A Mercenary's Ending

“Why are we doing this again?” Sunset asked with frustration as she and Tobias snuck through the empty streets of the underground city that they’d found themselves in a few hours ago. “We’re risking being exposed.”

Tobias shook his head. “No, we’re getting a better chance of us getting out of here. These eagles he talked about are big enough to carry us out of here.”

“Through where?” Sunset asked. “That cavern we came through is too small for birds the size Gregory mentioned.”

“He also mentioned that the eagles know a way through the caves that can lead outside,” Tobias reminded her.

Sunset nodded. “And can these eagles be trusted?”

Tobias paused at that. “I don’t know,” he said, “but if they are Majesty’s prisoners, they could-someone’s coming!”

The two hid down a darkened alley, their tails brushing away their dusty footprints to hide their tracks. A group of the strange ponies that Sunset couldn’t identify walked past, shining a light down the alley and muttering something unintelligible to each other. When they were out of sight, Tobias stood again. “We’re almost there.”

Sunset followed close behind, although they ran into three more patrols. Their arrival had apparently been badly or perfectly timed, if what Gregory had told them was accurate. Now instead of false intruders, these strange winged ponies were searching for real intruders, although they weren’t the ones who had caused the trouble earlier. She was questioning just why Gregory had risked everything because he’d heard bird calls, but decided that she had more important things to worry about. Like this insane hastily put together plan. “It just seems like we’re wasting time going together,” she said. “Even that Thorax went off on his own mission.”

“We always stick together as a team,” Tobias explained in a patient tone that Sunset recognized as a tone similar to one that basically sounded like a parent explaining something to a young child, something that infuriated her, but one that she had to put aside. “No splitting up unless it’s absolutely necessary. Besides, these eagles know a way out of here that Majesty doesn’t. These ponies know that one entrance we came through.”

Sunset quietly sighed as they ducked down another alley to avoid another group of strange pony guards passed them. She hated to admit it, but despite being able to survive on her own ever since she left Canterlot, she knew there was more to learn, especially about survival and even more especially about how mercenaries worked. “Fine, fine,” she muttered in frustration under her breath.

It took them another ten to fifteen minutes to weave through the streets until they reached the rounded domed building where the eagles were supposedly being held. Sunset helped Tobias to quietly open the door, which led into darkness. When the door was nearly closed behind them, Tobias pulled out the flashlight that Gregory had given him and shone it around. Just as the human had said, a massive crystal in the ceiling began to glow.

Her jaw dropped when she saw the large flock of massive eagles standing and moving around. They seemed startled by the light, but when they saw the two newcomers, they scowled. One of them, the one Sunset knew from Gregory’s description seemed to be the leader or speaker for these eagles, stepped forward, fluffing his chest out and ruffling his feathers in a menacing manner. “Who are you?” he demanded.

Tobias raised his claws quickly. “We’re friends of the human you met,” he said, “we came to help you escape.”

The eagle narrowed his eyes at the abyssinian. “Is that so?” he asked. “How can we believe you?”

Tobias swiftly pulled out a small piece of metal from his pocket, an unfolded paperclip that Gregory had given to Tobias. Sunset had one as well just in case the paperclip that he’d given to the eagles stopped working. “He gave me this,” Tobias said, “and I’m sure you know by now nobody in this world can bend this metal like he can.” To emphasize his point, he attempted to bend it, using all of his strength. Nothing happened, and he held it up for the eagles to see again. “See what I mean?”

The eagle scrutinized the unbent paperclip thoroughly, and he took so long that Sunset grew impatient. “We’re not Majesty’s damned lackeys or spies,” the unicorn hissed, “but her flunkies are searching the city for intruders. If you don’t want to be recaptured, take this opportunity while those inept guards are distracted.”

The eagle bristled at this, but another eagle, a slightly smaller one, stepped forward. “At ease,” the eagle, this one a younger sounding male, spoke to the leader, before then turning to the two. “Are we to assume that the human and goblin we met earlier will want help escaping with us?”

“Yes, but we have a plan that needs to be timed perfectly,” Tobias said.

“And what is this plan?” the first eagle, having recovered, asked with a frown.

Tobias smirked. “Okay, so here’s the deal…”

Thorax silently flew through the underground castle, homing in on the feeling of his former queen. He had to be careful, however, since the halls were almost crawling with guards who were apparently on high alert. He called it apparent because they weren’t as skilled as the Canterlot Royal Guard.

In his bee disguise, he carried the small piece of metal that the human had given him as best as he could in one of his temporary legs as he flew high above the din, making his way closer and closer towards the source of where he felt his queen. He had been away for so long ever since the failed invasion of Canterlot that he wasn’t sure of his own senses, but even if he didn’t agree with his former queen’s actions, he couldn’t ignore the suffering and fear that he felt from Chrysalis.

The hallways of this underground castle wound around and around so often that Thorax was afraid he had gotten lost a few times, but eventually he found a set of double doors that led into another room. Unfortunately, the doors were closed and there were guards at the door guarding it. Thorax could feel that his former queen was beyond these doors, but couldn’t find a way through.

He landed on a small sconce near the ceiling to quiet the buzz of his temporary bee wings to both think and look around. The hallway he was in was larger than the others as well as being well-lit with sconces of glowing crystals. As he looked around, he heard the two strange pony guards begin to talk. One turned to the other. “Why are we guarding this place again? Nobody’s inside.”

“Lord Spyke’s orders,” the second guard, an older gruffer one replied.

“I know,” the younger one said, “but it doesn’t make sense. These doors are impossible for anyone but our queen to open.”

“We were given orders,” the second guard said with a frown, “and we’ll obey them.”

Thorax almost chuckled. The second guard partly reminded him of Pharynx, his older brother. Part of him wondered what had become of his brother. They were never close, but that didn’t mean Thorax didn’t care about him.

The two guards continued their conversation with the first pony saying, “We should be out looking for these intruders. They probably came to capture the queen’s guests.”

“All the more reason for us to stay here,” the second guard said. “Think, young pony. If an intruder did want to capture the guests, they might not stop there. They might try to do something to her majesty.”

“Then shouldn’t we be guarding her personal room-?”

“Be quiet!” the second guard hissed angrily, “or do you want everyone else to know about her majesty being indisposed?”

The first pony looked chastened. “Sorry, sir,” he said.

While this was happening, Thorax was walking down the walls, heading to the ground. It would take him a while, but he wouldn’t make any noise while doing it. He doubted a bug could even make their way this far into the Winterland. It would make them suspicious, he knew. So, he continued crawling down the wall, still holding the small piece of metal that the human had called a paperclip.

By the time he’d reached the ground, the two had fallen back into silence. He quietly walked towards the door and was delighted to see that there was room underneath the door for his bee form to squeeze through. However, before he could approach, the older guard stiffened. “Hear that?” he asked.

The second guard was on alert and swiveling his ears around. “Hear what?” he asked his companion.

The strange pony looked at the ground, scrutinizing the stone walkway with a careful eye. Thorax fell back onto his stealth training, which he hated at the time, and activated a cloaking defense. Unlike his unusually blue transformation fire, he simply faded from visible sight. Of course, this meant he couldn’t move until he felt he was safe, because even when invisible, if he moved he would drop stealth.

Only, the metal piece in his grasp didn’t vanish. He began to panic as the piece of metal was supposed to vanish with him, just like anything else he would carry when he activated his cloak. He waved one of his legs in front of it, and was relieved to see that his body could hide it. So, he quietly placed the metal down, then sat on top of it, reengaging stealth just in time for the pony to look in his direction. Thorax waited quietly, barely breathing.

Finally, the older pony shook his head. “I heard something scraping against the stone,” he said, “but there’s nothing I can see.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” the younger guard replied.

“Your ears haven’t opened yet,” the older guard said, “and your eyes haven’t opened yet either.”

“Then why am I here?” the younger pony asked.

“Because Lord Spyke ordered it,” the older guard said. He pulled out a flask from a belt around his waist and drank it.

Thorax didn’t move for a breathless five minutes. Finally, when he was certain that he was safe, he slowly picked up the paperclip and continued walking towards the wall next to the door. It was a tense few minutes, but he eventually reached the wall and began walking along it towards the door.

When he passed under the door, he almost breathed a sigh of relief, but pushed down the urge quickly. He moved away from the door as quickly and quietly as he could, then when he was confident he couldn’t be heard, he flew up, still in his bee disguise. The piece of metal in his grasp was growing heavier with each passing moment, but he had to try what the human Gregory suggested.

In front of him was a painting. A painting of his queen. He hovered in front of it, his multi-faceted eyes taking in the view before him with shock and horror. Chrysalis was running away from a massive monstrous bipedal creature who was reaching down to grab at her. The hand was almost around her torso, and there was a look of panic and pleading in Chrysalis’ face. She was racing towards the viewer, wings spread wide and front legs outstretched forward as if she was taking a desperate leap.

Despite everything he’d been through in the past couple of years since the failed invasion of Canterlot, he felt a pang of sympathy for his former queen. She actually looked a bit worse than when he had last seen her. There were several new holes in her carapace and she looked a lot leaner than before. Slowly, he approached the painting, feeling his control over the bee transformation slowly slipping. If he moved too fast, the control could slip. If this didn’t work, he would have to leave. He would have to abandon her…

No, he thought with determination. He would take the painting with him if he needed to. He would surrender himself to the pony princess if it meant that Chrysalis could be freed from whatever nightmare she was experiencing in that enchanted painting. He slowly made his way closer, and when the piece of metal was close enough, he touched the piece of metal to the painting frame.

Nothing happened.

No! Please do something! Thorax inwardly shouted as he touched the frame again and again. He grew increasingly desperate, but no matter how hard or how long he touched the painting frame, nothing happened. He felt any lingering hope he had to save his queen slipping away. He lowered himself onto the ground after five agonizing minutes, staring up at the painting with despair. His despair turned to frustration, then to anger, and finally in a fit of rage he flung the metal with all of his remaining strength towards the painting. It stuck into the part of the painting which depicted the monstrous bipedal creature.

Despite the fact that bees didn’t cry, Thorax really wanted to. The sorrow he felt was almost inconsolable. He didn’t hate his former queen. He was angry at her for what she had done to their hive, but he never wanted this for her, and he suspected that noling, not even his brother Pharynx, would have wanted this. He lowered his head in regret. He’d failed.

That was when he heard the sound of paper rustling. Slowly, he looked up and saw that the painting itself was starting to ripple. No, he realized, the painting paper wasn’t rustling. The scene was beginning to move slowly. Or rather, more quickly than it had been before. The piece of metal that had stuck into the canvas seemed to affect the scene itself.

By sheer happenstance, it had pierced the chest of the bipedal creature that was chasing Chrysalis, and this seemed to affect the creature. It was pulling its hand back, and there was blood falling from a fresh wound, the location of which was the chest of the creature. Chrysalis was moving slowly now, flying in desperation forward. The scene sped up more, and Thorax could now hear a low rumbling sound coming from the painting. The rumbling increased in pitch until it became clear he was hearing a scream. Chrysalis’ screaming.

Dropping his disguise in a burst of blue fire, he rushed up and reached up to touch the painting with his magic. To his delight, he found that he could reach through the threshold between painting and reality. As the scene began to look like reality more and more as the painting façade fell away, the scene took shape. He heard Chrysalis screaming at its proper pitch now along with the roar of pain from the monster.

Taking a leap of faith, he reached through and with his blue magic, grasped his queen. Focusing his remaining love reserves, he pulled her towards him. As his magic drained fast, he watched as Chrysalis moved forward towards the threshold until her head began poking through the painting itself. She had a look of panic and confusion on her face until she saw Thorax. “You?!” The changeling queen looked confused now. “What are you doing here?!”

Thorax didn’t answer. He couldn’t. The bipedal monster had finally wrapped its hand around Chrysalis’ barrel. The changeling queen’s eyes widened and she turned to see what was happening. Her fear returned and she raised her horn, which began to glow a bright sickly green as she fired magic blasts at the creature. Unlike the magic she possessed at the wedding, Thorax briefly noted that her magic was much weaker here. “Release me!” she screeched.

Unfortunately, this caught the attention of the guards outside, who burst in and took in the scene with stunned expressions on their faces. The older one recovered quickly and aimed a nasty looking curved sword at Thorax, blue sparks of electricity surrounding the blade. “What are you doing in here?!” he demanded.

“Shit,” Thorax swore, showing how desperate he was as he pretty much never swore. He looked back at Chrysalis briefly, who was still locked in a fierce battle of her own with the painting monster. He looked back to the guards, and noticed that the younger one was running back towards the open door while the older one was charging at him. Thorax knew what the younger one was doing. He was going to sound an intruder alert. If that happened, the massive dragon that Gregory had described would be after them, and he knew he was not able to fight a dragon, especially an ancient one. So, he made a decision.

He released Chrysalis, then blasted magic at the fleeing pony. It caught him and sent him sprawling. Using his magic, he grabbed the soldier’s weapon and brought it to him while at the same time he shifted into a bipedal form, the first on his mind. That being the black clothing clad human Gregory.

Using his new hands, he caught the sword which was sparking with electricity as he stared down the older pony. Thankfully, his transformation into a human caught the pony off guard. Thorax acted on this and slammed the hilt of his blade down onto the pony’s head. He must have used too much force, because the pony collapsed immediately, crumpling up and falling unconscious.

Dropping the sword and his disguise, he turned back to the painting, only to see that Chrysalis had been pulled back in. He reached back in and began pulling once more onto Chrysalis. However, unlike before, he experienced heavy resistance as he tried to save her.

Thinking fast, he called out, “Transform into a dragon!”

“Why?!” Chrysalis shouted back.

“Do it!” Thorax shouted.

Surprise formed on her face, but she did just as Thorax said. He grabbed the sword he’d been using and flung it through. She caught it in her new claw and brought it down onto the hand. The creature roared in pain and its grip on Chrysalis loosened enough for her to transform into a smaller dragon. She flew out of his grasp and flew back towards the threshold.

Thorax then remembered the piece of metal. Rushing forward, he grasped it with his teeth and pulled it out just as Chrysalis’ head poked out of the painting. Only to stop as the creature wrapped its hand around Chrysalis’ legs. “This foul creature!” she hissed in anger as she kicked back at the bipedal monster with her legs, even breathing a small flame at it.

He thrust the sword forward. “Grab it!” Thorax shouted, stunned that the sword would even go into the painting.

Chrysalis didn’t hesitate. She grabbed the sword where it was floating and stabbed it at the hand surrounding her. The hand reflexively released her, and she took the opportunity to fly forward. However, another hand reached down and grasped her dragon tail, sending her sprawling and sending the sword out of her claws and through the painting threshold onto the floor beside Thorax. However, her face had since reached said threshold and was pushing forward, one claw around the picture frame.

Unable to throw her a new sword in time, he wrapped his magic around her and began a tug of war with the monster, using Chrysalis as the rope. He pulled harder, and Chrysalis hissed in pain as more of her body began to balloon out of the painting. As he continued pulling, he reached down and drew next on his life force to sustain his magic. Chrysalis must have seen this, because she glared at him and hissed, “Foolish drone! Stop that at once! You’ll only hurt yourself!”

He ignored her order, continuing to draw on his life force. Soon, his efforts were rewarded as she fully popped through the painting. She fell to the floor and would have made a sound had he not slowly lowered her down. He was about to collapse when he looked up at the painting. The creature was now running towards the threshold with heavy but quick strides towards the threshold between painting and reality.

Summoning every last bit of strength he had left in a last great effort, he ran forward, or hobbled in his current state, and sent a blast of magic through the threshold, but he apparently need not have bothered. Chrysalis pulled him back from the fruitless gesture just in time to see the painting’s remaining inhabitant slow down, the roar fading away as its pitch lowered. He collapsed to the ground, barely conscious.

He struggled to stay awake, though, despite feeling the nearly overwhelming desire to pass out. His nose was bleeding heavily, covering the stone floor with a small pool of blood. He was about to give in when he felt new strength returning to him. A pink mist surrounded him and he felt his nose stop bleeding. Slowly, he stood only to see Chrysalis, her mouth open as whatever love she had was being passed to him. “Ch…Chrysalis…what…?” He fell into a coughing fit.

Shut up for a bit, the queen said through her telepathic link with the former drone.

He slowly stood, his strength continuing to return. He saw a new hole beginning to appear in Chrysalis’ carapace, and he panicked. “Stop!” he hissed in fear, “I’m fine now!”

Don’t lie to me, Thorax, Chrysalis replied, you are still very weak.

“I‘ll be fine,” he insisted as he tried to close her mouth. “There’s no time for that. It’s time to leave!”

Chrysalis glared at him, but with apparent reluctance she closed her mouth. Then immediately opened it to speak. “You were foolish to try anything by utilizing your life force,” she said in a scolding manner. “You likely would have died!”

Thorax might have been being scolded, but he could hear the tremble of worry in Chrysalis’ voice. “You can yell at me later,” he said, “but we need to get out of here and fast. This escape attempt has a few other steps and I need to debrief you along the way.” Chrysalis looked stunned by this, but to her credit she didn’t say anything other than to nod. “Thanks. Now, we need to get out of here.” He rushed over to the younger pony and grabbed his sword after transforming into a duplicate of Gregory.

Chrysalis, who had shifted once more into her dragon form, grabbed the other sword and ran forward, looking through the door quickly, taking in the dark hallway. “What’s the plan?” she asked as they began to pull the unconscious guards into the throne room, hiding them in a smaller closet in the corner.

“First, we should transform into these two,” Thorax said as he changed into the younger pony before stripping him of his armor and projecting the voice profile of the older pony into Chrysalis’ head through the telepathic link.

To her credit, Chrysalis didn’t hesitate. Her green flames surrounded her and she transformed into the perfect duplicate of the older pony stallion. “What kind of ponies are these?” she asked, looking down at her strange wings as she began to change into the older pony’s guard uniform.

“No idea,” Thorax said.

“So what’s this plan of yours,” Chrysalis asked as they walked out of the closet, closing the door behind them and heading towards the still open door.

“It’s not my plan,” Thorax clarified as he and Chrysalis closed the doors to the throne room and began walking down the halls. “It’s the human’s plan.”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened. “Then I didn’t dream it up,” she muttered. “I did see a human.” She was silent for a couple of seconds as the two walked down the halls as if they belonged there. She was also utilizing her unique ability as a changeling queen to sift through the mind of the pony she had taken the form of. An ability she had not utilized as well as she should have during the invasion, Thorax mused.

Chrysalis quickly recovered, then looked at Thorax. “Very well. What is this human’s plan?”

“You’re cutting it awfully close, don’t you think?” Dengal whispered into Gregory’s ear as the two were escorted down the hallways towards Majesty’s room.

Gregory ignored her words as he instead just gave her pinkie finger a graze with his own. He put on the appearance of calm as if he wasn’t planning an escape from this underground prison, but inside he was stressing about the ways that this impromptu operation could go wrong. Tobias and Sunset could be captured. Thorax could fail in his own mission and be captured and interrogated by Majesty when she truly woke up, his and Dengal’s part in this plan could fail completely, or if everything did go right for them, the eagles could either refuse to help or not be able to carry his car with them.

Gregory hated the idea of his car being left behind, and not because it had sentimental value to him, but rather he didn’t want Majesty or any of the creatures on her side to study the components and develop magic resistant weapons that they could use against Equestria or the world. Which was why part of his plan hinged on the eagles agreeing to carry the car away with them. It might be resistant to magic, but if Tobias could pull on it and push it, then eagles could definitely lift it. Of course, if they couldn’t lift it or the exit from the cave system was too small to fit the car, he had emptied everything of value to him and set it all in his sturdiest backpack, including solar panels, a charging port, his laptop, all his external storage drives, his phone, and a few other knick-knacks.

Gregory looked down at the nox guard next to him, quieting his voice and asking, “She still isn’t awake yet?”

The nox guard shook his head sadly. “She has shown signs of waking, but she always falls back asleep soon after.”

Gregory frowned and stroked his chin, making an effort to look like he was thinking. All of his instincts were screaming at him to put on the mask he had hidden inside his pack that he had slung across his back, but he held back. “I can see why you’re worried,” he said. “Still, she’s a powerful alicorn. I’m sure she’ll wake up soon.”

The nox seemed to relax at that. “I hope so.”

They walked in silence for a bit until they reached a closed set of double doors guarded by two guards, an older and a newer one. The older one stepped forward and looked at the leader of the group of nox. “What brings you to her majesty’s bedchambers?” His voice was gruff and a bit surly. “Her majesty is not to be disturbed.”

The leader, a larger nox stallion, stepped forward. “Her majesty’s guests are here to visit and Mr. Graystone here says he might have a way to wake our queen.”

The nox guard walked forward, examining the human with a discerning eye. A discerning green eye. “You’d better know what you’re doing, human,” the guard said as he turned to nod at the younger guard. “Unlock the doors. Let them in.”

Gregory and Dengal waited as the younger guard opened the doors and let them into the room. Gregory had expected something majestic and befitting of royalty when they entered. What he got instead was a small bedroom with a single occupancy bed. The bedroom was smaller than his, which surprised him. He wondered briefly if Majesty had temporarily given him her room.

And there, lying on her back, her mane moving in the ethereal wind, lay Majesty. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing peacefully, as if she was asleep.

“What are you planning to do?” the older pony guard asked as he and the younger one walked in, closing the doors behind them and leaving the other guards outside to keep watch.

Gregory walked up and looked at Majesty carefully. Dengal, on the other hand, got to work with her part of the plan. She began looking around the room, carefully searching for something without making it look like she was looking for something. “What could have caused her to not come back on time just from teleporting all of my non-magical stuff here from the Badlands?” he wondered aloud. Of course, he wasn’t stupid and could make a guess. If she had to teleport him in a different way than objects native to Erda, which he was not, then it made sense that her magic would be strained despite her having seemingly endless reserves of magic. What he couldn’t explain was why she had torn his mask off, but he could speculate on that when everybody was safe.

“Seeing as your magic signature is nothing at all,” the older guard said, his eyes glowing green as he said it, “then I suspect teleporting you drained her more than she expected.”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” Gregory said as he reached down to his belt, making sure that the remaining knockout gas pellets were attached. He lowered his bag to the floor and opened it, rummaging around as if looking for something. “It has to be in here somewhere…where did I-?”

“Got them, Gregory,” Dengal said.

Gregory looked up to see the gorgeous goblin woman holding up a pair of familiar looking pistols, their holster, a pair of black knives, and a metal pole. He nodded, then turned to the two guards. “Cover your noses,” he ordered as he quickly reached into his bag, pulled out his mask, and for the first time in what felt like years, slipped it onto his face.

The comforting sensation of the mask form fitting his face along with the cooling sensation he felt as whatever internal advanced mechanisms helped keep his head at the optimum temperature. There was darkness, then the eyepieces activated, showing him a crystal clear view of his surroundings, the light enhancing properties of the mask making the bedroom, once dark to his eyes, looked as bright as day.

Without missing a beat, he grabbed three of the small pellets on his belt, brought them up in his gloved hand, and crushed them. Smoke billowed out from them, and he waved them close to where Majesty was lying. She breathed them in without so much as a WTF, and he heard her breathing become deeper and a lot more regular.

He looked over at the three creatures in the room. Dengal had a face mask over her nose along with her mouth over it. The two guards, having reverted to their normal changeling forms, had a small glowing sphere around their muzzles. This was the first time he was seeing Chrysalis in person, and he had to admit, she was quite a sight to behold. Part of him finally could see just what some of the Chrysalis fanboys back on Earth saw in her. Dengal quickly handed him his weapons, which he attached to his belt. Turning to Chrysalis and Thorax, he said, “You two ready?” It felt good to hear the voice modulator in his mask make his words sound more menacing.

“Since this plan was thought up by a filthy monkey, not really,” Chrysalis retorted.

He knew that she meant it as more of an insult, but despite the situation, he almost snorted. He was reminded of a long running science fiction book series he was a fan of and was tempted to start calling her Skippy, but decided against it, at least for the moment. The gas in the room was vanishing as he gestured to the door. “Time to go,” he said.

“What about the guards outside?” Thorax asked.

“I’ll deal with them,” Gregory said, reaching down and grabbing the metal pole. “Get ready to open the door for me.” Reaching into his bag, he pulled out something he was surprised that Majesty hadn’t taken from him: a walkie-talkie. He held down the transmitter three times quickly, then waited. A heart stopping thirty seconds later, he received a reply in the for of a small click from the speaker. Turning the walkie-talkie off, he stuffed it back into the bag, slung said bag over his shoulder and secured it. “Three…two…one…now,” he said softly, throwing his hood over his head.

The two changelings slowly opened the door, revealing the four guards who had escorted him and Dengal to the room. They turned to see what was going on, and their eyes widened as they saw a glowing pair of blue eyes rushing towards them silently. He brought up the metal pole and struck the nearest pony on the head. The stallion went rigid and collapsed. Twirling around, he brought the metal pole down on the back of the head of another nox guard. Before he could turn to the third guard, two blasts of magic struck them, one a bright green and the other a bright blue. This sent the two remaining ponies flying into the wall before they slumped down into unconsciousness.

Gregory turned to see Thorax and Chrysalis with their heads down a bit, their horns still glowing slightly. “Thanks,” he said, “now it’s time to go.” He turned and began sprinting down the hall, but not before he handed his metal pole to Dengal before drawing his two black knives. “Give ‘em hell just in case,” he said to his close goblin friend as they continued running.

Just as they were about to turn a corner, an ear-piercing screech like what Hollywood faked as a bald eagle call echoed through the halls. Gregory’s mask protected his ears, the two changelings covered their ears with their magic, and Dengal, to her credit, pushed through although her pointed ears were pinned back like cat ears. The nox ponies that they ran past, on the other hand, were now writhing on the ground in pain as they tried to cover their ears. The screech repeated and doubled, and there were rumbles as the building shook. The plan was working flawlessly. Almost too flawlessly, Gregory realized. A part of him worried that Majesty was letting him escape, but it was a bit late now to be thinking about that.

As they approached the hallway where his bedroom was, he saw that some sections of the roof, which were once intact, were now destroyed and showing the inky darkness of the outside. Several of the doors to the rooms were open and he could hear the grunts and a few screams of the ponies inside. When he opened the door to his room, he saw that the roof was completely gone. Rubble filled the area and everything was destroyed. Part of him was a bit upset that the bed was gone as it was the most comfortable bed he’d ever experienced, but he set that aside.

Standing to the side of the car in the middle of the room, the massive golden eagle who he had spoken to earlier was looking incredulously at the rusted and ruined machine. Looking back at Gregory, he spoke. “You want us to carry this out of here with us? Why?”

“Long story short, I don’t want Majesty to have it,” he said, and that was the truth, the most important reason in his mind. Sure, it held sentimental value to him, but if that was the only case, he would have just left it. Sentiment had no place in an escape. “Can you or one of the others carry it through whatever passage you mentioned?”

The eagle looked at it carefully, then nodded. He let loose a bird call instead of a screech, and a smaller eagle flew in. “Carry this carriage out of here,” he ordered.

To Gregory’s surprise and relief, the eagle grabbed it by its claws and lifted off into the darkness of the cavern above.

“My two friends,” Gregory said, “are they-?”

“Already heading out,” the eagle said. He then looked past at the other three. “Two changelings?”

“They’re going to need help flying out,” Dengal quickly said. “They look pretty weak.”

The eagle sighed, then made another bird call. Three other eagles flew down. Chrysalis looked over at the goblin woman with indignation. “I am a queen,” she growled, “I don’t-”

“Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah,” Gregory replied, and he saw Dengal snickering at the absurdity of his words coming out of the voice modulator. He grabbed Chrysalis by the back of the neck and shoved her forward. “You can bitch and moan later, but right now you’re too weak to do anything but be a passenger, so move your ass!”

Chrysalis gave Gregory a glare, but didn’t argue as she exchanged a look with Thorax shortly afterwards. She sighed. “Fine, I guess I can-”

“God, why are all the female villains not only sexy, but stubborn?” Gregory let his inner thoughts out, something he sometimes did when he was stressed. He had gotten better at it over the two years he’d been on Erda, but this situation was incredibly stressful. “Move your ass!”

Chrysalis’ dark cheeks darkened and she sputtered out some incomprehensible words, but before she could say anything, Thorax pushed Chrysalis away. Nearby, Dengal looked more amused by the completely embarrassed changeling queen as she turned to make her way over to one of the eagles.

Soon, the three were flying away, leaving Gregory and the lead eagle. “Are you ready, human?” the eagle asked as he lowered himself.

Gregory quickly buttoned up his overcoat, put on a pair of warm gloves that had grips, secured his pistols, knives and bag, then climbed onto the back of the eagle. “I am, and my name is Gregory Graystone,” he said, “but for the time being, could you call me by my cover name Revan?”

The eagle stood straighter and fluffed his wings. “Revan…alright. Again, I would tell you my name, but I don’t-”

“Gwaihir,” Gregory quickly replied. “Your new name is Gwaihir.”

The eagle, now named, paused briefly. “Gwaihir…I like it. It’s a noble name.” Looking back, Gwaihir gave Gregory a nod. “Hold on tightly, Revan. It’s time to fly.”

Gregory reached down, grabbing the feathers on Gwaihir’s back, then felt his stomach drop from beneath him as the two soared up into the darkness.

The mask’s advanced abilities brightened the cave again, and he saw that the group of eagles were flying towards the entrance to Sanctuary, only he saw that there was a larger hole near the ceiling which had a small patch of light coming through. He narrowed his eyes at the entrance, watching as it approached quickly. As they flew through the passage, Gregory heard the screeching call again. When the two passed through into Sanctuary, the mask dimmed his view automatically to account for the glowing crystal on the ceiling. He watched as the eagles moved towards a large hole in the wall. They were passing through it, and to Gregory the exit hole looked remarkably large when compared to the massive hole in the wall.

Gregory risked a look below. Sanctuary looked so small, and the inhabitants looked even smaller. He thought he saw them looking up at the eagles thanks to the enhanced vision the mask gave him.

As Gwaihir flew towards the cavern, he let loose a shriek. To Gregory’s surprise, the cavern entrance seemed to shrink. Gwaihir sped up and flew through the closing entrance. Gregory risked another look behind and saw the cave close up behind them, shutting out the light. The mask brightened the view around him, showing a gem studded cave system that the eagles seemed to be able to maneuver with incredible ease.

As they continued flying, Gregory saw a dim light approaching. Two seconds later, they flew through a cave exit and shot into the air above a vast snowy plain. The entire flock of eagles screeched in unison as they turned and began heading in another direction, heading towards a large wall made of ice.

The Winterwall, Gregory thought. He took one last look back down at the cave where they’d exited, only to see nothing but snow. Turning back, he breathed a sigh of relief. Or rather, half relief. He felt like his escape was too easy.

Empress Cadance stood on the balcony of her and her husband’s bedroom, looking over Crystalia with a small smile. No matter how many times she looked at it from her balcony, the city which was the capital of the empire was beautiful. It was exactly as her ancestor, Princess Amore, described in her diary all those centuries ago before she was defeated by Sombra. Nothing had really changed save for the many upgrades to modern technology that had been imported from Equestria before she cut diplomatic ties with her former nation.

The crystal ponies below were going about their daily lives, completely oblivious to the danger that their southern country neighbor was experiencing at the hooves of a powerful and unknown alicorn. Part of her wondered if this alicorn was the only one that was hiding in the world for so long.

“Mom? Are you in here?”

Cadance turned to see Spike walking in, looking around until he saw her. She smiled at him and turned away from the balcony, walking into the bedroom. “Spike, what are you doing here?” she asked. “Isn’t it time for your training session with your father?”

“Dad’s busy strengthening the city’s defenses in case that alicorn does something,” the young dragon prince said as he sat on the edge of Cadance and Shining’s bed.

He sighed, and Cadance recognized that particular sigh. Spike was troubled about something. She walked over, sat on the bed, and put a wing around her son. “Is something wrong, Spike?” she asked gingerly, suspecting that she knew.

She was right. Spike threw up his claws and made an exasperated noise. “I remember everything so clearly,” he muttered. “It’s hard to believe that the memories were fake.”

Cadance pulled him closer and kissed his forehead lovingly. “Whatever happened,” she said, “you’re back now, and your father and I will make sure that you’re kept safe and secure.”

He shivered a bit and leaned into Cadance. “I just feel so…violated…” he said with a trembling voice.

Cadance frowned. Spike had already experienced enough hardships in his life, and she hoped that being away from Equestria would let him had a foalhood, or hatchlinghood in his case. She hugged him tightly. “She won’t be able to hurt you again,” she repeated reassuringly. “I promise, and so does your dad.”

Spike clung to her tightly, and Cadance heard him sniffling. She had to remind herself that he might be a teenager now, but he was still young and needed to be a hatchling. He was a good big brother to Flurry Heart, and he tried to be mature and be a good prince, but he needed down time too just like adults did, probably more so for him since despite being well-loved by the crystal ponies, he was the only dragon here. Cadance had been speaking to Dragon Lord Ember in secret, hoping to begin some sort of exchange program between their two nations and bring some dragons around Spike’s age around.

Ember had mentioned a dragon who was a few years older than Spike named Smolder and how she was one of the nicer dragons around, by their standards at least. She hoped that sometime soon that this Smolder would come visit and help to teach not just Spike about dragons, but to help teach Cadance, Shining, and Flurry. All three of them were worried in their own way. Flurry might still have been young, but she was bright and knew that something was wrong with her beloved big brother.

A part of Cadance saw a little bit of Twilight Sparkle in Flurry. Both loved their older brothers immensely. Just like Shining, Spike was protective of and loved Flurry back like a big brother should. Cadance had watched Twilight grow up, and she saw the similarities forming, and it warmed her heart to see it. Shining saw it too, and he encouraged it, giving some examples to Spike about what he did that worked and what he failed to do that he regretted, especially in regards to his and Spike’s relationship. Whereas Spike saw Twilight as an older sister, Shining was more like a father figure, especially since Twilight’s parents weren’t that present for Spike during his time at the Sparkle residence.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock at her door. Coming out of her reverie, she looked up at the Crystal Guard at the door. “Yes?” she asked, and Spike turned around to face the guard as well.

“Your highnesses, my apologies,” the guard said with a bow, “but some scouts on the walls have just reported seeing a group of massive birds flying from the north directly our way.”

“Birds?” Cadance asked curiously as she and Spike broke the hug and stood. “What kind of birds?”

“Well, that’s the thing,” the guard said, sounding a bit confused now, “they look like golden eagles, but their size is…well, it’s impossible.”

“Impossible how?” Cadance asked.

The guard looked a bit uncomfortable to be reporting this, but he did it anyway. “Your highness…the scouts reported that they saw somecreatures riding on their backs.”

Ten minutes later, Cadance, Shining, Spike, and even Flurry Heart, who had noticed the commotion and joined despite the rest of her family’s protests, were standing on the wall surrounding the city. The wall itself was a new addition to the city, built quickly and sturdily over the two years after Cadance cut ties with Equestria. The family were taking turns looking through powerful spyglasses that the scouts used. Cadance was the first to spot a familiar form on the back of one of the eagles. “That’s Tobias, the abyssinian!” she shouted.

“I see Sunset Shimmer,” Spike said, “but I don’t recognize the other two. One’s a…I don’t know what race that is. Gray skin, bipedal, red eyes, black hair…”

“That’s a goblin,” Shining explained. “They’re a nomadic species. I don’t know who-CHRYSALIS!”

Cadance froze. Where had the changeling queen come from? she wondered. The last time she had heard anything about the changeling, she was back in her hive in the Badlands, but that information was only about six months old. She turned and caught a glimpse of the queen, clinging to the back of an eagle. To her shock, Chrysalis looked even thinner and sicklier than before. Despite her colored history with the changeling, a small sliver of concern passed through her. She lowered the spyglass and passed it off to Flurry Heart without a second thought. “What in Crystalia happened to her…?” she wondered.

The group watched as the specks of black turned into gray bird shaped objects, then dark red and gray birds as their colors became more visible. The group watched as the eagles all landed near the massive gates. The creatures on the backs of the eagles all dismounted, and one eagle even let go of a strange cart-shaped object. The group all looked up at where Cadance, Shining, Flurry, Spike, and several Crystal Guards stood. One of them, a masked biped with the eyepieces glowing blue, waved their arms, and in a booming voice called out, “EMPRESS CADANCE! WE MEAN NO HARM! WE SEEK AID FOR FORMER PRISONERS OF THE OLD QUEEN MAJESTY!”

Cadance looked down at the biped, wondering if this was the human that Tobias had been so keen on rescuing. She spread her wings, and before her husband, her children, or her guards could object, she flew down and landed opposite of the masked figure. Looking at the figure, who spoke with a male voice, she said, “Are you the human that Tobias was hoping to rescue?”

The masked figure remained still for a bit. Then, he reached his hand up to his hood, removed it, then placed his fingers on the face of the mask. He pulled, there was a hiss, and the mask came off, revealing the face below. The face of a human. “Empress,” he said in a more normal sounding male voice, “I know your history with Chrysalis here, but she has endured too much to be any threat to you. And besides, these eagles need a place to rest before they move on. And my group and I need to talk with the princesses of Equestria.” He paused, then took a deep breath. “Please,” he added, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice, “it’s important.”

Cadance looked at the human’s face. She was by no means an expert, and even though she couldn’t sense any magic from him, it seemed as if fear was a universal between worlds. She slowly nodded. “Very well,” she said, “come on in. All of you.” She directed the last words to everycreature, but was glaring daggers at Chrysalis, who seemed too weak to retort. Turning to the Crystal Guards on the walls, she called out, “Open the gates and let them in!”

As the massive crystalline gates opened and the group of former prisoners walked in while the eagles flew up, looking for a place to roost presumably, Cadance let out a deep sigh. What had she gotten herself and potentially her kingdom involved with?

Majesty’s eyes fluttered open as she returned to consciousness. Her head was foggy from the effort of teleporting Gregory’s vehicle to the castle. Her first impression of returning to consciousness was a sweet smell. Then she heard what sounded like panicked muffled voices behind her door. She tried to move, but found that she was incredibly weak at the moment.

“Your majesty, don’t move,” a feminine voice, her personal doctor, said as a lithess female named Bella Keeneye came into view. “You were gassed.”

That caught Majesty’s attention. “…Gassed…?” she croaked out. “What-?” She fell into a coughing fit.

Bella helped Majesty sit up, then helped her drink a tall clay mug of cool water. “Easy now,” the lithess said, “drink slowly. That knockout gas can cause dry mouth and throat.”

“What…happened…?” Majesty asked after she finished the first mug, her throat still feeling parched.

Bella filled the mug with more water and began helping Majesty drink some more. “A lot’s happened while you were recovering, your majesty,” she said, “but first you should-”

Majesty pushed the mug away, spilling some onto her personal sheets, the same ones that her deceased husband had made for her. “Tell me what happened,” she ordered.

Majesty regretted even asking. The escape of the Great Eagles was a major issue, but what caught her completely off guard was that Gregory and Dengal had escaped with them, and they had taken Gregory’s vehicle with them. She sat in stunned silence as Bella told her what they knew and about how the eagles had destroyed a decent portion of the residential wing, presumably as retaliation for being held for so long.

“Your majesty?” Majesty was slowly becoming aware of Bella’s concerned tone as she finished processing what she’d just learned about Gregory’s escape. “Are you alright?”

Majesty looked over at Bella. “Huh? Oh!” She shook her head quickly. “Sorry. Guess I’m still trying to wake up. Is the damage that bad?”

“Some of the unicorns and a couple other lithess are working to repair the damage,” Bella replied, “and plenty of ponies from Sanctuary are letting some displaced nox stay with them until their rooms are repaired. The attack seemed to be directed only at the castle.”

“At least they didn’t attack any of the other buildings,” Majesty said. She tested her magic and found that she had her telekinesis back in control. “Bella, I’ll be alright to pour my own water.”

“You should still rest for at least another day,” Bella said. “I’ll keep you informed on what’s happening.”

“Spyke can do that,” Majesty said. “Where is he?”

“He’s been helping the rebuilding process,” Bella said.

“Where was he during the escape?” Majesty asked.

“He was searching in the other caves for signs of intruder’s escape,” Bella explained, “and by the time he came back the eagles and the guests were gone. He’s been running himself ragged, trying to fix everything.”

Majesty felt bad for Spyke. He tended to take failure very hard, especially since he blamed himself for Majesty being captured and tortured by the demon horde at the end of the Tartarus War. She never blamed him, especially since he, too, had been captured and tormented when he was just a young dragon, barely an adult and having hatched his wings during the war. “I’d like to be alone for a while to think about this,” Majesty said.

“Of course, your majesty,” Bella said, putting the clay pitcher and mug on one of her end tables. “If you need me, I’ll be by your side.”

“Thank you,” Majesty said as she watched her personal doctor leave. She slowly turned away from the door, looking down at the ancient bedsheets. The ones she had recovered from Dream Castle and restored after her ascension. After she…

Memories of what happened on the last day of her captivity among the demons flooded into her mind. She heard the screams of agony, none of them her own. The screams that were not her own. She heard the angry words she spoke as she flew over her captors, their screams cut off as they-

She dropped the mug she was bringing over. It fell and shattered, spilling the contents onto the floor. Grabbing a pillow, she buried her face into it and screamed loudly, wailing as she remembered everything she did once more. She kept on apologizing, shouting “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” over and over again.

Then she thought about Gregory. She thought about how he had been mistreated by modern day ponies, and despite her offering him protection he had escaped. Her sorrow increased and she wailed. More guilt and shame filled her as she wept for the next two solid hours.

When she couldn’t cry anymore and when her eyes were burning, she slowly reconstituted the clay mug, poured herself a cup, and swallowed in one gulp. Then, she lay back down, hoping to get some rest like Bella wanted. She had work to do. She had so, so much work to do…so, so much…

She fell asleep quickly.