All's Fair in Love and War 3: The Quest for Immortality

Chapters

Chapter 1: First Strike
Chapter 2: Disturbing Revelation
Chapter 3: Dark Dealings
Chapter 4: Questions and More Questions
Chapter 5: Research and Development
Chapter 6: A Tempestuous Decison
Chapter 7: Intertwined Lovers
Chapter 8: A Plan in Motion
Chapter 9: Onward and Outward
Chapter 10: On the Road Again
Chapter 11: Campfire Stories
Chapter 12: Familial Bonds
Chapter 13: Trials of Travel
Chapter 14: Operation Checkup
Chapter 15: Maybe You're Not So Bad After All...

Chapter 1: First Strike

As the soft wind breezed past the airship hovering just above the clouds, glistening rays of yellow and white light spilling all over the hull, Anon walked, his hands clasped behind his back. Dressed in his military garb, he surveyed the fleet of airships all around his flagship, their cannons prepping for the coming battle. A feeling of pride welled in his chest as he observed the air force he'd help create over the past year, the sight of military might bringing a tear to his American eyes.

As he walked toward the bow of the airship, he passed several familiar faces and some new. A butterscotch stallion quickly dropped his task of loading a cannon to salute him while he walked past. He quickly returned the gesture, still finding the feeling to be a bit odd, considering his utter lack of former military background. All the same, he pressed on, giving a slight nod to Valorant as she passed him, receiving one in exchange. A quick glance up revealed two familiar bat ponies gliding in place in the headwind, their eyes covered by a pair of heavily tinted goggles.

"Dusk, Echo, you two enjoying the ride?" Anon asked, smirking at the slightly silly sight of ponies with big, bug-eyed goggles on their heads.

"Just enjoying the atmosphere." Dusk replied.

"You don't get winds this strong in Canterlot, I'll tell you that." Echo whooped.

Anon snickered at the pair before returning his attention to the deck before him. Another pair of ponies were rolling a cannon over to the stern of the ship, both politely greeting him as they passed by. With his way clear, Anon moved ahead, making his way toward the bow of the ship with a slight pep in his step. He was expected, after all.

Soon enough, he found himself reaching his destination, and immediately found his eyes pulled to the three large equines waiting for him there. First to catch his eye, no doubt due to the brilliant gold that coated her armor and reflected her sun so blindingly, was Celestia. Armored from neck to hoof, her suit of armor covered her alluring body in solid gold nearly an inch thick. It was so heavy that the wooden deck was indented all over from her horseshoes digging into the softer material. Her helm laid on the table before her, the spartan-esque design giving her a look that was both strikingly fearsome, and beautiful.

Beside her, adorned in a similar set of ordained armor of silver, was none other than Luna. Her midnight blue coat could be seen in the small gaps in the joints of her armor. While Celestia's suit was thick and durable as all Tartarus, hers was designed to be much sleeker and agile, allowing many more gaps for flexibility and quick movements. She also weighed considerably less, leaving many ponies surprised when she walked up beside them. She was sharpening her sword while the last of the trio of equines turned toward the approaching human, a smile forming on her face.

Chrysalis's black coat was noticeably subdued compared to the two alicorns beside her, but her hybrid armor of greens and blacks did an excellent job of making her stand out above the crowd of ponies on the ship. Her armor was unlike anything he'd ever seen, having both hardened chitin covering her belly and neck, along with chitin-coated steel greaves covering her legs, and soft chitin for her joints. It was both practical, durable, and flexible, though being made primarily of organic material, it wasn't quite as strong as Luna's silver or Celestia's gold.

"Ladies." Anon greeted, stepping up to the table the three were stationed around.

"Honey, you look absolutely dapper in that uniform." Celestia replied, glancing over to him with a smile.

"I concur." Luna nodded.

"I think it could use a little green... but otherwise, I agree." Chrysalis offered.

Anon chuckled, glancing down to his outfit. The design was inspired by his vague recollection of military uniforms from back home on earth, combined with the new designs he'd seen for the Canterlot guard in Equestria. His pants were a deep navy blue, with a single stripe of gold running down either side, while his coat was pitch black, adorned with a few sets of medals and another golden strip running around each sleeve.

"Well when I finally earn the medals, I guess I'll like it more." Anon shrugged.

"We've been over this, Nonny. What troops would be inspired by a leader who doesn't have anything on their uniform?" Celestia chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. Raven explained it at least a few dozen times to me... so, anyways, are you all ready?" He asked.

"Ready to get back into the fray? No, never. Ready to put an end to a threat preemptively for once in our lives? Absolutely." Luna nodded, levitating her silver helm onto her head with her magic.

"According to my infiltrators, his armada should be passing through the mountain range below us within the hour. Good call on the cloud cover, Tia. They'll never see this coming." Chrysalis smirked, looking over the edge of the railing to the thick cloud cover below.

"I loathe violence... but after Tirek, it's become clear that we can't just wait for threats to arrive on our doorstep and hope Twilight and her friends can handle things. We almost lost everything because of my leadership last time..." Celestia sighed, her head hanging slightly.

It was immediately obvious as to exactly what she was referring to, as all three pairs of eyes traversed over to Anon's mechanical hand, poking through his sleeve. The mechanisms that made up his digits and appendage were covered by a black glove, but Anon reflexively clasped his hand into a fist as he looked down at his own amputated limb; a sobering reminder of just how close he'd come to death barely a year ago.

"It's nothing I haven't come to terms with. Besides, I'm not the one going into the fight here, all of you are. Are you all sure you're okay? I know you two aren't pregnant anymore," Anon replied, gesturing to Celestia and Luna. He quickly turned to Chrysalis, "-but you still haven't laid our eggs yet and... I dunno, is that a bad thing?" He hesitantly asked.

Chryaslis chuckled, "Oh, Nonny. They're perfectly fine. It takes a week for the eggs to gestate enough for me to lay them. Don't worry, it's never slowed me down before. Besides, I have two alicorns at my side." She dismissed.

"Damn right." Luna grinned.

"Oh, Luna... not you too. First Sergeant Javelin and now you... next thing you know, I'm going to start using human words that make no sense..." Celestia playfully rolled her eyes.

"I mean... some of his words are pretty fun." Chrysalis relented.

"Like 'fuck'. That's a fun one to say." Luna giggled.

"God, I'm so proud of you. One day I'll have all of Equestria swearing with normal words." Anon beamed, wiping the beginnings of a tear from his eye.

"Shit is still my favorite." Javelin chimed in, walking up the same steps Anon had previously traversed with Valorant at his side.

"Ah, there he is." Anon smiled, tussling Javelin's mane.

"Sergeant, Captain, glad you could make it." Celestia nodded to the pair of royal guards.

"Well you weren't gonna launch the largest and first Equestrian offensive without me, Princess. No way, no how." Valorant smirked.

"Very good. We're all aware of the plan, yes?" Luna questioned, nodding down the map secured to the table before them with multiple knives.

"Crystal." Valorant nodded.

"We've only gone over it seven times. At this point I could do this mission in my sleep." Javelin snarked.

A small chorus of chuckles ran through the group before the tell-tale sound of thunder could be heard off in the distance. All the mirth and humor in the air suddenly vanished, and a serious look appeared in the eyes of all present.

"That's the signal." Celestia announced, grabbing her helm with her magic.

"Let's be swift. If we finish this within the next few hours, we'll have ample time to make it back to put the twins to bed tonight." Luna acknowledged, unsheathing her sword from the scabbard mounted on her back.

"Oh, I do so love how fussy little Artemis gets when you try to tuck him in." Chrysalis giggled.

"He is just the worst at bedtime." Luna chuckled alongside her.

As Luna and Chrysalis headed down the steps with Javelin and Valorant, Anon glanced over to Celestia, finding her hesitating for just the briefest moment. Just as she stepped away, he turned to her, gaining her attention and making her pause.

"Something on your mind, Honey?" Celestia asked, tilting her head to the side.

Perhaps it was the lighting of in that gorgeous skyline, or maybe the sheen of her intricately detailed, golden armor, but for the briefest moment, the equine before him appeared to Anon as the most beautiful warrior angel in history. Her flowing mane of colors gently blew in the wind, reminding him that time was indeed still passing, and she was starting to get concerned from his lack of a response.

Quickly clearing his throat and coughing into his fist, Anon shook his head, "Sorry, it's just... you look really good in that armor. You and Luna... and Chrissy... all of you, honestly." He admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

Celestia chuckled at his admission, stepping toward him and placing a dainty little kiss on his unsuspecting lips. The contact, brief and gentle as it may have been, conveyed so much love and devotion, that he found himself utterly swept away by it. It was only as she pulled away and he saw her lips moving, that he knew she was even speaking again.

"-to recall you saying that you wanted to keep Luna and I pregnant for the rest of our lives, just popping out foals for you every year like a couple of broodmares. Unfortunately, this armor won't quite fit if we're to be laden with your foals for decades to come." Celestia chuckled.

A small blush wormed its way onto Anon's cheeks as he recalled the rather intimate nights spent with the mare before him, and his ever-evolving catalogue of dirty talk with which they enjoyed. Still, he found himself oddly fixated on the last few words from Celestia's mouth. It was a small thing, nagging at the corner of his mind, though he quickly shook his head of the idle beginnings of a thought and refocused on what he wanted to say.

"Yeah, that's true... but can I be serious with you for a sec?" Anon asked, gently.

Immediately sensing the shift in mood from her husband, Celestia's face morphed into one of concern, and she leaned in close while wrapping a wing around Anon's back.

"Of course, Sweetie. What's wrong?" She asked.

"Just... I know this is just me being silly, but I just want you guys to be careful... I know you're immortal and armored to the gills, but after everything that happened with Tirek last year, I just... I worry, I guess." Anon admitted, his gaze falling to the deck below.

The feeling of cold gold registered on Anon's jaw as Celestia cupped his chin, raising his gaze to meet hers, "Anon, honey... we'll be fine. We're all together, we've got Twilight on standby, and we have everything planned out. Nothing will happen to any of us, I promise you. We'll all be home, tucking Artemis and Dawn into bed by this evening, you have my word."

With an assurance like that, given from what could only be described as a warrior goddess given equine form before him, Anon nodded.

"Alright... I guess I'll be here when you guys come back. Truth be told, I'm just jealous I don't get to go in and kick some ass with you all." He replied, smiling weakly.

Celestia giggled behind her wing, "Oh, honey. You've already proven you are more than capable in combat. You're our hero, too. Please don't ever forget that." She offered, sincerely.

Anon nodded, "Yeah, yeah... go out there and kick some ass, Celly."

"Count on it." Celestia winked, before trotting down the steps towards Luna and Chrysalis.

Anon watched them go, his brow furrowing slightly as he turned around and walked back over to the railing. He could see the dark storm clouds following the airships below as dark blobs, even through the cloud cover they were hiding over. He let out a small sigh, "I hope this is as easy as they all think it's going to be..."

Black smoke and fog bellowed from the roaring engines of the Storm King's flagship. Burly, white-furred yetis trudged back and forth, performing their routine tasks or preparing for their respective shift changes. As the helm of the airship, sat a pudgy little hedgehog with gray fur and a white mane. His big blue eyes were focused on the cupcake he was currently devouring, completely oblivious to the presence of the swiftly arriving equine before him.

"Grubber, report." Her voice, cold and calculated as ever, spoke with the kind of authority of an iron leader.

"Gah!" Grubber shrieked, throwing his cupcake into the air and nearly falling overboard, himself, "T-t-Tempest! Uh, things are good! Yeah, everything is fine!" He quickly replied, giving a hasty and very sloppy salute.

"Get off of the deck and get back to your post. If you can't keep your eyes off of a sweet for more than five seconds, then you have no business being my helmsman... and you know what I do to useless crew." Tempest responded, taking a very threatening step toward the pudgy hedgehog as arcs of blue magic fizzled from her broken horn.

"Alright, alright! Sheesh..." Grubber replied, holding his paws up in surrender as he glanced over the side of the ship.

"Good. Now, give me a proper report." Tempest instructed, standing back up to her full height.

"E-everything is fine! We're about a hundred miles from the capital and we haven't so much as seen a single guard outpost. The smoke cover has been keeping us out of sight and all the guys are ready to steamroll some puny ponies." Grubber hastily reported.

Tempest nodded, though her brow furrowed ever so slightly, "Hmm...That's good... almost too good..." She muttered, quickly taking to slowly pacing the deck.

Her steely turquoise gaze lingered on the clouds above, the grays and whites all but blocking out the sunlight from filtering down on them. Her brow furrowed even more as she slowly came to a realization and glanced over to Grubber.

"Grubber... why is it overcast?" She asked.

"Uh, I dunno... clouds just kinda... do that sometimes?" Grubber unhelpfully responded.

"The weather report we received dictated clear skies until the friendship festival in Canterlot at the end of the week..." She muttered, before quickly whirrling around and galloping over to the helm, "All hands! Battlestations!!!" She cried, pulling the cord on the ship horn.

The blaring fog horn sounded so loud that Grubber had to cover his ears, lest he be utterly deafened. The plethora of storm soldiers both below deck and meandering about on deck, quickly rushed to their stations, just in time for a piercing white light to shine through the fog above them. All eyes on her small fleet of airships darted skyward, finding that the fog was displaced in a matter of seconds, and hovering just a few hundred feat above them, were no less than five hundred pegasi, and almost three dozen airships.

"Open fire!" Tempest cried, her troops rushing to meet her demands.

Even through the distance and rush of her soldiers hastily moving to their positions and arming their cannons, Tempest could hear the fearsome battle cry of the solar alicorn hovering overhead, her army at her flanks.

"Charge!" She cried, her entire army of pegasi darting toward the flagship at blistering speed.

There was no way to prepare, no way to shoot the charging army down, and like meteors raining down upon her ship, the pegasi attacked. A flurry of wings swooped in, lashing out with elongated blades affixed to their primaries, or hurling spears with their hooves as they passed. Nearly a dozen of her soldiers fell within seconds, and dozens more were swiftly injured or dispatched only moments later. The attack was so quick and so aggressive, that she didn't even have time to notice the solar alicorn landing on her deck amidst having to dodge the whirlwind of attacks.

Charging her horn as quickly as she could, Tempest fired a blast of electricity that instantly zapped the nearest pegasi out of the air before chaining to the next closest pony and repeating the painful process. In one blast, she managed to down eleven pegasi, but her victory was perilously short lived as she glanced over to the solar princess, finding her horn glowing white hot for just a moment, before over two dozen earth ponies and unicorns appeared behind her.

Seeing one of the rulers of Equestria so closely and adorned in the kind of armor that appeared so thick and heavy, that she could take a cannon blast straight on and probably walk away with barely a dent, made Tempest gulp. For the first time in a long time, she felt a small rush of fear, but she quickly pushed those thoughts aside as the realization that one of her main targets was idly standing just in front of her, her attention elsewhere as her small boarding party dispersed and descended downstairs. Tempest quickly reached back and grabbed a black orb of unstable energy from her belt. With such a perfect shot, she was sure to hit her target.

With dramatically less flare than she would usually put into her attack, given the situation, Tempest lobbed the chaotic orb at the solar diarch, fully intent on taking her down without so much as a fight. However, just as the orb closed in on her, a small portal opened the orb simply sailed on through. Her brow furrowing in disbelief and shock, Tempest quickly gasped as she realized exactly what had happened. Using all the strength and agility she could muster, she instantly dove to the side, narrowly dodging the same orb as another portal opened up just behind her. Said orb sailed just past him and smashed into Grubber, turning him into stone in moments. The poor hedgehog couldn't even react fast enough to look scared by the sudden petrification.

"I'd heard you were good. Glad to see you aren't gonna be a cakewalk." A cocky, feminine voice called out to her, making Tempest quickly push herself to her hooves and face her assailant.

A royal guard, Captain of the guard, no less- judging by her helm and the plume of golden hair shining in the sunlight- approached, a confident smirk on her muzzle. Tempest grit her teeth as the guard approached, cutting of her access to Celestia while the sounds of fighting and conflict could be heard emanating from the deck below.

"Step aside. Now." Tempest ordered, her voice as low and threatening as she could make it.

"Not gonna happen. You want her highness? You're gonna have to get through me. The name's Valorant, by the way. Just in case you want to know who beat your sorry flank today." The Captain replied, glaring at her with deep violet eyes.

Tempest matched the glare with one of her own as her horn crackled to life with malicious intent. Valorant matched her spell with one of her own, her horn glowing red hot. Tempest was the first to act, leaping forward while blasting an arc of arcane energy at the deck. The attack forced Valorant to jump to avoid being shocked, but Tempest was already somersaulting through the air, bringing down a spinning hind-leg kick that would smash her head to into the wood below.

Valorant deftly twisted her head to the side, only narrowly avoiding the impact of an armored horseshoe. As Tempest landed beside her, she tried to fire off the energy pulse she'd been charging, but a quick sweep to the legs from the Storm Commander knocked her off her legs and to the deck below. Her horn discharged the energy harmlessly into the sky as she hit the deck. She barely had time to roll over and avoid Tempest's hooves slamming down on her skull once more. She quickly shot out a hindleg, catching the broken unicorn's flank and creating enough space for her to roll back to her hooves.

Valorant quickly stood upright, her horn glowing with a fresh energy pulse spell, but Tempest was simply too fast, leaping forward so quickly that she caught her by surprise and tackled the guard Captain to the ground. Now atop of her opponent, Tempest's horn crackled with energy, preparing to end the fight once and for all, but she was swiftly usurped from her makeshift throne as Valorant released the spell charged up in her horn, knocking Tempest off of her.

"You know, for a unicorn with no horn... you're not half bad." Valorant remarked, pushing herself back to her hooves.

Not even bothering to reply, Tempest rolled back to her hooves and darted forward again. However, her attack was swifty put to an end as an alicorn of midnight blue landed in front of her, her sword still dripping with blood. Tempest's hooves screeched to a halt as she came face to face with the lunar diarch. The silver armor she wore was splattered with a measure of crimson that she could only assume had come from her soldiers on one of the neighboring ships.

With her secret weapon no longer a secret, and very much easily countered by the unicorn captain before her, she had little choice but to retreat, or so she thought. Just as Tempest turned around, the imposing frame of Queen Chrysalis landed on the deck behind her, her own armor also drenched with a measure of blood and gore that made her slightly queasy. The Changeling Queen looked down at her with a cold glare that dared her to even attempt an attack.

Her options running out quicker than she cared to admit, Tempest turned back to Luna, her eyes widening in despair as she saw the solar princess walking up alongside her sister. Much like the other two empowered beings around her, the sun goddess was covered in a measure of blood, though considerably less than her sister and wife. However, the contrast of sickly red on her golden armor and snow white coat was just that much more noticeable in the sunlight, sending a chill down Tempest's spine.

"Kept her busy for you." Valorant acknowledged, nodding to her solar princess.

"Indeed you did. Excellent work, by the way, Captain." Celestia nodded, before levitating her helm off of her head and fixing the Storm Commander with a stern frown.

A tense moment of silence passed, with only the whisper of the air to fill the void of silence on the airship. Without the fight immediately before her to hold her attention, Tempest quickly noticed the entire army of pegasi hovering around her, crossbows aimed and at the ready. She idly entertained the thought of jumping from the deck to spare herself the embarrassment and potential pain of capture, though after one look back at the Changeling Queen's piercing gaze, she thought better of it.

"Well... buck." Tempest muttered under her breath.

"Commander Tempest. You've been beaten. Surrender peacefully, and I swear no more harm will come to you or what's left of your invasion force." Celestia suddenly announced.

Another tense moment of silence passed them by, and every guard tightened their grips on their weapons, all anticipating some kind of attack or last stand from the imposing unicorn before them. That fight, never came thankfully, and she simply sank to her haunches, her head hanging low.

"Very well... I know when there simply isn't a winning move anymore... I yield." Tempest replied.

Author's Note

Now isn't that an entrance? This is going to be quite the story and there's just so much to cover. I hope I've caught your attention because there is so much more to come and it's going to be a blast!

If you want early access to the chapters before I post them here, please consider supporting me on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4398966

Chapter 2: Disturbing Revelation

Two Weeks Later

"Happy birthday!" A chorus of voices cheered from all around the long dining table.

The two foals, both unable to understand what was going on around them, simply squealed and waved their forelegs in excitement as the positive energy of the room washed over them. Luna held Artemies in her forelegs, while Celestia held Dawn in her wing. Between the two of them, Anon held a cake with two candles on it. As the twins had no idea that they were supposed to blow out the candles, Anon simply held the cake in front of Chrysalis, prompting her to blow the candles out instead.

Another round of applause and cheers ran through the gathered ponies, most of them pausing only to take bites out of their own cake or finish was was left of their dinners. As the merriment and happiness continued down the table, Anon set the cake down and took his seat between his wives.

"Oh, I can't believe they're both already two!" Twilight gushed from her seat on the other side of Celestia, "Who's a cute filly? Who's gonna have the best aunt in the whole wide world?" She baby-talked, booping Dawn's little muzzle with her own.

"Both Dawn and Artemis are going to be lucky to have you as their aunt, Twilight. I don't suppose that means you'll be offering to foalsit them every now and again, does it?" Celestia teased.

"Good luck with that. Artemis can be quite fussy when he wants to be." Luna added, trying to spoon-feed the little alicorn foal in question.

Despite her best efforts, Artemis turned his muzzle up at the food, his little forelegs working overtime to crawl out of her embrace and toward his father.

"I gotcha, bud." Anon chuckled, leaning down and plucking the foal out of Luna's grasp.

"I swear, he likes you more than any of us." Luna rolled her eyes as she relinquished her hold on the small alicorn.

"Eh, it's just cause we dudes get each other. Isn't that right? Who's my little buddy?" Anon replied, booping his nose against Artermis's muzzle, much like Twilight.

A happy squee left the foal, prompting a round of 'aww's from the ponies close enough to see and hear it.

"You know, I never knew just how much love a little foal puts off. At least, not one that's so close to me, personally. I had my suspicions, but these two are going to make me fat with how much they put off." Chrysalis chuckled, leaning over slightly as Dawn reached at her mane.

"Dawn is awfully fond of you. Here, why don't you hold her for a moment." Celestia snickered, levitating Dawn into Chrysalis's waiting forelegs.

Dawn immediately pawed at the strands of blue hair cascading down Chrysalis's neck with her hooves, making both the Changeling Queen, and the solar princess laugh.

"Out of curiosity, when are your eggs due? You all should have about another dozen little rascals running around any day now, right?" Javelin inquired, leaning over from his seat just a couple seats away from Luna.

"They should be hatching in a few week's time, perhaps a month at most. I only laid them a couple of days ago. With how much love is in the air, however, it wouldn't surprise me if they hatched much sooner." Chrysalis replied.

Javelin nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer. Idle conversation quickly took over the table, all the guests happy to enjoy what was left of their food and bask in the mirth filling the atmosphere. Eventually, many of the guests left, leaving the party to only the immediate family members of the royal herd and their close friends.

With all the energy and vigor of youth, it wasn't long before Artemis and Dawn took to playing with each other, prompting Celestia to move the celebration to the small private garden reserved for royalty on the fifth floor of the castle. The last of the guests bid their farewells along the way, leaving the party to just Celestia, Luna, Anon, Chrysalis, Twilight, Javelin, and Raven. They all took their seats on the benches outside while the two foals played a game of tag with each other, supervised by the watchful eyes of their mothers.

"You know, they're getting really good with their wings already. Give it another few months and little Artemis will be flying on his own." Raven commented, noting how the little colt's wings fluttered with every few steps he took.

"I do believe his pegasi instincts are a bit stronger than his unicorn or earth pony instincts. It does make a measure of sense, as I've always loved to fly ever since I ascended and earned my wings. I cannot wait to share the sky with my colt." Luna replied, smiling fondly as she watched her son catch a small bit of air for just a second, before landing on the ground again to rush after his sister.

"Dawn is certainly more in tune with her magic than her wings. She's already casting the most basic of levitation spells. She still has issues controlling it, but I wouldn't be surprised if she rivaled you in just a few more years, Twilight." Celestia teased, nudging her younger alicorn counterpart with her wing.

Twilight laughed, "Well, if you ever need a magic tutor, feel free to call me. Aunt Twilight would love to teach what she knows." She beamed, puffing her chest out some.

"Maybe you could teach Ivory as well. Faust knows she's been trying to use her horn for the past few months." Raven chuckled.

"I do wish you would have brought her. I can't wait for Dawn and Artemis to meet her. I think they'll become friends at first sight." Celestia smiled.

The group collectively nodded while Artemis finally tagged Dawn, prompting her to chase after him. The little colt quickly used the enviornment to his advantage, zooming in and out of bushes, dodging behind plants that were just a bit bigger than he was, and even darting between the hooves of his parents. However, just as he tried to dart through Anon's legs, he felt his momentum halted, and two hands- one warm and one noticeably cooler- pluck him off of the ground.

"Gotcha." Anon replied, smiling down at his son.

Artemis struggled to free himself from his father's grasp, but found that his little wings were no match against the human's strength, and his forelegs simply flailed uselessly in the air. Eventually, he gave up and blew a raspberry at Anon. A chorus of laughter ran through the group while Anon got to his feet.

"Alright, so you might be able to outrun your sister, but I bet I can catch the both of you." He smirked, placing Artemis down beside Dawn.

The pair of foals knew exactly what was coming as Anon raised his hands up high like some kind of monster, and comically ran toward them.

"Raugughgh!" He exclaimed, earning a pair of giggles from the colt and filly.

They both squealed in excitement as a third player entered their little game, amplifying the fun even more since he towered over them. Soon enough, the twins were dashing, darting, zipping, and zooming all throughout the garden, trying their absolute best to escape the 'monster' chasing them. Despite their best efforts, Anon still only had to lightly jog to keep up with either of them, but he made sure to look like he was trying his best.

The sight of a father bonding with his children brought a warm smile to the faces of all three alicorns and Changeling Queen.

"I knew he'd be a great father." Celestia held a hoof over her heart, the sight making her fall in love all over again.

"There really is just something about a stallion that's good with foals." Chrysalis acknowledged.

"You know, it's really interesting to watch him be such a good dad when just a year ago I was ready to geld him." Twilight admitted.

Javelin laughed out loud, "Oh Faust, you were gonna kill him after a month of Day Court with him."

Raven shook her head, "Don't remind me..."

"Oh, it wasn't that bad, Twilight. Besides, you both have grown immensely since then." Luna dismissed, wrapping a wing around Twilight.

Chrysalis chuckled as she looked over the two shorter alicorns to watch Anon continue to play with the foals, "Changeling grubs don't grow up the same as pony foals, but I do hope that he'll enjoy raising them as much as your foals."

"Oh, Chrissy, we'll all love them just as our own, Anon included." Celestia replied.

Luna gave Chrysalis a curious look, "Are they really that different to pony foals? Do you not play with and nurture them?" She asked, genuinely.

Chrysalis shook her head, "It really has been nothing but preparing them for a life of starvation and hiding for centuries... though, as that's no longer necessary, I think this batch will be raised differently. I would like to give them the kind of youth that ponies have."

Celestia leaned over, placing a hoof atop of Chrysalis's. The gentle contact brought a small smile to the changeling Queen's face as she looked into Celestia's soft magenta eyes.

"We'll ensure their foalhoods are the best they can possibly be."

"Those are the most important years, after all." Luna added.

"Faust, do you remember ours, Luna?" Celestia replied, leaning back and fixing her younger sister with an amused look.

"Oh my, that was what? Over a thousand years ago now, wasn't it?" Luna chuckled.

"I remember Starswirl calling us foals well into our first two hundred years." Celestia giggled.

The royals sisters shared a laugh at the humorous memory, prompting the rest of the ponies and changeling around them to laugh as well.

"What, did you two age super slowly?" Javelin snickered.

"For every one normal pony year, an alicorn takes ten to develop as much." Chrysalis teased.

"Wait, is that true? You never told me anything like that?" Twilight inquired, tilting her head to the side.

Celestia and Luna shook their heads, "No, no, Twilight. We aged normally. Starswirl just lost his patience with us from time to time." Celestia explained.

"I was quite aloof back then. Just like little Artemis is now." Luna reminisced, looking back over to her son and husband.

"It really does make you think... before you know it, they'll be a hundred years old as well, and Anon will still have... to..." Celestia trailed off, her brow furrowing as she realized a rather obvious, yet horrible fact.

Almost immediately, Luna's eyes widened in realization as well, prompting her to whip her head back around to look into her sister's eyes, the unspoken question between them making everyone else tilt their heads to the side in confusion; everyone, except for Chrysalis.

"You know he won't live that long..." Chrysalis stated, an almost defeated tone in her voice.

"I... we... he won't..." Celestia muttered, her gaze falling to the floor.

Seeing the clear souring of her former mentor's mood, Twilight placed a comforting hoof on her wither, "Well... you've known since the beginning that Anon isn't immortal... surely the time spent with him while he's here is more important than... that day." She offered.

"That is just the problem, Twilight..." Luna replied, her head hanging low.

"What do you mean?" Raven pressed.

A small breeze wisped through the air around them, though even the cool air felt like little more than a hollow gesture in the wake of a sudden and gut-wrenching realization.

"I-we've always known... that was why we swore off a relationship with any kind of mortals." Luna admitted.

"We lost so many lovers over the years, and each one of them holds a special place in our hearts." Celestia added.

"-but Anon is different. No other lover has ever been able to give us that which we now have... motherhood." Luna frowned.

"I recall hearing about your past lovers. I'm not sure how you managed to love as many different ponies as you have over the centuries." Javelin acknowledged.

"We... we just... kept burying the feelings deeper and deeper as the years passed by. So many ponies whom I haven't thought of in centuries... and in a hundred years time, Anon will be just another face in our memories." Luna somberly stated, her eyes fixed firmly on the floor in front of her.

"We never even considered it when we were pregnant... we were just so happy to be carrying a life inside each of us that the though simply... didn't register." Celestia shook her head.

"You fell for him, content with the knowledge that even though you would outlive him, you would look back on the time spent with him with love... but then the impossible happened." Twilight surmised, her brow knitting in thought.

Both royal sisters nodded, "I don't... I think I'm going to be sick." Luna muttered, swallowing back bile.

"We've already almost lost him once... twice if you count our farce that almost made him leave us on his own accord... after Tirek, I didn't want to even think of the possibility of losing him again... but it seems that the real foe is time itself... how can we possibly fight against that?" Celestia muttered, slowly shaking her head.

Unbeknownst to the solar and lunar alicorn, the man they spoke of was walking up behind them, one sleepy foal held in either arm as he approached. He gave a happy smile and nod to Javelin as he rounded the bench, only to purse his lips and tilt his head to the side as he noticed the hung heads and sad expressions on his wives' faces.

"Uh, what happened here? I finally tuckered these two out and was about to go put them to bed but now everyone looks sad and miserable." Anon observed, his lips pursed in discernment.

For a few moments, there wasn't a response, prompting an even more concerned look to appear on Anon's face. However, before he could voice his concerns any more, Chrysalis met his gaze.

"We've just... come to a rather depressing realization and the mood is hitting all of us rather hard." She explained.

"Well, not us so much. We weren't gonna make a hundred years either, but it does suck." Javelin shrugged, prompting a smack to the back of his head from his wife, "Ouch! Kidding! Sorta..."

Anon tilted his head to the side, "What... are you guys talking about right now?"

"It's... probably best if I explain it," Twilight suggested, "I might be able to put it into words a bit easier."

Celestia and Luna both mutely nodded.

"Okay, this is kinda freaking me out now. Did someone die or something? You guys were super happy a few minutes ago and now everyone looks depressed." Anon noted.

"Well... nopony has died... yet." Javelin offered, prompting yet another smack to the back of his head.

Twilight gave the stallion a deadpan look before rolling her eyes and looking back over to Anon, "What Javelin is trying to say, is that we've all just remembered your mortality... and the thought of losing you, having to raise your foals without you, is hurting Celestia and Luna pretty badly..."

Anon instantly looked at his wives, a worried frown forming on his face, "What? Celly, Lulu, I'm not going anywhere. I'm gonna make sure these kids are raised right, and I'm gonna be with all three of you until the end." He declared.

"Anon... you don't understand." Luna quietly stated, making him frown.

"What do you mean? What don't I understand?" Anon asked, gently.

"It's the fact that you're mortal, Anon... it's... well I suppose the knowledge has always been there but it just now hit us all and we're struggling to cope with it." Celestia clarified, sadly.

Anon slowly nodded, his brow furrowing as he heard the real reason for the sudden dip in everyone's moods around him.

"Ah, I see..." He said, looking down, much like both of his wives.

A sad silence filled the air for a few minutes as the party simply thought over the realization they'd stumbled across. However, just before the silence could become utterly unbearable, Chrysalis hopped off of her seat and got to her hooves.

"Well, there's nothing else for it then. We'd better get started looking for a solution." She decreed, snapping all eyes to her.

"You know as well as we do that Anon's body has no magical ability whatsoever, Chryssi. How are we supposed to solve this?" Luna questioned.

"We don't even know if Nonny wants to live forever." Celestia added, sapping the wind right out of Chrsyalis's sails.

"That's a great point, Anon-" Twilight began, turning to the aforementioned human, "-do you even want to live forever?"

All eyes moved back over to Anon, finding him still staring at the floor, his brow furrowed and his lips pursed in thought.

"I... don't know..." He admitted, "I've never really... thought about it. I mean... is it even possible?" He replied.

Twilight nodded, "While I'm not certain exactly how it would be possible, I do think that it's something within the realm of possibility. Celestia, Luna? Do you know of anything that could make it happen?"

Both alicorns shook their heads, "It's... regrettably not something that we are aware of. Our ascension to alicornhood was something that happened after we earned our cutie marks and took control of the sun and moon. Your ascension was only possible through a spell that only worked because you're a magical creature in the first place, Twilight." Celestia answered.

"Well isn't that it then?" Raven inquired, making them all look at her, "I mean, the bottleneck here is just Anon being a non-magical creature. If we found a way to imbue him with magic, then you could just perform a spell like that to give him an alicorn-esque lifespan." She explained.

"That... might work?" Chrysalis shrugged, looking to Celestia for confirmation.

Celestia slowly shook her head, "I... am not so sure. The spell is extremely intricate and relies heavily on the creature it's cast on, being able to handle the transformation into an alicorn... that's not even mentioning the fact that for it to work, specific circumstances must be met; circumstances that regrettably aren't something we can just bring into existence at will. I'm not certain what would happen if it were to be cast on Anon." She admitted.

"Would he grow hooves and wings, or something?" Javelin inquired.

"Possibly a horn too." Chrysalis suggested.

"It's much too dangerous to even consider," Celestia declared, firmly shaking her head, "if this is a path we're considering walking down, I won't even entertain the thought of something that could harm him in any way."

With that firm declaration made clear for the whole group to hear, Celestia turned and glanced at her husband. He gave her a soft smile, to which she gratefully reciprocated, before her gaze moved over to the sun just beginning to crest the horizon. With a sad sigh, she got to her hooves and walked over to Anon, taking the sleeping foals in her magic.

"It is time for sunset. Regrettably, you'll have to continue this evening without me. I'll put Artemis and Dawn to bed." She announced, nodding to her sister.

Quickly taking the hint, Luna followed after her. Together, the siblings walked over to the edge of the garden overlooking the countryside of Equestria. As they'd done thousands of times before, one lowered her respective celestial body, while the other raised hers. They moved in sync, their horns lighting up brightly as a stark contrast to the ever-darkening skyline before them. No sooner than it began, did the awe-inspiring sight end, and the two made their way inside with just the smallest of goodbyes. Celestia gently took Artemis and Dawn from Anon in her magic before heading inside, while Luna headed to the throne room.

Now left with an alicorn, Changeling Queen, and two unicorn friends, Anon found himself sitting on the bench as well, though, even that was short lived. With a rather long and sleepy yawn from the secretary pony beside him, Javelin spoke up.

"We should probably be heading home too. Gotta go relieve the foalsitter before she starts to wonder where we are." Javelin announced, chuckling upon noticing the sleepiness in Raven's eyes.

"Yeah, fair enough. You guys have a good night." Anon nodded, bidding them farewell.

Chrysalis and Twilight shared a quick goodbye with the couple before they left, leaving just the three of them. It didn't take long at all for Twilight to hop off the bench and start heading inside.

"I've had a wonderful time with everypony tonight, but I do need to do some digging... I can't be sure, but I think I may have a few ideas where to look, should you decide to pursue this, Anon. I'll talk to you in the morning. Goodnight, you two." She said, over her shoulder.

"Thanks, Twi. You have a good night, too." Anon nodded.

Now left with just his changeling lover, Anon found himself utterly unable to think of anything other than his fragile mortality. With his elbows on his knees and his head hung low, staring at the dark cobblestone tiles below, he almost didn't notice the foreleg wrap around his waist.

"You know, you can talk to me... right?" Chrysalis offered, gently.

"I know, hun... just... a lot to take in, you know?" He responded.

Chrysalis nodded, taking to gently stroking her hoof down Anon's back, "I can feel the turmoil in your heart right now... I felt it in everypony's... we've already almost lost you once... none of us wanted to even consider that you weren't immortal ever since." She quietly explained.

Anon snorted, "I was havin' such a good fuckin' day too... Hell of a bombshell to drop out of the blue like that." He shook his head.

"Nonny, don't let it ruin your day... even if it does come to be something you decide you want, we have decades to find some way to make it happen. It isn't something you should lose sleep over right now." Chrysalis comforted, nuzzling his cheek.

Anon absentmindedly reached up and cupped her other cheek, gently stroking his thumb against the soft black fur on her face. The texture reminded him of a puppy's coat, bringing a small sense of relief to his mind.

"You've got a good point..." He muttered, continuing to stroke his fingers through her fur.

"But?" Chrysalis pressed.

"That's just the thing... I'm not sure if it is something I want for myself." He admitted.

Chrysalis nodded in understanding, "I know... I can sense the turmoil in your heart. Immortality isn't something that most creatures are confronted with, let alone offered. You, however... have managed to earn the affections of three immortals, two of which have birthed your children, who also happen to be immortal."

Anon mirthlessly chuckled, "I never even thought about living forever... but fuck, I mean... how can I decide to make my own kids watch me die, knowing that there was a way that I could change that? Don't I have to find a way? Even if I'm not sure if my mind can even handle that? I mean... human's aren't exactly wired to live for thousands of years and retain our sanity. Living that long could turn me into a crazy monster like Discord."

Chrysalis sympathetically nuzzled Anon again, "It's a lot to think about, and certainly not something that you need to decide right now. I know it must sound strange to hear... especially from me, but for once, this choice is uniquely yours. Celestia, Luna, and even your foals can't understand your position no matter how hard they try. You've raised several valid points, but answers aren't coming tonight. Maybe it'd be best to just wait until Twilight comes back tomorrow and see what she's found? For all we know, it might not be possible at all and there simply isn't a point to worrying about it at in the first place." She offered.

Anon leaned into the nuzzle for a moment, his brow still furrowed in thought. Soon enough, the moon rose from its place on the horizon, and a flurry of stars appeared in the skyline, indicating that night had truly fallen. With a small sigh, he pulled away just enough to turn to face Chrysalis directly.

"Thanks, Chryssi. You're right... let's just get to bed for tonight." He suggested, planting a quick and loving kiss on her lips.

Chrysalis purred into the kiss, a smirk forming on her muzzle as Anon pulled away, "You know, if you'd like, I can ensure you forget all about your troubles for the night." She hinted, waggling her eyebrows.

Anon chuckled, "Hell, you don't have to ask me twice. Let's go."

Author's Note

Well ain't that a bitch. Luckily Anon has a good support network to help him through these troubling realizations. That said, you can never be too sure if Twilight's suddenly got a wild hair up her flank about something...

Chapter 3: Dark Dealings

The slow *drip* *drip* of water droplets falling from the ceiling and splashing onto the ground below echoed through the Canterlot dungeons. Cold air filled the halls, bringing a slight chill to the pair of burly pegasi guards as the walked their rounds, a lantern held in the magical aura of the only unicorn between them.

"I still say they should've focused on rebuilding The Rock underground before these dungeons. We could have her chained up down there if they'd done that. That'd make us all a lot safer." The unicorn muttered, shaking her head.

"They said it was more important to get this place up and running since most criminals are either not that bad, or go straight to Tartarus. Besides, they still want to question her. Two weeks of interrogation and she hasn't said a peep. Mare might be tougher than Captain Valorant." The other guard replied.

As they walked, the jingle of the keys on the earth pony guard's armor alerted a mouse nearby, making it scitter off before the duo could round the corner and see it. The darkness of the next hallway was illuminated in deep orange light by the lantern, casting long, eerie shadows that climbed the walls around them.

"I'm just saying, Swan and troop she has down there could've get a confession out of her in no time." The unicorn shrugged.

"It's too bad they're talking about not even rebuilding down there at all. It's a bit of a strain on resources, but mare, if you need somewhere to store criminals like this one, it's the best place short of Tartarus." The pegasus replied.

"They still think they can negotiate with her. I admire the prince and princess's optimism, but I do not share it."

They rounded yet another corner, coming to a hallway that ended abruptly just a few dozen paces away. There was a single cell at the end of the hall, its iron bars standing out against the cobblestone making up everything else in the dungeon.

"I'll just be glad once they're done with her and we can move her out of here. This place gives me the creeps." The earth pony shuddered.

The guards made their way down the last bit of hallway until arriving at the cell. As they stared inside, the unicorn lifted the lantern slightly, allowing more light to spill into the otherwise dark room before them. Piece by piece of the dark room revealed itself to them, starting with the simple metal sink just by the door. The glistening sheen of shiny metal reflected the orange light back at the guards, illuminating their snow white fur and cobalt blue manes in their golden armor. They saw a small tray of food laying on the floor, only half of its contents eaten from the last time they were down in this cell. Finally, as their eyes drew further up, they saw a mulberry coat, belonging to none other than Tempest Shadow.

The fearsome mare was curled up on her mattress, her back facing to the pair of guards. With her armor and black bodysuit removed, they could easily see a pair of three distinct scars running across her back, as if some monster had swiped at her and cleaved several chunks of flesh off. The sight made the pegasus guard somewhat queasy, but she shook the feeling off and tapped at the iron bar before her. The distinct sound of her iron horseshoe against more iron rang out in the dim and nearly silent dungeon. Even if Tempest was completely asleep when they arrived, there was no way she was now.

"Prisoner, you're being brought up to the interrogation room once more." The earth pony guard announced in her most stoic and authoritative voice.

No response. The pair of mares shared a brief but telling look as they felt an uncomfortable silence linger in the air. After nearly twenty seconds, the unicorn cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Prisoner. Get up. You're due for interrogation immediately." She announced, her voice significantly louder than her compatriot.

Again, no response for nearly ten seconds. However, just as the earth pony mare moved to speak again, they both saw movement. Albeit slowly and sluggishly, Tempest moved from her position on the bed. The briefest flash of turquoise glimpsed them as Tempest spared them barely a glance. A loud *clop* echoed through the otherwise silence cell as Tempest planted one hoof on the floor, then another, and another. She stepped off of her bed and into the lanternlight, a deep scowl seemingly permanently embedded into her features as she observed the two guards before her.

"Approach the door." The earth pony ordered.

Tempest complied without complaint, stepping up to the door and placing her hooves through the rectangular opening they usually slipped her meals in through. The clinking of chains could be heard as the unicorn guard levitated a set of shackles from her uniform and clamped them onto both of her hooves. As she slipped her forelegs back into her cell, the added weight of the metal chains added noticeable heft to her limbs, but she said nothing as her door was unlocked and opened.

"Step outside." The Earth pony ordered again.

Tempest complied and stepped between them. As the earth pony set about adding an additional set of shackled to her hindlegs, making it all but impossible for her to fight them or escape, it became incredibly obvious that she absolutely towered over either of these mares. The unicorn's horn just barely came up to her eyeline, while the earth pony's ears failed to even reach her jawline. All the same, Tempest found herself utterly at their mercy as her shackles were connected to each other, making it impossible for her to even take a decent stride without tripping over herself.

"Alright. Let's get you up to the interrogation chamber." The unicorn instructed, nodding in the direction of the way they'd approached.

So began the arduous task of shuffling the bonded prisoner back the way they'd came. The quiet dripping of the water droplets falling from the ceiling was now accompanied by the scraping, clanking sounds of metal chains rubbing against one another and the cobblestone floor. It took quite some time for the environment to change around them. The walk was long and the stairs were even more challenging for Tempest to navigate than the hallways, but even with her extremely reduced mobility, she pressed on. It was apparent to both guards that she was quite familiar with the route, having travelled the same path many times already.

Finally, they reached the level of the castle they were heading to, and after just a few more twists and turns, the guards opened the plain, seemingly harmless wooden door. Tempest braced herself for what was to come, her brow furrowing deeply as the door creaked and groaned from it's own weight and the rust slowly developing in its hinges.

"Step inside." The unicorn ordered.

Steeling herself for the inevitable, Tempest shuffled her way inside, the darkness of the room blinding her to whatever was awaiting her. The only light she could see spilled in from the lantern held outside by the unicorn guard, but that was quickly cut off as the door shut behind her, plunging her into complete darkness once more. She waited, patiently glancing back and forth in the darkness as the sound of hoofsteps grew louder and louder somewhere else in the room.

Then, suddenly, a violet light came to life across the room. Just beneath it, was a face she recognized from just a couple weeks prior. Before she could say anything, however, a series of candles suddenly illuminated in a straight row before her, illuminating a table and a completely unreasonable amount of delicious food. Every meal she could ever imagine was laid out before her, from daffodil sandwiches to tomato soup, and carrot dogs to hayburgers. A smorgasbord of sweets and desserts was built up on a cart just beside the table, along with a butler pony standing patiently beside the delicious looking treats.

As her eyes adjusted to the light, Tempest saw more and more faces. All around the room, there were thestrals, poised and ready in case she tried anything, as well as several changelings all adorned in a similar set of armor that she recalled seeing Chrysalis in when she was captured. Lastly, but certainly not least, Tempest found her eyes pulled to the large and beautiful form of Celestia herself, sitting at the table and offering her a patient smile.

"Tempest, dear. Good morning. What would you like for breakfast?" She asked, sweetly.

Dark thunderclouds covered the sky as the clap of lightning echoed through the air, sending a wave of reverberations through the remains of the Storm King's fleet. Flashes of light briefly illuminated the few airships left as rain pelted the frames of the wooden and steel ships huddled against the cold mountaintop. Several yetis walked through their makeshift camp, all of them huddling together for warmth as they battled the chill of the elements they were exposed to. Though, none of them dared walk to the one single fire in camp.

Any yetis unfortunate to be close to the single fire inside the lone cave that they were using for shelter, found themselves cringing in fear as the wrathful voice of the Storm King cried out in fury.

"THE ENTIRE FLEET!? SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY VANGUARD! THE TIP OF MY SPEAR TO PLUNGE INTO THE HEART OF EQUESTRIA! SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO GIVE ME THEIR MAGIC!!!" He snarled, his voice grating on the ears like nails on a chalkboard.

Standing just before him, a cupcake still held in his paw and half eaten, was Grubber.

"Well, they kinda ambushed us and took her prisoner. There was just no way we coulda seen them comin'." He explained, before hastily popping the rest of the cupcake into his mouth.

"Then how did you escape?" The Storm King growled, rising to his full height.

"They wanted me to deliver a message. Said to tell you that Equestria isn't the place it used to be, and if you know what's good for you, you'll leave them alone... otherwise next time, you'll lose a lot more than a few airships." Grubber recanted, getting increasingly nervous as the Storm King rose to his full height, absolutely towering over him.

"And they gave you a little parting gift... how quaint." The Storm King replied, now towering over the diminutive form of Grubber.

"U-Uh... t-t-they uh, forced me! Y-yeah! They made me eat the cupcakes... uh, trying to poison me with sugar!" Grubber hastily replied, shrinking in on his already miniscule size.

The Storm King gave him a fanged smirk, "Oh, how creative of them. Not to worry. I have the cure for such ailments." He said, sweetly.

Grubber stared blankly at the Storm King as the large, imposing yeti king slowly leaned down to his eye level. He nervously gulped as he stared into the icy blue eyes of the largest yeti he'd ever seen.

"What you're going to do, is run. You're going to run as fast and far away from this mountain as you can, and pray that I don't catch you, because if I do..." He menacingly trailed off, leaning ever closer, "I'm going to rip you apart piece by piece and eat your entrails until I taste some of that sugar myself."

Grubber stared blankly at the Storm King his entire body stock still with fear as he struggled to comprehend the severity of the threat.

"You'd better get going. I'm only giving you a five minute head start."

Suddenly snapped from his frozen state by the impending doom he'd been informed of, Grubber quickly turned tail and ran as fast as his stubby little legs could carry him. He darted out of the cave, bolting past a pair of guards and any unassuming storm soldiers standing post outside. Said guards watched him run down the mountainside, slowly disappearing from sight in the cold wind and rain.

The sound of armored paws walking up behind them made the guards stand at attention.

"I want one of you to bring me back his head. Go. Now." The Storm King ordered, receiving a snappy salute in response.

One of the soldiers quickly galloped off, chasing down the chubby hedgehog and disappearing into the rain. With a snarl, the Storm King turned back around and headed back into his cave. He walked along the cave wall beside his fireplace, the cold stone feeling in stark contrast to the warmth of the burning fire just beside him. Though the fire was comforting, he couldn't quell the rage burning in his chest, and with a feral growl, he slammed his fist into the stone wall so hard that a spiderweb of cracks appeared around it.

Hot mist poured from the Storm Kings nostrils as he slowly breathed, his teeth grit in fury. He clenched his paws as the rage threatened to overtake him again, but a sudden sound caught his attention. At first, it was faint, too faint to make out, but as it persisted, the sound became clearer and clearer. Soon enough, he was sure of it; laughter. Though it wasn't joyous or mirthful, it was scornful, and villainous. The sound made him even more furious.

As if the sudden onset of mysterious laughter wasn't enough, the fact that it appeared to emanate from everywhere around him, made the Storm King even more enraged. He glanced back and forth, his fists clenched and ready to pounce, yet just as suddenly as it started, the laughter ceased.

"Apologies, but that was too entertaining." A voice suddenly spoke out, making the Storm King whip his head around to search for the source.

"Where are you!?" The Storm King shouted, whirling around to look for the illusive source of the voice.

"Oh, of course. Where are my manners. Allow me to slip into something more... visible." The voice replied.

The shadows around the Storm King appeared to suddenly shift and slip off the walls themselves. The massive yeti leapt back toward the fire, startled by the sudden movement all around him. Black ooze bled from the walls, forming a puddle of darkness that coalesced into the shape of a pony. Slowly, the form materialized and turned from jet black to a more recognizable color. Dark gray made up the coat of the stallion forming before the Storm King, followed by a blood red cloak that appeared to be made out of thick fur. What animal it could have come from, he couldn't say, but the yeti's attention was pulled to pony's head and face forming just in front of him. Blood red irises stared back at him, nothing but malice and amusement in those pools of red.

Finally, the horn of the dark unicorn materialized, standing out as red as the cloak he wore over his barrel. The Storm King furrowed his brow as he stared at the fanged smirk of the pony now fully formed before him. Said pony held his gaze for just a moment before holding up a foreleg to block the light from the fire from his eyes.

"Would you mind?" He asked, nodding toward the fire.

Wary of the whole situation, but curious enough to hear what this strange pony had to say, the Storm King stepped slightly to the side, allowing his shadow to cast over the dark unicorn before him.

"Ah, much better. Thank you." He politely replied, bowing his head ever so slightly.

"Who are you and what do you want?" The Storm King questioned, his tone leaving no doubt that he was in no mood for small talk.

"Straight to the point, I see. Very well, let's get introductions out of the way. I'm well aware of who you are, but I doubt you've heard of me. My name is King Sombra. I hail from the Crystal Empire, north of Equestria. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Sombra greeted.

"King Sombra... what do you want?" The Storm King questioned, noticeably tensing at the mention of Equestria.

"Relax my friend, relax. I'm not with those pathetic Equestrian ponies. I'm a stallion who sees an opportunity that will benefit us both quite handsomely, and I want to offer you the chance to have everything you've ever wanted." Sombra replied, offering a fanged smirk.

"What in blazes makes you think I need your help?" The Storm King rebutted, crossing his arms.

Sombra gave him a deadpan stare, "Need I remind you of the report your little imp just gave you? Seventeen ships lost, all crew captured and your commander being held prisoner by the very ponies she was supposed to turn to stone and deliver to you?"

The Storm King growled, "Just how long have you been following us? Was it you that tipped them off!?" He snarled, taking a threatening step toward Sombra.

Sombra rolled his eyes, "Oh please, as if I'd ever help the Equestrians. I've been watching you for a very long time. You see, I see all things from the shadows. I've watched the world grow and change ever since I was defeated several years ago... the ponies think me gone, reduced to ashes... oh how wrong they are." He replied, slowly pacing back and forth in the Storm King's shadow.

"You were defeated by these sniveling ponies and somehow you think I need your help?" The Storm King scoffed.

Sombra turned to him, a brief snarl forming on his muzzle, "Yes, because you're making such excellent progress all by yourself." He sneered.

The Storm King swung at him without warning, his clawed paw arcing through the air and straight into Sombra's throat. Much to the Storm King's surprise, however, it had absolutely no effect and simply phased right through the stallion's body as if it weren't there at all.

Sombra simply gave him an unamused stare, "Are you quite finished?"

"How? What in the world even are you?" The Storm King questioned, his brow furrowing as he checked his claw.

Swift as the swipe was, there was something distinctly off about his paw phasing through the stallion before him. There was a distinct wrongness to it, as if it simply shouldn't have been possible, but the feeling that sent a wave of chills down his spine was the coldness he felt as his digits passed through. It was as if his paw was touching death itself. The thought made him even more wary of the being standing just in front o him.

"As I said, I should be dead. Umbrum don't handle that much magical light from the crystal heart itself well... yet here I stand. A creature not of flesh but of shadows. They thought me gone, and yet... I remain. I'm offering you a chance at greatness and if you simply listen, I think you'll find that it's a proposition that's more than worth your time." Sombra replied, staring down at his own hoof.

The Storm King appeared to ponder his words for some time. With his brow furrowed in thought, he turned around and walked back to the fire. He stared into the blazing flames for some time before turning back around and fixing Sombra with a hard look.

"What exactly are you offering me?" He questioned.

"A partnership." Sombra replied, his smirk growing back onto his face.

"And what exactly am I to gain from this 'partnership'?" The Storm King shot back.

"Isn't it obvious? Equestria. The combined magical might of all four royal alicorns. Perhaps even the changeling Queen." Sombra grinned.

"What is a changeling?" The Storm King questioned, bluntly.

Sombra raised an eyebrow, "You mean you don't know?"

The Storm King leveled a glare at the stallion, "If I did, why would I be asking?" He rebutted.

The Storm King chuckled, "Apologies. I forget that not every creature is as well-traveled as I am. Changelings are shapshifters that feed on love to survive. Long have they plagued Equestria with their abilities to infiltrate and impersonate any pony they should so choose... and now they're not just allied with Equestria, but their Queen is engaged to the herd of Celestia and Luna."

The Storm King felt something of a weight form in his stomach as Sombra continued.

"Which means that the changeling hive has become unified with Equestria. You now have to fight not only four alicorns, but a hive of insect-like creatures that can turn into anyone and anything they like. They'll die for their queen, and if the alicorns of Equestria have her won over, then you could wipe out a thousand Celestia and Luna's and never be even remotely close to actually capturing the alicorn power you so desire." He finished explaining, a smug grin tugging at the corners of his lips.

Now faced with this new information, the Storm King took to pacing back and forth. His brow was furrowed as his thoughts lingered on the umbrum before him, as well as the sincerity of his words. There was a good chance that he was lying about everything, and only planning on using him to get whatever it was that he so desired.

As the yeti before him paced, Sombra continued to stare at him with the smallest of smiles on his muzzle. He knew it wouldn't be long, and right he was. After less than a minute, the Storm King turned to him.

"How do I know that I can trust you?" He questioned.

"My, so direct. Would you believe that I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart?" Sombra teased.

The Storm King grit his teeth, "Not on your life..." He muttered.

Sombra snorted, "Right you are. To answer your question, I am only offering you assistance so that we might take out the threats that Equestria poses to either of our plans for the future. What I require, is the Crystal Heart's capture. When it's gone, I can finally retake my form among the living and reclaim my power-"

"Crystal Heart? What is that?" The Storm King impatiently questioned.

Sombra quietly huffed, "The Crystal Heart is what powers the entire Crystal Empire. It is the source of their strength and protection. Without it, they are powerless and defenseless." He explained.

"So you intend to use its power to restore yourself?" The Storm King surmised.

Sombra nodded, "Syphoning its power will restore me to my former greatness, though... I will need a unicorn of some skill to channel the magic into dark magic so that I may use it... conundrums for another time. Once I have what I want, I will destroy the heart right in front of her..." He muttered, bitterly.

"Her?" The Storm King raised an eyebrow.

Sombra quickly shook his head, "Nevermind that. It is something that will happen after our partnership is concluded. Speaking of which, after the Heart is mine, I plan to take the Crystal Empire and use its vast army of slaves to attack Equestria. With you and the rest of your fleet attacking from the other side, Equestria won't be able to stop us both, no matter how many alicorns they throw at us." He explained.

"I need alicorn magic to make this stupid staff work. Unless you can give me that, then I don't have any use for your suggestions." The Storm King dismissed, gesturing to the staff of Sarcanas.

Sombra brought his hoof to his chin, as if he were pondering the Storm King's words for a moment, "Hmm... well, what if I make you a deal? There's one alicorn in the Crystal Empire. Subduing her is no problem for a stallion of my talents... I could give you her magic after we take the Empire. It would give you the means to fight against the princesses of Equestria until we take them down and then you can take all of their magic with ease." He offered, that same predatory smirk forming on his muzzle.

The Storm King raised an eyebrow at the stallion. For a few moments, he pondered the offer, his mind racing with the possibilities that were afforded to him, should he accept. Though one question kept gnawing at the back of his mind.

"Why would you give me that much power so willingly? How can I trust you to not betray me the second you have what you want?" He questioned.

Sombra held his gaze for a second before darkly chuckling. His deep, baritone voice echoed off the walls of the cave as his chuckle turned to a deep, bellowing laugh.

"Oh, you needn't concern yourself with that. I'm much more concerned with revenge against the ponies that turned me to ash last time. After the battle is over and you have all the alicorn magic you can stomach, then we can worry about destroying each other. Besides, it'll be more of a fair fight then." Sombra replied, holding his hoof out.

The Storm King stared at the offered hoof for a long time. Nearly a minute passed as his narrowed gaze lingered on the stallion before him, but eventually, he did reach forward and grasp the offered hoof. Shockingly enough, this time there was actually something solid there, rather than the cold, nothingness he'd felt the first time.

"Very well... I'll look forward to burning Equestria to the ground."

"Excellent. There's just one little piece of hardware we'll need to pick up on our way to the Empire. Don't worry, I know exactly where it is..." Sombra darkly chuckled.

Author's Note

Hopefully the Storm King comes across as more than a bumbling idiot in this story than he did in the movie. I love the MLP movie because bae(Tempest) is introduced in it but man, it's so hard to take the Storm King seriously as a villain since he's so... goofy? Tried to rectify that in this story so let me know what you think.

Chapter 4: Questions and More Questions

Celestia idly sipped her tea as she observed the unicorn with the broken horn before her. Said unicorn idly stirred the tea in her cup with her hooves, her chains clinking against the table as she sat un otherwise perfect silence. The rest of the guards in the room watched over her, filling the atmosphere with a level of tenseness, as if she could suddenly pop out of her chair and start a fight at any moment.

"You haven't eaten anything." Celestia noted, glancing over at the spread of food laid out before both her and the mulberry unicorn before her.

No response.

"You know, these aren't meant to be hostile. We can speak of anything you wish. More than anything, I just want to understand why you did it- why you attacked Equestria." Celestia continued, a perfectly level look in her eyes.

Again, there was no response.

"Why attack your home? Was it because of something somepony did to you? Was it because somepony broke your horn and you wanted revenge?" Celestia pressed, before calmly taking a sip of her tea.

Yet again, she was met with utter silence from the unicorn before her. The utter lack of any response whatsoever made the already tense air in the room just that much more volatile. Several of the guards tightened their grips on their respective weapons as the seconds ticked by.

Just when the silence became unbearable, Tempest took to stirring her tea once more. The scraping sound of her spoon against the ceramic of her cup was only drowned out by the sound of her chains clinking against one another and the table. Raising an eyebrow slightly at the sight before her, Celestia ignited her horn. The sudden sight of bright, glowing, yellow light made Tempest pause in her stirring, her eyes gazing over to the chains themselves as a similar golden aura encompassed them. The cuffs unlocked, allowing the chains to simply slide off of her hooves and fall to the ground below, clattering amongst themselves.

"Better?" Celestia asked, gently.

Tempest rubbed the sore spots on her forelegs where the chains had dug into her coat. A rather thick indentation into her hooves revealed itself as she tended to the tender flesh.

"Better." Tempest finally spoke, her voice nearly a whisper.

"If you wanted those off, you could have just asked. No need to play silly games to prove how tough you are. We're all well aware. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have so many guards in here to watch you." Celestia chuckled.

Tempest softly snorted as she reached over and grasped her cup between her hooves. With glacial speed, she brought the cup over to her lips and took a gentle sip, taking in the ginger taste with a gentle sigh. Celestia chuckled at her actions, levitating her own cup back to her lips to take another sip.

"You know, you can tell a lot about a pony by how they drink their tea. I recall when I had tea with Chrysalis for the first time. Quite the reserved mare, that one. She's a bit like you. She likes to take her time, savoring the taste. Can't have it too hot, nor too cold. It has to be the perfect temperature. I've seen her reheating tea with her magic during our tea times because she simply takes too long to enjoy it all before it's too cold." Celestia chuckled, daintily covering her muzzle with her hoof.

"Doubt I'll be warming this up any time soon." Tempest replied, glancing up to her broken horn, and the mana ring securely fastened around the base.

Celestia nodded, "True as that may be, I can heat your tea for you. My sister tells me its my second special talent. I always know exactly how hot ponies prefer it." She tittered.

Tempest absentmindedly nodded, "So what do you want to talk about today?" She asked, taking another small sip of her tea.

"Well I did give you a list of questions that I would like answers to, if you recall." Celestia answered, patiently.

Tempest snorted in amusement, "Ah, yes. The 'why' I betrayed my kind and tried to lead an invasion to attack Canterlot. Considering the fact that you knew we were coming, I think you already know all the relevant information." She muttered.

Celestia calmly shook her head, "I know all the military details, sure. What I still don't know or understand is your story. I've had Luna and Twilight scouring the archives all week to find any mention of a mare named 'Tempest Shadow' and they cannot find anything. So I'm only left to assume that you're lying about your name and place of origin. Broken horns are extremely rare, so unless this happened outside of Equestria, I'm disinclined to believe that you were injured in your youth and nopony ever found out or took you to a hospital." She rebutted, giving Tempest a sympathetic look.

"Why do you keep fixating on my horn. For all you know, I'm just evil. Rotten to the core and mad with a lust for power. Maybe I just wanted to take over Equestria and enslave you all for my own amusement. Did that thought ever cross your thousand-year-old mind?" Tempest shot back.

Celestia gave her a sad look, "Tempest, I think we both know that's not the case."

"Don't you have changelings infiltrating every corner of the world right now? Surely there was at least one on my ship. I'm sure you got any answers you needed from them." Tempest huffed, before taking another quick sip of her tea.

Celestia held her gaze for a few moments, an otherwise blank look on her regal face as she stared right back into Tempest's defiant turquoise eyes. Once again, the tension in the room slowly increased, making the air feel thick and heavy. Some of the guards nervously gulped and adjusted their postures or the grips they had on their weapons. Then, a loud ding echoed from a speaker somewhere in the ceiling, making almost everypony in the room jump; everypony except Tempest and Celestia.

"It appears I've struck something of a nerve. I apologize, Tempest. Offending you was never my intent. For now, Could you excuse me a moment. I have something to take care of." Celestia politely announced, getting out of her chair and heading to the door without a word.

Tempest watched her go, taking another sip of her tea as she observed. The solar alicorn approached a door that instantly opened for her, revealing a small hallway that she couldn't quite see into. Within seconds, the door closed, leaving her alone in the room with nopony but the guards as company. The tension in the air rose once again.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Celestia hooked an immediate left, walking up to another set of closed doors that opened upon her arrival. Standing there to greet her, his arms crossed as he stared through the one-way wall, was Anon.

"So, what do you think?" Anon asked, glancing over his shoulder as she walked up to his side.

"Her horn is absolutely the reason for her betrayal. I could practically taste the vitriol and resentment she feels for every pony around her with a horn atop their head." Celestia replied, before a flash of green flames erupted around her, revealing Chrysalis.

Anon, now having grown very used to the changeling transformation, didn't flinch as Chrysalis revealed her natural form.

"You think someone did it to her? And she's just trying to get revenge on the entire species or something?" Anon suggested.

Chrysalis shook her head, "I don't think it's quite that diabolical. I think she was a scared little filly when whatever happened to her, happened, and she's spent the rest of her life trying to show the world that she's a big strong mare that can take care of herself. I think taking Canterlot and all the magic of the Equestrian royalty was just her magnum opus." She replied.

Anon shook his head and sighed, "I think we need to move on to good cop/bad cop."

"You don't think this method is working?" Chrysalis inquired.

"Swan said it was the best way to get information and usually I'm inclined to agree. Treating the prisoner well and making sure they're well fed always tends to get them to just... give up whatever information they have. Thing is, she's not really cracking."

Chrysalis nodded, "Well, if you want, we can always try the good cop/bad cop approach. To be honest, I'm surprised as well. Even on these little tea times I keep doing with her, she doesn't want to talk about anything. Two weeks later and all we know is what I suspected from the start."

Anon turned toward the door, "Well, I'm game. I call bad cop."

Chrysalis snickered, "Anon, honey... maybe you should leave the menacing 'bad cop' routine to me?"

"Aww, I never get to be the bad cop. I can be intimidating too, ya know." Anon pouted.

"Normally I'd agree with you, however... this mare is something else. She isn't intimidated by any of us. Even me." Chrysalis replied, following him to the door.

Anon sighed as he rounded the corner and reached the doorway leading into the interrogation room, "Alright, alright. Fine. We'll do the usual routine."

With that, Anon pounded on the door three times, prompting one of the guards inside to quickly rush to the door and opened it. Instantly, Tempest's eyes were upon him and Chrysalis, scrutinizing them both as they entered the room and sat on the opposite side of the table from her.

"Tempest. How are you holding up in here?" Anon asked, politely.

"Fine." Tempest replied, simply.

Anon nodded, glancing to Chrysalis for a brief moment, "You know, if you gave us the information we need, you would be out of here already. Instead you continue to play these ridiculous games. Just tell us what we want to know and you'll be free from this place." Chrysalis asserted, giving a scowl to the mare before her.

"I'm sure you're eager to throw me into another hole and throw away the key." Tempest muttered.

"While we... energetically debated placing you in Alcatrotz, the fact of the matter is that it simply doesn't exist anymore. Having said that, truth be told, you do have some value to us. That's why I've tried to reason with you and offer you something of a deal but you aren't really making it easy for me, Tempest. I want to help you, I do. I don't believe you're a bad pony, but you've gotta help me so I can help you." Anon offered, giving his most placating, genuine tone.

"That's a load of horseapples and you know it. The information you want doesn't even make sense anyway. What does me doing what I did have to do with anything. I did what I did. I lost. Here I am. What difference does the why make." Tempest shot back.

Chrysalis slammed her hooves on the table and leaned over it until her muzzle was just a few inches from Tempest's, "You're lucky you aren't rotting in Tartarus. Don't forget who you're speaking to, whelp."

Shocking to Anon, Tempest's expression remained unfazed, "Of course. Where are my manners, your highness." She replied.

Anon cleared his throat as Chrysalis sat back on her chair, "Tempest, as my wife has told you many times. We just want to help you. I think that you telling us the 'why' is extremely helpful for that cause. As far as the Storm King is concerned, we have all the information we need to deal with him, should he present a threat again anyway. That said, if you're willing to share anything else with us that we might have missed, it would go a long way to building some trust here and giving me some good reasons to get you out of that cell. Don't tell me you like sleeping in a damp, cold dungeon every night." He reasoned, clasping his hands together on the table.

"I've had worse." Tempest replied, quietly.

Anon held her gaze for a few moments, his lips pursed in thought as he observed the mare before him.

"You know, neither of us are getting any younger, Tempest. You sure you want to waste away in a cell a and waste my time? I've got kids to look after. I don't have to spend my afternoons down here with you, but I believe that there's good in all of you ponies. I just don't understand why you're so insistent on denying yours." Anon sighed.

"You wouldn't understand." Tempest quietly muttered.

"Try me." Anon shot back, quickly.

Rather than reply, Tempest appeared to shut down completely. She failed to meet his gaze and failed to respond verbally. Anon waited nearly five entire minutes in perfect silence before shaking his head.

"Well if you feel that way, then I don't believe there's really anything more for us to discuss here, today." He replied with a sigh as he slid his chair out and got to his feet.

Chrysalis quickly followed suite, the action prompting several guards to hurry over to Tempest's side and re-cuff her in her shackles. Without so much as a word, they ushered her our of the room and back in the direction of her cell. She maintained complete and utter silence the entire time, no so much as looking where she was going as she was led back down to the cold, damp dungeon.

As the door closed behind her, she was left with just the pair of royal guards who'd escorted her to the interrogation room in the first place. Both of them flanked her on either side, ensuring that she had no room to maneuver or run in the narrow hallway. The long walk back to the cell passed her by faster than she cared to admit, and sooner rather than later, she found herself walking back to the same cell that she'd come to call home for the past two weeks.

As they had before, the guards unlocked the door, the clinking of metal keys ringing out in the otherwise nearly-silent hall. The slow and steady drip of cold water on cobblestone floors fought for some measure of dominance in the eerily quiet hall, but soon enough both were surpassed by the scraping of the metal door opening and the creaking of the hinges. Tempest stepped inside automatically, turning around as the guards closed the door behind her. Without a word, she held her hooves up to the food opening, allowing the guards to unlock the shackles on her forelegs. Once that was done, they she turned back around, allowing the unicorn to unlock her hind legs.

Now free to at least move around once more, Tempest did the only thing she could and laid back down on her meager cot. The mattress sagged as it accepted her weight with a creak and groan. With her back turned to the guards once more, she curled back up into a ball much like how they'd found her earlier, her tail moving to cover her barrel as some semblance of warmth against the chill of the cold dungeon air.

Both guards observed her for a moment as she got comfortable, the duo sharing a look of confusion before shrugging and turning around to head back to the surface. As they walked, the clopping of their hooves echoed through the hall, combating the dripping water for dominance as the loudest sound within earshot.

"Welp, how much longer do you think she's gonna keep this up?" The unicorn asked.

"I dunno. She's lost some weight since the Princesses had her placed down here. She isn't hardly eating anything that we bring her and she only sips the tea Princess Celestia lays out for her every time she wants to see her. She's either gonna starve or cave at this rate. My bits are on her singing like a canary before long." The earth pony shrugged.

The duo rounded the corner, the last visages of Tempest's cell block fading behind the cobblestone wall as they proceeded.

"I hope she cracks sooner rather than later. Prince Anon was right. He isn't getting any younger and I'd hate for him to spend all his days trying to convince her to reform like he managed with Chrysalis."

"Oh, didn't you hear? Moonglow and Synth Wave were on duty a couple weeks ago and apparently Prince Anon has Princess Twilight looking into some way to grant him immortality. We just might have an immortal human prince if she can find something."

"Really? That's awesome! Though... if Princess Twilight of all ponies hasn't found something yet, there might not be anything. She's the most studious mare in all of Equestria."

"I'm sure she'll find something. Besides, it's only been two weeks. Not two months."

The pair shared a chuckle as they ascended the staircase heading back to the castle. Unbeknownst to them, back down the path of the dungeon, laying on her cot with her ear pressed against a small piece of metal tubing she'd pried off of her plumbing, Tempest smirked.

Celestia sighed as the last petitioner for Day Court exited, leaving her alone with just Raven and Captain Valorant to keep her company in the otherwise empty throne room.

"My, it has been quite a day, hasn't it?" Celestia replied, sagging into her chair slightly.

"Not moreso than usual, I'd say. Eighty seven petitioners today is hardly a record. Remember that fiasco a couple years ago when there were well over two hundred?" Raven smirked.

Celestia chuckled, "How could I forget. That fateful morning led to more happiness and fulfilment in my life than I'd ever thought possible."

"More trouble and headache too." Valorant contributed, snorting in amusement.

Celestia giggled into her hoof, "True, but all well worth it in the end. Who'd have thought that humans and alicorns were compatible? Certainly not I. Now, seeing as the sun is due to set soon, I do believe I have time to go have dinner with my family." She practically beamed, the prospect of seeing her daughter and husband making her practically giddy.

All tiredness and soreness left her body almost immediately as Celestia rose to her hooves and hopped from the throne. Her wings spread wide, catching wind under her feathers and slowing her descent into a gentle glide. She landed just a few steps in front of Raven and headed for the door, both the secretary mare and Captain of the Guard falling into step behind her. The group exited the throne room doors and made their way through the castle until they arrived at the royal dining room, finding both Chrysalis and Anon already waiting for them. Held in Anon's arms and riding atop Chrysalis's back, were the adorable forms of Artemis and Dawn.

"There's my beautiful ray of sunshine right there." Anon smiled, glancing up to his wife as she entered the room.

"Nonny!" Celestia beamed, trotting over to him like an overly excited filly.

She quickly pulled him into a tight hug, careful not to squish her daughter before she pulled away and planted a deep, longing kiss on Anon's lips.

"Long day?" Anon asked, sensing the eagerness behind the kiss.

Celestia snickered, "How can you always tell?"

"You always need some more love and attention than usual when its been a long day. The kisses last just a tad longer than normal." Anon smirked, adjusting Dawn slightly so she was supported better in his arms.

Celestia blinked owlishly at him for a moment before glancing over to Chrysalis.

"He's spot on. Even by my standards, that's impressive that he can read you so well." Chrysalis grinned, walking over to Anon's side.

Playfully rolling her eyes, Celestia leaned in and planted an equally loving kiss on the changeling Queen's lips. Artemies, seeing an opportunity to fly again, flapped his little alicorn wings to hop off of Chrysalis's back and land atop of Celestia's. The sudden added weight to her back, startled Celestia enough to break the kiss and look over her wither at the little colt now playing with her mane.

"Oh? Hello there, Artemis." Celestia giggled, before leaning in close and nuzzling his cheek.

"Wanna hold her? She's been practically begging to see her mommy all day." Anon teased, bringing Dawn just a bit closer to his wife.

Celestia turned to her daughter and gave her a loving nuzzle as well, before levitating her onto her back beside her brother. The two siblings instantly dove into her mane, the rich colors and flowing nature of the hair captivating their little infant minds in an instant.

"Oh, foals." Chrysalis snorted in amusement.

The group shared a small chuckle as the dining room doors opened, revealing both Twilight and Luna.

"-so I was hoping that if I showed this to everypony, we could-" Twilight spoke, only pausing as Luna cleared her throat.

"We're here, Twilight. Why don't you tell everypony else what you were just explaining to me?" Luna suggested, prompting Twilight to follow her gaze.

"Oh! Of course! Hello, Celestia, Chrysalis, Anon. Oh! Little Artemis and Dawn!" Twilight squee'd, quickly trotting over to Celestia.

Both filly and colt giggled as Twilight came within jumping distance and leapt onto her, nearly catching her by surprise. Being the quick alicorn that she was, however, Celestia caught them both with her magic and slowly levitated them onto Twilight's back, much to her happiness. Much as they had with her, both of the twins took to playing with and in Twilight's mane, much to her amusement.

"Oh, I love these two. They're starting to make me want to have one of my own." Twilight giggled into her hoof while Artemis climbed onto her head.

Celestia laughed, "They tend to have that effect on ponies."

Anon playfully elbowed Raven, "Hehe, she's talking about you." He teased.

Raven rolled her eyes and lighted smacked the back of Anon's head, prompting him to stand back up to his normal height.

"Anyway, yes. I have some news that I need to tell all of you. I was discussing it with Luna on the way over here and it's just too promising to not share with you." Twilight explained.

"What news, Twilight?" Celestia quirked her head to the side.

"It's a bit of a long shot even still, but there's an ancient artifact, even older than Celestia and Luna. It's called the Elixir of Magicae. As far as I can tell from the tombs I've read, Starswirl the Bearded discovered tales of it during his travels to the Fillyppines and the Bone Dry Desert!" Twilight explained, a growing smile on her face as she explained.

"I'm sorry, where?" Anon did a double take.

"Even I've never heard of that place." Chrysalis shook her head.

"The information is from the Fillyppines, but according to what Starswirl wrote, the elixir resides in the Hall of Unity at the end of the Desolate Wild, after you climb the Peaks of Peril. It's somewhere in that mountain range. That isn't even the best part though!" Twilight beamed.

"What is?" Luna pressed.

"A lot of the information was lost to time-" Twilight began.

"How is that the best part?" Anon cut in. Chrysalis smacked him with her wing.

Twilight gave him a deadpan stare, "I was getting there. A lot of the information has been lost to time, but not all of it. Starswirl specifically states in his memoirs from forty two post Nightmare Moon, that all of the information he's found points him directly to the Crystal Empire! He just couldn't go there because King Sombra took the entire empire with him when he disappeared! Only nooooow..." Twilight trailed off, motioning for Celestia to continue for her.

"The... Empire has returned... and that monster has been defeated... Twilight, you're amazing!" Celestia exclaimed, quickly leaning in and nuzzling her prized pupil.

"This is most wonderful news... though, we still don't have a clear answer on whether Anon even wants immortality in the first place." Luna countered, halting all the mirth spreading through the room.

All eyes darted to the man in question as he held his hands in his pockets and rolled his tongue on his mouth. The air suddenly felt very thick and heavy as they all stared at him, expectantly.

Author's Note

I seem to have a thing for interrogation scenes... anyway, hope you guys like this one.

Chapter 5: Research and Development

Anon stared back at the group of ponies and changeling staring at him. For a few moments, the air was filled with nothing but silence, but eventually, Anon sighed.

"I... don't know." He admitted, brushing his hand through his hair.

Though they both tried to hide it, Celestia and Luna looked down in disappointment, their wings sagging low as their ears splayed against their heads.

"But, why not?! Anon, this is such a slam dunk of a decision to make. You love your family and you want to be there for them no matter what, don't you?" Twilight pressed.

Anon rolled his tongue in his mouth for a moment. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, however, Chrysalis spoke up for him.

"It's not that easy of a decision to make, Twilight." She replied, simply.

"How is it not? If I was in your position, I would be jumping with joy right now." Twilight reasoned.

"Twi, I don't know if I can even handle living forever. My little monkey brain wasn't prepared for unrestricted access to the internet, let alone the prospect of living forever... It's not that I don't want to be with my family for the rest of all of our lives," Anon replied, glancing lovingly over to Celestia and Luna, "It's that I don't know if I'll lose my mind and go insane after a thousand years."

"Anon, I hear you, I do. But this isn't a decision you're making in a vacuum. I was born mortal just like you were, and now I'm an alicorn. Celestia and Luna ascended as well, and they're both well over a thousand years old. They look pretty much fine if you ask me." Twilight rebutted.

Anon bit his lip. Hesitant as he was to admit it, Twilight did have a point.

"That's fair... but you guys are all ponies. I'm not. I don't know, maybe there's something in your brains that makes it fine for you guys?" He offered, weakly.

"That doesn't sound like a convincing argument, Anon. Besides, eternal life means that you would stop aging. If you're worried about growing senile or something with age, that simply wouldn't happen." Twilight explained.

Anon crossed his arms and chewed on his cheek as he stared at the spot of floor between him and the little purple alicorn. Both Celestia and Luna shared a look of concern before the former stepped over to their husband and wrapped a wing around his arm.

"Honey, if this isn't something you want, you do not have to do it. We love you with all our hearts, and we will support you no matter what your decision is... that said, I can promise you that no immortal being aside from Discord has ever experienced any loss of sanity through the ages." Celestia offered, quietly.

"If we're to be honest, Discord isn't exactly what one would call 'sane', though I do believe that stems from his nature, not his age." Luna added.

Anon glanced up to Celestia, finding her giving him a supportive smile on her pretty face. Despite the stew of emotions warring for dominance in his mind, he found himself utterly unable to not reciprocate, and gave a weak smile back to the light of his life. From there, he found his gaze drawn to Luna as she nuzzled his side, prompting him to look into those brilliant pools of turquoise she stared up at him with. A thousand stars glistened in those iris's, and for a moment, Anon was lost in her eyes once more.

"If this is even legit... how do you know it would even work on me?" He asked, looking over to Twilight, finally.

"All I'm saying is that it's a chance. Probably the best chance we have. What do you say? Give it a chance?" Twilight pressed, smiling up to him.

With only one more lover to consult, Anon glanced over to Chrysalis as she walked over to him. Though her smile was kind and soft, there was an undeniable level of understanding in her eyes. She didn't say anything, but no words needed to be said. Anon quietly nodded to her before fixing Twilight with a resolved gaze.

"Well, I certainly won't stop you from going and looking, Twilight. If this is legit and possible, then... well, it's a bridge we'll cross when we get there. Regardless, thank you for putting the effort into studying this. Really, I don't know what I'd do without my little purple mad scientist." He smirked.

Twilight rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless, "Thanks, Anon. Just you wait until I bring this elixir back. You're gonna drink it and before you know it, you'll be praising me as your best friend in about sixty years."

A small chorus of chuckles ran through the group, "I'd certainly love to see that." Celestia giggled, wiping a small tear from her eye.

Twilight gave the group an enthusiastic nod, "Well, I'd better get going then. I already sent a letter to Shining Armor and Cadence. Oooh, I can't wait to see her. I think I'll bring Spike and the girls along too. They've been itching for a reason to go up to the empire again ever since the Equestria Games."

"The train leaves in twenty minutes, though I'm sure you know the Ponyville train schedule if you want your friends alongside you," Chrysalis chuckled, "Do be safe. The Crystal Empire may be a nice place, but there are still some creatures outside of the Empire that are dangerous. Changelings don't exactly thrive that far north outside of the city, so our reconnaissance is limited." She cautioned.

"What of the Storm King's remnants?" Luna questioned, curiously.

"Last we saw them, they took refuge in the Jackalope Slopes. Though, that was nearly two weeks ago. I haven't heard anything new since then." Chrysalis replied.

"Most likely returned to his homelands to lick his wounds and prepare for his return. No matter, we will be ready for him just as we were this time." Celestia dismissed.

"Which does remind me, how fares our prisoner?" Luna asked, curiously.

"Tempest? Oh boy..." Anon sighed.

"That bad?" Celestia tilted her head to the side.

"Lets just say that trying to appear 'warm and friendly' has not gotten us anywhere..." Chrysalis sighed.

Twilight smiled as she stared out the window of the Equestria Express train heading into the Crystal Empire. Her number one assistant sat on the bench beside her, reading a Power Ponies comic that she couldn't be bothered to remember the name or issue of. The howling wind and frigid frost covering the outside world made the journey look like an unpleasant trek, but before she knew it, they passed through the border generated by the Crystal Heart and suddenly, their was nothing but green.

The utter majesty of the Crystal Empire was something to behold, with gorgeous grass fields as far as the eye could see, and mountains that kissed the skyline. Even in the daytime, the faintest outline of an aurora could been seen in the air, hovering above the entire empire and practically shimmering in the sunlight.

"Wow... Can you believe its already been over a year since we were last here?" Twilight asked, glancing over to her drake companion.

"It has been a minute... which reminds me, I need a disguise." Spike acknowledged, before rummaging through the duffle bag he'd brought with him.

Twilight giggled at his antics, "Spike, the crystal ponies love you, but they aren't going to hound you... again. Besides, you're a celebrity to these ponies. Why would you want to hide from that spotlight?"

"Let's just say that I've seen firstclaw how you girls have to deal with the paparazzi every now and again and I'd rather just keep a low profile. Besides, we're going up here to help Anon, not draw a huge crowd to me." Spike reasoned as he slipped into a trenchcoat.

Twilight let out a small whinny that turned into a deep sigh, prompting a raised eyebrow from her drake companion.

"What's that reaction for?" Spike inquired.

"I just don't understand why Anon is so hesitant. I know he's afraid of going crazy or something, but the data just doesn't support that even being a possibility. I just don't get why he wouldn't listen to me." Twilight vented.

"I... thought that he did and that's why we were coming all the way up here?" Spike tilted his head to the side.

"We're just going to do research and see if it's even possible, not bring it right to him. Even if he did agree, it won't be as simple as just bringing it back to Canterlot. Starswirl's notes still don't give a good indication of where exactly the Hall of Unity resides, just that it's in the Peaks of peril somewhere. That's not even mentioning how anypony is supposed to get through the Desolate Wild when everycreature to enter there has never returned. It isn't even technically an 'elixir', it's more of a potion, so who knows what else is in it. Apparently ancient sorcerers brewed the elixir in an attempt to create an evolved form of themselves, but when Celestia and Luna ascended, their order was branded heretical by most ponies and shunned. The last of them disappeared long before Luna even became Nightmare Moon... " Twilight explained.

"That's not particularly encouraging information to go off of." Spike acknowledged.

Twilight sighed, "I know... there's still a chance that an ingredient is missing or unaccounted for. Starswirl's notes are unfortunately... a bit lacking in details when it comes to what actually makes the elixir." She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

Spike let out a low whistle, "Oh boy, this really is just a shot in the dark then, isn't it?"

Twilight gave him a flat look, "Not if I can help it. Now let's get a move on. We're about to pull into the station."

With that, she hopped out of her chair and into the main aisle of the train cart. Seated all around her, were five familiar faces she couldn't live without.

"You girls ready?" Twilight addressed the group.

"Hay yeah we are. I've missed the empire. Gonna blow some of those royal guards out of the water in the jousting competition this time." Rainbow Dash enthusiastically replied.

"It's great to be back. I have been meaning to take a trip back up here ever since the Equestria games." Rarity beamed.

"Plus it'll be nice ta' see yer brother and Cadence." AppleJack smiled.

Twilight nodded as a bright smile formed on her muzzle, "I can't wait to see them again. Cadence said she had something very exciting to share with me. I'd be lying if I said helping Anon was the only motivation I had for coming up here. Speaking of which, thanks again for agreeing to come with me." She replied, gratefully.

"Oh, there's no need to thank us, Twilight. We're just happy to spend some time together and take a little vacation for a week." Fluttershy giggled.

Pinkie Pie, who had been uncharacteristically silent so far, practically vibrated in place, "Y-yep... it's gonna be so much fun, hehehehehe... just a little longer..." She muttered.

"Pinkie, uh... why are you shaking?" Rainbow asked, quirking eyebrow at her pink friend's antics.

"I don't know! I've been getting all kinds of doozy's ever since we took the train. I don't know what, but something absolutely crazy is going to happen, I can just feel it!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Is it... anything bad?" Fluttershy asked, a worried frown forming on her muzzle.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure we can handle it. Besides, the Crystal Empire is super chill these days. If anything, it's probably just gonna be some big announcement like Cadence being pregnant or something." Rainbow shrugged.

"As far as I know, Anon's the only creature to successfully have a foal with an alicorn. If Shining can do it too, that'd be the mother of all doozies." Twilight chuckled.

The entire train cart shared in a moment of laughter, before the train lurched and the sound of screeching brakes reached all of their ears.

"Oh hey! We're here!" Spike called, looking out the window to the fast approaching train station.

"Right, well let's get a move on, girls. Times'a wasting, and the sooner we figure out more about this elixir, the sooner we can just relax and enjoy the empire." Twilight announced, leading the pack to the front of the train.

As they exited the train, they found that much to Twilight's surprise, there was nopony waiting for them at the station. The group searched around for a few moments, all of them tilting their heads to the side in confusion at the lack of a prince and princess they were all expecting to meet.

"Huh... that's strange. They're usually quite punctual." Twilight acknowledged, rolling her tongue.

"Twily!" Shining Armor's voice called out, making her whip her head in his direction.

The burly stallion that was her brother came into view, Cadence alongside him and both of them absolutely beaming as they saw Twilight and her friends.

"Shining! Cadence!" Twilight called, excitedly rushing over to them.

As was tradition, Twilight and Cadence dropped low and sang their little mantra.

"Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" They sang in unison, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

"It is so good to have you here again, all of you." Cadence announced, quickly pulling Twilight into a hug.

"We've got quite a few ponies asking when they could see a certain 'brave and glorious dragon'." Shining added, giving Spike a wink.

"Aw yeah! I-I mean, uh... ahem... trying to keep a low profile this time, Shiny." Spike coolly replied, much to his older siblings' amusement.

"As excited as we are to see you both, I do have some things I need to look at before I can just start relaxing and perusing the empire. Luckily, my friends have all agreed to help, so I don't think it should take too long with the seven of us looking." Twilight explained.

"The elixir for Anon?" Cadence asked, receiving a nod in response.

"After we got your letter, I started doing some digging of my own. I'm not sure if what we have is what you're after, but it'll be a decent start at the very least." Shining offered.

"Thank you. I know it's a long shot, but if I can get Anon an opportunity to stick around... well, I owe Celestia and Luna that much. Plus think of little Artemis and Dawn? What kind of aunt would I be if I let their dad die of old age?" Twilight scoffed.

"There's the Twilight I know and love. How can we help?" Cadence inquired.

Twilight tapped her chin in thought, "Hmm... I'm going to need access to the library... the entire library."

Anon and Chrysalis walked side by side into the interrogation room. While they'd made the journey nearly a dozen times already, the route always felt long and tedious, taking multiple twists and turns as they descended from the surface.

"Uh, even my hive was more straight-forward than this... when are Tia and Luna going to let me install some changeling infrastructure in here? It'd literally make it twenty times faster for us to get from the throne room to the interrogation room." Chrysalis bemoaned, dramatically rolling her eyes.

Anon chuckled at her behavior, "Being a bit melodramatic tonight, aren't we, Chryssi?" He teased.

Even now, the nickname still got a small blush out of the pretty Changeling Queen, "You say that as if you don't feel the exact same way."

Anon shrugged, "True, but you know how much of a logistical nightmare that would be? No thank you." He chuckled.

Chrysalis chuckled alongside him as they reached the door leading into the interrogation room, "I suppose you're right. Still, it would be an improvement over what's here."

Anon nodded as he opened the door, revealing the room to them once more. However, as the two of them looked inside and saw the lone prisoner of the room, something immediately felt off. Tempest was sitting in her seat as usual, though there was a profoundly noticeably smirk upon her muzzle. Whereas every previous attempt to speak with the mare, she'd looked melancholy or simply uncaring, she now bore an almost sinister look in her eyes. It was enough of an upset that both Chrysalis and Anon stared at her, both of them struggling to process just what was so different.

After a few moments of silence, Anon found himself nearly jumping as Tempest suddenly spoke.

"Prince Anon and Queen Chrysalis... how good to see you both again. Especially you, Prince Anon." Tempest greeted, her voice filling the air was a kind of barely suppressed glee that make Anon's skin crawl.

"Uh... good morning, Tempest. I'll be honest, you're looking much more... uh, up-beat than usual." Anon managed, recovering as much as he could.

While Anon moved to step into the room, he paused as he glanced to the side, finding Chrysalis staring at Tempest as if she were trying to read her mind. Granted, she probably was, given everything he knew about his Changeling lover, but even she couldn't tell what anyone was actually thinking in their subconscious.

"Right... let's begin, shall we?" Chrysalis finally replied, stepping forward and taking her seat across from Tempest.

Anon, finding himself slightly concerned and confused by the change of attitude from both mares, hesitantly took his seat as well.

"Alright, so let's start with the obvious. For one, you look much happier today. Is there a particular reason you wanna share with us?" Anon began, clasping his hands together as he expectantly looked at Tempest.

"You could say that... I've been doing some thinking and well, I think I do have some information that you would find beneficial. In fact, I think its information good enough to get me out of this joint." Tempest replied, giving a deceitfully sweet smile to Anon.

Anon slowly nodded as Chrysalis squinted in suspicion, "Right... and what might that be?" Anon pressed, leaning forward slightly.

"Well, it has nothing to do with the Storm King if that's what you're after. From what I can tell, you weren't expecting much from me on that front anyway. You seem so interested in my past, yet I can't help but wonder about yours as well." Tempest replied, tilting and inspecting her hoof as if it was suddenly more interesting than Anon.

Anon shared a quick glance with Chrysalis, "Uh, we're not really here to talk about me, Tempest-"

"Oh, I think we are. For what's a more impressive tale than that of an alien from a different dimension suddenly showing up on Equestrian soil and marrying not one, but both royal alicorn sisters?" Tempest cut him off.

"I don't see what that has to do with-"

"First you marry the two of them, and then you do the unimaginable. You put a foal in both of them. Real, live alicorns born into this world for the first time thanks to the efforts of none other than Anonymous the human." Tempest cut him off again.

"Tempest, what are you getting at here?" Anon frowned.

However, much to his chagrin, Tempest continued as if she couldn't hear him, "Finally, after all that, you almost single-handedly reform one of Equestria's oldest and most dangerous enemies, turning her entire species into allies and propelling Equestria into an age of peace and harmony that was otherwise unthinkable-"

Chrysalis's hooves slammed on the table, finally halting Tempest's speech, "Get to the damn point!" She barked.

Neither man nor changeling was quite prepared for the deep, rich, devious chuckle that emanated from Tempest's throat. A wide and very sinister grin split her muzzle, and even though she was chained, guarded, and powerless to actually hurt him, Anon felt a wave of chills run down his spine at her demeanor.

"And after all that... he's still just a man." Tempest chuckled, her voice echoing in the otherwise silent room.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Anon demanded.

"For all your accomplishments and all your victories, there's one enemy you can't defeat on your own. None of your family can help you, and nothing you do can save you..." Tempest continued, her steely gaze narrowing down on Anon as he felt a steady dread rising up in his chest.

"Anon..." Chrysalis spoke, her voice just a quiet whisper to him as his attention was focused entirely on the mare before him.

"Time." Tempest chuckled, shaking her head in amusement.

Anon sunk into his chair slightly. His brow furrowed as the word sunk into his brain. Though no blows were thrown, he still felt as if he'd been struck.

"Is that your game? So what? You've figured out what everypony in Equestria has known for years. Anon is mortal, what of it?" Chrysalis demanded, though her voice was filled with barely contained rage.

Tempest shrugged, "I'll admit, I didn't have you figured out at first. Now? It's clear that the thought is on your mind. How will little Prince Artemis and Princess Dawn manage without their loving father? Especially considering the two alicorns you're married to who'll just have to jot you down in their memoirs along with all the other stallions and mares they've bedded."

"Enough! If you've only insults to spew at the crown, then your cell will have better use of you than we will. Guards." Chrysalis ordered, and nearly every guard in the room rushed to take Tempest back to her cell.

"Not a great idea if you want to change that little fact." Tempest whispered, her voice barely heard over all the commotion of the guards.

"Wait." Anon announced, making every guard freeze just before they could grab Tempest and drag her away.

"Anon?" Chrysalis asked, giving him a worried look.

"What do you mean?" Anon questioned, looking squarely into Tempest's eyes.

"There are ways to grant a nonmagical species immortality. I'm sure your Princess of Friendship has already found one or two of them." Tempest smugly replied.

For the first time since entering the room, it was Anon who suddenly bore a smug look on his face. It was such a jarring shift from the previous few minutes that even Tempest's mask cracked ever so slightly.

"Yes, she has. She's gone to research one right now. I'm not sure what you're offering, but I doubt we need it. Twilight's the smartest mare I know. Also, I'm not even sure if I want to live forever just yet. You think you've got me figured out, but I think you might just think you know more than you really do." Anon rebutted, crossing his arms and sitting back in his chair.

For a few moments, a silent staredown emerged between the two. Neither one was willing to back down, prompting the atmosphere to thicken as the tension in the air reached a fever pitch.

"She wouldn't happen to be researching the 'Elixir of Magicae' would she?" Tempest asked, making Anon's eyes widen.

The tiny break was all Tempest needed to jump on, "She's going to have an awfully disappointing trip to the Crystal Empire when she realizes that the information she needs isn't there. Also, you say that you haven't even decided yet, but come on. You may be fooling yourself and you may be fooling your wives, but you aren't fooling me. You know what I think? I think you're scared, not of losing your wits to something no mortal mind was meant to handle, no... I think you're scared that eternity with your wives will make them all realize that you're just a novelty to them, nothing more. You're scared that rather than dying and being loved in their memory forever, they'll grow tired of you. That said, you've got little ones you want to be with and see them grow. Oh, what a decision you have to make. All of the curses of immortality, or all of the curses of mortality. At least one lets gives you the chance to see if your hunch is right. Then you can always end it yourself in five hundred years when they've all left you and you're all alone."

"That's enough. Take her back to her cell, now." Chrysalis snarled, snapping all the guards to action.

As she was physically dragged out of the room by literally every single guard, Tempest continued to chuckle, her voice reaching out and raking at Anon's ears as he stared ahead, his mind reeling.

"Think on my offer, Prince Anon. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong and your wives will love you forever. There's only one way to know for sure..." Tempest called after him as she was led away.

Anon found that his hand was shaking.

Author's Note

A lot happened in this chapter, huh? There's just so much to do! And so little time! Also, Tempest can be mean when she wants to be, haha. No, I don't want to be bullied by my broken horn edgehorse wife, you can't prove anything!

Chapter 6: A Tempestuous Decison

Several Days Later

The rolled up letter in Anon's grasp crinkled as he clutched it absently in his hand. He could still remember every word on the page as clear as day, his mind still struggling to process the information he'd received just hours prior.

Dear Anon,

I hoped to have better news to share with you by now, but unfortunately, it seems as if what your letter describing what Tempest said was accurate. There are no mentions of where exactly the Hall of Unity resides somewhere in the Peaks of Peril. Looks like Starswirl already did all the research for us again. Leave it to us to have to find some ancient elixir that nopony knows how to find except the last pony we'd ever want to ask.

All joking aside, I am really glad that you're at least considering this. I know you have your reservations, but I promise you that its the right call. Now the only thing we need to do is wring that information out of Tempest. My friends and I will be back in Equestria by next week, so I can help try to get that information out of her. I know there are some obvious down sides here, but there is a really big positive I think you should consider. We now know where to get that information. That's got to count for something, right?

-Your friend, Twilight.

Anon found himself thinking back to the mulberry mare still locked away in her cell. Just how she knew about something so obscure, so rare, and so specific, nearly made his head spin in circles. It just couldn't be possible. She had to be lying, somehow. There simply was no way that-

"Are you okay?" Luna asked, snapping Anon out of his daze.

The lone human of Equestria glanced over to his lunar wife, finding her sitting on her throne beside his. The moon was high in the sky and the last patrons of Night Court were just beginning to funnel out. Where the time when, Anon couldn't say, his mind struggling to recall anything that happened throughout the entire court proceedings. Was he really off in his own little world the entire time? He frowned in concern at his own shirking of his royal duties.

"Yeah. Just been thinking, is all." Anon acknowledged.

Luna gave an understanding nod, "About what Tempest said to you, I assume?" She pried, gently.

Anon huffed and nodded, "Yeah. I guess it's kinda just got me thinking a bit." He admitted.

Luna gently placed her hoof on his hand, the soft warmth emanating from the frog of her hoof embracing his hand like a soft blanket, "You mustn't allow her words to hurt you, my love. She was simply trying to strike us in any way she could. She lost and her anger was taken out on you. Celly, Chryssi, and I will never leave you, no matter what you choose. Besides, how could we ever get bored of you? You're the light of our lives, honey." She offered, kindly.

Anon nodded, though he failed to meet Luna's gaze. For a few moments, silence reigned over them, but that silence was soon interrupted as Dusk and Echo approached the steps leading up to the throne.

"The last of the petitioners are gone, your highnesses. Night Court proceedings are finished." Dusk announced, giving a quick salute, much to Luna's continued annoyance.

"One day, Dusk... one day I will make you stop saluting me." She declared, giving him a mock scowl.

Dusk smirked, "Maybe one day, Princess... but not this day."

Luna rolled her eyes as she got to her hooves, "I suppose it's time to head into the dreamscape for the night, then. I'll see you tomorrow, Anon. I love you." She stated, leaning over to give Anon a gentle smooch.

Anon happily pressed his lips against hers, the whisper-soft touch of her kiss sending a small wave of pleasant relaxation through Anon's body.

"Good night, Lulu. I love you, too." He bid her farewell, getting out of his seat as well to head back to his room.

As Anon exited the throne room, Dusk and Echo fell into step behind him, the trio walked through the nearly silent and empty halls of Canterlot castle as the tranquil moonlight filtered in through the many stained-glass windows lining the hallways. They passed several more thestrals along the way, as well as the occasional unicorn Night Guard, each one giving a salute and standing at attention as Anon passed by. He was quick to return the gesture, allowing them to return to their routines.

Soon enough, the three of them arrived at the royal bedroom, though rather than enter, Anon made a detour and walked to the door just a little further down the hall. Unlike the rest of the castle, there were an additional group of guards at this particular door, only they were changelings. Wearing deep maroon armor made out of the hardest, thickest chitin they had, the group of six changelings stood guard outside of the otherwise unassuming room. At the head of the pack, noticing Anon, Dusk, and Echo long before any of his comrades did, was Pharynx.

"Prince Anon." Pharynx greeted with a small nod.

"Pharynx. How're you guys holding up?" Anon replied, stopping just in front of the group.

"Quite well. It's been a quiet night tonight and she hasn't even needed any intervention from the nursing drones." Pharynx replied. There was a trace of happiness in his voice that Anon was unaccustomed to hearing. The tinge of happiness was all he needed to lift his own spirits slightly.

"That's good. Mind if I step in and see her?" Anon asked.

Pharynx glanced over his wither, biting his lip slightly as he considered the proposition, "She's never allowed guests at this phase of the grubs hatching, but then again, you're probably the only creature she cares enough about to change her mind on the matter. I'd say go right ahead, though it'd probably be best if it was just you."

Anon nodded, before glancing over at Dusk and Echo. Both guards simply nodded in return and took up their post just in front of the doorway, across from the changeling guards. As Anon walked over to the door, all of the changelings present parted, allowing him an easy and straight path to the doorway. He quickly reached the door and twisted the handle, opening the door just enough for him to step inside and close the door behind him.

Sitting there in front of him, her body absolutely covered in small black and white masses, was Chrysalis. Upon some closer inspection, Anon could see that the black and white masses were moving, and every single one of them possessed two small pools of blue for eyes. Some errant hissing filled the air, but none of them seemed to pay him any mind as he slowly approached the Queen of the Changelings.

"You know, I've never had a guest for this part." Chrysalis acknowledged, not even looking up from the grub held in her forelegs.

Anon stopped just a step behind her, "I know. Just couldn't bear to not see what you were up to, is all." He offered.

Chrysalis laughed, "Nonny, you know you're more than welcome to be here. Come, sit with me. I can explain the process a little better if you'd like?" She offered, finally looking over her wither and giving him a caring smile.

Anon nodded and sat beside her, his gaze falling to the bundled grub in her grasp. Said grub appeared to have only just hatched moments ago, if the slim and ooze still dripping of its carapace was any indication. Much to Anon's surprise, the grub was hungrily sucking the love from Chrysalis's chest, if the steady stream of pink mist was any indication.

"They're feeding for the first time. It's... not common for a Changeling Queen to share love with anycreature aside from herself. The only exception is when a new brood is hatched. Then they get to feed off of said Queen to their little hearts' content." Chrysalis explained.

"Why haven't you ever let any other creature see this before?" Anon asked, curiously.

"Would you believe me if I said it would be considered 'showing weakness'?" Chrysalis smirked.

Anon snorted in amusement, "Ah, say no more. I think I get the picture." He teased.

Chrysalis playfully rolled her eyes, "Oh how things have changed. This brood in particular has been quite a doozy."

"How's that?" Anon asked, leaning closer to look at the little grub in Chrysalis's hooves.

"They're all proto-queens." Chrysalis replied, simply.

Anon blinked, "I... see... what does that mean?" He inquired, slowly glancing up to her face.

"It means that each one will be strong enough to start a hive of their own. There's only a dozen of them -usually my broods are a bit larger- but every single one is essentially a future Queen like me." Chrysalis glanced over to him, a small smile on her face.

Anon pursed his lips as he held her gaze, "That's... good, right? They're not gonna end up needing more love than the entire continent can produce, are they?" Anon asked, cautiously.

Chrysalis chuckled, "No, Anon, they won't. With the bonds we now share with Ponykind, love seems to be exchanged, not stolen. I can't describe it but changelings aren't hungry anymore and ponies aren't any lesser for it. If anything, there's even more love than ever before. They'll grow to be strong and caring protectors of Equestria. I'll see to that myself," She replied, before fixing Anon with an amused smile, "It seems that you just have some kind of secret sauce in your seed that creates the absolute best versions of Equines when you breed with us. If you were to offer your services to the populace, I think every creature in Eques would be as strong as Celestia in just a generation." She snickered.

Anon laughed along with her, shaking his head in amusement, "I suppose so. You know, I've been thinking-"

"About what Tempest said, I know." Chrysalis cut him off, nodding slowly.

"Well... yeah. You can always tell, huh?" Anon sighed.

The grub in her grasp finally finished its meal, sighing contently before closing its eyes and falling back to sleep. Chrysalis's levitated the grub on top of her head with a small burst of magic before taking another off of her flank and holding it close to her chest. Much like the previous grub, it almost immediately began feeding off of her love.

"I've been able to gather quite a bit of how you feel. I think that you shouldn't consider her words as anything more than just a desperate attempt to rattle you." Chrysalis responded.

"But..." Anon began.

Chrysalis sighed, "But... you want to know if she was being honest or if she was lying?"

Anon nodded.

"While I have no idea how she knew about the elixir or where Twilight went, I can say that as far as she was concerned, she was telling the truth. She truly does believe that Twilight won't find any information about it the Crystal Empire and that she's somehow the only one who knows where it is. It's easy enough to garner her game from there. She believes she knows that you want immortality, and her plan is to offer you that immortality in exchange for her freedom." Chrysalis surmised, her brow furrowing ever so slightly.

Anon clasped his hands together and stared at the spot on the floor before them both. There was an clumpy amalgamation of sticky chitin Chrysalis used to hold them all in place in the corner of the room, along with the remnants of the eggs that were shed to birth all the grubs crawling all over her. As the two adults sat together, pondering their thoughts in their own minds, several of the grubs worked their ways down and off of Chrysalis's forelegs or flanks and started exploring the room. One in particular, however, went straight to Anon and crawled onto his lap.

The sudden feeling of something crawling onto his leg almost made Anon jump, but just as he flinched and looked down, he saw the face of one of his children looking up at him, a curious glint in her compound eyes.

"Well that's certainly interesting." Chrysalis noted, her interest piqued.

"How do you mean?" Anon replied, slowly reaching down and brushing his fingers against the the grub's cheek. He received a happy nuzzle in response.

"She recognizes you." Chrysalis replied, shaking her head in disbelief.

"She does? Well, I do have a pretty unforgettable face." Anon smirked.

"You really are something else, Anon... this brood might develop faster than any other brood I've ever had. If they're already developed enough to recognize their father's scent, they'll be fully grown in just a couple decades." Chrysalis explained.

"Isn't that pretty normal? Like, eighteen was considered an adult back home." Anon questioned.

"For a human or a pony, sure. For a changeling Queen? Unheard of. It took me a hundred years to reach maturity." Chrysalis shook her head.

"Oh wow." Anon replied, his gaze falling down to the grub now nuzzling into his hand like it was her favorite blanket, "So... how long with they live?" He inquired.

Chrysalis bit her lip, already well aware of where the conversation was going, "They're all proto-queens, so... as long as me, at least. Indefinitely, so long as they receive enough love."

Anon nodded, "So another dozen kids I'd be abandoning if I die..." He replied, bitterly.

"Nonny..." Chrysalis placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"You know, I never thought that dying of old age was selfish before... now though? I dunno..." He shook his head.

"Honey, there is nothing selfish about choosing to live your life as you are naturally. If you don't want immortality, then we will all love you just the same. I'll admit... we all want you to take the option, but... if you choose not to, we would never dare to call you selfish. We all know all too well that immortality can be both a blessing... and a terrible curse." Chrysalis comforted, gently rubbing his shoulder with her hoof.

Anon didn't reply for some time. Though his emotions were in utter turmoil and he knew Chrysalis could easily sense this, he found himself unable to find the right words. So instead, he sat there with her for a while, allowing her comforting touch to be his anchor in the storm that was raging inside his head. As the moon crested its apex in the sky, the bright white light beaming in through the window slowly shifted on the floor. It was only as the light touched Anon's knee that he looked up to see the display on the floor before him. The particular mural Chrysalis's nursery was closest to just so happened to be a smaller one displaying his marriage to both Celestia and Luna. The silhouettes of the lunar and solar alicorns flanked his on each side, and there seemed to be nothing but joy all around them.

Staring into this vision of the past awoke something deep inside Anon. Try as he might, he couldn't define it, nor could he place it, but it was there all the same. All he knew was that it was a drive, an unending and unyielding drive that drove him forward, even when he found himself utterly lost. It only took a few moments for him to connect the dots and realize that the drive he felt now was the same one he felt when he fought against Tirek to protect his family. It was a drive fueled by nothing more than love; his love. He knew in that moment that his decision was made.

"I think I'm gonna go speak with Tempest again." Anon announced, sitting upright.

Chrysalis frowned in concern, "Are you sure?"

Anon nodded, "Yeah... she has information I need."

"Don't you want somepony to go with you?" Chrysalis pressed, moving to sit up.

Anon quickly stayed her with a hand on her wither, "No, Chryssi. What you're doing is too important. Luna is in the dreamscape and Celly is asleep. I can handle this. Besides, I've got a few guards who I'm sure would love an opportunity to kick her ass if she tries anything." He said, offering a lopsided smile.

Chrysalis snorted and shook her head, "Fair enough. I do wish the timing was a little better. One of the worst parts of hatching a new brood is that they're insatiable. At this rate, they're going to drain me of all the love you, Celly, and Lulu have so generously been pumping into me the last year." She smirked.

Anon grinned and leaned over to Chrysalis, planting a firm, yet supple kiss on her cheek. He pulled away only to move to her ear, "Well then, I'll just have to pump some more love into you tonight, won't I?" He whispered.

Chrysalis bit her lip, "Mmmhh... only if you wake up Celly, too. I do so love having at least two of you to play with when I'm feeling peckish."

Anon chuckled before cupping her cheek and pulling her into a deep, loving kiss. For a few moments, he simply rolled his tongue over hers, savoring her taste and her touch, while she was happy to indulge him.

"How's about we all go to sleep and I'll tell Luna to come set up a shared dream for us all in twenty minutes?" He purred.

"Sounds lovely, my dear. That'll give me just enough time to put the little ones back to bed." She throatily murmured, before drawing her tongue up Anon's cheek.

"Alright, hun. I'll see you in bed." Anon replied, pulling away fully and heading for the exit.

"I'll be looking forward to it, stud." Chrysalis called after him as he walked out the door.

Anon closed the door behind him and headed off on his way without a word to the rest of the guards posted outside of the room. With practiced ease, Dusk and Echo fell into step behind him, the trio quickly making their way through the hallways of the castle until they arrived at the entrance to the dungeon. At her post, standing guard at said entrance, was a royal guard dressed in a noticeably black uniform. The shape and contours of her armor matched the usual royal guard garb, but the plume atop her helmet was blood red, and the rest of her ensemble was as dark as midnight.

"Prince Anon, good evening." The guard greeted, snapping to attention and saluting.

"At ease. I need to see the prisoner." Anon replied, giving her a polite nod.

"At... this hour, sir? Not questioning you or anything but I wasn't aware of any more interrogations happening until tomorrow afternoon." The guard hesitantly replied.

"I know it's off schedule, but... it's important. Have her brought to the interrogation room." Anon ordered, slightly more firmly this time.

With a nod, the guard saluted once more, "Yes sir. I'll get her brought up right away. You can head in if you'd like, otherwise it'll be about five minutes before she gets up here." She explained, before turning around and trotting down the hall.

Anon proceeded ahead, following the many halls he'd come to recognize over the past few weeks. Dusk and Echo followed closely behind, their ears flicking back and forth like little radar dishes as they listened for any unwelcome sound. However, much to Anon's surprise, the first voice to break the silence and monotony of their walk was Dusk.

"So... any particular reason you want to talk with her at this hour?" He inquired, professionally.

Anon shook his head, "I probably shouldn't, but... she has answers and I need them."

Dusk nodded, "So, you have decided then?" He asked, curiously.

Anon firmly nodded, "I have. No matter what's going to happen to me, I have to be there for my kids. For my wives... for everyone."

Dusk and Echo shared sage nods of approval, "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad to hear you say that. It'll be good to have you around for the long term." Dusk smiled.

"Thanks, Dusky." Anon replied, giving a small smirk to the stallion, whose ears promptly flattened against his helm at the nickname.

"Just gonna throw this out there... I think you should wait until tomorrow when your normally scheduled time is with her. Coming here at this hour might make you look desperate, and Faust knows we don't want to give that mare any ammunition to use against you whatsoever. Best to keep her bargaining chips as thin as we can." Echo chimed in.

"I know. You're right. Although there is one thing that we have going for us that I don't think she's prepared for." Anon replied, glancing over his shoulder.

"What's that?" Echo questioned.

"She has no idea what time it is. For all she knows, it's been twenty four hours since the last interrogation she had. Or, Hell, it could be a week." Anon rebutted.

Dusk and Echo shared a nod, "Smart move, keeping her underground. Wish Alcatrotz wasn't a pile of rubble down there. That would've been a great place to hold her." Dusk noted.

"That makes two of us. Regardless, here's our stop." Anon announced, turning around a corner and walking the two thestrals to the door.

Anon opened said door and walked inside, Dusk and Echo taking up their respective positions on either side of the door. Unlike the usual spread that was set up on the table during normal interrogations, there was nothing on the table, a fact Anon was certain Tempest would pick up on the second she entered the room. Mentally shrugging, he took his seat at the table and waited.

He didn't have to wait long at all, as the chinking and jangling of chains quickly reached his ears through the wall. The door was swiftly unlocked and opened, revealing Tempest and a pair of guards on either side of her. While the bright lights inside the room blinded her for a second, it didn't take long at all for Tempest's eyes to adjust and a sinister sneer to form on her muzzle as she saw just who would be speaking with her.

"Ah, thought on my offer, have you?" She asked, taking a step into the room.

"Take a seat, Tempest." Anon instructed.

Without giving her a chance to respond, both guards pushed her forward, nudging her to the chair opposite of Anon. She was sat down across from him, though unlike before, the guards did not remove her hoof-cuffs. As the guards walked away and took their posts at the door, Tempest held Anon's gaze, that smirk never leaving her muzzle. After nearly a minute of silence between the two, she slowly held up her forelegs, the chains clinking against one another as she showed Anon her hooves.

"You know, Celestia normally takes these off of me when she wants to chat. You've also never kept them on while I'm in here. Am I to assume that's a bad thing?" She inquired, the slightest hint of teasing in her tone.

"Tempest, you have information that I want. You give it to me, and I can promise you your freedom. How does that sound?" Anon replied, getting straight to the point.

All four guards in the room glanced over to Anon, worried looks forming on their muzzles at the mere thought of releasing such a dangerous and traitorous mare. However, their attention was swiftly ripped over to Tempest as the sound of her deep, menacing chuckle echoed throughout the room. For Dusk and Echo, it was unsettling, but for the other guards, it was downright intimidating.

"Now we're talking," Tempest smiled, "But how's about we throw in something else for good measure?"

"What do you want?" Anon replied.

"I want my horn to be restored to me."

Author's Note

Well Chryssi was bound to pop those eggs out eventually, huh? "Grubs" just doesn't sound very cute but eh, they're gonna be adorable as they grow up, I'm sure. Hope you guys liked that one. I really love making Chryssi a loving mother so enjoy. There will be more to come...

Chapter 7: Intertwined Lovers

Anon made his way back into his bedroom with a quiet gait to his step. Behind him, Dusk and Echo took up their positions at the bedroom door, stoically facing away as the door closed behind Anon. Hearing a soft *click* as the latch locked on itself, Anon tip-toed his way over into the actual bedroom itself. Almost immediately, he saw the two small beds connected to each other that both Artemis and Dawn slept on. The pair of foals snoozed peacefully in the midnight hour, their adorable little wings twitching every now and again as they slept.

As much as he loved his children, Anon was ever grateful that he was married to the only dream walker on the planet. Luna's ability to allow them all to share a dream meant that even with the addition of the little beds beside their own massive bed, the romance in their relationship was largely unaffected by the little ones. They didn't even have to worry about waking them up in the dead of night.

Silently making his way over to his own massive bed, Anon was treated to the sight of Celestia sleeping softly on her side, Chrysalis nuzzled up against her. The changeling queen had become the little spoon at some point in the night, but she was completely okay with the development, if her soft breaths were any indication. Meanwhile, Celestia's snow white wing was draped over her little spoon, acting as a second blanket atop the one they already shared.

Seeing no reason to crawl under forelegs or wake either of them up, Anon went around to Celestia's side of the mattress and crawled onto bed behind her. He moved slowly, so as not to wake her, a task that was made that much easier by the soft and extremely compliant cloud material their mattress was made of. As Anon curled up behind his wife, he wrapped an arm around her barrel, giving her just the barest of squeezes.

However, much to his surprise, Anon suddenly felt his wife shift in his grasp, the muscles in her back tensing and moving as she slowly moved her foreleg. He soon felt the warmth and pressure of her hoof as it came to a rest atop his hand, the gentle frog of her hoof covering nearly his entire hand.

"You've been up late, dear." Celestia said, her voice nothing more than a quiet whisper in the evening moonlight.

Anon hugged her just a bit tighter, "Was dealing with some things. It took longer than I expected, but it's all figured out now." He replied, just as quiet.

"Mmmhmm... I do expect to hear all about it in the morning. For now, Chyrssi informed me that you have some plans for us this night." Celestia replied, a playful note in her tone.

Anon grinned, "I do. We just need to get to sleep first."

For a brief moment, Anon saw the faintest glow of yellow flash around Celestia's horn.

"We should be drifting off any second." She purred.

"I'll see you there, Celly." Anon murmured, feeling incredibly sleepy all of a sudden.

"I can't wait." Celestia whispered, smiling as Anon cuddled closer and planted a sleepy kiss on her neck.

Just like that, the two of them feel to slumber's embrace. The next thing to greet Anon's eyes was a majestic field of orange and yellow as far as the eye could see. The fading sunlight glistened off of the crystal clear ocean just a little further on the horizon, and the reflected light made the entire world seem like a warm painting. He looked behind him, finding mountains as high as the clouds, and the indigo colors of the rapidly growing twilight. Such a combination of dark and light was only possible in a dream, and Anon smiled as he instantly recognized that he was inside one.

"I'm getting better at this." Anon announced, not quite caring who heard him.

"Indeed you are, my love. You knew it was a dream before I even arrived." Luna replied, her voice echoing from every corner of the world around Anon.

Suddenly, all of the little twinkling light high in the skyline began to shimmer. Anon glanced up at the light show, finding the brilliant lights moving around each other until they formed something of a funnel that quickly rushed toward his side. Said funnel turned more and more opaque with light until it was a swirling vortex of white, making it impossible to see inside. However, just as it touched the ground, it exploded outwards, raining little white sparkles all over the surrounding area and revealing Luna beside him.

"So flashy." Anon teased, crossing his arms.

However unlike everything else in the dream, Anon instantly noticed something about his arms. It was the simple fact that they were both his arms. He found his attention pulled to the skin and flesh that made up his missing limb, the painful reminder of what he'd almost lost playing back in his head like a sour memory.

"I'd almost forgotten what it was like to have this." Anon commented, glancing around his hand and forearm.

A sad look crossed Luna's eyes, "Worry not, my Love. Tonight is a night for us to enjoy, not worry about the past. For tonight, just let everything else go and focus only on us." She offered, giving him a loving look as she nuzzled his hand.

Anon couldn't help himself and cupped her cheeks with both hands. His thumbs massaged her ears while his fingers scratched at the back of her neck, through her mane. Such ministrations almost made her melt into putty beneath him, but she quickly shook her head free of his hands, blowing a raspberry at him as she did so.

"As much as I love scritches, we do have a date to attend to, or have you forgotten, Nonny?" Luna teased, her horn glowing white hot.

"Of course not. Let's get this party started." Anon smirked.

Luna turned and fired a beam of pure energy that tore open a small portal before them. Without hesitation, both alicorn and man jumped through the portal, finding themselves landing in the exact same dreamscape, only there were two other equines already there and waiting for them.

Celestia groaned as Chrysalis's tongue wriggled around inside of her folds, touching, caressing, and tasting her in all the right places to make her squeal. The arrival of Anon and Luna was hardly even acknowledged aside from a nod and wink by the solar diarch, but nothing more. Seeing the sight before them, Luna smiled.

"I see you two couldn't wait to get started. I think we'll just have to join in." She chuckled.

"I got dibbs on Chryssi." Anon called, rushing over to his Changeling lover.

With a single thought, Anon was suddenly completely naked, and his cock already at full mast. He shoved himself into Chrysalis without a moments hesitation, her damp, moist confines constricting around him like a vice as he impaled her on his cock. Chrysalis moaned into Celestia's cunny as her pussy was utterly stuffed with the monolith of man meat that was Anon's cock. Meanwhile, Luna strolled over behind Celestia, a sly smirk on her face as she took up her position standing just above her sibling.

However, as Celestia glanced up at Luna, she instantly noticed that there was something very different about her sister. Unlike her normal, lithe and petite appearance, she appeared much bulkier and brawnier, almost like a... stallion. Celestia owlishly blinked as her sister was now her brother, the masculine and hard jawline leaving little room for doubt. His hair was shorter, his muscles more defined, and most importantly, his heavy, mottled cock bobbed under his barrel, precum already dripping from the cockhead.

"I've always wanted to try this as a stallion. Might as well do it now." Luna announced, his voice sounding quite noticeably deeper and more suave than before.

The pinkish tip of Luna's mottled cock gave way to black flesh that trailed back up to her groin, where two heavy balls hung under the shaft. Celestia found herself unconsciously licking her lips as she stared at the dribbling trail of stringy precum, hanging down and just begging for a lick.

"Eh, we've done kinkier shit." Celestia shrugged, before lapping at the head of Luna's cock.

A deep, melodious growl left the lunar alicorn as he took a wider stance, bracing himself while the tip of his cockhead was lavished with Celestia's skillful tongue.

"You know, I really never thought about you turning into a stallion during sex. I'm not complaining but I've only ever imagined Chryssi doing it." Anon chuckled, before groaning as Chrysalis constricted her velvety walls around him.

"I've offered to give you the stallion treatment and you've refused every time, Nonny." Chrysalis replied, her voice sounding in all of their ears even though her mouth was quiet occupied.

"Our Nonny is just... not quite open to that sort of thing... just yet." Luna replied, wincing in pleasure as Celestia licked the underside of her cock like a popsiclestick.

"You are quite sensitive, dear sister mine... or should I say, brother mine?" Celestia teased, giving her sibling a wink as she trailed down Luna's shaft and took one of her hefty nuts into her mouth.

"That mouth of yours would be better severed sucking this cock dry, then making jokes, oh sister dearest." Luna replied, a slightly teasing and slightly threatening tone in her voice.

"Well then take charge. I've been ready for you this whole time. I've been wondering when you would fuck my thro-ghgk" Celestia began to reply, only to be silenced by Luna's taking a step back and thrusting her hips forward, shoving her cock all the way down Celestia's throat until she was fully hilted.

"Like that, Tia?" Luna smugly asked, her shaft now entombed in the moist, tight confines of her sister's throat.

"Rude." Celestia's voice replied, echoing in all of their ears.

A chorus of chuckles rang out through the group for a moment, but the laughter was quickly forgone as they started to get into the meat of making love. Anon's hips slammed into Chrsyalis's so hard and fast that her entire ass jiggled with each impact, sending a tidal wave of flesh rippling around her flanks and making her teats jiggle. The sight and knowledge was so arousing to him that Anon leaned over her, one arm wrapping around her barrel while the other migrated down to her teats and squeezed them.

Quite unexpectedly, the second Anon squeezed one of her sizable teats, a squirt of milk shot out of her nipple. Anon did a double take at the reaction, before a sinister smirk formed on his face.

"Oh, Chryssi you kinky bitch. God, I love you so much." He grinned as he pinched her nipple.

Chrsyalis moaned around her mouthful of Celestia's muff, her tongue wriggling and flexing madly as she was stimulated in ways she'd never been before.

"Anything for you... Nonny..." Her voice echoed, heavy with lust and breathless.

On the other side of the affair, Luna thrust into Celestia's throat with absoultely no mercy. He fucked her throat like a horse in rut. Each impact shoved Celestia's large frame into Chrysalis's face, which was compounded by Anon timing his thrusts in time with his, essentially, smashing Celestia and Chrysalis together between their cocks and driving both mares to new heights of pleasure. Celestia gagged repeatedly around wide load that stuffed her throat, though she needed no real oxygen in the dreamscape. She simply knew how much Anon and Luna loved the sound of her choking on cock.

The obscene bulge that formed in Celestia's throat would kill a normal mare in the real world. Her esophagus was stretched and abused so harshly that her neck had to bend at an unnatural angle to accommodate the sheer girth that was being stuffed down her gullet. All the same, she felt her orgasm fast approaching, due partly to the eroticism of the whole situation, and largely to Chrysalis's skillful tongue work. Her hindlegs trembled as she felt the tingling sensations creeping up her spine, compounding upon each other more and more until they were ready to burst inside of her.

It was as she felt the flaring head of Luna's cock completely block her airway and trap the lunar alicorn's shaft in her trachea that Celestia finally burst. Her body convulsed as euphoria washed over her like a waterfall. Her legs trembled, held only in place by Chrysalis's hooves as she continued to eat her out through her orgasm.

Atop of her, the choking, gagging, and gurgling sounds her sister made, drove the final nail in Luna's metaphorical coffin. His balls clenched and he flexed his belly as the first spurt of his seed sprayed down her esophagus. With the flared head of his cock completely sealing Celestia's airway, there was absolutely nowhere for the seed to go but straight down into her stomach. Her throat bulged as she gulped down spurt after spurt slithered down her gullet.

From his position, Anon could clearly see each shot of Luna's load as it traveled to her stomach. The sight was as arousing as it was depraved, and only spurred him on further toward his climax. With renewed fervor, he slammed his hips into Chrsyalis's needy pussy as hard and fast as he could, pushing himself to the edge just a few moments later. He could feel, rather than hear, the changeling queen purr as she felt the first shot of his seed paint her insides white. The creamy blast of human baby batter sent her over the edge as well, her already stifling and constrictive confines getting just that much hotter and tighter as she felt much the same pleasure Celestia was feeling.

Unlike the real world, the dream world allowed certain liberties to be entertained where they were otherwise impossible. As such, it was only natural that Anon produced enough spunk to visibly distend Chyrsalis's barrel to the point where she looked eight months pregnant. Pearly white jets of human spunk squired out around the seal of her pussy lips around his cock, forming a puddle underneath them both that was quickly met with the puddling juices drooling out of Celestia's snatch faster than Chrysalis could drink them down. Additionally, the marecum dribbling down Chrysalis's thighs only added to the lewd puddle of bodily fluids beneath them.

When the last of their respective orgasms finally came to a close, all of them were noticeably wet and sweaty. Rivulets of marecum clung to the short fur along Chrysalis's inner thighs and chitin, while Celestia's entire rear end was completely soaked in her orgasmic fluids. Anon's thighs were both similarly soaked in marish fluids as well as a measure of his own seed. Luna was quick to join him, as he pulled his length from Celestia's throat, a deluge of cum spilling from her mouth as she coughed up all the excess seed that she couldn't quite swallow in time.

"Fuck... that was hot." Anon admitted, after catching his breath.

"You could say that again. You know sex-swap spells do exist. We can totally do this in real life one day." Chrysalis replied, finally using her mouth to talk as she wasn't muzzle-deep in Celestia's marehood.

Luna chuckled, "Perhaps one day. Those are quite difficult to cast if I recall. For now, what would you all like to try next?" She asked.

"Oh! I have an idea!" Celestia excitedly exclaimed.

"Oh? What's that, dear?" Chrysalis grinned.

"It invovles a certain 'fusion' spell we discussed a while ago..." Celestia replied, an almost predatory smile forming on her muzzle as she glanced up to Luna's face, past his still dangling cock.

"Oh? You want to do that one? Celly, you dirty, dirty girl." Chrysalis purred.

"What fusion spell? I haven't heard of this before." Anon questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"Just stay there and look as sexy as you always do, Anon. You're going to love this." Luna replied, stepping back and transforming back into a mare with a quick flash of light.

Celestia quickly rolled over to her hooves along with Chrysalis as they both hurried over to either side of the dark alicorn. Anon skeptically watched from his position, one hand stroking his chin as if he was in deep thought, while his cock continued to stand proud, aimed at the three mares he loved.

There wasn't much buildup to the act. Rather, there wasn't any more than Anon was used to seeing with any spell from any unicorn ever. All three of their horns ignited in their respective colors, the three bright lights illuminating the world around them for a moment, before long tendrils of magic extended from each of them. They reached out and coalesced into a ball just a few feet in front of them. The swirling colors mixed and spun in a dizzying display that only got faster and faster until the colors suddenly turned white hot. Without a word, all three mares walked into the light, disappearing with a flash so bright that Anon had to cover his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, Anon was stunned. Instead of three beings before him, there was one singular being. Standing there, the perfect depiction of alluring beauty, was a mare he almost didn't recognize. Her coat was a blush-ish white, with black splotches on her flanks that he instantly recognized. She had a golden carapace on her back but her wings somehow appeared to be a hybrid of feathers and insectoid wings at the same time. Her chest was extremely fluffy and soft, covered in notably whiter fur that stuck out even against her coat.

Her mane and tail were both a mixture of the cosmos and the swirling colors that Anon instantly recognized as Celestia's. Her mane and tail waved in a slow dance like either alicorn, the sight as hypnotizing as it was beautiful. Lastly, her face was a thing of profound beauty by itself, but her eyes took his breath away. They held all three mare's iris colors in sequence from green, teal, and magenta on the outside, framing slitted iris's that were uniquely Chrsyalis's. Finally, atop her head sat a horn that was long and slightly curved, reminding Anon of both Celestia and Chrysalis at the same time.

"Hey there, stud." Her voice startled Anon, not because it was unpleasant, but because it was all three mares speaking at once. Much like how Chrysalis's voice used to have a dual-tone, Anon heard a tri-toned voice.

"Woah..." He whispered, still very much in shock.

"See something you like?" That strange, tri-toned voice called to him like a sirens song.

"Anon likey." Anon dumbly replied, walking forward on autopilot.

"Then show us how much you 'likey'." They replied, giggling into their hoof.

Anon reached out with his hand and brushed his fingers through the slowly billowing mane of his combined lovers. The mare before him was even more stunning up close, and he could see that under her fur, little splotches of light flickered to live like a bioluminescent creature from the bottom of the ocean. The sight was as majestic as it was mezmorizing, but before he could get lost in his appreciation of beauty, he felt a hoof wrap around his waist and pull him closer. His lips were pressed against theirs, and he felt the soft, tender touch of love once again.

Anon quickly felt a warm, moist, and extremely long tongue press against his lips, demanding entry. Who was he to deny such a polite knock at the door? He gladly reached out with his own tongue, tracing theirs as they wrapped their tongue around his like a snake coiling around its meal. He could barely feel the fangs in their mouth as the dance of tongue played back and forth, until Anon could wait no longer.

With a gentle push of his hands, the fusion of his three lovers quite easily laid down on the ground before him. As they laid on their side, Anon leaned down and crawled on top of them, maintaining the kiss the entire time and only breaking it the hybrid laid on their back. Now with unabashed access to their teats and marehood, Anon found his attention pulled to the sight of the distinctly blue areola that reminded him all too much of Luna. Below that, the pink lips of Celestia's labia called out to him, while Chrysalis's vulva colored everything else around it.

The sight only furthered Anon's arousal, and so it was without a moment's hesitation that he slowly plunged his cock into the mare beneath him. The soft moan of all three mares harmonized in his ear, making the penetration that much sweeter, and as inch after inch sank into the sublime tightness of the fusion's pussy, Anon could already feel contractions all around his length. It seemed that Chrysalis's ability to constrict and control quite literally every square inch of her sex was still quite active even with Celestia and Luna sharing the same space.

As he hilted, Anon let out a deep groan, his shaft already under amorous attack. He slowly slid himself out, the clinging, longing touch of all three mares' insides trying desperately to hold him in place, but the departure of his shaft only promised its return all the quicker. As the tip of his cockhead crested the deliciously pink lips of their labia, Anon thrust himself back in until his balls slapped the juicy ponut just beneath the pleasure point his prick was plundering.

"Gyah!" The mare cried, their wings flaring out and straining against the floor.

Anon continued to thrust, the overwhelming sensations surrounding his cock only driving him to push harder and faster. The trio of mares under him moaned and cried out in joyous bliss as his cock kissed their cervix again and again with each thrust.

"N-Nonny!"

Hearing just one of his mares moan his name in pleasure was enough to kick his sex drive into high gear, but to hear all three mares in symphony, was a new experience entirely. Anon could feel his heart quicken and the blood in his brain rush to his cock as the thought of making all three mares cum at the same time filled his mind.

"Getting close already?" He teased, only further increasing his pace.

He received a shaky nod in response, "I-we... w-we feel not only our own senses... b-b-but each other's as well..." They replied, struggling to make words as more and more moans were forced from their lips.

The knowledge that all three mares were not only experiencing their own slice of heaven at his hand, but all experiencing each other's at the same time, was music to Anon's ears. Seeing no reason to dawdle, he grabbed both of the fusion's forelegs and pinned them down on either side of their head. He looked straight into their eyes as he thrust as hard and fast as his hips would allow. They held his gaze all the while, their chest heaving as wave after wave of euphoric rapture was thrust into them, threatening to shove all three of them over the edge any second.

"You're so beautiful... I love you. I love you all more than I could ever put into words." Anon whispered, his words filled with sincerity.

Knowing full well that Chrysalis could sense his sincerity, and that by extension, Celestia and Luna could as well, Anon smiled as he saw tears brim at the edges of their eyes. He silenced any reply they would have uttered by quickly leaning in and deeply kissing them, the act serving as the final nail in their coffin.

Celestia, Luna, and Chrysalis came at once, their shared pussy clenching hard on Anon as a tidal wave of rapture washed over them. Tingling sensations ran up their spine as their body went rigid. Stars appeared in all of their vision and for a moment, the entire universe faded into nothingness, only to be replaced by pleasure so intense that it rocked the three immortal goddesses to their core. Each experienced their own orgasm, magnified three fold by the other two, driving them into a downward spiral that nearly wiped their minds clean.

Anon, meanwhile, felt the clenching long before he felt the gush of marecum wash over his cock, squirting out all around his shaft and dribbling down to the floor below. The sight before him, the knowledge of what he'd done for his mares, and the fervorant milking sensation on his manhood quickly drove him to the edge as well, and so with a grunt, Anon buried his cock as deeply as he could and shot his load straight into all three mares' womb.

Through it all, they maintained the kiss. It was only after the most intense orgasm of their lives, that Celestia, Chrysalis, and Luna finally broke the kiss. Tears spilled from their eyes as they stared into Anon's, though there was nothing but happiness and love in the air between them.

"Had fun?" Anon smiled.

"We love you too, Nonny... more than you could ever know." They replied, gently cupping his cheek with a hoof.

Anon chuckled, "Ditto."

The fusion of his wives and lover laughed.

"Would... would you mind if we stayed like this for the rest of the night? I-we've never been able to... feel each other like this and to feel you like this... it's hard to put into words." They replied.

Anon quickly pecked their muzzle, "Girls, we've still got all night. I'm not done with you three yet."

Author's Note

Well you have to take advantage of being able to share a dream, don't you? Hope you guys liked this one. There'll be much more fun times to come!

Chapter 8: A Plan in Motion

The Next Morning

Celestia's sun slowly rose over the horizon, its warm and majestic light heralding the coming of a new day and all the opportunity that comes with such a promise. Soft rays of gentle sunlight bathed the world in light and warmth, turning the morning air orange and pink while the last of the moon disappeared from sight. The world slowly rose with the sun, creatures of all manner waking from their slumber and taking the morning with an admittedly sluggish step. Some mares and stallions opted to start their morning with a nice, hot cup of coffee, while others hopped right into a nice warm shower to slowly wake themselves up for the day. The world was a perfect picture of patience and serenity.

"You're gonna do what!?" Celestia exclaimed, waking both Artemis and Dawn in the process.

Perhaps not everywhere was a perfect picture of quaint calmness. Especially given the screams and cries of two cranky foals as Anon quickly rushed over to pick them up and calm them.

"Nonny, you cannot be serious!?" Luna added.

"Even I think this is a bad idea and I usually try not to weigh in on things like this." Chrysalis chimed in.

The quartet of mares and human were all spread out throughout the bedroom. While Celestia was at the balcony, the sleepiness gone from her eyes as she stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed at her husband, Luna was laying in the bed, having just finished lowering the moon and began to take her rest for the day. Chrysalis, meanwhile was standing in the bathroom doorway, having just finished scrubbing the previous night's wet dream from her thighs.

Standing in the middle of the room, feeling very surrounded -and for good reason- was Anon. Under the disbelieving glare of all three of his lovers, he held firm, though there was no denying that he was slightly taken aback by all three of them ganging up on him at once.

"I said I'm gonna have Tempest lead us to find the elixir." Anon declared, firmly.

Celestia face-hooved, "Honey, while there's certainly a lot to take in here, let me start by asking; why in in Equestria are you even considering letting that mare out of prison in the first place?"

"I spoke with her last night and I made up my mind." Anon replied, holding his ground.

"Nonny, when you told me you were going to talk with Tempest, I figured you would just speak about the information, get some clues, and then head back to bed, not make a deal with her and promise her freedom in exchange for a trip to Faust-knows-where." Chrysalis retorted, shaking her head.

"Hold on now, I didn't promise-" Anon tried to respond, only for Luna to speak over him.

"Wha- you knew about this?" Luna questioned, glancing over to Chrysalis.

"Did I not just explain my involvement?" Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter if Chryssi was involved. What matters is what Anon agreed to with Tempest. Nonny, what in Equestria did you agree to give her?" Celestia pressed, redirecting everyone's attention to Anon.

Anon rubbed the back of his neck, "I told her that in exchange for the information and her guiding me there, I'd see if I could grant her a royal pardon and help her get her horn back."

"Nonny, you can't just pardon her. She attacked us!" Luna shot back.

"I feel like you guys are kinda missing the point here." Anon countered.

"What point? Nonny, you can't just promise things like this without even consulting us!" Celestia exclaimed.

"I didn't promise her anything! Will you just listen to me for a second!?" Anon shouted, his sudden spike in volume making all three mares wince.

With now perfect silence hanging over them like a smog, Anon let out a sigh and brushed his hair back with his hand, "Look, I spoke with her. She told me that she'll give up that information if and only if we grant her a royal pardon. As for her leading us there, I decided that I want to go personally because this is for me at the end of the day. I'm literally choosing immortality. I made up my mind last night. Thought you'd all be happier to hear that." He explained, his expression becoming more and more downcast.

Realizing her mistake, Celestia quickly rushed to Anon and hugged him with her wings. She nuzzled her cheek against his chin before fixing him with a sad look, "Honey, I'm so sorry. You're right. I just... don't trust that mare, and everything you and Chryssi have told me makes me think that she's simply beyond redemption. I don't trust her at all, and I don't believe that she should be alone with you for any length of time, let along a journey to Faust-knows-where."

Anon's gaze fell somewhat, only for Celestia to nudge his chin with her muzzle, making him look into her soft magenta eyes,

"That said, if you are truly certain that you want this for yourself... I cannot express how happy I am." She said, a beaming smile forming on her face.

Celestia's smile was infectious, and Anon quickly found himself sporting the same smile as Luna and Chrysalis quickly came up beside him, joining into the hug as well.

"Anon, if you're sure... then I'm sure too. I'm sorry for yelling at you, I just... I love you so much and the thought of that mare doing something to hurt or mislead you just makes me sick." Luna apologized, tightly hugging Anon's waist.

"I'm just glad you've made up your mind. Keeping us all in limbo like that was not very kind of you, Hun." Chrysalis teased, nuzzling Anon's shoulder.

Surrounded by his mares, utterly bathed in love as he was, Anon found that he couldn't even begin to hold a grudge for the previous shouting match. He gladly pulled all three mares closer, hugging them tightly as they simply soaked in the knowledge of his decision. Unfortunately, as with all good things, it wasn't meant to last, and a polite knock at the door quickly tore their attention away from each other.

"Yes?" Celestia called.

"Princess, it's time for breakfast. The chef is wondering where you and Anon are." Raven called through the door.

"We'll be right out, Raven." Celestia called back.

"Well, I certainly wish you'd brought this news forth in the dream last night. How am I meant to get any rest knowing what I know now? I'm so excited I could prance on the moon!" Luna giggled.

"Let's not get too excited now, Lulu. Happy as we all are with Nonny's decision, we do still have a dangerous mare we must deal with." Celestia diplomatically replied.

The rest of the mares all nodded in agreement.

"Well, why don't we go deal with her right now then?" Chrysalis suggested.

"Breakfast first, Chryssi. Tempest can wait a few more minutes." Celestia replied, her stomach grumbling slightly.

And so it was that Celestia, Chrysalis, and Anon headed to the dining room for breakfast while Luna went to bed, the trio carrying both Dawn and Artemis with them as they walked. The five of them arrived and ate their meal in relative peace, only the occasional disturbance from a maid or butler as they refilled drinks or took empty trays out of the room.

"So, assuming we're going to give Tempest what she wants in return for her help finding this elixir, how are we even going about searching for it?" Celestia asked, after finishing her breakfast.

Anon shook his head, "I'm not a hundred percent sure just yet."

"Well do we even know for certain that Tempest is the only one that knows of this elixir's location? Or anything else for that matter? She could by lying about everything she knows for all we know." Celestia reasoned.

Chrysalis shook her head, "Unfortunately, that mare does somehow know, or at least, she fully and completely believes she knows. I could sense absolutely no deceit from her when she told us of it."

Celestia deflated somewhat at that, but quickly turned her attention to Anon, "Alright, so if we know for sure that it does exist and Tempest does know where it is, then we need to make a plan to get it. Twilight should be returning next week, and I think it'd be prudent if you had somepony with alicorn-level magic alongside you."

"Alright, so then we just wait for Twilight to get back?" He questioned.

Celestia nodded, "That would be the wisest course of action. Though, that does bring me onto my next question. How do we get there?" She pondered.

"Airship would be the fastest way." Anon offered.

"Unfortunately, an airship won't be possible. All of ours are back on defensive routes around our borders and with the Storm King still out there... I'd rather a more discreet method be used. His ships are faster and more heavily armed than ours." Celestia trailed off with a sigh.

"Tempest would've done a number on us, had she got the drop on us, huh?" Anon asked.

Celestia somberly nodded, "I still cannot fathom how she knows more of this than Twilight does."

"Naturally, she'll have to go along with. She won't give the location unless you give her what she wants first. It would be in all of our best interests' to ensure she actually takes us to the right place before granting her what she wants in return..." Chrysalis trailed off.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at the Changeling Queen, "You seem like you had more to say, Chryssi." She commented.

Chrysalis pursed her lips, "Well... much as I hate to admit it, we don't truly need to take her with us. There are... other ways to extract the information from her, provided I have time alone with her and nopony is too squeamish about it." She reluctantly admitted.

Celestia vehemently shook her head, "No. Much as I want that information, I will not stoop to torture or mind control to get it. There are lines we simply will not cross, and that is one of them." She firmly declared.

Chrysalis nodded, "Fair enough. Just wanted to present the option, though even I was hoping you'd refuse it. It is... not a method I'm proud of." She admitted, receiving a comforting pat on the wither from Anon.

"Then the next question is: who will be going?" Celestia responded.

"I'm going for sure." Anon affirmed.

"Anon, what if somepony else-" Celestia began, only for him to hold up a hand to silence her.

"Tia, I'm going. There is no way in Hell I'm sitting on the sidelines for this. This is my future. If it were for the greater good or for Equestria as a whole, I'd have no issue with letting you run the show but this... this is for me. This is personal. I have to go. I can't stay behind, not for something like this. How can I look at Artemis or Dawn, or any of the kids we just had with Chrysalis, and tell them that I just stood by while other ponies were sent to God-knows-where because I didn't want to get hurt?" Anon reasoned.

A pensive look formed on Celestia's face as she took in his words. Her gaze shifted over to Chrysalis, who nodded in approval, before letting out a small sigh, "I suppose you make a fair argument there, Nonny. I just worry... the thought of you being injured or worse on a journey who's entire purpose is to get you your immortality is just... a daunting one."

Anon smiled, "I know, and I'm not going in without some protection. Jav's gotta come with me, and probably Dusk and Echo too."

Celestia nodded, "Then promise me that you won't take the elixir without us being there. I don't believe I can leave the kingdom, Luna either. We just struck first for the first time in millennia. The shockwaves of such an upset are still being felt these several weeks later and the fact that the Storm King hasn't been seen since worries me. I don't believe either of us can leave Equestria with you, Honey, especially with Artemis and Dawn." She admitted, her gaze falling to the floor.

"It's okay, Celly. I know." Anon offered, placing his hand on her wither and comfortingly stroking his thumb through her fur.

"Promise me that you'll bring the elixir back here before you drink it so that we may analyze it and ensure it's safe. Please, honey." Celestia pleaded.

Anon placed his hand on her hoof, a gentle look in his eyes, "I promise." He replied, getting a thankful smile out of the white alicorn as they pulled apart.

"I would go... but the eggs just hatched last night and I'll need to tend to them nearly hourly for the foreseeable future. In fact, I should head back up there now." Chrysalis noted, getting to her hooves.

"Wait, they hatched!? You didn't tell me! Chryssi, you have to show the little ones to me!" Celestia exclaimed, practically leaping out of her chair, much to Anon and Chrysalis's amusement.

"Relax, Celly, relax. They aren't going anywhere. Besides, even though this brood is special, Changeling grubs are nothing like pony foals. There's a lot less cute to go around until they grow a bit." Chrysalis explained, no doubt in a bid to temper expectations.

"I dunno, I think the little guys are cute as Hell." Anon shrugged.

Chrysalis playfully rolled her eyes, "Yes, well you also think that stallions should open the door for mares and pay for dinner, so maybe you're just a little weird." She teased.

Anon blew a raspberry at her while Celestia quickly collected herself, "Right, right. I will come look at them soon. You should go to them, Chryssi. I'm sure they'll need their mother for the foreseeable future."

Chrysalis nodded, before flipping out her insectoid wings and buzzing back up the stairs to the royal bedchambers.

"So... are you certain you want Tempest to lead you to this elixir, herself? I'm sure that we could have her stay here and just tell us where we need to go." Celestia offered, after a minute of silence.

"Honey, you know that won't work. She's gonna give us vague instructions and we'll never find it without someone on the ground, leading the way. If this place is gonna be as hard to find as I think it's gonna be, we have to have her tag along." Anon rebutted.

Celestia sighed, "I suppose you bring up a fair point. I may not like it, but I suppose she should go along as well. That said, Twilight should go along with you. She's certainly been the most excited about the prospect of going through all this trouble just to find you a way to immortality in the first place." She reasoned.

Anon nodded, "That works. I was gonna ask her to come along anyway. We wouldn't even have the info we do now if it weren't for her."

Celestia smiled as she levitated a scroll over from one of the nearby tables. An ink and quill flashed into existence beside her as well, and she quickly wrote out a letter. Then, with another flash of magic, the letter dissolved into green smoke, quickly wisping out to the open window.

Twilight sighed as she trotted up the staircase from the library in the underground section of the Crystal spire. The many twists and turns of such a labyrinth were daunting at first, but now after nearly two weeks of routine study and nearly endless hours straight inside said catacombs, she was able to find her way back with ease. A pair of crystal guards tensed and saluted as she trotted past them, moving for the first time in what could have been hours.

So it was with a yawn and a tired gait that Twilight made her way back to her guest room.

"I have got to stop pulling all-nighters. Spike was right to head up to bed early last night. I think I only found a dozen passages that even come close to describing the location Tempest seems to know all about." Twilight muttered, more to herself than anypony else as the guards didn't follow her to her room.

Twilight yawned once more as she rounded a corner and found her bedroom calling to her. A soft smile split her lips at the promise of well-earned rest, and with a tiny pep in her step, she opened her room and stepped inside. However, much to her shock, her room was not unoccupied. At the edge of the bedroom, standing just out of the morning light spilling in through the balcony, was Cadence.

"Cadence?" Twilight blinked, sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"Twilight, my dear. So good to see you again. Please, come in, come in. I must speak with you." Cadence greeted, her tone as chipper as could be.

Twilight squinted ever so slightly at the pink alicorn. For the briefest of moments, she appeared fuzzy, or even transparent, but Twilight quickly chalked that up to her tired eyes and sleep-deprived mind.

"Oh? What's going on?" She inquired, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

The door closed with a soft *click* while Twilight stepped around the bed to get closer to her former foal-sitter.

"Oh, a missive has come from Canterlot, addressed to you. I thought I may deliver it to you, myself. It bears a royal seal, so I suspect it's of some importance." Cadence replied.

Twilight squinted and turned her head to the side. From her closer angle, the blurriness of the love alicorn was that much more noticeable, even despite her brain swearing it was just the sleepiness in her eyes. She quickly rubbed both of her eyes again.

"Uh... Cadence? Why are you talking like that?" She pressed, her eyes still swearing Cadence was burrier than she remembered.

"I've no inclination as to what you're referring to, Twilight my dear." Cadence sweetly replied.

"Since when do you call me 'my dear'. Cadence, are you alright? Did you put some kind of glamor spell on yourself? You seem kinda... fuzzy?" Twilight questioned, her heckles rising by the moment.

"Oh, don't worry about that, dear Twilight. It will all be explained in this letter." Cadence responded, gesturing to a scroll laid out on the nightstand beside the bed,

An eyebrow raised, and the hairs on the back of her neck standing up, Twilight slowly made her way over to the scroll in question. As she walked past Cadence, she felt an indiscernible chill worm its way down her spine. She suppressed a shiver and glanced out the balcony as she picked up the scroll in her magic.

"Do you feel that? Why'd it get so cold all of a sudden? Wasn't it supposed to be close to ninety degrees today?" Twilight inquired.

"Oh, I think we're due for a cold front for the foreseeable future." Cadence chuckled. It was a dark chuckle, extremely uncharacteristic of the light and bubbly love princess that made Twilight's skin crawl.

Twilight hesitantly unrolled the scroll in her magic and glanced over to the wording on the paper. Surprisingly, there were only two words on the paper.

~
Behind you
~

Twilight's blood froze in her veins, and she quickly spun on her hooves. For a brief moment, all she could see was white fur, then darkness as a helmet was shoved onto her head.

"No!" She cried, trying to flee, but the second the helmet was on her, the green light beaming into her eyes stole her will to fight.

She attempted to struggle for a moment, but the fight quickly left her limbs, and she fell silent. Her limbs held firm under her, but her withers noticeably relaxed, and the tension in her neck faded. The hypnotizing rays of the helmet warped her reality, and before long at all, she was motionless, standing still and awaiting instructions.

"Muhahahahahahahahaha!!!" Sombra cackled, the illusion of Cadence dispelling from his faded figure.

"Well, that was certainly easier than anticipated-" The Storm King thought aloud, before poking Twilight with a finger, "-and you're certain that she can't break free of the mind control?"

Sombra theatrically threw his head back and laughed even more, "Oh, not a chance, my companion. The only way she's breaking free from my control is if she were to remove the helmet herself. As she's not exactly making the decisions anymore, it's impossible.

"Did I really need to be here? It seems like you could've handled this all by yourself." The Storm King replied, giving a flippant sigh as he strode around the room.

"Not at all, my companion. The Crystal Heart prevents me from taking a form that can even interact with the world around me. As it stands, If I were to stand in the sunlight, I'd simply fade from existence entirely." Sombra explained.

"Right, right, you needed me to put the helm on her. How did you even have one of these left anyways?" The Storm King questioned.

"A king is nothing, if not prepared." Sombra grinned, "Now come, we must disable the Heart if we are to enslave the entire nation. I can sense that your fleet is in position at all the border crossings around the capital. If we can manage this quickly, we'll have the entire Empire in the frog of our hooves." Sombra responded,

"Right, right. So when do I start getting something out of this? As of right now, all of this has only benefitted you." The Storm King shot back, leveling a glare at the ghostly abirritation of Sombra.

"You wound me, my dear fellow King. Taking the Empire is merely step one, but it is a step that benefits the both of us. We simply have one more alicorn to enslave, and you will have more power than you've ever imagined, all held conveniently in that little staff of yours." Sombra countered, giving a sly grin.

The Storm King sighed, "Very well. Let's just get this one out of here so we can use her magic to amplify that mind control of yours." The Storm King snorted, turning and heading for the exit.

However, before the duo and unwilling alicorn could make their escape, a knock came from the door. Sombra quickly vanished into a thin mist, trailing into the openings and creases of Twilight's helmet while the Storm King rushed into the bathroom. With her will now not her own, Twilight rushed in after him, taking refuge in the lavatory as the door to the bedroom opened.

"Twilight? You in here?" Spike called, pushing the door open.

Silence greeted the small drake, making him scratch his cheek in confusion.

"Twilight? Did you pull another all nighter? I got you some breakfast in case you did." Spike called out again, entering the room and closing the door behind him. He had a small plate of muffins, haybacon, and a veggie omelet.

Spike walked further into the room, placing the plate of food down on the dresser as he scanned the room for any sign of Twilight. Then a fiery burp forced its way out of the small drake, starling him slightly. A scroll with a solar seal quickly manifested in front of him and levitated a few feet off the ground.

"Huh, that's a letter from Celestia. Now I really need to find Twi-" Spike began, but was swiftly silenced as a massive paw covered his mouth.

Spike's immediate reaction was to scream, or bite down on the hand covering his mouth, but the meaty pads of the Storm King's paws were simply too thick for him to do anything more than mildly annoy the massive yeti.

"If you want to see the light of day again, you'll keep your mouth shut." The Storm King growled, the grave intensity of his voice quickly dispelling any fight Spike had.

The now terrified drake trembled slightly as Twilight walked out of the bathroom and into his view, the helmet still adorned on her head. He gasped in shock upon seeing her, but nearly whimpered in fear as the cloudy mist of Sombra vented from the helmet. Said stallion took shape just before him, his visage still just a ghostly remnant of what he once was.

"Ah, Spike the Brave and Glorious... what to do with you... as I seem to recall, you were the one responsible for helping Princess Cadence defeat me last time I was here, weren't you?" Sombra greeted, cordially.

Spike tried to free himself, but the Storm King's grasp was far stronger than his entire body.

"What to do with you, what to do with you... ah, I think I have a few ideas... but before we get into all of that-" Sombra darkly chuckled, turning to the letter Spike had just received, "-why don't we see what exactly the solar princess wanted to share with our dear little Twilight..."

Sombra scanned through the letter, the grin on his face widening more and more by the second. As he reached the end of the page, he couldn't keep the maniacal laughter from escaping his lips, and he threw his head back in boisterous glee.

"What does it say?" The Storm King demanded.

"Mmphmhm" Spike's muffled voice cried, desperately trying to break free.

"Oh, just another little bit of good news for us. It looks like we won't have to worry about the new 'Prince' of Equestria after all." Sombra darkly chuckled.

"Why? What happened to him?" The Storm King asked, curiously.

"Oh, nothing yet... but it will, oh it will... Twilight, my dear. Come. We have a letter to write..."

Without question, Twilight obeyed, following behind the dark figure of Sombra as they exited the room.

Author's Note

The gears are turning and the plot is moving. Don't worry friends, we'll be on the road soon enough. As for Twilight, don't worry. Sombra hasn't really hurt her... yet.

Hopefully Anon's reaction to immortality was believable enough. It's not an easy decision to make, especially given the fact that there isn't exactly a record of a human living forever. Ponies have Celestia and Luna as examples but we humies got nothing.

Chapter 9: Onward and Outward

Anon and Celestia made their way from the dining room to the throne room of the castle with light conversation between them. Along the way, Raven and Javelin joined in, and the quartet soon found themselves sitting on their respective thrones, or standing at their respective guard posts for the opening of day court.

However, before Valorant could begin day court proceedings, a wisp of green flame snaked in through the window, manifesting into a scroll with a *pop* just in front of Celestia.

"Ah, that must be Twilight's response." Celestia smiled, opening the scroll with her magic. As she began to read the letter, Anon leaned over her wither to read along with her.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Thank you for your letter. It is certainly wonderful news to hear that Prince Anon has found the information I was unable to, I am afraid that I will be unable to return to Canterlot to assist with this journey. I have found that there is a pressing matter here in the Crystal Empire that I must attend to expediently. Aside from that, Spike has fallen ill, and even sending this letter was quite troubling for him. I would ask that you refrain from sending any more correspondence for the time being, to spare his health anymore fiery disruptions.

As for this journey, I think it would make for a great experience for Prince Anon. From what I can recollect, he has several guards that can accompany him on his travels, so I see nary a reason that he should require my assistance on this journey.

Yours faithfully, Twilight Sparkle

Anon and Celestia shared a quick look before setting the letter down.

"Uh... was it just me or did she sound kinda... off in that letter?" Anon asked, his brow furrowed in scrutiny.

Celestia shrugged, "Indeed she did, though... given the time of day and her quick response, I'm somewhat inclined to believe she's stayed up through the night. She has a tendency to do that, much to my and everypony else who cares about her's chagrin. Combine that with her entire last two weeks being spent reading old books and archaic language, and I can see her speaking like this," She replied with a hum of thought, "I just hope that poor Spike is alright. I've no idea what illness he could have. He was perfectly fine the last time they sent us a letter."

Anon nodded, "She didn't really say what was wrong with him. Just that he'd 'fallen ill... that seems a bit unlike her." He reasoned.

Celestia merely shrugged again, "This is Spike's claw-writing. I'd recognize it in an instant. Strange, there appears to be a few smears in the ink... probably from a runny snout or something... Poor dear must be sicker than a dog. She probably didn't want to write too much so he could just rest... though I wonder why she wouldn't just write to me, herself." She muttered, scratching her chin with her hoof.

"Yeah... so I guess she's not gonna make it back then, huh?" Anon asked, the question they were both thinking.

Celestia let out a quiet sigh, "No... it appears she will not. Are you... certain you can't wait until she returns to go on this little adventure of yours?"

Anon shook his head, "I mean, she did say to just go ahead without her. Whatever 'pressing matter' she has to deal with could take who knows how long." He shrugged.

Celestia sighed, "If... you are certain, though I want you to bring Dusk, Echo, and Javelin with you for sure."

Anon happily nodded, "I was already planning on bringing them."

Celestia smiled, "I thought as much. Now what to do with this letter from Twilight... surely she would've mentioned what kind of 'pressing matters' she had to attend to. Even if it was personal, she usually would at least admit that much..."

"Princess, Prince. Would you like me to postpone Day Court for a while?" Valorant asked, politely.

Celestia quickly shook her head, "No no, nothing like that. This is a little strange, but Twilight has done stranger things in the past, to be fair," She chuckled, "Go ahead and start Day Court, Captain."

Valorant nodded and turned back to the large doorway while Anon leaned over to Celestia's ear.

"You still want me with you for this?" He asked.

Celestia smiled and shook her head, "No, I can tell you're holding yourself back from bouncing in your throne. Go ahead and gather everypony who's going to go with you. Whenever you're ready to set out on your journey, please just have somepony let me, Luna, or Chryssi know. We'll all want to send you off." She relented.

Anon smiled and quickly locked his lips with hers, one hand coming to her cheek to gently brush against the soft fur of her face. Meanwhile, the ponies coming into Day Court were treated to a view of their prince and princess passionately making out upon their thrones. Several gasps and wolf whistles were heard.

"Love you, Babe." Anon smiled, upon pulling the kiss.

"Love you more, Stud. Now shoo. I have a Court to run, mister." Celestia teased, shooing him away with her hoof.

With that, Anon hopped out of his throne and trotted down to the line of guards standing in front of him and Celestia. After the past few years, he could easily identify his target from behind, and proceeded to grab Javelin. One arm went under his barrel, and one around his chest as Anon heaved the stallion into the air.

"Gah!" Javelin exclaimed, flailing his hooves around uselessly.

If the rest of the guards were surprised by this behavior from their prince, they did not show it, as their eyes stayed stoically ahead. Raven on the other hand, was not trained to ignore such breaches of decorum.

"Anon! Put my husband down this instant!" She cried, standing up on her seat.

Anon quickly ran toward the exit hallway, still carrying Javelin in his arms, "He's mine now! I saw him first!" He called, over his shoulder as he disappeared from sight.

Raven growled, already hopping out of her chair to give pursuit, but a snow-white feathered wing halted her in her place.

"Relax, Raven. It's just Anon being Anon. You know how he gets when he's nervous." She tittered.

"B-but..." Raven went to protest.

"Don't worry, Raven. Your husband will be returned to you in just as good or better condition than when Anon took him. Might I request your assistance with Court proceedings today? Or would you rather run around the castle, looking for Anon and getting dragged into any shenanigans he can cook up while on the run?" Celestia asked. Her voice was polite yet teasing, as if she already knew the answer.

Raven let out a terse sigh, "Fine, fine! I don't need a repeat of the inking incident..." She muttered, suppressing a shiver.

Celestia giggled, "I thought as much. Now, let's get to business."

Anon strolled back and forth in front of the group of stallions he'd assembled in front of the Night Guard barracks room. While Javelin was standing begrudgingly at attention, Echo and Dusk were both struggling to not fall over each other and go back to sleep, the both of them having been woken up merely an hour after they'd gone to bed. Anon observed them all like a general surveying his troops before leading them into the battlefield.

"Gentlemen, we have a mission. It'll be perilous, difficult, long, and arduous. That said, there are no group of bros I'd rather do it with than the three of you." Anon addressed the group, his sharp voice snapping Echo and Dusk awake.

Echo wiped the drool from his muzzle and smacked his lips as he sleepily observed Anon, "Wait... what are we doing again?" He asked.

Dusk yawned, the act quickly making Echo yawn as well, and then Javelin, and finally, Anon as well.

"I dunno. What're we doing, again?" Dusk asked.

Anon sighed, "Guys! I just told you!"

"To be fair, you basically dragged them out of bed while hastily giving an abridged version. They weren't even awake yet." Javelin shrugged.

Anon facepalmed, "Ugh, alright. Guys, we're going on a journey to find the elixir of magicae. If we can get this, we'll be able to make me immortal so I can, ya' know, be a dad to my kids and such for the rest of their lives, not just mine."

"Ooooooooooh." Dusk and Echo replied in sync.

"You said that Twilight couldn't find any more info on it's location, right?" Javelin questioned.

Anon nodded, "She's urging us to go and my takeaway is that she can't find a damn thing about this place that we don't already know."

"What else do we need to know, exactly?" Dusk questioned, curiously.

"After having Chryssi read her emotions, it turns out that Tempest is telling the truth. She actually does know where it is. So, we're going to have Tempest lead us there." Anon explained.

"Wait... Tempest? As in, the Storm King's commander that we just apprehended and put in prison not even a month ago?" Echo raised an eyebrow in scrutiny. Dusk quickly joined him in his eyebrow raising.

"Look, I know that nobody trusts her, and I sure as hell don't either. That said, if she does this, I have promised to grant her freedom and restore her horn-" Anon began, before both bat ponies cut him off.

"You're gonna do what!?" They exclaimed.

"You know, my wives reacted the exact same way..." Anon sighed.

"Anon, buddy... are you sure that's the best decision here? I mean... she's a traitor." Javelin cautioned.

"I know. Trust me, I know. You think I'd be trusting her if we had any other choice at all?" Twilight could spend decades looking for this information and by then... who knows what might happen." Anon replied, making a terse frown form on all the stallion's faces around him.

"We'd never let anything happen to you. You're our charge, but more than that, you're our friend, Anon." Dusk offered, unfurling a wing and gently patting Anon's back.

"I know, guys... and I'm thankful to have you all in my life. Still... after Tirek... I'm not holding anything against any of you, you all did everything you could and then some. You were all damn fine soldiers that day... but my wives... my kids were helpless before me and that monster was just seconds away from killing them all. I can't ever let that happen again, I just can't. I need to be stronger, not just for Equestria, but for my family too. What kind of dad looks into his kids eyes and tells them he can't carry the weight of the world on his back?" Anon rebutted, a sad look on his face.

A heavy silence filled the air as the gathered stallions pondered Anon's words. For a few moments, none of them had a response, but soon enough, Javelin spoke up.

"I think I get what you're saying. I didn't want to be a father for a long time. Was too scared of being tied down like I'd seen so many of my buddies before during heat seasons in the past... but when Raven gave birth to Ivory, I knew right then and there that there was nothing I wouldn't do for her. She's become my favorite part of going home at the end of the day, rambunctious as she might be." Javelin chuckled, prompting a similar reaction from Anon.

As the pair finished their laugh, they looked over to Echo and Dusk, who were both looking around at anything but them. Upon feeling two pairs of eyes upon them, they both chanced a quick glace.

"Uh, I don't have any foals of my own... that I know of." Dusk stated, awkwardly.

"I think she was on the potion, but uh... I was pretty drunk that night... we'll see if that mare... uh, Stella- I think... is pregnant, in a few weeks I guess." Echo sheepishly chuckled.

Anon and Javelin rolled their eyes, "Alright, maybe you two can't relate but can you at least help me when I need you?" Anon pressed.

At the humble request, both bat ponies gave a quick salute, "Come on now, Anon. You know you can count on us." Dusk replied with a smirk.

"Just don't get too mushy. Save that for your wives, will ya'." Echo teased, prompting a snicker of amusement from Anon.

"Speaking of which, shouldn't at least one of them go with us? It's not that I don't think we can handle her, especially if she's got a mana nullification ring on, but none of us can tell if she's lying like Chrysalis can." Dusk noted.

"Yeah, that's a great point, actually. Shouldn't Chrysalis come with us?" Echo agreed.

Anon shook his head, "She can't. She has to take care of the new brood of kids we just had. Apparently she can't really leave their side and since they're all proto-queens, she can't just have any of the other changelings feed them. They have to be tended to by her and her alone."

Dusk and Echo deflated slightly, but Javelin quickly chimed in, "Well, it's not like Chrysalis is the only changeling that can sense when somepony isn't being truthful. I think we just need to get another changeling to come with us and we'll be set."

"That's... a fucking great idea, actually." Anon acknowledged.

"Better yet, have that changeling transform into Chrysalis and Tempest will never know the difference. It'd be a deterrent to keep her from trying anything." Dusk added.

"Alright, then that's the plan. Now the only question is 'which changeling to come with us'..." Anon scratched his chin in thought.

"Well how about Thorax? He was the first one to stand up for you when we needed their help with Tirek." Javelin suggested.

"True... I'll send him a letter and see if he's willing. If not, I guess we could ask Pharynx." Anon shrugged.

"Anon, you're the prince of Equestria and Chrysalis's lover. If any of them refuse, just ask her to tell one of them to do it." Dusk deadpanned.

"I know, I know. I just don't like to make anyone feel like they don't have a choice. I'm not a tyrant or anything." Anon huffed.

"Despite his best efforts." Javelin snarked.

"Jav." Anon stated.

"Yeah?" Javelin replied.

"Shut up." Anon ordered.

"You got it, boss." Javelin grinned.

Rolling their collective eyes at the exchange before them, Dusk and Echo turned to make their exit.

"Alright, well just have somepony come get us when it's time to go. We'll be packed but until then, we're going back to sleep." Dusk announced.

"Fair enough. Alright, guys. You get some sleep. We're gonna be heading out after a few hours at most. Jav, let's go get Tempest." Anon announced, prompting a round of nods through the group before they dispersed and went their separate ways.

As Dusk and Echo went back to their barracks room to catch as much sleep as they could, Anon and Javelin soon found themselves back in front of the doorway leading down to the castle dungeon.

"Welp, let's get this over with." Javelin sighed.

"Just like old times, ain't it, bud?" Anon replied, grinning at the shorter stallion.

"Old times? When have we ever been escorted across Equestria to who-knows-where by a literal traitor before?" Javelin raised an eyebrow.

"I was more just referring to you and me doing some dumb shit, if I'm being honest." Anon shrugged.

Javelin held up a hoof to protest, but quickly put it back down on the floor, "You know what, that's a fair point."

With that, the two approached the guard at the entrance.

"Prince Anon!" She greeted, saluting immediately.

"I'm going to be taking Tempest out of prison. She's to keep the mana ring on, but have her brought up here. Javelin and I will be escorting her to the train station." Anon explained.

"Sir, I wasn't aware that we were transferring her..." The mare replied, hesitantly.

"It's a long story. Would it suffice to say that I have a mission I need her for?" Anon offered.

"You're the prince, sir. If those are your orders, then I'll see to it that they're carried out. I'll have her brought out for you." She replied, before turning tail and heading inside.

The wait for the prisoner wasn't a long one, but for Anon and Javelin, the time dragged on. Whether it was because they were both dreading the arrival of the Storm King's commander or just eager to get the whole journey over with, neither could say. As the sound of chains clinking against one another grew louder and louder, Anon tensed slightly. Javelin glanced over to him, an eyebrow raised in concern.

"You alright, dude?" He asked.

"Yeah. Just got a lot on my mind." Anon replied.

Before Javelin could pry any further, the door to the dungeon opened, and the guard trotted out. Just a few paces behind her, Tempest followed suite, coming out in front of the group with her forelegs and hindlegs still bound by chains. While she bore a scowl on her face as she looked at the guards around her, that look quickly turned to a smug smirk upon seeing Anon.

"Ah, there he is. I was beginning to wonder if you'd reconsidered." Tempest greeted.

"That is his royal highness, Prince Anonymous. You will address him as such." Javelin ordered, leveling a glare at the captive unicorn.

"It's alright, Jav," Anon cut in, before focusing on Tempest, "You have exactly one chance here. Don't give me a reason to put you in a hole and throw away the hole." He ordered, sternly.

Tempest tried to hold a hoof to her chest in mock offense, though she couldn't quite reach due to her chains. She tried for a few seconds, before giving up and holding a hoof just above knee height.

"I am shocked that you think so little of me. Your personal lie detector knows I'm telling the truth. Why would I lie now?" Tempest questioned.

"Because literally none of us trust you. And speaking of which, you'd better keep telling the truth because Chrysalis is coming with us. So any funny business from you and we'll know about it." Anon rebutted, firmly.

Even though her mask was nearly perfect, the tiniest twitch in Tempest's smirk betrayed her ire at the information. She quickly let out a snort and held her head up high.

"Very well. It would make things considerably easier for all of us if you removed these chains. Unless of course, you aren't in a hurry and can afford to get their when we've all died of old age." Tempest announced, nodding down to her chains.

"Sir-" One of the guards began.

"Remove her shackles. I want her escorted to the dining room. Keep her under close watch until I come get her." Anon instructed.

Albeit with a moment of hesitation, the guard saluted, "Yes sir."

Her and the other two guards behind Tempest, quickly unlocked her shackles, freeing her in every way except her horn. Tempest shook the sleepiness and fatigue out of her legs before stretching. Once she was satisfied, she smirked to Anon, who'd been watching her the whole time.

"See something you like?" She asked, giving him a sidelong glace as she turned to walk away.

Utterly flustered by her comment, Anon recoiled slightly, "J-just get her over there already." He ordered.

"Right away, sir." The guards replied, forming a triangular perimeter around Tempest as they escorted her away.

With the mulberry menace gone, Anon brushed his hand through his hair and let out a long sigh. Javelin gave him a curious glance before shaking his head and lighting smacking Anon's leg with his tail as he turned to leave as well.

"Come on, let's go get that letter sent to Thorax." He intoned, over his wither.

Anon shook his head and trotted after the stallion.

Several Hours Later

"Looks like that's the last of it." Chrysalis announced, levitating the last of Anon's clothing into his rucksack in the royal bedchambers.

"We should only have a few days of travel between resupply locations. A lot of this trip is still in Equestria's borders or friendly countries." Javelin added.

"Now the big question is the safety of that elixir Tempest seems to know all about." Raven mentioned.

"Now that you mention it, I was wondering about that. Hasn't this elixir been sitting there for like, thousands of years or something?" Javelin wondered aloud.

"I think Twi said something over a thousand years. Not too sure, myself." Anon replied, checking over his rucksack once more.

"And you're supposed to drink this thing?" Javelin questioned, warily.

Anon shrugged, though he felt wary, himself, "Uh... I'm sure that it's like honey and never spoils... I think."

"Anon... for the love of Faust, if there's black goo or glowing green goo coming out of it, don't drink it. ." Raven deadpanned.

"I imagine there's some spells in place to keep it fresh, or worst case, we'll have to remake it ourselves. We'll have to see when Twilight returns from the empire. Hopefully she'll have more information then." Celestia replied.

A sleepy yawn stole all their attention away from their preparations and to the source standing in the doorway behind them. Luna, dressed in absolutely nothing, with her mane sticking out in all odd angles as well as her fur clearly needing a thorough brushing, greeted them with a sleepy nod. On her back, were the sleeping forms of Artemis and Dawn, both of them wearing a set of fuzzy pajamas. Dawn's were comprised of blues and purples, along with a splattering of white dots that make up the cosmos, while Artemis wore white with a singular yellow sun in the center of his chest.

"Luna, what're you doing up?" Anon asked, curiously.

"Well, you didn't think I was going to miss the chance to bid my husband farewell before his life-changing journey, now did you?" Luna teased, sluggishly closing the distance between them.

Anon smiled at her approach, dropping to a knee to more easily hug her without disturbing their children. He brushed his hands up and down Luna's neck, earning a soft coo of approval from the lunar alicorn before they pulled away slightly, though still remained connected.

"I'll be back before ya' know it. Promise." Anon offered, a soft smile on his lips.

"I'll hold you to that, Love. You owe Artemis another sibling when you get back, and I think I'll be going into estrus just in time..." Luna purred, leaning in and pressing her lips against his.

"Geez, get a room, you two." Chrysalis teased.

Anon and Luna broke the kiss with a fit of giggles, both returning their attention to the rest of the room.

"Don't you worry, hun. By the time I'm done with you, we'll have a whole continent of alicorns running around. That goes for you two as well." Anon replied, pointing and Celestia and Chrysalis.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say we'll be holding you to that." Chrysalis grinned.

Celestia trotted over to Anon and pulled him into a hug. She kissed him deeply, longingly, as if it were the last time as the held him close. Upon breaking the kiss, she still kept close enough to rest her forehead against his.

"Just be careful. Tempest is dangerous and I don't want anything to happen to you. I love you." She quietly murmured.

Anon placed his hand on her cheek, holding her gently, "I promise. Love you too, Celly."

"Remember, you're just going to get the elixir. Don't drink it until you make it back and we can analyze it to ensure it's safe." Celestia quickly added.

Anon chuckled, "I know. I won't. Last time I drank mystery juice I was blacked out for a whole day... never again." He replied, prompting a similar chuckle from the solar diarch.

As they pulled away from each other, Chrysalis sauntered over to Anon and pressed her lips against his. The kiss involved much more tongue than Anon was expecting, and for a few moments, her long, serpentine tongue absolutely dominated his. After she'd completely subdued him and expressed her love, she pulled away, licking her lips as she did.

"Just so you remember what's waiting for you when you get back. Love you, Nonny." She smirked, giving him a quick wink before turning away .

"Heh, love you too, Chryssi." Anon replied, dumbly smiling after her.

As Chrysalis held Anon's attention, Raven walked over to Javelin. He gave her a curious look for a minute before she lunged forward, wrapping her hooves around his neck and passionately kissing him. He was startled at first, but quickly returned the kiss, holding her dearly as their lips collided again and again.

"Don't let his dumb flank get you killed out there, alright?" Raven whispered, finally breaking the kiss.

Javelin chuckled, "Come on, Rayray. You know me. It's gonna take more than Anon's dumb ass to get me killed."

"Faust, he's got you making the donkey joke now too..." Raven rolled her eyes before Javelin smiled and pulled her into another kiss while Luna nudged Anon with her wing.

"Don't forget your foals now, Anon." Luna tsked, leaning over slightly so Dawn and Artemis were easier for him to reach.

Smiling, Anon crouched down until he was just inches away from his foals.

"Hey guys. Dad's gotta go away for a little bit, but I promise I'll be back soon. Before you know it, you're gonna be all grown up and taking the world by storm... and I'm gonna be their for every second of it. Love you kids. Be good for your moms while I'm gone, okay?" He whispered, so as not to wake them.

Anon gingerly kissed Artemis on his forehead, before doing the same with Dawn. He stood back up to his full height and smiled at the family he'd be leaving in a matter of minutes.

"Alright, time to go. Jav, let's hit the road." Anon announced, bidding his family farewell.

A chorus of goodbye's were shared between them as Anon and Javelin departed, leaving only the royal family and Raven.

"Well, back to bed for me and these two." Luna yawned.

"And back to work for us." Raven sighed.

"Actually, before that, I have a favor to ask, Chryssi." Celestia announced, receiving a quirked eyebrow from the Changeling Queen in response.

"What do you need?" She inquired.

Celestia took a breath, "Something was... off with Twilight's letter. I wrote to Cadence to see what was going on but... I haven't received a response yet. Cadence is almost as punctual as Twilight so I am a bit... concerned. Could you send a couple changelings up to the Empire to check on them?" She asked, her tone conveying a clear sense of worry.

Chrysalis scratched her chin for a moment, "Hmm... I think I have a couple I could send."

Author's Note

Whew boy, finally on the road. Hope you guys are excited cause there's a lot of crazy shit to come.

Chapter 10: On the Road Again

A freshly changed Anon, wearing brown cargo pants, hiking boots, and a moss-green safari shirt made his way through the castle. Beside him, Javelin- wearing only his saddlebags and a belt around his barrel and wither- walked beside Dusk, and Echo. Both bat ponies wore thin, brown cloth armor under their saddlebags and a pair of blacked-out goggles around their necks. They all approached the castle dining room doors with a slight edge in all of their steps. As much as they knew that they hopelessly outnumbered the mare on the other side of the door, all four of them felt a distinct wariness knowing that she would be unchained for the immediate future.

"Even with all of us watching her all hours of the day, I still don't think she should be unshackled. I've heard some pretty terrifying stories of this mare." Echo muttered, adjusting his saddlebags with his wingtip.

"She's no more dangerous than any other unicorn out there. Actually much less so since she doesn't have a working horn to begin with, and a mana blocker ring on what little bit of horn she does have." Javelin replied.

"She won't be a problem. She knows that if she does try anything, there's almost no chance of it going in her favor. Besides, even if she manages to escape from us, where's she gonna go ? Two of us can fly and one has the current record for longest shot with a mana bolt in Canterlot history." Dusk added, shaking his head.

"Still impressed by that shot, myself. Eleven hundred hooves is a long ways away. I could barely see the target." Javelin chuckled.

"Thorax get back to you, Anon?" Echo questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"Sure did. I wrote him back and he's gonna meet us at Tampa Neigh. It's our third stop. We've got a bit of a train ride to the Hayseed Swamps, and then a bit of a trek to Hoof City. We'll take a carriage ride to Tampa Neigh from there. Once we get there, we've got a boat ride for a couple days to Zebrica, and then it'll be on Tempest to lead us to the Fillypenes and the Peaks of Peril," Anon explained, before letting out a heavy sigh, "Man, the puns are just piling up..."

"Well let's not delay then. The sooner we're out of the country, the sooner we find this place, get your elixir, and get back." Javelin nodded, as they reached the door.

Said door was opened by the guard standing outside, already waiting for them. As they all entered the room, their eyes fell on Tempest as she sat at the head, her hindlegs kicked up on the table while she leaned back in her chair. She immediately noticed the arrival of Anon and the group, and quickly glanced over in their direction.

"There you are. I was beginning to get bored." She greeted, taking her hooves off the table and hopping out of her chair.

Rolling his eyes at her comment, Anon nodded toward the doorway they'd just entered from, "Time to go, Tempest. Let's get moving." He ordered.

"Of course. We've got quite a bit of traveling ahead of us. By my estimation, the train ride to the Hayseed Swamps should take about three hours, then we'll have to wade through the swamp for at least a day or two to get to the only town close to that Tartarus-hole: Hoof City. From there, the carriage ride to Tampa Neigh will be another hour or two. Two or three days at sea to get to Zebrica and then at least three days of hiking before we even get to the Fillypenes and then the journey finally starts." She recounted, leaving the entire group speechless.

"Wha-what? H-how do you know the route we're taking? You've been isolated this whole time!" Javelin exclaimed.

Tempest rolled her eyes, "Oh please. It's the only logical route you could take. Airships are out of the question since you're still worried about the rest of the Storm King's fleet, especially after destroying his vanguard fleet. Anything else and you'd either make this trip take five times as long, or run straight into Abyssinia and they're at war with the Diamond Dogs. Last I checked, you're not exactly looking to run into a warzone on a trip like this." She replied, nonchalantly.

Dusk and Echo shared a look, before the former glanced up to Anon, "She's good. I'll give her that." He admitted.

"Alright, so you know the route. Big deal. Let's go." Anon ordered, turning tail to leave.

Tempest trotted up behind him, Dusk, Echo, and Javelin instantly forming a perimeter around her as she did. Their proximity was only matched by their wariness of the mare between them. Javelin subtlety channeled magic into his horn, preparing all the stages of conjuring a mana bolt, shy of actually manifesting one, in case she tried anything. Dusk and Echo also tenses their wings, the blades affixed to their claws just barely remaining hidden from Tempest's view.

If she noticed or felt any strong feelings about the three stallions preparing to strike her down at a moment's notice, Tempest certainly didn't show it. She kept her gaze focused on Anon's backside as he led the way through the winding corridors of the castle to the front foyer. When they arrived there, they found nearly a dozen guards all standing by, waiting for their arrival. Five Earth ponies, armed with a double sided cleaver, held by a bit in their mouths, formed a line on one side, while three pegasi and two unicorns, armed with crossbows, mage staffs, and wingblades, formed the line opposite of them.

At the head of the group, stood Captain Valorant, "Prince Anon. We're here to escort you and the prisoner to the train station." She addressed, giving a slight bow to Anon.

"Val? I wasn't expecting you to be coming with us." Anon noted, surprise evident in his voice.

"Originally, I had intended to take a lunch break right now. Then I found out you dragged this traitor out of the dungeon and planned on taking her half way across the world." Valorant replied, professionally.

"I take it you don't approve." Anon nodded, slowly.

"How I feel is irrelevant. She's your prisoner. If you believe you can handle her on this journey, then I have the utmost confidence and faith in you. That said, I'd like to escort you to the train station at the very least. You can never be too sure with this one." Valorant explained, leveling a glare at Tempest.

Tempest merely scoffed at Valorant's glare while Anon chuckled at the scene, "Alright, if you wanna come with us to the station, you're more than welcome to. Let's get going though. Any more delays at this rate and we'll miss the train." He relented, walking forward.

Like a well-oiled machine, the guards fanned out and formed a second defensive perimeter around Tempest. The group of man and ponies finally exited the castle and walked into the sunlight beaming down on them from above. Tempest had to squint and cover her eye with a foreleg as the bright light was overpowering to her sensitive eyes after so long underground. Despite Valorant's huff of annoyance, Anon stopped and allowed the broken unicorn to adjust before continuing on again.

Though it was subtle, almost inaudible, a soft 'thanks' escaped Tempest's lips, heard by naught anyone but Dusk and Echo. Each thestral spared the other a quick glance before shrugging it off and continuing onward.

The crowds of ponies out and about on the city of Canterlot regarded the group with a mixed bag of curiosity and intrigue. While some were confused as to the reason for their prince to be out and about on the town with such a heavily armed entourage, others were quick to rush over and greet him. Before long, a small crowd had formed around them, all singing Anon's praises and thanking him for his past deeds.

"You saved our princesses from Tirek! We love you Prince Anon!"

"You even reformed Chrysalis! She's so hot now!"

"Can I have your foals next!?"

"We've been over this! You can't have foals, you haven't got a womb!"

"We love you!"

The voices shouted and blended over one another, and though they were all positive, there was little Anon could say as it was nearly impossible to even get a word in.

From her position behind him, Tempest found both her eyebrows raising slightly at just how popular Anon was among the ponies of Canterlot. Fortunately for all of them, the trip to the train station was rather short, and though the crowd was sizable, they didn't follow too far into the train station. Several ponies stopped and waved from the entrance as the group made their way to the conductor. Said conductor had a brown coat and black hair. He wore a monocle over one of his deep blue eyes, just above his thick, black mustache.

"Prince Anon, I understand you're all heading to the Hayseed Swamps. I'm sure you already know, but just in case it needs to be said, the train tracks abruptly end that far East. Word is that the workers were attacked and couldn't continue any further. Unfortunately, I can't take you through the actual swamp itself." The conductor greeted, professionally.

Anon nodded, "We know. Still gotta head that way, regardless. Thanks for the heads up, though." He replied.

"Very well then. The train is ready to go. Board whenever you're ready and I'll get us underway." The conductor replied.

With that, the stallion boarded the train, leaving Anon and his group to part ways with Valorant and the rest of her guards. However, while Anon's attention was focused on the conductor, he failed to notice Valorant and Tempest having a stare down just behind him. The rest of the guards around her were also staring at Tempest, waiting for her to give them an excuse to attack her, though she gave them no such opening. Instead, she simply kept her glare leveled straight back at the guard captain.

"Uh, guys?" Anon asked, worriedly.

"Just don't cause any trouble for our prince while you're out there and I won't kick your flank again." Valorant stated, never once dropping her glare with Tempest.

"Again? Last I checked, I had you on the floor." Tempest smirked.

"Right where I wanted you. Look who's got a mana ring for her h-oh that's right, what horn?" Valorant scorned.

Suddenly, any pretense of amusement left Tempest's eyes and a deep scowl formed on her muzzle, "Take this ring off and we'll see who's the stronger unicorn." She dared, darkly.

"Woah, woah, woah. There's not gonna be any fighting. We're going. Val, stand down. Tempest, relax." Anon cut in, physically placing himself between the two mares before the could actually start fighting.

"Anon's right. We don't need a fight breaking out between the two of you. Let's get on the train." Dusk diplomatically added.

Valorant's gaze bore straight through Anon as if she could still see Tempest for a few moments before she finally turned away. She glanced over her wither to Anon as she stepped away, a frown still visible on her face.

"Keep an eye on her, Anon. She can't be trusted. If you hadn't proven yourself with Chrysalis, I'd be forcing you to take an entire platoon, just to be safe."

Anon let out a small sigh of relief, "Thanks, Val. Don't worry, we've got this."

Valorant nodded to Anon but glanced over to Tempest one more time, "Let me make one thing clear. If any of these stallions are hurt or don't make it back because of you... there is no place on Eques you can run that I won't find you... and I won't be taking you alive." She threatened.

Contrary to what Anon expected, Tempest said nothing in return, opting to simply continue staring straight through him as if he weren't there. With that, Valorant and her detachment of guards made their exit, leaving just the five of them on the train platform by themselves.

"Alright... well that got more intense than I expected." Javelin let out a sigh.

"Let's just get on the train." Echo replied, nodding toward the aforementioned train.

As they all broke from their impromptu group formation to exit, Anon had to stop as Tempest was still staring ahead, her expression unreadable. The rest of them quickly turned and moved to grab her, but Anon made them pause by holding up his hand. He walked back to Tempest's side and gently tapped her wither. It was almost imperceptible, but she jumped ever so slightly at the contact, quickly glancing over to the point of contact between them, and the brass, mechanical digits of Anon's prosthetic hand.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked. Though he hadn't meant to show it, a bit of concern bled into his voice.

Tempest quickly shrugged his hand off and let out a quiet whinny, "I'm fine. Let's go." She muttered, stepping past the rest of the stallions and onto the train. As Dusk and Echo watched her board, Anon and Javelin shared a quick glance.

"Man... she is really sensitive about her horn, isn't she?" Anon asked.

"I don't really blame her. For a unicorn, losing your horn is like losing your purpose. I can't imagine what happened to her to break her horn off like that but damn... she dropped her whole smug badflank mare attitude real quick when Valorant brought it up." Javelin replied, shaking his head.

"Probably best if we don't bring it up again. Last thing I want to deal with is a moody traitor." Dusk shrugged, climbing the steps to board the train.

"Agreed." Echo nodded, following after him.

Anon and Javelin similarly boarded the train in quick fashion. Just a few minutes later, the train horn sounded and the engine cranked to life. A jolt shifted the entire train, and after a few moments to build up speed, they were chugging along on their route, the Hayseed Swamps growing closer by the second.

The beginning of the train ride passed in tense silence. Being royalty, Anon had the entire royal suite train cart reserved for just their merry group. As such, there were ample places to sit for all of them, though they quickly found themselves sitting in their own little groups. Anon and Javelin took the seats facing each other with a table between them, while Dusk and Echo sat on the couch across from them, their eyes locked on the last occupant of the train. Tempest, clearly still in a foul mood after her chat with Valorant, chose to sit at the far side of the train cart, her back turned to the rest of the occupants.

The royal cart had all the amenities that bits could buy, from a fireplace in the corner, to hardwood floors, to even having a private pantry stashed with all the snacks that Celestia and Luna were known to like, as well as some new treats Anon had requested. The windows were large and allowed much light to spill into the room, making the included interior lighting completely unnecessary during the day, as opposed to the normal train carts behind them. Both the dining booth and the couch were comprised of cloud-stuffed fabric that made them extra comfortable, yet over in her corner, Tempest sat on the floor, just before the fireplace with her back turned to the rest of them.

With only the sound of the chugging train engine, and occasional screech of metal wheels grinding against steel train tracks, Anon quickly found that he couldn't focus on anything other than the plum coated unicorn across the room from him.

"Uh... should we go say something to her?" Anon asked, just loud enough for Javelin to hear him.

"What would you even say? 'Sorry Valorant said those mean things to you, I'm sure if you didn't try to lead an invasion against your own species, she'd be much more forgiving?'" Javelin replied, sarcastically.

Anon leveled a deadpan glare at the stallion, "I think I can phrase it a little bit better than that, at the very least."

Javelin shrugged, "Why do you care? After what she said to you? You should be taking some satisfaction in seeing her taken down a peg."

Anon raised an eyebrow, "How do you know what she said to me?

"Chrysalis told me. Well, not really that she told me directly, but rather she was venting to Celestia and Luna and I happened to overhear." Javelin admitted.

Anon let out a heavy sigh, "Ugh... we've got to get better at not complaining so loud that everyone in the castle can hear us."

"If you did that, how would drama spread through the rank and file? You know there's a rumor going around that you're looking to add another mare to your herd? Lotta guards are fighting to get put onto shifts where they can guard you and get in your line of sight, so to speak." Javelin smirked.

Anon facepalmed, "How in the Hell is that a rumor now? I haven't even entertained the thought since Chryssi joined the herd."

"Eh, guards overhear something, some of it gets lost in translation, repeat, repeat, repeat, and soon enough you have a fresh guard out of hoofcamp that thinks Prince Anon is hunting for a new mare to be his fourth when all you really said is 'that mare is pretty cute'." Javelin explained, stifling a chuckle.

Anon let out a heavy sigh before slouching in his chair. For a few moments, he stared up at the ceiling, but as the seconds ticked by and the sound of the train chugging along filled the air with rhythmic bumps and squeals, he suddenly sat upright and pushed himself to his feet. Javelin raised an eyebrow at the action but simply followed with his eyes as Anon walked over toward Tempest.

As he approached, Anon noticed one of Tempest's ears flick back toward him, indicating that she knew he was coming long before he reached her. As he closed the last of the distance between them, he stood behind her for a moment, awkwardly waiting for her to react or turn to face him. When it became apparent that she was intent on ignoring him, he walked around to her side, noting how her turquoise eye was on him the moment he entered her peripheral.

"Uh... hey, Tempest." Anon weakly greeted, giving her an awkward wave.

Tempest held his gaze for a few moments in silence. Dusk, Echo, and Javelin were all on the edge of their seats, all ready to react, should she try anything.

"What is it, Prince Anon." Tempest replied, finally.

Anon let out a small breath, "Uh, nothing, nothing. Just wanted to check on you. Are... you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine. What does it matter to you anyway?" Tempest curtly responded.

Anon pursed his lips in thought for a moment. Truth be told, he wasn't sure why he was concerned over her well being. She'd been nothing but hostile or manipulative since he'd met her. However loathe he was to admit it, the answer was actually quite simple. She was a pony, and ponies were cute, no matter how sinister or mean they tried to be. He struggled to find the right words convey his feelings on the matter, but turning thoughts into words wasn't always an easy affair.

"Uh... cause you're a pony... and I like ponies, so... I just want all of you guys to be happy." Anon explained, weakly.

While the three stallions in the group gave him raised eyebrows at the answer, Tempest rolled her eyes and snorted in amusement.

"That's your reason? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Just go back to your booth. I'll be fine and it's going to be a long trip without you making it awkward the whole way." Tempest rebutted, turning away from him.

Hurtful as the words were, Anon couldn't deny that all he wanted to do was reclaim his seat next to Javelin at that moment, so he quickly nodded and turned around.

"Alright, good talk. Guess we'll talk more when we get there." He announced, before quickly making his way back over to Javelin and taking his seat.

Upon sitting down, Anon refused to meet Javelin's gaze for a few minutes, opting instead to glance out the window and whistle a little tune to himself while he watched the scenery of the Equestrian countryside pass by. Though he tried his best, it didn't take long for Javelin's staring eyes to wear down Anon's defense and the feeling of being watched eventually made him look over to the unicorn sitting across from him.

"Well that was awkward." Javelin teased.

"Shut up." Anon replied, quickly.

"That was more awkward than a filly asking her crush out to prom for the first time. Like... how did you manage to get Celestia, Luna, and Chrysalis with game like that?" Javelin continued, shaking his head in awe.

"You know I can throw you out this window. You're small and light enough and I am very embarrassed right now." Anon replied, refusing to make eye contact with Javelin.

Dusk and Echo shared similar sentiments of snickering at Anon's expense, though they were much more subdued in their amusement. Soon enough, quietness returned the cabin, leaving them all to entertain themselves in their own way. The three hours of the train ride passed rather sluggishly, but before too long, the tall cypress and tupelo trees of the swamp came into view. As Anon was facing the front of the train, he was the first to notice the quickly approaching swamp off in the distance, though before he could say anything, the conductor's voice rang out over the intercom.

"Prince Anon, we're arriving at the Hayseed Swamps. Should just be a few minutes now, if you'd all like to get your things ready." He announced.

Anon and the rest of the group quickly got out of their seats and set about packing their belongings. Dusk, Echo, and Javelin re-adorned their saddlebags while Anon picked up his rucksack. As they arrived at their destination, he grabbed the extra pair of saddlebags he'd had prepared for Tempest and handed them over to her. She accepted them without a word and walked over to the exit while the conductor applied the breaks and the wheels screeched.

Less than a minute later, the train came to a halt at the entrance of the swamp and the doors opened with a hiss. Tempest jumped out first, followed immediately by Javelin, Anon, then Dusk and Echo. The small group walked past the front of the train, Anon waving goodbye to the conductor and receiving a wave in return, before the engine chugged to life once more and the train backed away. As the train departed, they found themselves at the end of the tracks where a painted red train-stop marked the end of the line.

Beyond the tracks just in front of them, they saw swamp as far as the eye could see. Mossy water and trees that were taller than most buildings loomed over them in the distance. The humidity felt noticeably more intense than in Canterlot, and the sun seemed to bare down on them with a greater intensity than back home. Before they even made it into the swamp, Anon had to swat a mosquito that landed on his flesh arm.

All three stallions and Tempest found themselves similarly swatting bugs away with their tails as they moved off of the raised section of land that the train tracks resided on, and into the actual swamp. The ground was muddy, and almost immediately, Javelin's off-white fur was smudged with brown as he followed behind Tempest.

As they stepped into the swamp, the water was deeper than any of them hoped, and all of the ponies found themselves soaked up to their barrels as they waded into the high water. Even Anon found himself wading in knee-deep water that instantly soaked his feet. Before even five minutes of wading into the swamp, he felt beads of sweat forming at his brow while another mosquito buzzed right next to his ear.

It was going to be a long few days.

Author's Note

Woohoo! We did it! We got on the road! And it only took 40 thousand words to do it! Hope you guys liked this one. Tempest is going to get considerable development in the coming chapters, don't you worry.

Chapter 11: Campfire Stories

Anon, Javelin, Tempest, Dusk, and Echo trudged through the swamp for hours, the hot sun beating down on them through the openings in the swampy canopy overhead. The sloshing of their legs through the knee-deep water was accompanied only by the sounds of heavy breathing as they all struggled to make progress through the thicker mud they'd found themselves walking through. Eventually, Dusk and Echo took the air, flapping their wings just next to the rest of the group to both keep themselves out of the water, as well as help cool everyone off as well.

Anon wiped his brow, his hand coming back covered in a sweat as their progress ambled forward, one step at a time. He let out a heavy sigh as he followed behind Javelin and Tempest, finding that to his surprise, the mulberry unicorn was hardly struggling to wade through the water.

"How much further do we have to walk through this shit?" Javelin asked, glancing over his wither to Anon.

Anon quickly procured his map from his chest pocket and looked over the Hayseed Swamp. He glanced up at the sun before shrugging, "I'd say about another hour for today. We're just supposed to head East until we reach the coast, then head south and Hoof City should be right at the edge of the swamp."

"You getting tired already?" Echo teased.

"I don't wanna hear it from those of us who don't even have to endure it." Javelin turned his muzzle up.

"You should all keep your muzzles shut. You're making too much noise as it is." Tempest announced, earning several irritated glares that she didn't even bother to glance back at.

"I'm sorry, since when do you of all ponies get to tell us to shut up?" Javelin scoffed.

"There are creatures in the swamp that are attracted to noise. You're already making enough noise to alert everything within three hundred hooves with how much you're splashing, so adding to it with your mouth is just unnecessary." Tempest shot back, finally turning her head just enough to give Javelin a side-long glare.

"That's just a little filly's tale. The real reason they stopped building the train tracks was because they ran out of bits. Everypony who knows their history knows that." Dusk rebutted.

"Fine, suit yourself, but when one of those monsters come, just know that I'm not saving you." Tempest shrugged.

A collective yet tense silence settled over the group as they continued to wade through the swamp. Anon found himself struggling with some of the denser mud as his more top-heavy physique and lack of two extra legs to distribute his weight, made him sink into the mud that much more. On several occasions, he found himself stuck, needing Dusk and Echo to pull him out or Javelin to use his magic to assist. Somewhat surprising to all of them, Tempest halted in place each time, waiting patiently for the stallions to unstick their prince without complaint.

Finally, after another hour of trekking through the swamp, they found land. Just as the sun began to crest the horizon, and darkness fell upon them, the group stepped onto a raised portion of land that, while not fitting the descriptor of dry, per se, was infinitely less wet than anywhere else around them.

"I think this'll make a good place to hold up for the night." Anon announced, dropping his rucksack on the mossy ground.

"Ugh... remind me why we couldn't take an airship again?" Javelin muttered, dropping his saddlebags just a few feet from Anon.

"Well they're all deployed at the moment, for starters. Plus I let Fancy and Fleur borrow the royal airship for that photoshoot they wanted to do in Zebrica last week... not to mention the Storm King's fleet is still out there and this lets us maintain a way lower profile so we don't get boarded or attacked by his goons." Anon explained.

"And Fancy and Fleur wouldn't give it back for something as important as this?" Dusk raised an eyebrow as he and Dusk landed beside Javelin.

Anon quickly shook his head, "No, no. They'd give it back if I asked. Thing is, Photo Finish got a bit of a wild hair up her ass and now they're somewhere near Shire Lanka, last we heard. We can't even reach them via Celestia's scroll spells since they're so far away." He explained with a chuckle.

"Too bad. Would've been more relaxing than this." Echo bemoaned, laying down on the wet ground.

"Well where's the fun in that?" Anon grinned.

At the collective deadpan stares he received, Anon frowned, "Oh, come on! Where's your guys' sense of adventure?! We're going on a journey to dangerous lands, just like the pioneers used to! There's so much to see and experience! It's just like an Indiana Jones movie!" Anon exclaimed.

"Firstly, none of those pioneers had to deal with a traitor that they can't afford to take their eyes off of and speaking of which, where the buck is she?" Javelin quickly questioned, glancing around for any sign of the Storm King's commander.

Before any of them could panic or even start searching around for her, Tempest cleared her throat, making them all turn around as she deposited a few thick branches onto a small pile of kindling.

"Right behind you." She muttered.

"Tempest, where did you even get that?" Anon asked, staring owlishly at the size of the branches she'd returned.

"You'd be amazed what you can find if you even bother to look for more than one second." Tempest replied, flatly.

"She may be a snarky bitch, but she's got a point. Fire would be a good idea for the night, especially if there's something else out here that we just haven't seen yet." Javelin noted.

"You're the ones who can't see at night. Fire is only good for keeping warm to us." Dusk replied, shrugging slightly.

"Swamps get cold at night, especially this time of year." Tempest noted, her attention focused on trying to start a fire.

Anon tilted his head to the side as he watched her lean down to the kindling, what appeared to be a small rock on one of her hooves. With the other, she quickly struck the rock, sending a spark flying onto the tinder. Almost immediately, it fizzled out, leaving nothing but a bit of smoke.

"Step aside. We're gonna be here all night waiting for you to start a fire like that." Javelin ordered, walking over to the kindling.

His horn ignited in a blue light, before a small beam of white-hot energy shot forth. He held the beam of intense light on one specific patch of the kindling until it started smoking. Moments later, a small flame burst from the flammable material, quickly catching the rest on fire almost instantly. As the flames grew and consumed the larger firewood Tempest had brought, Javelin gave her a smug grin.

"You're welcome." He stated.

Tempest's frown creased her brow quite considerably, "Wouldn't need your help if I didn't have this ring on." She explained, some hostility bleeding into her voice.

"Well get used to it, cause it's not coming off the rest of the trip." Javelin shrugged, taking his seat beside the fire.

"Hey, let's not start fighting each other. Everybody relax. Let's set up sleeping arrangements and then we can just enjoy the fire." Anon diplomatically cut in.

"Anon's right. Let's just get situated. We can focus on kicking each other's flanks tomorrow." Dusk added, dropping his saddlebags as well.

Albeit with a few moments of tense hesitation, the group conceded and dispersed to conduct their individual tasks. Dusk and Echo set up their sleeping bags while Anon changed out of his pants and boots, allowing his socks to dry off. He grimaced as he flexed his toes, the hours of waterlogging having turned them extremely pruny. Meanwhile, Javelin, having been able to quickly set up his sleeping arrangement with his magic, focused on keeping the fire alight. As darkness settled in around them, it became their only source of light.

Tempest unraveled her own sleeping back and took out one of the bags of food in her bags. Once she was set, she sat down beside the fire, using her hooves to open her meal while the rest of the group similarly decided that it was time for dinner. As they all took their seats around the fire, it quickly became apparent that everyone except Anon wanted to sit on the opposite side of the fire from Tempest. While the decision was subconscious for him, mostly because there simply was no room on the other side of the fire, Anon found himself sitting just a foot away from the broken unicorn while they all dug into their meals.

Dusk and Echo had daffodil sandwiches with extra oats for dinner while Javelin ate a cucumber version of the same meal. Tempest had an alfalfa sandwich with some extra carrots on the side, the orange coloring sticking out even in the firelight. All of their meals were fairly standard fair for Equestrians, though as Anon opened his sandwich bag, a familiar scent wafted out to his nostrils, making him sigh in happiness as he looked down at his BLT sandwich. Said smell quickly filled the air, catching the attention of everyone else around him while they ate.

"What... is that smell?" Tempest asked, sniffing the air.

"That's Anon's sandwich." Echo noted.

"What do you have?" Tempest inquired, glancing over to Anon, curiously.

"It's a BLT sandwich. Bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes. Looks like Celly packed this one. She knows how much I love bacon. She practically stuffed this thing, haha." Anon chuckled, before taking a bite out of his meal.

"Bacon... I haven't had bacon in years." Tempest wistfully replied, her eyes falling slightly.

All three stallions and Anon gave her a quizzical look.

"Wait, what? You've had bacon?" Anon questioned, curiously.

Javelin physically recoiled with disgust, "What the buck?" He muttered.

"When you're stranded in the badlands with nothing green for miles, you have to make due. Be glad it wasn't still alive when I ate it." Tempest replied, darkly.

"I'm feeling a little attacked, too." Echo muttered, some offense in his tone.

Seeing his small gaff, Javelin quickly held up a hoof in a placating manner, "Woah, woah. I know you guys eat meat. You're omnivores just like Anon. We-" He gestured to both himself and Tempest, "-are not. Unicorns, Earth ponies, and pegasi aren't really built for eating meat." He explained.

"Actually, I remember an article from back home about this. At least on my world, tons of herbivores are actually considered 'opportunistic carnivores'. I'm pretty sure Lulu and Celly said ponies are in the same boat. If I remember right, even pegasi eat fish from time to time. Something about the fish oil being good for their feathers?" Anon recalled, scratching his chin in thought.

Javelin quickly shook his head, "What? No way. That can't be true. I've known dozens of pegasi over the years and not a single one of them ever told me they eat fish."

"Actually, there are quite a few in the guard that do." Dusk mentioned, making Javelin whip his head in his direction.

"What!?" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, dude. I think Spear Tip does pretty regularly. Says it's how she always comes first on the flight quals." Anon replied, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Wha-how... why do I not know this?" Javelin questioned, a bewildered expression on his face.

"Probably because of how you just reacted." Tempest replied, rolling her eyes.

Javelin opened his mouth to retort, but quickly found that she had a point and bit his tongue. Albeit with a huff, he returned to eating his sandwich without anymore complaint or argument. The rest of their meals passed in relative peace, save for the strange sounds of the swamp in the evening. A croak here, a splash there, and the incessant chirping of every insect known to Equestria filled the air around them, reminding all of them that while most of them certainly couldn't see very far into the darkness, the swamp was very much alive around them.

"Whew, that was good. I think now's a good time to get some shuteye. We got a sleep schedule figured out?" Echo asked, upon finishing his sandwich.

"Not yet. Given that there's only three of us, we'll probably do three hour shifts." Dusk replied.

"What do you mean 'three of us'? There's five of us." Anon replied, before taking another bite out of his sandwich.

"We're referring to who's going to make sure she-" Dusk began, nodding toward Tempest, "-doesn't run off in the night."

Tempest rolled her eyes but said nothing while Anon frowned, "Even still, there's four of us. You three and me." He rebutted.

"Anon, you're our friend but still our charge. We don't expect you to pull a guard shift." Javelin replied.

Anon quickly shook his head, "Nah, fuck that. I'm not gonna ask you guys to get even less sleep than absolutely necessary. I'll take a guard shift every night too. It's the least I can do for you guys even doing all this with me in the first place."

"Anon-" Dusk began, but halted as Anon continued to shake his head.

"Nope, not hearing any of it. You three are saints for helping me and I'm gonna help you as much as I can. Now go get some sleep, all of you. I'll wake up... Dusk, in two hours." Anon dismissed, shooing the three stallions away with his hand.

"Anon, are... you sure?" Javelin worriedly pressed.

"Sure as shit. Go on, git. Get some sleep." Anon grinned, continuing his shooing motions.

Despite heavy hesitance, and clear indications that they all wanted to protest, the three stallions finished their meals and went back to their beds, trying to catch a couple hours extra of sleep. Though they didn't say it, they all gave a grateful look Anon's way before crawling into their sleeping bags.

Meanwhile, Anon was on the last few bites of his sandwich when he noticed that Tempest was still sitting beside him. He felt her eyes on him and glanced in her direction, finding her quickly looking away. Amused and confused by her reaction, Anon raised an eyebrow and continued to stare at her until she looked back at him.

"Something on your mind?" He asked, curiously.

Tempest bit her lip as she glance away once more. After a few more seconds of painfully awkward silence between them, she finally glanced back over to Anon.

"Are... you going to finish that?" She asked, meekly.

It was a surprising turn of character for her, appearing to meek and subdued compared to the previous few times Anon had seen her. He'd grown used to seeing her scheming or plotting, or avoiding any kind of outward expression altogether, but to see her looking like an embarrassed filly, trying her best to avoid eye contact, was definitely new for him. Despite her reputation, despite her previous actions, and despite the things she'd said to him, Anon couldn't help but find her absolutely adorable in that moment. Even her scar and broken horn did nothing to dampen the sheer level of cuteness just radiating off of her as she tried her best to not drool over the sight of his sandwich.

Stifling a chuckle of amusement, Anon shook his head and handed over the last bit of sandwich, "You can have it- on one condition." He intoned, pulling it back as Tempest excitedly reached for it.

"What?" She asked, the despair she felt at her prize being so close yet so far, almost filling her voice.

"Tell me one thing about your childhood." Anon replied.

Tempest recoiled slightly, "What?"

"You never would say anything while we were interrogating you back at the castle. I never got my answers. Why not something simple? Just tell me how you got your cutie mark?" Anon suggested, gesturing toward the colorful explosion that made up Tempest's cutie mark.

Following his hand with her eyes until she was looking at her own flank, Tempest's brow knitted. She pursed her lips for a few moments before looking back up to Anon, the sight of the bacon sandwich hanging just out of reach, filling her vision. As the flames flickered in the fire, the shadows danced back and forth, making the bacon appear as if it was moving on its own accord. With a heavy sigh, Tempest accepted defeat.

"Fine. I don't know why you want to know about my past so badly but if it'll get you to shut up about it, then fine," She relented, pointedly ignoring the smile on Anon's face, "I got my cutiemark when I was thirteen years old. I was playing outside with my friends and accidentally charged a simple levitation spell too much. I was trying to push myself... see what more I could do with my magic. The spell became too much for me to hold onto, and when it started lashing out at everything around me, I had to bleed off the excess. We were in my backyard, houses all around and ponies in them, so nowhere to aim it except up. So I shot the magic straight up into the air and it exploded like a firework. Next thing I knew, I had my cutiemark." Tempest explained.

Though she tried to hide it, the edges of Tempest's lips curled up in the tiniest facsimile of a smile as she recalled the tale. Anon found himself smiling at the explanation, images of little fillies staring up at an impromptu fireworks show, their starstruck eyes wide in awe, filling his head.

"Well that's quite a good one. I've heard dozens of cutiemark stories and that's gotta be one of my favorites. Here, a deal's a deal." Anon replied, handing over what was left of his sandwich.

Curiously, Tempest eyed the sandwich warily, as if she expected him to be bluffing. She slowly reached out with a hoof, grasping it in that same invisible force all ponies seemed to have with their hooves, and returned it to her person. Her mouth watering, she stared down at the remnants of sandwich, before quickly glancing back to Anon. At his encouraging nod, she took a bite out of the BLT, and almost moaned in delight as the taste filled her maw.

Anon snickered at her reaction, shaking his head in amusement as she quickly scarfed down the rest of the sandwich in seconds.

"Damn. Did you even taste it?" He teased.

Tempest nodded as she swallowed down the last of it, "I... haven't exactly been eating much the past couple of weeks, if you recall." She admitted.

Anon gave a sad nod, "Well, we did offer you a bunch of good food. Why did you barely ever touch it?" He asked, curiously.

Tempest frowned and looked away, "Um... I'd rather not get into it. Thank you for the food, but I should get to sleep now. We've got another long day ahead of us tomorrow." She replied, pushing herself to her hooves.

Anon nodded, slightly disappointed by her response, but accepting of it nonetheless, "Alright. Go ahead and get some sleep. I'm sure Echo or Javelin will wake you when it's time to go."

With a simple nod of acknowledgement, Tempest crawled into her sleeping bag and went to bed, leaving Anon alone with his thoughts and the quiet crackling fire for company until it was time to wake Dusk.

The Next Morning

With the early rays of sunshine piercing through the overgrowth of the swamp canopy, the group continued on toward their destination. The sloshing of water and the heavy breaths of the ponies and man were accompanied by the sounds of bugs chirping all around them, along with the early morning tweets of a few birds that happen to inhabit the trees.

"You know, I was hoping that today would be better than yesterday, but nope. This place still sucks." Javelin bemoaned, whipping yet another few bugs away with his tail.

"At least you have fur to keep these bugs from biting you. I think I woke up with a hundred mosquito bites today." Anon grumbled, swatting a gnat that flew too close to his face.

"At least you managed to sleep at all. I slept on a knot of wood that dug into my back the entire night. I'm sore as Tartarus and it's only day two." Echo whined.

"Will you all be quiet? You're going to attract a lot of unwanted attention." Tempest muttered over her wither.

"Oh, we should all be quiet? Did you hear that, guys? Tempest is saying we should all be quiet. Tempest. Telling us what to do. Can you imagine that? That's crazy." Javelin sarcastically remarked, rolling his eyes.

"It's not like we're talking louder than the splashing we're making with every step through this muck." Echo added, splashing his hoof into the water to emphasize his point.

"It's called 'acoustic localization'. The splashing is one thing, but adding more soundwaves to it only helps predators find us easier and quicker." Tempest explained, her voice just a hushed whisper compared to Javelin and Echo's volume.

"What?" Javelin questioned.

"Proving my point, if anything. I can't even hear her over our splashing even with my hearing." Echo rolled his eyes.

"We may not like it, but she has a point. Let's keep it down, guys." Dusk ordered.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not really sure what is in this swamp, but if it's anything like Earth-" Anon began, but before he could continue, his legs were suddenly taken out from under him, knocking him onto his side in the water.

Anon landed with a loud and startling *splash* making the entire group whirl around on him, but before any of them could react, he was quickly and fiercely dragged away, under the water.

"Anon!" Javelin cried, charging after him.

Both Dusk and Echo followed suite, taking to the sky to give chase to whatever had taken Anon. Meanwhile, Tempest galloped off ahead, leaving them all behind. Seeing her going the opposite direction, Javelin came to a screeching halt.

"Tempest! Get back here!" He shouted, turning to give chase.

However, the sound of Anon's flailing and splashing was still filling his ears, making him pause. As much as he wanted to give chase to the mulberry mare, his friend needed him, and he couldn't bring himself to abandon him, even if Dusk and Echo were already chasing. So it was with grit teeth, and a snarl of fury, that Javelin reared back on his hind legs, turned back toward Anon and charged after his friend.

It was easy for him to follow the trail. Beyond the creature leaving a literal wake in its path from where it dragged Anon off to, the sounds of splashing were indeed so loud that he was able to easy give chase. The path winded and weaved, going back the direction they'd come from, then back toward the direction they were heading. It twisted and weaved with no real rhyme or reason to it, but eventually, Javelin did finally catch up to Dusk and Echo.

"This way!" Dusk called waving Javelin over.

He chased as hard and fast as his legs would allow, covering the distance through the swampy water until the group came to a clearing with an elevated portion of dry land. Once they passed through the thicket of trees obscuring their view, they finally say what had Anon in it's jaws.

Large and menacing, its scaly hide filled with actual stone and rocks, the Cragadile held Anon by one of his legs in its mouth. Mercifully, its long and thick teeth hadn't punctured his flesh, though with it's bite force, Anon would be lucky to escape with no broken bones. He was struggling to free himself from the jaws of the beast, though his mere mortal human strength was nothing compared to the bite force of one of the most voracious predators in Equestria.

"We've gotta get him out of there!" Javelin barked, charging his horn and making several mana bolts appear overhead.

None of them were expecting to see Tempest leap down from one of the trees overhead, landing squarely on the Cragadile's head.

Author's Note

Well I couldn't put edgehorse in here and not have her and Anon have a moment... also she's a badass so of course she's going to have a fight scene... or several.

Chapter 12: Familial Bonds

Time slowed to a crawl as Tempest's momentum carried her downward. Her hindleg arced through the air, her hoof poised to deliver a monstrous spinning downward kick straight to the cragadile's face. As her hoof slammed into the creature's head, a resounding *CRACK* echoed throughout the entire swamp, making the three onlookers wince. The impact was so hard and so severe, that it shoved the entire beast's head straight down into the dirt it was crawling on, bouncing its jaw off the hard surface and rattling its reptilian brain.

Anon, unfortunately, was thrown about like a ragdoll from the impact, but luckily wasn't severely injured as almost all of the force transmitted into the cragadile's jaw and not his leg. In fact, the beast was so startled and shaken by the impact, that it released its hold on his leg, allowing Anon to fall out of its jaw and land on the ground beside it. He quickly crawled away as Tempest gracefully landed beside him.

Unfortunately, however, the cragadile was far from beaten by the single impact, and managed to shake its head of the dizziness clouding its vision. With a new, much more purple target in sight, it charged toward Tempest, its jaw opening wide to swallow her whole. However, just as it came within reach, Tempest juked to the side, easily dodging its jaws and compressing her legs like steel springs. With a force that downright scared the three stallions watching her, she used her new position to leap at the cragadile and deliver a downright devastating blow against it's cheek with her hind leg.

It was only two kicks, but the absolute monster of a cragadile was sporting a spiderweb of cracks all over its head and face. It tried to whirl on Tempest once more, it's jaw wide open yet again as it tried to catch her off guard with a surprisingly quick counter attack. However once again, the creature simply had no chance against the force of nature that was Tempest. Jumping and spinning in place, she kicked a hindleg out once more, the backend of her hindhoof colliding with one of the cragadile's largest teeth. The impact sent a shudder through the entire beast's body as its tooth was snapped clean out of its jaw and sent flying through the air until it impaled itself in a tree.

Just as Anon managed to scramble his way to Dusk, Javelin, and Echo, the cragadile wailed in pain and scurred away, it's tail as far between its legs as it could muster. With the threat neutralized, Tempest turned around and casually walked back over to the group of males, an uninterested look in her eyes as she moved.

She arrived to find all three stallions staring at her with wide-eyed expressions while Anon panted on his hands and knees. There was some clear tearing in his pants, but no obvious signs of severe bleeding. She gave his leg a swift and non-intrusive once-over before deciding he was alright and refocused on the other three stallions behind him, her eyebrow raised in irritation.

"What?" She asked.

"H-how... how did you..." Javelin muttered.

"You broke its bucking tooth off..." Dusk shook his head in disbelief.

"How the hay can you even kick that hard?" Echo questioned, his eyes wide in awe.

"Practice. Focus on helping your prince, or did you all forget that he's your responsibility?" Tempest ordered, frowning at the three of them.

"Hold the buck on. You bucked off when he was attacked. Don't you even start trying to talk shit." Javelin defensively replied, taking a step toward Tempest.

"Guys, please don't." Anon muttered, rolling onto his back.

"Anon's right, let's focus on him right now." Dusk spoke up, moving to Anon's side to check his leg more closely.

As the stallions nodded in agreement and moved to help, Tempest sat down beside Anon, just out of reach if he did try to touch her.

"To answer your accusation, I knew it was a cragadile the second he went under and away from us. They always drag their meals onto dry land if they hear themselves being chased. I saw this outcropping of land while we were walking and assumed that if there was anywhere nearby that it would drag him to, it'd be here. I knew it would take a substantial hit to break its grip on his leg, so I needed to get some height so my kick would hit hard enough." Tempest explained.

"How did you not shatter your hindleg on that spinning down-kick?" Echo asked, still clearly in awe.

"Practice. Lots of practice." Tempest smirked.

"Heh, and here I thought you said you weren't going to be saving any of us earlier," Dusk chuckled, as he finished checking Anon's leg, "All good. Just some bruising but you'll be fine." He reported, allowing all eyes to shift to Tempest.

"No, just the three of you." Tempest replied, matter-of-factly.

Though she received a glare from Javelin, Anon, Dusk, and Echo laughed at the response.

"Looks like she does like you, after all, Anon." Echo teased, patting Anon's thigh.

"Enough to not let me die, at least." Anon weakly chuckled.

"You guys are being entirely too casual with this." Javelin rolled his eyes.

"Ah, relax, bud. We're all good. Luckily nothing's broke. Maybe we'll all try to keep quiet while we wade through the rest of this swamp now, huh?" Anon joked.

At Anon's words, Tempest smirked, "Almost like I'm not just talking out of my flank, huh?"

Though Javelin quietly seethed at her taunting remark, he bit his tongue and focused on helping get Anon to his feet.

"Any of you guys see my rucksack? I think it fell off somewhere back over... there-ish." Anon noted, pointing vaguely in the direction they'd come from.

"I saw it fall off. I got it." Echo replied, taking flight to go retrieve the rucksack.

"You sure you're good, Anon?" Javelin asked, his voice awash in concern.

"Yeah, I'm good bud. Thanks for coming after me." Anon smiled.

"Ahem." Dusk muttered.

Anon snickered as he reached out and scratched at Dusk's ear, "Thank you too, Dusky. Echo as well. I appreciate all of you. Course, I also can't forget the one who literally broke a cragadile's tooth to save me." He began, glancing over to Tempest.

She eyed him curiously for a moment as Anon let go of Dusk's ear, much to the batpony's disappointment.

"Thanks for the save, Tempy. I knew you weren't all bad." Anon offered.

Anon was prepared for several reactions from the the broken unicorn, but he most certainly did not expect a slight blush to color her cheeks.

"Just... don't do dumb crap like that again. Next time I might not be so quick to help." She muttered, turning away and taking a few steps toward the edge of the spit of land.

Anon, Dusk, and Javelin eyed her curiously as she walked away, a mixture of feelings in all of their chests as Echo came flapping back in, Anon's rucksack in his forelegs.

"Alright, got it," He announced, dropping the ruck sack at Anon's feet, "What's the matter? You all look like you've seen a ghost." He noted, glancing in Tempest's direction.

The three continued to gaze after Tempest for a few moments before Dusk suddenly chuckled, "Oh, mare. That didn't take long at all." He chuckled.

"There's no way, right? She can't possibly..." Javelin muttered, walking off in his own direction.

"What? What are they talking about? Anon?" Echo questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"Uh... good question, Echo. I'll let you know when I find out, myself. Thanks for bringing this." Anon replied, glancing curiously at Dusk and Javelin before picking his rucksack back up.

"Don't mention it. Let's get out of here before another one of those cragadiles shows up." Echo replied, nodding toward Tempest's direction.

With that, the group pressed on, readorning their gear and heading through the swamp. The rest of the day proved to be utterly uneventful, as the entire group barely said a word, lest they draw the attention of something hiding out in the swamp again. Javelin took the lead, using his map and navigation skills to point them in the correct direction as the sun continued to tick higher and higher into the sky.

The stops were frequent, as the hot temperatures and humid, damp environment made all of them sweaty to a fault. Sweat foam formed on all of the equine's backs and under their gear, while Anon's clothes turned a few shades darker from all the sweat soaking into them. Lines of white started to form around his armpits and in his pant legs as the heat continued to sap at his water reserves. Before long, the entire group was running low on water, a fact that was luckily easy to remedy since Javelin could simply purify the swamp water with his magic. With the group running low, they eventually took a moment to stop and fill their canteens with water. One by one, they approached Javelin to purify their water, until all of them but Tempest approached. Though there was still quite a bit of animosity between them, Javelin only hesitated for a brief moment before purifying her water as well.

Though the going was rough, they made good progress through the tough and foreboding swamp. Eventually, even the sun began to fall in the sky, and the heat that came with it gradually relented.

Celestia let out a quiet sigh as she lowered the sun to the edge of the horizon. The blood orange rays of sunlight cascaded over the land as the dark of night slowly took hold of the skyline. Standing just beside her, Luna's horn ignited as well, and the moon gracefully rose in the opposite orientation off in the distance. Together, they smiled at a job well done for what could have been the millionth time.

"How was your day, sister?" Luna asked, giving a curious glance to Celestia.

"About as boring as you'd expect. Politicians, nobles, taxes, the works." Celestia snorted in mild amusement.

"I take it you barely thought of any of it as the day progressed?" Luna intoned.

Celestia let out a heavy sigh, "Indeed, you are right. I couldn't focus on a damn word any of those nobles or politicians had to say. I'm fairly certain I absentmindedly signed about a thousand bills that will raise taxes on the nobles for the forseeable future. I do recall some of them being very disgruntled when they left..." She admitted.

Luna leaned in and tenderly nuzzled her sister, "Thinking about Nonny, weren't you?" She asked.

Celestia returned the nuzzle and draped a wing over her younger sister's back, "Can you blame me? I love him dearly and yet, I can't be with him when he's going to pursue that which would give him life equal to ours. None of us can. It's like some kind of cruel joke."

"It's true that we could have told him to wait. Had him stay here for a few more years until everything was settled in Equestria and Twilight was back... but you know he would have hated every second of it. Our Nonny can be a little impatient." Luna chuckled, wrapping her wing around Celestia's back, their feathers intertwining.

"No doubt due to his mortality. You, I, and Chryssi can afford to be patient. We have literally eons of time. Nonny... well, he probably has it in his head that if he doesn't do this now, he'll never be able to. We certainly didn't help in that department. Oh, I just wish that we could be there with him, to watch him as he completes this journey. I was there for yours, for Cadence and Twilights... but not my own husbands..." Celestia sighed, heavily.

"Now now, sister, remember that what's truly important isn't the moment he takes that leap, but all the infinite moments after it. Besides, he's not drinking the elixir all the way out there, he's bringing it back here so we can make sure it's safe." Luna reminded her, squeezing her with her wing.

Celestia pursed her lips in thought for a few moments, "True, but there is still the journey itself... and what that means to him, Lulu. Much like how both of us had to discover our talents and ascend to alicornhood through our own journeys, this is Anon's journey. It just... I just feel like we should be a part of it." She admitted, hanging her head slightly.

Luna deftly leaned in and nuzzled her sister's chin with her cheek. Celestia's sinuses immediately filled with the scent of lavender and she couldn't help but sag into the contact, her wing squeezing Luna tighter.

"It'll be alright, sister. Our Nonny is a strong, independent stallion, remember? He doesn't need us to baby him." Luna teased.

Celestia chuckled before planting a loving kiss on Luna's muzzle, "How do you always know exactly what to say to cheer me up?" She asked.

"Nopony has known you as long as I have. I'd hope I've learned what makes you tick by now." Luna chuckled, before returning a loving kiss on Celestia's lips.

The two alicorns kissed back and forth for a few moments, their tongues slowly making their way out to meet in the middle. Celestia initially took charge, teasing and tasting Luna's lips, before withdrawing and allowing her little sister to prod her lips with her own velveteen touch. They both hotly breathed through their nostrils as the heated passion between them increased, only to fizzle out as they heard a voice from behind.

"I knew I felt a spike of lust out here," Chrysalis chuckled, both a snoozing Artemis and Dawn held in her magical hold, "Am I interrupting something?" She teased.

Luna and Celestia let out a small giggle at who'd caught them, "No, not at all, Chryssi. I'm sorry for taking so long to come back inside. I was just venting to Luna. Here, let me take the twins from you, you must be exhausted after tending to the little ones all day." She offered, grasping both foals from Chrysalis's hold with her own magic.

"Oh, it's nothing I haven't endured a thousand times before. To be honest, if you want to make it up to me, just give me a little of what you two were just doing and I'll be more than happy." Chrysalis tittered, sauntering up between them.

"I think I have the energy for an hour or so of fun. Lulu?" Celestia smirked.

"I'm afraid that I have my duties to attend to for the night. You two will have to entertain each other in my absence... not that you ever have an issue doing so." She chuckled.

"Oh, and here I was craving blueberries tonight." Chrysalis joked, before nuzzling the lunar alicorn.

"Mayhaps you'll have some blueberry in the morning, if you satisfy Celestia well enough. How does that sound, Love?" Luna impishly questioned, a predatory smirk growing on her face.

"Satisfy her? My little Moonbeam, I promise you, I will ravage your sister until she can only moan my name for all to hear." Chrysalis grinned, licking her chops with her long, dexterous tongue as she glanced over to Celestia.

Feeling a distinct heat rising not just in on her cheeks, but in her nethers as well, Celestia excitedly gulped before clearing her throat, "As excited as I am for that, I do have to ask if you were able to reach any changelings that could help out with that task I mentioned earlier." She explained.

Chrysalis nodded, "Ah, yes. Of course, I almost forgot. I asked around and received a couple volunteers. Come and meet them, won't you?" She replied, turning tail and walking toward the bedroom entrance.

As she departed, Chrysalis flicked her tail up, tracing Luna's neck and wafting her scent straight into her muzzle. Luna quietly gasped as she was treated to not only the scent of an aroused and hungry Chrysalis, but the delicious sight of her winking, drooling slit. It was almost enough to make her forgo her duties for the night and pounce on the changeling queen right then and there, but through centuries of practice and experience, she managed to control herself and take to the sky, flying around to her observatory.

Meanwhile, Celestia and Chrysalis walked through the bedroom, the former setting the twins down on their bed so they could sleep.

"You know, that was just evil." Celestia teased, glancing over her wither.

Chrysalis shrugged, "Eh, it'll give her motivation to get her flank back here. Apologies if I seem like I'm picking favorites today. I love you and you are certainly no downgrade but for some odd reason I've just had an itch that I want Luna to scratch today." She apologized, quite genuinely.

Celestia giggled, "It's quite alright. I can be the same way sometimes. For now though, I'm just glad to have somepony discreet to handle this. I know Twilight and Cadence are grown mares but I can't help but worry. Maybe I'm overreacting but I can't help it. Twilight and Cadence are like daughters to me and the way Twilight wrote that letter... it just doesn't feel like it was her writing it." She admitted.

Chrysalis nuzzled her cheek, "I understand. That's why we're sending a couple changelings to check up on them. Nopony blames you for caring."

Celestia returned the nuzzle and gave a grateful nod to the changeling queen before opening the door to her bedroom with her magic. Upon doing so, she was greeted by two familiar faces that instantly made her smile.

"Ocellus! Pharynx! It's good to see you both." Celestia greeted, smiling at the pair of changelings.

"Princess Celestia! It's wonderful to see you too." Ocellus beamed, her wings buzzing in excitement.

"Princess." Pharynx greeted, curtly nodding at the sun diarch.

"My, you've gotten so much bigger already, Ocellus. You're practically fully grown." Celestia noted, sizing up the drone.

"I sure am. Must be all the love in the air around you ponies all the time." Ocellus beamed.

"Just don't overindulge. Wouldn't want to get fat." Pharynx replied, giving her a sidelong glance.

"Just because it's going to your flanks doesn't mean it's going to mine." Ocellus rebutted, blowing a raspberry at her elder sibling.

"Wha-hey!" Pharynx barked, his cheeks turning slightly green in embarrassment.

"Ahem, children." Chrysalis cleared her throat, giving both drones an unamused look.

"Sorry about that, mom. Pharynx is just being his usual argumentative self, as always." Ocellus rolled her compound eyes.

"I am not being argumentative. I am being practical. For this mission to succeed, we need to be completely perfect in our disguises. The Crystal Empire has means of tracking us if they find out we're not ponies up there, you know that right?" Pharynx shot back.

"The Crystal Empire is also not our enemy, nor are any ponies up there on the lookout for changelings. Remember, this is only a wellness check. It isn't a full blown infiltration like we used to do. If things go the way they should, you'll only be up there for five minutes." Chrysalis explained.

"Aww... I wanted to see the Empire." Ocellus whined.

"Ocellus, you're free to travel to the Empire whenever you wish." Celestia chimed in, some slight confusion on her face.

Ocellus vigorously shook her head, "Oh, I know, Princess. It's just that with the therapy centers Thorax opened, and me helping him at two of them, I'm usually too busy to go anywhere else. I could only come here to help because mom asked me to."

"Ocellus, you don't have to run yourself into the ground to help others. It's a wonderful thing that you're doing, and you have not only mine, but the gratitude of every pony you've helped since Tirek's invasion as well. In fact, how's about this, after this little 'mission' is complete, I'll personally grant you a week to go explore the Empire to your hearts' content? I'm sure Chryssi and I can find another changeling to fill in for you while you're gone." Celestia offered, genuinely.

Being able to sense the honestly of the solar princess's words, Ocellus found herself utterly touched by the gesture, and brought a hoof to her chest, "You would do that for me, Princess?"

Celestia quickly nodded, "Of course I would. This is a personal favor that neither of you have to do, so I simply cannot express my gratitude enough."

As Ocellus practically vibrated in place, Pharynx scratched his chin in thought, "Can all three of us go for a week?" He inquired.

"All... three of you?" Celestia tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"He's referring to his brother." Chrysalis clarified.

"Thorax?" Celestia replied.

"Yes. Not that he needs to know it was my idea, but he works hard, and I know he's really wanted to see the Empire ever since the Crystal Heart was restored." Pharynx explained.

"Aww... I would love for the three of you to spend some time together in the Empire once this is finished." Celestia nodded, a motherly smile on her face.

Chrysalis nodded beside her, "Agreed. Now, as for the specifics, we have some concerns about Twilight Sparkle. As per usual, this information must stay between us. Noling, and I mean noling can know about this. Chances are, we're just being paranoid... but if we aren't, then it would mean that Twilight and her friends could possibly be in trouble. The elements of Harmony would be completely gone and useless to Equestria. I don't have to tell you how serious this would be, were that to be the case." She explained.

While Pharynx nodded in silent acceptance of the task being thrust upon him, Ocellus nervously gulped. Try as she might to hide it, the potential seriousness of the situation made her ever so slightly weak in the knees. Vague memories of Tirek and how close he'd come to killing her brothers threatened to weed their way into her mind, but they were quickly forgotten, as she felt a chitinous hoof lift her chin.

"Ocellus, I promise you that you won't be put into danger like that again. You have my word." Chrysalis assured her, a gentle kindness behind her eyes.

Ocellus smiled up at her mother before lunging forward and wrapping her forelegs around her chest. The hug was tight but controlled, and made only that much more loving as Chrysalis returned the gesture.

"If you're having second thoughts, there are plenty of other changelings that can do the job. You don't have to potentially put yourself in harm's way again-" Pharynx tried to suggest.

"No, no. I'm fine. It's fine. I want to do this. Can't stay cooped up in the past forever, right?" Ocellus cut him off, giving a half smile to her brother as she released her hug.

Pharynx held her gaze for a few seconds before shaking his head and chuckling, "Alright, alright. Let's go get ready. There's a few disguises I want us to try and it's probably for the best if we get out of mom's mane."

"Right. Let's go Pharynx," Ocellus nodded, before turning to Chrysalis, "Thanks again, mom... love you." She smiled.

Chrysalis felt both her hearts warm at the gesture, and quickly nuzzled Ocellus once more, "Love you too. Now, go be safe, both of you." She chided, glancing over to Pharynx, who was pretending to gag.

"Uh, come on, Ocellus... and, uh... love you... too... mom." He awkwardly called over his wither as he exited the room.

"Love you too, honeybug!" Chrysalis teased, making the changeling general blush while Ocellus giggled after him.

As Celestia closed the door with her magic, she let out a chuckle, "You know, that whole interaction was just adorable. I love that they're calling you 'mom' now."

Chrysalis shrugged, "Well it's only proper, after all. My title of 'Queen' was surrendered over a year ago and I did lay every last one of them."

"I just wish Pharynx wasn't so embarrassed by it. It's adorable but he seemed like he was in such a rush to leave." Celestia giggled into her hoof.

Chrysalis smirked, "That was probably because he could sense my lust for you right now and wanted to get out of earshot before we started bucking like animals in front of him and Ocellus." She purred, leaning in to Celestia's ear, "Now, if I recall correctly, I do have a promise to keep to your sister..."

Celestia moaned as Chrysalis nipped at her ear, her sharp fangs adding just the right amount of pinching pressure mixed with the heat of her breath, "O-Oh? A-and what's... Faust... what's that, Chryssi?"

"I want her to hear you moaning my name from across the castle..." Chrysalis whispered, before tackling Celestia to the floor.

The night was filled with their lusty purrs and throaty moans until Luna came back.

Author's Note

And so the journey continues! Things are moving quite swimmingly for our protagonists and dare I say, there might even be a little attraction there?

As for Chryssi and Celestia, I've always loved the concept of the drones calling her "mom". I just had to do it here, especially after the last story.

Also I imagine that Luna will have a difficult time doing her duty knowing that there's an open invitation there... especially if she hears them once or twice throughout the night.

Chapter 13: Trials of Travel

The following morning saw the group slowly rising with the sun. Anon rose with a yawn and stretch that was accompanied by the sound of several vertebrae popping. Just few feet from him, Javelin rose as well, rolling his neck to stretch out any kinks that developed overnight with no pillows for them to rest their weary heads on. While Dusk and Echo were much easier to rise, Anon found his attention pulled to Tempest as she slipped out of her sleeping bag.

Her mane, usually done up in a mohawk that was as intimidating as it was impressive, was naught but a mess of bedhead that stuck out at odd angles and covered the majority of her neck and face. She took a step forward before stretching out her hindlegs behind her one at a time. Once those were good, she arced her back and bowed deeply, stretching out her back and earning several pops in the process. Once she was done, she glanced over to Anon, finding that he'd been watching her the entire time. As her teal eyes fell on him, and the strands of loose mane spilled out and framed her face, a realization hit him like a truck.

Yep, she's adorable. He found himself admitting, nonverbally, of course.

Anon quickly got out of his sleeping bag and packed his things for the day. After giving his boots the night to dry out, they were sufficiently arid enough for him to walk in without worry of getting trenchfoot, though he found himself dreading the long walk they had ahead of themselves today.

"Alright, we've got about another six hours of walking through this crap, and then we should finally be at the coast and from there, it's a straight and notably un-swampy walk straight to Hoof City. We've just gotta head South." Javelin announced, glancing through his map.

"Sounds good. Let's just hit the road and get out of this swamp already. Tired of sweating my flank off in here." Echo added, already packing his gear.

"Tempest, you good to go?" Anon asked, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She replied.

"Well, you're uh..." Anon trailed off, gesturing to her mane.

Tempest glanced up, her cheeks tinging with red as she quickly, and adorably, brushed her mane back up into its signature style. She made incredibly short work of the hairdo, and returned her gaze back to Anon with the same look of disinterest she usually wore on her face around them. Though he tried to hide it, Anon couldn't quite keep the snicker out of his mouth at her antics.

"Okay, let's go." Dusk ordered.

With that, the group finished packing and headed out of their makeshift campsite. Just as it had been the previous two days, the travel through the swamp was long and arduous, taking hours just to move a few miles through the harsh terrain. Mercifully, the day turned overcast rather quickly, allowing them some reprieve from the sun's rays.

"Remind me which weather team is responsible for this area. I'm going to slap them for not making it overcast sooner." Javelin muttered, quietly.

"Looks like rain." Tempest observed, quietly.

"Rain? Sounds nice." Anon noted, nodding along behind her.

"Not if it's the kind of rain that I expect to see here. We... may have to worry about flooding." Tempest informed him.

Anon bit his lip and looked over to Dusk, "Think we've got rain on the way?" He asked.

Before Dusk could even respond, a thick drop of moisture landed right on top of his head, answering Anon's question for him. Said raindrop was quickly joined by another, and another until a steady stream of rain poured down on all of them. The splashing of their limbs wading through the water was soon drowned out by the cacophony of rain pouring down all around them.

"I take it back, I'm strangling whoever is responsible for weather over here." Javelin muttered, his face a frown as his mane spilled all over his face and neck.

"On the bright side, it's quite cool now." Echo offered with a shrug.

"On the brighter side, we've only got a few more hours to go before we reach the coast." Anon also offered.

"Don't get your hopes up too high. There's a natural barrier of trees at the coast and a water reservoir that feeds the Tenneighsee river just North of here. This place can still flood." Tempest cautioned, already taking note of the slightly higher water level.

"Well then let's get out of here before we have to worry about that." Anon instructed, stepping over a root from a large tree beside him.

They proceeded onward, the rain only increasing in intensity until there was a veritable downpour coming down right on top of them. Hours passed and they trudged along, the water level rising slowly until soon enough it was at Tempest and Javelin's haunches. The ever rising water level was cause for concern enough, but soon enough they heard the sound of rushing water off in the distance.

"That better not be what I think it is." Javelin muttered.

"I think its the waves crashing against the coast line. It's really hard to tell with all this noise." Dusk admitted, flying just a bit higher to try to see through the thinner parts parts of the trees.

However unfortunately, the coast did not come into view right away, and the sound of rushing water only grew louder. Now with the prospect starting to wear at the nerves of the entire group, they all found themselves pushing a bit faster to escape the swamp before the water level could rise too high. Despite their efforts, it didn't take long for the water level to reach Javelin's neck, and the poor stallion had to swim over some of the branches as the pits between them were too deep.

Even Anon had water up to his waistline, much to his chagrin. He glanced back the way they'd came from, his brow knitting in concern before turning back to the group ahead, "We've gotta be close by now. Dusk, go on ahead and find the coast. Once you're there, relay it to Echo and then we'll just follow him." He instructed, glancing over to the pair of thestrals.

With a quick salute, Dusk took off ahead, leaving them to wade through the ever rising swamp. It didn't take long at all for Echo's ears to perk up in response to the high frequency pitch Dusk called to him in, and the batpony quickly turned to Anon, a smile on his face.

"It's only about another two hundred hooves ahead! Let's get out of this swamp." Echo called, flapping his wings to lead the pack.

The trio hurried through the ever rising waters, Anon having to run high-knee through the water while Javelin and Tempest struggled beside him. Suddenly, the water level rose sharply, lifting both Javelin and Tempest from the ground for a moment before their gear dragged them both back down underwater. As Anon saw their heads disappear under the surface, he struggled to stay upright, himself. The sudden rush of water threw him off balance, but luckily the water level was still low enough for him to keep his head above the waterline.

As Anon rushed to his companions, Tempest's head broke the water, her mane now slicked down over her face and cheeks as she gasped for breath before being dragged under once more. Anon quickly waded over to her and grabbed a hold of her barrel, heaving her up and out of the water just enough for her head to break the surface. She quickly caught her breath as Javelin came out of the water just a second later, his forelegs desperately paddling to get some buoyancy with all his gear weighing him down.

"Echo!" Anon shouted, struggling to make his way to Javelin.

If there was one thing Anon was grateful for, it was how mercifully light ponies were compared to humans. Though Tempest was wearing all her gear and was larger than any normal unicorn, she was still light enough for Anon to carry with one arm under her barrel while she paddled along with him. The two of them swiftly reached Javelin, where Anon grabbed him in much the same way, keeping the stallion's head above water while he gasped for breath.

Before any of them could express their gratitude, a wave of water washed through the swamp, knocking Anon off of his feet and plunging them all into the water once more. Anon struggled to right himself, the act just that much more difficult with two flailing ponies in his arms, but much to his surprise, he suddenly felt himself being pulled to the surface. As Anon, Tempest, and Javelin's heads broke the water once more, they saw the two thestrals flapping their wings while desperately tugging on Anon's rucksack.

"Give us your gear! Use the trees for balance and keep going! We're almost at the coast!" Dusk barked.

The three of them quickly nodded and ditched their gear, allowing both thestrals to take it. Between their own saddlebags, and the addition of over a hundred pounds more, Dusk and Echo struggled to stay airborne, but managed to fly off ahead, allowing Anon, Javelin, and Tempest to swim in the deep water. They hugged the trees around them for stability while the rushing water cascaded around them, threatening to sweep them away.

The going was hard and foreboding, but thankfully short. Within minutes, they found themselves at the natural wall of trees that normally acted as a tsunami wall for the swamp. Now acting as a dam to keep the water level high with fresh water, it took all of the group's strength to fight the swirling water as it crashed against the wall.

"Come on! Over here!" Echo called, landing on the edge of the wall.

As Dusk landed beside him, both thestrals doffed their saddlebags and dumped everyone else's gear, allowing them to shave as much weight as possible. They took back to the sky just as Anon, Tempest, and Javelin reached the wall beneath them. They both glided down to help Anon, but just as they tried to assist him in climbing up, he shoo'd them away.

"Get these two up there. I can climb this." Anon ordered.

"Anon, now's not the time to put yourself in any more danger! We need to get you out of here first!" Dusk shot back.

"I have hands. I can climb this. Get them up there, now!" Anon barked, leaving no room for debate.

Though it was clear he didn't like it, Dusk relented and moved over to Tempest while Echo grabbed Javelin. Both thestrals wrapped their forelegs around their respective unicorn and took to the air. The struggle to lift a full grown pony was even more than lifting their saddlebags, but as they slowly ascended, both bat ponies and cargo found their eyes locked on Anon as he started climbing.

The wall stood nearly three times Anon's height, though he seemed hardly fazed as he used the spindly roots to climb higher and higher. In fact, he was able to scale the wall so quickly and efficiently, that he reached the top before either thestral could. Anon laid down beside his rucksack, limbs sprawled in all directions as he caught his breath, only glancing over as Dusk and Echo set Javelin and Tempest on the roots beside him. With the danger now passed, the quintet all found themselves laying on the ground, panting for breath.

"Anon?" Javelin asked, between heavy breaths.

"Yeah, bud?" Anon replied.

"You're never picking the route again." Javelin responded.

Both Dusk and Echo voiced their agreement. Even Tempest nodded along as Anon rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, fair enough. I'll give you that one." He relented.

For a few minutes longer, the five of them laid on their backs, all gazing up at the rainclouds overhead while they were pelted with moisture. Not that they felt it much, as all of them were completely soaked through regardless. Soon enough, however, Anon sat upright, letting out a groan as he did.

"Alright, I don't know about you guys, but I don't really wanna have to sit out here in the rain all night. Let's get to Hoof City and take a hot shower." Anon announced.

"Here here." Echo agreed, rolling over and getting to his hooves.

"That sounds quite nice right about now." Tempest admitted, getting to her hooves as well.

Quick enough, the five of them were adorned in all of their sopping wet gear once more. They walked along the tree-line, using its natural formation to avoid the waist-deep waters to their left, and the ten foot deep waters to their right. Unlike any of their previous progress, there was a distinct ease to the travel, and soon enough they found themselves reaching the end of the swamp. The dense, overgrown foliage of the swamp soon gave way to open plains and soft grass that only reached up to Anon's knee.

With a sigh of relief the group walked through the grass, quickly finding themselves walking along the coastline. The grass gave way to a sandy beach that stretched as far as the eye could see, but much more importantly than the grass, they saw Hoof City come into view. The weary group pushed forward with a spike of motivation from the sight of their goal, and after just a couple more hours of walking alongside an admittedly pretty coastline, the arrived at the city entrance.

The initial reaction upon seeing their prince was one of disbelief, but as it became all too apparent that it was indeed Anon entering their city, the ponies of Hoof City quickly swarmed. Another wave of excited ponies all rushing to meet and greet their prince hit the wall that was Javelin, Dusk, and Echo, all but forcing them all against a wall.

"Prince Anon! I can't believe you're here!" A mare cried out.

"We love you!" Another shouted.

"Put a foal in me! I wanna be royalty too!" A third exclaimed.

"Guys, guys, I appreciate the welcome, really I do-" Anon tried to announce, his voice barely registering in the sea of boisterous voice all cheering and chanting his name, "-but me and the guys here have been through a lot the past couple of days and we kinda just want to take a break at our hotel."

With that, Anon continued onward, Dusk, Echo, and Javelin having to hold back the crowd while Tempest moseyed alongside Anon as if she were royalty as well. Though the arrangement clearly annoyed the three stallions, they said nothing as they were too preoccupied to even begin to converse about it. Though, that didn't last too long as the ponies around them began to notice the mulberry unicorn with a broken horn as well.

"Who is that!?"

"That's a mare! A unicorn mare!"

"Alright, that's enough. All of you please disperse. The prince has requested peace and quiet as he retires to his hotel for the evening. Please go back to your homes, now!" Javelin announced.

"Is she his newest mare!? Her!? I'm so much prettier than her!"

"Does she have a mohawk? Ew..."

"Surely he can do better than a unicorn with a broken horn?"

Though she said nothing, Tempest winced ever so slightly at the mares words. Javelin, Dusk, and Echo were too preoccupied with the crowd to see, but standing just beside her, Anon noticed it immediately.

"Hey!" Anon shouted, his voice so loud and startling that the entire crowd was stunned into silence.

"I don't know who just said that, but that's fucked up. Don't say shit like that to her again." Anon sternly announced, casting a disapproving glare over the crowd.

As he was finding in most cases with ponies, just a disappointed tone from someone they respected, was enough to turn nearly all of them into the saddest, most pitifully adorable creatures he'd ever seen. All of their ears splayed back and nearly all of them held their heads low as dozens of hushed apologies were uttered. Nodding at their response, Anon turned and headed forward, a stunned Tempest struggling to move after him. After a polite nudge from Dusk, she hurried along, and soon enough they all found themselves at the hotel.

The Mareiott hotel entrance was beautifully maintained with polished marble floors and clear class doors that allowed a litany of light to brighten the foyer. Ponies trotted back and forth, all dressed in some measure of high class formal wear as they headed out for dinner or to some kind of party for the night. So it was with muted shock that they all observed Anon and his group enter the establishment, all of them dripping from the rain and swamp and covered in a measure of muck.

Anon walked up to the front desk, finding the unicorn stallion sitting there to be utterly bewildered by the sight before him. He wore a professional maroon suit and had a neatly trimmed mustache on his golden face. He wore a small black bellhop hat atop his head that covered his deep brown mane, just above two blood-orange eyes. From his stature, he was clearly partly saddle arabian.

"G-good evening, Prince Anon. Welcome to the Mareiot! I-I will have your belongings brought up to your suite right away!" The stallion hastily greeted, summoning his golden magic to bring out a cart for them all.

"Thanks. It's been... a long couple of days." Anon admitted with a chuckle.

One by one, Anon and his group threw their gear onto the cart, before allowing the stallion to hurriedly pass out room cards to each of them and roll their luggage over to the elevator. They all filed into an elevator of their own, and soon reached their floor. As they reached the suite, all five of them let out small sighs of relief as the prospect of a hot shower and comfy beds awaited them.

Somehow, possessing the speed and grace that only a Bellhop could, their greeter already had their luggage deposited in the center of the room as Anon unlocked the door and entered. The rest of the group trailed after him, a series of sighs escaping them as they found the relaxing and comfortable suite to be even grander than expected.

At two stories tall, the suite was more like a small house, having several rooms for the group to stay in for the night. The master bedroom was on the second floor, and from what little Anon could see as he entered, it looked extravagant. The living room was furnished with a large, plush couch that sat on a large Yakyakistan fur carpet. The floor itself was made of the same polished white marble that the entrance way was and reflected the bright white lights hanging from the chandelier to make the gold accents all over the room stand out just that much more.

Javelin let out a low whistle, "You know, I think this place is even fancier than the castle."

Anon nodded, "Celly told me it's good to keep the castle fancy but not too fancy. Makes it feel like when we go away somewhere that's even fancier, it actually feels like a vacation or upgrade." He explained, making his way to his rucksack.

"Well, can't argue with her there. She would know, after all." Dusk shrugged.

"After a thousand years of being a princess? Yeah, she should know." Anon chuckled.

"What are the room arrangements for tonight?" Tempest asked, making all of the males in the room glance over to her.

"Don't think-" Javelin began.

"There's four guest bedrooms here aside from the master bedroom. So each of you gets your own room for the night." Anon explained, hefting his rucksack onto his back.

Tempest gave a curt but grateful nod as she grabbed her saddlebags, "If that's the case, then I'll be in my room." She announced, before heading to one of the large bedroom doors just past the large entertainment area.

As Anon moved to make his way upstairs, Javelin quickly trotted over to his side and halted him with a hoof against his thigh, "Anon, are you sure serious? We can't just leave her in her own room unwatched." He protested, quietly.

Anon shook his head, "Well as much as I'd like to just sleep through the night, that's why we're still doing guard shifts tonight. She's not leaving the room without any of us noticing cause one of us will be up at all times." He explained.

Javelin bit his lip but released his hold on Anon's pantleg, "What if she tries to escape through one of the windows?"

Anon raised an eyebrow, "And goes where? We're on the thirty seventh floor, bud."

Javelin shrugged, "I don't know, dude... but I still don't trust her. She's been pretty accommodating so far but who knows how far that goes. She can still stab us in the back at any moment. I'm just worried you might be getting a bit too comfortable with her already." He cautioned.

"Too comfortable? Jav, dude we haven't even made it out of Equestria yet. If she somehow escapes, we've got the authority to shut down the border and start a manhunt that could find Amelia Earhart." Anon shot back, one brow raising in confusion.

All three stallions tilted their heads to the side, "Who?" They asked in unison.

Anon sighed, "Never mind, never mind. Human reference. Point is, we'll be fine. All of you go shower and get some rest. Jav, since you're so concerned, you can take the first shift and keep an eye on her."

Javelin rolled his eyes, "I'm just looking out for you, Anon. Don't forget who she is and what she was going to do to your family."

Anon patted Javelin's head, "I know, and I appreciate it, bud. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten." He replied, before turning away and ascending the staircase.

As Anon entered his bedroom, he found himself standing before a massive, king sized mattress that was covered in silken sheets as well as a thick, fluffy comforter that could only be made of the same Yakyanisatan fur the rug downstairs was comprised of. More importantly than that, however, was the sight of the bathroom, and the large, inviting shower inside. Closing the door behind him, Anon let out a heavy sigh and set about dumping everything out of his rucksack. He made sure to lay everything out on the ground in such a way that it would all have time to dry come the morning.

The process took the better part of an hour, as literally everything inside was waterlogged and soppy with swamp water. More than a few leeches or rotting pieces of greenery found their way into the crevices of Anon's pack, making the process of removing them all and flushing them down the toilet just that much more arduous. Mercifully, the work was completed in a relatively simple and quick fashion. Once Anon's clothing was all laid out to dry, he stripped from what he was still wearing and headed into the shower.

A quick turn of the knob made enchanted rainwater spill from the literal cloud connected to his ceiling over the shower, and hot water washed down upon him in seconds. The longer Anon stayed in Equestria, the more he found himself loving clouds and all their uses.

The hot water washed away the previous couple day's fatigue and stress, leaving him with just the sleepiness of having traveled dozens of miles in such short time. Though his physical stress was cleansed by the warm rainwater, the mental stress lingered, and Anon couldn't help but find himself worrying over Javelin's words as he showered.

Maybe I am being a bit too lenient with her... after all, she was going to turn my wives into stone..

Author's Note

There we go, people. We made it to Hoof City! Now we just need to get out of Equestria... who'd have thought that part would take so damn long?

Chapter 14: Operation Checkup

Elsewhere

Ocellus bounced in place as the train chugged along the train tracks leading to the Crystal Empire. She glanced out the windows, her big, bright, compound eyes awash in awe and intrigue as the countryside passed them by at high speeds. Meanwhile, sitting beside her and noticeably less excited, was Pharynx. His forelegs were crossed and a slight frown was visible on his features as he tried, in vain, to ignore his hyper-excited sibling.

"Oh my Gosh, oh my Gosh, oh my Gosh! Can you believe it, Pharynx? We're going to the Crystal Empire! I've always wanted to go ever since it came back!" Ocellus gushed, planting her face against the window as yet another tree passed by.

"For the last time, Ocellus, we're undercover. Use codenames. I'm Bright Wind, and you're my little sister, Pepper. We need to stay in character. This is infiltration one o' one." Pharynx facehoofed,

Ocellus pried her face from the window and gaze Pharynx a deadpan stare, "It's not like we're even in the Crystal Empire yet. Besides, there's only like, twenty other ponies on this train and they aren't even in our cart." She rebutted.

Pharynx shook his head, "Listen, Ocellus. We have to be professional about this. I'm not having an argument. That's the bottom line. You wanted to come along, so now you need to act like a big grub and do what I tell you. Don't make me tell mom." He threatened.

Ocellus pouted and crossed her forelegs as she sat down on the bench beside him, "Ugh, fine. What if Twilight, Cadence and all their friends are completely fine, anyway? Can we have some fun then?" She asked.

Pharynx shook his head, "This isn't a vacation for pleasure. Changelings still haven't openly migrated to the Crystal Empire yet, so it would be noticeably odd if any of the crystal ponies were to see us. The whole point of this is that mom wants us to be as discreet as possible. Now, to that end, let's go over disguises." He ordered.

Ocellus groaned, "But we just did that! You're Bright Wind, and I'm Pepper. We're siblings. That's all anypony needs to know!" She shot back.

"Yes, but we still need to create the disguises. Come on. Show me what you've got." Pharynx coached, taking a slightly lighter approach.

Ocellus huffed before a flash of green fire engulfed her, replacing her with a similarly sized, petite earth pony mare. Her auburn mane was done up in a ponytail, while her actual tail was neatly brushed to look in a similar fashion. Her teal eyes gazed back at Pharynx with mild annoyance, that quickly turned to outright indignation as he shook his head.

"Oh come on! What's wrong with this one?" She exclaimed.

Pharynx simply pointed at the black stripes going up and down her body.

"What!? Part of the story is that our mom is a zebra! What's wrong with that?" She demanded.

Pharynx sighed, "Firstly, it's unique. The point is to not stand out. Giving yourself a backstory that not many ponies have heard and as such, would be interested by, is bad. Secondly, you've got the stripes all wrong anyway. They're supposed to go sideways on your forelegs and vertically on your croup." He explained.

Though she still felt the righteous indignation of her idea being shut down, Ocellus did blush slightly in embarrassment while she turned back to her normal form.

"Here, follow my lead." Pharynx instructed, a familiar green flame engulfing him as well.

When the fire dissipated, Pharynx was no longer a black changeling, but instead a white, burly stallion. his muscles bulged at every turn, clearly indicating that he was a regular at his local gym. His red mane and tail cascaded down his withers and onto the floor, giving him the appearance of a Casanova, if Ocellus ever saw one.

"Oh, so we're just making ourselves hot now, is that it?" Ocellus deadpanned.

"W-what?!" Pharynx sputtered, "No! Just pick something that looks related to this!" He argued, gesturing to himself.

"You didn't have to give yourself that many muscles. Looks like you're compensating." Ocellus teased, shrugging to herself.

Pharynx blushed, "I am not compensating! This is a perfectly reasonable form to take! Plenty of ponies frequent the gym! Besides, I'm a General! It makes sense for me to be this buff." He reasoned.

"I don't know, Pharynx. You're sounding awfully defensive to meeeeeeee." Ocellus sing-songed.

Pharynx grumbled to himself as Ocellus giggled and transformed yet again. This time, she reappeared as a svelte unicorn with amber bangs that hung just over her cerulean eyes. Her coat was a subdued shade of turquoise that looked quite good with her mane and tail.

"How's this?" She asked.

Phraynx nodded approvingly, "Better. Much better. Now, let's focus up. We're entering the empire now." He instructed.

Ocellus quickly darted to the window, her eyes practically bulging out of her head as she stared at the approaching empire. She let out a squeak of excitement as the tall spires and sparkling crystal buildings slowly came into view. Soon enough, the train horn sounded, making the pair of them wince as the brakes were applied and the wheels squeaked against the track.

"Thank you for riding the Crystal Express. We have arrived at our destination. The doors will open momentarily." The conductor announced.

Ocellus and Pharynx got to their hooves and headed for the exit. The hiss of air venting as the doors opened, filled their ears, making them both wince once more before they stepped onto the platform.

"Mare, ponies need to make quieter trains..." Ocellus mumbled, rubbing her ear.

Pharynx regarded her with a chuckle before a commotion caught his ear. He glanced over to the source, finding all the other passengers of the train being stopped at the edge of the platform, nearly two dozen crystal guards blocking their paths. The commotion quickly rose to shouting and angry protests, making his brow furrow in concern.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." Pharynx announced, heading toward the source of the discord.

As he got closer, Pharynx was able to make out the words of the many different ponies in the crowd.

"What do you mean we have to go through 'processing'?" A mare exclaimed.

"I didn't have to do all this last time I came up here!" A stallion protested.

"The Empire is still a part of Equestria! My sister lives here and she doesn't have a passport specific to the Empire!" Another mare exclaimed.

Pharynx's brow continued to furrow in further confusion as he reached the crowd. He looked over the many ponies present, his ears rotating toward what he could only assume was the leader of the Crytsal guards, based on his uniform.

"I'm afraid it's a new policy. We've been ordered to screen anypony entering the empire and put them through processing. There's been reports of a rogue faction of changelings in the area." The guard explained, monotonly.

Pharynx squinted in confusion at the explanation. Though, before he could ask any questions of his own, several guards began rounding up the ponies present in the group.

"Let's go. The sooner this process is finished, the sooner you can all view the Empire and see your families." The Guard Commander ordered.

While the ponies were certainly upset at the notion, they all complied and funneled into a single-file line toward the city ahead. Pharynx could just barely see a tent past all of the guards that it appeared the group was heading toward. Just as he turned to depart from the back of the pack, he was startled to find Ocellus standing right next to him.

"Ocel-Pepper!? What are you doing here? I told you to wait for me back there!" Pharynx whisper shouted.

"I wanted to hear what he was saying. It doesn't make any sense. There aren't any 'rogue' changelings. Mom would know if there was." Ocellus replied, confusion and concern written all over her face.

Pharynx sighed, "I know. There's also something wrong with the guards." He noted, glancing at the armored mares and stallions.

"There's no emotion coming from any of them at all." Ocellus deduced, observing the guards as well.

Pharynx nodded, "Something is wrong here. Come on." He ordered, nodding toward the opposite side of the platform.

Ocellus followed after him as the siblings made their way toward the back of the train. As they reached the last cart, they both ducked inside, disappearing into two flashes of green fire. Now turned into a wasp and fly respectively, Pharynx and Ocellus buzzed away from the train station and toward the crystal city before them. Though she tried to stay focused, Ocellus couldn't help but admire the architecture and beauty of the city before them. A strange sensation passed over both of them as they passed through the invisible barrier the Crystal Heart produced, and for some reason, the air suddenly turned a bit sour. Their heckles already risen, Pharynx and Ocellus pressed onwards.

After a few minutes of buzzing through the air above the city entrance, Pharynx pointed toward one of the alleyways between a few buildings with his tibiae. Ocellus did the fly approximation of a nod and followed his lead down until the two of the came to a hover in the dark alley. With two more plumes of green flames, they turned back into their pony disguises.

"Alright, stay close and act natural." Pharynx instructed, leading the way out of the alley.

Ocellus did as instructed, and together, they quickly found themselves on a busy Crystal capital city street. Hundreds of crystal ponies trotted about, the hustle and bustle of a busy town making the whole world move in a blur. Though the introduction into the city felt unusual and strange, Ocellus quickly found herself utterly bathed in the emotions flowing all over the city.

"Oh wow. This place is amazing." She gushed, just loud enough for Pharynx to hear as he walked alongside her.

"Something still feels... off." Pharynx muttered, glancing back and forth at the ponies all around them.

"What do you mean? Can't you taste the love in the air? It's everywhere. Maybe there really are rogue changelings that even mom doesn't know about and the Empire just stepped up its security to be safe?" Ocellus suggested.

Pharynx halted in place, making her do the same, much to her chagrin.

"Okay, first, no. Nothing like that gets past mom. Second, listen. Not with your stomach but with your ears." He ordered.

Ocellus frowned at his assumption at her lack of understanding of the equine body but did as told. She quickly realized something that made her frown in concern.

"Everypony is walking around but... nopony is... talking." She admitted, glancing back and forth.

The unspeaking masses indeed trotted past them and around them, their attention seemingly busied with whatever it was that they were doing. Ocellus found her gaze pulled to some of the vendors at the street corners, and though they were selling their wares or food, there was no exchange of dialogue between them and their customers. It was as if a scripted exchange occurred between them that they did off of instinct, rather than out of consciousness.

"Pharynx, I'm starting to get scared." Ocellus admitted.

"Bright. Remember, call me Bright. Look, let's get to the spire. Something is obviously going on here but we need to have more information. We can't go back to mom, Celestia, and Luna with just 'something is wrong up there' as our answer." Pharynx instructed.

Ocellus nervously gulped but nodded nonetheless. Together, they hurriedly made their way toward the tall spire sticking straight up into the sky in the center of the city. The travel was thankfully uneventful, though the eeriness of everypony around them walking about, completely absorbed in their daily tasks and ignoring everything else around them. Exchanges of goods and services happened wordlessly around them as the pair of disguised changelings arrived at the spire.

Immediatey, Pharynx saw no less than two hundred guards all in formation below the spire legs. Military drills and ceremony were progressing as if there were a parade scheduled to happen the following day. Knowing full well that there wasn't any holiday or special military occasion for months, Pharynx found himself even more on edge.

"This way-" Pharynx ordered, nodding toward a small shop with another alleyway beside it, "-we need to get to the balcony on that spire. I have a feeling the guards won't be letting us in."

Ocellus nodded and followed behind. As they had before, the pair turned into their fly and wasp forms, before quickly ascending the spire. As they landed on the balcony, they found nothing quite out of the ordinary, yet they remained alert all the same.

"Stay small. At least until we see what's going on here." Pharynx ordered, before buzzing ahead into the room.

The open balcony door was a welcome relief to find as they flew inside. The suite itself was the royal delegation suite used for ceremonial banner waving and mounting, which left the room itself relatively spartan. The usual crystal furnishings for tables or nightstands were present, and the floor was a nice polished crystal sheen that reflected the purple lights emanating from the ceiling.

Pharynx quickly led Ocellus to the closed door where they both landed at the base and squeezed under it. From their position on the floor, they were able to see two guards marching down an otherwise empty hallway that stretched to a staircase descending to the next level. Otherwise, the coast was clear.

"Looks like a change of plans. You got a good look at those guards, right?" Pharynx questioned.

Ocellus nodded.

"Good. We're taking them as disguises once they come back up." Pharynx replied.

"What?! Pharynx, we can't hurt them! Mom and all of the Princesses would be furious!" Ocellus exclaimed, quietly.

Pharynx nodded, "I know, that's why we're not going to get caught, okay?" He responded.

"B-but-"

"They can't report what they don't remember, Ocellus." Pharynx grinned.

With a nervous gulp, Ocellus nodded and waited. She didn't have to wait long, as the pair of guards quickly returned to conduct their rounds. Once they were close enough, Pharynx buzzed out from under the door and transformed into his normal form in a flash of green flames. Using his forward momentum, he kicked the first guard in the face, knocking him out instantly.

The second guard whirled around on him, but as he moved to attack, Ocellus transformed into a slingtail,. Her massive, rock-like tail whipped around so hard and fast that it took the guard clear off his hooves and slammed him into the wall, where he slumped to the ground. As she transformed back to her normal self, Pharynx trotted over to her side and tussled her mane.

"Not bad, but a bit overkill. I didn't even know you could turn into one of those." He praised.

Ocellus blushed and shyly rubbed her foreleg with her hoof, "I've uh... been practicing." She sheepishly replied.

Pharynx smiled, "Glad to hear it. Now come on, let's get these two into the room and change into their armor." He instructed, levitating the keychain off of one of the unconscious guards and unlocking the door.

Between the two of them, they made swift work of hiding and tying down the guards, before transforming into them and donning their armor. They both exited the room and locked the door behind them, before heading down the hall to the staircase they'd seen the guards travel down before.

As they made their way down the staircase, Ocellus wasn't quite sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't the long, lavishly furnished guest hall of the castle, absolutely filled with guards. There were so many royal guards, all of whom were chatting and talking amicably as if there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, aside from their armor, Ocellus would've assumed they were all there fora party in their honor. A feeling of dread welled up in her heart as the possibility that they were wrong and everything was as it should be, filled her mind.

Sensing the growing turmoil in his little sister's head, Pharynx bumped her with his wither, getting her to glance over to him.

"Relax. Easy does it. Let's just listen and see what's going on for a bit before we jump to conclusions." He instructed.

Ocellus nervously nodded as they walked into the hall, the chorus of voices and conversation reaching a near deafening volume in the hall.

"Guardsponies! The Princess will see you all now!" A voice suddenly announced over the racket, much to Pharynx and Ocellus's surprise.

The gaggle of guardsponies filling the hall quickly turned their attention to the pony who'd spoke out to them, nearly all of them falling in line to walk over through the doorway to the Thone room. As they were all funneled in, Pharynx and Ocellus found themselves caught between dozens of guards, the close contact and confined space making it that much more difficult to not get separated.

On the bright side, with speaking ponies to talk to, Pharynx saw an opportunity to get some quick information.

"Hey, you have any idea what's going on here? We were on patrol and just got grabbed and told we had to come down for something with the Princess." He asked, getting the attention of the guard just beside him.

"Your guess is as good as mine. All they said at first formation this morning was that Princess Cadence wanted to do something special for us after the close of the duty day. Captain Prancealot cut us early to see this, so you know it must be something important. I'm thinkin' we're gonna get a party. All of the elements of Hrmony bearers are here, so you just kno Pinkie is cooking something crazy up." The guard replied, no small trace of excitement in his voice.

Pharynx kept his skepticism to himself and allowed the guard bounce along in excitement. Being a changeling, it was fairly easy to detect his sister through her pheromones, though staying close was another issue entirely. Soon enough, however, the point was moot as they were all ushered into the throne room and walked up before the pink alicorn of Love, herself.

As Pharynx and Ocellus were corraled into a formation alongside all of the other crystal guards present, he found himself staring up at Cadence. While she appeared as regal and kind as ever, there was something... off about her gaze, as if the entire time she was sitting up there, she wasn't looking at all of the guards filing in, she was looking through them. He tried to sense her emotions and gather an idea of how she was feeling, but she was just a bit too far out of his reach. His jaw set in frustration, he glanced over to Ocellus, finding her already staring at him, expectantly.

"Let's get to the back." Pharynx ordered over the commotion around them.

Ocellus nodded, and through trying to force there way out was just as, if not even more difficult than getting in, they managed to scurry their way to the back of the room as the rest of the guards filled in their vacant spots and finished their formation.

"Atten-tion!" A voice suddenly boomed over the room, making all the guards snap to the position of attention.

Ocellus and Pharynx found themselves following suite, their eyes darting up to the throne as Cadence slowly got out of her throne to address the crowd. She walked slowly, until she arrived just a short few hooves away from the very front of the formation.

"Thank you, Captain. As you all know, you were invited here to the throne room today for a very special occasion. An occasion that was not made clear to you. However, it is now time to unveil the surprise. If you'll all keep your attention focused up here, my sister-in-law, and good friend, Princess Twilight, will show you what you're all here for." She announced, before stepping to the side and allowing the Princess of Friendship to step up onto the throne from behind.

Pharynx and Ocellus both frowned at the speech, and though the rank and file guards before them held their tongues, both changelings could feel a swirling vortex of confusion and slight unease radiating from them.

"Thank you, Cadence, and thank you all for arriving in such a timely manner. I am truly pleased to see you all, and can't wait to show you what I have prepared for you. Firstly, I'll need your full, undivided attention." Twilight began, gesturing to any guards who didn't happen to be staring straight at her.

"This feels... off. Somethings wrong here." Ocellus quietly whispered.

"I know. Just hold tight. If something happens, we have the door behind us. We have an escape route." Pharynx whispered back.

"Secondly, I'll need the doors closed. Unfortunately, any guards who haven't made it in yet will have to wait until the next display in another hour." Twilight continued.

Much to Ocellus and Pharynx's frustration, the heavy oak doors behind them quickly creaked to a close. They only barely saw a rainbow mane and stentson before the doors were shut. Just moments later, theyheard a board being placed in position to lock it from the other side.

Now with alarm bells ringing in his head, Pharynx, quickly glanced about the room for any alternative means of escape. Meanwhile, Ocellus struggled to look calm and collected as her hearts beat faster in her chest.

"I'm sure you're all wondering what the surprise is that has you all packed in here like sardines, but don't worry. Just a few more moments to prepare before the main event." Twilight explained, glancing over the crowd.

"Pharynx, I'm getting a really bad feeling about this right now." Ocellus quietly muttered.

"I know, I know. Just gimme a second to find an exit." Pharynx replied, just as quietly.

"This will just take a second." Twilight's voice spoke out once more, before she closed her eyes.

Her horn glowed to life, magenta magic lighting up the room for just a moment. However, almost as if there was static in the air, the magenta turned to black for a split second, then back to color, then back to black again. Pharynx squinted in confusion before the veil was lifted, and Twilight's magic turned obsidian. her eyes opened to reveal twin pools of green that completely blocked her irises. Purple smoke wafted from her eyes, until she tilted her head back and opened her mouth.

A torrent of black, purple fog poured from her maw, quickly filling the floor with black and darkness. Black, twisted crystals cracked the floor as the fog quickly filled in the entire throne room. The guards, who were no longer trying to maintain any professional bearing, panicked and whinnied in surprise as the front row was bathed in the black sludge. Pharynx and Ocellus watched in horror, as the ponies in front gasped and strained, but the mist found its way down their throats, through their nostrils, or through their ears. They coughed and convulsed as the magic flooding their bodies turned their coats a dull shade of gray, and a pale green glow replaced their eyes.

Pharynx and Ocellus turned and rushed to the throne room doors, along with nearly every other guard that wasn't choking on the black mist. They pounded against the door, but the large, firm oak held against them with ease. Even with the might of all the royal guards behind them, pushing and struggling as hard as they could, the doors held, and the black mist grew ever closer.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Pharynx barked, reaching out to Ocellus.

"How!?" Ocellus cried, not even trying to use her masculine, royal guard voice.

It was at that moment that they heard the maniacal laughter from across the room. While the rest of the guards fought and struggled around them, Pharynx and Ocellus slowly turned around, their eyes widening in shock as they saw him, standing beside Twilight with a green glow around his fearsome eyes. King Sombra. Mere seconds later, a wave of black surged toward them, blotting out even the sun.

Author's Note

Well things sure aren't looking up for our poor pair of changelings. I wonder what will happen to them?

Chapter 15: Maybe You're Not So Bad After All...

Anon awoke with a yawn. He stretched his achy limbs in the lavish bed he found himself sleeping in through the night. The morning rays of sunlight filtered in through the curtains, bringing a sense of familiarity as the golden rays of early morning light cascaded on the marble flooring. As he slowly turned over in bed, Anon found himself slightly disappointed by the emptiness of such a large bed and nobody else to fill it.

A small sigh escaped his lips as he rolled out of bed and set about dressing himself. He idly glanced over to the clock, finding the time reading as '7:59 AM'. He mentally chuckled to himself, knowing full well what was coming in exactly one minute.

Just as the clock struck eight in the morning, there was a curt knock at Anon's door. He walked over and opened it, finding Echo standing in the entrance.

"You wanted everypony up at 8." He announced, professionally.

Anon nodded, "I did. Thanks, Echo. Any trouble last night?"

Echo shook his head, "Nothing of note. We've all checked on Tempest through the night and she just slept the whole night away. I think she was actually a lot more tired than she lets on." He reported.

Anon continued to nod, satisfied with the information he was receiving, "Alright, well we've go get breakfast in about half an hour, so go do whatever you gotta do to get ready for the day. We'll be heading out on the road again immediately afterwards. Thorax should already be in Tampa Neigh and in disguise as Chryssi, so just keep that in mind for when we get there."

Echo gave a quick salute before turning tail and heading down the staircase behind him. With that concluded, Anon made his way back to his bathroom to conduct his morning routine. Once that was finished and he was dressed in his attire for the day, namely a simple white safari shirt and cargo pants, he grabbed his rucksack and headed down as well.

As he descended the stairs, he saw Javelin, Echo, and Dusk all sitting around the couch in the center of the room, their respective gear and saddlebags all laid out around them. Anon set his rucksack beside the couch and nodded to the group, before squinting his eyes in confusion.

"Hey, where's Tempest?" He asked.

"Right behind you." Tempest replied, making Anon jump.

True enough, Tempest was standing just behind him, her saddlebags already on and ready to go. She looked notably well rested, though there was a small hint of annoyance in her gaze.

"Jeez. Almost gave me a heart attack," Anon shook his head, "Let's get going. Breakfast is being served and I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving."

With a resounding chorus of agreement, the group made their way downstairs and to the buffet, where breakfast was still hot and fresh. The group shared a hearty meal, though the sight of the prince of Equestria eating alongside three royal guards and one prisoner did garner much attention and fanfare. For a while, Anon entertained the ponies asking questions or requesting pictures, but soon enough it became overwhelming. Much to his chagrin, Javelin took to standing guard in front of the group, holding the excitable tourists at bay while everyone else ate. Once breakfast was done, they headed out through the front, ensuring to give a gracious tip to the bellhop before exiting.

"Alright, now where?" Javelin inquired.

"Well we have a reservation with 'Comet's Carriage Rides on the other side of town. They're gonna be giving us the ride to Tampa Neigh." Anon explained.

"Well then lets not waste any time. The sooner we get over there, the sooner Chrysalis will be here and we'll have some extra hooves to help with... well, everything." Echo replied, giving a subtle wink to Anon.

Though the group didn't notice it, Tempest rolled her eyes slightly at the mention of the Changeling Queen, "Been meaning to ask about her. Why didn't she come along with us from the very start? Why fly all the way to Tampa Neigh ahead of us?" She asked.

Quickly recalling the story they'd prepared back in Canterlot, Anon quickly responded, "Well Chryssi has been dealing with the new clutch of foals-er, grubs I guess... still sounds weird to call them that... a-anyway, she's been taking care of the kids we just had, so she couldn't come with us right away. They grow super quick in those early stages of development though, so she said she'd be able to leave them in Luna and Celly's care and meet us after a few days. So, Tampa Neigh it is."

Apparently satisfied with the answer, Tempest shrugged and dropped the subject. A rather peaceful quiet overtook the group while they traversed the city streets of Hoof City. As had become usual in the short time they'd been there, Anon was hounded by dozens of ponies on the streets, asking for pictures or just to speak with him and sing their praises of his deeds. Each and every time, he stopped to converse with them for a few minutes, holding up their progress significantly, but much to the random ponies's happiness.

Tempest found herself growing impatient with the slow pace they were maintaining, but before her ire could grow to a boiling point, a mare came forward with a clearly sick and frail filly in her foreleg.

"Prince Anon! Prince Anon! Please, you have to help my filly!" The mare cried, desperately holding the sick child up for Anon to see.

The little foal was malnourished and notably bald in several locations. Each breath she took came like a wheeze, the sound raking at the ears of everyone present. Her wings, missing nearly all of their feathers, almost went completely unnoticed, and she could have been mistaken for a sick earth pony instead of a pegasus due to their stunted growth. Much as she would have liked to just ignore the child and proceed, even Tempest found her heart breaking at the sight of such a frail and sickly thing.

Anon's face instantly fell with concern, and he gently pressed his hand against the filly's forehead. She was burning up.

"Miss, your daughter needs to go to a hospital right now. Why haven't you taken her?" Anon asked, incredulously.

"I-I tried! My husband and I don't make enough bits for her treatment. We... we've lost everything in a house fire and after we rebuilt, my little Ginger Bloom fell sick... we tried applying for a royal grant to waive the treatment fees but that was three months ago and we haven't heard anything since." The mare practically sobbed, tears spilling from her eyes.

His heart genuinely breaking at the story and sight before him, Anon quickly kneeled in front of the mare and hugged her close, careful not to hurt her or her filly in the process.

"I'm so sorry... let me fix this," He said, before glancing over to Javelin, "Jav. Need to send a letter." He ordered.

Javelin nodded and magicked a pencil and paper out of his saddlebags. He quickly gave them to Anon, who swiftly scribbled out a message while using Javelin's barrel as a surface to rest the paper on.

"What's your name, miss?" Anon asked, glancing over to the mare.

"J-Jewel Song, your Highness." She replied, a bit of hope filling her voice.

"Thanks." Anon replied, before returning his attention to his note.

Once it was finished, he handed the letter to Javelin, who's horn ignited in a harsh blue light that swiftly turned green. The letter subsequently burst into green flames, before the smoke trail soared off toward Canterlot. The small crowd they'd gathered gasped at the sight before their attention fell on Anon as he stood back up to his full height.

"This might take a second. She's usually doing Day Court right now." He explained.

"You... you mean Princess Celestia?" Jewel asked, her jaw dropping.

Anon nodded, "Yeah, Lulu's asleep and Chryssi is-" He subtly glanced to Tempest, "-running an errand so she's not really in the castle right now."

Before any of them could respond, another wisp of smoke quickly snaked through the air until arriving just in front of Anon. The smoke materialized into a scroll, bearing the royal seal of none other than Princess Celestia. A wave of gasps ran through the crowd as Anon took the scroll and opened it.

"Ah, yep. Figured. She found your file. Apparently it got buried in red tape and bureaucracy. She's been trying to revamp that system forever. Looks like this one pissed her off, too. It should have been approved within a week. Yeah, she's gonna be having a word with the whole department today. Here." Anon noted, removing a separate piece of paper from the scroll.

"W-what's this, your Highness?" Jewel asked, hopefully.

"It's the approved paperwork. Also expedited and stamped with the royal seal. You should be able to go to the hospital right this second and they'll give your daughter treatment right away." Anon explained, handing her the paper.

Indeed, there was a royal seal on the page, with wax and the likeness of the Celestia sun stamped into it. Jewel burst into tears as she clutched the paper close, along with her filly. A chorus of cheers and adoration ran through the crowd while Anon gently patted Jewel's back. He was wholly unrepaired for her to wrap a foreleg around his waist and hug him tightly. He smiled as he returned the hug, and softly held the hoof of little Ginger while she gave him a weak smile.

Soon enough cameras were flashing and the crowd was abuzz with happiness and excitement, and though Jewel practically begged to be allowed to thank him properly, Anon politely declined and ushered her to head to the hospital. With a pep in her step that definitely wasn't there when she first arrived, the little filly's mother trotted off to the nearest hospital, a good chunk of the crowd leaving with her to vouch for her "in case the hospital gave her any trouble".

Anon waved goodbye to the ponies and headed off with his group in tow. The rest of their travel to the other side of town was thankfully, uneventful, and soon enough they found themselves at the carriage stop. A carriage was already provided for them by a welcoming midnight blue thestral, who happily trotted over to meet them.

"Good morning Prince Anon! Welcome to Comet's Carriages! We've got yours all set up and ready to go!" Comet greeted.

"Thanks, bud. Glad you guys could help us out on such short notice." Anon gratefully replied as Dusk, Echo, and Javelin set about loading onto the carriage.

"Think nothing of it, your highness. I'm just thrilled you came to me!" Comet cheerfully responded. Anon smiled and nodded in return, before following Tempest onto their ride.

The carriage the group found themselves in was nearly the size of the train cart they'd rode into the Hayseed Swamp with. There was more than enough room for all of them to sit in different areas, comfortably, and as the draft ponies powering the carriage got them all underway, the group found themselves in their own respective corners. Anon and Javelin sat across from one another, both occupying themselves with a deck of cards that was provided in one of the drawers on the sidewall. Dusk and Echo sat on the opposite end, both taking the opportunity to take a mid-morning nap, while Tempest curiously found herself sitting to Anon's right.

The rows of seats were spacious and comfortable, but there was no couch or booths aside from where Anon and Javelin were seated, meaning that Tempest had only one direction to face: a wall. She glanced out to the side to see lush greenery and open plains as far as the eye could see. A momentary urge hit her like a truck, and she subconsciously found herself nearly rising from her seat as the countryside slowly passed by. Their speed was low, and there was an easy head start for her with the only two real threats to her escape being asleep.

Though, as quickly as it came, it left, and Tempest relaxed back into her seat. She slowly found her gaze being pulled back into Anon's direction. The ocean was behind him, and the sun's light glistened off of the slowly rolling waves off in the distance, framing a perfect picture of serenity. For a long time, Tempest found herself gazing in that direction, her thoughts lingering not on the ocean itself, but rather on the object obscuring just a bit of her view.

"Buck's sake!" Javelin exclaimed, throwing his cards down and snapping her out of her daze.

Tempest blinked as Anon chuckled at the little outburst from his unicorn friend, the realization that the two had been playing cards the entire time, hitting her suddenly.

"That's three in a row for 'ol Anon. You're slipping, Jav." Anon snickered.

"You're just getting lucky. You have to." Javelin groused.

"Three times in a row? Fat chance of that. That's all skill, baby." Anon grinned.

"This game is rigged. I want a rematch." Javelin retorted, crossing his hooves.

Anon shrugged, "Alright. You wanna shuffle this time?"

Javelin shook his head, "I mean later. I've had enough for right now. I'm actually gonna take a nap, I think." He replied.

Anon snorted in amusement, "You, Echo, and Dusk. What's with you guys?"

Javelin shrugged, "Didn't sleep so good last night... or the night before... or before that." He admitted.

Anon playfully rolled his eyes, "Alright, go take a nap then, you big baby. It's gonna be a long ride before we get to Tampa Neigh so there's a few hours' worth of naps you guys can get in." He replied.

With a grateful nod, javelin hopped out of his seat and made his way over toward where Dusk and Echo were sitting. He glanced over at Tempest as he walked, a cold glare in his eyes as he did so. While she did certainly notice the look he gave her, Tempest said nothing, electing to instead focus her attention on the now solitary Anon as he shuffled the cards in his hands.

Seemingly sensing her gaze, Anon glanced over at her and gave a surprisingly inviting smile, "Wanna play? I'm kinda bored and all my friends have abandoned me." He joked.

Despite herself, Tempest couldn't help the tiny snort of amusement that escaped her. Quickly casting a glance over to the three stallions as they all laid on their respective benches to rest, she shrugged and got out of her seat. She made her way over to Anon and sat across from him, receiving a small 'whoop' of excitement from Anon.

"Alright, you ever played BlackJack before?" Anon asked, continuing to shuffle the deck of cards.

Tempest nodded, "More than a few times. It's how I got my first airship." She replied.

Anon's brows rose intrigue, "Wow. Damn, that's some high stakes BlackJack you were playing. Where was this at?" He inquired, as he divvied up the cards between them.

"In the Badlands; Kludgetown, specifically. There's plenty of creatures that will bet almost anything out there. I had to work my way up from scraps I found in the streets." Tempest explained, taking her cards.

"Well, that's still pretty impressive. You must be pretty good if you managed to win an airship." Anon acknowledged, checking his own cards.

"Oh, I cheated to win that one." Tempest nonchalantly replied as she inspected her own cards. The Ace of spades and the nine of diamonds, respectively.

Anon owlishly blinked at her for a moment, "Huh... didn't really take you for the cheating type, but from what I've heard about the Badlands... probably not too surprising." He admitted.

Tempest softly chuckled, "Oh, every creature there was cheating. The house, especially. I was just better at getting away with it. They didn't find out I was cheating until they counted all the cards up and by then, I was already gone," She explained, before tapping her cards, "Hit."

Anon nodded and drew another card from the deck, pacing it face up beside her cards, "Ace of diamonds. You've got a nine of diamonds there so... you've got quite a few options, depending on what your last card is," He observed, before meeting her eyes once more, "I'm not surprised, but I am impressed. Getting away with swindling the swindlers? Tough to do."

Tempest nodded, "Stay."

Anon flipped his cards over and she did the same. While Tempest had two Aces and a nine, Anon had a ten and Jack.

"Ooh, not bad." Anon acknowledged.

"Looks like I win." Tempest replied, smugly.

"Round two then." Anon responded, divvying out more cards.

This time, Tempest had a five of hearts and a seven of diamonds. She furrowed her brow slightly before tapping the table between them. Anon, knowing that signal well, dished out another card to her.

Nine of clubs Tempest observed the card with a small amount of smugness in her eyes.

"Stay." She announced, her victory all but assured.

Anon nodded and flipped his cards, prompting her to do the same. Her eyes widened ever so slightly as she saw that he had a ten of hearts and an Ace of hearts. She glanced up at Anon as he smirked over the second draw in a row.

"Looks like it won't be so easy for you to win this time, will it?" Anon chuckled.

Tempest's jaw set in determination as she pushed her used cards to the pile on the side, "Alright, let's see what you've got, your Highness."

Anon was pleasantly shocked that for the first time, there was no sneer on her face or sarcasm in her voice as she used his title. Though he felt his own competitive spirt longing to be unleashed, there was something mystifying about the mare before him and how she absolutely committed herself to winning once she was determined. It was something he found an instant respect for, and as he divvied out the cards again, he found a smile worming its way onto his face.

Time passed like a blur for the majority of the carriage ride, with hand after hand of Blackjack, then poker, and even a few attempts at Gin, though that game was new to ponies and required a bit of teaching on Anon's part. All the same, as the hours passed by, he found himself enjoying the company across from him more and more.

Eventually, the card games grew stale and they found themselves sitting silently and enjoying the view as the ocean passed them by. It was a beautiful sight, the ocean blue stretching as far out as the eye could see. Anon found himself sighing wistfully as the prospect of spending some serious time on the ocean was soon to come to fruition. However, before he could lose himself in his musing too much, Tempest suddenly spoke up, much to his surprise.

"It was a good thing, what you did back there." She noted, seemingly out of nowhere.

Anon glanced back over to the mare sitting across from him, finding a slightly pensive look on her face as she too stared out at the ocean, her turquoise eyes trained on the distant horizon.

"What?" Anon asked, curiously.

"What you did, for that little filly. That was... it was a good thing to do." Tempest replied, only glancing over to him but not turning her head.

Anon shrugged, "Ah, well it's what anyone would've done. You can't let a little kid go without care. That'd just be cruel." He dismissively replied.

Tempest finally turned her head to look at him straight on, "No, it wasn't. Even by Equestrian standards, that was beyond kind. Most other places are... well, let's just say that if some random mare came up and begged for help from the king or queen in public like that, her daughter being sick would become the least of her worries."

Anon tilted his head to the side, "It can't all be that bad, can it? There's gotta be some other nations that'd take care of their citizens if they came to them for help like that." He reasoned.

Tempest sighed and looked back out over the ocean, "Compassion is a uniquely Equestrian trait. Everywhere else in the world is cut-throat. Kill or be killed. It's one of the reasons Equestria has always kept outsiders out. Soft, cute, little ponies don't mix well with nine hoof tall reptile monsters that have no compunctions against eating a sapient creature." She bitterly replied, crossing her forelegs.

Anon pursed his lips as his gaze fell slightly, "Well... I can't say I'm too surprised to hear that. Still, we do have allies in foreign nations that aren't that bad. In fact, I'd say we've gone a long way to essentially turning our neighbors into much nicer people...er, creatures, I guess." He offered.

Tempest shook her head, "You really have no idea what you're getting yourself into, do you?"

Anon quirked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"The lands outside of Equestria are dangerous. Take it from somepony who's lived out there for twenty years. This is a mission you should've sent a lot of ponies on, with a lot more arms and armor, and especially without you tagging along." Tempest explained.

Anon's brow furrowed, "What's that supposed to mean? Why shouldn't I have come along?"

"Because you're... look, just trust me on this. You want me to take you to the elixir, fine. Just try not to die along the way, because if you die, I'm gone. None of those three are going to be able to stop me." Tempest replied.

Anon held her gaze for a few moments before leaning back in his chair slightly and tapping his fingers on the table between them, "You know, you still haven't even told me where this elixir is."

"You want me to tell you where it is? Sorry, your Highness, but information doesn't come for free and this is the type of info that doesn't even help you unless you know already know the area." Tempest scoffed.

Anon nodded, "So if you were to tell us where this is, we still wouldn't be able to find it anyway?" He surmised.

"Bingo." Tempest nodded.

Anon held her gaze for another moment before snorting and shaking his head, "You're a very shrewd mare, you know that?"

"Years of practice." Tempest leaned back in her seat as well.

"So there's no chance you'd just tell us? Even if I granted you your freedom right afterwards?" Anon asked.

Tempest shrugged, "Doubt you'd grant that. Besides, you need me to guide you through the terrain once we get there. You'd all die without me." She replied.

"And I'm meant to believe that just because you say so?" Anon raised an eyebrow.

"What choice do you have? Tempest smirked.

Anon rolled his tongue in his mouth for a moment before a single chuckle escaped him, "You and Chryssi would definitely get along real well if you got to know each other. I know that for sure, now."

"I'm not so sure about that but if you say so." Tempest replied, flatly.

Anon let out a small sigh, "Well, either way, I am glad that you're not making this purposefully more difficult for us."

"Just as long as you keep up your end of the deal, Prince Anon... just as long as you keep up your end of the deal..." Tempest replied, quietly.

Anon nodded, "Right, right. We'll get you your horn back, don't you worry. Trust me, I know how it feels to lose a part of yourself." He responded, holding up his mechanical arm and clenching his fist.

Tempest gazed at the contraption for a few moments before casting her gaze back to the ocean. Seeing as conversation was dying between them, and hearing the sounds of both thestrals waking up behind him, Anon shuffled out of his seat. Tempest glanced over to him, her head still facing the horizon, but her eyes lingering as he got to his feet.

"I'm gonna go check on the boys. It was good talking to you, Tempest." Anon offered.

"You weren't bad company, yourself." Tempest replied.

Anon turned to leave, but just as he did, Tempest's voice made him pause.

"-and... thanks, by the way." She said, surprisingly timidly.

"For what?" Anon asked, tilting his head.

"For... standing up for me last night. No one's ever done that before." Tempest explained, her head refusing to turn toward Anon.

A soft smile split his lips as Anon held her sidelong gaze, "You're welcome... you know, I think the mohawk looks really good on you." He complimented, before turning away.

Tempest stared after him for a few moments, a slight rosy tint on her cheeks, before looking back over the ocean.

Author's Note

Aww, they're getting along! So hopefully Anon doesn't come across as too "mary Sue-y" in this chapter. I wanted to really convey that he's a genuinely good person and kinda let Tempest see that for herself in real time. Helps with the strange feelings in her chest she keeps getting when she talks with him...