A True Person

With a deep sigh, Alexei opened his eyes and slowly stretched his neck, feeling very tired.

“That's it,” the man thought contentedly, looking up at the stone ceiling of the sewer.

He had just finished removing the last bit of unnecessary memories. For the past month, every time he had a free moment, he had been erasing the unnecessary memories he had acquired in those illusory worlds within the Tree. Initially, Alexei had some hopes for those memories, but gradually he realized their uselessness. They were filled with nonsense incompatible with his own life and reality.

Even the combat experience he could have drawn from these memories was untenable. Most of his previous selves had been righteous heroes acting according to some fictional rules. To Alexei, who was used to fight without restraint, their fighting style seemed simply ridiculous and completely ineffective.

Alexei realized that these memories could do more harm than good. He destroyed most of them, keeping only a few useful fragments.

They had to be destroyed, otherwise one day, at a crucial moment, he might make a mistake that would cost him his life.

If it weren't for the fear of exposing himself to Luna - he would have deleted them long ago. They were still useful, though - he'd hidden his memory deep inside, and put all that jumbled nonsense outside. Luna didn't dare to push his mind too hard for fear of breaking it, and could only poke around on the surface.

Making himself comfortable on the cool surface, the man closed his eyes and let his mind rest for a while. His method of removing unnecessary memories didn't require much mental energy, but it did strain his mind.

“Things would be so much easier if my nightmare had a core,” he thought, grinning at the thought. “I'm too greedy. The fact that it hasn't collapsed yet is already a good thing.”

Every creature in this world was born with energy distributed throughout their bodies that allowed them to use spells or innate abilities.

However, the real journey in magic began with forming a core. Only after that the energy became of high enough quality to use complex spells. In addition, their maximum possible energy reserve increased.

There was another advantage to having a core. Creatures without a core restored their energy solely by absorbing it from the outside: nightmares fed on fear, ponies breathed air and ate food filled with magical energy, like all matter in this world.

Creatures with a core, in addition to absorbing from external sources, could produce energy on their own. In addition to increasing their energy recovery rate, they became independent of their environment.

For example, what would happen to a pony without a core if he came to Earth? After a while, he would lose all magical energy and be unable to use magic. Even here on Equus, it was still an advantage - there were some desolate places with low levels of magical energy.

The only ones that broke out of the general logic were magical beasts. They were born with strong and sturdy bodies that could withstand the pressure of magical energy. Their energy increased and condensed on its own as they lived. Everyone else had to develop with the help of the core. The benefits of being magical beasts were so appealing that human had once even considered options for chimerization - Saada's research was exactly in this area. Unfortunately, this venture had failed.

The requirements for creating a core were quite simple - one had to reach a certain level of energy, whether by training or expensive potions, and then compress it into a single point. After that, a crystallized energy the size of a small grain would appear inside the body, producing high quality energy - the core.

But the process itself was by no means simple. All available energy was used in the compression, and if an ambitious mage failed to control it during the formation of the core, everything ended sadly. If he was very lucky, he would never be able to use magic again, but it usually ended in death. Of course, there were some ways to make it easier - rare artifacts or the support of a strong mage. But how many people had that luxury? Mages were dying like flies.

The situation was even worse in the early days of magic, when mages were just figuring out methods of development and experimenting on themselves. The path of magic was littered with corpses and soaked in blood.

After forming a core, the creature would continue to train, increasing its energy until at some point it condensed it back into a core, increasing its quality and moving on to the next level.

Training methods were not only different for each species, but varied even within the same race. There were thousands of them, though there was a common pattern. For example, earth ponies meditated on nature, pegasi had a special dance with the wind, and unicorns turned to their minds while using complex chains of spells. The human called this “magical reflection” when he first heard unicorns practicing. All of these methods of development also carried some danger, but it was inadequate to what a mage went through when forming or improving a core.

Though a few simple and commonly available methods were known to the man, he wasn't particularly interested in the subject. These methods of development were not suitable for a nightmare at all. Even using them for inspiration was questionable - all of these methods were for developing magical energy. Saada had strong innate mental energy, as all zebras did, but went the route of magical energy. There were a few simple methods in her memory, but they didn't fit as well.

The mental energy of nightmares, and some other creatures, was different from the rest. The mental energy of nightmares was much more powerful and carried the attribute of fear. Due to this qualitative difference, nightmares could use any magic, just like unicorns. This was why Alexei was so interested in nightmares.

The core could be created from either magical energy, the standard way of mages, or mental energy, but one couldn't have both due to the conflict of energies.

Though mental energy was used during the use of magic energy based spells, it was a fairly small proportion of it. It didn't cause any problems when one of the energies in the body was dominant, but if one developed two at once, things would end sadly.

Of course, this wasn't some ironclad rule. Magic was extremely flexible, and the world was filled with geniuses.

The man knew that Luna had both a magical and mental core, and she had no conflicts - she had told him so herself. Alexei had played dumb then and asked how she did it, to which he had gotten a certain look. Luna had warned him never to ask such questions of other mages.

Every mage pursued the truth. Whether earth pony or unicorn, they all learned the world around them in their own ways. Prying into other people's secrets was the quickest way to die.

Pushing the unnecessary thoughts away, the man opened his eyes and examined his hand. It had already grown to the wrist and the fingers were about to start growing back. The leg was lagging a little behind and the eye had already fully recovered.

The red worms darted back and forth, diving into the toad's body and then into the man's, bringing a new dose of life energy. At this moment, the human was just lying on the belly of a huge toad that was in a coma. Considering the circumstances, it was even surprising - there was a steel rod sticking out of the toad's head. This toad's vitality was unbelievable. It was the same toad that had tried to rape him earlier. It wasn't that Alexei wanted revenge - it was just that the blood of the beast was still on him, and the sniffing of rats was no worse than that of dogs. Tracking down this particular toad was much easier.

Now the man had a huge supply of blood, which was digested by a pack of worms, constantly speeding up his regeneration. Many worms were constantly dying from overload, and new ones were born from the man's blood and took their place. If it wasn't for the potions restoring blood loss, he would have turned into a mummy by now. Even now, he was occasionally dizzy.

Not only the worms were suffering from the overload, but also the human body - Alexei was absorbing a huge amount of life energy, forcibly accelerating his regeneration. His body was unable to absorb so much energy in such a short time and was balancing on the verge of collapse. A few support potions and the help of the regeneration tattoo allowed him to survive the experience. Even so, he would still have to pay a price for it - his lifespan would be shortened.

“I want to live forever, but this is the second time I've shortened my life,” the man mentally sighed, closing his eyes again.

At another time he would have ironized the situation, but now he didn't have the strength to even move. He felt as if every muscle in his body had been torn to shreds.

Spending lifespan was easy, but increasing it was extremely difficult. He didn't like it, but he had no other options. If he had magical energy, he would use one of Saada's methods, which were far more effective than his crude methods.

He had been in this state for the second day. All this time, the rats gave him water and fed him what they found in the garbage cans. Mostly baked goods.

The comfort level was poor to say the least, but the man didn't complain. Sure, he still had a gang of beggars, but he had no intention of going back there. Once his identity was revealed, there was a high probability that someone was already waiting for him there.

He had the idea of sending a pair of trusted individuals a note through the rats, stating specific actions they were to take - procuring certain ingredients, contacting certain individuals, etc. It all seemed innocuous, but it was bound to attract the attention of the city guard, which would take the pressure off the hiding man.

He eventually gave up on the idea. Alice had already been caught once, and he didn't want to risk it for a paltry advantage. He completely severed all ties with the beggars and wasn't going to have any more contact with them.

Besides feeding the human, the rats had another important task: they were running through all the stashes and collecting hidden items. Gold could be neglected, but potions and ingredients were essential. He doubted he had the strength to brew new potions, but even the raw ingredients could be used.

He had almost everything he needed: poisons, explosives, all sorts of battle potions, acid, and a few transformation potions. He had even made a few transformation potions from changeling blood earlier. Just in case. He had one idea that could help him avoid being exposed by the changelings, but it bordered on insanity. Alexei would rather not do that.

All of these items would be useful to him very soon.

Recently, the rats had brought him some interesting news: the entire Canterlot was preparing for a grand event - a royal-level wedding. Celestia had personally announced it, and the whole town was in a fever of preparation. The groom was the captain of the city guard, Shining Armor, but the identity of the bride remained a mystery, fueling speculation and conjecture among the residents.

The most popular version was that the bride would be Princess Luna, sparking noisy talk of political intrigue and clashing nobility. Shining Armor came from a noble family with a deep military background, and even ordinary ponies already knew about Luna's conflict with the nobility. Marrying for political reasons was common, so the version looked logical.

However, Alexei only laughed as he imagined Luna in such a role. Considering her character, she would rather massacre the top of Canterlot than make concessions. Perhaps she lacked Celestia's diplomatic flexibility.

Speaking of the Sun Princess: some had the audacity to suggest that Celestia herself was getting married. They were usually beaten up - Celestia had a powerful personality cult. Fights broke out here and there as tipsy ponies discussed gossip and analyzed the political situation in Canterlot.

The whole town was buzzing with life and preparing for the ceremony, and all manner of cooks, decorators, and tailors were scurrying about like rabbits trying to get something done on such short notice.

The man was also preparing.

The grand throne room of Canterlot sparkled with luxury and sophistication. Perched on a pedestal, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the embodiment of the sun and moon, shone with their divine beauty.

The entire throne room was filled with members of Canterlot's high society in elaborate outfits and eye-catching jewelry. At the threshold of the wedding, the air was filled with anticipation and excitement.

“I swear to Celestia, if you do anything funny again...” came Applejack's stern voice, her gaze sliding over the trio before her. “You won't be able to sit for a week, Applebloom.”

“Why do I have to take the fall for everyone?” snorting perplexedly, the aforementioned filly resented. “It's not fair!”

“Don't worry,” Applejack said holding back a smile. “Rarity and Dash will ensure that justice is done.”

“It'll be fine, Aunt Applejack,” the white unicorn filly smiled. “We promise we'll stick to the plan.”

Applejack sighed and gave the trio a look full of doubt.

“Sweetie Belle is the most sensible of them all,” Applejack pondered. “She's telling the truth, so... It's going to be okay, right?”

Though she was strict with Applebloom, this was the Royal Wedding! She was no longer a simple farmer from a backwoods village - she was the Element of Honesty. She was being watched and her every action was being evaluated. She couldn't embarrass herself, much less embarrass her family.

“So, let's go over the plan again,” Applejack spoke again, causing heartbreaking sighs from the trio. “All you have to do is take out the pillow with the flowers, give them to the newlyweds, and go back in. No pranks, no explosions, no demon summo...”

“You're losing it, Applejack,” the orange pegasus interrupted her with a bored look. “We remember everything perfectly well.”

“I certainly hope so, Scootaloo,” Applejack said sternly, but her face softened. “Alright, have fun for now. Just don't go too far away.”

The trio happily galloped off into the crowd of guests, leaving a pensive Applejack behind.

Something was scrambling at the back of her mind, not giving her peace. Something was wrong, but she couldn't figure out what it was. That unsettling feeling had her repeating the plan of action over and over again.

“Maybe I got the anxiety from Twilight?” hummed Applejack thought. - “Or maybe I'm just not used to Canterlot.”

Applejack rose on her hind hooves and looked around the crowd, searching for her friends.

Twilight was talking to some skinny unicorn, but she didn't seem to care much about the conversation - her thoughts were elsewhere. Earlier, Applejack had accidentally witnessed her emotional conversation with Shining Armor, and Twilight was definitely not cooled off yet.

Fluttershy stood near the window, staring at the floor as if trying to hide from all the commotion.

Rarity, gesticulating vigorously, was chatting with a group of eccentrically dressed ponies.

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were nowhere to be seen.

“Pinkie should be in the kitchen, but where could Dash be?” wondered Applejack. “Well, if she misses the Wonderbolts' performance, that's her loss.”

She was about to go over to Fluttershy when a unicorn burst into the hall. His eyes sparkled with excitement and his breathing was heavy from running. Running up to the princesses, he said something to them and, receiving a nod, walked off in the direction of the musicians.

Applejack, watching from the sidelines, crossed her hooves thoughtfully.

“Looks like the ceremony is about to begin,” flashed through her mind and she began to search the trio of mares with her gaze.

However, her fears were unnecessary - Applebloom waved her hoof as the whole trio headed for the entrance to the hall. They were to enter with Cadance, so they were already waiting outside with the necessary props - a velvet pillow with two flowers on it.

It was an ancient tradition among unicorns. They would find the flower that reflected them best and then pour massive amounts of magical energy into it for months. The flower should have literally crystallized from that amount of energy, but thanks to the unicorns' painstaking work and special methods, it remained alive. If the unicorn who created the flower would periodically replenish the energy - the flower would stay that way forever.

Twilight enlightened her that husband and wife replenish the flower's energy every anniversary, and then give it back to each other again.

Modern unicorns, mostly, had abandoned this tradition and were exchanging rings. They could talk all they wanted about the aesthetics of jewelry and how times were different now, but you didn't have to be an Element of Honesty to realize they were talking crap.

It was all about difficulty.

The creation process could take up to a year, and the slightest mistake would result in the flower being destroyed and having to start all over again. Not to mention that many unicorns were not even qualified for such delicate manipulations.

Applejack listened to Twilight's story with interest - she really enjoyed the tradition. The unicorns were literally exchanging a piece of each other with their beloved. It was much more sincere than some soulless metal studded with stones. Besides, the earth ponies had a similar tradition. Applejack's opinion of unicorns had improved somewhat.

Applejack, immersed in her own thoughts, didn't notice that the music had abruptly changed its tone, filling the hall with a powerful rhythm.

The melody pierced the air like a magic spell, and a wave of goosebumps ran down Applejack's back. Her imagination came alive, conjuring up a thousand images of unicorns in shining armor, marching in formation toward the majestic castle.

And then the hall doors swung open, letting in one of the main culprits of the ceremony, Shining Armor.

To his right walked a stallion in military uniform with an impenetrable face, and to his left walked a smiling mare with a sharp gaze - his parents.

“What are their names anyway?” thought Applejack confusedly, trying to remember the conversation with Twilight. “I think... Night Light and Twilight Velvet?”

Her ear twitched as she heard familiar voices. Turning her head, she saw Pinkie and Dash making their way through the crowd towards Fluttershy.

“So everything's okay here,” Applejack thought with relief as she headed after them. “Then why do I still feel like something's wrong?”

A powerful burst of magic caught Applejack's attention and she looked toward its source, the altar. Princess Celestia's horn blazed and the next moment she disappeared in a teleportation flash.

Applejack's ears twitched as the music changed, as if transporting her to a magical spring forest. In the imaginary surroundings of birdsong and the sound of babbling brooks, she momentarily forgot her thoughts until a petal fell on her nose. When she looked up, she found pink petals floating all around the room, as if guided by their own will.

Frozen in place, absorbed in this beauty, Applejack suddenly heard the door creak open. Cadance entered the hall with her wings open, dressed in a rather simple, to the local unicorns' tastes, nature-themed dress. Next to her walked a smiling Princess Celestia, followed by a trio of fillies carrying a pillow with two flowers.

The entire hall fell silent in surprise, only the music continued to play, filling the space with its melodies. The nobles and other notable ponies couldn't take their eyes off the bride, the new alicorn.

Celestia and Cadance headed down the altar, but Applejack didn't see it - she was too busy looking at the previously pompous unicorns frozen with open mouths and goggle eyes.

“This scene couldn't be better,” Applejack mentally giggled, savoring the moment. “Just perfect.”

Suddenly the smile vanished from Applejack's face. Celestia had already escorted the bride down the altar and began her speech, but the princess' words didn't reach Applejack's ears - she had an epiphany.

“Nobles!” she exclaimed to herself. “They are the cause of this feeling.”

She began to recall all of the few conversations she had in Canterlot this morning. The nobles, aware of her ability to sense lies, had avoided her questions or given vague answers. It was all within Applejack's expectations - she was just amusing herself by causing them embarrassment. But there was something else that she realized only now.

“They were too perfect,” Applejack came to a realization. “They gave exactly as many lies and truths as they needed to appear natural. Even the flaws they showed were presented perfectly and at just the right moment.”

The more she thought about it, the more she felt a shiver run down her spine.
She used to find the game of embarrassing nobles amusing, but now they made her horrified.

“That's what kept me uneasy,” Applejack thought. “Everything about them is one big lie!”

“Now exchange flowers,” came Celestia's voice, interrupting Applejack's anxious musings.

“Damn, I missed Applebloom's appearance,” Applejack muttered mentally, shifting her gaze to the altar. “Huh? What's she doing?”

The flowers were to be personally taken by the bride and groom. Other unicorns, especially the weaker ones, might not even have been able to lift them by telekinesis - there was a gigantic amount of energy in the flowers that would resist foreign energy. Although the flowers seemed light, their magical mass was enormous.

And yet, Sweetie Belle easily held them in her telekinesis.

Suddenly, the flowers flew swiftly towards the princesses and exploded without a sound or flash. The alicorns' horns flashed, but before they could do anything, a spatial fluctuation spread throughout the hall and both princesses disappeared. Where Princess Celestia had stood, only pale green runes remained, flickering on the floor.

The unicorns from the front rows immediately unleashed a torrent of spells on Cadance and Shining. Both had managed to put up protective shields and withstood the attack of dozens of unicorns.

Shining felt dread when he saw his parents unconscious on the ground - they were attacked at the same time as him. Suddenly, he felt the touch of a wing, and then his vision blurred for a moment - just like when teleporting.

However, when his vision cleared, he found himself in the same hall, only a step to the left - teleportation outside the hall had been blocked.

Applejack experienced the same sensation - just now she had been among the guests in the crowd, and now she found herself in a corner of the hall, surrounded by her friends.

“Elements! Quick!” shouted Twilight in a voice filled with panic.

Her horn sparked furiously - she was the one who had teleported everyone to her. Almost everyone. The teleportation had been successful, but not everyone was around. This was the second cause of the nervousness that clutched Princess Celestia's young apprentice's heart.

Whether it was Twilight's strained voice or the teleportation acted like cold water, but her friends immediately awoke from their shock and summoned the Elements of Harmony. They were Guardians and Incarnations of the Elements - of course, they could summon the artifacts at any time.

White light began to gather around the six friends, enveloping them in a noble glow. The gazes of everyone present turned to them and their eyes glittered green.

And then happened a thing that made Twilight's will shake - unicorns emerged from the crowd, holding certain ponies, and not only ponies, in telekinesis.

Among them were Twilight's parents, her faithful friend Spike, and three fillies.

Each of them had curved black blades at their throats, bringing to mind mantis scythes.

“Turn off your light show,” came a mocking voice belonging to Sweetie Belle. “Or do you like them headless better?”

Twilight clenched her teeth, biting her lip until it bled, but obediently stopped. The light began to dissipate.

Sweetie Belle laughed, and green flames ran up her body, bringing back her true appearance. In the next instant, Queen Chrysalis stood before everyone, stretching her wings.

Her body, slender and graceful, resembled a pony, but with unusual features. A curved horn on her forehead emphasized her power, and her black chitin glistened like the most precious gem. Chrysalis had dragonfly-like insect wings, each one seeming to play in the light. The turquoise mane and tail contrasted with the chitin, giving the image a mysterious and alluring quality. Dark green eyes with large feline pupils glittered with a mysterious light, emphasizing the predatory beauty of their owner.

“Oh, that's much better,” Chrysalis sighed contentedly, turning to the two newlyweds still holding the shield.

Despair flashed in Cadance's eyes as she saw the halberd appear in a flash of green light. Grabbing the amulet with her teeth, she threw it at Shining, who disappeared in a golden flash of teleportation.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, surprised at the artifact's ability to overcome the teleportation lock. But confidence soon returned to her - Shining was teleported next to the castle.

“Such love,” Chrysalis smiled, thrusting her halberd into the crackling shield. “Too bad he couldn't get far. Wait, they'll bring his head now.”

Cadance's gaze flickered and she lost her concentration, which Chrysalis immediately took advantage of, shattering the shield into pieces. The young alicorn's shield wouldn't withstand even one spell from Chrysalis, but why waste energy? She could win with a few words.

Cadance was hit with a barrage of paralyzing spells and collapsed to the ground. But immediately tried to get up, demonstrating the alicorn's resilience. With a snort, Chrysalis knocked her out with the shaft of her halberd.

A crowd of changelings, still in disguise, ran up and began to tear off their jewels and throw them at the wall. The gems and metals seemed to come to life under their influence, intertwining in complex patterns on the castle wall.

With a glimpse of the preparations to create a long-range portal, Chrysalis shifted her gaze to the Elements. They were already shackled in magic-suppressing chains, stripped of their artifacts, and themselves in a deep sleep.

“What orders do you have for Shining Armor, Queen?” one of the changelings asked through telepathy.

“Catch and sedate him, as you did the others,” replied Chrysalis. “Top priority: they must all be alive. Protect them even at the cost of your own life.”

The changeling nodded and ran out of the hall, going to relay orders to the other squads. The changelings had already interfered with Canterlot's security system and now the entire city was permeated with disturbances preventing teleportation and message transmission. This interference was hindering even the changelings themselves, but it was still worth it.

Chrysalis sighed, glancing at the sleeping Elements. She was annoyed with the whole situation - she would have preferred to feed them all to her halberd.

But she couldn't!

“These kids' psyches are as fragile as crystal,” Chrysalis thought irritably. “If someone close to them dies, they might break and that damned wooden thing will feel it right away.”

Of course, there were many ways to deal with the Elements without killing them. Put them in a coma, break their spine, destroy all magic and senses, drag them to the Hive and put them in a capsule. There were many options, and none of them satisfied Chrysalis. She wasn't sure if these actions would go unnoticed. The Elements of Harmony were just a joke in her eyes, but she was scared to the point of shuddering at what was behind them.

“I don't care,” Chrysalis waved her thoughts away. “Anything as long as that thing keeps sleeping.”

Her ear twitched at the hissing sound of a forming portal. A green-lit cave was visible on the other side, a temporary changeling's camp a thousand kilometers from Equestria. Even if the coordinates of the portal were traced - which was nearly impossible - their Hive would not be detected.

Handing Cadance over to the squad on the other side of the portal, the changelings closed it, then unleashed a hail of spells on the wall, destroying all traces of their presence.

“The main part is done,” Chrysalis relayed through telepathy to everyone in the hall. “Proceed to the secondary tasks.”

The changelings nodded and, picking up the sleeping Elements, began to leave the hall.

In addition to kidnapping Cadance, they had many tasks to complete, including thefts, pony kidnappings, murders, and break-ins. It would be strange not to take advantage of the situation since they had broken into Canterlot and kidnapped the princess.

The changelings also needed real combat experience. The weak would die and the strong would become even stronger.

Their identities as high-ranking nobles and military officers would help them perfectly in creating chaos in Canterlot. The nobles themselves were alive, of course. However, they were trapped and would be there until tonight. Most of the nobles understood how the world worked and spared no resources to increase their personal strength. Guards and bodyguards were a quick way to increase power, but only fools relied on others. It wasn't easy to kill them, especially without causing a ruckus, but Chrysalis didn't want to.

All these nobles weren't particularly happy about the appearance of a new alicorn strengthening the princess's power. After the changelings escape from Canterlot, the nobles would definitely start putting sticks in the wheels of the princesses' search operation. This was what Chrysalis wanted. That was why she wasn't going to touch their possessions, targeting the royal palace exclusively.

Soon, only Chrysalis was left in the throne room, twirling her halberd in her telekinesis.

“What's taking so long?” muttered Chrysalis irritably. “You wouldn't run away, would you, Celestia?”

Chrysalis waited to meet Celestia with a mixture of impatience and anticipation. Ever since she was a filly, she had heard legends of the Sun Princess' might and power, and now was the moment to test their veracity. She was eager to test herself to see how much she had grown and become stronger over the years.

Luna had been sent to an unknown location on the opposite end of Equus. Even Chrysalis didn't know the exact coordinates, that was the drawback of this method of teleportation. Perhaps she could have ended up in a wall or even inside a volcano, but neither of those things would have been able to destroy the alicorn.

Celestia, though, was teleported not far away, as intended. She should have been back in Canterlot by now. And as that thought raced through Chrysalis' mind, she sensed a new presence in the city.

With a smirk on her face, she pointed her horn at the green runes left where Celestia had disappeared. A gigantic amount of magical energy began to gather around Chrysalis, shrinking into one small dot at the tip of her horn.

A few seconds later, right on top of the runes, Celestia appeared in a flash of teleportation. Actually, she was going to appear in the air, but something interfered with her teleportation.

“Well, hello there,” grinned Chrysalis, unleashing the spell.

A lone griffin sat on a bench in the center of Canterlot, biting off chunks of roasted meat strung on a wooden stick. It was probably for this reason that many passing ponies cast dirty looks at him. Though they consumed some protein, they were still herbivores - a scene like this made them feel uneasy. But the griffin cared little for their feelings. He was greedily gulping down chunks of meat and was already reaching for his plate for the next portion.

“Life is good,” he thought contentedly as he looked around at the ponies. “Gryphons really are the best.”

These clever fellows quickly smelled gold and set up several street stalls, selling everything from toys and trinkets to food and ice cream. They were mostly pony-oriented, but a few griffons were grilling kebabs, which he was eating now. It was unlikely that even half of them had a permit to trade, but the Canterlot guards were clearly not interested in them right now.

The zebras were keeping up with the griffins, too, trading potions and talismans, fortune-telling and street performances. He could even swear he saw two zebras with a hookah. However, he did not approach them - if anyone could tell that something was wrong with him, it was the zebras with their keen senses. Under the guise of a griffin was a man, and the corpse of the real owner of this identity was already being eaten somewhere in the sewers.

Now Alexei looked like a griffin with an ordinary appearance - white plumage on his head and around his neck, yellowish-brown fur and golden eyes. What was unremarkable about him was the ragged blue scaled bag hanging around his neck. Despite its modest appearance, it was a low-grade spatial artifact. The inside of the bag was much larger than it appeared from the outside, having roughly a cubic meter of space. In addition, there were enchantments placed on it that reduced the weight of the contents.

It was only a lower class artifact and yet, Alexei had spent almost all of his gold on this bag. And that was despite the fact that he had bought it from some rather murky griffins and it was clearly stolen. But the man was still very satisfied - he had long lacked such a thing. As an alchemist, he used a bunch of potions all the time, but he couldn't fight while being weighed down by dozens of bags. Things would be different now.

He had also come up with a solution to the problem with those scanning tablets - otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to be so relaxed right in the center of Canterlot. He had several worms inside his body with the blood of a dead griffin mixed with a certain potion. If a guard approached him, he would take a tablet and the worm that came out of his claw would spit out that blood and it would be sucked into the tablet. He was confident that he could fool their magical analysis with this method. It was only necessary to slightly divert the guards' attention from his claws.

Based on this method, he created another one that could fool the weak unicorn's scanning. At least the chances were pretty good. The downside was the short duration. If he got stuck on a scan or if he came across a strong unicorn, he would be immediately exposed, but Alexei didn't rely on this method alone. He defined three points for a potential breakthrough, prepared a few distractions and thought of escape routes.

He had plenty of time to think while he lay in the sewers, but the rats did most of the work. They were still running around like mad, spreading explosives and poisons to specific locations in Canterlot. They've been doing it for the last two days. As soon as the wedding was over and the evening festivities began, he would make his move. For now, he would rest and observe the situation in Canterlot.

“Hmm?” Alexei's claws froze over his plate as he felt something strange.

Raising his head he saw something from afar hurtling at breakneck speed towards the royal palace. Squinting his eyes, thankful that he now had eagle eyesight, he saw some flashes of flame. A second later, the flames flashed high in the sky above him and disappeared.

However, he was able to make out the creature that had just teleported away - Celestia. The man immediately shifted his gaze to the royal palace. His intuition screamed that something was about to happen.

The next instant, a massive explosion rang out, and an entire chunk of the palace wall was destroyed by a giant dark green beam. All the ponies around froze with shock and turned their heads to see a smoking hole in the castle wall.

A few pieces of the wall flew even here, falling and injuring several ponies.
The crowd screamed and rushed away from the palace. Several unicorns instinctively tried to teleport, but their spells failed. One was even slammed into the wall of the building and fell to the sidewalk from three meters high. This further fueled the fire of panic.

Alexei, meanwhile, pushed himself off the bench and jumped onto the wall of a neighboring building. Clawing at the wooden elements, he quickly climbed to the roof, mentally thanking the griffins for such a practical body. Even though he couldn't fly, he could help himself with his wings and glide. Even without wings, claws were far more practical than hooves.

Looking at the royal palace once again, he saw a changeling flying out of a hole in the wall. Thanks to the griffin's eyes, he could perfectly see the changeling, which was clearly a female. Due to the distance, it was hard to judge the size, but he was still sure of something.

“Alpha changeling,” Alexei squinted, memorizing her image.

From the top of the building, he could see part of the square in front of the palace. There had clearly been a lot more casualties there, and right now the crowd of distraught ponies who had come to hear Celestia's speech after the wedding were scattering in all directions, away from the dangerous palace.

The lucky ones were the pegasi and griffins - they could just fly away. A few pegasi were helping the wounded, and the griffins were assessing the situation from afar, as was he.

Suddenly flames erupted, and Celestia appeared next to the alpha changeling. Her fur was blackened in a few places, but overall she didn't look injured.

“I would have been atomized by that beam,” Alexei mentally sighed, and his muscles tensed in preparation for further developments.

The changeling immediately attacked Celestia, firing multiple beams and attacking with her halberd. The few beams that didn't hit Celestia hit the city below, causing massive destruction. A sphere of light erupted from Celestia's body, and both mares disappeared to reappear several kilometers above. Immediately, fierce flames erupted and Celestia launched a counterattack.

“They're just testing each other's strength,” Alexei thought as he watched the burning sky. “When they start fighting for real - the city beneath them is clearly going to suffer. And where is Luna anyway?”

Judging by Celestia's appearance - the alpha changeling had sent both of them somewhere. The question is when Luna will return to Canterlot.

Taking advantage of their battle, he could easily leave the city. He knew that the situation would become more dangerous and chaotic by the minute. The royal guards would clearly have no time for inspections.

But he didn't want to leave the city right now. Where there was chaos, there were opportunities. Even if he left the city, so what? He still didn't have a way to solve the nightmare rejection problem.

Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Alexei began to move closer to the palace.

The streets below him were in complete chaos.
A crowd of ponies were fleeing away from the palace, using every method available to them. Some were trampled, and others were hurt by the spells of others seeking to create an escape route for themselves. Alexei kept his cool, keeping a close eye on his surroundings - he had a certain goal in mind. He was most interested in the alpha changeling's blood, which he could use to slow the rejection, but if the situation allowed, he could also break into the palace.

His dreams crumbled as soon as he fully saw the royal palace. There were changelings flying everywhere, attacking squads of royal guards.

“Why are there so few of them?” thought the man, hiding on one of the rooftops. “There should be many more guards. Did the changelings do something?”

His hunch was correct - the changelings had switched the identities of multiple squad leaders and were able to scatter forces throughout Canterlot. Now, with the lack of communication, the royal guards were in chaos, and many of them didn't understand what was going on at all. They were clearly unprepared for such events and had no real combat experience. All the units that had such experience were guarding the borders of Equestria.

Suddenly something struck a nearby building, and the man was nearly blown off the roof by the blast wave. Moving his gaze to the sky, the man saw Celestia flying at the alpha changeling in a rage.

While he was looking at the situation around the royal palace, he missed a certain event: Celestia, seeing that her opponent was equal to her strength, tried to return to the palace and rescue the hostages. Of course, Chrysalis didn't let her do that - she immediately started attacking the city and civilians. Celestia had no choice but to return and continue the fight.

The man, realizing that it was getting too dangerous around, was about to leave the square when something else happened. Several changelings flew over the square, dropping smoking packages on the remaining ponies. As they fell to the ground, purple smoke poured out of them. Alexei watched the situation, and his face grew increasingly grim.

Several ponies that had inhaled the smoke fell to the ground and began twitching in seizures.

“It's my poison,” Alexei confirmed definitively.

There was a small stockpile left at his former gang's headquarters for emergencies. Apparently the changelings had gotten to it as well.

Mentally cursing those bugs, he jumped off the roof and rushed to the source of the smoke.

This whole thing was a serious problem!

This poison could be considered the calling card of his former gang. Canterlot was clearly not going to fall - the ponies would soon reorganize and kick out the changelings, and after that the investigation would begin. When the poison is discovered, the man will be immediately linked to the changelings and hunted with triple the force, and not just by ponies.

Jumping over the few ponies hurrying to leave the square, the man reached the source of the smoke. Grabbing a few orbs from his bag, he squeezed them and deftly tossed them at the three centers of smoke, helping himself with telekinesis.

One of the support squads of the royal guards, noticing the griffin's strange actions, rushed towards him, assuming his connection to the changelings. But after a few seconds, their fervor faded somewhat: whatever the griffin had done was clearly destroying the purple smoke.

They had already tried several spells, but the smoke was surprisingly resistant to magic. Which wasn't surprising, given its properties. From the griffin's methods, however, the smoke began to disappear, spilling a murky liquid onto the ground.

“What did you do?” the squad leader asked, running up to the griffon.

“You shouldn't give a fuck,” snarled the coughing griffon. “Where's my thanks for saving your pony asses?”

The unicorn frowned slightly at such an attitude. Though he was used to the rudeness of griffons, it was still annoying. However, given the circumstances, he would be more suspicious of those who were excessively nice. Scanning spells were useless - they couldn't detect changelings. Determining who was a comrade and who was an enemy became overly difficult.

“You want to save them?” the griffon asked, nodding at the twitching ponies on the ground. “Then drag them all to me.”

“You have an antidote?” the unicorn asked in surprise.

He didn't have the right skills, and was about to give the order to evacuate.

“Yeah, I'm a fucking alchemist. Satisfied?” replied the griffon sarcastically, pulling all sorts of vials out of his bag. “And tell your guys to put up a shield. I don't want to get my ass fried.”

Nodding, the unicorn began handing out orders. Soon a shield was created around the gryphon, and several guards began dragging in injured ponies. The gryphon quickly assessed their condition and measured out the right dose. The amount of antidote he had was limited, and the healing potions he had were not going to waste at all. At least it should be enough to break down and remove the poison from these ponies. Let the local doctors deal with the after effects of the poison.

Even if he missed something and the poison was discovered, he now had an solid alibi. The identity of the mysterious griffin alchemist who, by a lucky coincidence, had the antidote for the rare poison would definitely be linked to a human. So what? He had already shown his attitude by eliminating the poison and saving the ponies.

While he was treating the ponies, he looked around. It wasn't just that he didn't trust his safety to these unicorns - he was looking for the poison leftovers.

“See that purple powder on the ground?” the griffon asked, pointing to several areas. “It needs to be destroyed. Send in a couple guys skilled in fire spells.”

“We can deal with the aftermath later,” the unicorn shook his head, denying the man. “Focus on healing the victims.”

“Do you even know what the fuck this poison is?!” raged the griffon, casting a furious glare at the unicorn. “Do you know what happens if it reacts with certain spells? No, you don't fucking know. So why the fuck are you arguing with me? Because of you fuckers, I got myself inhaled and won't be able to fly for a week, and this is what I get in return?”

The unicorn was slightly taken aback by the griffon's onslaught, but after pondering the situation for a few seconds, he still gave orders to the suited unicorns to deal with the poison. The gryphon was right - he knew nothing about this poison. Seeing the poison-stricken ponies come to their senses, he had some credibility with the brute.

Alexei watched contentedly as the unicorns destroyed the evidence, finishing off the last casualty. Everyone he had already given the antidote to was evacuated from the shield. The changelings were crushing the royal guards and they had to retreat, soon they would reach this place as well.

Alexei raised his head and looked up at the blazing sky over the central part of Canterlot. While he was dealing with his own poison, the battle of the two titans had already moved there. This was clearly the idea of that changeling queen.

“Come, we'll evacuate you,” came the unicorn's voice, interrupting Alexei's thoughts.

Nodding, the man stuffed the rest of the potions into his bag and ran with the squad to exit the square.

When they were almost to the street, there was a sudden roar filled with pain, despair, helplessness and... duty? Immediately, the entire central district was covered by a magical shield.

Alexei frowned - this was the exact area he was about headed to right now, and now it was blocked off. Glancing at the reaction of the unicorns, who clearly recognized the owner of the roar, the man matched that to the power of the shield and easily realized whose horn it was - Shining Armor.

“Why is he roaming free?” thought Alexei perplexedly. “What are changelings doing?”

Taking advantage of the distraction of the unicorns trying to determine their captain's coordinates, the griffon climbed the wall to the roof and raced toward the central district. Behind him he could hear the shouts of the squad leader, but it was hard to make out anything when explosions were constantly going off all around him.

After a while, he finally reached the edge of the shield. Finding a suitable flat roof where several pegasus corpses were lying, Alexei soaked himself in blood and lay down between them, covering himself with their wings. Cloaked, he shifted his gaze to the battle and began to wait patiently. Sooner or later that shield would collapse under the pressure of two rampaging mares, or Shining Armor would be discovered and killed by the changelings.

It was a shame, but the man wasn't even qualified to watch this battle. All he saw was a sea of flames, a dark green mist, and constant explosions going off all over the city. After a while, he had to look away - all the flashes were starting to cut his eyes.

As he heard a piercing scream, he looked down. A mare with a foal on her back was running down the street, being chased by a changeling. Judging by the fact that he wasn't flying, his wings were damaged. Alexei was about to turn away when a new event happened - a unicorn jumped out of the building and blocked the path of the changeling. The mare didn't even seem to notice his interference and kept running.

The unicorn tried to attack the changeling, but very soon he had to use his shield and go into a deep defense. It took the changeling a few spells to break the shield, and so the corpse of the unicorn fell to the sidewalk, with his head smashed in half.

Regaining his breath, the changeling continued his chase.

“It's just like on Earth,” Alexei mentally sighed, shaking his head.

A woman just needs to be, and she is already valuable to society. A man needs to act and gain respect so that his life is of value to someone other than himself. A man's value depends on how useful he is to society, and the most meaningful usefulness of a man, according to society, is to value women and children above himself.

Heroic self-sacrifice is praised and exalted everywhere from movies to the news. Was this unicorn another victim of imposed morality or did he just think he was a hero? Who knows.

Whether the unicorn became a hero or not is no longer important. He's just a piece of dead meat now. That mare didn't even notice him, and the only witnesses to his act were the human and the changeling that killed him. In a few minutes, they too would forget he existed.

Perhaps the unicorn truly believed that the strong should protect the weak. All these principles were spread by the weak who wanted the whole world to believe this nonsense. Alexei was weak and admitted it, so he behaved as befits the weak: hiding from the strong and devouring those even weaker than him.

If you dig into your moral values, you'll find that most of them aren't “right” but simply favorable to others. Leaders elevate values and morals, but these are merely tools to maintain their power. And yet, it works beautifully.

In the eyes of society, this unicorn was a hero and a worthy stallion, while the man was a madman with dangerous beliefs, a defective product that should be gotten rid of - a villain.

“These fools, restrained by emotion and morality, are everywhere,” Alexei thought indifferently. “They deserve to be used and manipulated. The sad thing is that when they see others not restraining themselves, they jump out and criticize, trying to instill that morality in people, not allowing others to have more freedom than they have. They even enjoy that ridiculous sense of moral superiority.”

He was distracted from the musings he had spent his wait with by a powerful magical fluctuation. Alexei raised his head and tensed, preparing to dodge.

The next second, something broke through the shield and crashed down, destroying a small house. The man squinted, trying to see who it was, but everything was covered in smoke. A moment later, a figure covered in green mist darted overhead, shouting a stream of unflattering things in Celestia's direction. The shield seems to have angered the changeling queen a little, and she swung her buzzing halberd, smashing a huge hole in it. Immediately the entire shield collapsed, and the furious battle in the sky continued.

The man looked around and jumped off the roof, gliding to the opposite side of the street. Once he landed, he immediately ran towards where the alpha changeling had fallen, sharpening his senses to the max - he was now approaching one of the most dangerous places in Canterlot.

When he reached the ruined house, he looked up once more and breathed a sigh of relief - the two mares had shifted slightly again and were no longer directly over his head.

He could feel the powerful energy and purposefully kicked the debris away, heading towards it. Soon he found two small pools of blood of a completely normal red color.

The insects had no blood at all. So changelings, although they had some insect-like features, were still not insects. The changelings also had a skeleton, which the man had already confirmed earlier, so their species identity was still in question.

But these subtleties were of little concern to the man as he quickly collected blood into several rune-enhanced vials. Three small vials were collected, which was not bad.

Looking out of the building, the man saw the changelings approaching from afar. Their advance was blocked by several squads of royal guards, but the odds were clearly not even. It was only a matter of time before the changelings got here.

“They shouldn't have spotted me,” Alexei pondered, hiding behind the wall. “Did they come for Shining Armor? He must be unconscious right now after his shield was destroyed.”

Putting the vials into his bag, he was about to leave when a certain idea flashed through his mind.

“I could...” the man pondered, but soon shook his head. “It's too dangerous. I've already gotten what I want. I need to flee the city.”

But the idea had already taken root in his mind and continued to affect him.

“If I succeed, the benefits will be huge,” Alexei's eyes glittered, but the next moment he shook his head again. “If there is the slightest miscalculation in this plan - my fate will be even worse than falling into the clutches of the alicorns.”

The gryphon began to strut around the ruins, and his gaze grew more and more thoughtful and deep. Suddenly he snorted and stopped.

“An opportunity right in front of me, but I'm too scared to grab it,” Alexei laughed and reached for his bag. “Grand success or miserable death? Hehe, life is one big gamble.”

Pulling out two vials of the changeling queen's blood, he shoved them down his throat, and a few worms helped him and took them down his stomach. Taking out a tiny ball of poison that the changelings had used earlier, he squeezed it and threw it into a corner. After drinking one of the transformation potions, he took a third vial, poured it on his forearm and stuck the limb into the poisonous smoke. The skin immediately began to melt under the influence of the changeling queen's blood, but the poison slightly weakened the destructive power by attacking the magical energy in the blood.

The gryphon, meanwhile, began to transform into something else. Feathers and fur fused together to form chitin, and the eagle wings began to turn into insect wings.

Summoning the nightmare, Alexei ripped a piece of it off and merged it with the hissing blood of the royal changeling on his limb. This piece of nightmare was an important part of the plan - it held a certain mental message. Craning his neck, he ripped off the already formed changeling's wings and tossed it aside. Taking a few steps back, he turned towards the purple smoke and began to watch his transformation.

Moments before the transformation was complete, the nightmare flew into his nose and Alexei dashed into the smoke, hitting the rest of the wall. The wall couldn't hold and collapsed on top of him, burying him under the debris.

Half a minute later, the changeling, whimpering in pain, began to climb out of the debris.

Coughing up smoke, he sensed something in the sky and cried out, hiding behind the opposite wall. As he looked up at the battle of the titans unfolding in the sky, the changeling froze with shock.

“What's going on?!” his mind screamed as the changeling wrinkled his nose at the throbbing headache.

He couldn't remember anything at all. Not how he ended up here, nor his name, much less what was going on.

He began feeling himself start to panic, but suddenly a voice sounded in his head. The changeling's eyes widened in surprise and he shifted his gaze to the burn on his left front leg.

After a few seconds, his gaze came back into focus and picking up his bag, he rushed towards the royal palace.

“I will fulfill this mission, Mother!” vowed the changeling, and his eyes shone with fanaticism.