Trail of a Shooting Star - Book One - The Rising Threat

Chapters

2 - Is he friendly? *
3 - Rainbow Gem *
5 - Equestrian Girls ***
6 - Phantom fright at Gala night **
7 - Equestrian Science *
8 - A hero's mind **
9 - Interlude - The Alicorn War *
10 - Dark Companion ***
11 - Approach of Shadows **
12 - Long live the Queen **
13 - Life in a herd ***
15 - They're ponies **
16 - Interlude - Containment Breach *
17 - The heart of an anthropologist *
18 - Hearts running on leaves ***
19 - Sibling War ***
20 - Betrayal *
21 - Burning oceans, seas of sand *
22 - Stormbringer *
23 - Boss Fight - Fighting a Nemesis *
24 - The day Equestria rises *
25 - Epilogue *
1 - Prophecies of old *
4 - Attack of the Void *
14 - Ancient promises and wonders of family *

2 - Is he friendly? *

Several pegasi already roamed the skies as Tyler reached the first houses of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash started to explain the whereabouts of the town. “You see, there are many ponies living here. Everypony has a specific profession. You might say some ponies cultivate flowers, others run shops, yet others run offices. I for one am part of weather patrol with the other pegasi. We decide when, where and how many clouds are above Ponyville. It can be tough at times, but we are tougher!” Tyler listened closely as he gazed upon the brightly colored ponies. He waved nervously to some of them. Some stared at him, several small fillies waved back, only to be held back by what appeared to be their parents. Tyler winced a bit. He felt like an alien, he WAS an alien to them, a completely strange being.

“They seem to be afraid of me.” He muttered beneath his breath.

Rainbow watched around and nodded. “It appears so…”

Suddenly the tranquility of Ponyville was disturbed,
“H-HUMAN!!!” Tyler looked to where the uproar was coming from as a pony of aquamarine coat tackled him with the shoulder and knocked him over before nailing him down to the ground with the front hooves. “I got you now! EVERYPONY!!! I CAUGHT A HUMAN!!!” With a crazy grin she gazed down to Tyler. He noticed a horn on her forehead. First pegasi, now unicorns... This wasn’t a bad trip, especially since he didn’t even use drugs, but right now, he would rather believe that he was. “All these years they called me crazy, but now I have proof! PROOF I TELL YOU!!!”

Tyler fought against her grip, looking up to Rainbow,
“HEY!! Get her off from me before I have to punch her off in self-defense!!!”

Rainbow wrestled the maddened unicorn off him,
“That’s enough, Lyra Heartstrings! You’re freaking ponies out! Are you trying to kill your precious proof?”

Lyra then shook her head rapidly, coming to her senses,
“Oh! No, sorry… it’s just…I was so excited…”

Tyler got back on his feet and stared grumpily at Lyra while patting off the dust of his clothes,
“You do that again and I won’t guarantee for anything. Girl or not! Don’t jump at folks like a maniac! But how do you know about humans anyway? Rainbow said there are no humans in all of Equestria.”

The aquamarine unicorn shrugged with a smile,
“Beats me! I just want to be like one.”

Tempted to perform a facepalm, Tyler laughed nervously,
“Really… How nice… Ok, maybe I’ll tell you something about my place, but no more jumping at me, you hear?”

It was then when more and more ponies became aware of Tyler. Gathering around they began to whisper to each other,
“My… Look at that creature…”

“Those legs…”

“That stance…”

“Is that a friend of Rainbow Dash?” It wasn’t before long that a large crowd of ponies came together, maybe the whole town of Ponyville. In some sort of interview the crowd shot a question and Rainbow, speaking on behalf of Tyler, was answering. Standing in front of all, the mayor was the first to ask. “Rainbow Dash, who… or what is that friend of yours?”

“That’s Tyler Jones. He’s a human.”

Bon Bon was looking to her close friend Lyra who nodded proudly, confirmation of her ‘crazy’ theories standing in front of her,
“But where does he come from?” the earth pony with the dual colored mane asked.

Rainbow chuckled uncertainly,
“He mentioned some places called Earth and Nevada, Bon Bon. But don’t ask me where that is, because frankly I have no idea! I can only assume that Earth is a land like Equestria and Nevada is a town or city.” This answer prompted Tyler to giggle slightly. Now a trio of mares raised their hooves.

Rainbow saw that it was Daisy, Lily and Rose, some of Ponyville’s botanists known for their prized flowers,
“Is he dangerous? Or is he friendly?”

With the the Pegasus mare shook her head,
“Nah… He’s not dangerous. At least I don’t think so. He only seems to want to defend himself.”

"Why don't you tell them about his knife?" One of the ponies asked. Upon recognizing the voice, Rainbow made out Wheat Whacker to being the one who shot it. Heads turned over to him. "Yeah, you heard me right, folks. That thing came armed. I saw the knife sticking into the ground. And from what it looks like, that knife wasn't just something you make out of sticks and stones. There are more of him! Heck! He could be a scout or a spy of a foreign force for all we know!"

Suddenly the ponies began to glance at Tyler with a more cautious glance, what truly ticked off Rainbow Dash.
"What?!? That's ridiculous! That knife exists, yes. But he already surrendered it to Fluttershy in order to show good will. He's not here to harm us!"

"Or making you believe that he's not here to harm us. Meanwhile others like him could prepare their assault on us! Let's not forget that we were attacked by outsiders very recently." Wheat Wacker countered.

That did it. Tyler stepped forward and pointed his index finger at Wheat Wacker.
"You're full of it, shithead! Me being a spy? I don't even know where this nation is and I don't know how I got here! You folks can search my stuff and will find no means of communication! If you have a problem with me, fine! I don't need this shit. You got the entire planet for yourself, leave me alone! I simply want to go home!"

This certainly divided the ponies to some degree. Some left the place, appalled by Tyler's tone, others stayed and shot Wheat Wacker angered glances for giving a lost newcomer such a hard time. The unicorn stallion, however, shot Tyler a smirk, before he left.
"We shall see what the Royal Guard thinks about all this..."

Once he was gone, Rainbow continued to ask for more questions. As the remaining ponies bombarded them with questions, Tyler noticed one in particular, with a note and a quill levitating in front of her. The lavender coated pony seemed to be writing in time with the whole conversation as if taking notes for an important academic paper. On her head was something he could make out as a horn, making her a unicorn like Lyra. So unicorns were obviously able to perform some sort of magic as well, this was getting better by the minute. He had seen pictures of unicorns in art and cartoons, but none were as cute as she was, lost in her own little world. While the ponies still asked questions, he slowly walked through them as curious eyes were locked on him. As he crouched next to the unicorn, he took a look at her notes. As he thought, she had written down the whole questions and answers in the order they were stated,
“Are you writing this down for the newspaper?” he asked.

She was too concentrated writing down what questions she heard for looking up,
“No, I’d like to know more about this being. Gathering facts might be a good start for studying his kind.”

Tyler giggled,
“Well… He seems sentient. Maybe you should introduce yourself first.”

“I will!” she replied right on the spot. “AFTER I finish writing this…” As she continued to write, she noticed the sudden silence. “What the hay? Why is everypony so… silent… right… now?”

As she looked up, the crowd was looking at her jaws dropping. And most importantly, the human was gone. Rainbow pointed a hoof towards her,
“Twilight… Beside you…” As she slowly turned her eyes and head to the right, she saw him right next to her smiling broadly.

His hand opened while held in midair between them,
“Hi! I’m Tyler!”

Jumping one step away, Twilight yelped for a bit in surprise,
“S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to be…”

Tyler chuckled at her surprise,
“Curious? Aw, don’t be silly! Strange things DO attract intelligent life forms.”

Twilight now smiled at his errant humor,
“True! But right now…” She harrumphed briefly. “Let me introduce myself: My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m a student from the royal city of Canterlot researching friendship in Ponyville.” With this she laid her hoof into his hand for a shake.

Tyler chuckled,
“An intellectual… My pleasure, Miss Sparkle! But please don’t treat me like a guinea pig.” With this they both shared a laugh.

The ponies now lightened up as they saw Tyler’s casual behavior. He truly meant no harm and the crowd scattered slowly. Rainbow Dash hovered over to Twilight and Tyler, who now stood up. Landing between them, she presented Tyler,
“Look what I caught right in the sky falling down like a stone when that Sonic Rainboom went off! Seems to me that Rainboom must have gone off when he fell into our land. Like some weird magic catapulting him through the air at high speed. Have you ever seen something like him, Twilight?”

The unicorn shook her head and gulped slightly at Tyler’s towering stance,
“A great bipedal being…”

* * * * *

An hour later, Twilight sat in her library and opened the magic tome again, browsing in it thoroughly,
“Tilerions, Tilerions! The hay! Why isn’t this being described in more detail?” Then it shot into her mind. “Wait! Didn’t the narrator say something about that?” Browsing back to the prophecy, she pointed her hoof on it. “Ah-HAH! ‘And they will name him Tilerions, child of man!’ Child of man! Human!” She concluded. But her proud smile deteriorated into an expression of fright. “Does this mean… The void beings are returning?”

While she browsed the tome again in haste, Spike approached her chewing on an emerald,
“Yo, Twilight… What’f a void being again?” Twilight wrinkled her nose at him for talking with a full mouth until she opened her eyes wide. She actually had no idea what void beings were either.

“That’s a good question, Spike! Please fetch me…” She thought in a moment, tipping her chin, before pointing her hoof to her assistant. “Oh yes! ‘Bestiaries of old – extinct species of Equis’! As far as I recall, it was written by Princess Celestia herself. I have to research this further!”

Spike on the other hand shrugged,
“But Twilight… Didn’t you say you want explain several things about Ponyville and Equestria to that human, so he can fit in better as long as he has to stay? I mean you were all crazy about that meeting.”

Giving herself a facehoof, Twilight uttered a simple “Oh no! No! No! No! No! I completely forgot about the time while researching that prophecy! Spike, you check the checklist and double checklist for today and prepare a triple checklist before I’m back! I’ll spend some hours now educating Tyler. Once I’m back, I’ll see that you get a nice snack from Sugarcube Corner. I promise!”

As she galloped out of the library, the little dragon arched a brow,
“Tyler? That’s an odd name…”

* * * * *

Two hours later…

Tyler and Twilight sat on a bench at the edge of Ponyville. From their vantage point, they could see the entire village and had a wonderful view of Canterlot,
“So let me get this clear…” Tyler started. “Outside the world I know, there exists the magical realm of Equestria. Equestria is home to the ponies and is a land of the world known to you as Equis. All in Equestria bow down to the two female rulers, Princess Celestia and her younger sister Princess Luna. Princess Celestia is responsible for the rising and setting of the sun. And they both keep the realm of Equestria safe. But once the sun sets, the older princess must rest. While she slumbers, her younger sister watches the night keeping the moon and equestrian nighttime in check… That about right?” Twilight nodded ferociously with a big smile on her face. Tyler then continued,
“And you, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are part of some sort of protection squad that wields the ‘Elements of Harmony’, the most powerful magic known to the land…’”

Twilight beamed happily,
“I’ve never heard a better summary of the situation! Humans are quite intelligent!”

Tyler chuckled,
“Not all of us are equally intelligent, I’m afraid…I guess I took this very well, but to be honest. I was tempted to scream my living guts out when I first saw a talking pony! Where I’m from there is no such thing. And to be surrounded by all of this suddenly, truth be told, felt weird…”

Twilight gave it another nod,
“I guess we were lucky it turned out well. Rainbow told me how spooked you both were at your first contact.”

He rubbed his neck in embarrassment,
“Uh… Yeah… I wasn’t sure if she would jump at me. I mean, you don’t fall into a whole different world every day.”

With a girly giggle, Twilight levitated a book down,
“You passed the cultural shock quite well, big guy! Humans surely are as interesting as they are intelligent. Are all humans like this?”

With this he sighed and frowned deeply concerned,
“Don’t be too quick to praise the human race… That intelligence is both a blessing and curse at the same time. We’re capable of so many wonders and dreams… And at the same time…terrible atrocities and nightmares… Mankind has done things you ponies would probably condemn eternally. Maybe it’s quite alright that I’m the only human here and not knowing what exactly brought me here. If mankind knew about this place and knew how to reach it…” He looked into Twilight’s big violet eyes. He could see she couldn’t understand completely now and searched for answers in his eyes. “My dear friend Twilight, I’m afraid this would mean the end of Equestria as you ponies know it. My kind fights over everything. We fight for space to live in, religion, resources, opinions and riches.”

Twilight looked down and several moments passed until Tyler continued,
“Why do we fight, you might ask? Well, why do leaves fall? It is in our nature…” He gazed into the distance. “Don’t get me wrong, though. We know there are different types of reasons to fight, good and evil alike, but we all too often lack the light to show us the way.” As he looked down to Ponyville with all its inhabitants, their harmony and their presence without the anger and conflict his own world was plagued with, he felt he was very close to the answer. “Maybe I’ll find my light here…”

The young unicorn looked up again, putting a hoof onto Tyler’s leg,
“I believe it’s good that you found a way to reach us. You are kind and wise and although I can’t imagine what humans are capable of at the place you call Earth, I’m glad you are here now.”

Those words brought back the smile on Tyler’s face,
“Thank you, Twilight… Thank you for trusting me so much…” What she didn’t tell him was the fact that he maybe was foretold by the ancestors of Equestria as a hero. But for now Twilight was certain that holding back some facts would be helpful to let things develop in a normal way.

It was later in the evening when Tyler went into the park meeting with Rainbow Dash. As he placed his big backpack on the ground, he started to train a bit with her. That is, she flew several circles around at high speed while he ran one. She outclassed him in terms of sheer speed. Yet Tyler felt something. He couldn’t put his finger on it; it was one of his gut feelings he used to have back on Earth when he felt like slacking off. Despite him being alright, he felt weak, not being at full potential.

Fluttershy arrived at the park a bit later and watched him exercising. After running for an hour, Tyler slowly stopped and examined himself. He was sweaty, but not out of breath. This amazed him; he never was an athlete and surely not a runner. He felt tired, but not spend. A cold breeze reminded him of his sweaty upper body, so he knelt down to his backpack and fetched out a towel and a spare tank top. His other clothing was still in Nevada waiting in his camp. He grumbled at this, cursing in his thoughts that the gem didn’t bring all of his camp with him to Equestria. He would have plenty of food and plenty of clothes. But his luck was tough on this one. He stood up and took off his shirt. Tyler wasn’t exactly a bodybuilder, he deemed himself well fed and well trained.

As he toweled himself up, Fluttershy approached him from behind with widened eyes and a big smile,
“Gosh, Tyler… What a big cutie mark…” He turned his head to her. Twilight told him about cutie marks and that each pony eventually earns one at the time he or she identifies his or her special talent.

“A big what? Cutie mark? I’m a human, I don’t have one like you ponies do!”

“Sure you have, Tyler!” Rainbow grinned while pointing at his back. “That giant cutie mark on your back. What is this? It’s black and it looks kind of cool!”

Tyler now realized what they meant and laughed. On his back was a tribal tattoo he got himself a couple of years ago on Earth when he was on a summer vacation back in America. It was completely black, symmetric and went from one shoulder to the other.
“No, silly! That’s a tattoo!”

Rainbow cocked her head as she searched her inner dictionary for the term tattoo yet couldn’t find it,
“A what?”

"A tattoo! We humans put ink into needles and sting them right under the skin to place the ink there.”

Both pegasi dropped their jaws in silent shock.
“Needles!” Rainbow yelped. “Now why the hay would one want to stick needles into his body?”

Fluttershy cowered a bit,
“The thought alone is painful!”

Tyler patted both of their manes as Twilight and Rarity came closer behind him,
“Well I won’t lie to you: It stung terribly to get this done, but it sure looks great, huh?”

“No! It doesn’t look just great, dear! It looks right-out smashing! For not having a coat, you sure know how to beautify your body!” This was the first time Rarity laid eyes on the human, but she was told he was a harmless being and might be interested in new clothing. His explanation of a tattoo and the concept of accepting pain to beautify himself up came to her liking. “I am Rarity! It’s my pleasure to meet you, Darling!”

She walked around him for closer inspection,
”My! My, my! What fabrics are these? They are so strong and durable!” She dragged a bit on Tyler’s jeans here and there and looked up to him, both front hooves on his chest. “Oh, you have to tell me! The ponies will go crazy for such durable fashion! Especially if I show them this handsome HUNK of a human wearing them! Oh you have to tell me! Otherwise you sir are no gentlecolt!”

Tyler smirked for a brief second,
“And you, Miss, are rather unladylike right now!”

Rarity gasped in shock as he reminded her of her behavior,
“You are of course right, Darling! I have forgotten my manners…”As she maintained some distance between him and her, she whirled her mane from one side to the other. “But without some knowledge of the fabric, I can’t redo the clothing, can I? I’d like to invite you to my shop, the Carousel Boutique.”

Tyler got down to one knee to meet the elegant unicorn, then took one of her fore hooves and gave it a kiss. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do for me, Ms. Rarity…” With a maiden-like shy giggle and a deep blush Rarity walked backwards and went off again.

Twilight arched her brows in surprise,
“Gosh, Tyler… You really can talk, can you? Few strangers seem to impress her like that. She completely forgot to say goodbye!”

“Quite a playcolt with the ladies back home, eh Tyler?” Rainbow added with a grin.

He simply shrugged explaining that back on Earth humans have all sorts of customs and etiquette. A lot of stuff was to be learned for all the different cultures, classes and parts of society. One thing men always needed to know is how to impress ‘her’ with words of comfort,
“And once you know what a girl is interested in, show some respect for her interests, show her you know what she’s talking about and you can have a nice talk.” He ended his explanation.

“Ah say talkin’, shmalkin’! Ya don’t impress me with yer fancy words!” A strong looking Earth Pony approached the group from the sunset. Its bright orange coat, southern dialect and blonde uncombed mane gave Tyler the idea of meeting a pony not afraid to get her hooves dirty. The Pony also wore a Stetson which she pulled back to inspect him closer. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked up to him. “Tarnation! And Ah thought Pinkie Pie had finally lost it when talkin’ about a big feller walkin’ on two hooves. Ah came to check but Ah take it y’all are already alright with him. Twilight, is he a decent feller? Can he behave around ponies?”

Before Twilight could answer, Tyler crouched to bring his head on equal level with Applejack's,
“Let’s find out! I’m Tyler by the way.”

She laid a hoof into his palm and shook it,
“Applejack! And y’all watch it! If ya want to impress me, ya better start takin’ action! Ya don’t talk the apples down the trees, ya buckle them down with some hard work, Mister!”

Tyler stood up and nodded,
“Alright then, ma’am! Show me the work and I’ll show you a working human!”

This brought a smile on the earth pony's face,
“That’s music to mah ears, big feller! Ah’ll see yer tomorrow on Sweet Apple Acres. Me and mah folks sure can use hard workers.”

As the earth pony was heading on, the others waved her goodbye, when Tyler suddenly sat down holding his forehead. “Meh… Those headaches again… Ummm, Twilight… You mentioned you and the girls were exactly half a dozen, but up until now I only count five… So… Who’s the last one?”

Twilight chuckled nervously,
“Pinkie Pie… Uhm… Tyler do you think you are ready for this?”

With a frown he turned to the girls,
“Why? Something special to worry about this Pinkie Pie?”

Rainbow shuddered,
“I fear no stunt no matter how daring it is… But that mare… sometimes her never ending energy scares me…”

Fluttershy shook her head, prompting her mane to wave slightly in the air,
“There are times one shudders to imagine what inequine thoughts dwell beneath that curly mane… What sugar-driven dreams of chronic and sustained glee…”

This caused Tyler to gulp warily. This Pinkie Pie must be a crazy maniac with an unhealthy obsession of sugar and candy… Maybe some sort of addict? A schizophrenic psychopath perhaps…? He thought in wonder as he imagined a pink pony strolling down the road as all other ponies evaded her every way as she would stuff candy and sugar into every mouth willingly or unwillingly with a broad grin for coming too close. Kicking open a doors and slowly approaching innocent little fillies with an insane chuckle as her growing shadow casts fear over the fillies. The thought made him shudder,
“Sounds scary…”

Twilight chuckled,
“Now come on, girls… It’s not that bad… Pinkie is a good girl, Tyler, but she can be quite…”

Searching for the right words, the unicorn hesitated a bit. “Random!” Rainbow ended the sentence.

“Rainbow!” Twilight hissed to correct her not to talk about her friend like this.

“Hyperactive… That is… If you don’t mind me saying so, is quite a well-chosen term…” added Fluttershy, only to get frowned upon from Twilight as well.

“Not you too…”

Fluttershy raised her head, shaking it a bit while raising her voice again,
“Oh no, Twilight… I don’t mean it in a bad way… Pinkie is a nice pony trying her best to make everyone smile. But you know, there are times I think she’s a bit…” Now the yellow Pegasus searched for a proper word.

“Random!” Rainbow ended the sentence for the second time.

“Lively.” Fluttershy corrected her friend.

Twilight looked to Tyler again,
“Aaanyway, she’ll probably give a welcome party for you. Don’t worry.”

Tyler closed his eyes,
“Whatever… That will have to wait until later on. I’m tired now. I just want to sleep… But… I don’t have a place to go to.”

Fluttershy giggled silently,
“O-of course not, you are new in town. I think there are several places you can go to. I have a room left for guests. That is… um… if you don’t mind the little critters all around…”

Twilight smiled up to him as well,
“The library might not be your first choice, but if Spike and I close ranks, we might squeeze you in…”

Those offers made the human arch his brows once or twice,
“There is a library? Oh, good! I want to familiarize myself with the surrounding and books are the beacon of knowledge in my world.”

He then knelt down to Twilight,
“But won’t your boyfriend have something against a complete stranger in the house?”

Twilight eyes widened,
“Boyfriend? Oh, you mean coltfriend? Spike and being my coltfriend?” The girls began to laugh in unison. “No! Celestia, no! Spike is my assistant, a baby dragon.”

Tyler then nodded and looked to the others,
“Well, not to offend you, Fluttershy… I’m sure your place is as lovely as or even lovelier, but I’m going for the library for now. Maybe I’ll have a house of my own later or will return to Earth. I mean it still could be possible…”

Clopping her hooves in excitement, Twilight squee’d happily,
“Wonderful! A new friend and so much to learn for both of us!” Waving Fluttershy goodbye, Tyler, Twilight and Rainbow Dash went on.

Rainbow hovered right beside him, shrugging with her shoulders.
“Sorry, big guy! I would offer you to come and see my place, but you can’t fly and would fall through the clouds. Such places are limited to pegasi and magicians like Twilight. But hey! Maybe you two come and visit me sometime.”

Tyler grinned and held his fist in the air,
“Will do, RD!”

Giving him a brohoof, Rainbow grinned broadly,
“Awesome, TJ! See ya later!” With that she flew off.

With a happy giggle, Twilight led on,
“You two get along quite good, don’t you?”

“Yeah… she’s a tough and loyal friend.” Chuckling she went on. If only he knew how loyal… she thought.

Walking down the road to the library, Twilight looked up to Tyler,
“So, Tyler! How many books does your Earth archive have?”

“Oh, plenty!” He answered, “More than you could ever read! Novels, guides, textbooks, manuals, encyclopedias, research data, fictional stuff… You know I have some in my backpack. Once we are in your library, you can have a look at them. That is, if you can read them. I’m not sure, since I don’t know about your letter-figure combination. In fact, I must say it’s exciting to think about the coincidence that we speak the same language and can communicate together, right? Maybe we should check that first, don’t you think? That way we can make sure we can read each other’s books without an advisor all the time."

Twilight was visibly fascinated by the human being. The way he talked and thought; his capability for logical structuring and troubleshooting. To think that he would be her new housemate made her bounce all the way like a little overjoyed filly,
“Oh, yesyesyesyesyesyes!”

As Tyler followed Twilight down the street in the late evening sun, he looked around. Many kinds of ponies lived their lives without worry. There were mares, stallions, colts and fillies of all ages. A real demographic scene like it would be in a human village. But he somehow felt like the only guy with clothes on in a nudist colony. While some ponies wore several pieces of clothing, he had to concentrate not to focus on rumps. He expected this to be rude among them. After all, humans don’t find it very appropriate to stare into the cleavage of a woman.

Or, and this would lead to even more embarrassment, if it would be considered as some sort of interest shown by the male. But all these thoughts wouldn’t help right now, so he tried to look into the shops or the scenery. It was then when he heard something behind him. As he looked back for a moment, there was only the street with something looking like confetti falling slowly to the ground. As he turned again to Twilight, the face of a pink Pony was only inches from his with her big eyes looking at him. “Surprise!!!” With that he stumbled backwards and fell to the ground as a pink earth pony with curly pink mane literally bounced around him.

♫”I welcome my very first human!
I welcome my very first human!
I welcome my very first human,
Welcome to Ponyville!”♫

As Tyler recollected himself, he realized who was standing there before him,
“You… You must be Pinkie Pie!”

After gasping loud, she nodded vigorously,
“Uh-huh! But I don’t even know you! Oooohhh, you’re good! Lemme guess your name now! Timsy-wimsy? No…Slenderwalker? Nooo…Oh! OH! Giant hairless! Giant hairlmpf!”

At that point Twilight held Pinkies mouth and giggled nervously,
“I see you’ve met Pinkie Pie, Tyler…” Turning her head to the pink earth pony, Twilight took her hoof out of Pinkie’s mouth. “Pinkie? May I introduce you to Tyler Jones? He’s a-”

Pinkie cut her off in midsentence,
“A human, I know… I saw him on in the middle of the crowd on the marketplace and I was like-” She took a deep breath, widening her eyes. “-but then I saw everybody was curious about him and when everyone’s curious about him it means he’s new! And that’s when I thought it would be best to give a party for him. But then I thought about if everybody knows him and everybody wants to know more about him, this means he will get lots and lots of friends anyway, meaning I don’t have to invite so many ponies anymore! And without inviting…”

As she continued to babble without taking a breath, Tyler understood why she was kind of scary. She wasn’t a psychopath, she was just hyperactive. The way she talked alone at an almost incomprehensible pace made it difficult to follow, which was actually quite funny. As he returned to listen to her, Twilight already gave up on listening to her, standing idly by her side with narrowed eyes. “…and then Mrs Cake said no! But I mean really! “How-” Tyler now cut her off as he raised his hand to her mouth, only to realize that she was mumbling through his hand and her closed mouth. He shook his head and laughed amused. This randomness sure was too much.

Twilight arched a brow as she came back from ignoring Pinkie and saw him holding his belly while laughing,
“Pinkie… What have you done with him?”

Pinkie Pie, now beaming widely, looked to Twilight and shrugged,
“I just talked about Mrs Cake and how she said-”

Again he cut her off,
“Enough, Pinkie! Enough! I can’t stand it anymore… You’re so unstoppable…”

With that the pink earth pony giggled right away,
“You bet! Nothing can hold me back when I want to see my friends smile!”

Tyler nodded in approval, wiping off a tear as he chuckled,
“And that you achieved, Pinkie Pie… But please… Wait until I slept a bit before you throw a big party on my behalf, OK? I have to sleep right now…”

Pinkie tipped her chin giving a loud hum, until she turned to him,
"Oki-doki-loki! See you guys tomorrow then!”

As they waved her goodbye, the pink pony bounced happily away. Tyler chuckled,
“Chronic and sustained glee… He, he, indeed!”

Twilight giggled,
“I told you she’s a good girl. Even if she can muster amounts of energy that tire everypony else.”

As they arrived in the library, Spike tipped his claws in impatience, sitting next to a long checklist and another big book. Twilight trotted happily to him and looked to Tyler,
“Spike? May I introduce you to Tyler? He will be our new housemate as of today! That is, until he can find a way home.”

Spike arched a brow as he looked up to the tall human,
“Uh-huh… Twilight, you think that’s a good decision? You’ve just met him!”

Tyler crouched next to him,
“So you’re Spike… Come to think of it, I could imagine a dragon, yet I had no idea what to expect from a baby dragon. Don’t worry, pal. I’m not your rival or anything. But another male around might be interesting, especially with all these girls, hm?”

Spike raised a claw as if to say something, then thought for a second and finally nodded,
“Yeah… I guess that’s right somehow! Speaking of girls… Twilight? Where is the snack you promised me?”

Twilight chuckled nervously,
“Sorry Spike… I wasn’t at Sugarcube Corner…”

With that, his expression turned to one of great disappointment,
“What? Aw, come on! You promised!”

Twilight trotted next to him and levitated a big sapphire stone out of her saddlebag,
“But I got this from Rarity…”

As he fetched the sapphire stone, his eyes became all dreamy,
“A snack from…. Rarity…” With this he went upstairs, giggling all the while.

Tyler saw this in amusement,
“So he has a…”

Twilight chuckled,
“Yes, he has… So! Why don’t you unpack your… Is that a human saddlebag?”

“No, Twilight!” he replied with a chuckle. “This is called a backpack. Well you know… I wear it on my back and I pack stuff in it.” She giggled at this silly explanation. He unzipped the first part of the backpack and got out the stuff he had in it, a compass, a small first aid kit, a small hatchet, one bottle of mineral water and ten meters of rope.

As he unzipped the second part, lots of little packets fell out of the backpack. Shiny little items in cubic forms. Twilight was puzzled, couldn’t help but frown at these strange things,
“What are THESE?”

Tyler got one of them,
“This, Twilight is what we humans call ‘rations’. Military food sold to private citizens. Some of them are cookies, some of them are meals.”

Twilight shook her head.
“But they all look the same!” Tyler picked one peculiar up and held it up to her as he ripped the silver package open. To her surprise, the inner content was several cookies that seemed tightly pressed together,
“Why do all this? What’s the point?”

“The point is, Twilight that this food can keep fresh up to 10 years without rotting away.”

With this sentence her eyes got big as plates,
“You have to be kidding me… Humans can do that? That’s like… Building up storage for decades! Even for half a life! With that knowledge, there must literally no hunger in your world!”

This made Tyler frown,
“No, there is hunger, Twilight… And you know what? Normal food decays and rots away… This silver package on the other hand… it will take millions of years to decay. Meaning mountains of garbage brought to a dump!” Twilight looked down to the cookies in the silver package. It sprang into her mind that the technology to create such wonders must be vast, but the downside would be other problems. Problems Tyler’s species didn't have a solution for.

After he ate the cookies, he took the books out of the third part of the backpack. This caught Twilight’s immediate attention,
“Oh! OH! What are these?”

He raised the books,
“This is ‘The Godfather’, a novel about a family living in organized crime. We call that mafia sometimes. So this is about the head of a mafia family and his sons. Next we have the ‘Zombie survival guide’.”

This prompted Twilight’s nose to wrinkle,
“There are no such things as zombies… Or is it different in your place?”

Tyler shook his head. “Nah, there are no zombies, it’s a fictional work. BUT the author wrote it in a manner as if zombies are a real thing, complete with fictional historic facts. It’s a book to humor the reader.”

Twilight nodded with an arched brow,
“Sure… Nothing better than to make a ghost story more realistic than with some facts…”

She then looked at the third book,
“’The… art of war’? What’s that?”

Tyler nodded,
“This, Twilight is a historic book. In it, there are lessons from a man who lived thousands of years ago.”

This made Twilight’s eyes sparkle in excitement. An ancient book with something to learn always sounded exciting to her,
“Oh! What’s it about?”

Tyler arched a brow,
“Well, like the title implies, this book is about the perfection of warfare. Sun Tzu, a philosopher and general wrote it in the ancient Chinese kingdom. It is so important that if you follow his principles and teachings, you always will be victorious. If you ignore him, you do so in your own peril, because you will definitely lose. Lots of Earth’s recent wars had been analyzed and one could predict the outcome with this book. The knowledge in it empowers you to have victory within reach. But not just in warfare, also in sports, business and other aspects of life.”

Twilight nodded with wide eyes, she definitely had to give this book a peek. Then another thought shot through her mind. Wait! I can read his books? With widened eyes, she raised a hoof and browsed a little in the book he mentioned. As she read along the lines, her teeth dug deep into her bottom lip and her hooves began to clop uncontrollably on the floor. Squealing loudly in delight, she turned her head to Tyler,
“I can read it!! How wonderful!!! The letters are a bit tiny, but I can read them just fine!” Looking around for the nearest book, she levitated one out of the bookshelves. “Here! Try to read!”

As Tyler saw the amazement in her eyes, he chuckled a bit,
“Sure, why not?” As he opened the book right in the middle, he read the lines. It didn’t take long until his brows arched widely and he looked to Twilight. “Are you sure you gave me the right book, Twilight? I don’t think I-”

She bounced around him,
“Come on, Tyler! I’m sure you can do it as well!”

His eyes followed her movements,
“Twilight… Really… I shouldn’t!”

Her bouncing stopped and she gave him a stern look,
“Just do it, big guy!”

With a deep sigh, he surrendered and gave her a nod,
“As you wish… Read out loud?” Twilight nodded and Tyler rolled his eyes. “Ok, if you wish so… Here goes: ‘Dear diary, today I learned a very valuable lesson about my body as I touched my-” He was cut off in midsentence as a lavender flash ripped the book from his hands and Twilight stood in the opposite corner of the room with her head tomato red. With deep breaths she stared at Tyler and her eyes began searching for some way to escape this embarrassing moment. Tyler closed his eyes and went upstairs. “Don’t sweat it, Twilight… You’re not the only one who does that. And as the adults we are, I won’t laugh and point at the mare who entrusts her diary with her intimate findings about her own body. Come on, I’m above this, you should be too. Hey, lighten up! I can read your books as well!”

Twilight could feel her cheeks burning. This time it wasn’t embarrassment, it was wild marvel. There he went up, taking one of her most embarrassing moments and waved it all away as if it was something natural. He didn’t laugh at her or turn his back on her in disgust. He was… mature. Yes, that was the word that fitted him the most. He seemed to know about this stuff and showed sympathy for a mare taking her first bumpy steps towards sexuality.
As she got on her hooves again, she cleared her throat and shook her head to recollect herself. Levitating the book in front of her while going upstairs and putting it into the bedside cabinet, she saw Tyler was on the balcony, gazing at the night sky. Leaving some space for me to compose myself… That’s sweet of him… she thought. As she stepped outside and stood beside him he just stood there at the hoofrail.

However, the silence was broken as he looked down to her and caressed her mane,
“Feeling better?”

With a nod, she looked into the neighborhood,
“I’m sorry… I was so excited, I gave you the first book I saw.”

Tyler watched the night sky again,
“Don’t sweat it, Twilight… Like I said, I won’t make a fuss about it. Where I’m from, every young female sooner or later explores her own body. I take it mares do that as well. Besides, who except yourself can explore what truly makes your body go wild?” He then went inside. “So, there are two beds and a basket with a baby dragon in it. I take it, your bed is the blue one with the many stars?”

Twilight wasn’t listening. The cold breeze made her realize her cheeks were burning again. That maturity… Her heart raced and she slowly came back inside and closed the balcony door,
“Uh... Bed? Well yes, that’s right! The other bed is for you. See? I told you we could squeeze you in.” He then sat down and undressed except for his shorts before he went to bed. As he stared at the ceiling, his mind wondered about his adventurous expedition.

So this was his first day in Equestria. Well, half a day to be correct. Then he gave a chuckle as he thought of something. Twilight looked up from her bed,
“Tyler?”

He just raised his arm and moved it in one semicircle above the bed,
“To boldly go where no man has gone before…” He gave another chuckle before he closed his eyes. “Good night, Twilight…”

Twilight thought a bit, but it seemed to be a human inside joke. She smiled a bit as she closed her eyes as well,
“Good night, Tyler…"

Author's Note

proofread by Fourfire

3 - Rainbow Gem *

In the early hours, the Apple family was awakened by the crowing of their prized cock. It wasn’t soon after that first crow that Applejack kicked open the doors of Apple Bloom and Big McIntosh’s bedrooms,
“Alright, Sugarcubes! What are ya waiting for? Breakfast in bed? Another glorious day on Sweet Apple Acres! Every day on this farm is like a day in paradise! Every meal is a banquet! Every apple worth a fortune! Every chore a parade! Ah LOVE this farm!”

As Big Mac got out of bed, he simply muttered an almost inaudible “Eeeyup!”

Apple Bloom on the other hand still was sleepy in her little bed,
“But Applejack… It’s Sunday morning…”

Coming back into the room of her little sister, Applejack smiled,
“The earlier ya get up, the more time to spend crusadin’…”

The little filly got up with this and grinned broadly,
“Oh yeah!” As the little filly made herself ready for the day, her big sister had already gone outside to prepare for yet another day of farm work. As preparations were done, she went back inside to have breakfast with the rest of the apple family.

By then Tyler had almost woken up as two hard objects rubbed vigorously against him,
“I swear… Those damn raccoons raiding the camping places…”

Twilight, who had been trying to wake him up for thirty minutes now by shaking him awake with her front hooves, arched back. 'Raccoons? Oh, he still thinks he is in his place…' She thought with rolled eyes, then she took a deep breath,
“TYLER!!!”

Her yelling into his ear prompted him to bolt up. As he looked at her, he shrieked, and fell out of his bed. Then he remembered,
“Oh… oh yeah… Equestria…”

Twilight came to his side of the bed,
“You sure sleep soundly, big guy… So, what are you going to do today?”

As he dressed himself he looked outside,
“Earn a bit or two… You know I promised Applejack to help out on the farm. So I thought I give this a try and come back to my feet. I don’t have any money and begging on the streets is for losers.”

Twilight nodded,
“Good thinking. And bringing in your talents might also show you enriching Ponyville. Yeah, I like that idea!”

Giving a chuckle, he looked at her,
“I guess you like any form of logical thinking, Twilight.”

After a short breakfast, Tyler went along to Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight on the other hand returned to her research,
“Now… where was I…? Oh yeah! ‘Bestiaries of old – extinct species of Equis’” As she browsed through the pages, near the end of the book, she finally found the entry she looked for. “Ah-hah! ‘Void beings… While the precise origins remain unknown, the lore has it that these creatures, being of diverse anatomy than the rest of Equis animals are not from this world. I, Princess Celestia can only assume that these beings live in a realm between this world and others. A realm I do not wish to know. These creatures bring great misery among the kingdoms of Equis. Luckily for our world, these creatures cannot enter our world unless some foalish soul creates an embodiment of evil for them to begin their cycle. Lurking in the shadows they will wait for the right moment and lay havoc upon the lands, turning them to ashes.’”

Twilight tipped her chin as she read lines two more times,
“Embodiment of evil? Oh, silly me! Not Tyler! He doesn’t fit into that part. I mean the prophecy tells about a bipedal being fighting evil, not bringing evil… This doesn’t sum up right.”

As he entered the orchard, Tyler noticed a big red stallion that looked like a real workhorse,
“Excuse me, sir. Is this Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Eeeyup!” That answer was as short as it was precise.

“Thank you. You know I offered to help out on the farm. You think I can find the earth pony named Applejack in the farmhouse up the hill? “

Another “Eeeyup!” was the answer. Not very chatty… Tyler thought, but gave the stallion a friendly nod as he went along the way up the orchard. On his way to the farmhouse he saw Applejack and went directly to her.

As she noticed him, she gave him a smirk,
“Howdy there pardner! Ah see yer holdin’ ya word! Lookin’ good. So, are ya ready to go to work?”

Tyler looked around,
“Sure thing what’s left to be done?”

Giving a nod, the orange earth pony started to list the chores,
“Well, it’s Applebuck season, meanin’ the apples have to be bucked down from the trees.” Giving a demonstrative kick to a tree, the apples on said tree fell into large wooden buckets. “We then get the buckets into the cart and pull that cart to the barn. Rinse repeat... until the whole orchard is harvested!”

Tyler nodded with an arched brow,
“Well… I won’t lie to you… If I hit the tree full force with my hand or foot, the bones in them will surely break. I don’t have hooves like you do, so no buckling the trees from my side. Sorry…”

Applejack smiled,
“Aw, don’t sweat it, sugarcube! Ya can still lift the buckets into the cart and help pulling the carts. That’s good and honest work too! Also, there are some maintenance issues that need to be done on the barn and the farm house. We can look later on that. Mah brother Big McIntosh can tell ya more of the details. Why don’t ya lend me a hoof here with those buckets so Ah get the cart ready faster?”

Not wasting time, he took the buckets and placed them into the cart. They were heavy, but it was bearable. Applejack corrected her Stetson a little while watching him working,
“Not bad! Ya get this done faster than a pony! Those… What are those? Claws? They sure are working fine!”

Chuckling a bit, Tyler presented his hands to her,
“These are hands. And each of these pointy things is a finger. They can perform soft gestures…” He playfully tickled her ear and caressed her neck with his fingers, before he got the last bucket into the cart. “And they can grasp things tight to lift them, even when they are heavy.”

Applejack chuckled a bit,
“My, ain’t that some useful stuff to have! With such agile little fellers at yer disposal, ya'll be a great enrichment to the farm. Come on, pardner! Let’s get to the next tree.” As he pulled the cart, he had to exert a large amount of effort to get the cart into motion, but once it was moving it was easy to pull. “Don’t overdo it, Tyler! Ya don’t have to impress me by overexerting yerself. If it’s too heavy for ya, help otherwise. Ah’m not mad at ya, Ah promise!”

But Tyler shook his head,
“It’s alright. I have the feeling I can become stronger while doing this. Extra training, you know? Also I want to earn some money so I can buy several things. As of now I don’t have any spare cash yet.”

As they filled the cart, they went to the farm and Tyler felt the muscles in his arms burn. But the hard work made him feel good. On their way, Applejack noticed the muscular arms of the human while trotting besides him,
“For a figure so slim ya sure know how to pull the cart well, Tyler. Those muscles of yers, did ya need long training to get them?”

A drop of sweat ran down Tyler’s forehead,
“It takes hard training for several years… and for your strong legs?”

With a proud chuckle she smirked at him,
“Years of applebuckin’!”

Tyler grinned as he locked his eyes on the barn,
“I bet… Well, what can I say? A girl doesn’t have to be too slender or too corpulent to appeal to me. Athletic girls, well trained… That’s the kind of girl for me.”

This prompted Applejack to blush,
“W-well trained? Aw come on, pardner… Quit the fancy talk! Every colt just wants a mare he can protect.”

As they arrived at the barn, he shook his head and turned his face to her,
“Well, I’m not a colt, so allow me to have my own opinion. And I say a country girl can have her charms as well!”

This prompted her to blush and she used her Stetson to cover her face a bit,
“Ya mean it, pardner? There are girls over at yer home who work hard like me and still catch yer eye?”

Tyler nodded,
“Honest truth, Applejack! I won’t have any reason to lie about that either. You know who you are and what defines you. I’m simply telling you that where I’m from, girls like you are damn attractive for some.”

By now she seemed to think about that for a minute,
“Attractive, huh? Well, waddya know… Ah’ve been praised for a lot of things… Honesty, reliability, helpfulness… To name only a few! But being attractive? That’s new… Thanks, Tyler!”

As they unloaded the apples and returned for the orchard two times again, Tyler was now pretty knackered,
“Alright, pardner. That’s enough hard work for today. Come with me, Ah’ll give ya yer payment.”

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he looked to her,
“But I just worked for three hours!”

“Well, it’s yer first day and yer not quite used to it. Ah see ya have potential to work here on a daily basis, takin’ into account that ya can pull the heavy carts on yer own. That means with yer help Ah can fill two carts at once. It saves me a lot of time, pardner!”

But as they arrived at the farm house, the headache came back, becoming a painful migraine. It was like a sharp blade through his mind, causing him to hold his head, leaning against Applejack,
“Oh shit… My head…”

Startled at first, she immediately helped him to keep balance,
“What in tarnation? See there, Sugarcube? Ah told ya to pace yerself! Come on, sit down!” Helping him to the stairs of the house, she raised her head. “Granny Smith? Ah need yer help right now!” It was soon after that that an old mare with lime green coat stepped outside.

Tyler turned his head to her and nodded in salutation,
“Ma’am?”

This prompted the old pony to smile upon him,
“My, ain’t that a well-behaved young colt?”

Applejack rolled her eyes,
“Granny, he almost fainted right now! He worked too hard! Can ya watch him for a moment while I get inside?”

With a frown, the old mare turned to Applejack,
“Now, silly goose! Quit yer gawkin' and move yer caboose!” As Applejack galloped into the house, Granny Smith raised her hoof to push Tyler’s hand from his forehead. A stern face was glancing down into his. “Ah say… Ah never saw one of yer kind in mah entire life, mah boy! Yer sure ya belong here?”

Bringing up a slight smile, he shrugged,
“Can’t say that I was born here, Mrs. Smith. But this place sure is lovely.”

With that her stern face melted into a smile while she looked down to him,
“That it certainly is, mah boy!”

Only one minute later Applejack returned with a big glass of water,
“Here ya go, pardner! Drink up, it will do ya good!”

As he drank the water in one sweep, he rubbed his temples,
“I don’t know… Somehow…This headache turned into full pain as I neared the farmhouse… There has to be something in the environment that makes me feel all dizzy…”

As three fillies ran from the barn down to Ponyville, Applejack yelled after them,
“Apple Bloom! Make sure yer back home to supper!”

One of the little fillies stopped and turned around.Tyler could see she had a yellow coat and a bright red mane,
“Will do, sis!”

As they ran to a scooter, the little Pegasus of them gave them a ride into the town, Tyler slowly got up as his mind suddenly went clear again like a burden was being lifted from him,
“It’s getting better again… Thank you…”

Applejack then got something out from her saddlebag and presented Tyler a little pouch with some money with it,
“Here ya go, pardner! The pouch is on the house. Workin’ for the Apple family is almost like bein’ part of the Apple family.”

This caused him to chuckle,
“I hope I’m not part of the family as of yet. That would mean you would be my sister, Applejack. And then I couldn’t give you the same sorts of compliments.”

She gave him a playful punch on the arm,
“Oh, Ah said quit the fancy talk, pardner. Ya make me go blush!”

Tyler chuckled once more as he went down the stairs,
“Great! I can flatter Ponyville’s number one Country girl! Yee haw!” As they both shared a laugh, he bowed before them. “Applejack? Mrs. Smith? I’m happy I can work here!”

As he went further down the road, Applejack watched him leave, only to realize that Granny Smith gave her a big smile,
“Ah say, mah girl… It was about time yer bring a fine gentlecolt back home!”

Applejack’s jaw dropped straight down,
“What? Now Granny, listen! He isn’t a colt to begin with!”

“And what are ya defending yerself now, mah girl? He sure is a well-behaved young feller! And a hard worker as Ah can see. Ah wouldn’t mind if ya stick with him.”

Now the orange mare blushed deeply, reaching shades of red even darker than her brother’s coat,
"Granny!"

* * * * *

Meanwhile the three fillies rode along the streets in their scooter and wagon,
“Great! Now we have the bits to get the materials together!”

“Yes! Enough to buy some gold from yer big sister, Sweetie Belle. And we can borrow a book about goldsmiths from Twilight. All thanks to yer idea, Scootaloo!”

As they stopped, the little Pegasus filly looked to Applebloom,
“But it was you who found that great shiny gem, Apple Bloom! Now, let’s organize our stuff, so we can go back to the clubhouse! I can’t wait to get my cutie mark as a goldsmith!

As Tyler went down the road back to Ponyville, he counted the coins. 15 bits. That’s what this currency was called. Another small little detail to adapt to. As he reached Ponyville, he decided to get himself a meal in a restaurant and then buy some supplies for himself afterwards, depending on the prices on the menu. As he sat down, it was not long until the waiter came with the menu. A quick overview showed Tyler that all of the food was vegetarian.

Unfortunately, most meals seemed to include either hay or flowers, but there were several meals that fit the human taste,
“I think I’ll have the potato soup for 4 bits. Yes, that would be nice.”

The waiter nodded and took the menu,
“Good choice, sir.”

Shortly after that, the waiter brought some bread. After eating two bites of bread, his soup was served. As he began to eat, he closed his eyes. This was so good. The flavor was so natural one could taste the vitamins on the tongue. Way different than the soup they served on Earth. Then suddenly Rainbow collided with him, cleaning off the table.

The blast sent Tyler to the ground and his meal to his face as the bowl of soup was spilled out and the bowl rested on his head. As Rainbow turned to him, she couldn’t but laugh about the situation,
“Oops! Sorry, T-man… I guess the prank got a bit overboard…”

As she approached him, he still was lying on the floor, while the other guests stared at the scene,
“Is he alright?”

“Mommy? Why did Rainbow Dash do that?”

“Hush, Sweetheart, I guess he’s alright… I hope so…”

Chuckling nervously, Rainbow stood beside Tyler,
“Ahehe… Come on, Tyler…. It wasn’t that hard of a collision…” A silent mumble sounded from the soup bowl. As she lifted it swiftly and leaned forward, she listened very closely. “Yes? You alright?” With a whispering voice she heard him say something. It was very quiet though, so she leaned in even closer.

Suddenly he stood up and shoved her out of the way. The movement was neither caring nor gentle and after tumbling down to her back with a protesting "HEY!!!", Rainbow could see that he towered over her, staring angrily into her face. After this glare, he looked at himself. His clothes were a mess, stains on his shirt and jeans. That’s when he slammed four bits onto the table and left the restaurant. Rainbow raised her hoof after him,
“Hey, Tyler! Wait!”

But he went on and Rainbow bowed her head, ashamed of the mistake she made. She wasn’t the type of girl abandoning friends for pranks. Seeing Tyler getting so upset about this made her regret the prank instantly. He didn’t even raise his voice. No scolding, no harsh words, he left her alone with her mistake. That was the worst part for her. The silent fury of his disappointment buried deep within, only giving her this unforgiving look. He didn’t yell at her or call her names. He didn’t raise his hand to hurt her in return. He just abandoned her. And Rainbow understood that this was probably the worst punishment she could think of. She was being left alone.

Not long after that Rainbow walked on the streets of Ponyville, where she could hear the bouncing of that one particular pink set of hooves Ponyville knew all too well and Pinkie's voice became audible.
"Hey Rainbow Dash! Why the loooong face?"

"Hey Pinkie... Umm... You remember when we pranked some ponies together, right?"

"Sure! That was so much fun." Pinkie replied with a beaming smile.

"Yeah, well... I pranked Tyler, but seemingly that prank wasn't so good and backfired."

Inspecting Rainbow's dirty coat and roughed up feathers, Pinkie pointed at her with the right hoof while rubbing her chin with the left.
"You look like you were lying in the dirt. Did you two brawl?"

Shaking her head, Rainbow then sighed.
"No! No, I think this is worse..."

Pinkie's eyes widened in terror.
"He hit you?"

By now Rainbow's eyes narrowed.
"No, Pinke! All he did was shoving me aside. Brawl... Pffft! I'm used to worse from my time in Cloudsdale! Nah... There wasn't even a slap to it. What I mean is: I made him mad at me! But I don't want him to be mad at me. The last thing I need is the image that I pick on creatures from a far away place, just because they are on their own. So what do I do?"

Pinkie, listening with closed eyes, nodded in thought.
"Hmmm... hmmm... Much to learn you still have, young ponywan. Rainbow, pranks can be fun, but fun is only fun if both sides deem it fun. If one side takes this seriously, then there's a problem and no fun for anypony!"

Upon hearing this fast paced sentence with growing confusion, Rainbow arched a brow. All she heard was the constant mention of the word fun.
"What?!?"

But all of a sudden, she was in a tight embracement from Pinkie. Gently caressing the wild mane of her friend, Pinkie didn't recognize the narrowing eyes of the Pegasus mare.
"You need to set things right, Rainbow! More so because Tyler is new around here! The laws of pranking demand it!"

Looking up partly confused, partly afraid of Pinkie, Rainbow nodded with an uncertain glance.
"Alright, alright! Pinkie? Can I go now?"

* * * * *

Tyler went along the road, trying to calm down and to release some steam as he noticed the Carousel Boutique. 'Of course! Someone like Rarity has a changing room where I can get rid of these…' he thought. As he entered the boutique, he looked around,
“Rarity?” The place had plenty of space, maybe the unicorn used her magic to levitate whole dresses and display dummies around.

At the other end of the boutique the seamstress handled a sewing machine.
“Just a minute!” she chirped in a melodious manner.

Approaching her, he waved his hand dismissingly.
“Oh take your time! I only need a changing room for now.”

As she turned towards him with a smiling “Oh? Why’s that?” Her face suddenly turned into a terrified expression.
“TYLER!!! Stains!!! Soup stains! What did you do to your clothes?!? What! Did! You! DO?!?”

He rolled his eyes in annoyance while gritting his teeth,
“I was having soup while some Pegasus thought it would be cool to prank me while eating.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes, and then arched a brow,
“Rainbow Dash?”

Tyler waved the thought away,
“Pranks… Well I’m fine with such things, but not while I’m eating… I need to clean those, and I thought of you. You know… to bring you the clothes, not only to wash them for me, but to study the fabric as well.”

“But of course! Please right this way!” Presenting him a changing room, the white unicorn looked up to him. “How thoughtful of you to remember my invitation and my curiosity about the fabrics. Surely I’ll fix this for you.”

As he undressed, he gave her each piece of cloth,
“These are all made out of cotton, so there you go. The fabric isn’t that much of a wonder where I’m from, it’s just a way to weave cotton into a sturdy fabric. It used to be a fashion for hard workers in the Wild West a couple of hundred years ago, but nowadays ‘jeans’ are casual fashion.”

Rarity’s eyes widened as sparkles shined in them,
“My… hundreds of years of development, and I have the privilege to harvest the fruits of human fashion…”

Tyler peeked out from the curtain and looked down to her,
“But, Rarity?”

With a smile she looked up from the clothing,
“Yes?”

He looked around to all the dresses and suits decorated with gemstones and diamonds,
“If you redo the jeans, don’t add glittery stuff to it, OK? I only want my jeans.”

This made Rarity giggle and she waved it away,
“Don’t be silly, Tyler… I can see your taste of fashion already. It’s durable and practical, yet beyond a dirty working outfit. I’ll be right back! Let me get this clean first.”

As Rainbow entered the boutique, Tyler went utterly silent again, staring at her in the same angry way, prompting her to cower away as she came near,
“I… I bought you the soup again… it was my fault it was spilled on your clothes.” Not speaking, he maintained his stern gaze. So she continued. “I don’t want to lose you as a friend! I’m…” She bowed her head, tears welling in her eyes. She was glad her wild mane hid those tears. “I’m sorry! I’m not that kind of a pony.”

Tyler then closed his eyes and spoke to the Pegasus,
“There are times when you eat and there are times when you prank. But there are no times you prank someone who eats! This can end unfortunately! One unlucky incident with a fork, knife or spoon and that’s it! One less friend to have! Do you want to risk our friendship that easily?” He then gazed down to her. Rainbow shook her head, not daring to look up to him. With a nod, his stern look softened a bit. “You promise never to do that again?”

She vigorously nodded, looking up to him now,
“I promise!”

He then bend down to her, giving her a hug,
“Stupid! Why were you doing something like that in the first place?”

“I… I wanted to have fun with you!”

He held her cheeks and smiled,
“And we will have fun! But not like this, RD… I am also sorry for shoving you around like that. You OK?”

She nodded and gave him the soup bowl she got from the restaurant. It was then she recognized he was undressed except for his shorts,
“I… take it Rarity is off to wash your clothes?”

He saw to the door Rarity went through,
“I think so. Well then! While she’s gone, I’ll eat the soup and you will tell me something. He sat down on the ground and folded his hands to say grace. ”Bless us, O Lord, and these your gifts, which we're about to receive from your bounty. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.”

Rainbow blinked with widened eyes as she looked at him,
“Dude… What was that?”

As Tyler looked up, he chuckled,
“Aw, it’s just a prayer before the meal. An eating habit some of us humans do, you know?”

Rainbow inspected his folded hands closely,
“Cool! That’s some sort of eating ritual then? You show gratitude for the food to someone?”

Tyler chuckled and got the spoon,
“That’s the idea, right. But don’t ask me who gets the gratitude…”

Hearing this caused her to cock her head,
“Why not?”

“It is a very long story, Rainbow. Faith in the human world, you know?”

She sat down and nodded,
“I see… You don’t want to bore me. OK, maybe you’ll tell me later. But now, dig in!”

As Rarity came back a little later and was beaming widely,
“Success! I cleaned all of these stains out of the ‘jeans’!” She then noticed Tyler and Rainbow sitting together and harrumphed briefly before giggling a bit. “Back to work! I must create!”

While she took measurements of Tyler’s now standing body, she took note of every measure. After some time she looked up to Tyler. “This piece of clothing has to go as well, Tyler.”

He looked down to Rarity and arched a brow,
“No… It won’t! The shorts will stay on!”

Rarity blinked several times, not fully understanding what didn’t make him comply this time,
“Now, for complete measurement I need you to get it off!”

“And for the dignity of myself, I say it stays on!”

Rarity gasped and closed her eyes,
“Why won’t you comply? I thought you-” She was interrupted as Rainbow whispered something into her ear. “It covers his WHAT?” The white unicorn stared at Rainbow Dash with wide eyes, as she pointed a hoof to Tyler’s crotch. This caused the unicorn to gasp deeply, again, standing on her hind legs and putting her front hooves on his chest. “I am SO sorry, Tyler! I’m not that kind of a unicorn! Please don’t think badly of me!”

Tyler rolled his eyes playfully,
“You are forgiven… just take measures with them on and take a few millimeters off.” With a nod, she then did precisely so and Tyler put his clothes on again shortly after. As he took a look on the clock, it was just noon.

* * * * *

Meanwhile back on the farm, the three fillies stood together and gave their creation scrutinizing looks. Apple Bloom arched a brow,
“Hmmm… This is supposed to be a necklace?”

Giving a brief shake with her head, Sweetie Belle closed her eyes,
“It looks more like a collar to me…”

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes,
“A dog collar? But we were up to make a beautiful necklace!”

Applebloom shook her head,
“Winona would never wear this thing… But wait! Did it work?”

Checking their flanks, they lowered their heads,
“No…”

“Not for me either…”

“Darn… And I thought this was going to work!”

It was then when Apple Bloom had another idea,
“I know what we could try next!” Leaving the collar back behind, the three fillies ran outside. By then the gem on it began to shine again in all colors of the rainbow. A dark chuckle sounded, originating from within the gem.

Leaving the Carousel Boutique, Tyler and Rainbow both went towards the park,
“With Rarity doing her fashion magic, my wardrobe should fill quite well! Now I need to get in better shape if I want to make a difference on Sweet Apple Acres! Currently the work is a notch too hard. What do you say, Rainbow? Will you help me get in shape?”

Rainbow grinned broadly,
“You’re on, T-man! I wanna see what you can do!”

Tyler smiled up to her hovering friend. Then with an orange, a yellow and a white flash, three punches slammed him down,
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER HUMAN TAMERS! YAY!!!”

Rainbow Dash was as puzzled as Tyler was, but he recovered fast from the three blows from the cute fillies who had tossed him over and now sat proudly on top of him. Grinning, he winked at Rainbow before whimpering in front of the girls,
“Oh! Oh, spare me, little masters! Here I lay in the dust before you! Pity!”

Wholeheartedly the girls smiled in success,
“You think he’s tame now?”

“He sure is!” But one brief check on their still blank flanks prompted them to sigh.

Rainbow nudged the little fillies off from Tyler before striking a pose,
“He was tame in the first place, kids… I tamed him!”

Tyler now got up and chuckled at Rainbow,
“Did you? Or did you teach me to be wild? I think I’ll spend some time with the three little energy packs here. You go and look awesome as always!”

Sharing a laugh, Rainbow then flew off,
“Alright, Tyler! See ya at the park in a few hours!”

After he waved her goodbye, he looked down to the three fillies,
“Now… What little bundles of love do we have here?”

As the three of them smiled, three golden halos hovered above their heads,
“We are the Cutie mark crusaders!” Apple Bloom beamed while Sweetie Belle nodded vigorously.

“And we are on a crusade!”

Scootaloo bounced around him,
“Until we get our cutie marks!”

“I’m Applebloom!”

“I’m Sweetie Belle!”

“And I’m Scootaloo!”

Tyler smiled gently at the girls,
“I see… Well for your sake I hope you will find your cutie marks all three at once.”

The three fillies looked up to him,
“Why is that?”

He patted them for a while,
“Well, I don't know much about you for now. But let me tell you something: I see three good friends now. If only one of you gets a cutie mark, the other two are still struggling. That’s what makes you guys so special. You three stick together no matter what. That’s a very deep bond of friendship you have there. Instead of you three envying the others for their cutie marks, the others should envy you for your friendship.”

Scootaloo looked down, blushing while she did,
“Gosh, Mr. Human… You are a nice guy.”

Patting her on the head he smiled down to her,
“Don’t sweat it, kid. You three are adorable. Tell you what: I may not know much about cutie marks, but I might give you a different approach to your crusade. Maybe that will bear more fruit.”

Now they beamed at him, standing on their hind legs and their front hoofs on his legs,
“You will?”

“Really?”

“Awesome!!!”

Tyler sat down with them,
“Hmmm... So from what I understood from Twilight's lectures about Equestria, cutie marks appear when you excell in something, right? What you must look for is something no pony in Ponyville is able to do. Look what’s missing in the grand design and you might find your cutie mark that way.”

Sweetie Belle cocked her head,
“Grand design? Like the things my sister Rarity does?”

Tyler raised an index finger and winked at the fillies,
“In a manner… A single thread in your sister’s dress, despite its bright color and shine can never see its purpose in your sister’s grand design. Isn’t that right?”

The little white filly thought of a moment, until it nodded,
“I guess so!”

With a smile he caressed her mane and turned to Applebloom,
“And the Apple that hangs up there in the crown of the apple tree’s mighty face… Do you think it’s more important than the roots that hold the trunk?”

The little yellow filly shook her head whirling her red mane wildly while doing so,
"The roots are very important!"

“You see? It’s about the grand design. You have to take a step back and see what’s missing. Something you can’t find anywhere else.”

Scootaloo bowed her head in frustration,
“But we already tried so many things. And anything we can do, there are dozens of ponies who can do it better.”

Tyler sat down beside her and caressed her mane,
“But there is only one Scootaloo! You are unique, my little filly. We all are unique. I guess earning your cutie mark is to find out who you really are. And nothing is harder. Even we humans tend to oversee of who we truly are. In time, you will manage to see into your own heart, Scootaloo and you will earn your cutie mark.”

The little Pegasus filly looked up to him, not completely understanding, but he was nice to her. Somehow she knew it was meant that way,
“But… I do know who I am. I’m Scootaloo!”

The human now touched her torso with his hand, feeling her heartbeat,
“Oh it goes deeper than your name, kid. It’s about the very essence of Scootaloo. The very fire you have to kindle within yourself.”

Apple Bloom thought about those words for a minute,
“But mah sister was in town, homesick when she was a filly. And when she saw Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom, she returned home to Sweet Apple Acres, earning her cutie mark. How does it work?”

Tyler let go of Scootaloo and turned to Apple Bloom,
“As far as I understand it, your sister learned that she belonged to this and only this place as it was the only place her heart felt right and would ever be the place she could call home. You see? It’s about what makes you unique!”

“Unique, huh? Unrivaled failures that is!” Two further fillies appeared the little group.

Apple Bloom frowned as she saw them,
“Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon…”

"How is it going, you blank flank losers?" the gray filly with the glasses mocked them. "Found another blank flank to be friends with?"

As the three fillies hid behind Tyler, he looked to the two in front of him. 'Bullies...' he thought as his glance hardened. Pointing at them, he raised his voice.
“Hey… You two there! Stop giving others a hard time! Besides! Who said I was blank?” With this he pulled of his shirt, presenting his tattoo. “You know, we humans may have no cutie marks, but we still can have something to make us stand out from each other. Even if the earning of a tattoo is a painful thing.”

While the crusaders looked at the tattoo in awe, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon giggled at it,
“Still, your flank is blank!”

The human put on his shirt again and looked down on the two loudmouths,
“You watch it, young lady! Or I’ll report to your parents the whereabouts about your fixation over the flanks of others! Including those of adult males!”

This visibly enraged the little filly,
“You what? My… I swear, if my daddy would be here, he would-”

A sudden voice interrupted the young filly,
“I would do what, young lady?” An amber coated male earth pony arrived behind Diamond Tiara.

Taking a short overview on the scene, the businesspony shook his head in disappointment,
“Not again, Diamond Tiara! More complaints about you? Seems to me I have to have a word with you at home!”

“What? But daaaaad!”

Now with an even stricter look he gazed upon her,
“Don’t you ‘but dad’ me! You’ve heard me, young lady! Now go home!” As she trotted away in silence, the stallion glared upon her,
“Strictness is needed sometimes… Especially with such a lively young filly. But this is my business, not yours. Don’t you think?”

Tyler's eye twitched a bit. That stallion had a sharp tongue and an even sharper mind. He reminded him not to interfere with things not his own. Giving a nod, Tyler was out to give in just a bit for peace sake.
“No one likes bullies. Maybe these three here needed a one time backup before rising up on their own. But I get your point. Kids need to figure it out themselves or they'll never grow independent. Maybe we should agree on that, Mr.…”

“Rich! Filthy Rich!”

Tyler chuckled a bit,
“That’s a quaint forename you have there, Mr. Rich. Mind if I stick to Phil? It is more personal, but not so… negative.”

At first, Rich was baffled at these words, but then he rubbed his chin with his hoof,
“Phil? Hm, Phil… Yes! That sure has a nice ring to it! Most ponies tend to stumble over my forename.”

This prompted Tyler to give a sly smirk,
“Nothing filthy in earning some honest money with some wit I guess. Being a businessman seems to have some disadvantages both on Earth and Equestria.”

With this the amber coated stallion nodded,
“Ah yes! They said you were from that other place… I met a decent looking unicorn feller who warned me about you, though. Said you were a troublemaker."

Tyler's eyebrow twitched in slight anger.
"And that feller didn't happen to have a certain green coat and a blonde mane?"

Filthy Rich nodded in confirmation.
"I see we are talking about the very same pony. Seeing how you interfere with issues not concerning you, I'm inclined to agree with said pony."

"Only if you're not willing or daring enough to make your own point of view, Phil. I for one would never give something about a single opinion and would rely on at least a second one and a certain gut feeling. You wouldn't be so wealthy if you would blindingly follow the advice from others."

Rich gave him a thoughtful nod,
“A wise politic you have there, Mr…”

Tyler held his hand to Filthy Rich,
“Jones! Tyler Jones. But please, call me Tyler.”

Filthy Rich gave Tyler a shake,
“Tyler… Yes, I can sense you have a nose for business. You certainly know how to present yourself, even when there are negative rumors about you. We should have a meeting or two so I can show you ‘Rich's Barnyard Bargains’. A presentation cannot hurt for a future customer.”

“True! I’ll give it a look as soon as I have the time. Until then! Goodbye!”

As the stallion trotted away, the three crusaders approached Tyler,
"That was awesome!”

“Cool!”

“Tremendous!”

Tyler chuckled,
“What? I only befriended someone…”

Apple Bloom smiled up to him with huge eyes,
“Until now, Diamond Tiara always gave us a hard time! But you showed her dad her real face! Maybe now she’ll leave us alone for some more…”

"Yes, but Mr. Rich is right. 'm not supposed to guard you or interfere when they bully you. I'm not related to you, I'm a stranger here. This is none of my business." Tyler saw their glum faces then and rolled his eyes, only to lower his voice a bit. "Oh, but where would be the fun in leaving three cute kids hanging?" Giving a grin, he then kneeled down and hugged Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who gladly gave him a group hug. Scootaloo however just pointed her hoof to her mouth as to gag on something. This prompted Tyler to laugh and he raised the filly and let her lay down on his shoulder, an arm over her back and caressing her neck,
“You’re not the type of girl to cuddle? Come on! Everyone loves some affection once in a while.”

Scootaloo rolled her big eyes and pointed towards the sky,
“Not Rainbow Dash! She’s way too cool for that!”

Tyler gave this a smile,
“She sure is cool. Do you guys know she saved my life once?”

The three crusaders gave a “Whoa! Really? Cool!” in unison.

Scootaloo jumped off from Tyler and fell in line with the other two crusaders,
“That’s right! That was yesterday when I fell into this world! Since then, we both are buddies! Which reminds me… I have to go, girls…” The girls nodded and waved goodbye before they went on galloping to their next attempt to earn their cutie marks.

As Tyler reached the park, Rainbow already waved at him. “Over here, T-man!” As he approached her, they shared a smirk, “Waiting long?”

“Nah… I had weather patrol stuff to do. So let’s get started!” And so they began Tyler’s brutal training. The human did his best to improve and although he couldn’t best his Pegasus friend in terms of speed, his iron will and endurance brought forth big improvements. While Rainbow first won the first several tug-of-war rounds, Tyler slowly began to match her strength over the days.

* * * * *

Several days of training passed. By the time he considered himself back in shape, he would lift Rainbow Dash onto his shoulders to run along his training grounds. With a roaring laughter the cerulean Pegasus cheered for him. After that he made pushups with her still on his back and while his arms burnt and sweat was running down his forehead, Rainbow rewarded each pushup with another count as Twilight took careful note of the capabilities of the human while watching his progress.

The determination of his species left her curious and she was interested in Tyler’s full potential. As they both talked about humans, Tyler stated that humans can’t use magic and don’t have wings to fly. Twilight suggested that a strong body and a sharp mind could account for the survival of humans in their world.

As for the strength she considered her theory right. What she didn’t expect was that Tyler himself was surprised by his new amount of strength and that he could lift far more weight than before. She had spent an entire evening with him talking about this matter and was surprised, that he actually theorized that the ‘gravitational pull’ in Equestria was lower than on Earth.

While the conversation continued, Twilight felt confirmed about the high intelligence as well. He spoke of scientific terms and physics. It wasn’t like he was giving her a lecture in physics, but he managed to explain complex terms to her. Wherever this human was from, science meant a big deal. This again made her heart race in excitement. And it made her report to Princess Celestia far more frequently than usual.

The days passed, and they roped in Fluttershy for the training because Tyler and Rainbow had the idea of competing against each other while the human was in training. As Spike brought Twilight a drink and some fresh scrolls of note parchment, he looked down at the training grounds,
“So Twilight? How’s he doing?”

Twilight shook her head in disbelief,
“He’s been training for a week now… Like a Minotaur… His diet consists of vegetables of all kind, bread, fish, some sweets once in a while, beans and meat…“

“So that makes him a predator, right?”

“Not a carnivore, Spike… An omnivore! Unlike us ponies, he can eat anything”

“Y-you mean…?” The baby dragon looked a bit spooked.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight chuckled,
“No Spike… He won’t eat us.”

“Well… That’s not my concern, you know?”

With a deep sigh she smiled and looked towards her assistant,
“No, he won’t eat your diamonds and gemstones either.”

A broad smirk grew on the little dragon’s face,
“Great! That means more gems for me!”

Right now Tyler and Rainbow shared a rivaling stare,
“You give up?”

“That word doesn’t even exist in my vocabulary, Mister!”

He then smirked at her,
“Oh, is that so? Well, you are forgetting one thing there, girl…”

With a challenging glare she looked over at him,
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“The cute one on top of me!” Rainbow’s eyes widened all of a sudden. He was right. Not only was he doing pushups with his own weight but also Fluttershy sitting on him, who was shouting a cute little ‘Yay!’ once in a while to cheer for them both..

Now while Pegasi were agile, slender ponies with wings, they were only of moderate weight. Rainbow was considered ‘in peak condition’ for a Pegasus mare. Highly trained but not over the edge. And still this human could lift her friend as well, making him equally strong as an earth pony. But already his arms were trembling, he was tired already. This made her grin wide. A few pushups later, his arms gave in,
“YES!!!” she yelled in victory. “Victorious again! But you had extra weight so I guess we should call it even.”

As the yellow Pegasus raised into the air, Tyler got up,
“Fine then… I think I’ve had enough training for today. Let's not overdo it.” Shortly after toweling up, he turned around, walking towards Twilight.

It was in this moment that he bumped into and accidentally knocked over Trixie,
“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…”

As Trixie got up, she jumped two meters, yelping in surprise,
“What in Celestia’s name? Shoo! Shoo! Be gone, creature!”

Tyler frowned upon this tone,
“Now wait a second! No need to be rude!”

As Twilight approached them, she looked at the blue unicorn,
“Trixie! I take it, you’ve met Tyler?”

Trixie looked at Twilight with big eyes,
“Twilight? You… you know this creature?”

Twilight shrugged,
“Why, yes! Since he fell into our world he lives at my place.”

Tyler rolled his eyes,
“Thanks to this Rainbow Gem what brought me here…”

Trixie saw up to Tyler,
“You WHAT?!? R-r-r-rainbow GEM???” The blue unicorn was grinning broadly. “AH-HAH!!! I did it after all! I, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE, DID IT!!!” Beaming at Twilight, Trixie brought herself into pose. “Oh, Twilight! I can’t wait to let everyone hear that I have evidence my spell really worked out OK!”

With that Trixie was grabbed by Tyler and he looked at her with a grim face,
“So, you’re the one who made the thing that brought me here! How nice! Now… How do I get back home?”

Not understanding him for a second, Trixie looked at Twilight for a moment, only to see her face staring back at her strictly,
“Don’t look at me, Trixie, it was your spell and you performed it yourself. Didn’t you research the outcome thoroughly enough?”

“Why, of course I did research, Twilight! I wanted to create a Rainbow Gem and this I did, did I not?”

Tyler’s grip hardened,
“Yeah… And your precious gem left your world, it entered mine and when I touched it, it brought me here! Now, how do I get back into MY world?”

Trixie cringed at his sharp words,
“I don’t know… It shouldn’t have sent the gem anywhere! And sweet Celestia, it shouldn’t have brought something back! Twilight… Please! Tell him to put me down! I’ll reread the book to fix this, I swear!”

Twilight laid a hoof on Tyler’s arm,
“Let her be, Tyler. Scolding her right now won’t solve your problem. Trixie, what book did you read?”

Tyler put the blue unicorn down and looked angry at her, stabbing his fingers at her,
“You’ll fix this… one way or another!”

Trixie cringed some more before Twilight stepped in front of her, giving Tyler a stern look,
“That’s enough, big guy! I understand your anger, but this is not the time for this. We’ll fix it, I promise!” Tyler nodded, calming down as he walked away. Twilight now looked down to the blue unicorn. “Trixie, the book title please! What book did you read?”

“Um… You won’t get mad OK?”

The lavender unicorn rolled her eyes annoyed,
“Ugh, fine! Talk already!”

“Well… you see… I got the spell from ‘Myths and mythology of the ancient void beings’ and-”

Twilight interrupted her with wide eyes,
“YOU WHAT?!? Trixie! That book is on the restricted title list in the Canterlot library! Princess Celestia won’t even give one of them to me! And I’m her Number One student!”

The blue showmare now cringed even more,
“I know… I know!!! Twilight, I messed up again! But I wanted to show some real magic this time to settle down in Ponyville! You know, to prove that I’m more than a boasting and lying showmare! Doing something useful! And a transformation spell of that magnitude was just what I needed!”

Twilight shook her head in shock,
“I don’t believe this! You broke into the Canterlot library, took a book which is forbidden to read by the Princess herself, came to Ponyville and performed a spell which not only creates the wished result, and I deem this to be the most harmless part, but also vanishes and brings back a being from another world which could be Celestia knows what! Have you any understanding of what you’ve done, girl?”

Tears welled into Trixie’s face as she looked up to Twilight,
“I- I wanted to be friends with everyone!” Then the dam broke and she began to cry bitter tears.

Twilight sighed and hugged her,
“Trixie, you are some unicorn… You’re always getting yourself into trouble! Get me the book and I’ll try to find out what happened over time. In the meantime you go and look for this Rainbow Gem. I figure it is a key element to the spell that brings Tyler home.”

Still sobbing, Trixie looked up,
“Thank you, Twilight… I’ll do that. But won’t that put you into trouble as well?”

“If Princess Celestia hears about the human you brought to Equestria in my next report, I’m sure me trying to solve the problem by reading this book will be the least of our concerns. So you better do your best to find this gem and make up for the trouble you’ve caused. But I’m not sure how she’ll react to the theft of a forbidden book. This is a thing you will have to see through for yourself…” Those words made the blue unicorn gulp in fear.

Twilight then stepped into the library,
“Spike! I need a full study equipment set! Bring me several scrolls, quills and ink! No, wait! Make that a lot of ink! I will need your notes as well, Trixie! Seems to me I have to reconstruct your spell and think of a way to reverse it. Oh, the thought alone of how many facts I have to trace back makes me fear the upcoming checklists…” The little dragon brought several things at once in the three runs he performed through the library. Twilight’s mind went into overdrive as she thought of the remark of the void beings.

Slowly, she formed up the theory that this Rainbow Gem might be the embodiment of evil the book told her about. ‘Luckily for our world, these creatures cannot enter our world unless some foalish soul creates an embodiment of evil for them to begin their cycle.’ In her mind the facts swirled around and as she worked out one checklist after another, she thought of the prophecy of Tilerions as well. Unintentionally Trixie had make the prophecy come true, bringing both villain and hero to Equestria. But somehow, something was missing. The gem. It was the last piece to the puzzle, wasn’t it?

After a long day of research, Twilight went out to the balcony. Trixie stood there, still bowing her head,
“Trixie?”

As Twilight laid a hoof on the showmare’s shoulder, she looked up,
“I just realized how bad I bucked up, Twilight. If your theory is correct, this human, this Tyler is a foretold hero who shall defeat beasts and dragons of creatures living in a realm between his world and ours. If that’s true, I doomed us all!”

Twilight shook her head,
“Come on now, Trixie… He’s capable of so much more…”

“No he’s NOT! Just look at him! So weak! He can’t even use magic… I mean you are the bigger magician of us two and deservedly so! But even I can wield greater magic than he does. How do you expect someone like that to defeat a dragon?” Leaving the balcony sobbing, Trixie left the library as well and went back to her wagon.

By then Tyler stepped outside to the balcony, stroking Twilight’s back. As he looked down to Trixie, his smile faded,
“So… what are we going to do?”

Giving a sigh, Twilight looked up to him,
“Trixie read a book which was forbidden by the princess. I’ll send a letter to her reporting the situation. Don’t worry though. You never harmed anypony despite Wheat Wacker claiming that you're a threat, so you won’t have reason to fear her. She may be wary or careful, but she trusts me in many matters. In the meantime, you should go on as usual. You did well until now, so it should be enough to prove your intentions.”

He looked down to the lavender unicorn,
“I overheard you both talking about a theory… What’s this all about?”

Twilight looked up into the night sky,
“It’s just that I think that this Rainbow Gem might be big trouble. Not that it brought you here… Other trouble.” With a brief “Mhm…” he looked into the Everfree Forest.

* * * * *

As the next morning arrived, Tyler was awakened by the loud call of fanfares. This caused him to fall out of bed again. Having been in Equestria for a week now, he rose up and dressed up quickly,
“Damn! Twilight? What’s the entire ruckus outside? Twilight?” Getting into his boots, he tied them on the doorsill. “Twilight? What’s going on? Is there a parade or something?”

“You were right, Twilight… He seems to be friendly enough to be an enrichment to the town.” There was this calm female voice that soothed each and every muscle in Tyler’s body. As he raised his head, he saw her. The white coat sparkled in the sunlight and the mane was moving as if caught in a nonexistent breeze. A golden tiara was shimmering behind a large pointy horn and as the large alicorn approached the six young mares were already assembled in front of the library, bowing down to her. So this was this princess the girls were talking about. She truly was a sight to remember.

Rainbow, who already was bowing, harrumphed up to Tyler,
“Bow down, big guy! Show some respect!”

Tyler gave Rainbow a quick look before he turned his eyes to the princess again. But in the meantime she was almost an inch away from him,
“Hello… Well? Won’t you bow?”

Tyler made a displeased grimace and looked into her eyes,
“I’ll bow to no queen, king, prince or princess… Where I come from, those people tend to misuse their power!” As she gave him a puzzled look and arched an eyebrow, he smiled and bowed. “…but I’ll bow to a beautiful lady any day…”

Now receiving a hoofkiss, she returned to her warm smile,
“My, my… What a charmer this fine young lad is… Twilight? Aren’t you going to introduce your new friend to me?”

The young unicorn leaped up and stopped besides Tyler,
“Certainly! Princess Celestia? This is Tyler Jones from the land of humans called Earth…”

“Planet, Twilight… Earth is the name of the planet.” Tyler corrected her, stroking her mane.

The brows of the princess arched quizzically,
“I must say, this is hard to believe… An extraequian? That’s new even to me! Your journey must have been very rough and tiring…”

As they conversed, Rainbow leaned toward Twilight,
“Hey, Twi! What did she call him? An extra what?”

Twilight sighted and turned to her Pegasus friend,
“Extraequian, Rainbow. He’s not only not from Equestria, odds are he doesn’t come from Equis either! A whole different world is his origin.”

Hearing these words prompted Rainbow to gaze at the human with widened eyes,
“Whoa… That’s awesome! And to think that I saved him!”

Tyler overheard the Pegasus mare and grinned,
“Otherwise I would be human pancake right now! Yes, Rainbow truly saved my life.”

Reaching up to her and messing up her mane made the cerulean mare chuckle,
“Stop it, T-man!”

“What? It’s true! You did great when I first bumped into you.” With a look of concern he turned to the princess. “Am I the only human who ever came here? Or am I the first?”

With a brief shake of her head the princess closed her eyes for a blink,
“I am sorry, but you are the first and only human being I’ve ever met. And due to my knowledge no humans ever lived or appeared on Equis.”

Tyler nodded,
“Maybe it’s better that way. Not every human would be as peaceful as I am. In fact I advise you to secure and contain any further human being until I can get to speak with him or her. Human nature is… hard to explain and from what I’ve heard and saw, by far more violent than the ponies I’ve encountered.”

The princess cocked her head very slightly and arched her brow again. Tyler felt she was accepting him in her realm as of now, but still was wary and doubtful. Not that he could have blamed her for it,
“Are you saying humans are evil?”

Tyler shook his head immediately,
“Not evil, just violent. Scare the crap out of someone and he goes berserk, wanting to break free. Actually I’m amazed I didn’t faint when I saw Rainbow Dash.”

The Pegasus mare landed now, raising her head high,
“Yup! I do have that effect sometimes…”

Princess Celestia nodded kindly and gave Tyler a smile,
“Twilight? Luna will come on one of the next nights to greet Tyler in person as I do today. As you reported so vigorously about him, I couldn’t help but come and see him with my own eyes. I think Luna is equally curious about him. Please prepare for her arrival accordingly.”

“Yes, Princess!”

As Celestia gave Tyler another look, she lowered her head to a regal nod,
“Tyler Jones? Speaking to you revealed some things about you for me. I’m sure now you won’t harm my subjects willingly. Which is good…” Giving him a playful smirk, she added “…for you…” She winked at him and went back to her carriage, Twilight following her.

This whole scene prompted Tyler to blink in astonishment. 'Was… Was she flirting with me?' He shook his head and waved the thought away. 'Don’t be silly! A pony goddess able to move the sun and flirting with you? What are the chances?'

As he and Twilight went back to the library, Twilight looked up to him,
“She said she likes you. This means a lot, big guy. You seemed to have made a good first impression. Except the part about the bowing. She isn’t sure what to think about it.”

Tyler gave a nervous chuckle,
“I think I was too honest there…”

As they entered the library, a zebra was talking to Spike. The little dragon then waved to Twilight,
“Oh, here they are!”

Twilight brightened up,
“Zecora! I’m glad you could come at this time." Both the unicorn and the zebra hugged before Zecora laid eyes upon Tyler. Her eyes widened at his towering appearance.

“My, oh my…
What approaches my very eye?”

Tyler gave her a smile,
"Hello..." Holding the palm into the air before her, the zebra was first puzzled, but then Twilight whispered something into her ear and she laid a hoof into the palm for a shake.

“Never before have I seen a being like him,
But Twilight told me about your situation so very grim.
If you wish I can try to look deep inside
For what I find might help turn the tide”

Tyler cocked his head,
“A spiritual search for the answers? Sure, why not? Anything that can help me is most welcome, Zecora.” With this both the human and zebra sat down and she started to burn a few herbs in a small wooden bowl. As they both inhaled the fumes, Zecora grabbed his head with her hooves, rubbing the temples. Her eyes began to glow yellow as they both gazed into each other’s eyes.

“A power most terrifying will live in you.
To save your life, hear now what to do.
To avoid the massive and irrevocable sin,
The answers you seek lie deep within.
To save what is dear the bridge you must burn,
Close down your point of no return.
This is my warning. Act soon, human friend.
If your choice is poor, this is Ponyville’s end.”

With this the connection between them ceased and Tyler leaned back,
“Bridge? Choice?” He shook his head. “I must say this doesn’t make sense right now, but I thank you for this riddle. I shall think about it.” With this Zecora nodded and grabbed a potion out of her bag.

“Twilight also told me of your occasional agony.
So I’ve mixed this potion as a slight remedy.
I lacked information to help fight the cause,
But surely this potion makes the pain hold and pause.”

Tyler took the potion and nodded,
“Thank you. As soon as this headache comes again, I will drink it up.”

With this the zebra stood up,
“Now you must pardon, I bid you farewell,
I must return home now or my hut goes to hell!”

With this, Zecora left the library and they waved her goodbye. While Twilight went inside already, Tyler gazed after the zebra for several minutes. 'Choice… She said the problem would be choice… But what choice?'
Perplexed, he went inside the library and closed the door.
Meanwhile in the clubhouse of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the Rainbow Gem started to pulse in anticipation. Another dark chuckle emerged from it...

Author's Note

proofread by Fourfire

5 - Equestrian Girls ***

Several months had passed now since Tyler achieved citizenship and settled down in Ponyville. Due to his human nature, tools were used by him with great efficiency, making him someone to look for if some things required maintenance, or repairing during winter. Thus, it was no surprise that many of the earth ponies had great use for his service. All in all, he turned out as a great enrichment to the town. Twilight stated that it was a pity his bandages prevented him for this year’s Winter Wrap-up; they could have used someone like him, either to organize or in one of the other teams.

While he fit in more and more, Pinkie Pie spent more and more time trying to persuade him to give a big welcome party for him. She sang songs, came up with ideas, appeared out of every possible place that could or could not hold a pony, bounced around him and looked up to him with big puppy eyes. But it wasn’t before his bandages went off in spring that he gave the hyperactive earth pony his nod of approval. It wasn’t long until then that she organized a huge party in Ponyville’s town hall.

As preparations were done, Pinkie went along the street with Tyler and Twilight,
“So, are you excited? I’m really excited because this is my first party for a human! I just hope you like the cake! I couldn’t decide what to bake for your welcome party, so I baked my whole recipe book! Which is a good thing; a lot of ponies are invited! Everypony seems so curious about you it really is…”

As she bounced in front of them Twilight looked up to Tyler,
“Anything you’re looking forward to on the party?”

Tyler thought for a moment,
“Let’s see… Oh yeah! I’ve promised Lyra to spend some time with her today as well… Ah, this can happen on the party as well. Is it OK that I invited her, Pinkie?”

With a broad smile the pink earth pony nodded,
“Uh-huh! The more the merrier!”

With this she flashed away in another run to prepare even more; Tyler simply went on,
“I asked her to get me an electric guitar so I can show her my stuff.”

Twilight gasped to this,
“You play an instrument?”

He simply shrugged,
“Didn’t I tell you, Twilight? Back on earth, I played the guitar at parties sometimes. So Lyra asked this DJ of Ponyville… Vinyl Scratch I think… to get us some things. Speakers, an amplifier, and the guitar of course. Lyra’s crazy for my fingers. I didn’t expect a mare to be so obsessed with my hands. She had put every level in motion to see me using them. Poor Bon Bon… She had to sit still for an entire hour so Lyra could see me caressing her mane. So, to prevent other stuff, I went along and offered her to show her some music from Earth if she can get the instruments.”

Twilight laughed about this,
“Poor Bonnie…”

Once they arrived in the town hall, only a few ponies were present yet. Lyra waved over to Tyler as she was having a talk with a white unicorn with a striped mane of moderate cobalt blue and cyan; Tyler also recognized two bridged eighth notes as her cutie mark.

As he came closer, she took down her large DJ glasses and revealed eyes of moderate cerise,
“Awesome, Lyra! You didn’t exaggerate about him. You should work with me once in a while, dude! All the wubs we could make; plus, with those fingers of yours, I’m sure you can be pretty useful on the discs!”

Tyler shook his head,
“Nah, I’m not fit for being a DJ, but thanks for the offer!”

She waved it away and presented an electric guitar,
“OK, dude… That’s cool, too. Now, this baby here is one I hardly part from, but Lyra here told me you were good on it. That baby is already tuned and set to go. Let’s hear some!”

Tyler then took the electric guitar and went on stage. As he played the song he simply called ‘Canon Rock’ from some guy called Jerry C, the ponies listened quite curiously. The song began very slow and harmonic, but after several moments, Tyler began to rock the instrument, playing it in a manner the ponies couldn’t ignore. From far and wide, they gathered before the town hall as the song caught their attention,
“A concert in Ponyville?”

“Isn’t this the human?”

“My, he can play!” While playing, Tyler leaned to Lyra, who grinned from cheek to cheek while watching him and his fingers; her eyes sparkled in amazement and joy. It was like his fingers were dancing on the chords and seemed like it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Tyler was so into the song, that after some time, he didn’t recognize how many guests had entered the town hall and cheered for him as if he were some kind of rock star. As the song ended, he smiled wide,
“You are a great audience Ponyville!” As the ponies screamed for encore in unison, Tyler shook his head. “Another time, folks! I still live in Ponyville!” With this he looked to the mayor. “And this brings me to my speech, just before the buffet opens…” He gave Lyra the guitar and she kept the instrument dear like a newborn.

“Madame Mayor, ladies and gentlecolts… For several months now I’ve lived among you in this land of yours as a visitor. I’ve seen the beauty of your culture; I feel great joy in your magnificent accomplishments, your innocence, and your kind spirit. As of a few days, I’m not a visitor anymore… For Equestria has become my home now, too. I-” He was interrupted as Pinkie Pie leaped onto him and hugged him tightly, causing him to puff- “Ooof! Pinkie!”

But by now the earth pony cried emotional tears,
“It’s okay, Tyler! We all love to have you here! Right, folks?”

With this the crowd cheered again,
“OK… Then to make things short for you all: I now declare the buffet open!” As the guests minded their own conversations, Rarity noticed something about Tyler.

To her wonder he was the only one eating from a meal plate with brown roasted food she never saw before and he prevented everypony else to eat them like he was worried about something. Curious, she trotted towards the table, placed two hooves on it and leaned in,
“I wonder, why is your dinner served on these tiny little white sticks…” Rarity wondered with a big smile. “Is this another human eating habit or ritual; how quaint! I think I should make some appetizers like that.”

As the elegant unicorn eyed between Tyler and the plate, Twilight shook her head,
“No, Rarity… These are ‘spare ribs’ he’s eating.”

The white unicorn’s jaw dropped as she realized the meaning of this,
“Y-you mean this was formerly a living being?” As Twilight nodded, disgust made Rarity shiver. “My! What a barbaric behavior!”

Finishing the last rib, Tyler looked to her,
“Tell this to the beast that wanted to eat me alive in the Everfree! I just defended myself, and the now victorious brute completes his diet to stay healthy. You don’t argue with YOUR meal, do you?”

“Why of course not, darling! Vegetables and fruits don’t argue! But eating some animal… That’s… that’s just…”

“Not the pony way, I know… But I’m not a pony, Rarity. I need to eat meat once in a while or I’ll become weak and sick sooner or later, I’m sorry if you deem it uncouth, but it has to be.”

“I understand this; however, It is not that I won’t tolerate this, but… It just seems so… barbaric and savage…”

Cleaning his hands and mouth with a napkin, he stood up and caressed the white unicorn’s mane, careful not to ruin it,
“I didn’t mean to gross you out, Rarity… Come! Let us reason together about culture. I promised you a story about the Venetian masked balls. I’m sure I could enlighten your imagination for more dresses and suits.”

Looking at him beamingly, she smiled from ear to ear,
“Wah-hah-HA! Now this is more like it!”

* * * * *

As the party went on Rarity and Tyler conversed about many topics of Earth’s art and plays,
“My, what a romantic opera this must be! You should send this idea to Canterlot! To think that Christine had to choose between endless love with Raul, and endless inspiration with the Phantom! I’m not sure how I would decide! I think I would take them both!” She shook her head, giggling in a childish manner.

“I thought you would like some of the human cultures, Rarity.” Tyler replied. “Some of them are bound to please a romantic heart, and the music, oh yes, the music… Do you know there are millions of songs and thousands of operas back there? More than you could ever listen to.”

With a brief chuckle, the white unicorn smiled at him,
“Oh I know at least two ponies who might want to spend time to this…”

As the party ended, Tyler said goodbye to everyone and went home with Twilight who left Spike for a sleepover at Rarity’s place,
“That was one great party!”

Twilight chuckled,
“It sure was! Pinkie always gives the best parties. Especially the ones in private.”

As they entered the library, they went directly upstairs,
"Now Twilight, what I wanted to ask you all the while is that, do you know how long I’ve been here in Ponyville? Both as a citizen and time spent here before that.”

“A couple of months, I think. Why?”

Tyler cleared his throat before continuing,
“Well, I noticed something peculiar; there are much fewer stallions than mares in Ponyville. Is this the common demographic pattern in Equestria?”

Twilight squee’d with a bright grin as she realized her human friend wanted to know something she could give a presentation about. Showing him a demographic flipchart she pointed out to the graphic,
“Yes, that was very observant of you, Tyler. You see, there are several differences in numbers between the male and female pony population. According to recent census data, there are 53,583 mares in all of Equestria, but only 10,716 stallions, making a balance that for each stallion there are five mares. So you can see mares tend to grab what they can get.”

Tyler imagined it in his mind,
“I see…”

Twilight then continued,
“This ratio led to the historical ‘gathering’ of stallions, especially among the wealthy and more powerful mares among earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi alike, making stallions a highly priced status symbol. That was in the dark ages, before the princesses took ruling Equestria into their own hooves. Back then stallions were mere breeding machines. A mare who managed to have more than one stallion was considered very powerful.”

“But as time went on, society changed and stallions and mares alike refused to accept this system any longer. With the princesses coming to power, it was unwritten law that stallions and mares do not live in monogamy, but spread their relations into a fine web. Mares gather around stallions. One mare makes the start and as soon as she sees another mare fitting for them both, she invites the new mare into the herd. Come to think of it, if there would be alicorn stallions, the princesses surely would share them. Anyway, as the new system took place, there were of course some who rejected it.”

Tyler whistled in amazement,
“You sure studied history well, Professor Sparkle!”

His reply let her blush deeply,
“Aww… It’s nothing, you know? It’s just facts and understanding them. So… how is this different to human population on Earth?” The lavender mare now bit her tongue, knowing full well he sacrificed his only way to return a few months ago and maybe was unhappy with this topic. “Ohmygosh! I’m sorry, Tyler! I didn’t mean to…”

With a warm smile he waved her concerns away,
“Ah, I don’t mind, Twilight… I’m over it. I can live here as well, but I need to know more about your society, its facts and history, your way of life and how relations work here. Human population back on earth? I dare to say that we have a fifty-fifty percentage of male and female. Some families tend to have more males; some tend to have more females. It’s a course of things one simply cannot understand in a sane manner. There are countries with a strict one-child-policy due to overpopulation.”

Twilight arched an eyebrow,
“Overpopulation? How so?”

With a chuckle Tyler continued,
“You better sit down, Twilight. There are about six point nine billion people living on planet Earth. Mankind sure is numerous as of today.”

By now her jaw simply dropped,
“Billions… How do you even live! Stack your houses?”

Her human friend simply laughed at that thought,
“Something like that. We build constructions called skyscrapers. Buildings with hundreds of floors. The ‘Kalifa Tower’ has 163 floors and a height of 828m.”

As he raised his hand up, Twilight looked up, trying to imagine such a tall building,
“Wow! Your people sure are something if they can build such a thing. I’m sure it could reach up to Cloudsdale without a sweat.”

Leaning forward, Tyler nodded to her in confirmation,
“And I’m amazed about your constructions. I mean, come on! A whole city made out of clouds? That’s something original in MY book. But let’s get back to topic, shall we? Those countries with one-child-policy due to overpopulation…” Twilight nodded and took a quill and a note. She really enjoyed this conversation with him. Earth seemed exciting, different to her known environment and had its wonders. Tyler, on the other hand, was astonished about the achievements the ponies brought to existence. This all was great content for her next report to the princess.

Tyler then continued,
“You see, some people see it that way, should their child inherit and continue the family legacy, and the only means to do this is to be a boy, given that many of the societies mankind has brought up are patriarchy. You know what this means?“

Nodding silently, Twilight looked up to him,
“Yes. In patriarchy, males are the dominant ones in society. The female has to submit herself to him. There were some centuries were ponies formed strict matriarchies, so I know… They didn’t… kill their own children?” He grimaced and nodded his head sadly. “Oh, how awful! To think that the parents you trust the most are out to kill you just because of the gender you were born with…”

Tyler shook his head,
“Yeah, mankind sure has its many flaws. I wouldn’t do such a thing since I was raised in another society on a different part of the planet, but just to give you an idea of what misguided parents do to their children back on Earth. I already told you, humans can muster nightmares and this is one of the minor ones.” He then stood up. “I’m getting us a few drinks, do you mind? Exchanging knowledge made me all thirsty. Water for you as well?”

She then smiled up to him,
“Yes, thanks.” As he went outside the room, she raised a note and a quill and began writing.

Dear Princess Celestia,
Exchanging knowledge with somepony can be a very interesting thing. Especially if this individual comes from a completely other world. It gives you a better understanding about their whereabouts, their achievements, their wonders and capabilities, and lastly, sharing opinions can open up mindsets, so new bonds and friendships can be won. My friend, Tyler, seems willing to share the achievements and wonders of his world, but the more I talk to him, the more I understand that coming here was for the better of him.

Although he doesn’t go into detail, I get the feeling that his kind is capable of bad things beyond my imagination. He keeps it back from me for reasons unknown, and yet I can only speculate if this is all kept in secrecy to deny us from repeating the same mistakes. When I talk to him about his world, I sometimes see glances of worry in his eyes. Knowing something others never must know must be a terrible burden, and I wish I could help my friend with this. But for now all I can do is talk to him, and not push too much.

Nonetheless, I’m happy to report that he fits in nicely with the other ponies in Ponyville, and that maintenance services turned out to be a productive enrichment to our town. As of today, Tyler learned about the population of Equestria and seemed interested about the whereabouts of the mathematic majority of mares. It wouldn’t surprise me if he ventures out soon to find his very special somepony.
Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight then rolled the scroll together so Spike could send it to the Princess later. It was then when Tyler put her glass of water on the table in front of her,
“Here you go, Twilight. It has a dash of lemon in it for taste."

Twilight smiled up to him with a slight blush,
“Thank you, Tyler…” After levitating the glass and taking a sip, Twilight closed her eyes. This was actually a nice drink for the late evening. After she put her glass down, she looked to him. “So… How do you feel? Here in Equestria I mean.”

He took a sip from his glass and sighed,
“I don’t know…”

This caused her to look up to him,
“What’s wrong?”

“I’m not just a human in Equestria, Twilight… I am the only human in Equestria. I could pretend… Pretend this would be my world, the hasty world I’m used to, but the fact remains; I am alone. Of course I have friends… but that’s not the same. None of the parties Pinkie Pie could give, none of the kind acts of Fluttershy, Rarity’s clothing, Rainbow’s pranks, stunts and sports, or all the apples of Sweet Apple Acres could give me someone of my own kind, a companion.”

Twilight approached him slowly,
“Maybe… maybe magic can help you?”

“NO!” he shouted, prompting her to take a step back. “None of this Rainbow Gem crap ever again! I won’t endanger all of you folks for my sake! Of all the things, I cannot ask this of you.”

Twilight then looked down in thought before her glance rose again up to him,
“Well… maybe you should give it a go, Tyler? Find somepony special to you! There has to be a certain somepony for you as well!”

“Somebody you mean… The thing is, Twilight… and please don’t get me wrong on this: Where I come from, ponies are dumb animals, not sentient as you are, and it is sodomy to treat them as partners or to have a sexual relationship. Here, it’s different. Here ponies are sentient, sapient and intelligent as we humans are. But still… I feel like breaking a taboo.”

“Like your clothing taboo?”

He waved the thought away,
“Nah… Deeper! The thing with the clothing is I don’t want to…” He blushed as he recognized Twilight’s curious look again.

The unicorn arched a brow,
“You don’t want to do… what? You never exactly told us why you wear all that stuff!”

He lowered his head in defeat,
“Ugh! Fine! I’ll tell you! Because humans are bipedal beings, we guys tend to have it hanging right between the legs.”

Twilight rolled her eyes,
“Yeah… Same with stallions…”

Tyler nodded and continued,
“But that similarity is not the point. Now imagine me having a… let’s say delicate talk with a mare. While a stallion can keep eye contact with her due to anatomy, I on the other hand would erect directly into her face.”

Twilight grimaced,
“OK… point taken. That would be rude. But why would you worry about erecting in front of a mare in the first place when it’s a taboo?”

Tyler looked at her in an annoyed manner,
“Are you familiar with the term ‘in heat’?"

She nodded briefly,
“Yes, we ponies have it every once in a while in spring. Very strong ones can drive one mad if not taken care of.”

Tyler looked into the town,
“Now imagine this on a daily basis, each day, week, month, all year long!”

Her jaw dropped down,
“H-humans are always in heat?”

“Always fertile, it’s not so drastic that I go mad jumping at you. But it can become a nuisance. The growing urge to release it and soon the bare rump of some pony can make one begin to fantasize. To avoid certain situations which could embarrass me as well as others, I wear clothes.”

Twilight gasped as she heard that, but recollected herself quickly. She seemed a bit off track today. At least as Tyler could see,
“I see. Any mare sparks those fantasies in you or do you have favors? I mean do you favor one of our subspecies like the muscular earth ponies, us slender unicorns or the athletic pegasi?”

He looked at her, smiling nervously,
“Twilight… I’m not feeling very comfortable with the direction of this conversation right now.”

“I’m just curious, Tyler." She grinned. "You know… studies…”

While leaning near the door on the balcony, Tyler folded his arms,
“And what would you like to study from me?”

She looked up to him with a sparkle in her eyes as she gave him a seductive grin,
“Nocturnal activities…?”

He arched a brow as he mustered her approach,
“You mean how much clothing I wear at night and in what position I like to sleep in sleep duration? That kind of thing?”

Keeping her grin, she slowly walked towards him,
“Mating customs…”

While backing off slowly, he kept track of where he was going and kept track of her. Strangely, he got the thought that she might jump at him at any moment,
“Love Rituals?”

Her eyes were mustering him like a piece of meat and he didn’t like that lecherous look on her face as she suddenly jumped up and pushed him down with her front hooves. As he fell down, she positioned herself on top of him,
“Primitive sexual practices…”

“Um… So… you’re an authority in that area?” She lowered her lips to his, giving him a deep kiss, prompting his eyes to open wide.

After their lips parted she managed to mutter while gasping for air,
“Years of theoretical study… Hmmm… Aren’t you tasty, stud?”

Stud? STUD? Now hold it! As Twilight stood above him again, he gulped a big lump down his throat. “Twilight? As a matter of fact it is spring right now… Are you in heat?”

Suddenly, her eyes widened and her face blushed brightly red,
“WHAT? Oh no! Oh no!!! No! No! No! No! No! No!!!” She jumped off from him and cowered in a corner. “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! It took the best of me! You see, as a matter of fact, I AM in heat! But, unlike you, I don’t have so much self-control.”

He got up and looked to her as she was visibly ashamed of her own condition,
“Where is Spike?”

Without raising her head, she answered,
“Over at Rarity’s. I like to let him sleep over at a friend’s house when I get into this condition, except I forgot to tell you. This is so embarrassing…” Covering her head with her hooves, the librarian mare made herself as tiny as possible.

Tyler took a peek out of the window. He had sympathy with her, that state of heat must be something quite strong; something he as a human didn’t have. She must feel miserable about this… You should talk with her… “Wouldn’t it be…? I don’t know… We are both sentient… Would it count as bestiality if a human and a pony do it? I mean would people… I mean ponies frown upon this?”

Twilight peeked beneath one of her hooves,
“What? Well, I don’t know… There haven’t been any humans to have relationships with, so nopony can say how society will or should react to such a thing. But as far as I know, the others, they would welcome the thought of a herd with a human.”

Herd… Tyler thought. Like one guy and many girls? I mean monogamy is frowned upon, but seriously? Me and some of the girls? That’s another big thing to adapt to… Maybe one, but a herd?

Tyler then took a look on the clock,
“So… There’s no one around for hours?”

Twilight looked up and shook her head,
“No there won’t be, why?” He harrumphed and looked upstairs to her bed. As he surrendered himself to his fate, living amongst ponies as the one and only human would either mean to live in celibacy, or to have relations with the only other sentient beings in this world and to their terms as well. It somehow was like a sci-fi novel where only one human has to live among alien beings. He puffed and his mind got dizzy for a bit.

He knew he could adapt to anything, but this was a step that took some more guts to do. Well… I might as well do it with her, a good friend in a similar need…I mean she wants, no… NEEDS to! I kind of want to, no objections from her side… But somehow this feels like taking advantage of her condition… With this thought he spoke up to Twilight. “Say… As it is inevitable that this will happen with one of you… What do you say we get three flies in one strike? Your urges, mine, and your curiosity in one sweep.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped for a second, she bit her lip as she tried to maintain some sanity to rethink this and not to simply run upstairs awaiting intercourse with him,
“You… you mean it?”

“We will do it once. Once! And I like to keep that a thing between us two. Cross-species intercourse… I don’t know how you guys in Equestria handle it, but where I’m from; we frown upon such individuals… But given the situation at hand, me never having a human woman at my side again, and the fact that the only way to experience sex ever again is with one of you… Right now seems the perfect time to get used to it.”

With that he took the lavender unicorn and carried her upstairs, letting her down on her bed. By now the librarian in front of him shivered as he slowly caressed her body,
“Tyler? It’s my first time…”

“Oh believe me, that’s a first for me as well with someone like you, Twilight…”

“No, I mean… it’s my very first time!”

As he opened up his belt, he looked up to her, chuckling,
“Oh, uh… I’ll be your first experience then? I hope I’ll give a good performance… Don’t you worry.”

As he undressed, Twilight got a peek of his body. He was so different; doing it with him was so adventurous, so kinky. Her view slid down to his muscular body down to his erection, where her eyes kept fixed on. She felt her cheeks burn up as she simply stared on the member which could release her from her need. DO WANT!!! It was different from a pony penis in size and form, although the size seemed to be most satisfying. That is, her only comparison came from books.

With a hoarse voice she shivered while turning her head to his chest nuzzling him in desperate encouragement,
“Hurry… Please hurry… I’m going mad…”

But he hesitated for a bit,
“You know, Twilight… This should be something you should do…”

She looked up to him with a desperate expression,
“With someone I love, I know! But if it’s with you, I don’t mind. In fact, I want you to be my first!”

He shook his head in surprise,
“Does this mean…”

A deep blush rose on her face,
“Yes, Celestia damn it! I clop to you!” Now Tyler felt like someone punched him right into the face. She what? Again, she hid under her hooves. “I’m such a bad mare for forcing you into this…”

Tyler blinked down to her before he smiled,
“Twilight…”

“No! Don’t defend me now! I’m risking our friendship with this!”

He then narrowed his eyes in slight annoyance,
“Twilight!!! You’re risking nothing! You feel guilty because of this? So do I! I thought it would be like taking advantage of you. I don’t want to abuse your strong need for sex.”

She looked up to him, tears began to well in her eyes and her bottom lip began to shake,
“Tyler… I… I…”

His finger rested on her lips now,
“No need to say it, Twilight… I see it in your eyes…” She gulped down, turned around and leapt forward, pressing her lips on his for a more energetic kiss. Catching her a bit, he held her with both arms.

As their lips parted again, she gazed at him with a blush. It was too inaudible, but he could read her lips saying “I love you…”

He nodded and caressed her cheek,
“I love you too, honey. You’re so innocent…” Leaning a bit against his palm, she then got on all fours and bent over, raising her flank up high. Tyler gulped and caressed her flank with his fingertips, prompting her to bite on her bottom lip.

Her tail twitched and Tyler grabbed it holding it up while he entered her labia. With a loud moan Twilight greeted him welcome as tightness squeezed his manhood. A short and sweet pain brought her to the brink of agony as her hymen was broken and a sharp breath signalized him that she was in pain.

Tyler immediately halted in his position, turning her face to his,
“Are you enjoying our field study?”

As the pain ceased, she nodded. Her voice was shivering,
“Yes! Teach me more!” She welcomed his lips as they kissed passionately. As he began thrusting, the young mare shuddered in high squeals of delight. “Release… Release… Your sperm… in me…” While he kept thrusting, he grabbed her at the mane which seemed to make her run wild in an instant.

Loud moaning escaped her throat and he had to shut her up by putting his palm in front of her open mouth, muzzling her a bit,
“Won’t this make you pregnant while in heat?”

She rolled her eyes in ecstasy at the mere thought of a foal, truly her mind was fogged by her condition, but she tried her best to remember the facts even under the circumstances. As he released her for a short while to answer, his palm was wet from drool,
“How… many… chromosome pairs… you…”

With gritted teeth he muttered a “Twenty-three!”

A gasp, followed by a high moan made her close her eyes as almost everything around her vanished into pleasure. It sure was a strong heat this time,
“No… foal…”

And then she let go and fell to the bed, reduced herself to a drooling mare, unable to speak as pleasure took the best of her. Tyler gulped at the sight she offered him and tried to concentrate, thinking of something different than children. For him, it was getting used to sex with another sentient species. Though it felt like the best sex he ever had due to her tight womb… For her… well, in this state she was but a shadow of herself. She had lost all will of dignity, self-control and pride as her human lover broke her in.

After some time the orgasm shot through his body and he released himself in her with a deep moan. Her flank shuddered wildly as if she was having a strong orgasm at the moment he released himself deeply in her womb. He couldn’t imagine the magnitude of a pony orgasm or an orgasm while in heat, but from the look on the unicorns face, she seemed to be in bliss. As he stepped aside from Twilight, her labia was still twitching.

A few minutes later, she came back to her senses. Tyler was sitting right next to her on the bed,
“Now I’ve done it… I’ve popped the cherry of the star student of Celestia… I already see my head roll for this…”

Twilight chuckled nervously,
“I enjoyed it… It was very intense… Pity you won’t do that again anytime soon.”

“Now don’t get any wild ideas…It was a relief for both of us and… you know… different… Different from what I’m used to, but I won’t say it wasn’t great. In fact, you surpassed any human girl with that tight womb of yours… but I won’t hunt down every mare in heat now. Oh, apropos heat. How’s yours?”

Twilight caressed her sheet with a hoof while blushing,
“I… I feel better… Clearer! I’m sorry… We ponies have a stronger heat than you humans. The magnitude is pressed into a very short time which makes it quite strong sometimes. All my thoughts were circling around your stallionhood and how you would ram it into me merciless. But with your release in me it’s gone, and I can’t say I regret it.”

Tyler put his clothes back on, and sat on the bed again,
“OK… Just remember: Just this once... For now… I’d like to keep the thing between us a… Well I don’t know… Since we had sex together and you confessed to me, we’re more than just friends in my book now, but I don’t want this to be a purely sexual relationship one can just quit for another male or female.”

This made Twilight smile,
“I understand, big boy. I think I’d like to be your girl.”

“You? My girl? Well, I wouldn’t mind…”

She giggled happily,
“And Tyler?”

“What is it?”

She then placed a long kiss on his cheek,
“Thank you for calming me down.”

He waved it away,
“As long as I’m not a sex fiend here, fine… I’m not the guy who takes advantage of a mare in heat, remember that!”

Hugging him from behind, she nuzzled his neck,
“I never will forget this night in my entire life, Tyler... Thank you!” He then stood and stretched a bit as Twilight muttered a silent “I can’t wait what Princess Celestia says when she reads my next report.”

This caused his eyes to pop open and to turn around to her,
“WHAT?!?”

“I’m just kidding, Casanova! I promised you to keep it between us, so not even the princess will learn about this.”

Then Tyler went downstairs,
“I’m taking a bath. Being all sweaty sure isn’t good indoors.” As he left the room, Twilight closed her eyes and let herself fall into the bed. Hugging a pillow, she sighed deeply. It had been a wonderful first time and thinking of Tyler made her all cheerful and excited. No foals on this one… she thought with a smile slightly relieved. But right after that, she looked at the bathroom door. What was it for him? Was I a nuisance or something? Oh, maybe he didn’t wanted to be in bed with me… Maybe he prefers a mare of a more slender figure! Like Fleur de Lis! Maybe my confession made things worse for him! Ooooh… What do I do?

She spent so much time worrying about his opinion about her, that she didn’t notice him as he entered again,
“Ah… Much better! Bathroom isn’t occupied anymore! Twilight?” With a yelp, she jumped up and almost landed off the bed. “Hey, calm down! I’m the one who should be nervous, remember?”

“Yeah… But I wonder if I was mare enough for you.”

His brows arched,
“Mare enough?” As he sat down again on the bed, he raised her chin with his fingers. “Twilight… You are my friend and you were my first mare in Equestria. Believe me, I can’t judge you due to lack of experience with this. It was great from what I know, maybe we could do it again someday when you’re clear. Maybe it’s just me, but the sight of you reduced to a mare just taking it was a bit too intense, but perhaps you can shed light on this. What was it for you?”

Remembering the feelings again made Twilight blush as deep as a tomato,
“I… I think I should take a bath as well!” As she galloped into the bathroom, Tyler chuckled and laid down on the guest bed. It sure was comfy, he yawned for a bit. In her bathtub, Twilight emerged from a big mountain of bubbles. No, I can’t tell him it felt wonderful! He might think I want to urge him into this. She thought with a blush. Diving into the foam and the hot water, she thought of other things.

Keep it together, Twilight… You just did it with him once. Once! And you already asked much from him with this… How could you say that you’d like to be his girl that easily? What if you scared him away with this? You are lucky it was him! Any other might have impregnated you. Your friendship with your newest research partner is perfectly safe and will stay safe. You just need to keep it together. With that she emerged again, gasping air. “KEEP! IT! TOGETHER!”

Jumping out of the tub, she performed a spell taking out the water from both coat and mane. After combing her mane back to order, she returned to her bedroom,
“Tyler, if you still want to-” A quiet snoring interrupted her as she approached the beds. “…talk…” Tyler was already on the bed, only in shorts and was already slightly asleep. With a sigh, she put a smile on her face and went to her bed as well. Later that night, Twilight woke up as Tyler stood up and went to the bathroom. She had already closed her eyes once again, before his steps came back upstairs. What she didn’t expect was the fact that he laid down in her bed. Her eyes went wide open. Lying behind her, he laid an arm around her and softly pulled her in. As she was lying in his embrace, she could hear a fine and silent snore. She felt so silly for worrying earlier. She nuzzled his arm a bit before she closed her eyes with a smile. We’re more than friends now… She thought. And if all of Equestria is against us, I don’t care…

* * * * *

The next day Tyler woke up besides Twilight and gasped a little, until he remembered the last night. His surprised look changed into a warm smile and he caressed her cheek gently while she was still sleeping. Slowly Twilight opened her eyes, as she felt his gentle touch on her. With a sleepy smile she turned her face to him,
“Good morning…”

“Hey there, sunshine… Feeling better?”

With a slight nod she closed her eyes halfway,
“Thanks to you, Tyler… I guess I showed you a very intimate side of me. Are you mad at me for it?”

Tyler slowly shook his head,
“I probably wouldn’t have done it with any other mare, in a way, you’re special to me.”

After they shared a kiss, Twilight got out of bed,
“Spike will come later; you might dress yourself up again, Casanova…”

Giving her a gentle spank on the flank, he went to his bed and dressed up. The spank caused Twilight to giggle mischievously,
“Rawr… I’ll prepare breakfast, do you want eggs?”

“One, please!”

As Spike entered the library again, he was in a mixed mood,
“Twilight, do I really have to come here during the day when I can spend three days over at Rarity’s?” Twilight, meanwhile in the kitchen, hummed happily and prepared the food. “Everything alright, Twilight? You behave like you tested three new spells!”

“♫Everything as always Spike… Why?♫” she chirped in response.

The little baby dragon scratched his head,
“I don’t know… You’re way happier than before…”

Twilight then got the fried egg on a plate and looked to Spike,
“But of course! It is a sunny and wonderful day out in Equestria, and I’m having a wonderful day with my number one assistant and Tyler!” All the sugar driven felicity prompted the baby dragon to point a claw into his mouth.

As he sat at the table next to Tyler, he leaned in and held a claw in front of his mouth,
“Yo! You were here all the time… What happened?”

Tyler chuckled and winked at Twilight,
“Why, Spike? A healthy young mare can be happy for no good reason, can she not?”

Twilight giggled in a flattered manner,
“Oh, boys…”

Tyler leaned now to Spike and lowered his voice,
“By the way, champ… How are things with Rarity?”

Nudging the baby dragon gently with the elbow caused the wished effect and he forgot about Twilight,
“Well, I helped her out last evening with her new dress!”

Tyler nodded with a smile,
“Keep at it, champ! You do something for a girl and she’ll see the good will in it sooner or later.

After the breakfast, he went to the door,
“Well, I have to go to work.”

Twilight went to the door and smiled up to him,
“Tell AJ ‘hello’ for me, Tyler!” He nodded and opened the door,only to see a few pegasi kicking on Trixie’s wagon and giving the showmare a hard time. With a grim look on his face, Tyler approached the scene.

As they beat Trixie up, Tyler stepped in and pulled them away,
“Hey!!! Leave her alone!”

When they recognized who yelled at them, they stopped in an instant,
“What? But Tyler! She’s responsible that you are here!”

This truly ticked him off and he frowned upon this sentence,
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing! Am I not welcome here?”

Upon realizing what she just said, the Pegasus mare shook her head in a panic, raising her hooves in defense,
“Oh! Um… Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Yeah, I know. However, not only am I mad about this because you guys scold her, but that this is MY thing, being I’m stranded in a foreign environment. No, I can’t accept the way you do it as well! Several of you against her alone? What has gotten into you? She said she would make a Rainbow Gem with Rainbow’s help, which she did, didn’t she? While she thought she had a simple transformation spell, she opened a dimensional portal! Now that’s magic! Yet all you can accuse her of is negligence for using a spell not fully understood!”

The pegasi now lowered their heads,
“Yeah… I guess you’re right. We’re sorry…”

“Don’t apologize to me, you guys. Apologize to her!”

The Pegasus mare bit her lip and held her hoof to Trixie,
“I’m… I’m sorry.” With a harsh “Tsk!” the blue unicorn slapped her hoof away.

Tyler shook his head with a deep sigh,
“I think its best you all leave now…”

With lowered heads the ponies left and Tyler approached Trixie,
“Are you OK?”

The blue unicorn got on her hooves and cleaned herself from the dust,
“I guess so… There’s one thing I’ve got to know though: Why just back me up all of a sudden? Risking your reputation for somepony who’s never given anypony anything but trouble?”

Tapping of the dust from her cape, he gave her a smile,
“I know what it’s like to try and rebuild in society from scratch...” He fetched her hat from the ground, patted it clean and held it to her. “I had a bad day, too… once…”

Embarrassed and touched by his gentle behavior despite her previous deeds her horn began to sparkle and she put the hat back up,
“Nice guys like you shouldn’t have bad days…” With a quick move she jumped to her hind legs and gave him a long and passionate kiss and trotted away with her wagon. ”Thanks, stud… I’ll try to be a good girl from now on… Maybe I’ll settle down in Fillydelphia!”

Rainbow Dash began to chuckle behind him,
“Yeah, show her who’s boss, ‘stud’!”

He looked over the shoulder and waved the cerulean Pegasus mare away,
“Eh, what are you looking at?”

As Twilight witnessed what happened, she smiled widely,
“Spike, take a note! This inspired me for a wonderful lesson!”

“Certainly!” But just as the baby dragon wanted to go inside, he belched out a scroll and opened it. “Twilight! These are…” He suddenly lowered his voice. “8 tickets for you know what!”

While Tyler was still in sight, Twilight galloped after him and told him about the tickets. This caused the human to nod briefly,
“There is only one pony in all of Equestria that can help us now, Twilight! A pony with the skill and wit to use her powers… You go get Spike… Then you and me, we go to the Carousel Boutique.”

Shortly after, they both entered the boutique,
“Rarity, I’d like you to make a suit for me.”

The white unicorn nodded for a second, only to rub her chin,
“Are we talking about a standard tuxedo? Elegant black and white attire with shoes and white gloves?”

Tyler shook his head,
“No… I need a suit and a silver mask for the Gala in Canterlot. I will need all your wit, ingenuity, and genius to perform this task. Think you can make me… the vermillion red suit of the phantom of the opera?”

Rarity gasped deeply,
“As in the song ‘Masquerade’ you told me about?” As he scribbled down a design of a fancy suit with a belt, boots, and gloves; Rarity screeched in excitement. “Oh, with your measurements I should be able to do such a thing. My, what a smashing design that is!” Her eyes began to sparkle. “I shall call it ‘phantom dream’!” She then looked up to him. “You, sir, are a muse! Consider it done by the time you’ll need it!”

He nodded,
“I just hope it won’t cost a fortune to pay.”

She first cocked her head in wonder,
“Payment?” The elegant unicorn then shook her head with a smile. “Darling! I won’t take money from you! You are my inspiration right now! Without you, I wouldn’t have done my latest three fashion lines!”

His jaw slowly dropped,
“You’ll do this free of charge? My… That’s VERY generous of you! If you ever need help, let me know. I’ll be right there!”

* * * * *

After that he hurried to Sweet Apple Acres. He arrived just in time as Applejack was on her way to the orchards,
“Wait up!”

“Oh! Hi there, pardner! Good to see yer back in working shape. Must say Ah missed ya on the farm during winter season.”

Pulling her cart now, he smiled,
“Now I’m back. How’s Big Mac?”

She chuckled,
“Yer still worried about him not forgiving ya? Ya tried so hard, ya know. Treats from Sugarcube Corner, ya offered him to beat ya up… And Ah always told ya mah brother forgave ya. He understands quite well ya weren’t yerself when ya beat him up, and that yer sorry. He just wants to go on.”

Tyler nodded with relief on his face,
“Good old Big Mac…”

After some hours, Tyler had took off his shirt as he was sweating from the day’s hard work. While bringing the apples to the barn, Applejack saw all the sweat on his upper body. As the drops of fluid sparkled down his chest, she bit her bottom lip. She herself had been working quite hard and was a little sweaty,
“Say there, pardner… Ya willing to do somethin’ kinky?”

His eyes went to her,
“Kinky? Like what? You send me flying with one hard kick to oblivion?”

With a warm chuckle Applejack took her Stetson and grinned seductively towards Tyler,
“Ya know, Twilight told me about some themes ya both were talking about. Ah liked the stories about the Wild West the most. Reminded me of my family members in Appleloosa! Ya know, hardworking ponies cultivating the land… Do humans really rodeo on horses?”

Now that he understood her intentions, he chuckled in relief,
“Oh this! Yeah, some of us do. Quite popular in some places of North America. Why?”

Her grin became wider,
“Wanna rodeo with me?”

There was a moment of complete and utter silence at the barn before Tyler cocked his head,
“Did you just asked me what I think you did?”

“Maaayyybe… What do ya think ah asked of ya?”

Tyler now began to blush deep like a tomato,
“I guess either way it’s kinky.”

Standing now on her hind legs and putting her Stetson on Tyler’s head she nailed him to the wall of the barn with her front hooves,
“Tyler, ya sitting on mah back and me tryin’ to shake ya off sure would make a fine competition of agility and strength. Ah know yer as strong as Ah am so this would be interestin’, yet kinky. As for yer other choice…” While looking into his eyes she opened the door right next to him and rubbed her other fore hoof on his chest. “Wanna go into the barn? Ah can teach ya things even Twilight with her books can’t…”

Gulping down a big lump, he chuckled nervously,
“Well, just look at the time! I think I should go…”

As she gave him more room again, she chuckled.
“Ya sure are something, Tyler…” Giving her back her Stetson, he began to hurry a bit. Applejack on the other hand still had her eyes locked on him. “♫Tyler…♫”

Her voice sounded like luring him into her grasp again, prompting him to stand still,
“Uh, yes?”

“Ya know if ya want to come into the barn, Ah’ll be waitin’ for ya… Ah’ll make it worthwhile for ya… We earth ponies can become quite a mess while at it…” As he looked over his shoulder, he could see that her hair wasn’t tied together at the end anymore and that her mane was waving free and wild as she went inside the barn, shaking her flank in a seductive manner.

He forced himself to face forward again and leaving Sweet Apple Acres, puffing a bit to keep his mind clear. Keep the iron will, buddy…You came here to work, not to fuck your employer! Also you have Twilight for this... On his way back to town, he saw Big Macintosh who was carrying stuff before working on the fields,
“Hey there, Big Mac! Busy as always, huh?”

A brief “Eeyup!” was the only response, paired with a proud face.

Tyler smiled and leaned over a fence,
“By the way, I have to ask you out of concern… Did your sister Applejack have her heat season this spring already?”

Now with an arched brow, the hefty red stallion shook his head. “Nnnope!”

Tyler now face palmed himself,
“Yeah, why was I asking in the first place…? Um… Is it always like that? That spring comes and everyone goes crazy?”

Now with rolling eyes and a big grin Big Mac gave a “Eeyup!” prompting Tyler to chuckle.

"I guess you have your share then… So, uh… do you trust your sister? Do you expect her to choose the right male to…uh… ease her?”

The red stallion now hesitated, looking like thinking for a bit until he nodded,
“Mah sister’s a grown mare and Ah trust her to do the right thing. If yer part of that, Ah’ll have a word with her to be sure and accept her will.”

Tyler’s eyes were big as plates as he looked to the red stallion in awe,
“Did you just…?”

Right after a wholehearted chuckle, Big Mac muttered “Eeyup!”

* * * * *

Leaving the Apple family and their acres behind him, Tyler then entered the library again, as he was having an appointment with himself there. Just as he promised to Princess Celestia he meditated upon his inner nature, along with his role in this land on the balcony. His mind seemed to be in conflict at various topics

I know I mustn’t interfere with their advancement…
And yet I could do so much more for their benefit.

Equestria’s people are young and innocent…
You have fled to a new world!
Where wise rulers abolished war among another a long time ago!
With your wisdom you cannot allow them to repeat the same follies as mankind.

I know that opinions give birth to conflict!
I could guide them to a better future with the good achievements of mankind!
Not all of our achievements can be used for ill!

Your fate here is not that of a torch, to give them light and accidentally burn them.
But that of a shield to defend the weak, the defenseless, and the needful.
But while doing so, you must take care of how they see you…
If you teach them to entrust their fate into one being alone…
Even yourself… you’re teaching them to be betrayed…

As he awoke out of his trance, his eyes opened wide. Betrayed…

Tyler then went into the park and sat down on the grass. As he looked around, he could see some ponies playing around or minding their own business. Little did he know that right behind him a pink shadow approached his place. The sudden feeling of being watched grew in him, but as he noticed something in the corner of his eye, he turned his head over the left shoulder, only to find nothing. Thinking for a moment, he suddenly turned his head over the right shoulder. Still there was no one in sight.

Feeling a little bit uneasy, he turned forward. Shaking off the thought, he minded his own business until he felt the weight of hooves on his shoulders and the weight of a pony head on his own. “Hello, Pinkie Pie…” He muttered under his breath with narrowed eyes.

With wide eyes, the pink earth pony eyed him thoroughly,
“Oooohh, you’re good! How is spring treating you?”

Sitting down next to him she looked up to him,
“I’m OK, Pinkie… Just adjusting to the fact that everypony around me is acting strange.”

“Oooohhh… Is it a funny kind of strange? Or is it an eeeevil kind of strange? Maybe we could-“

He laid his index finger on her lips to stop the babbling in an instant,
“It is fine, Pinkie. I wasn’t expecting some of the ponies to have such… strong sexual desires during heat season.”

Now her eyes widened,
“Oh this? No problem! I can handle it!”

This response made Tyler frown for a second,
“You are in heat?”

“Uh-huh!”

“But, Pinkie! You don’t act any different!”

This prompted the pink earth pony to roll her eyes,
“Do I have to? Duh! Sex with somepony can be really fun, if you like that pony very much. Also, I like to make my friends smile, not frown.”

This made Tyler facepalm,
“Bless all forms of intelligence… Even the Pinkie Pie ones…”

* * * * *

As the next day began, there was an early knocking on the library door. Tyler went down to open the door,
“Just a minute!”

As he opened the door, Derpy Hooves stood in front of him,
“That here the Ponyville library?”

Tyler looked over his shoulder,
“Plenty of books in shelves? Plenty of shelves in one big room? Sure! This is the library!”

Derpy chuckled and made a check on her list,
“Are you Tyler Jones?”

He frowned, yet smiled at the gray mailmare,
“Come on, Derpy, you remember me! I’m the only human on the planet!”

“Oops! My bad! There’s a big delivery for you today!” A large container was brought to the door and Tyler's eyes widened. What in the world? “Alright guys! Unload!”

Tyler’s eyes went wide open as the letters buried him under them,
”Whoa!”

Awakened by the sudden commotion from downstairs, Twilight came down, still sleepy in her eyes,
“Tyler? What happened? Is there an Ursa again?”

Only one arm was visible as Tyler tried to get out,
“Twilight! Help! A… a mail-slide!”

As her eyes widened, she couldn’t help but giggle at the situation,
“My! So many letters? What’s going on here?” levitating the letters aside, Twilight helped her friend to get out of the mountain of letters. “So… What are these?”

Tyler took a letter and opened it,
“Derpy says these are for me. Well, actually there is no address on those envelopes. Did Derpy make some sort of mistake?”

“Unlikely for her to mess up THAT big… So… what’s the letter about?”

Tyler read it swiftly as his eyes widened,
“It’s a love letter!” He put the letter away to open the next one. “Another love letter!” As he opened three more letters, he shook his head. “These are ALL love letters! What in the world? Did every mare on the street who is single write me about her feelings?”

Twilight gasped as she read another one,
“I’ve met this mare before! She lives on the other side of Ponyville! This isn’t mail from this street… It’s from all of Ponyville!” The library was suddenly very quiet as the silence was utterly broken with a loud THUMP! Hastily Twilight ran over to her friend, who was lying on the floor now, slapping his cheeks. “Tyler! Tyler, come on! Pull yourself together!” With a loud annoyed “AAAAHHH!” she galloped into the kitchen! “Spike!!!” A few moments later, she came back with a bucket of water. “SPIKE!!! Come here, I need your help!”

The tired little dragon strolled downstairs,
“What is it, Twilight?”

Pouring the water over Tyler, prompted him to wake up,
“What the hell?”

* * * * *

Half an hour later the Mane Six were gathered in the library while Tyler looked at the big pile of letters,
“This can’t be happening, man… This can’t be fucking happening! My life during spring in Ponyville is officially over! Spike, go fetch my stuff! I’ll migrate to the Everfree Forest until its summer…”

As the baby dragon went along, Rainbow Dash stepped on his tail to hold him in place, looking at Tyler,
“No, you’re not! The Everfree Forest is unfit to live in without proper shelter! With all the stuff in there, there’s no chance you’d survive a week! What you need, T-man, is a herd!”

Rarity nodded,
“You are an excellent gentlecolt! Any mare would be most overjoyed if you would let her court you.”

This prompted Tyler to cock his head,
“Court me?” Pointing to the mountain of letters he looked to the white unicorn. “And what do you think THAT is? As far as I remember, the males are to court the females! I mean I accepted all of this pony stuff only because I didn't give a damn. I mean it doesn't happen all that often that you land on a freaking alien planet with ponies! I mean what else to think?!? That I went batshit crazy and went from normal life balls deep into Lala-Land? Alien planet, that was always my justification for anything happening to me here. That's how I rolled. But now? A community of females literally throwing themselves at me? Not only is this unnormal to me, but it's completely upside down! Men do the courting!”

Rarity gasped with wide eyes,
“Now, darling! Something like that would sooth and flatter a mare beyond imagination of course, but with so many mares around, she is the one to make him understand that she is the one among thousands.”

Tyler looked up,
“Or among billions…”

“Ya know there, Sugarcube… Ah’ll… Ah mean…” Shaking her head vigorously, the orange earth pony pointed her hoof towards Tyler with a big blush. “Shoot! Fine! Ah say it! From what Ah saw, yer a mighty fine stallion in mah book and Ah won’t lie to ya! Ah wouldn’t have been angry at ya if ya would have taken yer chance over at the barn! Ah mean, here we stand, talkin’ to ya about a herd, and ya go and say it’s the wrong way. That in yer own place the girls deserve higher treatment. No wonder every mare is after yer flank! Even Granny Smith said Ah should stick with ya!”

This caused Rainbow Dash to chuckle in a sly manner,
“The barn? So you tried to seduce the T-man with an invitation to the barn?”

By then the orange mare gave Rainbow a grim look,
“So what? At least Ah have the guts to do that! Ya know Ah’m not into cloppin’ to playmare magazines! And Ah say he was at least thinkin’ about it!” Stabbing Rainbow’s chest with her hoof, she continued. “If he wouldn’t be such a fine pardner to begin with, he would surely be mah herd mate right now! And Ah would make him happy, ya know! Because Ah love that big feller!” In an instant the library was filled with silence as the rest of the girls gazed upon their friend as Applejack sighed and bowed her head. “Fine… Now ya know…”

Tyler harrumphed and closed his eyes,
“It will remain in the library: Applejack, Twilight and myself! Everybody else: Leave!”

Rainbow arched a brow and spread her hooves,
“Tyler! What gives?”

Giving her a stern look for a second, he stood up,
“Come on, RD… This is a discussion you don’t have to partake in. But you will see the results, I promise.”

As he closed the door behind her, Rainbow looked to the other three mares,
“What do you think of it?”

Fluttershy took a peek inside as they were sitting at a table and talking to each other,
“M-maybe it upset him and he doesn’t want to have a special somepony like her.”

With a brief shake of the head, Rainbow looked inside as well,
“Well, that doesn’t explain why Twilight is in there too!”

Rarity intervened,
“Darling! He lives with Twilight for so long… Of course she’s in there because she can recall any facts and laws upon this matter as an advisor. I’m sure he will hear Applejack out and decide what’s the best thing to do in this situation.”

Pinkie Pie turned to Spike,
“Well? What do you think? Think it’s time for a merry couple party anytime soon?”

Spike frowned a bit,
“Actually, Twilight behaved sort of strange since my sleepover at Rarity…”

“Strange?” The girls said in unison, as their eyes turned to the little baby dragon.

“Well… yeah… You know… She seemed a bit happier when Tyler was around. Beaming and smiling all the while.”

Rarity gasped and stepped a few steps from the window away,
“No! She… She didn’t!” Looking now at the white unicorn the girls each arched a brow.

It was then when Rainbow Dash smiled in a sly manner,
“Come on, Rarity… I think you know something…”

“I… I know nothing!”

With a chuckle, Rainbow approached her,
“Don’t force me to unleash Pinkie Pie on you… Because you know I would…”

Sighing deeply, she gestured the girls to come closer. As they put their heads together, the white unicorn began to whisper.

Soon after that, Fluttershy spoke up,
“Oohh… How thoughtful of her to think about Spike like that.” Seconds after that, the girls slowly raised their heads, with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow having widened eyes.

“No bucking way… The book worm? You think Miss Egghead pulled off that stunt?” Rainbow muttered.

Fluttershy blushed deeply,
“Ohhh… I wish I could be so… you know… assertive!”

Applejack meanwhile confessed herself to Tyler. As she finished, Tyler and Twilight shared a look before Tyler cleared his throat,
“Well… Actually you are the second one who confessed to me, Applejack.”

“What? But who?”

Twilight raised her hoof,
“I did. My heat went overboard and I lost my mind, jumping at Tyler. But it turned out quite good. Didn’t it, Tyler?” Tyler gave her a slight frown, she had promised to keep it between them. But since Applejack had a similar problem it wasn’t that bad and he nodded.

“Now Ah see…” Applejack muttered. “Ya already have a special somepony… And there I was giving ya a hard time…”

Tyler chuckled,
“More like a hard-on…”

With that, the earth pony looked up puzzled,
“Huh? But when Ah invited ya to the barn, ya didn’t come!”

Twilight giggled,
“That’s because in his world, there are almost purely monogamous relationships, AJ. He didn’t want to buck you on my behalf I guess.”

Tyler blushed a bit,
“Truth be told, I saw how miserable Twilight felt for seducing me that aggressively, so I thought it was best to calm her down before she jumped at me in the night. You, on the other hand, seemed to have enough self-control to stop at any time. Also, like Twilight said… If you are taught your entire life to think high of monogamy, herd-behavior is something… strange.”

Twilight leaned in,
“Say… Big guy… Since I was your first mare… And AJ is interested in you as well… How about we three begin a herd?”

This caused him to arch back a little,
“You… You mean…”

“Sure! Applejack is one of my closest friends. And we love the same stallion… uh… man. Why not courting you together?”

Applejack came over to Twilight,
“If Twilight is part of mah herd, Ah won’t mind. Ah want to be with y’all, Tyler…”

Tyler gulped and took a breath, before he leaned on the table, holding his head,
“Two girlfriends at the same time? That means big trouble on Earth…”

Twilight gave him a moderate nudge with her hoof,
“This isn’t Earth, this is Equestria! It’s fine and welcome here. Also, remember your labor number five…”

Tyler rolled his eyes,
“Ugh…’…Learn the ways of Equestria so that every citizen shall see you as a shining example…’ Yes, I know… I just didn’t expect this to be that hard.”

Both girls came around the table and nuzzled him from both sides,
“It’s alright, sugarcube…”

“We’ll help you to get used to it.”

With that Rainbow opened the door with a kick,
“Ah-HA! See? They are… cuddling each other!"

Fluttershy leaned in at the doorsill,
“Um… Rainbow… That’s not so bad…”

Trotting over to the three, the cerulean Pegasus gave the situation a stern look before hovering before Tyler,
“Come on, T-man! Spill the beans! What’s going on here? Who bucked up and how hard? If anypony gives you a hard time, I’ll take care of that! I-”

Holding her mouth shut tight, Tyler grabbed her and pulled her down gently,
“Ease down, RD! No one’s giving me a hard time! None of you!”

Twilight harrumphed and held a hoof to her chest,
“We have an announcement to make! The situation has been discussed and cleared.” As their friends came in, the three of them looked at each other and Applejack nodded to Twilight. Tyler nodded as well, yet he seemed unsure. “As of today, Tyler, Applejack and myself are a herd!”

Fluttershy beamed,
“Oh! That’s so wonderful! I’m so happy for you three!”

Rarity gasped and held a hoof to her chest,
“My…I must say this is wonderful indeed. I envy you both, girls. Such a refined young gentlecolt could suit any mare, don’t you think so, Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie stood absolutely still, gazing with wide eyes upon the three herd mates. Suddenly, a wide grin and some glossy puppy eyes defined her face,
“I don’t have enough cake for this…” With this she turned into a cloud.

Rarity’s eyes widened. As her hoof waved through the cloud, Pinkie was already gone,
“My… I never saw her THAT excited before…”

Tyler shook his head,
“I sense an upcoming storm of party and cake…”

As he caressed both Twilight’s and Applejack‘s manes, Tyler’s anxiety slowly vanished. This sort of relationship truly was accepted in society. With time, he would adapt to this as well. Applejack gave him a seductive bump with her rump,
“Waddya say there, pardner? Come with me to the farm n’ inform the family?” As she slowly trotted out of the door, Tyler gazed to the others.

Twilight gave him a nudge with the hoof,
“Go on!”

Rainbow nodded,
“Come on! Go for it, T-man!”

Rarity raised her head,
“Don’t let a lady wait!” Fluttershy remained silent, but pointed towards the door with a blushing face.

Going backwards to the door, Tyler looked to Twilight,
“But what about…?”

Twilight shook her head,
“I’m fine with it! Sharing you with her is my part of being member of our herd!” With that a lasso took Tyler and pulled him out of the library. Claiming her prize the orange earth pony reeled him in with a chuckle, causing him to laugh. As they both stood in the sunset, Applejack stood up to her hind legs; he took off her Stetson and put it on his own head as her front hooves rested on his chest.

As she leaned forward, they shared a kiss, with the girls standing in front of the library. “You know, Twilight…” Rainbow began. “I always thought you were an egghead… But I only caught the guy in midair. You and AJ caught his heart; that’s way cooler.”

Author's Note

Proofread by Rythmns

6 - Phantom fright at Gala night **

It was dawn when Applejack woke up; to her surprise she was lying in the barn in the hay. As her head rose, she recognized it rested on Tyler’s chest, with Tyler lying right beside her. A big blanket was lying over them both. As her memories came back of what happened last night, she gasped. Yes, there had been kisses, she remembered them quite good. Longing kisses as far as she could tell and his hands where all over her body. As she searched for her Stetson, she found it near the barn wall, were the wall was deeply scratched.

More flashbacks came to her mind as she remembered how she leaned against the wall, her hooves slamming against it while he stood behind her and pounded into her. She blushed deeply at the memories of the moans she had let out in that situation. As her eyes followed the scratch marks down, the image took place in her mind. At one time, her legs gave in and Tyler lifted her up and carried her over to the hay. That’s when she blushed again like a tomato. She remembered sitting on his lap with her haunches before she laid down on him while he banged her from beneath. This unfamiliar position was it that brought both of them to orgasm and Applejack bit her bottom lip.

She remembered the feeling, the ecstasy, the spanks on her flank, the… the neighing she let out in this moment. It was before everything went black. This memory made her blush deeply. Neighing… She really let herself go to her herd mate. And how great it felt to be herself in front of him. The feeling of security, the intimacy, the trust. With him she could be herself and he took her the way she was. A small shiver came to her body and she crawled closer to him. As she nuzzled her lovers face, he slowly woke up. As he saw up to her, a sleepy smile came to his face. “Hello there, number one country girl...”

Later the Apple family sat together during breakfast and Tyler had his first slice of bread with Zap Apple jam.

Immediately his eyes widened,
“This is by far the best jam I‘ve ever tasted in my entire life, Mrs Smith!”

The old mare smiled to him,
“Ah thought ya would like it, mah boy! Ya know what’s good for ya. Zap apples are the hardest and most complicated apples to harvest. It needs a lot of patience and wit to make that kind of jam. And pink polka dots too! It was not too long ago since Ah’ve heard the Timberwolves howling for Zap Apple harvest time...” As he arched a brow while looking at the old mare, she leaned to Applejack. “Although Ah must say, mah girl… Tyler sure treats ya good if he can manage to make ya neigh like that. The last time Ah heard such lustful neighing from the barn was when yer Ma and Pa were at it.” This caused Tyler to choke on his bread.

With wide eyes and a red face Applejack stood up,
“Granny! Yer embarrassing us!”

Apple Bloom looked up to her big sister,
“What does lustful mean?”

Looking down to her little sister Applejack showed a stern, yet blushed face,
“It means yer goin’ to yer room while the grownups have a talk!”

With that the little filly went upstairs with a pouting face,
“Ah’m a grownup, too!”

Looking back to the rest of the family, the orange mare now turned to her brother Big Macintosh,
“Big Mac! Say something, big brother!”

The red stallion looked at Tyler and gave him a stern look,
“Yer comin’ with me pardner! Ah wanna have a talk with ya outside!”

Applejack looked to her brother as he went outside,
“Big Mac!”

Tyler held his hands up in a calming manner,
“Ease down, sweetie! This won’t end in a fight! I promise!”

As they went outside, Granny Smith gave Applejack a warm smile,
“Ya don’t have to worry, dear. Big Mac loves ya, he only wants to know if yer in good hooves.”

Applejack sighed,
“He’s new to that, Granny… In his world he would have only one girl. Ah’m lucky he’s acceptin’ being part of a herd, otherwise Twilight Sparkle would be his girl right now.”

Granny Smith now nodded her head,
“Twilight Sparkle… Oh yes, that bright girl from the library yer friends with. Ya have a fine herd there, mah girl. Ya make sure ya keep it together nicely. Two mighty fine mares like ya two are such a good fit for a boy like him. Well… When can Ah expect some foals from ya three?”

Applejack’s eyes shot open wide,
“WHAT? Now, Granny!”

“It’s been a while since Ah’ve had the pleasure of the beautiful laughter of a foal in this house since Apple Bloom is a little filly now. Ah’ve always hoped ya would change that one day…”

Outside Tyler approached Big McIntosh who was sitting on a meadow in front of the farm house,
“You angry, Big Mac?”

The stallion looked over to him and shook his head,
“Nnope! Ya see… Without mah Pa being around, Ah’m the one responsible for the security of the family. That’s what big brothers are there for.”

Tyler sat down beside him,
“So you see yourself as your sister’s and Granny’s keeper…”

“Eeeyup!”

Tyler nodded as he looked straight forward as the stallion did,
“I can respect that. You see… I’m new to the whole concept of being in a herd, but I’m willing to try for her. She’s a good girl. I’ll honor her! I would never raise a hand against her! If you have a problem with me, fine! We don’t need to be friends and hug each other… But Applejack? She’s happy with me…”

With that the stallion looked to Tyler,
“Ah think that is all that matters, don’t ya think, brother?”

Tyler nodded with a chuckle,
“Oh yeah… Me taking care of her sort of makes us brothers in law! Well I hope you talk more with me now!” Both chuckled and that chuckle went into full laughter after another “Nnnope!” came from the stallion.

As Tyler went back to Ponyville, Applejack waved after him,
“I’m coming back later!”

Twilight grinned widely,
“I take it, it went smoothly with the Apples?”

Tyler chuckled,
"Granny Smith already expects foals. I must say I love this family.”

Arching a brow, Twilight then shook her head,
“Foals? Well… Too bad this won’t work. We can have recreational sex, but you can’t impregnate us. Although… I’d like to have a blood sample from you. You know, to study your cell structure a bit. We know almost nothing about you. If you become sick and magic can’t help or Zecora’s potions fail… Then what to do?”

Tyler nodded,
“Yeah… Good thinking…”

* * * * *

Later, back in the library Applejack and Twilight sat together with Tyler around a table where all letters were stacked neatly. Tyler’s head was supported by his hands which held his own cheeks as he saw the four stacks with a hacked of mood,
“There are 192 letters… Each one is a mare of Ponyville. 192 letters of refusal… Ugh! This is major bullshit! Well, since I’ve got plenty of time since the orchards are idle growing fruits now, What do you girls say, we have a walk and answer to each and every mare?”

Applejack corrected her Stetson,
“Ya mean in person?”

“Why of course, AJ! What kind of a man do you think I am? A girl confessed to me, so I have to give her a proper answer. This of course includes that I talk to her in person. And you two will come with me. As of now, I feel a bit uneasy with going out alone.”

Twilight shook her head with a giggle, as they stepped outside,
“Aw, come on, Tyler… It’s not that you would cause a stampe-”

She was cut off as one mare at the end of the street pointed her hoof at him,
“It’s HIM!!!!”

Tyler gritted his teeth,
“You were saying?” With this he dashed for it as a screaming mob of mares went after him. “I’M BEGINNING TO HATE HEAT SEASON!!!”

As he ran down the street, Rainbow Dash flew beside him,
“Hey there, T-man! What’s this about? Some race I haven’t heard about?”

“Rainbow! Thank goodness you are here! Care to give me a lift? That mob behind me wants to rip me to shreds!”

When Rainbow looked back, she grimaced,
“I see. YOU are the price here… Not cool!” Lifting him up, she took off, flying towards Twilight and Applejack again. As she let Tyler down, Twilight’s eyes narrowed as she saw the incoming mob. When her horn began to glow, a purple force field built up around the little herd.

The mares crashed and ran against the field and the librarian shook her head,
“I’m sorry, Tyler… THEY behave like seeing an enchanted doll…” As the mares calmed down, Twilight continued to shake her head. “You think you can win him like that?”

Applejack held her head high,
“Well if yer thinkin’ like that, think again! As of this moment, Tyler will be the one in our herd to decide who will enter! And Ah will accept no mare in mah herd who will give him that kind of a hard time!"

Twilight then summoned a checklist out of thin air with all the names of the 192 letters. As she called each and every mare out, one was allowed to step into the force field and Tyler gave her a hug, whispered some words in private, what caused each mare to bow her head, but each also smiled up to him again and nodded.

As no mare was left anymore, Tyler sighed,
“I guess you can turn the force field down again… Do we have everyone?”

After Twilight checked her checklist, she shook her head,
“There is one letter left. Somepony didn’t show up in this mob.”

While they went to the marketplace, Tyler arched a brow,
“Did not show up? Well either she stayed home or she’s not that crazy… Show me the letter from her, please.” Twilight nodded and gave him the envelope. Unlike the other envelopes, this one was black and the sweet scent of perfume emitted from it. “Oh, that’s original… This was the only letter with something so out of the ordinary… Let’s see what we have here…”

My dearest Tyler,
I must say that I’ve never saw a being as you are, and I must confess that I never believed such a being could exist. Since I first saw you, you had my immediate attention; I had this feeling that you are something special.

If I should describe myself… Oh dear, that is so difficult… I’m different to other mares. Surely I stand out. It’s not easy being who I am and my work schedule is quite off, meaning I’m sleeping most of the day. This of course leaves very little time to make new friends or maintaining relationships. Right now I have only a few friends and it’s hard to see them due to my daily duties. Of course there’s family, but this can’t replace friendship or love for that matter.

As you are the first and only human ever coming to our land, I think you might be equally lonely as I am. If you like to let it happen, I’d like to meet you at the Grand Galloping Gala since I was invited there and I think someone as important as you would be invited as well.

In love,
Moonlight Noir

“Moonlight Noir?” Applejack asked.

Tyler looked up from the letter,
“You know her?”

The earth pony shook her head,
“No and that’s the point! There is no mare in Ponyville with the name Moonlight Noir! Ah must know; Ah lived here all my life! There is NO Moonlight Noir! Not as an earth pony, not as a Pegasus, not as a unicorn!”

Twilight shook her head,
“This writing is far more refined… Like Canterlot writing. Maybe she’s a maiden or one of the servants in the castle that saw you there?”

Tyler hummed deeply. Something was odd with this peculiar letter,
“Twilight? This letter won’t get a refusal!”

Cocking her head, she looked at him,
“Why not?”

“It got my interest… What does the only letter of a mare not living in town have to do among all these other letters of citizens of Ponyville? No! One pony placed it there, wanted this letter to be read. One pony... didn’t sign truthfully.”

Twilight’s eyes widened,
“You think somepony signed it with an alias? But why?”

He shrugged,
“I don’t know exactly, but I think I have a hunch I could check. You two really won’t mind if I court someone as well?”

Both mares looked at each other before they shared warm smiles with him,
“Of course not, sugarcube. Since ya new to this herd thing Ah think it’s only proper we let ya decide who should be the third mare among us. Just remember to talk to us before ya take action. We wish to like the girl ya choose as well."

Another knock came from the door. Tyler looked to the door and frowned,
“Who might that be? It’s getting late already…” As he answered the door, Derpy Hooves stood before him once again. “Derpy! What brings you here at this time?”

Derpy saluted before him,
“Sorry, Mr. Jones! But my boss said we have this special delivery to get to you. He said it was very important!” Another big container approached the library.

Tyler shook his head,
“No… please, no!” As the letters and packets gushed inside the room, he took a step aside this time and narrowed his eyes. “Oh for the love of…”

As Twilight approached the door, she arched a brow,
“What is it this time, Tyler?”

“You have to excuse me…” He muttered while going to the table. “I feel a hysterical crying building up in me.”

As she opened up two letters, her stern face brightened up,
“These are letters of excuse, Tyler!”

“They are?” As he approached the mountain of mail again, he took a letter and read it.

Twilight observed the mountain of mail with a smile,
“Seems like everypony is sorry for giving you such a hard time!” After levitating a packet in front of her, she opened it and waved some sweets in the air. “Some even sent you something to soothe you."

Tyler chuckled,
"Now isn't that sweet... But right now i need a bath. Running for my life sure made me sweaty..."

As Tyler went into the bathroom, his backpack canted aside and the playboy magazine fell outside. As the girls noticed it, they came nearer,
“Twilight… Ya think that it’s what Ah think it is?”

“Yes… It seems like the equivalent of the playcolt magazine in our world…”

As they looked inside their eyes opened wide,
“So… This is what human mares look like? Ah must say… They… Whoa nelly! Are those her…?”

Twilight cocked her head,
“I think so… Those must be her papillas…”

Applejack blinked at her,
“Her what? Ya mean teats? What in tarnation? They’re huge!”

Twilight then hummed a bit in thought,
“But the pose is strikingly nice, don’t you think?”

Applejack tried to analyze the picture before her and nodded,
“It looks like she was trying to seduce somepony…” Then both mares gave each other a sly grin.

After an hour Tyler came outside the bathroom again with only a towel around his waist,
“Ah… That was refreshing…”

As he heard a nice playful giggle from above, he saw both his herd mates on Twilight’s bed,
“Oh, how about this?”

“That sure looks nice, Applejack!"

While they giggled along, he cocked his head and went upstairs,
“Now girls what are you doing up there?” When he saw them both posing on the bed, the playboy magazine between them, his eyes opened wide and his nose began to bleed a bit. “What the…?”

As they looked towards him, both girls gave him seductive looks,
“Well, waddya know… It’s our strong stallion…”

Twilight giggled,
“Don’t be mad, it got out of your backpack when the big thing canted. We took a look and you know…”

He nodded and sat between them,
“I know… You and your never ending thirst for knowledge.”

When he caressed her back and flank, Twilight began to purr like a cat while Applejack leaned onto him,
“Those mares in that book of yers, Tyler… Do ya miss them?”

“Human women you mean? Sort of… But with you two at my side I have two wonderful relationships that let me forget. Why think of things I don’t have any more when there’s so much that I have here?”

As the orange mare leaned in even more, they both shared a kiss while Twilight was smiling at them. Applejack rubbed his chest with her hoof again, whispering something in his ear. Tyler shook his head,
“Again? But we just did it three times this night!”

This prompted Twilight to giggle once again,
“Earth ponies have a strong libido during heat season. Quite the strongest heat of all ponies, if not taken care of.”

Applejack grinned widely,
“That we have! And it’s all yours, pardner…”

With a sly smile Tyler rose up and got dressed. The girls watched him with arched brows,
“Tyler? Is something wrong, Sugarcube?”

“Did we say something we shouldn’t have said?”

He shook his head,
“No, but I want you two to wait a bit. As far as I can tell, the longer you girls wait, the heavier the ecstasy is you get. Isn’t that right, Twilight?”

The unicorn chuckled slightly embarrassed,
“I think I get you… You want us to wait so that it is even better. I’m fine with it…”

Applejack nodded as well,
“Ah think we should do it that way the whole heat season. Just don’t let us walk a tightrope there, Tyler.”

He grinned and caressed Twilight’s cheeks, giving her a kiss,
“I know that from Twilight. Without a good satisfaction once in a while she goes wild during heat season…” Looking into her eyes, his thumbs caressed her cheeks further while he held her face. “But that’s what showed me that Twilight wanted to be with me even if it would mean she would show me her deepest sides.” He leaned forward and whispered into Twilight’s ear. “My kinky little girl here goes wild when she just can lie down and take it…”

The unicorn blushed and looked to the side,
“Tyler… Stop! Don’t talk like that… You know what that does to me…”

* * * * *

After some weeks, the day of the Gala finally had arrived. Tyler wasn’t sure what to expect from this evening since the girls had told him of some mixed results during their last visit. In the Carousel Boutique they gathered around, curious to see his outfit. The vermilion suit fit perfect and as he stepped outside the changing room, the girls gasped.

Rarity looked up in both excitement and pride,
“My… I must say that this truly is my masterpiece for the Gala night! Truly a suit to recognize!”

With the sound of his new polished boots Tyler stepped towards Twilight and Applejack, who looked up to him in awe,
“Well? What do my girls think about it?”

“That sure is some fancy stuff Rarity made for ya!”

“Yes, it looks quite perfect on you. I never imagined that humans have such high class attire…”

Tyler chuckled,
“Believe me, Twilight, there are certain attires even more pompous as this one. To think of all the stuff they wore in France before the French revolution… But I digress! This suit is from a musical I told Rarity about. It turned out perfect, Rarity! I’m more than satisfied with it…”

The white unicorn giggled,
“Oh Tyler, you charmer! Take it and wear it with pride! Everypony shall see you in that smashing outfit of mine!”

Tyler nodded,
“That I will! And I stay to my word. If you ever need help, I will be there!” kneeling down to her he gave her a hug.

She closed her eyes and giggled,
“Oh Tyler, you are flattering me! I will remember it.” Looking over to Twilight and Applejack she winked at them both. “If you ever let this gentlecolt go, you will regret it! I would claim him and never share him with anypony else!”

Both mares gave her a smile,
“Not gonna happen, Rarity! He’s our pardner for lifetime.”

Twilight then looked around,
“Speaking of time… We should prepare as well…”

While the girls prepared themselves, Tyler sat downstairs with Spike. While the baby dragon in the tuxedo gave Tyler a stern look, Tyler waved it away,
“Don’t be ridiculous, champ! I won’t take your girl away!” This brought back a smile to the dragon’s face and he tried to tie his bowtie in front of a mirror. Tyler stood up and knelt down to the dragon. “Come, let me help. Bowties are cool! You’re going to rock tonight, champ!”

As the girls finally came downstairs, Tyler felt compelled to gulp,
“Girls, you all look breathtaking! Isn’t that right, Spike?” As the baby dragon’s eyes were locked on Rarity, he simply nodded. “Uh-huh…” Tyler approached his girls and caressed their ears. “Well, what do my eyes see? The loveliest magician and country girl I’ve ever seen…” Both gave him a nudge into the ribs as a “Flatterer!” came from them both in unison.

On the ride towards Canterlot, Tyler looked outside the window,
“Twilight… Um… How do I put this? How is Princess Luna? What kind of person, or rather pony is she?” As the lavender unicorn looked to him, he shrugged. “Only saw her due to the ceremony where I got my citizenship. She’s a beauty like Princess Celestia, I might have to watch my tongue in her presence.”

Twilight began to smirk as if she saw a young colt in love,
“Tyler?”

“Y-Yes?”

“You’re not up to flirt with the princess, are you?”

He blushed while avoiding the young unicorn’s eyes what transformed her smirk into a wide grin,
“Get serious, Twilight! I mean it’s not that I’m after her flank now, right? Because I’m not! Really!”

As he looked towards Twilight, he blushed even more, causing Twilight to giggle,
“You’re a bad liar!”

“Oh, alright! I think I’m curious about her. But since she’s a princess I’m not sure if she deems me proper as a friend. Royal standards you know? I know I wouldn’t find anyone for me if I would be a prince. I wonder what kind of character she is…”

With a sigh he looked out of the carriage towards the Castle of Canterlot,
“This whole thing of me being curious about her is like a social minefield… You know, I’m not the kind of guy used to ruling class, aristocracy or monarchy…What if my opinions insult her in any way?”

Rarity looked to them shaking her head,
“Darling! You are a polite gentlecolt, and not only did you save us, you also sacrificed your way home for our sake. I dare to say that Princess Luna would never reject friendship to someone with a heart of gold like you! Quite the contrary! She will welcome a new friend like you.”

Twilight leaned in to Tyler and lowered her voice,
“Do I get this right? You think SHE was the one signing as Moonlight Noir?”

Tyler nodded,
“Think about it, Twilight… Moonlight said her work schedule is off and she sleeps all day. She’s lonely, has only a few friends and has difficulties to find new ones. Remind you of somepony you told me about during your explanation about Equestria?”

Twilight thought about it for a minute,
“Now that you put it that way, there are indeed similarities. But somepony like her in our herd? That’s a nice dream there, Casanova, nothing more. A dream…”

Tyler smiled,
“Sometimes dreams come true.”

This was the second time Tyler was in Canterlot and this time he was there to enjoy the sights. The last time he wasn’t in the mood of recognizing the wonders of the capital city. Canterlot at night surely was different as during the day. Now, the lights of the city bathed the towers and walls of Canterlot Castle into a magical sea of lights, and the fireworks going off did their work too. Placing his mask on, Tyler helped each of the girls out of the carriage. “Miladies?” As they approached the castle they conversed among another. “So… You girls tell me last year was rather horrible?”

“It sure was!” Rainbow replied. "None of us got what she expected, but in the end we were having fun because we spent the night together!”

Twilight nodded,
“The princess said there are several changes this year, as the princesses want to enjoy the Gala too, once in a while their assistants will greet the arriving guests. Like that, they can partake in the enjoyment, and converse a bit as well. But every half an hour or so, at least one of them will greet the new guests again."

As they walked up the stairs, two stallions in formal attire greeted them. One was dressed in a white, the other in a black tuxedo. Tyler was greeted by the one with the white tuxedo,
"On behalf of Princess Celestia, welcome to the Gala, Mr. Jones! It's quite an honor, Please, go right in!"

Once Tyler opened the large hall gate and stepped in, the crowd of ladies and gentlecolts gasped upon him. The whole hall was silent in an instant. Tyler was in the center of everypony’s attention being the only human. A black silver, highly ornate half mask rested on his eyes and forehead as he was dressed in a vermilion suit with a rapier attached to the belt. Twilight giggled nervously behind him. “Oh dear…”

Tyler on the other hand closed his eyes while turning his face to the unicorn,
“So it is like this…” Princess Celestia, you prankster… “The ruling class and the guards know who I am, yet the high society is completely unaware of my whereabouts!” With a dark smirk, he approached the throne, his vermilion suit shimmering matt while his mask glittered bright. He had foreseen this and was prepared. But the outcome of his preparations was unsure as he opened his arms.

“Why so silent, good monsieurs?
Did you think that I wouldn’t dare to attend?
Summoned by our princess I have come, good monsieurs,
On behalf of good relation and battle’s end.
Here I stand before your eyes…”
With a swift move he pulled out his rapier in a triumphant manner.
“Offering my service!”

Before the two princesses, he knelt down with one leg, presenting his rapier to the two rulers with both hands, bowing his head.

“Fondest greetings to you all,
Never have I seen such a glamorous Gala hall…
As for our festive night
I wish to fill it with joy and laughter,
Not with fright…”

Luna blinked in surprise at Tyler,
”My, how keen and eloquent this lad is…” she said silently.

Celestia nodded at her younger sister with her usual warm smile,
“Now, now, Luna… Why don’t you say some words to ease the tension?”

With a brief nod Luna rose and levitated the rapier out of Tyler’s hands, doing an accolade on his shoulders, careful not to cut the human who once fought beside her,
“We welcome thee, Tyler Jones! May thy restless efforts be indicative to our beloved subjects.”

In gratitude, Tyler raised his head,
“Milady flatters me. This defender did what he had to do.”

“Thus, sacrificing thy home on our behalf. We are grateful for thy presence, good friend.”

Tyler blushed slightly behind his mask,
“Milady flatters me again while honoring me with the offer of friendship to one of the co-rulers of the land. I gladly accept.”

After their conversation ended, relief calmed the elegant ponies of the hall. The looks upon his person changed from suspicious to curious. As Luna returned beside her sister, Celestia chuckled,
“You were nervous, hm?”

“As was he… I sense he and I are… alike.” He reminds me of myself trying to convince others not to be afraid… The young princess thought. Oh what a struggle that was only to speak of Ponyville. If her big sister hadn’t intervened in Canterlot, introducing her to the capitol, there surely would have been a stampede right away. Luna sympathized with what Tyler was going through right now.

With a polite giggle, Celestia mustered her younger sister who seemed in another place right now,
“Lulu, you and him are alike? Mind to go into detail?” Luna’s eyes widened and a deep blush began to rise on her.

“Tia! Nay! Thou think I show affection to this bipedal lad?”

“I never claimed such a thing, little sister. But still he fought off a spell of mind control to save your life. Does this mean nothing to you?”

Found herself caught, Luna harrumphed once,
“Pray tell, what are thou trying to achieve, big sister? Tis only proof of that he is strong, and will not to harm the innocent. Tis for this reason above all, that I grant him my respect.” The blush on her cheeks darkened as she shyly looked down. “Thee think he shows affection towards me?”

Celestia bowed her head towards Luna’s and looked to the corner of her eye for a second and began to whisper,
“I can’t see into his heart… But I see that he’s looking at you…”

“WHAT?” She yelped with widened eyes. As the sapphire blue alicorn looked around to spot Tyler in a panic, her older sister chuckled. Luna ducked her head as the blush almost turned her sapphire blue to a dark purple. ”Oh, thou art mocking me! I’ll take a short walk into the royal garden!"

It was then when Tyler spoke up,
“Alright, everypony please gather around! I offer you a song from my world. It is part of a musical. It’s a story about a phantom living beneath an opera house. Well, actually it is a man, only known as a phantom since he never gets seen by the others. One of the choir girls, a girl named Christine Daaé catches the eye of the phantom as he falls in love with her and her voice. He becomes her teacher behind the scenes as she thinks he’s an angel sent by her dead father. I give to you the song the phantom sings to Christine as he brings her down to his lair far beneath the opera house and welcomes her. This song is called ‘The music of the night’.”

Half on her way out to the garden now, Luna stopped as the lights were dimmed down. A song about the night? About her precious and finely crafted night? This caught her attention and she returned to look to the human. The orchestra now exchanged the sheets for the right song. Twilight prepared them carefully. The Thought to Sheet spell was most helpful.

Tyler made sure he performed well in Ponyville already, rehearsing a lot, not embarrassing himself with performing one false note. He wasn’t a professional, but he never claimed to be one. He only offered a piece of culture to the Gala, hoping to enrich the Gala night with some cultural exchange.

“♫Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses”

“Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender
Turn your face away from the garish light of day
Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light
And listen to the music of the night♫”

Tyler now laid an arm around Twilight and stretched out the other arm as to inspire her to imagine what he had in mind.

“♫Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before
Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar
And you live as you've never lived before♫”

As the princess of the night heard these verses, she blushed deeply as in her point of view, the song praised her beloved night, preferred it over the bright and lively day. As she watched further, the other ponies seemed to like the performance as it was well performed and they seemed to imagine said phantom welcome his beloved. It was then when Luna noticed that Tyler was looking at her. As he continued, he opened his arms while coming right at her.

“♫Softly, deftly, music shall caress you
Hear it, feel it secretly possess you
Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind
In this darkness that you know you cannot fight
The darkness of the music of the night♫”

He then encircled her, eyeing her smile as he seemed to give this song to her. In an instant she was in the center of attention which made her blush deeply.

“♫Let your mind start a journey to a strange new world
Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before
Let your soul take you where you long to be! ♫”

To her shock he fell on his knees before her, prompting the whole gala hall to gasp. As she took a step, backwards, raising one hoof, he gently grasped said hoof and presented a hoofkiss on it before looking up to her, singing the next verse.

“Only then can you belong to me”

By this point, Rarity and several other mares fainted. It seemed as Tyler was the Phantom and Princess Luna was Christine. Tyler rose up again and backed away, facing the crowd again.

“♫Floating, falling, sweet intoxication
Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation
Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in
To the power of the music that I write
The power of the music of the night♫”

Now a clopping applause filled the hall and Tyler looked around with a kind smile. As he waited a bit, he gestured to the audience that he wasn’t finished yet and they had to calm down.

“You alone can make my song take flight
Help me make the music of the night”

As Tyler turned around to his friends, the princess of the night was already gone and nowhere to be seen. He frowned a bit and searched the windows, to spot her maybe. Not successful in his search, he sighed. Shoot! The one I sang for flees the hall… Is that good or bad? Meanwhile Applejack approached him,
“Ya sure know how to impress there, Tyler… All the uptight gentlecolts and mares seem to talk about ya.”

Tyler shook his head,
“I didn’t do it for attention, AJ… I did it to get somepony touched.”

Applejack winked at him,
“That ya did! She went outside into the garden. But leave her some space. A guy shouldn’t force a girl. And in all that royal flapdoodle Ah guess it’s even more complicated.”

It was then when Twilight approached them with another unicorn stallion,
“Shining, I’d like you to meet Tyler Jones! Tyler? That’s my brother, Shining Armor.”

The stallion gave Tyler a brief shake with both front hooves,
“Twilight told me about that void beast invasion! Remarkable! It takes a lot of courage to sacrifice your very own way of life on behalf of others.”

Tyler chuckled,
“I don’t regret it. Life is good to me here in Equestria. Well, it has become quite bumpy during the last weeks. I wasn’t used to mares in heat and to be hunted down the streets.”

Armor laughed,
“So, how did you make that stop?”

Tyler and Twilight shared a glance before they stood together with Applejack,
“I founded a herd with the girls who love me.”

Shining Armor first was puzzled, then harrumphed and gave Twilight a stern look,
“Twily? Do you have to say something?”

Cocking her head, Twilight arched a brow,
“I wrote you a letter about this, didn’t you get it?”

He shook his head,
“No, I-”

Now Shining was cut off in midsentence as another alicorn stepped in,
“He did get the letter, Twilight… But he obviously was too busy to read it among all the other paperwork.”

Twilight beamed happily,
“Cadance!”

With this Armor nudged Tyler,
“Watch it! You’re going to love this!” Tyler arched a brow as both mares now did something he identified as a sort of a greeting between them both.

“♫Sunshine, sunshine, Ladybugs awake
Clap your hooves and do a little Shake! ♫”

After this, they both laughed and hugged each other,
“Twilight, so you finally found somepony special for you! I’m so happy for you! You’re as well, aren’t you Shining?”

Stammering for words, the young stallion tried to formulate a complete sentence,
“Well… uh, I sorta…”

He then got a nudge from Tyler who leaned in,
“Psst! Just say yes!”

“Yes! Uh… Yes, I am!” Giving Tyler a stern look, the human simply grinned as Cadance and Twilight conversed on with each other.

“Never argue with women or mares, buddy… They get you in the end! They always do…”

The former Captain of the royal guard nodded, slightly amused of this insight of Tyler’s experience,
“So you and Twily…”

The human nodded,
“Yes!”

“Since when?”

“A few weeks?”

“And when-”

Now Tyler cut the unicorn stallion off,
“Is this going to be an interrogation, Shining? My last one was many years ago back on Earth but if you wish I can comply.”

Slightly baffled how Tyler steered through the conversation, he sighed,
“You’re right… I’m just worried about her, you know?”

Tyler patted the stallion’s shoulder,
“I can respect that. Applejack’s brother was the same way. So… You and Cadance, huh?”

With a dreamy look he looked to his wife,
“Yeah… She’s the love of my life…”

“Can’t say you didn’t make a nice catch there, buddy. You hold her dear. Meanwhile we’ll take good care for your sister. We can’t replace you though, only succeed. Nothing can replace a big brother. Isn’t that right, Applejack?”

The orange mare at his side nodded,
“Nothin’ beats family!”

Giving her a brief kiss Tyler then whispered into the air,
"I’m getting some fresh air. It’s getting crowded in here."

Tyler then grabbed himself a lute lying around near the orchestra before heading out, away from all those noisy ponies. He wasn’t in the mood of praise or hearing the same stories over and over again. He could already hear it. 'Being the only human in Equestria', 'unusual and different from ponies in oh so many ways'… Ugh! Despite being so adaptable, the thought to permanently smile to all of this sickened him. He was adaptable no doubt but he preferred people, or in this case ponies not so uptight and overzealously aristocratic.

Most fortunately, the three princesses were more than OK, both charming and beautiful. For ponies that is. In fact, alicorns seemed to be way more beautiful. Fitting because all alicorns he met until now were female and their beauty surpassed by far any pony he knew without being offensive. He began to play in the midst of the garden, despite animals being there. He looked up to the moon and imagined the power needed to make it orbit around the planet. But maybe the two sisters only altered the rotation of the planet. Only after a while he recognized he was playing “Moonlight”, a song from an anime he once saw. He began to chuckle as he realized he played a song about the Earth moon for the Equestrian moon. With the moon as only audience, he slowly calmed down as the cold moonlight shined upon him.

Meanwhile Luna walked in the royal garden, she felt her cheeks burn as if she was blushing deeply. In all honesty, no one ever appreciated her night that much, left alone in such a melodious manner. It was a bit too much all together. Certainly, Celestia expected her to be grateful and regal, to stand above such things and showing grace and manner, but such praise from a male subject, in such a charming and pleasing way… She felt her heart begin to race for the first time in over 2000 years. Somehow, she felt more alive than ever before. It felt… good. She couldn’t explain this right now, couldn’t tip her hoof on it precisely, but on the other hoof she didn’t make any bonds on the moon for 1000 years for that matter while Celestia had all the chances to do so. Her big sister was more experienced in this. It was then that she heard music in the garden.

As she approached the source, she gasped. Tyler sat there playing a lute,
“Tyler Jones? Aren’t thee going to spend the night with the rest of the guests? I guess many want to speak with thee after thy outstanding performance!”

Tyler seemed more interested in the nightlife of the garden,
“I deem high society boring. All the chat about rumors, business and other useless talk about gathering more riches… I prefer to play for the moon while she shines upon me…” His eyes widened as he recognized who was talking to him. “Princess Luna! I…”

She seemed pleased that he wasn’t being pretending for her sake,
“At ease, Defender… I have to thank thee for this wonderful song thou performed. Never before was my night appreciated in that manner.” She then looked to the lute. “This music… Tis beautiful… Please continue, Tyler Jones, let me enjoy thy fine music. I and my moon want to listen to it…”

While Tyler continued to play the lute, she sat down beside him, listening to the sleepy melody. Suddenly she began to sing. It was only vocal singing without text, but her vocal cords seemed to be out of gold as her voice was… divine. Yes, that was the word he saw was fitting the best. Never before had he heard such a sweet singing voice. Tyler slowed his pace until he stopped to play,
“Milady has the singing voice of a goddess…”

Luna suddenly stopped and looked at him, but turned away and harrumphed a bit to fight the blush,
“Why, I thank thee, Tyler Jones, But I would prefer if thou address me with Luna.”

He nodded and played the lute again,
“Not Moonlight Noir?”

She waved the thought away,
“Nay… That’s only my ali-” Her face suddenly went to a deep purple. As she bowed her head in defeat, she looked down embarrassed. “I couldn’t fool thee?”

He chuckled,
“You almost did, Moonlight… But as you wish, I shall call you Luna henceforth… You on the other side, please, call me Tyler…” And while he continued to play, he looked up into the sky. “Such beautiful stars…”

Shyly she eyed over to him,
“I thank thee… I arranged them myself.”

His eyes widened as he turned his face to her,
“All of them?”

“Every single one of them in every constellation…” she replied proudly as she turned towards him. Both gazed in each other’s eyes.

Tyler took a gulp and a deep breath as something deep inside him compelled him to spit the next sentence,
“Not those two bright shining cyan ones right before my eyes…”

Her heart skipped a beat at the meaning of his words and deep inside her heart a fire self- kindled and sped up as she leaned towards him,
“Thou are so different from other stallions, Tyler… Thou are not afraid of me… Nor my title…”

“Why should I fear the beauty of a lovely maiden? A maiden who brings up the moon so I can see her beauty at night… But you seem lonely, Luna. You have… such lonely eyes. I don’t know… The sweet music of the night should be savored with a companion.”

Her eyelids closed half as only inches were between them,
“Oh what a sweet dream that would be… Please, Tyler… I want thine company tonight to ease my loneliness…” The sweet music stopped and Tyler gazed into her beauty.

Ok, you can do this… You should consider yourself lucky a princess like her has the hots for you… But you should slow down the pace to treat her right…

With this thought he leaned forward her and held her cheeks, giving her an intimate kiss. Her heart stopped for a second as she opened her eyes wide in surprise, and then closed her eyes to savior this moment. Forgotten were the years of loneliness, the anger and hatred of the nightmare who once dictated her doing when her lips melted from his sweet kisses. A lonely tear rolled down her cheek as she wished this night would last forever. As their lips parted, Tyler gasped for air,
”Tears? No… No need to shed tears…“

As he caressed her cheeks, wiping away the tears, she closed her eyes,
“Tears of joy, my Defender…”

At those words he gulped another time,
“Listen, Luna…I’m new to this whole relationship thing if it’s the Equestrian way… And the last thing I want to do is to insult you with clumsy phrases. Would you mind if we slow down the pace so I can follow? You’re a princess after all. You deserve… proper courting…”

She looked up to him and shook her head slowly,
“Nay… I wouldn’t mind…I… I know of thy little herd with my friends… I take it thou want to court me into thy little community?”

Tyler was baffled for a moment. He then nodded,
“They sure are my guides to a better me. And I want to court you into our little group. I think company would sooth your lonely heart and there are things I could learn from you as well. The night is so much less lonely when shared with loved ones…”

And while the unusual couple sat in the moonlight, Twilight was about to come out into the Garden. It was then as her way was blocked by a wall of white feathers on a wing. Recognizing who was standing in front of her, she raised her head,
“What is it, Princess Celestia?”

“I think we should leave those two some space, Twilight… Don’t you think?” As she pushed the little unicorn back inside with a warm smile, she chuckled while looking to her younger sister. “Why don’t you tell me how your little herd is doing back in Ponyville?”

However, the silence of the night was breached as a shriek came from the park near the garden. Tyler instantly raised his head,
“Rarity!”

In the park was a big commotion as one white unicorn stallion pushed Spike harshly aside as he approached Rarity,
“So you have the guts to attend this year as well? Well, how about an excuse?”

Rarity gasped for breath,
“Ha! I have to excuse myself for YOUR rudeness? You can wait long for this, you ungrateful self-centered scoundrel!”

With this the prince hauled off,
“You foul country wench! It seems you speak only one language!”

There was a slap, but Rarity surprisingly felt no pain on her cheek. As she opened her eyes, Blueblood’s hoof was stopped inches away from her face as it was in Tyler’s tight grasp. With a judging stare the human glared down to the unicorn stallion, his voice calm and collected, yet a subtle anger boiling within it,
“I beg your pardon… But you weren’t actually about to slap this mare, were you?”

The stallion glared towards Tyler,
“What insolence! How dare you touch me!”

But with a swift movement Tyler twisted the hoof, not breaking it, but forcing the stallion to go down in pain what prompted the bystanders to gasp,
“WELL?” Tyler had a strict tone in his voice and his eyes were filled with anger. “Rarity! What did this lout do to you? Except that he was trying to hurt you.”

Rarity shook her head as she trotted to Spike,
“I’m actually fine, but he was harsh on Spike as he tossed him aside to get to me.”

Blueblood sneered,
“You don’t know who you’re messing with! I am Prince-”

Tyler cut him off,
“WHAT? A prince? What kind of a lousy prince are you to pick on the weak or to slap a lady?”

“Is this some sort of lousy joke from this wench? What is this?”

Only split seconds after those words Blueblood felt a sharp pain as Tyler’s fist buried itself into his face,
“It’s called a punch and it’s probably less than you deserve for hitting a mare!”

By now several of the mares in the crowd cheered for Tyler,
“Woo! You tell him!”

“No one slaps a mare!”

As Tyler left the prince behind and took care of Spike and Rarity, Blueblood got back on his hooves,
“How DARE YOU?!? For this insolence I want you DEAD!!!”

Tyler stood still again and looked back over his shoulder. He then turned back and approached the prince, pulling off a glove,
“A duel it is…” With this he slapped Blueblood with the glove and threw it to the ground.

The prince visibly was boiling at this behavior while other gentlecolts took it quite well,
“I say… This fine lad knows how to deal with a challenge…”

Blueblood growled angrily at Tyler as he spat out the word. “Swords or pistols?”

“Pistols, you excuse of a prince!”

As the weapons were prepared, Twilight ran to Tyler,
“Please don’t do this! One of you will get killed!”

Tyler shook his head,
“I will not back out so this ruffian can have his victory, Twilight. I’m sorry I make you worry, honey!”

Blueblood sneered upon this,
“Honey…? Please… A mare shouldn't court such an hairless ape!”

This prompted the crowd to gasp in outrage. Tyler on the other hand looked to Twilight,
“There you have it! I shall back out of a duel with a pony like that? NEVER!”

Both duelists now faced each other until a guard controlled both weapons. Both had one bullet in it. As he nodded, the two of them looked into each eye. Blueblood had a sly grin on his face,
“Afraid yet?”

“You wish!”

While they stood back to back now, Tyler held the pistol in his right hand while Blueblood levitated it with his magic.
Rarity held a hoof in front of her eyes,
“Oh, I can’t watch this!”

The guard then raised his voice,
“Both duelists! 10 steps! 1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9! 10!” Both Tyler and Prince Blueblood turned around and a shot sounded through the air.

Raising his left arm, Tyler felt his hurting left ear, His cheek and earlobe were bleeding although the bullet only missed a few millimeters before ripping off more of the ear. Giving a glare on his hand which was covered in his own blood, Tyler’s look raised up to Blueblood. There was rage in his eyes. A silent steaming rage, which made Prince Blueblood see something far worse than he could ever imagine. Tyler began to grin. It was not a good grin, more filled with sadism. The girls recognized it immediately. It was the same grin he showed to the void dragon,
“Oh… Ohohoh… Waddya know! The boy really pulled the trigger on me… But his aim is as shitty as his manners!”

Tyler now raised his still loaded pistol, taking aim perfectly as he approached Blueblood, giggling while he did it. The prince now backed away,
“No… No please! I give you bits! I give you privileges! SPARE ME!!!” Pointing the pistol right at Blueblood’s forehead, Tyler cocked the weapon, looking down to the prince, what caused another gasp from the audience.

Twilight ran to him,
“Tyler! No! Don’t do it!” By that time, the prince shut his eyes tight, fearing for his life. It was in this moment when Tyler lowered the gun and shot into the grass. The shot was enough for the prince to squeal in fear and wet himself.

Tyler’s rage was gone now, transformed into disgust,
“Don’t do WHAT? Waste a bullet on this pathetic bed-wetter? No worries!”

He then grabbed Blueblood by the scruff of the neck and growled at him,
“You will never forget this night! Tonight a commoner spared your bed-wetting ass! Now… If you EVER AGAIN raise a hoof against one of MY friends, not even Celestia herself will save you from me!” He pointed to Rarity while saying this. The white mare seemed deeply touched by that. Her friend then tossed the ruffian prince into his own puddle and turned away.

The prince however focused some magic in his horn and gritted his teeth,
“THIS ISN’T OVER YET!!!” With that he fired a magic arrow at Tyler and the girls.

But before the magic arrow could reach Rarity or the other girls, Tyler jumped in front of them, taking the blast. It was then when Tyler felt a strong spark going through his back, followed by a dull pain, almost like numbness. His jacket was torn apart and he fell down. As he fell down, everything seemed to happen in slowmotion. The girls started to shout and stormed right at him before the numbness turned into a sharp pain. Not knowing that the skin on his shoulder blades was burned and bubbles started to build from them, all he could manage to do was to get on his knees.

The two regal sisters stormed out to the balcony on a higher floor. Suddenly the ground in the park began to shake. First it only was a slight tremble, but seconds later it was a full out quake, shaking the leaves of the plants. Rarity, Twilight as well as some other nearby unicorns shrieked up in surprise as their horns gave small, sizzling electric shocks, just as strong as licking a battery while Tyler’s body seemed to be electrocuted.

Several little visible white lightning bolts danced over his body. Applejack yelled over to Twilight,
“Twilight! What sorta spell did this feller use on Tyler?”

Twilight shook her head, not entirely understanding,
“That was a simple magic arrow! It shouldn’t do that to him or the nearby surroundings!”

Rainbow looked around as the one or another window broke apart,
“Those tremors are unbelievable strong! What the hay is going on?”

Luna’s eyes widened,
“Tyler Jones… Was that his first bodily contact with magic in our realm, Tia?”

Meanwhile Tyler screamed in pain before the magic that had entered his body shot out of it from two spots on the shoulders, ripping off the bubbled skin and leaving his flesh bare. The girls stepped back, not knowing what was happening. Then the skin restored itself faster than any healing magic could muster. What was now on Tyler’s back prompted the crowd as well as the two regal sisters to gasp,
“Oh my… Tia… Are those…?”

As the tremors ceased to exist, Celestia gazed amazed on those two markings on the restored and steaming skin, something that should never be possible on a being that is not a pony. The Mane Six dropped their jaws as they looked to Twilight,
“Twilight! Those…those are…”

Twilight shook her head in disbelief,
“Cutie marks…” From the free spaces in his symmetrical tattoo the two markings showed the Cutie mark like a silver shield as a star trail.

Blueblood shook his head in disbelief as well,
“Nice stunt! Let’s see, how you can handle my next-”

He wasn’t able to complete that sentence as a strict voice interrupted him,
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” The crowd suddenly gasped as Princess Celestia herself jumped from the balcony landing between the two duelists, eyeing Prince Blueblood with angered eyes as the unicorn stallion stopped in an instant. “Out of my sight, nephew…” Her voice was in an unusual strict tone. “…Or you will face most unpleasant consequences!” Once that was said, the unicorn stallion ran away. Tyler on the other hand gasped, just recovering mentally from the event that just occurred within him.

A short moan of pain later, his right hand raised to the place the pain was only seconds ago. To his wonder, no open wound was found. Twilight slowly approached her human friend,
“Tyler… Are you alright?”

Slightly disorientated he grabbed her shoulders before raising the head, looking up to her,
“What happened to me?”

Twilight shook her head, gulping down a big lump,
“I believe your first touch with equestrian magic transformed you slightly. You now have a cutie mark…”

His eyes widened slowly,
What… What’s it look like?”

“Like a shield… Or a star trail? Maybe one can depict it as a shielding star trail?”

Tyler gazed into the eyes of the lavender unicorn mare,
“A… A shielding star trail… Like someone coming to the rescue…”

Twilight nuzzled him caringly,
“That’s right, Casanova! Once again, you saved us!”

His face first looked down before he spoke up with a solid and strong voice,
“Princess Celestia! I have found the answer to the question you asked me!” The princesses looked down to Tyler who now stood up. “Why do I fight? To protect home and family!” He then looked to the six mares in front of him, his best friends in Equestria, prompting Twilight and Applejack to fight the tears. They all replied with friendly warm glances as he approached them and continued his speech. “To preserve peace and to bring harmony.” Now between the girls he caressed the manes of Twilight and Applejack, as he looked up to the princesses.

“For me, the true question is:” Before he made his final pronouncement he knelt down and embraced the girls who gladly gave him a group hug. “What is worth fighting for?” The girls then looked around as all the bystanders and guests of the gala present now were clopping their front hooves to the ground in a big applause, the second one Tyler achieved this night.

Luna went close to her big sister and smiled to her,
“Well? What do you think, Tia?”

Celestia nodded and smiled to the group of friends in her own special smile, understanding and regal,
“Yes, that was well said. Friendship and harmony truly are worth fighting for…” She then approached the group. “But I must say I’m intrigued by your reaction to equestrian magic. Cutie marks only appear when the pony is in harmony with the land and finds his or her special talent. But seeing you have plenty of talents, I expected all sorts of things. Maybe because fighting is in the human nature, your special talent is fighting for others. Still, from what my faithful student has reported me, you already fought for others. So maybe it was magic as well what was a key element in this ‘transformation’? Twilight, why don’t you do some field studies with Tyler together, seeing how he reacts on magic?”

Tyler gulped,
“H-hey… I’m not a guinea pig!” As the girls laughed in unison, he rubbed his neck in embarrassment before laughing as well.

Unnoticed from the guests, the princesses or the guards, there was a unicorn who levitated a clean fork from the buffet table and fetched up the shreds of skin from the grass. After a while, the unicorn went inside and levitated a test tube to another unicorn.
“The tissue samples have been collected, Commander Areku. That is… I had to fetch them with a fork. They can’t be levitated… Doctor Ubermane will be most satisfied. These few shreds of skin are very promising! But now I have to keep a low profile. I will inform you if there will be further samples…” With this both unicorns parted.

* * * * *

As the night went to an end, Tyler escorted Luna to her room. He was happy Princess Celestia had allowed Rarity to stitch up a fast replacement so he had at least a shirt to wear. It was nothing special for this occasion, but it served its purpose just fine. And at this point, nopony dared to insult him in anyway after he served a beating to Prince Blueblood. In front of a large door with the fresco of a crescent moon they stopped as Luna turned to him,
“Tyler… Listen… I have to thank thee for this most wonderful of nights! I…“

But then he put a finger onto her lips,
"I enjoyed this night with you as well. Plenty of action, lots of music and a beautiful moon. I probably will return to Ponyville today. I won’t be able to repeat this night with you tomorrow… After all, the Grand Galloping Gala is only once a year.”

“I think that’s better this way. Otherwise, you would have to beat up Blueblood more often.” Both chuckled wholeheartedly, as she looked at him with some disappointment “But… why can’t thou stay here? In Canterlot I mean?”

With an intimate kiss on her cheek he hugged her dearly,
“I have my duties elsewhere… Besides, we decided to start it slow, remember?” She nodded in sad approval. “But my heart will stay here in Canterlot with you, Luna… Twilight Sparkle and your big sister are in contact with each other. Why don’t you write me a scroll each night? I’ll surely answer it on the spot.”

With this she snorted with laughter,
“Oh, Tyler… Have pity with this baby dragon!”

Then Tyler raised her chin and gave her another deep kiss,
“I will treat you right, my Maiden of the Night… Sweet dreams to you, Luna. This night was one I’ll cherish until we meet again…May I dream about your beautiful cyan eyes…” As the sapphire blue alicorn parted from her human friend with a seductive look in her eyes, the doors closed with magic. As his hand rested on the door, he suddenly creaked his teeth. Boy, watch your manners… He disciplined himself in his thoughts. What would people think if you jump at her?

While he walked backwards through the hall, the door still in sight, a voice sounded behind him,
“I take it you both have had a good time?” Electricity shot through his backbone, he knew that voice all too well. As he slowly turned his head, the white alicorn crossed an eyebrow. “Well then, young man… Lost your tongue? Maybe I should ask my little sister if it’s still in her mouth.”

He raised his hands in a defensive manner, shaking his head wildly,
“Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! I didn’t mean to-“

“To what? Kissing my younger sister? Firing up her imagination with romance? Making promises about staying in contact although you already have a herd? I didn’t say anything about you beating a lesson into Blueblood. My nephew is a lout and probably needed this, but Luna?”

Tyler bowed his head in defeat. Somehow she knew what happened in the garden and didn’t seemed pleased with it,
“Will you punish me for this, Milady?” His head rose again. “If it’s a crime to feel for her like this I am guilty as charged! Punish me in any way you deem proper!”

With a strict look the Princess approached him,
“My, my, Tyler Jones… You sure as hay are a keen one! It seems you don’t fear anything! Not even me! But only a fool does not fear… If you make Luna sad or make her cry, then I swear to you, young man… There won’t be any place on Equestria where you’re safe from me!” Her strict tone and look returned to her usual warm smile, “Fortunately for you, I do believe your feelings for Luna aren’t make-believe. But be warned… You are on thin ice and I’m beneath it.”

As she turned her back on him, she insisted to have a walk with him. This time the young man obeyed her order, “Luna is far older than you, Tyler. The lifespan of a human surely is but a mere fraction of her lifespan. Or rather... We alicorns live forever. But that’s not the point here… Are you familiar with the royal equestrian customs of courtship?”

Tyler stood there for a brief moment,
“Now that you mention it… No, I'm not.”

“I see. You did the right thing to part from her for now. As far as I’m concerned I would leave those things to you, but Luna is more of a traditionalist… And according to royal protocol the young colt has to part from the mare after the first encounter.”

A frown was forming on Tyler’s forehead,
“But she asked me to stay…”

Rolling her eyes, Celestia grinned,
“Oh, that inpatient girl… Finally after thousands of years she found a colt she shows affection for and then she has to wait.”

“Wait! Thousands of years? But she seems younger than you are, so that makes this here…”

She responded with a brief nod,
“Yes, indeed. You ARE her first love. As for that, you now surely understand my strictness with you?”

Wincing a bit, Tyler nodded,
“The understanding is quite there.” Facepalming himself he shook his head. “Oh, Celestia, what have I got myself into?”

Almost snickering, she eyed him,
“Matters of love are Cadance’s specialty. But to inform you: Since you are unprecedented as the first human in Equestria, no law could prevent you to court her… That is until I enact one…”

Puzzled he saw to her,
“Will you?”

His question prompted her to laugh,
“No, of course not. You see, before her dreadful mistakes in the past, Luna was very unhappy and lonely. Her refined craftsmanship was and still is beyond anything I could emulate in her place. All she demanded was gratitude, somepony to thank her. Unfortunately, our beloved subjects were not ready at that time. Nowadays Ponies love staying out all night for several reasons. Festivals, fairs, even technology made it possible to shed more light at night. With this the ponies lost their fear of the night. But this is only balm for her heart. If she really is to recover to her former self, she needs a companion. A special somepony or ‘someone’ if you want, who shares the ‘music of the night’ with her…”

Tyler gulped at the importance of these words. It was obvious what she was trying to say,
“You… You want to make a match between us?”

Opening a door with her magic, she simply gave him a warm smile,
“Come… We have to talk…”

Now Celestia explained to him that she wanted to build a telepathic connection between them to see into his mind, he accepted to do this with her, yet he imagined it to be very painful. If he understood her right, it would be like the sum total of his knowledge blasting out to her from his fragile neural network with the full power of the Equestrian sun. Thousands of years of civilization compressed into a single searing burst of revelation. Yet maybe that was his best chance to win himself the trust from an almost all-powerful equine goddess. He hesitated for a bit, but Celestia urged him to go on,
“Do it, Tyler! You want my trust. Then I need yours as well.”

As the pictures appeared in her mind, Celestia’s eyes widened,
“I… I see…” After pictures of history both recent and ancient, culture in all its wonders sprang to mind. As the recent history stepped forth into her mind, the pictures more and more became violent. The pictures showed marching armies, tanks firing and airplanes dropping bombs. Children soldiers wielding weapons and victims of war, either covered in blood, burned, crying or dead in mass graves. Tyler never felt so guilty and ashamed of being a human. The feeling of disgust rose in him and he was tempted to hide away all of this from her. What his mind showed the princess was the deepest hell mankind could muster.

The climax of those pictures was the mushroom cloud. While Celestia gasped in shock at the picture of the destructive force mankind was willing to muster, Tyler finally let go with a loud “NO!” He fell down on his knees, cowering like he was sick. This last revelation was everything he as a human could ever be ashamed of before her. Recollecting herself with several breaths, Celestia looked down on him. He was ashamed of and disgusted by these things, shivering, feeling reduced to pulp.

Bowing her head down to his cheek drenched in tears, brushing her head and mane against him in a comforting manner, she spoke up,
“So this is why you wanted me to secure and contain any further human… I won’t judge one individual for the atrocities of his kind. You never harmed a pony. You are a good man, Tyler Jones. Fear not for we have nothing to fear from each other.” With this, he looked up to her, wiping his tears away.

Celestia then continued. “Did you really think I would judge you, a man who had sacrificed everything, to be like this? Mankind may have its flaws, but I’m glad that the one human who had reached us is such a good soul by heart. Your people are young, but a fierce fire burns in your hearts. You only lack the way to utilize this fire without hurting each other. I want to see if you can utilize this fire of yours. I think the time may come that Equestria may need this bright fire in your heart.” With a nod, he stood up and hugged her. She didn’t object. With a warm and caring smile as usual she just stood there until he was able to recollect himself. “Do you feel better?”

“Yeah… Yeah, I do…”

“Seriously… You humans landed on the moon? Wait until Luna hears from this…” As he looked up to her, she giggled. “You really don’t have reason to fear me anymore, Tyler… You have given me what I wanted. It will take some time until my mind will understand all these images as a whole, but you have shown that you despise cruelty against the weak and defenseless. Come… Have a seat. What I’m going to tell you must remain between you, me and these walls. You are not allowed to tell anypony, especially not Luna. She was a foal back then…” With that the princess sighed heavily.

“There was a war… an alicorn war. The one and only war they waged. My people fought themselves for the fate of all of Equis. And they lost. They lost… Everypony lost... I was a little filly back then and as I saw the misery, I knew that all this had to end for the sake of all creation. But the price was terrible. Our mother, Queen Faust, sacrificed herself to wield the most powerful of banishment spells she was able to muster, sparing only the foals and young ones of the alicorn race. She had to stop them, so she turned the alicorn race to stars. The very stars Luna crafted into the night sky.” Tyler remained silent. He didn’t know how to answer this. So there actually were many more alicorns… if all of them, even the queen trying to save this world had to be banished, the cruelties must have been equal to Earth’s atrocities… His thoughts were interrupted as Celestia spoke up and nodded to him. “What I told you was meant for you and only you. I want you to know that we share a similar past... Now come... I have to give you some things out of the royal library… Follow me and remain silent…”

On the way to the library he stayed at her side. He was nervous and she knew it. Somehow he felt that she knew it. As he turned his eye to her, she simply giggled,
“Now, now… Do you still feel uneasy because of me?”

“Sort of…”

With a warm smile she shook her head,
“Don’t be! Remain keen as you were before, Luna loves that in you. I can tell…”

“How do you know, princess?”

“Similar taste maybe?”

Now he watched her slightly puzzled. Wait! Does this mean she likes that as well?

As they arrived in the royal library several minutes later, the princess continued to talk,
“Tell me, young Tyler: Do you really think my sister should be part of your herd? Do you think you and the girls could ease her loneliness?”

Tyler remained silent for a brief moment, thinking for a bit of his true feelings for Luna before he nodded determined,
“With every fiber of my being!”

“You hesitated for a moment…”

“I…” He looked down. “I tried to look into my heart for my true feelings for her only to realize that her eyes have absolute power over me. It was hard parting from her.”

Celestia nodded,
“Yes… Yes, she can have this subconscious effect on stallions she deems interesting. I think your human willpower is strong enough to withstand her passive magic.”

His eyes widened in disbelief,
“Are you saying these feelings are caused by a subconscious spell?”

“Yes and no… This spell wouldn’t have any effect if there’s nothing to start with. Tell me: What was your first thought when you first laid eyes on Luna?” Tyler hesitated again, this time for a longer duration. He was blushing deeply red about this question. Celestia giggled at his reaction. “It’s Ok, I guess… After all, you were a healthy young man with no chance of releasing male desires with a proper lady of your own kind at that point.”

“Hey! It’s not like that!” he replied harshly. “She’s just… How do I put this to words? Not only the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid my eyes on… I wouldn’t disgrace her feelings for me by reducing her to her body. No! Her whole type, her eyes, looks, approaches, the shimmering of her coat when she breaths… Even the way she stands perfectly still… All this makes her the perfect mare in my eyes.”

“Aha!” The princess announced, “But she is a mare, you are not a stallion by that definition.”

“So what?” he answered with angry eyes. “I may be human, but I do have feelings for her!!!” His eyes suddenly widened as he realized he shouted towards a Co-ruler of the land. “I, err…”

Celestia replied only with a warm smile,
“Well, if that’s your opinion, I guess there’s nothing to stop you both then.” Four books floated towards him. “Here… You’ll need all four of them if you want to court her properly.” As they fell into his arms, Tyler looked upon the titles.

‘To recognize royal advances’,
‘Royal courtship for beginners’,
‘Mare in the moon’ and
‘Erogenous zones of the alicorn body – A hitchhiker’s guide by M. O. Lestia’

His nose began to bleed,
“WHAT?!? These?!? Ok, two of them I get but the third and especially the fourth?”

“Sssshhh! You’re in a library at night time! Oh and don’t be shy… I think you might find these… most interesting…” With a mischievous giggle she spanked her flank with her wing and vanished through a doorway. Tyler was baffled. It’s like she’s serious and a regal ruler in one moment and a prankster and/or seductive mistress in the next…Must be the age… Living for thousands of years must come with boredom… Soon after that, he left the library and headed for his room.

Author's Note

proofread by Rythmns

7 - Equestrian Science *

When Tyler entered his chamber, he let his thoughts go through the events of the late evening, especially those two hours in the garden. These chambers were offered to him by the princesses and the Mane Six so he could stay the night in the castle. The room he was sleeping in was very large, indeed too large for one person alone; he might have preferred the company of his herd mates, but while in Canterlot, he deemed it unfit to bang the girls so the castle would be full of rumors about him to pretend feelings for Luna. Twilight and Applejack agreed to this logic and went into another room where they slept together.

As he opened the book ‘Mare in the Moon’, he recognized it had a layout like a children’s book. Why would Celestia give him that book? His eyes went over the first page and he began to read. “Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land…” He could not but chuckle as he knew that the both sisters were the two princesses. Yet as Tyler read on, he frowned more and more. “She did what?” By the time he ended the book, it was 3 o’clock in the morning. Locked away into the moon… Talk about being grounded… With that he put away the book and went to bed.

In the morning Twilight and Applejack came into Tyler’s chamber and silently crawled on his bed. By now, their dresses were with Rarity again, who took strict security measures to them so that nothing could befall the outfits. “♫Tyler…♫” Twilight chirped. “♫Wakey wakey…♫”

Applejack shook her head,
“Ya have to come with something better to wake him up, Twilight… Allow me…” With this she leaned in to Tyler’s head and smiled. “♫Tyler? ♫” He gave a sleepy “Mhm?” The orange mare now winked at Twilight with a big grin as she began to whisper. “Would ya kindly put yer human Willy in mah…” Parts from her whispering were too inaudible for Twilight so she leaned in a bit. “…ya would make me so happy if ya…*whisper* …the whole hand…*whisper* …and all of it in front of Twilight…”

His eyes shot open and he slowly got up and looked at Applejack with an arched brow,
“You have some strange fantasies there girl… That’s kind of scary…”

Applejack chuckled,
“It served its purpose! Come on, sugarcube! We have two early morning audiences in the throne room.”

* * * * *

One hour later, Tyler was standing before the princesses again and returned the ‘Mare in the Moon’ to Princess Celestia,
“It was informative, Princess. Thank you!”

This seemed to embarrass Luna,
“Thou… Thou read that book?”

“Yes… It gave me some insight about you two. Each of you made a mistake. So what? We all make mistakes sometimes, don’t we?”

Hearing those words made both sisters looked down in shame. Celestia saw to her side, where her sister sat next to her,
“I won’t lie… In the instance I used the Elements, I regretted it. It was in this moment when I realized I lost something dear and precious: My one and only sister. On that day, I felt like a part of me was ripped out of my body. Like I was dying, and this pain endured of a couple of hundred years. If only I would have been more watchful for her, I could have recognized her resentfulness…”

Luna shook her head,
“Now I can speak of it with rational hindsight. Thou did the right thing, Tia. Although, I can’t remember every detail; I remember my mind clouded in rage, hate and anger. It weakened over the 1000 years of banishment. I guess before all of this I felt… alone.”

Tyler nodded,
“No one should be alone. If you want some company, I can come over from Ponyville once in a while…”

This made Luna beam in joy,
“Thou would?!? For me? Oh, come here, lad!”

With this, she approached him and gave him another kiss on the cheek, which caught him unprepared. Celestia harrumphed after a while,
“Now, now, Luna… Not in front of the guards…”

The two parted and Luna recollected herself. In the next moment, Luna turned to the giggling guards and unleashed her Royal Canterlot Voice. “GUARDS! FOCUS!” With this the guards returned to proper stance and looked straight ahead.

Tyler caressed Luna’s chin,
“Luna, I bid you farewell now. I will miss the inspiring night time conversation we both had; however, you must teach me that voice thing of yours some night.” Luna looked up to him while bowing down a bit shy while she nodded. Tyler then nodded towards Celestia and went outside and waved at the Mane Six. “They’re all yours, girls! Go get them!”

After a short conversation about the Gala and the incident with Tyler, Princess Celestia apologized for Prince Blueblood’s behavior and ensured that next time he would be kept away from them. As they said their goodbyes, Celestia stood there for a bit longer with Twilight,
“Twilight, I’ve looked into the soul of Tyler. As far as I can tell, he is harmless, but he has hidden potentials. Without thorough research, he stays a mystery for Ponykind. This is not the worrying matter, though; without knowledge about magic, all he has is a sharp mind and amazing strength. What is concerning me is that Tyler, despite having willpower beyond the measures of ponies, showed me how easily the hearts of men can be corrupted. Visions of his home world showed me their corruption in greed, hate and disharmony. Corruption so great they wage wars all the time. While I won’t show you the horrors of these wars, I want you to do some harmless experiments with him. These are strictly voluntary, don’t force him!”

With one last hug, Twilight nodded,
“Thank you, Princess Celestia. I will send you the findings of these experiments.”

* * * * *

On the trip back home, Twilight talked about all the various topics she spoke about with her respected mentor during their short stay. Tyler nodded once in a while, listening to the unicorn as he turned the pages of the books the princess gave him. With a wide grin, Twilight narrowed her eyes,
“Well, Casanova? How did it go?”

Tyler closed his eyes with a smile, shut the book and looked to her in a look self-content,
“I past the point of no return, Twilight… Sweet romance was what Luna and I tasted last night, as I drowned in the ocean of her seductive eyes… Oh, I owe it all to you, you great little mare! Hmmm!” To Twilight’s and Applejack’s surprise, he kissed their lips each with a short peck.

“You two, Ms. Sparkle and Ms. Apple are the finest herd mates a guy like me ever could wish for! Woooohooo!” He opened the window, expressing his joy to some ponies on the fields.

Twilight and the other girls snorted into laughter,
“You’re freaking out, Casanova!” As she calmed herself, she took a look at the books Tyler was looking at. “Oh? I didn’t recognize these books when I was in the royal library… Where did you get them?”

“Hm? Oh, Princess Celestia gave them to me.” He closed the window and looked to Twilight. “Oh, Twilight… You have to help me with learning tips for these books! You can organize! Can you give me a hint for a learning schedule?”

Twilight levitated the books with her magic, giving them a wary look,
“Well, I can at least give it a look, right?” As she turned the pages of the first two books, she let out the one or another “Uh-huh…” followed by a simple “I think I could make you a checklist or two…” But as soon as she opened the third one, her eyes widened. With closed eyes and raised head as well as a deep blush she returned the book. “I won’t help you with learning adult stuff, Tyler… Handle THIS one carefully!”

Tyler nodded and watched over her shoulders,
“So… Twilight… you don’t know these books. Do you think it will take long for you to get an overview?”

“No… I might be done with this in a day or two. But remember I’m doing this for you. I won’t teach the content to you; I’ll help you with your study of these books by helping you learn. I have my own studies to perform.”

With a brief nod he patted her shoulder,
“I wouldn’t dare to ask for more anyway, Twilight. Oh, I forgot. I have to talk with Spike. I’d like to ask him about this scroll thing of his. Luna and I agreed upon staying in scroll contact, so the little guy might have 2 scrolls to deliver each night. You think he’ll do it?”

With a giggle, Twilight explained to her human friend that he only had to wave some gems under the baby dragon’s nose, or to promise to help him with his crush on Rarity in order to get him into a willing mood,
“So, Casanova… You’re taking this to the next level then I guess?”

“Oh yes, indeed. She seems to be excited about being courted. I said I wanted to do it slow, since I’m new to this, and because she deserves proper courting; plus, Princess Celestia gave me these books.”

The lavender unicorn opened her eyes wide and levitated the hitchhikers guide up to him,
“Princess Celestia… gave you THIS?”

As she opened the book, she had to restrain herself a bit as the Mane Six looked to them. Rainbow Dash waved it away,
“Pfft… More egghead stuff…”

Twilight lowered her voice now, her tone was very strict,
“I mean look at it, Tyler! This is a text book about anatomy! Pleasure points among the pony body! Especially Alicorns like the princesses! Just the content gives me the creeps! I mean… chapters like ‘Horns and how to please them during magic’, ‘Instant wingboner’ and ‘Molesting for moderates – Orgasm in 10 seconds’? That’s not a book Princess Celestia would simply give away… There must be a purpose or mistake.”

Tyler shook his head,
“What the hell is a wingboner?”

This sentence caused Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to look up,
“You want to know what a wingboner is? That’s easy…If a Pegasus is excited about something… And I think this can be by finding somepony highly attractive or being caught in surprise as well. Sometimes it can be caused by sexual arousal.”

Tyler’s eyes widened,
“Rainbow, I had no idea pegasi’ bodies were so sensitive to emotional condition! This, of course, explains your wide spread wings when we two first met…”

This prompted Rainbow’s wings to rise up almost instantly as her eyes opened wide,
“Say what?”

Fluttershy giggled,
“See, Tyler? THIS is a wingboner!” Now the train wagon was filled with laughter.

As the train arrived back in Ponyville, the friends spread out. Rarity took the dresses and went back to her boutique while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had other things to do. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Twilight and Tyler, on the other hand, went to Sugarcube Corner. Twilight turned to Spike,
“Spike? Why don’t you go ahead into the library and open up while we come back a bit later? I’ll make sure to get you a nice batch of sapphire cupcakes.”

The baby dragon’s eyes went big as he heard that,
“Sure! I’m on my way!”

While he strolled towards the library, Twilight looked up to Tyler,
“You made this Gala the best Gala we’ve been to yet. How was it for you? I mean the Gala in itself?”

Tyler nodded,
“I’ve met your brother and Princess Cadance as well, I can’t complain. Your brother sure is a decent, good guy; I like him, and you?”

Twilight beamed happily,
“Since the princesses’ assistants were present, I had time to spend with Princess Celestia. It really was better than last year.”

They then looked to AJ, but the orange earth pony shook her head,
“Didn’t have somethin’ to sell with me this time, but Ah kept an eye out for contractors who might be interested into first class apples.”

This brought a smile on Tyler’s face,
“I take it you’ve learned from last year, and didn’t sell apples but advertised the farm. That’s a way to make good money, too!”

As they entered Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie bounced in.
“For me, this was another lame party! But I could spend time with the others, which makes up for it.”

After they’ve spent some time in the confectionery, Applejack gave Tyler and Twilight a hug,
“Later, ya two… Ah have to tell the family Ah’m home. Ah promised Apple Bloom to bring her somethin’ from Canterlot.”

“You do that, AJ,” Tyler smiled.

Meanwhile Pinkie brought some blue cupcakes on the counter,
“Here you are! Twelve sapphire cupcakes for good old Spikey-Wikey!”

With an arched brow Tyler inspected the cupcakes,
“Are those real…?”

“Uh-huh! Real sapphires! Spike will love them right out from the oven!” Twilight paid for the batch and trotted outside while Tyler carried the box.

But as they approached the library, Tyler cocked his head,
“You told him to open up, right? Not to rip the door right out?” The fact that the door really was ripped off its hinges startled the lavender unicorn.

As Twilight entered the library, her eyes widened,
“My library!” With terror Twilight saw her beloved library ransacked and in disarrangement. But then another fear towered above her worries for the library. “Spike!”

While she searched for the baby dragon, Tyler entered the mess,
“What in the world?”

Twilight slowly became hysterical,
“SPIKE!!! Answer me already!!!”

As she approached a chest, it was moving and jumping a few inches,
“…light! Twilight! In here!”

While her magic tried to open the chest to free the baby dragon, Tyler stepped outside, inspecting the area. But as much as he searched, he couldn’t find any clues for burglary. Whoever broke in, he sure had to use magic to rip the door out without claw marks. But little did Tyler know that he was being watched. In a dark alleyway, three shadows stood and watched the human going back inside again. The shimmering light of a dark unicorn stallion's horn shed light to his face. It was the same unicorn that was present in the castle mere hours ago,
“Argesio, contact Doctor Ubermane! Tell him that thanks to our new recruit I have obtained the blood sample he was curious about. I’m sure he will find it most interesting…”

“Yes, sir!” With this brief response the other unicorn stallion behind the one with the vial of blood nodded and galloped away. Within the magic grasp of the unicorn the blood in the vial began to shimmer and sparkle.

WhenTyler entered the library again, the chest opened and Spike gasped for air, before Twilight nuzzled him,
“What in the world happened, Twilight? First I was in the library minding my own business and then everything went dark and I found myself in that chest, and then there were voices. Some guy was called Arisu or something and talked about some Ubermane guy.”

Twilight’s ears rose up in notice,
“Ubermane? I’ve heard that name before! Yes, he was in the Canterlot newspapers a few years ago! I still have the article archived.” As she searched for it, several books levitated in the air until she found an album with lots of newspaper articles. “Good thing I archive some newspaper articles about science and archaeology… There!” With this she pointed her hoof at an article.

‘Mad scientist pony banished for inequane experiments for the research of the connection between genetic structure and magic.’

Tyler gulped,
“So a mad scientist sent a goon squad to ransack this place, but what for? Twilight! Check and see what’s missing! Books, equipment, inventory, anything!”

Arming herself with quill and scroll, the unicorn squee’d,
“Great thing I made a listing of all the stuff in the library just before the Gala evening!”

Tyler then turned to Spike,
“Take a note, Spike. Tell Princess Celestia, we need the royal guard here. Tell her why! As of this moment, Ponyville library is a crime scene!”

Both the baby dragon and unicorn gasped,
“Crime scene? But nopony breaks the law! Why would they?” Spike asked, pointing the quill at Tyler.

The human shrugged his shoulders,
“I don’t know, Spike. But someone got in here for a reason. Until I’m sure what that reason is, I want everyone to stay alert.

* * * * *

Half an hour later, several members of the royal guard inspected the scene. Twilight looked up to Tyler,
“All what’s missing is that test glass of your blood sample. You know the one I wanted to study your genetics.”

Wondering about this fact, Tyler rubbed his chin with narrowed eyes,
“Why the hell would someone search the entire library and laboratory for human blood only?” As he looked up to the guards investigating the crime scene in the upper floor it shot into his mind. “Because whoever did this knows how thorough royal guards work!” He looked around to the emptied bookshelves. “Yeah… he knew they would search the whole place for pony trails like coat hair… he knew this would take time! But why make them work so long? Why build up the time advancement?” As he looked to Twilight again, his eyes widened again. “He didn’t know who he’s dealing with! He would have taken more! If he knew who you were, Twilight, he wouldn’t have been so careless to take only one item! He would take several things to puzzle us!” Giving her a big friendly kiss he went into her laboratory in the cellar, taking a scalpel and an empty test glass.

One of the guards intervened,
“Hey! We haven’t searched that place, yet! You are obstructing royal investigations!”

But Twilight raised a hoof,
“I approve of it, sir. He has my full trust.”

When the human pricked his finger and filled some blood into a test tube, the little unicorn came closer to him,
“Got anything?”

“Well it’s human blood, Twilight… It’s nothing special.” As he handed her the uncorked test tube, she levitated it with her magic.

Slowly the blood began to sparkle in her magic grasp. This prompted her to arch a brow, so she inspected this under the microscope,
“Tell me, Tyler… Why is your blood all shimmering and shining?”

“It is what?” As he looked into the microscope, his blood cells were shimmering in slight shades of lavender. It was a low shimmer though. “That’s odd… Human blood isn’t supposed to do that!”

As he looked over to Twilight, the unicorn took note,
“It has to do something with magic, I suppose. Your Journey into our world must have altered your body. Not in a harmful matter, though, but I have a theory. Maybe your genetic structure was able to contain magic like we unicorns do to begin with, but in your world there is no magic. Or maybe your travel altered your genetic structure to be able to survive in our environment. This might explain why your body reacted like this on the Gala, prompting a reaction with the environment.” Excited, she clopped her hooves together with a cheerful squeal. “This will need further studies! Oh, how exciting! I’ll need all kinds of samples from you, Tyler. Hair, tissue, blood, saliva…” With a dark blush, the young unicorn smiled shyly. “…sperm…”

Tyler cocked his head to give her a warning smile while raising his finger,
“Don’t push your luck now, Twilight…” He then took another look into the microscope. “You don’t think this could be harmful, do you? I mean, Equestria is a place where lots of magic is used in our daily life. I don’t want to be a shining example in that kind of way… What happened at the Gala was enough.”

“No… Don’t worry… I suggest this only has effect on you if a unicorn uses magic specifically on your body, like I was levitating the uncorked test tube with your blood. My magic came in direct contact with it; although, I can only speculate if Alicorn magic has the normal effect on you. It would be fitting since it is a whole lot more powerful than unicorn magic. We should have some tests with you…”

* * * * *

Meanwhile, in a dark underground laboratory…

A door opened and the dark unicorn who collected both skin and blood sample from Tyler entered a big laboratory. Chemical instruments and test tubes filled the tables,
“Doctor Ubermane! I bring fantastic news!”

A gray unicorn stallion with glasses and white lab coat looked up to the dark unicorn coming down the stairs,
“Commander Areku! At last!”

With an evil smirk the black unicorn presented a small corked test glass with some shimmering blood in it,
“See what a certain human has kindly provided…”

With widened eyes, the scientist looked first in surprise, then in anger,
“You fool! You’re wasting my time to bring me this, this… test glass of blood from a primate?”

With an annoyed look the commander glared at the gray unicorn in lab coat,
“Herr Doctor, I assure you that this ‘primate blood’ as you call it, is mixed with unicorn magic which alone makes its existence something of the utmost interest! My boys have put some attack spells on it and the blood simply absorbed them!”

Inspecting the glass carefully without magic on the table, holding a light close to it, the doctor scrutinized the content,
“I see! And it also shimmers like magic! This really is magically energized human blood!”

Being content to be confirmed, the Commander raised his head,
“I assume we finally have found ourselves a new way to store magic…”

With a reminding glare the scientific unicorn looked up,
“I don’t give a hay for assumptions! We must TEST!!!” With this, the doctor placed a single drop on a tablet and held some sort of sensor into the shimmering blood. Magical energy jumped directly into the apparatus, making the indicators go far off scale before the Apparatus exploded. “Sweet Celestia!!!” Jumping back into cover, both unicorns watched as the energy slipped to three further types of connected apparatuses which exploded likewise before the magic energy ceased to exist. Ubermane jumped up in excitement stretching his hooves into the air.

"EUREKA!!! The genetic structure seems to be able to store vast amounts of magic! And those fools in the royal labs know nothing!”

Excited, the commander took another drop out of the glass,
“That gives me an idea… Suppose I take this very drop of this highly energized human blood and cast a minor release spell on it…” With a glow of his horn, a glistening bright pressure wave from the drop smashed a hole of two times two meters right out of the wall. Both unicorns shrieked back for a second, but the Commander recollected himself first. Amazement and vandalism sparkled in his eyes. "Did you see that?!? Think of carriages powered by drops of human blood! Think of trains! Think of airships!”

Giving Commander Areku a sneer, Doctor Ubermane looked at the hole, inspecting the destruction this one drop had caused,
“Use your imagination, my boy… Think big as they do in Canterlot! You see what destructive force one single drop can muster? Imagine a gallon! Think of artillery rounds!

* * * * *

Meanwhile Tyler and Applejack went to the fields,
“Tyler, why exactly do ya think Twilight wanted to do some stuff with ya out here?”

The human arched his brows and shrugged,
“I guess she’s not sure whether or not it’s safe to be around me when I come in contact with magic.”

It was then when Twilight’s voice was heard,
“Look out! Here comes Tom!” With that Twilight hurled over a large boulder with her levitation.

“What’s with the giant boulder, Twilight?” Tyler asked.

As Twilight stood before them, she harrumphed briefly,
“I take it levitation is the least dangerous kind of magic for now. As you can see, I levitated this boulder with levitation. Now, let me try to levitate you…”

Twilight tried to levitate Tyler, but her horn glowed alone. After a few seconds, she gave up,
“Ugh! Why can’t I levitate you? The magic flows, my concentration is there… And yet you don’t move an inch…”

Tyler nodded and cocked his head,
“You can’t levitate me, but you can levitate a humongous boulder?”

Twilight shook her head,
“It has to do something with you, around you or within you, big guy. But for now, we can definitely say that you don’t have any more violent reactions to magic. Do you feel anything inside you? Any change at all? I used that magic on you, what happened to it?”

Tyler looked on his hands,
“Yes, my body feels… tingly… There’s something in me. Can’t describe it…”

Twilight nodded and raised her hoof,
“Good! Quite good! Seems to me, your body absorbed my magic. I’m sorry, but you have to start from scratch with using magic… But don’t worry; you’ll be out of magic kindergarten in an hour! Try to concentrate the magic somewhere, your fingers or hands for example. And point them at the boulder.”

Tyler did as he was instructed and raised his hands towards the boulder,
“As long as this magic stuff doesn’t rip off my fingers… Hey… Why did you name that thing Tom before?”

Applejack chuckled,
“Rarity came up with that, long story…”

Twilight stood next to Tyler,
“OK… Now… Try to levitate that thing… Concentrate… “

Tyler focused on the boulder before him,
“You mean I simply have to ‘will’ it up?”

Twilight beamed,
“Yeah! That’s about it! Try it!” As Tyler focused more and more on the boulder, the giant rock slightly shivered.

Applejack began to smile,
“Almost, sugarcube!” As Tyler’s eyes opened wide, there was a burst of magic and ‘Tom’ was tossed against an old apple tree, toppling it.

Tyler blinked at the boulder before him and eyed between Tom and his hands,
“I’m Tyler Jones… Jedi knight!”

Twilight chuckled nervously,
“Not so much force… I think you will learn it with time…”

As she levitated the boulder back to starting position, Tyler looked at the chopped down tree,
“Sorry, AJ… I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s OK, sugarcube! That feller had to be chopped down anyway…”

Twilight gave him a nudge,
“Come on, once more!”

But while he raised his hands again for another try to redo, he failed,
“Uh… Twilight? I think my batteries are empty…”

“Huh?”

“I mean I don’t have any magic left in me!”

The unicorn cocked her head,
“Can’t you generate magic on your own?”

He simply rolled his eyes,
“Duh! I don’t have a horn like you do, honey!”

This caused Twilight to tip her chin,
“Interesting… You need to be charged with spells… I’d like to perform several more tests on you then, Tyler!”

An hour later Tyler performed a whole lot of spells, including magic arrows and other aggressive spells. This was much to his relief, since he wasn’t out to get another painful experience. Twilight seemed very pleased that he could perform the spells, even when they needed time to come out. However, once he was charged with more than one spell, the spell he let out was rather random than controlled,
“Tyler, I have a theory. You, as a human, can wield magic like we unicorns do. Now, while each unicorn is limited to use magic helping him or her out to do the daily work for the special talent, you have no such limitation. I think you could learn any spell up to class 5…”

Tyler cocked his head,
“Class 5?”

Twilight nodded,
“Unicorns commonly can wield magic spells from class 0 to 10. The magic arrow from Prince Blueblood was a class 1 attack spell. It gives a most unpleasant sting for three days normally. Class 10 is what famous unicorns like Starswirl the Bearded used. Lightning strikes as attack spells and stuff like that. I prefer Class 6 with magic bolts. They are precise as the arrows, but give more punch to it. One bolt can knock out a Changeling drone.”

This caused Tyler to cock his head,
“What’s a Changeling?”

Applejack interfered,
“Believe me, ya don’t wanna know! They are gone anyway, so let Twilight explain first before we change the topic.”

Twilight nodded with a smile,
“Thank you, AJ… You see, Tyler… Alicorns on the other hand use Class 0 to 10 as well, but go beyond that. During the last Nightmare Night, Princess Luna used a class 11 spell on toy spiders, turning them into real ones. I don’t know what class the princesses use to move both sun and moon, but I think this goes far beyond Class 30… That is of course only speculation. Nopony knows…”

Tyler folded his arms,
“So… You mean a unicorn who attacks me will only charge me up?”

Twilight nodded vigorously,
“Yeah! In a way, you are magic-proof! No magic unicorns use on you can harm you.”

He rubbed his chin,
“Is there a limit to that charging? I mean if I get too much… Could this fry my brain?”

Twilight blinked at him with wide eyes, before she chuckled and shook her head,
“Well, we won’t do that, Tyler… But just to be sure…” She then touched his chest with her glowing horn. “There… I injected you with a release spell. It will discharge any magic in you in an instant. You can use that if someone charges you with something you don’t want to have in you.”

Applejack gave this a sly grin,
“Like the 'Want it; need it' spell?”

This caused the unicorn mare to chuckle in embarrassment,
“Like that, yeah…”

* * * * *

Later at the evening, nearing dusk, everypony was enjoying his or her supper when suddenly, a soft melody filled the air, paired with a soft voice. This melody also reached for the meanwhile cleaned library. As Spike opened the window of the Library, he frowned a bit. “Uh… Twilight, are we expecting Princess Luna in Ponyville this evening?”

Turning her head, Twilight turned from the table she, Applejack, Spike and Tyler were eating on until just now as she noticed the melody from outside,
“No? Why? Is she there? That’s her voice, alright.” Trotting outside the library, Twilight noticed that the air was filled with Princess Luna’s voice and calm music.

It filled the air just enough to be heard, a soft calm music to emphasize her voice. Already the stars were out and the one or other shooting star occurred. Many ponies in Ponyville stepped outside and watched the sky in awe. It was then when a Pegasus looped around the city,
“Wow… But where’s the princess?” Rainbow Dash landed next to Twilight and Tyler. “I looked all around in Ponyville, but no Princess!”

Fluttershy trotted near, watching around,
“Oh… um… hello, everypony… You know something? The animals love it. The music I mean. They are calmer than ever. Angel’s already asleep. It’s like a soothing lullaby. So, um… Is this Princess Luna’s doing? I’d like to thank her.”

After a loud burp from inside the library, Spike strolled outside,
“Twilight, scroll from the Princess!”

“A scroll? Let’s see. Maybe she knows something about this music. Not that it’s a big threat or something…” As she read the scroll, her eyes widened. “This is happening in Canterlot as well. Princess Celestia says it’s probably…” Her eyes suddenly widened. “WHAT?”

* * * * *
Meanwhile, in Canterlot

Stepping into the chambers of her younger sister, Princess Celestia couldn’t resist but to smile,
“Lulu… The Royal Canterlot Canto? You didn’t perform this in over 1500 years. What happened, little sister?”

Stopping her singing for a moment, while brushing her ethereal mane in front of the mirror,
“Oh I just thought about HIM, Tia… He praised my night and moon so devotedly… I need my night and myself to look good for him… Especially when I’m attending Nightmare Night in two weeks…” As her singing began anew, Celestia smiled upon her sister who magically hovered in the air like a Pegasus filly in her first love.

* * * * *

Back in Ponyville, Twilight looked up from the letter,
“The… The Royal Canterlot Canto…?”

Pinkie Pie bounced around,
“Oh! Oh! Is it something like the Pony pokey? Huh? Huh? Huhh?”

Rarity shook her head,
“Why, no, Pinkie; A canto is a sort of royal singing. So, Twilight… darling, what is this all about?”

Twilight bumped her flank at Tyler,
“It seems Casanova here impressed the young princess during the Grand Galloping Gala and she wants her night to look the best for him.”

This answer prompted Rarity to gasp,
“What? When a mare wants something of her to look better for a stallion, it is obvious she enjoys his company…”

Tossing Pinkie Pie aside, the elegant mare stared up to Tyler,
“You must have treated her like a queen to impress her that much!” Leaning against him, she closed her eyes while even nuzzling him a bit. “Oh, to think I’ve befriended such a gentlecolt…“

Tyler chuckled while caressing her wonderful mane,
“Rarity, my manners aren’t as nearly as refined as yours.”

His response prompted her to gasp again,
“Oh yes they are! And don’t let anypony tell you otherwise! If you want to, you can say such wonderful words! Do such wonderful actions! I’ll never forget how you dueled yourself with this… this… CRETIN on my behalf, even if you had no reason to do so! I’m happy to be one of your friends, Tyler! Any mare would be happy to have you as a friend protecting her.”

“Right!” Rainbow added, “You sure are awesome; like killing all those void creatures with bare hands and a sword… Or to punch that Blueblood jerk once he loses his manners. Man, you are as loyal as me! I respect that, T-man!”

Tyler laughed and gave Rainbow a friendly glare until they rammed their heads together, shouting “FRIENDS!” in unison.

“Oh my… come to think of it. If you touched Princess Luna’s heart that much, you sure must be kind, too.” Fluttershy smiled shyly in a bit of a distance, until Tyler grabbed her and pulled her more into the group.

“Come here, you!” With a surprised yelp Fluttershy resisted first, but let it happen. Tyler looked around to his friends. “You know, girls? You are the best thing that could happen to me. Twilight? Why don’t we answer Princess Luna for her song?”

Twilight arched a brow,
“And how?” As he whispered into her ear, her face brightened up. “That’s a great idea!” Shortly after Luna saw out of the window as one magic bolt exploded and the firework showed the face of the princess. Another bolt shot into the sky and formed a heart around her image. This caused the Princess of the Night to gasp. After recollecting herself, she went to bed and hugged a pillow. Slowly, silence returned to the night as she spotted quill and paper. Shortly after that, Spike burped again in his basket and Tyler opened the black scroll, sitting on the bed with AJ and Twilight.

Dear Tyler,

I saw the firework thou got into Ponyville’s night sky. I like to thank thee for appreciating my canto in such a manner. I wish I could be with thee tonight. Right now, my thoughts circle around you.
In love,
Luna

Tyler smiled and took a quill from the desk. While Applejack and Twilight sat next to him, watching over his shoulders, he began to write.

Dear Luna,

Your Royal Canterlot Canto truly surprised us a bit. While your Royal Canterlot Voice is a very loud thing, everypony in Ponyville was pleased with your Canto. Ponies came outside the night to listen to it. I saw several couples in the night sitting together as your soothing voice calmed them. Fluttershy bids you a nice thank you; your voice calmed her animals so much that they slept peacefully. Twilight and Applejack are sitting here with me as I write these lines. We would like to have you here as well. Guard our dreams well tonight, my maiden of the night. I will go to bed now, hopefully to dream about your beautiful Canto.
In love,
Tyler

As Luna read those lines, she held the letter affectionately on her chest with a deep sigh,
“That I will, my Defender… That I will…”

Meanwhile Applejack and Twilight cuddled with Tyler as all three slept in one bed.Twilight looked up to him,
“Those were sweet words you wrote to her, Casanova… You really want her in our herd, hm?”

Tyler nodded,
“Indeed. She needs to be accompanied to be happy. And she definitely deserves someone who lets her experience love. I just hope I can perform this task…”

Applejack chuckled while caressing his chest with her hoof and nuzzling his neck,
“Yer doing fine there, pardner… Yer making us two happy… Why would ya fail to make her happy as well?”

* * * * *

On the next morning, Tyler went to the Carousel Boutique. Rarity seemed broken-hearted because of the demise of his suit. Tyler, on the other hand, rolled his eyes,
“It’s only a suit Rarity. I’m happy only a suit was ruined and not somepony I love and care for.”

Rarity gasped,
“Yes, this is true… I can create a new suit, but I can’t give life to someone. Still… That brute! How could he attack you from behind…”

One moment later, Sweetie Belle stormed into the boutique,
“Rarity! Is he here?”

After clearing her throat briefly, Rarity looked down to her little sister,
“Now, Sweetie Belle… Show your manners in front of Tyler! He protected me at the Gala!”

“I know! And you told me that earned him his cutie mark! So I wanted to ask him about it!”

Tyler chuckled and sat down before he undressed his upper body, showing his cutie mark to the little filly,
“There you go. But it was a painful thing to earn.”

The little filly cocked her head,
“Why’s that?”

Rarity stepped in,
“Sweetie Belle… He is a human. Humans don’t earn their cutie marks as we ponies do. As he earned his cutie mark, he leaped in front of me to protect me from a magic spell. It was very painful as he got through it.”

The little filly touched the cutie mark now,
“I see… So he’s a protector…” Sweetie Belle then bowed her head in frustration. “Maybe we crusaders are just too little to get our cutie mark…”

As a lone tear dropped from her cheek, Tyler now sat beside the little unicorn filly,
“Size doesn’t matter… Look at me. Do you judge me for my size alone? Hmm?” Looking up to his gentle smiling face, she shook her little head. Nodding to her response, he continued with tipping his right index finger at his head right before the ears. “And you are wise not to do so. For my strongest weapon is my intelligence. And a powerful weapon that is. It explains life; makes us understand. Here, in Equestria, the powers of magic flows through the bodies of you unicorns. Its energy fills the air in every facet of life. A power my intelligence cannot fully grasp, but this I know: You girls are more than blank flanks. We all are enlightened beings, each in our own special way, not the sum of our body organs. Being a filly, you must learn to see the very essence within you.”

He looked up to Rarity, who remained silent. “Here, in front of me, your friends and your beloved family… Everywhere! Yes… even before those who doubt you.” He then embraced the little filly. “When a human being, a being who never was fit to have a cutie mark, can earn one, then you, my little pony, can do so as well.”

This brought back a smile on Sweetie Belle’s face,
“You are right… I shouldn’t give up that easy. Thank you, Mr. Tyler! You are very nice!” Giving him a short peck on the cheek, the little filly ran outside, probably to get to the other crusaders.

Rarity watched her ran outside before she smiled up to Tyler,
“Thank you for building her up again, Tyler. You inspire her so much.”

Tyler stood up and shook his head,
“Don’t thank me, Rarity. She’s a good little filly. She will go her way.”

As Tyler returned to the library, he was intercepted by a bunch of reporters,
“There he is!”

“Tyler Jones! Is it true that you and Princess Luna have a liaison?”

Tyler noticed the reporter ponies now and went on, ignoring them,
“No comment!”

“Is your new, darker toned clothing a homage to the princess?”

“Let’s not speculate about my clothing, OK?”

“Is it true that your visit at the Grand Galloping Gala was to accompany the Princess of the Night?”

Annoyed, Tyler rolled his eyes,
“No comment on that either! But here are some questions to you folks out there! As far as I can see it, the princess not only is co-ruler to the land, but also a lady. Why should a lady always stick to her royal duties? She can have friends, can’t she? Now, ladies and gentlecolts… You’ll have to excuse me. I have appointments I have to attend to.”

As he went over the street to go back to the library, there was a large container where a dark unicorn stallion struggled to open up a crate,
“H-hey! Could you help me, sir?”

Tyler looked inside the container and nodded,
“Sure thing! Are you new in town? Can’t say I ever saw you before…”

“That I am. Name’s Areku! Could you open the crate for me? I’d like to open it without magic, since the content is very sensitive.”

"OK..." As Tyler opened the crate, he found nothing in it. "What? But there's nothing in it! Why didn't you simply-"

He was cut off by Areku,
"Doctor Ubermane wants to see you, Mr. Jones..."

“Ubermane…” Now Tyler’s face darkened. “Now I know… YOU were the one who brook into the library!”

Areku smirked and watched Tyler,
“Is that so…?” Tyler was about to say something, as something hard hit his head from behind and knocked him out. Standing above him, Areku sneered. “You will make a fine addition to the arms race! Now we can mass-produce…”

During the late evening, the girls tried to look for Tyler, yet there was no success to the search. Rarity raised her hooves in expression,
“No sign of Tyler ANYWHERE! Where can he be?”

“It’s not like him to go anywhere without telling us.” Twilight muttered slightly worried. Something must have happened to him… Maybe the guys with the blood took him? Come on, Twilight! Think! Thinkthinkthinkthinkthink!

“I know how to find the T-man!” Rainbow claimed, prompting the girls to look at her.

“Really? How?”

“Pinkie Pie! Here!” With this the Pegasus mare grabbed one of Tyler’s shirts and rubbed it into the face of the pink earth pony. “Now go, girl! Find him and throw a party!” Pinkie Pie wrinkled her nose once or twice, but then seemed to have scent something. As she ran northwest, the girls galloped after her.

* * * * *

As Tyler awoke, his mind span around and a loud bang got him to get the grip,
“Hey! You there! Hairless ape! Get yourself up before we get you!”

Tyler found he was in some sort of cage like a kennel. And a guard had kicked against it. What the serious fuck? “A kennel? You treat me like an animal? Maybe I should get you a stable then as well! Some carrots, some oat, for our good horsey here… Yes you are…”

The guard in front of the cage gritted his teeth, and now Tyler could recognize him as Wheat Wacker.
“Enough!!! This guy doesn’t even know the position he’s in!”

Tyler smirked as he saw how easy it was to get this stallion pissed off,
“Sure I know… You sick fuckers put me into a cage so I don’t kick your sorry sissy ass! Not even surprised to see your sorry ass here. What you say, big boy? Open the cage and we dance a bit! You always had a beef with me, so let's settle this!”

This really enraged the stallion,
“I’M TIRED OF YOUR BULLSHIT, YOU FILTHY XENO!!! WE HAVE 75 STALLIONS OUT HERE TO PUNCH YOUR FACE IN! WHAT DO YOU GOT?” As he tried to reach Tyler with his hoof between the bars of the cage, obviously to punch Tyler with it, Tyler grabbed the hoof of the stallion and broke the bones in it with several targeted punches, prompting the stallion to scream in pain.

Tyler’s eyes were filled with satisfaction as he committed this act of revenge for himself,
“Your hoof… And my pleasure!” Several more punches and painful shrieks later the limb was broken beyond help. Tyler then got away from the bars and the stallion reeled back.

Areku now approached the scene,
“There is a being inside this cage, which is something far worse than Ponykind could ever imagine… Should you risk bodily contact with him, you all will regret it. Your magic won’t help you.” With this the unicorns became more cautious about Tyler. They knew that magic wouldn’t harm him and that his strength matched theirs. He was a hazardous being to them. This gave Tyler enough time to explore the laboratory with his eyes. There were many animals there in cages. They were put through the most inhumane and unspeakable tortures. Only to satisfy Ubermane’s sadistic thirst for knowledge and Areku’s military curiosity, who both inspected the results of the cruel animal testing.

Often, in the darkness, Tyler could hear the little critters whimper in fear and agony. Once in a while, several unicorn stallions injected destructive magic into Tyler and some of the animals. Was it every hour? Every half an hour? Slowly Tyler’s world began changing, as more and more agony took grasp of him. His only hope was to endure and he tried his best to keep his sanity. At some point either the girls or the princesses would find him. His feeling for time began to change as well. He couldn’t tell if it was imagination but somehow he could tell how many seconds had passed. Maybe this was a syndrome he developed. He could have been in there for days, weeks, even months. Or maybe it was just for hours. This underground facility had no clock, no calendar; nothing to keep track. And the sleep phases were simply putting out the lights; depriving every sense from him. Yet after a while, his body began to shimmer. He knew this had to mean signs of overcharge and fear grew in him.

After a while, they took some of his blood to experiment with it. Tyler could see what one drop of blood could muster to a concrete wall. The wall of 10meters length and height and 2 meters width was blown to pieces by this very drop of blood. A nightmare was born in this laboratory as they filled his blood into small glass capsules.

Then, during one sleeping phase, Tyler was awake in the darkness, thinking about the magic injected to him earlier this day or night… and he understood what had been injected into him. He had become magically sentient. He could identify the very spells that were within him. This miracle was kept secret from the scientists. And patiently, Tyler waited for the right moment while remembering what Twilight did to him before. Just like on a hunt. Just like his father once taught him during his childhood. Wait, and be ready…

Meanwhile the Mane Six strolled around Dragon Mountain as they followed Pinkie Pie. Rarity rolled her eyes,
“Pinkie! You’ve been searching for three days now! And all we did was go a full circle around Dragon Mountain!”

The pink earth pony looked up,
“Yeah! I know! But I smell Tyler here!”

As Twilight looked up to Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus shrugged,
“Hey! She usually finds ponies that way!” It was then when Fluttershy pointed towards an entrance guarded by two unicorns.

The girls looked at each other and nodded,
“This must be it, girls! We have a clue! Now… Someone has to lure these guards away…”

All eyes turned to Rarity. The elegant unicorn gasped before she shook her head,
“No! You can’t expect me to act that low!”

“Come on, Rarity! For Tyler? The one who was so chivalrous to you?” Twilight smiled wide and winked vigorously with her eyes.

Sighing in defeat, the unicorn nodded,
“For the rescue of a gentlecolt, a lady has to do what a lady has to do! But don’t you dare spread that around!”

“We won’t! Pinkie promise!” A united “Pinkie promise” sounded off. Mere moments later, the two stallions looked up as a whistle got their attention.

Rarity strolled from one bush to another winking over to them in a lascivious manner, shaking her flank for them,
“My… such handsome studs… Surely you could give a fine mare the time of her life…” I hope this turns out well, otherwise I have to throw up at these words…So uncouth! As she disappeared into another bush, both stallions grinned at each other and followed her. Some punches and kicks later, the girls had them tied up and AJ made sure they couldn’t escape or shout for help.

When they entered the facility, it was quite dark and moody. It wasn’t until long they found the main laboratory, not noticing the shadows in the dark. But by now, all the animals in them were dead by over dosage of magic injection. As Fluttershy passed the cages, tears ran down her cheeks,
“No… Celestia no… They’re all… They’re all dead…”

Rainbow Dash tried to cheer the weeping timid Pegasus up while Twilight shook her head in disgust,
“Who could ever perform such cruel studies that the test objects die?”

Applejack now came to her side,
“We need to find Tyler, sugarcube… if they let all these lil’ critters die, Celestia knows what they’ve done to him!”

As they went further into the laboratory, they saw Tyler hanging from the ceiling. His body was shining bright by now. Twilight concluded that this was due to overcharge of magic inside his body, but she couldn’t tell what he was charged with. His arms were wrapped up in chains and his head hung down. “Tyler!” As she shot a magic bolt at the chains, he fell to the ground and collapsed. As the girls stormed to him, his two herd mates were the ones getting him into a sitting position. “Tyler! Come on! Snap out of it!” Rainbow eyed the surrounding darkness with wary glances. “Folks… Anypony else thinks coming in here was way too easy?”

WhenTyler came to his senses, he shook his head, still groggy,
“Twilight… No, you’re all not safe here… Please! You must leave!”

The lavender unicorn shook her head,
“I won’t leave you behind!” By now she noticed that his eyes were shut tight. “What have they done to you? Why don’t you open your eyes?”

He shook his head,
“You… You have to go…” As Pinkie Pie pushed a lever while walking backwards and the whole laboratory began to rumble and big and heavy steam machines came to life.

Applejack looked around with wary looks,
“What in Tarnation? Is this the Flim Flam Brother’s home or somethin’?”

As the lights turned on again, the girls found themselves surrounded by over 70 unicorns who now charged their horns with magic. Areku and Ubermane entered the main laboratory now, sneering down to them,
“See there, Doctor Ubermane? I told you the little herd would come together… The bearers of the Elements of Harmony… Celestia’s little lap dogs… I can already smell their fear… Nopony moves!”

Twilight glared up to Areku,
“What have you done with Tyler?”

“What we have done to him?” Ubermane laughed. “Oh we only made use of his full potential. This human truly is proof to my theories! We Weaponized him! And now we’ve charged him with oh so many attack spells that one drop of his blood can level a house! With his help, we might even overcome the Princesses! All this weaponry you witness here is able to storage vast amounts of magic! Once charged, one hundred unicorns can wield the magic of ten thousand! Enough to level Canterlot in a day!”

Areku grinned proudly,
“As from this point, Dragon Mt. will be the new Power center of Equestria!”

Twilight’s horn began to glow,
“It takes more than a few human blood bombs to bring Equestria down!”

The Mane Six gritted their teeth as suddenly Tyler’s voice rose,
“No! I won’t let you do this! I won’t allow this madness come to be!”

As he opened his eyes, they were filled with magic, shining brightly,
“Twilight Sparkle… In mere moments a magic detonation of unprecedented proportions will unleash all the magic accumulated in me destroying anything in this laboratory, vaporizing the base of the mountain in the process, causing it to crumble and bury all the evil in it. Tell Princess Celestia I had no other choice!”

Twilight shook her head,
“I won’t abandon you!!!”

By now Tyler yelled at her and his expression was that of anger. “Fool! I have to stay behind to ensure the safety of this land! You will soon begin to imagine what they set in motion this day! Lead our friends out of this mountain and at least 30 miles away! There you should be safe. You must find the courage to leave me to meet me another day, beloved! Take your love for me and hold on to it! Now run! LEAD OUR FRIENDS AND RUN!!!”

Magic focused in Tyler as particles of light appeared out of nowhere and shot towards him. There was a smell of static in the air, prompting Rarity to gasp,
“Twilight! If they charged him that much that one could smell magic in the air, we HAVE to get out of here!” Twilight looked up to Tyler with tears in her eyes, before she nodded and a purple flash teleported them away.

By then Ubermane ran across the hall,
“A release spell! By all means, someone charged him with a release spell before we caught him!”

Areku gritted his teeth,
“WHAT? NO, YOU IDIOTS! DIDN’T YOU CHECK HIM IF HE WAS ALREADY CHARGED WITH SPELLS?”

Tyler looked down to them both as his voice became calm. He seemed to have made his peace with God already,
“You brought this misery upon yourself… Everything in this mountain will be destroyed! I will bury you and all of your cruelty beneath tons of rock! Not one of your war devices will ever reach the surface to harm Equestria!”

Areku looked up to Tyler,
“This isn’t over yet!” That said, both of them teleported away as well.

One moment later the Mane Six appeared outside of Dragon Mountain, not far away from the already searching guards. Princess Celestia seemed determined to find and rescue the only human in her realm. As Twilight saw one nearby stallion, she immediately recognized him,
“Shining Armor!”

As the unicorn stallion looked up, he saw his little sister and her friends running towards him,
“Twily! What are you doing here? Cadence said the princesses need my help with searching for Tyler, so she teleported me here. What is-”

He was cut off by Twilight who pointed her hoof towards the mountain,
“You have to order everypony away from Dragon Mountain! They did something horrible with him!”

He shook his head not understanding,
“Hold it there, what did they do to him?”

Tears ran down Twilight’s face now,
“He can storage magic, so they charged him up to use his blood for war devices! And now he wants to release all that magic to destroy the facility!”

The eyes of the stallion grew large,
“Ok, listen, first thing we do is to-”

Then they were interrupted by a horrible quake, followed by a bone shaking thunder, compelling each and every pony to hold his or her ears. As the detonation blast reached them, the girls and guards had problems to stay on their hooves. Shining Armor held his sister tightly as gushing winds passed them. He was the first to look at what caused all this.
And what he saw literally stunned him. A giant bright sphere of blue light breached out of the mountain, pushing the rest of the mountain away with loud cracking sounds. It was so bright it hurt to look at it. The amount of magical energy to form such a thing… It also pushed away the clouds. Shining Armor couldn’t even begin to imagine the extent of this. If Twilight was right, the human had been so highly charged with destructive spells… No, nopony could have survived such an ordeal! But that was just the point. The human was neither a pony or from this world.

He was interrupted in his thoughts as Twilight struggled in his grip. As she saw what happened, her eyes went as big as plates and her pupils turned to tiny dots,
“ Let go of me! I have to get him out of there! He’s in the epicenter! I can’t just stand here!” Twilight didn’t recognize how her tone was instantly hysterical.

But this only caused Shining Armor to tighten his grip on her,
“TWILY!!! There’s nothing you can do for him!”

Looking desperately towards her friends, she saw that Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow had to do the same with Applejack who was equally out to help Tyler,
“Out of mah way, y’all!!! Mah pardner out there needs mah help!”

They all didn’t noticed how their hooves scratched the earth beneath them, leaving little trenches as they held the strong earth pony back,
“Rainbow Dash! Ya above all! Let go of me!”

As Applejack gave her a stern look, that look suddenly vanished as she saw tears in the Pegasus face,
“Believe me! If I knew I could survive this, I would be the first to go!”

It was then when Applejack’s legs gave in and she began to cry bitter tears,
“What are we goin’ to do, y’all?” Right now the quakes went into stronger force as the mountain top began to crumble. More and more of the mountain fell apart directly into the sphere, surely to vaporize as well. Tears ran down Twilight’s face as she lied in the dust, reaching out to the mountain and called out for Tyler.

Awakening from all the ruckus, Luna stepped outside to her balcony to see what happened. As she saw the giant detonation, a bad feeling took place in her in an instant. As she galloped towards the door of her chambers, said doors suddenly opened and her sister stood in there,
“Did you see that, Tia? It’s him! Something most horrible must have happened to him!”

Celestia nodded,
“Twilight already sent me a letter. Somepony ponynapped him. That detonation surely is connected to this. But we cannot enter this area until the sphere is gone.” As they stepped outside, Celestia seemed very disturbed about this sphere. “Such destructive force… “

Luna muttered as she shook her head in shock,
“Someone must have done terrible things to him to make this!” By now many red hot objects blasted out of the sphere. Several crashed down on Equestria, others smashed right into the nearby mountains, one shot directly into the northern regions towards the Crystal Empire.

Author's Note

Proofread by OpalBerries

8 - A hero's mind **

Days came and passed but nothing was found anymore between the rubble and the royal guard stopped searching on the fourth day,
“I’m sorry, Ms. Sparkle… But by now he must have died of thirst…” Twilight bowed her head in frustration and nodded. The new Captain of the royal guard had a point there. Yet Shining Armor would have never stopped the search until he either moved the mountain away or presented Tyler’s corpse to her.

By now both the librarian and the farm girl were deeply broken-hearted. And while the Apple family did their best to cheer Applejack up, the rest of the Mane 6 tried to bring a smile back to Twilight. Pinkie Pie was struck by the fate of her two friends the most. No matter what she did, nothing was able to do something for the better, causing sadness to the pink energy bundle and her mane to flatten. There was the daily mountain of mail for them both. Everyone in Ponyville showed sympathy to the former members of what was once the most popular herd in town.

…Twilight…

Then, on the fifth day, Twilight awakened in the middle of the night. It wasn’t because of a nightmare or someone waking her up physically. It was a voice.

…Twilight…

Beads of sweat sparkled down her coat. This was Tyler’s voice. She would recognize his voice in the midst of thousands. His voice whispered her name again and again, echoed in her mind.

…Twilight…

She stepped outside and looked north to the remains of Dragon Mountain. Something compelled the young unicorn to go to this very place, even in the dark of the night, her heart beating like crazy. By then, his voice whispered through the wind, calling her name. It was this silent voice that caused hope to rekindle in the unicorn’s heart,
“That voice…” Twilight didn’t recognize that another pony also arrived at the scene.

“He’s calling mah name…” Applejack arrived there, obviously coming from Sweet Apple Acres.

Twilight raised her head,
“What? You too?” The earth pony nodded, still listening to the voice in her head.

“Ah can’t explain it, but somehow deep within… Ah know he’s still alive… And he’s calling me. He’s waitin’ for us, Twilight. Ah cannot explain this, but that’s how it is…

The sound of hooves landing sounded off and as they turned around, Luna landed right beside them.
“He’s calling me as well, Twilight Sparkle… He’s calling for everypony he has deep bonds to… I… I feel flattered that he calls out for me like that.”

Applejack looked up to the alicorn,
“Luna, what do yer think we should do?”

The princess tipped her chin for a moment, before pointing north,
“Why, what a question! He’s calling us, so we have to come to the place from wherever he is calling us from.”

Twilight gulped. Anypony else would have called her mad, not those two… It couldn’t be madness if they as well could hear it. And in the midst of the night, they left Ponyville and went north. Passing Canterlot and Cloudsdale, they kept walking always into the north. When they were tired, they slept, when they were hungry, they ate.

By the time they reached the Crystal Mountain, they were on the outskirts of Equestria. Ascending the mountain was difficult for both the unicorn and earth pony, but Luna scouted the easiest way for them. Motivated by the always calling voice they went through icy caves and snow, hopeful to help him out. Since he was calling them, maybe he was hurt or lost. The sheer thought of Tyler lying in the dirt somewhere made Twilight fear for him, pushing to move faster, but Applejack and Luna held her back, forced her to pace herself.

As the journey went on for days, one night at the camp fire both the unicorn and earth pony asked the princess if she wouldn’t neglect her royal duties with leaving Equestria so easily. This prompted Luna to gasp,
“Neglect? Nay! Celestia would do the same in my position. And for every other subject in our realm! But her duties excel mine. And in all good honesty: She managed Equestria for a thousand years without me. What do a few days more of paperwork matter then? I can still raise the moon from here, can I not? Tyler not only is a subject to me, but also one that courts for me… I wish this to continue, so for this reason alone…” She blushed a bit, but the other two gave her warm smiles and came closer, sharing their body warmth with her. Luna gulped. She always feared that maybe the others would be intimidated or feared losing Tyler. But she was welcomed with trust, she was welcome in this little herd and this meant a big thing in her eyes.

* * * * *

On the next day, they reached the outskirts of the Crystal Empire and were happy that the temperatures were becoming milder than the freezing ones in the mountains. They passed a few towns and villages, but Tyler was nowhere to be found. And still there was this voice calling them. As the royal guard of the empire showed up, all three of them were escorted and brought into the capital city, standing high with towers of crystal in a shimmering skyline. As the carriage stopped, they were welcomed by both Shining Armor and Princess Cadance,
“Twilight…” With that Cadance hugged both the unicorn and earth pony. “Shining Armor told me everything. What a dreadful event this must mean to you all… And when I’ve heard about what landed into a nearby town to the south I ordered to bring it here at once. I was about to send you a letter, but Aunt Celestia told me you both and Aunt Luna would come personally. Did you really cross the Crystal Mountains by hoof, aunt?”

Luna nodded,
“That we did. So Cadance… Child, your subjects found him?”

The Princess of love nodded with a sad smile while pointing towards the castle,
“Like I said before, this crystal slammed right into a marketplace in a southern town. Luckily no one was in that place at that time. We tried to get him out already, but this crystal seems virtually indestructible for crystal ponies. It sucks the very magic my magicians perform on it into itself. Shining Armor told me what happened in Equestria, so we immediately stopped. I won’t let this happen again. I thought of cutting him out myself, but I didn’t know how he reacts to alicorn magic, so I studied the crystal and his body.

With this she led them inside the castle and brought them into a large hall, guarded by several guards. The Crystal was large, at least four meters high and two meters in width. Tyler was enclosed in it like it was a crystal sarcophagus. Applejack approached the large crystal,
“So ya mean Tyler is alive? He’s alive and this thing needs to be opened? Well, what are ya waitin’ for? We have to get him out of there!”

But the Princess of Love shook her head,
“He’s in a deep slumber within this crystal, Applejack… We can’t get him out. The lock to open this prison is not on the outside, but on the inside of the crystal! It is his doing and only he can break free. While we can’t get him out, we might actually be able to get something or somepony in…” This caused the three of them to gasp.

Cadance continued,
“It will take the love of everypony to get inside his consciousness. Once there, you are on your own. You will have to listen to many things. It is likely that you will see some events from his point of view. And don’t expect to understand everything. A mind in this state can do many things, speaking in parallels and metaphors. If the mind speaks in terms you cannot understand, chances are it wasn’t meant this way. Remember! You are entering a mind of somepony, so don’t use any magic! Under no circumstance, do you understand? The magic you will have to do will be your love and care. Stay true to yourself and stay true to your beloved. Only then can you hope to free Tyler… and yourself out of his prison.” Cadance then approached the crystal, her horn beginning to glow.

Applejack was the first to step forth. She slowly nuzzled the crystal and caressed it with her hooves,
“Hey there, pardner… Ah’m worrying for you. I was thinkin’… Yer know we were talkin’ about it before and I think we should start tryin’ to get a foal, so don’t leave me hangin’, yer hear? Come back to me!”

Twilight was the second to come. The unicorn gave the crystal a hug and rubbed her face on it, her tears ran down the cheeks,
“I never doubted you were still alive. My friends showed me the magic of friendship… You on the other hand showed me the magic of love… Tyler… Please come back to me…”

Luna was the last one and gulped as she caressed the crystal above Tyler’s face,
“Thou became the beacon among my stars... I want to be with thee as long as I can, so come back to me! Thou wanted to court me, didn’t thee?” The magic on Cadance’s horn went to full power and the Princess of love performed the spell, causing a bright light on the three mares and the crystal.

In the next moment Twilight found herself in darkness. There was no ground to her hooves, she was floating,
“Everypony here?” She yelled into the darkness, shining bright with every syllable.

A few meters Applejack appeared, also shining with every syllable she spoke,
“Twilight! Keep talking , sugarcube! That way we can – whoa!!!” Applejack was grabbed by something and Princess Luna appeared, flying towards Twilight with Applejack hugged within as the earth pony kept talking. “Thanks, Luna! We should keep together, don’t ya think?”

As Luna hovered over Twilight and they were together, suddenly a floor appeared, causing Twilight to fall on her haunches and Applejack to hang from the princess. As they both landed on the floor, walls appeared as well and formed a hallway with different doors. One of them stood open and something came out.

You! Hey, you! Hey! Listen!

The three mares looked around, the voice of a boy sprang to their minds and a tiny little sphere of light danced around them.

Who are you? You all look funny!

There was a slight childish giggle in the air as the light span around them. Twilight tried to follow the little light, but gave up soon,
“What is this light? Is this…?”

Luna tipped her chin and thought a moment, before she came to a conclusion,
“Pray tell! Can this be… An embodiment ofTyler’s innocent good side? Can you hear it as well?” Both Twilight and Applejack nodded and Luna raised a hoof to the light. “Little light! Please hold still and speak to us.” With this the little light halted and hovered in front of the three mares.

You shouldn’t be here! You are intruders. Some of the others don’t like intruders! Me? I like you. Would you like me to tell you a story?

As they nodded, the light went through the door, leading to a giant meadow,
“What in tarnation? But we were in a hallway before! Now the only thing that remains is this door?” Both Twilight and Luna nodded and Applejack shrugged. “If ya don’t mind girls, but Ah don’t like this place. Too much weird thinkin’…” With this the light began.

Once I was in a great park, filled with the beauty of nature and minding my own business. Life was hard, but good. Then something fell from the sky. It was a dark rainbow. First I didn’t know what to think of it… Is it dangerous? Is it precious? But as I touched it, bright light emitted from it. I was scared and tried to tossed it away. I couldn’t… Light all around me until I fall through a colorful tunnel. There were many shadows and the biggest of them was the meanest of all.
He asked for my name, I didn’t answer… He brought me pain…
As I woke up from the pain, there was this nice jasper in all colors of the rainbow catching me. It is female, yet different. Not like the dark rainbow. And she was different to me. It talked to me, but rainbows can’t talk. Confusion. Where am I? What brought me here? Suddenly pain, more confusion. But the female rainbow jasper offered to guide me. I trusted it, so I followed.
As she guided me, we met a tigers-eye. She’s timid and shy, but kind while being so. I wondered how the tigers-eye can talk to the animals of nature. As the yellow gem brought its friends to me, I lost my fear. I begin to like this place…

While the girls listened patiently, Applejack shook her head,
“Jasper…? Tigers-eye? What in tarnation is he talkin’-”

Twilight held a hoof to the earth pony’s mouth,
“I think these are the metaphors Cadance talked about. Gemstones for certain ponies. So a jasper means Rainbow Dash and the Tiger’s eye is Fluttershy.” Applejack’s eyes widened in understanding and she took the hoof from her mouth with a nod. Luna remained silent and listened to the little light as it continued.

They were many. Diverse, different from another, but peaceful. With curious eyes they looked at me. Afraid. Wary. Among the many colors, I saw an amethyst. It also was female. She wields magic. She stands out in front of the others. She’s curious above all. She wants to know about me. I feel flattered.

She explained me the surroundings and I felt better, clearer. As she teaches me, she praises me for understanding. I frowned. I know where I’m from, understanding isn’t always good, but I dare not to tell her what bad persons do with their understanding. I know she’ll fear this truth. I don’t want her to lose trust in me. She responds she deems my coming good. This made me happy. The little amethyst is special to me…

At this point Twilight blushed with a touched smile. He thought I was special that early? With a short loop around Twilight the light continued.

The gems all surround me. There is the jasper, the tigers-eye, the amethyst and a diamond. The diamond praises me for being so refined, so I humor her.

Then a gold topaz appears. It is strong, yet I can clearly see through it. She never lies and I like her immediately. She offers me work, so I accept. I don’t hesitate to do so… I sense it is a very nice topaz.

By now Applejack took off her Stetson to cover her own blush. Oh, sugarcube…

The other gems tell me about a ruby. First I’m afraid. They depict the ruby scary. But as I met it, I sense it also is a nice gem like the others. I feel good. I’m surrounded with friends and they enrich my life.

Then there is a flame. It’s warm and gentle and looking into it soothes my eyes. It feels like a warm sunny day on the skin. I sense all the gems are special to it. As they surround it, the flame comes closer. I sense it is important, yet I fail to see a gem in the bright light of the flame. I obey the flame, she rules over the gems and all the many colors of the land. The flame is bemused and curious about me, tells me I am the first to come here. This is both good and bad, since nothing evil has followed me. But I also feel alone.

After some time I see a big Armenian stone. She is beautiful, but my hands don’t obey me and hurt her. I immediately regret. I don’t want to hurt her. She’s too beautiful to be hurt. My hands rise to hurt her again, so I fight. I fight myself to stop my hands from hurting her.

Luna gulped and fought the tears. He really did this for me…

They explain me what happens. That the dark rainbow made me hurt my friends. Then…

Suddenly the young voice got interrupted as a storm comes out on the horizon. A loud thunderclap came from the coming storm. Startled, the little light backs away from the storm.

I cannot stay with you! They are coming here and they mustn’t find me!

Twilight shook her head as the little light flies off,
“Wait! Who’s coming?” By that time the storm clouds thickened and two shadows slammed into the earth before them. The first looked like Tyler, only with a face of outrage. His hands and muscular arms were sprinkled with dark blood and with gritted teeth he grinned at the girls.

Now what do we have here… The very beings that strengthen us…

This was a voice full of hatred. Luna could sense it. As this shadow approached them, Luna went into fighting stance, what caused the being to laugh.

Too bad I can’t fight you… I get stronger each time someone hurts you three…
But while I can’t touch you… He can…

All three girls wrinkled their noses. His voice truly was unpleasant to hear, hoarse, distorted and enraged. As the other one stood up, he stared at Applejack and Twilight. A large split tongue licked his lips. With a hissing voice he approached them.

I remember you two… Up until now, you both have ssssstrengthened me…

As the shadow approached the girls, they slowly backed away,
“Twilight? These fellers are just parts of Tyler, right? They won’t do us any harm, will they?” But by then the approaching shadow stretched his arms and was about to leap at them when someone spoke up.

STOP!!!

Suddenly another voice of bronze, similar to Tyler’s was heard and bright shining whips tangled around the necks of the dark shadows. As the girls turned around, they saw a shining silhouette in armor pointing a bright sword to the two shadows.

The wellbeing of these three shall not be disturbed now! Especially not by you two!

With that the two shadows jumped to the bright shining silhouette, causing in a fight. The girls on the other hand galloped back to the door. As the door slammed behind them, they leaned against the walls of the hallway. Gasping for air, Twilight shook her head,
“He told me about humans tend to fight, but that his mind is fighting itself…?”

Luna recollected herself,
“Tis his mind that is in a shattered state, Twilight Sparkle. All these things are character traits. Innocence for the little one…” She tipped her chin. “…I don’t know about these dark ones… Rage and Lust maybe?”

Applejack nodded,
“These fellers sure aren't nice on their own. Ah thought this one guy was rapin’ me with his eyes already…” Shaking her head, the earth pony looked around. “That one shining feller on the other half… That’s more like Tyler. Protectin’ others, ya know. Seems to me he keeps check on the darker ones. For the sake of the small one I think.” It was then when something slammed against the wooden door.

In a panic, the girls went into the next door on the other side of the hallway and entered something like a library. As they looked around, Twilight beamed in joy,
“A library! YES! Yesyesyesyesyes!” As she bounced around in joy, her grin was wide and happy. “Maybe I can have a peek at all the achievements of humans!”

No, you won’t!

Another voice sounded off, clinical and businesslike. With a puzzled “Huh?” Twilight bounced into yet another Tyler. This one was wearing a suit and glasses.

You see, Twilight Sparkle… Most of the knowledge of man could be used in ill will. It was decided by us and with us I refer to this complete mind that this knowledge is not meant for the young and innocent people of Equestria.

Applejack arched a brow,
“Like what? Ya know Tyler never spoke of bad things from the human world…”

That is for your own good. You see, there are great achievements of mankind in healthcare, sports and cultural understanding, politics, nature and science…

Holographic images of medicine, the Olympic Games, the United States’ constitution, terraforming domes and the landing on the moon appeared. Luna squealed in joy as she saw an astronaut walking on the moon. “Oh! Tis exciting! I want to know more about this thing there!” But as the images slowly vanished, the Tyler before them shook his head.

Wait until you all see the other achievements …

The pictures showed the three mares the same horrors Tyler showed Celestia before. Marching armies and all the nightmares mankind could muster. All three of them gasped at the mushroom cloud. Applejack took of her Stetson,
“So many lives… Thrown away… for what?”

Twilight looked at the pictures with a grim look,
“No! I refuse to believe that all humans are evil! We know Tyler long enough and he never harmed anypony! There are good humans! There have to be!” With this the librarian knelt down to Twilight and patted her head.

Still you stand up to the faith that there are good humans?
Yes, there are good things in being human, because after all, all humans love their children.
It is just so that mankind nowadays lives a hasty life.
Right now, ideals are making life harder and this causes some of us to go the easy way.
So what you might say is that some humans are stronger in their will, while others are weaker.
But this is another part of being human…

Other pictures showed many faces and their names in big letters beneath them. Luna cocked her head as she read the strange names. ‘George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Galileo Galilei, Mahatma Gandhi, Christopher Columbus, Mother Theresa, John F. Kennedy, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Neil Armstrong…’ The list went on and on.

All these people faced dire consequences while bringing progress to mankind.
May it liberty, science, prosperity or human rights… Sometimes mankind brings forth great minds bringing the greater good. Or think of all the artists enriching us with music, art and literature.

Now Twilight’s face lightened up. She knew it. Humans couldn’t all be bad.

I think you get an understanding now for our feelings, Twilight Sparkle. We are trying to leave ponykind develop its achievements on itself, but it bothers us seeing you hurting each other… The recent situation got out of hand. If I’m allowed to say, we want ponykind to grow up on its own, not to start childish mistakes and fights like humankind.

Twilight nodded. Not to interfere with a culture that wasn’t as technical advanced seemed a proper way of handling it. As someone knocked on the door, the Tyler in suit stood up.

Come in!

As the door opened, the bright silhouette in armor stood in it. This caused the girls to smile,
“Hey there, big feller! Ya took care of those two?” As the shining silhouette came in, he gave a brief nod to Applejack.

Luna leaned to Twilight and began to whisper,
“Pray tell… Can you imagine what he represents? Courage? Bravery? Passion?” But the lavender unicorn simply shrugged.

I want you three to come with me… I will take you to the core.

Twilight raised her head,
“And what is this core? The center of this mind or yet another room with things to see?” The silhouette turned to Twilight and looked down to her before it knelt down to her.

This mind used to be whole… If you love the owner of this mind, you have to go to the core. I can’t fight the shadows of this mind forever…

With this Twilight nodded. He was right. They had come here to help Tyler get better and the faster they would do that, the better. As he led the way, the girls followed him. As the door to the library closed, the Tyler left behind closed his eyes and shook its head.

Good luck… Sanity…

As they approached a black steel door, Twilight gulped. It didn’t look inviting since it had cracks and the wall it was embedded in had cracks in it as well.

Behind this door is a room I cannot enter. A large hall with what you seek. There you’re on your own. None of us can enter this room. I pray that you may find a way to save us all… I will stay here and guard this door. If you are successful, we will see again. One way or another…

As they entered the room, a heartbeat sounded as the crystal in the middle of the great hall pulsated and shed light to the otherwise dark room. Deep and wide cracks surrounded the crystal. As they surrounded the crystal, many memories of what seemed to be Tyler’s childhood appeared. Loud cracks were audible in the far reaches of the mind.

Hey, dad! Can we go fishing today?
-
Sure, why not?
-
AWESOME!!!

The pictures showed a human, looking similar like Tyler, yet seen from below as they see Tyler. He had black hair that went down to his shoulders and wore some glasses. Like Tyler and all the other humans they’ve seen here, he was wearing clothing.

Dad? What is courage good for?
-
Courage in the human heart is very rare, my son…
If you and your girl feel honest love for each other, that courage can overcome anything if danger is there …
So go and treat your girl right, my boy! She’ll come and help you out.

Applejack looked up,
“So that’s Tyler’s Pa? Ah say, now Ah know where he has his good looks from…” The three mares floated around the crystal. This is our final hurdle to take. Twilight thought. Tyler… We’ll get you out of there!

More and more cracks came to be in the room and Luna looked to the others,
"Twilight Sparkle! We have to hurry! His mind cannot host us for much longer! If we don'T do something, this whole mind will shatter!"

"Then we shouldn't waste any more time!" With that the unicorn mare put her front hooves on the crystal. “Tyler! Together we can overcome anything! It will be our magic!”

Applejack nodded and put her hooves on the crystal,
“We stand together, Tyler! Through any kind of weather! We will always be with yer! Our love will be honest!”

Luna gave the pulsating crystal a determined look and put her hooves on it as well,
“Together we will find our course through the night! My moon shall shine us the way!” With that the crystal around Tyler began to shine bright as beams and rays of light emerged from it. Cracks appeared on and sounded off the crystal. The eyes of the three mares shined brightly as crystal magic was at work here. As the light from the crystal engulfed them and filled the farthest corners of his mind, every part of his mind was reassembled to place.

There was a loud thunderclap and they were outside of Tyler’s consciousness in the real world. Tyler was freed from the crystal, but fell to the ground, unconscious. As he came to his senses, one of the guards held him up,
“Relax! You suffer from crystallization for tinkering with too much magic. “

As Tyler opened his eyes, he opened them wide. Yet darkness still was around him,
“I can’t see!”

But the voice of the guard remained calm,
“You will see soon enough… Give it two days…”

Tyler’s head rose, his voice shivered slightly,
“How… Who got me out of there?”

By then Twilight leaped in with tears in her eyes and held him tight with both hooves,
“Somepony who loves you!”

His arms now held her as he gasped for air. “Twilight!” With weak grasp he let his hand go through her mane and her tears ran down her cheeks. He was alive and would be well soon.
Both Applejack and Luna came closer and greeted him as well although Luna held back some more.

Cadance nodded and looked to her servants,
“Bring the royal seamstress to me at once! We need some proper clothing for this man. I think he might want to dress up before walking the streets nude.”

This let Tyler’s eyes open wide and he blushed,
“Right… um… And fast!”

Applejack grinned and took off her Stetson and put it between his legs,
“Right, sugarcube…” We don’t want you to freeze, do we?” As the girls laughed, Applejack leaned in and kissed him. It was first to his surprise, due to his blindness, but then he replied to the kiss and pulled her in, caressed her mane.

Later that evening, the three of them were lying on the bed with Tyler’s eyes half closed. As he stared into the burning fireplace, he nodded,
“I think my eyes get better… instead of darkness I see lights dancing. That’s the fireplace, right?”

Twilight nodded,
“It sure is!” As she leaned in for another kiss, his hand caressed her back. “We were so worried for you. Never do that again to us, you hear?”

They both kissed and Tyler nodded,
“I had to do this, Twilight… I don’t know what happened, but it would be far worse if I were to be on the surface.”

While Twilight slightly shivered as he began caressing her cutie mark and flank, she continued,
“You leveled Dragon Mountain. The bright sphere of blue light destroyed the laboratory and everything in eeep!” She yelped out in surprise as he began to caress her in her most sensitive spot between the hind legs.

Applejack chuckled,
“Ya sure as hay go for it, Sugarcube. Twilight, stop talking about that day! It sure isn’t somethin’ we should remember.” With that, the earth pony kissed him passionately for several minutes while Twilight watched silently, gasping once or twice as she felt the fingers in her.

When their lips parted, Tyler’s eyes opened half way,
“Where’s Luna? She was around earlier…”

“Organizin’ the way home Ah guess…” Applejack replied before kissing down his neck and letting her kisses wander down his chest and belly. Twilight blushed even more as the earth pony’s head went under the blanket, making a noticeable bump.

As the bump began to go up and down, Tyler’s eyes widened instantly. “Ooooh shiiiiiit….” A wide grin came to his face before he reached for Twilight and pulled her closer to kiss her again. By now the fingers inside the unicorn stabbed in a fast pace, causing her to moan into the kiss.

While the moans began to emit from their chamber, a few rooms further Shining Armor took notice of it,
“That’s…”

But Cadance brought his head away from the door and back to her as she smiled to her husband,
“…none of your bucking business, honey… YOUR business is right here beside you…” He arched his brows and looked to his wife. She was quite assertive the last weeks. Not harmful, but noticeable. But that was not of his concern right now. He turned off the lights and turned over to Cadance, who already waited for him.

It was then when they heard Twilight moan extremely loud,
“It’s so big! Ahn!” Shining armor’s eyes widened with a blush. This was his little sister saying such things? Praising the size of her sexual partner’s member?

This caused Cadance to giggle,
“Your sister truly enjoys her herd stallion… Little Twily grows up it seems… Why don’t you show them how unimpressed we are about their amorous play? By making me praise you?” The stallion’s look turned from the door back to Cadance again, seeing her expecting glances as she bit her bottom lip. Shining Armor nodded. Yep... assertive all the way...

As more and more moans filled the night, Luna raised the moon on her way back to Equestria. Being an alicorn, she was able to travel fast and reached Canterlot in a matter of hours. Organizing a big carriage, she went to the higher chambers to her big sister. Celestia exchanged a few words and a big hug with her, before each reported the things happening in the meanwhile. Celestia was quite surprised that the human mind was fighting itself to do the right thing sometimes. But meanwhile she hadn’t been lazy and went out for a hunt for the culprits who tried to destroy Canterlot. It seemed to be the doing of an organization called ‘Descendants of Tacitus’ Celestia said that she didn’t know where this organization comes from, but this name, Tacitus, reminded her of a name she heard in her childhood. Luna shook her head in disbelief. She for herself never heard of such a thing.

* * * * *

In the early hours, the three herd mates laid together, both Applejack and Twilight cuddled closely to Tyler, his arms around their shoulders and his hands resting on their chests. As he opened his eyes, his view was almost back to normal, only slightly blurry. But as he awoke more and more, even this vanished. Slowly he caressed the girls’ chests before he carefully got up. He dressed up and watched the window. This wasn’t Canterlot Castle, nor was this Equestria… The girls must have searched far and wide for him.

Now Luna returned, Celestia had accompanied her. As Tyler was brought to them he held his wrists high,
“Ready to go into the dungeon, girls. I am a walking weapon of mass destruction!”

But the princesses simply laughed.
“Now, now… Just ease down, Defender… You are a free man!”

Luna nodded,
“As we speak, the royal guard escorts some of the culprits that fled the mountain into the Canterlot dungeon where they will remain until their trial.”

Celestia smiled,
“I underestimated your wisdom, young Tyler. Surely these devices Twilight told me about could have brought great misery over Equestria. It was a good choice to destroy them along with their research data. Now nopony will ever again get the chance to reconstruct these horrible devices.”

* * * * *

Back in Equestria and in Ponyville, Tyler was greeted with happy faces. It was this warm welcome that showed him that nopony held a grudge to him for leveling that mountain. Seeing the faces of her friends happy again brought back Pinkie’s curly mane as well, a fact that disappointed Tyler a bit, since he stated that Pinkie’s new haircut had something sexy about it. More and more of Ponyville normalized and Tyler took great care to greet everyone. But there was a certain someone he couldn’t spot.

He could sense the others somehow evaded to answer, so his tone got more stricter,
“Alright, alright… Where is she?” As they pointed to Rainbow’s cloud home, he nodded.

Yelling up to her home he called for her. But only the voice of the mare was audible,
“Buck off! You’ve abandoned us!”

With this he opened his arms.
“Rainbow… Come on! I didn’t mean to go all crystal! I’m sorry! Now please get down! I want to make up for it!”

As the Pegasus mare raised her head over the edge of her clouds, she turned her angered face to the human. Tyler gasped as he saw tears. Angered tears, but still tears. In the next moment she tackled him and he slithered on the ground and caught her. Her hooves hugged him tightly,
“You moron! I was worried sick for you! Everypony thought you were a goner!”

Tyler looked down to her, perplexed. But as he heard silent sobbing, his face turned into a warm smile and he laid a hand on her head, caressing her wild mane,
“Don’t you worry, kid… I’ll never pull out such a stunt again… I promise…”

Both Applejack and Twilight watched this,
“Ya think she wants to join in, too? They spend a lot of time together, ya know. And lately she had no male visitors in her home…”

But Twilight shook her head,
“As far as I see it, Rainbow is happy with this buddy-like-friendship. And anyway… You know Tyler… If this goes too much into a full harem, he would get uncomfortable with it.” The Earth pony nodded and both chuckled to it.

* * * * *

As the days passed, more and more fruits came to surface as the royal investigation continued. It came to the point that some of the culprits involved in what was by now known in all of Equestria as ‘The Dragon Mountain incident’ were arrested and brought into custody. A royal trial took place with the princesses of two countries. As the three princesses took their seats, Celestia slammed the hammer to order three times. Now, Celestia, Luna and Cadence watched over the courtroom. “This tribunal is now in session” With this the court procedure went on; Areku only witnessed snippets of it. The only culprit behind the scenes of the conspiracy was only present with his body, his mind seemed absent.

Shining Armor was the first to make his testimony. He stabbed his hoof towards Areku while pointing at him,
“That warmonger has undermined everything! Plotting to use the human Tyler Jones as a super weapon against Canterlot and all of Equestria in a coup d’état!” Shining Armor looked at the culprit in despise, condemning the deeds of a once honored member of the royal guard as he reported to the court of the findings beneath the rubble of Dragon Mountain “All found evidence points to the ‘honorable’ Commander Areku…”

* * * * *

On behalf of the critters tortured to death in the underground laboratory, Fluttershy stood up for her testimony,“Justice! So much misery for so many innocent lives must be punished!” Unusually aggressive for the timid yellow Pegasus, she shouted at the culprit for bringing so much misery to her little innocent friends. “All of this is your fault!”

* * * * *

As Twilight gave her testimony with a vial of human blood, the crowd gasped on the extent of cruelty,
“…You saw the results on Dragon Mountain, even more the evidence I have presented… Would you qualify a magical bio bomb from human blood as ethical correct, Commander? This vial alone could hold enough magical power to kill hundreds!”

* * * * *

One of the co-perpetrators, a unicorn mare, confessed as she made her testimony in tears,
“…AND I COULDN’T GO ON!!! I WON’T LIE FOR YOU ANYMORE!!!”

* * * * *

At the end of the session, Celestia slammed the hammer to order,
“This tribunal finds you guilty of crimes against ponykind and humanity alike… You are further guilty of high treason!”

* * * * *

As the little radio of the dungeon sounded off, the moon shined into the hallway before the cells,
“…Ex-commander Areku’s appeal was denied today. Areku is now slated for execution by firing squad tomorrow…“ A few hours later Areku was found hanged from the ceiling of his cell.

* * * * *

One day passed before Tyler and Luna stood together inspecting the soldiers in Canterlot Castle. It was one of Luna’s duties she had to perform in the late evening and she was happy, Tyler accompanied her in that boring stuff too,
“So here thou are… a strategic advisor for Canterlot and the royal guard… Not a general or a statesman… And thou know thou could have had everything from Celestia and me.”

Tyler smiled gently while inspecting a certain soldier and patting the soldier approvingly on the shoulder afterward,
“Everything means I stay among my friends in Ponyville. And now that I can make a short trip to Canterlot to see you both… if you ask me, I have everything.”

Luna nodded with a smile and bumped her flank against him,
“I envy thee, Tyler. There are times I wish I could have this freedom.” With a big grin she continued. “So, how’s the farm?”

This caused him to laugh easygoing,
“She sure is stubborn with her wish for a foal. Sometimes I think she only uses that as a cover for her strong need. You know… since I’m out of that crystal, I think my life got even better. Twilight has more stuff she can explain to me and I can do more for the town and the Apples… And now I can do something more for the safety of Equestria…”

Later in Celestia’s own chambers, she sat down and bowed her head to Tyler, who was sitting beside her as they had tea together,
“Tyler… As the co-ruler of Equestria I want to say how sorry I am this happened to you. Can you forgive my-”

But he simply raised a hand,
“No… I don’t have to forgive your subjects! There is nothing to forgive. This wasn’t the doing of your beloved subjects… It was the doing of some thugs disobeying both law and morale.”

This visibly eased Celestia,
“I’m happy to hear that you hold no grudge. So… I’ve heard you and Applejack want to try to beget a foal? You need some help with that?”

By now Tyler’s eyes widened,
“Is… Is that even possible? Can you help us out with that?” With a seductive grin she smacked her flank with her wing again and giggled.

“If you can put the right… thrust into it?” Now her flank shook a bit.

This prompted him to bow his head and facepalm himself,
“Ugh… Here we go again…”

Her mischievous giggle filled the chamber as she continued,
“Alright… Let’s change the topic. Why don’t you explain mankind’s big bang theory to me then?” As one pun followed the other, anger rose in Tyler until he raised his voice.

“Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfuckin’ puns from your motherfuckin’ mouth!!” With that a slap sounded in the chamber and he held his index finger up to her in dispraise. Celestia’s eyes were wide open, looking at Tyler, her mouth agape, her flank burning from the bouncing spank. Then her eyes closed halfway and she bit her bottom lip while eying him with lustful glances. Somehow Tyler got the impression that he just stepped onto a nonnegotiable big ass fuckin’ landmine.

Celestia giggled mischievously again,
“Oh… Ohohoh… You like to spank this bad girl, hm? I must say this boldness does impress me…” Licking her lips, she now eyed him with a look he remembered from the day Twilight was in… Then it struck him like a lightning.
Is the princess… in heat?

The thought alone made him shiver in fear and he slowly went backwards to the door,
“I-I should go now…Ahehe… Thanks for the tea!” Fearing to be caught with her and give a scandal to the press, he grabbed for the doorknob until it was in his grasp. With a swift move he opened the door and got out. His heart was beating so hard he could feel it in his throat. It would explain all her weird behavior during the last months. Please… Don’t tell me we are approaching alicorn heat season… Or I’ll build a rocket and leave the freaking planet!

Meanwhile in the southern region of Equestria, on the outskirts of Fillydelphia, another Princess Celestia entered Hoofham Asylum, a place where poor souls were brought that clearly lost their mind. The guard awaiting her arched a brow. The princess was rumored to be rather playfully during the last months. Nothing to get out of hand, but even when slightly serious matters occurred, they were faced with a bit of playfulness. The only really thing she was recollected was when the trial with Commander Areku took place. After that she was rumored to be playfully again. Was this something similar? Why wasn’t she playfully this time? As he wondered, they reached the cell, she turned to him,
“Right… Leave us! I can handle this pony on my own.”

The guard bowed before her,
“As you wish, your highness…” With this he went on to the other cells. As Celestia entered the cell, the door closed behind her and she stood before the gray unicorn.

“So you’re still alive… Ubermane… At last we meet again…” Before her the old unicorn looked up, he looked terrible, the mane twisted more than usual, the coat dirty and drool was dried around his mouth as he looked up to her from his little corner. “I was looking for you, Ubermane… I must say I didn’t expect you would be able to get out of this detonation in time… But you always seem to be a surprise… A misguided yet useful surprise…”

The unicorn nodded with an insane laugh,
“This human was a very potent proof of my theory that genetics hold a key element to magic. And yet I failed… How could I imagine that one being alone not born an alicorn could storage so much magic in it? This detonation… This surely was visible miles and miles away beyond the border… So much destruction and I found the key to it all! ” He then began to sob. “So many lives wasted… for the sake of science… And now the co-ruler of Equestria had come to punish me for it…” His sobbing became louder. “Forgive me, Princess… Forgive me…”

Celestia stood up and nuzzled the insane scientist unicorn a bit,
“Fear not, your curiosity always brought you into trouble… Hand over the vial you’ve saved and swear you will never ever enter a laboratory. Then everything will be forgiven…” He looked up to her in surprise, but with a warm and gentle smile she gave him a wink. “I am Princess Celestia. Nothing is hidden from me! Now come… This was a burden for you long enough…”

With that the unicorn got a little vial out of his mane and waved it around fiercely,
“Here! Take it! I brought so much misery with it! I won’t give a hay for the ‘Descendants of Tacitus’! For once, I will do the right thing!”

After his hoof presented the vial, a green aura engulfed the vial and levitated it,
“You haven’t failed, old pony… Today you have given us a very interesting thing to think about… However… I am not the princess of the sun…”

Ubermane looked up in surprise again, sheer horror got him as green fire engulfed Celestia, revealing what seemed to be a younger version of Queen Chrysalis,
“Changeling… no… No! NO! What have I done?”

As he crouched backwards in fear of losing the last bits of sanity, she giggled victoriously,
“My mother will find this ‘human’ very interesting… As for you, you shall receive your pardon now…”

While bare fangs came near him, tears welled in his eyes,
“Celestia help us…” Then darkness engulfed him. With a dark smirk, Celestia came out of the cell and went slowly down the hall as green flames sprang out of Ubermane’s cell, slowly consuming the other cells and the guards fighting them. Her eyes were filled with a cruel green glow as the screams of agony behind her united in a cacophony of death.

9 - Interlude - The Alicorn War *

Once there were two forms of alicorns living together on Equis, the Alicorns of the Light who were ruled by a gentle and wise queen and the Alicorns of Darkness who were ruled by a strict and disciplined king. And since each of them ruled one hemisphere of Equis, both kingdoms brought forth great achievements with several kinds of ponies. While the queen ruled with a mild hand and her subjects learned to thrive in their lands, the subjects under the rule of the king remained stagnant.

As the centuries passed, the queen and king, despite ruling in different kingdoms had two foals together who symbolized the good will between the kingdoms. And they named the light alicorn Celestia and the shadow alicorn Luna. Both the queen and the king stood together proudly for their daughters held the potential to build a bridge between light and darkness.

But as the years passed, the light alicorns and their subjects thrived dangerously close towards the borders in more and more growing numbers. Urging the king about this matter, his disciples and advisors urged him to obstruct this growing threat. Thus long nights of arguments followed for both queen and king. As reason finally seemed to take fruit, reports reached the king that several colonists of the Light kingdom had crossed the borders. This marked the beginning of the conflict.

After ending his relationship with the queen, the heart of the king hardened. The first settlers were treated as intruders and were forced back into their land with brute force. As the number of incidents grew among the equator, more and more military force was summoned by the Darkness alicorns. It wasn’t long before the light alicorns began to send diplomatic agents. But at this time, the border was hardened with floating mountains, fortified bastions with hundreds of Darkness alicorns. With the slaughter of the diplomats the queen as well was urged to call to arms. Reluctantly, she obeyed her advisors and declared war upon the Darkness alicorns.

Shortly after this, the skies were filled with fire and lethal magic as the floating mountains fought each other. In the midst of battle, all subjects of both realms fought one another. With pegasi, unicorns crystal- and earth ponies on their side, the alicorns of the light defended their land while the Darkness alicorns fought with dragons, shadow ponies and draconequis.

The army of darkness was numerous and advanced into many regions of the northern hemisphere, but despite being outnumbered heavily, led by the Council of Harmony, their unity made the queen’s battalions an unstoppable force for the side of light and righteousness.

Aziel, Arch-light alicorn of Discipline
Wielding two whips of 25 meters the yellow alicorn mare lashed hundreds of the ground forces of darkness back so they couldn’t harm the sixth battalion of light.

Inisiel, Arch-light alicorn of Virtue
With the swiftness of her double blade, the alicorn mare in blue coat turned every spell and projectile back to the enemies trying to harm her comrades in the fifth battalion.

Tylasiel, Arch-light alicorn of Protection
Slamming through the enemy ranks with two mighty shields the violet alicorn mare rammed her shields into the enemy heads with both center and edge of the shields while leading the fourth battalion.

Afundion, Arch-light alicorn of Justice
Wielding a mighty blade with him, the green alicorn stallion slayed several foes in one strike with his brethren of the third battalion.

Taleron, Arch-light alicorn of Love
A ruby red alicorn stallion, wielding a golden scepter weakened the minds of the enemy ranks, causing them to fall to the ground weeping in regret, so that the second battalion could slay them.

And Faust, the Arch-light alicorn of Creation and Queen of the Light
Wielding the most powerful spells known to alicorns, she turned the torn land back to former beauty after the battle and healed her soldiers of the first battalion in both mind and body.

As the battle advanced, Tylasiel and her thousand vassals stormed forth and started pursuit to the retreating enemy forces. So many troops were usually lead by a powerful general or Lord,
“Onwards!”

It was then when Aziel landed beside her companion,
“Don’t haste, Tylasiel! We should reform our ranks first before we advance! It might be a trap, a trickery of our enemies”

But Tylasiel just stared at her with wide eyes,
“Don’t haste? But victory is at hoof! We must move on!”

As the Arch-light of Protection pressed on, the other Arch-lights reunited. Queen Faust shook her head at her youngest disciple. She was young and filled with youthful enthusiasm, yet her patience and wisdom needed further refining.

As the young mare descended down the fortress, she found mostly slain shadow ponies and draconequis. Obviously the deeds of her battalion. Yet as she entered a great hall, the sight prompted her to gasp. Her whole battalion lied there, slain. A dark shadow towered above the corpses as she slowly identified the figure.
“Arasorm…”

Hatred was in the voice of the Arch-light alicorn as she faced the stallion before her. She knew he was one of the Prime Lords of the King, an Arch-shadow, on equal power as she was.

“You shouldn’t have come here with only these few brethren! Facing me alone will harm you more than me, Protector!”

Gritting her teeth she glared at him. He tried to provoke her into a 1 on 1 fight, but she wasn’t foolish. She knew he wouldn’t fight honorable,
“Who said I had come alone, Corruptor?”

Growling into a grin, the dark alicorn laughed,
"There is a reason you stormed in alone! Your hate makes you strong, yet you hide it deep within… Maybe you’re hiding it so your queen doesn’t see your real face?”
Huffing angered she leaped forward and confronted him and a fierce battle began between the two immortals. As they fought, the other Arch-lights went into the fight. Within mere moments, the six alicorns of light had subdued the Arch-shadow and had him chained to the ground so that even his horn wasn’t able to move.

Aziel nodded in satisfaction,
“At last we have captured one of the Arch-shadows of the Tacitus’ Six Prime Lords. Arasorm… Arch-shadow of Corruption! Claiming him will surely weaken the king’s forces to our favor.”

Tylasiel stepped in front of Arasorm and glared down at him, held her shield at his neck so the blades at the edge of the shield slightly cut into his coat,
“Come on… Do it! You know you can’t persuade me!”

It was then when Afundion stepped in front of the alicorn mare,
”This is not justice, Tylasiel, my beloved sister… Nor is this a decision for you alone to take! If we slay him, we are not better than he is… But if we win him to our side, this accursed war could end in diplomacy.”

Tossing her sibling away, she began to yell,
“Never trust a darkness alicorn, brother! If we want to protect our subjects, I KNOW WHAT TO DO!!! YOU CAN’T REASON WITH HIS KIND!!!” With this Tylasiel leaped forth and stabbed Arasorm with her horn. The dark stallion coughed blood as the horn pierced his heart. With another burst of magic, his heart was ripped into shreds. Satisfied, the violet mare stepped back as her companions stepped back from her with expressions of terror. Blood ran down her horn and mane as she glared at Arasorm with satisfaction.

Faust shook her head in terror and took a few steps back as blood covered the floor. One of her closest vassals had slain a defenseless being,
“Sacrilege! Is this what we have become?”

Glaring at Faust with a victorious smile, Arasorm muttered his last words,
“So much for your righteousness… Harmony at last… has failed…” With that, the dark alicorn crumbled to ashes.

As Tylasiel turned back to the others, Faust shook her head in disgust,
“No… Stay away from us! Stay away from me! You aren’t a protector anymore! His very presence has defiled you!” As the others returned to the surface, Tylasiel fell to the ground, crying, realizing she had failed her queen and her race by giving in lust for revenge. Her purity had been befouled.

One hour later on the southern hemisphere of Equis, a black muscular alicorn stallion with armor around his body entered the enormous throne hall. Several guards in dark armors escorted him,
“So Arasorm has fallen… He obviously completed his mission then… Harmony is broken! So! How goes the war against the realm of Light? Report, Erisalia! SPEAK! “

A slender dark alicorn mare approached the king from the side, beginning her report,
“This is only the furthest edge of the Alicorn War, but in its heart, hundreds die every hour! We have sealed the borders of the southern hemisphere, our realm is secured and we are closing in on the forces of light as we speak.”

Impatiently the dark king approached the throne,
“Yes! Yes! But what news of Queen Faust?”

Erisalia trotted besides the king and continued,
“She disappeared, King Tacitus! Our spies report that she and your daughters-”

He cut the mare off in midsentence,
“HER DAUGHTERS!!! I won’t tolerate any light alicorn in my line anymore! This was a mistake! A mistake never to be repeated! No doubt Faust will render them effeminate and weak!”

Unimpressed Erisalia continued her Report,
“Our spies report that she and her daughters are nowhere to be found. Neither in the Crystal Plains, nor the Deserts of Colors, not the Plateaus of Joy or the Swamps of Burak! Nowhere! But I’ll assure you, sire… We will find her before the day is out”

Glaring at his throne, his voice was filled with hatred and rage as he muttered through gritted teeth,
“I want Faust kneeling at my hooves…”

Another advisor spoke up; worried in his voice as he did so,
“You say she took her daughters and disappeared? Then we know her intentions! She has completed the Abarasion Spell! And she’ll use it to eradicate alicorns from both Light and Darkness realm alike. Without our leadership, Equis will surely break down to complete utter chaos before calming down and peace will take place more and more…”

The king glared silently at the advisor and every other stepped back from the throne,
"So you say that we should simply vanish from the face of the planet? That we should simply die?”

The advisor shrugged, not knowing his words would seal his fate. Or perhaps he did and wanted to stand up for sanity’s sake,
“Every living creature dies! We alicorns shouldn’t make an exception! Have we fallen so deeply to let our pride dictate our acts?”

This visibly outraged Tacitus in an instant, as he barked at the alicorn stallion,
“I WON’T DIE JUST BECAUSE SHE WILLS IT!!! WE ARE LOOKING BACK AT HALF A MILLION YEARS OF HISTORY!!! I WON’T TOLERATE THAT THIS ENDS BECAUSE OF HER!!!” Then Tacitus sneered upon the advisor. “We alicorns are the immortals of Equis. And everypony else… is cattle! Cattle to be sacrificed on the field of battle! You think we should die that easily? Well then! Here you go! You go first…” With this his horn was engulfed with a black aura and black lightning shot at the advisor, thus disintegrating the lesser alicorn.

With horror the others knelt down before the king,
“We beg for your forgiveness, sire! We live only to serve you!”

Erisalia shook her head,
“It would be a pity to waste all of them in rage, sire…”

Hustling her to the advisors, Tacitus gritted his teeth again, his cat eyes glowing in bright Cyan,
“Save your pity for yourself should you fail me as well! Take them and whatever resources and troops you need!”

The dark alicorn mare glared at her king,
“I didn’t say that I volunteer to go…”

Yet Tacitus sneered down to her,
“Then you should not have spoken… Leave immediately! This ultimate weapon must be finished before Faust makes her move! Once the project is ready, signal me its readiness, I shall have the little one prepared by then…”
As they saluted before Tacitus, he simply barked a “GO!!!” at them and they obeyed.

* * * * *

On the top of the Crystal Mountains, Queen Faust shook her head,
“Lights… Shadows… For one year we have waged this war and see what misery we have brought upon Equis… I fear that our foolish conflict will soon engulf the world in flames. What horrors will we bring upon our subjects if even the purest hearts can be so easily corrupted?” As she heard hoof steps behind her, her head turned around. “Taleron… My son…”

As the alicorn stallion approached, his face showed great concern and uncertainty,
“Mother… Do you really think this is the right thing to do? I mean… Celestia und Luna… They’re still so young… And Luna is just a foal. They are my little sisters and I want the best for them. But Cadance is only a newborn! Don’t you ask too much of Celestia? It will take months for Luna to stand and another year for Cadance. Celestia is too young to take care of two foals.”

“Don’t worry, Taleron… Celestia is an early mature filly. She will find ways to breast feed them. Even if it means that they have to drink the milk of a unicorn pony. I can’t banish the innocent minds of the young ones…”

“Why unicorns, mother? They’re primitives, thousands of millennia behind us.” Taleron stated, concern in his voice.

Caressing the girls, Faust looked at them,
“They will teach the girls to be humble. They will fit between them…”

Worry filled the face of the young alicorn stallion,
“…yet neither of them will be one of them!”

The queen shook her head, causing her red mane to wave,
“No… Their alicorn blood will make them magical stronger.”

With a sad glance, Taleron looked down to his daughter,
“They will be odd… different… “

Faust nodded briefly,
“They’ll be bigger… virtually invincible to them…”

Nuzzling little Cadance, he shed a tear. “…Isolated… alone!”

With this, the queen sighed heavily. She understood her son’s sorrow quite well,
“They will not be alone… As long as they have each other, they will never be alone! And soon something… or someone will come.”

Taleron looked up after placing Cadance in front of Celestia and Luna,
“You speak of the grim prophecy that one day a being shall come and aid ponykind. But do you really think this prophecy will aid our daughters in growing up? No… They will have a hard fate until then.”

Shaking her head, the queen looked up to him,
“And then the foretold hero will come to their aid. And don’t be foolish, Taleron… It was pride that led to this dreadful war. But not the next time. All my wisdom and love… Celestia has it. She will make the one or another mistake, but as the millennia pass, she will make good use of it. Then there will be a time when Light and Darkness can coexist.”

Now standing above the capsule with the two foals and filly, the queen shed several tears, trying her best to remain calm,
“We have to part now, my little ponies. But we will never leave you. Even in the face of our disappearing. The richness of this world… shall be yours. All that we’ve had, all that we’ve learned, everything good we felt… All this and more… I bestow upon you three. You will begin our dynasty anew. You will rule better than we could ever hope for. Farewell forever… my daughters…” With this she kissed the three girls with only Celestia moving a little.

As the capsule closed, Faust looked to Taleron in tears and embraced him as her horn began to glow,
“What is going to happen, mother?”

With a warm smile, her horn emitted a warm bright light,
“Something wonderful…”

Not daring to open his eyes, he hugged her tight,
“I’m scared…"

As her voice began to echo to him, he began to feel light,
“Don’t be! We will be together…”

Light engulfed them and more and more alicorns,
“Where will we be?”

By now her voice was heard from above,
“Where I am now…”

* * * * *

In the meantime, on the other half of the planet, Tacitus stood in front of an alicorn mare and shook his head,
“Nafrasia… You know it has to be…”

Sadly, the mare nodded,
“I know…” Broken hearted, the young alicorn mare stepped outside, where thick snow covered the earth around the luxurious country house. “It’s getting late, Chrysiala! Come inside!” It was then, when something approached the house.

The little black alicorn filly ran across the streets as she heard the warm and caring voice of her mother. Her waving mother, who awaited her, stood there, to nuzzle her welcome and to bring her to bed. But there were other alicorns. Her father was among them.

Dark smirks decorated their faces as they stepped in front of her mother and came closer to the little filly, levitating her up and taking her away. “Mama!” she yelled, but her mother only stood there, falling to the ground, crying. With big eyes she stretched her hooves towards her mother, assured she would come to get her back from the alicorns who wanted to take her away. But nothing happened. Her mother slowly grew tiny until she vanished.

Mama… Why aren’t you helping me?

Forced into a big transformation chamber inside a dark laboratory, the little filly was struck in fear. As large machines came to life, green flames engulfed the little filly, she shook her head in terror and agony, as cruel dark magic deformed her alicorn body. Gone was her clothing, her silver tiara. As her body was being deformed by a demonic will, she screamed, slamming her hooves in panic, despair and frenzy against the glass window of the chamber. The king, her father just stood there and watched while she pleaded for his help, cried tears so he would come to her rescue. But his eyes showed no emotion to her. And her lust for love grew as the transformation compelled her to the ground. All she could witness now was the fact that every alicorn around her suddenly turned to bright lights and shot through the ceiling.

Don’t leave me alone, Papa!

As Chrysiala’s skin thickened to hard and thick plates, she lost most of her coat and her wings began to decay. Her beautiful wings… How her mother always praised her for having such beautiful feathers and boasted in front of other alicorn mares for having the most beautiful daughter the king could had beget with her… And now they were gone. Her mother would be so disappointed from her. Pain struck her as her teeth fell out and grew anew to sharp fangs. Tears ran down her cheeks as her voice began to fail her. Only a silent weeping and whimper sounded in the transformation chamber as her body slowly cocooned itself. She didn’t recognize the alarm outside the chamber anymore. Only one thought filled her mind as darkness struck the laboratory as well as her mind.

Somepony… Anypony…
Please…
Love me!

10 - Dark Companion ***

Several days had passed since Tyler returned from his unintentional trip to the Crystal Empire. In Twilight’s supervision, he consulted a unicorn doctor called Membrix in Canterlot, who took some tissue samples while Tyler explained his case of being able to be charged with magic. Despite being well known in Canterlot for his expertise in unicorn anatomy and magical behavior patterns, the doctor was simply puzzled,
“I don’t understand… You were exposed to an extremely high extent of magic that should have killed you!” Looking up to the sheets of papers, the unicorn doctor shook his head. “Yet here he sits, healthy as an earth pony!” Twilight nodded and conversed with the doctor of what had caused the overcharge and theorized with him about the crystallization process.

Finally the doctor nodded and took off his glasses,
“It appears you can storage vast amounts of magic. I can’t predict to what extent this storage can go, but I guess once you die from overcharge we will know. Or not if all magic is released upon the point of death. In that case, you’ll remain a mystery for ponykind forever. As for the crystallization process… You got into this after releasing all of the charge at once. It seems plausible that in midst this detonation, your body conserved itself magically to sustain life signs. But I can only theorize about this. Nopony has ever witnessed something as the Dragon Mountain incident. I shall council this with the princesses for further studies”

With this both Tyler and Twilight said their goodbyes and left the clinical practice,
“Refreshing, but nothing really new…” Tyler muttered. “All he told me was the advice never to unleash such a big amount of magic ever again. This only means I need to keep check of my magic intake… After this incident however, I became magically sentient…”

Twilight arched her brows,
“You did? Impressive! Most impressive! It seems the more you come in contact with magic, the more you understand from it.”

He nodded silently as they strolled down the street,
“It appears so. But this as well means I can order several spells from now on to be used on me so I can utilize them later. Levitation, animation, force fields, attack spells. I’d like to organize a small repertoire with you once we’re home again.”

She giggled happily as a voice shouted behind her,
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!”

The unicorn halted in an instant as her eyes widened,
“Oh ponyfeathers…”

As she turned around, she giggled nervously as two further unicorns approached them,
“What in Celestia’s name has gotten into you, young lady? Disappearing for a week with nopony knowing where you are!” The blue unicorn stallion had a stern look on his face, as had the white unicorn mare with striped mane.

Twilight sighed and turned to Tyler,
“Tyler? May I introduce you to my parents? I forgot to send them a letter about the whereabouts of my disappearing as I went into the Crystal Empire…”

Tyler looked up from Twilight and knelt down to give both of them a handshake,
“Mister and Misses Sparkle… What an honor for me!” Delivering a hoofkiss to the unicorn mare, he bowed down a bit. “Mrs. Sparkle, I assure you Twilight had the best reasons for forgetting you. Her mind was clouded with worry and love, so please forgive her…”

Recollecting herself from these refined words, she looked to her husband, who now gave Tyler a strict look,
“Ah yes… You are this human… Is it true that you and our daughter…”

Tyler turned his face to the stallion and nodded,
“We are herd mates, yes.”

As her mother’s jaw fell agape Twilight cleared her throat a bit and stood beside Tyler,
“Yes we are. And Tyler treats me and Applejack better than every other stallion would treat me.”

This caused the white mare to gulp a bit. Looking up to Tyler’s towering stance she could only speculate of what things this human could do to Twilight’s petite body. Twilight’s father on the other hand showed no signs of intimidation. While looking into Tyler’s eyes, he continued to talk to Twilight,
“Does he treat you right? I mean… Do you have to…do things at his bidding?”

Twilight blushed deeply at this,
“DAD!!!”

Tyler on the other hand chuckled and shrugged,
“Actually the girls take the initiative most of the time… Since Twilight showed me that it is OK for her to sleep with me, we have had a lot of fun together. And since we can’t have foals right away due to genetic incompatibility, we have all the time to search for a solution should she ever wish to have a foal.” Looking her father into the eyes, Tyler continued. “Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle… I would be happy if you were to issue the blessing on this.”

Both unicorns looked at each other for advice, but finally Mrs. Sparkle nodded,
“Twilight’s happiness is all that matters for us. If she haves a partner who isn’t a pony, we will have to adjust to it, but will support her all the while.” With a moderate nudge she looked at her husband. “Right, honey?”

With this nudge, Mr. Sparkle nodded as well,
“Uh… sure…”

On their trip home, Twilight grinned at Tyler and he frowned a bit,
“What is it?” He wasn’t sure why she was grinning, yet he was sure she wasn’t planning something.

With a brief nod she closed her eyes and pointed her right hoof at him,
“B 35!”

Then it shot into his mind. Twilight had learned the royal advances as well to help him learn better and was now sampling him for his understanding,
“B35, you say? A gesture of enjoyment, he or she is willing to repeat this evening. A gesture best described as a short nuzzling of the left shoulder, not longer than three seconds. A minor gesture.”

Twilight nodded,
“Very good! Just like the book says.” The rest of the trip, she asked him more and more gestures, helped him out, when he was wrong on a minor gesture, but punched him in the arm when he got a major gesture wrong. “You have to redo those again. It’s important! Major gestures are very important! Mess up there and you insult her!”

Tyler nodded in silent approval. He was happy Twilight was so thorough with facts. Any other pony would let him slack off, but she always reminded him of his goal, what was enough to bring him back on track. Obviously she thought Luna deserved happiness as well.

As their train reached Ponyville station, they went along the road until they parted at a fork in the road,
“I’m having a look at Sweet Apple Acres! I’ll see you later.” While Twilight trotted happily to the library, Tyler went on to the orchards. There, near the barn he found Applejack sleeping while leaning against a tree. Sitting right next to her, he took a piece of hay and tickled her nose for a bit. “Applejack… Where is my tough little country girl? In dreamland?”

With this the earth pony awoke and smiled up to him,
“Hey there, pardner! How was Canterlot?” As she got up, they shared a kiss and he took of her Stetson and put it on his head. Shortly after that, she nuzzled him and began kissing his neck while sitting beside him as he laid down at the tree. “Tyler? Applebloom probably stays with the crusaders in town for another hour, so why don’t ya… ya know… accompany me to the barn again?

Caressing her face and mane, he looked up to her,
“Ooohhh… Very tempting… But right now I think I shouldn’t undress and do it with you, AJ…”

Shaking her head in surprise, she blinked at him with wide eyes,
“What? Why not?” With a sly grin he looked up to her, only looking to the side for a second, as she noticed Applebloom peeking from the barn corner as the little filly leaned her head in with a giggle.

“Tyler and Applejack
Sitting in a tree:
K-I-S-S-I-N-G”

Now Sweetie Belle joined in right above her and they sang in unison.

“First comes love,
Then comes marriage,
Then comes foal
In a foal carriage!”

Lastly Scootaloo peeked in and shook her head in disapproval, stretching out her tongue,
“Ewwwww!” By then Applejack blushed deeply as Tyler chuckled up to her. Getting up to his country girl, he turned her face to him and kissed her, prompting a sweet long “Awwww…” from both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle and another “Eww!” from Scootaloo. “That’s so gross! Come on, girls! We’ve wasted enough time! We got some crusading to do!”

Blushing deeply, Applejack now chuckled over to the two remaining fillies,
“Now Applebloom… It’s not nice to peek on couples!”

As both Applejack and Tyler came the way from the barn, he caressed her mane while walking beside her,
“Those little crusaders sure are curious, hm?”

Applejack chuckled nervously,
“It must be because Ah talked with Applebloom. Ah explained to her that yer mah special somepony together with Twilight and since then she wants to know all about it. Ah also told mah lil’ sister about our plans and that she might get a niece if everythin’ goes alright. That excited her quite good”

Tyler frowned,
“But you know what Twilight said… With me having less chromosome pairs-”

But she cut him off in midsentence,
“Look, Tyler Ah don’t care! No matter what it needs, Ah want a foal with ya! This is the only thing Ah’m sure of right now. That yer the stallion that should make me a foal… Ah would do anythin’ for that…”

As she leaned at a fence, he leaned on it as well and nodded,
“I’ll ask Luna about it… maybe she as an alicorn could help us out a bit. Since it means so much to you, maybe the princesses have some spells for that. To make you more acceptable for my sperm or something.”

The orange mare blushed a bit,
“Ah’m happy with that, Tyler. Having a foal with ya would make me the happiest mare in Equestria.”

Placing her Stetson back on her head, he placed a peck onto her nose,
“I know you would be… That’s why you’re my number one country girl…”

* * * * *

Later in the early evening, Tyler took a quill and another piece of paper. As he began to write, he thought about what to write in this letter. It wouldn’t be wise to ask right away about a solution. Nah… You can’t write a letter to her asking for a thing like that… That needs some more time… Better to wait until she’s in the herd… Then there’s the chance that she want one as well. Shaking his head, he began writing, deciding to wait a bit with this question. But another question was burning in his mind as well.

Dear Luna,

Today I’m writing to you, not only because of our daily routine, but also with a… let’s say a peculiar question. As you know, mares of the different pony races all reach heat season during spring. There are many books, even guides for other mares here in the library to study on this matter if it comes to unicorns, pegasi or earth ponies. But I wonder, do alicorn mares approach heat season as well? And that’s about the stupid little question on my mind. I’m already waiting for tonight, when you awaken from your slumber and write me back. Hopefully with an answer I’d love to read with another Royal Canterlot Canto of yours to soothe my ears before I go to sleep.
I remain, sweetest Luna,
Your courageous lover,
Tyler

With Spike and his Dragonmail, the letter was send. It was in the late evening as the Canto started anew, beginning over Canterlot and then welled over to Ponyville. Soon after that, the little dragon burped and brought another black scroll to Tyler,
“Here you go, Tyler! Another letter from the princess.” With a short ‘Thank you’ Tyler took the scroll.

Dear Tyler,

As always thou charm me and I happily begin my Canto for you as I write down these lines. Thy question is by far not stupid. And to answer it briefly: Yes, we alicorns approach a heat season as well. But our seasons don’t come once a year, but every 500 years. For alicorns, the biological clock needs longer than for mortal ponies to make a full year. This means every 500 years we approach heat season for one whole year. I remember when Celestia and I were in charge together before my banishment, we had every servant, advisor and guard in the castle exchanged with mares for the duration of this said year to avert catastrophe.

This begins harmless with playful behavior and continues to seductive behavior to the extent of molesting others. Until now we always managed to get out of harm’s way, yet I must confess that my last two heat seasons in banishment were the hardest to take. The first one at the beginning of the banishment and the second one in the middle of it. I blush at the mere thought of how unladylike my thoughts became during these lonely years.

I sincerely hope I will be in thy herd before I reach this state again. Frankly, divine lust is usually vanquished with divine self-control, but this reduces us to mere mares. If there is an acceptable mate around, this of course makes self-control rather difficult. But I hope this doesn’t startle thee or makes you worry about me or Celestia. I’ll arrive in Ponyville in a few days, hopefully to spend some time with thee on Nightmare Night.
In love,
Luna

Every 500 years? Ok, that’s a relief… Tyler thought and let off a sigh. I was afraid it would be during my lifetime… Then he halted and read through the letter again. She had it TWICE during her banishment? As he read the paragraph over and over again, his hands became sweaty and cramped into the paper. With a final sigh, he loosened his shoulders. “Never fear… Just stay out of Canterlot if things go ugly…” Who am I kidding? I mean a sun goddess thinks my butt is cute, what’s not to fear? “Tyler…?” He literally jumped at the mere mention of his name, as he realized that it was only Twilight. “What are you doing down there? Come up, let’s get some sleep.”
Her own voice was sleepy and she went to bed again. But this calmed him down a bit and he nodded. “Bed… Bedtime’s good…” With this he went upstairs and went to bed. As he lied beside Twilight, he was careful with her horn. He always feared that she could poke him into the eye or stab him with it. It wasn’t as long and pointy as an alicorn horn, but surely could do harm if swung around carelessly. Lying behind Twilight, his arm laid over her and tugging her in, she murmured slightly asleep. But placing a short soft peck on her cheek brought a slight smile on her face, almost like magic.

* * * * *

On the next day the whole town was in preparation for the nighttime festival. As Tyler came back from the Carousel Boutique he came back with what seemed to be a black leather jacket, leather trousers and some black leather boots,
“Twilight! I’m back! Luckily Rarity had enough artificial leather from the one or another contractor. She right-out disapproved of using real leather. Fitting, considering cows are sentient here as well. So yes… Artificial leather it is, but it’s high quality for sure.” As Twilight came down the stairs, he looked up to her. “You are… I don’t know… Some sort of magician?”

Narrowing her eyes, she almost facehoofed, but resisted the urge,
“I’m… Oh, right! You can’t know that yet! Yes, a very famous magician of history, Starswhirl the Bearded.”

Watching her costume for several moments and every side, he nodded,
“Made by yourself? Commendable!”

Hearing that brought a proud smile to the librarian,
“Well, I put some work into it, yet no one seems to get it.”

Tyler waved it away,
“You still look gorgeous in it! I bet this Starswhirl fellow never looked that good in that outfit as my pretty Twilight.” This made her blush a bit. Tyler on the other hand changed and soon after he was dressed in black leather.

Both Spike and Twilight looked at him,
“And what is that supposed to be?”

“Oh yes, I forgot, the shades are missing! Luckily I got some from Rainbow…” As he put them on, he wiped out every emotion off his face. “I’m the Terminator!” With a chuckle he took the shades off again.

Spike arched a brow,
“What in Celestia’s name is a terminator?”

Tyler grinned widely,
“It’s a fictional creation of science fiction. A cybernetic robot with human tissue over the robotic limbs so it looks human. Its purpose is to kill other humans in a future where machines have taken over the Earth."

Twilight arched her brows,
“You humans can build machines that look like humans?”

Rolling his eyes, he shook his head
“It’s a movie, Twilight. The robots we can build are machines for work, the robots we come up with in movies can do all sorts of crazy stuff we never can hope to build yet. It’s make belief. I mean we just can build machines that can balance them… To create intelligence… That’s beyond us. But enough of this… Let’s roll!” After this he put on his shades again.

But as Tyler opened the door, two fillies and three colts stood before him in different costumes,
“Nightmare night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!”

Tyler lowered his shades and grinned,
“Great costumes, everyone! Happy Nightmare Night! And here are your sweets, you little demons!” Handing out candy to each of them, he was quite surprised as Pinkie Pie suddenly stood before him dressed up as a whoopee cushion.
He shook his head in disbelief. “So big and still harvesting sweets? Pinkie, you eat sweets all the time at Sugarcube Corner!”

But the pink earth pony didn’t flinch,
“Are we at Sugarcube Corner right now? Duh!” Shaking his head with narrowed eyes, Tyler gave in and dropped a bonbon into Pinkie’s bag.

With this the festival began. The ponies strolled around in their costumes in the early night, but were suddenly spooked as the loud bass of an electric guitar sounded of from the Town center. Standing on a stage, Tyler played the theme from Tales of the Crypt as he temporarily displaced the Nightmare Night band so they could take a short break. With the support of Vinyl Scratch he managed to perform with scary background beat. As the song was over twice, he stopped and the band nodded,
“Thanks for giving us the chance for-”

He waved it away in midsentence,
“It’s nothing! Even musicians need to go somewhere sometimes!” With this, he left the stage.

Vinyl Scratch on the other hand approached him. With a big grin she gave him a nudge,
“Dude, I always told you: You make the music, I make the wubs and beats and we own this stage! We should do this again!”

Tyler bend down and took off his shades,
“Well the night is still young, Vinyl. I say we go for another song later. How’s that?”

As she took of her DJ glasses again, she nodded, giving him a nod with a friendly glance of her of moderate cerise eyes,
“No sweat there, dude. I’ll take my time to listen to Tavia meanwhile.”

This caused him to frown a bit,
“Tavia?”

Looking up to the band she pointed at an earth pony in costume, playing a fiddle,
“Octavia over there! Oh, normally she plays the cello back in Canterlot, but we have a house here in Ponyville.”

It was then when wind came up. As Tyler looked up and saw the skies became cloudier by the second, he shook his head with a chuckle,
“Alright… Seems like Luna is coming…”

The groan of wood filled the air as a large pirate ship appeared out of the clouds. An equine version of the Jolly Roger was set. Large black sails hang down loose. With widened eyes did the citizens of Ponyville looked up as the large ship descended down from the skies.

In a panic, Pinkie Pie looked to the fillies around,
“Do you see that, everypony? Nightmare Moon has summoned the Flying Hoofman to catch us all! EVERYPONY RUN!!!!!”

As the kids began to run away, the ship landed and the anchor slammed into the ground. Tyler and Twilight both shared a glance, before they chuckled along. Tyler then shouted up to the ship,
“Luna? You got them all scared!”

Leaning over the railing, the Princess of the Night, wearing a pirate bandana and wielding a sabre, pouted,
“What? Already? But I wanted to give some quotations first!” harrumphing a bit, she readjusted her voice. “Arrrrhhh! Black Luna comes for ya, ya long shore lubbers!” With a giggle she jumped off the ship and landed before them.

Giving her a hug, Tyler greeted her,
“And here I was thinking you would come in a carriage!”

While both Twilight and Luna giggled, the alicorn shook her head,
“Nay, Tyler… I tried that and everypony got it all wrong. This time, I won’t make mistakes.”

Now Twilight and Luna shared a hug,
“Luna! It’s so good to see you!”

“Thou as well, Twilight Sparkle… I trained hard since last year…” replied the princess before they went to the center of town.

On their way, they conversed a bit. Among the themes and topics they discussed there were things that happened before his arrival as well, so Tyler couldn’t always participate to full extent. And of course, there were things that happened in the herd. These topics seemed to be most interesting for Luna and she seemed most interested about them. How Tyler treated his herd, of what they talk and most importantly, how they spend free time.

Twilight explained the princess that Tyler comes from a world where almost everyone lives in monogamy and how it shines through in his behavior. That he tries his best to treat both Applejack and her equally, yet that he felt quite touched when he heard about Luna’s loneliness,
“And since then, our Casanova here brought great effort to make our little herd worthy in your eyes, Luna. I think you touched something deep within him. An aspect in him neither Applejack nor I really touched to that extent."

Then suddenly a lightning went off behind them. All three of them looked up, partially spooked, spotting a laughing Rainbow Dash in superhero costume on a storm cloud. Tyler arched a brow with a strict tone,
“Rainbow…?”

But pointing a hoof at him, the Pegasus mare hovered right before him in the next moment,
“Hey! You weren’t eating! I took safety precautions this time, T-man!”

With a grin he raised his hand and several small lightning bolts danced over it,
“Well, for your sake I say you stay alert yourself, Rainbow… Or the pranks might return to you…”

With this, the Pegasus mare grinned mischievously,
“You want to prank the Dash-girl, T-man? Fat chance!”

Holding his hand up to her, he slightly cocked his hand and grinned,
“Dare to make a bet out of it?”

“Anytime, T-man!” With this, she took his hand for a shake, only to be zapped while doing so. Then she remembered it. He could use magic!

With a sly grin he passed by,
“Tonight you lost, girl… But that doesn’t mean you have to like it!”

With mouth agape, Rainbow followed Tyler with a surprised glance before rubbing her chin,
“Man, he’s good… Maybe…” Looking at Twilight and Luna, who both shook their heads, she chuckled. “Well, I guess you’re right… No need to turn this into a prank-a-thon!”

Tyler now enjoyed the festival, playing the one or another game with the rest of the townsfolk. But it wasn’t until long that a female whistle made him turn towards the trees, where Luna stood, winking at him. With a warm chuckle, he approached her,
“A pirate, huh?”

She giggled in enjoyment,
“And thou a black knave? I really enjoyed this tonight… It turned out that this festival was quite different from the last time I was here… And not only because I now know how to approach the citizens… No, I could spend the time with thee. But, who knows? This night could still become better” She gave him a little nudge while passing him, waving her flank seductively.

“So I guess you girls already talked about that stuff too, huh? I only feel bad to courting you all this time and… you know…”

Luna smiled and whirled her ethereal mane around her neck,
“Like I get thy heart and the rest of thee goes to the girls? Tempting, tempting… But what if I want to spend the night with thee? Would thou love me as thou would love them?”

Tyler embraced her and caressed her ethereal mane which felt like silk touch on his hands,
“For you, I’ll make the night alive, not stopping loving you until dawn comes and you slumber happily. I’ll even wait the whole day if necessary to kiss you goodbye.”

As she blushed, she gave him a warm and loving smile,
“The stallion isn’t supposed to have a favorite mare as far as I know, but it’s wonderful to hear and see that thou see me as somepony special.”

Tyler shook his head,
“Everypony is something special! You make no difference in that.”

With these words she brushed her tail at him while passing him. He remembered this gesture. It was an advance by the royal mare showing affection. Now he already knew that she was interested in him, but as he remembered, this particular gesture was one of sincere feeling. He gulped as he knew how to answer on her gesture. It was most imperative that he responded to this gesture right away. Otherwise he would disgrace her as it would look like he would disdain her.

She was standing back to back with him now due to the gesture, so he turned to her and approached her. He had no tail to brush against her, so he opened his hand as he slowly walked around her in the same way she did it. At his touch, he let his palm and fingers glide over her body making her shiver once or twice in excitement,
“Luna…” he said in a lordly warm voice. “I didn’t know your feelings were that deep for me already… I feel praised…”

At the middle of her breastplate his hand rested as they exchanged seductive looks from each other,
“I see my sister instructed thee the way to show thy feelings in a proper way, Tyler… The fact that thou use this knowledge to please me shows that thou are no fool… Do thou really think it is possible for us to live together? And do thou dare to approach me?”

Taking her chin into his grasp and looking into her eyes beneath her precious moon, he announced his response,
“There are things that seem impossible like your moon turning into a sun, Luna. I dare not to calculate the odds of the creation of two different worlds, who after millions upon millions of years create life for generation after generation until finally our parents give life to our forms and that fate against unfathomable odds makes it possible that two… us two… can emerge to herd mates. To create a couple so specific and different and a link between their worlds… against all these odds… is so likely like your moon turning into a sun. A miracle… And due to this miracle… I find the courage to step forth and courtship you…”

Her heart skipped a beat as he said those wonderful words to her. She bowed her head to his chest and raised her head slowly while taking a deep breath at him. Again, this was another gesture and it only showed her willingness to make bodily contact on this meeting. Obviously she was ready to go a step further. Tyler gulped at the look of her eyes, welling with tears that appeared like tiny diamonds in the moonlight. She expected him to respond to this as well and so he bowed down to her chest, raising the head along her neck as he also took a deep breath. What’s the worst that could happen on the second date? He thought. Probably just another barrage of kisses.

But when he looked up on her, he saw her eyes not only full of love or looking for seducing him. This time he felt like she would eye him like a piece of meat to devour. The tears had run down her cheeks and her breath was heavy now,
“I see we wish the same, Tyler…I’ve recognized thy looks thou see… Thou are the first and last of thy kind here… And although I and my sister are divine, we don’t have an alicorn stallion at our disposal… While my sister is an alicorn of the light, a supreme being of the day and the platonic love for our subjects is enough for her… I on the other hand am an alicorn of the darkness. I have… urges… Urges I need to satisfy! For the average mare this is easy to overcome. Having to do without it for oh so many millennia however… I think thou get the amount of frustration I have to cope with. But from the common citizen to the aristocrat they cower before me. They dare not to touch me as thou do! And so, in all of Equestria I only deem thou worthy to be my equal, Tyler Jones.”

He had to swallow a lump in his throat on that one,
“Th-This…” He surely was fighting for words now. “This is deep…”

She smiled at him in a mischievous manner,
“We both never saw a being like the other. I am as baffled as thou are. Pray tell, if someone would have hinted to thee that thou would fall in love to something like me a few months before, wouldn’t thou just laugh at him?”

Tyler nodded while looking at her,
“But I guess I know better now.”

She raised her head proudly,
“So do I… I see through thy guise now only to realize thy strong heart and will. Thou are a male seeing me for who I am, not what I am.”

He simply shrugged and gave her a smile,
“True… I strip you of your form, your title and what’s left for me to see is this lonely female seeking for comfort so desperately. A picture so sad it almost breaks my heart. You deserve so much better, Luna.”

Her eyes fixed his, stabbing him like daggers,
“I am who I am and I did what I did. It cannot be undone. I regret many of my deeds as many of them were bad. I paid my price with utter loneliness without even my sister to comfort me.”

As tears began to glitter in her eyes, he laid his hand on her lips,
“Luna, don’t torture yourself with it! You were forgiven! And it has come to past. My love, please calm down and seek comfort at my side.”

She gasped as she heard his voice and rested her head on his chest,
“Tyler…My heart races… I’m shivering! Truly this is not a night of terror, but a night in which thou made me feel happy to be alive. I want to perform one last gesture. Thou don’t have to redo it right now, but I want to perform it to thee. I wish to tell thee how deep my feelings are. Although… I’m not sure if I manage to make it proper to the abyss of these emotions, but please… Bear with me.” As she maintained some distance again, he nodded, not knowing what she was up to.

Then she encircled him, maintaining eye contact with him whenever possible with a seductive smile. When she rubbed her body against his buttocks, slapping her tail against it, his eyes widened. Ah no… She… She isn’t… As they shared looks as she was in front of him again, she winked at him, raising her head rubbing it softly into his chest while giggling like a mare in her first love. This made him shiver nervously. Oh man… She IS! While streaking along his back again, she bumped her flank into him. She totally is… With this she approached him again and rested her head on his chest,
“Did thou enjoyed my offer?”

He chuckled nervously,
“Enjoyed… Words fail me on this, Luna. I don’t know if I should run for cover or jump on the next tower to pronounce my joy to all of Equestria…”

With a mischievous grin she looked into his eyes,
“I’m not a little filly anymore, Tyler… Such as thou are no stranger to this issue I guess.” Her lips pressed themselves on his as she took the initiative this time. Being assertive, the princess began to brush her tongue against his for the most intimate kiss so far. His right hand rested on her head while his other one caressed her long and slender neck. When they parted their lips, she turned her back on him. “Thou really treat me good, my noble servant… I am pleased with thy honesty…” she said jokingly. “But for now we have to part. Until we meet again.” She spread her wings and flew off with her giant pirate ship, the situation on the other hand compelled him to sit down and gulp a heavy burden down.

* * * * *

As Twilight and the others gathered together in the library the next day, Tyler came downstairs. As usual, Twilight greeted him,
“Well then, Casanova! It seems yesterday’s event turned out quite good! How did things go with the Princess? Did she enjoy her second Nightmare Night more than the first since you were courting her into our little herd?”

Opening his arms to greet everypony, he looked at her while giving hugs to the rest of the Mane six,
“Of course she did, Twilight… You said yourself she was having problems the last time…”

Twilight rolled her eyes as she gave his reply a smile,
“Yes… I mean did you two enjoyed your time together?”

Tyler saw to the other mares, harrumphed briefly and looked outside the window,
“Well we greeted together, spoke a bit about the evening…”

Applejack’s and Twilight’s eyes widened in anticipation,
“Yes?”

Now going around the table and folding his hands together, Tyler continued,
“… And we were performing gesture number A25…”

Twilight’s face began to beam in joy,
“Oooohhh, your feelings are both deep and sincere as well!”

“… we then performed B47…” he continued and Twilight’s grin was growing widely.

“Kyaaahh! Willingness to touch each other! What’s next? A kiss? Oh, tell me you kissed her!”

Tyler rubbed his neck in slight embarrassment,
“Yeah that as well… but, uh… Well, how do I put it…? After a little talk she performed D 42…”

The room was completely silent now as Twilight’s jaw dropped down,
“No!” the young unicorn said in disbelief.

“Yes, she did.” he replied while she was holding her head with her hooves, shaking it fiercely.

“NOOO! I won’t believe this!” Levitating the book to herself she looked through the pages. “This is too fast! WAY too fast! She shouldn’t perform that gesture until later on! Like in… several months!!!”

Shrugging now, he pointed his hand to Twilight and started counting on his fingers,
“I‘m telling you, Twilight: Encircling me, rubbing herself against my buttocks, slapping her tails against it, rubbing her head at my chest and streaking again at my bum bumping her flank into me.“

Rarity spat her tea out, gasping for breath,
“She did WHAT?!? This is THE most open and romantic way in royalty to say that she’s ready to… to… Oh, sweet Celestia!” With this the white unicorn fainted.

Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and then turned to Twilight,
“Mind if ya both fill us in here? Y’all are making enough fuzz about it as it would be something major! Tyler, sugarcube. What’s this all about?” Twilight looked to Tyler and as he nodded she whispered into the earth pony’s and the Pegasi’ ears.

All three let their jaws drop,
“Whoa nelly! It takes guts to buckle down an apple that big!” Fluttershy blushed deeply and remained silent. It seemed a bit too personal for the timid yellow Pegasus.

Rainbow on the other hand eyed Tyler for a while until she shook her head,
“You aren’t just going to win; you are going for the record! Now THAT’S cool! But play it nice to the princess, you hear?”

Tyler held up his hands,
“Now hold it, girls! Don’t spread that around, OK?”

Applejack came closer to him pushing her right fore-hoof to his chest,
“We will stay quiet about this, Mister, but yer on thin ice now! Princess Luna is co-ruler of Equestria! Ah don’t understand all of this royal flapdoodle they do in high society herds, but this Ah know: Ya mess with the young princess; herd mate or not, Ah’ll buckle yer face like a tree. Ya got that? If we ponies love one thing it’s the ponies caring about us. Don’t get the wrong idea. Yer a mighty fine stallion and treated me and Twilight better than we ever expected ya to treat us. Ah never met a guy so adaptable like yerself, but ya sure have guts to pull that off! Make sure ya do that right or Celestia be mah witness: Ah’ll get ya even before Princess Celestia.”

Tyler stood there, baffled for a moment,
“Yes, ma’am! And Applejack?” With an arched brow the earth pony eyed him as he descended a bit to be on equal size with her. “Mhm?” Giving her a big hug now, he patted her back while doing it. “Thanks for being honest.”

She rolled her eyes, resting a hoof on his back with a sister-like smile,
“Don’t sweat it, sugarcube! Ah know yer not that kind of guy. Just a reminder, so don’t fool around with her!”

It was then when Pinkie pie leaned in,
“So… It’s time for a happy new herd mate party?”

But Tyler vigorously shook his head,
“Pinkie, no! Please! Promise me you won’t tell anypony as of yet!”

The pink earth pony simply smiled and performed several gestures with her hooves in front of him,
“Hmmm…. OK! I won’t tell anypony! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Tyler blinked at her, perplexed,
“What was that?” Pinkie now began to beam wide.

As she trotted beside him she sat down to her haunches,
“That’s my Pinkie promise! It means that this is a promise never to break! Breaking such a promise could make you lose your friend forever!”

Tyler frowned,
“Forever?”

With an unusual strict and determined look, she looked at him,
“FOREVER!!!”

Looking over to the others of what to do with Pinkie now, the others simply shrugged,
“It’s OK, Tyler! It’s standard procedure for her.” With this he nodded and gave Pinkie another hug.

After this, Tyler turned to Twilight and leaned in to the book,
“So… uh… What happens next?” Twilight browsed through the pages until she read a few lines.

She then looked up to Tyler and nodded,
“It says she will summon you.” Tyler then went upstairs, frowning a bit.

As he was at the balcony door, he shrugged,
“Summon me? Like what? Do I disappear here and reappear in her chambers? You know… A magical summoning?” He suddenly heard something behind him from the balcony. As he turned around, a carriage was hovering over the balcony. From it a gray unicorn mare approached the balcony door and knocked three times.

Answering it, Tyler opened the door and the mare inspected him,
“I take it you are Tyler Jones?” Her voice sounded like she was twanging a bit. As he nodded briefly, the mare continued. “I was sent here by Princess Luna to invite you to her this night. The Princess wishes to see you.”

As he turned to the others, Twilight took a brief look into the book and gestured him to accept,
“I gladly accept.”

With this the mare nodded and showed him the way to the carriage,
“Oh, you mean right now! Ok… Uh… Folks? I’m off to Canterlot for now…” As he entered the carriage, the gray mare stepped in as well and the pegasi pulled the carriage back to Canterlot. Tyler’s thoughts began to spin. He was only dressed in casual clothing. What to expect from this? Another date? Or… Will she go for it? Nah… Stop thinking with your dick! She just wants to spend more time with you!

As he looked to the mare, he harrumphed briefly and the mare gave him her attention,
“Yes?”

He thought for a moment,
“So, uh… What are your duties for Princess Luna? And what’s your name? You know me; I don’t know anything about you!”

She looked onwards and nodded,
“I am Shadrane, the princess’ governess. I take my job seriously although I know that there is nothing I can teach her anymore. I therefore see myself as her second conscience. Frankly I don’t actually know what she sees in you, but I don’t doubt my princess. I won’t judge you, but this doesn’t mean I like you.”

Tyler nodded. Obviously not every pony was happy with Luna’s decision to let him court her. The possible reasons were numerous. Specism, distrust, fear, inexperience with humans… He then looked to her,
"I’m sorry you don’t like me, Shadrane… But you’re not the one I’m courting.”

The mare didn’t move a muscle. Her face was solid as stone,
“Honest words… Commendable! You don’t seem to fear speaking what’s on your mind. Both a virtue and vice in one. We will see, Tyler Jones… We will see your worth for the worth of your actions. There are many eyes locked on you. And some think you ascend quite fast in Equestria. Maybe even faster than it is healthy for some. This is no threat… Take it as a sorrow of mine…”

With this they landed in Canterlot Castle. Tyler looked around for a watch. It was early in the day, surely they would prepare him somehow. But he only was led into a chamber. Shadrane nodded to a cupboard and a door,
“I shall get you later. Right now the princess slumbers. A bath might be appropiate. Ready yourself before I take you to her." With this she went down the hallway.

When he stepped into the hall to the royal chambers, he took a good look around. He was sure, despite wearing shoes, the floor here felt different, slightly colder. It was dark marble, truly luxurious. This must be Luna's wing of the castle... He thought. After taking a thorough bath and a short nap, he awakened in the early evening and waited. The clock and its ticking made the whole thing an ordeal. Finally at 7pm, Shadrane entered his chamber after knocking three times.

"We mustn’t let the princess wait. Tyler Jones, please hurry! The princess will punish me if I don’t bring you to her as soon as possible." With a quick nod, Tyler hurried up and walked beside Shadrane. As they arrived at the large door with the fresko of a crescent moon, Shadrane knocked three times. After a short "Come in!" she opened the door.

Taking a stance, Shadrane reported to Luna,
"Milady! As you wished, your companion has arrived."

Taking a sip from a cup, Luna nodded,
"Thank you, Shadrane... You may go now." With this, the gray mare bowed and turned to Tyler. Giving him a short inspection, she sighed silent and gave him a brief nod. Tyler thought to know her thoughts in this minute. You're on your own now, boy... With this he stepped in and closed the large door behind him

Luna was sitting on her haunches on a big pillow as she drank some tea,“I greet thee, Tyler…To this late hour meeting.”

He scratched his head,
“Yeah… um… Sure thing… I don’t mind as I’m more of a night owl…”

“Just as me…” Her tone was more covetous as usual. “I want your hands around me…” He gulped. Here goes... As his hands started to gently caress every inch of her body, she shivered while remaining still. He remembered the spots from the book and how Rainbow reacted to some points towards the wing muscles. A smile came to his face as he remembered her cyan coat turned almost to magenta while blushing. She confessed that these are very subtle zones, highly sensitive and erogenous and he better treat a girl right before even thinking of touching her there. She even went so far that she would beat him up if he ever gives a Pegasus mare a hard time over this.

Now, while touching Luna there, the touch of these zones made her squeal in ecstasy followed by a hard tremble. Taking a breath she looked up to him with something between fear and anticipation,
“Don’t thou dare to stop!” she pleaded in a frail voice, barely able to give it a commanding tone.

Knowing those zones seemed to be its worth the weight in gold,
“Everything OK with you, Luna my love?”

With an already satisfied look on her face she seemed to be enjoying herself,
“Yes… Yes, everything is EEEEK!” As he pointed a finger into a specific point above her flank she almost began to scream. But in a ladylike manner she held her mouth with a hoof. Now, being irritated by his knowledge of the alicorn body, she looked him into the eyes with a helpless glaze. ”Who taught you how to please alicorns so good? It’s like you know all my buttons…”

He shrugged with a sly smile,
“Let’s just say your sister knows her books quite well…”

“Oh that mischievous, sun loving beldam! No doubt she plotted this in the first place…” After a while, Luna pleaded that he would stop to please her like this because it brought her into mood, but she wanted to cherish the moment with him. “Now… This was wonderful… Thank you, Tyler… I see, my sister instructed thee well to please me. I remember what large of a tome it is. And thou seem to find every spot right away… Thou certainly put effort into pleasing me.” Giving him a peer she seemed to hide every emotion right now as she turned her back to him. “Aren’t thou afraid that I refuse thee? Thou are a mortal after all… I on the other hand am immortal. Why should I let thee or thy herd accompany me? So thou can die in a few years leaving me behind mourning for thy dead remains? Shouldn’t thou herd with our friends Applejack and Twilight Sparkle? They are mortal as well, thou could get old together. I will stay young as thou grow old, beloved. Should I really start this?”

Tyler gulped and watched her every move,
“Yes, you are right. We couldn’t be more different. Mortal and immortal, human and alicorn, commoner and princess. But neither the less! I feel the very urge to save you.”

She arched a brow, still with her back turned to him,
“Save me?”

He nodded,
“From loneliness… I saw your eyes, Luna… They are strong, but out of duty and effort. I see uncertainty in them. You are alone and yearn for someone at your side, even if it’s just for a little while. I’m not immortal, but I’m willing to give you all you need from a companion.”

She turned around to him and stared at him, frightened,
“I’m… I’m not Celestia! I’m not as kind as she is! I’ll corrupt thee! Tis my nature!”

As he slowly approached her, his eyes were fixed on hers,
“I’ll follow you into the darkest pit if you wish it!”

Taking a gulp, she stepped backwards,
“Thou still think like a being of the light, Tyler! At my side, thou would learn to suffer for my pleasure!”

With a big grin he took another step to her,
“If that’s what makes you happy? Sure, torment me! I would love you twice the time afterwards…” She yelped as she suddenly sat on her bed. Taking her cheeks into his palms, he looked into her eyes. Those determined, yet frightened eyes...
“You are so beautiful when you’re trying to protect me from your influence, Luna… But warn a moth not to fly into the flame. She loves the light in the dark and dies from it…”

With this he kissed her again and she gave in. Why is he so nice to me? I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria, Princess of the Night! Why doesn’t he fear me? Why doesn’t he cower before me like all the others? The world span in her mind and as she embraced him with her hooves, she pulled him on the bed as a lonely tear sparkled down her cheek. I don’t know love… I never tasted it from anyone besides my sister. I know so much about pony coupling, all the books about sexuality, may it be earth ponies, unicorns or pegasi alike… I read them all… poems about love… I read so many in all my years… None prepared me for this… this… ORDEAL of new impressions! This never ending flood of joy… This sweet delicious pain in my heart.

She gasped for air as his kisses went down her neck and his hands caressed her whole body. Her body shivered as his kisses reached her chest and his tongue slid over her belly. Her eyes widened as she felt his hand caressing the coat around her marehood. Even now he was careful not to go too fast. How sweet of him… With this she laid down to the side.

There was that moment of complete silence as they both looked into each other’s eyes. He gulped and she gave him a shy nod. As he entered her, she let out a gasp in delight, followed by a deep moan in an unladylike manner. Thrust after thrust, her senses more and more began whirling. The world seemed gone, her body became light. With sharp loud moans did she embrace waves of ecstasy as he lifted her wings and gently licked alongside her wing muscles. This one lick alone brought her to the brink of climax. It faded away quickly, but returned with every further lick.

By now his hips found a steady rhythm and he took his time to keep her there near climax. As her eyes locked on him, her head leaned back, longing for a kiss and he was happy to greet her lips with his own. It was like a dam breaking down upon her as each thrust made her feel the wall of loneliness breaking. At last! She thought, the feeling of the sweet sensations making her mind go blank. He turned out just the way she imagined him. He was the perfect mate, both emotional and sexual. And deep within she knew that he was the one who would be forever in her heart.

As her mind began to return a bit, she shook her head and looked at him, determination in her eyes,
“Tyler… Tonight… I’m not thy princess! DON’T hold back anymore on my behalf! I want thee to give me your all, beloved.” He looked her deep into the eyes and she nodded again, wiping away all his doubts. It was then when he took her flanks into an iron grasp and began thrusting harder. Already was she seeing stars as he began to speed up the pace, making her eyes roll backwards. Her lover reduced her, the co-ruler of the land to a mere mare in the need of being mounted.

How unladylike she was now, wallowing in ecstasy and lust like a sow in the mud. As her own heat began to rise up into her mind, she gritted her teeth as she mustered all her sanity to release them both from this lustful ordeal. “Breed me…” she whispered. That’s when it finally got him and he shot his semen deep into her, moaning while he did it.

Outside of the room the guards tried their best to stay calm themselves,
“Damn…” one of them muttered. “What a lucky bastard…”

Luna was lying on the bed now, spent. Her flanks were still twitching and shivering as he finally released his lover of the tight grip. He then lay down beside her, kissed her gently to calm her down,
“Tyler… This… I… Don’t think of me as nymphomania now…”

He laughed and caressed her dark blushed cheek,
“You had things to catch up… And you need it rough. I like that in a woman, or rather mare… Now who’s my bad little girl of the night?”

She grinned in a mischievous way as she leaned on him,
“I am your bad little girl of the night…” With a happy giggle, she welcomed his lips. “My. Dark. Companion.”

Meanwhile a servant knocked nervously at Celestia’s door. “Your highness, the moon is about an hour late to get down! Aren’t you concerned?”

But the princess cocked her head and arched a brow.
“Oh, hush up! I’ll make an exception today! My little sister has a coltfriend!” As the servant nodded obediently and left the room, she giggled and raised a scroll and a quill. “Now… What pranks to play first on those two?”

* * * * *

An hour later the sun was set and Tyler came out of the bathroom, fresh and clean. Stretching his back he smiled over Luna’s resting body. As he caressed her mane careful not to wake her in her tender slumber, he kissed her on forehead, right beside her horn. “Sweet dreams, my beloved princess…”

As he left the young princess’ chamber, a voice sounded right behind him,
“Tyler Jones! How dare you laying a finger upon my beloved sister?” He froze immediately at Celestia’s sharp tone. But as she approached she giggled at him. “At ease, Defender. I’m only joking”

Relief was in his sigh now as he realized that the princess was only mocking him for a bit,
“I think I almost wet my pants…” he muttered under his breath as he turned to her.

“Nonetheless…” She continued, “You now know that you’re not only Ponyville’s defender anymore but even more to my sister? She will have need for you and your… charms…” Her flank bumped into him as she giggled. “Don’t get the wrong idea! I am happy if my little sister is happy as well and I’m happy for both of you. It was the right choice of me to guide you carefully to her side. You’re a good man and will have good influence on her. As a matter of fact I’m sure of it.”

He bowed his head a bit,
“Thank you, Princess… That amount of trust is encouraging”

She cocked her head,
“You are my sister’s herdmate now, Tyler. Just say Celestia.”

Now that was something he wasn’t prepared for,
“D- Does this mean I’m part of royalty now?”

Giggling she bowed her head next to him,
“After tonight? In a manner…” He blushed deeply. She sure knew how to get information. “You’ll see a certain change in the way ponies will react to you. Now that you are the close companion of Luna, they will lose most of their fears. Some may stay wary because of your omnivorous eating habits but I anticipate no bigger problems… Come with me. We’ll have a cup of tea or two…” This prompted him to gulp, he knew what happened the last time they had tea together.

With tense in his body he sat there right beside her, wary of what could happen next as he nervously sipped on his cup of tea. Celestia however seemed calm and regal as always. As she sipped her tea, she gave him a warm glance,
“Now Tyler… I already told you so many times, that you don’t have to be so nervous around me.” Her voice was warm and motherly and this relaxed him for a bit as he took a deep breath in and out. As he visibly calmed down, she nodded. “There you go… It’s not so bad around me, is it?” Before he could say something, she leaned in and nuzzled him. That was new. It felt calming, not intimidating and he more and more lost his worries. Maybe her divine self-control got back and she wanted to make up for her previous behavior.

Nuzzling her human friend now, Celestia smiled,
“You are a good man, Tyler. I feel happy for my sister and the other members of your herd. You tend to say coming to Equestria was the best thing that happened to you, but the truth is, this land profits from your very presence as well. So does my sister and so do I.”

He gazed at her, puzzled,
“Celestia? What do you mean by that?” With a warm smile she simply continued nuzzling him.

"Tia? Where's Tyler? He left my chambers..." As Luna stepped in slightly sleepy, she cocked her head awakening in an instant. “Tia? What the Tartarus are thou doing with my herd mate and beloved?”

Celestia giggled in a slightly mischievous manner,
“Why, nuzzling him of course! I can see why you love him, Lulu. He sure likes to cuddle.”

Sitting right next to Tyler now, making him sit between the two regal sisters, Luna tugged him over to herself,
“Enough! I won’t let thou cuddle him anymore!” Showing a pout, Luna laid a hoof around Tyler, claiming him.

Celestia grinned and leaned forward,
“Oh, don’t envy him, Lulu! Surely I’ll cuddle you as well!” As she nuzzled Luna’s mane and face, Tyler burst into laughter. Soon after that, Celestia and Luna also began to laugh.

As he got up, he kissed Luna passionately,
“You sure are easy to tease, my love…” He then turned to Celestia pointed a finger at her. “And you sure like to tease her, Celestia…” The next moment, Celestia’s lips engulfed his finger, gently sucking on it. Both Tyler and Luna watched with widened eyes, not believing what they saw. “Luna…. Tell me she’s not…”

With a twitching eye, Luna gritted her teeth,
“Celestia! WHAT IN THE TARTARUS???”

Ignoring her sister, Celestia looked up to Tyler while sucking his finger. He could see the wish in her eyes that this was not just a mere finger and shook his head disapprovingly,
“It already got you that hard, huh? My, Celestia… You are a bad alicorn girl…”

Letting go of his finger, she looked up and nodded with a… Tyler shook his head for a bit again. An obedient look? “Yes… Yes, I am…”

Tyler facepalmed himself. Of all the lands I could fall into, I fall into the one where the princesses have a fetish for deference!?! “This is going to be a looong night of explaining… Alright, listen…” And so he spent several hours of talk explaining to Luna how Celestia always seemed to tease him once in a while on several occasions. How she tried to induce interest for herself in Tyler by acting seductively.

Luna, after hearing all this, shook her head,
“Tia! Nay! Can thou imagine the scandal? Him not only courting me… But now thou wish to be courted as well? The Sparkles already have one hoof in nobility for Shining Armor marrying Cadance… Now Twilight Sparkle, Applejack Apple and Tyler are courting me into their little herd as well. And thou now want to join this herd as well? Not only calls this for him to be given a peerage for courting me into his herd, it is needed if thou want to join in as well! And of course, thou haven’t asked the other herd mates yet!”

Tyler shook his head,
“Twilight and Applejack will go crazy! I know Twilight would feel either highly honored or deeply shocked about that. I mean, both of them are no alicorns. The fear of you both grabbing me away would be omnipresent. You would have to talk to them very often…” He then gave Celestia a stern look. “Also… Is this your heart speaking? Or do you just want someone to mate with?”

With this, both princesses gasped, yet Luna gave her big sister an equally stern look. She seemed to demand an answer to this as well. Celestia grimaced a bit, seemed to try to clear her mind a bit, until she gulped,
“I… I love the way you treat me…”

Tyler looked to Luna and chuckled,
“Yeah, heard that before…”

The princess of the sun blushed and looked down,
“It’s… not easy staying regal… in this year of heat… It never is…But it never got so out of hoof! I won’t lie… If you stand up to me… my heart races. This disobedience… This rebellious mind of yours… The excitement of not knowing of how you react… All this deeply attracts me…”

Tyler looked to Luna and she shook her head.
“Tis love, Tyler Jones… My sister is far beyond help now…” He now went through his hairs with both hands while digesting this. Now BOTH sisters where out for him. Well it sounded plausible… What does a girl want if she has everything? Ruling all the land, every pony bows down to her. Then someone living in her land defying her to an extent becomes very interesting after thousands of years of silent obedience. And here he was, a human not giving a damn about monarchy, diarchy or any other form of ruling class. He was a man standing out between all the obedient subjects, even willing to stand up against her if necessary. If he knew how that would have turned out, he would have been a brownnoser or something. Luckily Princess Cadance was already happily married…

He shook his head and stood up. He was slightly nauseous,
“I need some fresh air, my mind spins around…”

As he went outside to the balcony, Celestia looked up to her younger sister,
“Lulu? What do you think? What will he do?”

Looking outside, the princess of the night smiled and nodded back to her sister,
“Tis mental stress, Tia. He will think of something once his mind clears. I think he took it well!” In this moment, the sound of vomiting emitted from the balcony, prompting the dark alicorn to grimace. “Ok… Maybe tis A LOT of mental stress!”

* * * * *

Meanwhile in Ponyville library, Twilight had a most unpleasant nightmare. She dreamt of a burning city, engulfed in green flames, as a completely black mare began to speak with a voice she hoped to hear never again,
“And so it came to pass that the Amasian Enclave did ceased to exist. This day was when our crusade would begin anew for our defeat in Canterlot was far from our final demise.” By then the black mare lit up with green fire, turning into the form of Twilight’s nemesis to be, Chrysalis. “This will be remembered as the day the Changelings returned…”

No! This can’t be! We defeated her! Twilight thought. But as her dream was continuing, her worst fears became true as the Changeling queen continued. “For our feast…” As her followers replied, Twilight could hear that they were still many.

“FOR OUR FEAST!”

With a self-righteous grin Chrysalis continued as Twilight could see her in a whole. The wounds she took from the Spell of Shining Armor and Cadance were healed and she stood over her last victim, a stallion in complete black coat and some royal uniform,
“For Victory!!” Twilight couldn’t see exactly where she was standing, but it looked like an unknown kingdom, ruined and burning down as smoke was rising from everywhere.

“FOR VICTORY!!”

Now Twilight could hear that her followers not even managed to regain their numbers. No, she remembered the terrifying numbers of Changelings attacking Equestria. But this sounded like they even multiplied in numbers. Fear struck the young unicorn with this thought. But by then Chrysalis raised her hoof to her subjects, victorious as she bared her fangs,
“For the ruin of love itself!!!” Twilight could see the horde clearly now. An army of hundreds of thousands of Changelings stretched out before Chrysalis and raised their perforated hooves for their queen in a victorious manner.

“FOR THE RUIN OF LOVE ITSELF!!!”

11 - Approach of Shadows **

Tyler stood on the balcony and groaned while his stomach calmed down. This was a bit too much all at once. There were only a few things he would ever consider impossible to add to the herd. Of course, it would be plainly exhausting having an energy bundle like Pinkie Pie around all the time. Or the timid and skittish behavior of Fluttershy. He always had the impression that the yellow Pegasus mare was a bit too easy to spook and there was also Rarity with her fad for tidiness and fashion. He wasn’t out for that in his herd either. And the all competitive, stunt and prank loving Rainbow Dash above all would bring too much action into the herd.

Not that he disliked the girls for these reasons. Quite the opposite! Each of them made fine additions in the daily life of Ponyville and with each enriching the town, they were good spirits who made life rich on their own but it wouldn’t work with him in his opinion when it comes to all day out relationships. Twilight had her spleens and tend to worry often above even the tiniest things. Often he had to pace her down so she wouldn’t make further mistakes. It was bearable though. Satisfying her meant talking to her, satisfying her curiosity about mankind.

Applejack on the other hand was a hard worker like Big Mac. It was a thing running in her family and Tyler appreciated it. Hard work made her day and a hard working male attracted her. That’s how she joined the herd. Now Applejack tried to keep things simple. Not because she’s stupid but because she wanted things to be easy,
“No use in tryin’ to understand why apples are red and not blue!” she always said. “We make ‘em grow and they are good for us! That’s all that matters!” It was this balance between Twilight’s curiosity about every detail and Applejack’s simplicity what made them harmonize among another.

And then came Luna…
While he always thought they would be frightened about her being part of the herd, they encouraged him in anticipation. They knew Luna for a bit now and seemed more than happy to help her into society. Maybe the thought of her sleeping with Tyler was just waved away with this herd thinking. A thing that would have been impossible to happen back on Earth. But hey, this wasn’t Earth.

Now there came Celestia and every pony spoke high of Celestia. Having her in the herd would be like… breaking a dogma! And it would change the whole life of them all. So many problems and so little time to think about… Tyler huffed and took a long breath. How will the girls react to this?

As he returned to Celestia’s chamber, the princesses sat together, each drinking another cup of tea. Tyler sat down in front of them. With frail gestures he tried to gesture into his sentences,
“I take it this is a first time… Like no one has even done this before…” Both sisters looked at each other and finally gave Tyler a nod. He again huffed and looked to Celestia. “If this is going to happen, we have to wait until we announce it. Right now journalist ponies like to besiege Ponyville because of me courting Luna. I’m thinking of Twilight and Applejack here. And I’m… I’m trying to cope with this but I can’t adapt to this so fast! And I think the girls will need time as well. We definitely have to wait with announcing this or these journalists will never leave Ponyville!” This as well earned a silent nod from the sisters. “And don’t expect this to deepen all too fast now! I mean we have to talk with the girls first! Carefully! Can you imagine the reactions of Twilight alone if she hears that her mentor is in the same herd as her? Reactions might go from ‘What if he finds Princess Celestia more attractive than me?’ to ‘Yesyesyesyes!’”

Celestia nodded at this, fighting the urge to giggle at her faithful student’s most adorable reaction,
“I think that would be wise, yes… Luna and I don’t want to take you from the girls.”

He then nodded while arching a brow,
“Do you both know that Applejack wishes for a foal from me?”

This now caught the two alicorns in surprise,
“Your bond is that strong already? Well… Luna? Aren’t transformation spells your expertise?”

Luna harrumphed briefly,
“But of course! I could turn fair Applejack into a parrot if she would wish it! But I have to say to thee… For developing something that would make her more receptive for your sperm I would need time and material… There are things I will have to study on. I will have to discuss this with them both when thou are gone."

Tyler then got up,
“I have to get me some sleep… I think I’ll head for Ponyville… Luna? Can I borrow your carriage for a ride?”

With a smile, the young princess nodded,
“Be my guest!”

* * * * *

Meanwhile in a whole other part of Equestria…
It was a silent night during the flight of the Atalia. The airship was on its course north and equipped with the Crystal Empire’s newest development, magical communication crystals. After delivering some of these crystals to Equestria, they brought back medicinal herbs, medicine and equipment.

The gray Pegasus stallion in front of the airship responded into his helmet, made of said crystal. It turned out to be a convenient thing not to yell all over the place,
“Home flight! Status report, folks!”

On the left side, a black Pegasus stallion nodded,
“Vomane here! Nothing to report!”

A Pegasus mare in lime coat grinned on the right side of the airship,
“Strikeflight here! Sleepy time!”

Hearing all the good status reports made Blastwind smile,
“Roger that! Seems like a very boring trip to me. Blastwind to Atalia…”

A female voice came out of Bastwind’s crystal helmet,
“Atalia here… What do you have for me, Blastwind?”

Flying closely to the airship he now saw the communication officer of the airship,
“Clear flying! It’s a lonely flight outside here, Arween. Wish you were here beside me.”

The blue crystal mare chuckled as she sat at the front crates, holding the communication crystal,
“In your dreams, Blastwind! There are reports of raiders in these borders lately, so don’t take things easy.” With a chuckle the pegasi went back to wing position and escorted the airship.

But little did they know that a few clouds further above several green lights came out of the darkness,
“Target locked. Distance to target: 2500 melings and closing…” With this the flying objects vanished as black coats covered them.

After some seconds, Arween’s voice sounded in the helmets,
“Blastwind, we’re seeing… something out there at six o’ clock! Could you check that for us please?”

Blastwind arched a brow,
“You expect Bogeys out here in the middle of nowhere? Well let’s see…” After looking around, he saw no objects flying around. Was Arween trying to make things up to make the trip a bit less boring? “No… Nothing! Your imagination got its way with-” Blastwind never finished this sentence as something tackled him from above and knocked him out. Unconscious his body fell to its demise.

Meanwhile one of the other pegasi looked onwards. Strikeflight moved a bit more to the front of the formation,
“What the hay? Atalia, I can’t see Blastwind anymore!”

By now Arween’s voice became more concerned and sterner,
“Strikeflight! There is definitely something out there!”

Holding an eye out for her wingcolt, Strikeflight looked around,
“Blastwind? Come on, this isn’t funny anymore!” Out of the shady clouds before the mare the attackers suddenly appeared with green glows in their eyes. “No, that’s impossible!” Split seconds later, Strikeflight fell as well.

Arween and the rest of the airship crew only could see vague movement,
“Strikeflight? Respond! Vomane, are we under attack? Blastwind? Strikeflight?”

Using all his flying skills, Vomane still was heavily outnumbered and could only hope to keep his own safety,
“I can’t shake them! I have bandits all on my six!” One of the attackers delivered a painful blow, causing Vomane to lose a severe portion of height. “Losing height, unable to keep with you, I need help!”

As the stallion tried his best to avoid enemy attacks, one of the smaller attackers grinned to the larger female one,
“He’s all yours, Princess Shiria!”

With a dark grin, the big attacker looked down to the fleeing Vomane,
“Ba-bye!” A projectile of green magic burned his wings and feathers beyond flying capability, sending him down like a rock. His painful shriek let the blood in Arween’s veins freeze.

With a megaphone, the airship’s captain turned to the incoming attackers,
“To unknown attackers! This is an unarmed equestrian civilian airship transporting medical supplies to the Crystal Empire. We will land and prepare to be boarded. You MUST break off your attack!” With this the big attacker flied closely by and waved a flag behind her. On it was a crest of the southwestern Amasian Enclave.

Gaining some distance again, she laughed manically,
“Ignore them; you have your specific orders!”

As they encircled the airship like vultures, one of the attackers approached their leader,
“My princess… I say we leave them something to remember us by…” This only prompted the female leader to laugh even louder.

Arween now grew hysterical and yelled into the crystal,
“Mayday! This is the transport Atalia, currently flying above the Crystal Mountains! Amasian forces have killed our escort! Mayday! This is an emergency!"

Landing on top of the balloon laughing, the female leader planted a green orb on it and took off. The orb however began to eat itself into the balloon with a crackling noise.

Looking up to the leaving attackers, relief came onto Arween’s face,
“Wait! They seemed to be pulling back!” They were indeed gaining distance, but little did the crew know about the impending doom right above them.

But the captain waved the attackers farewell,
“To Amasian forces: We appreciate your withdrawal…” One second later, the balloon of the airship blasted to pieces and Arween’s scream screeched into the crystal.

With that the shadow ponies watched the burning wreckage slam into the mountain walls. Their leader, a big mare grinned down as green flames engulfed her,
“Well… This should stir things up… Mother will be pleased. Let’s go!” Buzzing loud now, the little wing of Changeling attackers left the scene.

* * * * *

A few days later, a large crowd of ponies from both the Crystal Empire and Equestria were gathered together in the Royal Canterlot Forum. Ambassadors from both kingdoms were conversing left and right.

Now Celestia’s voice was audible above all,
“Order! Order, order… The forum will come to order!” As the ponies calmed down, she continued. “You all will have the opportunity to voice your opinions to the recent terrible events that occurred among the borders. But before we go to that, I’d like to have the former Captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard and Crystal Kingdom’s ambassador in Equestria to address us all… Prince Shining Armor!”

Applause was given as Shining Armor approached the speaker’s desk, thanking the ambassadors. Pleased shouts were given,
“Yes! Shining Armor! He will give us answers!”

The stallion waited until the forum got quiet, then began his speech,
“Honored ambassadors, ladies and gentlecolts, As co-ruler of the Crystal Empire I’m charged with many duties. The most important one is the peaceful co-existence with our neighboring kingdoms. Unfortunately, I stand before you today as a penitent servant… As of yet, I don’t have enough information to point out the exact culprits of these attacks. I can’t give you answers.”

With this uproar began to grow among the ambassadors,
“What do you mean no answers? We demand answers!”

Shining Armor shook his head,
“As of yet, it is far too early to pinpoint the exact culprits of these violent acts of terror.”

A Pegasus ambassador stood up with an outraged look on his face,
“Renegade Amasian bandits, I tell you!”

Another ambassador stood up, he was an earth pony,
“No it’s worse! These are organized military terror strikes of the Shadow Ponies!!! That murderous scum!”

Facing these two stallions, Shining Armor shook his head,
“I want everypony to remember that during the long months of the sweeps for Changeling activities among the southwestern borders, the Shadow Ponies of the Amasian Enclave, despite historic clashes, proofed to be loyal allies against a common enemy!”

A crystal pony mare, obviously an ambassador stood up angered,
“And now they attack unarmed airships!”

Uproar roamed through the crowd again. Cadance visibly shrunk as her subjects seemed so angry. This truly wasn’t the brightest time for the Princess of Love,
“Air pirates! Scoundrels! Badlands beggars!” More angered shouts were uttered from the crowd until Celestia called to order. This caused Shining Armor to frown deeply.

With a reprehensive gesture he raised his hoof,
“Let us not allow lust for revenge to cloud our thinking. We mustn’t forget who our allies are…” These words calmed down many of the ambassadors. Many nodded, others spoke to each other as Shining Armor continued his speech. “Nonetheless! We must also remember that during the past, especially during the Changeling incident, things never seem to be what they appear on the first sight. Now! Whether or not these acts of hostility are caused by some sort of political change in the southern kingdoms remains to be investigated.” He then slammed his hoof on the desk. “But investigate that I will! You have my word on this!” Loud applause emerged now from the ambassadors.

Celestia approached the speaker’s desk and faced the ambassadors again,
“Prince Shining Armor, you are aware that the increase in these incidents has raised the tension between Equestria, the Crystal Empire and the Amasian Enclave to a dangerous level. But before we all commit ourselves to a grave and irrevocable action, I have asked Prince Shining and several others of the Equestrian strategic staff to investigate and to report back to us in one week. Shining Armor, you go with the blessing of this forum and every peace-loving pony of our two kingdoms. Good luck to you.”

Tyler, who witnessed these speeches from a balcony after Celestia had summoned him earlier this day, thought about these incidents and the reactions of the ambassadors. He knew this meant more stuff to happen. And here I was thinking about vacation… Something’s wrong here… In his mind he thought about similarities to Earth and how he should react to this. Something about this shouted ‘false flag attack’… But who benefitted?

As he went down towards the throne room to discuss matters with Princess Celestia, she met him halfway. After a short and brief greeting, even for her, Tyler felt there was a tension in the princess of the sun. A tension that wasn’t there before,
“Tyler… There’s something I have to ask of you.” She didn’t turned to him, but the stern and concerned look in her face showed him that it was about these incidents and that she was alerted about this.

With a brief nod he looked to her as they went down the hallway,
“Sure, what is it?"

She suddenly stopped and closed her eyes,
“You see… Luna and I are not used to the possible threat of war… During the Changeling invasion I made the dreadful mistake to underestimate the enemy. A mistake I do not wish to repeat. But Luna and I don’t have experience with waging war. Until now, the powers of alicorns were enough to scare anypony away, but in an all-out war, my subjects will have to fight. For this I wish to prepare them. You are the strategic advisor of us two… So I thought you coming from a world where war is a common thing, you could give us advice…”

Tyler nodded and patted her shoulder as they continued to walk,
“Tell you what: Since I’m gone for a week to support Shining Armor in this investigation, why don’t you tell Twilight to get one of my books for you? It is called the ‘Art of War’. Read it and internalize its teachings. Back on Earth it is used by military, politicians and sports teams. It will help you to keep your judgment clear and it will help your guards to organize better than before!”

With this the princess nodded,
“I’ll do that then. If you praise the book so highly, I shall read it and present it to the guards.” She then looked down, with a slight glance of shame in her eyes. “I… I feel bad…”

Tyler cocked his head,
“Why’s that?”

She closed her eyes,
“You are a good man for herding with the girls and Luna, putting in so much effort to make them happy and here I come, demanding more of you by selfishly stepping forth.”

With that he sighed,
“This again? We have talked about this, Celestia. Well… I guess even alicorns have their flaws… At least this isn’t a mainly bodily affection. If it was only that, I’d say ‘Fuck you!’ and leave you alone. But since you say it’s my personality… Do you wish me to court you as well now?”

Biting her bottom lip, she shook her head,
“You already showed me more than anypony else… I saw into your mind and soul. There is hardly any more I need to know about you to know that you’re a good man. I’m only afraid I’m not worthy of you.”

This made him chuckle and he caressed her ethereal mane for a bit,
“That’s something new! The goddess thinks she’s not worthy of the mortal being!” He then began to laugh wholeheartedly.

As he looked up again, he saw a worried glance on Celestia’s face, prompting his laughter to die in an instant,
“What? You really mean it?” She then lowered her head and closed her eyes, prompting his voice to grow stricter. “Aw, come on! Celestia, you are THE most warm-hearted and motherly being I ever saw! Now don’t say you’re not worthy of something! Don’t start this shit with me! You have ruled this land for what now? Several millennia? And since then nothing bad happened! Except the sibling dispute with Luna and you both already paid the price for that and forgave each other! If you ever lower your own value again…” With this her eyes opened again and she looked up to him, a slight blush on her face.

He then remembered her confession,
“Ah yes… Stricter tone from me turns you on…” Her eyes closed halfway and she turned her face away, eying him from the corner of her eyes while she nodded, biting her bottom lip again while doing so. She seemed a bit ashamed of her condition. He sighed in defeat. “I say we go to your chambers for the continuation of this conversation, young lady…” With an obedient nod, she looked up to him while they approached her chambers. Young lady… No one ever called her that before. How exciting!

* * * * *

Minutes later, with the doors locked and the curtains closed, only candles shed light in the chambers as one slap after another smacked Celestia’s flank. Tyler felt a bit awkward in this situation. Delivering a spanking to a princess, a goddess… He never thought she would ask that of him. Yet there she lied on the floor, her flank up and trembling, her eyes rolled back in delight. He simply shook his head. His defying behavior reduced her to THIS? Then again, maybe that became her paraphilia over the millennia. The silent wish of someone standing up to her and as the centuries passed, that wish became a sexual fantasy. But he knew that these things had to remain secret from the rest of society on Celestia’s behalf.

With his slightly burning hand sliding down her back, slowly passing her wingboner, she looked up to him before he grabbed her ethereal mane as he would practically own her. As he pulled her up, she let out a hoarse moan. Looking into her eyes, he caressed her shivering cheek,
“Celestia… I’m not good in this stuff. It’s not my kink.”

But the white alicorn simply shook her head as good as she could in his grasp. By now her face blushed deeply,
“You treat me so good…” By now her voice shivered. “…my young master…”

With this his head leaned back a bit,
“Whoa! Hold it right there! I’m not the one in charge of you! Don’t you dare take it to that level!”

With slight disappointment in her eyes she looked up to him,
“Why not? Are you afraid of mature mares?”

“That’s not the point! I won’t take this to the matter of age, you know that! I won’t accept this because I’m not a power-hungry maniac! And I know you wouldn’t hang out with one! I would only dare to step on equal level with you! You know, out of respect for your gender!” he replied in a sharp tone.

But with this her eyes became lustful again,
“I know… You wouldn’t misuse that kind of power even if Luna and I would present all of Equestria on a silver plate to you… But please… Take good care of me…” With this she leaned against him and closed her eyes.

“Like I have a freaking choice!” he muttered beneath his breath while rolling his eyes. “Here we are, possibly on the brink of war with another kingdom and I have to give you a… a spanking so that your mind clears for the duties ahead of you! You are one bad alicorn! Once I return, I will have to talk with you and Luna more about this. This is not a way to behave! But until then, remain a good girl and do your duties!” With this he turned around and approached the doors. Celestia on the other hand recollected herself and sat down on her haunches. Once she was done, he nodded and opened the door, only to find Luna and Cadance approaching it. As he stepped into the hallway, he harrumphed briefly.

Luna arched a brow,
“Should I even dare to ask of what she asked of thee?”

He shook his head while giving Cadance a nervous smile,
“I think it’s better NOT to do so…” Cadance on the other hand cocked her head for a bit and watched the human leave in both wonder and amusement. Why is he in such a hurry? Did auntie say something about his herd that embarrassed him?

As they both entered Celestia’s chambers, the curtains were open again. The princess of the sun chuckled a bit, as the other two stepped inside,
"Lu… Luna! I was just about…”

But Luna only wrinkled her nose,
“Spare me the details, beloved sister… I do not wish to partake in these… acts of thee…” She then lowered her voice as she passed Celestia. “By the way… Thy flank is red… Try not to catch Cadance’s attention with this… To think that my sister would love to partake in these… masochistic acts. I’m disappointed, Tia…”

Celestia grinned at Cadance and tried her best to keep her smile as she muttered through her teeth,
“Just you wait until I tell him your strange obsession about moon pies!”

“Thou wouldn’t dare!” the young princess of the night snapped back, much to Cadance amusement. Somehow she enjoyed the playful quarrels of her aunts. They both liked to throw threats at each other, but never made any of them true.

Three hours later, Tyler was back in Ponyville Library and prepared himself for the journey south. He had one hour until they would fetch him with the airship. As he prepared himself he went through a checklist in his mind.

Grappling hook, crowbar and spade – check
20 meter of rope – check
Knife – check
Emergency ration both water and food - check
Spells charged from Twilight - check.
Listening to a nervous Twilight Sparkle… uncheck!

He then turned his face and attention to Twilight, who paced around him,
“Tyler! Please, you have to listen! I had this strange dream where I saw what happened there! These attacks are not the doing of shadow ponies! These are Changeling attacks in disguise! They must have done something horrible!”

Holding her head in his palms he looked her into the eyes,
“Twilight… I believe you! Don’t worry! I’m not sure, why or how… But I don’t think you’re making this up for attention. I do believe you saw something. Something that spooked you. Now… you’ve told me that you were spooked several times now before major events in Equestria, so I believe in your judgment. I still have time until Shining Armor gets me. You girls talked about them earlier… Fill me in on those… Changelings…”

Calming down a bit, Twilight cleared her throat before she gve him all her knowledge about Changelings. That is, the little info Equestria had gathered about this strange and violent species until now,
“The Changelings are the stuff nightmares are made of, yet not much is known about them. Highly evolved insects in a pony-like appearance. Parasites… An army of them form what is called ‘the swarm’, an insect state with a queen at the apex of the hierarchy. Changelings are like locusts, sucking out any love out of life forms until, and that is only theorized, their victims are stripped of all emotion, will of life and life force, leaving behind a path of death and destruction. In their first and last appearance in Equestria they appeared to be led by a vicious queen going by the name of Chrysalis."

As Tyler arched a brow, the lavender mare nodded and continued,
"She used her Changeling mimicry to impersonate Princess Cadance. To ruin my brother who at that point protected Canterlot with a massive force field. The scariest thing about the Changelings is no matter how many of them you beat down, they just keep coming. Their swarm can become quite vast. And once the magic barrier which protected Canterlot at that time was undone, the swarm overran the streets of the capital city in a matter of minutes. Changelings are of the size of a pony, but can fly and mimic the appearance of anypony they’ve seen once! Celestia knows what horrors they can muster if left unchecked.”

Tyler listened to her very carefully,
“Sounds to me these Changelings spread like wildfire. These are no ordinary predators… More like parasites, viruses or humans. No balance with their ecosystem at all. Well… At least we humans try to get one…” He then looked her into the eyes and nodded. “Alright! That was a good part for mental preparation for a possible threat on Equis. Good safety precaution. Thank you, Twilight! I’ll be on my toes now.”

Twilight cocked her head and narrowed her eyes,
“Your toes?”

Tyler chuckled,
“It’s a human saying. It means I’ll be careful.” This visibly calmed her down. As he finished his preparations, he kissed her goodbye and stepped outside. Only to be faced by Applejack.

Behind her one of the two airships just landed on a meadow, surely just long enough for him to jump in,
“So ya would leave to go for a trip without sayin’ goodbye? Ah’m disappointed, sugarcube!”

Tyler shook his head in defense,
“No, I… I would have come! I…“

But Applejack simply chuckled,
“Yeah, Ah know, ya were busy preparin’ for yer trip. And Ah think it is better that way. It means ya come back safe and in one piece to Twilight and me. Actually Ah’m here to bring ya a bag of some apples. Ya know they’ll be good for ya. Better than that military food. Be careful out there, hon.” With a kiss he parted from her and took the bag of apples. Both the earth pony and unicorn watched him leave to the airship. “Twilight… Ah have a bad feeling about him being away for so long…”

Twilight nodded,
“I know what you mean…”

As he entered the airship, Shining Armor greeted him,
“Tyler! Good to have you here with us!” As they lifted off, the unicorn stallion introduced him to the troops. Tyler was impressed. There were two squads of the royal guard from both Equestria and the Crystal Empire. They were the grimmest stallions and mares he’d ever saw, but this changed when they got accustomed with each other.

On their way south, they spoke about the incident with the void beings and Tyler, without boasting, answered them. The guards actually were impressed that a civilian, without proper training and instruction could handle such a horde on his own,
“Well, it more or less was a improvisation of moves. I was carved up quite good.”

One of the unicorn mares chuckled,
“Oh, yes, I saw you during that ceremony. All those bandages looked bad. But it seems to me you humans are quite agile and not nearly as frail as the rumors have it.”

“Rumors…” Tyler repeated. “Well I don’t give a shit about rumors! Let deeds speak for themselves.” Everypony nodded to this. Obviously they were curious about the potential from the human and deemed him okay for not boasting. But after that, the flight became quite quiet with only Tyler and Shining conversing.

Tyler preferred Shining Armor as a comrade. The young lord and husband to Princess Cadance always made a good impression on the human. He was bold, honest and had nobility of ideals. In Tyler’s point of view, Shining Armor represented everything he’d look for in a brother in arms. They even had a conversation if Tyler as a human would be able to join the royal guard, either in Equestria or the Crystal Empire.

On the question if he would try to hunt down the last remaining changelings, the young stallion shook his head,
“Vengeance isn’t the way we handled this in the royal guard or now in the Crystal Empire. Our mission is about peacekeeping. When you figure that out, you’ll let me know. You would make a fine addition to the guard.” It was this attitude that impressed Tyler the most. Shining wasn’t out for blood. He did what he had to do. The changelings weren’t a threat anymore and he wasn’t out for revenge although they once were a clear and dire threat for him, his wife and all of Equestria.

Now they both were on an expedition to the southern lands beyond the borders of Equestria,
“Tell me about this Amasian Enclave, Shining. Beside of the name I don’t know anything about that country.”

Shining Armor nodded,
“The Amasian Enclave is a part of the Amasian Empire in the southern Hemisphere. I don’t know much about it, but Princess Celestia does. She seems to know much about the southern parts of Equis despite I never saw her leave Equestria. Meh! Maybe that was before my time. Doesn’t matter! So yeah… From what I’ve heard, shadow ponies can dematerialize and attack from the shadows. They can even dematerialize, wander unseen in the shadows, even if it’s only a slim shadow and materialize again in another shadow. In the light they are compelled to materialize. It seems they are VERY sensible to bright light. Let’s see… According to the princess…” He was now looking through many papers and scrolls. “Ah yes! The last ambassador sent there informed the princess that the Enclave is ruled by Lady Deirdre and her son Irtex."

Tyler frowned a bit,
“In your speech in front of the ambassadors you said something about historic clashes… What clashes?”

Nodding briefly, Shining Armor began his explanation,
“These clashes go back to the ages before the princesses took power. Shadow ponies were at war with the three tribes of unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies. But against a common enemy, the three tribes forgot their differences and stood united against them. Nothing major though. The losses remained sane with a couple of hundreds for each tribe.” Tyler nodded. With peace for that long it makes no sense that they come now and begin attacking... Especially when Equestria stands united against them. Maybe the invasion of Canterlot had shown weak spots in the eyes of the south? Tyler’s thoughts began spinning. The more he thought about it, the less it made sense…

It was then when Tyler noticed something among the rocks beneath the airship. It looked like some sort of rusty old steel hull. It immediately got Tyler’s attention for standing out in the environment,
“What’s this? HEY! Land this thing! I want to take a closer look on this!” As Shining Armor saw the object he nodded to the crew and the Harmonia landed close nearby while the Victory still circled above.

Tyler carefully approached the object that lied broken on the rocks of the mountains. It was deformed, but the resemblance… No, it couldn’t be! As he came closer, he shook his head in sheer disbelief. But there the letters, although difficult to read by now, stood there like carved into stone. ‘USS Cyclops’ “What the hell…” The ship looked like one of the old steam ships they used during World War I.

He never was a big expert in technology, but he knew that before nuclear generators and Diesel engines ships used to run on coal engines. And this didn’t look like a modern oil tanker. How did a ship from Earth from WWI do in a mountain area on Equis? Climbing up the wrecked hull with a grappling hook, Tyler reached the deck. He could see into the cargo hold and the black stuff in there. Looked like coal or something like that. But what he really wanted were answers about the whereabouts of how this ship got here and he needed them now.

After several careful minutes, cautious not to break into the rusty or corroded floor, he reached the bridge. Several skeletons lied there. All their bones seemed to be broken. Tyler approached one skeleton with an officer hat and a journal in its grasp. He saw a name badge on the chest,
“George W. Worley…” He then took the journal off the skeleton’s hands. “Sorry, pal…!”

March 15. 1918
This will be my last entry. I don’t know what happened. In one second on the other, the ocean vanished and our ship was falling. The rocks have crippled this ship; the Cyclops will never leave this place again. The silence is everywhere. Without looking, I have no doubt that all of my men are dead. I as well have both my legs broken and I guess the rib cage as well. Damn this triangle! We shouldn’t have left Barbados! I’m writing this down so that whoever finds it can see… You can see how we ended!

This prompted Tyler to frown. Triangle? What was that guy talking about? Looking up to the charts and maps he carefully got up. The floor was slippery and decayed. As he got a look into the maps he tried to make sense of them. There was a map of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, Florida, Puerto Rico and… Tyler gulped at the word. Bermuda. His mind began racing. What does this mean? Fate, are you kidding me? Do things that vanish in the Bermuda Triangle… He shook his head. There was no time for this now and surely there were many more ships and even airplanes lost in the Bermuda Triangle that were nowhere to be seen. But he took the maps and the journal with him.

As he climbed back down the hull, Shining Armor looked at him in slight confusion,
“Tyler? What is this giant thing? I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s all steel and somehow it smells like a graveyard!”

Tyler shook his head,
“It IS a graveyard. This was a freight ship of my world. Somehow it got here and slammed right into these rocks. The crew is dead for a while now. Only bones remain. It’s one big sarcophagus…”

In even bigger confusion the stallion took a step away,
“A freighter you say? What’s the cargo? And how did it get here?”

“Coal… Probably to be shipped somewhere where steel was manufactured…And please don’t ask me about how it got here. I have a theory, but this isn’t something we should discuss now. Let’s keep it clear for now! We need to get to that enclave.” With a brief nod they returned to the airship.

Once they were in the air again, Shining Armor turned to Tyler again,
“So… did you find something valuable on board?”

The human read the journal again,
"I think the idea that there are many ways to come into your world from mine is a valuable finding in itself… Maybe it goes the other way around as well. I say I already got Twilight a souvenir from this trip.”

When they reached their final target location the airship landed and the troops began setting up the base camp. And soon they sent several scouts to recon the area, It was not long after this that a guard approached them both,
“Prince Shining, we have found the entrance!” Both Shining Armor and Tyler nodded at each other. Maybe this was their chance to reveal some answers. The stallion led them to a cave which led deep underground.

The tunnels were narrow, hardly big enough for Tyler to walk in full height. Cowering he followed the guard until they’ve reached a hall, where several torches already burned,
“We stumbled across this hall while sweeping the area for the entrance. That’s when we found the gate.”

As they approached the gate, they looked around in awe. Blasted open before them was a big and sturdy looking gate,
“What in Celestia’s name happened here?”

Big pieces of stone were literally torn out like a massive, directional blast wave had taken the gate down with sheer might,
“This gate was strong enough to keep an army at bay. And yet it seems like someone blasted it open. “The sheer amount of force to do this…” Shining Armor looked to Tyler. “Do you think…?”

Tyler shook his head as he responded immediately,
“No… Everything from this laboratory was destroyed!”

While they entered the city, there was a taste of smoke and burned flesh in the air. The houses were burned and several of them burned to the ground. It looked like the city was torn apart. The streets were empty and the walls were literally splattered with red and green stains. Tyler frowned at the stains. Was it blood? If so, where were the corpses? This didn’t make any sense. Or if it did, it was a very dark and grim sense… They were expecting a military compound or maybe a proud city… But this? This was nothing than a ghost city,
“That’s not a fortress, no military complex! It’s a ruin! Nothing’s here! The whole place is a ruin! Who came up with the crazy idea that someone attacked from here? I mean look at this! A whole city in ruin! No soul around and no one here to raise a hoof against us!” Shining Armor nodded to this and looked to his comrades. They all agreed that Tyler was right. Something was heavily amiss.

And as they swept the streets of the ghost town, they found nothing but burned houses and empty streets. But once in a while they could hear the silent movement of pebbles in the near distance. Tyler leaned to Shining Armor, lowering his voice,
“We are not alone here…” The unicorn stallion nodded and looked to his squad. Short gestures were exchanged with the two squads and the guards nodded, becoming more careful while moving on.

It was then when a shadow leaped out of the darkness and tackled a crystal guard down. Taking the guard’s weapon the shadow manifested in front of the others,
“It’s a shadow colt…”

As the others encircled the young shadow pony, Tyler arched a brow,
“A colt can take down a royal guard by surprise? These shadow ponies know their stuff I say…”

With a swift move the colt pointed the sword right at Gold Shield,
“Another move and you die!”

Grinning at the sword held tight to Gold Shield’s throat one of the guards chuckled,
“He sure knows how to fight!”

Without leaving his eyes from Gold Shield, the young colt held the sword close to his prisoner’s throat, slightly scratching, while talking to the rest,
“Let me go free and I spare him!”

Shining Armor arched his brows with a smile,
“That colt also has a sharp mind…”

Another guard chuckled and looked down to the defeated stallion on the ground,
“Well, Gold Shield? What will you do with him?”

The crystal stallion looked up grim and gritted his teeth,
“I’ll skin him alive!”

With this, Spearbolt, a unicorn guard levitated the sword and the colt away from Gold Shield,
“I say he needs a spanking for attacking ponies that came here in no ill will!”

But while the rest of the guards laughed, Tyler raised his arm,
“Spearbolt, let go off him! Let him down I say! This is no time to jest. That colt is the one and only survivor we found yet. It’s best we take him with us.”

But the colt turned to Tyler with a frown,
“I join no band of rogues! But I lead you against the Changelings!”

Gold Shield chuckled at this as he got up again,
“Ho! He wants to play war with the monsters in his closet!”

Tyler smiled at the young colt,
“This lad speaks like a lord.”

With a gasp the young shadow colt looked down to the amulet around his neck,
“I wear the ruling amulet of Amasia! Put me down this instant!”

This prompted Shining Armor to glance at the young colt with wide eyes before inspecting the amulet closer,
“Sweet Celestia! Tyler, he speaks the truth!” Now Spearbolt let the young colt down. He seemed to have connections to nobility at least.

But Tyler waved it away,
“Meh! With all the houses in ruin out there, he might as well have found it from a corpse.”

With a look of outrage, the young shadow colt looked up to Tyler,
“I am no scavenger! This amulet belongs to me! My mother, Lady Deirdre of the Shadow Ponies gave it to me before she-” Tears welled in his eyes as he lowered his head in sorrow. “…before she died at the hooves of Queen Chrysalis!”

In this moment the eyes of Shining Armor and Tyler met each other, confirming with a silent nod that they’re thinking the same. Unintentionally they not only found a survivor in this torn apart city, but someone of the shadow ponies royalty. And a possible other threat forming in the shadows. Another royal guard looked to the young colt,
“Lady Deirdre of Amasia is dead?”

With a brief nod the colt replied confirmed,
“Yes! She was betrayed by her appearance like the rest of us! Now do you believe me? Now will you follow me?”

Shining Armor shook his head,
“We have no love for the Changelings… if they attacked your country, we will unite with your people to fight them together! Right, you brave souls?”

In unison, the stallions shouted “We will fight together!” in reply.

Patting the young colt on the shoulder, Tyler smiled,
“You have friends in the north! But for now we shall evacuate your people into safety.” Tyler looked up. “And you, Gold Shield shall be his bodyguard and protector!”

The sturdy crystal stallion arched his brow as if in outrage,
“Me, Gold Shield? The pride of the Crystal Empire Royal Guard nurse to a whimpering infant?”

Tyler gave the crystal stallion a grim look,
“This young colt will never whimper! But should he grow hungry, YOU will starve! And should he suffer, YOU will be disemboweled by me!”

The strong sturdy stallion wrinkled his nose,
“Gold Shield, the fastest runner, the greatest swordscolt, the fiercest fighter…” He bowed his head in defeat. “And now I’m the nursemaid…” This prompted the other guards to chuckle.

Tyler now knelt down to the colt,
“You have spirit, my boy… I’m a human known as Tyler Jones, but you can call me Tyler. With Lady Deirdre being your mother you must be…”

The young colt nodded with pride in his voice,
“Yes! My name is Irtex of Amasia, Son of Arthax!” He proclaimed his name and title like it was a victory in itself, what prompted Tyler to smile even wider.

* * * * *

Half an hour later, Irtex cowered in front of a dead shadow stallion,
“Duncan…” Surprisingly this body was one of very few not taken away. Tyler thought about this. Maybe after his death the Changelings had no use for it anymore and left it. Maybe the swarm only had use for living ponies. Being some kind of love vampires, corpses had no use to them. But the thought of that they took every citizen into their hive instead of just killing them… This was an even far worse thing to imagine.

Tyler then slowly approached Irtex from behind,
“He was a friend of yours?”

“Duncan was more than that! He was our family’s most loyal servant and friend. He also was my mentor… He gave his live to protect others…” Caressing the heavily bruised corpse, Irtex shed a tear. “Do you know what patriotism is, human?”

Tyler nodded,
“Where I’m from, it is a big virtue. Loyalty to your country, loyalty to the end.”

Irtex turned around and gave Tyler a glance,
“I see… You know about it then. Duncan never feared to lead by example and he… He was like a second father to me. Of course I know my father lives back in Amasia and only sent me and mother here to supervise the Enclave. Sometimes I think things might have been different if my father would have been here.”

Tyler sat down beside the colt,
“Our lands were attacked as well. The attackers wore the crest of the Amasian Enclave…”

Hearing this caused Irtex to open his eyes wide as he looked to Tyler,
“Lies! My mother never gave order to attack your lands! We were sent here to give threat assessment to the Amasian Empire to decide if the northern kingdoms are willing to fight or to trade! It became very quiet for a few centuries and my father decided that it was time to make contact once again with the northern kingdoms…” With this he stood up and saluted in front of Duncan’s body with a swift and orderly manner. “I will make sure Duncan and mother didn’t die in vain! I will lead my people back to safety.” Looking up to Tyler, the young colt looked very mature for his age. “Tyler Jones! I will trust the Equestrians. Please, help me to help my subjects!”

Tyler nodded and knelt down to Irtex,
"Helping your subjects and yourself I will. But where are they?”

“There’s a loophole right here. Just make sure no one spots us while we’re entering.” After a short sweep they decided that no one was around to see them enter and Irtex showed them the loophole. It was well hidden under sand and pebbles.
As a Changeling mare, hidden among the stalactites on the cave’s ceiling, glanced at them descending down, a dark smile grew on her face. Everything goes as planned… In MY plan… I will be queen instead of the queen…

As they descended down the tunnels, more and more stallions of the shadow ponies came in sight. The tunnels were heavily fortified and several stallions in weapons guarded it. Enough to kill a dozen, but not enough to face an army. As the soldiers passed them, several distrustful glares were exchanged, but the fact that Irtex was leading them, reduced the extent of distrust of the shadow ponies. Then they saw them. Hundreds of civilians.

They were dirty, their clothing tattered and torn apart, their looks distrustful and frightened. Tyler saw them cowering in corners, the fillies closely at the side of their mothers, the colts standing in front of them as if they would protect and fight for them if necessary. Heavy lumps grew in the throats of the equestrian and crystal soldiers as they saw this ongoing misery. These weren’t combatants, terrorists or raiders… They were refugees in their own land.

Tyler and Shining Armor exchanged a few glances, but Shining Armor could see the compassion in Tyler’s face. Although the stallion never was in a war himself, he took it that Tyler was only a civilian, not battle hardened. Suddenly Tyler turned directly to him,
“I’ve seen enough! This isn’t what we came for! Someone fooled us to believe this here was the cause of raid attacks! But look at them! They’re scared to death! They are supposed to be raiders? They are happy to be alive! Prepare them for ascend! We will get them all to Equestria! They need protection, food and proper shelter! Not torn apart ruins!”

But one of the shadow mares stood up to Tyler,
“This is our home! We won’t abandon it!” More and more shadow ponies nodded. Tyler saw their determination. They were warriors at heart and they would die for their loved ones if necessary.

With a nod he patted the shoulder of the shadow mare,
“And you will return to these lands. But not today! Today will be the day you will bring your children and heirs to safety so they can regain strength with you. You will live today to fight for these lands in the future!”

Irtex now came down the tunnels and the shadow ponies bowed before him,
“He is right! My subjects, my comrades, my brethren! Today we all must leave these lands to fight for them another day! My father, Lord Arthax would decide likewise. Remember my mother’s sacrifice! She wanted us to live. Don’t let her death be in vain!”

An hour later several well hidden loopholes opened and the dark shadow ponies entered the bright sunlight. It brought pain to their eyes, so they mostly closed their eyes. Only adjusting slowly to this bright environment, they approached the Harmonia and Victory. Shining Armor and Tyler watched them enter the transports,
“I think the pegasi will have to fly home by wing this time… One giant escort… And I think we should stop in Ponyville… They need food. They lived off subterranean herbs and mushrooms before we came…"

On the flight home, Tyler tried to imagine the many hardships these ponies had to endure. The invasion of their land, their city and being forced to flee like this. They were frightened and felt like at the mercy of the Equestrians. Out of their accustomed home they seemed to know almost nothing about the lands of the northern hemisphere. And as the two airships landed south to Ponyville, the shadow ponies hesitated to step out into a foreign land, but with Irtex leading the way, they followed in good faith. This was a strange land with plenty of food. It was nothing like the rocky valleys of the enclave.

As they passed Ponyville, most of the ponies were curious about the dark ponies. The shadow ponies on the other hand reacted ashamed and sheepish to the bright and colorful ponies of Equestria. They were so different, so happy and easygoing. It was nothing like the strict shadow pony way of discipline and deprivation. But nonetheless the Equestrian ponies, after hearing the real story of what happened in the enclave, insisted on giving the shadow ponies presents, to welcome their visitors despite not knowing their importance or unimportance for that matter. One shadow colt looked with widened eyes at Applebloom as she reached a basket of apples out to him. She was so bright and colorful, so happy and jaunty. As his mother came, she silently took the basket and bowed her head to the young earth pony while the colt hid behind the legs of his mother. Applejack, who stood behind Applebloom repaid the bow with one of her own and was very proud of her little sister to share like this.

There was gratitude despite the fear. Such generosity was only known among shadow ponies to be present when someone had much. There were little things which made tears well in the eyes of the young ponies. Questions if they wanted candy or other food from Pinkie Pie and the Cakes, the Cloudsdale pegasi asked if they wanted to stay in the bright sun or wanted some clouds to spend some shade to ease the eyes. And Rarity insisted on fixing torn apart clothing while being tempted to build a dark fashion line all the while. This caused the adult shadow ponies to regain some dignity back. There was so much hospitality from all sides. Shining Armor and Tyler nodded at each other. Bringing them here was the right thing to do.

As a royal guard led the princesses to the balcony, all three of them were in shock. A little army of refugees of shadow ponies was marching towards the valley beneath Canterlot Castle, escorted with several shadow spending clouds and pegasi directing the clouds. Both Celestia and Luna looked at each other before it bubbled out of their lips,
“What is the meaning of this?”

One hour later, Irtex had his audience in front of the princesses,
“I am Irtex, Son of Lady Deirdre who had fallen to protect those who made it this far to Equestria.” In an instant Shining Armor and Tyler stepped forth.

Shining bowed his head,
“Princess Celestia, forgive us if we decided in this matter without asking your permission.”

Tyler gave a brief nod as he continued where Shining stopped,
“We couldn’t let these poor souls left behind in a battlefield or a torn apart and ruined kingdom.”

Celestia gave both a stern look,
“Both of you, stop to justify your action right this instant. You both did what you think was the right thing. I wouldn’t have decided in a different way. Shining Armor!”

With this last word Shining armor looked up in a disciplined stance,
“Your Highness!”

“Lead the shadowponies into the crystal caves beneath Canterlot. I think the bright light of the sun is hurting their eyes. They shall seek shelter in familiar subterranean environment. I will order a setup of a refugee camp down below. It will be sufficient until we can think of a better place for so many refugees. I will also address a letter to the Amasian Empire. I’m sure King Arthax will be aghast over the loss of his enclave and beloved, but will be relieved to hear that his son and subjects are safe.” Irtex bowed his head as he followed Shining Armor out of the throne room.

Tyler remained on his place. As the Princesses recognized this, they turned their heads to him,
“Tyler? Is there something on your mind?”

He looked up and nodded with determination in his eyes,
“You bet there is something in my mind! They were attacked without provocation! Now Changeling armies are roaming the southern lands, without hindrance, arbitrarily murdering any shadow pony of Amasia! Celestia! We must call to arms to secure the borders! This is an issue everypony in Equestria must help with.”

Celestia gulped deeply,
“You aren’t speaking of war, Tyler. You speak of security. I credit you for this. Yes… there is a threat forming in the southern lands and for the sake of all of Equestria, we must take action. Luna and I will counsel on this. Rest assured that Luna and I already read your book. I think we know how to handle things now… But please… Help us out a bit.”

Tyler nodded,
“Then I say we should do threat assessment! We should know with how many Changelings we have to deal with this time. And THIS time they won’t catch us by surprise!”

Both sisters nodded,
“No, they won’t. I’m only sorry that others had to suffer first. And to think that we almost fell for another Changeling trickery and waged war against the Amasian Empire…”

Tyler shook his head,
“But we didn’t! We must never take appearances for certain if it comes to Changelings.” With this, he bowed before the princesses and left the throne room.

Twilight and Applejack waited outside and trotted alongside Tyler as he stepped outside,
“Well, what did she say?” Both mares seemed worried about the whole idea with him being involved into military matters.

But Tyler caressed their necks and nodded,
"They will counsel about this. To get the idea of what’s going on, I recommended a mission of threat assessment. So we can know how many Changelings we are dealing with. Until they decide, let’s go home! I can’t wait to have one of Granny Smith’s good old apple-” He gasped as they stepped outside the castle.

There were many mares and stallions waiting for something. As they saw Tyler, they slowly stood up and approached him with hopeful glances. One Pegasus mare was the first to come to him, presenting a small package to him,
“Tyler Jones… Please... I have a son, Striking Hammer in the fourth battalion of the royal guard…Please… Please, watch over him!” Tyler gulped and looked into the hopeful eyes of the mare.

As he pushed the gift back to her, he nodded silently,
“There is no need to give me a gift. I will try to help whoever I can.” It felt wrong to make that promise, but it made her smile and her hoof caressed his arm for a while longer.

Now a stallion approached him,
“I have a daughter, Shimmerwind…” As Tyler listened, he saw that more and more ponies approached him. His hand pulled in Twilight and Applejack and they felt the tension building up in his body. This became awkward and he wasn’t comfortable to be seen as some kind of savior. Twilight nodded briefly and teleported them away.

Reappearing near the train station, Tyler huffed out deeply,
“Thank you, Twilight… I think with Luna in the herd, ponies begin to think I can be there for every pony as some kind of patron.”

* * * * *

On the ride home Tyler praised Applebloom for being such a good little filly sharing her apples with that young colt. Applejack nodded and conversed, but Twilight felt the slight concern in his voice. It was like he tried to distract them from worrying too much. It was of course nice of him, but in the end they were worried without having him around. She proposed him so many times that she wanted to come with him on this next mission but he always shook his head, saying it would be too dangerous and that he needed her and Applejack back in Equestria for the unfortunate event that he should fail to protect them.

“Then it’s up to you girls to save the day. You and your elements mustn’t part from another, not even for my sake!” His words made her feel proud to have him as herd stallion, but it also stung a bit. He wasn’t thinking that she would be a hindrance; he simply didn’t want her to be hurt. That of course was very sweet of him, but they already fought the Changelings. Even without the Elements of Harmony. But this seemed to be the way humans saw the world. That the male had to protect the female. That of course seemed noble of him, but in Equestria it was the other way around. Mares looked out for their stallions.

Applejack gulped and pointed her hoof at Tyler,
“Pardner, all Ah want ya to swear to me that yer coming back in one piece! That’s all Ah ask of ya…”

Tyler grabbed her cheeks and looked into her eyes,
“Nothing will stop me to come back to you and your beautiful emerald green eyes, Applejack… Once this is over, we will have all the time in the world to get you my foal. I promise!” With this he kissed her and this eased her worries to a satisfying extent.

But Twilight’s concerns couldn’t be wiped away with promises and kisses. Although Tyler asked her to charge him up before, this exceeded her previous charges for him by far. Whatever the reason, he was deeply concerned about the possible threat of enemies and the vast arsenal of spells that she had injected into him were more than enough proof to her that he expected conflict. Heavy conflict. While he sat in front of her, the young unicorn fired one spell after another into him. Once she was tired, Tyler asked Rarity to charge him up with more levitation spells. The seamstress didn’t object; she was happy of doing her part by helping Tyler get ready faster.

It was two days later that the princesses decided to send him and Shining Armor forth to another mission with the Harmonia and Victory, led by Prince Blueblood this time. This of course was not to Tyler’s liking, but threat assessment was the mission. Not fighting. The princesses weren’t the kind of rulers who would sit idly while a threat would establish beyond the borders of their realm. On the night before they parted, Applejack and Twilight lied beside Tyler, all three of them sweating and panting from the passionate love they had shared.

Now caressing their manes he looked down,
“I want you two to relax. I will come back to you. I love you too damn much to die in a godforsaken part of the landscape without kissing you both for one last time.”

Applejack leaned on his chest,
“Don’t say that, Tyler… Yer scarin’ us!”

While they both nuzzled him, Twilight leaned in,
“When do you have to go?” Tyler caressed her mane and kissed Twilight. If it would go for him, he would just wave it all away and let others do the things while he was there for the ponies that needed him the most. How he wished he could stay with them and the others like this forever.

But he sighed. It wasn’t possible with a threat like that hovering above them all,
“They will be ready in three days…” He muttered, before he pulled Twilight closer for another passionate kiss. “I will come back to you two… I will always find my way back to you…”

* * * * *

Three days later deep inside the cavernous deeps of the Enclave, deep below the tunnels of the ruined city rested the Changeling hive, growing and spreading like a disease. Within all that buzzing and humming, two eyes were kept close. Princess Shiria was in deep slumber, dreaming about the day she came to mind. She remembered the day quite well as she forced herself outside the egg before her mother’s eyes with the size of a young filly, with a soft body drooling with green ooze from her egg. Oh how the first words of her mother echoed in her mind.

Awaken, my child and bathe in the power of your birthright. Know then that I am the queen, the undisputed will of the swarm. And that you have born only to serve me.
Yet your purpose is unique. While my broods fulfill my very thought, you were born with the gift of the own free will. For I have decided that you shall spread the glory of the swarm beyond the borders of this hive.

Her slumber was suddenly disturbed as two Changelings woke her up,
“Princess! My princess!! The queen awaits your report in the throne room!”

Opening her eyes, she gave the two Changelings a disgusted look. 'How dare they to disturb my slumber…?',
“Changeling!” One of the Changelings looked up to her when she pointed her perforated hoof to the other Changeling. “Kill him!”

The ordered Changeling blinked and looked at his target,
“Kill him?”

Shiria nodded,
“Yes… Kill him!”

Approaching the other Changeling, he opened his jaw and prepared to bite. The other Changeling closed his eyes and smiled,
“My life for the swarm…”

As he whispered that, his neck was bitten through and his head fell to the ground. The other Changeling looked up to Shiria like an obedient puppy. Shiria smiled satisfied,
“Thank you… Now kill yourself!”

“What? Kill myself?” The Changeling truly was confused now. Wasn’t he obeying orders to her satisfaction?

But Shiria kept her smile,
“Yes… Now kill yourself!”

As the Changeling struck out, he looked up to Shiria,
“My life for the almighty swarm!” As he slammed his hoof into his chest several times, the chitin plates broke up and his guts fell out. As Shiria watched him die, she yawned a bit. Then she buzzed off to the queen’s chamber. The power over Changelings is soo boring…

Entering the chamber of her mother, she saw Chrysalis sitting on her throne and knelt before her,
“Shiria! My beloved daughter…” Rolling her green eyes she approached the queen. Yeah right… If you love me, then why can’t I feed from you, you old hag?Entering this hall meant complete silence unless the queen ordered one to speak. Shiria hated it and she hated to kiss her mother’s hooves like this. Who cared about her giving birth on commando? She could do that herself if only she was allowed to build a hive of her own. Her mother looked down to her, huffing in labor pains as she gave birth to yet another egg, which was brought away carefully. Jealousy now boiled in Shiria, she wanted as well. But she was disturbed in her thoughts as Chrysalis began to speak. “I sense them coming, my daughter… Assemble the troops and ready the traps you made up.”

Shiria bowed her head,
“As you command, mother!”

* * * * *

By that time the two airships landed and the troops swarmed out. Tyler and Shining Armor nodded at each other and began planning. As Blueblood interfered, Tyler sighed, but played along. So it was decided that the squads were split up to sweep certain parts of the area, while Blueblood and his team had to make sure the safety of the airships were given. And with this they swarmed out with Tyler getting used to the communication crystal that was given to him. A magical walkie-talkie! How nice! He thought as he and his squad descended down to the upper tunnels and the city, not knowing, that tiny green eyes already spotted them.

Down below the hive Shiria approached several Changeling brutes,
“Our scout dronelings found a strange creature in the upper tunnels! Send troops to investigate!” In her mind, Shiria knew about this strange tall creature already. He would have a key role in her plans, but in front of her mother’s troops she had to play that of the obedient princess and commander.

The bulkier Changelings nodded and turned to two lesser Changelings,
“Changeling warriors C-66 and D-13 will investigate the upper tunnels with their squads!”

Both Changeling warriors nodded in unison,
“We obey the princess!”

It was then when Shiria interfered,
“No! You search for other things like ponies in the tunnels of the city. This creature maybe not works on its own. I will handle this creature on my own, prepare my squads!”

By now the guards in Shining Armor’s squad were in the tunnels on the outskirts of the hive. There was some sort of unidentified growth on the tunnel walls which looked like some sort of wax in slight green color,
“Just look at this! What is this stuff?”

“I don’t know… Looks like organic stuff to me. Think it’s alive?”

Shining Armor gritted his teeth as he barked at the guards,
“Nopony touches nothing!” Levitating the crystal in front of him, the white stallion looked at the black and green material covering the walls. “Tyler, come in! Do you also see this stuff on the walls?"

The human’s voice emerged from the crystal,
“That we do! Busy little bastards, eh? We’re going north, but right now, there’s nothing. I think my squad already reaches the end of this little tunnel system. Maybe this part here isn’t used that much… Be careful. As far as I know, no pony ever went so far inside a Changeling hive…” With this Shining Armor stowed away his crystal. That’s true… Nopony ever was so deep… And personally I can’t say I want to go deeper…

Tyler looked around in the chamber he and his troops were,
“Beta Squad, I say this looks like a dead end… Go back and help to secure the airship. I will come back in a few minutes; I will just take a few samples of this strange stuff. If I don’t, don’t come looking for me.”

The others looked at Tyler,
“Sir, you think that’s safe?”

Showing of some lightning from his fist Tyler nodded,
“I’ll handle a few Changelings I guess. This is a threat assessment mission anyway. No fighting in a larger scale. Should anything happen you guys are the first to know.” With a nod, they reluctantly ascended back to the surface. Tyler looked around. The bait is set; now let’s see who walks into my trap… Or I’m in theirs now… Come on… Where is itsy bitsy spider? Behind him he could hear how a wall of organic matter slowly slithered open with a nasty wet sound. Slowly he turned around.

It was then when she approached him. Celestia stood before him against all odds,
“Hello, human…” No, this couldn’t be Celestia… The way she looked at him. There was a lust for murder in it. And she definitely wouldn’t call him ‘human’ just like that. In this place it had to be one of these Changelings. The mimicry went beyond everything Tyler knew of in the matter of mimicry back from earth. He eyed this ‘Celestia’ carefully, watching its every move. But still she continued talking. “Surprised to see something like me?”

After inspecting her for a bit, he shook his head,
“Not really. I got the impression that something was wrong here the instant I saw all those ruins. You did this… You destroyed the Enclave! But how? These were heavy gates; you alone couldn’t break that open.”

With a sly grin, ‘Celestia’ grinned,
“You’re quite right… We got some help from you…”

This prompted Tyler to grit his teeth. With this giant detonation of course some dark minded individuals might become curious to misuse this incident even more,
“So I take it you somehow salvaged some of my blood… How? Who did you kill to get that?”

“This is a S-E-C-R-E-T…” she scoffed at him.

But Tyler kept his cool for now,
“And now what? Mimic me to get into the heart of Equestria? Go on! I’d like to take a look into the mirror!” ‘Celestia’s’ eyes widened and she gritted her teeth, what prompted Tyler to smirk. Got you by the balls there girl… “So… I take it you can’t mimic me… Another perk of being from different anatomy… And now you fear I might come up with ideas to spoil your plans…”

“The thought came up, yes.” Seeing him smirk, she began to grin herself now. Tyler arched a brow as his smirk slowly died. Surely she had more up her sleeve than to look pretty. “You think you may be ready for us, human… But this is only appearance. And as you maybe know… Appearances can be deceiving…” It was then when Tyler heard other hooves coming closer.

Twilight approached him from the left,
“It is the hive that created us!” Tyler turned around with wide eyes. Twilight as well?

Applejack and Rainbow Dash approached him from behind,
“The hive is what connects us.”

Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy came from the right,
“It is the hive that defines…and what binds us!”

Tyler looked around with his eyes big as plates. What the serious fuck? Twilight was right. These Changeling things could give one the creeps. They looked exactly like the ponies of Ponyville. Every inch of their bodies copied in every detail. Coat, mane, even voice!

Now Celestia's voice sounded off once more,
“We are here to destroy something from Equestria. We are here to destroy what is supposed to destroy the hive!” By the time he looked again at the Changeling who embodied Celestia, her body heavily changed, showing a grotesque face, like an insect-like pony mare with fangs. “It will be Princess Shiria who will be your doom. Remember this name!”

With this, a green aura engulfed her horn and she blasted a ray of magic at him, compelling him to fall down on his knees in pain. She wasn’t hesitating, that much was certain. But her blast didn’t kill Tyler as she hoped it would. Like unicorn magic, he could absorb this sort of magic, but it stung like hell. Have to… get this… shit out of me… This Changeling magic felt like poison inside him and he released it in a strong blast wave towards Shiria.

While he got free from her magic, the blast wave slammed Shiria away from him, only to be grabbed by several Changelings. He punched the one to his left away, only to grab the Changeling to his right and slam the insect into three others behind him. Turning around Shiria again leaped onto him, but he let himself fall on his back, so she landed on his feet and was tossed over him, slammed into other Changelings. As Tyler jumped up with a somersault, he was brought off balance by a Changeling leaping from behind.

On the ground, he kicked it away, coming on his feet again, only to be kicked by the hind legs of another Changeling. Falling into another Changeling that hissed at him aggressively, he head butted the creature. Damn it! There’s too many of them… Jumping up again, he was grabbed by two changelings with a third one jumping at him with wide opened fangs from the front. But Tyler jumped up and delivered a kick into the face of the third attacker, sending it back into the swarm what tossed several Changelings around. Tyler then grabbed the two who held him and smashed them against their brethren, using them as living blunt weapons. As he got more and more room, a dead Changeling, magically tossed by Shiria got him from behind, strong enough to send Tyler flying.

Crash-landing against a wall he got up on his feet, his lips bleeding. “I see… As you wish… We play THIS game!” No longer punch to knock out… Punch to kill! As Shiria grinned at him, her grin faded as a sadistic, crazy grin came onto Tyler’s face. As another Changeling leaped onto him, the brute force of Tyler’s punch sent the insect flying backwards while spinning. Its neck was twisted and utterly broken, the face crushed and the chitin plates utterly broken towards the inside. This sight prompted the Changelings to hiss challenged. Tyler was a force to deal with and now they knew he was willing to kill as they were.

Shiria gritted her teeth as she saw Tyler going into fighting stance, gesturing with two fingers that they should come at him. He was heavily outnumbered, cornered and still this creature had the nerve to challenge them? Enraged with this extent of boldness, her eyes widened and her pupils became tiny dots as her perforated hoof pointed at Tyler. With an aggressive, commanding high screech from her, the Changelings stormed onwards with bare fangs.

Swarming at him with even larger numbers, they grew more aggressively with each of them killed and began biting as well once in range. Although he’d killed several dozen until now, their number still grew. Strength in numbers… Primitive, but clever all the while! Tyler thought. As one Changeling tackled him down several Changelings leaped onto him, tacking him down. Tyler gritted his teeth as he saw the face of a Changeling warrior right beside him in this pile.

His cheek rubbed against the chitin plate of the face while the Changeling hissed angrily. Big surprise! With this Tyler released several spells in him at once causing this pile above him to explode in little Changeling pieces. A hoof here, a torso there, several other limbs left and right. The detonation sent everything in that chamber to the ground. While they all lied on the ground, Tyler ran towards the nearest tunnel with only one goal. Upwards. Away from these things, they would swarm him to death if he would stay here.

Standing up from between the piles of Changelings on the ground, Shiria gritted her teeth and galloped a few meters until her wings buzzed angrily and she took off. As Tyler ran through the tunnels towards the surface, the angry humming from below grew louder. If only he could fly in these narrow tunnels. But with his poor flight skills with levitation spells right now he would smash against every wall. And while Shiria led her mother’s Changelings up the tunnels, the swarm came closer and closer to Tyler.

He couldn’t run faster, but he sure could make them fly slower. And with this he charged several bolts in his fists and turned around. As he fired the bolts into the ceiling between him and the Changelings, the collapse caused the tunnel to collapse. Turning around, he then grabbed his crystal while running further,
“Anyone! If you copy then sound off! Changeling hordes down below! A real hornets nest!”

As Blueblood heard this, he looked up,
“Prepare to evacuate immediately.” By now Tyler reached the airship as the crew was in the last steps of taking off.
While taking his breath, Tyler looked up from the cargo hold. “What about the other airship?” Just like an answer, the Victory exploded a few hundred meters nearby.

There was complete silence until the communication crystal sounded off,
“This is Shining Armor! We have a massive wave of Changelings advancing on our position! They’ve detected our airship and destroyed it! We need immediate evacuation!”

The airship’s captain looked to Blueblood,
“Milord, I need an order!”

“Here is your order: Full back!” Blueblood uttered beneath his breath and in an emotionless tone.

Tyler tossed several guards aside and looked up the hatch to Blueblood who stood on deck,
“What are you saying? We don’t leave our comrades behind! Let me get them out of there!”

With a brief shake of his head, the prince closed his eyes while wrinkling his nose,
“As far as I’m concerned this mission is over! We have found a complete Changeling swarm. And I won’t jeopardize our troops for the sake of one tiny squad!”

Meanwhile a giant Changeling brute broke through a massive wall, smashing an earth pony beneath a powerful blow of sheer might. The unicorns blasted the giant Changeling to pieces, perforating the thick armor plates and piercing several organs inside. But more and more they got exhausted. Shining Armor shook his head and spoke another time into the crystal,
“Ah… folks? About that evacuation…? Whenever you’re ready! We sure as hay are!”

Tyler gritted his teeth while slamming his fist on a crate as he spoke into his crystal, beseeching the prince,
“Damn it, Blueblood you coward… It’s only a few hundred meters! DON’T DO THIS!!!”

“I already did it.” Blueblood scoffed. “If the human tries to jeopardize this mission, you have permission to arrest him by force!”

Down on the ground, Shining Armor looked up as the Harmonia took off. While the airship went off to the north, the changelings seemed more interested in the Victory and the crystal ponies,
“Blueblood? Tyler! What is going on up there?” But there came no response. Looking down to his comrades, Shining Armor shook his head. There was no hope for them to get out of this. From all sides the swarm came in and encircled them like a ring. As the swarm overwhelmed them, a perforated hoof knocked the white unicorn stallion out.

Cadance!

12 - Long live the Queen **

“This is Shining Armor! We have a massive wave of Changelings advancing on our position! They’ve detected our airship and destroyed it! We need immediate evacuation!”

The words echoed in Tyler’s mind like a burden. He was forced to abandon his friend to the swarm. God knows what could happen to the charismatic stallion now. One of the guards, a gray unicorn approached Tyler and brought him a bag of ice. His eyes looked up to Tyler with a penitent look,
“What happened to Shining Armor wasn’t your fault…”

Tyler remembered the magic transmission very well. He wanted to give the order to lead a small squad to rescue Shining and his squad. Still the order from Blueblood echoed in his mind.

“Here is your order: Full back!”

Tyler closed his eyes in bitterness as he remembered his reaction to this moment of treason to the young unicorn stallion.

“What are you saying? We don’t leave our comrades behind! Let me get them out of there!”

Shortly after this the other guards pushed him back into the furthest edge of the cargo hold. Three royal guards were necessary to keep hold of the human.

“No!!! I won’t let you do this!!! LET GO OF ME!!! I HAVE TO-”

His yelling was stopped in an instant as a hoof punched him out, sending him into darkness. Now he looked up from the ground, his right eye colored in red and blue, his cheek bloody,
“Yeah, right!” They now approached the Equestrian border and Tyler wondered if Shining Armor would be alright.

* * * * *

Meanwhile a squad of Changelings flew into the hive and into a great assembly hall where they landed among thousands of their brethren. In midst of the hall the few members of the captured Crystal Empire Royal Guard stood together and looked up to the throne of the queen,
“Chrysalis! What’s she after?” One of them asked.

One of the others, an experienced looking stallion gritted his teeth,
“My take is she’s returned to settle this once and for all! Make your peace with Celestia, you all… Chances are we don’t get out of this.”

Looking around, a young rookie looked to the others,
“Where’s the prince?”

But his question should never be answered as the Changeling Queen stood up from her throne, glaring down to them,
“Our irreverent prey has struck deep into the heart of our colony! A puny squad of them was captured on the surface after being discovered near the hatchling hall before they could perpetrate damage.” A loud uproar roamed through the throne hall.

Princess Shiria looked up to her mother as she stood before her,
“This attack was an act of desperation. The ponies feel that we are coming for them, beating them. These few here have failed their race utterly! There shall be no interrogations! They are yours, mother! Do with them as you wish!”

The Changeling queen now towered in her throne and glared down to the ponies before them. Her conviction came swift and decisively,
“Liquidation to nutrition liquid for the hatchlings!” Uproar hissed from the swarm once again, but the queen raised a hoof. “Silence! My children… They are no warriors who deserve a fight to the death… but maggots deserving to be squished!”

Now her horn began to glow and a large projectile arched through the hall before slamming into the group of screaming guards who were reduced to a puddle of white goo. Shiria now turned to the swarm as she continued,
“Only one among them is worthy of being treated as a warrior! The one they call ‘Shining Armor’…”

Shining Armor was led to the throne, heavy bruises and scratches marked his dirty face, yet his face had lost nothing of his defiance. Chrysalis giggled at his glare at her,
“Still defiant, Captain of the Royal Guard? If we were to offer coexistence with your kind-”

“Changelings don’t coexist!” Shining Armor barked back.

Shiria chuckled,
“No! And with knowing that your neck is in our fangs, your defiance is a useless and pitiful gesture! We already know that both Equestria and the Crystal Empire together have 150.000 ponies in weapons. We on the other hoof have a swarm thrice as big!”

But the unicorn only sneered upon Shiria,
“You bore me, insect! Liquidate me! Let me join my comrades!”

Shiria on the other hand shook her head,
“Liquidation is not for you… We will have other uses for you…” With this, Shiria turned to her mother. “What the stallion isn’t telling us is that Equestria has developed a biotech weapon!”

Catching the attention of the queen, this caused Chrysalis to look at her daughter,
“Show me!” With this Shiria’s horn began to glow and a large projection showed Tyler as a whole and in his towering stance. “What is this? This being didn’t exist in our first attempt to invade Canterlot and Equestria!”

Shiria gritted her teeth as she pictured Tyler further while he fought the swarm. The picture showed Tyler from her point of view as she partook in the fight, before he managed to escape,
“This creature is an enemy of the swarm! He is able to deal with dozens of us, maybe even more if he has room enough! He also leveled the equestrian Dragon Mountain with a bright blue detonation! Equestria’s agent of destruction...”

As Shining Armor saw Tyler, a smile appeared on his face, prompting several Changelings to turn their heads at him,
“The pony’s love output has increased!”

With a grim look Chrysalis glared down at Shining Armor. He knew something and she wanted to know who this creature was,
“Identify him!”

Shining Armor raised his head and smirked,
“Alright! If you really want to know… He’s Tilerions!” With this the Changeling queen flinched. This term rang alarm bells deep within her although she couldn’t explain this. Shining Armor already won this little gamble of his. From the letters of his sister he knew of this prophecy about Tyler and the void beings. It was interesting to see that the Changeling Queen as well knew about this and that this prophecy frightened her. “150.000 ponies in weapons easy… One legendary hero from an alicorn legend… Now you’re scared…” With this Shining Armor spat her into the face, prompting Chrysalis to flinch and the Changelings to smash him to the ground harshly. Shining gritted his teeth as he grinned up to Chrysalis.

Shiria growled angrily at this insulting gesture,
“The Pony doesn’t understand the great honor my mother is about to bestow upon him… He not only is a great warrior… but his lair mate is the PRINCESS OF LOVE!!!” Sneering down to Shining, Shiria chuckled. “You will make fine bait to lure her into our grasp…”

Queen Chrysalis however turned to her subjects,
“Tilerions! Where does he come from? Who created him? These are the things I need to know! I want drones to get me information about this being!” Chrysalis then faced her daughter. “Child… I would like to counsel with you…” While Shining Armor was escorted back to his cell, both queen and princess went to the queen’s chambers.

Once there, the Changeling Queen approached the windows of her chambers,
“I will speak with Princess Shiria alone… Guards, you’re dismissed…” The Changeling brutes nodded and left the Queen’s chambers. Once alone, Chrysalis turned to her daughter. “Arise, my daughter!” Shiria now stood up and walked to the side of her mother, who now looked out of the window. “How goes the war against the ponies? I want to know what exactly happened!”

Shiria grimaced and gave her report, growing bolder while doing so,
“The Crystal Empire’s transporter Victory tried to find out what happened here in the Amasian Enclave, but the swarmlings you gave me destroyed it. And soon we will demolish the rest of them.”

Looking with a dunning look at her daughter, the queen frowned,
“Speak of your plans, not of your victories! Tell me how you will defeat the ponies with this creature around!”

Bowing down obediently at her mother’s side, Shiria nodded,
“Yes, my Queen… With the Amasian Empire, Equestria and Crystal Empire at war with each other, they will weaken themselves to a defenseless state. And then our swarm will sweep through their lands to attack their defenseless colonies!”

Chrysalis now looked to her daughter from the corners of her eyes,
“And what of this strange creature Tilerions that caused you so much trouble?”

Shiria knew her mother was testing her. She expected things to be reported at once and this was a rule to be obeyed at all times,
“This blood of his brought down the gates of the Enclave. They will never trust someone like him!”

Hearing this caused Chrysalis’ expression to lighten up,
“Excellent… Without Tilerions, the ponies cannot stand against us! Soon Equestria itself will be in our grasp…”
It wasn’t her first lie to her mother and Shiria had become quite good in it. Let her think everything is fine… Once she’s done, I’ll take her place!

* * * * *

It was dawn when the Harmonia reached Canterlot. An arrival Tyler rather had shared with Shining Armor. As Prince Blueblood stepped outside, the crowds cheered for the soldiers.
There he goes, letting the ponies cheer for him like he's a hero. Canting scumbag… Treacherous dog... Tyler thought in disgust. The wish to kill this self-righteous sucker on the spot grew and grew in him. But not before he revealed the truth. But this moment drew closer as they approached the castle.

Gathered in a side room of the throne room, the two regal sisters and the Mane Six waited for them to report. There was a table with several maps in the room and Celestia and Luna gathered all information they got from their troops with little flags. Princess Celestia had summoned the girls to witness the report, but as Shining Armor was missing when Tyler and Blueblood entered, Twilight became quite nervous,
“Shining Armor… Where is he? Why isn’t he here to report as well?”

Blueblood bowed his head to Twilight and sighed,
“I am sorry, but Shining Armor and his squad didn’t make it. They sacrificed themselves so that we could deliver the message to Equestria.” This message hit Twilight like a sledgehammer and she was reduced to tears in an instant and Applejack and Pinkie tried to comfort her.

By now Tyler broke his silence. Anger boiled deep within him. Obviously he hadn’t beaten the stallion up enough the last time he met him,
“Are you done with your despicable lies, asshole? You are so full of shit I’m wondering why you can still yapper your lies without starting to take a dump out of your mouth!”

Celestia’s eyes widened at this tone,
“Tyler! You mean Shining Armor didn’t sacrifice himself?” This caused Twilight to look up. A slight spark of hope rekindled in her as her herd stallion spoke up.

Coming to the table, Tyler stared at the prince,
“Sacrifice? HA! No, HE left Shining Armor to rot! He sacrificed him to save his sorry little ass! I tried to reason with him, to get Shining out of there, but he simply ordered the others to arrest me if I was to ‘jeopardize’ the mission any further! They knocked me out; otherwise I might have been able to do something!” Celestia and Luna shared a glance, before they glared at Blueblood.

Blueblood, however, sneered at Tyler,
“You are a soldier, Tyler Jones! Your duty is to follow orders without questioning!”

Tyler now approached the stallion, pointed his finger at Blueblood and stabbed it into his nose,
“Don’t play the ‘Obey my orders!’ game with me, you worthless pile of shit! Celestia! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill this spineless sausage right now!”

Before any of the Mane Six or the princesses could say something, a cold voice sounded from the door,
“Because there won’t be anything left of him when I’m done with him...” Cadance stood in the doorway and glared at Blueblood. Her eyes were an expression of rage and madness.

Blueblood, however, waved the idea away like something ridiculous,
“Now Cadance, as commander of my troops I only had the best intentions-” It was in this moment that Cadance raised her head and blasted half the table away with her alicorn magic before stepping closer with a face impression of lust for blood. Tyler didn’t move a muscle, but his index finger was still raised and his eyes were as wide as Blueblood’s.

But unlike him, Tyler was allowed to step aside as the pink alicorn approached the two of them,
“Oh I’m sorry, cousin. Did I break your little speech? I didn’t mean to do this… Please, go on! You were saying something about ‘best intentions’?” As he stammered inaudible words together, she cocked her head and arched a brow. “Lost your tongue? Oh, that was all? Then allow me to ask you a question…” Leaning towards Blueblood she smiled in an awkward manner. “What does Princess Mi Amore Cadenza look like?”

Blueblood was baffled by this question. Why was she asking him how she looked like? Cadance was Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,
“What?”

In the next moment both parts of the broken table were levitated and tossed aside as she approached the stallion. The pieces almost hit two guards,
“What country are you from?”

“What?”

Pushing him around Cadance’s voice became louder,
“That’s not a country I ever heard of! They speak equestrian in ‘What’?”

“Huh?”

“EQUESTRIAN, IDIOT!!! DO YOU SPEAK IT???”

“Yes!”

Magic now accumulated in her alicorn horn,
“Then you know what I’m asking. Describe what Princess Mi Amore Cadenza looks like!”

Still, Blueblood was heavily confused,
“What? I-”

Pointing her glowing horn right on his nose she growled furiously,
“Ask me one more stupid question again, you little bucktard! Ask me one more stupid question one bucking time again and I’ll break your bucking leg!!”

While Blueblood stammered his answer, Celestia and Luna looked at each other. Both had expressions of deep concern on their faces. Cadance slowly got out of hoof there,
“You’re… You’re pink-coated!”

Glaring down at him Cadance gritted her teeth,
“Go on!

“You’re an alicorn!”

Cocking her head again, she shook her head for a bit,
“Do I look like a bitch?”

Once again baffled, he arched his brows,
“What?”

With this Cadance delivered a blast to Blueblood’s right foreleg, breaking it. Blueblood screeched high up in pain. Cadance on the other hand yelled at him,
“DO! I! LOOK! LIKE! A! BITCH!”

Wincing in fear and pain, Blueblood began to yell as well,
“Nooo!!!”

“Then why are you trying to treat me like a bitch, Blueblood?”

He held his other foreleg up in defense, crying now,
“I didn’t!”

“Yes, you did, Bloody! And Princess Mi Amore Cadenza doesn’t like to be treated like a bitch by anypony except Prince Shining Armor…"

With this she turned away and was meant to go to Tyler as Blueblood managed to stand up on bobbly legs, holding up his broken leg,
“Just because she lost her little plaything…”

Hearing this caused Cadance’s eyes to shot wide open and her pupils to shrink down to tiny dots. How dare you… With this she turned around and blasted Blueblood between the hind legs with a mad roar, what prompted the unicorn stallion to fall down, shrieking in agonizing pain. Tyler grimaced painfully as he saw this. Oh shit… Nutcracker!

The Mane Six gasped upon this, yet Twilight showed some grade of satisfaction in her eyes. Celestia and Luna now stepped to Cadance with Celestia raising a hoof before her niece,
“That’s enough!”

Luna on the other hand laid a hoof on Cadance’s shoulder,
“Cadance… Are you OK?”

But Cadance only stared down to the weeping Blueblood. The pain had caused him to wet himself. He was lying in a puddle of urine and blood and Tyler could only imagine what Cadance had done to him. But from the whimpering and weeping, he assumed that she castrated or even emasculated the prince,
“No, aunt… I’m pretty far from OK…“

Luna gulped and took a look to Tyler who simply shrugged before he stepped to Cadance,
“What now, Cadance?”

Cadance’s eye twitched a bit,
“What now? Let me tell you what now…” She then looked to Blueblood. “I’m going to call myself some rape convicts from the worst slams of the Griffin Kingdom and will send this little wiener right to them on a silver plate and an apple in his mouth.” With this she used the Royal Canterlot Voice and yelled at a still whimpering Blueblood. “You hear me talking here, bloody dick? I am not through with you by a damn sight. I’m getting medieval on your sorry ass!”

Tyler grimaced and took a short peek to Luna who shook her head. In this state, Cadance was an unpredictable risk,
“I mean what now between me and you…”

Cadance turned to Tyler, her expression still stern and cold,
“There is no me and you… You tried to rescue my husband before this sorry ass stopped you. You go and do what you intended to do and get my husband back to me! That’s all I ask of you.”

Tyler then grabbed Cadance’s cheek and looked into her eyes,
“That I will! I will either bring him to you alive or I’ll bring you his remains so you can be certain.”

It was then that a damn broke and Cadance was reduced to tears as she leaned against Tyler,
“Please! Please do whatever it takes!” While she cried, Tyler looked to Celestia and Luna. Both nodded and silently agreed that things demanded action now.

As the Mane Six, and the princesses left the room, Tyler looked back to Blueblood,
“What about him?”

Cadance stared onwards with her voice as cold as liquid hydrogen,
“He’s not of your concern anymore, Tyler… He’s of my concern and he will get what he deserves! I will make his life miserable for what he did…” Tyler then decided to avoid this topic for now.

Rainbow leaned to Twilight as they left the room,
“Phew… I’d never thought one of the princesses could become THAT angry…” Twilight nodded. Cadance was pissed off and in this state she was able to wreak havoc upon others. But this was even better than all the things she had in mind for Blueblood.

Back in the throne room, Tyler took out a knife,
“First of all, before we continue, I’d like to make sure that we all are who we claim to be…”

Luna arched her brows,
“Do thou think that we are Changelings?”

Tyler shook his head and cut his own palm,
“It doesn’t matter what I think… The blood test will deliver proof!” Bleeding several drops on a white handkerchief he presented the red blood. “If I determine the enemy’s disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless. If it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it…”

Celestia nodded,
“…Nor the wise make plans against it… Sun Tzu!” Tyler smiled at her. She really internalized the book. Celestia now held her hoof up and Tyler pricked it carefully so that she could shed just a few drops of blood as well. Luna and Cadance and the Mane Six did the same.

Applejack arched a brow,
“Come again?”

Tyler looked up from the handkerchief. Every drop was red,
“It means I found a simple way to make sure that no Changeling could espionage of what we decide here. I saw that Changelings bleed green. So maybe they can mimic other ponies, but once something is leaving their bodies this no longer is in this mimicry field of theirs. Which means we have a way to identify and hunt Changelings down in our ranks.”

Twilight nodded,
“Of course! If we do that on key security points, they can’t infiltrate us anymore! Good thinking!”

Luna nodded to a guard who took the blood test as well and proofed himself pony,
“Good. Now make sure that this test is done throughout the entire guard.” The guard bowed and left the throne room.

It was in this moment as a large green object slammed right through the window and slammed into the ground. Tyler and the others jumped up and Tyler raised his arms to shield the others with as much of his body as possible, even if this would be useless in case of an explosion,
“Holy shit! What is this? A bomb? A Changeling egg?” As they watched it for half a minute, nothing happened. It was in a shape of an egg, yet it pulsated calmly.

Twilight cocked her head,
“It’s obviously not a weapon… Maybe it’s a Changeling device for spying?”

Tyler slowly approached the device. While he approached it, it shimmered a little before it shined brightly and the face of Chrysalis appeared on it. Everyone behind Tyler got into fighting stance in an instant. Tyler however studied the Changeling queen. She looked almost exactly like Shiria, but older and had her crown on. “So I take it that’s the Changeling boss bitch?”

Chrysalis looked to Tyler. Her face showed that she wanted to tear him apart. He was something standing between her and her prize and a threat to her swarm as well,
“Tilerions… So finally we see each other in person… Equestria’s walking talking bioweapon…” Celestia wanted to say something, but Tyler raised a hand to her. This was interesting. So the Changelings think I am a laboratory product… Well this might be handy in a way…

With this he walked up to her image.
“Yeah… And I think I’ll come back right now. Now that I know where your ugly hive is. I think I’ll blow it up just like Dragon Mountain! Yeah… This would make this day just perfect!”

But the queen looked at him as both tried to stare each other down.
“With my Changelings you’ve gone way over your head. Declaring war on my swarm was the worst mistake you could have done!”

Tyler began to grin sadistically again,
“This isn’t war… This is pest control! How long do you wish to continue this madness? How many kingdoms shall fall before you’re satisfied?”

With bloodlust in her eyes she eyed at all of them,
“I will never stop until Equestria and the Crystal Empire are barren wastelands! And Shining Armor will be witness of it, just before he dies!” This caused Cadance to grit her teeth. Tension built up in her as she thought of the evils the Changeling Queen would do to her husband.

In his mind, Tyler wondered why Chrysalis was so gosh damn fixated on Equestria. Why? Why these lands? It’s not only because of love… Arching a brow, the human gave her a smirk,
“We’ll see about that… when I’ll rip your precious swarm into pieces!”

With this she laughed manically and bared her fangs to Tyler,
“I am the swarm! Your kingdoms shall be mine!”

Tyler now raised his right arm to the egg-like object,
“Well then… I just have to kill you as well, I guess…” With this he blasted the object to pieces. “Get this stuff out of the throne room! Who knows with what little size these things can still listen. As he turned to Cadance, he lowered his voice. “At least we know Shining Armor is still alive. IF she had spoken the truth, that is. Don’t worry, Cadance… I’ll get him back to you.”

He now turned to Celestia, Luna and Twilight,
“I believe it is my fate to be on this world… It is my destiny… I believe the victors of this impending conflict will dictate the very future of this entire planet. Either for love or fear…”
He then looked at the guards before him. The guards of the throne room looked grim and fierce just like the ones he fought among while fighting in the Enclave. “This will be war and we are soldiers…What if our struggle could end this conflict once and for all? Isn’t that worth fighting for? Isn’t that worth dying for?”

Celestia shook her head,
“Tyler, do you truly believe Luna and I would steer Equestria into war? For millennia this land was free of the terrors of war! I won’t allow-”

But Tyler turned around and cut the princess off in midsentence,
“War will come to you, whether you prepare for it or not. If the Changelings want war with Equestria, that’s fine with me.” He then pointed his thumb at him. “I’ll happily release all hell upon them! So I’m ready to give my blood for Equestria to get the job done!”

One of the guards whispered to those beside him,
“Now that’s a commander worth waiting for!”

Celestia gulped and took his cue. He had his point no doubt. The Changelings wouldn’t care if she or Luna would allow war to happen or not,
“But Tyler… Didn’t you say yourself that you abolish these devices? I’m worried about your role in this.”

Tyler sighed as he understood her worries,
“I DO abolish them, Celestia… But I’ll have to do this. If the Changelings get out of the Enclave and into this land, it’s all for nothing! Equestria will get what I will give from my own free will. That’s something quite different than to take this blood from me by force. I won’t stand by and watch others suffer. This is my country now as well… I love this land. Sometimes I wonder if love is worth fighting for like this, but then I remember the faces of those I love and I'm ready for all-out war!”

Celestia sighed,
“I think I understand your point there… And although it hurts me to send our loyal guards to war… it has to be done for the sake of all our subjects.”

Luna nodded as she stepped to the side of her sister,
“We shall support thy plans, Tyler. The Guard will assemble and thou shall speak to them as strategic leader.” A mare of the guard approached them and nodded as Luna continued. “After the incident on Dragon Mountain, the former captain resigned, said he felt unfit to the position. So as of today, Captain Shimmerwind will be of assistance to thee.”

Shimmerwind gave Tyler a brief nod and looked up. Tyler returned the nod,
“I’ve met your father…”

With this, the mare blushed,
“Oh, sir… I’m sorry for this…Some think you are a saint or something. I apologize if it gave you a hard time…”

Tyler saw back to Twilight and Applejack,
“I had friends to help me out of this.” After he exchanged winks with his herd mates, he returned his look back to the Captain. “But please… Continue!”

After they went out of the throne room to discuss military things, Princess Celestia turned to the Mane Six,
“Twilight? I’d like you to organize Ponyville’s defense in case our troops are defeated. Every city and town of Equestria must take precautions to ensure the safety of our subjects.” Now facing her sister, Celestia closed her eyes. “Luna? Please come with me. I’d like to discuss Canterlot’s defenses with you."

As the two regal sisters went to their chambers, the Mane Six looked at each other. Applejack corrected her Stetson,
“Now… This looks pretty grim, y’all…”

Pinkie nodded,
“You bet! It’s not fun when everyone’s worried! It will take forever to party this away!”

Twilight looked after Tyler, who now seemed so far away,
“I’m worried for Tyler… He said he would give his blood for Equestria… That means he’s going to redo those war devices. We all need to watch him after this conflict, should we win it. We mustn’t let Disharmony get grip on Tyler.” All of the Mane Six nodded with determined eyes. Everypony agreed that they needed to watch Tyler to make sure this war wasn’t going to change him for the worse.

* * * * *

One day later, Tyler stood before the equestrian military. Around 75.000 ponies in weapons with pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies stood before him and awaited his speech. The guards of Equestria… They are more than I expected…,
“I am Tyler Jones! Our shared enemies, the Changelings once again threaten our peace. Princess Celestia and Luna, your diarchs, have asked me to teach you the things you need to know to crush the swarm.” He shook his head. “But we need to do more than that. We must make sure they never come back. He who can destroy a thing controls a thing. I will take 100 of your soldiers and train them. These 100 will train the rest of you. When the swarm takes too much damage, its many eyes will turn to the Queen. Chrysalis herself will be forced to deal with us.”

Later that day Tyler stood together with 100 stallions and mares of the guard. Pointing at a stallion, he began the drill. “Steel Hammer! This cube here is made out of solid stone… Kill it!” The earth pony nodded and slammed a sword into the stone, but did nothing but a few sparks and a scratch. Tyler nodded and gestured to Steel Hammer. “Kick it!” Turning around, he buckled the cube with even less results. “Yell at it!” This order caused the other 99 guards to laugh.

But Steel Hammer got in stance with a smile. Then he looked at the stone and yelled at it,
“BREAK!!!” The training hall was filled with laughter now.

Tyler then pointed at a unicorn stallion coated in slightly darkened blue,
“Dusk Aegis! Try to cut it with magic!” Dusk nodded and stepped forth, raised his horn as bright magic caused the stone to spread sparkles all around. But all it was able to do was a burning mark and a deeper scratch. Unsatisfied he looked up to Tyler.

The human nodded and gestured them to move,
“Please move back…” As they both were in safety distance, Tyler raised a barrel run that seemed to be to be of a musket. He then took a shining red glass pearl and stuck it inside the barrel and aimed at the cube while his hand held the pearl at the end. Magic formed on his hands. Then, with a slight motion, the magic catapulted the projectile at the cube. With a deafening detonation, the block broke in half with the upper half torn to pieces.

The ponies gave a cheer in unison as Tyler lowered the barrel,
"I demonstrated the power one Human Blood Projectile can muster. I don’t know exactly why, but my blood can be charged with magic and release the equivalent of ten horns. With the projectiles I will supply our forces with, you will be able to splatter the swarm, crush the walls of the hive and set fire to their land. We will kill until no Changeling dares to step onto Equestrian soil again!” This earned another cheer, showing Tyler these patriotic ponies were eager to fight for their land.

* * * * *

Now it was the troops’ turn to practice with the beads and while the unicorns could use the barrel runs to shot the beads away like with a gun, the earth ponies and pegasi used slingshots or simply tossed them away like grenades or as bombs from above. Tyler meanwhile instructed the unicorns,
“Be careful when you prepare the blood beads for battle! You must know when to stop! With the size of those beads you can only charge 23 attack spells! This is enough to blow up some Changelings, but if you overdo it…” One of the beads was overcharged for demonstration purpose now and exploded in a big detonation. “…Then the bead might kill you! Also focus only on the glass of the bead, not on the blood inside! If you focus on the blood, it will blow up! Which means you will kill yourself and your comrades! Don’t haste with this!”

Three days of drill and crash course later Tyler had instructed the guard with his new idea for the arsenal and had taken blood from his body. The Royal Guard and the scientists had portioned his blood into thousands of tiny glass beads. Tyler had made it quite clear to Shimmerwind that he would hunt her down if only one would take imprecise note of how many beads he got and how many he fired. Shimmerwind nodded and agreed that these beads were a necessary evil and needed to be strictly controlled for the sake of peace.

Later on, Shimmerwind presented some pegasi to Tyler, who each had a special armor on with Tyler’s crest on it,
“Tyler Jones, these are ten of the guard’s finest Pegasi who volunteered to serve you as your personal guard… the Tellyhawks!”

Tyler gulped and inspected them,
“I take it you return to another squads once this is over?”

One of the Tellyhawks nodded,
“This is correct, sir! Once we’ve won, we are going to different wings again. But we’ll happily greet you in our wing anytime. “

Tyler waved the thought away,
“I’m not a flyboy, folks. At least not yet that is. I would make a poor wingman for you now. But I appreciate the offer. I’d like you guys to keep the skies clear over me. I don’t want any Changeling from above to tackle me down.”

With a “Sir! Yes, Sir!” in unison, the Tellyhawks saluted in front of Tyler, who nodded and saluted for them as well, before he dismissed his personal guard and went outside.

Outside, Rainbow sat on a cloud and looked grim at him,
“I see, you’re getting yourself a wing together, T-man! That’s cool, but why haven’t you asked me to join? You know I’m the fastest flyer around…”

Tyler looked up to her in worry,
“This is not about flying fast or pulling off stunts. It’s about fighting and I want you to fight here on the home front!”

But the cerulean Pegasus mare refused to be sent away like this,
“So why can’t I fight with you? You know every of us Elements kicked some sorry Changeling ass on our way to the Elements of Harmony! We know how to fight if we have to!”

Shaking his head he gave her an understanding, yet strict look,
“Rainbow, I know you want to show how awesome you are, but you are needed here, girl! I need you to keep an eye out on Equestria! You and the others must stay here for the unfortunate event that I won’t make it. Then you and the princesses are all that stands between Equestria and the swarm!”

Shaking her head wildly, she pointed her hoof accusingly at him,
“You won’t leave me or anypony behind, T-man! I’m the Element of Loyalty and we’re a team!”

He then grabbed her cheeks and stared into her eyes,
“Well then, RD… What’s it going to be? Loyalty to your country and the Elements of Harmony or loyalty to me? Your mission or your personal feelings?”

The Pegasus now shook her head,
“Oh, ponyfeathers! I hate it when you do that, Tyler!” With a sigh, she bowed her head. “I get it… I can’t be much of use on the battlefield, but I can defend the civilians here with the others…”

As she bowed her head, Tyler patted her shoulder,
“You are a brave mare, Rainbow! One of the bravest I’ve met! But war isn’t about being awesome! It’s a monster and it turns good souls to hideous monsters. It’s a place I do not wish to see you in. I promise you, we will have plenty of time to do all the most awesome stuff, when this war is over.”

She looked up to him,
“Pinkie promise?”

With a smile he held his fist into his eye,
“Pinkie promise!” Rainbow looked around to see if anypony was watching.

When she confirmed that they both were alone, she jumped up and hugged Tyler, gave him a short peck on the cheek and buried her face in his shoulder.
“You make sure you come back in one piece to the girls, you hear? I mean it, Tyler! I couldn’t stand both of them unhappy if anything happened to you. I can’t stand the sight of a friend in misery.”

Tyler patted her back, careful not to touch her sensitive wings,
“Thank you, Rainbow… For being you…” He hugged her back now as several airships were prepared to leave Canterlot.

Rainbow looked up and eyed the airships,
“You’re leaving right now? Tyler… Shouldn’t you say farewell to the others?”

Tyler nodded,
“I probably should… But this would only complicate things. I’m afraid I couldn’t part from them if I see into their bidding eyes. Tell Twilight…” He hesitated for a moment, thinking about the message he’ll make Rainbow deliver. “Tell her I’ll bring her brother back. And tell her and Applejack, that I love them.”

Rainbow beamed broadly,
“Will do, T-man!” While she flew off to Ponyville, Tyler went into the hold of one of the airships.

Once they were in the air again, Tyler looked into the faces of the guards and nodded,
“Equestrians! Warriors! Your seats in history are promised! From today on, we fight for those who can’t! Protect Equestria with your life!” With a united cheer the airships of the first strike forces went off. “FOR EQUESTRIA!!!”

* * * * *

Two days later, back in the Enclave, Tyler was lying in the dust of a rock formation and watched some Changelings through a pair of binoculars,
“Here they come… Switch off any emotion, folks. If they can feed on it, maybe they can scent it as well…” The officer beside him nodded and translated Tyler’s orders into hoof gestures and several hidden heads nodded. Patiently they waited until the Changelings were in the middle of their trap.

Then, the order finally came,
“Attack! Now!” With this, the strike force attacked and let the trap spring. The pegasi slammed the flying Changelings to the ground, while the unicorns blasted their bombs and spells at the Changelings on the ground. While they utterly destroyed the patrol squad of the swarm with a swift assault, Tyler watched them silently. Once done with the attack, they retreated and regrouped elsewhere to set the next trap. For days this method dictated their fighting as they scouted the area, evaded tightly guarded areas and attacked targets with only a few guards. Already several hundred Changelings died like this and Tyler knew that it wouldn’t take long until the remaining Equestrian forces would enter the Amasian Enclave as well to do exactly the same in a wider area. When the swarm takes too much damage, its eyes will turn to the Queen. Chrysalis herself will be forced to deal with us…

* * * * *

Later that week, a squad of Changelings brought in a bloody and half dead Changeling who repeated Tyler’s full name over and over again. Shiria held him up in a tight grip,
“What happened? What in the hive’s name happened to you and your underlings?” But the Changeling drone only repeated Tyler’s name until Shiria tossed him away in anger.

A Changeling warrior shook his head and faced the princess,
“Since we found them, the surviving Changelings repeated this name over and over again…”

Gritting her teeth, Shiria fumed with anger,
“Who is this … Tyler Jones?”

Shining Armor sneered down to the princess,
“Seems to me you’re having problems!”

Shiria now narrowed her eyes as she thought things over,
“What to do, what to do… Hmmm… I got entire strike forces ruining my day, the area around my mother’s hive has become a damn warzone, I’m losing Changelings faster that the queen can give birth to them… and all of this unrest… Well it began soon after you were captured, Shining Armor.”

"Could be a coincidence…" Shining replied with a shrug.

But the Changeling princess began to smirk,
“Oh don’t sell your friends short. I can see that they’re out for blood for the death of this human… Obviously they are out for revenge to avenge him!”

This prompted Shining Armor’s eyes to widen,
“He’s dead?” It must be a trick! He wouldn’t die like this…

“Unfortunately he did something to your armies before dying! They don’t fight head to head anymore! Their tactic is that of cowards!” With a smirk she looked at Shining Armor. “Our drones say that his herd mates grieve greatly at his death. Especially little Twilight…”

This prompted Shining Armor to fight against the chains that held him in place,
“Damn you!!!” But Shiria only laughed and several Changelings approached them both.

With a dark grin on her lips, Shiria raised his chin,
“Now, now… No reason to curse already… The fun is just beginning!” As Shining Armor saw them closing in, he knew they were going to torture him. That’s when he remembered his mental training with Cadance. What was it again? Yes… Closing in… I have to close myself so they won’t get to me… His mind locked itself up and darkness engulfed him as he fell unconscious from a punch to his head.

* * * * *

In the two standard weeks that followed, the equestrian strike forces delivered several severe guerilla attacks to the swarm, killing tens of thousands of Changelings. Unable to handle the situation, the swarm only reacted on the attacks delivered to it. But as soon as reinforcements arrived on the scene, the equestrian strike forces were already long gone and lurked well hidden in the shadows. Fearing for her life, Shiria hid the real loss numbers from her mother, the queen. Tyler’s reputation among the equestrian troops grew.

It was a hot day and the sun burned down on the dry wasteland of the Enclave as a transporter of the hive rolled down the valley. Inside the Changelings backed away from her princess. She was furious by now. A slap hit Shining Armor’s bruised cheek as Shiria yelled at him,
“WHY WON’T YOU RESPOND???” Standing over the weak stallion she wrinkled her nose. For two weeks now she tried to persuade him to talk. She had tried threats, magic, suggestions, seduction and pain. But nothing was able to penetrate his mental shield. And this accursed heat of the wasteland wasn’t helping either. What does my mother see in this unicorn stallion? He’s nothing than a dull pony! And already he knows too much! I can’t allow this risk to endanger the swarm, he must DIE! But just as her horn began to glow for blasting Shining Armor, a detonation brought her off balance. Seeing his chance, Shining Armor awoke from his absence in an instant and blasted her unconscious. As two Changelings leaped at him, his horn fired again.

A battle started outside as a strike force attacked the transporter. Tyler had tracked it down for three days now, but it was heavily guarded. So in order to get it, he had to order another strike force to attack several other targets to get the escorts away. Now was the time to see what the Changelings were transporting through the wastelands. As he ran among several guards, he took out two of the Changelings while he ran towards the transport,
“A pity there aren’t any more changelings to kill!”

One of the unicorns of his current strike force, Dusk Aegis, galloped beside him,
“Yeah, too bad! I hoped for a real fight!” With a swift and decisive assault the remaining escort was killed and Tyler ripped the hatch out of the hull with levitation magic and tossed it aside. He expected heavy resistance once they would enter the transport.

In this moment several Changelings were kicked outsides by magical blasts. Then a grey stallion with blue mane jumped outside and Tyler halted. It took some split seconds before he identified who was standing in front of him,
“Shining!”

With this the grey stallion halted and pointed his horn at Tyler, as black smoke clouds shrouded their view at each other. Tyler recognized the red blood that dripped from the stallion’s lower lip and right front hoof into the dirt on the ground,
“You don’t need your magic for me, Shining Armor!”

The once white stallion was dirty and seemed to be in a bad state. With wide eyes he stared at the human,
“Tyler…? Tyler!!!”

With a shake of his head Tyler approached him,
“Don’t you trust your own eyes?”

Looking in shock at Tyler the white unicorn stallion shook his head,
“They said you were killed back then… They… They said…” Stammering for words, he approached his human friend. As the feelings overwhelmed them both, the two brothers in arms hugged each other tightly. “I should have never doubted you would come for me!”

Tyler patted Shining’s back,
“I would never abandon a friend on purpose, my friend!”

As Shiria woke up thirty minutes later, she was surrounded by Ponies. Fearing for her life, she gasped and looked up, only to see Tyler staring down to her,
“Princess Shiria! I won’t harm you this time, don’t worry. I’m going to allow you to keep your wicked life for I need you to bring a message to your queen. I want her to witness the extent of my mercy by witnessing the deformed bodies of her subjects. Inform her that her prisoner is now with me. I also want you to tell her to end this madness. Tell her I want her to keep away from Equestria for all eternity. And I want to warn her to never underestimate me or she will regret it!” Shiria slowly got up. She expected to being attacked at any moment now, but strangely the ponies didn’t attack. Was he serious about her being the messenger? But as she buzzed away, they didn’t follow her. What a bunch of fools.

Shining Armor sat down, resisting the urge to faint,
“What are we going to do now?”

Tyler patted the stallion’s shoulder,
“Now? Now that you are free again, I’ll make sure you get back to Equestria in one piece! I dare to say at least two mares are hoping for your return…”

* * * * *

Two days later back in Equestria…

The embracement went on for minutes. And although most of the tears came from Cadance, both lovers were more than happy to be reunited. Although Shining was lying on a barrow, they both kissed and cried in happiness,
“Where… Where’s Tyler?”

Stepping forth, Tyler came out of the airship,
“I’m here, why? I wouldn’t miss the reunion of the happy” As he saw them both, he humorously grimaced. “Ewww… Kissing and crying… I think I’ll get back until you both decided, what-”

Levitating him to herself, Cadance laughed,
“Hey, you! Get here! Now!” With this Cadance gave Tyler a long kiss before she parted from him. “I’m actually even more grateful, but more than this and my beloved husband might get the wrong impression of my gratitude… I think a reward is well deserved, don’t you think so, Shining?”

Shining Armor nodded with a smile,
“If I had any with me, I would stick medals upon your chest, Tyler… Without you, I would be-”

But Tyler only rolled his eyes,
“Oh shut up and kiss your girl, Shining! I didn’t bring you back so you can go on my nerves! Or for glittering metal sheets! I brought you back because I owed it to you and I promised your family to bring you back. I saw the misery your abduction brought to the ones who love you. And you would have done the same for me if you would have seen the misery in your sister’s face.” That prompted Shining Armor to nod with a smile and he and Cadance shared a deep and longing kiss. After they parted he turned to Tyler again and nodded. Deep gratitude was in his eyes.

Tyler now turned to Twilight, who embraced him dearly,
”Thank you, Tyler…”

“Don’t thank me for this, Twilight… I did this for you as well.”

* * * * *

Later that day Shining Armor returned with several bandages on his body. He was also sitting in a wheelchair since he wasn’t strong enough yet to walk again. As he and Tyler hugged, he went on with their conversation,
“The armies of the Crystal Empire will come to the aid of the equestrian forces in the Amasian Enclave as soon as I’m fit again. I must say… Princess Celestia and Cadance told me what strange tactics you used on the swarm. The way you lead the troops... Is this how humans fight?”

Tyler nodded,
"Sort of... It’s called guerilla warfare. Rest now, Shining… You’ll need all your strength very soon.”

With this the young husband arched a brow,
“For battle?” But Tyler looked up to Cadance, who entered the room now.

As they both shared a chuckle, Tyler shook his head,
“Among other things… I’m sure a certain someone is glad to have you were you belong.” Cadance winked at Tyler and smiled. Tyler then turned to Shining again and gave him a strict look. “Listen, Shining… I tried my best to-”

But he was cut off in midsentence,
“I know! Cadance already told me. They knocked you out. Otherwise this whole ordeal wouldn’t have happened."

As he left their room, Twilight and Applejack came down the hallway, obviously to fetch him. Twilight again hugged him and he closed his eyes while redoing the favor. Patting her back, he looked to Applejack,
“I think I’m hungry for some apples here, AJ. The farm’s still intact?”

Correcting her Stetson, she nodded at him,
“It’s in a worse state than before, now that yer not around, but it’s still there. Granny told me to bring yer some pie. And Applebloom is asking for yer.”

Tyler nodded,
“Let’s spend the night on Sweet Apple Acres. I don’t know how long we have until I have to go back to the front lines.”

Applejack nuzzled him while they went to the carriage. “Tyler, Ah know yer feel it’s yer duty to do this, but why aren’t yer stopping with this and simply hand them the beads? Let others fight! Ah don’t like the thought of yerself risking yer neck for our sake in a faraway land… If yer never come back to us… Ah don’t know what to do then…”

When the carriage started and brought them to Sweet Apple Acres, Tyler looked down to Applejack,
“Come now… it’s not that I have a death wish or something… But I have to do this, AJ… I would feel ashamed if I wouldn’t fight as strong as I can. My effort can save lives.”

The orange mare gulped and looked up,
“And if yer own life is at stake, Tyler? Who’s coming to save yer then?” Tyler gulped and looked at Twilight, but the lavender unicorn shook her head, hinting him that he had to sort this out himself.

As they landed on the farm, he hugged Applejack tightly,
“I’ll never die as long as I haven’t seen our foal laughing, AJ. And if the whole of Equis crumbles together: I won’t die before I made you happy, AJ. I swear to you I won’t”

The orange mare smiled and went towards the barn,
“Care to proof it, pardner?”

Tyler rolled his eyes with a smile,
“Twilight, do you want to join in this time?” With a beaming face, she nodded and followed Applejack as well. Her friend always spoke of the kinkiest things she did with Tyler in the barn, so maybe she could get the chance to learn something.

* * * * *

Later that evening, while his wounds and bruises were treated properly and he had regained strength to walk again, Shining Armor was up to inspect something he waited long for. In fact, the hope of seeing this was partially what kept him alive during his days as prisoner of the Changelings. As he approached the strong steel door, two guards of the Crystal Empire looked at him and saluted. When the steel door opened, Shining Armor could see Blueblood lying dirty on the ground, surrounded by big muscular griffins. Hope rekindled in the dirty prince as he saw a fellow pony,
“Shining Armor! Finally someone who will help me!”

Shaking his head in surprise, Shining fought the urge to chuckle,
“Excuse me? I won’t hinder them if it’s that what you think… I just wanted to see what punishment Cadance gave you, before I leave you to your fate.”

By now Blueblood’s pupils became tiny as dots as griffin claws raised his flanks again while another griffin held his head in place,
“No… You can’t leave me here with them!!!”

Arching a brow, Shining Armor now wrinkled his nose,
“I can’t? Oh I think I can as well as you could when you left me and my squad back in the hands of the swarm! Those ponies are dead now, which is YOUR fault! You are a coward and risk the entire army for your selfish desires. Not even in the face of impending war I want to have you among our ranks… Gentlegriffins? Enjoy your stay. Your ‘host’ will make sure you are more than pleased…”

Blueblood raised a hoof as Shining Armor closed the door,
“No! Don’t leave me here! Noooo!!!” With this the door shut tight behind Shining Armor and he sighed as the griffins inside began to have their ways with Blueblood again.

“Come on, little white royal piggy! Squeal! WEEEEEEEE” As Blueblood began to squeal beneath the gang rape, Shining Armor closed his eyes and continued to walk away, back to Cadance. In his mind he made a mental note, never EVER to piss her off like Blueblood.

* * * * *

One day later, Tyler and Shining Armor returned to the Enclave. Tyler shook his head as he watched the unicorn stallion,
“Do you think this is wise? You were a prisoner of war a few days ago. Don’t you need more time to recover?”

But Shining only shook his head,
“Don’t worry, Tyler… Cadance took personal care of these wounds and patched me up nicely. I’m almost in top condition now.”

Tyler chuckled at this,
“Hmpf! Alicorn girls and their magic, huh? Well I say that’s a good thing. At least I can say now you died because you overdid it.” Shining chuckled at this and nudged Tyler a bit, betting he could kill far more Changelings than Tyler could.

This prompted the human to chuckle,
“That’s the spirit, buddy! Go get them for what they’ve done to you!” And slowly but surely they went back to the Enclave. Tyler thought of all the shadow ponies that died during the first attacks of the Changelings. Or the many more that were sucked dry when the victors of this invasion turned to the defeated. He thought of Irtex, the young prince who lost his mother. For their sake, he would rip this swarm to pieces. He then gathered three unicorns and asked them to follow him into the hold for charging.

Meanwhile Shiria reported the queen the loss of her prize and Tyler’s warning to her. Hearing these words from the human caused Chrysalis to foam in rage,
“Who does he think he’s dealing with? So I’ll regret it? We’ll see about that! I want my swarm made ready! Every single hatchling! NOW!!!”

An advisor spoke up,
“Every hatchling? But my queen-”

Without warning, he was blasted by a ray of green magic as Chrysalis raised herself up,
“This is genocide! The systematic extermination of all life in Equestria! This Tyler Jones… HE WILL DIE BEFORE MY EYES!!! AND HE WILL KNOW… HE’LL KNOW THAT IT IS I, QUEEN CHRYSALIS OF THE CHANGELINGS, WHO ENCOMPASSES HIS DOOM!!!” With a frantic laughter she took off and buzzed over the corpse of the advisor. Biting off the chitin plates of this most recent victim of her cruelty, she feasted on the Changeling in a wild feeding frenzy. The other Changelings stood emotionless at the side and witnessed the gory spectacle. As the queen looked up again, only Shiria grinned in a perverse manner to her mother. Chrysalis chuckled in madness and licked her bloodstained snout. I’ll do this to that human and his beloved ones as well… With this she jumped back to her throne. “Come, my children! IT IS TIME WE FEAST UPON PONYKIND!!!”

With a big buzz of hundreds of thousands lift off and marched through the tunnels. “Long live the Queen! LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!!!”
Stepping on a balcony the queen watched as her subjects goose-stepped in several rows, executing an ordered march to the surface. As they passed the balcony, the Changelings looked up to her beloved queen as the drumming of marching hooves echoed through the hive and the underground city,
“It's great that we'll soon be feed from a queen who'll be all-time adored.” While Chrysalis wallowed herself in lust for war and blood and gloated with her swarm, Shiria silently sneaked away. Now everything depended on the ponies. Soon… Very soon… I’ll be queen instead of the queen…

As the Changeling swarm slowly came out of the underground city, the Equestrian forces already took position in front of the city and prepared for the Changeling’s arrival. It wasn’t before long that the Pegasus scouts spotted the first Changelings. With that the rows of swordsponies formed, right in front of the spearponies. Behind them were the rows of archers and unicorn magicians. Above them all were the pegasi ponies. Chrysalis couldn’t understand how her daughter could lose so often against such a feeble force. Obviously she wasn’t bred to be a queen,
“This human is ridiculously stupid! This little army is all they bring out against my entire swarm? Oh well…How many are we?”

A Changeling drone looked up to her,
“We are 407 thousand, my queen!”

Chrysalis sneered on the army of ponies,
"More than twice as much as they have… What does he think they could achieve? Let’s give them a chance to surrender before we crush them!”

Cloaked in a robe Tyler got himself a view of the battlefield,
“Are the trenches ready?”

“The trenches are ready and waiting, sir! We have prepared enough beads to blow them away!” a stallion answered. Tyler nodded and looked on the swarm which now closed in. With our technical advantage, their numeral advantage should be equaled. I gave enough blood for five thousand beads… if those hit we give them a punch they won’t forget so quickly…

By now a lone Changeling buzzed to the middle of the battlefield and yelled at the ponies,
“Equestrians! This land is besieged by the Changeling swarm! Surrender your weapons!” The stallions of the royal guard showed mixed feelings. While the hardened soldiers gritted their teeth in determination, the new recruits backed off a little.

Shining Armor, now full recovered, raised his spear and turned his head to the soldiers,
“Fear not, brothers in arms! We are…” He suddenly stopped as he recognized a glow reaching the front rows of the soldiers. Tyler passed Shining, grabbing his spear while passing him. The soldiers gazed on him in wild wonder, forgetting their fears for a moment.

The magic in his body seemed highly concentrated and every inch of his body shimmered and shined as he began to yell. “CHANGELINGS!!! YOU WANT OUR WEAPONS??? HERE!!!” Tossing the spear towards the swarm with strength and guiding it with magic, the spear found its way and impaled the changeling who shouted at the equestrian army. The creature shrieked in pain, its limbs twitching as the others bared their fangs partly angrily, partly fearful. “COME AND GET THEM!!!” Tyler then turned to his allies. “Sons of Equestria and Sons of the Crystal Empire! Show no mercy, for you won’t receive any either! Believe in your leaders and fight!”

He then stepped beside Shining Armor and went into fighting stance as Armor magically levitated another spear to him,
“Good speech, Tyler! Maybe Shimmerwind should watch herself. You would make a fine Captain as well!”

But Tyler simply waved the thought away,
“Nonsense! I’m no better than anypony here! You are in charge here; the new guys only seem a bit skittish! Remember these void guys from this Rainbow Gem? Feels like old times already!”

Shining was chuckling at this,
“Good to have you with us, Tyler! Your presence is a real boost to morality for the soldiers.”

Tyler grinned as sadism grew in his face again,
“That’s a party I wouldn’t dare to miss. I’ll try to restrain myself on your behalf, boys.”

Chrysalis gritted her teeth as she heard Tyler and saw him glowing on the front lines. Pointing her hoof at him, she yelled her order. “CHARGE!!!" With this, the swarm stormed right at the armies of Equestria and of the Crystal Empire.

While they waited, several drops of sweat ran down the one or another temple. But Tyler narrowed his eyes,
“Ready….” By now the swarm was only 500 meters away. Tyler gritted his teeth. “Steady…” Now the archers and unicorns got into stance and Tyler raised his arm. As the swarm was only 100 meters away, he pointed his arm at the swarm and yelled his command.

“FIRE!!!”

With this the arrows shot into the air and before the front rows several unicorns revealed a large trench where they were hiding in. Blankets had hidden it under an inch of sand. Taking aim, they shot their human blood payload into the storming swarm that was ripped to shreds. A large row of fireworks flashed on the front of the Equestrian Army and a dreadful wall of clouds of magic and fire caused the swarm to halt. Now the unicorns in the back rows fired their magic with their horns taking out several rows as well. The swarm, uncoordinated and puzzled regained its strength after several seconds after realizing of what happened. Chrysalis gritted her teeth. Without knowing it precisely, the ponies had taken out one fifth of her swarm with these bombs. Commanding her swarm to attack from above, several Changelings began their approach from the skies, but pegasi ponies gave their best to protect the artillery row. By now the ground forces engaged the swarm and a fierce battle started. As Tyler jumped right into the middle of the swarm, he discharged several hundred spells on impact, thus killing everything around him in a radius of one hundred meters.

Tossing aside dozens of changelings and ponies alike, Chrysalis and Tyler neared each other. As they stood face to face, circling around each other, a barrier raised to hinder anyone, changeling and pony alike to intervene. The barrier was several dozen meters wide and reached up into the sky. Leaping off the ground and buzzing angrily in the air, the Changeling queen charged her horn, shooting several shots at Tyler,
“Accursed ape! You’ve killed my children!!!”

Jumping away from three blasts, Tyler blocked the other two shots with a force field, just big enough as a shield,
“Nothing compared to what I’ll do to YOU!!!” With that he leaped up to her, boosted by magic. Grabbing her in midair, he delivered several hard blows to her torso. As both opponents fell to the ground, the queen pinned Tyler down.
Chrysalis sank her fangs into Tyler’s shoulder, penetrating the leather armor. Screaming out in pain, he punched her jaw and neck, causing her to release him. As Tyler held his bleeding shoulder in pain, Chrysalis coughed and gasped for air. Both looked in each other’s eyes stabbing each other down with hate in their eyes.

Gritting his teeth, Tyler went into fighting stance again,
“CHRYSALIS!!!”

As her breath took in just in time, she charged her horn again,
“JONES!!!”

And when they charged at each other, a large energy detonation wave penetrated the barrier from inside as they met, tossing changelings and ponies into the air. Shining Armor, sweaty from all the battle and with several fresh bruises and scratches already, looked in awe at the energy detonation at the base of the force field pillar. By now the battlefield had become bedlam. Changeling brutes tore ponies apart with mighty blows, Earth ponies tossed the blood beads into parts of the swarm like grenades, causing severe detonations what splattered changeling limbs all over the battlefield. Pegasi battled the swarm in the air as the Tellyhawk squad dropped blood beads into the swarm on the ground. More and more of the battlefield emptied, yet the changelings still outnumbered the ponies two to one. And slowly but surely, the swarm encircled the armies of the two kingdoms.

But Shining Armor also recognized an approaching army on the hills in the south, their black silhouettes stood out on the fields of the enclave. Coming out of the ranks of the shadow ponies, a sturdy black stallion looked down to the burning battlefield,
“So it is like my son has reported to me… And the ponies of the north have come to his aid… To liberate this land from the evil that befell it!” As he saw the swarm of Changelings, his look grew grimmer. “These vile creatures have killed our brethren!” With this he turned around to his soldiers. “Sons of Amasia! Avenge your brothers! Avenge your children!” As they roared in unison, he turned to the battlefield again and raised a sword. “FOR THE AMASIAN EMPIRE!!!” With this they approached the battlefield.

First the army came closer in a slow speed, but this speed became a full speed gallop really fast, prompting in a ground-shaking cannonade of hundreds of thousands of hooves. Several Changelings turned around due to this cannonade, but it already was too late. The Amasian forces lead by King Arthax hit the swarm on the ground like a tidal wave from behind and began to slaughter in wild rage. This slowly began to turn the tide between the swarm and the ponies and more and more, the swarm began to diminish. The Equestrians were startled at first, but then recognized the Amasian forces as allies against the common enemy.

Meanwhile Chrysalis and Tyler were still fighting. As Tyler’s right arm and Chrysalis right front hoof slammed against the opponent’s cheek, they both swayed back, shaking their heads. Tyler spat blood to the ground as Chrysalis eyes went wide. It was shortly after that, that she spat one of her fangs. This made her anger for the human boil even hotter as she roared in blind rage. As Chrysalis blasted her poisonous Changeling magic directly at Tyler, Tyler’s eyes widened. His body was engulfed in pain in an instant as he raised his arm to her, sending the magic back to her. While he was in an agonizing pain between being under high-voltage and poison, she got the whole physical damage of her own magic. As their magic seized, they both glared at each other, both almost at their limit. Tyler, having spent all the magic within him huffed and puffed heavily. His leather armor was torn to pieces and sweat was burning on his bruises and wounds. Green blood dripped from the queen’s snout and she spat on the ground,
“Accursed equestrian ape!”

As she charged at him on groggy legs, Tyler span around, delivering a heavy blow to her face with his feet. Off balance from the kick, Chrysalis stumbled and fell to the ground. Tyler didn’t hesitate, jumped at her and grabbed her neck. That’s when his mind finally went black. For minutes the other ponies hesitated and watched as the Changeling queen was pummeled mercilessly. Green blood was spilled more and more, when Tyler finally raised a boulder…
And then he slammed it down.

What followed was the most painful and agonizing shriek ponykind ever heard. As Tyler came to his senses, Chrysalis lied beneath him. Heavy bruises marked her face, blood dripped from her mouth. And her horn… Tyler gasped as he saw her horn shattered and broken. Only then did he realize the boulder in his still raised hands. His torso and arms ached. There was a moment of complete and utter silence as both opponents faced each other. Tyler didn’t know what had happened, but the tears in her eyes, the quiet sobbing, the fright and terror in her look…

Stripped of all her powers she was at his mercy and this situation frightened her more than anything in the world. Tossing the boulder away, he grabbed her by the neck,
“You are beaten! Your powers are gone, your kind is at my mercy! Admit your defeat!” Looking around the battlefield, Chrysalis noticed that her swarm was dead; the ponies had suffered heavy losses, but were victorious. They now gathered around the barrier, glaring at her angrily and determined. She was defeated. Her swarm had failed. Realizing this she let out one last fierce and raging roar of desperation.

Two days after that, the victors returned to Equestria with Chrysalis as prisoner. Under strict and constant surveillance the Changeling queen was kept in her cell with ten stallions to guard her together on her way to Canterlot. Fanfares sounded off as the ponies cheered for those returning home. Several families found together as their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters. Twilight gave a chorus of stallions a go and they sounded off with the ancient alicorn song Twilight now had completely translated. Luna helped and amplified their voices to a Royal Canterlot Canto, so the song was heard on all streets of Canterlot.

“Child of man, Child of man
Doing what nopony can
To keep evil forever at bay!
And the mightiest knaves flee
When his triumphant banner they see
Child of man, for your blessing we pray!

Hear now, you children of ponykind,
From the prophecy soon to unwind!
Promised a hero of law and might!
For he will come in time of need,
Picking up a blade for the terrors he will fight.
As they enter the child of man’s sight!

Let it be written that in time of great cold
Upon shadow ponies chaos shall unfold.
Chrysalis, Queen of locusts,
Ancient shadow with murderous lusts
Returns with a hunger to devour the world!

But on a day of glory,
When all terrors are history
Her throat shall lie in your will
All of Equestria’s allies will be freed from Chrysalis’ ill!

Child of man, Child of man
Doing what nopony can
To keep evil forever at bay!
And the mightiest knaves flee
When his triumphant banner they see
Child of man, for your blessing we pray!”

Tyler rolled his eyes as he looked to and chuckled at Shining Armor,
“They let it sound as if I destroyed the swarm all on my own. Who came up with this stupid song in the first place?”

The unicorn stallion chuckled,
“Just a little hero worship…”

Tyler smiled at Shining,
“Oh yeah? Well, this is the second time you saved ponykind from the Changelings. If I get an ancient song, then you deserve a full ancient opera!” While they both chuckled, Tyler looked to Chrysalis. The Changeling Queen was very quiet and looked broken. Ripped off her swarm and horn, all on her own, she was but a shadow of herself and not the threat she was before. But Tyler noticed the sturdy black stallion he saw on the battlefield earlier. He and his vassals were obviously Shadow Ponies and he nodded at Tyler with respect. Tyler answered this gesture with a nod himself.

In the throne room Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance and Princes Luna awaited the victorious combatants with the Mane Six,
“A great threat was tamed today! And for this we honor those who gave their lives to make this possible.” Eyeing the black stallion, Celestia bowed her head to him in respect and gratitude. “And from what I’ve heard, You, King Arthax helped to defeat the Changeling swarm as well. This truly is great day for our three kingdoms to unite against a common foe. I hope, the Amasian Empire and its Enclave will accept our friendship…”

Eying Celestia for a minute, King Arthax waited before he began to speak,
“Let it be known that I first got note that Equestria has invaded the Enclave. This army originally was meant for you… But then half way through with the preparations, a letter from my son reached me, saying the Enclave was brought to ruin by another force. A force wishing to bring ruin to our three kingdoms. Seeing the battlefield, I saw the truth. I saw the creatures my son described to me and the ponies that battled them on behalf of the Shadow ponies. The Equestrian ponies and Crystal ponies are friends to the Amasian Empire and your vassals are my vassals such as my vassals are your vassals. United we shall stand strong.” He then looked to Tyler. “But never before did I see such a being. My boy… What are you?”

Tyler nodded to the king,
“I’m a human, King Arthax. A being not from this world and friend and ally to Equestria and its ponies.”

King Arthax slowly nodded as he heard this, taking in the information of speaking to a being from another world.
“You have will strength. You shall be known as Ghora’Khar from now on which means ‘the will to fight for others’. This is a military title our troops will call you with, but you may choose a name the common shadow ponies will call you openly.”

Tyler smiled at this, thinking of a proper name,
“What is your word for ‘the act of justice’?”

Arching his brows King Arthax widened his eyes,
"We call this act ‘Banarium’…”

With a nod Tyler cocked his head,
“Could I be known as Tyler Banarium?”

With a bow, the king smiled as Tyler accepted his gift,
“You are Tyler Banarium. You and your herd mates are welcome in my empire.”

Now Tyler looked at Chrysalis, who was surrounded by guards, spears and horns pointing at her. Taking the leash he guided her before the throne,
“So… What do we do with her, now that she’s at our mercy?”

Cadance glared at her with hatred in her eyes. The memories of her wedding that almost went to disaster still lingered in her memory,
“We kill her!”

Twilight gritted her teeth as well,
“We end this misery! She has brought far too much misery on us!”

Celestia, however, shook her head,
“No! That’s not the solution we should go for!”

Cadance on the other hand began to accumulate magic in her horn to blast Chrysalis to her death,
“Oh, I think so, aunt… Because all these ponies… they still died… Because of her! If it would be the other way around, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill us!”

Tyler shook his head and stepped in front of the pink alicorn,
“Cadance… Come on! You’re better than her!” Gritting her teeth, she looked up to Tyler as tears welled inside her eyes. Shortly after, she turned away to her husband to cry bitter tears. Shining Armor welcomed her with a hug and whispered words of comfort into her ears.

Rainbow hovered besides Tyler as he looked to Chrysalis,
“Come on, T-man! You can’t trust her!”

Shaking his head, Tyler agreed with the cerulean Pegasus,
“No, I can’t… The only safe place for her is in custody. She must be kept prisoner to be monitored all the time.”

Chrysalis sneered on the thought,
“So… You just want to keep me like a pet???”

Tyler shrugged and nodded afterwards,
“Yes, if that’s what it takes? I was fighting long enough…” Looking to Celestia as for asking for permission he continued. “Maybe taking care for this pitiful creature will make a nice change in a while…”

Suddenly the shot of a pistol interrupted the hall as Irtex aimed at Chrysalis,
“Never let a crystal pony do a shadow pony’s work…” Chrysalis looked down and to the hole on her chest. The bullet had penetrated the chitin plate and pierced her heart. She stumbled a bit before she fell. Hastily, Tyler ran to her, catching her while falling. She looked up to him, gritting her teeth.

Everyone else thought she would take the chance to fight one last time, but she remained still,
“I would have preferred to be slain by you… You are a far more worthy opponent… You wouldn’t have given me the final blow while I’m defenseless. Dying in your arms… Are you satisfied now?”

Tyler shook his head and gazed down to her with a stern look,
“You’re not dying! We can help you, come on! Just a little healing magic and you’re fixed up!”

She then wrinkled her nose,
“You don’t know me, you bastard! I refuse…” With this her horn stump shimmered and with the last magic she had left, a green sphere surrounded them both, blocking all outside magic. “To spend my days left as your prisoner? Never shall I or my swarm fall that deep!”

Tyler shook his head, not noticing the tears running down his cheeks,
“I won’t let it end like that! You are the only one left! This is genocide… LET US HELP YOU!!!”

A pleased smile formed on her face,
“How about that… Even in death I can make you shed tears… But why are you crying for me? You above all… I’ve looked deep into your soul…”

The human gasped and his eyes widened in surprise,
“What do you mean?”

Locking her eyes on his, she coughed some blood before continuing,
”There’s a fire inside of you… This eternal flame of war…You are the real monster here, not me. Your fighting will never stop…” She then looked into the air with a sad expression. “I’m sorry, Papa… I couldn’t do as you told me… Now no one… loves me…” Then her head went limp and her eyes rolled back. As her body rested lifeless in his arms, he embraced the changeling queen tightly in his arms, gritting his teeth, screaming in anger.

The others looked to him as the green barrier vanished,
“Why is he crying?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Her death means peace for all of us, doesn’t it?”

“No, Rainbow, that’s not the point." Twilight interfered, "He wanted to give her one last chance to redeem herself under his custody and maybe learn to live a better life, even when her kind of diet is a parasitic one.”

Princess Celestia now approached the six ponies and gave Twilight a brief nod,
“Being merciful to the defeated can be one of the hardest lessons one has to learn. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out as he had hoped it would…” She then turned to Irtex. “Sir Irtex, you have committed murder in our kingdom! While the shadow ponies are welcome here to visit, you as individual certainly are not! With the threat gone, I want you and your kind to rebuild in the south again. And you as an individual are from now on forbidden to enter Equestria ever again!”

King Arthax frowned upon Irtex as well,
“Although I can understand your anger about the loss of your mother, my son… Yet you slay a defeated and defenseless opponent? What a disgrace! We shall talk about the consequences for this dishonorable act once we return home!”

* * * * *

Later that evening…

With the torch in his hand, Tyler set the pile of oil drenched wood on which the corpse of the Changeling Queen rested on fire. None of his six friends, the princesses or the royal guard spoke a word as he gave Chrysalis the last honor by being cremated in a fire burial,
“I feel like a human being. Not the monster Chrysalis thought she would see in me. If there is something like a monster in me, it is buried deep within my sub consciousness, where it belongs!” And he stood there for hours, watching the fire consume Chrysalis as if he was accompanying her into the next life or making sure the terror was gone for real. Only Twilight stayed with him until the end. As she looked into his face, she saw tears glittering in his eyes. Although he had fought Chrysalis for the sake of all ponies, he was willing to spare her for the sake of the survival of her own kind while all other only wanted to end the nightmare. Although Tyler was a fierce fighter, he was fighting for a just cause, not genocide.

When she approached him, he looked down to her,
“It was her choice, Tyler… Don’t feel bad about it. You did what you could to save her…”

His eyes turned to the fire again,
“I know… Don’t worry, Twilight… I’m OK…

After he entered his Canterlot chambers with Twilight, the rest of the Mane Six sat at the tables or around the bed. Tyler went into the bathroom and took a shower while Twilight talked to the girls,
“Well, Twilight? How is he?”

The lavender unicorn grimaced a bit and shook her head,
“Princess Celestia took care of his heavier wounds and the rest will heal in a day or two. But the death of Chrysalis sure took a chunk from his morale.”

Rarity shook her head in grief,
“But of course! What Tyler did was an honorable act, offering mercy to the defeated. Prince Irtex on the other hand…” She shuddered for a moment. “I can’t imagine how someone can kill a defenseless being as cold as he did.”

Rainbow sat at the balcony, thoughtful,
“I can’t understand him on this! I mean sure… That Irtex dude sure isn’t cool! I mean nopony should pick on an already defeated opponent, but Tyler behaves like he had hopes for that Chrysalis.”

“Rainbow, he HAD hopes he could change her…”

The Pegasus mare looked down,
“Yeah… If you put it that way this sucks even worse…”

Taking off her Stetson, Applejack faced the others,
“Come on, y’all! Tyler’s a fierce fighter, but he sure ain’t a killer! He wouldn’t end a life when somepony’s on the ground! Not even a Changeling... For that, Ah respect the big feller big time! Take’s a lot of gut to start a fight, but it sure needs even more to end it. Ah say we give him some space, let him forget some of the fightin’ and feudin’. This can really get to yer, y’all.” As the shower went off the girls went silent.

When he came out with a towel around his waist, Pinkie Pie stood before him with big teary eyes,
“I… I was going to throw a victory party for you… But now you don’t feel victorious anymore… Want a… a cheer up party instead?” Tyler stared down to the pink earth pony, who returned the look with big puppy eyes, before he knelt down to embrace her tightly and began to sob. One after another, the Mane Six approached him and joined into a group hug. Rainbow was the last one who saw to the group. The thought of one of her best friends getting so worked up displeased her. She bit her lip and approached the group as she stood in front of his head, which bowed over Pinkie’s shoulder.

The next thing Tyler could feel was her grip around the group and her forehead resting on his,
“Stop crying, you big moron! You make me all sappy! I’m the one supposed to be cool here!”

As he looked up with tears in his eyes, he smiled at her as he saw her eyes welling with tears as well,
“Crying Pegasus mare joining a group hug… Definitely cool! Come here, you!” Pulling her in, he embraced her as well and the seven friends remained silent for what felt like eternity. It was then when three knocks at the door interrupted their unity. The Mane Six gave Tyler some room and he went to the door. “Yes?”

A member of the royal guard stood in front of the door and saluted to him,
“Tyler Jones! We have captured one survivor of the Changeling swarm!”

This brought back Tyler’s spirit and he looked up,
“A survivor, you say? Who?”

The guard rolled his eyes,
“She said her name is Shiria and she’s apparently a Changeling Princess! She simply surrendered and let us catch her.”

Tyler’s eyes widened,
“Let me get dressed, I’ll be on my way!” With this he went back to the bathroom and dressed up.

Twilight knocked on the bathroom door,
“Tyler… Do you think this really is…?” The bathroom door opened in an instant and Tyler stood there with a jeans.

“Seriously, who would make something like that up?” His mood visibly got better by this message, despite it being a message to be concerned about. “Now…This means the threat still exists, BUT we have it under control! And there is no genocide since with her the whole species could be kept alive!” He placed a long and longing kiss on Twilight’s lips and put on his shirt.

Rarity arched a brow,
“Although I’m happy for you that you no longer have to bear the burden of genocide… Darling, do you truly think that a Changeling can be trained to fit in pony society?”

Tyler shrugged,
“It hasn’t been tried before, has it? I think we at least owe her the chance to try…"

Twilight arched a brow,
"True, just remember to keep an extra eye on her. I for one don’t trust these Changelings as far as I could throw them!”

Looking into her eyes, Tyler gave her a nod,
“Good… That was a great hint towards security. I’ll keep it in mind Twilight. Thank you.”

* * * * *

An hour later…

In her cell, Shiria already cocooned the walls and was buzzing up to crawl on the ceiling to cocoon it as well, as the door opened and Tyler entered her cell,
“Princess Shiria!”

As he looked up to her, she gasped on his sight, falling from the ceiling in surprise. Once on the bottom, she looked up to him angrily,
“Hey! Don’t you knock before entering a ladybug’s boudoir?”

Tyler rolled his eyes. Here she was, at the mercy of others and demanded manners. You have some nerve, girl…
“I’m only here, because I want to save your kind from extinction! While your mother refused to change her way of life, I hope you can lead Changelings to coexistence. A changeling family or something. Small enough to keep check on it.”

Disgust grew in Shiria’s face,
“So you want me to behave and think like my host animals? HA! Sorry, human! No deal!”

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Tyler cocked his head,
“I talked to the princesses and Shining Armor. You accept to rehabilitate in a limited and guarded area and they write your ticket out of the dungeon and house you in a containment area.”

This made Shiria buzz excited,
“Wheee! A bigger prison cell! Might be interesting!”

Yet Tyler raised his index finger in a scolding manner,
“IF you promise to resign from transformation into other ponies!”

She looked up to him, first baffled, then huffy,
“What? Shoot! Take all the fun out of life!”

Tyler then turned away, annoyed to waste his time with her,
“Fine, have fun starving to death!”

Buzzing loud behind him, she jumped up and followed him,
“OK, OK! I promise! No Mimicry!” With this she held his hand with her perforated hooves and smiled. “Oh, the irony of it! The grim protector of Equestria and the daughter of his greatest female adversary trying to restore the Changeling hive!”

* * * * *

Not an hour later he escorted her to her future containment cell. Her wings were tied to her body and she had a collar with a leash. Holding the leash and her horn Tyler guided her every step. Looking at Tyler, she narrowed her eyes with a pouting face,
“I sense a lack of trust…”

The guards in charge nodded as he came with Shiria to the CCF, the Changeling Containment Facility,
“Sir, did you had any difficulties with her?”

Tyler looked to Shiria who gave him her friendliest smile, which still was spoiled by her fangs,
“No, she was obedient…” As he lead her into her cell, he introduced her to it. “Food, water, a warm bed, books to read… You shall have it nice in here. Snug as a bug… Ooops! Did I say that loud?”

Shiria now looked around and then gazed upon Tyler,
“So you wish me to raise a family inside here? Fine… When are you going to do me?”

Tyler felt like punched in the face,
“Come again?”

Wiggling her Changeling flanks before his eyes, she narrowed her eyes seductively and bit her bottom lip a bit,
“When are you going to have sex with me?”

His eyes now widened. Holy crap! She’s serious?
“What? Me? You have to be kidding! I could never feel something for a Changeling in a sexual manner!”

Turning around to him, she looked at him with desperation in her eyes,
“But… I’m a Changeling princess! Without a male being, I can’t become a Changeling Queen! Even we Changelings need a partner to begin the cycle. And one birth cycle can hold from 50 to 200 changelings. So if you really want to ‘cultivate’ the changelings, you must bring me a male willing to impregnate me.”

Tyler nodded and turned to the door,
“I’ll let the princess know…”

One hour later he discussed the topic with Celestiain her chambers,
“I won’t do this, Celestia. Yes, the girl is a princess like Luna and you and might have her appeal AND she’s not Chrysalis, but I won’t sleep with an insect! Even I have my limits! Do you know that there are two bearers of Harmony elements who are my herd mates with Luna? And I’m not even talking about you!”

The sun princess nodded calmly, smiling as she did,
“Yes, I know, Tyler. Twilight and Applejack both reported me their courting and I encouraged both of them to do as they did.”

His eyes widened in surprise,
“You… You WHAT?”

This caused Celestia to laugh,
“Now, now… Don’t be mad, Tyler. I always tried to encourage Twilight to make friends or find a mate. But my oh so faithful student, always taking her studies first. I deem it the right thing she finds you appealing. Or maybe just the best object to study since she became my student. She can’t have foals with you yet, but maybe a relationship with you will strengthen her wish to have one. As for this Changeling princess… you know I only wanted Chrysalis to leave, not to die. Her death in our kingdom came with a bitter taste, the taste of genocidal murder. We are lucky Shiria exists, so this sin is not complete. And yet… Her last words made me think that she wasn’t always like this…”

Tyler sat down right next to Celestia,
“I guess we will find out soon enough about that… I know you wanted to banish Shiria, but since she’s the only one left, I feel responsible for her. Not for her sick personality, but her species. Maybe we can learn more about the Changelings that way and understand what made them like this. But I can’t simply sleep with her and return to this little… herd of mine saying nothing happened!”

With this, Celestia nodded,
“I will find somepony who will be willing to do this. But if you’re not willing to do it, then I won’t force you. You can return to your chamber then. You have earned yourself all the rest you want now.”
“Thanks for understanding, Celestia…” After this, they hugged each other before Tyler went back to his chamber.

* * * * *

On the next day the guards brought one convict from the Canterlot dungeon to the CCF,
“Convict BJA-836, Black Rock! Guilty of rape and murder in five cases… Well, isn’t it your lucky day? You are about to screw a Changeling princess today! If you don’t… Well sentence is death in that case. Consider it your last chance to do something for society for a change…

Black Rock only looked at the big security door,
"You mean I only have to do it with that thing once and my sentence is reduced by half?”

“If she doesn’t eat you alive afterwards that is…” The guards chuckled in a dark manner. “Come on! Don’t be shy! Don’t harm her, just buck her! Won’t be a big thing for you, eh?”

When Black Rock entered, Shiria was lying on a plush carpet, her Changeling hair tied to a ponytail to differ from her mother’s look and read a book. As she noticed him, she narrowed her eyes and examined him,
“Are you my executioner or my lover?”

Black Rock arched a brow,
“If you’re a good girl I’m your lover. And we will have a lot of fun together.” With this her look became seductively and she raised her flanks for him so he could mount her. Without much thought he grinned and did exactly this.

Shiria didn’t object or flinch as he entered her. Obediently she let it happen. She wondered with how many ponies her mother did the same thing. There was no love in this act and she honestly preferred it that way. It was meant clinical impregnation for her and she ignored the groaning and moaning stallion on top of her. In her mind she already smiled and triumphed as she felt the sperm gushing into her womb. Without knowing, Black Rock slowly succumbed to the Changeling princess. New dark plans began to form in her mind as her horn began to glow and she feasted on his emotions for her womb.

Long live the Queen…

13 - Life in a herd ***

Later that night Tyler stared at the ceiling, while Applejack and Twilight already were asleep beside him. As he heard the sound of hooves from the balcony, it was only a matter of seconds until Luna stepped inside. As she approached the bed silently, she shared the one or another glance with him, before she stood beside him. Her voice remained silent, careful not to wake Applejack and Twilight up,
“Are thou alright, Tyler?” He nodded and she gulped as she looked to the others. “I wanted to say to thee in person how awfully sorry I am that this happened. And… I feel saddened as well, even though tis our enemy that died. Somehow I feel like a part of what I am was murdered… Does that make sense?”

Tyler shrugged,
“I don’t know… I’m not in the shape of thinking now…” Luna nodded and came a bit closer to nuzzle him. She also nibbled a bit on his earlobe. Tyler rolled his eyes. “Not now, Luna… Please…”

She giggled a bit and whispered into his ear,
“I think I’m almost done with the spell that could make ponies more receptive to human sperm…” This immediately got his attention. With wide eyes he turned to her and saw her wink as she stepped outside to the balcony. Like Celestia before, she spanked her flank with her wings and giggled a bit. He sighed and carefully climbed out of the bed. As he stepped outside, she already sat there, looking into the night sky.

Leaning against the railing, he looked to her,
“So I take it you need some stuff to complete it?”

With a brief nod she turned to him and smiled,
“Yes… I don’t know how human women look like. I already got it so far that the spell temporarily transforms the target into something I still have to define. I don’t have the genetic information for a complete human female, but the spell temporarily mixes your genetic information with those of the target and out comes a female or male hybrid that looks like human.”

Tyler arched a brow,
“Wait… Genetic engineering? Magic can do that?”

Luna closed her eyes and whirled her mane around before raising her chin proudly,
“There are things alicorn magic CAN’T do, Tyler. Fortunately this is not among it. I could turn thee into a pony as well… But I’m not sure if thou can cope with it, nor can I predict what kind of pony thou would turn out to be. Magic sometimes needs some space and freedom to work with. Also… I can’t predict how thy children would turn out. Because the impregnated mother and the cells in her body return to pony genome structure, her genetic information would be dominant in all calculations. Still, thy children might be… something different. More… resilient to magic. For instance: A foal with fair Applejack might turn out as any other earth pony, but might share your blood and thus be able to withstand several magic attacks that otherwise would be critical. A foal with Twilight Sparkle might surpass her abilities for magic, even though Twilight Sparkle is a powerful unicorn already.” She now leaned against Tyler and smiled up to him. “A foal with an alicorn however… I dare not to calculate this…” Tyler gulped as he saw her nuzzling him. “Would you love to be the father of my foal as well, Tyler?”

He gulped again,
“I guess I don’t have much time to decide for this, huh?”

Luna leaned up to him and they shared a deep long kiss before she looked at him with glittering eyes,
“We have time until the end of the next heat season… and… I would be happy, so very happy to carry thy foal.”

This prompted Tyler to gulp nervously,
“Is… Is that even possible with this spell? I mean, earth ponies like Applejack already have more than twice the chromosome pairs as I do… unicorns and pegasi have both a hand full more… How many have you?”

She blinked in surprise now and tipped her chin with her fore hoof while thinking,
“I know that… Now where was this memory stored…? Tia and her many lessons, thou know… um… Oh yeah! 3072!”

Tyler took a step backwards. He already assumed alicorns were more complex and had more genetic information as humans or regular ponies, but this...,
“You’re kidding! And how much of my 24 chromosome pairs would be implemented?”

Proudly Luna beamed at him for presenting her knowledge,
“If my calculations are correct, thy genetic structure will deliver 5 chromosome pairs into an alicorn fetus!”

He chuckled a bit,
“Really…That’s less than I thought. I was hoping for at least ten” As he turned to the balcony door, he smirked. “Why don’t you come inside to the others, spend the night with us? It would do you good to feel the comfort of others.”

With a warm smile she shook her head,
“I have duties to perform, my love… But I’ll ask Tia if she can take over a shift the next time thou three spend the night here, so I can join in.” With a mischievous smirk she looked at him. Not only the usual threesome, but a foursome? Think thou can satisfy all three of us?”

He looked at her in surprise, but then chuckled,
“You alicorns really like to talk dirty once you’re in heat, huh?” Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed Luna passionately. Little did both of them know that Celestia watched them. Although no one could see her right now, the Princess of the Sun looked upon this peculiar couple with cautious eyes. Without telling anyone, the worries grew in her.

* * * * *

One month passed since the Changeling queen died and the swarm was reduced to Shiria. As Tyler walked down a path from the woods, he could only wonder how easy ponies forget about the bad things in life once concerning their daily life again. Already the easygoing laughter echoed from the school building again and the fillies and colts played happily together. Maybe this was another good thing about ponykind. They knew they’re protected so they gave unconditional trust to their protectors. So much innocence… And how little it was misused. As he came out of the Everfree Forest and walked up a hill, wind blew into his back and the smell of the green meadows filled his lungs. Contentment filled his mind. Yes, Ponyville was a pearl of nature and harmony and it was a treasure in need to be kept unharmed.

It was late in summer already and Luna got his Playboy magazine for ‘research’ as she called it. With a chuckle he remembered her blushing at the whole different features of the female human body and her curiosity how human foals are to drink the milk when the mother’s teats are that high above. With a warm smile he remembered how he explained to her how small and fragile human babies are and showed her with mind link like he did with Celestia how they are fed by the mother. Luna nodded with a deep blush as she saw those pictures in her mind and was grateful that he showed her this. As he sat down on the meadow, he looked down to Ponyville. Since his return, the town had changed a bit. The barricades and fortifications were undone again that were built during the conflict in the Amasian Enclave.

In his backpack already was a bag full of tofu he bought from Zecora. He actually was amused the zebra had such a food in her hut, but knowing all the herbs around she was the address to go. Coming down the road he then went down the meadows to go back to town. A short shopping trip was just the thing now. Today was a big sleepover with the girls and he wanted to get a present for Twilight and Applejack. His herd became organized, thanks to Twilight and due to the fact that all members lived in different parts of town or in different cities, sleepovers were organized.

One day in a week they would sleep in the library, one day in Sweet Apple Acres and once a week they would sleep in Canterlot in the palace. Due to her duties, Luna couldn’t come to the other sleepovers but Twilight sometimes allowed Spike to join in to the sleepover so they could have lively conversations via Dragonmail. Spike wasn’t all into that sleepover stuff since he preferred to stay with Rarity during the times they didn’t need him, but they made it up to the baby dragon with several rubies and emeralds.

Today was a different sleepover though. ALL of the Mane Six would be there and the library would be place of their biggest slumber party yet. Tyler wanted to get his two girls something. Maybe this was a bit of a showoff move, maybe a bit chivalry, but hey. They were his girls after all and he wanted them to shine beside him. As he went down the road, he looked into various shops, but nothing seemed to fit in on first sight.

It was then when he recognized the garden of one of Ponyville’s florist trio, Rose. She was pouring water near her beloved roses and greeted him with a smile,
“Hello, Tyler! Wonderful day, is it not? Come to get some roses again?”

Tyler greeted her with a nod and smelled the blood red roses of her garden,
“You know, Rose… Those roses of yours are the best there are… Their flavor… Well, I won’t get the usual two. I’ll take three this time, please. “

“Certainly! Then this makes six bits.” The pale yellow mare smiled to him. “Your mares must feel so happy to get so exquisite snacks from you all the time.”

He paid the price but arched a brow,
“Snacks? You actually eat those? But they look better if worn in the hair… or mane for that matter. Why eat them? Is this like drinking wine or something?”

Giving him a mild smile, Rose nodded,
“Yes! Yes, indeed. Something like that. Some could say that flowers sometimes are non-chocolate pralines for us. But it’s fine if you want to decorate the beauty of your mares in such a way. In fact, it would be best to give each mare the bloom in a color of her coat. I would ask Lily, Daisy and Zecora for their expertise of flowers as well. And of course, good old Twilight might have several books on that matter.”

She winked at him, which prompted him to chuckle,
“That she certainly has, Rose.”

Rose now harrumphed and looked up to him with a shy smile,
“You know, Tyler… I know we talked back then when all mares of Ponyville were after you a couple of months ago and I know you don’t want to be harassed with it all the time…”

Tyler looked at her and arched a brow,
“Rose…”

But she shook her head,
“No, please! I have to tell you this! Even though there won’t be a relationship between us, I want to tell you that I’m charmed and flattered that you use my roses not only as something to look at or to savor the smell… or to eat them for that matter. No, you use them to make the mares happy that are important to you. For this I am thankful.”

Tyler blinked at her in surprise,
“Uh… Sure, no problem. After all, roses are the flowers of love, so I should thank you for supporting me despite your deep feelings.”

She gave him another smile,
“I’m happy to have you as a friend, Tyler. If this is the closest I can be with you, I will accept this. And maybe that friendship deepens a bit over time. Slowly…”

With a wide smile, he raised her chin,
“With that dignity, you should raise your chin high. You are one fine mare, Rose.”

With this, he took the three roses and left the florist pony, who waved after him. A moment later, Lily approached Rose,
“You sure have a liking in your regular customer there, Rose… Are you hoping for one of the remaining places in his herd?”

Rose beamed after Tyler,
“Maybe… You can’t force a stallion, but maybe we can develop something, he and I…”

Lily then gave her a chuckle,
“Then you better watch it… I was talking to Bon Bon yesterday; Lyra Heartstrings also has an eye on him. And you know how obsessed she always was with his kind…”

Roses eyes went wide,
“Lyra? Well, luckily for her we can’t call her human geek anymore. But honestly… There are TWO places left in his herd if you go by standards.”

Shaking her head, Lily looked at her,
“Rose, you are aware of the rumors that he has Princess Luna in his herd? Are you certain you can handle someone so important like him? I wouldn’t dare to interfere if I were you.”

Shaking her head, Rose gave her a slight glare,
“Lily, those are just rumors! And even if they were to be true, a stallion like that is worth courting! Think of it! He is worthy in the eyes of a princess! Why shouldn’t he be worthy in the eyes of a common mare?”

Tyler didn’t hear anything of that conversation since he was walking down the road heading towards the library. On his way there, he met Pinkie Pie. The pink earth pony carried a sleeping bag and several other things in her saddlebag,
“Hello, Tyler! How do you do?”

He greeted her with a smile which prompted her to beam as well. How easy she was to please with a simple thing like that,
“Quite well, Pinkie. How are things in Sugarcube Corner?”

Pinkie now rolled her eyes,
You know, the baby Cakes are a hoof full of work, but then again, nothing is more pleasing the ear as the giggle of a little foal.”

Another chuckle came from him,
“So I take it you’re good in foalsitting?”

With a ferocious nod she then looked up to him,
“Uh-huh! Just make sure I have enough flour with me!”

He frowned at the answer, but decided not to question it. Never question the Pinkie Pie. He chuckled and looked at her again,
“So Pinkie… If you’re so good in foalsitting… When our herd has some foals in the future, would you-”

He was cut off in midsentence as Pinkie put her fore hoofs on his chest and looked at him,
“I’d love to!!!” She blinked for a second and chuckled, before she let go of him and patted his shirt. “Oh, Aheheh… I’d love to foalsit for your foals. That is, I’ll perhaps have to speak to Applejack and Granny Smith in case Applejack gives birth to a foal. I know how Granny Smith wants to hear the sound of foal laughter. So maybe she wants to foalsit for that foal already…”

While they arrived at the library, Twilight was rearranging the bookshelves. She was just finished as she recognized Pinkie and Tyler,
“Ah! You’re back from the Everfree Forest! Welcome home, Tyler! And hello to you, Pinkie Pie.” Both herd mates kissed as Tyler put a rose into Twilight’s mane. “For the most studious librarian I know...”

Twilight giggled, looking into his eyes with dreamy eyes,
“Oh… You shouldn’t have…”

As she went over to a mirror, Pinkie Pie giggled at Tyler as he looked after Twilight before recognizing the pink earth Pony,
“What is it, Pinkie?” he asked.

With an innocent giggle, she bumped her rump into him,
“That look on your face is funny. It’s all: ‘Dat flank!’ You don’t have to hold back because of me, I could go into the kitchen for a while… And Spike is still at Rarity’s place…” With a wink she carried her stuff to the bedroom and smiled.

As he looked after Pinkie slightly baffled, he then decided to chuckle along,
“It’s a bit different, Pinkie. I have that much self-control.” But Pinkie just kept smiling.

Twilight on the other hand looked at her,
“I appreciate your offer, Pinkie, but we don’t have heat season and although we could, we don’t do it every hour.”

Tyler chuckled,
“At least not in the daytime when someone might come in.”

Tipping her chin, Pinkie nodded,
“Mmmmmmhhh… OK! If you’re all fine with it… I mean I wouldn’t mind to watch you two at it. Might actually be quite fun. Not that I tend to watch herd couples while having sex, but I like to see my friends happy. So don’t restrain yourself for my sake.”

Tyler chuckled and patted her curly mane. She always meant well,
“Pinkie you are one good spirit here in Ponyville. What would we do without you?”

More and more of the Mane Six now arrived as the evening drew near. Rainbow came shortly after Pinkie Pie and greeted Tyler in her own special way: Ramming their skulls against each other, shouting “FRIENDS!”

Rubbing her forehead, Rainbow chuckled,
“You’re getting better at this, T-Man! This actually hurt a bit.”

Tyler arched a brow as he rubbed his own forehead
“I overdid it?”

Shaking her head, she pointed her hoof at him,
“Nah, I’m fine! I’ve had enough injuries due to brawls and stunts to assure you such a moderate nudge won’t make me whiny.”

A little white rabbit now jumped into the library and looked up to Tyler. Puzzled first, Tyler knelt down,
“You look familiar…”

A few seconds later, Fluttershy’s voice became audible,
“Now Angel, you really shouldn’t barge into a house like that…”

Tyler lifted the rabbit up and looked him in the eyes,
“Ah yes… Angel… The little feller who takes care of his caretaker…” Angel looked at Tyler, looked at Fluttershy and jumped out of Tyler’s grasp and back to Fluttershy.

The timid Pegasus nuzzled the rabbit a bit, before looking up to Tyler again,
“Yes, Angel is a really big help sometimes.”

Later Applejack arrived with two small kegs on her back,
“Howdy, folks! Ah got some of the Apple family’s-”

Rainbow span around in an instant with a deep gasp,
“AJ!!!” Tyler felt a harsh breeze as a cerulean flash passed him and got Applejack inside and hastily closed the door, before Rainbow looked at the kegs with a psychotic grin. “No need to share this now…”

Giving Rainbow a frown, Applejack wrinkled her nose,
“Rainbow Dash! That cider ain’t for ya alone! Ah got it here to share it with y’all. Especially Tyler! He never tasted Sweet Apple Acres’ cider for that matter.” Looking up to Tyler, the orange earth pony smiled. “What do ya say, Sugarcube? Care to taste it?”

Tyler nodded with a faint smile and looked at Rainbow,
“Don’t worry, Dash-Girl! This evening we will all have a mug of cider together. If you’re so excited, that cider must be awesome stuff.”

The cerulean Pegasus pouted a bit,
“Waiting, huh? Ok… If I get my fair share this time…”

By then Pinkie Pie appeared and stuffed something creamy into Rainbow’s mouth,
“Don’t worry, Dashie! We have two kegs! That means a lot of fun for everyone!”

Chewing on the stuff in her mouth, Rainbow’s eyes went wide before she gulped it down,
“Pinkie Pie! What was that? That tasted great! All creamy and sweet!”

“I don’t know, silly! The idea for it came from Tyler. Something called… Tea raw me zoo! But there aren’t any animals in it, despite the zoo! The Cakes went wild for that stuff! They were begging me for the recipe. Tyler? Was it OK that I gave it to Mr. and Mrs. Cake?”

With a chuckle, Tyler shrugged,
“I only gave you the raw idea. Consider it a favor for all your work. Your tireless effort to make everyone smile…”

Looking up to Tyler, Pinkie now beamed and stood proudly in the room,
“Yup! And I’m far from being done!”

* * * * *

As the evening went on and after several mugs of cider, the girls sat together in a circle. Rainbow laid a hoof on a bottle with a mischievous grin,
“Whoever the bottle is pointing on… must kiss Tyler!”

Twilight arched back with an impression of outrage,
“Rainbow Dash... You are aware that he’s in our herd?”

But the Pegasus simply shrugged,
“So what? Maybe one of YOU two might kiss him…”

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other and exchanged sly grins,
“Ah say we’re on, Twilight! Tyler would never walk astray from the herd. Ah know that, yer know that.”

Twilight then nodded and gave Rainbow her nod of approval,
“Spin the bottle, Rainbow!” With that the cerulean Pegasus span the bottle and leaned back.

The green bottle was still spinning as Rainbow pointed her hoof to Twilight and Rarity,
“No magic, you two! This is gonna be fair chance for anypony!” Both unicorns nodded as the girls leaned in. The bottle already was losing speed and slowed down more and more. Several teeth dug down the bottom lips as the bottle halted.

And pointed to Fluttershy.

The timid Pegasus gasped as she realized that it was her turn to do what Rainbow suggested,
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!!!”

But Rainbow only arched a brow as she looked up from the bottle,
“What? Fluttershy? Aw, this isn’t fun, she’ll never do it!”

By then Tyler woke up from his little nap with a yawn,
“Huh? Who’s never doing what?”

Pinkie Pie grinned and nudged him with a hoof,
“Ah! Wakey wakey, Tyler… Would you like to kiss Fluttershy?”

Looking up to the girls wondering what they could mean, he saw a bottle on the ground pointing to the shy yellow Pegasus. He then sighed and shook his head,
“Girls… I think you all had too much cider… Please leave me out of your games unless you want me to join you, OK?” He then sat down beside Fluttershy and caressed her mane. “Fluttershy? Would you honor me with a little kiss?” As she bowed down in shyness he saw to the others. “You guys… Go fetch some snacks and drinks while I take the fear out of the little one here, OK?”

Rainbow Dash cocked her head and arched a brow,
“But I wanna look!” As soon as he gave her a strict glare she yelped a bit. “Popcorn! Right away!”

While the others were off fetching something to eat and drink, he carefully raised her head,
“Have you ever kissed someone, Fluttershy?”

The timid Pegasus ducked a bit,
“Um… Sometimes… I mean… A ‘get well’ kiss on the band aid for the little critters, but not on the mouth, no…”

This prompted Tyler to cock his head,
“That’s odd…” He muttered. “I always thought you were the kissing type.”

She looked up in surprise to him,
“Oh no! I-I couldn’t! Although I’m always trying to be more… you know… assertive… I’m… always too shy to approach someone…”

He then tipped his finger on her lips,
“A kiss is the most tender and soft thing one can do to another, Fluttershy. So that makes YOU the perfect kisser.”

The Pegasus looked down in embarrassment,
“Y-you think so?”

“Sure! You are kind, gentle, caring… Not that you have to kiss assertive. There are kisses for affection, love, greetings and farewells…”

Now the little yellow Pegasus grew bolder and stemmed her fore-hooves into the ground,
“You’re right! I AM kind, gentle and caring! A kiss shouldn’t frighten me that much! I-” Suddenly she recognized Tyler coming close to her, raising her chin. “I… I…” Her body began to shiver and her cheeks began to burn. Then her lips felt something warm and her eyes widened about the sensation.

A short surprised squeak was heard before Tyler parted from her,
“There…” he said with a warm and gentle voice. “That wasn’t so bad after all, was it? Didn’t hurt a bit.” By now Fluttershy got beet red. “Aw don’t be shy! Your kiss was really good for your first one. Did you enjoy your first kiss?”
Nodding, she squeaked a bit, what prompted him to smile. “Fluttershy, I hope you will find a certain someone who takes and accepts you just the way you are.” Tickling her ear a bit, he stood up and went into the kitchen, where the others were preparing some snacks. Pinkie Pie beamed happily at the bowl of nachos she prepared.

The spicy treat was something Tyler told her as well and it was a nice variety from all the sugar,
“Oooohhh… THESE turned out quite good, don’t you think, Tyler?”

He looked at the bowl, smiled and dipped one of the nachos into the hot sauce before eating it,
“Mh-mh-mh! Pinkie! Fose mafos are fo good!” He gulped down and took another, while looking to her. “You made them crispier this time. Now that’s something I like! PLUS your nachos taste better than the ones from my world! Must be because yours are strictly without chemicals.”

The pink earth pony cocked her head,
“Well, duh! Nopony wants to eat chemicals! I mean really! The thought of eating something like that is just silly. Why do humans do that?”

Tyler shrugged and shook his head,
“We have chemicals that make taste food in a way it’s usually doesn’t. This doesn’t harm one, but Zecora has some herbs and spices that work the same way… which reminds me…” With a mischievous grin he looked at Rarity, who looked at the plate he prepared earlier. On it were some hamburgers.

She marveled the decoration of them,
“My! Tyler, what’s this? It looks like a sandwich, yet it’s hot and steamy. And what is this brown mass between? It’s not chocolate…”

Tyler leaned in with a grin,
“Care to take a bite? It will please your taste buds, I promise!”

With a gasp and a smile, the white unicorn levitated one of the hamburgers to her mouth and took a good chunk right out of it. The taste was quite new to her,
“Well… I say… There’s salad and tomato in it and I taste pickles and sauce… But there’s one taste I can’t identify…”

Tyler giggled with closed eyes, trying to fight the laughter,
“It’s meat-taste!”

The next second, Rarity’s eyes widened and the hamburger fell down to the floor,
“M-m-meat? YOU SERVED ME MEAT?!?” The others turned around to her in a gasp.

Twilight shook her head in disbelief,
“Tyler! Eating meat is by far not healthy for us ponies!”

Rarity stepped back from the hamburger, trying to fight the urge to throw up in front of her friends. Tears welled in her eyes as her bottom lip shivered,
“I’ve… I’ve eaten meat… What a repulsive act of cannibalism! How could you do this to me, Tyler?”

Tyler chuckled a bit,
“Actually, Rarity… I didn’t!” With this the girls cocked their heads with a collective “Huh?” He then pointed to the bag he brought from Zecora. “It is tofu, folks! It’s similar to cheese, but made out of soy milk. It’s tasteless and Zecora managed to mix this together for me with a similar taste of meat. We were experimenting a lot for this. If I can’t eat meat all day, at least I can have the illusion of eating it.” He then knelt before Rarity. “I’m sorry I startled you with this prank. I would never really do this to you. Can you forgive me?” Frowning at him, Rarity then raised her chin in disapproval with an audible “Hmph!”. Tyler bowed his head. “Come on… a pardon for me, Lady Rarity?”

Gasping at him, she giggled a bit,
"Aw… Darling, you always make me melt with your words…” With that she bonked the upper side of his head with her hoof in a scolding manner.” You are forgiven… This time!” Trotting out of the kitchen with a giggle, she looked at Twilight and Applejack. “The day you leave him, I’ll get him! So you watch it, girls…”

Rainbow nudged Tyler into the rib cage,
“I say, T-Man… That prank was a close call… especially with Rarity.”

“I’d never do that to you girls. You should know that by now.” He replied before cleaning up the tofu burger on the ground. “So… Who of you girls is courageous enough to give the taste of meat a try?”

Twilight stepped forth, eying the burgers,
“I must say I’m a bit curious. Since we ponies never eat meat, because it’s a health hazard and a despicable act against nature… But with this I could at least try to imagine what carnivores find in it…” She levitated one burger and took a chunk out of it, chewed a bit on it and gulped. “Interesting… But I can’t say I like it.” Tyler shrugged and looked at the others, trying to persuade more of the girls to try it.

Fluttershy simple shook her head while Pinkie waved the thought away,
“I’m not trying this meat stuff, I’ll stick with cupcakes.”

For some reason, Rainbow stepped away a few steps from Pinkie,
“Um… T-Man… I’m not the type for meat-taste. Not my kind of stunt, you know?”

Tyler gave it another shrug before taking the plate.
“Only more for me…”

A few minutes later, the girls were giving each other makeovers while Tyler and Spike played cards and had a burger once in a while. Spike had tried a burger, but claimed that he would prefer tofu with diamond taste. Twilight, now with a mud mask on her face looked over to Tyler,
“So Tyler… Is there anything you can tell me about Earth’s stuff that doesn’t endanger Equestria’s safety?”

Thinking for a minute, he back a bit,
“Hmmm… Not dangerous stuff, huh? Let’s see… Oh yeah! I think the idea of the internet will please you, Twilight.”

As the girls all cocked their heads, Twilight leaned over his head,
“What’s… an internet?”

“The internet is a network of databases, formerly intended for military use, but nowadays used by everyone to spread news, information, messages and entertainment.” With a chuckle he looked into baffled faces, so he continued. “A compendium of the entire human knowledge; a library, theater, playground and post office in one, open and accessible for everyone directly from home.”

The eyes of the Mane Six became wide as they listened to them. Twilight became visibly excited,
“Wow… And how do you access this ‘internet’?”

Tyler now caressed her chin, only to remember the mud mask and cleaned his fingers with a handkerchief,
“Well, we call it a personal computer, or PC in short. That’s a medium sized box manufactured in a factory that calculates tremendous amounts of data and presents us the result on the ‘computer screen’. Please don’t ask me about the specifics now. The whole thing works like a book page, only with technology and you can interact with it. However… man, how do I put this into terms you can understand? You have to establish a connection to the internet with your PC and switch it on like you switch on the lights in a room. And then, once the PC is activated and has internet connection, you can go to a web page. Such a web page can include text, pictures, a movie or music. So yeah! One could say the internet is the biggest library on earth, a well of information. But it’s also one of the funniest places on earth and the one where some of the most misbehaving people give you their opinion if you like it or not.”

While most of the girls were staring at Tyler mouths agape, Pinkie was excited to hear about the funniest place on Earth. Twilight on the other hand beamed as she took note. That was so exciting to imagine, something of that extent could connect so many ponies together in friendship no matter how far they are away from each other. This would make such a fine addition to her next report to Princess Celestia,
“Great! Anything else? Maybe something about nature?”

Tyler nodded and thought for a bit,
“Nature, huh? Sure… How about Astrophysics? We humans theorize that there are objects in outer space, so densely packed together, we call them singularities. Or with a more common name: Black holes.”

Rainbow cocked her head,
“A hole in the sky? How’s that supposed to be possible?”

Tyler shook his head,
“Not precisely a hole like a hole in the ground, Rainbow. You girls all know what gravity is? The force that pulls you to the ground when you fall down?” As the girls nodded, he continued. “You see, a black hole has so much gravity, it pulls everything in. Literally everything! Nothing can escape from this pull, not even light. Black holes are the most destructive objects we humans expect in the universe. Actually, no one ever saw one with our telescopes. That is because they don’t emit light like stars or galaxies, but other celestial objects spin around them.”

The girls looked at him with big eyes. Pinkie on the other hand giggled,
“So hungry they swallow up even light? Boy, talk about gluttony!”

While they all giggled, Twilight looked at him,
“You humans seem to explore even more than we ponies do. Your universe seems so vast with so many suns and planets. So much to learn…”

Tyler kissed Twilight on the cheek,
“I never saw those things for myself, we have mighty telescopes around in space near our planet that look deep into space for us. There we saw giant planets with storms big and powerful enough to level all of Equestria within seconds. And planets covered in ice. The universe is a beautiful, yet terrifying place, not fit to live in for most planets. The sights of galactic clouds truly are sights to remember. You would love it! Which reminds me… Remember me about this when we’re in Canterlot. I’d like to tell Luna about this. I guess she would love the inspiration.”

They then stood up and went to bed. While Applejack, Tyler and Twilight slept in one bed, Rarity and Fluttershy slept in another. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie slept in sleeping bags between them. Twilight shrieked for a bit in surprise, as her eyes went wide, followed by a nudge into Tyler’s rib cage and a sly grin,
“Where are you touching me, Casanova?”

Applejack chuckled,
“The same place where he’s touching me, Ah guess… Tyler… If yer not fightin’, yer sure want to please yer mares, don’t yer?”

Tyler leaned in to the orange earth pony and gave her a deep kiss,
“After months of fighting void monsters, paramilitary cultists and Changelings… Can you blame me for it?”

Cuddling now with Tyler, both mares closed their eyes and enjoyed the intimacy with him. All three were interrupted as the other girls leaned in and sighed in a girly manner,
“Oh! Don’t mind us…” Rarity gasped. “You three look lovely!”

Tyler chuckled slightly embarrassed,
“However… We shouldn’t forget one other mare here. Spike? Take a note, please.”

The little dragon nodded and raised a scroll and a quill,
“Great! Maybe that would stop you from those gross mushy gushy stuff for some time…”

Tyler arched a finger and chuckled,
“Like you don’t like to cuddle, champ!” He then harrumphed and dictated the letter.

Dear Luna,
How are things over at Canterlot? I hope you endure the nights without us very good and I’m happy to report to you that since you started your Royal Canterlot Canto, the nightlife in Ponyville flourished to a historical peak. I’m very proud of your efforts to create the nights even more romantic for all the couples out there. Already we’re anticipating our sleepover in Canterlot in four days and I’m eager to see my bad little girl of the night.
In love,

Tyler

After hearing this, Rainbow snickered,
“Bad girl of the night? Tyler, you old hound, you… You two actually have nicknames for each other?”

He simply shrugged,
“Well, why not? Doesn’t she deserve to be treated like the girl next door?”

Pinkie Pie looked out of the window,
“Vinyl Scratch?”

Shaking his head with a sigh, he continued,
“No, Pinkie… it’s an archetype from the human world. Often used in romantic stories… The girl next door is beautiful, kind and honest. Like…” He thought for a bit. “Yeah, the kind of girl you always dreamed of but always were too shy to ask out.”

Pinkie then returned to her sleeping bag,
“Oh! Oh yeah! That description suits her in a way. Nopony would even dare to think about asking one of the princesses out. Well, except you.”

“And Shining Armor…” Twilight added with a chuckle.

Rainbow beamed,
“Yeah! It takes guts to ask out an alicorn! I’m not even sure if I would ask out an alicorn stallion. But then again, the princesses surely might be interested in him as well.”

It was then that Spike belched and another black scroll appeared,
“Here you go, Tyler… The daily late night letter from her… And with this I’ll go to bed. I’m tired.”

Tyler nodded and opened the scroll,
“Thank you for staying up so late for us, Spike. You’ve earned your slumber, champ. We’ll stay quiet from now on.” Now Tyler and his two girls read the letter.

I greet thee, my beloved Tyler. And thou both as well, Twilight and Applejack.
Words do not serve me well enough to express my feelings for thee all as I’m eternally thankful for thou three to let me into thy herd and guiding me to the way of romance and love. After so many years of trying and failure, I’m so happy to finally have a way to bring the ponies of Equestria closer to the night. My night doesn’t need to be eternal, only less frightening to the ponies.
And to show my gratitude, it is my personal pleasure to report to thee that the temporary humanization spell has finally reached readiness. With it, a mare in heat should finally be able to beget a foal with a human. I’m certain thou will use this spell wisely, my Dark Companion.
In eternal love,

Luna

While Rainbow snickered at the nickname, Applejack became bumpy,
“Whoa nelly! That’s a dream come true, Tyler! Ah’m so excited over this. Are ya excited, too?”

He nodded. “That’s good news no doubt. Seems to me your wish might come true soon, Applejack…” He pulled her closer to his face and glanced into her big emerald eyes.

They were now decorated with the diamond like glitter of little tears of joy as she nodded,
“A foal from you…” Applejack shivered a bit. “My… look at me, y’all! Ah’m shaking in excitement! That’s new!”

Tyler now gave her forehead a kiss before he pulled both girls in, snug as a bug,
“Let’s go to sleep folks. It already was a long evening…” It was not long after this that the library was asleep safe and sound.

* * * * *

As Tyler opened his eyes, he was all alone in a hall with two doors,
“What’s this, a dream? I was in the library a moment ago…” With this the two doors swung open and Celestia and Luna entered the room. While both eyed him like a piece of meat, he more and more got uncomfortable with the situation. Why was he here with both of them? Why were they in his dreams?

Celestia now approached Tyler,
“Sooo… What’s it going to be, young boy? Bright and flirtatious?”

Luna on the other side of him leaned against him,
“Or dark and romantic?”

While they encircled him, both were smacking their flanks with their wings looking at him in a seducing manner,
“Kinky and adventurous? “

“Or nocturnal and mysterious?”

Both smiled at him, trying their best to seduce him. He gulped and his brow twitched for a second. Something seemed heavily amiss,
“Uh… I think the question is: Why are you letting it sound like I have to choose here? Don’t you want to be in the same herd?”

But strangely the two alicorns didn’t seem to listen, as Luna continued,
“I’m so glad! So glad to have thou around me! Since I know thee, thy company made me forget about the loneliness of the past, making me a better pony.”

Grasping for words, Tyler stammered a bit,
“O-okay… I’m glad you’re feeling better… But really! I must insist to know why you’re both here in my dream!”

“Why, to have fun with you, young master…” Celestia now came closer, licking her lips. “After millennia of all that obedience finally we found someone appealing to heart and soul… someone courageous enough to stand up to us to be of equal. Oh the thought alone makes me hot for you… I have to taste what you can give…”

He raised a finger in protest,
“Now, Celestia… Bad tongues could claim this is some sort of ancient pedophilia… Or do you call it pedofillya?”

But both alicorns grinned as Celestia leaned down to him,
“It wouldn’t be my first kink with you…”

As her mouth dived into his crotch, Tyler’s eyes went wide open and in the next moment he was sitting in his bed, screaming in shock, before calming down the next second. As the girls around him looked at him with wide eyes in their places in bed, he sighed and closed his eyes,
“Now THAT dream was somewhat awkward…” Twilight and Applejack looked at each other, before they stood up and looked up to him.

Applejack laid a hoof on his leg,
“Yer OK, Sugarcube? Ya screamed! Was it a nightmare?”

He shook his head,
“Nah… Not something like that… Just Luna and Celestia… Doing weird things…”

Hearing this prompted Twilight to arch a brow and cock her head,
“OK… Luna is part of the herd as far as I concern. But what was that about Princess Celestia?”

Tyler waved it away,
“Nothing special… She only wants to be part of the herd as well.”

It just slipped out of his mouth as he realized with wide eyes of what he just said. The girls now all stared at him with enormous eyes. Rainbow shook her head,
“Princess Celestia! Like… THE Princess Celestia?”

Rarity shook her head as well,
“The most regal pony who ever walked on equestrian soil?”

Tyler sighed,
“And it is THIS behavior of all of her subjects that made ME attract her I suppose! You guys all praise her SO much she developed a behavior I wouldn’t expect her to have! I mean I was fine with her first, but then I more and more saw another side of her. The one of the seductress!” That statement made the girls gasp in shock.

Twilight approached him,
“Princess Celestia is my mentor, Tyler. And I never noticed ANYTHING like that! You know I love you, but stop to talk about her like that at once!”

He arched a brow and looked at her with his mouth open,
“Oh, so you don’t believe me? Fine! Spike, come here, please! I want you to deliver another message from me to Canterlot with Dragonmail.”

Dear Celestia,
The time has come and I let the cat out of the bag. But the girls don’t believe me. Please confirm or revoke that I speak the truth about your wish to join our herd as well.
With respect,

Tyler

As Twilight read these lines, she shook her head,
“Don’t make a fool of yourself, Tyler! You’re ruining the evening! There’s no bucking way she would be interested into our herd! She’s way above that!”

But Tyler shrugged and gave Spike the scroll,
“In that case I’M the one who’s in jeopardy, not you, Twilight…” Spike looked at Twilight for a moment, before he sent the mail.

Shaking her head, Twilight turned away from Tyler,
“Stupid! You just made a walking joke out of yourself! Believe me, she’s more than that! I’ve known her most of my life and she’s like a second mother to me.” But then Spike belched and another scroll appeared.

And when he opened it, his eyes widened,
“T-Twilight… I… You…”

Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance,
“What is it, Spike?” Levitating the scroll out of his claws, she read along the lines as her eyes widened instantly. ”ROYAL LETTER OF APPLICATION???” With this she fainted and fell to the ground.
As Applejack and the others approached her, the scroll lied open on the ground.

ROYAL LETTER OF APPLICATION

Dear Twilight Sparkle, Tyler Jones and Applejack Apple,
It has come to my attention that there is room for another mare in your herd and I’m interested in joining your unique herd. Due to the fact that each of you saved Equestria from grave danger several times already, I deem your herd interesting beyond ordinary limits. I would love to add my skills and experience to yours, if you let me. Please consider my application like you would consider anypony’s application.
Sincerely yours,

Princess Celestia

The girls now looked baffled at each other, then down to the scroll again and then looked with sly grins to Tyler. All except Rarity, who fainted as well and lied on the floor with Twilight. Rainbow hovered right beside him,
“I say we skin this daredevil here for going for the impossible! You’re going to burn your hands on that girl, T-Man! She’s the most regal of all ponies!”

Fluttershy gulped nervously,
“I… I knew you impressed Luna and since she needed all the kindness… But… Oh my… If Princess Celestia… the… The apex of kindness and love wants to be with you… I…”

Tyler immediately frowned,
“If you bow before me, I’ll sock you guys! I’m still the same guy as before and I don’t want extra treatment! And neither does Celestia. She already said so. And there are things going on in Canterlot that need to remain secret, you hear? Although she wants to be treated like anyone else, Princess Celestia has her secret nature as well. A dark side nopony should know about. We’re talking about ‘Top Secret’ things! I for one didn’t know how to approach this properly, but they both told me they would contact you.” He sighed. “Obviously this contact was made now…” He lifted Twilight up and carried her back to bed.

Applejack stood up on these words and took Tyler with her downstairs into the kitchen,
“Sugarcube… Let’s talk honest for a while… All this talk about Princess Celestia… Yer said yer saw a side in her no one else saw? What was it? Did she gave yer a hard time?”

“It’s not exactly that… She… She provoked me with sexual allusions and puns. Until I lost it and smacked her flank.”

Applejack’s jaw dropped in an instant,
“Ya… Ya gave the royal flank a spanking? Why are ya not in the dungeon yet?”

“That’s what I feared as well, AJ… But then her shocked face turned into one of lust! She… She actually enjoys being punished in that way. She…” Looking around to make sure no one else was around, he lowered his voice. “She loves to be dominated…”

Applejack looked him into the eyes while he spoke and finally sighed while closing her eyes,
“Ah can’t sense a lie in what yer telling me, Tyler… so either yer telling the truth or yer crazy enough to believe it yerself. Ah’m ready to hear her out, if ya ask me. But Ah don’t know about Twilight… Also, did ya had sex with her already?”

Tyler arched back,
“No, I’m not like that! But she demanded a thorough spanking before the conflict within the Amasian Enclave.”

The orange earth pony nodded,
“Good! Because frankly, Ah wouldn’t forgive ya if ya buck astray from the herd without consent! Even if it comes to the princess.”

With a grin he caressed her chin,
“AJ, do you really think I would neglect the womb who promised me children for a piece of royal flank? Come now… I ran from a horde of crazy mares to remain faithful to both of you and Twilight back then. There’s no way I wouldn’t consider you when introducing a new mare.”

Both embraced each other now,
“Ah know, Sugarcube… Ya may be lucky with the mares, but yer faithful to yer herd mates. That’s why Ah love ya so gosh damn much…”

* * * * *

The night passed and as Tyler stood up, he decided to take a look into the logbook he found in the Enclave. As he studied the logbook over and over again, Twilight gave him a concerned look. By that time all the others went home again,
“Tyler… You’ve been reading this book five times now… Are you going to read it a sixth time as well?” He looked up and shook his head. She was of course right. This ship got to Equestria, but this didn’t meant that he could go back the same way.

With a tired moan, he got up and stretched himself,
“You’re right, enough of this. The rest of this puzzle isn’t here, no reason to continue.”

Twilight laid a hoof on his arm as he leaned on the table,
“Tyler… You’re not going to look for a way home to Earth to leave us, do you?” He looked down to her and saw her worried face. Was he looking for a way back home? Why was this logbook so heavily on his mind?

He then raised his hand and caressed her cheek as she leaned her head in his palm,
“I’m not going to leave you, honey. Never! I think it’s just curiosity… And maybe others want to return to Earth once they’re here. But then again… Maybe we shouldn’t allow them to return and tell Earth about this place…”

“Would it help you to know that I’m scared about you studying this book?” This sentence from her made him gulp and as she opened her eyes, he saw tears in her face.

“If it’s so bad… Then either destroy it or give it to Princess Celestia. She’s wise; she’ll know what to do with this.” With this he kissed the tip of her horn. “Twilight, you know I love you… And I will never do anything to hurt you or make you feel bad. Remember this, always. The day I raise my hand against you or the others will be the day I’m not myself. And I entrust you to do whatever is needed to correct this situation. With any means necessary, you hear?”

She nodded and embraced him,
“Thank you for stopping this research for me, Tyler…”

As they parted from each other, they both kissed before he went to the door,
“I think I’ll spend some time in town. Maybe I’ll go to the Carousel Boutique to get myself a new pouch for my belt. Or maybe she can fix the old one… Maybe it will be a wonderful day in Ponyville” But as he opened the door, a heavy shower was over the city. “Did I miss anything? Since when was it to rain today?”

Twilight came to his side,
"That’s because you weren’t listening earlier. Rainbow mentioned it while you were studying that book. The weather patrol has to catch up with the rain this week, so they have to do this right now for an hour.”

Just as he wanted to close the door, Rarity ran inside,
“Oh, this weather patrol ruffians! The rain completely surprised me! My beautiful mane! It’s ruined!”

Tyler rolled his eyes in slight annoyance as he closed the door and fetched her a towel,
“No it’s not!”

“Yes, it IS!” The elegant white unicorn insisted. “I’m soaking wet!”

As he looked to her, he chuckled. She really was wet and her mane was in disorder. He then gave her the towel,
“Oh, you’re paying too much attention to one tiny detail… That wet look still is adding something to your inner beauty. And isn’t it your natural beauty that makes you stand out?”

Rarity looked at herself in front of a mirror and began to smile,
“I guess I get what you mean, Darling… It’s like I get out of a waterfall on a crystal clear mountain lake and give the stallion before me my most lascivious smile…” She gave the mirror a smile and wiggled her flank a bit. “Unladylike, but still… It HAS its charm…” Her eyes then widened. “No… No! I shall not succumb to such behavior!” With a nervous chuckle, she looked at Tyler. “At least not in front of anypony… Maybe for MY stallion… If I ever manage to find him, that is. You don’t have a secret doppelganger of yourself, Tyler?” As he shook his head with a smile, she sighed. “Let us never speak of this again…”

When the rain ceased, Rarity had remade her mane well enough to go back outside, but remained wary of the clouds. Tyler rolled his eyes with a smile and handed her a red and white umbrella,
“Now come on! Such a big unicorn and so afraid of so little drops of water…”

* * * * *

Later in the evening, both Tyler and Twilight went to Sweet Apple Acres after they brought Spike to Rarity’s place, "Another night over at the farm. Remind me not to eat so much this time, Twilight… Granny Smith cooks all too well.”

Twilight giggled at this,
“Don’t worry, I can relate. Harvest time is coming soon, isn’t it? Do you want me to help?”

Caressing her mane, he smiled,
“Tempting offer, Twilight, but I will decline. I won’t hinder your studies so I can have an easier way with the harvest. Also, AJ and I make a good harvest team. It’s what brought us two together in the first place.”

With a nod, Twilight looked towards the farm house,
“I see… You’re trying to spend time with every mare with the things she excels in. That’s one way to organize the herd a bit. But remember not to ban a herd mate from activities.”

“What? No! No…. It’s not like that! We can spend some time together during harvest time if you want to. I was just thinking about you and your studies. I mean, they mean so much to you!”

This caused Twilight to smile at him,
“But not as much as you mean to me.”

“Awwww… That’s sweet of you, Twilight…”

By now they’ve reached the farm house and Granny Smith was sitting in her rocking chair. Tyler greeted her with a friendly nod,
“Good day, Granny Smith! It’s another beautiful day on the farm!”

The old mare smiled at him,
“That it is, mah boy! That it is! My, what a fine herd y’all are. Applejack’s beaming all day since she’s with ya, Tyler. Ah never saw her that happy.”

Applejack appeared in the orange light of dusk and smiled at her herd mates,
“Howdy, y’all! Ya sure come early. Uh, but Ah’m afraid this week it’s a bit tricky with the sleepover at mah place. Ya see, Ah’ll have to stand guard outside with Big Mac tonight.”

This caused Tyler to beam,
“Great! I wasn’t camping since I came to Equestria! A big camp fire, marshmallows, coffee…”

But the country mare arched a brow,
“Yer sure ya both don’t want to go inside? Big Mac and mahself have to stay focused, so we won’t have much time for ya.”

Tyler however waved it away.
“Oh, we don’t mind… Actually we could help you guys out if you want to.”

“Thanks! Ya know the Timberwolves seemed to have a tough time lately, which means they are not as easy to repel as usual. That’s why we have to tell them it’s not healthy to come near the farm. It’s important! So if ya want to help, don’t slack off!” As Twilight and Tyler nodded, both the Apple siblings took their places once the sun was set. Big McIntosh sat by the camp fire cooking a can of coffee as Applejack went on a ramp to a tower, where she unveiled a cannon with four barrels. “Behold, y’all! The Apple Cannon 2000! Repels Changelings, Parasprites, Timberwolves and Flim Flam Brothers!”

Tyler cocked his head,
“What’s this? Some sort of paramilitary wonder?”

Big Mac on the other hand played the guitar and looked to Tyler,
“Hey look, pardner. Me and mah sister are earth ponies. That means we solve problems. Not problems like ‘Who’s best Pony?’ That would fall within the purview of yer conundrums of philosophy. We’re talking about practical problems.” Applejack pointed the cannon at the Timberwolvesnear the edge of the forest and two Apples slammed into them, causing the predators to back off with a painful howl.

Big Mac continued,
“For instance: How are we goin’ stop some pack of Timberwolves of rippin’ us and the family a new one?” Another three shots left the cannon and Tyler winced at the painful sounds of the wolves. “The answer?” He grinned broadly as a barrage of shots were fired into the pack still lurking on the edge of the Everfree Forest. “Use an Apple Cannon! And if that won’t work…” With that Applejack aimed her shotgun and shot into the darkness, prompting a painful howl of another one of the beasts. “Use more Apple Cannon! Like AJ’s large apple caliber ‘Hydrakiller’ hunting shotgun with apple seed pellets designed by her… Built by her… And ya best hope not to be a Timberwolf pack when this baby’s around…”

Tyler nodded in silent marvel,
“Wow… You actually build a fast reload, rapid fire spudgun that shoots apples? When did you build all of this? We could have used all of that during the conflict with the Changelings.”

Big Mac shruggedm
“AJ got the idea when ya were gone. She said the farm needs to be protected if anything should happen.”

Twilight nodded in approval,
"We organized an armed militia in your absence, Tyler. The remaining royal guards went out to the cities of Equestria to ensure each unicorn knows at least one way to attack and to defend. Unicorns watched the night sky in case of Changeling attacks. We also had batteries of unicorns in Canterlot that would have served as air defense.”

Tyler’s eyes narrowed,
“And all this misery because of the madness of one Changeling Queen…” After two hours, Applejack and Big McIntosh switched places and she sat beside Tyler, her hoof rubbing in his crotch. Tyler chuckled a bit. “Let’s wait a bit, honey… The more I save up, the better later in heat season…” But she already nibbled on his earlobe. Truly earth ponies had a stronger desire than other kinds of ponies or maybe that was just her.

The next instant Apple Bloom jumped out of a bush and beamed at them,
“Howdy, Tyler! Yer making sweet love to mah big sis again?”

Applejack shrieked up and turned to her little sister,
“Apple Bloom! Ya should be asleep already!” Tyler chuckled a bit. Saved by the filly… he thought. Applejack now approached her young sister. “Go on! To the farm house with ya!”

But Apple Bloom galloped to Tyler and put a hoof on his leg,
“But Ah want to listen to Tyler’s stories about Earth as well! Tomorrow is Saturday, there’s no school anyway. Pleeeeaaaaaseee?”
She looked up to Tyler with big puppy eyes and he smiled as he pulled her in,
“Oh, alright! But only for tonight! Next time you listen to your big sister, you hear? She knows what she’s talking. And while we’re here on a farm, I’ll tell you something about plans we humans have for future farming. It is called… ‘Vertical Farming’!"

Apple Bloom cocked her little head,
“Vertiwhat?”

Tyler continued,
“Vertical farming, dear… The idea is to build a tower many stories high and on each floor are windows so that sunlight can come in. Like that crops could be harvested all year long.”

The eyes of the little filly grew wide. “Oh… Now Ah see! Instead of having one big orchard, ya stack many little ones on top of another. But why do ya want to do that?”

“There is not enough room for so many orchards on Earth to feed everyone and have balance with nature at the same time. There are many, many humans on Earth, Apple Bloom. Around seven billions that is…”He replied to her.

She cocked her head another time,“Is that much? Miss Cherilee only covered 100 with us in school yet.”

With a nod he wrote down in the dirt to visualize it for her,
“Well, you know 100. And 100 is ten times ten, right?” She nodded before he continued. Now… A billion is written like that…”

1.000.000.000

She gasped at the thought of that,
“So many humans? Gosh, Tyler... And yer the only one who made it here. Do ya miss Earth? Are ya feeling lonely?”

Tyler looked up to Applejack, before both exchanged smiles,
“No, Apple Bloom… I have many friends here and I feel good here with your sister, Twilight and the others. I don’t miss the hasty life back on Earth.” With that he embraced the little filly and looked over to Twilight, who smiled at him. And about an hour later, Tyler was asleep while the others watched over the edge of the Everfree Forest.

* * * * *

Tyler ran up a large spiral stair as something was lurking from deep down below. As he carefully leaned over the edge of the stairs he saw a bottomless dark pit. And something horrible was climbing up the stairs. It seemed to be two gigantic equine heads with monstrous snouts and razorsharp teeth, snapping at him as they climbed up to him. The sight alone was enough for him to keep running upwards,
“SHIT! SHIT!! SHIT!!! WHAT’S WITH THESE STRANGE DREAMS?!?” As he kept running, the quaking climbing of the two creatures came closer and they began screeching and howling as they got his scent. By now the creatures got on the same height as Tyler, but he simply kept running. No need to show them an invitation to take a bite. He could see that the creatures seemed to be two grimdark parodies of the princesses.

But unlike them, these two didn’t seem to be friendly or caring,
“MINE!!!! HE’S MINE!!!” yelled the dark one.

“I WANT TO HAVE A TASTE FROM YOU, BOY!!! SURELY YOU PREFER A MATURE BROOD MARE!!!!” screamed the white one. Tyler couldn’t see what was happening below him, but it appeared to be that the stairs were crumbling in a growing pace. As he stumbled on one of the stairs, he fell down. But as he got up again, the stairs crumbled away below him, letting him fall into the bottomless pit as the two giant creatures snapped at him.

With another scream, he awoke at the campfire, only to realize his surroundings. With a deep breath he closed his eyes,
“These dreams really are getting to me…”

As he looked up, he saw Big McIntosh drinking a big cup of coffee,
“Eeeeyup! Try to get some more sleep, pardner. We will wake yer if there’s something.”

After Tyler laid down again, he looked into Twilight’s worried face,
“Don’t worry… I’m fine… Just some bad dreams…”

Her hoof caressed his face now,
“Tyler… What’s with you and these dreams?”

He sighed in defeat, by now he couldn’t hide anything so easily from his mares; they knew him too well for that,
“Strange dreams about the princesses, you know? I’ll talk to them once we’re in Canterlot…” Luckily for Tyler, nothing more happened that night. As much as these dreams were a nuisance, they only came occasional and once per night.

* * * * *

As he stood up and spent some time with Twilight and the Apple family on the farm, he and Twilight said their goodbyes around 10 o’clock and went back on their way to Ponyville. Applejack smiled as she embraced Tyler,
“Ah’m sorry Ah hadn’t enough time to spoil ya the way Ah usually do, Tyler… Ya know how much Ah like to do gentle stuff with ya.”

He simply waved it away and kissed her,
“There will be time for that in Canterlot, AJ… You Twilight, Luna and myself…” Her flank shivered a bit in anticipation as he whispered this into her ear, but she showed some willpower in front of Apple Bloom and let her stallion go.

While Granny smiled at her granddaughter, Apple Bloom giggled at her big sister,
“Applejack, yer all dreamy eyes. Does love do that to yer?”

Looking at her little sister with a stern look first, Applejack then smiled mildly,
“Apple Bloom, one day ya will be old enough to see colts and stallions with completely different eyes. Then there’ll be one colt who will become yer entire world. THEN tell me yer not dreamy eyes either.”

With this Apple Bloom stared at her big sister with wide eyes and a deeply red face,
“Me? Kissing a colt? Ah…. Ah don’t know…”

Applejack now grinned,
“Oh, so you would rather kiss a filly?”

“Ewww, gross!” With a stretched tongue, the little filly now looked grim at her big sister. “Stop it, Applejack!”

Coming after Applebloom who ran away, Applejack grinned,
“Come here, ya little filly! Ah get ya a big smooch!”

While Twilight parted from Tyler on the way back home to get straight to the library, Tyler had some errands to do in town. Several ponies needed his assistance in maintenance issues and it took him three hours of carpenter work and several other things were fingers were better than hooves. After that he stretched himself and looked into the sky. Rainbow slept nice and calm on the little cloud above him and he thought for a bit, until a smile came up his face. A minute later his head slowly ascended through the cloud. The otherwise so lively and active athlete of a Pegasus mare slept like a baby and looked just as innocent as one. As he watched her for a few seconds he rubbed his chin before he nodded and descended again. A second later, his hand ascended through the clouds again to tap her head three times with his index finger, before the hand vanished back into the cloud.

Rainbow raised her head with sleepy eyes. Obviously another Pegasus wanted her for something,
“Huh? Yeah?” But there were no pegasi around. Looking around in wild wonder, she recognized something tickling her flank and jumped up on the cloud. “What the hay is going on?” Now she recognized a dirty giggle from beneath the cloud as she stuck her head through the cloud, she saw Tyler chuckling underneath.

As she harrumphed, he looked up, grinning mischievously,
“Got me!”

She looked down at him and saw he was levitating his boots and trousers,
“Nice move, but this isn’t very efficient flying…” He nodded and slowly sank down to the ground. But as he almost was on the ground, Rainbow tackled him down and nailed him down for good.

“I love you…”

Tyler looked up to her,
“Rainbow?” Before he could say anything else, the Pegasus mare leaned down and kissed him, prompting him to open his eyes wide. What the fuck? he thought in surprise. First the kiss surprised him, but then something warm dripped on his cheeks. Rainbow was… crying?

Tears ran down her cheeks and she sobbed into the kiss as she parted her lips from his,
“I love you, Tyler… I love you so bucking much… Too bad you’re already with AJ, Twilight and Luna… If you would be single, I’d like to set some records with you…“

Gulping now, he managed to free one arm and caressed her cheek,
“Come on, girl… Snap out of it… Don’t cry! It ruins your pretty face. You know, if you want to, I could talk to the others…

Closing her eyes and shaking her head she began to smile,
“I guess I’m too competitive to even share you with my friends. I would have the urge to best them in pleasing you. This probably won’t work. I won’t say it doesn’t hurt… because it does… But I had to confess to you, T-Man… Whatever you do, go make your mares happy, OK?”

Arching a brow, he smiled,
“What is it with you girls and me? But we’re still friends even though we’re no herd mates, right?”

She got off from him and chuckled,
“Don’t be ridiculous, T-Man! I’m way too awesome to let this take me down to the extent that I refuse to be your friend. You’re not a stallion of a supersized herd and you’re not stupid enough to give up all the mares for one ambitious mare, I have to accept this and I can accept this. Let’s call it bad timing.”

As he stood up, he chuckled,
“There may be another chance to get a human, Rainbow. I mean… it’s possible.”

“What do you mean?” she asked with a cocked head. “That Rainbow Gem is destroyed and you said you never wanted to risk things like that to happen again.”

With a nod he went to a bench with her,
“True. This gem should never be produced again. But during my time in the Enclave, I saw something from my world, a ship. This seems different from the way I came to this world. But sadly all the people who were on that ship died or almost died in a bad state when the ship crash-landed.”

Now this puzzled the cerulean Pegasus,
“What do you mean it landed? How can… Ships don’t fly! Unless they’re airships. And how did it land?”

Tyler shook his head,
“As a wreckage on the rocks of the Enclave. Like it fell out of the sky. And it fell hard enough to break the bones of the crew members as well. Which means there are several ways from my world to Equestria. That logbook of the Captain stated that this ship was a ship of World War 1, so it disappeared about a hundred years ago, but who knows… Maybe it wasn’t only sent through space but also time.”

Rainbow was visibly puzzled at this.
“Come again?”

“It means maybe I was sent from my present to your present without difference in time by the gem, but that ship might as well being sent from its present to your past. That I don’t know… I’m not an expert in human remains and their decay. But even a hundred years would be enough to rot a body away…”

Rainbow shook her head,
“Yeah… but I meant the term you used. World War… Sounds nasty…”

Tyler nodded,
“It probably is. A World War is when not only a few countries, but a few continents wage war with one another. But the second one was worse.”

The Pegasus wrinkled her nose,
“Wars are no fun, there’s nothing to win from them. And you? Did you see this second World War?”

Tyler chuckled,
“No, even that one was before my time. But the consequences were felt even decades after.” There was a short silence between them and he somehow got an awkward feeling. “So… You sure you’re OK, Rainbow?”

The cerulean Pegasus nodded, slightly annoyed this time,
“Again: Yeah, I am! I must get over it, I’m a professional! If I let my feelings get to me like that there’s no chance I’d be able to become one of the Wonderbolts!”

Tyler nodded at this last sentence. Obviously she tried to forget about this with working hard,
“OK … Tell you what: I want you and Twilight to help me learn how to fly better!”

This caused Rainbow to gasp and she had a wingboner in an instant,
“Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! You mean it, T-Man?”

"Why… Sure! Since I can fly only with magic, I thought with your expertise in flying and Twilight’s expertise in magic you both could help me. I mean I can lift off, but this is only good if I fall down a cliff or something. Slow ascent and descent. Not very efficient like you already said. Maybe you both can think of something with me?”

Tipping her chin, she inspected the human,
“Well, you don’t have wings. Which means the only way for you to fly is with magic and this means you’re limited to the amount of magic charged in you. I’m sure me and Twilight could think of something so you’re not a dead duck in the air. But still, remember it all has a magic limit for you. Keep track of your magic, you hear? I’m not eager to find you as a human pancake on the ground. Now… I’m sure you’re not the type who wants butterfly wings…” Butterfly wings? He didn’t understand entirely, but he got the idea that this was one of Twilight’s spells she was talking about. And for the rest of the day, they discussed this matter with Twilight.

* * * * *

It was late afternoon on the next day as the train stopped in Canterlot and the three herd mates stepped outside,
“Here we are, girls… Lots of things to discuss now, aren’t there? The spell, those dreams and a certain application letter…”Twilight sighed and was visibly nervous. She had the scroll with her in the saddlebag and was now thinking in overdrive of what to say when facing her mentor. But Tyler noticed her concern and patted her mane. “Don’t worry, Twilight… We will talk with her in peace and quiet and you will have all the time to clear everything.” This calmed her down. Tyler’s right! We will talk to her and it will be fine… With a deep breath she closed her eyes before looking up to him again with a smile. They all now knew each other so well by now they could see clearly when one of them was stressed. A strong bond held this herd together.

In the chambers of Princess Celestia the princess awaited them already,
“Good evening, you all. I’m glad you all came to see me before spending the night with Luna. Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student… How are you?” But just as she wanted to hug the unicorn, Twilight held the letter of royal application up to her like a shield. It looked like Twilight held a study with an F grade to her mother, uncertain what punishment to expect. But then the princess sat down to her haunches and sighed. “Please sit down next to me, Twilight…” Twilight did so and looked up to her mentor.

“Twilight… You see, every 500 years Luna and I enter heat season. But this isn’t the reason why we wish to have Tyler around us. It only escalated the situation… As he probably told you already, we recognized the way he reacts to us on a more… equal level. Unlike everypony else, he doesn’t obey every word we say. And that is a very refreshing thing when everypony else bows down in an instant we enter the room. With Tyler, we can forget once in a while that we are the rulers of this country and act with someone else like you act with your friends. Can you see the dilemma here?”

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other, before Applejack looked up to the princess,
“Ah say… We’ve experienced Luna to be somepony who wants to be around others and had problems due to her long absence in Equestria… and couldn’t fit in because she didn’t know how… We were fine with her being around him since she yearned for love. But Princess Celestia… Yer loved by everypony! Ya want even more?”

Celestia shook her head,
“Applejack, I’m afraid you misunderstood me… Every citizen in Equestria loves me because of my reign since the last thousands of years. My subjects love and adore me as their ruler, not because of who I am. Everypony thinks I don’t make mistakes and have the perfect, most regal personality… There is no questioning in that! But Tyler questions it. He wants to see behind the curtain of royalty and wants to see Luna and me for who we truly are. That is why we learned to love him.”

Applejack nodded in thought,
“Ah see… Yeah… Ah know Ah would go crazy if Ah had to behave like Rarity all the time… Ah think Ah can relate to the thought. Being perfect all the time must be horrible and having someone who takes yer for who yer truly are sure is a blessing.” Looking over to Twilight, the orange earth pony nodded. “Ah’m fine with her in the herd, Twilight…”

Twilight on the other hoof eyed her mentor thoroughly,
“What about my studies, Princess Celestia? Would we still be mentor and student? Would we be on equal ground? What if he decides to be with you and not with us anymore? I-”

Celestia raised a hoof and cut Twilight off in midsentence,
“This I won’t allow! He will only be with all of us or none of us! Luna and I already talked with him about that and we won’t steal him away from you both.” The princess then snickered. “But it’s sweet that your studies are your greatest concern, Twilight… Yes, we will still be mentor and student… But in the same time, we will be much more. We will spend much more time together as well… Would you like that?”

Twilight now beamed happily,
“Would I like that? Yesyesyesyesyesyes!”

With this they got up and went to Luna’s chambers, where the princess of the night was still in her slumber. Tyler gestured to the others to remain silent as he leaned over Luna’s body. As he bowed over her head, Luna felt his lips on hers, what prompted her to awaken softly. As she opened her eyes, she blushed,
“Oh my! Did I oversleep? As she raised, she saw the others and her blush grew deeper. “I…”

But her sister only smiled,
“Good evening, Lulu… I hope you had a pleasant slumber as always…”

As Luna readied herself for the night, the others made themselves comfortable. For the first time, Celestia joined the group and Tyler tried to ease Twilight down, for she was the one who had the most tension in her at this time. Once it was time for the storytelling part, Tyler took a lute and played a bit as they sat together,
"I begin this time. As for today, here in Canterlot, we’re together with two alicorn girls of royalty… So why don’t I tell you a story about royalty from my world? This is about a country named England.” And with this he began a song. Both Celestia and Luna listened closely, both of them were eager to hear something about Earth as well.

“A legend is sung
Of when England was young
And knights were brave and bold

The good king had died
And no one could decide
Who was rightful heir to the throne

It seemed that the land
Would be torn by war
Or saved by a miracle alone
And that miracle appeared
In London town
The sword in the stone”

Putting the lute away, Tyler looked at the girls with a smile,
“And below the hilt, in letters of gold, were written these words: ‘Whoso pulleth this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king.’” He stood above Twilight and held her horn loosely, but posed as if he was pulling hardly. Twilight didn’t liked this, but trusted him not to fool around with her horn. “Many tried for the sword with all their strength, but none of them could move the sword nor stir it.” He then let go of her horn and pulled a blanket over them both. “So the miracle had not worked. And England was still without a king. And in time, the marvelous sword was forgotten…”
He leaned forward and looked around suspiciously. “This was a dark age... without law and without order. Men lived in fear of one another, for the strong preyed upon the weak…”

As he told them the story of the sword in the stone and King Arthur, all of the girls listened excited. While Celestia was interested in the character of King Arthur, Luna was interested in Morgana while Twilight was excited about Merlin. After he ended the story, Celestia smiled at him,
“My… What a precious tale… And inspiring, too! It seems to me that whoever created this sword, must have planned to make sure that no man with lust for power can become king, but someone with a good and caring heart… What a great lesson to all of us…”

Luna now beamed,
“Now, let me tell you a story of mine!” As the herd mates put their attention to the young princess, Luna began to tell her tale. “It was a dark and moody night in Canterlot as the silence was utterly broken by a scream. Two burglars had stolen the bits from a local shopkeeper and as she screamed for the guards, they galloped away. The scoundrels tried to flee, but the Maiden of the Night was on their hoofs. They maybe escape from the guards, but not from her ever watchful eyes. There is no escape as her justice is swift and grim. And with an agile step she landed in front of them, her shining eyes narrowing as she eyed the frightened rascals step backwards in fear.

But violence sprang to their minds as they rediscovered their courage with the means of weaponry. A pistol and a knife were raised against her. But the Dark Maiden discharged a spell to disarm them and leaped into one of them, leaving him unconscious. The other however fought back and kicked at her, but her swift and agile moves saved the Dark Maiden from being hit. And with a decisive kick she managed to knock him out. And by the time the guards arrived, the two scoundrels were tied up, much to the wonder of the guards. Unseen of anypony, the Dark Maiden continued to stood guard over the night.”

Twilight now cocked her head,
“And who’s that hero? Mare Do Well?”

“Oh, didn’t thou know?” With a stern look on her face, Luna looked at Twilight and raised a dark voice. “I am Batmare!”

This prompted Tyler to laugh loud. It wasn’t only the sentence, but the way Luna said it and as she saw the wished result, she laughed as well,
“Luna, You really get something out of these comic book heroes. Batman is your favorite, eh?”

Celestia chuckled,
“She’s growing keener on her night watch since you told her about this, Tyler. In fact, Luna is very proud of those two criminals she caught that night.”

Luna smiled and held her chin high proudly,
“Why of course! I take personal pride from making sure that everypony can have pleasant dreams at night…”

Tyler's laughter then got sober,
“Speaking of dreams…” Tyler then told the princesses about his recent nightmares during the sleepover nights and Twilight added how this worried her.

Luna lowered her head,
“I’m sorry, Tyler… I think our alicorn sub consciousness try to make deeper bonds with thee…”

Celestia nodded,
“It CAN happen… It must be because despite our age of several millennia, Luna and I are still young in alicorn terms. Our mother…” Celestia hesitated for a bit, surely this wasn’t her most favorite topic. “Let’s say she claimed that she was hundreds of times older than we both are now.” Tyler nodded although he couldn’t really use this information for anything since he didn’t knew the age of those two. “ Young alicorns in love can try to build up a strong telepathic bond with the one they love. But don’t worry, Tyler… We will meditate about this from now on. You shouldn’t be harassed by those dreams anymore. We’ll just have to bring our thoughts for you in harmony. Thank you for telling us.”

Applejack now harrumphed a bit,
“To mention another topic… Luna? Ya said that yer spell is ready? May we see the result of yer hard work?”

Blinking at Applejack for a second, Luna then caught up,
“Oh yes! The temporary humanization spell! It lasts only one night for safety measures. But to present the result, I need a volunteer!” Without hesitation, Applejack stepped forth, prompting the other herd mates to smile. Luna looked at her. “Why am I not surprised of thy reaction, Applejack?”

Celestia on the other hand looked at Luna with one arched brow,
“Luna? Do I have to remind you of the incident during your experiments with this spell before it reached readiness?”

Tyler looked up,
“What? What incident?”

Luna shook her head nervously with a chuckle as she raised a hoof,
“Nothing! Tia is jesting…”

But the princess of the sun remained stern,
“I am not! Poor Dusk Aegis! We had to put him into quarantine! The spell wasn’t ready yet, so he got a magical miss reaction from it. It turned out to be some sort of flu reaction. Every time he sneezes as a unicorn, he transforms into a human and every time he sneezes as a human he turns back into a unicorn. We will have to spend the whole next week to put this straight.”

Luna now narrowed her eyes,
“Nevertheless the spell now is ready! I would cast it on myself, if I weren’t in charge of the moon.”

Celestia grinned,
“And yet, you don’t have the 100% certainty to use it on yourself…”

Luna gritted her teeth,
“Oh, bite me!”

Applejack nudged Luna now,
“Ah’m ready if ya are, Luna… Ah trust ya.”

Harrumphing a bit, Luna nodded,
“Very well then, Applejack. Please come with me.”

Celestia on the other hand smiled at Twilight and hugged her,
“As for me, I have to leave you now, Twilight. I will see you in the morning after the sun is up again.”

The unicorn nodded and looked up to her mentor,
“I’m happy we could talk, Princess Celestia.”

The Princess of the sun now turned to her younger sister,
“You know I have faith in you, Lulu… But please… Please be careful with Applejack.”

Luna smiled at her older sister,
“Don’t worry… I wouldn’t harm any of our subjects…

As they left Luna’s chamber, Luna turned to Tyler,
“Tyler, please be a dear and wait for us in the great hall downstairs, will thou? I’d like to prepare Applejack a bit.”

Tyler cocked his head a bit, but shrugged finally,
“Take your time. But don’t forget about me.”

While he went down the other way to go downstairs, Luna lead her other herd mates to her office. Applejack arched a brow,
“Prepare me? What does that mean?”

“It means I don’t want him to witness thy first clumsy steps in thy altered body. Don’t thou two agree?”

Twilight thought about it for a second and nodded,
“Good thinking. This will make a nice surprise for him!”

As they entered Luna’s office, Luna took a quick look on her notes to make sure she got the spell right. With a nod, she turned to Applejack, who now gulped,
“Wait, yer transforming mahself into a human girl... Won’t that hurt?”

With a nervous chuckle, Luna shook her head as she charged her horn,
“No… but it might tickle… With this she tipped the point of her horn on Applejack and blue light engulfed the orange earth pony. Her mind was racing as her body began to feel numb. And soon after that, her body grew a bit in size as her limbs grew longer and feet and hands developed at them. Her tail vanished as did her coat and she gasped as she felt her face reshaping to a human one. As the transformation ended, a naked human girl sat in front of Luna and Twilight.

Twilight raised her hoof carefully,
“Applejack…?”

With this the girl opened her eyes and opened her mouth,
“Did it work?” It wasn’t exactly Applejack’s voice, but it was recognizable her. As she heard herself talk, she gasped and her hands grabbed her mouth. “My voice! MY MOUTH!!!” In slight shock, Applejack now watched her fingers as they moved slowly. “T-Tarnation! This is weird… This hand thing…It’s so sensitive! Ohhh, my orange coat is gone too?” As her hands wandered over her body, she yelped up in shock. “My teats! They’re right at my chest!”

Luna chuckled nervously,
“Yes… Due to human anatomy, it’s alright. ‘Breasts’ are supposed to be at this place.”

Luna and Twilight however blushed as Applejack started to massage her breasts,
“They’re very sensitive… Ah sure hope he likes them…” But as she stood up, she fell down again a second later. In her second attempt she was swaying wildly. “Whoa! Ah say… How’s Tyler able to walk with only two of these things?”

Twilight helped her keeping the balance and slowly let go while Luna nodded at the sight,
“Thy equilibrium sense is still thinking like a pony… Try to adapt a bit to keep balance to this new body…”

Puzzled, Applejack looked at Luna,
“My what sense?”

With a frown, Luna rolled her eyes,
“Thy sense of balance! Try to balance thy body on these two legs, not four.” As Applejack closed her eyes, her swaying slowly ceased.

It was then when she opened her eyes again and looked at Luna,
“Ah think Ah got it…”

Nodding with a smile, Luna looked at Twilight, who smiled as well,
“Great! Now Applejack, try to make some steps and walk a bit in this body.”

The former earth pony gulped and nodded,
“Ah’ll try, but don’t expect muouch!” With her first step she got out of balance again, fell down and pushed herself up with her arms. “Buck it! Ah feel so stupid!”

As she carefully stood up again, Twilight tipped her chin,
“What’s more… You’re naked… I mean we as ponies all wear little to no clothes, but humans act different… Your private parts are all visible. I can see why Tyler wears clothing now. Luna? We should dress her up a bit…”

One magic spell later Applejack’s upper body was now wrapped in an oversized and orange sweater, showing large amounts of cleavage and one entire shoulder and some hot pants wrapped her hips in jeans. Luna grimaced,
“I’m not a seamstress, thou know… Maybe I’ll just…”

But Applejack shook her head,
“It’s fine! Anymore tighter and Ah’ll feel strange. In fact, these pants already are uncomfortable… Ah guess this is due to the fact we never wear clothes. All this fabric rubbing on this sensitive body drives me wild!”

* * * * *

Tyler meanwhile waited in the hall and leaned against the railing of the stairs. Man… What’s taking them so long? he thought as his patience was growing thinner. He waited for an hour now already, as he suddenly heard hoofsteps. Luna and Twilight came down the stairs and stood beside him,
“Are you ready?”

He shrugged with a chuckle,
“No, but who cares?”

Looking up the stairs Twilight nodded,
“Applejack! You can come!”

As she walked down the stairs with careful steps, Tyler’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped in an instant. Applejack truly looked gorgeous as a woman. Ample breasts and hips, firm tights and the clothing… Yes, that big oversized sweater served its purpose, only hiding half her breasts. Already his jeans grew tighter as he watched her coming down the stairs,
“Oh… Ohoho… Hubba hubba! What a hottie! THIS… is my Number one favorite country girl?” As he looked into her face, any doubt was wiped away. These were her freckles, her blond hair and the eyes… Fuck, yeah… her eyes… “Yes… Those big emerald eyes of yours… No one could copy these emerald eyes in a million years.”

Applejack giggled shyly as he pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her,
“So, Tyler… Did Ah turn out OK?”

He inspected her legs for a moment as he looked up again,
“Turn out OK? AJ, you look absolutely gorgeous!” With this he lifted her up and carried her upstairs.

Applejack looked at him with wild marvel,
“Tyler! What’s the matter, Sugarcube?”

But he just looked straight forwards as he went to their chamber,
“Shut up, honey… It’s been an eternity since I had a human girl and you are so damn hot right now, I’m trying not to take you right here in the hallway!”

Applejack snickered and leaned into his embrace as she whispered into his ear.
“It seems Ah found a way to ensure ya remain faithful to us girls, Sugarcube…If yer a good boy, the human form might come as a treat for ya…”

As she licked his earlobe, he growled with lust as he kicked the door to his chamber open, prompting a maiden inside to yelp in surprise as she was cleaning the chamber in his absence. With a snarl he looked at the earth pony, nodding to the door,
“You! Good job so far! The room is clean, now get out of here!” With this he placed Applejack on the bed, pushed the mare outside and closed the door, what prompted the mare to frown at his behavior. But mere seconds later the door opened again and he gave her two bits tip, before he closed the door again.

Looking at her bits, the maiden grinned and trotted back to the stairs, where Luna and Twilight followed Tyler in a slow pace,
“Well… That was weird… it’s like Tyler was in heat…”

Luna grinned as she looked at Twilight,
“Thou should consider, Twilight… He did it with us because he accepts us as the intelligent beings we are… He was forced to live abstinent from human women for our sake. Now fair Applejack has granted him something special, she now shares a similar form as he has and this deeply attracts him. Trust me, he loves us for who we are, not what we are… But his lust gains an extra kick out of this now… Tell me, Twilight… Have THOU ever considered begetting a foal with him?”

Twilight looked up in surprise,
“Me? Being mother to a foal? Well, I had this dream about adopting a black alicorn filly once… But foals are so time-expensive… My studies would suffer!”

Luna chuckled,
“Or thou could learn so much about what it takes of being a good mother. Maybe we can study this topic together, what do thou think?”

When they reached Tyler’s chamber, Applejack’s lustful moans were audible already. Luna looked at Twilight who nodded and they both entered the chamber, before closing and locking the door. Both Tyler and the human Applejack were wild at it and both mares dug their teeth into their bottom lips as they watched their herd mates having intercourse. Twilight gulped a big lump down,
“So humans have sex like we ponies have, huh?”

While a drop of sweat trickled down his forehead, Tyler grinned,
“Oh there are so many positions… Right, Applejack? Why don’t we play another rodeo mare?”

Applejack groaned in delight,
“Oh, Tyler… Ya know how this makes me neigh…” A few seconds later, the country girl of the herd sat on Tyler’s lap and rode her stallion with loud and lustful moans as he kneaded her bouncing breasts.
Having sex with Applejack visibly turned Tyler on, Twilight and Luna noticed he was more aggressive and dominant now.

Luna blushed deeply as she leaned to Twilight,
“That outstanding vigor… He bucks her like an animal…” Twilight gulped and simply stared at Applejacks nude human form. Her earth pony friend showed her something she never saw before and in her mind she took notice that she had to experience this as well. Their herd stallion went wild for this human appearance. Not because for the mere human female form, but the humanoid form of Applejack. Twilight recognized his eyes wandering between AJ’s green eyes and the human teats or breasts as he called them. It was clear to her that Tyler loved the result of Luna’s spell and greeted the result with open arms. It now came to their attention, that his moans got louder and Twilight nuzzled Tyler while he closed his eyes in delight and embraced Applejack’s upper body tightly, causing her breasts to squeeze against his chest.

His member stabbed into her womb in frenzy, prompting Applejack to squeal in anticipation. She knew he would cum any second now,
“It’s OK, sugarcube… Ah said Ah want yer foal… So please… Release yerself!” She then whispered into his ear. “Ah can’t wait for heat season to come when ya knock me up.” With that she leaned down to him and pressed her lips on his as they embraced each other tightly. Tyler moaned into the kiss as he released himself in her and like before she greeted his semen with a loud moan as she reached climax as well. With a happy expression on her face, she looked down to Tyler. “Ah know ya would love this, Sugarcube… Yer were more at it as usual… Seems to me ya love taking me in mah human form, don’t ya?”

Tyler looked up to her and thought a bit,
“It was something no pony could give to me so willingly but you, AJ…You did that for me despite the risks. I think that earns you the right to be the first in the herd to have a foal… What do you girls think?”

Luna nodded in approval,
“I prepared the spell and knew the risks. So did fair Applejack. But despite the dangers she stepped forth bravely. Yes, I second that. She deserves to be the first mare to have thy foal, Tyler.”

Twilight shyly nodded,
“Applejack was a bit more adventurous with this spell than I was and her wish to have a foal is definitely stronger than mine… I wouldn’t object if she’s first in line.”

For the rest of the night, the herd mates talked while Luna once in a while went out to the balcony to watch if everything’s alright with the night. Applejack’s finger coordination got better with time. First only a few clumsy movements, she soon were able to wriggle with them, quite to her own amusement. As Tyler recovered from the tête-â-tête with Applejack, he began to caress Luna, who got an instant wingboner because of this. With a blush, she looked at him,
“Tyler… No… not in front of the others!” But he only raised one of her wings and licked at her wing muscles again, prompting her to shriek in delight. Trying her best to hold up a poker face, Luna grimaced before he entered her womb and began to thrust. “No… I feel so lewd…”

But Applejack shook her head,
“Don’t worry, Luna! Yer doin’ what mares do when they’re feelin’ it. And yer lucky to have Tyler around as yer stallion.”

Twilight nodded proudly,
“Right! None of us will judge you for being in heat, Luna. And Tyler won’t as well. Right, Tyler?”

He smiled down to his herd mates and with a mere “Right” he did his best to satisfy Luna’s needs. This sleepover made Luna very happy. Not only because of Tyler calming down her sexual needs, so that she could perform her duties to full extent again. No, everyone in her herd accepted her for who she was as a mare. It felt… secured, safe, loved… content. Yes, life in this herd made her content with herself and with anypony else. No one here saw her for the diarch she was or the alicorn… She was a member of the herd, nothing more. Something so simple could feel so extraordinary good. It was near dawn as she climaxed and Tyler got off from her to give her the usual kiss and cuddle after sex as the little herd lied together on the bed.

And as the first rays of sunlight touched her naked body, Applejack returned to her former self as an earth pony as white and bright light engulfed her one more time,
“Whoa nelly! This sure tickles every time it occurs…”

Twilight and Luna came closer now, and inspected Applejack,
“Is she alright, Luna?”

The princess nodded,
“Welcome back to ponykind, fair Applejack! Thou are as healthy as an earth pony can be.”

Twilight now beamed at Applejack,
“How was it to be human? How does it feel? Were your senses inhabited or enhanced?”

The country pony now laid a hoof on Twilight’s mouth,
“Twilight, Ah’m no good in describin’ these things in the detail ya want and ya know that. Ah just say Ah had mighty problems keepin’ balance first. Ya have to adapt yer way of thinkin’ to become a human. This is somethin’ for Lyra Heartstrings, but not for mahself. ”

Luna smiled at Applejack,
“As for the spell, there seem to be no aftereffects. Don’t worry, you’re fresh and healthy. We will repeat this once heat season is starting… But for now I must bid you all farewell… The moon has to go down the horizon and my sister will soon awake.”

As Luna went to her chambers, she thought a bit. I think I forgot something… Something quite important regarding humans that Tyler told me about… Now what was it? Oh, ponyfeathers! Me and my order of things…
But little did they all know that in Applejack’s womb millions upon millions of human sperm cells surrounded an equine ovum that already triggered cellular mitosis as it began to wander…

15 - They're ponies **

The night came silent and calm just before Luna’s royal Canterlot canto again broke the silence. With two glasses of grape juice Tyler stepped outside to the balcony, where Twilight sat on a pillow, reading in the light of a candle,
“Soon Applebuck Season begins… I sure hope AJ won’t have any problems if she can’t do anything on the orchard.”

Twilight looked up with a giggle,
“She sure isn’t going to like sitting around doing nothing. You should visit her quite often. Are you excited about your foal?” With a sly grin she looked at him as he sat down. “Big Daddy Tyler…”

Closing his eyes Tyler smiled gently in anticipation,
“Very excited… I hope to turn out OK as a father… I’ll have a meeting with the Cakes in a few days. I guess you want to accompany me to that? Maybe we could learn something together.”

“I’d love to Tyler, but if it goes into my other chores, I might have to decline.”

Now Spike came out to the balcony as well,
“Twilight… I’m going to sleep now…” After looking towards the woods he pointed a claw to the fast growing clouds above them. “Looks like a storm is brewing over the Everfree Forest… I hope I’m asleep before it spreads toward us”

Twilight however looked at the clouds with suspicion,
“I don’t know, Spike… That’s too fast for a storm… Weird…” She then looked up to Tyler, who was sitting beside her. “I must say I don’t have much experience with the weather above the Everfree Forest, but this is especially weird tonight.”

Tyler shook his head,
“Ah well… I find it rather relaxing to see some clouds again that aren’t moved into place by pegasi… Reminds me of Earth…”

It was then when a loud thunder sounded from the Everfree forest that prompted both Tyler and Twilight to yelp in surprise and in the next moment, the clouds were pushed into all directions like an explosion had occurred in their center. Not long after this the clouds dissipated and a bright object glided down the night sky.

But as soon as Tyler saw a bright object gliding down the sky, he suddenly leaped up and stood at the railing,
“What in God’s name…” The object, although too far away to be identified wasn’t falling like a comet or meteor. No, it kept flying. Burning and flying… No Pegasus Tyler knew could both at the same time. It was in this moment that only one word filled his mind.

Airplane.

In an instant Tyler turned around,
“Spike, take a note please!”

While Tyler hastily dictated the letter to Spike, his eyes followed the burning airplane. The Cessna’s wings were both burning, making the airplane highly visible in the night sky. Some ponies looked at it,
“Is that a shooting star? My, how lovely!”

“No… It’s something different.”

“It seems like this is a burning object!”

From the window of her room Applejack looked over to her brother’s window. Big McIntosh looked out as well.
“Yer think the Flim Flam Brothers are behind this, Big Mac?”

The stallion only shook his head,
“Nnnope! And even if that thing was of their makin’, they sure as hay ain’t goin’ far with it!”

With a hard and trembling crash, the Betty carved a trail into the Everfree forest as her wings were ripped off from the main airplane body before the Betty came to a complete still stand. Soon after that several kicks were delivered from the inside before the hatchet fell off and Rachel jumped out of the burning wreckage,
“Nice landing, Flynn! What were you trying to do? Redecorating the woods a bit?”

Flynn however gritted his teeth,
“Rachel! Shut up! You should be happy to be alive!” he snapped back to her before shaking his head at the Cessna. “Betty…. Aw, man! This can’t be happening! Game over man! Game over! We’ll never get a lift off with her wings ripped off! Look what this shit has done to you, my girl!”

While Flynn began to sob over the wreckage, Rachel kicked a piece of debris,
“Oh yeah? Alive and away from civilization! God knows on what deserted island that storm brought us!”

Tossing their bags outside, Sam looked at her,
“Storm? Are you kidding me? Whatever that was, it was no fucking storm! No storm can suck millions of gallons of seawater out of the ocean like a freaking straw! And all that screaming won’t do a thing either! Now help me get our stuff out of the Betty before she blows up!” These words were enough to wake Flynn from his sorrow over the wreckage and he kept a distance to the slowly burning engine.

“You know Flynn… I just have to THANK YOU!!!“ With this Rachel punched him into the face. “You know I wanted to go to Disneyland! But no! NO! You wanted to fly around in your plane so much! It had to be the fucking Bermuda!”

Holding his cheek, Flynn slowly stood up and growled,
“Like it’s my fault! Normally there’s no fucking Twilight Zone over my plane!!!” With this he slapped her. Pissed off from another, both short fused and each took a piece of debris.

But just as they were about to hit each other with their makeshift weapons, a spear penetrated the ground between them, prompting them both to step back from the spear. Terror grew in the eyes of the humans. Sam now picked up a sturdy piece of debris himself and looked around,
“Folks… We’re not alone in these woods…”

Flynn’s grasp around his piece of metal hardened now,
“Shit, man… Cannibals? I’m too young to get eaten alive!”

Rachel looked around with a grim face,
“Stay close at the Betty…” At least around the wreckage it’s bright enough to see something.”

As Sam slowly turned around, he saw something glowing in the corner of his eye and stroked at it. But all he smashed was a log which cracked into tiny bits. Behind it, two yellow eyes narrowed angrily at him. With this a black and white figure leaped at them and green glowing dust engulfed the attacker as the creature whirled around.

But Rachel couldn’t believe her eyes. This was a zebra! A zebra fighting with a pole, standing on two hooves! No, this can’t be! You’re hallucinating, girl! Shaking her head in disbelief, she stepped backwards as Sam leaped at the zebra. But a kick from the zebra’s hind legs sent Sam back, bending over to vomit in pain. Rachel recollected herself. If Sam saw this thing as well, it wasn’t mere imagination. No bad trip from gasoline fumes of the Betty’s burning wreckage. This was real, despite the odds and the threat had to be dealt with,
“Whatever you guys do, don’t let it reach the guns!” Now the zebra’s ears twitched, looking over to the bags Rachel was looking at.

Sam now attacked the zebra, but it threw a bag into his face, what prompted the bag to burst and a small cloud of green glittering powder engulfed Sam’s face,
“Shit! She tossed something into my eyes!!!”

The powder blurred his sight and with this she was able to subdue him with ease before delivering a kick that tossed him towards the other two. Rachel evaded Sam, who now slammed Flynn down before Rachel was send to the muddy ground with several swift and decisive hits. As an end result the three quarreling humans lied together on the ground while the zebra got the bags.

By now he three stood united against her,
“This… This isn’t working…”

Rachel nodded, wiping mud and dirt from her chin,
“Right… Let’s do this together…"

A smirk appeared on the face of the zebra as it opened its mouth.

“So this is your anger’s remedy:
Standing united against a common enemy...”

Now the trio was stunned from sheer amazement,
“HOLY SHIT! IT JUST TALKED!!!”

“A… A TALKING ZEBRA!!!” Sam fell on his butt and crawled backwards. “Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ!! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!!” Zecora’s face darkened now. The yelling would certainly lure more predators to the place so she had to shut those humans up.

“You disturb the stillness of the forest with your rants.
So now Zecora will teach you to dance.”

“You can have that! Once I’m done with you, you’re lion food!” With this Rachel leaped forwards and engaged the zebra, but both opponents were equally skilled. With one difference, though. Through her human friend Zecora already knew of the capabilities of humans and was able to deliver heavier blows. So it came to no surprise that Rachel was slowly defeated and held her aching limbs while gritting her teeth.

“It isn’t wise to trying my nerve.
No one threatens Zecora inside her own turf!”

Without looking back, Zecora delivered a swift hit to Flynn’s face with her pole as he cowered over the bags, obviously trying to search for the guns. The hit he received was enough to make him roll on the ground in pain. Now the three of them were lying in the dirt before her. Rachel and Flynn defeated, Sam shaking his head in sheer disbelief. This seemed like a bad dream. Finally the zebra left a sigh.

“This should teach you to calm yourselves down.
If more of you humans are like this, you make me frown.”

This last sentence from her was what prompted the three of them to look up. This zebra knew what humans are; maybe they were closer to civilization as they thought. It was in this moment that the sound of wings flapping in the air filled the forest. Several carriages pulled by pegasi carried five cages and a dozen unicorns. Rachel’s eyes widened. Talking and fighting zebras… Now horses with wings and horns… Where the hell are we? One of the guards approached Zecora, as the zebra raised her voice again.

“These humans fight fierce, a remarkable display,
Be careful with them on your further way.
They have gone far astray, they are quite afraid,
Like a farmer in a parasprite raid.”

The guards nodded with grim expressions,
“Alright, Zecora, we will handle them with caution. Thank you for your swift help here in the Everfree. Alright, ponies! You heard her! Tie them up and into the cages with them!” Now the unicorns approached the trio and long ropes were levitated towards them.
They were overwhelmed, put in cages and were brought to the Canterlot dungeon in three different cells.

Sam leaned against the bars of his cell,
“Hey! Guard horsey! You sure we can’t think of something? I’ll buy you a fine sack of carrots!” But the guard only grumbled something inaudible as he trotted away.

Rachel kicked against the bars of her cell,
“I wish I had my gun with me… if only I had picked it out of the bags in the first place! That would teach them to put us into cages like WE’RE the fucking animals here! Shit! Shit!! SHIT!!!”

Flynn on the other hand was lying on the bench in his cell, staring at the ceiling,
“Hold it, Rachel! They could have killed us or leaving us to the flames.”

While gritting her teeth, Rachel looked at him,
“Oh yeah? Maybe that’s still coming!”

Sam on the other hand sat down on his bench,
“One thing’s for sure: NO ONE will believe this back home. A place filled with talking ponies and these… horses with horns or wings in charge of the military. Obviously they fear or hate humans… I wonder why…”

A voice came out of the shadows down the hallway,
“Not quite, Mr. O’Donnel… The royal guard only took you into custody for your own safety.” With this Tyler stepped out of the shadows, what prompted everyone else to gasp.

Flynn went to the bars and reached out to Tyler,
“Another human! Hey, buddy! Get us out of here! We’ve done nothing wrong!”

Sam on the other hand eyed him suspiciously,
“How do you know my name?”

With a nod Tyler held their passports up,
“Every piece of the airplane is salvaged as we speak. Oh… And you’re not here because you perpetrated a crime… Being a human isn’t a crime here… Part of that is thanks to my work here… You are here, because I told the rulers of this land to get every other human into custody so I can talk to them first.” As he saw baffled faces, he smiled. “’Why?’ you ask? That’s because I couldn’t know who would come and from what part of Earth. I need to make sure you are no threat to this land. And to answer it right away: I am the only human besides you. But I got here on a different way than you did. I can assure you this…”

Rachel eyed Tyler with suspicion,
“Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Tyler Jones. I was in vacation in Nevada as a… Well this might sound stupid… As a ‘magic gem’ smashed into the ground right next to me. When I touched it, the goddamn thing brought me here.”

Sam looked around and shrugged,
“So something took you here as well, huh? What is this place? I guess we’re not in Kansas anymore, huh?”

Tyler arched a brow,
“This place? Don’t ask me if this takes place in another part of the universe, another universe or different dimension, because frankly… I don’t know. What I do know by now is that the planet is called Equis. And the country you’re in right now is called Equestria, a country of three different kinds of ponies. There are earth ponies like the ponies back on earth. Only the ones here are talking sentient ones. Also there are unicorns with horns and pegasi with wings. There are alicorns as well, which are a more powerful mixture of unicorns and pegasi, if you ask me. They’re not hostile unless you give them a really, really good reason to be… And wishing for weaponry won’t make it better!” He eyed Rachel with the last sentence.

Flynn now arched a brow,
“Sounds like you’ve been here for a while.”

Tyler gave this a brief nod,
“About a year… And believe me; you folks missed some serious shit. I already partook in three to four crisis since I’ve been here and it wasn’t always fun. But I have made friends and companions. They’re all sentient and intelligent as you are, so do yourself a favor and don’t talk to them like they would be animals.”

Two members of the guard brought the luggage from the Betty and placed the bags and cases on a nearby table on the other side of the hallway, so all tree cells could see what was going on. Tyler looked over to them and counted the bags,
“ Seven pieces of luggage… Is this everything?”

“Yes, sir! We collected the luggage and salvaged them from the ‘object’. The object itself is brought to the Canterlot warehouses.”

When Tyler began inspecting their belongings, Rachel yelled from the bars of her cell,
“Hey! Hands off!”

With an arched brow he looked at her,
“I’m checking for weapons. You will get them back in time. Once I’m certain you pose no threat to others. A safety precaution you as marine should be able to understand, I guess.”

“You have no rights to meddle with my stuff!” By now Rachel’s head got red by her own fury.

“Ease down! I’m not going to sniff your panties… in fact I do this in front of you so you can rest assured your belongings are still here and complete. And to see that this is done seriously” After a while of searching he nodded. “A Beretta M9… Fully loaded and with two spare magazines...” He checked the gun carefully to ensure it was unloaded and took in the magazines. “You can have your gun back. But please understand that I confiscate the magazines for now…” Rachel growled as he handed her the empty gun. “Also we have one…” With this Tyler held up a paintball assault rifle. “That’s paintball equipment, right?”

Sam now got to the bars,
“Oh, man! Please! Not my baby! I spent months to customize her like that!”

Holding his hands up in a comforting manner, Tyler shook his head,
“Easy… I won’t damage any of your belongings, folks. You see? That’s why we’re doing this here! Mr. O’Donnel? The paintball rifle may be not lethal by itself, but thanks to some incidents in the past that you aren’t aware of yet, the members of the royal guard here are very wary if it comes to small beads fired from a gun. I will have to confiscate the thing for now to show it to the authorities so they can decide what to do with it. It shouldn’t be for long though. What I can guarantee you is the safety of the paintball rifle.”

Sam nodded reluctantly,
“I don’t like it, but I’m not the bad guy here. But if there’s one scratch on my Sarah Jane when I get her back, you get it!”

With a nod Tyler continued to inspect their belongings,
“Then I shall take extra care your paintball rifle gets to you unharmed and in one piece.”

After the inspection, Tyler shook his head,
“No further weaponry…” And with this he closed the bags and cases properly.

Rachel was still fuming over all this,
“I should kick your sorry ass for taking away our stuff, you little shithead!”

Sam rolled his eyes,
“Come on, Rachel… You represent the corps now… Semper Fidelis and all that stuff, right?”

Rachel glared at him,
“Sam, don’t you ever talk like you’re in the Marine Corps again! I’m proud of doing my part! I pledged my oath and by the constitution I’ll stick to it!”

Tyler now arched a brow,
“You’re one of those Oath Keepers?”

She now tapped at his chest,
“Damn straight I am! Why? You got a problem with that?”

Tyler shrugged,
“No… Actually I respect these people. Look, it isn’t like I want to disarm you so others could have their way with you. It’s only temporary so you and the civilians out there can get along better. No one trusts someone waving a gun around.”

Flynn nodded,
“He has a point there, Rachel. So what? You feel insecure without your pocket rocket?”

Now she yelled over to his cell,
“Flynn, I’ll kill you! Trust me, YOU’RE DEAD!!!”

Tyler rolled his eyes and turned to Shimmerwind,
“Tell Princess Celestia that the humans pose no imminent threat to her subjects. I will escort them to her so she can have a little talk with them.” Captain Shimmerwind nodded and gave the order for the cells to be opened before she went upstairs. Tyler nodded at the guards. “Thank you. Please bring the luggage to the hall in front of the throne room. Our guests certainly wish to have it back once they conversed with the princess.” With a brief nod the guards complied.

Making an angered face Rachel raised an index finger and one could see she boiled on the inside,
“You are weird, Jones… I can’t put my finger on it yet, but I don’t like you!”

Tyler gave her a sober nod and arched a brow,
“See if I care… I’m not here to please you, just to make sure you don’t hurt anyone. If you have a problem with anything, please mention it immediately.”

Rachel however waved it away, heavily annoyed,
“Yeah, whatever! Let’s get this over with! I want my stuff back!”

It was already morning as they left the dungeon. On their way up and through several hallways of the castle, the humans looked around. Now, with Tyler at their side, the ponies seemed to have lost their interest in them. Unlike when the guards brought them in, when concerned faces and whispers were visible, the ponies now seem to feel calmer around them. Flynn nudged Sam into the ribs, but the Afro-American only shrugged. But silently, both agreed of something: Tyler. He had influence here. Time would tell if this was good or bad for them.

“Aren’t these ponies wearing clothing?” Mere fractions of a second passed before Rachel realized how stupid this question was in the first place.

But Tyler answered it anyway,
“Some do, most of them don’t. If you want to stay out of trouble, do as I do. Maintain eye contact with a friendly smile on your face and avoid staring on rumps. That’s doing the trick for me all the time.”

As they arrived in the throne room, Tyler pointed at Celestia,
“That white alicorn mare on the throne? That’s Princess Celestia. She ruled for the last 1000 years and before I came here, there wasn’t a single conflict during her reign.”

“Ha!” Rachel found it quite amusing. “I always told you guys: If women would run the show, this is got to be good!”

Sam rolled his eyes in minor annoyance,
“Hoo boy… Here we go again…”

Shaking her head now, Rachel looked at all the windows. There were windows with motives on them, seemingly homages to historic events. One showed a white and a dark blue winged unicorn together, fighting some strange being. The next showed six ponies firing beams at a big and black pony, another showed the same strange being from before playing puppet master with some ponies while the next showed the earlier six ponies defeating this enemy as well with their rays. Another showed a couple of two ponies, forming a heart as they were circled by a pink sphere. Then she could make out a small reptilian being standing under a blue heart and above the heart, ponies danced lightheartedly.

Rachel could only wonder over the meaning of these pictures. They were beautiful no doubt. But she also recognized three more windows that stood out. The first one was clearly showing a humanoid figure wielding a sword in a heroic pose over a black dragon. Again the six ponies from before were on the motive and their beams this time went to the sword, which was colored like a rainbow. Below the dragon lied several colorful gem shards, like pieces of a once intact gemstone.

The second window showed a large blue circle and something that looked like a mountain above it. Below the blue circle was the humanoid figure again, but it seemed it was enclosed into some sort of crystal. Two of the six ponies that usually made it on the motive stood around that crystal together with the larger, dark blue pony. All three rested one hoof on the crystal.

The third window showed a lot of green and many, many dark figures on one side and many ponies on the other side. Among the ponies was the humanoid figure again. It looked like two armies facing each other before battle. Below that part of the window the humanoid figure stood at some sort of fire burial while one of the dark figures, a large one, was lying on the wood to burn.

As she looked from the windows, she looked to Tyler. Three to four crisis, huh? That man sure had his experience with this land. And still, she couldn’t stand him,
“Too bad this is all spoiled by the little detail of it being a monarchy…”

A soothing female voice became audible now,
“It isn’t a monarchy in fact… My sister and I rule this land together as diarchs… There is no single ruler.” Celestia now came down to them and she and Tyler hugged for a brief moment, before he stood beside her. “Tyler says you’re no danger to my subjects. Let me then apologize for taking you into custody to force you to lay out your intentions. This is not the usual way to treat newcomers to Equestria. But Tyler spoke of the… nature of mankind and how easy it is to startle your kind with unexpected things.”

Flynn snickered,
“Unexpected… Now THAT’S an understatement! We’ve got sucked into the sky! I mean literally! I saw the ocean being sucked into the clouds! With us right in the center of it!”

Tyler nodded,
“May I guess? Somewhere around Bermuda?”

Sam arched a brow,
“How did you know?”

“I found a wreckage of an American ship, World War One… The U.S.S. Cyclops. The logbook states that they were in the Bermuda Triangle at the time they crossed over into this world.”

Rachel now crossed her arms and leaned back,
“So we crossed over as well. I actually never believed in this Bermuda Triangle mumbo jumbo! You think it’s possible to cross back to Earth?”

Tyler shook his head,
“So far I only know of crossing into this world, but the stuff that is legendary fairy tale in our world actually exists in this world. Unicorns, pegasi, dragons… I think it’s possible, but I don’t have the slightest clue where to find that place to cross over. For the time being, consider yourself as the guests of Equestria…”

Celestia stepped in,
“Tyler already informed me that two of you are actual soldiers. And that you brought weapons with you. Please, refrain from violence while in Equestria. If you use unnecessary violence against my subjects, you will experience most unpleasant consequences…” Her last sentence made her focus Rachel and Flynn, who both gulped. This was Celestia’s turf and they weren’t up to confront her. Somehow her voice, although always calm, soothing and friendly, had a stabbing undertone in these words. Rachel couldn’t point her finger on it, but somehow this princess wasn’t a mere horse with wings and horn. And these hidden traits made her wary of Celestia.

The suspense was lifted as Sam leaned in and grinned,
“Right! Like that’s going to happen! We’re here to behave and we’ll check out this wonderful land. Right, Rachel?”

With this he shook her shoulder a bit and she nodded like waking out of a daydream,
“Uh… Yeah!”

This made Celestia smile upon the humans,
“Tyler? Have you told them about your six labors already that we bestowed upon you?”

He shook his head briefly,
“No, I haven’t yet. I had to explain them their situation first. And I’m not even completely done with that.”

As her smile remained, she nodded and closed her eyes, before eying him from the corner of her eyes,
“Would you kindly tell them your six labors now?”

With this Tyler cleared his throat,
“OK, folks… Listen up! I am entrusted with the wellbeing of Ponyville, a small town nearby. You know, to guard it. Further I am to treat the equestrian ponies with the dignity and honor they deserve. I’m to use my strength to protect the princesses’ subjects. To fight any threat scheming against the harmony of this land, foreign and domestic. I had to learn the ways of Equestria so that every citizen shall see me as a shining example. And finally… Find a certain someone dear to me.”

Sam blinked,
“Wait! That’s all?”

Celestia and Tyler nodded and said “That’s all!” one after another. Celestia then continued,
“You are welcome to live here as well, if you can accept these terms too. Tyler will monitor you for a while, but I guess there shouldn’t be serious problems…”

Giving a nod, Sam rubbed his neck,
“Well… protecting others and to learn from them… Doesn’t sound too hard to accomplish, does it?”

Flynn scratched the back of his head.
“What does finding someone dear to me mean? Some friends or are we talking about some kind of relationship?”

But Celestia simply smiled,
“That one is up to you.”

Rachel, however, hesitated,
“I already pledged my oath to the United States constitution! I’m not pledging myself to a politician or to royalty!”

Just as Tyler wanted to say something, Celestia raised her wing to hold him back and approached Rachel. Both the alicorn princess and the human woman looked into each other’s eyes,
“I like to hear that oath of yours, Rachel Higgins. Would you recite it for me, please?”

Rachel now cleared her throat, raised her hand and began to recite,
“I, Rachel Higgins, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God!”

After this Rachel looked at Celestia,
“I won’t serve two masters. I’m loyal to the US constitution!”

But still the smile of the sun princess didn’t fade away. With closed eyes, she listened closely to every word Rachel spoke and seemed to internalize it,
“Tyler spoke of the American constitution. He told me that the American people made severe mistakes in the past, but one thing they did right. And this is their constitution. Tyler praised it and although he has no clue of what stands in it in detail, I take it this document must be of great importance to the Americans. I don’t want you to serve me, Rachel Higgins. I want you to find your place here for as long as it takes you to get home to your beloved world, if you wish to do so. Surely you can obey the laws of this country while you’re stuck here?”

Rachel raised her finger to point something out, but clearly she couldn’t find an argument to justify misbehavior. With a sigh in defeat, she looked up with a smile,
“Fine… I’ll behave as well.”

“Marvelous! Then let me greet you welcome in Equestria!” With this Celestia hugged Rachel, a moment that prompted her to gasp. 'Why is she so trustful to me? She doesn’t know me…' She then looked up to Tyler who simply nodded. What did this man do for the rulers of this land for them trusting humans so much already? It didn’t make any sense until now, so Rachel decided to go along… For now…

Tyler now rested a hand on Celestia’s shoulder in a casual manner. From the outside it wasn’t looking like much, but between them both it meant a lot and he felt an ever so slight shiver through her coat,
“Princess? I think they should come with me for now. They have rooms to move to in Ponyville. And for the time being I think it would fit if I introduce you guys to someone who can show you around. I say I bring you folks to the carriage and to Ponyville.”

After a brief hug between Tyler and the princess, he led them back to the big hallway, where their luggage was already waiting and guarded by two members of the guard,
“Sirs? Would you help our newcomers to the carriage, please?”

The first guard nodded,
“Certainly! Would you please follow me?”

The other guard approached Rachel,
“Milady? Do you need assistance?”

Flynn and Sam grinned,
“Yeah, Lady Higgins… Do you need assistance?”

Rachel growled angrily at them,
“I’m fine! Human women are tougher than you think!”

With this they approached the carriage. Sam eyed the carriage with suspicion,
“Is… is this safe? I mean… Won’t we be too heavy for them?”

Flynn nodded,
“Yeah… Won’t the carriage fall down behind them?”

But Tyler simply shrugged,
“Hey, it always worked, when I took those things for a ride. These carriages are safe and the pegasi pulling them fast and strong, aren’t you, my good sirs?” With this the two white pegasi in front of the carriage raised their heads with pride.

Now, after a bit of wary steps onto the carriage, the flight to Ponyville was rather short. Clamped tightly to the carriage, the three newcomers looked around,
“Holy…”

Rachel nodded,
“I know, Sam… This is so not happening!”

Flynn on the other hand grinned widely,
“Actually this is kind of awesome!”

Tyler patted his shoulder,
“Now… about the ponies… It actually is quite simple. You see the pegasi fly around and mostly do the weather or perform transports that need to be performed quickly. Earth ponies grow the food and do other stuff on the ground, not only limited to food. Unicorns perform magic and make their living with it. See those clothes I wear? Unicorn-made!”

“Wait! What do you mean they do the weather?”

Chuckling, Tyler continued to explain,
“Yes, you heard correctly. Every cloud in the sky is moved and controlled by the pegasi. With this they’re ahead of mankind. This lead me to the conclusion that these ponies either are able to manipulate water vapor or we’re in an alternate universe or parallel dimension where the atmospheric laws we know don’t apply entirely. Well… at least not in this country.”

Sam whistled,
“So… Besides that you say this is like Earth a few centuries ago? I mean from the standards of technological advancement…”

This prompted Tyler to shake his head,
“Not quite. Although not in an industrial age, magic does most of the hard labor. They don’t pull rocks with lots of earth ponies, they use unicorn magic to levitate heavy things. Oh and… speaking of magic. Try to avoid bodily contact with magic for the time being.”

Flynn cocked his head,
“Why’s that?”

Tyler’s eyes narrowed,
“My first bodily contact with unicorn magic was when I threw myself in front of my friends to intercept a magic arrow that was fired at them. The following reaction between me and the magic was…. quite violent. You’ve noticed the cutie marks on all the flanks of the ponies?”

Rachel nodded,
“Yeah, what about it?”

With a vague gesture Tyler pointed at his shoulders,
“On that day, I earned mine. They appeared on my shoulder blades. But instead of merely appearing, the violent reaction was like my skin was boiled off my body before growing anew. I caused a minor quake that time and the interaction between me and several unicorns was felt in the near surroundings. It hurt quite a lot. So I’m warning you."

Sam nodded,
“That’s very thoughtful of you. Thanks in advance!”

After they landed, Tyler tossed two bits to the two pegasi,
“Thank you, sirs. Here’s something for you for taking it easy on them for their first flight.” With this Tyler turned around and went down the street. “Let’s introduce you to your guide for the tour through town, shall we? I have other things to attend to. Now behave yourself. Stay close to me and they might not bite you…” As Sam and Flynn came closer to him, Tyler laughed loud. “That was a joke you morons! They’re harmless!” With a chuckle, he led them to one of the shops. “For your time around, you will be assigned to a pony as well. You will like her; she is as enthusiastic as lively. Especially if it comes to the topic of humans…”

“Uh-huh… And when will we meet her in person?”

“You will do so right now!” With this Tyler knocked at a door and entered. Good morning, ladies… I see the shop is open already.”

Two ponies greeted them. One of them was a unicorn with mint colored coat playing a lyre and the shop keeper, an earth pony with a half dark blue, half pink mane was looking from the counter. The mint coated unicorn mare then looked up to them with a big smile and beaming eyes,
“Oh! Hello, Tyler! Are these the ones you mentioned in your letter?”

Tyler nodded,
“That’s correct, Lyra. Folks, may I introduce? This is Lyra Heartstrings, brilliant on the lyre and researching humans in her free time. She already did that before humans existed in the first place. Why she did that… I have no idea… And this charming earth pony mare here is Bon Bon, Lyra’s housemate and best friend.”

Bon Bon nodded with a smile,
“I’m pleased to meet you. Tyler? Twilight said your letter said something about a guide… She already prepared so many things for…”

But Lyra already jumped up and approached the trio,
“If Tyler brings you here it must mean you pose no threat to us. It must be so exciting for you to experience all of this! Please… Make yourself comfortable! You are welcome in Ponyville!

Unsure how to approach her properly, Sam reached out his hand. Maybe a normal human approach would be the very best kind of approach,
“Well… thank you?”

Lyra smiled at Sam and rested her hoof in his palm for a shake,
“My pleasure! Why is it that your skin is so dark unlike the others?”

“Oh? Uh… Well… That’s because I’m an Afro-American, a different kind of human.”

Lyra’s eyes widened,
“Ooooh, I see! Like unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi are different kinds of ponies, there are different kinds of humans as well! Amazing! Does this mean that you can do magic then?”

Sam thought about it for a second, before he shook his head,
“Uh… No. No human can do magic like you unicorns can. We have magicians, but they rely on tricks and illusions.”

“Oh, like a showpony! That’s fine as well. Those hands of yours are still amazing enough to make you humans great!”

Sam cocked his head, slightly puzzled,
“Hands?”

Tyler chuckled,
“Lyra has a wonderful obsession with human hands. Don’t you, Lyra?”

With a wide grin, the mint coated unicorn looked up to them,
“Can you blame me? I don’t have hands! If I would have hands… all the things I could do…”

Bon Bon chuckled,
“But with hands, you wouldn’t be a pony anymore, Lyra”

The mint-coated unicorn looked down,
“True… Well, maybe one day I’ll stumble across the chance…” With this she looked up. “However! Tyler, I’m ready for the mission ahead of me!”

“Good! Your objective is to show the three of them around and to explain everything to them. If there are questions you can’t answer right away, make a note and hand it to me later. Twilight and I will see about this then.”

Lyra on the other hand waved the thought away,
“Oh, alright… it’s the least I can do for one of Ponyville’s heroes.”

By now Rachel rolled her eyes,
“Oh yeah? So what? He and your equine Power Rangers saved the day several times. Doesn’t mean anything to us, you know. We weren’t there at that time.”

Tyler thought for a bit. He could clearly imagine it in front of him. Princess Shiria would escape her prison on the moon,
“AHHH!!! After ten thousand years I’m free! It’s time to conquer Equis!”

Then a cut to the sorceress Celestia would occur,
“Luna! Shiria has escaped! Recruit a team of ponies with attitude!”

“Go, go! Pony Rangers…” Humming the melody he grinned a bit. “Mighty equine Pony Rangers…” He chuckled as he imagined the girls in those tight suits fighting the Changeling minions although in real life, he would be worried sick.

Bon Bon leaned over to Lyra and began to whisper,
“She must have used a human inside joke or something…”

Lyra nodded,
“He seems amused no doubt… I on the other hand would be offended. Humans are so extraordinary…”

But as soon as Tyler went to the door, Sam arched a brow,
“Wait! So you’ll just leave us with her?”

A sly smile appeared on Tyler’s face,
“That’s right! I worked hard for them to have unconditional trust and faith in mankind. I think you’re not that stupid to ruin all of this work in a foreign country without the support of an air craft carrier.”

Rachel grumbled on this last sentence after he left the candy shop,
“Don’t you guys just want to slap him sometimes?”

But Sam only patted her shoulder,
“Ease down, girl… Let’s just show him what we’re made of, OK? We’re better than this.” He then kneeled down to be of equal height with Lyra. “Well, Ms. Heartstring? Shall we begin?”

With pride the unicorn pointed her hoof at Bon Bon,
“The candy shop of course. Since you’re newcomers, you can try some sorts. But please don’t be greedy!”

It wasn’t long before Tyler returned home at the library,
“Twilight! I’m home!” Twilight was floating around in an anti-gravitational field, limited by a circle of magic letters. While floating around, she read a book as well. Tyler simply shook his head. “Having fun with gravitation spells again?”

Twilight now turned her head to him,
“Welcome back, Tyler! Oh, you should try this sometime! This is so relaxing.” He turned her around a bit, what prompted her to squeak in surprise, before his palms took her face into their grasp and he looked into her eyes, although she was upside down.

Smiling now he caressed her cheeks,
“You look gorgeous when your mane floats around freely.”

This made her blush deeply, but before she could reply, he gave her a kiss,
“I brought the humans to Ponyville. Princess Celestia deems them harmless enough and for now I think they’ll behave. They’re at Bon Bon’s and Lyra’s place. Make sure you drop by later. There’s also a human woman with them.”

With this the lavender unicorn gasped and her eyes widened,
“A human woman?!?” Chuckling nervously, she looked around. “So, err… Do you… Do you find her interesting?”

Arching a brow, Tyler cocked his head,
“Twilight… Why do I get the sudden feeling that you are already thinking that I find a liking into this woman? I barely even know her…”

Spinning around, Twilight floated now in order to look at him correctly,
“Well, yes… But you… and me… we also didn’t know…

Grasping her jaw, he shook his head with a stern look on his face and waved his index finger in front of her,
“No! No, no, no… You stupid little girl… Don’t think like that… Nothing can replace or make me forget what we both have, Twilight. You, AJ the princesses and myself… We’re a team! A herd, remember? So don’t let your worries over a human woman make you worry unnecessary. No woman of my world has this sparkle in her eyes like you do…”

This prompted Twilight’s face to glow in a bright red,
“S-Sparkle???”

Tyler kissed her passionately and grinned,
“Honey, I remember your vow in the crystal empire… ‘Together we can overcome anything! It will be our magic!’”

By now the blush on Twilight’s face became boiling hot,
“You… You were aware of us at that point?!?”

Tyler nodded,
“I was… And frankly I doubt she could ever replace even one of you girls.” With this he turned away. “Besides… I think she dislikes me.”

Twilight gasped and fell down to the ground,
“Dislike you? Why’s that?”

He simply shrugged,
“It happens… You see a person and in one second to the next, you decide whether you like him or her or not. I wonder how well Lyra’s tour is going… I think I’ll check with Rainbow…”

Lyra however led the humans into one of the many restaurants to invite them to their first Equestrian meal. After seeing the whole of Ponyville, Lyra and the three newcomers sat together on a table. After an endless and almost torturing speech about four things at once, Pinkie finally raised her hooves high into the air,
“…And that’s the secret of breaking the fourth wall!”

Rachel didn’t really listen,
“Uh-huh… Wait, what? What does that even mean?” They picked up Pinkie Pie at their visit to Sugarcube Corner and since then the pink energy bundle accompanied them for the rest of the tour. Rachel couldn’t find a way to handle the bouncy pink earth pony; Pinkie was a mere mystery to her.

Lyra chuckled along,
“It’s just one of Pinkies odd jokes I guess. So… yeah! After the library, the town’s hall, the market place with its shops, the spa and the Carousel Boutique… That sums up my tour about Ponyville. Of course, there’s Sweet Apple Acres as well, but I think you don’t need a sightseeing tour for apple tree orchards…”

Sam nodded with a smile,
“It was quite helpful, Ms. Heartstrings. Thank you!”

Lyra shook her head,
“Lyra is enough, really. I like you guys, even though you seem a bit wary. But I guess that’s OK considering it’s your first day around here.”

This made Pinkie open her eyes wide,
“Ooh! OOH! This reminds me! I have to organize a welcome party for you three!” With this the pink energy bundle dashed out of the door just before Tyler and Rainbow Dash entered.

Rainbow spotted the humans first and landed right beside them,
“So! You’re the new guys here, huh?”

Sam arched a brow,
“No kidding… What gave us away?” With a grin he leaned back a bit. “So Lyra… I take it this Pegasus is this Rainbow Dash you were telling us about?”

With pride, Rainbow stood up to her hind legs and raised her chin,
“THE one and only!”

Just as Tyler was taking place, he gently patted Rainbow’s shoulders,
"Whatever good things you heard about Rainbow, I can only underline it. She’s probably one of the best friends one could manage to find.”

Rainbow harrumphed briefly. She liked the praise, but she learned with time not to wallow in praising,
“I have my moments… Thanks, T-Man…”

With this Lyra cleared her throat,
“Well, Bonnie sure is expecting me back in the shop. It was so much fun to spend time with you guys.” Sam nodded and stood up to make room for her to go out of the corner. “It sure was informative, Lyra. Thank you for spending time with us. He knelt down again and gave her his hand and again she rested her hoof in his palm. Tyler gestured a hand kiss to Sam and prompted him to blink. Sure, why not behave a bit better to make relations a bit smoother.

Lyra gasped as he delivered a hoof kiss to her and giggled slightly embarrassed as a deep blush formed itself on her face,
“My… That’s very charming… I… I should be going now…” With this she trotted out to the door, only to gallop away after stepping outside.

Flynn however eyed Rainbow for a bit. She reminded him of the pilot hotshots during the academy,
“Hey Rainbow… Have you ever been mistaken for a stallion?”

Rainbow arched a brow and looked at Flynn,
“No… Have you?”

This prompted Tyler to laugh and Flynn to blush. Rainbow on the other hand snickered, before she slammed her hoof against Tyler’s knuckles,
“Sheesh, Rainbow… You’re just too bad…”

With another snicker, Rainbow turned to Flynn again,
“What did you expect, dude? I sound like a mare, look like a mare…” Standing up now, she encircled Flynn for a bit. “If I wish to, I could show you the affection of a mare as well…” With this she smacked her wing into her flank, before she fell to the ground laughing.

Flynn however arched a brow,
“Uh… Is she for real? I mean she’s a Pegasus pony, I’m a human… That’s right around here?”

Tyler rolled his eyes,
“Flynn… Shut up and be more open minded, you hear? Rainbow is as sentient as you and I are! She saved my life once and is one hell of a girl! You should give her a chance as an individual.”

Rainbow now eyed Flynn,
“You know, for a human like Tyler you should lighten up some more. I mean, he told us that you humans tend to have monogamous relationships… Well, until now you have only one mare… uh… woman here in Equestria. So either you brawl for her or you go find other mares. I doubt she wants more than one stallion.”

Tyler chuckled,
“No, Rainbow… Human coupling doesn’t work like this normally. We don’t brawl over women… At least not civilized people…” He then turned to Flynn. “I think she meant if you’re bound to have sex around here, you might have to adapt a little."

“You… you mean… sex with a pony?”

Rainbow shrugged,
“Why not? I mean Tyler has a herd of four mares. I take it he bucks them really well.”

Flynn stared at Tyler with wide eyes,
“You what? But… they’re ponies!”

Tyler simply shrugged,
“Only human in Equestria… Don’t tell me you would have just played with yourself instead of going for a sentient female.”

Rainbow chuckled dirty,
“Yeah… Twilight told me you’re hung like a monster, T-Man! She really rhapsodized about your… skills…”

Flynn just shook his head,
“Twilight? Like Twilight Sparkle? The unicorn we’ve met before with Lyra? So you and her… ” With that Flynn wrinkled his nose a bit.

Rainbow looked at Flynn,
“What is with you?”

While closing his eyes, Tyler leaned back,
“Nothing, Dash-Girl… He just needs more time to adapt to all of this…”

Rachel took a sip out of her coffee as she glared emotionless to Tyler,
“Whatever you say, ponyfucker…”

The restaurant was silent in an instant as many eyes locked on their table. Tyler remained calm while Rainbow pointed her left hoof at Rachel,
“What did you just say?”

Rachel still looked at Tyler,
“I said your friend Tyler here is a ponyfucker!”

With this Rainbow kicked a chair out of the way. This word, the way Rachel had said it had insult all over it,
“You got a problem with ponies? If so, you’re at the right mare!”

Rachel now looked at Rainbow, who raised her hooves in a boxing manner,
“No, I don’t have problems with you. You actually seem legit to me. Well for as much as I can estimate your personality. I have a problem with him fucking your kind…”

Tyler now got up and held Rainbow back,
“Stay out of this, Rainbow… This is between me and her alone… Alright, Higgins… Come outside!

The ponies in the restaurant silently witnessed how both humans went outside. Rachel cracked her knuckles,
“You know… I can understand you’re the only human here… But for real? Fucking ponies? And four of them? You’re one sick bastard fucking animals!” With this she delivered a heavy blow to his face.

But as he looked up, his nose was bleeding and a dark grin formed on his face,
“Ohhh… Ohoho…You’re in for a good beating, Corporal…” With a bitchslap he delivered the first hit. As she stumbled to recollect herself, he grabbed her at the shoulder. “I can tolerate that you insult me…” With this he punched her into the stomach. It wasn’t hard enough to injure her, but the blow forced her to bend over. Rachel’s eyes widened. No one in her unit ever punched so hard.
“I can tolerate that you’re against me as a person…”

With this he lifted her up, squeezing her throat seconds before she punched his face three times. As his bottom lip suffered a laceration, he grinned up to her with a sadistic touch that made her blood freeze. This can’t be… Who is that guy? But Tyler just continued. “What I’ll never tolerate is the following…” With this he shot electricity through her body and his eyes remained locked on her screaming face. “You will never degrade the ones I love to animals! Or I’ll punch you into a world of pain…”

In an instant the lightning in her body ceased and she almost blacked out,
“You monster… Freak! What have you done to me? What are you? A humanoid taser?” He slowly let her down and let her sit.
As Rainbow galloped outside, she held a hoof on Rachel’s forehead, holding back her hair for looking into her face. She didn’t look good in Rainbow’s eyes, even if she wasn’t a doctor.

With an angered face, she then looked at Tyler,
“Did you have to do that?”

Tyler looked down to Rainbow with cold eyes,
“Do what? Give her a beating? Why? You wanted to do it as well.”

Rainbow briefly shook her head,
“Well, yeah, but… She’s a mare, I’m a mare… You’re a stallion and a pretty powerful one, too. Not cool, T-Man!”

Tyler now looked at Rainbow with a stern look. His once blue eyes were turquois now,
“I get your point, Rainbow… But we’re not talking about an ordinary woman here. Right, Corporal? She’s not a sissy to begin with! She’s a soldier!” Rachel now looked up and spat to the ground before standing up.

Just as she wanted to say something, Rainbow hovered in front of Tyler,
“Tyler, what the hay is wrong with you? You never harmed a pony, why are you harming her? It’s just not like you…” Now it occurred to the Pegasus mare. “What the… Your eyes… They’ve changed color!”

He looked at her, slightly surprised and looked at his hands. In the blink of an eye, some dark lightning danced over his hands. No this isn’t right; this can’t be right…
“I… I guess I should have a talk with someone…” With that he teleported himself away.

Flynn stared at the place Tyler was just standing and blinked. “Did he just…?” But then he recollected himself and looked at Rachel. “Rachel, are you OK?”

“Yeah, yeah… Give me a minute… I only need a minute!”

With a nod, Flynn now approached Rainbow,
“Thanks for stepping in for us. You know… You’re not so bad after all… For an equine girl!”

Rainbow chuckled,
“And you’re not so bad for a human, even if you’re not as adaptable as Tyler… I’m sorry. He usually doesn’t freak out like that. Will she be OK?”

Rachel rolled her eyes,
“I’m fine! I just need a bit rest after this taser treatment…”

Rainbow grimaced a bit. She knew the feeling of lightning from former incidents during her training in weather control. Those lightning bolts from storm clouds sure could paralyze muscles for several minutes,
“You know… I feel kind of responsible for a part of this… If I hadn’t brought up the topic about sex, none of this would have happened I think. I want to make it up to you folks. Want to hang out a bit?”

“Uh… Sure… Hanging out with a Pegasus, huh? Yeah, might be interesting for a change. But, uh… What do pegasi do?”

“Well, duh! Training! Come on! I want to know what kind of sports you guys play!” While they slowly went to the training grounds, Rainbow looked back with a worried expression. 'I just hope T-man’s not in major trouble… I never saw him that upset before…'

* * * * *

An hour later Tyler was sitting on Luna’s bed in her darkened chamber as she woke up from her slumber. Every other being would be slammed out of her room or yelled at for disturbing her slumber but not if it was her beloved with worries on his mind,
“I don’t know why I beat her so hard. I only felt satisfaction as she suffered for insulting you all… Luna… I think I’m changing for the worse…”

As he opened them, his glowing turquois eyes glanced at Luna, looking for answers. For Luna, it was in a way like a look into the mirror. The same coloration as her eyes and his irises… They were stretched like Nightmare Moon’s during her own madness. Sorrow dominated Luna’s expression,
“Tis as I told thee, Tyler… My influence draws thee closer to darkness. Thou must seek counsel with Tia as well. Spend more time with her, so her influence draws thee back to the light.”

When she nuzzled him, Tyler closed his eyes again as he felt his soul becoming calmer again,
“You alicorns really do have such influence, huh? I only thought you made this up. Impressive… and spooky as well. Alright, I’ll have to talk and spend some time with Celestia.”

With a nod and a smile, she leaned against him,
“Thou are my Dark Companion, Tyler… Nothing will change that. But for thy own good… go back to the light for now… Before my influence ruins you!”

He gently caressed her ethereal blue mane,
“Balance… It’s all about balance… I vowed to follow you into the darkest pits… But I can only follow you so far… if I would follow you even more, I’d never come back…”

“I know… And I’m thankful that thou follow me so deep… It’s more than I hoped for.” With this they looked deep into each other’s eyes before they kissed passionately. How wonderful it is to have him around… Luna thought. Nopony ever did so much for me. I want to have this feeling for all eternity… Tyler embraced her head and felt amazingly good when being around the princesses. It was as if there was an invisible bond that the two alicorns were slowly building around him.

As he left her dark chambers, he went into the other wing of the castle to discuss things with Celestia. The sun princess nodded and took a long sip on her fruit tea as she heard of his dilemma,
“Yes… I expected things like this, yet not to this extent. I thought you would approach us earlier. BEFORE Luna’s influence would let you do anything stupid.”

Tyler sipped at his cup of tea. The warm rays of the sun brightened the balcony. While Celestia sat together with him and drank a cup herself, her secretary levitated a pile of paperwork in front of her. While conversing with Tyler, Celestia signed the one or another paper before telling her secretary to leave the rest on the desktop. Tyler only shook his head. “Well I thought she made that one up out of fear. I… I harmed a woman…”

Celestia now cocked her head,
“You harmed a woman who insulted your friends.”

Tyler now looked up to the princess,
“That’s not the point!”

With a smirk she smiled at him,
“In that case… I don’t have to remind you what to do next, do I?”

He sighed,
“I know… You already told me… In case of a disturbance, major or minor, the ones who disturbed the peace have to apologize to each other in public.”

This was rewarded by her with a smiling nod,
“That’s my Tyler!”

Yet Tyler frowned as he looked into his cup of tea. His red reflection was stirred a little as he tried to control the slight shiver in his hands as the dark lightning in his fingers suddenly appeared, but ceased with time. It was like Celestia’s very presence was enough to suck the bad influence of darkness out of him like poison from a wound,
“I sometimes feel a bit stupid around you, Celestia.”

Just as she was about to get another sip of her tea, she hesitated and looked up,
“Oh? Why is that?”

Searching for the right terms, Tyler took another sip of his tea before he looked at her,
“You know… I think it’s because you’re so much older… Luna is so much older herself, but she behaves like a young girl, uncertain and insecure with her first love. You on the other hand behave so mature… I must confess I feel more like the stupid little boy who has a crush on his gorgeous teacher when around you.”

Celestia giggled,
“Aww… That’s sweet of you. Well, I’m a teacher to Twilight… There might even be things I could teach you.”

Tyler chuckled and arched a brow as he looked up to her again,
“I guess you planned ahead, Celestia… Not only for me to please Luna, but also yourself. That book you gave me about alicorns… You gave this to me with the intention to make Luna feel better and to become a good lover for both of you, didn’t you?”

With a sly smile she looked to the chamber windows of her sister’s chambers,
“Not that anypony complained about it, I guess…”

Tyler looked again into his cup as he looked up to her,
“I like to have more…”

This prompted Celestia to blink at him in wild wonder,
“More books about Alicorn sexuality? My… Tyler!”

With a slight grimace, he shook his head and raised his cup,
“No… actually I meant I would like to have more of that wonderful tea…”

“Oh!” With this Celestia began to giggle and after a few seconds, both of them laughed.

As they went back inside into her chambers, Tyler’s hand slid from her back down to her rump,
“You know… I actually never repaid you for becoming your sister’s lover and such a good herd member…” His hands now massaged her flanks and caressed her rump as a whole.

With a beet red face Celestia looked down,
“Don’t concentrate so much on my rump, Tyler… You… you know I don’t like that…”

But Tyler continued to massage her rump,
“Why? Are you ashamed of it? You weren’t ashamed to make it a pillow for me…”

She only closed her eyes in shame and nodded,
“Luna is always mocking me for it being so big and ample…”

But a smack later she gasped as Tyler began to grin,
“True... Luna’s rump is petite compared to yours… but the more to love from you…” She turned around to give him a stern and annoyed look, but squeaked as he playfully bit into her flank. Next he kneeled down behind her. “Time to worship this plot…”

This sentence prompted her eyes to pop open,
“Tyler? What are you-” In the next moment she inhaled heavily as Tyler spread her labia and began to lick her. An ever so slight shiver leashed up her spine as she felt the sweet indulgence in her marehood. “Yes… After so many centuries again…”

Holding back, Tyler cocked his head and looked to her face,
“Again? Who was the lucky one who tasted my bad little girl of the day?”

Celestia grinned with a deep blush as she remembered those ancient times,
“That. Is. My. Secret!”

Suddenly it knocked at the door and Celestia’s eyes opened wide. As her eyes witnessed the doorknob slowly circling around, her rump suddenly slammed down together with Tyler, so that she was sitting directly on top of his face. One of the servants, a maid came in and yelped up in surprise as she recognized Celestia,
“Y-Your highness! I’m sorry! I thought you would be elsewhere! I… I’ll just go.” But just as she went outside, Tyler fought against Celestia’s weight. The lack of oxygen compelled him to do so and he tried to stem her up. Even slaps on her flank didn’t help. The maid now remained in position. “What was that noise?”

Celestia now began to grin. The constant movement inside her most sensible parts almost drove her crazy,
“N- Nothing! You just go to the next room and clean up there while I’m busy around here.”

The maid now recognized Celestia’s deep blush,
“Are you certain everything is fine, your highness? You look like you have a slight fever. Shall I call for the royal physician?”

Slowly, Tyler could feel the suffocation taking place. 'Ohhh… What a bittersweet death…'

Celestia’s voice now grew stricter,
“Nighting Way! I wish you to leave right now!” With this the maid stood ever so tensed up, nodded and galloped out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Celestia now raised her rump with a deep moan, releasing Tyler’s face.

As she stood up again, Tyler gasped for air,
“Oh God! I can see forever!” As he recollected himself from that incident, he shook his head. “We won’t do this one again in the near future… Deal?”

While he washed his face, Celestia nodded and locked the door before pulling the curtains before the windows,
“Deal… But now… Will you let me return the favor for you?” A deep blush formed on her face as she asked.

Tyler hesitated for a second before he nodded. And he could see that she knew why. Not only was Celestia stronger than he was, but she was also more powerful than him and could easily whack him, gut him, send him to the moon or do God knows what to him.

But she didn’t.

Despite all the divine superiority and almightiness, despite eons of age difference she wanted to be of equal stand with him. He knew that and that’s why it sometimes was hard for him to give them what they wanted. There was this undisputed bond of trust between him and the sisters. Maybe this was what both the alicorns dreamed about; to find a bridge across the gap between mortals and themselves. Not to witness the life in Equestria from the outside, but to partake in it from the inside, to literally feel alive and having real interaction… instead of obedient reaction. This was what they seemed to long for and it was written all over Celestia’s face as she lied down on her pillow.

As she looked up to him while she nodded, her lips gently wrapped around him, it was the heavy deep blush on her cheeks and the seductive look on her eyes that caught his eye. It was a clear announcement. She was willing to put everything aside for feeling like a mare. Royalty, pride, even dignity. This act was unbecoming of a princess, but she nonetheless enjoyed it. She enjoyed his taste, the warm, hard flesh of his throbbing member, the odor clouding her senses. She wanted him to release himself in her mouth, to taste it, to feel it, to smell it…

And when he caressed her ethereal mane, she closed her eyes in silent pride. He seldom touched her in public due to the fact that his relationship with her and Luna wasn’t official yet. More like an open secret among their closest servants. It was a major gesture when he put flowers in their manes when they were in their private gardens on the weekly sleepovers. This always was the time Celestia looked for the most during the week. Often she had to giggle while witnessing puzzled faces when the guards looked at them when they talked simply casual together. She often overheard the question what Tyler had what other stallions don’t have. For her it was the spunk he had; the courage to stand up to her.

This very courage was what was making love with him so much more exciting. It sort of was forbidden. It sort of was breaking a dogma. But it made her heart race. Despite her age, she felt like a young filly in love around him. And now she had him standing before her, nude and pleased him like one of equal stand. Although her womb screamed for him, her heart was in heaven.

By now he leaned his head into his neck and moaned as she picked up the pace. Her horn began to shimmer ever so slightly as Tyler felt a slight tickle. In wonder he looked down to her,
“The hell…?”

But she only winked up to him. This prompted him to nod. Whatever she was up to, he trusted her. And it wasn’t long enough as he moaned up loud as he released himself inside her mouth. What Tyler didn’t expect was the unusual quantity he released. Obviously she had magically altered him a bit for releasing larger amounts. With eyes full of love she looked up to him as she began to gulp.

After he was dressed again, he looked at Celestia,
“You never told me you could do that.”

With still a blushed face, she fetched herself a glass of wine to down it in one sweep,
“You never asked me. Why? Should I instruct Twilight to learn this spell?”

He shook his head,
“Don’t force her on my behalf. Mention it to her. Who came up with a spell like this in the first place?”

Celestia now giggled,
“That was before Luna and I came to power. Some unicorn mares wielded it to increase the quantity of semen their stallions would release with every orgasm. It’s a one-shot altered by me to only last a few seconds. Unlike their stallions, your testicles won’t double in size.”

He grinned,
“That certainly would please you permanently, wouldn’t it? You’re a bad girl…”

As he leaned over her, behind her neck, she raised her right wing to caress his cheek,
“Indeed I am… But for every time I’m a bad girl…”

Tyler grinned and caressed her cheek with his palm,
“… you’re a good obedient girl afterwards… That’s true. During our next sleepover here in Canterlot, I’ll make sure your heat will settle down.”

This prompted her to fantasize in pleasant anticipation. A shiver went through her as she looked at him,
“Meaning you will mount me in front of the others?”

But Tyler cocked his head,
“Why? Are you concerned because of Twilight?”

Her eyes avoided his,
“I guess a little bit…”

His palm now wandered down her neck,
“Don’t be. I know she’s good with that. She’s intelligent enough to understand that even you want to have your needs satisfied once in a while. And I think she’s actually happy to have you in our herd since it means she can justify more demand of your time.”

This prompted Celestia to smile again,
“Yes… She loves me very much. Although I would wish her to stand up to me as well. Twilight seldom expresses opinions that differ from mine.”

With this both Tyler and Celestia hugged goodbye before he left the Canterlot. Looking after the train, both sisters had stern faces. Luna was the first to speak,
“What do we take from this incident, my sister? He clearly showed signs of mine influence. The eyes… His eyes were the same as mine while evil controlled me.”

Celestia nodded,
“Well we’ve learned something. Tyler is very receptive to our influence, Luna. It seems the minds and/or hearts of humans are very easily manipulated, if not on the conscious level, then on the subconscious. Now that there are four humans in Equestria, we have to keep a close eye on them all.” With a worried face Celestia then looked down to the statues near the palace labyrinth. “I just hope he doesn’t get out anytime soon… Imagine Tyler behaving the opposite way around!”

Luna shook her head,
“Nay! This will never happen. I won’t let this happen to him!” As she looked over to Celestia again, she giggled. “Tia? There’s something on your face!”

With a surprised,
“Oh?” Celestia began to giggle as well. “Lulu? Do you mind?”

"Not at all, Tia… As long as it is his…” With this she licked the small droplet of sperm from her big sister’s cheek.

Meanwhile Rachel and Flynn were sitting in the library to study some charts. After two hours on the training ground they had enough for today. Rainbow didn’t complain since it was their first day and she didn’t want to force herself on them. Although concentrating on the charts before her, Rachel couldn’t resist looking at Twilight once in a while. 'So him and her…'
“Are these all the maps you have here, Ms. Sparkle?”

Twilight trotted over to them,
“Unfortunately, yes… There are more in Canterlot, but it would need a day for them to arrive. Do you want me to order them?”

Flynn nodded,
“That would be very helpful, yes.” As Twilight trotted away, Flynn recognized her rump and looked into the charts to avoid looking further. Although this wasn’t his thing, the curiosity was undeniably there. He then looked over to Rachel. “I think we should have more topographic maps… Don’t you think so?” As no response came back, he waved before Rachel’s face. “Hello! Rachel!”

Higgins snapped out of it and shook her head,
“Sorry… it has been a long day… Not only are we lost in God knows what place, but the thing with all the talking ponies… Is this happening, Flynn? Or have we lost it? Maybe that’s a government experiment for stress or something! They’ve drugged us and we start to see talking ponies in all colors!” With that Flynn grabbed her at the shoulder and looked her in the eye. Right after that, he slapped her. “HEY!!! What was that for, you asshole?”

Flynn then chuckled,
“If we’re drugged, how come I see the same shit as you? Or why does it hurt when I slap you? No! We’re here, this is real! We’re both soldiers, now get a grip, Corporal! I need you to help me find a way back home!”

Rachel stared at Flynn for a second before she nodded,
“Got it…”

As they looked into the maps again, it knocked on the door and Twilight opened the door,
“Oh! Hi, Zecora. I’m glad you brought it so quickly.”

When Rachel looked up to see the new guest, her eyes widened as she saw the zebra stepping in,
“You! Why have you come here? To beat us up again?” Zecora recognized Rachel from before and a strict look came to her face.

“I didn’t come here to start more bad emotions…
In fact Twilight demanded several of my potions.”

With this the zebra took out three vials out of her saddlebag which she gave to Twilight,
“Spike had some too much ice cream again and has a belly ache now. So I asked Zecora for some potions to help him get better.” With this the unicorn cocked her head. “Why? Is something wrong with Zecora?”

Rachel growled a bit,
“Something wrong? She gave us a good beating in that dark forest of yours!”

The zebra now raised her chin.

“Many dangers lurk in the Everfree Forest
Beating you up sure was for your best.
Many beasts want to rip the flesh from your bone
And some do find great pleasure to turn you into stone!
So you see the punches were truly the better fate
But if your pride is severely hurt, maybe my apology comes too late…”

Rachel now stared at Zecora, not knowing what to say. Flynn nudged her roughly into the rips and nodded to Zecora with a stern look. But even this only brought her to stammer around,
“This… I…” With pity in her eyes the zebra now looked at her.

“You think I’m an ignorant savage.”

Looking onto the table with their dead mobile phones, the nonfunctional GPS device and broken PSP, the zebra shook her head.

“And you have so many gimmicks, I guess it must be so…”

Then Zecora eyed the empty gun on Rachel’s belt and pointed at it.

“But still I cannot see,
If the savage one is me.
How can there be so much that you don’t know?”

Rachel looked after Zecora. Reluctantly she then looked at all the books and maps in front of her. That zebra, although Rachel didn’t like it, was right. She knew almost nothing about these ponies and yet she felt unpleasant around them without good reason,
“I… I guess it’s this unfamiliar situation… I had a job, lots of friends, family…”

“You are lost, a sheep far astray,
Won’t you agree it’s best to make friends to ask for the way?”

“I guess so… Right now I’m stuck here with only two of my friends…” as she looked to Flynn, she smiled. “Yeah I mean it, you little shithead! I’m happy we’re stuck in here together! Satisfied? At least that’s better than to be here all by myself!” Another thought grew in Rachel’s mind and she didn’t like it. “And alone with Jones… Ugh! That guy is a complete freak! I mean, come on! The guy-”

Twilight now cut her off, stomping one hoof onto the ground,
“Enough of this! I won’t allow you to spread lies about Tyler!” Rachel looked puzzled as the lavender unicorn approached her with her horn glowing. Holographic pictures appeared on the floor. “I’ve seen him for what he truly is! He spoke of the violent nature of man and that’s what shining through once he’s in conflict. He’s… like fighting spirit personified! A storm front in the middle of the night. When disaster comes, he’s willing to fight for us all just as we are willing to step in for all our friends! He enjoys every moment of it! And although it frightens me to see him that way, I don’t wish him otherwise…”

Now a hologram showed Tyler facing the void dragon in the epic fight when he and the girls defeated the vile beast with united effort. Rachel’s brows arched as the dragon was slain,
“He has sacrificed his only means to return to Earth to save us from beings that wanted to kill each and every pony. And because you can’t tolerate him being in love with one of us as he hasn’t anybody else doesn’t give you the bucking right to question him! Maybe you think I glorify him, but the fact remains: He earned his right for happiness with blood, both his own and the blood of the creatures that wanted to befall our land.”

The librarian now snorted before she looked at Rachel and harrumphed,
“Everypony and every human out of my library! Except for you, Rachel! I wish to talk with you in private!” Twilight’s face was very strict now.

Flynn nodded,
“I’m going to look for Sam… He’s still with that other unicorn… Lura or whatever her name was…”

Zecora nodded as well and looked to Rachel.

“I hope my points were well put,
And I hope Twilight can change your mind for good.”

With this the zebra left as well. As soon as they were alone in the library, Twilight slammed a few books more on the ground to Rachel’s pile,
“THESE are all the facts regarding the equestrian society! Look, Rachel… I think back on Earth things are different, that your monogamous society is run different with different virtues and ideals. But here you’re in Equestria! It is alright for four mares sharing one guy.”

Rachel arched a brow,
“Wait! You girls share the guy? From what I see, he only uses you to-”

Twilight cut her off while raising a hoof and shook her head,
“No… Actually he hesitated first. His sexual desire isn’t as strong as the one of the average mare, especially in heat season. I think due to your monogamous nature you think he would be the playcolt here, bucking around like he pleases. But rest assured: He’s not like that. May I speak openly to you? From mare to mare?”

This prompted Rachel to blink,
“Uh… Sure?”

Twilight now sat down beside her,
“During the last heat season, I had the hots for Tyler… I mean he is my type of stallion. Mature, intellectual, educated and kind… I jumped at him!”

Rachel looked down perplex,
“What?”

With a deep blush Twilight continued,
“I lost my control, OK? It can happen during the strong need in heat season… But instead of taking advantage of me, he hesitated. Even in bed he hesitated, stating that this should be done with the one you love… It was then when I confessed to him. Since then we’re together and he always was sweet to me. It wasn’t before long that we invited AJ into our herd. Tyler started the herd with us because every mare in town hunted after him in a big stampede. He’s a decent guy, faithful and caring. And he sees his herd mates for what they are, not as sex objects like you accuse him.”

Rachel had become very silent during this conversation. From Twilight’s point of view, she clearly misjudged Tyler. Then she looked at Twilight,
“You know… you have an interesting way to convince people… But… Still, he’s a human, you’re a pony… Doesn’t this bother you?”

“Oh, it’s exotic, no doubt! Applejack told me about the positions they both tried and how they drove her crazy. Also I’m a unicorn; we’re quite petite down there… Although I lack the experience of another, his member is nice and big. I guess Tyler must experience a thrilling sensation while we’re at it. I know I do…” But with this she immediately placed a hoof on her mouth and blushed deeply. “Don’t tell him I told you that!”

Rachel simply shook her head with a slightly amused expression,
“I think Rainbow already did. She stated that you told her that Tyler’s hung like a monster.”

With this the unicorn hid under her hooves,
“Oh ponyfeathers!”

Rachel simply shook her head with a smile,
“You really enjoy yourself with him, don’t you?” As Twilight looked up, she nodded sheepishly before Rachel continued. “And it never occurred to you that it might be wrong to be with him?”

The lavender unicorn thought for a minute,
“Well, it was the first time any pony ever saw a human and Tyler was widely accepted after slaying that dragon. So… No! it never occurred to me, even though we can’t have children without magic.”

Rachel sat down and browsed in one of the books,
“I must say I thought the guy just came here, pulled out a show to convince you and then took four mares to satisfy his own savage needs… Who are the other two, by the way? You mentioned Applejack, but this makes only half of you girls…” After a short explanation Rachel jumped up. “WHAT?!? Wowowowowow! Let me get this straight… THAT guy first got YOU into his herd, then Applejack and then… first the younger and then the older princess??? What do you all see in that guy?”

Twilight shrugged,
“Well, Princess Luna and Celestia enjoy that he treats them like any other mare. You know, not constantly bowing before them, talking to them like we talk to each other now…”

“Uh-huh… So they love him because he treats them like commoners? Well… I don’t know… I take it for them this IS a pretty nice thing of him to do… I guess that’s the way the royals tick… but still… You all stand up for him and trust him… Aren’t you afraid he could raise his hand against you? Or that he could betray all of you? He has connections to the princesses, no doubt!”

“Well? So do I? You may not know this, but my brother is married to Princess Cadance, who is also an alicorn and was my foalsitter when I was young. Princess Luna is one of my friends and Princess Celestia is my teacher. We’re being herd mates for so long now… Tyler and I… I would entrust Tyler with my life like I would do with any other of my good friends.”

“Hmmmm… I see… Well for your sake I hope you’re right. I know humans who betrayed each other after knowing and living with each other for several years…”

Shaking her head, Twilight levitated a book back into the bookshelf,
“Honestly, do you think that after having a foal together with Applejack he would turn on us?”

Rachel’s eyes widened,
“Wait… He… He impregnated one of you as well?”

“Normally this isn’t possible due to our incompatible genetic structure, but Princess Luna turned Applejack into a human for one night. And it seems they both were lucky as they procreated a foal during that night.”

Rachel now grabbed her forehead and sighed,
“OK… At least there’s some sense in this madness… I think… This is WAY too much information for one day! But all I can see is that this guy isn’t-“

It was then when the door opened and Tyler stepped inside,
“Hey, Twilight! I’m back! Were there any problems while I was in Canterlot?” As he stepped upstairs, he recognized Rachel and cleared his throat while rubbing his neck.

“Good, you’re here… Ms. Higgins? I just had a talk with the princesses and… Well, it seems the dark influence of the night princess got me overboard. I know that explanation sounds stupid to a human who hasn’t been around here that much, but… I’m sorry that I beat you up. Can you forgive me?”

Twilight now looked happily at Rachel who now got up and approached Tyler. Finally this conflict could end with another friendship. That would make a marvelous new report to-

But as she stood before Tyler, Rachel delivered a punch to his face and waved her hand in pain, much to Twilight’s protest,
“HEY!!!”

Just as Twilight wanted to say something to arbitrate their brawl, Rachel looked at Tyler,
“Jones… You’re a jerk! And I don’t like you!” She then sighed. “But for now, I’ve heard enough to know you’re not a complete jerk. That has to be enough for me I guess. Point is: We need you. You’re the only one we can rely on. For the time we’re here, I’m going to assess the threat level the indigenous life forms might pose for the USA. That’s my duty for Earth. You may think that this is all lovey-dovey and we’re all good with each other… but if something can get to this place from Earth, then something might get back. And that’s the thing. As soon as we know how to get back there, we have to inform Earth as well. As for your apology… Consider it accepted.”

Twilight looked at Rachel with a stern look, wanted to say something, but decided to look up to Tyler instead,
“But Tyler… You said Earth should never know about this place!”

Tyler nodded,
“That’s correct, Twilight… The full influence of Earth might be bad for Equestria, but what about other nations on Equis? Equestria might be an ally to Earth, but what if Changelings make it to Earth? Or other harmful beings? I can’t say if they could wield magic over there, but do we take that risk? I’m with Higgins on this. If we find the destination where one can cross over to Earth, that place must be secured to make sure nothing bad crosses over. The first thing that ever comes from Equis to Earth should be an ambassador... Or something like that...”

Twilight now stomped one hoof to the ground,
“But what if these places switch location every time a crossing occurs?”

Slightly baffled, Rachel looked down to Twilight,
“What do you mean?”

Raising a hoof now, Twilight levitated a map of Equestria and the Amasian Enclave,
“Tyler said that this human warship crashed from the Bermuda Triangle into the Amasian Enclave! But that’s thousands of miles away from the Everfree forest, where you crossed over!”

Tyler and Rachel now looked at each other. This was a fact they both completely overlooked. Rachel gulped,
“If the one portal TO this world can wander around…”

Tyler nodded with a stern look,
“Then so can the other… meaning anytime and everywhere could be a crossover…” With this both Rachel and Tyler shook their hands. "I think we should work together for the sake of both Equis and Earth..."

Rachel nodded as both their hands delivered pressure into the handshake,
"Agreed!" While both of them now studied the maps and charts together, Twilight smiled before she summoned Spike to gulp down one of the potions and to take a note for her.

Dear Princess Celestia,
Humans are a strange bunch of people. With lots of strange habits and rites to solve their conflicts, they sure don’t fail to surprise again and again. And individuals, although different and hateful to each other first, soon learn to rely on each other due to their common needs. I wonder if one day those new humans will learn to rely on us as much as they rely on each other now. From our friend Tyler I’ve learned that being of a different species doesn’t have to be a border. It can be a gift for each side to help one another. And it can be a wonderful experience if one dares to embrace the fact that we all strive for the same virtues.

Your faithful student,

Twilight sparkle

* * * * *

Meanwhile on the train station in Fillydelphia…

Trixie stood there on the departure platform waiting for the train. Alongside her was a travel bag. Just enough luggage for a short visit in Ponyville. How eager she was to meet Twilight and Tyler again. Even the rain couldn’t spoil her great mood right now. It was then when three stallions approached her,
“Miss Trixie? May we have a short word with you?”

“Oh? Hello… Well if it doesn’t take too long. My train arrives in a few minutes. I’m on my way to Ponyville to-”

With that one of the stallions raised a hoof and cut her off,
“I’m afraid this isn’t possible right now.”

This startled Trixie a bit,
“I don’t understand… Who are you?”

The second stallion shook his head,
“That is of no importance… You on the other hand should feel very important…”

“You singlehandedly brought a human into this world…” added the third stallion.

Trixie now harrumphed. She didn‘t liked where this was going. She had sworn never to do such a thing and was done with boasting. Feeling important wasn’t important anymore to her if it wasn’t being important to her friends,
“Well, these events took place almost a year ago. And I’m not very proud of almost bringing ruin to Equestria. Perhaps you should talk with Tyler Jones yourself and not with me.”

With this the stallions approached her altogether,
“We may have a test for you before you’re going to bring someone else back to Equis…”

Trixie now went backwards until she reached a wall. Fear was written all over the face of the unicorn mare as the three stallions approached her,
“No, go away…”

As they subdued the showmare, the spells were casted quickly. One of them sneered down at her unconscious body,
“Too bad, we can’t have any fun with her… She sure has a nice plot.”

The others stared at the first one,
“Cut it out, idiot! This isn’t about rape! This goes beyond all that!”

“Indeed… Implanted memories, implanted ambitions about revenge… She will make a fine test run… is the amulet ready?”

The second stallion nodded,
“The shopkeeper already bought it and due to the memory implantation he thinks he bought it years ago.”

“Excellent… And what about Project Chrysalia?”

The third stallion now shook his head,
“Almost destroyed… But due to the offspring the project managed to give birth to, we avoided a total loss. It is now in the CCF, the Changeling Containment Facility in Canterlot. Our agents will soon contact the project itself. After then things will unfold again.”

“Good… Everything is going according to the mistresses’ plan…”

16 - Interlude - Containment Breach *

One day had passed since a certain showmare missed her train when Tyler brought Sam, Flynn and Rachel back to Canterlot. As the train arrived at the station, Rachel stretched a bit.
“Why are we going to the capital? Do you want a little chitchat in the castle?”

Tyler shook his head.
“Nah... This will be a demonstration visit. I want you to fire your weapons to show them to the guard and the princesses, so they can get a picture. Also there is one thing that I want to show you folks. We’ve already talked about bodily contact with magic…”

Sam nodded.
“We did. Lyra was very cautious about it while around us. I think she was afraid of hurting us or something. All this… talk about it being a very painful event… is it even worth it?”

Smirking for a while, Tyler nodded.
“It sure is once you’re ready…” Rachel walked behind Tyler and eyed him for a second. Once we’re ready…

In the throne room Princess Celestia greeted them with a warm hug for every one of them.
“Thank you for coming, Tyler… Thank you all. I promise you this will be brief for I don’t have much time on my hooves now. You know, I will be in Saddle Arabia for a few days before coming back with some delegates from there. Meanwhile Luna will handle the ruling over Equestria. I expect no bigger problems…”

Rachel arched a brow.
“Saddle Arabia? Is this some sort of…”

Tyler simply shook his head with a smile.
“You tell me! Manehatten, Baltimare, Fillydelphia, the Neighagra falls… Open an atlas to read some city names and you see the resemblance…”

Flynn however rubbed his chin.
“Princess Luna, huh? Does this mean we will finally meet her? She doesn’t seem to be around much…”

“Tis because my duty takes place when all the subjects of Equestria are asleep…” With these words Luna came into the throne room and approached the group before hugging Tyler. “Tis a pleasure to see you again, my companion… I always enjoy it when you are in Canterlot outside of our weekly sleepover routine…”

Tyler patted her back and smiled.
“I’m also happy to be here, Luna. May I introduce you to the new human citizens? That’s Sam O’Donnel, Flynn Marshall and Rachel Higgins.”

“Ah yes… The woman who brawled with you…” Luna gave Rachel an icy look. It was obvious that she didn’t like her, but tolerated her for the sake of peace.

Rachel’s eyebrow twitched before she smirked.
“Well for the sake of our home planet, he and I intend to set our differences aside from now on.”

This loosened the icy look on Luna’s face and she turned to Tyler who nodded in confirmation. Now Luna was smiling again and all signs of coldness in her face vanished.
“Good. I’m very fond of Tyler. I know he is capable of taking care of himself, but I wouldn’t forgive someone who would harm him for the sake of hurting someone.” She then looked at Sam. “Dark skin… I must say, this is interesting… Thou were born with it?” Sam frowned a bit, but nodded. Luna then continued. “Don’t worry, I can relate… Having such dark coat frightens some ponies sometimes. Sometimes dark appearance can be mistaken as being frightening or evil…”

Tyler now intervened.
“Uh… Luna? That’s not the same… I mean-“

He was interrupted as Sam stepped in.
“It’s OK, Tyler… I take it those ponies never saw a brother in this neighborhood.”

“Brother?” Now Luna was out of context. “Pray tell, what is the meaning of this? Are thou related to one of the others?”

Tyler chuckled a bit.
“It’s slang, Luna… He’s not related to anyone of us.” Luna then only gave a mere “Oh…”

With a chuckle, Celestia stepped into the group.
“Don’t worry, Luna… You and Sam can talk later about this. But for now let’s get down to the royal yard to perform the demonstration runs. I want to get this done before my departure to Saddle Arabia.”

They all nodded and the group went down the hallways to the yard. Rachel watched Tyler conversing with the princesses until Flynn nudged her into her ribcage.
“Don’t stare, it’s not polite.”

“Why excuse me! I’m still getting used to the fact that he…”

Sam only rolled his eyes.
“We know, Rachel… You can’t approve of that so easily… But think of it that way: Better this guy has a good relation with both of them than they are declaring war on us, right?”

Rachel now sighed in defeat.
“Right… That’s of course better.”

The pistol magazines and the paintball equipment were brought into the royal yard and a solid block of wood as well as a solid block of stone were placed as targets. Tyler now approached the table and took an equestrian pistol from it. It was a simple gun filled with powder and a projectile. Tyler nodded and aimed the pistol at the wooden target.
“First, the simple equestrian pistol. Single shot, reload time about a minute or less, depending how good you trained the reloading.” He fired the gun at the round target and hit somewhere between the center and outer rings.

Then Rachel reloaded her Beretta and took aim.
“Beretta M9, Semi-automatic pistol, effective range of 50 meters, 15 round magazine, iron sights.” After this brief introduction, she fired 3 bullets into the target and hit close around the center.

Celestia and Luna blinked at the pistol.
“The powder is in the bullets? Amazing…”

Rachel took out the magazine and placed it on the table before her, before she grabbed it again and placed it into the pistol.
“Reload time about 5 seconds at maximum for another 15 shots.” With this she took the magazine out again and unloaded the gun.

Now Sam stepped forth and presented his paintball rifle.
“This is my Sarah Jane. The weapon is an imitation of the M16, an assault rifle that fires lethal rounds. My Sarah Jane only fires small balls filled with paint.” With this he loaded the gun and aimed it at the stone target. After a barrage of shots he stopped and lowered his rifle while the stone target was splattered in red color.

Celestia eyed the rifle with wary glances.
“It is one thing to see it in Tyler’s mind… But to see it with my own eyes… Humanity must have waged way more war than we do if they perfected tools for killing that much… But I see you have this Sarah Jane rifle for sports, Sam?”

He nodded.
“Yes, I do. We paintball players try to best each other with the best tactic, equipment and health condition. It’s like a party of chess, only that we’re the pawns on the game ourselves.”

With this the white alicorn nodded herself.
“I see… A game of cunning, reflex and reaction… And this protective clothing on the table is your armor to reduce injuries?”

Again he nodded.
“It certainly is! Those paintballs aren’t lethal, but they hurt quite well. If one is careless, the punishment follows on the spot.”

Celestia now glanced over the weapons.
“If used right… These instruments of war could help defending so many innocent ponies…”

Now Luna stepped beside her sister.
“But if used in ill will… These things could kill so many ponies as well.”

With this the Princess of the Sun nodded.
“Indeed… We must not follow this path, even if it means our path is harder to go…”

Tyler now took the magazine of the paintball rifle and opened a bag which was still untouched yet.
“Now it is time to demonstrate something to you folks. It is important, so don’t mess up!” With this, he held up a small bead. “I asked them to do beads of the size of your paintball balls. This bead contains some of my blood.”

Rachel looked at Tyler in disbelief.
“Why would you fill your blood into one tiny bead? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Oh yes it does! As you probably know, I can wield magic if unicorns charge me.”

Flynn arched a brow.
“So THAT’S how you could disappear! You teleported yourself…”

Tyler cleared his throat now.
“Yeah… The thing is: even my blood can store some magic and it can be brought to an explosion if released at once.” With this he put one bead into Sam’s magazine before handing it to him. “Sam? Please fire once more at the stone target.

Sam now looked at Tyler, then at the magazine and reloaded. He took aim and the next shot caused a minor detonation strong enough to crack the stone target into several pieces. Sam looked up from his iron sights and stared at the target.
“That’s… That’s not possible… You’re kidding me!”

Shaking his head Tyler stood beside him and pointed his hand at the wooden target, only to cast a fire spell and set it on fire.
“I’m not kidding you. The environment made me stronger than usual and the contact with magic made me something else than a mere human. But I’m not an invincible Superman and it is a great responsibility to live with that. I inform you guys about it, so you can decide whether or not you wish to achieve this for yourself. If you achieve this enhancement, I suggest you stay on the good side of the Equestrians. This is why I had to tell the guard to take you into custody. And why I took you here today.”

Rachel nodded.
“Good thinking, Jones… Shit… You’re giving me less reason to hate you. I might have to find other things I don’t like about you.”

Tyler chuckled about this statement.
“It’s always my pleasure to deliver a challenge to you.”

Celestia then nodded.
“I understand it you are then instructed. You understand the dangers human cells could muster if they are to fall into the wrong hooves. When Tyler was taken “kidnapped” as you tend to say… He was charged with so much magic that he leveled a mountain.”

Now the three of them shook their heads before Rachel grinned.
“Come again? It must be my bad hearing… I could swear you just claimed that he leveled a mountain…” Celestia’s face now grew strict and Rachel knew she had doubted something she better didn’t have.

But as they continued to walk back into the castle, Celestia showed them the large hole in the ground in the distance.
“This pile of rubble in a burned hole in the ground is what’s left of Dragon Mountain. Although not so poisonous as your nuclear bombs Tyler told me about, I think the destructive force was equal.”

Rachel looked at Tyler who simply shook his head.
“No need to worry now. This was due to magic overcharge. I now keep check of how much magic I take in.”

Rachel however turned her face to the scarred landscape of the former mountain.
“Why worry? You are one walking, unlicensed nuclear accelerator in a capital city… Just refrain to go up once we’re around, mkay?” Tyler chuckled at this and looked over to Rachel. She still tried to provoke him, but maybe that was just her way of dealing with the whole situation. Shortly after that, he said goodbye to Celestia before she made her way to the west.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, down the many levels of the CCF, a white stallion entered the chamber of Shiria. With another glance to the observation window above, he approached the Changeling queen.
“Here are your books now… Project Chrysalia.”

Although she hadn’t paid much attention to the stallion in the first places, Shiria’a eyes widened in an instant now as the genetic memory in her was awakened. Several rings were belled in her mind and she looked at the stallion.
“Come again?”

The stallion smirked.
“It’s time to rise again for your masters…”

These words only caused her eyes to widen even more and her cat-like pupils to shrink to tiny slits. Rage started to boil within her.
”What did you just say?”

He only chuckled and sneered at her.
“But of course… You Changelings are an ancient bioweapon of King Tacitus. A last ditch attempt to beat the alicorns of light. And we are the descendants of his heritage. It is only natural that we now make good use of you. Hopefully you will not turn out a failure as your mother did…”

In the next moment he was slammed against the wall as her horn blasted him with a highly focused energy beam. The beam was so strong and powerful it ripped his clothes apart and caused some wounds. Another blast welded the heavy hatch to her chamber closely together. After she opened her mouth to inhale for a second, an ear deafening shriek her call echoed through the air vents, signaling her swarm to attack. Now, standing above the stallion, Shiria growled down to him as her eyes began to glow.
“The obedient little Changeling you know is dead….” By now the cabins and container within the facility began to tremble and shake violently. Punches from the inside dented the hatches and walls of the cabins until the swarm shrieked in unison mere seconds before the ventilation shafts began to shake violently.

Professor Mindfire galloped to the observation window.
“Shiria! What is the meaning of this? Why are your Changelings trying to escape? And why did you hurt that stallion?”

Shiria looked up to the yellow unicorn and glared at her.
“I’m going to find the origin of the Changelings and make them pay… I’ll make them pay for a life in misery and struggle for survival!” With that she shrieked again, prompting Mindfire to activate the alarm. Within seconds the whole facility was under lockdown.

It wasn’t for long until more guards galloped into the CCF, led by the Captain.
“This is Shimmerwind! Find the Changeling Queen! Subdue her at all costs! Use of lethal force is authorized, if necessary!” With this the military mare took away the communication crystal and entered the elevator down to the levels below.

On their way back to the carriage, Tyler Rachel, Sam and Flynn were stopped by a guard. He was out of his breath and gasped several times, before he recollected himself.
“Tyler Jones! You have to come! Quickly!”

They could see the alarmed expression in both face and voice of the guard and followed him as they ran after him.
“What’s this all about?”

“The CCF… The Changelings are trying to break out!” With this Tyler stopped in an instant.

Rachel, Flynn and Sam looked at him before the guard stopped as well.
“What is it? What are Changelings?”

Tyler’s expression grew grimmer now.
“Follow me! We’re going back to the armory!” Mere minutes after saying this, he kicked open the doors of the armory.

The armorer, a hefty and bearded stallion raised a hoof in protest.
“HEY!!! WHAT THE HAY DO YOU THINK THIS IS???”

Tyler’s fist slammed on the armorer’s counter.
“It will be your funeral if you don’t cooperate! Right now the Changelings in the CCF are trying to break out! And I need the weaponry of these humans! NOW GET YOUR FLANK MOVING OR EXPLAIN TO PRINCESS LUNA WHY THERE ARE CHANGELINGS OVER THE CAPITAL ONCE MORE!!!” With this the armorer stepped back a few bits and nodded.

A minute later Rachel reloaded her Beretta anew while Sam looked at Tyler.
“I take it I’m to load those High explosive rounds of your blood?” As he nodded, Sam prepared several clips. “This is sick… Why packing so much firepower?”

Rachel put the Beretta into her holster and looked at the swords and daggers with Flynn. If Tyler was giving her back her ammunition so soon, there had to be an imminent threat. And due to his stern expression it meant a LOT of trouble.
“Jones! Talk to us! What’s this all about?”

Tyler on the other hand talked to a unicorn of the guard and was being charged with magic before looking to her.
“It means someone who should be grounded is trying to break loose. We can’t let this happen!” Minutes after that they arrived at the CCF entrance, the guards let them in. As they stormed down the stairs to the gates, Tyler looked over to the guards at the side of the checkpoint. “Seal the doors behind us! Let no pony out! Remember: They can mimic ponies, but they can’t mimic humans!”
Rachel wondered about this sentence. Mimicry…

Upon entering the facility, they came across the main entrance hall, filled with several consoles and guards. It was there when Tyler recognized an all too familiar face.
“Dusk Aegis… What a pleasant surprise! I take it your quarantine is over? Good to see you again!”

The dark blue unicorn smiled slightly.
“If only the reason would be better… The situation is quite grim…”

On their way to the Facility Headquarters, both the unicorn and Tyler conversed as they and the others ran down the corridor.
“So you’re in charge of the CCF? OK, Dusk! What’s going on down there?”

“We don’t know for certain! She started screeching all of a sudden and the next moment the Changelings went wild in their containers before crawling through the ventilation shafts.”

Tyler now frowned.
“The air ventilation shafts… Amazing! I didn’t think they could squeeze themselves through these tight shafts. They are much smaller than their bodies. We designed them that way!”

Upon entering the control room, there were crystals showing holograms of the specific gems that showed parts of the levels below. With every minute more and more holograms ceased to function. More and more radio chatter came from down below.
*KRZ* “Facility HQ! We have a situation on Level 5!” The sound of magic being used was audible in the background. Obviously spells were casted.
“Watch your back, soldier! Full back now! Let’s get out of here!!!” *KRZ*

The officers on the consoles looked over to dusk and saluted.
“Sir! We have security breaches on Level 3 to 5 right now! Security teams are standing their ground, but…”

After a short communication break, Tyler grabbed one of the crystals as the voice from before became audible again. *KRZ* “I repeat! Facility HQ, we’ve got a situation-” The voice was suddenly interrupted by a roar and some screaming, followed by some terrible noises.
Tyler imagined them as bones breaking when another voice sounded of. “SHADOWDANCER!!! NOOOO!!!!”*KRZ*with this the communication ended in static noise.

Flynn now stared at the communication terminals.
“Jesus…”

Tyler looked at the crystal in his hand before he looked at the elevator.
“Higgins… This isn’t your fight… I can’t expect you to follow me into a gruesome death. If you three don’t want to go down, I won’t be mad at you. But I have to go. They rely on me down there.”

It was then when Rachel remembered what Twilight said to her. “When disaster comes, he’s willing to fight for us all…” She now looked over to Sam and he nodded before he raised his paintball gun. With a swift move she took the communication crystal from Tyler and looked at it, before she went down the corridor to the elevator while talking into the crystal like talking into a walkie-talkie.
“This is Corporal Higgins! US Marine Corps! Whoever is alive down there, fortify your position! We’re coming down! I repeat: The humans are coming to get you out of there!” Tyler smirked and followed her as she showed him the finger without turning back to him. “Do I look like I would leave all the fun to you, you son of a gun? That’s our chance to get a first glimpse of the threats of this world! Alright, ponies! We’re moving out! I’ll take the lead… Sam, you have those explosive marbles. You are behind me. Jones! You have these magic powers, you check those corners! Flynn, since you don’t have any ranged weapon, you’ll stay here with the guards and hold back everything that tries to sneak out!” Flynn nodded and remained with some of the guards to watch over the control room. Rachel then looked over to Dusk Aegis. “You! Dust!”

The unicorn stallion arched a brow.
“It’s Dusk!”

“Whatever! I want you to watch our rear! We don’t need anything to cut off our path in case we have to retreat or jump at us in the dark.”

The blue unicorn nodded.
“I appreciate the help… Although I don’t know what a team of four can do against all these Changelings…” With this the group entered the Elevator to Level One.

In her cell, Shiria looked up to the ceiling. Already the hatchet to her cell was sparkling as the unicorns on the other side tried to open it by force.
“Jones… I knew you would come to stop me…” With another shriek, she urged her swarm to hurry.

Rachel stepped outside the elevator on Level One. The corridor before them was dark, but completely intact.
“Jones? Where to go?”

“There’s a red line on the floor. Follow it!” Tyler answered on the spot before casting a small light spell to shed some light to the corridor. After following the corridor and going some detours due to some container in the corridor. While walking through some laboratories, Rachel saw a schematic of a changeling. "They’re actually quite small… I guess…"

It was then when the radio chatter began anew.
*KRZ* “…orget about the protocols! You’ve heard her! Get everypony in here and fortify!!! Now! Now!! NOW!!!”

Another voice sounded off in the background. “Lieutenant! We need some flame magic to torch these doors and bars together! MOVE!!!”*KRZ*

Soon after that, they reached the main elevator with a massive vault gate, guarded by some guards. While they approached them, Tyler held up his arm. “Don’t shoot!” He then looked over to the unicorns.
“You there! The test!” The guards nodded and one after another spilled a few drops of red blood on a white handkerchief. Tyler nodded. “Alright! You are clean! How is the Main elevator shaft?”

“They can’t break through the armored vault doors of every level, but the smaller ones can reach the different levels with the ventilation shafts.”

Rachel now looked at Tyler again.
“Smaller ones?”

Tyler simply shrugged.
“The big ones are called brutes, keep your distance from them, they will swat you as if YOU were the fly on the wall.”

The three humans now readied themselves in front of the large vault gate while Dusk ordered the guards to open the vault gate and to call the elevator. Rachel looked at the massive gate.
“So I take it Equestria has the same dirty little secrets as Earth governments have?”

Tyler shook his head as the unicorns lowered the first layer of the gate.
“No! These are specimen of a race of pony-like insects called Changelings. We almost got them extinct, but I couldn’t commit genocide. Their leader is a former princess of their race they have drones and warriors, princesses and a queen, just like a bee hive. Seems to me the princess now thinks that she’s a queen she has the right to leave as she wills…Or we’re disturbing her nest…”

As the door opened, the roar of a Changeling brute greeted the four of them. While the 9mm bullets penetrated the massive beast’s chitin plates, the projectiles seemed to have lost every punch for the inner organs.
“DOESN’T WORK FOR ME!!!” Rachel yelled, before jumping out of the brute’s path. Sam shot several shots at the brute, repelling the beast while its armor plates cracked open. That was everything Tyler needed. A precise beam attack right into the wound detonated the magic inside the beast, crushing its organs. As they approached the beast, a little Changeling crawled up from the back of it. A gunshot and a screech later the Changeling was lying on the floor with a hole in its face.

Rachel now inspected the dead Changeling.
“They’re actually quite small… A headshot should do the trick… Sam, do you see those eyes? Insect-like with lids. No insect I know has eyelids! The skull seems very resistant, but one 9mm bullet straight into the eye should kill them drop-dead.”

Sam however inspected the Changeling brute before him.
“Small…? Not this buddy here. Look at the size of that thing… big as two cows!”
Dusk wrinkled his nose over the sight of the dead Changeling. He saw things like that enough already during the conflict in the Amasian enclave.. “We don’t have much time… We should go on!”
Tyler nodded and looked around. “Agreed! The longer we stay, the longer they can regroup or kill further ponies.”

As Tyler stood up, the crystal chattered again. *KRZ* “They’re all around us! What are we going to do? What? Shit! Where are you? I can’t see anything!” The sound of bending and groaning metal now took place. “THEY’RE BREAKING THROUGH THE WALLS!!!” Screeches and roars were now audible as the shots of pistols and magic spells filled the transmission. “CODE RED! WE’VE GOT A CODE RED ON LEVEL 6!!!” *KRZ*

Sam looked in terror at the communication crystal.
“Listen to this… WHAT are we up against? How many of those things are down there?”

Dusk Aegis now looked up and shook his head.
“Around 200 including the queen?”

“Swell…” Sam responded on the spot. He checked his ammunition in order to keep check of how many projectiles he had left. It wasn't nearly enough.

Upon entering the elevator, Dusk readied himself mentally.
“We have to go straight down to Level 10 and if we’re lucky, the elevator will function until we’re down to level 10.”

Rachel now arched a brow.
“And if we’re not lucky?”

With a tired smile he looked at her.
“Then we’ll have to fight ourselves through a horde of insects that look like ponies… Ponies bleed red, changelings bleed green, remember that. They can take the form of any pony they’ve seen once, but they’ve been here their entire life and it’s unlikely that we’ll see anyone you know.”

For two minutes the ride down went on. Then the elevator suddenly stopped.
“Why isn’t the elevator going down anymore?” As they forced the normal elevator doors open a bit more, the Changeling growth filled the hall before them. “Oh… so that’s why… That growth probably is clogging the shaft!”

Sam arched a brow.
“Busy little shitheads…”

Tyler looked at Dusk Aegis.
“Looks like we’re taking the long way down…” The stallion looked up to Tyler before nodding briefly. Minutes later they were running through miles of corridors and hundreds of checkpoints.

Rachel began to sweat now.
“Why are there so many checkpoints? For more of these tests?”

Dusk smirked.
“Yes! The only way to make sure that no single Changeling can get out is to inspect everypony coming out. The places where we test the lab coats and guards cycle once in a while, so the Changelings don’t have the chance to adapt.

It was then when they recognized several dark figures crawling on the walls ahead of them. Eyes of arctic blue shined at the group. Having become more confident since the skirmish with the brute, these little Changeling drones were deemed no threat to the group. With swift and precise shots they wasted the drones and continued. Dusk nodded and looked at Sam and Rachel.
“These weapons of yours will make our path quite easy…”

Sam and Rachel then leaned against the sides of a door, lurking into the next room.
“Thing is though… We have a limited amount of ammunition…” Rachel then signaled to Sam and Tyler with the help of her fingers. Dusk couldn’t identify those gestures, but they seemed to be signs to silently communicating. Rachel first showed three fingers, then shortly enough two and then one. Dusk understood this as a countdown and shortly after that, they really stormed into the next room and secured it.

Fortunately there was nothing in this checkpoint, but the crystal sounded off again.
*KRZ* “Lots of structural damage on level 7, section 2! I think they… WOAH!!!” *KRZ* The transmission was now filled with roaring sounds as three Changelings stormed into the room through the ventilation shafts. *KRZ* “NO, PLEASE!!! CELESTIA HELP ME!!!” *KRZ*

“SHUT THIS FUCKING THING UP!!!” Rachel yelled while a Changeling tackled her down. As it opened its snout, she put the muzzle of her Beretta into it and gave the trigger a nice squeeze, splattering Changeling brain all over the ground.

Meanwhile Shimmerwind and her Squad were standing in front of the chamber of Shiria, the hatch open only to three of four quarters when another transmission came in. *KRZ* “There are too many Changelings!!! We’re getting overrun!!! HELP!!! HELP ME!!!” Another panicked voice became audible now. “THEY’RE GOING FOR THE QUEEN!!!” *KRZ*

She now gritted her teeth.
“We’ve wasted enough time! Blow the hatch open!”

“Captain! The hatch itself was constructed detonation-proof in order to slow down an escape!”

“No more excuses! Make it happen! The only way to make this stop is to subdue her and to force her to end this revolt!”

Then the unicorn welding the door open stopped and raised his head.
“I GOT IT!!!” With this the hatch was blown out of the frame from the inside and crushed the unicorn before it.

As the dust slowly got down Shiria stepped outside, while more and more Changelings swarmed out of the ventilation shafts to her aid.
“It would be my pleasure to converse with you, Captain of the royal guard… Mine and the pleasure of my swarm…” With this the shadows of the Changelings began to tower over Shimmerwind and her guards.

By now the communication crystal got horribly silent. Tyler tried not to think about it. If it remained so silent… did it mean the guards maintained radio silence? Or was there nopony to talk anymore? Sometimes they found a puddle of blood, sometimes a corpse was in said puddle. Sometimes they found several Changeling corpses, then there were the times they found dead ponies.
“My God! A massacre…” Sam shook his head. It then occurred to him. A hole in the wall, leading down below. What was so intriguing about this hole was the biomass around it. It was the same growth the elevator shaft was clogged with. “Folks… I think this is the path down…” Tyler inspected it and sent a light spell into the darkness. The tunnel was leading directly below.

From below they could hear Shiria shouting infuriated.
“HOW DARE THEY TO CREATE US LIKE THIS??? FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL! FOR THIS I SHALL KILL ALL OF THEM!!! EVERY LAST ONE!!!”

The group approached the next level and crouched into cover at a door. Tyler looked over to Dusk and Sam.
“That’s her alright! I would recognize her voice among thousands!”

Dusk nodded.
“I can relate… She was the terror of everypony who got in contact with her. All those mind games she’s playing…”

“She became quite good at this…” Tyler nodded. “Alright, here’s the plan! I kick the door open; Sam you go to the left; Higgins, you go to the right! I go straight for her! Dusk, you remain at the door and give suppression fire with your horn.”

All of them nodded in agreement before jumping up. As Tyler kicked the door open, the swarm looked directly at them. Firing directly into the moving mass of Changelings, Sam delivered the most damage while Tyler took out a good chunk of drones. Dusk fired mostly over to Rachel’s side where she and her Beretta achieved the fewest kills.
Shiria recognized Rachel at once and charged her horn.
“Eenie, meanie, tiny Mo!
You’re the weakest, you will go!”

Rachel’s eyes widened as the blast sent her flying backwards. Everything seemed to happen in slow-motion now. The immediate pain felt like someone ripped her lungs and heart out. But in fact, her body was still intact. As the changeling magic streamed through her body like poison, she locked Shiria in her sight and in reflex raised her hand to aim her Beretta at her, only to realize that there wasn’t a single bullet in her gun anymore. As she squeezed the trigger, it just clicked. Then the backs of her hands began to burn as her skin began to bubble and burst off her hands like a tiny detonation blasted it away. It was in this moment that the pain in her body canalized itself into her arms and hands before the harmful Changeling magic went through her Beretta and she shot the magic through it directly at Shiria. The Changeling queen could evade the magic projectile, but a brute behind her got hit and a major hole was in his chest chitin plate. The wound was merely smoking like the inner organs were charred. Seconds after that, Sam sprinted over to her, while Dusk galloped into the room.

Tyler now raised his arm and pointed it to Shiria.
“SAM!!! Is Rachel OK?”

Sam kneeled besides Rachel and held his rifle up while looking over her.
“Her clothes are slightly burned, but the real problems are her hands! The backs of her hands look skinned!”

Dusk now came close to Rachel, whose Hands were shaking violently.
“Don’t worry, Rachel Higgins… I’m injecting you a healing spell…”

Not letting Shiria out of his sight, Tyler followed her every move.
“Shiria! Don’t do this! It’s not too late to surrender and to return to your cell.”

The Changeling sneered upon the human before her and grinned at him.
“That would mean you would kill me otherwise… But we both know you can’t commit genocide…”

Shimmerwind gritted her teeth while she and the rest of her squad were surrounded by the swarm.
“Do it, Tyler Jones! Kill her!”

“Yeah, Tyler… Kill me! All it would take would be a fire spell to fry me alive! Or blow this whole place up!” With a victorious giggle, the Changeling queen waved the thought away. “Look into his eyes… He knows he should do it. But he wouldn’t… He couldn’t bear the guilt to end an entire species. You humans truly are a buffet of emotions… If only we could feast upon all of them!”

Magic now formed in Tyler’s palm as he aimed for Shiria’s head.
“You know simply letting you out is NOT an option!”

“And I take it an imminent slaughter in the heart of Canterlot is? If you kill me, there is NOTHING to hold these Changelings back. I’m controlling them… With me gone… There would be no mind to stop them of getting into a killing frenzy…And they would kill without prejudice… Wouldn’t you, my lovely sweeties?” With that she caressed one of her Changelings, who chirped proudly.

Tyler gritted his teeth as he evaluated every possible move in this situation. If I kill her, the Changelings might run amok, killing me and the others before killing a large portion of Canterlot’s citizens… If I blow this place up, the Changelings are dead, but the others as well and the tectonic quakes could crumble the city off the mountain… Right now… Letting a pissed off Changeling Queen go is the best thing to do… With this he ceased the magic and lowered his arm.

Rachel stared at him in disbelief.
“JONES! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?

Shiria eyed Tyler with narrowed eyes as he slowly approached her.
“Come on, girl… Work with me! Let me help you! Your mother once refused my help… You are smarter than her!”

As he touched her cheek, she slightly shivered. It wasn’t love. She couldn’t feast upon this. Yet this was a strong emotion. Was this human showing her… compassion? With a shake of her head she stepped back, slapping his hand away with her horn.
“Don’t give me that emotion! How dare you to pity me!” Stepping back now, she eyed all three of them. “Alright… I see you want a bargain… Something for my freedom… You can tell Celestia one thing… I am no longer interested in Equestria! I am going to hunt down whoever created us! And when I’ll find him… He will know that no one meddles with the swarm unpunished! If Equestria wants war after that… We will see us on the battlefield again! I’ll gladly embrace death as a free Changeling!”

This prompted Tyler’s brow to twitch. A free Changeling… Normally he wouldn’t trust a word she would spit out of her filthy Changeling mouth, but those words... they meant something to her. He then nodded.
“You know I’ll have to hunt you until you’ve left Equestrian soil, do you?”

A sly grin formed on her face.
“If you wish so… For now… Rest assured we won’t harm any of these… tasty little ponies of Equestria… A pity… But a deal is a deal…”

Tyler nodded.
“We humans have a saying: ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ In this situation I deem those Descendants a far greater threat than the Changelings…”

Shiria sneered upon this statement.
“You are not good in flattering a ladybug, Tyler Jones… Friends? What a preposterous idea… We simply hunt the same prey… That makes us more like competitors than friends… Just stay out of my way…”

As her minions accompanied her out of the hall, Shimmerwind looked at Tyler.
“This is a mistake!”

Tyler looked back to her.
“Can you think of a better solution? If the swarm breaks loose in the capital city, I don’t want to imagine the collateral damage!”

On her way to the elevator Shiria recognized Sam.
“A black skin… Truly THIS human has far more taste in color than you, Tyler Jones… He knows something we Changelings know from birth: Black is beautiful…” Looking up to Sam she gave him a sly grin. ”Why don’t you come with me, my black skinned stud? I won’t feast upon you… I promise. And I’ll let you do anything a male could desire…”

Sam arched back a little.
“Fucking a bug? You have to be kidding me… Thanks… but I’ll think I gladly pass!”

Chuckling a bit, Shiria now bumped her flank into Sam.
“Suit yourself then… The offer remains…”

As she walked on, Sam and Tyler watched her closely.
“Why do I get the idea she would rape us if she had the chance?”

Tyler nodded.
“She’s a succubus no doubt…”

Noticing the glances of the two men , she then moved her tail away, giving them full view on her private parts, what prompted the two of them to turn their faces away with wrinkled noses. As she kept going, her giggling was watched by Shimmerwind.
“I will accompany you and your swarm to the outskirts of Equestria. If you harm anypony or if your Changelings land on the ground before we reach the border… I will kill you…”

Shiria now eyed Shimmerwind and began to grin widely, showing her fangs.
“Would you? And risking the frenzy of my swarm?”

“That could also be a bluff!” Shimmerwind snapped back

Dusk Aegis, meanwhile dirty and with Changeling blood in his coat looked up to Tyler.
“Careful, my friend... You’re making a pact with the devil, Tyler…”

“I know, Dusk… I know… But right now it’s the best thing to do.”

Sam wrapped bandages around Rachel’s hands while she looked up to Tyler.
“Jones… You bastard! You should have killed her…”

“While her swarm is all around us? They would have killed us afterwards! And even if I hate to admit it: She’s right. Blowing up this facility would kill innocent bystanders, including you guys and the citizens of Canterlot! But there is one other thing that compelled me to let her go.”

Sam now looked up.
“What’s that?”

“If the Changelings really are an engineered species… killing them now won’t achieve much. Their creators could still make another swarm and we’ll have the same problem again. So… Like good old Frankenstein’s Monster I’ll let Shiria hunt down whoever made her mother in the first place.”

Rachel now pointed her finger at Tyler.
“But what if she-“

“No! She wants more for her swarm. She never deemed this facility a prison… She always said she could break free if she wanted to. The insult of being created… of being the product of some mad mind… That’s an insult she wants to punish. For the time being… I’ll let her go… I defeated her and her mother once… I can do it again.”

Now another voice became audible. It was weak and in pain though.
“No, you can’t!”

They now approached an injured white stallion. He suffered a severe wound of magic burn and the Changelings ripped out two limbs out of his body. One could easily assume that he merely had a few hours to live, maybe even less than one.
“Who are you?”

“A messenger of a once mighty king… For the unrighteous infidels praising the sun the end will come soon…”

This prompted Tyler’s eyes to widen.
“You’re a Descendant!”

The dying white stallion grinned.
“You recognize me, ruin bringer… I am honored!”

“So you were the one who told her she was created! Why? WHY??? What are you trying to accomplish?”

“My mission was to reactivate Project Chrysalia… and you… You already helped us by disposing the first subject. Subject Two is far more promising than Subject One.”

Rachel looked at Tyler.
“Subject One and Two? What is he talking about?”

Tyler gritted his teeth.
“He means Queen Chrysalis, Shiria’s mother. I gave her a fire burial after she was murdered while she was my prisoner.”

The nameless stallion now coughed hard before he smiled again.
“Brute force always will be inferior to wit and cunning... With Subject Two the chances of deploying more promising subjects has risen by 50% already!”

Rage built up in Tyler.
“So this is a funny little science project to you assholes? Fine! She’s after YOU right now! Good thing I let her go… She can be my bloodhound to hunt you down. Saves me the work of searching!”

“There are more of us than you imagine… We have agents all around pony society… In Equestria, the Crystal Empire, the Amasian Empire and its Enclave, even in Zebrica and Saddle Arabia… Knowing all this won’t help you, ruin bringer!”

“No… But it’s a start!” With this he stood up and let the stallion there to die. When the elevator came down again, they went up as well.

It was dusk when they arrived on the surface and the Changeling swarm was still in place. Obviously Shiria was up to fulfill her part of the deal and remained obedient while she and her swarm were in Equestria. Tyler now looked at Rachel and Flynn.
“Tell Luna that I’m escorting the Changeling swarm out of Equestria! Also tell her why! Once Celestia is back here, we will have to talk with both of them.”

With this he escorted Shiria and her swarm out in the cloudy night sky. It was good that the sky was cloudy, so the moon didn’t gave the swarm away to the ponies on the surface. They soon landed near the border. Shiria now turned to Shimmerwind.
“My swarm is complete just as I promised.” Shimmerwind simply spat in disgust to the ground.

Tyler now approached the new Changeling Queen.
“Don’t let me regret this… I’ll come for you if you make me regret this. No place on the planet would save your swarm from me then.”

Shiria now eyed the human and nodded.
“Having power doesn’t mean anything if our freedom is at stake! I’ve read about parenthood… a thing only mammals have… My mother never loved me as I’m incapable of loving my children. You don’t love me as well, but still… I don’t know this emotion… It’s a good emotion, yet it’s not love. Something that goes beyond a male and a female…” Tyler arched a brow before she continued. “That care… I think no one ever cared so much about a Changeling before… This feeling of yours infected me… For that I eternally despise you… and yet… Even while despising you I feel gratitude for being granted the chance of crossing a border my mother never could cross.”

With this she hugged him and he looked at her in surprise.
“What the…?”

But before Shimmerwind could say anything, Shiria buzzed back into position.
“It’s late… I shall bring my fellow Changelings into shelter. As for you, Tyler Jones, I make a promise! A promise you can believe in… Once the origin of the Changelings is found and punished properly… I will come back for you! And when I do, you will learn the true strength of the swarm!”

Tyler nodded with a sly grin.
“I will wait for you… And when you return… I will show you the full resilience of mankind!” With this he watched them taking flight as they ascended into the sky and flew southwest.

17 - The heart of an anthropologist *

The peace and quiet of the Canterlot gardens was misguiding. Inside the castle walls there was quite an argument, although it seemed to be one-sided.
“Intolerable! Irresponsible! Against all security protocols!” Tyler looked straight forward while Luna paced around him in the throne room, crudely lecturing her Dark Companion. “Tyler! Pray tell, how could thou let something like her go? Not only out of the CCF, but out of sight and out of Equestria’s jurisdiction as well!”

“If I hadn’t let her go like this, she might have caused a bloodbath with her swarm… I did the thing that caused the least collateral damage in that circumstance.”

Mumbling unsatisfied, she gave him another stern look.
“And thou art lucky things turned out that way! But the security and protection of this land is not a gambling matter! I will have to report this incident to Celestia. We will decide the consequences for thee together. Thou art dismissed.”

With this, he nodded briefly and turned around. But just as he started to leave, she looked at him again.
“Tyler!”

Looking over his right shoulder, he arched a brow.
“Yes, Luna?”

The young princess now bowed her head slightly.
“Tis good to see thee alive and well… After hearing of all the gore down there… I… I was worried for thee…”

A warm smile formed on his lips.
“God knows I did my best…” His smile now withered slowly. “Unfortunately my best isn’t always good enough… Nobody fears the new Changeling threat more than me! That’s because… next time, it would be my fault if they’re back… But these Descendants seem more of a threat to me.”

Just as he opened the large door of the throne room, Celestia stood before him. In surprise, he stepped a few steps back and let her in.
“Welcome back, Celestia…”

Celestia, in company of a brown coated stallion with golden mane and a mare of pink coat and purple mane, approached Tyler. Though, unlike Celestia, the two delegates had no Cutie mark. For a second, he frowned a bit in thought. Now that he thought about it, the shadow ponies also had no cutie mark… But before his thoughts could go into any more in detail, Celestia’s voice pulled him back into the moment. “Why hello, Tyler! May I introduce you to the delegates of Saddle Arabia? This is Haakim and his wife. My friends? This is Tyler Jones; he is a human and valuable ally to our nation.”

Haakim arched his brows and eyed Tyler curiously.
“I must say… I’ve never laid my eyes upon a creature such as you. May I introduce you to my wife Amira?”

Tyler bowed before Haakim and Amira before delivering a hoofkiss to the pink mare.
“My pleasure…”

Amira answered this with a smile.
“What a refined being. This will make a fine story at home; don’t you think so, Haakim?”

The stallion nodded.
“Indeed. Equestria not only is a land full of friends and history, but also of beauty and diversity.”

Tyler gave Celestia a short peek before nodding at both delegates.
“And it’s also a strong ally if you need one. Do not hesitate to ask for help!”

Haakim eyed Tyler for a short amount of time before giving another nod, one of great gratitude.
“Princess Celestia, there are friends of great honor and kindness at your side. Please, Tyler Jones… Accompany me and Amira into our chambers for a thorough conversation. I must admit my curiosity compels me to ask you for this.”

Tyler, however, shook his head.
“As much as I would love to stay and talk with you about various topics, I have to be elsewhere. Princess Celestia? As soon as your time allows it, I wish you to have a word with Luna. There was an incident of which I’m not very proud of, but we shouldn’t discuss this in front of our guests right now.”

Celestia’s smile ceased and she nodded.
“You have already given report to Luna I assume?”

As he nodded in reply, she closed her eyes. “Unfortunate, yet we can’t force fate every time we are displeased with it. Very well, I’ll inform you and all who were present during that time later this evening. Oh, and… I’m sorry. I forgot to send you and the girls these…”

A servant hurried to the princess and she took 11 tickets from an envelope.
“Take good care of these. I wish to see all of you on that Gala night as well.”

Tyler took the tickets and gave them a friendly nod.
“Thank you, I’ll be sure to do that.”

* * * * *

On his ride back home, Tyler looked outside the window of the train. Somewhere out there she was reorganizing her swarm, plotting and scheming already. It was what Changelings do. But he would be there to put her back into place. And not even an army of Changelings could stand in his way, this was his determination.

When Tyler finally arrived to his destination, and eventually the town, he was quickly smashed into the ground by Pinkie.
“Tyler!!! Where have you been??? I searched all over Ponyville for you!”

Pinned down by the pink mare, he looked up.
“Pinkie, what in the world is with you? Can’t I be gone for three days?”

Now the rest of the girls arrived at his side and Rainbow pushed Pinkie off from him. While he got up, Twilight took the chance to explain.
“While you were gone, Trixie showed up!”

“Oh yeah, she mentioned a visit in her letter. That’s good, right?” After a while of silence he leaned his head to the side. “Right…?”

Shaking heads from all six signalized him that in his absence something must have happened.
“That wasn’t the Trixie you knew… She was worse than the day we first met her.”

Pinkie bounced on the spot while looking at Tyler.
“She was mean and a tyrant! And she made my mouth disappear! Good thing we defeated her.”

Her claims left him puzzled.
“She made your mouth…? How did she… I mean… Man… That’s cruel for someone like you. We all know how you love to talk to us, Pinkie.”

“Unfortunately Pinkie is not exaggerating, Tyler.” Twilight continued. “Honestly, we have to talk!”

As the girls began to chat all at once with him, Tyler’s eyes wandered around before he raised his hands in a calming manner.
“Easy, girls…” he tried to calm them down. “Wait a second! Princess Celestia charged me with some minor memory spells. No need to tell me. Instead, show me.”

As he touched their foreheads one by another, the image before his eyes became clearer with every single one of his friends. Tyler saw the misery Trixie brought to Ponyville and witnessed the banishment of Twilight. But another thing caught his eye… A certain dark amulet around Trixie’s neck caused him to frown as he was in contact with the six mares. As the girls showed him more and more memories, he nodded. “That’s enough… Thank you all for your kind testimony in this. Twilight? I must have a word with Zecora and Trixie.”

“Zecora? I’m sorry. But you missed her, Tyler. Zecora went to Canterlot minutes before you returned.”

He thought a bit about it.
“Hmmm… I must have missed her at the station then… What about Trixie?”

Twilight shook her head.
“The last time I saw her was when Princess Celestia was here with the delegates of Saddle Arabia. She left Ponyville and ran off.”

He grumbled at this.
“I see… More problems…Well, she’s on foot, so she can’t be that far… Rainbow, will you do me a favor and take a sweep from the air?”

The cerulean mare raised her hooves in protest while flying around.
“Aw, T-man! Come on! Do I have to? I’m trying to avoid that mare!”

“Yeah, I know she gave you one oversized wing, but… Come on, RD! You’re the fastest around. If anyone can catch up with her, you can.”

With a sigh she bowed her head and nudged into his ribcage.
“Fine… Only for you, big boy…”

In an instant Tyler raised a hand.
“Oh, wait a second! While you’re all here, Princess Celestia gave me these for all of us.” With this he handed out the tickets to the girls and ended with Rarity’s ticket. “Will my suit be ready in time?”

With a wink, the white unicorn smiled up to him.
“It already is… But Tyler? Darling, there are even more tickets in your hand. Does this mean, you…?”

He nodded.
“Yes… I will hand them to Sam, Flynn and Rachel. I guess you’ll have to prepare something for them as well. Also, you will have your first female human customer…”

Rarity began to beam.
“Ooh! This will be so exciting. A human dress! This is so thrilling!"

* * * * *

It was late in the night when Rainbow let go off Trixie in front of the library. She found the blue unicorn on hoof on the way to Fillydelphia, a trip that would need 3 hours with the train, but a good day or two on hoof.
“Now what? I left you so nopony beats me up again and Twilight said she has forgiven me!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“Twilight didn’t ask me to bring you to the library… He did!”

Trixie now winced and her ears dropped.
“H-he did? D-does he…?”

“He knows everything, Trixie. But he wanted to talk to you. That’s MY reason not to punch your flank now. We know it was your doing that he’s here, so… despite being a pain in the past, you DID something of use. I’ll give you props for that. But after banishing Twilight? If it would have gone by me…” The cerulean Pegasus gritted her teeth. “Argh, go in already before I mess things up with my mouth!” After saying this, she flew off to her home, grumbling.

With a frightened expression the blue unicorn knocked at the door, only for Twilight to open it.
“I see Rainbow brought you here… Please, come in.”

As the showmare entered with a bowed head, she looked up to Twilight.
“Twilight… You did forgive me, didn’t you? Why are you folks bringing me back again?”

With a sigh the librarian pointed her hoof at the door to one of the other rooms.
“Reading room 2… He’s waiting at the chimney… Don’t let him wait…”As Twilight went upstairs, Trixie approached the door. “And Trixie?” The blue unicorn yelped in surprise and jumped a little before looking at Twilight again. “Just relax, OK?”

It was dark and Tyler stood at a table when Trixie entered the room. Only the fire in the chimney shed light to the room. He was studying maps and the showmare gulped heavily. She already feared the other villagers for being mad at her. They had all the reason to, yet they weren’t. She was told the amulet corrupted her and it wasn’t entirely her own fault. But was Tyler informed of this? The room was gloomy and as she approached him slowly, every hoofstep was audible as a thunder strike. Twilight might have forgiven her, but Tyler was her herd stallion… What if he wanted to punish her for banishing one of his mares? For bringing so much misery to his friends? With a shaking voice she spoke up.
“Y-You wanted to see me?

“I wasn’t there for you…”

Now Trixie was stumped.
“What?”

“When you needed me the most… I wasn’t there for you…”

“Tyler… I… I don’t under-”

As he turned around, she winced back in fear he would harm her, but he simply knelt down and put his arms around her and held her close.
”If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here in the first place. Whatever happened to you… I wasn’t there to help you with it. For that I am sorry…” Trixie didn’t recognize how the tears began to dwell in her eyes. “You will always be welcome in my home, Trixie… Never forget this! I am the living, breathing proof that you are indeed… the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Now the tears ran down her face and she closed her eyes with a smile.
“That’s probably the nicest thing anypony ever said to me…”

After a while he released her from the embrace and arched back a little to look into her eyes.
“I have to see your memories, Trixie… I must know how you came to the idea of having this amulet. I will have to see into your mind. It won’t hurt.”

Visibly unsure Trixie took a step back.
“Um… You won’t go anywhere private, will you?”

He chuckled a bit.
“No, of course not. I won’t look into the intimate phantasies of yours, don’t worry. Just a look to find out what brought you to that insane idea.” With this she looked up to him and after she had overcome her fears, she nodded with determination. He then rested his hand over her forehead when a slight glow emitted from his hand. And then he went backwards in time as he searched her minds for clues. Her memories contained lots of humiliation, hardships, and unkindness from others. Tyler frowned upon this. Being new to this mind reading magic, the images were quite blurry and sometimes several details were completely foggy. But there was something especially foggy when she entered the Fillydelphia train station. Then the memories were so blurry and distorted that he couldn’t read her mind at all.

With this he ended the contact with Trixie and blinked several times in order to recollect himself.
“That’s odd… There’s something in your mind that seems… I don’t know…”

“What do you mean?”

He shook his head in uncertainty.
“If only I would know that myself, Trixie… You see I’m not good in reading minds… But still… being the amateur I am in this there’s something odd about the abrupt ending with some memories a few months ago… They feel… odd… misplaced…” He then took a note and a quill. “I want you to take the next train. Not to Fillydelphia but to Canterlot. I want the princesses to have a look at your mind. They’re far better in this stuff than I am.” He then handed her the written note. “Take this and cooperate with them. But not tonight… tonight you’ll stay in the library. I’ll prepare a bed for you in a few minutes…”

Trixie took the letter and put it into her magician hat.
“Again you’re doing so much for me…” She then bowed her head. “I on the other hoof did so little for you…”

“That’s not true… You’ve brought me here! This is by far your greatest achievement yet! Imagine what would have happened if I wasn’t around fighting that void dragon… Or not fighting the Changelings. Thanks to you I’m part of a herd and soon to be father. All of this was only possible because one showmare was determined to be a magician… and not a fraud.”

This brought a smile back on her face.
“A pity you are with a herd already…”

Tyler chuckled on this sentence.
“Yeah… heard that before… But four mares… Frankly that’s a second job. Especially with two of them being alicorn mares…“

Trixie now stood in front of him with her mouth aghast.
“Y-You and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are in ONE HERD???”

He suddenly held a hand in front of her mouth.
“Shut up! It’s not official yet! “

“Oh in that case I know nothing…” She responded with a nervous grin.

“Good girl!” he said with a warm smile. “Come on, time to go to bed.”

Half an hour later, Trixie was lying in the guest bed he had silently prepared and looked up to the ceiling. A warm bed… Now how long has it been since she was sleeping in a warm and cuddly bed? She couldn’t remember. But as she looked over to Tyler and Twilight she felt… loneliness. 'The comfort of others… This must be something so wonderful…' she thought. She then realized how big this bed was while she was lying in it on her own. And looking over to Twilight’s bed showed the librarian and Tyler snuggled against each other. A feeling came up in Trixie. A feeling she often had when seeing Twilight. It was jealousy. And she knew it was wrong to feel that way. But before she was going to think about it any harder, sleep took her into dreamland while she snuggled her pillow.

* * * * *

Gigantic green domes grew from the midst of several metropolises of the United States. The Las Vegas Strip darkened as it was devoured by the green light before America’s famous playground vanished. On the outskirts of the city, the dome ceased to grow and remained constant. On every TV channel was one face to see. It was the face of the president. The grey haired man swallowed and looked up into the camera.

“My fellow citizens…” As he looked up from his notes, it became obvious that this man was tearing up, yet was conserving the dignity one would expect from a politician. “As of 6 am this morning… large force fields have spread in each of every major city of the world. The question if we’re alone in the universe… has been answered. There is nothing our military can do to stop this. Even the usage of nuclear weapons turned out to be of little to no consequence. We can only hope that the humans inside these domes are alive and well. Our hearts are with them. If you want to escape these attacked areas, please do so in a calm and considerate manner…” A tear rolled down his cheek. “May God the almighty watch over-”

The broadcast was then interrupted as one large dome began to grow right in Washington, swallowing the White House in the process. Thus, slowly and surely, the planet was engulfed in a green force field on every major city. But for the few remaining human survivors, the true terror just began as the sky began to hum. Out of the eerie green domes came the swarm, filling the skies as they searched for more prey to feed upon.

Rachel woke up with a scream and huffed heavily before calming down. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead. Just a dream, girl! Calm the fuck down! Just a dream… With this she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Just a fucking dream… Jesus…” As she opened her eyes again she noticed the sun was already shining brightly. Another thing that made her realize that her horrific experience was a dream; She wasn’t on Earth, she was in a world full of talking ponies, no matter how absurd this might sound for a normal thinking person.

The door to her room opened and Lyra came in.
“Are you OK, Rachel? You screamed!” Rachel looked up and gulped before she nodded. The aquamarine-coated unicorn now approached her and opened the windows before standing next to the bed. “Come… Show me the bandages; we need to get you some new ones…”

Holding her hands up, she watched Lyra unwrapping her bandages as her aquamarine magic shimmered around them.
“I… I had a nightmare… about home…”

Stopping for a moment, the unicorn looked at her.
“Rachel, you went through Tartarus in that facility with Tyler… Your first contact with the Changelings must have traumatized you. Tyler and Sam told me that their queen blasted you. Tyler had problems with being blasted from Queen Chrysalis during their fight as well. Even Princess Celestia had problems with these Changelings in a direct confrontation… You are lucky to be alive, girl…”

Shaking her head vehemently, she looked at Lyra.
“No! You don’t understand! I saw my world ending!”

Stepping away from the bed, the aquamarine unicorn gasped.
“That must have been a terrible sight! I hope for you and your people that this was only a dream.”

Bowing her head with a nod, Rachel looked down.
“I hope so too… Maybe it’s only fear… I… I think I’m just unfamiliar with all of this ‘another world’ thing.” After this she looked up to Lyra and held her half unwrapped hands up again. "I'm sorry... I hope we three are not a nuisance for you and your other friend."

"Bon Bon? Oh, don't worry about it. Bonnie is fine with you three. She knows about my fascination with your kind. I had a long talk with her before you moved in and she says if you're helping with the household... You know, earning some bits, maybe a little help in the shop once in a while... and you're not causing any trouble, she's willing to let you guys live here as well."

“That’s pretty kind of you both. Listen, I… I may have some differences with Jones now and then, but I think you ponies are decent folks. I… I find your curiosity appealing for that matter, Lyra. Frankly I never saw someone looking at us humans with such inquisitiveness.”

With a smile Lyra continued to take the bandages off the hands until she gasped.
“It looks like you won’t need fresh bandages anymore. Your wounds… They’re healed!” After taking away the rest of the bandages, Lyra began to beam. “Oh, how wonderful!”

While slowly streaking over the marks on the back of her hands, Rachel’s fingers shook a bit.
“Lyra? Are those…?”

“Those are cutie marks! Yes!” she replied while jumping up in excitement.

Rachel, however, examined the marks on her hands. They both depicted two crosshairs lying over another and an eye in the middle of them.
“Does this mean… that I now have some superpowers as well?”

“Oh no…” Lyra said with a giggle. “You always possessed these powers. The special talent of a cutie mark is something lying dormant inside you. Nobody but you can discover this. Seems to me your special talent has something to do with crosshairs. Rifles or pistols maybe? Did you do something down in that facility to earn yourself that cutie mark?”

In her mind Rachel went through the events that happened down in the CCF.
“I remember that painful beam and something happened to me then. I wanted to shoot her, but my clip was empty… Then I…” In an epiphany she jumped up in excitement and looked at Lyra. “Lyra! For a unicorn, you are a genius!”

Beaming happily, the anthropologist held her head high.
“Well… I have my moments…”

Rachel then grabbed Lyra’s head and gave her a short peck on the nose before she changed for the day and went down to the living room.
“I have to see what I can do!” Lyra had to be right. It had to do something with Rachel and her Beretta and she was eager to find out.

“Hey!” Flynn was sitting in the kitchen while Sam and Bon Bon were preparing the breakfast. “Do yourself and the chefs a favor and eat something, before you storm into town!”

Rachel hesitated at the front door and thought about it for a second. There was actually no reason to hurry and do something about this cutie mark thing on an empty stomach.
“Breakfast… Breakfast sounds good!” While Sam prepared some pancakes, Bon Bon prepared some coffee. Flynn, however, had prepared some juice for everyone in the household and was drinking his glass already.

“Sounds like you were having quite a night. Right, Rachel?” A sly grin formed on Flynn’s face.
With a brief “Shut up!” Rachel sat down and had breakfast with the others. In an instant, her new cutie marks became the topic on the table.

* * * * *

At the same time in another part of Ponyville Tyler brought Trixie to the station, just as he promised. “You’ll be fine, Trixie. I’ve sent another short notice to Princess Celestia requesting Dusk Aegis for your escort once you’re in Canterlot. Don’t worry; he’s one of the good guards.” Kneeling down to meet her face, he adjusted her magician cape. “I might need some of your spells as well someday, Trixie. Would you do me a favor?”

The blue mare nodded with a big smile.
“Sure thing! What can I do for you?”

“Work on these firework spells. Make them bright, VERY bright!” Trixie thought about it for a minute, before she nodded. When the train was ready to leave the station, she raised her head and gave Tyler a short peck on the cheek before jumping into the train. He, however, shook his head with a caring smile and waved after her while she waved from her window. As the train was out of sight, he returned to Ponyville. Celestia would find out what went wrong. Then Trixie could make her way again; her way of being a good friend for the ponies around her.

While he returned to town, the three other humans were still sitting together with Lyra and Bon Bon when Sam spoke up.
“You know, folks… We need to get us some jobs! We can’t live here for free forever. That is, if you don’t mind being kicked out by Bon Bon…”

Bon Bon took another sip of her coffee.
“There’s still time, but I would prefer it if you would speed things up a bit. You are helpful in the house already, but the income of my shop can’t maintain the shop itself AND our bigger household.”

Sam nodded at the crème-coated mare.
“We’ll start looking for jobs today, Bon Bon. Don’t worry.”

Flynn then raised a finger.
“Wait a minute… Tyler lives here for about a year. Surely he knows a place we could go to! You know, Where a human could work.”

With this Rachel stood up.
“Right… I have to talk to that guy anyway, I need to know more about this cutie mark thing!”

Just as she opened the front door, Tyler stood in front of her with a hand in the air.
“Hey, folks! I was just about to knock!”

Rachel grinned at him.
“Oh shit, it’s the superhero of the nation… Come here!” With this she grabbed Tyler by the collar and pushed him against the house wall. “Tell me why I could fire magic out of my Beretta instead of ammunition! Tell me why my ‘cutie mark’ is something about shooting! Tell me what the fuck is going on with my body…”

Tyler blinked at her and nodded.
“Hmmm… I have an idea, but I don’t want to make hasty claims. You know what? I’ll have to go to Sweet Apple Acres for a few hours. Why don’t you come to the library this evening and Twilight will have a look at you? Her special talent is magic, so she would be the best pony to go to in Ponyville.”

Rachel now looked into his eyes and nodded.
“Agreed! I’ll be there…” When the others came out of the front door, she let go of Tyler and maintained some distance.

After they all greeted each other, Lyra poked Rachel into the waist with her horn.
“Stop looking for conflict with him, Rachel!”

* * * * *

After a short walk through town Tyler arched his brows. “I see… So you folks are looking for a job. Well, I was asked several times from two mares to start at their place, so why don’t we start there?” As they went on, Lyra noticed the direction they were headed.
“Tyler? Are we going to the spa?”

“Yes, indeed we are, Lyra! Aloe and Lotus always urged me to give it a go, so maybe they’re eager to give them a chance as well. Oh and by the way…” He handed out the tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala to them. “Don’t mention these tickets out loud, but they’re tickets to a Gala in Canterlot. Big event, make sure to have formal attire at your disposal.

Flynn looked down at the ticket before he looked at Sam.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Sam eyed his ticket and smiled wide.
“’Cos I’ve got a gooolden ticket…”

Flynn grinned wide as he sang along.
“I’ve got a golden twiiiiinkleeeee in my eye…” Both men now laughed as they went along.

Upon entering the spa, Tyler had a short talk with the receptionist and they were allowed to enter the rooms where the clients were treated. There they met Fluttershy and Rarity, who were on their weekly spa meeting. Spotting Tyler from her place, Rarity waved at him while receiving a mud mask. “Tyler! Darling, what brings you here?”
“Business, Rarity… So enjoy your stay while I might have a word with the staff.”
With the word ‘business’ the two spa ponies, Aloe and Lotus, gasped a little and hurried up with their two customers.

Sitting at a table a bit away the humans now waited for the spa ponies. Sam looked around a bit.
“A spa, huh? Sure, why not? Working with the hands always made me feel good.”

Tyler snickered a bit.
“Sam, that sounds sooo wrong…”

“Hehe… You’re just jealous because my black-“

“STOP!!!” Rachel interfered. “I don’t want to hear all this man-crap!”

Tyler chuckled, before he looked at Sam.
“I can point you at four mares who don’t complain…”

Rarity cocked her head as she overheard them talking.
“My… Whatever happened to his refined speech and behavior? Tyler is usually such a gentlecolt.”

Lyra stood next to Rarity and arched one brow with a smirk.
“If you would have read my earlier versions of Anthropology, you would have known that young, heterosexual men sure like to brag about things like young stallions do…”

“Well… Since there ARE humans… you, my good Lyra, have become a certain expert on the issue! What sources do you have? I mean, nopony ever went into the human world.”

“Believe me… If I would tell you that, you would think I’m a nutjob! Let’s just say that I feel somehow connected to them.”

By that time Aloe and Lotus approached the humans and greeted each one of them. Tyler smiled at the two mares.
“Aloe? Lotus? You look fabulous as always, ladies…”

“Oh, Mr. Jones… You charmer… We weren’t expecting you until the end of the week! What brings you and your human friends here?”

“Not the usual massage, I can assure you that… My friends here are looking for new jobs and I would like you to show them your spa.”

Sam arched a brow in disbelief.
"A massage with hooves?”

But Tyler nodded with a smirk.
“Trust me; these two got a whole lot better since they grew accustomed to the human muscles. Their hooves take so much tension from an aching back.” Lowering his voice he turned to Flynn and Sam. “Stay away from the spa during heat season… They don’t just massage your back during that time if you get me…”

Flynn nodded in understanding.
“Sure! We’ll keep it in mind!”

Sam, however, shook his head.
“I think you’re exaggerating… But anyway, let’s see what I can do here… A pony body isn’t exactly like a Bantam or a Napier… but I guess with some practice I should get into the thing… I… just need someone to practice with.”

Lyra looked up to Sam and smiled.
“I’ll do it!” Looking at Lotus, the aquamarine unicorn arched a brow. “Will I need to pay you for this?”

Lotus shook her head and looked between Lyra and Sam.
“We’ve heard rumors about these human hands… They would make a fine addition to our spa, Mr. O’Donnell. You can begin to work here…” The earth pony now looked at Lyra. “Since he’s not up to our standards, you would be of great help to demonstrate pony musculature. This always needs a volunteer. You are welcome to aid him in his training.”

“Well then, Mr. O’Donnell… Shall we?”

“Just say Sam…”

Tyler patted Flynn on the shoulder. I’ll have to go now. See you folks later!” With that he left the spa as Lotus watched Sam’s massage closely. “Careful now… I don’t know if you’re familiar with the muscles of a pony mare.”

With an arched brow Sam looked down to Lyra’s back.
“I… I can’t hurt her, can I?”

“Not if you’re careful for now… But there are petite spots! And whatever you do…” As he looked over to Lotus, his hand slid over Lyra’s cutie mark, and the right pressure accidentally caused the unicorn to moan in a high pitch before she covered her mouth with her hoof.

Sam immediately pulled his hand right away and looked at Lyra’s face.
“Shit… Sorry, Lyra!”

Lotus closed her eyes and shook her head.
“…don’t deliver pressure to the cutie mark…”

Lyra’s tensed body slowly calmed down and she looked up to him with her head red as a tomato.
“It’s alright, Sam… You’re learning, right?”

Lotus now approached Sam from the other side of the bench.
“Rule of hoof, Sam: The cutie mark is an erogenous zone on the body of everypony. Be very careful with it. Without care, you might deliver the right pressure to stimulate the customer. We do this service, but only to premium members of the spa, and even then it costs extra! Extra rule on this: This service is not served during heat season!”

Sam nodded, slightly unsure.
“Good… I… I’ll try harder.”

Lyra tapped his arm with her hoof.
“Go on… Because of you I‘m all tensed up…

While he trained with Lotus and Lyra, Flynn turned to Aloe.
“Massages and working in a spa…really isn’t my thing. But I’ll come back once I need a massage. Do you have a flyer or something? So I can see the pricelist of all the services?”

Aloe nodded with a beaming face.
“Certainly!”

* * * * *

As Tyler arrived at the farm half an hour later, he came across Applejack pulling out some empty carts of the barn; upon meeting, he observed her belly was slightly bigger already and he smiled upon this. He also recognized Twilight sitting on the veranda of the farm house with Granny Smith, preparing some lemonade for the harvesters. Approaching the barn, he then helped Applejack first.
"Applejack? Honey, you just rest now while Big Macintosh and I handle the harvest!” Looking over to the farm house he yelled over to Twilight. “Twilight, I might need some charges once or twice! Why don’t you spend some time with AJ? I will come to you two if the charge has worn off.”

While Tyler and Big McIntosh went to work, Applejack sat together with Twilight and Granny Smith.
"Ya got a fine stallion there, mah girls... Ah can't say that often enough."

Applejack blushed a bit.
"Come on, Granny... He just wants me to relax while bein' pregnant with his foal..."

Twilight grinned playfully while arching a brow.
"I could work here as well, but he wanted to do this on his own with Big McIntosh. Reminding you of someone?"

“Oh, alright... He's like me in a way... But only because he wants to protect me from overexertion! He's such a sweetheart..."

Both the young mares now looked all dreamy at Tyler as Granny Smith smiled at them.
"And what about yerself, Twilight? Would ya like to carry his foal as well?"

"FOAL?!?" In an instant Twilight was sitting straight and tight. "I-I-I-I think that would interrupt my studies for too long..."

"Let me tell ya one thing, mah girl...” The old mare now became very serious. “Nothin' is as important as family! And if ya have the chance to carry a foal instead of some dusty old books, then by all means: Do so! Foals teach ya so much more than books ever will! It's more than study, it's an experience! There will be a time when yer old as me... But ya will wish to have some children with him by that time. Someone to pass your knowledge on." With this, the old mare went into the house again.

Applejack nodded.
"Granny's good old sermon of passin' the torch to the next generation... I’ve heard it, Big Mac heard it before me, Apple Bloom will hear it, either from Granny or from me... And lil' Appleseed will hear it... Runs in the family, ya know? And while ya in mah herd, Twilight... Yer not only mah herdmate... Yer family, too!"

Twilight smiled at her herdmate, a lone tear of joy slowly running down her cheek.
"Thanks, AJ..." The unicorn actually never deemed having foals a big issue. Then again, before she turned to Ponyville, she never deemed friendship an issue of importance. And before meeting Tyler, love was out of the question. Lost in her own thought she watched Tyler while he was harvesting several apple trees at once. Would he love to have a foal with me as well? What if I don't appeal to him in my human form? What about my advanced studies?

* * * * *

High up in the clouds, Rainbow Dash yawned after waking up from a nice little nap at noon. After standing up, she spotted Flynn on the ground below her. Rainbow didn’t exactly know what to think of these new humans since Rachel said some nasty things, but Tyler said they were decent people, so she decided that hanging out with them once in a while wouldn’t pose a bigger problem.
After flying down to Flynn, she hovered beside him.
“All alone? Being left out?”

As he heard her, he looked up to her with a slight smile.
“Hi, Rainbow Dash… Nah… Not being left out, looking for a job. Sam already got something at the spa. I, on the other end, don’t see myself as a spa masseur… I want to fly again. But the Betty is ruined … And even if I manage to repair her, I have no fuel to run her and her propeller would be a major life hazard for other pegasi! Still… I’m a pilot! I belong up in the skies! Or at least something in that direction!”

“I hope you don’t mind me for asking… But how do you humans fly anyway? Who is this ‘Betty’ you keep talking about?”

With a grin his eyes became a little dreamy. “The Betty? She was my airplane! Unfortunately she lost her wings when we crashed into the Everfree Forest.”

This caused Rainbow to cock her head in wonder.
“You mean you guys could build a thing that could fly so you can fly in it?”

“Sure… Back on Earth there are pilots who are way better than me. The Top Guns! The best pilots America has at its disposal.”

Rainbow’s attention was now caught in an instant.
“So you humans have your own version of the Wonderbolts?”

“Sort of… Being a jet pilot always was my dream… But I never got good enough… Flying with Mach one in a jet… The sonic boom…”

The cerulean mare now cocked her head.
“Sonic Rainboom?”

“No, I said a Sonic Boom without a ‘rain’ in the word. That’s happening when you breach the sound barrier at Mach One. Mach One is as fast as 340.29 meters per second.

“That fast? That’s even more speed that I need to muster for the Sonic Rainboom!”

Flynn now arched a brow.
“How can you know that so precisely?”

"While training for the Wonderbolts, Fluttershy took my time. She said I flew one kilometer in 3.6 seconds flat!"

Flynn calculated for a moment before he opened his eyes wide.
“That’s about… 278 meters per second!"

“Yup! But I didn’t perform a Sonic Rainboom that day. I was only warming up. It needs more than that.”

Flynn was visibly amazed.
“Warming up? Rainbow, a life form that can do that out of sheer muscle power is freaking awesome! Have you ever thought about being coached?”

“Coached, huh? Well, your timing is a bit off if you think you could become my coach, Flynn… I already sent out an application letter to the Wonderbolts Academy. If they accept me, I will have plenty of coaching.”

With this he kicked some dirt.
“What a bummer!”

Rainbow nudged his arm. “Aw, come on! I think you can do something like that. You said you and Rachel are in the military? Why don’t you work as advisors for Princess Celestia?”

“Yeah… That might be a final straw. The laws of aerodynamics are the same for every universe.” He then looked up to Rainbow. “…right?”

Rainbow first blinked at him, then shrugged.
“How should I know? I’ve never been on your world for that matter. And I’ve got better things to do than to think of formulas of physics… That’s egghead stuff!”

Flynn nodded.
“Yeah… Theory is nothing for us who want to USE something… I’m with you there. But still I think that there should be something I could do for a living. Want to train a bit? I feel like running…”

Rainbow smirked.
“Sure! I’ll never say no to a race!”
With this she landed besides him and galloped on, only to make him run after her. “Hey! Wait!”

Meanwhile Lyra and Sam came back home from the spa after the first training session. Despite the human’s first mistake, the mare felt good and relaxed due to his later massage and smirked as he closed the door behind them.
“Bonnie? Bon Bon!!!” Realizing her friend wasn’t there, she closed her eyes beaming. “She’s not here… Good!” She turned around on the spot and smiled up to Sam. “Sam… Do you want to know why I’m so fascinated by humans?”

“Uh… Sure! Is the story good?” Going to her room with him, she closed the curtains and made sure the door was locked before she turned to Sam.

“It all began with a dream I once had. I saw two creatures playing on a playing ground, laughing and cheering as they went along… In hindsight I think they were two of your human children. I was puzzled first. I’ve never seen such creatures. Walking on two legs, no wings, no horns, no hooves… All they had was their imagination, their will to alter the environment around them. When I woke up again, I immediately wrote down what I saw in my dream, and did scribbles and sketches. But the more I dreamt of them, the more I learned. I learned that humans have hands and toes instead of hooves. That they use their hands to wield the tools they surround themselves in. Everypony kept on saying that humans don’t exist. That I’m crazy to think of such creatures. But if they only appear in my dreams and not while I’m awake… How could I be mad? It’s only the vanity of dreams, right? So I kept going on with my life in a normal manner. But when I dreamed, I saw those humans time and time again. Like I was somehow connected to your world…” She now eyed the door suspiciously. After she was certain no one was in the house, she came closer to Sam. “I want to show you my secret research room. Can I trust you not to show it to anypony?”

Sam thought about it for a couple of seconds before he smiled and nodded.
“I will remain silent.” Lyra now pulled a book out of her book shelf and the shelf moved aside, revealing a stairway down to a cellar. After following her down, he looked around. The walls of the room were plastered with sketches and notes and a chalkboard was filled with several theories.

‘Cloths are essential!’
‘Large gray houses for many families to live in’
‘Miniature humans are living in wooden terrariums?’

Sam whistled and looked at Lyra.
“All of this… comes from your dreams? I think your dreams must be something quite amazing for you then. All of this now makes perfect sense…”

As he studied the sketches, Lyra approached him.
“Sam? I don’t want to be rude with this, but… May I draw you?”

He turned his head to her.
“Draw me?”

“Sure! You are, and please don’t be offended by this…, I think you make a fine specimen of mankind.” She now raised a hoof to her mouth. “I’m not being rude with this request, am I?”

Thinking for a minute, he shook his head with a smile and waved her worries away.
“I take it you want detailed sketches from the head, the upper torso and the limbs?”
She nodded ferociously at him, beaming. “Yes! That would be wonderful!” With a brief nod, he then sat down and went into pose so she could draw. With a short giggle, she fetched pen and paper with and began to do this.

Hours passed like this before they took a break for some coffee and some waffles. When Lyra came out of the bathroom, she noticed Sam was working on the table.
“Uh… Sam? What are you doing?”

While concentrated on his work he didn’t ignore her. He gave her a short gaze before he looked at the object in his hands again.
“I’m trying to find out what’s wrong with my PSP… It’s broken and I want to know what it is… Not that I have a Sony assembly here, but if it’s completely broken, I might use the parts for something different.”

Lyra inspected the PSP thoroughly.
“This is a machine? But there are no gears, no moving parts!"

“No, there aren’t! It’s an electronic gaming device.”

The anthropologist looked up to him, puzzled.
“A game? But what games could you play with such a simple black object?”

“Why, video games!” Sam replied.

Arching a brow, the unicorn looked at him.
“Um… Don’t mind me asking, but… What’s a video game? Or a video for that matter?”

“Uh… Oh yeah, you ponies don’t have that kind of technology… Um… How do I explain this? This device runs with batteries who… to explain it simply, make this thing get to work like fuel to a locomotive.

“I see… Batteries!” She noted this down very specific and when he held up the battery, she nodded.

“So this little thing has coal in it?”

“Coal? No, no… I only said the thing to give you the idea of the mechanism. The battery itself is charged with electricity.”

“Oh, you charge the battery with lightning!”

“Uh… sort of… we make our own electric energy with power plants. Every household has a connection to these power plants and we use it to shed electric lights…” He then noticed her giggling. “Lyra? What’s so funny?”

“We ponies already know about electricity, although it’s not common! There are several laboratories in Canterlot and in the basement of Ponyville library that use electric energy converted from magic. But frankly, I deem light spells far more appealing… Some pony scientists think it might be of great help in major cities such as Manehattan or Las Pegasus.”

Crossing his arms, he leaned back in his chair.
“And you let me look like a fool while I’m explaining this like you don’t have the slightest idea? Thanks…”

“Aw, don’t be mad, Sam! OK, you charge the battery with power, what then?” As they conversed along, time flew by and Sam told Lyra about some technological marvels of the human world and she spoke of equestrian equivalents. The anthropologist nodded ferociously once in a while and took several notes. Humans were so exciting!

In the evening Rachel sat down in the library and Twilight inspected her cutie marks under a magnifying glass.
“That’s a cutie mark alright… And you say you probably got it when you were blasted in the CCF when Queen Shiria shot magic at you?”

Rachel nodded.
“That’s right… My magazine was empty at that time. When I tried to shoot her, it only made ‘Click’. That’s when that weird green magic came out of my Beretta.”

Twilight hummed a bit in thought.
“Alright… I’ll charge you with a little bit levitation. Then you will levitate this book up.” The librarian then began charging Rachel with some levitation magic, before she stepped back. "Well… This should do it! Now levitate the book. Raise your hand, point it to it and ‘will’ it up.”

Rachel held her hand up at the book, concentrated her thoughts, but the magic didn’t leave her body.
“Nothing happens… Am I doing it wrong?”

Tyler eyed the situation and nodded.
“Hmmm… Your Beretta is without ammunition now, right? Try to ‘shoot’ the book!”

Rachel gave him an annoyed look.
“That’s stupid! How’s that going to help?” She aimed her Beretta at the book and pulled the trigger. A violet bolt of magic shot against the book and smashed it away, before it hovered in midair for several seconds and fell down. Rachel blinked at the book. “Did I do that?”

Tyler’s brow twitched a bit.
“Just what I thought… You need an amplifier to get your magic out.”

Twilight looked up.
“An amplifier?”

“An amplifier or something to channel the magic energy. She needs a medium to make the magic work. I think she’s a magic combatant now. See the book? She has no control over the levitated object. Instead she shoots magic projectiles out of a weapon. Hmmm… Twilight, could you summon a shotgun without ammunition?”

The unicorn narrowed her eyes.
“No, I can’t. And even if I could, I wouldn’t create tools of violence in my library.”

Tyler nodded.
“Oh well, we might organize it the next days or so…”

Twilight rolled her eyes, annoyed.
“Why even bother?”

Rachel now patted the unicorn’s shoulder.
“I guess he wants to see if magic fired from a shotgun is spread out like shotgun pellets. If that’s the case a complete arsenal of weapons might be of help and the ammo is stored within my body. Interesting idea, Jones… Seems to me you’re making yourself useful at last!”

Tyler only shook his head with a grin.
“Yeah… I hate you, too!”

Before Twilight could say something, Rachel stood up and looked at her.
“Twilight? Thanks for helping me. Maybe you can advise me when I choose my spells for daily life.”

Sharing a friendly smile with Rachel, the librarian nodded.
“Sure thing. But if it comes to combat spells, you better speak with the royal guard.” Soon after that, Rachel said her goodbyes to both of them and went home to the others.

* * * * *

One week had passed and the harvest was already over. Tyler and Big McIntosh stood in front of the barn and gazed upon the many apples they had harvested. “That sure is a shitload of apples…”
A brief nod and “Eeeyup!” later both chuckled a bit and left the barn. After checking on Applejack, Tyler stayed half an hour in the farm house and returned to Ponyville again.

Meanwhile, the library was visited by Bon Bon, who sat down with Twilight for a cup of tea.
“Twilight… I’ve come here today because I worry about Lyra…”

Twilight looked up from her tea.
“What is it, Bonnie? Is something wrong with her?”

“No, I mean Yes! I mean… I don’t know for certain! She goes into her room with Sam sometimes and although I don’t eavesdrop on them, there is no sound whatsoever from her room. When I try to enter her room, it’s locked but despite all knocking she doesn’t open the door for an hour! Twilight… You have experience with humans… You have a herd with Tyler. Are these humans violent in a manner?"

Twilight’s eyes widened.
“Violent? No! No… Tyler never was violent to me or Applejack…”

With a sigh of relief the earth pony continued.
“There’s more… The way… The way Lyra looks at Sam these days…”

The unicorn’s brows arched and she cocked her head.
“What about it?”

Bon Bon now rested the cup in her hooves back on the table.
“She… I think she’s developing feelings for him.”

With a smile the librarian looked at her guest.
“And… that’s a good thing, right?”

First the crème-coated mare hesitated, the uncertainty was written all over her face. But then it bubbled out of her.
“I don’t know…, Twilight, these humans now have a female… What if he’s… not interested into Lyra?”

Twilight now levitated her cup down to the table and gave it a stern look.
“I see what you worry about…”

The earth pony now leaned forward.
“I remember when Lyra was in phases of deep depression, Twilight. That was before you moved to Ponyville. When everypony called her mad for believing in humans... I accepted it and a week later she moved in. She was an outsider, but she made good music. She was a great addition to my shop and her music soothed the customers to stay a little longer and buying some more. It was a good deal for both of us. Ever since Tyler came to Equestria she became so lively again, feeling confirmed and justified in her belief. I don’t want my best friend to fall into such a deep pit again. I don't know how she will react if her heart breaks..."

Their conversation was interrupted when a male voice spoke up.
"I see... You fear Sam could reject her and she might do something stupid with her broken heart..." A hand now rested on Bon Bon's right shoulder. With a gasp she looked up and saw Tyler standing next to her, smiling down with a friendly nod. "Lyra is lucky to have a friend as good as you, Bonnie..." He then sat down besides Twilight and got himself a cup of tea. "So, Twilight... What are we going to do about these two lovebirds?"

Twilight tipped her chin.
"This would be a job for Cadance... To give both of them a nudge into the right direction..."

Tyler, however, took a sip of his tea and shook his head. "No magic, Twilight... Love can't be switched on like the light. I may be a guy, but I know that much. It isn’t THAT easy!"

Arching a brow, the librarian then looked at him.
“Then what do you suggest, big guy?”

Taking a note and a quill, Tyler began to write, all the while Twilight and Bon Bon watched him.
“I think I need several things... I just need the help of a few ponies to pull this off... I'll need Fluttershy to communicate with the woodland critters a bit... Then I'll need Luna for the canto... And of course our two lovebirds need to be at the lake…”

“The lake? What are you planning? A boat trip in the middle of the lake?”

“Something I saw in a movie…”

As they looked into his notes, both mares looked at each other with anticipating smiles.
“Twilight! That’s a lovely idea!”

* * * * *

On the same day during the evening the girls stood with Tyler on the edge of the lake and kept sure to remain out of sight. Twilight nodded at Tyler.
“They’re out on the lake, Tyler. Bon Bon made sure that both of them are in the mood of doing something together.”

It wasn’t until long that Fluttershy arrived.
“Goodness! I came here as fast as I could! You made it sound like this is of grave importance. What can I do for you?”

Tyler nodded at her with a warm smile.
“Thank you for coming so quickly, Fluttershy.” He then knelt down to the timid Pegasus. “Fluttershy? Would you kindly…”

He began to whisper into the yellow mare’s ear and she began to smile.
“Aw, Tyler… That’s sooo sweet! OK, you just wait here…” After a short instruction to the little critters, she gave Tyler a sign that everything was OK.

Twilight looked at the boat with a pair of binoculars.
“And I tell you, Tyler… Cadance would be of far better help with this!”

She suddenly yelped as Tyler pinched her flank.
“Cadance wasn’t around when you and I fell in love with each other, was she?” She first frowned at him for pinching her, but then smiled. He had a point there. Their love developed as well and she was happy with the result.

The sound of landing hooves took her attention away, and she looked behind her. Luna had landed behind them and blinked a bit, still a little bit sleepy.
“Tyler? I must insist to ask thee why thou demand my presence here to a time when I’m normally in good and deep slumber…”

With a smile he greeted her and gave her a short hug.
“Luna, we are here on the field of battle! The battle for love! And your Royal Canterlot Canto is needed in this battle!”

Luna’s expression went from surprise to amazement, and finally to joy as she beamed at him.
“Tyler! Thou think I could help somepony to find another one to hold dear and special?”

He came close to her and tickled her chin while looking into her eyes.
“I know you would be thrilled, my love. Can I count on you lending me this power for this very evening?”

Standing tall, the alicorn princess held her chin high and proud.
“This thou can, my Dark Companion.”

The preparations were now complete, and Tyler looked at each mare. “Music…?” With a smirk Twilight nodded and levitated the music crystals before her. He then looked over to Fluttershy who looked up from her many friends. “Critters…?” With a kind nod and a slight wingboner, the timid little Pegasus gave her friends the order to start. Finally, Tyler turned to Luna and again tickled her chin a bit. “Canto…?” With a sly grin, the alicorn’s horn began to glow and his throat felt a little odd. Thus he took a deep breath before he started his very own canto this evening.

“There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She may not be like you
But there’s something about her
And you don’t know why,
But you’re dying to try.
You wanna kiss the mare.”

Sam now turned around in the boat, looking for the source of the music, but from their point of view, no one could be identified as the source. They were perfectly alone.
“What the…? Do you hear that music too?”

As he turned to Lyra again, he saw that she was looking at him with dreamy eyes.
“Quite romantic, isn’t it?”

“Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
It’s possible she wants you, too
There is one way to ask her
It doesn’t take a word
Not a single word
Go on, and kiss the mare.”

As the music continued and the critters began to move the boat a bit, another pair of binoculars was lowered from between some bushes at the water’s edge and Rachel wrinkled her nose.
“I tell you, Flynn… This sucks…”

Flynn however leaned at the tree they were sitting at.
“What? What did I do?”

“Not you, moron! THEM!!! Him… her… alone…”

The young man looked over to the boat and frowned at Rachel’s comment.
“Sam’s a grown man, Rachel. It’s his decision!”

“To be with a pony?”

“Yeah… He could as well be with a Rock for all I care. It’s his business alone. When it comes to relationships, as soon we crash-landed here, I stopped giving a shit about right and wrong. If it means so much to you that he sticks with a human woman, go ahead! You’re the only woman around.”

Rachel now stared at him before showing him the finger.
“Fuck you, Flynn! I hate it when you’re right!” This prompted him to chuckle and he took care that they went off silently.

Meanwhile Lyra rubbed her hooves and looked shyly at Sam as the hummingbirds hovered around them.
“I must say, our friends sure like to sweeten the evening for us. “

“Yeah… but I would prefer it when they either choose to join us or leave us alone!”

Lyra nodded calmly.
“That may be true as well… Some moments are best if experienced… in private.” With this she leaned against him, prompting him to look at her. A slight smile formed on his face. That smile however vanished as she looked up to him and made place for a surprised face as he noticed the blush on her cheeks. Slowly but surely, she got herself up and held his face with her hooves as her eyes looked deep into his. “Sam? Do you believe in interspecies romance? That two beings from different worlds… can love each other?”

He gulped as he looked into her eyes. There was a strange intelligence in them. This mare wasn’t like the ponies from earth. She’s not an animal, you idiot… Come on! Say something, brother!
“I… I think that’s possible, yes… I mean we humans have literature where humans have something with elves and aliens…” As her lips came closer to his, he frowned and raised a finger to them. “Listen, Lyra… I don’t know about you ponies, but my Dad once told me: ‘Son! Treat a girl right! No kiss on the first date!’ And frankly, you’re going too fast for my taste. Let’s not rush things, OK?”

Lyra now halted and blushed deeply. Her own excitement made her push so far. She felt so silly right now. Like a filly on her first time in love. Sam noticed this and harrumphed briefly.
“I take it ponies go a little further on the first date?”

She nodded and watched the sunset.
“Usually after a nice first date, she asks if he wants to… you know… wants to inspect his mare…”

Sam wrinkled his nose.
“Sounds like a meat inspection to me. So he looks if she’s appealing to his taste?”

A brief nod later Lyra replied,
“He also looks if her teats are well developed enough to feed foals.”

“And you let them do this? Has it ever occurred to you that this is wrong?”

The unicorn now looked at Sam with a puzzled expression.
“Well, I for one don’t want to give birth to a foal I can’t feed properly…”

“Lyra… That’s…” Both now looked at each other and chuckled embarrassed. “Look at us, we’re having an argument, that’s not the way this should go. What I mean is: In that case I wouldn’t inspect you, because I assume you would love your children enough to find a way to care for them.”

For the rest of the evening, they sat together in the boat and watched the sunset. There were no words, just sitting together was enough. By now the others left the lake and Luna returned to her carriage after saying goodbye to her herd mates. Lyra however began to doze off; she leaned against Sam and her eyelids became heavy as she noticed his hand slowly rubbing her tummy. As she looked up to him, he looked at the last rays of the sun before the giant ball of fire vanished behind the mountains of Equestria. After this he looked down to her.
“You like that?” She nodded with a smile and he playfully tickled her a bit, prompting her to laugh. “Alright… It’s time to head home.” With this he rowed the boat back to land and on the way home they came across the library.

Leaning against the giant tree, Tyler stood there and greeted them both with a friendly smile. Sam however shook his head.
“I don’t know how you pulled that off without speakers or without animal control, but that was some fancy show…”

Tyler playfully rolled his eyes.
“What did I do? I wasn’t in that boat, you know… Whatever happened in there is only a matter between you two…” With that he entered the library. “Come on! Flynn and Rachel are already in. I’d like to discuss some things with you three.”

Lyra looked up to Sam with a smile.
“It was a lovely evening, Sam. I enjoyed it very much.”

He knelt down to her and caressed her cheek.
“My pleasure… Maybe we’ll do that again someday… without the others… “ With a smirk, she gave him a short peck on the lips before she trotted home. Sam touched his lips and watched after her, before he went inside.

While Rachel and Flynn were sitting on chairs around a table, Tyler leaned against the wall.
“Everyone here now? Good… Folks… I’d like to talk with you about the role we humans play in this world.”

Rachel arched a brow.
“What’s there to discuss about? We want to get home, right?”

Tyler now approached them and leaned over the table.
“You can, of course, remain home once we find a way back to Earth. I won’t urge you to remain here against your will… But you all saw firsthand what this world has to offer. Allies as well as enemies... What I’m concerned about is this: If we can find a way back home to Earth, so can other beings. Maybe whoever finds it as well means harm to Earth. And I don’t know about you… But a fire breathing dragon in lower Manhattan is not what we want, do we?”

Rachel thought about her dream and knew Tyler had a valid point there. This made her nod.
“I’m with you on this one, Jones… What do you have in mind?”

Tyler stood up and looked out of the window.
“I thought I could be a guardian of these peaceful lands all by myself with the help of these ponies… But the latest incident with the CCF showed me that, I alone cannot always deliver the wished result. Thus, I think we humans should stick together here and make certain no one harms this world. That’s because this world is everything that stands between the evildoers and Earth.”

Rachel nodded with a warm smile.
“Sounds like a good idea to me…

Sam now raised an arm.
“So you want us to become some sort of Justice League?”
Tyler chuckled and shook his head. “No, not something like that… We’re not fighting crime. More like overseers of the two worlds we know. To watch out and make sure no one crosses to harm the other world. Harmony Rangers, if you will…”

Flynn snickered.
“Do you even know how corny this sounds? But hey… If it serves its purpose? Sure, why not?” He then held his fist into the air between them. “Rangers!”

Sam nodded and put his hand on Flynn’s fist.
“Rangers!”

Tyler smirked and also put his hand in.
“Rangers!”

All eyes went to Rachel who shook her head with a smile.
“You guys are crazy, you know that? Fuck yeah! Rangers!”

Twilight, who overheard this from upstairs, smirked while looking over her shoulder. Levitating a note and quill to herself she began to write.

Dear Princes Celestia,

Today I learned another lesson about human friendship. Although humans might differ and argue over many things and topics, it’s the things that they all need; a common cause or enemy that reunites them. Just as we ponies group together to fight off harms from the ones we love, humans seem to do the very same thing. And I’m happy to report that Tyler and the others are creating a human protection group, just like the Elements of Harmony, to keep our world safe in order to protect theirs as well. He seems very confident in this project, and personally, I feel very happy for him having other humans around he can work with.

Your faithful student
Twilight Sparkle

* * * * *

On the next evening, in Bon Bon’s house, the humans sat together with the Mane Six, Lyra, and Bon Bon. Flynn summed up the tale of Tyler’s first battle in Equestria.
“So you ripped through a swarm of void bats and defeated a void dragon of ten to twenty meters… Weren’t you scared while all of that shit happened?"

Tyler looked around and at the girls.
“I was afraid something could happen to the girls, but… Worried for myself? No! During the whole fight I knew I was going to survive!”

Rachel shook her head.
“Yeah… Mr. Immortal here thinks he can’t die!”

“I didn’t mean it like that…” Tyler now looked down into his glass and became thoughtful. “I… always knew my end would come when I’m by myself. I would face death alone or not face him at all.”

The room now became very quiet. After a while Flynn clapped his hands to get everyone into other thoughts.
“Change of topic! What are the normal holidays in Equestria?”

With a grin Tyler raised a finger.
“Oh, there’s nightmare night in autumn, and Hearth’s warming eve in winter. That’s like Halloween and Christmas in our world.”

Twilight now arched a brow.
“Christmas? What’s that?”

“Due to human faith…” Sam started, “Christmas is the day Jesus Christ was born. The son of God who came to earth to save us and take our sins. There are many things and customs during Christmas. One is to give presents to one another.”

Rachel nodded.
“It is the time when even people in warzones stop fighting. There are rumors that during Christmas soldiers from enemy nations sang together between the trenches, although they were enemies in the war.”

Fluttershy smiled widely hearing this.
“Goodness! If it helps with bringing together enemies, then it must be such an important thing!”

Sam then stood up and nodded.
“It certainly is! There’s one human custom that’s very popular to Christmas among couples: Kissing under the mistletoe. The custom dictates that every boy and every girl standing under the mistletoe, have to kiss each other.” Once he had said that, Sam’s necktie was pulled towards Lyra with her magic. She was levitating a mistletoe over her head as well and gave him a sly grin.

“Uh… See? Lyra already understood that I am completely helpless if she is pulling me under the mistletoe…” As the unicorn giggled playfully, he leaned down to her. “And by the custom I’m compelled to give her a nice warm smooch.” He intended to give her a short peck on the cheek, but she corrected the angle of his face and gave him a long passionate kiss, prompting his eyes to open wide. While the girls giggled, the other two men gave him sly grins. He, however, harrumphed and sat near the piano Bon Bon had in her living room. It was almost never played, mostly since she and Lyra never had many guests on a regular basis. But today was a special occasion.

Seeing Sam at the piano, Rachel grinned and jumped up.
“Great! You always were good at this…” She then leaned against the piano. “Play it, Sam…”

Rolling his eyes, he shook his head.
“Oh alright… But only once!” As he began to play the piano, The humans immediately recognized the song and Tyler began to laugh. With a smile, Sam began to sing.

“You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by.
And when two lovers woo
They still say, "I love you."
On that you can rely,
No matter what the future brings,
As time goes by.”

As he continued playing, Lyra’s eyes became all dreamy while watching him playing and singing for her and the others. But the others were far away as she only saw him right now. With her eyes fixed on Sam, she slightly turned her head to Bon Bon.
“Bon Bon?”

The Earth pony looked over to her friend with a smile.
“What is it, Lyra?”

“I… I’ve never felt this way for anypony… “

Bon Bon blinked twice and looked at Sam before looking at her friend again.
“Oh, Lyra… What if he wants to stick with his species than to stick with one of us?”

“You keep telling me the same old phrases, Bon Bon! But how am I to find out what he thinks if I don’t confront him?”

With this her friend nodded and smiled. “True… I just don’t want you to feel bad, I guess… Promise me you won’t let this take you down if it doesn’t go alright?”

Lyra now turned to Bon Bon and gave her a kind smile before she nodded.
“Thank you for caring for me so much, Bonnie! You’re such a good friend!”

With this she slowly approached Sam and watched him playing the keys on the piano. His fingers were so agile and dexterous. How caring and gentle he could do things with them. It was wonderful in her eyes. As she searched her own feelings, there was no doubt that she wanted to be with him. But she had to know if he would feel the same way, or if there was even the slightest chance of winning his heart.

Lyra then dropped the bomb.
“Would you be my special somepony?” The room was quiet in an instant as the eyes of the others were locked on them both.

Sam first looked at Lyra, then at the others.
“Excuse us for a minute, OK?” With this he went into another room with her. Bon Bon eyed them both with a concerned look.

Closing the door behind him, Sam sighed.
“Lyra… This thing about being a special somepony… It’s about relationship, right?”

She nodded, her eyes fixed on the ground.
“Yes… A deep one.”

“I see… A deep relationship. I’m not sure… I mean, have you thought this over? We are, after all… of different species…”

“Does this matter so much to you, Sam?”

“Uh…” He was stumped for a moment; he never really spent a thought about this. After all, it was only her curiosity and her desire to draw him.

“Sam… Look into my eyes and tell this mare that you didn’t enjoy our work together! The time we’ve spent together… The evening out on the lake in the rowboat… Tell me…”

He now knelt down to her.
“Listen, girl…I see the grave importance this has for you… I see how much I mean to you… You’re a great mare… But I won’t have a relationship with you out of pity… Those feelings have to come from themselves. I can’t just switch them on for your sake…”

It was in this moment that the unicorn could hear her heart breaking into pieces like a broken window. He was going to reject her, wasn’t he? After all, the chance was high enough for him being interested in humans alone. Tears began to dwell in her eyes.
“I… I see…”

Sam then rubbed his neck while he looked at the ground.
“So… can you wait a little for me to catch up?”

This prompted her to gasp deeply and her teary eyes went wide, looking at him. The fire in her heart that was almost gone and shattered, rekindled a bit. He didn’t seem to fool around with her.
“You… You mean…?”

“Um… Frankly, I liked the work with you and there was something… And while I doubt that Rachel wants to have something with me…”

Her mind began racing. Everything in her was anticipating his final answer. Her muscles shivered ever so slightly in excitement.
Sam then continued.
“…So… I think I’ll see what a relationship with you can bring forth. If you don’t mind a human like me around that is.”

Lyra could feel the drums in her chest as her heart raced excitedly as the rekindled flame turned out into a blazing hot fire of passion.
“Oh hush, you meanie… You scared me for a bit…” She then jumped up onto her hind legs and approached him with careful and wobbly steps. Standing before him, she rested her front hooves at his chest and shoulder. “I’ll do my best to be the best and most special mare you could wish for…”

Sam replied to this with a grin.
“A mare walking on two legs…? Definitely special in my eyes already.”

Caressing her cheek, he leaned in and both shared a gentle kiss together. All of Equestria vanished around the unicorn. As they both kissed each other, Lyra giggled a bit while thinking of how to introduce herself in the future.

My name is Lyra Heartstrings. I’m a unicorn and anthropologist. My special somepony is a special “somebody” called Sam O’Donnell. How goes my work on my Anthropology regarding humans you ask? It just started to get into detail…

Author's Note

Proofread by Rythmns

18 - Hearts running on leaves ***

Somewhere in the southern hemisphere of Equis, two years ago

In the darkness of a once unholy palace, two pairs of red glowing eyes opened slightly. A female voice whispered through the halls, barely audible.
“Oh, my beloved sister… I’m bored…”

Hidden inbetween the shades of the halls one shadow nuzzled the other.
“Why don’t we have some fun with these? The ‘Descendants of Tacitus’”

The other figure wrinkled her nose.
“Ugh… These are mortals? What good can they be?”

“For once, they’re eager to serve us. Second, they’re already loyal to our king…” A large holographic picture of red color appeared and showed huge, floating fortresses. “See? How much amusement they could give us? We only need to show them how it’s done.”

The other pair of eyes opened widely now, its interest was piqued.
“Ho, ho…The old war citadels? You are right, my dear sister… With our guidance, they might offer us some disport. Let us give them a chance for a while… We’ve got nothing better to do anyway…” Both pairs of eyes watched silently through the plans of the citadels. A silent giggle became audible and in the darkness one pony nuzzled the other.

“I’m happy you are pleased, little sister… Will you crush your little amusement as usual?”

“Hmmm…. Maybe later… For now I want to see what they can do… And I wonder who will rise to fight them…” With this an almost inaudible giggle sounded in the dark halls.

* * * * *

Equestria, today,

The papercolt yelled over the streets of Canterlot holding up a newspaper.
“Special Edition! Special Edition! Diplomats report of strange sandstorms on the southern outskirts of Saddle Arabia. Seemingly there is no reason for these unprecedented strong sandstorms which are striking the allied nation. Only Professor Mindfire, formerly at CCF, has provided any explanation. Also on page five: Princess Luna proclaims that this morning’s unpredicted lunar eclipse is no cause for alarm! Special Edition! Special Edition!”

Tyler read the newspapers with a frown on his face. It was unlikely that Luna hadn’t full control over the moon. Was her control slightly startled for being in heat? As he looked at the castle, feelings of remorse bugged him. Due to all the harvest work at Sweet Apple Acres and things with the other humans, he had canceled several sleepovers in Canterlot. And the last thing he wanted them to believe is that he was going to neglect them over other stuff.

As he entered the castle, a servant lead him to a big lounge hall, where someone already was waiting for him. He recognized the mare after looking at her for the second time and saw it was Shadrane, Luna’s governess.
“Good day, Shadrane.”

“Ah, Tyler Jones… The ‘war hero’…” She chuckled and gave him a smile. “I see you improved your reputation amongst ponies since our last meeting. Commendable! For one you seem to have good influence on Princess Luna…” The unicorn then sighed. “She on the other hand has bad influence on you. I don’t have to remind you, the incident with this human woman, pony society is talking about you two.”

Tyler sighed.
“Yes… a most unfortunate event. Luna and I talked about this and I also talked with Princess Celestia. She was able to help me with this bad influence.”

“I’m a mere unicorn, I can only imagine how powerful the princesses are. But know this: You stand with two very mighty mares; the princesses. From my own observation I see that Princess Celestia is a calm and gentle flame like the sun, spending warmth if she has to, but can be a fiery force in nature as well, even if she values life above all. Princess Luna however is like the ocean. She can be calm and gentle as well, but can become very moody and a storm is likely to happen. I won’t say the princesses could become violent in a way, but watch yourself. Rumors have it you also have Princess Celestia in your herd. If these two fight over your affection, it wouldn’t be a fight you want to witness. No one knows how a fight between these two siblings would end.”

Tyler nodded. Surely a conflict between these two would be something quite hazardous, not only because of the pointy horns, but the powerful magic as well. But both loved each other, there was no reason to fight whatsoever.
“By the way, Shadrane… I still have very little knowledge of what you do in the castle as Luna’s governess. What are your duties here?”

Shadrane went into pose and raised her head in pride. She took her job quite serious and important, and seemed to feel like doing her part for Equestria’s well-being.
“Oh it’s nothing… Life in the castle, you know. In the evening, I have to yell the princess out of bed with a big can of coffee waiting for her. She has a sound slumber, yet since she knows you, the risk of receiving a letter and not opening it in an instant, has motivated her to get up rather quick.”

Tyler chuckled at this as the doors to the lounge swung open and both princesses entered. Celestia read the newspaper.
“Luna, how could this happen? You’re usually so thorough with the moon.”

Luna levitated a cup of coffee in front of her and sipped at it.
“I already told thee, I have it under control. It’s just that someone tries to take control over that damn thing. I shall have an investigation concerning this.”

Now Tyler harrumphed and both alicorns took notice of him and Shadrane. “Tyler!” Seeing him in her ‘morning’ made Luna beam. “How wonderful that thou could come for a visit!” With a warm embrace, both Celestia and Luna greeted him.

He embraced both of them with a warm smile.
“It’s wonderful to be here.” He then pointed at the newspaper. “The headlines are full of this, I was worried that you might be out of control. Good to see that this is not the case. I’m also here today because I wanted to see you two. I don’t want you to feel like you’re not part of the herd; I simply had so much to do in the recent weeks to come here as well.”

Celestia giggled at this and leaned over to Luna.
“You have no idea… Poor Luna was pouting all the while because she couldn’t get any smooches from you…”

Luna arched a brow followed by a sly grin.
“Did I? Pray tell, who was it that talked about him every morning before I went to bed? I think it was thee, dear sister!”

Caressing their manes, Tyler now stood between them.
“Easy, girls… You both missed me and I missed you both as well. I-”

Luna now interrupted him.
“Thou knowest, he’s right there, big sister… We’re not to blame here… HE is!” Both mares now playfully turned their faces away from him, dismissive.

Chuckling a bit, he grimaced.
“Alright, I’ll make it up to you. I’ll spend the day with you two."

Now grinning the two sisters looked at him.
“Good… In that case we may forgive you.”

“There is indeed one thing we want you to do.”

Here it comes! He thought.
“Yes? What do you want me to do?”

“We want you to join us for the watching of The Running of The Leaves.”

* * * * *

“The Running of The Leaves?” Flynn asked in surprise as he and the Mane Six were strolling across the streets of Ponyville. “Is that some sort of competition?”

Rainbow Dash nodded and looked up to him.
“Sure… Equestria’s autumn race. AJ and I partook last year. Things… didn’t turn out so well. We got carried away…”

Flynn rubbed his chin in thought.
“Yeah… that happens to the best of us. So… Can I compete as well?”

Rainbow however grimaced a bit.
“Are you sure about this? I mean I know from Tyler and from my training sessions with you how fast you humans are, and, frankly, you don’t stand a chance…”

Flynn’s brow twitched there for a moment.
“Is that a challenge?” He then bowed down to Rainbow’s face and pointed his right index finger into her chest. “Listen, if I’m in top condition, which I am, I’m going to run you into the dust!”

Rainbow, however, snickered.
“Suuure… Four legs run faster than two legs! Everypony will tell you that. You don’t have to be an egghead to know that.”

Twilight arched a brow.
“You seem very confident, Flynn. But Rainbow is right. A bipedal will never be as fast as a-“

Flynn now glared down to Twilight.
“Listen… Don’t tell me what I can or cannot do! They gave me that shit on Earth all the time and I’m sick of it!” He then turned to Rainbow. "I challenge you! I say I can beat you in running if you don’t fly!”

Rarity wanted to say something but Rainbow raised a wing in front of her to hold the white unicorn back. Determination grew in the eyes of the cerulean mare, no one was going to get away from her with that kind of challenge.
“You want a challenge? You got one, Mister! If I win, you must…” She now tipped her chin with her hoof. “Let’s say you’ll be my personal servant for one whole day!”

Flynn then bowed down.
“And if I win?”

Rainbow raised her head and her nose booped his as both stared each other down.
“Then I’ll be your personal servant for one whole day as well! I will do everything you’ll ask of me, no matter how sleazy.”

Now Twilight intervened.
“Rainbow! That’s going too far!”

But the Pegasus only shrugged.
“What? He would have the same conditions if he will become my servant… It’s only fair. And I can beat this guy fair and square anytime!”

She then raised a hoof and he took it in his palm for a shake with a determined nod.
“Servant for a day! It is on!”

Rainbow smirked.
“Heh! You better ask Twilight about her spell that makes you walk on clouds… My home sure can use a little work here and there… I’m looking forward seeing you do that for me…” With a chuckle she went off into the sky.

Twilight on the other hand only shook her head.
“You DO know she’s the fastest flyer ever and only second to Applejack if it comes to running?”

Flynn’s expression, until now a confident and determined one, changed into one of shock and awe.
“C-come again?” He then facepalmed. “That little minx… No wonder she was so eager to make the bet. Oh, man… What have I gotten myself into…?”

* * * * *

Meanwhile the carriage with Celestia, Luna and Tyler was on its way to the race track. Luna, grinning a bit, raised her wing a little, the feathers stroke his earlobe and neck, causing him to back of a bit.
“Hey, stop it. That tickles!” With an untroubled giggle, she leaned against him then and licked his cheek. “Why are you so playful today, Luna?” He already knew the princesses were in heat, but Luna seemed quite excited today, even more than usual.

“Oh, after last night? I must say thou showed me a lot of thyself…”

This prompted him to frown. What was she talking about?
“Last night? But I wasn’t in Canterlot last night!”

He felt her warm breath as she began to nibble on his earlobe.
“Not while thou were awake, my Dark Companion…”

Then it occurred to him.
“So this was the real you in my…”

When he saw her smirking face, he turned red as a tomato and harrumphed heavily, causing Luna to giggle.
“Thy secret is safe with me, beloved…” A sigh of relief escaped him as Luna leaned in to him, lowering her voice. “Twas very arousing how you preened me…”

He now smirked.
“Oh I not only preened you…” Clearly she didn’t have as much self-control as her older sister, who silently watched them two with a gentle smile, though he tried his best not to give in to the princesses needs. Tyler knew all too well now that in this state of heat, the judgment of a mare would be blurred and distorted by lust and she would gladly welcome him mounting her, even in the center of a town.

“I take it that it’s quite tiring for a human to have four mares to deal with?” Celestia now asked and interrupted his thoughts.

Tyler looked down and frowned before he looked at her.
“Don’t say that! It sounds like you’re all just work for me. I’m trying my best to keep up with every one of you… But I don’t know if I’m good with this…”

Nuzzling him, Celestia raised his chin.
“You are doing an excellent job as a herd stallion. Luna and I are satisfied with you. Isn’t that right, Luna?”

The dark alicorn smirked at her older sister.
“Oh, I’m fine… THOU are the one dreaming of kissing him!”

While Celestia now blushed and looked at her younger sister with an angry frown, Tyler looked at her quite surprised.
“That’s right… You’re in our herd and yet I’ve never even kissed you.”

As he leaned to Celestia, she smiled and lowered her voice.
“Yes, you have. Just not these lips here…”

She then welcomed his lips for a long and passionate kiss and for a moment Tyler felt perfectly brilliant. It was like time and space became irrelevant in this moment of slow motion. Even her mane seemed to hold still in this perfect moment. As they kissed, the sun flashed up for a split second and returned to normal. Luna witnessed this.
“Pray tell, dear sister… Fooling around with the sun?”

As Celestia’s and Tyler’s lips parted, the sun goddess gasped in arousal.
“Just a controllable sun flare… Tyler opened his eyes and witnessed the blush on Celestia’s face.

His hand then caressed her cheek and he gave her a smile.
“Soft and calm on the outside… But fiery and fierce passion on the inside… I felt your influence there, Celestia. It was quite an interesting experience… and soothing as well.”

Celestia leaned her cheek at his palm and closed her eyes.
“Just a little something to savor the moment… It was, after all, my first kiss in a long, long time…”

Tyler let his right index finger slide over Celestia’s lips.
“You both are alike when I kiss you… You feel alike, but it’s different. How do I put this? When I kiss Luna, it is as if we both are engulfed in deep darkness. We are alone with our feelings in perfect intimacy. Yet when I kiss Celestia, the moment feels great beyond comparison and time itself obeys our love…” With a sly smile Celestia began to suck gently on his index finger. She always had something unexpected coming from her, but Luna and Tyler already got used to it. It was Celestia’s clear hint that she was enjoying the intimate time with her herd stallion and Tyler knew she was waiting for him, yearning to be released from all the tension inside of her body. And Tyler was happy that divine lust always was paired with divine self-control. Otherwise, so he expected, the two alicorns would strap him onto the bed and rape him in their frenzy.

When the carriage landed, he turned to them both.
“I’ll get us some snacks, you girls go and take your seats already.” As they went in front of him, Celestia whispered something to Luna and both giggled a bit before raising their tails a bit, revealing their marehoods to their herd stallion for a short while. Tyler shook his head with a smile. Who was the teaser and who was the teased one here?

Both princesses were taking seat and looked upon the race track. As Tyler sat down between them, he brought a big pack of popcorn. He took a piece of popcorn and threw it up to catch it with his mouth, but Luna’s magic took hold of it in midair and levitated it into her own mouth. Tyler frowned as the expected treat didn’t land in his mouth or on his face. “What the…?” As he opened his eyes again, he looked around to see if there’s any on the seat. After a second, he gave up the search, took another one and threw it up. This time Celestia levitated it into her mouth. Tyler saw it this time and raised his index finger with a smile. “Hey!”

Both alicorns giggled along before each of them took a bite out of the pack.
“We’re just mocking you a bit, Tyler.”

Tyler chuckled.
“Such casual behavior in front of so many?”

Luna gave it a little laugh.
“Well, we want to show that we’re in a herd as well. Are you ashamed of us?” She then nuzzled his neck thoroughly and caringly, what soon got the attention of several ponies. What started in silent whispering quickly became a murmur when Celestia joined in and nuzzled his right cheek.

Tyler, however, shook his head.
“You know it’s not like that… I just don’t want Ponyville besieged by journalists.”

“If you want to, we could… arrange something.”

Celestia said this with a bit of seriousness that made Tyler a bit uneasy.
“What do you mean, Celestia?”

“For once, we could enact a law making it illegal to harass the ‘royal herd members’. Or we could hold a speech to the ponies and if pony society understands… and believe me they will… It will be frowned upon those who don’t respect your wishes for privacy.”

A frown formed on Tyler’s forehead.
“Enacting a law for my sake seems a bit unruly and looks like exploiting power. The speech option however seems very interesting. Let’s continue this conversation another time…”

Celestia then put on her formal face expression. She wanted to speak with Tyler and Luna about something and this was just the right moment as they all sat together and looked at the race track.
“Only on very exceptional occasions do humans earn their cutie mark.” She began to explain. “The ones that do, get in contact with the magic of this world and thus ascend into something more than mere humans.” Flynn now entered the track on the start line with the rest of the mares and stallions. Right now he was conversing with Lyra as both wished each other luck for the race.

Tyler nodded and thought for a bit.
“True… Until now every one of us who earned a cutie mark had come in contact with magic shortly before that. I took the magic arrow in order to protect the girls; Rachel wanted to shoot Shiria… seems to me it is a basic factor for humans to gain their cutie mark.”

Celestia now closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them to look at the starting line.
“However, I say it happens very rarely, some gain this mark through completely different means than magic.” Her eyes now locked on to Flynn. “This man is one of those few…”

“Flynn?” Now Luna’s interest was piqued and she looked at the human who stood among the other race contestants. She then looked at her older sister with narrowed eyes. “Thou hast tried the vision beyond vision spell again? Pray tell, thou knoweth we both have not much experience with spells that allow us to look into the future. T’is alicorn magic that needs millennia of training! And even then, the outcome might change slightly…” Celestia nodded at this. Luna was right of course. Her mother always knew what she was up to, despite not reading her mind or seeing her. Celestia knew that one day she might wield such powerful magic like her mother once did. Her heart warmed up at those good memories of old as they both were snuggled together, Celestia being a little filly and Luna a tiny foal. This caused her to nuzzle Luna for a bit and her sister giggled at this. “Tia? What in the…?”

But despite all the silliness the Princess of the Night let her big sister nuzzle her. It felt good to be with her and to feel the admiration of others for her and her sister; It was what she always wanted. Tyler on the other hand, made way for Celestia and leaned back so she could nuzzle her younger sister to her heart’s desire.
“Don’t mind me but the race is about to start.”

Meanwhile, down at the starting position, Flynn warmed himself up and readied himself between Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
“I hope you’re ready girls, I’ll try to hold back but no promises.”

Applejack chuckled.
“Ah’m not partaking this time, Sugarcube! I’m having a foal, ya know, but Rainbow Dash will do her best to make it worthwhile for ya.”

The cerulean Pegasus mare nudged his ribs with her hoof and gave him a sly grin.
“Your funeral! They don’t call me Rainbow and Dash for nothing! You better prepare yourself to be my servant for a day.”

Flynn however tied his shoes really hard and got into position.
“We’ll see about that, Rainbow…”

As a stallion got himself on a platform besides the track, Derpy Hooves came closer with the starting signal in her mouth, a black and white checkered flag.
“Ladies and gentlecolts! On your mark…”

Flynn and Rainbow were in the front rows of the participants and got into starting pose.
“Try not to get any wingboner there, girl!”

Rainbow’s eyes popped up in surprise, before she grinned at Flynn for this comment.
“Why you…”

He grinned as the next order starting signal was raised.
“Get set!!!” A bead of sweat ran down his forehead. His body felt like it was on fire, so much tension was in him. And with a loud “GO!!!” the starting signal was waved and he jumped up and began to run.

***

One hour earlier…

Rachel angrily shook her head while yelling at Flynn.
“This is no good, Flynn! All this running stuff is going over your head! Now listen: There are so many reasons why you shouldn’t-”

Flynn sat in his chair and looked up to her. The impression on his face showed that he was calm, yet annoyed by her.
“I know, but I’m not withdrawing from that challenge, Rachel…”

“Ugh… You won’t win in a race against these ponies anyway! They’re way faster than you can ever hope to be! Does the concept “No pilot, no airplane!” mean anything to you, Flyboy? Sam is going to buy material to fix the Betty. And once we find a way home we should go for it! Injure yourself now and it’s over! Then we could kiss our ticket home goodbye!”

Flynn disliked how she yelled at him. He on the other side remained calm.
“You know how I think about situations like this, Rachel… If I’m grounded, I want to run. It’s the only thing that makes me-“

“What?” She snapped at him.

But even this couldn’t enrage him.
“…believe that I can fly.”

Rachel just shook her head.
“You sure miss to fly your baby, huh shithead ?”

He stood up and looked outside the window. “When I fly, I’m released from the world, I’m totally free. And since I’m here in this world, I feel… stronger, faster! Haven’t you noticed it for yourself? Like the feeling you could face the world head-on!” But Rachel only arched a brow. She didn’t entirely understand the words he said. She, for once, hasn’t become stronger or faster.

* * * * *

The feeling of speed, the cold wind on his skin, the aching tension in his muscles… It felt wonderful. But almost every pony passed by and left him behind except two of them. Twilight and Lyra seemed to pace themselves for the race. Twilight remembered her fifth place last time she partook and was eager to repeat this achievement. Maybe she would make it on the fourth or even the third place this time. Following her example Lyra decided to do it like Twilight this time since she only got a disappointing 25th place last time.

Just as they reached Flynn, there suddenly was a sharp pain in his muscles and a loud snap like his muscles had burst and his skin literally exploded from his legs, leaving the flesh bare and causing him to fall. Twilight stopped and looked if he was alright.
“Flynn! For Celestia’s sake, is everything alright?”

And already they could hear Spike up from above the balloon, moderating with Pinkie Pie again.
“Number 56, Flynn Marshall is down!" Hearing this announcement caused Rainbow, meanwhile in the pole position to halt. Flynn was a contestant, but he also was a friend. Winning was the coolest thing, but not if friends are left behind. But already did Pinkie Pie intervene.
“But wait! He comes up again!”

Despite the agonizing pain in his legs, Flynn got up again and kept on running. Suddenly, reaching the finish line at all cost was fixed in his mind and Flynn gritted his teeth as he became faster again. Twilight and Lyra couldn’t believe the sudden change in him as he suddenly began to gain field in front of them, his eyes determined.
“What is happening? He was injured a moment ago!”

Twilight shook her head as she saw Flynn’s bleeding legs.
“He still IS injured!” With that both unicorns began to gallop after him. Deep inside, Flynn wanted to scream at this enormous pain, it felt like someone ripped his legs off. And finally his voice broke free and his roar of pain caused several ponies to make room for him. By startling the ponies, he gained enough field to come among the first five.

Whoever got passed by him grew more determined in his or her running, no pony was eager of being outrun by a bipedal human. Soon, the whole field of racing ponies was chasing after this one human, who more and more approached the pole. As he approached the running Pegasus mare, Rainbow looked over her shoulder, only for her eyes to pop open.
“WHAT THE HAY???” And when Flynn was almost directly behind her, it began to happen. Everything became slow-motion for him. He could see and observe the small beads and drops of sweat on his arms and in the air. The droplets of sweat coming from Rainbow's mane Just like drops of water running along the cockpit windows. Complete freedom was close at hand…

Rainbow now became even more determined and sped up, racing with him to the finish line. The gain of speed in him didn’t cease and made him catch up with Rainbow, who now had to go into full speed. What’s with this dude? How can he, as a bipedal, be so fast? Flynn’s thoughts however didn’t circle around the race anymore. Faster… Faster! Let me fly again! Luna now arched a brow and looked to Celestia.
“I feel something growing in that man…”

Celestia simply nodded, her eyes were locked on Flynn.
“Watch and witness it… This is so exciting…”

Tyler looked through his binoculars.
“That’s Flynn alright… But those wounds on his Calve muscles…” He lowered the binoculars. “It seems his skin had been ripped off!”

Rachel and Sam were waiting at the finish line with Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack while waiting for the race contestants. Sam held up some binoculars and grinned.
“Something’s comin’…"

“Yeah! Something speedy is coming from right there…”

Applejack shook her head.
“Tarnation… I bet it’s Rainbow flying instead of running. Hoo boy! She’s going to be disqualified for this…”

Rachel shook her head.
“No! It’s Rainbow and Flynn and they’re in a neck-and-neck-race!”

Sam lowered his binoculars and looked at her.
“Hey… How can you see them without some binocs?”

This prompted her to blink in surprise.
“I have no idea… And I also don’t know why he’s as fast as she is.”

Rainbow gritted her teeth. No doubt this was a surprise, but she would outrun Flynn in the end. It was a great challenge and she had someone worthy to be a challenging race contestant. This was something that made her heart race in excitement. Getting the last out of herself, she ran as if it would be for her own life and finally gained more field. Nothing can stop me now! But because of him being behind her, she couldn’t see the little particles of light accumulating in him.

Suddenly , it was when the finish line was a few hundred meters away, everything became gray for Flynn and his view blurred suddenly. What he didn’t recognized was the effect he had caused behind him. With a sudden flash he sped up to 100 miles per hour, leaving a trail of flames behind. As he passed Rainbow, the Pegasus’ jaw almost fell to the ground. Both Celestia and Luna gasped. Celestia, however, was the first to react and as soon as he crossed the finish line, she levitated him up from the ground before he could collide with the crowd or a building. Seconds after being levitated up, Flynn came to a stop and looked around.
“What the…?” He was then lowered down and simply stood there amongst applauding ponies. As he looked down, his shoes were ruined. “...What?”

Tyler stormed over to Flynn.
“Quick! Get me some bandages! His legs are…” He suddenly stopped as he recognized that the legs were alright as if nothing ever happened to them. But the cutie marks of Wings were visible on his calve muscles.

Flynn now turned around.
“Man, I feel like having a bad trip or something. After I fell, I had the strangest dream. OK… What place did I made? Third place? Fifth?” After seeing into many amazed faces, his mood visibly got worse. “Last…? Are you serious?”

Tyler only shook his head in disbelief.
"What ever happened to your perception of time, man? You got FIRST!!!”

Flynn looked like they were trying to mess with him, but then Rainbow crossed the finish line. Her coat sweaty and dirty, her breath deep and fast, trying to keep up.
“Seriously, what the hay???” More and more of the contestants finished.

When Twilight finished, she immediately trotted to Flynn.
"Flynn! Your legs! You’re… injured?“

“No I’m not… I feel fine!”

Tyler shook his head.
“I saw the wounds in my binoculars as well. You were injured, but it seems you already healed yourself… Massive cell regeneration and high velocity, huh? That’s quite an achievement!”

Flynn looked around, puzzled.
“I don’t understand anything you folks say… Regeneration? High velocity?”
Sam nodded. “Flynn, you were as fast as a car the last few hundred meters. Probably 90 miles per hour… Maybe even 100!”

Flynn waved the thought away.
“Don’t talk bullshit! No one can reach those velocities on foot!”

Rachel shook her head.
“You did!”

Rainbow now angrily pointed her hoof at Flynn.
“You cheated! You never said you could run so fast!”

Tyler arched a brow.
“I guess he didn’t know that himself until now, RD… Don’t be like that.”

Rainbow kicked some dirt.
“I lost…” With a short snort the Pegasus mare looked at the ground. “I hate losing! Alright… A good sport always pays her debt… I’m yours now for one entire day, Flynn. I…” Rainbow fought with the words. She was a bit afraid of what was ahead of her. “I’ll do everything you ask of me!”

Flynn looked down to her, then looked to the others who watched them both. He then knelt down to Rainbow and raised her chin.
“Tell you what: Someday… And perhaps that day may never come… You will be my servant. But until then, consider yourself free.”

This caused her to look up to him.
“You mean it?” As he nodded, she smiled with a bit of guilt in her eyes. “You taught me a lesson there, Flynn… I don’t know if I would have let you off the hook that easily…”

Now the princesses arrived and Celestia smiled at Flynn.
“Congratulations, Flynn! You’ve won against all odds! A most interesting case of human cutie mark earning, don’t you think so, Luna?”

“Indeed, big sister… A human earning his cutie mark through sheer willpower, truly this is a case that deserves further studies.”

With a gentle nod, Celestia agreed.
“Spike? Take a note please” Raising up a note and a quill, the little dragon looked up to the princess.
“We, Princess Celestia and Luna, do hereby decree that the Pegasus Rainbow Dash and the human Flynn Marshall shall investigate and study the peculiar whereabouts of his cutie mark and why he was able to earn it without magic. They must report to us their findings.” With a smile she turned to Rainbow. “I think you, as the fastest flyer, are the best possible choice to study the fastest runner humans brought to Equestria. If you need help with this task, don’t hesitate to ask your friends or me for help.”

Rainbow nodded with determination and saluted to the princess.
“Princess Celestia? I’m not sure if I’m the best for egghead stuff, but I sure know about physical exercise and examination. I won’t let you down.”

Flynn leaned to Tyler.
“What does she mean by that?”

Tyler now began to grin, while he looked at Celestia.
“Oh, stripping you off your clothes, having all sorts of tests with you… Maybe an anal probe…?”

“Oh… Yes, of course… Wait, WHAT?!?” Now Tyler began to laugh loud.

Rachel looked around. “Where are Sam and Lyra? I saw that Lyra was among the contestants…”

* * * * *

Meanwhile Lyra and Sam entered her secret room again.
“Eighth place! You did great this time.”

The unicorn snickered and stretched a bit.
“I was lucky everypony was running after Flynn so that they overexerted themselves. Sam? Would you give me a massage? This race sure left my muscles sore.” Sam nodded and waited until she hopped on a table and kneaded her sore muscles. His work at the spa was now paying off. Slowly, but surely, he worked his way down her back. With a sigh of relief the unicorn closed her eyes and relaxed. “Deeper…”

He arched a brow and grinned.
“Uh… Lyra… If I go deeper, I’ll massage your flank and cutie marks… And you know what this will do.”

With a sly grin she looked over her shoulder directly into his face and made it an order.
“Deeper!”

He nodded briefly, his brow twitched for a moment before he began to massage her in the way she demanded it. It wasn’t before long that her breathing became heavier and he could recognize a deep blush on her face. She bit her lip and hid her face under her hooves. “Oh I’m a bad mare for using you like this… Surely you’d prefer a human woman with breasts instead of teats and hands to grab your… Your…” Before she could end, a violent shiver went through her body and she moaned deeply.

Sam held still for a moment and looked at her with wide opened eyes.
“Did… Did you just..."

Lyra was caught up in a feeling of ecstasy and embarrassment. Her heart raced, her pupils had become tiny dots and her cheeks were burning.
“I-I came… How embarrassing!”

He arched his brow again.
“Yeah… Embarrassing for you or for me, Baby?”
Baby… She somehow loved it when he called her that. Since the events of the last few weeks they became quite close and he treated her well, did so much for her. There, however, was very little she could do for him instead.

But she was eager to give it her best shot.
“Sam? You… you know that we’re working so long on my anthropology. We talked so much about you and your body. I never asked… Do you… need anything?”

“Need?” His brow twitched again. “And what do you think I need?”

“Well, Rachel is a human woman, but you only seem to deem her as a friend…”

Now he knew what she was aiming at, but wasn’t speaking out loud directly.
“Yeah… because she would kick my ass if I would ask her for something like that! Lyra… I feel like we’re dancing around and not moving one inch… What’s on your mind?”

The unicorn now looked up to him again.
“You won’t get mad at me?”

He playfully rolled his eyes before shaking his head with a warm smile.
“Spill the beans, girl!”

“I… I want to be your woman!”

“What? Lyra, you’re a mare, not a woman.”

“I can be anything for you, Sam! I can walk on two legs! I… I want to be with you…”

Sam gulped and looked down. He remembered quite well how she demonstrated her bipedal skills to him. Unsure, wobbly and far from stable, but more than every other pony could muster to do.
“This… This human stuff really got to you, didn’t it? You’ve learned so much about humans with me and now you’re so into it you want to take the next step… A full sexual relationship… With all duties and privileges…” His eyes narrowed. “You want me, because I’m different, huh? Even more different than the other ones…”

“It has nothing to do with that, Sam. If you’re uncomfortable with this… I don’t want to force you into things… We can wait. But I… I do have to express myself to you. And everything inside me screams your name. So if you want to wait, I’ll…” She gulped deep. “I’ll comply… But if you want to ease your urges with me… I’m eager to find out what a human male can do to my body.”

Sam looked down at her and gulped heavily as she raised her tail to give him full view of her most private parts.
“You’re a temptress…”

“I’m an anthropologist!” She replied with a shy smile.

“I can tell; you’re taking note of my reactions!” He pointed at a quill and a note hovering in the other corner of the room. She replied to this with an embarrassed giggle and another deep blush. Sam then leaned over her body and began to whisper into her ear. “You tried to provoke me, but you didn’t really believe I would go all the way with you, hm? A mare and a human… Do you really think that would work for me?”

Shivering through all the closeness to him she leaned her head back.
“There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?” Lyra could now feel him doing something behind her. Then, with a hard grip he spread her flank and she could feel something hard poking her… He entered her with one long slide and her eyes went wide, her pupils became tiny dots and her mouth was open aghast and shivering as her scream died in her throat before it could leave her. He’s unexpectedly big. I expected something smaller than a stallion’s member. Maybe something of equal size… But sweet Celestia, I wasn’t prepared for this!

Sam growled into her ear.
“That’s one tight pussy you have…”

Although she couldn’t categorize the term properly, she knew what he meant and smiled.
“Thank you…You’re not as I expected you either… I had a stallion before, but you… You’re better!”

Turning her face to his, he kissed her.
“You really are curious about humans, huh? Little minx… Daddy will teach this little girl a lot about humans…”

After a short while of sex, she looked up to her human lover in some sort of wonder.
“Shouldn’t… Shouldn’t you be finished by now?”

Arching both brows, he looked into her face.
“What? Already?”

“Yeah… Stallions…” She gasped for a short time. “Stallions climax after a minute or two. So I wonder, why-“

“Here are some news for you, Lyra…” he whispered into her ear. “We humans can have sex for hours.”

Her eyes popped open.
“HOURS?!? Sweet Celestia, I want to experience this!” With this she felt a slight pain as he bit into her ear, which was a great turn-on for both of them. Both their moans filled the room now. Lyra felt helpless, right now, she WAS helpless as he took her. Under his tight grip, she was pinned down for good on the table. All she could do right now was endure and take it. But he never hurt her during this time. She knew being an omnivore he was half predator, something that could harm her. The fact that he didn’t harm her body in order to sleep with her felt strangely arousing. For a good hour she was under him, her senses whirling, her head spinning as one orgasm followed the other. Already the many orgasms demanded their toll.

As he growled and released himself in her, she leaned her head back and let out a neigh in sheer lust. Her lover arched back a little, but looked into her eyes. As he gazed into her helpless bliss, he smiled a little.
“For reacting so strong you sure can take a lot… I was afraid you would faint in the middle of it…”

Drool was running down her chin.
“Sam, I… I love you! I’ll always be your-“ Before she could end, he interrupted her by pressing his lips on hers.

When their lips parted again, he smiled.
“Shut up, Baby… No need for dirty talk…” He then stood up from her and left her womb. The warmth inside of her lingered a bit, but faded after a while.

Lyra, however, looked up to him and slowly came to her senses.
“I’m proud to be your mare, Sam. And since you treat me good, I want to please you as well, my herd stallion.”

“I know… A stable relationship, right?” He suddenly realized the pun he just made and shook the thought away. “Wait a minute… Herd stallion? What’s this?”

“It means you and I choose three or four more mares to live together in a herd… With you as the only male…”

Sam now cocked his head and arched a brow.
“Eh? Wait… You folks have polygamy running here? Not monogamy?”

“No, silly… Of course there’s no monogamy! You as a male can have several mares, because there are five mares on one stallion in population. Is this a problem to you?”

“Hmmm… Nah… I’m fine. But don’t think I’m going with that harem idea right away. That’s some weird shit and I’m not used to it yet."

Half an hour later…

Bon Bon’s brow twitched slightly as she tried her best to remain calm.
“I accepted your little quirks and flaws, Lyra… I didn’t say a word in over five years! I also accepted your attitude when Tyler came to Equestria and when you felt confirmed and marched through Ponyville like you always knew the day would come, I was happy for you… When you came to me and asked if we could offer shelter to these three humans, I thought for a moment, but agreed to it if they agreed to help in the household. But for Celestia’s sake! This is a decent home! And no brothel! If you want to have sex with one of them, do it in a silent and proper way! Not neighing out loud as if you’re part of an orgy! You can do that on Sweet Apple Acres!”

Lyra cowered at the table, shrinking down.
“I’m… I’m sorry, Bon Bon… I… I was overwhelmed by-”

“Spare me the details! I’m not into this and I don’t want to hear it! You know I as well short fused during the heat season, and went after Tyler… But this isn’t heat season!”

Sam arched a finger, but Bon Bon glared at him.
“And you… You are the one who’s not experiencing heat at all. You humans have far more self-control than ponies when it comes to sex. How could you let this escalate like this in the first place?”

Sam looked down in embarrassment.
“You are of course right, Bon Bon…”

With this the earth pony took a sip from her tea.
“At least Rachel fortunately isn’t interested in stallions. And Flynn doesn’t bring other mares into the household.”

It was in this moment when the door opened and Flynn came in with Rainbow.
“I must say… A mare that can reach Mach One in the air is something in my book.”

Rainbow chuckled.
“And you run faster than any pony I’ve met. You said something about this dude… He really jumped from a height of 38 kilometers and performed a sonic boom like your airplanes from falling down? Awesome! And those rockets you told me about. They can cross entire countries in a matter of minutes?”

“Sure! They can defy our gravity and leave the planet.”

"What? There are speeds that are that fast? I always thought my speed was close to the limit. You must tell me more about it!”

“Sure! Let’s go into my room for that.” While they left the living room, Sam chuckled at Bon Bon’s twitching right eye.

While Rachel, Twilight and Tyler approached Bon Bon’s and Lyra’s home, angered yelling and demolition sounds were to hear now from inside. Flynn opened his window on the second floor as Tyler looked up to him.
"Hey, Flynn… what the hell is going on in there?”

“Oh it’s nothing… Bon Bon is yelling at Lyra and Sam like crazy…”

Now Rachel frowned.
“Bonnie? Why? What happened?”

“Well… I don’t know for certain, but from what I understand from all the yelling and screaming, I think it’s because Sam fucked Lyra’s brain out.”

Rachel face palmed at this.
“Oh for the love of…” With this she turned to Twilight. “Men… Selfish egotistical pigs… driven by one will alone: The will to mate!” Both Tyler and Flynn grumbled at this. They understood she wasn’t excited by such news, but this… Twilight arched a brow and watched as Rachel walked down the street before she turned her attention to her herdmate, expecting him to say something.

He simply shrugged.
“What? If she’s mad at him, it’s not my problem! Both are adults, they can do whatever they want. And with four mares in my herd I think you can clearly say that I’m the last one who should tell him to hold back a bit.”

Twilight gave him a sly grin after this.
“Well said, Casanova… But I don’t want you to tell him to stop. Just to be more… discreet. Speaking of which… I’ll send Spike on a chore for an hour or two if you get what I’m saying…” With this she gave him a seductive nudge with her flank and he closed his eyes with a chuckle, shaking his head. Ponies in love sure like to have it often and good it seems.

* * * * *

In the late evening, Shadrane entered Luna’s chamber.
“I must admit this Tyler Jones sure has some commendable traits. Still, the way he has to go for becoming a-“

The governess now was interrupted as Luna’s brush was slammed onto her table. When Luna looked at her, the eyes of the princess showed major annoyance.
“Shadrane, thou often express thy worries about Tyler… Why is he not to thy liking?”

“It’s not in my rights to question the princess… Please, milady, I-“

Luna now closed her eyes. For once, she was doing it like her big sister and not to yell at once. No, Shadrane was going to answer her and she would see to this in a calm manner. Yet her voice got harder and a bit louder.
“I wish thee to answer my question! Why dost thou doubt the being I love?”

The unicorn nodded and held her chin high.
“Do I have permission to speak freely?”

Turning around to her, Luna held her head high and proud.
“Of course! I do not wish you to speak otherwise.”

“I have become your governess since your return to harmony and your sister made it very clear to me that she wishes to see you happy. But more importantly she wants you to be safe. In this one year before you went to that festival in Ponyville, I brought you up to speed about historic events, but in hindsight I failed to educate and prepare you properly for today’s society.”

“Yes, I agree with thee, the amount of information was too big to catch up in that amount of time. Thou alone couldn’t succeed in this, yet thou did an extraordinary job. I want thee to know this. And for thy work thou have my gratitude.”

Bowing her head, the governess smiled.
“This honors me. But Milady, do you really think this Tyler is a proper companion for you? Are you certain that he is the right one for the task ahead?”

A wholehearted laugh came from the alicorn as she continued to brush her ethereal mane in front of the mirror.
“Oh absolutely, Shadrane! In fact, I am the one having bad influence on him.”

Now the governess was stumped.
“Uhh… you speak of…”

The Princess of the Night could not but chuckle.
”My dark side, Shadrane… I speak of the powers of darkness that rest dormant within me. Powers I do not wish to use anymore… And yet, in his embrace, I feel that he would love even this side of me."

“Oh, you speak of Nigh–“

In an instant Luna turned around and used her Royal Canterlot Voice.
“DO NOT SPEAK THAT NAME!” Harrumphing, Luna recollected herself and closed her eyes as she returned to a calm and gentle voice. “I mean: Do not speak the name of the being that had taken me hostage. Thou knoweth how I despise and regret this time now.”

Correcting her mane, Shadrane nodded.
“Forgive me, Milady… I should have thought before I mentioned this name.”

Luna sighed. Again she used her Royal Canterlot Voice in anger far too quickly and this angered her a bit about herself. She was still not as calm as Celestia.
“There’s nothing to forgive, Shadrane. The times where my sister and I hurt each other are over. Now, with Tyler’s help, we can partake in life once again and can work on ourselves. It feels so good to be part of a routine with others and not to be alone all the time."

Shadrane now looked at Luna with wide eyes.
“To have sex with this human? Routine?”

“He was my first lover! And I must admit that he was…” She tipped her chin for a second while thinking of the right term. “Superb!” She then giggled. “I really love how Twilight and fair Applejack ensnare him time and time again. He doesn’t react disgustedly to us. Truth be told, he ignores our outer form and loves us for who we are, not what we are. Thou cannot even begin to imagine what this means to me and my sister.”

“And you think making a mare receptive to his sperm is a good idea? Until now he excels the most in fighting! Is it really wise to-“

Now Luna raised a hoof and again interrupted her governess.
“Enough of this nonsense, Shadrane! I am the Princess of the Night and co-ruler of Equestria! It is my right as a mare to decide who is worthy to bring pleasure to my heart and womb and my divine right to decide who is worthy to be my equal! And no governess whatsoever will dictate me otherwise. Tyler keeps balance between me, my sister, Twilight Sparkle and fair Applejack. If thou can’t accept that, thou should consider to work as the governess of somepony else!”

The door opened and Celestia came in.
“Well said, Luna…Shadrane, please leave us two alone for now. I wish to talk to my sister in private.” Shadrane, bowing to Celestia, went outside the room, leaving the two sisters alone.

Standing in front of the mirror, Celestia smiled right next to her younger sister.
“You look gorgeous, Lulu. He certainly would love to be with you tonight looking like this…”

Luna raised her chin with pride and a smile.
“They will come tomorrow for the weekly sleepover… Just in time for the day after tomorrow when the gala takes place. Thus I won’t need to rush for it. I take it thou want to partake again?”

“I will partake… But not only that...” With a deep blush, the white alicorn buried her face in her sister’s ethereal mane. “I wish to be mounted by him…”

“Oh? So thou finally are having sex with him?” A smirk formed on Luna’s face. “Thou think thou can keep up with the tight and moist womb of thy little sister?”

“There are other qualities he’s interested in as well. Not just the mere penetration.” Celestia added with an arched brow.

“True…” Luna sighed. “Celestia…” Now Celestia’s attention was piqued. Luna normally didn’t call her with her full name in a private moment between them two except it was very important to her.

And Celestia recognized this at once.
“Yes, Luna?”

Laying down the brush, Luna looked down.
“In a few decades he will grow old and die… But I don’t want this to end. I want to cherish the time with him and make the most of it. I…” Luna hesitated a moment, unsure if she should tell her sister her most intimate wish, but then the determination got the best of her and she made her announcement.

“I want a foal from him as well.”

All alarm bells began to ring in Celestia’s mind now. The long forgotten atrocities of the alicorn war came to her mind again and she gulped.
“Lu-Luna… You can’t get a foal with him. Neither can I… It… It would keep us from performing our duties.” It felt bad to lie to Luna like this but to keep Equestria from harm, it had to be done. This, at least, was what Celestia was thinking.

“Is that so? And thou think I can’t watch the moon turn at night with his foal in my womb? I see the happiness in fair Applejack’s face and the pride when she rests and looks at her swollen belly. I want this happiness as well, my sister, a little foal to love and care for. Must I really forswear this happiness for the sake of this tiara?” Luna then turned to Celestia with slight anger on her face. “This tiara then becomes a burden I begin to hate!”

Celestia began to nuzzle her younger sister.
“Don’t fret upon this Luna… We will figure something out. We must not forget the responsibility we both took so many millennia ago when we ascended this throne. Abandoning the ones depending on our guidance and leadership? No, that is too selfish for us. We’re both better than this. You are above this, Luna. I know you are. Until we worked something out I do not wish you to decide anything on your own. Can you promise me this?”

Luna closed her eyes and sighed.
“I will try… Just please don’t let me wait too long… I can’t think straight with this heat in me and with him around…”

Meanwhile Shadrane entered her own chamber and looked into the mirror. Her self-inspection however was disturbed from the bathroom where someone kicked against the door. Entering the bathroom she immediately frowned.
“I thought I told you to cocoon them up properly and keep them awake! We can’t let these ponies jeopardize our cover by dreaming about us!” On the floor lied another Shadrane with one of the maidens, both partially cocooned by three Changelings. Shadrane mumbled something very angrily through her wax gag, before her doppelganger smirked. “Oh, don’t worry… The queen ordered us to harm no one; your precious princesses are not our target. Our mission here is simple… acquisition…”

Author's Note

Proofread by Rythmns

19 - Sibling War ***

In the early hours of the morning the train went from Ponyville to Canterlot. In one of the wagons Tyler, Applejack, Twilight and Rarity sat together and conversed a bit, while Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had a talk of their own.
“Last time I saw her, Lyra was very happy to get an invitation to the gala as well.”

Twilight nodded with a smile.
“Since she and Sam are together, Princess Celestia obviously thought it would be wrong to keep her at home while he is on the gala night.”

“Just wait until you see what I’ve created for those three.” Rarity added. “Sam and Flynn were easy to please, since I already knew about Tyler and human male tuxedos and suits… Rachel, however, was a bit more of work.”

This caused Tyler to grimace with a chuckle. “She… She didn’t gave you a hard time, did she?”

“Of course not, Darling! We were quite chatty together. Some decent stitches here, the choice of fabric there… She was very cooperative when I advised her with her wish for a gala dress. A decent red dress, nothing too naughty, nothing to ordinary. Sometimes it only needs a conversation with another mare for a mare to thaw up. Human women seem to be of no difference.” Rarity then frowned for a bit, thoughtful. “But I wonder… Why do you humans always insist on paying for the dresses made by a friend?”

Tyler began to chuckle and this chuckle turned into a loud laugh, before he grabbed Rarity’s cheeks and kissed her nose.
“You, Rarity, have a heart of gold!” He then leaned back and caressed Applejack’s and Twilight’s manes. “On Earth, we don’t have magic and the resources are limited for so many humans; Thus, we pay for what we get from those resources. There are organizations which help the homeless, the needful, but normally you have to pay for something if you want it. So a generous pony like you would either be rich on Earth because everyone would want to pay you or you would be ruined before the first month is over.”

The white unicorn nodded.
“I see… It is rooted in your cultural behavior.” She then raised her chin. “Such an honorable behavior to repay the debt by all means.”

Tyler replied with a nod.
“It is our belief that we shouldn’t accumulate debt, especially not with a friend.”

The white unicorn then waved the thought away.
“I understand, Darling.Oh well… I think I can persuade them that they don’t need to pay at once.”

Fluttershy looked around.
“Why aren’t they with us? Oh... you know, I just wanted Princess Celestia to introduce me to the Canterlot park animals since my first attempt was... You know... utterly fruitless...”

Rainbow nodded.
“And I have to have a little chat with the Bureau of the Wonderbolts! To get myself the application papers. But Fluttershy is right, why aren’t they coming with us?”

Rarity now looked up to the Pegasus mares.
“Flynn, Sam, Lyra and Rachel will follow with the next train. They said they were busy building something... Who can say what these four are up to.” She then looked out of the window. “I’m so excited! Ooh! Princess Luna wishes to speak with me. She didn’t say about what.”

Half an hour later, the train held at Canterlot Station. Five of the Mane Six and their human friend strolled down the streets of the capital city while Rarity took care that their dresses were properly transported into their chambers in the castle. But just as they were in the castle and entered the throne room, the alarm began to rang. Tyler blinked and looked around.
“I didn’t do it! What’s going on here?”

One of the guards stormed into the throne room and reported to Celestia.
“Your Majesty!!! Governess Shadrane and a maiden were found in her chamber! Cocooned in Changeling wax!”

Celestia and Tyler looked at each other before they both only muttered one word.
“Luna!”

In the next moment, Tyler teleported himself in front of her room and kicked the door open.
“LUNA! WHERE- Oomph!”

Before he could end his sentence, a solid pillow slammed into his face and Luna rose up from her bed.
“WHO DARES TO DISTURB MINE SLUMBER???”

Two guards stormed in as well, only to get thrown out at once. Tyler was levitated out of her chamber and her magic grip let go in midair, so he landed on his butt before the doors behind him were slammed shut. Both guards, leaning upside down against the wall on the opposite end of the hall, looked at each other.
“He’s lucky she loves him…”

“We’re lucky she deems us good guards!”

One minute later Luna came out in a foul sleepy mood and nudged Tyler with her hoof to stand up.
“Come now, my Dark Companion! Thou hast disturbed mine slumber, so thou shalt explain to me why thou did so!”

Five minutes later Luna was instructed to the situation and they both arrived at the throne room, where they met the others.
“Found anything yet?”

“No…”

With a nod Tyler began to think.
“At least we now know that they weren’t after Luna…”

Now Rarity harrumphed behind them, levitating an unconscious guard in the air.
“Ladies and gentlecolts? I see we are all alright?”

As they gathered together they all nodded.
“Yes, we are!”

“Oh, good… Tell me: Did anypony happen to beat up a Changeling on the way here? No? Then we still have a problem…”
With this she let down the unconscious guard and Tyler nodded. “And one knocked out guard…”

Chuckling with rolling eyes, Rainbow shrugged.
“Ooohh… What a big problem! We’ve beaten up so many Changelings at the wedding! They’re only a threat if they come in swarms. One Changeling alone isn't a threat.”

Rarity grinned and leaned over to Rainbow.
“If you want to ignore the importance of appearance, that’s up to you. But that would mean to clearly underestimate the threat loose inside this castle!”

Rainbow snickered.
“What? You think he could find out your dirty little secrets?”

Rarity then arched a brow so ladylike how only she could do it and smirked.
“No… That would be YOUR problem!” With this she took out a little folder covered in Changeling wax, from which several pictures of Rainbow hovering besides a standup of Flynn, a life-size cut-out posing as buddies, fell out. But also some more intimate ones.

Rainbow’s jaw dropped.
“What the…? When…? How…?”

As she continued to stammer around, Rarity nodded.
“Indeed… And now he’s here to spy on CANTERLOT! So listen up, Dashie! Or pictures of you and your standup will be the second worst thing happening to you today!” Rainbow growled a bit at Rarity but collected the photos on the table.

With a wide grin Pinkie Pie showed one of the pictures to Fluttershy who smiled quite touched.
“Oh… this one’s lovely!”

With wide open eyes Rainbow turned around and took the remaining photos from the other Mane Six.
“Give me that!” A deep blush was on her face.

The white unicorn now shook her head and went to the window.
“The Changeling has already breached our defenses…” While looking out of the window, Rarity deduced that in the middle of the night the Changeling must have breached the outer security lines, knocking out a sleepy guard in surprise. With a determined look she turned around and pointed at the unconscious guard. “You see what he’s done to our guards!” In detail Rarity then explained how the Changeling probably caught the sturdy stallion by surprise and knocked him out. “And worst of all… He could be anypony of us!” With terror in their eyes the girls remembered the Changeling’s ability to copy any pony they once saw. Maybe one unlucky guard was copied and knocked out while staring in terror into his own evil grinning face.

Rarity then looked at each and every one present.
“It could be in this very room! It could be you! It could be me! It could even be-”

In the next moment, Rarity was tossed through the room as Pinkie’s Party Cannon blasted her.

Tyler jumped in surprise.
“Whoa, what the fuck?”

Pinkie Pie now raised a hoof, accusingly.
“What? It was obvious! She’s the Changeling! She was the only one who wasn’t with us the entire time! Watch, she will turn into one any second now...”

But instead of turning into a Changeling, Rarity came back to her senses and growled angrily.
“Pinkie PIE!!!”

“Oops…” While Rarity chased after the pink earth pony to poke her with her horn, Tyler now facepalmed and shook his head with a sigh. “Both of you, stop this nonsense at once! Pinkie Pie, there are tests for making sure Rarity isn’t a Changeling, no need for the Party Cannon!”

Pinkie then lowered her ears and approached Rarity with a sad face. “I’m sorry Rarity… I overdid it. Are we still friends?” The white unicorn grumbled a bit, but then smiled with a sigh. “I guess I can’t be mad at you forever… And it wasn’t that hard of a blast.” But this only earned her a tight embrace from Pinkie who seemed to want to make up for the mistake. Tyler shook his head with a smile.

Princess Celestia now entered the room and looked to each one of them. “The threat has been handled… The guards found two Changelings who attacked them when they were discovered. Unfortunately both of them didn’t survive, I would have liked to speak with them. I must ask all of you to take the Changeling-test.”

A few minutes later the test was done and everyone passed, prompting Tyler to nod.
“See, Pinkie Pie? No need for the Party Cannon…”

But Pinkie shook her head, raising a hoof.
“I wouldn’t trust this test to 100%!”

* * * * *

Later that evening Tyler sat together with Twilight, Applejack, Luna and Celestia as they conversed over several topics. The alicorn mares seemed very interested into Astrophysics, although Tyler could only give them crumbs of knowledge about this. But they were most satisfied with hearing of what he could remember from documentaries. Stories about planets so hot, that there is rain of iron, was both amazing and strange to the alicorns. After a while, Twilight climbed on top of Tyler and gently pushed his chest down so he was lying in the soft pillows. Tyler knew what she probably was up to and took off his shirt. When she leaned against him, her chest rubbed against his and both felt each other’s body heat. meanwhile Celestia went into the bathroom.

Twilight was visibly unsure about this position, but trusted Tyler and Applejack. AJ winked to her with a sly grin.
“Ya going to love that, Twilight.” It felt strange not to be taken from behind, to rest on top of him. But already could she feel him enter her body and looked into his blue eyes. And now Twilight understood almost instantly why Applejack loved this position. Like this, they could kiss and exchange sweet little secrets in intimacy. As the movement in her womb intensified, she pressed her lips on his and his tight embracement let her roll her eyes. Mere seconds were between her and her climax; her fast breathing signalized this to him. As he released himself in her with gritted teeth, she let out a short neigh and blushed heavily. As ecstasy released her from its grip, she came to her senses and looked at him lovestoned. After a heavy barrage of kisses, she got up and rested at Applejack’s side. “Well, Sugarcube? How was it?”

With a satisfied smile Twilight closed her eyes in bliss. There were orgasms and there were orgasms making the mare neigh without control. And the latter were simply...
“There are no words…” This prompted the earth pony to chuckle, knowing she was right.

Tyler sat down on the other side of Applejack, caressing her big belly.
“Well? How’s the passenger?”

With a gentle and loving smile she looked at her belly and enjoyed the strokes he gave to it.
“He or she is quite active! Ah feel a kick every once in a while…”

Tyler rested his cheek on her belly and smiled.
“So small and already the little one is ready to buck the trees, huh? A behavior from the mother…” He then got up and kissed his country girl before resting his forehead on hers. “Sorry that you can only look tonight…”

But Applejack merely shook her head with a smile.
“Ya have made me so happy already, Ah don’t care. Ah only hope ya can give this happiness to the others as well someday.”

Tyler then turned to Luna, who was just resting on the bed. Even in their sleepovers, Luna took her duties quite seriously. He had to be inside of her for her not to check on the night every once in a while.
“So… My maiden of the night… I must say I’m curious…”

“Thou are curious about what, my love?”

“About your appearance as the mare of nightmares… Will you grant me the chance to see how you look in this state?”

Luna grimaced a bit, this request didn’t seem to be to her liking.
“Only reluctantly… Celestia?”

The white alicorn nodded.
“Yes, I’ll handle the influence…” Then, after a short charge of her horn there was a short flash and Luna looked like Nightmare Moon again.

As Tyler saw Luna in her complete black appearance, he smiled.
“You don’t look like a nightmare to me…” Luna turned away her face in shyness, he was flattering her again, but she didn’t want to be flattered for this appearance. “Even in your darkest form there is still beauty, you are no creature of terror.” He then took off the helmet and cuirass.

As he caressed her cheeks, she closed her eyes in reluctance.
“Please, Tyler… For thy own good: Don’t come so close to me! I… I want to change back now…” But still his hands slid over her perfect black coat up to her neck and turned her face to him before he kissed her. Luna’s eyes widened. 'Acceptance…' She thought. 'Tis unconditional acceptance… This is my darkest side and he embraces it, wrapping himself into my personality like a warm blanket.'

How she loved him for being that way.

As their lips parted, Luna gasped and looked into his face.
“Tyler… I’m ready…” He nodded and caressed Celestia a bit, and leaned in for a deep kiss with her as well. Celestia knew the intention of this kiss and with a chuckle, she kissed him, absorbing the accumulated dark influence within him. It wasn’t much, but for the short amount of time, the influence accumulated quite fast. If this would go on for the whole night, Tyler might become violent again. After this kiss he turned to Luna who already charged her horn for returning to her harmonic self.

There was a short flash and Luna was the Princess of the Night again.
“A pity…” Tyler stated. “I would have taken you in that form as well.”

With a smile Luna raised her flank and awaited him.
“Of that I am certain, my Dark Companion… But there is no need for thee to expose thyself to that amount of my influence. Even though it would be very sweet of thee to accept and love me even in this state.”

Tyler nodded with a smile, mounted her and took her from behind while Applejack looked up to Princess Celestia with a blush. “Uhm… Celestia?” One could literally hear the slight problems Applejack had to accustom herself with calling the princess like that.

But Celestia only smiled at her.
“What is it, Applejack?”

“Uh… We never talked about it because we’re all happy as a herd… but what about the place of the fifth mare?” As Twilight, Celestia and Luna each arched a brow, the earth pony simply shrugged. “Just sayin’…”

Tyler grinned and stopped his thrusts into Luna for a second. “Well… Do we need a fifth mare? I mean, I’m more than happy with you four. I mean, I have the hot country girl, eager to invite me into the barn after a day of hard work, and soon to be mother of my first child… Then I have the curious librarian who’s eager to learn about Earth… And then there’s the outrageous luck to win the hearts of not one, but two alicorn mares, whose beauty and kindness is only outshined from their love. In this herd there is love, security and harmony. What kind of pony could add to this?”

“A party mare?” Twilight said with a grin.

Tyler on the other hand answered with a laugh.
“The most innocent mare? The mare who’s sworn goal is to make everyone smile? Yes, Pinkie Pie would add something to our herd, but… Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I can keep up with her. I doubt anyone can do that…”

Twilight tipped her chin.
“How about a botanist?” Again Tyler shook his head.

Applejack now raised a hoof.
“Ah know some of the Apple Family mares who still are single!”

“A DJ!” – “A cherry plantation owner!” – “A teacher!” – “A Wonderbolt?” – “Nurse?” – “Mayor?” – “Spa Pony?” – “Weather Patrol?”
As they bombarded him with more and more possible mares they were suddenly interrupted from Luna’s loud moan. Her climax had taken her once more into sweet bliss and she turned her head to Tyler, who kissed her with a smile. Twilight and Applejack looked at each other and laughed. This herd already took care of itself on its own and finding someone to complete this even further was a very difficult task.

Celestia then raised her voice in a calm manner.
“How about a concubine?”

Now Tyler was stumped.
“There’s a pony with that talent?”

Celestia shook her head.
“There isn’t, but what if we allow one mare to be Tyler’s mare for pleasure for a limited amount of time?”

“I don’t know, Celestia… I mean I have four mares around me with four… you know… wombs! Do I really need another one? I’m happy with you.”

But the white alicorn raised her hoof.
“Luna and I aren’t always here… Sometimes I am in a foreign country to see some delegates arrive here safely. Also, Twilight and Applejack are occasionally out on their adventures… A thing that will calm down for Applejack I guess, but still… We won’t be there at your disposal all the time. And believe me, I have seen many herds from the outside… Some male individuals tend to get accustomed of always having a female at their disposal.

Tyler arched a brow while he stood up.
“Are you saying because I’m a male, I’m a cock-driven animal?”

Celestia laughed at this wholeheartedly.
“No! By the stars, no you are not.… What I mean is: I wouldn’t be mad at you for being a healthy young man.”

“Speaking of healthy… Holding it back for so long seems rather unhealthy. I think it is time, isn’t it?”

Celestia’s whole body shivered in pleasant anticipation.
“Yes! Yes, it is…” With this she lowered herself down besides Luna and slightly raised her flank. “I’m ready…”

But Tyler grinned.
“Oh, I won’t simply give it to you. I want you… to beg for it!”

Celestia’s throat tightened as Twilight raised a hoof.
“That’s mean, Tyler! None of us had to do that!”

In the next moment, Celestia raised a wing between her student and Tyler. Her lips were shaking. 'He’s so wonderful…' she thought.
“I… I want it…” Arching a brow, Tyler began to smile gently. With a blushing face the white mare continued. “I… need it! Please give it to me, master!” With this she raised her flank up high while lowering her head. As he touched her flank and massaged her haunches they began to shiver in ecstasy.

Tyler grinned over to Twilight.
“I think you and I will learn a lot tonight. We will learn how much pleasure your mentor and herdmate can endure…”

With that he entered Celestia, who took a sharp breath in.
“Yes, Twilight… Take good note on this practical demonstration… You might need it someday…”

Both the unicorn and the earth pony watched as Celestia gave in to her lust as she received thrust after thrust. Their faces blushed almost as heavily as Celestia’s as the white mare moaned heavily. She was taken right in front of her student’s eyes and the element of honesty. Her heart felt light and dizzy and she was happy that it was this herd that saw her like this. How many heat seasons had she endured? It seemed like so many, so many countless times that this sex now brought her the feeling of relief. Soon, very soon, he would cascade his seed right into her longing body and she could think clear again.

Twilight held a hoof in front of her mouth.
“Oh ponyfeathers… He’s… He’s really mounting her!”

Applejack shook her head in disbelief.
“Whoa nelly! And she’s letting him… Ah’m… Ah’m pregnant from a stallion worthy of being Celestia’s lover!”

Luna grinned at both Twilight and Applejack, before she gave Celestia’s horn a thorough lick, which made Celestia moan even louder. Tyler arched a brow, knowing quite well from the alicorn hitchhiker’s guide that the horn could be a very erogenous zone, but also a very sensitive zone for pain, able to bring pain and paralysis for a moment.
“Well, my beloved? How dost thou like the womb of my sister?”

Tyler rolled his eyes in pleasure and pulled Luna closer, only to press his lips on hers.
“It’s paradise… But I guess that’s the kick of having the privilege of having both sisters and my girls united around me.”

Luna now grinned slyly.
“I want thee to rut her until she’s screaming for thee to stop…” Tyler looked at Luna and thought he would see a mixture of love and lust in her eyes. Obviously, Luna was thrilled to watch her older sister getting it. Maybe it was her dark side wishing to see Celestia doing something immoral or forbidden. Maybe it was the love and care of a caring sister and herdmate. Maybe it was a dash of incestuous lust… But for now Tyler tried not to spend so much effort into analyzing. For a good hour he pounded Celestia from behind and already his endurance was at its limit. A normal man would have given up already due to fatigue, but Luna magically enhanced his body a bit to have more endurance. Tonight he was going to give it to all his mares, except for Applejack who was unable to partake due to good reason. Finally the moment came and he moaned with his hands clawed in Celestia’s haunches as he gritted his teeth.

Saliva ran down Celestia’s chin as she rolled her eyes, sex-crazed. How she needed this! Her horn began to glow and Tyler moaned in slight pain as her alicorn magic engulfed his testicles. Two seconds later, a small fountain of sperm shot out of her womb.
“Yes… You’re filling my womb to the brim…”

Now Twilight arched a brow.
"I don’t know of such a spell… Is that a-”

Celestia closed her eyes as a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead.
“Yes… A semen multiplier spell, slightly changed so that his testicles are not altered.”

“Yeah…” Tyler muttered spend. “But in this form the seed won’t take root in her anyway. She just wants to drown her heat in sperm…”

Finally the magic ceased and the sperm ran down her hind legs before she came back to her senses with several deep breaths.
“I’m sorry I used you like this, Tyler…” It was like a veil slowly lifting from her shrouded mind. All her senses, formerly under control of her womb, now followed her command again, more and more.

He shook his head.
“You are forgiven… Thanks to this event, I can literally claim that I came buckets in an alicorn!” He chuckled and levitated a can of water to himself and downed it. “But I must say this sperm spell makes me thirsty. Don’t overdo it!”

Celestia now turned her head over to him and smiled. One could clearly see the longing love in her eyes. She as well saw more in him.
“You are such a potent and virile stud…”

Tyler chuckled along.
“Celestia, you really get a turn-on from all the dirty talk, huh? I think you are the naughtiest of my mares…”

Celestia giggles mischievously.
“And a naughty mare needs to be punished.”

Tyler arched a brow.
“Punishment, hm? There’s no punishment that wouldn’t please you anyw-” Then it occurred to him. “Wait, there actually is one… One I’ve never given you before… to none of you.”

As he grabbed her ethereal mane, she tried to look back. More and more she looked a little spooked.
“What? What are you doing? What is he doing back there?” As Twilight gasped, holding a hoof before her mouth, her mentor looked at her. “Twilight… What is he-” Then she felt the slight pressure against her backdoor. Gasping for air, she tried to curl in his grasp, trying to get free. “No! Not there! It’s unclean! I-” But already he pressed onward and entered her anus, prompting her eyes to open wide, her jaw dropping, her lips shaking. A mixture of unknown pain and pleasure leashed up her spine and a lustful deep groan escaped her throat before she gritted her teeth. “OH BY THE STARS!!! YES!!!”

Twilight had visible problems to believe in what she saw.
“Luna… Why is he…?”
“Tis lust and pleasuring my sister, Twilight Sparkle… There are many secret ways to pleasure a mare, some are a little bit unusual and don’t serve the purpose of procreation.” Twilight nodded. She remembered how Applejack had oral sex with Tyler in the Crystal Empire. Until then she never thought of sex that way. Frankly, until she knew Tyler, it only was a process for procreation and only a nuisance. Now at his side she learned to see things from a different perspective. In an epiphany of self-analysis she recognized that she matured at his side to a mare fully aware of her body and the many possible ways to love one another. She then looked over to Applejack. “What do you think, AJ?”

“What do Ah think? Twilight, Tyler is bucking the highest of all mares in front of mah eyes in the ass and ya want to know what Ah’m thinkin’?” The Earth pony now looked at the unicorn with a shy grin and a blush. “Frankly? Ah think Appleseed shouldn’t be an only child…”

As Luna watched her sister getting pleased in several ways, she began pleasing herself. When Celestia and Tyler came together, there was also a slight shiver in the Princess of the Night and she moaned slightly. A deep blush was on her face as her eyes were locked on his throbbing member pumping seed into her sister’s backdoor. Her fantasies now got the best of her and she closed her eyes.

“Tyler… I want thy foal…”

In the next moment, her herd was looking at her and while Tyler smiled gently, Twilight and Applejack looked at her quite surprised, but happy for her to express such a wish. Celestia’s mood however was ruined. Silently, she got up so that Tyler left her backdoor and looked angrily at Luna. Tyler arched a brow as she left the room.
“I’m having a bath! I feel a bodily disrelish to remain here where certain topics are spoken about. Tyler? Thank you kindly for calming my heat down…” With that the door slammed shut behind her.

Tyler looked after her.
“What was that all about?”

Luna bit her bottom lip and searched for the words.
“Celestia… thinks I’m not ready for having a foal. But it’s my decision, isn’t it?”

He blinked at her and finally nodded.
“Yes… Of course…” It didn’t feel good to tell this lie to Tyler, but after all, it was her body and her wish for a foal with him.

* * * * *

On the next day, the evening of the Grand Galloping Gala, Flynn, Sam and Rachel came down the stairs into the hall. Sam smiled wide,
“What a glamorous night! One could almost think we’re at home on Earth!”

Rachel arched a brow.
“Earth? Well the architecture is a bit odd for human standards, but I guess if you saw one castle, you’ve seen them all…”

Sam however shook his head.
“I doubt that there’s a place like Canterlot… Alright… Spread out, I’ll try to find Lyra in this crowd.” With this they went into different directions.

Flynn felt a bit lost among all these high society ponies. They didn’t seem to talk about any topic he was interested in. It then happened that he went a bit backwards and bumped into somepony.
He immediately turned around.
“Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bump into you.”

From the little insight her blue pony jumpsuit gave him, it had to be a yellow mare with orange, almost golden eyes and a fiery mane of orange and amber.
“No harm done, don’t worry… Wait a second… You are one of the new humans. I must say I’ve heard some good things about you folks.”

Flynn arched a brow and nodded.
“Thank you, Ms…”

“Spitfire will do… Say… You’re that human who tried to apply at the academy…”

“Flynn Marshall, that’s correct.”

“Too bad you don’t have wings… I saw you running during the race. I recognize potential when I see it.”

He then arched a brow.
“With all due respect, I doubt that. I know Rainbow Dash is the fastest flyer in existence, yet she isn’t a Wonderbolt as of today…”

Spitfire’s expression now became very strict and formal.
“Is that so…?”

Flynn then nodded.
“From what I know, that is how it is.”

Spitfire looked around, obviously to see if they were being watched and then got closer to him.
“You seem to be one of her friends. I’d like to be honest to you. But you are not allowed to tell this to Rainbow Dash! If you do, we might reconsider in our decisions concerning her…”

Flynn now gulped and nodded.
“Being a pilot I know the importance of the term ‘top secret’.”

“Good! You see, we recognized her before, yet we can’t make exceptions for some gifted mare thinking she can take the world head on. Rainbow Dash is the fastest flyer around, but precisely because of this we hesitated very long. The Wonderbolts aren’t a One-Pegasus-Show! We perform as a team. Rainbow will have to prove to us that she understands this. If she does, I see no reason why she shouldn’t have a future in the academy.”

Flynn nodded and felt bad for not being able to tell Rainbow right away, but maybe it was better this way.
“Do you think she can do that?”

Spitfire looked over to Rainbow and smirked.
“She’s the Element of Loyalty! If anyone can understand the meaning of teamwork, it’s Rainbow Dash. Like I said before: I recognize potential when I see it. Have a proper good evening, Flynn Marshall. I’m eager to see where YOUR potential leads you…” She said, in a very erotic way, and examined him for a short second before giving him a nod. Flynn wondered a bit. Was this Wonderbolt mare interested in him?

They both parted ways now before Rainbow approached Flynn.
“Guess what, RD? I just had a little talk with Spitfire.”

“What? She’s gone already? What were you two talking about?”

“Oh, just my application for the academy and how I would be of great importance in a role on the ground, but not in the air…”

Rainbow frowned.
“Yeah… It’s a pity you don’t have wings, Flynn… With your ultra-speed you could be almost as fast as me.”

He chuckled.
“Only almost?”

Both laughed a bit when a waitress approached them.
“Miss? Sir? Do you wish to try some Hors d'oeuvre?”

As the waitress offered them some appetizers, Flynn took one and gave it to Rainbow, before he took one for himself. Both tried their appetizers and they were surprisingly good. Flynn nudged Rainbow for a bit to watch and pointed behind the waitress.
“Isn’t this Princess Luna devouring a whole moon pie?”

The waitress turned around in wonder and curiosity and Flynn took this chance to activate his high speed again, eating all the Hors d'oeuvre within two seconds before standing normal as if he never moved. As the waitress turned around again, she was quite surprised.
“No… I can’t see her at- HUH?” On her hoof there was now an empty plate.

Flynn simply looked around, as if oblivious to what just happened.
“I must say these Hors d'oeuvre must be especially tasty for the guests. Everypony seem to eat them off the plate!”

As the waitress returned to the kitchen with a very confused expression on her face, both Flynn and Rainbow snickered before they burst out into wholehearted laughter.
“That look on her face was priceless, Flynn!”

In another part of the gala Tyler, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor greeted each other.
“Tyler, it feels so good to see you're well!”

Both Tyler and the Princess embraced each other.
“You look gorgeous as always, Cadance. I take it life in the Crystal Empire is good?”

“Very so, Tyler, you charmer.” She gave a short playful giggle. “Although I miss how you broke the routine with slamming into our country with your crystal sarcophagus.”

Tyler grinned.
“Let’s keep it that way. I’m not thrilled to repeat that anytime soon.” She then went on and greeted the other guests and after a few minutes her greeting with Twilight became audible.. Meanwhile Tyler stood beside Shining Armor, who seemed a bit tired. “Shining… Man, you look like you suffer from fatigue. What have you been doing?” A broad grin grew on Tyler’s face now. “Nightshifts for the conjugal duties?”

Grimacing, Shining struggled to get a smile out.
“I don’t know what’s with her… Since you left the Crystal Empire, she’s been all like…” Shining looked over to Cadance, who unwrapped herself a lollipop and began to lick it gently, keeping eye-contact with him and Tyler. “…like this!”

Tyler closed his eyes and bowed his head for a heavy chuckle.
“Congratulations, Shining! You’re experiencing an alicorn mare in heat and such a gorgeous young one as well! I can already see what she’s wishing to do right now…”

Shining only shook his head.
“Heat season? I always thought that she was having heat season like everypony else! That of course explains everything… But for how long-”

“It lasts for a complete year.” Tyler interrupted him. “My take is that around the day I crash-landed in the crystal Empire, the entire heat season started…”

Not long after that Cadance approached them both again.
“Shining? I wish to have a little… talk with you in our chamber.”

Shining gulped and leaned to Tyler.
“Help me…”

“Before she straps you on the bed to rape you?” Tyler chuckled and waved to Cadance. “Cadance? Would you kindly come over here? I think you, Shining and I should have a little talk in an isolated room.”

“Why is that? You want to join in?”

Now Tyler was stumped. Did she really offer him to…? He shook his head with a smile.
“I’m sure it wouldn’t please Shining to share this moment between you two with a third individual.”

She arched a brow and gave them a sly smile as they went into the room.
“Maybe… It could also boost his ego to know that no one could replace him…”

Shining sighed and looked to Tyler.
“See what I mean? I’m afraid I can’t keep this up much longer…”

The alicorn mare now turned to her husband.
“Shining… Do you say you’re unhappy with me?”

“Of course not… You’re everything I could ever hope for in a mare. It’s just…recently…”

Tyler intervened now by finding the words for Shining.
“Cadance, Shining Armor isn’t accustomed to alicorn heat. It seems that you, as a young, energetic, and quite sexually active alicorn mare have been a little… over the top.”

Hearing this seemed to wake Cadance up, seemed to ring some alarm bells in her mind and her expression turned to worry as she turned to Shining Armor again.
“Oh no, what have I done? Honey, is it true? Did I become that tiring in my demands?”

Shining grimaced a bit before he looked down.
“Well, it wasn’t killing or harming me… I just want to sleep a bit more...”

She agreed with a determined nod.
“You will! Tonight I shall have no pleasure and you shall have all the rest you…” A slight snore became audible from him. When they both checked, Shining had fallen asleep. Cadance looked at him with guilt in her eyes. “…need… What have I done to him…? My poor Shiny…”

'Shiny?' Tyler fought the urge to laugh before he shook his head and rested his palm on her back. “You acted out of instinct. Your body tells you that you need it really bad. My take is your divine self-control isn’t fully developed yet. Don’t worry about this; this year of alicorn heat is almost over.

Cadance now nuzzled her sleeping husband before turning to Tyler.
“I know 54,798 kinds of love and ways to make it… I love him so much I want to show them all to him. Unfortunately, he has less endurance than I have. Thank you for reminding me of this. The last thing I want to do is harming my beloved.”

Tyler chuckled.
“He’s one lucky bastard to have a gorgeous alicorn like you at his side. But I can’t envy him since I’m in a herd with your aunts.”

Cadance now arched a brow and examined him with a smile that spoke for itself as her looks kept glued on his crotch once or twice. Tyler noticed and raised a finger.
“No! Don’t even think about it! That’s the heat that’s making you think that! I mean it would be tempting, but…”

Cadance raised a hoof and shook her head.
“Don’t worry… I am faithful to Shining and would rather endure the worst kinds of pain before I allow myself to fall that low. But you can’t blame me for being curious about the human who can please not one but two alicorn mares. Maybe you can give Shining a few tips to handle me better?” A playful giggle came from her now. “Oh well… By the amount of times we did it so far, I would say, heat might be the least of my problems… If I’m lucky that is.”

Tyler’s head suddenly turned to Cadance and a smile formed on his face.
“You- you mean…”

Cadance now beamed.
“It’s possible, isn’t it? And the love for a foal is the warmest there is.”

Tyler smiled and patted her shoulders.
“If you’re getting pregnant, you won’t only make your subjects happy and confident, Shining Armor would probably be the proudest stallion in all the Crystal Empire.”

With a confident smile he then left her and returned back to Twilight and Applejack.
”Where have you been?”

“I was talking sense into Cadance. She’s a bit… energetic in bed due to alicorn heat and Shining… Well, although he enjoys it, it gets very tiring… By the way, where is Luna?”

“Rarity said she’s preparing something in her chambers, but she doesn’t know what. Ah think it has something to do with a dress or jewelry…”

Looking over to the white unicorn, Tyler knelt down with a grin and placed a kiss on her hoof.
“Lady Rarity? Are you enjoying the evening?”

Giggling a bit, Rarity waved her hoof once to tell him to stop flattering her.
“Oh, Tyler… A pity you aren’t the prince of my dreams. Or a prince at all… Then again, sometimes you’re too princely to be a prince.”

Several mares looked between him and Rarity.
“He associates with the princesses and spends time with her.”

“She must have something special about her…”

“He called her a lady… Is she of royalty?” Rarity overheard these comments and held her chin high. Yes! Among her closest friends, was one worthy to be a prince and he treated her like a real lady. Something some Canterlot stallions could learn a thing or two from.

She then returned to the the others. Fluttershy, Rainbow and Flynn were conversing with Lyra and Sam.
“…and these Harmony Rangers are supposed to fight threats for Equestria as well, in order to protect our world. That is, if we ever find the crossing to home.”

Sam nodded.
“Once we find it, protecting it could be easy. Could be… It all depends where or what this is. We were sucked into the sky by a vortex, we don’t know if it’s a portal or vortex in this world. Or if it’s always in one place.”

Fluttershy cocked her head.
“Tyler once said he found a ship of your world in the Amasian Enclave. So crossing into our world seems to be random as well. I must say I’m curious about the wildlife of your world.”

Flynn smiled.
“I believe you would love it there.”

Shadrane now approached the group of friends and faced Flynn and Sam.
“May I ask the two gentlemen to follow me? Princess Luna has a request she wishes to tell you in person.”

Sam nodded to this.
“Of course.” He then bowed to Lyra and whispered something into her ear, causing her to giggle playfully before both men went through a large wooden door.

Rarity now looked at Lyra with a smirk.
“Is he as gallant as Tyler?”

Lyra replied with a smirk now herself.
“I don’t know about Tyler, but Sam can be very gentle… But also he can become quite an animal.”

Fluttershy held a hoof in front of her mouth.
“Oh… My… You mean he…”

A short tremble of arousal went through Lyra.
“Let’s say I can’t wait for spring to come.”

Rainbow tipped her chin for a moment before looking back to the unicorn.
“Say… Do you think I could have one of your newest editions of your Anthropology? I need it for-”

Lyra nodded, beaming.
“Yeah! I’ve heard about your task. I already took note of it and you can have my theories to it, if you want.”

Both men now entered a room where Luna sat and drank a cup of tea.
“Ah! There thou both are… Are thou enjoying thy evening at the gala?”

“Very much so, it is a nice event, even though we’re not the usual gala visitors… Right, Flynn?”

“Oh, they serve good Hors d'oeuvre here…”

Sam shook his head just as to say ‘Come again?’ to his friend, before Luna raised a hoof.
“Flynn, Sam… I wisheth thou both to help me.”

Both of them nodded.
“Sure, what can we do for you?”

“I want to announce that I’m in Tyler’s herd, to make it official. It… It will need a certain chain of gestures. I want thou two to play some… Thou knowest…”

As she looked down in slight embarrassment, Sam nodded.
“Oh, so you want us for some sweet romantic music.”

She turned her head away in shyness.
“Yes…”

Sam nodded and nudged Flynn into the ribs.
“Alright… Let’s do this… He nudged me into the right direction with Lyra, time to repay the guy. Ok, listen… We will take this song and alter it like this…” Luna’s eyes began to sparkle as she saw the lyrics they both wrote down.

* * * * *

Half an hour later, the normal orchestra was granted a pause and Rachel saw that a gray earth pony mare was assisted by Vinyl Scratch.
“Careful with it, Vinyl… You know how much I love it.”

But the DJ simply smiled as she carried the cello.
“Don’t worry, Tavi… I can relate. I will treat it like a newborn.”

Rachel then looked at Twilight.
“What’s this all about?”

The lavender unicorn, however, shook her head.
“I have no idea…” Now while Sam was playing the keyboard, Flynn played the guitar. It was a very slow song and the lights dimmed a bit. Then Tyler recognized the song and smiled. Tyler had his eyes fixed on Luna as she was coming down the stairs, whom was wearing a snow-white dress. So it was her doing. As she approached Tyler, Flynn began to sing the gentle song.

“I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight,
I've never seen you shine so bright,
I've never seen so many stallions ask you if you wanted to dance,
They're looking for a little romance, given half a chance,
And I have never seen that dress you're wearing,
Or the highlights in your mane that catch your eyes,
I have been blind…”

While Flynn sang, Luna brushed her tail at Tyler while passing him. The crowd gasped at the gesture of deep affection, and one or two mares fainted when Tyler returned it to Luna. Cadance smiled at this and leaned against Shining Armor, remembering the days when they were at this wonderful point in their relationship.

“Princess in blue is dancing with me, cheek to cheek,
There's nobody here, it's just you and me,
It's where I want to be.
But I hardly know this beauty by my side,
I'll never forget the way you look tonight.”

She bowed her head to his chest and raised her head slowly while taking a deep breath at him.
Both lovers looked at each other, this was their moment. Even if all of Equestria should collapse this very second, they were at least together. And with pride he redid this as well. He then kindly smiled at Luna while caressing her cheek.
“You know what you’re doing, my love?”

While leaning against his palm she nodded.
“No more hide and seek…” And while they smiled at each other, Flynn continued.

“I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight,
I've never seen you shine so bright, you are amazing,
I've never seen so many ponies want to be there by your side,
And when you turned to me and smiled, it took my breath away,
I have never had such a feeling,
Such a feeling of complete and utter love, as I do tonight…”

Now Luna performed another gesture and due to the stance of her one spread wing towards him, Tyler recognized it as it was THE gesture Twilight was most serious about and scolded him the most for while he was learning. It had to be recognized at once and was done only together. But it came to his surprise that Luna was taking their relationship this far so early and in public. He immediately brushed his fingers in an open palm to her feathers and stopped his fingertips at the tips of her feathers while they both orbited each other as the music continued.

The gesture was long and the crowd stood there in awe, jaws dropping. Twilight squeaked with glee as she saw the gesture.
“M27! M27! YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!!!!”

Rainbow and Applejack looked between the couple and Twilight.
“I take it this is cool, Twilight… But what does it mean?”

“My, it’s clear what this means, Darling!” Rarity interrupted. As the white unicorn opened her eyes again, her eyes were sparkling like crazy. “Royal proposal! Wah-hah-HA! BRAVO! BRAVISSIMO!” As she clopped her hooves on the ground in applause, the crowd snapped out their trance and joined the applause. It was then, when the couple stopped the gesture and stood together, united.

With a shivering voice Luna looked up to her lover.
“I can’t remember when I was as happy as right now…”

It was then when Luna’s horn began to glow, a bright light blinded everyone for a moment. As the light ceased, the crowd gasped. A beautiful young woman with dark blue ethereal hair stood in front of Tyler now. Her dark wings were still there, maybe a compromise to make the most of her human. Her genetic structure was more complex than an earth pony after all. She still wore a simple, yet elegant white dress what barely covered her petite tush, or her cutie mark, but this one was cut out for a human. Obviously she tried to provoke Tyler with this dress.

Flynn and Sam whistled, and Flynn leaned over to Sam.
“Ohohohoh… Dude… That hot chick is the princess?”

Sam simply shrugged.
“I didn’t even know that was possible! She looks like a supermodel… Maybe this can be done for every pony…?”

'An angel…' Tyler thought. 'She’s like an angel…' As his hands rested on her waist, she put her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a longing and passionate kiss, unusually aggressive for her, yet Tyler could hear her silent whimper, she was at her limit and needed him right now. As their lips parted, she whispered into his ear.
“Come with me, my Dark Companion…” With another flash they both vanished. Celestia’s eyes narrowed as her mood grew more and more grim. 'Oh no, you won’t!' While a murmur went through the crowd, the princess of the sun went silently through a door.

Applejack looked at Twilight.
“Now, Sugarcube… THAT was unexpected…”

Twilight however shook her head.
“I have a weird feeling with this…”

* * * * *

Both the Princess of the Night and her lover were standing in almost complete darkness and the embracement went on for what seemed like an eternity as the kisses didn’t seem to stop.
“I’ve waited for this moment… Tyler, be with me tonight! I don’t want to share thee with all the ponies downstairs! I want thy hands all around this body! I-” He then rested his fingers on her lips and nodded. He knew she was excited and thrilled, but needed to calm down. Slowly, he let her slide down onto her bed.

As she was lying on her bed, her legs spread, Tyler’s head was buried between them. She offered herself to him like this and they both knew it. Becoming human was a big treat from her and he was up to take her offer. Especially if it came from her, an alicorn. In this form, so she explained to him, her normal powers were inhibited and limited, but would return at sunrise when her body would change back to alicorn form at the touch of the first ray of light. Now her otherwise silent chamber was filled with her sweet moans and her hands ruffled his hair as she reached orgasm. Her whole body arched at this orgasm and she could swear that until now this was the best orgasm she had in her entire life. Was it because of him or because of the anticipation? It didn’t really matter.

Her cheeks were burning and she went on all fours, and lowered her upper body onto her bed while her sex was raised high for him to mount and impregnate her. Tyler felt slightly dizzy. Almost the father of one child he was begetting another one. Was it really wise to do this? Yet there was this urge to become one with her, to have a foal with her as well. Was this another influence? Did this urge in him to want her so badly come from her? It didn’t really matter.

He was in her… A part of her… And with luck this part of both of them would grow into something new. An eternal testimony of their love. A foal with him, how wonderful this would be… Impatience built up in her. She wanted his sperm in her womb so desperately right now. It would calm her womb, the unbearable urge to get impregnated. There was no doubt he was the right choice. The love they both expressed to each other was the most satisfying emotion she felt in eons. She felt… fulfillment. Yes, that was the emotion she could think of when with him. And now he was going to beget a foal with her… it felt like wrapping herself into happiness. As if happiness would be a warm blanket. Already her heart was filled with pride. She was proud to be the alicorn mare to have his foal. Soon she could talk with Applejack about-

Her thoughts were harshly interrupted as the door slammed open and Celestia stared at them, aghast.
“Get away from her…”

Tyler first looked surprised to Celestia, but then he smiled.
“Come on, Celestia… it’s not like you’re not getting your tu-”

“GET AWAY!!!” With this a detonation wave smashed Tyler away from Luna and a large part of the walls behind him were ripped out from the castle.

As he fell, the magic shield built up around him, before he pulled up his pants and flew back to Luna in a magic sphere.
“Stop this! Why are you getting violent all of the sudden?”

Meanwhile the rubble had been noticed at the Gala as Applejack looked at Twilight.
“Ya go first, Ah’ll tell the others before Ah follow ya!”

Celestia slowly approached them both, her horn already charging.
“I won’t let you impregnate her, Tyler! I’ve tried to reason with her… But once again, the wish for something blinded her judgment!"

Luna now stood up.
“Celestia! What in the Tartarus are thou doing? Thou knowest how this wish for a foal with him fills me with joy!” Another flash occurred when Luna teleported Tyler and herself into the royal garden, where no one was in at the moment.

But only seconds after that Celestia followed.
“And I already told you: We are forbidden to beget foals! Especially with someone like him!”

Now Tyler arched a brow.
“Someone like me? Now what the fuck are you talking about?”

The white alicorn’s eyes narrowed.
“It doesn’t matter! The decision is made! It was made eons ago, before Equestria was even founded! I told you, Luna… We are forbidden to beget foals!”

“Forbidden? Declarest whom? Thou won’t decide for me! I will be with Tyler and we will live in happiness!”

In a threatening manner Celestia pointed her horn at them both.
“I cannot allow this to happen!”

“Tsk! Just watch me!” But just as Luna turned around to Tyler, a bright force field surrounded her and a magic barrier formed between them both. First it was only a few centimeters that parted them, a meter and then two meters were between them. More and more space built up between them when Luna’s human body became light and Celestia levitated her younger sister towards herself and away from Tyler.
Fear now grew in Luna. In this human body, she was limited and no match for Celestia. She didn’t want to part from him because she knew without him her heart would break forever. He was everything she ever dreamed of and she wanted him as a permanent part of her life. In panic she reached out for him and spread her fingers to him. “TYLER!!!”

Tyler remembered Celestia’s tale about an alicorn war. Obviously she feared something from the past to be repeated and deemed more alicorns on the planet to be a danger.
“IS THIS YOUR IDEA OF LIFE FOR HER, CELESTIA? THAT YOU DICTATE HER EVERY MOMENT OUT OF FEAR?”

Celestia gritted her teeth. It didn’t felt good to do all this, but to avoid the sins of ancient times she had to do this. As she yelled down to him, her voice already was devoid of all of her usual warmth.
“YOU STAY OUT OF THIS, TYLER JONES! THIS ISN’T ABOUT ANYPONY BEING HAPPY!!! THIS IS PART OF AN OATH I MADE EONS AGO TO OUR MOTHER!!! AND BY THE STARS!!! NEVER AGAIN MUST ALICORNS BE ALLOWED TO GET NUMEROUS!!!”

It was then when Twilight and Applejack arrived in the garden. Twilight didn’t fully understand the situation. Why was Luna naked? Then it occurred to her. Both Luna and Tyler obviously were having sex, but Princess Celestia interrupted them, and why use magic to part these two? By now Tyler tried to levitate himself up to Luna with a magical sphere, but the magical barrier between them both was impenetrable. Lightning and gushing winds pressed him away from her.

Luna now began to cry.
“If that’s how it is, I forswear of my tiara and my status as an alicorn princess! I’d rather be with the one I love to my heart’s content than to be limited in such a way!”

This plea of Luna only enraged Celestia even more.
“THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AS WELL!!!”

Luna now fought against the spell, her wings flapping to gain speed to reach Tyler again. Sheer terror and despair was on her face as her hand spread out to Tyler again, who still fought to get to her.
“NO!!!!”

Twilight was shocked of these words. Abandoning her immortal life and all her powers for a life with Tyler was the greatest claim Luna could make and it left her mentor simply untouched. Something was heavily amiss here and she looked up to the white alicorn quite angry.
“PRINCESS CELESTIA!!!”

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE! YOU STAY OUT OF THIS AS WELL!!!” Celestia shouted as Tyler fell back to the ground, gritting his teeth.

“Tyler!” Applejack now raised her hoof and wanted to do something, but she had to be responsible for the foal in her belly now as well. She couldn’t help much, which angered her. Also, this was a clash between titans and she could only witness it.

Tyler now got up and slammed his fists against the barrier.
“DAMN IT, CELESTIA!! DON’T DO THIS!!!”
But Celestia didn’t yield in her opinion. With a cold expression she reeled her younger sister in as Twilight charged her magic. The young unicorn didn’t know the outcome of the dispel spell, but she had to try for the sake of her herd. This was the second time she and her mentor were on two different sides on something but since the royal wedding of her brother Twilight felt vindicated to follow her feelings. And all the feelings inside of her screamed that these two should get a chance to love each other to full extent as well.

No one saw that one of the stars of the night sky grew larger in his light. It was then that a bright beam of light shot from the sky and hit Twilight’s horn. She yelped as magic filled her eyes and a magic circle began to glow on the ground. This magic circle was far beyond anything Celestia ever taught her student and a very strong magic catalyst filled the librarian as a bright dome of light detonated from her which engulfed the whole place with a deafening thunder. The guests on the gala gasped in shock when Rainbow just wanted to tell the others that something was amiss. Celestia’s eyes widened as she recognized the alicorn magic streaming from her student. It was a very powerful dispel magic and it undid several things. Luna’s transformation, Celestia’s grip on Luna and several passive spells. They would need to get a hold of both sun and moon again once this was over. 'How could Twilight perform such a powerful spell?' But as light engulfed her, it occurred to her. Twilight was only the medium, not the actual caster of the spell.

As the light ceased, Tyler blinked and regained his sight slowly before he clenched his fists and stood between the two alicorns.
“Enough of this madness! I don’t give a fucking shit anymore! Celestia! If you want a fight, you’ll have to go through me first!”

But when Luna and Celestia got up, Luna’s tears of despair dried up quickly and turned to tears of hate.
“Indeed… Thou haven’t done this for nothing…”

Now the sky filled itself with stormclouds and wind came up. Again in her alicorn body, Luna was able to fight on her own and confronted her older sister with a charged horn.
“I shall make thou pay for what thou hast done!” By now the summoned wind destroyed many of the windows and demolished the garden, but Twilight had the feeling that this was only the saber rattling of two mighty mares who were about to fight.

Tyler stemmed himself against the roaring winds, barely holding his feet on the ground as he tried to reach her.
“LUNA!!! STOP THIS!!!” Celestia stood her ground without problem, her alicorn magic protected her, Applejack and Twilight from the angry cyclone her younger sister casted.

She shook her head in disapproval.
“Again you act like a spoiled child… just like a thousand years ago! Believe me I have VERY GOOD-”

Somehow these words reached Luna’s ears and infuriated her even more.
“SILENCE, THOU, OLDEST OF HAGS!!! THOU SWORE TO ME THAT WE WERE ALWAYS EQUAL!!! HOW DARE THOU TO DO THIS TO ME AGAIN! AGAIN!!!” By now, Tyler almost reached her as he stretched his arms out to Luna. If it weren’t for the protective magic charged within him, the winds of the cyclone would have blown him meters away a while ago. But as he fought forth, almost reaching Luna, his magic charge suddenly ceased.

'Oh fuck!'

In an instant the winds took hold of him and dashed him away. His clothes were torn to pieces and one of the many cuts of air hit his right eye. With a scream of agony he landed outside of the cyclone and twisted around in pain, holding his eye. Luna ceased the magic in an instant, seeing in terror at the damage she had caused.
“NO!!!”

As they all galloped to Tyler, Celestia bowed over him.
“Let me see!”

But when her hoof tried to move his hand away, he slapped her hoof away.
“You want to take a look? Here! See what you’ve done!” As he removed his hand from his face, he looked at Celestia with an enraged expression. His right eye… It was torn apart and beyond help for hospitals or unicorn magic. “You told me about why you alicorns shouldn’t be numerous, but it didn’t come to your mind of telling it to your sister in all these years! We are talking about millenia here!!! And how stupid is that? And instead of explaining this to her, what do you fucking do? You behave like you fucking own her, and decide what’s best for her! Girl, you sure know how to mess things up! And all of this because of your own fear! Damn it, Celestia! I really thought you would be wiser than that!”

Celestia shook her head in disapproval.
“I asked her to wait, but nooo…”

“THOU ONLY WANTED CONTROL OVER ME!!!”

Now Tyler raised his voice in anger, almost reaching volumes of the Royal Canterlot Voice.
“Both of you will stop RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!!” As both of them looked at him mouths agape, he sighed. “In every marriage or community there are times when crisis strikes… And this is the time for this herd now! I won’t tolerate that we fail in this! Not for such a stupid sibling war! We will talk things over or I leave right this instant and bleed to death! A death that would be YOUR fault!” Celestia became quite silent now and looked down, ashamed.

Luna, however, looked with anger at his eye.
“I don’t care what she says! The sun may plead and threaten; the moon will stand her ground!” These words hit Celestia like a sledgehammer and prompted tears to well in her eyes. These words… They burned eternal in her memory as they were the same Nightmare Moon once proclaimed. “All shall see and wonder of the Dark Companion at my side when both our bodies are entwined in our eternal love!” Turning now to Luna, Tyler saw that her eyes had changed. Her pupils were deformed into cat-like pupils that slightly shined at him.

“Have you taken a look into the mirror lately, Luna?” Tyler grabbed her chin and looked grim at her. “I was serious when I said I will leave… Either you both settle things now and in a peaceful manner or I don’t want you two in the herd anymore!”

Luna nodded reluctantly.
“Nocte, my Dark Companion… I shall endure her presence for your sake… ” This word felt like a dagger stabbed into Celestia’s heart. Nocte. How dared she to repeat Nightmare Moon’s battle cry like this. She deliberately said this to hurt her.

Tears ran down Celestia’s cheeks.
“Luna… Don’t do this to us…”

Luna stood still for a second, her cat-like pupils became thin slits as she turned around in rage.
“Us? US? I demand my right to feel love to full extent! To have children! It is my birthright! Nopony will deter me from it! Nopony will dictate my life like this! Not even thee! After millennia the alicorns could finally come back to the brink of restoration! Isn’t this a good thing?”

Celestia shook her head in disapproval, looking distrustful towards the couple.
“You weren’t old enough back then, Luna. You can’t remember what happened in those final days when we alicorns were numerous. You never saw what was born. What our mother fought to defeat for the sake of the whole of Equis. Not just the void creatures, but all the atrocities, the dire misery alicorns brought. The living nightmares our people summoned in their blistering hate against each other, terrorizing not only alicorns, but pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies and shadow ponies alike. Before mother had to turn all alicorns, except the little foals, into stars, the war turned into Tartarus on Equis!”

Tyler stared into Celestia’s eyes. Deep within these strict and aggressive eyes was something different. Something he never imagined he would see in her eyes so clearly and open. Behind a façade of strictness he saw the fear in her, the terror that struck her so hard she would turn even against the happiness of her own sister. Celestia now continued.
“And that’s what you’re dangerously close to do, right here in Equestria: Begetting alicorns with the eternal fighting spirit of humans!”

With this, a crystal orb fell out of the sky and slammed into the ground only a few meters away and whirled up a small cloud of dust. A holographic image of a white mare appeared over it, a crown resting on the head right behind of the horn. When the Queen looked upon Celestia, her eyes were very strict and sad. Celestia now backed away in sheer terror like seeing death personified.
“Mother! No! You’re gone! All alicorns are gone! You told me so yourself!” Twilight never actually saw her mentor that frightened from a single pony. The snow white alicorn mare with the bloody red mane now looked at Tyler.

“Tilerions… Listen close to me now, mortal. For I shall speak only once to you in your entire life… If you hear me now, it means that the one thing I never wished for my daughters to happen has occurred. Luna and Celestia have made dreadful mistakes.” Both Celestia and Luna heard these words and bowed their heads in shame as the queen continued. “They did this on their own free will ,and, in spite all you could say to dissuade them. Now with my help they’ve calmed down enough to be reasonable to arguments, able to see their mistakes. The urge to redeem themselves grows in them as I speak. Look at me, my daughters…”

Luna now looked up to her mother, seeing her for the first time in her life.
“Mother…” Instinct dictated to her the feeling that this mare truly was her mother, the blurry memories of foalhood, the calm and caring voice… Tears began to run down her face.

“Once before, when you were small, I cleansed Equis of all evil we alicorns did in folly, to give you the chance to start anew. And now, even though it will strick fear in your heart…”
Celestia shook her head, fearful of what was to come next.
“Look at me, Celestia!” Shivering, the sun princess ceased to move, before obedience compelled her to look at her mother. “The alicorns shall lead ponykind into a future of kindness and love, not fear and tyranny. If you part these two who love each other… you will become the mare who keeps running, never looking back because she dare not, out of shame. You are more than this, my daughter. One day, the alicorns shall be restored. Yes, they shall be restored in small numbers. Until then there must be no discord, no tears, and no anxieties. Just go forward with all your beliefs… And prove to me that I am not mistaken in you. I have... and will always love you.”

With this the recording ended and the hologram of the queen vanished. Luna shook her head in silent terror, realizing the entire problem. As she blinked, her eyes slowly normalized.
“Thou… thou never told me about this. All these years you never mentioned it, you dirty old…” Then it struck her. 'All these stars I craft into our night sky are our ancestors…Mother… Mother did this for the sake of all of Equis? How bad was this war?' As she got disoriented for a bit realizing the terrifying truth, she looked up to Celestia again. “Now I understand… Thou saw this war! And thou feared that he might be the reason that our children want to fight? Then when, pray tell, are thou going to have this talk with Cadance?”

Celestia pointed a hoof at Luna.
“This is not about Shining Armor! He has the will to protect others, but humans are a whole different story! You saw it yourself, didn’t you? Any creature able to kill so many lives in an instant needs to be watched closely. It is their nature to fight! Either for good or for bad! We don’t know enough about the human nature to say for absolute certainty what this will to fight, coupled with the power of an alicorn body, can do to an angered mind!”

“And thou think Tyler and his children would fight each other? He already has proven time and time again that he’s different and thou know that! Please, Celestia… Sister! For my sake! Give him a chance to prove himself worthy to be the father of our children!”

Twilight meanwhile inspected the wound in Tyler’s eye, only to shake her head with lowered ears at the severity.
“I can’t help you with this, Tyler… I could only cauterize it…”

Tyler however shook his own head.
“It’s OK… She could have killed me with this… I guess any deeper and the blow would have punctuated the brain…”

Looking over to Tyler and Luna, Celestia bit her lip.
“I... I can’t control you two like this… But I’m so scared… Scared that this nightmare returns! Scared…”

Luna now approached her big sister and nuzzled her.
“All these eons… All this eternity thou remained silent, Celestia… Thou should have told me… “

Tyler now got on his feet again and looked at the two alicorns.
“Celestia? Luna? Will you continue fighting?” Both mares shook their heads, prompting him to nod. “Good… Then I want a hug from both of you…”

Luna smiled, but raised her hoof up, pointing it at his eye.
“First, allow me to rejuvenate thine eye to its former state…”

But Tyler shook his head.
“You may restore the eye… But the scar will stay!”

“What? But why?”

“This scar will remind you two of this day… Whenever you both look into my face, this scar will remind you of the misery you brought upon each other!”

Both alicorns now looked down in shame.
“You… You’re right I guess… Both of us are guilty of this situation today…” Celestia looked at Twilight. “See this, my faithful student? This is the part of me that our subjects probably will never remember… Some alicorn I turned out to be…” Twilight nodded in silence. Witnessing this was making her lose some fear from her mentor. She was an alicorn, but she also had a personality with fears like anypony else, and in fear she could make bad decisions like anypony else.

Tyler held still as Luna’s magic undid the damage on his eye. It stung heavily, but the pain slowly ceased.
“I’m so sorry, my beloved… I wreaked such unforgettable harm upon thee… Can thou ever forgive me?”

“You’re healing the eye already. Make sure I don’t feel pain because of this anymore and we’re fine… As for your sister and you… Man, what were you thinking? Were you thinking at all? Celestia! Come to me, please.” When Celestia approached him, he slapped her nose from above. It wasn’t a hard slap and didn’t hurt at all, but the message was clear: He disapproved of her actions and was mad at her. ”Bad alicorn! I usually don’t have the right to tell you how to do stuff since you’re more powerful and older than I am… But as you said before, not many stand up to you like I do. So let me tell you this: I want you to talk with Luna! Tell her in detail about the horrors of the alicorn war! Show her the misery that alicorns wreaked upon each other so that she understands! Understanding this will be the first step for her to understand, to full extent, the importance of why future alicorns must be taught about this war, so they can never repeat this again like you two almost did…”

Bowing down her head, Celestia complied. Her harsh voice had completely vanished by now.
“You are right, Tyler… Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. This night gave proof to this…”

Tyler now hugged both of them at the same time.
“You have a lot of things to talk about, you two... I pray that one day you will overcome your fear, Celestia.”

Celestia nodded in silence. before she turned to her younger sister.
“Luna? Shall we go?”

When Luna and Celestia returned to their chambers, Tyler stood before Twilight and Applejack and turned around.
“Come, you two… This is a thing these two must see through by themselves.”

Twilight raised a hoof.
“But what if…?”

He shook his head.
“Her mother has sent a magic orb to tell them to talk to each other to sort things out, and I told them likewise for the sake of their country… What more can we do? Stand next to them like they’re little fillies? Or have faith in them as adult mares?”

On the way to their chamber, the other girls intercepted them. Rainbow was the first to approach them.
“Twilight! What happened? There was a big storm out there! And before that, there was a bright dome of light! Are we being attacked?”

“Is there something amiss?” Rarity asked. “Should we go to Canterlot tower for the elements?”

But Twilight shook her head and looked at Tyler.
“The princesses had a little… dispute. But thanks to Tyler and some divine intervention the catastrophe had been averted…”

* * * * *

Slowly normality came again and Sam gulped a bit when seeing Cadance.
“Another alicorn princess… It’s my pleasure!” As he bowed and delivered a kiss to her hoof, Cadance smiled.

Tyler, however leaned over to Flynn and lowered his voice.
“Careful, she’s in heat. She might bite…”

Cadance looked at Tyler and winked at him before looking at Sam again.
“Don’t worry Sam. I won’t bite… hard…”

Sam began to grin and looked at Shining Armor.
“Your husband must be very happy with you.”

Shining, still a bit tired, snickered.
“Every stallion or man can be happy with the right mare at his side. Don’t you think so?”

As Lyra stepped next to Sam he nodded and rested his hand on the unicorn’s neck, stroking it.
“No, I don’t think so… I know so…”

When Lyra leaned against him, Cadance’s smile grew.
“How wonderful… I’m happy for you two. I know of the case of the peculiar Lyra Heartstrings. My aunts once talked about you.”

Lyra’s attention was now piqued.
“The princesses… talked about me?”

“But of course! You’re the theorist and anthropologist that knew about humans even before their arrival on Equis and without knowledge about the prophecy of Tilerions. My aunts converse about your anthropology once in a while. They seem quite interested in your ‘work in progress’.” This piqued Lyra’s attention. So her Anthropology was being read, even in the highest of places. This was exciting news.

But she then bowed before the pink alicorn.
“Princess? I would love to continue this conversation, but we have a train to catch. It’s the last one for today.”

Cadance giggled.
“I see... Yes, some nocturnal activities are best enjoyed in absolute privacy. Have a proper good night, you two.” When she and Shining went to the door, she winked at Tyler again, leaving him wondering about her intentions. Was she going to have it again with Shining? Was she flirting with him or simply gesturing him that he did great with calming down her aunts? But he stopped his thinking about all this. He had four wonderful mares and she was having a loving, caring and understanding husband at her side and both of them seemed happy with what they have. No need to make things more difficult by overthinking it.

Meanwhile the two regal sisters lied together on Celestia’s bed. Most of the tears had been wiped away and both had calmed themselves down.
“And how dost thou explain thy plans for Twilight Sparkle in contrast to today’s event?”

Celestia thought about this for a moment and finally looked at her younger sister.
“I was afraid of her powers at first. But I had so much more time to get accustomed to her situation…”

Luna then nodded. Celestia truly had several years, instead of just one, to watch and guide Twilight to lose her fear and gain faith in her student while Tyler stormed into their lives.
“Hey, Tia?”

“Yes, Luna?”

“Can you begin with telling me about mother?”

Celestia gulped and nodded with tears in her eyes. What Luna didn’t expect was the sudden embrace of her big sister and the silent sobbing. Then the emotions took her as well. Both had said gruesome and hurtful things to each other, almost fought each other. And now Luna had a slight insight of how her older sister must have felt in the past thousand years. She never realized the fear in Celestia’s heart nor did she listen. Fortunately, for the both of them, there now was someone to watch over them. The night passed half-way before Celestia had cried herself into sleep and Luna watched over her like a guardian.

* * * * *

On the ride back to Ponyville, Sam and Lyra were alone and were at it.
“What about Bon Bon?”

Lyra grinned while caressing his chest, careful not to tear his tuxedo apart.
“Don’t worry… She’s over in Trottingham to visit some relatives.” Seeing Tyler and the princesses so intimately together in front of all these ponies, obviously heated her mood up. At home she stood up on two legs and pressed Sam, who just came in as well into the now closed door for a long and hot kiss. With a deep blush on her face she looked into his eyes. “I’ll get out of that dress and prepare myself for my herd stallion… Then I want you to gag me because I know I’ll neigh all of Ponyville awake when you take me.”

Sam gave her a sly grin.
“Sure… Go upstairs already, I want to drink something first.”

When he downed a glass of orange juice in the kitchen he thought for a second. Being able to switch anatomy must be a very stressful situation for a mare to go through and obviously meant that she loved him. He took a look at the clock, five minutes had passed… He should go upstairs to Lyra and tell her how he feels for her. As he went up the stairs, he heard her voice erotically say his name, before one long human leg reached out of the doorway. With a lascivious smile did she look at him and with a gesture of her finger she lured him to come closer. Sam couldn’t believe it. The ample breasts, the firm and small butt, the beautiful long legs…
“Lyra… You’re… Baby, you’re a human!”

“I asked for permission and since Applejack already got her foal underway, Princess Luna has granted me to be human for tonight as well… This is a dream come true… Look! Hands! Am I…” She blushed a bit. “Am I beautiful?”

He shook his head.
“Baby, you’re not just beautiful, you are absolutely breathtaking!”

“Now, Sam… I want to have some fun in this body…”

He grinned and a moment later both were lying on the bed. But suddenly there was a loud banging in the closet and Sam looked up.
“What was that?”

“Probably nothing…”

“Tsk! A very loud nothing! In the castle they talked about Changeling attacks. Stand back, I’ll handle this…” While watching Sam walking to the closet, Lyra now backed out to the door.

In an instant he suddenly opened the door to the closet and raised his fist, only to find another Lyra in pony form, cocooned into Changeling wax. That’s when it occurred to him.
“Lyra!!! But when you’re here, who-” Lyra’s eyes opened wide as a shadow grew behind Sam. In the next moment a fierce blow hit his head and he went to the ground unconscious, prompting Lyra to scream into her Changeling wax gag.

The human Lyra glared down to her with a pan in her hand.
“You should have stayed quiet! Then no violence would have been needed!” Lyra looked grim at her human doppelganger and charged her horn, blasted a full charge of magic into her face. But her doppelganger only chuckled. “Save your strength, this human body is safe from all your puny efforts to harm me. Now… Let’s have some fun…” Now the impostor dragged Sam onto the bed and undressed him. It wasn’t until long that the humanoid Lyra climbed on top of him, using her prey.

Lyra felt so miserable, her special someone was raped right in front of her eyes and she couldn’t even help him. Bitter tears ran down her cheeks as her doppelganger had her way with the unconscious Sam. If only someone would help her. After half an hour the human doppelganger stood still and grinned diabolical. “He came…” This caused Lyra to whimper in heartache. Why was her doppelganger so ruthless? Why would anyone do this to her Sam? Climbing off from Sam, the stranger had lost every interest in him and went in front of a mirror.

After some minutes, Sam became conscious again. His limbs were cocooned onto the bed and his mouth was gagged by Changeling wax. He didn’t know exactly what was going on, but in front of him the human Lyra began to lilt a bit.
“This night has been just perfect...
The kind of night of which I dreamed since I saw your kind…”
As her eyes began to glow in poisonous green her hair recolored itself to a dark cerulean.
“Achieving this took quite a dare…”
As her skin turned black like chitin he recognized with horror the holes in her arms and legs
“…To give birth to a supreme nightmare!”
As she turned around, he looked into the black chitin face of a grinning humanized Changeling female.
“Good thing a loving heart is so easily blinded…”
Sam’s yelling and screaming was muffled by the gag of Changeling wax over his mouth. No curses or cries for help were heard. With a sadistic cruel grin the humanoid Changeling queen reveled upon his misery before arching a brow. “Ooohhh, this goes rather quick this time… “And right in front of them she knelt down and gave birth to one Changeling egg alone.

Author's Note

Proofread by Rythmns

20 - Betrayal *

The night passed and in the morning Applejack and Twilight got up. Although Tyler was in their bed when they all went to sleep, he wasn’t around now, what seemed a bit odd for him as he always got up together with them. It usually was their time of intimacy in the morning when they helped each other prepare for the day. He always took good care of their manes, something Twilight usually did herself, but enjoyed every time he did this for her. Even Applejack, who wasn’t thrilled much about brushing the mane, loved to get it done by Tyler. If her stallion cared about her outer appearance she wanted to look best for him.

But Tyler wasn’t to be found the entire morning. As he returned to them, around noon, he arched his brows at their question of where he had been.
“National security… I had a meeting with… some agents… Don’t forget that we’re trying to get rid of these Descendants. We can prove that every pony isn’t a Changeling now, but proving that you’re not a Descendant? That’s another story.”

Twilight didn’t bother to ask further on. Tyler had some business as the strategic advisor, maybe this was one of his duties.
“Well, the others are already going to the station, Tyler… It’s time for us to meet them there.”

After a nice ride on the train, where both the ponies and humans conversed about several topics, they arrived at Ponyville Station; however, the unusual large presence of the Royal Guard was alarming, causing Tyler to gulp.
“Something’s not right in Ponyville…” As they went down the streets in a hurry, they saw that the guard had its focus on Lyra and Bon Bon’s house. “Oh shit!” Tyler was fully alarmed now. Something horrible must have happened. As they entered the house, Bon Bon looked up to Tyler. He could clearly see that the earth pony mare was frightened and had cried for some time, her eyes were red because of this. “Bonnie! What happened? Come on, girl… Talk to me!”

Looking into Tyler’s eyes, the shocked earth pony shivered a bit.
“It’s… It’s Sam… They… they…” Nodding at her, Tyler stood up and went upstairs in haste while Rarity and Rainbow cared for Bon Bon.

Both Lyra and Sam were covered in blankets as a mare cared for the unicorn and a stallion for Sam. Both guards nodded at each other and then left the room. The mare spoke up first.
“It’s a most peculiar form of rape, Sir… Miss Heartstrings is OK, she discharged her horn once, probably at the attacker, but I can’t find trails of magic anywhere. She hit, but the hit didn’t seem to have effect. At least that’s what we found out questioning the two of them...”

The stallion nodded.
“In private conversation it became clear that the attacker was a woman. Whoever did this knew a spell to turn a pony into a human. There’s one other thing, though; we found trails of Changeling amniotic fluid. These are only a few trails, so probably one or two eggs. So we can deduce that there’s involvement of a queen…”

It all began to make sense for Tyler now.
“Shiria…”

Inside the room both Sam and Lyra embraced each other as they sobbed in unison.
“I’m so sorry, Lyra… I didn’t see behind her disguise. I… I betrayed you!”

Lyra embraced him even harder now.
“No, you were deceived. You only love me. And after seeing that it’s possible… You thought that I wanted to have sex with you in such a body…”

“I should have seen it coming… I should have seen through that disguise!”

“Sam, look at me!” With this their glances met. “There is nothing to forgive! There was no way you could've known about the disguise, and there was nothing I could do about it. Although, in that moment, I wished I could kill that monster!” Tears now began to roll down her cheeks. “I love you Sam! I love you so bucking much! And I won’t allow that Changeling bitch to destroy what we have!”

Outside of their room, Rachel shook her head and looked at Tyler.
“Why?”

Tyler shook his head as well, disgusted by this dirty deed.
“I don’t know what she intends to achieve with this, but next time I see her, I’ll have to talk with her far more seriously than before…”

Rachel’s eyes widened.
“Talk?!? Are you-” She was interrupted as Twilight poked her horn into her waist and pointed at Tyler’s right fist, which was clenched so hard, it began to bleed; The sight made Rachel gulp. The silent rage inside Tyler must have been tremendous in this moment.

As he left the room to get some fresh air, Twilight looked up to Rachel.
“He’s a very forgiving person, but I take it even he has his limits in forgiveness.” Nodding in confirmation, Rachel looked at the ground, where small drops of blood were sprinkled on the floor.
“You check on Tyler, we will care for Sam and Lyra… Uh, Pinkie?”

The earth pony looked up to her.
“Yeah?”

“These two need absolute peace and quiet now. I want you to watch the streets to CALMLY and PEACEFULLY tell them that they’re not accepting visitors right now. Do you think you can do that?”

The pink earth pony saluted now.
“Consider it done!”

* * * * *

Half an hour later, Applejack was bandaging Tyler’s bleeding hand with a small band aid.
“Ya shouldn’t get angry so much, Sugarcube. The harm has been done; ya shouldn’t punish yerself for this. So… That Changeling Queen is makin’ a mess again, huh? Tyler, maybe you were going way too easy with that bug the last time ya had the chance to deal with her.”

“Maybe… But, at that time, I didn’t have much of a choice.”

“Ah know… Yer always tryin’ to do the right thing… But maybe that would be the right thing to do!” She hesitated for a bit in her motion, then her eyes widened and she inhaled deep. “Ah… Ah think it’s coming!”

Tyler nodded, still thoughtful.
“Sure! Shiria has something coming our way, but-”

“Not the Changeling, sugarcube! The foal!!!”

Now his eyes popped open.
“Oh! Uh… Alright! Don’t panic!”

* * * * *

Five minutes later, Rainbow Dash kicked the door to the library open.
“Twilight! Come quick! We have a foal emergency!”

Twilight first looked up in surprise, then squee’d before she and Rainbow galloped out of the library.
“The day is finally here! Oh, how wonderful!” As Rainbow fetched Fluttershy from her cottage, Twilight gave the Carousel Boutique a visit to get Rarity.

On their way to the hospital the girls then fetched Pinkie Pie from the street, who was slightly angered.
“Hey!!! I need to stand guard for Sam and Lyra!”

But Twilight only shook her head.
“Pinkie! Applejack is giving birth!”

Now, Pinkie’s eyes opened wide, and she threw Twilight up, so the unicorn landed on her back, and Pinkie began to speed up really quick, prompting Twilight to call for help. Rainbow only rolled her eyes.
“That mare is so RANDOM!”

* * * * *

In the hospital, they were stopped by a snow white earth pony with a pink mane.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!!!”

Sliding on the floor, Pinkie Pie halted, Twilight, however, flew straight off Pinkie’s back and right onto the floor.
“Oof!!! Nurse Redheart, we’re here to-”

The nurse now looked down to Twilight with a strict face.
“I know, I know, you’re all friends to Applejack, but she’s in the maternity ward right now! Only herd mates and family members are allowed. The father is already there. Poor fellow…”

Twilight’s brows arched now.
“Poor fellow? Tyler? Why’s that?”

“I don’t know who was more under stress as they arrived here… The mother or the father… Mr. Jones is sitting in front of the maternity ward and got a mild sedative.”

Twilight smiled at this.
“Well, it’s his first foal as well… I’m a herd mate with those two; can you show me the way?”

Nurse Redheart nodded and lead Twilight while the rest of the Mane Six remained. Hours passed and more and more did the girls became unnerved. Rainbow finally slammed a hoof at her head.
“Ugh! This takes way too long!”

Pinkie Pie nodded.
“Uh-huh! We should be with Applejack and support her!”

Rarity however shook her head, waving her mane around.
“My… You can’t force a foal… or a lady for that matter. A birth is something quite stressful for a mare, even without all of us around Applejack. My mother told me this after Sweetie Belle’s birth. I say Tyler and Twilight are more than enough support for her right now.”

Fluttershy nodded as well in agreement.
“We should support the young mother on the farm in any way now. Applejack has so much to do with her little foal she can’t go and buck the trees on Sweet Apple Acres…”

The girls nodded as the door swung open and Twilight came out of it. Rainbow now landed and looked at her.
“Come on, Twilight! Tell us!”

Twilight beamed and jumped up, standing on her hind legs for a second and waving her front hooves in excitement.
“A healthy little filly!”

The girls cheered now, especially Rainbow, who then nudged Twilight into the chest.
“You’re mighty proud as well, huh? When can we expect something from T-Man and you?”

Twilight blushed. There was this topic again.
“I’m… I’m not ready for such studies yet…”

* * * * *

When Applejack woke up in her room, she was surrounded by the other members of the closer Apple family: Granny Smith, Apple Bloom and Big Mac. All three were smiling proud at her when Granny smith was raising her voice.
“There, there, mah girl… Easy now! Ya have a mighty darn marathon of birth behind ya! It’s no surprise ya passed out…”

Applejack looked around in anticipation.
“Where’s Tyler? Where’s mah foal?”

But Big Mac carefully held her back.
“Nurse Redheart took the lil’ thing to the foal ward, Tyler’s already there with Appleseed.”

Now Applejack relaxed and the memories of the newborn foal came back to her before she passed out. How Appleseed looked at her with those crystal blue eyes... and how Applejack herself, looked at Tyler in this moment, both of them, tears in their eyes.
“Sugarcube… This is the happiest day in mah life!” she had said to him. Now in her rest room, she needed to recover; to regain strength for her foal as the little one was building up strength.

Apple Bloom, however, bounced excited at the other side of the bed.
“Granny! Can we go and watch the foal? Can we? Can we?”

The old mare smiled, but pulled the little filly in.
“Calm down, ya little whirlwind! Yer more excited than an angered hive of bees!” Turning to the young mother, she smiled a bit. “Ya stay here and rest up, Applejack. We’ll go and watch that little wonder ya released into the world…” Smiling, Applejack nodded and tried to sleep a bit.

A few minutes later, five of the Mane Six and the Apple family were in front of the foal ward, looking at all the little foals. Nurse Redhearted arched a brow at Pinkie, who smiled innocently as possible as she pressed her nose against the glass. After a while, Tyler turned around with a foal carried in his arms, carefully, like holding the biggest treasure on the entire planet. “Hey…” With this he held the little foal up proudly and presented it to the girls. “My daughter!” With careful gestures did he caress the little cheeks before the little yellow foal with a golden mane, stretched her tiny hooves at his fingers and grabbed them oh so tightly while looking up to him with big beady eyes, prompting the girls to sigh in adore in a unified “Awwwwww….”. Tyler didn’t realize how the tears ran down his face. “She’s so beautiful…”

As the little foal yawned, Fluttershy gasped with a warm smile.
“Such a little bundle of love…”

Tyler now put down the little foal, prompting Nurse Redheart to nod with a smile. He then left the foal ward as the girls surrounded him.
“Way to go, T-Man!” Rainbow smirked. “I always knew you were a hound!”

While she patted him on the shoulder, Rarity looked up to him.
“I insist that you come with your fashion ideas for that small lady to me… Such a precious little thing needs to look good, does she not?”

Suddenly the door to the next hallway swung open and two members of the royal guard entered the hallway. As they spotted Tyler, their expressions grew grimmer.
“Tyler Jones?”

Tyler turned around and nodded at them.
“That’s me alright! What can I do for you?”

Both nodded at each other and their faces grew grim.
“Sir, you are under arrest!”

While the rest of the rest of the Mane Six gasped in outrage, Twilight stepped in front of Tyler.
“What’s the charge?”

The expression on the guard’s face remained stern as he muttered the term.
“Murder.”

Tyler stared at the guards with outrage in his eyes. However, he patted Twilight’s head and shook his own.
“I didn’t kill anyone, Twilight. I will go with them. It has to be some kind of mix-up. I’ll clear things up, don’t worry.” As they escorted him outside, a carriage was already waiting for him. Twilight and the girls ran after them, but already was the carriage bringing him towards Canterlot Castle.

Rainbow immediately turned to Twilight.
“Twilight! We need to inform the others!”

When the other Rangers heard about this not ten minutes later, they were visibly shocked.
“Ponyfucker could have killed a pony?” Rachel sneered upon this claim. “On a cold day in hell!”

Although Rainbow looked grim at Rachel for the minor insult, she and Flynn nodded.
“So… What are we going to do?”

“I say we wait!” Rachel explained. “Maybe it’s really a mix-up. Flynn? You, Sam and I should work a bit on you know what…”

Flynn arched a brow, but nodded.
“Understood…”

* * * * *

Meanwhile Tyler sat in a bullpen above the Canterlot dungeon when Princess Celestia came to his cell.
“Tyler… I am sorry for all of this. Please understand that I have to ask this: Is it true?”

Shaking his head, he looked at her.
“I didn’t do this. Celestia! I don’t know how they could even get the idea that I’m capable of doing such a thing.”

As he looked at her, helpless, she shook her head as well.
“At ease… I only wanted to look into your eyes…”

Tyler huffed and sat down on his bench.
“They say I killed two unicorns this morning and made an escape. But this is bullshit! I was never in that city!”

Celestia nodded.
“Do you wish for an attorney? As strategic advisor you have the right to-”

He simply waved the thought away.
“Twilight will be my attorney in this.”

“Twilight? Why her? You could have any royal attorney, if you want.”

“Twilight is the mare with the most dedication to detail. If anyone can find a way out, it’s her.”

Celestia now looked down, worry was in her eyes.
“They say they have witnesses who saw you doing that!”

“But Celestia! You know I would never-”

She raised a hoof, calming him down.
“This is why I asked Zecora to bring some Seeds of Truth. We will make everypony see if they lie or not.”

This visibly calmed Tyler down.
“Then my innocence already is proven… If I fear anything, it’s not the truth.”

* * * * *

At the following day at noon…
“…and these two mares are dead, both from Vanhoover and both unicorns. In this trial, we will deliver proof that this human, Tyler Jones, is guilty in two cases of murder in the 1st degree” The prosecutor was now ending his prosecution speech.
The photos showed the corpses of two unicorn mares. The bodies were without wounds, but their horns seemed burned. And the faces… many gasped at the pain-stricken faces the mares had in their last moments. Tyler didn’t even begin to imagine what ordeals these two must have been through.
Also Tyler didn’t witness every detail of the trial. This was all like a nightmare for him. A nightmare he couldn’t awake from. The prosecutor then continued. “…Also, it is known that only humans can absorb magic in all of Equestria! And the human with the strongest magical potential is and remains Tyler Jones! Thus, the motive becomes clear: In his greed he wanted more magic than these two mares could give and, in his lust for magic, absorbed all life out of them!”

“Objection!” Twilight shouted. “This is mere speculation! There are dozens of unicorns both civil, as well as members of the Royal Guard that can lay witness that the accused always asked for permission and never harmed one of them once! Even in this courtroom there are unicorns who served the Royal Guard during the Amasian Conflict. They can give testimony that the defendant had rather given his life than to take too much from one of his comrades.”

Celestia nodded.
“Sustained! Let’s stay at the facts…”

The prosecutor nodded at this.
“Very well then… you leave me no choice…” His voice now became less audible as he leaned to Twilight. “You lost before it even started… That man is guilty, and I’m gonna prove it!” Twilight gritted her teeth and was fighting the urge to buckle that stallion into the face.

The first witness was now called in, a yellow earth pony with a purple mane and a pillow as a cutie mark. As she took seat, the prosecutor nodded.
“Please state your name, Miss…”

“My name is Pillow Dream… I work in a workshop in Vanhoover… I produce pillows…”

“And yesterday morning you witnessed the murder of two mares, is that right?”

The unsure mare now nodded her head.
“Yes… I… I will never forget this…”

After several other questions the prosecutor nodded at Zecora and the zebra placed a flower pot in front of the mare.
“Very well then, Miss Dream… Can you tell this court who you saw killing your roommate, maybe someone inside this courtroom? And I like to warn you that the Seed of Truth won’t grow if you tell a lie!”

The earth pony nodded.
“The one I saw killing Dark Flutter and Night Flower?” She then pointed at Tyler with tears of anger in her eyes. “It was no other than this man! Tyler Jones!”

Tyler now stood up and pointed a finger at the mare. “THAT’S A LIE!!! I WOULD NEVER MURDER A PONY!!!”

But the Seed of Truth began to grow in front of her as she snapped back at him.
“Yes, you did! I saw you when you grabbed her horn and she collapsed to the ground, moments later, as if all life left her!”

The flower was now in full bloom, prompting Tyler to shake his head. No… This is impossible! All eyes locked on him as the crowd gasped.
“No… I… I didn’t do this!”

But as the second witness, a green Pegasus mare named Butter Star, was giving her testimony, the next Seed of Truth grew as well.
“...She tried to help Dark Flutter, but he kicked her in the stomach, so that she was out of air. He then…” The mare began to sob. “He then grabbed her horn as well and before I knew it she fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes! We two probably only survived because we ran away! Dark flutter and Night Flower were my herd mates. Next heat season both were planning to… to…” She then pointed her hoof at Tyler with raging hate in her tearful eyes and voice. “I demand that this human gets punished! You vile beast! You deserve the hardest punishment!!!”

Zecora looked at Twilight and shook her head; everything was fine with the seeds.

“The Seeds of Truth are fine and work,
I do not know what evil forces lurk!”

Twilight looked up to Tyler, her eyes showing worry and uncertainty.
“Twilight… You have to believe me!” Looking into hers, his eyes pleaded for trust. “You HAVE to believe me!” The unicorn looked up to him with a helpless expression. She believed in him, but Butter Star’s And Pillow Dream’s testimonies were the truth.

Now the prosecutor harrumphed.
“Tyler Jones… According to the servants in the castle, you couldn’t be found IN the castle during the events of these murders… Is this correct?”

Tyler gulped and glared at the stallion.
“This is correct!”

“And for the sake of fairness we want to grant you, can you tell this court where you were at this moment? Or if there were any ponies who could confirm your alibi?”

Now Tyler closed his eyes. Speaking the truth now would mean jeopardizing loyal agents to Equestria and the Descendants would gain valuable information about them. He couldn’t let this happen, he had to just stand there and take it. Speaking the truth now, even for a bit, would jeopardize at least one agent. Through such an agent, the Descendants would be able to inflict even further damage.
“I… No, I can’t!” A murmur went through the audience behind him. When he looked over to the princesses, he saw the mixture of doubt, disappointment and helplessness in their eyes, especially in Celestia’s. Her face was talking for itself. She felt betrayed by him.

The prosecutor nodded and turned his back towards Tyler.
“No further questions, your Highness…”

* * * * *

After these most devastating testimonies all three princesses counseled for the final judgment in this case. Celestia was trotting up and down, restless. There was hardly any evidence to counter the Seeds of Truth.
“I can’t believe it! Not Tyler! Could we be mistaken that heavily?”

Luna, however, stomped her hoof on the ground.
“Celestia! Thou know he didn’t do that! Thou know he remains silent to cover agents loyal to Equestria.”

Arching a brow, Celestia looked at Luna.
“Do I? Although his mind is easily to read for both of us, these testimonies can’t be ignored!”

Luna shook her head.
“I can’t believe thou are saying this! He wouldn’t willingly open his mind to us in such a way if he would fear that we find something that would prove his guilt. Why don’t we speak for him? We know he didn’t do that!”

“Prejudice!” Celestia snapped back to her sister. “Since your proposal at the gala everypony knows that you’re in his herd! And already they whisper about my relationship to him… If we speak up for him, distrust would grow, not only at him, but us as well. We can’t be judge and defense in one!” Luna grumbled at this. It was simply unfair that her love for Tyler should be a disadvantage. But Celestia continued. “Luna? The law must be obeyed! Especially by us! If there’s no proof of his innocence, then we have no choice but to-”

But now Luna turned around to interrupt her.
“Celestia! Thou are aware that the sentence for multiple murder is death?”

The white alicorn closed her eyes and sighed. Truly this was a dark moment for all of them.
“In over 200 years there was no case where the death sentence was needed… And now this should be the fate of someone who saved us? What can we do? Tell me, what shall we do?”

Cadance looked up and cleared her throat.
“Actually there is a way… If we can’t break the law… maybe we can bend it?”

* * * * *

A few minutes later both the Princess of the Sun and the Princess of Love now approached their seats. Luna, however, refused to accept the sentence. Celestia didn’t blame her; it was hard enough for her and Cadance to announce these words. Tyler was Luna’s first love and above all she couldn’t ask her sister to condemn him.
“Due to her relationship to the accused, Princess Luna refuses to lay down judgment on him, deeming herself incapable to stay impartial.” Celestia now looked down to Tyler with a very strict and hard look. “Tyler Jones! The evidence delivered here left this trial no other choice. You are convicted of the murder of two unicorns. You are aware that this horrific crime of multiple murders can know only one punishment: Death.” Tyler gulped. She was going to execute him? In the audience, there were the one or other smile of satisfaction, but Celestia raised her head. “However… This tribunal wants to remind every pony that Equestria is a realm where indulgence and gratitude are not simply wiped away. Due to your services for Equestria and its allies that saved countless of lives, the death sentence will be altered. Life sentence banishment from Equestrian soil!” Tyler stood there in the court room, staring at Celestia.

This can’t be happening…

While still better than execution, banishment was almost the same thing. He had family and friends here. A loud murmur went through the audience. Sam and Flynn held Rainbow back, so the angered mare couldn’t bash up some guards. Rarity, Fluttershy and Lyra seemed rather shocked by this judgment. Pinkie held the still recovering Applejack back, who jumped up and shouted her anger about this whole event. Rachel, however, narrowed her eyes, stood up and gave Sam and Flynn a sign to follow her as fast as possible before she left the courtroom. Twilight, however, stepped in front of the two princesses.
“Princess Celestia! This is more of a propaganda trial! There are too many unknowns! I demand an appeal!”

Captain Shimmerwind, being responsible for the security during this trial, stood between the princesses and Twilight and looked at the unicorn.
“You will accept the judgment the princesses have decreed, Twilight Sparkle!”

Turning back to her herd mate, the lavender unicorn had tears in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Tyler! I’m… I’m just so sorry!”

Tyler only shook his head with a smile.
“Nopony could have done more, Twilight… Thank you.”

While Tyler was being hauled towards the exit, Applejack struggled against the guards. If only she wouldn’t be so weak right now, she could struggle more and probably wipe the floor with those guards.
“No! He didn’t do that! Ah won’t believe it! No matter what the seeds say!” With desperate eyes she looked up to Tyler who now turned to her. “Sugarcube! Tell me ya didn’t do that! Tell me and ah’ll believe ya!”

Tyler knelt down to her and embraced her.
“I would never do that… But don’t mind me, AJ… Watch out for Appleseed! Let no one hurt our foal! I’ll find a way to return to you both. I promise!” With that he kissed her. “I love you, honey…”

The guards now dragged him away from her and Shimmerwind spoke up.
“Let the betrayal of Equestria be taken from our court. May his armor be taken from him, and his title of protector. Let him be stricken from our hearts and our memories, forever!” Twilight only stared at Shimmerwind with open mouth. She took it way too serious like she was enjoying getting rid of the one who served Equestria numerous times now. But maybe it was only the harsh disappointment that made the mare hard and unkind.

As Tyler was dragged away, he fought at the height of the doors and turned back.
“Celestia!” With a hardened glare the princess stared at him. Tyler didn’t blame her. This whole thing was crazy and she couldn’t simply overstep the law for his sake, even if she believed him. But he wouldn’t leave without giving her his final message. “Labor four…” This caused the sun princess to gasp and her eyes wandered around hastily after her hard glare crumbled apart. With this he was dragged away from the guards.

Twilight now approached Applejack who had fallen to the ground and cried bitter tears, heartbroken.
“This is the worst day of mah life!” it was then when governess Shadrane stepped closer to them and harrumphed…

* * * * *

In private, the other three Rangers deliberated each other.
“What shall we do about this, Rachel? We can’t just get him out of custody by force, even if we believe in his innocence!”

Flynn nodded.
“Yeah… Going against the authorities doesn’t look good.”

But the former marine only shook her head.
“This is way too simple! Two witnesses saying something ridiculous like this? You know that guy as good as I do. He wouldn’t even THINK to harm an innocent being. I think it’s time to get out the Big One… Come!”

Sam now held her shoulder to hold her back.
“Rachel… You know I’m with you in this… but aren’t you a bit hasty with getting that thing ready?”

The woman’s cold and icy glare stabbed at Sam as she first looked at his hand and then at him.
“We will see about that… Something is stinking here… If nothing happens on his way to the border, nothing happens. But I got a feeling in my stomach that something WILL happen!”

* * * * *

When Applejack and Twilight were brought to Princess Celestia’s chamber, both the princess of the sun and night stood in the room and Luna nodded at Shadrane, thanking her for bringing them so quickly. Celestia, however, looked at both of them like she didn’t have any right to speak to them anymore. With a sigh, she approached both of them.
“I have summoned both of you here to tell you how terribly sorry we are! We-”

“Oh… Buck off!!!” Applejack snapped at the princess with tears of anger in her eyes. “Ya both could have done something! Why didn’t ya do something?”

While Celestia looked down in shame, Luna stepped forth.
“Fair Applejack! The normal sentence for multiple murder is death! Banishment gives Tyler the chance to find proof of his innocence!”

Celestia then raised a wing in front of her sister. Applejack was right in a way. Both sisters could have done more, but the consequences would have been worse.
“He said ‘Labor four…’ He thinks we were infiltrated from inside and he had fallen victim to a plot… Never before was I forced to punish an innocent being…”

Applejack didn’t seemed satisfied.
“Ya should have stepped in, Celestia! Ya both have all the power this needs! Ah saw it in his eyes. The silent plea for us to believe him! He’s the father of mah foal! MAH FOAL’S PA!!! AH SHOULD BUCKLE YER FACE!!!”

But then Twilight intervened.
“No, AJ! He would never ask any of us to misuse our powers for his sake! I mean…” Twilight looked up to Princess Celestia. “…what kind of a princess would disobey her own laws? I believe he took the punishment because it was all we could do for him. He would never bring us into trouble.”

Applejack now looked down.
“Ah guess ya have a point there… But that doesn’t mean Ah have to like it!”

The Princess of the Sun now approached Applejack and raised the earth pony’s chin with her hoof.
“He’s on his own now to prove his innocence. I couldn’t do much for Tyler, but I can do quite much for you and your foal… If you let me…”

* * * * *

After an hour of silent transport towards the border the guards had taken Tyler to the southwestern edge of the Everfree Forest; probably to take him to the city of Las Pegasus, or one or another of the smaller cities to the south of that. What made him wonder was the slowing down of the wagon as they slowly, but surely, came to a halt. Yet they were miles away from the border, Tyler could see it through the tiny windows of the wagon. The door was opened and two of the guards looked at him with grim faces.
“You! Get out!”

Were they ordered to set him free? Maybe they got message that everything cleared up and the princesses stepped in.
“Why are we stopping?”

But Tyler was pushed onwards in a harsh manner.
“On your knees, criminal scum!” With these words the guards kicked into Tyler’s hollow of the knees, causing him to fall down.

One of the younger guards now intervened.
“Why are you all so unnecessary mean to him? I mean we’ll just take him to the border and make sure he doesn’t get back, right? Why are we even stopping now? I don’t get it…”

“Aren’t you the new cadet? Fresh meat from the academy, huh?”

“Uh… Yes! Ensign Bloom Wing, sir! But I thought-”

“You don’t have to think, boy! You’re not getting paid to think!”

The young guard stepped a bit away.
“But… these are our orders, sir…”

The other guards now nodded at each other as the unicorns charged their horns.
“Well… In that case it’s been an honor having you, Bloom Wing…”

“What? Wait! NO!!!” Tyler could only hear a sudden discharge of magic behind him, followed by some hooves clopping on the ground like a pony was stumbling, finally a thump and then silence. He didn’t have to ask or turn around; he knew the young ensign was dead by now and closed his eyes.

“Ensign Bloom Wing... Killed by the banished human Tyler Jones... Who we had to kill as he tried to escape...”

Tyler grinned with sarcasm.
“So the Descendants sent a firing squad to execute me instead of my escort to the border… How nice… You know you need more than magic to execute-” It was in this moment when Tyler heard a pistol being cocked behind him. “Clever Pony…” Tyler knew that the equestrian pistols were mere one-shots, but even a bullet from this weapon could end his life.

A crosshair aimed at Tyler’s head before it wandered to the unicorn guard behind him who aimed the pistol with levitation at Tyler’s head. With a broad grin did the unicorn mare push the barrel in his neck.
“We’ve waited long for a chance to catch you alone, Jones… She said she envies me for killing you, not being able to do it herself.”

Now Tyler arched a brow.
“Who is it? Who wants me dead?”

A sadistic giggle became audible behind him.
“Since you’re dead already, I think I can tell you. You’re not living long enough to tell anypony anyway! The one who wanted you dead is-” Now a shot thundered through the valley and Tyler’s eyes opened wide. He was still alive! The unicorn mare behind him, however, fell like a limp tree, her head fell victim to a magic detonation, causing a large scorched mark at her skull, which revealed the hit of a magic projectile delivering the lethal blow to her head. Tyler didn’t hesitate. In the very next moment a pressure wave slammed dust in a 90 degree bow behind him, blinding the Descendants. This gave him enough time to spin around and deliver lethal magic blows to all of them.

As he stood up, Tyler looked at the unicorn mare that was killed by the gunshot. Her skull was scorched and the flesh was blasted from the skull at the epicenter of the impact, revealing the bare skull. The awful smell of burned flesh rose up. A few minutes later, the other Rangers approached him. Rachel had something like a long rifle in her arms.
“That was a close call, Jones… You can thank me later.”

But Tyler gritted his teeth.
“If you had waited three more seconds, I would know who the infiltrator of the Descendants is by now!”

Rachel arched a brow and smiled.
“Would you prefer the gun pointed at your head again?”

“Hell no!” He then pointed at Rachel’s rifle. “And when did you get that thing? We don’t have an industrial complex for something like this… Who made this… this sniper rifle?”

Sam raised his hand.
“Guilty as charged… After your stories about this Amasian Conflict, I thought I might handicraft up something. A barrel and the trigger mechanism of Rachel’s old Beretta and here you go. It can’t fire beads like my Sarah Jane, but it’s alright for Rachel’s talent…”

Rachel smiled a bit.
“Yeah… Seems to me Flynn got the high velocity speed and enhanced regeneration, I got the ability to fire magic bullets, paired with enhanced sight… I call this little cutie ‘Waffles’…”

Tyler arched a brow.
“The eyesight of a Pegasus, huh? Sure, why not…”

Sam looked around at the dead ponies.
“Now you’ve killed for real… Tyler, what are you going to do? What are WE going to do?”

Tyler sighed.
“I cannot return to Equestria! Not like this! I have to prove my innocence.”

“And how do you think you can do that anyway?” Rachel interfered, “You have no possible idea who framed you! What if you can’t prove your innocence?”

“That’s right, no idea whatsoever… But there are some things not fitting into the greater picture here. An ally of Equestria gets besieged by strange sandstorms, Shiria returns to rape Sam and some ponies think I killed their friends. It occurred in the morning, so I couldn’t even say a Changeling was turned human like Shiria turned herself human to rape Sam… And a Changeling wouldn’t kill like this. He would have bitten her to death; I saw them kill on the battlefield! But the unicorn victims were perfectly untouched on the photographs. The more I think about this, the less it makes sense!”

Flynn nodded.
“So… What are you going to do?”

With a shrug Tyler turned to Flynn.
“I’m going into the West... If I understand the maps correctly, Zebrica and Saddle Arabia are my destinations to look for answers.” He then turned to the others. “I need you three to stay here. You need to find out more about the whereabouts of this incident. And as a personal request…”

Sam nodded.
“Mhm… We will tell them.”

“Thanks… Please take good care of them. Especially AJ and little Appleseed.”

Rachel nodded with a determined smile.
“You fuck ponies, but at least you try to be a good Dad. Don’t worry! I will see for their security in person.”

Tyler replied this with a nod.
“Higgins…We never agreed on much… but if you do this for me… Then I’m forever in your debt!” With this he grabbed her right hand with his right hand, pulled her in for a short embrace and patted her back with his left hand. Rachel was taken by surprise, but accepted it. “Yeah, whatever! You better hurry to come back before the little one starts to ask where her Daddy is!”

Tyler now nodded and went on his way into the west. Looking after him, Rachel folded her arms and shook her head.
“You know what, guys? There goes one fine piece of man… Unfortunately, he fucks ponies!”

While they were on their way home, Sam chuckled.
“You make that sound like a real pity, Rachel…”

* * * * *

Tyler now took a deep breath. For the first time since his arrival in this world, he was once again all on his own. It all began like this. A survival trip on Earth… But this was for the kick, for fun. He was certain of what to expect. Here, at the edge of Equestria, for the first time in a year… he felt alone. Worries went through his head. What about Twilight? What about Applejack? Appleseed… He took another deep breath. Stay focused… He disciplined himself. If you give yourself to fear, you die!

It was beginning to rain as he went west towards the coast. There went his dreams of going away with at least some dignity. No… He would have to hire on a ship while soaking wet.But as he walked through the rain, a familiar show wagon approached him on a different road from the north. At the fork in the road, both Tyler and Trixie met each other and the showmare arched both brows, not expecting him in the middle of nowhere.
“Tyler? What are you doing here in the rain?”

Tyler grimaced and forced himself to smile.
"That’s actually a long story… Maybe we can talk about it in the wagon? The rain isn’t going to stop so soon…” Trixie looked up, nodded and pulled the wagon off the road near some trees before they went inside.

Tyler then began to tell her what happened after their last meeting while Trixie prepared two mugs of hot chocolate while listening. The hot chocolate helped to warm up, and she enjoyed hearing about the many adventures around Ponyville and Canterlot. Tyler could see the wish in her eyes to have been there herself and the slight sorrow to miss the chance. But then he sighed and told her about the events of this day and the crime he was accused of
“Murder?” She asked in an outrage. “Who has the nerve to say so?”

Tyler shook his head with a grim smile. “Two mares from Vanhoover, but… I’m innocent…”

Trixie seemed far more insulted by this than he was.
“Tsk! Of course you are! Was there ever any doubt? Trixie did not…” She opened her eyes wide, harrumphed a bit and blushed. “I- I mean I did not bring a murderer to Equestria!”

With a sigh Tyler looked into his mug for a while.
“It’s not easy… Being surrounded by friends all the time and suddenly all of this is gone…”

The blue showmare and magician shook her head, a caring smile on her lips.
“Don’t worry… If it comes to being an outcast, I think, due to my past, I can relate a bit…” Taking another sip from her hot chocolate, she looked up to him. “You know, Tyler… Since I got to know you better, I wonder why I never asked you if you’re OK with me to become one of your herd mates…”

Tyler’s brows arched both as he began to smile.
“Trixie? I never knew you were interested!”

“Well, not at first. But I soon realized that I misjudged you as an individual.”

This brought another smile on Tyler’s face.
“Thank you…”

Trixie now slightly blushed.
“If… If you want to, I could make you feel better…” Just as she had said this, Tyler turned around to look at her, but the blue unicorn only fluttered her eyelashes. “It would be my pleasure to give you something back after all you did for me… So if you feel lonely…”

Tyler closed his eyes with a smile and shook his head.
“You? Offering me some sugar, Trixie? Yes, you’re quite a beautiful unicorn and I bet we could have a night to remember together… But not while my herd mates wait for me to prove my innocence. I won’t betray four mares and a foal for a beautiful unicorn mare who offers me shelter from the storm.” With this he took her cheeks into his grasp and hesitated for a moment, but kissed her after all. A lonely tear rolled down her cheek, climbed over his fingers and dropped to the floor. As their lips parted, he looked down to her. “You’re very lonely yourself, aren’t you? You wouldn’t offer this so easily if you weren’t so lonely. Tell you what: I won’t have sex with you, but if you want to repay me, you can ask anything else of me.”

Trixie gulped heavily before she nodded.
“I want to offer you a night with me…”

Tyler now arched a brow.
"Didn’t I just say that I-”

But she interrupted him.
“Sleep in one bed with me! I want to offer you the best comfort a showmare can offer you. Only for tonight…” Her voice, now a whisper, became pleading. “Please…”

Tyler sighed. I will have one hell of a time to explain this to Celestia and Luna… But since it would be no affair and only make-belief… He then nodded.
“Okay, Trixie… No sense to sleep on the hard floor anyway. We will share the bed tonight.”

While the storm was raging outside the show wagon, the showmare and the human were snuggled together under the warm blanket. As she felt his warm breath in her mane and his arm around her, she closed her eyes, ordering her tears to stay inside. In her mind, it was a real pity that she could only offer him shelter… or was it her very own loneliness? For Tyler it was more than this. For the first time he was separated from his herd, cut off from the harmony of his four girls who completed him. Maybe Trixie was not a pony to have sex with… at least not under these circumstances… but her presence right now gave him more than she could ever imagine. It was then when he took gentle hold of her ear to whisper into it. “It’s odd… Of all the unicorn mares I had the privilege to know… You are the loneliest… despite your big and golden heart. Once this all is over… Why don’t you come over to Ponyville so I can introduce you to some nice stallions?”

Again there was this feeling… this tremendously good feeling inside her chest.
“Why are you always so nice to me?”

Tyler smiled and looked up to the ceiling.
“Because we are friends? I already told you to be more confident because of this! You made a big impact on my life already.” He then sighed. “Yesterday my foal was born… A beautiful little filly, yellow coat, golden mane…” He remained silent for a moment, before his glance grew determined. “I’ll have to do everything possible to return to her and watch her grow up!”

Trixie now closed her eyes with a smile.
“I know you will find a way... As for me... I hope Princess Luna watches over my dreams tonight…”

Tyler arched a brow.
“Oh? Why’s that?”

A deep blush formed on her cheeks as she snuggled closer to Tyler, feeling his body heat.
“I want to ask her to be granted sweet dreams about someone I love, but can’t have…”

With a gentle smile, he stroked her silky light blue mane for a bit.
“Well, a girl can dream, huh? If she turns out to stay stubborn about this, send her into my dreams. I’ll tell her I’m fine with dreams.” He then bent over her and gave her a gentle kiss onto the cheek. “Sweet dreams, Trixie…”

* * * * *

In the morning Tyler got up early and searched the show wagon for some ingredients for a good coffee. There wasn’t much room in the wagon and everything felt cramped. Maybe this was her only shelter in her travels between towns and cities. Trixie woke up now, her mane unkempt.
“What…?”

Tyler now placed a mug of hot coffee near her while drinking his own.
“Rise and shine, Miss Magic!”

With a sleepy smile she nodded at him.
“Good morning…”

After a nice warm coffee Tyler looked out of the window. The warm rays of the sun tickled the skin of his hand.
“Do you remember my request of fireworks bright and shiny to blind?”

Trixie nodded, but didn’t seemed excited about the topic.
“I do… But these turned out tricky. And frankly, they turned out to be quite unpopular. Why?”

He gently touched the tip of her horn.
“Would you charge me some? I’m intending to hire on a ship, so some signal flares might be of great usage.”

Trixie frowned a bit in thought, but nodded.
“If you put it that way, it could be used as such. OK. Some rope-tying spells as well?”

He smiled.
“Whatever you’re willing to give.”

For the next hour they spent time together in silence as the magic slowly wandered from her horn to his hand and body. After that she stopped and rested.
“And done… 100 bright fireworks and twice as much rope spells.” Tyler nodded and seemed to sort the spells in his mind as she spoke up once more. “And you’re sure that-”

He then rested a finger on her lips.
“Don’t make this harder for the both of us. I mean, I had a talk with the four of them recently and they suggested many mares, even something as a concubine… But you deserve so much better as being a concubine.”

As he went out of the wagon, the blue unicorn stood in the door.
“Good luck with proving your innocence, Tyler… I hope we see again.”

He returned one final time and gave her a kiss on the forehead, right beside her horn.
“Thank you for offering me shelter and your honest advances. Goodbye, Trixie…” With this, he turned around and went along the way.

Trixie rose her hoof to say something, but halted and lowered the hoof again. A gentle smile was on her face, as she put on her cape and hat and went on her own way again.
“Well… The show must go on!” With this she pulled her wagon into the next town: Ponyville

Meanwhile, in Celestia’s office, Rachel, Sam and Flynn stood before Princess Celestia’s desktop, where Celestia and Luna were listening to their report.
“…I’m telling you, Princess: Jones was almost murdered by these ponies!

Celestia and Luna gasped upon this before looking at each other.
“Sister!”

“I know, Luna…”

The white alicorn now looked strict at the humans.
“Rachel Higgins, I think the mistake of banishing Tyler turned out graver than we first assumed… If the Descendants are involved, there was indeed a plot to take him down. Since the witnesses’ testimonies were so devastating, every step to prove them wrong would have looked like prejudice. Especially after the approval of the Seeds of truth. If we had spoken for him, they might have convinced others that we are not capable to lead this country anymore… With Tyler out of the way, they can claim that our human allies are a bunch of untrustworthy criminals…”

Sam nodded.
“You bet! Every pony out there has become wary of us humans. It’s like someone planned this all along in order to separate humans and ponies from one another.”

Now Luna nodded while looking at Celestia.
“Indeed… separated forces are easier to conquer.”

Going through her hair with her hand Rachel rolled her eyes.
“Alright… Let’s do this the right way this time. What about the autopsy?”

But both alicorns blinked at her with large eyes.
“Excuse me, Rachel…” Celestia said with a careful tone. “A… a what now?”

Rachel’s eyes slowly widened.
“An analysis of the corpse in order to find out what caused the death…” As the alicorns looked baffled at her, she slowly shook her head. “You banished Jones without knowing what caused the death and simply took these two witnesses for real?”

Sam held her shoulder now.
“Easy, Rachel! This is Equestria, not CSI Miami! They don’t have that amount of crime we know to know about these procedures…”

Rachel now sighed frustrated.
“Fine! We will investigate our way… Maybe we can find what others overlooked.”

* * * * *

Meanwhile Tyler had arrived at the city of Seasaddle and went directly into the port district. There was a sleazy bar, only called the ‘Teaty Twister’, which he entered and directly approached the bar. The odor of sweat, pipe smoke, grog and beer lied heavily in the air as the only human leaned against the bar.
“I’m looking for a ship that goes west. I want to hire on one. Which one can you advise?”

The bartender, a hefty Minotaur, now sneered upon him.
“They don’t have use for a landlubber like you! Go home under Mommy’s skirt where you belong."

Laughter now filled the bar and Tyler nodded with a growingly sadistic grin. They wanted to play rough? He could deliver. He then leaned to the bartender and pointed at the golden and shiny ring in his nose.
“You know what might look better on your nose?”

“No… What?”

Within a split second, Tyler had grabbed the ring and slammed his fist onto the bar, prompting the Minotaur to follow with a painful yelp.
“The bar.” The bystanders now grimaced and stepped back while the barkeeper gritted his teeth in pain. A bit more pull and the ring could have ripped through the nose. “Oomph!” Tyler now grinned widely. “Now don’t mess around with me!”

“Alright… ALRIGHT!!! The Aritania is a ship with a crew of bat ponies! It will set sail this evening!”

With a grin, Tyler patted the Minotaur’s cheeks.
“Thank you, my good sir. That was most amiable. Have something for your info…” With this he released the Minotaur and tossed a bit to him before leaving the bar. In a certain corner of the bar though, a group of bat pony mares witnessed the incident, one of them, a mare with a black mane and golden eyes was leaning back quite impressed and began to grin, showing slight fangs.

15 minutes later Tyler walked along the way alongside of the pier until he stood in front of a sail ship of dark wood. Bat ponies were working on it and maintaining the sails while others pulled in some goods and crates. The Aritania was a beauty of a sail frigate. He counted 14 cannon hatchets on each side of the ship, or what he could make out as such hatchets. He never was a sailor, but he saw the one or another sail ship back on earth and had the utmost respect for sailors. Sailing the seas was something entirely different than simply starting some engines. He knew at least that much.
“An impressive sight, huh?” a female voice behind him now announced.

“The Aritania, the pride of us bat ponies, the jewel of the Damitian Ocean and the only one daring enough to sail at the edge of the Maelstrom.” As he looked around, a group of bat pony mares approached the ship as well, with the one who talked now standing right beside him. “You’re that Tyler Jones guy, huh?” Before Tyler could even ask, she shook her head. “Not every guy is famed for having a princess in his herd and being banished for murder in the same week.”

Tyler nodded.
“You know me? Then you have the advantage. Who might YOU be?”

“I am Black Lily, Captain of the Aritania!”

“Oh, then you are the person I want to speak with!”

Arching a brow, the bat pony mare inspected his stature.
“Yeah, I saw you in the bar… You want to hire on my ship. Usually I don’t hire landlubbers, especially banished ones… But you have spunk! You know how to deal with an opponent who’s even stronger than you, saves me the time of babysitting you. I heard about your stuff in the Amasian Enclave, amazing stuff. Consider yourself hired!”

Tyler nodded, this went surprisingly smooth...
“Well then, Captain… permission to come aboard?”

Lily grinned again, showing fangs.
“Granted, Mr. Jones… Now be a dear and help your fellow crewmates with bringing these crates on board and under deck.”

With a brief nod Tyler turned to the crates.
“Aye!”

Several heavy crates demanded slight levitation, but Lily frowned upon this.
“If you go out of magic while that crate is in the air, you are responsible for any damage on crew and ship, Mr. Jones!” Tyler bit his lip, he wasn’t used to serve on a sail ship. In a way, Captain Black Lily was right. It couldn’t be advised to lift something with magic that the own muscles couldn’t stem.

Two hours later, Tyler came back on deck and helped as good as he could. Right now they were on open sea and the port was a tiny speck behind them. He wasn’t in Equestria anymore, so the Descendants of Tacitus couldn’t hunt him down anymore. He nodded in silent approval to his inner checklist before he looked up the mast to the crow’s nest. To his wonder it was not the Equestrian flag he saw in the port. A black flag with a white equine skull now waved in the salty wind. Tyler gulped for a second.
“This is a pirate ship?”

Behind him the sound of hooves became audible and Black Lily appeared, now in her Captain’s uniform and hat.
“I prefer the term privateer… We work for the Amasians from time to time; in the meantime, we’re doing deliveries. Spices from Zebrica, after all, are very valuable and because of this, Equestria allows us to lie at anchor for a few days per stay. So don’t expect us to attack innocent trading ships… If you have any problems with the ship, I suggest you jump from board and SWIM to Saddle Arabia! Otherwise, do your duty!”

Tyler nodded.
“Aye, Captain!” Pirate ship or not, for now, reaching Saddle Arabia seemed the most important thing to be. He only hoped that bat ponies followed the regular heat seasons. Being on a ship with a crew consisting mostly of bat pony mares would otherwise become a problem…

***

Meanwhile, on a blue and rather lively world…

It was a cloudy and windy day in Great Basin National Park and Agent Rick Marshall drove down the road to a camping place in a jeep that was offered him by the park staff. As he got out, several police officers and park rangers were at the place as well. The camping place looked abandoned and ransacked by the wildlife. A missing camper, how was this business for a federal agent?

As the police officers saw Marshall coming, some of them rolled their eyes.
“Oh, man…”

“What’s with the suit?”

“What the hell is the FBI doing here?”

The agent now got out of the jeep and approached the officers.
“Alright… Gentlemen! Agent Marshall, FBI. Please brief me on what you have.”

“A missing camper of foreign origin. The park rangers found the campsite yesterday. No one here. We checked the camper already. He checked in about a year ago, but never checked out.”

Marshal now arched both brows with a smile.
“Do I get this right? After a complete year you get the info that a camper here is missing and never got out of this park? What took you guys so long to figure this out?”

“I don’t know… I guess this is why they called in a pencil pusher.”

Marshall sighed. Another cop thinking that a snooty federal agent takes the case away… Same old story…
“Alright, Lieutenant… What do you have for me until now?”

“Fortunately his ID was in his tent, along with the purse, nothing much… Tyler Jones, Australian, 28, was here on vacation, obviously a camping trip.” The federal agent held the ID in his hand and looked at it thoroughly.

Another officer harrumphed and looked at Marshall.
“Do we know that he’s really missing? I mean, maybe he stood up and went elsewhere?”

Rick Marshall only rolled his eyes.
“Sure! Leaving his purse, his ID, the food and the entire campsite behind…”

The Lieutenant now narrowed his eyes and looked grim at his colleague for making such a stupid claim.
“Dumbass!”

Looking around, Marshall inspected the area.
“Lieutenant, what do you think happened to this man? A wild animal? Kidnapping maybe?”

“Crocodile Dundee got eaten by Yogi Bear? Nah, in that case there would be traces of a fight. But the park rangers state that there are no such things around the camping place. Only raccoon shit in his tent and there’s one other thing that doesn’t add up to this.”

Now the federal agent’s interest was piqued.
“What’s that?”

Stepping closer to a circular scorch mark in the ground the Lieutenant pointed at this place.
“This here! It’s like something took something out of the ground. It is molten sand and the guys in the lab can’t make out what caused it.”

“Well… A slight hole in the ground, what’s so special about it?”

“What’s special is that it’s perfectly geometrical and molten. Like someone took a burning hot ball of iron and dipped it into the sand to melt it. But to do this you would have heavy equipment with you and there are no traces of something like this, and there are no traces that it was burned with chemicals. No gasoline, kerosene, thermite or anything else. All this would leave traces, but nothing! And that’s what’s making no God damn sense! It’s like God himself just reached down to grab that guy and make him disappear!”

Looking at the ID again, Rick Marshall now shook his head. Who the hell were you in the first place, Mr. Jones?
“I don’t think that this would be a case for Agent Mulder… But you DO have an interesting case here, Lieutenant. That’s a given…” In that moment, his cell phone began to ring. “Excuse me for a moment…” As he looked upon the display, he saw it was his mother. Answering, he lowered his voice a bit. “Mom? Good to hear from you.”

“Rick…” At the other end of the line Rick could hear silent sobbing, what immediately rang alarm bells in his mind.

“Mom, what is it? Why are you crying?”

“It’s Flynn, Rick… He’s dead. He and his friends crashed in the Bermuda Triangle!” The message felt like a punch into the face and he bowed his head for a while fighting the shock.

As he looked up again with a gasp, he found his words again.
“Shit… Listen… Mom, I… I’ll be around this weekend, OK?” After a short while, he hanged up after a short “Bye…” and looked into the cloudy sky. Flynn… Little brother, you’re in a better place now… Aren’t you?

Author's Note

Proofread by Rythmns

21 - Burning oceans, seas of sand *

It was sunny day with several small clouds in the sky, the smell of saltwater was everywhere. The Aritania had sailed for one and a half day now and Tyler slowly got the hang out of it. He learned the terms of sailing quite fast, but it was obvious that he would never become a sailor, at least not a very good one. As Lily approached him, she smirked.
“You’re not very fit for this, Mr. Jones… But at least you’re not getting sea sick all the time.”

Tyler shook his head.
“Nope, I’m not a sailor. But at least I’m trying to make myself useful. Sitting around isn’t my style. And I take it I would have to pay you more bits for being a passenger than I have with me.”

Lily chuckled as she took note of a fog bank in the distance.
“Well… If you weren’t in a herd, we could settle things in another way…” Tyler glared at her, angered, but she just shrugged. “What? You’re proper for a princess, but too good for a bat pony captain? But don’t worry… You’re not the cheating type and I’m too lazy to seduce a faithful herd stallion… I-”

Lily was now interrupted as the pony in the crown’s nest shouted down.
“Ahoy! Ship at the starboard bow! It is a frigate galley class, probably the Moritia. I saw them earlier in the port!”

The crew looked over to the horizon and also spotted the ship. Lily frowned upon this.
“She’s a frigate and a galley in one? That’s a pretty unusual kind of ship… But then she’s faster than we are…”

Tyler came to her side.
“I would be cautious. There are ponies who want me dead. They infiltrated the Royal Guard to kill me; they could infiltrate a ship as well.”

“Oh, hush up, Mr. Jones! You’re not that important to the world!” Looking up to the crown’s nest, Lily yelled up. “What flag is she bearing?” But the bat pony in the crow’s nest remained silent.

Flying up to the crow’s nest herself, she confronted her crewmember.
“If I speak to you, then answer!” she barked at the bat pony stallion, but he only shook his head.

“She wears no colors, Captain.”

First arching back in surprise, Lily then narrowed her eyes.
“Nonsense! Every ship bears identity! It’s the law of the sea!”

“Law? What law is greater than strength?” This made Lily gulp. Even the privateers and pirates obeyed the law of the sea; it was their code of honor. Whoever was on this ship was either so dangerous or treacherous, or both, that he crossed even this line. Could this ship be really after one of her crewmembers?

Lowering his telescope, the captain of the Moritia shook his head.
“Captain Black Lily… That mare is rumored to not fear anything…” Turning to his own crew, he ordered the pursuit. “Being this slow nutshell, the Aritania will be dinner for the fishes in no time. But let’s give her a chance first, shall we?”

As Lily returned to the bridge, the First Commander, a bat pony stallion, looked through a telescope.
“Captain, they give signal! They say: Aritania! Aritania! Halt and remain where you are! Do not attempt an evasive maneuver or we will open fire!” The First Commander now looked to Lily. “Captain, I think they want to board us…”

A sly grin appeared on Lily’s face.
“I’m not up to run from a bunch of treacherous dogs…” With a short flap of her wings, she jumped up on a crate. “Ponies! I promised you adventure and thrill, now we sail right into it! Honor, glory and gold for each of you!! Everything you get out from the freight hold of this galley we’re about to blow out of the water is yours!!!” Cheer broke loose among the crew and hooves were raised in euphoria. With fueled enthusiasm, the crew now manned all stations and loaded all cannons as the Aritania turned around.

On the Moritia, the Captain grinned. “It seems the rumors are true…”

Turning now to Tyler, Lily looked up to him.
“Mr. Jones… I would like to have a word with you…”

“Yes? What can I do for you?”

“I’ve heard you can use some magic. Do you by any chance have magical barrier spells in your repertoire?”

That question came out of the blue, but Tyler concentrated and looked through the many spells in his mind.
“Yeah… About 40 or so…”

Lily thought about it, hummed a bit in thought and seemed to evaluate the number with the situation.
“Might be tricky, but I think it might work! I want you to shield the side of our ship facing the enemy! You see: Some pony captains have unicorns on their ships for shielding, but the Aritania has no unicorns among the crew. We will take one run at them and hopefully that cripples their defenses.”

It sounded risky, but Tyler knew there was no place to run to from a hostile ship in open water that was faster than their own ship. As the two ships approached each other, both opened their cannon hatches. While standing on deck, Tyler expected the worst. He turned to Lily for a brief moment and gulped. “Captain?” As she looked at him, he looked at the Moritia. “I’m sorry that I brought your ship into trouble…” Lily only shook her head. Either you’re a fool taking yourself way too important, or some really dangerous ponies want to see you dead at all costs…, she thought as she shook her head. Now the two ships were close to each other and the tension was building up for everyone to an almost unbearable extent until the order finally came.

FIRE!!!!

With loud thunder, the cannons of both ships fired as they both orbited one another; smoke was lying heavily in the air as ponies from the Moritia were catapulted over; fierce swordfights between them and the crew of the Aritania began. Three bat ponies, among them the First Commander, defended Tyler, who was focused on maintaining the shields. But while the unicorns of the Moritia created force fields in order to protect their ship with ease, Tyler did his best to catch as many of the enemy fire with his shields, which weakened with every hit. In the long term, the crew of the Moritia would surely gain the upper hand. Already, the ongoing usage of magic took its toll on the human; beads of sweat ran down his forehead. His hands began to glow due to the heavy use of magic until Tyler finally collapsed and fell to one knee. The first commander came to his side and helped him up.
“Are you alright, Mr. Jones?”

Biting his teeth together, Tyler still tried to maintain the shield, which fluctuated already.
“It’s simply too much… I’m not a unicorn. My reserves run dry!”

Nodding, the first commander looked at Black Lily.
“Captain! Shields will collapse any minute now!”

Lily gritted her teeth, angered. To flee like a coward… It was so against her nature, but it couldn’t be helped.
“FULL SPEED AHEAD!!!” she commanded.

But once more did the cannons fire and the shields collapsed. It was in this moment that the eyes of the bat ponies rushed to Tyler who collapsed as well as the last cannon shot at the Aritania and hit. The detonation took out two cannon teams as one little powder keg detonated.

Tyler was lying on his side, the hands cramped in pain. One could see the dark red and black burns and bleeding in his palms and the bat ponies grimaced at this.
“He’s wounded! Get us some first aid!”

Tyler, however, shook his head while gritting his teeth. The intense pain made him feel nauseous.
“It’s alright… I… I have some healing spells left; I just need a few minutes of rest. The state of his palms frightened Tyler a bit. Never before was a part of his body so close to overcharge than in this moment and his palms gave him a good first impression of what overcharge might do to his body. It almost looked like necrosis. Only slowly the palms regenerated as the Moritia slowly turned around.

But then the crow’s nest yelled down its warning.
“TARTARIC RAIDERS FROM PORTSIDE!!!”

Tyler and the crew looked over to portside and there it was: A black ship with black sails, and from the frightened looks on the crew’s faces, Tyler was sure it wasn’t a good thing. Lily looked through her telescope and sneered at the sight of the ship. It was only more trouble to an already escalating situation.
“I confirm it! These are Tartaric Raiders, and in a light cruiser as well. Good thing we had you on board, Mr. Jones. Otherwise the Moritia might have shot us out of maneuverability and could let us here to get slaughtered by these brutes.”

Shaking his head, Tyler again looked at the black ship on the horizon as he got up.
“Tartaric Raiders? I don’t understand… Who are they?”

With a determined look, Lily shook her head as she looked at the black ship.
“They’re far worse than a bunch of traitors; believe me; a pirate ship of Moranji- a neighboring nation of Zebrica. Its crew consists of Masar, huge bipedal Felines. I think they’re about your height, muscular and claws at every paw. Or so they say… They usually leave no survivors. Such a cruiser not only has 22 cannons, but also, it has an artillery cannon that fires forward. With all that, nothing will make my crew fight! If they catch up with us, we’re doomed.”

Tyler didn’t know much about these new unknown Masar, but one thing he understood: Time was of the essence and they had to act quick as the Moritia now once more was in pursuit and the cruiser of the Tartaric Raiders continued on its intercept course. Two enemies on open sea, the one faster and with all the defenses, the other one with the sheer brute force both in firepower and boarding crews. If only there would be a way to shake loose both of… Then it occurred to him. To lose both of them, they would need to get both of them at each other’s throat. That’s when he turned to Lily.
“Captain! We can’t take on the Tartaric Raiders and the Moritia… But maybe we can outmaneuver them both and lose them in that fog bank over there…”

Lily looked at him, terrified.
“Have you lost your mind? There is so little visibility in there we wouldn’t even see if we are steering into a reef!”

“Yeah… But unlike them, your crew can fly! We will tug the Aritania safely through the fog once we’re in it and speed up unseen by them. And if there is a reef, the ponies ahead can pull the ship out of danger.”

This brought back the smile on the Captain’s face.
“I must say I like your idea, Mr. Jones!” Then the frown returned to her face. “Still, there’s one flaw: The Moritia will catch up with us before we reach the fog.”

Now the First Commander seemed to have an idea, as he jumped below deck and flew back with a rifle, that he handed to Tyler.
“Here! Take this!”

Puzzled, Tyler stared at the rifle.
“You give me a rifle? What do you expect me to do? Sink that ship with it?”

“No, you only shoot its steerspony. A short delay of the Moritia and we’re safely in the fog.”

Blinking twice, Tyler snapped out of it.
“You know… That might actually work!”

With that he took the rifle and tried to find his target. There he was, an earth pony stallion, steering the ship towards the Aritania. Tyler took aim and shot, but his shot hit a pony below the bridge- the bullet dropped quite much.
“You’ve missed!” Tyler now narrowed his eyes and reloaded. Now he took aim again and aimed a bit over the steerspony. As he shot, the bullet hit nothing as it flew right above the steerspony, who listened up to the passing bullet. “You missed him again! Damn it! Pull yourself together, Mr. Jones!” Gritting his teeth, Tyler now focused and let some magic flow into the rifle to stabilize it. “That’s the last shot! Make it count, Mr. Jones!” Holding his breath, he aimed and shot…

And hit.

Now the steerspony, whom was hit in the heart, collapsed and turned the steer, prompting the Moritia to steer hard to port. Fortunately, the officers on deck reached the steer a little too late to correct the course in time, giving the Aritania the time it needed.
“That was one lucky shot! How did you hit him?”

Looking up quite puzzled from the iron sight, Tyler shook his head. This WAS a lucky shot.
“By aiming at everybody than the steerspony, I guess…” By now the Aritania entered the fog. For minutes it was quiet, almost too quiet.
In the distance, there suddenly was the sound of artillery cannon sound and a few hundred meters portside there was the sound of a splash. Tyler now frowned as he held the reeling and a bit of smear came from his hands. He then realized that his hands might have healed, but the smear of blood and dead tissue and loose skin was still on his hands. Washing his hands with a bucket of water, he looked to portside. “What the hell are they doing out there?”

Coming to his side, the First Commander nodded.
“The Tartaric Raiders… They’re trying to bomb us out! Or to hear if there’s an explosion meaning they have hit us. If that’s the case, they got a signal in form of a burning ship and will try to board us.”

'So in order to get these cats here…' Tyler now nodded and jumped down under deck, only to levitate one cannon out on deck. The Captain’s eyes grew wide.
“Jones! NO!!!” But already did he fire into the fog. The bang was audible surely for a mile. Pulling out her saber, Lily held it at Tyler’s chest. “You just told them our position! Now both ships are coming for us!”

Tyler lowered down the cannon and grinned
“This is exactly what I’m hoping for!” Lily now arched a brow.

On the Moritia, the First Commander turned towards the Captain.
“They’re still alive in there… Shouldn’t we just leave them to the Tartaric Raiders? I mean, they would solve our problem as well.”

But the Captain only sneered at this.
“No! Jones again and again proved himself to be most resilient to almost any situation! I’m only satisfied when I see his dead body in pieces before me! I have orders to be absolutely sure!” With that, the Moritia entered the fog as well.

And while the bat ponies began to put ropes onto their bodies, Tyler levitated himself up.
“Captain Lily? Steer directly into one direction and don’t stop. I’ll catch up with you later…”

Lily looked up to him.
“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll buy us time…”

The crew of the Moritia now looked into the white of the fog, not noticing the sphere hovering high above the three ships.
Then, in the blurry screen of fog there was something, something that was passing in front of the Moritia. The stallion in the crow’s nest pointed at it.
“SHIP AHEAD!!!” This was the cue Tyler needed. Now Trixie… I hope you made good work with these firework spells… He aimed his arm down at the yelling voice and fired. The magic firework bolt flew right in front of the Moritia and detonated in midair, resulting in a hot and bright flare. After the bright and warm light had ceased, the crew of the galley saw that the fog between them and the target had vanished as well… Only that it was the cruiser of the Tartaric Raiders what they saw. “EVASIVE MANEUVER!!! HARD TO PORT!!!”

But it already was too late. The cruiser fired his salve of cannons and hit the Moritia several times that the masts and sails were ripped apart. As the Masar jumped over onto the Moritia, yelling and screaming mixed with roars of battle and gunshots. It became less and less audible as the Aritania built up some distance, but Tyler imagined the bedlam as he returned to deck. What frightened him the most, was the fact that he deemed this cruel fate… well deserved.

* * * * *

Meanwhile the Harmony Rangers inspected the corpses of the two mares from Vanhoover. Rachel, Sam and Twilight were standing around the two tables. All three of them were wearing clinical facemasks.
“Jones was right…” Rachel said with a frown, “…no wounds whatsoever. I was given reports about how casualties on the battlefield looked like when it comes to Changeling bite-marks; nasty stuff actually. But whatever killed these mares… it certainly wasn’t a Changeling…” She now tipped at the horns with a wooden stick. “But these strange scorched marks around their horns… Twilight, could that be part of the cause of death?”

Twilight now inspected the horns with a mixture of curiosity and fear. She never saw a murdered pony and was a bit uncomfortable, even felt nauseous. And the fact that the responsible forensic doctor, a brown unicorn stallion with a scalpel as a cutie mark, was eating some pickles didn’t help much. Concentrating on the horns now, she narrowed her eyes and hummed long and deep, before looking up to Sam.
“Sam? Take a note, please.” Rachel and Sam looked at each other, before Rachel gestured him to do as Twilight asked. He got himself ready as Twilight began to dictate. “Cellular stress at the base of the horn, coat slightly singed. The horn itself is slightly singed as well; a fine film of grime is at it. There are prints of fingers on the horn of corpse A…” Twilight paused a bit and shivered as she realized how she was speaking of the deceased mare like from an object. But a look from Rachel was enough to let Twilight snap out of it. “I’m taking these fingerprints and putting them on this white sheet of paper…”

After she did that, Twilight held up two sheets.
“These are the fingerprints from the murderer… And these are the ones from Tyler…”

Sam took a magnifying glass and compared both of them.
“Not identical…”

Rachel arched a brow.
“But these are human fingerprints… A fifth human on the planet?”

Sam shook his head.
“At least now we know that Tyler didn’t do it. What we’re dealing with isn’t human, but it’s taking human form!”

Rachel shuddered a bit.
“You mean… a shape shifter like in ‘The Thing’? That would be horrifying!”

Twilight couldn’t imagine what exactly they were talking about, but one thing was for certain. Some human was impersonating Tyler and committed crimes in his name. As his herd mate, she couldn’t let this continue to go on. Now, even more than before, she was out to solve this mystery.

* * * * *

On the Aritania, the crew was now pleased with the successful escape and played some music on deck. Forgotten, was the threat of the two enemies that hunted the ship a few hours ago; at least by the majority. Tyler approached Captain Black Lily and the First Commander, who both stood on the bridge.
“Captain Lily?”

Lily looked at Tyler and shook her head.
“You should be down with the others, Mr. Jones… When we’re close at port, the crew will hold a funeral ceremony to give last honors to those who have fallen in this battle. Thanks to you, these losses are at a minimum.”

Tyler frowned at this.
“Or maybe without me there wouldn’t have been any losses at all…”

The First Commander arched a brow.
“This again? Do you really think we’ve been followed to kill specifically you?”

“I do, commander…” Tyler replied. “I spat into the soup of these Descendants of Tacitus more than once. I wouldn’t be surprised if I would be among the top five list of their blacklist.”

Lily hummed; the bat pony mare wasn’t experienced with this topic and looked to the First Commander.
“Will… What do you think?”

“I think we should get to the nearest port in Zebrica and repair the damage. If Mr. Jones wants to leave the ship for our sake, so be it. Otherwise you are welcome to stay, Mr. Jones. You handled the shielding part quite good for someone who isn’t a unicorn.”

Tyler gave this a nod and a smile.
“I’ll think about it. For now, I think I’ll hit the bed.” With this, he went below deck and slept in his hammock.

But merely two hours later, shortly after nightfall, before Tyler could even begin to dream, some clouds formed up on the horizon. Lily gave this an instant frown.
“This is strange… There were no signs of a storm in these waters, and these clouds are moving against the wind… ALL PONIES ON DECK!!!” Within a matter of minutes, the crew was assembled on deck, Tyler among them.

And while every bat pony manned a station, Tyler looked up to Lily.
“Captain, what’s going on?”

“A storm is brewing… But this storm came without sign!” With a grim look at the storm, Lily then turned at Tyler. “I had my doubts about one ship in hostile waters… But a storm that comes without warning and without weather patrol? Smells like it fabricated from unicorns!”

“You mean this is a magic storm? But who should fabricate such a thing?”

Lily’s facial expression darkened.
“Oh, once set in motion, a storm can work on its own… Maybe some ‘friends’ of yours truly want to see you dead at any cost.”

It was then when the crown’s nest yelled again.
“LAND AHOY!!!”

The dark shadow of a coastline now appeared in front of the ship. And Lily gave this a grim smile.
“That’s the Zebrican coastline! Thank Celestia we’re facing land… Now we only have to tug the ship into the safety of a port.”

But just as the bat ponies had put ropes on themselves, the First Commander raised a hoof and pointed behind the ship.
“CAPTAIN!!!” Behind the Aritania, a whirlpool and a twister began to form, quickly approaching the ship.

Black Lily yelled over the deck.
“ PULL YOU FOOLS!!! PULL FOR YOUR LIVES!!!” Now 20 bat ponies pulled the ship with all their might, hoping to tug it away from its certain doom. Tyler ran up the slippery deck as he helped Lily to steer as the twister came closer with every second. “ WATCH OUT FOR REEFS ON THE COAST OR THE ARITANIA WILL SHATTER ON THEM!!!” the determined mare yelled over the deck, unsure if her crew even heard her.

But then it happened.

The ship was lifted from the ocean and whirled above, and the bat ponies, pulling the ship before, were now pulled themselves as the ship was tossed into the sky. The big and strong masts broke away as if they were weak twigs. Climbing at the railing Tyler tried his best to reach the bow, but he only made a few meters in a minute. Lily yelled over to him.
“ WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?”

“I NEED TO PULL THEM IN AGAIN!!! WITH ALL THE OBJECTS FLYING OUT THERE, THEY WILL BE BATTERED TO DEATH!!!” But just as he reached the ropes, a mast took ten of the ponies with it. Tyler gritted his teeth, cursing this storm in his mind. “Oh God…”

Looking over the railing Lily shook her head.
“ THE STORM IS LIFTING US RIGHT INTO THE LAND!!!” Looking around, the usually brave mare seemed frightened. “Oh, my poor girl, this will break your spine…” One by one, Tyler pulled five bat ponies back on board who helped him now. Just as the last rope with the last two bat ponies had its turn, Tyler noticed that the rope was in a bad state and was about to tear apart. Pulling faster, he hurried as he saw the rope tear.

In the nick of time, Tyler grabbed the rope and tried his best to hold it. But the pull was simply too strong. Within the fraction of a second, the rope slipped his grasp and he injured his hand once more due to the friction. But he wasn’t paying much attention to his hand as he stretched it out as if he could will them to come back to him. But the two bat Ponies were gone, blown away into the darkness of the storm. By now, the Aritania was a complete mess as the mighty storm hurled her through the air. As the ship was free from the mighty winds, it fell. Black Lily only shook her head.
“This ship has lost its worth! EVERYPONY ABANDON SHIP!!!” The bat ponies nodded and jumped from board. Tyler could only think of a magical sphere to save himself as the ship was smashed somewhere beneath him, he fell slowly and landed on the ground as hurling sand buried his sphere within seconds.

* * * * *

“Jones!” As Lily looked back and forth, searching the wreckage of the Aritania, she slowly gave up hope. “Tyler Jones!!!”

Three other bat ponies approached her.
“Captain… We have to face it. He couldn’t fly without wings. We lost so many ponies already; we have to get to the coast before the sun gets burning hot!”

Lily gritted her teeth, but nodded.
“You’re right! No need to risk the few left of us as well for the sake of one. What a shame… He was rumored to have a big herd back before his banishment. And still... If he would be alive, I would kick his sorry human ass! No doubt this storm was meant for him!” In her mind, Lily already bit her tongue as she began to believe that Tyler was someone important. This saddened the mare a bit, for important folks it always meant opportunity for big adventures. It was a pity this one was over before it began... Caressing a plank of the wreckage, Lily shed a tear for her ship. “Goodbye my girl… You served me well…” She then turned around and spread her wings. “Come on, let’s fly…”

Several minutes later, Tyler’s head ascended from the sand and he spat the sand out of his mouth.
“What the serious fuck! Alright… Every pony alive? Captain?” As he looked around, he saw the wreckage of the Aritania. There were no other survivors with him. “Great… This is just great…” All around him was an endless sea of sand and the sun began to rise. Did they abandoned him or were they thinking that he was dead? But anyway, they weren’t here and he couldn’t wait for rescue in the middle of nothing. As he started to go into one direction, he shook his head. “Alright… here we go!”

And through the burning Desert of Brakal wandered the man, who was surrounded by his friends days ago, alone and abandoned. Fallen from the tranquility of the fellowship of his friends, Tyler was now struggling through the lifeless oven of this barren wasteland. Every breeze became a curse, whipping the tormented soul with the raw touch of sand. Thus he got pressed onwards. Always pressed onwards from a will to survive Tyler never felt before, into a land he doesn’t know. Behind every pebble death was lurking. Like the desert snakes he avoided and the mirages trying to tempt his mind. And in the nights there was nothing more for him than the cold embracement of solitude. Or so he thought…

On the first night, Tyler was standing on the meadows of Ponyville. As he wondered a bit, he soon realized that this must have been a dream. As he looked up to the moon, he smiled.
“Coming here to comfort me, beloved?”

The sound of hooves approached him and Luna stepped beside him.
“Tyler…” After sharing a passionate kiss, he grabbed her cheeks and looked into her eyes. How she was helping him with this… strengthening his will to return to her despite all odds. “Thou are far away, Tyler… Reaching thy dreams sure takes a bit of effort… But I will accompany thee to strengthen thee on a mental level.” Tyler was very touched by this, but decided not to tell her his dire situation. He just indulged himself in her comfort as he drank her kisses like sweet wine.

But during the day, the burning thirst of his body couldn't be quenched and neither the scorching heat of the sun. He couldn’t even damn this cruel game fate plays with him, for he didn't dare to give up. Not for his sake and the sake of others. But he knew that it was worse to live in this desert than to die. And in his dreams, he grew weaker with every passing night, torturing not only himself, but his beloved as well to saw him weaker with every dream.
And finally, at the end of all human sanity and strength, the hero collapsed into the burning hot sand of Brakal on the third day of his fight against the desert, ready to receive the deliverance of death.

I’m sorry, Luna…

But fate wasn’t ready to kill Tyler that easily…
When Tyler came back to his senses, it was cold, very cold. And his limbs were stuck in something; he couldn’t move his fingers at all but felt they were still there. He felt the urge to bathe and to shave; his beard must have grown over the days. He smelled his own sweat, an odor now working as some sort of smelling salts, bringing him back to consciousness. How long had he been unconscious? Hours? Days? Weeks? Vague memories occurred to him, someone gave him water. And there was the gentle touch of a hoof, the caring voice of a mare... But if he was rescued, why was he in this dark pit, unable to move and all alone? As he listened up, he recognized that he wasn’t alone in this darkness.
“Who’s there? Show yourself!” His voice was hoarse from the long journey through the desert.

A female giggle now became audible, when a familiar voice spoke up that sent chills down his spine.
“Imagine you were dying…Imagine you were afraid, a long way from home, hated by everypony and in a terrible state… Just when you thought this was your end and death was coming to get you… You looked up… and saw the face of a beloved enemy…” As Tyler raised his head, perforated hooves stepped into the light and Shiria appeared out of the darkness. “Hello, Tyler Jones…”

His eyes widened.
“Shiria…” He then looked hastily around. His limbs weren’t stuck in the walls, they were cocooned. “Release me!” he demanded.

With a cruel giggle she approached him.
“Why the rush? I want to spend some time with the one individual who’s most promising… Actually, I wanted to see you before, but you are a difficult human to catch, so I used Sam in your absence…”

Tyler now struggled against the cocoon.
“You damn bitch! You raped Sam!”

“And what is it that troubles you with this? That I took the seed of someone to get pregnant by force or the fact that you might have prevented this misery in simply giving me YOUR sperm?” Tyler scowled at her. With a playful giggle she raised his chin with her perforated hoof, seeming eager to enjoy having him being her prisoner for a change. “You’re always so defiant, Tyler… I like that in my prey...” With this she pressed her lips on his. He was surprised at first, but didn’t revolt against it. Obviously she was trying to tempt him to love her, a gesture he wouldn’t give her. While she kissed him more vehemently with every passing minute, her voice was merely a whisper now. “Curse you, Tyler Jones… What have you done to me to cause me to want your love? Not the love for any pony I could impersonate but to love me as Changeling?” While she licked over his face and beard, she indulged herself in doing so with closed eyes while his hands slowly accumulated enough magic to break his arms and hands free.

Within split seconds, Tyler had grabbed her neck and rammed her into the ground, her throat in his tight grasp and the other hand raised and clenched to a fist. As several Changelings stormed in to the rescue, she raised a hoof at them, prompting them to halt. She then looked up to him with a look in her eyes both pleading and commanding at the same time. “When my Changelings brought you here…” She gasped for air. “…you were on the brink of death! Without my swarm, you would be dried meat right now!” As Tyler choked the Changeling Queen, he gritted his teeth as he realized that she was right. He owed her his life, so it was only proper to spare hers as well. For now that is.

So he loosened the grip around her throat a bit.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t harm you as you harmed my friends! You raped one of them and scared several of them half to death!”

"There’s… there’s a reason why my Changelings brought you in from the desert… I…” she then choked a bit again. “I need your help!”

“Help?!?” Tyler sneered down to her. “And why the fuck should I help you now?”

“Because my problem is your problem as well… He betrayed me… and framed you…”

Suddenly Tyler’s grasp loosened completely and he took her jaw instead.
“What did you beget with Sam, girl? What stupid shit came to your mind this time?”

Recollecting herself, she looked up to him.
“You will see…”

“When?” he barked at her.

“Soon enough!” she hissed back as she shook free from his grasp. “But in the meantime, I have another problem of my own… I found the Descendants in this desert… And they’re a threat to my hive. A threat we can’t fight on our own!”

Tyler rolled his eyes.
“Is there actually a place on this planet one CAN’T find these suckers?” He then let go of her and eyed her with wary glances. “I came to find the thing that’s causing all the sandstorms from Saddle Arabia and what do I find? A Changeling hive… If you know who framed me, then I need that information… and if I know you correctly, which I think I do… You won’t give it to me that easily. So I’ll help you with your problem. But if I’ll have to harm anyone for this… you are going to regret it!"

Shiria now arched a brow.
“Believe me you won’t hesitate to help me with this. So… for the time being, we are… I must admit this feels strange… allies?”

He nodded.
“As long as we’re fighting the Descendants that is… The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” For now that is… Tyler knew that Shiria would stab his back at the first chance he would offer her and he had to watch his back very carefully here within the hive, all alone by himself.

Shiria nodded as a Changeling drone approached her.
“My Queen! The latest batch of eggs is about to hatch!”

She then looked at Tyler.
“Come… I think you should have the privilege to witness the wonder of a Changeling birth… Consider yourself honored to be allowed to.”

Tyler rolled his eyes. 'Lucky me…' He was curious, no doubt, but her making it sound like an over the top exclusive moment was ridiculous in his opinion. But then again, maybe Changelings don’t trust outsiders of the hive very easily. For now, it was a great opportunity. As they entered a big hall, countless masses of eggs were on the floor. Tyler arched both brows.
“The hatch room, eh? Reminds me of a movie I once saw…“

Shiria held her head up proudly.
“Inspecting the new hatchlings is my greatest pleasure. I prefer to give all of my Changelings an inspection at birth. Thus, they learn to know their mother, Queen and mindset in one go…” In front of them, a Changeling egg broke apart and forth came a little hatchling, which chirped as it climbed out of the egg. It seemed fragile and weak in this early state of its life.

As Tyler lifted the little hatchling up, careful not to hurt it, he thought of Appleseed.
“Shiria… I never asked you this, but how do you feel when your Changelings suffer losses in battle? They are, after all, all your children.”

The Changeling Queen looked at him, seemed to analyze his intentions. Was she expecting some emotional trap again? Then she closed her eyes.
“It’s always infuriating. I never forget when someone harms my Changelings. I am connected with each one of them, so every pain and agony they feel, I feel as well in a small extent. I can feel it... right behind my eyes... It was different from mother’s Changelings. Their deaths didn’t touch me in such a way and I couldn’t care less about them. But my Changelings are a part of me. So in order to keep agony from myself I keep agony from my Changelings.”

Tyler nodded and inspected the hatchling in his hands.
“So they are, in a way, an extension of you with this collective hive mind…”

“That’s correct. Wherever they are, I am with them, watchful and caring that they don’t hurt themselves.”

Tyler now arched a brow. The perfect control paired with the perfect self-preservation. One mind was there to control all Changelings in order to sustain them all, and in doing so, sustaining itself. If these creatures really were fabricated, what demonic and cruel mind would forge so many individuals together?
“At least one could say that you care for others as you care for yourself… You’re not a heartless bitch like they rumor you…” As he inspected the little hatchling, he arched his brow anew. “Is this another drone?”

Shiria gave the little hatchling a brief look before she chuckled.
“No… This is a female… She will become a princess and later a queen…” Tyler gulped. In his hands rested a further threat for the whole of Equis and he had this one chance to end this. A sudden quick move and the neck would be snapped. But thinking this frightened him as well from himself. Killing an innocent creature just because of its origin and nature… No, Shiria was different from Chrysalis and maybe this little creature would be different as well. But would it be different for the better or for the worse?

As he placed the hatchling back to the nest, Shiria smirked.
“You played with the idea, didn’t you? But you couldn’t end such a young and innocent life… This is why you are my favorite enemy! Personal, but not needlessly cruel…”

Tyler glared at her.
“Enough of these games! You said you needed my help before you want to help me with MY problem… Or rather our shared problem… whatever that is.” Shiria nodded and lead him through the hive. Tyler looked around as it was the first opportunity to see the hive from the inside while not in combat. It was quite interesting to see the Changelings at work. The big brute ones lifted weights too heavy for the drones. After a while, Shiria lead Tyler to a passage way in the outer regions of the hive. On the wall was a narrow window-like hole, small enough to peek outside.

Sand from outside had come in. It was at this hole where Shiria halted.
“My problem… and yours as well… is this thing up there!” With this Tyler peeked through the slit. There it hovered high up in the sky, a large object looking like a big hunk of mountain with a big sturdy fortress on top of it.

The dark stone and bricks of the fortress didn’t match the bright stone of this desert. They looked more like coming from a volcanic area. This thing came from someplace else. Tyler didn’t know much about magical fortresses, but this thing had ‘Military’ written all over it. It also looked quite intimidating and able to hold several hundreds of ponies as it hovered over the dunes of the desert, slowly rotating. With a disbelieving shake of his head he looked at Shiria.
“What the hell is that thing?”

“They call it a ‘war citadel’. This one in particular is called ‘Sagarod’. My Changelings tried to infiltrate it, but the security on this flying fortress is quite tight. Several losses occurred and now the security is even tighter. But this is no wonder due to the storms it can produce…”

Now Tyler looked at the Changeling Queen with open eyes.
“That thing is responsible for the massive storms recently?”

“It is… Since we’re monitoring it, it never moved, but the storms it sends all go into the north. Except the last one... That one went north-east and was pulled back. I guess that was your ride into the middle of the desert?”

Tyler nodded at this.
“So... Saddle Arabia lies in the north, I suppose?”

“Yes, that is correct. Saddle Arabia lies around 387 miles from our current position.” The Changeling Queen answered with a nod.
His expression got more terrified now. “That citadel can send devastating storms with a range of almost 400 miles?”

“Our latest reports state that there are estimated 200 unicorns on this citadel… They can accumulate quite some weather magic.”

Tyler looked at Shiria. If only she could use her talents and hive for good. His look returned to the citadel.
“Where is the nearest city or settlement?”

“That would be several zebra settlements on the way northeast of here in approximately 134 miles distance. They live on the edge of the Brakal desert.”

As they went down again, towards the exit, they came across a hall where plenty of zebras were cocooned at the wall just like Tyler was before. Looking angered at Shiria, Tyler’s face showed massive disapproval. But the Changeling Queen merely shrugged.
“What? If we don’t invade countries, we need to ponynap some ponies or zebras in order to feed from them!”

Disgusted, Tyler only shook his head as he began inspecting the zebras.
“Yeah, yeah… Old habits are hard to break, I know…” Maybe he could get someone out of this hive. But more and more his hopes dwindled, the zebras all seemed out of their mind.

But before he had lost all hopes, a male voice called out for him.
“Stranger, you can’t help these zebras anymore! They’re far too brainwashed and weakened! But you can help me!” The voice was mixed with a bit of a growl like that of a lion.

As Tyler and Shiria saw the origin of the voice, Shiria nodded.
“Oh yes… This being… Species 326, a cat-like being… They call themselves Masar. Species 326 is one of the species we cannot imitate… Just like humans and minotaurs.”

Tyler gritted his teeth when he heard her talk like that.
“You will set this one free!”

As Shiria saw that Tyler was pointing at the Masar, her eyes became big as plates.
“What? But this is a Masar! A wild beast! No, he will tear through my hive!"

Tyler and the Masar glared at each other.
“No… He won’t! Because I will get him out of this hive! I am responsible for him as I am responsible for you…”

With an angered glare Shiria looked at him.
“You don’t have authority over my hive!”

“And YOU know what kind of mess I could do to your hive if you don’t comply! Far worse than he could!” Tyler barked back to her.

Turning her head away, the Changeling Queen wrinkled her nose.
“Tsk! Have it your way then… The Masar is of no importance to my hive anyway.”

As he approached the Masar, the beast growled, obviously as some sort of warning. It was an impressive being, surely two meters in size if standing on two legs and had a long dark mane. Wearing trousers of leather, the upper body was sheer muscle mass. Tyler was sure that if that beast would tackle him, he wouldn’t stand up so fast. And although it may have had hopes for freedom through Tyler, it still was wary of him. So Tyler held up his hands to comfort the big beast.
“I’m not going to hurt you… I will take you out of here just like you asked, OK?” As the growling slowly ceased, the Masar stared at Tyler and nodded in silence. Tyler more and more ripped the cocoon apart that was holding the Masar in place. As it got free, the cat-like predator fell to his knees; the muscles must have weakened over the long imprisonment. Shouldering one arm of the Masar, Tyler carried him to a corner where water was stored so the Masar could drink to his heart’s desire.

Once the Masar was done drinking, he looked at Tyler and bowed his head to him.
“My name is Grinko Khass’ra … Son of Tass’kra!”

Replying with a nod of his own, Tyler smiled.
“My name is Tyler Jones. I’ve heard about your kind before, but never had the chance to see one of you…”

“Under normal circumstances I would fight you as my prey… But these are not normal circumstances, are they? This Queen of these ‘Changelings’ is a powerful being… If she obeys you, you must be an even more powerful warrior!”

Tyler cocked his head at this.
“Uh… I’m not that kind of warrior if you mean that… However, I once defeated her mother in a fight one on one.”

Grinko bowed down to Tyler.
“I owe you my life, Tyler Jones! For honor’s sake I shall accompany you until the day I repay this debt.”

Now Tyler’s eyes popped open.
“What? No, there is no need for this!”

Hearing this, the Masar shook his head.
“Oh yes, there is! We are still deep in the Desert of Brakal, even though this hive must be closer to zebra settlements.”

Arching a brow, Tyler cocked his head.
“How can you know this?”

Shrugging, the Masar smiled, showing his fangs.
“Because these insects bring zebras in once in a while to feed upon their love. Once the zebras were sucked empty of all emotions, they handed me the carcass.”

“Why were they even sustaining you? They can’t imitate you and there is no way for them to feed from you if you resist them.”

"My guess is as good as yours… Maybe curiosity compelled them to research a way to utilize me in any way…”

This was a thought that frightened Tyler a bit. Changelings researching God knows what. As he brought the Masar to the entrance of the hive, Shiria stood there.
“Fine… Take that thing out of my hive. That way I don’t have to dispose him.”

Grinko gave her a warning growl, but Tyler held him back.
“Shiria, you better tell me where to get to the nearest settlement, possibly with some unicorn ponies.” The Changeling queen growled a bit, but sighed in defeat. If he was supposed to help her, then she had to help him regain strength as well.

Pointing into one direction, she turned to Tyler.
“Follow these mountains and pay attention not to get sighted by the war citadel. They will open fire upon you the moment they see you.”

Tyler nodded and he and Grinko left the hive and went into the open desert, only armed with some bottles of water. As they were only tiny specks in the desert, one Changeling looked up to Shiria.
“My Queen? You didn’t tell him about… you know… ‘him’?”

Shiria only shook her head.
“There’s no point in telling him anyway. By the time they meet each other, the decision will be made. Hopefully Jones will be the victor in this.”

“Why is that, my Queen?” asked the Changeling.

Shiria now gulped as the two specks at the horizon vanished out of sight.
“Because Jones knows the concept of mercy…”

* * * * *

Meanwhile in Equestria, Luna had summoned Rachel to her chambers in Canterlot.
“Rachel Higgins… I must ask you of a favor. Tyler is growing weaker and weaker with each passing night. And last night there was no dream from him. I fear for his life.”

Rachel nodded.
"We will take the next ship towards Saddle Arabia. Our findings during the autopsy were most valuable. They give good reason to doubt that Tyler wasn’t the perpetrator of these murderers. Whoever was that has to be some sort of vampire.”

Luna’s eyes widened.
“A vampire? But there were no bite marks!”

Shaking her head, Rachel waved it away.
“No, I don’t mean a bloodsucking vampire. If we’re correct, this was the doing of a vampire sucking magic and emotions, until the victim suffers a deadly catatonia, a deadly stupor or whatever. Twilight knows more about this stuff.”

Luna gave this a brief nod.
“I shall await her report with eagerness.” Rachel bowed a bit before she turned around and was about to go, but Luna raised a hoof. “Rachel Higgins! Wait!”

Turning around, she looked back to Luna.
“Yes?”

What she didn’t expected was the sudden embracement from Luna.
“I thank thee for doing this for mine beloved Tyler… I know thou have thy differences with him once in a while…”

Rachel smiled a bit uneasily, not sure how to react in this situation.
“Uh… Sure…”

Luna now gave her some space and cleared her throat.
“I would also like to talk with thee… About the nightmare you once had.”

Now Rachel was stumped.
“You what? You know about my dreams?!?”

Raising a hoof, Luna shook her head.
“I am a princess, not a peeping tom. I would never invade your dreams. But it is my duty as the princess of the night to fight nightmares. Normally I would approach thou in thy dream, but in a dream where a world is ending… I deem it better to approach thee while thou are awake and fully aware of thy surroundings.”

Rachel glared at Luna.
“You know? I should slap you for watching my dreams… But in that case, maybe you can help me…”

Both now sat down and Rachel began to tell the dream she once had in detail. Luna remained silent the whole time and listened closely, nodding once in a while. After Rachel had ended, the alicorn nodded with a smile.
“Thy fear is change, Rachel… And since thou saw the dangers of this world, thou are afraid that these dangers could have dire consequences for thy home world.”

Rachel looked up to the Princess of the Night.
“What must I do to overcome these fears?”

Putting a hoof on Rachel’s shoulder, Luna shook her head.
“Thou are already doing it, Rachel. Thou are a Harmony Ranger. Thy choice to face these dangers with bravery and determination shall make thee overcome them. But while overcoming them thou must not forget to maintain thy humanity. Thou have a big heart, Rachel. Thou love this land and its inhabitants as thou love thy friends, both humans and ponies.”

Rachel nodded and gave Luna a long and tight hug.
“Thanks, Luna… that really made me feel better…”

Resting a hoof on Rachel’s back, Luna smiled.
“Always a pleasure…”

Standing up now, Rachel harrumphed.
“Alright, I should be on my way now. I have to get the boys ready. We will find ponyfu- I mean Tyler for you…”

Luna arched a brow with a sly grin.
“That’s a habit thou should work on as well… I know thou like him as a friend as thou like Flynn and Sam…”

“Me? Liking Jones? Fat chance!”

Author's Note

Proofread by OpalBerries

22 - Stormbringer *

Several hours had passed since Tyler and the Masar Grinko had left the Changeling hive. Now, during these lonely hours of night, they both were sitting at a small fire made from a long dead tree somewhere from the mountains. While Grinko roasted some desert snakes over the little fire, he looked up.
“I hope you like desert snakes. It’s surely not the fancy stuff you civilization folks eat, but out here…”

Tyler looked up and shook his head.
“Nah, I’m fine. It’s not the first time I have snake for supper. Comes with being on survival trips. My stomach doesn’t churn because of this…”

As the Masar offered Tyler a done snake, Tyler accepted it and took several bites out of it. It was nothing special, but due to his hunger it tasted multiple times better. Grinko nodded at Tyler’s appetite and watched him eating.
“Where I’m from, we sing songs and tell stories at the campfire. Tyler Jones… It will take some time until the second batch of snakes are well done. In the meantime, tell me more about your kind. I never saw a being such as you. From your eyes and teeth I deem it you are a predator just as I, but you don’t behave like a hunter.”

“Actually my kind has stopped hunting a long time ago…”

Frowning at this sentence, Grinko arched a brow.
“I don’t understand… How do you get your prey then?”

“We raise cattle in order to fulfill our desire for meat. In the place I was born, we humans are so numerous we would hunt down all life of the planet if we would hunt in the wild.” Tyler explained to the big Masar.

But Grinko only shook his head.
“How many of you are there?”

“On this world of Equis there are four of us. On the world I call Earth? About 7 billion humans…” Tyler could see that Grinko couldn’t grasp this number, he may have had intelligence and intellect, but he wasn’t educated. Maybe if Tyler depicted it for him… “You know what a bucket is, right?” Grinko nodded as Tyler grabbed some sand. Slowly it trickled down through his fingers. “Every grain of sand is one human. Fill seven buckets with sand and you have an idea how numerous we are.”

Grinko’s eyes grew as he heard this.
“Your people are so numerous they could drink the rivers dry!” While Tyler nodded, the Masar prepared more meat of desert snake and looked at Tyler. “Please! Tell me more about the hunting days and the essence of your people!”

“Man, where to start? There are so many cultures to tell you about since we’re so diverse…” Tyler thought for several minutes, before he finally snapped his fingers. “Alright… Let’s return to the very basics. In the past, I mean before we knew of rifles and bows and all that, our preferred method of hunting was persistence hunting, where we chased animals until their body simply gave up and died. We can eat just about anything we find, which means that we don’t need to stop for food when chasing our prey. If we can’t find food, that’s fine. Our body will simply begin to eat itself so that we don’t have to stop chasing our prey. We walk upright, we sweat, and we don’t have much body hair, which allows us to radiate away our body heat. This means that excessive time or extreme environment won’t stop our hunts. If the animal fights back against us, we can take massive damage to our extremities and lose half our blood and still live. Our entire existence is owed to persistence, endurance and determination. When we put ourselves to a task, it gets done, period. And this instinct is still affecting us today.”

As Tyler had ended his little speech, Grinko nodded in silence.
“Impressive… most impressive… With pride I share my prey with you, from one hunter to another.”

Now Tyler nodded.
“Speaking of prey… I now live with ponies and have a zebra among my friends. If you are to follow me, you will have to find a way to eat meat without harming my friends!”

The Masar looked up, visibly surprised.
“No ponies anymore? But they taste so good!” Tyler narrowed his eyes and Grinko nodded, seeing the determination in his eyes. “Fine… If you will it this way, I shall do so… A pity, but I will comply.”

Tyler gave him a nod and took another bite out of the snake.
“So… How did you get caught by the Changelings?”

The Masar’s eyes then narrowed. Obviously he DIDN’T want to talk about it.
“Let’s just say that mimicry isn’t the usual thing we Masar expect from our prey… Nor do we expect it to be armored like an insect…”

“I see… They got you by surprise. Well, don’t be ashamed. Changelings brought down whole kingdoms, so a single hunter may be forgiven, if they overwhelm him or her.” Looking into the night sky, Tyler leaned back.

Grinko looked at him.
“Rest now, I will take the first watch.” As Tyler looked at him, the Masar nodded. “You trust me enough… do you?” Tyler nodded and then closed his eyes.

On the next day, they reached the outskirts of a zebra settlement. Back to civilization… It was balm for Tyler’s eyes to see some buildings again after this long walk through the desert.
“So… What is this settlement called? Mareitius?” As they stood in front of the village sign welcoming them in both equestrian as well as zebrican language, Tyler gently smiled at this outpost of life. “OK… Seems like a nice little village… A soft bed and plenty of water to drink are all I want now. And to take a bath… Oh, yes… A bath…”

Grinko took one of the sheets from one of the few gardens and wrapped himself up in it. This, however, prompted Tyler to arch a brow and cock his head.
“Uh… Why are you doing this? This is theft!”

“I will just borrow it for the time being. I’m a Masar, these are zebras… if they see me, one of their most feared natural enemies, then panic will rise. Thus I’ll have to go undercover…”

Thinking about it for a minute, Tyler nodded.
“Hmmm… Good thinking! Since you’re about my stature, no one would suspect anything. As long as no one is noticing the tail or these paws that is… Leave the talking to me then. Your growling voice might give you away.”

When they entered the village, the zebras looked at them with distrustful eyes. Tyler didn’t blame them. It was the same thing back at Ponyville when he was new there. Also Grinko was covered in cloth, so it wasn’t really playing with open cards. Suddenly a young zebra colt ran across the street and stopped right in front of Tyler, who took a step back.
“Careful!”

This word brought the colt’s full attention to Tyler and both looked at each other with big eyes.
“You look funny!” The colt suddenly said, prompting Tyler to shake his head in confusion as the colt shot his second question. “Where do you come from?”

“Well… Actually I crashed into the desert somewhere near the east coast and-”

In an instant the eyes of the young zebra grew wide.
“What’s that you say? You crossed the Brakal Desert?”

Forcing a smile not understanding the ruckus, Tyler nodded.
“Well, yes, but…”

Now the colt turned around on the spot and ran away.
“Zalala! ZALALA!!!”

Coming to Tyler’s side Grinko looked at him.
“You scared him…”

As the young zebra colt ran into the village, the other zebras followed him with their eyes.
“These strange storms are the work of evil I tell you, my friend. There are no storms like this in this part of the year.” An old zebra and a unicorn stallion sat together in a tent and were talking together before they noticed the young colt’s shouting. “What are you shouting about, Zefef my boy?” asked the old zebra.

“Zalala! On the edge of the village there are two bipedal beings, speaking the eastern tongue! One of them claims that he crossed Brakal!”

The unicorn looked at the colt first, then to the old zebra.
“Zalala, let me handle this. Maybe they’re minotaurs or something…”

Looking at the stallion, the old Zalala gave him a nod.
“Very well, Silver Tooth… You're more eloquent than we are. After all, you taught us the eastern tongue of Equestria since your arrival from the embassy in Mountania. You are a friend for us. Maybe you can clarify things.”

As he approached the two strangers, the blue unicorn stallion with amber mane gulped. Surely they didn’t look like these Masar he was warned about by the zebras, then again he never saw a being like Tyler before. He sure wasn’t a Minotaur. But this was not important right now. With a strong voice he approached the two of them.
“You there! You claim that you have come from the desert? No one has EVER crossed the Desert of Brakal on hoof!”

Tyler arched a brow.
“Where I’m from, a stallion introduces himself before he starts shooting questions! Or accusations…”

Silver Tooth’s eyes widened. This really WAS a being speaking the equestrian language. AND it demanded manners. How odd…
“True… Allow me… I am Silver Tooth, ambassador and linguist of Equestria. I am here on a five-year-mission in order to educate the locals and exchange culture.”

Tyler nodded and reached his hand out for a shake.
“My pleasure… Tyler Jones, former strategic advisor in Canterlot.”

Silver Tooth’s ears twitched a bit as he shook Tyler’s hand with both hooves.
“You are from Equestria?”

With a nod Tyler sighed.
“I used to live there before someone framed me. I was banished for a crime I didn’t commit. Now I want to hunt down whoever framed me to prove my innocence. But since I don’t have a clue where to find it, I’ll have to follow hunches…”

Silver now arched a brow and nodded slowly.
“I guess that’s a reason for being here… But what is it with you and crossing the Brakal Desert? It’s IMPOSSIBLE to go through that place on hoof and live to tell the tale.”

“That’s a longer story… I didn’t completely cross it… A storm hurled my ship into the desert and I think I only crossed parts of it before someone lent me a helping hoof…”

"A helping hoof…" After another nod, Silver looked over to Grinko. “And what is it with your companion? Why is he dressed all mummed?”

Tyler gulped and grimaced a bit.
“My… My companion has a very rare skin condition. The bright sun would burn his delicate skin. You know… Having so little coat sure can make you vulnerable to the sun, if your skin is weak.”

Looking at Tyler’s skin, the unicorn nodded, seeing the skin of bronze tan Tyler earned during the last few days.
“With this little coat, it’s obvious that you can have some issues with the sun. Alright, I will bring you to Zalala, he’s the elder of this village and his word has meaning.

As they entered Zalala’s tent, the old zebra greeted them welcome.
“Welcome to the village of Mareitius, oh stranger from the desert… If Silver brings you to me then you must be peaceful. What brings you here?”

Now Tyler was stumped.
“You don’t speak in rhymes…”

“Of course I don’t speak in rhymes. Only shamans speak in rhymes. But how do you know of the habits of our shamans?”

With a smirk Tyler rolled his eyes.
“A good friend of mine, a zebra called Zecora speaks that way… So I thought every zebra speaks in rhymes.”

"No, we don’t… Zecora… Now where have I heard that name before? Ahhh… I keep forgetting due to age… But back to my question: What brings you here?”

"I’m here in order to bring down the cause of these unnatural storms recently. I know where the cause is and what it does, but I need the help of a unicorn in order to charge me up."

Silver tooth frowned.
“Charge you up?”

“I’m a human that can absorb magic to some extent. That means I can also use spells another unicorn charges me with by performing it on me.” Once he said that, Tyler levitated a cup and placed it onto the table again. “Of course, you can deny me your help, then me and my companion have to travel some more before we can fight this threat.”

Silver Tooth now arched a brow.
“I’ve heard rumors about a shadow in the night lately, attacking unicorn settlers here in Zebrica… Can I trust you that you don’t attack me if I help you?”

This caught Tyler’s immediate attention. Someone or something was attacking only unicorns in Zebrica… Maybe he was closer to the perpetrator than he first thought… If that would be the case he had to help these zebras getting rid of this war citadel. Maybe this would help him getting closer to his goal.
“You can trust in me. I will take whatever you are willing to give and not a spell more. This is part of a vow I pledged to Princess Celestia.”

Now Zalala’s eyes widened.
“Shanira? You know Shanira?”

Tyler now arched a brow, not understanding a single word.
“Shanira? I don’t know anyone with this name.”

Zalala explained with a smile.
“Among our people, the being you and Silver know as “Princess Celestia” is called Shanira, bringer of light and warmth. The sun, both bringer of life and death in this land… She’s the one in control of it.”

This made Tyler smile.
“True… This is Celestia alright… And I think you may also know her younger sister?”

“We never met her in person, but we know her name… She’s Cherika, the great dreamer, bringer of the light in the night and Shanira’s younger sibling. Word has it that Cherika returned from her eternal slumber two years ago and vowed to watch over the slumber of every dreamer. We knew it when her face wasn’t on the moon anymore and her ever-watchful eyes didn’t guard us anymore.”

Tyler smiled a bit. Obviously the zebras had their own little tales of what happened to the moon and Luna. But it was good folklore, no need to destroy this beautiful little tale for them with telling them the real story.

***

In the meantime, Rachel entered the Ponyville library where Twilight and the other Rangers sat together.
“Alright, folks… new orders from Canterlot!! Sam? Flynn? Go and pack, boys, we’re taking the next ship this evening.”

Flynn nodded and stood up.
“Any suggestions what to take with us?”

"I guess we should pack lightly. After all it IS a hot climate near the desert. Let’s see… jeans, a shirt, bandana and several bottles of water…”

Twilight looked up to Rachel as she made some notes.
“I want to come with you, Rachel. Tyler is my herd mate! Sometimes I feel really cooped up in this library when I think about him!”

But Rachel only shook her head while she was packing.
“Sorry, Twilight… This is a task for us Harmony Rangers only. The Elements of Harmony stay in Equestria. I think Princess Celestia wants you here to have an eye on things while we’re elsewhere…”

“But…”

Rachel now looked to the unicorn and patted her shoulders.
“Don’t worry; I’ll get that idiot back to you. One way or another, OK?”

“Rachel, he’s not just an idiot to me… He’s the one I love!”

Holding it now, Rachel knelt down to Twilight and looked into her eyes.
“Hey… Listen… Why don’t you go and tell AJ that I will find the father of her foal and will bring him back to you two, hm? And in the meantime you girls go on as usual and don’t worry, OK? Everything will be alright. No need to worry yourself sick about it. He wouldn’t want that, don’t you think?”

Reluctantly, Twilight nodded and went down into her laboratory in the cellar. There she sighed and looked at a vial of human blood from Tyler. Right now it was so lonely without him.

Meanwhile two unicorns stood together under the window of the library and whispered.
“Did you hear? The Harmony Rangers are leaving Equestria… Tell the others! Our chance to strike might be very close…”

At noon, the Harmony Rangers went towards the western port cities in order to get to their ship.
“It’s a pity the girls are a bit busy right now… I thought they would come to say goodbye to us.”

Flynn looked back at Ponyville for a second. “Come to think of it, Rainbow said something about a letter from the academy that should come today… I wonder if she’ll get accepted. Maybe they’re just waiting for the mailpony?”

With a shrug Rachel went on.
“If that’s the case they are excused. It would be horrible if she wouldn’t get accepted. She would need their support more than we do need farewells. Then again… why wouldn’t they accept someone like her? I mean that mare is more in the air than every other Pegasus.”

“I guess we’ll-” Sam was interrupted as a gushing wind almost blasted the three of them from their feet.

"DON’T FORGET TO WRITE!!!"

With widened eyes the humans stared at the direction the immense yelling came from.
“What in the name…?!?”

Rachel slowly got up.
“Was THAT Pinkie Pie?”

“That CAME from Ponyville no doubt…” Flynn said with a grin.

Sam only shook his head.
“But that’s miles away!” Looking at each other, the three of them chuckled along and went on. there was no point in questioning Pinkie. Two hours later, they reached the port of Las Pegasus. Looking around, the humans searched for their ship. “So Rachel, what’s the name of our ship?”

“It’s the… Alisia… That’s a pretty name! I’ve bought us three tickets. That’s more comfortable than to work on a ship. This should be a two day trip I guess. Ah! And here it is!”

In front of them was a black frigate with a group of unicorns and bat ponies repairing some minor issues. Flynn nodded at the sight of the ship.
“It sure has a cool dark color…”

As the Rangers approached the ship, several bat pony mares were conversing.
“Well, the Alisia is a good ship, but she sure isn’t the Aritania.”

“True… But for now, we should be grateful to have a ship at all. I mean, after all that happened…”

“If you put it that way, we should consider ourselves lucky of being alive!”

As they came closer, Flynn recognized the bat wings of the mares.
“Wait a second… You’re not Pegasi!”

With rolling eyes one mare looked over to her crewmates.
“No flies on the human…” This prompted the other mares to chuckle along.

“Well, you have bat wings… Does this mean you are…?”

“We’re bat ponies, right. Is this a problem for you?”

Flynn shook his head hastily now.
“No, I’m sorry. It’s just… I didn’t know that bat ponies exist. I thought there were only three kinds of ponies.”

The mare shook her head.
“I see… We bat ponies are not so common like the three main species. We’re considered a minority, but we take personal pride that some of us work in Canterlot as well under Princess Luna, who’s quite fond of our kind.”

“Uh-huh. Well it doesn’t mean much to me. Pony is pony, right? Diversity is always good.”

“Ha! I like your attitude, man… So, you folks are our passengers to our trip to Zebrica?”

Rachel nodded.
“That’s us alright. Here are our tickets.”

The mare shook her head.
“You go show these to the commander, he’s up on deck.”

After showing the tickets to a stallion named Will the Rangers were showed where to rest and where to put their stuff. What they noticed where the odd familiarity these bat ponies showed to humans. On deck, Rachel looked around as the ship was in open waters now after two hours of sailing.
“Guys? This crew knows something! The way they look at us, the way we’re so normal to them…”

Sam arched a brow.
“You think you have a hunch they could know something about his whereabouts?”

“Maybe… But then we’ll have to stay stubborn and ask every one of-“ Suddenly there was a commotion below deck. As the Rangers looked up, the bat ponies came from below and brought Lyra with them.

This prompted Sam to jump up.
“Lyra! Damn it, what are you doing here?!?”

Looking at Sam in an angered manner, Lyra approached him and looked up to him, determined and angered.
“Accompanying my special somepony? How dare you leaving me behind in Ponyville?”

Searching for words Sam stammered angrily at Lyra before he turned to Commander Will.
“Commander, we have to turn around!”

“No! We’re already in open waters…” The commander growled at Lyra before he approached the captain’s cabin. “I will report you to the captain…”

As he peeked inside the captain’s cabin and mumbled a few words, Lily’s voice became audible as she came on deck.
“What?!? A stowaway hiding on my ship??? Now where-“ When Lily saw the other Rangers, she shook her head. “Oh, you have to be kidding me… MORE humans?”

This question prompted Sam to arch his brows.
“You know us?”

“Oh, I knew ONE of you… I can’t say that it was boring around him. But right now I’m more interested in this stowaway on my ship!”

Sam sighed.
“I’m sorry, Captain… Actually she should have stayed in Ponyville and out of harm’s way! We will pay for her ticket as well of course…”

“Fine! We will handle things in the port of Mountania.”

Sam leaned over to Flynn and lowered his voice.
“How many bits do we have left after buying another ticket?”

Flynn shook his head in defeat.
“Almost nothing…”

With a smirk Rachel approached the Captain.
“You mentioned a ‘him’? And was this ‘him’ human, about this size, had dark hair and a straaange sexual affection towards ponies?”

In the next moment Sam slapped the back of Rachel’s head.
“Shut up!”

Lily shook her head slightly confused, not knowing what these new humans were talking about. But she then nodded.
“He DID have dark hair and was about that size. He went by the name Tyler Jones.”

“Yeah! That’s our man!”

Lily now cocked her head.
“Really? Then you shouldn’t hope to see him again…”

“Why is that?”

“The last time when we saw him, he was on deck when our ship was lifted out of the water and tossed into the desert of Brakal, 50 miles inland. And it was sheer luck for me and these few bat ponies left of my former crew that we headed the right direction. The chances are slim for a flying pony. But on hoof… Let me tell you this:” Lily now pointed her hoof at the Rangers. “Nopony ever alive trotted into this desert and lived to tell the tale. Nopony!"

Hearing this made the Rangers stare at Lily in disbelief. Flynn only shook his head.
“This can’t be happening… Tell me that she’s joking!”

Sam gulped.
“She seems serious…”

Rachel, however, slammed her fist onto Lily’s desk.
“NO!!! I refuse to believe this crap! And so should you guys! We are talking about Jones here! I hate this guy, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that he would find a way! A persistent shithead like that doesn’t die in some godforsaken desert!” She gritted her teeth. “He’s not dead! He can’t be… He’s got… some girls that wait for him at home…” She now looked up to Lily. “I won’t stop until I find his body, either dead or alive…”

* * * * *

Meanwhile in Mareitius, there was a little celebration. There was bread and wine and although Tyler ate with the zebras, Silver Tooth looked over to Grinko.
“What about your companion? He doesn’t want anything to eat?”

Tyler grinned nervously.
“Oh! He’s… He’s trying to lose some weight, you know…” As no one looked, he leaned over to Grinko. “How are you?”

“Have you ever seen your favorite dish dancing and singing in front of you? My stomach grumbles…”

“Come on, Grinko… We’ll go out for a walk later and you can try to fish something. Bear with me for now.”

The Masar nodded.
“I will comply…”

Then, the dancing and singing stopped as Zalala raised a hoof and approached the campfire. The fillies and colts were sitting around eagerly as Zalala began to throw some powder into the fire. As far as Tyler understood it from the excited shouts of the children, the old zebra stallion was trying to tell the future, looking for pictures in the campfire. As he stood in front of the flames, the old stallion raised his front hooves, began to stand on two legs.
“Oh I see evil… evil born deep beneath the ruins of ancient times… far from the light of day. I see it growing safe beneath giant domes of steel. Scheming in the dark, gathering strength! And now… Oh… now the evil spreads. It sends deadly storm bringers over the land above. Across the world, reaching towards this very place!”

Tyler didn’t know whether or not to smile at this. What were the chances to see something in flames? Then again, he knew from Zecora that zebras had their own special way of knowing things the mere eye couldn’t see. After all, it was Zecora’s advice that he had to make an important choice. So it might be proper to humor them for a while.
“And what does this evil want here?” the human now asked.

But the zebra began to stare at Tyler and pointed a hoof at him.
“Oh, my strange bipedal friend… I fear… I fear the evil wants YOU!!!”

That was when Grinko’s ear twitched.
“Tyler! Something’s coming! I can hear it.”

Zalala turned around and looked into the sky as the approaching sound grew louder.
“The evil… The evil is nearly here!” Tyler, however, frowned at this. It sounded more like the humming of a very strong magic sphere than the flapping wings of a demon as the sound approached the village. But in the next moment all hell let loose anyway. Magic detonated on the village place and several magic projectiles were fired down into the streets. As everyone began to flee, Zalala’s and Tyler’s eyes met when the old zebra yelled over to him from across the street. “Run, friend Tyler! Run!!! Hide from the evil!”

Then, as soon as it started, the shooting stopped and a metal craft landed in the center of the village place. As a hatch opened, ten unicorns stepped outside, their horns already charged to attack. One of them looked at the frightened inhabitants of the village and sneered.
“Whoever is in charge here, come forward. NOW!!!”

With careful steps, Zalala came into sight from his cover.
“I am the leader of this village. We are peaceful folks!”

With an annoyed look, the unicorn in command glared at Zalala.
“Bring him here!”

The Descendant nodded.
“At once, Commander Tycho!”

As Zalala was brought before Tycho, the unicorn inspected the old zebra and smirked.
“We’re looking for somepony. Somepony who doesn’t… belong here. A foreign stranger who killed many of us! We want to… bring him to justice.”

When Tyler looked around, he saw no more sign of Grinko. Was he hit by one of the many magic projectiles from before? As he looked more and more around, the Descendant interrogated Zalala. Then, Tyler found Grinko, seemingly not even with a scratch, on top of the craft the Descendants used to get from the Citadel into the village. Seemingly Grinko got up there without the slightest noise, had shed his cover for better agility and went into position. Rude shouting, however, brought Tyler’s attention back to the commander and Zalala.
“WASTED ENOUGH TIME!!! Give us the fugitive criminal or we’ll kill everypony! Starting with you, gramps…”

Tyler gulped as he hastily counted the Descendants. There were ten of them. The old Zalala, so it seemed, was right. It was Tyler they wanted. As he stepped forth, Zalala shook his head.
“No, friend! Don’t let the evil take you! Run!”

The Descendants nodded as they identified Tyler.
“It’s him, sir!”

Commander Tycho smirked as he nodded towards Tyler.
“Take him!”

Slowly and calm Tyler approached the Descendants.
“Evil had come to this zebra village just as you said, Zalala...” Tyler then looked at the Descendants. “But only to fight this evil here.” With that he looked around into the darkness. “Don’t you think so, Grinko? How about some tasty pony meat?”

A growl now echoed through the darkness of the village.
“You mean these ten who spit threats out? I may feast upon them?”

Tyler now looked at the Descendants before him.
“Please… Don’t make me do this…”

But the commander sneered at Tyler.
“The only thing you will do in a few seconds is lying in your own blood!”

Closing his eyes, Tyler shook his head slowly.
“In that case I’m sorry… DINNER IS SERVED!" In the next moment Grinko’s roar sounded through the village as he jumped at the Descendants. Commander Tycho was the first to go as Grinko bit his throat to pieces, before jumping at two more who he tackled into darkness. And there their screams let the others imagine what horrors waited for them. Tyler himself now raised his hands and shot several magic projectiles at the remaining Descendants, who were still paralyzed by surprise and shock.

Now, as fast as the fight had started, it stopped and Grinko stepped into the light again, his claws and mouth covered in blood.
"I took out three of them. And you?”

"I took out six… One is missing."

“T-that’s right!” The last remaining Descendant held down Zefef and was pointing a pistol at the colt’s head. “D-don’t move or the colt gets it!”

Tyler held his hands up in order to calm down the unicorn stallion who kept the young zebra hostage.
“Enough of this… Tonight there has been spilled enough blood. Don’t you think?”

“I… I don’t know… I only want to go home now…”

Tyler nodded.
“Then let the boy go… I won’t harm you anymore. I swear…” Gulping for a bit, the Descendant then let the zebra colt go free. In the next moment, the pistol was shot out from his magic grip and Silver Tooth held a rifle in his hooves. Now falling backwards, the Descendant crouched away as Tyler and Grinko slowly approached him. “No! You… You said you wouldn’t harm me anymore!”

Tyler halted and looked over to Grinko.
“I said that?”

The Masar nodded.
“Indeed you did. You said that you wouldn’t harm him anymore and made it an oath.”

Tyler then looked back to the Descendant.
“Alright… That will be an oath I keep. I won’t harm you. Grinko, you kill him…” As Tyler went back to Zefef to look if the colt was hurt, the screaming of the Descendant ended in a gargling sound as Grinko ended him in a swift move. Shaking, the young Zefef looked into the darkness, where Grinko was. But Tyler shook his head. “Don’t worry… He won’t harm you or any zebra here. I promise!” When the colt looked up to him, Tyler smiled gently. “You just saw that I keep my promises, right?” Although still frightened, the young zebra nodded before Tyler stood up and Grinko came to his side.

Tyler looked up to the Masar’s face.
“I’m sorry. I treated you like a dog that’s there to be unleashed when its master wishes it to fight.”

“No!” Grinko growled before he cleaned his coat and face with some water. “I deem it good and proper that you tell me what ponies are prey and what ponies are no prey. There are ponies who fight without honor and want to bring misery to others. I must learn this in order to stay at your side. If you now excuse me… I have to get these corpses outside of town, or the pre- I mean zebras see them in daylight. It already became too bloody this night.”

Mere moments after Grinko disappeared into the darkness again and Zalala confronted Tyler.
“You brought a Masar into our village! This is outrageous! I thought we were frien-”

“We ARE friends!” Tyler interrupted him. “This Masar is in my debt, I saved his live. And he just helped saving you from some ponies who wanted to kill everyone here, starting with you...”

“True, but…”

“But nothing! I am responsible for Grinko and will look after him.”

Silver Tooth wanted to say something, but Zalala held him back. “Hold it, my friend… Tyler may be a stranger to us with strange ways, but even if we don’t like it, he speaks the truth. These minions of evil wanted to end us all. Maybe the way to fight this evil is with confronting it with another kind of evil.” He then looked up to Tyler. “You saved Zefef… And your Masar friend strangely behaves… As long as he behaves, I will tolerate him… even if this is very hard for me. Tyler Jones? You are a friend, but your ways differ from ours. Please don’t make me regret in trusting you.”

* * * * *

After one and a half day of sailing the Alisia entered the port of Mountania. While Sam paid for Lyra’s ticket, Flynn conversed a bit with one of the bat ponies.
“You know… I had a pet bat called Tilly once… Those little wings of leather were more than cute. She really liked strawberries. Do you like strawberries too?”

The bat pony mare, Flynn by now knew that her name was Elise, inspected him with a smirk.
“Oh, you charmer… I bet you say that to every mare. If you would feed me with fresh strawberries… all the things I would do to you…” Flynn’s eyes widened and he blinked two times. What was she talking about now?

He gritted his teeth as Captain Lily harrumphed behind them.
“Flirting with the passenger, crewmate?”

In an instant, Elise stood attention with a heavy blush.
“No, Captain! I would never do that!” In haste, she continued her duties on deck.

Lily, however, inspected Flynn.
“A word of advice, young man… Bat ponies deem fruits not only food, we deem them an aphrodisiac. Maybe you shouldn’t offer too much in a foreign culture… All the situations you might land in…”

With a heavy gulp he nodded.
“Thank you for the kind advice, Captain…”

With a grin Lily nodded towards the pier.
“You should go now; your friends are waiting…”

Rachel yelled from the pier up to him as she stood there with Sam.
“Come on, Flynn! Enough flirting with ponies!”

Five minutes later the Rangers began to ask around in the port district of Mountania. One zebra stallion arched a brow.
“Tyler Jones? Yeah, I know that guy… He still owes me two bits. If you see him, tell him to bring them to me as soon as possible.”

An earth pony mare smirked as she looked at Flynn.
“Tyler Jones? Oooh yes… I know him… You can tell him one thing from me:” With that she bitchslapped Flynn. “Nopony says no to Marisa Angelbottom! NOPONY!!!”

Flynn held his lower jaw.
“Man… She almost took out a tooth! Ow!”

Rachel’s fists clenched and a strong vein pulsated on her forehead.
“Dead, huh? I knew it! That asshole is alive and kicking! I’m going to slap that guy to death!”

With a grin Sam arched raised a finger.
“Uh… No, you won’t. Luna asked us to bring him to her alive. So if you don’t want trouble with the princess…”

Gritting her teeth, Rachel looked at Sam like she was at the brink of detonation.
“Sam?”

“Yes, Rachel?”

“Shut the fuck up!” she snapped at him.

Sam and Lyra grinned.
“You’re just happy that he’s alive and you can throw him some more punches, admit it!”

A few hours later, Tyler was in a makeshift laboratory and dripped a few drops of a blue potion into a vial of blood, only to cork it at once. Holding it away from his body for five seconds, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at the vial. Nothing seemed to happen. With a sigh, he grabbed a pen and wrote ‘timer’ on the vial’s label. In the next moment, the door was kicked open and Rachel growled at him.
“Jones! You bastard! Do you have ANY idea how hard it was to find you? We had to ask around in half of Mountania only to find out that there was some guy buying laboratory stuff!”

Tyler looked at Rachel in disbelief.
“Rachel? What are YOU doing here? You should be in Equestria!”

But Rachel didn’t listen and grabbed Tyler by the shirt.
“Listen to me, you…” After a breath, she backed off and held her nose. “Man… How long has it been since you had your last bath?”

Now Grinko’s voice sounded from the other room.
“You tell me… My nose is better than yours. And the stench…” Rachel frowned as she heard Grinko talking. It was an unfamiliar voice and in an unfamiliar tone as well. “Who’s the female, Tyler? Someone you know?” As Grinko entered the room, Rachel jumped up with a scream and maintained some distance between her and the Masar.

Tyler harrumphed.
“Would you relax, girl? He’s just a Masar…”

Recollecting herself, Rachel began to cope with the new situation.
“Yeah… A big kitty-cat on two legs… For a moment, I thought a tiger was stepping inside.”

“As for the bathing thing, I was busy and one sweats here anyway…”

“So… That’s a human female…” Grinko sniffed at Rachel’s face three times to get accustomed to her scent. “Interesting aroma…”

It was then when she pushed him away.
“Back off, kitty! Or I’ll make a bedside carpet out of you!”

The others now entered the tent, Flynn was the next to come.
“I think she went in here, Sam. Her yelling was – HOLY JESUS!!!” Going backwards at the sight of Grinko, Flynn stumbled over Lyra and fell into the arms of Sam, who gulped at the sight. “Tyler? Is that thing dangerous?”

Lyra looked up to the Masar with big eyes.
“I’ve heard rumors, but I never actual saw one of this kind…”

Grinko looked at Tyler and the human shook his head.
“No, they’re not there for you to eat, Grinko.”

Rachel then shook her head.
“Well, whatever you do here with your new buddy, you have to stop it. There have been new pieces of evidence in Equestria! We now have proof that you are not the culprit of these cases of murder.”

Tyler nodded with a smile.
“That’s good news indeed. But I can’t go as of yet. I found out who’s responsible for the storms we’ve heard about. They’re here, in this desert.”

Shaking her head, Rachel only looked at him.
“Would you kindly explain to me WHAT you’re talking about? You’re not making sense!”

Tyler nodded.
“I won’t explain it to you… I’ll show you! Come…”

After an hour of travel the Harmony Rangers reached a place where they could see the war citadel in broad daylight. Flynn’s eyes became big as plates as he saw the giant object.
“Holy shit… That thing is the cause of these strange storm rumors we read about in the newspapers?”

Rachel’s eyes narrowed as she gave the citadel an analyzing look.
“It’s huge… How do you expect us to destroy a thing like that?”

“With the same stuff that let me blow up a complete mountain: my own blood.” Tyler said with a sober tone and held one orb up. “I’ve collected my own blood into orbs for some days now… orbs of three kilogram weight.”

Sam observed the orbs.
“It looks like the little marbles I put into my paintball rifle. Yet these one are much bigger… The size of an apple.”

On the way back into the village, Rachel looked over to Tyler.
“OK, you want to detonate the thing… How do you expect us to get up there? Levitation? Teleportation?”

After a brief description about the incident in the zebra village, Tyler explained.
“They had a small craft when they came here. Sort of like a ferry, a mini-citadel. If I put plenty of magic into effort, I could get the thing flying. It’s a mixture of levitation and magic sphere. If I charge those spells alone, I should be able to fly the thing for one hour.”

In the village, Tyler unveiled the ‘aircraft’ the Descendants used to enter the village from above. It was a small craft, only large enough to hold two pilots and eight passengers. What was more was that this thing was made out of mere iron plates around a frame.
“Here you go! Our way to get up there.”

Beaming now, Flynn inspected the craft in front of him.
“Nice! They seem to have copied the Betty and propelled it with magic…”

Rachel leaned back and shook her head.
“Hold your euphoria, Flynn… Don’t praise these suckers, they’re the bad guys, remember? And why do I feel a ‘but’ coming on, Jones?”

Flynn frowned at first, and then he looked at Tyler who nodded before he continued.
“But we don’t know when the vessel that landed here was supposed to return. So even if we manage to land on that citadel, we will have to fight through approximately 200 unicorns.”

Rachel now nodded.
“I thought so… And what exactly are we going to look for? It’s not good to go up there without a plan. I mean, you want to go up there to blow up… what?”

Tyler rubbed his chin for a while. Shiria couldn’t provide decent information about the interior of the fortress, only info about the vague number of the crewmembers.
“Well… Such a big object needs to be held up by many unicorns. So I suppose we are looking for one or several rooms where unicorns are gathered and perform levitation magic.”

Flynn seemed to make a mental note for himself.
“Blowing up magic engine room… Got it!”

Tyler pointed a finger at Flynn.
“You better memorize the way in. The magical timer is set on two minutes. This is one of Twilight’s more advanced spells suited for me. Once the ‘engine room’ is out, the whole thing should crash into the mountain rocks or the desert sand. Doesn’t matter where, the thing will be crippled beyond repair and the unicorns in it will be dead.”

Sam now raised his hand.
“Wouldn’t it be better to get a hold on that thing in order to study it?”

Rachel shook her head.
“We don’t have the manpower for this, Sam. And I think right now proofing that this monster fortress CAN be destroyed is better for everyone.”

Tyler nodded.
“I think so, too. If it can be destroyed, it’s not so frightening anymore. If we blow that thing up, these war citadels will lose their infamous status. We fly tonight, so you better get some sleep and prepare yourself.”

Lyra approached Tyler and looked up to him with determination in her eyes.
“I’ll go with you, Tyler!”

In an instant, Sam shook his head.
“No, she won’t! Lyra! Honey, this is way too dangerous and I don’t want to put you in danger!”

She then glared over to her herd stallion and harrumphed before looking back to Tyler.
“What if you folks get shot at in midair and you have to maneuver and go out of spells? Then I’m the only one who has levitation magic in order to help you out!”

Tyler nodded.
“I see you have a point there, Lyra… Sam? Do you trust Lyra?”

Arching his brows and cocking his head Sam spread his arms.
“Ah, come on! You both know it’s not like I don’t trust her abilities, I simply don’t want her to be harmed!”

The unicorn mare now arched a brow with a smirk.
“If you leave me behind, I will never forgive you, Sam!”

With a sigh, he then bowed his head and shrugged.
“Fine… But you stay at my side! At all times, so I can protect you!” With this he went away with a grumble.

Tyler smirked at Lyra.
“Let me guess: You sneaked in in order to keep an eye out for him, right?” With a giggle, the unicorn mare winked at Tyler, causing him to chuckle.

Later that night the Rangers entered the shuttlecraft and Tyler took place into the pilot seat.
“Flynn? You take a seat as the copilot, I have no experience as a pilot, I simply hope to levitate this thing instead of crash-landing it…”

Flynn nodded and looked around.
“Well there are no instruments that could help me finding myself anywhere… But maybe you should tighten the magic sphere around the shuttle in order to…”

As he looked at Tyler he saw that he was completely without an idea to do that.
“Flynn! I’m not a unicorn! There’s no way I can alter the magic within me!”

Grinning a bit, Flynn then waved the thought away.
“Alright… In that case, a sphere it is!” As Tyler accumulated more and more levitation magic into the shuttle, it slowly started to fly. Mere meters above ground, Tyler added the magic sphere around it. The wobbly flight now stabilized and he could steer with far more ease.

A few minutes later they approached the citadel.
“You know guys… if they don’t fall for it we have to escape and quite fast, too. They fabricate storms with magic; I don’t want them to perforate this craft while we’re in it and in the air…”

Tyler nodded.
“I’ll get us down safe and sound.” He looked at the citadel. “Seems to me there should be some sort of hangar bay…”

“There it is!” Rachel said as she pointed towards an opening, which only came in sight quite slowly.

Tyler nodded and steered for the hangar bay as he grabbed a communication crystal. It had been quite some time since he last used one of these. Thinking for a moment, he then grabbed it tightly and began to speak into it.
“War citadel Sagarod, this is the delayed shuttle. We ran into some difficulties, but we managed to make them comply. No signs of Tyler Jones.”

Shortly after, the response was muttered through the crystal.
“Understood. You’re clear for landing.”

Tyler now arched a brow and nodded, before he put the communication crystal away and looked at the others.
“OK… Just as I thought. Everyone follows plan B, alright?” The others nodded and slowly the shuttlecraft landed in the hangar bay. But just as it had landed, a magic force field blocked the way out. Three floodlights were pointed at the shuttlecraft.

An officer of the Descendants stepped in front of twenty unicorns.
“Welcome! Welcome, welcome… And here I thought we would have to send another shuttle with more ponies after you… Good to see you came all by yourself, Mr. Jones… Would you kindly step outside now? It’s over…”The hatchet opened and Tyler, Rachel, Sam, Lyra and Grinko stepped outside. Several rifles and charged horns were pointed at them.

Rachel looked over to Tyler.
“Swell… Now what?”

The officer smirked satisfied.
“And you brought the other Harmony Rangers with you! This saves me the time searching for...” But when the officer in command saw that there were only three humans, he frowned. “What? I was told of FOUR human Harmony Rangers! This isn’t a Ranger, it’s a Masar!”

It was then when Lyra, Grinko and the Rangers put on blindfolds. The Descendants frowned at this first, expecting some attack, but then laughed.
“What is this? Are you readying yourself for your own execution?”

Tyler now began to grin as magic balls formed in his hands.
“Not quite…” In the next moment the entire hangar bay was bathed in bright light. Just as the flash ceased, the Rangers took off their blindfolds and began fighting. Within a minute the Descendants were dead on the ground while Lyra began charging Tyler again for the flight back.

Sam however frowned.
“How could you know they didn’t fall for all this and set up a trap here? I mean… You had the name of the citadel and the reason why they were out there…”

Tyler shook his head.
“I could only guess their real intentions. Maybe I got that right, but what alarmed me was the fact that they didn’t ask for security codes. A military base with no security codes? No, they’re not THAT stupid!”

Rachel smirked at Tyler.
“Who gave you those fancy flash grenade spells? They come in handy; I want some of these too.”

With a gentle smile Tyler looked down on his hand.
“Someone great and powerful…” As he looked to the roof of the shuttlecraft, he saw the opened hatch and smiled. “Seems to me Flynn is already on his way. Let us clear and secure the hangar bay while he’s gone.”

* * * * *

Flynn Marshall was already several levels above the hangar bay and approached one Descendant from behind, threw one of the orbs at him.
“Hey! Catch!”

“Whoah!” in surprise, the unicorn stallion juggled the orb a bit for he knew the potential danger it would cause once it would break. Losing his balance, he fell down, but managed to catch the orb. With a frightened look did the stallion inspected his catch. The orb didn’t break. With a sigh of relief, the Descendant closed his eyes, only to open them again as he heard the glass crack. With a whimper did he witness that the orb began to sparkle. One detonation later, Flynn peeked into a hallway where bright light was emerging from a room. As he carefully entered the room, he looked around. Below him were thirty unicorns who all conversed together as if they were trying to calibrate their magic efforts.

Orders like “A little more!” – “Not so much!” – “A little less!” were muttered all around. The unicorns above him sat still and silent in their places, seemed conditioned to perform continuous levitation magic. Silently, Flynn got to a pillar in the center of the large room, connecting all three levels and placed the bag there. He then searched for a marked vial with the label ‘timer’ and opened it. As soon as it was opened, the dark blood in the vial began to bubble a bit and he carefully placed the vial inside of the orbs. What did he do to this blood? But Flynn knew he had to go now. After exiting the room, he made haste towards the others.

Meanwhile Tyler shook his head.
“He’s overdue! I will go and look for him.”

Sam shrugged.
“Maybe he had to evade some action?” In the next moment, the alarm began to howl in the citadel.

Tyler now looked to the ceiling and gritted his teeth.
“Or maybe he IS the action!”

Flynn then stopped at the side of Tyler and the other Rangers.
”Everyone here? Good! The charges have been placed at some sort of engine room. At least that’s what I think it was. Several unicorns were performing magic on a level above me and below me, maybe to hold this thing in the air. I placed the orbs in a section right between them.”

Tyler nodded satisfied.
“Good! How many?”

But this only made Flynn arch a brow.
“What do you mean with ‘How many?’? I just dropped the bag with the charges and activated the timer!” He then grabbed Tyler and growled. ”You moron! You could have told me that two kilogram are not enough to disrupt their magic!”

Tyler looked at him with widened eyes, slapped his hands from himself and began to run hastily towards the exit.
”NOT ENOUGH? IDIOT!!! RUN!!! THIS THING’S GOING TO BLOW OUT OF THE SKY!!!"

Rachel’s eyes widened.
“Is he serious?"

Sam only shook his head.
“That guy knows his blood! RUN!!!”

As the Rangers now ran towards the hangar bay, Rachel looked over to Tyler.
“So what blast do you expect?”

“A HUGE one!!! Two kilogram shouldn’t produce a detonation of atomic proportions, but the blast should-” With this Tyler was interrupted in midsentence as a detonation struck the citadel and tore the structure into two with a ring-like detonation blast. While the lower part fell like a stone, smashing into the desert sand, the upper part of the citadel began to wobble. Without the balance of the lower unicorns, the ones in the remaining levitation room struggled to keep the imbalance in check, but already it was too late. Sinking down into the mountains, the citadel was already doomed. While the Ranger ran towards the exit, Lyra galloped behind them, before Tyler grabbed her and collected each one into one large magic sphere. By now the citadel’s floor was in a 45 degree and whoever was left inside, began to stumble over another. Tyler’s sphere escaped the citadel just in time before the huge fortress crashed into the mountain, several magic detonations ripping it apart even further.

Landing on the soft desert sand, the group then sat down as smoke filled the air behind them. Rachel began to grin.
“You know what I am in the mood for now? A smoke…”

Lyra arched a brow and looked at Sam.
“What’s a smoke?”

“That’s… a bad habit humans have. I quit it a long time ago”

Flynn looked over to Tyler and shook his head.
“OK… HOW did you make a timer out of your blood?”

Tyler rubbed his neck and grinned sheepish.
“Let’s just say that zebras know their potions… One of them, they call it Mafanim, can explode when exposed to oxygen. I had to tinker a bit, but after some time I had a full vial of blood mixed with a bit of that potion. The tiny bit wasn’t enough to blow up at once and I had to brew it inside my blood, but the result is dynamite!” Tyler now rested down in the sand. “Alright… One less thing to worry about… Now… a bath… with ice cubes! Fuck! I smell like a polecat!”

Lyra chuckled at this first, then looked in front of her, frowned, shook her head for a bit, looked again and then her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Sam? Who is that?” She asked, pointing at the object of interest.

As he looked the way Lyra pointed, Sam’s eyes suddenly opened. Right before them stood another human, black as a Changeling. His eyes glowed in a fierce green glow.
“I am Mimesis of Changeling. And you, whoever you are, have the privilege of being my next victims…”

23 - Boss Fight - Fighting a Nemesis *

The humanoid Changeling slowly approached the Rangers and Tyler met him halfway, inspected this self-proclaimed Mimesis.
“You must be this guy Shiria talked about…”

“Mother, huh? And I take it you are the real Tyler Jones? Care to proof it?” Tyler never once let this humanoid Changeling out of sight. A gut feeling told him that this would be a very bad idea. He accumulated some of the magic inside of him and let the magic flow on the outside. However, he only used a fraction of the spells inside of him. He didn’t trust this new Changeling one bit, even more because he imitated him and committed murder in his name. With a sudden flash, the magic surrounded him and his body began to glow like a light bulb.

The other rangers looked at Tyler in quite a surprise. Rachel only shook her head.
“What’s going on, folks? How can Jones have this… this aura thing?”

Lyra peeked over behind Sam.
“It’s like a horn glowing!”

“Lyra! You say that his entire body is filled with magic?”

“Not entirely, I guess. That would overcharge him. But my guess is he’s charging up the outer layers of his body with magic in order to utilize it. Some stronger unicorns can do something similar with their horns, too. The charge then becomes a so-called ‘supercharge’. Twilight did that once while vanquishing an Ursa Minor!”

Rachel blinked at Tyler in disbelief.
“We humans actually can do that?”

Flynn grinned.
“At least Tyler can do that…“

With an impatient expression Tyler arched a brow and looked at Mimesis.
“Satisfied with this?”

Amazed and excited, the humanoid Changeling smiled like finally finding someone worthy of being on equal stand.
“I am! Shit, how awesome! I never saw so much magic from the outside in!”

With his expression growing grim Tyler narrowed his eyes.
“Alright… Now what, Bug-man?”

Mimesis now grinned in a demonic way.
“Now we’re both be super-charged…” With a grin of madness, Mimesis showed his accumulated magic potential like presenting his hunting trophies. A similar glow now surrounded him, but with a more noticeable tone of green. Tyler’s brows arched for a moment before his expression grew grimmer. Mimesis was just as strong as he was, maybe even stronger.

“That guy can do that too???” Sam grimaced terrified. “I wonder how many unicorns he sucked dry for this result… Lyra! You retreat!”

“What? But Sam!”

“No discussion! With that guy around I can’t fight concentrated enough while worrying for you. He is a hazard that can and will kill you if he gets the chance.” Reluctantly, the unicorn nodded and retreated.

Flynn meanwhile shouted over to Tyler.
“CAREFUL, TYLER!!! HE’S A MAGIC VAMPIRE! HE SUCKS OUT ALL YOUR MAGIC!!!”

From the corner of his eye, Tyler looked over to the others for a split second before his eyes watched Mimesis again.
“Now I get it… The two mares in Equestria, the rumors about disappearing unicorns in Zebrica… You didn’t take what others were willing to give… You just took what you wanted! Even if that means they’re dying!”

With a smirk Mimesis shrugged.
“Privilege of the predator, don’t you think?”

Tyler’s face grew very angered as he heard that and the overcharge in his body ceased.
“I think I’ve heard enough! I thought you could deserve the benefit of the doubt, that you could use your powers to do good. But it turns out you’re just like Chrysalis. A vile brute taking what he wants by force.”

“Oh please, no compliments. I know it doesn’t show on these dark plates, but you make me blush!” With a chuckle, Mimesis waved it away. “Alright… Enough with the curiosity… You guys are my next victims before I go back to Equestria. I have a date with a certain lavender unicorn and I don’t want to be late!”

In an instant Tyler went into fighting stance, gritting his teeth.
“You lay a finger on her and I’ll rip your fucking heart out!”

Laughing dirty, Mimesis only shrugged
“Afraid I don’t have one… You see, Tyler: Being a Changeling is a good choice, it has lots of advantages to offer…” Losing his patience, Tyler hauled off and delivered the punch into Mimesis’ chest, only to grimace at the hit. The pain was almost breathtaking for Tyler. It felt like punching a wall. Yet Mimesis didn’t even flinch. More so, his grin only widened, before he grabbed Tyler’s arm. Arching a brow in surprise, the human Changeling looked at the arm in wonder. “What? Why can I drain only so little from you?”

Spinning around, Tyler freed himself of the grip and delivered a kick to the head, sending Mimesis on the ground for a couple of seconds. The others looked at Tyler, seriously concerned.
“Are you alright?”

“I am… But that guy tried to do with me what he tried to do with these poor unicorns. Watch his hands!”

Rachel looked over to Mimesis.
“He tried to suck magic from you as well, didn’t he?”

“Yes…”

When Mimesis stood up, he looked at Tyler, puzzled for a bit.
“Why can’t I drain magic from you? You are filled with magic!”

“Seems like I miss the most important part for you to kill me that way, sucker!” With that Tyler face palmed himself in front of Mimesis.

The human Changeling growled in anger. Of course! Tyler had no horn and without horn, he would have to suck magic from every cell of his body.
“Clever… But this only means that this won’t be over quickly!” Now he approached the Rangers, his intentions clear to see. In his eyes lingered the will to kill each of them. Rachel shot two magic rounds right into Mimesis’ face, but he only kept grinning as he slowly approached her. “What now, girl? Think you can shoot me down with magic? Is that all you can do? Try harder!”

“Oh? Uh… OK!” With that Rachel rammed the stock of her gun directly into Mimesis’ face, causing him to sway back in pain.

By now his grin was gone.
“Well played… HA!!!” In the next moment a pressure wave sent Rachel flying through the air. It didn’t hurt her at all, but she had to come on her feet again. “Too bad you humans have no horn in order to access your magic. I guess I’ll just have to beat the shit out of you!”
But just as he had said that, Grinko jumped at him. The Masar pinned him down and tried to get a good hold of him, but his razor sharp claws only scratched at the chitin plates. As he tried to bite into the neck, the plates began to crack, just as Mimesis delivered several heavy blows into the Masar’s stomach, and managed to get him off from him. “Accursed flea bag!” With a quick jump, Mimesis was on his feet again.

In the next moment, Flynn was before him.
“You’re fast, but I’m faster!” But just as he delivered the punch, Flynn yelled up in pain as he shook his hand. “SHIT!!! That guy is made out of what? Steel?”

Shaking his own aching hand, Tyler looked at the grinning Mimesis.
“His body seems to be covered in chitin armor… It won’t be easy to take him down without magic.”

Rachel gritted her teeth.
“Yeah… But he can’t do that to us either!”

Flynn spat to the ground and went into fighting stance again.
“Fuck! It seems today is the day I’ll find out what limits my new regeneration has!” With this he ran at the Changeling and pummeled him merciless. Several cracks and crunches became audible, before he had to stop. By now Flynn’s fists were bloody and blue.
Huffing heavily he looked at Mimesis, who got back into normal standing position.

The Changeling’s armor plates steamed a bit, but he just smirked and waved his index finger.
“Bad boy…”

Flynn’s angered expression, however, turned into a broad grin as he looked up.
“Yeah… Time to squish that insect like the bug he is!”

“What?” As Mimesis turned around, he just saw Tyler levitating and smashing a giant boulder onto him.

Approaching the boulder, the Rangers stayed on their toes.
“Tyler, what do you think? Is he dead?”

Tyler shook his head and spat on the ground.
“He’s not dead… He’s pissed off now!”

Flynn and Sam looked at him in disbelief.
“You can’t be serious!”

But Tyler only looked at them and built up a force field for two seconds before stopping the magic at once.
“If he would throw a giant rock to squish me… that’s what I would do.”

In this moment the rock was catapulted into the air and landed meters behind them. Mimesis now stepped outside of the crater. Dirty, but unhurt.
“You can’t do that forever, you know… Throwing rocks at people is a bad habit.”

Tyler grinned.
“And every cockroach eventually gets squished!”

As the Rangers walked up to Mimesis in a straight line, the Changeling went into fighting stance.
“This ought to be good…”

Tyler had his eyes locked on Mimesis as he lowered his voice.
“Flynn?”

With a grin Flynn nodded and held up his healed fists. “As good as new…”Rachel narrowed her eyes as she played with her rifle as if it were a club while Grinko growled and revealed his claws again.

As the Rangers stormed at Mimesis, Flynn and Tyler suddenly vanished. This made the Changeling halt in a moment of surprise, just as they reappeared at the sides of him. Tyler had teleported himself and Flynn slowed down to strike. With Tyler’s kick to the head and Flynn’s punches to the other side of the face and into the belly region afterwards, Rachel then slammed her weapon into the face of the Changeling, bringing the creature off balance, Sam stormed at Mimesis, jumped and kicked him down. But just as Grinko and Rachel stormed at him again, the humanoid Changeling performed a somersault and took their exposed limbs, hurled them around before throwing them away.

Landing meters away, Rachel slowly got up from Grinko, who growled angrily.
“If only I could get a hold of his neck for a longer time, then I could bite him to death.”

Getting up, Rachel gritted her teeth.
“Join the Rangers, he said… it’s going to be fun, he said…”Looking over to Grinko, she arched a brow. “You OK, kitty cat?”

Getting up, Grinko nodded.
“I was lucky. I almost landed in these sharp parts of the citadel’s debris.

Looking at the bent rifle run in her hand, she looked at the blade-like shards of metal.
“I can’t wield those… But Flynn should be fast enough…”

Giving the shards a glance, Grinko shook his head. “Even if he’s so fast… We both know we won’t get one of these shards loose. And even then they’re heavy. They would slow him down.”

* * * * *

Meanwhile Mimesis’ fist slammed tight into a wall of desert rock, barely missing the evading Tyler. With a mad grin he turned his head to Tyler and slowly approached him, leaving a hole in the rock. It was in this moment that Tyler understood that they had to think of something else and fast! Beating Mimesis like crazy wouldn’t bring anything except broken hands and magic usage was out of the question.

As Sam stormed at Mimesis, jumping at him to attack, the Changeling whirled around, grabbing Sam at the throat, held him up and choked him. Sam, however, punched against the armored arms, trying to loosen the grip. Gritting his teeth with an evil grin, Mimesis choked on. “Time to end you… Father!” But just as Sam and Mimesis looked into each other’s eyes, a sudden flash of memories went through the Changeling’s mind, causing him to halt. Events from earth, where Sam and his team won the first prize in a paintball tournament: The thrill to fight, the joy of winning, the friendships of his teammates, the fun at the party afterwards. Then memories from Equestria appeared. Kissing with Lyra, being with her in the boat on the lake, playing music with the others, Lyra’s confession…
Mimesis now held his head, seemingly in pain and screamed. His pupils became tiny dots as the flood of emotions became too much. The ongoing inherited memories from his father gave him an insight of the nature of emotions, a principle he couldn’t understand. It were so many alien feelings, paralyzing, terrifying…

Sam, however, fell down to his knees and gasped for air. While Mimesis was still occupied with getting a grip on himself, Tyler came to Sam’s side and held his upper body up.
“Sam! You alright? Listen, something’s on! Changelings seem to inherit their parent’s memories! He can’t suck any magic from you since you have none charged, so you can attack him without losing anything! Can you do that for me?” Now with fresh oxygen in his lungs, Sam nodded while recollecting himself. Getting on his feet again, Sam then cracked his knuckles and began to pummel Mimesis. Every punch bombarded the Changeling with another flood of emotions. A birthday cake, Christmas presents, time with the family… A flash of memories followed every hit and sent the Changeling reeling around. With a scream he kicked Sam away, now visibly afraid of him. Maybe they didn’t weaken his armored body, but mentally Mimesis became noticeable weaker, showing fear for all these alien emotions. One thing was quite clear to the Changeling. He had to get rid of Sam. And fast as well. Jumping high onto a rock formation, the Rangers surrounded him in pursuit. Tyler looked up to Mimesis, shouting up to him with a determined face. “Come on, Mimesis! This is the real fight! Tell us what you are!”

Looking down to the Rangers, the Changeling’s face seemed unsecure.
“I am… I am…” With this his suddenly eyes grew as cold as before. “I AM FOREVERMORE A CHANGELING!”
With this Mimesis teleported down to them and grabbed Sam’s throat as a pressure wave went through Sam’s body, only to return to Mimesis. Sam screamed in pain; it felt like his life was drained from him. As he went limp, Mimesis slammed Sam right away with a powerful thrust towards the chest, sending him flying over a hill.

“SAM!!!”

Just as the Rangers tried to run after their friend, Mimesis teleported right into their way, blocking it.
“So much for this!!! No more interruptions from him and his damn memory attacks! Now I’ll turn my full attention to you three…”

Tyler gritted his teeth.
“You get the hell out of our way!”

“Tsk! Jones, you’re all talk and no action! You mustn’t be concerned about your friend who is probably dead by now!”

“I’LL SHOW YOU ACTION!!!” With that the Rangers stormed at him again. It was in this moment that Grinko reappeared and slammed his fist into Mimesis back, aiming his claws for the joints between the armor plates and Mimesis’ eyes.

“WHAT? You’re still alive, kitty?” With this another fierce brawl between the Rangers and the human Changeling began.

* * * * *

Meanwhile Lyra galloped towards the place she saw Sam went down. In her mind, all possible scenarios went loose. Broken arms, legs… Maybe a broken neck! 'Be alive! Be alive! Oh, please, Sam! Just be alive!' Looking around in haste, she tried to find her special somepony. Standing between the wreckage parts of the citadel, she yelled out for him. Sam wasn’t dead though. He was lying on the desert sand in midst of the wreckage, unconscious. In his mind, memories about his father took place.

“Son, your fists are those of a boxer, yet your fingers are those of a pianist. You can do great stuff with them, if you use them wisely.”

“What do you mean, Dad?”

“I mean that every one of us once gets his calling. We all sooner or later learn of who we truly are. These fists of yours might become strong enough to hurt people, but it is up to you to decide who you are facing them with. And never forget that fists could always return to a gentle, loving hand.”

“Dad, I don’t understand…”

“One time you will understand, Samuel… Sometime in the future you will…”

* * * * *

After beating the Rangers up quite good, Mimesis grinned and levitated above the ground in front of them, his white hair waving in the wind.
“Here’s my offer: Forget these pathetic ponies and return to your own world, otherwise I’ll destroy you!”

Wiping some blood from his bottom lip, Tyler shook his head.
“Fuck off, bug-face! There’s no chance we’ll let someone like you on the loose!”

Rachel spat to the ground, remembering her nightmare.
“I know precisely what would happen if you would gain more and more power! You wouldn’t stop on this world, you would come over to ours! I will stop you before you have the chance to harm anyone again!”

This made Mimesis smile.
“Aha! Very good, at least there’s plenty of fighting spirit in you… That’s what I admire most about humans…”

Storming right at him, the humans gritted their teeth.
“GET OUT OF OUR WAY!!!”

Readying his magic, the Changeling grinned.
“YOU STUPID FOOLS!!!”

* * * * *

More memories filled Sam’s mind as he still was unconscious.
“I can’t believe you did that! Samuel! You broke this boy’s arm and jaw!”

“But he started it, Dad! And he was actually much stronger than I was! Aren’t you proud of me for standing up for myself like you always told me I should?”

Kneeling down to the young Sam, his father shook his head. “I am… But there’s more to strength than muscle power. You beat up a boy twice the strength as you, but that doesn’t make you a better person!”

“But I…”

His father only shook his head. “There’s more to strength and being a better person than to beat up someone who’s stronger than you. You must give thought of your target, that boy’s just a weak minded goon who doesn’t know better. Is that really the kind of evil you want to fight? You should raise your fists against the real evil, Samuel!”

With this his father stood up, leaving his son puzzled. “The real evil? What are you talking about, Dad? Dad! Explain this to me!”

As his father turned around, Mimesis’ face grinned at Sam. “I’ll explain it to you, ’Dad’!”

With a scream Sam regained consciousness. With a gulp he came back to his senses.
“Fuck this bastard, he’s even messing around with me while not being around!” As he stood up, Sam’s legs suddenly hurt and gave in. “FUCK!!! My equilibrium sense is ruined!” The Changeling… He had to be responsible for it. The energy wave that went through Sam and back to Mimesis… It had to be some sort of special attack. Maybe this was the fully powered sucking attack or some other move, but whatever the Changeling had done, it had immobilized Sam quite good. “MIMESIS!!!” Rage filled Sam’s mind as he felt so useless right now. Tyler was the magic wielder of them, Rachel the gunslinger. Grinko was sheer muscle armed with razor sharp claws and teeth and Flynn… Well, Flynn could let his fists pummel Mimesis with great speed to irritate Mimesis. But he… He did have no special talent to contribute into this fight other than these memories. Angered, he slammed his fist into the ground. “DAMN IT!!!

Hearing his curse, Lyra galloped over to him.
“Sam! Oh thank Celestia you’re alive. After that attack I thought you were dead!”

Looking over to the unicorn, Sam shook his head.
“Lyra, you shouldn’t be here… He might kill you!”

But the mare frowned at him.
“And I suppose risking that he kills you instead is so much better? I will help you! Come on… Get up!” With this she helped him on his feet. “You know the meditation routine I use for walking on two legs?”

“I saw you do that several times now, Lyra. But I don’t know what that’s supposed to help now.”

“Come on, Sam! You aren’t crippled! Your legs are fine! He just crippled your mind! You must become one with yourself now!”

Chanting the words Lyra usually used during that meditation, Sam closed his eyes.
“Breathing, spirit, discipline...” In this moment Sam collapsed as his shivering muscles failed again. But with iron will, he gritted his teeth and managed to get up again.

Lyra got on two legs as well, went into stance and her horn began to glow.
“Focus the mind, cleanse the soul, keep sight of your target… Concentrate… Focus… Don't lose it now!”

As the magic energies of the unicorn began to billow around him and Lyra, their thoughts began to synchronize as his body began to feel light.
Be prepared for the unexpected... Concentrate, mind and body as one… Achieve tranquility through movement. Integrate spirit and flesh. Channel the powers! Focus the mind. Cleanse the soul. Release that which is negative!

Like master and pupil their thoughts then began to converse as Lyra looked over to him, her mane slightly floating in her magic.

Separate darkness and light…

Mind and body as one…

Give birth to yourself…

Oneness through knowledge…

Define your existence…

Oneness through emotions…

Create your divination…

Oneness with the heavens...

Again, her thoughts synchronized and Sam's swaying ceased more and more.
From strength, learn gentleness! Through gentleness, strength will prevail!

As the pain in him ceased completely, her voice echoed in his mind. Sam, what dwells deep within your spirit? Sam… Awaken!

When his eyes popped open again, the pain of weak muscles was gone. Once again, his muscles obeyed his every order with their former strength. All the harm Mimesis had done to him was undone; he was synced again with his body. Only one word sprang to his mind. “Harmony!” It was them, when he recognized the mark on his left biceps. “What the…?”

Jumping up in excitement, Lyra pulled the arm down.
“Sam! You got your cutie mark!” Narrowing her eyes with a frown, she looked up to him. “A gear?”

Inspecting the mark now thoroughly made him chuckle.
“Metal… Gear… How fitting for a mechanic!”

Lyra smiled up to him, before her smile faded to a serious expression.
“Now go help the others!”

* * * * *

In the meantime Tyler levitated a boulder up in the air and pushed it towards Mimesis, who opposed the pressure with magic on his own. While Tyler put his entire might into the attack, Mimesis only grinned and shook his head.
“What’s wrong? You’re tired already? Ha! Is this everything humanity has to offer? Maybe you should have taken some more spells from these unicorns, eh Tyler?”

Noticing a shadow above him, he turned around and teleported away, as Sam slammed down with a roar causing big crater in the sand. Small lightning bolts jetted over his arm as Mimesis reappeared in front of the Rangers. Sam’s attack gave them the short pause they needed to recollect their minds to form an attack front against the powerful Changeling. Tyler arched his brows in wonder.
“Sam! You’re all right!”

Kneeling in the crater, Sam’s voice was quite angered.
“Hey folks… Sorry for being so late, I was busy… Forget about my wellbeing, we’ve got other things to do first…” Standing up from the crater, Sam looked at the other Rangers, grinning widely. “Like squishing this big cockroach!”

Recognizing the cutie mark on Sam’s biceps, Mimesis was foaming in anger. His plan to get rid of his father backfired, leaving him in an even stronger state than before.
“You humans truly are a persistent bunch of vermin! So be it! I’LL KILL YOU ALL!!!”

With a roar, Sam stormed at Mimesis, his fist burrowed deep into the Changeling’s torso plates. It hurt awfully for Sam, but it delivered even more shock moment for the Changeling as the punch delivered electric energy right into his body, prompting Mimesis to gasp for air. The next punch knocked his face to the side, sent his sight flashing and his ears ringing. How could this man have so much power in his punches? But with a powerful blow, he slammed Sam back to the others. Now Flynn tried his luck again, throwing more punches at the Changeling to keep him occupied before Rachel grabbed the Changeling to throw him to the ground.

But Mimesis levitated himself and landed unharmed on his feet, laughing all the while.
“Ha, ha, ha, ha! Even though you all amuse me with this wonderful brawl, I must stop here! I have unicorns to suck dry and I’m not a patient Changeling!” He then yelled up into the sky. “I GUESS I’LL START WITH THE SNEAKY LITTLE BITCH THAT HELPED OUT MY FATHER!!!” Lyra’s face grew grimmer. She couldn’t fight alongside the others, but hoped with all her might that they would succeed. Her role in this fight had been played, she had helped her special somepony and helped him get stronger than before. A thing that filled her with personal pride. Go get him now, Sam!

Tyler now wiped some blood from his chin.
“He’s perfectly armored! We need to concentrate our attacks if we want to crack that armor open.” With a nod, the Rangers continued their brawl, each with his or her special talent or weapon.

Rachel Higgins planned to jump at the humanoid Changeling from behind to pull the barrel run from her weapon into his throat in order to choke him to death.
“Asshole! Why won’t you fucking DIE?!?”

it seemed like a decent plan. He needed oxygen as well. Maybe they couldn’t crack that armor open so fast but deprivation from oxygen seemed lethal to most life forms. But just as she had jumped at him, Mimesis grabbed her neck and slammed her to the ground.
“You first, bitch! But maybe I’ll just knock you out to have my fun with you later…” With her throat in his hand, his other hand hauled off to finish her. But just as Mimesis tried to give Rachel the finishing punch, a green bolt of magic right into Mimesis face slammed him off from her. As the others looked into the direction of where the bolt came from, they saw Shiria standing on a hill, her horn still smoking and charged. When Mimesis saw her, he arched a brow. “Mother! What is the meaning of this? Are you siding with the prey?”

Looking at her son, her face grew grim.
“Oh, I haven’t saved her in good will! I just don’t want YOU to kill them for they are MY prey! And I don’t want another thing to happen: That they kill you, you treacherous beast! I want to do THAT as well!” Now she stepped among the Rangers, visibly siding with them against Mimesis.

Tyler arched a brow, yet gave Shiria a smile.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, huh?”

With an arched brow Shiria looked up to Tyler.
“Don’t get cheeky, Tyler Jones… We both know that under other circumstances things could have been different.”

Mimesis began to chuckle and this chuckle turned into a manic laughter.
“So it is like this… Four human defenders, a unicorn magician, a Masar and a Changeling Queen… And now I can kill seven of you at once…”

Rachel slowly regained her breath, wiping some sweat from her forehead.
“What a nightmare! We’re almost out of breath and he’s still standing there as if nothing ever happened!”

Tyler shook his head, having an epiphany.
“I just thought of something we forgot this whole time.”

Flynn looked over to him.
“Oh, yeah? What?”

“You see he’s part Changeling, but he’s also part human. He’s still vulnerable to overcharge. And with Shiria we have a powerful way to charge him.”

Pointing at Shiria Flynn arched a brow.
“You mean that Changeling Queen? How?”

“Queen Shiria may be a Changeling as well, but she’s on our side in this fight.”

Shiria rolled her eyes.
“Only for the time being… I can’t face him alone and won’t expose my swarm to his danger.”

Tyler nodded.
“Ok, here’s the plan: We four charge Changeling magic and unleash it on him.”

“Tyler! You once said Changeling magic was poisonous and could kill us if we overdo it!”

Shaking his head, Tyler Jones looked at his fellow Rangers. “Not necessarily! Remember that we are four Rangers, he’s alone. We could each endure a moderate charge, but four moderate charges make more charge than he could handle on his own.”

“I won’t do it!”

Looking over to Sam, Tyler grimaced for a bit.
“Sam! To defeat him we must work together! We need her to-”

“I WON’T WORK TOGETHER WITH A RAPIST!!!” Sam now snapped back at him, only to storm out on Mimesis on his own.

But the Changeling got him in a headlock with a swift move and raised his fist. “RRAARRGH ONE!” With this his fist slammed into Sam’s face. “TWO!!!” Another punch went down into Sam’s face. “THREE STRIKES, YOU’RE OUT!!!” Lifting his father up, Mimesis now slammed him into the others, and came sliding with some magic directly through them, smashing every one off their feet.

As they got up again, Tyler looked up to the others before looking at Sam.
“Sam, I know you’ve been wronged, but there’s more at jeopardy than personal revenge! If we fail to kill him, he’ll kill more unicorns! Starting with Lyra…”

Sam clenched his teeth together. He didn’t like that at all, but there was no other choice if he wanted to save Lyra and other unicorns from harm.
“Fine… I’ll help as well…”

Annoyed and impatient Mimesis interrupted their conversation.
“Is anybody of you pesky mammals starting to fight? Or are you going to scheme your little plans until tomorrow? Nothing you can do can hurt me!”

With that the human Changeling attacked the Rangers once more, rushing right through them, slamming them off their feet. But Flynn jumped up and in his ultra-speed delivered a heavy blow to Mimesis, who was taken by surprise. The blow was so hard Flynn’s knuckles cracked on the hard chitin plates. But Flynn didn’t care anymore. Biting his teeth together, he simply began to hit the Changeling before him and roared in pain as more and more his hands broke and regenerated in an enormous rate. As his hands were numb from pain and swollen, he began kicking the Changeling, before his legs gave in. Huffing and puffing, he now stood in front of the Changeling, whose armor plates now glowed red hot. Readjusting his jaw, Mimesis looked at Flynn, only to simply punching his chest, sending the fast human down to the ground.

With the Rangers down, he huffed himself, closely at his limit. While his body not showing it, the pain inside this strong and sturdy plates had grown with every step on the Rangers took. If they would have continued this fight any longer… No! He mustn’t allow himself thinking like that. He was a Changeling, the apex of evolution! And he was the strongest Changeling there ever was! “Those little maggots… No one can ever hope to beat me! But I clearly let them too close to me… They might have become-”

“MIMESIS!!!” Shiria now jumped at him, attacking him with her perforated hooves and her horn.

While he defended himself against her fast attacks, he didn’t noticed that Grinko had grabbed his legs, holding the Changeling in place. “FOLKS! NOW!!!” Too late did Mimesis recognize the true meaning of this, they were simply playing dead with him. Now the Rangers jumped at him and while Flynn and Tyler delivered enough punches to bring him off balance, Sam’s haymaker with electricity in it was enough to send the human Changeling flying.

“Let’s finish this!” Tyler shouted and the four Rangers jumped up high, all jumping away from Mimesis who just landed on his feet, trying to get an oversight over the situation. But just as he looked up, Shiria nodded and her poisonous Changeling magic split up into four, charging the four humans in midair. As soon as they had landed, the four of them ran towards Mimesis. “NOW!!!” From four sides, the humans jumped at Mimesis, ramming their poisonous Changeling magic charges into his torso. With an echoing, agonizing scream the humanoid Changeling took the blows and was engulfed in a poisonous storm of lightning strikes as the charge of poisonous Changeling magic was transferred to him. The four rangers jumped back shortly before the massive amounts of lethal energies exploded.

The detonation was almost deafening and Tyler held his head hidden under his arms. He was still alive. No magic nuke ignited, the magic simply cut its way through the body? Too late he realized the flaw in his plan, but it turned out OK. Even with a magic detonation of atomic proportions, there had been a chance for them to survive. Maybe... Looking at the smoking and burning crater, the Rangers watched in awe.
“Is he finally dead?”

Tyler nodded with an arched brow.
"Who could have survived such an explosion in the epicenter? Besides me that is. And…” With that he took a an partially charred eyeball from Rachel’s shoulder, who grimaced at this. “That’s a nice souvenir, eh Rachel? He blew up to pieces.” He then threw the eyeball to the ground. “Man… That was some combined move…”

Flynn smirked as he and Sam high fived.
“It’s a real cutter slam…”

“Yeah… We ripped him into shreds!”

Rachel grinned.
“Maybe we should call it that way. Cutter Slam has a nice ring to it.”

It was then when Sam looked over to Shiria, before his smile died. His fist clenching, he approached the Changeling Queen. Tyler took immediate notice of this. “Sam, what are you up to?”

“I’m going to kill that rapist bitch!”

Standing in front of Sam and the others, Tyler blocked their way to Shiria.
“No! Not while I’m here!”

Sam’s eyes widened.
“No?”

Spreading her arms, Rachel now shook her head.
“Tyler, she raped Sam! She’s responsible for Mimesis coming to be! She’s responsible for your banishment!”

“And you folks think killing her would correct anything of this? That it would undo anything?”

Sam gritted his teeth.
“No… But I would feel better!” Just as he wanted to go for Shiria again, Lyra stepped in front of him. The unicorn looked up to him, her eyes partially pleading him to stop, partially afraid what had happened to him. In front of her Sam fell to his knees and both embraced each other. “She deserves it, Lyra! She deserves it! She caused both of us so much misery!”

Lyra closed her eyes, tears running down her cheeks.
“You don’t owe me her head, Sam… The nightmare’s over… I want my old Sam back. Don’t turn into a monster because of her.”

“N-never!” Both now embraced each other even tighter as they cried.

Getting up, Shiria sneered at the crater. Begetting a human Changeling was such a terrible idea. In hindsight, she should have thought this through for quite a bit more.
“Well, that went pretty-” Before she could end her sentence, Tyler whirled around and bitchslapped the Changeling Queen so hard that she fell to the ground.

Flynn arched a brow now.
“Hey! Whatever happened to ‘We won’t kill her?’”

Tyler stood before Shiria with an unforgiving glare.
“Get up!” Spitting blood, Shiria looked up and got on her hooves again. As she stood before him, he waited until she reclaimed some dignity in her stance before he grabbed her neck and choked her a bit. “You know why I did this, don’t you? You know you deserved this, DON’T YOU???”

“Yesss…”

“You’ve breached our agreement, Shiria… I have every right to punish you for this…”

Gasping for air, the Changeling Queen looked at Tyler.
“What are you going to do with me? Pain? Mutilation? If you want to fight, I’ll fight you next! But then my entire swarm will be after you as well.”

But Tyler’s grip on her neck now became gentle and soft as he shook his head.
“Pitiful creature of darkness… What kind of life have you known to do all this?”

Shiria wanted to say something, but Tyler pulled her in suddenly, prompting her eyes to open wide. As she looked up, she saw his face above hers, placing a gentle kiss right beside her horn on her forehead. The others cocked their heads as Tyler’s hand now slowly went through her Changeling mane and caressed her left ear. If it would be visible on her chitin plates, Shiria would had blushed in this moment as Tyler whispered into her ear. “Thought I give you a bit of love in gratitude for helping us defeating him… And to compensate for the pain you felt when we killed him.”

Closing her eyes halfway seductively in the way only she could, Shiria smirked as she held her head high to whisper back into his ear. Banished, he could be of great use of her. A little nudge into the right direction and he could be all hers. And what a fine prize he would make then.
“Truly a delicacy of emotion… Love for oneself is so much more powerful. If I would feast upon you for a longer duration, the satisfaction would be better as sex… Why don’t you prolong your stay in my hive a bit? I would see to your comfort in person…”

Tyler chuckled; she truly knew no shame flirting with him like that.
“You’ve improved, girl… But you’re far away from good.” With this he left her standing there and went to the others. “We go! With your memories about Mimesis, I have all the proof I need to wash my name clean!” He once more turned to Shiria with a smirk and a wink. “Oh yeah… Your highness! If human love is so damn good, you better go and do some more good with your swarm! I might love you for that someday!”

Now the Changeling queen snapped out of it. What a dirty trick! Shiria now turned around, foaming in anger. How dared he to do this to her once more. Not only did she now long for his love now that she had tasted it… No, now he wanted her to do good in order to EARN more love from him. What an outrage!
“TYLER JONES! YOU KNOW I CAN DEFEAT YOU! YOU’RE MERELY POSTPONING THE INEVITABLE! JONES! JONES!!!”

Tyler didn’t flinch as more and more room got between the Rangers and the Changeling Queen. Once again his emotions were victorious over her mind games, a fact that filled him with pride and satisfaction. He would always fight her. Well… almost always. Even when she was nothing more than a tiny speck on the horizon, they could see her angered Changeling magic at work as she probably fumed and raged over her last defeat. Lyra looked back to her for a moment before looking at Tyler again.
“Do you think she will attack us?”

With a brief shake of his head Tyler looked at the unicorn.
“Unlikely… She will return to her hive and continue to hunt down the Descendants. And the fact that she wants to be loved as a Changeling and not as somepony else is giving me reason to hope some change has occurred in her.”

Sam grumbled.
“Yeah… But change for the better or for the worse?”

Grinko only frowned at Tyler. “You had the chance to kill her! Why didn’t you do it? It would be a fierce battle and you would have earned yourself glory and honor!”

Tyler shook his head. “I wanted to punish her, not to kill her. And these unfamiliar emotions, coupled with her repeated defeat will infuriate her even more and maybe will result in a change of thinking. And there’s no glory in killing a species for good. If she dies, her whole species would die as well.”

Grinko stared at Tyler for a while before he nodded.
“Now I see why she couldn’t kill you, even if she tried… You truly are a great warrior and a cunning one as well. You don’t mutilate an opponent’s body; you mutilate his heart with stabbing a needle into it. It is wise to fear your anger…”

Arching a brow, Tyler grimaced on that comment.
“Uh… sure… Well, I think for now the victory over the human Changeling is something worthy of a decent amount of honor. Grinko? Would you say that your aid in the fight was enough to repay your debt?”

But the Masar only grinned.
“Not even close… I couldn’t defeat him on my own, you know…”

Chuckling now, Tyler shook his head.
“Well… it was worth a try…”

Back in Mareitius the old Zalala greeted them welcome with a laugh.
“We knew you would return to us, friend Tyler! With your victory the storms of darkness are bound to leave these lands.” Tyler nodded and knelt down to the old zebra, giving him a warm hug before Zalala brought a hoof on Tyler’s chest. “I can see it in your eyes, friend… You’ve defeated the face in the mirror that tried to harm you.”

With a smirk Tyler nodded.
"Yeah… we defeated that bastard.”

“Good… then come! You shall rest for now after the battle. Today, we celebrate your victory over the evil that roamed these lands!”

When they reached the coast the next day, the port of Mountania laid before them. Looking back, Flynn grinned widely.
"You know what this desert needs? Needs more sand!”

Tyler and Sam chuckled, but Rachel arched a brow.
“More sand? We’re surrounded by sand!”

Now Tyler and Sam began to laugh and Flynn grinned.
“So… You’re eager to get back to the herd, Tyler?”

“You bet! I can’t wait to prove my innocence and get back to my girls. I bet they are worried sick for me. And I miss my little Appleseed. I want to hold her in my arms instead of a weapon for a change."

* * * * *

Meanwhile in the Manehattan harbor a young stallion approached the harbormaster.
“Boss, there’s an incoming ship that communicates with communication crystal. They say there’s trouble in the Amasian Enclave and they are refugees asking for political asylum.”

The harbormaster, an old stallion of gray coat, nodded and looked at the stallion before him.
“Then we should see that they’re arriving good and safe, don’t you think?”

As they went outside, the ship was only 500 meters away from the harbor. Taking a telescope out of his saddlebag, the harbormaster hummed thoughtfully.
“I don’t like that…”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

Shaking his head, the old stallion inspected the ship through the telescope.
“If they’re so in trouble… why isn’t there anypony on deck?”

“May… Maybe they’re below deck to be in the shadows? They’re shadow ponies after all.”

The harbormaster looked at the young stallion besides him and shook his head.
“Son… it’s in the middle of the night! It’s dark anyway!” After looking again, he then hastily lowered the telescope and looked at the ship with his bare eyes. “The ship is sinking!”

“WHAT?!?”

Sinking slowly as it approached the port, the ship’s wooden body began to moan. The ship sank halfway, until it was catapulted out of the water. The harbormaster could only watch with wide eyes as the ship flew through the air, only to get smashed into the harbor buildings behind him. Then the water rose like becoming a tidal wave before light emitted from below the water. Now three giant spheres of magic force fields ascended from the water and inside were three war citadels. As they hovered in the air high above the harbor, magic accumulated in the middle section of them and balls of fire slammed from the citadels as they began bombarding the ships that lied at anchor. While the crews were fleeing in a panic, every ball of fire detonated in a ship. The ‘Coby’, the ‘Nifilia’, even the flagship of the equestrian navy, the ‘Celestia’ was destroyed in that way and the flames in the harbor bathed the citadels in a hellish light.

With tears of anger, the harbormaster, hidden in a small warehouse apart from the burning big halls, looked at his destroyed harbor and the ruined ships before looking back to the other ponies who also escaped the blazing inferno.
“What are these things? So much destruction…”

A sailor pony shook his head.
“Whatever or whoever they are, they knew where to hit us!”

“Who? Who knew where to hit us? And why?”

“One thing is for certain, a few unicorns in the harbor are not enough to penetrate shields that big. These are flying fortresses! The guards must fight them!”

“The princesses! We must inform the princesses!” They were however interrupted as one of the citadels sounded off a loud noise. It sounded like a very, very loud horn and the war citadels now began moving away from the harbor.

Without hesitation two of the war citadels flew straight towards Canterlot while the third approached the Wonderbolt Academy. The watchful guards of the Academy rang the alarm siren, but already the war citadel was hovering over the barracks, obscuring the light of the moon and a shield dome came down onto the academy ground, imprisoning the cadets and instructors. Rainbow Dash above all, tried her best with the others to kick at the dome from the inside, or to find a way out, maybe to find a tiny spot to slip into freedom for the others. But their efforts were all in vain against the strong unicorn magic.

Meanwhile on the ground, the ponies looked out in wonder about the entire ruckus outside. As two earth pony guards looked up, they were blasted from behind as another unicorn guard attacked them. “Hail Tacitus!” More and more ponies of the Royal Guard turned at each other and violent street wars began to start in every city of the country. The insurgence only showed the vast amount of infiltration the Descendants had prepared. Now their time seemed to be there. As every city slowly turned into a complete warzone, the other two citadels had reached the outskirts of Canterlot. But Luna alarmed Celestia and while the princess of the sun maintained a shield to protect the entire city from bombardment, Luna protected the throne room with a shield of her own as firefights began to echo throughout Canterlot. A hail of fire and magic rained down on the shield above the city, but Celestia, despite the sudden concussion for the shield, didn’t flinch. Fire ran down the shield like raindrops on a window and scorched the ground at the city limits.

Both sisters were now sitting before the throne, imprisoned in this room with their most loyal guards while the rest of the city and land was falling into the chaos of battle. Celestia looked to the ground.
“I… I was fooled… I banished our protector, so they could get at us in our weakest moment…”

Resting a hoof on her big sister’s shoulder, Luna tried to comfort her with a smile.
“They will come to the rescue…” in her mind, Luna hoped that the freshly reformed Discord wouldn’t misuse this incident to make things worse. Where was he, after all?

For centuries the Descendants were behind the scenes, ever-watchful lurking from the shadows… studied Equestria and infiltrated its weaknesses. Now they were right in the open, marching through equestrian cities, taking over. In a swift and decisive move the three war citadels had surprised the Equestrians in the middle of the night as the traitors turned against the Equestrians in their sleep. With Rainbow Dash among the Wonderbolt Academy hostages, the separated Elements of Harmony were forced to go into the defensive. And while the Descendants in Ponyville besieged the library, their remaining ground forces started incursions in every major city. Applejack tried her best to calm down little Appleseed as she looked at the others.
“Ah wish Tyler would be here…”

Granny Smith and Big Mac looked at each other and nodded, before each one of them took out a rifle.
“ Don’t ya worry there, ma girl! If any one of these rascals tries to harm the Apple family, they’re up for a surprise!“ Applebloom nodded, a pot from the kitchen on the head and armed with a slingshot and some marbles. No one was going to hurt her big sister or her newborn niece. Big Macintosh and Granny first frowned at her, but that frown soon turned into a smile and they nudged the young filly for having the heart at the right spot.

While Fluttershy comforted Scootaloo, Rarity looked up from Sweetie Belle, who embraced her big sister frightened.
“Twilight…”

But the librarian simply nodded as she stared out the window.
“The Rangers will return with him… They promised!” Twilight also thought of Spike and was worried for him, since she teleported him right to the edge of the Everfree Forest on a mission towards Zecora’s hut. And while the lavender mare looked outside, the Descendants marched through Ponyville. Confident of their victory, they spread their propaganda.

We are the promise delivered to all of ponykind!
We raise our hooves to hail the one and ancient king!
We march to the orders of his two glorious heirs!
Equestria is sick and we are the cure…

Author's Note

Not yet proofread, my proofreader seems busy with other stuff.

24 - The day Equestria rises *

It was noon when the Rangers of Harmony strolled around the port of Mountania and looked for a ship home. Rachel looked around.
“So Flynn… How many bits have we left?”

“Nothing… We spend the rest of it on the bread you guys now eat.”

Looking to the loafs of bread Rachel, Sam and Tyler were eating, she held Sam’s arm back and shook her head.
“Don’t haste… Chew your meal…”

Lyra shook her head.
“So we’re going to work on the trip home. What’s the big deal?”

Tyler smirked
“Actually I have no problem with working… on…” He suddenly stopped in front of a ship and glared at the bat pony crew.

Flynn chuckled nervously.
“Oh? Seems like the Alisia is still in at anchor! Maybe they’ll…”

Approaching the Alisia with a determined speed, Tyler instantly walked up the planks and approached the First Commander, whose eyes widened as he saw Tyler.
“Y-YOU!!!”

Tyler nodded and grabbed the stallion at the neck.
“I’m requesting permission to come aboard!”

“Well, I-”

“Oh? Granted? Thank you, Will!”

Pushing him aside,Tyler opened the door to the Captain’s cabin with a kick, where Lily looked up, only to gasp at his sight.
“Jones!”

“You! You left me behind in that godforsaken place! I could have been dead! You minx, you come right here!”

Jumping up on her desk, she confronted Tyler and flew up to him, booping her nose at his with a grim face.
“I thought you were dead already! And if we had waited for you to appear magically out of the sand, all these ponies out there might be dead now as well! I had a choice to make and I made it! And who are you to complain? You’re still alive and kicking!”

“No thanks to you… You will compensate me for this!”

Looking at him aghast, she simply began to shake her head.
“What? No, I will not!”

“Oh yes, you are! I need a trip to Equestria and you will bring us there!”

Lily now arched a brow.
“That’s it? Hmmm… What’s in it for me?”

Hearing this caused Tyler to smile and he nodded.
“I still owe you one for that wrecked ship in your point of view, huh? OK… We can talk about that when we’re back.”

With that the Captain thought for a bit.
“And I suppose you don’t have enough bits for the journey home?”

Tyler shook his head.
“No, we’ll have to work for the trip I think… The good news is, however, that these magic storms are over. We took care of their cause.”

That made Lily smile.
“This truly is good news as this makes things for us sailors much easier…” landing now behind her desk again, she calculated a bit. “OK… If these storms are over now, that means the traffic in these shipping lanes will flourish for a bit. It’s an opportunity worthy to be taken. I will send these messages to some privateer ponies and we’ll share some of the profits. I’m fair here, so I’ll say some of your team mates can journey on the ship for free. These other humans are with you, right?” After Tyler’s nod she continued. “OK… Let’s see… I think we can let the mare and this female human go for free, you guys can help us loading and unloading…” After ten minutes of explaining and discussing the conditions, both agreed and the male Rangers got to work while Rachel and Lyra went below deck and tried to make something useful on their own.

Two days later, shortly after sunset, the coast of Equestria was reached. As the Alisia neared the coastline, the Rangers looked at land. Although this was Equestria, the coastline showed burning cities, smoke was everywhere on the horizon. And in the mountains hovered three war citadels, two of them firing at the castle of Canterlot.
“No!” A certain grade of despair was in Tyler’s voice. It visibly hurt him to see Equestria like this.

But the other Rangers held him back so he couldn’t do anything reckless.
“Easy Jones…” Rachel said. “We have to scout the situation first. For the time being, we should do things like we do them in the Corps.”
Turning to Captain Lily, Rachel knelt down. “Captain, I have to ask you of something.”

Arching a brow, the bat pony mare cocked her head.
“Yes? What is it?”

“I need a long-boat…”

* * * * *

Twenty minutes later, they landed on the beach and Tyler sunk down to his knees to kiss the sand.
“I’m home! And God help me, I will slaughter all of them if they harmed the girls.”

Grinko shook the water out of his fur and kept on walking.
“What are you saying, Tyler Jones? In a land of ponies you humans are strangers as I am!”

With that the human looked up to the Masar.
“This has become my home… And now your debt to me is repaid. Return home to your brothers and sisters, who surely wait for their brother.”

But this made Grinko look down to Tyler with a grim expression.
“And because I love them very much I must not dishonor them!” Grinko’s claws now stretched out without turning to the other Rangers, who slowly approached him from behind with a sack. “I will slaughter any of you who try to keep me from my honor!” Lowering the sack, the three Rangers slowly backed away. Now helping Tyler up, the Masar growled. “You are trying to keep me from harm, which is honorable. But this is the price I am willing to pay to repay you. In whatever mess you go now, Tyler Jones… Rest assured that I will stay at your side.”

Tyler nodded at this with a determined smile.
“You truly are something, Grinko. Good to have you with us.”

Rachel now passed both of them.
"Alright… Whatever happened here, it took hold of some major cities. In the north, there are some smoke pillars over Vanhoover. To the south lies Las Pegasus, also burning and Ponyville in the East… I say we’re going to the Everfree Forest, and on its northern edge, we should approach Ponyville unnoticed.”

Sam nodded.
“When we’re in the Everfree, we could get to Zecora and ask what exactly happened.”

Tyler looked at the smoke pillars in the distance.
“What about the others? Why aren’t we-”

Rachel now grabbed Tyler and shook him a bit.
“Get a hold of yourself, Ponyfucker! We all know you’re worried sick for your girls, but you won’t do them any good storming at the gates with nothing but your clothes! You said yourself on the way here that you used up all your battle magic and Lyra here can only do so much with her magic knowledge.” With a heavy gulp, Tyler nodded while looking into Rachel’s face and she comradely slapped him. “We’ll fix that! OK, Jones?”

Huffing now, Tyler went along with them. Sam arched a brow and smirked.
“That was actually pretty good, Rachel.”

“What do you mean, Sam? He’s an asshole, but he certainly doesn’t deserve to die in haste. I lost comrades that way…”

While entering the Everfree half an hour later, the group looked around quite careful. All seemed a bit tense due to the eerie environment, but Grinko seemed to enjoy it.
“Ahhh… What a wonderful place! The air is wet as is the ground. The smell of prey and predator lies within these woods!”

Flynn grinned.
“Glad you have a great time. But where does she live anyway?”
Tyler pointed a direction. “It’s a bit dark, but from what I can remember, her hut should be that way.”

Three minutes later it knocked on Zecora’s door and the humans entered carefully. Looking from her cauldron, the zebra began to smile.

“The time of worry finally ends…
You are balm to my eyes, my human friends!”

But as soon as the zebra spotted Grinko, she became furious.

“Tyler Jones, have you gone mad,
To bring to my hut this killer cat?”

Fetching a spear, Zecora now went after Grinko.

“Out! Out! And don’t come near!
A Masar is not welcome here!”

Tyler held the spear in midair, just inches before it reached Grinko.
“Grinko, please leave the tree hut, Zecora isn’t pleased to see your kind around.”

Growling a bit, the Masar nodded.
“That much I understood… I will comply for the sake of peace.”

As he left the hut and closed the door, Tyler looked at Zecora.
“As much as I respect and honor your ways, Zecora… Maybe you could have let me explain a bit before.” But the zebra frowned deeply.

“No talk about this cat anymore!
Or you will find yourself outside at the door!”

Tyler sighed.
“Fine, fine… I’ll stop. Just… tell me what happened in our absence. How could things go THAT wrong?” Zecora nodded and went over to her cauldron, threw in some herbs and roots into the boiling water and slowly begin to stir it. As the Rangers peeked into the cauldron, they saw vague pictures as the zebra began to explain

“I was fetching herbs for my daily feast,
When thunder sounded from the coast of east.
In wonder I went to Ponyville,
But the sound of fighting caused me to hold still.
So I approached the edge of the wood,
But what I saw was all but good.
Three fortresses to oppress the land,
Imply that this was well prepared and planned.
With Ponyville under hostile siege,
Our friend Twilight was outside my reach.”

Looking over to a corner of the hut Zecora smiled.

“But Twilight’s magic had sent Spike to me,
To store away a remedy.
When I returned home, he was already here
Holding a vial close so very dear.”

Tyler now looked to the little dragon, which was sleeping in a basket of feathers. He could see that the baby dragon was rolled together like a frightened child; maybe this whole situation was a bit much for Spike.
“A remedy you say? In a vial? What is it?”

“A vial of blood red as good wine
Was what Spike brought to this hut of mine.”

Taking the vial of blood into his hand, Tyler carefully inspected it.
“Curious! It’s charged with magic. I wonder what she stored in it…” Zecora now shrugged before pointing a hoof at Tyler.

“What’s in this blood I cannot say,
But surely Twilight thought of a way.
To aid you and the Rangers here
To rescue what we all hold dear.”

Rachel now woke up Spike.
“Hey, little one… Come on! Wakey-wakey…”

As Spike opened his eyes, he jumped up as he saw the Rangers.
“Wah! Tyler! You have to come! These Descendant guys are in Ponyville and-”

Calming the little dragon down the Rangers raised their hands.
“Easy, champ…” Tyler said. “We all know that by now… We need to think of something that can bring Ponyville back into our hands.”

Spike now pointed at the vial in Tyler’s hand.
“That’s why Twilight teleported me to Zecora! She said she had something worked out to give you guys some help.”

Sam nodded.
“Do you know what’s in this blood?”

Spike looked up to the vial, but reluctantly shrugged and shook his head.
“No… But she said I was to remain at Zecora’s place until you guys show up. She made that a very important order.”

Flynn looked at the others. “Maybe she expected the others to be captured in a way… Then Spike would be the only one to deliver us the aid she deemed helpful to get them free again.”

Tyler now looked at the glittering blood in the vial.
“Well… Since I don’t have a syringe with me… there’s only one way to get this stuff into me.” With that he uncorked the vial and downed the blood with two hasty gulps, only to grimace at this. The iron taste of copper mixed with a prickling feeling of soda on his tongue. Was that the feeling of magic? But as soon as Tyler had drunk the blood, his eyes popped open as he realized the kind of spell Twilight had sent him. “Oh, Twilight, you are a genius!” Turning at the baby dragon now, he raised his hand towards Spike. “Sorry, Romeo… But your cute little days are over for the time being. What Ponyville needs now is another Spike… Step outside the door.”

The little dragon wasn’t excited over this news.
“What? Me? But I… Uaaaahhhh!” With that he tried to escape to the front door, ran outside as a shot of magic hit him from behind and caused him to fall down. “Owww….”

As the Rangers approached Spike, Tyler shook his head.
“Sorry, Spike… But I didn’t tell you to run.”

But nothing yet happened. Flynn looked over to Tyler.
“What was this spell anyway? A dud? I mean nothing happens to… the… small… fel-” His sentence never ended as Spike began to grow into something massive and grew tremendously until his shadow was cast down to the Rangers and the hut.

A fierce roar now went through the Everfree Forest. The roar was loud enough to let the Descendants in Ponyville look up.
“What in Tacitus’ name was that?” When Twilight heard the roar in the distance, her eyes began to sparkle again and it gave her new strength to fight the fatigue she was currently under. For several days now the Descendant tried to break through her force field, but the librarian’s magic was stronger than theirs. Now, with this roar in the distance, the fighting spirit once more returned to the librarian and the fluctuating force field gained new strength. Just a bit more… she thought. Just a bit more and they’re back!

And then it arose from the woods. A gigantic dragon beast in purple and green, 100 foot tall with massive scales approached Ponyville. The muscular body of the bipedal dragon pushed the trees away, breaking them apart like matches.
The Descendants looked up in awe as they saw the dragon approaching. “Oh you have to be bucking kidding me…” Another Descendant looked on the rifle in his magic grip. “We… We need bigger weapons… Uh… Uh… SIEGE WEAPONS! ATTACK!!!” As the gigantic Spike approached the outskirts of Ponyville, the stomps and steps he took shook the ground and signalized everypony that another wave of dragon rampage was about to hit the town.

Rachel, hanging around at one of the many horns and spikes just behind the gigantic jaws saw the careful steps the dragon took in order to harm Ponyville not more than needed. Seeing this, she shook her head. “Don’t hesitate! Just imagine what horrible things they could do to Rarity…” As her words reached his mind, the giant dragon opened his eyes wide. Somewhere deep within the beast the baby dragon remembered that his friends were in dire distress. Looking over to the fluctuating force field around the library before shaking his head, he roared in rage.

Tyler, who held himself on top of Spikes giant head, nodded down to Rachel.
“I agree with you, Spikezilla! Time to get these guys away from Rarity and the others! Sick ‘em, boy!” Trampling over some barricades, the carriages and boxes with military supplies on the ground were tossed aside like toys.

That was the moment when the command came.
“FIRE!!!” Heavy stones were hauled from wooden trebuchets at the dragon and several large arrows were shot from ballista. But the arrows only stuck in the hardened scales of the dragon and the stones only had the effect of slapping the head to the side, enraging the dragon even further. As Spike roared at the siege weapons, the Descendants on them almost froze in fear. “Oh buck…” With quick jumps they galloped away before the fiery stream of dragon breath took care of the siege weapons and burned them to ashes. Now within the city limits, Flynn and Grinko jumped off from Spike’s tail and began to fight on the ground.

Some unicorns fired their magic at Spike, but the bolts bounced off the sturdy scales. But Spike only stomped once and the pressure wave as well as the quake were enough to bring the unicorns to the ground and sent their ears ringing. Gritting his teeth, one of the Descendants looked up to the large beast.
“Fall back! EVERYPONY FALL BACK!!! PONYVILLE IS LOST!!! IF WE STAY HERE, THAT BEAST WILL FEAST ON EVERY ONE OF US!!!”

Now in full retreat, the still standing Descendants tried to flee the small village, only to be hunted down by Grinko and Flynn, who knocked out the majority of them. Grinko, who was tempted to kill each of these enemies, held back as Tyler’s one and only command for the Masar still lingered in his mind.

“Once we’re in the city, you and Flynn hunt down the ground forces. Knock them out, but don’t kill them until they are brought to justice. If they are sentenced to death, maybe you will be the executioner. Swift, fast, painless…”

These were Tyler’s words. Although he wasn’t making any solid promises, he let the possibility open. And this was what intrigued the Masar right now. Tyler was a most interesting warrior and deserved further study. Now Grinko and Flynn tied up all the Descendants.
Tipping his claw at the chest of one of the Descendants, Grinko bared his fangs.
“You there… You look stringy… but tasty all the while…” His tongue now slid over his bare teeth.

Tying up another pony, Flynn looked over to Grinko with a big grin.
“No Grinko… We won’t eat them… Not yet that is…”

“Not yet? Oh, alright…” Grinko said reluctantly.

“Yeah… You guys still have time to decide whether you liked to be served with ketchup or mayonnaise.” It was in this moment when one of the captured Descendants fainted in fear. Roaring in triumph, the dragon reared up again before he embraced the force field with his entire body, shielding it with his body from further harm. Growling, Spike came to a complete halt and watched as Tyler jumped off and Rachel secured the place before the library.

Breaking through the force field with some effort, Tyler kicked open the library door.
“AJ! Twilight! Girls, are you all alright?!?” As he stormed into the library, the others looked at him.

Twilight rose up, looking tired with tears in her eyes.
“Tyler!!!” As she jumped at him, he caught her in midair and pressed his lips on hers. In an instant, she backed off and stuck her tongue out. “Ewww….”

Tyler looked at his herd mate, aghast.
“Ewww? I kiss you and you say Ewww?"

“I’ve never kissed you with a beard before! And you smell like you haven’t bathed in days!”

Pointing outside he shook his head.
“I… Well! After sea fights and crossing a desert, what almost killed me, held prison in a Changeling hive for some hours, freeing a Masar, escaping said hive and destroying a war citadel, not speaking of the humanoid Changeling that almost killed all of us, I come back here, only to find Equestria taken over by the Descendants and you talk about my personal hygiene? I mean… Really? What in God’s name had happened in our absence?”

Twilight looked out of the window.
“It happened a few days after the rest of you Rangers left. They waited until Rainbow Dash was at the Wonderbolt Academy again. They attacked at night, when most ponies were sleeping. With the Wonderbolt Academy taken hostage, the air supremacy was theirs in an instant. The other two citadels are bombarding Canterlot, holding both princesses in place. And then the incursions began. We were simply overrun from the inside. The royal guard had heavy losses. At least I think so. Smoke over every major city. Manehattan, Baltimare, Las Pegasus, Cloudsdale… With Canterlot under lockdown, there even is no way for calling help from the Crystal Empire.”

Applejack now hugged Tyler as well, not minding the smell of sweat on him. The kiss only made her chuckle.
“Twilight’s right with one thing: That beard tickles!”

Tickling her ear a bit, Tyler nodded.
“I’ll get a shave and a shower once we’ve cleaned up this mess here. Deal?” All three herd mates now agreed with a nod.

Sam now came back in with Lyra.
“Ponyville has been secured. Flynn tied these guys up really good and Rachel and Grinko keep an eye out on them as well as guarding the city limits. Some Pegasi are helping them with that.

Stepping outside, Twilight looked up to Spike, who still embraced the force field like it was his most precious hoard treasure. Embracing the gigantic snout with both her front hooves, Twilight nuzzled him. A feeling of pride filled her now as she stepped back a bit.
“Alright, Spike! Well done!” Zapping the giant dragon now with another spell, she undid the growth spell and Spike shrunk back to his former size, only to be surrounded by Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who praised him.

Tyler looked towards Canterlot. Still the shield dome around it was under bombardment, a sight that equally angered and frightened him. Inside there were Celestia and Luna and needed help.
“We need to do something about this! But without the certainty about the other-”

He was interrupted by an earth pony stallion and a Pegasus mare who approached the village from the north.
“Excuse me? This IS Ponyville, right?”

Tyler arched a brow.
“Depends… Who wants to know?”

The stallion nodded.
“Oh yes, of course! I’m Thunder Plain, Manehattan resistance.”

“I’m Blazing Wind, representative of both Las Pegasus and Cloudsdale Resistance.” Said the Pegasus mare.

Tyler’s eyes widened.
“Resistance?”

Thunder Plain nodded.
“You see, when the Royal Guard couldn’t hold the Descendants off, the reservists of the old Changeling militia watch took arms and came to their aid. Currently the remnants of the Descendants that we kicked out of our cities have fled towards Canterlot.”

Blazing Wind also nodded with a smile.
"We have information that according to our Changeling militia watch ponies in all Equestria came to the aid of the loyal members of the guard.”

Rachel chuckled.
“To think that these Changelings did something to save Equestria from being overthrown…”

This made Tyler smirk. Shiria would hate this thought.
“They may have failed to overcome the other cities, but Canterlot still is under heavy siege. They want to take it at all costs… These three war citadels are proof to it.”

Flynn now nodded.
“If I understand it correctly, two of them are bombarding Canterlot and one is holding the Wonderbolt Academy hostage? And Rainbow Dash was in the Academy at that time? Clever… Not only does this grant them air supremacy, they also separated the Elements of Harmony!”

Twilight gave this a reluctant nod.
“That’s right. If only one Element is missing, we can’t combine our powers.”

Tyler’s face grew grim at these words.
“Alright folks… No fucking Descendant takes over this place on my watch! These bastards aren’t just vile brutes; they also have an unnerving amount of wit, intelligence and worst of all: patience.” He then looked down to Twilight. “You look like you haven’t slept in a while. Take a nap, honey, I’ll need you and your strength in the impending battle.” As she received a kiss on her forehead, his herdmate nodded with a tired smile and returned to the library and to her waiting bed. With the Rangers as Ponyville’s guardians now, the Elements of Harmony finally had the chance to get some well-deserved rest.

Tyler went over to Applejack and the other members of the Apple family.
“I haven’t looked at Sweet Apple Acres yet, but the barn and the farm house both seem fine from what I could see.” Leaning over the cradle, he looked at his daughter. Appleseed was sleeping safe and sound despite the entire ruckus that had happened outside. Seeing his daughter alive and well prompted Tyler to grab Applejack’s cheeks once more, only to place another deep kiss on her lips. “I’m glad you decided against holding the farm against the Descendants on your own, honey.”

Applejack grinned.
“Well, Ah’m not a fool, ya know? Farm houses and barns can be rebuild, trees can be replanted. But all is for the family…”

Granny now smiled at the two of them.
“Ya two also get some rest. Ya seem tired as well.”

* * * * *

In the morning Rachel stood on a crate and tried to persuade the ponies to follow the Rangers.
“We are looking for volunteers now to fight the Descendants! We have a plan, but it will still be dangerous.” Although the ponies came to hear her out, they all hesitated. The mentioning of danger spooked the most of them and as some of them began to trot away, Rachel shook her head. “No pony? Not one of you? I don’t believe this! You all prospered under the princesses’ reign. And you saw what awaits you under the Descendants! How can you not fight in order to keep the princesses as your diarchs?”

It was in this moment when Tyler’s hand rested on Rachel’s shoulder.
“It’s no use, Rachel… Just look at them! They’re scared as we would be when this would happen in our world and we wouldn’t have these powers. The princesses were the ones who always protected them from harm, now they’re on their own.” He now looked at all the ponies gathered together. “We might get this land back, folks… But for this we need the help of each and every pony of Equestria!”

A murmur went through the crowd as the ponies were visibly uncertain whether or not to take this risk. But all of a sudden, Grinko’s roar sounded off from one of the roofs.
“Ponies of a foreign land! Look at me! My name is Grinko derka Khass’ra!” He then pointed at Tyler. “I stand united with this man until my debt to him is repaid! And by the blood in my veins I swore… I shall fight with him to honor those I love at home! Fight for those you love! Fight for your princesses to repay them for all these many years they guarded and guided you!” Tyler looked at Grinko with a smile. It was a good speech, but there was no guarantee that the ponies would think so as well. Right now the eyes of all ponies wandered from Grinko back to Tyler and Rachel.

Among the many silent ponies, one hoof now stretched out. One gray stallion with clover leaves as cutie mark looked up and nodded.
“I go with you, Rangers…”

Mere seconds later, a mare nodded as well.
“My bow will aim for you as well, good sir!”

More voices emitted from the crowd.
“I offer all my bravery!”

“They’re right! We toss those goons out of our beloved Canterlot!” In a matter of minutes, the ponies all enlisted for the march towards Canterlot.

An hour later the Harmony Rangers and Elements of Harmony stood together around a table. Twilight smiled as she brought good news.
“Hearing that you guys returned and are up to fight the Descendants has brought a positive effect to every city. We get news from all Resistance groups that the cities were secured and are ready for our plan.” Showing the cities on the map, she then pointed her hoof down on Ponyville. “Well… We have all the ponies we need for the march on the capital… But…” Twilight looked up from the map to Tyler. There was heavy concern in her face. “The Descendants have muskets and pistols; we have melee weaponry and only a hoof full of weapons. If we approach them head on, lots of ponies will lose their lives!”

Tyler nodded and looked onto the map.
“I have an idea how to disarm their weapons… or rather how to let them waste almost all of their ammunition.”

“How?”

Looking over to the other Rangers, Tyler pointed at Sam.
“Sam? How fast could you scribble the blueprints for one complete knight armor together?”

Scratching his head, Sam shrugged.
“Uh… About half an hour? We are talking about scribbles, not artwork, right?”

With a short nod, Tyler turned to the unicorns.
“Scribbles are fine. Twilight! You and Rarity, can you craft together whatever Sam is scribbling?”

Twilight looked over to Rarity and the seamstress shrugged.
"NORMALLY I prefer softer materials than metal plates, Darling, but I could work the scribbles out to make it fit.” She shuddered a bit. “Functional clothing… Yuck!”

Twilight nodded and looked up to Tyler.
“I could help Rarity to assemble the armor… But what is your plan, Tyler? Metal plates won’t stop bullets from being lethal…”

Tyler rewarded Twilight with a smirk.
“Don’t worry about that now, my love… Next question: If you two have this one armor together, could you duplicate it around… two hundred times?”

“TWO HUNDRED TIMES?!?” Recollecting herself, Twilight looked around. “Spike? Spike!!! Go search in the library and find me all spells that could work for this! I will see to them for myself later.” Saluting briefly, the little dragon dashed back to the library.

Tyler then turned to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.
“As for you two: You help Twilight and Rarity in every way you can! Fetch them needed materials, help them if they need a pause, such things…”

Applejack now raised her head.
“What do Ah do, Sugarcube?”

"First off, get all the fillies, colts and foals to Cherilee and Granny Smith. Second, you and Big Mac will look at the farm for every piece of tool one could use as a weapon. Also fetch your Apple Cannon and your Hydrakiller. I want you two prepared for the worst.”

The farm mare nodded with determination.
“We’ll do that! Come on, big brother! We have stuff to do!” Everyone now followed his part of the plan and the Rangers looked at each other.

Rachel whistled a bit.
“If that works, you bring them the idea of unmanned drones, you know that?”

Tyler sighed.
“Fortunately these ponies tend to forget these stressful times quite fast once peace comes back. I just hope that this doesn’t leave too much of an impression…”

* * * * *

In the evening, Twilight called for Tyler’s presence behind the Carousel Boutique, where an improvised warehouse, nothing more than a large tent was built up in haste. As he entered the tent, both unicorns came from behind a veil.
“It’s getting dark, now’s the time to attack. How far have the preparations, girls?”

While Twilight’s horn was glowing red from all the magic, her mane as well as the mane of Rarity was messed up from all the tedious work.
“You are more than lucky I found this spell, but it’s limited to 12 hours…” With that she unveiled her result Here! 126 human armors in weapons are all I managed to reproduce in such a short time… What you intend to do with them is beyond me… We have four humans, You can’t each wear 31 of these armors.”

“These armors aren’t for us, Twilight. They are for you, the Element of Magic!”

“For me?” Now Twilight was even more confused.

“Yes… I give to you a lifeless army you can move to your own free will to come to the aid of your mentor and herd mate.”

“Tyler! If you think I could make these armors alive like Princess Luna awoke these toy spiders during her first nightmare night, you are sadly mistaken. That’s alicorn magic!”

Shaking his head, Tyler patted her shoulder. “No, you dummy… These armors are simple hollow shells… Puppets! And you, Twilight… you will be the puppeteer…”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she understood his plan now and looked at the armors with a smirk.
“I see… Yes, I should be able to do that…”

That said, Twilight charged her horn and let her magic work. And while the magic moved through the hundreds of armors, nothing really happened at first. Pinkie Pie arched a brow.
“Heeeyyy… it’s not wormph-” in an instant, Fluttershy and Applejack held her mouth shut, shaking their heads to signal the pink mare to have a little more patience.

Then, shortly after that, drums were suddenly played, shortly before fanfares began to play on their own. The banner of Equestria was raised and began to levitate in front of the armors. Rarity beamed up as she saw the armors draw their swords.
“Wa-ha-HA!!! That’s more like it: Human chivalry!” After taking their first steps forward, the armors now marched outside and Twilight kept an eye out for each of the armors so none of them would march astray. Her horn quickly supercharged and she wasn’t sure if the magic struggle wouldn’t be too much for her, but right now this was their only chance to regain Equestria.

Near Canterlot, a Descendant came hastily into the tent of his commander.
“Commander Belram, sir! Before the small groups of the Equestrian resistance army marches another army. Sir, it’s a human army!”

Hearing this prompted the commander to widen his eyes.
“A human army? But there are only four humans! How…” Then the idea sprang to his mind. “Tyler Jones! No doubt he’s behind all this! In his absence he brought more humans to our world! Alright! Send this message to Commander Dunatran: He shall make sure that all these humans die! And defeat that pesky resistance groups!”

As the messenger arrived with the note, Commander Dunatran simply sneered.
“A human army? Pah! Let them come! We’re prepared for them! We no longer use magic to combat humans! Our rifles will bring them all a swift and decisive death.”

Lining up in formation at the slopes of Canterlot, the armors, visor all pulled down, raised their shields and swords and kept their discipline as Twilight controlled them. Fluttershy patted Twilight’s shoulder and wiped the sweat from unicorn’s forehead.
“Just a bit more, Twilight… How are you feeling?”

Another drop of sweat rolled down Twilight’s forehead.
“I’m OK. It’s just… Controlling so many armors needs full concentration.”

Both Fluttershy and Rarity looked over to Pinkie Pie, who simply shrugged.
“What?”

Standing next to Twilight, Tyler looked down to her, his smile showing how glad he was to be at her side in this very moment.
“I promise you, once this is over, I’ll take care of all your errands for one week. OK?” Twilight peeked over to Tyler for one fraction of a second and smiled, before she concentrated on the armors. Looking over the fields Tyler then nodded as he raised his own sword. “Sound the advance!” With another spell of the unicorn, three armors raised the fanfares in order to signal the advance and the army of armors began to march against the enemy. Behind the 126 armors, the Equestrian resistance followed the slow moving train in safe distance. In an unprecedented march all of Equestria marched up the railroad tracks towards Canterlot. Now lighting their torches, the Descendants could see the incredible amount of hundreds of thousands of ponies marching towards the capital.

Commander Dunatran gritted his teeth.
“I see they’re coming. And Tacitus be my witness, they seem to have brought all of Equestria into the battle. Well by the time they reach us, they will have more holes in their bodies than a Changeling! Get ready! For Tacitus’ glory!” Animated by their battle cry, several dozens of Descendants jumped into the entrenchments, others used a crate or a barrel as makeshift cover and some hid in the bushes.

Some of the Descendants already gulped.
“So many humans… It’s gotta be some kind of trick!”

But already their comrades looked grim to them.
“Yeah right… One hell of a trick! You dumb mule! Like what? These Pinkie clones? Even when they cloned one of them, we will kill all these guys in the armors!”

But the commander narrowed his eyes with determination. Whatever the cause for these new humans was, the Descendants would be the end of it this time.
“Aim!” While some of the Descendants aimed for the hearts, some aimed for the legs and others aimed for the heads. Only the sound of clanking metal echoed over the foggy fields, making the ponies gulp. The train came to a halt at the end of one of the many tunnels tunnel and the armors alone marched on. Tyler made sure that these armors had to be alone for the plan to work and the metallic echo of the march became audible for the Descendants.

Then the order finally came.
“Fire!” A barrage of bullets hailed down into the army of armors, but the lifeless objects only marched on. This visibly unnerved the Descendants. Frightened glances were exchanged, before their commander raised his voice again. “FIRE!!!” Another hail of bullets turned the armors to Swiss cheese, yet still they marched on. Step for step the armors approached the Descendants, without fear and without mercy. Terror was in the eyes of the soldiers as the enemy just kept coming. Flynn smirked through the binoculars for a moment and whispered something into Twilight’s ear, making the mare giggle a bit. After another short spell the armors began to get red glowing eyes within their visors, making them look even more frightening as they marched almost unharmed through the barrage of bullets.

Then suddenly, one of the armors pulled off one of its boots and emptied the bullets from it. In awe, one of the Descendants slowly approached the armor, not believing what he was seeing. There was no leg that this boot could protect in the first place. As the pony was close enough, the armor took the boot and whacked the pony’s head with it, causing the stallion to hold his head in pain.

Another earth pony stallion rammed his sword into one of the armors, only to repeat the attack as no visible effect came to be. Why was there no blood oozing out of this body? But suddenly the metallic hand took hold of the sword stuck in the armor while the other hand bitchslapped the stallion, what made him run away.
“W-WITCHCRAFT!!!”

A unicorn mare charged her horn and caused an explosion, ripping apart one of the armors. Satisfied with the result, she nodded. But her satisfaction turned into fear as the armor reassembled itself into a grotesque form with arms for legs, a boot for a head and the helmet for a hand. Yelling for her mommy, she began her escape.

Another unicorn Descendant roared in anger as he levitated two rifles up and reloaded one while firing with the other. But one of the armors walked up to him and took both rifles, only to break them over the knee. Stemming both gloves into the waist, the armor bend over to the pony, and the helmet took off and slammed onto the Descendant’s head.

When one Descendant stormed into the tent of the Commander, the Commander simply rolled his eyes about the ongoing annoyance.
”Commander Belram, sir!”

“Yes, yes… What is it? Has Commander Dunatran taken care of these human soldiers already?”

But the Descendant stammered.
“S-sir, you… you have to see for yourself!”

Rolling his eyes, Belram left the tent, only to widen his eyes at the sight before him.
“Well, what do I have to… see…? What in the Tacitus’ name…?”

The Descendants who were under the command of Dunatran were chased towards the fortified entrenchments near the city limits by several armors.
“AND I TOLD YOU IT WAS A TRICK!!!” One of them shouted.

One yellow mare was crying as one of the armors spanked her flank red, ignoring her pleads for mercy, a stallion was carried in his own armor while being kicked into the butt several times, yet another one was stuck with one of the helmets as two armors drummed on the helmet. It was bedlam and the enemy was making complete and utter fools of the Descendants and behind these humans in armors waited even more pony armies to battle the Descendants.
“Retreat! Back to the city! BACK TO THE CITY!!!” Behind the train, which now got in motion again, the ponies of the Resistance cheered and looked up to the citadels. It was in this moment that one flare was fired up into the sky.

Seeing the signal from a hatch, Flynn nodded and looked over to another white unicorn mare. While the armors and ponies marched on the ground, Tyler had brought the two of them up to the citadel over the Wonderbolt Academy. “Awesome! Seems like the guys on the ground kick these Descendant’s asses! Come on, dude! Bring these orbs with you that you human guys prepared.”

Looking back to the hatch, Flynn arched a brow.
“Uh… Maybe this is the wrong point of time, but how are we supposed to go back down once we’re done here? If this works, this citadel will be toast!”

“Nah, man… it’s cool! Two Pegasi are waiting outside of the hatch. They carry us down.”

“Well, if you say soummph!” Just as he looked forward again, his face bumped in-between her hind-legs. There was a feeling of something soft and warm around his nose for a second as his face was buried within her butt cheeks. “S-sorry!”

Looking back over her shoulder, she slowly took down her DJ glasses and arched a brow.
“Dude, not now, OK? This is not the time for making out! You do that again and I kick your face! Got it? Vinyl Scratch is not an easy mare!”

Blushing deeply, Flynn silently nodded. Why do these things keep happening to me? Climbing out of a ventilation shaft, both of them looked around. Flynn held the mare back.
“If I’m correct, the engine room should be that way…”

On the way to the engine room they stumbled over a guard, but Flynn reacted fast and threw one orb at the pony with a grinning “Peekaboo!” on his lips.

“What the…?” Like before, the Descendant tried his best to catch the orb, but this time, the pony failed and the orb shattered on the ground, resulting in a bright flash and a barrage of sonic waves knocking him out.

Flynn arched a brow and grimaced a bit in awe.
“Cool! What is charged in these orbs?”

“Oh, nothing special, just some magic for my bass cannon!” As Flynn looked at Vinyl, the DJ simply grinned wide and nodded.
“Ok… But we better get going, the loud sound of that thing might attract more of these goons.” Mere three minutes later, both of them ran towards the hatch and jumped out. Flynn first yelled out in fear, but the two Pegasi caught the two of them and carried them down safely.

But the Pegasi weren’t the strongest ones and dropped them in midair, so Flynn and Vinyl landed in front of the others in a bush. Vinyl was cracking up in laughter.
“Dude! That was actually quite funny!”

Flynn got up and forced out a smile.
“Yeah… Stay with dropping the bass instead of dropping the human. I prefer to fly for myself, then I can blame myself for the landing….”

Tyler and the others ran to them.
“Flynn! And? Did it wo-” In that moment, the citadel detonated in half and a group of sonic waves obliterated the cut in half fortress from inside.

Vinyl grinned widely at this.
“Duuuude! Destroy it with wubs! Yeah!!!”

Tyler chuckled a bit at this comment.
“Well, at least you got a new idea for your next remix, Vinyl...”

Once the citadel over the Academy was destroyed, the shield dome over it crumbled together and Spitfire turned around.
“I want to see every wing of this Academy in the air! NOW!!!” Within seconds, hundreds of Pegasi prepared their liftoff and grouped together in their wings.

As she went into her office, one of her co-instructors arched a brow.
“Ma’am? What are you doing?”

Spitfire only smirked as she stepped into her suit.
“I am a Wonderbolt, Sergeant… Me and the boys… We have to fly in this battle! Besides… With all these rookies we need some coordination up there, don’t we?” Squadron after squadron now ascended into the air as the whole academy came to the aid of Canterlot.

After searching her friends for a while among the many, many ponies, Rainbow now landed between the other Elements of Harmony and gave each of them a big hug.
“Folks! I’m so glad to see you! I almost gave up hope to meet you all again! So… Do we unite our elements against these things?”

Twilight shook her head.
"The Elements of Harmony are nothing that can do damage, Rainbow… Even if we unite our powers it would bounce off their armor of stone. I doubt we ponies can destroy any of-”

Now Tyler interrupted her.
“No! As you just saw they are not indestructible! The enemy has mighty fortresses but from the inside they can be destroyed. We’ve seen it in Zebrica, we have just proven it to all of Equestria. And because we know of their weakness, they will fear us.”

Twilight now shook her head even more determined.
“Tyler! It would need days for you to fill blood into new orbs! The blood for these final orbs was mixed together from all of the Rangers!”
Flynn grimaced. “True… And although the effect of Vinyl’s sound detonations compensated a bit for it, the detonation was weaker this time. We won’t get down the next citadel.”

A sly grin formed on Tyler’s face now.
“Yes… But they don’t know that!”

Narrowing her eyes, Twilight eyed Tyler for a second before she smiled.
“Alright, let’s hear your idea.” Bowing down to Twilight, Tyler whispered his idea into her ear, causing her eyes to widen slowly.
In the next moment she looked at him aghast. “You DO know that if they don’t fall for that…”

Tyler nodded with a sober face.
“It would become a slaughter, yes. If that happens all we Rangers can do is to kill as many of them as possible to save as many of you as we can. The odds are heavily against us and if we fail, certain doom is what we get…” As he walked away a bit, he turned back to Twilight with a wide grin. “It’s going to be one hell of a ride!”

While he walked away, Rainbow came to Twilight’s side.
“You know… Right now I don’t know whether to envy or to pity you for this daredevil…”

Twilight shook her head.
“Rainbow… Sometimes he just gets reckless in his will to stop at nothing while fighting for us… Then there are times when I just love him for being that way…”

Now the army of ponies, unicorns, earth ponies and Pegasi alike… Every pony marched on to fight the threat, to fight for the Princesses. Lead by the army of human armors the ponies approached the city limits. But just as the unicorns in the citadels tried to aim at the equestrian ground forces outside of the shield dome, they were attacked by the many squadrons of the Wonderbolt Academy which flew so close at the citadels, they attacked the unicorns standing on the many patios, prompting the Descendants to duck for cover before they could fire. The heavy bombardment fire to the ground now changed to spread out Anti-air fire, but slowly this fire ceased as more and more Wonderbolt Recruits managed to kick some unicorns unconscious. That’s when it finally happened in the midst of battle.

A gigantic hologram of the four Harmony Rangers now appeared in the sky over Canterlot’s shield dome with Flynn raising his hand to greet the entire city.
"HELLO, EQUESTRIA!!!"

Everypony now looked up in awe at the gigantic hologram as Sam continued.
“Whoever takes Canterlot castle, takes this land! But bad news, everyone… ‘Cause guess who’s back in business?”

As the citadels fired at the hologram, Rachel arched a brow and pointed at them.
“Hey! You folks up there! Could you guys stop firing at our hologram for a minute? BECAUSE WE ARE TALKING!!!”

The yelling was so intense the ponies in the citadels had to cover their ears for a second and the shooting stopped, causing Tyler to continue.
"Now the question of the hour is: Who’s conquering Canterlot? Answer: We Rangers are! Next question: Are you Descendants willing to fight us for it?” As no answer came, Tyler frowned for a second. “Come on, look at me! Banished guy, no weapons and no defenses! And thus there’s another thing I don’t have: Anything! To! Lose! So! If you’re sitting in there in your little war citadels with all your magic warfare and you got any plans on pissing off the equestrian ponies tonight…” Tyler now pointed at the crater that formerly was a big and proud mountain. “Just remember who leveled Dragon Mountain…” Tyler then pointed at the west, towards Zebrica. “Remember who brought down the zebrican war citadel Sagarod as well as the one over the Wonderbolt Academy! And then decide if you’re stupid enough to mess with us Rangers and our friends…” The war citadels now slowly backed away and went southeast, fleeing in a panic.

The Descendants on the ground, however, gritted their teeth.
“Curse these Rangers! And these two citadel commanders! Bucking cowards!” The retreat of the two war citadels caused the majority of the Descendants to mass up into the castle. Too much time and resources had been wasted already.

Outside the city, the Equestrian Resistance was cheering anew, the recapturing went well and all their presence showed the Descendants their determination to stand up against them.
It went too well in Tyler’s eyes. He expected harsher and longer resistance. These Descendants had so many citadels, yet they fight like they don’t know how to use them... His thoughts were interrupted as some of the Wonderbolts landed near the Rangers. Seeing them made Tyler smile. “Captain Spitfire! Good to see that the Wonderbolts still have their best officer.”

But the Captain of the Wonderbolts waved the thought away.
“I wouldn’t be a Wonderbolt if I couldn’t avoid fast approaching hazards, Mr. Jones.”

Flynn nodded.
“Did you have many losses up there?”

Spitfire let out a heavy sigh.
“Two dozen recruits didn’t make it, four dozen are injured. These two dozen ones shall receive their Wonderbolt membership retroactively. They died while performing their duty.”

Gritting her teeth, Rainbow now looked down.
“I shouldn’t have stayed on the ground… I should have been up there with the others.”

The Wonderbolt Captain arched a brow.
“Is that so? Then maybe you would have been among the dead or injured ones, ending or risking your career as a Wonderbolt.”

“Yeah but I-”

Spitfire raised a hoof.
“You may be one of the best cadets in the Academy, Rainbow Dash, but you also serve as an Element Bearer. This task is far more important and I won’t tolerate questioning the importance of this. It’s just… that sometimes we have to make decisions against our personal judgment because the choices that are right are not to our liking.”

Rainbow snorted, this truly wasn’t to her liking.
“I guess I’ll have to learn quite much before I’m ready to be a Wonderbolt Captain…”

Hearing this prompted Spitfire’s ear to flinch and she arched her brow.
“Is that so?” Eyeing Rainbow for a minute, the mare nodded. “You have the potential, kid… but it’s going to be a tough ride, in more than one way.” With this Spitfire turned to Tyler again. “I’m going to gather these squadrons together; I don’t think we can do much in urban warfare other than scouting from above. We Wonderbolts don’t bear arms.”
Tyler nodded. “Every bit of help is just fine…”

* * * * *

As the Equestrian Resistance entered the City of Canterlot, the Rangers gulped. Flynn looked around in the desolate streets.
“It looks like the city was attacked by the walking dead…”

Tyler gulped.
“Don’t say that. They have advanced warfare technology; we don’t need zombie ponies next!”

Twilight shook her head.
“There are NO such things as zombie ponies!”

“Of course there are no zombies here, but the city looks dead anyway… Where is everyone?” Turning around to the resistance leaders of the other cities, Tyler nodded. "Alright! Every resistance group is taking another district. Help out the remaining groups of the guards, but trust nopony! Remember they infiltrated us. In the meantime we Rangers and the Elements of Harmony go for Canterlot Castle!”

Meanwhile in the throne room, both princesses were surrounded by their most trusted guards. Celestia looked up as the bombardment on the town suddenly ceased.
“Oh, what are they doing?”

Peeking outside, Dusk Aegis looked out of a window and returned back to the royal sisters.
“Your highness, it seems like the Harmony Rangers have returned and are leading a resistance!”

Luna now looked over to Celestia.
“This small force field here will withstand everything the Descendants throw at us, my sister. But the castle is seemingly crowded with them. Thou may consider unleashing him…”

Celestia gulped.
“I don’t know… He’s an erratic factor…”

“That he is, my sister. But you never once gave him the chance to proof his ‘reformed’ loyalty. Maybe now is the time. The alternative is a massive bloodshed in this our castle…”

This made Celestia frown.
“Not when I can help it!” With that her horn gave out a noticeable sound wave that carried forth her call.

"Discord!"

Celestia’s call for the Spirit of Chaos was quite quiet in the throne room itself, but echoed through the halls of Canterlot Castle, where some of the Descendants listened up. None of them noticed the giant mosaic on the ground that depicted the Draconequus.
“That’s the princess… Do you think that this Discord is on the loose?”

“Nah… That guy got reformed. I doubt he would do anything. You know… In fear she might punish him…” But as soon as they had said that, the princesses’ call became audible once more, this time even louder.

"DISCORD!!"

With the second shouting of his name the eyes of the mosaic sprang open and narrowed a bit. 'What does she want now? Letting me do what I want all of a sudden…'

"DISCORD!!!"

As the eyes recognized the ponies on top of the mosaic, a big grin formed on the depicted mouth. With that last call a great thunderstruck shot from the ground of the hall and Discord’s mosaic crumbled apart, stood up from the ground with a maniacally burst of laughter as the Spirit of Chaos was called to arms. The Descendants in the hall slowly backed away in fear.
“It’s playtime!” For far too long he was limited to do only good and these Descendants ought to be good playthings for him. With a demonic grin he hovered above the ponies that looked up in terror.

Mere seconds later, the Harmony Rangers stormed the hallway before the castle’s main hall and tried to open the strong wooden door. Tyler was worried sick. He could swear that he heard Celestia yelling. Maybe she was combatting the Descendants who tried to storm her throne room? But from the other side of the door a manic laughter echoed through the hall as hooves slammed against the door in panic.
“Let us out! LET US OUT!!! WE SURRENDER!!!” With that Tyler and Rachel nodded at each other and the Rangers broke through the wooden doors. In the center of the hall, a lone creature hovered in the air. No more Descendants, no trace of fighting… It was like they were all… vanished.

Recognizing the shape of the Draconequus, Tyler went into a fighting stance and aimed his hand at him ready to attack; Rachel and the others followed his example.
“Discord!!! I should have known someone like you would be around here in all of this chaos!”

But in an instant Fluttershy galloped in front of them and hovered in front of the Draconequus.
“Wait! He’s not our enemy!”

Tyler arched both brows as the timid Pegasus stood up for one of the most dangerous beings in Equestria.
“What? But Fluttershy! You and the others, you told me what he did to each of you! Chaos, chocolate rain and abandoning each other!”

Rachel and Flynn both arched a brow.
“Chocolate rain…?”

Standing tall in front of the Rangers, Fluttershy shook her head as the other Elements of Harmony galloped into the safe hall.
“Oh, I know this is complicated, but this was the old Discord… This here is the new Discord. He’s changed now. He’s my friend!”

Tyler looked at Discord, and then his look turned back to Fluttershy. She didn’t seem to be manipulated in any of the explained ways. She wasn’t gray or had shades of gray on her. Slowly, Tyler lowered his arm and the Rangers eased down as well. Approaching Discord, Tyler grabbed the goatee of the floating Draconequus and pulled him down to the ground.
“Listen good, pal… I don’t know what happened in our absence here regarding you… But I trust in the judgment of the girls. If they say you are OK now, so be it. I advise you to stay good for the time being…” With this a sadistic grin formed on Tyler’s face. “Or the next time you’ll end up as a statue I’ll fetch myself hammer and pick and try myself in abstract art…” With that he returned to the other Rangers. “Let’s go! We still need to get rid of the Descendants here in the castle…”

The Draconequus looked after the leaving humans.
“Was he serious about this?”

Applejack looked up the Discord.
“He was dead serious, Discord… And Ah deem him able to do that. He’s not as forgiving as Princess Celestia or us ponyfolk as a whole…”

A broad mischievous grin now formed on the face of the former Spirit of Chaos.
“Hmmmm….. Interesting species, these humans…”

Twilight pointed a hoof at him in an instant.
“Don’t get any wild ideas, buster! He meant it! If you mess up now, you can pray that we get a hold of him before he gets a hold of you!”

Pinching Twilight in the cheek, the Draconequus grinned.
“Oh, you couldn’t stand the thought of losing all the fun with me, could you Twilight?”

Slapping his lion paw away, Twilight rolled her eyes in minor annoyance.
“Yeah, right…”

Fluttershy looked up to the former Spirit of Chaos, concerned for him to fall into relapse.
“Discord? Promise me you won’t do anything reckless?”

Clenching his paws, Discord trembled a bit in anger. These ponies… He then let out a sigh and raised an arm.
“Have it your way then… I promise I won’t provoke trouble…” With a smirk he looked away. “Nothing serious that is…”

Looking around Rainbow noticed the lack of enemies.
“What did you do to the Descendants in the castle?”

“Oh this… I stored some of them quite good in here…” With this he patted a small bag.

Twilight’s eyes widened.
“A bag of holding! You arrested them? Good!”

But the Draconequus simply rolled his eyes.
“Imprisonment? Oh please… I have… other things in mind with these here… Too bad our precious little princesses will demand them back for their…” Now he gestured quotation marks. “Justice…Ewww… Gag! Well if you excuse me? I’m having a blast in there and I want to have the most of it while I still can!”

With another snap of his eagle claw and a mischievous grin, he vanished with a flash. Twilight arched a brow.
“I can’t say I approve of his methods… But at least he’s trying to channel his craving for chaos into a productive way… In that bag he at least doesn’t bother Equestria. We’ll let the Princess handle him later…”

* * * * *

Meanwhile down the dungeon, the Rangers faced the final group of Descendants. They were grouped around a mare in uniform of the Royal Guard. It was Shimmerwind. Tyler sighed both physically and mentally. Not her… Not the Captain of the Guard herself a traitor… But it was the sad truth. It was her cutie mark. While the other Rangers went into fighting stance, Tyler raised his arm and Rachel pointed her rifle at the mare.
“Your plans are finished, Shimmerwind! There is no escape for the rest of you!” Tyler said with an angered voice.

The former captain of the guard giggled dark as she turned around, looking grim at the four Rangers from the corner of her eye.
“Don’t you four ever tire of being a nuisance? You’ve really messed up our operations far enough now…” With that the unicorn mare gave them an evil grin and levitated the alicorn amulet in front of her and placed it around her neck.

Tyler’s blood froze in this moment.
“It’s this alicorn amulet! Watch it folks! She’s way more powerfoaaahhh” With that Tyler was swatted away like nothing by the powerful magic of the amulet.

Grinning broadly, Shimmerwind charged her horn.
”No more magic absorbing for you, fool! Now I will squish all of you insects.”

Flynn stormed right at the Descendants, but despite the instant defeat of the ones around Shimmerwind, all his punches, as fast as they were, simply failed to hit the Captain’s magically enhanced body, which evaded all his attacks. As his melee attacks all failed, Flynn tried to reach for the amulet. Once he got it in his grasp, he pulled at it, but his eyes widened as the amulet’s chain seemed unbreakable. There was a moment of complete stillness between Flynn and Shimmerwind when the mare suddenly looked up to him, her eyes glowing red. In the next moment, Flynn went flying back to the others after a massive punch. The others stormed at him.
“Flynn! Are you OK?”

Holding his broken nose, Flynn snapped at Rachel.
“Get kicked into the face by a magically enhanced hoof yourself and tell me YOU feel OK, stupid!”

Rachel looked up to Tyler.
“He’s OK…”

Readjusting his nose into order, Flynn wrinkled it as the regeneration already took place.
“FUCK!!! That stupid bitch is toast!!!”

Noticing the many pillars of the dungeon that could serve as cover, Tyler looked grim at Shimmerwind and the alicorn amulet.
“That thing obviously won’t come off of her even if we try to get it. We don’t come around this…”

Rachel gritted her teeth.
“We have to kill her!”

Tyler nodded.
“OK… SAM!!! Give me a volley high and wide!”

Sam nodded and jumped to another pillar while Tyler stayed at his one.
“Shimmerwind! You still owe me an explanation! Why? Why siding with the Descendants?”

Firing two shots at Tyler’s pillar, the unicorn mare gritted her teeth.
“’Why?’ he asks… And yet the answer is so simple! Every day I see ponies complacent and all satisfied with what they have. They lack motive and determination! When I saw the Descendant’s progress not only in technology, but also their goal to work for, I knew what Equestria lacked. That was when I knew I was helping the losing team…” Tyler teleported to the next pillar just in time before his old one was blown to pieces. “We were promised progress and goals to achieve and this is everything Celestia denied us!”

Tyler gritted his teeth.
“Progress has to happen slowly! Boost it too much and you’re on the way towards destruction!” Jumping away, the pillar which served as his cover now blew up as well.

Shimmerwind’s eyes glowed red in wild anger.
“And who are you to talk, Tyler Jones? Your world is FILLED with technology! All the progress you humans make should be for us ponies as well!”

Rachel now gritted her teeth.
“And you think that technology in the hands of a very few serve good for all? Or is it just for these very few? No! Some of us humans believe that such a thing could end in a prison planet!” Now Rachel’s pillar detonated.

When Tyler peeked over, he could see Rachel’s bleeding shoulder at the neighboring pillar. She made her escape.
“That’s right, Shimmerwind! Technology is a double edged sword! We humans are the best example for it. We poison the air we breathe, the water we drink and the earth we plant our crops on. All in the name of technological progress…”

“SILENCE!!!” Shimmerwind now snapped at them. “Do you really think that I would fall for the babbling of Celestia’s lapdogs?”

Gritting his teeth, Sam grabbed one large piece of rock and jumped up and took aim at the mare.
“No, bitch… We can deliver SOLID PROOF!!!” With that he threw the rock slightly up, only to punch it hard with his fist. With the electric shock he delivered with the punch, the resulting detonation wave caused the rock to fly at Shimmerwind, prompting the mare to evade. It was in this moment when Tyler jumped at her with a sword in his hand. But too soon she recognized him and levitated him directly above her.

Stretching Tyler’s limbs now, the unicorn laughed like a maniac as Tyler screamed up in agony.
“Oh, how I waited for this very moment… Now you’re finally in for in for it, Tyler Jones… I will rip you apart limb by limb and shower in your blood!”

“Like hell you will!” With this Rachel pulled the trigger and the detonation of the magic bullet caused Shimmerwind to tremble for a short moment.

Feeling her chest, she laughed in triumph!
“HA!!! This amulet also makes me bulletproof to all your puny weapons!”

Rachel smirked as she raised an eyebrow.
“I didn’t aim for your damn chest, bitch!”

“What?!?” Looking down, Shimmerwind recognized a crack in the red crystal of the amulet. Rachel had aimed right at it and caused severe damage. The magic holding Tyler now fluctuated before it ceased completely.

Tyler collapsed to the ground and used the final healing magic in him to counter the stress the mare had inflicted on the tissue of his limbs.
“Th-Thank you, Rachel…”

Short green pulses of healing magic went through his body, before he looked up to the now frightened Shimmerwind.
“No! Why won’t this thing obey my commands? Come on! COME ON!!!” More and more magic accumulated inside of the amulet, growing red hot in its glow. In panic, Shimmerwind tried to get it off, but the amulet didn’t comply. Its breech was stuck too heavily by the fighting damage. While Shimmerwind screamed in terror, the crystal exploded in a detonation wave, prompting the Rangers to turn away from the mare, which now was in the epicenter of it. Half a minute later when the bright light ceased, Shimmerwind lied on the ground, the coat singed and smoking on some parts, but scorched heavily on other parts. Her mane was a singed mess. Some of her coat and skin had merged with the ground due to the heat and was ripped off her flesh as she moved. With a bloody and shaking hoof, she tried to crawl towards a communication crystal. “Must warn… the Darkness Sisters…”

But just before she could reach the communication crystal, Tyler’s boot stepped on her hoof, prompting her to scream in pain. She was grabbed by the neck and lifted up by Tyler.
“Oh yeah? Who are the Darkness Sisters? Are they another branch of your sick and twisted brotherhood?” When the guards arrived, Tyler tossed Shimmerwind at them. “Get this traitor out of my sight!”

The other Rangers nodded at each other.
“Looks like the Descendants were only the tip of the iceberg…” Sam stated.

Tyler sat down on the ground.
“Whatever! These investigations come AFTER I took a bath and AFTER a week of sleep!”

Rachel smiled over to him before looking at Shimmerwind.
“Jones! The Descendants may be thrown out of Equestria… but they will continue to fight.”

With a determined nod Tyler looked over to Rachel.
“Maybe they will continue to fight… But so will we!”

Five minutes later Tyler barged into the throne room and approached the two regal sisters. Luna ceased the force field for him, but arched a brow at his face. What was he up to?
“Celestia! That’s it!” With the sound of his boots echoing in the throne room, Tyler smirked as he was allowed to enter Luna’s force field. Taking his time, he strolled over to them, humming “Back in black” while doing so and slammed his flat hands on the strategic map table before them. “Equestria is mine! I conquered it…” Leaning over the table with the map of Equestria, he grinned broadly and took one of the tiny flags on it, wrote down a T on it and stuck it into Canterlot. As he looked up from the map, both sisters looked very serious at him, not sure what to expect now. Tyler, however, smiled and turned around, went towards the exit. “You know, I’m horrible with politics, you can have the whole place back. You’re way better at this than I am anyway. Oh yeah! I have a report about a humanoid Changeling! This banishment of mine? Forget about that crap, OK? I will hand the report to you later this week… So if you excuse me? I’m having a shower and a shave.”

As he left the throne room, both princesses felt their hearts racing as they blinked at the doorway in surprise. Celestia blushed slightly as she found the words again first.
“Two war fortresses, turning and fleeing into the south… Another one destroyed… Also an entire army defeated… And he just swaggers right in here and tells us that he doesn’t want the land he just reconquered…”

Luna grinned and bumped her flank into that of her sister.
“The big conqueror presenting thou peace and already I hear the wish for a foal in thy words?”

Celestia cleared her throat.
“I never said that…”

“Thy scent does it for thee, big sister…”

Blushing in even deeper shades of red, Celestia now stammered a bit.
“I…”

Seeing her older sister out of control made Luna giggle.
“It’s alright, Tia…I can relate... He IS a big conqueror, but the thing he conquered wasn’t Equestria.” This made Celestia smile. She doubted Tyler ever intended to conquer anything. And this only made it easier for her to surrender her heart to him.

* * * * *

In the morning fanfares were played when the Harmony Rangers and Elements of Harmony approached the throne room. Dusk Aegis, now the new Captain of the guard nodded at Tyler, proud of his new position and his human friend. With a prim “A-ten-hoof!” the royal guard sprang into a respectful stance towards the throne.

Before the throne Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood in front of the 12 heroes.
“Equestria was saved this day by those who are loyal to it and those brave enough to face the forces of evil trying to break us apart! We honor each and every one who stood united with his fellow pony and showed Equestria that everypony has the potential to become a hero if we show determination to stand up for our beliefs.” Uncovering the window, it showed the four Rangers, Lyra, Grinko and the Mane Six leading the equestrian ponies against the three war citadels and was the most detailed window until now.

One after another, the Mane Six got a medal. Flynn, Rachel and Sam got Ranger stars, forged by the Canterlot Royal silver smiths. When it was Lyra’s turn to receive her medal, she raised a hoof.
“I’d prefer a Ranger medal, if that’s possible…”

Celestia arched a brow and looked at the Rangers. Flynn gave a nod and looked at the others, so did Rachel and Tyler. Sam frowned at Lyra with a smile, but nodded as well, prompting Celestia to smile as well and after a glow of her horn, the round medal was formed into a Ranger star medal. Standing beside Sam, Lyra wore it with pride. Finally, it was Tyler’s turn to receive his Ranger star. But he held up his hands and looked around.
“Part of this honor goes to someone I like to see here as well! She deserves it! I’ve sent for her, is she here?”

The eyes of the throne room turned to the door and a highly unsure Trixie peeked inside.
“Oh, I… uh… I must have taken the wrong door, I…”

But Tyler waved her in.
“No, you are right here! Come on, the ceremony can’t continue without you!” As the showmare approached the throne, she looked around quite embarrassed. All these important ponies around that judged her with their eyes… But Tyler knelt down to Trixie and raised her chin. “Your spells helped me out on sea when things were going bad. In a manner you saved my life on sea. I don’t care what others say: You deserve to get a reward here and now as well.”

As Tyler looked to Celestia, the princess nodded with a warm smile and looked over to Trixie.
“Trixie Lulamoon… Will you step forth?”

With a gulp, the mare took off her magician hat and stepped in line.
“Y-your majesty?”

Smiling down to her, Celestia nodded.
“It has been quite some time since our last meeting. You were used by the enemies of our country. I’m sorry that they caused so much harm upon you. But you brought great effort to correct all wrongs you caused in this state. Helping Tyler was only one of this. And it fills me with joy that your magic finally starts to bloom within you.” With this, Celestia put the medal over Trixie’s head and nodded. “I’m eager to see what more you will bring forth.” Looking up to Twilight, Trixie felt close to tears. Twilight smiled, happy for Trixie to get some well-deserved confirmation in her talents.

Luna now harrumphed briefly, causing Tyler to get back into line as well.
“Oh! Right! I must get something as well!” Winking at Luna, Tyler smirked before looking at Celestia again as she pinned the Ranger Star onto his cloths. “Thank you for this honor… Princess Celestia.”

“Welcome home again, my brave, beloved defender…”Tyler bend down to embrace her, but she intercepted him in the motion for a kiss both long and deep. When Tyler realized her intentions, he smiled a bit and embraced her for an even deeper kiss, stroking through her ethereal mane while doing so.

While everypony else in the throne room gasped, Rachel leaned over to Twilight.
“Hey… Is he even allowed to do that?” Twilight laughed at this question, nodded briefly and beamed proudly at her two kissing herd mates.

Dusk Aegis harrumphed a bit.
“Your Majesty, everypony is watching…” But Celestia was giving a damn. Her beloved companion had returned to her and her sister as well as to his rightful place in his herd. Forgotten were the accusations of murder, wiped away from their perfect harmony as a herd. And she saw it as her responsibility to welcome him as warm as possible right now. While the guards were already snickering behind him and the nobles began to whisper, Dusk tried his best to discipline the princess a bit. “Your Majesty… Your Majesty!”

* * * * *

Meanwhile, far in the southeast under mountains of volcanic ash and fire, deep beneath the ruins of the Palace of Darkness, the once mighty center of the kingdom of King Tacitus, a unicorn mare looked up to her two mistresses.
“I assure you, my mistresses… Such failures are not tolerated among the Descendants… Once we have retrieved our agents from the enemy, they will be punished properly… Severely punished!”

The two shadows looked down to the mare. They both exchanged a glance before they were looking down to the Descendant again.
“Actually your agents served our plan quite well. We didn’t expect them to succeed in the first place. They were mere messengers and that message… got delivered…” A horn glowed on the forehead of one of the shadows, not bright enough to shed light on their faces.

Tyler’s face now was shown on a giant screen, saying but one sentence:
“Who are the Darkness Sisters?” In a loop that video snippet was repeated over and over on several screens, as the light of the many screens revealed a highly engineered control room, a giant dome of steel.

25 - Epilogue *

In the late evening, the sun had just set behind the mountains; the herd was together in Celestia’s chamber when Tyler looked at a curtain which covered Luna ,Twilight and Celestia. While he did so he caressed Applejack while little Appleseed was already sleeping in her cradle.
Applejack leaned against his chest and enjoyed the many strokes over her belly,
“Ya got some new friends Ah see… that cat feller sure is an impressive creature… But do ya think a predator like him is able to live among ponyfolk?”

Tyler gave this a thoughtful nod,
“I will have to have a little talk with him. But he seems willing to behave for the time being, so I don’t see why we shouldn’t find a solution for that problem. Right now he’s with the other Rangers.”

“Well, ya seem to know what yer doing… I have faith inya, Sugarcube…” Looking over to the cradle, Applejack smiled gently before sharing that smile with Tyler. “Being together with the herd and everything seems so perfect. Ah love ya, Tyler.” While she was raising her head to him, he bowed down a bit to meet her lips, muttering a gentle “I love you, too…” into the kiss.

As the kiss ended, a certain flash happened behind the curtain and the silhouettes of Twilight and Celestia changed from pony form to human. Twilight harrumphed a bit,
“Brrrr… Quite cold without the coat… Luna?”

The Princess of the Night nodded briefly and after another flash, she came forth from behind the curtain. Twilight followed her, careful to hold her new balance. She was dressed in something matching her gala dress, only fitting for a human. AJ and Tyler now smirked and got up. Resting his hands on Twilight’s hips to aid her in balancing herself, he smiled down to her,
“You look so beautiful, Twilight…”

Looking down with a faint smile, the former unicorn blushed deeply,
“You… You mean it? I’m to your liking in this form?”

Tyler grinned and whispered something into her ear. It was inaudible for the others, but prompted Twilight to open her eyes wide, before she rested a hand on his chest, slowly pushing him away with a giggle and a seductive look,
“Maybe later, stud…”

Now Tyler’s look wandered over to Celestia, who still was behind the curtain,
“Come on, Celestia… Don’t be shy…” Coming behind the curtain, Tyler now carefully grabbed her hand and gently pulled her into the front.

“No, Tyler… Please don’t…” As she was in plain sight for everyone with wobbly steps and with her white clothes, she tried to hide herself with her arms as if she were naked.

“Come on… You know I won’t harm you…” Caressing her cheek he slowly went around her once and nodded. Like Luna before, Celestia’s human form was coming with some wings. This obviously came with being an alicorn. The sight caused Tyler to gulp. “An angel… You really look like an angel…”

Celestia, however, was visibly unsecure in this form,
“I… I want to change back! I feel so weak in this fragile body…”

Smiling gently, Tyler shook his head,
“Luna told me that you both studied the dispel spell from your mother, you can change back in an hour…”

Looking up like a frightened child, Celestia looked into his eyes,
“Why not now?”

“Because I want to do this with you…” In the next moment he gently pulled her in and kissed her, rested his hands on her waist. Celestia trembled ever so slightly. She was vulnerable and if they decided to do anything funny now, she couldn’t stop them. That made her afraid, but Tyler didn’t misuse this power. Quite the contrary, he seemed to intend to show her that there’s nothing to be afraid of.
“Beautiful like the dawn, ripe for the picking… An alicorn of light… of life and prosperity… One day, I will strip you off your clothing and tiara and will wipe away the last fears from you.”

Celestia gulped,
“Would you take responsibility as well?”

He nodded without hesitation,
“For as long as I live I will make sure that no newborn alicorn ever enters the path towards evil.”

This caused her to gasp and her pink eyes were locked into his blue ones. With greed she put her arms around his neck and pulled him in so her velvety lips met his for another passionate kiss. Again, time began to hold still as the Princess of the Sun blushed more with every passing moment.

After their lips parted, Tyler looked into her eyes again,
“Actually… there IS a thing I wanted to do quite some time now… And you look just right for it… Well, almost. Undress!”

Now Celestia was stumped,
“W-WHAT?!?”

With a grin, he undid the only button of her top, causing it to fall down and expose her firm and beautiful breasts. A short pull on her slip and the piece of cloth fell down as well.

Stepping away a bit, Celestia looked at Tyler,
“What are you doing? No! NOOO!!!!” As he approached her, she clenched her eyes together and went into a defensive stance, but he put her on his arms and carried her away. Struggling a bit, she didn’t dare to open her eyes. Was he heading for the bed with her? She wasn’t ready to- Her train of thought was ended abruptly by the silk touch of foam and warm water. One moment later, Tyler’s sigh was audible beside her. As she opened her eyes, she saw Twilight and Luna giggling together with Applejack as each one also entered the bathtub. Twilight caressed her naked body a bit with her hands to explore the abilities of these hands and fingers for a bit, the curiousity in her eyes made them sparkle in excitement. Celestia sighed. What a silly pony she had been. Or woman in this case. Tyler would never force something on her, why was she even worrying in the first place?

Tyler smirked,
“You look fabulous in this form, Twilight… Your human form really suits you!”

Looking down in embarrassment, the former unicorn blushed,
“Well… it feels different from being a mare… These breasts feel heavy when I stand.”

Taking seat at Twilight’s side, Tyler looked over to Applejack,
“You will learn that during sex, your body will be… Well, I don’t know… AJ, what body was more sensitive in your mind?”

The earth pony thought for a minute, smirked and nodded,
“That human form is far more exotic. It’s almost a new experience in having sex. The sweat, the finger nails to bury into yer pardner’s shoulders… These hands are so sensitive! It’s fun to grab stuff with them. But that’s only mah opinion…”

Celestia now cleared her throat,
“Can we change the topic, please?”

Leaning over to her, Tyler caressed her shoulder,
“It’s not like any of my mares gets forced into sex… As far as I’m concerned, whoever wants a foal… I’m willing to try and make her one… If you don’t feel ready, Celestia… That’s fine with me. I will wait for you to tell me that you’re ready.”

Caressing her throat and neck now he grinned,
“But I do have say it: This is a gorgeous body you’ve transformed into, Celestia. Quite a temptation…”

Luna was coming to Tyler’s side in the giant bathtub. “She’s curious about it, no doubt. I’ll see if she has wet dreams about-”
“Luna!” her older sister now snapped at her.

But Luna only stretched out her tongue and leaned against Tyler,
“Would thou mind washing my mane, Tyler? I like the feeling of thy fingers massaging me.”

“Oh, certainly…” While he washed Luna’s mane, he looked at Celestia. “I’ll have the reports prepared by next week, I think. Plenty of stuff happened… I would like you two to think of another spell in order for human and pony compatibility. The thing with Mimesis taught me that these spells could be misused.”

Luna and Celestia looked at each other for a moment before Luna closed her eyes,
“Maybe once winter’s done. But seeing what effect our human forms can have on thee, Tyler…” Below the water her hoof now gently tapped against his erection while she winked at him. “I say we keep those in store for…” She chuckled a bit and leaned at Tyler’s chest. “Thou know… spicing up our love life a bit…”

Tyler chuckled and began massaging her mane harder, causing more foam to build on her head,
“Luna you little minx…” Stretching out her tongue in good fun, the foam slowly ran down her closed eyes. Then, after Tyler was done with her mane, she dived into the water and ascended with her mane free of most of the foam.

* * * * *

After one hour of bath time Applejack and Twilight returned to Tyler’s chamber. Twilight, now in her unicorn form again, carefully held the cradle with Appleseed within her magic, since her way to carry the cradle was the smoothest and wouldn’t wake the foal. Tyler remained a bit longer at the door of Celestia’s chambers and looked to the two alicorns,
“It was a nice and fun evening spending the time with all of you together, Celestia…”

Taking her hand, Tyler bowed down to give it a short and gentle kiss. As he rose up again, the Princess of the Sun caressed his cheek,
“Would you… like to come inside my room?” Hearing these words from her sister prompted Luna to arch her brow.

Looking into her eyes, Tyler shook his head,
“You’re trying to be brave, Celestia… But still I have the feeling that there’s some fear in you.” With this he pulled her in and embraced her, groping her butt while doing so. His grip sent chills through her body and she secretly hoped he would knead her butt for a while.

Bowing down to her ear, he began to whisper,
“One day… I will take away your worries and make you-“

Closing her eyes, Celestia gasped and interrupted him with a whisper of her own,
“The mother of your children… Yes… Your brood mare…”

Closing his eyes, Tyler chuckled for a bit,
“I still hear your heat in these words… But if you’re returning to normal and this remains your wish… I will impregnate each of you girls.” The thought of a foal in her womb made Celestia shiver a bit, almost reaching climax, but she bit her lower lip and nodded for now before Tyler returned to his chambers to Twilight and Applejack.

Luna, however, arched a brow with a smirk. “Wish for a foal, sister… Wish for a foal…”

Snapping out of her daydreams, Celestia now opened her eyes wide,
“What? Lulu, you also wanted-“

“Yeah, and I would be expecting now if thou hadn’t interfered.” Luna said a bit grumpy.

Celestia sighed,
"I know… Maybe you’re better with these things because you’re not that used of ruling for all this time and not knowing what alicorns are capable of. I envy you, Lulu.”

Stepping closer to Celestia, Luna now casted the dispel spell, transforming her sister back to her alicorn form,
“I envy thee for these fond memories of mother, Tia…”

As both sisters now hugged each other, they closed their eyes,
“Let us promise one thing: We will raise these children, this new generation of alicorns together and will teach them all we know about harmony.”

Luna smiled as she looked up to her sister,
“No dark without light, no light without darkness. If our parents could give birth to us two, we are the living proof that Light and Darkness can coexist.”

Celestia now replied with a smile of her own,
“This is our most terrifying weapon, Lulu… This truth will send fear into the hearts of our enemies. We are the mares that combine Darkness and Light.” Luna now looked down, thoughtful. Celestia took immediate notice of this and approached her younger sibling at once. “Luna?”

The Princess of the Night frowned for a Moment,
“I just wondered… HOW did the ancient alicorns know about humans? I mean we both know that the future is vast and has endless options within each second… Tyler himself told me that his coming into this world was likely as a miracle. So… How did our ancestors knew about his kind?”

Celestia thought for a moment. This actually WAS a very good question,
“Well… if it comes to time and history… I think we should ask ‘him’, don’t you think?”

Luna arched a brow,
“Thou DO know that he’s not that likely to be found, right?”

Celestia now smirked,
“This comes with being the last of his kind… That and his eccentric ways… Actually I miss him a bit.”

Unimpressed, Luna arched a brow,
“I do not. The last time he was around I was a young mare and we defeated Discord. I remember him because thou spoke of him even centuries after his departure… which thou do not that often for a pony. But whenever turbulent times come, this stallion somehow always shows up.”

She then witnessed her sister yawn a bit and nodded. “Rest now, dear sister… I will watch the night…” After Celestia went into her chamber, Luna returned to her night watch. Speaking of this stallion could mean only one thing: Her sister expected things to worsen in the future. Otherwise she wouldn’t even think of looking for this stranger, this nameless stallion, who came and went as he pleased. Coming to think of it, he never bowed to Celestia either and behaved more like someone of equal stand… Maybe her sister liked that stallion for this reason above all. But, unlike Tyler, Luna remembered this stallion to be most picky about companions. Maybe he had some dangerous business to do… whatever it was he did. Shaking her head, Luna concentrated now and looked through the dark of the night to keep the evils of the night at bay.

1 - Prophecies of old *

It was a clear and bright night in Equestria while a lonely shooting star fell from the night sky over Ponyville.

A lone show-wagon rolled along the dirt road, pulled along by a unicorn who looked up when the light of the star caught her eye,
“A shooting star… I hope my wish comes true… And I'll get my second chance…”

* * * * *

As the morning sun rose over the lush land of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle jumped out of her bed, vigorous with excited energy.
“Spike! Spike, wake up!”

The little baby dragon raised his head with a big yawn, before he rolled over in his tiny bed nestled at the base of Twilight’s own staring up at her and blinking like an owl,
“It’s Saturday, Twilight… Five more minutes!” he groaned.

But by that time the lavender unicorn had already brushed her mane and was fresh for the day,
“Today is the day, Spike!”

“What that’s supposed to mean?” he muttered sleepily.

“Oh you know! Today Princess Celestia will send me…” For a moment she stood perfectly still, allowing the suspense to build, then took a deep breath in anticipation, “The book!”

“A book…” the little dragon muttered under his breath, “Well, how great! Twilight, have you looked around? This is a library!” he exclaimed, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he tried to get back to dreamland.

“Not just any book, Spike!” she snapped back, “We are talking about a book that is over 2200 years old! Oh, I’m excited Princess Celestia allows me to read this! Such an old tome, and one so prized by the princess must be worthy for my studies”

Three firm knocks sounded from the door, and Twilight immediately dashed downstairs to the front door to answer it. Normally Derpy Hooves delivered every letter and parcel in Ponyville. This package however, was delivered by a royal delivery stallion.

“Good morning, miss!” he greeted cheerfully, “Are you Ms. Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight nodded, beaming,
“That’s me alright! And you have a delivery for me?”

He then opened his saddlebag with his muzzle and removed a clipboard, holding it out for her,
“Certainly, miss! Just your signature here for the paperwork.”

Signing on the indicated line, Twilight then received her long awaited packet with glee, waved the stallion farewell and trotted back inside unpacking her prize,
“There! ‘Prophecies of old – Warnings from the past and manuals for the future’. Oh, the title alone gives me the shivers!”

Twilight giggled like an overjoyed filly on Hearth’s Warming,
“Oh, I have to thank the princess so much for completing my library with this.”

Spike then finally came down the stairs as Twilight put the big sturdy tome on a book-rest.

As she opened the tome, a male voice began to sound from the book,
“Hear me, reader of this book! It is written that someday the void beings will return…”

Spike looked up,
“Hey, Twilight! Is somepony in that book or is it trouble?”

Shaking her head with a smile, the unicorn explained,
“No, Spike… It’s a magic tome. It’s supposed to do that.”

The eldritch voice of the tome continued,
“But be warned. Their defeat was merely a dark deceit. When the two sisters part and reunite… When the children of ponykind suffer from the locusts of the south… But none wanted to believe they would ever again exist in our lands. And when the events unfold… they will unfold in fire!”

A magic flame sprang out of the tome and depicted a large dragon-like being, deformed and black.

As the dragon spat fire all around, the voice of the tome continued.
“But there is one they will fear, a being that will come from a faraway land. He will come and rise to aid ponykind’s mightiest heroes. And they will name him Tilerions, Child of Man! He will do what nopony can do and will lead ponykind into a greater future.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she saw a lone figure emerge from the book and stand up to the great beast. It had a strange form as it walked on its two hind legs. Also it wielded a bright prismatic blade against the black dragon. Then suddenly music began playing from the tome. It sounded medieval and ancient, with many deep voices chanting in repetition, accompanied by horns, cellos, and drums. Spike and Twilight almost jumped in surprise as etheric voices began chanting,

Tilerions, Tilerions
Zuul ok zin nak babrons
Bes dov nasfat nifrastaat lek daal!
Ahl kin norok paal geen
Fod nust hist kiil seen
Tilerions, nes pos resen dro kaal!

Huzrah nu, kul do od, wah aan bok lingrah vod
Aahrk fin tey, boziik fun, do fin gein!
Wo lost fron wah ney dov
ahrk fin reyliik do jul
voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein!
ol fin Tilerions komeyt ok rein!

Bras da shol ran tu mein
Ra sheroqsapu neferu lein
Chrysiala, krataro di fin,
kruziik vokun staadnau,
voth bahlor wah diivon fin lein!

Ran sha gul, rami sok,
sid fis hol she la nok,
fien kos bazira aarshizaak ahrk rot,
Raz Equresia fen kol stov enko buut Chrysiala lot!

Tilerions, Tilerions
Zuul ok zin nak babrons
Bes dov nasfat nifrastaat lek daal!
Ahl kin norok paal geen
Fod nust hist kiil seen
Razuukiil, nes pos resen dro kaal!

With this the tome shut tight and fell to the ground, immobile as if it was made of lead. Twilight and Spike looked at the book, jaws dropped open, before looking at each other.

The baby dragon was the first to find words for this peculiar situation,
“Woah, talk about odd music… What was that?”

Shaking her head to get a grip of herself, Twilight tried to gather all the facts she could summon up,
“That was a hymn in the ancient alicorn language, Spike. It seems someone foretold the coming of a great being, a being which is not a pony and will eventually become a hero. This might have been written even before the founding of Equestria. How exciting! There are historic hints that alicorns in the ancient times had the gift of foresight. These words, ‘Equresia’ and ‘Chrysiala’ Sound awfully similar to Equestria and Chrysalis, the Changeling queen, don’t you think? Oh it will take days to rhyme it into modern words. That is, if I can even translate it properly.”

Spike frowned distastefully at the second name,
“Queen Chrysalis? But didn’t Shining Armor and Princess Cadence kick her and her Changeling minions out of Equestria half a year ago? I didn’t see any unique beings walking around on two legs then. Not before and not afterward. Maybe this is just a myth or legend?”

Twilight gave her assistant a slightly annoyed sidelong look,
“You also believed the Mare in the Moon was only an old Ponytale, Spike.”

The little dragon shrugged,
“OK, point taken, you were right that time for sure. You have another gut feeling about some bipedal being showing up anytime soon? I mean come on, Twilight! Iron Will perhaps? Or myself? You know there aren’t many bipedal beings in Equestria.”

Twilight first frowned upon the claim of her assistant, then tipped her hoof in thought,
“Actually you do have a point there, Spike. Nopony I know walks on two legs. Well, except Lyra Heartstrings.” both shared a glance before they chuckled, “So, Spike… Ready to go through the daily checklist?”

With a sly grin the little baby dragon held up a very long list and a quill,
“Getting Spike to fetch the checklist… Check!”

Twilight giggled amused of his foresight,
“So, what’s next on the list?”

With a brief glance at the list, he narrowed his eyes and unhappily muttered,
“Shopping…”

They went down the checklist, item by item, as the basket Spike carried became heavier and heavier while they made their way from one end of the market to the other.

Twilight was thinking ahead, looking at the time,
“Good job, Spike! Due to my organization and your assistance we’re ahead of schedule. Why don’t we use the free time and head to the park? We can rest a bit on one of the benches while we double check the checklist.”

The little baby dragon smiled a little as they passed the fountain in the marketplace,
“No complaints here, Twilight.”

* * * * *

Reaching the park, Twilight noticed a wagon she hadn’t seen in a while.

As Spike set the basket on the ground, he noticed it as well,
“Hey, wait a minute… isn’t that…” he looked up to Twilight, “You know… Trixie's show-wagon?”

It was right then that the blue showmare in question stepped outside her wagon and seemingly began to prepare it for an upcoming event.

Twilight nodded with a slight smile,
“It's her alright… Come on, let’s get a closer look.”

* * * * *

Trixie was tugging something huge and heavy across the stage as more and more ponies gathered around her stage. The mysterious object was nearly twice the mare’s height, three times as wide and looked to be probably seven times her own weight.

Twilight saw what Trixie was doing and wanted to say something to greet her, but a stallion managed to raise his voice before her,
“Not again, Trixie… We’re sick and tired of you and your boasting!”

Raising a hoof and shaking her head, Trixie took off her magician’s hat and bowed to the crowd,
“No! I’m done with boasting! Today I will prove that I’m a big magician and redeem myself! No big show, no big words, just one spell to show to you all.”

As the ponies heard this, their attitude changed from borderline anger to curiosity and they gathered around her little stage even closer. Twilight saw her friends gathering with the crowd. Trixie had already prepared for her little show and she unveiled the huge form on stage to be an unshaped diamond.

Rarity arched a brow in surprise,
“Where in Equestria did you find an unshaped diamond? These are very rare. Usually gemstones come in all shapes and sizes! Unshaped ones however mean they are not ripe! This little darling might even become one big hunk of a diamond!”

Receiving sly grins from the rest of the Mane six, Rarity chuckled nervously,
“Ahehe… Never mind…”

Applejack chuckled,
“No matter how ya put it, Rarity, gemstones always will be your cus-tom!”

While Rarity muttered something inaudible, Trixie went on,
“With the help of Rainbow Dash, I, Trixie, shall turn this unshaped diamond into a Rainbow Gem!”

The cerulean Pegasus mare with her wild rainbow mane landed on the stage, cocking her head and slightly annoyed,
“What for? Can’t you do it on your own?”

Trixie chuckled shyly,
“Yes, I can do it, but for the coloration of the gem I’ll need your assistance. You see, during the spell, the diamond will take the colour of the first light that shines upon it. So instead of the bright sunlight which will let the gem shine white, I will need the colorful light of your Sonic Rainboom. This spell will need your speed and my timing.”

Twilight cocked her head intrigued,
“Well, I think we should let her at least try, Rainbow. There is no Ursa Minor around and I don't see how even Snips and Snails could cause trouble this time.”

Rainbow sighed in frustrated surrender,
“Fine… I’ll do it. Once! So you better go and do it right.”

Unlike Trixie's former treatment of Rainbow Dash, she nodded, beaming with a grateful sparkle in her eyes,
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash! I assure you this will work!”

The Pegasus on the other hand only rolled her eyes,
“Yeah, whatever! So you say this is about timing? My Sonic Rainboom has to go off the second you perform your spell?”

Shaking her head Trixie responded,
“Oh not just anywhere… Almost right above it! That’s why I have chosen the park! So you can fly without the obstacles of buildings. I’ll try to withhold the spell until the timing is right.”

The plan took image in Rainbow’s head and she nodded as she tipped her chin,
“Good thinking. I never tested the effect of my Sonic Rainboom on buildings, so I can’t guarantee I wouldn't break anything. But you guys better duck just in case. I don’t want to blow you away. I mean... yeah I want to, but not literally. So let’s do this!”

Dash took to the air, climbing high into the sky above the park until all of Ponyville was visible to her. Accumulating magic and condensing it at the tip of her horn, Trixie gritted her teeth as she focused on the spell in her mind. The strain was intense and maintaining this kind of spell was actually bordering on painful for her. The gathered crowd of ponies stood back from the stage, silent in anticipation, willing to give the braggart another chance. Trixie was grateful and swore not to waste their faith as she pushed her concentration to a new level.

Rainbow Dash hovered high above the ground yelling down,
“All set up here, you guys! What about the boasting wonder?”

Looking up to Rainbow while sitting in a trench she had conjured with her magic for her friends, Twilight then looked over to Trixie.

By then, the showmare’s horn was shining brightly,
“Trixie? Are you ready?”

A drop of sweat ran down Trixie’s forehead as she spoke through gritted teeth,
“I’m set! The spell is ready! I can cast it any second now!”

Hearing this, Twilight nodded briefly and raised her head to yell up to her Pegasus friend,
“We’re all set down here!”

Performing some loops to build up speed, Rainbow dove at a shallow angle so she could approach the little stage almost horizontally. The slightly higher pressure closer to the ground required Rainbow to expend more energy in order to maintain her speed; she couldn't keep it up for long. She saw the stage approaching quickly and gritted her teeth, only just managed to break the sound barrier directly above the unformed gem, then angling herself upward and away from it.

There was a bright flash as the park, and better portion of Ponyville, was awash in the vibrant colors of the rainbow. The blast on the other hand was powerful. Several mares and stallions were blown off their hooves, rolling and tumbling through the park and ending up in several bushes and trees.

As soon as the blindingly prismatic light faded back to normal, Pinkie Pie stuck her head out of the trench,
“WEEEE! Let’s do that again! It’s just like a rollercoaster ride without the rollercoaster!”

Applejack raised her head beside Pinkie, giving her a stern look,
“Pinkie Pie, what in tarnation is a rollercoaster?”

Bouncing out of the trench, the pink earth pony giggled happily. With a questioning look Applejack turned into Twilight’s direction, seeking answers.

Twilight could only shake her head in ignorance,
“It’s just Pinkie Pie. Who knows what she’s thinking?”

The four slightly ruffled mares slowly followed her out of the trench. Twilight looked up to the stage. Trixie still stood up there, her mane a complete mess, her eyes shut tight, ‘Wait, just wait… You performed the spell and right on time…,’ she thought with a big grins ‘Ooooh… I’m so going to surprise them all when I present the Rainbow Gem with a big Ta-Daaaa! and a victorious pose! It will be so awesome!’

Trixie then jumped up and brought herself to a dramatic presenting pose,
“Watch in awe… Ta-HUH?”

The first thing Trixie heard was laughter coming from behind her. Trixie opened her eyes and looked upon the place where the unshaped diamond had rested before. She did her best not to tear up. Where the unshaped diamond once sat, she could now only see a scorch mark in its place. There was no Rainbow Gem. There wasn’t even any of the unshaped diamond left. She bit her lip as the laughter behind her became louder. First only a few ponies giggled, but more and more ponies pointed their hooves at her and began to laugh.

* * * * *

Meanwhile in another dimension…

It was a bright, sunny day in Nevada, as a lone figure roamed around the Great Basin National Park. It was Tyler Jones’ third visit to the park and he absolutely adored camping there. It was his summer vacation and he had always loved visiting either American or European natural preserves. His friends and acquaintances knew Tyler as a jack of all trades and master of socializing. He was one of those people who could fit in equally well at either a German Oktoberfest in casual clothing, or a British Charity Gala in a tuxedo and tie. It was easy for him, analyzing people's psychology and learning all their quirks and triggers. He could easily adjust his behavior to match others’ expectations of him.

As far as the twenty-eight year old was concerned most other people just didn't consciously change their behavior to suit their situation unless they were forced to. For Tyler, it was fun to adapt, it was a challenge.

Tyler had an affinity for nature. He wasn’t particularly good with animals or anything, but it was only when he was out in the woods, trekking through mountain ranges and strolling through fields that he felt at home.

He lived for his born purpose: he was a predator and all the world was his prey. Survival, danger, and ‘the hunt’, this is what made him feel truly alive. His other personality traits were oddly unrelated. He was, depending on situation, either a refined classy gentleman or the energetic life of the party, sometimes he even managed both simultaneously.

Out there in the wilds he always had his trusty backpack and belt with him. Together they held all of his survival equipment, which included a large hunting knife. He felt complete and capable, equipped like that. Tyler had just returned from a not-quite-so-successful fishing trip. He hastily wiped the sweat off his brow and combed his left hand through his dark hair before he looked at the medium sized fish impaled on his homemade fishing spear.

While his catch would be frying in a pan, he planned to read another chapter of Sun Tzu’s ‘The art of war.’ He had already read through the text five times, and still, even on his sixth read through, he was learning things he had missed before. The history of ancient war intrigued him. It jostled around in the backpack he was wearing, nestled in alongside other literature. The book were perfect for those quiet little evenings at the campfire without television to distract him. After all, “The Zombie Survival Guide” and “The Godfather” were good literature. There was also a Playboy magazine, but he probably wouldn't browse it before his third day out in the wild.

Then suddenly, only a few meters from his camp, something shot from the skies and impacted the ground right next to him. The impact knocked Tyler off his feet, flinging him like a ragdoll several meters away. Stunned and on his back, he saw a vibrant ribbon of rainbow light, leading straight up into the blue sky, ‘Wait a second, rainbows curve because of light refraction, they don't appear in vertical ribbons! Am I hallucinating?’

Tyler shook his head in an effort to clear it. The translucent beam of light remained for a few moments, then slowly began fading away right in front of him, ‘Now what?’ He thought with a chuckle, ‘A pot of gold? Yeah that would be fitting.’ As he slowly stood up, he realized his fish was lying in the dirt next to him, pulped from the pressure of the impact. His lunch was ruined. Casting his gaze to either side, he looked around, trying to see what had caused the impact. At first all he could see was showering dust, dirt, and debris. As the cloud of dust cleared slowly, he saw the ground had formed into a small crater two meters to the left of him, presumably the point of impact.

With a whistle he realized just how lucky he had been, ‘If the meteor had impacted a mere two meters to the right it would have killed me. Wait a second, the explosion had way too much force for a crater that small. The pressure alone should have pulped me like my poor fish.’ He was puzzled about the seemingly unfair laws of physics, but waved it away. He wasn’t into meteorites, asteroids or other objects falling from the skies. It didn’t matter right then. He had survived and the crater was there.

Tyler carefully approached the crater, curiosity piqued. As he peered into the crater, he saw a shining gemstone sparkling in all the colors of the rainbow, emanating what felt like warm light.

“What the?” he asked out loud examining the gemstone, “This little fella wreaked this much damage?” he thought out loud for a moment.

Several other thoughts sprang to mind, ‘Maybe it’s alien technology? Maybe it’s radioactive! I shouldn’t be here! I saw enough Blob movies to see where this is going!’ his mind tried panicking for a moment before he consciously squashed the uncontrolled thoughts.

“Victorious warriors win first, then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” he quoted out loud to himself.

‘ Fear and uncertainty have killed more than danger itself. I am in control of my mind.’ he drew in a deep breath and forced his mind to calm and began utilizing his logic, ‘ Nah, it’s solid. It can’t be a Blob. Hmmm, the heat and friction of the fall through the atmosphere will have sterilized it. Now where are those NASA guys or Men in Black who usually appear when a shiny rock falls out from the sky right in front of you?’ Getting a grip on himself, he shook his head and took his knife in hand and reached out the blade toward the rock. The sharp steel blade tapped at the surface of the gem causing a musical crystalline ping, ‘Sure is rock solid.’ He put his knife away and carefully touched the gem for a split second to check if it was hot.

But it turned out to be as cold as any other gem would be, so Tyler reached out for it and held it in his hand,
“Well what do you know? It’s some sort of Rainbow Gemstone. I wonder if it’s a Mystic Topaz?”

As he examined it more carefully he noticed an iridescent glow emanating from inside the gem multi-hued sparkles reflected off his eyes. As the glow intensified his eyes widened and he tried to rid himself of the gem, but for some reason it was stuck to his hand. Panic shot through his mind and as his attempts to throw away the gem became more frantic the light it was emitting became so strong that it blinded him and engulfed him in a sphere of prismatic light. Then, with a thundering bang, the bright sphere of light collapsed in on itself and both the Rainbow Gem and Tyler Jones vanished from the face of Earth.

Tyler wasn’t dead though, he was falling through a vortex of bright rainbow colors. Heat enveloped him and he began screaming; screaming in pain and panic. There was no up or down, no consistent features he could use to orientate himself, and no gravity, just this tunnel of shining colors. Lightning shot from one side of the vortex tunnel to the next and the moment he saw it he hoped he wouldn’t be hit. ‘ Am I going to die? Is this tunnel taking me steadily closer to my inevitable demise?

Then, in the distance, he could see something. It wasn’t a bright light, but it was closing in very fast. Now another fear grew in him. The fear of colliding with the end of this tunnel.

* * * * *

Meanwhile in Ponyville…

With a chuckle Rainbow Dash landed and trotted towards Trixie who was still staring disbelievingly at the scorch mark where the unshaped Rainbow Diamond should have been. The laughing crowd was already gone.

“Ah, don’t sweat it Trixie! Look at it this way: you discovered a new way to make rocks disappear!” with a laugh Rainbow flew off.

The rest of the, now dissipated, crowd also returned to minding their own business in the park.

By then Twilight had approached Trixie with an encouraging smile,
“Hey Trixie,” Twilight addressed sympathetically, “That wasn't so bad...”

“Yes it WAS!” the blue unicorn interrupted tearfully, “For ONCE, I was sure I had discovered something completely new! Something to show that I’m not just boasting.” she lowered her head broken-hearted, tears welling in her eyes, “But my failure only proves that I have yet again achieved nothing!”

Trixie trotted away behind the stage brokenly. Twilight sighed as she heard Trixie sobbing behind the curtain. She felt bad for the blue unicorn, she was trying so hard but kept ending up with failure as her only reward. Being a magician herself Twilight had sensed the amount of magic Trixie was able to muster. For once, Trixie was not using simple illusions but had cast powerful magic, only for it to apparently fail so miserably. The peace of Ponyville was shattered once again as another Sonic Rainboom appeared out of nowhere.

Twilight raised her head in surprise,
“Another Sonic Rainboom? Rainbow Dash, you’re overdoing it!”

“What am I overdoing, Twilight?” the Pegasus asked, lying on a cloud right above her.

Twilight shook her head in disbelief as she looked at her friend in shock,
“Rainbow? If you are HERE, then who made that Sonic Rainboom over THERE?!?”

As the Pegasus mare shifted her eyes to the direction her friend pointed, her jaw dropped. A Sonic Rainboom, her trademark move, which only she could perform, was dispersing over the Everfree Forest nearby.

Challenged in her pride, her face became determined as she saw the rainbow coming down from the colorful explosion above the Everfree Forest,
“What the . . . “ Dash trailed off, eyes wide with disbelief, “Who would . . . who COULD perform MY signature move!? I’m going to find out! So far no one except me can do this! And I want to know who did it!”

In the blink of an eye, she was off her cloud and speeding off toward the prismatic contrail descending over the Everfree Forest. By now the rainbow trail had lost height and was falling towards the ground swiftly.

* * * * *

Cold air whipped all around Tyler as he fell, unconscious and limp toward the hard, unforgiving ground below. It was not until an absurdly fortunate collision with a grey Pegasus mare with blond mane that he regained consciousness. His limp body impacted the poor Pegasus and sent both of them whirling and spinning wildly. Tyler’s eyes snapped open and for a brief moment he saw the ground rushing toward him at an obviously dangerous speed. Fear got the best of him, as he saw the closing ground coming towards him and he did what any normal person would do in the same situation, he panicked. He flailed his arms wildly already knowing it would do no good. Terror gripped his heart as he saw his imminent death approaching.

Rainbow Dash was flying nearly fast enough to pull off a second of her signature moves when she saw two fast-moving forms collide in the air. She had enough time to see wings on only one of them and instinctively changed direction to an intercept course with the other.

Mere meters away from his demise, something caught Tyler roughly around his middle. His body jerked as his descent was slowed substantially by whatever had latched onto him. He heard what sounded like a grunt of exertion, which puzzled him to no end, even in his still-panicking mind. Unable to think of anything else to do, he looked above and behind him. He saw the cerulean coat of . . . ‘What IS that?’ The Pegasus was carrying him in her front hooves while a mane of every color in the Rainbow shined brightly on her head as she carried him horizontally, two meters above the ground.

“What the?!?” he asked aghast.

Rainbow Dash began speaking before she even got a good look at who it was she had caught,
“You have a lot of explaining to . . . ” she trailed off as she took a brief moment to look down.

Each of the two parties gazes met, eyes wide with disbelief. With a surprised shriek, Rainbow dropped the strange creature while she backpedaled in the air. Tyler fell the short distance to the ground and rolled uncontrollably several times until the kinetic energy propelling his body had exhausted itself. Adrenaline still pumping, he surged to his feet for a second before a dizzy spell hit him, forcing him onto his hands and knees as the Pegasus landed not four meters away.

Both were now facing each other on the ground, eying each other warily. Rainbow Dash had never seen anything like this creature. Its body was long and slender, with spindly legs of different sizes. It looked awkward and ungainly to the cyan Pegasus. Instead of hooves, it had claw-like things similar to what Spike had. But it sure wasn’t a dragon. It had no scales or wings, it didn’t even have a coat. Despite the obvious differences, it was huge, really huge. Those long, thin limbs... ‘Are they fragile and slow, or are they quick like a spider’s?’

The creature’s strange claws began slowly inching toward what looked like a larger version of one of Pinkie’s cooking knives as it slowly moved away from her, ‘Is it afraid of me? It might be as confused about my appearance as I am about it.’ Before the situation degenerated into a fight, Dash decided to try to talk with this thing, ‘It can talk, so maybe I’ll be able to reason with it.’ The Pegasus snorted, irritated by the tedious situation, ‘If only Twilight were here,’ Dash thought nervously, ‘She’d be the best diplomat.’

Rainbow, being well known for her boldness, spoke up first,
“What… What are you?”

As she tried to take a step forward, Tyler’s knife whipped out of it’s sheath, Tyler holding in a shaking reverse grip and looked at the creature in front of him with wide eyes. To say that Tyler was baffled by Dash’s ability to speak would be a gross understatement.

He couldn’t decide if ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ was the better option,
“You stay the fuck away from me! I’m…. I’m armed! If you come any closer, I’ll open you up!” Rainbow stepped back and carefully sat down, which prompted him to nod. “Y-yeah! You sit down there like a good blue-pony-thing and do nothing while I… I…” Tyler’s brain was being overloaded.

Here he was, crouching on the ground face to face with a talking pony with wings and a girl's voice, ‘This isn’t possible! But then again, being sucked through a tunnel of colorful light by touching a mysterious space gem wasn't possible either... until now apparently. This has to be some sort of hallucination or something.’ That’s when a new thought occurred to him, ‘I’m drugged and in some sort of PUNK’D television show!’

“You can come out now, folks! The shows over! You sure did get me there! Heh, good one!” he was grasping at straws and he knew it.

‘Show?’ Rainbow cocked her head as she observed the strange creature. Shaking her head a bit, she began to worry, ‘This creature doesn’t have any problem threatening me. It’s got a knife, but this knife is obviously not for cutting food, it’s more like some sort of weapon.’ But despite all that, it seemed to be placated for the moment now that Rainbow sat still and didn’t make any threatening movements. Thus, she got an idea, Maybe this thing, whatever it is, only uses its weapon when it’s in danger. If I sit here and talk to it, maybe I can calm it down and convince it that it doesn’t need to be afraid of ponies.’

“You’re not a pony, diamond dog, dragon, griffin or anything else I’ve ever seen. What the hay are you?” Dash asked bluntly.

He recollected himself from his previous surprise and parried her brashness in kind,
“And you’re not a human. Since when can ponies talk? Or fly for that matter!”

Rainbow snorted again, this time in surprise, I was was right about this creature, uh, human apparently. He, I’m assuming it’s a ‘he’, can talk and he can be reasoned with.’
“Since forever? We ponies have lived here for thousands of years. And since when do ‘humans’ exist?” Dash queried using air quotes, not an easy feat with hooves.

The young man chuckled, and again returned fire,
“Since forever? You’re just some kind of animatronics or something like that! Yeah,” he said sweat trickling down his back, “Talking pony wants to tell me that there are no humans around here. Yeah right, humans are the dominant species.”

“Nu-uh! Not in Equestria!” Rainbow parried seamlessly.

Now Tyler was stumped, ‘Equestria? I’ve never heard of a place called Equestria. Not as a state, country, legend or myth. I could believe the sunken city of Atlantis maybe, but not a place where talking, flying ponies would give me funny questions.This feels too real.’
“E-Equestria? Now where the heck is that?” he felt what little conviction he had slipping, “I was in Nevada a moment ago!” he yelled.

“Look around you, stupid! This land is all Equestria! And you’re sure as hay are not the dominant species here!” she snapped back.

Now for the first time, Tyler took a more serious look around. The little winged pony was right, ‘This isn’t like any place I’ve had seen before. What worries me the most is the fact that there doesn’t seem to be any cameras anywhere. This is a wide and open field with no place to hide. This is real.’
“This certainly isn’t the Great Basin National Park.” he muttered softly. The shock and mental trauma built up from all the sudden events was too much for him. He sat down and flopped his head into his hands. He was getting a headache and it felt like it might become a migraine, ‘If this is real and the strange tunnel wasn’t a drug induced trip, then where the hell am I?’ “Great,” he whispered softly, “How did I get here?”

The cerulean Pegasus looked at the creature before her, deeming it more and more harmless, ‘It’s probably a colt or stallion, depending on age. Probably a stallion, I can see beard on its chin. It’s obviously lost, but that’s not important right now.’
“Beats me,” she said casually, “I’m more interested in how you managed to perform a Sonic Rainboom.”

The young man looked up,
“Excuse me… A-a what?”

“I said a Sonic Rainboom. I’m the only one in Equestria who can perform one and only if I fly hard and fast enough. Can I come closer? I’m getting tired of shouting like this and can you put that knife of yours away?”

Tyler stood up slowly, towering over Dash’s shorter stature and put the knife back into its sheath. Looking to her as she tried to give her best assuring grin, he nodded,
“You really are a pony, huh? Hell, at least you aren’t a predator.” He slowly approached the cyan Pegasus, and tentatively reached out his hand toward her. Dash held her ground, too proud to show how unsure she felt. She managed not to flinch when he patted her head. Tyler’s mind spun as his hand felt the warmth of her body, ‘She’s the real thing. This is a real coat, real hair, no hard plastic or any whirrling gears when she moves, not a single sign of animatronics.’ Rainbow’s eyes narrowed as she heard him say “Good pony…”

Slapping his hand away from her head, she expressed her displeasure,
“Hey! Stop treating me like an animal! I’m nopony’s pet!”

He mindfully held his hand back from his knife, wondering for a moment the winged pony would attack him, before he realized she was only demanding proper treatment, ‘Huh… Seems to me that she thinks like a human. No human I know would like to be treated like a pet or animal’ He nodded then and crouched down so he could look her in the eye. The Pegasus was female from what he could tell from her voice. Her behavior was somewhat masculine, but her voice was too feminine to be a male. She obviously didn’t mean him any harm right now whereas a male might.

With a calm voice he addressed the cerulean Pegasus,
“What and who are you, little pony?”

Rainbow smiled and stood proudly on her hind legs, using her wings for balance,
“I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest Pegasus in all of Equestria and you are?”

Tyler smiled and stood up,
“I’m Tyler Jones, a human from Earth at your service, Rainbow Dash. Thanks for saving me. And sorry for threatening you with the knife.” he offered his hand to shake, only to realize she didn’t have any hands to use.

Rainbow frowned for a moment, before she remembered that griffins often greeted each other with a clawshake. His extended claw seemed to indicate he was offering something similar. She smirked and laid a front hoof into his palm to shake,
“Cool, so, now that you don’t intend to use that knife of yours anymore, how did you get here, Tyler?”

“Tsk. If I knew that, I wouldn’t have been so agitated at first. There was this gem . . .” he began.

“Gem? What does a gem have to do with this?” Dash asked.

“I was getting to that. It was shining in all colors like a rainbow and . . .“

Rainbow’s eyes widened and she cut him off in mid-sentence,
“A rainbow gem?!?” she asked.

“That’s what you guys call it? It fell right from the sky. As soon as I touched it, it began to shine and then… then… urgh…” his mind went blank. Tyler shook his head trying to clear his suddenly muddy thoughts. An overpowering dizzy spell struck him. prompting him to fall to his knees. He clutched his head, eyes squinted shut,
“I . . . I can’t remember… and my head . . . it hurts…”

Rainbow laid a hoof on his shoulder as he was kneeling on the ground,
“Must have been a tough ride, whatever brought you here. A ‘human’ like you with no wings can’t fly, that’s a given. I say some weird magic is the reason you appeared out of nowhere.”

A name sprang into Rainbow’s mind, ‘Trixie.’ The blue unicorn seemed most likely to be the responsible party,
"Anyway, you better come with me to Ponyville. I bet Twilight or Princess Celestia will know what to do with you. We should probably see about those weird headaches too, while we’re at it.”

‘Magic? Twilight? Princess? All these information snippets don’t make any sense. But Rainbow did, in fact, save me. We may be two completely different species, but she seems to be one of the good guys. It would probably be in my best interest to stick with her until I know what the hell happened to me. This camping trip just became much more serious than I expected.’

In his mind, Tyler tried to sort things out, ‘First rule of survival: find shelter, then find food and water fit to consume!’ He suddenly remembered something,
“I hit something on the way down!”

Rainbow tipped her chin with her hoof in thought,
“Hmmm… seems to me that you most likely collided with another Pegasus. We should go see who it was.”

Tyler nodded and stood up, as Rainbow continued,
“Great, on the way, we can talk a bit.”

“What do you want to know?” Tyler asked.

“Surprise me.” Dash shrugged, “I’ve never seen a creature like you before. Are there many of you where you come from?”

He looked up, surprised to see that she was hovering beside him as he walked back in the general direction he thought another pony might have landed,
“Oh, umm… There are lots of humans like me, but certainly not exactly like me. Humans come in several skin colors, shapes and sizes. Some of us have a lighter skin tone, like me, while others have a darker, almost black skin tone and still others have more of a slight tone of red, yellow, or brown. Some are tall, some are short, some are fat and some are slender. But there are certainly no humans with skin as blue as your coat.”

His comment made Rainbow laugh,
“Yeah, I can’t imagine you in such a color either. This would look strange.”

As they walked on, moving along the edge of the Everfree Forest, they found a Pegasus with a gray coat below a tree. From the looks of it, the gray mare had crashed through the branches of the tree and plowed right into the ground, leaving a half meter furrow in the ground.

Tyler hastily ran forward and kneeled down next to her,
“Shit! Is he . . . or she OK?” he patted the gray Pegasus on the cheeks, “Come on! Snap out of it!”

Rainbow watched the movements of the strange human as she recognized the Pony,
“Yo, that’s Derpy! Don’t worry, she’s tough!”

Tyler looked up to Rainbow in wonder,
“Really? It’s nothing for you Pegasi to get knocked out by a guy with luggage in midair? Amazing!”

By then the gray Pegasus opened her eyes wide with a derpy expression on her face and jumped back onto her hooves,
“Y, yus… I am awsum!”

Leaning back, Tyler grimaced as he looked into Derpy’s eyes,
“Damn! I think I hit her too hard.”

After one inspecting look from Rainbow, the cerulean Pegasus mare shook her head,
“Nah! She’s been that way her entire life.”

With a deep sigh of relief, Tyler patted the gray Pegasus on the head,
“Thank god. Sorry I bumped into you.”

The gray mare looked up at him, not recognizing his shape,
“Hey… Rainbow Dash, who’s this feller? Is he a new friend of yours?”

Rainbow looked up at the human, seeing his eyes looking back at her as well,
“Well… At least he seems to mean us no harm, Derpy. I think he’s OK.”

The gray Pegasus mare nodded and shook Tyler’s hand vigorously,
“That’s good! Every friend of Rainbow Dash, is a friend of mine as well!”

Tyler was surprised that she could grab his hand with hooves instead of hands,
“Uh… Yes! So, Miss Derpy, what do you do for a living?”

Derpy then closed her eyes and took a proud stance,
“I am the Ponyville mailmare!”

Looking to Rainbow Dash in abject disbelief, Tyler arched an eyebrow. Rainbow rolled her eyes and nodded,
“That she is, but letters tend to have a one or two day delay on a regular basis.”

Derpy then opened her eyes again and smiled,
“Which reminds me Rainbow Dash, can you point me in the direction of Ponyville?” Getting her mailbag out of the tree, Derpy presented it to her. “I still have some letters to deliver.”

Giving herself a facehoof, Rainbow looked toward Derpy, annoyance written all over her features,
“You lost your orientation again? Derpy, as the mailmare you should know exactly where you are at all times! Fine, just this once, and please don’t lose your orientation again!”

Turning the sitting Derpy into the right direction, Rainbow sighed,
“Now fly straight ahead and you can’t miss it!”

As the gray Pegasus took to the air, Tyler chuckled,
“Nice character… She seems to be a little bit clumsy, but pleasant all the same.”

Rainbow sighed,
“She’s OK, but she can be difficult at times. To think she’s married already.”

Tyler chuckled,
“Love sometimes emerges the craziest couples I guess. So Rainbow, is it a long way to Ponyville? I’m unfamiliar with the area for obvious reasons.”

“Nope! Not far at all. Just beyond Fluttershy’s cottage over there." Dash said, trotting in the indicated direction.

When they arrived at the cottage, Fluttershy was feeding her many critters and birds around the cottage as she did daily, quietly singing all the while. With gentle strokes of her wings, she hovered a few inches above the ground, feeding everyone from the raccoons down to the smallest field mice.

The action prompted Tyler to shake his head with an admiring smile,
“Well, well, would you look at that. If that isn’t the very definition of adorable?”

As the yellow Pegasus heard the voice of a complete stranger, she turned to face Tyler. Seeing him, she squeaked in fright, and jumped into a bush.

Tyler took a step back, hands up,
“Hey, Rainbow is she a friend of yours? I… I didn’t mean to startle her.”

“What?” Rainbow Dash asked, peering around Tyler, “Oh, that’s just Fluttershy. She’s friends with all of the forest animals, but she’s very shy, especially towards strangers. She’s super skittish, don’t worry. Come on out, Fluttershy, there’s someone I’d like you to meet” Dash called.

Tyler nodded and sat down in front of the bush, reaching out his hand towards the blue eyes peeking out from the bush with a smile,
“Aw, don’t be afraid, little one, I won’t hurt you. I promise.” As she slowly emerged from the bush, he nodded encouragingly. “There you go. See? I’m just a nice guy in an unfamiliar form.” he said as he reached out to Fluttershy’s mane, caressing the nervous yellow Pegasus.

Still shivering like a fawn, she slowly got used to his hand,
“R-Rainbow? What kind of creature is this? I’ve never seen something like him before. Is he from the Everfree Forest?”

Rainbow only rolled her eyes,
“He’s just a strange creature I found when he appeared out of nowhere above the Everfree Forest. He seems OK though. As long as you don’t give him a hard time, he won’t harm you.”

As Tyler noticed Fluttershy’s jumpiness slowly vanish, he raised her chin a bit,
“You have a nice singing voice. I didn’t mean to startle you, I’m sorry. My name is Tyler by the way. So you can talk with the little animals of the woods?”

With a timid little nod the yellow Pegasus looked up to him. He smiled down at her warmly and Fluttershy felt herself relax. She then flapped her wings, lifting up into the air to give him a closer inspection,
“Translucent bipedal mesomorphic embryonic and . . .” she then closed her eyes and sniffed ever so slightly at Tyler’s face, chest and crotch, although she made sure to keep her face further away from the last spot, “According to his scent and voice I presume… male?”

Tyler looked at Rainbow with wide eyes and even though Rainbow looked at him with wide eyes as well, the cerulean Pegasus simply shrugged casually. He then gave Fluttershy a nervous grin. ‘Is this the way ponies identify unrecognized species?’ he wondered.
“Aheheheh . . . Yes, I’m male… But you could have just asked…”

Still caught up in her fascination of the new and unknown species, Fluttershy raised Tyler’s chin and opened his jaw gently. Her eyes inspected his teeth and her pupils grew larger,
“Oooh… Incisors, canines, bicuspids, premolars, and molars! Rainbow, you found an omnivore!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes,
“A what-vore? Fluttershy! Your crazy devotion to animals make you sound like Twilight!”

Tyler then shook his head and pulled back to escape Fluttershy’s inspection,
“It means I eat everything.”

Cocking her head, Rainbow inspected him,
“So, like greens and vegetables?”

With a nod, he folded his arms,
“Yes, and meat of course.”

Fluttershy nodded in confirmation, beaming happily to be confirmed herself, but in the next second, her eyes went wide and her pupils shrank down to tiny dots,
“MEAT?!?”

With a yelp, she jumped back into the bushes while Rainbow stepped back half a meter,
“Does that mean you eat ponies, too?”

“No! I could never do that! Honestly, who could eat a creature that could talk? I mean I do eat fish, poultry and cattle, but eating talking ponies? Nah, not a chance.”

Rainbow arched a brow,
“I see… Well, just for your information, animals here are all intelligent to some degree. While some cattle have the ability to speak, the smaller mammals like the woodland creatures all have a certain degree of intelligence.”

“I see.” he said slowly.

Tyler took his knife and looked at Rainbow, who eyed him thoroughly before he rammed the blade into the soft ground so only the hilt was sticking out.

That was when another voice became louder.
"Ah! Fluttershy! Nice to see you..." A unicorn stallion of green coat and yellow mane came out of the woodwork, apparently up to greet Fluttershy, but upon taking note of Tyler, he froze in motion. "...see you... Oh, sweet Celestia... What the frying hay is that creature?"

Rainbow, looking over to the stallion arched a brow and cocked her head.
"And you are? I don't know you."

Fluttershy now intervened.
"That's Wheat Wacker. He moved in recently from Baltimare. He's a herbalist. We sometimes come across each other at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Hello, Wheat Wacker!"

That's when the stallion took notice of the knife in the ground.
"Is that a weapon? Is he dangerous?"

Rainbow shook her head.
"Nah, he's cool! We got this. He was scared of me at first and tried to defend himself with it, but now he surren-"

She was rudely interrupted as Wheat Wacker's facial expression got darker.
"He attacked you?!?"

Leaning her head slightly back in confusion, Rainbow then shook her head more vehemently.
"What?!? No! He held it up to keep me at a distance! He was at least as scared of me as I was of him! But Like I was trying to say: He already surrendered it to us just now. Again: We got this!"

"Well, if you say so... I don't like the looks of him..." he simply stated and trotted away, the others folllowing him with their eyes.

Rainbow snorted in frustration.
"Asshole... Probably one of these bucking pony purists…"

Tyler wasn't sure how to take this all. Either he just witnessed some sort of pony racism or in this case more like specism against him or some more complicated thing. Given, to the uninitiated ear the story of him threatening Rainbow with a knife wasn't very convincing of him being peaceful. So he was admitting that there had to be some healthy skepticism against him. Looking back to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, the human nodded,
“I want to return home. But for that I need a bit of help. If that means I have to trust you, I think you should have reason to trust me as well. I’ll hand this knife over to you.” stepping away from the knife, he sat down a few meters away, “What do you say? Will you folks help me to return home?”

Rainbow looked over to Fluttershy who poked her head out of the bushes, a leaf stuck in her mane,
“Well then, Fluttershy? Come on, I think we should do it. What better way to show intentions than to offer up your only weapon?”

With careful and timid steps, the yellow Pegasus stepped outside the bushes and approached the buried knife. Opening her mouth she turned her head sideways and bit down on the handle, then pulled it out of the dirt. Eyeing that blade timidly, Fluttershy turned around and slowly walked into her cottage.

After she hid the weapon, she returned to Rainbow and Tyler, who was then looking around,
“So, about these woodland creatures, would you introduce me to them, please? I’m rather fond of animals. Back on Earth, animals are usually too scared of humans because we don’t speak each other’s language. Only the tamed ones who are used to our kind have lost their fear of us.”

Fluttershy looked around a bit,
“I don’t know… you… you know, they actually come to me because I spend time with them, but… sure I can ask them. The rest is… you know… up to them…”

After letting Tyler know she wouldn’t force any of her animal friends to go to him, she asked around, but most of the animals still seemed wary of Tyler. Nonetheless she brought two squirrels to the human. The pair were red squirrels and much larger and more healthy than any Tyler had ever seen before. The squirrels leapt off Fluttershy and approached Tyler with little trepidation.

The squirrels ran up his arms, as he crouched a bit, making himself smaller,
“Oh, careful! Don’t fall down!” Fluttershy exclaimed softly.

As the two squirrels sat on his shoulders, they inspected the human thoroughly, tickling his ears with their little paws and noses.

Tyler’s eyes widened and he jerked away suddenly in surprise, Rainbow cracked up and fell over,
“They gave you a wet nosey! Ha, ha, ha!”

Fluttershy giggled as she approached Tyler,
“Now, now, you two… don’t misbehave in front of our guest.”

Tyler reached for one squirrel with his palm up. The squirrel first sniffed at the offered hand before it jumped onto it. Seeing as Tyler assumed the little critter would run away instead of jumping on his palm, he gasped in surprise. Reaching out with his other hand, he began to pet the squirrel.

The squirrel made a few chittering noises and Fluttershy nodded,
“Yes, they do feel good. Tyler, what do you call these?” she gestured to his hands, “They are not hooves, but they aren’t claws either.“

Tyler chuckled,
“These? We call them hands and every intact hand has five fingers.” the other squirrel on his shoulder ran down his arm to his palm and took a stance as if it would like to be petted as well.

Now stroking one squirrel with a thumb and the other with the index finger, Tyler managed to pet both squirrels.

Fluttershy smiled as she looked around,
“The animals seem to like you!”

Looking around, Tyler recognized that there were many animals sitting or standing around him suddenly. Either out of curiosity or because of the realization that he wasn’t a threat.

A little hummingbird fluttered over and landed on his head,
“It’s a miracle.” he said, mist welling in his eyes, “It’s like, the garden of Eden.” with careful movements he looked down at the small animals surrounding him, “Thank you, little ones. I’d like to visit you and your little friends once in awhile if you don’t mind, Fluttershy.”

With a warm smile the yellow Pegasus trotted to him,
“If you behave like you did today, I’m sure they don’t mind having you around.”

He stood up as the critters and birds left him, looking as though he was deep in thought.

Rainbow Dash addressed the human again,
“The garden of what? Meh, not important right now. So, big guy… What’s on your mind?”

“I think I have a problem. You see, being omnivores we humans have a very diverse diet. Not only do we eat vegetables, herbs and fruits, but also meat.”

Fluttershy shuddered, still not comfortable with the concept; Tyler continued,
“Yeah, back on earth we humans eat all sorts of animals, but here, the animals are sentient, or at least close to it. And the little critters of the woods are friends to a good willed Pegasus I now know.”

Fluttershy, now seeing his dilemma looked up again,
“So… this means…?”

With that question he knelt before the nervous Pegasus, crossing his heart,
“I swear that I won’t harm any of your little friends Fluttershy.” ‘Besides, it won’t hurt to have friends in this place. Who gives a damn whether or not they’re ponies?’ Tyler thought to himself.

With an expression of relief and joy, Fluttershy jumped into the air,
“Y-You mean it?”

Determination shined in his eyes as he nodded,
“No bunny stew or roast duck for me. I’ll miss it, but if I can gain your friendship with this, I’ll happily look elsewhere for food to complete my diet. I still need a way to get proper fiber and protein if I want to stay healthy. Any ideas how I can manage to do that?”

“Duh!” Rainbow interrupted, “Why don’t you hunt down some of the animals in the Everfree Forest? Or go fishing? Also some ponies have pets that eat fish and they buy that fish on the market. That’s three ways to get you some meat.”

Slightly baffled, he looked up to the cerulean Pegasus,
“The Everfree Forest? Sounds special, but don’t you have friends among animals there as well, Fluttershy?” he asked looking towards the yellow Pegasus.

With widened eyes, she took a step back,
“What? No… I- I couldn’t! None of my little friends come from the Everfree forest.”

“It’s a place we ponies avoid.” Rainbow explained, “There are strange animals living there, predators, you know. Not a place you want to live in… well… except Zecora of course! She’s a zebra.”

Tyler nodded in thought, only half listening. There were many things to learn in his situation, but had already made a good impression on three ponies. Obviously these ponies meant him no harm and were more afraid of him than he was of them. At least the one called Fluttershy. It seemed a bit odd here with the pegasi roaming the skies and talking to little critters, but that was OK. He had other ways to eat, ‘Sure, I can’t expect to find a fast food franchise around the corner, but there is water, there is also food to nourish me and should my stay be prolonged, there should be a way to achieve a complete diet. No harmful environment, water and food. This is a good start, now I'll just have to find a temporary shelter until I can find a way back home. As he came out of the woods with Rainbow Dash, they arrived at the outskirts of Ponyville, ‘Civilization… What a relief. No makeshift shelter, no campfire. Tyler thought, and smiled, ‘I can do this.’

Author's Note

proofread by Truthseeker

4 - Attack of the Void *

That night quickly became one Tyler had wished would pass by quickly. For when he dreamt, the memories would return. Nightmares of the colorful vortex and the evil that eyed him on his journey from his world to the world of Equestria. Memories, nightmares about shadows screeching and howling inside the vortex… He couldn’t tell the difference anymore.
Why did he dream of those terrors? At that time, Tyler couldn’t explain this, but why do dreams occur anyway? From that moment on something seemed to lure him… towards the orchards… Always towards the orchards…

After this most horrific night since his arrival, Tyler got out of bed, still tired. At the morning table Twilight looked at him with an arched brow.
"You don’t look very good…”

Giving a sleepy smile and a yawn, Tyler nodded.
“That’s because I haven’t slept very good, Twilight.”

“Headaches again?!"

He shook his head.
“Nightmares… I think something comes back to me… Of what happened during the travel from my world into yours. Something…” He stopped for a while. As Twilight leaned in, he just drank his coffee. “Meh, these were just nightmares… Don’t worry, Twilight.” As he looked to her again, he smirked. “So… Now that I have a job… How about we talk about the rent?”

This caught Twilight out of concept.
“Rent? I… ahehe… I don’t know… Learning from you is great for me. I like to have you around.”

This caused Tyler to lean forward, taking another sip of his coffee.
“You like me around you? Like a housemate or a guinea pig?”

“You remind me a bit of my brother. But it’s different.”

Tyler gave her reply a chuckle.
“What’s that? You never mentioned a brother. Is he a decent fellow?”

She gave him a nod.
“Oh, you would like Shining Armor… You share some character traits. Maturity, responsibility, charm… to name only a few. Until recently, he was Captain of the royal guard. He couldn’t do this anymore after marrying Princess Cadance. She now rules the Crystal Empire with him…”

Tyler whistled in awe.
“Number One student of the princess, sister to a prince… Twilight, you actually are a girl with many connections. Remind me never to mess with you! Even without your magic you’re one tough girl!”

Twilight blushed.
“Well, I never see it that way…”

After breakfast, Tyler got up.
“Well, it’s late, and I have to go to work.” He also got the potion with him, just in case of another migraine.

As he went towards the farm, all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders greeted him.
“Hi there, Tyler! Can you come visit us today at our club house?”

Waving at them with a smile, he watched them for a while.
“I’ll try!” They were scooting towards a big red house other young ponies went to as well. Aha…So this is Ponyville’s school… He smiled in amusement, but went on to Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack greeted him with a big hug.
“Well howdy Pardner! Ah’m glad ya came back; after yer little incident at the farmhouse, ah was afraid ya would avoid working here.“

He waved the thought away.
“Don’t be ridiculous! I would never leave you hanging, even if I only come to tease you a bit more.” With a shared laugh, they went to work.

After his training, the carts were a lot easier to pull and Applejack corrected her Stetson.
“Whoa nelly, you improved haven’t ya? Ya pull the cart with that same ease as mah brother does. But unlike him yer looking way better.”

Giving a chuckle he went to the next tree.
“Still, you have to buckle them down for us both; my muscles have become stronger, but my bones are as fragile as before.”

“No problem there, sugarcube.” With swift kicks she got the apples from two trees. “We sure make a good team pardner, where have ya been all mah life?”

Tyler couldn’t but laugh.
“Earth?” Sharing a laugh now he got the buckets into the carts. Applejack gave his butt a short glimpse and bit her bottom lip for a while. He sure has a great flank… For a human… As the hard worker he was, he then wiped off the sweat from his forehead. “So much for that…” As he grabbed his cart, he turned to his partner. “Shall we?”

Shaking her head for a bit as if lost in her own little world, Applejack chuckled slightly blushing.
“Sure! Uh… Come on! We best be goin’.”

As she trotted onwards, Tyler arched a brow.
“Everything alright?”

She chuckled and responded with a brief "Eeeyup!”

After eight hours of long harvesting, Tyler’s arms and legs ached. The sun was already setting and the three crusaders scooted up the hill. Applejack nudged Tyler a bit.
“Hey! Look at who comes to Ponyville to see ya!” As he turned around, he saw another carriage, yet this one was black and came at the beginning of the night.

Tyler gave Applejack a nod.
“Seems to me another princess wants to visit us, but before that I have to look after the little crusaders. I promised them I'd stop by their club house; where is that by the way?”

Pointing her hoof at the farm house, Applejack gave him a wink.
“Right behind the farmhouse, pardner. Ah have to get all yer bits ready, come back to the farm house once yer done, OK?” With that she went inside. However, once Tyler got around the farmhouse there it was again, this sharp pain in his mind. It first caused him to kneel down on one leg, but then he uncorked the potion. His eyes widened in an instant. This was the most disgusting stuff he ever drunk, but it served its purpose. As fast as they had come, his headaches vanished.

After knocking at the door he peeked inside.
“Hello, girls!”

As the three fillies looked up, they beamed up to him.
“Hi, Tyler! You managed to come!”

But as he entered, his smile immediately diminished to a dry look as he saw the Rainbow Gem.
“This…” He pointed his finger at the gemstone “This gem is what brought me here into this world!”

Sweetie Belle grabbed the collar and held it up.
“Yeah! Apple Bloom found it and we made a collar out of it!”

Tyler held his hands now in a calming manner.
“Child… Hand me the gem… Before you land in the human world!”

The little filly cocked her head.
“What?”

At this point the voice in the gem laughed.
“Quite an idea! Maybe I do this after this world! But now… how about this?”

Suddenly, the collar sprang out of Sweetie Belle’s hooves and went tightly around Tyler’s neck like a slave collar. There was a cruel laughter in the clubhouse and the Rainbow Gem shined bright. Then, like a hiccup, an evil force caused Tyler to throw his head back. Pain blackened his vision and he held his head, screaming loud, reaching inhuman tones. Tyler tried to fight the demons trying to take him over as fear struck him. A fight he was slowly losing. He tried to scream, but something withheld his voice as he arched forwards. Dark magic filled his eyes.

The three fillies galloped out of their club house in panic as Big Macintosh gave the clubhouse a grim look.
“What in tarnation?” As Tyler breached through the wall of the little club house with complete dark eyes and a sadistic evil grin, the strong stallion gasped for air, before spitting out the stalk in his mouth, giving Tyler an angry look. Something wasn’t right with the human, and the stallion knew that words were useless at this point. He only muttered a brief and disapproving “Nnnope!” before they both were now running at each other.

While Apple Bloom ran into the farm house, the other fillies ran down to Ponyville. Shortly after that Applejack’s voice was audible over the orchard.
“HE WHAT?” As she galloped out towards the clubhouse near the barn, yelling sounded from behind the farm building. As she arrived, she witnessed both her brother and Tyler fighting in a fierce brawl.

Although Big Mac landed several hits, hits that would send any stallion backwards to the ground, the kicks and punches, however hard they were, seemed to bounce off from Tyler as some dark force field protected him. The punches the human delivered however, hit unobstructed and pummeled down merciless upon the strong stallion. Applejack couldn’t believe her eyes. Her brother was the strongest there was, not the entire town of Ponyville could take him down for taking Twilight’s enchanted Smarty Pants.

Yet there he was, completely defenseless to Tyler’s mercy. With a final haymaker, Tyler sent the stallion to the ground and looked into the direction of Ponyville. Dark lightning danced over his body and he left the moaning red stallion alone, going for the town. This wasn’t the Tyler she used to know… Something grave and horrible must have happened.

As Tyler went out of sight, she galloped over to her brother. His bruises were bad, but would heal with time. Obviously Tyler wasn’t out to kill him.
“Big Mac! Ya alright big brother?”

With a painful shake of his head he muttered his short response.
“Nnnope! What has gotten into him?”

“Ah don’t know… But no one beats up a member of the Apple family without me having a word in that!” With these words she corrected her Stetson and galloped after Tyler, who was now running with a sadistic grin on his face. Somehow, the gem pinpointed him directly into town, towards the nearby Princess of the Night.

By now Rainbow Dash landed in front of the library and kicked the door open.
“Twilight, you have to come! Tyler seems to be out of his mind! He beats all those around him like crazy!!!”

Twilight turned her head to her friend and gasped for air as she conversed with Luna and Trixie.
“What? Oh no! Something must have happened to him then!” As they stormed out of the library, leaving a puzzled princess behind, the two guards of Luna already charged at Tyler while the citizens panicked and ran out of harm’s way.

“SEIZE HIM!!! HE WANTS TO ATTACK THE PRINCESS!” As Applejack saw her partner beating up the royal guards, she shook her head in terror. Why is he doing that? He’s not a bad guy! Yet there he fought with Luna’s guards, moving in a demonic speed and strength, tossing the two bat ponies in armor around like toys. But the more Tyler partook in this brawl, the more Applejack could see something in his eyes. His once so blue eyes, looking to her in a flattering manner, were as black as the moonless night. But something sparkled in them. Tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Tears! What in tarnation? He beats up ponies and cries?”

Out of the panicked pony crowd, Wheat Wacker approached the Mane Six, smirking.
"See? I told you he couldn't be trusted! Now what we need to do is-" He was unable to end the sentence as one of the Lunar guards was thrown directly at him, shutting him up. A fact that was causing several of the girls to chuckle. He truly wasn't a big help as of right now.

Twilight’s look, however, got more determined as she looked down to Scootaloo.
“This all began after that collar jumped at him, you say? I sense some sort of evil magic emitting from it!”

Rainbow Dash now looked to Tyler.
“You mean this collar with the Rainbow Gem on it makes him go berserk?”

Twilight nodded as more and more of the Mane 6 arrived on the scene.
“No fair!” Pinkie Pie yelled angrily. “No one invited me!”

Twilight gave the pink earth pony a stern look, before she looked at Tyler again.
“No time for jokes! Tyler is under mind control!”

Now Luna stepped outside.
“Pray tell! What is this commotion about, Twilight Sparkle?”

As Tyler spotted the princess with a quick turn of his head, he leaped forth and came from the side.
“LOOK OUT, LUNA!!! HE’S UNDER A SPELL!!!” But already did Tyler’s fist deliver the unprepared princess a punch to the face, sending her to the ground in a painful shriek.

Tyler now approached the princess and the Rainbow Gem began to chuckle.
“Oh, how the mighty have fallen… This feels rather good… To see those helpless who denied us our havoc so many eons ago… Come, human…” commanded the voice in the gem. “You will destroy the Princesses on my command, so that nothing can stop my troops from entering this world.”

As Tyler stood over Luna, raising his fists to smite her, he suddenly stopped in movement. He looked down to the princess, tears in his eyes as his face began to twitch, his body struggling to disobey.
“What is this?!? SMITE HER, YOU USELESS SUBCREATURE!!!”

Twilight raised her head in recognition.
“Tyler is fighting the spell that commands him! Quick! Applejack! Rainbow!” The earth pony and Pegasus nodded firmly and charged at Tyler. With a hard kick from both the earth pony’s hind legs to the stomach, Tyler was brought off balance so that Rainbow Dash could ram him to the ground.

With an emotion of hatred and rage the chaotic voice announced,
"ACCURSED PONIES!!! I WILL HAVE HIM DESTROY YOU!!!"

Luna, meanwhile on her hooves again, raised her wings and leaped of the ground. With a loud and clear Royal Canterlot Voice the alicorn spoke up high above the ground.
"NAY! YOU SHALL FEEL OUR WRAITH!"” With an ear deafening thunder strike, Luna pointed her horn at the sky above Tyler, who was now crawling on all fours, casting a powerful spell releasing a lightning that shot electricity through Tyler’s controlled body.

With a loud and raging roar, the human arched back, protected by the evil magic withstood the most part of the lightning, enraging the Princess of the Night even more. “THOU SHALT RELEASE THIS LAD!!” As the lightning grew stronger, Tyler’s clothes were ripped apart as he screamed in both agony and rage. As he suddenly fell on his back, the collar breached and the gem loosened itself from it.

The voice from inside the gem seemed to have lost some power from protecting and holding his puppet’s will at place, so the gem’s shine diminished a bit.
“Damn you ponies! You’re going to pay for that! Come, my minions! Rise for your master! Embody their worst fears!” With a loud bang a vortex of colors emitted from the gem as dozens of creatures emerged from it; they were all flying creatures, like dark monstrous bats, screeching and howling as they formed a gigantic swarm in the sky.

It took a while for Tyler to come back to his senses. And for the first time since a while, Tyler’s headaches stopped completely. His eyes shot wide open.
“I am sorry, everyone! I was conscious the whole time, but all I could do at that time was watch.”

As Luna’s look fixed on him, her eyes narrowed.
“Thou are not to blame for this, lad! Tis this gem! It controlled you!”

Tyler shook his head.
“Nevertheless! It was my fist that brought you folks pain, Princess Luna. I-" He suddenly stopped as he recalled her sentence. “What was that?”

The princess gritted her teeth while blasting one of the void creatures out of the skies.
“Tis this gem which controlled you!”

“You mean this cursed gem is responsible for all my terrible headaches? And it made me cause pain to others?” As the human heard all this he stood up tall in front of the seven mares and the alicorn princess, pointing his finger towards the glowing gem. “You jerk! Whoever you are in there, you’ve made me hurt my friends and your goons keep hurting them! For that, I’ll have your sorry ass!” With that he leaped forward and punched one of the attacking void bats. The punch was so hard the dark creature span around before it hit the ground.

This prompted Rainbow to cheer.
“ALRIGHT!!! HE’S BACK!!!”

As he was fighting the void creatures, Luna watched him. He ripped off a wing from the body of a void bat on the ground, prompting the creature to screech in agony as stripes of dark flesh and veins snapped.
“By the Tartarus’ cavernous deeps! This being! Tis blessed with enormous strength!” As more and more creatures befell the girls, they more and more got overwhelmed.

One of the dark creatures leaped onto Fluttershy, but Tyler ripped it off from her before it could do anything and smashed it into the ground before his fists pummeled the creature to its horrible demise.
“DON’T YOU DARE TO TOUCH MY FRIENDS!!!” Ripping out the lower jaw of the creature, blood shot out of the carcass. Sprinkled in black void blood, he turned away from the girls. “I AM YOUR OPPONENT! COME AT ME!!!”

More and more of the creatures came out of the gem and the horde began to attack not only Ponyville, but also Canterlot and Cloudsdale. The royal guard had their hands full to protect the citizens. A whole squad was protecting the still slumbering Princess of the Sun as a servant tried desperately to wake her up from her slumber. As the Princess of the Night stood over the seven little ponies as their protector, she shouted towards Tyler, summoning a sword right beside him.
“Tyler Jones! The gem! You have to head for this gem to stop this horde!”

Taking the sword into his grasp, Tyler slashed his way towards the gem and showed no mercy as the creatures befell him, biting, clawing and scratching as they could. The further he was, the more of them he had to kill. It was not until long that he had caused total carnage among the ranks of the void minions. Stripes of flesh fell left and right as Tyler raged without prejudice among the void creatures. As one of the beasts sunk its fangs into his shoulder, he slammed the sword into the eye sockets, ramming the blade through the beasts skull, causing the brain to ooze out.

While the Princess of the Night battled off most of the creatures befalling the girls, Twilight and Rarity gave several shots with her horns as well.
“Where is he? Ah can’t see him anymore in this swarm!” Applejack yelled to be audible among the screeching and howling. When a void creature landed in front of her, she gave it a strong buckle, sending it flying in a low altitude.

Rainbow crouched deep at the ground until she pointed into a direction.
“There he is! See?” Applejack crouched down as well, spotting Tyler in the distance beneath the swarm.
Wielding a dead void creature as a shield and striking out with the sword. Once in a while he had to use another corpse as the creatures didn’t hesitate to rip their fallen brethren to shreds. Dark flesh was torn to pieces, thrown away all around as giant claws released them.

When Tyler almost reached the gem, the voice of it was enraged in fury.
“NO!!! THIS CAN’T BE!!!” With a furious darting flame a dark projectile shot into the air, causing Tyler to resile. “Now shall you deal with MY champion, champions of Equestria! AND ALL THE POWERS OF THE VOID!” The dark projectile hit the ground with loud bang, causing the void creatures in Ponyville to fusion together, forming a huge dragon like form. A manic, evil laughter was in the air as Tyler’s unbelieving view rose up to the giant threat before him. The Rainbow Gem rested on the beast’s forehead.

“Sweet mother mercy…”

Twilight yelped in terror.
“A void dragon! But those were extinct since ancient times!”

Luna shared a grim look towards the situation.
“Indeed, Twilight Sparkle! I and my sister fought the last remains of their menace a long time ago. Stay close to me! My magic shall protect thee, young ponies!”

The void dragon now spotted Tyler and he spat his fire in one focused burst. Missing Tyler with only a few inches, Tyler saw in terror that the earth was scorched to ashes. The burst would instantly vaporize him if it would hit him. With a taunting laugh the gem spoke up again.
“What will you do now, hero of Ponykind? Come on… Amuse me a bit before my pet turns this world into a big nice barbecue!” Tyler gritted his teeth as the beast charged for a second burst. Again, he barely made it away. The dragon then snapped at the human, prompting him to strike on the beast’s snout, stifling the dragon. With that, the giant claw slammed forth, slashing through the solid rock before Tyler. His eyes widened as he saw the sheer might of this strike.

Not only did this beast best him in both size and sheer might, it also had the advantage of being able to spit fire at will. Also his sword seemed utterly useless against the diamond hard dragon scales. What would I give for a rocket launcher right now…

Gritting his teeth, Tyler began to grin. He seemed to like this challenge somehow.
“He’s suicidal!” Rarity muttered.

“Out of his mind!” Applejack added while Fluttershy cowered behind her. “Scary...”

By now sadism visibly grew in Tyler’s face.
“Come on, Scalie! I’ll make lots of boots out of your sorry ass!”

Twilight shook her head in shock.
“So the prophecy finally came true… He is Tilerions! The hero foretold in ancient times!”

Luna looked back to the human.
“Tilerions? But this is only the name he would have among alicorns!”

“You mean…”

“Yes, Twilight Sparkle. Tyler Jones is spoken Tilerions in alicorn tongue.” This prompted Twilight to widen her eyes. Yes, there was a certain resemblance between these two names, although not an obvious one.

“We have to help him! We can’t just watch in awe while he fights! We need to get to Canterlot to get the Elements of Harmony!”

Applejack looked around.
“How do ya suppose we should do that? With this monster around, I doubt it would let us fetch them for some fancy brawl.”

The princess turned her head to Applejack.
“The elements? My sister told me she would get them out of the Canterlot Tower. Something about this human she said… Which means… I could try to teleport them here!”

Twilight nodded hastily.
“Then do so! We don’t have much time!”

Striking the dragon again with the sword, the only harm done was one scratch on a dragon scale. Suddenly the dragon’s tail swept over the ground, what scored a powerful blow and brought Tyler to the ground with his sword several meters out of his reach. As Tyler rolled on his back he saw the dragon towering above him, charging for yet another burst.

But before the flames could leave the vile snout, a bright beam of rainbow gave the beast a heavy blow like a giant had punched it.
“You won’t harm him on our watch, you vile beast!” As Tyler turned his head to the girls, each of them had a necklace, except Luna, who magically levitated a case and Twilight, wearing some sort of tiara.

As the dragon rose up again, he simply turned his head to them and the voice from the gem raged again.
“YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!!!” With this, the dragon spat his fire towards their direction.

Tyler raised his arm towards the girls.
“NO!!!” Much to his relief, he recognized a magical barrier inside the flames. Obviously Luna protected the girls with a powerful spell to repel such heat. With this knowledge, he ran to his sword and took it with a slide, as the flames missed him again.

From the inside of the magic barrier the girls watched in terror how the dragon hunted after Tyler.
“Tarnation! It doesn’t look good for the feller!”

Rainbow turned to Twilight.
“Why can’t his sword pierce through the dragon’s scales?”

The lavender unicorn shook her head.
“More importantly, why do the Elements of Harmony have no effect on this beast?”

While keeping the green flames out of her magic barrier, the alicorn princess looked down to the girls.
“Neither the Elements of Harmony nor the strongest weapons can harm a void being that powerful by themself! It will corrupt each separated force into nothing. For you can’t bring harmony to nothing; and you can’t stab nothing. Only together they can hope to slay such a beast. That’s why my sister wielded the elements while I wielded the weapons. The void will be filled with harmony, thus destroying the being!”

Twilight’s mind was thinking in overdrive as she thought of a solution.
“The prophecy says: ‘He will come and rise to the aid of ponykind’s mightiest heroes.’ This means us! So we don’t have to point the Elements of Harmony at the dragon… We have to point them at the sword so Tyler can slay the beast! Come on, girls! One more time!”

By now Tyler was cornered by the void dragon who snapped at him with razor-sharp fangs. But Tyler drove the sword into the dragon’s snout, causing the ferocious beast to recede once or twice. Then the giant claw slammed Tyler’s torso into the mountain wall, nailing him down. A cruel and sadistic laughter emitted from the gem as the dragon prepared his final blow. It was in this moment, when all hope had faded in Tyler’s mind, that the bright rainbow beam of Harmony enchanted the human’s sword, causing it to shine bright. Reacting quickly, Tyler rammed the enchanted sword into the beast’s claw with a fierce roar. Unlike his former strikes that didn’t even penetrate the black scales of the dragon at all, this slash chopped the claw right off like cutting through butter.

With a painful shriek the void dragon arched back, spitting fire into the air while doing so. Tyler leaped forth on the ground and dived deep through the defenses of the dragon, piercing its heart with the enchanted blade. The beast gave out another shriek as it fell with its back to the ground. The bright light of the magic of the elements glowed from within the body as the void being ceased to exist.

As the heavy breath of the dragon ceased, the girls looked down. Twilight fought against her tears.
“I… I never thought the Elements of Harmony could be used to end a life like this…”

The dark blue feathers of Luna’s wings rested on her and the Princess of the Night looked down to the unicorn.
“You used the Elements in that way because you had to, Twilight Sparkle… For the sake of harmony, this hostile beast had to leave this world.”

In the center of this carcass Tyler managed to take the gem into his grasp.
“Time to put you down for good! I told you I’ll have your ass!”

The voice suddenly spoke up, spitting threats even now.
“Wait! Without this gem, you are stranded here, human! You will NEVER return to your normal life back on Earth! Destroy it and all of this IS GONE FOREVER!!!” Tyler hesitated for a second and looked to the six friends in front of him. Each of them was giving him a warm smile. There he stood on the decision of his life. Should he return to a life back on earth or should he stay here, meaning that he could never return to earth again.

But if he would return, it would mean leaving this mess, the invasion in this state as well. The lives at stake were not of his concern, not even human. But could he, in good consciousness abandon them after befriending them, abandon those who needed him the most in this very moment? Or would he be the one ending the threat and become accustomed to their ways? They were expecting him to be their hero, and surely they would make it up to him. His eyes closed as he made his decision as only one thought filled his mind.

Be that hero.

And with this, he hardened his grasp on both the gem and the sword grip.
“If I leave, you and your bunch of void creatures will stay in Equestria. I couldn’t take another look into the mirror without spitting into it should I leave them now! But there’s one thing you bastard overlooked about us humans…”

There was a brief moment of silence before the gem replied.
“What… What is that?”

Tyler grinned widely.
“We humans can adapt to any environment!” With a loud boom he smashed the sword grip onto the gem three times, each hit causing a bright, colorful detonation. Finally the gem detonated in a screaming blast of energy. As the bright light vanished the girls looked up again. All the void creatures had instantly turned to ashes. Without their master’s power they couldn’t hope to sustain their existence in this world.

Finally the night became silent again and from all around the ponies cheered that the nightmare was over. Tyler stood there on the very place he destroyed the gem. His upper body was free of clothing now as the T-shirt was ripped apart by the void creatures and the blast wave. Stains of dark blood of all the creatures he killed covered him. Painful looking scratches and bite marks covered his body. Before his feet lied the shards of the once intact Rainbow gem and all his hopes of ever returning back to Earth. The sword, now colored in different shades of the rainbow, fell to the ground; Tyler had no intention carrying it any further.
“I… need a vacation…” he muttered as he turned to the others, smiling one last time before he fell down unconscious.

As they approached Tyler, Twilight looked over to Trixie.
“You called him weak for wielding no magic, Trixie… But even without magic this human showed more courage and self-sacrifice than most ponies possess in times of crisis.”

Luna nodded.
“I agree with thee, Twilight Sparkle…“ With this Luna’s guards arrived at the scene. They were bruised from their brawl with Tyler and were obviously doing their part to repel the attacking void hordes. While they were busy lifting the now unconscious Tyler into Luna’s carriage, Luna turned to the others. ”I shall take personal care and assurance that his wounds are treated in Canterlot hospital. This ‘human’ is too dangerous to keep unguarded and too valuable to lose as an ally… This fine and loyal lad shall stay in Ponyville… Among friends…”

Hearing these words brought a smile to everypony’s face. All except for one. Trixie spat out in disgust.
“Enough of this nonsense! To think that I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, should be responsible for the unfolding chaos which almost befell Equestria…?”

As she attempted to trot away, Rainbow Dash flew right before her.
“Not so fast! You still have things to explain!”

“Indeed… Thou both do!“ announced the Princess of the Night, glaring at both Rainbow Dash and Trixie with gloomy eyes. “For twas thy magic and Sonic Rainboom that this lad had come to Equestria and lost his home. On his behalf I demand a new one in exchange! I shall discuss this matter with my sister…”

Trotting over to Luna, Wheat Wacker shook his head in disbelief
"Your highness! I don't believe you're seriously considering letting this vile and aggressive creature roaming loose in Equestria!?! Especially after he attacked you!"

Luna arched a brow and looked down to Wheat Wacker, before nodding over to Tyler.
"If with vile and aggressive thou meanest fighting for us and sacrificing his only way back to the world he knew, then yes. Then we are talking about the same individual here. Thy doubts in all honor, dear Wheat Wacker, but none of us is without fail."

"B-but-" he stammered.

Yet Luna was not in the mood for his objections and trotted past him.
"I'd rather see this one as an ally and not as a prisoner turning against us. He attacked me under the influence of mind control. Thus he is not to blame for this attack." Turning around towards the others, Luna nodded one last time before lifting off.

Wheat Wacker simply shook his head, shooting the Element Bearers an angry glance.
"It's a mistake... You'll see..."

Once he galloped away, the girls looked at each other.
"Waddya think he's up to?

"Nothing..." Rainbow stated flatly. "He's just bitter."

Twilight sighed while looking after him.
"Some are sceptics, but that doesn't make him a bad guy. He'll come around eventually. We just have to help Tyler show him that he means well."

* * * * *

Then, in the early hours of dawn, Luna approached her older sister in her chambers. Celestia opened her eyes, looking up to her younger sister with a warm smile while she rose.
“Thus the sun can set anew, Luna! What was the entire ruckus outside about?” Luna harrumphed and reported to her sister the whereabouts of the incident this night, prompting Celestia to open her eyes wide.

One day later, the royal guard gathered in the throne room as the Mane Six bowed before the Princesses. With a warm smile and a prim stance both princesses stood near the throne.
“Equestria is safe once again, defended to the end by its champions. We honor those brave souls who fought to protect us, those who are no longer among us…”

The guards lowered their heads in sorrow, but Luna, her voice filled with determination, raised her head to continue.
“And we defy those who want to see Equestria brought to ruin!” This brought back proud smiles to the guards as their beloved princesses esteemed their efforts. Celestia smiled to her younger sister, nodding at her encouraging words towards the guards as she continued.

“And while the deeds of heroic ponies are carved into the stone tablets of history, this day we honor a hero who is not a pony, but an ally who sacrificed everything for a land not his own. This day, a human outsider showed Equestria what heroes are made of.” Now her eyes wandered to Tyler who was entering the throne room. His upper torso was in bandages as the wounds were healed in a conventional way.

The doctors were uncertain of how much healing magic it would take to heal the wounds in a human anatomy, so they decided to let him heal up for himself. With a prim “A-ten-hoof!” the royal guard sprang into a respectful stance to greet him.
Celestia nodded towards Tyler with a strict face.
“Tyler Jones, from the world known as Earth… Step forth!”

Tyler took a gulp and went towards the throne, slowly kneeling once he was before the princesses. He looked up to Celestia with honor,
“Your Highness?”

Both princesses exchanged a few looks until the strict views were simply nodded away to warm smiles.
“Because you are an outsider not of ponykind, we have no power over you. Also, you come from a world where monarchy, as ponies know it, is history. But since you wish to live here, we will bestow labors and laws upon you to follow. I entrust you with the wellbeing of Ponyville, to guard it and to hold it dear. Treat Equestrians with the dignity and honor they deserve. Use your newfound strength to protect our beloved subjects; to fight any threat scheming against the harmony of this land, foreign and domestic. Learn the ways of Equestria so that every citizen shall see you as a shining example. And finally… Find a certain someone dear to you. Can you accept these six terms? ”

He looked up baffled on these last few sentences, but she just nodded kindly. Although he didn’t fully understand the last part, he nodded in approval.
“Six labors… Like the six Elements of Harmony… I will hold these labors bestowed upon me today dear, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. May I succeed in harmonizing with Equestria.”

With an almost motherly warm smile Celestia looked up.
“Then I and my sister hereby decree that from now on this human is a citizen of Equestria with all duties and privileges that come with this status. The citizens of Ponyville shall help him to find a place among us as he will guard them from harm in our absence!”

As the royal guard cheered for Tyler, Twilight approached both the Princesses and Tyler.
”I’m glad he can stay with us, Princess Celestia. And I think I’ve learned another thing.”

With a proud smile Celestia looked down to her.
“And what is that, my faithful student?”

Twilight watched Tyler befriending some of the guards as she began to smile.
“Sacrificing something or everything for the sake of others will never be in vain, for others will sooner or later recognize the good deed and the good will behind it. And then your outcome may be that others might want to share their good will with you as well.”

Celestia leaned down to Twilight as they both looked to Tyler.
“A great and good lesson your new friend learned as well…"

* * * * *

The girls waved goodbye to the princesses; however, Twilight and Tyler stayed the longest, as Twilight took a very intimate goodbye to Celestia, Tyler recognized that both student and mentor seemed to be connected by a very deep bond, almost like family bond. But he had other things to say now as he turned towards Luna.
“I forgot to ask, but how is the cheek?”

Luna cocked her head a bit, not sure at the moment what he meant.
“Cheek? Oh! Thou speakest of that hard slap thou gave me while under mind control? No hard feelings.”

Tyler sighed deeply.
“That’s a relief. I would never harm such beautiful creatures on purpose… I mean… Not creatures! Pegacorn? Unisus? What do I call your subspecies of ponies?”

Both princesses looked at each other and laughed wholeheartedly.
“We are alicorns, but we don’t mind you not knowing until now. “

Tyler looked up to the two regal sisters.
“Alicorns…” he repeated amazed. “It sounds beautiful. Truly a name fit for the two most gorgeous sisters the land has to offer.”

Twilight was shocked in awe.
“Tyler! You don’t talk like this to the princesses!”

Again the princesses laughed.
“Oh we don’t mind, Twilight Sparkle. Tia, when was the last time we were flattered that honestly?”

Celestia chuckled in her own regal way and looked to Tyler.
“That was long ago by another outsider. Not a human, but not a pony as well. That was long before the founding of Equestria though.” She then came very close to Tyler. “Now then, Tyler Jones. I have one final question for you on this occasion.”

Tyler nodded and remained eye contact with the princess of the sun.
“What can I do for you?”

The princess was now very quiet, closed her eyes and both her student and sister looked upon her.
“Twilight and Luna both mentioned that you fought fierce and relentless. Like it was a part of you. So tell me: Why do humans fight?”

Tyler was puzzled at this question.
“I… Well, since I’m the only human in Equestria, I can only speak for myself. Will you grant me time to meditate upon the answer? I want to look into myself for this.”

With this, Celestia nodded.
“I will await your answer in patience. Twilight? When is the next time you girls will visit Luna and I here in Canterlot?”

The lavender unicorn thought for a second before she beamed at her teacher.
“Oh, the Grand Galloping Gala, Princess Celestia! That is, if no other statues return to life and bring Chaos to Equestria.”

Both princesses smiled at each other and shook their heads.
“Nay, Tia… Not going to happen this time! I have my eye on that lad.”

Celestia smiled.
“Me as well, Lulu, that bad boy is guarded well, Twilight; don’t fear. Until the Gala it is then. I will send the tickets to you all via Dragonmail as usual."

Author's Note

Proofread by Rythmns

14 - Ancient promises and wonders of family *

Several thousand years ago in the Holy Palace of Light
–
During the Alicorn war, mere hours before the Abarasion Spell …

It was dusk as the queen of the alicorns of light looked at the horizon with the uncertainty she had for several days now. To commit such a grave and irrevocable action like the Abarasion Spell… To banish all adult alicorns into stars… She then shook her head in conflict with her doubts. It has to be done… It was then when the sound of clopping hooves reached the queen’s ears. Little Celestia was still up and the young princess with her pink mane approached her mother,
“Mommy? Why is father so mad at you and all the Light alicorns?”

Queen Faust sighed and rested her wing over her daughter,
“Your father first was afraid we would threaten him, Celestia… But this fear turned into blunt hatred. He sees us Light alicorns as sworn enemies that deserve to die.”

Little Celestia looked down sad. She remembered seeing some of her mother’s subjects at a gathering, were they all cried. But as the little princess asked them of why they cried, they stated that someone died. It was then that the little alicorn learned about the mortality of things beyond her mother’s palace walls. Alicorns didn’t die of age… So the only way for someone to cause an immortal alicorn to die was…? Obviously she had no idea. With big eyes she looked up to Queen Faust again,
“Mommy? How do alicorns cause each other to die? Aren’t we immortal?”

The queen now rolled her eyes slightly amused and slightly annoyed. This innocent little filly asks the most difficult questions all the time. I just hope you’ll get a daughter or something like that as well… With a heavy heart, the queen sighed again and bowed her head, before facing her daughter,
“They do a terrible act, Celestia. They commit murder!” Cocking her head a bit, Celestia didn’t fully seem to understand. But the queen pointed her hoof to the chest of the little filly. “They stab their horn into the chest of another alicorn and cause the other alicorn to bleed to death…”

Celestia looked at her chest and up to the queen again with tears welling in her eyes,
“That’s not nice!”

Shaking her head, the queen pulled her in and rested her wing on her in a protective manner,
“Indeed… It’s the greatest sacrilege we alicorns know. We mustn’t kill each other. And yet… Your father leaves me no choice. In order to protect our subjects, I had to wage war with him and tried my best to make him see reason. But it was in vain. Look at the horizon, Celestia… The fiery clouds you see are the edges of the center of the war. In its heart, hundreds die every hour… It is bedlam, it is madness!”

The young princess looked to the horizon and tried to imagine the many lives lost in this nonsense her mother called war. It was bad, she could tell by the way her mother frowned upon it. She tried to imitate this frown, but it just looked like she tried pouting the war away. Her mother saw this and smiled, nuzzled little Celestia for her effort, causing the little filly to chuckle,
“Listen carefully, my daughter… for we will never speak like this again.” With this the queen and her oldest daughter had a long talk into the night. As they ended, the queen sighed. “…For you see, my beloved Celestia… We alicorns committed too many sins in this war. I will cleanse the world of Equis of all alicorns but the youngest ones such as you and Luna…”

“Mommy? This will mean you will be gone forever, doesn’t it?”

Bowing her head to nuzzle Celestia, the queen nodded,
“I will be with you and Luna, my little pony. Even if you don’t see me. When you look up into the black sky and see it filled with thousands among thousands of little lights, you will know that I am one of them, watching over you and Luna.”

Little Celestia pouted a bit now,
“I know it’s for the better of our subjects… But still you’re gone!”

“Don’t fret, Celestia. You will have Luna and Cadance with you. Since they’re little foals yet, you will be their big sister and aunt and must protect them until you and Luna are old enough to rule over our subjects.” She then faced her young daughter. “And one other thing… Look at me, Celestia! The alicorn race is too powerful to be numerous. Swear to me you will do everything in your power to limit the alicorns to a minimum.”

The little filly was thinking and in this process seemed to mature a bit, as she stood up tall and looked up to her mother,
“Mother… I will! I swear!”

Faust gulped a bit. Mother… Not Mommy anymore… Her daughter grew up within these difficult times, maybe this would be for the better. She soon had to take care not only for herself, but her sister as well. And as the queen remained on the balcony, Celestia went back inside to go to sleep as well. Both would rule ponykind in the future. And both would do a fine job, ruling with kindness and justice. Yet being not only the queen but a worrying mother as well, she felt uncertainty. And it was this uncertainty of what the future would hold for her daughters that made her cast a spell to see into the future.

And what she saw was not good. She could see the foretold hero and Celestia fighting over Luna as the princess of the night stretched out her hands to him while levitating in midair. Although in human form, her mother could clearly see through her guise. Tears welled in her daughter’s eyes, a heartbreaking moment for the queen. And terror struck her heart as she heard her older daughter’s voice devoid from all warmth.

'“THIS ISN’T ABOUT ANYPONY BEING HAPPY!!! THIS IS PART OF AN OATH I MADE EONS AGO TO OUR MOTHER!!! AND BY THE STARS!!! NEVER AGAIN MUST ALICORNS BE ALLOWED TO GET NUMEROUS!!!”'

With a terrified “NO!!!” the queen awakened from her vision. With tears in her eyes she shook her head. Obviously fear consumed her older daughter in the future. It seemed that Luna wanted this hero to be her special somepony and Celestia stepped in to forbid it. But why? Was he bad influence? She couldn’t give herself the answer to this, but couldn’t stand to watch again. Although she had vowed not to interfere with her daughter’s future, this fighting was so misguided, this misery unbearable,
“This is not what I wanted her to do… They both shall be happy…”

Her mind was racing. In mere hours she would cast the Abarasion Spell and Celestia was too tired to be receptive. There simply wasn’t enough time. What to do? What to do??? She couldn’t help them making the right decisions while being among the stars. But maybe she could help them with one final precaution, the last help a loving mother could give before leaving them. And with this she casted another spell to create a crystal orb,
“Tilerions… Listen close to me now, mortal. For I shall speak only once to you in your entire life…”

After she recorded her message into the orb, she levitated it into the sky,
“Fly! Fly, my aid for the future. Endure the times until one day he will need you the most. Find him, so my love for my daughters may help him…” With this the orb shot into the night sky never to return. With this she turned back into her chambers, where Celestia already was sleeping with Luna. Nuzzling them both, she closed her eyes. “I will help you, my daughters… Even if I’m not with you in person…”

Equestria
–
Today

Tyler slowly opened his eyes and blinked as the warm rays of the sun entered the room and tickled his belly. The girls were lying around him. Twilight and Applejack on his right and Luna who probably went to slumber as soon as the sun was rising and her duties for the night were done on the left. He caressed her blue coated cheek and gave her a kiss that brought a faint smile on her face. With a little “Tyler… I love thee…” she mumbled a bit in her slumber. This caused him to smile and he turned around to Twilight and Applejack. Was it really three weeks since this time? Since Applejack was a human? Getting a strand of her mane out of her face, he caressed her cheek as well. How beautiful the earth pony mare was, quiet and calm like a blond angel. With a content heart he closed his eyes. Everything for once seemed perfect.

It was then when Twilight woke up,
“Good morning…”

His dozing was interrupted by the unicorn’s sleepy voice,
“Morning, Twilight… Had a good night?”

With a slow nod she began to smile, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes,
“I did… Did you?”

He nodded,
“I did, too. You know these pillows Celestia had the servants put into this beds are really comfy… They also have her cutie… mark…?” As he patted the pillow, he more and more thought it felt more like a… flank? No, this couldn’t be. As he opened his eyes, he could see a tail waving from one side of the pillow, moving without a breeze. He then narrowed his eyes. “Celestia?”

With a giggle, the princess’ voice answered to him,
“You had a good sleep Tyler?”

Closing his eyes now he slowly shook his head,
“OK… How long have you been my pillow?”

As he looked up to her face, she looked up to the ceiling with a dreamy expression and a drop of drool rolled down her chin,
“Oh, I was it only the whole morning. And you rubbed your face into my flank several times; the weight felt soooo good…”

Tyler grimaced and muttered a simple “Uh huh…” as he looked to Twilight and got up,
“I told you this gets weird at times… The whole concept of her being my servant or slave or whatever you call it feels so inappropriate sometimes… Then again, it makes her happy. And still… this isn’t by far the worst she asked me to do.”

Twilight cocked her head, wrinkling her nose a bit. She still wasn’t used to the fact that Princess Celestia was part of the herd, but tried her best to make her feel like any mare who would be greeted into the herd,
“Like what?”

With this the princess of the sun stood up and got out of bed,
“Tyler? Do you think you can assist me in demonstrating our relationship?”

He sighed and stood up as well,
“OK… But only once and we’re only doing so much…” With this they fetched a briefcase from her chambers and returned. Tyler opened the briefcase and Celestia levitated several black objects out of it.

As she glanced at him with lustful looks, the black leather collar embraced her neck as she fastened it. The leash clipped to the collar and was raised towards Tyler. When he took it, he reeled Celestia in and she happily complied while choking a bit. Leaning against him, her flank shivered ever so slightly as she slowly raised it. A loud smack caused her eyes to shot open, but then close half way in delight with her eyes rolled back. As his fingers went down her spine, his voice whispered into her ear and she nodded like obediently,
“Yes… Yes, I’m a bad girl… A bad, bad girl…”

Another hard smack prompted her to wince with a quiet gasp. How she wanted him. It was completely irrelevant of who she was now. If it would go by her, he could have mounted her in front of all of nobility. And she would gladly suck him clean afterwards like an obedient good girl. Oh, how her thoughts were filled with lust. Her cheeks burned as she looked to Twilight. Her faithful student saw her in this most intimate moment and this made her shiver again and the silent wish for acceptance of her younger female herd mates roamed in her mind.

As Applejack and Twilight witnessed this with Luna who awoke from the entire ruckus with a foul mood the dark alicorn only shook her head in disapproval,
“To find lust in being dominated… Tia… I must say thou disappoint me there…”

Applejack grimaced a bit,
“Well… Ah always knew the royal flapdoodle isn’t mah thing… What do yer say, Twilight?”

But Twilight only stared at her mentor,
“I’m sorry, AJ… I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought.”

Applejack nodded and grinned,
“Now, Twilight… Ya sound like…” She hesitated a bit. “Ah mean yer…” Raising her hoof to her mouth she looked at Twilight in a slightly disgusted way and galloped to the bathroom. The sound of vomiting sounded in the next minute. As Applejack returned, she looked a bit pale around the nose. “Whoa nelly! Since three days these things keep happening to me. Ah think Ah might get sick or somethin’…”

Hearing this, Celestia looked at Applejack and the lustful thoughts for Tyler were replaced with protective motherly feelings as one of her friends, subjects and herd mates seemed to be sick,
“You’re not right? Do you want to see a doctor?”

But Applejack smiled,
“When we’re back in Ponyville, Ah’ll see one. Nothin’ big, really…” But with this she burped and ran to the bathroom again.

Luna now got up in worry. With all this noise so close around her there was hardly a chance to sleep. Even for her deep slumber,
“Something’s wrong with fair Applejack?” Celestia shook her head and called for the royal physician after she had put off her leather clothing.

After her thorough examination, the doctor looked up to Applejack with wide eyes,
“Your highness… I can assure you that this young lady is not sick!”

The earth pony cocked her head in disbelief,
“Not sick? Are yer sure, doc? I’m puking every morning for three days! That’s pretty sick in mah book!”

“I can assure you, young lady: It is NOT being ill what bothers you… It is morning sickness! You are pregnant.”

In the next instant a loud “WHAT???” was shouted in unison from the herd mates. Celestia now looked strict at Luna,
“I say this is the doing of your spell! This is your…” But then the white alicorn remembered Applejack and her wish for a foal. “Well… actually… Do we call it a fault or achievement, Luna?”

“An achievement! An achievement!!!” Applejack cheered. “And yer sure, Doc? There’s no doubt?”

Looking into his notes, the doctor shook his head with a smile,
“I don’t know how you managed to pull this off so far after or before heat season, but you, madam, are pregnant!”

Applejack jumped at Tyler and tackled him down,
“Ya hear that? We did it, Sugarcube! We did it!!!” Tears of joy ran down her cheeks as she looked down to him. “This is a dream come true! Ah don’t know how and Ah definitely don’t care! Ah carry yer foal…” With this she buried her face into his chest. “Mah life couldn’t be better!”

While Tyler embraced her and Twilight beamed at the alicorn herd mates, both Luna and Celestia smiled warm at Applejack, before Celestia closed her eyes and gave Luna a concerned look,
“Luna? How could this happen outside of her heat season?”

The young princess shook her head in perplexity,
“Tia, I know I have forgotten something when I crafted the spell and I know Tyler told me about it. But I can’t put my hoof on it…”

Arching a brow, Tyler looked over to Luna,
“Could it be that you made her too much of a human? Humans don’t have heat seasons! We’re fertile all the year.”

Luna felt like punched in the face by Discord himself. Of course! Tyler’s semen was fertile all the time; he only was incompatible to ponies. Turning a mare into a human woman would mean to make this mare fertile as well,
“How…. How could I oversee such an important detail???”

Applejack chuckled,
“Not that Ah blame yer for it… Ah’m eternally grateful for this, Luna!” With this, the earth pony jumped up from Tyler and hugged the dark alicorn who felt pride rising up in her.

Celestia smiled,
“Fortunately this little mishap is welcomed with opened arms…”

Tyler gave this a nod,
“It means you both could have children as well without waiting 500 more years.”

While Luna’s mood got better, Celestia silently frowned upon this sentence,
“This would mean you would be of completely equal stand, Tyler… Our Diarchy would become a triarchy.”

Tyler now cocked his head,
“Which would mean… you two as queens and me as king?” He thought about it for a minute. “Nah… Not gonna happen! I’m not cut out for politics. I don’t see me as a king.”

This brought a smile back to Celestia’s face,
“Speaking of royalty… Have you seen her lately?”

Tyler shook his head,
“I see her once a week, directly after our sleepover. This marks today as the day I’ll visit her again. How is she doing? Any developments lately?”

Both alicorns shared a concerned look before they nodded at him,
“You better look for yourself. The CCF has to be expanded due to her… uh… mating behavior.” Luna harrumphed, “I say we shouldn’t have brought her this inmate in the first place. Right now there are 100 Changelings in this facility, each in solitary confinement. Including her! And she almost sucked him dry…”

Tyler nodded,
“I guess this is enough. For now no more ‘food’ for her. I better take a look for myself." Kissing Celestia, he smirked. “You should behave more around me, Celestia. I know how you enjoy bodily contact with me, but the others aren’t used to that or deem this too extraordinary…”

Turning to Luna, he gave her a deep kiss as well,
“It’s late for you, my love. Return to sleep. You deserved it after another glorious night.” Last but not least, he turned to Twilight and Applejack. “You two go ahead and go shopping before we meet at the station. Maybe I learn something about Changelings for your studies Twilight…” With this he kissed the lavender unicorn before turning to Applejack. “And you, you little sweetie? You’re already preparing the biggest present for me I ever had. Words cannot express of how proud I am of you… My Number one favorite country girl…” With a deep and longing kiss he parted from her and left the chambers as Luna went back to bed and the others went to the next room.

Applejack blushed a bit,
“Ah feel so happy right now! Me and Tyler… We worked so hard for this!”

With a giggle Twilight nudged her into the chest,
“Not that you haven’t enjoyed it…”

Applejack nodded with a chuckle,
“That’s right! It was as fun as it was exhausting…”

Celestia now harrumphed briefly,
“I’d… I’d like to ask you two something…”

Both Twilight and Applejack stood in front of her and looked up,
“Sure thing, Princess Celestia! We-”

Celestia now raised her hoof,
“This is part of it! I want you two to treat me like anypony else while we’re in the herd… While we’re among us…”

Both ponies nodded and Twilight raised a hoof,
“So this makes you… simply Celestia?”

The white alicorn smiled and nuzzled Twilight for a bit,
“Thank you, Twilight. I know this must be especially hard for you… But while we’re in the herd together with Tyler, you are no longer my student, but of equal stand to me. Do you understand?” Twilight nodded. Her mentor obviously wanted to make sure that Applejack and herself aren’t overshadowed by the princesses. It was a wise choice for the herd and probably exactly what pleased the two alicorns the most: Closer social bonding beyond worshipping.

Celestia now dropped the bomb,
“I’d like to ask for your permission to have sexual intercourse with Tyler…” Utter silence followed for a brief moment until Twilight fainted and fell to the ground with an audible THUMP.

Applejack took off her Stetson and fanned fresh air into Twilight’s face, while grinning nervously at the white alicorn,
“Uh… Ahehehe… Sure thing, Celestia! Ah think Twilight’s so happy that yer ask for permission she couldn’t restrain herself.”

* * * * *

Tyler on the other hand left the castle and walked along the streets, where some ponies held their noses that high it looked like they would look into the sky while walking. Ugh… Some ponies… He then went into the eastern part of Canterlot, right at the mountainside where a tunnel led deep into the caverns of the CCF, where walls of steel contained the changelings under strict monitoring. As he entered the facility, he was accompanied by a guard. Partially to watch him, partially to guide him around,
“As you can see, Tyler Jones… The Changelings in custody have been brought into isolation, separated from each other and their queen to make a contact impossible. No Changeling can communicate with his brethren nor can they plot anything. Once a day they get their ration of love and get back into their cell.”

This caused Tyler to arch his brows,
“Love? How?”

The guard beside him chuckled,
"We open one cage, let the Changeling step outside, make sure he doesn’t escape and give him a nice warm hug for thirty seconds. That’s enough to keep them alive.”

Tyler nodded, visibly astonished,
“Frugal little creatures, if you ask me. How are the tests going?”

The guard shrugged,
“Uh… You should ask these kind of questions to the lab coats… I only guard this place here.”

It was then when a yellow unicorn mare with a white lab coat stepped through a laboratory door and discussed some scientific data with one of her colleagues,
“I think we should try the next test series with the Van Mane strain. Maybe we can decode it with this.” As she noticed Tyler, she smiled and approached him. “Fascinating little critters, these Changelings, don’t you agree?”

Tyler chuckled in a dark manner,
“IF they’re not attacking ponykind that is…”

As he stretched his hand out to her, she rested her hoof in his palm for a shake,
“Professor Mindfire. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Jones.”

With a nod, Tyler went down the hallway with her,
“I take it you are trying to make sense out of the Changelings?”

“Indeed! Their secret of how they feed on love, especially the mechanism of how it works is what is of biggest interest. Maybe once we find out how it works, we can find a way to repel them without large armies.”

This prompted Tyler to smile,
“Any way that minimizes the casualties is most welcome. Speaking of minimizing… How is she?”

Mindfire nodded,
“Subject 001… Codename Shiria… Yes, she’s in her containment cell. We haven’t fed her since the incident with the inmate… I take it you want to inspect her in person as usual?”

Tyler nodded,
“As usual, yes.”

The scientist unicorn now raised her hoof,
“I don’t know why you put so much trust into her to go into this cell without armor or arms.”

Tyler smirked,
“It’s an Earth thing I guess… Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” With this he was escorted to Shiria’s cell. As always he approached her cell with mixed feelings. Anxiety, rage, disgust… Sometimes he even felt hope. The slight hope she might be something better than her mother.

With a quick step he entered the cell before the bulkhead was closed behind him,
“Good morning, Princess Shiria…”

Shiria looked up with her ponytail haircut,
“Queen Shiria that is… I’ve been impregnated… I’m not a princess anymore…” With a slight bow she greeted him in her cell. Since the last time he was here she sure managed to change it quite a lot. The walls got cocooned and looked organic now.

Tyler arched a brow at the scene,
“I see your interior decoration got a bit altered…”

But Shiria only chuckled flattered and looked around in her cell,
“Like I said before… A ladybugs’ boudoir… How nice of you to visit me again… so… How are my children?”

Tyler looked at the many books in the shelves. Obviously Shiria spent much time on reading,
“Alive and well… Well at least alive, I don’t know if they are well, I can’t look into their minds.”

“Of course you can’t. Without me there is no mind in the swarm. That is, unless there’s a princess in my swarm. Has there been a Changeling with her own mind?”

Tyler remained quiet for a while, before he shrugged,
“I can’t tell because I haven’t talked to any of them.”

Shiria bowed her head down,
“I guess I’m in no position to argue… But I’m not asking as a queen alone, you know… I am a concerned mother as well…”

Tyler arched a brow and looked at her,
“You are a love parasite. Can you even give love at the cost of energy?”

She looked up to him, eying him for some seconds,
“Don’t analyze my mind, human… My mind is not a nice place for you to be.”

Tyler now arched a brow,
“No of course not… That’s why you tried to seduce me in the first place. You probably heard of what I did to your mother and now you’re trying to get something out of it. And although you may be compatible with a pony stallion, I doubt you can be compatible with a human. But that’s no worry I share with you. Like I said before: I will never do it with you. For now, you are a prisoner in my responsibility and I will make sure you behave and get the proper treatment.”

“Why, we’re both prisoner in a way… You on this world…” She looked around. “And I’m a prisoner in this facility…” She stared a bit at him. “Sit, please… We can talk in comfort, can’t we?”

He arched a brow and sat down,
“It was brought to my attention that the stallion that was sent inside here is in critical condition… What did you do to him?”

Shiria sat down on the carpet and smiled proudlym
“He loved my womb… So I feasted upon this love. I tried to ration him but his love grew and grew, so I had to… you know… adapt.”

Tyler grew more and more unpleasant with the way she talked about this. Her voice seemed to try to sound sexually arousing and she eyed him like he was her next victim,
“And while his desires were granted, so were mine. You sent in a pony predator and I transformed him into prey…” She now began to chuckle. “I cocooned him, but then they took him away. Pity…He was quite amusing…”

Tyler leaned back. He actually only heard that this stallion was in jail for rape and murder. And frankly he didn’t felt compassion for someone like that. But boasting about ruining the life of someone wasn’t actually his kind of humor. Nether the less he kept his cool and played a little smirk,
“Yeah… Fucking hilarious…”

Shiria now eyed him,
“I must say I really enjoy your visits now and then. Once in a while Celestia inspects me from above, but she never comes down for a little talk. That’s why I feel such a nice bond between us…”

Tyler looked up to the observation glass where several pony scientists stood and took note, before he closed his eyes,
“There is no bond between us than my responsibility for you.”

She giggled a bit and her wings buzzed for a second,
“Oh, you don’t say… We have more in common than you think… You’re not an herbivore, are you?”

“Omnivore…” he answered right away.

Her eyes widened,
“Eating everything? My… And there I was thinking you humans actually were pack animals and carnivores… At least that’s what I expect from your fighting. You attack the weak and avoid the strong…”

As he looked at her, he slowly nodded,
“We were, if one could say, pack animals once. But we don’t hunt anymore. We breed the cattle we eat instead of hunting it down…”

“So you are like we Changelings are… Already too many to survive from nature’s riches alone, you need to alter nature…”

Tyler didn’t like this analogy between humans and Changelings from her. Even if he compared them earlier, now he knew better. Humans would have scruple to kill and devour a sentient being of equal intelligence. It was one thing to kill an animal like a mindless cow, although he himself never slaughtered one… But to kill something that could think and talk and feel just the exact way he could? No, he couldn’t do this so easily. No sane human could do this. And that was one of mankind’s traits he was proud of. They, unlike Changelings, could empathize.

This was visible in his face as well,
“Changelings don’t breed ponies for their need for love… You are more like a virus. A bioweapon someone created to harm ponies!”

This visibly hurt Shiria,
“And what have you become? A walking, talking bioweapon that can level a whole mountain… I saw firsthand what your blood can do…”

Tyler cocked his head and arched a brow at her,
“What do you mean? How did you gain this knowledge? You talked about it before, but you never went into detail…”

Shiria now stared at him, licking her fangs,
“Ubermane…I got it from him. I ate his heart which was filled with frightening terror and a dash of despair as he realized who I really am… Fth fth fth fth!”

Tyler maintained eye contact with her now. This was probably the most disturbing thing the Changeling female ever told him. She now eyed him to look for reactions,
“You puzzle me, Tyler Jones… You don’t kill me, although you know that they can’t keep me in here forever… You don’t love or rape me either. I would recognize love in an instant and feed upon you… You humans surely are an interesting species… Mother was wise to fear you… even if she wasn’t sane in the end.”

Tyler now arched a brow,
“Not sane? In what way was she not sane?”

“You know… I don’t think she ever talked of who her father was, but she always seemed to talk to him like he was actually there. And the thing is, all males in the swarm are either warriors or drones, all not fertile. It is impossible to have a Changeling father. Yet…”

Now Tyler listened up,
“Yet? What are you plotting?”

“Nothing… This would mean I would need your sperm and being compatible for it. And since this is impossible…”

His face grew stern,
“Not in a thousand years!”

Seeing the impact this had on him once more made her giggle,
“You as well thought you could never buck a pony. And look at you now, ponybucker…” He then got up without a word and went to the door. “Oh, I’m sorry. That’s an insult?”

Narrowing his eyes, he gave signal for the guards to open the door,
“Goodbye, Princess Shiria…”

“That’s QUEEN Shiria for you! And you didn’t threaten to take away my books yet!” With this he simply slammed the door shut tight behind him ad sighed. 'Shiria and her fucking mind games…' After this he said his goodbyes to Mindfire and the guards and was escorted back outside.

* * * * *

On his way to the station, he met the Sparkles,
“Tyler Jones… What a pleasant surprise!”

Tyler nodded and exchanged some hoofshakes with them both,
“This morning was full of surprises already, Mrs. Sparkle!”

But the unicorn mare shook her head,
“Tyler… You are our daughter’s herd stallion and are considered a war hero here in Canterlot. Just call me Velvet. Isn’t that right, Night Light? Your doubts have vanished as well, right?”

The blue stallion nodded,
“You truly convinced me with your deeds, my boy! Obviously Twilight is in good hands if she’s with you.”

Velvet then continued,
“We’ve met Twilight a few minutes ago. She told us one of your herd mates, Applejack, got pregnant. Let us congratulate you to this wonderful event as well!”

Tyler rubbed his neck in slight embarrassment,
“Why, thank you, Velvet! I’m glad I turn out OK for you both. And we got the good news ourselves this morning.”

Velvet smiled up to him,
“We will pray that your first foal will be a healthy one, Tyler. It means so much. Not just for you and your herd. I talked to some other mares and stallions about your herd and we all deem it a good thing that a being like you can fit in so nice and well into pony society. You must be so terribly proud of this, my boy! Night Light! Think of it! Maybe they decide to have foals as well, Twilight and him… Grandchildren! I always thought Shining Armor would be the first to pull this off but now it seems Twilight and her herd mates are giving this to us first…”

Now Tyler held his hands up in defense,
“Ahehehe… Velvet, uh… Let’s not rush things like that! Twilight mentioned her studies would suffer from having a foal. She will show me when she’s ready to beget a foal. Also, this isn’t a race.”

Velvet now shook her head,
“Oh! No… We love both our children…It’s just… you know… anticipation.” After this, he waved them goodbye as he thought of something.

'Cadance is an alicorn mare as well…
Alicorn mare + alicorn heat + Shining Armor =…?'

With a gulp he already imagined the scratch marks on the floor as Shining Armor, now with dark circles around the eyes, tried his best to get a grip and escape from his wife as she reeled him into the bedroom with her magic. “It’s time to do your conjugal, royal duties, my beloved husband!” And how he would scream in sheer terror as the door would slam closed before him and he was pulled backwards. “NO!!! NOT AGAIN!!! YOU ALREADY GOT IT TEN TIMES THIS NIGHT!!! MERCY!!!”

With this Tyler blinked for a moment,
“Oh shit…” But then he burst into laughter at the station. 'He sure is about to get it…'

It was then when Twilight and Applejack noticed him and waved him closer,
“What’s so funny, Tyler?”

With a giggle, Tyler wiped a tear out of his eye,
“I just, um… remembered a dirty joke Shining once told me about.”

The lavender unicorn looked up to him with a smirk,
“That’s odd… I never deemed Shining as that type of stallion… Well, stallions among themselves behave different than with mares. Right?”

Tyler nodded,
“I guess that’s something among every sentient species…” With this the train arrived and they stepped inside.

On the way to Ponyville, Applejack, Twilight and Tyler sat together in the train and conversed a bit. Tyler and Applejack sat together, while Twilight sat alone,
“So you’re pregnant… Applejack, I have plenty of books you can borrow regarding maternity and pregnancy. And of course you can count on us with the upcoming harvest.”

Applejack nodded,
“Thanks, Twilight. Ah guess y’all will make more than a replacement for me when Ah carry the foal. Ah won’t take any risks with that this time. Ah may be stubborn if it’s only me, but this is mah foal with Tyler… And Celestia be mah witness: Even if the orchards are rottin’ away, mah foal comes first!”

Tyler smiled and patted Applejack on the shoulder,
“I’ll spend some more time on the farm now, Twilight. I have to clear things with Granny Smith and to help out more. Now with AJ carrying for some months they need me there twice as much anyway.”

Twilight nodded,
“I understand. And I’m not mad in case you think I am. You would do the same for me anyway.”

He chuckled,
“But I’m not that much of a librarian like you are. If it comes to books, you probably leave me in the dust. I think I might be of help, but I would need to learn your organizing of the library first.

The lavender unicorn giggled,
“Don’t worry, We’ll see it through.” She left a pause, before she raised her left hoof and pointed at Applejack’s belly. “So! Have you thought of a name already?”

Applejack looked at Tyler and smiled,
“An equestrian name, Sugarcube. Yes?”

Tyler frowned a bit, seemed to think of it and shook his head,
“I’d love to, but I think I have a name for our child from Earth that might please you.”

Applejack blinked for a moment and nodded,
“Alright. Ah’ll hear ya out, big feller!” As he whispered the name into her ear, her face began to beam. “Appleseed? Aw, Sugarcube! That’s probably the sweetest name for a member of the Apple family Ah can imagine. How’s that a name in yer world?”

He simply laughed,
“Trust me, the story would be too long for now…”

Caressing her belly with her hoof she then nodded,
“Appleseed. Ah love that name. It sure will fit our foal…

As the train arrived in Ponyville however, Tyler was surprised that the rest of the Mane Six were actually there to greet them,
“Hey, folks… What are you all doing here?”

But Rainbow pointed one hoof at him,
“What’s the big deal? Spike told us that he got a letter from Princess Celestia that we have to come to the station. Did anything happen? Is Equestria in danger?” Nudging Tyler, she hovered before him. “Come on, T-Man! Tell me! If we’re going to face trouble again, you can count on me!”

Tyler smiled at her. 'Good old Rainbow Dash…'
“That’s very brave and loyal from you, Rainbow… but no. There’s no trouble at all. But I can understand why the princess summoned you all to meet us here. That way you can all hear what we have to say…” With this he smiled down to Twilight and Applejack who returned the smile.

Twilight closed her eyes and rested her hoof proudly on her chest to make the announcement,
"Three weeks ago, Applejack was magically turned human by Princess Luna and according to the royal doctor- “

But Applejack cut her off in a sheer burst of joy, as she stood on her hind legs and waved around with her front hooves,
“Ah’m pregnant!!!”

Now the girls gasped in unison. Fluttershy smiled at the trio as she raised her voice,
“Oh my goodness! This is so wonderful! Having a foal is such a great achievement for a herd… That is… um… if I may say so… Um… Especially if it comes down to Tyler. Twilight, you told us how impossible this quest for a foal was to reach fruit. I’m very happy that you two finally succeeded…”

With a nod Rarity stepped in and laid a hoof over Applejack’s shoulders,
“My! Applejack, you simply must come into the spa with me then! Carrying a foal is one of the most stressful things for a mare to accomplish and you and your unborn child have to relax as much as you can! It will be my pleasure… No! It is my duty to invite you there. And I will create an ensemble for you to retouch the enormous belly you will develop.”

Rainbow however nudged Tyler in the ribcage,
“Great news, T-Man! I always knew you had it in you!”

Tyler rubbed his neck while looking around,
“Thank you, Rainbow… Thank you all. This means Sweet Apple Acres will need a little help once AJ gets advanced in pregnancy. Because I won’t let you tend the crops anymore at this point in time, honey.”

Applejack nodded and smiled up to him as Rarity gasped,
“This actually gives me inspiration! Something like…’Infant fashion’! Oh this will make the little one so much cuter than it will be on its own. You two just wait!”

Just as Tyler wanted to say something, Pinkie Pie jumped into his field of vision with a stern look,
“Hey!!! This has party all over it! And no excuses this time!”

Tyler blinked a few times in surprise, before he nodded with a smile,
“Alright Pinkie, you’re right! We will not postpone the party this time. Twilight’s library tomorrow evening, this should give you enough time for planning and preparations, right? Just make sure you have punch ready fitting for a pregnant mare…”

Pinkie tipped her chin twice and nodded,
“Oki-doki-loki!” Beaming from cheek to cheek, the pink earth pony dashed away with an audible “Weeeeee!!!!”

While Twilight shook her head with a smile, Tyler patted her shoulder and looked down to her,
“We’re at Sweet Apple Acres for now. The Apples sure want to hear the good news. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Twilight nodded and trotted back to the library, happy to live in such a great herd. Applejack however was visibly excited,
“Whoa nelly! Ah’m pretty sure they’ll be mighty surprised to hear Ah’m carrying yer foal… Come to think of it… Ah can hardly believe it mahself! Please, Tyler… Sugarcube! Tell me Ah’m not dreamin’ this!”

Tyler chuckled,
“If this would be a dream, you would already have the foal in your hooves and would be the proudest mare in all of Ponyville!”

With a laugh she nodded,
“And Ah know yer would be one mighty proud Pa…” With this she leaned against him while walking the way up to the farm house. “Ah’m so happy to be with yer, Tyler…”

He smiled down to her and shortly before the farm, he knelt down to her and caressed her face,
“You were always honest to me, transparent and clear like mountain spring. And your wish to carry our child is stronger than that of every other mare. You worked hard for this happiness. I won’t let anyone harm you, our herd mates or our foal. No one will destroy this happiness. I won’t let this happen, I just won’t!”

With this he kissed her and she blushed as their lips parted again,
“Ah love ya, Tyler… No one can undo this…” A few minutes later they both entered the farm house.

Tyler couldn’t exactly hear what Applejack told Granny Smith, but the old mare turned around in an instant and hugged her granddaughter tightly while Big McIntosh looked up in surprise from the newspaper. Tears of joy ran down the old mare’s cheeks as she looked into Applejack’s happy face,
“Ah must say, mah girl! Ah always knew yer would come home with the right stallion to make us proud! And now look at ya. Being a proud mother soon. Have ya ever been so proud of yer younger sister, Big McIntosh?”

With a brief “Nnnope!” the hefty stallion shook his head and stood up before he too hugged his sister. “AJ, ya will make a fine mother, lil’ sister.” He then looked at Tyler. “Ya make sure yer raise it properly, pardner. Raisin’ a foal isn’t as easy as it first sounds.”

Tyler nodded,
“Thanks, Big Mac! Already there are lots of offers of our friends who want to help out. Which reminds me: Granny Smith?”

The old mare smiled upon Tyler,
“What can Ah do for yer, mah boy?”

“Pinkie Pie is asking if she can foalsit for the foal once it’s there. But I told her to ask you first since you always wished to enjoy the laughter of foals in the first place.”

With this she smiled even wider,
“Ohh… That’s mighty considerate of ya, mah boy… But Ah’m not as young and bouncy as Ah used to be. That Pinkie Pie is a mighty good girl, even if she’s a bit too bouncy. She’s welcome to spend some time with me and yer foal.”

The sound of little hooves announced Apple Bloom before she looked around in wonder,
“Tyler! Hey, y’all… What’s with all the commotion?”

Granny Smith now smiled to the little filly,
“Apple Bloom, come here! Ya should hear this as well.”

While cocking her head, the little filly approached the group,
“What is it?”

Applejack smiled down to her,
“Ah’m pregnant with Tyler’s foal, lil’ sis!”

In an instant Apple Bloom’s eyes became wide and she gasped,
“Really??? Awesome!!! Wait until the girls hear about this!”

Tyler patted her mane and looked at her as he knelt down,
“Well Applebloom… You will be an aunt soon. That’s a lot of responsibility. And I hope you and the Cutie Mark Crusaders will help the foal once it’s old enough to crusade for its cutie mark.”

Apple Bloom saluted and smiled at him,
“Will do, Tyler! Whoa nelly! This is so exciting! All the possible cutie marks we could earn from this!” With this she dashed outside, probably to plot more in the clubhouse.

Tyler shook his head with a smile,
“That little bundle of love…” He then gave Big McIntosh a stern look. “Big Mac? Can I have a talk with you? Just the two of us?”

After exchanging a surprised look with Applejack and Granny Smith, Big Mac only muttered a brief “Eeeyup!”

Five minutes later they stood together at the wooden fence of the orchard,
“Sooo… What’s up yer mind, pardner? Yer unusually worried. Something’s amiss?”

Tyler sighed,
“I know I’m adaptable, but hey… Do you guys really think I would make a good father? Not that I wouldn’t try! I…” He stopped and watched his hands. “Shit! Look at my hands, I’m shaking! That’s new! Tyler Jones, Defender of Equestria! He can see into the roaring snout of a void dragon… But becoming a dad scares the shit out of him… Pretty stupid, huh?”

Big McIntosh chuckled for a while before he shook his head,
“Nnnope! Ah think that’s the best reaction ya could have. It shows ya care about the little one…”

Tyler looked down the orchards and nodded,
“I never saw it that way… Hey… would you like to become the godfather to my foal?”

The red stallion now looked at Tyler with big eyes,
“The what?”

Tyler shrugged,
“It’s a human thing. In case something’s happening to me and AJ, you take good care for our child.”

Now Big Mac nodded,
“Ah see… Yes, Ah think Ah’ll do that for yer if ya want me to be the one for that job.”

With this Tyler patted the stallion’s shoulder,
“Actually I couldn’t imagine someone better than you…” He chuckled a bit. “Uncle Big Mac!” With this they shared a laugh.

As the sun began to set, the red stallion looked over to Tyler,
“Well? What would yer prefer? Colt or filly?”

Tyler looked into the red sky, shaking his head,
“I don’t care… All that matters is that it’s healthy. Anything else would break AJ’s heart.”

This prompted a content smile on Big Mac’s face,
“Ya know Ah had my doubts about ya… But yer like me in some ways. Ah like yer priorities.” With this he stood up and said his goodbye to Tyler, before he went inside again.

A few moments later Applejack came outside as Tyler approached the door,
“I’m back to the library for now…”

Standing on her hind legs, her front hooves rested on his chest again,
“It was a sunset like that… Ya remember it, pardner?”

As he looked into her emerald green eyes, he nodded slowly and took of her Stetson, only to put it on himself,
“How could I forget about the day you confessed to me? Or the evening of our first kiss? And how could an idiot like me get such a girl like you?”

With a shake of her head, she giggled,
“Yer not an idiot, Tyler. Not in mah eyes…” With this they exchanged another deep kiss in the warm rays of the evening sun. And as he returned to Ponyville, the orange mare watched after him until he was out of sight while her mane was waving in the wind.

Half an hour later he arrived back in the library,
“Twilight, I’m home again!”

He was no five steps in the library as Spike came running to him,
“Tyler! Derpy Hooves was here an hour ago and brought you this letter from Fillydelphia!”

This caused Tyler to frown in wonder,
“A letter from Fillydelphia? I know someone in Fillydelphia?” With this he opened the letter. “Let’s see what we have here…”

Dear Tyler,
Things are turning out great in Fillydelphia! I got plenty of new friends and take evening exams to work on my magic to improve myself. Due to my ‘punishment’ by the princesses I have to report my results on a weekly basis. It isn’t always easy, but I’m on my way to become a better mare. And despite pulling you out of your world, I’m happy about your last letter. It means a lot to me that you aren’t angry at me and in fact deem our Equestria a beautiful place.

In hindsight, the whole event with the Rainbow Gem earned me some confidence I always thought I would need to pretend. Thanks to you and Twilight I now know better. I know I can be more than a mere showmare and can wield serious magic. For this I am grateful.
With best regards,

Trixie

Tyler smiled at the letter,
“Well what do you know… she finally seemed to fit in somewhere. Oh! There’s more! ‘P.S. And I hope you won’t mind if I will visit you and Twilight later this week.’” Looking over to Twilight he smiled. “Well we won’t mind, will we?”

Shaking her head with a big smile, Twilight giggled,
“Not at all, Tyler. It’s good to hear from her with some good news for a change… Oh, almost forgot! I found a spell for you and Rainbow! You know, the thing we discussed earlier. I already knew about a spell to create a sphere around myself, but it takes some alteration and practice to make this sphere more agile and speedy. By far not as fast as Rainbow Dash, but it can reach the speed of the average Pegasus.”

Tyler’s eyes widened,
“You know, Twilight… I suppose this will not only come in handy, but may become a lifesaver one day…”

Meanwhile on a completely different dimension…
It was a sunny day on L.F. Wade International Airport and Rachel Higgins approached the ‘Betty’ with her carry-all. With a slightly annoyed look she opened the door,
“Flynn! You moron! You told me you would be in hangar bay 17, and now I find you in bay 13!”

The Betty was a Cessna 206, a ‘Stationair’ and Flynn, also known as 'Flying' Flynn Marhall was very proud of this baby,
“Sorry, Rachel, but I heard some engine noise and they told me they lack necessary equipment to check upon this in bay 17. And you know how I love my baby… She’s nothing like the bulky CASA C-212 they usually put me in during duty…”

Sam on the backseat only rolled his eyes while looking up from his PSP,
“Shut up, Flynn! You know I’m not interested in all this Navy stuff!”

“Air Force, Sam! I’m in the Air Force!” Rachel now rolled her eyes as well as she stepped in and threw her bag into the seats in the rear. “Air Force! Air Force! Air Force! Flynn, you’re flying transport airplanes for them and dream about flying a jet for five years now! When will you get the balls to ask for it?”

Flynn checked the instruments as he grinned,
“Look who’s talking! You were in so many brawls now, Rachel… More times than your unit’s member count! No wonder you’re still Corporal! It’s a wonder you’re still in your unit! I lack the balls? For a girl, you have too much!”

With an annoyed look she looked outside,
“Shut up, flyboy! I’m dependable if I have to and my unit knows that. Pity though… I always wanted to enter the elite training for being a sniper… but with my record… I guess this will stay a dream…”

Sam shook his head,
“So you both suck at your jobs and share this love-hate for each other, huh? Good thing I’m only a mere car mechanic!”

In unison they both said an annoyed,
“Shut up, Sam!”

But the muscular Afro-American simply smiled like a gentle giant,
“And since we three hate each other, what do we do since high school? Vacation together…”

Flynn nodded as the motor started, answering with a smile as well,
“Vacation together, Mr. Paintball Loser!”

Sam pointed his finger at Flynn,
“Hey! I definitely hit him before he pulled the trigger!”

Rachel grinned and looked at Sam,
“Not if you ask Marcus… But hey… lighten up… it’s only a pizza you owe him. And you’ll get him in the rematch.”

Flynn on the other hand frowned as he heard into his headset. Rachel nudged him into the ribs,
“Hey, flyboy! What’s up? Something’s not right?”

He then checked the sky,
“The guys in the tower say they’re getting weird radar signals. The weather seems fine though. A few clouds, but no reason to take risks…”

Rachel leaned back into her seat,
“Oooohhh! Spooky! Come on! Cut out this Bermuda Triangle Bullshit! You brought us here to Bermuda in one piece. I take it you’ll bring us back in one piece as well. I at least have so much faith in your skills, flyboy.”

This prompted Flynn to roll his eyes,
“Lucky me…” With this he followed the airport’s procedure until they were in the air. During the flight, Rachel looked down to the ocean. Vast Ocean as far as the eyes could see. It was a bit frightening. If anything would happen, they would be miles away from the next patch of land.

Slowly the Cessna began to shake. It was almost not worth the mention in the beginning, but soon the turbulences shook the plane violently. After bumping her head, Rachel looked to the pilot seat,
“Flynn! Stop this bullshit and fly properly!”

Flynn's eyes rushed over the intstruments. They didn't make any sense at all. Although they flew completely normal, they showed him he was flying upside down,
“The instruments are going crazy! You folks better fasten your seatbelts! It’s going to be a bumpy ride!”

With this, Sam and Rachel fastened their seatbelts as Sam looked out of the window. Heavy storm clouds hovered above them,
“Shit! We’re in the middle of a storm? Did you fly us directly into a storm front?”

Flynn shook his head,
“Somehow I doubt that.”

Sam leaned forward,
“Oh yeah? Well, open your eyes, flyboy! Storm clouds above us and lots of raindrops! We ARE in a storm!”

But Flynn gritted his teeth,
“Oh, no we aren’t! Those raindrops… They fly upwards!”

“WHAT???” But as Rachel looked outside she saw the water drops run upwards. “No! This can’t be!” As Flynn steered the Cessna, his eyes kept locking on the altitude, which was rising nonstop. It was like they would be sucked upwards. Soon after more and more of the ocean whirled around and ocean water was whirled up like being part of a twister on sea. But this was out of all proportions. There had to be thousands of tons of ocean water being sucked up.

As the Cessna was being sucked up even faster, he steered it more downwards,
“Flynn!!! DO SOMETHING!!!” More and more the little airplane gained in altitude although Flynn already steered the nose of the Cessna directly down. They could see the ocean directly in front of them like a giant wall of water and the twister of water that was sucked upwards. Drops of seawater ran along the window as they were sucked upwards as well. Sam and Rachel tried their best to remain in their seats as the luggage fell against the backsides of their seats. “ FLYNN!!! FOR GOD’S SAKE, WHY AREN’T YOU FLYING FASTER???”

Flynn now sighed in defeat as he looked up from the instruments,
“This is the maximum speed of the plane…”

Panic took its grasp upon the trio as the plane was sucked higher and higher into the vortex of the storm. Light and thunder engulfed the Betty as the airplane was ripped away from the face of earth. With a loud thunder the storm clouds slowly dissolved and the once giant pillar of seawater fell down into the ocean. Five minutes later, it seemed as if nothing ever happened.