Deep Breath

Chapters

1 Not in Texas Anymore
2 Enter the Asylum
3 A Hut in the Woods
4 Moving Forward
5 Enter the Hive
6 Preparations for Peace
7 Prelude to War
8 Onwards! to...
10 Recover
11 Rebuke
12 Return
13 Reprieve
14 Repose
15 Arrival
16 Greetings
9 regret!

1 Not in Texas Anymore

A thick chop echoes through the hills and trees. It’s only company is another chop, followed by another and another as you swing at the fallen cedar. A good ten minutes have passed. Two things come to mind. First, being what others would think; There are easier and dryer woods around, this is not worth the effort! Also, sometimes what one needs is a meaningfully tough object to enact sweet, sweet catharsis upon.

You’re not a particularly violent or troubled person per se, but the opportunity presented itself, and you gladly embraced it. You even read about this in a textbook chapter about holistic care once. Violent exhibitions of force are healthy so long as no living thing is harmed or threatened. There’s a good ten feet of cedar post just lying there, soon to be two roughly five-foot posts that will support a makeshift camping shelter, and on the last day you’re here, it’ll burn nice and long. Fifteen minutes have passed, and now one more swing ought to do it, so with a vigorous grunt, you bear down on the wood with all these long month’s frustration.

Satisfied with your effort, you set the axe in the ground and take a deep breath. As you slowly exhale, all tension fades away, and you build in your mind the readiness to put your all into the foreseeable future. You turn and walk a few steps to the right to rinse the sweat off your hands in the stream that is… was there. You look around. What a few moments ago was upstream of a decent river is now a grouping of exceptionally large oak trees. The iron and flint ridden hill country that your car was parked in behind you is now a lush and unbroken field of grass.

What could possibly get you this disoriented? You don’t do drugs, and you only eat wild mushrooms that you have encyclopedic knowledge of, the grand total of which being zero. No bug bite or plant wound seems to be on your body. A good idea to orient yourself with the sun nearly came to mind if only it were for the wide eyed, wide smiling pinkness accosting you with the loudest sing-song “Hello!” you’ve ever heard in person. Nothing could have prepared you for what came next.

“I’m Pinky Pie! Will you be visiting Ponyville nearby? I’d love to throw you a welcome party!”

“Mu… Thaw?”

“What’s your favorite color? What’s your favorite dessert? Ooh-ooh-ooh, do you like music?”

The pink four-legged thing is in your face now. You stumble backwards and away, picking up your axe and holding it in front of you, blade pointed up so that a flat surface of the head is defensively pointed to your accoster. You don’t think it will do any good to fight something this big and with this much energy, but you will cling to any chance of blocking whatever it’s about to maul you with.

“I… I… Dloh no, uoy era gniklat yaw oot tsaf.”

“Oh, you’re saying each word backwards! Is this a game? I love games! Os woh od ew yalp siht emag? Ooh s’tahw siht?”

Wait, you’re talking to this thing, and it’s right, every word you say comes out backwards. You really need to wrap your head around things before anything else happ- god-blessed it just jabbed at your pistol holster! Your gun goes off on your hip, missing your foot thankfully. There’s a bruise from that jab, and you’re pretty sure the gun is busted, but there are five more bullets. You do not want to stay anywhere near this thing, whatever it is.

Realization strikes as the two of you find yourselves having jumped back from each other. A good look at your attacker reveals a pink pony that is craning her head up to be at eye level with you. It doesn’t look like some machine trick so there will be no running from this thing. Time to try something else. You hold the axe in front of you sideways, and slowly lower it to the ground, hoping to get across the idea of “Please don’t harm me, pink pony thing.” The pony looks intensely at the axe. Is it comprehension of your intention? The only indication you get is the axe handle catching fire in your hands before you can fully put it down.

Why? Why are you being attacked by a pink pony? Why are you saying words backwards? Why did your axe catch fire? You shout this, not caring how the words come out, or that you somehow managed to get a hold of your backpack and are now cowering behind it. You’re half sure the pink pony handed it to you.

You hate fighting loosing battles. You would rather find peaceful solutions than kick a brick wall, especially when the wall is pink and can probably outrun you. Taking a deep breath and letting it out quickly, you begin to take inventory on the situation. You don’t know where you are. Every word you say comes out backwards. There is a talking pink pony that set off your holstered gun and set your axe on fire. You doubt it will slow down enough for you to talk things down. To your left is an unfamiliar forest. To your right is an unfamiliar field of grass. To either side of you is now another pony, each in black armor and placing a hoof on your shoulder. A larger armored pony jumps in front of you, taking a protective stance, and making the pink one jump back.

A flash of green flame engulfs your vision. The next thing you see is a room with wooden walls. You find yourself in a basement, the two armored ponies now taking their hooves off you. As far as you can tell, they do not intend to cause harm. You take the chance to orient yourself once more. There are no foot or hoof steps above you. The walls of this room are plain with a single small basement window up and to your left. Nothing is stored on the bare earthen floor. You can hear the pink pony yelling “Twilight!” in a panicked fashion and moving away. Is it a code word? Maybe the name of the ponies that just took you away?

You move silently towards the wall where no one can see from through the window and sit down. The armored ponies follow and sit with you, saying nothing. Their faces showing no sign of aggression. Taking a finger to the dirt in front of you, you wright out the question, “ARE WE SAFE?” One nods and traces a hoof across its muzzle. Keep quiet. Good idea. You nod back. A green flame flashes on the other side of the room. The larger armored pony is now there, holding a hoof up to it’s muzzle. The three of you nod, then it marks a line in the dirt parallel to what light is shining through the window. The light will eventually strike the line. “We move at this time,” It seems to say.

You take the chance to check your bag. The tools you carried on you are now useless, so all you have left are your supplies: a light ten by ten tarp, 6 days of jerky, a small solar panel for your phone, a bag of pocket warmers, and a box of ammo. In silence, five bullets are carefully taken out of the gun and placed back in the ammo box, one place with a spent casing. Your gun holster now replaced with a knife clipped to your belt. That pink pony somehow hit the safety and dented the trigger mechanism in one jab. You place the broken gun in your bag with the ammo box.

Still with some time left, you take in the appearance of your new friends. They wait calmly and patiently, sometimes looking at each other. Each pony in front of you wore a transparent set of wings and a horn riddled with holes. Perhaps they perform a function. Rank maybe? One turns their head and notices you examining them. You notice their armor does not seem to have any gaps or hinge points, but you saw the shine of a chitinous armor outside, and their hooves on you definitely felt like armor rather than flesh. You make a gesture by rubbing your arm with a hand, then lifting it and reaching part way to them. One bows their head and closes their eyes, allowing you to touch them. You feel down their back. The hardness of chitin is there, but there is more that can be felt. You know what hard material placed over flesh feels like, and this is nothing like that. What you felt expanded and contracted with each breath, the warmth of blood vessels and pulse of a heart feint but present. The chitinous pony leans toward you slightly, enjoying the petting they are now receiving, and once the attention ceased, that pony turned to the other, leaning their horns against each other and glowing a now familiar shade of green. You watch the ponies curiously. The larger pony watches you curiously.

Just a few minutes before the makeshift sundial reaches the mark, you stand up, checking your arm and leg motions. With a few deep breaths in through the nose and quickly out the mouth, your heart rate is ready for a run. The ponies are standing now with the larger one near the door.

“Stay close behind. Flank him from behind and signal me if he slows down.” Another feminine voice, slightly deeper.

“On three. One. Two. Three.”

The door opens and the four of us run out. We take alleys and shaded corners, keeping to the outskirts of what seems to be a rustic village. Before long, the lead pony makes a sharp turn and sprints out into the open. We are out in a part of the fields that surround the village. The woods are closer to this part, and there are downlands that can be hidden around. This is where she led us. Hiding behind tall mounds and long evening shadows. There is less than an hour of light left. You follow your lead in silence taking wide turns in and around thick groupings of trees and sharp turns after jumping down ditches dug out by creeks. It gets harder to see in the dying light. Your eyes have adjusted for a while, but you now cannot continue without slowing or else risking tripping on a root or rock. One of your flanking ponies lets out a low insect like hiss and the lead pony slows her pace.

Not much farther, the four of you slow to a stop. The lead pony lifting a hidden door at the base of a hill with particularly large and twisting oaks grouped together. The other two ponies pile in, so you do not hesitate to follow. Once everyone is in, the large pony ties the door closed from the inside, and you are engulfed in darkness for a moment until a hanging crystal lights up in the middle of the dugout room in a pail glow. With the pony’s eyes all now on you, their green orbs glinting most prominently in the crystal light, the large one asks with concern.

“Are you alright? Have you suffered any injuries?”

“On.”

You cringe, reminded of whatever madness is affecting your speech. You might as well try talking backwards to make the words come out right.

“No!”

You blink. It worked. There may be a way to communicate properly. You your knife from your belt and scratch some words into the floor. You read them left to right but trace your finger across each word backwards.

“No injuries. My speech is… reversed… from what I… intend. Why?”

It took some effort, but you managed to get the words sounding properly. All you must do is put effort into speaking backwards like a madman in order to sound normal. A true grasp of something sane, the first step forward in the right direction today. The large pony reacts to you.

“It looks like you’ve been cursed. We are safe here. We can seek out someone to cure you in the morning, then sort everything else out after that.”

“Please and thank you!”

This is probably not permanent. You may yet have your sanity back, and you have these ponies to thank for that. The larger one tells you that her name is Chrysalis, and the two smaller ones are Gentle Breeze and Soft Light. Eager to show your gratitude, you try to offer your name without writing it down, but it doesn’t come out.

“My name is… [ ]… [ ]… [ ]!

Not even that the name comes out backwards, you can’t seem to say it at all backwards or forwards. You try to carve it into the ground with your knife, but after two letters, the ground erupts in a bright yellow flame that Gentle Breeze and Soft Light quickly stomp out. There is apparently a species of wolves called timber wolves that would seek out and trample any fires that they sense in this forest. They are apparently big enough to rip this dugout to pieces with short effort.

You keep from offering to start a fire for warmth. Instead, you lay out the tarp and offer that everyone huddles together under it. The crystal light quickly dying out, and the temperature dropping even faster, all ponies involved did not act bashfully. Magic crystals, glowing horns, a vocal curse, wherever you seem to be now, and your own dang name catching fire. At this rate, those wings on the ponies are actually functional as wings. All things to sort out tomorrow when you can speak properly. You take a deep breath, exuding calm as you slowly exhale and settle into being big spoon to Gentle Breeze and Soft Light huddled together, Chrysalis doing the same from the other side. If you could see, you’d swear that each pony wore an innocent smile.

Author's Note

I loved listening to Friendship is Magic fanfics as I worked and exercised, but at some point, I started brainstorming what I might wright as a story. That idea grew in scenes and details uncontrollably until I could no longer listen without my own unborn story ideas drowning out my other thoughts. I currently have several chapters written ahead as rough drafts. Any and all feedback is appreciated.

2 Enter the Asylum

You glide through an ethereal sky over a vast sea of consciousness, for you are Luna, Princes of the night and walker of dreams. Doors float on the surface of the ever-moving gentle wakes. Many have been visited on occasions that you have sensed deep turmoil plaguing somepony. You intend to visit many more eventually, if only to check on the wellbeing of your beloved equestrians. Tonight, however, if the report from Princess Twilight strikes true, there will be a new and unfamiliar door somewhere, for something new has appeared in Ponyville.

You find one door distant from the others. All doors in the dreamscape are unique to the mind at which they represent, but this one seems particularly alien to you. In lieu of a simple knob, there is a metal bar going across the door at shoulder height, with “PUSH” in print above it. Two metal plates sit in slots mounted on the outside of the door. One plate read “STATUS: DEEP/REM SLEEP” while the other read “LUCID: FALSE.”

Upon entering through the doorway, you find yourself in a large square atrium. Yellow-white ceramic tiles are uniform across the floor. The texture of painted brick constitutes the vertical walls of the atrium, as well as the arched semi-circle corridors that branch from either side of the atrium. A large desk spans the length of the far side of the room. The far wall just beyond holds three sections. Either side seems to be a shadow puppet screen, with the middle section being a corkboard riddled with footnotes, lists, and diagrams. All is lit by large rectangular lights embedded in a vaulted ceiling and centered down the corridors. A bipedal being is behind the desk, storing files and scribbling on a clipboard, using apposable digits in lieu of magic or their mouth. It wears a white and sky blue striped collared button-down shirt. Brain shaped buttons held together red and royal blue sides of the shirt. It wears a head of hair, but is furless on the face, neck, ears, and arms. You approach the being, looking into it's eyes.

“Greetings stranger. Please forgive our intrusion upon thy mindscape, but we received word of confusion and an unfamiliar being in our land. We are Princess Luna, wielder of the moon and walker of dreams. Might I have Thy name?”

The being holds a hand towards the right corridor. Another iteration of the being, this one clad in operatic clothing halts, excitedly claiming.

“Hark! An Old English speaker!”

“It’s early modern English and you’ve forgotten most of the vocabulary due to nonuse. You’ll just embarrass us.” The desk being interrupted.

“Yeah, that’s fair.” A third being materializes and pats the second being on the back, guiding it back to wherever it came from. Alone once more, the first being addressed you.

“Please forgive the outburst. Human minds require a fair bit of managing. My name is unavailable at the moment, regrettably, but I welcome you to my Asylum.

“Asylum? Dost thou protest to be insane? And what is this news of thy name?”

“It is merely a way that I sometimes picture the organization here. All memories and emotions are iterations or parts of me that get sorted from here in triage. None are permanently locked away, such would be unhealthy, but there are over twenty years of me collected in here, and no life is purely sunshine and rainbows. As for my name, I seem to be cursed. No vocalizations leave my mouth no matter how I try. I tried to wright it out in dirt, but the writing burst into flames before I could finish. Also, in the waking world, every word that I try to speak comes out backwards unless I try to speak the word backwards, which you can imagine takes some effort. I had to expand the urgent matters wing just for arriving in this world today.” In the corner of your eye, you notice abstract shapes fade in and out of the right shadow screen.

“Ye claim to be from another world? How has this come to be?”

“I’m not sure myself. One moment, I’m chopping wood in rocky hill country, and the next I’m between a wood and a field. And Then suddenly a pink pony comes up to me, nearly shoots me with my own gun, and sets my axe on fire! I apologize for my outburst. Today’s happenings have been quite unusual.”

The shapes appear and disappear on the right screen at a more rapid pace in the right screen now. The human takes a moment to breathe, and the shapes fade away entirely. The air gets colder. Almost... uncomfortably so.

“Though she is certainly energetic in her mirth, Pinky Pie is not usually such an aggressive pony. We shall see to it that the details of thy interaction are properly addressed in the waking world. Canst thou show me thy world? It’s sun, moon, and stars?”

The right screen still in your periphery, you see a serene faced moon circling a planet, and both circling a proud faced sun. The human gestures to the left screen. Before you is a diagram with more detail than you expected. Multiple planets with vector and trajectory markings for elliptical orbits circling a sun. Four small planets orbit the closest with the third having a single moon orbiting it and the only one with a human silhouette above it. They are separated by a debris field from the outer bodies. Your magic scrying the word “asteroid belt” from the depths of this mind. The five outer bodies, most with multiple moons, some with rings, a massive gas giant, a tiny body with an ellipse incongruent to the others, and even a planet with its’ poles perpendicular to the others. Most shocking were the stars. By the heavens, Orion and Pisces were much closer together, with Cetus of all constellations directly between them. They were all misshapen and deformed. Your magic still probed for more information. These stars drift on their own, without the aid of any magic whatsoever. No indication of magic maintaining this human world terrestrial or otherwise. The concept of a world belonging to a sole species of creature strikes it as peculiar. Humans are the only ones with proper speech or civilization. What feral world can thrive in such chaos?

“Exactly how alien is this to you?”

An iteration materializes before you. The human must have noticed your perturbation. You walk to the center of the room, and by the glow of your horn, you conjure an image of Equus, your beautiful moon, and your sister’s radiant sun circling the lone planet in tandem, and your stars in a sphere as large as the room allowed. Another iteration materialized, taking in the imagery.

“Geocentric, and in such immaculate detail…” the Human cooed in awe. The desk human now approaching the two new ones and writing vigorously on their clipboard. when it reached the other two, it handed the written notes to a third one, patting it into their hands, then they walk down the left corridor.

“What of the sentient beings of this world? The loud-fast-pink one did not have wings or a horn like you do. Can you please show me the domains of this world?”

Your horn glows once more. Figurines of you and your sister guide the sun and moon. Equestria’s borders appear on the continent. Figurines of the four alicorn princesses sitting on thrones with a figurine of a Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony before them. Further completing the globe, a Yack appears in the snowy regions of the north, a Dragon in the south, a Buffalo in the west, a griffon on an isthmus on the eastern coast, and Horses and Zebras in their respective countries across the eastern sea.

“Am I really in a fantasy world?”

“Am I insane?”

Two more materialize, speaking simultaneously in a panicked fashion. Both screens pulsing rapidly with shapes. The desk human places a hand on their shoulders.

“Urgent matters wing, the both of you. Chain yourselves to a desk and examine everything. If you’re unsure of anything, call up epistemology from the logic wing. We will figure this out together and seek help accordingly. Now breathe.” The three of them took a deep breath and relaxed. The screens went dormant once more. There is that coldness once more. Each of the two splits into two more and one from each pair went down either corridor.

“One more thing troubles me. Something from today…” The desk human mutters to themselves as they retrieve a manila folder from where you saw them place it earlier. Flipping through papers and glancing back at the globe and figurines.

“The ponies that are aiding me do not match any of these figures. This will be difficult to picture without the server farm and VR room. Uh, let’s see… Two were a little less than Pinkie Pie sized, and there was one about…” The human glances at you. “a head shorter than you.” Three slim ponyquins slowly appear before you. Their forms taking more defined shape and color as the details are slowly listed out.

“They all had black chitinous skin… with transparent wings… Green eyes… and horns with holes in them.”

You hold your tongue if only for a moment, if only to confirm the threat is truly in Ponyville.

“Thou art in the presence of changelings? YE WILL REVEAL THY LOCATION IMMEDIATELY!” You take charge with your royal Canterlot voice. You have not yet determined this human to be a threat, but you must make haste to prevent another siege the likes of which that Canterlot had suffered. You will protect your ponies. The human’s face is now contorted. Clearly taken a back by your sudden outburst.

“SPEAK, HUMAN”

“What is this? Racism? Are furred ponies your True Aryan race? Even if I remembered the path I took, what would you do? Hold me here and send your secret police in the shade of night to make them disappear in their sleep? God blessed, now you’ve riled up the Angst and Torment wings! This will certainly be fun.”

Both screens are now flashing rapidly. No shapes, just all black and all white. No, wait, black and red. Heavy sensations of pain and sorrow start to fill you the more that you look at them. You look away, only to see more screens on every wall. These flashing with image after image in red and black, memories and emotions are running so wildly that your innate magic is filling you with comprehension. Starvation. Sickness. Fear. Anger. Addiction. Escapism. Greed. Incredulity. Perversion. Unrelenting agony. For every concept that forms, a wave of hundreds of images fill you. Beggars that you frequently pass going progressively emaciated on the streets. Friends and loved ones falling ill to incurable deteriorations. Children whos’ lives are forever led by malice and wickedness since birth. A myriad of beliefs and desperations leading to hatred deep enough to cause millions to molest each other in warfare and even violence within home communities and family units. Tools developed to keep people alive, and tools designed to kill them faster, slower, and with increasing depravity. Slave camps. Ghettos. A world on fire. A world bathed in blood. A world where the ones in power and profiteers thrive on the whipped backs and trampled bodies of people who can barely obtain food for their children if at all.

The human stands in the center of the room, taking deep breaths. His hands flat and facing palms down slowly inching down with every exhale. Iron bars slide down on the entrances to both corridors, industrial fans are mounted on the upper half. You understand these things with large motors and wide blades to be powerful and loud, but as they blow chilling air at forceful speeds down the corridors, they emit nothing but silence. The lights start to dim now, and you finally realize what troubles you. The coldness. The darkness. The deafening silence. The maddening years you spent stranded on the moon, unable to even scream or beg for help for a thousand years. You run for the door, your scream unheard and unending.

* * * * *

Princess Luna becomes aware that she is still screaming. Her sister, Princess Celestia now has her in her hooves. She seems to have been calling out to the princess of the night in her terrified slumber.

“Sister! Sister! Luna!”

Now aware that she has escaped the dreamscape, Luna manages to cease her screaming. The two sisters embrace each other, Celestia running a hoof through Luna’s mane and wiping her tears. Solar and lunar guards circle the bed where none were as she started her venture into the dreamscape. Solar unicorns have light spells conjured. Lunar unicorns are maintaining a large joined shield. Earth ponies and Pegasi are in defensive positions with spear and talloned horseshoes ready. With a sense of safety returned, the alarm of the situation returned to Luna. The princesses now held each other in their hooves

“Sister, a being from a chaotic world has arrived in Equestria! We must go to Ponyville before he unleashes ruin and death that this world has never seen!”

“Describe to me this foe, sister. What danger does he pose?”

“Bipedal, mostly hairless ape that wears clothing. Molestation of violence, hate, and war are commonplace. They have a word: Megadeath. It means one-million-deaths, Celestia, and he is with the changelings. His first day in Equus, and he is already met and aligned directly with Queen Chrysalis.”

“Rose Quill, prepare a letter for princess twilight, alerting her to ready her castle for three companies of solar and three companies of lunar guards, then wright to princess cadence to remain on standby. Confirm sighting of Queen Chrysalis in Ponyville. Claxon, have squads one, three, and five of each guard ready to move at our command.” A unicorn sat down beside the bed, levitating scrolls, and an ink quill from her saddlebag, and immediately began writing. Two unicorns drop their anti-teleport spell. One teleports away, and the other resumes their duty.

“Gather yourself sister. When you are ready, we will go to Ponyville and handle this danger together.” In her sister’s arms, Luna focuses on gaining the ability to stand. Unspeaking, and unflinching, the remaining guards maintained their protective stance for as long as they were required.

Author's Note

No one ever just stops to ask about peculiar behavior.

3 A Hut in the Woods

You wake up and stretch. Sleep was dreamless and uneventful, though you do have to rub a good bit of crust from the corners of your eyes. The ponies start to stir, and you manage to pack up the tarp by the time they are awake and ready. Before leaving, Chrysalis warns you to stay alert. Timberwolves can sometimes blend in with fallen trees, and under no circumstances should you allow yourself to touch any part of a blue flower called poison joke. You would receive another random curse on top of the one you already have. No thank you.

After another bit of double backwards talking, the ponies determined that a brisk march would be the best tactical option. You can only keep up a pace like last night for about an hour in a half, and even if a cure for the curse comes easily, it could take until the end of the day to reach the next safe location should something go wrong.

The good news about poison joke is that they grow in patches that are easy to see and avoid. However, these patches are massive. Your group had to walk around track field sized patches to make way in any direction at one point. The question of how a flower that curses everything that touches it propagates became both asked and answered the moment you came across a particularly monolithic patch surrounding a beehive.

The bees attending to the flowers were absolutely affected. Some were huge and did not need to move much to reach another flower. Some were fast and zipped from flower to flower. Some started making honey at alarming rates to feed the others. One would finish attending to a flower then fly straight up, sending pollen far and wide as they spun. No one dared to go near, not that there was any forward in that general direction with the patch of poison joke. The only direction was to go left or right. Chrysalis started off towards the left, but immediately halted and turned around going the other direction. Taking a glance to the left, you figure she doesn’t want to take chances with that pile of logs and brush in a clearing ahead, and wordlessly follow to the right at a safe feeling distance from the bees.

After a while of not coming across any more poison joke patches, Gentle is the first to spot a structure in the distance.

“There’s the zebra hut. Should we go in disguises?”

“I imagine you hold your magic reserves dear. You need not disguise yourselves here.” A female zebra pops her head up from behind a bush, plants held in mouth as she speaks. Stunned by the surprise of being seen already, all of you are frozen long enough for the zebra to make her way around to you. before speaking again, she places her most recent harvest in saddlebags half full of what you guess to be herbs or ingredients for something.

“I am Zecora. I sometimes catch you keeping a respectful distance as you go past. To what do I owe you the pleasure of meeting you at last?”

“I am Chrysalis. This is Gentle Breeze and Soft Light. We do not mean to cause trouble or intrude, but we found this, erm, person on the edge of the forest. He is cursed to where every word he says vocalizes backwards, and his own name makes no sound at all. We are hoping to find a cure for this aliment.”

“Ti si yrev tluciffid ot kaeps siht yaw.” You add in.

“Such is a strange magic, but I have cured ailments akin. Please allow me to invite you in.”

You follow the zebra into the hut, stylized masks seeming to greet you in on the way. It is a single room space with a great number of plants, jars, books, masks, and vials that are shelved on the walls with still a comfortable floor space to accommodate all of you. A cauldron simmers in the center of the room. Someone who lives here must have a way of hiding fire from or downright deterring timber wolves. Zecora tends to the coals, adding a log, then tastes the brew. Satisfied, she fills four bowls and passes them around.

“I can cure you fairly quick, but potion on an empty stomach will make one sick.”

You do not complain. You don’t recognize the herbs or broth, but you appreciate any soup with slow cooked potatoes in it so freely offered. Taking in the aroma, you blow on the soup and take a gracious drink, letting out an audible “ah” before giving a thankful bow to Zecora. You all eat quietly as Zecora jars the rest and fills the cauldron with water.

“You came from the direction of Ponyville, and with a person of such unusual feature. Please tell me of how you came across such a creature.”

“We were passing nearby when we heard the sound of an axe hitting wood near the edge of the Everfree. Pinky Pie heard it too and went to greet the stranger. She can get vigorous and he looked like he was in distress, so we separated them and offered to help him. At least this way he would be able to clear things up with the ponies for himself when he is cured.” Strange way to put it. You take note; one more thing to talk about when you can talk normally.

“All must be curious to where he came from, and what’s more, his teeth reveal him to be an omnivore.” Light, Gentle, and Chrysalis all turn to you, wide eyed. Of course, these are equines; they are probably vegetarians. You put effort in to replying with proper words.

“Yes, I am. I am not a… threat.”

“One more detail to sort out, I suppose.” Chrysalis eventually says after some consideration. The water comes to a boil, and Zecora adds ingredients to the cauldron. The brew turns green then purple as she stirs and a new earthy scent fills the room.

Turning to you, she says, “I need one ingredient to make this complete. Would you happen to have some preserved meat?” Without ceremony or hesitation, you take a bag of meat out of your backpack and offer it to her. She sniffs it.

“Salt and black pepper. This will do. One by one, drop half into the brew.” You do as she says. The other occupants frozen, not knowing what to do. Zecora continues.

“Your newest friends seem to be ready to choke. Tell us, was this from an animal that spoke?”

“No. Non-… humans do not speak in my… world. No magic. No wing or horn pony.” The floor is wooden and your hands are busy, so you make your best slow effort to make the words come out forward.

“Another world you say? Tell me how you came to be here today.” You shrug.

“I did not… travel by land or … sky or sea. I was… chopping wood and then I was here.” You finish and Zecora continues stirring. Chrysalis stands up and approaches you.

“I can tell that you are not lying. I just want to be sure of something. Do you eat equines?”

“We, on! Ew, no!”

Chrysalis, Light, and Gentle all let out a breath, but jump when the masks on the walls all let out a snort. Zecora immediately jumps to the side and opens a trapdoor that you would not have known was there had she not opened it.

“Quickly, you must hide. Stay quiet and stay inside.”

All three of the black ponies are inside before she finishes speaking. You grab your backpack and follow suit. In the dark, Gentle, Light, and Chrysalis are huddled in the deepest part of the hidden basement. You take a defensive stance halfway between them and the hatch. You wait in silence. The only indication of what is going on is what you can hear. There is a pop of a sealed vessel opening, then nothing. What was that alert? How far can whatever those masks sensed be coming from? What do they warn of? After about a minute, there is a knock at the hut door, and Zecora’s hoofsteps move across the floor calmly.

“Greetings and good day, Princess Twilight Sparkle. What brings you this way?" Twilight. The pink pony sought out this one when Chrysalis saved you.

“Hello Zecora. I’ve received word that a particularly dangerous and chaotic being may be stalking the Everfree, and I wanted to check on you and let you know. The Princesses Celestia and Luna will be searching through this part of the woods with their guards soon.”

“Three alicorns at once! I have lately seen nothing near. What sort of creature can cause such fear?

We don’t have a full description yet. So far, we know that it is a mostly hairless bi-ped, brown hair and eyes, and it is most likely accompanied by changelings. Would you happen to have anything that can help detect them?”

Chrysalis gets in front of you, taking a defensive stance of her own. In what little light that makes it through the floorboards, you get the feeling that Chrysalis’s black skin had blanched.

“Perhaps I may try to see what I can scry.”

You are distracted by the pony in front of you. She uses the side of her body to push you back and nods to the others. Looking back, Gentle and Light are still huddled, trying to make themselves so small as to not exist. They shiver more than you have seen in any distressed animal; these ponies fear for their lives from whoever this princess is. You sit beside them. Your calm will help here. You take a gentle, silent breath. Someone would have to be watching you closely to notice you exhale. Almost as if sensing it, the cowering ponies reached out, wrapping their hooves around your body, and resting their heads on your lap. You pet their finned manes. The conversation above is no longer within your attention. Chrysalis lays down in front of you. She places a hoof over Light’s back, and then lays her head on Gentle’s, shooting you a look that you don’t understand, then closes her eyes and she too takes a silent breath to calm herself and the others.

Chrysalis later told you that Zecora’s scrying revealed no present dangers nearby. She then gave Twilight poultices made to treat various rashes that plants from the Everfree caused. They were meant for another pony named Fluttershy who has an animal sanctuary near the edge of the forest. The sound of the door closing followed Twilight Sparkle promising to bring any unused poultices to Fluttershy after their search.

You waited still. It would be safer to let the visitor gain some distance from you than to immediately make a sound. Zecora apparently had the same idea as it took her some minutes to open the hatch to the basement. Light and Gentle stayed close to you once all of you climbed up. You have so many questions. So many more after hearing that encounter, but before they spill out of you as nonsense, Zecora holds a potion vial in a hoof in front of you. You take it and drink without ceremony. You think to keep it down no matter how strange it might taste, though you surprisingly taste nothing. Surprised by a more or less sensationless experience, you look to Zecora questioningly. She signals with a hoof for you to just speak. You take a breadth and test out your voice.

“Hello Hello? Testing testing, one two three. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!”

The ponies collapsed to the floor in front of you. Chrysalis turned to Zecora.

“Was that potion supposed to be temporary?”

You would clear up the confusion, but laughter has suddenly overtaken you. Your thundering cackle filled the room and your senses. You are laughing so hard and continuously that you can’t breathe anymore. Your limbs are going numb. You’ll soon lose the energy to stand, so you slowly grab a shelf and weakly guide yourself down to a sitting position. Head above the heart, and temple on a shelf. With a final slow and dying “Aahh” you black out.

4 Moving Forward

“Are you ok?”

Consciousness returns to you. You remain aware that you collapsed from laughing too much again. If you do not start breathing, things will not turn out well. You start with a slow, shallow quarter breath, then a half breath. You gain sensation in your nose, throat, and chest. The oxygen you scraped up fueling your body to be able to take another partial breath, then a full breath. You gain enough strength and sense of self to open your eyes and tilt your head up. It is much easier to breathe this way. There is enough of you back to decide to take enough breath to speak on exhale.

“I’m ok… Thank you… Zecora.” The words were labored, but you were able to get out that you are alive.

“He’s breathing.” Light observed.

“He’s not dead.” added Gentle.

“Thank goodness.” You hear Chrysalis say.

“The brew worked as I knew it would do.” Zecora assured herself after your unexpected display.

"I'm sorry, ladies. I tend to do that when I laugh too hard."

Still mostly focusing on breathing, you work up the strength to stand, then to stay balanced without effort. The next thing you do is search your backpack. You don’t have many things of value to others, but you feel you need to offer her something for all of the trouble. The packs of pocket warmers are useful. Turning to her you hold the plastic bag out.

“Thank you so much for your help Zecora. With my speech restored, I can now get a foothold on some semblance of sanity in this world that I seem to have stumbled into. Please take these warming packs as payment. You press on them until you hear the salt crystals crunch, and they mix with chemicals to produce heat. You will not be able to cook with them, but they usually get hot enough to burn flesh directly. Enough heat to relieve the harsh cold in a small space for a while.” Chrysalis blinked.

“Why did you not use them last night?”

“This hut is ventilated. If I had activated it in that dugout, we would have been suffocated by the carbon dioxide produced.”

“Oh.”

Zecora accepts your payment gladly and hides them in a high cupboard.

“Now that I can finally speak, I have a question of my own. Several really. Let’s start with what is-”

“What is your Name!” Gentle stomped a hoof as she interrupted. “Sorry, but we don't have anything to refer to you by other than ‘stranger’ or ‘tree.’ “

“Oh yeah, my name is [], but you can call me []… []. []. [] [] [], [] []. []!” You turn to Zecora

“Is it possible that I had more than one curse?”

“Another ailment, it does seem. The likes of which, I have no curing means. Curious as to what may be powerful enough to cause this, perhaps they wished you to remain anonymous.” Zecora ponders.

“Great. Instead of [] or [], just call me Anonymous.” You blink.

“Everyone, call me every name and nickname that you can think of.”

“[] [] [] [] [] []”

“Now call me Anonymous, or Anon for short.”

“Anonymous”

“Anon”

“Anonymous”

“That settles it. An unbreakable curse has ‘given’ me a name.” You make this comment with air quotes. “Anyways, Let’s focus on questions that we actually have a chance of answering. Chrysalis, if you don’t mind me asking, where am I, what is a changeling, and why are three out of four of the only nice equines I know wanted criminals?” You Didn’t mean to put her on the spot, but you can now ask these questions at a reasonable pace. Your curiosity made her stammer. She was saved by Zecora interjecting.

“Remember that more ponies will visit this day. Follow me, and I will show you a safe passage to away.” Zecora opened the basement trapdoor once more and went down. There was a passage hidden behind large jars. Glowing moss lined a side of the cave. “My people have passed down stories of changelings, but none of harm. I like to give ponies a chance, without threat or alarm. Consider me a friend, though our meeting was fast. Please do not make this meeting our last. Now go and keep the moss on your left. you need not worry about rest. When you emerge, you will find your exit beyond the tracks at the southwestern end of the forest." Zecora pulled Chrysalis into a hug, patting her on the back, then went back up, hiding us away underground.

You take a breath. Lining things up in your head as you walked. Pinky Pie called out to Twilight Sparkle who is one of three princesses that you are aware of. Whatever differences there are between the ponies that you know and the ones that are hunting them are enough for them to fear for their lives. You need to be not too overbearing. You speak in the dim moss light as the group walked.

“Chrysalis?”

“Yes, Anonymous?

“I am new to this world that has many differences to the one that I came from. Right about now would mark twenty-four hours I have been in a land of magic talking equines, so can you please tell me of this world. Who populates it, and what has happened here?”

“The short answer is that you are on Equus, specifically in the country of Equestria which is populated by Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies, and ruled peacefully by four alicorn princesses. We are changelings. We need to obtain love magic from the ponies to survive. We can mimic the form and appearance of ponies, and some months ago, we emerged from hibernation. My changelings and I awoke to a hive hidden but decimated by a magma flow. The life sustaining reserves of love magic that our predecessors left us to allow us to safely integrate secretly back into pony society was all but lost, so I followed a plan laid out by changeling Queens before me. I infiltrated a wedding between powerful ponies and tried to take control of Equestria. That plan has failed, so now we remain in hiding. Risking none but small groups to obtain love to bring back to the hive.”

You consider her words. A desperate situation. Some things are starting to make sense.

“Equines that need love to survive. What would have happened if you succeeded in taking over Equestria?”

“It is not in pony or changeling nature to be cruel. The second part of my ancestor’s plan was to allow the ponies to take back their land. We would provide a resistance group of ponies with lantern runes that would distinguish between pony and changeling to allow them to seemingly drive us off, then we would sneak back into society where we would be spread out, safe, and harmless to the ponies.”

“Help me understand safe and harmless. Is there a dangerous way of taking love from someone? And have you been able to gleam any from me?”

“A single pony cannot sustain many changelings at once. One that attempts to would be weakened. However, we would rather keep spread out to prevent that. Naturally, ponies spread love magic into the ether which changelings can consume safely without any harm to the pony. There is also a way to force such magics out of a pony, but such harmful acts are a taboo that I will not tolerate.”

“What is the significance of remaining hidden? Why not plead to the alicorns to be allowed back into society?”

“Knowledge of changelings has faded into myth of those who sneak around in shadow and prey on ponies. Our appearance and ability to change alone causes too much distrust for us to gleam any integration, let alone love.”

“Of course, there is some obstacle in the way. There always is. The fastest way from point A to point B is a straight line, yet one may travel a thousand worlds and never find a single perfect ground." You let out a sigh. Now is not the time to go off on a tangent. “Spare me no detail. What is the prospect of changeling survival this way?”

There was a pregnant silence before you hear what must be difficult for a leader to admit.

“We are not surviving. We are merely prolonging starvation.”

Light and Gentle’s ears go down. Their heads going low as they walk. You feel for them. You can figure something out for yourself, but these kind ponies need help. You want to find a way to help them, and almost as if sensing that, Light and Gentle drift closer to you, which makes Chrysalis snort and stomp a hoof to make them jump away.

“I am glad to have been able to help you, but if what Zecora said was right, we are on our way nearer and nearer to my changeling hive. If you have a display of love like this in the middle of the changeling hive without separation from the full changeling population, you will be seriously harmed. Perhaps you should return to Ponyville, as you still have a chance to sort things out with-”

“Fuck no!” Determination fills you as you finalize your decision. Chrysalis stammers at your outburst.

“Wait, what? What do you want to do???”

“I’m sorry for my use of swear, but I would not leave a friend to starve in my world and I will not do it here!” Fuck this! Changelings wake up in a world expecting them to be monsters or die? Fuck this world and anyone who expects someone to just lay down and die. You turn directly to chrysalis and take a knee, preparing to do something that you are surprised you even have the opportunity to do.

“Queen Chrysalis of the changelings, I, Anonymous pledge my loyalty to you. I swear to put my efforts into making peace with the ponies and ensuring the survival of the changelings. Should changelings fall, I fall too!” Your voice raised, threatening to growl with determination. There will be no stopping you. There will be no turning back.

None of the ponies before you were prepared for your display. They look at each other, trying to see from the others what to do.”

“But... but what- how? Such a display, and to us directly without disguises. Why would you do this for us?”

“Because I have seen enough suffering in my own world to find it distasteful. I would not be able to live with myself if I just left you to die, and I will stand in the way of anyone who expects someone to just accept death for being who they are."

Standing up straight, Chrysalis once more gives you a look that you can’t read.

“Very well, Anonymous, I accept you into the changeling hive as my consort. I look forward to discussing your plan for our changelings with you. Now rise.”

You stand up. The idea of “Yes, you just did that,” and “Yes, that did just work,” will fully set in later while you walk onward.

“There is still the matter of how you will survive returning to the hive with us.”

“Hmm. Let me think about that… Will the changelings respect me having a private quarter?”

“They will at my command so long as you don’t invite them over to you.”

“I have about six days’ worth of dried food left. I figure the best way to go about this is to study this world as much as I can, then enact my plan at the end of that timeline. I can study throughout the day and discuss the plan with you in the evenings.”

“Then I will ensure your chamber is closer to mine. It will be easier to keep others from wandering in. I doubt you will be able to read the texts in our library at any great pace, seeing that it is in tablet form, but you will have my changelings at your disposal to wright reports. What subjects do you intend to study?”

“Well, let's see... I am on an alien world with several sentient species that I have little knowledge of, anatomy, culture, or otherwise. We can start with the history of the ponies. I will need all we know about each of the alicorns, and the lands they preside over. Where cities are, what their industry, population, and culture is, and a map of Equestria.”

In your head, you imagine you are going to be attempting to set up the most perfect and unattainable Sims scenario. You push that to a corner next to the cheesy echo of the changelings shall starve no more being stamped with Rose Tyler making fun of the War Doctor while marching around. No more. No more. No more. No more.

“Anyways, in the meantime, you mentioned magic reserves. Is there something that can store love?”

“Yes, we have magic crystals that store love. Changelings can place magic in or drain it out.”

“Knowledge on changeling magic, physiology, and artefacts. Adding that to the list of subjects. How many do you have, and can they all be gathered?”

“Of the ones that were not destroyed by magma, we can fit them in a pony sized mound. About four crystals for every changeling there is.”

“Would they be comfortable with having three each while I try to fill the rest? I want to try to see if I can fill them directly… unless someone would like to volunteer to be my personal lap pony while I study.”

The Three ponies that accompany you increase their pace, keeping their faces out of view.

5 Enter the Hive

Celestia’s sun was still high in the sky when you arrived. The entrance was a long uneven passage of natural rock that one would have missed had they not known to look for it. Light and Gentle went ahead of you to prepare for a display upon your arrival, and after one final slight bend, they came into view, raising to attention as you were noticed and then walking into what seems like an entrance proper made of black chitinous stone not unlike obsidian in surface texture. A pile of crystals lay a few paces within the entrance, a safe distance away is a crowd of changelings occupying every wall and branching tunnel that can see you next to the pile. Light, Gentle, and Chrysalis are facing the other changelings now. They intend to keep any excited changeling crowds from overcrowding you. You place a hand to your side, resting your palm on the top of the crystal pile.

“Hello changelings. I am Anonymous. I intend to eventually learn all your names, as I will be aiding you in these hard times. I Have pledged my service and loyalty to Queen Chrysalis with the mission of making peace with the ponies. In my short time here in this world, I have learned that the changelings awoke in this age to a world that expected them to be evil monsters. I will spend a few days here learning more to fully enact my plan, but I say we surprise them with something unexpected. I will march on Ponyville in a peaceful display and annex the changelings into pony society where they need not fear hunger or danger. I aim to have the next full moon rise on a changed world, and a new changeling hive.” You grasp and raise seven crystals, now glowing bright green. “Now who will stand beside me!”

The changelings erupted in a cheer. Some tried to run up to you, but Chrysalis’s command calmed them. She said that this may be dangerous, but you felt the changelings would need a morale boost.

Arranging a private chamber happened swiftly. Your room was down the same guarded corridor and the only other occupied room in that wing other than Chrysalis’s. The privacy from having the guards away at the entrance of the tunnel made the rooms almost feel like Jack-and-Jill rooms despite them being farther apart. Neither room, nor any room in the hive for that matter, had doors. This made sense where the society here was all family, and all resources are communal. Light and Gentle were the only ones beside chrysalis allowed into your room, and they visited every once in a while, to hand you more reports to read, and change out the brightest glowing crystals for dimmer ones. They managed to get a toothbrush and toothpaste for you on an incognito trip to Ponyville. The matter of where they got the bits will be settled later. You keep the crystals on the chitinous surface that you use as a desk, and line the chitinous surface that you sleep on. It is a neat trick you later read about. The black stone that composes the hive is actually living material that the changelings can reshape with their magic. Such usages of magic are excessive in times of famine such as this, adding just one more reason to give your all in your efforts.

In addition to the alicorn princesses, there are the Elements of Harmony; six ponies that hold magical objects pertaining to virtues that this world holds harmonious, and together, they create a great power to overcome great evils, minus the manifestation of a captain planet.

There was Fluttershy, a Pegasus mare with yellow coat, pink mane, and butterflies as her cutie mark. Some type of magical tattoo that the other three pony races get. You have not seen one yourself yet, but you have not met many ponies either, let alone snuck a look at their rear end. There was one pony that you met that was a bit of a rear end, but that is a matter for another time. Fluttershy runs an animal sanctuary and holds the element of kindness. As if born for her namesake, the report describes her as extremely shy with unfamiliar ponies and anything perceived as a dangerous monster. You add to your foot notes: Cowardly lion. You scare her, she has lions, tigers, AND bears that will attack you.

The aforementioned rear end of a pony is Pinky Pie, a fully pink earth pony with party balloons as a cutie mark. She works in a sweets shop and is a party planner. Your first encounter with her was apparently her famous habit of throwing welcome parties to newcomers, which you are reminded came close to ending in flames and unintended gun violence. She is also known for doing things without explanation such as hiding things in unlikely places and literally bouncing off walls. Somehow this translates to being a paragon of laughter. You add to your foot notes: Sugar fueled party planner, magician, clown, boxer, and acrobat all in one. DO NOT ALLOW NEAR EXPLOSIVES. You cross that last part out. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HIDE EXPLOSIVES FROM THIS PONY. SAFELY DISPOSE OF ALL EXPLOSIVES IN EXISTANCE.

The next report is about Applejack, another earth pony, and one that works at an apple farm. You consider weighing the prospect of approaching her first as the holder of the element of honesty verses the fact that the fastest way to reach her is through the Everfree Forest, and her stallion brother and dog may beat you down in self defense before you reach her. She has apples as a cutie mark and is described as a proud hard worker. You add to your foot notes: Hard working country folk. Approach directly about accepting changelings as neighbors?

Another Pegasus in the reports is Rainbow Dash, the holder of the element of loyalty, and a weather pony. You had to check with Chrysalis to be sure that you were not being pranked by an overly imaginative scribe, but Pegasi have manual control of the weather. A team or teams manage and control when it rains and when it is sunny so that the earth ponies that have a better talent for agriculture can grow in abundance. This mare was described as headstrong, athletic, and quick to aggression. She was described as fast enough to use her speed to demolish structures and clear skies in a local region. There was an attack labeled the Sonic Rain-Boom that seemed like a break of the sound barrier and release of magical light, but there was no recorded data of it being used near anything that can gage the destructive potential. You add to your foot notes: Lady Thor, but with hooves for hammers. Do not approach first or you may not survive first contact.

Most mundane of the reports was for the element of generosity bearer, Rarity. She was a seamstress and entrepreneur. You add to your foot notes: Choose words wisely as to not exploit generosity. Also, keep in mind, that if this works, you may yet outlive your current garments.

The final of the element of harmony bearers is also a princess. Twilight Sparkle, personal student to Princess Celestia, master of more spell arts than any other unicorn present, bearer of the element of magic, Librarian, and crowned Princess of Friendship and the youngest of the Princesses, somehow in that order. The report mentions a baby dragon assistant that is small even by pony standards. Nothing in particular is noted other than an appendix of general knowledge of dragons. Long lives, gem hoards (these dragons eat them), and growth spurts coinciding with bouts of greed or rage. You add to your foot notes: Best chance of getting the truth across. Seek truth detecting spell. Do NOT allow the baby dragon to eat ANY love crystals.

Princess Celestia is the oldest of the alicorn princesses, having the longest rein and being the sole ruler for a thousand years until relatively recently. Her magic is most noted to raise and lower the sun each day. With such an important task, she is noted to have the largest and longest standing military protection detail, the Solar guard. You add to your foot notes: Most experienced leader. 50/50 chance of being either the most against change, or the most professional in welcoming changelings.

Princess Luna, Celestia's younger sister, is the next oldest alicorn princess. Her magic is most noted to raise and lower the moon each night, as well as entering the dreams of ponies. The full extent of this dream walking is not documented as changelings do not dream in the sense that other ponies do, though ponies that have reported to have been visited note that the experience was helpful or beneficial in some way. She had ruled by her sister's side until a thousand years ago when a dark power overcame her, making her known as Nightmare Moon. She threatened eternal night until Celestia was able to imprison her on the moon with the elements of harmony for a thousand years. The current elements of harmony were able to cleanse Princess Luna of her dark affliction and return her to her older sister's side. You add to your foot notes: Dream walking is an unknown variable. Do not memorize the way to Ponyville until the final day

Finally, there is Princess MiAmore Cadenza, crowned princess of love, wed to Royal Guard Captain Shining Armor who is brother to Princess Twilight of Magic. The Armor-Cadenza wedding is the very wedding that Chrysalis told you she invaded in the capital city, Canterlot. With Chrysalis's interference, Shining Armor was kept awake for a week, maintaining a large shield just to have it crash down under the changeling's hooves. Chrysalis had used the love from Shining Armor and the surrounding ponies to replace Princess Cadenza who was imprisoned under Canterlot. You add to your foot notes: Make zero requests after proving the changeling's nonaggression.

The rest of the reports were details of the four pony races: Earth Pony, Pegasus, Unicorn, and Changeling.

Earth ponies, named for their connection to the terrain, were physically the most muscular. They use this in combination with their natural senses to cultivate crops successfully as well as to build and pull heavy machinery. It is no wonder that a possibly innocent jab from one nearly got a foot or hoof shot. In times of hardship, the other pony races protected the earth ponies so that they may grow and harvest as much as possible.

Pegasi also use their bodies physically, but their wings and natural abilities make their rolls more technical. Rain water can be brought when needed, and storm clouds can be deterred when unwanted. Annually, a group of Pegasi create a vortex over a lake to raise water up to a cloud city where Pegasi can stand on and manipulate the clouds by hoof like clay. This city, Cloudesdale, serves a primary purpose of creating weather materials such as clouds and rainbows for distribution across Equestria. In times of hardship, all Pegasi put their efforts into maintaining weather conditions for the best growing conditions of crops.

Unicorns lack any Olympian physical strength like Pegasi and Earth Ponies, but their magic manifests through their horns for casting spells. The most common use of Unicorn magic is levitation, touchless manipulation of an object or objects. However, spells cast can range in a myriad of uses such as teleportation, shielding, transmutation, and illusions. Typically, a unicorn will develop natural skills in one type of spellcasting, developing a tool set of spells specialized around that one ability. In times of hardship, teams of Unicorns were necessary to fend off dangerous monsters and maintain the sun and moon before there were Alicorns capable of accomplishing the feat alone.

Changelings, depending on the situation, can have the greatest amount of similarities or differences to the other pony races, given their ability to change in physiology to mimic them. Unchanged, a changeling maintains both wings and a horn. Blood vessels and nerve endings match both of their counterparts in this situation, though changeling wings lack the wingspan and bone structure. Furthermore, a Changeling is not naturally strong in Unicorn, Pegasi, or Earth pony magic without extensive time and effort training in use of that magic specifically. Otherwise, a changeling will expend inefficient amounts of magical reserves. Other physiological differences in changelings are their dorsal fins in lieu of haired manes, fangs, second social stomach, and natural patches of transparency on the hooves, horns and wings. Changelings can share love reserves by touching horns directly, or orally when changed into a form that does not have a horn. In Times of hardship, Changelings slumbered in hiding so that the task of Earth Ponies to provide was lessened.

You memorize and quiz yourself on this information. If you are to make yourself into an effective communicator, you will have to speak on these topics clearly and effectively. Think of ways one would be incredulous and maintain calm. Adapt with rebuttals when necessary. There is always a way to say something that is not offensive.

Late evening must have come as Chrysalis entered your chamber to discuss the plan. She agreed that Twilight Sparkle would be the best pony to get a footing on peace negotiations but suggested that Fluttershy may be easier to get to and start a dialogue without getting harmed first. A valid plan, all things considered. You bid good night to the changeling queen and lay on your bed slab. Your shirt as your pillow (you’ve had worse) and you trace a hand on the crystals that you lined your bed with. You would rather have them all in a changeling plushie that you can cuddle with. Maybe keep that plan for later. You take a deep breath and allow sleep to take you.

6 Preparations for Peace

Headache should have been expected when learning about a new world and it's culture. A different people with different abilities would develop differently, but this is hard for a human to accept. Then again, you are in a hive of magical ponies. After finding a new fertile land to cultivate, ponies have survived and thrived with little internal unrest. Ponies are more likely to have local heroes keep everyone safe while the power of their cutie marks provide for them. They have the power to move earth and sky yet they want not for conquest or power beyond what they can gain naturally. Are ponies so comfortable in their homes of plenty that they truly don't have needs past steam power and basic electricity?

The most closest to home you can find in this world is the little corner that you have sworn to protect. The changelings have little by way of ability without help, and the world they find themselves in does not make anything come easily. Being beside yourself in this moment, you strengthen your determination in defying this world. You are no Mahatma Ghandi, but you will find a way of having the hive be accepted back peacefully. All you have to do is swear off meat after you run out of jerky, discretely replace your leather belt, and god help you if that gun of yours ever fires again.

Chrysalis knocks on the portal into your room.

"Are you fairing well? I sense a lot of stress coming from you."

"Just adjusting to this world. headache is to be expected when everything is different. This world has so many safe places and happy ponies, yet we find ourselves in more danger than we would on my world."

"What sort of danger would we find on your world?"

"Only the predictable; social engineering, general backstabbing, and silver tongued profiteering. Monsters that either convince you they are your friend or try to make you believe that you yourself are the monster." This makes Chrysalis bow her head.

"So not unlike the monsters changelings have come to be."

"No, my queen. Changelings are not monsters." You turn fully towards her and place a caring hand on her shoulder. She leans into it, and you notice her hair. "One moment, my queen." Taking the first step out of your room in two days, you turn and quickly face Gentle who squeaks as she was just about to pass your room.

"Gentle! Good timing. Tell me, do we have a hair brush?"

"Um, Yes sir, there is one we got for our Queen."

"Perfect. can you bring it to me please?"

Despite her bashfulness, you brush Chrysalis's mane.

"A changeling Queen may not need to speak to calm your changelings down, but paying attention to yourself and keeping groomed will help you feel better directly."

"If you insist, Anon, but they are my changelings no more. With you as my Consort, they are your family. They are our changelings." This makes you smile.

"And I will always care for them as my own." After several dozen strokes on this patch of hair, you will be spending the rest of the evening brushing until this long hair is feeling silky smooth and is no longer a ragged mess.

"So what has today's studies given you?"

"I face a people unlike that which I have ever met, powers and strength that dozens of humans can barely hope to accomplish together. Should we show any hostility at all, we could easily be overcome by a tidal wave of pony magic."

"How does that not deter your confidence?"

"Because if they truly are superior, then we do not need to throw a single punch or profanity to achieve peace."

"And you have such words that can turn the tides of fate?"

"Not all of them just yet. No plan survives the battlefield. I still need to think of a few dozen scenarios to be ready." You point to several sheets of paper that you have covered in arrows and symbols that Light has described as arcane manuscripts of ambiguous intent.

"What exactly were you before you came to Equus?"

"In my current job, I was routinely professionally yelled at by customers from all across the country to ensure the service we provide runs smoothly."

"Is that supposed to sound fake?"

"No, but if it does in this world, then that is perhaps for the best. Speaking of, I should probably find a safe way to dispose of the weapon hat I brought to this world with me."

"Having that knife with you would not be good for peace talks indeed."

"No, I mean the more dangerous weapon, the gun."

"What is a gun?"

"A small cannon that this world has no need of. Do you remember hearing a loud boom when Pinkie Pie first came up to me?"

"So that was a gun. Wait, you ran through the forest with us while carrying miniature munitions?"

"Exactly my point. This world's heroes get along against bugbears without the use of lethal force, and my appearance on Equus brought an object of lethal force powerful enough to kill twenty people."

"How do we destroy such a thing?"

"We don't have the ability to do so here since Pinky busted the trigger mechanism. I will need to rely on the resources of the princesses to safely dispose of it with some extra steps. Magic threatens to undo any efforts if I'm not careful enough."

"Do you always have to think so much on everything? it is starting to sound neurotic."

"Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst, my Queen. If even half of my efforts make our changelings safe and happy, and none cause harm, then it will all be worth it."

You spend another hour brushing Chrysalis's hair while explaining the plans that you've tossed aside for making too much risk for your changelings. Against any expectations, your ambition is to make no pony on either side threatened or harmed in this endeavor. Your prisoner is not released until she has a perfectly straight mane befitting a beautiful Queen. You say good night and once again take your rest among the dimmest of crystals. All changelings will be given your love freely.

*****

Chrysalis walks into your room, announcing her presence with a greeting. She stops short after the threshold as you are standing atop your study surface, overlooking maps of individual cities placed across the floor. The maps sat in positions relative to each other and had reports of the alicorn princesses and the elements of harmony pinned under their respective cities of domain.

“Is this preparation for a war campaign?” Chrysalis asks.

“Certainly not, My queen. Merely a way to better grasp what I am envisioning. If this is going to work, our changelings will eventually have to move the hive once we have the proper reserves stored. Depending on what jobs we can employ into, it would be best to move the structure…. here, here, or here.” You place pages of your copy of information on changelings in three specific locations. Each is a similar distance to at least three cities and on what reports say to be relatively flat terrain with proximity to water and plenty of room for infrastructure.

“Valid places, all of them. Does this mean that you have all the negotiations planned out? You had so many variations laid out yesterday.”

“That is correct. All things considered, I believe that I have the best course of action planned out. Regrettably so, including what the changelings should be doing at the time of negotiations.”

“You’re still convinced that all of the others should be in hibernation pods.”

“Yes, my queen. If it were not for Prince Armor and Princess Cadenza’s scorn, I would trust them to not start a fight and find an excuse in your changeling’s reactions. This is the safest course of action.”

“Very well, but from here on, you are only to refer to me as your Queen in a formal setting. Call me ‘Chrysalis’ when it’s just us.”

“Oh, but I was just a civilian until a few days ago. Now, I am a consort and will be acting ambassador to the Alicorns. Can’t I have a little fun with this?”

“If it so suits you so long as you make your true feelings known as always. I prefer it that way.”

“Certainly. Anyways, tomorrow I will prepare for my march on Ponyville. In the meantime, is there anything that you need from me, Chrysalis?”

“As a matter of fact, there is. I have a request to make.” Chrysalis took a step forward, looking away bashfully. “You freely show love to changelings without their disguises. May I know what it feels to be held in private? With all of your attention on me?”

How can you say no to that? You are quite tired and would love the company. A sincere smile overcomes your face and you lay down, arms open and inviting her over. She climbs onto the slab, resting her head on your arm and placing a hoof across your side. You wrap your free arm over her, completing your embrace, and hum in comfort. She offers to change into a softer pony form if you are too uncomfortable, to which you say “Absolutely not. You are perfectly fine just the way you are, and just as snuggly.” Pulling her in closer, you take a deep breath, letting all your muscles relax, and still cling to her. Chrysalis notices that your head is still close to her neck as you snuggle and take that breath.

“Are you sniffing my scent?”

You chuckle. “No. I was just taking a breath to relax. Here, listen.” Rolling onto your back, you guide Chrysalis to lay her head on your chest above your heart, then breathe. Chrysalis listened, tapping your two-step heartbeat with her hoof on the other side of your chest. As you exhale, her taps get slower, and she gradually falls asleep that way. You fall asleep with your arms gently wrapped around her.

7 Prelude to War

“Are you sure that you want to do this alone, sister?” Celestia asked concerningly to you from beside your bed. “The lunar guards told me that you were screaming for several minutes until I was able to get there. Will our combined efforts not do well if you bring me with you?”

“Negative, sister. Should we come under a plight such as that which I suffered earlier, it would be incredibly more difficult and more dangerous to extract us both from the mindscape. Furthermore, the patrols in and around Ponyville are revealing nothing. We shall enter alone and reveal the hiding place of the changelings”

“Very well. I will be directly at your side until you return this time.”

After a nod and a hug to your sister, you close your eyes, vaguely aware as unicorn shields and wards, as well as a series of protective circles activated. Twilight wrote them herself to prepare this room in her castle for your excursion into the dreamscape.

You circle the doorways into the minds of your precious citizens. You have of course returned to the dreamscape to keep protective watch over your precious citizens; however, you have always dreaded the prospect of once again finding one doorway in particular. After several increasingly wider circles, you finally come across the one door that you have ever found yourself dreading. In lieu of a simple knob, there is a metal bar going across the door at shoulder height, with “PUSH” in print above it. Two metal plates sit in slots mounted on the outside of the door. One plate read “STATUS: DEEP/REM SLEEP” while the other read “LUCID: TRUE.”

Now expecting to be assaulted, you ready your magic, for one chaotic mind is still no match for Princess Luna of the night. Upon entering the door, you find yourself at the base of a mountain. Your magic tells you that this entrance is hard to see unless you know what to look for. A dozen paces in revealed something was happening in the dream. You comprehend that the images of this dream are events that have not happened yet, and the first indication of what is transpiring was the blood covering the stones bordering a black chitinous doorway. Screams of pain and agony echo through the many branching tunnelways, making their way to the entrance. You brace yourself to take control of and dispel whatever madness this mind has prepared.

Two figures charge out of the tunnels. Impaled changeling corpses hanging from the horns of a pink coated alicorn and her white coated unicorn counterpart. Upon reaching the entrance, they throw the corpses across and out into the stone entryway.

“Aunt Luna! Come to join in the slaughter? Their one defender has fallen, and all changelings are in hibernation pods!”

None of this makes sense! You are in the mind of a threat to pony kind. Why is he not dreaming of changelings fighting and winning? What is this perception of the prince and princess of love? You must find the human that is composing this nightmare.

There is a knife that 'Shining Armor' is levitating and using to slash open green pods, then sadistically murdering the occupants. You focus not on the murder, but the knife itself. It is significant. Not guard or royal issue. Your magic tells you which tunnel the human is located in. Their state makes no sense. You take the necessary path to reach the being. He has two holes in his torso, and a shield with Shining Armor’s cutie mark has amputated his legs. You are able to understand what is happening, but there is too much turmoil and noise to understand what in this being’s mind led to this.

“ENOUGH!” You command, seizing hold of the dreamscape. 'Shining Armor' and 'Cadence' cease to be. The blood lining the walls, and the mutilated pods and bodies disappeared. “You, human. What is the meaning of this imagery? Why are Shining Armor and MiAmore Cadenza the aggressors here?”

“Princess Luna? Does this mean that I really am dreaming? Will The full moon rise this night?”

“Such a moonrise is not for two more nights. We shall restore thy being in this state, then ye will explain to us this scene within thy dreams.” You reach into the human’s mind and pull an image of a well and healthy iteration of the being. By the glow of your horn, the human was now standing revived before you. The being takes a breath to calm himself and you brace, yet you do not feel the coldness as you did last time.

“Thank you, Princess Luna. My name is Anonymous. It is an honor to meet you, and I thank you sincerely for shaking me from that nightmare. This is what I fear will happen despite my best efforts. In two days, I will walk into Ponyville alone to request amnesty for the changelings and peaceful annexation of the Changeling hive. I will request peace negotiations on a day that sees a full moon rise, for weather the ponies act, or are inactive, without peace, the next new moon will signal the death of all changelings.”

With that, Shining Armor and cadence reappeared in front and behind of Anonymous, making quick work of the newly revived human. Both stab through him with their horns. Shining armor then making a shield around him that quickly constricted, beginning to crushing him. You make haste, for a shock of death this traumatic will wake your ward before they reveal their location.

“Hold, Anonymous, ye have yet to reveal thy location!” You dispel the ponies and revive the human once more.

“My location? The hive?”

“Where is it? What mountain is this?”

“I will tell you what I know, though I have not memorized the position yet.” You grow impatient. Your magic pulling the map of Equestria from his mind. He has recently memorized Equestria's layout. He's gathered information of it’s cities, pony populations, and commerce, yet he actively told the changeling scribes to keep the location of their mountain hidden from him as he did not memorize the path, then he locked himself away in a room for days to study. To study Equestria. To study the princesses. The mind of this human is so easy to distract that you yourself focus elsewhere while taking in this information. Another Shining armor appeared, ripping off limbs with shields then crushing them out of existence. With the destruction of the dream host’s head, you awaken, having hardly learned anything of value from your excursion. Celestia's horn is aglow as she raises the sun.

“Blasted!”

“How are you, sister?”

“We learned his name, Anonymous. The changeling hive is hidden within a mountain, the location of which he has not memorized, but that is of no matter. Tomorrow morning, he will march on Ponyville. Notify the elements of harmony and their provisional guards to be ready. He will either approach Sweet Apple Acres, or Fluttershy’s cottage.”

*****

“ ‘Anonymous’ you say? Strange name for any world.” Discord pondered the name to gleam a useful tidbit from whatever home dimension this human came from.

“So, you can peer into other worlds after all? What can you warn us about what a human from their chaotic world can pose as a threat?” Celestia asked.

“Well that depends; which human world is he from? There are quite a few human worlds on fire and bathed in blood. Was that a literal or a figurative description? Oh, and is it currently overrun by metal golems? That is quite important.”

“Not literally so. It was more of a colloquialism to describe the pain and suffering that is widespread. And no metal golems either. The human world that anonymous comes from has no magic whatsoever.” Luna replied

“No T-1000s then. That’s assuring. And no magic either. That would suggest He is a crafty silver-tongue that manipulates and profiteers. Only nasty things would come from that, and believe you me, you will be absolutely sickened by sweatshops! Though, one must consider that that world in particular has multitudes more manipulated individuals than manipulators. It is entirely possible that he will truly walk alone to Ponyville to request peace as Luna was able to gather. However, if he makes a move that spreads his world’s chaos throughout Equus, then that would threaten my own life as well.”

“Surely not. How can more chaos harm, let alone kill you, discord?”

“That chaos would not be a part of me, therefore, it would be a separate entity from me, and if such a monster would spread worldwide, it would potentially gain the power to usurp me and take over. I need not exaggerate the implications of what such chaos going unchecked would mean for this world, let alone the safety of your ponies. Do you agree, Luna?”

“Indeed, though despite all that we have wrested from his mind, we cannot entirely conclude that such will be the case. Too many details are incongruent. Are you yourself able to sense anything such as the potential chaos of the land?”

“Why yes indeed, and it has been maddening as of late! One moment I’m sipping tea with Fluttershy, and then I’m suddenly panicking like her animals will soon catch fire. It only lasts a few dozen minutes, then it is completely gone, and I regain my senses. I have felt such things before of course, people change their minds all the time, but never have I been so thrown by how dramatically it swings from one to the next. I dare say that I will be quite vexed should I ever meet such a being in person.”

“Should we expect you to not attend the meeting then?” Celestia asked as she poured Discord another cup of tea. He in turn took the cup and drank it down whole.

“Not at all. If this Anonymous thinks that he could just march on kind Fluttershy’s cottage, then They’ve got another thing coming!”

8 Onwards! to...

Well there was another lucid dream done. You have no idea what people mean that they can take wild and cool trips when lucid dreaming. Yours only keep you conscious to remember and sometimes feel the logical conclusion of “What could possibly go wrong?” Now, you are dead...

Well, there is the black nothingness that you exist sensationless in. Your mind always needs to catch up with what comes next since you can never remember when you are back here. Hey, there’s something. And there it is again. And again. What is that? It reminds you of an alarm. That usually snaps you to waking up, but you know that you don’t have an alarm here. Here? Where is that? Oh yeah, the changeling hive. Come to think of that, that last thing sounds like Chrysalis saying your name. Light might be there too. They just said your name for the third time that you can tell. You better open your eyes and wake up. Your body is at rest; you will need to start actively breathing to be able to do that.

Your head tilts up immediately as you take as deep a breath through your nose, your lungs go from completely deflated to completely inflated, allowing your still waking up body to say something on exhale.

“Hmn? What’s going on?”

“You’re alive!” Gentle jumps back. Chrysalis can’t because your arms are still wrapped around her where you left them.

“I was dead?” Now understanding the situation, you decide to play along to see how they react.

“We were trying to wake you up for an hour. You wouldn’t let me go even if I tried to get out.” Chrysalis answered.

“How did you try to get out?” Chrysalis moved her head from side to side as your arms tensed effortlessly in reflex to keep the object of their desire from escaping. Her begging whimper portraying how she was unable to move anything from the base of her neck down. “That is adorable.”

“Can you let me out now?"

“Here you go.” You open your arms and she thanks you. Once up, she notes a coldness now that the two of you are separated. The feeling is mutual, but you get up anyways as it is time to get moving. Today is the day you prepare for the big meet. You need your teeth cleaned, you need your only clothes washed, and you need your body bathed. All of which can be done out of bowls (of which you have none) or in the nearest stream, which means you must go out and once again be a denizen of the sun.

After a stretch right outside the hive entrance, your eyes adjust and you proceed to the nearest part of the Everfree Forest. Changelings encircle an area, keeping watch in bushes. although hydras and chimeras do not typically frequent this part of the forest, everyone always feels safer while keeping watch. At least that is what made sense when you arrived at the stream.

“So why is privacy when not clothed important to humans?” Chrysalis asked.

“Part of it is that human skin is not as tough as equine skin. Part of it is that it is impolite to be naked in polite- stop peeping, pervert! The bush rustled behind you furiously, as did several along the “protective perimeter.”

“You weren’t even looking this way!”

“But I still caught you!” You say teasingly. Manually scrubbed, you hang your garments to dry. “Now toss me the toothbrush and toothpaste. I definitely don’t want the smell of meat on my breath on this peace mission.”

“What will you do when you run out of jerky?”

“Well you see,” You list the mixes of vegetables that would suffice for proper protein synthesis, and how you plan to compare recipes that you know to ones that others know, then see what is easiest to procure on Equus. Of course, you are on a bit of a time limit as you only have about one meal left, but you will cross that hydra when you get there. You say this with your left hand moving to put emphasis on what you say, and your right hand muffling every word as you brushed your teeth. “Ok, I’m ready for the soap.” A bar of soap is thrown lightly, making a thud on the ground halfway. You would have to get completely out of the water to get it.

Man is it refreshing to be bathed and walking in fresh clothes. You walk with purpose along the tracks that circle the west side of the Everfree forest. After studying the maps, the sane and completely expected thing would be to go through the forest. You would have been able to take Zecora’s passage as a safe shortcut and get to Ponyville early, but you needed a way to safely and easily allow the elements of harmony and the princesses to get to the hive, and you just now memorized where the hive is in Equestria. How does one make good on a promise to walk into Ponyville in the morning when the walk is eight hours away? Human stubbornness and changeling magic. The two of you talk while going along the tracks. Your hands behind your head as you pace.

“Even after I give you energy, I can still accompany you to Ponyville.”

“Me going alone is the best way to surprise them with my out-of-this-world tactics, plus you are the best one to ensure the safety of the hive as most of our changelings hibernate. Not to mention the weapon that I have not been able to destroy yet.”

"Very well. So tell me, after this is all over, what are your plans?"

"To see and spread happiness. I look forward to seeing our changelings and the other ponies prosper and celebrate. There could be parades and festivals, concerts and parties. Of course, such things don't taste as sweet without working for it. Our changelings will find their place in the world in various careers, and I intend to be working alongside them. We'll build a new hive under the sun and moon, and when the work is done, we'll enjoy our time together."

"With the way you work, are you sure there will be time for fun?"

"Absolutely. There will be arts and music, some from my world too if I can help it."

You breathe in the fresh morning air and exclaim vigorously.

“Ah, this is just the energy I love to march through life with.”

“You mean on an eight-hour hike into intentionally getting harmed in others' stead?”

“How did you figure that part out?” Surprise shows on your face.

“You've discussed everything but that part with me. The way you approach possibilities to mitigate all harm to others, that others can cause, or be driven to cause. Reading your emotions brought me halfway, and then I figured out the rest.”

“You are a fast learner. Good on you. Please don’t tell our changelings.”

“I’d rather not scare them or give them any ideas before you are able to teach them how to safely use such madness. So why are you going to great lengths to harm yourself?”

“If Twilight Sparkle does have a truth spell, I will tell a couple lies so that the full truth is clear.”

“Will explaining the whole plan make me worry less?”

“Probably not. Until then, I think it’s been a good four hours by now. At least my feet tell me so.”

“I will wait for you to return to tell me the full story then.”

Chrysalis pulls you into a hug, her horn glowing against your forehead while the exhaustion you feel now drains away. Smiling, she turns back to the hive and takes flight. You continue silently along the tracks. Your next destination lies along the tracks, around the forest, and across the fields. The nearly full moon glows low in the western sky. You must return with help for the sake of your changelings. Hopefully, you don’t scare Fluttershy.

10 Recover

The princesses agreed to reconvene after a meal. You tried to get up from the pillow, but true to discord’s observation, you lost balance. Jeffrey jumped onto the pillow to support you. Jeffrey is your new best friend.

Leaning on Jeffrey, you are able to take in the details of the castle of friendship. All parts of the main structure, true to the reports, are made entirely out of an opaque crystal of various colors. Shiny support pillars protrude from the walls, and slick crystalline footboards accent where the floors meet the walls. The atrium itself is a grand hall that rises up to a pointed arch. several large doors are open, revealing long hallways on either side. Stairs lead to a second floor on either side of a grand door centered in the back of the room. Discord levitates the pillow down a hallway farther back, and to a small room with a private dining table. At your request, a large bowl of cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots was served alongside a glass and pitcher of water.

Discord, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash are the only ones accompanying you at the table. The others are probably having a discussion in private. The plan was to have discussed more by this point, but you did do something unexpected. Hopefully, your efforts were effective in mitigating doubt. It strikes you that they knew you were a human. You've only mentioned that word to Zecora once, but she seemed like the trustworthy type. You wonder exactly how much Princess Luna has seen in your dreams.

“So how are the vegetables, Anonymous? We could have had them sliced.” Fluttershy asked.

“She’s right you know. There’s no point in being bashful.” Discord added in.

“Call me Crazy, but after a week of dried rations, I enjoy a juicy bite into fresh vegetables with all of the water still inside.”

“What kind of dry rations, exactly?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, I had been carrying dried meat from my world when I was brought to this one. Miss Fluttershy, are you ok with me talking about this?”

“Um, It is natural for you, and you said that it is not from this world, so I suppose It's ok. Just don’t go into any gruesome… detail.” You turn back to Rainbow Dash.

“I had seven days of meat rations in my backpack.” Rainbow Dash shoots suspicion at you.

“You mean to tell me that you carried seven days of food with you on your back? That’s hard to believe with the amount of vegetables that you are eating.”

“Of course not. Humans get more sugar and protein from meat than plants, and I had meat rations, not full meals. I’m sure I was a few more pounds on the fat side when I first arrived.”

“There it is again.” Discord piped up. “So far, you have starved yourself and walked yourself ragged alone into the hooves and claws of those who thought you a threat, and then willingly presented yourself to a friendship firing squad. Not that I don’t appreciate the chaos, but exactly what else do you have in mind just for yourself, and why? You could have brought a squad of changelings so that you at least didn’t get all of the damage.”

“Exactly. They would have-.” Your words are now muffled by something warm and tasty. Biting it, then taking the rest in your hand, you are both amused and confused. “Blueberry muffin. Yum.”

“Glad you like it! Now no more of that. You’re with friendlies now. Oh, and by the way, how many changelings are in the hive?” Pinkie pie is at the end of the table now. You quickly chew the bite and swallow.

“One Hundred and Twenty-one including Chrysalis. Why?”

“Okie dokie lokie. Now don’t leave without me!” With that, she became a blur and was gone. You turn back to Discord.

“I know she means well, but her speed and strength scares me.”

“Well that’s a first! What exactly did she do that scares you?”

“She set off a bullet in my gun holster.”

“WHAT?! You brought such a lethal weapon from your chaotic world to Equestria?” His words spit like venom at his outrage. He knows about guns. Keep calm and disclose your plan.

“Ok, so you understand why I want to safely destroy the rest of the bullets and the gun itself?”

“How many Bullets are there, and how can we destroy them?”

“Nineteen live bullets are left. I don’t have a way of taking them apart safely but dumping them in molten metal at the bottom of a stone covered well should do. I’d take the gun itself to a separate forge altogether and mix it with as many different metals into a Damascus block so that no amount of metallurgy or alchemy can reverse engineer it.” Discord wrote everything down furiously, then ate the paper.

“Come hell or high water, that weapon must be destroyed!”

“Hold on! What’s going on, and what’s a gun?” A very confused Rainbow Dash stomped on the table.

“Exactly! Guns don’t have any place in Equestria!”

Discord and you both turn to her and shout at the same time to no one’s help. You turn to him holding out a hand.

“Discord, you are the only one I know of that I can give a proper respecting handshake to. Can I count on you even if I’m not there to do it?”

“No question to it.” He grasps your hand firmly and shakes it. “Though I must ask now. What were you doing with such a weapon that you plan to obliterate it now so completely?”

“I carry that thing for six years for self-defense and never need to fire it once. I’m in Equestria for sixty seconds, and the first pony I meet sets it off with a single jab.”

“You really need to get a grip on things.”

“That’s exactly why I spent a week cooped up in a hive cell studying this world.”

“About that. Luna tried to get the location of the hive through your dreams. How did you manage to hide that from her?”

"I only remember seeing a glimpse of her, so I'm not sure what Princess Luna's side of that was. I didn’t hide anything at all. I never memorized the way there, then told the scribes to not tell me where the hive was until I was ready to come here. I have only learned the Hive's location in relation to Ponyville this morning. This was all started by a combination of luck and help from Zecora, that zebra that lives in the forest. Didn’t do me any good that I started day one through the Everfree, then a few miles in an underground tunnel. No good frame of reference at all. Not that I intend to keep any more secrets. Like I said, I needed some time to study, and now I just need the time it takes to explain everything.”

“That being said, Luna mentioned a curse as well. What was that about?”

"Words escaped my mouth backwards. 'Hello' was 'olleh.' Pinky thought it was a game at first, and it didn't help the situation. Luckily, I had three kind ponies to teleport me to safety."

"What ponies?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Soft Light, Gentle Breeze, and Queen Chrysalis."

"So two ponies and the changeling queen."

You take a deep breath, your voice becoming serious, but muted rather than aggressive.

"Soft Light and Gentle Breeze are changelings. Changelings are a pony race; just as Unicorns and Pegasi are. Despite their absence since before the creation of the fires of friendship, they are no less pony then you are. They are not hydras or chimera. If you consider their inability to produce sharable love un-pony, then you might as well consider a flightless Pegasus a monster." Suddenly, your chair is moved back and a hoof pins you to the wall.

"Leave. Scootaloo. Out of this." Magenta eyes stare at you with all of the rage of a mother with a child to protect.

"I don't know who Scootaloo is, and I did not mean to make the matter personal. For that, I am sorry." She releases you and returns to the far side of the table. You push the chair back into position. Grabbing another cucumber, you say one more thing before biting in.

"If this shows anything, we both have ponies that we care about and want to see safe and happy."

Discord shares an awry look of discomfort with Fluttershy.

"Sooo, Anonymous, is that a common name?"

“Ah, that. After a jaunt through the Everfree, bees in poison joke are terrifying by the way, the changelings led me to Zecora's hut where my speech was restored. However, there is another curse on me that that saint of a zebra didn't know how to cure. Anonymous is not the name that I was born with. My original name is [], but try to call me by any other name at all.” Discord and Fluttershy both try yet no sound vocalizes. “Come on, try shouting it.” Rainbow Dash joins in. You can tell that they are trying to shout but no sound comes out at all.

“What madness is this?” Discord asked.

“Exactly. imagine having your every utterance reversed on top of that. I tried to wright my name in dirt and it caught fire. It made for a very chaotic twenty for hours, so I was hoping the physical embodiment of chaos would know something about it.”

“Definitely not my doing. Too many rules. Your arrival in this world makes no sense. I can look past the walls into your world, but those walls are powerful. If I tried to pull something living from there to here, well,” He snaps and a small pile of ash falls onto his plate. “That was a pumpkin roughly your size.” He then dips some paper in it and eats it. “Mm! pumpkin spice.”

“Wait, so if you don’t know, then how-“

“No idea” You start rubbing your temples.

“That’s… Not that I would leave my changelings now, but what exactly happened to me?”

“Your Changelings? Exactly what are you to them?” Rainbow Dash cut in with a raised eyebrow. You push a now empty bowl away from you.

“You already know my intentions. When I pledged loyalty to Queen Chrysalis, she decided to name me her consort. The princesses have their little ponies, and My queen and I have our changelings. I suppose it symbolizes my new responsibility, but I don’t like the idea of intentionally making use of a title.” Everyone had finished their meals. Discord snapped the plating away, and a cup of tea appeared in front of you.

“Take it from me, pal. Having tea every now and then is a good way to stay in touch with a pony. Isn’t that right, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, indeed. Twilight told me that Celestia enjoys her own personal brew that she developed herself.” You try the tea. It’s bitter and earthy. The kind that doesn’t need sugar.

“Mint, orange zest, and something else maybe?” You take another sip.

“By the scent, it is indeed from my personal stores, Discord” Celestia is in the doorway. You immediately cover your mouth to muffle a coughing fit. “And He is right, Anonymous. My sister and I would enjoy tea from time to time to maintain dialogue with the Queen of the changelings and you, her consort.”

“I would greatly appreciate your advice on managing time in that sense. I am more used to being a laborer by vocation and leaving duties unattended to makes me anxious.”

“Certainly. We can discuss it while you lead us to the hive. We can leave in two hours. I just need the directions to send scouts ahead.”

“The Hive is south of Ponyville, West of Ghastly Gorge, and East of Las Pegasus. It is approximately forty kilometers down the train tracks that go around the Everfree Forest and heads to Appaloosa. The Hive is within a mountainside on the other side of the Mountain range that Las Pegasus sits, the entrance of which is hard to see, so I arranged a large arrow made of sticks and stones along the tracks. When they get there, they can expect to find a total of three changelings awake including Queen Chrysalis. All other changelings are asleep in protective cocoons that the others are under strict instructions to not awaken them until the event that the hive is accepted into Equestria. You should also warn them that there is no food store, and the only water source is the streams within the Everfree on the other side of the tracks.”

“Did you get everything, Rose?”

“Yes mam. I’ll tell the scouting party to pack supplies accordingly.” A unicorn you didn’t notice until she spoke rolled up a scroll and promptly went about her duty. Celestia turned back to you with a smile. “Should everything we Discuss today prove true, I look forward to welcoming the changeling hive into Equestria.”

“You honor me princess. Thank you.” You give a polite bow to her.

“Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Discord, the others will meet you at the train station. Could you show Anonymous there while I attend to other matters?”

“Yes mam.”

“Yes mam!”

“Certainly, Celie.”

With that, you were led back to the atrium and outside the castle.

11 Rebuke

With a meal and a moment's rest, your balance and strength is moderately restored. You follow Discord, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash out the castle and towards the town. Fluttershy had sent Jeffrey back to her cottage to root for a meal of his own. Now at a somewhat leisurely pace, you are able to take in the sight of Ponyville proper.

Ponyville is a town of approximately five hundred ponies. Matching timber frame buildings with jettied second floors and thatched roofs compose most of the town with the exception of some custom shaped buildings, such as one that you can see in the distance that has the shape of an ice cream cone as part of the main structure. You also see a stylized circular building on the other end of a near by square that you would bet a bed and a blanket is the Carousel Boutique. As the group approaches the closest buildings, you try to imagine taking a morning walk, bidding a good morning to earth pony, changeling, unicorn, and pegasi alike.

“So, Anonymous, what are you thinking?” Rainbow Dash asked while flying upside down, you have no idea how other than magic.

“I am looking forward to a near future where changelings can enjoy going about their daily business like this without disguises.” You say as you walk. Your hands are on the back of your head, your arms spreading your chest to take a deep breath of the fresh day air.

“Then what are you so worried about? I’m no Fluttershy, but I can feel it coming from you.”

“Oh, that. There’s a concept that I know called Murphy’s Law: Everything that can go wrong will, or if everything seems to be going right, then you aren’t looking hard enough.”

“Everything does seem to be going well. What do you have in mind?” Fluttershy asks.

“I haven’t met Spike or Shining Armor yet. Where are they?”

“Oh, them.” Discord is doing a lazy backwards butterfly stroke through the air. “Luna sent them to scout the Everfree forest before dawn in anticipation of you coming from that direction. Spike just met with Twilight, and Shining Armor is currently galloping directly at you, Anonymous.”

“Ah. Evasive maneuvers then.” You take a deep breath and drop face first, then roll away from the others, holding firmly to the belief that frightened screaming makes you faster and stronger. You narrowly dodge being trampled. May no one question your methods. “Miss Rainbow Dash, please get the other elements!”

"If you say so." She flies off.

Fluttershy turned to Discord.

You are being very calm in this situation.”

The Draconequus lingered in the air with his arms lazily resting behind his head. He had drifted to where he is looking the other way. “This day has gone from interesting to predictable. As soon as Anon got himself away from us, he just sat there cross legged and let Shining Armor trap him in a shield bubble, forcing the unicorn into a stalemate as he hasn’t actually done anything. Isn’t that right, Prince Armor?” Fluttershy looked back. The scene was as Discord described it, only the bubble is raised. It had taken the ground that Anon had sat on with him, and that dirt and grass was moving for some reason. Could Shining armor be slowly shrinking the shield?

“What is your real plan, monster?”

“I intend to convince the princesses to allow my changelings citizenship and annex the hive into Equestria where ponies need not fear changelings, and changelings need not fear death.”

“Tell me the truth!” The shield bubble shrunk just a bit faster as the angered unicorn shouted. This is going to be a lot of shouting at you, and it won't stop here. You take another breath.

“The only two lies I have said today were under a truth spell to prove that I came alone and that I came in peace.”

“Don't try to speak in riddles. Your time is running out.”

Discord flew backwards to Shining armor’s side so that he could speak without raising his voice.

“Seriously, shining armor, you are going to want to put Anonymous down before your sister sees you attacking a pacifist. He already took two cloud shocks willingly, and He won’t stop you from crushing him either. He is telling the truth, and you’ll martyr him before you intimidate him into telling a lie.”

“Then what’s in it for you? power?”

“Mercy.” You say flatly.

“Chrysalis imprisoned my bride!”

“And they deserve to die for that? This bubble you have me trapped in is a direct metaphor for what state the changelings are in right now. I have no magical abilities, no power at all. I have no way of fighting back even if I tried, and I don’t have any food to my name, let alone a way of procuring it without a community to be a part of. Now you can be wasteful and crush me with your great power, or if you have a knife on you, then simple levitation will make short work of my throat. Alternatively, you can leave me here, do nothing, and I’ll die anyways. Luna and discord have both said that I come from a world with rampant chaos, of which they are correct. Suffering and destruction runs unmitigated, and in that respect, I hope to prove the denizens of the land of harmony my betters, that they are not just rabid animals with different magical forms of fang!”

Growling by the end of your last statement, your voice is raised uncontrollably for the first time today. A tear threatens to let loose as an eye twitches. You can never control it when you fully open up to your own emotions. Shining armor and you stare each other down with a passion for several moments. The first thing you notice is Shining Armor's coat becoming a purer color of white as the glow of magic disappears between you. You place your hands down to brace as the bubble around you dissipates and it’s contents fall back to where they were taken from.

“Anonymous! Are you hurt? What happened here?” Twilight flew in, landing between you and her brother. Her friends not far behind.

“I’m ok. Shining Armor didn’t harm me. I’m just like this when I’m calming down.” You take several shuttering breaths before you return to being able to take calming breaths. “I don’t blame him for being this way after the Canterlot wedding. ‘Hell hath no fury’ and such.” You look around. “Did we cause a public scene?”

“No. Every pony was at city hall and the main square in case of an invasion. Princess Luna had just told them that there is no danger in your visit when Rainbow Dash came and said that you asked for the elements. We are all here. Are you sure you want to do this now?”

“Now is as good a time as ever to demonstrate that I’m sincere. A lot of the ponies here deserve to see it.”

“Well ok. Let’s do this, girls.”

Gathering in a circle around twilight, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony glow and levitate. In a show much more spectacular than you were prepared for, streaks of color spiral upwards around them, joining overhead before slamming down as a brilliant rainbow beam that forces you to close your eyes. As if you stared at the sun from it's surface, white overcomes your vision but eventually fades.

“Wow that was bright! Miss element of magic, a little warning could have saved my vision."

“They’re not usually able to complain about it afterwards!” She replies. A hearty laugh escapes you as your face shows grim realization.

“Fair point and thank you for humoring me, princess. Ah, man I needed that laugh.”

“Just call me Twilight. If this plan of yours works, then I would like to extend a hoof in friendship to you and the changelings. Some things just don’t add up anymore, so given the situation, we are all going to continue the discussion on the train.” This sounds great. Not only are they willing to hear you out, but they have decided on their own to see the changeling hive.

“I’d love that, Twilight. I’m prepared to give a full explanation as well as provide the translated reports from the Changeling library once we return to the hive. Even more if we are able to safely recover the rest of it. Don’t forget that I need you to do the same to Queen Chrysalis and clear their names.”

“Changeling library...” Twilight is staring into space now. Ok, so she’s that type of student. Best to just let her ride that high.

“Princess Cadenza, Prince Armor, have I earned a calm conversation with the two of you?”

“Princess Cadence will suffice. What do you want to talk about?”

“Given previous history, the most that the changelings intend to ask of the Crystal Empire is to acknowledge their Equestrian Citizenship. There will be no offense if you leave immediately after Chrysalis is tried by the elements of harmony.”

“We appreciate the concern, but I intend to see the entire event through alongside the other princesses, Anonymous. Also, The Crystal Empire has no intention of withholding love from any Equestrians should the changelings join. There is still a lot to discuss before then.”

“Much respect to you, Princess cadence. I will continue on the train when all princesses are present.”

With a bow, you walk away. And go towards the element bearers. Getting worked up like that sure makes you thirsty. You take a quick breath and a shiver goes down your spine. You can probably use a lemonade for electrolytes, but water will do. Rarity and Fluttershy get to you before you can do anything.

“Are you sure you are ok?”

“Oh yeah, I’m a bit shaken, but no harm done. I’ll be fine after a drink. Lemonade maybe, but water will do in a pinch. Um, Where’s pinkie?”

“Hiya!” You expected it to happen this way. You expected it to happen much faster than you could react to, with your meager human strength unable to fight back. It happened even faster than that. Pink hooves wrap around your chest. Pinky has mounted you from behind and is grabbing your head. The only thing you can do is scream in terror as she rips your head off.

“Um, Anon, The hat’s on you already.” Hat? You can see Pinky in front of you, yet there is still something grabbing your head. So you aren’t going to die? Turning off terrorized scream. You grab at the thing on your head. It’s big and doesn’t feel like any kind of normal hat. Bringing it into view you realize it has a bendy straw and two cups on it.

“A drink hat.”

“Yup. Now you can’t put yourself in danger again, or you’ll spill it everywhere!”

“Pinky, this is exactly what I needed.” Disarmed, you smile and chuckle.

“Finally you smile! I was getting worried that everything that happened broke yours.”

“Trust me pinky, I’ll be smiling a lot more after all of this serious formal business is over.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Cross your heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in your eye?”

“Um, cross my heart and hope to…?”

“No pony breaks a Pinky Promise. No pony!”

“Cross my heart and hope to di- fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

“Okie dokie lokie! Now let’s go, every pony. My cart is ready!”

Sipping from your new hat, you follow behind, but a serous voice calls out to you.

“Anonymous.”

“Yes discord?”

“What was that?”

“What do you mean?”

“You calmed down, and I’m not talking about Pinky Pie or Twilight. Shining armor was about to kill you. You were no calmer, and now all that emotion is just... gone. I don’t care what world you are from; no one does that. What are you? Where do you get this from?” Me calming down would invite such a piercing glare from the spirit of chaos. He’s talking like this is something unusual to ponies.

“Um… I don’t know what will satisfy you. I don’t consider myself anything special.”

“Don’t give me that, you are actively being different than others. The others won't say anything out of decency, but it’s unnatural, yet you are sincere. Explain now.” Putting a hand to your chin, you consider the question.

“Hmm… Do you prefer Coffee, tea, or alcohol?”

“Tea, why?” The question causes Discord to blink in confusion, but he doesn't stop staring you down.

“I still don’t consider anything I do outside normal ability, but if you want an explanation, it will take a lot of time and drink to explain.”

“Very well. Also, you drink alcohol?”

“I am a helpless lightweight, but I’ll have one with friends.”

“What won’t you do for others?”

“I am not a polyamorist.”

Wordlessly, Discord snapped his lion's paw and walked away. You wait and look around, but ultimately notice nothing. Fluttershy noticed Discord’s snap and came over to you.

“Did something upset him?”

“I apparently calm too easily for him.”

“Well he is the spirit of chaos.”

“I don’t understand it either. Oh well, I have a tea buddy to talk philosophy with.”

You sip your drink hat. Lemonade. Nice and cool and refreshing. You take a bigger and bigger sip, enjoying it. Before you realize, the drink gets colder and more sour. It is too late to react. Ice cold sour extract is being gulped down. Emergency time. Think quick. Don’t spill Pinkie’s awesome hat. The outer wall of a building is close by. Just get to it and assume the position. You slam into the wall with a pained grunt. The elements of harmony all now look at you with concern. You hear them give questioning words of concern, but you can’t process a proper response.

“Sour brain freeze! Pinkie why?” You manage to scream.

“What? I didn’t put any super cold sour powder in your drink hat.”

“Discord why?”

You hear his thundering laughter from ahead of you. Discord is very content with himself.

12 Return

Having recovered from a prank from the spirit of chaos, you now sit at the Ponyville train station. Wood posts hold a roof up over a very clean wooden platform and ticket booth. It strikes you that you haven't seen any trash or dingy buildings around. Even in this small town, it would be surprising to see the entirety of Ponyville so on top of repairs. Speaking of, sounds of the denizens of Ponyville returning to their daily lives start to pass you by as they spread out from the town center.

Royal solar and lunar guards block the entrance to the platform, making you infer this will be a private trip. You wonder, for a moment, how many vacation trips or travel plans are being delayed. Princess Cadence and Prince Armor are sitting on a bench at a respectable distance, all things considered. Princess Luna, Discord and the Elements of Harmony are all sitting near you. You acknowledge spike as another being that you can share a respecting handshake with... after being careful to avoid the child size, yet still very sharp dragon claws. Passing the time, Princess Luna and Discord talk at an adjacent bench while you sit and converse with the Elements of Harmony.

"I was a laborer in a factory for three years before getting a promotion and a better paid job in the office next door."

"What did you do in that job?" Twilight asked.

"I answered live long range communications and often got yelled at by customers over non personal matters that are not always legitimate, then I would file reports to make sure the company ran smoothly."

"Is that supposed to sound fake?"

"No, but perhaps it is good that it does."

"So, what was it like to appear in Ponyville?"

"It's hard to describe since I didn't actually notice it happening. I had just started a camping trip. I was chopping a log in half to use in a shelter, and by the time I was done, the terrain around me had changed. Seconds later, I met Miss Pinky Pie"

"Just Pinky is fine, Anon. You can call all of us non-princesses by first names, right, Rarity?" Said Pinky.

"She has a point, darling. You have shown quite clearly that you don't mean any harm, so you don't have to be so formal with us. I dare say you'll be seeing enough of the princesses, should everything go right, that you'll be on a first name basis with most of them, too." Rarity's words surprised you. Until now, the only plans that have been made were promoting vocations and seeing to the restoration of the Hive. There would always be respecting interactions with the princesses, but could you get to know them on more level grounds?"

"That's going to take some getting used to. I'm going to have to get some clothes better than just this one set."

A gasp came from Rarity. You just poked the Bee's nest. You told yourself not to, damnit.

"Darling! Tell me that what you are wearing is not the only clothing to your name."

"Unfortunately, it is so. They're not bad clothes, but they're all I have."

"Well that just won't do. Stand up, Darling. I'll take your measurements right away."

Being a true Seamstress, she levitates measuring tape that she has handy, and takes your measurements. She mumbles something about having similar range of motion to a minotaur, but different proportions. Obeying her commands, you flex in various ways and allow her to measure sections of your body in different positions. All the while, Pinky and Twilight are talking to you about your first moments of arrival.

"Where is the axe you were chopping the log with when you arrived here?" Asked Twilight.

"I imagine it is where I arrived if someone hasn't picked up what's left of it."

"Oh yeah! it caught fire when I looked at the name on it." Pinky added.

"Yeah, that happens when my birth name is visible for some reason. Wait, You saw my name? How much of it?"

"All of it. it said- AHHHHHHHH..." Pinky suddenly fell to the ground, screaming and grasping her head in pain.

"What did you do?!" Prince armor shouted accusingly as he got between you and the pink pony.

"I didn't even touch her, I swear!" Pinky is still screaming. The tension of the situation is threatening to boil over soon. You have to think of a way to help Pinky. She is in pain because she is thinking of your name. A mental image is burning inside her mind, so what the hell can you do? You look at the writhing pained pony on the ground and notice she is scraping a hoof at you. She thinks you can do something about this. All you have is the hat she gave you, but can it really be that easy? Shining Armor will not let you anywhere near Pinky right now. You take off the drink hat and hand it to the mare that has so far been frozen next to you, not knowing what she can do.

"Rarity, Have Pinky drink from the hat!"

"Will that work?"

"I don't know but Pinky thinks so."

Rarity takes the hat in her magic and brings it to her pained friend. Pinky desperately grabs the straw in her hooves as soon as it is within reach and drinks for her life. Everyone attending watched as the pink pony drank for seconds on end. her writhing gradually ceased, and once some amount of calm had returned to her, she tentatively released the straw from her mouth.

"I'm okay... Whatever that was, I don't think I want to think about it again..." Pinky said while breathing heavily from the experience.

"What just happened?" Asked Princess Luna. You take a quick breath to answer readily on the spot.

"Since I arrived here, the name I have been given at birth has been censored in magic that as far as I know is beyond even Discord's understanding. Voices do not vocalize unless I am referred to as Human, Anonymous, or Anon, and my written name bursts into flames. This is something I have no control of, and Pinky somehow was quick enough to see and read my entire name." Princess Luna considered your words.

"Demonstrate thy claim."

You walk to the side and jump off of the platform. Using a finger, you wright your name in the loose dirt, and sure enough, the ground erupts in an angry fire before you get too far. You watch your audience's reaction until they are satisfied, then you stomp the fire out. Returning to the platform, most of the ponies are comforting Pinky as Twilight is casting a spell. Princess Luna approaches you.

"We have not yet completed our investigation within the dreamscape. If Thy actions have intentionally hidden anything at all, We shall see to it personally that justice comes swiftly."

"I have nothing to hide, Princess. You may enter my dreams whenever you like for as many times that suit you." Your response was sincere and immediate. Looking directly into her eyes, you will maintain calm because that is the truth.

"Wowee, that was crazy!" Pinky seems to have recovered. She approaches you with the drink hat on her head. Her smile has returned.

"Are you ok, Pinkie? I'm sorry that happened to you."

"Don't sweat it. It's not like you did anything. I'm just glad you understood me and gave me that brain freeze. Twilight used a memory spell, and now I can't remember your name anymore, so that won't happen again." She takes the hat and puts it back on your head. "There, that's better."

"Thanks, Pinky." You smile.

"Good, your smile is back, and just in time. The train will be here in threee, twooo, one!" Snapping to point a hoof, Pinky signals the moment that the train comes into view from around a hill.

A coal powered steam engine approaches, pulling several wooden cars with shuttered windows and metal roofs. more guards exit the train cars and escort you in. You are led onto the train. The second passenger car from the front housed a large dining table. Princess Celestia was already there.

"Hello once again, Anonymous. I have seen to it myself to prepare this train to take all one hundred and twenty-one changelings back here to Ponyville where they can receive help should negotiations prove successful.

“Hello once again, princess. Now that everyone is assembled, I would like to continue my explanation if that is okay with all of you.”

“My scouts have reported back. Everything you have said so far has proven to be true. Please start with the current status of the Changelings. What condition is Queen Chrysalis and her drones in?"

"I just need to check one thing. Applejack. Do you have family that aint family?"

"Of course I do. All of the Elements of Harmony are honorary Apples. We've done for each other as family with zero hesitation, and we'd do it always." Applejack beamed.

"Always trust country folk to know how to do it right." You smile.

"Anyways, my changelings have so far rationed their reserves of love for an extremely long period of time. Besides the Canterlot Wedding, and some unexplained aurora a year ago, my Queen has only risked small groups spearheaded by herself to retrieve love for the hive, but there is no natural way for changelings to survive without total integration. I have done what I can remotely by filling love crystals while I studied within the hive, but the contribution of a single being can only do so much."

"Tell us about these love crystals." Twilight jumped in.

"For that, allow me to describe the hive structure as an entire unit. There are two ways that Changelings physically interact with their home. The first is with Crystals that they can store and drain love magic, and the second is with the hive structure they have been calling their home for generations. They can use their magic to manipulate it's shape, which includes detaching carriable amounts for transport and re-convergence in another location. Currently, the majority of the hive is encased in basalt. Somewhere during their hibernation, a magma flow encroached on the hive, and the vast majority of the crystals, including a crystal artifact called the Heart of the Changelings was lost."

This earned you an even worse look from Shining Armor.

"Are you trying to lay Claim on the Crystal Heart?" You have never heard of that name, then again, the changelings had no knowledge to offer on the Crystal Empire.

"I'm not sure you're talking about the same artifact that I am. Is the Crystal heart in the shape of a swaddled changeling foal?"

Twilight lets out a breath. "Don't worry, Shining, he's not after the Crystal Heart. Tell us about the Heart of the Changelings, Anonymous."

"The Heart of the Changelings, unlike regular love crystals which have a limited capacity, has gathered love from countless changelings across the generations. It was said to be created by the first changeling Queen, and every changeling thereafter has made a contribution without taking at least once in their life. If that single artifact had been the one that survived, then none of you would even be aware of the name, Chrysalis."
This earned you confused looks.

"The first breaths of Equestrian air that Queen Chrysalis and her hive ever inhaled was shortly before the Canterlot wedding. They had awoken to a decimated hive and a far too destroyed magical love reserve to integrate without causing alarm, fear, and hatred. However, a portion of their library survived that contained an emergency plan passed down from Changeling Queen to Changeling Queen. They would amass love by infiltrating and launching a faux takeover on a wedding."

"Exactly which part of the attempted takeover was faux?" Shining Armor interrupted once more.

"After taking over and safely imprisoning enough powerful ponies in hibernation cocoons, the magic reserves would be replenished, then phase two would have launched, knowledge of making lantern runes that can detect changelings would have been given to a free standing resistance group so that they can 'take back' the captured land and ponies. The changelings would have then retreated and safely snuck back into society where they would not have done much else of consequence other than living a normal pony's life."

"If that is so, then explain my imprisonment in the gem mines beneath Canterlot." Cadence added.

"As I understand it, Chrysalis was alone until the shield around Canterlot fell. she did not have the proper amounts of magic until later to start imprisoning ponies safely in cocoons."

"You have been on Equus a mere week, and the only knowledge you have of this world is from the changelings, correct? How sure can you be that every detail is not a lie orchestrated by them?" Princess Celestia asked.

"You do have a point, Princess. If they have, in fact, done so, and they truly are up to nefarious plans, then all four princesses and the Elements of Harmony have already been assembled where only one prince and princess was needed prior. Subsequently, you would be freeing me from such lies, but until such time as that, I will continue to give my all for my changelings."

"And what if after judging Queen Chrysalis by the Elements of Harmony, she passes, yet we still refuse her entry into Equestria?"

"Then I will remain with the hive while you leave to live out the rest of your happy lives in your land of harmony." You don't care for sly mind games, but you tried to see this coming, too. Maintain calm and address everything evenly, no matter how ridiculous and sideways things get.

"Oh, please, Celestia, enough with the 'thousand years of wit' schtick. All of you have to have seen by now that this kid has morals and manners to a fault. The only big question left is whether or not the Changelings really do pass the trial as Anonymous did. I get dreadfully bored when conversations get so predictable and redundant this way. There's no point in it at all, Chaotic or otherwise." To your surprise, Discord was the one who spoke next, and he spoke up for you. Remember that.

"Very well. Anonymous, what would you propose Equestrians and Changelings do once peace is made?"

“First, the changelings need to take on apprenticeships to build skills and work ethics if they are to be active members in the modern community. For example, Applejack, I hear that the Apple family is spread out across Equestria. Would each family group be open to accepting an extra hand or two to train?”

“I recon they would. Heck, if they prove to be honest hard workers, the apples will probably accept them in as their own.”

"Always trust country folk to know how to do it right" You smile again. "That does bring back to mind the matter of shelter for the changelings. Once the proper magical reserves are built up, my changelings will need to relocate the hive structure to a better location. Ideally, a place ideal for travel, or a new location central to other cities that can have infrastructure built. It is an optimistic hope to have experienced Earth Ponies survey and safely excavate the encased sections of library, Changestone structure, and possibly any love crystals that may have survived. Among the knowledge lost to the magma flow is the ability to create new crystals."

"Ooh ooh ooh, My sisters and I are experienced Earth Pony surveyors and excavators! Our family's rock farm is near Las Pegasis." Pinky jumped in.

"Then I would like your opinion when we reach the hive. My changelings care deeply about their home. It is vital that the changes tone is not harmed further."

"Harmed? Wouldn't the changelings be able to fix scrapes or cracks with their magic?"

"It is more complicated than that. Changestone can't be created by any form of chemistry or geology. At the end of a changeling's life, they are placed into a state of extremely slowed decomposition. Their bodies and the strength of their spirit protects the hive from danger. Changestone is the hive's ancestry. The hive is both the changeling's true home and funeral mound."

Silent looks are exchanged, some of surprise, and some of macabre realization. You know in your mind that if the equestrians refuse to help, Chrysalis will be forced to use that spell to ultimately end your changeling's suffering. Having never used a spell in this way, chrysalis may not be able to use it on herself, leaving the final burial duty to you. This mental image once again plays in your mind, as it has previously. You know what is at stake, so you know how far you are willing to push yourself. You take a breath and wipe away a tear that wanted to show itself.

"Is it unreasonable to want any excavation to be done carefully?"

Pinky shook her head.

"Don't worry. My sisters know their stuff."

"I'm happy to hear that, Pinky. I will leave it in your capable hooves."

"Will this be all matters covered, Anonymous?" Celestia asked.

"I have one more thing, a personal mater that I have only had the chance to discuss with Discord, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash so far.”

“Is this about that weapon that you mentioned?” Rainbow Dash speaks up. Immediately, all eyes were staring you down.

“Yes. I was carrying a weapon on me when I first arrived on Equestria. Pinkie pie simultaneously broke it and set off one of the twenty bullets I had with me. The weapon cannot be repaired, but the bullets still pose a danger, and I would like to carefully destroy all parts entirely so that it cannot be reverse engineered.”

“You will tell us what you know about this weapon and how it works.” Celestia stated. Her calm voice seemed to be undecided on whether it wants to stay that way.

“It uses metallurgy, chemistry, and precision engineering to throw metal bullets at a speed of about four hundred hooves per second. No magic is involved. Discord has told me that he can see into my world and he knows about the weapon’s make and details. He won’t give that knowledge out of principle, and I intend to take that information to the grave. We both agree that such a weapon has no place on Equus.”

“What promise do we have that you will not develop and create more of these weapons?”

“I have no training in metallurgy, and the state of technology I know of here won’t allow for production without thousands of hours of research and development.”

“If you’re such a pacifist, then why did you even have a weapon?

“It is common practice to carry in self-defense. Legally, I would have to be in direct and immediate danger to even be able to point it at my attacker without penalty. I told discord before that I carried the thing for six years without ever firing it, and after sixty seconds of being in Equestria, Pinkie Pie sets it off by accident.”

“Oh, so THAT’S what that big boom was!”

“Yes, and I’m glad that neither of our legs got shot.”

“How are we to dispose of this gun and bullets?”

You gesture with both arms stretched out to discord “Discord, dramatic explanation!”

Smiling, Discord snapped and materialized a midnight blue megaphone with Princess Luna's cutie mark on it. “WE SHAL DROP EACH BULLET INTO MOLTEN METAL AT THE BOTTOM OF A STONE COVERED WELL, THEN SEND EACH ONE TO SEPARATE FORGES WHERE THEY WILL BE REFORGED INTO DAMASCUS BLOCKS OF VARIOUS ALLOYS SO THAT NO FORM OF METALURGY, ALCHEMY, OR TIME MAGIC MAY RECREATE THE WEAPON!”

“Thank you discord- wait, time magic is real here???”

“Don’t worry. Your plan is thorough enough for that.”

“Ok, okay. Geez, magic and ponies.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“If magic were not involved, I would not have had cause to go to such extreme lengths like having myself attacked by a draconequus, shocked at my own words twice, and seek such total obliteration of a gun in this manner.”

Shining Armor scowled. “You would have found another way to bed the changeling queen for power.” This gives you pause.

“Do… Do you not know what a consort is?”

“Who’s to say you won’t try for more later?” There it is, the one thing that gets on your nerves. You're not doing all of this for any personal gain, yet the attack of character still finds its way in.

“Let me make myself clear on a few things, then, Prince Armor. Every changeling alive today may have been schooled and matured in pods, but they have only breathed Equestrian air for no more than a year. None of them have any experience in meaningful romantic relationships, and all of them have lived every moment of their lives in fear. On my second day in Equestria, shortly before Zecora could cure my curse, Princes Twilight entered Zecora’s hut where Zecora had hidden Chrysalis, Light, Gentle and I. Those changelings were shivering uncontrollably in fear as if they would be killed on sight, and to this very moment, they have yet to see if you will. I didn’t think that this difference in ethics would appear in your world, so I seem to be mistaken in not studying pony ethics, as to do as you suggest would be emotionally abusive and is seen as a heinous act in my world. I care for others in such a way that if I were to actively do anything of the sort, I would expect to be executed on the spot, and for my closest friends to hold me to that standard. Now I would appreciate it that you have some actual ground to stand on the next time you make such INSIDIOUS IMPLICATIONS. DOES THAT SATIATE YOU, SHINING ARMOR?”

You were shouting out those last words from the indignity. This always happens more often than you can catch it. Shining Armor was still glaring at you furiously. He deserved every word of your retort, but you can tell that he is no longer listening. The other ponies around the table are dead silent and seem to be considering your words except for Fluttershy who jumped back and is trying to make herself seem small behind Rainbow Dash's mane. With an un-phased expression, Celestia broke the silence.

“I apologize for Shining Armor’s outburst. We did not invite you on this train with the intent to insult you.” You take a deep breath to center yourself.

“Thank you, Princess. I apologize for my own response. I don’t like resorting to such outbursts of aggression, but I think ad hominem is the one thing that gets under my skin so can it be understood from now on that such is my stance on the topic?”

“Certainly.”

“And I’m also sorry for scaring you, Fluttershy.”

“Oh. It’s alright I understand how you care. It’s just the shouting took me by surprise.”

“Yes, quite right. I don’t think anyone expected a human to be able to pull off a Royal Canterlot Voice like that.” Discord added with a smirk.

“Isn’t that some kind of vocal magic? I doubt I was that loud.”

“Luna, be a dear and demonstrate how he sounded.”

“HE SPEAKS OF THIS, THE ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE IN WHICH WE AND OUR SISTER HAD UTTERED EVERY DECREE WITH BUT ONE THOUSAND YEARS AGO!” Luna said in a voice that matched discord’s megaphone. You realized the significance in the design then.

“But that is a few orders of magnitude louder than I can hope to shout.”

“It sounded the same when you shouted just then, sugar cube.” The other ponies nodded their heads in agreement to Applejack.

“You will find that a lot of the magic of this world is deeply tied to sound and emotions. All the ponies before you have erupted into spontaneous song when the occasion was presented. Pinky here had all of Ponyville doing it once." Discord said as Pinky beamed. to know that magic can do such a thing is somewhat disturbing to you and he knows it.

"That's... But I'm not magical."

"I recall you saying that you filled love crystals on your own. Tell us how that works."

"Like the preferred method of feeding, the crystals can drain love magic from the surrounding ether without directly interacting with the one producing the love."

"So no magical abilities required."

You are being lectured in logic by the spirit of chaos. The world must be crashing down on you. As if the world enjoyed such a notion, your body sways to the side as a sudden change in velocity is noticed. The train is coming to a stop. Celestia turns to you.

"The moment of truth approaches. Do you have any final statement, Anonymous?" You take a deep breath your heart in your words, you make it brief.

"Equestrian society has prospered and survived many evils in the name of Harmony. All I want is for my changelings to be brought back into your world, rather than cast down into the darker realms of mine."

13 Reprieve

Note to self: Do not underestimate pony coordination when the Princesses are involved. Somehow, the train was stopped right by the arrow you made. Does having a cutie mark magically enhance a pony, or are they just led to what they were born for? You marvel at what it must have taken to do this on short notice without prior markers, let alone order the train conductors to stop here and probably not embark to or from Appaloosa until further notice, but only for a moment. The formalities are not over yet. You head the group that approaches the hive while Light, Gentle, and Chrysalis come over accompanied by royal guards to one side and meet you halfway. Once you are in front of her, you kneel to Queen Chrysalis.

“I have returned with an audience of the princesses, my queen.”

“I hope there were no complications, my consort.”

“It was a dangerous venture, but all harm was mitigated to all but me as intended.” Light and Gentle shoot you a surprised look.

“We still need to discuss that later.” You stand and take your place at the side of the changelings. Chrysalis turns to the princesses and the elements of harmony. “I owe all of you an apology. For what it’s worth, I am sorry for all of the trouble that I have caused you.”

Princess cadence stepped forward. “In light of the lengths at which Anonymous went through for peace, we have agreed to let all of that stay in the past provided you undergo the same trial by the Elements of Harmony that Anonymous convinced us to put him through.

“I am ready when you are.” Chrysalis stood straight and at the ready.

Twilight and the other elements assembled as the other princesses and the guards stepped back.

“You will want to close your eyes. The light gets very bright.”

Light, Gentle, and you stand by Chrysalis with closed eyes. There is a bright glow that battles to penetrate your eyelids, but it fades as fast as it engulfs you. Once it has passed, you open your eyes and look to see an unchanged Chrysalis embracing her changelings. You can only imagine the relief they must be feeling. The changelings do not need to fear the ponies anymore. The hive will not die.

However, it is not the time to rest yet. The changelings may have gained peace, but now there is the matter of the immigration, the hive, the library, and the disposal of your gun and bullets. Celestia in her wisdom is one step ahead of you already.

“Chrysalis, how fast can you awaken your changelings?”

“We are prepared awaken them all within an hour.”

“Rainbow Dash, take these scrolls to the Canterlot Hospital triage and have the emergency response team meet us in Ponyville to provide one hundred and twenty-two complete physicals and inoculations, then take this one to the castle for supplies.”

“On it!” With that, she disappeared into the sky of the northern horizon.

“Pinkie Pie, can you survey the hive and evaluate excavation of the structure and safe retrieval of the library?”

Pinkie puts her ear to the ground. “Hmm. There’s more of that material than can fit on the rock farm. I’ll get my sisters. They each have a higher Geology degree then me. Oh, Girls, While I’m gone, can you hand out the muffins from my cart? I made enough for everyone. Now I’ll be back in a jiffy!” With that, she disappeared over the southern horizon on hoof.

“And Queen Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis was turned around and started towards the hive. She jumped and looked back. “Yes, Princess Celestia?

“It can just be Celestia and Chrysalis if that’s ok with you. I know there are urgent matters now, but please allow me to be the first one to officially welcome you, your hive, and Anonymous into Equestria with open arms.” Celestia lifted a forehoof in a gesture inviting Chrysalis into a hug. This is not something expected so soon. Chrysalis halts in surprise for a moment, but quickly lunges into Celestia’s embrace.

You have done what you can here. The bridge has been rebuilt between Ponies and changelings, and there is no need for you to take charge anymore. You can do something more comfortable like disappear into the crowd for a bit and help out as much as possible. You know how to place a love crystal in the cocoons to awaken a changeling early, so you start off towards the Hive. Royal guards snap to turning the same way and make their way with a sense of purpose.

“Anonymous, a word please.” A well-trained flat voice that hides concern called out to you from Princess Celestia who still had Chrysalis with her. A well-experienced, happily enthusiastic response came from you as you turned around.

“Sure thing, Princess.” Celestia started walking back to the train. You catch up to her and Chrysalis in the train car with the table and drop the act. “What’s wrong?”

A white cloud forms above you, then it darkens. A Hum resonates from it."

“I personally taught that spell to Twilight. Describe Chrysalis in comparison to Luna and I.”

“Besides the obvious, smaller body and about a head lower than Luna.”

“And the changelings that accompanied her, are they also smaller and shorter than Fluttershy for example?”

“Yes, Princess. Where is this going?”

The cloud dissipates.

“Then you truly haven't seen it. Look at them next to my ponies. They are emaciated, Anonymous. Look at Chrysalis and I. When Chrysalis nearly wan at the Canterlot wedding, she stood as tall as I am.”

Chrysalis couldn't look you in the eye as you started to examine them. Both ponies now stand before you, an alcorn princess that probably never went hungry for the last thousand years in Canterlot, and a changeling queen that has had rationed food for nearly a year. You thought there were just more insect like features on changelings, which made your realization of chrysalis's bony appearance all the worse.

You look out the window. Rarity, Twilight and spike are handing out muffins while Fluttershy goes deeper into the hive. All of the others, including the guards, are offering aid to the first emerging changelings that you now see are holding their heads weakly low, and are not only smaller, but thinner with more rigid features in the bony areas. Princess Celestia must have suspected you tried to manipulate her with the sight at first. Your changelings need even more urgent help than you knew, and you stopped to have a bowl of fruit.

“I didn’t know. Chrysalis, this is the first time I’m seeing you side by side.”

“Perhaps they were being optimistic, or just ignoring it themselves. Tell me how you spent your time in the hive for a week.”

“I stayed isolated in a wing that only housed Chrysalis and I. Chrysalis told me that it would be dangerous to expose myself to the the entire hive alone, so I filled love crystals while studying, not leaving that chamber for days. I was able to make about four dozen shine bright in a twenty-four-hour period, they would be changed out once a day by Light or Gentle, and I don’t honestly know how much good it did. One hundred and eighteen were kept to awaken the changelings from their cocoons.”

“The crystals work passively, correct? Take every empty one into Pinkie’s cart when it's empty. I will take it to the crystal empire myself to have them filled. That aurora you mentioned earlier was from an artifact of the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Heart, which spreads the love of the crystal ponies. I would suggest taking the changelings directly there, but the cold weather will be too much for them in the state that they are in now. Pinkie Pie probably had the idea to cook those muffins with loving intentions. Will food itself do any good for the changelings?”

“Food will supplement, but it is no substitution. If you’re wanting a plan B, then let me brainstorm. Let’s see, we need genuine love more desperately than I thought. There seems to be an abundance of love in the frozen north that we can’t take the changelings directly to. I didn’t want to force things, but I suggest keeping them all in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie is known for welcome parties. Maybe if the whole town is invited, it could be a meet and greet. that would be a safe mixture of changeling and other ponies.”

“What about creating more love crystals?”

“That knowledge is in a lost section of the library. If we cannot recover it, we will have to research new ways of making them. That being said, if the Heart of the changelings somehow survived and is found, there would be no more complications. it was in the direct center of the structure.”

“Inform the survey team of this. The pie sisters are all skilled excavators. You can trust them.”

“Okay. Now think Anon; You wanted to stop suffering but they’re suffering already. Things are in the right direction, but what haven’t you thought of before?” You take a breath. “Princess, I have not studied malnutrition care, human, pony or otherwise. Is there anything else that I need to know to be useful?”

“You can leave any medical care to the experts. Just be there for them like you were going to be.”

“Okay. I’ll load up Pinkie’s cart with the crystals as soon as everyone is awakened. Once everyone is on the train, do not let me leave without retrieving those gun parts.”

Not thinking to address Chrysalis, who has remained silent, you take a deep breath. “This isn’t a pity mission. They are still my changelings, and I am doing this for them. Let’s do this Anon!”

You enter the hive and turn into a passageway lined with transparent green cocoons, each with a sleeping changeling huddled in the fetal position. Picking up all of the glowing crystals in the pile arranged at the entrance, and stuffing them in our pocket, you take one and pierce the cocoon where the base that grabs the floor meets the round outer shell of the cocoon body. From there, a seem fizzles and evaporates upward. Quickly, a hole is formed that drops the changeling towards you. You catch them and lay them down gently. Keep the head above the heart. Comfort them until they can breathe easily. “Shh. It is okay. You are safe. Focus on breathing. There you go. Can you tell me your name?”

“I’m… I’m Glitter Wing.”

You rub her side with your free hand.

“Hello, Glitter Wing. I am Anonymous. I promised that I would eventually learn each changeling’s name. I promise to do my best, butt here are many so do not hesitate to remind me the first few times. The Princesses welcomed the hive into Equestria. As soon as everyone is awake, we will all go to Ponyville and make new friends. Can you try to stand?”

Glitter Wing gets to their hooves and takes a few steps.

“Good. Now join your sisters outside. Pinkie made muffins for everyone. I will wake the others.”

You gave her a hug as strong as you can without crushing her, then watched as she takes the first few steps away before you start on the next one.

After awakening two passageways of changelings, you meet with Fluttershy, Chrysalis, Gentle, and Light. All one hundred and eighteen changelings have awakened and are making their way to the outside. You thank Fluttershy and ask her to help Light do a head count to be sure, then you explain Celestia’s plan to Gentle for filling Pinkie’s cart with the love crystals when the muffins are all passed out. She salutes and heads after the others. You make your way towards your chamber. Chrysalis accompanies you.

“I knew that the situation was dire, but why didn’t you tell me that everyone was so far gone?”

Chrysalis held her head lower. “You were so genuine in wanting to help us. We never took a chance to inform you thinking it would turn into us forcing you to help us.”

“Well it probably would have made me panic and rush. I don’t blame you for that. *sigh* Tell me how much my filling of the crystals helped.”

“No one got any noticeably thinner. You gave us much more hope and comfort than we’ve had in a while.”

"That's a relief. Before we leave, we need to make sure the pies are all informed about the Heart of the Changelings in case there’s any hope they can retrieve it." There was a moment's silence before Chrysalis spoke again.

"This negativity. Are you angry that you didn't know?"

"I'm more mad at myself than anything. Despite everything I planned for, I nearly collapsed after my first meeting with the princesses. I had to stop to eat to recover, and in that time, I could have been making our way here sooner."

"Nonsense. We would not have perished today if you had taken longer. You should see more clearly now that we relied on your strength to do this in our stead, which is why I wanted to go further with you. That is why I withheld this from you. Your reaction shows that you would have been panicked and ineffective had you known." This makes you sigh.

"Damnit you have a point, but after our changelings have recovered, no more secrets. To keep everything going right under normal circumstances, I need to know as much as possible to be able to plan accordingly and prevent things such as this from ever happening again."

You pull Chrysalis into a tight hug, her body closer to your size than a pony or the other changelings, you can hug her tighter.

"Feel this, the love that I will watch over and protect our changelings with. The ambition of my heart to see you and them smiling evermore in this world."

Chrysalis hugs you back, a pleasured sigh escaping her.

"A changeling can drown in the love that you offer, Anon. How do you give such great hugs?"

"The secret is to squeeze as tight as you can without hurting them."

Hearing this, her hug tightens around you, and you remain there for a moment.

"Now come on, Chrysalis. Once we have my things, we can join our changelings and head to Ponyville.

You make a quick stop in the chamber that you've made your room and study for the better part of a week, making sure the gun, bullets, and all of your papers are safely in your backpack.

"So what else happened to my consort other than nearly collapsing on his diplomatic mission?"

"Twilight was surprised at my initial display. No sooner than I convinced her to conjure a truth spell did I immediately shout out two lies. It got the point across, if not the remaining water in my body. All things considered, I have only angered Rainbow Dash and Prince Armor. He was expected to be this unwilling, but I made a comment that unknowingly insulted someone not present but precious to Rainbow dash. I knew there would be no amount of preparing that could make one ready for the spirit of chaos, but discord has been both a prankster to me and my greatest advocate."

"Should we be worried about that?"

"I don't think so. I've got him as a tea buddy to discuss philosophy now."

"Should I be worried about you, then?"

"No, you'll definitely know if it ever comes to that. Speaking of tea, I have been informed that occasional tea socials are a good way to maintain dialogue with the princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Twilight at least. is there a tea that you like?"

"I've never had any yet."

"Obtaining teas that my queen and changelings will enjoy. Yet another action that I shall take."

Smiling, the two of you make your way out of the hive and meet the princesses out in the open just beyond. Again, Princess Celestia is the first to speak.

"All changelings are accounted for, and Pinkie's cart is loaded with all of the Crystals. If it's all the same to you, I believe we can safely dispose of your weapon here and take the rest of your precautions when possible."

"That's fine with me, but please promise me that you won't use levitation on the bullets until they have been destroyed. they are activated by kinetics, and I don't know if levitation will send a lethal object in a random direction. If such a projectile does not completely penetrate a body, it will definitely bounce back and cause more damage."

"Very well. Twilight, a rope please. Discord, Luna, you know what to do."

Twilight turned away and used her magic to pull up grass from all around, weaving it into a rope. Discord spiraled upwards and slammed a fist into the ground, making a deep hole. Princess Luna broke off a boulder from the mountainside and hovered it above the hole once Discord was out of the way. Celestia took a smaller chunk of rock in her own magic that began to glow and loose it's rigid shape. By the time you pulled the box and remnants of your gun, Twilight had hooved you the rope. You tie the objects to one end, turning to the princess of the sun before lowering them down.

"Three thousand degrees should do it."

She nods, the now ball of molten rock glowing brighter without much effort. When satisfied, Celestia lowers the radiant orb into the hole and Luna brings the boulder to the ground. Seconds later, several muffled pops are heard, the boulder is removed, and Princess Cadence brings a rain cloud to cool off the slag. The final piece is a head sized ball of igneous rock and embedded metal. Princess Luna takes it in her magic and sets it on her back.

"We shall take it to Canterlot post haste with thy consort's specific instructions. Might I suggest the finished product be in the shape of something that symbolizes the new peaceful union between changeling and other ponies?"

"An excellent idea, Princess." Chrysalis replied.

Smiling, but only for a moment, Luna turns to you.

"Have pride in the effort that you have made this day, but be warned, the train must go to Appaloosa and turn around, and thine eyes are taking on the appearance of an insomniac. The first passenger car is fitted with beds. Take this time to rest."

"Have I really done that much to myself? Thank you for telling me, Princess." You probably should take that advice to heart. you have walked a marathon and been in several verbal altercations. A nap will probably do you more good than you realize.

Princess Luna nodded and took off with the now inert weapon. Her sister, after fitting herself to Pinky's cart, was not far behind. Pinky, herself, came shortly after, pulling a cart with three more mares in it.

"Hi everypony! Queen Chrysalis, Anon, meet my sisters, Marble, Maud, and Limestone. Marble, Maud, Limestone, meet Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings, and her human consort, Anonymous."

The three ponies give a polite bow, then Marble stepped forward, purpose and determination in her voice.

"Pinkie has told us of the type of material that your hive is made of, and we promise to handle all of it with the utmost of care. Is there any further instruction that we need?" Chrysalis spoke with a smile.

"Thank you, Marble. Princess Celestia has told me that we can trust you and your skills. Besides the main structure, there are three things to look out for. Should you find any crystals that are glowing, or that glow in the presence of loving thoughts, these crystals are vital for storing food for my changelings, and the knowledge for making more is lost to us. Following the rightmost tunnel from the entrance, you will find a chamber with several tablets. The most delicate work should be done there in hopes of recovering the lost knowledge of my hive's library. Finally, Pinky, have you informed them of the Heart of the Changelings?"

"Yup! A glowing crystal the size and shape of a swaddled changeling foal."

"Should that be found, please do not hesitate to bring it directly to the changelings."

"You have our best efforts, your highness. We will send Pinky to Ponyville later for any special supplies, and she will report back with what we can tell from our initial survey." With a combined salute, the four of them made their way directly to the hive. Things are looking up. Everypony turns to the train, and you make your way to the rear car. Chrysalis id the first to notice.

"Anonymous, where are you going?"

"Oh, I'm going to check on our changelings. Go socialize with the nobles. I'll start at the rear car and make my way up to you."

"Alright, but Princess Luna was right about your eyes. Don't pass up the opportunity to rest afterwards."

You nod and continue on your way. Everypony is moving towards the future now, and your changelings should know that everything will be alright. If what Discord said was true, and emotions and sound do carry magic, then maybe Bob Marley is an appropriate friend right now. Whistling the first seven notes, you are the last to board the train, and a guard sticks their head out the window, signaling the train to begin it's latest journey. You sing to your changelings. They return your song with smiles and start singing along themselves. Only after getting every car singing that hopeful song do you meet with the nobles briefly that remind you that you are now starting to look like you've been partying for days.

You make your way into the front most passenger car. Not even bothering with sheets, you lay yourself down onto a cushioned surface and allow the scent of lavender to fill your senses as the rest of you drifts away.

14 Repose

Having returned to your home in Canterlot, You enter the forge where loyal ponies craft your guard's lunar armor. As always, there is constantly somepony tending to the furnaces as various metal objects are being formed and repaired. They take immediately to your presence and orders to create several damascus blocks from the metals you free from the object that you carried here, and after making several bars with layers of as many metal alloys as are available, they will send the bars to the forges of the solar armor to do the same.

"We leave this task to you, our capable little ponies. For now, we must take our rest and prepare for our nightly duties."

You make your way to your private chambers. You surely will need the rest for night court and to see to your other duties, but there is also one other mater. By now, even if that creature is stubborn enough to try to stay awake, sleep will have caught up to him. Hopefully, the lavender you asked your sister to line that passenger car of the train with will have calmed Anonymous's mind for probing.

The door to this alien mind, now familiar and easily findable to you, opens up to a rolling field of lavender. The human you seek is stretched out on his back, several ponies and changelings lay similarly as they watch the sun set. Easily knowing which direction this particular dream is going, you allow it to continue until the moon and stars come out and watch his joyous gazing for a moment. You then approach and stand beside him.

"Thy mind is finally calm, Anonymous." He turns and greets you with a smile.

"Hello, Princess Luna. The future finally seems to be a bright place on the horizon."

"Indeed, though we still seek to know more of the deeper parts of thy reasons and personality."

"I have no memory of your past visit besides a fleeting glance. Tell me, have you run into any trouble?"

"Thy mind is easily distracted by a myriad of branching thoughts. It proves difficult to find specific thoughts and memories in the cacophony."

As if you've invited it, you sense a slowly encroaching bramble forming behind the hill which Anonymous lays. All of the ponies, including his changelings, become frightened and run for Ponyville that is now lit in the distance. You must influence him to maintain control. He has reacted most to verbal prompting so far, so perhaps there is a way to prompt him to regain control. You probe for words with your magic, words that will create calm, attention and order. You place a gentle hoof against his cheek.

"Anon, center yourself and concentrate. Breathe, and be apart from your thoughts. Be outside yourself."

To this, Anonymous closes his eyes. Placing his hands together across his stomach, he breathes, and a mental image of himself rises. Staying with it, the rest of the dream world falls away and becomes an ever shifting, amorphous form of shapes and color within a glass sphere the size of the world. The silent void is once again present, but you are able to reach out to the mindscape and hear thoughts. Music, memories and sensations are present to you, making this unlike that which you fear of returning to. You've done it. With your magic helping to hold this state, his mind finally feels as open and malleable as that of your little ponies. This is once again the realm where you have the power to communicate with the dreamer and vanquish any monsters formed by fears and strife. This session will prove to be a fruitful venture after all.

"Well done. we can now call memories as we have for the ponies which we protect." He looks down, marveling at the shifting figure beneath the glass below him.

"So all of that is me, huh? Twenty six years and three days."

"Indeed, and here, we have control to observe anything thy mind can recall without fear of being lost within them."

"You mean like this?" Anonymous gestures to a glass surface beside him. "Beetoven's 'Moonlight sonata.'
Van Gough's 'A starry night' "

A part of the glass surface rises, creating a display case that a part of the shifting form below populates, forming a painting behind a piano that starts to play. Your magic effortlessly gives you the full names of the artists, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and Vincent Van Gough. With no other noise in the way, you see all that Anonymous knows about these artists who he is thinking of, as well as his intentions of using classical music from his world to provide playable music for his changelings. His love of beauty in the form of music is admittedly refreshing to know of, but the train will reach Ponyville soon, so you will have to find time to delve into that later. By the glow of your magic, you make the display recede into the floor, the form returning to the whole below.

"Show us the Human race; What their origin is, and how have they come to be in the modern time."

“Very well. I learned about ponies beginning from the time of cold and famine, and so I will tell you of humans from as far back as is relevant.”

Anonymous holds out both of his hands, summoning a wide case that is populated by an equally wide table map that displayed the topography of a lush area with a river running through it.

“Humanity began in a region history would call the fertile crescent. Being hunter gatherers, the only viable food source that would sustain the small tribes were prey animals that humans needed to develop tools and tactics to overcome. Plants were gathered when available to supplement diets and create tools"

Several miniature scenes of handfuls of humans swam up and formed on top of the map. There was an elephant that was chased off a cliff, a bison hit from afar by hunters wielding atlatls, fish were stolen from rivers by spears, and smaller animals were snared by traps.

“Over the generations, prey and tribe groups migrated, cultures and languages came to be and evolved over time. Nomadic groups were able to leave seeds from plants that would hopefully grow into viable patches of crops by the next season they passed. Ways of making sense of the world emerged. No entire population would ever agree on whether this was because of reason, or what created it.”

The scenes each changed to the groups of humans crossing land and water. Each started to develop distinct physical features as each group’s population grew by one or two. They would sometimes plant wheat, and sometimes gather wheat. Individuals took on roles in group dynamics and rituals.

“With the development of agriculture, populations were able to maintain fixed positions. With the betterment of agriculture, more and more members of a population were able to take on other roles. Architecture and weapons developed. New metals and other materials were formed, and some cultures became more advanced than the others. Those that saw themselves as stronger, and therefore better than others, forcefully took what they wanted from any other tribes that they came across, reasoning them to be lesser beings. Equally, those who saw ease in guilefully stealing that which they want also propagated their ‘trade’ for the sake of self-gain. Quality of life and difficulty of obtaining daily necessities defined lifestyles and personality choices in perpetuum, and with this, modern philosophy took root to build the framework of modern government.”

The populations in the displays grew, now joining into one combined map with defined boundaries. They became subdivided by classes. Some adopted feudal systems with serfdoms. Others became slavers. Wars were fought over disputes of resources and territory. Conflicts that were decided by fist and tooth became club and bow, became sword, shield, and ballista, became gun and grenade, became tank, boat, and plane. The banners of cultural and religious empires moved and multiplied as their influence grew and one conquered another, some borders ever shifting.

“The country that I was born in began alongside it’s neighbors when the more advanced nation powers realized that there were two whole continents on the other side of the planet largely unpopulated and uncultivated. The primitive indigenous tribes’ cultures would survive, but not without being decimated by conquest and plague as the powerful nations laid claim on the land from across the sea.”

The glass case doubled in size towards the west to reveal a northern and southern continent. Banners came across and multiplied as they laid claim and built territories, engulfing and decimating most banners with tribal symbols on them. Borders eventually settled into what you understood as French Canada, British colonies, and the Spanish and Portuguese Meso and South America. The flags changed one by one as they became their own nations, and the colonies Anonymous pointed at expanded west.

“Here, more technology and better agriculture was necessary to develop to maintain growing populations. The educated debated better ways to proceed while the rich and powerful bought and grew farms and industry. My home country which I know most intimately was built and expanded on slave labor, which was eventually abolished, then by sweatshops and child labor, which was eventually abolished, then by harsh industrial labor that was eventually reformed.”

The map zoomed in on the southern United States. Images of harsh Plantation, then sweatshop, then industry conditions played out as new technologies like the Cotton gin, Industrialized textile mills, lathes, metal working, and slaughterhouses appeared. Houses in the background grew in both size and number.

“This takes us to the Present, Princess. I hope I am not leaving you with more questions than answers or putting you off with the truth of my world. How personally do you want to know about my life?”

“Nay, I was prepared to see as much from our first encounter in the asylum. This is a much better way of obtaining information from thy mind than expected. If we desire to know more, this display is silent enough for mine abilities to reach out and scry fine details.”

His hands close. The entire glass structure tints slightly as he worries about the implications.

“Asylum? Princess, I-“

“We know of thy desire to keep knowledge of guns a secret. We see now thy sincerity in caring that Equus has fared well without such weapons, and We seek not that information. Though It would have been fortunate had you brought knowledge of making bullet proof armor to strengthen our and our sister’s guards with.”

Anonymous lets out a breath and the tint clears away as he releases his hands.

“Thank you, Princess. What would you like to know about my place in the world that I came from?”

“Show me thy ancestry, thy family, thy vocation and friends.”

“Sure thing. In truth, I am a mut. My mother and father both come from mixed backgrounds. My blood traces back mostly to the Iberian Peninsula and a grouping of islands called the Philippines. Both cultures have a history of mixing with these regions around the world."

The world map clears, leaving two banners that strings reach out from, summoning various flags at their ends in regions across the Americas, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

“Many of my childhood friends have gone their separate ways, their own decisions and betrayals of each other have separated us after they moved to separate states within the country. I made new friends at my first job that we grew loyalty to each other over work and drink. Even in a different job at a different part of the company, I still met and drank with them.”

“Do you miss them?” Grief suddenly becomes apparent in his mindscape. The form below pulses to a stressed heartbeat.

“Of course I do, though Discord told me how hopeless it is to seek a way back, not that I would abandon my changelings now, but they knew I was going alone on a camping trip. Eventually, they will find my car with no trace of me, my bag, or my axe and weapon. I will officially be disappeared and have abandoned their lives. A family that eats together lives long together, and I will not be able to eat with them again, celebrate my younger cousin’s birthdays, or visit our late family members' graves. I have only and will only mourn this loss in private. I am no noble, but I will speak professionally to you and your princess family. You and your ponies do not have the advanced technology of my world, and with magic, all of you live such better lives. Do you fault me for being a disruption for the sake of my changelings?”

“We cannot say that we do. It is fortunate that you brought up thy changelings’ plight without casualty. It would have been most unfortunate that their blood came to be on our families' hooves in such a way. Though we must ask what your plans are after thy changelings are settled into a new hive. Rumors will travel faster of a minotaur like being courting the changeling queen than a human merely being consort to Queen Chrysalis and ambassador to the ponies.”

You see him roll his eyes and shake his head for the first time.

“Of course that would be a common trait of our worlds. I still stand by what I said on the train. I have no intention of forcing the issue for personal gain.”

You reach out to his thoughts. he is certainly sincere in this, but there is also something else, not hidden, but not mentioned either.

“And what of personal pleasure?”

Knowingly, you point behind Anonymous where an encased display of him cuddling Chrysalis and her unable to escape his embrace rose from the floor.

“That was asked of me in confidence, and I complied. Besides the point, it had been a few years since I had been in the arms of another. I would be lying if I said that I didn't miss it, or that I would not be open to a possible relationship in the future. Will any of this pose a problem in your eyes, Princess?”

“None that we can see. We shall keep quiet on everything you have revealed to us so that you can come to it yourself, but on one condition.”

Apprehension forms on his face as he sees you smirk.

“Aaand what is that?”

Ever the master of dreams, you stomp a hoof and dragged it backwards. The sound of glass sliding on glass rushed up from behind Anonymous, and black change stone walls surround him like always. Anonymous looks around, thinking that something happened until Chrysalis nuzzles into his neck and he snuggles back, relaxing into the comfort. The momentary notion that he heard something forgotten like a whisper in the wind.

Now with him being the only distracted member of this dream, you are free to look into what aspects of Anonymous's personality he holds most valuable, and why he is so. What makes a person separated from his own world so loyal and valorous? What other parts of the world under the sun and moon does he find terrible and beautiful? However much time you have left, alone, you will get to know the true self of this person.

15 Arrival

Another Friday night sees you meeting with your friends. You’ve already had a can of beer, but the energy drink that you just popped open is the real personal pleasure. Tilting back a gulp, the nearly full moon is noticed in all of it’s serene beauty.

Fridays are never intense workdays, but the soreness of Wednesdays and Thursdays tends to linger, even more so pulling double duty to make up for holiday time off. Thus, it has become a group tradition to meet up every Friday night in someone’s back yard and drink the stress away in the presence of music, fire, and good company.

This week, under a pergola, everyone is gathered in your back yard, sitting around a large table covered in various snacks. Everyone brings something when they can from beer to chips and different meats and cheeses. Setting the can on the table, you return to the grill to check on the brisket that the twins, Joseph and Moses brought. Chris would have cooked them longer at his place, making them overcooked and dry, but that doesn’t stop anyone from bringing good meat when we meet there. Right now, the savory strips are nice and ready, so you take some tongs and place them onto a metal cooking sheet, covering it in foil so everyone can take some at their leisure.

As you take a seat, your girlfriend comes up and sits in your lap, playfully feeding you a brisket before settling in your embrace. Seeing you’ve returned, Chris pulls you into the conversation.

“So [], How goes work in the office? Are the ladies classier than the bitches in the plant?”

“Tsk, they try to look that way. They don’t have the heat of the steam tunnel to complain about, so they have to dig through policy for legitimate sounding reasons to complain. I just work and give them and the managers no reason to complain about me, but enough about that. Does anyone know if there are any good concerts soon?”

“Yeah man, the light festival is this November. You gonna be there?”

“Fuck yeah, man! I always save up some money for new music. You wanna go, babe?”

“What’s this one gonna be like?”

“Light shows, art sales, and music of all kinds; all of it in the dark of night, perfect for a nocturnal kitten like you.”

“Sure, and I’ll see if Hope wants to go.”

“Hey, man, I think we have company.”

The moment’s fun was stopped short as ben piped up in a worried voice. The headlights of a car stopping can be seen near the front of the house. Everyone is here already, and ben has been quiet tonight. The headlights don’t have any police light patterns accompanying them. Has one of his bar fights finally come to consequences? You tap your girlfriend’s lap to make her get up. Having planned for such an occasion, you pull a key ring out of your pocket and unlock the shed at the back of the yard, pulling out a sports bag and placing it on the table with several metallic clangs, then open one side revealing several metal bat handles.

“Ben, who are they?”

“I think they’re the guys I fought at the bar yesterday. They saw me leave in my car.”

“How many were they?”

“Just two.”

You sigh inwardly. It’s not like ben means to cause trouble, but this was bound to happen eventually. Ben can take down these two guys again along with another two guys if he wanted, but this is your house and you’re not going to let a fucking police report be filed here tonight, let alone have harm come to anyone here. You reach to the side. There are three switches. The first is for the lights under the pergola. Those stay on. You flip the second switch, turning off the half of the lights on the side of the pergola that illuminated the rest of the yard. The others take notice of this and their attention is on you. When the assholes are in the yard, the third switch will turn on strobe lights next to the yard lights.

“Guys, if things go south, there are bats on the table.”

There are no lights on in the front, and the music playing will lead anyone over there to the side where the gate is open to the back yard. A single burley man covered in denim comes around, bringing the scent of alcohol, chewing tobacco, and several days’ worth of not bathing with him. Still, you try to be courteous.

“Hello! Welcome to my-“

“Shut up, fucker. I’m here to kick the shit out of that bitch right there.”

Yeah, no. Fuck this. You grab a bat and flip the switch. Strobe lights blind the drunken aggressor, forcing him to cover his face and spit out panicked profanities. You can hit him in the temple easily, bash the fucker with concussive force and end this, but that is not the result you want. Instead, you make quick work by smashing the bat against his unprotected stomach. Letting out a yell, he clenches his stomach. Not stopping, you get behind him and push him over. Once he is on the ground, you smack the back of his head to keep him panicked. He reaches up with his right hand, which is probably his good hand, so you pin him down with a knee on the back of his neck and twist his other arm behind him, holding it as high up as possible. The others have now looked in the sports bag and pulled out the other bats, each wrapped in electric tape.

“Fuck man, you were ready to straight up murder someone with these.” Joseph was the first to say something behind you.

"[] wrapped all of them in tape. He was prepared!"

“[], You’re not really going to kill the guy, are you?” Chris said in disbelief.

With a free hand, you wag a finger and signal for silence. You can’t have them saying the wrong thing. If you threaten him, the idiot will only retaliate by continuing to fight. You can pull your knife on him, but that will leave a mark, and if you threaten him with your gun, he can just bring friends with more guns. This guy won’t just leave so you have to scare him off while breaking any laws if you can manage that. You start by slowly pulling back and up on his arm, maintaining control and feeling in is muscles for the stress. You bring it to the edge of dislocation without pulling it out. This will cause the most discomfort.

The drunk beneath you begins to regain his senses and starts to squirm while spitting curses and threats against the pain. He finds no way to free his left arm or push up with his right, and you shift your weight so that he can’t roll you off of himself without breaking his own neck. This also restricts his breathing. Several people have been accidentally killed this way, and you are banking this gambit on him knowing it. With both hands now pulling on his punished arm, you can feel his pulse increasing and his hand grow cold. You expect he is starting to feel a mixture of numbness, panic, and pain.

“Come on man, I can’t breathe like this.”

You don’t reply, instead you slowly start to press ever so slightly more on his neck. Again, you signal with a hand for your friends to be calm and wait. Interrupting at this critical moment will cause this aggressor to regress into fighting until someone falls.

“Hey, I can’t breathe. Come on, please!”

He squirms as pathetically. This is where you really lay the attack into him. This animal willingly came here and threatened your friend on your property. You release his cold arm, allowing blood to return into the numb appendage and grab his ear. With a simultaneous pull and twist, you stretch the tough cartilage to open his ear canal towards you as you growl your reply through gritted teeth.

“You didn’t listen to me when you first came here, so why should I listen to you? Give me a good reason why I should let you go.”

“Please, I can’t breathe. I’m gonna die like this”

“EHhhhhhhh! Please, I can’t breathe! I’m gonna die like this! Everything you say just pisses me off! You come into my house and try to start a fight. Now give me a fucking reason to let you go! Answer me!”

Your expressed disregard for this creature’s primitive thoughts and the threat of imminent death finally does it. The dam breaks and the animal beneath you breaks out into tears.

“I won’t pick a fight with you or your family ever again. Please, I’m sorry! Just let me go. Please!”

You can still do more. He doesn't need his left leg to drive himself to medical help. You can pick a bat back up and break any number of things, though this will only be gratuitous. Satisfied with the current state of your attacker, you finally get off the man, but still with rushing blood and slightly gritted teeth, you turn to your friends.

“Head above the heart. Help him up, then get him to his car.”

Ben was the first to react and step forward. You get in front of him and whisper calmly into his ear.

“Don’t say anything. Just get him to his car and come back.”

Ben helps the now whimpering and broken drunk of a man to his feet and escorts him to his vehicle. You watch until they disappear around the house.

The next thing you do is turn towards the bats. The tape wrapped around them needs to be disposed of. You also realize the strobe lights are still on. The two of you went through that whole ordeal under the flashing lights. After switching them off, then the regular lights back on, you wipe away a tear as your breath starts to slow and calm down. An arm is wrapped around your neck in a headlock. You are not choked, but shaken playfully as Chris bellows his praise.

“[], you slug! Where the fuck did that come from?!”

“He heh. I don’t like fighting, and this is my house. I had to do something.”

“The bats! The lights! When the fuck did you get this ready?”

“This was a little personal project I thought up a couple months ago.”

“You are an absolute madman, []!” Moses added in while still marveling at the bats and swinging it to test the feel.

Ben returns to the back yard. You go to him and pull him into a one-armed hug.

“Hey man, are you ok?”

“Me? Even with that bat, I thought you were dead the moment you lunged at him. I took him and another guy on yesterday, but I’m used to that. You don’t get into fights, and that guy was twice your size!”

“Nah, he wasn’t that big, was he?”

“[]! I’m telling you, that man was twice your size and I did not expect you of all people to throw the first punch.”

You tighten your one-armed embrace on your muscular friend and give him a brotherly shake.

“Well it's not like a drunken animal like that would ever listen to anything else. Also, Ben, everyone here is family, and plan or no plan, I will fight for each and every one here with that same fury any day, but right now, let’s all have another beer!”

You finish by turning to everyone in a raised voice to which everyone replies in a boisterous cheer. Ben and you pull each other into a full hug and pat the other on the back.

Everyone, including you has a beer, and your girlfriend jumps into your arms and muses over the fact that her man is so strong. In the mood for it, you change the song to Dragula by White Zombie. You don’t forget your plan to hide the bats once more and quickly get back to them once everyone is calmed down.

It was more expensive to wrap the bats in so many narrow rolls of electric tape than duct tape, but electric tape is easier to take off and leaves less residue. You quickly unwrap each one and throw a single mass of rubber tape into the grill, then use a rag and alcohol to rub off any leftover residue and give each one a quick rub with a sweaty work shirt before returning them to the sports bag in the shed. If police ever ask, you have a lot of friends with legal visas or have gained citizenship, and they come from a region where you either join a baseball team, or go to work in a factory, so everyone plays a little. There are even baseballs in various states of use in the bag.

Next to the sports bag’s place is an intentionally placed oxygen tank. You originally bought it to recreate some cool science experiments you saw online by using a fish tank to create a highly oxygenated environment to make things burn better. You hook a gas hose to the tank and release a stream of oxygen into the grill to quickly and completely burn away the tape that is still in the grill. If police ever ask about the oxygen tank, you can enthusiastically describe the science experiment and give resources to any officer that may have children interested in safely delving into science. The smell of burnt plastic lingers in the air, so you pull out a rack of ribs that you had marinating in the fridge and throw it on the grill to mask the smell. The police never came. You and Ben would never see that man again.

This memory is a reminder of yourself at your best and worst. You never denied that being such an ugly aggressor is just as natural a state of mind to you as it is any other human, but you have always chosen to practice restraint. There are good people in the world, and beauty and comradery to beheld within it, so if you are ever going to use your most primal of survival impulses and fight, you will only ever use it to protect the ones that you love.

Such is your determination, but recently, you have been sloppy. Taking a vow of pacifism as this world and the present situation you find yourself in seemed to allow for more peaceful options, you have hastily gathered information and run yourself through a physical gauntlet that made you act in poor posture. You can think more effectively, and this isn't for your own sake. The door has begun to open for your changelings, and you need to see this through to their health and prosperity. Working at their side, you can help them make lives for themselves, but you need to be there in top form and expand your knowledge to be more effective in this world.

Determined, you take a deep breath and open your eyes. The train is slowing and turning slightly to the right as you sit, then stand. The train is either making it's way around Appleoosa or stopping at Ponyville. Chrysalis enters.

"We’ve arrived in Ponyville. Has rest done you any good, Anon?"

“It certainly has, Chrysalis. I’ve been worn out lately, but I have my focus back, and I can’t wait to rejoin our changelings.” You say with a confident smile.

“Such determination. You really did need that rest, and here I thought the lavender in this room was set up to coerce you to make dreams for Princess Luna to probe.

“I didn’t see her, but I have nothing to hide. Anyways, I’m sure the others are waiting for us or on their way. What did I miss?”

With your chin up, and back straight, the two of you exit the train and make your way north. The rest of your changelings are exiting, and some have started the same way towards Twilight’s castle, spearheaded by light and Gentle. Mindful of leading the group, you briskly walk to catch up to them.

“Rainbow Dash was already back in Ponyville. The medical team Celestia sent her for will arrive soon. Physicals and immigration for the hive will be processed in the friendship castle, as well as housing until we can relocate the hive.”

“Great news. And what of socializing with the other leaders?”

“Everyone seems to be giving us a tentative chance, though one was respectfully quiet throughout. They all reported mixed first impressions of a certain consort of mine.”

“I do admit that my taking on the task alone in such a fashion has resulted in a less than perfect performance. I will be more mindful to act better from now on, now that the initial uncertainty of danger is past.” You are also glad that It was you rather than any pony else that was grabbed up by discord, but keeping things positive in public is best for now. Caught up to Light and Gentle, you turn to them both with friendly greetings.

“And what of our changelings? How are they fairing so far? I look forward to finally learning more about their wants and aspirations as individuals.”

They both gave a confused look.

“You’re not going to be near the others just yet, sir.”

“Why not?” You say with a raised eyebrow.

“For now, you are to stay with our queen. Sharing your love with her alone will encourage the rest of our changelings to not need to share most of what they have.”

“Sensible. I shall carry out my duties as such, then. I trust that you know more of what I would like to already. Could the two of you wright a report and encourage any silent or undecisive others to think about it in my stead?”

“We will do as you ask, sir.”

"Perfect. Thank you both."

Continuing with the Castle of Friendship in sight, Royal guards and the elements of harmony escorted all of your changelings down the road, passing a crowd of inquisitive ponies sporting cameras and notepads. You wave to the news ponies as you pass, hearing a part of Twilight's address to them.

"I am happy to say that we are welcoming our new changeling friends as Equestrians. We will be speaking to the press later this evening, so please save any questions for later on in front of the castle."

Smiling, you give a friendly wave as you pass by. You have not yet considered the press as a factor. Another part of the wide world to be mindful of for public presentation. Chrysalis may be expected to be the spokes pony given your current track record which isn't a bad thing. The changelings need to start out somewhere in a public manner. In the forefront of your mind is leading by example in the workforce. Not fully sure of what other knowledge of task aptitude survived within the hive, your experience in good manners and work ethic should shore up any shortcomings for your changelings.

The walk to the castle proved slow for the changelings as a whole. Guards stayed near in large numbers, and the medical team and Rainbow Dash were quick to catch up. Her continued help after that shouldn't have ben a surprise. Her and other athletic ponies volunteered to help take measurements and wright things down while the medical team had more hooves to apply inoculations and do primary medical examinations. The head doctor and lead of the medical team put up some curtain stands to give you and Chrysalis privacy as he gave the queen of the changelings and her alien consort physicals. Besides the below average body mass, your changelings turned out to be relatively healthy. A week of socializing will help them regain their strength, but it will be a slow process to return to a healthy body mass.

Your physical took some time as you had to give them all of the figures for average human vitals: heart rate: 60 bpm, blood pressure 120/80, etc. You also demonstrated the ability to touch both hands behind your back, and to touch your toes just to have it on record for later reference. Like you guessed, you lost half a kilogram from eating sparsely, but you are still within healthy limit. The only complication that came up is with Chrysalis's physical.

It turned out that there was a partial fracture on her right forehoof that hasn't fully healed yet. A few days in a sling cast will remedy it with little problem, but the question of how the injury came to be is on the forefront of inquiry. Before that, though, the presence of a pink pony steals everyone's attention.

"Excuse me, Doctor Sterile? May I come in? I have something to report."

"Yes, come in, Pinky. The physical is complete."

"Okay, I came here from the changeling hive site to make sure you have a look at- oh, you found it already."

Pinky stops short as she enters and sees Chrysalis. Something happened in the hive that brought her back.

"Hi, pinky. I was just about to ask what happened. How did being at the hive tell you?"

"Oh, Hi, Anon. Maud is actually the one who found out. Rocks can't hide any secrets from her, and trust me, they've tried."

"Huh, Interesting, and what did the rocks tell Maud?"

"Somepony tried to bash their way through the basalt with a heavy rock until it hurt... Maud made me Pinky promise to not tell anyone but the doctor or Chrysalis until it could be properly treated."

What desperation may have been felt to fight a solid wall like that, to push until injury incurs in that fashion. Though, it's only a partial fracture. If it has pained her too much, the other changelings would have noticed. Chrysalis made a three legged walk over to the two of you, smiling.

"Thank you, Pinky. I appreciate your effort, but how did you get here so fast?"

"That part's easy, I ran here. I'm really fast on my hooves."

"That is... impressive... Anon, how far did you say the hive is from here?"

"About forty kilometers. I barely did half of that on my own. That's scary impressive." Pinky beamed at the praise.

"Scare-pressive! Later idea for nightmare night. Anyways, Mayor mare is here with some volunteers to file your official citizenship, then Twilight wants to hold a meeting right after."

"Sure thing. Thanks for the heads up. We'll see you after we meet with Mayor Mare."

"Okie dokie lokie! see you then!"

The two of you made your way away from the private area that is now being taken down. The sight of their queen in a sling created the expected surprise, but her calm composure and reassuring words quickly soothed them. Mayor mare and a small group of earth ponies then quickly stole everyone's attention.

Volunteers can't help fill out the official papers, but the ponies do stay and socialize with the changelings. By now, interests are peaked, and the ice is broken between them. You would go join them to get to know everypony better, and see how many of their names have stayed with you, but you have a current duty of staying with your queen. There will be time for that later. For now, it seems that the leader of this team, too, sought to tend to your queen and her unusual consort first. Chrysalis's papers were filled out and signed appropriately, establishing an identity for her as an equestrian citizen. Eye color, hair color, horn length, and hoof print were taken accordingly, as was ongoing for your changelings at the moment.

Your turn became somewhat of an interview as you gave an unknown name for your country of origin.

"So these United States; Are they on the other continent?"

"No mam. It's on another world."

"How did you get here?"

"I appeared here in the blink of an eye against my will."

"Do you know how or why?"

"No mam. I have asked Discord, and he told me that such a feat is beyond even his power."

"Wait, then do we know if more humans will arrive? How many humans are on the world you come from?"

"Well, I am the only one we know of in the thousands of years both worlds have been around, so it is either a freak event, or there is an all powerful something that actively will or won't. As for population...."

The mayor sees your shy expression and takes a long sigh.

"How stressed will this make me?"

"Like I said. There is no sign that this will happen again, so you should not stress about the ..."

Your lips catch momentarily on the bi syllable, preemptively regretting the stress you are bout to see come over this poor mare.

"... the billions of humans on earth."

"Okay! let's focus on the rest of your papers! where were we!?"

The rest of the interaction consisted of Mayor Mare prompting you at the pace of what you imagine a caffeinated Pinky would sound like, and you barking out responses, keeping in mind to try to sound calm in front of the others.

16 Greetings

"Hi, Chrysalis, Anon. How are the physicals and paperwork fairing for the hive?"

The elements of harmony welcome Chrysalis and you into a large room with a table that projects a map of Equestria and the surrounding lands onto it. The two of you take a seat in crystal chairs matching that of the others around the table. Chrysalis gestures to her forehoof and sling.

"This is the only injury among my changelings, and as should be expected, it will be some time before we regain body mass in a more healthy fashion. The paperwork is running smoothly, though somepony may want to calm Mayor Mare down when this is all finished. She asked Anon about the population of his home world and, well, did not receive it well.

"That doesn't sound good. I'll make her and her team a pie later." Applejack said. Twilight beamed at her friend for a moment, then turned her attention to you and Chrysalis.

"Good idea, Applejack. Now that the hive is here, and there is a crowd of press gathering, I wanted to know more of your plans before going out to see them. What do either of you plan to say to the press?"

Chrysalis was the first to speak up. "I will answer any questions from the press. As for my changelings, I believe one of Anon's plans will still work here."

"Yes, They may not be ready to march straight to a farm and start an apprenticeship right this moment, but if Shop owners around town will accept a temporary employee here and there, they can start out as vendors selling the merchandise. Our changelings will be able to meet more and more ponies, and raise money for an upcoming event."

"What sort of event are we talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"A festival of sorts. a chance for all of the ponies in Ponyville to showcase their trade and vocation. Our changelings can seek out apprenticeships after regaining some of their strength, and it'll hopefully be inviting to anypony who has not given them a chance." This caught Rarity's eye.

"Applejack and I know a lot of the sales ponies around town. We can help you with that, but what do you mean by not giving changelings a chance?"

"No plan survives the battlefield. I don't expect 100% of anypony to be fully accepting of our changelings. I would like to see to mutual respect rather than mistrust or hate. Can't go in any good direction without talking first."

"And what makes you think talking to ponies in public will help things? Your track record is not exactly the best right now."

"That was an unusual situation. I was playing unpracticed cards. What I'm talking about is much more normal for me; making nicer relations with people with less than stellar opinions about my associates."

"And you're ok with this, chrysalis?"

"I trust my consort, Rainbow dash. Despite your opinion of him, he is the reason the hive is here and not still in the mountain."

"Well I'm not going to argue with that."

"Well that's a relief," Spike exclaimed as he walked in. "I counted at least four different papers from every city from Manehatin to Phillydelphia. Is everyone ready to meet with the press?" Twilight turns to Chrysalis.

"I'll be answering questions along side you if that's ok. I can introduce you and you can say something of your own if you want."

"That's fine with me. I'm ready when you are."

The group left through the front of the castle to meet a crowd of reporters wielding cameras and notebooks which sat eagerly at the foot of the stairs leading up to the main doors. Your steps take you forward and into view, stopping short of a wide podium set up at the top of the stairs. Standing at attention with hands behind your back, the other elements and spike also stop, giving Twilight and Chrysalis prominence as they step forward. Twilight begins.

"Hello, Everypony. Thank all of you for being patient and understanding. Today surely has been eventful as the changelings are now officially equestrians, so please everypony give a warm welcome to Queen Chrysalis."

Polite applause comes from the audience as Twilight steps aside to have Chrysalis take the podium.

"Thank you, Twilight. Hello, Everypony. I am so happy to be able to see all of you in a peaceful setting. I don't know what has been said yet, so let me say it now. The attack on Canterlot was a desperate mistake which I deeply regret. I did not see any other way until I happened upon a friend, whom I now call consort, Anonymous. It is thanks to him and the princess's amnesty that My changelings and I have a chance to join ponies peacefully, And I look forward to all changelings making new friends along the way."

Cameras started flashing. something told you that Chrysalis was wearing a smile as she let her hope for the future show. Twilight stepped next to Chrysalis.

"Now are there any questions for Chrysalis and I?"

Dozens of hoofs shot up and Twilight and Chrysalis took turns choosing ponies to give answers to. They started with ponies up front and made their way to the back of the crowd giving information freely. You watched the crowd. No faces seemed to be with malicious intent, and neither did their questions. The flashing of cameras died down but not before you noticed a few focused on the people behind the two spokesponies where not many were looking. Any reporters not asking questions were feverishly writing notes. The questions focused on what state the changelings were in, what the changeling's plans were now, and where the other princesses were now. Cadence apparently returned to the Crystal empire as they did not want to be away from their daughter any longer than necessary. This was news to you, though you can't say you blame them. Celestia is currently seeking nourishment aid for the changelings, and Princess Luna is tending to duties in Canterlot. The only thing noted in your mind is no mention at all is that one of the duties mentioned is the disposal of an alien weapon. Best to not offer that part up. It is gone and there is no purpose in bringing up potentially upsetting ideas without reason. All things considered, The news ponies were a pleasant audience.

Nearing the end of the press questions, The only notable pattern that seemed out of the norm was a pair of ponies that not only wrote notes along side the others, but they kept glancing directly at you between finishing their notes and when the next question started. Both were a shade of green and wore green and brown patterned shirts. One male, and one female. Your scanning always pulled you to them as your eyes became acutely aware of the movement of four eyes pointed their pupils at you over and over again. Still looking for any other outliers, you kept your eyes steadily moving across the crowd, coming back to them, but not stopping longer than anywhere else in he crowd, wondering if they noticed you noticing them.

"And with that, Celestia's sun is nearly setting. Thank you, everypony for coming, and safe travels to all of you." Twilight ended the event there, and everyone followed them back inside the castle.

"How do you think I did, Anon? Did the sling throw off my posture?"

"I think you did great, my Queen. You stood straight right to the end. Speaking of, are your other hoofs keeping you up well?"

"Yes, They are. I will see to locating rooms for everyone with Twilight. How about you go get some food for yourself right now?"

"I'm good right now. I can wait for when Celestia returns with the Crystals so that we can all eat together."

"Oh I don't think you have to worry about that. Knowing the distance to Canterlot, A princess will have made it to Ponyville any minute now." Spike chimed in.

Looking to the windows on either side of the doors, you see the dying light of the horizon become overcast with a brighter green glow. Twilight lit up with excitement as the doors opened.

"Princess Celesti- Luna??"

You chuckle. "No plan survives."

Princess Luna walked through the front door with Pinky's cart in tow, light shining through any gaps in the wood. As if feeling it's presence, the changelings quickly gathered in a crowd around the princess of the night who gladly passed them out in her magic. The first to receive any made a beeline straight to your group and held six shining crystals in their hooves.

"for you, My queen."

Smiling, Chrysalis picks up four and places a caring hoof on the eager changeling.

"Thank you, My little Changeling, but remember that there are enough for four for everypony. make sure that no pony gets any less."

"Yes, My queen" With a smiling bow, the changeling whom you want to say is named Fire Dance returns to the others.

Once they are all passed out, Luna gives the cart back to Pinky, then comes to see everypony else. Greeting Twilight and Chrysalis with a hug, then you with a hug and a familiar pat on the back. She doesn't let you go until she whispers something in your ear: "You have been holding back."

Surprise and a shade of confusion became your expression as you looked at her questioningly. in what manner does she mean? Did she see your dreamed up memory earlier today? What was her impression of it?

"Luna. Is Celestia alright?" Twilight asked?

"Our sister is fine. We took over so that she can rest in time for tomorrow's duties. Celestia sleeps in Canterlot tonight."

"Oh. ok. That is good to know."

"Indeed. We shall see to regular transport of the crystals on the morrow. For now, can we trust that all has gone well with Doctor Sterile and Mayor Mare?" She says, then noticing the slinged hoof of Chrysalis. "Oh dear. We are sorry. how bad is it?"

"Not to worry, Luna. It is a minor incomplete fracture that will heal relatively soon. We were just talking about eating dinner for everyone else. Will you join us?"

"Certainly. We have time before we must tend to our nightly duties."

"Great! I'll make the best dandelion sandwhiches everypony has ever had." Spike chirped, to which you needed to interject.

"Actually, I can't eat Dandelions. They are inedible to humans. How about this, spike, You go whip up that specialty for the ladies, and I'll cook up some vegetables for myself."

"Sounds like a plan. Here, I'll show you the way."

Spike leads you to a room several doors past the main dining hall where the others walk into. He shows you to a walk in room which you can loosely call a refrigerator. The silent room lit aglow with magic markings that spike is surprised he had to explain to you. Long lasting cold spells that can be set to the boundaries of a room. All the trouble and maintenance humans had to go through to go from storing ice to creating freezing and below freezing boxes with air compressors and antifreeze, and ponies just learn to craft coldness into a room. You suppose it to be that easy and therefore much less impressive than it might actually be, but you must digress for now. You are getting hungry, and the ladies probably are too. You pick up some ingredients and a couple of pans, then set out to make the first cooked meal you've had in a while.

Along side you, Spike prepares sandwiches with a practiced hand. Not letting his eyes pull away from his task, he speaks up to where you can hear.

"So what are the big differences for what a human can eat in a pony world?

"Mostly flowers and grasses. No hey or alfalfa definitely. Fruits and veggies are fine."

"No alfalfa or hey. Do you have anything for hay fries?"

"We cut potatoes then fry them. Wait, you can make fries from hey? how?"

"I haven't learned that recipe yet. Human fries are Just fried potatoes? That sounds bland."

"Most like it with salt or a blend of seasonings. For me, some good swaths of the skin still on them hits the spot."

"That sounds more believable. Speaking of skin, how about meat?"

"Of course, meat is edible to me, but I trust that would be frowned upon here."

"Definitely. Especially if the cows find out. Actually, is cow edible to you?"

"Yes. Is that fact a problem?"

"Only if you tell them. They would scream and stampede every time they see you, and Ponyville has had it's fair share of near misses when one even sees a snake." The way he said it struck you as odd.

"Tell them as in they can talk?" Spoke gives you a sideways look.

"Yeah, Cows can talk. You didn't know that?"

"No, not at all. I've been here a week and the extent of what I know is ponies, donkeys, deer, and yacks as far as hooved creatures go. Now there's cows, and I'm glad I know that now and not randomly in the future when I get the absent minded thought to blurt out 'I miss beef' right next to one. Are there any more?"

"Just that with the hooved creatures. I'm glad I mentioned it."

With several sandwiches plated, Spike loads them onto a cart.

"Done here. Are you?"

You take in a deep whiff of the grilled squash and steamed carrots and broccoli, letting out a pleasured sigh. "Yes!"

Back in the main dining hall, ponies and changelings converse in groups spread out. Many of the volunteers from earlier seem to be getting to know your changelings. This brings a smile to your face, and you start to relax as you make your way to a central table where the others are sitting. You help spike serve his dishes before taking to your own warm meal. Admittedly, though it was somewhat hastily cooked and not even seasoned, something about biting into your first warm meal in a while felt absolutely amazing. It showed on your face. Perhaps it was the fact that this is the first luxury that you let yourself care about, or maybe some generations of going from consuming warm, freshly killed meat to preparing cooked meat had engrained channels of pleasure centers in your mind that warm food floods naturally.

Keeping to table manners, eating the dish with a fork and spoon, then switching to the steamed vegetables or a drink of water was all that kept you from forgetting posture and inhaling the warm food. This caught the attention of Rainbow Dash, who eyed you curiously.

"First warm meal in a while, huh? Does it have anything to do with your carnivorous side?" This scared a gasp out of Rarity.

"Rainbow, How rude of you to say it so accusingly to Anon!"

"Well I don't mean to say anything in a bad way. It's harder to tell without the beak, but I think Gilda makes the same faces with cooked food."

You nod in agreement as you put your fork down for a moment. "It's alright, rarity. Now that you mention it, though, cooked meals do make up a large portion of human meals, from burgers to baked potatoes. That's a new perspective that I hadn't considered until now. Gilda is what, a griffin? What exactly is the griffin and dragon customs for any carnivorous inclinations they may have?"

"Yes, Gilda is a Griffin I go way back with. They sometimes eat fish when away from strict herbivores, and have a prideful stance about being courteous around them. Gilda's told me she's tried some before, but she never shows any cravings for it when she's with me. Spike, What about the dragons in the dragon lands?"

"Well I know we can, but I've never craved it or seen another dragon ever go for meat. Dragons usually keep to seeking out gems. I Don't think any drake would consider the backlash of being labeled a creature eater to be worth it.

"Makes sense," you say as you take this information in and nod. Rainbow Dash turns back to you.

"So what about you? What's your full stance on being able to stop eating meat?" Before you can reply, Luna steps in.

"Anonymous has already spoken that he can be sustained on fruits and vegetables alone, and one may trust Anonymous to be courteous to other creatures. We hath seen that much earlier this day."

Surprise and curiosity struck everyone at the table as all eyes fell on her. Until now, Luna had been the omen caller to your arrival, and the least charitable outside judge.

"Are you feeling okay, Princess? Your attitude is way different than this morning."

"We are quite fine, Rainbow. Admittedly, our forewarning was based on the history of his world rather than the aspects of himself as an individual. I see now that the alien that has been thrust upon us may yet prove to be a valued ally. We also find ourselves reminded that everyone, including those present here, have the ability to be led astray without friends."

Almost stammering on the sudden charity from the princess of the night, you reply graciously. "Thank you for giving me a chance, Princess."

She returns your reply with a small smile. "As our sister has invited Chrysalis to call her by Celestia, we hope that ye will come to be comfortable with calling us Luna. Hopefully, the extent of thine conversations with us proves to not be strictly professional as well."

The princess of the night is giving you a chance to be friends. Her offer is so casual to the point of feeling somewhat familiar, yet completely unexpected. You stammer on the proper gracious niceties to reply with until you notice the whites of somepony's eyes disappear on the other side of a window. You smirk and stand up.

"I appreciate you giving me a chance Pri- Luna. If I may, I have an idea for a light hearted shenanigan. I'll be just a moment, My queen. Luna, please come with me. Everyone else, Don't pay too much attention to the window across from us until about ten seconds after we've passed it."

Approving of your proposal, Luna stands up. Everyone else watches the two of you curiously as you leave for the main hall. Once the two of you are in the atrium and headed for the main doors, you speak in a low voice to Luna.

"How much do you know about me regarding what I'm up to?"

"Enough to recognize thy mischievous grin. What be the plan?"

"How well can you do a contagious yawn?"

"Quite so."

"Perfect. I will lead us under a tree. There are two reporters that are still curious and dropping eves."

Luna met your explanation with a mischievous grin which she then relaxed into a pleasant smile. Making your way out the front doors, the two of you went down the steps and over past the window where the others will be watching. Along your way, you found an honest excuse to keep up small talk by pondering to Luna about how you wonder the Artist Van Gough may have painted "A Starry Night" differently under this night sky and full moon. This gave you an excuse to look in every direction, verifying a glimpse of your target's eyes as you scanned. Luna seemed to enjoy the topic earnestly, pausing casually only to let out a yawn once the two of you finally made it to a tree.

As expected, three additional yawns were heard in response. Still with your mouth reflexively open, you point your hands up to the other two sound makers while Luna catches them in her magic. Once your own yawn finally ceases, you smirk, crossing your arms, and address the two green ponies in green and brown patterned shirts.

"Well it seems this tree has been growing eves, Princess, ones that even dress to camouflage."

"Indeed, Anonymous. Be these interlopers of mischievous intent?" Luna replied as she set the two ponies on the ground. Lunar guards that you didn't notice were patrolling now land, circling them. The mare, now panicking, pleads their case.

"We're sorry! We didn't mean to intrude. I admit my curiosity got the best of us. Our mistake was not knowing what to do next and making a rash action."

"Speak more calmly, our little pony. Begin by identifying thy selves." Luna Addressed them as the lunar guards maintained position.

"I am Quick Dry. This is my partner, Snapshot. We are the reporters for the Canterlot Carols."

To this, Luna raises a hoof and dismisses the guards.

"We are familiar with the publication. You cover family oriented venues and charity events around Canterlot. We enjoyed thy coverages of the last three solstices. What drove thee to spy on the Friendship Castle? How Hast the coverage of today's press conference not sated thy intrigue?"

"In truth, Princess, we were curious about the creature that accompanies you. No pony asked anything about them, then the conference ended before we had the chance to change the question subject." The mare then turns toward you. "If I may, what sort of creature are you, mister Anonymous?"

You take a step forward, your arms still crossed. "I am what is known as a human. Out of all the ponies that came to the conference, I did notice the two of you glancing at me more than a few times. Your stallion friend was the only photographer that didn't aim every single shot directly at the podium either."

As if caught doing something scandalous, they both flayed their ears down in fear.

"Indeed that is true, sir. We didn't mean any disrespect."

"Oh, don't worry about that, Quick dry. None was taken. In fact, I would like to hear your rationale in this. Tell me your experience in all of this, and in return for giving my new friends a spectacle," you say, gesturing to the window where your queen and the Elements of Harmony are now waving, "I might fill the gaps with an exclusive interview. How does that sound?"

"Oh, that would be amazing, sir. Snapshot, give him your best starting from the Everfree."

The stallion, moving his camera to the side, stepped forward. "Word spread about multiple princesses and several squads of both solar and lunar guards searching the Everfree Forrest. We, along with just about every other paper on the grapevine arrived and waited for the better part of a week with no announcement other than travel to or within the Everfree Forrest was strictly forbidden to civilians. This continued until this morning, where everypony was told to assemble in city hall as if there was an anticipated danger. After a few hours where nothing happened, everypony was told that the city was safe, and while leaving the building, we caught a glimpse of you at the train station. You did something that set the ground on fire, then stomped it out. The only train that arrived and left came back with you, now accompanied by changelings, and you were positioned noticeably close to Queen Chrysalis. I don't think there is any deceit in what was announced, but I know there is more to the story, and that is your role in all of this, isn't it?."

He did not mention Pinky's screaming. Either they had just caught you at the station, or they are holding that back for some reason. You turn to Luna.

"Are you certain these are a reputable group, Princess?"

"Indeed, Anonymous. We believe ye can trust them to not bend thy words."

"Very well! As the Changelings no longer live in secrecy, I too will continue in honesty. Allow me to illuminate your story." You start off with an enthusiastic tone. "My story starts off at the edge of the Everfree Forrest. I had been taken there suddenly without warning, and a misunderstanding with the pony, Pinky Pie had left me in somewhat of a fearful situation."

"Can you elaborate on this misunderstanding?" The stallion asked as his partner wrote furiously with a quill in her mouth.

"Please understand that there was no real danger that miss Pie or I posed to each other, but I had been suddenly cursed at the time to where my speech was reversed, 'Hello' vocalized as 'Oleh,' which one can imagine made de-escalation of the situation quite hard to reach. This is where my story with the changelings begins. They had found me and separated me from Pinky until they could take me to see a potion maker whom was able to cure my speech. Finally, I would be able to make some headway in peaceful relations in this Equus that I find myself in."

"Hold on, sir. Your choice of words is peculiar. Are you saying that you were transported here from outside Equestria?"

"Indeed I was magicked here in some unknown fashion, but in a sense, from much farther than Equestria, or any borders on Equus. You will not find any other humans on Equus, for I was taken here from a different world; A world under a different sun, moon, and stars entirely."

The eyes of the pony in front of you widened. His partner looked up from her writing, stunned. "Surely, you are pulling my leg."

"No, sir. You can even ask Princess Luna. I have allowed her to see into my mind where there are over twenty years of a life in a different biosphere. One without magic such as me has no hope of hiding secrets in such a manner."

"No magic? can you tell us more about this other world?"

"That is a subject much too vast for a single sitting. Imagine going to a world with no ponies at all and explaining the culture, magic, and history of the four pony races in it's entirety. Another time perhaps?"

"That would be most appreciated, sir. Erm, where were we... You had your speech restored by a potion maker. When was this?"

"That was the next day after I had arrived."

"Then what about the rest of the week that has lead up until now?"

"Remember that I was new to this world. I had to learn a whole new culture and history if I was going to respectfully address the princesses and clear up the confusion with the changelings."

"Which you commenced this morning. May I ask what drove you to help the changelings? It was said that you are now Queen Chrysalis's consort. Is their help in restoring your speech involved?"

"Well It certainly started our relationship. The changelings were the closest ponies to me when I was finally able to speak, and I learned of their plight. From then on, they did not need to ask. It was my decision first to do what I can for these ponies. I would hope that anypony with the ability to would help others in need, should the occasion provide itself."

"Speaking of relationship, May I ask the question that would be on every pony's mind?"

"Snapshot, I have only been on this world a week. That is not long enough to form any kind of romantic relationship."

The pony before you seemed grimace somewhat at his inconsiderate question, though you figure having the question answered today will prove advantageous in the court of public opinion and idle gossip.

"Well spoken sir. And what about now? What will your role in the changelings' oncoming endeavors be? Will you bring something else new or unexpected to Equestria?"

You turn your head towards the center of Ponyville. You can nearly see down a road to the other side where the Everfree Forrest persists. somewhere along the edge still sits an axe head; a tool that was brought with you to this world.

"That is a very interesting line of questions. I will continue to be at my Queen's side for as long as she will have me. My strength will bolster our changelings wherever I may be able to, and as far as bringing something new to Equestria, I hope you quote me as much as possible this evening, because I wonder if anypony will be able to predict it."

Author's Note

I'm back! life happened and I did not find the time to wright much. I have been wanting to get this chapter out for so long as it marks the real beginning of Anon's interactions as a free agent along side the changelings, the details of which have been replaying in my mind with more and more detail involuntarily! I will be writing much more often now!

9 regret!

The walk around the Everfree and across the fields to Ponyville was long and solitary. Your mind decides to pass the time by thinking of what classical song from your phone would make a great first impression, should you get to presenting that. You came with empty pockets and no backpack to make sure nothing gets damaged should you get attacked. Vivaldi's third movement of Summer is a personal favorite, but may be too aggressive to start out with. A piano piece by Chopin is always impressive, but you can imagine the flashy fast paced music style can come across as changeling misdirection. There's always the calm Vivaldi's first movement of spring. It's a bit overplayed, but perhaps not in this world.

With the now rising sun, you take in the greens and browns around you. The wild forest to your right keeps to itself contently. The wild grasses of the grand plains to your left sway serenely in a gentle breeze. Mountains that housed you shrink ever more slightly behind you as you approach the now in-view Ponyville.

You approach a lone cottage between the Everfree and Ponyville. The cottage sits atop a hill overlooking most of the surrounding fields, and a stream passes by at the base of the hill. Bird nests and bird houses populate the lone tree making shade in front of the home. Animals of various species emerge from their holes in the side of the hill and resting areas in the morning shade near the forest.

One particularly happy little pig noticed you while rooting and waddles up to you and immediately rolls over, presenting it's stomach. You pet it. The dang thing is just so happy that you think of how your zodiac animal is a boar, and you entertain the idea that your spirit animal just found you. “If you don’t have a name already, I would like to call you Jeffrey. Are you ok with me calling you like that? Jeffreee ree-ree-reeee! Haha. Do you mind introducing me to Miss Fluttershy?” The pig reacted to that, or maybe just the name of Fluttershy, as it rolled back over and started across the small bridge crossing the stream then up the hill to Fluttershy’s cottage, and into a doggie door flap in the side of the structure. Weather the encounter with the pig helps or not, you figure it is time to get your sore legs up the hill, under the tree, and to the cottage and knock on the door. With three knocks that you hope are not too hard, you try to get the attention of the element of kindness. A female voice, innocent yet hollow, came from up the tree that is now behind you.

“Oh my. I seem to have a visitor. Tell me what brings you here to my animal sanctuary, stranger? Would you like to adopt a pet?” You sigh. It seems that you will be attacked before having a chance.

“I walked for hours alone to make a peaceful hello. To whom do I owe such a predatory welcome?” You turn to the tree. A lanky monstrous menagerie of a beast has already used it’s various claws and paws to crawl down the tree and stalk much closer than you had heard the voice come from.

“Jeffrey, I’m scared.”

“You leave Jeffrey and Fluttershy alone!” The draconequus lunges towards you. With a swift motion, you are grasped by the shoulders and lifted straight up. The tree and the cottage remain undisturbed as your presence is swiftly taken away.

Rainbow Dash opens the cottage door.

“That was tamer than I expected it to be.”

Two solar guards escort Fluttershy out of the cottage.

“Discord is a pacifist. He distastes violence, saying it has no place in chaos. He’ll probably take that person to the princesses, or maybe to Sweet Apple Acres so that Applejack can do it for him.”

“I’ll check for them at the farm. Go get Rarity and Pinky and let’s meet up at the castle. Twilight wanted the elements of harmony to be together after we see this thing in case they’re needed.”

“Ok. I’ll see you there.” The guards followed Fluttershy. They doubt they were needed but were glad to come along just in case.

“It looks like discord got to em first.” Applejack proclaimed, pointing a hoof out the window so the guards catch the draconequus’s approach. Discord swiftly pinning you to the ground before the entrance to the farmhouse.

“Applejack, I’m a pacifist! Beat this guy up for me!”

“Miss Applejack, I’m a pacifist! Please just hogtie me!”

“Ya want me ta do what now, partner?” Applejack said with a raised eyebrow.

“Whatever vocabulary this world has for country ponies using lassos. Just tie me up until I can clear things up with the princesses!”

“Oh, you want me to wrangle ya. Sure thing, partner.”

“What? He just tried to invade Fluttershy’s cottage! What about beating him up?” Discord said sounding rejected.

“I aint had breakfast yet, so it wouldn’t be a good beating. Sides we can always do it later with all four of the princess’s blessings.”

“Princess cadence is here too? Oh, you are in for a world of hurt, human.”

You are taken to the castle at the edge of Ponyville that towers over the rustic village like a crystalline citadel. Plans A and B have failed, but plan C has gone off with much less harm to you than you anticipated. You are thrown onto your right side, planting your cheek on a cold crystalline floor. Still tied, you see a tall ivory alicorn and a midnight blue alicorn before you. You cannot tell who else is in the room this way.

“Explain yourself and why you come to Ponyville this day, human.” The tall white one demanded.

“Is there a way to cast a spell that shocks me if I lie?” You ask in as clear a voice that you can manage on the floor. In your periphery, you notice a small white cloud loom over you.

“This cloud will administer a shock should you utter a lie.” Princess twilight's voice explains.

“I came here to cause harm!” Lightning shot from the cloud, enveloping you in it’s retribution. The shock lasted and sustained an involuntary scream of pain. Had you been standing, the shock would not have ended until you collapsed back to the ground. You had one more lie to tell if this were to work the way that you intended. Not stopping to think of the pain, you take in a deep breath and utter loudly, “I came accompanied by others!” Another sustained bolt. Another sustained scream. Having done that which you were determined to do as step one of phase two, you allow yourself to relax. Your body starting to catch on to what your brain just put you through. Your breathing becomes labored, your sore body becoming both soothed and alarmed that the ropes binding you are now quite warm. You hear the thud of a hoof stomping somewhere in the distance.

“Stop that!” Princess Twilight shouted, surprise and disbelief overtaking her voice. “You made your first point. You are not a threat. Now someone untie him, those ropes are starting to ember.” You are promptly untied, and you weakly push yourself up into a cross legged sitting position on the floor. You can see now that all four princesses are indeed standing before you. Ponies bearing necklaces of the elements of harmony standing next to the princess with a crown bearing Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark. You rest your palms on your lap and take a deep breath so that your words sound calm.

“I am Anonymous, I was taken to Equus from a world called Earth. I intend to negotiate peace between Changelings and the other pony races as well as annexation of the changeling hive into pony society.”

"We hath walked thy dreams twice and seen thy memories of the chaotic world in which ye originate. What promise is there that thine actions will not manipulate or cause destruction?" Luna asked

"So that really was you, though I only remember seeing you for a moment. I am a magicless being surrounded by the ten most powerful entities that I am aware of in this world. Should I lift a single finger in malice, I will not be able to defend myself should any of you even have a fleeting thought of retaliation."

“Am I safe to assume that you are aware of the events that took place in Canterlot during my wedding at the hooves of changelings? What promise do we have that the changelings will not be hostile again?” Princess Cadenza protested.

“I fully intend to demonstrate our in-hostility with the help of the elements of harmony, but first I would like to make sure my study at least prepared me to address all of you respectfully. Please correct me if I make a mistake.” You address each pony from left to right. “Princesses Celestia, Luna, MiAmore Cadenza, and Twilight Sparkle. Element bearers, Miss Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. Is that correct?”

“Don’t forget me.” From behind you, the snap of what you know are not fingers makes the cloud above you darken.

“And Discord the draconequus. It is an honor to meet all of you.”

“Don’t mess with that truth spell, Discord, he already willingly set it off twice! And what can the elements of harmony do in this situation if you are trying to negotiate peace?” Twilight reverted the spell and then addressed you directly.

“Trial by fire. If I or the changelings are a threat to Equestria, then the Elements of Harmony will make short work of us. I understand that two of the attendees here have been imprisoned by these artifacts previously, and the changelings have rationed what they have left just to survive this long.”

“But enough of that for now.” With another snap, the cloud above you dissipates. “I’ve seen enough, princesses. This lad is surely a chaotic being, but he’s as harmless as a starved colt. Quite literally so too. Just by looking at him, I can tell that he has walked a marathon without any food, and what little water he had left seems to have hydrolyzed. I dare say that he’ll collapse as soon as he tries to stand.” You put a finger across your lips. dry and crusty.

“How can you tell, discord? I can’t see it at all.” Fluttershy flew over with Jeffrey in her hooves to you to get a closer look. Discord snapped once more. You are now on a large floating pillow facing a draconequus that is wearing a Cheshire grin.

“Well you see, it’s much easier for a fellow omnivore to tell.”

“Oh. Oh my.” You hear collective gasps of surprise and disgust. Discord chuckles.

“A meat eater trying to negotiate peace from the side of the one enemy of Equestria that remains at large. If this gambit of yours succeeds, I’ll do something nice for you.” You chuckle with what little breath you have left at the moment, accepting discord’s antics. After all, it’s not unlike anything you would do in a lighter situation.

“Discord is correct on all accounts. I can eat meat as well as vegetables. No, I do not intend to eat meat from Equus, and I have no food left to my name. I fully intend to disclose everything that I know, but might I trouble you for a bowl of vegetables?”

*****

The four princesses, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie pie all gather around the magical round table in the main front chamber of the castle.

"Twilight, Luna, what do we make of this?" A stoic Celestia began.

"All things considered, there is no way he had help in the atrium. If he really has no magic, then he couldn't have pulled any tricks on us."

"We have visited his dreams twice and so far have seen the state of his world, and his fear of retribution from the couple of love. His human mind has proven quite cacophonous. Further investigation shall prove the human's ambitions."

"What about the changelings? have we learned anything of them recently?" Cadence asked.

"Anonymous believes they will perish. A full moon will rise tonight, and he believes they will not see the next."

"Should we be considering the ramifications of this all being true and the changelings really are starving? I always keep up with news from Canterlot and Manehatin, and with how many changelings there were at the wedding, none have been reported unmasked or causing trouble." Rarity said, considering her own words with wide eyes.

"You gotta be very stubborn to take a second shock like that, and if I know anything about stubbornness, it usually comes from either a lot a pride, or desperation." Applejack added.

Celestia considered these words. "Pinky, do you have anything to add?"

"Hmm. If he wants us to use the elements of harmony on him and the changelings, then we're all here to use it on him now, and then he'll have to show us where the changelings are later. Ooh, I better check how many changelings there are. Be right back!"