The route which Daring Do took to leave the hotel was… interesting. I did not know that one’s escape route could be so direct yet devious at the same time.

I supposed that she had developed such a maneuver as part of her experience as a trouble-making and cup-destroying adventurer.

Once clear of the hotel, we made our way southwards to the meeting point. As we ran, I was finally able to recognize my own distress as shock subsided. I did my best to suppress it, trying to focus on the sensation of the cool night air upon my carapace instead.

It was not becoming of a changeling to leak so many emotions. I could not help my charge if I drained myself, after all.

About a half-mile from the Limehouse Dock, Daring and I took a sharp left into a forested park to make our way to the rendezvous point.

We reached our meeting point in a clearing amongst the trees. As we approached, a squad’s worth of Night Guards emerged from the trees and brush, holding themselves to a professional calm, their excitement only being betrayed by the emotions I could sense.

One of the Night Guards stepped forwards as the others formed a row behind him.

“Sergeant Perch reporting for duty, Ma’am!” the guard in front saluted.

“At ease, Sergeant.” Said guard put his hoof down. “Status report?”

“Our Scouts spotted an airship on the dock that matches the model of the others spotted at the warehouse. There appears to be at least seven contacts in the area. Two Unis and four Earths on the dock. One Uni on-deck, speaking into some kind of device. I would recommend that Sergeant Hooves reveals himself to the contacts while Daring…”

And so we discussed the intelligence that was available to us and formulated a plan. I was to imply surrender to the enemy at the dock and stall while Daring secured the ship I would then have them chase me to the park we were currently situated in, where the Night Guards would lay in ambush.

“One problem,” Sergeant Perch interjected. “This whole plan hinges on the enemy taking the bait and choosing to follow Sergeant Hooves when he is supposed to be surrendering himself… Won’t they find it strange if he chooses to make a run for it?”

Daring nodded, “You’re right, but that shouldn’t be a problem.” She turned to look at me. “You confirmed earlier as a ch-,”

In a breach of one protocol but a protection of a second, I chose to interrupt before Daring could reveal a state secret to unauthorized ponies. “I can… influence their emotions to sway them into a fit of passion, such that they will pursue me aggressively.”

Sergeant Perch scoffed. “Really? I know that you’ve been voted The Royal Guard’s Top Bachelor, but there’s no way you could seduce an entire group of ponies, not in a combat situation. Will they even swing the right way?”

I blinked. “...I would not think that their competency in throwing in hoof necessarily pertains to their susceptibility.”

Sergeant Perch scowled. “No, I meant… like… attraction?”

I looked at him, confused.

“…Sex?”

I blinked, realizing what he meant. “… I did not mean to imply swaying them as such… Let us simply call it ‘S-U-B’.”

The Sergeant stared for a moment more before sighing. “Fine, Stupid Unicorn Bullshit, let’s go with that...” He scowled, and I could feel a flare of anger directed at… myself?

”Wait, is that how you’ve been seducing others?... I don’t think mind control is at all-”

Momentarily stunned, I was saved from needing to put together a response by the adventurer to my side.

“Boys!” Daring interjected with a stomp. “We’re getting distracted!” She paused for a moment before continuing. “You have my word that he doesn’t need anything so invasive to work his magic.”

Recovering from my dumbfounding as the other guards’ attention was drawn away from myself, I tried to calm the Sergeant down by drawing away his anger, only to realize that it had already subsided.

Instead, the Sergeant and a few of the other guards were giving Daring strange looks.

Daring clapped her hooves together to assure their attention and restore focus. “The plan is settled. I want us all in position ASAP. Move Out!”

My supposed-to-be captors watched as I approached their location along the stony sides of the dock. A feeder, standard for shipments to smaller spaces.

The ponies on the dock were, for the most part, the same sort of generic. They, dressed like the average dock worker, and held themselves as such. They appeared to be partnered, two earth ponies to a unicorn.

I concluded that the seventh pony was still on deck. I would need to have faith that Daring’s part would go well.

As they drew nearer, the earth ponies fanned out to create an inverted wedge in front of me while the unicorns took position behind them.

We all came to a stop, about three Celestia-lengths between the earth ponies and myself.

The two unicorns looked at one another for a moment before the one further to my left spoke up.

“Hooves, is it? Very nice of you to surrender. Now keep your namesake planted and your horn dull or we’ll be having a problem.”

In order to ensure that the captors would chase me wholeheartedly into a trap, I would need them to be impassioned such that they would lose any sense of discipline in the passion of the hunt. However, the ponies facing me were, for the most part, calm, with only the slightest hint of excitement.

I thus determined that I would need to tinder some emotions to set ablaze.

Making a choice between immediate mobility or being confused for casting a spell, I raised a forehoof slightly off of the ground.

Right Unicorn guffawed. “Hey, we got a smartass over here!”

Some excitement. Good.

One of the Earth Ponies laughed. “Guess we’ll take a moment to ‘have a problem’ with h-”

“No.” Left Unicorn cut off the banter. “We should get this over with quickly. There are guards crawling around everywhere in Canterlot. It’s a miracle that we haven’t been spotted yet.”

Less. Bad.

I needed to stop this unicorn from snuffing the flames. So I upped the heat by casting a minor light spell with my horn.

Right Unicorn looked to Left. “Really? Are you sure we can’t?”

“Yeah, this guy’s buckin’ with us. It’s nothin’ a good beating couldn’t-”

“Shut. Up.” Left stomped a hoof. “We will not mess this up. Especially not like Neighples.”

More, good.

I sensed a hint of irritation in the Right Unicorn and did my best to draw upon it.

“Wasn’t my fault.”

“I don’t care whose fault it was. When I tell you to stop gambling and get to work, you do it.”

“Oh, come on! It would-”

As the Right Unicorn got angrier, I made sure the Left one did as well.

“Oh, come nothing is what you did when the kettle went off because you were too busy pissing your wages off in a poker game!”

“But so was the rest of the squad!”

“Don’t take your responsibilities and try to blame them on everyone else! They’re supposed to be mindless, not you!”

“Hey! Don’t call us mindless!”

“Yeah!”

I quietly released my magic and my hoof, my captors’ attention and ire now turned towards one another.

I noted with a grimace that Lord Discord himself would be most proud of my misdeed.

Oh, Order, the sacrifices I have made for you.

I sensed motion from the ship and turned to see Daring Do signaling to me from the deck, confirming that her part was done.

With relief, I gave her a quick nod in return then focused back on the captors considering the best way to redirect their anger towards myself.

After a moment of consideration, I shrugged, then took on a tactic from a play I had seen before in one of the city’s theatres.

“-and you still didn’t do shit!”

“At least we weren’t busy sniffing the boss’s shit, you bucking brownnoser-”

“Hey, Ugly!” I shouted, before using a bit of my magic to poke Left Unicorn’s snout. “Boop!”

I turned and ran for it, and to my satisfaction, the howls of my attempted captors followed.

Author's Note

Is it still a war crime if don't formally declare your surrender?

A Celestia-length/Celestial is about five feet, or 1.5 meters.

Feedback is welcome!