Fallout Equestria: The Ashlands Timeline

POV: Mercury Shine
Old Appleloosa

Mercury changed the wrapping on Crimson's mended leg. Luckily, it was healing fairly fast with the combination of potions and the work of their mages, but it didn't seem like a good sign that they'd suffered such a severe, if typical, injury right out of the gate.

“So, I guess me and Maud are officially dating now!” Crimson chuckled.

“Yes, you said,” sighed Mercury. She didn't care to hear the explicit details of their victory celebration again. She looked at Tranquil instead, who sat awkwardly by. “Are you okay with that, Tranquil?” She doubted Crimson asked permission.

“Okay with what?” Tranquil asked. Mercury gave her a few seconds to register; the mare seemed to need time to process thoughts lately. “Oh! Yes, it's okay. I want my wife to be happy, and I can't wait for Maud to help hurt me, or something.”

“I did not agree to relations with Tranquil,” said Maud.

“Hey, if you date me, you date my wife,” smirked Crimson, calling up to Twilight as she pulled the wagon. “That's how friendship works, right Not-Midnight?”

“I’ve given up on explaining the difference to you, Crimson,” Twilight called back, shaking her head.

“My sisters did not require your affection when they gave me permission to pursue you,” said Maud. “You cannot expect more from me.”

“So ask them about Tranquil,” shrugged Crimson.

Crimson reached for Maud's rock pouch only to have Maud grab hold of the leg and twist it.

“Aw yeah, do it again!” moaned Crimson.

“Maud, Crimson,” Starlight warned from where she sat. “Let’s keep re-breaking Crimson’s legs to a minimum, please.”

“Please don't, Maud,” Mercury said. “I don't feel like wrapping another and we don't want to run out of medical supplies.”

Maud's eyes shifted to Starlight, then Mercury, and back to Crimson. She released Crimson's leg.

“Mercury, you always ruin the moment,” sighed Crimson. It made Starlight grumble a little when her command hadn’t been enough.

“We will compromise,” Maud said to Crimson. “I will assist in your wife's torture if she does in fact wish to have it afflicted upon her, but will not have sex with her without the permission of my sisters.”

“There's a difference between sex and torture?” asked Crimson.

“A very subtle one, yes,” said Maud as she pushed Crimson down with what would be excessive force from most ponies, but was gentle by their standards. “I will re-explain.”

“Ugh…” groaned Starlight as she tried to ignore it, turning to look out of the cart.

“Were many ponies like this during the early years of the Ceaseless Conflict?” asked Olivia. “I was told that attitude was not common prior to the war, but if it was it would explain many things.”

“Ponies never change, we only get more effic-” chuckled Crimson, before being cut off via Maud pinning her and having a casual seat on her face.

Mercury retreated to a corner and tried to ignore them as they talked or bucked. Their conversations usually just reminded her about what kind of a world they lived in: a harsh one of pointless suffering with intermittent casual sex.

At least this journey, they had decent food and had saved a creature rather than killing any, so the aches from sitting around so much were the worst so far, and hopefully it’d stay that way. Though as she looked about, she noticed a sprawled out Gloomy glancing at her instead, likely equally disinterested in dark banter or psychopaths bucking. She smiled back at him.

“Twilight might get jealous if you’re looking at other mares,“ Mercury jested, hoping to have a conversation separate from the others.

“I think if she was the jealous type, she probably wouldn’t have gone to the spa with me,” Gloomy joked, but still glanced towards Twilight pulling the wagon somewhat nervously. “Besides, staring at the ruins is depressing.”

Mercury liked Gloomy; he was pretty sweet, and destroyed every stereotype she’d grown up believing about stallions or bats. It was too bad he’d paired up with somepony else.

Calling Appleloosa ruins though was perhaps too nice a word; it was just indistinguishable rubble. A path had been cleared out through it, which they followed even though Twilight was flying the cart. The trash was stacked high on both sides. There were bricks, cement, furniture, and countless other scrap, but nothing could be described as an actual building. The whole thing was one giant trash heap.

“Appleloosa was hit with a gravity bomb,” Olivia mentioned, joining the conversation. “Not the type that I think they used near Canterlot. The type used here teleported the entire city off the ground and dropped it upside down.”

“Which caused many things that could explode to do just that; I bet Pinkie had wet dreams about it,” Gloomy remarked. “An awful lot of dangerous magitech in those old cities…”

“Indeed,” Maud nodded between pants. She joined the conversation too, but remained seated on Crimson. “Pinkie called out ‘balefire’ instead of my name more than once during sister time.”

“Why did they bunch everything up like that?” asked Mercury.

“Seriously,” agreed Gloomy. “They may as well have hung up a giant neon sign that said ‘free genocide’ at the gate.”

“Cities grew rapidly just prior to the Breaking,” said Starlight. “Magi-tech was only made available in population centers at first, so many ponies moved from the country-side into the towns.”

“The standard of living was pretty high until everything blew,” smirked Crimson as she got up off the floor of the wagon casually. “A lot more spectacularly than Maud just now.”

“Some of this damage is more recent,” said Maud as they approached the city, and indeed some of it seemed to be, as if the rubble had been bombed atop what it already was. “Some damage could not be more than a few years old.”

“Both Midnight and Trinity attempted to take the city for our gem mines,” said Olivia. “But both gave up, deciding they'd sacrifice too many resources to succeed.”

“That's impressive,” Starlight said. “Holder sates Midnight by giving her a portion of their production, but I assume Ramble doesn't despite being right between Midnight and Trinity?”

“Indeed,” said Olivia. “To invade the city, they'd have to come through narrow passages with wagons in single file. We have hydroponics and ranches where we raise meat animals underground, so sieges are ineffective, and only a mega-spell would damage the city from the surface, but that would collapse the mines they want.”

“M-meat animals?” Mercury still felt ill whenever it came up. “What kind of animals? Do you chop up your dead like Holder?”

“Oh, goodness no,” Olivia shook her head. “The creatures we use are variations of chickens and pigs no more intelligent than timberwolves, and are slaughtered humanely. And of course, we have food more suited for ponies too. Sadly though, not enough to export to Holder.”

“It’d be nice to have a recently-prepared non-meat meal,” Gloomy said. “They do the same thing with bodies in Underfree, but worse since Midnight sometimes gave me orders that involved eating prisoners raw, sometimes without even killing them first...”

“From what we’ve seen, I think Midnight does it more for fun than necessity” Twilight sighed. “It honestly disturbs me a bit how quickly I got used to eating meat-derivative in Holder.”

“Maybe your affinity for bat meat helped,” snarked Crimson, earning a blush from both Twilight and Gloomy.

Mercury had never got used to the idea, and had starved herself for over a day before she’d been willing to eat Stable 11’s slop knowing meat was in there. Crimson’s comment earned a giggle at least, though Mercury was sure she meant it as spiteful.

“Anyway, Ramble has never made devouring sapients a part of our culture,“ Olivia remarked somewhat sternly.

“Ramble certainly makes for a very powerful ally,” Starlight pondered.

“And a devastating enemy, were they to back us into a corner,” Olivia smiled, but it was a clear reminder that she didn't trust Starlight.

“No need for that,” smirked Crimson. “I assure you, her Majesty has no interest in the conquest of settlements that would not benefit from the act. She intends to...”

“I should also remind you,” Olivia said, holding Crimson's muzzle shut with her magic. “That dogs are very wise to the sort of propaganda that ponies favor.”

“A good point,” Starlight said, remaining polite. “Crimson, you need to make your words a bit more subtle, and don’t try to seduce or mention anything you think is sexy around them.”

Olivia huffed. It was obviously not the point she was making, but she pursued it no further.

The gate underground was guarded by only two dogs, but intimidating ones. They were almost 50% larger than Olivia, clearly specializing in brute force rather than intellect. They wore steel armor that looked like a normal pony couldn't even pick it up; it was like they were living tanks. She instinctively kept her hoof ready to reach for her telesyringer out of fear, even knowing these were allies.

When they saw Olivia, they simply stepped out of the way. One punched buttons on a pipbuck-like device and the steel door opened. Olivia nodded and smiled, likely having informed them already of her arrival.

As they entered, they walked through a field of green energy. It tingled a bit as it scanned her, and suddenly Mercury's telesyringer clicked loudly. She pulled it off her back and looked it over, finding that the trigger and moving parts had jammed. Starlight and the others seemed to experience similar as they looked over their weapons.

“Relax,” said Olivia. “This is the GRRR, or Generalized Ruckus Reduction Region, as we call it. It only checks for changelings and disables your weapons and offensive magics. They will automagically re-enable upon leaving.”

“You did not think it important to inform us of this?” Maud asked.

“My offensive magic is also disabled,” informed Olivia. “It is not as if you are at a disadvantage to the average citizen. Did you expect to need your weapons in our city?” Her politeness neared sarcasm.

Mercury really wasn’t concerned with an “average citizen” when there were brutes too...she really hoped that Starlight wouldn’t cause something that made them have to fight their way out of here. Otherwise, it should be okay.

At least until Tranquil held her head in her front hooves and screamed. A moment later she collapsed on the floor.

Mercury was up and over her in an instant, examining what might be the matter. Tranquil's eyes twitched, out of focus, and she lurched suddenly and vomited. Somehow she spasmed enough to land on her back, so Mercury turned her to the side to prevent choking on vomit. The pain in her face was clear, forehead growing red. Mercury forced her muzzle open and made her down a potion.

“Hilarious,” chuckled Crimson. “Just so you know though, I'm going to insist somedog dies if she does.”

“Olivia?” Twilight asked from where she pulled the cart. She sped up to get out of the field faster. “Are you sure this field does not harm ponies?”

“What?” Olivia looked confused. “Of course not! There is no way it would do this to any kind of pony species. Even if she had cybernetics, it should take that into account. I have never seen this happen; it must be an unrelated condition!”

But as they left the field on the other side, Tranquil's twitching stopped just as suddenly. She breathed heavily, but her moans started to subside.

“You were saying?” Starlight's glare at Olivia intensified.

“I do not understand, truthfully,” Olivia shook her head. “We will have our doctors look at her and try to determine if it was the field that affected her and why.”

“How much has this been tested?” Twilight asked.

“Well, we’ve only had it for a few months,” said Olivia. “It is truthfully Unicornian technology that we acquired and altered. They were transporting it to a base outside of Unicornia, when the Children of the Pearl attacked them. One of our scouting parties retrieved it from the aftermath so we made use of it.”

“Children of the What-Now?” Starlight asked.

“Sea ponies that wear power armor to go onto land,” said Olivia. “But they are mostly only a problem for Trinity and Unicornian patrols in the east, since they don’t come too far inland.”

“You think they'd mind if I dragged her into the happy-fun-pain-field and bucked her there?” Crimson asked now that it was more obviously non-fatal, probably cutting off a useful part of the conversation in the process.

“Crimson,” Starlight warned.

“Fine, fine,” Crimson rolled her eyes.

Though Crimson also knelt next to Tranquil. Once she was closer, Mercury could see that her calm expression was forced. She was worried but wanted to save face by pretending not to be; she'd developed a habit of that.

“I think she's recovering,” said Mercury. “But I think on our way out, perhaps they can deactivate the field while she exits on her own separate from us.”

Crimson sighed and sat on her haunches, cradling Tranquil's head in her lap and stroking it discreetly.

“Are there at least some other places I can drag her for bucking?” Crimson asked.

“Please refrain from doing such,” Olivia said to Crimson. “Unlike in Holder, public sex is only allowed in designated areas. I may tolerate strange pony cultural traditions, but Chief Fluffy will not, and he would know how to make your punishment not kinky.”

“Prudes,” Crimson grunted.

“I'm fine,” Tranquil panted. “Sorry, really sorry, I didn't mean to worry you all.”

“Olivia?” Gloomy asked. “You said that it would not do this to any 'pony species'. Are there species that it would do this to?”

“Tranquil is a pony,” Mercury insisted. It wasn't just naivety. Both Olivia and Chrysalis had signed off that this Tranquil was not a changeling. Besides, why would a changeling that didn't want to be seen as Tranquil walk into the hospital as Tranquil using a conventional disguise?

“But it might provide a clue as to why it would hurt a pony,” said Gloomy. That was true enough.

“Well there are a few,” said Olivia. “We have to manually check any species that possesses certain types of brains, because the field causes them great pain. Fairy species are the main example, breezies, ultra-mega-breezies, and changelings. Also dragons, sea ponies, kirin if they’re upset, and a few other rare species. I didn’t mention it because none of you were those things.”

“Crimson?” asked Starlight.

“I'm positive no changelings made it into Stable 27,” said Crimson. “Nor anything else fairy, fish, or scale related that she could be descended from in some freak of genetics.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” said Olivia. “This pony is not even able to join a hive or speak on their psionic network. It seems counter-intuitive that she’d be susceptible to this.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Crimson, though she eyed Tranquil with fresh suspicion. “Just try not to inflict pain on my wife without permission in the future.”

“I am sorry, Miss Tranquil,” said Olivia, ignoring Crimson. “Truly, I am. I would not have taken you through the field if I knew it would harm you. I assure you this is new information to us and we will attempt to account for it in the future; perhaps whatever oddity makes you psionically incapable causes sensitivity to the field?”

The passage into Ramble was long and barely large enough for a large cart. Not only that, but it branched off in multiple places like a maze, and there were no signs to signify which led where. Olivia instructed Twilight where to go, and Mercury assumed only one led to where they wanted. The passages were constructed of huge slabs of steel, some of which had gears attached, so Mercury wondered if they had the ability to change the 'combination' of the paths by moving them slightly to confuse an invading force. They’d gone to great lengths to make invasion difficult.

They followed the passage for at least 2000 hoofsteps before it opened into a large cavern beyond. Suddenly they were trotting down a traditional looking roadway, though the city itself was anything but common.

Huge stone-like columns supported the ceiling, which was about four stories high. Close up one could tell the columns were made of a manufactured material, looking like a mix of cement and steel. Pathways led upward on either side to reach the buildings at every level, with the occasional tower in the center as well, as if acting as additional support.

It was all well-lit with what looked to be naturally glowing rocks. Mercury hoped they weren't too radioactive, but if some ponies lived here too, they probably weren't. As Olivia had mentioned, there were ponies amongst the population, though at least 95% of those Mercury saw were dogs.

The adult diamond dogs ranged in size from about ¾ of Olivia's height to slightly taller than the front guards. Their coloring and features were as diverse as the pictures Mercury saw of pet dogs before the bombs fell. Some waved at Olivia as they passed, and none seemed worried about the visitors with her as their escort. When they talked to each other, they spoke a different language with a lot of growl and barking noises.

The branching passages they took appeared to lead to more important looking areas of the cities. The dogs in this area wore high-quality clothing over their upper body, whereas the ones in the outer areas often wore none. The path moved deeper into the ground as they proceeded.

Finally they approached a large structure at the end of the huge corridor. There was a row of diamond dog statues in front of it, which given the dates carved upon them, probably represented various chiefs. There looked to be more than 200 years worth of them, so perhaps they included pre-war leaders.

A diamond dog wrapped in an expensive fur cape walked down the stairs in front of the large gothic structure in front of them. He wasn't quite as tall as Olivia, and the fact that his cape was made out of what looked like a pelt was somewhat disturbing, though at least it didn’t look like it was a sapient species. He wore a headdress on his head decorated with tufts of fur.

“Chief Fluffy,” Olivia called to him. “These are our new friends I advised you of over the radio.” Or warned would be coming, more likely.

“Greetings, Chief Fluffy,” Starlight stood, trying to look important. “I am Empress Starlight Glimmer of the New Canterlot Republic. I have been looking forward to continuing peaceful relations with your city.”

“Yes, Fluffy knows who this pony is,” Fluffy's voice was more high-pitched than Mercury expected, but friendly all the same. Actually, he was a little cute, like a large pomeranian with pinkish fur. “Come inside, then. Pony rooms are ready for tired ponies, but Fluffy hoped to speak to Starlight before you slept. Dogs can call you Starlight, yes? Kyo never insisted on titles, and Fluffy doesn't either.”

“That's fine, of course,” Starlight's eye twitched as she nodded.

“You received the message I sent on our way explaining the situation?” Olivia asked.

“Indeed Fluffy did,” Fluffy yipped. “Ponies show bravery clearing the cursed pony shelter. We are ashamed now knowing the broadcast for aid was real.”

“It couldn't have been helped, I'm sure,” smiled Twilight.

“Ah, Fluffy assumes this is 'Clover',” Fluffy smiled at Twilight, perhaps detecting a more sincere tone. “Fluffy advises Clover keep that gas mask on in public, though Fluffy apologizes if such is necessary. You understand that the comfort of Fluffy's citizens comes first.”

“I understand,” Twilight bowed, though Fluffy blushed as she did. “I would like to attend your conversation with the Empress as well, if that is okay.”

“Me too,” said Gloomy before Twilight even finished her sentence.

“Ponies may all attend if ponies like,” Fluffy said. “The more the merrier! Fluffy prepared food for the meeting ponies will find palatable, but if any ponies are tired, ponies can go to pony rooms right away. A meal will be delivered there.”

“I'd like to sleep soon, if that's okay,” said Tranquil. “Thank you for the offer.”

“I'll head off too,” said Crimson. “And I hope you roomed me with my wife and my marefriend.”

“A pony room is prepared for the pony spouses,” said Fluffy. “Additional partners are free to join pony there as well.”

“I will join you there later,” said Maud. “I must remain with the Empress as her bodyguard.”

“Fluffy assures safety here,” chuckled Fluffy. “But pony is free to do so.”

“It's more of an honor-guard thing,” Crimson explained, unable to keep from making an excuse. It was probably best she wasn't going to the meeting considering what Olivia had said before.

“I'll attend Clover for much the same reason,” said Gloomy.

“Shouldn't Tranquil head to the hospital?” asked Mercury. “She had a painful reaction to that... thing...”

“The GRRR,” nodded Olivia. “I will take her there before heading off to see friends in town.”

“Oh right, that,” Crimson said. “I guess I'll go with her then. But bucking better be allowed in the hospital room.”

“Fluffy apologizes if GRRR hurt pony,” said Fluffy, tilting his head in slight confusion. “That is strange. Fluffy is sure doctors will make sure pony is fine.”

“Right,” Tranquil nodded, as if having forgotten. She looked to Crimson and asked quietly, “I-is it okay if I go without you?”

“Say again?” Crimson quirked an ear.

“I j-just don't want you to worry and um, you can play with Maud when the meeting is done,” Tranquil explained. “Just let me go with Olivia. I'll be fine, right? We'll be back in no time.”

There was an odd moment where Tranquil looked pleadingly at Olivia before Olivia got the hint and responded.

“That is probably best,” Olivia said. “No offense, Miss Prose, but you would distract our doctors as they attempted to assist her.”

“What.” Crimson looked like she couldn't comprehend her wife wanting her not to go. And she probably picked up the hint too.

“Please trust me?” Tranquil looked at Crimson pleadingly. “I'll come back as soon as we're done, promise.”

“Well it's not like I can stop you,” growled Crimson. Her disapproval was clear; Tranquil might pay for this decision later.

Which made Mercury wonder why she made the decision. Mercury could think of no reason Tranquil would not want Crimson by her side as they seemed to have been getting along so well. Had Mercury missed something again?

“Should I go with you?” Mercury asked.

“No, I'm sorry,” offered Tranquil.

“Fine,” Mercury shook her head. She'd had her fill of confusion for the day. “I'll go to my room too. I’ll eat whatever food you bring, but then I’m going to go right to bed and finally get a good night’s sleep. I suggest some others consider the same.”

As they entered Fluffy's domicile, Mercury turned to look back at Olivia and Tranquil. Rather than walking away however, they were quietly whispering together. It looked as if Tranquil was explaining something to Olivia, who was nodding attentively. Tranquil was shaking and starting to cry, as if it was something she was very nervous to be talking about.

Crimson seemed to notice the odd behavior too as she growled before turning away and heading in with the group herself. What was going on? Was Tranquil aware of why the field had that effect and just afraid to tell them? But if it wasn't that she was a changeling, then what could it be?

POV: Twilight Sparkle
Ramble

Twilight wanted to be on Starlight's side, she really did. She'd tried hard, and hoped that this Starlight was different. But now she felt like her entire purpose in the group was to protect those around them from Starlight.

On top of that, Starlight clearly wanted a reason to get rid of Twilight. Sometimes Twilight saw the unicorn staring at her as if considering how she might do it. Whenever she saw Twilight notice the stare, Starlight would flash a friendly smile and pretend like nothing was the matter.

For now Twilight was safe from Starlight deciding she should die, probably. Since Twilight had experience dealing with Discord, she was better at draconequus wrangling than anyone else in the group, so Starlight needed her again. And of course, taking action against either her or Gloomy would jeopardize relations with Statera.

But since Mercury allowed Twilight to let Gloomy and Watcher know about Kyo's murder, good relations between the two were likely impossible unless Starlight came clean and made serious efforts at reform; or maybe there was nothing that would help. Twilight didn't like causing strife between groups, but she wasn't going to hide it.

At first, Twilight feared she'd have to take action to make sure Starlight didn't coerce the chief of Ramble with implied threats. After their stroll through the city, though, she wasn't worried about that. Ramble was obviously more than a match for Starlight's fledgling empire, and she'd know not to push it with them.

It was ironic to Twilight that diamond dogs were now arguably the most intelligent species in Equestria, at least some of them. Perhaps if she did make it home, she could study them in her time; perhaps they had the same potential if they were trodden underhoof less by pony civilization.

Going home. That was still her goal. And there was only one hope she now saw of doing it.

The Ministry of Magitech was the only place in Equestria that might still have a copy of Starswirl's spell. If Twilight could get that spell, it'd be only a matter of time before she figured out how to alter it as Starlight did.

If she could get that... and find a unicorn or mage willing and able to cast it for her... maybe there was a chance. It was a slim one, but with an indefinite lifespan, she could theoretically take as long as she needed to find somepony. She could take years to train somepony to be good enough to cast it and have lost no time in the long run; it was time travel after all.

But when she tried to think of those that might help, she came to another realization. Even if this timeline was a horrible place, there were still creatures striving to live and make Equestria better. Was it her right to ask them to help ponies from centuries ago when she wasn’t sure if the action would eliminate their own existence?

And Gloomy... Twilight wished she hadn't fallen for him, but now she felt like undoing history would effectively murder him. She could take him with her, but would he really be okay with that? Would that risk some kind of horrible paradox? Then again, she was a paradox here.

She emerged from her thoughts as they entered the dining hall in Chief Fluffy's domicile. The inside of his 'palace' was nice, but humbler than a palace a pony princess might live in. It had walls of stone, woven fur decorations, and was lit with what appeared to be simple gas-powered candles. There were a dozen pictures hanging on the opposite wall behind Fluffy’s chair, which looked like they’d been drawn by a child.

The dining hall was fairly large at least. It had enough seats to seat everyone in the group, even if many had chosen to head to their rooms to rest instead. A guard came in with a cart full of food for the guests, and Twilight prepared to be forced to eat something weird again. She was so used to that that it took her a few long moments to recognize what was on the cart.

“Hayburgers!” Twilight almost shrieked, yanking off her gas mask so violently that one of the straps snapped from the abuse. They looked fresh too, topped with lettuce and flowers and a sauce that smelled so good it made her dizzy. It might have just been ketchup, but just seeing normal food was such a pleasure she could hardly tell.

Gloomy sat next to her, scooting his chair closer to hers than needed, then jerking when she shouted about hayburgers. Twilight blushed, but leaned against him as they each winghugged the other. As she cuddled him, she continued to watch the burgers, fiddling her hooves nervously in anticipation of being served, but not sure when it was appropriate to grab one.

“Fluffy is glad pony is pleased with food,” Fluffy himself sat down in front of a plate with a raw steak on it. Twilight wasn't sure what animal it had been, but was going to have trouble looking Fluffy in the eyes when he was gnawing on something that was once alive. She didn't blame him for eating what his biology required, but she wasn't used to dining with predators, and it looked a lot more obviously meat-like than what they ate in Holder.

Though it wasn’t like meat production didn’t happen in her Equestria, especially with Earth pony magic producing unusually large livestock on their farms. She remembered Applejack telling her about trading with griffons, and that “nopony raises pigs just ‘cause they like ‘em”. Of course, it was one thing to raise pigs and export them, but it was different to actually see it in person.

When a guard finally placed two hayburgers in front of her, Twilight grabbed one in each hoof before they even touched her plate, stuffing the first greedily into her muzzle. It was so good after eating meaty slop in Holder that she actually moaned as she pushed it around her muzzle with her tongue to taste it.

Gloomy looked at her when she moaned, then chuckled as he tasted his own burger, eyes lighting up with delight, so maybe he’d never had one. Who even knew what Midnight made the poor bats in Underfree eat. Whatever it was, the way he chowed down ravenously and belched without a care suggested they weren’t fed a very formal setting and probably not very often. She’d have plenty of time to ask him about it later, as they’d likely be sharing a room for some much-needed unwinding. It was weird, being into him when his behavior reminded her so much of Spike, and she decided to return to her own sloppy eating rather than dwell too much on that.

Twilight was so engrossed in her burgers that she almost didn’t notice when a small form ran into the dining hall from the entrance they'd just come through. She quickly realized it was a light green changeling with pink transparent frill and a ladybug-like shell on her back. She ran to Fluffy and hugged him around one leg to get his attention.

Fluffy looked down at her and smiled and she handed a crayon drawing up to him. The drawing was messy, but seemed to be the little changeling riding piggyback on Fluffy.

“Oceluffy made this for Daddy!” the changeling squeaked. Twilight had no idea those things could be that adorable.

“Aw, present is nice!” Fluffy grinned. He pinned the drawing to the wall behind him, next to the other images there. “Daddy is busy helping guests, but Daddy will see Oceluffy when time to read bedtime story.”

“Okay Daddy!” the changeling smiled, giving him a long hug before galloping from the room.

Fluffy began gnawing his steak, thankfully less savagely than Twilight expected, and Starlight followed suit with her hayburger, seeming to have waited as a form of manners just in case the dogs behaved like Canterlot nobles.

“You take care of a changeling?” Twilight asked, having to remind herself to be polite about it even with the excessive cuteness of that one. “That's very sweet of you.”

“Fluffy takes care of this ling,” nodded Fluffy. “Before was chief, traveled north to the Foal Mountains to search for new ore deposits. No deposits there, but found changeling Ocellus, escaped from a pony stable. Sadly did not live, but Fluffy swore to care for baby ling Ocellus carried. Named Oceluffy because Ocellus asked Fluffy to care for.”

“Escaped from Stable 41?” Twilight asked. “I was under the impression that bat ponies lived there.”

“Ocellus said changelings live there,” said Fluffy. “Changeling escaped because did not want to live longer in hiding, but was attacked by radroaches.”

“Rad… roaches…” Twilight got an image in her head of glowing giant roaches and hoped they didn’t meet any.

“Did Olivia not know this?” asked Starlight after swallowing a bunch of her food. “Because she didn't tell me about it.”

“Olivia knows but will not tell,” said Fluffy. “Oceluffy is Fluffy's ward, is Fluffy's decision who knows, not Olivia's.”

“Is Oceluffy what caused Olivia to take such an interest in changelings?' asked Twilight.

Fluffy nodded at Twilight and smiled before digging in again on the meat on his plate. Twilight assumed there were other changelings in Ramble too, but Fluffy would likely leave it to them if they wanted to reveal themselves.

“That doesn't make shenshe,” said Gloomy, his muzzle full of hayburger. He probably wasn't used to well-made hay burgers...or eating in anything fancier than a mess hall of rowdy bats, so Twilight understood the rudeness, and thankfully the dogs didn’t care. “Every foal they left on the altar has been a bat pony.”

“Left puppies on altar?” Fluffy blinked. He must have seen the altar but not realized it was in use.

“Screwball retrieves them before they're hurt,” said Gloomy. “But like I said, they're all bat ponies.”

“Saving puppies makes happy,” Fluffy smiled. “But Oceluffy is very ling. Fluffy checked.”

“I was thinking of trying to make contact with them on the way up.” said Starlight. “But if there's a chance they're Trinity's...”

“Definitely not Trinity's,” said Fluffy. “Olivia go to pony stable with scouting party several years ago. Olivia say pony stable is shielded as if to keep outsiders from detecting lings inside. Lings probably hiding from Trinity. Fluffy did not realize ponies there mistreat their puppies though!”

“Well they don't leave them out often so it'd be easy for you to miss them during two scouting missions,” said Gloomy. “But according to what we know, they worship Nightmare and Midnight there. If Midnight had access to stable locations, she'd have recruited them by now. Are you sure the changeling you rescued was from that stable?”

“Fluffy not know,” Fluffy said as he finished his steak with a belch. “Fluffy cannot afford to send party large enough to liberate even if sure though. Will just be happy that screwy one is saving puppies.”

“We'll contact them,” said Starlight. “If they are opposed to Trinity, they may be willing to assist us.”

“And if lings do not assist?” asked Fluffy. “Will ponies still be kind?”

“Of course,” Starlight smiled. “I would never force my will upon any settlement, I assure you.”

Twilight knew otherwise, but held her tongue and ate the last of her hayburgers. Gloomy seemed to be taking the same approach, but he’d already finished his food.

“Is appreciated,” Fluffy said. “Because dog respects pony however, shall speak bluntly. There have been reports of misdeeds. Dogs are concerned that Holder will not continue friendliness that Ramble accustomed to, and dogs may lose valued ally.”

“I have heard the accusations,” sighed Starlight as she finished the last of her small plate. “I won't bother denying them, as words mean little in cases like this. Instead, I will prove through actions that such rumors are inaccurate. I only ask that you give me a chance to do so.”

“Fluffy approves of this logic,” Fluffy said. “Will hold Starlight to promise.”

The conversation seemed to be going well. Twilight had some hope Starlight was being honest with Fluffy, at least for future actions. For now Twilight remained quiet, almost hoping Starlight would forget she was there. Fluffy, however, didn't forget her.

“How about Clover?” asked Fluffy, turning to Twilight. “Pony wants to be part of the conversation. Did Clover have information to add?”

“Not exactly, sorry,” sighed Twilight. ”I just wanted to know how things went.”

“Fluffy thanks Clover for consideration,” nodded Fluffy.

Twilight nodded, but sensed Fluffy had figured she attended to keep an eye on Starlight. Then again, so had Maud and Gloomy.

POV: Tranquil Melody
Fluffy's Domicile

Tranquil returned from the hospital several hours later, and hoped she'd been gone for long enough to convince them that the visit was for what they said it was. She hadn't needed to go, even though she did. Olivia had her looked to see if she could be helped by their medicine, but as Tranquil expected, there was nothing to do but wait, and they had no way of knowing for how long.

Apparently the GRRR, since it was altered Unicornian tech, was actually painful to certain species by design, and the diamond dogs had yet to figure out how to stop that effect. To get around that, they had the machine set to immediately turn off the field if it detected certain species so that their weapons could be deactivated manually, but it hadn’t detected anything in this instance.

The guards directed her to the room that was hers, Crimson's, and probably Maud's. Though she had no issue with Crimson's involvement with Maud, she hoped they wouldn't be doing anything interesting when she arrived. She stopped at the door, taking a moment to press her ear against it.

“I don’t know if she’s ever just randomly walked off to talk to someone without me,” Crimson was saying. “Not since her rehab, at least.”

A few seconds of silence.

“No, what's happening is that she's hiding something weird from me!” Crimson continued. “Or what if it isn’t even her? I really don’t want to think the real Tranquil is dead but… oh don’t start with me.”

Another few seconds of silence.

“And another thing,” continued Crimson. “Why no music? Tranquil loved to sing and dance, but she never does any more, and makes an excuse if I ask her to. What's with that?”

At first Tranquil thought Crimson was talking to Maud, but the one-sided nature of the conversation meant she was in fact talking to Paper Cut. Tranquil hoped this didn't mean that Crimson would be pulling them into the book tonight.

“What are you doing?”

Maud's voice behind her made Tranquil jump. She pulled away from the door and smiled awkwardly.

“Oh um, Maud,” Tranquil said. “... hillos you. Done with the meeting? How'd it go?”

“What are you?” Maud asked, ignoring Tranquil's questions.

“What do you mean?” Tranquil felt herself sweating at the sudden interrogation. “I'm just a pegasus.”

“You are lying,” Maud said. “I would not be able to tell on my own. But Limestone has been putting two and three together on our way here.”

“Limestone?” asked Tranquil. “I thought Limestone was...”

“Do not change the subject,” Maud raised her monotone voice only slightly but Tranquil felt a sliver of fear. “Answer my question in truth. If you are not Tranquil, and not a changeling, then what are you?”

“Please,” Tranquil shook her head. “I-I don't want any trouble, I don't.”

Maud narrowed her eyes, but then her tensions seemed to cease.

“I believe you do not want trouble,” Maud said. “Because you tried to avoid joining the group and it is obvious that you fear rather than hate us. But your deception is not productive. I will have to report my suspicions to the Empress.”

“Please don't tell Crimson,” Tranquil teared up, no longer bothering to deny it completely. “She'll be devastated and... probably kill me too.”

“I do not believe she would kill you if you told her in the correct manner,” said Maud. “She would be sad that Tranquil was gone, even though she would not admit it, but I believe she would accept you for whatever you are.”

“My species isn't the reason she'd kill me,” Tranquil shook her head. “But that's beside the point. She's just so happy to have Tranquil back and... she really is trying to be a better pony... it'd be cruel for me to ruin that. It'd set her progress back so much, and it’s not like I have any interest in continuing my old life.”

“Sometimes cruelty is the best kindness,” said Maud.

The door opened suddenly. Tranquil jumped several feet away while Maud simply shifted her eyes.

“I love that quote! I think I'll keep it,” Crimson grinned. Hopefully she only heard the last line. “Tranquil and Maud!” Her gleeful tone became suddenly serious. “Maud? I thought you went potty. Are you talking to Tranquil behind my back just like everyone else? What about?”

“I am not certain,” Maud said and looked at Tranquil. “What was it about?”

“Just s-saying hillo,” Tranquil chuckled nervously. “And um... she was just saying how much she looked forward to um... hurting me for you.”

“Well then,” Crimson's face returned to a grin as she opened the door further. “Sounds like a plan. Come inside!”