protections’ she spoke of were missing. “My fellow ambassadors had them and look where that landed them.” I hummed my agreement, she had survived this long. Of course she hadn’t gone to Equestria as far as I knew or Saddle Arabia for that matter. “Saddle Arabia wasn’t an option?” Her silence fueled my racing heart, as did her scans of the area. “No,” another shift below and a bigger wince, “They…Aren’t speaking to any of our representatives.” That sounded like there was more to it but she didn’t explain, instead sucking in a big breath and screeching, “Higher!” Although I didn’t see the source of her distress I gave several strong flaps upward, not really paying attention to what was ahead anymore as my mind had a lot to chew on, racing at the sudden panic in her voice. There had been gryphons in Saddle Arabia; in fact there had been a whole mix of species, including Minotaurs. But there was no rule that said all beings must live in their own country. This didn’t explain the office though. “Can you explain your actions in…?” I swiveled my ears as my own paranoia set in. What had she heard or saw that I missed? Bente understood though, “I needed a copy of your form.” Before I could form the appropriate question to the need for such a thing she filled me in, “Vegard offers a home in the mountains…Especially if you can offer what you have offered them.” The vagueness of her words kept in tune with my instincts. Somebeing was watching us. “That is not a decision for me to make alone.” My eyes flitted along below me as the clouds seemed to form strange shapes. “Distance is important to us.” I can’t be anywhere near the princesses. “I understand.” Although she probably did, her voice went low with what I assumed was disappointment. “Would you consider traveling? A target is harder to find when it is on the move.” Bente’s head turned so our eyes met, her eyes were wide as her tail moved closer to parts that would be better left alone. Keeping my thoughts on the world ending I tensed, whipping my tail and gazing back. “The answer remains the same, it is not a singular decision, and I have more pressing matters to take care of first.” “What I heard from their gossip is true then?” My eyes widened before I shook my head and focused on the strange clouds. Of course, “Perhaps, time is of the essence though.” I needed to get back on track. “Is there anything you can tell me of the forces against me?” Our eyes scanned the clouds below us. Pony shaped clouds in my paranoid scanning. After a moment her throat cleared, “Don’t trust Anypony with power.” Feathers rose and tickled the bare patches on my chest, “The ponies you met before…They appear to be innocents of the country, maybe even rebels, but they had no real power from what I overheard. Bakers, florists, cloud pushers…Other grunt work.” A clack from her beak filled the pause, “Please be careful,” another scan of the white cumulus below us showed no enemies, “And be quick about your plan. Nothing you have to say will be welcome.” Didn’t I know that! The whole ponynapping part came from that fact. I hummed my acknowledgment, thinking on the heavy information I had just received, and tried to still my heart. Bente could hear that, I was sure of it. My suspicions were sounding more and more accurate to my growing dread. Celestia sure had a lot of ambassadors die for being a peaceful country. But, “You are sure it wasn’t-.” “Yes. The blade tips were confirmed as magically infused steel, the pommels were in a style typical of solar guards.” Perhaps only half of the diarchy was in on this then? At least I hoped so, that could explain the whole ‘Nightmare Moon’ fable, and give me something to work with. The gryphon hen suddenly wiggled as she squinted at the horizon. I followed suit as she began whispering into the wind, “You can drop me off here.” Raising an eyebrow down at the gryphon I found her beak clamped tight and her gaze set on a far mountain top. It was just a speck in the far right from here. “I don’t want to be any closer to the capital.” “Oh,” I said quietly, understanding what that mountain must mean. It must have the castle in the middle of the map. Did I believe her still? Yes, I did. Sure there were reasons not too but they paled in comparison to the reasons to believe her. Bringing my wings and chest up I slowed our momentum till I was hovering, “Can you fly?” she clacked her beak and swished her tail before nodding. “Okay…If you still need healing,” I might not come back, “Then please stop by my home.” Bente was peering up at me; green eyes watched me carefully for a few seconds more, before looking down with a shake of her head. The next words wouldn’t come at first as I gulped, stuck on what I had learned, and trying to contain my plan that was trying to jump overboard. “And tell everybeing about this, please Bente.” All I received was a nod, words seeming to fail both of us as I released her. I couldn’t help but feel wholly unprepared for the distant mountain as I let go of my new…Ally, of sorts. For lack of want for the worse reality I wanted her to be an ally. My herd was very capable. Watching the Gryphon clumsily fly left, into the northern reaches of Minotaria, and hopefully to my herd, I couldn’t help but wish I had fingers to cross. This felt like all sorts of wrong. Not just sending a injured, drunkenly flying hen into the open air space alone, or even sending her to my herd, that was a small concern oddly enough. It was what I was flying into that scared me the most. Warmth caught my attention as I stopped myself from scenting the wind after her retreating rump, my instincts not fully understanding the loss of my herd mates and probably looking for comfort in all the wrong places. I wanted her to live, not get torn apart by two pregnant mares. But this warmth trailing its way down my side took precedence. I was still bleeding…A trail through the sky and by default the ground it landed upon. Casting my gaze around the clouds I found them devoid of life, puffy, and deceivingly innocent. I didn’t believe it. Slowing my beating I lowered through a gap among them. And wow, Equestria still amazed me. It took my breath for a second anyway; my nerves wouldn’t stay down though, already they were on edge, more so than before with the clashing realty around me. If it looked nice it wasn’t always safe. I was paranoid that pegasis were hiding behind every cloud and mountain, the trees below me too, and seeing that there were no ponies under the clouds didn’t change my belief. This view may have made it hard to believe that I was in a dangerous country, but not impossible. Something had made those groves back at the mountains. Below me was a wide expanse of trees, that wasn’t the part that had amazed me. From this altitude I could see the rises and dip of the land before me, the colorful settlements dotting the vast expanses of virtually untouched nature. It was something I would see in National Geographic or the pictures of the past, surreal was the best word for it. And Paradise, that was still very accurate at the surface level. As I looked at the foreground, just beyond the lush canopy below was what appeared to be an orchard. My stomach growled insistently as I spotted the distant red on the perfectly parallel fruit trees. Just a bite couldn’t hurt… Shaking my head I moved on with my gaze. I needed a source of water…Farms had water…And ponies. Ponies that probably were fit, possibly armed, and definitely wouldn’t react well to a thief. Alicornism didn’t give me a ‘get out of jail free’ card, I’m sure if I pissed off the citizens enough I would get a warrant, bounty or whatever else just like any other being. And I didn’t want to see any ponies; my nerves couldn’t handle any more surprises. Assassin farmers wouldn’t surprise me at this point. No, I needed water and a safe place to land…The small town beyond the farm didn’t look safe either, going by the assumption that all ponies needed caution with approaching and my luck allowed for anything bad to happen. Murphy had my number it seemed. Really, who else gets assassins sent after them or captured by pirates, slave driving pirates at that?! Perhaps something closer then, some source of water had to be nearby for this canopy to stay so thick. No one was in the sky. Lowering myself closer to the canopy I smiled as a flash of blue greeted my eyes. A small gap in the branches showed an odd drooping tree and a water source. But caution was needed still, I squinted my eyes at the gap as I let myself drop. I would have to be very careful, Chrissy worked very hard on getting my feathers in place, and I was probably already in deep trouble for doing that lift with Bente. Dodging the branches I went down, marveling at the amount of wooden obstacles that fit in this space till I was forced to tuck my wings in and perch on a branch to travel lower. I watched the damp floor with an uneasy feeling, the encroaching shadows and darkness promised predators. But the pond was only a couple branches away, serene looking green pads floating, and the water as clear as a spring day. Nope, stop scenting the air. She is gone! I could have used a companion for my nerves at least, these instincts were like whispering voices in my head, and right now they wanted to find that hen…I ignored them, replacing them with curses at god. Landing with a squelch, I quickly swiveled my ears in the descending gloom, tense as the few calling avians hidden among the branches grew silent. But nothing appeared and soon they started up once more, high pitched chirping that was soon joined by the droning of dragon fly like insects. The only differences being that these ones had three sets of brightly colored wings and were fearless as they approached my still form to rest. Nothing popped out still, despite what my paranoia said. The willow-like tree at the far side of the pool stirred in the wind but nothing else moved. The wind held the scent of herbs, mostly foreign, but still very soothing. Moist undergrowth registered in my mind as mildew, the source hidden in the numerous trails coming from the muddy sides of the pool. Still, I waded in quickly, levitating my bag up as I rinsed my haunches in the pristine water, and of course watching the tree line attentively. As dragon flies danced from the disturbed water I almost relaxed. Little red streams shimmered across the surface, catching my eye, and further creating a sense of flowing peace. Then damp squishing steps echoed into my ears, the source as unknown as the cloud’s reflections on the water’s surface, and both my instincts and I agreed to hurry up. Channeling the healing spell I flexed and arched my neck, moving from one hip then the other as quickly as my magic would allow. It was on the second hip that I heard it…Or didn’t hear it to be more accurate. The steps that had traveled across the pond had ceased. Quiet descended for a second as I held my breath, neck stuck in a turned position, and knee deep in water. On my open flank’s side something cracked, followed by a whispered curse. Whipping my head from its vulnerable position at the same time I couldn’t tell if that was a word or a growl, but blue eyes looked back at me wide and unblinking as I finally gave in to the screaming of my instincts. Predator! Branches slapped and whipped me, covering the sound of a splash as I rocketed upward and away from the threat. Of course…Echo would be rolling his eyes at me. This had to be Everfree Forest since I could see the central mountain from here. Yet, I was more worried about the water than the predators then. At least I could kill or run from the beasts below me, I couldn’t do either with my current mission. My eyes wandered once more to the blue below me, seriously considering facing a predator rather than the princesses. What? You learn that the racist leaders you have to talk to about horrible topics kill ambassadors that bring up difficult news and see how you feel before you meet them! No, I needed to be strong, to appear invaluable beyond the whole ‘only hope for purebred Alicorns’ bit, which would probably be important to them since they hadn’t gotten with anybeing since…Ever, I think from what I heard. And they were expecting me! Several strong flaps and I cleared the clouds once more. Nothing followed me. Adding an increase in speed as the sense of urgency pounded in me I barreled forward at the speck of the mountain.The paranoia was back in full vengeance from the darkened paths around the river, well, and the words of Bente. Those didn’t help at all. The wind buffeted my face as I flew as fast I could. And my fast was very fast apparently; I hadn’t really tested this before, and then briefly wondered why I hadn’t. However that was quickly brushed aside, not changeable, and it was probably for the best in the long run. I wouldn’t have met Gennady if we hadn’t walked. Beating my wings actually quieted my instincts. Orchards, towns, and forests blurred momentarily, filling my veins with adrenaline at the knowledge that I could do this. The world seemed to disappear, and with it my concerns. I flapped hard and frequently against the suddenly strong winds that prevailed in the higher altitudes, not even feeling a chill like when I was on my deck. I didn’t think at all in that time, just feeling the sensations as I released my energy, and reveled in the mental image of my aetheratic channels overflowing with light. From the watering of my eyes to the erratic gusts that tried to enter my forward momentum, it was all so exhilarating. Warm updrafts would pass by under me at times trying to lift me as I turned around them , birds and other colored blurs that I didn’t linger on would squawk in alarm as I whipped by, and my heart thumped a steady beat to this feeling of speed. Not even out of breath or tired I felt like I was winning some race. All over I was strangely happy, light, and refreshed, even as the gray mass grew into focus. Slowing the rhythm of my beat I smiled absently, no thoughts really present as the bright blue regained detail. I felt like I could have done it for hours more but my reality was coming at me sooner than I had expected. And ponies too, there were ponies above the sparse clouds with me, they hadn’t been quite as noticeable when the world was a kaleidoscope. Chariots were almost frozen in midair as I went by them at a leisure pace, trying to ignore the cloth wearing unicorns in them that weren’t even complaining as the pegasi pulling them faltered and dropped slightly. I tried not to do the same as those drivers But they were making it very hard; I couldn’t even see the castle yet. Although I knew it must be close, somewhere below and ahead of me I supposed. The sights up here were very odd for me to take in. Yellow, purple, pink, and more feminine colors were present in the dresses that the mares wore. Their male counterparts matched them in sophistication with tuxedo tops of impeccable ebony and ivory, yet they didn’t wear the bottoms. Their bows matched the mare’s dresses; of course, I could practically smell the upper class aura coming off of them. All the pegasi pulling them or otherwise hanging around the incoming stream of traffic wore a form of armor. Some were silver, but most were a polished gold, and all looked to be an almost Greek or Rome inspired ensemble. Part of it covered their haunches, withers, while the rest of the armor consisted of a tufted helmet and metal horse shoes. The only part breaking the look was the dark collar pushing back on their wither armor. Their chariots made me think of Rome, looking almost exactly like what you would picture a horse drawn chariot to appear, except they were very decorative. What appeared to be coats of arms or house symbols adorned the sides of the shiny metal vehicles. I cocked my head as I passed some as it stayed aloft, even when the driver had trouble coordinating their wings. All of them must have been enchanted, it fit with their attitude. Thank goodness for safety features I guess. The chaos that I was witnessing already didn’t sit well with me. I had a feeling this was just the beginning of the Alicorn shock. According to everybeing in Equestria there shouldn’t have been me. I used to agree with that. But dooming a world where I could actually have a successful relationship, have ki-foals, and do amazing magical feats seemed a little hasty. Of course letting me buck the god in the face wouldn’t hurt…Hint, hint god. Speaking of a doomed world, I should probably land somewhere, I had to get to the castle, and stop ogling the racist’s magic. But that proved to be more complicated than I had originally thought. It didn’t take me long to eliminate landing in the castle grounds, the implication of just landing in their yard was beyond acceptable disrespect. Yet landing at the edge of Canterlot and making my way through town seemed too long and hard on my hooves. For even as I was thinking of my best route I was descending, down past the sparse covering of clouds and towards the common ground. Pausing to hover as I scratched my chin absently and considered the sight before me, it somehow suited the racists. Medieval Europe wasn’t any better…Which is what I thought of as the parallel of this city. Canterlot was certainly a capitol; it wasn’t shy about letting the world know either. The dramatic show of wealth that was expected for such a title was seen in the propensity for cobbled streets and a tall, wide wall made of white stone, and as if that wasn’t impressive enough it was bordered in gold leaf. Not just the impressive entrance arch greeted me, but pastel colored clothing I could see it from here told me Canterlot held the ponies that had wealth as well. No fishmongers or baking gryphons graced the streets, it was all equine, and a little strange to my senses after traveling. In fact, it set me on edge when I digested the reason why. Powerful ponies, my opposers from what Bente said, and they were all I could see. Keeping my ears forward, I slowed down even more, of course watching the wide eyed ponies with an equally cautious eye. Would they attack in broad daylight or were they of the sneaky variety? My thoughts were derailed as I saw a new reaction to my presence. One chariot was descending rapidly from the cumulus as the armored pegasis fell into a faint, dragging the cart with it, and several fans were levitating now as I scanned the frozen display of air traffic. Their eyes bore into mine, some of the braver mares were letting them traveling along my body. All of the attention was completely unwarranted, and more than a little much. I hadn’t done anything yet and this was how they reacted?! I wasn’t walking through the city, no way. Changing my course I flapped harder, forward, and past the ogling mares. I flew right into a whole new form of torture. Never had I thought of attention as torture before, but they made me feel like an object with their stares and excited whispers. It was clear where their thoughts were going as I flew over them. No being needed to stare at my undercarriage that long with half lidded eyes. Mares were really common here… And I missed my mares more than ever, but if they scared them off it might cause mass panic, still I was almost eager for that over the bedroom eyes. Look at the stallion right next to you lady! I’m sure most guys or girls wouldn’t mind being looked at with desire but I was freaked out inside then. The sounds of my possible attackers would be muffled by the excited crowd, as would the sight. My killers would most assuredly be an equestrian pony. And smelling them was out of the question. Jasmine, roses, and many more floral scents assaulted my nose. None of them was calming me in the slightest. Below me they flowed like one rainbow mass, gold armored guards marching along with the clamoring crowd. My pace was easy, ears were the very picture of ease, and my bags were lumpy but secure. Still it felt off, like I was the lady wandering towards the killer in the woods. Except here the woods was a bright white washed city out of the middle ages, and the killer’s hide out was the oddly jumbled looking white castle at the furthest part of the city. It ended in a cliff with a waterfall…Perfect for dumping dead bodies. Possible corpses aside, the Canterlot castle was a work of art. A slightly Picassoesque piece with the way the four towers took sudden ninety degree turns before going straight up, and there were several peaked chambers popping out of the stone home with no apparent symmetry. But the main chamber that they were sure to hold their courts in was clear as it sat in the center most point of the structure. As I left the city’s limit and flew over the long cobbled path leading to the castle gate flapping joined me. Stilling my reaction to fly faster, I first craned my head to see a squadron of armored pegasi rapidly flanking me. Grim lines under their helmets told me they were all business, as did the sheathed roman swords at their hips, but I only raised an eyebrow. Be cool. “G-good day sir,” the deep voice of the guard leading the formation spoke, sounding slightly winded as he accelerated to get parallel with my head. “Hello,” my voice seemed to quiet the crowd trailing below us. When nopony responded I asked my only concern I could verbalize. “Am I allowed to be flying in this area? I can walk if that is easier.” But I would rather fly. The stallion blinked and exchanged a wide eyed look with his companions as they got into a diamond formation around me, “Oh, no sir…May I ask for some privilege with yourpony?” I nodded slowly, trying to follow where this was going. More pegasi were rising to flock around the squadron. “You may have heard but several months ago we had a security breach,” Changeling protocols, “We have to follow the new protocol since then.” Called it… He was waiting for some sign that he could continue but all I could see in my mind was thousands of miniature Chrissy’s being sent flying, turning into green puddles as they hit trees and rocks, and I didn’t have polite words with that imagery stuck in my head. Breathing out to calm my instincts, reminding myself that this was more than thousands of lives, it was whole countries and many living families on the line. It must have been louder than I thought because the next thing I know, the captain of sorts was closing in, and growing some balls. “Sir,” I couldn’t find the words as I watched him enter my bubble, although the urge to bat him down did pop up briefly. “Please allow us to clear you before you enter her majesties grounds!” Sighing I looked him dead in the eye, “See, no green shine.” Shoving my anger down, I continued at a softer tone, “Anything else?” He was watching my eyes, a sweat drop forming, and his ears rapidly wilting as I didn’t sugar coat my eyes well enough it seemed. I couldn’t tell if it was the lack of green going over my eyes or the intensity of my eyes but he looked backwards, and I was reminded of Saddle Arabia’s other anti-changeling measure. Luggage checks… My heart started to race as I realized I didn’t have any mare in heat to distract this guard, nor any coins to bribe him, and clocking him wasn’t the best course of action. “Look at his flank!” The mare’s shout made my feathers rise midflight, pulling at odd angles as I fought to control my heart. Okay, I could work with that. My guard was losing focus and the will to continue the search; I was an Alicorn for crying out loud. For him it was probably the closest thing to talking to a god. “Let’s make this a easy procedure,” I glanced below, “I am not stopping to land when I am quite possibly late to a meeting I set three weeks ago and you don’t really think I’m a changeling.” I paused for effect, “Do you?” “His mane,” another voice whispered from one of the pegasis flying outside the diamond of guards, the tone was shocked and almost…Hopeful, and that was silly. The stress was already getting to me. “Of course not sir,” the white stallion exclaimed, sounding shocked that I would suggest it. “Exactly, glad to hear that.” Very glad, “Now I will save you the acrobatic work of searching my bag midflight if you don’t tell the princesses what is in there, deal?” He narrowed his eyes, frowning as he glanced at the ponies around him, all of which were watching me with perked ears. And he was in, “Deal.” For once I was grateful for the stereotypes I had learned, “Cake,” his frown slowly turned into a smile. Almost as if I had told a joke every pony around us started to giggle, some laughing, and I just shrugged. “It’s a surprise,” a mare’s voice called from the crowd. Nodding I focused on the destination once more, my feathers back in place and the captain breaking to the side to give me a little space. More questions flowed around the group, even some chariots adding to the strange procession, and I breathed deeply as I pictured my marefriends smiling faces. This was going to end.
Cake and Politics, Part 1.**** Canterlot Castle Princess Celestia My day had been rapidly going downhill, a fact that unfortunately wasn’t a new fact of late. But today it seemed especially so. Ever since afternoon court had started the redundant petitions had come out in full force. It was leaving me actually pondering if they had saved them all for this one afternoon. In the last two hours alone I had had no less than ten questions on pastry standards, two on hay standards, and one from a small filly on proper hay consumption. All of which could have been answered by their clients, bosses, the agricultural board, or in the filly’s case, her mother. This was stretching even my sense of disbelieve! However, I wasn’t complaining that they trusted and valued my thoughts…It was my job after all. But, sometimes, especially of late, I wished Luna got these questions instead. Of course, it was partially my fault that she didn’t, hadn’t, definitely still didn’t…Maybe. It was hard to say since I hadn’t spoken more than ten words to her in the last couple of days, and only slightly more than that the week before. Still, that was beside the point. Sharing the dimness our citizens occasionally experienced wouldn’t go unappreciated. It might even break her slump. Nothing else had helped her. Ari’s absence on the two week mark had been interesting to say the least of that fiasco. It was also around that time that her words slowed down to an obligatory trickle, ponies began talking as the change of mood flowed into her court, and I had started receiving the most dreadful questions. ‘Is Nightmare Moon returning?’ ‘Can’t you do something?’ And the answer was no on all accounts. Although she was my little sister she was her own pony and I held about as much sway as nightmare moon did over her now, namely none. Her feelings aside, the three week mark was here and that would change something, I hoped against all precedence that it would. If not improving her consonance then it might quiet the citizen’s unrest over the matter. Questions around Ari were just as common as questions on my sister’s health. Those would only increase with time as well… Yet, at this most fortunate moment I wasn’t being questioned on his home country, age, or some other inane fact they wished to know that I didn’t have knowledge of. We only knew he was taken from another world by a god, was then confused by said god, and held our intelligence in low standing as a result. Neither of us was going to admit that to our ponies. Celestial heat filled my core as the thought of his insults spurred my magic outward, a fact that was only noticed in the small beads of sweat that formed on the guards nearest to my throne, and the previously nervous colt that had just stepped before the five steps leading up to my throne. Now he was more than simply nervous, he felt the magic I had unwilling released and was unsure what he had done to cause it. His eyes darting across my face as I maintained the smile and clear eyes, they always assumed it was something they did. I took a deep breath in and focused on him once more, mentally chastising myself for ignoring the concern he thought needed my insight on. Noticing my full attention on him he stilled his tail and gulped. “Good afternoon Quiet Hooves. How may I may I help you this fine day?” And it was a fine day, the Canterlot weather team was showing off the full rays of my sun this summer afternoon. “Urm, I was wondering,” my current petitioner shifted his namesake hooves from side to side with nary a sound, looking around the room with wide eyes and splayed ears. “I mean, you would know,” mother, please bless me with your patience and understanding, “If there was a possibility, perhaps…” The aquamarine colt trailed off once more and I fought the sigh that was rising in my throat. “Do you…,” a red blush started up his neck, “Have any tips on courting?” Had I been drinking I felt sure I would have expelled it onto his face, for the moment I could only stare at the colt with a rigid smile stuck in place. And here I had thought only the mares were into that line of questioning…Actually perhaps they had just gotten more elaborate in their method of questioning. I could see quite a few noble mares tittering behind fans, their eyes clearly shinning from curiosity. “Is that truly your question Quiet Hooves?” The warmth rose to turn his muzzle and splayed ears an interesting purple red, all but confirming the truth of my suspicions. “I can assure you there are plenty of books on the topic and an audience with Princess Candace would glean you more information for your situation than my words could.” His neck straightened as he cleared his throat loudly. Several fillies in the crowd were whispering to each other now, a fact that I couldn’t help but smile wider at. That could be his reason. Doors opened and closed in the halls as his struggling bravado met my even gaze. Quiet Hooves had heard the as well, his ears swiveled their direction. But he didn’t back down. “B-but I was hoping to hear your tips since, uh,” his pause occurred as my herald narrowed his eyes in the colt that was here for ‘personal advice’, “Well, you had to have done something to catch his interest. And I was wondering what you do to get their -his- attention?” Perhaps he truly wanted to impress some fillies now that he was free having an obligatory herd. However, Loud Script would have to screen my petitions more closely; this appeared to be just another Ari based question. One that was based off of one of the many theories surrounding Ari, they had developed as a result of our tight lipped status on any information regarding the Alicorn stallion. Many believed that I had found the stallion and ‘wooed’ him into visiting our country, contrary to the impossibility of that fact. With only one day away from court and that day being filled with signing paperwork and attending meetings I would never have time to even find him, much less court him. “Quit Hooves I see your intention,” flicking my eyes to the two fillies that were now watching the colt’s flank with interest, and back to the sincere colt before me. “With my years of experience and my young niece so far away I can see your reasoning in asking me. However I am afraid most of my ‘tips’ would be rather outdated for today’s times.” A few giggles came from the crowd at my statement, most likely assuming that I was simply keeping a tight muzzle. “I-I see.” His gaze went to the yellow carpet that his soundless hooves scuffed it. But I meant my words. No stallion was expected to fend off other stallions to secure their mare, or mares as my father’s time had seen, nor were any mares seen as mare like or even liable to heed the call of their instincts and follow through with mare challenges over the limited stallions available. The ponies of today were much too…Subdued. It was a very peaceful time compared to the ‘good old days’ as my sister put it, however it wasn’t bad. No, our society had progressed far more than I expected. Even if at the cost of Luna and I becoming among the few that could recall those times of conflict, that had access to such genetics that bore those impulses that the time of the Great war and following century held in importance. That was worth it though, not only for the happiness I saw around me once more, but for the arrival of Ari. My heart sped up, the fact unnoticeable on the outside, even by my nearby guard ponies. “So, you don’t have any tips that might help me? Even the ones that you used to get Ari’s attention?” At least his question wasn’t on how many tiers of cake was standard or some such pastry related question. “As I said, none of the rules of courtship I once followed would help you attract a filly’s attentions.” A smile grew somewhat as I continued, “The best advice I could think to give you would be to be yourself.” His expectant expression fell, as did many of the noble ponies watching me closely. “It would be the wisest course of action in my opinion.” A sigh came from the colt and my heart went out to him, but I had no better advice. Too many relationships failed from false expectations, the same advice I had passed onto my niece and the former captain of my guards, and they were happily married. Quiet Hooves held his tongue in silence as the room waited for his acceptance of the advice, the hallway growing louder with whispers as the ponies behind the doors waited for their turn. And somewhere out there was Ari. It was a common topic I went to these days, the only Alicorn stallion, albeit a misguided one. The prospect of breaking his foundation of lies made my stomach churn with butterflies. But, my butterflies soon disappeared when I thought of all the positive change I had been responsible for, it hardened my believe that I could definitely steer him in the right direction, get to the bottom of the god’s ploy, and hopefully gain a stallion out of the whole debacle. He was sure to apologize after he heard what was really going on! Buzzing whispers grew outside, the hallway erupting in hooves and doors in movement. Quiet Hooves, the nobles in attendance, and my guards all turned back to the set of doors. My Herald stepping back from the door he had stood beside, lest it burst open, and somehow I held that expectation that it would from the racket outside. It was quite possible that anything could happen with the way life had been going. And the fact that a rabble appeared to be rising outside was not outside the realm of possibility at the moment, it only brought forth the urge to bury my face in my hooves. What now? Excited voices competed amongst one another in a rare show of break from the Canterlot decorum, and my ears truly perked as it grew in volume. No mask needed for my curiosity. Heads turned to watch the flock of pegasi descending down at the gate and ears swiveled back at the colorful mob of ponies that followed the flock of pegasi. They were coming inside the castle like that? Not that I didn’t long to ‘break their masks’ as Lulu put it, but I knew I wasn’t the cause of this unrest. Or at least I saw no cause for it. The weather was right on schedule. My aetheratic connection to the sun was as strong as ever and it was still an appropriate time to have the sun up. As the obvious surroundings failed to enlighten me to the state of my ponies, I tried to review the morning’s paper in my mind. It was sketchy, overshadowed by the many questions I had heard, and what I did recall held no answers. The weather was as I said and thought it to be, sunny and following the summer’s schedule to a ‘T’. Gossip was tame this week, with only several mares being called out for wearing chartreuse when magenta was in this week. It was a column I only perused for the sake of nipping a problem in the flank before it grew to gala sized proportions and became a court issue. I had never been more grateful for the necessity of wearing only the official crowns, pedatyls, and shoes. The politics of fashion was nearly as intimidating as the reality of international politics. I had enough to fret over without keeping an up to date wardrobe, like what had my ponies in a tizzy. The un-noble like noise coming from the entrance hall made Quiet Hooves impossible to hear if he did have any further questions on love, a topic that my sister would be the first to tell everypony I had no business talking about. The inability to continue the questioning was but a small mercy in the face of what I could only describe as a discordian style mess that sounded to be approaching the court. Surely it was for me, the problems always ended up here, Ponyville and Appaloosa holding second and third place in that respect. Now chariots were arriving. Louder and louder they grew, my solar guards trying in vain to shush what sounded like all of Canterlot coming my way. I steeled my nerves, praying that it wasn’t related to my student’s new independent research. Reminding her to not abuse her liberties as my student didn’t happen often, but my law hadn’t even escaped her and that had led to a visit from the apple family which all parties agreed would never happen again. Had I misjudged her control once more? Voices ceased as almost as soon as they reached a crescendo behind the closed doors, shocking the audience and Quiet Hooves into silence as well. Doing a once over of myself I found nothing wrong. Yet I still had the nervous colt before me, twiddling his small bowtie as he glanced between the deathly silent hallway and me. As if to ask if should continue. One problem at a time, “I’m sorry Quiet Hooves. I am afraid I haven’t any better advice for you, although if you were so inclined I would recommend a trip to the Crystal Empire. My niece is quite skilled at the art of love and would love to have a private meeting over your particular situation.” She would also go overboard if she fell in love with your predicament. “However, I would highly recommend approaching the filly or fillies and asking them out on a date first, as yourself of course,” the fillies that had been ogling him blushed as I caught their eyes. “I think you would find the trip to be unnecessary.” Colts these days were certainly more fragile than when I was a filly, if a colt liked you then they just said so. No need for fear or hoof hopping. But now he needed assurance that the fillies wouldn’t scorn him, and that the world wouldn’t end with a ‘no’. “T-thank you,” his eyes found theirs and I couldn’t help but grin as the blush spread to them. They quickly found mine as he burned bright red. Sensing the end of his question, one of my guards made her way around the outside of the room to check on the status of my antechamber or what was left of it. “Ah, I mean, thank you for your time Princess Celestia. I am most honored to receive such wise advice from your highness!” It came out as a rushed, almost apologetic garble of rehearsed words that made my real smile wane somewhat. Right, etiquette hadn’t changed much in the last millennia. As he bowed the door cracked open, but it wasn’t my guard that exited. “You are most welcome Quiet hooves,” the fake smile hurt a little, “I wish you a good day and luck with those fillies.” He remained bowed, ‘showing his respect’ as my father and various other council members had explained and hammered in long ago, but that mattered little to me. I knew they respected me without bowing; there was endless ways they made that fact clear. My eyes had trouble staying with the current petitioner as what appeared to be the city guard’s captain, Captain Strong Shield, which came trotting briskly over to Loud Script. My eyes followed his seeming glowing expression as everypony was trying to inconspicuously watch their exchange as well, even the bowed colt before me. No pony noticed as I leaned forward slightly to try and catch the words that were making my herald practically prance in place. It must be good news then. “You may rise,” Quiet Hooves rose and stepped to the side, sitting precariously on the edge of the filled bench to watch the antics. My guardsmare didn’t join the captain. Where was my guardsmare and why wasn’t Strong Shield patrolling the Canterlot skies with his squadron? My attention shifted from the now excited captain that stepped back to guard the cracked door, ready to push it open, to the even more enthused herald that was practically hyperventilating as he tried to speak. As if to further pad my curiosity he opened his mouth and nothing came out. His wide eyes flicked from his open mouth to me to the door, back to me, and finally to Strong Shield. Something akin to horror was taking a hold of his eyes as he could only manage a squeak. He hadn’t looked this panicked since his first day. Not a whisper broke the scene as he all but shoved the captain through the crack and slammed the door with his magic. The thud echoed around the chamber, causing my guards hovering outside the windows to peek in and the remaining Solar guards around my throne to look at each other with slightly raised brows. As a unit their eyes asked me to give the word for them to help, but I raised a hoof at their uncertainty. It couldn’t be a threat; those either tended to barge in, rain obscene liquids onto my coat, or impersonate my family. We were still free of screaming and chocolate rain so I was pretty confident it was good news of some kind, despite the disappearance of my guardsmare. That would be explained soon, Loud Script was just nervous, and that meant it was something big. Perhaps it was a fertility cure for the stallions had been discovered by accident, Twilight may have found the cause. Oh, that would lighten my heart tremendously! Not that the amendments hadn’t provided hope but finding the cause for such a trend and subsequent cure was more prevalent in my mind. And in the minds of everypony really, the ministry of health had been working hundreds of hour’s overtime since the news first went public, even more once Ari’s suggestions had come in. The urge to open the door and deal with the ponies directly was rising as only muffled voices reached my ears through the door that was too effective at blocking out noise for my current taste. The sounds rose and fell in pitch as different stallions spoke, leaving my tail itching to express my anxiety. Eventually something happened. A deep baritone spoke clearer as a creak started, reaching our ears as the door was enveloped in a familiar golden field, and I resisted the urge to look at my horn as I knew I wasn’t a foal anymore. Somepony else was opening the door. “I still don’t understand why you have to announce me.” Neither did I, this male didn’t sound like any noble I had heard recently or any ambassador that I had met before, yet he had nearly enticed a mob from the sounds of it. The suspense was killing me. Loud Script piped up, clearly uncomfortable with the moment, but still digging in his hooves at the petitioner’s break of protocol. I smiled at his words despite my frustration, “No, no, no! It is my job! A-and, and…Now just tell me your proper title and I can-.” “There is no need,” a clop echoed into the court, “They know I am coming.” My heart raced as the mysterious male spoke the last part. My mind immediately went to Ari; hope fluttering in my stomach as he was the only one that came to mind, no ambassadors were set to arrive till the fall. And they clearly had magic; the only one I was expecting with magic was Ari. It swung open under his magic. Just in time I had straightened my posture and steeled my composure, before my widening eyes was Ari. Wearing only some wrappings and a lumpy saddle bag he stood in the doorway in a state of wonder. He was tall, taller than me, and most definitely taller than all of the ponies around him. My eyes were still stuck on him as he slowly entered the court. No matter what eyes flickered to me or what my mind whispered at me I could only watch him gaze around the chamber with big eyes. Yes, the letter came to my mind, but his insults paled under the crescendo of emotion I felt at the sight of another new Alicorn, never mind a stallion. His eyes were turning back from my guard mare, who had fainted in the hallway from the look of the fan levitating in front of her muzzle by a concerned noble mare, then back to look at me. Blue, that was all I saw for a second as our gazes met. A deep blue that spoke of troubled thoughts and shocked expectations. It was expected, I knew he would be confused…And, shocked, we were both shocked. Those blue orbs held mine as they were widening, just as his nostrils were. My own urge to scent the air rose as I saw his obvious interest, any other time I would have thought he was taking in the scents of the room, but he held my gaze as he did the deliberate action. I was stronger than that…And yet I couldn’t help it. The urge to breath forced me to. Gulping in deep breathes as the air I had been holding escaped me with a ‘whoosh’, the result intake filled my nose with his spicy scent as it traveled down the aisle to me on a breeze from the open doors held by the enraptured onlookers. Sooner than I wanted his eyes broke contact with mine, traveling over my form as I fought to stay still for the inspection. My instincts were at war with my reality. I couldn’t bare my wings for his inspection or inspect him quite as boldly as I wished to as a princess, I had to be collected, and show him just how intelligent I really was. Ari thought of me as dim in his letter. That thought proved enough to calm my hormones, a splash of cold water on his otherwise interested inspection. Was he really interested in this ‘dim’ mare? His wings weren’t flared up to impress me, his ears weren’t relaxed in their position of interest, and he held his body so tensely that I could see his muscles flex. Yet he dared not move from his spot in front of the open door. Separately I might have assumed he was simply polite or coltish but together it painted a different picture. Fear, the nostril flaring wasn’t interest at all. With my spirit plummeting, I figured Inspecting Ari in return couldn’t hurt. He probably wouldn’t even notice in the world the lies the god had trapped him in. Beyond his eyes and masculine muzzle he was a dark black in both coat and mane, no undertones of chocolate were present, although he did look a little battered. That readily apparent fact made my stomach clench, matching the wide eyed looks he was receiving from many mares. All clearly wondered who would challenge an Alicorn stallion. My father had all beings tripping over themselves to keep in his good standing. Yet, those were bandages wrapped around his forelegs, all the way up his pastern and doubling back around his knee. Further enforcing the battered look he showed the room of dressed up elite, his chest and apparently under carriage held a criss-cross pattern of bare skin that had me puzzled. Those weren’t patterned after any paws I knew of…Unless…It wasn’t an attack he had suffered, but a disease he had acquired here. Yes, that could make sense, made more sense actually, especially since he wasn’t from this world. His defences would be different. I had heard of mange in Diamond Dogs before, mites in Gryphons, but neither of those conditions caused such unusual markings. It was strips of fur missing, not patches seen in mange, and from what I could see his exposed skin wasn’t red with irritation. No disease left it looking so perfect… Maybe it wasn’t from this world, they could be very old after all, and his fur could have just not grown back properly. Yes, that would make sense, the most sense anyway. It was a rationale I could stomach until I asked him about them. Then I would have to ask about his lack of certain features. Unlike his other features I had listed, which all were within the expectations of a pony, he had certain oddities about his body…Despite Luna’s noting of them and those two ponies confirmation of them his key features still didn’t quite click. Like looking at an abstract painting for the first time I was thrown off guard by the sheer contrary nature of his species compared to his features. Most evident was his mane that hung limply on his neck and withers, not even showing a flicker of magical output. Which made my composure slip in the form of the corners of my eyes starting to scrunch. I looked over his form quickly once more, and found exactly what I had first seen. He was clearly well fed based off of his musculature and he was every bit an adult. Yet, he was as limp as a foal in both his mane and tail, and appeared even more foal like as my perusal lead my eyes to his bare flank. It bore no cutie mark just as my sister had described, a fact I will admit some doubt to as I had never seen a blank flanked adult before. As if to complete the strange package that was Ari, his equally limp tail was oddly cut short while his mane remained long. Usually stallions either went all short or all long in their mane cuts, such as the military based ponies and male models for opposing extremes in the styles. The mane style must be from his home world as well… Luna was right…My jaw almost dropped at my admittance, my mask returning. Luna! It hit me like a buck to the chest. My sister would want to meet him and that he had said he would be meeting with both of us. He was standing here waiting to meet us and I was eyeing him up like I had never seen a stallion before! If I could have sunk down and covered my face I would have. The eyes of every noble were on me even as I tried to still my racing heart. The news would have a hay day over my behavior, more gossip would spread, and the questions…I suppressed the groan, only showing a wide smile at the patient stallion. His nostrils flaring again didn’t help the matter, nor did his suddenly active tail. I knew I should have sped up the production of a second throne. Rounded Stone’s pride had been important then, but we needed a united front now! My eyes strayed from twitching tail of Ari to grand clock on the back wall. I still had a little over an hour left before court was officially over and that left me at a crossroads. Did I talk to him here? One look over the shuffling crowd that had spilled into the court room, hugging the walls, and filling up the hall was enough to decide for me. Court would end early, not only did Ari appear uncomfortable with the ponies pressing in on him from all sides, my presence especially if the signs were what I believed they were, but Luna would be more at ease if the nobles weren’t watching us as well. Her royal ‘we’ was hard enough to break in private let alone in public. I could only hope he didn’t hold her rash comment against her still, we didn’t need that on top of a fear of me. Glancing quickly to my right I caught the eye of Quick Thrust, one of my fastest solar guards, and coincidently the last guard to wake my sister earlier than her appointed time. “Wake my sister.” A quick nod escaped him, only his eyes betraying the fear such a task produced. My guards had recovered from their shock, as had every pony else, including Ari. His eyes still watched me, yet not quite as shocked as before, and a flat line on his muzzle told me all needed to know about his mental state. Damage control time, I had been letting my control slip, my eyes wandering over his body in such an obvious manner that no royal should be caught doing. “Good Afternoon Ari,” by some chance I didn’t let my nerves butcher his foreign name as it rolled off my tongue with practiced ease. Everypony hung on my words, eyes turning to the stallion, and unaware of my struggle. I hadn’t been idle the past weeks; it wouldn’t do if I blew a fuse before he could explain his comments. And several facts needed time to digest, such as the implications Azure Heights had left with us. The implications appeared to be false, at least if his lone presence held true to his relationship status, which I hoped so. Although my niece claimed to love Shinning Armor knowing she would outlive I didn’t see that as fair, when he was withering with age she would look not any older than she had on their wedding night. I couldn’t see an Alicorn with a normal pony anymore, not that I would stop her heart. It would just take her longer to realize that fact. He nodded his head in return, looking at the ponies that were frozen with a raised eyebrow, “A good day to you as well Celestia.” Silent gasps started from some of my more stringent council members as he stepped forward slightly, not addressing me with my title, and furthering the ‘disrespect’ by not bowing. I only could smile wider at his familiarity, somewhat relieved that he felt comfortable enough to drop the pretences that royalty was expected to maintain. If only I could so bold. He paused as a small wave of scandalized whispers started. But several of the braver pegasi stallion guards stepped forward and gave him shooing motions with their wings and big smiles. My mask almost slipped as he laughed, “I see that it is…Encouraged, dare I say okay if I approach the throne then?” A hush came over the room as they several nobles tensed, a few crouching. “Yes,” one of my feathers twitched disobediently as I looked at slight curve happening on his muzzle. An errant breeze brought his spicy scent to my muzzle once more, my muscles loosening at his easy smile. It held my eyes as my instincts started whispering again and I almost forgot to continue, only the words of the letter collaring my excited instincts now. He thought I was stupid already, no need to feed the lie. “Please-,” a shudder seemed to rack the castle for a second, and I cursed my sister in that moment. Not aloud of course, no need to be rude. Ari didn’t know what to make of the noise that echoed from hall behind me. A clamor of hooves clattered down towards us as metal met marble, under the clatter a panicked Quick Thrust was trying to speak, and my sister’s faint old Equus reached me. My possible suitor didn’t hear the voices evidently as he was paused with a back hoof poised in the air, ebony wings were half unfurled as if to take flight, and ears held pricked in the hallway’s direction. Raising my voice above the noise behind my throne I steeled my disappointment in his change as I addressed the stallion, “My apologies Ari, I sent a guard to wake my sister and she seems to have taken your arrival with a great deal of…Enthusiasm.” I watched with a restrained sigh as his wings tucked in, very slowly they twitched as the tenseness locked in his eyes remained glued to the corridor with what I swore was an eye twitch and mutter. But as I blinked I didn’t see any sign it had been there at all. His leg didn’t lower to the floor though. “Did you have a pleasant trip?” I spoke over the din of metallic clip clopping, hoping to distract him before his nerves got the better of him. Mentally adding the question that I was dying to know, just what had the god told you to get you so nervous? The noise of what sounded to be my sister and half a squadron of armored guards approaching grew quiet, as if she had felt my earlier mental face hoof and was composing herself. I hoped she was. We didn’t want to scare him away, an act that wouldn’t be difficult at this rate, and there wasn’t a second chance or other ‘fish in the sea’ as fillies said now a days. He was the only one. Keeping his hind leg perched in a lazy hold; he plastered a smile on his muzzle as he went to answer me, his ears held in a tense upright position. I wanted to frown at his attempt to hide his nerves, at his nerves in general. We weren’t as scary as this god might have him believe. “Oh, I am sure you know how it is, beautiful views,” I swore he looked me over as he said that, “and good weather for days.” His eyes didn’t match the curve of his lips, the tips of his ears twitched faintly even in the quiet of court, and his feathers were still out of place. My observation must have been noticeable, “Oh, sorry about this,” he turned his head to his wings, “My startle reflex is a little strong is all. In a moment or so they should go down.” Startle reflex…Odd bald patches, and covered forelegs…Oh, it suddenly clicked. A possibility besides the god putting fear in him, that whatever had happened to him must have left a bigger impact than the surface level bald patches. It made my stomach settle at least. Yet my intuition said there was more to it than some PTSD. Like Discord’s sweetly worded lies his words betrayed his meaning, they didn’t flow in the easy going attitude he was aiming for with the smile…But, my sister could have really spooked him, in this moment or in a previous one, she wasn’t always forward about everything…And the crowd did seem to hold his attention more than I did. A fact I struggled not to ruffle my feathers at that, my internal voice piping up at the prospect that his many signals of fear could have been unrelated to my presence. That he really was single since no ordinary mare would be able to compete with an Alicorn stallion’s lifespan. And that he would be very open to me in a more private setting. My day court, castle, and presence were all new to him, that was all, and something had traumatized him at one point. That was all this was. He was simply off guard, “Do not fret Ari; I assure you that no offence is taken.” I said with the softest smile I could produce. Although you could stop flexing your flank, put down the hoof, and step closer. “As I was saying, feel free to approach,” the restraints of the noble’s expectations closed in tighter on my posture, the expected words hard to produce as my mind wanted to ease his discomfort somehow; I needed to get away from them for all of us to really talk. “When Princess Luna arrives we shall adjourn the day court to have the meeting you booked with us over a fortnight ago.” At that he smiled wider, feathers dropping into place, and eyes shining. Many noble mares and stallions exchanged glances, assuring me with there would be multiply editions of the paper tonight. And night court was still to come… My poor sister, I could imagine her turmoil. Stiffly he nodded, stepping forward even as his whole body seemed to protest with its initial jerky steps. Black ears tracked the pegasi guards at his blank flank, his nose twitched faintly, and the corners of his eyes appeared taunt from here. My eyes tracked his slow progress, noting how he never relaxed his muscles, and put his forehooves down softly as if he was afraid to ruin the quiet that the normally gossiping nobles usually struggled with. Appreciation of their silence aside, I could identify a mask quite easily and my otherworldly visitor was clearly wearing one, and badly. Of course it could also be PTSD, but that was still my assumption, he hadn’t said anything to indicate it. Still, I had seen foals with better poker faces. Bandaged hooves were just a step from climbing the small set of stairs leading up to my golden seat when he paused, ears going forward as Luna’s voice came closer, clearer to the quiet court room. “Keep up!” There was the little sister I knew, “We must not leave our guest waiting.” Her slump appeared to have been forgotten as my guard had to break into a fast trot to reach the door first. With Quick Thrust holding the door for her, Luna and her wide eyed chamber guards entered without any announcement. Loud Script having forgotten his job as the magnitude of this event had taken hold of him as well. A luxury I couldn’t afford with the magnitude of aftermath this historic event would produce. It was only by sheer will that I had not broken my composure to either bare my wings for his inspection as my inner voice reminded me would be best when meeting this new male or alternatively correct him for his presumptuous previous insults before. His own restrained interest and nervous air had helped my instincts tremendously. Now I was caught in a crossroads, unsure as to how this meeting would end. She had called him fake to his muzzle and entered his mind when he apparently did not need her services. Not that he knew about them, but he surely knew the transgression by now. A silent gasp seemed to hold the room. Both Ari and my eyes met with Lulu’s as she froze mid-step, her own blue eyes widening nearly as much as Ari’s did. Somewhere a choking sound was made. But my eyes were locked on my sister’s eyes, silently pleading with her to not mess up this encounter with an emotional outburst. Her blue eyes didn’t see me. Nostrils flared on both parties as they showed about the same restraint to my mirth and regret. A scowl threatened to break through as they began a slow circle and forced Luna’s trailing guards to move with them. Luna had more of my sympathy as she had just woken up to the news that our otherworldly stallion she had clearly been interested in was finally here and had walked into a court room so packed it reminded me more of a hoofball stadium in Fillydelphia than Canterlot’s esteemed court room. She didn’t hold much weight in his insults. As if they had coordinated the introduction they both proceeded to initiate an inspection of the other, Black and blue wings beginning to unfurl as they began the oldest displays of interest and power. My own voice pestered me to join and twitched my feathers as I watched them. Internally I was cursing my inability to join in under the eyes of the nobles. The nobles were mostly watching the event with awe, some unhinging their jaws at the wingspan of the stallion. But my worries were only expanding at the sight. Was he more interested in her than me? Had he not been restraining himself but didn’t find me attractive? Did the god ruin my chance with him? Shaking my head at the thoughts I reminded myself that they were probably both overwhelmed and I knew nothing about him, he could have had a mare and foal waiting for him that he was snatched away from. He could be in a relationship. Their display did bug me despite that reminder. It was still uncouth, improper, and so much more that Lulu had never cared for. She had chosen, freely, to take up mother’s mantle, especially knowing that the most petulant of nobles were diurnal. Although she wanted more ponies to enjoy her time she didn’t quite enjoy all ponies, a fact that had even the most eccentric nobles enduring long waits to see me. The fact still held true as my ears heard the hooves of some of them now. Dozens of delayed appointments with various council members flashed in my mentally constructed schedule, all of which were slightly different shades of the elite eccentrics; unfortunately they were none of the types that favored night court. And the ivory horn that proudly jutted upward in the shuffling crowd made my head hurt in realization. Of course he would have heard. I agreed with my sister on some things and this foal of a colt was one of them. The fact being that he possessed all the maturity of a foal and only slightly more restraint than one. But he was simply the most extreme of his lineage...So far, I didn’t doubt the possibility of whatever poor mare was paired with him would bear another one. He was fertile, a fact that I didn’t need to inquire about. He had announced it to me in court. An act that was one of many that forced me to remind myself what his family had done had been integral to many historical significant events in Equestria’s history and at the time honoring them with more privilege had seemed to work to calm them. His family had always been rather loud in their complaints. “AUNTIES,” the exclamation captured every pony’s attention as the crowd parted, Luna twitched an eye at the confident form approaching from the rapidly clearing path, her inspection our guest forgotten as she realized who was approaching. Meanwhile Ari observed us all with a raised eyebrow and fading blush. The meaning in his blush didn’t reach me as Blueblood tossed his mane and shot Ari a smile. Faust, help my patience. "
Cake and Politics, Part 2.**** Canterlot Castle Princess Celestia I wasn’t perfect and naming the blood’s honorary princes had been one of my more foalish moves in retrospect. A title that he was sure to bring up in a bid to get close to Ari; this was just what I needed. “OH!” The horror was crept onto my features before I could catch it as the white stallion rapidly closed in on my future stallion. “You are Prince Ari I presume? I am Prince Blue Blood.” Not even missing a beat he turned to me just as my mask returned, although he also clearly missed the ruffled frowns on both my sister and Ari’s muzzles. “Aunty,” I fought the wince as he butchered the word in his usual manner when he wanted something, “Aren’t you going to call off day court? We have a very important guest with us.” WE, US…I could practically feel the question being drilled into me by my fellow Alicorns as I mentally baulked over the assumption. When had I invited him? His level of familiarity was…hard to handle. Keeping a smile on my muzzle I replied, “Right after my sister arrived,” said mare straightened under my glance and tucked her wings in with a frown and pointed glance at our ‘nephew’ and guest. I couldn’t agree more, there was no way we could get to the bottom of this confusion if he was present. Ari already wasn’t comfortable with the colt and he hadn’t even been here for five minutes. Turning back to the enraptured ponies I addressed them, “Please understand that I am deeply sorry for all the ponies that came out to speak with me today, but as Prince Blueblood was right to assume Princess Luna and I had a meeting set with Prince Ari, and we have much to discuss still.” Simple, polite, and official enough that everypony understood that only Lulu and I would be seeing Ari. Only some grumbled in reply, as most were standing in an instant and allowed the somewhat forced end to Day court and subsequent escort out to the antechamber. Luna’s chamber guards mixed with my Solar guards to form a protective formation around our group. And Blueblood had somehow slipped in, cozying up to a tense Ari. Standing with a shuffling of my wings, I took the lead, and the group followed with only Blueblood chattering on as we made our way to the dining hall. Doors rapidly closed and opened as Ari gazed around in appreciation, his ears swiveling in interest at the banners hanging by the windows, and ignorant to the frown on my sister’s muzzle. Soon enough the journey ended, the ceiling opening up before us, and once more it impressed the world traveler. I wonder what his castle is like if this made his jaw drop. Discarding that thought I focused on the more important problem, getting rid of-. “So where are you from out on the Endless Sea Ari?” Taking an uncertain look at the seat cushion Ari sat, looking over at us with a panned head as I tried to think of the perfect cover story. Ari was too fast, “Sorry?” The smile never faltered though, “I am afraid I have never been on an endless sea,” he looked between Lulu and I as we brought our rumps into the seats across from him, “I mean, every sea ends, right?” Blue Blood just blinked rapidly before sitting next to Ari. “Yes, I suppose so.” He concurred slowly, his eyes already scanning our otherworldly guest for a hint at which rumor was closest to the truth. None had guessed interplanetary travel yet. Before he could wind up again the chefs sprung into action, coming out of the staff door with trolleys of the best food for Alicorns, cake, cakes of all sorts. “Sister, truly,” I smiled widely at her questioning tone, the irritation only showing in my eyes as I let them crinkle. Lulu looked at the sweets before her, raising a slice in her magic, and glancing to Ari. “Must thou have cake for dinner?” I kept my smile even as our nephew promptly nodded in agreement while the darkest member seated watched on with twitching ears. “Actually, cake is perfect for such a meeting.” I thought so. It would also test a theory I had about his mane, the idea that he might not have enough sugar in his diet. Which I know sounds ridiculous, sugar was practically addicting to Alicorns, but it couldn’t hurt to get some magic in that stallion on the off chance I was correct. It was very possible that he may not use his mane to output extra magic at all, but it would still make me feel better to see some calories in him. Those bags he carried didn’t look big enough to carry even one day’s worth of food a stallion would need. “Aunty Luna?” Our ivory nephew looked to his frowning aunt with an betrayed look, apparently having missed her realization. If he didn’t get his way he would leave, it was just the way he was. Our guest watched with a weak smile as the colt turned to me. I simply smiled and turned to Ari, opening my mouth to ask the nervous stallion what his favorite cake was. Somepony had to break the ice and small risk free facts like that were perfect till we bored our nephew away. With his attention span it shouldn’t take long. But he was also rude, “Have some cake aunty,” the slice of white cake in light blue magic blocked my muzzle and the frown that grew as I was ignored. Remember the etiquette…He is just a colt, a small, immature colt. You are mature, in control, and will make a great first impression. “So Prince Ari…,” the colt trailed off in shock once more. Ari had ignored him, looking to my sister with a considering look and smile before politely taking the cake she had offered him. Her muzzle was the opposite of what I would have wanted to my dismay. Blue lips drawn and tense after the exchange as a familiar glazed look entered her eyes. Her fear of our father’s temper was once well known and was back in full force since her transgression. I was sure in her mind she was waiting for his explosion, one that I didn’t see happening. Blueblood had everypony on edge. Did he say something? I turned back to the males and frowned inside. Of course the stallions didn’t notice my sister’s troubled state as they seemed have caught each other’s eye and was squaring up to the other with a much less intimate inspection. An uncharacteristically serious looking expression on the ivory prince as it appeared we had missed something as well, whatever he had uttered had drawn Ari’s attention. Feathers were rising once again and once more I worried at what could have happened to him for the fear to be this strong. It certainly wasn’t from the shorter, unassuming colt beside him. And I assumed it wasn’t from myself, although I was mildly annoyed at Ari’s insults I hadn’t informed him of that yet. The urge to ask was rising, in fact, I was surprised no had asked him yet. Instead both my sister and I were watching the rare event take place, not able to recall ever seeing a frown on the colt’s face. Luna didn’t seem inclined to share what I had missed, nor did the equally watchful guards. However our nephew was oblivious to his audience it seemed and continued staring into blue eyes, now with an innocent pan of his head. Not at all sensing the tension that both my sister I could feel coming off Ari in bright illuminated signs to my mind. Perhaps it was time he left. Several coughs and creaks echoed in the tense silence and effectively broke it, our nephew blinked rapidly in response, frowning before a wide smile returned to his muzzle. “Ahm, as I was saying, Prince Ari-,” a long exhale went down into Blueblood’s muzzle and made him pause. Muscles flexed on Ari, feathers ruffled in a small breeze as staff peeked out from the kitchen door. “Perhaps you didn’t catch my words when I told the announcing pony but I have no title that is relevant in this country.” Eyes met once more, Ari’s blue eyes seeming to have darkened even as the nerves seemed to have dissipated as they finished their once over again and locked eyes, “And on the topic of titles.” Blueblood blinked, stance faltering at the change of topic. “Your title is ‘prince’ from what I gathered.” His white chest expanded with his ego, eyes twinkling as Ari let his eyes wander over his body again, settling on the spotless barrel with a raised eyebrow. “Yet, I am confused as to why you hold that title,” slowly the proud look on Blue Blood’s muzzle dropped and their eyes met again, “Since everything I have heard across the continent and beyond,” Blueblood’s eye twitched to my surprise, “Has involved Princess Luna, Celestia, or Cadence.” Something flashed in Blue Blood’s eyes at the end, an emotion that was unfamiliar to me and was gone in a quick blink with Ari’s next words, the target feeling to have been thrown my way. “Never have I heard of a prince or any non-Alicorn royalty.” Luna was gulping down the goblet before her to cover her smile as our nephew tossed his mane. I gulped down a mouthful of the water, almost wishing for the nervous stallion again. How was this going to show him I was smart, especially with Blueblood as the representative of my past decisions? I wasn’t going to stop this though, recognizing that this was the most genuine expression I had seen on Ari’s muzzle since he came. And he would have found out eventually, along with all the good I had done for Equestria. Not to mention seeing our nephew squirm made his presence more bearable and more likely to leave. “M-my title is honorary,” Blueblood’s chin jutted upward as he turned to Ari’s openly curious expression, “My family has provided integral services to the royal family,” eyes met, “So much that her majesty, Princess Celestia-,” ah, the pointed look my way,“-honored our many achievements with the title prince!” “Hmm,” blue eyes narrowed across from me, “I believe I understand now. Thank you for taking the time to explain such a thing to me.” The obviously fake smile widened but the colt didn’t appear to notice as he puffed his chest out once more. A small slice of cake moved in a light blue field as the honorary prince continued, having also accepted the cake to my chagrin. Luna flattened her ears as he carried on, “You are most welcome, and we princes have to-.” “Unfortunately,” Ari paused as we all watched him with varying degrees of interest, “I had set the meeting up to be private.” The curve of his smile softened to a more believable smile as Luna shared a smile with me; Blueblood was still trying to process it as his mouth and ears moved out of sync, and his piece of cake plopped rather ungracefully onto the plate. “You-,” his response was cut off to Luna’s increasing joy, her nerves over the ‘fake Alicorn’ comment forgotten for the moment. “What I am trying to say is that I am sure we will have topics to discuss in the future,” ebony pin feathers twitched on his barrel. “But today and most assuredly tomorrow I have many items of importance to discuss with the Princesses.” A frown was crossing the white muzzle as Ari finished, “You understand I hope?” Tittering whispered over from the staff door. Some guards shifted as they traded looks with their companions. It took several seconds for the composure to return to our nephew’s face, the fact that wasn’t lost on our guest, and real fear flickered across the blue eyes for a moment. Which was almost enough to send Luna over the edge and into full blown laughter, the ivory colt was about as scary as a foal. Despite his mandated defence training it was no secret that he had whined and whimpered throughout the whole procedure, enough that his father had paid for an ‘accelerated’ program. The instructor was crying tears of joy when a smug colt left six months early, or so I overheard from some of the more boisterous guards. But he had matured, somewhat. “Perfectly,” a bang came from the side door as the staff made a hasty retreat. Rising with a flourish of his blond mane, Blueblood trotted back to court room, keeping his head held high the whole way. Even as several guards flanked him, knowing that we wouldn’t want a return visit from him. Beside me I could feel the tickle of feathers as Lulu released a breath and shaky giggle. “Thou are most skilled in handling foals.” As we watched he gave us an awkward smile and laugh. “No need to be modest! My sister and I were just contemplating ways to rid ourselves of his presence.” You could hear the clock tick and guards breathing as he looked around, suddenly unsure once more. The fear in his eyes came back to me, along with the questions regarding it. We needed our special guest to relax…My eyes found my sister’s blues as I looked from her to her guards and then to my guards before ending on the fidgeting stallion before us. He wasn’t even nibbling at his cake. She nodded as her eyes widened. “Guards,” a stiff clank echoed around the room as they stood at attention, “Please wait outside the doors and let no pony disturb us.” Luna did the same with hers. Strangely enough, that didn’t calm Ari at all. If anything he began to take big breathes and ruffle his wings as they filed out the four doors of the room. The mask was a farce at best at this point, smile waning as the awkward silence went on, and even my sister was shooting me looks to question his nervous state. No time like the present. “Ari,” his withers lowered as he tried to appear calm, “Is everything alright?” He nodded quickly, “We are completely alone, no pony will disturb us.” I exhaled and released my stiff shoulders from their locked position, might as well set the precedence for the meeting. “The nobility aren’t around so there is no need to be quite so formal. We can talk about the business you spoke of in your letter in privacy,” raising a hoof at the empty room. “Exactly, thou have nothing to be nervous over!” I cleared my throat, mouthing ‘thou’ to her perplexed eyes. We didn’t need him thinking we were behind the times. Nervously she laughed, ears splaying as he watched us with curious eyes. “What we meant-,” I coughed before taking a sip, “What I meant to say is that we have the finest security you can imagine. Our guards will be sure to secure our peace and quiet.” “Ah,” he took a deep breath in, scrunching his eyes before opening them. Calmness seemed to shine through then, although his eyes weren’t making contact with us, instead favoring the large narrow windows that lined the hall with a faintly twitching smile. Something had changed, they were calm, but not…All there. I watched him, trying to figure out what it was about him that was odd. What had him on edge? But I held my curiosity back, surveying his ruffled state as if it would offer me clues. It didn’t but it did catch his attention and brought his gaze back from where it was. He was nervous again. “Sorry once again, my startle reflex is rather strong and this has been quite a whirlwind adventure so far.” He glanced between us as we gave him our full attention, “You can imagine my surprise waking up in another world, much less by a god that did everything but ask me to inhabit it.” That would do it, meeting us must be as nerve racking for him as it is for us. His whole life had been turned upside down. Perhaps we should start with that topic then, god’s intervention in his life. Never had this been recorded before, no, not world traveling. Starswirl had delved into that particular magic field many centuries ago. It was the very apparent coincidence of a male Alicorn appearing right when a population crisis was noticed and when no stallions were left. And by a god’s hoof no less. Yet, the god spread malevolent lies about us to what I concluded was its blessing for us, a confusing act that I didn’t see the logic in, but I didn’t know how god’s worked. That could be all part of its plan for us, give us the challenge of courting a reluctant stallion. Changing his mind shouldn’t be hard though. I nodded, “Yes, we did receive your letter.” Perking his ears at me, he smiled as my sister turned distant once more. “However we would like to review some points of it with you. Is that acceptable?” My tone wasn’t as kind as it could have been but I was lucky that my connection with the sun wasn’t shinning through as my ‘small brain cells’ were most likely overwhelmed from the memory of the letter. Even after weeks of accepting his confusion the statements still stung. Blue eyes widened, both across and beside me, and both ears stayed splayed. Ari slowly nodded watching our expressions closely as the dilation passed over them again. That wasn’t nerves, it was fear I was seeing. The puffed up wings were expressing fear not nervousness…And it hurt, under my anger it hurt that he feared me. Just what had he been told? I pressed on from the sinking feeling in my stomach that came from such thoughts. Reminding myself that he may be the only stallion of our kind but he had insulted our family. I should start with that, the fear would fade… With a pop I teleported the scroll to the table, unsealing it as I watched a frown try to wheedle its way onto the muzzle across from me, I started with the good news. “Your suggestions have already been made part of the law.” “Really,” He gave a genuine exclamation, eyes wide as they searched our faces. I couldn’t help but smile at the beginnings of the real him poking through, “Yes, programs are being set up as we speak and many ponies are in agreement with the practices.” Not all though, our minister of health being a prominent sceptic, luckily I could override his decisions. “However, I was curious.” The dark stallion hummed and looked up from his cake, still not eating, but more at ease with us at least. “I was wondering if these practices you suggested were used on your world. It would help dispel some concern among the skeptics if you could vouch for their success.” “They are used on my planet, more now than ever and for the most part they are successful.” Raising a bandaged hoof to his chin he scratched before speaking, “Actually those were just the basic ones I could recall when I made the letter, if I tried I might be able to remember more.” A fork began scraping the icing off the cake, “However I am still not sure how far your technology extends in this strange parallelism.” Both Luna and I looked at each other in confusion, her nerves gone as his odd wording filled our minds. Part of it sprang from the strange cake scrapping, but most was from the obvious implication of his world’s advancement and the parallelism. Finished with his strange removal of icing he inhaled his slice. Our eyes went to the unattractive blob of sugary paradise that rested on his plate; it was the best part too. An essential part of any Alicorn’s diet. Luna had reached her limit to curiosity, latching onto the most obvious oddity. “Did you not have cake on your world?” “Of course I did.” We blinked between the blob and him, “I am just not a fan of sweets and I find the icing is usually the sweetest part so-,” he swiped the fork in the air,”-I scrapped it off.” Nonchalantly he grabbed another slice, “I meant no offence by it, I’m sure it is just as delicious as your cake, and all your cakes look beautiful.” His gaze washed over us in the end, shutting down my thoughts, and bringing uncalled comparisons from my instincts. Meanwhile my sister was picking up on my previously growing suspicion, that is before he gave me a once over again. As she ate a cake and moved her gaze between Ari and me I tried to shush my inner voice, steeling my expression to bemusement before I questioned him. When I failed to act fast enough she spoke, “Does thou not wish to be a strong stallion?” Not quite what I was going for. “Pardon,” he questioned, losing his smile as the question through off his attempts at flirting. At least I think he had been. “Why do you neglect the most important part of the dessert?” He didn’t know what to say as he looked between us, utterly clueless. Snorting, Luna pressed on with a new confidence, “We know you enjoy sweets. Why else would thou dream of eating that swirled pastry if thou hated sweets? It had icing on it, did it not? Why would thou,” I coughed in our ongoing lesson, receiving a snort before she finished, “Why would you not wish to have a full core?” Silence reigned as he and I processed that, my curiosity soon replaced with a mental face hoof, and dread for her as I realized where she had to have gone to know that. “Oh.” “Oh,” she queried back, missing her slip into the territory that she had been worried about. “Oh…,” now she caught herself. “I never got to eat it.” I blinked at him as a frown started on his muzzle, “But I do recall seeing you there.” His ears perked, “But that was all in the past, right?” His wide smile seemed genuine. Her ears perked up faster than I could blink happiness clear as a big grin broke across her muzzle, “Truly?” “Truly,” another slice of cleaned cake entered his mouth. A second passed before he gave a small smile, “What else in the letter did you want to review next? I have received quite a few business topics since sending the letter. You know how it is, they hear I’m meeting with the two most powerful beings on the continent and suddenly it’s all ‘can you ask them this and that’.” Ari waited as I steadied myself with a deep breath, I was calm. His insults to my family and self were done in ignorance. I would hear him out, “Actually yes, I did have more points to discuss.” “Oh.” “Sister, perhaps that should-,” I raised my eyebrow at her, effectively silencing her protest. This was a delicate subject though, “The god that brought you here…Did it have a name? And how did it contact you for such an occurrence to happen?” “He…” a whap echoed as his tail beat the cushion, “He didn’t give me his name, or warning, and quite frankly had little sense in his choice of bringing me here.” The venom in his words made my next questions halt on their way out. “I hold no great love or worship for the god that quite literally plucked me out of my bed and dropped me in the middle of nowhere…There is no need to worry about that.” Luna started to lean forward, trying to will his eyes to look up. “And not to be repetitive but this land is beautiful in ways.” A stare off began between Lulu and him, the message unclear to both my sister and I. “But, perhaps everything looks beautiful in the moonlight,” flirting, he was flirting with her. But it didn’t add up with her scrunched brows…Of course nopony had flirted with her in at least a millennia. “However not everything is as nice as it appeared to be.” His cryptic words paused as he looked to me, “Did my explanations in the letter cover most of that problem?” My mind went to the old orbital system; we had already covered the Law of the Herd, and nothing else in that letter was really a problem that fit. We couldn’t help that a god had brought him here on a lark, even if I didn’t want to help him leave. “Were you aware of the reality of what you were doing?” “Of course we are!” His feathers rising made me soften my tone, “I think you misunderstand us Ari, our parents created the planetary branch of magic to bring prosperity and wealth to Equestria and extension the world.”His muzzle was blank now. “No ponies face starvation, homelessness, or even poverty. Aside from our most recent fertility problem, which has shown no connection the orbiting of the sun or moon, Equestria have no problems.” His face didn’t change still, unmoved by my words, or perhaps just absorbing the news. He must have had to learn a lot in the last three weeks and now to learn what he had been told was a lie…Well, I pitied him. Still he didn’t express any emotion, only his frozen feathers betraying the turmoil he had felt throughout our previous discussion. “Truly, Ari, we have no destruction like you mentioned in your letter.” My sister gave him a big smile. What had he been doing for three weeks? A sigh escaped him, followed by a tired smile that grew and filled me with an unease that overshadowed my sadness for his situation, his eyes were growing darker. “I see.” Yet I felt he didn’t really see, my inner voice was whispering warnings, and I feared he was taking the news that his god’s reason was nothing more than a fib badly. “Your land is a beautiful sight, perhaps I was misinformed.” However, there was one part that irked me, that despite his emotional turmoil I couldn’t drop. “We do not have ‘ignorant excuses for brain cells’ then?” His brain cells must have been fuzzy as it took him a second to filter through confusion, realization, and embarrassment to name a few. His ears, eyes, and lips as open as a picture book. Luna kept an ear on him as she gave me look that said ‘really’. Nervous chuckling broke his silence. “Well, that was…That is to say that I do not believe you to be ignorant. Quite the contrary, you two must be some of the smartest mares I have met, if not the smartest.” He was laying it on a little thick, but he had said mares, not stallions, and Star Swirl excluded, my sister and I were quite well versed in the academic literature. And I could imagine he hadn’t met my student yet. I would have heard about that. Another nervous laugh followed an awkward second as he scratched at his chest, “As I said I was simply misinformed and more than a little frustrated then. No hard feelings I hope? I even brought-,” “Yes,” I exclaimed at his apology, mentally grasping at the familiar sound of progress that escaped him. He truly understood! “What,” he exclaimed in return, golden magic paused as it held a tin above his saddle bags, and looking horrified as his wings nearly shot out from the shock. He mirrored the emotion as it rose in me. That wasn’t what I meant to do! “NO,” my turn to splay my ears as I glanced between his eyes and the tin, “I meant there were no hard feelings.” Laughing with my own new nerves at my slip I watched him carefully, ignoring my sister’s muttering and wing cuff. My excitement at Ari’s revelation had overcome me; this whole meeting was surreal really. “I completely understand, our mother explained to us that gods are rarely honest, even with demigods such as ourselves.” Gesturing to the group I watched as his smile grew larger, still off, most likely from my exclamation. But, it was closer to a real one. I was a step closer to clearing the falsities from his demeanor, “Did the god mention anything else besides the ‘destruction’?” Humming with a hoof to his muzzle he added another glob of icing to the growing pile. Luna watched it with a twitch of her eyes as I mouthed ‘calm’ to her, his habits may be self destructive in our view but may be normal for him. We didn’t know anything about Earth based Alicorns after all. And the parallelism he had mentioned fit with what I remembered from Star Swirl’s multiverse theory. “Not that I can recall, I assume you already assumed some things from the unique…Situation you have.” We nodded, Lulu blushing and looking away at the implication. My own blush was easier to suppress as I occupied myself with his aversion to icing, a fact that still made no sense. It was one of the most magically boosting substances in existence. His cough brought my thoughts back. A nervous smile wavered on his muzzle as he brought the tin forward, shifting as he placed it in the center of the table. “I made these on the off chance that I said something…Stupid,” he watched our faces carefully before continuing, “And on that likely chance that I would I made some cakes.” Luna sat back, “Cakes?” “I was thinking that they would make a good end to the meeting when we got there.” We were both surprised, Lulu more so than I was. Besides the Thestrals and some late working farmers that frequented her court she didn’t usually receive much in the way of gifts. Even now they were only slowly growing in number, Nightmare Night’s change having helped her popularity tremendously. “Prince Ari that wasn’t necessary,” worry took over took his face and his feathers ruffled, clearly concerned that his present was being rejected. “Although, we will gladly eat them,” a big smile broke over his muzzle, relief shone clearly in his eyes. “Are they a recipe from your home world?” Shifting on his cushion, he smiled as his ears splayed, “Yes. Although I had help with the icing since some of the ingredients here are not the same as on Earth. But it should taste good!” “Earth,” my sister said the word in much the way I felt of it, confusion. “Yes, you see I am from the planet Earth.” An awkward chuckle escaped him as I wanted to hit myself for not asking him sooner, “Which, as I learned here, is the word meaning dirt or a type of pony.”Everybeing reacts that way.” Seriousness returned to him as we hummed our acknowledgement. But my mind swarmed with new questions, most importantly, where had he been? No paper had anything on him, for three weeks. That was unheard of, even if he had been in Saddle Arabia it would have been big news. However I just nodded, there was plenty of time to ask about his travels. Seeing our acceptance, he seemed to relax, focusing on the cakes with an enthusiasm that made me smile. His speed increasing and making my heart feel some peace. Ari trusted us enough to eat unhindered now, he wasn’t looking at us with fear, and we had gotten the truth across rather easily. During the moment of comfortable quiet, we paused to drink and eat as well, our eyes oddly mesmerized as across the table more and more icing left the slices. Eventually slowing down he shot us big smile, “But I have a whole list of topics to get through. Of course we won’t go over all today I assume you have court and other duties to attend to.” “We do…” Beside me blue ears folded back as reality caught up with us, unfortunately just when we had been making progress. A slow nod followed from Ari, looking more natural than before, “Ah, I thought so. We have a lot to discuss in general as well. You know, get to know each other and everything like that.” His grin turned sheepish, “So I suppose I will start on my oldest request before I let you have some of my famous cake.” We both straightened up and gave him our full attention, the prospect of learning more of where he had been to meet them occupying my thoughts. His eyes flicked between the two of us, his mouth parting slightly as if to consider the words. Wind slipped in under the kitchen staff’s door, filling the decisive silence with a sharp whistling. “I met the requestor in Saddle Arabia,” we already knew he had been there but I smiled my encouragement to him anyway, “A lost soul of sorts,” his ears folded back as he went back to the moment. “They didn’t tell me their real mission at first…But when I heard of their story I couldn’t help but offer some help, even with all the confusion of being in a new world their sorrow was, is, great.” Honest sadness shone in the corners of the blue eyes before me. “It isn’t my story to tell…But the gist of it is that their father was brilliant, a true genius if their words do the stallion justice, and,” a gulp filled the space. “The father left them to pursue a goal; however that was many years ago, and all they heard was that there was a mirror involved.” Luna broke the quiet, “I do not see how this relates to us-.” “The mirror was last rumored to be at Canterlot castle,” blue eyes turned serious at the mention of our home, wings fidgeted in a nervous display, “A magical mirror made with only the finest enchantments. He was an exquisite enchanter they said. Their father just disappeared though.” My throat felt too dry to respond as the implication of what he was trying to say hit home. After a long sip I met his gaze, not bothering to mask my worry, “Did they say what the mirror did?” We had plenty of mirrors in the castle, some enchanted to critique the current fashion and others to distort images…It was very unlikely it was that mirror, even more so since our magical breakthrough was never made public. Giving us a half smile, he swished his tail before continuing, “I think it is a little out there, but they claimed the mirror led to another world.” My sister shot me the look, eyes narrowed, and mouth set in a tight line. Luna had heard the rumors of such pursuits before I banished her and strongly opposed it. Surprise, little sister…But killing wasn’t a option anymore…Killing beings prone to chaotic magic didn’t sit well with me anymore, they all had the same anguish in their eyes. The same that had briefly sparked deep in Luna’s when I sent her to the moon. Execution only got harder as the years stretched. But the problem stood out clear as they waited for my confirmation. I hadn’t had time to bring up that event’s detail yet with my own sister in her Equestrian history lessons, much less any current generation of pony, and we had never went beyond the one artifact. Even that mirror proving to be imperfect. Star Swirl’s mirror didn’t just take those with chaos magic, it took anybeing that touched it. “That is…Most interesting.” I didn’t know what else to say, it sounded like the mirror, and if it was that left a near inconceivable possibility. A foal…Star Swirl had had a foal at some point and left them in Saddle Arabia to pursue his studies. But that didn’t fit the Starswirl I remembered. “Sister,” she started in a dry tone before I could form the rest of my inquiry, she half turned to our rapt guest. “I would say that that would be impossible but my dear sister makes it seem like it was completed.” Air cascaded around my muzzle as she deflated, “He managed to make one?” I nodded, warmth climbing unwelcomed on my muzzle as our obvious suitor watched. But, like the etiquette of nobles she didn’t show much care for it in her moment of high emotion. “Why?” My muzzle wouldn’t open and Ari was watching me closely, eyes narrowing in some indecipherable emotion.“No, not why, that can wait for a different time.” Turning to the concentrating stallion she frowned, “Who asked about this mirror?” He ruffled his feathers at the request. Eyes watched our swaying banners for a second before he came back with a smile, regression clear in his distant eyes. “Afraid I was asked not to reveal their name, however their equestrian heritage…,” he said the last word in almost a question before trailing off. “Sorry, I mean to say, they wish to know if it resides here and they could view it at the least. Their father was quite obsessed with it.” Few reasons came to me as to why they would know and want to remain as anonymous as Ari made them. “Their father’s name,” I queried as I straightened my mask. Bandaged hoof met frowning muzzle with a thump and groan. “I-I never asked…But I can say they have an interesting reaction whenever somebeing mentions a Swirl fellow…Star beard, no, Swirl Star?” “Star Swirl…” my voice broke as my mind raced to understand what it sounded like had occurred. One of the greatest unicorns in the magical community had a secret foal in Saddle Arabia, a fact that while was a little out of character for him was not impossible. As Cadence put it ‘love works in magical ways’ and he was a frequent visitor of that country for me during my sister’s absence…Actually when she was around as well, Luna was a little too brash at emotional times to be sent in alone. And then he disappeared just years after clearing the countryside of the last remnant of chaos based creatures. His foal shouldn’t have to hide… “So am I right that they react quite strongly to Star Swirl’s name?” Yes. “And they are of an older age?” Another affirmative came across to my sister’s excited eyes and me. Now for the real question, “And what does viewing it do for them?” “Closure,” he straightened his posture, and despite his leftover signs of nervousness he appeared quite serious. “They are still distraught about the situation...Still…After what had to be a century…I think it would bring them closure to see the object that is now their obsession, to know exactly what fueled their father.” A silence followed as my sister and I raised eyebrows at each other. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, meeting the son or daughter of Star Swirl, and following one of our favorite families in the newest generation of them. I wanted to know the story behind this. Why did he leave them? Why didn’t they just come to us years ago? Nervous laughter caught our attention as we digested the information, “I assure you they are a good individual, a little misguided at first but good underneath the mask they wear.” He watched our faces intently, “They really would appreciate this, you have no idea.” It was all so clear what our decision would be, the reality so unlikely and as a result very exciting. When he had disappeared I had thought the worst but perhaps this might help fill in the gaps…Although if they hadn’t found their father then we still might not as well. But they certainly deserved to know what he had devoted his time to. Despite Luna’s disapproval for its very existence she was the first to respond, “When did they wish to view it?” I nodded my approval to her searching glance. Although, she may just wish to see the impossibility in the complex enchanting worked into metal frame itself. I certainly wouldn’t blame her. I could hardly believe how intricately the cuneal writing had been engraved. Whistling sounded again from an open window somewhere down in the kitchens. My nod had not been what she wanted though. A frown started on her muzzle. “We do still have it here, don’t we dear sister?” Lulu most definitely wanted to see it and hear why I had agreed to fund such a project; it was far beyond Star Swirl’s wealth and magical output. Her eyes went wide as if to say ‘tell me’ as I smiled at her, letting her sweat. “Yes, we do.”Chocolate breath buffeted me then, warm, and sweet. “Excellent!” Happiness shone from his eyes, a mission complete in his mind, and a pony soon to be satisfied in many accounts. I couldn’t help but smile back. After a second the previous question appeared to have sunk in, our sister’s eyes boring into him a big help in that matter. “Right, I don’t know quite when. But I imagine as soon as I’m done discussing everything with you both I can relay that…And I can’t stress just how happy this will make them!” Smiles were beaming between us, everypony satisfied in one way or another even with some questions hanging around. A sense of completion settled over our awkward meeting, the cake disappearing as smiles were exchanged back and forth, all genuine, and comments on the quantity we consumed were not made. We all had the same metabolism, the same thoughts it seemed as well. For no sooner had the last cake been cleared than our eyes found the clock over the kitchen staff entrance. Night court would begin soon. My little sister acknowledged her acceptance of the unfortunate change with a regret filled sighed, my own long sigh following shortly after. Although our first meeting had begun in a most unusual manner, all of us a little unsettled with the new encounter and the extra pony, we had ended on such a good note that I brushed his previous aside. Ari understood his unfortunate yet blessed arrival more than ever and accepted it remarkably well…He probably would express his anger at his losses in more private quarters, but I couldn’t fault him there. I had ended a meeting on a ‘yes’ instead of a ‘no’ or an angry, confused stallion storming out. Life was good, great, and it felt like it could only get better as he brought the plain tin to the center of our focus again. Revealing the two yellow iced cakes with a nervous smile and rising feathers. Seeing his worry, Luna attempted to soothe him, “No need to worry Ari, they smell delicious!” Which they did, a sugary aroma left the tin like an enticing perfume, with only a slightly bitter, metallic after smell that made me think he needed a new tin. That only caused him to shift side to side, that is until I grabbed my cake in my golden field, and nodded to my sister as she followed suit. He went stock still, giving us a hopeful smile as we inspected the pale treats. He was so sweet. “I can’t imagine anything made by you to be in bad taste, especially a cake.” A stallion that bakes! Not rare but certainly a plus in my book. Aside from his previous ignorant insults and slightly neurotic startle response he seemed to be a fine stallion. Those two negatives were corrected, mostly. He was nervous still; rather eager to get our approval on his cakes, and that was understandable. He clearly had put a lot of planning into this meeting to wait three weeks from sending the letter. Cadence would love him, Ari could even handle our ‘nephew’ without bribing, bucking, or threatening him! As the icing passed over my taste buds I stood, sat corrected in my opinion of his ability to bake. We were both frozen mid-chew as my eyes found my sister’s, the agreement unanimous, and the question raising its ugly head between our gaze. Do you tell the stallion that was literally the only one of your species that his homemade cakes were the equivalent of swamp gas in taste? He clearly told us that he had to replace some ingredients due to our world not having them; yet, I didn’t imagine it would be quite this…Bad. It was cake, sugary, magic boosting food that was near impossible to mess up. And he had ruined it. My throat protested as the icing seemed to stick to it in a bitter, swamp sludgey way that I had never quite experienced before. Not even when some fillies gifted me a cake shaped charcoal. Yet, I preserved, ignoring the urge to wash my suddenly dry mouth out as I gazed into his increasingly fearful eyes. Dear Faust, I needed to fix this. This stallion had meant to make peace and foster goodwill with these and we were acting like he was trying to poison us! With a loud, dry gulp my sister followed my lead. “I must say, it is unlike any cake I have ever tasted.” Her nod and erratic flickering on her tail backed up my words. “Ah, s-so the recipe is a keeper then?” Blue eye snapped between us as his uncertainty showed in splayed ears. The fear was gone at least. “Perhaps,” think, think, “But I am afraid it might need a little sugar.” My stomach flip flopped in a strange fashion, my magic even popped louder in my mind as if the very idea of more of that swamp cake repulsed it. My heart began to race, the words hard to find, and all the usual phrases to brush aside its sheer awfulness seemed inadequate with the stallion before me. He was leaning forward in concern, and most certainly wanting acceptance. Our niece would lecture us for eternity if we ruined this chance of a lifetime, a literal gift from a god. “Sugar, everything else is alright?” Baritone echoes rang in my ears briefly, wavering out of focus as I tried to follow his explanation of the substitutes and…And maybe I should tell him how bad it was. This cake that he hadn’t even said the name of was rapidly becoming a bodily based distraction. Letting my withers drop a little under the weight that the simply letting down of our future seemed to have created, I focused on his smiling muzzle. “W-w…,” what was I asking? Right, “W…Whap flav…or…Wu…Was it?” That sentence didn’t work out quite the way I imagined it would, the warmth seemed to be everywhere now, and he didn’t seem to mind. I think was blushing, dear Faust, I couldn’t think straight. My stomach flip flopped, protesting something. My vision swam again, thoughts wandering aimlessly until I blinked and realized the seat before me was empty. Was this a dream? The colors popping at the corners of my eyes certainly made it appear so…Luna was giving me a dream…But why? Confusion grew in my popping head, as did the sound of my beating heart. Colors flashed brighter in my peripheral as something pressed up by my flank, causing me to jump, and spun my world into chaos as I tried to see what it was, my wings somehow very far away. Sounds came in slow and distant then, like someone was saying them at the back of a crowded room, and all this occurred despite the foggy assurance that something nice was touching me. I wanted to run, the wrongness was all consuming. That cake was wrong. Something…Spicy trickled in my nose, that hard to focus on thought alone calmed the brief rise of panic at this…What was this? I didn’t know, but I did know the table was brown, and strangely hard and soft. Almost like it was padded with foam, but such a contradicting sensation faded into a strange numbness, and…The black muzzle was back.
I'm the Villain?!*Author's Note Welcome back, I hope you enjoy the ~~double~~ post This first scene killed me...~~Four~~ five rewrites later, RL stuff, and it is finally done. Rewriting the details was 'argh' inducing so Let me know how it turned out. I have been working on my action scenes, so hopefully better. Constructive criticism welcomed. Also congradulations to all that guessed correctly Originally was part of a two parter...But, I am satisfied with this half and I feel RL rearing its head again so I figured everybeing would like to get a look at what has held me up. Hopefully part two will make it past my review station this week and join this after the weekend. UPDATE: NEW version posted June 11, 2018 Happy reading. I'm the Villain?!* Canterlot Castle, Equestria Ari Their carefully crafted masks of calmness were broken, thrown away by the poison laced icing covering the cakes. The fact that I had willingly poisoned somebeing was a fact I didn't linger on for long. I had to get out of here after all. Escaping…It was unclear if I would be. Their eyes were clearly and honestly disgusted with the taste of my trap and one step away from sealing their path to change...Or my death. And as such, I couldn’t have been a more nervous wreck. Suddenly very aware that so much could go wrong still. So much had gone south already...Enough that I wasn’t completely sure if I could change their minds with such a Equestria centered mindset present. Death was looking more likely as they exchanged glances. Magenta eyes stared back, almost in confirmation as I leaned forward, my own eyes wide and panicked at the silence. I gulped, watching their bulging cheeks with bated breath. Another glance was exchanged, eyebrows rising in their secret sibling language. Did they know what was in it? Would they swallow it? It didn't look like they would. I felt my heart sped up as I leaned forward even further to watch them. A loud gulp echoed into the room as both throats bobbed, bulges disappearing as they gave me a small smile, or it could have been wince. “I must say, it is unlike any cake I have ever tasted,” Celestia said it in what could have been the stiffest tone possible. Were they really unaware? "Ah, s-so the recipe is a keeper then?" I tried to hold onto the faint hope that it was all my imagination. Seconds passed as her smile turned lop sided, “Perhaps.” Celestia paused eyes darting across the tabletop before meeting mine. “But I am afraid it might need a little sugar.” I nearly collapsed then and there. “Sugar, everything else is alright?” I checked in, looking between the sisters, edging forward as I looked for deception in their eyes. Strangely enough, I saw none. Relaxing my stance somewhat, I held my breath as Celestia attempted to question me, her muzzle moving slowly and out of sync. Perfect. Looking beside her I could see Luna was fairing no better. Her ears twitching as she blinked rapidly against the sudden urge to sleep, the drowsiness she was no doubt feeling was still all too familiar in my memory, and thankfully that level of sedation didn’t allow for any threat to be made from the odd string of movements. It had felt like swimming through syrup soaked cotton balls. But Celestia wasn’t going down, only blinking at me slightly faster than before. I turned my attention to her, “I am really glad to hear that, sugar is really easy to add.” Come on. “Do you like the icing?” No! But my mouth kept moving, not even slowing as my thoughts went unheard. “It is a combination of Treeme fruit and Bruneberries!” fake excitement oozed from my words, “I thought it would be a good combination,” but, Celestia didn’t seem to notice the falsity. She also didn’t relax. So I went with my instincts, I pictured Lyric’s smiling face when I got home, calm, her eyes lighting up brighter than when she found the pond, and my muzzle curved upward, the nerves gone. Hopefully radiating the calm Celestia needed to let the drugs take her under. Fuck, really? The reigning princess was gazing at me, unaffected apparently. Deep breath, my muscles relaxed even further at the thought of the mirror. I was so close. Still, Sunbutt was watching me. Okay. A big smile grew wider as I turned to her sister, and thankfully Luna was losing the battle. Just smile, it had to work. Celestia’s gaze turned unfocused just as Luna’s head fell onto her plate with a loud ‘plonk’. But I didn’t comment or draw any attention to her. In fact, her sister didn’t even seem to notice it. I held my breath. Nothing more came from the elder sister. One more push, my smile grew slightly strained as home crept ever closer in my mind, and with it Night Court did as well. But, we would be gone long before any Thestrals arrived. Breathe and smile…And convincing them couldn’t be that hard. The evidence I had to show them was pretty damning if I do say so. Stay positive. Celestia snorted but I didn’t stop smiling. Home...Peace, and cute foals. Another snort followed soon after. But - “W-w…,” she trembled out – I leaned closer still.“W…Whap flav…or…Wu…Was it?” I didn’t repeat the answer, at this point I didn’t think she was all there anyway. Instead I smiled wider, my fears melting away, bobbing away really. Celestia’s head was already dropping as I watched. It was only a matter of time now, less time if I gave her a little push. Moving to sit between the mares I frowned at my instincts that popped up at the proximity. Traitorously they sent contradicting messages again, at least they contradicted with my morals. My body was unfortunately slightly receptive to the urges, craving comfort that it found in mares...Almost...As if the god had added this to my new equine programming.I wouldn’t put it past him. Because, logically, I didn’t want to sniff them no matter how nice their scents were, impressing the royal sisters with my wingspan wasn’t even part of the plan, and I was not nuzzling them no matter how insistent my equine mind chimed in to comfort them. That would imply that I wanted to be any sort of friendly relation with planet dooming murderers, which I didn’t. I wanted a peaceful life, some foals, and a happy reunited herd. Sounded simple, right? Not with that god's meddling it wasn't, it had to be him. I turned my head away from the flickering manes and exhaled behind me, frowning as the urge to take in a deep whiff of their vanilla and blueberry scents grew. Think of Chrissy, she would be furious. They, no, Celestia executed her father for crying out loud! They would gladly banish her...No, hurt her...And Lyric. And with reality check my morals won over my instincts, the urge to protect my marefriends thankfully stronger than the thought to check these new ones out. Speaking of Celestia, she was taking my close presence well. That is to say, as I was snug between the sisters she was still looking at my seat, brow furrowing as the time ticked on. The process was still slow in my eyes. But perhaps that was a good thing as my thoughts were running away on me again, the melancholy of the full spectrum returning with the thought of the end of my mission. Yes, that would have to come up. Chrissy and Lyric didn't know about me, the whole daunting task of saving the world and changing nearly everything had taken my entire focus, and that would be ending soon. The first one anyway...Yet, the idea of telling them both was terrifying and somehow needed. Sure, I could keep fudging the truth, skirting around the issue of my human words and references that would eventually slip in. But...I didn't want to have to tell half truths for what would be thousands of years. "Ar..Eeee," Celestia tried to form words and failed as I blinked down at her. The sound was odd and quiet, surreal as I looked at the last Alicorn mares. Damn...There was that too. I had to restore the Alicorns. Which I sort of was doing already, by accident mind you…My foals would be half Alicorn. Unplanned bundles of joy with mares I hadn't even had a date with yet...I needed more time. This was way too much. First though, deep breath, I had to contend with these two royal pains. And pain was no exaggeration. Celestia was still trying to raise her head. The clock was ticking onward, loud to my nerves as I sighed down at her, settling their breathing somewhat. Anytime now- I blinked and looked at the clock – I would be home w-without the mirror. Fuck! And no sooner did I realize my fault did a dull thump echo throughout the room, bringing forth the urge to groan aloud. Murphy had caught up to me. But my eyes still found the princess’s heads…Already slumped forward. No, please no! It went unheard. Luna’s muzzle was half opened in a weak gurgle, salvia pooling as my stomach seemed to drop out from under me. Her eyes were still closed under the effects of the drug. My eyes followed the drool over to the elder sibling, the only pony that knew where the mirror. Celestia didn’t seem to see me, blinking rapidly on the tabletop as panic widened her eyes impossibly more. Hallelujah! Ivory wings started twitching as I moved in closer, placing my muzzle and flank hard against her, rocking her to the side in my haste. Her wings stilled. My lips hovered beside her ear. “Hello C-Celestia,” her magenta orbs shakily found mine and I frowned at the distant look growing in them. “I was wondering where the mirror is?” I let out a long breath in her face, watching and hoping she was lucid enough to understand and answer me. My scent should get her attention. And like she knew, her nostrils flared out as if to take in my scent and soon after her muzzle opened as if to try and answer me. But my hopes were soon dashed by the flickering of her eyelids. That pit that has opened up growing colder as ivory ears started twitching in the same manner her sister’s had done. It was then I knew god hated me. He must have heard my previous complaints. Like a sick joke it ended, her eyelids dropping down. “Of fucking course,” I muttered to the quiet room. I was teleporting home without the mirror that held my mare’s happiness hostage, not even the room’s location available as a clue, and two mares that were sure to be particularly unhelpful. Sighing, I grabbed the magic inhibitors and key from my saddle bag. At least this part was going along perfectly. My inhibitors weren’t even scratched. Looking at their eyes for any twitch or sign of awareness I slowly lowered the metal cuffs down their horns, stopping once I heard the delicate clink of metal against metal. Yet their tiaras stayed in place, despite their slumped forward position and new accessory. A ear went to both doors. The guards were still silent from their posts outside the doors and the princesses were dead to the world. So, without any further ado I brought the key to the base of Celestia’s horn, the first gate, and started to smile. Easy-peasy. A sharp click filled the air as I thought that, slightly muffled as it traveled around the room. My eyes shot to the key in the lock, stationary in my magic. Just like I feared…I hadn’t quite turned the key yet. In fact, the noise sounded like it was from behind me. My smile faltered as my ears swiveled back. Fucking Murphy. I looked behind me only to lock gazes with a grey pegasi colt. He looked like I had told him Santa Claus wasn’t real. His eyes were wide, ears going sideways, and jaw dropping as I watched in mirth. The only catch here was that this pegasis wasn’t little anymore; he was an adult and a fully trained solar guard if the armor was accurate. And there I was sitting behind two clearly unconscious princesses with two custom made magical inhibitors in the process of being locked in place over their horns. A fact that I knew wouldn’t go over well, especially if the slack jawed look he was sporting was a good sign of what was to follow. My body wouldn’t move a muscle in the stare off, my mind miles away at the sight before me. God really hated me...Or a more likely, more calming thought,that the guards were regularly patrolling the windows…I hadn’t thought of that. His wide eyes locked onto mine. Logically I saw his course of action as one of two options. Option one, that open mouth would erupt into an unholy scream for help and I would be soon surrounded by hundreds of little pony guards. Or the greatly preferred and therefore stupider option in his book, the one where he uses the pony length spear strapped to his side and charged through that window to face me stallion to stallion. Guess which one was more likely given my obvious height and magical advantage. His wings were already proving my theory correct as they started to change their beat, faltering for a second as I narrowed my eyes at the guard, mentally cursing once more before he banked hard to the right and doubled back to spread the word. And I couldn't just grab a guard out of the open air, other guards would see me. The click of the first gate closing followed as I watched him escape, my magic almost acting on its own as a fear raced my heart. I guess they are smarter than Chrissy thought. Snorting my fear out at the shrinking golden speck I turned back to the princess, moving onto the next gate with a shaky breath in and out, the beating of my heart loud in my ears as how very little time I had hit me, even less time if the guards actually believed that the only Alicorn stallion was cuffing their princesses up like criminals. This would confirm Bente’s words though. Did all the ponies with power truly know what was going on? Echo knew where to go and he was sent by Luna, yet he didn’t know about the slaves, murders, and climate disaster taking place outside his country. That didn’t exclude the rest of the guards. I mean, even Blueblood knew I had been on the coast… As cuneal writing joined with an audible click, twice, thrice, and onward I realized I couldn’t just teleport these murdering mares onto my ship without them being restrained. No being knew how long the drug would last for Alicorns or what teleportation did to drugged Alicorns. Unsurprisingly I wasn’t in the mood to test that with my herd’s lives. Safety aside, the dizzying display of ethereal pastel colored mane could count as a signal for help by itself. It grew before me, moving faster and more erratically in my face as I passed the third gate. But my eyes were unflinching as they watched the ivory mare for signs of life. It may have been a signal, for a din reached my ears soon after. Bente was right. It had been less than a minute and they were already coming. The only other noise was the wind whistling under the door the waiter ponies had come from, it momentarily filling the air with the sound as I clicked on. The speed at which I closed the gates continued to increase until I hit gate number seven. That one made my magic falter as my eyes widened. “Preposterous,” was exclaimed then as well, the voice unfamiliar, soon followed with muted clangs and whispers. But, my eyes were glued to the scene before me, the fact that I had to sped up not reaching my magic. Celestia’s almost living mane and tail just dropped like they were suddenly soaked. Not only did it become as limp as my own but the pastel rainbow colors flickered away like a hologram to reveal a singular pastel pink underneath, almost the shade you would see in strawberry ice-cream. Suffice to say I was speechless at the effect, faintly acknowledging that ethereal manes truly must be an effect of magic discharge, and furthermore how weak I was then. “Perfectly!” A succinct reply to some request rang throughout the hall, everything about it snapping me out of my wonderment. That damn colt was coming too. A pause in noise made me frown…They were moving at a snail's pace to stop me. The sound that returned made the frown a permanent feature. “-utterly ridiculous-,” brief snippets of conversation drew my ears down, “-Tell-,” but I closed the gate that lay near her tip and moved the small key to the base of Luna’s magic inhibitor. No sense in waiting for them to arrive. However, before I could begin the process a small rumble started, freezing me in place. What now? It wasn’t from behind me. Above me the crystal chandelier started chattering as the crystals hit one another, but my gaze looked around for an enemy in confusion. It wasn’t coming from any of the four doors; they were even momentarily silent from the sudden movement. My gaze narrowed at the room in suspicion, the possibility of enchantments briefly coming to mind. But I quickly dismissed it as I gave the entire space another perusal. The practicality of a enchantment that shook a room was lost on me, and the room was normal, nothing glowed with magic. Above me, the roof was domed making it was impossible to be from anybeing marching up there, definitely not enough to produce this room shaking volume and power. Yet the almost seismic like motions only increased with time. Eventually to the point that it jostled Luna’s inhibitor up and down with metallic clinks. A thought hit me then, this could be a earthquake, and following that train of thought, that I didn’t want to be around when Equestria had its first earthquake. It was the only possibility I could see, I guessed planet was closer to doomsday than I had thought. “-That? What is that stallion doing?! I thought you-” He called out, blaming the earthquake on me of all beings. As if I could do much beyond foal magic…Not that he knew that. More partial sentences reached me as I snapped to attention. “Y-yes, but-,” a particularly strong movement sent the speaker clanging and the chandelier shattering crystals on the floor. The planet paused. What? My heart raced as everybeing paused with it and then the shaking started to return, faster though, and more insistent at dislodging us from it. Still, Blueblood’s angry voice reached me again between the equally loud crashes in the hallway, those priceless vases now priceless shards, “-Don’t care! Call in the bolts, the bats, anypony we can get! Get-,”I didn’t pay attention after that. Closing the rune encircled locks with a new speed, ignoring his conversation, and forcing my heart and magic into a race against his rapid and increasingly loud clip clop of hooves. I have to escape! A hushed reply beyond the door eluded me but the response nearly stopped my heart, “Of course I meant them!” It was the way he said it, like 'them' was the equivalent to something big, bad and a thing I clearly didn’t want to stick around to see. Gates…Lock gates. My mind swam as I turned my broken focus back to Luna. Like with her older sister her mane went increasingly wild, except against my forelegs rather than my face, but I pressed in closer, caught between the two mares and already counting down the gates to my escape. Nine left. One ears swiveled to the opposing hallway as the faint metallic clanging or armor reached my ears, just what I needed on top of an earthquake. Eight, seven, six, and five gates left. They went by in rapid succession. The seventh gate turned her mane from a starry expanse to a light pastel blue that hung limply across her neck. Definitely magic related. But it didn’t slow me down that time; I could already hear the distant clanking of a running guard somewhere in this cavernous building. Back up was coming…Joy. I rushed through the remaining gates, grinding my teeth against the great thumping shakes that suddenly had started, replacing the shudders in a grim progression of earth based power. My ears ignored the rushed sound of hooves, the clatters, and small shards of crystals that were raining onto us in favor of the finish line I could literally see. A big breath escaped me as the last gate closed. Suddenly the room gave a final thundering rumble and shudder before slowing down to a constant low grade vibration that had my feathers quivering. I eyed the ominously creaking death trap above the table and snorted once more. Now all I had to do was-. A click echoed in the room, followed by a hum of magic, and I tried not to panic. I tried to react rationally and teleport away since I had both princesses touching me. But I failed, the key slipped from my magic hold, and my mind scrambled in a familiar nervous panic to respond to my most prominent thought and ignore the urge to run. The ship, focus on the ship. “Now what was the meaning of that..,” the words froze like I had begun to at the sound of the door’s handle, my eyes widening at the reality I had just found myself in. It felt like a bad dream come to life, the niggling churning in my stomach returning with a dash of ice water for my veins. My magic didn’t seem to hear me then as it converged on my leg’s channels. Run, run, run... “I had a feeling it would come to this…But I really had expected more from the princesses...,” He trailed off again as I could almost feel his eyes on my horn. The speaker was Blueblood, his family’s services being not so innocent if his off handed comment had meant anything. A gust of air and sweat accompanying him promised company, the clanging armor wearing variety. “It is a shame though…”My fear turned its head at that familiar tone he responded in. No... Arch…Bite I agreed with my instincts. This was different than before though. “Princess Luna…” The eager voice came in muffled as I snapped my eyes up to watch the opposing entrance, my eyes narrowing at my luck. Focus…Just Focus on home. He won’t attack you with the princesses as meat shields. My body still wouldn’t move to face the surely shocked ‘prince’ or focus on teleporting as it stayed turned to the door across from me, my focus more on redirecting my errant magic. Their arrival didn't help matters. The grand entrance opened wide to reveal a darker furred, more familiar fear of mine, and I found myself unintentionally gulping in response. Thestrals, the hall held a small squad of six. The ebony armored bat-like ponies stood stock still as the solar guards opening the door for them also froze before trading pointed looks. Pointed tufts twitched with their large ears as I made eye contact with the newest arrivals, all came in a range of purple, gray, and dark blue. Surprise and shock dominated their expressions as I processed my own surprise, no, it was more like trepidation. I was nearly surrounded...There was still two - I nearly jumped at the bang reverberated around the room -. The kitchen door had been blown open by the wind that rushed in unhindered. My eyes watched the door as I waited for something to appear, but no being did…Breathe…Then it closed with slam, sending a shiver down my back I tried to get back to focusing on escaping. Teleport. The thought hit me like a bolt of energy and fired me into action, pulling my focus back on directing my crackling magic back to my horn. “Well, are you going to assist us? This vagabond has-,” I tuned out the suddenly whiny voice of Blueblood as I focused on my ship, charging my horn with the image of the dinning cabin in mind. Somebeing said something before I felt eyes return to my flank and heard the crunch of crystal. “-And here I thought we could work with you.” Yup, that is why you were calling everybeing you could think of. Slitted eyes watched my glowing horn as their hooves reached back to their spears. But no pony was willing to make the first attack...Not that I was complaining. I willed the princesses and I to be teleported, calling up the sensation of my molecules pulling apart and coming together in the safe walls of my ship. “Oop-ssy,” was whispered from behind me as more crystals crunched. And all I could do was frown as my magic crackled restlessly against an invisible barrier. “But I suppose that was a tad naïve on my part,” several Solar guards humphed in response to his continuation, but the Lunar guards didn't even appear to react to it. Evil eyes directed at me. “I'm sure you know the feeling though. Given what you are known for and the rumors circulating your heinous actions...The fact that you still came to carry out your evil plan.” Bat-like hissing came from the beings in front of me, their eyes darting between their princess and me. Heinous, I know I killed beings but they were slavers…A long snort reached me, confident in my silence, and closer to the vildkatt’s tone than I was comfortable with. “Well, are you going to let them go now? You aren't leaving here you know, in case that wasn't obvious to your small mind.” He was still behind me, spouting nonsense no less...And my dining room was nowhere in sight. My herd was still very far away. “Fuck,” I squinted my eyes harder, trying again. Heat pooled around my gold encased horn, muffled giggles reached me as the energy crackled and pounded in forehead with a steady pressure filled beat. My second attempt at teleporting had also got me nowhere. I realized then with a sense of dread that I had underestimated the security of the castle, that my attempts were getting me nowhere fast. My magic had nowhere to go to. Of course they would have anti-teleporting runes placed somewhere on the expanse of polished marble made available to them. “Now that word was uncalled for,” the clip of a hoof moving closer had me turning my upper body to face the approaching honorary prince, ears pinning back as I noted a cowering mass of guards in the doorway. Half were pegasi and the other unicorns, with not an earth pony to be seen. They were looking me up and down with fear, glancing with wide eyes at their rulers...And their weapons. What now? They had families...But they were also all against me. Not to mention that they wouldn’t blink if they killed a changeling…Or a desperate ambassador apparently. I squared my shoulders and scanned the crowd. "It is rude to keep a prince waiting." Keeping an eye on the swords and spears clipped to their armor I snorted back at Blueblood. My words escaped me so I let the magic go in a flurry of golden sparks, a flurry of hooves backed up as I frowned at his increasingly confident smile and the tone he had used. I was an Alicorn, not some snarling puppy to admonish. “Fuck off.” “Oh, I'm so scared,” he adjusted his bowtie with his magic. Why wasn't he scared? “But not surprised at your vocabulary for an uncouth colt such as yourself.” In the corner of my eye I could see the Lunar guards silently inching forward from the hall, braver than their solar counterparts and more prepared with their wings half unfurled already. I stomped a hind hoof at their nice but futile move, as if my puffed up wings could manage more than a flap with the ice water in my blood. But flying might be my only option. I had more than enough enemies now. The clangs of more guards sounded from far behind him confirming that as he watched me. What else could I do? Nothing came to mind, nothing except that this had to be a set up. They seemed to know what I had done the whole time; he had said my plan as if he knew it. The way his eyes had grown cold when we stared off...And the princesses had to know as well then. Everybeing had been playing along till I revealed my hand, hoof. And I fell for their ‘breaking’ decorum acts hook, line, and sinker. It wouldn’t surprise me if half the castle knew what was happening already, the guards were certainly prepared to react so quickly even if they didn’t quite know what I would be doing to their rulers. Everybeing was ready to fight me. This wasn't going to be easy... “Said the colt,” I retorted, my frustration coming out in the pitiful schoolyard style insult, with no idea if I could even break the windows to fly away I felt paralyzed to my spot. There might be runes stopping that as well. Blueblood simply tossed his mane at my words, radiating confidence as he nodded to the guards. As if to say to them that I wasn't a threat. And that was when a new urge hit me, my instincts louder than ever at his proximity again. I wanted to grab him by the neck and drop him to the hard floor, make him squeal in fear just like many other beings had done. The ice quickly faded from my veins as I snorted at him. The cold sensation replaced by a righteous simmer as I let the flooded lands, displaced families and thousands of surely already dead slaves fill me instead. Hurt, bite... I agreed with my instincts. I could fight my way out instead, I could still use magic after all. Hurting the prince and guards wouldn’t be too bad; they obviously don’t possess enough empathy to see the help the ambassadors needed. They had magic whatever-you-call-it steel embedded in them after all…And I wouldn’t kill them. At least I told myself that. "Move colt." I prodded him, wishing his hooves forward. The adrenaline already was adding a pleasant sensation to my racing heart. It was just like old times, except the drunken asshole was replaced by a racist pony prince. Wow that sounded weird. "Colt?" The twitching and narrowing of his eyes did not reveal what he intended to do in retaliation, but I had an idea that delayed execution was close to the mark. They did need an heir after all. After that it was anybeing’s guess. The vibrations slowed as we held each other’s gaze. "Yup, a over confident colt." I added a little cheer in it, loving every second of his controlled anger. I would crush him stallion to...Colt. I could practically walk over him. “Really,” the word was more than a question when he spoke it. It was the urge to pommel one another that flowed between our eyes, the sheer equine rage that I had felt towards Arch and the rest rising once more. My tail whipped against the princesses as I raised an eyebrow at him. I just wanted to hurt him then. He made me angry; Blueblood had even tried to push me over the edge before. Taunting me with ‘How was the Narrow sea’. Yes, how was a slave producing, sea serpent filled hellhole? It was a world of pain I had wanted to shout at him, but I maintained my composure, filing away the fact that it was one that he seemed to be okay with. The standoff cemented it, I was the villain for wanting to change the world...Putting a stop to their perfect weather. As if the last chime of the quivering chandelier was a signal his entourage of nine guards slowly filtered in on shaky legs, determination filling their uniform blue and brown eyes as they fanned out across the wall. Blueblood stepped closer with a crunch, less than four feet separated us then, and his own horn had charged light blue during the bold move. Really? You want to go against me in a magic battle? My instincts piped up in with disgust at his ever encroaching presence. It was worse than the urge to bite Echo or keep away from Azure, and I was in no position to move from my captives, they were the reason I wasn’t in pain yet. Though, the Lunar guards certainly wanted to take more risks, their actions bolder and slightly independent from the soldiers behind the prince. It was only a matter of time till they made a move. His eyes left my horn and neck once more shining with confidence, like the anger had never been there. The confidence briefly puzzled me. He was one pony. A racist colt that was half my size and most probably half my magical core or less. His idea of a threat was to ask me how the Narrow sea had been. Which was more an admission to his knowledge of the slavers in my book than anything, or an attempt to cow me into backing down when our eyes met; it was kind of hard to read him when he went from petulant child to cocky prince within a hour. The latter had shined through then as he had then followed that question with a quietly comment, almost whisper bragging to me. 'I wouldn't, I have special training, special training you could only dream of'. What was I supposed to take from the fact that he had been in a special training program? It had only increased the unexplained urge to push away his seat, an urge that had actually started as soon as he sat down beside me. Not to mention, it clued me to what services his family was known for. ‘Special’, yah, and ‘integral to Equestria’s history’, yes, I could imagine what he did. The look in his eyes then and in that moment was one I had seen not even a week ago in a vildkatt’s eyes. Perhaps that sadistic pleasure he found in controlling my actions was why he was here like this. He was sure he had an Alicorn with the fifteen guards he had slowly surrounding me. He was wrong. I had killed a crew of fifteen without blinking; disarming these racists wouldn’t be that hard. My lack of response had him prodding me again, falling right into my bid for time.“Are you really trying to pretend you didn’t sink a fleet of ships?” Sink? “…What,” was all I could say in response, more than a little off guard at such a statement. What rumors had he heard? Actually, who would have…Never mind, there was that call for help. But he was on a roll it seemed, “You threatened a merchant captain and took his wares for your own wealth?” Oh, merchants were they? Snorting I arched my neck to meet his approach, turning my body to face him fully, with my fur bristling at his blatant lies. I was trying hard to save this screwed up world! “Funny words coming from a racist such as yourself,” my wings unfurled with a snap that caused the solar guards to jump in place. A pegasi stallion backed up into the window with a gulp and clink. However, Blueblood just raised an eyebrow at the display of size, eyeing my short whipping tail and bald patches before quickly tapping the floor twice with his right hind hoof. My eyes followed his action with a frown. Nothing happened so I pressed on. "I mean, if killing a lot of beings got everybeing the title of ‘prince’ then I wouldn’t be so quick to call others uncouth, colt.” I smiled as the eye twitch and a frown grew on his face. Not to mention, the way his eyes flicked between me and the guards behind me worriedly, like they were going to save his sorry ass. But they were silent, only a light rustling coming from the wall that had the kitchen door. Just what I needed, the waiters were probably listening in again. “And merchants? Is that a joke? Those were-,” I was forced to duck as a blur appeared in my peripheral, forcing me to duck, “-You fucker!” A feathered dart was sunk halfway into the table, quivering from the power behind it. I looked around in confusion. The Thestrals had paused in their approach to look at me closely, frowning as their ears twitched at the left corner by the kitchen…Interesting. But as I looked at them I saw they didn’t have anything to hold darts. Same with the Solar guards, although they looked significantly more confident with the dart coming out of nowhere and continued to fan out though as I waited for his next move, an ear now directed to the left. It appeared to be empty but I knew better than to trust my senses in this magic land. A snort answered my insult, his ears pinning back at me before he continued. “Why I never,” but the blue eyes across from me didn’t match the sentiment his words and ears sought to invoke in our audience. “That means little coming from a…,” Go on, I dare you, “A pirate such as yourself!” A whole barracks worth of golden guards turned the corner at that moment, breaking into a brisk trot as they saw my wings held out and over their slumped forward leaders. “Flank the prince,” One shouted to the others. But their appearance didn’t quite register in my mind then. I am going to have to buck that muzzle in before I leave. It was the only solution I could think of for his confidence. When I got out of the castle I could theoretically teleport again but till then it was an 'any way out' sort of moment. “Now, you are clearly,” Blueblood continued to move his muzzle but my instincts were rising and I agreed with them. Pirate…He just called me a pirate. Words failed me at first, thoughts stalling and ability to plan fizzing out with such a contradicting statement rattling around my head. I had lost everything, set to work to save my new home...And I get this?! "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I muttered as it came home. They didn’t care, maybe didn’t know of the state out there, but they certainly wouldn’t care from what I saw. What did sparing their lives really do? What was the point in convincing them? Why save the Alicorns? I just wanted to hit something, but my legs wouldn’t move, everybeing seemed glued to the prince's words. The compass on his flank was taunting my inability to make the final step and act against his presumptuous rump. Still, that was weird. No pony seemed to know what to do in the standoff. Instead, Solar guards watched me closely, tense and determined. But they were largely immobile. Many had already gripped the bases of their roman short swords and spears in preparation for a fight. While the Lunar guard were sending off narrowed looks and nods, ear twitches forming a strange pattern of sorts as they were traded between the ebony gilded guards. But words didn’t fail me for long, my anger boiling over the strange sensation as I focused once more on the prince before me. He was painting me like the villain to them, “Don’t go fucking twisting this onto me Blueblood!” The scowl deepened, offence clearly taken to something, and his hoof tapped the floor once again. “I am not the bad guy here! Freeing slaves,” the clang of armor filled the room in an ear folding cacophony of noise, my words almost a whisper in comparison. “That does not make me a pirate!," I rose my voice to be heard over the din, "It is you-,” I halted at the sound of a flap of leathery wings and something whizzing through the air. The smile in front of me fell into a scowl as it hit me, well, hit my magic really… He was playing me...Darts...Stalling for time. That was where his confidence came from! I stomped another hind hoof down, my desire to cause him pain overriding the urge to fly momentarily. But several more darts bounced off my hastily conjured shield, forcing my ears back, and with that I heard a shuffle…Behind me. Whipping around I looked back in time to see the cause. One dark furred Thestral had made his way towards the princesses. The intent was clear to me as he glanced between his armored hoof touching the table and the outstretched hoof reaching for Luna, or the key on the table, I didn’t really care as the slitted eyes met my face again. The dark gray muzzle dropping as I let my anger flow out. I couldn’t kill him, but the faint reminder didn’t slow my body. My golden shield disappeared as the crackling in my head traveled downward at a breakneck pace. Whipping back to face the conniving pony before me I bunched up my muscles as I watched the smug look on Blueblood’s face with a single minded focus. He could die. Roaring out my frustration I reared up before him, slamming down a second later with a shudder. The grimace producing aftershock sent him scrambling back in fear. This farce was over! I missed the over inflated head before me, but his light blue magic did sputter out, and the sour smell of urine hit me soon after. Just in time too. The crowd of guards reached the room then as well, but they hastily stepped back into the hall from the brief growth in my shadow. Fear etched in their eyes as I looked at them with a pained scowl. “Back off!” I warned them. A clink brought my attention back behind me. Not waiting to aim I tucked my rump down and shot my hooves back. The manly squeal telling me I was either too slow or he was too quick. Take your pick. Either way he was still alive, but not near my princesses anymore, wait, no -never mind-. I had had enough of this. I was only digging myself a hole now. Scooting back between the unconscious mares I kept my wings outstretched over them and returned my gaze to the wide eyed noble who was still several steps back from my range after that experience, still dripping on the marble. Time to go, that colt won’t be approaching me anytime soon. But as I raised my wings higher I hesitated, internal conflict growing as I watched the guards with doubt, my mind to the hole the prince had started digging for me and I had probably grown. They were going to think I was evil or something with what he had said…Some could be innocent to the knowledge of this apathetic regime, Echo had been. Just to clear the air… Exhaling I faced the crowd, “Blueblood, don’t go confusing me for the slavers I was stopping-,” my words were cut off as I was suddenly looking at a bright blue bolt of magic. A shield appeared out of instinct, deflecting it at the last second with a resounding shatter of glass and clatter of armor as guards threw themselves to the sides of the window I had shattered. Grunts echoed among the sharp sound of glass shards on marble. A jagged hole looked back at me through the golden shield, metal cross supports bent outward from the power. The guards were regrouping and Blueblood was done playing. Perhaps that wasn’t bragging when he mentioned his special training…I glanced back to the prince, slightly happy to see him panting from the effort. And maybe I was magically powerfulwith giant ass wings. Before I could get a flap in I found my smile dropping as leathery snaps sounded in the air behind me. A smug nod was sent my direction. "Really," No response came from him, but his actions said 'really, really'. He lowered his horn to me, still dripping as I looked to the other horns being lowered in my direction, twenty to be exact, and the pointy spears rising from the pegasi guards were even more numerous. I eyed the princesses, myself, and jagged hole in brief calculation…It was possible, if only just, and I couldn’t mess up the entry angle or I would be cut up…But it sure beat the pain I felt coming my way. Already the pegasi guards were unfurling their wings in unison to mimic their night time counterparts behind me; the newly arrived guards had also regained their bravado and followed the lead of the already present ponies, more horns charged, pegasi ready for liftoff, and all were waiting for either Blueblood or myself to make a move. Letting my eyes stray behind me, I could already see more dark armored guards galloping down that hall, joining the small amount that had turned up to escort Luna to Night Court. No. There was too many guards, they would block me, tackle me to the ground...I needed a bigger hole. Charging my horn I looked at Blueblood, his own horn was sputtering a charging spell as well as he met my gaze, fear still present in his gaze. Fu…“Bye-bye colt,” and I released the small drop of power up into the dome before he could get his off, A hunk of marble taller than me crashed down before I could blink, the sheer weight of the monstrosity sending chunks of tile and dust flying around the room. But I didn’t stay to watch his next move as I ducked the flashes of light that were aiming where my head had been. Holding a shield over my flank I made a break for it, taking several tingling hits as I turned and grabbed each mare around their barrel. The room rang with clangs of metal, crashes, hums of magic, and flapping as dust and feathers filled the air. With a glance back at the flurry of noise covered in dark grey debris I gave a powerful thrust up. And I nearly choked on the air as my body was filled with an unexpected heaviness, ripping me down, and forcing me to channel more magic to my forearms. The magic now evenly divided between my legs and wing channels. This was going to interesting. Dust and stone continued to fly around me as the room shook, the ceiling half crumbling still from the force of my poorly charged spell as I rose. But the larger hole where half the ceiling had been was perfect for my wingspan and too wide for the guards to block me if they did overtake me. I angled my body to the unmistakable opening as many guards could be heard following suit, my plan not being exactly subtle. Luckily for me Pegasi couldn’t shoot magic. "GET HIM,” the prince ordered and they tried to comply with their prince's demand. However they didn’t hold my attention. Even as twenty odd flashes of rainbow colors continued to seek me out in the dust cloud the room had become I powered on. I was focusing on staying airborne. My forelegs certainly weren't prepared for this. Even with the magical boast of strength they strained under the combined weight of the sisters. “Princess,” a chorus of calls for them came from everywhere. But my small grunts of protest seemed louder as I manoeuvred with the dead weights in my forelegs to my freedom. Cursing my own magic as it resisted me, fighting to rejoin the stronger focus on my wing channels. Crap! My wings faltered for half a second, knocked off course by a falling rock before I straightened out. I had to focus. I had to get higher, faster! Kicking a hoof back into the air in frustration at the lack of height I was gaining I felt something hard connect with it before a metallic crash sounded behind me. Guess they weren’t completely useless guards. Of course, it wasn't surprising that they could catch up without two mares weighing them down. “Release the princesses!” Nope. Surprisingly they weren't overtaking me. Instead, more hooves attempted to grasp my hind hooves as I ascended. Those were soon joined by spear tips, prodding at my rump and forearms as I maintained my lead. Why? They should have been able to over take me, disable my wings by now…I mean, the powerful ascending thrust I had put into the first flap had only brought me to a quarter of the usual distance I would travel. What were they up to? As I climbed higher I could already feel that my wings were working double time. A glance down confirmed it and showed that my chest muscles were even bulging under the new weight. To top this mess off it was slightly unbalancing sensation I had mentioned, it was tilting me with just a glance down at my pursuers. But, the filtered light was still growing closer despite my slow ascent. “Halt,” another guard screamed, just inches from my tail, "Halt -horseapples!" The sudden change of tone almost had me looking down again, and then Leathery flapping held my attention as the feeling of warm breath on my hocks disappeared suddenly. Wh-. "FIRE!” And then what had to be a dozen spears began to fly at me, sailing over my head by millimetres it felt like, my fur moving with each projectile’s passing. One even thwacked my ear on its way down. "Fuck!" "Princess," came the call of desperation. The unearthly bat war screeches following it adding a burst of adrenaline to my beating wings. "Halt!" A spear skimmed over my dock as I thanked the single use nature of throwing spears. Warm air buffeted my hocks seconds later as more flapping joined the chaotic lightshow once more, but I didn’t break my pace to look back again. Something was up and the screeches were a very convincing encouragement that demanded I make it out of castle. There couldn’t possibly be runes outside the castle for teleporting as well. Come on, just a little more, then I can teleport! A spear flew by my muzzle, grazing my nose and sending iron dripping into my open muzzle as I focused harder on the filtered light. More cries of 'stop' reaching me just as I broke into the sunlight and saw the gardens from what would usually be a breathtaking view. But the dozens of hurried wings not far behind me impeded that, only encouraging me to continue to pump my wing muscles harder against gravity. Sneaking a look back I could see dozens of angry faces, some less than a flap away from my hooves with their open hooves outstretched. More than a few Thestrals tickling the underside of my hoof during my brief look back, their faces telling me that wasn't what they were going for. Only once I escaped their hooves could I teleport. I flapped faster towards the sun, breathing easier knowing that it shouldn’t be lo- I nearly froze at what I saw in the sky. What was that?
Plans Unravelled. Part 2.Plans Unravelled. Part 2. **** Above Equestria Ari Green melted into brown and returned to green once more, on and on it went, half the time not even registering to my eyes. I was almost ready to beg the bastard god himself to do something! I kicked back another batch of hooves as yet another waterfall passed by under me, the cool spray misting up to me and releasing a long, tired sigh from my chest. Just name your price god! Unsurprisingly no being answered me, like the endless questions of ‘why’ and ‘how’ that had gone unanswered before this failed plan had proven his apathy, he proved himself no different now. Yet another orchard was approaching. My enthusiasm at the red dots of fruit was weak, my magic softly crackling as I thought back on my time. It had been hours…Yes, for fucking hours I had been flying away from the mob, holding onto my precious cargo, and all to no avail. Gaining a gap was impossible. There was no if, ands, or buts about it. Determination was their first, middle, and last name it seemed. They had traversered over forests, fields, and, of course, cities in pursuit. That was where my problem started and ended really, the cities and towns dotting the country. Like clockwork my pursers would call for help and a new wave of pegasi would rise from whatever settlement we happened to be near, desperate hooves would try and grasp at me, and some brave souls would try and cut me off. But I stayed ahead of them…by mere millimetres sometimes. The head on collisions had come pretty close, cling-ons even more frequent as I grew tired. Yet, nothing had occurred to me between dodging those and looking for an escape so I had just kept on, beating my wings up and down, pushing myself forward, and I got nowhere. My body wasn’t that generous, my swerving, and more constant steadying had a price. And that meant that I obviously hadn’t teleported, not with at least several sets of hooves closing in on me at all times. I felt ready to drop. Sweat was clouding my vision, collecting in my fur, and putting my grip on the princesses in peril as I crept ever closer to the green expanse of Minotaria. The clouds were strangely absent. “Ha…lt!” But not close enough as the tired voice of my followers liked to remind me. I ignored their persuasive one worded arguments and continued to treasure the air I had. Cool, sweet oxygen, free of pollutions. It didn’t help though. When will they drop off? I hadn’t planned to be airborne this long and I was starting to wonder if this was their plan. Tire the Alicorn out… Well, it was working. As I caught a slight break, my body lifting up and forward on a generous updraft, I heard it. What was it you may wonder? Well, I could only blink when I first heard it, the sheer oddity of the sound among the now normal protests grabbing a hold of me. Thrumming, that what it felt like as it filled the air, almost engine-like, but too loud and too constant of a sound to be an engine. It was almost enough to make me look behind, almost; I stopped myself just in time as I felt the light headedness that this pace had created return. My head pounded in retribution. Clouds started to return, whipping by below me as I steadied my breathing, ears pinned back to the new sound. What made-. “In the name of Equestria and all that is harmonious you are under arrest, Ari of the,” a half second of pause happened before the mare pushed forward, not seeing me roll my eyes, “…Endless Sea.” And to her credit whoever was making that powerful noise didn’t wait several seconds. Instead they powered on, growing louder…Closer. Acres and acres of fruit trees loomed below me. I kept silent as a new shade of blue crept into my peripheral vision. “Halt in the name-.” I cut the pony off as I rolled into them, ignoring the squeal as I began to spin out to the side. I was creating curses from my followers but I just cracked a grin at their words. They wanted what I had, there was no need to repeat it so damn much. I knew exactly what I was doing. Like losing them, the border would be upon me soon enough, and that meant home, my mares. Blurring green landscapes flew by. “Stop in-.” They were trying again, staying just outside of the perimeter of my roll if the dark blue creeping into my peripheral was what I thought it was…Yup, the feathers started to gain focus as my roll slowed. The comet tailed ponies were back. God, that wasn’t what I meant by ‘do something’! All around me I could see them forming a triangle, one below and the other two on either side of my flank. None were overtaking me, yet that is. There might be more to this. I scanned the horizon again, “-failure to adhere to the Equestrian special air forces will force us-,” blah, blah, blah. I tuned out there standard exclamation, the info that they were just another force of guards not even fazing me. Dark green held my sight, no, it called like a siren to me. ‘Everfree forest isn’t a place anypony lingers, any sane one.’ Moonlit Echo’s rant on the notable landmark came back with a grin. Special air force or not, that spot was held in fear by the guards, at least that was the way he spoke of it, and that meant I stood more of a chance losing them in the forest then up here. A glance showed my…Spandexed…Yeah, wow, well, my followers were still around me. The panting behind me a affirmative that the rest of the equestrian force hadn’t disappeared. It was almost upon me. Something bit my wing just as began to tuck it in. Pain spread from down the tip as I found my course faltering, my wing trapped in somepony’s jaws. It didn’t take long for the other tip to be arrested in the other pony’s maw. Pain built up. Blood reached my nose. Sweat flew. I snorted away the coppery tinged sweat from my nostrils and zeroed in on my goal again. It was the forest that was at the end of the dirt road, past the empty looking town, and far away from these pests. There were three pests though… My mind focused in on my aetheratic channels and I cut off the flow to my wings, sending it charging up to my horn. The feeling was immediate, a powerful burst of energy filling my horn. Lightly thrumming in my blood as I looked down, flying was just like driving, you look where you want to go. And I wanted to go through that blue maned stallion below me. Fuuuu… My core shrunk before my inner eye, dimming as maintained the channels as well. Our eyes met, mine narrowing as his grew large. Tugs of pain registered in my mind, the sensations becoming one with the hard blows hitting my shoulder. “DON’T YOU DARE-.” One mare shouted, releasing my wing to bite at my wither instead. As if her action could even faze my level of exhaustion now. Arch whipped harder than that. A muffled grunt of protest reached me above the crackling filling my senses, my focus on keeping my grip and fuuu… Letting go of the magic was easy. Squeals of fear met my senses as light blinded me to my actions; I was flying over it, almost through it. The warmth of the magic causing sweat to drip and fur to burn under me, somewhere metal was melting with its sour odor. Yet no fucks could be managed. My wings were free of new pain, lighter, and moving in towards my barrel as I rocketed down. The light left me with spots of color, even as it stayed behind me the rainbow dots held their place in my vision. Breathing in as my nostrils flared back I soared on the feeling, the velocity that was growing. Any exclamations of further surprise appeared and disappeared in my ears before I could blink, It seemed like my whole body seemed to know the routine now, my entire being consumed in the perfecting the dive. Every feather clamping down to become more aerodynamic, my eyes narrowing and releasing tears in the movement, I was getting ahead of them. Safety… My instincts whispered, and I nodded slightly at the assumption. My heels were cooler than they had been in quite a while. Gasps still reached me though. Looking up quickly I saw why. The sun…Even blurring by I could see it was approaching the mountains, setting itself, and without their ruler’s help. Shocking… Suddenly flashes of green and brown hit me; I was forced to look down as flashbacks of a certain brown whip came with it. I was forced to squint my eyes as I entered head first through the canopy, the brown of the branches nearly identical to my memory. Calm…A deep breath in, and out again. A smack reverberated through me though, whether it was here or then I couldn’t tell. I just gasped at the sharp contact. If my heart could have gone faster it would have. A roar echoed around me soon after, louder than the snaps of wood, and louder than the equine squeals I involuntarily produced as the more resilient branches snapped back at my flank. Producing a shield didn’t help much. The forest didn’t seem to have an end to its canopy. Golden magic started to flicker, my core dimming as my head felt the muted sensation of every hit. Food… Eventually the seemly endless slideshow of branches, leaves, strange bug goop, and even more questionable mildew leaf litter played ended…With a loud crack of course, my shield failed then as well. My trench had ended with a large tree. A very solid tree that sent shudders throughout my forelegs. And the princesses took most of the hit, a fact that I was going to hear about that later. But in the moment I just let myself fall back onto the forest floor, still clutching my, no, I scolded myself, I was clutching the mares for dear life. Feeling their shallow breathes go out of synch with my gulping display of exhaustion, air having suddenly become sweeter than any food. Never again, ever, ever, ever again would I do that, it could have killed me. By some miracle it hadn’t killed anybeing yet. Seconds past and no pony appeared to have followed my crash course. Exhaling heavily I looked around, my initial scan finding a familiar and now bent golden tiara on the ground. The sight both puzzled and stilled my body for a second. For starters, how had it not come off before? Like during the many dives or the most likely event, the barrel roll? Silence surrounded me, providing me with no answers. Probably some strange magic that I broke…The crown was useless now anyway. Actually, I had a better question for the world. Did I truly lose them? Turning my aching neck skywards I groaned under my breath. A blue dot was hovering over the long, gaping hole I had made in the canopy…Had made, shit. Holy mother of shit, I take back my ‘any cover is better than nothing’ thought, this was crazy. I was crazy. As I watched the trees creaked into action, the birds and other creatures still silent as foliage moved with an unnatural speed and intent, creating shadow after shadow till a deep darkness closed over my rapidly blinking eyes. I understood Echo’s fear a hell of a lot more now; I think I just developed a new one actually. Were all the plants in here sentient or something? For an herbivore that was pretty bad news. Even more so if the sentient plants realized I was starving, exhausted, and wouldn’t have thought twice about munching on some of the fruitier looking plants I had spotted lining the trails around me. How had they not woken from that? Continuing to blink at the oddness of the moment I noticed a faint glow starting around me, a luminescent light blue that traveled up the bark of several nearby trees. It was a moss, I think so anyway. Its actions were slow. Dare I say it? They almost appeared hesitant to glow as I watched them, it was growing brighter the longer the quiet persisted. My breathing was growing quieter as well as I looked around in fascination. Stranger than the moss was the large arrow shaped leaves it illuminated beneath it; they seemed to point their arrow heads left and right as if they could see…Which plants obviously couldn’t. I knew that, I wasn’t crazy…It was probably some sort of adaptation to keep nervous herbivores like myself from eating it. All around more plants appeared to come alive as well; even the tree we had hit seemed to have squirming bark as I gazed up at it. Within seconds the bare spot on the trunk was loosely covered by a lighter, thinner bark. But I was just delaying the inevitable with my wonder, enjoying the quiet and rest after that fresh hell I had created for myself. My wings were already cramping against my barrel in retaliation, stomach screaming for sustenance and permission to vomit all at once. Despite my immobility my forelegs protested, still more complaints rose as I relaxed them, the sensation of letting the mares roll beside me causing a stiff cramp to form in them. I wasn’t made for this sort of thing. I just wasn’t- wait- teleporting, I could teleport now! Focusing on home I grabbed at my remaining magic, the warm crackling responding in kind. It traveled up my horn, sparks jumping as I breathed in. … And nothing happened. Closing and opening my eyes I frowned and gripped the mares tighter, focusing on the open deck instead, the fresh look of the light brown planks as they lay all in perfect order, with only a errant black hoof print from our mechanic still here and there. Even the rat lines that could be seen criss-crossing over the railings appeared clear in my mind. Focus…Will it, intent, believe it will happen. My magic flowed out from my horn, warm and golden in my slitted sights as it flowed along my fur like a hot gel, a strange sensation that hadn’t happened before, but I allowed it. My magic was a little odd and I was still learning. Teleport! A jolt ran through me, firing off random nerves with pain as my crackling magic hit the dead weights in my forelegs. It didn’t stay there long before retreating back into my horn rapidly and against my will I noticed with dread. The pain had not made me stop…It was the mares themselves, the unconscious mares…Wearing magic inhibitors . It hit me with the obviousness now. I couldn’t even levitate the inhibitors when they were closed…They were closed…And I…Fuck. Once again I was left wondering what to do. The sky was out of the question now; the forest had made sure of that. Teleporting was out of the question as well thanks to my stupidity, and that left walking…With two unconscious mares that wouldn’t want to let me carry their heavy rumps to my ship when they awoke. Another fact I was unsure about. I was walking home...Joy. **** Everfree Forest Rd, Equestria ?????? The market had ended earlier than I had anticipated; my potions still clinked in my saddle bags as a reminder that they were still vastly unsold. But I didn’t blame that fact on the small mindedness of the town’s ponies, they had come a long way from my first day here…Which was a tale for a different time I’m afraid, no, this time my wares were left unsold due to a new oddity. A occurrence that wasn’t all too unfamiliar to the small town I had been stationed in, but it was of such a different nature that it stood out among the random Cockatrices and Manticores that had taken to wandering in. It had started like any other weekend, my saddle bags loaded to the brim with the extra wares I had produced that week thanks to the increase in rain in the forest. A event solely of its own making, the pegasi having no control over that area to their chagrin. Applebloom and her family had met me on my way to the market, pleasantries were exchanged, it was the usual cordial ‘yups’ and excited stories of that week’s exploits in the search for cutie marks. The law of the herd being merely a thing of the past in comparison to how that week’s talent wasn’t the one for my young friend. And before long the road led us to our familiar spots in the town market. We each set up our own stalls, smiles plentiful now. At least from some, the suspicious looks still were cast my way but some bolder agents in the town. But they didn’t try anything as usual, the presence of the element of honesty keeping them at bay…Anyway, we then proceeded to garner customers for our wares, as per usual, it was a novel act that filled the morning with much laughter. However, the afternoon was where it went polisi umbo. Shudders grew beneath me, slowly growing till even Applejack looked down to me from her stall in question. I could only blink in disbelieve at her as a unwelcome reminder of home came to me and tore up the market place, rumbling louder and faster as it sent ponies screaming and whinnying in distress. An earthquake was happening in Equestria. Truly, was I awake? Had the princess of the night caught on to me? I had to be awake though. “What in tarnation?” “Ahh,” Applebloom exclaimed as her hooves slipped out from under her from the erratic movements of the planet. More exclamations of surprise had risen as the ponies were puzzled over the events, the few pegasi in the town even rising to the air to check for a ‘monster’, a common occurrence in this small town bordering Everfree forest. “Nothing…There isn’t any monster at all?!” I could have told them that, if they had cared to ask I would have told them exactly what I believed was happening, but no pony did. Some eyes did burn a hole in my flank but I wasn’t paying them any mind; it was unlikely that they could pin it on me. No pony seemed to have ever encountered an earthquake before, as they continued to clumsily gallop about the square in confusion, looking for an invisible enemy as the fact that Equis could do this didn’t occur to them. Simply wazimu to think that the world got on fine before the Alicorns, wasn’t it? It was here. Just as they feared my forest home due to natural weather…Foals. But some of the smarter ponies such as the element of magic were right to look around the market in calm confusion, earthquakes didn’t happen here, but they did exist…Something was wrong, something that surely had to do with my hallucination at the pond this morning. This requires investigating before I add it to the report. And with that I rolled out from under my stand and started packing up my potions and salves despite the shaking around me. Only seconds later did others catch on to the idea. So everybeing left the square, scurrying back to their homes as fast as they could, with many not even bothering to take their wares with them as their survival instincts took hold. Which I understood, but in reality it was a minor quake at best. It only rattled the signs of stores on their flimsy chains and jostled wares around. I had seen worse. But I wasn’t volunteering that information; I liked living thank you very much. Which is what led an awkward conversation, it was just after we had left the market place, my pony friends having wasted no time to join me on the shared long walk home. “Yah’ sure yah’ don’t need a-,” Applejack gulped as she glanced at the darkened entrance further down my fork in the road, “-a’ hoof getting home Zecora? Yah don’t know what crazy monsters might be stompin’ around to make that racket.” A smile curved my mouth easily as I glanced from the soothing presence of the magic infused forest to the kind pony before me, happy, for of all things I could have seen I saw genuine concern in her eyes. My young friend held concern as well as she gazed up at me, her eyes large and fighting my protocol as it nagged me to hurry up and investigate. Best not to ruin it yet, “Thank you for your warm southern charm, but I don’t believe I shall come to any harm.” My rhyme brought a frown to her sister’s face, green eyes scanning mine, and narrowing in frustration as she found no lies. As usual it worked. Nothing in there caused me fear. And my rhymes kept my word choice in the forefront of my mind, avoiding the previous breaks-. “Yah’ sure, Zecora? I’m sure my big brother wouldn’t mind escorting you home at all!” Applebloom exclaimed with all the subtlety of a Manticore and missed the wince that traveled among us as she looked between Big Macintosh and me. Her hooves practically pranced in place with the sheer excitement that coursed through her. “I am sure young Applebloom, that this one can do more than thou assumes.” That poor stallion had been hounded by mares for weeks, all desperate to not be sent away to other stallions in neighboring towns when the herd act came into effect, and by some Stetson wearing miracle he had ended up just as single as he had been before the law had happened. “Uh, sorry, I meant, uh,” it didn’t stop the gears from going in young Applebloom’s head though. Her head shot up, “I only meant-,” her eyes shone again, “-you might enjoy the company!” And now I ‘needed’ a stallion around the hut, the inhabitants of the forest were now ‘too much’ after me living alone out there for years. Miss Fluttershy, the element of kindness, was only an hour’s trot away at worst. Of course that was partly my own fault again. ‘Wasn’t I happy’ she had queried and I couldn’t give her an honest answer, not even a passable rhyme, and that had only made her try harder to push us together. Giving the red stallion an apologetic smile, I took a step back and struggled to maintain my smile at my young friend. “I assure you, this one is not blue.” Her sister nodded at me with narrowed eyes, having surely caught on to my wording. My fur was black and white after all. “A’ think Zecora will be fine suga’ cube…Wouldn’t she know the creatures of Everfree best?” Applebloom nodded absently as her sister herded her to the cart, half full baskets of apples jumping into action as their brother started off down their road. Her Stetson tipped my way, “and wouldn’t she know the best paths to her house? Big Mac doesn’t even know the way back anyway. Yah wouldn’t want to him teh’ git lost would yah?” “N-no,” Applebloom stuttered, looking between her brother and me with worried eyes. And her sister continued on, waving a hoof at me as she tried to dissuade her little sister from her filly fantasies. All the while keep her moving down their road. Watching them go I waved a hoof in good bye. Waving until they rounded the corner and slipped behind the view of trees, then my hoof dropped and my heart grew heavy. “Good bye Apples.” With a quiet sigh I turned to my home, my empty hut waiting for me, and my family thousands of miles away. But I have a report to add to…A pond to investigate. My ears snapped to attention. Always alert, never allow yourself to be alone. Protocol rang through my veins, cooling my emotions as I watched the bushes and skies, not even a rustle of Pinkie Pie reached my ears. Something was wrong. But I didn’t know what, the usual agents hadn’t started anything, and the weather was right on schedule. A strange thought still, but all was normal before me. The tenseness persisted until I reached the cover of the Anthu trees, there I breathed deeper. The trees opened up before me, creaking in their familiar way, just as I expected. The sound very much a part of the word home as my hut was here. With the soft sound they seemed to bring a tighter grip around my increasingly unstable emotions, the familiar damp scent they exuded a balm to my senses. Ponies weren’t the same, not all of them. It no longer bothered me that I was more at home here than I could expect to be in this country. As I was engulfed in the cool shade the branches already moving to obscure the entrance I came in from any following agents. And I stood there, breathing in the moist air, now rich in the scent of herbs. “Assante,” I whispered to the trees, hating to break the peace that came from their silent form of support. A sign that my years of toil had some well wishers at least, I know the agents would sooner have me servicing their allied Arabians or dragons than ‘corrupting’ their fillies with my ‘savage’ ways. Letting my withers slump I stared at the few strands of grass that leaned towards the kufufua moss that gave me sight. My work is still so vast, almost too much for one being…They were everywhere out there. A sigh left me as I looked at the trees around me, my sole friends and protectors in this mission. Save for the ambassadors, but they were hardly friends, it was more like we had a common cause and had to work together to get even the smallest task done. Nearly all of them were equally stringent and hard to talk with at the best of times. They were always cautious to take my reports, understandably though. Ponies were small and numerous, everywhere at times, all times in Equestria. Creaking caught my ears as I adjusted my bags. And as I watched my friends parted to create an opening. Now groaning the unused trees as they formed a new path to my left, one that hadn’t been there in all the years I had traveled here. It looked like no being had used it in quite awhile. Had the agents actually braved the forest? No, no pony had entered the forest behind me. That left was no reason for their sudden action, at least none that I could see. I blinked as the roots literally smoothed themselves into the ground ahead of me, the trunks moving to lean away from the new area they made for me. Why? Looking to the right I noted my usual path had closed up, leaving no other route. “Unataka nini kwangu,” I asked the forest in wonder, receiving little taps on my rump by errant Klava vines in response. But I had already begun stepping onto the new trail without their assistance, my curiosity peaked. Most of the time they enjoyed confusing travelers, pony travelers mind you, they had never shown me the same treatment. They had given me sanctuary, allowed me to thrive in their territory, and never communicated without undue cause. Something was definitely ahoof. **** Everfree Forest, Equestria Ari Living trees…Check. Strange vines that like to flick my rump if I so much as brushed by them, yup. And let’s not forget the growing backache I was developing along with my overexerted muscles from earlier, things were just peachy. My muscles were already stiffer than the time Katie dragged me to the gym, under the claim that building decks wasn’t a good enough exercise plan…Her instructor happened to be single. Anyway, the point was it wasn’t even the day after yet and I ached. That was also to say, if I made it out of here before the next day started. It had felt like hours, so maybe it was the next day already. Time was hard to track down below the canopy. With darkness, various luminescent flora, and exhaustion setting in it was near impossible. Right, I was by carrying the princesses on my back like some sort of pack mule…Wait, were there mules here? And weren’t mules-. A snap echoed throughout the forest then, interrupting tired thoughts, knocking them away as a new awareness filled me. That was the first big sound in hours. But I didn’t have the energy to do anything besides pivot my ears around me. Nothing came charging out. The insects kept chirping, the birds kept warbling, and so I felt no need to do anything. It was probably a deer or some other harmless creature. Softer padding came from my right but the occupants of the forest carried on, so I thought nothing of it. Just a deer… I was not stopping for anything less than an enemy. Especially when the spandex wonders and the guards would eventually grow enough balls to enter the forest. Most likely when they had enough ponies to cover the area or enough to take down an Alicorn, although it didn’t feel like much was needed now. A growl filled the air. My stomach growled again, against my actions, and nearly as empty as when I first arrived on this planet. But I ignored it. No being would just give up on their rulers. And I had to be out of it by the time the mob entered, when ever that was. Fuck. The ground zoomed in for a second. Grunting and teetering I hopped around the root that rose to trip me…Lovely. They wanted to hurt me as well as the population of Equestria. Air left my lungs in protest as I stabilized again, glaring at another root as it creaked back during its retreat, and I put that to the back of my mind. Don’t start fights with magical plants. So I trudged forward on the path I had started on with a deeper frown, my hoof throbbing in disagreement. One dead plant couldn’t h-. “Fuck!” the word was whipped out of me this time, the vines testing my patience as I could feel they curl in the air behind me, ready to repeat themselves. They were poking me, wanting something. I wasn’t crazy…But this had to mean something. Magical plants didn’t just beat up herbivores in some twisted role reversal, right? The sound of air swishing had me side stepping, grunting as my load wobbled preciously and my muscles screamed in protest. The soft clink of yet another horse shoe hitting the floor held my ear’s attention, for too long though. Within a second the vine came back and whapped me on the head. It gave me no choice. Pain lanced up my forelegs as I broke into a trot, grunting and correcting myself when the mares hopped up and down haphazardly on my back, smashing down on the bases of my stiff wings. I had to get out of here, even an empty field would do, heck, that orchard would do. Another vine snapped against the leaf litter, sending it flying at my tail as I snorted. This was just getting ridiculous! Nothing in the enchanted woods made sense though. For starters it was the only forest, woods, or place that really seemed to capture the ‘magicness’ of the land so far. The plants had sensed my approach, my exact location, and moved in response. Creaking as I hurried past them, as if to watch me make my way through what I felt was their home; they certainly acted like it was. However the various flora around me didn’t seem keen on giving me any hints on where the exit was so I could leave them. No, that would be too easy. They almost took a special sort of joy in chastising me for the slightest things instead. I wasn’t going to argue with a plant though; all I wanted then was to go home, a place that still seemed too far away. Where was the border? “AH,” a yelp escaped me as a particularly powerful lash hit me, causing me to jump forward at the difference in pressure, the pain returning with the following sting in my flank. What did I do now? As I came down with a heavy thump I looked back at the annoyed vine with a scowl. I was leaving faster, what more could they want? The tree it hung off of groaned, literally leaning away from me as I watched. I leaned away from it in turn…I still was getting over that part. It was like a time lapse on crack taking place before my very eyes. Trees groaning in protest all along my left, opening up before me, and growing illuminated by steadily brightening moss. Did it want me- “Ah,” I yelped once more – it did want me to take that path. Maybe it was going to lead me out of here? I could only hope. Slowing down to a walk I turned left onto the new route, cautiously stepping around the untouched plants hugging the tree’s trunks. It was clearly new, unused for quite awhile, and the birds were louder than ever as I went deeper down this rabbit hole. No vines encouraged me along and no roots tripped me up, but my body still gave a constant string of complaints. This had better be the way out of the damned forest…And not into the hooves of angry ponies. After awhile the path started winding, left and right, my patience was being tested, and my nerves were growing. There was this feeling that something was out there, which logically there had to be, but the- I paused- feeling was intense. Something snapped, loud and sharp in the avian chorus around me. That was why I thought something was out there. It was too close then, practically in bushes skirting the trees. My eyes stayed glued ahead, my hooves kept on moving, but I started to rotate my ears and take in the nearby scents. Herbs, plants, and mildew filled my senses, along with the ever present mix of vanilla and blueberry. Several ear swivels into the investigation and I latched onto a rapid sound, unmistakably breathing, and quick breathing at that. A deer…I continued on though, listening to the rhythm and guessing what it could be. It was too slow for a deer, too loud for a predator. Not to mention, a predator would have jumped me already. Dread filled me at the thought I dared not voice. There, again a snap echoed along the trail, louder, closer, and quicker. Following me…I could hear the soft movements on the moist litter growing louder then as I increased my pace to a fast walk, running hard and risky. Weren’t you supposed to not run from predators? Whatever it was they were definitely following me. Did I risk stopping to investigate? Confront it? Maybe… Tracking it wasn’t helping my thoughts and ignoring it seemed less and less advantageous. If it was a lone guard that had somehow found me they wouldn’t reveal themselves, it would be too risky for them. No, they would follow me, track my destination, and maybe lay a trap for me. The world seemed to slow down as my heart pounded faster, pain faded to the background. A trap… Canterlot had felt like a trap, had been one, it had started out so innocent as well…This could be one as well. They knew that this forest was magical; Echo had even mentioned how the guards used it for training. It wasn’t too farfetched to assume they would know every knock and cranny here. Oh hell no! Stopping on the dime I turned to face the muffled steps, steps that halted as soon as I glared into the inky expanse of the forest. Blue illumination climbing the bark did nothing to reveal my stalker. So I narrowed my gaze, glaring in the black area where the canopy lay then around the trunks and into the bushes that skirted them. Nothing jumped out at me still. The birds carried on. But the air seemed too still despite their songs, like somebeing was holding their breath. Growing quiet, I arched my neck at the unknown, my tail starting up as I scented the air, yet there were only the same scents as before. I wasn’t imagining it though. “Show yourself,” I demanded, keeping my voice steady, listening to my deep voice echo back faintly, and a frown growing as I heard an exhale of a held breath on the left side of the trail. I stared harder and didn’t see anything in the darkness. But, they wouldn’t reveal themselves to me…Even if I was closer than I had been to exhaustion than I had been in a while I was far from defenceless. They would fear me, an Alicorn…I blinked at the darkness. No, maybe…Bente, she feared me slightly, had tried to get my attention before, and horribly as well. Had she not made it to my ship? The thought was better than the rest at least. “Bente, Is that you?” A feminine gasp echoed out and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Look, Bente it is safe,” I looked myself over before watching the blackness again; I didn’t look that safe right now with mud in my fur and my feathers askew. “Relatively speaking,” no response, “Bente,” I tried again. Was she worried about what I would do? Was she angry? “You know that was an accident, right?” Heavy breathing answered me. “I just thought you were one of those watchers you mentioned…And…Are you there?” Doubt nagged at me as creaks echoed from far away in the forest, the implications of the sound stalling my prodding. Why would she hide from me? As I started to look from the patch of darkness I was sure she was hidden in I heard soft step from in it, a second one slowly following as I scanned the path I had already tread. Nothing… Letting the sound grow closer I finished my initial scan, already shifting my hooves from the lack of noticeable enemies. That had to be why Bente didn’t reveal herself, she-. “You know Bente of Stavanger?” My head snapped to the left, “The ambassador?” The mare before me stopped as I blinked at her, confusion evidently on my face as I followed her hooves up to her muzzle. She watched my face instead of moving closer. A squint in her eyes as I absorbed the strange sight before me. She was a zebra, her neck ordained with four golden bands not unlike Wekasi’s, and her striped mane was styled in a Mohawk, while a small set of saddle bags peeked over on her haunches. I wasn’t sure if I should flee or relax with her sudden appearance. Zebras weren’t with Equestria…Right? Then why was a zebra in Equestria? As I saw her ears fold back and eyes dart to my cargo I shouted, “I know Bente!” The echoes of it making me flinch, but only startling her at the sudden volume. I was a tad scared she would run. She obviously knew of her, but in what context I didn’t know. And the sight of her had thrown my world for a loop again. Not to mention what she must think seeing me like this? Did she like the princesses like the rest of the ponies or was she with Zebrica? What did she know? The blue eyes returned to mine. Gulping I returned to the question at hand, “Why are you in the Everfree forest…In Equestria at all,” And ‘how did you get here’ I wanted to add, but that seemed like a footnote compared to the why. They were clearly racist and zebras were sparse outside of Zebrica, save for my assassin. But I somehow doubted she got out by any normal means of transport. Her eyes wandered to the princesses once more, scrunching up. “Are you sure you know her?” My eyes flicked around to the shadows. Was she stalling or was it my species again? “I know her.” Blue eyes flicked between my horn and wings, “Describe her…In detail, my morning has been too far consumed in retail.” I blinked at the odd wording, this almost rhyming to her sentences. “She’s a white and grey gryphon,” the mare’s eyes watched as I shifted my withers under the weight that continued to press down, “With a heavy dose of rudeness at times. She interrupted my meeting when we first met. ” Barging into a town hall with all the subtly of a freight train as an ambassador?! I couldn’t think of any other words for her behavior, especially if she really was a official ambassador for a country. It seemed accurate though as the tightness around her eyes lessened somewhat, at least it appeared to in the dim lighting. Excellent, “Look I need to know if you are going to be a problem.” “A problem,” the zebra inquired, apparently confused at my change of topic. I wasn’t confused though, my body forced me to think about what I had to do to get home…I had to fly up to my ship still, tired muscles be damned. And my back was under the pressure of not only saving the world but the weight of what had to be two adult human’s worth of limp Alicorn. That was my minimum weight guess too, it could have been more, but at that point everything felt heavy. She was unneeded. “Yes,” I grunted and shifted my hooves. “It’s great that both know the hen but you were clearly following me and are a long way from home…” I watched her muscles bunch up as she gulped, eyeing me carefully. With a big exhale she started, “It isn’t every day the princesses pass through the Everfree forest,” her eyes lingering on their horns. Touché, “They are off to get some fresh air,” our eyes connected, “And get some new education on the world’s state of affairs.” And that opened up her expression, her jaw dropping for a split second. Stepping closer she panned her head at me, muzzle scrunching up. “You know?” Copying the mare, I took a step towards her, “Yes,” she obviously knew. “But the question still remains. Why are you so far from home if you know what your friends and family faced?” “Faced?” I nearly cursed at my slip, instead gritting my teeth as I watched her blink at me, emotions filtered far too rapidly for me to track. She didn’t know… “Yes…,”more creaking echoed down to us, the path closing in behind me, “As in they don’t currently face enslavement, won’t ever again if I make it out of this forest.” As I watched her mind put the pieces of the puzzle together I felt a weird chill crawl up my spine. Vines… I ignored it in favor of watching her muzzle twist up, slow and hesitant as she looked up at me, “Slavery is done… for now.” I could see the questions pooling in her eyes, doubt still present as well. A reasonable thing considering it was a pretty bold statement in any circumstance. I wouldn’t have believed some random stallion in the middle of the woods. Heck, I was still wondering why she was here, if I was hallucinating this mare. “Well?” Blinking was cast my way as her attention was brought back. “Why are you here and are you going to be trying to stop me?” “Why…” The word was said more to herself than me, whispered into the air in stupefaction. “I tried. I was supposed to, composed to…,” the mare trailed off as she looked between me and the princesses, “I was the spy, a set of eyes on why.” She had my attention, “They never acted to aid us when the pirates raided us.” a silence extended as blue eyes flicked around. “Are you helping us? The weight increased as she put me on the spot, not unlike Bente had with her offer of a home in the mountains. “Yes…But,” there was no nice way to say it, “I am here to save the world first and foremost, then I will be helping Zebrica.” Her muzzle opened as my back creaked in protest, “Look, I see that you are here for good reasons and all that so perhaps you could help me out.” A brisk nod followed. “Good,” this time my back creaked, “Now which way is the Minotarian border? I have a lot of guards on my butt and my back is killing me.” Mystery mare’s eyes considered me for a moment, narrowing and flicking from to the left and right rapidly. “…You were followed…” the statement was once more made more to herself, quiet, and unsettling enough that a second chill traveled along my nerves. Was that a past statement or a current one? “Yes,” she looked at me in surprise. “Now if you could just point me to the exit I would be very grateful miss…” I trailed off, “You didn’t say who you were.” She pursed her lips, the hope closed off, “You don’t know me? Yet you claim to be-,” I snorted at her rhyming, “Never mind.” My hooves screamed in protest as my mind caught up, “No, miss insider I am on a mission here and your name and existence didn’t come up in my travels.” I snorted and shifted the weight as more creaking reached us, louder. “And quite frankly I am caring a lot less about your name and more on if you are helping or not. Cause, if you aren’t comfortable aiding my escape than just say so!” Exasperation leaked through as my heart rate started to increase, the sounds filling me with images of guards. “It’s Zecora…Ari,” a long silence fell between us as we locked eyes, gauging each other. “Follow me. We have a lot of land to cover…And please ignore the flora, they are here to help.” As if they heard her, the trees creaked before us, wavering in and out of the path as the noise behind us grew. “Fine! Let’s get going!”
Something Wicked This Way Flew...Author's Note I'm back! These next two chapters are mostly build up that I didn't really want to cut, the third chapter that I'm getting betaed, 'Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 2.' will be up shortly (ET: Dec 8/9, 2018) and has the big talk between the alicorns. Happy Reading everybeing! Something Wicked This Way Flew... **** The outskirts of Ponyville, Equestria Twilight Sparkle My legs traveled of their own accord around the library, trying to expel some of the swirling energy going that was going around and around my head. Around, around and…No, I would not have a complete meltdown. Those times were behind me. “Huwoo,” I blew out into the room. It still doesn’t make sense though… Earthquakes don’t happen in Equestria, didn’t happen anyway. Perhaps they did in the geologically unstable volcanic straits on the other side of Saddle Arabia, a small maybe then, but not in Equestria. Historically there was no evidence, not a note or hoof scribbled recording any such geological event. At least, none in the sister’s era, and that was the extent of my library’s history section. The Arceuteus Era might have seen some, maybe even during the Great War’s relatively short era, but I didn’t have access to those scrolls, fragile and few as they were. They were locked up in the Royal Canterlot library or lost to time in the sister’s old castle in Everfree forest. Both of which were a ways away. They wouldn’t help me though. It was beyond odd geological activity at that point. Princess Celestia wasn’t taking mail. No, I don’t mean not responding. I mean that when Spike had flamed the letter it just dropped down to the floor of the library, humming with magic but otherwise the same. Not even attempting to transfer to her location, to even halfway follow her magical signature. And that meant one of two things. One, that she was dead…I didn’t like lingering on that option in particular. Spike didn’t like it either; she was his other mother figure of sorts, although he would never say so out loud. So, we both were leaning to the more likely and almost equally as troubling reality, which was that she had cut off the connection on purpose. And closing off the instantaneous form of communication could only spell trouble, trouble that had to surely be related to the earthquake. Discord? Maybe… But, she wouldn’t just close it down, that just wasn’t her, Princess Celestia wouldn’t…I know she wouldn’t. ‘-Anytime, you may send a letter to me anytime Twilight. I always look forward to your stories and questions.’ She had said that, explicitly, even when I was worried about interrupting Day court, or a meeting with ambassadors. I didn’t want to cause her trouble or have her apologise on my behalf. But she had smiled and said that, her honesty had shined through. Deep breathe in. Then that left me with the harder questions. What could stop her from responding? Why wouldn’t she take it? Wouldn’t communication be critical in a crisis? No answer came to me as I stilled, facing her sun once again, as if it would tell me what was happening in the capital. The warmth bathed me as it crept slowly down the sky, setting. It made my eyes squint but I breathed deeply, picturing Celestia, trying to hear what she would say in such a situation. The sun continued to remain silent. It wasn’t all bad…The sun was still working, therefore she definitely wasn’t…Dea-Defeated. As I shook my head from that train of thought Spike approached my flank.I could see his claws had the letter gripped tightly, our proof to this state of unrest. “Twilight?” I turned an ear down to him. “I don’t suppose you should try Luna? I mean, maybe something is happening in Canterlot or maybe…” He trailed off as I let a long breath go, his ridges wilting as I met his gaze. Of course I had thought of Luna and had come to the same conclusion, after the wedding she had started preparing a system…So she wouldn’t be unconscious for any future invasions. The lunar princess would know and probably be in the same state. “Spike, how does that make any of this better? If Celestia is unreachable then Princess Luna would be the same. And what of the unexplained earthquake?” I calmed my racing thoughts with yet another deep breath in and out. It wasn’t his fault. “The princesses aren’t responding, the books have nothing, and I am this close to-.” The sound of trumpets filled the air with a brisk ‘triptt’, catching us both by surprise. Coming down from my startle I shared a wide eyed gasp with Spike. “Princess Celestia!” I gathered Spike and my humming letter in my magic and broke for the door, heart racing as I watched her chariot soar overhead. The tall sun emblazoned sides shrouding her from view as her sun crept lower behind the mountains, practically motionless, slower than normal to my eyes as I raced forward. Why had she slowed the sunset? But I soon realized she wasn’t alone in the visit. A choreographed symphony of spears clinging and clanging against armor was ringing out in the background as I entered my front yard. Guards, the day guard, the night guard, and even Equestria’s Special Forces were coming in with a marked precision that I couldn’t recall ever seeing; the final force’s tricks of near unmatchable athletic ability were forgotten as they circled the royal sun chariot, scanning the horizon for something. I could even see what I swear was Captain Spitfire’s trademark flame styled mane whipping about from the movement of air they had disturbed in their speed. All the way from the library’s sign I saw this odd sight and I paused to take it in. Just what was going on? The Wonderbolts paused as well, their heads moving to look towards us, or perhaps the town, it was hard to say at that distance. Either way their circling ended, they instead were banking around her to form a half diamond formation to flank the chariot’s guards. Which were layer upon layer thick, more so than any social call. But I knew this couldn’t be a social call; it had to be related to the earthquake. Was she coming to get us herself? Was it the changelings or Discord? A new threat?! More and scenarios swam in my head. But none fit in the earthquake. Discord didn’t know subtlety. “I thought that stallion was coming any day now…” Spike said out of the blue from on my back, his claws gripping my neck tightly as he ended in an almost conspiratorially whisper. The noise felt almost too loud as we watched the guards go on and on behind the chariot. He should be here any day now too…But that was neither here nor there now. It doesn’t explain the earthquake…Or where Princess Luna is…It could explain the force. Blinking I started forward again, “Yes, but…Maybe something attacked him? Maybe he sent word for help?” The rest of the events didn’t fit, however neither did his existence. All the herds had died, either in the war or shortly after. “I don’t know Twilight…” My reply escaped as a whisper, the atmosphere stealing my voice, “Me neither…” Looking around I could hardly understand what I was seeing, the magnitude of force present. Everypony with wings or access to a chariot was apparently here. Some had already landed ahead of Princess Celestia and were setting something up, moving rustling packages about, and propping up what looked like tents in some corners of the empty field before the forest. Not the smartest thing if you asked me but I didn’t think to warn them, they were familiar with idiosyncrasies of the forest as well. This had to have a good reason for this…Yet I couldn’t find one that made the most sense. The set up they were building looked closest to a…No that was silly. I guess I would have to find out. Before I could get anywhere, the clip clopping of hooves grew in volume, catching my hoof mid lift with the sudden increase in volume. Most of the guards were landing ahead of the princess and it was seemingly all around me as my head pounded with thoughts. Shaking my head clear I noticed that her chariot drivers were starting to look for a place to land, slowly circling the far back of the guard outfit that had landed before her. As Spike and I shared a look the forest seemed to grow darker behind them, the suns rays not reaching past the first layer of bushes anymore, more ominous than ever before. All of that started to create a thick weight on my legs. Could I even help? A new tenseness seemed to hover over the whole affair now. It filled the air actually, carried with every taut guard that descended. New ponies, civilians, they carried it especially as they trailed on behind the royal procession. There were many, many pegasi and all were fixed with a serious expression. Something was very wrong. I could try to-. “Twilight! Twilight!” I turned and saw Pinkie Pie bounding up the path from Ponyville, her pink tail alternating between twitching and buzzing in every arch. It looks like I wasn’t too far off. “Ye-“ “Oh, it’s a dozy! A really, illy, big one!” She announced while coming to a hopping halt before me. I waited for a second, feeling Spike shift on my back as we waited for more, his own growing tail starting to wave over my rump as we watched her vibrate in place with an unseen energy. The Pinkie sense was still one that I had yet to properly document. It didn’t make any sense yet, but it wasn’t wrong. She still didn’t elaborate, “I don’t know Pinkie, Princess Celestia just arrived-.” “Hours ago,” she exclaimed, looking from the forest to me, or perhaps looking from the procession to me, either way there was a new energy to her wide eyes as she saw the chariot. “No, she just arrived.” I corrected with a frown and looked back to the princess’s chariot as it descended in front of the Everfree forest, half of Equestria’s army flanking her. With the quick set up of the tent and amount of guards it was easy to assume she had been here for awhile. The urgency they were giving off wasn’t abating as she hopped in place. “Pinkie we need to go, something is definitely wrong there.” If she said anything else I didn’t hear it. I was already taking off down the road, my tail held still with the tension. And judging by Spike’s new grip on my mane he wasn’t any better off. Pinkie wasn’t always right anyway…The sense was vague really. As we trotted forward Pinkie Pie joined us as best as she could, hopping along with a frown on her muzzle. “…But, she didn’t…” My friend whispered, mostly to herself I think. I didn’t reply, soon I would see the princess and all would be explained. Before we had gotten too far down the road a heavy flapping reached our ears, growing closer as we closed in on the crowd. “Guys,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she hovered before us. “Did you see them?!” At the lack of enthusiastic response she blustered on, “Spitfire is here! The Wonderbolts are in Ponyville!” Her forelegs pointed dramatically to the group in question. “Yes,” my tone caught her smile, “And Princess Celestia brought the entire pegasis division of her Day guard, all of Luna’s guard, and won’t take my letters.” Rainbow slowed her flaps, rubbing her chin as she looked down at us. “I don’t think that is a good sign Rainbow, the Wonderbolts are the special Air forces, if they-.” “I know!” We slowed our trot to look up, “Look, I get it. What happened at the market today was odd and I…Look, I just was excited. You know I want to be a Wonderbolt?” A sigh escaped her as her ears splayed. I just nodded, unable to really form a sentence at the moment. “Did you find anything on that planet shaky thing that happened?” “Earthquake,” she just shrugged at my correction of her diction, “And no.” The air seemed to grow colder as I spoke the truth out loud. A glance showed that the sun was immobile, at least to my eyes; it should have crossed the mountains already. The orange tint bathing the armor clad soldiers ahead of us didn’t help me one bit. Deep breathe in, “At least, I haven’t learned anything from my library. The princess should know though,” and deep breathe out. “I know they should have some idea at least.” I added as an afterthought. After that we couldn’t manage more than a nod, all of our ears splayed as we considered the scene coming closer. First were the lower ranks of guards, trotting around with a mission in their eyes, and after them were…volunteers? There were so many pegasi with no armor on, not nearly as much the armored ones, but still enough to raise a brow at. What did they know? Judging by the looks on their faces they knew something, more than us. The more I looked at the busy camp before me the more I noticed. City guards were here as well, small country teams made up of neighbors, and…My eyes were glued to several packages, bundles of spears, swords, and the rarer jeweled magic spheres that hadn’t left Canterlot R&D department yet, supposedly anyway. I had only heard rumor of them in the National Discoverer! But…Then…Was it war then? I could see the measures for a war. From the programmable enchanted orbs to the many bundles of spears carried between many squads. Mainly the Thestral guards with the latter. They were almost unbelievable with their silence with only their large tufted ears pivoting in their code. So, yes, it could be war…Although with whom I hadn’t a clue. As I watched at the edge of the crowd of guard I noticed that they were separating those bundles of spears to different squadrons, even to some of the pushier volunteers. Anypony got one it seemed. “This is pretty serious, huh?” Rainbow asked. “Yup!” Pinkie chimed in while I nodded. Rainbow gulped at that, flying lower and closer as we forged our way into the rapidly forming camp. At the front of this…War…Camp…Was Princess Celestia’s chariot, seemly empty from our distance, of course her high walled model would make that easy to assume. But I knew she was there, I didn’t see an Alicorn with flowing mane and tail walking around after all. Creaking stole our attention. A crude stand was being erected in front of the forest. Voices were reaching us then as more of the town’s folk were coming up the path behind us, and a look back showed that their ears were perked up in interest. Some had there eyes on papers in their hooves but most were watching the soilders. That was when the guards seemed to pay us attention. I steeled my shoulders and nodded to the soldiers as I passed them. I am the element of magic, Celestia’s student…I belong here. Some splayed their ears at us in return; an uneasy look rising in their eyes, others just turned away, while still more frowned at our presence. This went on, hammering at my nerves as we drew nearer, close enough to allow me to call out anyway. I had to break this hush. “Princess Celestia!” “Twilight…” Pinkie started, looking at me slowly as her tail went wild with a vibration of Pinkie sense. “Princess Celestia!” I tried again, calling louder as I trotted faster, and missing the shuffle of Rainbow’s wings. Her chariot was empty. The light golden hued seat was clearly missing a princess, although the impression of a rump was still partially visible from my spot before it. Had she entered the forest already? Did this have to do with her old castle? “Miss Sparkle-,” a solar guard started, wings twitching as he stepped towards me. “Good evening,” another voice interjected, Canterlot accent exuding from each word. “I believe we only had the chance to meet a hoof full of times, Miss Sparkle was it?” I looked to my left, past the podium that was being placed on the stand, and towards the familiar source of Canterlot pride. I was speechless to say the least. “I apologize if I confused you, but it was the only one to be prepared on such short notice.” Prince Blueblood? “Uh-,” I started, but my muzzle was frozen at the implications. “I told you Twilight! Princess Celestia-.” A loud clearing of the throat caught our attention, causing what I swore was a scowl to start on Pinkie Pie’s muzzle. “Pardon me, but I do I have a speech to give. I trust that it will answer any worries you have over the princesses.” Worries? Worries?! Wo- My expression must have said it all because the next thing I heard was, “Officer Eagle Eye, escort miss Sparkle and her friends to the front row.” He was having a guard ‘escort’ us to a front row area before the stand and podium?! We were element bearers! We should be-. Blinking away from my thoughts I found Pinkie and Spike prodding me along as I couldn’t take my eyes off the empty chariot. The guard simply gave us the instructions ‘wait here’ in front of the stage, as if that answered anything and left to whisper something in the Prince’s ear. What else should I be worried about? Is it why she slowed the sunset? Is there a threat in Everfree forest? An ancient magic that requires all of her focus to combat? “Meany, sourpuss, dilly head-,” Pinkie was muttering to herself as I blinked my shock away. “Rainbow,” Rainbow Dash descended, choosing to sit beside me, “Pinkie,” and the muttering stopped, “We need to focus. Something is very wrong.” Pinkie pressed in, “The prince never makes speeches outside of charity galas and something tells me he isn’t interested in supporting Fluttershy’s Cockatrice rehabilitation efforts.” Their pressing into my barrel intensified as we tried to still our hearts and shared a nod. I could feel theirs racing through their fur even as we shared our breath a little. A more welcome and familiar voice reached me then. “Howdy Twilight!” Applejack stepped through the crowd, looking around at the new ponies and observing the Canterlot guards with a growing frown, “Ya’ll wouldn’t happen to know why the Princess has this whole set up going on?” A pause as she looked at the podium, “And here of all places. Doesn’t she make them speeches at her castle usually?” I didn’t know what to say, my muzzle was not working as I tried to come to terms of what this could mean, what worries the Prince assumed I had. I had way too many to count. What did I tell her? As if Faust knew how compound my problem, Rarity choose this moment to arrive. “Darlings! Did you see the flyers?!” Her almost hysterical tone had us in an instant. “Flyers?” Everyone echoed, looking back to our friend as she tossed her mane and presented the simple paper. “Yes, it says that-,” I tuned her out as I read it; reread it, and triple checked that it was of royal grade parchment. Sweet Celestia, it was a national emergency. **** Canterlot Castle ????? ?????? Princess Luna and Princess Celestia were missing…To who knows where…And the current reigning Prince was alright with that…He even had friends that would…Kill them, her. I could hardly keep my breath from shaking as I glided along the ceiling, armorless, silent, and none the less scared. But surely not everypony was like that? The key was gripped in my hooves, almost cutting into my frog as I had forgone with my shoes as well. I had to be silent, invisible, and get the Tartarus out of the Castle, a mission that was growing increasingly harder. You would think, ‘yah, but didn’t most of the guards take off after that stallion’. And you wouldn’t be wrong. But the unicorns were still here, the nobles. All while my squad mates were halfway across Equestria helping the Prince with his farce. That didn’t sound like a joke. Did they know? I turned a corner and held my breath. A maid was stationary below me, low tones coming up as she caught the ear of another that had been elsewhere when the disaster had happened. “-Prince Blueblood-.” The name reached me up here, sending a shudder through me as I perched on a nearby arch to listen in. "-Will he attack-," I tried to focus on their speculation but my mind wouldn't focus. He was a unicorn...They were unicorns. My mind kept drawing more and more conclusions as every new shadow joining the gossip circle in the hall stood out. Was it everypony? Only the nobles? Were my squad mates in on it?! “-Can’t believe that he would do that?” The other nodded as I perked up. “You would think he would be eager, I mean you know what would happen?” “What?” “Well, it’s obvious really! He is the only one Alicorn stallion!” The other maid frowned, “But didn’t the Hoof Setter say that he might be a changeling?” That only garnered a sigh as they entered into the legitimacy of one of the hundreds of theories that had been floating around. That one was gaining more merit though… Soon enough they parted, the setting sun triggering their need to appear busy. A slow breath escaped me as they walked slowly down the hall. I was on my own for this…escape…Wasn’t I? My destination was still unclear. And to be blunter than a Minotaur, I wasn’t sure how to think of things anymore. If Prince Blueblood was more than okay with leaving his rulers, the ponies that for all magical purposes kept us safe…Wait…No…There was the elements of harmony. They stepped up when the princesses couldn’t. But if he was going to them…Their direction, I didn’t like the sound of that. He was all for getting rid of them from the sounds of it, or at least leaving them to die. “-Why would he-.” The maids continued below me. The elements of harmony…The thought wouldn’t escape me, the temptation rising to seek them out. Were the elements enough to take down an Alicorn stallion? Better yet, could they be trusted? And did I risk flying in the direction the Prince had gone? The hall grew quiet once more as I gave a silent flap, slowly swallowing my fear. My princess was that way too… Shaking my head I listened for any new voices, the hum of magic, and when none sounded I re-examined what had happened. I had escaped the room, ditched my over armor and weapons…And all to go where? Better yet, why had it been so easy? Perhaps it had been sheer luck, perhaps they were really naïve like my squad mates had joked about, or perhaps they had only pretended to fall for my trick… Was it a trap? I scanned the halls again and saw no pony. The sky beckoned me…Hmm…Looking down the hall again I frowned. Either way, the guards had burst into the room and left soon after, not even checking the cupboard that I had acquiesced in my haste. They supported the Prince; at least I had to suppose they did. They had heard his plan after all and made no complaint. Did everypony feel that way? I hadn’t heard anything in my barracks of this nature, or even from the other workers in the castle. The maids hadn’t heard. There were too many unknowns. Resting on a ledge I looked out across the courtyard before me. It was empty, the sun was nearly set, and…I wasn’t as eager to set off after the other guards. The Prince was there. Looking away from that I looked to the east. Our allies might not help...And is it wise to alert them to this disaster? Especially so soon after the changeling invasion-. My thoughts froze and I looked from the south to the north. It was possible, genius if it was true. She had fooled everypony after all. That invasion failure was a ruse…Wasn’t it? This was the true invasion…And she had the most experience with that. I spared the setting sun one last frown before I alighted from my ledge. They had saved Equestria before…But they would be where he was. Instead, I needed somepony that was familiar with changelings, which actually made the most sense. Prince Blueblood wasn’t that ruthless after all, he was a colt, which was why he only handled minor crimes. That wasn’t the prince; no way would he know anypony stronger than the princesses. My heart was already calming. So slipping out the window and up to the roof I began my journey. Sneaking along the remains of the polished dome with a careful step and active ear, it appeared clear still. Any murmurs were just far off echoes, low, and conspiratorial in the face of such events of this afternoon. But the orange glow of the sun had me pausing in the shade of a tower. I looked at the sun again, eyes squinting at the subtle, minuet movement. How was it moving still? **** Equestria-Minotaria border Ari The Everfree forest seemed to go on forever, darkness ever reaching as I puffed along. A fact that my impromptu guide looked increasing confused by, I was almost tempted to ask her to try carrying double her weight for hours while dodging spears and magic blasts. But silence seemed the smarter option…It also let me have the most oxygen, which I wasn’t going to waste at that point. A glow pervaded the area, bright in the dim setting. The moss was lighting up as we approach and fading as we passed by, funny how it was courteous all of a sudden. No vines dared to whip me now either. Were they her doing? One look at the unsuspecting potion laden mare dashed it. Not only did she seem too much in a hurry trying to follow the sudden changes in the trees before her but the books I had been read hadn’t mentioned earth ponies controlling nature to this degree, even the ones with ‘cutie marks’ related to it. I was obviously too tired for thoughts, thinking, ugh… Pain persisted as we kept a fast trot through the forest, silent, and stiff. Those rustlings had grown louder and more frequent as we had left the initial path. They hadn’t popped up again but I swore I had heard some voices whispering out there, the snapping of twigs at least. I hadn’t heard that in a while… Hours seemed to pass before we saw a change in the forest, a big one, that is to say: it ended. Trees closed in on our flanks as we paused at the edge, my limpy trot putting me behind her despite my taller stature. Stars lit up the small clearing before us. It was dotted with sparse trees, different trees that caused me to give a small smile. They didn’t have any glowing moss growing off them or cheeky vines wrapped around the trunks. A new forest appeared to be on the other side, slightly brighter under the canopy as the stars peeked through. Squinting in the low light, I could make out a little beyond that…what appeared to be the familiar tips of the small mountains that I had run into Bente at. So close… “Where to now?” The quiet whisper caught my attention, breaking the otherwise silent night. “Well…,” I shifted my cargo and looked at her, Zecora, “I presume you will go to your home, back there,” I gestured to the area we had come from, “And I will go to my home to educate these mares.” I knew where to go now, the land didn’t seem quite as hostile either. She didn’t move from beside me, matching the hushed tone we had started. “Do you understand the situation we are in? I am in?” I just watched her, exhaling a deep breath as pain lanced up all my legs. “If I go back I won’t make it home.” Ears went back as she squared up to me, the air behind us giving me a eerie feeling, one that was unfortunately very familiar from my earlier travels in the woods without her. Vines… “But-.” “I haven’t seen an ambassador in weeks! The whole country has been in a ghasia because of you! And this meek-,” Whisper yelling she jabbed a waving hoof into my scarred chest, “-Ma-.” My long snort at her prod caused her muzzle to fall, jaw growing tight before me as I reigned in my pain and instincts that had flared up at the unwelcome touch. “No, no…I mean, there is only two suspects for you managing to make it through the forest...This is the hardest entry and exit point of Equestria’s borders after all.” And Moonlit Echo called it a training ground, a test of skill…An understatement clearly. “When they don’t find you what happens to me?” Her sudden somber tone had me frowning, my eyes watching her intently. A new instinct was rising as I noticed the crinkling in her blue eyes, the splaying of her ebony tipped ears. A question rose as I shoved the twitches in my wings down. Who else could have been familiar enough with the woods that they would be suspected in helping the ‘bad guy’? Or better yet, wouldn’t be suspected? It sounds like she is the only one… At my lack of immediate reaction she continued, tone and head growing lower as she looked ahead, back and finally over my slumped appearance. “Seeing as you seem…Foreign,” I didn’t react as she watched my eyes, waiting, “You wouldn’t know that between the element of kindness and me, I would be-.” “’It’s the zebra’s fault’,” I parroted out, pushing past the reference to an element and interrupting her speech. The situation had hit me full circle. She had thanked the vines and trees along the way as they opened up for her, quite familiar, and if only two suspects could be had I could assume she wasn’t living among the ponies. They suspected her at least. “I understand enough to know that those ‘bad’ ponies see you as inferior, labor, and…Food.” Bugs started chirping and cricking again. “But, I am tired, sore, and quite frankly eating myself inside out from this whole mission. I don’t have the time or energy to help you on your mission or foalsit you while I finish my own so-.” “Where to now,” Zecora’s question didn’t sound as relaxed as before. The understanding perhaps growing or maybe it was the only option in her mind, it made sense. Grunting low I watched her, feeling the pain rise again in a wave as she stared me down. Her blue eyes narrowed before going wide under my scrutiny. Fuck this. She wouldn’t tell the ponies and she was only one being…My instincts still snorted internally, demanding I dominate the challenge from the mare but I couldn’t be bothered. Make lots of noise during the escape? Nope. Exactly. “Hey!” I pressed my ears back and trotted faster, wincing as my hooves pounded the ground nosily. “Ari!” I whipped my tail back, frowning as the pain ran through me, my wings prickling numb by then. Snorts followed as the warmth of a body made itself known beside me. Sue me if I wanted food and sleep. Trees, oddly shaped branches, and the accompanying moving shadows that danced across my wrapped hooves held my attention as we walked on. Our silence grew louder between us. My part in it mostly from my heavy breathing, hers from uncertainty, her eyes would flick over me every minute or so. She was harmless…Curious…Brimming over with questions. And she was. Glancing sideways, I could see her emotions flicker across her eyes more than her muzzle, although I didn’t recognize or acknowledge all of them I recognized the curiosity, it was very familiar to me. Sighing I started the inevitable, “What do you need to know?” Pain answered from my body as she began. “So you aren’t a changeling…,” I couldn’t help the groan that echoed out, “And are an adult Alicorn yet no being has ever heard of you…With no skill mark- Cutie mark…” Fuck this was a getting old. “This may surprise you-.” **** Outside Everfree Forest, Equestria Twilight Sparkle “-But I witnessed it first hoof, as the ill reputed scoundrel ponynapped our princesses!” Blueblood’s words rang over the crowd, chilling me more than the loss of the sun had. “He got under their guards, sweet talking his way into their good graces! That changed stallion knocked them out-,” we exchanged wide eyed looks, Applejack scowling at the thought, implication, yet he continued, “-spouting lies and falsities at us even as he fled….” Trailing a hoof across the floor, the prince looked uncharacteristically saddened, before looking over the crowd once more, “If I hadn’t come back to confirm something with her majesty he might have escaped without a trace.” My heart started pounding out in a cantering rhythm, growing erratic even under my friend’s onslaught of nuzzles. The flyers weren’t a joke, this was real, and I didn’t have the slightest idea what I could do. Murmurs grew as he paused, exhaling the weight of the event over the crowd. She was gone…And another evil Alicorn was about. The why of this entire event still didn’t click into place. And I think he must have known, I mean, I wasn’t exactly subtle when I visited the castle. Everypony knew how much I loved to ask why. He met my wide eyed stare, possibly even seeing the questions that were rising up like waves. I was drowning. “I-We, the day guard, night guard, and brave citizens of Equestria pursued him to this very forest, Everfree forest.” He gestured to the darkened edge behind the stage, ears pinning back with a determination in his eyes. “And we don’t intend on leaving it till we have tracked him down, returned our princesses, and delivered justice for this act of-,” he paused and looked around, a hush followed as I felt myself lean in, “-War!” War? The part of my brain that wasn’t scrambling around the earthquake or royal ponynapping latched onto the odd diction. Isn’t that a misnomer? He did commit a crime, but nothing has pointed to war…anything that Blueblood has shared, anyway. I watched the gesticulating stallion closely as he elaborated on the chase, replaying his words in my head. Ponynapped…Why? The logic of the preliminary questions helped me somewhat. The process of going through them was driving back the swirling cloud that was fogging up my thoughts. Why did he come here? No pony knows. Wouldn’t removing the princesses, the two most powerful beings on the planet, leave the castle wide open to attacks? Mostly…Was the Crystal Empire okay? Their status was still unknown… Nopony else seemed to come to that conclusion. All around us ponies stomped the ground, guards and citizens alike cheering as the meaning hit us, but I couldn’t find my voice. A new word was replaying in my head, his diction being most peculiar. Changed…As in changelings? The rare, nearly unheard of beings that tried to invade out of the blue four months ago…The beings that were hardly mentioned aside from where they were banished to after the Great war…Hundreds of years in isolation, seeming isolation anyway. Why? Heart pounding I watched as the crowd crowed their support. I didn’t dare say anything. My friends didn’t cheer either. Instead, they covertly nudged me, growing more persistent as the cheering dimmed. What could we do? I blinked at Rainbow’s hard shove, Rarity shooting a hard look between me and the prince as I glanced her way. And it hit me harder…Why? I didn’t know. Was this real? Possibly…Discord’s doing? No, too subtle, and no punch line in sight. As a final attempt I considered the infamous sisterly wars. Was this a prank by Luna? No. The hum of the unsent letter reached me. This was too serious for that. Looking to my right I saw Pinkie mouthing something, but I couldn’t hear her over the crowd or make sense of her muzzle with all the clutter in my head. She was trying to make me act most likely. I knew I had to. Nothing added up yet. “In the meantime, I shall alleviate some of the administration duties that require attention. This measure is only temporary, I assure you. A trusted collection of board members and I shall persevere only as long as it is needed, and only as needed to ensure that our country remains standing until," He puffed his chest forward, "When, our princesses return.” Applejack reached over and nudged me hard, pointing a hoof at the stage. But my hooves wouldn’t move, my mind racing again. Why not ponynap all of the royalty if this was a real war or invasion? Why such…Was it on purpose? Did getting caught mess with whatever plan he had? Silence followed, the night echoing it’s emptiness into my head. It was spinning, I was spinning. This couldn’t be true? It didn’t make any sense. An old question resurfaced as I tried to slow down. Why did the changelings, evil aligned beings, keep Cadence alive? Why would he not kill the princesses if he was one? Why wait three weeks? Wait. The sun, it was still moving… Questions were being raised around the clearing as the soft orange glow gathered their attention; it was creeping down over the mountains. “It shouldn’t be moving still, should it?” I heard Lyra Heartstrings whisper, Bon Bon’s response was lost as another pony piped up. “Are the elements doing it?” Everypony was shooting us glances then, looking between the setting sun and our shocked faces. My ears splayed. I couldn’t do that, I didn’t even know if Cadence could. Another shove met my wither. “No, but we will get her back,” I shot a look to the prince as I spoke; he had turned back from an officer just in time to smile widely at me, stomping a hoof in cheer before the sun was gone in a last shift of the orb over the mountains. Silence followed as we all blinked in the dim. The sun had still set, she was alive. And the crowd was coming to similar conclusion as I had. Mainly, the cycling of the sun and moon, the latter had stared back at me as I tried to form more specific words. I needed a plan, no, information. “Exactly! We won’t stop till this Alicorn is found!” Prince Blueblood reiterated for the crowd, amplifying his voice to be heard over the shocked gasps that had taken route with the darkness. Talk of Nightmare Moon spreading as strange new star alignments grew apparent. “T-Twilight?” Spike’s quiet whimper stole my attention. A silver of a moon was absent from the arrangement; the entire moon was gone to be precise. “S-shh, I-it’ll be fine darling, Twilight can figure this out.” Sweet Celestia he must be just as worried! “I-I know Spike, I-,” “We,” my friends interjected, “-We will find Princess Celestia, no pony just strolls through Everfree forest.” Not even Fluttershy, it had an attitude for her sometimes, but, not always. Yes... I started breathing deeply, looking up at the dirty blonde mane of our resident prince as my resolve grew. We have beaten Nightmare Moon, Discord, and faced many challenges. The Elements could handle one evil Alicorn, we had before after all. My muzzle opened as I stepped forward, Rainbow and Applejack mimicking me with a shared nod. Perhaps a mutter of ‘finally’ was spoken, it was hard to say in the crowd. Pinkie and Rarity were not far behind us. Fluttershy was absent, but we figured she was fast asleep given how early she rose. Had she slept through this? That thought didn’t last long. “Ahem-,” Our approach slowed, the prince finished whispering to a assembly of officers that had grown behind him, and I focussed on him, “-I know this is a very challenging time for everypony but I must ask for some calmness as we go about this rescue operation.” He glanced back at the forest before catching my eye again, a crinkle forming at the corner. “Now,” the smile grew, unnerving for such a colt. We had heard about the grand galloping gala disaster from Rarity, a lot, trust me. He shouldn’t be so calm. “I know it is late, the news shocking, but does anypony wish to volunteer-.” He didn’t even get to finish, we didn’t even get a word in as the crowd surged forward, clamoring to be heard. “Ahh! Twilight!” Spike exclaimed, clinging to me tighter as warm bodies pushed my hooves into the ground, my body held in place by barely constrained muscles. My friends weren’t doing much better. Rarity was almost run over, clinging to Pinkie Pie as she used her Earth pony strength to remain immobile. In fact, she was almost too still. Narrowing my eyes I couldn’t come up with a coherent thought. None except that Pinkie was never that grim, her ears were back and everything. Why- “QUIET Y’ALL!” Applejack’s voice rang out over the procession, even catching the prince’s attention as I swear he narrowed his gaze at her. “I mean…Listen up to the prince…” … “Ahem-hem!” His loud clearing of his through broke the sudden silence, “As I was saying, if anypony wishes to volunteer their time we will be breaking up into different teams, rotations of teams as well. No pony is unwanted.” He had their rapt attention, ours as well. Although a glance at Rarity showed her confusion, surprise even. “Officer Eagle Eye,” A pegasus Day guard stepped forward, nodding to the prince then the crowd, “Will be in charge of-.” I tuned him out as a prodding was made apparent on my right hind leg, small and light. “T-Twi-Twilight?” My ears perked up as I turned to look, Fluttershy. She had squeezed herself between Applejack, Rainbow Dash and me, had hid herself really. I blinked at the Pinkie like position she had wedged herself in. Perhaps when the crowd had surged forward she had come to us? That couldn’t be comfortable. Applejack’s muzzle scrunched up as she looked between her legs at our clearly freaked out friend. Crowds were not her ‘thing’ as Rarity put it. And Rainbow just frowned, concern leaking into her eyes and splayed ears. Where had she come from? “-And Captain Moonstruck,” I looked up in time to see a silvered Thestral step forward, fangs bared in a serious scowl that even now ponies cringed at, “He will lead the Northwest sky patrol, I believe I speak for him when I say he wants only the best-.” Frowning at the speech I kept an ear turned to the prince as I looked to the cowering pegasi mare before me. Had she met the ‘changed’ stallion? It made the most sense; this had to be some twisted back up plan. However the entire goal of it was in that moment lost to me. Celestia was missing, Luna was missing, and Fluttershy might have seen the culprit! “Flu-,” a yellow hoof met my muzzle and Spike looked shocked. I was. Blueblood continued on though. “Anypony that knows first aid or any healing art is advised to stay behind in our medic tent.” He paused then, I did as well. Ivory ears flicked back at the Wonderbolts that flanked the stage, before he gulped slowly and continued. “A-although anypony is welcome, I say that with a warning that should you continue you take your life into your own hooves. He, Ari is a very dangerous stallion. While the full parameters of his plan are unknown we do know that he will use lethal force when confronted. He attempted to kill both Captain Soarin,” said stallion stepped up, looking away sheepishly as his teammates rushed forward to flank him in his tattered uniform, the edges singed, “And myself.” Gasps rang out and talking started amongst the ponies. Deep breathes. Prince Blueblood coughed and the voices dimmed again, “We need to enter the forest now, please think long and hard on this, if you choose to volunteer your services please find us within the half hour. No more than a dozen to a team.” Ending on that somber tone he turned and started to talk with the officers and captains behind him. Soon after a map table flashed into existence, complete with little pony figures. He was smiling as he directed the various group leaders, thrilled it seemed. But the pressure on my snout wasn’t changing, forcing my eyes back down. Fluttershy wasn’t moving her hoof from my muzzle or getting out from under our friends. His promises didn’t seem to quell her nerves in the slightest. “P-please Twilight, we need to leave,” her wide eyes darted over to the prince at her slightly louder tone, closer to a normal whisper. I didn’t bother trying to tell her that no pony would hear her over the din that was rising from the crowd. The prince’s own ears were pulled back at the indecision that had risen in his speeches wake, but his hooves were soon waving over the table, “…n-now.” With everything that was going on this was something I could latch onto. She was afraid…Lived at the edge of Everfree forest…And…I blinked as it occurred to me. Fluttershy hadn’t been looking at the prince but rather past him, to the forest, where the stallion had last been seen entering. He was in there, hostile, and she was petrified of him. Was he watching us even now? I looked at the crowd. Were any of these ponies changed as well? “Okay,” I cleared my throat softly; my words still sounding a little faint to my own ears, “Let’s go.” I needed to hear her out, question her, the princesses were grown mares…Breathing out I steeled my heart. They should be able to handle themselves for an hour more, there was plenty of ponies getting ready anyway… And there was, everywhere I looked was a different pony, so many that I didn’t recognize. “T-thank you,” the relief very clear, I nodded to our friends. Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity all nodded along in turn. Spike gave her a wan smile in my peripheral. “How about my place, girls? I know Granny Smith and Big Mac will be eager to know just what has happened.” We all herded up wordlessly, the consent clear, and moved out. This needed planning if my hunch was correct and chances were if the Everfree forest didn’t scare the possible changeling that kidnapped the princesses then the search party wasn’t going to do much. I had a concrete lead before me. Fluttershy. She had seen something. That was clear; even as we moved off she kept an ear towards the stage, the forest behind it. She was our best lead, save for Zecora; they were the only two to live so close to the unrestrained magic that flowed unfiltered there. Zecora! It hit me hard. “Zecora!” I whisper shouted, several ponies turning their ears and heads my way as the town’s, country’s only Zebrican citizen was mentioned. She was alone in there with-. “She’s fine Twilight.” At Fluttershy’s uncharacteristically sure statement I turned away from the forest, a new question forming until I locked eyes with her. A glance at Applejack provided me with a nod. She was being honest. Curiosity and worry gnawed at my heart and I nodded slowly in return, already finding us mobile once more. The sound of guards assembling ringing in my ears, even with them pinned back. Dear Celestia hang on.
Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 1.**** Shit, I don’t really care where I was, it was near my home though. Ari I had an inkling to how marathoners felt then. Perhaps it was the nearly overwhelming state of constant of pain, born from both exhaustion and injuries that they pushed through. Or it could have been the presence of an annoyingly pain free companion for the final sprint, trot, of the race. But I believed it was the breath of fresh air that entered my heart as I saw the bow of my airship peek out from behind a hill of a mountain at me that cemented the conclusion. Home! “Ari,” I could hear the question rising in said companion’s voice before her muzzle finished moving, it was the normal for the hours and hours we had been trotting. “Zecora,” I interrupted, not taking my eyes off the curves of the shiny bow, “This is,” a ragged breath out interrupted my sentence, air, sweet air, “My home.” For now I silently added. Looking at the behemoth of technology I couldn’t help but feel that it was fragile. Your herd is, my mind whispered in response, they don’t know you, not all of you. My new recurring dread snuck up on me then, reminding me that this whole mission sucked. I tried to push past it though. The ship, home was right there after all. I had to show the princesses the disaster the continent was in and then I could tackle the numerous other issues. The white metal and wood grew sharper and brighter the longer I looked at it. And soon I found myself frozen to the grassy patch before it. My body had taken over with it’s priority list that it had been shoving in my consciousness for hours. What could one second of weakness hurt? The air was clear and the anticipation was enough to keep me on my hooves. Air. I couldn’t argue with that desire, then flying, I wish I could argue against that then…Sleep, shower? No I had…Fuck. Blue eyes looked to me as the head panned, looking between my home and me. So with shaking muscles, a pounding head, and new adrenaline racing around, I faced her. “Ari, are we-.” Swallowing the thick mucus that had built up during our hurried time together I took the lead, “Look, Zecora,” another thick gulp and I shifted my weight to try and alleviate the dull pain that had jumped to a sharp spike. It didn’t help. “I can’t just let you up there without some promises from you.” My brain is going to need a jump start after this, should have asked this sooner. Waiting a moment to breathe in, I between at the ship and the Zebrican spy. She knew about invasion Chrissy had launched months ago, might even have a prejudice against them after living in Equestria. It was hard to say what she would do. “Promises,” a hard look entered her eyes, tail going still. “I blew my entire cover to help you!” Her tone never rose above a whisper in the dawn. “Hasn’t that been proof enough that I support ‘re-educating’,” her forehooves came up and bobbed in the air then, “Equestria’s royalty," Her hooves slammed down on the grassy terrain, "That I want your change to stay!” Letting a deep breath shake its way out of me I tried to square up. Pushing back my weary withers as blue met blue, “Yes, but I need everybeing on my ship to be safe as well.” “The zebras and Bente-.” “Not just them.” I had her attention again. “My herd as well.” I had only briefly mentioned them, mostly as an instinctive knee jerk reaction. She had suggested that I wished to…Breed…The sisters after they had seen the truth. And while I didn’t think they were hard on the eyes, I knew I couldn’t bring myself to, well, do them. A fact that Zecora had taken with more than a little shock, my herd was just a convenient excuse, a reminder of why not to. Spiting the god was up there but not the number one reason anymore. She waited for a second, probably thinking over everything she had learned so far. Until she came to a conclusion that didn’t surprise me for one that labeled themselves as a spy, “Why would I harm your mares? While I found your vehemence on not being with the royal sisters surprising I didn’t mean that I wanted you to be with them.” Zecora seemed to consider her next words, “The papers just seemed to suggest, in the wake of the population crisis, and obvious state of your species that you had come forward then to-.” “No,” I gritted my teeth, holding back my volume, my pain. “I don’t and wouldn’t.” Taking a deep breath I continued, “I met two wonderful, misunderstood mares in my journey though. And I need your assurance that no matter what you think of them you will not move to harm them.” I stepped into her bubble, “Not even if your instincts tell you to.” Although my back demanded I get it over with I watched her patiently. Striped fur scrunched up and ears splayed as her mind worked overtime, a tongue darted out to lick her lips and her eyes watched the ship with a new apprehension. “Will they hurt me?” ‘They’ was spoken more like ‘it’ in tone. Pausing over the question I frowned, ‘no’ was the automatic answer I wanted to give but I didn’t trust that. They had grown firmer in their methods, mare challenges mainly, and the hormones might start soon. Another topic to question them on. Yet, looking at the mare before me I didn’t notice any affection her gaze, she hadn’t pressed into me on the way here, and had even insisted we maintain the logically fast pace to the ship. This zebra mare shouldn’t be a problem that way. “Do you like me?” Her ears splayed as she considered the answer now, perhaps trying to figure out what was the best answer. “You are perfectly safe if you don’t interfere with our mission, show affection for me, or loyalty to the princesses.” “What?” I tried to chuckle over my deep breathing, it didn’t sound pretty, “My marefriends are very possessive and I am new to the culture.” At her blank stare I continued, “I gave the wrong signals to some mares by accident before. But don’t worry, I was told the difference after.” I winced at the end, pain arching again. And the memory of Ayodele pinned to the floor. I didn’t want that to happen again. “Oh…,” she looked between me and the ship again, just as a ray of pink broke through the dawn gloom. “You don’t have to worry about that.” A dry throated chuckle followed, “I promise I won’t attack or interfere with your process.” Pink was mixed with a yellowy orange as I felt my muscles collapse; I hadn’t realized I was so tense till then. She seemed honest, my instincts were in agreement as well. A smile slowly broke free and I sat back, letting the princesses’ slide over my saddle bags and off my haunches. “Good,” my back quivered and I closed my eyes at the freeing sensation. “Good," breath deeply, "Now can you balance?” I cracked an eye as I stood tall. She slowly nodded as I started stretching my back. My wings extended slowly seconds later. Pain may have been traveling through me, across my face, but a feeling of relief was growing. One more flight and I can rest. “W-wow,” escaped in a whisper beside me. An experimental flap had me wincing; my eyes clenched shut at the muscles protest, the prickles along the nerves I hadn't acknowledged all night. I might only have one flight left in them. Turning to the only conscious mare I gave a smile, slightly crooked in the pain. “Yah and I am about ready for bed so can you hop on?” Zecora’s muzzle started to open, her eyes looking between her laden saddle bags and my back, the latter was twitching with muscle spasms that I couldn’t help. They were tensing at the thought of more weight. At least she was small, smaller. “This morning please!” I frowned at myself, my lack of patience, “I would love to surprise my mares with a good morning kiss.” And I said I would be back sooner, much sooner. “Are you well to do that?” Caution leaked into her voice as I huffed. “Yes,” I backed up over the princesses nudging them into place, “Now if would kindly hop on I will fly up, you can find yourself a bunk with everybeing else, and I can rest.” Exhaling I continued, wings outstretched, and forearms grasped around the barrels of my cargo, “Please.” Thankfully she didn’t need any more convincing, taking a clinking hop onto my back with athleticism that I shouldn’t have been shocked at with her occupation. It was the weight shocked me. I felt every extra pound as a pinching of my nerves, an internal scream from my body. Down! Down! Get down Adrenaline pumped through me seconds’ later, home, my wings rose and the hooves shook on my back, just one more flap. Dropping my wings and pushing up with my legs I felt pain everywhere, briefly, but the air cooled it. Rushing by me the light and sound faded until I was forced to pump them. Slowing down before me was the polished ivory hull of the airship, the railing still a good twenty feet above me. If I didn’t have the extra weights on me and in my forelegs I would have made it. Fuck. Another flap had a cramp forming, seizing up my left wing just as the yellow glow grew to illuminate the shaded deck. Falling I could only grunt. Fuck. The deck was sturdy at least, my pillows soft and furry. We still made a loud thump. The clinking of glass bottles and feminine equine squeal moved from above me to my side as I pressed my eyes closed. “N-not,” a big gasp in, “My,” in and out this time, “Best landing,” a snort and clink beside me confirmed it. Seconds grew longer as I let my body relax, my grip loosening as I focused on slowing my breathing. It wouldn’t do to-. “Ari,” the familiar voice reached me as I cracked an eye open from my sprawled position. “ARI!” Clip clopping filled my ears, my nostrils flaring as the hint of burnt cinnamon hit me. Water lilies followed soon after, just in time for a smooth muzzle to jam themselves into my mane. Hoof steps were everywhere. Letting my eyes drift shut again I smiled, “Hey Chrissy,” another smooth muzzle went into my neck, “Lyric.” This was wonderful. “Sorry,” my nose found a spicy mane, “I ran into,” Cinnamon, “Some trouble.” My body just went limp, relief finding my mind and body in that moment. “A changeling?!” Zecora’s loud voice hushed the deck. My wings weren’t able to manage the rise I wanted so I settled for propping up my head on Lyric’s neck, pushing her closer. Our new companion was looking like I had said something along the lines of ‘I love Blueblood’. “Yes.” My heart started to pump harder again, “I trust you remember your promise?” Ayodele and Ayomide were looking at the new zebra in confusion. Actually, Chrissy and Lyric looked perplexed as well. The Thestral looked horrified…At me…Right. Standing on shaking legs I positioned myself above the princesses and between the chained guard and my prisoners, his boss, bosses. Another problem, taking a narrowed gaze and deep breathe to assess the deck I cleared my throat. “Look,” Chrissy caught my eye from where she had tucked herself under my wing, “This has been a long day and night. Zecora here helped me escape the country, blew her- ,” I froze, suppressing a groan as I counted the bodies. “-cover.” Bente was absent. “Is Bente still resting?” I didn’t want to repeat all of this in five minutes when we woke her with the addition of Zecora. “Bente,” Lyric and Chrissy queried at once. Looking back from a wide eyed Zecora to me. Zecora looked at little…Alarmed? Her ears went even further back, her wide eyed glance swiftly passing over us. Her mind was practically broadcasting its thoughts. The battered Alicorn standing over two unconscious Alicorns with a changeling and hybrid pressed in…Two zebras on the side with one chained Thestral for dessert…Bente be damned, that sleepy hen was the least of my problems. From my knowledge of spies she trusted me loosely at best, understandable, really, I had no proof. I trusted her mainly on the grounds that she wouldn’t be supporting the enslavement of her species, but… No getting paranoid. Not everybeing is out to get you, this is not a trap. She blew her cover for you! We had made it this far. My breathing slowed down a little but I didn’t move from atop the mares. Turning more of my body to the Zecora I flicked my tail in pain, “Yes,” my eyes found my marefriends. And looking between there panned heads I didn’t feel so good. “That gryphon hen that followed us? She’s an ambassador-,” Zecora was edging back now, “-and should have arrived here earlier this afternoon. She warned me of the ‘eyes everywhere’.” That seemed to halt Zecora but had everybeing else confused. “Ari,” Chrissy’s hesitant tone had me tensing, my worry slowly building, “We haven’t seen any visitors since your arrival.”At that both mares pressed into me, their breathing buffeting my stiffening fur. “Fuck.” The one word statement was enough to tell the deck what I meant. Silence pervaded the area as I felt the pain arching again. That is until Lyric took the lead, rising from under my neck, “Perhaps we should move into the dining room?” No being moved, all eyes going between me and Zecora. I didn’t know what those potions did. Changelings didn’t seem to be her favorite subject either; no zebra had reacted quite so bad. Chrissy stepped slowly away from me, facing the new mare. Her wing buzzed lightly as I stared after her. “We don’t bite,” my own wings started twitching as my instincts screamed to move in front of her, “Unless you choose to bite.” The zebra didn’t move but the Ayo’s began moving towards Moonlit Echo, herding the tense stallion to the open door. He was moving very slowly, eyes glued to the princesses. A mind numbing attempt by my starving stomach to eat itself settled it. “Questions will be answered,” her attention was on me now as I took a step closer, “I know you risked a lot but I am risking just as much.” Warmth touched my flanks, smooth and soothing. “My only family possible is here, wanted,” Chrissy looked away, “Persecuted,” Lyric averted her gaze as Zecora considered her, “And newly freed.” Yes, although Ayodele wanted more I considered them friends, new ones, but appreciated. I didn’t have a way home, looking back wasn’t something I did; I didn’t feel I could sanely do that. Convenient having the world end, huh god? “Please Zecora, listen to us, talk with us, and try to understand why we had to do what we have done.” Silence and narrowed blue eyes looked back. “Either way I will bring you home, safely.” “Kusubiri,” the Ayo’s paused in the doorway looking at the hurrying zebra in confusion, “Kuzungumza na mimi. Ni Mzuri?!” “Nini,”Ayomide said in a confused tone. Her cousin was just as confused, “Hu?” Zecora repeated the last bit of her sentence, “Ni. Mzuri?!” And that started one of the most rapid exchanges of Zebrican I had heard so far. I could only watch with my mares as the zebra’s ears flicked to and fro with every question. It definitely sounded like a lot of questions. One problem sort of solved. But I had to transport the two dead weights still. **** Princess Celestia The fur rose slowly along my back as I realized I couldn’t see anything. My chest ached in tandem with the length of my too tense wings. Smells were oddly distant and spicy for the most part as I sucked in a big breath. Spicy? The latter part wasn’t too worrying actually, odd really. But the musk of spice was a balm to the slowly rising alarm. My eyes still wouldn’t open, in fact my chest was heavier the more I tried, rising higher only with a great deal of focus. Something was off… And it was more than the sensations I felt, or rather didn’t feel. My fur felt thick and muted, unfamiliar, it was almost like my skin was numb. Trying to pivot my ears didn’t garner anything either. Sounds weren’t even there, just a faint thrumming in the background, and that was most likely my own heart beat. The culmination of the lack of input was the sense of direction I had prized in life disappearing. I couldn’t make up from down. My thoughts started swimming in nonsensical circles the longer I tried, inner guide torn between alarm and laid back calmness. What happened? My chest started to heave against whatever I was on. I couldn’t tell still, my bed hopefully, but that hope was very low…My senses were in chaos. I couldn’t even feel the deep warmth inside- I could have screamed as I pushed harder against the weight on my barrel. As if in slow motion my mind had caught its own observation. I could only mutely question it. Chaos?! The conclusion came faster than any other sense that had left in me, crystal clear. Discord… Then…Dear Faust no! My plea caught in my throat as it refused to work, dry and stiff in the face of the overwhelming darkness. Why he did this didn’t matter then or even how he had accomplished it from the garden. I had to act. So I struggled harder to awaken, to move, anything more at that point. Lift! My body ignored me. MOVE! Now! The demands didn’t work, my mind was scattered and subdued all at once. I was only able to see shifting in the dark of my eyelids as my limbs remained immobile. My eyelids only managed to flicker in the beating of my demands, once, briefly, causing a millimeter of change in the form of a new grayness in the bottom of my view. No, not gray, it was a moving shadow, a shadow that seemed to hang over my body, dark and large. It's far points almost forming an equine shape in my peripheral, but I couldn’t focus my eyes to see if that was real or merely a candle's effect. Still, no matter how much I willed them to contract or relax nothing happened. That was apparently the limits to my ability then. Why? My heart sped up. I was trapped, immobile, and…I took deep breath. The sweet chocolate scent of the Draconequus was absent. No. And just as fickle as the male my heart slowed a little, ignoring my fear. This isn’t Discord’s work. He would want me to know it was him. The lack of sensory input came to me next…This had to be just a dream, a poorly constructed one, but concerning none the less. Now I have to wake up, I have talk to Luna about her new pranks. Perhaps…No, Nightmare Moon is long banished. She wouldn’t put me in a nightmare. I focused on my aetheratic channels next, trying to line up my thoughts…Where-. The darkness just shifted slightly as I realized I still couldn’t find the blazing sound or even the blinding color of the sun in me. It wasn’t my imagination. Only a pale yellow line appeared in my mind, almost gray and nonexistent as it trailed inwards to my core. My discomfort grew. Dreams didn’t take magic, even those affected by dream magic. My body didn’t let me pinpoint why it was so small though, my focus was fading away just as soon as I realized I couldn’t move anything else to check my horn. I still had my horn...Right? Tarturus, they, whoever wouldn’t break my horn?! My hooves couldn’t reach it, couldn't budge…And my body grew heavier as something constricted around my barrel with the attempt. Fighting it only made my lungs scream for air. But, I had to see, had to feel-… … …. I didn’t remember fading away. But I realized I must have. Squinting under a heavy weight cinching my wings and barrel, my lungs themselves it felt like, I frowned as I came to the conclusion that I didn’t remember much at all. Except the reason I was even conscious, the sweet smell in the air that called to me. I smelled apples, with a pleasant spice under laying the cloying scent. Yet, the first scent my attention, it was an all consuming smell, apples, food. I would sell my magic for a lick. Except…Why did I feel this weak and hungry? My sluggish body answered for me in a loud room shaking growl. Oops. I must have ignored dinner after meeting with…Dinner…The word tingled at my mind as I tried to make heads or tails of it, but not for long. The fruit’s call held my attention as a low whistle of air brought more to my nose, a slightly old and musty hint in its scent. But it was the unmistakable scent of apples and irresistible to me. Again my mind tried to dig deeper, my inner guide demanded I pay attention to more. I didn’t have apples for breakfast; I had to- Wait -raise the sun! My eyelids were too heavy to lift all the way, yet I managed to get them to half mast. The blurry sign of light perking my struggling body, it was not the artificial light of magic either. I would recognize the shifting light of the sun anywhere… That took all of a second to hit me. My window was moving? The castle didn’t move! With an urgent whinny my mask broke and I was rocketing forward to see the light closer, my focus still blurry, only to find my muzzle kissing smoothed wood planks seconds later. My rump hoisted rather awkwardly in the air as I slowly blinked, the weight lifting off of them as the new awareness filled me. There were no apples. No, more importantly, the heavy weights that felt to be all over me held me in place. They were new and unexplained. My body felt almost as heavy as when I was a foal, difficult to coordinate, why my foalhood as a reference to the sensation I couldn’t quite recall in the haze. But, I knew it was familiar and very unnatural at the same time. Just as I knew my marble floor and solar themed area rug were supposed to be under me if I had fallen out of bed. The soft surface I had been on wasn’t my bed though; it was too low to the ground. There were no wood floors in the castle. Where was I? A small table and cushion came into focus as I craned my head to look behind me. Shuffling my muzzle forward again I frowned and blinked, rather slowly still. That didn’t help, nothing had any logos or brands…Glancing left and right I quickly realized I was in a room. A room that was appeared to be moving, the clouds were passing by at a fast pace. And not a soul was in sight. Perfect, I could escape; find out who is behind this…ponynapping…and better yet how I got here. There was the table behind me, which appeared much longer than I had originally thought as I could see it stretching from one end of the narrow room to the other. There was just ten feet of clear floor between the opposing doors of the room. Both doors appeared to have neither locks nor any signs to point out their contents, even a language to clue me in on what faction took action. In fact, as my heart tried to pump harder, to care more about why I was here, I noticed two more doors before me. Why can’t I focus? They were closed just like the others but appeared different, perhaps narrower. I was struggling to focus as the urge to stand grew, my rump held uncomfortably in the air. Why was I in a…dining room? Looking back I didn’t know. The thought and energy sluggishly formed in my head. My magic seemed too far away to grasp. I have to remain calm…And find some food, calmly, with the decorum expected of a princess. Sucking in a deep breath I tried to school my face. What did I remember last? That might explain why could hardly move, both energy wise and physically. It almost felt like I was bound, my legs certainly weren’t able to separate themselves from each other, and my wings felt pinched somehow. Yesterday’s morning came in clear as a bell, the exchange short with my sister. The day court had gone on in a monotony of menial requests and petitions that bored me more than they should have. Until he showed up, I would remember the first stallion of my kind I had seen in millennia forever. I found my nostrils flaring to take in Ari’s intoxicating scent as I remembered his awkward gait and hesitant look around. His words were vague, yet powerful. He knew of the mirror, the honorary prince had been present for part of it, and…My thoughts swirled a little around how we had left. I didn’t remember saying goodbye. Had someone or something attacked us? A large gap in the meeting was growing in my mind. I didn’t remember setting the sun either. The sun should have set already… “Csleshtia,” a small and muffled exclamation had me looking around from my spot on the floor. I wasn’t alone? A blush was soon rising as I realized how I looked sprawled forward. Possibly in the same room as a drunk if the slurring was an indication. However, that just raised more questions. A drunk Equuis speaking female was here. Where? My reply was just as eloquent, “Wshat?” What was wrong with me? “Whst- Csleshtia?!” I looked back in confusion, my eyes squinting at the light peeking through the windows behind me. She started again, “Cslest?” The plea was lost on me as I recognized the voice then to be my sister’s voice. She was nearby, and not much better than me by the sounds of it. But more important than those facts was the fact that my eyes connected with the sight of my bound hooves. An off white cloth of sorts was crisscrossed between them and up to my barrel, preventing me from separating both my front and hind hooves as well as raising my wings. Whoever had me, us, wanted us to stay still. It didn’t take long for me to find my sister as her body soon rose from across the table behind me. Yet, when we looked at each other I couldn’t find my previous embarrassment anymore, only worry and fear as my wits came back to me. Not only was I bound, I was…inhibited in the worst way. Stiffening behind me was my pink tail; the weight on my neck I now realized was my mane lying limp and matching as well if my eyes were seeing things correctly. Pink! No, no, no, this can’t be happening. Luna had a long…Inhibitor…On her horn, which was the most likely cause of the flashbacks I was having from her mane. And I had to presume she was bound similarly to myself from the awkward way she was slouched forward. With a sharp hop around I saw that to be correct. A cloth was criss crossed between her hooves and barrel. Lulu’s eye were watering as she watched me. “Lsuna?” My mouth seemed to move better as we looked each other over. “Ls-,” I coughed and smacked my lips, “-Luunna?” Satisfied that I said one word clearly I threw my rump back, sitting similarly to my little sister. “Whas-,” again I slowed it down, “Whaaat-.” A squeak caught my question in my muzzle. Behind us, peeking out the right narrow door was a muzzle. And even more worrying to my mind was the stripes on it. A zebra? Why was a zebra here? Where were we? Why?! Discord might have made more sense then. Nothing was clicking in my sluggish mind. “Ayo-,” the voice from the room she was exiting halted, the speaker having pushed open the door from behind the first speaker and made eye contact with us. Another Zebra mare, the only difference being the lack of mane on this mare, and another shadow came up behind that one, also striped of course. Beyond that the room was too shadowed to tell. But masculine whimpers came from far in the room. Who else do they have? Wait, where is Ari? We never said good bye-. A small masculine whimper halted my thoughts as I couldn’t understand why the zebras would take us. Gulping at the scene I took the matter into my own hooves, “Whos arse you,” I cringed at my disobeying mouth. Starting slower, “Why,” good, “are,” she seemed to grow calm as I continued, “We here?” Somewhere that was either in the middle of a gale storm or on an airship, either situation provided me no leads on what zebra or zebra aligned being could be behind this. She, the one missing her mane, pushed the first zebra back into the room. “Watch him, very closely.” The whimpers stopped. No, what have they done to Ari?! Luna attempted to get her attention, “Wshat duo mean?” But she was ignored just the same as I was. “I will wake him,” the other, timid ‘Ayo’ turned away, “Don’t worry; they won’t kill me or anything when this is on the line.” “Mimi si…Naweza kufanya hivyo.” Lulu game me a confused look, having not mastered the Zebrican tongue yet. But I frowned, keeping the knowledge to myself. It wasn’t time to let the…Helpers…Of our captor know our linguistic weaknesses; Instead of replying to anypony I shook my head at her opening muzzle. We would meet our newest adversary soon. **** Equestria – Crystal Kingdom border ????? ?????? The sun had set and rose once already of their own accord. Their progress had been painstakingly slow and uncertain without the princesses, almost as slow as my progress actually. Despite flying all night and most of the morning I was no faster than a lame donkey. Sure, the dim, early hours allowed for less ponies noticing me. But that was on days without our princesses being ponynapped. Pegasi were stationed everywhere. Unicorns were erecting wards like never before…And everypony knew. I, of course, hid from them. How was I to know who was a changeling? Ari had fooled the city guard; he had fooled the princesses themselves. The changelings had found ways around our protocols obviously. All of that made the upcoming border even harder to cross. Before me was a rising wall of pink magic, not being casted live I hoped. Rumor had it the royals up north had sunk quite a fortune in upgrading the kingdom, funding the enchantment trade and research department of both their own kingdom and Equestria. This was with the promise of use of the enchantments. Dear Faust I didn’t blame them. I only wished we had done more. Not only had my entire squadron and I been caught unaware but the princesses themselves had failed to notice the change…twice now! My ears folded back as I saw the border office before me, below me, and saw the crowd at it. Already the word must have spread. Everypony was outside the smallish crystalline train station, watching the struggling sun that had been rising to its home above us for well over half an hour. How long it could maintain that was uncertain, hopefully long enough for Princess Luna and Celestia to escape. “Halt,” a pink stallion rose to the air to greet me. His spear was raised to my dismay. I complied though, searching his glittering opal like eyes with a racing heart. No splash of green raced across the pupil like I had heard but maybe they had fixed that flaw in their magic. Maybe it was just a signal to other changelings? Our tufted ears were more flexible than pony ears after all. Silver armor glittering he stared back at me, trying to read my eyes as he gave my sweaty body a once over as well. “Well, state your business Thestral!” “Official business with Princess Cadence,” I held back the urge to cower as the crystal pony looked harder at me. But I held my ground, a few facts holding me there. The crystal kingdom had been preparing for a counter wave of changelings and that they hadn’t been out of stasis during the invasion. They couldn’t have any spies in the ranks. I just hoped it was enough. My reply had him giving the tail twitch twice. Two more guards rose, one a topaz mare and the other an azure stallion. “Name?” I tucked the hoof with the key in. “Name,” he repeated. Their spears shifting told me enough, “Officer Night Glider.” All three exchanged a raised eyebrow. “Allow me to pass,” they watched me closer, “Please,” I couldn’t see past the pink barrier but I squinted at it briefly, very aware of the power they held. “I have information that will affect the security of-.” “We heard.” The mare spoke up, ignoring the jab of her wide eyed guard mate. “That news was delivered straight to the castle and then to us just half an hour ago. Let them know we are aware and-.” A jab from the pink stallion’s spear shut her muzzle quicker than a cake in the dining hall with the princesses. “Excuse trainee Glittering Shard’s break of protocol.” My nod had him continuing. “We were not told to expect an officer, much less one of the Night Guard...,” he watched the slowly moving orb to our right with a frown, “In the daytime.” Buck. I shifted the key as I considered the options. This key and news, the truth, not whatever fallacy the imposter prince had sent over had said, it had to be known. Just telling the guards here, on the border stretch would be suicide for me; I felt it had to be. Yet I also knew they were suspicious of me, my actions made no sense when they could receive news via the emergency FCS system started up, only running between the Crystal Kingdom and Equestria so far, it was rather new, from Saddle Arabia no less. Bless Luna for her ideas. “Well?” The head guard of the trio prompted me out of my thoughts. Right, I needed to give enough information to get me on the shuttle to the kingdom. Sparing the thought of the magic ridden and frozen wasteland beyond the barrier I straightened my expression. Ears forward, “New, confidential information has been discovered; news that even the prince would not want to risk transportation through the FCS. It is to be delivered by wing and hoof with as much secrecy as possible.” I had all of their attention now. “I was never here.” Especially if a day guard arrives. They exchanged a quick glance, the stallion before me frowning harder, “Stay still.” And I did, the tip of his spear was pushing under my muzzle, involuntarily raising my chin as my veins retreated. They all held my gaze as I gulped under the scrutiny. “Under moon and star I pledge my loyalty-,” I started to recite my vow quietly as my nerves mounted, I counted down slowly, “-to Princess Luna-,” but I didn’t break contact. “Quiet.” I continued the private oath in my head. This was to be expected. I could understand waking up to a hostile enemy having invaded without your knowledge. Crystal ponies were even more insecure than my squad mates I believed, now knew for sure if this was a sign. I mean, a magical sleep spanning centuries is hard to recovery from. Seconds dripped onward as the sun continued to bath us in a warm glow. This continued on till he snorted and relaxed his tail slightly. “Sorry Officer, I’m not used to seeing Thestrals still and after the news this morning…” He cleared his throat as he pointed a wing to the platform below us. I followed after him. “We are just a little worried somepo-some being- is going to come after our princess.” We touched down and I transferred the key as quickly as I could in the rustle of four sets wings retracting. Hopefully they wouldn’t question the key. “It was odd enough when the existence of the new Alicorn was reported, too convenient we thought.” We all nodded and made our sounds of agreement, a large breath escaping me as I realized I was safe, well, among a changeling free guard. “Guess it shouldn’t have surprised us when he turned out to be a flawed jewel.” Glittering Shard spoke up a relaxed grin turning her lips up, “Nothing is that good.” She must have doubted the legitimacy of the claim as well. Eyeing the path in the crowd to the empty shuttle car ahead I shifted my legs and responded to the now eager faces I found looking at me. “He appeared to be an Alicorn at least.” My wording wasn’t lost on the officer before me. “But to believe the words of two ponies,” I nodded, frowning as I recalled the lack of follow up in the papers with the only witnesses. “With only a letter between them as the words of the new stallion,” again we shared a long look, “I mean, it just feels foalish to consider now!” “It must be hard being the only mares left,” I put out there. Watching as their eyes turned away. Exactly my feeling on the matter, it was crushing to think of it like that. Echo had been the first pony to bring that up with me and it stuck with me. The only ones left, with no hope for foals, at least not natural born foals. The newest princess was an artificial Alicorn, the only one in history, and was raised by both Celestia and her biological parents. A shared motherhood, it couldn’t possibly have been the same. The shuttle called to me, the key cold in my grip. Coughing had my eyes going to the glittering eyes of Officer Kunzite, the sparkle being more than the crystalline nature of his being. “Well, I suppose you had better deliver the news.” My heart lurched a little as the words were spoken, the relaxation I had gained in their presence draining away as I was brought back to ‘Blueblood’s’ words. ‘Ponies of that caliber don’t just die of natural causes, at least not all at once.’ “Yes, I should.” With that we parted ways. The inhibitor key and I safely bundled up in the shuttle and whistled down the line to the Crystal Kingdom. The sights were little to none. White snow upon white snow whipping by as the magic pushed through even the strongest gale. But that was probably for the best, my nerves couldn’t handle too much. I just hope I am not too late.
Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 2.Author's Note Happy 2019 Readers! This is one of many chapters to come, hopefully the next one next week. This one is the first to have a actual editor but no guarantees still, we are only human after all. My chapter clumping will be ending as it was proving to be a stalemate in progress and I was worrying too much to put it simply. Especially as we enter this ark's rising action. Fair warning that important issues will be getting to the meat of it soon. Happy Reading! Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 2. **** Minotaria Ari Sleep hadn’t reached me yet. Pain had come, gone and returned more than I cared for. A bath had occurred, thankfully enough. My mares had found me, of course, to be a little rank. They had swarmed me in nuzzles, which of course led to the bath, bathes by that point. I stank in more ways than one according to them. A yawn escaped me as I let the afternoon sun beat down on me through my window. I wished I could close my eyes sometime between all of that in the morning, in some small part of my mind I had anyway, but, I knew that I could have that later. Too much had been made apparent when we had dispersed to our respective beds…And I was out for four days from this drug so those mares should take at least half that time. A small mercy, I could use a whole week to sleep. What was left to the focus of the rest of my mind and subsequent attention was still pleasanter than sleep somehow, at least to my soul. My mare’s concerned pampering and questions soothed the stress that had built nearly unnoticeably during our absence. Both were impossible to ignore from the moment they saw me. Only one question had lingered in my mind during their administrations, one that they held as well: the lack of a griffin hen on my ship. Where was she? Bente wouldn’t just ditch the chance to watch me educate the princesses of Equestria, to know their truth. My mind wandered back to her as I lay between my mares. Where is she? A yawn, my body’s attempt to stay awake, went through me as I reviewed the scene I had left. Bente stood out with her white plumage and yellow beak. The sky was clear, the mountains quiet, and the wind hadn’t brought any pony scents our way…At least none that stood out as near and fresh. It was the nation of ponies after all. The equine scent was faintly coated on everything at that point. We were by the jagged small mountains… Nothing popped out at me yet again. I fought down another yawn, the ticking of the clock in the flight cabin reaching me, lulling me, it was-. “Hea-sssss,” shudders of raw nerves ran through my back without any warning, breaking my train of thought. I let another sound escape my muzzle, “Hsss,” shit, as electricity seemed to travel down to my hind legs I questioned why the hell I had let my dick think for the last hour or so. Deep breathes echoed as I scrunched my eyes shut. Why indeed had I done that much more when I wanted to sleep moments before seeing them…Instincts? Pleasure? Stress relief? Feeding my emotionvore? Yes to all, but it also lay in easing a new emotion I hadn’t seen so prominent in them. Their eyes had been wide, searching my face, and moist. Not crying, but certainly filled with extra liquid, as if preparing for something. ‘Are you okay,’ I had asked them a little confused when the door closed behind us. They had simply pressed in tighter as I was distracted momentarily by the twisted tangle of blankets on our bed, arranged in a crescent moon fashion…they almost resembled a nest. I had blinked and looked from the bed to Chrissy, then to Lyric. More blinks answered me. They weren’t okay. ‘You don’t want an Alicorn…Right?’ Chrissy had questioned out of nowhere. Lyric pushed her nose into my neck. ‘No!’ The kneejerk reaction had ended the worries, well the verbalisation of them. Lyric had not been quite so blunt with her worries but she had showed me in other ways. The way she took to constantly rubbing along my body during and after the bathes, scenting, preening my feathers, and the new musical chittering that had filled the room when I had mounted her. She hadn’t even played any games, not even a little chase to break up the act. We really need to-. “H-humph.” Pain stole my thoughts again, my eyelids opened wide before closing in a wince. They were heavy as I lifted them again, yet they refused to stay down. I just couldn’t sleep. I could use some of that curare drug. Eventually the pain faded to the back of my mind again, my stomach even quiet in the moment. I needed more moments like this. Peace, I sucked in a big breath, quiet, the clock faded as the magic hum of our breathing filled my ears, and mares. They lay beside me, both apparently thoroughly exhausted. A twinge of pride at that fact warred with the guilt that niggled me anew. They had been overly concerned even after I had protested to wanting an Alicorn mare, had come home stinking of the sisters. Which I couldn’t help since it was part of the plan to educate them. So, two bathes to clean me, multiple rounds with both Chrissy and Lyric, the latter hadn’t been all lust I think. I mean, Lyric had started to get meticulous on grooming me…Before the bathes…Then in the water…Yah, I felt that might be redundant. But, she had groomed after the bathes as well and I didn’t have the heart or mental fortitude under their care to question her actions, both their actions by the end of it. But… It was a peaceful moment now, quiet, oh so quiet as we languished in each other’s warmth and mixed scent. A muffling spell and door the only things separating us from the not so perfect world. I loved it if I was honest. Wind whistled past the window. Soft breathes coasted over my still damp fur. Plush blankets closed us in from nearly every side. Let me repeat, I loved it, yet…I found it grating on my mind the longer we languished in peace, my subconscious filling the calm with thoughts that the chase, the pain, had kept away. Was I bad? I snorted at the first nagging issue that reared its head. What a silly question after everything–breath tickled at my ear as I lowered my head – no, I wasn’t bad. It wasn’t that easy. Bad AND good…They were as childish as me thinking I could go on without…I shook the thought away, the finishing statement seizing at my heart, one moral dilemma at a time. It was foalish either way. I wasn’t overstating their attention before, they were starting to feel the lack of base we had. We all really needed to sit back and get to know each other more. Hell, I didn’t even know their parent’s names! A soft, contented purr had me pausing once more. Could we make it work with the gaps in knowledge I had let grow between us? The time kept growing between meeting them and the truth. Looking to Chrissy I chewed at my lip. Her splayed out mane, smooth chitined belly, and lone wing resting on green carapiece, it didn’t reveal much of the state she had been in. So I turned my cheek to Lyric. Golden mane and scales greeted me, little fangs peeking out of her muzzle as felt my instincts swell in…Pride. Instincts…They were like my gut reaction? Sighing, I regarded the blanket instead. Was this situation even normal? No. I knew it wasn’t in the old human sense, what a silly thought. But I never wished to solve my infertility this way. I didn’t pray to any god. Never had any relationship felt so natural, fast, and needed. They were my sanity in a way. An answer came to me then, one I knew already, I am a hyprocrite. With another sigh I pushed past the murkiness I had left my past with my marefriends, my herd, and the carriers of my growing new family. New pain started in my forehead. Had I screwed up my new life already? The afternoon sun shining through my window of its own accord said no…But the distraught and confused guard chained in the crew bunk room would probably say yes to some degree. I did. I had ponynapped, murdered, and followed little guiding voices in my head... Shit that sounded worse than I imagined before. Despite all that questionable activity I did do some good. Ayodele and the other slaves were free. Echo saw the difference outside his sheltered home, the damage around the country, the world supposedly…But…He would have had me talk it out with them rather than drug his rulers, an optimist. While Ayodele and her kin would argue otherwise, using force to match the generations of slavery they had to live in fear of…Zecora could see why easily enough. Chrissy and Lyric supported me, their species being minorities, nonexistent now save for themselves. And they deserve so much- I couldn’t help the flinch as my mares chose then to coo and move closer to my sides. It wasn’t even kid- ponynapping that bothered me… ‘Let’s be honest in this relationship…’ I had said. … My heart was torn, my body and mind worn out. I just wanted to restart, to go back to bed, my bed, and failing all that, a good book to read, except…I couldn’t read a speck of any language here. One problem at a time…I had two mares in the dining room to educate first and foremost. I closed my eyes, praying for sleep as my head hurt in time with the rest of my body. Hooves shifted and brought me back to my bed. It was silent. Had I woken- “Ari,” Lyric’s soft voice had me shifting towards her place beside me. Of course I did. Purring rumbled up again from the other side as a hoof shifted forward. Shit. Was now the best time? Would there- Lyric was looking at me closely now, I was too quiet evidently. “Yes,” I queried quietly, hoping that Chrissy was still sound asleep. I let a smile rise as Lyric rolled even closer under my wing and twined her tail with mine. Adorable! Chrissy’s was already beginning to lazily flick in and out of it from my other side. Did I really want to ruin this moment of peace? After how insecure Chrissy was when I arrived and was still when I reassured her? Couldn’t this wait till the Alicorns were off the ship? The purring sealed my decision. Pressing her nostrils into my slightly damp mane Lyric continued, “You are tense.” I could only nod as I tried to get a feel of how much she could tell. What else can I say? I couldn’t, no, didn’t want to just say -“Why?” The truth...No, A truth…That was far easier…For now. “We have the two most wanted mares in the country onboard, mares that the ponies expect me to breed,” her flinch made me wrap her tighter under my wing. “I don’t know what to do besides show them the damage and hope they don’t think I’m…bad,” A partial truth but valid. Echo’s accusation came back as Chrissy shifted beside me in her sleep, “A changeling.” A life after this would be hard if they believed that. Buzzing started and had me glancing to the pink barrier on our doorway. It was still there. Chrissy apparently wasn’t tuckered out from earlier. “The dream that we can have a happily ever after this seems foalish.” Our foals…What life will they have? Humming from under both of my wings was the only response. I didn’t know what I really expected. “Is that all?” Chrissy was tensing beside me as Lyric pressed her cheek into my neck. Pulling my cracked hooves before me I frowned. Not even close. “No,” I had been so tired earlier, distracted when I first saw the bed, that I hadn’t the mind nor heart to inform her that I hadn’t even discovered the exact location in the castle…Among other truths that had risen in the face of the conclusion of my, our, mission. They hadn’t been in the right frame of mind either. Idiot. Fangs were soon buried in the base of my mane, soothing and deceptive as they worked through the post bath tangles, all too easy to fall for. I shook them off. She just moved down to my neck. “The mirror is in the castle still,” I almost flinched as scales rose around to circle my neck, a musical murmur rising even as I gulped. Chrissy stopped her grooming of my damp neck before I managed to get out, “But I failed to get them to say where it was.” There was the sliding down my neck, the disappointment clear. “Moonbutt didn’t seem to know it had been made though. Perhaps they have different views on it?” Ears perked into my fur at that, “it’s something we can work with.” “Really,” my chitined mare purred by my ear. Nodding even as I continued, a plan half forming, “Yes, in fact, there might be a lot for us to work with if Sunbutt turns out to be unrepentant. They obviously parted on bad terms at one point. Who is to say exactly why?” I didn’t believe that Moonbutt, Luna, could suddenly turn evil and try and fight her sister for eternal night, anybeing with half an understanding of plant biology could see the flaw in that. They, we, were herbivores! Sure, magic could be personality changing, it could be, but, it was unlikely still that it happened suddenly or over such an idiotic plan. It was an unlikelihood that I could work with. But the small possibility remained, “Lyric,” she pulled back to watch me. “You were alive then right?” Her muzzle bobbed up and down as it buried itself into my mane, Chrissy purring faintly in response. “Well, I suppose you know where I’m going with this.” No response as silence swept across the bed, “Sisters don’t just turn on each other. I find it hard to believe after seeing them today that she just turned evil and wanted to plunge the world into darkness.” Silence followed, “Were you near when that event happened,” I paused but got nothing, she had gone still. “I just really doubt-.” “I was alive when she plunged the world into night.” I paused and looked to Lyric, but her face was hidden in my mane. “But I wasn’t anywhere near Equestria then. I just remember the sun not rising like expected, the night lasting far too long,” A heavy sigh interrupted her speech before she pushed on, “It was already an odd time without that.” The wind groaned outside. “Magic is a funny force, maybe she did turn on her sister.” “Oh.” Had she really meant for eternal night then? Chrissy piped up before my ears could deflate, “That doesn’t mean you don’t have a good point Ari.” Lyric hummed, “Really. If the little sister didn’t even know of the mirror…,” She trailed off. “Then,” I prompted, my new plan not looking too bad. “Well, then she might not know a lot of things. Celestia only ‘discovered’ Zebrica around four centuries or so ago…” I understood now, Moonbutt, Luna might really be innocent. If Moonlit Echo was to be believed and this theory was true…I had half of a diarchy already- a knock echoed through the wall of pink and stole my thin veil of concentration. Blinking, I looked between the door and my marefriends, that can’t be good. The deck was silent still, one small mercy. They might not be fully awake then if it was about them at all. Then another knock echoed out. Lyric growled low before dropping the field of silence. “They are awake.” Like I thought, not good news. My ears pinned back as I exchanged a frown with my mares. Four days for me and only one for them, it wasn’t-. “And I don’t think adding more mares will help.” Ayo’s voice had me stunned. Snarky - An improvement…I guess. Removing the blankets encircling us I rose to face the music, opening the door with my magic as I went. “You don’t say?” Her nose flared out and her brown eyes widened before she saw my grin. The relief was obvious as her body went slack a little before she turned to the dinning cabin. Show time… **** Celestia Luna and I could only give a nod before the zebra left, off to bring whoever had the nerve to capture us. That left us waiting under the increasingly watchful eyes of the other striped mares. Mares that were watching us very closely, I watched them back in my peripheral vision, and I couldn’t help but notice in that moment that their interest was a little too intense. Yes, we were relatively unknown to them, we didn’t visit Zebrica…Ever. I was probably nothing more than a statue or article in the paper in their mental reference. So, the attention was to be expected to some degree, but, it wasn’t curiosity or surprise glittering in their eyes at our presence and predicament. Their look was almost accusatory: narrowed eyes and portions of muscles bulging up from their fur…Most fur…The one in the front was a little underfed and unkempt…However, I might have been a little paranoid then. It was unusual, as was this whole situation. Who did this? Clouds moved by as my mind picked up on other small details around me, flashes of indecipherable blue and green showing through the mass of cumulus as I tried to uncover this puzzle of where exactly we were as well. There were too many clouds enshrouding us to answer that. The initial wonder of who had was lost as well, I had some information present. It was a small force before me. One mare snorted as a low equine whine died down in the room before me. Remain calm…Think…Why would these Zebrican mares be accusing us? Our trade relations were pleasant with Zebrica. No ambassador had ever left in a fit of anger; they were always civil and polite, we always were. Even their population was stable, not growing or shrinking, but still disease free if the statistics were accurate, and their airship trade was still advancing if the reports were to be believed. This situation gave rise to a small doubt in those reports though. Would they be here, holding us captive, if all was well? My eyes flicked over the one missing fur again, something about the pattern called to me yet remained out of reach. Equestria’s crime was nonexistent now with the peace and harmony we had ushered in, even the Crystal Kingdom was restored! A small huff escaped my sister as I tried to follow the path my thoughts had opened up. Everything looked well yet wasn’t. Our population had seemed stable and fine…Perhaps…No, I would have to look those reports over again, and, better yet, visit the country after I got us out of this predicament. At the moment though, I still couldn’t think of a reason for their part in this crime, not a hint from any ambassador visits or reports. Typical, they didn’t care to elaborate on their look and I couldn’t manage more than an internal grumble at the fact. … The air seemed to still then. My heart seemed too loud. Thump. Thump. We were ponynapped, incapacitated and I was just irked? I panned my head as everything slowly faded away from my vision, my aetheratic channels came to the forefront of my mind as I felt the moment, truly examined the sensations of my disoriented body. A small gust of air escaped me as the room came back into focus. Nothing. No magic sparking, beaming, or churning. No anger. I blinked as it sunk in. There wasn’t any sign of my anger, even any unconscious suppression of it. I knew I should be angry, no, furious! Golden light peaked from my center at that, closer than usual, yet so far from my senses. What?! Thu-thu-thump. Thump. Thu- thump. Breathing in as deep as I could, I stilled on the cushion. In seconds my heart slowed down again. Turning back to observing our determinedly glaring audience and my confused sister I still couldn’t manage much else though. We were alive. My chest didn’t relax or tighten. Only an ear managed to twitch as I let it sink in, trying to care. Yet, the relief I should have felt from the latter was muted, smaller I believed possible, as absent as most of my emotions usually appeared to be. And we were captured, Ari as well, my feathers rose along my skin a little as it sank in more, the whining muffled now. But I still couldn’t manage more than an annoyance, just higher than being irked by my sister’s pranks, maybe a tiny thread of fear deep down. I truly couldn’t say as my mind racked itself for a reason why that hadn’t changed with my new consciousness. My heart did speed up. Whatever we had been dosed with was messing with me still, the thumping in my ears slowing within seconds of starting. I should be furious…Shouldn’t I? We had only done good for our country, their country, the continent, what would this treatment be for? Everypony stayed silent as the clip clop of their friend’s hooves grew faint. Calm, okay, what else was here? A table was steady behind me, four doors were around me at various points, six windows that I could see, various cushions, no food, and a safe to assume hostile crowd. Okay. Luna? My sister smacked her lips behind me and sniffed the air at the treatment as I spared her a glance, not as brash as I expected her usual response to be. But, if she was dosed with whatever was in me still then I didn’t know what else to expect. I still couldn’t think of what it could have been. It wasn’t everyday somebeing ponynapped us. I still couldn’t decide as the time moved on if I should be furious or afraid then, I only knew that I struggled to truly feel either emotion, anything beyond the slowly fading compulsion to lie down. My mind felt muted, my energy low. Deep breathe. And somebeing had enough forethought to do this: to capture us, subdue our magic and inner guides. Perhaps the worst part of all that was that I didn’t have an inkling how they did it or really why they choose to. We were easy to talk to…Right? The arrhythmia started again. Breathe out. Fixing my ears and straightening my body as best as I could, I ignored the soft equine whining escaping from the dark behind the mares, the side room that lay before me. Imaging the reasons why that plaintive noise was made wouldn’t help solve this. Ari was a grown stallion. Breathe in. If I couldn’t feel the appropriate anger, or afraid even, then I would have to use this muted emotional state to our advantage. It would be a day at the court room, without any effort this time. ‘Princesses were calm,’ my mother’s voice encouraged from within. Nothing was wrong. The hooves went still outside and a faint ticking grew prominent and echoed across the room as we waited, a clock was somewhere out of sight. Magic buzzed faintly in my ears. We waited some more in silence. It seemed like we had waited a good deal longer than required as I steeled my breathing; at least, from the way she had spoken it sounded like our assailant was nearby. A tingle of magic rippled across the air and had everypony’s ears pivoting to the closed door. The telltale shift of wood on wood had my heart speeding up again and my facial muscles tightening. My mother’s reminders on negotiations soon became a mantra as loud as the door was focused on. ‘Calm withers even with your sternum, a brisk step, and a neutral tail position. Civil attitude…Stay to the point’…The point…Which was our freedom, their reasons. Hooves, plural, several sets of them made their way to the door before the handle turned. Lulu shifted on her cushion behind me as I held my body still in the face of a foe, no, our new adversary that had captured us. I am a confident leader, we did not negotiate with…whatever this force was. Nothing had more magic than a Alicorn, I just needed to free us and- The door opened. -And suddenly breathing wasn’t a top priority. The sun illuminated the tall figure in the doorway, the same zebra from before slipping past it to the side room, I blinked, and I blinked again. Calm was out of the window now. “Ar- gl –wha –wh- I -,”my sister couldn’t decide what to say, squeaking out syllable after syllable in a most embarrassing display. I’m sure her face must have been hilarious. Dear…Faust… Thu-thu-thump. Thump thump. Thump. What did I say to visage in the doorway? Nothing, a spark of magic went off briefly inside me, I only looked between it and the suddenly quiet side room. I didn’t know what to say either. It wasn’t even sensible, logical! My heart sped up more and more. I couldn’t slow it anymore; the drug was just as overcome as I was. And I almost wished it hadn’t. My emotions returned in a wave of ice along my veins before settling in my stomach as a hard ball. I could taste a bitter flavor that I swear was pain. What in Tartarus is going on?! Was Discord behind this twist after all? Ari…My body forced me to gasp a breath in…It was him, the missing patches of fur, the wing joint with no feathers, and dear Faust –What had happened to his hooves?! Why?! The silence stretched longer and longer as my sister and I were paralyzed by this event. Not even a shuffle coming from her as I processed this odd reality, one that couldn’t and shouldn’t be true. My mind couldn’t find any reason –why – he would be behind this act. Why Ari of all would ponies’ would ponynap us? He was the last stallion of our kind…Well, he had been brought to our world for a reason, by a god no less, and it didn’t take much to do the math on what the god wanted. But…We weren’t to blame…I wasn’t anyway. Lulu wouldn’t…No, she wouldn’t wish that on any pony. Breathing was hard but I pushed forward, past the remnants of my remerging trust issues, and let his blue eyes hypnotize me. He-it was the work of a god. ‘Gods are tricky beings Celestia, they don’t really care for us mortals. Not in the way they will have you believe.’ Slowing down my irregular breathing I started to see it, the how of this. I couldn’t recall anything past meeting him, the end of the talk escaped me like the air I suddenly needed. All that was present was a calming spicy scent wafting in my nostrils. And really, my lack of memories surrounding the stallion, Ari, should have made me focus in on him. I knew better…He was the biggest oddity of that day really, the last three weeks, and he was the last one I saw - which I remembered - seeing anyway. But I had shoved the beginning of the idea away immediately. He was clearly held captive in the room… The room…Somepony was held captive. My eye twitched as my grayed aetheratic channel sparked yellow again. Breathe…Breathe…Bre…a…the… All that was left was the why. Why would he ponynap me, us? What could he gain from this? We didn’t bring him here, or even ask the gods for help with our personal crisis. A fiend from Tartarus escaping was more likely. Expanding my barrel as far as it would go I wrapped the rising emotions in a fine sheet of control. I was at the disadvantage, he was waiting for something, and my cracking wouldn’t be it. ‘Not every stallion is worth your tears,’ my sheet hardened over my heart, my mind echoing the deep timber of my father, ‘my sweet little filly. Suck them in, save them for a happier occasion.’ Ari was silent. Using the silence to my advantage I watched him. I couldn’t follow my returning instincts. Breathe in…And out. I breathed from my nostrils, his scent helping with its traitorous sensuous nature. We all seemed to be waiting for something then. After a few moments more of the awkward silence the door closed of its own accord, a strange gust blowing in with the force of it. Coastal flowers that tingled at my memory, burnt wood, the cloying scent of a pond flower I vaguely recalled from around Mount Eris, and a generous mix of gingerbread spices. All of which didn’t provide a clue as to where I might be over, although it narrowed it down. Perhaps we were by the-. “Come on,” we all cast an ear to the open doorway to my right as the stern voice of the maneless mare stole the spotlight, “We might as well sit in on this.” The other zebras didn’t budge, turning to look at the stallion. Ari. He breathed out deeply, a shudder racking his tense back, “She’s right you know.” A very crooked smile rose as his eyes found theirs. I fought down the urge to demand his attention, my magic sparking minutely around my core. We were in the room sti-. “Excuse yee!” Oh Lulu. His head snapped from the mares to my sister, an eye twitching as a single ebony ear flicked towards the slowly entering zebras. Finally he broke the stare off, starting a controlled walk to the head of the table. There he sat stiffly, his jaw working on something as it remained shut. She couldn’t take the silence still. An enraged whinny escaped her first, causing his muscles to twitch. “Is this a joke?! What in tartarus does thou believe thee we accomplish by this –this, by-,” Lulu was looking around the room as the zebras took seats around him delicately, leaving a empty seat on either side of him. Fear? No… “I see you have-.” He started only to shut his muzzle as my sister screamed higher and louder than his stilted words. I could only close my eyes and try to backtrack mentally. “SEE,” She exclaimed. “I don’t see anything! Why do you, no, how dare you-,” Lulu’s screeching burst of emotion was cut off as she elevated in a primal whinny, hopefully biting her tongue, and whipping her head around to glare at the window, momentarily without words. “Ari-,” I began, unsure as to start this most unexpected conversation, “I would like to understand what-.” It was his eyes that stopped me. Blue. Tired. They looked down to me with something I hadn’t seen in over a millennium: loathing. Nerves were clearly present but they were gone in the half second my controlled voice gave out. His eyes just closed at my loss of words, taking a deep breath in. I resumed my silence, shocked among other things, and tempering my equally unstable emotions. A snort of challenge had me turning to my sister, my autopilot response of thrusting down my emotions returning, trying to communicate the same to my sister. This wasn’t a zebra warlord coming out of hiding, a dubious Draconequus, or even a shadow pony like Sombra. Ari was a wildcard that felt strongly enough to reach the level of loathing that hurt, and- and she was staring at her tail. First glaring at the window and now her tail? Was she unable to look him in the eye? Was she mad? “I was expecting worse actually.” We turned to his deep voice, just in time to see Ari frowning, the loathing gone in his expression. “But I suppose that this is a blessing,” Ari continued quietly to himself. Deep breath. He has the key to these inhibitors and has to have a reason. Those eyes… “Good Afternoon,” he shuddered and twitched his wings as he looked down to Luna and I. What was good again? “I hope we can begin the real meeting now.” My barrel couldn’t expand anymore I pushed down my tongue and venomous words. The zebras stilled and exchanged a look before focusing all their attention on me. Ari wasn’t far behind them, and my fury was only slightly below that. It was rising up as I made petty comparisons that I couldn’t help. We had waited for weeks with baited breath and hadn’t pushed him in the, our, planned meeting. We had welcomed him with open wings and hooves even after his veiled insults-. “Let’s be frank.” For once both my sister and I were in sync as we snorted. “And be adults about this. I really don’t have the time or desire to dance around the issues I have been tasked with or have found…Unacceptable.” His eyes closed as if he was the one under duress. As if his words justified our treatment-, “Where to begin…,” I strained my ears forward, ignoring the whap of my sister’s tail on the seat. A click of a hoof had me staring at the form of my sister, leant forward, a little closer than before. Blue eyes opened, darker in the moment as they flickered between my sister and I, “Like I said, I was expecting worse,” his muzzle opened, closed, and started again. “I apologize that it had to come to this but, to be frank, when a god sees fit to snatch one from their bed and toss them into the foreign air of an uncannily similar planet to ones own,” A wave passed along his wings, feathers staying out of order as he pushed onward, “It does beg a thought.” His nostrils flared out as I tried to sort through the implications, my sister eerily silent as she scowled at him. “How much of what the irresponsible, kid-ponynapping bastard said has merit?” You could have heard a noble’s flatulence with how silent the room fell. “I was told that this planet, Equus, was doomed,” he paused and I racked my brain to say something intelligent, anything to him. Gods simply weren’t in the game of helping us! “And I haven’t seen anything to go quite as far as doomed but I would say that the planet is on its way there-.” “Lies,” Luna exclaimed, echoing my thoughts. “We – I may have been gone for a millennium but little has changed to suggest the doom you claim, surely our population-.” “He claimed.” We both blinked at his pointed interruption exchanging a glance as the zebras shifted uneasily. “Whatever god brought me to this planet demanded I fix it,” a strained laugh escaped him before his eyes strayed to the window and a serious line grew on his lips. “I think this world is unnatural…What prompted,” narrowed blue eyes filled my vision and sweet spices circled their way around my head, almost adding in a soft tip tap of hooves with them in the unnatural quality of the moment. “The meddling with nature disturbs me.” That had my mask wrinkling, “Pardon?” A swath of eyeballs snapped back to Ari. “How advanced is your science?” He pushed over me. “The sun and moon have a cycle that shouldn’t, no, couldn’t be messed with.” The firmness grew with his volume, “Your actions have set the world down the path that overdramatic bastard is so sure of!” Lulu beat me to the punch, screaming at him, “Our family has done no such-!” Ari’s voice boomed over hers, entering Royal Canterlot voice range of octaves as he stood, “I don’t care what you blindly believe! I know what I saw!” Spasms ran down his flank as I stared at his towering height, “When I arrived oh so gently,” the word was spat as turned down a different direction, “I met somebeing that had faced far more than I cared to believe possible.” His flank lowered before he continued, a little collected as his features twisted, “Do you know how it feels to be lost, alone…” His eyes searched my face before switching to my sister’s, “To lose a wing clear off your back…A house and friends…Your family right before your eyes?” He looked to continue but shut his muzzle prematurely; focusing on something I couldn’t see beyond my sister. We were getting somewhere. But was this really necessary? What lies did he believe? That story about our home being doomed couldn’t be the only reason he had done this. I held my tongue and halted my train of thought as that went around my mind. I had to try and keep my questions and emotions to the end, to focus and read between the lines at what he wanted. Ari wanted us to understand loss, that he-. “Does a millennium mean nothing,” my sister interjected quietly, quite loudly in the silence that had started. “No,” Ari affirmed. Wind whispered and hooves clicked in shifting around the table as he seemed to search Lulu’s face and body longer than I was sure was needed. Steeling my face I forced my way into the silence, “You are hurt Ari?” His eyes hit mine, the corners creasing as he ruffled his feathers at some thought. Calm withers, restate his words in your own understanding. “You lost your family, home, and familiar world all in one moment.” Come on, “Waking up alone and meeting another that was equally despairing.” The brief thought that he may have left a mare and foal behind had me flinching, the eyes of the many grieving ponies of centuries flashing through me as I tried to sympathize with him. He had to have a reason. Was he driven mad by grief? Perhaps, he was desperate for some control after having his life thrown around? “It must feel like you are missing a part of yourself,” the wing was a metaphor surely, nothing was missing… No sooner had I ended did start, “The being I met then was just the beginning.” Dear Faust. His first encounter wasn’t, despairing, it wasn’t welcoming at all if his tone was right. “It wasn’t long before I was captured,” I could feel a lump growing in my stomach as the looks of the mares around grew darker, his own look turning at something I couldn’t see outside. “You have to understand,” his eyes rejoined us, “Slavery isn’t something that is considered in my world anymore, not really…Not in ninety percent of the world anyway…And my new friend,”- my ears couldn’t help but twitch at the hope, a friend, “-and I were gassed, chained, and inspected by stinking mongrels.” The shortness of his tone left no question as to his feeling on the matter. I felt sick as the picture became clearer, “Multiple times and in different locals.” “Do you mean-,” he interrupted me again, emotion rippling forth as his body quaked in place. “You would know them as Diamond Dogs.” My sister found my gaze as looked to her, an ‘I told yee so’ hanging between our gaze. Her distrust in the change time had brought a long standing issue. Bu- no – I held my tongue as he calmed himself. They had signed a trade agreement centuries ago, they had respected it generally, save for a few rebel packs a couple years ago. But I had figured that those were related to the re-emergence of my sister, better known to them as ‘Night bringer’. They had been in support of her plan, or so I had heard after I had to send her to the moon. His body was quivering even as he continued, “Did you know there is lightning that can vaporize trees in one instant?” I blinked. Luna blinked out of her angry gloating as well. The mares before us didn’t seem to be fazed by the statement, though one avoided his gaze as it traveled down the table to us. “No?” I couldn’t retort in time, my throat suddenly dry as the sharp scent of cinnamon and burnt wood hit me. “I suppose you have no idea that Zebrican lives are being traded for their national safety?” He all but slammed forward as he grew closer, ears disappeared into his head, “I also suppose you don’t know of the drought in the dessert? The flooding-.”Snorting from my sister had him pausing, clicks filling the air. “You are upset-.” Luna threw her head about, trying to dispel something. “We are not upset! We are mortified, confused, horrified, and disillusioned by yee!” “Mhm,” he hummed, a new patience entering his gaze. My fur was rising a little as he glanced at me. “Lies-,” he made to interrupt but stopped as she slammed the edges of her bound hooves forward against the table, “-You claim nothing more than conspiracy theories of the half mad!” Tumultuous breathes escaped her as she leaned closer, over the table as if to touch noses with the stallion of the hour. “We have done no wrong since our banishment; we took the reins of a country drowned in grief without as much as a ceremony! WE ARE NOT THE CAUSE-.” A striped bullet latched itself to her neck with an unequine shriek, shoving her backwards and onto the floor. I could hardly move myself as the room’s occupants rose. “Luna!” I gasped out as they engaged in a trading of bites, muzzles growing closer and hitting vital areas harder with each snap. Both were squealing at the other to desist, yet neither was willing to back down. “Mares.” And soon the shadow of Ari overshadowed the joined pile rolling on the floor. The other zebras standing a few paces back with different expressions. The maneless one looking resigned, ears drooping as if it were a mess she would have to handle, while the strangely familiar one looked on with perked ears and an expression of surprise. “Hmpth –Hmpth,” Ari exhaled out, loudly and quite pointedly as I tried to discern what would be the best reaction. Should I interv- no. My balance wobbled as I shifted, oddly enough smelling the coastal flower scent of earlier as I righted myself. Perhaps he will? It appeared as if he was undecided as well, glancing at the mares around him as if looking for guidance. Exhaling I tried to rationalize it, quelling the urge to jump into the fray in my powerless state. I knew my sister was a grown mare, one that was more in tune with her instinctual side than was socially accepted, but a grown one nonetheless. She could, no, needed to gain control. “Ayodele,” the mares around him stepped back further at the tone, “Luna.” Neither seemed to twitch an ear as they grabbed onto what they could, the zebra in question beginning to raise a forehoof to punch my sister as his lips formed a firm, “Enough.” Luna blinked in shock, calming her wriggling wings as the attacker was lifted off her in a golden aetheratic cloud. Before I could process the quick moving altercation, much less speak so much as a thank you or reprimand to any party Ari was talking again, leaving me in a state of rapidly growing frustration. ‘A leader isn’t to be walked over.’ “Perhaps you have a point Ayodele,” blinking started as I fought to not interrupt our captor, “My words don’t mean shit unless we can back them up.” Her mouth wiggled in the field, immobilized.“Oh,” and down she went, free of any repercussions after attacking an unarmed mare, a restrained, unarmed mare. “I need to show them why they are going to change.” Images of me bucking him to the moon swam in my vision as he exchanged a slow grin with the mare that accosted my only living family member. Several yellow charges sparked off my core as I focused in on his neck. This stallion, species be damned, was edging very close to-. A corner of his mouth went up as his back shuddered, “Though,” his ears soon followed, “If you were going to attack anybeing it would have been the one that discovered your country.” What? “She is the one that has somehow justified not visiting for four centuries.” My reasons, my subjects and court battles raged around my conscious as I fought to get something out at this continuing slander. “I di-.” But it was all for nothing. “Or perhaps she was busy, very busy. I imagine making trade agreements does take time, not even counting the cover stories she must have fabricated to keep every pony her country ignorant.” He paused as he fixed me with a hard stare, the sight of loathing not even slowing me. “A bit too like big brother for my taste.” Big brother? My fury dissipated just quickly as it had risen. The larger picture was staring at me. He had seen something to prompt this fanatical believe that we were in the wrong. He had been cast into a position and situation that was wholly unfair. ‘Well I guess you will have to run the country now Princess…It was their wish for you both…Eventually…’ Unbidden empathy started in place of the fury at our treatment. His words made no sense to me, only raising more questions about his past and confusion over how to proceed. ‘To understand one’s enemy is key.’ My father hadn’t been wrong, intelligence on Sombra had been key in his unfortunate demise. I let my mask fall completely as I stared at the hard blue eyes before me. He had to lower his defences. There had to be some logic here. So, breathing out slowly, I let my ears express my confusion and fall to the side. Lulu was terrified in my peripheral. He was filled with hate. We couldn’t escape or move forward in any relationship like this. In…And out. “W-wait,” the stutter echoed around the room as I tried to back pedal the conversation, to reign in my nerves a little more. He had a brother, then, perhaps there was more, and, and our ‘meeting’ had been going someplace before, before Luna had intervened. “Let us talk about this. All of this.” They paused, Ayodele spitting out a clump of blue fur before facing me. Tails were too active. “You are all angry,” the questioning tone earned me some nods, “And feel that the reasons are connected to Equestria-.” “You,” the group of striped mares retorted. “Exactly, as they have said, most of the issues I have found can be traced back to you.” A small fire burned as I swished my tail, my mask gone for good, and my temper still simmering behind the empathy I felt. He didn’t deserve my politeness with his immature behavior. No, that wasn’t all of it. Ari sounded too much like yet another noble blaming me for the taxes they approved a year ago but didn’t realize would impact them. He wasn’t finished with me. “Celestia, you were the one that helped in the creation of the world mirror,” a loud exhalation was heard…But I couldn’t see who did it as his eyes captured mine, some unreadable emotion darkening them. The room was quiet to my left. “You have split families, doomed countless ponies to pain and suffering, and banished your own sister- no, that isn’t the point.” His composure returned just as mine broke even further. Luna was a different story, she didn’t mean to stop the moon, well, she did, but, I had no other option! My voice barely came out, “Luna, I-,” my urge to explain once again being inconsolable as she looked away from me. “I guess the point is that I am upset, many beings are, the world is upset in its most primordial way, and you claim to know nothing and as such offer to take no responsibility for that. We,” he looked around, “All of us,” magic buzzed as an undercurrent in the air now, “are more than prepared to educate you.” My heart started hammering as it appeared beside him. Other emotion put aside as my instincts faintly called to prepare for an attack. Burnt wood. The smell filled my nostril with a deep inhale. I flinched and couldn’t say why. Pink shimmering dust, no, pink aetheratic remains started to trickle away. My shoulders couldn’t stop tensing as prepared for whatever he had hidden. “I hope to release you, for peace between my herd and your country, but that is all in your hooves now.” Herd? They were his mares then…There was very little surprise among the zebras as the pink magic was painstakingly released. Such control…And…Pink magic? I thought his magic was a gold shade. For yet another time my nerves were stretched thin as my thoughts dwindled to nothing. Black feathers rose before me, wings following in seconds. The pink magic residue disappeared to reveal a dark horn, running down the previously unoccupied air jaggedly before shiny, hairless ear tips revealed themselves. No, not hairless skin, it was chitin. Unmistakeable as the turquoise mane hair was tossed about in the continuing reveal. No. Blue and green melded in the irises that smirked at me. Long fangs were not far behind in the sentiment. She, she, that insect lived. NO! “No…,” Lulu’s whisper was lost in the undercurrent of the magic. A golden flicker had my eyes ricocheting to his left side. A golden tip was materializing in the buzzing air, growing wider as it revealed a horn, another horn really, gleaming as it spiraled straight down to the source of the spell. Sun glanced off the ears as they came into existence, glittering in a way that gave me flashbacks to the fish markets of the coast. They were covered in scales. “No…,” she intoned again. “Yes,” the queen intoned back, a sinister twist to my sister’s words. Like a sheet had been pulled away I was face to face with a nightmare, on either side of him were forms, beings that were clearly there as true as the sunlight coming through the windows shone. Queen Chrysalis and some hybrid were here, behind the scenes. Yes, a hybrid, a once over of the narrowed vertical slitted eyed scaled, yet equine figure was enough for me to surmise that. Of what exactly I couldn’t presume but it’s magic was impressive. A gasp inward had me frowning, her. It was a mare, the jaw line was unmistakable. They were female…and he…said…herd..., “NooooO!” My voice rose to royal Canterlot octave as I felt something break in me. Where, I couldn’t say, but I was rushing through the emotion faster than I could rightly say, heat leaving me as ice was freezing me inside out in the next instant. His eyes closed, my control was a joke. This was all a farce! Blue fur flew towards him as my face contorted, "No, no, no," it was hard to say anything else. Nothing made sense anymore. I didn’t feel empathy or rage. I couldn’t feel anything then.
Trust is a Fragile Thing. Part 3.Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Meddling Gods, Genderbending, and Worried Princesses.*Meddling Gods, Genderbending, and Worried Princesses.* 'To say that the planet Equis had some problems would be an understatement; it was, like any planet in this multiverse, riddled with problems. However the problems it faced were soon going to come to an end. One such problem was the country of Equestria, it was ruled by two Alicorns, for all practical purposes demigods of power, with a lifespan of ten millennia they were practically immortal. Equestria had looming problems of their own but those paled in comparison to the problems they were causing the entire planet, I mean what is the looming extinction of one species when the whole planet is on its way out. The stage was set, the dominos lined up and slowly falling down towards the end. Now I just needed to show my hand, place my pawn ahead of the reaction and he would solve all the problems. Zeus never said I couldn't have some other being interfere with the forces of chaos... To be a touch dramatic, loyal audience member, the world was doomed.' "But I just-" "Hush! Now where was I? Right..." 'Outside the Equestrian borders, countries such as Saddle Arabia were facing sandstorms and droughts as their life giving Nile River shrank more and more every year. The Mountainous range that the Gryphon’s lived on faced storms of never before seen strength, powerful winds that ripped their trees from the slopes, allowing the torrential rain to create mudslides as the mountains increasingly eroded. Minotaria and the Badlands fared no better, Minotaria lay in the valley below the Gryphon’s mountains and as such were slowly losing ground as the waters from the mountain storms flooded their valley. The flood waters turning fields to swamps at an alarming rate. Changelings carved out a small existence in the Badlands and also faced the floods from the Gryphon’s mountains, however the water that flooded into the badlands became contaminated with sulphur, making the Changelings sick and incredibly desperate. These climatic shifts outside of Equestria may or may not have been caused by the two governing Alicorns that have made it their mission to prevent famine and drought for their "little ponies" by assuming control of the sun and moon, by default the seasons as well to allow their fields to thrive. But by taking over the gravitational pull and rotation of the sun and moon they have screwed up the planet’s orbit, and let’s not forget a certain Draconequus. With his power trip from a little freedom he sped up the destruction, increasing the planet’s storms by twice the amount in one day alone. That cocky, chaotic entity screwed up things more royally than any being on the planet had before or even realized, except maybe him. He did enjoy his chaos. Right now Equestria is ignorant to the climate signals their planet is screaming out, as a problem much closer to home is occurring. It is a much more noticeable crisis for them in their sheltered country: decreased birth rates coupled with even fewer colts being born. As it stands for every ten foals born only one will be a colt and with the average stallion’s lifespan being 70 years, the ponies of Equestria stand to be extinct within 200 years (if not a sooner with the planet’s meltdown). Not forgetting the doomed Alicorns. As it stands, with only three mares left, no stallions, and Alicorns requiring a large amount of magic to even enter estrus, not to mention conceive, they are (excuse the pun) royally screwed. For perspective, the most magical pony stallion is but a candle’s flickering light when compared to an Alicorn’s bonfire worth of magic.' "Now don’t look so bored, this is important." "Wait a second Fa-" "Why should you care? Well, I, Faust Albus Tommy Everfree, have made planet Equis my charity case this year. Every year I look for an interesting planet in the multiverse to help. Whether it is curing scale eating plagues or slowing down moon sized meteors, I have done it! In case you are interested, I actually could have stopped that meteor, but the planet really needed a little motivation to evolve. Ya’ know what I mean? All the crawling and grunting was really passé, it was getting embarrassing. Also I couldn’t just stop every act of chaos." "...Or you just don't want the bossman to stop your little games..." "No! It’s not because of my brother, he isn’t that scary." "So when Hades got his you know what stuffed you know where you didn't projectile vomit?" "I don’t care what he did to Hades, that corpse fucker got what he deserved. Really though, fucking a dead broad is just too much even for me." "Righhttt, you just play with the mortals a little. Give them 'happy endings' if what I remember the last hundred times you told me." "Hermes, Hermes, you annoying ass kisser. If I stopped every catastrophic event in the multiverse then it would be in the same state Equis is in now! Besides, the surviving beings on that planet are actually thriving they even ended up a bit hairless after evolution. Not to mention I simply love their adaptability-" "Humans?" "YESSS! I know they are called ‘humans’, I wasn’t done yet. If you keep this up I won’t let you watch the sh-plan, the plan is genius! Anyway, as I was saying, these ‘humans’ are amazingly adaptable, I am actually taking one of them and giving it to Equis as a solution." "Sooo, you are going to use what is essentially a hairless ape to save a world completely alien to it and restore another species with it? Well good luck with that plan all power*snorts*, come on, even I know Humans and-" "SHUT UP! Of course I will of course make the Human more…pony-like for both their adaption to Equis and for my plan to work. I am the God of Creation…Meaning I’m a genius! All I have to do is reform it, place it on Equis, and watch the show, err plan I mean. Since you’re here did you want to watch?" "I don't have a choice do I?" "No need to look so nervous, have a seat, and enjoy!" **** Ever get really, really drunk? Like so drunk that you hallucinate something so crazy you could have never thought of it in a million years? Yah, I am pretty sure that is what is happened, except without the whole being inebriated part. This had to be some crazy hallucination and now I was just waiting for the voices to start. I haven’t gotten that drunk in a long time, Dr. Krause said that would be a bad idea if I ever wanted to have kids. But to explain my situation simply: I woke up in midair. My body felt strange, tingling and seeming to be too large as I fell. I was plummeting at what I swear felt like light speed towards the forested ground. There was screaming ringing in my ears, it was nearly all I could hear, a masculine voice screaming and the wind whooshing past my now pointed ears. Equine ears my brain supplied from out of nowhere, illogical? Yes, but I wasn't inclined to ignore my gut feeling, it had helped me get out of a couple of bad situations before. The ground was still approaching at a breakneck speed. I mean that quite literally, I was pretty sure my neck was going to snap on impact. My mind didn’t even have time to register what was happening as my self-preservation instincts kicked in and to my surprise my wings started flailing in a motion reminiscent to flapping. This was not my finest moment. Despite what the flashes of my life going before my eyes told me I had managed to land without breaking my neck. It was a bit hard on my hooves, causing vibrations went up my legs, but I was alive. How else could i explain the sudden urge to worship the ground? I can see you are curious as to the whole equine ears, wings, and hooves part and I assure you it is important, I didn't go to sleep with them after all. But I will get to that bit in a moment, although, in retrospect it was kind of hilarious. The result of this adventure not the falling, hell, the falling was the tip of this crazy ball of yarn I’m going to spin you. Right, my new body had landed me in a grassy meadow, surrounded by tall trees that were vaguely reminiscent to pine trees. What held my attention though was a masculine ‘humph’ that echoed out into quiet forest. Out of everything that seemed to be what was the most out of place in what appeared to be the middle of a forest, then anyway. While still being in completely lost as to where I was, it still didn’t seem like the place to hear a deep baritone voice in. I was clearly alone in a meadow, with no men around to make such a noise, and I certainly didn’t make that sound. Although my voice could do interesting accents it definitely did not go down to such a deep level, ever. That is when it hit me, I had just ‘humphed’ from the impact. I had a male voice. My previous boyfriends, heck, my previous girlfriends had assured me I was a woman. Even the gynecologist knew me by my nickname! I was one hundred percent woman last time I checked. Don’t give me that look, Dr. Krause saw me often enough and we had a good, friendly relationship. Even though I left her office in tears more often than not it was still a healthy relationship. I did what any lady would do when she feels funny and sounded deeper than should be possible for a woman: I looked between my legs. It didn’t register then that it was my forelegs that I was gazing between, or even that black fur covered my body, it was the sheath and scrotum hanging out between my legs that sent my mind into a complete tailspin. I knew from enough visits to the petting zoo what that sheath meant: a penis. Following logical thought, a penis meant I wasn’t female anymore and that broke my brain a little, okay it shut it down faster than I could follow. There was no operation, no pill, I just woke up like this. You would have thought the fact that I was equine would have been more prominent but no, the penis was, it had shattered all my hard work to have kids and it had no explanation for being between my legs. Yes, that is when I sounded more like myself with a high pitched scream, not that I screamed often, but the pitch was closer to my normal voice. I followed that embarrassingly cliched feminine display with up with an even more clichéd act: I fainted. **** "See, isn’t this a fun show?" "'Fun', yes I totally see it, changing a woman's gender, species, and taking them to a another planet. The 'fun' is just so overwhelming..." "What? Hermes, you of all god-lings should know gender doesn’t matter. Don’t act like that silly head, when all I have to do is switch a chromosome and gender is irrelevant! Now, now no need to get up, he *snirk*does gets better. Zeus will be laughing his ass off when he sees this, I promise you!….Pinkie Promise? "We don't have pinkies, that is a human thing. Just how often do you watch that world anyway?" "It’s actually an Equestrian thing, don’t think about it too hard." "Trust me I'm not thinking too hard when it comes to you." "Spoil sport, I-you….Well I suppose I could have just made one of the Alicorn mares into an Alicorn stallion, but where is the fun in that? This way I also solved the planet’s climate issues as well!" "Of course it will! Why didn't I see it sooner? Taking another species, changing their species, gender, and using them to save the species that are dooming the planet to begin with...Why would any being do that? Faust be serious here, have you lost what little sanity you had?" "Uh nooooo, BUT, *Hehe* that is the beauty of it, no one even sees it coming!" "Well, since I clearly don't see it, can I deliver my message now?" "NO! YOU CAN TELL ME LATER! NOW WATCH THE SHOW ALREADY!...I didn’t suffer a magically induced headache making that stallion so you could critic me *grumble grumble*" **** I woke up to a massive headache, my legs throbbing dully with pain, and something squished uncomfortably under my side. My unusually furry side, had I landed on a rug or something? Movement eluded me as my thoughts tumbled over one another, trying to decide which one had the question that was the most important to answer first, and frankly I didn’t know. Am I hallucinating? Where am I? What am I now? How did I end up a guy? Better yet, why was I plummeting 100 miles an hour towards the ground?! Taking a deep, panicked breathe I took stock of what I last remembered. Waking up, normal morning, another disappointing test result: I was still infertile. Being barren I was one of the last of my friends to be kid less, Nathan didn’t count, as he was asexual. Anyway, it was as normal as my Friday could be. I babysat my friend’s munchkins or ‘practice kids’ as I joked with them, tonight it was Josie and Ethan, precious twins. Those twins just stole my heart every time, they cemented my desire to have my kids all the more. Well after tucking them in, I went home and tucked myself in. Then I woke up falling to my death. Maybe this was all a dream then? Sure I thought that, but the ground and pain certainly felt real, only time would tell on this one though. If a banana walks by then I will know for sure that this isn’t real, for some reason most of my dreams have a banana in them, don’t have a clue why either. No banana so far, but the strange trees aren’t exactly helping the argument for this being real. They are like pine trees but atsame time not. The tall trunk and needles of a pine but the branches twist and twirl giving them an unnatural look. The mountains in the distance held no answer either; they did not look familiar with their steep slopes and tips obscured by clouds. As to what I woke up as? That made me near certain I was dreaming. I could feel short fur all over my body, conal ears swivelling of their own accord on my head as the bushes rustled, and my eyes looked cross eyed at a black muzzle, my muzzle. Through my fall and landing I had also discovered my hooves and wings. My tail whipped in annoyance at the thought that popped into my head next: I’m a flying stallion, a fucking horse! At that point I wasn’t sure what bothered me more: being a horse or being male. Falling through the sky did make it seem like one of those “dropping to your death” dreams I had heard about. I sat up, sitting on my rump, my tail moved out of the way without a thought, as I stared between my hind legs at the most offending structures so far in this dream. The petting zoo had geldings so I knew my…penis…was tucked deep in my new sheath. The thought of it both repulsed me and brought out my curiosity. Every lady has her curiosities after all, mine lay my new…equipment…yes, that sounded much better than penis. As I raised a hoof slowly, looking between my equipment and it, another more lewd thought hit me. Should I test it? And all I could answer myself with was: why not? It was my dream and technically that made it my horse cock. I would just wake up feeling morally conflicted and every time I went to the petting zoo I would probably not be able to look the ponies in the eye, but ‘live and let the dice fall where they may’ right? I’m sure the banana will arrive soon, I am sure of it. **** Thousands of miles away from my newest paw- benefactor, two sisters faced each other before turning back to the four nervous scientists before them; they were at the University of Canterlot surrounded by this current generation’s brightest minds. …. No, they didn’t study under Artemis…Sheesh don’t get your thong in a bunch, watch the show you chatterbox. Anyway, the moon based upstart was confused. **** “We require ye repeat thyself scientist…” The unicorn named Golden Script flicked his ears, suddenly overcome with nervous energy. Why did he have to volunteer to head the Fertility study? It sounded easy enough: conduct a census of Canterlot, get willing couples, and study the…results of their breeding. It also may have helped that he got to work with three very attractive mares. However, with the unprecedented results painting a rather shocking picture he wished to be anywhere else but in front of rulers asking for this. “M–m–may I take a sample of your, “ at this point he looked a tomato and had begun to cower before their attention, “E-e-eggs.” “For the fertility study princesses! We need Alicorn genetics to help with our conclusion,” piped up Radiant Beaker, a lime green unicorn mare. A purple unicorn named Fuchsia Slide added, “When you next enter Estrus of course your highnesses!” an excited grin had crept onto her face. The sister rulers shared a dumbfounded look. Not only had they never entered estrus, a fact that they kept well hidden, but, what could their genetics possibly have to do with a standard fertility study? Well it used to be standard, but a certain solar princess may have cut the funding to it half a millenia ago when a very flaccid noble that was part of the study wouldn’t leave her alone. The stallion’s pride wounded at his poor performance which had to be the scientists fault... Suffice to say that the overworked princess was just trying to keep the court moving along at that point and saw no reason to deny the request then as the population was booming and her patience was straining. When the lunar princess returned she was a more than ecstatic to give funding for this study, along with several other dropped studies that she found interest in. “My little pony, I think I can safely say I speak for my sister and myself when I ask: what would Alicorn genetics do to help your study? We have seen this study conducted before and they were not necessary then, what has changed?” At this question, the tension increased in the room tenfold as the scientists exchanged glances, desperately trying to convince one another to tell of their findings so far. The princesses noticed the thickness in the air and exchanged another look. Something was wrong. Shadow Cell, a dark furred unicorn gulped and turned back to the main table in the room. Turning around she held a stack of papers in her indigo magic field. Luna’s midnight magic field wrapped around them as she took them from Shadow Cell. Luna’s eyes scanned past the fairly obvious hypothesis, a blush formed at the scientist’s detailed write ups of the participating couples, and finally her blush drained as she reached their current conclusion. Mares were entering estrus almost every six months now, which may have sounded nice for those lucky mares but it also meant less chances for foals. Foal births were down eighty percent in Canterlot alone since the last study and of the hundred and fifteen foals born last year only seven were colts. Stallion fertility was down as well; out of the twenty couples in the study only four stallions were firing real shots. Statistically speaking with only six percent of foals being colts and only twenty percent of stallions being fertile ponies were heading down the road to extinction. Celestia noticing her sister’s change in mood moved closer and read the report. Just like her sister the white Alicorn looked significantly paler by the end of it as Luna floated it to the desk seeing that her sister understood. Celestia and Luna looked grim as they realised what was happening and an unspoken agreement passed between their eyes before Celestia addressed them again. “I’m afraid we cannot help in that way Golden Script… we have never… entered estrus before.” Collectively the unicorn’s jaws dropped. “But we shall increase thee funds and allow thee to further study into fertility solutions.”
Lost and Found.**** Diamond Mountains Ari I was almost reminded of the nightmare by this tunnel, It seemed to go on forever, and Chrissy hadn't screamed in awhile...I had been running for what felt like half an hour already, my hoof falls the only sound now. The walls all looked the same and without her voice I was losing my speed. Did that mean…nonono i'm not going there! Dark walls pressed in on me, did they shrink? I stopped; I was only just starting to get out of breath. Thank you my new equine body. The remnants of my hoof falls echoed for a second before silence. A scratching sound, very faintly came from the darkness ahead. A dim light flickered ahead; it wasn’t there a second ago and that meant I had company. Joy. Straining my ears I could barely make out the muffled grunts and growls that was the dog’s excuse for a language. After a tense second the voices faded again but the light remained ahead. Walking with stealth now I made my way to the end of the tunnel. I could see no guards and although I could smell the dogs it wasn’t the in the moment smell, it was more of a smell that stuck around from living in one place long enough. The light turned out to be a primitive torch propped in a crack in the wall, perhaps it was for their pack members that would have come this way. I wasn’t sorry for what I did to them…Okay, I feel I little bad killing. They didn’t even get a chance to explain to me why I was here. But if there grabby paws and lack of respect was any sign I can assume I was regulated to a piece of property like the equines of earth. Actually, it was Kind of ironic that dogs might have horses. The tunnel opened into another cavern, slightly smaller than the last. In front of me there was three pony sized openings to choose from. I paused to listen again. Fading paw falls came from the right tunnel. Somehow I didn’t want to try my luck with the dogs again so that was out of the question. That left me with straight ahead or left but neither tunnel shed any advice of which was best. Eenie Meenie Minnie Mo it was then. For the first time in a while the eenie Meenie Minnie mo failed me. I went left and ended up in a room that while fascinating held no Chrissy. If I could name its use I would call it an office, or a strategy room. Amazingly, it had an actual door which blew me away for some reason. Perhaps because it was the first real door I had seen since coming to this planet, not counting my cell door. A sign of civilization, it was the medieval wooden plank door. Only after I opened the door I realized that it had a door knob. I couldn’t believe it, my hoof just stuck to it and the door opened like I had a hand. Another level of weirdness to add to my life. In the room there was little furniture: a large table in the center, a writing desk by the back wall, and a small bookshelf. I wished I could have stayed longer to look. There was a large map opened on the table, a couple of books to read, and the enigma that was the desk. It could hold all sorts of resources. But, it didn’t have the one thing I was looking for. I kept my walk quiet as I made my way back to the small cavern, still no guards. Time to try the middle tunnel. It turned out to be another long tunnel, which my both hooves and nerves were starting to protest. It had been awhile since I heard Chrissy and I really didn’t want to lose the only pony that I have met. It helped that she agreed to help me and was easy to be around, not constantly chattering but also not apathetic enough to be awkward. A small humming and buzzing was coming from up ahead and I slowed my pace down even further. I wasn’t alone anymore. Now I could see a faint blue glow at the approaching exit. Then I heard the dogs. Practically crawling then, I made my way to the opening, and paused. Before me were two dogs, just as ugly as their brethren, and they appeared to have had just entered the cavern. The humming stopped but the buzzing got louder. They stopped in the middle of the cave and pointed at something on the left side of the room. I couldn’t see that side from my vantage point but now I was curious. All I needed was for them to turn their backs. Luck decided to ignore me again. They sat down and started talking, but they sat just so that they could see me if I so much as moved and ear. I won’t bore you with their conversation as I tuned it out after a minute of its nonsense. What did catch my eye, err ear, was a slight jingle. A chain? Was someone else here? My courage gathered, I crept forward and had bit my tongue to stop my gasp. Along the wall was rows and rows of shackles, most were empty, but three were occupied. A turqiouse furred unicorn mare lay prone on her side, a yellow furred stallion was pressed as close to her as possible, and finally my Chrissy was chained. My shock was fading quickly only to be replaced with anger that had me seeing red. The ponies looked to be half starved, with the beginnings of their ribs showing. But they looked better than Chrissy did. Her face was scrunched in pain, her remaining wing buzzed so fast it blurred, and a green fluid pooled around her prone form. The green liquid oozed from where a portion of her chitin was ripped off. What the hell? She didn’t deserve this! Those ponies didn’t deserve this! **** 1 hour ago Chrysalis They hadn’t changed at all. The mangy curs still smelt like Tartarus warmed over and looked none the better. I unsurprisingly woke in shackles and with a magic inhibitor on. Again, I am not surprised at the restraints but after the last infiltration we did twenty years ago I was actually expecting more advancement in their confinements. But, their puny dog brains are only capable of so much I guess. They still hadn’t learned from last time; these rock heads hadn’t even muzzled me. My roommates were in bad shape, poor little ponies. Soon they would be sent to the mine to work till they died or be traded as food for dragons. I wonder where your princesses are now little ones. If I didn’t know better I would say my fellow inmates were lovers with how the stallion was trying to be so close to the mare. Unfortunately they were too far for me to feed off their love. I could use the strength, not that I was not grateful to Ari, he has been feeding me willingly, a miracle in itself. But I was already quite weak when I met him. Hence why I foalishly thought that jumping him would work. Where was he? My ears twitched as the sound of my captors came down the tunnel set right across from me. Showtime. As dumb and dumber entered I smirked at them. “You really don’t learn do you?” They paused before walking up to me. They spoke in Grumbleshooke which although I could somewhat translate it still grated against my ears and annoyed me with their lack of courtesy, I know they knew how to speak Equus. Grumbleshooke was spoken at such a tone that my ears, twice as sensitive as a normal pony, were twitching with the effort of staying upright. I just needed them a little closer… “Come over here and we can discuss some business…,” The business of escaping, “I happen to know of some mines. I personally never touched them but we had no trouble finding carts worth of gems.” Now I had their attention, Diamond dogs were a fairly simple bunch. Eat jewels, find jewels, and of course capture some free laborers. It’s a miracle those princesses haven’t cracked down on them yet, them enslaving their ponies and all. I take love and get blasted away…Okay so I did outright invade them but still I am not as bad as these dogs. I started churning my plasma in my muzzle as they stepped closer, gems practically appearing in their eyes. One more step and I spat my load in the closest dog's face. My plasma was extremely sticky, normally used for cocooning unwilling food sources. Please remember I haven’t always been so lucky has to have a willing pony to feed me. Ari was a first. He looked surprised through the murky green plasma before grimacing. He couldn’t open his jaw. Now for the other mutt. I was too late though. He had turned his face away and swung his tail at my muzzle. It felt like a thousand suns were stabbing me, I couldn’t see straight for a second, but I was brought back to reality quickly. The remaining dog had his dirty paw clamped on my muzzle while his other paw hovered over my wing. I could feel his hate before he spoke. “Quiet bug, you werth many gems. Hate to gurt you. I will if you try that agrain.” I would have laughed at his horrible equus if I wasn’t shocked at his statement. I was a wanted mare now? I didn’t think the princesses were the type to associate with these dogs though… He released my muzzle and turned to help his packmate. But I just had to know more. “Who could possibly want to see me?” Not surprisingly I didn’t get a answer, they were still struggling to remove my plasma. Time for a classic tactic: lying. The good thing about these rock heads is that they spend so much time in the mines they don’t follow what goes on on the surface. “Don’t ignore me you flea bitten mutt! My swarm will be here soon and when they are we will force it out of you in the most painful way possible. I suggest you save yourself the pain and just tell me what I want to know.” I added a grin for good measure, I had them- “*snicker* Silly bug, we already know you have no hive. Pansy ponies beat you.” Just cause he was right didn’t mean it didn’t anger me, I can say it but if someling else points it out… I lunged at him, my canines lodging themselves in his arm. His whimpers were wonderful, but they didn’t last. His claws grappled at my chitin before digging in at a edge, I gasped at the sheer pain. They dug in further, creeping under my shell as I felt a ripping sensation start. But I held on, the mongrel would feel my pain. Then the other one started in on me. He grabbed my horn, sending pain through my face again, and I hardly had time to process that pain before a wave of pain came from my chest. His claws had tore off a section of my chitin. My scream of pain was involuntary. The open wound gushed and burned with a intensity that I lost all sense of my surroundings. All there was pain. I think the mutts said something but I could no longer pay attention. I was grateful when the darkness came. Coming to was unpleasant, I felt weaker than I had before I met Ari, my blood still trickled into a puddle under me. Usually that would disgust me, the dirtying of my chitin, but I only felt empty and in pain. I was alone. I missed his wings. I missed the love and comfort, the acceptance. Another breakdown was sneaking up on me so I hummed a song from long ago. A lullaby meant to sooth foals but it helped me all the same, even my wing seemed to remember as it buzzed in time with the lyrics in my head. Like all good things it had to end. They must have been feeling pretty cocky because they were even louder than last time. When our eyes met I glared at them, daring them to do there their worst. I was doomed after all. Instead of doing anything they just sat down. My eye twitched. What were they up to? Apparently nothing, they spoke more Grumbleshooke that grated on my already frazzled nerves. I couldn’t help but shift my hooves, ignoring the scrapping as I watched them closely. What were they planning? Then I heard him. Ari was reared up in the tunnel opening roaring in a fury. I couldn’t help flattening my ears it was so loud, my fellow prisoners started awake at it. Those dogs weren’t so brave now, their tails now hidden between their legs. Ari’s eyes were flashing in the dim light as he charged into the cavern. His horn was glowing against its shackle, his wings straining as he towered above the dogs. As he reared and came down again one dog was unfortunate enough to not roll his leg out if the way in time, he screamed and I couldn’t but giggle. I may not have a swarm but I had an angry Alicorn. They were doomed. He was acting almost feral as he chased the second dog away; the first dog wasn’t fast enough and fell with a sickening crack as Ari ran him over to chase the other dog. Snorting he came over to me and I froze. He was acting like a feral, which was supposed to be a fable, and most definitely wasn’t good for me. If he didn’t recognize me I was going to be…Well, I don’t like to think about that. My worry was unfounded as he spoke, “Hey, I found you.” He nuzzled my cheek and I sagged in relieve. “Took you long enough.” I nuzzled him back; even now I could fell his love, my relief.
Sometimes the Best Part of Being With Ponies is When They Leave.**** Ari As Taymare came into focus the amount of plant life increased as well, tall deciduous trees popping up in every dune we passed over. Small scraggly bushes reminiscent of sage bushes were popping along with a wispy bush with small white flowers. The presence of vegetation filled me such a joyful exuberance that was humming. You would be too if you had to deal with them for as long as I have. “Must you hum?” Barium grumbled from behind me, the newest ‘flaw’ he had found in the last hour. Previously he had found fault in the way my walking flung up sand, the way my thobe shuffled too loudly, and most importantly how I was too tall. Someone is cranky this morning, it’s almost like he didn’t eat breakfast. No regrets there. “No, I could sing. Come on Lyric, I’m sure you know a good song!” “NOOO!” My ears folded back at his volume. “Then humming it is!” I began humming again, this time to the tune “we’re off to see the wizard”, a classic. I know it wasn’t nice of me to eat their breakfast but I was really hungry and sick of them, sure this is the last twenty four hours I have to deal with them, but due to rescuing him and now leading them to the border I am four to five days off schedule. Not mention Murphy’s Law states that my planned route will end up being longer, especially with Lyric around. That mare hasn’t given up on me being ‘the one’, I was willing to bet on it. Before long the afternoon had passed and Taymare stood in front of us. There were guards on duty but here it was more streamlined, with orderly lines with guards that merely glanced at the eyes before checking off something on a paper in front of them. That didn’t seem very effective at catching changelings, I mean I could only see the green reflection in Chrissy’s disguised eyes in just the right light, and they were looking at them for just a second. Their captain is going to have their heads probably, but I wasn’t going to tell them how ineffective this method is, it is going to help us after all. A quick glance and check off later we are through the gates, they actually had giant wrought iron gates to this city. It almost felt fancy compared to the other cities. After the organized chaos of Ras Taneighra, the maze of shops and inns that was Jozan, Taymare seemed almost tame in comparison. I was expecting a massive city with a bustling market like Ras taneighra and plenty of inns like Jozan but Taymare was not like that, it was quiet. Not like ghost town quiet, more like posh quiet, not only quiet but it was more civilized as well. There was a large mix of creatures but all of them wore some form of clothing. Other cities had plenty of unclothed ponies and Gryphons, not Minotaurs or Komondors thankfully, but here everyone wore something even if it was just a hat. Not only was there no calling out or loud conversations but in the conversations I could here there was Equus being spoken. Did that mean I could speak it again? Leaning down to Chrissy’s ear I whispered, “Tahduth Equus?” Speak Equus? My Arabian was still a little basic, but the message was clear. “Yes Ari, they speak Equus here. With the border so close it is considered a skill to have in this city.” I could feel a smile come onto my face and I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, I could talk normally again, no more three word sentences! Although I didn’t have much to say now, we were almost to the border, and I was content with this moment. Well I was until I started feeling a tail flick my back legs, it was Lyric’s of course. Trying to ignore it I looked at the stores we passed. A Fashion boutique with poniquins modelling dresses in the bay window, I guess ponies wear dresses. But to what? Do they have balls and parties? I mean exactly how much of earth culture is mirrored on Equis? The next store was a bakery….Nope can’t afford it, won’t even go there. We will never leave it and I would probably end up eating everything in the store, I felt like I was starving again. Chrissy probably saw my lingering eyes on it because she gave me a light head butt. Thank you Chrissy, you have saved me from doing something I’m not entirely sure I would regret. Right, the next store is a post office. So they have a postal system…How does that work in the desert? Can things teleport? Ever that moment when you are like ‘of course why didn’t I think of that sooner’ well I had that as I looked at the post office. “Azure, what’s the chance that you are going to tell the princesses all about this?” Tension hung in the air as I said that, Lyric walked into my side more with her ears splayed, most likely not understanding why the princesses would be involved. Her muscles tense and rock hard under her scales and fur. Chrissy was not much better, her feathers ruffling and ears pinned back as she gave my shoulder nuzzles, I think they were for her benefit more than mine. Azure looked liked she would like to disappear as we all looked at her, her coltfriend giving her a scowl. “Y-yes, but don’t you think the princesses should know? I mean-“ “I do think they should know, we will have to meet sometime after all. But in the meantime I would prefer they don’t know somethings-.” We all moved to the right as a carriage came around the corner. “-Someponies to be exact.” I glanced at ‘Silver Stream’ and knew that she would make the plan a little more complicated than it already was, I mean I can only imagine how much the princesses hate her after the failed invasion…during a wedding…a royal wedding. I’m not sure I can dig Chrissy out of that hole. “Wait really?! You’re really going to see them one day! That’s great, and then you can-.” Her excited smile fell as I narrowed my eyes at her. “I am, but you won’t like the result.” I paused before putting a grin on my muzzle, “For now I was thinking of writing them a letter. Perhaps you could deliver it if you are going that way.” It wasn’t necessary to look at Azure to know she was ecstatic, I could hear her hooves hitting the bricked road as she jumped up and down. “Soo let’s get some paper and a pen, anybody know the best store?” “A ‘pen’?" Chrissy gave me a raised eyebrow. “A writing utensil.” Sounds like pens aren’t a thing here, figures, with my luck they still use those feathers that you had to dip in ink. I looked back at the group, hoping anyone knew of a store, not surprisingly Chrissy and the Equestrian’s didn’t know of one but thankfully Lyric did, having recovered from her anxious moment she was nodding her head up and down a wide smile on her face. “Okay then, lead the way Lyric.” Taking us a couple streets over she took us a store with a quill and inkpot painted on the storefront window. Of course they still use medieval writing tools. They have magic gem plumbing systems, airships, and MAGIC but still haven’t perfected a pencil or a pen?! Where is the logic here? Well anyway, I purchased a literal roll of parchment, feather, and ink pot for the cheap price of fifteen bits… That left five bits to my name, a marefriend, former stalker as a traveling companion, and no job. How am I going to rent or buy an airship at this rate? Writing essentials tucked into my saddle bags we continued back to Main Street, which thanks to some smart city planning, leads to like an arrow straight to Equestria. If it wasn’t for the giant sign with a sun and moon on it I could have known by the pep in Azure and Barium’s step, no place like home I guess, even if home has law enforced polygamous relationships now. But I was trying not to judge, the herds we passed in the Saddle Arabian cities seemed really happy. It was actually cute to see the multiple mares looking after a mini herd of foals, not to mention foals are every bit as adorable as you would imagine a earth foal except with bigger eyes. I had to hold in my ‘squees’ a couple of times, Chrissy understood my spikes in joy after what was I’m sure the fifth herd with foals passing us by. Before us was a dirt road leading into a sparse forest, the grand city street of sand bricks ending abruptly where the sign was placed. An empty guard stall with a note on it was stationed right where the brick ended. I guess they are on lunch? Not one to squander my good fortune i kept moving, Azure and Barium walking rushing ahead down the road. The road being actually nice, not too dusty, well shaded by the leafy trees resting on the sides, and free of pot holes. Equestria does have some nice dirt roads, at least this one anyway. After driving down one to many country roads littered with pot holes I appreciated the smoothness. “Write your letter already! I have let my family know we’re back, let barium’s family know we’re back, and get us registered so he doesn’t get paired off to someone else!” I didn't have the heart to mention he probably would get at least on other mare if the definition of herd was anything to go by. Azure was literally trotting in place with excitement, a big smile on her face. I couldn’t help but feel happy for her, being home is a feeling I won't get for a while, I didn’t really have any place of my own on Equis. Smiling back at her i couldn’t help but chuckle at Barium’s expression. He was looking at Azure with a look I had only seen a few times before. The grumpy stallion did truly love her, despite her quirks. “Give me couple minutes. Why don’t you guys rest in the shade or something?” With a nod to Barium, I left him to corral her to the right side of the road as I went into the bushes on the left side. Pausing mid-step I looked back, Lyric was standing in the middle of the road still, with her ears splayed, biting her lip. “Come on, don’t just stand there, you are part of the team now Lyric!” I motioned to the bushes but it want necessary as she all but galloped to my side, pressing into my barrel like a furry, scaly missile of cuddles. She REALLY has attachment issues, mind you if I had had Jabbar as my previous experience I probably would act similarly, but the stalking still was a little creepy. Now we were away from them we could begin, well first I had to take care of some business. Concentrating I levitated the saddle bags off my back and then my thobe over my head. While I’m sure it would be smart to continue to wear it to cover my wings I couldn’t stand the cotton bed sheet any longer. Just because I didn’t voice my complaints to the group doesn’t mean I didn’t have any. It was making my fur itch, my feathers were ruffled to a degree that I was actually starting to feel self conscious about them, and it was starting to stink from my sweat. Suffice to say I folded it up in my magic and stuffed it in a saddle bag. Chrissy got the hint and dropped her disguise and saddle bags as well. “There will be lots of preening as soon as I finish writing the letter for you.” She said in a ‘I won’t take no for a answer’ voice, which was actually kind of hot so I just gave her a nod, no need to say something silly after all. I love that she is smart enough to remember I can’t read anything here, despite speaking Equus which is apparently the same as English to speak, and a little Saddle Arabian now. Lyric, however, didn’t get it. “What?! I thought Ari was writing the letter to the princesses?” Seeing her confusion I decided to go with the simplest route. I laid down on the short grass, wings spread out to air, and levitated the parchment and quill set over. Soon Chrissy slipped under my right wing, but Lyric still looked uneasy. We really had to move past this nervousness to do anything thing around me she has, I mean it was just a wing, touching was normal to the ponies or pony like species so we would end up doing this eventually. If at the very least cuddling to keep warm when the nights got chilly, especially when winter hit; I really hoped we were cozy somewhere before winter though. “Come on, you will learn a lot by listening to the letter.” Motioning to my left wing, I began to unfurl the roll for Chrissy. **** Lyrical Dazzle When he invited me under his wing I was cheering inside, I had done it in less than a day! He was very accepting of my touch which was a great sign considering how sensitive I read pegasi and therefore Alicorns are about their personal space and who touches them, especially their wings. As a bonus his wings will need preening today too! Something I was excited to learn to do, I mean I have read about preening before but mother and father didn’t have wings for me to practice on. Realizing I was still standing there with a crazy mare smile on my face I dived under Ari’s wing, a little dramatic I know, but I couldn’t help my excitement. Feeling a snort on my flank I shuffled around to face the parchment. This was going to be good, there had to be a important reason why he was having Chrissy write it. Maybe he was afraid they would recognize his scent? Maybe the princesses could track him through it? Maybe- Ari’s talking! I couldn’t help but open my jaw as I listened to him, this explained soo much and at the same time raised even more questions. I mean I knew there was other worlds, my mother , father and aunts were trapped in one somewhere. The thought that someone took him from his world was heartbreaking to me. Feeling tears fill my eyes I nuzzled Ari, he must feel horrible, no wonder he sticks to his mare like glue. Chrissy is all he has here. Not for much longer though. I will be his mare one day, even if I’m not the only mare or the head mare, I will have him at least. He is actually pretty decent as far as stallion’s go. He’s certainly better than Jabbar. He may be giving me a concerned look but its all right, I shake my head at his look, i'm fine. Ari is the one that needs the love. Ari is almost done the letter now and i'm more than shocked, i'm outraged, horrified, and a little overwhelmed. I mean, the princesses have been behind the climate changes, the drought I have suffered through these last couple of years. Do you know what that drought has done to my scales? Let's just say my aunts would faint at seeing how dull they are now, I am half siren, a sea pony. Water was kind of important. Eventually though, Chrissy finished writing the letter and we had to get up, I decided to be helpful and packed up the left over parchment, quill, and inkwell. They both seemed a little surprised when my magic grabbed it and put it away but it quickly faded, Chrissy giving me a nod , and Ari me a ‘thank you’ with his most amazing smile. I couldn’t help my grin, a little less toothy than before, I think he might like me. Levitating his saddle bag onto my back I kept my grin as he blinked and shrugged, I was pulling my weight, I mean Ari’s mission was one I could actually get behind. Those princesses certainly weren't my idols before and from what I learned only it made me hate them, their ignorance, the destruction they were causing was horrible. I wanted my family back. Following Ari back to the road, I couldn’t help but hope they would be my new family. I know my mother would love them, she always did like a pony with a spine, which both Ari and Chrissy certainly had. Chrissy had lost her entire family as well, although hers was in a more permanent nature than mine. The Equestrian couple got up as soon as we exited the bush, trotting over with blushes and smiles. “There you are Azure, one letter for the royal highnesses themselves. I trust you wouldn’t dare peak at royal mail. But just in case I added a seal.” Chrissy said with a smirk and flash of green around the rolled up letter. I couldn’t help but snort at that, Azure was a nosy mare, she seemed to need to know everything. If she had her way Ari would probably go straight to Canterlot so she could she him meet the princesses. Azure looked a bit sheepish at Chrissy before rushing forward and wrapping her forelegs around Ari’s neck in a hug. He looked shocked then ‘happy’ as he plastered another fake smile on his face for Azure’s benefit, his body was twitching though. He doesn’t like her at least, thank goodness. I agreed with his sentiment and couldn’t help the growl that rose from my throat, no pony heard mine though as Chrissy gave a very aggressive growl. If I wasn’t safe on the other side of Ari I would have backed away, she was vicious, my rump still felt bruised from her bite. Luckily her canines didn’t puncture me, but still, I don’t think she would have cared if she had. The hug had now turned into a awkward minute of fake smiles and growling, Barium bless his patience for her stepped up and grasped her tail in his mouth and began dragging her away. Both Chrissy and I snorted as she was finally removed, Chrissy giving me a narrowed eye look as she realized I had snorted as well. Watching Azure, Barium, and the letter walk off into the sunset was a amazing feeling that was echoed among the group. **** Chrissy With those parasprites of ponies finally gone I could talk freely again, act freely. I really hoped for some more rutting, not that I was in heat anymore, thankfully it had stopped. Although Lyric was still around she was decent, she actually had a sense of humor for one thing, and despite what I had heard about sirens being horrifying, stallion stealing enchantresses she had proven to be different. Yes she had tried to enchant him with her mind magic, stalk him, and tried to put a claim on him in his sleep. But despite all that she accepted her place below me and is trying to follow the conditions we gave her, although i'm starting to think she won’t be able to. But now I had something very important to do, I can analyze Lyric later. “Preening. Now.” It was hard to keep my voice stern when his arousal spiked at my voice, at least I knew what he likes. I wasn’t in the right head to make rutting enjoyable for him last time unfortunately, or as much as I could have anyway. Ari had gotten the hint and lead us into the woods, after ten minutes he stopped and looked around at the clearing we had entered. He sniffed the air, then the ground, before folding his legs under to lay down. Removing my saddle bags I joined him, shuffling my legs till they aligned just right. Lyric dropped her saddle bags laid down on his other side, leaning on his barrel. Narrowing my eyes at her I waited as Ari spread his wings, both of his wings. “You know she probably doesn’t even know how to preen Ari, I can get both of them.” He looked at me curiously, “But there is two wings and there is two of you, preening isn’t that hard. I'm sure Lyric can handle it.” “Yes but-“ “She is also part of the group now, so that makes her a new friend. You said friends preen each other right?” “y-yes, but only-“ “Soo?” He just didn’t understand and I was tired, I had been maintain my disguise for far too long, even after the rush of love I should have gotten from rutting I still felt drained. As a answer I started on his secondary flight feathers near the base, the feathers practically dropping out from the rough treatment the thobe had put them through. Moving up the base of his wing bone, I twisted my tongue around the bases, removing the dirt from the spaces between. The shower hadn’t truly touched the base of the feathers, the wings being made to roll water off them made cleaning them impossible unless they were submerged. “OWW” I opened my eyes from my work, had I pulled the wrong one? I was sure- “OW, Lyric!” What did I tell him, she doesn’t know how to preen? With a sigh I locked eyes with Lyric, “Listen up, don’t copy me and don’t pull willy-nilly. If the feather is ready to come out it will be easy to remove, any resistance and the feather isn’t ready. Also make sure to use your tongue on the base of the feathers, the dirt likes to stick there.” Watching her, she put her muzzle back to his wing, eyes going crossed eyed as she tried to look at the feathers in front of her tongue. She really had no experience. “Close your eyes, preening is all about feel. None of this cross eyed business, if you stick to a pattern you won’t need to look where you are going.” That seemed to fix her, with her eyes closed the preening went smother, Ari relaxed again and I continued with my wing. Before I knew it my wing was finished, the last primary at his wing tip glistening from my work bringing up the natural oils. Looking over at Lyric she was just starting his wing tip, the rest of the wing looked wonderful, shiny black feathers all in order, and a small pile of dead feathers at her hooves. My eyes fought to watch her finish though, the sun was setting, and Ari was wrapping me in his wing. Giving in to the warmth I figured she could handle the wing tip without me watching her.
Escaping, Part 4.Author's Note The second arc is winding down, one more chapter before the Princess Arc begins. Escaping, Part 4. **** Ari Half expecting anger to cloud my mind, it never came as I stared at the bodies, nothing more than eerie lumps under discolored material. The futures gone, their status as sisters, daughters, and…Mothers, it was all gone. All I felt was sadness and a strange, calm determination to stop this, those princesses could wait. This shouldn’t take too long. I looked up from the bodies in time to see a white beam whiz by my cheek, causing screams to start behind me, it was buzzing with the charge of magic, and more importantly was risking the lives of the mares. Crackling filled the air, it wasn’t my channels, and the crackle of magic was the dissipating of the beam. I snorted as the beam finished fizzing out of existence, my ears folding as anger and the urge to protect those mares rose again. Calmness dangling from the railing as my instincts slowly picked away at it. Protect, kill threat. Comfort mares. My head snapped to the right as another boom reached my ears. The ship rocked again, waves sloshing against my recently won vessel, and I heard the unmistakable trickle of water rushing into our hull. More anger came and threw calmness overboard. Fuck! We were surrounded by water with no land in sight still, but what I saw next filled me with worry, pushing down my anger. Dark sails billowed to our north east, a large colonial styled pirate ship was turning its side to us, and the small gray patch of air blowing away in front of it the evidence to the hole it gave us. While a narrower sea vessel, smaller than my ship and the dark ship, approached us head on, its sleek lines and fully enclosed structure adding a new type of worry to my mind. Could we escape this without more casualties? Honestly, I naively enough wasn’t expecting more than one boat to respond to Arch’s call. But he must have mentioned I was an Alicorn; my memory of his words were a little fuzzy. But, it was two to one, no avoiding that. I grimaced at my chance of getting us away or beating them…Well, I could beat them, escaping to land was a different matter; we were taking on water, immobile. Actually, scratch that beating them part, they knew I was an Alicorn… Technology wise I didn’t know what they might have to counter that, logically they would have a back up if the princesses ever noticed, right? They have shown their cannon balls and magic cannon, but I’m sure they didn’t make it this far by playing not have a few tricks up their sleeves. Although considering I’m theoretically one of the most powerful beings magically, not counting gods, I was willing to bet they were pulling out all the stops. I knew I was pulling out all my tricks, really it was the only way to do this, although my spell may be all I need though. Especially with our fighting power…We had no cannons, only two pegasi that could fly, and no sail…Which is why I told the mares to let me handle it, there was nothing they could do to help from this distance. I at least had my magic, a small boon with the magic shooting ship in front of me. Speaking of magic, I could use that beam now. Take a deep breath- Buzzing reached my ears in time to stop me from closing my eyes, quick as I could, I created an ethereal shield. The beam deflecting off the gold shield and dissipated into the clear sky, the shield dropping as I realized they weren’t going to follow it up with more. Could they only shot one beam at a time…Did that mean they had unicorns with them? It didn’t matter though, slavers were slavers, and they were going to die. Okay, let’s try- A cannon boomed, the black ball soaring over my head. I folded my ears back at that. Third time’s the charm, right…Wood splintered below my snout, a second cannon ball, and I hadn’t even started my third attempt! I guess they want me dead. Fuck planning; I’m just going to- Thoughts were quickly scattered as a whole barrage of booms echoed from the approaching ship, muted jeers coming from the vessel reaching my ears. Reacting, I threw a shield up on my side, feathers tensing and ruffling as I prepared for the impact. This was really annoying me, there was a whole process, and charging that still needed to happen. Wood cracked behind me, screams rose, and all while buzzing grew louder in front of me. Looking behind me I saw what they did and red dominated my sights, not thinking anymore, I moved my shield, deflecting the beam from the small vessel. It was already one hundred feet from my ship, moving faster than I wanted it too. This whole situation was pushing my instincts to the forefront. Heart hammering, I struggled to focus on the incoming threats and not rush to check on the mares. Deep breath: they were adults; I think anyway, no, they can handle this. For at least two weeks those mares had survived in worse conditions, four weeks in some cases, and maybe longer for all I knew. I didn’t need to protect them. Folami was there, she could handle treating any injuries. All I had to do was get rid of these threats... Pushing back my instincts that coiled in my chest was feeling near impossible though, all I wanted to bite and stomp, magic was already crackling in my leg’s channels, growing louder as the seconds ticked by. But the ships just kept moving in closer, a hush coming from them. Twitching my ears I could hear the rising murmur of voices from the dark vessel, the outlines of the scumbags visible with trails of smoke rising in front of them, obscuring the view of my enemy. Curiosity filled me, what were they waiting for? Another deep breath, I watched the approaching ships, not moving from my position. … My heart slowed slightly and it hit me, what was I waiting for? I can just blast them away…I’m still not used to this. I’m a walking weapon! ‘FU’ , I held the word in my mind as the crackling grew inside me, the warmth in my horn channel filling me with confidence. Urges rushed past my dominating thought, the spell, threatening to break my focus. They whispered of showing off, pushing my chest out, and flaring my wings. Essentially, what got me into this mess into the first place, but I let them go. Giving into my instincts one too many times had caused more trouble than good for me. But today was different, I had too much riding on this…I was going to free a nation. But, which boat first? Cannon fire made my answer for me. I turned my head and let the word go. The white at the edges of my vision disappeared, electric yellow magic exploding from the center of my sight, culminating in a chaotic mess of noise as it hit its mark. Screams reached me next, coming from both my mares and the slavers Exhilaration then filled me for a brief second as I saw the result. The mast being blown in half, crashing down on the slavers, and causing a panicked clamor on their deck as splinters flew. Cannons were abandoned in favor of dodging the ropes and beams. Wow, I hadn’t even moved a single step yet; this battle seemed too easy- “Ahhhhhh!” I squealed in pain and surprise as a magic beam tore into my bandaged shoulder, slicing through muscles and nerves that responded by losing feeling in the leg. I stopped squealing, panting as I visually confirmed it was still there. Damn Murphy’s Law, damn second boat! The small boat picked up speed with a growing hum, suddenly rocketing past my boat, like it had a engine or something…Airships, right. I twisted my neck to try and follow its path, but lost sight of it around the hull, its engine going quiet. Anger filled me as I sensed a plan at foot, hoof, whatever, they were up to something. Fuck that! Charging my horn for another ‘FU’ spell took longer as I fought to stay focused over the fresh pain, it also reawakened the stiff pain I had been healing from, my other legs tensing to try and support me, as my body was getting little support from the senseless one right now… Whimpers brought me back from my attempt, the white being redirected to my leg channels, and reminding me the longer I stayed here the more they would be in danger. The magic boat was hiding, for what purpose I didn’t know, but I wasn’t going to let- A thump sounded below me. Several thumps followed. Black balls of iron flew at my ship, my mares. Folding my ears back I grabbed them in my magic, sending them careening back at the weathered hull of my opponent. Eight new wholes adorned their hull, matching the amount of cannons they had pointed at us. We were side to side now, fifty feet of water separating us. Mares whimpered before a shrill scream made it through the air. “Ari! They are below us!” Marble stated the obvious, coming out of the infirmary. Snorting, I didn’t taking my eyes off the slavers on the deck, counting as I went. “I know. Lock the pantry hatch, keep everyone together, and form a barricade with any remaining tables. If this goes according to plan we will be ahead in the end.” Somehow, still working on that actually, but she didn’t need to know that. “What?!” She just stood there, her gaze locked on my bleeding wither. Not wasting any time I swung completely around, holding back a wince in my face, “NOW!” I tried to imitate the look I had in Saddle Arabia, the one that moved the crowds. Her eyes went big, looking at my narrowed ones in confusion, and I snorted at her, motioning to the infirmary. Already, scared faces were peeking out, and I could see rays of sunlight where there hadn’t been any before. I turned back to the fifteen slavers looking at me in awe, letting a sigh go as her hoof steps receded back into the room, a click as she closed the door. Her voice muted into the background as I listened to the intruders making their way through the former prison cell below me, we hadn’t cleaned up the guts yet, just the bodies. How fun for them then, I smiled at the thought. Before a new realization hit me and took my smile away, I still had an audience, one that wouldn’t be stuck in ‘Alicorn shock’ forever. I created fifteen knifes with my magic, the golden projectiles hovering at the railing of my ship, causing nervous murmurs on the other boat, shifting of paws on the deck. A good distraction for now, fear, but I needed more time. Where were- There they were. Heavier splashing sounded below me again; clangs echoing closer to the hatch, followed by curses…We may have brought up all the lanterns, no pony had planned to return to that awful room. That splashing confirmed my theory though, we were filling up fast, and I had seen the titanic. Those holes only meant one thing now. Gazing at the slavers I noticed the holes I had added to their ship were not taking on water, too high on the hull… I cocked my head as I really took in their ship. Dark sails billowing in the wind, pinned against the deck by the splintered mast, the mast through the roof of the captain’s quarters. But otherwise it was damage free. Eight cannons pointed sideways at my hull, and one massive one at the helm…It was almost the same layout as my ship, except with more cannons…They still had a steering wheel and half a mast. Maybe a little magic, some nails, and a hammer…I could fix that. I want that boat. Like a chaos orchestra, booms sounded from their side of the water, causing cracking that covered the whooshing of the wind instruments. Fifteen sharp, precise instruments sang out as they launched themselves through the air and straight into the pirate’s hearts, assuming they had any. They dropped to the deck, clutching their chests, wet sounds of agony rising as more squeals sounded inside. Fishmen, diamond dogs, and vildkatts alike, all were dead…I was glad, almost proud. There were fifteen less slavers out there now, two ships worth, not bad for a new pony. With a snort I started levitating the bodies off the deck and into the sea, it wouldn’t do for my- the mares to see the corpses, ponies had a different culture. They didn’t see images of gore on television like I had on earth, or really have television, I think…Anyway, in that way I was partially desensitised to it, and really, this wasn’t the worst. That griffin’s spine jutting out still bothers me. It was certainly different seeing that carnage in front of you. Golden magic enveloped the first corpse, a poorly dressed blue fishman, and I looked at his empty eyes before I tossed him. They answered nothing. Why had he chosen to become a slaver? Confusion filled me as I waited for my next opponents to appear. Splash, I dropped him as I grabbed the next slaver. A vildkatt, a female one…Why? I had seen them running very successful fish market stalls in Shallow Shale. Next, a Diamond dog…It didn’t make sense, sure it was a business, and we were bits. But who started it and better yet, will some other being start another one when I destroy this ring of slavers? I knew the dragons were the main clients, maybe the Saddle Arabians too. They did want Chrissy really badly. What it boiled down to was more work, to start I needed to meet with the Zebrican officials and- It was too silent. They should have made it up by now. I looked at the hatch leading to the cell, surely they couldn’t have gotten that lost…Did they knock themselves out? No, I would figure if any were Vildkatts they might have night vision like regular cats did, they could see the bars. Stomping the floor awkwardly with one leg almost useless, I listened for a response, and only heard the creak of wood. … No more curses or voices rang out…Did they drown- Bangs suddenly rang from the direction of the infirmary, the other hatch…More bangs and muffled curses confirmed that Marble did listen. What a nice mare, she actually did something helpful, well, when I thought they weren’t going to be much help. With a new feeling of calm I moved back into the infirmary, the bodies could wait. I wanted to greet my guests. Maybe they would know more about this ‘king of pirates’ I heard about; since none of the beings on the dark ship seem to match the description I was given, he obviously wasn’t on either ship…Well I couldn’t see in the small boat, but I’m sure some hot shot pirate who goes around calling himself the ‘king of the pirates’ would come see me, especially in such a small ship. He had an ego…And officially, as many ponies had pointed out, there weren’t any Alicorn stallions. I didn’t exist. Fifty heads turned and looked at me. “We have some guests below,” I gave them a calm smile, my confidence growing even more as many eyes brightened at my approach, and I could actually deliver some good news. “The other crew was kind enough to leave us their ship before they went for a swim.” I looked to Folami, her eyes already losing their fear, determination filling it. In fact the fear was slowly leaving every pony’s expression. “I need you to bring every pony on deck; we are switching ships as soon as I kill the rats in our hull, since they blew too many holes in our ship.” She looked at the other mares for a second, looking to open her mouth before closing it. “I think I’m just going to blast them to oblivion so get ever pony ready to board the other ship, this one is going down.” She nodded, opening the table barricade, and started directing the mares. Now, I had slavers to kill…Well, that sounded more homicidal than usual, although not entirely uncalled for, these beings used other lives as currency. Snorting, I refocused on the task at hand. The hatch was weighted down with the two apple barrels, the remaining bales of hay, and a table…Excessive, but effective as well. But with every attempt they made I saw small slivers of cracks spread through the wood that showed. The crack from my earlier overpowered opening of it probably the reason it was starting to break like this… … Boredom replaced my calmness, they were making little to no progress, and all m-the mares were on the deck already giving me looks. What could I say to them? Talking to the slavers was really important, learning all about their ‘boss’ was top priority if I was going to stop him. Know your enemy and all that. Turning my ear, I could hear muffled panting down below, and their attempts stopped. Sighing, I gave the mares a nod, we didn’t have all- As if to prove my thought right, the ship lurched to my left, staying like that. Shrill screams echoed in the air, we were going down. I guess I was winging it again. ‘FU’, crackles filled my inner channels as my core directed more magic to my horn channel, white began to dance on the edges of my vision. I waited a minute, the boat tipping more, and panicked yells sounding off before I released the spell. “Buck, that was awesome!” Marble had made it back to my side sometime during that. She was almost falling over with the ship, gazing at the gaping hole filling with water. Rapidly filling actually, no bodies in sight, the water was dyed red. Hello predator attractant, sea serpents if I had heard right. “Yeah, yeah,” I replied, trying to come up with a way to get fifty mares across before we sunk, well, flipped first. I turned around, grabbing and holding her to my back in my golden field. Hobbling as best as I could, we made it to the now panicking group of half-starved mares; they were gazing at the approaching water with wide eyes. Creaks and groans came from the ship; it was perilously close to flipping over. Those pirates must shot out some support in our side. For a brief moment my eyes raced across the deck, nothing was left to use as a plank, not that fifty foot plank existed but my levitation plan would take too long. The bodies, both alive and dead, were being pressed to the railing. I felt like a foal, unable to- wait, that is it! Foal magic. Point and shoot, or in this case, bridge. “Get ready!” They all snapped their eyes to me, glancing at the water slightly. “We are now boarding!” Picturing a simple board bridge, I willed it to appear, be solid like the stairs I had made once, and it did. Like water flowing into an empty cup, the golden bridge filled the space perfectly, connecting at just the right points on the railing. Amazed looks went on their faces; at least that is what it looked like to me. It was different reading pony faces. Some looks were odd, but awe was the best emotion I could place. Right, “Come on!” I motioned to the bridge, “It’s perfectly safe.” I pleaded with them, grabbing the most injured ones in my magic. Herding them with my muzzle, I placed Ayodele on my back, one less pony to carry in my magic. This was harder than it looked. My focus divided twelve different ways, and mares trying to hold a conversation with me. I quickly placed the remaining eleven blanket bound mares on the new ship, earning me grateful nickers and ‘thank yous’. Now I just had to wait for the rest to cross, Folami waited with me. “Go on.” I pointed my muzzle to the bridge. “You first,” She said with a cheeky grin, giving me a mock bow as the mares on my back squirming as they tried to watch or it could have been them being eager to get off this boat. Snorting I raised an eyebrow at her, “Don’t be silly, get moo-ving. This ship is sinking.” She didn’t move still, raising an eyebrow in return. Didn’t she see this wasn’t the time?! “I said move!” This time I started moving behind her rump, giving fake snaps at her butt, a clear threat on why she should move. Folami was nonplused by it. “Anything else you want to say?” I didn’t know where she was going with this, I could practically feel my hooves slipping on the tilting deck, and we didn’t have time for whatever this was. Narrowing my eyes at the frustrating mare, I grabbed her in my magic, floating her in front of me. “HEY!” Snickers answered her from my back. Mares made no sense, women I could understand somewhat, having been one, but mares were a different story. I mean pulling this while the ship is sinking? I wish the god had given me knowledge on them. That would have been helpful, I would have known about the heat, and instincts…Anything would have been better than this stumbling around! With a frustrated snort, I was crossing the bridge. The final loud crack coming from the ship, I grunted as the deck pressed down on the bridge, feeling like something was pressing against my channels, my head, damn that hurt. Hurried by that, I trotted with a limp the rest of the expanse. Dissipating the bridge as soon as my hooves touched the deck, relieving me of the pressure almost instantly, it had felt like I was holding up a boulder with my head. Every pony paused and watched as the boat sank; even Folami stopped squirming to watch it. Huge bubbles of air broke the surface, a white frothy torrent as water filled the ship. I could see the magic shooting boat now too, getting crushed under the larger vessel, the crunch of glass and creaking of wood, signally the end to a much easier battle. I guess I can say I sunk a ship now...And now I had a new, okay, newer ship. It needed repairs, which I could do thanks to my uncle, but first I had to take stock of what we had. What our rationing would be. Putting down Folami I looked around, wincing at the pain as my muscles protested flexing. She looked at me, nodding, and splaying her ears. “Okay, Folami what was that about? That-,” I pointed at the faint shadow in the water that was our old ship, “-is why we needed to move. I thought you were on the same page as me. Do you need to talk about something?” She looked at the water then over my shoulder, folding her ears back. “No, it was silly.” Her eyes glassed over a second before they locked slightly lower on my body, “You hurt yourself again?!” “Now you notice? They did it, some magic cannon thing.” I waved it off with a hoof, turning to look at the scene of the deck, and knew I would need some help. “But that can wait, we have to get our act together, get moving!” “F-fine,” a snort, “But you need to rest eventually mkaidi!” I gave her a gentle smile, “Agreed, thanks for caring Folami. It is nice to have good ponies around; I couldn’t have done what did for them.”Her passion for healing was evident, even if I will gladly take Lyric’s magic over the ‘natural’ way any day. I was really glad to be able to have her around. She was just like a calm rock through the whole ordeal so far, mind you this is probably is just another part of her life, normal for her…I wonder what Zebrica is like? First… Stomping my hoof for their attention…Which turned out to be was pointless. Really, they had been watching our talk the whole time. Some looked tired, but most looked excited, ears forward and eyes shining. “Thank you for your attention and welcome to our new ship. The first order of business is to search the ship, make sure we have no pirates hidden away, and dispose of the trash.” I lifted several corpses in my magic and dropped them overboard. That got me a round of hoof stomping and several nearby mares preceded to help, rolling and awkwardly lifting the remaining corpses over the railing, “Well, I wasn’t expecting that.” Really, I was just expecting a couple laughs, maybe a cheer, not for them to join in. “So, the trash is gone then. I guess we should start searching the ship. Hmmmm,” I looked at the mares in front of me, “I will admit, I don’t know every pony’s condition, so I will trust you to know yourself. Anyone that can’t walk up and down stairs will stay with the medical team and help search the deck, any mares that can handle stairs will come with me, Okay?” And they were really okay with it. I had a group of twenty mares in front of me quicker than I could shake a stick. It was almost unnerving, all of them looking eager to help. So I gave them thank you and nod, this shouldn’t take long. How- “HEY! Give back my helper!” We paused and looked back at Folami. I was confused for a second, “Wh-.” “Awww, come on! I can help, really!” Marble spoke from my rump, I had forgot I placed her there…She was really light, very skinny actually. Folami could use the help. With a sigh, I levitated her over to Folami, “Sorry Marble, she is right. Besides I think we have enough ponies to search below deck.” Twenty was a little crowded, but I didn’t want to go into a trap underprepared. She was frowning now, “And you should rest and get better, we all will soon, after we clear the search we are moving off, land Ho and all that!” “Then why is Ayodele coming? She can’t walk and needs her rest more than me!” Marble’s eyes narrowed as I felt a muzzle tuck under my wing. She had a point. “That is a great point-.” “Kumwambia nihitaji kuja kwa afya yangu!” Ayodele said in a desperate tone, switching Zebrican for some reason. Zebra mares started to gather. Folami snorted and pinned her ears back, “Kwa nini nitafanya hivyo? Uongo, sio uongo!” Ayodele replied in zebrican, snorting, and pointing a fore hoof at our medic. Folami replied in a cold tone, stomping a forehoof in retaliation. What the hell was happening? Obviously it was a private issue since they switched to the language they must know I don’t know, Marble and the other equestrians looked just as confused as I did. The brown earth pony even gave me an apologetic smile, seeing as she had brought this up. Ten minutes seemed to have passed and they still were arguing in Zebrican, more zebra mares were jumping in, adding quips with small smiles and sly grins. At this point I was annoyed, my legs were screaming at me to rest, and we still hadn’t moved the boat. I tried being polite. “You know what?! We have a timeline, so you two talk. I’m going to search the ship, be back soon.” With that I placed a surprised Ayodele on a blanket already occupied by another mare, said mare just shook her head at Ayodele. “Wai-.” Interrupting her, I repeated myself, “Talk it out. I expect to be quick but if not please let me know, I can always take a nap or something.” And I was gone, ignoring the mares I continued across the deck, dodging the ropes and stepping around the half dried red puddles. Hoof steps followed me as my helpers joined me. Like on the old ship, there was a large hatch behind the mast, except this one was wrought iron bars, not wooden. Bars were never good news. The last bars I met shot you backwards if you touched them wrong. Every pony knew this too, giving it a wide berth. Looking around grabbed a mop, levitating it over the hatch, I held my breath and dropped it. Dull clangs reverberated around the hull, the mop rolled side to side for a second before a collective expelling of breath marked our relief. Something was normal for a change. I opened it and we filed down the stairs, not needing to adjust to the change in light thanks to the eight new windows I installed recently. The room was the same size as our old cell, same plank walls, except for two differences. One was the hatch in the back; it was wooden and stood out, slightly ajar in the middle of the room. It worried me actually, there were many prints in the dirt around the opening, and a foul smell was permeating the room, seemingly from there. Not any less ominous was the second difference, a wooden plank style door standing in the back wall. Bloody prints led to it… Already I could hear some gag reflexes going, the smell and sight implied a lot. “If any pony wants to help Folami or take a breather I wouldn’t think any less of you. I don’t think we are going to find any…” Think of a nice word, “Threats down here.” Twelve left at my permission, eagerly rushing up the stairs. Fuck my decisions, why- No, just get it over with. The faster we search the boat the faster I can fix the mast, and get us moving, resting really. My legs hurt. We started with the back door, although I had four mares watch the hatch in case anything popped up from there. The door was locked. With a snort, I made an ethereal looking hand saw. Slipping the familiar tool in the crack, I followed it along till I felt the magic teeth hit something solid, the latch. For a long minute my mind ached, the scraping of the tool being doubled in my magical senses, until finally I was sawing thin air. Staying silent, I motioned for the hatch guards to stay as we pushed the door open, blinking at the dimly lit…Food storage room. “Okay I wasn’t expecting this.” I grabbed a mushy looking oblong purple fruit, sniffing it. I realized it smelt fresh still and swallowed it whole. “At least we have more food.” It wasn't half bad. Next was the hatch, it didn’t take much to lift it, the creak of the hatch causing shuffles and rapid steps to be heard inside. We all shared a nervous look before we descended into the dimly lit, rank depths of the ship. My heart seized at the room. Beside me the zebras whimpered and whispered in their language, luckily no equestrians had come; this was giving even me a heart ache. All around this level many zebras lay about, most alive, a couple I wasn’t so certain on. There were no bars here, just many chains and shackles. The smell was obvious as well, these poor ponies didn’t get the Arch wash treatment, this was weeks of travel in one room. “Tell Folami to get ready.” At my voice many heads weakly turned my way, dull eyes of green and brown looked at me, ears slowly moving forward. She left and I began the painstaking process of freeing them; I had thrown every slaver in the water, the keys probably with them. Moving forward to the nearest mare, she looked at me in awe, Alicorn shock. Tapping the chain didn’t send me flying, her look of confusion changed to fear as I reared up, anger flowed through me. Smashing my good hoof down on the chain I watched as it cracked, my leg vibrated slightly, and I grimaced. That was a stupid idea. Creating the hand saw again I began to saw. After a minute I realized the only thing I was gaining was a headache. “Damn it!” I let the magic dissipate, they must be enchanted to resist magic, anger bubbled up in. Letting my core direct more magic to my legs I reared up and crash my hooves down on the chain, the mare recovering her shock as the unmistakable crunch and clang of metal echoed around the room. Dry, scratchy voices began whispering louder as the first mare moved towards me, her broken chain dragging behind her wobbling legs. Brown eyes searched mine, looking for something, “Why?” Such a silly question, I smiled down at her. “Why not? This is wrong, evil, and I can stop it. So I am.” Whatever she was looking for she found, giving me a weak smile as two mares went to either side of her, supporting her and leading her to Folami. This left me with a large amount still chained, so moving to the next mare I reared up, ignoring my aches and blood dripping. … … For at least a hour I had reared, smashed, and sent mares upstairs. My sides heaved, exhausted from the effort, and my hooves were not to be trusted. They were numb from the abuse I had put them through, over fifty chains smashed. A small waif of a mare poked into my back, half conscious as we made it to the deck. Letting my supports lead me to the open door, I tried to maintain my posture, and was quickly fussed over. But I didn’t care anymore, the smells coming from the kitchen held my interest. I levitated the mare off my back, as I searched the room for a plate of food, soo hungry. “Lay him down already.” Folami rushed over, a bowl of paste on her back and red bag balanced on her rump. “Who’s steering?” She ignored me, pushing me to a blanket that I swear wasn’t there a second ago, “Laaaayyyy,” Her forehead was pressed against numb wither, pushing me. “Dooooowwwnn,” I finally relented, realizing she was not even thinking about the possibility of more slavers coming. “How many were there?” “Seventy one,” was her terse reply, focused on my wounds. Like a well oiled machine she started unwrapping the soiled bandages, Marble Cake and Feather quill appeared out of the kitchen with a basin of water and a sponge. This same treatment of ‘wash, dry, treat, and wrap’ was going on around the room; it was pretty cool to see, if a bit overwhelming. I mean, the room was packed with one hundred twenty one mares. Still haven’t seen a stallion yet. “Stand,” I complied and tried to keep my muscles steady as I was washed, water dripping red and foaming white with my sweat. Quick as she could I was dried, wrapped, and back to lying down. When every pony had been treated she returned. I was busy eating by then, some of the mares having heard my stomach scream. “So how are you feeling?” I frowned at her, “Better than you are looking right now.” Rising before she could protest, I placed her in my spot, her mouth imitating a fish. “Get some rest, I should be back soon; I’m feeling antsy to get going.” Her reply was a snort, I’m sure her ears were back too, but I wasn’t ready to handle this new Folami yet. Arguing for ten minutes when we are in a rush to get going? Refusing to cross the bridge when we are sinking to have a conversation? Not making any sense and I didn’t have the time to work through it right now. Repairing the mast was easy, sailing would be easy, but dealing with the feelings was hard. I felt tired, mentally exhausted, and I didn’t want another confusing and awkwardly timed conversation with any mare. So I did what my uncle taught me, I worked through the feelings. Starting with the mast of course, its circumference was the size of a medium pine tree and would be easy enough to line up. The floor below me held spare planks and it was easy find some nails, no wood glue, but that was just dreaming. Using my magically made saw I cut off the splinters, made grooves, and levitated the ends till they were snug together. After that it was easy to make a hammer and add some supports. “Wow!” Marble was looking at the restored mast, the sails starting to billow and catch the breeze. “Yah..." I trailed off, feeling calmer. "Did you want to help me steer?” I motioned to the wheel. A pause, “You aren’t coming back?” She looked at the doorway, ears splayed in confusion. I gave a weak wither shrug and started to the wheel, “After I set our direction…” She came trotting to my side. “This doesn’t have to do with the argument between Folami and Ayodele?” “Slightly, I’m just tired you know?” She nodded, pressing into me. “It is just…” Sighing I pushed on, “I know my mares must be worried sick, it has nearly been a week!” We finished climbing the stairs, the view from there capturing my attention. It was blue and white for nearly the whole horizon. Fluffy cumulus had formed, making fake mountains in the sky that taunted me, reminding me I still couldn’t rest. To my left a small dark mass was a pinprick in the horizon. We had drifted evidently, the odd floating plank showing where we had come from. Currents pulling the boat towards the dark horizon, land, I hoped. “A-Anything else bugging you Ari?” She looked up at me, eyes trying to communicate something while her ears splayed. Grabbing the wheel in my magic, I thought on it, and it occured to me that maybe she might know something on mares. Marble was a mare. “Well, I just don’t get all the strange behavior around here.” She gulped, “I mean something like, snapped in some of the mares. One night every pony is happy and recovering, then the next day it’s like the x-files.” A ‘what’ look was my answer, “It’s an earth…Play, I meant the conversation that Folami had at the bridge…No, and even before that. She was trying to insist that I was a leader.” Turning the ship, I gave a snort. “I mean ME! My family and friends would laugh; the only thing I have lead is a foal!” “A foal?” “I foal sat for my friends.” Looking away from her, I watched a flock of birds fly towards the horizon. “And that argument…I don’t understand them. Were they friends before, when they were imprisoned?” She shrugged. Right, I guess it would be hard for a pastel colored society to tell stripes apart, aside from the cutie marks they were very similar at first. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter, I don’t get mares.” Marble laughed, stomping her hoof, “I don’t believe that, you don’t form a herd by accident! Somewhere in there-,” She booped my nose, “-you know about mares.” We were riding a strong wind towards the hopeful land mass now. “Really?” She nodded, giving me a nuzzle. “I beg to differ, culturally, I was so dense that I had two mares literally flagging me and I didn’t realize it till after my marefriend explained it to me.” Her head went back, mouth moving up and down, “HOW!” Several heads popped out of the infirmary. “That is pretty bucking obvious!” Her surprise was turning into frustration, ears going back. “Earth was different, body language was different, and I hadn’t been on the dating scene for years. I was working on my fertility issues. But, my point was that I don’t understand mares…Chrissy and Lyric were still teaching me about this world when we were separated...So I know some things like nuzzling as friendliness, and flagging, obviously. But there is still a world of social cues I’m sure I miss, if it wasn’t for my base instincts I wouldn’t know how to react sometimes…Imagine not knowing anything from what to eat to where anything is.” Her face was one of realization, eyes wide, and lips forming a ‘o’. Marble never responded to me, but it was plenty clear by her look and further pulling the two zebras aside that every pony understood. Folami and Ayodele never argued again that day. In fact it ended quite calmly and happily, we found a spare ring of keys in the captain’s quarters. Shackles were removed, chaffing treated. As to my whole explanation that I was tiredly expecting to make, I was pleasantly enough, not having to do it. Folami had been answering questions for me while I had been working, and most of the mares were over Alicorn shock then. Excitement and hope was in the air, a bright, optimistic energy seemed to come over the group. Talk of home and freedom was going around as food was dispensed, although a couple mares did eat to fast and vomited, but it was all good in the end. The wind was guiding us to the land. … Unsurprisingly I was one of the last ponies to wake up, my body protested, as did the sleepy heads on and around me. As usual I was the center of a pile of ponies, a part that I think I will miss when it is just my mares and I again. It brought a great sense of peace to my soul being like this. Warmth in and around my wrapped fur, many scents mixing harmoniously, warm breaths blowing gently on me, I could have stayed like that all morning. It was not to be, it never was it seemed. The morning proved to be odd, not my urges, it was the usual in that regard. It was the mares. As soon as my eyes opened it seemed that every one that could hobble over did, thanking me and asking simple questions. Those that were bedridden called out their thanks. Okay, maybe that wasn’t strange considering what I did. But, never in my life have I received so many thanks…It filled me a happiness, pride, and the ‘fuzzies’. Protesting was useless. I learned this most when I was fed. Literally, they were bringing me food. It felt amazing, but eventually like with all good things, something annoying, realistic, and bad came along. This happened to take the form of a shrill buzzing noise. I looked around the room, seeing confusion around me. No pony here was making this noise. Getting up I stumbled a little. Off balance as a certain zebra clung to my back, repositioning her body so that she was snug between my shoulder blades, and holding her injured hock away from my butt. All the while the shrill buzzing seemed to grow more insistent, grating on the peace that I had been enjoying. Spotting Folami, I raised an eyebrow; she always seemed to know a lot. “Don’t give me that look, I don’t know what that sound is!” She narrowed her eyes for a second, looking past me, before the buzzing started to get to her. “But it really is annoying!” “Exactly!” Folding my ears back I began to walk around the room, trying to get closer to whatever was making that noise, it only took half a circuit of the room to realize that it was coming from outside. But it wasn’t like the sound of the magic beam, which was a different kind of buzzing. Stepping outside, I quickly identified the source of the noise, well, the room. It was coming from the captain’s quarters. The roof was partially collapsed in still, and from here I could see a eerie pink glow coming from inside the room. Walking slowly I approached the room, hushed whispers, and quiet clip clops following me. Opening the ornate door I gazed around the room, it was exactly how we left it. The large bed unmade and cold, the map curling on the wall, and the desk in the far right corner was still there. But the jewel in the center of the desk glowed bright pink in the daylight, almost making me cover my eyes. A gasp announced Folami’s arrival. “What do I do?” “You have to answer it! If they think these ones failed they will send more, more than before!” The panic was evident in her voice. Smiling at her, I slipped the headset on with my magic, “Okay, on it. How do I answer?” “Just keep it in your hoof and push some magic into it.” I did, regretting it as several voices blared loudly into the room, one was clear though. “Oy! Rrrroooorrrra, youuu alive there? What spoils did Arch leave yah?!” An enthusiastic and gruff voice answered, sounding drunk to me. Before I could answer he continued, “Nefermind deearr, I seeee yoouu!” He hiccupped, and we all moved outside, horror blooming on everyone’s faces. Fuck a duck! There goes my whole morning. That drunkard was only two hundred feet away, as was a dark Cliffside that he was following. Even more worrying was the fleet of boats further ahead of his boat, all following along the same route despite the different flags and sails flying. “DEAAARRR! Answar me, I can hear youuuu.” He sing songed out in response, the sound of sloshing coming through. I closed my eyes, letting out a deep breath, “I haven’t been called dear in quite a while.” A smirk grew on my face as I heard a gasp; I climbed the steps to the wheel, confidence growing with each step. “Did you hear about that Alicorn?” He actually responded, no fear in his embodiment of stupid drunk. “Uhhh, Yerr? Weren’t that why yous was called out there? Is *hiccup* this Nolo?” “Nope,” I mouthed ‘load the cannons’ to the mares watching me, until they finally started moving, balls rolling across the deck. Folami saluted me, a happy grin on her muzzle now. “Any other guesses?” I turned the boat slightly, quietly grabbing more power from the wind. “Errruuummm?” He asked uncertainly. ‘FU’, yellow energy moved from my side channels and legs, rushing to my center channel. A chuckle escaped me, “Nope. Hey, is your crew resting too? If not you should send them to rest, have a drink to my success.” Cheers rang out over the headset, “Alreaaadyyyy onn itttt!” The clangs of glass on glass echoed, “Here is a twoast tooooo….Whooo’s cwalling?” He called us, but I didn’t mention that, “Ari.” “Toooo Arriiiii!” I placed the headset and jewel down on the deck. ‘FU….’, white light blasted from the center of my sight, gasps came from the deck, and the target ‘s cabin was wiped off the ship. I didn’t hit the hull or mast this time. A small swiping sound came from the jewel before it went silent. Cheers rang out from the mares, stomps echoing in the hull, as they celebrated our easy victory. My ship approached the crewless vessel, which I quickly boarded. All the while enjoying the light, playful nips from the mare on my back. Really I just felt great in general. Another ship down and…One, two, eight more, that I could see anyway, no small ships. It was just large slave ships. None of the specks of ships were turning back and I wasn’t either, my mares were probably frantically pacing Kapera’s shop right now, if not combing the city... This would be over before they even knew what was happening.
The Final Preparations.Author's Note Happy Easter everypony! After some technical difficulties the chapters are done, thank you for the patience. Next chapter is a big one, we finally go back to our princesses. Happy reading! The Final Preparations. **** The Gryphon Republic and Minotaria Border Ari Today was the day. Yes, the day. Not just another endless blend of slogging through the land to get supplies or another boring flight, it was the final stretch before I reached the edge of Equestria, and everybeing knew it. My marefriends were super glued to me ever since we woke, their barrels pressed so close to mine that I could feel their breaths pressing against mine, and I had had a constant buzzing in my left ear as well. Not that I blamed them for being nervous, I certainly was. If all went according to plan, by nightfall I would be teleporting two unconscious racists onboard the ship. And if everything went pear shaped, well, that was a thought I tried to avoid focusing on. But, it would be infinitely worse. I felt butterflies twist in my stomach when I thought about that, moving my endless hunger to the side as knots formed in my stomach with every passing minute I spent on the possibility of failure. Although my nerves weren’t as bad as somebeing’s nerves, the Ayo’s were strangely jittery. Both of them jumping at every noise, from the wind whistling by up here to the faint whapping of a lose rope. Not to mention they had been gravitating to my haunches since they exited their cabin. Our prisoner just trailed behind them. Echo was in a bit of a slump. He wasn’t crying outright or anything quite as dramatic as that, but I could feel the sadness in the way he was acting on autopilot. The shackles didn’t seem to exist to him as he shuffled behind us this morning, his slitted eyes were dull, and I didn’t receive anymore manners lessons from him after he went silent yesterday. I didn’t feel it was my correction either; it wasn’t that bad of a hit, more of a tap really. Still, despite what he had said, the racist beliefs that were clearly still inside his psyche, I didn’t like seeing him like that. He believed that he was in the right before and to consider his whole life and aspirations were causing suffering across the continent couldn’t be an easy message to take in. Even Equestrians like Marble Cake were affected by their mess. How she didn’t have ponies looking for her still puzzled me. Echo certainly didn’t indicate that he had heard of any missing pony reports on any of them. So I just let Moonlit Echo be, there was nothing I could say that would help him. It was more of an internal dilemma he faced and only the arrival of his princess would help clear his conscious…Or spin him into a depression so bad he considered other options. It was hard for me to tell which way the princesses really were aligned. But, aside from the clearly nervous air on the ship, the day was going well so far. Yesterday we had just made it to the edge of the mountain range, descending slightly before the sun started to set on us. The last stretch had been the major time waster as the fog had moved in, which combined with a light drizzle and ominous roaring that we heard added to our immense joy…And also made me drive very slowly. So today we started out with a slightly cloudy, mountain free expanse to fly over. I really, really wanted to floor it. The clouds were even starting to drift away as my herd and I made our way to the control room. The warm breezes were deceiving to my mood as I saw the endless pool below us, continuing into the horizon before patches of green began. “Feeling better Ari?” A feminine voice called from up ahead. Looking away from the devastation, I saw Ayodele had trotted ahead of me, my hooves having stalled at the sight of flooded farmland. She was turned back to me, while her cousin stood beside her and tried a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Be friendly. Breaking into a smile I perked my ears at her, “Much better!” That book actually had had a useful healing spell. “Not even an itch this morning!” But, “I just hope we can find a fur growing spell next.” Ayodele’s smile faltered a little as she gazed at me, gulping before turning back towards the control room, and swishing her tail in wide arcs. “Y-you look fine!” I raised an eyebrow at that, glancing between my bald patches and the zebra. I looked questionable at best with the many long, thin bald patches that inter connected at points, a tail no longer than my dock, and my wing joint was still missing the feathers around it where Folami had plucked them. “Define ‘fine’ for me because this doesn’t look like a good first impression to me.” My mares snorted at my form, but nothing came from the slowly jingling colt behind us, not even a dig at how looking odd wouldn’t be proper. Her ear twitched back my way as her cousin alternating between looking at my bald patches and Ayodele’s set of near matching furless areas. Okay, so we both looked a little worse for wear, but she wasn’t trying to talk to royalty. My ‘Alicorn card’ would only take me so far. We had to find something to make me look better than this. I would bet one of their first questions would be ‘what happened’ and that would lead down a rabbit hole I couldn’t let them know about till I had them restrained. And if they were aware of slavery…I didn’t like to think about that, my plan would be infinitely harder then. Moving on from that depressing line of thought, we trickled into the control room. Our prisoner curling up with a long sigh as we shared a frown around him, wide eyed looks and eye pointing gave me a unspoken ‘do something’ message, like I had some control over him. Shaking my head at the colt and by default the rest of the group as well, I moved on to the control panel and started checking the oil levels, and finding the overall level of everything good I raised the levers. First I stopped slightly above the halfway point, crouching slightly as we lurched forward, and a smile started to grow. Thrumming came in from the open door as Chrissy and Lyric settled beside me on the cushion. As everybeing was settled I started to raise the levers more, the wind whistling by the cabin as several sets of wide eyes found mine. Shrugging my withers at them I watched the ground turn into a blur of green, blue, and brown. Patches of other colors blending in as my heart pounded. I was shaving days of travel this way…It’s too bad I can’t fly this in Equestria. “Okay,” I addressed everybeing, happy to note that their eyes had returned to normal. Now for food, several pops filled the room, and our breakfast arrived as I tried to get my head on straight. Although I wasn’t an automobile junkie like my uncle could be at times, I still appreciated the speed. Although, maybe a little too much.“Today is going to be big,” my mares exhaled beside me, tensing as I continued. “So I was hoping I could count on you,” I looked at Ayodele, “To steer while I get ready.” “Me?” She questioned, looking me strangely. Her head cocking as her eyes searched my face. I didn’t know why it was so strange to her; she had practically…Actually she had forced herself on this trip, claiming she was ‘here to help’. I suspected her help wasn’t entirely for Ayomide’s or my benefit. “Of course Chrissy and Lyric will be here to help if you want to take a break,” I paused as she frowned, letting her ears splay for a second. It was kind of hard of me to justify her presence on this trip, the ploy had been very obvious, and it would be helpful if I didn’t have to steer for a little bit…I also needed to give my mares sometime to hopefully end the crush she had on me. The first talk obviously didn’t work. Just sitting and watching us couldn’t be fun for Ayodele. So, having her steer sounded good. She was there for the intro on how the ship worked and could actually read the manual if anything went wrong. Having my herd stay with Ayodele also prevented her from being alone with the Thestral, he may be down now, but that could be a well thought out act… I wasn’t paranoid. Echo was clearly upset; even as the ship rushed forward, and breakfast was dispersed he still wasn’t really eating. “Really,” Ayodele asked, looking uncertainly between my herd mates. Chrissy just rolled her eyes, leaning her body onto me to sprawl out as Lyric paused in her breakfast to narrow her eyes at the zebras. Silence edged into the room as I let the unspoken message transfer. As her eyes went down, I swallowed my mouthful of hay, answering in the kindest way I could. “Of course, it would be a big help if you could manage the controls.” Her eyes rose slightly, watching me as I perked my ears. Excitement bubbled up, replacing the anxiety as I thought of how close we were. “And my herd will be here in case…,” I trailed off, letting my eyes wander over to our despondent prisoner. A sigh was the only sign he had heard me. Her eyes returned to mine, green orbs bright in the sunlight as her ears rose. Wind blew by the door, rattling it as she opened her mouth, paused, and closed it to nod. The energy back in her somewhat, not as much as before, but enough that I didn’t feel like such a dick about sending the wrong signals before…Actually, I did tell that I didn’t know the culture here…Well, I still felt a little bad upsetting her. But, it wouldn’t have worked out anyway. I still had thousands of years left in me apparently. That fact actually made me freeze, a cold shiver settling in as a fact really hit me. They still had thousands of years left. If this did go…Then…I would have to pray that they were merciful, that they could settle for being friends. Glancing between my mares I noticed their focused stares at what must be an interesting expression on my face. Looking at Chrissy, I gave a wan smile, pushing away that thought for now. “Sorry, my emotions are kind of all over the place today,” as sea green eyes softened and a smile grew on her muzzle I turned to Lyric, “This just feels pretty big to me.” Lyric nodded since her mouth was full of fruit at the movement. It never would have worked out. Turning away from my herd I found brown eyes. They widened slightly as Ayomide realized I was looking at her, after a second they blinked and grew further away. Suddenly shy under my gaze, I broke the stare off as I glanced at her stubbly remains of a mane. Frowning for second, I let my words form in my head, still unsure on how to handle myself around somebeing that tried to kill me. The mindset alone to do that…The fortitude she would have needed to take life after life for coin…It was still a little flabbergasting to me. Still, she was just another being in this world, a world I was mostly unfamiliar with. My knowledge of earth’s poisons were limited to the few included in mystery novels and that knowledge was next to useless in this world. I needed her help on this. “Ayomide,” the mare in question slowly nodded, sitting straighter as I continued, “I need your help this morning baking the cakes and icing.” A quick nod followed, no words coming forth as her eyes seemed dull with the real meaning of my words. Help me poison the princesses. Her ears twitched in an attempt to splay out, going down slightly before standing rigidly upright. But no argument or question was started, not even a question of when I would ask for her assistance came from her tightly drawn lips. Flexing my wings a little, I smiled at her before looking back out the window. Loving thoughts were slow to come to me as I saw the blur, knowing that the murky water was before us, but they slowly trickled in as we moved on. Picking up speed as a strong wind began, I raised the lever a little more, and the thrumming sputtered a little. Clunks and fizzes sounded as several calls of my name rang out, ending as I lowered the levers a notch. Maybe I wouldn’t go quite that fast. As I rhythmic thrumming started to even out again I got settled in. Nips notwithstanding it had totally been worth flooring it. The clock ticked onward and the bales diminished, being replenished several times over as we marveled at the land before us. Patches of almost all the colors of the rainbow passed by in the blur of hours, easily one hundred thousand acres of farmland that was yet to be touched by the encroaching flood waters. Among the fields I swore there were small dots of red, blue, tan, and black. The Minotaurs that almost moved by too fast for me to track as they too moved around in a great orchestra of movement, only stilling as our shadow approached and provided a moment of shade under the summer sun. Some even appeared to run after us. Whether they were chasing the shade or knew it was me was still unclear, the latter very unlikely from my altitude. But the sight still brought a smile to my face. The entire world wasn’t ruined yet. With my mares content and lightly dozing against my barrel I found I was growing sleepy myself, the rhythmic thrumming almost lulling me into a lazy lull, that is until I saw the new horizon. Dark green forests lay ahead, an endless canopy that was mere hours away, and from there I would head due east towards the onyx anthills in the furthest distance. My heart started to pump harder, faster, and I couldn’t stop my feathers from puffing up. Chrissy’s eyes found mine in the next instant, and a slow buzz started as Lyric’s tail started swishing. All I could give them was a smile. It didn’t do my nerves justice, but I didn’t know what to tell them. So I turned to our company, finding my helpers lazily dozing in a patch of sun. Clearing my throat and effectively gaining the attention of the zebras, I stood and let my magic fade from the steering wheel. The wheel moved slightly. It turned either way for a moment as Ayodele got up, nuzzling her cousin as she also rose, and both made their way to their respective destinations. Giving my mares a brief nuzzle as well, I rose and started off to the cabin with Ayomide trailing behind me. Ayomide wasn’t bad, not in the true sense of the word, but her choice in earlier career made the walk over distinctly awkward, at least on my part. I couldn’t think beyond her past during that time. We walked at a sedate pace over, the world below us passing by in a brightly colored blur. Only the whizzing sound of air going past us taking up the space between us, the gap seemed large though. I didn’t have to talk to her, but it felt like I should get an idea where her head was at. One hundred thousand bits was a lot of money…No, it wasn’t even that. I was curious, really fascinated at the idea of somebeing just deciding ‘yup, assassination is the way to go’. Of course I knew it might not be that simple, but she had left her family, country, and ended up doing that. Of course, asking the questions I wanted answered was easier said than done. “So, have you been…,” I trailed off as the answer came to me, of course she was enjoying the time with her cousin. Before I could think of a smarter question we entered the dining room and she quickly turned to the bedroom, off to get her poison I assumed. That went well. Making my way to the kitchen I shook off the frustration and tried to move past my blankness of what to talk to her about. The topic of killing, assassination kept coming up in my mind, and quite frankly it appeared like she wanted to move past that chapter in her life. Any conversation I had overheard between them had centered on how the potion shop was doing, family matters, or various cultural points that made no sense to me out of context. Instead of trying to deal with my mental block I focused on what cake would be easiest to bake. And that was a great question since I wasn’t even a good baker, maybe mediocre at best, I mean, I was very familiar with Betty Crocker. But, unfortunately my kitchen didn’t come with pre-made cake mix, which was really a miracle considering everybeing seemed to have made a cake joke about me at one time. Cake was just too sweet, well, the icing was anyway. I didn’t like sugary sweets generally. What they had left me was sort of useful, I couldn’t read the bins when we had the tour but mares seemed happy, and I settled for that. The design of the kitchen was nice at least; very similar to the one I had at home. Blue gems adorned my lower cupboards, one for each door, while the upper cabinets and drawers were free of gems. The countertops were a smooth, lacquered light wood. It curved around the room, only bulging where a black stove stood out slightly; still it made an ‘L’ shape that hugged the long island that took up the center of the room. As I began looking through the cupboards a slow clip clopping reached my ears, swiveling them back I continued with my search. They stopped behind me, before soft clips in place caught my attention. “Just put the vials on the island, I need to find the ingredients still.” My voice echoed back from my place in the cupboard. The hoof steps started up again, ending when a clink of the vials on the island. But I tuned it out, grabbing several canisters to examine them. The first one held white powder, the second had off white powder, and the third…Pink powder? My eyebrow rose but I placed the lids back on and the canisters on counter. The next hieroglyph decaled containers I found confused me even further, all had different shades of purple crystals, and the texture was almost like sugar or salt. But the smells didn’t match any that I recognised. “Can I help you…gather anything?” Ayomide’s voice piped up, a little hesitant, and offer sounded unsure. As if she wasn’t sure she wanted to. I sighed, putting down the containers. “Actually, you could,” I looked the other cupboards, grabbing the knobs in my magic as a frown worked its way onto my face. “I don’t know what ingredients are the same as earth,” I looked at the canisters that had the white powder, flour I assumed, “And what is like what I need.” Levitating the many canisters out, I began to list the ingredients, “Flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, and butter…Or margarine.” Her eyes remained blank, “Something with oil or fat in it. Lard maybe?” Slowly Ayomide nodded, “Right,” she made her over to the counter, watching my close form with a tense posture for a second before peeking into each cylinder with a practiced ease, seemingly forgetting my presence. As she began dismissing some I levitated more down for her, replacing them till she held up a hoof. The island holding five canisters already, “Do you want to make chocolate cake or anything specific?” “No,” I finished returning the containers to their original places, “Just a plain white cake.” We turned to the island, a bright light filling my mind’s eye as I grabbed the bowls. She grabbed the spoons and measuring cups, standing a little ways from me, as if my wings would pop out and smack her at the wrong move. Her voice was very hesitant, nervous eyes flicking to my face and then the ingredients. “Did you want me to…,” the question trailed off as our eyes met, brown orbs widening in a trance. Frustration grew in me as her stare carried on, the cake not getting made, and my nerves just not able to stand this tip toeing around her. “You are uncomfortable around me.” I didn’t mean to sound quite so blunt, but I didn’t know what else to say, and I was just as uncomfortable. Working with somebeing that tried to kill you was a little surreal, even after everything it was still up there on the ‘WTF’ list. “Y-yes,” she blinked, trotting past me to the stove. There she stood on her hind legs and tapped the orange gem twice, the gem glowing a darker orange with each tap. Her gaze pointedly avoiding mine, the nervous mare that was sticking to my haunches earlier appeared to be gone without her cousin around. Now I had this cautious filly of a mare, more awkward than I would expect for somebeing that killed people for a living for eight years. How in the world did her life come to that anyway? “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I feel about the same.” One ear swivelled in my direction as she started to organize the bowls by hoof, pushing the largest one in the middle. “No being has every tried to kill me before.” Although some guys may have wished I didn’t exist. “I don’t really know what to say to you and your cousin,” pausing I listened for movement, and finding none I continued. “Really, I don’t know what to say to her.” Any tips? That broke her silence, the spoon clattering into the large bowl before me as her ears went back. “So you let your marefriends do the dirty work then?” The lack of emotion in her question scared me more than the words themselves. I slowly looked over to her, gulping at the truth in it. “The way I understand it the mares here are sort of in charge of herd management.” She cocked her head at me, “I mean, when Lyric joined the herd it was after a mare challenge and Chrissy’s acceptance…Of course I did have to say yes too, but that seems like a footnote in the whole process from the way they talked about it.” My ears splayed a little as I inspected the different dry ingredients. Still no response, “Sure, I can veto their decisions and challenge results but it sort of sounded like…” I already said that, “And it feels like mares do a lot more in the courting part of the relationship.” “Really,” she asked, genuinely sounding confused. “That’s why you didn’t say anything to my cousin? Del goes on and on about you.” We locked eyes, her hooves measuring the beige powder by feel alone, and she was seemed to be pretty accurate from what I could see. “She doesn’t believe your mares,” a snort escaped her as a small grin twisted its way up her muzzle, “Even when I point out the lack of interest you show.” “Maybe now she will…” We continued measuring for a while longer, the bowls slowly filling up as the silence grew between us. I didn’t know what to else to say to that. Would my words work on Ayodele then if the most obvious ploys to have my mares sort it out didn’t? Placing the last of the dirty cups in the sink she stood on her hind hooves beside the island, the sight made me pause in my mixing. Hooves still puzzled me, even after the generalized explanation of ‘earth pony’ magic being present in everybeing I still didn’t quite understand the how the magic produced grip. Wasn’t earth magic a connection to the ground as well? How did it decide to switch? Was it unconscious or something else that made the switch? But that was for another moment. The sight of her mixing the icing was strangely mesmerising, as she slowly emptied the vials one by one into the bowl, and turned the icing a pale green. Brown eyes looked up from their work, glancing between the bowl before me and the spoon I had suspended in my magic. “Did you want me to?” Shaking my head, I blinked to clear my thoughts and I started on mixing the dry ingredients. Slowly adding water as my eyes kept going to the icing. “So, know any flavors I could say that icing is?” “Treeme,” Ayomide said, almost questioning her choice of whatever it was. “Would whatever that is be believable though? I feel like the color is still odd and I need them to eat all of it.” It may have been the doubt in my voice, but as I finished mixing the cake she rolled her eyes and looked to the cupboards. “Grab me the gro-,” she stopped herself, sighing before continuing, “-The dark blue powder.” Nodding I levitated the canister over, watching as it turned the icing a dark yellow. “So, just remember it is a special icing recipe with Treeme fruit extract and ground Bruneberry.” “Bruneberry and Treeme fruit, I got it.” Setting the icing aside, I poured the mix into two round cake pans, and set those in the oven that was nearly the same as a modern one. Except it didn’t have a timer or a digital display at all. All it had was five orange gems. “How do I know when to take it out?” Ayomide looked over from her search, rustling around in a cupboard beneath the island that I hadn’t noticed before. “Hmm,” raising her eyebrow at me she frowned, “You look at the clock like any other being? Don’t they do that on Earth?” I nodded, “Yes, but most appliances have clocks and timers on them.” “A-HA!” I jumped in place at the outburst. Apparently she had finally found what she wanted. Muffled bangs came from the space as I peered at her head stuck under there, after a short time she backed out of the space with a large tin in her mouth. A second later her hoof went back in, coming out with the lid. “Sorry about that…” She trailed off, tensing as she put them on the counter. I just laughed in relief and mild embarrassment, a way to carry the cakes was one part I hadn’t quite thought of yet. I was just glad it was something actually bad that had caused her outburst; my nerves couldn’t handle another surprise today. Catching my breath, I smiled down at her wide eyed stare, “No problem, you know you don’t have to be anything…Proper,” that was the wrong word, “Or fake around me. Being an Alicorn doesn’t mean much besides more magic and longer live expectancy, I’m just like you on the inside.” “Mhm,” she grabbed the empty vials in her hoof and went to the door, frowning at the floor the whole way. I followed, expecting more from her. You don’t just say ‘mhm’ in that tone and not follow it with something. “Well?” “Well what?” She snapped at me, ears going back as we entered the main cabin. “You know what it feels like to make your first kill, forced to chose between your life and somebeing else?” I walked beside her now, frowning at her words. How do you answer that? It was pretty specific and most beings I assumed wouldn’t know. I sure as hell didn’t know that feeling. The clock ticked on as I failed to answer. “I have to go home and explain to my aunt, the mare that practically raised me that I had been killing beings for the last eight years, and that I can’t even bring home any bits to show her!” A ‘scritch’ came from her mouth as she clamped her teeth together. Tail whipping, she continued to my growing horror, “All of my bits are trapped in my hide out,” her eyes closed, “Which is probably raided already since I didn’t come back with your head.” We arrived at the crew bedroom, her withers shaking as I opened the door for her, and my wing twitched with uncertainty at this situation. Would it be too forward to give her a wing hug? Her entire career changed, eight years of moral anguish was all for nothing. Nothing could really erase that. Still, Zebrica had changed. “But I will be around to keep the slavers down, no being needs to pay them off,” she nodded as the vials slipped under her pillow. “And from what Ayodele said the shop doesn’t sound to be in a bad state or anything like that,” again, another nod. But her head was slowly rising as she turned to face me, a fact that had my ears up again. A bang echoed from across the deck. We both winced at each other, likely having the same thoughts. The signs were obvious even to me this morning. She gave me a small smile, her eyes crinkling under my widening stare. “Thanks,” exhaling a big breath the former assassin glanced at the clock, “You should take the cake out in forty minutes.” Making our way back I was dreading what we would find, but strangely happy with how the cake making had gone. The icing making didn’t really need Ayomide there, I could have easily just had her explain it to me, yet I felt like we needed to clear the air. Not just between Ayomide and me, I had noticed the sidelong looks from Ayodele yesterday, and I tried not to think of the way her eyes sparkled at me. What we found wasn’t what I expected. My bets were on Chrissy, all the way. I loved that mare, but she was the more vocal one with her agitation. Yet, that was clearly Lyric pinning Ayodele to the floor. Looking to Chrissy, “Mare challenge,” I asked, already knowing the answer. And she nodded, glancing between Ayomide and I with a raised eyebrow. Turning to my siren as Chrissy made her way to my side, I watched as she slowly removed her hoof from the mare’s neck. The message having made itself very well known as Ayodele just laid there, not even twitching as her cousin curled up beside her prone form. It was then that my brain noticed the other oddity. Echo was steering. Watching him as Lyric crooned her way to me, I noticed his eyes briefly glance at the scene before nodding at me. “Baths,” ears swivelled in my direction, “We are going to need a bath.” Complicated thoughts escaped me, yet I knew I needed to cleanse my scent a little, on the small chance that Celestia recognized the smell of changelings. As scales met fur I turned my herd around, keeping an ear back on the odd scene. Ayodele wasn’t even physically hurt, the victory appearing to have been a swift one from the lack of noise we had heard. And as we exited the control room and entered our own I still didn’t hear anything. The ship didn’t start to nosedive or turn; in fact it felt like it was going faster. Running the water, I watched as Lyric practically glowed beside me. She was even prancing in place a little. The victory still seemed to linger in her mind, clearly a big deal for her and a nice development in my opinion as well. Ayodele can’t have any doubts after that! “I guess she wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Chuckling to myself until Lyric got a odd look in her eye. Making her high pitched crooning sound again, she twisted herself around my body. Dragging her tail under my chin as it rose and flipped over, tightening my stomach as I felt the familiar sensation begin. Chrissy giggled beside me, starting to twist the other way. Her blue tail held my attention, slowly rising as I tried focus, “Didn’t we already do this today?” Her eyes followed mine. Purring answered me, low and throaty as a pink glow enveloped the door. The heady mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, water lilies and some other sweet floral scent filled my nose. My herd’s scent almost clouded my senses as the blood continued to flow downward, growing heavier as my heart sped up. Flaring my nostrils as my instincts reared their head and I went with it. Before I could start anything hooves reached under my barrel, forcing a small whinny of surprise from me at the sudden contact with my stallionhood. But I soon melted under their ministrations as the hooves increased in speed, moving in tandem, up and down. Nickering back at them, I turned my head and could only see the winking forms of my mares, and their heads were slowly lowering. My cock grew hard as hot bursts of air flowed over my base, the resulting twitches highlighted by the slapping sound against my stomach. With the heavenly smell of my mares filling my nostrils I gave an instinctually bucked forward into their hooves, my sack swinging, and a heavy feeling taking hold in them. Yet the smooth caresses didn’t really match the real deal, the source of the smell that was driving me crazy. Flexing my neck, the sight encouraged me. Golden lips winked at me, letting a small dribble out as the moist tunnel moved away. Ignoring the splashing of water hitting porcelain I grabbed her by the dock, finding my prize as a hoof faltered, and rested softly on my glans. Trapped between my fur and her hoof, I groaned and slowly thrust my hips with the lone hoof stroking me, and the time grew harder to keep track of. Pushing the dark form of my mare over with me as I turned around in the small space of the bathroom, facing Lyric’s shuddering form, and increasing the tempo of my tongue. A squeal brought me back. Her legs spread momentarily, eyes lidded as Chrissy’s hoof left my cock wanting more, but as I reared up she darted around. The following splash had me on her tail, airborne for a second as I jumped after her. Clattering and splashing filled the room for a moment. A sparkle shone in her eyes as a wide grin spread across her muzzle, her tail swishing on her back and beckoning me over. Quickly settling my hooves on her scales, I positioned myself with a couple of sloshes of water, and a horn grazed by wing as I entered. Slowly, the pressure pounding in my member as moist warmth overtook me. She clenched around me, mewling as pink sparks flickered in front of me. And with that I lost what control I had, plowing into her tight form with one loud squelch. As her tunneled milked me my breaths came out in pants. The pressure built in me as a tongue started on the base of my wing, sending them outward, and into the walls with a wince on my part. But the slick bodies around me fueled my instincts onward. Grabbing her mane in my mouth I quickly started moving, starting with a slow rhythm as I tried to calm down, which was quickly thrown away as she started backing into my hips. Faster and faster, the pressure building as the water went everywhere. We would wash each other after, definitely after. Beneath me a loud squeal started, gripping me as I tried to reach that point, and small waves started. My mare moving forward with a muffled splash, the water at our bellies, but that only seemed to spur her on. The end was so close, the water coming up and washing my sides as a warm mouth sorted through my feathers. I froze in balls deep in her as the water actually hugged the my balls, caressing them like they had hands, and I was lost. Relief spread through, mixing with the pleasure as anther squeal started below me. Hot ropes of stress releasing into my siren as a hot squirt splashed back onto my sac. It lasted for a while before I had enough reasoning to release my grip, letting her mane and body fall. But the water just swirled around her like a living being, almost cradling her above it. Mesmerizing me almost as much as her content smile and closed eyes. They matched how I felt. My muscles felt so loose, begging to sink down into the water. An ebony hoof entered my line of sight as it rested on top of the shining scales, “My turn.” I wasn’t one to refuse. Eventually though we did leave the bathroom, having actually cleaned each other after relaxing, and although I was a little worried at returning to the control room I didn’t need to be. Ayomide was exiting the dining hall as we came out. The time! “Don’t worry they just came out, I wasn’t expecting you out so soon.” I managed a small smile at her guess, my ears splaying at my timing. Chuckling quietly, we soon met her midway. Stopping to watch the world go by, I looked between the room and Ayomide. Raising my eyebrow in what I hoped was a obvious question. And it was. “She is…Recovering.” A frown started on my muzzle, an action that Ayomide just shook her head at, “Once we get home she will work herself through it.” Our eyes met as her ears came forward, “You aren’t her first crush, you know?” “She isn’t physically hurt,” Lyric spoke up, ear going sideways under our gaze. Her cousin just shook her head at my herd, “Just give her sometime before you go back in.” As Chrissy’s mouth opened, “Don’t worry about the bat, he is just focused on what his Pwecious Luna would really do.” With the forests approaching, growing clearer, and not much left to do I teleported our cushion to the deck, settling on it as I considered my hooves. The cake would have to cool before I iced it, but these obvious conversation starters needed work. The healing spell didn’t affect hooves. You imagine my disappointment when I learned that, and my surprise. Kapera had almost thought of everything. Before I could open my mouth Chrissy said just one word, “Bandages.” After a couple of blinks I gathered my magic and brought the red kit before us with a pop. Rose tinted magic took the kit from my magic, retrieving the rolls of bandages, and dropped one before me before starting on the closer hoof. Taking the white bandages in my field of magic I looked at the crack, it almost went to the base of my hoof, and I cringed inside at the glimpse of blood that peeked from deep within the crack. The porcelain wasn’t gentle on it, but I hadn’t noticed at the time. Copying Lyric’s method I started just above my knee, moving down my pastern, and ending at my hoof. Cocking my head at the finished results, I rose and craned my head to examine the work. It was a stark difference from my dark fur but it looked almost sporty, certainly not as gruesome as the sight before. Nerves tingled along my back, raising my fur as I excused myself to prepare the cakes, but I passed them off as nerves. A little sex didn’t erase the fact that I was lying and more than likely ponynapping the two most important figures in Equestria. Icing the cake didn’t take long at all and so within minutes I had two white cakes, covered in a innocent yellow icing, and packed in a equally inconspicuous tin. Exiting the dining cabin I froze mid-step as the ship slowed down, shuddering under my hooves as it slowed to a crawl. The door to the control room opened. In the short time it had taken me to prepare the cakes, word had spread across the ship. Jingling and clip clopping sounded as my good bye party stood by my herd, the saddle bags already full and held aloft for me to slip on. Walking slowly over, I felt the pressure build a little. Beings were counting on this, even if they didn’t know it, and that felt very heavy on my mind. I hadn’t even flown very far before... Releasing my breath, I pushed the nerves down. Beings were dead either way, my way just meant less death, even if I may become the most wanted stallion afterwards. Ayodele watched the deck, never quite raising her head enough to look me in the eye. But I just smiled at her and wished it could have been different. Her cousin and Echo had almost matching looks, their eyes holding determination as they nodded to me, although the Lunar guard also held another emotion in his eyes. It flickered in and out as I nodded back. My herd had most of my attention though. Even though it would just be the afternoon the looks they gave me made it look like it was going to be forever. Standing before them, I felt wrong leaving them, even for the short time I had to, and from the way I could see how Chrissy was shifting her hooves she felt the same way. Nothing really came to me at first, the silence only broken by the wind, and her hooves. “I will be back for dinner,” glancing at Echo, “And I will on my best behaviour.” He snorted at my grin. Though the grin faltered for a second as the pack was placed on my back. Carefully cramming the tin in the empty bag, I paused and mentally checked everything off. Poisoned cake, magical inhibitors, and a mostly tidy appearance…All good, then it occurred to me. We were in the middle of a wide open plain. A dark green far below us and the forest a good distance away still. Nothing was hiding the ship, if any curious onlooker glanced or even down with our shadow… This bugged the hell out of my instincts, not only was I leaving my pregnant marefriends to do something very risky, but I was leaving them in the open. Hell no, “Actually,” my feathers ruffled, “Can you move the ship towards the small mountain over there?” Pointing to the closest tall mass, which was still a ways off, but it was some cover. I saw my mare’s mouths open and quickly interjected, “I will definitely find you, don’t worry. I just don’t want the ship in the open like this.” Nods came from the group, my herd mates slow to nod as they fixed me with hard stares. The message was very clear but I only smiled. Unless they blasted away the dining room I couldn’t mess up the teleportation. So, with nothing more to really say, nothing that could be said anyway, and everything accounted for I spread my wings for liftoff. One step back, the warm breeze whispered under my feathers, and I let them ruffle for a second before I shot forward. A single flap taking me a couple hundred feet forward, the following flaps sending my towards Equestria, and away from the rumble of my airship flying away.
Plans Unravelled. Part 1.Plans Unravelled. Part 1. **** Above Canterlot Gardens, Equestria Ari I blinked at the sunlight. Was I going mad? I narrowed my eyes. No? The idea was still possible, hell, it might explain how this whole situation came to be. Yet it felt too real… Gray, crackling comets flew before me...In the daytime. I know, but it was real, and they were rocketing across the blue sky in an impossible way, diving down, weaving around the garden’s tall hedges and statues as they made their way towards me. It was as if…They weren’t comets at all. That made a strange sort of sense in this world. Warmth sailed by dock, the smell of burning hair reaching me a second later. My throat was suddenly dry. So squinting harder against the sun, I continued my ascent, pumping my wings as I watched the unnatural movements. Definitely not comets… And I soon proved my thought to be correct as I found the producers of said stormy trails. Blurry elongated forms that didn’t seem to be a form of celestial rock, at least none that I had ever seen. But that left me even further puzzled. What were they then? Whizzing about I couldn’t get a read on them. Better yet, what were they up to? They swerved around my position, still too fast for detail to be known. And everything was making no sense. It had to be ponies, or, if not that, then something made by ponies to attack me. Thinking on it, if you could fly that fast then why not knock me out? Was it just me that thought of that? I hoped not. However, it could be the fact that I’m holding the princesses, no pony would want me to drop those. Spears halted behind me, out of ammo, but the presence of the angry ponies still lingered. And seconds later the ‘comets’ were circling back to the gaping hole I was currently exiting from. The comets started to angle down towards me a second later. Not shockingly they were after me. Not wasting a moment I ended my ascent, angling my own frantic wings at the horizon, as far away from the strange things as I could be. A spear whizzed by my muzzle then, as if to remind me I couldn’t escape with my magic yet. Then yelling reached me from above, indistinct but none the less worrying, and quite possibly a source for the new spears. My heart started to hammer in a staccato beat only a little bit later, the exertion of carrying the mares not even hitting me yet. But the reality of what I had done was taking over. I have royalty in my hooves. And Blueblood’s words came back to me as my mind went into overrdrive. ‘Them’ he had called these ponies, if they even were ponies. They were going as fast I felt like when I was rushing over before. That was a lot of magic, energy to have. Yet, I wasn’t staying around to see if there was any other reason why he spoke of them like that. Rushing out over the castle’s ornamental gardens I put the pedal to the metal. My eyes locking onto a far grey dot and my lungs releasing a big sigh of relief, it wasn’t too far. I had made it to the castle in an afternoon. Losing them was possible. Momentum grew as I arrowed forward, air whipping at my ears. Surprisingly the crackle of the comet pony things faded and my hurried flaps actually made headway on a gap. Except my mind wouldn’t cheer from that fact, my magic was locked in, occupied with maintaining the gap and holding onto the princesses. Still the noise wasn’t getting any closer. Why was their pursuit nonexistent? They- I swerved to the right. A bright beam of magic soared under my wing, where my body used to be…Hmm, yah, maybe I will think of the ‘why’ later. I am a giant black target in the sky. So I pumped my wings harder, focusing on the air growing cooler, lighter, and louder as the manicured garden flashed by increasingly faster it seemed. But the view of the acres of extravagance was lost in the mantra I had started. A grasp at sanity in this horrible twist… Up, down, up, down. And continued to go faster and harder. I pushed my body, ignoring the wind tugging on my cargo, and frowning at the hum growing with my needed distance. It wasn’t a crackle like my magic or the comet trails. It was growing louder by the second, clearer, and more like an angry buzz. Looking behind me, I was just in time to see the comet trails disappear back over the castle proper. But I was unfortunate enough to see that the guards were following me from the dining hall at a harried pace still. And following them was a jumble of angry voices and tangled exclamations. They reached me in a muted roar. It seemed the strange blue ponies were just the beginning of this new hell I had brought upon myself, a very odd beginning at that. The numbers behind me didn’t add up to the cacophony of the roar though. It was more like an angry concert mob than the few squadrons of guards behind me, gaining on me I dare say. Where? I looked ahead of me at the clear skies before returning my gaze at the angry guards. There was nothing- shit- nothing that could be worse It couldn’t have been just a couple dozen guards that patrolled the windows, no, that wouldn’t be enough for an Alicorn. I deserved the Royal treatment as the flock from Canterlot had proved earlier. And never let it be said that Canterlot did anything by halves. Pegasi were coming out of the marble work in droves, rising over the castle proper like a pastel wave of anger as they honed in on me. And not just the guards leaving their posts by the windows, there were citizens that had flown from the city with me, chariot drivers charging onward and the unicorn nobles seated in the aforementioned vehicles, all were surely spouting promises of pain. Even on the ground the ponies were galloping out from any exit in a rage, almost like ants from my altitude. Ponies were everywhere and all had evil eyes for me as they plotted amongst each other in the mess of noise behind me. Like I had thought, the whole town knew. And I was already sweating bullets as the guards, pegasi and chariots began to flank me again. Treating the gap I had gained like it was nothing. Ahead of me the mountains, my ship was too far, and my following too great. Warmth gathered on my hocks before I felt the inevitable behind me. Dozens of fresh hooves were trying with all their might to latch onto something to slow me down. The cold metal tips of the guards hooves brushing up at my fetlocks in a frenzied pace. Everypony was just as eager as the next to be my literal downfall. New spears sailed over me in a heart attack producing build up of whizzing wood and steel. Most missed me almost comically; a few were still too close to my wings and other important under bits for my own comfort. It was a clack of teeth hitting the air by my hock was my last straw. “Fuck,” I bunched up my hind legs and bucked in midair, “Off!” Ignoring the heat crackled by my wing I repeated the act once more, the grunts of contact behind me spurring me on. Hurting them caused a momentary silence, deafening, before they exploded with emotion. It didn’t help. From then on, the crowd always seemed to have a pony ready to fill the gap behind me. Like a relay race, chase to accurate, and I was feeling more and more doomed. My wings seemly did nothing but knock the faster ones back, another useless action. My gap didn’t exist anymore. Hooves and jaws reached for me. The world swarmed below me with enraged ponies. Nobles were attempting to hit me while not hitting their own guards. The mob was huge and growing if the volume of their voices was a sign. Yet no being was overtaking me. Wind continued to go by, stinging my nose as small insects slammed into my shallow cut. It was all-.Then a screech rose above the mob’s anger, grabbing my attention, hooves and magic put to the back. I looked down. “Get him!” And with that dozens more Thestrals alighted from the Cliffside as I passed over it, which was exactly what I needed. Looking back at my followers I gave another air buck as new hooves joined the mob, grinding my teeth as my emotion swirled inside. My instincts not providing any answers to this puzzle, looking down at the thundering waterfall below me I snorted at myself. A gap? That was a joke. I was trying my hardest, but my plan was-. Shit. “Fuck,” I ground out as another hoof tried to snake its way up my fetlock, falling off as I kicked out. My magic crackling in my forearms and wings as if to shrug at me, it was in use, I needed to stop flying or carrying double my weight…I wasn’t letting go of them. Where could I lose them? Before me the valley was opening up, lush and green, a perfect place to get lost in. But it was also home to ponies. I could already see pastel dots poking up through the canopy as I continued to pump my wings harder over it. No, I needed to do something to lose them first. Whereevver I went here there would be ponies. A distraction or way to-. “Release the princesses’ criminal!” Again with the interruptions… “Release the princesses!” Another guard commanded behind me, at me, apparently still unclear about the likelihood of that happening. To be clear, it wasn’t happening, I was saving this world whether they liked it or not. “Stop this madness pirate,” an ivory noble called next from a chariot in my far peripheral vision, but I ignored him, knowing it was useless defending my actions to him. Bente had been right so far, no need to look a gift hen in the beak. The nobles were all bound to be lost causes. What to do? It was obvious, I needed to teleport. I needed to escape their pursuit. So I went with the easiest maneuver and focused on the specks of mountains in the distance once more, concentrated at putting distance between myself and the ponies. Surely I could outlast them? If magic is energy, well, energy equalling magic, then as a being that supposedly had a lot of magic, way more than Blueblood based on his performance anyway, then I should be able to outlast them. “Release them!” Another noble demanded. It might take awhile though. As I continued to put my heart and soul into escaping several more hooves tickled the ends of fetlock hair. The sensation wasn’t too much of a concern, it wasn’t like they were the comet trails from earlier, and the air bucking hadn’t helped much anyway. They would have to fall behind eventually. That is, I believed so until one set of hooves grasped my tail. The sudden weight dragged me back for a second. And I blinked, no, briefly crossing my mind. But, before I could buck off the cling the hooves that had been tickling me latched on to my legs. No, no, no! “Slow him down,” was echoed by many behind me. “Get the princesses,” came from many more. My wits returned this time and I bucked back in response, halfway instinctual as I let my instincts take control. I watched them in my peripheral, holding on like parasites. My neck arched as a snort escaped me, the anger rising again, and the nearly overwhelming urge to dominate returned in the face of their challenge. Another buck exploded out of me as I lost all pretence of direction. The strangest noise I had ever heard escaping my muzzle, deep and resonating through the air before I lost my leg weights. But my tail extension held on, even going as far as to flare out his wings like a drag Shute. Just peachy…Bucking wasn’t working; I could already feel the tips of more hooves tickling me. My efforts were useless with the extra weight. Another two soon latched onto my hind legs, wrapping both sets of hooves around them as I snorted. Screw it. It was survival of the fittest and all that, alright? They weren’t foals… I gripped the mares tighter. Before the mob could descend I threw myself to the right. Quickly tucking in my right wing and sending more magic to my forelegs as the green canopy started to blur before me, spinning out of focus. The panicked squeals that followed me seconds later were music to my ears. My heart sang with adrenaline. Cool breezes buffeted me as I closed my eyes, lost in the freedom of the fall. Brave in the knowledge that any would fall off, I would descend faster than them. Then I would be gone. Why hadn’t I done this before? Crackling filled my senses. “Pirate,” the insult broke my peace. Bringing a frown to my face as more repetitions of the same tired insult soon followed. I threw open my wing, spin decreasing as it hit me. I needed more space; the warmth of angry breathing was still on my fetlocks. So I opened my eyes, angled myself downwards, and wrapped my wings around my precious cargo as the velocity increased, almost in time with the grunts and squeals by my rump. A glance back showed they were still there, armored meteors following me. I was going faster and faster as the crowd continued to grow at my tail, hooves still grasping at me the whole time. But I wasn’t gaining any real distance. My heart was beating faster as the forest came into focus, there was not much else I could do. The plan wasn’t working. How were they keeping up? No, never mind that…What was I to do to lose them? The air ahead of me wasn’t going to last much longer. The edge of a hoof dug into my skin, sharp and cold. Looking to the left I saw more trees, the right held even more, and before me the forest appeared endless. Tilting sideways my body I felt the inertia start, dead weights flailing about in my arm as I let the velocity make my course. Come on, gravity! And it appeared to work. As the spinning slowed I felt the absence of hooves on me which sent me banking to the right with a triumphant snort escaping. The world was a mess of colors and wind. Yet everything felt lighter, exhilarating again, and I almost laughed at the cool air rushing past my hocks and tail. My pony free hocks and tail. Now I could teleport! Then leaves tickled my forearms, some twigs snapping off as cries of reality before I could blink, fuck, and I snapped out my wings on instinct, magic rushing out to the channels as I frowned. Rising slightly, I coasted on an up draft. I saw my first town up ahead. Great, more ponies. It wasn’t like I had a following already – a glance back confirmed it-. “HELP US!” Fuck off guys! “Get him!” And of course the ponies peeked out of their houses at the call, some braver pegasi ascending to assist, while many more just gaped. I could hardly believe it myself. “Fuck,” the swear word escaped my mind as a hoof grazed my own once more, holding it for several seconds as I comprehended just what was happening, again. More joined as it was dragging me back, not wasting any second this time. I blinked before I jerked my leg up to my barrel, kicking out erratically as my thoughts streamlined to survival. The ground looked up at me then, green and inviting. I needed shelter, to escape, and this might be the spot. I dived again for the lush forest below, the river shinning out like a beacon as the faint crash of another waterfall reached me. Faints yells blurred as I felt the earth grab at me. Looking back I smiled. The gap was slowly growing, centimeter by centimeter as I pushed my body harder in the dive. Soon I could try to teleport, so soon. Yet a glance back proved me wrong. I wasn’t losing everybeing and the second I diverted magic from my wings they would surely close the gap, latch on, and…I needed a miracle. **** Canterlot Castle, Equestria ??????????? The world slowed down for a moment. Grey occluded my vision as a thousand year old architectural masterpiece crumbled before my eyes, magic flew through the air in colorful streaks, and war cries rose to fill the it soon after. My princess…was gone. She was gone? The blue sky stared back at me for who knows how long as the metal on my hoof tingled with residual magic. My head buzzed with the noise of angry citizens as they rushed through the castle to get somewhere. I was alive? My wings twitched in response to my finding, demanding I move…Move? A tingle from my occupied hoof settled it. This was real and I had to act. This was very important. Rolling to a stand I looked around at the debris. It was everywhere, chunks of ceiling and even wall creating an abstract art form around me. Dust had settled over everything, showing hoof prints going out all of the doors leading to the gardens. Blinking at the silent room it hit me that I was alone. The prince was gone. The other guards as well… Princess Luna was ponynapped. A look to my hoof confirmed it. I had the key to her shackle. Shackle…My mind slowly came reeling back in. The key! I needed to find the prince! The princesses will need this! With that my wing grabbed the key and my hooves began moving of their own accord, heading to open door leading to the gardens. The most likely place to find the remaining royalty, a frown crossed me at that fact. Prince Blueblood was all that we had now…No matter how cowardly he was I had to get this to him. Stepping around the remains of the chandelier and over the shattered imported crystal I stepped out of the room. Past the threshold I hurried, down the hall and nearly muzzle first into a maid. She was running back into the castle, small bonnet askew and a sour expression warping her face. “Wait!” She glanced at me, slowing down as I held her gaze. “Please direct me to Prince-.” “He’s busy! As you should be too, bat.” My wings tucked in closer as she shot a quick derisive look at my membraned wings. “Why aren’t you in the air after the criminal?” I blinked and considered her words, long enough that she was already trotting back to the doorway when my muzzle opened. A look to the horizon showed the large group in pursuit of ‘Ari’, if that even was his real name. We all knew something was wrong when Moonlit Echo went on ‘vacation’. I mean, it was Moony for Luna’s sake! And he disappears soon after a fourth Alicorn makes themselves known…Mhmm, convenient. Then Princess Luna has the sudden collapse, well, it just raised our suspicions. But the fact that my squad had been right wasn’t helping me, I needed to deliver this key, I needed to get the princess, princesses, back. The day maid’s tail flicked in annoyance as looked after her with a snort. Trotting after her I soon caught up, “I have official business with his highness,” her expression didn’t change much, eyebrow raising a little as she had no doubt heard this before, “I need to inform him of important information concerning the perpetrator before I begin pursuit of him.” We passed through the threshold of the ruined dinning room as she pointed a hoof down the next hall, to the next intersection, “Just down there, he grabbed a bunch of noble ponies to strategize with. Was calling everypony in to catch this Alicorn…menace,” her eyes lit up with a new energy, loose lips taking hold. Every maid of every species seemed to have the inclination, “To think, the first evil Alicorn in history right here and now of all times?! Can you believe the luck of it?” She continued to prattle on as I picked up the pace, passing her swiftly. “Thank you miss,” crystal crunched beneath my hooves as I nodded to her, “Carry on, excellent work!” And I broke into a gallop, my spear echoing down the hall ahead of me. That is until I heard the unmistakable exclamation of the prince, “-I DID NOT!” The decibels rising even before I approached the first corner. Folding my ears back I softened my pace to a trot. Murmuring filled the hall, indistinct at this distance. “I CAN and WILL call them in!” Slowly I transitioned into a floating trot, silent in my approach, ears perked to the corner. The single creak of a horse shoe had me pausing, rumors flying through my head, a tingle running through the air. “Were you there Fancy? Did you see that-,” the sound of his voice suddenly cut out, silence taking hold as I realized whom they were talking about. The Alicorn stallion, Ari, and I had a very important piece of evidence from him. If nothing else it would allow us to trace his trail. You could learn a lot about a smith from their work, it was surely a custom job. I had never heard of much less seen an inhibitor like those on their horns. “-Risk isn’t worth it. Wasn’t it you that said it we needed them?” An unfamiliar responded loudly. Still, the response was slightly muffled. I continued to move forward. Yet something about the tone was off and left me frowning. Just what had I missed? How long had I been knocked out? The group following the stallion had still been visible. Silence followed, the prince lacking any response bringing forth new worry along with curiosity. Who was them? The key continued to push me forward. I ignored the tenseness in the air, magic uneasy on my fur. Princess Luna was counting on us and she clearly wasn’t back yet. Taking a step forward, I rounded the corner and froze. A chorus of hoof taps echoed, covering my surprise. Everypony’s back was to me, the day guard holding the door to the assembly room open. The Wonderbolts stood before them, rising from a clearly rushed bow. Their ears back and tails busy, surely having seen the chaos that the Alicorn had caused. An Alicorn was too much for any one pony, not even the Wonderbolts were an exception it seemed. With the door open I could only see the base of the assembly benches, where the true criminal cases were held, the hall where the many committees held their meetings, and the prince ruled. Just because he was cowardly didn’t mean he was useless, acting on behalf of the princesses when necessary, and acting as judge over minor crimes. A dignified snort escaped the room. “-Rise. Captain Spitfire what was the situation?” A voice that tickled at my memory spoke, emotionless despite the weight of the question. Her voice quivered, her famous strength wavering, “T-they were u-unconscious sir,” Spitfire’s wings tensed, “With some variant of magic inhibitor on their horns.” I started to step forward, sensing the perfect moment, “Are you calling them in?” My hoof froze and wing clenched around the key. The way them was uttered not sitting well with my instincts. “Hmm?” I could practically see the smirk on the colt of a Prince’s muzzle. “No.” The tip tap of hooves on carpet followed, hushed and hurried whispers as I found myself silently stepping back to the corner. Again with the ‘them’, it was too vague. The fact that my ruler and species ambassador was missing was still very apparent, a little alarm that nagged at me to act. But the air around had me in a tighter hold, the words of my captain ringing in my head. ‘Would a colt of a pony really run the country?’ The meaning of his question had not always made sense to me, but in this moment I pondered it, I kept the urge to act down. “How fast was he going?” If his voice didn’t turn up like the prince’s did I wouldn’t have believed that the brevity in the tone came from him. The prince never sounded like that, he was too…colt-like…for that. “Fast enough that your armored guards would have a hard time keeping up with him for a while, but slow enough that he would make the pony Olympics.” Shuffling followed as I leaned back, behind the cover of the wall, “We flew circles around him.” Then where were the princesses? “Good,” more movement, “I want you to-.” “Wait!” A shrill yelp echoed as something clattered to the ground. “Wait! I know a better way!” By that time my mind was reeling. What better way was there to rescue the princesses? I could already picture the bolts corralling the worn out stallion while the guards caught the princesses, my key releasing their aetheratic channels. If that would even be necessary, nothing could stop Alicorns, magically speaking. But Ari didn’t appear to be exuding magic for some reason. The sense of wrongness continued to grow the longer I thought on it. “-Let them be captured.” Air escaped my lungs as my head whipped to the open doorway. The Wonderbolts looked just as shocked, looking to the speaker with slack jaws. It had to be a joke…A horrible, sick joke. “Explain yourself-,” a snort halted the familiar male voice. Spitfire stepped forward, “Look, Duke Golden Dreams, Duchess…,” her voice trailed off before gulping, “I understand where you are coming from…And Forgive my language, but Tartarus they aren’t the best choices to rule sometimes. The herding law? That was foalish and…Many more instances I believe you know of. I won’t bore you with their inadequacies. But they keep the countries at peace,” I was glued to her face, “The cictizens love them.” Another small pause as her words seemed to have not caused the desired effect, the most logical effect. What could they possibly gain from letting our diarchy get captured? “Nothing can defeat an Alicorn-.” “Not,” my heart sped up, “Nothing,” The mare interrupted. A shiver traveled down my spine in the pause, some tired sighs reaching me, like this was old news. Yet I knew nothing could defeat an Alicorn, as a guard I had had to learn all about the possible enemies of the country and nothing of that calibur was mentioned. Discord was sealed when they were still under a thousand years old! “The Alicorns were almost defeated once before after all.” My heart beat faster as I leaned forward, that was true. The Great War had eliminated herds of them, but... “Ponies of that caliber don’t just die all at once, at least not of natural causes.” Shakes traveled up me as I looked to the windows, the sky was deceptively clear, and then my eyes went back to the scene before me. It had to be a nightmare. I was dreaming. There was no way the nobles would even consider anything like this…They loved Celestia, right? Everypony loved her at least. Their parents had won the great war, had secured Equestria’s territories and made ties to all land bound countries...This was a dream, our princess would show up anytime, and she would change this to the truth. Why though? The sky looked back at me, cool and blue, the hallway silent save for the breathing coming from around the corner. Biting my lip I closed my eyes, thinking of home, wishing for any happy memory instead, and ended up wincing. Holding back a grunt I opened my eyes, the pain lingering, growing as I blinked at the scene before me. It was…real…They really…This was real?! Obviously I was not as quiet as I thought. The unicorn guard moved his ears back as I watched on. His tail going rigid as I quickly backpedaled to the safety of the other hall, not a sound reaching them as his armor clanged at the same time. “Your majesty,” he still queried, his training kicking in as much as mine was. If this was reality…I grabbed my spear with my other wing tip. The key still curled up inconspicuously in the other…The key…That they wouldn’t be needing anymore. “Hush!” A soft snort reached me as I didn’t dare to move. But it wasn’t for me, “I see the merits in that…But what of the Crystal Kingdom?” “You don’t think the ‘princesses of Love’ will want to help?” Another voice piped up…Silver Sterling I think. Silence followed, “I think she will.” Murmurs grew. A hoof stepped forward, “And why would the newly minted prince and princess risk their li-,” shuffling started, “Don’t you try that colt!” More tapping of hooves escaped the room, far too many for this to be new, “Why? Tell me why?” “Foals play, really. The information we received, well, it does make the stallion look quite,” I stepped back as shuffling started again, “changed.” Snorts rose as I continued to back up, my instincts screaming to run, my heart hurting more than the racing was cause for. “Changelings,” Fleetfoot exclaimed. The masculine growl of Soarin followed, “Those parasitic bastards!” Prince Blueblood chuckled then, low, and triumphant, “Well then, Fancy Pants, Golden Dreams, and assembled ponies of much esteem, do I have your agreement that they are needed?” “But-,” the objection and following murmurs were quickly interrupted. “A weak,” snorts rose, “Weaker Alicorn stallion and Alicorn mare, two unconscious Alicorns under restraints, and a unicorn are not much for my friends…,” the air stilled, Prince Blueblood’s cough breaking it, “Our friends, they would be happy to help…More than happy. Our peace would be maintained and our problems would be gone.” I continued to back up, watching the corner with wide eyes, almost not believing that I was awake. But my lip still stung where I had bit it. I was awake, had to be awake. My chest wanted to burst, my fur to tight and hot. Captain Spitfire started briskly, “Where do we come into it then?” He laughed again, short and caustic to my ears, “Do what you always do,” the wall dipped inward slightly, a doorway, “Give,” my hoof grabbed the doorknob like a lifeline, “Them,” A click echoed in the air, “A show.” Hooves rushed to the corner as I slipped into the room and clicked it closed. Only my heart pounded in my ears as gazed around the office. A desk stood in the center, cabinets flanking it, bookshelves between them, and a singular bay window behind it all. Seconds later the hoof steps slowed. “Shh,” whispered through the door, muted by the wood. The window called to me as the hooves steps increased down the hall and my mind raced. Who would believe me? I flung the window open. Did I believe my own ears? Yes. I moved fast, faster than my legs felt able to go then. A slam echoed into the room as my eyes pressed closed, my breathing erratic and unresponsive to my will, and the illuminated darkness providing no comfort. Wind whipped around the room, almost louder than the snorts filling it. Dear Luna, what would you do?
