A Mercenary's Ending

The head, and presumably the rest of the body, belonged to Spike.

As if by magic, the dragon stirred and in a somewhat familiar, but deeper adolescent voice, said, “Mmm…not now, Mom, can’t somepony else watch Flurry today…?”

Flurry? Gregory looked at Spike with confusion. He had no idea what Spike was up to since Jason’s death, but as he hadn’t seen the young drake with Twilight in Maretime Bay, he assumed that he was somewhere else. From what he’d just heard, it sounded as if someone had adopted him and he was close to Flurry Heart. Meaning that he had been in the Crystal Empire at some point. And judging by the clothes he’s wearing, he’s doing well-wait, clothes?? Gregory was even more confused, as Spike was wearing what looked like old style pajamas.

Spike continued to stir and Gregory stepped back, letting go of the blanket as he got a respectful distance away. Spike’s stirring continued, then slowed as a sparkle of magic suddenly surrounded him. He smiled in his sleep as he pulled the covers back up and fell back into a deeper sleep. Gregory watched, unsure what to make of what he had just seen. Spike looked so peaceful and happy in his sleep.

He sat back down in his chair, trying to come to grips with what had just happened when there was a knock at the door. “My dear Gregory? It’s Majesty. May I enter? Are you decent?”

Gregory nearly jumped when Majesty spoke. He calmed himself, then slowly stood, walked over to the door, and undid the latch. Not that he figured it would do him any good, of course, but it helped him. He opened the door and saw Majesty standing there with a warm smile. “I hope I didn’t startle you,” she said. “May I come in?”

Gregory didn’t reply, instead just stepped aside and let her enter. She nodded in acknowledgment and walked in, taking in the room before looking at the bed. She chuckled. “He looks peaceful, doesn’t he?” she asked, looking up at Gregory, who simply nodded. She smiled more, then turned to Spike. “He is dreaming happy dreams, and is in an enchanted sleep that will do him no harm. I never intentionally put young ones in harm’s way. They are so innocent, and this one here has lived such a hard life already that he deserves all the happiness he’s gotten.” She walked over and gently stroked Spike’s spines before turning back to Gregory. “Did you know that Spike here has been adopted by the rulers of the Crystal Empire as a prince? He has been living a very good life.”

Gregory took a seat back in the chair, watching Majesty as she tucked Spike in further. If he was living such a good life, he thought, then why kidnap him? Unless he would interfere in her plans. The only reason he could think of to kidnap Spike would be because of his dragon fire. If so, it made perfect sense for her to keep him asleep. Majesty turned to him when she was finished. “My dear Gregory,” she said, “I didn’t just come here to check on your new and temporary roommate. It has come to my attention that you haven’t been eating anything we’ve provided for you lately.” She approached, a look of concern on her face. “I hope you realize I would never poison you or mess with your meals in any way. You're my honored guest, just as Spike here is.”

He remained calm, but his internal fear and somewhat growing paranoia kept him on edge. He took in a breath before he finally spoke. “You’ll forgive me for not immediately trusting that you haven’t altered the food you sent me.”

Majesty shook her head, looking genuinely hurt. “I don’t want you dead,” she said, “and I would never put anything untoward in your food. If you’re afraid of me putting something into the meal that could affect you, then be at ease. That would be serious assault, and would make me no better than the ponies who assaulted you and Jason and other nonpony races.”

Gregory pursed his lips. He had been living on edge for so long that he had foolishly not considered the fact that anyone other than Tobias would care about him. Life in Thornfall was a kill or be killed mentality for him. He forced himself to relax, admitting to himself that her words did make sense. Still, one nagging question remained. “Then why did you leave foals alone in Dodge City?” he asked.

Majesty sighed. “My dear Gregory, I knew that Luna and several of her guards were going there before we left,” she said. “I would never intentionally leave them unable to fend for themselves. As much as I dislike her, Luna has several redeeming qualities. She does care for ponies, and would never abandon young ones. Children are more innocent than adults, for they have not yet been taught the mistakes of their parents. Even if she hadn’t been going there, I would have left some full-grown ponies there to tend to the foals.”

Once more, a bit of relief washed over Gregory. He’d been letting his fear dictate his thoughts, and that, he knew from the years of being on Erda, was counterproductive. Majesty continued. “I’ll have Spike moved to another room before long, but I didn’t just come by to see him. I wanted to invite you to dine with me for lunch.”

Gregory was immediately on guard again, but saw an opportunity here. She seemed to be protective of him, having placed him in a gilded cage wherever this was, and if he was smart about it, he could press her for information. Of course, she could do the same to him, but he promised himself he’d be careful. Even so, he was worried now about Spike. Looking to the young dragon, he asked, “Will he be alright in enchanted sleep?”

Majesty nodded. “Yes. He is in no danger of muscle atrophy, starvation, dehydration, or anything like that. And before you ask, I would not use any sort of mind control or suggestion magic on anyone, especially a hatchling like him. He has suffered under ponies until recently too.” She turned to him. “So, will you come to a midday meal with me?”

Gregory stood, looking at eye level at Majesty before nodding. “I accept your invitation,” he said, his paranoia telling him that it was a mandatory invitation. He squashed that thought as it was counterproductive. “What time is it?”

“At twelve,” she said, looking at the clock on the wall which read three minutes past eleven. She then looked at his clothes and looked concerned. “Would you like a change of clothes? I have already had some of my nox ponies create several articles of clothing for you that will fit if you wish.”

He looked down at the only articles of earth clothing he had on him at the moment. He knew that, like him, they had properties that seemed to aid in his protection, and he wasn’t really willing to give that up just yet. Still, he figured he could at least try and look presentable with these clothes. They were still relatively clean. “Thank you for the offer,” he said, “but I would prefer to stay in my own clothes for now.”

Majesty nodded. “I understand. I will have the nox bring the clothes here before dinner just in case you would like to wear something else. We will gladly wash your clothes whenever you need them washed. I will also send someone to escort you to the dining hall when it’s time.” She then looked at his face, which was sporting some stubble that was a couple days old now. “Would you also like a shaving kit? I do know that older human males sometimes prefer to be clean shaven.”

“Well, if you have such a kit, then yes please,” Gregory nodded. “I would appreciate that,” he said.

“It shall be done. I will have our cooks prepare something I believe a human would enjoy, seeing as your kind are omnivores,” Majesty promised. “And with that, I will bid you farewell for now.” She walked over to where Spike lay, raised her horn, and in an instant, both of them teleported away, leaving Gregory alone.

About forty minutes later, Gregory was facing the mirror in his private bathroom and looking at himself. Once more, he tried straightening his shirt of all the wrinkles and brushed his pants off. He would be leaving many of his outer clothes behind, settling for his pants, the black long sleeved shirt he wore, and a dark purple vest that had actually been provided to him by a nox pony servant earlier. He may have been a mercenary, but even he knew that there was a time and a place for all black. The dark purple vest gave him the look of someone going to a more official dinner, and despite his fear and wariness of Majesty, he wanted to at least look presentable.

He ran his hand over the top of his hair, which he had just washed and combed back, tying it back into a ponytail as it had grown that long during his time on Erda. He’d even done his best to shave using the shaving kit that the nox pony servant had brought for him. It was a lot like the ones he used in Thornfall, but the blade itself was a lot nicer than those in his home city, so he needed to be careful. Still, it did feel nice to be clean shaven after a couple days of itchy stubble.

Opening a pocket on the vest pocket of said vest, Gregory placed his handkerchief inside, making it look as presentable as he could. Not seeing anything else that needed to be done, he walked back out into the main living area of his room, sat, picked up the book he had been reading before, and resumed reading while he waited for someone to call him to lunch, which came about five minutes later with the arrival of the same nox pony he had seen upon his arrival here. He learned her name was Starfall and she had been assigned to be his personal maid/aide if he ever decided to go out of his room when Majesty was busy. “M-Mr. Gregory, sir,” she said with a hint of nervousness that he’d grown to get used to with her, “her majesty asked me to bring you to the dining room for the midday meal.”

Gregory nodded and stood, straightening his clothes out once more before nodding. “I’m ready,” he said.

Starfall nodded and led him out of the room, where he was immediately flanked by the two nox pony stallion guards. Majesty had said they were for his protection, but even he could tell that was a flimsy lie. They led him down several dimly lit corridors until they reached a set of double doors, which were also manned by two ponies in armor. Said ponies opened the doors, revealing a surprisingly well-lit room that had a large elongated table with several chairs surrounding it in the center of the room. A brightly lit chandelier illuminated everything in the room, and there was a roaring fire in a massive fireplace. Gregory noted that the nox ponies had to cover their eyes with their darkened butterfly wings as they retreated.

Sitting at one end of the table was Majesty, front hooves on the table in what Gregory would consider a polite pose. She stood and pushed her chair out, making her way over towards him. To his surprise, she was actually wearing what he could only describe as a formal dress, a light blue ensemble. It was simple, but elegant in said simplicity. Her mane was also tied up with a fashionable white bow. She looked him up and down as she approached, then gave a nod of approval. “I believe the phrase is ‘You clean up nicely’?” she questioned.

Despite his fear of her, he couldn’t help but smile a bit at the compliment. He had hardly ever heard anyone back on Earth say anything like that to him, and nobody here would likely say it. He nodded in appreciation. “You used that phrase correctly,” he said. “Right back at you.”

She actually blushed a little bit at that before straightening and smiling. “Please come with me,” she said. “I’ve had another place set up for the two of us. This table is nice for dining, but it’s too big and impersonal.” She gestured to a table he hadn’t seen before, one situated near one of the two windows in the room, a bay window which had its curtains shut. A table with Majesty’s mirror stood between said table and the bay window.

The table itself was circular and made of sturdy wood. He even thought he saw a rainbow sheen on the top of it when it was looked at from a certain angle. The chairs themselves were made of the same type of wood, but were also cushioned so they were comfortable to sit in and had armrests. An unlit candelabra stood in the center of the table and there were two of the chairs sitting on either side of the table so the occupants were facing each other. Each place had already been set with fancy-looking dinnerware that looked too good to eat off of, at least to Gregory’s eyes. In fact, they looked somewhat familiar to him as they approached, but he said nothing.

Not wanting to be rude to his host, he watched which chair she approached, then moved in front of her, pulling said chair out for her. This seemed to surprise Majesty, but she nodded and accepted the chivalry as she took the seat. In return, she pulled out his chair with her magic and he sat down after pushing her chair in. Part of him did this because he wanted to play into her human reverence and another part did it because of his fear. As he sat, she pulled the chair in to a comfortable position, then used her magic to light the candelabra.

When he sat down, she picked up a golden bell with a red handle that was at her place. Gregory noticed that he had one near his dinnerware as well but said nothing. From another door, a pony quickly entered. However, Gregory noted that this one was an actual earth pony, and not a nox pony like he’d seen before. The pony approached and gave both the alicorn and the human a surprisingly warm smile. “Howdy, folks!” he said in a slightly southern accent, “I’m your chef today!” He then turned to Gregory. “It’s an honor to meet a member of the species who saved ours so long ago.” He inclined his head in respect.

This human reverence thing is a bit unnerving, Gregory thought, but didn’t say as he nodded. “Nice to meet you too, Chef…?” He trailed off, hoping that the earth pony would finish the sentence.

He didn’t disappoint. “You can call me Stir Fry,” he said with a smile. “And you also don’t need to worry about your meal, sir and madam. I can assure you that it’s being made to the finest of specifications.” Directing his attention to Gregory, he added, “The lady here has told me you’re an omnivore, so I just wanted to assure you that I can prepare something for you that should fit your palate. For you, I have decided on a piece of auroch meat roasted over an open grill to perfection.” He then turned to Majesty. “And for the lady, a roasted root vegetable and goat cheese filo tart.” He then addressed both of them. “For sides, even if it seems a bid pedestrian, we will be having baked potatoes with melted butter, chives and sour cream. There will be a garden salad for both of you as well. As for what to drink, aside from the clearest water this side of the Maressissippi we have a rare chateau wine bottle from the former fields of one Grape Vine.”

Majesty nodded in approval. “Thank you, Chef Fry,” she said, “that all sounds incredibly delicious.”

“I will bring out some freshly baked bread rolls and some butter for you to start,” the earth pony said as he bowed and rushed back through the door he’d come through before, leaving the alicorn and human alone.

Gregory was looking after the earth pony chef, wondering why he was here. Majesty must have seen the confusion on his face because she said, “Chef Fry is not the only pony who is not a nox among the Shadowfall. There are many from Equestria who became disenchanted with the current state of affairs over the years, and even more so when Ponyville’s actions against Jason Wright came to light.” She gestured to the still closed window. “Nocturne is full of them, but they tend to live in a separate cavern.”

That caught Gregory’s attention. He turned back to her with a raised eyebrow. “Why? Isn’t that counterintuitive to your cause?” He wasn’t entirely sure what her actual cause was, but he could make some guesses.

“Oh, they live in a brighter cavern next to this one because the nox can’t deal very well with bright light,” Majesty explained. “The nox used to be able to handle being in the sunlight just like any other pony race, but a group of them were forced underground during the last days of peace in Ponyland before the Sundering. They changed into the nox over the centuries.”

“Changed? From what?” Gregory asked, although he was beginning to suspect he knew.

“They were once a race of beautiful and glorious ponies known as flutter ponies,” Majesty replied. She turned to the mirror, which began to glow and clear to reveal a beautiful flowery valley. There were pleasant looking homes and cottages scattered throughout, and in the center was a massive monument with a golden glowing stone situated on top. The view showed a few of the aforementioned flutter ponies flying around, smiling and laughing and talking with each other. “This is Flutter Valley before the Sundering,” Majesty explained. “It was hidden from other races and ruled by Queen Rosedust. They were a kind and peaceful race.”

Gregory couldn’t help but admire the beauty and simplicity of the view before him. What little he had seen from the memories of Majesty and other ponies showed that ponies in Ponyland lived a simpler life than ponies in the modern day. He tried not to be mesmerized by the view, but it looked less like a mirror and more like a portal which he could walk though. He looked back at Majesty, who was actually looking at him instead of the view. She had what looked like an expectant look on her face. He nodded as he looked back. “They look peaceful,” he said.

“They were,” she said, a wistful tone in her voice, “but they were also not to be underestimated, because they had the power of Utter Flutter.” The scene changed and Gregory saw a large number of the flutter ponies flying in formation, buzzing their wings at a massive dark mass that looked like black slime. A black slime with a pair of blazing red eyes full of hatred. And sailing on the slime was a small sailing ship with three human figures in them.

Gregory realized he was seeing the ending of the original My Little Pony movie as it actually happened. To his shock, the three witches on the boat were actually quite attractive by human standards, as well as appearing quite young. So young, in fact, that he knew he would never have been able to guess which was the mother unless he looked at the clothes. Also unlike what happened in the movie, the number of flutter ponies were much larger than it was in the movie. “This happened during a time when Hydia and her witch daughters attempted to cover Ponyland in a vicious entity called the Smooze,” she said. “At the time, I was caught in its initial attack and unable to escape, but thanks to them and the Rainbow of Light, my ponies were saved, and we ceded part of our lands to the Grundles to help them restore their own lands.”

The scene shifted again, this time in front of a massive building. Majesty stood there, smiling widely at everyone there, which included a number of ponies, a gnome looking being that Gregory assumed was the Moochick, a large rabbit standing next to the Moochick, a group of multicolored furry creatures that Gregory guessed were the bushwoolies, a taller flutter pony mare who looked like Rosedust, various animals, and three young humans, which included a young adult human woman dressed in farmer’s clothing, a college aged looking man with a baseball cap, and a teenage looking girl with pink overalls and pigtails. Their fashion sense screamed mid-80’s at Gregory.

The unicorn Majesty on the screen was looking at a small group of humanoid beings as she spoke. “King Griund of the grundle race, my dear ponies and other friends and I are grateful for your help in these past few days. You have shown yourselves to be friendly, resourceful, and with the potential of being amazing neighbors. You are brave and kind and strong, and it grieves me that such a marvelous race has lost your kingdom.” The younger Majesty did look pained by this, but then her expression brightened. “As thanks for your assistance in this near tragedy, I will gladly cede a portion of Ponyland to you to help you restore your kingdom to its former glory. There are many places in our kingdom which are uninhabited where you can rebuild.”

The taller grundle had tears of joy in his eyes as he approached and reached out a claw to Majesty. Majesty placed her hoof in his claw and he closed it around her hoof, leaning down to kiss it gently. “The grundles and I are eternally in your debt,” he said.

Majesty giggled softly. “Consider the debt repaid for your actions in helping to restore Dream Castle,” she said as she knelt down to be eye to eye with the grundle king. “You and your people will be our friends for as long as time exists.”

The scene shifted again, only to now show Majesty standing alone on the lip of what looked like a volcanic crater. She was looking down at the crater, a look of anger spread across her face as she raised her horn, lifting something up. The view moved to show what Majesty was lifting: a large mass with angry red eyes and three terrified looking women who were shouting out apologies that even Gregory could tell were false.

Majesty turned and looked at the smooze first, her eyes ablaze with anger and determination as she aimed her horn at it. The horn began to glow as she spoke:

“No longer shall thee our lives upend,
“no longer shall thee tower.
“If being evil is all thee intend,
“then thou shalt be good as a shower.”

The smooze began to twist and writhe, its eyes vanishing as it lifted up into the air. Its black form began to shiver and expand, turning its gelatinous form into that of a beautiful cloud which spread across the skies. Rain began to fall, but a gentle rain which began to fall steadily around Majesty and the three witches. The dismal looking Volcano of Gloom began to transform, with beautiful flower, grass, and even trees beginning to grow on its slopes. Snow fell onto where the tree line formed, and eventually the volcano and the surrounding landscape became a majestic and beautiful mountain.

As the newly transformed rainshower moved away, revealing the sun again as it cast a natural rainbow onto the eastern sky, Majesty turned her focus to the terrified looking witches. “You have brought nothing but sorrow and misery to my dear ponies and their friends,” she snarled angrily, “and I have ignored you for far too long. It is long past time I dealt with you on a more permanent level. But first, drop those disguises at once!”

Hydia was the first to do so, and her human forms shifted until she was a green skinned humanoid with pointed ears. The other two did the same, and their features also changed to fit this. They still had their feminine beauty, strangely enough, but their eyes were all a glowing red just like the smooze’s had been. Eyes full of fear mixed with hatred. Before they had a chance to speak, Majesty spoke again, her horn blazing with light.

“Thy sins are quite vast,
“and forgiveness is past,
“for to live as evil beings you insist.”

“Your powers we sever,
“both now and forever,
“for as mortals thou shalt now exist.”

Majesty’s magic swelled around the three witches, and they screamed in terror as dark mist rose from their bodies, dispersing into the air and being dissolved by the still falling rain. Any raindrop that passed through the mist changed into a colorful looking bubble which floated serenely away, and anytime one popped, orbs of light fell from it and hit the ground, dissolving and creating more greenery. Soon all of the blackened mist was gone, and Majesty opened some sort of portal. On the other side was an island. It looked big enough and had a large lake in the middle, plenty of trees full of fruits, and white sandy beaches. “Be grateful for my mercy in not turning you into an animal like I have done with Tirac,” she said darkly as the three headed towards the portal. “This island is in the middle of the ocean, with no hope of rescue in sight for any of you. Now begone!”

The three were thrown screaming into the ocean, landing none too gently, but not enough to actually harm them. As they swam to shore, the portal vanished, and Majesty looked down at the now verdant valley surrounding the former Volcano of Gloom. She smiled. “I think perhaps the grundles might enjoy living here,” she said.

The scene faded away, and Gregory turned to look at the current Majesty. She smiled at him. “The grundles gladly started living in the former realm of Hydia and her witch daughters,” she said, “and in that entire valley. They called it New Grundalia. They had a lovely architectural sense.”

Just then, the doors to what Gregory guessed was the kitchen opened and a couple unicorns came out, carrying large plates of food out using their magic. They placed them down and bowed before a third pony, this one a pegasus, brought out two wine glasses and a wine bottle, which he poured for the two of them.

Gregory was surprised to see that his meal looked like a perfectly seared steak. It even smelled like it. There were seasonings on it that made it smell absolutely divine, better than anything he’d had in Thornfall. Hell, this has to be better than MREs, he thought.

Majesty’s own food looked and smelled delicious as well, and she smiled warmly at Gregory when he looked over. “I take it from your reaction that the smell of your auroch is appealing?”

He nodded. “Consider me impressed that a pony would even be able to cook a meat dish so well,” he said.

“Chef Stir Fry is, or was, from Canterlot Castle, and they do need to know how to make meat dishes for visiting dignitaries,” Majesty explained.

Gregory nodded in understanding. He wanted to dig in and stuff himself despite his caution, but he refrained as the wait staff finished setting things up. When they left and it was just him and Majesty alone again, he continued to wait, unsure whether or not Majesty had some sort of pre-meal tradition. However, when he saw her lift a fork and begin using it, he decided it was safe. He dug in, and the first bite of auroch steak exploded in his mouth with plenty of juice and flavor, and he had to really hold himself back from just digging in out of hunger. It had been too long since he’d had any steak.

After he swallowed the heavenly first bite, Majesty leaned forward. “I take it that your meal is more than satisfactory.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” he said, then caught himself as he realized his guard was slowly being lowered. “My compliments and thanks to the chef.”

“I will pass on the missive,” she said with a warm chuckle before taking another bite of her meal. When she swallowed that, she picked up the wine glass. “A toast, my dear Gregory. To true harmony.”

Gregory picked up the wine glass at his side almost without thinking, but hesitated only for a moment. His fear returned a bit, but he suppressed it as he raised his glass. “To peace and justice,” he added.

She smirked at that, and clinked his glass with her own.

“I’m happy that you’ve eaten something,” Majesty said an hour later as she was walking with Gregory back to his room. “You look much better already.”

“Thank you,” he said as they turned the corner of the corridor where his door was. Gregory felt much better. He hadn’t felt so full in years, having learned that food wouldn’t be a luxury he could afford to pass up. He had only eaten until satisfied for the two years he’d been in Thornfall, if he even got that much. He had to dip into his earth food reserves a few times when things had gotten severe, but the meal he’d just had was unlike anything he’d had before, and that included the dinner at Twilight’s house. Part of him wanted to just go back to his room and collapse into a food coma, but another part was concerned that he’d be sick from the shock to his system.

When they reached his room, Majesty opened the door and let Gregory go first. He walked in and collapsed into the chair next to the fireplace, exhaling deeply. Majesty giggled as she walked in and closed the door. “Are you tired?” she asked.

“A bit,” he admitted.

“Would you be too tired to accompany me for something later today?” she asked again.

Alarm bells went off in his mind as he lifted his head to look at her. “Later when? And where are you going?”

She chuckled. “I’ll be leaving in about three hours,” she said, “and as for where, well that’s a surprise. Would you be interested in accompanying me?”

Gregory felt like he was going to be sick now. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like she would be taking him somewhere he didn’t want to be going or to observe something. He thought back to Dodge City and how Majesty had punished that town. There was a stubborn part of him that thought she’d gone too far, but after learning she had planned for there to be adults there to take care of the foals, his thoughts had settled. Then there was the part of him that felt some sense of satisfaction at seeing those ponies get some comeuppance for what they did to him two years ago. The conflict within him was starting to brew, and he wasn’t sure which part of him he wanted to win.

Feeling like there wasn’t much of a choice, he sat up. He wasn’t tired anymore now. “If you want me to come with you somewhere, then do I have a choice?”

Majesty smiled. “Of course you do,” she said in a reassuring tone. “I could see how distressed you were last time we went anywhere, but let me ask you this: didn’t you feel some sense of satisfaction or peace when I enacted justice for you?”

Gregory instantly remembered the aforementioned feelings he’d experienced that day. The vindication he’d felt at those ponies turning into monsters. He hadn’t realized just how much the actions of those ponies had affected him. The savage part of him absolutely loved what had happened. He’d suppressed it when Majesty had informed him that the foals were left alone, but it had resurfaced when she revealed that she would never have done anything like that if nobody else was there to take care of the foals. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, organizing his thoughts carefully before he replied, but all he could manage was a slow nod and a quiet, “Yes.”

Majesty smiled wider and walked up, putting a wing around him. “This next bit of justice I’m about to enact has to do with a fellow human.”

Gregory’s eyes went wide. “Jason Wright…” he muttered.

Majesty nodded. “Exactly. I’m planning a nice little visit to Maretime Bay. Would you like to tag along?”

Celestia and Luna both were sitting in the main hall of Maretime Bay, eyes closed, horns lit, and mouths moving silently as they cast an ancient spell they both knew that would place a powerful shield around the coastal town. The former Elements of Harmony and the others who had been in that meeting had already left town on a cargo train heading to Vanhoover where they would be getting a passenger train to the Crystal Empire’s capital. A number of Solar and Lunar guards had arrived an hour later to patrol the town in case of an invasion.

Slowly the two opened their eyes. The shield had been cast around the town. In the sunlight, it would shimmer like a bath bubble, but it was so much stronger than that. Celestia knew that Sunset and Twilight would not be able to break the shield, and even she and her sister would have difficulty with that. Even if Majesty knew the disarming spell, it would take time to break it from the outside and nopony could break through with a teleportation spell of any kind.

“That was exhausting, sister,” Luna said as she stood, her legs shaking a bit from the strain of having to expend so much magic. Fortunately, they had time to replenish their magic stores.

“Yes, but at least our little ponies are safe for the time being,” Celestia said as she stood and stretched. She shook her head and snorted in a very undignified manner. “Nnng…that feels good,” she said as she stretched her wings.

Luna was doing the same and she headed to the front door out into the summer air. “A walk will do us good, sister,” she commented as she pushed it open to let the light in. “It may also help you recover your magic faster.”

“Good idea,” Celestia said as she joined her sister and walked out into the streets of the newly built town.

The two walked down the streets, both flanked by their own guards, Celestia by her Solar Guard and Luna by her Lunar Guard. Most ponies they passed in the street didn’t even acknowledge them, and those that did were none too pleased to see them, or so it seemed. A few did bow reverently, but for the most part the relocated ponies ignored or shot angry and spiteful glances at the diarchs. It hurt Celestia further to see the looks on their faces, but she knew she deserved it. At the time, she had thought she was doing the right thing by creating a new place for the former citizens of Ponyville to live, but now she was beginning to realize that she had simply pushed the problem aside so she didn’t have to do anything about it.

“Your mind is troubled, sister,” Luna said softly as she walked up to trot alongside Celestia. “What ails you? Is it the looks from the citizenry here?”

“That’s part of it,” Celestia said, “but there’s more.”

Luna nodded, seeming to consider something. Then, a small smile formed on her face. “Why don’t we go down and speak on the beach?”

Ten minutes later, the two were actually standing on a newly built boardwalk overlooking the western oceans that led to lands unknown. The salty breeze blew through their manes as the guards stood at the entrance to the boardwalk, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Some were even in the air. The shield shimmered above them but other than that it was practically invisible and wouldn’t harm anypony or any plants or animals. Celestia sat heavily on the wooden boardwalk, looking out at the endless water before her. All she really wanted to do at that moment was dive in and float there, letting the beautifully blue water move her around until she felt better.

Luna sat next to her and put a wing around Celestia’s back. “What is wrong?” she asked.

Celestia let her guard down and turned to her sister, a somber look on her face. “I’m starting to question my very actions through the years,” she said. “Mostly me passing problems off to others.”

“Delegation, you mean?” Luna asked.

“Yes and no,” Celestia said. “I know there is a time and place for delegation, but I’m talking about how I treat other issues. Discord’s reformation, Tirek’s punishment, Jason Wright, Ponyville’s relocation here, and more.”

Luna looked a bit unsure what to say. Still, to her credit, she did try. “Well, you are a busy mare,” she said, “so I think some of those could be forgiven-”

“No, I’ve pushed problems onto ponies who weren’t ready,” Celestia said, recalling how Applejack had called her out on her actions in that meeting in regards to the former Elements of Harmony. “And I pushed others away when I shouldn’t have. Like Jason.”

Luna once more tried to keep her sister grounded. “We’re not perfect, sister. What we need to do is learn from these mistakes.”

“I hate that word when it comes to what I did,” Celestia said. “It simply can’t capture what I’ve done, or rather not done.”

“I believe egregious and unforgivable sin would be perfect for how to describe your actions, Celestia,” a new voice said from behind them. The sisters both stood and turned, only to come face to face with an alicorn taller even than Celestia. The new alicorn was alone currently with her wings spread majestically and a serene smile on her face. “Hello, there,” she said.

“Majesty,” Celestia said, eyes wide in alarm. How had she gotten through the shield so quickly. It hadn’t even been thirty minutes!

“How did you get through the shield??” Luna demanded to know, horn lowered and one of her forehooves stamping at the ground in a threatening tone.

Majesty looked around at the air, then chuckled. “That old thing? Have you ever wondered who invented that magical spell?”

Celestia’s heart sank at the realization. “You…” she stated.

“Correct,” Majesty said as she suddenly shot into the air, dodging a blast from Luna’s horn. “Well, aren’t you a feisty young filly?”

“You assaulted a town of ponies and transformed them in front of their foals into monsters!” Luna snapped as she too leaped into the air after Majesty.

“Who are the real monsters?” Majesty asked as Celestia flew up after her sister, not wanting things to spiral out of control. “Would it be the ponies who viciously threw an innocent creature out of town, or the leaders of the nation where these monstrous ponies live in peace while the innocent creature they chased out live a life of misery?”

Luna chased Majesty towards the beach, which was where they spotted a lone bipedal figure watching all of this go down. Celestia saw the figure and recognized who it was immediately. “Revan!”

Revan looked up at her, and Celestia saw something in his eyes that hadn’t been there before: conflict. She turned and tried to fly down to where the human was, but before she was even within thirty or so feet from him, she slammed into a shield, one much more powerful than the one around Maretime Bay. She slid down the shield’s perimeter, landed on the ground and turned to see that Majesty was still easily evading Luna’s magical blasts. Even the guards were becoming involved, drawing their weapons if they were pegasi or chiroptera or firing off offensive magical blasts if they were unicorns. Earth ponies tried to use bows and arrows or spears to get to Majesty, but she made evading every attack on her look easy.

Finally, however, she spread her wings wide and shouted, “Enough!” A blast of magical wind seemed to come from her wings, and for a brief moment Celestia saw that she had a second set of wings, these ones looking more like butterfly wings than her winged alicorn wings. The wind had a shimmering sound to it, but it also was powerful enough that it made it impossible for her or anypony else to move.

From behind her, Celestia heard Revan mutter, “Utter Flutter…”

The guards in the air and Luna fell down, crashing into the sand dunes hard, but not enough to hurt. Majesty gently landed, then covered the guards and princesses with personal shields. The two princesses rose into the air inside their shields while Majesty released the shield surrounding Revan. Walking up to the human, she stopped, then turned back to the now floating alicorn sisters. The inside of the shield Celestia was in was slippery. Luna’s was apparently equally so because both alicorns were sprawled out in an undignified manner. Both tried calling out to Majesty, but something about the shields surrounding them kept them from being heard, because when Celestia saw Luna opening her mouth and appearing to shout something without sound, she realized the same was probably true of her own shield, so she stopped shouting.

Majesty and Revan both walked down the larger street of Maretime Bay towards the center, ponies watching with fear and confusion but when they saw Revan, all of their faces went pale. Celestia and Luna both watched helplessly as they were carried to the center of town. When they reached the spot, Majesty lowered the shields and let them land on the ground, allowing the diarchs to stand again. “What foul plan dost thou have for this town, cretin!?” Luna demanded, which told Celestia that the sound block on said shields was now gone.

Majesty turned, facing the irate lunar princess with a serene look on her face. “These ponies have not faced the true consequences of their actions against one Jason Wright,” she stated before turning to Celestia. “As nobody has done anything truly substantial to rectify this, I will act on behalf of the deceased and provide true justice.”

Celestia’s heart sank once more and she tried to break out of the shield, but it became quickly clear that the interior was still too slippery. Instead, she turned to the gathering crowd of ponies and shouted, “Run! Get out of here!”

Majesty could only chuckle at this as she raised a horn, firing a blast of magic into the shield which shimmered with blazing white light, blocking out the sunlight and making it seem as if the entire town was now surrounded by a pure white void. She then spread her wings and began to fly up into the air, looking down at the ponies below who were still frozen in fear. “You caused the suffering of an innocent human who simply wished to befriend ponies he admired,” she said, sounding more disappointed now than angry, “and forced him to live in the most dangerous forest since the Shadow Forest. He lived on scraps and garbage for three years before he took his own life. You saw him as a monster, and for no reason other than he was different than you. It would seem harmony has not truly touched you.”

She spread her wings wide, and her form began to glow as she began to chant.

“Because all of you forsook harmony,
“my judgment of you is this:
“in the form of your monster you’ll see
“how far you souls are in the abyss.”

“Your horns, and your wings, and magic as well
“will no longer be your aid.
“A new form you’ll take, and in them you must dwell,
“for friendship you all have betrayed.”

A blast of light shot from her horn and struck the shield. At first, nothing happened. Then, bright orbs of light began falling down from the sky like rain. It passed through everything, sinking into the ground. Ponies were panicking now as they tried to gallop away, but something was now holding them in place. Celestia and Luna watched helplessly as almost every pony remained frozen, only a number of younger foals and a couple of adult ponies watching in stunned horror as the form of the ponies caught began to glow brightly. The sounds of their screaming were all of fear and not of pain, but their forms were so bright that not even Celestia, who was immune to the effects of staring into the sun, had to shield her eyes.

Finally, the light died down, and there was silence. Celestia removed her wings from her eyes and looked around, only to go slack jawed at what she saw. Almost every pony in the square were gone, replaced with the naked forms of…humans. Humans of varying shapes and sizes, all the same pale color as Gregory and Jason were. The ponies who hadn’t been transformed stood in horror at the scene before them. The foals looked stunned, and some were beginning to cry, one even calling out for her mama even though said foal had been in the forehooves of one of the transformed ponies.

Celestia turned to watch as Majesty descended, landing next to Revan who was covering his eyes with a hand. “Is something the matter?” she asked Revan, then moments later she answered the question. “Ah, yes. They are naked, and humans wear clothing as a matter of necessity since they don’t have fur.” She gently turned Revan away. “Please forgive me, I forgot about that aspect of humanity for a bit.”

“Revan!” Celestia called out. The human flinched, then turned, the conflict in his eyes clearly visible. One of his fists was closed tightly. “We will rescue you! That’s a promise!”

Revan took in a shaky breath, then turned away from Celestia. Majesty put a wing around Revan’s back, and a portal appeared out of nowhere. The two walked through, and vanished.