As the bitter, green brew settled in Celestia’s stomach, she could feel it quickly taking effect on her, sending a hot, burning sensation from her core outward to every inch of her body. Her muscles tightened and her jaw clenched as she felt the potion mix into her blood and her magic, changing certain properties about her, if only for a short amount of time. All around her, all her Unicorn soldiers were undergoing the same changes, each doing their best to hide the discomfort it brought, but even the toughest amongst them couldn’t help grimace and shudder, like they were being forced to down a glass of concentrated lemon sourness.

“Are you alright, Princess Celestia?” asked Blitzkrieg, looking between the bottle of questionable liquid she just drank and the look of discomfort on her face. “I know this mission is important to the security of Equestria, but is it really worth the risk to drink such a bile?”

Before Celestia answered, her squirming and fidgeting slowly came to a stop. Craning her neck back, she shut her eyes to slowly take in a few breaths. “My dear,” she answered as her heavy panting slowed to a stop. “I won’t hesitate to do what needs to be done. It doesn’t matter if it is good, bad, safe, or risky. If it can guarantee victory, I will use whatever means I must to succeed.” Turning back down, she faced the Earth Pony soldier who was feeling a powerful mix of concern, admiration, and fear towards her princess.

As the white-coated Alicorn opened her eyes, she revealed her normally sky blue irises were now a toxic green hue. As she focused her magic into her horn, the color of her aura had also changed to green as well, in the same shade that Changelings used when they were performing spells. She then fired a beam of magic into the Badlands, watching it carefully. Immediately, she saw that it didn’t instantly dissolve into the aether like the previous spell she fired had. In fact, the beam of magic continued on its path, only vanishing when the supply of magic Celestia infused into it ran out and it dissipated on her own. That one test alone satisfied Celetia that the potion was a complete success. With a confident smirk plastered on her face, she took a few steps forward in the magic dead zone and found her power not nullified by it in the slightest.

“That is why I am your princess,” she finished saying, opening her wingspan to indicate she was prepared to depart. “That is why I rule over Equestria.”

The other winged ponies quickly got into position to do the same, many getting ready once more with the chariots they had to pull behind them. The Unicorn soldiers were quick to board their aerial conveyance, their eyes and magic altered the same as Celestia’s with poisonous green irises and auras. The Earth Pony battalion remained on the ground, standing behind the force that was to take to the sky and remained ready to charge across the Badlands on foot.

“Which is one reason of many that I will follow behind with all my heart and soul,” added Blitzkrieg, all her previous emotions no match for the infatuation she felt for the princess when she had a mission to complete.

“And maybe some time you can share with me the other reasons you follow so closely,” smirked Celestia, unable to resist flirting with one of her top officers like that.

“Uh, is that you flirting with me like you normally do or is that extract of Changeling making you crave to draw in all the love around you and devour it?” questioned the red pony with a black mane. With how she spoke and gazed at her princess, she didn’t seem to be adverse to either.

“Maybe a bit of both,” she chuckled, looking back at her with a flirty twinkle in her eye. However, that playfulness had to be put on hold with much more serious work right in front of them and there was not a single moment to waste on distractions.

Celestia focused her green gaze upon the horrid spire that housed the hive of the Changelings. She grimaced, finding the horrid tower of rock a greater eyesore the closer she got to it. “Everyone, you all know your assignments. The Pegasus Alpha Unit will provide air support while the Earth Ponies will charge through on the ground and strike at anything even remotely suspected to be a Changeling in disguise. The Unicorn unit will be with me, flown in with the aid of the Pegasus Beta Unit. Everyone, remember to stay in formation and keep an eye on the Ponies at your sides at all times to ensure no Changelings can sneak into our ranks. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal, my princess,” they all answered in unison.

“Then let this be a day that lives on in Equestrian history forever!” she declared. “It will be the dawn of a pest free era!”

With that said, Celestia took off into the sky with the Pegasi taking off right behind her. First the alpha unit took off and seconds later the beta went airborne, pulling the carriages that two or three Unicorns were stationed at, their horns glowing bright green as they charged their magic. Finally, led by Blitzkrieg, the Earth Pony Unit charged forward, weapons at the ready as they charged forward towards the Changeling hive. Before them in the Badlands was nothing more than a flat, dusty field filled with stone and withered trees. As they came close to any, they were quick to strike at them to check to see if they were real or not.

At the same time, the Pegasi in the air kept on guard, watching for anything suspicious in the air, from clouds floating by to migrating birds, making certain nothing was going to catch them off guard. Fortunately, to the attack force, they all managed to make it within the boundaries of the hive without a single incident, allowing them a brief moment to breathe and relax their nerves before continuing. They next proceeded to form a large ring of Ponies around the tower, both high in the sky and another on the ground. Once it was formed, the Ponies held their position as they awaited the next phase of their plan to commence.

“So far so good,” breathed Celestia, delighted that everything was going so smoothly, yet that alone seemed cause for alarm.

“This all feels strange,” spoke up one of the Unicorn soldiers closest to Celestia, voicing her concern and what was likely going through the minds of most everyone else. “We practically walked right up to their front door without so much as a single trap sprung or Changeling spotted. At the very least, we should have seen a few drones patrolling the area.”

“Agreed,” nodded Celestia, her horn glowing as she sent her thoughts down towards Blitzkrieg to converse with her. “How are things down there? Have you or any of your men engaged with any Changelings? If not, have you managed to find any in disguise?”

“No, not a one,” she shook her head, speaking and making gestures as she talked as if Princess Celestia was right in front of her. “When we’ve sent scouts out in the past to study their patrol patterns, they’ve always reported at least a few dozen in the skies at all times and a few dozen more hidden on the ground that would only transform back during their shift changes. By all accounts, at best, we would have had to take care of a few drones before they could send a warning into the hive‘s main force. At worst, rather than talking we’d be fighting for our lives against the whole swarm pouring out in retaliation.”

“This has indeed gone much too smoothly,” she confessed, but only allowed that thought of hesitation before she tightened her muscles and prepared to squash any doubts her troops possessed. Extending the range of her telepathy, she spoke to them all to rally them once more.

“Erase your doubts, everypony,” she announced with confidence and boldness in her tone. “There could be a number of reasons we have yet to encounter Changelings during our attack. With their recent conquest of the Crystal Empire, they could very well have insufficient numbers to manage their usual patrol. Even if that isn’t the case and we have somehow missed them, the fact that they have yet to reveal themselves just shows how cowardly and self-serving they are. Seeing such a strong and organized group invade their home, they opted to remain hidden and save their own hides rather than risk them to warn the rest of their kind. In my opinion, it must be the latter option as it is what one should expect from parasites that live at the cost of others, even their own kind.”

Celestia paused for a moment, letting her words restore the resolve of her soldiers back to full before giving her next command to them. “Begin the next phase of our operation. Earth Ponies, you are up first.”

“We’re on it,” replied Blitz as she raised a hoof and then pointed it at the vile-looking spire. At once, the ponies on either side of her proceeded towards it and the pony next to them started over too and so on till the whole ring of horses was on the move again. Upon reaching the base of the tower, they all pulled out a small box from their gear and set it down on the ground. The box was made of a sturdy dull gray metal on all six sides and a red button on the side that was meant to be the top. All the sides were welded shut, keeping the contents inside sealed and hidden.

Just looking at it, all the Earth Ponies were breaking out in a cold sweat as they handled these metal boxes with the greatest of care. When one almost let their box slupp from their grasp and hit the ground, everyone else froze in shock, but breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing they managed to regain a grip on it. The look on pony’s perspiring face as he turned to all the others around him was one of extreme relief and apology. None of them seemed angry at him, mostly relieved as well as their bodies came down with a case of the shakes. Even Blitzkrieg was trembling a bit as she watched her soldiers await her next order.

“This is the first time we’ve ever used this stuff out in the field,” she thought. “And we’re using this much. Even half would be overkill, but this… there might not even be anything left but ashes and molten rock.” Taking a few deep breaths as she looked up at Celestia once more, that mixture of fear and admiration leaning more towards the former now. “There is definitely a reason why she is the uncontested ruler of Equestria.”

“It’s rather a shame that we weren’t attacked,” sighed Celestia, feeling a bit tired to be up so late while dressed in such heavy armor. “We got all dressed up for this and not even a single Changeling accosted us. I could have wiped out the entire swarm in the comfort of my pajamas. Oh, well. Perhaps the next threat.”

Seeing that all boxes were in place, Blitzkrieg then shouted the command. “Troops! Arm your boxes!” Hearing her words, they all proceeded to twist the red buttons a half turn clockwise. After doing so, the buttons popped out slightly. Just doing this caused everyones’ pulse to quicken and their breathing to turn short and raspy. “Now, activate and fall back!”

Gritting their teeth, they were quick to press down the buttons, hearing a small, “click” that sent a chill down their spines before they turned and rushed as far away from the Changeling tower as they could, fleeing beyond where they first formed a ring and didn’t stop or dare turn back around. Blitzkrieg joined them, calling to Celestia to confirm that their objective was complete.

“The boxes are active,” she stated. “You have less than a minute.”

“Acknowledged,” replied Celestia before she uttered her own instructions. “Unicorns, magic ready! Erect a barrier!”

At once, all the horned ponies raised up their heads before they tilted them forward to fire a beam of magic towards the Changeling tower. As all the magical rays came close to the tall structure, the beams stopped in midair and started to spread out from that point as if they were painting an invisible dome in the green hue of their altered magic. The unicorns kept this up, creating a huge green barrier around the whole hive so that it covered it over from the highest point all the way to the ground in hardly any time at all.

“I don’t know how you managed to slip through the barrier in the Crystal Empire,” smirked Celestia, growing ever more excited as seconds ticked by. “But you won’t slip through this one, Crystalis. You and your kind are finished! Just be thankful that your end will be so swift that you’ll be dead before you even know what hit you.”

A few more seconds passed and then, almost simultaneous, all the boxes at the base of the spire went off in an explosion so loud that all other audio seemed to get swallowed up by it. A relentlessly billowing fire poured out of the metal cubes at a tremendous rate, melting the containers into a white hot puddle as they relentlessly expanded. The flames got so bright and hot that it was like the dome was turning into a miniature Sun that none of the Ponies dared look directly at. As it quickly finished filling up the inside of the barrier and swallowed the Changeling Hive, it appeared like a huge glow stick that brightened the badlands to appear like it was the middle of the afternoon.

The ground trembled violently and quaked as the explosion struggled to grow beyond its confined space. Cracks and fissures formed in the ground, allowing some of the explosive heat and flame to leak out in the form of lava geysers that only encourage the Earth Ponies to flee even farther back. Cracks and leaks also appeared in the barrier, but the Unicorns had to keep calm and focus to ensure the barrier continued to hold back the vast bulk of the explosion and ensure none of them got swallowed in the flames as well.

“Keep it contained!” ordered Celestia, shouting to her mages as they strained to repair their parts of the barrier that were constantly cracking from the force and heat of the explosion bombarding against it. “Keep it contained!!!”

Besides the light it emitted, much of the heat was also able to pass through their magic. All the ponies found themselves getting drenched in their own sweat as they felt like they were deep within an active volcano. On the ground, the dead trees and bushes started to burst into flames before ending up as piles of ashes. Any clouds in the sky vaporized the second they got too close. As for the hive and all who dwelled in it, it couldn’t be seen behind the blinding light of the explosion and none of the soldiers wanted to imagine how much worse it had to be at the epicenter of such destructive power.

Several long minutes passed before the bright white light faded and it was replaced by a thick, black cloud that filled the dome barrier. Celestia waited several minutes longer before she finally gave her next order through some tense, heavy breathing of her own, while she wiped the sweat off her own face. “That’s enough. Undo the barrier.”

Strained from using so much of their power, the Unicorn were quick to release their magic and raise their heads back up. As the barrier dissipated the smoke billowed out of it, covering the sky overhead in a thick, black layer of soot and ash. Most of the Ponies averted their eyes, already well aware of what the results were going to be, however, Celestia’s gaze remained fixed upon it, a big grin of anticipation on her face as she desired to see the Changeling Tower or, more accurately, what remained.

When enough smoke finally was cleared away, the Alicorn Princess was able to see the toll all those explosions had on the Changeling home. A wide, dark grin spread across her face, one that drank up the site before her like the sweetest of apple ciders. “This day has been just perfect,” she spoke with delight in her tone.

Spike yawned and stretched as he lumbered his way into Gabby’s kitchen. Stuck between his middle and index claws of his left hand was a quill feather and stained over his palm was smears of ink. Despite his hand being such a mess, Spike showed no sign that he noticed the state it was in.

Already in the kitchen, Gabby appeared much more awake and energetic as she stood at the stove, stirring the contents in a big, metal pot. “What smells so good?” her Dragon master asked her, managing to make his way to her table to take a seat. Unfortunately for the drowsy drake, the chair he dropped his rear onto only managed to hold his weight for three measly seconds before it gave out, breaking to pieces before getting smothered beneath his mass. “Owie…” Spike groaned, a bit more awake after that sudden fall.

“Spike!” cried a worried Gabby as she rushed to his side. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but your chair isn’t,” he replied, managing a little chuckle. “Uh, at least that helped me to wake me up… But, still, sorry about that.”

“No worries,” she smiled, hugging his chest and rubbing his back affectionately. “That thing was held up mostly with tape when I got it in the first place. And, it’s one less thing I’ll have to miss once we leave.”

“You can be a little upset at me,” Spike assured her, placing a heavy hand on her feathery head and gently rubbing it with his clean hand. “After all, because of me it’ll be much too dangerous for you to stay here.”

“Oh, don’t be silly,” she continued to smile big, making it more obvious she was forcing her grin. “Why should I care about leaving the only home I know, forever?”

“Please,” begged Spike. “As your master, I don’t want there to be any lingering feelings of anger or resentment in your heart towards me. Yell at me. Hit me if you want. Just let it out now, while we still have some time.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “If that’s what you want, I’ll let you have it. I just hope I don’t hurt you.”

“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I’m protected by some pretty tough scales. Just try not to hurt yourself.”

“I’ll be careful,” she nodded, taking a breath and allowing her feelings to flood out just as he wanted. Tears welled up in her eyes and she felt a flash of anger. Making a fist, she swung it with all her might right at Spike’s left cheek. “You bastard!” she snapped furiously. “Because of you I have to abandon my ho…” Her words trailed off as her burst of anger faded away as suddenly as it exploded out of her. Wiping her face dry, she smiled more earnestly. “Hmm… I guess I wasn’t too terribly angry.”

“Not angry, but still pretty damn strong,” replied Spike, rubbing his cheek that was on the receiving end of her punch. “Remind me never to make you mad.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Do you need some ice for that?”

“I’ll be fine,” he assured her, taking his hand off his cheek, leaving a smear of ink on it, rubbed off from his ink-covered palm. “No real harm done.”

Snickering at the mess on his face, Gabby grabbed a towel and soaked it in some water from her sink. “No harm from me, but a bit of a mess from you,” she told him as she carefully tried to clean the ink off, first from his face and then his claws. “I didn’t realize you were such a messy writer.”

“Yeah,” he blushed, rubbing the back of his head as he chuckled some himself. “I probably shouldn’t be writing when I’m still half asleep. I ended up spilling the ink on your desk, sorry about that by the way, but I needed to send some letters out while I had the chance to. Quite a lot has happened since my escape from Twilight and I had to keep everyone updated.”

“I’m sure they will be relieved to be kept in the loop,” Gabby nodded with a smile, returning to her bubbling pot on the stove. “But let’s worry less about them and more about us for the moment. I’m making some oatmeal. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing and you’re gonna need all the energy you can get, especially after exhausting yourself dancing last night.”

“Heheh, I certainly busted more moves than I realized I knew,” laughed Spike as Gabby carried the pot over to the table then placed some bowls and spoons down before she began to dole it out, giving most to her draconic lover. “Plus I was so tired afterwards that I didn’t even get my late night snack.” She also brought over a jar of honey to help sweeten it. Spike poured a very generous portion into his and mixed it in while Gabby only took a spoonful for herself.

“I hope you can teach me some of those moves sometime,” she giggled, recalling more of his sillier and sexier volitions. She then let out a light sigh and looked at Spike more seriously and solemnly. “I’m perfectly fine with leaving here, but can you tell me, honestly, that everything is going to be fine going forward?”

“Mmm,” mumbled Spike, stuffing his face with the oatmeal. The honey gave the bland mush a nice kick of sweetness, though it did little to emulate the confectionary delights he had become so accustomed to from Pinkie Pie. “This is really yummy.”

“...Glad you like it,” replied Gabby, well aware that Spike avoided answering her question.

The two didn’t waste any time in eating their breakfast, Spike managing to polish off several bowls full while Gabby managed to sate her hunger with two and proceed to spoon the rest into her lover’s bowl as he ate till there was nothing left to take from it. She then deposited the empty pot in her sink and went to gather all the belongings she wanted to take with her into her postal delivery bag.

“Okay,” she told Spike. “I’m ready when you are.”

“And I’m ready too,” he answered her back, licking his bowl clean before placing it down in the sink beside the pot and her bowl. “And just like we discussed, I’ll go first and you wait about five minutes and follow me.”

“I know,” she nodded, her body shaking a bit, but she managed to calm herself and watch Spike open the front door to her home and walk out. Alone, she took one last look around her soon-to-be-abandoned home and peeked out the window. Clutching her chest and feeling her heartbeat, she watched her beloved dragon mate start his trek down and out of Griffonstone.

Much like the day prior, as Spike walked, there wasn’t a griffon around that so much as gave him a friendly greeting as he passed them or cared enough to wear anything but a scowl on their faces. However, one thing that he did notice that was different was that while they had been too uncaring to give anyone more than a passing glance, today a lot of eyes appeared to be following his every move.

“Somehow I get the feeling that they aren’t admirers from my show last night,” thought Spike as breathed heavily, feeling the thick tension in the air.

“Oh, yoohoo~” waved a griffon at Spike with a flirty wink on top of that. “Hi, Dragdonis. Can I look forward to another show at the Roost or maybe you can give me a private one back at my place.”

“Well, maybe some of them are,” blushed Spike as he silently waved to her and kept making his way forward without answering her inquiry.

The further he made his way down the trunk of the large tree the city was built on, Spike started to notice the already scarce number of griffons that were outside had started to dwindle further till he suddenly found himself walking around in what felt like a ghost town. Stopping in his tracks, he looked around and couldn’t spot anyone else around, not even in any of the decrepit buildings nearby. Looking back the way he came, he could faintly see Gabby slowly making her way down too.

“That bad feeling I’ve been having is only getting worse…” Spike muttered to himself, looking around at his surroundings cautiously. Nothing seemed to be out of place, yet he couldn’t shake a powerful dread in the pit of his gut.

Muscles tensed, Spike quickly considered his situation before bellowing out, “I know you’re out there. Why not save us all a lot of time and just show yourselves, that is, if you aren’t afraid to face me head on!” Taking a deep breath after his taunt, Spike exhaled a massive green flame into the air over him, letting the embers rain down and get swept away by the wind.

“No need to get all huffy, my friend. It’s all good,” someone answered, emerging from behind an old decrepit pillar. It was a royal guard from Canterlot, this one in green armor with an orange trim. The stallion was a white Pegasus wielding a sword that he aimed right at Spike’s heart. “My orders were to take you alive and, if possible, unharmed. An ambush would have been ideal to restrain you while your guard was down, but you had to go and waste all that time I’ve spent lying in wait.”

“Well, do you want me to apologize for that?” asked Spike, picking his teeth, showing a lack of concern for the Pony that had come to apprehend him. “Cause I won’t.”

“Actually,” the Pegasus knight smirked, resting his sword on his shoulder and gazed at Spike with his orange eyes. “That works out fine for me. I’ve always wanted to take on a dragon in combat, though I’m a bit disappointed that I got one with such a heavy paunch.”

“Hey!” snapped Spike, flexing his arms to show that he had more beneath his scales than a soft belly. “On a list of things one should never do, making a dragon angry is high up there right between forgetting to return a library book and jaywalking.”

“Uh, okay,” he responded, not sure what to say to counter that. “I don’t know who came up with that list, but you can get as mad as you want. I’m still taking you in.”

“You and what army?” dared Spike before he facepalmed. “I just tempted fate, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you did,” nodded the Pegasus Knight as a couple dozen more soldiers quickly popped out of every hiding place available to them and surrounded their dragon quarry. There were Pegasi equipped with swords, spears, and axes, Earth Ponies wielding weighted nets and ropes, and Unicorns with their horns glowing and ready. “But did you really expect only a single soldier was going to be deployed to take you in?”

“Not really,” confessed Spike, lacing his fingers together before cracking them to limber up his claws. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“I hope that doesn’t mean you plan on coming quietly,” the green armored Pegasus replied. “It isn’t often I get a job this important and I’d like to have a little fun before we take you in.”

“Considering what awaits me if you do, I’ll fight tooth and nail to escape,” promised the purple dragon, carefully watching as all the ponies around him continued to carefully surround him in an attempt to cut off his escape.

“Then only one thing left to say,” he added. “My name is Bronze Star and by the power granted to me by Princesses Celestia and Luna I hereby place you, Spike the Dragon, under arrest for crimes against Canterlot and Equestria.”

Smirking, Spike started to breathe heavily, letting the flames in his body feed off the oxygen and start to overflow his maw as he gave his retort. “Good luck with that,” he answered back before unleashing his flames to start their battle.”

“Are we there yet?” yawned Nat, rubbing the weariness from his eyes. He along with Zircon flew over Equestria, far from their home in the Badlands, being vigilant and careful to avoid any early birds that might spot them. Fortunately, their dark bodies blended well with the cover of night and they didn’t spot more than a handful of Equestria’s nocturnal animals as they soared across the country.

“According to what the map says,” Zircon replied to him, before her words started to trail off. Looking between the map and the surroundings, she attempted to figure out exactly where in Equestria they were. “We should be about here… I think.”

“You think?” asked Nat, yawning once again and doing all he could to not doze off while flying. “We’ve been traveling all night to get here while the rest of the hive got to sleep in their nice warm beds. I’d give anything to be with them right now.”

“Yeah, but we’re doing this for Sting, remember?” Zircon pointed out as she pulled her head out of her map and looked around.

“Which we cannot do if we can’t even find this Ponytown,” Nat pointed out. “Just admit you can’t read a map and that we’re lost.”

“We aren’t lost,” she argued with more annoyance than rage due to her own fatigue. She then pointed to the large pony kingdom atop the mountain in the distance. “Look, there’s Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, though the Changeling Hive will take its place as soon as we wipe that eyesore off the map. Anyway, we’re south of it… about in this area over here.” She traced a circle around a small section of the map and then poked at the spot marked Ponyville. “If my calculations are right, we just need to keep heading west and we should see the town before much longer.”

“And if you’re wrong, we’ll end up somewhere between Los Pegasus and Tartarus, the latter of which I hear is very lovely this time of year,” joked Nat, only getting an eye roll from his half sister before she folded up her map and gazed further ahead.

“We must be close,” she responded, full of determination. “Just a little fur- ah! Look, Nat! That crystal building up ahead. That’s gotta be the Castle of Friendship and right beside it will be Ponyville.”

“Finally,” he yawned, delighted to see the rooftops of the taller buildings in the town coming into view, confirming Zircon’s claim. “Now, maybe we can get a little rest.”

“Maybe a quick rest and a bite to eat,” she told her sibling. “We’re here to capture Starlight Glimmer and bring her back to the hive and we have to do it quickly. This town is home to the Ponies that have thwarted my mother’s own Equestria conquering plans in the past. There’s no telling what they might do to us if we’re discovered.”

“Then we better change into something a lot less conspicuous than creepy-looking draconic insects,” Nat stated, closing his eyes as he quickly decided on what kind of disguise he wanted before a blue flame rose up from his feet to his head, causing his body to take on the desired shape. As the magical flames dispersed, he now appeared as a teal Pegasus with blue eyes and a short cut black mane and tail. “How’s that?”

“Actually, pretty good,” she said, giving him a quick look over as she merely lowered her head and blinked, transforming even more speedily than Nat did, taking on the form of a Pink Pegasus with a curly blonde mane and tail and hazel eyes. “Oh, by the way, how long are you able to maintain a transformation? At my best, I can usually last between two and three hours.”

“Uh, well, I could probably hold it for almost a half an hour,” he admitted. “But that should be more than enough time to get in, capture Starlight, and get out, right?”

“If nothing goes wrong, then it shouldn’t be any trouble at all,” Zircon nodded, though after saying that, she had started to consider just how wrong this snatch and grab mission of theirs could go. “Ugh, I really wish I didn’t tempt fate by saying that.”

“Don’t worry,” Nat tried to sweep away the worries piling up in her head. “I’m sure everything will work out just fine.” Suddenly he found his own mind considering such things as well. “And I just did it too. Terrific…”

Flying a bit further, the two finally reached the entrance of Ponyville and managed to fly right in with surprised looks on their faces. “Strange,” commented Zircon, saying what they were both thinking. “There’s not so much as a guard on patrol or a lookout tower in place to keep an eye out for invaders.”

“It’s a lot different than what we saw in the Crystal Empire,” agreed Nat. “And the guards were quick to come when we were in Canterlot. I can’t imagine how this place hasn’t been conquered yet.”

“It just goes to show how dangerous those special Ponies are if they have been able to keep this and all of Equestria safe,” pointed out Zircon. “We’ll have to be extra careful if we run into any of them.”

The two disguised Draglings looked at one another and nodded, heading straight for the Castle of Friendship and where they were informed that their target resided. At the same time, moving in the opposite direction as them, was Twilight, Starlight and the rest of the Mane Six as they walked their way towards the edge of town. Each was equipped with a backpack, Rarity also gripping a couple suitcases on wheels.

“Did you really need to bring all that with you?” Applejack questioned Rarity. “This isn’t a vacation and we don’t have time to waste. We need to find Spike before anyone else does.”

“Oh, relax, darling,” answered the white pony with a fabulously styled mane. “These two are empty, but since I’m heading off the Manehatten to search I figure it wouldn’t hurt to pick up a few new outfits while I’m there and when I find Spike he’ll be a dear and help me take them back home.”

“You really think Spike’s hiding out in Manehatten?” asked Rainbow Dash, looking at Rarity very skeptically. “Cause if I was on the run and trying to hide I wouldn’t do it in one of the largest cities in Equestria.”

“I know if I was Spike, I’d wanna go someplace I feel safe and secure,” Fluttershy chimed in, hugging herself as she imagined how she’d feel to be the one on the run from the law. “Curled up in my nice warm bed while hugging my cute, little teddy bear.”

“But isn’t your ‘cute, little teddy bear’ larger and heavier than you several times over?” questioned Rainbow Dash. “Also, he’s alive, so besides the ‘bear’ part I don’t think that’s a very accurate description.”

“Not really the point,” Applejack told Rainbow Dash. “What is is that Spike would normally feel safest in the castle, but that’s where he escaped from. So there’s certainly very little chance he’ll decide to go back there.”

“Which is why, if I was Spike I’d definitely go to Manehatten because he would know that’s where I would go to look for him and if I go on a shopping spree he’ll definitely show up to offer me a claw and carry my purchases just like the gentledragon he is.”

“Makes sense to me,” giggled Pinkie Pie, though her normally bubbly laughter didn’t sound quite as genuine as it normally did. Her mind was too filled with worry for her chubby and strong dragon lover and her heart was aching from them being so far apart. Fortunately, none of the others seemed to notice this while they were chatting up their theories of Spike’s choice of hiding place.

“Alright, attention, everyone,” called Twilight, when she felt her nerves were under control enough for her to speak with her friends. “Thank you all for coming for operation ‘Find Spike and bring him back home.’ It really means a lot to me that you’re willing to help us out.”

“Aw, Twi,” smiled Applejack. “You know that Spike is as much a part of our families as he is yours. And, if’n the not-so-little guy is in trouble, we’ll do whatever we can to get him out of it.”

“Yeah, even if that trouble just happens to be with Princess Celestia herself,” added Rainbow Dash, attempting to help hype everyone up for the task at hand, but reminding them of who they were defying for their dragon friend’s sake sent more than a twinge of fear down their spines.

“We’re all going to be put in a dungeon,” Fluttershy whimpered timidly, her whole body shaking with worry. “Or banished. Or put in a dungeon in the place where we're banished too.”

“Relax, everyone,” Starlight told the group, attempting to quell their worries. “None of any of that is going to happen, least of all to Spike. We’ll find him before Celestia and her forces can and we’ll keep him safe and hidden from her, but when and if she does find out we’ll stand together to protect him and either Princess Celestia will have to accept that or we will fight her tooth and nail to show our conviction to our friend till she submits. Right, Twilight?”

“Y-Y-Yeah,” she stuttered, trembling at the thought of going up against her teacher and the princess she respected and revered the most. “P-Piece of pie.”

“Twilight,” replied Starlight, giving her a look. “Remember what we talked about regarding ‘Princess’ Celestia.”

“That at the end of the day, she’s just like any other Pony,” answered Twilight, trying to speak calmly, but her nerves were clearly showing and only got worse the more words came off her lips. Even so, she managed to say all of that from start to finish.

“Correct,” smiled Starlight, beginning to believe that she was finally making some progress with Twilight.

“Although,” added Twilight, starting to sweat. “If she wanted to, Princess Celestia could prevent the day from actually ending, since she does control the sun, something that no other single Pony is capable of with nearly as much ease. So, saying that she’s just like any other Pony at the end of the day is not very true after all.”

“We’ll work on your Celestiaphobia later, Twilight,” sighed Starlight, frustrated, but not discouraged to help her friend overcome her fears of her mentor. “For now, just focus on finding Spike. Equestria’s a big place so that’s a lot of ground to cover. I’ll be here in case he decides to come back on his own.”

“Are you sure I shouldn’t stay as well?” asked Twilight. “I mean, Celestia did order me to remain here and not to look for Spike. If she finds out I disobeyed her-”

“Which is why I’ll cover for you and say you’re on one of your booksortcations or something,” Starlight interrupted her. “That’ll at least buy you a three day weekend. And anyway, if Spike does decide to come back to the castle on his own it’s probably for the best if he doesn’t see you in it, Twi.”

“Why is that?” asked Fluttershy. The rest of the Mane Six looked upon their two friends to hear the reason for that as well.

“Starlight thinks that if Spike comes back and sees I’m still here and not out there looking for him,” explained Twilight. “Then he might see that as me not caring about him and truly believe I consider him nothing more than a failed experiment that I’ve already given up on. But even if he was put in my care, by Celestia, to study him, the bond we formed was genuine and it’s certainly strong enough that it can endure even this.”

“Now you’re starting to sound like the Princess of Friendship,” stated Starlight, giving Twilight a pat on the back.

“But maybe I should stay with you a bit longer to make sure that map spell is working properly. After all, we’ve only tested it out on each other so far.”

“What’s this about a spell on the map?” questioned Applejack.

“We figured that since we didn’t have a means to keep in constant contact with one another Twilight and I put one together with the help of the Friendship Map,” Starlight told the others. “From the map room I’ll be able to track all of your positions and even communicate with you too. This way we’ll be able to exchange info with one another a lot easier and be able to move all the quicker for it.”

“Then if we’re all set, let’s start heading out!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, getting too eager to set out to sit still any longer. Before anyone else had a chance to say, “Rainbow wait!” she was already taking to the sky, quickly becoming nothing but a rainbow blur that too vanished just as speedily.

“We’d all best get going too,” commented Rarity. “There’s no telling how long we’ll be away while we look for our dear Spikie Wikie, but I know none of us will rest till we find him.”

“No matter where in Equestria he might be,” continued Pinkie Pie, as she hurried off in a different direction from her rainbow-maned friend. She had already reached her limit of waiting around too and with their brief discussion finally at a close, she was able to at least breathe a small sigh of relief that she could finally head out.

The rest of the group, save for Starlight, then started to trot away from Ponyville as well. The pink Unicorn with a purple mane waved them all an encouraging goodbye and then turned to head back into town. “Once I get back to the castle I’ll head straight for the map room and give them all a call to make certain it’s working properly,” figured Starlight, starting her own trek back to her place of residence.

“Okay, no time to lose now,” panted Pinkie, as soon as she felt certain she was out of sight of the others and could go from a walk to a run. “I just hope Spike is doing okay, but how can he be when he’s become a wanted dragon.” Starting to feel despondent, the Element of Laughter’s running began to degrade down to a half-hearted walk. Her mind was just getting riddled with the worst possible things that could happen to her purple, scaly master.

“I know he’s hardly the weak, shrimpy guy he used to be,” she told herself, attempting to put her mind at ease. That seemed to work for a little bit, but, for every relief she considered, a new worry was quick to take its place. “ But that doesn’t change the fact that Princess Celestia is after him. With her entire military force backing her up. As strong and mighty as Spike might be, I doubt even he can take on a large force of Celestia’s most powerful pony warriors all on his own. But even if he can’t outfight them, they’re probably ordered to bring him in alive. Yeah, and if he’s alive he can always be rescued later. Oh, but what if they plan to do something even worse to him then?!?”

Crying and groaning as her imagination ran wild with just what was to be Spike’s fate, Pinkie spotted Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo headed in the same direction as she was, all hauling stuffed backpacks as well. “Oh, hey, girls, look who it is,” Applebloom told her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders when she turned to see their pink Pony friend rushing towards them. She spoke with very obvious false surprise, acting like she didn’t know Pinkie was going to be headed this way. “It’s Pinkie Pie.”

“What a surprise to run into her in a place like this,” added Sweetie Belle, showcasing just as much acting talent.

“Hey, Pinkie Pie,” Scootaloo called to her. “You’ll never believe this, but we just got a call from the Cutie Map and we have to go over to-”

“Let’s just skip the back-and-forth, shall we,” answered Pinkie Pie, not entertaining the notion that what they were saying was even remotely true. “I told you three you aren’t going with me. You made up an excuse to go too. I don’t believe you. You started to beg and plead and I eventually cave so we all end up going anyway.”

“We weren’t going to beg,” argued Applebloom, before adding a subtle, “much” at the end.

“I did want to try out the crocodile tears that Rarity taught me, but I guess I suppose there’s always next time,” added Sweetie Belle.

“Why are you rushing so much anyway?” wondered Scootaloo. “We checked the schedule and the next train to Griffonstone isn’t going to be leaving for another half an hour so we can walk there and still arrive with plenty of time to spare.”

“And the train ride over is going to be a few hours long too,” added Applebloom. “No matter what, it’ll be well into the afternoon by the time we get there.”

“I know all that,” nodded Pinkie, still moving about frantically like her flank was on fire. “But all morning I’ve been getting these chills and twitches,” the curly-maned Pony explained. “I know it’s my Pinkie Sense and I don’t have a single doubt that it’s warning me that our beloved Spikey is in great danger.”

“But even if it is your Pinkie Sense acting up,” commented Scootaloo, trying to calm their frenzied friend down. “That doesn’t necessarily mean it has anything to do with Spike.”

“I know, but around the same time,” she added, pulling out a rolled up scroll, unraveling it for the three of them to read together. “I received this letter from Spike too.”

Speed reading, the Cutie Mark Crusaders did their best to figure out Spike’s chicken scratch that appeared far messier and smeary than normal. They could only make assumptions as to why and dread-filled thoughts entered their heads, but those were forgotten once they reached the end and processed all that he had written.

“WHAT?!?” they cried out in unison, barely able to believe the content of the note from their harem master.

“Maybe I should have started with that?” commented Pinkie, seeing their jaw-dropped expressions.

“You think?” questioned Sweetie Belle as the trio started to run as fast as they could.

“Hey! Wait for me!” cried Pinkie Pie, now the one about to be left behind.

Gabby watched from a distance as plumes of Spike’s green flames shot up in the distance. From her vantage point, she couldn’t make out what was happening in too great of detail, but seeing clear signs that he was still fighting back offered her some relief that he was still standing. Despite this, the fact that she remained hidden was killing her a little inside. She desperately wanted to run out there and help him, but kept in mind that they headed out separately as a contingency for just such a situation as this. That didn’t make it any easier for her to accept as she dug her claws into the stone wall she hugged and did her best to keep from crying out to her beloved.

“Spike,” she whimpered, tears welling in her eyes as she watched him bravely fight on. “Please be alright.”

Breathing fire, slashing claws, and swinging his tail, Spike did all he could to keep the mob of soldiers at a distance. For a short while, it seemed to be working, however, as his pattern claws, fire, and tail repeated enough times, they started to see through his movements to find the openings to parry and attack, striking him with swords, axes and spears before retreating as the dragon countered, lashing out at them with claws and pained snarls.

“Ugh, that hurts,” groaned Spike, only feeling the brunt force of the attacks as his natural body armor proved tougher than their bladed weapons could penetrate. “I’ve built my body up with plenty of muscle, but I’ve never really used it in battle before. Ugh… And beyond the occasional slapstick violence I’ve endured, I can’t say I’ve ever had an opportunity to exercise my tolerance to pain either.” Panting heavily, Spike carefully observed all the ponies around and above him, preparing their next assault on him.

“Damn it,” snarled Spike, starting to feel bitter about this whole situation. “Why is it that when some evil force is trying to take over that these guys are useless, but now of all times they’re annoyingly competent?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard about all those past blunders,” taunted Bronze Star, smugly watching Spike from behind his troops. “Makes us look pretty weak, but what’s that say about you, worm, if you can’t even beat us?”

“Worm?” Spike snorted, this the first time he’d ever been called such a thing, but he instantly detested it. “Then I’ll just have to prove I’m stronger than you lot by thrashing each and every one of you and letting you wallow in yet another failure while I make my escape,” Spike remarked, drawing in a deep breath before he unleashed a wave of flame in front of him. This forced the soldiers in its path to retreat. Seeing the opening, Spike charged through his own flames to escape the encirclement of ponies.

In retaliation to this, those with whips and Unicorns wielding their magic made their move this time, using both to grab Spike by his limbs. As they did, they started to pull and other Ponies joined them to lend their strength, attempting to restrain their target dragon’s movements.

“Ugh!” growled Spike, feeling his arms, legs, and even his tail snagged by two or three groups of Ponies each. His movements were halted and the other Ponies were approaching to further restrain him. “I might be in real trouble,” he confessed, his words bringing a smirk to Bronze Star’s face, however, Spike’s scaly lips started to curl upward too. “If you weren’t trying to take me in alive.”

Stomping his currently raised foot to the ground, he dug his nails in as he flexed all the muscles he could into delivering the strongest punch he could manage at the air in front of him. Though there was no target to strike, Spike’s true aim was the Ponies clinging to the ropes on his arm. As his strength overwhelmed their own, they were left with the choice to either let go of him or get violently pulled forward while trying to keep restraining him. The decision was split right down the middle as some of the soldiers opted to let go while the rest were sent flying as the shift in power escalated greatly to the dragon’s side. This freed Spike’s left arm and with a swing from his right, he managed to shake off the Ponies holding him with that one too.

With his upper half freed, Spike’s claws were free to slash at the bindings on his legs, cutting through the real ropes and, to his surprise and delight, the magical ones with almost as much ease. This only left the Ponies holding him back his tail, but he ignored them and instead resumed running forward to gain enough speed to open his wings and take off.

While most chose to let go, doubtful that they could stop the purple drake when he had already broken free of the others, the rest stubbornly held on to try and keep him grounded. This proved incredibly foolhardy as they then found themselves being dragged on the ground and then dangling in the air, if they were still senselessly holding on at that point.

“This is more like it,” smiled Spike, boasting loudly as he felt the cool wind against his face as he soared around sharply to shake off the remaining Ponies holding on. He then looked down at all the soldiers he was now too high up from for them to be able to do anything else against him. “I should have a bigger advantage up here. Only the Pegasi can reach me up here and any Unicorn that can fire magic accurately at such a distance, but if that was the best they could manage while I was cornered then as things stand now, I have nothing to worry about. Making my escape now won’t be any trouble at all.”

“Oh, Spike,” panted Gabby, getting winded just watching him. She managed a smile after seeing him rise up into the sky and start to brag, but none of that fully removed the dread she had in the pit of her stomach.

“Not bad, worm!” called Bronze Star from below as he zipped up after Spike with the aid of an updraft provided by his fellow Pegasi. He had his sword in his arms, held at the ready, to swing. Seeing him rush in unexpectedly fast, Spike readied his nails and swiped them downward, attacking his foe first. His attack missed the speedy Pegasus as he parried and sliced his blade at Spike. Reflexively, Spike guarded with his arm, expecting the damage to be as minor as everything else he had received so far, however, as the sword’s sharp end slid across his scale-covered arm, it cut through his scales and into his flesh enough to leave a small and thin, but undeniable would behind.

“Yeargh!” cried Spike as he gripped the cut on his arm, the pain of being cut not new to Spike, but incredibly rare. “Short of getting a needle from the doctor or cutting myself with my own sharpened nails or fangs I can’t recall many times where I’ve encountered something that can cut through my scales.” Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Spike turned his focus to Bronze Star’s sword. It appeared the same as the other weapons that failed to break through his natural body armor, however, around its edge he did notice there was something off with the coloration of the metal. “Your sword. What’s it made of?”

“Hmm… So you’ve noticed that,” answered the Pegasus in green armor. “It seems you possess a stronger physique than I gave you credit for and rather sharp eyes.” Smiling, he gazed at the line of Spike’s blood on his blade. With a single swing of it, he flung the red liquid away to clean it. “Very good. You are not half bad for a domesticated worm.”

“Uh, thanks, I guess, but you still didn’t answer my question,” stated Spike, keeping a hand over his cut to help keep it from bleeding more. “What is that sword made of?”

“Mostly regular iron, but a special material has been added on to help it be able to cut through even dragon scales with ease,” he explained as he raised the sword skyward to let the morning sun shine light off its metallic surface. “Allow me to introduce you to a Wormslayer.”

“I think you mean to say, ‘wyrm’ instead of ‘worm,’” Spike offered to correct him while his voice showed how irritated he was getting from being called that.

“No. I’m right,” he said with confidence in his voice. “But back to the matter at hand. This weapon, as you’ve seen, is sharp enough to even cut through dragon scales without any issue. Granted, this particular blade is a low grade so it can’t do more than shallow cuts like that one. With how long it’d take to deal enough damage to be lethal, this weapon is hardly qualified to be able to slay your kind, but, again, we’re only here to capture you with as little harm done as possible. Now, will you surrender and come quietly or must we continue this little dance of ours? You’ll be captured either way. The only change will be how much pain you will suffer in the process.”

Looking around, their little chit chat allowed for the Pegasus knights to surround him from all sides while the Earth Ponies and Unicorns were watching and ready on the ground. Spike removed his hand to check out his cut again and felt the sting of his minor injury before raising up his arms in preparation to fight.

“I’ll lead,” answered Spike before he leaned forward into a nosedive to pick up speed and once more try to evade capture. Following right after, the Pegasi swooped down in pursuit while the Unicorns began to fire short bursts of magical energy skyward in an effort to shoot the drake down.

Putting all the flight training Spike had gained since getting his wings to use, he did his best to bob and weave around everything in his path, but there were simply too many fast-moving obstacles for him to avoid them all. Blasts of magic hit his body from below and while they proved no more damaging than most of the attacks prior, they did become more of a constant annoyance, shoving him about and slowing his descent, allowing his winged adversaries to catch up to him. As they reached him, they started to stab at his body with spears, forcing him to fight back with flames and claws, however their maneuverability allowed them to almost effortlessly evade his wild and unfocused attacks and strike back at him even easier than while he had been fighting him on the ground.

“Ugh, guess flying wasn’t the best option after all,” he groaned, swatting and clawing at the Ponies like they were bothersome gnats, but they avoided his attacks just as easily. When another big opening in his attacks presented itself, the team of Pegasi struck at him hard from above together and forced him bit by bit back to the ground. When the dragon’s elevation finally got low enough, he felt an unmistakable tightness squeeze at his legs and tail once more. Turning to look, he found the Earth Ponies and Unicorns had once more attempted to restraining and drag him back to the ground.

Once more, Spike also tried to overpower them and break free of their lines, but the Pegasi acted quicker to stop him from slipping out of their grasp yet again. Flapping their wings rapidly, they helped push Spike downward till his feet hit ground once more. After that, they were quick to disperse and aid the other soldiers in restraining him.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared to unleash another wave of fire to force the Pony platoon away, however, a couple of Unicorns noticed his intention and used their magic to put a squeeze on his neck. It wasn’t enough to strangle the life out of him, but it restricted his breathing and, more importantly, his flames.

“Ugh,” gagged Spike, feeling anger well up in him, but it was quickly replaced with desperate wheezing. “Dammit. They just won’t let up and I’m getting worn out.” Looking down at his legs, they were still keeping him standing, but they were starting to shake and buckle. Spike didn’t doubt that the second he fell to his knees that would be it for him.

“Guess it’s do or die time now,” thought Spike, trying to calm himself and gather up whatever strength his body still possessed. “I’ll give it my all in one go and break free. After that… I’ll figure that out later.” Managing one decent breath down his squeezed throat, the desperate dragon found the energy to flex the muscles in his arms and legs as he prepared to try and overpower all the Ponies he was up against. “Okay. Here goes nothing. On three. One… two… thre-”

Spike’s thoughts were cut off as something above him drew his attention. Looking up, he saw Bronze Star swooping down at him fast, with his sword raised up high. Pupils shrinking and his restrained body freezing up, the matured drake felt his heart jump up into his throat.

“Is he really aiming to kill me?” panicked Spike, the cut on his arm stinging strongly as he recalled how easily that sword sliced through his scales.

“Time to put you down,” called out Bronze Star as he swung his sword at Spike, but instead of using the blade to cut him once more, he used the butt of it instead, ramming it down hard on Spike’s crown.

BANG!

Letting out a beastly cry that sounded more sorrowful than fierce. Spike’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as all the strength instantly left his body from that stunning bash to his skull. He couldn’t remain standing any longer as all the Ponies seized the opportunity to finally force him down.

Spike dropped to his hands and knees hard, the force shaking the ground around him with a resounding BOOM! The pain-filled drake was in a daze from that strike to his skull, yet he somehow managed to keep from falling even further onto his stomach. Seeing this as a refusal to accept defeat, Bronze Star just smirked as he sheathed his sword and took a few free punches at Spike’s face with his iron-clad fists.

“Not sure why you still don’t just collapse,” he commented, between blows. “Is that because of your pride as a dragon? Well, it’s not going to do you any good where you’re about to end up. Best learn to submit to your betters now and save yourself a lot of pain in the future.”

He paused to give Spike a chance to give in. Cheeks swollen and vision blurry, Spike found himself staring at the green armored Pony as he slowly came back into focus. The helpless drake answered him with a sharp-toothed smile with his tongue pushing at one of his teeth that had become loose.

“Mind hitting me once more here and knocking it out?” he requested to Bronze Star. “Don’t worry. We dragons lose teeth pretty often from chewing on gems. A new one will grow back in about a day.”

“I’m well aware of that fact,” he retorted to Spike before obliging his request to punch his tooth out. With one more solid strike, he knocked the sharp fang free of Spike’s gums and finally caused the drake to fully collapse onto the ground with one more heavy BOOM!

“Oh!” cried Gabby, still watching, but unable to remain a simple spectator anymore. “I can’t take it anymore. I can’t just watch my beloved being hurt like this.” Letting go of the wall, she was ready to sprint down there and fight claw and feather to rescue her master. Before she could, however, she was grabbed and pulled back. She started to let out a faint cry of help before her beak was muzzled and silenced.

“Finally, he’s down,” breathed Bronze Star with delight to see the dragon was flat on the ground now. He then looked a few inches in front of his muzzle where his tooth now rested. “And lucky me. I can add this to my trophy wall.” He reached down to pick it up.

“Sorry, but I didn’t give you permission to add my fang to your creep collection,” argued Spike, snaking his long, skinny tongue out of his maw to snatch up his tooth and bring it back into his maw. Then with a strained gulp he managed to force it down his restrained throat and into his stomach.

“Still defiant even now?” questioned Bronze Star, not looking happy to be deprived of his trophy. He brought his foot down on Spike’s snout and applied a light amount of pressure on it. “It’ll be fun watching you break and that starts here with this one simple constant, Dragons never win.” Turning his attention away from taunting Spike, he returned his focus to the mission at hand.

“Okay, men,” he called out. “Get the worm properly restrained and ready for transport back to Nowhere.”

“Nowhere?” wondered Spike as he finally gave up struggling in futile defiance. Letting his eyes close, he allowed himself to finally relax and black out.

“I should probably wait about another ten or so minutes before I call them,” figured Starlight as she entered into the Castle of Friendship and made her way towards the Map Room. “That way they should at least manage to get a little distance from Ponyville. “I should probably give Twilight a quick call right away, though, and make sure she actually left town.”

“Hey, there, Starlight,” Sunburst called to her from across the hall.

“After hearing how freaked out she is about Celestia, I wouldn’t doubt if she’s already having second thoughts and relapsing,” she continued to think. “I simply can’t imagine how she got it in her head to fear Celestia as much as she admires her. I mean, just what went on while she had Twilight under her wing during her studies with her?”

“Uh, Starlight,” Sunburst called to her again louder in an attempt to get her attention.

“Hopefully, when we find Spike and bring him back home she and him can go on a nice, long vacation to reconnect and just enjoy themselves for a while,” she continued to mumble to herself. “If anypony needs some R&R it’s definitely those two.”

“Hey, STARLIGHT!” shouted Sunburst, practically screaming his lungs out to get her attention.

“Ugh! What Sunburst,” she snapped angrily at him. “Can’t you see I’m deep in thought and-” Turning to see her long lost friend, Starlight stared in awe at him, tears welling up in her eyes as she ran over to him.

“This was a lot easier than I expected it to be,” thought Nat, running over to the pink and purple Pony that was overjoyed at their reunion. “Now all I gotta do is seduce her to join us. Hahah! Finally, my time to shine.”

“Sunburst! You’re okay! I thought I’d never see you again! I thought I’d…” Her running slowed to a complete stop. She then took a step back, bringing her arms up defensively as she stared at her precious friend with far more worried concern now on her face. “No. You aren’t him. You aren’t Sunburst.”

“She saw through me so easily?!?” sweated Nat silently, trying not to appear nervous, but some twitching and a forced smile made it all too obvious that he was a fake.

“There is no way he’s going to be able to pull this off,” figured Zircon, hidden as a fly on the wall as she watched and observed her fellow Dragling attempt his first deception. “His whole facade is already falling apart.”

“A fake? Me?” scoffed the imposter, trying to play off Starlight’s suspicions like it was silly paranoia. “Oh, come on, Starlight. I look exactly like the real Sunburst.” Hearing that, Starlight’s horn glowed intensely as she prepared to attack him. “Um, because I am the real Sunburst. How else would I look?”

“He’s going to need a lotta notes on his performance after this,” commented the Dragling princess as she shook her head. “Provided he lives through this.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” growled Starlight, moving forward again, this time on the warpath to tear this imposter apart and get some answers out of him. “My first guess is a Changeling, one of the ones that invaded the Crystal Empire where Sunburst was living at and now you’re here using his form to capture me.”

“D-Do you know how r-ridiculous you sound?” he stuttered, slowly retreating while his perspiration only got worse. “I mean, if you have any doubts, why don’t we ask each other some questions that only we would know about one another. That should convince you that I’m who I claim to be.”

“Info that you could have forced from the real Sunburst to complete your shoddy performance of him,” she hissed, the magic in her horn growing more fierce the angrier she became. Nat could feel the heat her horn was giving off and didn’t doubt she’d reduce him to ashes with one colossally powerful beam of magic that was likely to blow a hole through the castle’s crystal walls as well. “Instead, why not tell me who you are, where the real Sunburst is, and about a dozen other follow up questions I’ve got before I erase you from existence, one atom at a time.”

“Um, sh-shouldn’t it be ‘or’ instead of ‘before,’” he tried to correct her, greatly regretting coming here now.”

“No, that’s correct,” she told him calmly and coldly. “I am going to vaporize you no matter what. How long till I do solely depends on how long you can keep spitting out valuable information. Cause, once the well of knowledge dries up, I’m gonna bury you in it.”

“S-So scary,” whimpered Nat, ready to pass out from the sheer terror Starlight was exuding. “I just hope Sunburst’s advice will work as well as he thinks it will.” He swallowed hard, barely able to keep himself together enough to avoid transforming back to his true form. “Otherwise… I’m done for.”

“If you’re trying to seduce Starlight,” Zircon and Nat recalled Sunburst telling them while they prepared for their mission. “Then you’re probably gonna have no such luck convincing her that you’re me. She’s a lot like a knife, sharp and will likely stab you if you think it’s a good idea to play around with her like she’s a toy.”

“Getting stabbed by a knife?” questioned Zircon, shaking and hesitating to risk her own hide to help her half brother out of the situation he found himself in. “More like sticking our heads in a guillotine and tugging the rope to drop the blade down on our necks.”

“There’s no way in Tartarus she’ll buy that you’re me,” the two Draglings continued to recall the words of wisdom their bearded wizard companion imparted with them back at the hive. “No doubt she’s already found out what’s happened to the Crystal Empire, so seeing me suddenly show up outta the blue will be a big, red flag to her.”

“Then I guess we gotta find somepony else if she’s not going to be taken in by even a convincing imitation of you,” stated Nat.

“Let alone whatever you’re capable of pulling off,” added Zircon.

“Hey!” the small, blue Dragling snapped at her. “How do you know I won’t be a good actor?”

“Cause you wear your emotions on your sleeves,” she pointed out. “If you can’t keep yourself in check over one of my snide remarks then you’ll fall apart the second your nerves start acting up during the real deal.”

“Hhmp,” pouted Nat, unable to argue against the point she brought up. “Not like it even matters if Starlight won’t fall for it regardless of the performance we put on for her. We have to figure out somepony else more gullible to trick.”

“Now, I didn’t say it was impossible to beat her,” Sunburst chimed in. “You just can’t expect to beat her the conventional Changeling way of slowly drawing your victim in to seduce them. No, for this, you’ll need to hit her hard and fast to force her to submit even if she knows it’s all fake. Basically, get her full, undivided attention and then take her down with one, powerful blow.”

“So more dazzle and less deceit,” figured Zircon. “Just get her attention and fuck her into submission as quickly as possible. Any ideas what would be the best thing to throw at her then?”

“As a matter-o-fact,” he answered with a chuckle as he reached into his robe and pulled a wrinkled piece of paper from the inner pocket. Carefully unfolding it, he showed them both what was on it. One look and the two weren’t able to keep themselves from falling to the ground and laughing hard.

“Hehehahahahah!” laughed Nat, rolling around and holding his sides. “Is that supposed to be you? Where did you even get a drawing like that?”

“I, uh, actually found it,” admitted Sunburst, blushing brightly. “Under Starlight’s bed when I was visiting her one time… by complete accident of course. Uh, the under the bed, finding it under her bed was the by accident part. I was invited to her home on purpose.

“I don’t think we needed clarification on that part,” Zircon asssured the flushtered Sunburst.

“Oh, right,” he mumbled, trying to regain his focus. “Anyway, the point is, I always sorta knew she liked me, as more than friends, but never in this sorta way before.”

“Heheh, well, I can understand the bulging muscles and the chiseled jaw,” wheezed Zircon as she risked another peek at the drawing and found herself writhing in laughter again. Gasping for breath, she wiped the tears from her eyes. “But what’s with the eyepatch and the poofy dress shirt?”

“Apparently,” continued Sunburst, adjusting his spectacles. “Starlight really enjoys reading romance novels. She had a whole bunch of them hidden under her bed as well and on the cover on a bunch of them was a guy dressed kinda like this too. There were actually quite a few of these pictures she drew of me down there besides this one. I figured one wouldn’t be missed and she likely wouldn’t bring it up even if she did.” Thinking back to Starlight’s little hideout, Sunburst snickered some more. “And believe it or not, but this was hardly the strangest drawing of me she had there.”

“With proof like that,” laughed Nat, feasting on that ridiculous image of Sunburst with his eyes. “We have no reason to doubt there are. Now, tell us what they were. You can’t just mention it and not tell us.”

“Yeah,” agreed Zircon, finding this juicy dirt sweeter than the purest love or richest chocolate she had ever tasted.

He blushed a bit more before trying to find the courage to tell them. “Well, there was one of me drawn as a Seapony. You know, with everything fishy at the waist and down. Oh, and another in the style of a Bat Pony… or maybe it was a Dragon. Well, whatever it was, she still drew me with rippling muscles, and devilishly good looks. Also, the eyepatch was there too in every drawing, though I’m not sure why. Are they just that sexy to have on or something?”

“Well, we can ask her once we capture her,” stated Zircon as she took the picture from Sunburst to take a closer look at it, holding it out for Nat to see as well. They still laughed, but after viewing it so much already they were able to better restrain themselves.

“So, this is our secret weapon to take down Starlight?” questioned the smaller Dragling.

“If Starlight won’t be taken in as easily as most Ponies by regular means, like Sunburst said, then this might be the only weapon we have to use against her,” answered Zircon. “In other words, get to shapeshifting. We’re leaving in an hour and you best be ready to change into this at a moment’s notice.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to be the one to do this?” he suggested, trying his best to commit every detail of the picture to memory from the tight-fitting jeans to the six-pack abs to the long, flowing, fiery mane and even the he-man Sunburst’s hairy chest. This proved a difficult task, mainly because he started to snort with laughter again as he started to better understand truly how ridiculous it was all over again. He lost his focus in the process, but, a few minutes later, he recompossed himself and started looking over the picture again, biting his lip to fight back any more explosions of laughter. With some snickers and snorts, it was clearly not working.

“I’m sure you’ve got this no problem,” Zircon replied with an expected lack of concern in her voice as she observed Nat fail to stifle his laughter for the third time already. The Dragling princess then quietly shook her head as she also eyed over every little detail of the pic, from the anchor tattoo on his right, bulging bicep to his much fuller beard and every other little thing that Starlight included to make Sunburst into her ideal sex icon. “But I’ll be there to back you up in case it’s needed.”

“So generous of you,” Nat commented sarcastically before he got another look at the drawing of Sunburst and instantly lost it again.

“Uh, let’s see now,” thought Nat, trying to recall all the details of the drawing, while he was under the pressure of Starlight’s wrath. “His muscles were how big and he was wearing what again?” Growing ever more nervous, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. “And was the eyepatch on his right eye or his left? Oh, why does my mind have to go blank, now of all times?”

“Now,” continued Starlight, her eyes locked onto the Pony imposter, watching him sweat and tremble as his eyes darted while his mind raced. “I’ll start you off with a very easy question. On a scale of one to ten, what is your threshold for pain?”

“Is this so I don’t end up going into shock?” he asked, hoping this was a sign that she wasn’t going to be totally merciless with him.

“Oh, I’m not holding back,” she answered. “I just want to get an idea if this is just going to be painful for you or incredibly painful.”

“Um, maybe a four or five, I guess,” he answered, not sounding too particularly confident in his answer.

“Come on now, Nat,” thought Zircon, so tense just from watching she almost unintentionally undid her own disguise. “Don’t get distracted with her questions. You have to concentrate.”

“Uh huh,” mumbled the pink Unicorn, not showing any sign of relaxing her magic even with Nat cooperating with her interrogation. “Next question… What have you done with the REAL Sunburst and what about everyone else in the Crystal Empire? Tell me everything you know!”

“Uh, um, well, you see,” he fumbled with his words, not sure what to say or even where to begin. “Well, here goes nothing!”

“Here goes what now?” she repeated, not sure what Nat meant by that, but watched as he clenched his fists and a blue ring of flames appeared at his feet before quickly rising up his body. “Hey!” she snapped angrily. “What do you think you are doing?!?”

“J-Just slipping into something more comfortable,” he answered, his words nervous and cracking at first, but, as his voice started to deepen, a more confident tone came with it.

Wha- Huh?” babbled Starlight, seeing Nat take on the form of a far sexier looking Sunburst. The magic glowing on her horn was quick to fade away as she stared at the hunk of a Unicorn as he flexed his biceps and pecs. “S-Sunburst!?!”

“Yeah, that’s me, my lil Glimglam,” he swooned, running his fingers through his fiery mane as he approached her, gazing lovingly into her eyes with his one not covered up by an eyepatch. “What say we do something romantic like stand out on the beach without shoes on, while the sun sets?”

“Yes!” she cried out, but quickly shook her head, trying to not let this fantasy distract her. “No. Y-You are not Sunburst.”

“But, like this, I am even better than the original, aren’t I?” he pointed out, smirking and placing some fingers on her chin. Desperately, Starlight wanted to fight this, but now she found herself the one that was tense and trembling. Pressing her hands on him, she wanted so badly to push him off of her, but instead found herself slipping her digits beneath his silky dress shirt to feel up those perfectly crafted abs of his.

“I-I-I don’t know how you got th-the idea to look l-like this,” she struggled to get the words out of her mouth. “But this won’t be enough to enthrall me forever. Even with a hundred pounds of beefcake, I won’t succumb to your charms.”

“Uh, well I…” he sweated, trying to think fast before she fully returned to her senses. Looking up to where Zircon was hiding, he saw her gesturing to him, puckering her lips as she made a kissy face.

“I won’t be taken in by this!” Starlight cried out, attempting to push Nat away from her. “This is all fake! My love won’t be a meal for some lousy Changeling or whatever the hell you ar- mmph!” Nat muzzled her with his lips, trying to passionately kiss her while he brought one of his heavy hands around to keep her head close.

“Not bad,” Zircon admitted, watching her half brother making out with Starlight. “Heh. Pretty good actually. Still not better than me though.”

“C-Can’t be taken in by this cheap, but sexy imitation,” Starlight told herself, knowing full well he was a fake in her head, but her heart seemed to feel differently. It started beating faster as adrenaline and lust started to pump through her body. It made her yearn to embrace this pony making out with her real or not. She knew she had to fight it, but she also realized it was too late. She had already been ensnared by her heart’s own desire and with her frustration leaking out as tears in her eyes, she then found herself returning that kiss with just as much deep passion.

“Oh, this is so sweet,” thought Nat, his own heart racing at feeling this reciprocation of love and his triumph over such a powerful mare. “I’ve never tasted love straight from the tap before. Mmm~ It tastes even better this way.”

“Oh, Sunburst,” moaned Starlight, when they finally parted lips. Pink essence was seeping out of her lips as she spoke that Nat continued to slurp up like spaghetti. Her purple eyes were paler as she continued to gaze at the imposter of her beloved, far too deeply entranced to resist his influence over her now. “I’ve waited forever for this moment.”

“Well, I hope I didn’t disappoint,” he cooed in her ear, nibbling it gently.

“Not at all, love,” she swooned, placing her hands on his shoulders as she eyed him from his face and tilting her head downward. Her gaze paused at his waist for a moment before gazing up at his sexy mug once more. “But one last thing will make this moment truly perfect.”

“Then tell me,” he murred, placing a hand on her chin as he caressed her cheek and brought his head down to cross his horn with hers. “What can I do to make this moment absolutely perfect for you.”

“Careful now,” Zircon tried to warn Nat without distracting him and breaking his hold on the Unicorn. “You’ve already got her entranced. No need to risk taking this any further than first base.” Not hearing the Dragling princess’s words of caution, Nat just smiled at Starlight, looking as lost in love with her as she was with him. “Ugh, he’s forgotten himself in his role, hasn’t he?”

“Well, if you insist,” answered Starlight, reaching down to slip her hands into the faux Sunburst’s pants to squeeze his tight glutes. “Then how about we get a bit more… intimate?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” he murred with delight. His face was blushing and his toes were curling as he felt that delightful tingle in his pants. “Then shall we get to it.”

“Allow me~” she offered, her horn glowing bright hot and purple again as her magic flared up.

“Um, St-Starlight?” Nat’s voice cracked as he came back to his senses when he felt the heat her horn was giving off. “What are you do-” Before the blue Dragling could finish speaking, the magic around Starlight’s horn expanded outward and swallowed them both.

To Nat’s relief, the bubble they were engulfed in was hot, but it didn’t burn like he expected it to, allowing him to take a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, that sigh was premature as he watched Starlight’s clothes quickly turn to ashes till she was standing in the buff. Nat then looked himself over, wondering if it was going to affect the magical disguise he had on. To his horror, he watched as Starlight’s magic dissolved his own till his true body was completely exposed to her in more ways than one.

“Uh oh,” he sweated, worried how she would react to him now, a bizarre Dragon-Changeling hybrid and one complete in the nude.

“Oh, my bad,” Starlight apologized, seeing their naked forms and the ashes of their clothes scattered around their feet. “That was supposed to magically undress us, but I think I put a bit too much oomph into that spell.”

“N-Not to worry, love,” Nat comforted her while desperately trying to transform back into his hunky Sunburst form, but he couldn’t seem to get his magic to work. Every attempt was met by lingering remnants of Starlight’s magic crackling on his horn, counteracting his own every time he made an effort. The only fortunate thing appeared to be that Starlight was still under his sway, at least for the moment.

“Huh?” she pondered, giving Nat’s real keister a squeeze and quickly took notice of how different it felt. “Sunburst, why does it feel like your ass suddenly deflated? Also… why do you seem so different now? So much smaller and skinnier. Why-” Unable to think of anything else, to keep her distracted a bit longer, he pushed his lips back against hers, relieved that she was still into making out with him.

“If my life wasn’t in danger I would be very offended by that,” thought Nat, offended nonetheless. “My rear is not flat. Uh, anyway, what in Tartarus am I supposed to do now?” Desperate for any help he could take, he looked up at Zircon, hoping she had some advice to give him in this situation.

“You haven’t fully lost her yet,” Zircon told him. “You just gotta finish winning her over as small, doofy, flat-assed you instead of that big strong hunk of a stallion with the golden glutes.”

“You’re never going to stop bringing that up, are you?” was transcribed through the look he gave his half-sister while his lips were still being locked in combat with the powerful Unicorn’s own set.

“You’re just gonna have to improvise a lil,” she continued. “Find a way to seduce her as you before she recovers enough to use her magic to vaporize more than your clothes. So… uh, no pressure. Did I mention how glad I am that I had you handle this pony?”

Nat retorted to this with some muffled complaining sounds before a much needed breath of air forced the Dragling to finish making out with Starlight. “Improvise, huh?” he pondered as he tried to think, slurping up another tasty load of her love he leached out of her. “Gulp! Okay, I can do that.”

Taking a deep breath, Nat slowly planted her onto the floor of the castle as he let some of the stick slime ooze out from his maw. Taking it in hand, he used it to glue Starlight’s arms to her ground as he gazed down at her, rubbing his crotch against her pussy, helping get it hard and excited for what he was about to do with it. As he did, he could feel moistness leaking from Starlight, her body already hot and eager for some action.

“S-Sunburst?” moaned the restrained Pony. Trying to move her arms, she found that she couldn’t, thanks to the goop on them, holding her like sticky elastic. It allowed her a bit of give, but not nearly enough to free herself with brute strength alone. Looking up at the former sexy stallion, she could now clearly see what he really looked like. “W-What’s happened to you?”

“You got a taste of some handsome-sexy,” Nat told her, gently gliding his fingers over her naked form. “How about something a bit more scary-sexy now?”

“How about I just blast a hole through your head instead,” she argued, charging up the magic in her horn for another blast. In a panic, Nat reached down and groped tightly on her breasts, forcing a loud moan out of her before she fired off a blast of magic prematurely. The radiant beam narrowly missed his head, though only by a narrow margin.

“That was too close,” Nat breathed, feeling the lingering heat against the scales on his face. “I would have needed more than a sexy eyepatch to cover up the damage that would have done.”

“Ah! Ooooh!” moaned Starlight as Nat still had his claws clenched tightly to her melons. She tried to build up her magic again, but couldn’t seem to do more than create sparks while her lust was being played with. “L-Let g-go of my chest.”

“Since it seems I’ll live longer if I keep doing that,” he observed. “I think I’ll hold on a bit longer. You seem to be enjoying it quite a lot anyway and you’ll definitely love what I’m about to do to you next.”

Feeling his length pressed against her crotch and on the move to have the tip line up with her vagina, Starlight tried to do what she could to keep it closed and out of the way. This, however, proved a fruitless endeavor as another tight squeeze to her cleavage forced out another howl of pleasure as her body turned limp.

“Just relax and enjoy,” he spoke to her deviously, showing off a big, toothy grin similar to Tamati’s own. “After this, you’ll get to come home with us and then you’ll finally get to be back with the real Sunburst. Though, I doubt you’ll find the vanilla version nearly as enjoyable as all the flavors I can provide you with, love.”

“N-No,” she tried to beg, feeling the tip of his dick prod and push apart the lips of her tender pussy. With how hot and bothered she had become throughout this whole encounter, the student of friendship found her body reflexively trying to thrust her hips up to help guide his penis into her hungry hole. “P-Please d-d-don’t…”

“Don’t?” questioned Nat, feeling safe enough to release her rack while his dick was at the ready. The Dragling rested his body on top of Starlight’s pressing his cheek against hers. As he did this, he slowly allowed his dick to slide into her horny hole. With no help at all, almost an inch and a half of it made its way in before it met with resistance. “Don’t do what now, love?”

“D-D-Don’t be gentle~” she begged him, her final chance at defiance came and gone and now the magical mare found herself curling her toes and biting down on her lower lip as she braced for the fucking her body was starving for.

“I won’t be,” he answered as he slid his cock into her, letting the two of them experience the true pleasures of the flesh for the very first time. Moans of utter bliss reverberated off their lips as all of Nat’s length got swallowed into Starlight, letting crotch press against crotch for a moment before he slowly pulled back out to thrust in again.

“Feels wonderful, doesn’t it?” asked Zircon, already aware of the answer as she enjoyed the show of seeing Nat get into a steady rhythm of humping his new Unicorn mate.

“Oh, yeah,” he nodded and panted, the mellow glaze in his eyes showing how lost in the euphoria of the moment he was. As he spoke to his fellow Dragling, he continued to give Starlight a steady humping, feeling his whole body tingle each time she squeezed her hips to add more enticing resistance to his pelvic motions. “I was scared out of my mind for a while, but it was all worth it for this~ Mmm… Nothing even comes close to what I’m feeling now… nothing save, maybe, the first time I ever tasted chocolate.”

“Can’t argue with facts,” she agreed. “After experiencing them I can’t imagine life without them and I certainly can’t imagine having to choose one over the other either.”

“Glad that we don’t,” he chuckled, pulling out of Starlight again, however, after barely pulling all the way out, he felt something strange around his waist. It was as if that whole part of his body was suddenly frozen in place. Looking down at it, he saw it had that all too familiar purple aura around it and Starlight’s horn was also glowing and active.

“Uh, Starlight?” he asked, nervously, not sure what was about to happen. “What are you doing?”

“You promised,” she moaned, using her magic to pin him down on top of her and keep him there as she nibbled at his ear.

“P-Promised what?” he whimpered, this rollercoast of fear and pleasure making his head spin. “What did I promise you?”

“That you wouldn’t hold back on me,” she retorted and suddenly Nat found his hips slam hard into Starlight’s pussy, forcing his upper body to squish down against her’s. With a bit more magic, Starlight managed to fire a couple small beams of magic at her glued down arms to free them and proceed to wrap them around Nat’s back, holding him tightly against her as she then forced his dick back out of her before slamming it back in even more force and soon had him pistoning his cock in and out of her with reckless abandon.

“Oh, now that’s much better~” she moaned, her words starting to slur a bit as she embraced this flood of pleasure she was bringing upon herself. “I was long overdue for a day like this.” Filled with ecstacy, she attempted to lock lips with Nat for another love-filled kiss, only to end up smooching the side of his face as he turned towards his half sister.

“Zircon!” Nat cried, in a panic once more as he felt Starlight making out with his ear. “Is this supposed to be happening? When Changelings do this, aren’t their victims supposed to be terrified and leached of all their strength? Cause this one doesn’t seem to be frightened or tired at all!”

“It was the same thing with Sunburst,” she recalled. “Albeit, he wasn’t nearly as powerful or horngry as this one appears to be. I think it might be because we’re only part Changeling. Perhaps being conceived while our mothers were under the influence of the Lockheart’s magic might have affected our powers as well.”

“And you couldn’t have thought to tell me this sooner?” he cried, helpless against the Unicorn’s magic as she continued to slam his groin into hers without pause and Nat found himself blissfully helpless to do anything but keep going along for the ride.

“Ohhhhhh, so close,” called out Starlight her ecstacy reaching its zenith while Nat’s dick was throbbing harder than ever inside of her. “T-Time to finish up!” With one last, big thust inward, she squeezed her Dragling mate hard and braced herself, feeling their climaxes erupt in unison, flooding her insides with lust that first filled it up before the excess oozed to the surface and ran down her body between her legs.

For several seconds, both of them just continued to enjoy the high they were feeling before the pleasure began to wane. With a few deep breaths, Nat felt his dick soften and return to its ordinary size. The powerful Unicorn’s magic started to fade away, allowing him to finally escape her magical hold as well as wiggle out of her fatigued grasp to roll onto his side and lay beside her.

“That was truly wonderful, love,” she breathed heavily, a faint glow of purple still present on the tip of her magical horn despite the Dragling no longer feeling any part of his body at her mercy. There was then a sudden flash around Starlight’s that seemed to do nothing. After that, her horn stopped glowing.

“Uh, what was that?” Nat asked her.

“Magical condom,” she answered with a yawn, fatigue starting to finally catch up with her after all that. “Best way to practice safe sex.”

“And, if you wanna get in more practice,” replied the Dragling, getting up and offering her his hand. “You should come back home with us. In exchange, we just require your services, not that you can resist our influence over you.”

“No more than you can resist me having my way with you either,” she teased him right back, taking his hand and getting up. “And there will be plenty more times, I can promise you that~”

“Uh, swell,” he sweated, not sure if he should be excited or frightened by Starlight’s words that were as threatening as they were enticing. “Can we go home now to the Changeling Hive?”

“Just leave that to me,” the pink and purple Unicorn volunteered as her horn started to glow. “I can teleport us there in the blink of an-”

“Starlight!” called out Twilight as she pushed opened the front door to her castle. “Uh, it’s me. I’m, uh, back.”

“Twilight?” Starlight answered back before either Dragling could muffle her. “What are you doing back here?” Quickly, Nat covered her muzzle with his hands to keep her quiet.

“I know we already discussed why I had to go out and search for Spike,” Twilight continued, making her way straight towards the three of them. “And I’m sure repeating yourself to me over and over again must feel like you’re talking to…” Reaching the Map Room, Twilight found the place was deserted. “...an empty room. Uh, Starlight, where are…” Her words were cut off when she heard a small crash and some jostling sounds coming from a nearby closet. Turning to it, Twilight made her way over. “Uh, Starlight, why are you hiding in my book closet?”

The Princess of Friendship reached for the door, but it opened by itself first and a fully dressed Starlight fumbled out, closing the door behind her as she did. “We really need to have a talk about your book hoarding problem,” she told her friend.

“I know,” Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance over that quirk of hers. “But that still doesn’t explain why you were hiding in there from me. Why-” Twilight paused as an unmistakable musky odor hit her nostrils. “That smell… is it… Did you… Starlight… in our map room?”

“Sorry,” she replied looking away with embarrassment. “I thought I’d have been able to enjoy a bit of alone time and then you just happened to show up. Promise me you won’t mention this to anyone.”

“I would never,” swore Twilight. “We all have those sorts of impulses we can’t help acting upon, after all and what are friends for if not to help one another out, right?”

“Right,” nodded Starlight, hiding a devious smirk behind a friendly smile.

“This wasn’t exactly part of the plan, but if we can capture another pony princess then that’s all the better for us,” thought the disguised Zircon. “I don’t know too much about this one or her sexual weaknesses, but I can probably just wing it a little. No telling if we will get another chance like this again.”

Slowly, the faux Starlight approached Twilight, ready to work her charms and put on the performance of a lifetime. Opening the closet door a crack, Nat was watching in silence, doing his best to ensure Starlight remained quiet too.

“Well, I should probably go back out and search for Spike in earnest,” chuckled Twilight. “Otherwise, you’re just going to start chewing me out in earnest. Plus, I’m sure, you want to get back to your ‘alone time.’”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Starlight told her mentor. “I’ve been thinking it over and you really should stay. I insist.”

“But you were right when you said I should be out there looking for Spike,” she replied. “It was my fault for not standing up to Celestia for him and the sooner we find him, the sooner I can make amends.”

“You say that now, but the second you walk out that door you’ll be right back to fretting over Celestia, won’t you?” figured Zircon. “At this rate you’ll just be running back and forth across town, so why not just stay here… with me.”

“With how much I worry, it probably would be best,” Twilight admitted easily. “And with the others all searching everywhere else in Equestria, we’re sure to find him before long. I just know Spike wants to be found and come back to us. He’s just got to…”

“And I’m certain the two of you will be reunited,” Zircon assured her, giving the Pony Princess’s hearts strings a few gentle tugs to soften her up as she ever so carefully made her move. Reaching for Twilight’s hand, Zircon gave her lips a lick, ready to embrace her target in a deep, passionate kiss before lusting her into submission just as Nat had done to the real Starlight. “Bonds as strong as yours will always lead you back to one another.”

“Uh, Starlight,” Twilight started to blush as Zircon made her move on her. “What are you…”

“STARLIGHT!” bellowed a loud voice from the entrance to the castle. The shock of it instantly ruined the mood that Zircon had been setting up for Twilight.

“Ugh! What now?!?” snapped an agitated Zircon, almost breaking character, though Twilight failed to notice as her attention was also now focused on the timely interruption by a blue Unicorn mare hurrying into the Map Room. She was dressed in a short purple miniskirt with a matching dress shirt. She had a diamond broach around her neck that held together a silky and sparkly violet cape that trailed behind her. Atop her head she had on a floppy wizard’s hat crowning her head. Both were covered in stars. Her eyes were purple and her long flowing mane and tail was striped with pale blues and bluish white hues.

“Starlight, have no fear, your great and powerful best friend, Trixie, is here!” she announced, rushing in between the two of them to hug the imposter Pony much too tightly.

“Ugh, this is not good,” sweated Zircon, resisting the urge to force this new Pony off of her and risk setting off alarms that she wasn’t the real Starlight. “I have no idea who this Pony is, but I can already tell she’s going to be one huge pain in my flank. Nat and I better just take Starlight and get out of here fast.”

With a silent sigh, she gave her hugger a pat on the back. “It’s okay,” the phony Starlight assured her. “I’m just fine.”

“Are you sure?” Trixie questionedthe Dragling in friend’s clothing, releasing her from that hug, but holding her now at arm’s length as she gazed into her eyes. “The second you found out something bad happened to the Crystal Empire you rushed back here in a panic. You didn’t even wait for me. Do you know how many times I had to teleport across Equestria till I finally got even close enough to hoof it back here?”

“I’m really sorry, but I was in such shock I just wasn’t thinking,” Zircon told her carefully considering her choice of words.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to think,” Trixie assured her “Just leave everything to the Great and Powerful Trixie to save the day! So, what’s the plan on how we’re going to save them?”

“I don’t have to think, but you’re asking me about the plan?” questioned Zircon in her mind. “Is this Pony for real?”

“There is no plan,” Twilight told Trixie. “Right now the Crystal Empire is being contained by its own magical barrier. Princess Celestia’s forces are trying to figure a way to get inside and rescue everyone. There’s nothing any of us can do to helpout, besides, we’ve got a problem of our own. I’ll spare you the details, but Spike is missing and the girls and I are splitting up to find him.”

“Then say no more,” she declared with bold, unfounded confidence. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will aid you in finding your dragon.”

“Well, another Pony looking would definitely be a big help,” agreed Twilight. “Rarity, Rainbow Dash and the others are all moving out in different directions to try and locate him, but having you look too will definitely help improve our odds.”

“With Trixie’s help, you don’t need any other Pony,” she boasted with unearned confidence. “Come on, Starlight. Let’s get going.”

“But didn’t you just say you didn’t need any help in your search?” she asked.

“Trixie did,” she nodded. “But I’d rather not spend hours trying to teleport back to Ponyville again. When we have Spike, you can take us back and share in one sixteenth of Trixie’s glory.”

“Wow, that’s… incredibly generous of you,” Zircon remarked, pondering how exactly these two Ponies were friends, but that thought was only second in her mind right behind Trixie’s suggestion to have her teleport them back. “I don’t have any magic like teleportation,” she thought, recalling the real McCoy’s magical abilities. “And I doubt even a Pony like her will believe a powerful Unicorn like Starlight is having trouble with her magic.”

“Well, if you can find Spike as easily as that,” suggested Twilight, approaching her. She was willing to grasp at any potential hope at finding her precious friend, even a dubious-sounding one coming from Trixie. “Why don’t I go along too? This way I can apologize to Spike as soon as possible.”

“No!” Zircon blurted out by accident, causing both Ponies to stare at her bewildered by her outburst. “Uh, I mean, we still need a Pony to stay here and keep an eye on things, right?”

“Yeah, but, earlier, you were the one pushing for me to go out and find Spike,” Twilight pointed out. “You said that it would be upsetting to him if he found out that I wasn’t actively out there searching for him.”

“I said that?” questioned the fake Starlight, her mind racing to figure out a counterpoint. “Oh, well, I was thinking about it a little and it could also be bad if he sees you looking for him. He might still be sore with you and refuse to come home. Spike might even run off again.”

“I’m sure he’s upset,” sniffled Twilight, placing a heart against her aching chest. “But do you really think he hates me so much now that he won’t even give me a chance to apologize?”

“Take it from a Pony who’s been there,” Trixie chimed in. “You can rub Ponies the wrong way.”

“Because of how you nearly destroyed Ponyville,” remarked Twilight. “Twice.”

“The first time was not Trixie’s fault,” she pointed out. “As for the second… Uh… See! You’re rubbing Trixie the wrong way right now!”

“Maybe we should just get going,” suggested Zircon, covering Trixie's mouth to prevent her from bickering with Twilight further. “And you Twilight?”

“I’ll stay here,” she nodded, managing to compose herself. “But if you find Spike, please, you have to bring him back to me. Make sure he knows I am sorry about everything and I’ll do anything if he’ll just come back home, to his home, to our home.”

“I’ll do everything I can,” she vowed in as sincere a tone as possible to appease Twilight. Once Trixie calmed down, she released her hand from her face. “So, Trixie, care to tell me where we’re going to look?” The Dragling Princess glanced over at the closet that Nat and the actual Starlight were hidden in, hoping they were paying attention to everything that was going on.

“Okay, this shouldn’t be too much trouble to deal with,” figured Zircon. “Twilight is staying here so that is one less Pony to deal with while escaping. Now, hopefully, Nat will have the real Starlight teleport after us so we can safely regroup and then teleport home. By the time this Unicorn can manage to get back here to tell Twilight we’ll be long gone.”

“Where we’re going,” she answered dramatically. “Is where all things that are lost always turn up.”

“Uh, which is?” asked Zircon, wanting a more concrete answer than that.

“We’ll randomly teleport to some place in Equestria and search for Spike there. If he isn’t we will teleport elsewhere and repeat till we find him, in the last place Trixie looks.”

“But that is the worst kind of blind searching,” cried Starlight in protest. “We could end up hopelessly lost!”

“Which is where you come in to bring us back when we’re done,” Trixie reminded her as her horn started to glow as she prepared the teleportation spell.

“Uh… right,” she sweated, giving the closet door a nervous look, not certain how long it was going to take her to get back to the Changeling Hive now.

“Now, let’s get going!” bellowed Trixie in an over-the-top manner despite the lack of a substantial audience. “The Great and Powerful Trixie and friend!” Unable to watch, Zircon closed her eyes and clenched her fists, bracing for whatever fate had in store for her. Trixie’s horn glowed brighter and soon the two of them vanished in a blinding flash of light, leaving Twilight by herself (at least as far as she knew).

“Well, this was certainly unexpected,” Twilight told herself. “But, things are really starting to feel hopeful.” She gave her chin a scratch as she pondered for a moment. “I should probably contact the girls and give them an update on what’s going on, but first I could use a little reading material to help me pass the time.”

Nat spied on Twilight as she made her way over to the closet for one of the many books it was filled with. Quickly, and quietly, he turned to Starlight and whispered in her ear. “From what I gathered, you can teleport accurately, right?” She nodded in response. “Can you take us to the Changeling Hive or, at least, as close as you can to it?” Starlight nodded again as Twilight grabbed the door handle and turned it. “Then do it now,” he pleaded.

With one more vertical shake of her head, Starlight’s horn glowed, followed by a bright flash and they were gone. Immediately after, Twilight opened the door. She was stunned by the surprising, blinding light and failed to notice either of them. “What in Equestria-” she started to say, but was quickly distracted by the piles of books that got knocked out of their neat stacks when they hurried to hide. The scent and numerous traces of cum were also present in the closet, much to Twilight’s disgust.

“Ugh, seriously Starlight,” she grumbled. “This isn’t even the closet with that kind of literature.”

Seconds later, Nat and Starlight reappeared where the latter had teleported them too. In a panic, Nat took his mentally modified ally by the hand and started to run. “Somebody! Anybody!” he cried. “We’ve got a situation! Zircon’s in trouble and-” He words stopped as did his running as he looked around and didn’t see any trace of the towering structure that was the Changeling Hive. The area around him certainly appeared to be the Badlands that surrounded it, however, it felt far warmer than it had been before he left and there was even a faint, but foul stench in the air too.

“Starlight?” he turned to speak with her. “Are you sure you teleported us to the right location?”

“Of course,” she nodded, not sounding the least bit uncertain. “Twilight and I practiced teleporting all over Equestria in the past and one of the locations we tried was here.”

“Pretty gutsy for a Pony to come to such a dangerous place just for practice,” he commented, still not certain they were in the right location.

“Although,” she added, looking around too. “I don’t recall us ever being able to teleport this far into the Badlands before.” Turning around, she pointed to where the cliffs separated the Badlands from the lush, green forests. “Normally we couldn’t travel any further than there and we couldn’t use any magic if we came any closer.”

“That would be because of the special magic canceling stone on dad’s throne,” he answered. “Which is why this can’t be the right place. You must have taken us somewhere else.”

“I can try again, but this is definitely the place,” Starlight assured Nat.

“No!” he snapped at her, his body shaking as he refused to believe her words and his own eyes, but, looking around, he could see a large area with familiar looking rubble that was scorched black as was the ground around it. Moving closer to it, he could even see much of it was melted as if it had been wax placed too close to a fire.

“This can’t be the right place! It can’t be!” His voice was cracking and his eyes were quick to start overflowing with water. “The Changeling Tower would be right over here! Everyone was in there safe and sound just last night! How could it all just be gone so easily? What about Sting and Media? Dad and Mom… everybody. I don’t even have Zircon now. It can’t be…” He dropped to his knees, sobbing. “I can’t be all alone now…”

—

The caverns were pitch black save for the faint, fluorescent illumination of naturally growing crystals. Panting and gasping, a dragon hustled through the near total darkness, tripping and stumbling constantly, but quick to drag his body and force himself back up without ever allowing himself a moment to rest.

His orange scales were completely caked over by mud and stained black ash. His wings were ragged and barely still flightworthy. The curved horn he had on the left side of his head was cracked at the tip while the matching one on his right side was completely broken off at the base. Where his body wasn’t too covered over with mud and dirt, countless scars were visible, ranging from tiny, insignificant ones to far larger tears in his flesh that looked like he should be dead several times over already.

“I can’t take it anymore! I’ve got to get away!” he wheezed and gasped before falling hard again, hitting his jaw on the ground and biting his tongue, but he just pushed himself back to his feet to keep on running. “I’ve got to get away! Get away from this Hellhole! Away from that… that monster!”

Behind him, he could hear heavy, approaching footsteps mixed with the unsettling sounds of clanging and scraping metal. Compared to the hasty pace the dragon was running at, his pursuer’s speed seemed barely more than a steady walk, yet it never felt like he was putting any distance between them.

“There has to be a way out of here,” he cried. Feeling around in front of him to make certain he didn’t run right into a wall. “I have to find it.” His foot caught a rock and he took another painful spill, this time twisting his left ankle and scratching up his shin as well. “Ugh! Damn it! No!”

He cursed and snarled, trying to get up only to collapse the second he put any weight on his leg with a sprain. Quickly, the dragon gave up on running and tried to drag his body with two arms and one good leg at his disposal. Though he wasn’t sure if he was still going the way he had been going or if he got turned around during his tumble, he didn’t question it. He simply allowed his fear to drive him onward and ensure he would never stop moving no matter how torn up his body became in the process. However, he finally did come to a halt, the cause, a pair of glowing blue eyes glaring at him through the darkness.

“N-N-N-No!” the dragon cried, quickly changing from crawling on his hands and knees to doing a limpy crab walk backwards to escape the monster that was chasing after him. With no more audio coming from his head than a snort, the hulking creature proceeded after the fleeing dragon with no more hustle than before.

“Get away from me! Get away!” shouted the dragon before he rammed his back into a wall, hitting his head against it too. He tried to shake off the pain and keep moving, but it was already too late. Those glowing blue eyes and the beast attached to them was looming over the broken Dragon, still making no verbal noise beyond just breathing. What little could be seen of its body thanks to the faint glow of the gemstones around them was thick plates of metal covering over its arms and legs.

“I-I-I-I’m sorry!” the Dragon pleaded, tears flowing freely from the injured feeble creature’s eyes. I’ll get back to work. I won’t resist you. I’ll never try to escape again. Please, just spare my life.”

The creature didn’t move, seemingly considering the his words. Finally, it moved its arm, causing more sounds of scraping and clanging metal to sound as it reached to grab the battered and bruised dragon, seemingly attempting to be gentle as it did so.

Heart racing as the monster leaned closer to him, the Dragon inhaled fast and exhaled even faster, blasting the largest blast of fire he could muster right at the creature’s face, scoring a direct hit. “Ha! Take that, bastard! And there’s more where that came from!”

Drawing more breath, he readied more flames, however, he swallowed the air when he realized his flames didn’t even make the creature flinch. It just continue to glare at him with a low growl seeping out of its sharp-toothed maw. “I-I just panicked,” he trembled, realizing his grave mistake. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to!”

The behemoth didn’t respond to him. It just stood back up and did something like rolling its shoulders. As it did, the sounds of metal siding against metal was heard as something protruded from its sides, blocking out any light from the crystals behind the creature.

Panting and shaking, the dragon could no longer find the courage or fear to move his body. All he could do was watch as its metal-clad arm reached at its side and grasped something in its claws.

“Sunrise…” the creature finally spoke, its voice cold, emotionless and almost robotic. As it spoke, it raised that object high up, connecting with the cave’s ceiling as it did so. From what the Dragon could faintly make out, the creature was wielding a double-bladed axe that was easily large enough to cleave through his body like a hot knife going through butter.

“P-P-Please!” the Dragon begged with all his might, his voice echoing through the caverns. “Don’t kill me!”

“Sunset…” the creature then spoke, bringing down the axe, without hesitation, right onto the Dragon. He let out a bloody scream that would have chilled anyone to the core who had heard it, but even as loud as his last breath of life was, it failed to reach outside the mouth of the caverns on the mountainside opposite the capital city of Canterlot.

Author's Note

The new chapter is up and i gotta say the end of this arc was quite a doozy, but you can bet things are only heating up from here.