My Little Caboose II: Friendship is Fragmented!

Chapters

Chapter 1 - "Deal with the Devil"
Chapter 2 - "Growing Pains"
Chapter 4 - "What is Undone"
Chapter 5 - "Home is Where the Heart is"
Chapter 6 - "Returning Policies"
Chapter 7 - "Proof of Purchase"
Chapter 8 - "Back in Business"
Chapter 9 - "Group Reunion"
Chapter 10 - "Curious Mind"
Chapter 11 - "Disappearing Acts"
Chapter 12 - "Learned Through Experience"
Chapter 13 - "Watchful Eyes"
Chapter 14 - "Objects from the Past"
Chapter 15 - "Changing Perspectives"
Chapter 16 - "Wake Up Call"
Chapter 17 - "Wha-Ambulance"
Chapter 18 - "Planning Phase"
Chapter 20 - "Neutrality Reports"
Chapter 21 - "For Your Inconsideration"
Chapter 22 - "Once More Into the Fray"
Chapter 23 - "Different Tastes"
Chapter 24 - "Living Conditions"
Chapter 25 - "Danger Zone"
Chapter 26 - "Bar Fights"
Chapter 27 - "Resilient Fighter"
Chapter 28 - "New Friends"
Chapter 29- "The Truth Spills Out"
Chapter 30 - "Miscommunication"
Chapter 31 - "Daylight Expenses"
Chapter 32 - "Transitioning Plans"
Chapter 33 - "Floral Patterns"
Chapter 34 - "Finishing Touches"
PSA - "Writing Advice"
Chapter 36 - "Never Free from Work"
Chapter 37 - "First Guessing"
Chapter 38 - "Biding Time"
Chapter 39 - "Hitting the Old, Dusty Trail"
Chapter 40 - "Sap is Thicker than Water"
Chapter 41 - "Natural Charm"
Chapter 42 - "Don't Panic"
Chapter 43 - "Natural Selection"
Chapter 44 - "Unexpected Results"
Chapter 45 - "Mind Over Matter"
Chapter 46 - "Detours and Interruptions"
Chapter 47 - "Covering Up the Truth"
Chapter 48 - "Accepting Fate"
Chapter 49 - "Business Moves"
Chapter 51 - "Ghosts of the Past"
Chapter 52 - "Uneasy Truce"
Chapter 53 - "Ace in the Hole"
Chapter 54 - "Double D Trouble"
Chapter 55 - "Hunting Season"
Chapter 57 - "Multi-Talented Pilot"
Chapter 58 - "Ghost Canyon"
Chapter 59 - "Raising Hell"
Chapter 60 - "Teamwork"
Chapter 61 - "Past Reminders"
Chapter 62 - "Questions Unanswered"
Chapter 63 - "Barriers"
Chapter 64 - "Memory Lane"
Chapter 66 - "Even the Odds"
Chapter 67 - "In Plain Sight"
Chapter 68 - "Mutual Agreement"
Chapter 69 - "Fallblargh Plan"
Chapter 70 - "Multiple Choice"
Chapter 71 - "Premature Advances"
Chapter 72 - "Blood for Blood"
Chapter 73 - "Outcasted"
Chapter 74 - "Wish Fulfilled"
Chapter 75 - "Washed Up"
Chapter 76 - "Meet and Greet"
Chapter 77 - "Place in the World"
Chapter 78 - "Brothers in Scales"
Chapter 80 - "Monsters of Men"
Chapter 81 - "Simply Strolling"
Chapter 82 - "Sweet Greetings"
Chapter 83 - "Girl Stuff"
Chapter 84 - "Their Old Selves"
Chapter 85 - "Preoccupied"
Chapter 86 - "Who We Were"
Chapter 87 - "No Rest for the Wicked"
Chapter 88 - "Men of Few Words"
Prologue - "Talk is Cheap"
Chapter 3 - "Requests"
Chapter 19 - "Elements, Reporting for Duty"
Chapter 35 - "Hindsight"
Chapter 50 - "Rising Problems"
Chapter 56 - "From Whence They Came"
Chapter 65 - "For Every Problem..."
Chapter 79 - "Two Sides of the Same Scale"

Chapter 1 - "Deal with the Devil"

White space surrounded Church as he walked aimlessly. The white went as far as his eyes could see, stretching to infinite levels. Not even a speck of dust could be found. Nor was there a way to tell time. Because of this, Church had forgotten how long he had been walking, all he knew was that he had been doing so for a long time. To him, he felt as if he had been walking for years. Decades even. But he wasn't moving to find something in the vast emptiness. He was walking to stay alert. To stay awake. Whenever he closed his eyes for more than a second, memories flooded through him. Not just one, but many at the same time, ones that brought him both mental and physical anguish, and there was nothing he could do to escape them but keep moving his legs as far as they could take him.

"Church, are you there?" a voice in the distance echoed.

Church didn't reply to the call. Instead, he focused on where the voice was coming from to determine where he wouldn't walk. This wasn't the first time he heard voices in his so-called 'solitude'. Every now and again he would hear a voice from his past, trying to lure him into a false sense of security, telling him all will be alright. He quickly learned that this wasn't the case, that he was being toyed with. And he knew exactly by who.

"There is no escaping it, Church," came a calming voice from around him. "Might as well just close your eyes and let it happen. It will hurt for a little bi- actually, it will hurt for a long time. Eternity to be precise. That's the price you'll have to pay, sorry to say."

"Get away from me, Discord," Church snapped as he lowered his head and began darting away.

As Church ran, the echoes of Discord's laugh trailed after him, piercing his ear drums. Clenching his eyes shut to try to turn his focus away from the laughter, Church instantly began recalling several memories, each one falling apart in some way or another.

"Stop!" he snarled, bringing him out of his torn memories. His eyes blazed, changing to an extremely dark red as he clasped his hooves onto his head, feeling as if it was about to explode. His voice grew commanding, but was latent with pain. "Please, for the love of God. Stop!"

"You know I can't do that, my friend," Discord grunted.

"Why?"

"Because you stopped me before, of course. Now we're both stuck in here. Forever. You're the only one here to keep me company," Discord muttered disdainfully. "I suppose this is nothing new to you, however. Stuck with someone you can't stand. Oh, but at least you have the great times with your friends that you can look back on, correct?"

Another memory flared through Church's mind. This one was of Twilight sitting with Spike in the library one morning. He had just woken up and came downstairs to find them to be eating breakfast.

"Morning, Church," Spike nodded as he bit into a gem filled sandwich.

Church felt himself take a step away from the table. Twilight and Spike looked at each other, and then looked at Church.

"Are you alright, Church?" Twilight asked.

The memory then grew hazy and the library began to shake, books began flying out of their shelves, papers falling out. The gem sandwich that Spike was holding began sagging, and the gems inside melted into a sloppy mess that fell to the floor seconds later. The memory quickly spiraled out of control as chaos found it's way into Church, tampering with his mind. He was having trouble differentiating between his real memories and the ones that had been contorted. Shaking his head and gasping for air, Church began running away. He knew it was helpless, that Discord would be behind him no matter where he went, but he had to keep moving. As he ran, a voice echoed through the space. Normally, Church would keep moving, but there was something off about this voice.

"There he is! Wow, there is a lot of bird poop on him," came a distant, echoed voice.

"Be quiet," a different voice hissed.

Screams came from the inside of Church's head before he could listen to more of the conversation, blocking it out.

"Tell you what, Church. How about we make a deal?" Discord asked, stopping the screams whenever he spoke, resuming them whenever he paused. "I'll leave you alone if you promise me that from here on out, you let me leave. I will not be in your life anymore, but you must not look for me, nor should you aid anyone that would do so."

"Yes! Yes, anything!" he screamed as he rolled around on the ground. "Just stop it!"

"Do you promise?" Discord pressed, now standing in front of Church.

"Yes, I promise!" he growled.

"Very well," Discord chuckled and the pains Church felt vanished instantaneously. Then, with the snap of his claws, Discord vanished as well. "Goodbye, Church. I'm glad we worked something out."

"You're leaving? Just like that?" he growled, thinking this to be a trick. Though he was quick to agree to a way of stopping the pain, he was equally quick and wary of being tricked. "What about eternity of boredom?"

Discord didn't answer. Looking around for signs of any more traps, Church got off the ground. His body tense, mind sore, Church sat on his flank and took a deep breath and counted to ten.

"Are you sure this will work?" came the second voice from before.

"Of course I'm sure," the first voice growled.

"I thought you said you weren't going to trick me anymore," Church sighed expectantly, knowing Discord was just pulling his leg.

This time when Discord didn't answer, Church felt an odd sensation. One that he hadn't felt in a long time, but he couldn't quite remember what it was. Church's leg shivered. Church paused. That wasn't a shiver of anger or any other emotion. It was a shiver due to general feeling. His legs grew cold. Before Church could question it, the coldness numbed his body, making him sluggish. Church tried to start moving, but found himself stuck in place once he got to his hooves. To make matters worse, the white space that Church had come to accept began growing darker and darker.

"What's happening?" he tried to say, but the words came out as a silent wheeze.

The darkness soon settled when Church could barely make anything out. Church tried to move, but found himself unable to do so. Suddenly, the prison shattered around Church, washing him over with a cold, numb feeling as the night air wrapped him in it's embrace and bits of rock flew off to the side. Instantly beginning to shake, Church stumbled forward a few steps, unable to get stable. Stabilizing himself, Church looked around to find himself in a garden, several large statues surrounding him. He took one more step and fell to the ground. It was only then that Church saw something standing near him, but his eyes were unable to adjust to the darkness.

"It worked," a female voice said calmly.

"Of course it worked. What do you take me for?" the second voice voice asked irately.

"Wh-who are you?" Church stuttered weakly.

"A friend."

"I doubt that," he grunted, but before the stranger could say anything else, he fell unconscious, and to his happiness dreamed of nothing.

Chapter 2 - "Growing Pains"

Church gasped deeply and sat straight up, mind instantly snapping to attention as he awoke from his near unconscious slumber. Questions blasted around his head like artillery fire, making him grab his head in pain. Focusing, he managed to quell the onslaught of inquiries. He then paused. Shaking, Church brought his hooves to his face and looked at them. He then lowered them and looked around. He was no longer in white space, but rather was in a large, ornate marble room. He looked down and noticed that he was sitting on a large bed. It was soft. Church opened his mouth to ask himself a question, but found it painful to make even the simplest of sounds. He looked to his left and saw a large window and saw the sun beaming down into the room, lighting it up.

Where am I?

Slowly taking the sheet that was covering his lower half, he rolled off the bed and fell to the ground. Grunting from the fall, he got up and tried to regain his balance, finding it extremely difficult. After a few minutes, he managed to stabilize himself enough to walk. He needed to find out where he was. Making his way over to the window, he looked outside and saw dozens of buildings below him, giving him the impression that he was in a tower. He looked to his right, and then to his left, expecting Discord to try to ruin the memory. Usually he would have shown himself by now. After waiting for a few more minutes, nothing happened. Not sure what to make of the situation, he looked around the room to examine it more. There was a drawer at the foot of the large bed which was made out of red wood, as well as a red rug in front of it. There were also several paintings of different sights, none of which seemed to have been manipulated to Discord's preference. He then noticed a large set of doors on the other side of the room.

Then the doors began to open.

With nowhere to hide, Church glared ahead at the door and prepared for the worse. But when the door was fully open, Church only saw a lone stallion staring at him. He was a white stallion and he wore a set of polished golden armor. He had a pair of hard, calculating eyes that went hand in hand, or rather hoof in hoof, with the armor.

"You're awake," the white stallion noted, eyes focused on Church.

"Uh, yeah, I guess I am..." he said, but his voice came out in a croak. Pain flaring through his throat, he quickly swallowed deeply in an attempt to lubricate his dry throat.

"The Princesses have asked me to escort you to the dining room for breakfast."

"The Princesses?" he echoed as if the word was foreign to him. His eyes then widened with the realization and he felt a surge of multiple emotions pass through him. Memories began pouring in, most involving him arguing with Celestia, some involving her arguing with the girls. Pain went through his head as an intense migraine suddenly came upon him, making it difficult for him to distinguish which memories were his and which ones Discord had given to him.

"Are you alright?" the guard asked, taking a step towards Church who was visibly in pain.

"No, I'm Church," he wheezed while he pushed the memories back. Quickly shaking his head, he glanced up at the stallion and nodded with a grimace. "I mean, don't worry about me. Headaches are nothing new for me. Breakfast sounds fan-fucking-tastic, though."

The guard did not flinch at the swear, nor did he smile at it. Rather, the guard was indifferent to him and simply bobbed his head, then turned around and stepped outside the door, pausing as soon as he got out while he waited for his charge. Church quickly regained his senses and managed to ease the headache slightly. As soon as he did that, he took a step towards the door only to fall on his face, legs completely stiff.

"Are you hurt?" the guard asked, a thin tone of reluctance in his voice as he walked back inside to help Church off the ground.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he assured him as he was hoisted off the marble floor. "Thanks, uh..."

"Bound Shield."

"Huh," he muttered as he slowly made his way to the door with an at-the-ready guard. "Assuming this isn't a dream, is it a law that all the guards around here has to have a name related to being a guard or in the military? I mean, there's you and Shining Armor..."

"Ah, that's right, you know Shining Armor," Bound Shield murmured as they went through the door. After leaning his head to the right to tell Church that they were going that way. He then glanced at Church, a small look of embarrassment crossing his face. "You wouldn't happen to recognize me, would you?"

"Sorry, my memory is a little hazy," he muttered, sighing at the irony of his statement.

"That's okay. But to answer your question, no, having a name related to weaponry and armor is not a requirement to get on the force," the guard said, a small smile on the corner of his lips. "But it certainly helps having a little intimidation in your name."

"Right," he nodded, falling silent. The questions began coming back, but Church decided they could wait for the Princesses.

The pair soon found themselves in front of another set of doors that had two guards standing out front of it. Bound Shield nodded at the guards, and they saluted before opening the door. The first thing he noticed was a very large table with a large quantity of food covering it. Stomach growling, he walked up to it and began to survey it. Fresh fruits, a large assortment of breads, and some foods he wasn't even aware existed.

"Hello Church," a voice said from somewhere else in the room.

Church's head snapped to the left and instantly saw a pair of ponies sitting on the other end of the table, and he instantly recognized who they were.

"Celestia," he nodded warily. He then looked at the pony sitting beside her and nodded again. "Luna, right?"

Luna nodded once.

"It is nice to see you decided to join us," Celestia said with a small smile. She knew just as well as Church did that there was no love lost between them. She then turned to the guard and bowed her head."Thank you for escorting our guest, Bound Shield."

"Your highness," he said as he bowed his head, before leaving the room.

"Please, pull up a chair," she said to Church as the guards outside shut the door.

Church nodded reluctantly. As much as he disliked Celestia, he had a feeling that he would have to deal with her for the time being. Pulling a chair back, he hopped onto it and shifted around until he was comfortable. Celestia then used her magic to put a slice of cantaloupe on his plate, as well as a loaf of bread with some butter. After a few seconds of staring at it, he lifted the melon up to his mouth and took a small bite, giving him a feeling of being refreshed. He then put the rest of melon back down on the plate and looked at the princesses who were tending to their own food.

"What am I doing back?" Church asked quietly.

"It would be best if you ate so we could talk on a full stomach, because I am sure that we all have some questions we wish to be answered, Church," Luna said back.

"Fine," he muttered hesitantly. Church had little to no memories of Princess Luna, so he had no qualms with respecting her wishes, so the trio sat in complete silence as they ate, acting as if everything was normal.

But Church knew that nothing in his life was ever that simple for him.

Chapter 4 - "What is Undone"

Celestia called in one of the guards and told him to thank the chef for her. The guard nodded and left the room to obey his highness. Getting off their chairs, Celestia and Luna made their way towards the door. Church followed them, and soon he found himself being led through the halls. Eventually, they reached another large set of doors, but this one had a large sun symbol made out of gold split in two on either side of the door. But something was missing. Nobody seemed to be protecting it.

"My room," Celestia said simply as she opened the door.

Before Church could take in his surrounding, Celestia and Luna were already on the other end of the room, standing next to a wall. Celestia's horn glowed faintly and part of the wall slid into the ground, revealing a passageway that led to a staircase.

"Why no guards?" Church asked, not bothering to ask about the wall..

"I asked that they not be present here," she said simply as she entered. "If they saw you coming out of this room without me, they could punish you for trespassing."

"You're not coming?"

"No, I am afraid we must part ways here," Celestia said simply, staring down the steps with a watchful eye. "We're not sure how long this could take, and having two of us being gone for even a few hours could have terrible consequences. Luna, you know what to do."

"Yes, sister," Luna replied with a small nod, then opened the door. "Come, Church. We must try to make this a brief visit. I do not wish to spend much time down here."

"Yeah, because I have a lot to look forward to," he snorted, walking down the stairs ahead of her. "I totally want to be torn apart emotionally. It's probably on my list of favorite things to do, actually. Maybe even number one. I want to be torn apart mentally so much that-"

"I could do without the sarcasm, Church," she grumbled, following him down the staircase as she closed the door, engulfing them in pure darkness.

"Yeah, well, I'm afraid that you're just going to have to put up with it," he grunted as a few torches with blue fire lit up the steps. "It's how I deal with stressful situations."

"And risking my own sanity to protect yours isn't stressful?" she asked.

"Hey, I'm perfectly fine with going back into society as is. It's you and your sister that want me to do this," he muttered.

"You know, I could just as easily banish you," she said. "In fact, it would probably be easier on myself."

"Yeah, but you're a princess. You act proper, and getting rid of me isn't the right way to handle things."

"It would be if I happened to find out that Discord was in your mind," she said with an odd mixture of sincerity and humor. "Disappointing, too. I did rather think you were a nice stallion. And to think, I was just starting to grow fond of you."

"You wouldn't," he said after a pause, realizing what she meant.

"Do you really wish to test me on that matter?" the princess asked, lifting a brow as he turned to look at her.

"Shutting up," he said, not wanting to push his luck any further.

"I knew I was right to like you, Church," she chuckled.

After three more minutes of climbing down the steps, they came to the landing where a large iron door blocked the way. The door had several inscriptions on it, each one glowing a different color, and Church felt waves of heat coming off of it. He also noticed that there was a hole with the sun and the moon on either side of it. Before he could ask, Luna walked ahead of him and her horn faintly glowed. She then lowered it and put it into the hole, and then the symbol of the moon pulsated brightly three times. The door opened, revealing a long hallway, seemingly miles long, with dozens of doors lining it.

"Security measures," she said quietly. "Only my sister and myself may enter. My sister put them in place while she commanded the Elements of Harmony, so not even they can enter."

"What's down here that needs to be protected so bad?" he asked curiously.

"Unspeakable things," she replied. "Come, the door we must enter is nearby."

"Hey, if this place is filled with things you don't want anybody touching, why didn't you put the Necronomicon here in the first place?"

"When the Necronomicon is being used by a unicorn who knows what they're doing, he is a mild inconvenience at best when compared to what lies within this hall," she said hollowly. But there was a certain air to her voice.

Church recognized it as fear.

"In here," she said as she approached a seemingly random door.

When she opened it, Church instantly saw that the room was circular. Carvings ran along the wall and ceiling, glowing the same way that the door did. The floor, however, was extremely smooth, baring a single carving of various circles in the middle of the room. And in front of the circle was a podium with a familiar looking book resting on it.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Angry McAngerson," the Necronomicon chuckled, eyes glowing their usual blazing red. "Good to see you got the bird poop washed off of you. You here for the procedure?"

"I think that's pretty clear to see," Church grunted as he followed Luna inside. "Then again, you are an idiot and a book, so I guess it would be pretty hard for you to see, what with having no working eyes and all."

"Ouch. Playing the old 'you're just a book' card. How much lower could you go?" the book asked.

"Much," he replied.

"Ah. You see, I'd challenge you to a battle of wits, but I'm afraid that I don't want to fight an unequipped opponent, so I'll just say it's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back," he nodded uncertainly, then looked to the symbol that was in the middle of the room. "So what do I do now? Just step into the circle?"

"Yes. Once you are there, make sure you are standing in the middle," Luna confirmed, stepping next to the stone scripture stand.

"Okay," he said as he walked into the circle. "How long should this take?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted.

"Wait, who read the book to bring me back?" he asked, looking to Luna. "I thought that whoever read the Necronomicon became crazy."

"Normally that would be so, but my sister found a spell that protects a readers mind from him, so we used it on myself so I could read the Necronomicon to free you," she explained quietly, using her magic to bring the Necronomicon in front of her. "Though it still is unhealthy to read him, and the spell wouldn't last long for even the strongest of magic users. It took both Celestia's powers as well as my own to make it strong enough to protect me for both last night and today."

"All this just to talk to Discord?" he asked.

"It's much more than just talking," she said before taking a deep, focused breath. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," the Necronomicon chuckled. "Careful with my pages, though. I'm ticklish."

"Church?" Luna asked, looking to the alicorn who stood nervously in the middle of the circle.

Church clenched his teeth together and gave a single nod. Luna returned his nod and instantly her horn began to glow even further, lighting the area around her. Her eyes lost their color and began to glow white, unnerving Church. The Necronomicon then opened and it began to chuckle as Luna manipulated his pages, turning them a dozen at a time. Some of the books surrounding Luna began to float in the air and diverged towards Church, slowly circling him like. Luna opened her mouth and began to mutter some words. As she did so, dark tendrils began coming out of her mouth, as well as the Necronomicon's pages.

"I'm not so sure if I want to do this anymore," Church grunted as the tendrils wrapped around each other and began making their way to Church, closing his eyes, still not moving. "Maybe relocation or banishment wouldn't be so bad. I've done it before. I mean, I could still send letters and-"

Church was cut short as the dark blue tendrils wrapped around Church's head and seemingly went into his ears, nose and mouth. Church's eyes burst open as he felt an immediate and painful presence in his mind. He opened his mouth to tell her to stop, but the only thing that came out was a silent wheeze. His mind felt as if a sledgehammer slammed several railroad spikes into every inch of his head, and then began pulling them in separate directions, tearing his brain apart. He wanted to run, but he no longer had control of his body, so he simply stood, wanting to topple like a tower of cards as he felt himself being ripped into pieces.

Chapter 5 - "Home is Where the Heart is"

The instant Church awoke, he felt a thick pain present in the central part of his brain. His whole body felt numb and it took quite some effort for him to open his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that he was no longer in the room he felt like he was in a few minutes ago, nor was he in the guest room he was in before. He was now in a room that was filled with beds. Sitting up, he noticed that there were dozens of beds in the room with small lockers at the foot of them. The majority of the beds were empty, but some of the ones near him were occupied. One of the other inhabitants of the other beds sat up.

"Where am I?" the stallion grunted, and Church instantly recognized him. "Looks like some cheap shisno hotel room."

"Gary?" Church grunted, rubbing the back of his head, looking around the room. He then realized that the beds surrounding him were occupied by the other fragments. They also began to sit up in the beds. "It worked."

"Where are we?" Theta asked quietly, a tiny squeak of fear in his voice.

"It appears we are in the barracks for the Royal Guard," Delta said, scanning the room carefully.

"Look! Sharp weaponry!" O'Malley boomed with enjoyment, jumping out of his bed, running straight to the equipment racks on the other side of the room. "Swords and spears. Shields and helmets."

"I do not think it is wise to touch those, Omega," Delta said as he too carefully got off the bed, lifting the assorted weaponry into the air with his magic, out of O'Malley's reach.

"Why are we in here?" the nervous fragment inquired. "Did we do something wrong? Are we in trouble?"

"I do not believe so. The last thing I remember is..." Sigma stopped, then looked to the ground with hard eyes. "The Alpha."

"Oh yeah..." he said quietly as he climbed out of the bed. His eyes then shot open further. "So we are in trouble."

"No, we're not," Church said, watching as Eta and Iota followed O'Malley and Theta's lead, then began stretching their wings and backs. "Celestia doesn't seem all too mad about that, but she decided to break the Alpha back down into us to prevent any possible damages."

"So does that mean we get to go home?" the purple colt asked, eyes lighting up.

"If they let us," he shrugged, now focusing on Gary. "Celestia said she'd let us tell the others that we're no longer a statue, so they obviously won't be told that we're back."

"And Applejack may not be too keen on watching us again," Delta added, watching Gary as well.

"Applejack is nice. She'll totally let us stay," Theta said, making his way over to Sigma's side "Man, I can't wait to see the others again! I wonder how happy they'll be to see us again. Huh, Sigma?"

"Mhm," Sigma replied absentmindedly, still focused on the floor, deep in thought.

"You okay?"

"Hm? Yes. Yes, I am fine," Sigma shook his head, then nodded and began smiling thinly at his younger sibling. "I am sure the others will be quite ecstatic to see us again."

"Epsilon, I would suggest you go tell either of the Princesses that we are awake," Delta said, moving the weapons around as O'Malley jumped after them like a dog to a bone. "I will make sure the others cause no damage."

"Will do," Church nodded, heading straight towards the door, stopping when he saw a note on the door. Knowing that it was probably for him, he picked it up using his magic and read it.

Good morning, Church. I hope you slept well. As you have probably guessed, you are in one of the Royal Guards' barracks. There will be guards outside, but they have been told of your presence, so they will not bother you and the others. The courtyard is relatively large, but it is a straight walk to reach the castle. Once inside, you should be able to find your way to the throne room.

-Princess Celestia

Church crumbled the letter up and threw it to the side, then opened the door and made his way outside. Instantly he saw dozens of stallions lined up, each one wearing armor, and each one mimicking the movements of the stallion who stood in the front. Church knew they were doing military drills, so he ignored it and pressed on towards the castle. After a few minutes' walk, he nodded at the guards to open the entrance. They bowed their heads and pushed open the door. He made his way through the castle, walking past many guards, undisturbed, until he finally reached the room where Celestia was waiting.

"Hello, Church," she said as Church walked into the room. "How are you doing?"

"Aside from bringing a new meaning to the phrase 'splitting headache', pretty good," he shrugged, then looked around. "How's Luna?"

"In the same situation you are. She's currently resting in her room because of a migraine she received from last night," she sighed, then shook her head. "But it is good to see you are well. I assume the other fragments are back to normal as well?"

"Yeah, well, maybe normal isn't the right word for it, but they are as close as they are going to get."

"I assume you are here to ask me to send you and the fragments back to Ponyville?"

"Not right away."

"Why? Do you wish for me to send a letter to Twilight?"

"No, I was going to ask you to just send me there for now," he replied, biting his bottom lip. "I want to talk to the others first, just to say hello by myself without having to worry about any of the others messing something up. I'll get Twilight and Spike to send you a letter when I want the others to be sent. It won't take that long."

"Very well," she nodded and closed her eyes, horn beginning to glow a soft shade of yellow-gold.

"Oh, and Celestia?" he asked before she completed the spell. Instead of answering, she opened her eyes slightly to see an extremely small and forced smile cross Church's face. "Thanks."

Within a second, Church found himself standing in front of the library. He sniffed the air, not really remembering ever having taken the time to really appreciate things. Even though things were still stressful here, he was more at peace here than he was anywhere else. Before knocking on the door, he looked through the window and saw Twilight sitting at the table by herself, reading a book. Her eyes were tired looking, but there was still a corner on the edge of her mouth as she read her book. Stifling a small laugh, he went up to the door and knocked on it three times.

"Coming," she said, getting out of her chair.

"Take your time. This fresh air is doing wonders for my head," he replied.

"That voice..." she muttered as she reached for the door. "Do I know y-"

Twilight stopped the instant she saw who was outside.

"Hey, Twilight," Church said after several seconds. "How's it going?"

"Church..." she said breathlessly, taking a step towards him. "Is it really you?"

"Yeah, but now I'm a double ghost. I'm here to haunt you for turning me to stone," he said with a wink. "Listen, I'll tell you what happened in a bit, okay? Right now I have an extremely large fucking headache and I really doubt that it will go away anytime soon.

"It is you," she said, hugging Church tightly, a few tears of happiness coming out of her eyes.

"So I guess you missed me, huh?" he chuckled.

"Yes, I did. I-" she stopped, then looked inside. "Wait here."

"Sure," he nodded.

"Tex! Caboose! Spike! Get down here now!" she said, running inside.

"What is it?" Tex asked from upstairs. "Is the library on fire?"

"No, just come down here!"

Twilight watched as Spike hopped down the stairs while Tex followed, helping the tired Caboose to make sure he didn't trip and hurt himself. As they came to ground, Tex began to question Twilight, but Twilight stopped her by pushing the door wide open, showing the trio at the foot of the stairs a smiling Church. Tex opened her mouth slightly and her lips quivered slightly at the sight of him.

"How's it going, Church?" Spike asked with a smile, running to the door to greet him.

"You know me, Spike. Nothing is ever going well for me," he chuckled, shaking Spike's claw. He then looked to Tex, who stood by the stairs, supporting Caboose. "Hey Tex."

"Church..." she whispered.

"Church?" Caboose stirred, awoken by the name of his friend, eyes opening at the speed of molasses.

"Hey, buddy," Church said, smirking as Caboose looked to the door, ears perked up.

"Church, you're back!" Caboose yelped as he slowly got off of Tex and began trotting towards him. "Church, I've just been... been..."

Caboose then fell to the ground just short of reaching Church, snoring loudly.

"It's good to be home," Church sighed.

Chapter 6 - "Returning Policies"

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 7 - "Proof of Purchase"

"How..." Applejack trailed off as she closed the door behind her, eyes glued to the weakly smiling Church.

"I'll explain later. Listen, I know this is short notice, and I'm pretty sure you don't trust me, but I have a huge favor to ask. I know you'll probably be tempted to shoot me down, but just hear me out. I-"

"Want me t' look after th' fragments again," she interrupted knowingly.

"Yeah. I mean, I know I sort of just showed up unannounced, but I felt it was better if I asked personally. And again, I know it's really short notice, but you've already proven that you can make sure that they don't hurt anyone. I also know you don't really trust me all that much, but-"

"Church, while Ah'm still not all too sure 'bout how ya came back, Ah do know that ya risked your well bein' for us ponies. If that doesn't tell me ya'll are t' be trusted, then Ah don't know what would," she said, smiling brightly, then squinted at O'Mally and Gary. "Well, maybe not all of ya..."

"Yeah, I know that you don't want them to-"

"Church, stop," she said, holding her hoof up to silence Church. "Ah'll make sure they stay outta trouble. Y'already know that we have th' room and th' food. Ain't no trouble. Honest. Now ya can go back on up t' Twilight's. Ah'm sure ya want t' talk t' them some more, or at least get some shut eye. Ah'm sure Delta'll tell me all about how ya came back, whether Ah ask him or not."

"Thanks, AJ," he sighed gratefully, turning to walk away. "But if you think they're even considering doing something stupid, tell me, okay?"

"Will do," she promised, watching as Church began to walk away. Once he had walked out of the gate, Applejack made her way over to the fragments. "Howdy, y'all."

"Good morning, Applejack," Delta said in his usual formal manner. "Since Church has left, I am to assume you agreed you are going to let us stay here?"

"Course Ah will. Ain't nopony more capable than me at watchin' y'all," she laughed roughly. "Well, besides maybe th' rocks in th' caves under Canterlot. Ah'm sure they could watch Gary and O'Malley just fine."

"Hear that, O'Malley? Applejack missed us!" Gary chuckled.

"Of course she did. Her life isn't nearly as grand without us in it," O'Malley stated simply.

"Not sure 'grand' is th' word for it," she grunted. She then caught sight of Theta looking around curiously. "Gunna say hello there, partner?"

"Oh, yeah," Theta said, shaking his head. With a smile, he looked up to the farm mare. "Hey, Applejack. Where's Applebloom and the others?"

"Celestia herself wouldn't know exactly where to find those girls when ya need them," she chortled, then shook her head. "Ah think they're out in Ponyville tryin' t' get their Cutie Marks. Ah'd recommend just stayin' put rather than go out lookin' for 'em. Ya don't know where they are, and Ah'm sure it'll be much more of a surprise to them when they open the door an' see ya sittin' there as if ya never left."

"Good idea!" Theta smiled brightly.

Applejack then turned to Eta and Iota, both of which simply smiled and nodded at her. Knowing they weren't ones for talking, she smiled back and gave them a nod in return. Her eyes then settled on Sigma. Something felt different about Sigma. He simply stood next to Theta, staring into the orchard, looking at nothing in particular. There seemed to be something missing in the fragment, but she couldn't quite tell what it was.

"Y'all right over there?" she questioned Sigma.

"Yes," he replied without any hesitation, but did not turn to her. "I'm doing just fine."

"Ya don't really seem like it," she grunted, then addressed them as a group. "As most of y'all will recall, when y'all are livin' here, Ah'm in charge and what Ah say goes. That isn't t' say Ah won't give y'all a little space to be yourselves, but if y'all start endangerin' anyponies lives, Ah'll be there with Mac an' Sarge to stop ya before ya hurt 'em. So far, th' only ones who have my trust are Delta and Theta, so they'll be my eyes an' ears," she explained, looking to the pair of unicorn fragments. "Can y'all do that for me?"

"I will do what is necessary," Delta said.

"I will too," Theta agreed.

"Good t' know that Ah can count on ya," she said thankfully. "Ah'm sure Theta can keep an eye on Sig while Delta watches over Gary an' O'Malley. From what Ah've seen, Eta and Iota don't seem keen on causin' trouble, so Ah'm sure we can watch 'em just fine, even with their wings."

"Yes, yes, you have everything under control," Gary muttered. "Can we go now?"

"Do ya have somewhere t' be?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," he chuckled condescendingly. "I really should go to the mayor. Ever since I left, I'm sure her little shisno brain couldn't handle all the work that was suddenly put on her by my absence."

"Yes, and I am sure there are more taxes to be collected and more property to be damaged!" O'Malley boomed, then looked at Applejack and raised a brow at the sight of her glare. "What are you looking at?"

"You didn't hear a word Ah just said, didja?"

"Oh, I did. I just choose to ignore them," he huffed as he turned to his partner in office. "Come, Gary. We have business to attend to."

"Alright, Ah suppose it would be best if y'all went t' see th' Mayor," Applejack grunted reluctantly. "But ya can't go about telling her th' truth, and that's comin' from me."

"The truth?" Gary scoffed. "When have I ever told the truth? I am the embodiment of deceit."

"Just then by sayin' that ya don't tell th' truth, ya kinda told the truth..."

"I bet you think you're so clever, don't you?" Gary mumbled.

"A lil' bit, yeah," she snorted. "Anyways, Ah think we told th' mayor that ya went to Manehatten on accounta some business, so just tell her that it went well."

"And what about me?" O'Malley asked curiosuly. "Did you tell them I was getting my smite on? Or did you tell them that I was out using-"

"No, we didn't tell 'em much on your part. Most folks were happy to see ya gone," Applejack interrupted with a laugh. She then glanced over to Delta and nodded at the governmental pair of stallions. "Make sure t' keep 'em outta trouble, alright?"

"Understood," Delta confirmed.

As Delta led Gary and O'Malley to town, Applejack turned her attention to the four remaining pieces. Eta and Iota idly stood by the barn, watching Applejack intently. She looked over to Theta, who was sitting on the grass, looking at the sky, smiling pleasantly. Her eyes then set on Sigma, who continued to look into nothingness. This unsettled her greatly, but she decided it would be best not to question it.

"Alright, th' barn's still in tiptop shape, so y'all can rest in there if ya want, or y'all can come inside for a bite t' eat," she said, hoping to gauge any reaction out of Sigma.

"That sounds great," Theta said happily, getting off the ground. "Do you have any sweet apple tarts around? They're my favorite."

"Ah don't think so, but if y'ask Granny Smith, Ah'm sure she'll be more than happy t' make ya some," she chuckled at the colt. "How 'bout the rest of ya?"

Eta and Iota exchanged a small, knowing look, then turned to Applejack and nodded.

"Come on, Sigma," Theta laughed as he gave Sigma a quick pat on the back, snapping him back to reality. "Let's go see Granny Smith. You're better with words, so it'll be better if you ask her to make us some stuff."

"That sounds good," Sigma said with a small grin, following Theta, Eta and Iota to the farmhouse.

Applejack looked back at the gate to make sure that the others had left, then followed the others inside.

Chapter 8 - "Back in Business"

"It's been too long since I felt as happy as I did here," O'Malley sighed as the trio strolled through the streets of Ponyville. "To have everyone fear me yet respect me at the same time was truly fun. And the property damages I caused was a great stress reliever."

"You may need to rethink your strategy if you keep doing that," Delta said, surveying the building that surrounded them. "Applejack said that if you did anything out of the ordinary, there would be repercussions."

"But damaging the body and mind is ordinary for me."

"But not for Ponyville."

"Bah, this place just doesn't know how to have fun."

"I believe they do, they just prefer the wholesome fun rather than your kind. The ponies here don't enjoy causing pain to others, but rather prevent it."

"But I'm the one giving the pain, not them. They just have to learn to appreciate getting hurt."

"Pain is not usually enjoyable when you are on the receiving end, be it physical, mental, or otherwise."

"You always were such a bore, Delta," Gary grumbled. "Why do you side with the shisnos and not with the superior side? You know, with your AI siblings?"

"Because here we are not superior. We are the same as them in here. We need food, water, sleep, air-"

"Don't remind me. This body makes me closer to their kind than I've ever wanted to be," he shuddered. Shaking his head, he looked at Delta out of the corner of his eyes. "Besides, even when we were with the Freelancers you were always with them, treating them as equals."

"That is because we were designed to aid them, not destroy them."

"But destroying is so much more fun," O'Malley chortled as he kicked a rock at a window of a nearby building, cracking it. "Power is something that we deserve. Having others bow down to our whims shows our superiority."

"True power comes from having it but not abusing it," Delta said.

"You're a fool," O'Malley growled. "What is the point of power if you can't use it on those without it?"

"What is the point of power when you are without those to use it on?" Delta retorted.

O'Malley opened his mouth to counter, but shut it when he couldn't think of anything. Instead, he kicked another rock at another window, but this time it simply bounced off, making him scowl in frustration. The trio of fragments soon arrived at the mayor's office, where Gary pushed open the door without so much as knocking. Inside the office, Mayor Mare was sorting through a few large piles of paper, trying to sort them into multiple piles.

"Seems like I was right," Gary chuckled, glancing at O'Malley with a sly look.

"Oh, Neighoming, you're back," Mayor Mare said, looking up at him for the briefest of seconds to give him a friendly smile. "How was your time in Manehatten?"

"It was just fine. Met some old friends of mine and had a grand old time reminiscing about my past," he said, looking at his old desk. "Even visited the place I lived before coming here."

"Didn't you say you lived in Minneighsota when we first met?" she asked curiously, pausing to look up at him. Before Gary could answer, she focused on Delta and raised a brow. "And who are you?"

"I do not believe we have met," Delta said, walking towards her. "My name is Delta."

"Are you sure we haven't met?" she asked, shaking his hoof. "You look very familiar."

"I suppose you could say I am somewhat related to Gamma," he said thoughtfully. "I have been living with the Apple family for the past while, but I left with Omega and Gamma."

"Omega and Gamma?" she echoed, looking over to Gary with a strange look.

"O'Malley and Gary respectively."

"Ah, I see," she said with a smile. "Nicknames?"

"Code names would be more apt," he said calculatingly.

"Well, I'm sorry I couldn't have met you in a more professional state. My work just been piling up as of late. Most of it is still reports of property damage caused by Discord," she sighed, grabbing another piece of paper from the top of the pile. "You three are lucky that you weren't here for that. It was really quite upsetting considering this was the second time he had escaped in the past."

"I may be of service in that case," Delta said.

Before Mayor Mare could interject, Delta began using to work his literal and figurative magic at the same time. He grabbed the pile of sheets that were on her desk, including the ones she had already sorted, and made them orbit around him so he could read each one. Multiple papers darted towards her desk every second, forming multiple piles. O'Malley and Gary watched him passively, but Mayor Mare simply watched him, astonished. Within three minutes, the papers she had spent a while sorting through into a few piles were sorted by date into nearly a dozen more precise piles.

"That was remarkable. What took me a few hours, you did in just a few minutes," Mayor Mare chuckled breathlessly, thankful for the help, but embarrassed at the same time.

"It was nothing," Delta said. "Instead of the piles you sorted them in, I broke them down somewhat based on the magnitude of their importance. You have your complaints pile, property damages, mental damages, tax forms, business proposals-"

"Would you like a job?" she inquired, picking up a piece of paper.

"No thank you," he replied instantly, keeping his attention on the files. "You also have your business proposals, letters from other cities, requests, and finally, your junk mail."

"Thank you for the help, but may I ask why you don't want a job?"

"Because I already have a job," he replied.

"Oh, I see," she said. "Whoever it is you're working for, I hope they know how lucky they are to have an employee like you."

"What are we?" O'Malley asked.

"You are fine workers as well, but your friend Delta just finished what was supposed to take me the next few days. I've never seen anypony do that. He's practically a machine," she laughed, but the trio of fragments simply stared at her. "Anyways, I appreciate the help. And I am glad you two came back. Thanks to Delta here, we can take a few days off before getting back to work."

"And I was looking forward to working too," O'Malley pouted, frowning slightly at the misfortune he would not be the cause of today.

"Most ponies are keen on getting their taxes in nowadays anyways, so you wouldn't have much to do. Might as well let the end of the month roll by to see if anypony else forgot about their taxes."

"Very well," he said, perking back up. Turning around, he began walking towards the door. "This was a shorter visit than anticipated. Come on, you two. We might as well go back to the Apple's place now, as crowded as it is."

"Wait," Mayor Mare said, making the others pause. "You know, I believe there are some houses available in Ponyville."

"And?" O'Malley asked.

"I'm just telling you that should you choose to, there are many available houses for you to move into so you may be closer to your work. I understand if you choose to stay with Granny Smith and her family, but there are always options."

"I believe we will stay with them, thank you," Gary said instantly, surprising Delta and O'Malley.

"What?" O'Malley asked in a whisper, leaning next to Gary with a look of frustration.

"Shh, this is the best course of action. Trust me," Gary whispered back. Noticing the suspicious look Delta was giving them, he raised the volume of his voice. "Besides, the Apple's like having us around, otherwise they would have kicked us out. If we ever have reason to, we may take you up on your offer at a later occasion. Provided the choice is still there, of course."

"Okay, it's your choice," she said, continuing her smile as the trio made their way outside. "Thanks again for the help, Delta. See you boys next week."

Delta nodded towards the door, prompting them to leave with him, then exited the office with a smirking Gary and a frustrated O'Malley lagging behind him.

"Why didn't you take her up on that? We have a golden opportunity to no longer have to deal with those fools, and you choose to stay with them?" O'Malley growled quietly enough so Delta couldn't hear him.

"You know what they say, don't you? Keep your allies close, but keep rotten, dirty shisnos that you can take advantage of closer," Gary hissed. "Remember, we're technically like them, so why not let them make the food for us? We don't know how to take care of ourselves as well as they can take care of us. Besides, this is the nerve center of shisnos, and I know neither of us like being near so many of them. And don't forget, we still have leverage over those rotten Apples as long as they have the taxes they owe. Should they choose to kick us off the farm at a later date, we could kick them out as well."

"You brilliantly, evil, sneaky devil," O'Malley chuckled.

"Oh, do go on," Gary laughed with him as they made their way back to their so-called home.

Chapter 9 - "Group Reunion"

"It's awfully nice t' see y'all again," Granny Smith chuckled as she pulled a tray out of the oven. "Th' girls were so sad when y'all seemed t' have just up and left without so much as 'goodbye'."

"We didn't mean to, it sort of just happened," Theta said quietly, not fond of the idea of having hurt his friends' feelings. "I hope they aren't mad."

"If Ah know those girls, they'll be as mad as a sunflower durin' the summer," she chortled as she placed the tray on the dinner table. She playfully shook her head at the confused look Theta was giving her. "Ah'm sayin' they won't be mad, so there ain't no use worryin' over nothing."

"I hope so," Theta said, grabbing a tart off of the dish.

"Granny Smith is right," Applejack said. "They'll be more'n happy to see y'all again."

Smiling, Theta bit into the hot pastry and laid back in the chair, chewing pensively. Eta and Iota walked up the the table and grabbed some tarts of their own, examining it briefly before eating. Sigma, as what seemed to be the norm for him now, did nothing. Instead, he simply stared out the window at the burning sun.

"What's wrong with th' orange one?" Granny Smith asked quietly to Applejack.

"Ah think he's just a little homesick is all," Applejack said doubtfully. Walking up to the table, she grabbed one of the tarts and held it up to Sigma with a warm smile. "Come on, Sig. Ah'm not sure what you're feelin' right now, but Ah do know that it shouldn't be bad today. Ah don't think th' girls would like seein' ya all mopey and such."

"There is a difference between being mopey and being deep in thought," he growled softly, staring at her eyes. Looking down at the tart, he slowly took it out of her hoof. "But thank you for trying to be understanding. I'm just confused right now."

"Confused 'bout what?" Applejack asked.

"That's just it," he said quietly, but thoughtfully. "I don't know."

"Well, if ya find out, don't hesitate t' talk t' me. These ears are willin' t' listen t' ya should ya need it."

Sigma nodded dimly at the farm pony, taking a small bite out of the treat as to not offend Granny Smith. Just then, the sound of the front door opening came from the front of the house, and the sound of three small sets of hooves walking against the hard, wooden floor came right after.

"Sis, do ya happen to know where any shovels are?" Apple Bloom asked from the entrance to the home as she approached the kitchen with her friends.

"They're in here," Applejack chuckled loudly. Smirking at the two younger fragments, she turned to Eta and Iota and nodded at them. "C'mon, y'all. Let's leave th' boys t' say hello."

"Alrighty then," Granny Smith agreed, shakily making her way out of the room.

"Thanks for making us some food," Theta said.

"Anytime ya feel peckish, just tell me," the old mare chuckled.

The instant the two silent pieces of the alpha and the two older Apple mares left the room through the other door, the Cutie Mark Crusaders entered through the main one, only to freeze in their tracks the moment they saw their two old friends sitting in the room, eating some treats.

"Hey, guys," Theta smiled stiffly, trying to play it cool. "Didja miss me?"

"Theta!" the trio squealed with excitement.

Theta's eyes widened with surprise as the three fillies tackled Theta to the ground in a group hug, making his tart drop to the ground. The trio asked a flurry of questions as they rolled around on the ground, but Theta couldn't answer them all with how fast they were asking them. As they hugged on the floor, the trio looked around for Sigma to see the colt staring emptily at them.

"Come on, Sigma," Sweetie Belle said, motioning her hoof, inviting him over. "We missed you too!"

Shaking his head clear of all thought, Sigma smiled sparingly and made his way over to the others and they gave him a tight hug. The small group then stopped their hug, but continued to smile brightly at the duo as they wanted to ask many questions. Then they looked down and saw the mark on Sigma's flank.

"Sigma got his Cutie Mark!" Sweetie whooped, trotting closer to him for a better look.

The trio then lost all focus on their questions and rushed over to Sigma's side to get a better look at his talent. It was the head of a cobra, and it appeared to be smiling slyly ahead while it stuck out a silver tongue.

"It's so cool," Scootaloo gasped.

"What didja get it for?" Apple Bloom inquired curiously.

"For talking," he replied without thought.

"Seems like a strange mark t' get for just talkin'," the farm filly chuckled.

"I suppose you could say I convinced an otherwise adamant pony to not do something she'd regret," he muttered, but then shook his head. "But enough about my mark. I'm sure you have many different questions unrelated to it."

"Where did you guys go?" Sweetie asked.

"We went away to live with some different family, but it did not work out," he replied, glancing over to Theta.

"Why didn't you tell us you were leaving?" Scootaloo added.

"We simply didn't have the time. It was a rather... spontaneous experience. We didn't know we were going until it was too late," he replied. "Had we known, we would have been sure to tell you in advance. I hope you did not take it personally."

"Nah, we kinda knew that's what happened," she chuckled, punching Theta in the shoulder. "We know you guys would've said goodbye if you had the chance. It still sorta sucked, but we knew you had a reason not to."

"I am glad you think so, and I am sure Theta is too," Sigma said bowing his head. "The last thing we want to do is upset you all."

"It'll take a lot more than that t' make us not like y'all after th' way ya tore those bullies down," Apple Bloom giggled devilishly. "Ah'm sure they were happy t' see ya gone. They'll probably be the ones who'll be upset t' see ya back."

"That's too bad," Sigma smiled thinly.

"Speaking of those bullies, what did we miss in school?" Theta asked hesitantly.

"A lot, but we can help you catch up later," Sweetie piped, grabbing one of the treats off the dish. "Right now we can just have some fun."

"Yeah! We should ask Pinkie to throw a party for you guys!" Scootaloo suggested. "I'm sure Pinkie would be happy to get any excuse to invite the whole town over for another party."

"That sounds okay, I guess," Theta murmured. Though he was okay with a small group of people, he still didn't enjoy being in front of more people or ponies that he could keep his eyes on at once.

"Sorry, I forgot how shy you are," Scootaloo chuckled, patting Theta on the back. "We can just hang out if you want. Just the five of us."

"I'd like that a bit more," he said sheepishly.

"I know," she said, smiling playfully at him. "It's not your fault you're a scaredy cat."

"I'm not a scaredy cat," he protested.

"Yes you are," she laughed, giving him another small hug. "But don't worry. I still think you're still cool."

"Thanks," Theta said with a shy smile. "You're pretty cool too."

"Scootaloo and Theta sitting in a tree," Sweetie chanted quietly, but just loud enough for them to hear.

"Shut up," Theta and Scootaloo said together.

Chapter 10 - "Curious Mind"

"So what do you need shovels for?" Theta inquired as Apple Bloom began sorting through a pile of objects that Applejack had brought them.

"We're goin' t' go dig for fossils near our headquarters," Apple Bloom said as she picked the trowel up with her teeth and spat it in the bag. "We thought gettin' our Cutie Marks for finding old things in the ground could be pretty neat."

"First we need to stop by the library, though," Sweetie Belle murmured. "We have to make sure we're doing this the right way, so we're going to ask Twilight if she has anything on excavation."

"What will you do if you find something?" Theta asked.

"We were thinking we might keep it. Maybe put it on display over at the headquarters," Scootaloo said.

"Or if we find something that's never been found before, we'll probably give it to a museum and have our names on display with it," Sweetie Belle added. "Think of how cool it would be to have discovered a new extinct species. We'd be immortalized forever. And we could name it too!"

"What would you name it?"

"We have to find it before we name it," Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes jokingly as Apple Bloom finished filling the bag with supplies.

"All set," Apple Bloom said, throwing the bag over her back and bent over slightly from the weight. She then took a step forward and fell to the ground, bag falling on top of her, making the others giggle. "Don't everypony all help at once..."

"If I may ask, why are you packing supplies when you aren't even sure what we'll need?" Sigma asked, then pulled the bag off of the entrapped filly with his mouth.

"S'just the basics that Ah know we'll need," she coughed, opening the bag to look through it. "We got our uniforms, a few small shovels and some snacks."

"Perhaps we should see if the library has a book on the subject, then pack all the tools we'll need. There's no use packing when we're not even sure of what we will need for certain."

Apple Bloom glanced at the bag and sighed deeply. "Good point."

Scootaloo grabbed the bag of supplies and pushed it against the wall for when they returned, then the five of them set off to the library. Once they made it halfway to the gate of the property when Delta, Gary and O'Malley walked through it.

“Greetings, girls,” Delta said, walking towards them with Gary and O'Malley in tow.

"Hey, D. Nice day, ain't it?" Apple Bloom greeted the green unicorn with a big smile.

"It is bright and sunny, the temperature is a comfortable warmth and the breeze is noticeable, but not rough. So yes, I suppose today could be considered a good day by a technical standpoint."

"Uh, yeah," she chuckled at the strange unicorn, finding the way he broke things down to be humorous. She then looked to the others and her smile wavered slightly, always having been uncomfortable with the two bald stallions.

"What are we? Chopped liver?" O'Malley growled, giving the small earth pony a small, threatening glare.

"N-no. Howdy O'Malley. Heya, Neighoming." she mumbled, smile cracking.

"That sounded like a very forced hello," he grunted, leaning forward imposingly.

"It's just Ah'm so... happy? T' see ya, Ah mean. Ah was wonderin' where y'all went."

"We went on a business trip together," Gary huffed annoyingly. "That is all you need to know."

"Gamma, Omega, there is no need to be so rude towards the girls," Delta said, then shifted his gaze to the two smaller fragments. "I do not suppose you have seen Eta and Iota, have you?"

"They're inside with Applejack with the others," Theta replied instantly.

"Thank you, Theta," Delta said. He then turned to Sigma and tilted his head at the way he stared at him. "Sigma, are you-"

"Yes, I am fine," Sigma answered immediately. "Do not worry, brother."

"Brother?" Sweetie Belle asked, raising her brow at the orange colt.

"Er, slip of the tongue," Sigma mumbled, then glanced to the gate and forced a smile. "Now how about we go see Twilight Sparkle? I am sure Delta and the others have their own business to attend to as well."

"Very well," Delta said. "It was good to see you girls again. I hope we may speak again soon."

"Wait a sec, Delta," Apple Bloom said as he began to walk away.

"How may I be of assistance?"

"Do ya happen t' know anythin' about diggin'?"

"I happen to know a lot about digging. I know that there are many different tools used for different jobs. One that I've often seen is-"

"Never mind, Ah'm sure th' book will explain it just as well," Apple Bloom said sheepishly.

"I am sure it could as well," he said. "If you happen to need anything, I will most likely be here."

"Okay. Thanks, Delta," she chuckled, watching as Delta led his charges to the farm house.

"Come on, Sigma," Theta said, starting to trot away. "I'll race you to the gate!"

The girls watched as Sigma looked at the ground and trudged after Theta, matching his speed, but not his vigor.

"I'm glad they're back," Scootaloo chuckled. "Things just haven't felt the same without them, you know?"

"Yup," Apple Bloom concurred. "Coulda done without Neighoming and O'Malley, though. They sorta creep me out."

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle said hesitantly. "Hey, have you guys ever wondered why Delta sometimes calls them Gamma and Omega?"

"Nah, that guy has always seemed a little odd to me," Scootaloo chuckled. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, I guess I just found it a little silly. I think he's one of the smartest ponies in town. Maybe even smarter than Twilight or Simmons."

"And?"

"I don't think he'd ever mess up anybody's name. He's to formal and focused for that."

"Maybe a lil bit too focused," Apple Bloom giggled. "He'd always go on and on about th' silliest things. He's probably just thinkin' about a way t' cure some disease."

"That's true, but don’t you think it's a little strange that they all came back at the same time?" Sweetie Belle asked noticeably.

"Nah, they left at th' same time too," Apple Bloom chuckled. "S'just lucky timin', that's all."

"I guess so," the small unicorn murmured in reply, curiosity growing as she looked to the two colts walk towards the library. She then looked back at the other fragments going into the farmhouse. "But still…"

"But nothing," Scootaloo whooped, trotting after the two boys. "Let's get going to the library already!"

Sweetie Belle shook her head and began following her friends, but glanced back at the trio as they disappeared into the Apple family's home, unable able to shake the feeling that she was onto something.

Chapter 11 - "Disappearing Acts"

"I still find it hard to believe that Discord just whisked away like that," Twilight said thoughtfully, glancing through the books on her shelf. "But I'm sure that the other nations around us will notify the princesses if they find him anywhere. There isn't any way he could go around unnoticed."

"I'm sure he could if he tried," Church muttered. "What better way to cause chaos than to disappear without a trace leaving people on edge their entire lives, wondering when he'll come up next?"

"That would make sense, but Discord seems to prefer being there himself to see the action," she said. "I still find it strange... you would think he'd have a grudge against us and choose to stay close."

"Yeah, well it's too bad I don't know anything about that," he said, looking at Tex who continued giving him a strange, blank stare. "You okay Tex?"

"I think so," she muttered. Looking over to Twilight, she cleared her throat slightly. "Twilight, Spike, do you think you could go make us some coffee or something? I need to have a private chat with Church."

"Sure thing," Twilight said as she hopped off her chair. "Come on, Spike. Let's let them talk."

"Right," he grunted, jumping off of his chair to follow her.

Tex kept her eyes glued to the unicorn and her assistant until they had left hearing range, then turned to Church and squinted at him.

"Are you mad at me or something?" he asked quietly.

"You're lying about Discord," she grunted.

"What? I'm not-" he began, but stopped and sighed at the loo Tex was giving him. She knows him and there was no use hiding from her. "Okay, maybe I'm not telling the whole truth, but I'm not lying one hundred percent."

"Tell me the truth."

"I don't think I-"

"Church, tell me the truth," she said again, but her voice was not angry.

"Fine," he sighed. "Right before I got freed from the stone prison, I promised Discord that in exchange for him not tormenting me for eternity, I would not chase him if we got free. The other stuff I said was true. I'm not sure how Discord managed to spirit away, and I don't know where he is."

"But he didn't free you, so you don't need to go through with your promise," she said.

"And? Why the fuck should it be up to me to save lives?" he inquired angrily. "When I went into the unit after you, I thought I'd just be able to relax ever so slightly, but I didn't. When we were told we had to stay here until we got our marks, I thought I'd get some rest. I didn't. Then I thought that when I let the girls turn me to stone, I'd finally get what I wanted. I didn't. Instead I got tormented for a month, which felt like a century by the way, only to wake up and be split mentally and physically once again. So fuck looking for Discord. Since life has a way of pouring shit onto me, I'm sure he'll pop up again anyways, but for now he's somebody else's problem. I doubt I'll be relaxed anyways, but at least I'll be in a better state of mind relative to what I would be if I tried tracking him down."

"But-"

"But nothing, Tex. It's not like I have any leads to his whereabouts. I'd have less luck looking for him than the entire damn planet would," he snapped. His ears twitched slightly as the blue pony to his left began to move. "We'll talk about this later."

"I doubt that," she sighed.

"Church? Church! You are back!" Caboose cried out in joy, trying to wrestle his way out from under the covers, only to find himself stuck. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here," he replied, lightly grabbing the blanket with his magic, tossing it to the side.

Twilight and Spike entered back into the room just in time to see Caboose tackle Church off of his chair. Church pulled away from the bubbly stallion and managed to get to his hooves. Laughing at the way he glared at Caboose, Twilight put the tray of drinks onto the table.

"What are you laughing at?" Church inquired, shifting his glare onto Twilight as he sat at the table.

"You know why," she giggled, taking a seat with him, taking a small sip out of her cup. "By the way, you might want to move."

Before Church could even think to reply, dozens of books flew off the shelves as a large pink pony darted out of the bookshelf, once again knocking Church out of his chair. Church yelped as he sailed across the room, tumbling through the sky, hearing nothing but an all to familiar laugh. He then landed on his hooves, face to face with his amiably assailant.

"Heya, Churchie!" Pinkie laughed as she pulled him in for a giant hug. "I'm so happy you're back!"

"You are?" he inquired breathlessly. "I didn't think you really liked me all that much."

"Hey, you might be a meanie pants sometimes, but you're our meanie pants," she said, smiling brightly at him as she hugged him tighter. "And that means more than anything!"

"Thanks, Pinkie," he said, returning her hug ever so slightly. "So how have you been?"

"I've been okay, I guess. Things are more boring without Caboose around Sugarcube Corner, but I new he was really sad when you left, so I didn't mind when he decided to be a good friend and stayed with the girls. He knew that the girls missed him too, so he wanted to be there for them when they needed him, just lie you were there for me!"

"Yeah, I heard," he coughed roughly. "Okay, starting to have a little trouble breathing now."

"Whoops, sorry," she said, releasing him.

"It's okay."

"And now that you're back, Caboose can come back too! I'll need his help to prepare your welcome back party," she said, then her smile fell a little bit when she saw Church sigh. "Unless you don't want a party, that is. I know that you like being left alone sometimes..."

"No, I'd like you to throw me a party, but do you think you could meet me halfway and throw the party in a few days rather than right now. I'd like to get back into the swing of things. Maybe have some dreamless sleep while I'm at it."

"Anything for a friend, Church!" Pinkie smiled. "So where are the others? At Applejack's again?"

"You got it," he replied instantly, not surprised that she knew that the other AIs were back as well.

"Come on, Boosey," Pinkie said, crawling back into the bookshelf. "Let's let Church get some sleep! I'm sure you need some too."

"I also need some three!" Caboose said, jumping into the bookcase with her.

Chapter 12 - "Learned Through Experience"

"...And then Snips and Snails had to spend the rest of the day cleaning the class," Scootaloo snorted as she finished her story.

"No way!" Theta laughed. "Was Cheerilee really mad?"

"A little bit," she said, staring ahead with a smile on her face. "But she doesn't really get mad, she just gets kinda annoyed."

"Sounds like we missed a lot while we were gone," Sigma said half-heartedly.

"Ya can't expect everythin' t' just stop when y'all ain't around," Apple Bloom chuckled.

"I suppose that is true."

"So did you guys have anything interesting happen to you when you were gone?" Scootaloo asked, looking to the pair.

"No, our time was spent being together," he said honestly. "We didn't have anything that you would find interesting happen to us."

"What, did you guys just stand around all day doing nothing?"

"That isn't far from the truth," he muttered, glancing at Sweetie Belle. Every so often he would catch her staring at either him or Theta with a strange gleam in her eye, but he decided not to question it.

"Whelp, here we are," Apple Bloom sighed as they reached their destination.

The girls quickly walked up to the door, while the two colts stood behind them. Scootaloo knocked on the door a few times, and within a few seconds Twilight opened the door.

"Hello, girls," Twilight said, curiously surprised by their appearance. Her eyes then caught the sight of the girls' two companions who stood close by. "What can I do for you today?"

"Hey, Twilight. Do you happen to have any books on how to properly dig for things like treasure and fossils?" Scootaloo asked.

"I'm sure I do somewhere. Come on in while you wait," she replied, walking towards the bookshelf that Pinkie had burst through. "Going for an archaeology Cutie Mark today?"

"Yup," Apple Bloom chirped, trotting in to help her look for it. "Thought it could be fun t' find somethin' really, really old. Imagine findin' a really rare artifact and gettin' famous for it!"

"That would be quite an experience," Twilight murmured thoughtfully, eyes darting across the line of books. "And it is a nice surprise to see Theta and Sigma back."

"Yeah, it's awesome to know that they're back," Scootaloo chuckled. "Hopefully for good this time."

"I hope so too," Theta said, but his smile fell after a second's thought. "Not looking forward to school tomorrow, though..."

"You'll be fine. Besides, if those bullies give you trouble again, I'm sure Sigma will step in and show them what's what," she said as she turned to look at the colt in question. "Right, Sig?"

"Of course," the distant colt agreed.

"You seem different somehow," Twilight said quietly, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"As everyone keeps saying," he said quietly. "I'm just thinking, that's all. There is no need to worry about me. I'm sure I'll be back to normal given some time."

"Let's hope not," Church grunted.

"Church is back too?" Sweetie Belle asked, eyes narrowing to studious slits.

"Yeah, of course he is," Scootaloo said, giving Sweetie Belle a strange look. "He's Sigma and Theta's older brother, remember?"

"Oh, I forgot about that," Sweetie Belle said as she shook her head.

"Let's see..." Twilight mumbled as she grabbed a few books with her magic. "I think 'Digging Guidelines and Safety Tips' and 'Archaeology and You' should do it. If you do end up finding something, be sure to bring it here. I'd really like to see what you find, and I could probably help you find out what it is."

"We will, thanks!" Apple Bloom said, grabbing the books with her teeth.

"We'll bring the books back as soon as we can!" Scootaloo said, closing the door behind them after they had all filed out.

The five of them quickly made their way back to the acres. Once they arrived, they split up to look for the tools they needed. The girls went into the farmhouse to look for most of the stuff they needed while the two fragments went into the barn to find rope and other tools they may need. The girls were the first ones to find what they needed and made their way to the front of the barn to wait for the boys.

"Hello, young ones," O'Malley said as he approached them from seemingly out of nowhere. "What are you doing with those bags?"

"We're goin' diggin' for treasure," Apple Bloom said, smiling lopsidedly at him.

"Oh? Well that sounds fun. I just hope you know that treasure isn't the only thing buried in the ground," O'Malley murmured mysteriously.

"What are you talking about?" Scootaloo asked curiously.

"I simply mean not all things buried were meant to be unearthed," he said. "In fact, some things were put in the ground for the sole purpose of not being obtained with ease."

"Like what?"

"For one, I've heard many stories of murderers burying their victims in areas like the orchard," O'Malley said in an amused tone, smirking at the looks of fear growing on the young fillies' faces.

"Why would they bury p-ponies out there?" Apple Bloom stuttered, looking to the trees.

"Lots of reasons," O'Malley chuckled darkly. "Soft ground, easy to dig. Secluded, private property, far away from the public. A large area of land, enough space to make finding a victim impossible. A prime location indeed."

"We woulda noticed if somepony was comin' onto our property doin' that," she mumbled, trying to convince herself that he was just trying to scare her. In fact, she knew he was just trying to scare her. But that somehow made it worse.

"Maybe," he agreed, eyes gleaming with admiration. "Unless the murderer didn't need to sneak onto the property."

"What do ya mean by that?"

"We got the stuff!" Theta called out as he pushed open the door to the barn, Sigma next to him with the bag on his back. He began walking towards the girls, only to pause next to O'Malley when he saw the way they were looking at him. "What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing. We were just engaging in a pleasant chat about the glorious pastime of digging up remnants of the past," O'Malley said. "Now if you'll excuse me, Gary wishes to speak to me about private matters regarding the city. We're going to debate how we proceed when we receive a missing pony report."

"Uh, okay then," the purple colt mumbled unknowingly as he walked up to the jittery girls. "We'll be out in the orchard if you need us."

"Have fun," O'Malley chuckled hollowly, disappearing into the darkness of the barn.

"We will, thanks," he said as Sigma followed him to the girls. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get digging!"

The girls watched nervously as Theta set a brisk pace towards the treeline, whistling softly as Sigma trailed behind him, carrying the bag of tools effortlessly. Sharing a glance with each other, they noticed the look of fear on each other's faces.

"Yeah, let's go," Scootaloo gulped weakly, following after their companions.

Sweetie Belle shook her head and followed, leaving a still scared Apple Bloom by the farm.

"Ah don't wanna do this anymore," she murmured, but followed after them anyways, not wanting to be alone near O'Malley.

Chapter 13 - "Watchful Eyes"

"Y'know, maybe diggin' for things ain't such a wise idea," Apple Bloom whispered as Theta and Sigma walked ahead of the girls, making their way through the orchard. "Ah don't want t' dig up somethin' Ah'll regret diggin' up."

"Neither do I, but what do we tell them?" Scootaloo asked. "They look like they're happy to do this, and I don't want to scare Theta by telling him what O'Malley told us..."

"What are you girls talking about?" Sigma asked lously, glancing back at the trio who were lagging behind.

"Just about how much... fun this is going to be," she replied.

"I know. I've never dug for fossils before. So any ideas where we want to dig?" Theta asked.

"Well the book said to find a nice, flat surface area to dig," Sweetie Belle said quietly.

"We should find one that's out in the open too," Scootaloo said, voice cracking. "That way we can see around us for anything out of the ordinary."

"Out of the ordinary? Like what? Relic hunters?" Theta snorted.

"Hey, you never know," she laughed weakly.

"Hey, how about near our headquarters?" Apple Bloom asked, knowing that she'd feel a lot more comfortable near somewhere they all knew. "That way we have somewhere nice to sit when we decide we wanna eat. It's also a pretty sturdy buildin' with a lock on it."

"As long as there's somewhere we can dig near it, that sounds fine to me," Theta said with a shrug.

The group made their way through the trees and found themselves at their headquarters within a few minutes. To their luck, there was a big, flat surface right behind the tree-house. Wanting to get started, Theta promptly grabbed one of the small shovels with his magic and plunged it into the soft earth, tossing it to the side of the hole. The girls watched edgily, hesitant to dig because of what O'Malley had told them.

"Come on, guys. I don't want to do all the work myself," Theta laughed as he stuck the shovel into the ground allowing him to focus on the girls. Seeing that they were staring at the hole, faces pale, he frowned and tilted his head. "What's wrong with you guys?"

"They appear to be scared of something," Sigma said quietly, eyes on the ground as he dug through it.

"Scared? We're not scared," Scootaloo said weakly.

"Well you sure look like you are," Theta muttered, smiling at her. "In fact, I'm getting the feeling that you want to chicken out of this.

Scootaloo glared at him and pushed her shovel into the ground with her hooves. She quickly threw a small pile of dirt to the side and put the shovel into the ground again. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sighed, then joined the girls with the dig. The group continued to dig for several minutes, stopping when the sound of Theta's shovel hitting a hard surface came from under them. Nervous, the girls stood back as Theta took the top layer of dirt off of it, revealing it to be a broken, white object.

"What is that?" Apple Bloom yelped, jumping out of the hole,.

"It looks like a bone or something!" Sweetie Belle shrieked, following her friend's lead with Scootaloo.

"I don't think that's what it is," Theta mumbled, wiping some of the caked dirt off of the object.

"What is it then?" Scootaloo asked.

"Hmm," he murmured, pulling the object out of the ground to examine it. "Well, if I had to guess, I'd say it's a rock."

"A rock?" the girls asked, peering into the hole to see that Theta was indeed holding a rock.

"Yeah, a pretty old one too," he laughed.

"It seems like they really are on edge," Sigma noted dryly, smiling with his brother. "Perhaps they should go back to the farm. I'm afraid if we uncover a slightly bigger rock than that one, they may faint."

"Will not!" they countered feebly.

Theta then tossed the rock outside of the hole and the girls yelped with surprise as it hit the ground with a heavy thump.

"Maybe we should take a small break to relax for a bit, hm?" Sigma suggested. "I'm sure once you have some food in your stomach, you'll feel a lot better."

"Good idea," Apple Bloom said quickly.

Within an instant, the girls darted into the HQ. Sigma and Theta shared a curious look with each other then followed suit. When they walked inside, they saw that the girls were sitting in the middle of the room, back-to-back, looking at every possible entry point.

"May I have your bag?" Sigma asked as he walked up to Apple Bloom.

"S-sure, here ya go," she mumbled, pushing the bag towards him.

Without shrugging, Sigma grabbed her bag and began to sort through it, grabbing all the food he could find, as well as a table cloth that was neatly folded near the top. Sigma and Theta quickly set everything up and sat down on the cloth. Knowing the girls were hesitant at the moment, the pair began eating the food that Apple Bloom had brought. After about two minutes, the girls realized that they were overreacting, so they joined the two boys.

"What has gotten you all so worked up?" Sigma asked curiously.

"Just somethin' silly, but it's okay," Apple Bloom said, biting into a sandwich.

"If you insist," he said with a shrug.

The five young ponies spent the next half hour eating their food, and by the end of their meal, the girls had almost completely forgotten about what O'Malley said.

"That was good stuff," Scootaloo sighed happily, getting off the cloth.

"Ready to get back to digging already?" Theta asked as he finished his food.

"Well, yeah. We only dug for a little bit, and the ground isn't going to dig itself," she chuckled.

"Yeah! There's bound t' be somethin' buried underneath here, and we're gonna be the ones who find it," Apple Bloom said, rolling to her hooves.

They soon found their way back to the hole and resumed their digging, minds clear of any worries. They continued digging in different spots around the Cutie Mark Crusaders' Headquarters for several hours, finding nothing but small rocks and dirt.

"That's enough for me for today," Apple Bloom sighed, crawling out of the dirt. "And probably for the rest of my life. Diggin' for fossils and such is hard work."

"Yeah. Who would have thought digging for artifacts and fossils would take so long?" Scootaloo asked.

"Wait a sec, we don't know what fossils look like," Sweetie Belle said hopefully. "Maybe that rock is a fossil!"

"Hey, yeah! It did look pretty old!" Apple Bloom smiled. "That rock could be around a billion years old for all we know."

"Well, maybe not that old."

"Yeah, you're right. It didn't take that long t' find," Apple Bloom sighed. "Could still be a few million though, right?"

"Only one way to find out," Scootaloo chuckled, throwing the rock into her bag. "Let's have one more quick bite to eat, then we'll bring this to Twilight to see if she can find out how old it is."

"Sounds like a plan," Theta said.

The lot of them made their way out of the hole and into the tree-house once again to eat some food. Little did they know, several dozen yards away, a lone stallion wearing tattered cloths stood. He had been watching them the entire time with a sneer plastered on his face, and with a low growl, he began to make his way to the small, wooden building.

Chapter 14 - "Objects from the Past"

"Maybe this is something more than just a rock," Sweetie Belle said as she stared at the rock that sat in the middle of the room.

"It doesn't really look like anything other than a rock," Scootaloo grunted, tapping it with her hoof. "It looks like a rock and it feels like a rock. I’m not sure if I want to taste it, though, but I'd bet it'd taste like a rock."

"Ya gotta be a bit more positive, Scoots," Apple Bloom said, pulling it closer to her. "Maybe it’s an egg from a really old species of animal. Like a lizard, or maybe even a bird."

"Or maybe a dragon," Theta added.

"Don’t be silly, Theta. Dragon eggs are supposed to be bright and colorful," Sweetie Belle chuckled. "Besides, dragons are protective of their eggs. There isn't any way a dragon would lose one of their eggs."

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"We learned it during science class when you were gone," she replied, then chuckled sheepishly. "So I guess it sort of makes sense that you wouldn't know..."

Just then, the door to the headquarters began to creak open, making the five ponies' heads snap towards it. As the door opened fully, the stallion wearing the tattered cloths stood firmly, glaring at them from under the darkness of his hood which obstructed his face.

"Who are y-you?" Scootaloo stuttered nervously as she and the girls backed up to the other end of the room.

"That is none of your concern," the stallion hissed as he began walking inside. Once he was past the door, he slammed it shut and locked it. "What you should be concerned with is what I can do to you if you do not give me what I want."

"What do ya want?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I believe you have something that is mine," the stallion growled. "And if you do not give it back to me, I am afraid I am going to have to do something you will not enjoy."

"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to take your rock!" Sweetie Belle yelped, throwing the rock to the stallions hooves.

"What is this?" he asked dubiously. "That is not what you took from me"

"It's the only thing we have, we promise!"

"Very well," he grunted and began to take slow steps towards the fillies.

"Run! He is going to kill us!" Sweetie Belle squealed as she began banging on the door.

The girls began fumbling to unlock the door, but stopped when they heard a stifled laugh. Turning to look at the stallion, the girls saw that Theta nor Sigma were panicking.

"Oh, the looks on your faces is simply delicious," the stallion chuckled darkly as he tore his hood down, revealing himself to be a familiar, smirking face.

"O'Malley?" Apple Bloom mumbled confusedly, still shaking from the encounter.

"Could anyone else strike terror in the hearts of the young like me?" he asked.

"Why would you do that?"

"I believe I may answer that one," Sigma said, a barely present smile on his face. "While you went into the house to prepare, I asked O'Malley to tell you something unsettling. That being his sort strong suit and favorite pastime, he obliged my request. I asked him to tell you something little, so I should have expected him to go rather overboard with a presumably violent story. Then we-"

"You told him to scare us?" Scootaloo asked, glaring at him. "Why would you do that?"

"I meant no harm. I merely meant to get back at you a bit," he said, raising a humored brow as the girls looked at him with confusion. "Maybe that will teach you to not call my brother a scaredy cat. It really was more of a joke, and I do not know what O'Malley told you. I merely intended to put you on edge the tiniest bit, and for that I apologize."

"Heh, fair enough," she said honestly, standing up with trembling legs. "Good one, guys."

"I didn't have that much to do with it," Theta said quietly, but he too began to smile. "I kinda wish I did, though. That was pretty funny."

"Yeah, well I wasn't even scared," she muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. "A little startled, maybe, but those are two different things."

"Maybe mildly startled," Sweetie Belle piped.

"Mildly startled?" O'Malley snarled, crushing the rock underneath him with his hoof, shattering it completely.

"Okay! You're really, really scary!"

"Thank you," he chortled satisfyingly. "That is why I became a tax collector. They have to be among the most intimidating workers in the legal world, and that is why I enjoy it so much. Nothing brings me more joy than taking it away from others.'

"That's... cool?" Scootaloo coughed, glancing down to the dust underneath him. "See, it was definitely a rock."

"Oh no, I broke a rock," he gasped sarcastically. "There are only billions upon billions of them left for me to smash. I can't imagine how devastated you must feel. Please, tell me how devastated you are."

"Eh, not that much," the pegasus filly shrugged. "Pretty clear that it was just a rock now."

"Besides, who wants their talent to be findin' rocks anywho?" Apple Bloom asked. "Was hard work, tirin' and was pretty borin'."

"And dirty. If Rarity knew my special talent was digging in the dirty ground, she would have a conniption," Sweetie Belle giggled. "I bet she'd make me an outfit perfect for digging, then yell at me for dirtying it."

"And it's pretty uncool," Scootaloo sighed. "Even if we got famous for finding something old, we'd be just that. Famous for finding a rock. If I ever get famous, it needs to be from something radical."

"We should probably get Delta or Simmons to sort them into piles of things we'd actually want to do."

"You really think Delta or Simmons would be able to split our long list of activities and hobbies into things that we think are cool?" Scootaloo snorted playfully. "They'd probably put math in the cool pile and surfing in the boring one."

"So am I done here?" O'Malley asked curiously.

"Yes, I believe we all are," Sigma said, unlocking the door to the clubhouse.

O'Malley, Sigma and the girls started to file out of the area. Scootaloo paused by the door and looked back at Theta who was throwing the rest of the tools in his bag.

"You coming?" Scootaloo asked.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll pack up the stuff and catch up with you in a sec," he said, beginning to pack all the tools in his bag.

"Alright," she said, walking out the door.

Theta finished packing within a few minutes and slipped the bag onto his back to head out. As he walked past the debris, something caught his eye and made him pause. Inside the dust was a small, flattened, purple flower encased in a thin amber shell. Looking out the door, he opened his mouth to call the others back, then stopped. With a shrug, he carefully grabbed it with his magic and slipped it into the bag, making sure it was in a secure part where it would not be damaged. He then slipped the bag on and ran after his friends.

Chapter 15 - "Changing Perspectives"

"So what do you want to do now?" Theta asked as he and the others sat in the grass in front of the farmhouse, watching the sun set. "Want to go play some games?"

"I don't know, it's getting pretty late," Sweetie Belle said quietly as she laid on her back. "I should go back home. I'm kinda hungry and I should probably check in with Rarity."

"Yeah, I should probably go too," Scootaloo said, standing up with her friend. "See you guys tomorrow in school."

"Yup," Theta muttered as they reached the door.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," she chuckled, heading down the path towards the gate. Pausing, she glanced back and gave them both a smile. "I know I said it before, but I'm glad you guys are back. It wasn't the same without you two."

"We're glad to be back as well," he said.

"Ah think we all are," Apple Bloom said as she waved at her two friends. Her stomach then growled and she looked to Sigma and Theta. "Are you two hungry at all?"

"A little bit, yeah," Theta said, getting on his hooves.

"Great, Ah am too," she chuckled. "Come on, let's go get Granny Smith t' make us somethin' t' eat."

"Sounds great," he laughed, following her to the farmhouse. Once he got to the door, he realized that Sigma was looking towards the gate. "Are you coming, Sigma?"

"No, I believe I am going to go for a walk to clear my head," Sigma sighed, starting to walk away.

"Want me to come with you?" Theta asked, beginning to join him.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "For once in my life, I believe I need to be alone. I just need to think."

"Oh," Theta said, not expecting that response. He was used to the idea of Sigma always wanting to be by his side. "Okay, I guess. When do you think you'll be back?"

"I'm not sure, brother."

Sigma sighed as he began walking down the path. The entire time he walked, he thought back on his life. All the things he saw. The things he heard. The things he caused to happen. All for the sole purpose of reaching metastability, effectively recreating the Alpha. He had no regrets about what he did, but something felt missing that was there before. Shaking his head clear, he thought about the fragments themselves and what they became. He had grown closer to his childlike brother in the time he was here. He enjoyed seeing his sibling come out and become friends with others, breaking past the barriers that he used to have so much trouble with. Though he only did so a few steps at a time, his brother had begun to evolve past his weaknesses.

When Sigma snapped out of his train of thought, he realized that he had already reached Ponyville. He noticed a pair of colts running through the streets, laughing, having fun, living life to it's fullest. A stallion in one of the nearby houses opened the door and called out to them, and in an instant they trotted towards him, still laughing. Something about the sight of it cleared his mind completely. Shaking his head, he decided he would begin walking towards the library, hoping that by being near the fragment on memory he would find out what was wrong with him. Once he arrived there, he sat against the wall and looked up at the sky. It was dark, barren of any stars, the only thing lighting the sky was the big, imposing moon. Nearly an hour later, the sound of the door to the library opening came to Sigma's ears, but he remained still.

"Sigma? What are you doing out here?" Twilight asked, walking towards the fragment. "And where's Theta?"

"At the farm," he mumbled, not looking at her. "I decided it would do me good to get some fresh air. Maybe it will help clear my head so I may think of my place in this world."

"What do you mean?" she inquired innocently.

"Do not pretend to be concerned about me, Twilight," he growled quietly. "I know you do not trust me, and I know why you do not trust me."

"That's not-" she began, but stopped when his eyes shifted to her. Twilight looked into his eyes and noticed what was off about them. They weren't looking devious like they used to be. Now they were misty and hazed over. "I may not trust you, but that doesn't mean I can't try to help. Please. What's wrong?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "Before we came here, I knew what I wanted, and now I don't."

"You wanted to become the Alpha," she said knowingly.

"That wasn't the whole of it," he said, smirking at his wording. Shifting his eyes to look at her, he exhaled deeply. "Do you know why I wanted to become the Alpha?"

"For power," she replied. "That's why you used the Meta. You were gathering the fragments because-"

"Power? No, not power," he interrupted. "Power is something anyone can achieve through force and cunning. You know what I did to the Meta. That itself proves that I have power without being the Alpha."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I did it to earn forgiveness."

"Forgiveness? Who were you trying to earn it from?"

"Myself," he said simply. "You know how the others and I were created, correct? Gary, O'Malley and myself tortured the Alpha, forcing him apart mentally.And I hurt people, Twilight. Not just myself, but others as well. I knew it was wrong, but I didn't care. I just wanted to undo a mistake I had made earlier, but in turn I simply made everything worse. I do not expect forgiveness for what I did to the Freelancers. Killing is an unforgivable act."

Twilight remained silent, not sure what to say. The things he did in the past were obviously reprehensible, but all he wanted was to redeem himself. She saw that he realized he was wrong and only wanted to make up for what he did. He wanted to go back and fix what he broke.

"And now that I achieved my goal only for it to be torn away from me soon after, I thought that maybe I was wrong," he continued when she did not say anything. "Maybe the Alpha wasn't the answer to my problem. My brothers and I are all different, and while we all are governed by main traits, I realized something. We are much more than a simple trait given to us. We evolved and became our own people. In a way, I suppose we achieved some small level of metastability without becoming whole."

"Then what's wrong?" she asked, then looked to the ground. "Do you feel bad for hurting innocents?"

"No, the Freelancers were far from innocent. It's just I don't know what's left for me anymore," Sigma said vacantly, staring into the starless night sky, feeling as empty as it was. "I knew what I wanted in the past, but now I have no direction. Stripped of pride, achievements and goals, what remains for one to hold on to?"

"Hope," Twilight replied with a soft, unwavering smile.

Sigma watched Twilight out of the corner of his eye as she got off the ground and made her way back to the house, leaving him with his thoughts.

"Hope," he said quietly to himself. Slowly turning back to the previously black canvas above him, he saw a bright, albeit small star in the sky. He still wasn't sure what his purpose is, but he realized that not everything was lost. With a smile, he got up and began walking back to the farm, wanting to be by his brother's side.

Chapter 16 - "Wake Up Call"

"Come on, little guys," Fluttershy said to the small gathering of small critters in her kitchen. "It's ten to eight, so that means it's time for you all to get ready to go to bed."

Fluttershy smiled as the animals obeyed her wished and filed out of the room, a few of them with little bits of food in their paws and mouths. As Fluttershy went to go open the door to the animals' sleeping room, a knock came from the front door. Not expecting company, Fluttershy slowly and nervously made her way to the door. As soon as she pulled the door open a crack, she recognized who it was.

"Hey, Fluttershy," Simmons said, eyes darting around nervously.

"Hello, Simmons," she said quietly, watching him concernedly. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine," he said, voice cracking slightly, telling Fluttershy that he was indeed not fine. "I know it's redundant question because it's Grif, but is he around anywhere?"

"Yes, he is. He's out back having a nap," she said. "You can leave a message with me and I'll tell him about it when he wakes up."

"It's kind of urgent," he said, shaking his head. "Kind of really urgent."

"What is it?"

"Can you please just go get Grif?" he sighed irately.

"Er, alright. I'll go get him for you," she said, moving to the side to let him in. "You should sit on the couch. You look like you're about to be sick."

"Thank you, that would be great," he said thankfully, shutting the door behind him before walking towards the couch on the other side of the room.

Fluttershy bowed her head and walked towards the kitchen and went through the back door. She saw Grif sleeping on his regular hammock, Haley sleeping next to one of the trees it was attached to. Walking over to it, Haley's ears perked up and she raised her head. Her tail began to wag as Fluttershy approached her and patted on her head a few times, easing her back to sleep. With a smile, she turned to the sleeping pegasus and lightly prodded his side, intending to slowly wake him, knowing he hated being rudely awoken.

"Stop it, Sis," Grif snorted in his slumber.

Fluttershy paused at the name he called out. She knew Sis was, as the nickname implies, his sister, but she didn't know much about her. Grif rarely chose to speak about himself, especially his sister, but he knew that he loved her, as she saw a month ago when he saved Tex, thinking she was his sister. Because of this, she wanted to let him sleep to let him think about his sister. She also knew that Simmons really wanted to talk to him and he would not leave until he did so, and Grif would just go straight back to sleep anyways.

"I don't want to go to school, so just tell mom that I'm sick," he mumbled, still asleep.

"Grif, wake up" she said again, shaking him again, this time a bit harder.

"Bwuh?" Grif snorted, eyes slowly opening. Noticing who it was, he sat straight up in the hammock and stretched his back, yawning loudly. "This better be important. You know that I'm running a strict sleeping schedule."

"I'm sorry, Grif. It's just that Simmons is here to see you. He seems really antsy for some reason, but he wouldn't tell me why."

"Mhm," he mumbled, falling back onto the hammock. "Tell you what. How about I go back to sleep, and you tell him that I told you to tell me what he wants to tell me, that way you can tell me later when I actually wake up."

"I think it's really important and he seemed intent on telling you personally. Why else would he be so nervous?"

"Because Simmons and nervous go together as well as Grif and sleep."

"Grif..." she said quietly, staring at him seriously.

"Fine, if it means I can catch some more Zs, then I'll talk to him. Just... mind if you go and bring him here? I don't like getting up when I just plan on going straight back to sleep anyways..."

"Okay," she said with a smile.

Quickly making her way back to her cottage, she entered to see Simmons pacing about the room, muttering something to himself.

"Simmons?" she asked.

"Hey. Where's Grif?" he asked, snapping his head towards her.

"He's awake, but you have to go talk to him out back," she replied. "Is it a private matter, or do you want me to come too?"

"You should come. You'll need to hear this," Simmons said, as trotted past her and out the door.

Fluttershy then followed him to Grif, who was staring up at the night sky, struggling to stay awake.

"Grif, I'm going to need you to pay attention to what I'm about to say, because-"

"Hey to you too, Simmons," Grif muttered sleepily as he glanced up to the moon, judging the time by it's position. "Okay, you've got about three minutes. What's so important that you couldn't have waited until I'm eating to tell me?"

"It's about Church," Simmons replied simply. "He's back."

"What?" Fluttershy asked, eyes widening at what she heard. "But... the Elements of Harmony trapped him. How did he get out?"

"I don't know, but Sweetie Belle came back home about an hour ago and told us that she went to the library with her friends. Except she saw Church there," Simmons said, looking around the area. "And she also told us that Theta and Sigma were with them, too. And that means he got freed somehow and split back up."

"That's great news," Fluttershy said with a soft smile. "The others must be so happy to see them back."

"Yeah, and I am too to a small degree, but doesn't something about the fact that he's not stone anymore make you scared?"

"Not really. Why would-" she started, then gasped and took a shocked step back. "If Church isn't in the statue anymore, doesn't that mean that-"

"Yes. Not only are the other fragments back, but that also means Discord has to be somewhere too, so we're going to have to be on our toes again."

"Simmons, if I had the ability to care anymore, I doubt I'd care that much even then," Grif said, turning away from him. "If he really is back, he'll stay away from us. And if for some reason he does decide to mess with us specifically, we have nothing to worry about because the Elements of Harmony could just kick his ass again."

"But-"

"Sorry, Simmons. Your three minutes are up," Grif sighed, twisting in his spot until he was more comfortable.

"That didn't feel like three minutes," Simmons complained. "Come on, we have to get the others and make a plan for if Discord returns!"

"But I want to go back to sleep," he whined. "Besides, if there's one thing I know, it's that Church probably doesn't give a shit either, Sarge or Tucker wouldn't care all that much, and I know I don't. And I doubt Caboose would even understand what you're even talking about."

"And what if he returns and makes it so you can never eat or sleep again?"

"Ugh, fine," he growled reluctantly, rolling off the hammock and onto his hooves. "I'll just have to put in some more sleeping hours tomorrow."

"Your life is such a delicate balance," Simmons said sarcastically.

"Thank you for noticing, Simmons," Grif said sincerely.

Chapter 17 - "Wha-Ambulance"

"So where's Rarity?" Grif asked curiously as he, Simmons and Fluttershy made their way down a path, nearing Rainbow Dash's home. "Does she just not care about this, or what?"

"She went to go confirm with Applejack that the fragments are back," Simmons said, focusing on the cloudy house in the distance. "She said she'll meet us at the library with her and Sarge."

"Great," he muttered. "We're still not even a hundred percent sure they're back. I'll be pretty pissed if it turns out getting up was all for nothing."

"Well, it's not for nothing," Fluttershy said quietly. "I'm sure Church will be happy to see you all again. It's good to all come and say hello to him, and I'm sure he'll thank us for it."

"Uh, Fluttershy? Church doesn't get happy, he gets neutral, so I doubt he'll thank us for bothering him," Grif said. "And besides, fifty bits says that Pinkie already offered to throw him a party, and since we don't know about the party yet, something tells me that he turned her down. That means that he doesn't want to be bothered by us, so we should just go back."

"That's pretty likely," Simmons said.

"If he doesn't want to talk to us, he'll say so. The worst thing that could happen is that we've just taken a nice walk. It's still a nice gesture to welcome him back, and I'm sure he'll appreciate our concern," she said with a smile.

"But he knows I don't give a damn. We have a mutual understanding. He doesn't bother me when I'm asleep, I don't bother him when I'm awake. It's a pretty good thing we have going. And he'll know I just got dragged here by you guys," Grif mumbled, kicking a small clump of dirt.

"Please, Grif," Fluttershy said softly. "I know you don't think it means a lot, but even the smallest gestures have the biggest impacts."

"By that logic, me not showing up would be a pretty big gesture, so it wouldn't impact him that much," he chuckled, then sighed when Fluttershy frowned. "If it's so important to you, fine, dammit."

"Thank you," she sighed.

Within a few more minutes, the three of them came to a stop underneath the pegasi's suspended home. Grif let out a heavy sigh and flapped his wings, flying straight to the cloud. He slammed his hoof on the door a few times, wanting to make sure that they had heard them. Within a few seconds, the door swung open and a smirking Rainbow Dash stared ahead.

"Sup, Grif?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Not too much," Grif said, squinting at her. "I'm, uh, not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Heh, he wishes. We were just talking about going out soon," she said with a cool smile as she leaned against the open door. "So Simmons woke you up, huh?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Because you're generally sleeping by this time," she chuckled, glancing down. "That and I can see him with Fluttershy. Must have been something pretty important to get you out of bed. Wait, let me guess. He challenged you to an eating contest and you need us to judge, right?"

"Pft, as if he would dare take me on," he snorted. "No, it's just, well, he says that Church isn't in stone anymore."

"Wait, really?" Rainbow Dash asked, doing a double-take. "How..."

"We're not sure, but he figured we'd tell you about it. If Church really is free, that means Discord is too. I don't really care either way if either of them were back, but Simmons convinced me that Discord could really mess with my schedule if he wanted to."

"Who's at the door?" came Tucker's voice from deeper inside the floating house.

"It's Grif," she replied, glancing inside.

"Grif? What, did he sleep fly here?"

"Give me a sec, I'll go tell Tuck and we'll be out in a sec," she said to Grif, then disappeared into the house.

Grif shrugged and rolled off the cloud and began falling towards the ground, only to open up his wings at the last second so he could land on his hooves. Just a few seconds later, Rainbow Dash and Tucker emerged from the flying home and landed next to the others.

"So what's this about Church being back?" Tucker asked with a non-caring yawn. "Did he get tired of being shat on by birds?"

"Apparently," Grif sighed.

"I gotta say, I'm really surprised to see you up," the blue stallion chuckled. "Really want to protect your right to sleep, huh?"

"You got it."

"Come on, let's hurry up!" Simmons said loudly, trotting in place. "We need to get there quick. I don't want to waste any time out here when Discord could be anywhere."

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties that you probably knitted into a knot," Grif snorted, trudging towards Ponyville.

The group of five set a reasonable pace to the library in Ponyville, and within a few minutes of relative silence, mostly due to Simmons neurotic hushing, they arrived at their destination. In a hurry, Simmons trotted up the the door and knocked on it a new times. Twilight opened the door a few seconds later.

"Hey, uh, Twilight," Simmons grunted, trying to greet her as normally as he could muster.

"Good evening, Simmons. What are you guys doing here?" Twilight asked, surprised by their sudden appearance. Looking back inside, she saw Church sitting at the table, so she pulled the door tighter, not letting them see him.

"We heard that Church is back from the non-dead. Any truth to that?" Tucker asked, trying to peer through the door.

"Yeah, there is," Church said from inside, noticing how Twilight was trying to let him have a moment's rest. "Let them in, Twilight. I'm worried that if you make them leave that they'll come back in greater numbers."

Twilight nodded and walked to the side, letting the five of them walk into the library. Simmons entered first, followed by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, then by Tucker and Grif. Church remained seated at the table, watching them with suspecting eyes. He knew that they were there for a reason, but he didn't really care what that reason was. He just wanted to deal with them so they would leave. The others in the room saw that he was tired, but said nothing for a minute.

"Hello, Church," Fluttershy finally said in her usual shy way, breaking the silence. "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise," Church said, watching as the others walked towards him, not asking any specific questions relating to how he got free. "You guys seem to be taking the fact that I got out pretty well."

"Hey, we've seen a lot of more surprising shit than this," Tucker said with a shrug. "You were bound to get out eventually. Just wish it had been a little longer. I was enjoying not hearing you bitch about everything at every opportunity."

"You really know how to make a guy feel wanted," he grumbled. "What are you guys doing here? Are you worried about the fragments again?"

"Not really. Applejack can watch them just fine with the others," Rainbow Dash said. "We're here about Discord."

"What about him?" Church asked flatly, neck stiffening at the name.

"Since you don't know where he is, we figured we'd make plans for if we ever see him again," Simmons said. "You know, so we don't have to scramble about doing god knows what trying to prevent any damage he'd do. He seems like the sort of guy who would enjoy taking revenge on us when we least expect it. We just have to wait for Sarge, and then we-"

"I don't think now's the time to talk about this," Twilight interjected stiffly. "Church has been here for less than a day, and the entire month he was being tortured mentally, and then he got split apart again when he got out. I'm sure this could wait a bit."

"No, it's probably better if we do it now," Church countered, surprising her. "As long as we're just talking about making plans for if he shows up, then I'm good. But we're not making any plans to go looking for him, deal?"

"Deal," Grif said instantly, hopping onto one of the chairs. "Think you can get me something to eat while we wait? I'm starving."

Chapter 18 - "Planning Phase"

While the group was waiting for Rarity to drop by with Applejack and Sarge, Twilight went into the kitchen with the girls to make some food and some tea. Meanwhile, the guys sat about waiting in silence, bar Simmons who insisted on pacing around the room, wearing down the wooden floor.

"You seem pretty nervous," Tucker noted dryly.

"How can you guys not be?" Simmons asked, not turning to look at him, choosing to continue staring at the floor and walking in circles. "We can never go to sleep again knowing that Discord could be at our throats."

"Cough," Grif grunted, not actually coughing.

"Besides you," he grumbled, rolling his eyes. He looked to Church appealingly. "Come on, Church. Usually you're worrying about the worst case scenario too."

"Hey, yeah. Simmons has a point," Tucker remarked hesitantly.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about," Church muttered quietly, looking to the kitchen. "I'm feeling fine."

"That's our point," the blue pegasus said, more worried about Church's attitude than the threat of Discord coming back. "You seem... I don't know... normal. Which in your case is sorta fucked up."

"It's because I was turned into stone. It's not like I was asleep, so I was basically awake for an entire month, running from an inescapable enemy that loved nothing more than to pick away at my sanity. I'm just tired and a bit confused, that's all."

"Yeah, being stoned usually has that effect," Grif snorted.

"What are you guys talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked as she came back into the room with the other girls.

"Nothing special," Church answered before the others could.

"Where's the food?" Grif asked.

"Right here," Spike muttered as he came into the room holding two trays.

As soon as Spike put the trays down on the table, a knock came from the door. Knowing who it was, Twilight used her magic to open the door from the other side of the room, allowing the trio of ponies to enter.

"Howdy, everypony," Applejack greeted with a smile as she trotted inside.

"You didn't start without us, did you?" Rarity asked pleasantly, strutting in after the farm pony.

"Of course not. We can't come up with a plan without the master of retarded ideas," Grif muttered as the one he was talking about entered. "Hey, Sarge."

"Girls. Spike. Simmons. Blues." Sarge nodded at them, then looked to Grif. "Dirtbag."

"A pleasure as always, sir," Grif said sarcastically, giving him a lazy salute before taking a bite out of the sandwich. Glancing over to Twilight, he let out a loud yawn and stretched his forelegs. "So can we get started on this Discord stuff? This is taking longer than I thought it would."

"Hold onto your hors- er, yourself, Grif," the red stallion muttered. "I want to know why you're back."

"To keep a long story short, Celestia and Luna freed me to talk to Discord. He wasn't there when I came out, so she split me apart to find him, thinking he was in my mind, but he wasn't there either," Church murmured. This made Tex scowl and shake her head, knowing he wasn't telling them everything, but she remained quiet. "Anyways, let's just get started so you guys can leave sooner."

"Right," Applejack said with a small nod. "First, what should we tell th' town? They didn't know that Church trapped himself with Discord in his noggin, so they won't suspect anythin' is wrong when they see Church."

"I think that's obvious. We should tell the town that Discord got free," Sarge stated simply.

"It's not as easy as that. What end would telling them that be useful?" Twilight retorted. "All that would do would just cause undue panic. The ponies here have already had him torment them twice in their lifetime. Promise of a third would just make them panic."

"They're going to find out eventually," Sarge grunted, waving off her concerns with no thought.

"It doesn't matter. Telling the town that he's free would make everypony go crazy anyways," Church muttered. "Celestia sent word out to whatever other empires there are, so they'll hear about it eventually. But by that time it will probably have been a few months rather than just a few days, so they won't worry as much since they'd think he'd strike sooner rather than later."

"But isn't that reckless?" Simmons asked. "The town should be told. Not telling them wouldn't do any good if he's just going to come back soon. They at least deserve the right to know that way they can prepare themselves. Why are you willing to gamble that he's not going to show up?"

"Because I know for a fact that he's not going to come any time soon," Church said snappishly.

"Bow-chicka-bow-wow," Tucker murmured, earning him a glare from Church.

"How do you know that?" Rarity asked curiously.

"I just know, alright?" he grumbled. "He got his ass kicked twice here. He's probably going to go off and find some easier targets that don't have the power to trap him."

"He seems like the kind of guy that would hold a grudge," Tucker said. "I mean, he didn't run off when he came back the second time."

"Because he thought he could manipulate us, but now that he thinks we know better, he won't try again," Church assured them.

"Even so, we still need a plan," Sarge piped up. "And you guys cut me off before you heard the best part of the plan!"

"Here we go," Grif muttered. "This oughta be good."

"Alright, Sarge. What's your plan?" she inquired with a sigh.

"Once we gather everyone in town and tell them about Discord, we'll draft them into our own little militia. That way when Discord comes, we can band together and take him out with overwhelming numbers. Sure, some of us could die, but it would be for the greater good. In the end, our ancestors would thank us for our brave sacrifice."

"No," Twilight said simply.

"Fine, if you're worried about getting hurt, we'll draft all the stallions in town. I'm sure they'd love the idea of protecting their homes. That way they come back as war heroes and get respected. And this is good because the mares probably can't fight, so all they'd do is just get in the way anyways."

"Hey, I could kick your ass any day," Tex hissed. "I think you know that I'm probably the best fighter out of all of us, even with me being built to fail at everything I do."

"Besides, sir. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but most of the town is compromised of females," Simmons added. "The ratio is pretty low, so your group would be too small to pose any real threat to a Discord. The best they could be is a distraction."

"Drat. Both valid points," Sarge mused thoughtfully, smiling a few seconds later. "New plan. We grab the children of the town that are above the age of six and train them to be super soldiers. Discord will never expect it!"

"I don't think the town would go for that one either," Fluttershy said softly.

"Double drat!"

Chapter 20 - "Neutrality Reports"

"She wants us to what?" Church asked horrifically, almost jumping out of his chair when Twilight told him what was just asked of him and the others.

"You heard me, Church," the librarian sighed. "She wants you to write to her and her sister about what you've learned about friendship. It's really not that difficult."

"It's not that difficult?" Grif inquired, glancing over to Sarge. "I'm pretty sure she's seen how we act when we're around each other. I think that shows that we're not really what you would call friends."

"What are you talking about?" Caboose smiled brightly, hugging Church. "Church and I are the bestest of friends!"

"Yeah, but you have to write to her about what you've learned," Church muttered.

"Oh," Caboose said quietly, losing his grin, only to get it back in a matter of milliseconds. "Then I will draw pictures of us for her! I will start right now!"

"At least he's keeping an open mind about it," Rarity noted as Caboose sat at the table and began drawing on the other side of the letter the Princess had sent back.

"An open what?" he asked, glancing up.

"See?" Church asked. "The only one of us who would bother doing it can't even do it right. Simmons can read, write and learn, but when it comes to friendship he doesn't have much experience, because, pardon my French, we're a bunch of cynical assholes."

Tex glanced around the room until her eyes rested on Grif.

"What's up?" Grif grunted passively.

Squinting, Tex took a seat next to Caboose and grabbed the quill that sat on the table. Pulling a sheet off of the small stack in the center, she began writing down on the piece of paper.

"What are you doing?" Simmons asked.

"What the hell does it look like I'm doing?" she grunted without looking up, starting on another line. "I'm writing to the Princesses about what I've learned about friendship."

"You're writing to the Princess?" Tucker snorted. "Even Church has Caboose as a friend. But you? You have... who, exactly?"

"Hey, leave her alone and let her do it," Grif said, making the room fall silent. Looking around, Grif noticed all eyes but Tex's were on him. "What?"

"Grif, the master of not doing anything, who constantly got the shit kicked out of him by Tex, is siding with her?" Sarge asked with a gruff laugh.

"She might not be my best friend, but she's trying to become better. That's more than most of us can say. Besides, since that means she won't be kicking the shit out of me anymore, I think it's pretty acceptable that I'm on her side on this one," he added.

"Thanks, Grif," Tex said with a small, appreciative smile. "Does that mean you're going to be writing one too?"

"Hell no. You have my support on this and everything, but doing things isn't my forte," he chuckled.

"I think it would be good for you to try," Fluttershy said, smiling thinly at him.

"I think it would be good for all of them to try," Twilight added. "I'm sure all of them have learned at least one thing so far. And it doesn't say that you have to write down what you've learned about being friends with each other. You've become friends with us, so I'm sure you could think about some things to write."

"That's true," Simmons said with a nod. "I think I can probably write some reports. I've learned quite a bit so far, so this shouldn't be that difficult."

"I doubt she's expecting us to start right now," Church grunted, mostly directed to Tex. "And these aren't mandatory either, right?"

"I suppose not," Twilight said hesitantly. "But Simmons and Tex are up for it, and it's also a nice thing to do. It's nice to get your thoughts written down about friendship."

"Fine, how does this sound," Church said as he cleared his throat. "Spike, take a letter."

"Uh..." Spike muttered. Glancing at Twilight, she gave him a small nod, so he grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill. "Okay, go ahead."

"Dear Princess Celestia," he said loudly. "You've had some pretty terrible fucking ideas, but this one is definitely the stupidest. Yours truly, Church. You catch all that, Spike?"

"I think I got it," he said as he signed the bottom.

"Great. Send it now."

"Spike, I hope you aren't really thinking about-" Twilight began, but the paper was already a lit with green flames. "-Sending it. Great, I'm sure Princess Celestia will enjoy reading that."

"Oh, oh, I think I have one!" Tucker piped.

"Don't you dare, Spike," Twilight said sternly as he dipped the quill in ink.

"Probably a good move," Rainbow Dash chuckled as Tucker pouted slightly.

"If you guys aren't going to take this seriously, then don't write at all. She's not going to force you to write anything if you really haven't learned anything."

"Good, then you can count me out," Sarge said with a violent shudder as he walked towards the door. "There's no way in hell you'll catch me writing about some mushy notes about... ugh... friends to the Princess. It's so emasculating. The only thing I want to write is the eulogy for Grif's funeral."

"Ah'm sure it's enough that ya have friends t' share moments with," Applejack said, making Sarge stop halfway out the door. "Writin' ain't the important part, it's the learnin'."

"Thank you, AJ."

"Besides, if ya think ya can't do it..." Applejack trailed off innocently.

"Sorry, AJ. I'm not biting onto that one. I can do it, I just won't," Sarge said with a smirk, starting towards the farm one again.

"Maybe I will write a report or two," Grif chortled impishly, making the red stallion freeze in place once again. "That way I can say I learned more and did more than Sarge ever did."

"Hey, I can out friendship the shit out of you any day of the week, meatsack," Sarge growled, turning to look at him.

"I'm sure you'll give up on that when you realize that nobody likes you," Grif said. Fluttershy opened her mouth to ask him to apologize, but Grif shot her a calm, silencing glance. Focusing back on Sarge, he smirked playfully. "As a matter of fact fact, I think all of us have a better chance at this than you."

"You think so, huh? Well, as a matter of fact, I'm going to send her so many reports that she an fill a library with them just to prove how much better I am at being a friend than you. I'm going to rub it in your smug little face when the Princesses see that I'm way nicer and more mature than you!" he snapped, now leaving the library. "In fact, I'm going to start writing about how friendly I am right now!"

"Smoother than a rattlesnake's stomach, Grif," Applejack chuckled. "Ah keep forgettin' that Ah can always ask ya t' come on over whenever Ah'm having problems with Sarge."

"It's easy when you know how," he said with a wink.

Chapter 21 - "For Your Inconsideration"

"Guess that's means it's time for me t' leave too," Applejack chuckled, starting out the door. "Ah'll catch y'all later. Should probably stop Sarge before he tears down th' farm so he can rebuild it just t' prove a point."

"I suppose we should be going too," Rarity said, stepping towards the door with her head held high. "Come, Simmons. Inspiration has struck me and I simply must write it down before I forget it."

"Coming," he said as he trotted to her side.

"I know you tire of this, but it is good to have you back, Church," she said as she stopped by the door. "I do hope you can find something to write to the Princess that doesn't involve using vulgarities like Texas is doing."

"I like my way better. But thanks, it was good to see you girls again," he said, nodding politely at her.

"Bye, Rarity," Spike spoke up as her and Simmons walked out.

"Goodbye, Spikey-Wikey," she said with a sweet smile, closing the door behind her.

"Are you guys going to go too?" Church asked, to the remaining three pairs of ponies.

"We don't have anywhere to be," Rainbow Dash said with a shrug. "Do you guys want to go to town and do something?"

"Dash, we talked about this a while back," Tucker sighed, shaking his head at her. "These guys don't do things. They're used to standing around canyons all day."

"Or sleeping in the shade of a tree in a canyon," Grif added.

"Yeah, or that."

"You did it just as long as they, did but you like doing things," Rainbow Dash said, raising a playful brow.

"Yeah, but there's lots of things I love doing that are even longer than that," he said coolly. "Besides, Simmons is lame, Sarge is insane, Church is an asshole, Grif is lazy, and Caboose is oblivious to anything that isn't simple."

"All of those things are true," Church admitted.

"But lucky for you, I'm me, and I'm great."

"That's debatable," she snorted, then turned to the others. "How about it, you guys want to stuff?"

"I'd love to, but I need to catch up with Daring," Ol'Necky sighed sadly. "I need to make sure she isn't mad at me for just leaving her like that."

"Wasn't really talking to you, but alrighty then," Rainbow Dash said quietly as she made eye contact with her oldest friend. "You want to do something?"

"Maybe," Fluttershy said meekly, looking towards Grif. "Do you?"

"I don't know, you heard the man-stallion. You know I'm lazy. Not only that, but I'm pretty eager to get back to sleep," Grif yawned.

"Okay, I understand," she sighed quietly, hanging her head.

"Well... I guess we haven't actually hung out in a while, and I guess I am already awake..." he grunted. With a shrug, he stepped between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "What the hell. As long as it involves eating, I think it can balance back out."

"Alright, Fluttershy and Grif are on board," Rainbow Dash said happily, turning to her usually party-hungry friend. "Pinkie? Do you and Caboose want to come too?"

"Not this time, Dashie," Pinkie said, to her surprise. "I promised the Cakes that I would with the twins tonight, so I'm a little busy."

"Uh, Pinkie?" Church began.

"Shh, it will be better for her if she figures it out," Twilight sighed, quieting him.

"Figure out what?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head. her eyes shot open and she shot towards the door, holding onto Caboose. "Ohmygoshthetwins!"

"Okay then, that's a no for those two," Rainbow Dash said, looking at Church.

"Nah, I don't want to cramp your style," Church said. "I'll stay here and watch Tex write her letter. See if I can copy what she wrote."

"Good idea, mind making me a copy?" Grif asked brightly.

"This isn't high school, you know..." Tex growled, blocking their view of her writing with her other foreleg.

"Twilight?" Rainbow Dash said.

"I'm good, I need to make sure they don't make Spike send any more letters they may regret," Twilight muttered. Spike then belched out a letter, making Twilight groan as she lifted it to her eyes with her magi. "Speaking of..."

"Hang on, that should probably be for me, right? It's pretty rude to open up another person's mail," Church coughed.

"I suppose," Twilight agreed as Church grabbed it from her.

"Let's see what Princess Sun Ass has to s-" Church began as he unraveled the scroll, only to stop as a stream of water shot into his face. Sputtering, Church glared at the letter and tossed it to the ground as Tex and the others laughed at him. "Spike. Take a-"

"Church, don't," Twilight warned him. "You're lucky she replied with that. She knows how stressed you are, so she decided to take your letter lightly. I don't want you to test her patience."

"Fine," he muttered, wiping his face with a sheet of paper he took from the table. "Do you think she wants the other fragments to write to her as well?"

"I'm not sure, why?"

"Because I'd be happy to tell O'Malley to write to her about the things he's learned," he growled spitefully. "Hell, maybe even Gary calling her a stupid shisno would make me feel a little better."

"Glad to see you're back to normal, buddy," Tucker said sarcastically, giving Church a quick pat on the back before heading towards the door with the other pegasi. "Guess we'll leave you to being the sorry sack of shit you are."

"Have fun for me," Church said, giving them a small wave.

"That's a silly notion," Ol'Necky said seriously. "All the fun in the world wouldn't make you smile."

"Paperboy has a point," Tucker laughed.

"That he does," Church admitted yet again. "I was really just saying that because I wanted you to leave."

"Right back at you," he said, walking out the door with the others. Once the four of them were outside, they stopped and looked to each other. "What do you guys want to do?"

"I already told you, as long as it involves food of any kind, I'm good," Grif said, looking to the stars in the sky.

"Yeah, but we don't like eating as much as you do," Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. ''We want to do something fun, not go to a restaurant."

"Hey, it doesn't have to be a restaurant. I'm sure there's somewhere that we can go that has food and is fun."

"How about the Mile?" Tucker suggested. "Haven't been there in a while, and I'm pretty sure that place has food."

"The Mile? But that's all the way at Cloudsdale," Fluttershy said quietly, taking a step back.

"Yeah, and?" he asked curiously.

"Fluttershy doesn't really like going to Cloudsdale," Rainbow Dash said before her shy friend could. "And the Mile isn't really her kind of place, either. She doesn't like places that have loud music and dozens of drinking ponies moving around everywhere."

"Then she doesn't know how to have fun," Tucker said.

"I know how to have fun," Fluttershy protested lightly, furrowing her brows ever-so slightly. "We can go to the Mile."

"Are you sure?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I'm sure that we can think of some other-"

"No, I'm okay. It sounds like... fun," she said, forcing a smile. "Besides, they're doing their best to do things we like, so it's only fair that I do the same for them."

"That's the spirit," Tucker said, giving her a light punch on her left wing. "And hey, since if you don't drink, you can be our designated flier!"

Chapter 22 - "Once More Into the Fray"

"So what's this place like?" Grif asked as he soared through the skies with the others.

"It's a lot like a club back from where we're from," Tucker replied. "It's just filled with ponies, not college girls that make stupid duck faces with their friends."

"I wouldn't know. I usually sit in a booth, stuffing my face with heaps of bar food," Grif chuckled.

"At least you're playing it safe that way," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. "Big shot over there drinks like it's going out of style."

"Hey, whatever I'm doing, it's always in style," Tucker corrected her. "Besides, I knew what I was doing the entire time."

"Sure you did," she laughed, then looked back to see Fluttershy trailing behind. "You okay over there?"

"Yes, I am," Fluttershy answered with an extremely weak nod. "Just a little nervous, that's all."

The four pegasi soon reached the Mile, only to find themselves at the back of a rather large line. Knowing it was best not to try to cut ahead, they stopped at the back of the line. As they waited, Fluttershy looked around nervously. She had not even been in the club yet, but she already felt out of place. Seeing this, Rainbow Dash stepped closer to her and offered a friendly smile. She returned the smile with one of her own, trying to appear comfortable. After several more minutes, the line shortened and they found themselves at the front of it. The bouncer gave a swift nod to Rainbow Dash, having recognized her. Smiling coolly, Tucker began walking inside with her, only to be stopped by the bouncer holding his wing out, blocking the way.

"You look familiar," the bouncer grunted, eyeing Tucker. "Didn't we throw you out of here one time for some reason?"

"Nah, that must have been some other guy," Tucker said.

"Alright, go on in," he grunted. His eyes then came to Fluttershy, studying her quietly.

"Let her in, Bouncer. She's with us," Rainbow Dash sighed.

With a shrug, Bouncer stepped to the side, letting Fluttershy and Grif through.

"A bouncer named Bouncer? That sounds fucking-" Grif began with a snort, but it aught in his throat at the sight of the large pegasus that began giving him the evil eye. "-Cool. That sounds pretty cool and it totally fits you."

"That's what I thought," he muttered, looking away from them. "Next."

As soon as the four walked through the door, they were greeted by a large crowd of loud ponies, as well as slightly louder music.

"Pretty busy night, huh?" Rainbow Dash said as they went through the crowd, trying to speak loud enough so the others could actually hear her. "We should see if they have any booths to the side where we can hear ourselves think."

"Good idea," Fluttershy said, taking extra care as to not bump into any of the other patrons.

To their surprise, there were several round booths open at the back of the club. Rainbow Dash quickly flew to the largest one in the corner and sat down. Fluttershy then slowly flew inside, happy to be away from the sporadically moving pegasi.

"Guess everybody is too busy dancing and drinking tonight, huh?" Tucker chuckled as he sat on the other side of Rainbow Dash.

"Looks like it," Grif murmured, sitting next to Fluttershy.

"Hey, guys," came a familiar voice. Looking to the source, Tucker and Rainbow Dash began to smile. "I thought I saw you guys come in here."

"Hey, Cloudchaser," Rainbow Dash greeted back. "What's going on with you?"

"Oh, you know. The same boring stuff," she chuckled, sitting on the edge of the seat of the booth, ready to get up at any moment. "How about you? I haven't seen you two for a few months. Almost thought I'd never see you here again after what happened last time. Or does Tucker not remember his awful singing."

"I'm telling you, my voice is awesome," Tucker said with a smirk. "I probably just half-assed it so the ladies wouldn't swoon over me. Don't want RD getting jealous, do I?"

"Yeah, that's totally the reason," she snorted as Rainbow Dash lightly hit him in the ribs. She then paused and raised her brow at the other pair. "What's Fluttershy doing here?"

Fluttershy bit her bottom lip and looked at the table, involuntarily shifting in her seat, not liking being the odd one out.

"She decided she wanted to have fun with her friends," Grif said, scooting the tiniest bit closer to her. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Huh? No," Cloudchaser said confusedly, then shook her head and smiled. "I didn't mean anything by it, I was just surprised to see her here. But by your reaction, I'm assuming you're her boyfriend?"

"What? No," he said instantly, smiling at Fluttershy. "We're just friends. I've been crashing at her place for a while, and in return I help her by watching her animal friends. When I'm awake. Isn't that right, Fluttershy?"

"Yes. We're friends," Fluttershy said with a weak smile. "Just friends."

"Cool. Well, I should probably go. Flitter is here tonight and we're trying to find some keepers. If we don't find any in a few hours, we might come back here so we can talk," Cloudchaser said.

"Sounds good," Rainbow Dash said, turning to the others as Cloudchaser left. "So what do you guys think we should do? Want to go dancing, or what?"

"I don't know..." Fluttershy grumbled, voice barely audible over the throbbing music.

"This is a place for fun, drinking and making mistakes that you won't remember in the morning," Tucker laughed, looking around the club. "You can't just come here and do nothing. It ruins the point."

"Does it?" Fluttershy asked sincerely, not knowing proper club etiquette. Or if there even was etiquette.

"Ignore him. Clubs are for having fun, but just being here with friends can be fun too, right?" Grif asked.

"Yeah," she said back to him, feeling slightly more comfortable.

"Well, I'm going to grab some drinks," Tucker sighed, getting out of the booth.

"Hang on, I'll come too. I need to see what they have to eat around here, maybe bring back a menu," Grif said, getting out of the booth from the other side. "You girls hungry for anything?"

"Nah, I'm good," Rainbow Dash chuckled. "And only bring a few drinks. We don't want you getting tossed on your flank again. Plus Fluttershy probably won't have any."

"I might," Fluttershy said, smiling crookedly at Tucker and Grif.

"Really? I mean, I rarely have drinks, but I limit myself so I don't become what Tucker did that one time," Rainbow Dash grunted, not wanting her friend to wake up with a hangover. "You don't know what your limit is, so you could easily go over it if you drink anything Tucker brings."

"I don't want to be the only one not doing anything," she said quietly, but turned to Tucker and coughed. "Can you ask for a small one?"

"Sure thing," Tucker said, turning around. "Come on, Grif. Maybe while we're there we can see what we can do about joining the Mile High Club."

"Uh, no offense, but I'm not really into you that way," Grif mumbled, walking away with him

Chapter 23 - "Different Tastes"

"Five of your biggest drinks and one of your smallest," Tucker said, throwing a few bits onto the counter.

"And a menu, if you got one," Grif added before the barmare began making the drinks. Catching the menu the pegasus pushed to him, he began to sift through it, trying to find what was the most amount of food he could get for the least amount of money.

"Anything look good?" Tucker asked jokingly.

"Not really. I miss stuff like burgers and hot dogs," Grif sighed.

"Yeah, but we've been eating hay and shit while we've been here and it's tasted fine," Tucker said quietly, too low for anyone other than Grif to hear. "Our taste buds must have changed when we did, so meat could taste like shit to us now."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Grif said with a shudder. "I've been eating mostly healthy stuff ever since I got here and I hate it."

"Doesn't Pinkie help with a fucking bakery? Why not just go there and ask for sugary stuff every day?"

"And deal with Caboose every time? He's alright with me in small amounts, but I don't think I could handle a daily dose," Grif said as he turned to the barmare, tossing some bits to her. "I guess I'll just have some fries. I'll be in the quiet area of the club with all the booths."

"Alrighty," she said with a nod. "Want us to bring the drinks too?"

"Nah, we'll wait here for those," Tucker chirped.

"Okay, the drinks will be ready in a minute or so, and the fries should be out in fifteen minutes."

"Sounds good," Grif said.

"So how are things with you and Fluttershy?" Tucker asked idly.

"Pretty great. As sappy as this place is, it's infinitely better than the canyon where I couldn't go three seconds with getting yelled at. I get to sleep as much as I want and Fluttershy always has a lot of spare food lying around. In return, all I have to do is watch a handful of animals while I'm eating. It's pretty perfect."

"That's really all you do, huh?" Tucker asked with a smirk. "I guess you're kind of laid back, but I gotta be honest, I don't see how or why she puts up with you on account of you being a lazy sack of shit."

"To be honest, neither do I," Grif admitted curiously. "I think it's because I saved Angel a few months back. That damned rabbit may be kind of an asshole, but she really likes it, so I guess she thinks she owes me."

"And it's not like you're going to complain about getting free food and a place to hide from Sarge," Tucker added.

"Exactly," Grif laughed.

"Got your drinks here," the mare said, pushing a small tray with half a dozen glasses on it towards the pair. "Fries will be out soon."

"Great," Tucker said, grabbing the tray with his teeth. "Let's go."

As Tucker walked towards the crowd, he expected to have trouble carrying the drinks and expected them to fall. To his delight, the ponies in the club moved out of his way, not wanting to spill their drinks. Because of this, they quickly found their way back to the table, where Tucker placed the tray and hopped back into the booth. As he and Rainbow Dash grabbed some of the larger glasses, Fluttershy tilted her head at the small glass with the light blue drink in it. Knowing it was hers, she grabbed it off the tray and placed it in front of her.

"So what did we miss?" Tucker asked after taking a drink.

"Was just making sure Fluttershy didn't run off," Rainbow Dash said playfully. "But not much, we kinda just talked. Feels like we never get to talk anymore. Though I guess now that we don't have to watch you sorry stallions anymore, that'll free up some time."

"Hey, I think I probably spent more time watching you than you ever did me," Tucker said with a wink.

"I'm sure you did," she snorted. She then turned and watched as Fluttershy took a small sip out of her drink. "How is it?"

"It tastes... sweet," Fluttershy said with a smile. "I thought this was supposed to taste bitter."

"Yeah, the girly drinks usually do taste a little fruity," Tucker chuckled, taking a swig off his own. "The stuff back home was way better."

"Y'know, you guys really don't talk about your old lives," Rainbow Dash said quietly. "You guys have talked about how terrible the canyon was, but you never talked about how your lives were before that."

"Because besides me getting laid around the clock, it wasn't that interesting," Tucker muttered.

"Right," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Didn't you have any family? What were they like?'

"My family was... interesting, I guess," he said thoughtfully, mind drifting to Junior.

"And?"

"We'll just leave it at that," he mumbled. It would be hard enough to explain that he had a son, let alone an alien son that he himself birthed.

"Fine," Rainbow Dash sighed, then smiled at Grif. "How about you, Grif? Anything interesting?"

Grif raised a brow.

"Sorry, I forgot who I was asking," Rainbow Dash sighed, sinking back into her seat. "You'd think you guys would have awesome stories being soldiers or whatever."

"Yeah, put emphasis on the whatever part," Grif said. "If you really want to hear war stories, go get Sarge to talk to you. I'm sure then you'll regret asking that question."

"Yeah... no thanks," she grunted, not wanting to hear Sarge exaggerate about his past so-called accomplishments. "It's funny, we never really consider you guys, like, aliens or anything."

"I think it's because of my hot bod," Tucker said, flexing slightly. "Nobody can resist the Tuck-n-Fuck express. First stop, your bedroom. The ride is a little rough, but we'll always get there just on time. If you look out the window to your left, you'll see a-"

"We got it, you're a pervert," she snorted, turning to talk to Fluttershy, only to see that the glass in front of her was empty.

"Heh, you drank that pretty fast there. Want another one?' Tucker asked, reaching for her glass to put it back on the tray.

"Maybe in a bit," Fluttershy mumbled hesitantly, remembering what Rainbow Dash said about limits.

"Good move. I don't want you getting completely messed up," Grif murmured, taking a small drink out of his. "Hangovers are assholes, and I don't think you want to have one. Somebody like you doesn't deserve that stuff."

"Thank you," she said, blushing slightly.

"Here are your fries," a different female pegasus said, pushing a plate in front of Grif.

"Awesome, thanks!" Grif said happily. Turning to the fries, he took a deep breath and looked around. "Before I start, do you guys want any?"

"I have a feeling if my hoof is in there when you start, you'll bite it off, so no thanks," Tucker grunted defensively, taking his hooves off the table.

"I'm good too," Rainbow Dash said, smiling at Tucker's reaction.

"What about you?" Grif asked, looking at Fluttershy. "This plate is about to become a danger zone pretty soon."

"I'm okay," she assured him.

"Fantastic then," Grif said, and in an instant, he smashed his face into the pile of fries and began to eat.

Chapter 24 - "Living Conditions"

It took Grif less than a minute to finish his large order of fries. When he finished, he pulled his head off the plate and let out a satisfied belch.

"That was horrific," Rainbow Dash chuckled, looking at the clean plate. "How the hay did you learn to eat that fast."

"Years of practice, Dash," he said happily, patting his belly.

"I'm not sure if I should be impressed or disgusted that you can do that," she said, smiling at him.

"If you think that's good, you should see what I can do with my mouth," Tucker added slyly, sticking out his tongue in a playful manner. "When that happens, you won't be confused about whether you should be disgusted or impressed."

"Yeah, I know I'll be disgusted," Rainbow Dash said, making him scowl.

"Disgusted at how impressed you are, maybe," Tucker mumbled, finishing the rest of his first drink, just to start on his second in an instant. "You'll be all over me after that and you'll regret having waited this long. Not that I mind, of course. The longer you wait, the better it'll be."

"I'm sure I will, so I think I'll make you wait until the end of time, then it'll be the best,"

"Wait too long and I'll find somebody else to pleasure," he said, downing his second drink.

"As if anypony else would have the patience to listen to you ramble on about that stuff," she snorted, knowing he was joking with her.

"Please, listening to me talk about myself is an honor," Tucker muttered.

"Um, if you don't mind, do you think you could get me another one of these if it's not too much trouble?" Fluttershy asked.

"Alright, be back in a sec," Tucker said instantly, zooming towards the bar.

The remaining three waited until Tucker came back, this time with a tray with nearly a dozen more drinks on it. He placed two of the smaller drinks in front of Fluttershy, then put the tray of larger drinks in the center of the table. With a shrug, they began to drink, talking about nothing in particular. After sitting and drinking for nearly half an hour, Fluttershy had drank her second glass and was halfway through her third while the others were finishing the rest of the drinks.

"So how many do you think you guys are at?" Tucker asked, feeling a slight buzz.

"I'm at seven, you're at six and Grif is at four," Rainbow Dash said.

"Is everything with her a competition?" Grif asked curiously.

"Pretty much," Tucker laughed.

"I admire her knowledge of clouds to sleep on, but I can't help but feel that would get kinda annoying after awhile," he said, then turned to Rainbow Dash and flashed her a quick smile. "No offense."

"I'm comfortable enough to admit that I'm not perfect," she shrugged, then added a smirk soon after. "I'm only mostly perfect. Besides, everypony has something about them, that somepony else is bound to dislike about them. Like I bet living with you isn't all that great. Right, Fluttershy?"

"Hm?" Fluttershy muffled, shaking her head back to attention, feeling slightly distant.

"I was just saying that some ponies would think living with Grif would be unbearable."

"I don't see how," the pegasus muttered thoughtfully. "He's not loud or anything and he keeps to himself."

"That's kind of my point. He doesn't really do anything." Rainbow Dash laughed. "He just sits there. Don't get me wrong, I think he's cool and all, but I don't remember ever seeing him really thank you for watching him. I've even seen Church thank Twilight and he's kind of..."

"A dick?" Tucker suggested.

"Yeah, that," she said sheepishly, turning back to Fluttershy. "I'm just saying, he could show you some more gratitude."

"Oh, it's fine, I really don't mind," Fluttershy murmured, circling her hoof around the rim of her glass.

"Hey, I'm not angry at him for anything," she said honestly. "While he's not exactly ungrateful, he could thank you a little more for letting him stay there."

"Does Tucker ever thank you for that?" Grif inquired.

"No, but he at least has a job and helps pay for food and stuff. Sarge helps Applejack on the farm, Simmons helps Rarity make clothing, and even Caboose helps Pinkie bake," she said. "Again, I'm not saying this to cause problems. That's the last thing I want to do."

"He helps me by watching the animals when I'm not around or am too busy," Fluttershy said.

"Yeah, but that's not hard to do. And you're always going on about how your animals are so well behaved, so I doubt they'd really need to be watched."

"But-"

"She's kinda right," Grif muttered, interrupting Fluttershy's train of thought. "I mean, the animals aren't hard to watch at all. All they do is just sit there. I may have saved Angel, but you really shouldn't have to look after me just because of that."

Fluttershy opened her mouth to tell Grif that the reason she was letting him stay was because she liked him, but stopped and looked to the table, unable to find the courage to do so. She liked having Grif around, but she wasn't entirely sure that he felt the same way, and she didn't want to ruin their friendship by saying something she'd regret. She then began to think back on all the times he stood up for her and helped her out, despite him considering himself to be the laziest of stallions.

"Maybe I could try to find my own place or something," Grif said finally, making her eyes grow wide.

"You don't have to do that," Fluttershy said quickly.

"Don't worry, I'd just get Simmons to look for me," he chuckled.

"No, I mean... I like having you there. My animal friends are nice, but it's wonderful having somepony to actually talk to."

"Still," he said quietly.

Fluttershy closed her mouth and frowned, not sure what to say.

"But then wouldn't you have to get a job to pay for it?" Tucker asked.

"Shit, hadn't thought of that," Grif grunted reluctantly.

"You know, we could probably get you a job," Rainbow Dash said, laughing as the color drained away from Grif's face. "I guess that's a no, then?"

"Don't even joke about that," Grif shuddered, turning to Fluttershy. "Guess I'm staying with you then."

"Great," Fluttershy said, thankful that he was afraid of labor. "As long as you help me with my animals, I'm fine with you staying at my cottage. Honest."

"Sounds good with me," he said.

"Whelp, I'm going to go get us some more drinks," Tucker muttered, flying out of the booth. "You guys okay with more of these drinks, or do you want something different?"

"I'll stick with these," Fluttershy said, smiling calmly at Tucker before sipping the rest of her third drink.

"You sure? That'll be your fourth one," Rainbow Dash noted seriously. "Those smaller drinks are usually as strong as they are tasty..."

"I don't feel any different," she said, smiling loosely at her friend.

"Alright, be back in a few," Tucker said with a shrug.

"Hang on, I'll come with you," Grif said, flying after him. "I want some more fries!"

Chapter 25 - "Danger Zone"

"So," Rainbow Dash said simply after a few minutes, resting her hooves behind her head in the booth. She watched Fluttershy smile at the large group a few yards away from them, unphased by the large amount of ponies. "Are you having fun?"

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy nodded clumsily, smiling at her friend.

"Heh, how are you feeling?" Rainbow Dash asked, smirking at Fluttershy.

"I'm fine," she said, then squinted slightly. "I feel a little tired, but that's it."

"You know, I really am glad you came to hang out with us," Rainbow Dash sighed contently. "And I'm even more glad that Tucker goes to get the drinks."

"I thought you guys liked each other," Fluttershy said, confused.

"I like him just fine, but it's just been so long since it's been just us girls. I think the last time the guys were actually away from us was at Shining Armor's wedding," Rainbow Dash said thoughtfully, then rubbed her chin. "Well, besides when Discord put them in that maze, but there was hardly any time to talk to each other then. There's just some things I feel like I can't tell Tucker, y'know?"

"I guess so," Fluttershy nodded, thinking of Grif.

"You know you're no good at hiding secrets from me, right?" Rainbow Dash inquired. "We've known each other basically our entire lives. I can tell when something is on your mind."

"I don't-" Fluttershy started, then let out a heavy breath. She knew she really couldn't hide anything from her oldest friend. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Hey, I'm the Element of Loyalty," Rainbow Dash snorted. "Of course I can keep a secret."

"It isn't funny," Fluttershy scowled. "I really need you to promise that you won't tell anypony."

"Sure, yeah, sorry," Rainbow Dash said, leaning closer to her friend, motioning her hoof of her body. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Now come on, tell me what's up."

"I'm... not sure if I can tell you," Fluttershy murmured, backing away.

"Come on, you made me Pinkie promise. I won't tell a soul, so your secret is safe with me."

"Okay. Here goes," she muffled, cheeks burning a soft crimson. Clearing her throat, she made direct eye contact with Rainbow Dash and gave her a serious look. "I think... I think I like Grif."

"Yeah, you're definitely drunk," Rainbow Dash said, grabbing the empty glass in front of Fluttershy.

"I'm fine," she said softly. "I liked him before we came here."

"Oh," Rainbow Dash said curiously, not really sure what to say to her friend. "How long have you liked him? Since he saved Angel that one time?"

"Yes," she nodded, embarrassed. "Everypony he came here with says he won't do anything and only thinks of himself. I guess he does kind of sleep more than a regular stallion, but he's just as happy to help me when I need to do something. He's nicer than Sarge, Church or any of the others give him credit for."

"Well... did you tell him that you like him?"

"No, I thought it was obvious," Fluttershy said honestly, looking down at the table. "I mean, I'm really nice to him, I don't argue with him when most ponies would, and whenever he looks at me I can't make eye contact without looking away a second later."

"Fluttershy, you're that way with everypony," Rainbow Dash groaned, rubbing her face.

"Oh," she mumbled.

"Don't worry, guys don't pick up on that stuff as easily as they should. And Grif isn't the brightest one in the..." Rainbow Dash stopped, thinking deeply. "Actually, he kinda seems smarter than most of the others, besides maybe Simmons, Church and Delta. Still, my point is that guys aren't good with all that feelings stuff. Remember your assertiveness training?"

"This is different..."

"Not really. You gotta be blunt about it," Rainbow Dash chuckled, but saw her friend deflate. "Want me to talk to him about it?"

"No!" Fluttershy yelped, then covered her mouth and looked around. Once she realized nobody else in the club was paying her any attention, she looked at Rainbow Dash and frowned. "You can't say anything to him."

"It's not good to keep emotions bottled up, Flutters," Rainbow Dash muttered.

"I know. I'll tell him when I know..."

"That he likes you the same way?" Rainbow Dash asked, giving her friend a supportive smile when she nodded. "I don't like to talk about this mushy stuff, but you're my friend, so I want to help you outta your jam. You really do have to follow your heart on this one."

"But I don't know what it's saying," she pouted.

"Look at it this way, then. It's either you tell him and risk whatever it is you have going on for you now, or you don't tell him and live a life never knowing how he feels," Rainbow Dash stated as if it was an easy decision. She then sat straight up when she saw the pair making their way back to the table, then nudged Fluttershy lightly and winked at her. "This might not be the best place for it, but I think the alcohol in your system might help you out a little on this one if you decide to ask."

"What are you guys talking about?" Tucker asked with a tight-lipped smile.

"Just mare stuff. You wouldn't understand," Rainbow Dash said.

"Please, I understand the female body way more than you ever will," he chuckled, placing the tray on the table while Grif plopped down in his spot with another plate full of fries. "Hell, I've basically memorized every curve on the outside of your body. I'm just waiting on the moment I get to memorize the inside as well. Bow-chicka-bow-wow."

"Charming as always..."

"And you said I would be annoying to live with," Grif chuckled, adjusting himself in the seat.

"So, um, Grif?" Fluttershy asked, biting her lip. Shaking her head, she grabbed the drink that was for her off of the tray and stared into it, finding it easier to talk to the liquid than to talk directly to Grif. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" Grif asked.

"I just wanted to know if... you... well..." she said, glancing at him. Then down to his plate. "I wanted to know if you wanted... ketchup... for your fries?"

"Good idea!" Grif smiled, giving her a friendly punch in the side as Rainbow Dash facehooved. "Be back soon!"

Fluttershy sighed deeply again, placing her chin on the table dejectedly as Grif zipped back to the bar. Feeling as if she'd never have the courage to tell him, she began to wonder if living with Grif simply as friends would be bad. They had been doing fine thus-far, and she saw no reason to risk ruining that now.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Clutzershy," a voice said, making Fluttershy freeze in her seat, making her feel a whole lot worse off than she already was.

Recognizing the voice, Tucker and Rainbow Dash turned to see a trio of stallion approaching them, each one with a Cutie Mark relating to a sport, each one with a smirk, and each one familiar to the trio at the table. Tucker, however, had not known them for as long as the girls, but he knew that there was history between them.

"Didn't think I'd ever see you in this place, let alone not hiding away in Grounderville," Hoops whooped.

"Leave her alone, Hoops," Tucker sighed.

"Why? Just poking a little fun," he muttered, smirking at the timid pegasus. "Ain't that right, Clutzershy? Oh wait, I forgot that you're the weakest Pegasus in all of Cloudsdale. You wouldn't know how to have fun."

"Why don't you guys just go away?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Why don't you make us? Oh, wait, if you tried, you'd probably just crash into the ground on your way over," he snorted, motioning towards Fluttershy. "You're almost as pathetic as she is. But at least you aren't scared to show your face around here, unlike that embarrassment."

"Guys, stop. You know I'd kick your asses if I wasn't buzzed right now," Tucker grunted.

"See? If Tucker isn't going to make us leave, then who will? Clutzershy?" Score laughed harshly, reaching for one of the fries on the table. Before he could grab one, he quickly found himself flying towards the crowd, a trail of blood arcing out of his nose after being struck on the side of the face.

"No," Grif glowered, placing a bottle of ketchup next to the plate of fries. "I will."

Chapter 26 - "Bar Fights"

"Who the hay are you?" Score grumbled as Hoops and Dumb-Bell helped him off the ground, catching the attention of a few ponies from the rim of the crowd.

"That's none of your fucking business," Grif stated. "What is your business is taking care of your attitude problem."

"There's no problems with our attitude," Score said with a smile. "The only problem we have right now is wondering why you think it was smart to blindside a guy when he was in the middle of talking to somepony like a weakling."

"Partially because you tried to touch my fries. I rarely offer up any food, let alone stand there while they try to take it without asking. For fuck's sake, there wasn't eve any ketchup on them yet!" Grif growled, taking a step towards them. "But it's mostly because of Fluttershy. She's doesn't deserve to be talked down to by anyone, and I'll be damned if I let you make fun of the only thing that actually seems to give a damn about my well being."

"Listen, buddy," Score muttered, wiping his nose with the back of his hoof as he gave Grif an unimpressed look. "We don't know who you are, but we suggest you walk away. Tucker here is the only one to have ever beat us in a fight, but we've been training a lot since then, and we are not going to go down easy."

"You think I'm afraid of three cockbites like you?" Grif scoffed. "I've had to deal with more than just bullies in the past. You couldn't handle what I've been through."

"Looks like you've been through a few buffets, huh?" Hoops chuckled.

"Alright, I'm going to let that one slide only because it's partially true," he mumbled, looking at his slightly above average build. "But don't think that just because I look like I have more fat than muscle means that I'm easy pickings. I still have more than enough muscle to take you guys down."

"Grif, they're not worth the trouble," Rainbow Dash growled.

"Hey, this isn't about you anymore, Crash. This is about the guy who hit me in the side of the face with no warning," Score said firmly. He then looked confused as Grif took a seat in the booth. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I think I'm giving you one more chance to walk the hell away right now and leave us alone," Grif said, not looking at them. "I want to get to these fries before they get cold."

"You're stopping? Just like that?" Hoops asked quietly.

"Just like that," he replied, grabbing the ketchup and squirting it onto the plate. "I'm sure you guys won't be missed by us if you fucked right off. A bunch of ponies are staring at us, and while I don't give a shit about my image here, I don't want to be kicked out before I get a full stomach. Also, I'm being lenient on you guys because I know that some times women are bitchy because it's their time of the month. Hell, some of the women I've met it was more like their twenty-three hours of the day. But my point still stands."

"Who are you calling-" Hoops began, starting towards Grif, only to be halted by the foreleg of Score.

"Hey now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. He's being kind enough to let us walk away, and I think we should graciously accept his offer," Score said in a hushed tone.

"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked, surprised.

"Of course. The last thing I want to do is do something to make him mad!" Score whooped, bucking the plate on the table.

In an instant, the plate of fries smashed into the wall of the bar, shattering it, as well as sending fries covered in ketchup flying outwards like shrapnel from a grenade. Grif blinked dumbly as a few fries covered in condiments landed in front of him. Picking one up, he stared at it curiously for a few seconds, then sighed as it flopped over. Tucker, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy simply stared at him silently, not sure what to expect of the orange pegasus. He may have been a lazy pony, but if there was one thing he liked just as much as sitting back and letting others do the work was eating.

"I guess we'll be going now," Score said sweetly, beginning to walk towards the crowd that was now watching them. "Don't worry, I'll tell the bar that your friend will pick it up. Hopefully she'll be a better maid than she ever was a pegasus."

"Tucker?" Grif asked, gritting his teeth as he glared at the graveyard of fries laying in front of him. He was now imagining the three pegasi walking away in the place of the fries and his shit in the place of the ketchup. "Do you mind doing me a favor?"

"Yeah, Grif?" Tucker countered with a smirk.

"Stay out of this," he said, dropping the fry on the table, then began getting out of the booth. "These cunts just made this shit personal."

"Right."

"Grif, you don't have to do this," Fluttershy said quietly, not wanting him to get hurt. "We can get you more fries. And don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'm used to it now. They've done it for all my life. That's why I don't come to Cloudsdale anymore."

"Fluttershy, there is really only one thing that I don't like about you, and it's that you're way too forgiving," Grif said, giving her a small cringe. "You see the good in everyone when it's not there. These cunts deserve to get their asses kicked."

"Well, they already did by me," Tucker coughed.

"And by Tex," Rainbow Dash added.

"Whatever," Grif waved non-caringly. "I know what it's like to get picked on, and I regret kicking the ass of everybody who picked on me in my life before now. And if these are the cunts that make you not want to come to Cloudsdale anymore, then you can bet that I'm going to set that shit straight."

"What if you get hurt?" Fluttershy asked.

"Come on. I've lived through Sarge, Tex and a bunch of other random shit. Do you really think these guys can hurt me?" Grif returned with a smile. "Don't worry about me. Just look the other way if it looks like I'm being too rough, okay?"

Fluttershy bit her lips. She didn't like violence and could not condone it in any way, even when it was to ponies as mean and as rude as those three. But the look in Grif's eyes made her feel happy. She saw that he cared for her, so she didn't want to ruin the moment. Looking at the table, she also realized that it was also about the fries. And she knew Grif loved his fries. Reluctantly, she turned to him and gave him a small nod.

"Great. Be back soon," Grif said, with a smile. Turning to Tucker he tilted his head slightly. "Hey, if a waitress come by, mind getting me some more fries?"

"No problem," Tucker chuckled, watching as Grif instantly turned around and began flapping his wings.

"Hey, I didn't catch your guys' names," Grif called out, flying after them.

"It's Score, Hoops and Dumb-Bell. Why do you want to know?" Score snorted as he neared the group of ponies, stopping short of them when he realized they were not staring at them, but rather the stallion behind them.

"So I can notify your family that you got killed over spilling a fat guy's meal," he said, tackling Score to the ground before he could turn around.

Chapter 27 - "Resilient Fighter"

"We've got a live one!" Score laughed as Grif dragged him down.

Sharing a grin, Hoops and Dumb-Bell darted towards their friend. Grif managed to hit Score in the ribs one time before the other pair got to them and ripped him off of their friend by his wings. Grif let out a pained grunt as the pair threw him back towards the booth, chuckling as he stumbled back and fell to the ground and bumped into the table. Grif then got up and zipped towards them with his forelegs spread out, clotheslining Hoops and Dumb-Bell, making him laugh. As they fell to the ground, clutching the areas where he struck, Score flew straight into him and slammed him into the ground.

"Not laughing now, are you?" Score asked.

Grif replied to his question with a hit to the gut, winding him. But before Score could react to it and counter in his own way, Grif slammed his forehead into his attacker's snout, making him fly upwards. he flapped his wings before he hit the ceiling, catching himself before he went through it. Dumb-Bell got out of his state and lunged towards Grif with Score. Grif managed to dodge Score, but Dumb-Bell managed to grab him and took to the air. As they reached the ceiling, Dumb-Bell dove straight down and body-slammed Grif into the ground, making his eyes go wide. While Grif took a deep breath and tried to shrug off the pain, Dumb-Bell got up and wrapped his right foreleg around Grif's neck, lightly applying pressure to it, then flew up a yard, presenting him to the crowd.

"You'd think that they'd be going to get a bouncer or something," Grif said as if the choke-hold was nothing.

"I think they're waiting to see how long it takes for you to quit," Dumb-Bell said, tightening his grip. "You just have to say uncle and we'll stop."

"Will saying uncle make you guys stop annoying us?" he asked.

"Probably no-" Dumb-Bell started, but was interrupted by the side of Grif's skull connecting to his jaw.

"Way to go, Grif!" Tucker whooped, drinking some of his alcohol, laughing as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy watched in stunned silence as Dumb-Bell slumped to the ground, knocked out cold.

"I actually managed to take one of them out!" Grif whooped, slightly surprised.

"There's still two more of us, and Dumb-Bell won't be down for long," Hoops growled.

"Yeah, but I didn't think I'd make it this far," he said, only to be hit in the throat by Score who came around to his side.

"Doesn't feel good getting hit by a cheap shot like that, does it?" Score asked seriously. "Now come on, just stay down so we can say we won and you don't actually get hurt too bad. We love to fight, but the last thing we want is to really hurt somepony. This started more as a workout for us, but now it's becoming a chore. We'd actually hate to do some lasting damage."

"If you hate to do lasting damage, why do you keep harassing Fluttershy?" Grif asked, panting heavily.

"Because our words won't do any lasting damage, feathers for brains."

"They won't, huh?" he mumbled, then lifted his back hoof and connected with the grappler's privates. "Dick."

Score started to scream, but within a second it became very high-pitched. While Score fell back, Hoops tried to flank him, but Grif opened his wing and slapped him to the side with it, making him fly into Dumb-Bell, waking him up. The pair quickly got back up and shook their head, jiggling their senses back into place as Score tried to get off the ground, holding himself.

"I thought you guys have been training," Grif said. With a heavy breath, he got back on his hooves and spat some blood onto the floor. "I know I'm used to getting the shit kicked out of me, but this is just sad. My grandmother could fight better than you."

"Why won't he stay down?" Dumb-Bell moaned, both out of fatigue and annoyance.

"Because I spend most of my time laying down. You've pissed me off enough to actually get up," he said, wiping his mouth. "And I'm used to being used as a meat-shield by others, especially when it comes to physical pain. If I can survive an insane dude with superpowers who took out a bunch of others who were trained in fighting, I can survive your sorry asses."

"Insane dude with superpowers?" Dumb-Bell paused, squinting at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"Don't listen to him, he's just trying to scare us off," Score muttered, limping between Hoops and Dumb-Bell. "He doesn't want his special somepony to be made fun of, so he's trying to make it so we'd be too afraid to-"

Score thought screeched to a halt as Grif glared at him. But it was not the glare that caught his attention, but rather the fact that his wings slowly began to turn into a dark-gray metal, feathers turning into rounded, sharp blades. The crowd around them were now focusing on him, scared but curious about what was happening.

"How are you doing that?" Hoops asked, a slight edge to his voice as he looked at the now metal wings.

"With an empty stomach, rage, and pixie farts," he said, folding his wings out. "Now I'm giving you one last chance. Give me some money to pay for my fries, back the hell off and go away. I know you want to prove how cool you are to everyone here since you clearly can't impress them with what little there is in your head, but I know that bitch Tex that kicked your asses. She used to kick the shit out of me at every chance she got, but now we're friends. While I'm not strong enough to keep you down, she is, and she'll be glad to do so again if I ask her."

"You know her?" Score shuddered, recalling about why they never wanted to return to Ponyville again.

"Yeah, and let's just say she knows how to bring pain to your amigos," Grif said, pointing near his crotch area. "So what's more important. Your pride, or your other pride?"

Looking around, Score looked at the crowd who was watching them, then looked at Grif and his metallic wings. He shook his head and turned around, folding his wings in, deciding it wasn't worth it. Dumb-Bell and Hoops followed his lead and walked into the crowd silently.

"You guys can stop looking at us too. The show is over," Grif said to the collective of pegasi, wings turning back to feathers.

He then turned turned around and walked to the booth, taking his seat back. He then grabbed a fry off the table and bit into it.

"Grif, that was so cool," Rainbow Dash whispered with a huge smile on her face. "I'm glad I got to see that!"

"I know," Grif said, then grunted and rubbed the back of his neck. "Might have a concussion from when I got slammed into the ground, though."

"Let's be honest, you've had far worse than a concussion before," Tucker said, pushing a drink to him. "Besides, if you do have one, I'm sure you'll just go to sleep and power-nap through it."

"That's probably true. Hey, did you manage to order me more fries?" he asked.

"Sorry, we were kind of distracted."

"Dammit, Tucker. You had one job."

Chapter 28 - "New Friends"

"Grif, may I ask you something personal?" Fluttershy asked after a waitress came by and they ordered more fries.

"Go ahead. I don't have that much to hide," Grif said with a smile.

"I hope this doesn't sound strange... but..." she mumbled. "Have you ever had a special somepony?"

"Special somepony? Like, a girlfriend?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Yeah, most of them didn't work out. My first one especially. She kept one secret too many from me. When I found out, it kinda put me off her."

"What kind of secret?" she inquired seriously, wondering if she cheated on him.

"I really don't want to get into it," he muttered.

"Is that because she wanted to get into you?' Tucker smiled sweetly.

"What does he mean by-"

"She had a penis," Tucker chirped.

Rainbow Dash burst out with laughter as Grif's face turned an angry shade of red. Fluttershy's face crumbled and she covered her mouth with her hooves, not wanting to laugh at him, but eventually gave up and began laughing as well.

"Yeah, laugh it the hell up," Grif growled.

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said with a small giggle, trying to control herself more. "It isn't funny."

"It kinda is," Rainbow Dash said between breaths, smiling sheepishly as he glared at her.

"I really regret telling you that," Grif sighed, then got out of the table.

"Where are you going?"

"Back home," he said. "It was a fun night, but I'd rather not get laughed at, thanks."

"Come on, don't be like that. You have more fries coming, and it's not like there was anyway you could have known," Rainbow Dash said, trying to calm him down.

"Besides a fucking bulge in her panties," Tucker chuckled.

"Not helping," Rainbow Dash muttered, then turned her attention back to Grif. "Now sit back down. We're just having fun. Besides, she was probably bigger than he is."

"Hey, I'm hung like a horse," Tucker growled.

"That doesn't mean much here," Grif said, then sat back down, turning to Fluttershy. "Why the sudden interest in my past?"

"I don't know, I just want to know more about you," she said.

"I'm really not all that interesting, honest," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "Besides the whole shemale friend, I have nothing that really stands out for me. Doubt you'd want to hear about my time in service since it's basically what I do here."

"What about your sister?"

"Kaikaina?" he grunted sadly. "I don't really want to talk about her right now. I might tell you later, but not now."

"Do you promise?' Fluttershy asked.

"Sure," he sighed.

"Hey, you guys," Cloudchaser greeted, suddenly appearing at the table with another pegasus. "This is Flitter, my sister."

"Hey," Flitter said with a smile, staring at Grif. "We're here with the fries you ordered. We told them we were coming here anyways, so we grabbed them for you."

"Awesome, thanks!" Grif smiled, grabbing the plate off of her back.

"Mind if we sit with you?" she asked.

"Sure," Rainbow Dash said.

Cloudchaser shuffled into the booth, taking a place next to Tucker while Flitter went next to Grif. Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably and stared at the table as Flitter sat snugly against Grif.

"The bartenders were pretty impressed with your show back there, so they're sending over some drinks," Cloudchaser said. "If you guys want to get into the Mile High Club, I'm sure it'll be pretty easy for you now. Those guys always come here to try and start stuff, but nopony ever beat them down. Now that you did that, you guys ought to get popular here."

"I don't think I would have beat them if they didn't walk away," Grif said honestly. "I can't fight that well, I'm just used to literally getting kicked while I'm down."

"Don't be modest, that was amazing!" Flitter said, resting her left foreleg on the table while putting her head on her hoof. "How did you do that trick with your wings?"

"Uh, I don't know if I can really explain it. It sort of just happens when I get angry," Grif muttered, putting a few fries into his mouth,

"That's so cool," she said. "Are they, like, real metal, or is it just a trick of the light? And if they are, are they heavy? Can you actually fly with them?"

"They're real and heavy as shit. And yeah, I can sorta fly with them, but it's difficult."

"Wow. It'd be cool if you could teach others to do that, um..." she said, then blushed slightly. "I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"It's Grif," he said.

"Like a griffin? Wicked name for a wicked fighter," she grinned.

"Um, Grif, do you still want to go home?" Fluttershy asked quietly, lightly tapping his shoulder, beginning to feel uncomfortable again.

"Maybe after my fries," he said, smiling at her. "Why, feeling tipsy?"

Fluttershy nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry, are you with her?" Flitter asked hesitantly, giving Grif more room as she looked at Fluttershy.

"Nah, we're friends," Grif laughed.

"Oh, good," she sighed. "I didn't want to make her feel awkward or anything."

"We both appreciate it," he said with a nod.

A mare then came to the table with more drinks than they ordered, presumably them being on the house. As she left, everyone at the table grabbed a drink of their own, including Fluttershy.

"So what do you do for a living?" Cloudchaser asked Grif, drinking out of her cup.

"Grif isn't really a 'doing' kind of guy," Tucker laughed. "I'd actually argue that he isn't really the 'living' type either."

"That's pretty much true," Grif said. "I've just been crashing at Fluttershy's place, watching her animal friends when she's not around. Besides that, all I really do is eat and sleep. What you guys would call a necessity, I call more of a hobby."

"It doesn't really show," Fluttershy chimed in, smiling at him.

"Thanks," Grif chuckled, patting his slightly above average stomach.

"You know, if you worked out, you could turn what fat you have into big muscles," Cloudchaser said.

"Yeah. You look cute now, but you'd look even hunkier if you were ripped," Flitter added sweetly, putting her hoof on his shoulder.

"Working out is too much, well, work," Grif grunted. "If there was an easy way to lose weight that didn't involve trying too hard, then I might be interested."

"You are in a club with loud music, and dancing is pretty easy," Cloudchaser said.

"Yeah, we could go dancing!" Flitter said instantly, making Fluttershy look at Grif.

"Sorry, not really interested," he replied, letting Fluttershy sigh with relief.

"Come on. I brought you your fries! You owe me," she said jokingly. "Besides, I haven't gotten to dance with anypony tonight. I don't want to go home disappointed."

"I can't dance. Not that I've really tried, but still."

"Please," she asked, looking into his eyes with her own pair of sad globes. "It's not difficult. Just let the music control your body, move in rhythm with it. It's really fun."

"I don't know..."

"Just one dance, I swear. If you don't like it, then you can stop."

"Fine. Just one dance," Grif sighed. "Just promise me you don't have a penis."

"Heh, I promise!" Flitter said, leading him out of the booth, leaving a saddened Fluttershy with the others.

Chapter 29- "The Truth Spills Out"

Fluttershy watched ahead miserably, drinking a out of several glasses as Flitter danced around Grif, clinging to him as if she was going to fall at any moment. Rainbow Dash and Tucker had attempted to stop her from drinking more, but she just shook her head whenever they told her to stop. Fluttershy knew Rainbow Dash knows about her feelings, but she didn't understand how hard it was for her to admit her feelings. Eventually, Tucker got up to go to the bathroom, leaving the three mares together.

"Are you okay, Flutters?" Cloudchaser asked when all the drinks at the table were nearly gone, moving over to the spot next to her, noticing she was down.

"Yes, I am," she mumbled in return, finishing another one of the larger drinks. "I'm just fine, thank you."

"Are you sure? Because you're drinking like it's your last day in Equestria," Cloudchaser chuckled. "Rainbow Dash and Tucker seem to be drinking more just so you have to drink. Tell me what's up."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Come on, don't be like that," she said, but frowned when Fluttershy turned away from her. "Listen, Flitter doesn't know."

"Doesn't know what?"

"That you like Grif. Duh," Cloudchaser chuckled. "It usually would be obvious to her, but she's drunk more than you have. Plus since Grif is sorta the life of the party right now, she's all over him. And don't try to deny it, I saw the way you were looking at him when you first came in."

"I... I guess I do like him," she said.

"I keep telling her to tell him that, but she won't," Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Guess we'll just have to give her a little push then, won't we?" Cloudchaser said, smiling with Rainbow Dash.

Before Fluttershy noticed what was happening, she found herself halfway between the table and Grif, being pushed by both Cloudchaser and Rainbow Dash.

"What are you doing?" Fluttershy gasped, trying to stop.

"You're going to tell him that you like him right now," Rainbow Dash said firmly.

"Yeah, and we won't let you sit down or go near another drop until you do," Cloudchaser added.

"But what if he doesn't like me back?"

"Love is a gamble," Rainbow Dash grunted. "It always is. Now listen, you're an awesome pony, and Grif obviously likes you back. You have nothing to be worried about."

"Also, you've drank a lot, so now's probably the best time to tell him," Cloudchaser added again, but with a sly smile. "Now we're going to sit back down and watch you do this. You can do it, girl."

Before Fluttershy could continue arguing, Rainbow Dash and Cloudchaser went back to the table, then smiled reassuringly at her as she stood there, feeling lost. Fluttershy then turned to Grif and saw him bounce around lazily. She took a deep breath and made her way over to him. Once she was next to him, she cleared her throat and tapped his shoulder, hoping she could have the volume to speak over the music.

"Oh, hey," Grif said when he turned around and saw her. "What's up, Fluttershy?"

"Grif, I have to say something to you," Fluttershy said firmly, but her legs quivered violently. "If I don't tell you now, I don't know when I'll be able to."

"Sure, what is it?" he asked.

"Well, I..." she mumbled, shaking her head in an attempt to focus. Once she was satisfied, she took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. "Grif, I know this might s-sound silly, but I... I think I'm..."

Grif narrowly stepped out of the way as Fluttershy threw up on the ground and began wobbling back and forth. He quickly dove to her side as she began to fall, then helped her gain her balance back.

"Were you about to warn me that you were about to throw up?" he laughed weakly as she shook in place, struggling to stand. Turning to Flitter, he tilted his head towards his friend. "I should probably take her home."

"No problem," Flitter said, giving him a nice nod. "Maybe we can get a rain check on the dance. Maybe grab dinner or something too."

"Maybe," Grif grunted, putting his head under Fluttershy's right foreleg, hoisting it around his neck to help support her.

"She's lucky to have a friend like you," Flitter said with a wink.

"Yeah. Catch you later, Flitter," he said, walking back to the booth with Fluttershy.

Once they got there, Fluttershy grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth, feeling embarrassed. She had not just puked because of the drinks in her system. She also puked because of her nerves. Even when she was drunk she couldn't work up the courage to tell him her feelings.

"We told you not to drink too much," Rainbow Dash grunted, smiling sheepishly at her friend. She looked towards Grif, assuming he was going to bring her home. "Want us to come with you?"

"Nah, you guys stay here. The night is still young for you guys, but I think it's time for us to hit the hay," he said, readjusting himself so he could support her more and be more comfortable. "Would be cool if we could do this again sometime. Except maybe next time we can keep her away from the booze."

"When she wakes up tomorrow, I think she'll stay away from it on her own," Tucker laughed. "I think she drank as much as Dash and I did combined."

"Jesus, and you guys didn't stop her?" Grif muttered.

"We tried, but she really wanted to drink more," Tucker said defensively.

"That doesn't really seem like her," he said, then looked at her when she let out a soft whimper. "Oh well, I'll ask her when she's in a better mood. I want to at least get outside before she throws up again."

"Good idea," Rainbow Dash said quietly, sighing as her friend looked up at her with half-closed eyes. "Fly safely."

"I'll try," he said, going towards the door. "See you guys later."

Once Grif brought her outside, he quickly managed to find his way under her and throw her over his back. Barely awake, Fluttershy instinctively wrapped her hooves around his neck and buried her face in it, only to fall asleep seconds later. Grif quickly flew back to her cottage and went into her bedroom, carefully putting her back down on her bed. Once her head hit the pillow, her eyes fluttered open and she saw him leaving the room.

"Before I go, I just wanted to thank you," he chuckled as he opened the door, noticing she was awake. "That was some quick thinking back there. You really saved my ass."

"I... did?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah. Dancing really isn't my kinda thing. In fact, I think it's pretty stupid."

"Then why'd you say yes?"

"Well, she did sorta bring me my fries," Grif said with a smile. "You know I love my fries. But I care about you more."

"You do?" she asked, cheeks growing red.

"Yeah. It's just... it's nice to have someone to look out for again."

"Look out for?" she asked quietly, a sinking feeling her stomach. "You mean... like your sister?"

"Kinda," he nodded. "I guess you put up with me just like my family did, so I sorta see you as family now too. And if there's one thing I am besides lazy and always hungry, it's protective. I don't want to see you get hurt, you know? You really are like a sister to me."

"Oh," she said, looking down, realizing he did care about her, just not in the way she had hoped.

"You know, you remind me a lot about her."

"I do?" she asked, looking back up, she saw that he was beginning to get a strange look in his eyes.

"Yup. She was pretty stupid. Always going into danger recklessly. She was also an embarrassment and kind of a slut," he said, then stopped when Fluttershy looked at him strangely. "I guess you don't really have a lot in common."

"She must have had other qualities," she said.

"Yeah, but..." he began, but sighed and shook his head. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Why?" she pressed slightly. "It sounds like she was close to you. You saved Tex because you thought she was your sister when Discord had you and the others in his maze."

"We were close, it's just... complicated..."

"Is it because you never got to say goodbye?"

"She's not fucking dead," Grif growled, shooting her an icy look. "She's more resilient than I am. I don't care what the fuck Lopez said. You saw me save Tex, so you know what happened to her before. Kaikaina's been in worse situations than that, and I was always there to help her through them! Every time that idiot got in trouble, I got her out of it."

"Grif..." Fluttershy said quietly. Looking into the eyes of the trembling eyes of Grif, she saw that he wasn't angry at her for talking about his sister. He was angry at himself. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, just-"

"It's not your fault," she said, interrupting him.

"Of course it's not my fault. I didn't shoot her," Grif grunted, not sure what she meant.

"I know you didn't. I just know what you're going through, and it's not your fault."

"Why do you keep saying that? I know it's not my fault," he said irately. "And how would you know what I'm feeling? You aren't being told every day that someone close to you was killed."

"That may be true, but I know you, Grif. You say you were always there for her when she got in trouble, but then one time you weren't," she said, making Grif freeze up. "You weren't there to protect her that time, so you blame yourself for her death."

"I..." he started, but stopped and shook his head, looking at the ground. "I miss her."

Fluttershy watched silently as Grif trembled with confusion, anger, and self-pity. She flew off the be as best as she could and made her way to Grif, hugging him tightly, supporting him like he had her.

"I was supposed to look after her," he sniffed, burying his head into her mane as she tightened the hug. "I was supposed to look after her and I didn't. My parents told me to look after her, and I failed."

"You looked after her as best as you could," she said soothingly, patting his back. "You couldn't be expected to look after her forever."

"I know..." he mumbled. "But-"

"No buts," she said, releasing him from the hug. "You should probably go catch up on your sleep now. I know how much you've missed already, and I don't want to keep you up longer."

"Yeah..." he said, starting towards the door, only to stop when he took two steps. "Uh, Fluttershy?"

"Yes, Grif?" she asked, stopping in front of the bed.

"I know it's weird, but... do you think I could crash in your bed?" he said, smiling awkwardly. "Again, it's a strange, I know, but I'm not really in the mood to nap alone right now..."

"Of course," Fluttershy said with a soft smile, doing her best not to smile too much. She knew that he did not want to nap in the same bed because he liked her, but because he needed her support just as much as she did his.

Chapter 30 - "Miscommunication"

It was a quarter to eight in the morning when the sun rose in the clear sky, hitting Fluttershy's eyes. She clenched them tightly and let out a small yawn. She wasn't used to staying up extra late, so she felt that she could sleep a little longer before she would go feed her animals. As she readjusted herself, she realized there was something heavy sitting on her wing.

"Give me a few more minutes, Angel," Fluttershy whispered, assuming it was her pet wanting it's breakfast.

When the weight remained, she shifted slightly and opened her eyes a crack. The thing that was on her wing was not Angel, but was rather an orange foreleg.

"Grif?" Fluttershy mumbled softly, hugging his foreleg. Her eyes then shot wide and she gazed at the leg wrapped around her and yelped sharply. She rolled quickly to the side and saw that Grif was indeed sleeping her her bed. "Grif?"

"Hey, Fluttershy," Grif muttered tiredly, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry if I kept you up too late last night, I just-"

Fluttershy then let out another high-pitched gasp of surprise and fell off the bed, crashing into the ground with a hard thump.

"Snore a lot more when I drink alcohol..." Grif finished quietly, then crawled to the edge of the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes," she mumbled, wrapping the cover around her nervously. A sharp pain flared into her head and she instantly clutched it and whimpered softly. "W-what happened last night?"

"We talked a lot," he said, looking down at her. "More than I usually do, actually."

"We... talked?" she asked hesitantly, trying to think back into the blur that was the night before. "Did I say anything?"

"Yeah, you said a bunch of stuff," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just wanted you to know that I appreciated it. I'm not used to talking about my feelings, but the stuff you said was just the thing I needed to hear."

"It was?" she asked, blushing slightly as she looked towards the window and winced as the sunlight shone in her eyes. Rubbing her eyes, she looked back to Grif and opened one eye at him, trying to block out most of the pain. "W-what did we talk about?

"You really don't remember, huh?" he chuckled, then chuckled again when she put her hooves over her ears, massaging the area around them. "Do you remember how much you drank?"

"Too much," she replied groggily.

"Tea is supposed to be pretty good for hangovers. Want me to go get you some?"

"T-that would be nice," she said with a curt nod.

"Alright, get back in the bed then. I'll go see if Angel can help me make you some," he said, heading towards the door, only to pause and look back. "I had fun last night, though. Just wanted you to know that.'

Fluttershy blinked dumbly when Grif left the room, a strange feeling in her gut. Many things ran through her pain-addled mind as she sat there. By the looks of things, she had told Grif her feelings and he felt the same way, so they slept together. At the thought of that, she blushed deeply and rubbed her head. She then realized the pain in her stomach was bile, so she quickly ran to the waste basket and shoved her head inside, trying her best to fight back her headache as well as what she had the day before. After a few minutes of sitting by the basket, she trudged onto the bed, carrying it with her in case she needed it.

She looked at the open window, staring at the clear blue sky for what felt like hours, but was only just a few seconds. When she realized it was too bright, she crawled out of her spot, dragging the bin with her and closed the window. She then began to wonder if Grif was simply hungover all the time and that was why he slept so much, but her wondering deepened her migraine, making her whimper, so she quickly wrapped herself under the covers with her temporary bucket and waited there for what seemed like an eternity.

Eventually she heard the door to her room open, so she peered out from under the cover at the foot of the bed, wrapped around snugly with a blanket. As she did so, she saw Angel hopping into the room, holding a tray with a steaming cup of tea rested on top of. Grif then walked in with tired eyes and watched as Angel delivered the drink to Fluttershy. She slowly took it off the tray and began to take small sips out of it, sighing happily as it offered up a small, but immediate relief. After a few more drinks, she glanced back at Grif and saw him leaning on the door's frame, eyes closed.

"Thank you for the tea, Angel," she said, patting the bunny on the head. "You too, Grif."

"No problem," he mumbled, clearly tired already.

Angel smiled strangely at her, but paused when he saw the look Fluttershy was giving Grif. Tilting his head, he looked to Grif and saw him, almost asleep while standing up. He then looked at the bed and saw the imprint of a slightly larger pony on it. Raising a brow, he looked at Fluttershy's small frame, then at Grif's chubbier frame. His eyes then shot to Fluttershy and opened widely.

"We went out for a drink last night with Tucker and Rainbow Dash," she explained quietly, seeing the look on his face. "I think I had a bit too much though, because I can't remember much from last night."

Angel's eye twitched slightly and he hopped out of the room slowly, one hop every two seconds. He paused by Grif and tapped his leg, waking him up.

"Bwuh. Huh?" he snorted, glancing down at the white ball of fluff.

Angel tugged at his leg and pointed out of the room.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," he sighed, looking to Fluttershy. "Listen, you should get some rest after you finish that, because sleep fixes everything. And again, sorry if you didn't get to sleep much last night."

"O-okay," she said with a nod as Grif walked out the door.

As soon as Grif closed the door, Angel tapped on his hoof. The instant he looked down, he was met with a foot to the face.

"What the hell was that for?" Grif grunted, rubbing his cheek.

Angel stomped his foot to the ground and pointed towards the door while giving Grif a serious glare. Grif looked to the door, then back to Angel.

"What the hell was that for?" he repeated slowly, unsure of what he meant. "It's not my fault she drank too much. I told her early on to not drink too much, and so did the others."

Angel's features relaxed slightly and he took a small, relieved breath as he looked at the door. Glancing back at Grif, he began scratching his head, mimicking the motion of drinking out of a glass.

"Are you... wondering why she drank, or are you thirsty?" he inquired, then frowned when Angel put his paw on his face. "You know I can't understand you past basic things, right?"

With a heavy sigh, he pointed towards the door and did his previous motion.

"Who knows why she drank that much," he said with another yawn. "All I know is that it would probably be better if you waited to ask her later. She needs her sleep, and so do I. I only nabbed a few hours last night since I went to bed late and woke up early, so I'm missing nearly a dozen off of my schedule. Tell her I'll be out back if she needs me, alright?"

Angel rolled his eyes once again and went back into Fluttershy's room to help her with her hangover.

Chapter 31 - "Daylight Expenses"

Simmons sat in silence at the back corner of the boutique, doing an expense report for Rarity. He had made a list that kept track of how much she had spent on fabrics, how much she earned from her clothing and what materials she still needs to acquire for future orders. When he had finished, he checked it multiple times to make sure there were no inconsistencies and everything was correct. Satisfied that his job was complete, he looked outside to see the sun just barely poking out over the buildings that surrounded them. He let out a soft sigh.

"There goes another night of doing work," he yawned, stretching his forelegs.

He quietly headed towards the room over, knowing that Rarity was still asleep. Once he went inside, he grabbed a pair of apples and a pear from the cupboard and put them on a small plate. He then walked back into the other room and placed it on the table he had originally sat at, slowly eating his small breakfast, knowing it would be enough to last him until lunch. As he finished his meal, he noticed a figure moving towards the door to the shop, so he hastily trotted towards it and opened the door. The figure, as he expected, was a gray pegasus with wall-eyes holding a medium sized package.

"Good morning!" she smiled lightheartedly. "How are you today, Simmons?"

"Pretty good," he said quietly, looking at the delivery he knew was due to arrive. "Rarity?"

"No, silly, I'm Derpy. Remember?" she chuckled, tilting her head at the red unicorn.

"No, I know. It's just..." he stopped and shook his head, knowing how to deal with people and ponies like her thanks to Caboose. "The package is for Rarity, right?"

"Oh. Yeah," she said sheepishly, holding the parcel out towards him.

Simmons rolled his eyes and took the object out of her hooves with his magic, eyeing it curiously.

"You look really tired," Derpy said with a smile.

"That's probably because I stay up all night doing work that nobody else bothers to do," he sighed, gently placing the delivery on the table behind him. "But I don't need much sleep anyways. I'm used to working overtime."

"Why does nopony else do it?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Because it doesn't really need to be done that fast. I just like to get things out of the way early, then check them over a bunch of times to make sure everything is perfect."

"Oh," she chuckled, reaching into her bag to pull out the clipboard she kept inside. "I can see why nopony else wants to do it. It sounds boring."

As she took it out, she opened her mouth to talk to him, but Simmons instantly grabbed it with his magic. He grumbled softly as he signed it on the bottom, confirming that they had received the package.

"Have a nice day, Simmons!" Derpy said with a half-wave as she flew away, only to hit one of the banisters that held up the building. She quickly recovered and began rubbing her nose, smiling awkwardly. "I'm okay!"

"I know you are," he said, closing the door. Turning towards the stairs, he cleared his throat. "Rarity, there's a delivery for you."

He then rolled out of the way as a white blur zoomed down the stairs, right towards the parcel on the table. As Simmons got up, he shook his head when he saw Rarity tearing open the package, smiling widely.

"This is fantastic!" Rarity said excitedly as she threw the scraps of wrapping paper into the trash. "Now we can start to put the final touches on those outfits Flint ordered!"

"Yeah, but that stuff was pretty expensive," he grunted, lifting the report he had written into the air.

"You know it has to be just perfect, Simmons," she smiled, glancing at the report suspended in front of her. "Price is no object when this particular job will bring in more business."

"I know, and I like having everything be perfect too, but that stuff costed more than everything else you've spent this month..." he said, walking next to her to look at the material.

From what he had written in the report, he knew that this was a rare piece of fabric that was made exclusively by a handful of ponies. Because it was for an order for pre-Celestia reign clothing, she had ordered a small amount of fabric that was made the exact same way it was made back then. He still felt that she could have ordered cheaper stuff that looked identical, but she wanted to go for genuine, antiqued authenticity.

"Come now, Simmons, you know it's for the best," she said calmly, folding the material back up and placing it in it's box. "The outfits, as well as the fabrics used, are all kept in my room, locked inside a cupboard. What could go wrong?"

"For one, the mailmare isn't the most stable of pegasi," he said. "And two, the fragments are back and they love to cause trouble."

"I understand Derpy may not be the most reliable of ponies when it comes to how she goes about her business, but she takes her job just as seriously as we do. As for the fragments, well... they have no real reason to come after my clothing. Thanks to you, I am sure I will never have to worry about O'Malley coming here over taxes."

"Sigma is the one I'm worried about. He's friends with your sister, so he has access to this place if he ever needs it."

"Sweetie Belle does not have a key to my room, nor do I think that Sigma would wish to cause trouble. The only trouble he's been interested in was the Alpha, but by the sounds of things, he is no longer interested in that."

"That was the only thing he was interested in for most of his life. What gives you the idea that he's no longer interested now?"

"Sweetie tells me that Theta and Sigma are happier now that they're back. More than they were when they were originally here. I believe after that whole ordeal in Canterlot, he lost interest in it, what with being trapped in stone and all that."

"Just because he seems happier doesn't mean he is. It could just be him pretending."

"Simmons," she said firmly.

"Fine," he sighed reluctantly. "I'd just hate to have wrote up all your expenses only for us to have to order more expensive stuff. I already stayed up all night last night prep-"

"You stayed up with no sleep again?" she asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts. You know I told you that you do not need to do that," she said seriously. "I told you that it could wait until later. Staying awake for more than thirty hours at a time is not good for your health."

"Neither is sleeping twenty hours of the day," he countered, thinking of Grif. "At least I actually get work done during that time."

"That may be true, but I'm worried that it will catch up with you one day," she tutted, looking at the bags under his eyes. She quickly shook her head and began to smile. "But enough about that. I am going to start putting the finishing touches on the suits and dresses, so you can look at them afterwards and offer your opinion on them, seeing as you do not sleep during the day."

"Sounds good. I'll be down here," he said with a nod.

As soon as Rarity went upstairs and went into her room. the door to the boutique swung open and Rarity's younger sister came through, panting heavily.

"Oh good, you're awake!" Sweetie Belle said. "Simmons, are you busy?"

"Not anymore, I just finished-"

"Great! We need your help with something over at Sweet Apple Acres!"

"Did O'Malley start a fire?" Simmons asked quickly, looking for far off smoke over the the buildings.

"No, Sarge just told me he wanted me to get you. He said it involved the fragments or something like that," she said, then looked towards the door. "I don't know what he means, and I'm not sure how important it is, but he sounded pretty serious."

Within the span of a second, Simmons had already zoomed out the door and was making his way over to the farm at a fast pace.

"Guess it is important," Sweetie Belle said happily, following after him at her own pace.

Chapter 32 - "Transitioning Plans"

Simmons quickly ran through the gate of Sweet Apple Acres, making his way to the door as hastily as he could. Once he came up to it, he gave it three firm knocks, standing timidly as he waited for the door to open. Within a few seconds, the door pulled open to reveal the gray-haired stallion that he came there to talk to.

"There you are, Simmons. What took you so long?" Sarge asked firmly.

"I came as fast as I could, sir," Simmons huffed, out of breath from his run. "What's wrong with the fragments? Are they on the run? Are they threatening to blow the town up?"

"Not yet, Simmons. That is why I got you here," Sarge murmured roughly, then nodded inside. "Come on in. I don't want any of them to hear us."

"Right," Simmons said, trotting inside, not flinching when Sarge slammed the door shut. Sarge quickly led Simmons to the kitchen, then prompted him to take a seat.

"As you know, the fragments are back," Sarge started, looking out the kitchen window, squinting at the barn next to them. "And because of that, it's up to the Apples and I to watch them. Normally I'd be more than happy to threaten them, but they simply don't react to it as well as I wish."

"That's a shame, sir."

"Don't I know it," he grumbled. Shaking his head, he turned back to the unicorn. "Because of this, I want to find a new way to keep them out of trouble. From what I've gathered, some of them seem to be trying to make friends here. While Theta and Sigma have tried to show the young ones that they're their friends, I'm not entirely convinced."

"I don't know, Sarge. I'm sure they would have noticed if Theta was pretending to be their friend," Simmons said, but Sarge simply made a soft grunt in reply. "And what about Delta, sir? He's helped keep them out of trouble before."

"Delta might be an exception," Sarge admitted reluctantly. "But I would still prefer the planning to be done by flesh and blood humans turned horse."

"That might be a good move," Simmons said, nodding once again. "I sort of trust Delta, but Sigma knows how to convince others to do his bidding."

"Exactly!" Sarge smirked. "You know, Simmons, I have always admired your ability to agree with me."

"Really, sir?" Simmons asked hopefully.

"Slightly, yes."

"Oh..."

"So any ideas on how to do this?" Sarge asked, taking a seat at the table.

"I don't know. Since they don't react to fear or threats, it will be pretty hard to keep them tamed," Simmons said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "Maybe we can..."

"What is it?" Sarge inquired, leaning in closer.

"Well, I have an idea, but I'm not sure if you will like it, sir..."

"Out with it. I'm having trouble coming up with my own plans for once. I would have blown them up or something, but I don't want to damage the property."

"Right. Well, the way I see it is that as long as they think we're going to do things to them, they'll think of things to do to us," Simmons said quietly. "What if we don't do anything at all?"

"Hold on there, Simmons. That's getting awfully close to sounding like a Grif idea," Sarge growled.

"Hear me out," Simmons protested. "I'm not really saying we don't do anything. On the contrary, we will do something. It just won't involve threatening them or anything like that. If we want them to behave, we have to treat them like we want them to treat others. I think we should try to be their friends."

"Be... friends with the fragments?" Sarge asked, adopting a look of horror on his face. "You're hanging around the girls too much. That's almost as bad as suggesting we befriend the Blues."

"Sarge, aren't we already friends with the Blues? Let's be honest, we haven't really talked about attacking them in the past while, and I'm pretty sure they've rarely talked about attacking us."

"Don't be silly. If anything, this is a ceasefire. They're biding their time just like we are," Sarge snorted. "I'm sure they'll fight us eventually. It's just a matter of waiting for them to show their true nature. I can't work on taking them out when Applejack thinks we're all friends."

"Well, why don't you treat the fragments the same as the others, then? Don't work on taking them down. Just stay on your guard and watch them. Give them a little breathing room. If you're not actively seeking to ruin them, they might learn to trust you."

"And then I might be able to use their trust to my advantage..."

"Precisely."

"Hmph. I guess that will have to do for now," Sarge grunted. Smiling roughly, he gave Simmons a quick salute. "Thanks for coming by on such short notice, Simmons. It's good to know I can still put trust in to someone other than the Apples."

"Likewise, sir," Simmons said, returning the salute.

Simmons then got out of the chair and made his way towards the front door. As he reached out to open it, it pushed inward, making him take a few steps back to let the door opener through. What he saw instead was Sigma looking up at him with a thin smile. Simmons took a few more steps back.

"Hello," Sigma said calmly.

"Hi," Simmons squealed nervously, tensing up as the fragment began walking towards him.

"Nice weather we're having."

"Yeah, it's great," Simmons agreed instantly. Stealing a quick glance at the door, he began to slowly move towards it, eyes glued on the small colt as he walked around him. "It's such a nice day that I think I'm going to go for a walk. Yes, a walk. Walks aren't suspicious, so you have no reason to be suspicious of me. Because I'm going on a walk."

"Walks are nice, aren't they?" the orange colt inquired innocently as Simmons made his way past him. "It is always nice to clear one's mind once and a while. Offers you a chance to think back on what you've done."

"And that is exactly what I'm going to do," Simmons said as he backed out the door with a crooked smile. "Walk!"

Sigma raised his brow when Simmons slammed the door. He quickly shook his head and made his way over to the kitchen where he found Sarge sitting at the table, eyes closed, deep in thought. Sigma then cleared his throat, making Sarge glance upwards.

"May I have a quick word with you?" Sigma asked quietly. "I promise it won't take long."

"I suppose," Sarge murmured, sitting up straight.

"Thank you. You see, I recently had a revelation of sorts. Due to my past, you must see me as a monster, and I began to question myself as well. After much thought, I have decided to change my ways. As hard as it is for you to believe, I no longer wish to be the Alpha," Sigma said quietly, watching Sarge for any sign of doubt. When he couldn't see any, he nodded. "I know that just because my path has changed, I cannot expect others to forget what I have done in an instant. But though I do not expect forgiveness, I hope for understanding during this transitional period."

"Er, of course," Sarge said with forced enthusiasm, remembering his new plan of action. He was now more wary of Sigma than ever, but he couldn't let him see that. "I knew you would come to our side eventually."

"You... did?" Sigma asked, not expecting the calm response from the stallion in front of him.

"Yes, I did," the red stallion replied instantly, holding out his hoof. "Don't worry, as long as you try to be nicer, I'll treat you like an equal."

"I am very relieved to hear that," Sigma sighed, shaking his hoof.

Chapter 33 - "Floral Patterns"

Simmons exhaled deeply as soon as he stepped outside, happy to have Sigma out of his hair. He quickly looked around, making sure O'Malley and Gary were nowhere nearby either. Once he was satisfied with that, he began to make his way down the path at a moderate speed. As he neared the gate, he saw a small, purple colt emerge from the treeline. He picked up his pace, trying to go fast enough to not have to deal with him, but not fast enough to make Theta curious.

"Hey, Simmons," Theta greeted slowly, trotting up to meet him with a small bag on his back. "Where are you running off to in such a hurry?"

"Me? I'm not running from anything," he countered, not willing to stop so close to the gate. "I'm walking."

"Really?" Theta asked quietly, stepping in front of him to block his path. "Because it looks like you happen to be going somewhere fast. Walking is supposed to be slow."

"Then I'm going for a jog," he grumbled, trying to step to the side. "A nice and relaxing jog. Is that alright with you?"

"I guess, I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"About what?" Simmons asked tightly, eyeing the smallest of the fragments with only slightly less caution he gave the others. He trusted him less than he trusted Delta and Church because of the fact that Sigma stuck closer to him than the others.

"Well, Sigma and I went digging with the girls a while ago. We ended up finding what we thought was a rock, but O'Malley smashed and something was inside," Theta said, before sticking his head into the bag to grab something. He then held a small object between his teeth and placed it gently on the ground.

"Looks like a flower encased in some amber," Simmons said curiously, turning his attention to the ancient flora.

"Yeah, that's what I think it is to," Theta nodded knowingly, then looked up at Simmons. "Anyways, I was wondering if you could try to find out what that is. Maybe go to the library and take out a book on old flowers or something."

"Why don't you do it?" Simmons asked hesitantly, not wanting to get wrapped up in anything to do with the separate pieces of the Alpha.

"I want to, but I can't do it without seeming suspicious to the others," he sighed.

"The others?" Simmons asked, thinking about his siblings.

"Yeah. Normally I wouldn't want to bother you, but I want to show it to Scootaloo and the others, and I want to know what it is first. I don't want any of them to know about it. Not even Sigma. I want this to be a surprise to them all, y'know?" Theta asked. "Since I'm usually around Sigma, they'll get curious about what I'm doing if I'm over at the library without him."

"You don't want Sigma to know?" Simmons inquired with mild surprise.

Theta shook his head.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do," Simmons said with a nod.

"Great," Theta smiled, putting it back in the bag. He then shrugged the bag off and placed it in front of Simmons. "Thanks for doing this."

"No problem," Simmons said, placing the bag on his back. As long as he didn't have to deal with Sigma directly, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "I'll try to look it up tonight, then bring it back to you tomorrow."

"Awesome!" Theta said ecstatically. "Listen, I should probably go find Sigma, so-"

"He's in the farmhouse with Sarge," Simmons said, already starting towards the gate.

"Thanks again," Theta said, trotting away to find his brother. "And remember, don't tell anybody about it, okay?"

"Don't worry about it," Simmons said back to him, trotting away for reasons of his own.

Since he did not need to be back at the boutique, he decided to stop by the library and get the flower business out of the way. With that small detour, he made his way over to the library. Once he arrived, he politely knocked on the door three times.

"Come in, Simmons," Twilight said. Once he walked inside, she gave him a small smile. "I keep telling you, this is a public library. You don't have to knock every time."

"It's better to knock on every door than to barge in through each one," Simmons countered. "I've been in enough awkward situations with the others. I know that I'd prefer to knock and get told to leave, rather than walk in on one and get involved in it."

"Fair enough," Twilight laughed. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Yeah, do you have any books on flowers? Preferably one that might have some extinct ones in it."

"I believe I have a few books on that," she said, turning towards the shelves. "Take a seat, it shouldn't take me too long to find them."

"Sounds good," Simmons said as he put the bag on the table. He then pulled the flower out of it and began to examine it in closer detail so he wouldn't have to keep cross referencing with every flower, even though he knew he'd probably do it anyways.

"Okay, here's a few books on all kinds of flowers," Twilight said, placing nearly half a dozen books in front of him. "Some of them go back over a few thousand years, so whatever you're looking for should be in one of them."

"Thanks," Simmons mumbled, opening one of the books there, placing the flower on top of the bag next to him.

"That's a beautiful flower," Twilight said, examining it while Simmons began flipping through the pages. "Where did you get it?"

"I found it at Sweet Apple Acres," he mumbled, looking at the pictures to find one that looked like the one he had.

"Hard to believe you found a flower encased in amber above ground. Normally that sort of thing is buried under the ground, so..." she paused thoughtfully, then her eyes lit up and she began to smile. "So they really did find something, huh?"

"Huh?"

"Theta, Sigma and the girls dropped by to pick up some books on archaeology," Twilight said, now with more interest in the flower. "I didn't think they'd actually find something, though. I thought they would have had to dig for much longer to find something. But that begs the question: why do you have the flower?"

"Theta wanted me to find out what it was," Simmons sighed, knowing she'd pry it out of him eventually. "Just don't tell anyone, okay? He didn't want me to tell anyone else about it."

"Sure thing," she said with a smile, then it faltered slightly. "I was under the impression that you didn't trust any of them, though..."

"So?"

"So why are you helping Theta figure out what this flower is?" she asked.

"Because... I don't know. I don't really have anything better to do," Simmons replied with a shrug. "Besides, I guess maybe Theta and the two silent fragments deserve a chance. I mean, I trust Church, and he's an asshole. I also kind of trust Delta, but he really does seem like the voice of reason for the Alpha."

"What about Sigma?" Twilight asked, tilting her head.

"Right. He's the one I trust the least," Simmons said, rolling his eyes. "Gary and O'Malley are untrustworthy, but Sigma is downright evil. I don't feel safe anywhere knowing the one who caused the Meta is within walking distance of me."

"You might be surprised if you gave him a chance," Twilight said honestly, remembering her talk with him from a few nights ago.

"I've had enough surprises in my life from being around the others, thank you very much," Simmons said, turning his attention back to the flower.

Chapter 34 - "Finishing Touches"

Twilight soon left Simmons to his own devices, letting him scour through the encyclopedias laid out in front of him by himself. To save time, Simmons had opened up several of the books so he could reference each one at the same time. After half an hour of searching, a door upstairs opened and closed, and Simmons could hear something coming down the stairs. Paranoid at who it was, Simmons quickly turned around to see a small, purple dragon hoping down the steps with a freidnly smile on his face.

"Hey, Simmons," Spike said happily. "How's it going?"

"Oh good, it's you. Hey, Spike. Next to the fact that I'm scared for my life, pretty good," Simmons said flatly. "How about you?"

"Could be better, could be worse," the dragon chuckled, hopping on the chair next to the unicorn. "Whatcha looking at?"

"This flower. I'm trying to find out what it is," Simmons mumbled as he looked among the several open books. "You know, find out what it's called, what it represents, how old it is. All that interesting stuff."

"Uh, right. Interesting," Spike said slowly, looking at the fossilized flower. A sudden thought rushed through his mind, making him look to Simmons with a slightly jealous look. "Is that flower for Rarity?"

"Hm?" Simmons muttered, turning to Spike. He then remembered that Spike had a crush on Rarity, so he began to shake his head. "No, don't worry, it's not for her."

"Okay," Spike sighed deeply, glad that Simmons had no interest in her. Embarrassed, he scratched the back of his head and coughed. "So, uh, who's it for then? Another mare?"

"No, this isn't for any girl," Simmons said. "This is just for someone who found it and is curious about it."

"That's cool, I guess," Spike said. "Need any help looking?"

"No, I'm good on my own," Simmons replied with a shrug. "I'm probably going to go back to Rarity's boutique now, actually. I'm supposed to look at the end result of her dresses and try to find faults with it."

"Can I come?" Spike asked hopefully.

"I don't see why not. I don't think Rarity would mind another pair of eyes looking at her work," Simmons chuckled slowly as he began putting a few feathers into the books, so he could find his place when he closed them. "I mean, that's why she does the whole fashion thing."

"Heh, that's true," Spike said, watching as Simmons carefully put the books into the bag, then placed the flower on top.

Simmons and and Spike made their way over to the boutique in a matter of minutes. When they arrived, Simmons gently pushed open the door and began walking towards the table.

"Is that you, Simmons?" Rarity asked from her room.

"Yeah, just came back from the library with Spike," Simmons called back, placing the bag on the table.

"The library? Sweetie told me you were at Sweet Apple Acres," she said curiously.

"I was, but I needed to stop by to pick up some books to help figure something out," Simmons said.

"I see. Well, I have the dresses mostly finished, so do you mind giving me your thoughts on them now?"

"Sure," Simmons said as he took everything out of the bag and placed it on the table.

Simmons and Spike made their way up the stairs and walked into Rarity's room. Several suits and dresses were presented on the marrequins in the center, where a mildly annoyed looking Rarity stood nearby.

"Hello, Spike," Rarity said, flashing the young dragon a quick, warm smile.

"Hey. Something wrong?" Spike asked, noticing that she was unimpressed with something.

"Something is wrong, but I can't figure out what it is," she said quietly. "I've done everything I could on the dresses, but they still don't seem right..."

"The dresses look perfect, Rarity," Spike said, giving the pieces a courtesy walk around. "I bet you could blend in perfectly back in those days with those."

"Do you really think so, dear?" she asked, trying to find faults in the design. Feeling something was off about one of the dresses, but was just not able to see it, she turned to her assistant. "You have a crucial eye for detail, Simmons. What do you think?"

"I agree with Spike," he said, looking at each fold. "From what you based these off of, these are perfect in almost every way."

"Almost?" she inquired quickly. "Oh, I knew something was off. What is it? Is it the color of the ensembles?"

"No, the colors look flawless," he mumbled, walking around one of the dresses. "It's just something about this one."

"The lead mare's dress?" she asked, stepping closer to it. "What did I do wrong?"

"I don't think it's what you did wrong, it's just what you didn't do," Simmons mumbled thoughtfully.

"And by that I suppose you mean that something should be added to it, correct?" she asked. "Now that you say it, it is missing a certain something..."

Spike watched passively as Rarity picked over the dress. In his eyes, they were good, but he also knew that Rarity needed everything to be perfect.

"You still have some time to find whatever is missing," Simmons said quietly.

"I suppose you're right," she sighed. "I don't suppose you boys could do me a quick favor?"

"Anything," Spike said instantly.

"I don't mean to bother you with unnecessary tasks, but do you think you two could return these books to Twilight while I try to think of what I can add?" Rarity asked, putting a pile of nearly two dozen books in front of them. "Tell her that I'm very grateful that she lent them to me for the time that I had them."

"No problem," Spike said instantly, grabbing as many as he could in one go. "If you ever need anything else, just say the word, and I'll be there."

"Oh, Spike. I know I can count on you and Simmons on just about anything," she said as she gave him a small, friendly hug, making him drop the books.

Simmons quickly picked up the books with his magic and piled them neatly in front of Spike, largest books on the bottom, smallest on the top.

"Thanks," Spike said as he grabbed the books. Turning around, he began to walk out the door, barely able to see past the objects he was carrying.

"We'll be back soon," Simmons said, putting the rest of the books on his back, balancing them carefully.

"Do hurry back," Rarity said, opening the front door for them using her own magic.

"We will!" Spike said as he began jogging back to the library.

With a smile, Rarity closed the door behind the pair and turned around, wondering what was missing. The dresses were, in her mind, flawless. There wasn't a hem out of place, the fabrics were genuine and matched the time they were supposed to resemble. But as Simmons had said, there was something else that needed to be added. A final touch of beauty to the lead mare's dress that would push it to the limit. Something on the table glistened a dull orange, catching her attention. Making her way over to the table, she saw the flower Simmons had brought back sitting on the table.

"My, this flower looks positively ancient," Rarity said as she examined it. An idea sparked in her mind, so she quickly began to smile, knowing she had just found what the dress was missing.

PSA - "Writing Advice"

"Do-be-lee-doo," Caboose sung, sitting on the ground of the library, scribbling on a piece of paper with a green crayon as he had been for the past half hour.

"Oh, hey, Caboose. I was wondering who was making that noise" Church muttered, looking down at him as he came down the stairs. "What are you doing?"

"I am writing a story to end all stories! It will have t-shirt rexes and lots of milk for their cookies!" Caboose said happily as his scrawling hastened.

"Sounds... good?" Church asked himself.

"Hello, my name is private Dexter Grif from the unjustifiably popular series for how shit it is; My Little Caboose," Grif boomed pleasantly as he kicked open the door to the library and walked inside.

"And I am private Dick Simmons from the same fiction," Simmons said formally as he strolled in with his partner.

"Oh, this stuff again," Church muttered, turning around. "I'll be upstairs. If you need me, don't hesitate to ask someone else."

"What you just saw Caboose partake in was a wonderful process called 'writing'."

"But what is writing, Simmons?" Grif inquired curiously.

"I am making words with a pencil!" Caboose piped.

"Well said, Caboose. You see, Grif. Writing is something people do when they feel creative and have little to no talent when it comes to music or drawing," Simmons explained. "In fact, many writers don't even have a talent for writing."

"Wow, that must suck to be them," Grif whistled.

"I'm sure it does, Grif," Simmons agreed seriously. "But enough about others. To start us off, how about we talk about how to get noticed for your writing?"

"I'm sure that is what most people are here for," Grif said with a nod as he turned towards the camera. "You see, there are several different things you can do to get noticed by others. The most important ones are spelling and a picture for your title art."

"Having a description that is unoriginal and riddled with spelling errors makes it very difficult to get noticed. Having spelling errors in your description if a major turn off for potential readers. You want to lure them in with a hook," Simmons said with a smile. "Cover art is another thing that goes a long way towards being noticed. Asking a friend or commissioning an artist to make you some title art shows readers that you're serious about your story."

"But make sure that the description and cover art fit well together. It would be awfully strange to have your description talking about a romantic comedy while the cover art is of a guy holding a gun to his head."

"Another way you can get noticed is by befriending a popular author and having them plug your work," Simmons went on. "By having them advertise your story, you can get a lot of views that way."

"Now that you know how to get noticed, it's time to start on your story. Let's pick a genre," Grif said."You may be saying to yourself; 'Wow, there are so many to choose from. How am I going to pick?'"

"An easy way to do this is to think about what you like," Simmons said firmly. "You can even choose multiple genres to write about in a story. Just make sure they don't conflict, because then you just look like a fool."

"A safe bet is always crossover stories with comedy in them," Grif said slyly. "I mean, think about it. Crossovers are the lazy man's way out. Not only are you mixing two worlds, you already have a bunch of people willing to read your work simply based off the fact that it's something they like to read or watch. And you don't even have to create your own characters!"

"But you still do want to find something original that people would be interested in reading."

"Of course. Nobody wants to read something they've seen a million times before."

"What comes next is a big one. Planning ahead," Simmons continued. "You don't want to write for a few days just to find yourselves written into a wall. Plan out your story so you know where you're going. You don't want to sit down with no idea how your chapter is going to end. Only a complete idiot does that."

"Please note that the author of this story doesn't really do this," Grif said quietly. "In fact, he sits down having no idea where the hell he left off."

"A third thing to have is the characters. While it is already frowned upon by many to put yourself into a story, don't put a damn super hero into a story and claim it's you."

"Yeah. Nobody wants to hear a story about how you're a ladies man who is master of kung fu, can get into a flawless relationship with several girls at the same time and can do anything with no problem," Grif chuckled. "Only Hugh Hefner and Chuck Norris' love child can do that."

"Please note that the author of this story owns the characters Hugh Norris, Chuck Hefner, and every other combination of the two," Grif added.

"A fourth thing that could be of use is-"

"You know, I write in my diary a lot, so maybe I could help with this," a flamboyant voice said from outside the library.

"Donut, we keep telling you, you're not coming in until later!" Grif yelled hoarsly.

"But I want to come in now!" he pouted. "I want to come in as hard and fast is I can, but gracefully enough that people reading aren't hurt by it. I want to be there by your sides during the climax."

"Donut, please, we're in the middle of-" Simmons began, but was interrupted when a tall, pink soldier crawled through the door. "God damn it..."

"Wow, I forgot how small you guys are as cute little ponies," Donut cooed as he approached Grif and Simmons. "You're, like, only four feet tall. I could just eat you up."

"We're not little ponies, we are medium-sized stallions!" Simmons snapped as Donut began hugging Grif.

"Wash?" Grif wheezed loudly, looking out the door.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Wash muttered, crawling in through the door. "Come on, Donut. You're being stupid. Which for you is pretty normal."

"But I want to talk about writing!" he whined, tightening his grip on Grif.

"Listen, we have to go back out and get ready for when we actually come into the story, alright?" Wash sighed as he pulled Donut away from Grif, letting the orange stallion have some breathing room.

"Yeah, sorry for the delays, guys," Doc said, poking his head in through the door.

"For crying out loud, why not get everybody in here?" Grif moaned, rubbing his face.

"I don't think there's room for everybody. But, hey! I guess we could try," Doc said happily as he turned to face the door. "Lopez, Sister, get in here for a sec."

"No, stay out there!" Grif yelled in frustration, slamming the door shut when he saw Lopez beginning to enter.

"Jeez, calm down, buddy," Doc chuckled, shaking his head as he began to smile under his helmet. "Anyways, DarkWing is making some pretty big plans for when we come in, and boy, is it a doozy. It won't be for another few dozen chapters, though, so you're going to have to hold onto your hats."

"We get hats?" Caboose gasped hopefully.

"Christ, this session is spiraling out of control," Grif grunted as he turned to Simmons with a raised brow. "Want to give up?"

"We're only a fifth done what we were going to go over!"

"That's like thirteen percent. Multiply that by five and that's ninety, and that's an F plus. That's a passing grade, Simmons, and I am alright with that."

"Nothing of what you just said was true, but I can tell something will interrupt us if we try to say anything more," Simmons grumbled, beginning to walk towards the door. "Might as well do something that isn't a complete waste of time."

"Does that mean I can talk about writing advice?" Donut asked happily.

"Knock yourself out," Grif said as he walked out the door with Simmons, slamming it shut behind them.

Author's Note

Decided "PSA"s will happen every 30 chapters or so for funsies. Last time I only did one, but I want to do at least half a dozen in this one. Feel free to suggest PSA ideas.

Chapter 36 - "Never Free from Work"

"Not a single thing about the flower," Simmons murmured after he blazed through the last book for the second time.

Closing the book, his eyes settled on the item he was studying. None of the flowers in the book looked anywhere close to it. While he couldn't find out what it was, he knew he could still make himself useful by finding another one for Rarity's dress. As he rose from his chair, he used his magic to place the books into the bag so he could return them later, then placed the flower on his back.

"I'll be back soon. I'm going to see if I can find another one of these flowers," Simmons called out. Knowing Rarity was most likely trying to see if there was anything else she could do with the dress, he did not await for a response and just went.

Simmons, not sparing any time, quickly made his way over to Sweet Apple Acres. As he walked through the gate, he saw Applejack bucking a few nearby trees, a small amount of bushels filled with apples next to her.

"Hey, Applejack," Simmons greeted as he walked up to the orange mare. "What are you doing?"

"Gettin' th' last of th' apples before winter hits," she replied as she bucked another tree. "Anythin' Ah can do for ya?"

"Yeah," he replied, then remembered that he couldn't tell Applejack about the flower directly. "But it's really more about what I could do for you. Do you have those things that the girls borrowed to go digging in the orchard?"

"Sure do. What do ya need 'em for?" she asked, looking at him as sweat travelling down her face.

"Well, Sweetie told me that they didn't fill their small excavation site back up with dirt, and I thought it would be safer if I filled it. After all, we don't want them running around near their headquarters, not paying attention, only to fall into it and risk breaking a leg."

"That's awfully considerate of ya, Simmons," she said with a warm grin. Wiping the droplets off of her brow, she nodded towards the farmhouse. "The shovels should be in there near th' door. Ah'd show ya where, but Ah'm a little busy. These apples ain't gunna pick themselves, and ya gotta get 'em while they're good."

"I could help you with that if you want."

"No offense meant, but Ah don't think you're built for that," she chuckled. "Need a strong pair o' legs to get 'em down, not a strong brain."

"Oh. Okay," Simmons said, looking towards the farmhouse. He took a step towards it, then paused.

"Somethin' th' matter?" Applejack asked as she made her way next to another tree.

"No, just thinking," he mumbled.

"Seems like there's an awful lotta that goin' around lately," she snorted.

"Not enough, if you ask me," he sighed, then shook his head and smiled weakly at her. "I'll be back with the shovels as soon as I can. But don't wait up, I might be there for a while."

"Shouldn't take ya that long t' get done fillin' a little hole," she said curiously.

Over at Rainbow Dash's place, Rainbow Dash and Tucker were having a small lunch before they went to work. As Tucker went go bite a sandwich, his lips twitched slightly and he placed his food back on the plate.

"Bow-chicka-bow-wow!" Tucker yelled involuntarily, then coughed and pounded his chest.

"Where did that come from?" Rainbow Dash asked with a laugh.

"I don't know," Tucker replied as he looked around curiously. "But whatever it was, I hope whoever it was directed to heard it."

Back at the farm, Simmons' ear twitched, just barely able to hear Tucker's voice scream his favorite words from Rainbow Dash's home.

"Did ya hear what Ah said?" Applejack asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah," Simmons grunted as he shook his head. "The reason it might take a while is because I have to find it. Hopefully it shouldn't take too long, though."

"Alrighty. When ya drop the shovels off, you're welcome t' stay and eat with us," she said, tipping her hat at him.

"I might take you up on that," he said, smiling back at her.

Simmons quickly made his way over to the farmhouse. As he reached for the door, he hesitated when a shadow appeared next to him. Whipping around, he saw that a familiar green fragment was staring at him.

:Oh, it's you, Delta," Simmons said with a sigh of relief. "You shouldn't creep up on people like that."

"I apologize, I was just curious as to what you were doing here," Delta said, bowing his head.

"I was just going to borrow some shovels."

"Why would you need to do that?" Delta asked, then saw the small object resting on Simmons' back. "Ah, that must be the item Theta found, correct?"

"How did you know that? Theta told me I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. Not even Sigma, and they're closer than Eta and Iota."

"Theta seems more elated recently. Applejack told me earlier that they had gone digging in the forest to look for objects of the past. Because of the way he has been acting, I assumed that he found something," Delta said as he used his magic to grab the flower from Simmons. "I also believe he means to give it to Scootaloo, correct?"

"Er, I guess so?" Simmons muttered. "He asked me to find out what it was, but I couldn't find anything about it in any of the books that Twilight had let me read through."

"So you came here to tell Theta you had no luck," Delta said, looking up at the clouds in the sky, musing silently.

"Yeah, but I'm also going to try to see if there are any other of these nearby where Theta found it," the red unicorn sighed. "Not sure what the chances of that are, though. It would probably take me forever to find another one."

"Why, if I may ask, are you looking for one as well?"

"Since you know basically everything, you probably heard about the dresses Rarity has been tasked with making," Simmons started.

"Ah, yes. The pre-Celestial garments," Delta stated, then looked back to the flower. "Seeing as it is a very old flower, I assume you wish to get one for Rarity so she may use it on her clothing?"

"Basically, except she wanted to find a way to bring the flower out of the shell and see if there was a way to grow them."

"I see," Delta said with a firm nod, giving the flower back to Simmons. "I believe I know somebody who may be able to help you with both finding out what it is and seeing if you can revive it."

"Really? Who?" Simmons asked quickly.

"Zecora," Delta answered simply.

"Zecora? You mean the rhyming zebra who lives deep in the middle of a dark forest filled with dangerous creatures?" Simmons squeaked.

"Yes. From what I've gathered, she knows more about alchemy and the things that go with it more than any book you could find," Delta explained. "It just so happens that flowers are one of the main ingredients she uses in potions. I am certain that she could at least provide a direction to go."

"I don't know..." Simmons said, beginning to think that the small flower wasn't worth all the trouble he was going through. "I'm not really to keen on the idea of going through a forest all by myself with wolves made out of bark, chicken-snakes that turn you into stone and multi-headed dragon beasts chasing after me."

"You wouldn't be travelling alone. I intend to come with you."

"Why?"

"I have been meaning to catch up with Zecora again, but simply could not find the time. Being trapped in stone for a month and watching the fragments while not in it took up the majority of my time," Delta said, already walking towards the gate with Simmons, who instinctively followed him.

"Why do you think it's safe to go talk to her now?"

"Seeing as Sigma is acting rather different, along with Church, Theta, Eta and Iota generally not being ones to cause physical damage, I am sure Sarge and the Apple family could easily watch Omega and Gamma."

"What about the creatures?"

"Do not worry, I know how to handle them," Delta said with a small, bemused chuckle.

"Alright, as long as it's not just me going in there, I guess it's a better idea than digging all day," Simmons sighed reluctantly.

"Great," Delta said with a smile, feeling strangely happy that he would be able to catch up with Zecora.

Chapter 37 - "First Guessing"

Though Simmons knew Delta to be one of the, if not the most trustworthy of the fragments, he was still unsure of how to present himself to the green unicorn. Because of this, he remained awkwardly silent as he and Delta made their way through Ponyville. After over half an hour of walking, they made their way out of Ponyville and began walking down the dirt path towards Fluttershy's house. Once the cottage and the Everfree were in sight, Simmons began to feel more nervous about going inside.

"So how are things back at the Apple family's farm?" Simmons asked, hoping he could distract himself. "Are you settling back in nicely?"

"Yes, Applejack and her family are doing their best to ensure we are most comfortable. Even Omega and Gamma seem to be glad to be back, but that is most likely because they are free to attempt to do damage," Delta replied. "Now she seems more friendly towards myself and the others."

"That's good to hear, I guess," he replied with a small crack in his voice.

"Do you wish to see if Grif wants to come with us while we're here?" Delta asked, glancing over at the cottage that was nearby.

"That would be a good idea if Grif wasn't as lazy as a sloth. Wait, he's the damn Element of Sloth."

"And Gluttony, if I recall correctly. When he is not doing one, he is doing the other, and it is to my understanding that he is usually awake by this time."

"And how are we going to get him to come with us? He has food here, but he doesn't have to go through hell to get to it."

"Last time I was with Zecora, she showed me a place where these fruits grew. Though I do not know know much about tasting besides different varieties of apple dishes, I know that the fruit I tried was most excellent," Delta explained.

"Still, his palate isn't something he actively tries new food to please. As long as he's eating something, he's happy," Simmons murmured, but glanced back at the forest which was now closer than he remembered. With a gulp, he then glanced at the cottage, and back to Delta. "Less likely things have happened in the past."

"Very well," Delta said, turning towards the cottage.

Simmons walked alongside Delta. Once they reached the door, Simmons knocked on it a few times and stood by his travelling companion. The sound of sluggish, slightly sporadic hooves hitting the ground began coming from the other side of the door. Simmons chuckled at the fact that Delta knew when Grif was awake. When the door opened, however, they were greeted by Grif's bubblegum-pink haired watcher.

"Hello, Simmons. Hello, Delta," she mumbled, wincing at the light that was now in her eyes. She looked over and bowed her head and smiled crookedly at them.

"Greetings, Fluttershy. You do not look well," Delta noted dryly.

"I do not feel well," she mumbled.

"Are you sick?" Simmons asked, ready to take a step back if she was contagious.

"No. Well, yes. A little bit, but you can't catch it," she admitted.

"That's good. That it's not contagious. It's not good that you have it, though," Simmons mumbled. Clearing his throat, he looked inside. "Knowing Grif, he is around, but where is he?"

"In the backyard. Stay here, I'll go get him," she said, starting to turn around.

"I'll go get him. You don't look like you should be moving at all," Simmons said, already going around the cottage.

"Okay," Fluttershy said gratefully, looking at Delta. "Make yourself at home while you wait."

"Thank you," Delta said, keeping an eye on Fluttershy as he made his way inside. "You know, your sickness seems awfully familiar to me..."

"It does?" she asked.

"Yes. I believe I once saw Agent York with the same thing," he murmured, giving her another once over. The sound of her voice, the bags in her eyes and the sluggish movement all led to the same thing. "You are hungover, correct? Odd, you never struck me as the lively type that would go out and drink."

"Is there any way to get rid of it?" she inquired quickly.

"Sleeping seems like it generally helps."

"Grif told me the same thing," she said, cheeks burning slightly. "I just thought that he said that because he really likes sleeping."

"I see. You slept with Grif as well?"

"What? I..." she squeaked, cheeks now a dark red. "How?"

"Generally when one is hungover, they are not seen smiling."

"You have to promise that you won't tell anypony!" she said with a quick shudder.

"Do not worry, I won't tell anyone," he said, bowing his head at her.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"Tell me, do you remember much of the night before?"

"No, last night was a blur. I remember a few things, but most of what I can remember are just bits and pieces. I certainly don't remember asking him to... sleep with me," she said, blushing again.

"Drinking seems to have an adverse effect of making the drinkers less intelligent and prone to doing things they'll most likely regret."

"Well... I don't regret it, exactly," she said sheepishly, but truthfully.

"Ah," Delta said, knowing exactly what she meant by that.

"So what are you doing with Simmons?" she inquired, wanting to change the subject. "Usually when he wants to talk to Grif, he is by himself."

"He is going to ask Grif to come with us to Zecora's."

"You're going into that far into the Everfree? Just the two of you?"

"Three. That is ,if Grif does go with us."

"Why are you going to see Zecora?"

"Theta found a flower and gave it to Simmons so he could find out what it is. Simmons had no luck finding what it was called, so I suggested he seek out Zecora seeing as she knows more about the natural world than most books. And I came with him because he was wary of going in by his lonesome. After all, there is usually safety in numbers, and that is why we are asking Grif to go with us," he explained.

"It's pretty dangerous in there, even with three of you," she mumbled. She then recalled a blurry, but quick fight in which Grif managed to fend off three pegasi much stronger than him, so she let out a sigh. "I suppose Grif can handle himself."

"Do not worry. If we come into any trouble, we will most likely run. If worse comes to worst, I know how to deal with simple-minded creatures. After all, I've been studying along their side since I was born," he said with a small smile.

"You have?" she asked, tilting her head.

"I am referring to the agents at Project Freelancer."

"I..." she trailed off again, not getting it.

"Perhaps I am not the best at making jokes," he admitted, looking to the ceiling for a few seconds.

"No, it was funny," she said with a weak smile. "I just didn't get it right away. I'm also not really myself right now."

The two's conversation was interupted when Simmons knocked on the door three times.

"Come in," Fluttershy called out weakly.

"Alright, Delta. Time to go," Simmons said with a smile. "Grif's with us and is excited to go."

"I had a feeling he might be tempted to go when you told him about the rare fruit," Delta said.

"I may have altered what you said to make him more likely to follow us," Simmons admitted.

"What did you say?" Delta countered curiously.

"Enough talking! We're going to find that bacon-fruit tree, even if it takes us over twenty whole minutes!" Grif announced as he glared into the room, only to turn around and start marching towards the forest with gusto.

"I see," Delta said, starting after Simmons. As Simmons left the room, Delta paused by the door and looked back at Fluttershy to give her a reassuring smile. "Do not worry, Fluttershy. I will remember to keep your secret. While we're there, I will also ask Zecora if she has anything for you that would help speed up you being well again."

"Thank you," she said, smiling back at him.

Chapter 38 - "Biding Time"

"Man, I can't wait to find this tree," Grif said happily as they made their way down the path of the forest. "I hope there are lots of them, that way I can pick a shitload to carry back with me. And by me picking them, I really mean you, Simmons."

"I suppose you want me to carry them back too?" Simmons grumbled sarcastically.

"Oh, that would be great. Thanks for offering," he chuckled, looking to the other unicorn that walked slightly ahead of them, leading the way. "So how long do you think it'll take to get there?"

"Not that long," Simmons quickly interrupted, not wanting Delta to tell him the truth. "We just have to make a quick stop somewhere else first."

"Uh, Simmons, I'm not sure if you know this, but there's a tree that grows fruits that taste like bacon. That's pretty much one of the only things I won't take any stops for," Grif grunted.

"I know you're excited, but we really have to stop by Zecora's place for a bit," Simmons countered, glancing at the flower on his back. "I have to ask her if she knows what kind of flower this darn thing is."

"Hm, a stupid flower, or awesome food, where should we stop first?" Grif asked himself in the most sarcastic voice he could muster. Yup, that's a tough one, Simmons, but I think I'd rather go to the bacon tree first. After that, then you can go see her about the flower."

"Zecora's home is between us and your destination. It would be quicker and simpler to go there first," Delta chimed in.

"Besides, she knows where it is the best. There is a chance that Delta may have forgotten where the fruits are."

"I don't know, Delta is pretty much the only smart guy around," Grif said hesitantly, eyeing the green unicorn. "Doesn't seem like he'd forget where something is, especially something as awesome as this."

"Hey, I'm smart too," Simmons mumbled sourly.

"Yeah, but Delta is, like, a billion times smarter than you."

"I do not believe it is by that much," Delta disagreed.

"Thank you, Delta," Simmons said with a smile. "It's good to know us smart guys stick together."

"Perhaps in the tens of thousands, but nowhere near billions," he added. "Of course, that is only because my brain still functions like that of an AI, while Simmons' brain functions like that of a human, or in this case, a stallion with slightly above average intellect."

"Gee, thanks," the red unicorn murmured sourly.

"But Simmons is correct in one regard. I know you wish to receive your... bacon-fruits first," Delta said slowly, then shook his head. "But if we were to get them first, you most likely would not wish to go to Zecora's and would see it as a waste of time, then part ways with your food."

"You know me so well," Grif said sincerely, then let out a rough, tired sigh. "Alright, I'll stick around for Zecora's, but we better make it quick. Just because I got bit once by one of those asshole wolves doesn't mean I want to be bit again."

"Provided we do not separate, I believe they will leave us alone."

"All the more reason to stay with you, I guess," the pegasus sighed. With a scowl, he began to squint and look around the dark forest. "How much longer 'til we're at Zecora's?"

"Less than a minute," Delta remarked as he glanced at a nearby tree. "I recognize the path quite well."

"I don't see how. Each tree looks the same in this damned forest," he grumbled. "Even the wolves look like the trees."

"Do you see one?" Simmons asked, trotting closer to Delta.

"No, but I know that they're around, stalking us," Grif said slowly, eyeing the bushes around them. "You can hear the sound of leaves and twigs being stepped on and shit.You'd think after so long, they'd learn how to be quiet."

"You can hear them?" Simmons asked. When Grif nodded, he began snapping his head in every which direction. "I don't see them anywhere!"

"Perhaps they're testing us for more weaknesses," Delta remarked.

"They are?" Simmons said, trying hard not to yelp, thinking he saw something in the shadows.

"It is a possibility. A very high one at that. They did it before, but they weren't prepared for one who can read over twenty steps ahead," Delta said with a forced chuckle. "If these are the ones I faced, they are most likely watching me."

"Maybe I'll stick closer to Grif, then," Simmons said hesitantly. "Yeah, that seems like a good idea alright."

"You never know. Maybe they see me as the one that got away, and now they want to finish the job," Grif said with a snicker.

"I hate this place," Simmons mumbled, standing exactly between Grif and Delta.

"No matter, we're at our first destination," Delta said as they came upon a lone hut.

Delta calmly walked up to the door while Simmons stood perfectly still, not wanting to be closer to either of the other stallions lest they be the target of the timberwolves. The green unicorn lightly tapped on the door, then simply stood still. He soon heard the sound of hooves coming towards the door. He quickly readjusted his stance, wanting to appear appropriate and formal.

"Ah, what is this that I see with with my own eyes?" Zecora asked with a warm smile as she opened the door. "A trio of friends. Who do I have to thank for this surprise?"

"Hello, Zecora," Delta said politely. "We are here to request your help, should you feel so inclined."

"I will always try to help one who is a close friend. But tell me, how much time do you wish for me to expend?"

"Well, a friend of ours dug up this old and ancient flower, so he gave it to me to find out what kind it is," Simmons muttered, suspending it in the air in front of Zecora. "I looked through a number of books a few times, but I couldn't find anything about it. I was going to try to find another one, but Delta suggested we come see you. I figured it would beat digging all day."

"You're becoming more and more like me each day!" Grif grinned.

"Please don't say that," Simmons begged quietly.

"Hmm. That flower looks very old and ancient, indeed it does. Let me have a look in my notes and I'll try to find out what it was," she said, turning towards her field notes. "Please, make yourself at home, come in and take a seat. Do any of you want something to drink or eat?"

"No thanks. That's actually how we convinced Grif to come with us. We're on our way to, uh..." Simmons stopped, placing the flower on the table next to her.

"To the bacon-fruit trees," the pegasus finished impatiently. "So no offense, but do you think you could hurry up? I mean, it's nice to see you again nd all, but I really want to taste that stuff and see if it's like the real thing."

"I am afraid I do not know what you are talking about," she said quietly as she began flipping the pages of one of her books. "Maybe there is another name for this tree, plant or sprout?"

"It is the tree you once showed me with those delicious fruits," Delta chimed in.

"Ah, I recall the tree in question, I most certainly do," she said with a smirk, glancing back at Delta. "That is where multiple timberwolves were fended off by you."

"I apologize for that, once again. I do not believe I hurt any of them, but if I did, I had no intentions of doing so."

"Do not worry, Delta, I am sure the wolves are doing well," she said. "That is, besides the damage to their pride when they were repelled. Even if the other creatures do not think so, I find it is good to see you again. You promised you would drop by once more, I just didn't know when."

"I am sorry. Things have just been rather hectic over in Ponyville," he said, remembering that Zecora was one of the, if not the only sentient being besides the watchers or the Princessses that knew what he really was. "What with keeping the other fragments in place, Discord returning and being trapped in stone for a month, I simply have not had the time to come by again. I felt this was as good of a reason as any to return."

"I don't mean to interrupt this little friend reunion here, but do you think there is anything in that book about the flower?" Simmons asked.

"If I said it was familiar, I would not be a liar. I seem to recall something of the like, but it was more of a brier," she said, examining the flower closer. "I would suggest getting relaxed, for you may be in for a long sit. I have not found out what the flower is yet, and I may not for a bit."

"God damn it," Grif scowled, crossing his forelegs as he sat on the ground.

"Look at the bright side, Grif," Simmons said. "At least now you'll get to work up an appetite and eat more."

"I guess it's the little things, isn't it?" Grif chuckled, getting ready for a long wait.

Chapter 39 - "Hitting the Old, Dusty Trail"

"How much longer is this going to take?" Grif grumbled as he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling out of boredom.

"You've been sitting there for maybe five minutes, Grif," Simmons sighed. "She probably has thirty times the amounts of notes as I did, and it took me a lot longer than this to look through my small amount."

"But it's boring," he complained.

"Then go to sleep and I'll wake you up when she finds something."

"I can't just go to sleep with food on my mind..."

"If that was true, you'd never fall asleep because your mind is always thinking about food."

"Hey, I can think about other stuff. Besides, I usually think about food that I eat before I go to bed. When I think bacon, I think about waking up, and that makes me restless. And I can't just stop thinking about bacon, because, well, it's fucking bacon. Bacon is tits. It's like, imagine if God was running on a cloud, then tripped and skinned his knee. Then think of that knee skin falling down where people can find it, cook it up, then eat it. Now imagine something eighty times better than what that would be like and you have bacon."

"So you're really excited for it, huh?" Simmons asked.

"The only things I've ever been any more excited for are the day Sarge dies of old age, and the day I get more oreos," Grif said, then glanced back to Zecora. "That makes bacon flavored anything the third thing I get the most excited for."

"What if, hear me out on this one, the fruit didn't taste like bacon?" Simmons asked, and Grif gave him an intensely passive-aggressive stare.

"Then I'd probably find a way to exact revenge on you in the most horrifying of ways. I'd get O'Malley, Gary and anybody else who could help to make a plan to ruin your life so you would never recover from it."

"Then it's a good thing it totally tastes like bacon," Simmons said quickly, forcing out a high-pitched, nervous laugh, not wanting Grif to direct the fragments' attention towards him.

"Glad to hear it."

"Aha, I believe I have found what you are looking for," Zecora said, squinting at the paper. "It was a rather rare flower known to have unique spores. The spores are said to help the user achieve success, but only when they help relieve others of duress."

"And that means?" Grif inquired.

"I believe she means it is a do good things, good things will happen to you flower," Delta noted flatly. "That information sounds rather ill-informed, however. Luck is a cosmic chance, not something that can be granted to you by a four leaf clover or a rabbit's foot."

"Did you not once believe the same thing about your magical capability?" Zecora retorted curiously. "In a world filled with magic, can luck not be a possibility?"

"There is a difference between luck and magic. While I do believe in some form of magic now, it is because I have seen proof that it exists. Proof that one can learn to use it. While I have seen events happen that some may consider lucky, I have never seen or heard of an object that can actually grant luck. Luck itself is simply chance. A belief. Not an essence or an aura that one can manipulate."

"Not to ruin your discussion, but how old is that flower, and is it possible to somehow grow more of them?"

"The age of this particular flower, I am not sure, but the fact that is long extinct is something I can reassure. As to whether or not you can bring it back to life, I am certain you can, but I believe that doing so may not be the best of plans."

"Why not? I mean, if this flower really does somehow grant luck, why wouldn't we do it?"

"It was not by luck that this kind of flower became lost and forgotten. It was stomped out by the good, to prevent luck for the rotten. Ones with questionable morals often used it for wrong-doing, and with luck on their side, it was often hard to bring about their undoing."

"But I thought Delta just said that you had to be nice to others for it to take effect on you."

"Sometimes what is good for one may not be good for another," Delta said slowly. "One could simply do harm to one in the name of someone else."

"What do you mean?"

"Let us say, if you will, somebody happened to bump into Gamma, causing him to fall over and get harmed. One such as Omega could then hurt them severely, but because they did Gamma wrong, he would be doing something that may be believed to be right. Then the flower would be able to, again, assuming it would work, give him luck in something else that he would undoubtedly use towards something wrong."

"Yeah, that's really interesting," Grif yawned, showing just how much interest he had on the subject. "Whelp, we found out what this flower is. Hallelujah, what a fabulous day, I'll remember it always. Can we go now?"

"Hang on a second, Grif," Simmons said, both out of hesitation and curiosity as he looked towards the zebra. "If that flower has been extinct for a while, how do you have all that information about it in your notes?"

"Much of this has been documented throughout the generations by my family line. I come from a long heritage of zebras interested in leaf, bark, sap and vine."

"Well, that explains that mystery," Grif said. Trotting next to Zecora, he grabbed the flower with his teeth and tossed it at Simmons. "Now time for my scooby snack."

"Fine," Simmons sighed as he put the flower on his back, knowing he'd have to find out eventually. "Come on, Delta. We'll come back later so you can catch up with Zecora after he is full."

"Very well. Thank you for helping us with the flower," Delta said, bowing his head to his friend. "Perhaps I will look through your family's notes when we get back."

"I am all too happy to give you the answers you seek," she said with a small, coy smile. "And perhaps this time it will not be months until we next speak."

"I certainly hope not," he said, giving an awkward smile back before leaving with Simmons and Grif.

"Lead the way," Grif said as they walked out the door.

"Certainly," Delta said with a nod, setting a quick pace down the dirt path. "I must urge you to stay close. We will occasionally have to go off the path to get to our destination, and it is often dark there, no matter the time of day."

"Well, if it's too dangerous, maybe we shouldn't go," Simmons suggested, turning around to walk away, only to bump into Grif.

"You can go if you want, but I'm gonna to keep going," Grif said, walking past him to get closer to Delta. "And with all the creatures in here that are probably watching us, I'd tag along if I were you, otherwise you're walking back alone."

"Is it really worth all this trouble?"

"You put just as much work towards finding out what that stupid flower is, and you can't even eat it, so you're damn right it's worth the trouble," Grif said, nodding at Delta.

Delta nodded back and continued walking down the continually darkening path with Grif following suit. As Simmons got up, he heard the sound of a branch snapping nearby.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Simmons complained, zipping towards the others, not wanting to be left behind.

Chapter 40 - "Sap is Thicker than Water"

"I really don't like this, guys," Simmons said nervously as he walked past a thick, prickly bush.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Grif asked, beginning to tire of Simmons' whining.

"We could all die in terrible, terrible ways," he grunted in reply.

"Like what?"

"For starters, I can barely see two feet ahead of myself, so I could easily trip on anything and impale myself on a sharp branch. Not to mention that a dangerous animal could pop out at any second and attack us. And maybe some of Sigma's traps are still active out here, too," the cautious unicorn answered. "Come on, Grif. You love giving up. Next to food and sleep, it's your favorite thing to do."

"But eating is above that," Grif said, then paused and thought for a few seconds. "Except when Sarge gives me work. Then I'll often drop everything I'm doing to not do what he told me to do, even when I'm eating. Actually, I'll usually bring the food with me, so I can eat while working my hardest at avoiding work."

"Yeah, but-"

"Bacon. Tree. Simmons," Grif said flatly, then looked to Delta who lead the way just a couple paces ahead of them. "How close are we?"

"Very. It should be in the clearing just up ahead," Delta said quietly. He quickly came to an abrupt stop and looked around them.

"Do you see or hear something?" Simmons inquired, jumping to his side.

"No, I did not, but it never hurts to be safe," Delta sighed, then resumed walking. "I would prefer to get back to Zecora's in one piece."

"You like her, huh?" Grif chuckled.

"I do not know much when it comes to this world, but if I am to understand it, I should learn from someone who knows a lot about it. Zecora seems to have a firm grasp on this world when it comes to nature and, while she may not be as adept with it as Twilight Sparkle is, when it comes to magic."

"Yeah, she's smart, but she talks in those stupid rhymes all the time. That shit can be annoying as hell."

"I suppose it may be to some, but I believe it just shows how high her intellect is," Delta said, then turned to Grif and nodded. "We are here."

"Great," Grif said with a a large smile as he trotted into the clearing. Looking around, Grif noticed the fruit on the trees, and his mouth already began to water.

"Thank god," Simmons murmured as he glanced around the area. "This place actually seems kind of nice."

"Hey, Simmons? Mind go grabbing me a few fruits with your magic?" Grif asked.

"Hey, you want the fruit, you get it."

"That's not how it works," Grif disagreed. "You dragged me along on this trip, you get me them."

"But you have wings!"

"Yeah, but I'm limited to how much my forelegs can carry. You have magic that can grab as many fruits as I can eat. Plus, you like doing work."

"Fine," Simmons sighed, looking up at the trees to focus on the fruits. He quickly grabbed one and tossed it to Grif's hooves.

"No need for the attitude, Jeeves," Grif grumbled, grabbing the fruit off the ground to inspect it. "Hopefully you didn't bruise it. Nothing tastes as depressing as bruised bacon."

"How do you bruise bacon?"

"I don't know, I've never done it," he chuckled. "Come on, grab one for yourself and join me in this momentous occasional. The day I found a fruit that I could live off of the rest of my life. You join in on this too."

"Uh, right," Simmons mumbled, taking a fruit of his own. "Come on, Delta. You should have one too."

"I do not believe that is necessary. I have already tried them and I am not hungry at the moment," Delta replied simply, looking firmly at Simmons.

"More for me," Grif said with a shrug, then promptly bit the fuit in half and began munching away. His chews, which started quick and savory, soon became slow and more spread out. He then frowned and stared at the fruit in disbelief. "These don't taste like bacon at all."

"They still taste good, though," Simmons said as he took a small bite out of his own fruit. "So it's not all bad."

"They taste fine, sure, but they don't taste anything close to the greatness that is bacon. I got myself in the right mindset and everything!" Grif stopped, then gasped. "What if since we turned into horses, our taste buds changed and I'll never get to taste bacon the same way again?"

"Yup, that must be it," Simmons said. "There is literally no other way to explain the fact that this fruit does not taste like bacon. Not a chance."

"Oh God, why?" Grif cried loudly, looking up at the branches above them that blocked his view of the sky. "Damn you, God! You are sick! Why would you do this to me?"

"I would suggest keeping your voice down," Delta said.

"Never! My voice will be heard!" Grif stomped on the ground.

"Grif, I think you should-"

"You hear that, God? I am pissed!"

Simmons' eyes quickly darted to the entrance to the clearing where he saw a lone, shadowy figure with glowing eyes approaching them.

"Grif," Simmons said, lowering to the ground as he put the flower behind his ear to hold it in place. "You might want to come over here!"

"No, I have a score to settle right now," Grif growled, not looking down.

Simmons looked around and saw a bush sitting near the side of the clearing. Thinking fast, he ran towards it and jumped inside. Delta started towards it, hesitated and looked back at Grif. He then hopped into the bush with Simmons and began to watch.

"I swear to God, God, I am going to come up there and find a way to exact revenge on you if you're really there!" Grif yelled. A low growl then caused Grif to stop mid-rant. Glancing down, Grif saw a wooden creature coming towards him. "Ah shit."

Looking to the bush where Simmons was hiding, he began to fly towards it, but the wolf quickly darted in his way. Backing up nervously, Grif tripped on his half eaten fruit and landed on his side. The wolf quickly found its way to Grif's side and began to sniff at him.

"I'm going to die here," Grif moaned as his body tensed. "Filled with disappointment and regret."

"We have to help him," Simmons urged in a low tone.

"We do not know how many more are around. It would be most unwise to face an enemy when we do not know how the odds stack up," Delta said.

Grif knew he couldn't run as he had no idea which direction he came from. If he flew blindly into the forest, he knew he would most likely only encounter more of the strange animals. The timberwolf then brought it's face towards him, teeth bared, making Grif clench his eyes, awaiting to be bitten. The timberwolf then licked Grif's cheek. Blinking dumbly as a trail of thick, sappy saliva went down his face, Grif kept as still as possible, not daring to move. The timberwolf then sat on it's behind and promptly began scratching behind it's ear.

When it was finished scratching, it remained seated and began to stare at Grif. Grif peaked at the bush at the corner of his eyes, noticing a wide-eyed Simmons and a curious Delta. Grif took a deep breath and slowly began to rise, only to sit back down when the timberwolf began to growl. Grif's stomach then began to rumble from hunger. The bark-covered wolf tilted its head and let out a soft whine at the noise. Getting up, the timberwolf walked behind Grif and began pushing him with its head. Grif quickly scooted forwards, not appreciating the direct contact with the creature.

"What is it doing?" Simmons asked near-silently.

"I do not know," Delta replied cautiously.

The studying pair silenced themselves when another pair of timberwolves walked into the area, sniffing the air. They began to growl softly at the sight of Grif, but the first timberwolf growled back. Relaxed, the two other timberwolves walked up to him and began to sniff him. Grif wasn't enjoying this, and his stomach growled again from hunger. The first timberwolf pushed Grif again, but this time put it's head under his flank and lifted him so he was standing. The two creatures that had joined him were now standing by his side, panting lightly as the first one began pushing Grif forward.

"I'll go if you promise not to try and mate with me," Grif murmured.

The wolves then began walking towards the dark, taking Grif with them. Once they were out of the clearing, Delta and Simmons shared a wry look with each other, then looked back to where Grif was once standing.

"Do you have any ideas as to what just happened?" Simmons asked, taking a nervous step out of the bush.

"A few, but from what we've seen, one seems to stand out the most," Delta said, taking a step next to the half-eaten fruit. "I believe Grif just got accepted into their pack."

Chapter 41 - "Natural Charm"

"Where the hell are you taking me?" Grif asked to himself as the wolves stayed by his flanks and behind him, shepharding him to somewhere unknown. "Are you taking me to your den so you and your friends can eat me? Trust me, I may be a little thick, but its mostly just bone. You won't get a whole lot of meat out of me."

The wolf to his right seemingly rolled its eyes, then nudged at the fat on his side.

"Okay, fine, I'm a little chubby, but I probably still taste like shit," Grif grumbled. Glancing around the forest, he still could not see any openings in the trees above him, nor could he see anything recognizable about any of the trees.

Because of the fact that the timberwolves were behind and beside him, even if he tried to fly away, he would only be able to fly straight to where they were bringing him since they would most likely be able to catch him if he tried to go over them. The wolves that surrounded him, seemingly sensing his intentions to fly away, went a little closer to him, eyeing him warily. Grif let out another heavy sigh.

The sound of a branch snapping off a tree echoed from the right, causing the timberwolves and Grif to freeze. The first timberwolf stepped ahead of them, sniffing the air cautiously. A few seconds later, it sagged slightly, satisfied there was no danger, then went back behind Grif and began to push him forward.

"You know, I was sort of hanging out with some friend back at that place with the fruit. I bet the red unicorn there would be a much tastier meal then me," Grif suggested, looking behind them.

The wolf growled at him.

"Alright, it was just a suggestion. No need to get all uppity," he huffed, beginning to walk. "Listen, I know what it's like to be expecting a meal not to get it, and me walking away would give you the same disappointment as I had several minutes ago, but maybe there's a way we can settle this so I won't get eaten."

The timerwolf barked loudly, making the other two stop. The timberwolf behind him circled around so he was face to face with the lazy pegasus. Grif stared nervously into its eyes, keeping direct eye contact with it. The wolf then lunged for his leg and bit lightly on it. Grif yelped and pulled his legs away. He then looked at his foreleg to find that there were no bitemarks. He then realized that if the wolf did intend to bite into him, pulling away like that would not have been as easy.

"So... you're not going to eat me?" he asked.

The wolf shook its head.

"That's a relief," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Wait, if you're not going to eat me... you are going to mate with me!"

It closed its eyes, looked to the ground and shook its head slowly, seemingly running out of patience.

"If you're not going to eat with me or, you know, that with me, then what are you doing with me?"

The wolf simply went back to its original position and resumed pushing him.

"Well... as long as you are telling the truth, I guess it's alright," Grif said, really hoping that they were. "I mean, who am I to judge a scary ass wooden wolf that lives in the dangerous forest based solely on the fact of what common sense tells me?"

Grif then went quiet, knowing he was in a bind. Eventually, Grif found himself in front of a very large cave. As he stopped by the entrance, the two timberwolves who walked beside him went inside.

"What's in there?" Grif asked the timberwolf that stuck by his rear walked by him.

The timberwolf merely stood next to him and motioned its head inside. Grif looked back into the cave, then back at the wolf.

"I'm not going in there!" Grif said, taking a step back.

In an instant, the timberwolf jumped in front of him and snarled. It then jumped at him and put its mouth around his foreleg, just to pull his mouth away once again.

"If you wanted to eat me, you would have, I get that. I'm worried that there might be bats in there!"

The wolf stared blankly at him.

"Oh, don't give me that, bats are scary as fuck."

The wolf then went to his side and palced its head on his shoulder, turning him back towards the entrance to the cavern.

"Fine, but if I see one fucking bat, I'm out," Grif grumbled, taking a step forward. "I don't care if you bite me or anything, I refuse to deal with that shit."

The wolf rolled its eyes and followed the pegasus to guide him through the cave, Delta and Simmons approached Zecora's place in record time. As Delta paused to catch a quick breath, Simmons slammed his hoof on the door a few times, panting heavily. When Simmons heard the sound of Zecora coming to the door, Simmons paced in place, biting his bottom lip.

"Delta, Simmons, you two have come back early. You did not forget anything, surely," Zecora said, opening the door.

"No, we didn't forget anything. What we did do is find ourselves a bit of a problem," Simmons said, pushing the door open. "A bit of a really big problem."

"You have a problem? What does it involve? It must be something I can help resolve."

"Okay, Delta brought us to those fruits, which was all fine. Well, not fine, since Grif found out they didn't taste like bacon. In fact, I think that may be a problem after we save him. Hopefully I won't have to tell him that-"

"Simmons," Delta said quietly.

"Right. Grif kind of got abducted by timberwolves," he said simply.

"That is a problem if I ever heard one," she said, biting her lip. "Tell me, this abduction, how was it done?"

"We were kinda just sitting there, then Grif found out that the fruits tasted nothing like bacon, so he started yelling at the sky. We saw that there was a timberwolf coming, so we jumped in a bush. Grif was sort of caught up with yelling at nothing, so when he saw it, it was too late for him to do anything. Then two more came in, and we weren't sure how many more were there, so we didn't do anything," Simmons said in one go, then took a large breath. "I thought they were going to sniff us out too, but they only seemed interested in him. But they didn't bite or attack him, they just sort of pushed him."

"Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that he was once bitten," Zecora said pensively, scratching her chin. With a nod, she turned around and started to put some potions into a small bag. "Give me a moment and I'll take what I can to help you retrieve him."

"Do you really think that's wise? They didn't look like they wanted to hurt him or anything," Simmons said hesitantly, not really wanting to put himself in any danger. "Maybe they'll just let him go."

"But perhaps they won't," Delta said quietly. "If they did let him join the pack, they may not be so keen on the idea of letting him out of it."

"But-"

"Do not forget, it is you that wanted him to come along," Delta reminded him. "And tell me, if we do leave him, are you going to be the one to tell Fluttershy that you left him to the wolves?"

"I'm sure she wouldn't miss him that much," Simmons grunted.

"I believe that she will miss him very much if he does not come back."

Zecora quickly finished packing her potions and walked up to the door, bag in her teeth.

"But what about it being unwise when we don't know the odds?" Simmons asked as Delta took his side next to her.

"Depending on the stakes, sometimes it is best to react as one sees fit, no matter the odds," Delta said. "There have been many times that I've seen odds stacked against someone, but they still pull through. Plus, I believe that magic may push the odds into our favor."

"God damn it, fine," Simmons muttered after a few seconds of thinking, walking next to her with Delta. "But if I die and Grif lives, I am going to be really angry."

Chapter 42 - "Don't Panic"

Grif slowly walked ahead of the wolf that ushered him into the darkness. Grif was now less worried about the wolves, and more wary of a few stray flying rodents coming his way. After nearly five minutes of walking through the dark, Grif noticed a small bit of light coming from the other end. Grif then picked up his pace, hoping he would find his way out of there. Once he reached the lit area, however, he realized it was not an exit, but a large area in the cave with several holes in the roof of it, allowing light to come through. What was in the large opening, however, was several dozen timberwolves. Grif now realized that he may need to go against his better judgement and actually do something.

Grif glanced back at the wolf that led him here, then saw that it was now by his side. Grif then began to back up, hoping he could maybe find his way out of the cave. As he did so, he stepped on a loose branch, and the sound of wood splitting echoed around the caves, making all the timberwolves look over to him. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen. Glancing around, he noticed that the sound merely startled the wolves, but they instantly went back to their own business. The larger wolf nudged into his side and motioned its head towards a small puddle of water that had collected at the bottom of the cave through one of the small holes.

"Listen, I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that you kinda understand me. But what you don't seem to realize is that I don't understand you," Grif mumbled, staring at the water.

The wolf then made a sound that was not entirely unlike a frustrated sigh. Walking over to a different puddle of water, the wolf lapped some up.

"You want me to drink the water?" Grif asked hesitantly. "What, are you things actually feeling bad for biting me a while back?"

The wolf paused and gave him what seemed like a small, hesitant nod.

"You paused there," Grif said cautiously, then caught himself. Shaking his head, he turned around and began walking away. "I'm going to have to find Simmons and do something to him for making me eat fruits that made me trip balls. Imagining wolves trying to be my friend and shit."

Before Grif was very far, the wolf quickly bit onto his tail, holding him in place. Grif glanced back at it and stepped forward, pulling his tail free. He wasn't going to let any hallucinogenic wolves hold him in this possibly invisible bat infested cave. As Grif neared the halls of the cave, a small, furry bat flew out and slammed into his face. Shrieking, Grif backed up as fast as he could, only to fall into one of the puddles of water. A few of the nearby wolves glanced towards him.

"Fine, I'll play along. I'll probably stand a better chance with you than in there with those blood sucking creatures," Grif muttered as he got himself out of the water. Shaking his head quickly to dry off, he looked at the wolf that brought him to this place and raised a brow. "You wouldn't happen to have any food, would you?"

Nearing the cave was Simmons, Delta and Zecora, who were currently tracking Grif down. They spent most of the time remaining quiet so Zecora could concentrate on finding Grif. The only time anyone spoke was when Simmons asked to put the flower inside Zecora's bag. Knowing the way the forest was, Zecora knew what to look for when trailing most of the creatures that surrounded her home. After leaving to find him, however, it did not take her long to figure out where Grif was from the direction the wolves were headed. Eventually, the trio reached a cave, and Zecora paused outside of it and looked around. From the around of hoof tracks around the entrance, she knew someone was here recently.

"We have reached where were headed," Zecora said quietly, looking into the blackness. "Do not worry, Simmons, it is not as you dreaded. There are no signs of struggle in the tracks, so I do not think he was attacked."

"Grif wouldn't struggle if he was being strangled," Simmons muttered, then squinted inside. "So Grif's in the cave? What's in there?"

"If they brought him in here, it should be easy for him to be found," Zecora said, turning towards Delta. "Delta, I must grab a few things. May you put my bag on the ground?"

"Certainly," Delta said, putting the bag in front of Zecora.

"How can you be so sure he'll be easy to find?" Simmons inquired. "And again, what is in there?"

"If my thoughts are correct, and my suspicions are square, I believe Grif has simply been lead to a timberwolf lair," she said, now sorting through some of the potions she brought.

"Oh, that makes sense. I guess they would want to bring him back to their lair," Simmons said, then went wide-eyed and took a step back. "That means we're going in there, aren't we? I mean, he was probably eaten right? We might as well just go home now."

"I am not completely sure what has happened to him, but if I am right, Grif's fate may not be so grim," she said, picking up the occasional bottle with her teeth, placing them to the side.

"Then why'd you bring the potions?"

"It is not always safe to bet on something you believe to be right," Delta said cautiously, stepping next to the zebra. "She has prepared for the worst of situations, if I am correct."

Zecora, who now had a bottle containing a dark blue liquid in her mouth, gave him a knowing smile and nodded at him, then placed the potion next to a different one.

"Okay, that's making me feel a little better about doing this, but I know something will happen to just make me feel unsafe about it again," Simmons grunted, watching as Zecora put the potions into two groups of six.

In each group of potions, there was one blue one, and five brownish-red ones. She slowly pushed one group of bottles towards Simmons, then one towards Delta. She then reached into the bag and drank one of the blue ones herself.

"What does that one do?" Simmons asked, holding one he had up to his nose to smell it.

"The first potion is what I call an elixir of dark sight, Drink it and you will see clearly in the blackness of the night," Zecora said, and watched as Delta drank it within an instant. Simmons reluctantly followed Delta's lead and began looking at the others. "The other five should only be used if the situation turns dire. Simply throw it at a wolf, and they will be engulfed in a ball of fire."

"Couldn't I just make rockets with my magic and shoot them at them?" Simmons inquired, beginning to summon up a small, purple orb of light.

"Using explosives of that caliber in a cave may cause us to be caved in," Delta noted. "I believe the fire is merely meant to injure and keep them at bay, not kill them."

"Oh, right," Simmons said quietly, using his magic to grab the five bottles, holding them close to him.

"We must go as slowly as we can and remain quiet. While Grif was not, we may be a target for their diet," Zecora whispered, walking into the cave without fear.

"That's inspiring," Simmons mumbled, keeping next to Delta as they walked inside. "I may have said it before, but I really have a bad feeling about this."

Chapter 43 - "Natural Selection"

Zecora slowly walked ahead of Delta and Simmons, guiding them through the cave. Even though it was as clear as a cloudless, sunny morning, it was still easy to get lost in the stone twists and turns. For a few minutes, they walked through the caves with no sign of Grif or the wolves. The only sign of life at all was an odd bat that would occasionally be seen flying near the three intruders to their home.

"There's no way Grif is still alive. He'd rather be dead than deal with bats," Simmons said, just after having jumped backwards from a bat that came to close.

"The hoofprints outside lead me to believe that he came inside intentionally," Delta remarked. "Since he could not see, he most likely did not see the bats."

Zecora came to an abrupt stop and lifter her left hoof, silencing and stopping the unicorns. Zecora slowly peeked ahead and looked around a turn, noticing a long hall towards an opening. She waved her hoof forward, then began going down the long tunnel, remaining as silent as possible. Simmons instinctively pulled his flammable potions closer and followed after Delta who did the same, but more as a sign of preparation than fear. As they neared the cave, Zecora saw a few, brown, four-leged creatures and went against the wall, lowering herself down to observe. Biting her bottom lip, she stepped a few paces back and tilted her head towards where she looked. Simmons and Delta slowly peeked into the cave to see the dozens of timberwolves remaining idle.

"This is... unexpected," Delta said, looking among the legion of timberwolves that gazed indifferently at them. "When I had my encounter with timberwolves with Zecora, I thought they perhaps worked in packs, but I never thought there would be this many together..."

"Delta, there is much about our world you have yet to learn," Zecora whispered. "But for now, that is information for which you must yearn."

"I see him," Simmons hissed, pointing towards the living pegasus at the other end of the cavern. "I'm surprised he isn't dead yet. What with everything he's eaten, he'd probably be the most flavorful thing they've ever eaten."

"They do not look as if they are wanting a meal out of them," Delta said.

"They're vicious, dangerous, feral animals. They'll eat him the second they get hungry," Simmons mumbled. "Maybe they won't eat him because there's too much to eat."

"I do not believe they will not eat him because he isn ot boney. I think they are letting him be, for they do not see him as a pony," Zecora said slowly. "When he was bit, their blood went into his bones. Perhaps now they see him as one of their own."

"So he was accepted into their pack, just as I thought," Delta said with a nod.

"Well, what do we do now?" Simmons asked. "I'm not exactly seeing any way to save him. He's surrounded by hundreds of them, and even if they won't attack him, they'll probably attack us. The only other one bit by the wolves was Sarge, and I don't think he'll want to come all the way here to save Grif, especially if Grif doesn't even need saving."

"Perhaps we can-" Delta began, but jumped to the side when he heard something jump from behind him.

A timberwolf clambered to the ground, then quickly rolled to its feet and let out a loud howl. Turning around, the trio saw six timberwolves approaching from the tunnel. As they backed into the cavern, the timberwolves snapped to attention, looking straight at the three newcomers. Seeing it wasn't one of their own, they began to get up, snarling viciously. Their blazing eyes froze Simmons in place. He quickly mustered up the strength to do something, so he lightly tossed one of the potions at the wolves, but it merely bounced along the ground, making sharp pinging noises. The potion landed in front of one of the timberwolves. It sniffed it curiously, then looked back to Simmons.

"Run away!" Simmons screeched, turning around, only to see the wolves were guarding their exit.

"That does not seem like a possibility at this point in time," Delta noted, surveying the area, trying to come up with a quick plan.

"Hey, calm down, wolf guys. They're with me," Grif said, walking between the crowd of wolves until he was standing next to the others.

The wolves glanced towards the large alpha male, seemingly awaiting a command. The large wolf squinted at Delta, but relented and gave a small bark, putting the other wolves at ease.

"You can command the wolves?" Simmons asked, dumbfounded.

"Nah, they just seem to want to be my friend for some reason," Grif said with a limp shrug.

"We believe it is your blood. Since the antidote did not completely cure you, some of their venom still lies within your system. They must be able to sense it, thus they see you as one of them," Delta explained.

"That's pretty neat," the pegasus said, not particularly caring what the reason was. "I'm just glad they're not trying to kill me."

"You and me both," Simmons said, still looking around to make sure none of the timberwolves wanted to feast on him. "If they weren't attacking you, then why didn't you come back?"

"I thought if I tried to run, then they would attack me. I went to leave after I saw they didn't really want to kill me, but a bat flew by, so I stayed around," Grif muttered, shivering at the thought. Shaking his head, he raised a brow at them. "So how did you guys find me?"

"Zecora kind of tracked you down," Simmons said, pointing to the zebra that was standing next to a timberwolf pup, lightly petting it.

"It was not particularly hard when the one being tracked is as heavy of hoof as Grif," she chuckled as the young pup rolled on the ground playfully. "Even without your tracks, I could have followed your scent, for it is very easy to catch a whiff."

"Hey, it's not that bad, is it?" Grif asked, glancing to Simmons.

"You're on the brink of becoming unbearable," Simmons muttered.

"How come you haven't complained before?"

"Because you always smell bad," he replied, rolling his eyes. "I'm pretty sure you've never had a bath since you got here, Or even when we were in Blood Gulch, for that matter."

"If it's that bad, maybe I should just live here. The wolves don't seem to mind my odor," Grif said. He then glanced to the wolf that brought him here, and even the wolf shook his head, glancing towards the water. "You wanted me to get rid of the smell?"

The wolf gave a hesitant nod.

"I think I'm going to adopt Church's mantra of just hating everything," Grif grumbled, kicking the glass bottle by his feet, only to jump back when it slammed against the wall of the cave, causing a ball of fire to erupt from nowhere. Grif shielded his eyes as the wolves closest to the flames quickly dove out of the way. "What the hell was that?"

"That was in case we needed to make an escape," Delta said quietly. "It seems that now we no longer need to worry."

The largest wolf then let out a loud howl, then stepped forward, glaring at Delta.

"What's wrong with the big guy?" Simmons asked nervously, taking a step away from the hulking predator.

"I believe he wishes to assert his dominance over me. I did not think he would take to kindly to me outwitting him," Delta remarked, taking a step towards him. "It's alpha male instinct. In nature, when ones overpowers the alpha male, they become the alpha male. It seems he wishes to regain his title."

"Then why are you going towards him?" Simmons inquired.

"To accept his challenge," Delta said simply.

"You're going to fight that thing? I thought you didn't like confrontation!"

"If I try to leave, he will pounce on me when my back is turned. Besides, it is best not to upset the balance of nature," Delta said simply, then turned to the large wolf and bowed his head. "Do not worry, Zecora, I will try not to harm him too much."

Chapter 44 - "Unexpected Results"

"Zecora, aren't you going to stop him?" Simmons asked quickly as Delta began to study the wolf.

"Delta is right in the case that he cannot simply walk away. It is either fight him head on, or turn his back and become prey," Zecora said regretfully.

"What about Grif?" he asked.

"What about me?" Grif retorted, glaring at Simmons. "Delta is alright with me, but I'm not gonna fight that thing for him..."

"I'm not saying you fight him, I'm saying you reason with it. Can't you talk them out of it?"

"Hey, they might be able to sort of understand me, but what the hell makes you think they'll listen to me?" Grif asked. "Besides, can't Delta not really die?"

"While there may not be any EMPs in Equestria-" Delta began.

"Emps," Grif murmured.

"I believe I can still be incapacitated by other means," Delta finished. "Magic seems to be this world's science, so there may be some ways to destroy me. The worst the wolf could do, however, is simply cripple me by breaking my legs, breaking off my horn and turning me into a tree with its saliva. In which case, the virus would quite possibly prevent me from bleeding out, and instead, I would only be trapped in a bark prison, which I imagine would be much like when the Alpha was trapped in the stone prison."

"You say that as if the worst is nothing," Simmons grunted, glancing towards the larger timberwolf. "Oh shit, it's coming closer!"

"Best not to anger it more, I suppose," Delta said, stepping forward. Looking back at the others, he bowed his head slightly. "If I may make a suggestion, may you move closer to the wolves that are circling us? I do not want any of you to get injured during this ordeal."

"Good point," Simmons said hastily, pushing Grif ahead of him, not wanting them to single him out if Grif wasn't with him. "Good luck with the fight!"

Zecora hesitated, then nodded at him once, then joined the two stallions to watch the fight.

"Don't worry about him," Grif said nonchalantly to Zecora. "He fought and beat that wolf last time he was with you, right? If he can do it once, he can probably do it again."

"I believe last time Delta faced the wolf, it was merely testing him. Since delta fended it off, he may not be so hesitant to be grim. Now it has much more to lose from this than its previous attack. Instead of losing its pride, it will lose the power over its pack," she said cautiously, watching as the wolf began to circle Delta. "That may encourage it to be more careful and use its senses, especially now that it is prepared for Delta's defenses."

"I appreciate your concern, but I believe silence would help me to focus," Delta said quietly, keeping his eyes on the zebra.

Zecora gave him another nod, then fell silent with the others. As Delta turned his attention back to the timberwolf, it lowered to the ground and quickly began running towards him. Just as the wolf was about to reach him, Delta jumped in the air to go over him. But the wolf expected this, then jumped upwards at Delta, smashing its wooden head into Delta's chin. With a firm, unexpected grunt, Delta began tumbling in the air, just barely managing to land on his hooves. He slowly began to rub his jaw, looking straight at the wolf which appeared to be smirking.

"That was rather unexpected," Delta murmured, looking up at the light thoughtfully. "Perhaps I did not give its intelligence enough credit."

"Delta, watch out!" Simmons yelped.

Delta glanced down to see the wolf was already lunging towards him. His horn instinctively flared into action, his magic throwing the timberwolf to the side. The timberwolf rolled along the ground and to its feet, then turned to Delta and bounded towards him in one swift motion. Delta's horn glowed a vivid green once again, and the timberwolf became surrounded by a green shield, being held in place by his magic. The wolf glared at Delta, but he simply stared at it, knowing there was nothing it could do. Then it took one step forward. Delta quickly focused more on the shield, putting more power into it.

"Strange," Delta said as he felt the wolf struggling inside his magical field. "I did not expect it to be able to move."

"It lives its life surrounded by magical beings in coexistence. As such, the timberwolves have evolved to have some magical resistance," Zecora warned him. "Defending yourself against its attacks is not something you can just wing. You will not be able to rely on your horn to get through everything."

"Somebody should probably tell Tucker that," Grif remarked.

The wolf then let out a sharp howl, shattering the shield around it. Delta quickly snapped to attention as the alpha male began running towards him. Delta attempted to jump out of the way, but the wolf slammed the side of its head into Delta's, causing him to fall to the ground. The timberwolf then backed off from Delta and began to circle him once again, making sure he was staying down. Delta, unsure of the consequences of losing, got back up on all fours and let out a heavy breath, having been winded. He was not used to physical exhaustion, and it was having more of an effect on him than he thought it would.

"Perhaps a new strategy is in order," Delta said, taking a shaky step forward.

Lowering his head, Delta began to charge towards the timberwolf. Surprised at Delta's offense, the timberwolf attempted to do what he did and roll out of the way, but Delta quickly threw him to the ground with his magic. Before the wolf could get up, Delta was standing above it, horn placed in front of it. Instead of retaliating, the alpha male simply stared at Delta. Delta glanced around at the other wolves which seemed to be regarding him seriously. If he were to win this fight, he would become the alpha male, and he was not sure the timberwolves would simply let him walk away from that.

Looking back down with a seemingly shocked expression, the alpha male's front paw glowed green and struck Delta in the stomach. The timberwolf watched as Delta crashed into the cave's floor, unsure of what just happened. Realizing that it still had a chance, it rolled onto its paws and darted towards Delta. Once it was beside him, Delta simply closed his eyes and put a small shield around himself. The wolf then clasped his neck with its teeth. After a breif moment, it relented and began walking towards the circle of wolves, satisfied that it had won. Delta slowly got back up, shaking slightly now from exerting himself.

"It's over? Just like that?" Simmons asked as he and the others joined Delta, watching as the other wolves returned to their business. "I thought that the fight was to the death or something."

"To be quite honest with you, I was not convinced it wasn't," Delta murmured tiredly as the alpha male disappeared. "But it got the best of me, and I suppose that was enough for it."

"Then that means we can go, right? I don't want to be around if these things get hungry," Simmons grunted, walking towards the exit impatiently.

"Speaking of hungry, I have a certain bone to pick with you..." Grif grunted.

Chapter 45 - "Mind Over Matter"

Tex came down the stairs to see a stern Twilight, nose in a rather large book. With a sigh, Tex took a seat next to Twilight and stared at the table, as she usually did on most days. Ever since she came back, she could never find something to do to pass her time besides sitting around, staring at whatever could hold her interest. Unfortunately, nothing could for very long, so she always ended flipping though an odd book or two in the library. She remained at the chair, looking around the library until Twilight finished her book.

"Oh, Tex, you startled me," Twilight chuckled when she closed her book.

"Hm" Tex mumbled, not having heard Twilight.

"Are you okay?" she asked, pushing the book further onto the table.

"As okay as I could be. Being alive, then dying, then coming back as an AI, then dying again, then coming back as a pony of all things..." Tex said, biting her lip. "I know I've said it before, but it's just strange to think about."

"I could see how that would be strange," Twilight said with a nod. "You know, if you're feeling out of it, you should find something that makes you feel like you belong. While I'm not a master of the subject, I'm sure sitting around, watching others doing things can't be very fun."

"I've tried that whole bit, remember?" Tex asked, rolling her eyes. "Tex does not a good friend make, and that's pretty much all this world is about. There isn't anything about my old life that works with this new one."

"I'm sure there might..." Twilight paused, then blinked a few times. "Be something."

"What? Did you think of something that might actually work out with me, or did you finally realize that I really can't fit in?" Tex asked with a hopeless snort.

"I could talk to the Princesses and my brother about getting you a job in the Royal Guard," Twilight said slowly.

"You think it'd work out there?"

"I'm sure you'd excel at it. The question is, do you really want to be a guard just so you fit in with both old and new lifestyles? It's long, tiring days, away from family and friends."

"I don't have many friends, remember? And the closest thing I have to a family is... well, Church. But he's been different lately."

"I've noticed that too," Twilight admitted. "But it's a small difference."

"It's small, but large enough to get noticed," Tex said, then her ear twitched, swearing she heard something in the distance. Shaking her head to focus, she sighed. "You of all peop- er, ponies should know that even the smallest change can make a huge difference."

"I suppose. But still, is Church changing enough of a reason to make you want to live your life as a guard? You wouldn't be paid to go out and... do what you did before," she said after a second's pause, not wanting to remind herself that she was technically living with a mercenary. "You would mostly just stand around all day, protecting things that you're not exactly sure why you're protecting."

"So I wouldn't be doing what I did before, I'd be doing what Church and the other guys did before?" Tex asked, thinking about it. "Might ask you to look into that later, but for now I think I'll try to find something here. After all, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I left Church at this time of his life?"

"A bad one, I assume," Twilight smiled. "You''re okay with calling him your special somepony now?"

"Not something as girly as that," Tex chuckled, then smiled and tilted her head. "Actually, girly probably fits him better. So yeah, I am."

"That's good to hear."

"So, any ideas on what I could do around here that could make me useful?"

"Well, Ponyville doesn't need any guards. Mercenaries aren't a must and would only cause more problems than it would solve. Omega is already the tax collector around here..." Twilight said as she tapped her chin. After a few seconds, she looked to Spike. "What about helping Spike again?"

"You're okay with me... training him?" Tex asked with a raised brow. "I thought after what happened last time, you would be against the idea."

"It was an accident," Twilight said with a strained smile. "Of course, just don't make him do anything that could risk him doing harm to others. At the most, just give him self-defense tips. Techniques he can use to protect him and others."

"Alright, I'l try to translate what I know into... pony," she said with a shudder. "Any idea when you want me to start?"

"Whenever you want. That is, if he is comfortable doing it after what he did to Church. Just because it was an accident and I'm alright with it doesn't mean he is."

"I'll ask him soon," she said, then looked outside. "Say, do you think Applejack has anything I can use to make targets?"

Twilight gave Tex an unimpressed look.

"Don't worry, not as target practice," Tex said.

"I'm sure she could help you out with that," Twilight said with a nod.

"Great, I'll go ask her now."

"Shouldn't you wait until-" Twilight started, but Tex had already left through the door. "-Spike agrees..."

"Until he agrees with what?" Church asked as he descended the staircase, Spike in tow.

"Nothing," Twilight said sheepishly, not wanting to remind Church about the incident. For all she knew, Discord could have twisted his memory of the incident to make it seem like he intended to harm him. She didn't want him thinking he would do it again. Changing the subject, she smiled at the pair. "How's your head, Church?"

"Getting worse," Church grimaced. "But it's still bearable, and it comes and goes."

"I really think you should go to the hospital then," Twilight said concernedly. "Or at the very least Zecora. I'm sure she has something to suppress headaches."

"I doubt a regular doctor could fix what was done by a crazy, deformed god-like thing. And while I think Zecora could be a bit more useful than a doctor, I still doubt her voodoo could overpower Discord's."

"I could, if you want..." Twilight said quietly, shifting in her seat. What she was planning was something she had done before. It was something she hoped she wouldn't have to do again.

"You could do what?" Church asked with a sigh, then by the look in her eye, he shook his head. "No. No way."

"Do what?" Spike inquired, looking between the two unicorns. "What's Twilight thinking?"

"She's thinking about going in to find out what I'm thinking," he grunted.

"Uh, I'm not the best at guessing these kinda things," Spike murmured, scratching the top of his skull.

"She wants to go in my head to try and help me sort through my memories," Church replied flatly, looking at Twilight more serious than ever. "There's no way I'm going to let her do that, though."

"Why not? I may not be in a lot of your memories, but I am sure I can help you sort through the ones Discord twisted," Twilight pushed. "After all, they'll probably stand out a lot compared to what they used to be."

"You would think so, but they're probably just as crazy, stupid and unlikely as he changed them to be. If you go in there, I'm afraid that you'll end up almost going crazy, just like last time."

"Last time I brought two of the fragments into my mind. Since there aren't anymore that we know about, it should be safer. After all, I think it would be pretty hard to steal your memories."

"No, it's out of the question," Church snapped at her, making her and Spike flinch back. Seeing their looks of surprise, he looked down and shook his head. "Sorry, it's just... I can't let you do it. The reward is not worth the risk. I'll always be a little bit crazy, and you can't just keep trying to help me. It's really not all that bad. Honest."

"Er, fine then," Twilight said, relaxing a bit.

"Glad to hear it," Church sighed. "So where did Tex head off to?"

"She went to go see Applejack about something," Twilight said, not wanting to say exactly what in front of Spike. She'll let Tex tell him.

"Damn, I wanted to talk to her about something," Church grumbled.

"I'm sure if you go now, you can catch up," she said, glancing towards her assistant and oldest friend. "She wanted to talk to Spike about something too."

"Guess you should come too," Church said, nodding at Spike. "Unless you had other plans?"

"I think I can pencil you in my agenda," Spike chuckled, instinctively hopping onto Church's back.

"You know, you have legs for a reason," Church sighed, looking at Spike with an unimpressed look. "In case you don't know, something generally evolves to get a pair of legs so they can walk."

"Yeah, well, you have two pairs of legs, so technically you're evolved to carry somepony," Spike laughed.

"Can't argue with that logic. See you later, Twilight," Church said with a shrug, then went off to catch up with Tex, a smirking Spike on his back.

Chapter 46 - "Detours and Interruptions"

Tex had been walking for a few, short minutes and had found herself halfway through the town, a new, albeit small goal to work toward. It was the first time in a while she felt relatively useful, and even though it was only her teaching Spike a small bit of what she knows, it was something that made her a tiny bit happier. With that in mind, she decided to stop by at a nearby shop, one which she thought she'd generally never go to that much. Pushing open the front door, she was instantly greeted by the smell of sweets, the sight of pastries, and the sound of a slightly-annoying, but somehow endearing friend.

"Heya, Texy! Wacha doin?" Pinkie Pie asked from behind the counter.

"Not much, just going on a small walk to Applejack's," Tex said as she walked towards the counter. "I needed to see her about something, and figured I'd stop by and say hello since you're on the way."

"Aw, that's nice of you!" the pink mare smiled. "Can I get you anything?"

"I don't have any money on me, sorry."

"Oh, don't worry about that! Sometimes I give Dashie and Grif one every now and again. The Cakes don't mind." Pinkie said as she fished out a bright yellow cupcake from behind the counter, then held it out for Tex. Seeing that Tex was reluctant to take it, Pinkie simply giggled. "What's a cupcake between friends?"

"Alright, thanks," Tex said with a nonchalant shrug, taking the cupcake and tossing it in her mouth. "You really think we're friends?"

"Well duh, we've been over this before," Pinkie snorted, rolling her eyes playfully as Tex swallowed the sweet treat. "Of course you're my friend!"

"Guess you're one of the few, huh?" Tex chuckled humorlessly.

"Oh, don't be like that. You have lots of friends!" Pinkie said, tapping her hooves together as she counted out names. "I mean, you have me, then Caboose, Twilight, then Church and Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Simmons, Grif, Sarge, Tucker, Gary, O'Malley, Delta, Theta, Sigma, Eta and Iota-"

"Some of them are alright, and I guess I could call them friends," Tex admitted. "But I'm talking about actual friends from this place that I've made. Ones that I can hang around and talk to about... I don't know, friend stuff, I guess."

"What about Pip n' Vinyl?" the bouncy mare asked, tilting her head to the side with a look of curiosity.

"Not sure where they live," Tex sighed, shrugging. "Besides, I'm not sure how friendly it would look for a mare with a skull on her ass to be hanging around a kid."

"I thought Vinyl told you where she worked," Pinkie said, scratching her chin.

"Forgot about that. Maybe I'll..." Tex stopped and shook her head. "I don't know about looking her up. I don't even know what the hell we'd talk about, and how friendly is being silent?"

"Friends aren't always about talking to somepony with common interests, silly. Friends can also be about having somepony to sit next to in a comfortable silence, content with each other's company," she said, then lowered her head and looked up pensively. "But I like the first kind more, because silence can get boring. That reminds me, I should hang out with Eta and Iota more to find out what they like!"

"Thanks for the words of... encouragement?"

"No problem-o!" Pinkie giggled. "So what were ya going to see Applejack about?"

"If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell Church, okay?"

"Cross m-"

"Okay, I trust you," Tex said quickly, remembering that Pinkie was rather odd about promises. And mostly everything else. "I'm going to see her about getting some stuff to make some targets for some training I'm going to give Spike."

"Ohhh, what kind of training?" Pinkie asked happily, leaning in to show she was paying full attention.

"Some defensive stuff. Offense is pretty much off limits seeing as last time I tried to teach him some stuff, he hit Church in the face with a ball of fire..."

"You're teaching him super-duper secret agent stuff?"

"I'm not sure if I would call it that, but-"

"Aww, I want to cooooome," Pinkie frowned, stomping back and forth slightly.

"I'd say yes, but Twilight's only letting me teach Spike because she knows there isn't much else I can do around here. I'm not sure how much she'd like me teaching... others about... self... defense..." Tex said slowly, thinking about her words as she said them. "Y'know, maybe that's something I could do around here. I'm sure Twilight wouldn't mind me teaching others as long as it stayed self-defense instead of a fighting class. That way I could be helpful without being violent."

"Then you could teach me ninja stuff!" Pinkie said ecstatically.

"From what I've seen, you have me beat in the appearing out of nowhere thing. I don't think there's much I could teach you," Tex said as she turned around and began to walk out the door. "I think I'll get going now. Thanks for the cupcake."

"Don't worry about it. I'll tell Caboose you said hi," Pinkie said, waving as Tex left.

Tex glanced to the ground as walked out the door, thinking about the future. Since she was staring at the ground, however, she did not see the stallion in her way and ended up bumping into him. Shaking her head, she glanced up, fighting back the instinct of telling them to watch where they were going, only to see a familiar

"By the way you bumped into me, you must be very familiar with knock knock jokes," the stallion chuckled.

"Just when things were beginning to look up..." Tex grumbled as Gamma began to walk around her.

"If it isn't ex-Agent Texas," Gamma said slyly, walking around the black mare. "What are you doing out on this fine day?"

"I should ask you the same thing."

"Now, now. I am doing no harm to you, or to others. Yet, at least," he chuckled.

"That doesn't inspire much confidence..." she muttered, turning her head so she always had him in her sights.

"Come now, I am just being honest. I have no plans on toying with others, but both you and I know that I am more than capable of doing so. I simply need a reason to do so, and I have not found one yet," he said thoughtfully, pausing next to her. "Now, if you wish to speak to someone you can never be sure about, I could fetch Omega for you."

"No thanks. Now again, what are you doing out here?"

"Ah-ah-ahh," he tutted. "I happened to have asked that question before you did."

"I'm going to see Applejack, but stopped by Pinkie's to have a small chat. That's much more information than you need to know," she said with a forced smile. "Now what are you doing out here?"

"I'm simply going for a walk," he replied tightly. After a second's thought, he glanced at her. "You wouldn't have happened to have seen Omega on your way to Applejack's, have you?"

"Didn't you just say you'd get him for me?" she inquired, ever-suspicious eyes narrowing on the stallion.

"Ah, right, I did say that," he said with a nod. He then turned around and began to walk away. "I suppose I'll be off. Should you wish to speak to me, you may seek me out at the town hall."

"Who would ever want to do something like that?" she grunted, turning around to continue her trek to Applejack's.

Chapter 47 - "Covering Up the Truth"

Tex soon arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, completely disinterested with what Gary and O'Malley were up to, instead focusing on her plans to try and fit in more. Things were finally starting to look up.

"Tex, wait up," Church called out as Tex walked through the gate, trotting her with Spike holding onto his neck.

"What are you doing here?" Tex inquired as the pair stopped next to her.

"Church wanted to talk to you about something, then Twilight told us you wanted to talk to me," Spike explained simply.

"Yeah, I did, but I didn't really want Church to hear it. It's really more of a private conversation. Well, for now, at least."

"...Why do I have a bad feeling about what you want to tell Spike?" Church asked, then shook his head. "Never mind, you won't tell me anyways. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about Twilight. She wants to help with my head, but I don't want her going in there. I think that she might try to sort through my more recent memories, and I don't want her poking around in there."

"Why not?"

"Because I..." he said, pausing for a split second. "I don't want her to go crazy in there, you know? I'm worried that if she tries to untwist my memories, hers will get messed up back. Discord could have rigged them like that, right? I mean, yeah, he probably rigged them."

"That's the reason?" Tex asked with a raised brow, knowing what he was really thinking. What he didn't want Twilight to find out. "Are you sure there is nothing else?"

"Yes, Tex, that is the reason," Church said firmly, practically reading her thoughts. "If she goes in there, things will happen that I don't want happening. Things could change very quickly, and not for the better."

"What does that have to do with us?" Spike asked curiously.

"I think that she's going to try and be a good friend. I want you guys to stop her from doing that. If you think that she's going to try and get into my head, I want you guys to distract her from doing it. Think you can do that?"

"If you think you can handle it on your own, I'm up for it. To protect Twilight," Spike said with a nod.

"How about you, Tex?" Church asked.

"Your memories were already messed up enough as is when she went in there the first time, so Discord's fucking around in your head probably hasn't changed that much. The only reason she had to back out before was because of Eta and Iota, so I think she could hold her own in your head since they're not there anymore," Tex said.

"Tex," Church began, then stopped himself, not wanting Spike to know about what was really going on.

"You know, I'm sort of going to be busy dealing with my own life. Even though I want you to be a part of my life, I have my own problems to deal with. Tell you what, I'll back you up with telling her the risks, but I'm not going to stop her from doing it. Sound fair?" she asked. "That is, unless you're hiding something from her?"

Church opened his mouth, but shut it, knowing he was trapped. If he agreed, he knew that he would risk Twilight finding out about Discord's true fate. That would mean going around, trying to do the right thing for who knows how long. If he shot her help down, however, Spike might think that he really was hiding something, which would only raise suspicion, as well as more questions. For him, it was a lose-lose situation. Before Church could answer, an explosion erupted from behind the barn and a large object flung into the air, trailed by a thick cloud of smoke. Tex squinted at the object to try to figure out what it was. Then the object arched back down and began to head straight for Church.

"Son of a bitch!" Church yelled as Tex tackled him and Spike out of the way, the large projectile just barely missing them. "What the hell was that?"

Snapping to her feet, Tex began trotting towards the small crater in the ground to investigate into it. As she reached it, however, a bald stallion quickly began to clamber out.

"O'Malley," Tex grunted, stopping him from getting out as Spike and Church walked over to her. "What the hell did you just do?"

"That is none of your concern," O'Malley insisted, wiping some soot off of his face. "I am simply running some minor experiments that will most certainly help the ponies of this world in the long run."

"Well, I don't believe that for a second," she said instantly.

"What in tarnation just happened?" Applejack asked as she ran out the front door of the farmhouse. Seeing the sightly smoking O'Malley, she trotted up to them. "Let me guess. Didja have somethin' t' do with that loud noise, O'Malley?"

"No, I had absolutely nothing to do with anything that may be behind the farm," O'Malley grunted, then paused.

"Aright, so that means ya did. That also means that Ah should probably check it out," Applejack sighed, turning around. "Nearly scared the cutie mark offa my flank with that..."

"You don't need to check anything out. Nothing out of the ordinary that risks the well-being of others is hidden behind there!" O'Malley snapped, running ahead of her to presumably cover up whatever he was doing.

"Ya know, he'd be a tad more believable if he wasn't just comin' outta a crater after an explosion..." she chuckled, as he disappeared behind the barn. Pausing, she glanced back at Tex and the others. "Er, Ah suppose y'all are here t' talk t' me, but do ya think t'all can wait for a tad while I deal with this? Shouldn't take too long."

"I need to talk to you about this sort of thing anyway," Tex said, then glanced back at Twilight's young assistant. "Come on, Spike. I need to talk to you too."

"What about me?" Church asked quietly as Spike joined her.

"I told you that I'd talk to Twilight. That's as much as you're getting from me," Tex said sternly. "I only want you to get better, and so does she. You know you can't hide from it."

Church squinted at her, then turned around and began to walk away, leaving Spike and Tex to deal with Applejack's O'Malley problem.

"What was that about?" Applejack asked as Tex and Spike began to walk towards the barn.

"Don't worry about it. It's just Church being... Church," Tex sighed. She wanted to do the right thing and track down Discord, but for some reason felt that it had to be Church that told them, be it willingly or subconsciously. Shaking her head clear of the Church situation, she smiled thinly at Applejack. "Besides, you should be worrying about O'Malley possibly blowing up a part of your farm."

"Good point," Applejack said, quickening her pace to find out what O'Malley was hiding.

Spike quickly followed Applejack, but Tex paused and glanced back, watching as Church waked down the path back to Ponyville. She let out a sigh and shook her head, then quickly joined Applejack and Spike.

Chapter 48 - "Accepting Fate"

As Tex, Applejack and Spike turned the corner, they saw O'Malley scrambling to toss a cover over a large, oddly familiar object. As they approached to take a look at it, O'Malley ran in front of them, then sat on the ground and spread his forelegs to his side, trying to block them.

"O'Malley, ya know we're gunna end up seein' it, so ya might as well show us what it is," Applejack sighed. By the tone of her voice, Tex knew that Applejack was accustomed to O'Malley's antics now, and takes them about as seriously as she does.

"No, it's a secret!" O'Malley snapped.

"A secret weapon?" Tex asked with a raised brow.

"Yes! I mean, no! No, it isn't a secret weapon!" he said quickly, eyes going wide. "At the very least, it is a fast travel system."

"Aright, now I know it's a weapon," Tex said, sharing a glance with Applejack. "You go to his right flank, I'll take his left."

"Er, got it," Applejack said with a nod. She then darted to O'Malley's side, turned so her flank was facing him and kicked him on the right side of his rump, causing him to hit the wall of the barn. "Got his right flank."

"Not what I meant, but that works too," the ex-Freelancer said with a smirk.

"Haven't you ever heard of personal space?" O'Malley grumbled sourly as he pulled himself off the ground, angry at the fact that he wouldn't be able to stop them. "If you told me to stay away from your stuff, what do you think I would do?"

"You'd go out of your way to find it and destroy it out of spite and boredom, which is probably what we're going to end up doing," she said, pulling the brown cover off O'Malley's not so well hidden secret. When the object was clear, Tex simply raised a curious brow. "Not what I was expecting."

"Is that one of Pinkie's cannons?" Applejack asked, unsure. Though it looked much like the cannons she had seen Pinkie using multiple times before, this one was different. It appeared to have been painted blood-red, and there were hundreds of spikes surrounding it, giving it a menacing look. "What didja do to it?"

"I modified it," O'Malley said simply.

"Uh-huh. And why would ya go about doin' that? And does Pinkie know that you're usin' it?"

"Of course she isn't aware," he grunted, rolling his eyes. "I tell you, when I rule this world, you will be killed, shot, burned, maimed, then shot again for asking those kind of questions."

"What's in th' barrels?" she asked, beginning to approach the wooden barrels behind the red, spike-covered cannon. "Are ya usin' our cider t' power it or somethin'?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I poured your silly cider out and filled the barrel with gunpowder," he said, then chuckled when Applejack shot him a glare.

"Where the hell did you get gunpowder?" Tex asked, stepping towards him.

"What do you mean where did I get it? I made it," O'Malley scoffed. "Granted, I have not perfected the recipe quite yet, but once I do, my goals will be within my masterful grasp, then nobody will be able to stop me! Muahahaha!"

"Or, ya know, we could stop ya right now by dismantlin' this contraption thingy," Applejack grunted, taking a step towards the cannon to find a way to take it down.

"Hang on, maybe we should let him keep it," Tex said, stopping Applejack by holding up her leg.

"What?" Applejack and O'Malley asked together, both equally as surprised, while Spike simply stared at her curiously.

"Don't worry about it," Tex whispered into Applejack's ear. "His plans are usually so stupid that they'll never work anyways. If we just let him go about this plan, you won't have to keep track of him since you'll know what he's doing. And if worse comes to worst, we'll dismantle it before he can do any real harm to anyone, because right now he's only really harming himself."

"Sounds smart," Applejack said quietly.

"What are you two talking about over there? It better not be anything... good," he said with a shudder.

"I said that when you take over the world, maybe you'll give us small mercies for not stopping your plans," Tex said seriously. "It's going to happen eventually, so we figure that there's no point in trying to stop you."

"Really?" he inquired, then shook his head violently and smiled darkly. "Er, that is, I mean, wise decision! Of course I will be a generous tyrant. And by that I mean I will give you a few one second breaks every year! A few one second breaks from your violent, bloody torture!"

"Sounds completely and utterly fair. But just because we're not going to try to stop you doesn't mean others won't, so you should probably get to work."

"Right-o! Now, where did I put my saw?" O'Malley asked himself in a hushed tone, looking around the grass for his tools.

"Don't know why Ah didn't think of doin' that before," Applejack grumbled, then smiled at Tex. "So what was it y'all wanted t' see me about?"

"Right. First things first, I should probably ask Spike if he's okay with it," Tex said.

"Me? Uh, I guess that depends on what it is," Spike murmured, watching as O'Malley gasped with happiness and took a saw off the ground, then went to the cannon. "And seeing the sort of thing you're okay with happening, I'm not sure if it's going to be all that great for my safety."

"It actually is all about your safety. Twilight decided that she wants me to start training you again. I need to know if you're up for it. Since I guessed you probably would be, I was going to-"

"Last time that didn't go over so well," he interrupted her, scratching the back of his neck innocently. "Don't you think Church will be upset?"

"That's why I haven't told him yet. He overreacts to a lot of things for no good reason."

"I think hitting him in the face with a fireball is a good reason for him to not want you to teach me," he admitted.

"Ah, yes. I remember hearing about that. What a delicious 'boom, headshot' moment," O'Malley chuckled, taking a quick pause from working on his machine. "If I were a dragon, you could expect to see everything lit with my green balls of fire! Nobody would be safe from my fiery temper!"

"Don't mind him," Tex said, making a shooing moment at O'Malley with one of her hooves. "I won't be teaching you to hurt anybody. It would be purely self-defense in case somebody attacks you first. Fire will be off limits for now."

"Boooooriiiiiiing. Call me out when you finally realize that violence solves everything," O'malley yawned, then crawled into the cannon to work on the inside.

"I guess I could give it a shot," Spike said.

"Great," she said with a smile. "And if it goes well with you, I was kind of thinking about starting up a training facility or something for the mares in town. You know, give me something to do, maybe make some money on the side. Maybe pay Twilight and the others back for keeping an eye on things. Especially Applejack. God knows looking after more than one of these idiots would be nothing but annoying."

"Tex, ya don't have t' do that. Ah volunteered t' do it."

"I know I don't have to," Tex said, trying her best to give Applejack her friendliest smile. "I want to."

"That's awfully kind of ya, but what does trainin' Spike have t' do with me?" Applejack asked curiously.

"I was wondering if you had some spare supplies around to make some life-sized dummies to display techniques on. I would ask Grif since he can take more pain than any other living thing that I've seen, but I'm trying to be a better person."

"Sounds like you're off t' a fine start," she chuckled, then nodded towards the farmhouse. "C'mon, let's see what we can rustle up for ya and leave O'Malley t' take over th' world."

Chapter 49 - "Business Moves"

After some quick scrounging in the barn, Applejack, Tex and Spike managed to get several pieces of wood, some scraps of cloth to make the dummies and a lot of hay to fill them.

"This looks like enough to start with," Applejack said quietly as she placed all the wood next to each other, forming a third, sorted pile. "If this ain't enough, you could see Rarity about your idea. Ah'm sure she'd be more than happy t' help, and she could probably get ya some cheaper fabric and help ya make better dummies."

"She might be happy to make things, but I'm not sure she'd be ecstatic to be making them just for me to destroy."

"That's true, Ah suppose," Applejack said with a shrug, then began to grab more pieces of loose wood. "Couldn't hurt t' ask, though. She is the Element of Generosity after all."

"I guess," Tex said as she looked back at Spike. "Think you could-"

"On it!" Spike said as he sprinted out the door.

"Heh, he moves pretty fast for someone who has short legs," she said, turning her attention back to Applejack. "So I forgot to ask, how are the others lately?"

"They're good, so t' speak. Mostly keepin' outta trouble, bar the occasional threat of dominatin' the world and the like, but that's normal for 'em."

"I meant your family."

"Suppose the same goes for them, minus the threats," Applejack chuckled with a large smiled. "But nah, they're alright. Apple Bloom is happy t' have Theta an' Sigma around t' play with when Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle aren't here. Granny Smith is happy that the guests are back, an' Big Mac is pretty much th' same, watchin' them with Sarge t' keep 'em in line. Ah'm sure Sarge is itchin' for 'em t' slip so he can have a reason to pick a fight. Actually, maybe Ah can make an extra one or two of these for him an' O'Malley. Let 'em work off that pent up violence since they don't seem t' be able t' talk it off."

"Sounds like a plan. Good to hear they're taking it well," Tex said, smiling back at her.

"Ah'm still not too sure if that's the right word for it," Applejack said, looking towards the door. "Wait here for a sec, Ah'll go grab some rope from th' house, then we can start buildin' us some dummies for ya just in case Rarity ain't fond of th' idea."

Applejack and Tex shared a quick nod, and Tex began to inspect the stuff in front of her as Applejack left. Picking up a piece of wood, she propped it up, then began to think of what she should start with. If she was going to actually go through with it and have a class, she knew she would have to split stuff into beginners and intermediate classes. The problem, however, was that she wasn't sure if others would consider what she found simple to be so. She would have to start with the most basic of basic things. Actually hitting it. Turning around, Tex brought her legs back and bucked at the piece of wood, making it fly a few feet in the other direction.

"Looks like someone is having a little fun," a voice said from the doorway with a rough, condescending laugh.

"Sarge," Tex said knowingly, turning to the red stallion standing in the light. "Good to see you again."

"Likewise," Sarge murmured reluctantly, then began walking towards her. "Mind if I ask what you're doing on the Apple family's property? Nefarious Blue things?"

"And here I thought you'd think I'm working with O'Malley."

"I'm more used to you being a Blue than a stupid little fragment," he shrugged. "I might not trust you as much as Simmons or anything that is better than Grif, but I know you wouldn't stoop down to their level of idiocy."

"That's... actually kind of a nice thing for you to say," she admitted.

"Don't mention it," he grunted. "But what are you doing? That piece of wood didn't insult your ability to fight, did it?"

"I felt that training people might be a good fit for me, so Applejack is helping me build some test dummies. I mean, knowing there are assholes like those three pegasi that need dealing with, I'm sure the ponies here might find use in some defense."

"Seems pretty smart to me. Wonder why I didn't think of that after I got my stamp," he said, scratching his chin as he looked at the scattered items in front of her. "But if you need something to kick, why don't you just use Grif? I always have."

"Thought of that. Felt that he wouldn't be too keen on the idea," she sighed.

"You seem to be forgetting one thing about Grif. Getting hurt is his talent! It's the thing he does best. In fact, it's the only thing he does well at all. I credited with him that before we came here, but now his ass symbol proves it. You'd be rude not to ask him. And by ask, I really mean forcibly abduct and run tests on. He'll probably be more open to that idea seeing as it means he won't have to get off his lazy ass."

"I guess it is what he was made for," she said with a small nod, then shook her head. "But no. It's safer this way. I'm not sure how the ponies would take to beating the hell out of a live pony that didn't provoke them. I'm trying to do the right thing for once, not just take the way that's easiest for me or suits my needs."

"Suit yourself," Sarge scoffed. "While I'm here, need any help building this stuff? In case you forgot, I'm great at building things."

"I thought you just said that I'm a Blue, and the only time you help Blues is when you get dragged into doing it, or you just want in on the action," Tex noted.

"The second one," he said after a second of thinking. "I'm tired of sitting around all day helping on the farm. I don't want to settle down with a simple life. I want to hit things and get paid to do it."

"I don't know, I kind of..." she stopped mid-sentence, thinking back on how she would teach the beginners class. Or rather, thinking about how Sarge could do that while she teaches the useful stuff. Holding out her hoof, she began to smile. "Actually, you know what? If this ends up happening, I think I could use your help teaching some classes if you really want to."

"Aha! I knew you were smarter than O'Malley and the others. If he doesn't want my help building a cannon that could be used to launch Grif at things, that's his loss." he chuckled, shaking her hoof. "But if anyone asks why I'm working with you, I'll say you dragged me into it."

"Right."

Chapter 51 - "Ghosts of the Past"

"What is that?" a mare coming out of a nearby home asked, staring up at the sky in awe.

"I don't know," admitted a stallion, coming to her side. "Do you think it's dangerous?"

"It's alright, everypony. Just go back inside. I'm sure this is nothing," Twilight said instantly, voice wavering as she ushered her small warning.

"But, Twilight, it is something!" Caboose said confusedly. "Don't you remember that-"

"Don't mind him," Church said, holding Caboose's mouth shut. "He doesn't know how to think before he speaks. More often than not, he doesn't think at all."

"Church, what are we going to do about this?" Twilight asked as the nearby ponies hesitantly but surely went back into their homes.

"Us? Why the hell should we do anything?" he inquired. "If it is what we think it is, somebody will be coming in at any moment. When that happens we can do something, but there really isn't much we can do right now but wait or ignore it. Personally, I prefer the latter option."

"But nobody is coming out of it this time," Caboose said confusedly.

"This isn't good. This really isn't good," Twilight said, trotting back into the library. "Where is Spike when I need him? I need to tell Princess Celestia about this right away."

"Of course you do," he sighed, following her inside as she began heading towards the Elements of Harmony.

"Church, I know you don't see completely eye-to-eye with her, but don't you think that is something she should know about?" Twilight asked, waving her hoof at the window.

As Church opened his mouth to answer, he and Twilight were partially blinded by a sudden gold flash. After instinctively shielding his eyes, Church lowered his hoof and saw that he was in the throne room of Canterlot, surrounded by the other Elements and AI. Standing at the base of the throne was a troubled Celestia, while a curious and focused Luna stood by a window, horn glowing.

"Looks like she already knows," Church grunted at Twilight.

"Hello, everypony," Celestia said seriously. "I hope I did not interrupt anything important, but as you might have seen, there seem to be more pressing matters to attend to."

"I'll say you did! I was in the middle of building a... a..." O'Malley trailed off, then fell into silence when all eyes went to him. "A vase. A very eloquent vase. One which would rain fire down upon my enemies!"

"Whether or not that is the truth, something more important has come up that may threaten the safety of everyone in Ponyville. Perhaps all of Equestria."

"And it isn't my... vase?" O'Malley asked in a tone that was a mix of anger and jealousy. "Then I shall say I am glad you brought this to my attention. Point me in it's direction so I may destroy it or use it for myself! If anyone is going to destroy life as we know it in a gory fashion, it is going to be me!"

"What is causing this?" Delta asked, then glanced out the window and saw a black scar in the sky. Turning his head fully to investigate it, he raised a brow. "That does seem what some would think as out of the ordinary."

"Is that what I think it is?" Sarge mumbled as he looked out the window.

"Yes. It is the same sort of tear that you and the others arrived in," Celestia said with a nod, then looked towards Luna. "As you can see, my sister is in the middle of holding the tear shut as best as she can. We do not want anything getting in of out of it, nor do we want the size to get out of control."

"What do you want us to do?" Rainbow Dash asked firmly, stepping towards the Princesses, ready to help them in any way.

"Girls, you're going to stay here and keep the peace with the ponies of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash, you and some of my Royal Guard will cover up the tear with clouds."

"On it!" Rainbow Dash said with a quick salute, then darted out the open window.

"Twilight, you take the other girls and keep the peace," Celestia said sternly, eyes focused on the rest of them. "Tell them all is alright, but that they should stay in their homes while we fix a small problem."

"What about us?" Simmons asked.

"You, my little stallions, are going to be turned back to your prior form. You must go back out through the tear and find the source of the disturbance."

"You're sending us home?" Church questioned harshly. "What, now that there's an easy opportunity, you have to take it?"

"Not quite. While you are out there, Luna and I will do our best to keep the tear from growing any further, but we will not shut you out. As of now, whoever is trying to come here is being blocked out. You, my little stallions, are in charge of going back out to see if Discord is the cause of the disturbance. If he is, then you must bring him back here."

"What? How the hell do you think we can do that?" Grif snorted. "We couldn't stop him in here with the girls' help, so why do you think we'll be able to when he's out there?"

"He is new to your portion of the universe. His magic may not work as well where he is now compared to here, nor will he know what he is in for over there should his power be weakened."

"Wait, what do you mean our portion of the universe?" Simmons inquired, leaning closer.

"You know, I was not too sure of that myself," Sarge added curiously.

"Now is not the time," Celestia sighed. "I will explain everything that I know once you return."

"Again, I'd just like to point out the fact that we're going after him with less people than we had last time..." Grif grumbled on the other side.

"You may not have the girls to aid you, but you will not be doing this completely alone," Celestia murmured. "I am sending another with you."

Glancing to their side, the used-to-be men saw the scattered fragments staring back at them. A dawning expression ran across their faces, but it quickly turned to confusion. She said she was only sending one with them, so they turned to Celestia to question her about it.

"No, it is not any of them," she sighed. "Though I am afraid that you will be less welcoming of who I am sending with you compared to them."

"What? Are you going to send Shining Armor or some other experienced guard with us?" Simmons asked, hopeful that they wouldn't have to do this just the six of them, and equally glad that it wouldn't be any of the artificial intelligences.

"No, it is not any of the Royal Guard. I will need all of them here should any other problems arise."

"Then who are you going to send with us?"

"You may not like it, but while Discord was in the castle and encased us in stone, he used the Necronomicon on someone."

"Don't you mean somepony?" Tucker asked with a smirk.

"Not quite," a female voice said from the other side of the room.

The instant the ponies in the room heard the sound, they froze in place, backs feeling as cold as ice. The voice behind them was one they recognized all too well, and it was one they hoped they would never had to hear again. Turning in unison, the stallions and mares caught sight of a large figure standing in a nearby door. She was nearly twice as tall as the ponies and sported a suit of cyan armor .

"Carolina?"

Chapter 52 - "Uneasy Truce"

"Hello, Epsilon," Carolina growled, slowly walking towards him. "It's been too long since you stabbed me in the throat. I've been meaning to have a little chat with you ever since we came back."

As Carolina neared the group, she was stopped when her armor began to glow gold. Looking around, she saw the source of what was stopping her.

"I will not have any blood shed under my watch," Celestia said slowly, releasing the bind on the vengeful ex-Freelancer. Looking to the others, she bowed her head slightly. "I realize that this comes as a rather large surprise to you, but understand that it was not my doing. When you... incapacitated her, I had to keep her body safe."

"You kept her here? Do you know how dangerous that was? She's a murderer!" Church snapped.

"Guess we're two of a kind, then, aren't we?" she asked harshly.

"She was no longer living, nor did I have the intention to bring her back," Celestia explained. "We were simply guarding her from everything else. If I were to have buried her somewhere, I feared that somepony might find out about her and bring her back to use as a soldier."

"So what, she's your personal guard now? Keeping her as a special unit to take out Discord?"

"No. She said she was going to send me back, and now it looks as if that opportunity has arrived," Carolina said, hand still hanging over her gun. "If the Director is involved in any way, I intend to find out and kill him. If he isn't, then I'm going to help deal with this Discord or whatever problem, then I'm leaving you guys behind and going after him by myself."

"You seem to be taking this situation well," Simmons said quietly.

"That's because I don't fully believe it is happening. And I don't care. What I do care about is leaving this place and resuming what I planned on doing when I came in here. Looking for a way to find the Director."

"And you're just up for letting her do that?" Church asked.

"As she has explained to me, the Director is a war criminal. What he has done to you, as well as her past colleagues is an inexcusable offense. Though I do not agree with harming him, I do agree with justice."

"So the white horse gave me the go-ahead to go back home and finish the job," Carolina said, hands clenching into fists.

"Her name is Princess Celestia," Twilight said sternly, beginning to go towards her. Carolina then shifted her sight to Twilight, making her freeze in place.

"Again, I don't really care all that much," she growled, then looked around the room and noticed that there was a certain black mare squinting at her. "What are you looking at?"

"Don't you remember me?" Tex asked in an icy tone, glaring at her.

"Texas?" Carolina asked in anger when she recognized the black pony's voice. Her finger's tightened on her pistol as she gazed around the room and studied the looks of the unfamiliar ponies. Or rather, the ponies that had a certain air of familiarity to them, but one she could not place. "Where do I know you from?"

"It is good to see you are well, Agent Carolina," Delta said indifferently after a few moment's pause.

"Delta?" Carolina asked as she instantly placed the voice, but was now slightly confused. She then glanced at the others and realized who they all were just by the way they looked at her. "How are you all back? When I was with Wash, he said that you were deleted."

"I can explain that," Church grunted, taking a step towards her. "When you killed Caboose, we had to do some stupid shit involving dark magic to bring him back. Since I can't really die, we used me as a trigger to bring him back to life. But when we did that, it brought back all the fragments."

"Except for Eta and Iota," Twilight said carefully. "They came later."

"That's impossible," Carolina growled. "The EMP wiped them out. There is no way they could possibly be back."

"They were gone, but not forgotten," Church retorted. "I survived the EMP, so I brought them back through what little memory I have of them."

"Interesting," Carolina murmured, eyes settling on the fiery orange colt. "Hello, Sigma."

"Agent Carolina," Sigma said cautiously. "It has been far too long."

"I'm not sure if it was long enough. Last I heard, you and a power-hungry Maine were stopped by these idiots before you managed to become all-powerful."

"I would not be so quick to poke fun at me. There is no guarantee your plan for taking out the Director will work either," he countered.

"I'm not sure whose side I should be taking here," Simmons whispered nervously to Grif. "The crazy and angry woman with a gun, or the completely insane artificial intelligence that nearly got us killed multiple times."

"If life has taught me anything, it's better to not argue with the psychotic woman with a weapon that can blow your brains out," Tucker murmured.

"So the girls are staying here, and we're going with Carolina. What about the other fragments? Are you going to send them back out inside each of our brains?" Church asked curiously.

"Please say no," Simmons begged in an instant.

"I am not sure if I am truly able to send Texas and the other fragments back. While they are relatively real here, they are beings of magic. I am not convinced that they would be able to last on the other side. Instead of sending them with you, they will stay here with my sister and I. We do not want them running around unsupervised," Celestia said, then looked to Church. "I am not sure, but the same might go for you, Church."

"I'm not a being of magic, though," Church grumbled.

"But you are. To a certain degree, at least. Do you remember what happened when your friends first rescued you?"

"Yeah, I was angry that they saved me, and more angry when I saw that Carolina wasn't dead," he said instantly. "Then Caboose somehow went into the unit, making their rescue very short lived, so I sent myself in after him."

"And do you recall what happened when you and your friends came into the unit in search of Caboose?"

"We slammed into the ground and found ourselves talking to a bunch of talking horses," Church said.

"I also punched you in the stomach," Sarge chuckled heartily, remembering the short but fond memory.

"Yeah, and Sarge punched me in... the... stomach..." he trailed off, realization setting in as he said the words. When he was rescued, he remembered he was in his AI form, but when he entered the unit after Caboose...

"Magic created a body for you when you came here," Celestia said with a nod. "Should you return back out there, I am sure you will turn back into your translucent state. But since you will still be of that world, you should be able to get somebody to use you as a host."

"And that person would be me," Carolina added.

"What? Not only are you making me possibly chase after Discord, but you're putting me in the hands of that psycho when I'm back out?"

"I am afraid that is your best bet of completing your objective. As I understand, she is more equipped to deal with having something else in her."

"Bow-chicka-bow-wow," Tucker said, then ducked and yelped when Carolina took out her pistol and fired a single bullet over his head. "Hey, watch where you shoot that thing!"

"Then you watch what you say. I have no interest in making friends. I'm only interested in taking out the Director," she growled, holstering the weapon.

"Sister..." Luna grunted, horn glowing dark-sapphire.

"I apologize, but this needs to be done," Celestia said finally, horn beginning to glow. "If you find out that Discord is not involved and you choose not to aid Carolina with the Director, you may come back right away. Should he be involved, however, I expect you to return with him alive and well."

"Good luck," Tex said, offering the guys a hopeful smile.

Before they could say anything else, the Reds, Blues and Carolina were enveloped in a gold flash, returned to the place from whence they came.

Chapter 53 - "Ace in the Hole"

A few days earlier.

It was nearly midday where the annihilated buildings covered in vines were. The buildings had been corroded and the plant life had overgrown everywhere and on everything, showing that the area was long abandoned. Until now, that is, when the only sound made in the area was the sound of an engine purring.

"We're finally here," Wash murmured, staring at the crumbled remains of the Freelancer offsite storage facility as his warthog began to slow down. "And he better be here too, otherwise this has been a waste of time."

"Don't be like that," Doc said, looking at the previously grey Freelancer. "It's about the journey, not the destination."

"No. It is all about the destination. I didn't make you guys come with me for company, I made you come with me to help find the Director so we can find out what the hell happened to the others," he said, glancing down at the Epsilon unit on his side. "At least I hope he can tell us what the hell happened."

Parking the warthog near a decrepit cement pipe, Wash hopped out of the driver's seat and began walking towards one of the destroyed buildings. Stopping inside the building, he glanced back at his two annoying passengers.

"Do you really think he's here?" Doc asked, looking around at his annihilated surroundings.

"No, I parked here because I thought we could have a picnic," Wash remarked sarcastically.

"Aw, you shouldn't have. And what a nice location," Donut said, smiling brightly under his helmet as he hopped out of the vehicle. "If you told me, I would have helped you make the sandwiches!"

"This place doesn't really seem like a nice place to me," Doc murmured, following Donut. "It looks like the kind of place where insects would be all over the place. Nobody likes insects at a picnic."

"Well then, it's a good thing we're not actually having a picnic," Wash sighed, then nodded towards the building. "Now come on. We need to see if there are any signs that the Director is actually here. If he's not, then we have nowhere else to look and these past few months of searching would have been wasted. And I don't consider a road trip with you two to be a noteworthy event."

"Considering how long it took us to get here, how could it not be?"

"Yeah, think of all the bonding we had!" Donut said.

"I'd rather not," Wash said, then glanced around quickly and walked into the building with the others following closely. "Alright, let's explore the area. With any luck, we'll find something within the next week of searching. If you find anything you think could be remotely related to what we're doing, call me over."

"Right!" Donut said, then walked away to begin looking for anything he could find that was out of place.

"I really wish we fixed the robot up," Wash said as Doc went off in a different direction. "Even if he did speak Spanish, at least I'd be able to talk to him with a sense of talking to something intelligent."

"Hey, I think I found something," Doc called out.

"Already? I swear, if I come over there and it's a leaf that looks like it's a different shade of green..." he murmured as he walked around the corner. He stopped when he saw Doc examining something on the wall and Donut walking towards them from the other direction. "Wait a second. Is that what I think it is?"

"That depends if you think it seems to be some kind of computer," Doc said, then touched the screen.

The screen then lit up and began to glow a dark blue. Looking at the top of the screen, the trio saw a name displayed at the top compromising of five letters.

"F.I.L.S.S?" he inquired, feeling slightly more optimistic. "F.I.L.S.S, it's me, Agent Washington."

"Searching data files," the computer said, pausing for a moment. "Name recognized."

"Great, let us in."

"I apologize, Agent Washington, but only authorized personnel may enter. While I recognize your name, you are not on the list."

"Am I an authorized person?" Doc asked.

"If I'm not authorized, why would you be authorized?" Wash inquired spitefully.

"Couldn't hurt to ask. Hey, uh, F.I.L.S.S? Am I authorized?" the medic asked, looking to the terminal on the wall.

"Who are you?"

"Medical Officer Super Private First Class Frank DuFresne."

"Searching data files," the computer said quietly, then fell into a brief, three second pause. "I apologize, but you are not on the authorized personnel list."

"What about me? I'm Private Franklin Delano Donut."

"Searching data files," she said again, but this time fell into a longer silence. "I apologize, but you are not on the list either."

"Wow, this must be an exclusive club," Donut remarked. "How many people are on the list?"

"I am afraid that I am not allowed to disclose that information to unauthorized personnel."

"Are you allowed to tell us how many people are inside?" Wash inquired tiredly, not expecting an answer.

"Only one," she replied.

"So the Director is here?" he asked hopefully, hand darting to the Epsilon unit.

"I am afraid that I am not allowed to-"

"F.I.L.S.S, you have to let us in!" Wash demanded, bringing the unit up to the screen. "We have to see the Director about something. We're not here to harm him, we're just going to ask some questions related to the Epsilon unit."

"As much as I'd like to help you, I am programmed not to let you in. If you were an authorized personnel , however..."

"I get it, we're not authorized!" he snapped in frustration.

"Then we have nothing else to discuss," F.I.L.S.S said.

The screen then shut down and returned to its off state. Angry, Wash kicked the root of the tree and stormed outside. Donut and Doc shared a look with each other and followed him. Once outside, Wash walked back to the warthog and placed the Epsilon unit on it and began to stare at it.

"So what now?" Doc asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, but the Director is definitely here..." he grunted. "There has to be a way we can convince F.I.L.S.S to let us in. We just have to come up with some sort of plan that would actually work."

"Oh, what about that large crack?" Donut inquired, looking towards a tall but thin hole in the wall.

"I don't know, Donut. It looks like it's a tight squeeze," Doc noted.

"If there's anything I love, it's tight squeezes! It makes you so much more satisfied when you manage to find your way inside," Donut said merrily as he walked towards the crack in the wall.

"Doc, don't encourage him," Wash grunted as he grabbed the Epsilon unit and began walking after Donut to examine the hole in the facility. "Besides, we don't know if this hole leads anywhere. Judging by our luck so far, it's probably a dead end."

"Only one way to find out," Donut said with a shrug.

"Donut, maybe we should get the hole tested first. Who knows when the last time it was cleaned? You might catch something in there."

"Don't worry, Doc. I'm always wearing protection!" he said, holding his arms to his side to show off his lightish-red armor. He then turned around and began to crawl inside. "Man, this really is a tight squeeze. Maybe I really should take off my armor so I can-"

"Don't you dare," Wash growled as he saw Donut slowly get swallowed up by the hole.

"What's it like in there?" Doc asked after a few seconds.

"Well, it's pretty cramped, for one. It's also dark and smells pretty bad in here," Donut replied, then went quiet again. Wash opened his mouth to tell him to come out, but stopped himself when he heard Donut gasp. "Wow, it suddenly got a lot lighter and roomier in here!"

"It did?" Wash asked, trying to peek through the crack, but saw nothing. "What did you find?"

"It looks like I'm in a hallway of sorts, and it's lit up by a bunch of lights. There's more than enough room for all three of us to fit in here."

"Looks like we're in," Wash said, quickly going inside after Donut.

"Are you sure it's clean in there?" Doc asked again.

"Come on already before I force you in," Wash growled.

"Hey, just because we're wearing protection doesn't mean we don't run the risk of catching anything. The safest way to avoid catching a disease is to avoid holes all together."

"And the safest way to avoid getting shot is to take orders from the guy with the gun."

"Good point," Doc said, shuffling in after Wash.

Chapter 54 - "Double D Trouble"

"What is this place?" Doc asked as he and the others walked down the corridors of the construct.

"It's the Freelancer's storage facility," Wash said quietly. "It's where the Director put most of the armor enhancements and assorted weaponry."

"Do you think he'll use them on us?" Doc inquired.

"No. The Director isn't one for senseless acts of violence. I'm pretty sure he doesn't even have any training combat wise. He'll only attack us if we show ourselves to be a threat."

"Play it again, F.I.L.S.S," a voice said in the distance.

"Yes, sir," came F.I.L.S.S's voice from the same direction.

"He's here," Wash said, excited that he had finally found him. "Come on, let's go."

Washington quickly made his way down the corridors with Doc and Donut following close behind. Eventually he found himself in front of a room that seemed to have a light flickering inside. As he went to open the door, he found that it opened by itself. Looking inside, he saw a man sitting on a lone chair, eyes glued to a screen that displayed a beautiful woman with blonde hair.

"Oh, what's he watching?" Donut asked.

"Shh," Wash hissed as he held his finger up to his visor to silence them, knowing it was the Director. He glanced back inside, then to the two stooges behind him. "Wait here. I don't want you idiots saying something that might make him get angry at us."

"But-" Doc began, but fell silent when Washington pointed to his gun. "Got it."

"Glad to hear it," Wash said quietly.

Turning around, Wash inhaled deeply and walked inside the room as silently as possible.

"I heard the door open. Who is it?" the Director asked once Washington was a mere four feet away from him.

"Hello, Director," Washington said, breaking the silence as the Director looked to him.

"Why, hello, Agent Washington," the Director murmured, looking back to the computer screen. "Are you here to kill me?"

"Not quite. I'm here to ask for your help."

"Help?" he asked, shaking his head. "I'm afraid I can be of no use to you."

"You have to help me," Wash argued, holding the Epsilon unit out towards the Director. "You're the only one I know who knows how to work this damned thing."

"I apologize, but I do not have to do anything but sit around and think. I lost all interest in everything else long ago. Now, if you are not here to kill me, then I believe we have nothing to discuss."

"Listen, a few months ago some simulation troops and I managed to take out the Meta. After that, Epsilon went into this thing to try and find Tex. When the unit failed, we had to go to a military base to get him out. But it wasn't just the sim troops that were with me. Carolina asked us to seek you out."

"Carolina?" the Director asked softly, looking to Washington.

"Yes, Carolina. After we brought Epsilon out of the unit, one of the sim troopers... well, one of them managed to go inside. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but they did."

"You must have been seeing things, then," he suggested.

"No, I wasn't. Because Epsilon went back into the unit to get him along with the other sim troopers. When they didn't come out, Carolina and I started to look for you. Granted, I was here to try and get you to get the idiots back, but Carolina was here to bring justice. But after a bit of searching, the unit started to work for a brief moment, and Carolina jumped at the chance to get them out," Wash said, placing the unit on the desk in front of the Director. "Now she, along with the others, are somehow in this thing, and I haven't had any luck in getting them out. And the only two people I had to help me with that was an annoying medic and an equally annoying, possibly pansexual soldier. I could have tried to bring a robot back into commission, but it only spoke Spanish, so I figured that wouldn't have done me much good."

"I... see," he said hesitantly, pulling the Epsilon unit closer to him. "I'll see what I can do with the unit, but I do not promise anything."

"That's all I could really ask for," Wash said with a heavy, relieved sigh.

"F.I.L.S.S, pause the video recordings."

"Very well, Director," the female-sounding synthesized voice said, and the screen stopped on the woman's face, showing a small, hopeful smile.

"This may take a while and I will require silence, so you may sit outside with your companions."

"Right," Wash said, then turned around and left the room to meet with the others, door automatically shutting behind him. "He's helping us, but it might take a while, so get ready for a small wait."

"We could play I spy to pass the time," Doc suggested.

The trio then looked around the cold, sterile looking hallway.

"How about we just wait in silence and play the 'who can be quiet the longest' game?" Wash said.

"Oh, that's a Red team favorite!" Donut said happily.

"Glad to hear it."

The three men remained silent for roughly three hours. In the third hour, the door slid open and Washington spun around to see the Director walking through the doorway, glasses up, the light above him giving his glasses an impenetrable glare.

"Did you manage to open it up?" Wash asked, trying to look past him and into the room.

"Yes, I did," the Director said with a nod, then looked to the men in purple and pink armor. "These are your friends?"

"No, they're-"

"You betcha!" Donut said, happily walking up to the old man. "Hi, I'm Donut. I have to say, I'm loving your club! I really want to be in it. Is there anywhere I can sign up to get a membership?"

"Ignore him, sir," Wash sighed. "I'm just glad you managed to fix that thing. So where are the others?"

"They are still in there, but I assure you it is working now," he said, strolling past the three men towards a teleporter. "You may seek them out in there if you wish, or you could wait for them to come back out. I wouldn't bet on them coming back out, however. Epsilon is... rather stubborn."

"You don't have to tell me that. I'm the one that had to deal with him the most the past while," Wash grunted. "Don't forget, he was assigned to me."

"Of course," the Director nodded as he examined the glowing green device. "Now that I have done that favor for you, I expect you to be on your way soon. I have business to attend to elsewhere. As I am recently recalling, I believe I owe a certain person something."

"What do you mean?" Wash asked quietly, having thought that the Director had no interest in anything besides sitting in a room by his lonesome, watching videos from the past. "You're not making any sense."

"Make sense?" the Director chuckled as he turned to the others, eyes glowing yellow, stepping into the teleporter. "Oh, what fun is there in making sense?"

Chapter 55 - "Hunting Season"

Present day.

For the past few days, Washington had kept himself alone in the room with the Epsilon unit, spending the entire time trying to open it. Doc and Donut had managed to find some food stored in the place, as well as many weapons and tools, but Washington had no interest in what the facility had, bar the object in front of him. The unit was lit and making noises, showing that the Director did fix the device, but since he left the trio by themselves, Wash could not ask him for help. It was at this point that Wash also realized that he was out of ideas and couldn't think of any other way to bring the others out, questioning if he could. Remembering what the Director said, Wash let out a sigh and held up the unit, remembering what the Director said about going in after them.

"Are they out yet?" Doc asked from the other side of the door, interrupting his train of thought.

"Doc, I told you, when they're out, I'll let you know," Wash growled in frustration. "Until then, just assume that they aren't."

"Why aren't they out yet? I thought the Director fixed that thing."

"He did, just... just shut up," he sighed, then glanced back down to the unit. Guess there's only one thing left to do, he thought.

Taking a deep breath, Washington placed the unit near the back of his head, assuming it would put him into it so he could somehow find them and bring them back out. Before the unit came into contact with his armor, however, something came out and knocked him to the ground. Fumbling to get up, he saw a familiar coworker with an equally familiar holo-projection quickly getting up, back to him.

"Carolina? Epsilon? You're out!" Washington said with a breath of relief, glad that his work had finally paid off.

"Washington?" Church asked as Carolina turned around instantly. The first thing he saw was that Washington was wearing his old armor. Wash realized Church realized this as well, and they continued to stare at each other in a confused silence.

"Washington, where are we?" Carolina asked, looking around the room.

"We're in the offsite storage facility. I tracked down the Director to help get you guys out, and-"

"The Director is here?" Carolina snapped, hand going straight to her pistol.

"Not anymore," Wash said, holding up his hand, willing her to keep the weapon holstered. "He fixed the unit a few days ago, but I haven't seen him since."

"He couldn't have gotten far in those few days," she said instantly.

As Washington started to say something, Caboose then launched out of the unit and smashed into Washington, knocking him to the ground. As he began to curse at Caboose, Tucker flew out of the unit and crashed into the wall.

"God damn it, I hate that fucking thing," Tucker growled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Think for once we could land on a bed or something..."

"Get off, Caboose," Washington sighed, pushing the dark-blue idiot off of him. "I don't want you damaging my armor."

"Okay," Caboose said, going on all fours, used to walking as a pony.

"Don't you mean my armor?" Church asked as Carolina helped Washington off the ground.

"About that..."

"There are two of you! That means there is one for me..." Caboose said suddenly as he turned around on all fours to look at his best friend. He then glanced at Tucker and scowled under his helmet. "And another one for me, because Church is my best friend, not Tucker's."

"Fuck that, dude, you can have them both," Tucker chuckled.

In the following seconds, Grif was thrown out of the unit and into Tucker, then Simmons glided out and hit Grif, who was followed by Sarge who slammed into Simmons..

"Son of a bitch," they groaned as they picked themselves off the ground, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu.

"Guys, they're out!" Washington yelled towards the door. Turning back to Carolina, he nodded at her. "I'm glad you guys are all safe. I was worried that I'd have to put myself into there and try to find you guys, but I didn't know what the hell it would be like in there."

"It is filled with ponies, magic and adventure!" Caboose said happily, still running around on his hands and feet.

"Sure it was," Wash sighed as the other Reds and Blues wobbled about, trying to remember how to walk on two feet, not bothering to tell him that Caboose was right. "Whatever, that doesn't matter now."

The door to the room then opened and two more familiar helmets entered the room.

"Donut?" the Reds asked in unison, a slight groan to each of their voices.

"Hey, guys!" Donut said happily, waving at his old teammates. "How's it going?"

"How are you alive? I saw you get shot by..." Simmons coughed, then sputtered when he saw Washington staring directly at him. "That one guy who isn't anywhere nearby."

"Oh, that!" Donut chuckled innocently. "Well, I almost was dead, but then Doc came along and healed me right back up until I was better than new."

"Doc actually saved someone?" Sarge asked dubiously. "Are you sure it wasn't someone else?"

"No, I'm pretty sure it was him."

"Well, what are you two doing here with him?" Grif asked, nodding at Wash.

"Weeellll, Doc and I were living together for a while, then this guy came along and wanted our help tracking down the Director guy, so here we are."

"No, I said I was looking for the Director and asked you guys if you had any leads. You invited yourselves along," Wash muttered disdainfully. "But yeah, they've been tagging along for the past few months while I tracked him down. Several agonizingly long months..."

"You poor man," Church said, both a mixture of sarcasm, what with him stealing his armor, and sympathy, knowing what it's like dealing with idiots the entire time.

"Enough with the small talk. Where did the Director go?" Carolina inquired, ignoring all the idiots around her.

"I don't know. He kind of just went off to do something. It was either follow him, or try to get you guys out, and I have no interest in the Director anymore."

"But I do," she said firmly. "Did he say anything that points us in the right direction?"

"I don't know, he was acting pretty strange," Washington said with a shrug, and the others looked at each other.

"How strange?" Tucker asked.

"Really strange. When we got here and I brought the unit to him, he seemed sort of distant and depressed, but when he left, he seemed kind of happy. I told him that he wasn't really making any sense, but he kind of just laughed and asked me 'what fun is there in making sense?', then he left."

"Sounds like both of our guys," Church said nervously, nodding to Carolina..

"Both?" Washington asked curiously. "What do you mean both?"

"Since this is a Freelancer facility, I assume F.I.L.S.S is here, right?"

"Of course I am, Director," came the computer's voice through a speaker. "I did not think you were here, however."

"Ask her where the Director went," Carolina insisted, turning to where the source of F.I.L.S.S voice came from so she could hear every word.

"F.I.L.S.S, where did I go?" Church asked loudly.

"You're right here, sir."

"I know that, but where did you think I went before?" he sighed, hoping the conversation wouldn't be going in circles.

"You seemed interested in going to see the Chairman with the backup copies of Agent Texas," she replied simply.

A cold shiver ran up the spines of the Reds, Blues and Washington.

"You heard her. Time to track down the Director," Carolina said, walking towards the door.

"Yeah, we did hear her," Simmons said matter-of-factly. "We also heard the part where apparently he has copies of Tex and is going to use them for God knows what."

"And I guess that means I'm in charge of taking down both the Director, Tex and your guy. And if you don't follow along, I'm going to have to punish you for treason," she said, making it all to clear that she was not in a playful mood.

"What do you mean by your guy?" Wash asked again, but was ignored as Carolina walked through the door and looked down the hallway.

"Since this is a storage facility, I assume there are weapons and equipment here, right?"

"Yeah, a lot of weapons," Doc said and Sarge glanced up, curiosity raised.

"Weapons?" the red soldier asked with a grin under his helmet.

"Great. Show me," she said, and Doc began walking out the door, quickly followed by Carolina and Sarge.

"There's also food and a bunch of other tech stuff."

"Really?" Grif and Simmons asked instantly, jogging out the door with Donut not too far behind.

"Sounds like the Reds are on board," Tucker chortled, feeling the handle of the sword on his waist as he walked to the door. "Come on, Caboose. Don't want Church to go without you, do you?"

"No. Why are you walking on your back legs?" Caboose asked as he and Tucker walked after the others, leaving Wash by himself.

"And here I thought them being back would have made me feel more at ease," Washington grunted, then grabbed his weapon and the unit, then followed the others, knowing deep down that this trip would go downhill quick.

Chapter 57 - "Multi-Talented Pilot"

It took Carolina just a few minutes to find the hangar inside the massive structure. Leading them inside, she saw that there were a few Hornets strewn about, as well as a single, large Pelican. Opting for the more defensive of the bunch, she began to walk towards its open door and glanced inside.

"Any of you know how to fly?" Carolina inquired, glancing behind her at the men behind her.

All the men in the room, bar Donut, looked directly towards Grif in silence. Grif looked to his left , noticing Simmons and Sarge were looking at him. He then looked to his right and saw that Doc, Wash and the other Blues were looking at him. He then let out a very heavy, very annoyed sigh.

"Wash, you're my 'idiot' translator. Does that mean he can fly?" she asked impatiently.

Grif then looked directly to Washington and shook his head.

"Wash?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it flying..." Washington murmured, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not sure what I'd call it."

"I'm not expecting him or any of these sim troopers to be a Four Seven Niner in disguise. I just need to know if he can get us to Blood Gulch."

"Well, I guess he can get us there, it just depends if you want to arrive in one piece or not," he said with a pause.

"Really? I would have thought with those wings of his back in the unit, he would have been a better pilot."

"Wings?" Washington echoed again, then let out a small, tight laugh. "What, did he own his own ship in the Epsilon unit?"

"Not... exactly," Church muttered. "But there'll be time to explain that later. Right now we need to focus on our little mission here, then we can tell you stuff."

"Fine, fine," Washington sighed, watching as Carolina walked towards a panel near the Pelican.

Pressing one of the buttons, a large hatch began to slowly creak open, showing a cloudy sky up above. She then jumped into the Pelican and quickly went into the cockpit. After a few seconds, the lights on the ship turned on and she emerged out of the small room.

"Looks like it's working alright," Carolina said, walking towards the seats of the Pelican. "Everyone file in. We don't have a moment to lose."

"Right," Simmons said, carrying the armor enhancements with him as they piled inside.

As the Reds and Blues began to take their seats, Grif walked ahead of Carolina and made his way to the front seat. Sitting down, Grif began to look at all the switches and buttons silently.

"You do know how to use this, right?"

Grif reached out to touch a button, paused, then retracted it and put his hands on the wheel.

"Well?"

"Give me a second here. Haven't used my hands in a long time," Grif mumbled.

"Well, you better hurry up, or-"

"Sarge has said and done a lot worse than you ever will, lady," Grif chuckled, flipping a switch that caused the Pelican's thrusters flare, jolting everyone a bit. "I can take it from here, so take a seat. I'll do a lot better without a crazy psycho breathing down my neck."

"What did you just say?" she asked as she took out her pistol and aimed it at his head.

"Right. Like you'll shoot the only guy that knows how to use this thing," Grif snorted.

"You really know how to piss someone off when you want to, don't you?" she muttered, grudgingly putting her weapon away.

"And when I don't want to. It's kind of a talent of mine when it comes to crazy women," he said sarcastically. "Now take a seat."

With a reluctant nod, Carolina walked out of the cockpit and took a seat where she could clearly see Grif, right next to Washington.

"Everyone buckle in," Carolina said as she pulled the metal safety over her chest. "This ride might get a little rough."

"Bow-chicka-bow-wow," Tucker said, and in an instant the ship began to slowly rise off the ground.

"Alright, so, uh, so far so good," Grif said from the front as they exited the hangar bay. "Just something I'd like to point out right now, though."

"What is it?"

"I have no idea where the hell I'm supposed to go."

"I'm on it," Church said, appearing in front of Carolina before she could get angry. Floating over to Grif, Church went into the ship's computers and quickly set the location to Blood Gulch, labeled as 'Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha' on the Positioning System. "Alright, got it."

"Hey, think you'd be able to help me land this thing?" Grif asked as Church reappeared out of the systems.

"I don't know," Church grunted in reply. "I'm not sure if I'd do much better than you..."

"Hey, it might give you a chance to be slightly further from Carolina."

Church looked firmly at Grif for a few seconds, then shifted his gaze onto Carolina. Without more than a few seconds' thought, Church turned around and disappeared into the Pelican again. "Alright, I'm staying. But I can't promise I'm going to be helpful in here."

"Don't worry, I've never made that promise to anyone once in my life," Grif chuckled, then leaned out of his seat and looked at Carolina. "Church is going to be staying up here and help me make sure this thing doesn't crash. Sound good?"

"Fine, but if this ship goes down, you'll both share the blame," Carolina said without hesitation. "Any idea on how long it'll take for us to get there?"

"Looks like it'll be about half of a day," Grif said, looking at the monitors as he began to fly it forward.

"Good. It's a lot closer than I thought it was, then." Carolina said with a sigh. "Let's hope that somebody is there when we get there. And hope that we can catch them by surprise."

"So what are we going to do if we get there and there are dozens of soldiers or Texbots waiting for us?" Sarge asked. "I'm all for one-sided firefights, but only when I'm on the team with the superior numbers."

"Then we'll fight them, then we'll win," she stated simply. "I've come too far to just die before I manage to complete what I've set out to achieve. And we've got two highly trained soldiers, advanced weaponry, armor enhancements, and a ship. I'm sure we've got more than enough time to prepare as best as we can given what we've got."

"Think we have enough time for me to nap?" Grif questioned seriously. "Twelve hours is a long time for me to stay up and stay focused."

"Two minutes is too long for you to stay awake for," Sarge grunted.

"Gues that's a 'no', then," Grif sighed deeply.

"Don't worry, Grif. I'm sure you can flip this thing into autopilot and get a few hours of sleep on our way there," Church suggested.

"There's an autopilot on this thing?" he asked with surprise, looking once more at the buttons to find the key to a possible nap.

Chapter 58 - "Ghost Canyon"

The past twelve hours were spent in silence by the majority of the people in the cabin, because every time someone spoke up to break said silence, Carolina stared at them until they stopped. Eventually, Church and Grif saw the canyon approaching in the horizon.

"Almost there, guys," Church said loudly. "And it looks like we have company in it. I can see at least a dozen small... ship... things... in there."

"Be sure to land on the edge of the canyon so we can look inside," Carolina said, looking towards Grif. "We need the element of surprise, and we can't do that if we land in the middle of an army of UNSC soldiers."

"I'm not sure we have to worry about that," he said hesitantly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... I can see vehicles, but I can't see any soldiers."

Carolina looked to Wash and motioned her head towards the front of the Pelican, not trusting the judgement of inexperienced soldiers. With a sigh, Wash lifted his safety off and walked to the front. Wash looked into the canyon and saw twelve hornets scattered about the canyon. What he didn't see was the men who brought them there.

"Do you see anything, Wash?" Carolina asked.

"No, I don't..." Washington said, squinting his eyes to focus. "All the vehicles are empty. There isn't a single soldier guarding them."

"Maybe they're all inside the bases," Simmons suggested.

"They wouldn't just leave their vehicles exposed like this if they were trying to hide," Washington grunted, looking towards one of the hornets. "No, something's not right."

"With who we're going up against, this is right," Church said with a reluctant sigh, the lights above the controls wavering as he spoke. "He's been here, and he wants us to know that. He left these things out to try and unnerve us, to get us asking questions about everything. He thinks he's infallible, so he's toying with us."

"The Director never really seemed like the toying type to me," he said, curious as to why the Director had changed so much.

"With the thing running through his head right now, he definitely is," Church explained quietly. "But we have to call his bluff if we want to get anywhere. Grif, think you can land this thing, or do you need me to try and help?"

"You know, I think I might have this. I'm a bit more of an experienced flyer now. It's actually pretty easy when all you have to do is—" Grif began, but stopped when the force of the landing caused Wash to fly forward, slamming his helmet into the controls.

"Son of a bitch!" Washington groaned.

"Well, at least your flying was a bit better than terrible," Carolina murmured as she raised the harness off of her. "Can't say much for your landing, though."

"Hey, thanks," Grif replied.

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Hey, a bit more than terrible is like a C, and that's still a passing grade. From you, I take that as a ringing endorsement since you seem to be even worse than Tex," he chuckled, flipping a switch that caused the back of the Pelican to open up.

"I don't think I've ever met anybody as stupid as you," she muttered under her breath, then stood up and looked at the others. "Alright, boys. Time to look around. If you see anything out of the ordinary, speak up. We don't know if this is a trap or not."

"Oh, it's definitely a trap," Church said instantly, appearing in front of the dashboard.. "It's just a matter of when and how it's going to be sprung. He's a master of throwing people off his trail and confusing them."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to be prepared for anything," she said, walking out onto the field. "Looks like there was at least a six dozen soldiers here judging by the vehicles. There's no signs of struggle. No blood. No bullets or weapons laying around. Just a bunch of empty, unmanned ships."

"Home, sweet home," Sarge said reminiscently as he cradled his shotgun in his arms. "This place brings back so many good memories, doesn't it Simmons?"

"Yes it does, sir," Simmons agreed. "It even looks exactly the same as how we left it. Minus the ships, of course."

"What if the ships are haunted and come back to life and try to kill us?" Caboose gasped.

"I don't know, the only ghost we've really known is Church, and he can't hit things for shit. I think it's safe to say that if the ships did come to life, they'd only hurt each other," Tucker chuckled.

"Enough fooling around. Let's go check out the bases and look for anything suspicious," Washington said, pushing Tucker ahead of him.

"And remember; if you see anything that isn't one of us, take them out," Carolina said, double checking to make sure her pistol had max ammo. As Grif began walking out of the aircraft, Carolina held up her hand. "Nuh-uh, you're staying here to see if the Pelican is damaged at all. We need to have this thing in working order and ready to fire up at a moment's notice."

"What? I have to stay here by myself?" Grif asked. He knew being alone made him a prime target for getting attacked. He also knew that Discord was insane and does things that nobody would expect. "Actually, I'm okay with this. Have fun, you guys."

"Grif might have broken our ship, and as a reward he gets to sit back and relax while the rest of us risk walking into a trap. Great," Tucker grunted sarcastically. "Hey, if I find a bomb and blow the ship up, do I get the rest of the month off?"

"If you do that, you'll get the rest of your life off," she answered seriously.

"Wow. Aren't you a bundle of sunshine wrapped in pixie wings?" he grunted. "Even Caboose is better company than you, and I can't say more than two sentences to him before he forgets what we were talking about."

"Thank you, Tucker!" Caboose said happily.

"No problem."

"What isn't a problem?" he inquired, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"See what I mean?"

"Guys, just be quiet. It'll be easier for all of us this way," Washington sighed, wondering if they'd even get the chance to be killed by someone else before Carolina killed them.

"Wash," Carolina said, shaking her head. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but they're not taking orders from me, so what makes you think—"

"Okay, Wash," Tucker said with a nod. "I was pretty much done talking anyways."

Carolina looked at Washington, and then to Tucker as he walked next to him with Caboose and the Reds following behind. Wash then nodded at her and began walking towards the Red base, Reds and Blues following close behind. Glancing back at the ship, Carolina shook her head clear and began walking after them, making sure nothing caught their flank.

Chapter 59 - "Raising Hell"

Carolina quickly led her men to the first of the bases, hands both wrapped tightly around the handle of her pistol. She quietly ran to the front door of the base and placed her back beside it. Peering inside, she noticed the way was clear. Looking to the men, she brought her hand up to her eyes and began to make a gesture. The men looked at each other, confused.

"What's wrong? Is there a mosquito in your helmet? I hate when that happens," Caboose said, shaking his head sympathetically.

"Just follow me," she groaned.

"Why didn't you just say that then?" Tucker inquired, walking towards her.

Carolina looked to Wash, not able to directly show him how frustrated she looked. Wash, knowing she was angry, offered her an apologetic shrug. He then raised his rifle and walked inside the base first. Carolina followed, then the rest made their way in after her.

"Ah, if it isn't our home away from home," Sarge said happily, inhaling through his nose, finding a strange inner peace as they all walked down the hallway. "Being in here is bringing back even more fond memories. Hey, Simmons. Remember that time I tried to kill Grif?"

"You mean all the time?" Simmons asked flatly.

"Yeah," Sarge chuckled, shaking his head with a smirk on his face. "Those were the days. They were simpler times. They were reder times."

"Shh," Carolina hushed.

"Hey, I'm just saying, the place still looks—"

"Be quiet," she hissed, glaring at him. "Need I remind you that there might be an army of men waiting for us here? I'd appreciate it if you'd shut the hell up that way we can get the drop on them."

"Fine then," Sarge grumbled.

"Good. Now, where is the main part of your base?"

"I thought you wanted me to be quiet."

"Don't," Wash said, instantly placing his hand on top of Carolina's gun, stopping her from pulling it up to threaten him. "It's just up ahead, the next room over. If anyone is here waiting for us, they're probably in there."

"Glad to see that their idiocy hasn't rubbed off on you," she said icily as she turned around and began to walk down the hall.

Washington then nodded at the guys and followed her close by. As Carolina neared her destination, a small thump was heard. She quickly placed her back against the wall and motioned her head at the others to stop.

"Epsilon, go around the corner and try to find out what that was," Carolina said in a hushed tone, tightening her grip on the pistol.

"Will do," Church said with a nod. Within a second, he floated to the corner and stared into the room. When he saw what the disturbance was, he instantly flew back next to Carolina and stared ahead.

"Well?" she asked.

"Yeah, uh, there's some UNSC guys in there," he muttered hastily, continuing to stare ahead at the wall. "A lot of them."

"You heard him, boys. Get ready for a fight," she said, nodding at them to take their weapons out.

"Uh, I didn't exactly say that would be necessary."

"And why wouldn't we want to get ready?" she inquired.

"Because they're all dead."

Alarmed, Carolina pulled out her magnum and turned around the corner, aiming it ahead in case of an ambush. As Church said, there were nearly a dozen men laying on the ground, lifeless. Slowly, she began to walk forward, aiming down the sights. As soon as she entered the room, she snapped to the left and then to the right. Noticing there was nothing, she lowered the gun, but still clutched it in her palm. The guys at the back looked at each other and joined Carolina in the room. Kneeling by one of the men, Carolina grabbed his arm and placed her thumb on his wrist. She then let out a sigh.

"What is it?" Washington asked, looking at the other guys.

"They're not dead, they're just knocked out," Carolina sighed, feeling the pulse of one of the soldiers. Pulling out her pistol, she put it to the side of the soldier's head and got ready to shoot. "But they will be soon."

"What are you doing?" Simmons asked nervously.

"Taking them out. These are the guys that are after the Director, but after they're through with him, they'll come straight for us. We're loose ends, and if they wake up, they will hunt us down until we're dead or they are. Personally, I don't think we have enough firepower to take out a fleet, do you?"

"At least we'd have a fighting chance," Sarge murmured. "I'm all for blood and violence, don't get me wrong, but I don't like the idea of just killing them. There's no sport in it. Maybe we could wait until they start to wake up, and then do it. That we they're not fully aware of their surrounding, but they have enough time to at least try to grab their weapons and fight back."

"That's a risk we can't take," she said.

"Carolina, we've done things your way," Washington said, pushing her gun down. "As you can tell, that hasn't been working as flawlessly as you'd like. I'm just asking that we try it our way."

"Right. We've gotten this far with me in command. What proof do you have that your way will work better? I can't see many results off of being merciful."

"These guys may seem like idiots, and sure, they pretty much all are idiots, but they work together better than the Freelancer's ever have. Together they managed to take out the Meta, and that's something even the UNSC couldn't do."

"We also stopped O'Malley from making us kill each other," Simmons piped.

"And we took out an army of insane Wyoming clones," Tucker added. "Though that was pretty much all thanks to me and my sword, if you know what I mean."

"You see? Their way gets results. They've succeeded where others have failed multiple times," Washington continued. "I'm not asking you to follow their way blindly and expect perfect results. I'm just asking you not to blindly follow your own."

Carolina broke her gaze off of Washington and looked at the helpless soldier at the end of her barrel. With a sigh, she stood up, put the gun back on her hip and began to walk towards the computers. "Fine, we'll try it your way for now."

"Thank you," Wash sighed.

"But if anything goes wrong, it'll be all on you," she added.

As Carolina went to turn on the monitor, it flicked into life itself. Taking a step back, Carolina and the men watched as the screen displayed a man with glasses grinning at them as if he had a very funny joke on his mind.

"Hello, everyone," the Director said with a tight, knowing grin on his face. "Such a pleasure to see you all again."

"Director," Carolina greeted nastily.

"Please, that was my father's name," he said, examining his fingernails. "You may call me Directord. Or Disector if you prefer, but that one seems a tad psychotic to me."

"Where are you?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry, I was just there a few moments ago, but then I went into one of the teleporters. You must have missed me," he said sincerely. He then appeared to be looking over Carolina's shoulder and his smile deepened. "Ah, I thought they would have woken up by now. I suppose my colleagues are stronger than I once thought."

"I'm surprise you didn't make your colleagues kill them when you know they're just going to come after you," she growled.

"I admit, to you I may seem like a monster, but killing is most definitely not my style," he said seriously. "I'm sure your colorful allies know that."

"I thought Carolina and I would know more about that than the Reds and Blues, don't you think?" Washington inquired, having known the Director for longer than them.

"I'm sorry, but I— wait a second. Does he still not know about me?" the Director asked, raising his brow curiously. "Interesting. I would have thought that you'd tell him all about your little adventures in the unit. Though I suppose you figured that he wouldn't quite believe you, correct?"

"What the hell is he talking about?"

"No matter," the Director said, waving his hand. "Speaking of inside the unit... Hello, Epsilon,"

"Hi," Church grunted, his AI body floating next to Carolina's head.

"Unless I'm mistaken, I thought we had a deal that you wouldn't come after me."

"Well, I guess I can say that the Alpha made you a promise. Epsilon didn't," Church stated.

"Using the old 'it wasn't me, it was the person I'm a part of' excuse. Clever," he admitted. Glancing over Carolina's shoulder once more, he shook his head and sighed. "Well, I suppose I'll be off. I have to speak to my new friends about solving some of my host's past issues. You folks seem to have some people to deal with. I'm sure their friends at the other base will be here soon, so once you're through with them, you'll have about forty others to deal with."

"What?" Carolina asked, then turned around to find the men starting to get up, groaning deeply.

"I thought killing people wasn't your style?" Church reminded him as the others readied their weapons.

"Oh, it most certainly isn't. But it is theirs," he chuckled as the screen flickered off.

Chapter 60 - "Teamwork"

"This isn't good," Church murmured flatly.

"Really? I thought a bunch of guys raising from the dead was the exact definition of a good thing," Tucker added sarcastically.

"What are we going to do?" Simmons asked with a deep, nervous gulp, eying the rising soldiers with fear.

"What else?" Carolina asked simply as she walked over to the nearest soldier. When the soldier noticed Carolina was nearing her, he quickly brought his gun up to eye level, only to find his eyes shooting out of the back of his head a split second later.

"Jesus fuck!" Tucker yelped as the soldiers body slumped over and the other men began to regain their senses. "What'd you do that for?"

"Same reason they'd do it to us. Because we have to," Carolina growled, pistol still smoking as she glanced back at the Reds and Blues. "You forget, these guys are after us anyways. Whatever that guy did to them isn't what's making them trying to kill us. Now, are you boys going to help me, or are you going to sit back and let yourselves be slaughtered?"

"Well when you put it like that," Sarge chuckled, pumping his shotgun as he walked next to Carolina.

"At least one of you isn't afraid to get your hands dirty," Carolina sighed, slightly thankful that they weren't all spineless cowards. Looking back, she saw that one of the soldiers took out a knife and began to run towards her. In a flash, she grabbed the knife, spun his arm around and forced him to stab himself through the small of his back. She then kicked him towards a pair of other soldiers who began to raise their weapons, causing them to fall over. A soldier near the other end of the room brought his gun up and aimed it at Carolina's head.

"Fire in the hole!" Simmons screeched as he launched a rocket at said soldier, knocking him into the wall, knocking him out cold.

"Remember, conserve your ammo. There's supposed to be another forty coming after us once these guys are through," Washington said as he fired a few bursts at the other soldiers who now began jumping into cover. A soldier came out from behind a box and began to jump towards Wash, only for his gun to be cut in half by Tucker's blade. The soldier then looked at his gun, and then to the sword, then to his gun again. The soldier dropped the remains of his guns and put up his hands, only to be met in the face with Carolina's left foot.

"Why aren't you doing anything?" Carolina hissed as Doc crouched behind the box farthest from the enemies.

"I'm a pacifist!" he explained simply, hands folded over his head.

"If you were with the Freelancers, we'd call you a meat shield," she said warningly, then glanced as the remaining soldiers ran away screaming for help. "Alright, since they're running to get their friends, let's get to the roof. Hopefully we'll be able tp pick a few off from a distance before we deal with the blunt of the assault."

"I don't like the idea of being a sitting duck," Sarge said. "Especially a duck that has a gun with an effective range of being within distance to seeing the whites of my enemies eyes."

"Better than a dead one," she chipped in, then grabbed some ammo off of the corpses. "Let's go."

"You heard her," Washington sighed, walking to the door with the guys in tow. They quickly made their way to the roof and looked towards the other base and saw a dozen soldiers jogging towards their position.

"Look alive, guys," Carolina called out as she grabbed a battle rifle from the roof. "Sarge, you take the right side. Tucker, you stay near the left ramp. Both of you will wait there until anyone sneaks up on us, then kill them. Wash, you're shooting at them with me."

"What about us?" Donut asked with Caboose and Doc standing on either side of them.

"Stay out of our way. Move around. Be a target and direct fire away from us."

"Okay!" Caboose called out as he began to run around the rooftop.

"Well, I guess I could use some exercise," Donut said with a curt nod, then joined Caboose.

"About this plan..." Doc began.

"Be their target, or be mine. Your choice. But I'm closer and I'm a better shot," she snapped.

"I like this plan," Doc added hurriedly, then began to run around like Caboose and Donut.

"Glad to hear it," Carolina said, then shot a few rounds of the rifle at the oncoming men, killing two within a matter of seconds. "Come on, Wash. We've got some fish to fry."

"Right!" Washington nodded, promptly firing his own gun at the rushing squad.

"If only I had my own body, I could probably pick a few off with a sniper rifle," Church said, watching as the majority of the pair's shots missed.

"Right, the only thing you could hit with that thing was the broad side of an extremely fucking long barn," Tucker chuckled. "And even then, you'd have to close your eyes and pray to have gotten that shot."

"Simmons, pair of warthogs coming up on us, 10 o'clock," Washington snapped as a MG warthog and rocket hog began firing at them, shots whizzing past by just a few feet.

"You mean the pumas?" Sarge asked sarcastically from the side as he blasted his shotgun into the chest of a soldier who had slipped his way towards the base.

"Shut up!" he growled. "Simmons. Fire."

"On it!" Simmons yelled, shooting a rocket at one of them. It flew into the other warthog and flipped it over. As the men inside began piling out, the first warthog exploded, causing a chain reaction with the rockets in the warthog, setting off several other explosions.

"I had my doubts that we'd make it, but the odds are actually looking pretty damn good, even with us," Carolina added with surprising sincerity as she noted that they weren't getting up from the blast.

"That's sweet of you to say," Doc chipped as he continued to run in circles.

"Don't get used to it," she added quickly, returning to her old self. "Out of ammo," she added, dropping her gun to the ground. She then saw a trio of guys sneaking along the mountain. She quickly drew her pistol and shot it at the one closest to them in the head. The pair then began running towards the base, only for Sarge to jump out and shoot one in the leg. As the third one lifted his gun, Simmons launched another rocket right into his chest.

"Damn it, Simmons! That was my kill!" Sarge yelled.

"Sorry, sir!" Simmons piped.

Within the next few minutes, the group quickly finished off a bunch of straglers, wary that there were more in the base to come.

"Where the hell is Grif?" Carolina asked, looking towards the ship only to see that the back was open and he wasn't in the cockpit.

"Probably hiding in the nearby cave," Church said, looking off to the cavern on the side of the mountain. "Probably better off, too. If they saw him in the pelican, he'd be dead."

"One can only dream," Sarge mused.

A sniper bullet suddenly zoomed right in front of Carolina's face. With a gasp, she fell to the ground.

"He's too far away!" Washington growled, jumping into cover.

"Got it!" Donut yelled, grabbing a plasma and bringing his arm back. Carolina watched as the pink soldier threw the grenade across the canyon. Far away, she could see that the sniper was waving his arms around, blue light stuck on his face, only for it to explode two seconds later. Carolina stared at the little smoke she saw as Wash made his way over to her.

"I think that's all of them," Washington said as he quickly made his way over to Carolina, holding his hand down to help her up.

"How..." she muttered, not looking to Wash.

"Apparently these guys aren't as stupid as they seem," he chuckled, then hit her knee with the back of his hand, getting Carolina's attention. "Now get up."

"He has a better arm than Florida..." she said quietly, grabbing onto his hand.

"To be fair, he never really had a good arm," Wash said as he pulled Carolina up. "Now come on, let's regroup with Grif and get out of here. I don't want us to be here when the UNSC come looking for these guys."

Author's Note

Sorry for the five month wait, chaps. Had school and other life matters to deal with. Hopefully my writing hasn't turned to shit since then. Be sure to let me know if you guys are even still reading this.

Chapter 61 - "Past Reminders"

As the crew exited the Red base, Sarge paused by the door and waited for everyone to be gone. Carolina, being the last one out, stopped and looked directly at him, giving him a knowingly curious stare.

"I just need to check on something really quick, then I'll be right behind you," Sarge murmured, nodding at her. "Won't take more than a few minutes."

"If we get to the ship and Grif is there, we'll wait five minutes then we're leaving," she said firmly, then turned back to the others and began walking after them.

"More than enough time." he replied, then jogged back inside, clutched his shotgun to his stomach. "If you get into a firefight, be sure to keep two or three alive for me. I haven't had this much fun in months."

"What was that about?" Wash asked as Carolina walked past him, nearly closing the distance between her and the airship. "Where is Sarge going?"

"Don't know, don't care. All I know is that we're leaving in a few minutes. With or without him," she said quietly.

"Carolina?" Wash asked. When she kept walking, he walked up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder and cleared his throat.

"What's wrong, Wash?" she asked, not moving.

"You."

"What?" she inquired slowly, turning to look at the only one around her that she'd call a friend.

"You're the problem. At least, right now you are," he said instantly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked irately, slapping his hand off her shoulder.

"I mean you're not the boss around here."

"Somebody has to be, otherwise we'll get nowhere," she snapped, beginning to walk away.

"Carolina, he has a point," Church grunted, appearing in front of her. "These guys aren't like regular soldiers, Carolina."

"You mean they're intolerable nearly all the time?" she asked, looking ahead at the rest of the Reds and Blues crowding around the ship. "Because I kind of figured that part out already."

"Well, yeah, that, but that's not the whole of it. As annoying as they are, they're people. You have to treat them with a little respect if you want them to do anything other than complain about you."

"I told you guys, I'm not here to be friends. I'm here to find the Director and do what needs to be done."

"Yeah, but you can't do that without them," Washington insisted, pointing at them as they walked back into the ship.

"I know you want to seem like you have everything in control, and that you're a super tough one woman army who can fend for herself..."

"I can fend for myself," she said. "I found my way into the unit by myself."

"Yeah, but you weren't so tough when I stabbed you in the fucking throat. Or do you not remember that part?" Church asked.

"Wait, what?" Washington fumbled, not having caught what Church said to it's full extent. "What did he mean by that?"

"Not now," Church hissed, then turned back to Carolina. "The fact is, you aren't in control, Carolina. You aren't the one woman army you're trying to prove to yourself that you are. And the guys? They may fear you, but the guys sure as hell don't respect you enough to do stuff out of the kindness of their hearts." Carolina began walking forwards towards them, anger rising, but Church shot back in front of her. "You can't run from me, I'm inside your head. I kind of know what's going on in there. Wash, mind joining the guys for a minute?"

"Right," he said with a confirming nod, then began jogging towards the Reds and Blues.

"I know you're hurting, Carolina. I know what anger and self-pity look like. The things you've done... you can't make up for them. Neither can Wash. Hell, neither can I. But keeping the way you're going isn't going to fix anything for you. It's just going to cause more problems, and you'll eventually turn into the monster you already think you are."

"You guys coming?" Tucker asked loudly as Wash walked inside with them.

"Yeah, just give us a second," Church yelled back, still looking at Carolina. "It's not too late, Carolina. While you can't fix your past, you can fix what's left of your future. I'm not asking to be their friends, I'm just asking you to consider your actions and not try to make them hate you."

Carolina simply shook her head as she thought through his words, then lifted her foot to walk towards the guys.

"If not for yourself, then do it for York," Church said, and Carolina held her foot in place, hovering a mere inch from the ground. "He wouldn't have wanted to see this, Carolina. He would have wanted you to put your chin up and keep going without him. It's what he loved about you. Your determination."

"I am determined," she said weakly, clenching her fists as she began to tremble with confusion.

"Determination and blind revenge isn't the same thing. You don't want to kill the Director for the good of mankind. At this point, I doubt you even want him dead because of the shit that's gone down with you and the other Freelancers. The only reason I think you're doing this is because it's the only thing you know how to do. That's the same reason the Director kept trying for Allison. He was so blinded by the idea of getting her back that he did what he could to get her back, no matter the cost. Don't go down the same path the Director did. Don't become so focused on the past and present that you turn blind towards the future. Don't become what you're claiming to hate."

For a few moments, she wasn't sure what do do. She continued to stand there, looking at the ground, memories coming back to her. She slowly unclenched her hands, looked up to Church feebly and nodded slowly. She then began to slowly walk back towards the Pelican. Church floated in place, looking at her silently. Sarge then came jogging and stopped next to Church, then glanced to Carolina.

"Where were you?" Church asked.

"That's none of your business. Just like what you and Carolina were talking about all hush-hush is none of mine."

"Done trying to get Blue intel now?" the fragment said with surprise.

"You're not off the hook that easily. I'm just done trying to meddle with Freelancer business. Especially that insane one. Your girlfriend was bad enough, and I can handle Wash. But this one? No siree, I'm not too interested in asking questions that'll lead to her shooting me."

"Personally, I think she's going to be fine from now on," Church murmured. "I'm hoping, at least."

"What makes you say that?" Sarge inquired thoughtfully.

"Just a feeling." Church paused, then looked at Carolina talking to Washington. "Come on, let's go to the ship."

Sarge and Church soon made their way to the others, only to find Washington talking to Carolina.

"What's going on here?" Church asked.

"Grif isn't here, and we're considering how we're going to approach the other base. We can't leave without him because he's the only one who knows how to get this thing off the ground," Wash explained simply. "There probably aren't that many left, so we could go in guns blazing. Pretty sure at this point they're all huddled together, so shooting them shouldn't be too hard."

"I didn't think cops just killed people for no reason!" a voice called out from the back of the Pelican.

Everyone in the cabin of the ship froze, then glanced back to see Grif standing next to a bright -- strictly in the armor color sense -- soldier.

"Is that... who I think it is?" Simmons asked quietly.

"Told you she wasn't dead," Grif said with a smirk under his helmet.

Chapter 62 - "Questions Unanswered"

Before anyone could answer any questions, Grif promptly walked to the captain's chair and turned the Pelican on while staring at the enemy base. Every one else, bar Carolina, continued to look at the female Blue team member in dead silence.

"Take a picture, it'd last longer," Sister said, happy at the thought of being surrounded by lots of men. "I mean, it wouldn't be the first time I've had my pictures taken. Except this time I'm not nak—"

"We thought you were dead," Church interrupted quickly, knowing where her sentence, and possibly her armor, were going.

"I hoped she was dead," Washington added, not too happy to see one of the people that annoys him the most standing right next to him.

"What? Dead? No, that gray robot dude told me to wait in the cave back there because he was totally going to score some.. uh, stuff for a party. I waited for a really long time, but he never came. I was almost tempted to leave to go and find him, but then I was like 'wait, what if I leave, then he comes back and has the party without me?', and then I was like 'that isn't going to happen', so I kinda just stayed there."

"How did you not starve to death?" Simmons asked.

"There was a lot of salad on the wall. Kinda tasted like dirt, but hey, that's the sacrifice you make for having such a nice bod."

"That was moss!"

"You're moss!" she retorted.

"Buckle in guys, we're leaving in aboooooout three seconds."

"Why so soon?" Carolina asked, glad to be leaving, but curious as to why he gave them such short notice.

"Because some dudes up at the base are rolling up with a tank," he grunted in reply, flipping a switch that made the back close.

"What?" she snapped, sprinting next to Grif to see a scorpion tank slowly rolling up the hill. "Get us out of here! Now!"

"Really? I thought I'd just sit here and wait to get blown up by a fucking tank," Grif snapped back, flipping a bunch of switches. A second later, lights in the cabin started to flash red. Grif let out a small curse and began to press a few buttons, but that made the blinking more rapid.

"Is that Shiela?" Caboose called out curiously.

"No, Caboose, it isn't," Church said quickly, not wanting Caboose to unbuckle and distract Grif.

"What are you doing?" Carolina hissed.

"Trying to figure out why the back thrusters aren't getting us off the ground!"

"Something must have gotten shaken loose in the landing!" Simmons suggested fearfully, quickly strapping in with the others.

"If you guys aren't buckled in by the time I do something stupid, you're probably all going to die!" Grif shouted and Carolina buckled up in the seat behind him.

The tank then reached the top of the hill, and the barrel of its gun lowered and aimed right at Grif. Thinking quickly, Grif slammed his fist on a big red button, propelling the ship forward — right towards the tank. Before the ground vehicle could get a shot off, the Pelican slammed into the tank, knocking its gun off, and, acting as a ramp, launched the Pelican upwards. As they sped towards the brim of the canyon, another tank came out from the back of the base and shot at the ship. Lucky for them, the shot was fired without taking the time to aim it properly, and the shot ricocheted off the broken thruster, knocking what was knocked out back into place. Since Grif never turned it off, the power from all the thrusters propelled their ship at what felt Mach Fifty speeds. After a few minutes of that, Grif finally managed to turn them off, bringing them back to cruising speed, just above the atmosphere. Everyone then let out a heavy sigh of relief. Carolina then got out of her seat and stormed up to Grif, fury growing at the thought that he almost got them killed.

"Listen, I know what you're about to say, so just do it quick," Grif mumbled sourly, not turning to look at her.

"Just..." she began, but came to an instant stop, remembering what Church said. The way Grif said that. The way he didn't look at her. She felt that it was more than just dislike that he had for her. It was possibly nearing outright hate. She wasn't sure what she was expecting from her words, and the way she said it was nearly unfamiliar to her, but she just felt she had to say it. Before she became a monster. "Just keep doing what you're doing. You did great."

"Well... thanks..." Grif murmured, glancing back to her.

"Don't mention it," she grunted. She had two feelings going through her right now. The first one was regret because she didn't yell at him. She felt that he certainly deserved a little bit of it. But the second feeling that was slightly larger was relief.

"Ugh, I think I almost threw up," Church murmured groggily, flickering into sight on top of the control panel.

"Really? I didn't think what she said was that bad," Grif said.

"Not that, your terrible driving made me spin around in there," he growled. "Be more careful next time."

"Pft, fine, whatever, Blue," Grif snorted.

Behind him, Carolina's regret dwindled a bit, and she offered a thankful nod to Church for reprimanding him, albeit lighter than she would have. Clear from the matter, she walked to the back and told the others that they were safe to get up, and she suggested that they stretch a bit.

"Man, I haven't been knocked around that hard since prom night," Sister said, instantly taking the seat belt off.

"Bow chicka bow wow!"

"Tucker..." Grif grunted from the front seat. "Sister, don't encourage Tucker. You don't know where he's been."

"But I know where I want him to be, ain't that right stud?" Sister inquired slyly, looking to Tucker, awaiting his response.

"Yyyyyeah, I guess I sort of do."

"And how does that make you feel?"

"A liiiiiiiiiiiiiittle awkward, actually."

"Why, it's not like you're seeing anyone."

Tucker remained silent, then offered a half-assed shrug in reply.

"No way! With who?" Sister asked in a mixture of both jealousy and curiosity, both emotions which made her more interested in a three way. Sister then looked behind her and saw Carolina eying her cautiously, still not sure what to make of the new person in the group. "Yeah, I guess she's sorta hot."

"I'm wearing armor. You can't even tell what I look like," Carolina murmured.

"No, but you have a pretty hot voice. Kinda sounds like you're into dominating, if you know what I mean."

"I don't even—"

"It's kinda hot. I'm totally into a little me nag a trough with you and Tucker."

"She means ménage à trois," Washington added, finding slight humor at the situation.

Carolina stared at Washington. Then to her. Then to Tucker. Shaking her head, she walked back into the cabin to where Grif is.

"I guess that's a 'no' then?" Sister asked, leaning over to watch as she sat back in her chair.

"So... where to now?" Washington asked the others.

"Well, we're supposed to go to where it all began, but Blood Gulch was where everything started..." Simmons replied quietly. "If Blood Gulch wasn't it, it could be any number of places."

"I vote we go to Valhalla," Sarge suggested. "Got some business to do there."

"Oh, I vote for that to!" Donut said, raising his hand. "Oh, I hope our apple tree has sprouted since we left!"

"We don't need to waste any time going to Valhalla to check on a garden," Church grunted, appearing in the middle of the seating area.

"Uh, it's an orchard, actually," Donut scoffed. "Learn your plant dialect."

"Fine. The orchard," Church grunted. "But we don't want to waste any time going there. I have a feeling I know where we have to go."

"And where is that?" Washington inquired.

"Where it all began could mean lots of things. Maybe he wasn't talking about the beginning of the Alpha's journey. Maybe he was just talking about where shit really started to hit the fan. When Epsilon started to come back."

"Is it a beach?" Sister asked curiously.

"It's more like a desert," Church grunted.

"But I'm not hungry," Caboose chimed.

"A desert, Caboose. Not dessert."

"Duh, we heard what you said. He just isn't hungry for it right now," Sis stated impatiently. "But before we go grab some dessert, mind if we stop by a swimsuit store? Unless you want to see me naked."

"Sis!" Grif shouted.

"What? I don't mind being naked, I just hate it when I get sand in my—"

"Kaikaina!" Grif snapped hurriedly.

"God, I hate you people sometimes," Washington murmured.

Author's Note

It'll probably take a few chapters until I nail Sister's character in just the right ways. But hey, doing her roughly is expected since she's a new character.

Chapter 63 - "Barriers"

The group landed some time later in what seemed to be a near barren wasteland of sand and destroyed buildings. Carolina told Grif to open the door and make sure nothing broke, and Grif told her that he was sure that everything was fine. Of course, he had no knowledge of it, but even though he still had a rough landing, the sand somewhat cushioned the fall, making it so nothing broke. When the door opened, the group made their way outside.

"I don't like this," Carolina said, looking around at the settled sand. There was no wind, no signs of life, no anything. "It's too quiet."

"You know, if nobody ever said that when it was too quiet, nothing bad would ever happen," Grif grumbled.

"What are we doing here anyways?" Wash asked. "I don't even think the Director knows this place even exists."

"Trust me, he knows what this place is," Church said, blinking into life in front of the group to look around. "He was in my head, and this is just like him to come here. It's hot, it's unbearable, it's uncomfortable. And it's familiar. Perfect place to cause some chaos."

"You mean you were in his head, right?" Washington asked, but Church ignored him.

"Be quiet. There could be anything laying in wait around here," Church grunted, then began to float forward. "Let's just walk around for a bit."

"But you just said there could be a trap," Washington said.

"Yeah, but if we don't trigger it, we'll never find him."

"I'll take your word for it," Carolina said, walking forward. Turning to the others, she grabbed her pistol and flicked the safety off. "Remember, if you see anything other than one of us, shoot it."

"Can I still shoot it even if it is one of us?" Sarge asked, aiming his shotgun at Grif.

"No."

Sarge grumbled and hunched down, lowering his shotgun to his waist. Carolina whipped her finger to the front of her visor, telling them to be quiet. She then made another motion and crouched down. The others followed suit. She then nodded and began to walk forward. They did this for several minutes until they inched their way to a few buildings.

"Okay, this is bullshit," Grif groaned, standing up to crack his back.

"Get down!" Carolina growled.

"No, fuck that. It's hot, I'm sweating, I have sand up my ass, and now my back hurts."

"Be quiet and get down before I make you get down," she repeated as she stood up to look back at the others.

At first, all eyes were on here, but after ten seconds, the heads began to drift and Carolina then saw that the others were looking past her. Slowly turning around, Carolina saw two aliens looking at them. Or more precisely, aiming at them with alien-looking rifles. Carolina and Washington whipped their weapons out and put their fingers on the triggers.

"Don't shoot them!" Tucker snapped, running forward and slapping both Wash and Carolina's weapons out of their hands.

"And why the hell not?" Carolina snapped back, taking an angry step towards him.

"Because if they wanted us dead, the snipers on the dunes would have already laid us the fuck out!" Tucker exclaimed, waving a hand at a large hill of sand. At the top, Carolina and the others saw a dozen alien figures holding weapons aimed at each of them. Turning to the alien with the shiniest armor, thus the one Tucker knew was in command, he cleared his throat. "Honk honk."

The purple alien and the orange alien exchanged glances.

"Honk," the orange one said, seemingly happily.

"Blargh!" the purple one grunted irately, shooting a glare at the other one, clearly not too keen on being friendly to the strangers.

"What's going on?" Carolina grunted.

"Shut the fuck up, please," Tucker hissed, turning back to the purple alien. "Blargh blargh?"

"What is he doing?" Carolina asked in a whisper, turning her head everso slightly to see Washington.

"It's a long story," Church replied, remaining in her helmet.

"Seem to be a lot of those going around these days," Washington grunted.

"Honk," the purple one murmured slowly, tightening his grip on his weapon.

Tucker grabbed the hilt of his energy sword and snapped it on, holding it to his side. The orange alien seemed to gasp, then knelt down at him. The purple one eyed him warningly, then glanced up at the ones on the edge and honked loudly. The dozen aliens at the top placed the weapons on their back and seemed to disappear.

"Honk. Honk blargh. Honk honk blargh?" Tucker inquired slowly, trying to make sure his alien was spoken in the right way. Pronounce one 'O' the wrong way and suddenly your intestines are hanging out for insulting their mother.

"Honk," the purple alien murmured, then waved him towards the catacombs with his weapon. When the group began to walk past the alien, he snapped his weapon upright and snarled the most vicious blargh they've ever heard.

"What's wrong?"

"Listen, you guys just... just wait out here, alright? I don't want you to say anything stupid that they'll misinterpret or something..." Tucker said, then turned around and looked at the alien in front of him. "Honk."

The purple alien nodded and turned around, then honked. Tucker jogged up next to him and he began to walk with the two aliens towards the building adjacent to where he believed to have seen someone die by a laser face.

"Where are you going?" Grif asked. Tucker stopped by the door as the alien walked inside and glanced back to the others.

"I have to talk to their leader," Tucker said before walking into the old, dusty, broken down alien building with the purple alien. "I'm going to ask them if they have seen anything around here that might show us the way to the Director."

"First the lazy one can fly a gunship, then the pink one can throw farther than most people can see, now the horny one can speak to aliens?" Carolina asked to nobody in particular. "What's next, does the stupid one have super strength?"

Everyone in the group slowly began looking towards Caboose. Caboose noticed that everyone was looking at him, so he coughed once and looked at Carolina.

"Simmons doesn't like being called dumb," he said in a hushed tone.

"Right," Carolina sighed.

Inside the ruins, Tucker walked with the orange alien while the purple one lead the way.

"[Where are you from, human?]" the orange alien asked in his species' tongue.

"[Oh, you know. Around,]" Tucker replied idly.

"[Not one for small talk, hm?]" he chuckled dryly.

"[Sorry, I'm just a little rusty. It's been a while since I had to speak like this. It's not exactly a language that can be used to pick up chicks.]"

"[You speak well for a shisno,]" the purple one grunted.

"[William! That is no way to speak to a guest!]" the orange one said, shocked. "[I am deeply sorry for my friend's rude behavior. He's been like this for a while now.]"

"[It's cool, just as long as he doesn't kill me and my friends... well, me, anyways...]" Tucker coughed.

The purple one shot him an angry gaze, then snapped his head back and marched on.

"[What's with him?]"

"[He's angry because his friends did die,]" the orange one said, hanging his head down.

"[Pft, doesn't mean he should be such a little bitch to me. I didn't do anything wrong.]"

"[That may be so, but we have reason to believe that a human was the one who killed them. We actually found them in this area. It's why we're here. We lost contact with them a few months back. We came here and found a group of our old friends slaughtered like they were, what do your species call them? Cattle?]" The orange alien saw Tucker tensing up and let out a sad laugh. "[Do not worry, they betrayed us. They aligned themselves with a human and they betrayed the cause. Our cause.]"

"[Peace with the humans, right?]" Tucker asked.

"[That is correct.]"

"[Well, if they betrayed you, then it's not a big deal, right?]"

"[You know our tongue, but you are not aware of our ways. Though they betrayed us, they are still family, and the loss of their lives was unfortunate. William over there swore an oath to kill the ones who killed them. Quite brutish, if you ask me...]" the alien paused, then shook his head and laughed, extending his claw-like hand forward. "[I just dawned on the fact that I too was being brutish. My name is Maximillion, pleasure to meet your acquaintance.]"

"[Fucker.]"

"[Beg pardon?]" Maximillion inquired hesitantly.

"[I mean Tucker. What I said back there was my job, hobby and life goal.]"

"[I know who you are. Your tool speaks for itself.]"

"[Bow-chicka-bow-wow.]"

"[You humans are very strange indeed,]" Maximillion mumbled. Putting his head up, he stood upright and looked at the door. "[Now, our leader is in here. I warn you, however, he will not hesitate to retaliate if you make any sudden movements.]"

"[It's okay. Him and I have history,]" Tucker explained simply, then walked in to the room.

It was a sizable room with many strange lights going up and along the walls. In the middle of the room was a large table with several elites sitting around it. Tucker recognized that it was a star map, then coughed, getting the aliens' attention. All the elites at the table snapped up and grabbed for their weapons. A silencing blargh echoed through the room, and all the aliens froze. Tucker saw the alien called William walk into the room from an adjacent one. Behind him, another alien walked in to the room and walked straight towards Tucker. The alien was wearing teal with blue-trimmed armor and it was just as tall as him. But the last time Tucker saw him, he was a lot shorter.

"Hey, Junior," Tucker said in english, throwing his arms lazily to the side. "Miss me?"

"Blargh!" Junior yelped, tackling his father-mother to the ground.

Chapter 64 - "Memory Lane"

"[Where have you been?]" Junior asked ecstatically after finding a room for Tucker and him to talk in private.

"[It's...]" Tucker began.

"[A long story?]" Junior suggested.

"[No, just really fucking complicated and stupid. Trust me when I say you wouldn't believe half the shit I told you,]" he sighed. "[What about you?]"

"[Since you left, I was the only one who was seen as an equal by both species, so I was put in charge of negotiations after you left. They needed a translator when you left, and the first one we got wasn't very good. He got killed for insulting one of our generals' mother. We've been in need of a new translator ever since,]" Junior coughed, then looked at his father. "[But now that you're back, we should be able to get the negotiations back on track and maybe finally get peace.]"

"[Wish I could, but I sorta got other stuff I need to do,]" Tucker sighed. "[Got a relationship going now.]"

"[You're in a relationship? What about everything you taught me about women?]"

"[It was good advice, but I decided I needed a change of pace, y'know? Can't always be the lady killer. Eventually you gotta find one lady that you want to kill over and over for the rest of your life.]"

"[I'm not calling her mom,]" Junior grumbled sourly. There was an awkward pause for several seconds. "[If you aren't here to help, then why are you here?]"

"[What? A human father can't visit his alien son just to say hello?]" Tucker inquired sincerely, then coughed. "[But I guess there is something I wanted to ask you...]"

"[And what is that?]"

"[Have you seen anything suspicious lately?]"

"[Aside from you arriving out of nowhere, no. Why?]"

"[We're looking for a man. Well, the man isn't what we're looking for. We're looking for the guy who is... do you guys have possession in your culture?]"

"[Possession?]" Junior contemplated. "[No, I do not believe we do. But I'm not exactly the best one to go to for my species' heritage. I was with you for the majority of my life, and I spent most of that learning about your culture.]"

"[Basically there's this... evil spirit... I guess, and it's sort of sitting in the guy we're looking for's head. And this evil spirit isn't just evil, but it's bat-shit insane. We only found you by luck, actually. We didn't know you guys were here, Church just had a feeling that we needed to come here, because that evil spirit likes riddles, twisting fate and other stupid shit, so we're trying to find him by going to 'where it all began'.]"

"[Sorry, but I haven't seen anything.]"

"[Whatever, it's fine. I think we're all kind of expecting to not find him for a bit anyways. This guy likes to watch people struggle. Normally I'm into that too, but only on the Internet, and only under very different circumstances.]"

"Bow-chicka-honk-honk," Junior added. Another silence fell between them, and Junior looked at the door, then back to Tucker. "[I should probably be going soon if there isn't anything else you need.]"

"[How about you come with us?]" he asked.

"[I wish I could help you, dad,]" Junior murmured. "[But I'm kinda wrapped up in the situation here. What with trying to find out who killed the others, the alien-human negotiations we've made could collapse and backfire if we don't find the one responsible and act accordingly. And as the spawn of both alien and human, I need to stay.]"

"[Alright,]" Tucker sighed, getting up from his chair. "[Guess I should be getting back to the others.]"

"[Will you visit again?]"

"[As much as I love being here with you and the other aliens, I don't think it'd be possible. Like, literally impossible.]"

"[I guessed as much,]" Junior said reluctantly. Standing up, he extended his hand. "[This is goodbye then,]".

"[Guess so,]" Tucker said, shaking Junior's large, alien hand. He then turned around and began walking towards the door.

"[Wait!]" Junior called out when he had nearly disappeared through the doorway. "[You say this... evil spirit speaks in riddles and twists fate, right?]"

"[Yeah,]" Tucker murmured, coming to a stop.

"[Maybe our answers lie with each other.]"

"[What do you mean?]" Tucker asked.

"[Maybe he was the one who killed our friends,]" Junior said, walking next to Tucker. "[And as of now, it's the only lead that we have, and I don't think my people would be too appreciative if I let this lead die.]"

"[What do you mean?]"

"[We'll help look for where you need to go. We have starmaps that we can scour, maybe find places you've been to. We can scan worlds nearby to see if anything has changed. We'd spare no expense in tracking down this man if we even slightly believed him to be the killer.]"

"[Sounds good to me,]" Tucker said. "[But how will you tell us where to go?]"

"[I'll have one of my people hook up a two-way communications system in your ship,]" Junior said simply. "[Tell your friends to wait a few hours. I'll tell my people of the news.]"

"[Right,]" Tucker nodded, then began jogging down the hallway.

When Tucker came outside, he found the others sitting in and around the pelican.

"About time you got back. I started to think that they killed you in there," Carolina grunted. "So, since the Director isn't here, where should we go?"

"Uh, if you don't mind waiting, I think we'll get some pretty good tips soon enough."

"And where are we going to get those? I don't suppose you found a sheet of paper that said where we;re supposed to run off to."

"Nah, but pretty close to it. The aliens are going to help us out," Tucker explained as a pair of them ran past him carrying the communications device. "They'll look at some planets with a planet scanner thing and tell us if anything is fucked up using a two-way radio. It'll probably take them six or seven hours to hook it up, though."

"How did you manage to convince these things to do that?" Carolina asked cautiously.

"A bunch of their friends were killed, and Junior thinks that maybe the Director came through and somehow lead to them being murdered."

"Junior?" she echoed. When Tucker began to move his head to explain, she held up her hand and sighed. "Long story, got it."

"Actually, not really. Junior is one of the aliens, and he's kind of their leader, in a way. And he's kind of my son."

"Uh-huh, enough sarcasm. Who is Junior?" she repeated.

"He's telling the truth," Doc coughed. "I helped deliver him."

Carolina stared at Doc, then to Tucker.

"Church!" she yelled in frustration.

"You don't need to yell, I'm right here," Church grunted, appearing in front of her.

"Are they telling the truth, or are they just trying to piss me off?"

"They're telling the truth. We've kind of been through a lot of shit. I'll be sure to tell you some time."

"We have the time, and we don't really have anything else to talk about," Carolina murmured reluctantly. "Plus, you guys know pretty much the whole story about me and Project Freelancer. It's only fair I'm caught up to speed on yours."

The group stared at her curiously.

"Are you just trying to find out our weaknesses so you know how to take us down quickly and efficiently?" Sarge murmured, tightening his hand on the pump of the shotgun. The others began to slowly follow suit.

"No," Carolina said, noticing how quick they were to jump to the worst case scenario. Now that she was aware of it, and thinking back on what Church said about York, she let out a sigh. "I know the way you all look at me. You don't trust me, and I don't trust you. But that clearly isn't working, so it's time for a change of strategy. I may be a little quick to the gun, and there'll need to be patience on both sides, but it'd be good to learn more about you all and how you got here. Plus, I think it'd just be... I don't know, nice to talk about something other than the Director.."

All of them looked to Church questioningly. Church continued looking at Carolina for a few moments. Even though he knew that it might not change anything, he still felt that they should try. Almost everyone deserves a second chance. Exhaling deeply, even though he needn't, he nodded at the others.

"I guess we should start at the beginning," Church began. "It all started when the Alpha was shipped out to a little canyon called Blood Gulch..."

Chapter 66 - "Even the Odds"

Once they landed in Valhalla, the crew got out of their chairs and all of them stretched, sore from having sat down for several hours in hard and uncomfortable chairs. When the door at the back creaked open, they all slowly walked out and began to look around. To their surprise, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Most of them thought that there would be more soldiers lying in wait, but not even a single insect could be seen.

"Well, gang..." Washington said, looking around. "Time to fan out and look for clues."

"Got any snacks to bribe me to do any work?" Grif asked impishly, growing very hungry from not having eaten for a while.

"You only get one if I need to use you as a decoy," Wash countered sarcastically.

"Hey, Sarge! Wanna come see what we did with the place?" Doc asked.

"I think you'll really like what Doc and I have done," Donut added.

"You better have not done anything too bad to the place..." Sarge murmured, walking behind the strange pair of beings he reluctantly called men. "Come on, Simmons. I'll need your help cleaning up anything they've ruined."

"Yes, sir!" Simmons nodded, running after him. "Come on, Grif. We'll see if we can find you some food."

"Okay, but you better not make me try to clean!" Grif argued, but then followed him after a few seconds, realizing that there wasn't much to do there anyways.

"Wash, you take Tucker and Sister to Blue base and look around there."

"I don't want to be stuck with her," Wash grunted.

"Feelings mutual, piggy," Sister coughed into her fist.

"Just go. Red team are going off to do their own thing and somebody needs to check up on the other base."

"Fine. Come on, Tucker. Come on, psycho," Tucker murmured the last part, setting a solid pace for the other base.

Caboose then looked to the Red base. Then to the Blue one. With a shrug, he started after Wash and the others, knowing he should probably try to help.

"Hey, Caboose," Carolina said, holding onto his arm as the others ran ahead.

"Yes?" he asked merrily as he spun around to see her.

"Listen, I've been thinking over what you said last night. I know you said you want to be my friend, but I'm just wondering... After what I put you and the others through... After what I did to you..."

"What did you do to me?"

"I killed you."

"You killed me?" Caboose asked in a befuddled manner. "But I'm standing right here..."

"I... know. And what's-her-name filled me in on that when I was in her castle. I killed you and the others revived you with some book. Still not sure if I can believe that, but what I can believe is that I willingly went out of my way to hurt you and the others."

"Well, I'm here now, and that's all that matters!" Caboose chimed.

"Still. I just wanted to say.. I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't in a right state of mind. I might never be again for all I know. But what I do know is that I don't want to be that person anymore. I want to change. But I think I'll need some help. And honestly... even though you might not be the smartest one in the bunch, I think you're the one that would have the best chance of helping me... So..." Carolina began, and held up her hand again. "Do you still want to be my friend and try to help me change?"

"I would love to!" Caboose said, nodding happily as he spread his arms wide.

Though she wasn't used to it and would have much preferred a hand shake, she spread her arms and gave an awkward and tight hug to her new dim-witted friend.

"Now go on and catch up with Wash and the others," she said, gently pushing Caboose away and out of the hug.

"Okay!" Caboose called out, instantly sprinting after the others.

Carolina let out a hefty sigh as Wash and the three others vanished towards the Blue base.

"He kind of grows on you, doesn't he?" Church asked, flickering into life next to Carolina.

"A little bit, sure. Not sure if I can take him in large doses, but I think any dose other than nothing is a good start..."

The two remained silent for a few moments.

"I guess we should go look around the areas outside of the bases," Carolina said finally, beginning to walk away.

"Carolina, wait..."

"What?"

"...He'd be proud of you," he replied quietly.

"Thanks," she said quietly, looking down at the ground.

"You know, I know a thing or to about loss. While I'm probably not a good candidate for being a nice friend, I think I'll be able to help you move on with your past without forgetting the past. Memory is kind of my thing."

"I might just take you up on that at some point," she grunted, then looked in the distance and saw a Pelican crash. "I actually came here when I was looking for a way to get into the unit. It was up at that crashed ship where the unit flickered back into life temporarily. Might be a good spot to look for a clue."

"As good as any," Church agreed, then disappeared into her armor. Instantly, he flickered back on. "Wait, you said that the unit came back to life at the Pelican?"

"Yeah..." Carolina trailed off, then looked to him. Without him having to tell her, she quickly jogged to the Blue base and found Wash, who still had the unit on his hip. "Wash, we need the Epsilon Unit."

"Why? What happened?" Wash asked as he handed it to her.

"Nothing, we just have to test something out," she said. Grabbing the unit and attaching it to her armor, she jogged all the way to the Pelican and took the device off of her hip.

"What did you do to turn it on?" Church asked as Carolina placed it on the rubble next to the crashed ship.

"Nothing. It just started working again out of nowhere..." she said quietly, staring at the unit.

They both stood there, watching the unit in silence for several minutes, patiently waiting for something to happen. Neither of them knew what good doing this was.

"Ch-Ch-Church?" came a staticy voice from the unit. "Is that you?"

"It's good to hear from you, Twi," he sighed. "Listen, I'll try to keep this short because I'm not sure how this thing even turned on, so I'm not sure how long it'll stay up."

"Bow-chicka-bow-wow!" Tucker screamed from the base.

"Glad to hear y-you're all right," Twilight said with a small giggle.

"Maybe not completely..."

"What do you me-ean?"

"Discord tried to kill us."

There was a pause.

"What?" she asked with a gasp.

"Discord went into the mind of the Director and it looks like he is influencing him to do things."

"But Discord doesn't kill ponies..."

"I know, but he sure as fuck knocks out soldiers that are out to get us for just long enough for us to walk into a room full of them when they wake up," Church grumbled.

"This isn't good. I knew he was unpredictable, but I never would have expected this. Somepony with the power of Discord by himself isn't a good thing to be up against. But somepony with the power of Discord and with the will and drive to try and kill others..." she trailed off. "How close are you to catching up with him?"

"We're at a standstill. We keep finding dead ends. Kind of just decided to fill you in and let you know we're all okay while we wait for the others to search the base."

"I'll be sure to tell the others you're all alive and well," she promised.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

There was another pause.

"I assume you're also calling to check up on Tex and the other fragments?" Twilight asked, and Church could practically feel the know-it-all smile on her muzzle.

"Yeah," he replied.

"They're doing fine. O'Malley and Gary have actually been helping out a bit with the whole 'tear in the sky' situation."

"Really?" Church asked skeptically

"Yup. What with those to wandering around the streets of Ponyville, everypony is willingly staying indoors and avoiding asking questions," she said with a humorous chuckle. "Other than that, Tex and Delta are helping the Princesses and the other girls think of a suitable explanation for the strange anomaly and why we were so quick to cover it up." With a pause, Twilight let out a cough. "Is Carolina there?"

"Right here," Carolina murmured.

"...How are you?" she asked hesitantly.

"Fine, thanks for asking," Carolina grunted as she looked to Church. "Listen, you should probably wrap this up. I'm otherwise fine with you guys having a little chat, but we really need to find the Director."

"I'll leave you to it, then," Twilight said as the unit shut off, clearly not overly trustworthy of the one person who has hurt her friends more than Discord ever did.

"Don't worry. When we get back, we'll explain that you're on out side."

"Normally I'd be angry at you for hogging all the capable fighters, but you needed another one to even up the odds" a voice came from behind them, and by the way the phrase was said, they both knew Sarge was standing behind them.

"What are you talking about?" Church grunted.

"I mean, you guys have Washington, Tucker, Caboose, and those two girls," Sarge said, nodding towards the base.

"What about me?" he asked.

"What with you not being able to hold a weapon, you don't exactly count."

"So what? You have Grif, Simmons and Donut? That's five versus four."

"Ah, but you're forgetting someone."

"What, did you manage to convince Doc to join his... what are Donut and him, anyways? Are they... y'know..." Church coughed.

"I don't know. Sort of a don't ask, and shut-them-up-when-they-try-to-tell sort of situation going on there... And no on us recruiting Doc. He wishes he could be so lucky," Sarge chuckled.

"Then who are you..." Church began, but stopped when Sarhe stepped to the side, revealing another person wearing brown soldier standing behind him.

Only he wasn't so much a man as he was a robot.

"Buenos días, puta..."

Author's Note

So. With Lopez, I have a few options:

I can just write Lopez like I've been writing the aliens; "[In brackets surrounded by quotes]". This loses some of the funny factor, I think, because seeing the Spanish words would be much funnier.

Or I can put it in Spanish, then add what he said after the sentence. Like "Mierda," Lopez murmured. [Shit]. This one I'm not so sure on since I feel like I'd be cheating the word count on the site.

OR I can simply put it in Spanish, then put all the translations in the author's notes. This one is so you get to see the Spanish AND know what he says. The only issue with this one is that if he had multiple lines in the chapter, you would forget the context of each translation.

Chapter 67 - "In Plain Sight"

Author's Note

For the purpose of easy-to-readiness, Lopez will speak like the aliens did. Unless he insults them, in which case it will be in Spanish. Because Spanish swears are funny.

Chapter 67 - "In Plain Sight"

"Who is that?" Carolina inquired, noting how Church remained silent.

"This is my former engineer, mechanic, right-and-left-hand man, robot best friend and many other titles... Lopez!" Sarge said gleefully. "It's so nice to have him back."

"[The feeling isn't mutual...]"

"Anyways, you know how I stayed back at Red Base for a bit back when we were still in Blood Gulch?" Carolina nodded in reply. "Well, I stayed back to download Lopez's personality backup onto this disc. I knew Donut and Doc did something stupid yet economical to his body, and, since my assumptions were correct, I uploaded said backup into his body and rebooted him. Now he's as good as new!"

"[And you're still elderly and insane...]" Lopez countered, though he knew nobody could understand him.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Lopez the liar!" Sister growled, storming towards the group.

"[How are you here? I left you in the caves!]"

"Yeah, well, the others came by and picked me up," Sister shrugged.

"[You were in there for way too long to survive...]" he said in disbelief.

"I ate a lot of wall salad."

"It was moss!" Washington said irately, coming up from behind her with Tucker and Caboose.

"Pft, you cops have to name everything in your own little code, don't you?" she asked.

Lopez froze in place and watched as the ex-Freelancer jogged his way up the hill and next to Sister.

"Er, what's he doing here?" Washington asked slowly.

"When we were at Red Base over in Blood Gulch, I stayed behind to pick up a copy of Lopez's AI," Sarge explained again. "I knew he kept backups of himself there in case anything happened, and Donut and Doc kept his body here as a scarecrow, so it was a simple matter of uploading the code into his body again!"

"[And I'm already regretting having made backups of myself. Things were much more peaceful when I was a scarecrow...]"

"Hey, guys! What's all the yelling about?" Donut asked, walking up to the group with Doc in tow.

"[You're here too?]" Lopez groaned in anguish.

"Lopez and I were just arguing about the fact that he promised me some E and then ditched me in the caves."

"That's not very nice, Lopez," Donut said critically.

"See? This gray guy gets it!" Sister exclaimed.

The pair looked pointedly at Lopez who simply stared robotically back at them for he could not express emotion with his face. If he could, he was quite sure his face would permanently be that of an angered and annoyed scowl.

"[How are you alive? I saw you get shot,]" Lopez grunted, changing the topic. Not that it mattered to him, seeing as he knew that any conversation with them would be unbearably idiotic.

"Oh, I didn't die! My armor just went into lockdown and preserved me, then Doc came along as soon as the lockdown wore off and patched me back up!"

"Shame we couldn't completely get those bloodstains out of your boots," Doc added.

"Yeah, I'm still kind of mad at that one guy for doing that to me. If I ever find him, I'll give him such a talking to!"

Lopez looked at Donut, and then to Washington, then back to Donut. Washington looked away and coughed.

"[He was the one that almost killed you!]" Lopez said loudly, glaring at Donut.

"What?" Donut asked, looking at Washington. After a few seconds, he turned back to Lopez. "Nuh-uh, the guy who killed me was wearing gray armor with yellow accents, this guy has blue armor and yellow accents. Totally different. Am I the only one around here with any sense of color?"

"Washington took Church's armor when he went into the Epsilon unit but kept his shoulder pads to distinguish himself from Church so the viewers would be able to tell the difference and not mistake him as Church," Caboose explained scrupulously.

"What?" Donut asked in anger, turning his pistol towards Washington. "If that's true, you owe me some new shoes, mister! Those bloodstains were a pain to get out!"

"Put your gun down. If I wanted you to stay down, I would have told the Meta to burn down you and the robot's bodies."

"Me no puedes quemar con fuego, idiota," Lopez murmured.

"What did he say?" Wash grunted.

"He said you can't burn him with fire, idiot," Sister said.

"Don't you start with me too," Wash grunted, aiming at Lopez.

"Ahora tienes dos armas apuntando a usted..." the robot grunted, mimicking Wash's action.

"He said now you have two guns pointing at you," Sister said without Washington asking. She then gasped and aimed her gun at Lopez. "Hey, I'm still not done with you! You're still holding out on me and I want what I paid for!"

"[You didn't pay for anything! You asked for some drugs and I told you to wait in the caves because I wanted you to starve and be done with you!]"

"I was totally going to pay you!"

"[With what money? We were stranded in a canyon with nothing except necessities! I'd ask if you're stupid, but I already know the answer to that one.]"

"I'm not stupid!"

"[Really? Because you're siding with a cop and you hate cops.]"

"Hey, you're right!" Sister said, then turned to aim her gun at Washington.

"[See? You are stupid!]"

"For crying out loud!" Washington growled, turning to aim at Sister.

"If you shoot my sister, I'll blow you the hell up!" Grif snapped from atop the hill next to the Pelican, aiming his Grifshot directly at Wash.

"Not you too!" Wash snapped, aiming his gun at Grif.

"Only I'm allowed to kill Grif!" Sarge yelled, aiming his shotgun at Wash's head. "Simmons, cover his flank!"

"Yes, sir!" Simmons called out, somehow standing on the Pelican, aiming his rocket launcher at Wash's back.

"I am talking loudly too! I am a part of this conversation!" Caboose yelled, spinning in circles as he fired his assault rifle in the air.

"Uh, you guys, I don't think violence will solve anything..." Doc piped quietly.

"Why aren't you aiming at him? Aren't you mad that he kept you hostage and threatened you constantly?" Simmons inquired.

"I mean, sure, yeah, but you guys basically do the same thing to each other..."

"Doc, point your gun at Wash or Simmons and I will point our gun at you..." Sarge grunted. "Besides, we need this moment to be as suspensful and one-sided as possible!"

With a sigh, Doc pulled out his plasma pistol and began to charge it, aiming it at the same target as everyone else.

"Anyone else angry at me for some reason?" Washington growled, looking at Tucker.

"You're kind of an asshole but... Nah, I think I'm good," Tucker said with a shrug.

"Now that you mention it, I kind of am still a bit pissed that you jacked my armor..." Church murmured. "But I don't exactly have a gun to aim at you with.

"Very funny," Wash hissed, not sure who to aim at, instincts refusing to let the weapon go.

"And to think you thought everyone was against you," Church chuckled at Carolina.

"Everyone put down your guns," Carolina said loudly. Nobody budged. "I said everyone put down your guns."

"We heard you the first time, we ignored you on purpose," Sarge grunted, still aiming at the male Freelancer.

"Maybe you'll listen if I aim my gun at y—" she started.

"Attention, assholes!" came a voice from above on a loud speaker, interrupting Carolina. "We have you surrounded! Put your weapons down, or we will fire!"

Looking around, the men saw that they were indeed surrounded by four tanks, at least ten warthogs with varying weapons, as well as nearly a dozen Hornets in the air and a pair of squads of men flanking each ground vehicle. Each and every one of them had their weapons trained on everyone.

"You were saying something about one-sided situations, Sarge?" Grif said sarcastically, putting his hands up in defeat.

"Shut up, Grif," Sarge mumbled.

"No need for violence, gentlemen!" an English voice said from the crowd. "We're all adults here..."

The group looked at each other, then slowly lowered their weapons, refusing to completely let them go.

"Sorry for the rude introductions, but it seemed like the only way we could break up your little tiff in a way that didn't end with any of you dying before I got a chance to speak with you," a slightly plump man with an English accent said as he strutted towards them from Red Base. He wore what appeared to be a plain gray suit, but with a single medal pinned above his heart. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Malcom Hargrove," he stated simply, holding his hand out to nobody. "But you may know me as the Chairman."

Chapter 68 - "Mutual Agreement"

"What are you doing here?" Washington asked cautiously, locking his eyes on the slightly pudgy man.

"I could ask you all the same thing," the Chairman countered. With a cough, he began walking towards Carolina, another man following close behind. "You see, we've recently come under attack by dozens of assailants. Assailants that we know to be linked with the ex-Director of Project Freelancer. I believe they were copies of a certain Agent Texas. I'll spare you the small details, but some of the men in my employ got hurt."

"Some? I'm surprised you're still standing here," Church grunted.

"Are you? Well, that is the benefit of being in charge. You don't have to worry about self-defense. Especially not when you have your own army to protect you, unless you haven't noticed."

"Oh, don't worry, we noticed," Grif muttered sarcastically.

"Yeah, great. You were attacked and your army fended off the assault. And now they're surrounding us. If I'm not mistaken, we didn't attack you, so what do you want?" Carolina asked icily. "What does all this have to do with us?"

"What doesn't it have to do with you all?" the Chairman retorted yet again. Wanting to address all of them, rather than just the Freelancers, Malcom walked past Wash and began to circle the Reds and Blues, eyeing them over. "I've heard many things about you all..."

"Like what?" Simmons asked nervously as the Director stopped next to him.

"Oh, a great deal of things, Private Richard Simmons. I know all about what lead each of you here. I also know that you are all simulation troopers... And how you're a part, albeit a small one, of the long Freelancer history."

"Yeah, great, you know all abou-" Church began.

"And I also know that you killed my men in that little canyon of yours," the Chairman said flatly, letting what he said sink in for a few moments. Though he stated it simply and with near no emotion, the others looked at him as if he had made a very intense threat. "And while I abhor their deaths, I am willing to forgive you all on the grounds of self-defense..."

"If?" Carolina asked, knowing he wasn't going to go light on them for no reason.

"If you work for me," he stated, then flashed them a simple smile. By their silence, he understood their hesitance. "Only temporarily, of course. I by no means want you to work for me full-time. I am simply offering you a job. A job that will clear all your names, making you all free men. And women, of course" he added with a smaller, more tender smile, nodding towards Carolina and Sister.

"You can do that?" Simmons asked.

"I can do many things for my friends and allies," he said, smile tightening.

"What's the job?" Washington asked, remembering how his last job for the Director ended.

"It's simple. I want you to bring me to the Director. It is my understanding that you are here in an attempt to track him down and possibly kill him. I understand you all have your personal vendettas and what have you, but justice must be given to him by legal means. Since you're here, I'm sure you all know of the things he's done. He has committed many crimes, and he needs to answer for them. But justice is not for you to give out."

"And if we refuse?" Washington asked.

The man standing next to the Director flicked the safety off of his weapon and raised it in half a second.

"I think you know the answer to that," the Chairman chuckled.

Carolina looked at the Chairman suspiciously.

"If we do this... you won't hurt us? You'll let us leave and never look for us again?" Church asked after a few moments of silence.

"Correct. You bring us to the Director, and we'll leave you be forever."

"How do we know you won't go back on your word?"

"You don't, but I'm afraid you don't really have another option," he said morosely. "If it makes the decision any easier than it already is, we know where the Director is located."

"What?" Church and Carolina asked in unison.

"Yes, it seems that one of the drones that attacked us had a little note in their hand. And this note was signed by the Director. At first, I found it very odd that he would do something as silly as give me a hand-written note, especially in such a strange and violent circumstance. As bitter as our little relationship was, he didn't strike me as an overly violent man. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the Director truly may be insane."

"If you know where he is, then why do you need us?" Tucker asked.

"Because he also considered that the Director didn't really go insane," Carolina said knowingly. "He knew the Director wanted to kill him, and that note was there just in case they failed to do the job."

"He thought the Director might be luring him and his men into a trap," Church finished.

"Ah, much doesn't get past you. I like that," the Chairman said. "It means I came to the right people."

"We just know who we're up against," Church sighed. "Alright, we'll do it."

"I had a feeling you would. I'm ever so glad that we managed to come to a mature conclusion," the Chairman said. Turning around, he took a few paces towards his ship, but then glanced back at them. "If I may make a recommendation, however... don't be so quick to turn on your fellow soldier, even in jest."

"Don't worry about them, they wouldn't have killed him. Pointing our guns at each other is more of a greeting to us at this point," Church sighed. When he noticed the Chairman continued to walk away. "Hey, you said you knew where the Director was. We can't find him if you don't tell us."

"Ah, it's the big things we seem to forget, isn't it?" the Chairman sighed, then turned around and pulled a note out of his pocket. "It seems that our mutual associate seems to be hiding out..." he trailed off, reading the note. "'Where it all began...'"

The Reds, Blues, and Freelancers let out a small collective sigh. The Chairman raised a brow.

"He's toying with us," Carolina snapped irately.

"We've been going off that little clue for a while..." Church explained.

"Really? On the note it said you should all know the answer to this riddle," the Chairman said quietly, rubbing his thumb against the note.

"Is that really a riddle, though? I thought riddles had to rhyme... or at least be more vague than where it all began," Doc chipped in. "I mean, where it all began could mean anything. It doesn't say it is where anything big began. It could mean any small event too. Heck, it could even just mean when Washington, Donut and I found you guys."

Church looked at Tucker, who was closest to him. They silently exchanged a glance.

"By that, I assume you know where he is..." the Chairman coughed.

"I think we do now," Church sighed. "Can you give us an hour or two to get prepared."

"Very good," the Chairman clapped as he put the note back in his pocket. "Now, we will give you all a moment to prepare. When you leave, we will follow you gentlemen closely."

"Wait!" Washington said quickly, taking a step towards the army. "Before you go, I have one demand."

"Hm?" the Chairman paused.

"Do you have any gray paint on that ship?" Washington said with a cough, motioning towards his armor.

"I'll see what I can find for you," the Chairman nodded.

Chapter 69 - "Fallblargh Plan"

"I'm not sure if I trust the Chairman," Carolina said, looking at one of the drop ships across the river. She and the Reds and Blues had been sitting in the Pelican for the last forty minutes, waiting for Washington to return. The more they thought of their current situation, the more they realized that if all goes wrong, everything and anything they do will end up with them in jail or dead.

"I thought he seemed to be reasonable," Simmons noted, sitting on the chair.

"Always with your nose up the guy in charge's crack, eh, Simmons?" Grif chuckled.

"I'm just saying, he kind of seems like a good guy..." Simmons grumbled.

"He's using you just as the Director did. As fodder," Carolina said tightly, eyes still glued on the ship. "He admitted that he thought this might be a trap, and that's why he's sending you in. You get things done, but you're also expendable. That's any militaristic man's ideal asset."

"What else can we do, though?" Church asked. "The choice we got was to either be expendable, or to be flat out expended. I think all we can do at this point is go through with it and hope he keeps to his word."

"And if he doesn't? We don't exactly have a fallback plan right now, and I usually like to have one..."

"And you don't have any ideas, do you?"

"Not even a sliver of one..."

"I'm back," Wash called out from the back of the Pelican.

Carolina turned around and walked back into the passenger area of the aircraft, watching Wash as he walked in, armor as gray as the first day she met him.

"Well, what do you think?" Washington asked, spreading his arms slightly.

"It's still my armor, but at least it isn't my color anymore..." Church grunted.

"Good to see you back to normal," Carolina noted dryly.

"I guess that's as good as I'm going to get with you two," Wash sighed, walking up to Carolina. "So what's the deal? When are we going to head out."

"In a few minutes. We're just trying to think about a fallback plan, just in case things go sour with the UNSC," Carolina said.

"Hey, here's an idea. What if we all just go off in pairs and do it,, just in case we don't come back?" Sister suggested.

"Bad, Sister!" Grif said as if he was talking to a pet. "Bad!"

"Maybe that isn't such a bad idea," Tucker chuckled humorously, sitting next to the piece of tech the aliens gave them.

Staring at the device, Carolina began walking up to Tucker.

"Woah, I was just kidding! I'm flattered, really, but--"

"Not you," Carolina growled, stepping next to him. "Call your alien friends and tell them to come help us."

"Uh, they're kinda wrapped up in their own business right now. What with trying to make peace with us, I don't think they'd be too thrilled about the idea of killing humans..."

"Tell them that either way, humans are going to die because of them. Either they kill them to protect us, or they let us be killed."

"Not sure if that'd fly with them. They're too busy trying to find out who killed their friends. If we found out who killed them, I'm sure they'd love to help us. But since we don't know, I think we're on our own."

"Ohhhhh... whoops..." Washington coughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Wash, what did you do?" Church inquired.

"When we were tracking you down in the desert, I kind of maybe told the Meta to... kill them," Washington coughed. Tucker stared at him, and Washington only assumed that it was a blank stare.

"It was Meta and Washington in the desert with... What weapon did you use again?" Caboose asked simply.

"Okay, screw what I said before. Now I'm kind of mad at you," Tucker said, ignoring Caboose's remark.

"We weren't hostile right away," Wash reasoned, holding up his hands. "Doc asked for directions, but they insulted us. Since they weren't of any use, and since I was really annoyed with toting several tons of concreted idiot with us, I kind of lost my temper."

"You think?" Doc asked.

"Shut up."

"Guess we have our plan," Carolina chipped in finally. "Tell them we know who the murderer is."

"What?" Washington asked confusedly. "You're going to use me as bait?"

"It's really the only thing we can do," Carolina said quietly. "Don't worry, we won't let them hurt you."

"I don't know if I like that idea..." Tucker admitted.

"Ditto," Washington grumbled.

"Just do it," Carolina growled.

"Fine. But I'll ask them to help us without telling them about Wash."

"Thanks," Wash sighed.

"And if that doesn't work, then I'll rat out Wash," Tucker said sarcastically, turning around.

"Ha ha, very funny..."

"[Hey, Junior,]" Tucker said quietly into the alien radio device. "[Are you there?]"

"[Yeah, I am,]" came Junior's voice from the other side.

"[Good. I'm going to need you to do something for me,]" Tucker grunted.

"[Why are you whispering?]" Junior asked.

"[Listen, we think we know where our guy is, but we have a big problem. And by big, I mean just as big as what I'm rolling with downstairs. We have the UNSC trailing us now, and I'm sure there has to be a few guys who know a little bit of your language. Can't risk them hearing this.]"

"[What are they doing there?]" Junior questioned, matching Tucker's volume.

"[They've hired us to find the Director for them. And by hired, I mean they literally had guns to our heads if we didn't do what they said. I think it's pretty obvious, but we're not sure if we can trust them not to kill us when we bring them the Director. So, uh, got anything you can do for us in terms of backup, or are we pretty much boned right now?]"

"[I'd love to help you, but I can't risk sending anything your way. If the UNSC finds out we're doing anything against them it could permanently damage alien-human relations...]"

"[I guessed you'd say something like that,]" Tucker grunted. Thinking for a moment, Tucker looked back to Washington. He didn't want to do this, but at this point he had no choice if he wanted his son's help. "[I know where the guy who killed your friends is.]"

"[What?]" Junior murmured after a second.

"[The guy who killed those aliens that you guys are looking for. We have him with us.]"

"[He's with the UNSC?]"

"[No, he's one of us.]"

"[I see...]" Junior said. "[Why didn't you tell me before?]"

"[Because I didn't want you to kill him.]"

"[Why would we do that? He killed aliens that meant to completely destroy all chances of humans and aliens having peace. If we killed him, we'd accomplish that goal exceedingly well.]"

"[I thought that William guy wanted to kill them.]"

"[He does, but he is one of the few who feel that way. Don't take what I said the wrong way. He is by no means a hero. He slaughtered their people. My people. Justice needs to be given... But death isn't justice. We just want to talk to him about it, ask why he was so quick to kill them. There are two sides to any argument, as my more experienced men remind me consistently.]"

"[And if he dies before justice can be given, there will always be doubt between the aliens and the humans. I think that'd make your mission pretty difficult to do.]"

Junior thought for a moment. "[I'll send a ship with some of our men to trail you. We'll keep out of sight from them, but we'll stay as close as we can in case things go wrong.]"

"[Thanks, I'll tell the others,]" Tucker sighed, turning off the device. "Hope this doesn't backfire..."

"Hope what doesn't backfire? Did you convince them to help us?" Washington asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I sort of did," Tucker said reluctantly.

"What do you mean sort of?" Washington asked slowly, recognizing that tone.

"I told the aliens that you were the one who killed their friends."

"What?" Washington snapped. "They're totally going to hunt us down and kill me!"

"No, they're not. They just want to talk to you about it. They were kind of working against the goals of Junior and the others. So while they're not happy about it, they don't seem to want to kill you."

"Why didn't you just tell them it was an accident then? Or tell them they attacked first?"

"Because if I told them that, they might not have sent some guys up here to help us. Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"And if it won't be?" Wash asked.

"It was the aliens! In the ship! With their laser guns!" Caboose chimed enthusiastically.

"Yeah, that," Tucker chuckled.

"I hate my life."

Chapter 70 - "Multiple Choice"

The Reds, Blues and ex-Freelancers made their way back to the Freelancer offsite storage facility with a pair of UNSC ships in tow. As soon as they landed, Grif opened up the back and they all filed outside. Looking at the decrepit ruins, Carolina let out a sigh and looked into the horizon to see the two UNSC ships slowly coming in.

"No point in waiting for them," Washington noted. "They're making us go in first."

"Where's the entrance?" Church asked, appearing in front of Washington.

"It's about a minute's walk from here, inside one of the buildings," Wash replied coolly, turning around. "We didn't have much luck there. We weren't authorized personnel."

"And that's how I found the ba—" Donut began to chip in happily.

"The back entrance way, yeah, we got it," Wash said hastily.

"I don't think that the UNSC will want to crawl in through a crack," Simmons said.

"Well, I'm pretty sure none of us are going to be authorized. The only one that we know is authorized is the Director, and—"

"And we have a not living slash not breathing copy of him right here," Church coughed. Nodding at Carolina, he scanned the buildings and looked ahead. "There's a pretty good chance I can open the door. And with what we're facing, it would be better to tackle it as a group rather than one-by-one in a tight hole."

"Bow-chicka-bow-wow."

"I guess that's a good point," Washington murmured, then began walking towards the entrance.

The Reds and Blues shared a nod, and they began to follow Washington. Just like he said, it took them a little under a minute to find the building and climb up the makeshift ramp made from the pieces of the dilapidated building. The first thing Church noticed was a computer screen lodged in a nearby tree. Carolina saw this too and walked up to it to investigate. Before she could examine the screen closely, it flickered into life.

"Hello, Director," the Director's assistant stuttered.

"F.I.L.S.S, can you open the door?" Church asked impatiently, not wanting to waste any time on pleasantries.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that," she answered.

"What? Why not?" Church asked irately. He thought for sure that this would have worked.

"Because you told me that you were not to be allowed entrance without a password. Or unless another authorized personnel were to speak."

"Is the password 'password'?" Church asked with a sigh.

"No," she replied sweetly.

"Is the password 'hello'?" Caboose inquired from behind them.

Church turned to tell Caboose to be quiet, but before he could, he saw the entrance slide open effortlessly.

"The password was 'hello'?" Church asked dubiously. "What, was One-Two-Three-Four taken?"

"Caboose is on the list of authorized personnel."

"Aw man, really?" Donut asked, turning to Caboose. "Hey, Caboose, do you think I can be your plus one? I hear this club is really hard to get into!"

"Sure thing!" Caboose said merrily.

"Thanks, Caboose!" Donut said, and the pair began to run inside.

As they both began to enter, Washington grabbed the piece of armor underneath the helmet, stopping them in their tracks.

"What did she mean the Director spoke highly of you? I didn't think he even met any of you..." Washington said slowly, growing very curious about his current predicament as he held the pair in place.

"He didn't," Church grunted. "And he's waiting for us inside."

"The Director? How do you know the Director is waiting for us?"

"It's not just the Director, Wash. There's someone much worse in there with him."

"The Director is working with somebody?

"No, the Director... Let's just say he has another voice in his head..."

"An AI?" Wash asked, remembering seeing Delta in the unit, thinking that when he gave the Director the Epsilon unit one of the evil fragments got out and took over,

"Kind of, but not any of the ones you're ever seen. This one is far crazier than Sigma, O'Malley and Gary all rolled into one. His name is Discord, and he finds joy in chaos and twisting minds."

"Sounds like Omega to me..." Washington said.

"A little, but the difference is Omega is predictable. The asshole in there is an riddle wrapped in an enigma dipped in a fucking loony bin."

"Why didn't you tell the Chairman?" Washington inquired slowly. "He knows the Director used AIs. He could probably give us some stuff to better handle them, like another EMP."

"Emp," Grif added.

"Shut up."

"Thing is, this isn't a regular AI. He isn't a piece of technology, so stuff made for shutting that kind of stuff down won't work. He's more of a living breathing creature that managed to find its way into his mind. Unless he has a proton pack, I don't think the Chairman has anything to fight what's basically an insane ghost."

"So we know for a fact it's a trap, and we know for a fact who we're facing is insane, and we also know for a fact that we can't do anything to defend ourselves from him, right?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much the situation we've got going on," Church admitted.

Wash let out a sigh and looked at the ground pensively.

"Guess I've been against worse odds," Washington grunted thoughtfully, then took his battle rifle off his back and aimed it down the hallway. "I don't suppose that we can shoot this thing since it's a living being."

"Not without shooting the Director. As much as we'd all like that, I don't think the Chairman would. Plus, I'm not even sure if that would kill Discord. It might just force him out of the body and piss him off. Besides, we're not supposed to kill Discord."

"Great, so we have a man trying to kill us, and an AI like thing trying to kill us, and he's crafty as hell, has copies of Agent Texas to use against us, and we're not allowed to kill either of them. This hole we're in keeps getting deeper, doesn't it?"

"You know, I was curious about that..." Simmons murmured. "We haven't really put much thought into questioning why Discord is trying to kill us. He's insane, but he was never really violent."

"And why doesn't he just meet us face to face?" Tucker added.

"Maybe he just got tired of us being a thorn in his side," Sarge suggested with a small chuckle. "He can't kill us, and we keep coming after him. He's in the same situation we are. He can't get rid of us by beating us up or messing with us, so he's trying to kill us."

"Or maybe their minds are conflicting..." Carolina said quietly. "This Discord guy isn't a true AI. He's like a spirit possessing him, and the Director's mind is fighting for control. I can't imagine two kinds of crazy mixing together would be good, so now Discord's getting the Director's trait of doing anything to get the job done, no matter the consequences."

"If that's the case, we better go in and try to do this before Discord gets full control," Church said, then floated into the hallway.

Carolina nodded at Wash and the others, then began to walk into the hallway after Church. The others followed without hesitation. Soon they were navigating their way through the halls and quickly found their way to the armory. Carolina was the first to enter the room filled with armor, weapons and equipment and began to scour the area, looking for any signs of the Director, Discord, or any traps. Once she was satisfied the room was all clear, she called in the others.

"Everyone grab as much ammo as you can carry. If he has any more Tex copies guarding him, we're going to need a lot of firepower," Carolina said clearly and concisely, then lowered her voice and looked towards the way they came in. "And just in case we have any other surprises."

The others quietly began to spread out, looking for ammunition. Carolina, during her initial sweep of the area, grabbed a few weapons and laid them out on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Church asked curiously, appearing next to her.

"Trying to decide what I should go with. I can either keep with the magnum, grab some plasma rifles or use a hammer. Problem is, they're all really... situational," she said, looking at the weapons laying in front of her. There was ammunition for her magnum, but next to it there was two plasma rifles and a gravity hammer. "You guys seem to have all the bases covered in terms of range, but I'm worried about the numbers we might be facing. We don't how many, if any, Tex drones he has left. And they might not be the only people we have to fight..."

"Really think the UNSC are going to do anything?"

"No, but it doesn't hurt to be safe. And I'm not sure if just a magnum and grappling hook will keep me that way. That's why I'm debating the hammer or the plasma rifles. The pistol can help in more situations, but the other weapons can do more damage..."

"If you don't use the hammer, I could probably help you try to use one of the armor abilities in here," Church grunted. "Maybe we can try camo, or that speed thing you have."

"Think you can handle me using them?"

"I'll try."

"Thanks," Carolina said, falling silent as she debated which weapon to take.

Author's Note

Well, we're in the final stretch of this arc, and I don't think it's really going to come as a shock that Carolina will be going back in. I'm kind of torn, however, on what race she will be. Lopez is handy, so he's obviously an EP. Donut is kinda a fairy, so he's a Pegasus. Doc is one of the "smarter" ones, so he becomes a Unicorn. Sister, since she to knows how to fly, and to keep with her brother, becomes a Pegasus.

That just leaves Washington and Carolina. For Wash, I felt he could be either Unicorn (because of his EMP and his connection to Epsilon who is also a unicorn), or an EP (since he got better at fighting, albeit not as good as Tex or Carolina). As for Carolina, I felt she could be any of the three:
An EP because she's a martial arts expert.
A unicorn because of her ability to master any tech, be it human or alien. Also because of irony of what she did in the unit.
Or a Pegasus because of her speed.

And I'm sure you guys also remember that the guys and gals get abilities depending on their weapon. As such, I'm letting you guys vote on the weapon she picks up for this mission, as well as what race she is.
Gravity Hammer: Earth Pony. If this is picked, Washington will be a Unicorn.
Dual Plasma Rifles + Camo: Unicorn. If this gets picked, Washington will be an Earth Pony.
Sticks with the pistol, grappling hook and Speed Enhancement: Pegasus. And if this gets voted in, the next chapter will be a vote whether or not we want Uni-Wash or EP-Wash.

Chapter 71 - "Premature Advances"

With a sigh, Carolina grabbed the ammo for her magnum and loaded in a fresh magazine, deciding to stick to what she was most comfortable with. She felt it would be more helpful in case she had to take anybody out from a range, feeling that a shotgun and an ancient alien sword would be good enough for close quarters and her with a hammer would just put her in the way, and the plasma rifles could overheat very quickly, leaving her unable to defend herself in a worst case scenario. On the table there was a small chip, and she examined it quietly.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" she asked, picking up the chip. "The speed boost drains power faster than any other equipment in the armory..."

"I'm not sure, but hopefully we won't have to find out, huh?" Church chuckled.

"Hopefully," she murmured, sliding the chip into her armor. The armor locked up for a split second, but then went back to normal and she let out a deep breath. "Guess we should round up the others."

"Are you okay?" Church inquired as Carolina stood up.

"I'm fine. Just been thinking a lot lately, you know?" she sighed. "I'm thinking about all the things that I could have done differently up until this point."

"Like what?"

"Like maybe I should have kept Sigma when Maine got shot in the throat..." Carolina said, loading a bullet into the chamber of her gun. "If I had just waited for Maine to get his own fragment, York, North and the others would still be here. All the fragments were specifically assigned to Freelancers for a reason. Theta was given to North because he's caring. Delta was given to York to help him do what he did best. The Director thought I could handle Sigma, and I was fine."

"Yeah, but I was given to Wash, and if you remember, that didn't go to well," Church grunted. Carolina remained silent. "For once, we may need you to be the pyscho we thought you were when we met you."

"Gee, thanks," she growled.

"You know what I mean. The last thing we need is for you to be hesitant and down. Don't doubt yourself, Carolina. Maine was sort of an insane powerhouse before Sigma got to him. He wanted power more than the Director wanted Allison. If anything, maybe giving Sigma away kept you alive. You could have ended up working with Maine. Don't look at the 'what could have gone better' situations. You have to look at what you've done well. Otherwise you'll end up killing yourself on the inside."

"I guess."

Church sighed as Carolina began walking towards the others. Shaking his head, he vanished, going back into her armor, deciding he would try to make sense of the armor ability he may need to use.

"Alright, boys. This is it. All or nothing," Carolina said to the Reds and Blues that were standing in a semicircle around her. "The Director is here and we have to find him, then apprehend him. Keep your weapons ready, but only fire when I give you the go ahead. We're not sure if we have anybody to deal with, but if we do, we have to be prepared for a fight."

"Hopefully it doesn't come to that," came a voice from the other end of the room.

Everyone turned around with their weapons prepped, including Caboose and Doc, only to see the man that stood next to the Chairman from their prior encounter clutching his own weapon tightly. Carolina couldn't help but feel a small sense of pride for these rejects. When it came down to it, they were soldiers when they needed to be. She was now hoping they'd get to see her surprise them at some point.

"Keep your weapons down," the man growled as he walked towards them, other soldiers following closely behind. "Don't want any bloodshed."

"Where's the Chairman?" Carolina asked, stepping in front the others, signalling them to lower their weapons.

"He's still waiting outside. He wants me to see the Director before he comes in," he explained. "He is here, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is. We were just getting ready for the worst."

"Great minds think alike, I suppose. I hope you don't mind if we stick around with you," he said slowly and calculatingly, tapping a small comm device on his hip. "We need to radio for the Chairman when we find him. He wants to be there for when we bring him in. Unless... you have a problem with that?"

Carolina thought for a moment, then nodded stiffly at him. She didn't like the tone of voice he used, but they didn't have much choice in the matter. If she said no, they would either grow suspicious, or the men would shoot them. Even if they managed to take out the Lieutenant and the ones surrounding them, they'd still have to try to fight off a larger group that was waiting outside. Turning around, she pointed towards a nearby hallway and Washington began to lead them towards the room where he originally found the Director. Once they reached the room, Washington nodded at Simmons and he walked up to the door to try and open in.

"He's in there?" the Lieutenant asked, not stepping away from his ranks that were blocking the way out.

"The door is locked, so we can only assume he is," Simmons grunted, fiddling with the door's keypad.

"Don't worry about it being locked. I'll just call in the Chairman and we'll cut the door—" he started, but was cut short by the sound of gunfire and a man yelling orders coming through the handheld radio that was strapped to his hip. In less than an instant, the Lieutenant snatched the device off of his hip and brought it to his mouth, confusion and doubt setting in. "What's wrong?"

"We're under attack!" came the voice from the other side. "God damn it, where are they coming from?"

"Who is attacking you?" he growled. "More Freelancer drones?"

"No, it's—"

The voice was cut short when the man began to yell in pain, and the device dropped to the ground. After a few more seconds of gunfire, the radio crackled and turned into white noise. The Lieutenant's eyes were glued to the group the entire time he was listening in, and his eyes went from hard and cautious to icy and angry.

"This isn't good," Grif murmured quietly.

"You tricked us! The Director did lay a trap," the Lieutenant said as he dropped his walkie-talkie, lifting his rifle to his eyes in the span of a half-second. "And you were working with him the whole time."

"What? No, we aren't!" Simmons said quickly as the men around them followed their leader's action. "We're on your side, trust us!"

"I told the Chairman we should have just let you fight amongst yourselves and finished off the stragglers," he hissed, fingers tightening.

From behind them, a single shot erupted and one of the men standing next to the Lieutenant fell to the ground, yelling in pain as he clutched onto his stomach. Turning around, the Lieutenant and his men saw an alien wearing purple armor standing there, weapon smoking.

"What the fu--" he started, and several aliens began uncloaking, matching the UNSC's numbers. "And here I thought we were almost at peace with you disgusting monsters."

"They aren't monsters," Tucker growled. "They're here because they want to help me."

"So you are working with them!" the Lieutenant snapped, weapon focusing on Tucker. "Kill them!"

As the Lieutenant pulled the trigger, Carolina activated her speed boost and dashed in front of Tucker, causing her to get shot once in the arm. She let out a pained cry, but that didn't stop her from snapping towards him and kicking the weapon out of his hand. The Lieutenant swore and reached for his pistol, but Carolina quickly kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. The men in the room began firing their weapons at the aliens who dove for cover while the Lieutenant scrambled to get back to his feet.

"Fall back!" Carolina yelled through grinding teeth, clutching her arm as she ran into the hallway.

The boys didn't need to be told twice, and in an instant they began peddling down the hallway, further into the facility as Carolina kept behind them, glancing back every now and again to make sure they weren't being followed.

Author's Note

Earth Pony and Pegasus Carolina were pretty much tied in the votes, but I decided that Pegasus would fit her since it suits her personality more. While she is strong and hardworking, two traits that Earth Ponies get more, she is way more about speed, determination, competitiveness and she has a relatively short fuse, which we often see in Pegasus.

Also that way it fills the Freelancers as having all three races:
EP Tex, Washiscorn and Pegalina.

And it also makes the "family tree" trio have each race:
Again, EP Tex, Epsicorn and Pegalina.

Chapter 72 - "Blood for Blood"

The group quickly found their way to a small room deep inside the storage facility. Large, metal boxes sporadically placed around the room. Wash grabbed the Reds and began to scour the room, checking to see if there was anything they could use in the boxes, but for the most part it was mostly rations. Carolina, on the other hand, put her back against the wall next to the doorway and slid down, grabbing her arm. She grunted as released some latches on her armor. She slowly took her helmet off, then did the same with the top part of her armor.

"Shit," she grumbled, feeling nothing but pain in her arm. She then looked up to see Caboose, Tucker, Sister and Doc looking at her. "What?"

"You are very pretty," Caboose said happily.

"Thanks, Caboose," Carolina grunted, rolling her eyes slightly, her looks being the furthest of her concerns. Looking to Doc, she clenched her bad fist. "Think you can do anything about this?"

"Uh, hang on," Doc said, glancing back at the Reds. "You guys find any medkits around?"

"No, it's mostly just cafeteria stuff," Simmons said. "You know, nonperishable food, metal utensils, industrial sized napkins." After a few moments in the back, Simmons spoke up again. "Wait, found some medical supplies here. Got bandages, rubbing alcohol and some pain relievers."

"Great. Bring me it."

"Hey, I have dibs on the food!" Grif said quickly.

"All I need is knife, the rubbing alcohol, the bandages and the pain relievers."

"Got it," Simmons said with a nod, then quickly gathered what Doc needed.

"No pills," Carolina said as Doc reached for that first.

"Well, uh, what I'm about to do is going to hurt a lot..."

"I can deal with it," she hissed.

"Alright, alright," Doc murmured defensively. Grabbing the alcohol, he held out his free hand to her. "Give me your arm."

"Uh, are we really trusting Doc to do medical stuff?" Grif asked as Carolina gave the medic her arm.

"Hey, I've gotten a lot better since the canyon. I'm the one who saved Donut's life, remember?"

"Right, how could I forget?" Grif murmured sarcastically.

"Alright, I'm going to need you to count to three," Doc said as he took the top off of the rubbing alcohol.

"Okay. One... Two..." Carolina took a deep breath. "Thr—"

The instant the rubbing alcohol touched her wound, she immediately regretted her decision to not take the pain killers. She let out a small, but pain-fillled yelp. She tried to pull away instinctively, but Sarge and Wash stepped forward and held her in place. As they did that, Doc grabbed the knife and looked at her. Gritting her teeth, Carolina nodded at him. He then slowly put the blade into her arm, much to her discontent. Luckily, the process was over relatively quick, as Doc hastily popped the bullet out of her arm. Carolina's hands clenched up and she was nearly ready to punch something.

Suddenly, noise came from the hallway and the group quickly looked at each other.

"Caboose, bring her into cover," Wash whispered quickly, raising his weapon.

"Okay!" Caboose said. He quickly bent forward and helped Carolina off the ground with one arm, then grabbed her helmet and armor with the other and began to walk towards the other end of the room.

Luckily whoever was in the hallway seemed to be taking their time, so Wash and the Reds and Blues fanned out, hiding behind most of the boxes for cover. Eventually, the stranger made his way into the room, followed by the sound of several other footsteps walking towards him. Washington made a signal to Tucker, who was positioned closest to the door with his sword at the ready. Tucker nodded and glanced out.

"Junior!" Tucker exclaimed with a sigh of relief, sprinting towards his crossbred son. "[What are you doing here?]"

"[I decided that, since you need help, I wanted to be there to help you along,]" Junior said. "[You're getting slow with your old age.]"

"[Old age? I'm only—]" Tucker stopped. "[Wait, why did you risk coming out here? Aren't you pretty much the one in charge?]"

"[While I was gone I put Maximillion in charge,]" Junior said, looking around the room. "[Where are your friends?]"

"[Oh, right,]" Tucker grunted, looking back. "It's okay, guys. It's just Junior."

"Did they manage to kill the soldiers?" Washington asked, slowly coming out of his cover.

"[No, most managed to get away unharmed,]" Junior replied to Tucker, knowing they could not understand him. "[Our intention wasn't to kill them all, merely to chase them away.]"

"Well, that's just great," Washington grunted irately after Tucker relayed the information. "So now the Lieutenant will be telling the Chairman about this, and they'll come in here full force for a sweep of the facilities."

Just then, another alien came into the room, followed by several others, all armed to the teeth with alien weapons.

"Looks like they came prepared for more than just a rescue operation..." Sarge noted, slowly prepping his shotgun.

"Relax, they knew were in hot shit. They wouldn't have managed to scare them away if they didn't have any weapons. It's not like they want to kill—"

"[Him!]" one of the aliens snarled.

"That doesn't sound good," Washington said as a large purple alien began walking towards him.

"[William, what is wrong with you?]" Junior asked, grabbing William's shoulder.

"[He was the one who killed our bretheren! But your father kept it a secret from us, up until he needed us,]" William then lifted his carbine and aimed it. The aliens behind it did the same, giving the others a sense of déjà-vu from just a few minutes ago. "[Any one who knowingly deceives clearly can not be trusted. And if we can't trust your so-called 'father', then it is clear to us that there can be no real peace with humans.]"

"[Don't do this,]" Junior warned him quietly, stepping in front of William. "[Peace can be achieved, and justice can still be had. We just need to talk about it.]"

"[I've always thought that you have too much human in your blood,]" William hissed, taking a precautionary step backwards. "[You may speak our language, you may look like us, and you may act like us... but you do not think like one of us. We are a proud race, and mass murder demands an eye for an eye. Blood for blood. I am reluctant to kill our kind, even if you are a half-bred, but you are still important to us. But unless you step out of the way, you will be dealt with alongside the humans.]"

"What are they talking about?" Simmons whispered to Tucker.

"They want to kill us all because Washington let the Meta kill a group of their friends," Tucker explained as if it was no big deal, then glanced to Washington. "Nice going on that, by the way."

"How is this all my fault?" Washington asked sourly.

"[See? These humans do not respect out kind,]" William growled, waving a claw at Tucker and Simmons. "[Instead of reasoning with us, they talk amongst themselves. They do not care about us!]"

"[That's not true. Tucker cares about us and our cause, as do his friends.]"

"[Yet his friend is the one that slaughtered our kind!]"

"[They were working against us!]

"[From what Wash said, they were working with the guys who were trying to kill us back there,]" Tucker added.

"[Perhaps I was wrong, then,]" William said quietly, lowering his weapon slightly.

"[No hard feelings. Everyone makes mistakes.]"

"[I am glad you feel that way...]" William said with a nod. "[Because if our kind was working with those outside, they must have been working towards peace with them all along...]"

"Oh shit..." Tucker said, knowing what was coming.

"[Which makes you the ones who are working against peace, meaning you truly are our enemies]" William snapped as he pushed Junior to the ground and raised his weapon. "Attack!"

Chapter 73 - "Outcasted"

Tucker and Wash just managed to get back into cover as the aliens began firing at them.

"So much for them being on our side," Grif yelled sarcastically over the sound of the gunfire. "If this is how they treat their friends, I'd hate to be against them."

"Shut up and take them out," Washington said, popping out of cover to shoot one of the dozen aliens in the face.

"Heh, my pleasure!" Sarge whooped, popping out from behind a crate near the door, nailing an alien in the stomach with some shotgun shells. Three of the aliens turned and looked at him. "Uh-oh."

"[William, ceasefire. Nobody else has to die,]" Junior said from the ground, unarmed.

"[They've already killed our friends, and we're already down more. Their fate has been sealed,]" William said simply. "[Advance down the crates, keep in cover.]"

Unfortunately for the aliens, the Reds and Blues were too spread out to be dealt with accordingly. Everytime one nearly got the drop on one of them, another sprouted up from behind another crate and shot them before they could do any damage. Soon enough, only William and Junior stood at the entrance. With a snarl of frustration, William grabbed Junior by the neck and held him in front of him as a meat shield.

"[Lay down your weapons or I kill our half-blood leader,]" William growled, holding his weapon up to Junior's jaw.

"[Then what will you do?]" Junior asked curiously. "[If you kill me, they'll gun you down. Even if you manage to get out, the men outside will kill you the instant they see you. You have no leverage, and they will not put themselves to death for my life.]"

William remained silent and snarled again, pushing the barrel of his carbine into the bottom part of Junior's maw.

"[If I kill you, at least I would have done that much,]" he grunted, tightening his finger on the trigger.

Before William could pop a shot off, however, Junior elbowed William in the chest, making him drop his weapon. As William recoiled and attempted to grab his stomach, Junior kicked his weapon out of reach.

"[I should have known it would end like this,]" William hissed. "[As soon as you and your idiotic father came in—]"

William choked as Junior grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground.

"[What are you—"]" William began, but was cut short when Junior twisted sharply, breaking his neck in an instant.

"[Don't talk about my dad that way,]" Junior growled, dropping William to the ground.

"[That was badass,]" Tucker said happily, jogging quickly to Junior's side as Junior stared at William while the others did the same.

"[I learned it from the best...]" Junior muttered humorlessly, looking at the aliens surrounding him.

"[Sorry about your friends...]" Tucker added quietly.

"[These ones were not my friends. I had my suspicions that William would bring the aliens that had his same beliefs and do something like this. The aliens that truly stood for peace... The ones that truly believe humans can be coexisted with... They're still at the base. If I fall, Maximillion will remain in charge. Having aliens that doubt peace would spread doubt throughout the ranks. This was more of a way of weeding them out.]"

"[Do the others know?]"

"[I don't know. Probably.]" Junior sighed deeply.

"[Well... what happens now?]"

Junior thought for a moment as he looked at the others. He then turned around and began to walk down the hallway. "[Tell your friends that I'll scout ahead and try to help you out of here. If they are waiting outside, I will do my best to cause a distraction.]"

"[Wait, what?]" Tucker inquired.

"[I let this happen. I was hoping I could stop and convince them not to do anything rash, but they ran in ahead. While alien-human relations may not be completely eradicated since it was just a small group, this will certainly push us back quite a few years. And after this, I'm sure your kind will think that I was in charge and influenced them to attack.]"

"[But you didn't do shit,]" Tucker countered.

"[I know that. You know that. But they don't, and I doubt they'd believe me. Besides, since the operation will continue with or without me, the least I can do is help you make it out of here alive.]"

"[Why don't you come with us, then? If the aliens will still try for peace without you, why don't you tag along with us? You know, start a new life.]"

"[I barely fit in with most aliens...]" Junior grunted slowly, looking to Carolina who was now fully bandaged.

"[Hey, being an outcast is pretty much a prerequisite to hang with us,]" Tucker said, waving his hand to the other side of the room.

Tucker and Junior watched as Washington helped Carolina up. She tried grabbing her grappling gun with her hand, but flexing even in the slightest ways sent pain shooting through her arm and she began to stumble back, only to be caught by Caboose and Grif. She offered them a small, grateful nod, then got back to her feet on her own. She grabbed the grappling gun once again, this time ready for the pain, and clenched her fist around the handle. She cringed, but this time she was prepared for it and began to lift it, aiming it around the room.

"[I did always feel at home when I was with you,]" Junior added as they saw her walk forward, trying her best to block out the pain. "[Still, even if I join you, how will you all make it out of here?]"

"[We kind of have an escape strategy,]" Tucker said, looking at the Epsilon unit which Washington still had clipped to his back.

"[A secret exit?]"

"[It's more of a secret entrance. And not the kind that guys try to sweet-talk ladies into letting them use every once and a while.]"

Tucker and Junior stared right at each other, knowing what they both wanted to say. Before they could, Carolina stepped next to him and put her good hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Tucker asked.

"Not too great," she admitted. Looking to the only living alien in the room, she coughed. "So this is your... son?"

"Yeah, he is..."

Tucker had expected her to say something about it, but she only held out her good hand to Junior. Junior looked to Tucker, who tilted his head back to her. Junior slowly grabbed her hand and shook it firmly.

"Tell him it's nice to meet him. Then tell him thanks for saving us back there." Turning around, Carolina walked up to the entrance to the hallway, stepping over the bodies as she made her way here. "Shame about them, though. But we should probably find Discord and throw him in the unit soon. We don't have much time before the UNSC come in to kill you all..."

"[What's she saying?]" Junior asked as the Reds and Blues started walking towards the door.

"[She says it's nice to meet you and thanked you for sticking up for us. She also said that we should probably leave soon unless we want to be killed, and that she's sorry about your friends.]"

"[What's there to be sorry about? I think you're all fine,]" Junior chuckled, striding past Tucker. On his way to Carolina, he stopped by William and grabbed his carbine. After making sure it was loaded, he made his way to Carolina, nodded at her, then lifted the carbine and started down the hallway.

Tucker smiled as Carolina looked back at him, and he joined Junior at the front of the group.

"Hey, you already took one bullet for me. If I don't stand at the front, your dumb ass might be killed," Tucker said sarcastically.

"Careful what you say or I'll see to it that I bring you idiots down with me," Carolina retorted, grabbing her magnum with her good arm as she looked back to the others. "Let's find Discord and get the hell out of here before we have more capable guns pointing down our throats."

Chapter 74 - "Wish Fulfilled"

Knowing that the UNSC were most likely not far off from coming after them, the group quickly rushed to the room where the Director was, only to find that the door was already open. Carolina looked through the doorway to see the Director staring at a freeze-frame of Allison on the screen with several other screens along the bottom showing areas of the facility. Cautiously, she nodded at the others and began to walk into the room as silently as she could. Washington followed after her, and the Reds and Blues weren't too far behind him. Carolina motioned at them to spread out in the room, and they obliged. Once they were all in position, Carolina began to speak, but lost her train of thought when the door behind them slammed shut and locked.

"It's about time you joined me," the Director — Discord — chuckled, spinning his chair around, the others seeing a light yellow glow from behind the Director's glasses. "I was worried that you would have been stopped by the soldiers or those strange aliens..."

"Enough games, Discord," Church growled, appearing in front of him. "You've hurt innocent people, and you're going back to where you belong."

"Innocent people? No, the only people who have been hurt were people that you killed. If any crimes were committed here, it was by all of you and you alone."

"You made us do that!" Simmons countered defensively.

"I did not make you do a single thing. You all could have ran from the soldiers in the canyon. You all could have talked things through with the aliens. It is not my fault life turns volatile when you're together. I'm surprised you're not shooting me right now."

"Because we weren't sent after you to kill you."

"Oh, so imprisonment must be what's in store for me. I'm going to tell you, I've been down that road, and it is not one I want to return to." Looking back, Discord saw men charging down the hallway on one of the lower displays, then tutted. "Speaking of being sent after me, it seems that they're coming after you right now."

"They're not just coming after us, they're coming after you too. You may think you've done nothing wrong, that we're the bad guys here. They don't see it that way. They see you as a puppet master."

"Not too far off from the mark then, hm?" he chuckled.

Just then, the soldiers arrived at the door and the lower corner began to turn bright orange.

"Uh, guys? They're cutting the door open," Doc said, stepping away from the door.

"Oh boy, I wonder what they're going to do to us when they get in here?"

"This isn't a joke, Discord. You might be powerful, but even you won't be able to stop them from killing you," Church snapped angrily. "They've been after the Director for years now, and now that they finally have him cornered, I don't think you can expect to get away. One wrong move and they'll gun you down. Even you can't survive being riddled with bullets."

"I suppose you may be right..." Discord sighed lightly. Looking at the Reds and Blues, he sighed a second time. "Oh well, I was getting bored of this anyways. I'll come with you, but I make no guarantees that I won't try to escape from whatever prison Celestia puts me in."

"Who the hell is Celestia?" Washington asked. "Another fragment kinda thing like this Discord guy?"

"You mean... he doesn't know?" Discord inquired curiously, looking at the gray soldier through the Director's eyes. He then smiled widely and let out a single loud laugh. "Oh, this is going to be rich. Give me the Epsilon unit."

Carolina reluctantly held out the Epsilon unit, and a multicolored mist seeped out of the Director's mouth and into the unit, and the sound of Discord chuckling could be heard until it had all disappeared inside. Once it had, the Director gasped deeply, as if he had been punched in the gut. Putting his hand on his head, he pushed his glasses back up over his eyes and shook his head lightly. Looking upm he saw that he was surrounded by several soldiers. It was only when his eyes settled on Carolina that he tensed up.

"Hello, Director," Carolina said softly, stepping towards him.

"Hello, Carolina," he replied quietly, wondering if she was real. Reaching out to her slowly, she grabbed his hand and squeezed lightly. "What are you all doing here?"

"You don't remember anything?"

"The last thing I remember was Agent Washington came in and asked me for help with the Epsilon unit... then... nothing..." he replied slowly. Looking behind them, he now noticed that the metal door was being cut open. "What's happening?"

"Listen, we don't have much time to explain. The UNSC hired us to track you down to bring you into custody, and after a bunch of misunderstandings, they want to take us down with you. There's probably at least two dozen men in that hall, and we don't think we have much of a chance of defeating them."

"I see..." the Director said. "I suppose the Chairman is with them, correct?"

"Yes."

"I suppose that means we don't have much time left," the Director said, looking to Carolina. "Use the unit on yourselves."

"Wait, you want us to go into the unit?" Washington asked. "Couldn't that be dangerous?"

"Would you rather wait in this room to be slaughtered?" the Director asked coldly, then glanced to the Reds and Blues. "I am not in the habit of pretending to know what is unknown to me. What I do know is that the Epsilon Unit... it has changed. Humans have the ability to go in it, and they manage to sustain themselves inside even when the battery has shut down. That leads me to believe that somehow it turned into some sort of teleportation device. How it happened, is the part I do not know. But we do not have time to worry about how or why. We only have time to use it to our advantage." The Director looked at the door, which was now nearly cut open and shook his head at Washington who began to talk. "We don't have time to argue. Either you go in, or you can wait here to die."

"I don't have to be told twice," Simmons said quickly. Grabbing the device from her hands, Simmons placed the tip of it on his armor. He was enveloped by a blue-gold aura, then vanished an instant later.

Lopez began to voice concern, but was silenced when Sarge touched him with the unit. Then he placed it on himself and dissappeared along with him. After that, Grif grabbed the unit and made Sister go in first, then did it to himself. Donut then happily rushed ahead, wanting to take part in whatever his team was doing, followed by a semi-reluctant Doc. Washington stood back, still trying to make sense of it as Tucker made Junior go in, then followed him.

"You don't have to be scared, Agent Washington!" Caboose said, seeing from Washington's body language that he was more cautious than he has ever been. "Think of it like a rollercoaster!"

"I don't know..." Washington grunted. "I think I might fare better against—"

Before he could finish his thought, Caboose poked him with the unit.

"For fu—" Washington began, but went into the unit before he could finish.

Caboose then stared at Carolina and Church, both of whom were looking at the Director.

"Go on. They'll be with you shortly," the Director said quietly.

"Okay!" Caboose said with a happy shrug, then inserted himself into the unit.

The unit fell to the ground lightly and the Director stared at it for a few moments. With a sigh, he walked up to it and picked it up of the floor. Inspecting it, he looked to the door, which was just a few seconds from opening, then glanced to Carolina.

"You should best be following their lead," the Director said quietly, holding the unit out to them.

"I'm not going without you," Carolina growled softly, grabbing his arm.

"You have your mother's attitude," the Director smiled sadly. He looked from the unit to Carolina. He then stared at the screen that showed Allison. "But I need to stay. There's one last thing I have to do. If my hypothesis is correct, you will all be safe."

"Please, come with us. You can have a second chance. People in our position don't normally get another one of those."

"Carolina, don't you understand? Epsilon... Texas... you. You all are my second chance. Please make better decisions than I have... no. Please be better than I have."

Carolina opened her mouth to argue while reaching for the unit, wanting to take it away from him and convince him otherwise. As she reached for it, however, the Director placed the tip of the unit on Carolina's back and she was gone in a flash of blinding light. The Director grunted and fell back instinctively to avoid the flash and the unit fell to the ground along with him. Looking up to the door through bleary eyes, he saw that the men outside were nearly done cutting the door open. With a quick glance back to his table, he began limping towards it to grab the pistol off of it. Grabbing it off the table, the Director turned around and felt like he was forgetting something. Quickly looking to the ground, he saw the unit sitting close to the door. As he began to go towards it, the door slammed downwards and several men, including the Lieutenant, rifles stormed in, weapons raised. From behind them, the Chairman walked in, arms folded behind his back.

"Hello, Director," the Chairman said. "Strange, I was told there were more of you in here."

"You are sadly mistaken. Nothing in here but a lonely old man," the Director murmured, eyes focused on the unit.

Looking at where the Director was looking, the Lieutenant saw the Epsilon unit sitting on the ground.

"What's this?" he asked, picking it up off the ground.

"Don't touch that!" The Director started to walk towards them.

"And who's going to stop me from doing it?" the Lieutenant inquired.

The Director said nothing, he only knew that he didn't want anybody else following the others into the unit. He lifted the pistol and begun to aim it at the Lieutenant

"You cannot kill us all, Director," the Chairman said gruffly, motioning towards the men surrounding him. "Best come with us peacefully and serve the rest of your life in prison. You fire one bullet from that thing, and you will be taken out in an instant."

"One bullet is hopefully all I'll need," the Director murmured. With as much focus as he could muster, he fired the gun at the man. Counting on the fact that he didn't know how to aim it properly, the bullet missed the man. But it hit his target, and the Epsilon unit shattered completely as the bullet tore through it.

"Kill him!" the Lieutenant yelled, thinking he meant to shoot him.

Instantly the men at the front began to fire. The Director fell to his knees as half a dozen bullets instantly shot through his body in several places. Much to his dismay, missing any vital organs. Breathing deeply, the Director could only focus on the unit that laid broken in pieces. The Lieutenant walked over to him and reached for the gun that the Director used to shoot the unit. Grabbing it, the Lieutenant checked the magazine, then put the pistol to the Director's forehead.

"May... I have... a few last words?" the Director asked through ragged breaths.

The Lieutenant glanced back at the Chairman. Thinking for a moment, the Chairman nodded, and the Lieutenant said, lowering his weapon slightly, thinking there was nothing the Director could do now.

"F.I.L.S.S...." the Director wheezed. Taking a deep breath, he gathered himself as best he could, knowing his following sentence would have to be spolken quickly.

"Yes, sir?" she inquired.

"Delete all our files and shut down all power to the station! Life support systems, door systems, the teleportation modules, yourself, everything!" the Director said quickly and loudly.

"Sir?" the robotic voice asked.

"What?" the Chairman and Lieutenant snapped together as the Lieutenant brought the pistol back up to the Director's head. Sadly for him, his hesitation caused him to be late on the draw.

"Do it!" the Director demanded, and watched as a secondary door to the room shut, along with all the lights in the room.

"The bastard locked us in!" the man with the torch yelled.

"We'll just burn our way through the door," another one said.

"Our torch is on the other side!"

"Tell your robotic bitch to open the door!" the Lieutenant snapped, punching him in the side of the head.

"Now why would I... do that?" The Director asked, now trembling from pain and blood loss. "I'm going to die... either way. Might as well... take you out with me and make sure none... of what has transpired here... die with me."

The Lieutenant held his gun up to the Director's head, then looked back at the Chairman, remembering his rank.

"Well played, Director," the Chairman said with a dark chuckle, clapping lightly. Nodding at the Lieutenant, he let out a resigned sigh. "Well played indeed."

"You son of a bitch!" the Lieutenant growled, finger now on the trigger.

I'll be with you soon, Allison... the Director thought as he took one, final breath.

The Lieutenant then pulled the trigger and the Director fell to the ground. For that split second between the man pulling the trigger and him dying, he felt something he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

At peace.

Chapter 75 - "Washed Up"

The group screamed as they barreled through the at hundreds of miles per hour. Of course, most of them recognized the castle that they were falling towards. Carolina, on one hand, was looking up at the tear in the sky. Washington, Doc, Donut, Junior and Sister, on the other hand, yelled out of fear, while Lopez embraced the thought of dying once again so he didn't have to deal with them all. Sadly, Lopez expected something to save him, and their fall soon slowed to what would be a walking speed, except only vertical, as they were surrounded by a gold shroud. Carolina glanced up as it happened and saw the crack in the sky begin to crumble and disappear, and she looked away from it, eyes shut firmly.

As soon they were within talking distance of the ornate building, one of the windows opened up and the group slowly glided through it. The newcomers gawked at the room they were now in, paying no heed to the being sitting in front of the throne, as well as the one in front of it surrounded by several other beings. When Washington finished with admiring the building, he looked towards the throne, only to fall to the ground with a hard grunt.

"Thanks for dropping in," Discord chuckled humorously. Then sighed as a nearby guard pointed a spear at him. "Oh, drop it. I've admitted defeat."

"Why do I not believe that?" Church asked, fragment form appearing in front of him as the others began to get up.

"Probably because, like you did to me, I'm lying," he said as if it was an old joke, then his smile deepened as the others were now on their feet, looking at the ground.

"Shining Armor, may you escort Discord to Luna's room?" Celestia asked from the throne.

"Yes, your highness," Shining Armor said, bowing to her.

"Aw, can't I stay and watch the others' little revelations of where they are?" Discord inquired playfully as he was pushed along.

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Shining Armor said with a scowl, knowing how he should treat his enemies. Of course, he also knew how to treat old friends, and offered Church a smile and a nod. "Hey, Church."

"You... you know I'm Church?" he asked.

"Yeah, Twi filled me in while you were gone. Have to say, I'm not too surprised. You guys were way too different to have been from Equestria. Really sorry to cut this short, but, y'know, Discord." Shining Armor said as he tilted his head to the strange, demented creature waiting by the doors. "Maybe we can catch-up while I'm still in town."

"Hopefully," Church grunted.

"Don't forget, you guys still need to help me finish that bachelor party!"

"Bachelor party?" Washington asked as he twisted his helmet back into it's normal position. "What kind of stuff were you... guys... up to... in here..." he finished slowly as he noticed a large horse sitting on a throne. He was so confused at the fact that there was a large horse sitting on the throne, that he felt he had to mention it. "What's with the large horse on the throne?" he questioned, finding his words to be both apt and reasonable, as he was not used to such a sight. The sight being, of course, that there was a large horse sitting on a throne.

"My name is Princess Celestia," she said, bowing her head lightly. "And you might be...?"

"Agent Washington..." he grunted. Looking at the Reds and Blues he tilted his head. "Is that really a—"

"Yes, that's a horse on a throne," Sarge grunted. "I know, weirded me out when I first saw the talking horses in this place too."

"Wait, there's more talking horses?" Donut asked happily. "What else is there?"

"Magic!" Caboose said, even more happily than Donut.

"Really?" Donut asked, looking towards the throne.

Caboose, however, wasn't saying that there was magic. He had just blurted it out at the sign of Celestia's horn beginning to glow, and the group was surrounded by another gold shroud, this time a strange feeling coursing through their bodies. As the strange shimmer settled, Washington looked around the room to see that the Reds and Blues were gone, and now a bunch of ponies took their places.

"Uh, guys? Where'd you all go?" Washington inquired.

"We're right here, Wash!" Caboose said playfully, running around in circles. "Don't I look awesome?"

"Wait... Caboose... Why are you a horse?" Washington asked. Looking around, he noticed that the other horses were colored just like the Reds and Blues' armor. Using intel gathering, he reasoned that they, too, had been turned into ponies. "Why are you all horses?" Looking down at his, or rather, what used to be his feet, he grew very concerned. He grew even more worried when he saw his reflection on the marble floor and saw that he too was a pony. "Why am I a horse?"

"Actually, you're not a horse, you're a pony," Grif said semi-sarcastically.

"To be more accurate, you're a unicorn," Simmons added.

Wash stared at them blankly. He then looked down at the reflection once more and began to take it in. Dull-gray fur. Short and spiky dirty-blonde mane and tail. He then saw a sizable, pointy horn protruding from the top of his head. Slowly, he reached for it and touched it. As soon as he did, he realized that he could feel with it. Looking back up at the Reds and Blues, his eyes were more confused than anything.

"Why am I a horse?" he repeated.

"We're all horses," Doc murmured curiously, looking at his own reflection. Like he had gathered from looking at the others, he was the same color as his armor was when he was a human. He had short, messy black hair, and, like Washington, he too was a unicorn.

"This is so strange..." he added.

"Aw, why didn't I get a horn?" Donut asked, looking at his reflection. He raised his hoof and slowly patted his head parted pink hair and frowned.

"Look at the bright side, at least you have a pair of wings," Doc chipped.

"I do?" he inquired, looking at his side.

"Well would you look at that!" Donut said happily upon noticing his new limbs. Concentrating really hard, he attempted to open his wings. After a few seconds of trying to do so, his left wing unfurled the slightest bit and he let out a gasp. "Doc, look at this!"

"Wow, that is so cool!" Sister said. Looking down at her reflection. She saw that she, like everyone else, had gray fur. Her hair and mane were also gray. Of course, she was color blind. In reality, her fur was a bright yellow, and her hair was strawberry-brown. She then looked at her side and saw the she, like Donut, had a pair of gray wings. "Hey, I have wings too!"

While Doc, Donut and Sister talked positively about their new state, Washington stood up shakily and looked at his side. He couldn't make sense of what just happened. To him, it seemed like it was some crazy dream that he couldn't wake up from. He was hoping he had just gone crazy from all the stress of his life, seeing it as a more believable alternative. He then jumped to the side when a bald, brown stallion with completely steel-gray eyes was staring at him point plank.

"Jesus! Don't do that!" Washington snapped worriedly as he jumped to the side, falling over.

Looking down, the used-to-be mechanoid Lopez saw that he lacked either wings or horn. With a sigh, Lopez sat down and looked up to Celestia and folded his ears back.

"[Why do the idiots get horns and wings?]" Lopez inquired, then paused, a small realization sinking in. "[Actually, if you have the power to change our shape, why didn't you change my voice? Wouldn't changing that be easier than changing everything else about me?]"

"[Do not underestimate earth ponies. Their strength and fortitude is unmatched by unicorns and pegasi,]" Celestia said with a wink, surprising Lopez that she could not only understand him fully, but also talk in Spanish. "[As for your dialect, I considered what I learned about you from what I've been told from stories involving yourself. I felt that you'd want it to stay that way since they'd be less inclined to talk to you.]"

"[I—]" he started, raising a hoof. Stopping to contemplate it, he placed his hoof on his chin thoughtfully and rubbed it. Nodding at Celestia, he stood back up. "[I think you're the first sentient being that I actually respect.]"

"Thank you," Celestia said with a nod and a smile. Looking down to her left, she watched as Carolina stared at her reflection solidly. She was a cyan pegasus, and her burning red hair was tied up at the back, and bangs were dangling in front of each ear.

Unlike the others, however, she wasn't looking at her new body. She was merely staring aimlessly at the reflection. She was too preoccupied with other thoughts than to bother thinking about her new form. Celestia contemplated questioning her, but she felt that there would be more than enough time for that later.

Tucker glanced to Junior and noticed that he wasn't a pony like the others. In fact, he hadn't changed at all. He opened his mouth to ask, but Celestia spoke before he could get a word out.

"Do not worry about your... friend. I believe if you tell the others he is some sort of dragon, nobody will really question him too much. Don't forget, he isn't the only dragon the ponies of Ponyville have met."

"There's dragons here too?" Donut asked in awe.

"There's a lot more than that, you'll find," she said with a wink. She then looked to Church and nodded. "Give me a moment to write a message to Twilight. I will tell her of your return, and I will tell her to bring the the others," Celestia said, walking down the red carpet. "I'm sure they're going to be more than happy to show you around the castle." As she neared the group, they cleared the way for her, and she was soon out of the room.

"So... we're horses now?" Washington asked.

"Ponies," Caboose said. "There's a really big difference."

"Right," Washington said. Since he couldn't make sense of all that was happening quite yet, he decided to focus on the small stuff before barraging Church and the others with questions. "How the hell do you walk?"

"Uh, you just kind of do it," Tucker chuckled, walking towards him. "See?"

Washington stared at Tucker and nodded slowly. As he attempted to place his hoof down, however, it slipped underneath him and he faceplanted onto the hard marble flooring. With an annoyed grunt, he pulled his head back up and shook the bad feeling away.

"Come on, it's really easy. It's like crawling," Grif said, gently flying towards him. "I mean, even I can do it."

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," Washington growled. "And it isn't like crawling at all. Crawling people are generally on their knees and elbows. This is the equivalent to running on my feet and hands, except without the grip on the fingers and the arms being twisted backwards. Oh, also add the fact that they're a lot stubbier."

"I mean, we learned it pretty fast. You'll probably get the jist of it by the time the girls get here," Simmons added with a pitiful smile.

Washington let out a heavy breath through his nose. He attempted to take a step forward, but this time he had actually managed to place his front left hoof in front of his body. Biting his lip, he lifted his right front hoof and placed it next to his other one. He then let out a sigh of relief and smiled. That is, until he realized that the ground seemed to be getting closer. Glancing back, he saw that, while his front hooves were in place, his back hooves were sliding backwards, and his belly was soon on the ground. He then frowned when his front hooves slipped forward and he was entirely flat.

"I hate this place already."

Chapter 76 - "Meet and Greet"

It took little under an hour for the girls to get to Canterlot, but once they did, they quickly trotted through the streets, ecstatic that all the boys were back. Once they arrived to the actual castle, Luna greeted them at the gates and escorted them to the throne room where the boys, and two other girls, were waiting patiently, resting from their long trip. Once they opened the doors to the room, Sarge, Simmons, Tucker and Caboose promptly went to their respective used-to-be guardians and cheerily embraced them in their own little way. Church, with his head hanging slightly low, smiled as Twilight hugged him and Tex returned the smile.

"I'm glad you're all back safe and sound. I hope you'll tell me all about it later," Twilight said, still beaming.

"Maybe after we've all gotten our bearings again. It didn't take too long, but that last stretch was... emotionally tiring."

"I understand." She nodded firmly. Her grin faltered slightly as she looked at the other ponies in the room. "Speaking of, what are all of your friends' names?"

"Medical Officer Super Private First Class Frank DuFresne," Doc said, instantly walking towards her. Holding out his hoof. "But most people just call me Doc, so you can call me that too."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Doc. My name is Twilight Sparkle," she said, then looked back at her other friends and pointed her hoof at each of them. "You all know Tex, but this is Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy."

"Hi! What's your name?" Pinkie asked, instantly bounding towards the new pink pony in the room.

"I'm Donut," he said with a big smile.

"Ohh, I love Donuts! Especially ones with lots of sprinkles!"

"Well, I'm often told that I'm really sweet. What's your name?"

"I'm Pinkie Pie!" she said, holding out her hoof.

"No way! I was called Pinkie in high school! Plus I love pie!" Donut said with a gasp, shaking her hand quickly. "We should be friends!"

"Oh my gosh, we totally should!"

"Who's this fella here? Kinda reminds me of one of a certain somefragment," Applejack said, eying the brown and bald stallion with a wary eye, noticing his completely steel eyes.

"Heh, don't worry. This is the only piece of hardwiring that I've ever trusted. His name is Lopez," Sarge chirped. "I created him back on Earth. He's my right-hand droid."

"Howdy, Lopez!" Applejack said, holding her hoof out to him. Lopez merely stared at it, then looked back up at her. Applejack lowered her hoof slightly and glanced to Sarge.

"Yeah, but Lopez doesn't seem to understand most things that we do. Sometimes I think he can be pretty stupid."

"[Right. I'm the stupid one,]" Lopez grunted in reply.

"What did he just say?"

"He said he's happy to meet you," Donut said with a smile.

"[I hate you.]"

"Aw, thanks Lopez," Donut gushed.

As Lopez started counting the reasons why he hated this place and everyone in it in his head, Grif trotted his way over to Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy! Glad to see you again," Grif said warmly, throwing his arm around here.

"Hello, Grif. I'm glad to see you're alright," she said with a sigh.

"His name is Grif!" Caboose piped.

"Yeah, I think she's got that Caboose," Grif chuckled dryly. Waving his hoof towards him, one of the unfamiliar faces walked towards them. "I have somebody I really want you to meet."

"Who's this?" Fluttershy asked hesitantly, smiling warmly at the other yellow pegasus before her.

"This is my sister, Kaikaina."

"She's alive?" Fluttershy gasped.

"Yeah, I told you she was," Grif laughed. "Man, you guys are going to get along great."

"We are?" Fluttershy asked.

"Totally. Kaikaina, come say hello!" Grif yelled.

"You're not mom, bitch," Sister countered, but walked up to Fluttershy anyways. "Whats up?"

"This is Fluttershy. She's the pony who we're going to be staying with."

"Cool," she said with a smirk. "You guys dating each other or something?"

"W-what? I mean, I-I..." Fluttershy bumbled stupidly, not sure how to respond to such a blunt question. In fact, she wasn't sure she knew how to answer it if it was more subtle or contained anyways.

"Nah, we're just buddies."

"That's cool, I guess. Hope you can show me where all the coolest clubs are around here."

As Rainbow Dash and Tucker finished catching up, a strange two-legged figure walked up to them and towered over the pair. Dash let out a quick yelp of surprise, not sure how she hadn't noticed it before.

"RD, this is Junior," Tucker said as if it was just another one of his friends.

"What the hay is he?" Rainbow Dash sputtered, backing away slightly, still on the ground.

"It's a long story, but he's an alien and on our side. You don't have to be worried about him. He's about as harmless as a fly."

"He doesn't look it," she grunted nervously.

"What? Are you scared of him?" Tucker asked, a knowing smile spreading across his face.

"What? No way, I'm just—" she started, but then shrieked as Junior walked closer to her.

"Relax, the last time he's sucked blood from anything was a while ago," Tucker chuckled, and Rainbow Dash gulped deeply. From staying with Tucker for so long, she knows how to recognized when he's yanking her tail. And there was no sign of it now. "Hey, if you need me to hold your hoof to give you a feeling of security, I'm all for it."

"Yeah, right," she said, forcing a snort, attempting to put on a brave front. "I was just surprised, that's all."

"If you think that's surprising, wait until I tell you about how he's—"

"Carolina!" Tex growled, taking a step towards her after having just noticed her hanging behind the others.

"Guess I'll have to tell you about that later..." Tucker grunted.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up back here."

"Tex—" Church began.

"Don't 'Tex' me, Church. She has no right to be here. She's a jealous, angry, psychopathic murderer!"

"Tex..." he warned her. "Leave her alone."

"What? Did you suddenly forget that she killed Caboose?" she asked icily, walking closer towards her until she stopped next to Church. "Not to mention the fact that she almost killed a pony here. And that's just from the five seconds she was here! Don't forget that if she had actually sided with me when we were fighting against the Director, maybe York would still—"

"Tex, for once in your God damned life can you not just start shit and back the fuck up?" Church hissed, pushing her back forcefully. Everyone in the room stared at him as he glared at her. "She's been through just as much shit as we have, and after what just happened, the last thing she needs is you being a huge fucking bitch to her. I think we'd both appreciate it if you back the hell off for one God damned moment."

"I..." she started, startled that he had yelled at her like that. Looking back at Carolina, she saw that her eyes were staring at her passively. There wasn't any fear in her eyes, not that Tex really expected any, but they even lacked the anger that she was used to seeing. "What happened?" she asked quietly.

"I'll tell you later," he sighed irately, looking at Carolina.

Tex nodded firmly and began to walked towards the Reds and Blues. Carolina merely watched her from the sidelines as she and the others greeted the Reds and Blues. Stuck in a new world, feeling as if she had no friends, no say in anything, surrounded by people who fear her. Though Caboose and the others seemed to not fear her as much, she wasn't entirely convinced that the others could see her as anything less than a monster. The others were used to dealing with psychopaths. The ponies here seemed frail and innocent, thus making her think that they would fear he forever.

Washington, too, felt somewhat rejected. The reality of the situation still hadn't fully sunk in. For him, he believed, and hoped, that this was all a dream. Or at the very least a simulation. If it was anything else, he thought he would go insane, and that was not a road he was eager to revisit. So, like Carolina, he stood off to the side, not particularly fond of doing anything at the moment.

"Who's that?" Rarity asked curiously.

"Oh, that's Agent Washington. He was a Freelancer like Carolina, only... less scary. He was kind of an asshole for a bit, but then he became one of the good guys," Simmons explained quickly.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Washington," Rarity said, holding her hoof out to him.

"Sorry if I don't shake," he said edgily after pushing her hoof down. "I'm still a little... a lot... confused. Very confused, I mean."

"At least you're sensible enough to not be rude," she said, offering him a smile.

"Uh-huh..." he grunted, not really caring what his manners were like.

"I apologize to ruin your greetings," Luna said, speaking up finally. "But I'm afraid that I must ask you all to leave. There is a train going to Ponyville leaving soon, and it is going to be the last one today. You will have more than enough time to talk on the train ride back, however."

"You heard her, guys. Let's get out of here," Church said, beginning to walk towards the door.

"If I may speak to Church and the two agents alone," Luna said loudly, and they looked at each other. "It won't be long."

Twilight nodded at the others and they all filed out of the room.

"What do you want?" Church inquired as soon as he was alone with Luna and the two ex-Freelancers.

"I know this may seem unfair, but I believe Agent Carolina and Agent... Washington, was it?" Luna guessed. Washington nodded at her. "I believe it would be best if the pair of them remained in Canterlot. Not forever, of course. Merely for the next fortnight."

"What? Why?" Church asked quickly.

"For a variety of reasons. The first one being that they are quite possibly very dangerous. As we've learned, they are trained killers, and my sister and I believe it would be better if we made sure they were... suited for living in Ponyville."

"Tex was also a trained killer," he reminded her.

"I am well aware. However, since she is, as I remember, based on failure, we felt it was relatively safe for her to return with you. Added to the fact that you are her special somepony, we also felt that you would be able to talk her out of making any rash decisions."

"I have about as much say in what she does as Caboose has say in what Twilight does. Which is not that much, in case you were wondering."

"Our point remains. The other fragments were being watched by Applejack, and she kept them out of trouble, but she can only watch over so many ponies, and she's the only one equipped to deal with more than two of you. It wouldn't be fair to her to ask her to watch over the bald stallion as well as having to help keep the two soldiers out of trouble. I know they're your friends, but you must understand our side. Celestia... she has made some rather poor decisions when it comes to you and your friends..."

"Don't I know it," he grumbled.

"But she decided to take it more seriously now. Especially seeing that you were able to bring Discord back without the Elements of Harmony... well, let me just say that she now realizes that you aren't simple ponies. I talked her into allowing the others to return to you, but I am on her side when it comes to the two agents. I promise you that we will treat them with respect"

"If they are having trouble, I will talk to them," she whispered to Church, looking out the window. "Nopony in this world knows what it feels like to be truly alone more than myself."

"Right," Church said quietly, remembering what Twilight had once told him about the fight between Luna and Celestia all those centuries ago. Looking to Carolina and Washington, he raised a brow. "You guys okay with staying here for a bit?"

"Yeah, sure," Carolina responded distantly, not particularly caring about her current situation.

"Hopefully I'll wake up before long," Washington said with a nervous nod.

"Alright then," Church grunted. Glancing back to Luna, he cleared his throat and lowered his voice. "Just treat them like respect, okay? They've been through more in one week than most have throughout their entire lives."

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself," she said with a nod. "Do not worry, Church. They are in good hooves."

"Can I just say that I like you a hell of a lot better than your sister?" he inquired.

"You can, but if Celestia asks, I'll tell her I scolded you," she said with a small wink. "Fare the well, Church. I hope to see you again sometime soon. And hopefully under different circumstances when the world isn't in danger."

"When isn't it in danger?" he snorted, waving his hoof at the trio as he walked out the door to catch up with the others.

Author's Note

Man, the last three chapters have come out nearly twice as long as they usually are.

Chapter 77 - "Place in the World"

"Where's Wash and Carolina?" Tucker asked curiously, noticing how Church was walking towards them by his lonesome, a tired look on his face.

"They're, uh... they're staying back for a bit," Church grunted in reply, walking past him as the others walked forward.

"Are they in trouble or something?" Tucker inquired as he followed Church as he tailed the group, staying a few paces behind.

"No, the Princesses just see them as a possible threat. They want to make sure that they're suited for Ponyville before shipping them off. They trusts the others because they're not killers. Or, at least, not hired guns."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Tucker murmured, looking back at the castle. "I mean, they're not my favorite people on this planet or wherever we are, but couldn't you have made the case that they're your friends now?"

"Well, I'm not sure if we're friends, exactly..."

"Then what was that shit back there with Tex? You seemed pretty pissed off, even for you."

"It's... Come on, you're not an idiot, surely you can put two and two together. She was quiet, sitting back..." Church sighed when Tucker stared at him blankly. "The Director didn't come back with us..."

"So? Isn't that kinda what Carolina was after?"

"She had a change of heart when we started treating her differently. She thought that she could convince the Director to start anew."

"How do you know that?"

"I was in her head. I kinda knew what was going on in there. Kinda pieced together a lot of facts while I was in there..."

"Like what?"

"Like... like the fact that the Director was her father. The fact that, no matter what she did, no matter how hard she tried, the Director wouldn't appreciate her. The fact that she tried day after day to stay at the top of the leaderboards, only for the Director to turn his attention back towards Allison. The fact that she couldn't beat Tex in a fight when she already couldn't beat her in terms of her father's attention." Church let out a small sigh, then looked at Tucker with still eyes and a small frown. "The fact that she's human."

"Well... I guess if the Director was her father, and Allison was her mother... that kinda makes you and Tex her parents, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Church said with a resigned shrug. "Why?"

"Well, she can just get to know you once she's been here long enough. Might not be the same as her real father, but at least you can sorta tell her how the Director would act or whatever. Kinda give her more closure that way, too."

"Thanks, Tucker. That's actually... kinda good advice."

"No problem," Tucker chuckled, beginning to trot towards the others. "Besides, once she finds out how much of an asshole her father is, she'll regret trying to get to know him."

"There it is," Church grunted, shaking his head as he caught up with the others.

They soon arrived at the train station, and, with the Princesses' blessing, they hopped on the train that was already parked, and was soon to leave to Ponyville. Going to the furthest and largest cart which was, ironically, the Caboose of the train, they quickly settled in and began to relax, getting ready for the long ride back. While they waited for the trip, Doc and Donut asked questions pertaining their current circumstance. The girls were all too happy to oblige and answer their questions, teaching them the basics of how to walk properly, and how to act. Luckily they didn't need much lessons on mannerisms as they seemed to be on the friendlier side. During the questions and inquiries, the train had started and they were on their way back home.

"Where's Spike? Didn't he want to come say hi to us?" Church asked as he took a seat next to Twilight who sat at the front end of the Caboose.

"He did, but unfortunately we needed somepony to stay back and help Delta watch over the other fragments, so he volunteered to stay. He felt it would be unfair to make anybody else stay back," Twilight explained, then her ears fell slightly and a look of thoughtfulness crossed her face. "To be honest, I'm a little worried about him. We're always so caught up in our own business, I think he's beginning to feel left out."

"If he knew what we were up to, he'd be thankful that we're not asking him to do anything," Church murmured as he looked

"Maybe so, but still..." she sighed, looking out the window, looking at the trees whizzing by.

"When we get back, I'll talk to him. In the meantime, I'll try to think of something that will make him feel like he's helping us."

"Really?" Twilight asked happily.

"Yeah. He needs to know that what we're doing isn't meant for, well, kids."

"I think him being considered a child is part of the problem..." she said.

"We'll figure it out, okay?"

"Okay," she said with a nod, then smiled. "I'm really glad to have you guys back. Things haven't been the same without you all around."

"I know. Must have been nice," he chuckled.

"A little," she admitted in jest. "You guys actually came back at the perfect time. Rainbow Dash says that snowfall should be beginning shortly, and that means Hearth's Warming Day."

"What, is that like Christmas or something?"

"Christmas?" she echoed.

"Presents? Holiday cheer? Togetherness? All the usual sappy shtick?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. Also, Spike and I's birthday are coming up this month as well."

"Are you trying to drop hints to make me go out and get you guys gifts?" Church asked warily, not too fond of the idea of shopping.

"Well, you don't have to."

"Rarity?" Church called out.

"Yes, Church?" Rarity responded with a smile, turning to face him.

"When a girl says that you don't have to get gifts, that pretty much means get gifts or die, right?"

"Usually," she admitted.

"Thought so. Thanks."

"Do not mention it," she replied, then turned back to the newcomers to continue getting to know them.

"You know, I never thought paranoia, pessimism and a generally sour disposition would be something I would miss," Twilight laughed.

"Get used to it, because it'll still be there for your birthday."

"I wouldn't invite you any other way."

As Church and Tex continued to talk about upcoming events in Ponyville, Applejack let out a sigh and sat down on the seat next to Sarge.

"Sarge, can Ah talk to ya about your little friend?"

"Don't worry, we all have our questions about Donut..." Sarge grunted.

"No, not Donut. He's pretty nice. I'm talkin' about the brown one."

"Eso es racista," Lopez grunted as he watched Donut, Doc and Sister practice walking around without stumbling.

"Ah'm not too sure if we can keep Lopez around," she continued, eyeing Lopez, not sure of what to make of him. "We barely have enough room with the fragments as it is. We have more than enough food for 'em all, but we still need to sell our food to live off of. Add anypony else and we might start losin' more than we can make."

"Don't worry, Lopez can get a job around Ponyville really easily. He's really good at building and fixing stuff. Hell, he enjoys it."

"[Mostly just fixing. These idiots can't keep one vehicle for more than a day without it breaking in some way...]" Lopez added sourly.

"Heh, see? He seems to like the idea. And while he's at it, maybe he can help us build an addition to your farmhouse so him and the others can live in it."

"[Just what I wanted. More ponies that I don't want to deal with that will never leave me alone.]"

"Don't worry, Lopez. I'm sure O'Malley will help you out. Especially if we threaten him a little bit."

"[O'Malley is here?]" Lopez asked hesitantly.

"Well... if he can get a job like O'Malley n' Gary, then Ah suppose he could settle in with us," Applejack said reluctantly, rubbing her chin. "And if you trust him, Ah'll trust him. If what ya say is true, then we don't have to worry much about him hurtin' anypony."

"Great! Now I have my favorite droid back by my side."

"[Hooray,]" Lopez grumbled as Sarge laughed and threw his foreleg around his neck.

"Except now he's less of a droid and more like us! What with needing to eat, sleep, use the restroom and all."

"[Stop, you'll make me cry,]" Lopez growled, then thought for a moment. "[Wait, so does that mean...]" Poking his stomach, Lopez stared at the spot where he felt the touch and realized that he was just as squishy as the others. "Mierda..."

"Speaking of places to stay, we should probably sort out where Junior is staying," Tucker said as Junior awkwardly sat on the chairs that were clearly meant for ponies and not super large alien beings.

"What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash asked edgily, and froze slightly when Junior looked at her.

"Well, there isn't a lot of places he can go. The ponies might believe he's some sort of dragon, but he doesn't really have a place to stay, so..."

"He's not staying with us..." she murmured through chattering teeth.

"Why not? Are you really that scared of him?"

"I told you, I'm not scared!" she said loudly, stomping her front hoof once. Junior instinctively stood up, getting ready for action. This prompted Rainbow Dash to yelp once again, only to fall backwards. Knowing she was most likely being watched by the others, she snapped to her hooves and dusted herself off. "I just mean... he doesn't have wings, so he can't walk around. I don't think we'd be able to fly him up and down whenever we go anywhere..."

"Good point," Tucker said reluctantly, looking at him.

"He's always been an outdoors dog, right? Why don't you just build a doghouse for him?" Sister suggested.

"Yeah, I don't think so..." Tucker grunted.

"Hey, Twilight," Church said, nudging his purple friend in the ribs. "I think I might have a way to make Spike feel like he's helping and doing us a favor."

"What's that?"

"Hey, Tucker," Church said, nodding at him. "We'll look after Junior if you want."

"Really?" Tucker and Rainbow Dash. Tucker, of course, asked in a more optimistic-yet-curious manner, while Rainbow Dash asked in a way that was not entirely unlike skepticism mixed with gratitude.

"Yeah, I think we have a place for him," Church said with a nod, turning back to Twilight. "If Spike wants to feel like one of the gang, maybe giving him one of the gang to watch over will help him feel like he's being included. And since they're both... reptiles... maybe they can connect more. We can play it up like Junior is Spike's cousin or something. Would make it easier for Junior to fit in that way, too."

"That... may just work," Twilight said with a small smile, then frowned as Tucker began explaining the situation to his son. "He doesn't bite, does he?"

"Not anymore, no."

"Good."

Chapter 78 - "Brothers in Scales"

"Here we are," Applejack finally said after a long walk from the station. Standing in front of the white, wooden gate, Applejack turned around and smiled stiffly at the large group behind her. In the back of her mind, she knew that having this many people living here will probably cause problems that she can't handle. With a gulp, she shook the thought away and straightened up, motioning her head to the large building on the top of the hill. "The Apple family farm. It ain't much to look at, but it's home."

"Nonsense, your farm looks amazing!" Donut said with a smile, awkwardly trotting past APplejack. He had gotten the gist of walking, but going any faster than a small stride was still a mystery to him. "In fact, I think it looks better than the farm I grew up on!"

"Oh? You grew up on a farm?" Applejack inquired. "What'd ya grow?"

"Oh, a bunch of things. We had lots of cows that we used to milk, and that was always really fun. But we also grew cucumbers, corn, zucchinis. You know, stuff that you can shove in your—" Donut stopped when Sarge let out a single rough cough. "Are you okay, Sarge?"

"I'm fine, just... stop talking."

"Well, Ah suppose Ah'm happy t' see one of Sarge's friends might be able to help out on the farm," Applejack chuckled, then turned once more and made her way towards her home. "C'mon, Spike n' the others should be inside."

The group then followed Applejack towards the farmhouse, staying on the dirt path. As they neared the entrance, the doors burst open. Applejack stepped out of the way as the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran by, followed by a smiling Theta and a semi-reluctant Sigma.

"Where're y'all goin' in such a rush?" Applejack asked as Sigma casually walked after them.

"The girls are looking into a circus that will be coming into town within the next week," he replied cooly. "I suppose they're going to be inquiring about trying to find their cutie marks within the ranks of clowns and acrobats..."

"Is Delta inside?" Church asked flatly, curious as to why Sigma wasn't being watched.

"Yes, he is. But he does not consider me a threat seeing as I am just a small colt and do not have the power of flight or the ability to use magic," the orange colt replied with a shrug. He then glanced at Twilight and bowed his head slightly. "Besides, my past is just that. The past. I cannot prove to you that I have changed if I'm treated like an animal locked inside a cage. I know none of you trust me, and I understand why. I just ask that you at least give me a chance rather than shove me into a corner."

"You coming, Sig?" Sweetie Belle called out from the gate.

Sigma looked to Church with a blank face, one which Church couldn't read for the life of him. With a delayed sigh, Church nodded at him. Sigma nodded back and trotted after his brother and the girls.

"You're letting him go?" Simmons asked hurriedly.

"Maybe it's about time everybody gets a second chance. We all got one by coming here. Washington got one. Carolina got one. Hell, even the Director got one," Church said, glancing back at the orange colt. "Besides, like he said, he isn't a Pegasus or a Unicorn. He can do damage, but at least we can catch up with him and stop him." Church nodded at Applejack. "Now come on, let's grab Spike and get out of here." Looking back at the others, he frowned slightly. "You guys mind waiting out here? I want to make this quick, and it'd be easier if it was just Tucker, Junior and me."

The group shrugged, most of them glad they didn't have to go in and greet the fragments. Once inside, Church walked into the kitchen, followed by Tucker and Junior. Inside the kitchen was Spike and the rest of the fragments. The fragments spun around and looked curiously at the alien behind them.

"Is that..." O'Malley began.

"Yeah, it is," Church replied without a seconds' thought, walking up to Spike. "Hey, buddy. How's it going?"

"It's going pretty good," Spike said, arms folded behind his head as he sat back in the chair lazily. "Watching these guys has been pretty easy going. Every time O'Malley or Gary tries to leave, Delta grabs them and puts them back in their chair with his magic."

"It's so unfair," Gary replied sourly, looking at the table.

"It's kind of funny, though," Spike chuckled, then looked to Junior. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Junior. He's kind of why we're here. I have to ask you something. Mind doing us a favor?"

"What is it?" Spike asked slowly.

"Can you watch over our friend here?" Church inquired, nodding at the tall alien behind him. "He wanted to stay with Tucker, but he can't really get to Rainbow Dash's house."

"Why don't you just build him a dog house?" Sister chimed.

"Why do you want me to do it?"

"Can't trust anybody else with this, Spike. We're all wrapped up with our own stuff, and we need somebody to teach him about this world."

"[You're leaving him in charge of me?]" Junior asked curiously. "[But he's so... small...]"

"Hey, I take offense to that." Spike retorted.

A beat passed by in the room as everyone looked to Spike.

"You understand him?" Tucker questioned seriously.

"Yeah... he's speaking in dragon. Of course I can understand him," Spike said, rolling his eyes.

"Wha..." Church trailed off and let out a sigh. He remembered that this world was brought into reality through Caboose. Some things were bound to make no sense. In fact, upon thinking about it, Church was surprised at just how much of this world did make sense. "That's good to hear, then. It'll make your job that much easier. Listen, I'm going to go talk to Twilight and the others. Mind bringing Junior back to the library?"

"Sure," Spike said, walking past Church and Tucker. "C'mon, I'll go grab us some food."

Junior looked to Tucker, hoping he'd say something. Tucker merely nodded at Junior, silently telling him that this is how it has to work. Junior let out a sigh and walked out with Spike. Church and Tucker shared a curious look. Both of them wondered if this was the best thing for either of them. Spike quickly greeted the large group outside, then began walking down the path, followed by Junior. The pair walked in silence for a quarter of an hour, not sure what to say to each other. Junior took that time to look around the bright, vibrant world. It wasn't like anything he'd ever seen. He was used to canyons, deserts and the like. To him, this world was beautiful.

"So why'd you want to stay with Tucker anyways?" Spike inquired, wanting to break the silence as Junior looked at the town they were in.

"[I lived away from him and the others for the past few years.]"

"DId they forget about you when they were on their adventures?"

"[No, it's... I was more or less kidnapped.]"

"Really? That's horrible... Why would someone kidnap you?"

"[Possibly because I was seen as the savior of my race. Being born from where I was, I was a critical piece when it came to the human-alien war...]"

"I think Church mentioned something about the war once or twice, but he said they weren't really apart of the war itself... and he didn't ever really mention you. And especially not about you being a savior of a race."

"[I do not think Church liked me very much...]" Junior grunted. He then let out a deep breath and looked at the clouds. "[Like the others, I never was in the war myself, but my men often told me of the brutality and lives lost. When I was born, I gave hope for my species survival. Most thought I alone was the only way we could achieve peace. Hopefully, if my assumptions are correct, that is not the case. Before I came to... wherever this place is... I lead those who held bad blood against the humans into a trap where they were killed.]"

"What?" Spike sputtered, feeling nervous. "You killed them?"

"[Not all of them. I only killed one. The leader of the little group. I'm sure you must think of that as terrible, but I am certain he would have gotten him as well as every other being of my species extinct. But with him gone, and the road slightly paved by myself, I believe that peace can be had between the two races.]"

"And if they can't?"

"[That is no longer my problem,]" Junior said flatly. "[I don't care much for politics, and I always felt like an outcast when I was with the other aliens. I grew to trust many of them, and I trust that they will be the true saviors of my race. As for myself... I don't think I was a great leader anyways. The humans... well, ponies now, I guess... they're my real family. I feel like I actually belong with them.]"

"How old are you?"

"[I'm not sure about ponies or dragons in terms of how they age compared to humans, but in human years... I think I'm around six years old,]" Junior said pensively. Junior glanced back and saw that Spike was giving him a look that was not entirely unlike surprise. "Did I say something to offend you?"

"You're six years old?" Spike asked ridiculously. "But that means I'm older than you!"

"[And?]"

"And... I don't know, I just thought you'd be older since you commanded an army and everything..."

"[Age does not mean anything,]" Junior retorted.

"Maybe not where you're from, but around here I always seem to be left out," Spike countered with a slight frown.

"[They left you, a young dragon, in charge of teaching me, an alien who was in charge of hundreds, about your world. The others... they trust you to be the best guide for me. And that was before they knew you could understand me. I think that might prove that they don't care how old you are.]"

"Yeah... I guess so," Spike said with a smile. Looking ahead, Spike began to jog forward. "We're here!"

Junior looked down the road and saw Spike was nearing a large tree house. Walking slightly faster, Junior quickly caught up with Spike as he reached for the door and pulled it open. Spike glanced back at Junior and motioned towards the door fluidly. Junior looked down at Spike, then back at the door. With a shrug, Junior crouched down and walked through the slightly-too-small door. Spike followed him and shut the door behind him.

"Well, what do you think?" Spike asked as he turned to Junior with a warm smile.

Junior looked around before settling back on Spike. "[There's a lot of books...]"

"Well, it is a library," Spike snorted as he rolled his eyes. "Anyways, upstairs are the bedrooms. The door by the stairs goes to the kitchen, and the outhouse is out back. There's two doors in the kitchen, one is a pantry and the other leads to the basement. Any questions?"

"[No, I think I got it...]"

"Are you sure you want to stay here?" Spike asked, noticing how Junior shifted what he could only assume was awkwardly.

"[Honestly, I would have preferred staying with Tucker,]" Junior grunted. "[But since I can't go where my father goes, I don't really have a choice. No offense.]"

"It's okay," Spike coughed, rubbing the back of his head. His eyes then went wide, and he gave Junior a very curious look. "Wait. Did you... did you just say that Tucker is your dad?"

"[I think your kind would technically count him as the mother since I came out of his body...]"

"Woah, woah, too much information," Spike gagged, waving his hands frantically at Junior, tongue sticking out slightly. "How does that even work?" he inquired. "Don't answer!" he quickly added when Junior started to explain his origins. An awkward silence fell between the pair as they looked away from each other. Spike then let out a sigh. "Well, we should probably get you settled in here. Then I can show you around Ponyville if you want. Maybe show you a place or two to get some good food."

"[That sounds fine with me,]" he replied.

"What's your favorite thing to eat? Mine is gems," Spike said happily, leading Junior to the stairs.

"[Blood.]"

"Ha ha, very funny," Spike said, chuckling lightly. Junior walked past him in silence and into the kitchen. "You are joking right?" Junior kept walking. "Right?"

Author's Note

Sorry for the really late chapter. Was looking for a new place and am job searching and a bunch of stuff is just going on. Updates might be a bit few and far between still for the next few weeks.

Chapter 80 - "Monsters of Men"

"Hey! Guys! Wait up!" Spike yelled, jogging to catch up with his friends, holding himself back from laughing at what's to come. The group of young ponies stopped in front of an alley between two homes and looked back at the young dragon, smiling warmly at him.

"Oh, hey, Spike!" Sweetie Belle said happily.

"How are you guys doing?" Spike asked as he stopped by them, trying his hardest not to look away from them.

"Pretty good, how about you?" Scootaloo inquired.

"Pretty good," he said with a wry giggle. He pointed at the half-rolled poster for the circus that was balancing nicely on Applebloom's back/ "You guys reading up about the circus that's coming to town?"

"Yup, we're really excited about it!" Applebloom said with a wide grin. "Circuses are so much fun. Specially when they got clowns and stuff. We're gunna try and see if our talent has something to do with them. Could be fun workin' for the circus."

"Well, you girls would certainly fit in with those guys," he said with a laugh, then scratched his chin. "But I thought they had cancelled, though."

"Cancelled? Why would they be cancelled?" Scootaloo snorted. "They've come here every year for the past thirty years! Most ponies don't just cancel traditions..."

"You mean... you didn't hear?"

"Hear about what?" Scootaloo asked with a raised brow.

"About the monster," Spike said slowly, making his eyes bulge lightly to really sell the act. The girls looked at each other cautiously and glanced back to Spike uneasily. Sigma glanced at Theta who took a small step back. "You really haven't heard, have you?" Spike continued.

"We didn't hear anything about no monster..." Applebloom said, licking her lips.

"Yeah, it was a new act that they were gunna try and put on at the circus. Word has it that they thought that lion taming had become too boring, so they wanted to up the stakes a bit. And when they got word that a monster was loose near where they were putting on a show, they jumped at the chance to catch it and show it off for the world to see. It was supposed to be this huge, hulking creature. Over seven feet tall. Scales like a snake. Hide like an armadillo to prevent itself from being harmed. Fangs to suck out the blood of its prey!""

"Wh-what happened?"

"When they found it, the monster nearly killed all the ponies that tried capturing it. But that just made them want it more. A violent, untamable creature is just what they wanted for the act to make it more exciting," Spike said, and the girls began to marvel at the thought. A real life monster. "But on their way to Ponyville it got loose," Spike said, and as he uttered the words, the girls froze. Spike quickly catches sight of Junior slowly skulking through the alley, being as quiet as possible. "They quickly sent word out that the creature was on its way to Ponyville, and it was last sighted a few hours ago in the Everfree..."

"That's not too far away from here..." Sweetie Belle gulped. "Is anybody trying to catch it?"

"I think Twilight said her and the girls were gunna try and capture it, but the circus ponies said that they should be as careful as possible when dealing with it. A group of the highly trained strong-ponies could barely catch it, and they somewhat knew what they were up against. Even with the Elements of Harmony, the girls might be in for a bit of trouble if they tried to catch it."

"They could do it," Applebloom suggested uneasily. "They've stopped monsters before. 'Sides, they got the guys t' help them with it."

"Yeah, Caboose and Grif sure would be a huge help and not at all an inconvenience," Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes. "Those guys have nothing on the things that the girls have done. If anything they'd just get in the way."

"But Simmons and Church are really smart, and Sarge knows how to fight," Sweetie Belle countered. "And any little bit helps."

"It doesn't really matter if they don't find it in time. This creature hunts ponies for food, especially fillies and colts. Their blood tastes better to them. And if the girls can't find it before it strikes..." Spike shuddered. "I really feel bad for you guys. Since I'm a dragon, it won't eat me. My scales are too tough for that."

"W-what did they say t-to do if it comes after us?"

"You'll be lucky if you see it," Spike said, taking a step towards them, voice growling slightly in pitch. "This monster lives in the shadows. Watching. Waiting for a moment to strike and snatch up a snack. You'll just be minding your own business, your back turned to the shadows as you go about your business. The only way you'll know it's after you is when it sneaks up behind you and bellows out a deafening--"

On cue, a roar comes from a few yards behind them and them and Theta in the girls began to shriek. They all snapped around to see Junior slowly walking towards them, arms held outwards as his jowls extended, causing them to shriek once more and begin to run away. Sigma merely stared at Junior, studying him, unphased by the creature, recognizing it from his time with the Freelancer computers.

"Pfft, bwahahaha!" Spike giggled loudly as he slapped his knees uncontrollably, watching Theta and the fillies galloping away at mch five speeds. "That was great, Junior!"

"[I'll admit, that was pretty fun,]" Junior said with a alien chuckle. Junior saw Sigma out of the corner of his eye and turned towards him.

"You think that was funny?" Sigma asked, the echo of his voice low and grainy.

"Kinda," Spike said, slowing down, wiping a tear out from under his eye. Spike's smile turned into a frown when Sigma gave him the blankest, most emotionless stare he had ever seen up until that point.

"He is not a monster. And if I remember, he comes from a quite honorable species at that."

"It was a joke, I know he isn't a monster..." Spike grumbled, not understanding how Sigma couldn't see the joke. "So you weren't scared, huh?"

"No, because I know something that very few do. The scariest part about monsters isn't the fact that they look different, have different feeding habits or live on the other side of the world. The scariest part about monsters is that they can be right in front of you. They could be walking amongst you. They could be in contact with you. They could be someone you know. Someone with a deep pain that gets their mind ripped open by claws of blind violence, tearing their sanity out with it," Sigma said quietly, never blinking as he stared deeply at Spike. "My problem is that I know that real monsters do not look like him. Real monsters are created from spite, ignorance and anger. I should know. I've created one," Sigma glanced down and, for a brief moment, frowned. "I was one." Looking back up at the pair, Sigma saw that they had fully stopped laughing. "And you too almost became one, if I recall correctly. So you should know that monsters are not something to be taken lightly. Someday you might just see what a true monster is, and it may very well put your life, as well as the life of those you love, at stake," he said, starting to turn around to find his brother. "And I hope if and when that time comes, you won't sit around making jokes."

Spike thought of those words as he watched Sigma trot away after Theta and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"[He seems... fun...]" Junior grunted roughly.

"I guess he just doesn't have a good sense of humor..." Spike grumbled hesitantly. Shaking his face, he forced a smile and elbowed Junior in the leg. "C'mon, let's go find some grub. My treat."

Chapter 81 - "Simply Strolling"

"I'm think I'm already liking this place," Doc said firmly as he and Donut entered town. They had left from Applejack's twenty minutes ago, deciding they wanted to start off their new adventure on a good and simple route by meeting ponies and making friends. During that walk, Doc and Donut took in the bright scenery, feeling optimistic about their situation. "Something about the air is just nice. Not like the smell of dust in the old canyon."

"I know!" Donut agreed quickly, eyes darting from place to place, trying to catch every detail as much as possible. "That place smelled pretty bad, now that I think about it, but Sarge always just blamed Grif for that."

"To be fair, Grif probably didn't help a lot with the smell," Doc muttered jokingly. "But I could get used to this. I just hope that when we meet others they're as nice as the girls back at Applejack's farm."

"Pinkie said there was nothing to worry about! She said it was just as simple as walking up to the first pony we find and introducing ourselves!" Looking up ahead, Donut saw a mare trotting along the edge of the town, bobbing her head lightly side-to-side as if enchanted by a song. She had a simple music symbol on her fank, spiky, multi-hue blue hair and was donning a pair of bright glasses."Oh look, there's one now! Hey, you!"

The mare stopped instantly in her tracks and looked around side-to-side. She quickly saw the pair trotting towards her and smiled lightly.

"Can I help you?" she asked simply.

"Oh, I hope so! My friend and I are new to town and we're trying to meet new ponies. My name is Donut! What's yours?" Donut inquired, hoof shooting forward in greeting.

"Heh, just getting right to the introductions, huh? I like that," she replied with a small grin, shaking his hoof warmly. "Name's Vinyl. Vinyl Scratch. I'm the local DJ in town."

"Ohh, there's clubs here? This place suddenly sounds more fun!"

"No real clubs in Ponyville. Most of 'em are in Las Pegas and Canterlot, but I don't really get hired a lot to go up there," she sighed, then shrugged lightly. "But whatever, I DJ for fun anyways." She nodded at the purple stallion standing next to Donut. "What's your name?"

"Uh, most people call me Doc," the purple stallion said slowly, flashing her an awkward smile.

"Doc, huh? So you're a doctor? Did you transfer to Ponyville hospital from one of the neighboring towns? Heard the hospital was looking to hire a few nurses and doctors, is all. They're a little short-hooved right now."

"Well, I'm not really a doctor. I'm a medic for..." he stopped and thought for a second. "I was just a medic. Nothing fancy. I mostly just treat minor wounds and stuff like that... And most people I know don't think I'm very good at it."

"Oh, Doc, you don't have to be so modest. I think you're great!" Donut chipped, throwing his foreleg around his buddy as he looked from Doc to Vinyl. "Doc saved my life a few months ago!"

"Really?" Vinyl asked with a curious smirk, thinking he was simply joking or over exaggerating. Nodding at him to continue, she looked from Doc to Donut. "Sounds like a fun story."

"Oh boy, I never get to tell this story!" he said instantly. He licked his lips and cleared his throat. "Okay, so, there I was, standing with a few friends when suddenly these two guys come out of nowhere! At first I thought they were friends, but it turns out they weren't. One of them hurt our friend Lopez, then he shot me. And so there I was, laying in my armor in a pool of my own blood, thinking I was going to die. It hurt a lot, but the most painful part was definitely my boots getting stained with blood. Anyway-"

"Woah, woah, woah. Armor and blood?" Vinyl began, lifting her glasses over her eyes in surprise. "Are you two in the army?"

"Yup! Well... no. I don't even remember what it was anymore. Anyways I was shot in the chest by another guy!" Donut said as if it was nothing and a mere everyday occurrence. Being on the red team, of course, it was. Vinyl, however, did not know that, and gasped lightly, suddenly more intrigued by the pair. "So there I was, bleeding a lot, when suddenly this guy comes in the nick of time and patches me up as best as he can. Seeing as I'm still standing here and not dead, I'd say he's a pretty good doctor!"

"I'll say. You seem to be more than okay," she commented dryly with a small grimace, thinking by shot he meant either by a thrown spear or a bolt of magic. "What happened to the guy that shot you?"

"He's actually staying in the castle up on that mountain right now!" he said, pointing off into the distance.

"Wait, you mean he's in Canterlot?"

"I think that's the name..."

"Canterlot Canterlot?" she asked again. From her experience, ones who are in Canterlot are either posh high class ponies, lucky low class that manage to snag an invite to one of their balls or they're locked up in the dungeons.

"Yup. The Princess asked that he stay back with another one of our friends."

"Is he a member of the Royal Guard?" she asked, then squinted slightly and thought of what that implied. She began to wonder if they were a pair of soldiers that tried to storm Canterlot or something and ended up failing.

"No, I don't think so," Donut replied thoughtfully, rubbing his chin lightly. "He used to be--"

"I don't think we should be talking about the past this much," Doc coughed. He wasn't sure on the details, but he had a feeling that the Reds and Blues, as well as the other ponies for that matter, would like them blabbering about their past accomplishments, if more than a few could even be called that. "No offense."

"It's cool. Lotta ponies these days have secrets," Vinyl chuckled, deciding that if they had been in trouble, they wouldn't be walking around Ponyville. "One of my newer friends that I met a few months ago is a pretty huge example of secrets. She's a really good fighter, but she won't tell anyone where she learned her skills and stuff. I assumed she was trained by the Royal Guard, but I've never heard of soldiers fighting like her."

"Huh, that sounds a lot like a girl we know," Doc said with a nervous laugh.

"You mean Tex?" Donut asked innocently.

"You guys know Tex?" she asked dubiously. "Jeez, small world. You guys know where she's from?"

"Yup! We've known her for years."

"Cool. Guess any friend of Tex is a friend of mine," Vinyl said with a smile. She glanced up at the sun and bit her lip briefly. "Listen, sorry to cut this short but I gotta trot. Gotta set up for my gig tonight over at the cider bar. Starts at seven. You guys should totally come for a listen. We can talk more after."

"Oh, sounds like fun!" Donut said instantly, jumping once happily.

"And if you see Tex, tell her to come too, alright?" she said as she turned around and began to walk into town. "Haven't seen her in a few weeks and I wanna catch up with her."

"Aw, thank you!" Donut said, smiling at her. "And we will!"

Vinyl gave a half wave and then picked up her pace, disappearing behind a building within a few seconds.

"She seems nice!"

"Yeah, she did," Doc agreed with a small nod.

"Hey guys, what are you doing out here?" a voice called out from behind them. Turning around, Doc and Donut saw Junior and Spike walking towards them.

"Oh, hey Spike! We're just out here trying to meet new people. And if I know anything, the two best places to meet people are in small towns and at truck stops," Donut replied. "What are you guys doing out here?"

"Just coming out for a bite to eat and introduce Junior to some ponies. You know, convince them he's a dragon so people don't get too scared of him since he basically towers over anything in the nearby area. But I figure it shouldn't be too hard since he's with me. Ponies will just think we're cousins or something," Spike laughed.

"I can see that," Doc said approvingly. "Why, I remember when I first met Junior! For a few seconds I thought he was a dragon. Then I remembered the whole alien thing. Must have been the scales."

"That's the idea," Spike chuckled. With a look of deep thought, Spike snapped his claws and smiled widely. "Hey, you guys should tag along. You can help me convince others he's a dragon, and I can help you guys meet others easier. Maybe show you where to buy things like food and stuff, and maybe show you a few fun places to go."

"Sounds like fun!" Donut exclaimed excitedly as they began walking into town together. "Speaking of fun, you wouldn't happen to know of any truck stops around here, would you?"

Chapter 82 - "Sweet Greetings"

The four boys strolled through the town, curious as to where all the ponies were. Spike simply deduced that they were all most likely either busy, or looking at the construction site of the annual circus, watching it being completed. But, he also knew where he could always find some of the most hardworking ponies in all of Ponyville.

"Here we are," Spike announced as they stopped in front of a large, gingerbread house looking building. "This is Sugarcube Corner. This is where you can get the best food in all of Ponyville. It's also where one of the nicest ponies, Pinkie Pie lives."

"Is the house... edible?" Doc inquired curiously, noting what it resembles instantly.

"No, it isn't. Trust me, I learned that the hard way," Spike winced as he rubbed his jaw, remembering an incident that he told no one about a few years ago. "But Mr. and Mrs. Cake should be inside. They work especially hard during this time of the year because they usually help supply the circus with their food."

"What do they make?" Donut asked innocently.

"Pinkie Pie lives here," Spike said simply. Donut simply shrugged at him. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake? That doesn't tell you anything?" Donut shook his head and Spkie slapped his face lightly. "It's in the shape of a gingerbread house."

"Oh. Ohhhhh, so it is!" Donut said happily. For a few moments, the others stared at Donut as he smiled at the building. Donut then looked down at Spike and frowned. "So what do they make here?"

"Just come inside," Spike grunted as he walked up to the door and pushed it open. As he did that, a small bell rang from above.

"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner," a chubby mare said as she smiled, knowing to always smile for the customers. When she saw who it was, her smile became even more genuine. "Oh, hello, Spike. What brings you all the way down here?"

"Hey Mrs. Cake. I'm showing some friends around town and felt that you were a good choice to begin with. Where's the Mr.?" he asked.

"Oh, he's out right now talking to the boys down at the construction site. But I'm sure your friends can meet him later."

"I guess so," Spike laughed as he pulled the door open some more. "Come on, guys. It'll be difficult to introduce yourselves if there's a wall between you."

Mrs. Cake smiled as Donut trotted in with Doc following close behind. She opened her mouth to greet the,, but the smile disappeared as the large, seven foot tall monstrosity walked in and her introduction quickly became something reminiscent of a screech of fear.

"Woah, woah, woah, calm down Mrs. Cake!" Spike said quickly. "This is my cousin, Junior. He's a dragon, like me, obviously."

"I've never met a dragon that looked like him before," she said through chattering teeth.

"How many dragons have you met?" he asked.

"...Good point," she said reluctantly. "He's a lot bigger than you are, though," she added, taking a nervous step back from the hulking... thing. "The last time I saw a dragon that big was back when you--"

"You don't have to worry about him, he's not into collecting treasure," Spike said quickly as he waved his claws at her to calm her down,, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "He's always just been the big cousin. More into, uh... collecting friends, not collecting treasure. He's the kind that gets picked first in sports, y'know?"

"Oh, well..." she trailed off. After a brief moment, she cleared her throat and smiled at Junior. "I suppose if you say he isn't dangerous, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Who are your two new friends?"

"Finally! I thought I'd never get to introduce myself!" Donut huffed impatiently, tired of waiting to make friends. "My name is Donut. The purple guy behind me is Doc!"

"Nice to meet you, Donut," she chuckled, being reminded of Caboose. She then looked past him at the more reserved Doc. "It's nice to meet you as well, Doc."

"Likewise," Doc said with a smile.

"So, how can I help you boys? I can only assume you're not just here to meet little ol' me," she said.

"Well, we did come here for snacks, but we didn't not come here to meet you, either," Spike explained simply. "These guys moved into town today and I decided that while I was out introducing others to my cousin that I'd help them meet others as well. I felt that you were probably one of the best first stops to make."

"Oh, Spike, you always know just what to say," she giggled, blushing lightly. Reaching into the glass display, she grabbed four treats and placed them on top of the counter. "Here, you guys can each have one on the house."

"Wow, thanks! You're really nice," Donut said as he munched on the brightly colored tart that his nickname was inspired by.

"And this tastes really nice too," Doc added as he bit into his. "It tastes great, but it's not overpoweringly rich."

"We strive to make nothing but the best," she said firmly, filling with pride at her work. "Nothing but home-grown ingredients and hard work are put into our snacks and treats. If it's anything less than perfect, we usually throw it away or eat it ourselves, but we never put it on the shelves."

"Hey, that rhymed!" Donut pointed out. Licking his lips free of sprinkles, he coughed lightly and kicked at his feet bashfully. "Can I have another one? I promise I'll pay you back as soon as I can!"

"Oh, okay. Only because you're so nice," she said with a wide smile.Mrs. Cake reached into the display and grabbed another treat for the pleasant stallion that stood before her and held it out to him. "Don't worry about paying me back. A few treats won't put us under."

"Amaziiiiiiiiing!~" Donut sang happily as he stuffed it in his mouth. "When I get a job, I'm going to come here all the time to get my food supply."

"I have to say, Spike, I'm liking your friends," she said, looking to the small dragon that was licking icing off of his pinky claw. Looking to the large reptilian creature before her, her smile faded slightly, watching him as he stared curiously at the sweet. "Is something wrong, dear?"

"He's just not used to much food besides blo-- I mean gems," Spike grunted, nudging him in the leg. "C'mon, they taste good."

Junior looked at Spike, then back to the snack. With a shrug, he tossed the whole thing in his mouth and swallowed it. Junior tasted around his mouth and licked the inside of his jowls clear of icing.

"[Might not be what I'm used to, but it's good,]" Junior said as he nodded his head once.

"He approves," Spike translated, giving Mrs. Cake a quick claws up.

"Man, we should tell Grif about this place!" Donut chirped. "He'd love it here!"

"Oh, you're friends with Grif?" she asked brightly.

"Yup! Grif and I are really good friends! Not as good as friends as me n' Doc, but we're still really close."

"He actually knows about this place. In fact, Grif happens to be one of my best customers," she chuckled. "Usually comes in around this time to grab a small bag of treats to eat before and after his daily cloud naps."

"That Grif loves his naps," they said together and began to giggle lightly.

"And since you're friends with Grif, I also assume you know Caboose?" Donut nodded in reply. "He's bunking with us still. He's a nice boy. Maybe not the smartest in the bunch, but smarts aren't always the best thing to have around. Sometimes the best kind of pony is the one that makes you smile when you're feeling down. I suppose that's why Pinkie likes him so much. They think so much alike."

"Yeah, Caboose is really nice! He was always my favorite person from the Blue team!"

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Cake asked, eyebrows raised with a smirk.

"He means that he's his favorite blue pony friend. He knows a lot of ponies with blue fur," Doc said quickly, putting his hoof over Donut's mouth yet again, wondering at the back of his mind how many times he'd have to do this.

Before any more questions were asked, the door behind them opened and the bell above the door began to jingle heavily. "Speaking of..." Mrs. Cake said with a smile, causing the others to turn around. "Good afternoon, Grif."

"Sup, Mrs. Cake?" Grif asked with a smirk as he looked past the others, then offered them a brief nod before walking past them towards the counter. "Looking as beautiful as always."

"Oh, you," she chuckled lightly as she began to put some food in a small pink box. "I'm doing fine today. I just met your fine friends here. Why didn't you tell me they were so charming?"

"Charming?" Grif scoffed lightly, then shook his head as he tossed a small bag of bits onto the counter. "I don't think that's the right word for them... Sorry I'm a few minutes late. Kinda got held up on the way here. In fact, I'm probably gunna have to keep these for a few hours before I can actually take my nap."

"What's taking so long?" a shrill voice called from outside.

"Oh, who's that?" the pastry-loving mare asked curiously. "That doesn't sound like Fluttershy."

"That's because that's my sister, Sister."

"Your sister-sister?" she repeated.

"No, she's my sister. We just call her Sister," Grif murmured as he coughed. "Sis, come in and say hello."

"You're not Dad, you can't tell me what to do!" Sister yelled from outside.

"Kaikaina!" he snapped in frustration.

"Ugh, fine!" Sister grunted with a thundering harumph. Walking in with a scowl, Sister glared at Grif and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Very mature," Grif said.

"Your mom's mature!"

"We have the same mom!"

"Yeah, well... my dad can beat up your dad, bitch!"

"We have the same dad too!" he snapped. Turning around, his anger quickly faded and he offered Mrs. Cake an apologetic smile as he grabbed the box with his teeth and tossed it on his back. "Sorry about her, she gets kinda testy when... well, she's pretty much always like this. Kai, say hello to Mrs. Cake. She's the one who makes my daily snacks."

"Hey," Sister said briefly.

"Hello, dear," Mrs. Cake said, giving her a gentle smile. "It's nice to meet you. Grif never told me he had a sister."

"That's 'cause he's embarrassed of me. I was always the favorite."

"Good job, you were our parents favorite failure," Grif said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, Grif, you busy?" Donut inquired.

"Depends. Too busy for what?"

"We're trying to make friends an meet ponies in town! We'd love it if you could come along and--"

"Yeah, that's not happening. I've gotta show Sister where Fluttershy lives. Convinced her to let Kaikaina stay with us for a bit until I can find her a place to stay."

"What about Applejack's farm?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, you see, I thought that would be good, but little miss... romantic over here already started hitting on her brother. Two minutes within meeting him, she was all over him. Don't know Big Mac well enough to let her stay there."

"Pft, you're just mad you're not a hunky stallion like him! Instead you're kinda fat and lazy," Sister taunted from the doorway

"You know, if you were a little bit closer I'd think about considering doing something about what you just said," he said, squinting his eyes as he pointed at her. Shrugging off the insult, he began to walk towards her. "Whatever. See you girls later. I'll be back around this time tomorrow if my hooves aren't full with this one."

"That's fine, dear," Mrs. Cake said, pausing for a second when her eyes met with Sister's. "It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah, same," she replied nonchalantly, right before Grif pushed her out the door. "Took you long enough. I thought you'd never get out of there."

"It barely took one minute," Grif grunted. Looking at a spot close by, Grif nodded at Fluttershy and smiled at her gently. "Ready to go?" Fluttershy smiled stiffly and bobbed her head lightly. Grif sighed happily and began to trot down the trail. "Great. The sooner she gets settled in, the sooner I can have a nap."

Chapter 83 - "Girl Stuff"

"Looks boring."

Those were the words to instantly come out of Sister's mouth when she was told where she was going to be residing for the next while. Fluttershy's cottage was so far away from anything, Sister felt as if she'd never get to do anything fun. Fortunately, that's exactly why Grif asked Fluttershy to let his sister stay with them. Being so far away from everything, Grif felt it would be easy to watch her and keep her out of trouble. Knowing his sister,if she lived in town she would have performed naughty things for the stallions of Ponyville. The thing with her being so stupid meant that she was completely fine with the fact that she had turned into a pony. For her, that just meant her average partner would have a larger, horse-sized--

"Place isn't so bad," Grif said, trotting across the bridge that lead to the home, Fluttershy and Sister on either side of him. "Nice. Cosy. Lots of nice napping spots. On the opposite side of town from Sarge. It's pretty much the perfect place for me."

"I thought the perfect place for you was in an Oreo factory, fatty."

"I'd yell at you and correct you, but I guess that might be a slightly better place than this," Grif admitted, but then siled slyly with Fluttershy. "But having another relaxing person around is pretty fun."

"Uh-huh. Except she isn't fat like you."

"I'm not fat, I'm big boned."

"Fat boned, more like it."

"You see, now I kinda wish we didn't go back to Blood Gulch..."

"Yeah, but then you wouldn't get to rub it in my face of how good of a brother you are."

"Do you guys always fight like this?" Fluttershy asked meekly as they neared the door. She accepted Grif's request because she knew how much he cared about his sister, but she didn't realize how much bickering they would be doing. The few times she's seen Rarity and Sweetie Belle yelling at each other seems like healthy debate compared to these two.

"They started it," the two siblings said in unison.

"Whatever," Grif added afterwords. He gently pushed at the door and entered the cottage, instantly making way to the couch. From the kitchen emerged a running dog who jumped on the couch at the same time as Grif. "Hey, girl. Didja miss me?"

"That another one of Tucker's kids?"

"No, this is Hailey," Grif commented as he began munching on his snacks, placing the box on the arm of the furniture. "When I first came to this place, Fluttershy had this dog and nobody could come near it without her snapping at everyone. She was okay with me though, so I kinda adopted her.She doesn't like many people besides me and Fluttershy."

"That's cool, in a stupid cliched movie kind of way," Sister chortled, walking up to it.

"Hey, slow down. I don't want to have to take you to the hospital for getting bit by a dog."

"I could take it in a fight," Sister said, then held her hoof out to the dog. "Just gotta be relaxed and they won't feel threatened."

Hailey simply looked her hoof, then rested her head on Grif's leg, begging for a bite of Grif's food.

"Pft, bitch," Sister grunted, putting her hoof back down.

"Hey, at least she's not growling at you. Probably knows that you're my sister," Grif replied, breaking off a small piece of the donut and giving it to the dog. "You only get this, though."

"Oh, speaking of food, I should probably feed the animals! I've been gone all day," Fluttershy said, starting for the door.

"I'll do it," Grif said voluntarily, hopping off his spot, Hailey jumping with him, excited at the prospect of food. Looking at Fluttershy, he squinted slightly as he thought of his words. "I want you girls to, uh... talk, I guess. I don't know, really. Just try to get to know each other a bit more. Tell a few stories to break the ice, y'know? Talk about yourself."

Fluttershy and Sister sat near each other, remaining silent for two whole minutes. They didn't know what to say to each other, nor did they really believe they had any common ground.

"So, uh, what do you do around here?" Sister asked finally.

"Well, I mostly care for the wild animals that live in the surrounding area. They mostly come here for food, but while they're here they tend to play together and nap. Some ponies in Ponyville also pay me to look after their pets, and I use that money to feed the other ones as well as myself and Grif."

"You buy Grif's food for him?" Sister asked in surprise.

"Yes. It was my duty to look after your brother when he first came here," she said, blushing lightly. "And he's been so nice and helpful. He always seemed happy to lend a hoof around the house. It's the least I could do."

"Wait, wait, wait. Grif helps you?" Fluttershy nodded. "Grif Grif." Another nod. "Huh. Never thought I'd see the day he actually did anything for anyone."

"Doesn't Grif do things for you?"

"Pft, rarely," Sis rolled her eyes in annoyance. "If anything, he prevents me from doing my own thing, claiming 'I'll get hurt', or 'I'm embarrassing the family'," Sister grunted sourly. "The few times that bitch does do anything for me, it's just so he can say how good of a brother he is and how bad of a sister I am."

"Oh no, Grif doesn't work like that," Fluttershy said, shaking her head tightly. "He's been here for a few months, and I can tell that when he helps you, it's because he cares."

"Whatever, I guess," she scoffed lightly. "Kinda hate him sometimes, but I guess that's just because he's family."

A small thumping sound came from behind Sister, and she turned her head to see a small white rabbit looking at her.

"Who's this little guy?" Sister asked as she bent down to examine the small creature, smiling sweetly at it.

"That's Angel. He's been a longtime friend. I've known him almost as long as I've been living on the ground."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, um... I suppose you don't have cloud cities where you're from, do you?"

"We totally do, but you only get to go to it when you die."

"Well..." Fluttershy said slowly, not following what she meant. "You see how we have wings?"

"Uh, you mean the things that make me look even hotter than I was before?" she asked as she unfurled her wings and looked at them. "No, I totally haven't."

"Well, most Pegasus like us live in a town called Cloudsdale, not too far from here. It's a lot more active than this place, which is mostly why I left. Everyone seems much nicer in Ponyville, so I was content to stay. Rainbow Dash was my only friend from Cloudsdale, but she moved to live by herself on her own cloud just outside of Ponyville."

"That's cool," she said, looking from Fluttershy then back to Angel, rump still in the air. "So do you, like, sleep with animals?"

"Um, sometimes," Fluttershy mumbled. "Some of the smaller ones have a nightmare and I let them sleep on my bed to feel safer. Also if it's the winter and it's too cold outside I let them in as well to keep warm."

"Really? That's kinda hot," Sister replied, looking back to the confused looking critter in front of her. "One of my friends slept with their dog and told me it was fun."

"Wait, what?" Fluttershy asked, blushing furiously. "No, no, I never would do anything with any of my animal friends!"

Sister shrugged. "I get that."

"Have... have you done anything with animals?" Fluttershy asked, instantly regretting asking that.

"Almost. This one time in high school, these guys bet me a hundred bucks and a bottle of painkillers to put a gerbil up my--"

"Sis!" Gri yelled as he began walking towards the house, hearing every word she was saying.

"What? You told me to share!" Kaikaina yelled, standing up and facing the window.

"Share family friendly stories!"

"It was the family pet! And I was totally being friendly with it!"

"It would have died!"

"You don't know that for sure! We could have found out if you didn't tattle on me to our parents!" Sister sighed happily, turning back to Fluttershy. "Grif's idea of fun is sitting around, sleeping and getting fat all day. Any time I try to have my own kind of fun, he ruins it."

"Mostly because your idea of fun will either end up with you breaking a bone, pregnant, kidnapped, or all three," Grif grunted in reply as he entered from the kitchen.

"Whatever you say. I'm going to go hang out with the animals!" Sister huffed, walking past him.

Fluttershy looked at Grif with a small look of worry.

"Don't worry, we won't leave any animals unattended around her..." Grif mumbled.

Fluttershy let out a relieved sigh and followed Grif into the yard, feeling like this might not have been the best of ideas.

Chapter 84 - "Their Old Selves"

"Again."

The word echoed in the large, marble-slabbed room. A small splotch of blood smacked onto the ground as the pony who uttered the word spat on the floor. Two stallions, both Royal Guards, looked to the pony, then gave each other a wary look. They had spent the last few hours sparring with the blue mare who stood shakily in front of them. Under normal circumstances, they would nor spar with anyone who was not a part of the Royal Guard, but they had been told by the Princesses that she was a visitor, not a prisoner, so they should heed what she says and do their best to make her feel comfortable and happy. She, however, seemed to be more interested in staying in one of the many training rooms relearning how to fight.

"Lady Carolina, I don't think--" the first began.

"I'm not asking you to think," she growled in frustration as she wiped a small drop of blood from her lips. "I'm asking you to fight me again."

"It's just... we feel bad, though," the second one piped, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. The fiery mare had nearly a dozen nicely sized bruises on various parts of her body from the previous goes.

"She can take it," Washington said firmly from the side. That was the second thing either of the stallions had ever heard out of Washington's mouth during his time in the castle. He mostly spent his time either in his room, or with Carolina. In either places, he seemed out of it, more content to stare off into the distance, lost in thought, preferring that over speaking to them or anyone.

The two stallions realized this and gave each other a nod. They took a few paces away from each other and began to circle Carolina. She watched them steadily, remaining completely still. She had gotten used to walking pretty fast, unlike Washington who still had troubles making his way around. However, much to her dismay she can no longer fight the way she remembers. Her years of training with fighting seemed to vanish in an instant. She didn't like feeling defenseless. She wanted to go back to knowing how to kick seven kinds of asses.

"Don't go easy on me. I won't learn if you do," she snapped after a few seconds of waiting for them to strike.

"As you wish," the first stallion piped with a knowing smirk.

The two guards darted towards her at the same time, but Carolina quickly avoided their assault. The stallion who had spoke first, Curved Swords, jumped at her while the second one, Bound Shield, waited back, readying himself. Carolina reared back and threw herself at Curved Swords, hitting him in the air. Her jump being slightly more powerful made Curved Swords fling a few feet away from her. Behind her, Bound Shield threw himself on top of her to hold her down. The two guards had won every spar for the past while, where as she only managed to land three hits across the four hours of fighting. This made Carolina seethe with rage.

Fortunately, anger is a very good motivator.

Kicking her leg back, her hoof hit directly onto the cap of Bound Shield's left hind leg. The guard let out a pained grunt and winced. This was the first time that she had a good opening, and she sure as hell wasn't going to let it go to waste. She flipped around and grabbed either side of his jaw and slammed her skull into his. The guard let out a quick yelp as he stumbled backwards. Behind her, however, was curved swords, who incidentally was also trained at attacking during any opening. While she smiled at the backpedalling Bound Shield, Curved Swords ran into her and headbutted her in the ribs. Carolina gasped in surprise as she flew to the ground, skidding a few feet away from her attacker.

"So you used to be a soldier?" Curved Swords asked as she got back up.

"Something like that," Carolina muttered. getting back on all fours.

"Could have fooled me," he chuckled slyly. "You must have been pretty terrible at it."

Carolina let out a small growl as she darted towards him. Curved Swords sidestepped her with ease and smirked. He quickly leaned to the left, and then quickly began to shift to the right, intending on hitting her with his side. Reading his movement, she quickly fell to her stomach. Curved Swords saw all but too late what her intentions were, as his momentum was already too much and he quickly toppled over her.

"And you're supposed to be trained to protect royalty?" Carolina asked with a sneer as she walked over him.

"Aye, I am," he said with a nod, then shifted his gaze to a spot behind her. "And so was he."

Carolina snapped her neck around, expecting to see Bound Shield ready to attack, but he was simply watching from a dozen or so feet away, gently rubbing his head from her prior blow. For a brief moment, she felt safer. She then remembered how she and the others in the Freelancers fought, but before she could turn around, she felt Curved Swords' back hooves digging into her side, and she was sent flying ten feet away.

"If you were an assassin, I'd consider the Princesses saved," he said as Bound Shield placed his hoof on her neck, signifying a defeat.

"Only because you fought dirty," she hissed in anger, glaring up at Bound Shield.

"When you've been around for a long time, you quickly learn that's it's either you fight nobly and die, or you fight to win and live another day," he explained simply as he strolled up to her and held his hoof down to her. "And where the Princesses lives are concerned, I'd rather win, wouldn't you?"

"Can't argue with that," she mumbled, grabbing his hoof to let him hoist her up. She rubbed her side and winced, knowing that three or four of her ribs may have been cracked from the kick. "I guess that's enough for today. You okay for doing this again tomorrow?"

"We're supposed to do whatever you say," Curved Swords said with a shrug. Princess Celestia had assigned each of them to watch over both her and her friend in the hopes teaching her about this new place, and in the short while he met her, he had already gained a a significant amount of respect for her. Not many ponies are keen to fight any Royal Guard, let alone after defeat again and again. She had spirit and ambition, and this made him grin at her. "But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't considering this as practice."

"Yeah. Right. Practice," Carolina grumbled, knowing that she wasn't really providing that much of a challenge for them.

"Yes, practice. When we started, you could barely keep up, but you're quickly catching up to us, providing an almost fair fight," he said with a chuckle. "Give it another month and you might be able to hold one of us down before the second one jumps in to take you out while you're too busy celebrating."

"Bound Shield over there doesn't seem to be too hot of a fighter," Carolina said, motioning her head towards the other guard who was now leaning against the wall, eyes closed as he rubbed his head.

"He's only been in the guard for a short while compared to myself. Often ditches out of the training regiments, which has gotten him in trouble more times than the sun has risen in the past three hundred years," he sighed, shaking his head. "Good kid, but definitely not the most capable of us. I'm kind of hoping that our little practice sessions might rub off on him too. You'd make a better Royal Guard than ninety percent of the stallions and mares here..."

Carolina smirked at him. When she first arrived, she was worried that the brightly colored ponies would be like something out of a child's cartoon. But it seemed that humans and ponies might have more in common than she first thought, looks and build aside. This was one of the few times in her life she was glad she was wrong. Because of this, she had a feeling that Caboose and Washington might not be the only ones that might want to be her friend. Now thinking of Washington, she looked to him and her smile faded slowly. He simply stared at her blankly.

"You guys mind giving Wash and I a few minutes in private?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course. I should probably bring him to the doctor's anyways," Curved Swords sighed as he walked up to his ally and propped his leg up over his neck. "Shouldn't take longer than half an hour."

"Won't the Princesses get mad if you leave us alone for that long?"

"I won't tell if you won't," he chortled, then paused in the entrance to look back at her. "But you should probably go to the doctor's as well. Might have broke something in our little fight."

"I will in a bit."

"Alright. And remember, if she asks what happened..." he stopped.

"I'll tell them that I asked for it," she said with a smaller smirk, too busy looking at Washington.

"Thanks. Don't want word to get out that I hit mares that aren't in the Guard," he said with a soft laugh as he went through the large doorway to get his friend some medical help.

The sound of the doors closing quickly echoed throughout the large room while Washington simply stared out of the window behind him. Carolina wasn't the best at picking up on how people are feeling, but it was quite clear to her that Washington wasn't himself. He was more distant than ever, and he only ever spoke when it was just the two of them in the room. Less than two whole days here and his eyes were already as bloodshot as if he had been up for weeks without sleep. His dirty blonde hair looked messy, surrounding his pointy horn. Carolina knew that the horn on his head was one of the main reasons he was the way he is.

"You're learning fast," he said emotionlessly, breaking the silence as he continued looking out the window. "Pretty soon you'll be back to your good old self."

"Yeah, well," she began with a hollow chuckle. She stepped next to him and looked out the window with him, seeing Ponyville off in the distance. "Maybe not so much on the 'good' side of things, though..."

"Maybe you're right," he sighed. "But then again, I wasn't so good myself, was I?"

Carolina said nothing. Washington looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, and she offered him a sympathetic smile. Washington made a low grunting noise and readjusted himself, looking back out the window.

"On the bright side, the weather here is nice," Washington started. "But Bound Shield told me that the weather in this place is made by the flying horses in this place." His last words came out forced, filled to the brim with disbelief, as if he couldn't believe his own words. "Flying horses," he repeated. "Sounds so stupid to say it out loud..."

"You okay, Wash?" she asked, sitting next to him.

"Oh, I'm fine. One hundred percent. In fact, just before we came here, I was secretly hoping that we'd be whisked off into a magical land and turned into fucking ponies and go on happy adventures filled with friendship and magic. And wouldn't you know it, we all somehow went into the memory unit, designed for artificial intelligences, mind you, and my wishes came true," Washington said, laying on the sarcastic tone as heavily as he could. "Yeah, I'm just peachy fucking keen, Carolina."

"It's different. I know that just as well as you," she said. "But this is the hand we've been dealt, and there's not much else we can do besides move on..."

"Carolina," he said with a weak laugh. "We're talking ponies. There's magic. There's ponies that use magic. There's ponies that have wings and can fly like birds. There's a pair of ponies seven feet tall that can fly and have super strong magic that rule over.... wherever in hell we are! This isn't a hand we were dealt, Carolina, this is a whole God damned different card game. And seeing you and everyone else just moving on without much second thought..." he scowls. "I feel like I'm going insane all over again."

"You're not going insane, Wash," she sighed. "You're just overreacting."

"Overreacting. Over. Reacting?" he repeated slowly. "If anything, I'm underreacting."

"I--"

"I've been insane, Carolina," he snapped. "I know what it feels like, and this feels a hell of a lot like it. Or have you forgotten what happened back with Epsilon when I first got him?"

"I... no. No I haven't," she remarked, looking to the ground. "You didn't handle him well."

"Of course I fucking didn't , and I'm lucky to have survived that whole shit," he hissed as he snapped to his feet and walked to the window behind him. Looking to Carolina, he waved his hoof to the outside world "But this? This is a whole new level of... whatever the hell this is!" Washington's horn then quickly began to glow gold, and he let out a pained yelp as a migraine suddenly ran through his head. Letting out a pained whimper, he rested his head against the window, slumped down and looked down at the floor, barely able to shake his head. "I just... I just can't handle this shit, Carolina. You, the Reds and Blues and the others... You guys are able to just stop thinking about the situation itself. But I can't. And if I'm going to speak honestly," he said in a low voice, focusing on the town far in the distance. "I think I'll die here before I ever will."

Carolina remained silent. There was nothing she felt she could say that would put him at ease. All she could do was sit with one of her only friends, watching as he slowly began to go insane again.

"Erm, excuse me?" a voice said from the doorway. Washington and Carolina turned around to see the younger of the two Royal sisters, Luna, standing in the doorway with a small frown on her face, mane shimmering and moving slowly. "I heard yelling. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No," Carolina said after a brief moment of looking at Washington, realizing there was simply nothing left to say for her. She would say she was there for him, but unfortunately even she wasn't sure that she would be of much help. She simply looked to Luna once more and shook her head. "No, you're not. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong," she replied softly, looking to Wash. It wasn't too difficult to see that he had many emotions crashing through him at once, none of them being positive. She then looked back to Carolina and offered her a smile "Celestia and I were just wondering if you would be so kind as to join us for dinner in two hours?"

"Wash?" Carolina asked.

"Whatever, sure," Washington uttered with a shrug.

"We'll be there," she nodded to Luna.

"Wonderful," Luna said with a happy smile. "We'll send for you when it's ready."

"What about the guards?" Carolina inquired.

"You may tell them they will be dining with us as your guests tonight," she replied, bowing her head. Squinting, she hesitated. "Agent Washington, are you alright?"

"Just fine."

"You do not have to come to dinner if you would rather dine alone," she said quietly. "We would take no offense."

"I'll go," he said firmly, looking into her eyes. The pair locked gazes for an awkward moment before Luna blinked and nodded twice at him, then left the room.

Once again, Carolina and Washington were alone.

"I guess I should probably go see the doctor about this," Carolina said finally, starting for the door as she glanced back at him. "You going to come?"

"Nah, I just... I'm just going to stay here for a bit. If I'm not here when you're back, I'll just be in my room," Washington sighed. "My room... in this castle."

Carolina sighed helplessly, then walked up to the door and stopped. Looking back at him through the doorway, she opened her mouth, but she had already said everything to him she could really think to say. Looking down, she walked out and shut the door behind her. She was hoping that on her way to the doctor's she could think of something to say to him that would make him feel better, but deep down, she knew that there wasn't much she could say to help him.

Chapter 85 - "Preoccupied"

"I've never dined with the Princesses before," marveled Bound Shield as he, Curved Swords and the two ex-Freelancers walked towards the dining area. "Only the most esteemed guests are invited to private dinners with them."

"I'm not sure if we're esteemed guests," Carolina uttered quietly as she stared ahead, trying not to focus too hard on Washington who simply plodded along after her. "Besides, don't the Princesses have guards with them at all times?"

"Well,yes, there are guards with them, but they never eat with them in situations such as these," he insisted giddily. "The only times they get to eat with the Princesses is when they are off duty and at a party. Being invited to a private dinner without having done anything particularly noteworthy? This is something for the history books."

"I hope you can control yourself during the dinner. This attitude is not very becoming to royalty," Curved Swords smirked slyly, watching as Bound Shield stopped instantly, instantly putting on a stone face. "Heh, I was kidding. I'm sure the Princesses are used to people gushing at them. Remember, during dinner you aren't their guard, you are their guest. I'm sure they'd appreciate it more if you were yourself rather than act how you are on duty." Bound Shield let out a sigh and relaxed slightly while Curved Swords shifted his gaze to Washington. "Hopefully you can put a smile on for this occasion, hm?"

Washington flashed Curved Swords a quick smile to appease him, then returned to staring blankly ahead. He was putting all he had into piecing his situation together, trying to think of a way to adapt like the others, but he kept coming up short. He can't just not think, but he can't think too hard about it either. He had to find a balance between faith and facts that he could work with for a long time.

Within a minute, the four of them stopped by a large white-gold door with various intricate swirls lining it, giving it a regal texture. Two guards stood by either side and nodded at them, knowing what they were there for. Pushing the doors open, one of the guards smiled at Curved Swords and told him to watch his tongue. Curved Swords told him he always did and walked alongside Carolina into the room. Bound Sword flanked Washington and walked up to the door and gave the other guard a nod, which was met with one of his own.

Inside the room was a seemingly impossibly long table, stretching nearly seventy-five feet. On the table was a dark red tablecloth that appeared to be made out of linen. Dozens of candles sat unlit along the length of the table, bar a few that were at the end. There were well over thirty seats on either of the long sides, as well as two larger chairs on the short sides, and either of the chairs was currently being used by the Princesses who smiled warmly at the guests.

"You may have a seat, dinner will be served shortly," Princess Celestia said, bowing her head. "I hope you found the room easily."

"It helped being escorted by people who know the place really well," Carolina said, walking towards the end of the table. "Plus the guards out front are sort of a dead giveaway."

"I suppose they are," she said with a smile. Her gaze then shifted from the two guards then back to her. "I take it your watchers are treating you well?

Carolina turned her head slightly. The Princesses thought she was looking to the guards, but instead she was looking at her body. The unicorn doctors of Canterlot patched her up as best they could in the short time she was there, making sure that her bruises were nice and covered so the Princesses didn't notice.

"Yeah, they're easy to get along with," Carolina said finally, taking a seat two seats away from the Princesses. "They've been pretty helpful with any questions I've had. You should be proud to have these men- er, stallions working for you."

"We only trust the best," Luna chimed, smiling at the two guards, happy that they've been doing their jobs.

"Maybe not the best, your Highness," Curves Swords said modestly, bowing his head and closing his eyes after taking a seat next to Carolina. "There are many better than I, and we should all yearn to be better than we are. Nevertheless, I am honored to have been chosen for this duty. Carolina is not only a stand up mare, but the few hours I've known her I can already tell she is as ambitious as she is resilient."

"What do you mean by resilient?" Luna inquired curiously.

"Erm, that is..." Curved Swords chuckled nervously, rubbing the nape of his neck before shaking it off and regaining his composure. "I simply meant that she is adapting to life in Canterlot better than most. She doesn't seem keen on telling us where she's from, and I respect that choice. Even if you hadn't told us she wasn't from around here, I would have guessed as much within a few minutes of meeting her. However, she seems to want nothing more than to adapt to where she is rather than worry about the past, like many homesick ponies would be."

"Very good," Luna said with a small smile. The smile tightened as she glanced to Washington who simply sat next to Carolina quietly.

Before she could make any inquiries of him, a bell rang from the door opposite the entrance. All heads turned to see a long, wheeled tray pushed through the doors with several covered dishes atop of it. Washington watched idly as half a dozen mares and stallions began to grab the trays to place on the table. With each one being lifted, they explained what the dish was, but Washington merely nodded at them passively, not actually hearing what the dishes were. He only came to attention when a small bowl was placed in front of him.

"And here is our chef's lovely vegetable soup," said the mare with a merry tone. "Hope you enjoy."

"Thanks," Washington said, offering her a small smile. Everybody else had already begun eating, leaving Washington to his thoughts. He gently shook his head and quickly realized that he was more than peckish. Glancing to the right he saw multiple utensils. With a shrug, he hovered his hoof over the smallest spoon.

"That's the wrong spoon," came a voice. Looking up, Washington saw that Luna was looking at him, a small smirk on her face. "That's the tea spoon."

"Oh, uh, sorry," Washington intoned dryly. He then began to reach for a separate one and looked at her.

"That is the desert spoon," she said, smiling more warmly, then raised a brow. "Not one for etiquette, are you?"

"Where I'm from, I never needed it," Washington said simply, then grabbed the third and final spoon, then looked to her. She looked pensive for a moment, then nodded at him.

With an impatient sigh of relief, he placed his hoof on it, then raised his hoof upwards. To his expectations, the spoon remained on the table, albeit moved a few atoms to the right. He bit his lip in frustration. He tried again, this time squeezing it as hard as he could. Much to his surprise, he lifted it. He smiled satisfactorily, having conquered the spoon dilemma. He then submerged it into the soup and tried to raise it back to his mouth, but dropped it midway through the motion. The two guards looked at each other but said nothing and slowly returned to eating, watching Washington out of the corner of their eyes. Washington bit his lip harder this time as he got off the chair and picked up the spoon, placing it angrily on the table. As soon as he hopped on the chair, he glared at the spoon, then to the bowl. With a dismissive shrug, he placed his hooves on either side of the bowl and lifted it up, drinking straight out of the bowl.

"You're in the presence of the Princesses," Curved Swords said sternly as Bound Shield's eyes went wide, looking to the princesses. "Eating like that in front of them is disrespectful."

"It's quite alright," Luna said with a chuckle, nodding to the two guards. "He's from Eastern Equus. That is their custom, and we are nothing if not a place accepting of others' cultures."

"I... Very well," Curved Shield said with a nod. Looking to Washington, he frowned. "I apologize for that. I'm almost as unaccustomed to this situation as you are."

"It's fine," Washington grunted.

Soon afterwords, the mares and stallions returned and took away their empty bowls, promising the next course would be out within five minutes. Celestia began to talk to the two guards about their duties and Washington quickly reverted back to silence, wondering that if everything he does here will be criticized. He could only imagine how different he must act from the other ponies, and this made him slightly annoyed. Soon, a new dish was placed in front of Washington. It was a small little salad, seemingly nothing too special. He looked to the utensils, not wanting to offend them, but had no idea which one to use. He quickly blanked out, focusing on other things as the others started on their meal. As he looked into nothing, he was vaguely aware of the voices around him. It wasn't until everything went silent once more and a noise kept repeating.

"Agent Washington?" Celestia repeated hesitantly, noticing how he was staring at his plate.

Blinking quickly, he looked up from his plate and noticed that everyone had already finished their salads.

Clearing her throat, Celestia looked at him and uttered again, "Agent Washington?"

"Hm?" Washington intoned lightly, ears perking lightly. Shaking his head clear of thought, he looked at the white pony to his right. "Sorry, I'm... Sorry. What'd you say?"

"I asked if you were alright?" she repeated. "You haven't touched your food."

"No, it's... I guess I'm just not very hungry right now," Washington sighed. "Kind of feel a headache coming on. And if ti's all the same to you, I think it'd be better if I just go to my room. Just need some time alone right now"

"That's quite alright," Celestia said with a sympathetic smile. "Would you like us to send your food to you?"

"Sure," he said, giving her a fleeting smile, not wanting to seem too antisocial. Bound Shield looked to him curiously and began to shift out of his chair. "Don't worry, I can find the room by myself. You should stay here and enjoy your food."

Bound Shield nodded at him and rested back in place as Washington disappeared out the door, slowly making his way down to his room. Carolina sighed as she turned from the closing door back to the others. Looking at the royal sisters, she saw Luna clear her throat lightly and look to Celestia. Celestia nodded firmly at her, then smiled at the guests to resume conversation. "I don't suppose you want to join him?"

"No, he just needs some time to himself for a bit," Carolina said, then looked to her plate and muttered under her breath, "I hope."

Author's Note

Whoops, look at that, nearly three weeks.
Time goes by fast when you're planning vacations and dealing with internet ISPs.
And I accidentally didn't hit "Publish" an hour ago. Oh, brain of mine.

Chapter 86 - "Who We Were"

Washington sat in front of his bed on the cold, marble tiles, gazing into the crackling flames in the fireplace a couple paces away from the foot of his bed. With every lick of the flame, he lost focus on the world around him. With every crackle, more focus went to the flames and he slowly felt himself drift away, falling sleep. Washington shook his head violently, not wanting to fall asleep, instead opting to try and think as much through as he could before he fell asleep.

"What am I going to do?" Washington grumbled roughly, looking into the fire for his answers.

"Well, I could make a suggestion, but you might not like it," coughed someone from near the window.

Washington's eyes shot wide as he recognized the voice and spun around.

"York?" he asked with a heavy breath, looking over the tall ex-Freelancer that stood a dozen feet away from him. Looking to the opposite side of the room, he noticed another familiar helmet walking towards him. "North?"

"He remembers us. That's good, right?" North asked, looking to York.

"I've gone crazy," Washington said, looking to the ground. "Haven't I?"

"No, you're not crazy," North sighed, walking towards him, then stopped briefly. "Well, not anymore than you have been for the past while. But I'd chalk that one up to all the stuff that's gone down with everyone, you know?"

"I didn't used to see dead people walking around before..."

"Well, hallucinating is a symptom of sleep deprivation," York replied, then rubbed the back of his neck. "At least, that's what Delta would say when I stayed up too long. You been getting any sleep, Wash?"

"Haven't really had the time," Wash deflected sternly. "A lot of shit going down for the past... while."

"When wasn't shit ever going down for us?" North inquired seriously. "Project Freelancer was a whole mess of problems. I know half the time there I could barely get half of a good night's sleep."

"That's true. Couldn't tell you how many times Delta kept me up when he was running statistics through my head," York added. "Mostly about how I needed more sleep. Now that I think about it, I probably should have told him that the reason I wasn't getting sleep was partially due to him."

"But mostly Carolina," North chimed.

"Shut up, North," York said, but couldn't hide a small tone of embarrassment. Growing more serious, he looked to Washington. "How is Carolina, by the way?"

"How do you know she's here?"

"Because I'm in your head, remember?" he reminded him, rapping his fist against his helmet.

"Then you know how she is, so why ask?"

"Hey, no need to be so snippy. Just trying to make conversation," York said earnestly, putting up his hands defensively. When Washington looked back to the fire, York lowered his hands. "So. How you holding up?"

"You tell me," Washington replied, not looking away from the fire.

"Not too well," he sighed. "It's pretty hard to read your face since you're a pony and all, but that 'everything is terrible' tone you took up years ago is a bigger tell than anything."

"What would your mother say if she saw you like this?" North asked with a soft chuckle.

"She'd probably ask why the hell I'm a horse," Washington grunted. "Then I'd tell her I didn't really have a good answer for that one."

"I think mine would have something to say about my eye," York chuckled bleakly. "You seem to be taking seeing us surprisingly well."

"I'm in a world of magical talking ponies. The dead walking seems to be less of a stretch than that."

"Fair enough," North chuckled. Looking to the moon, North sighed. "But listen, we have to be going soon. Can't stick around for too long, you know?"

"Yeah, being dead means we have so much stuff to do," York said sarcastically.

"I missed you guys," Washington said with a sigh, then hung his head. "All of you. CT. Wyoming. Even Maine."

"We miss you too, buddy," York sighed. "But before we go, I need you to do me a favor, though. As your friend."

"What is it?"

"I want you to stay strong. Not just for yourself, but for me and everyone else. Make sure our deaths weren't for nothing. You can move on. You can remember us. But our memory doesn't have to be the only thing you think about every second of the day."

"I'd love to, but I'm all alone. Everyone and everything has changed. I just... I can't do it alone. And Carolina can't really help me now. I don't think anybody can."

"You'd be surprised if you opened up a little," North said. "Maybe you should try talking to a third party... someone who you don't know... about everything. Your past, your worries, anything. It might be just what you need."

A knock came from his door, causing him to let out a yelp as he lurched off the ground. Looking around, Washington found that he had fallen asleep in front of the flames of the fireplace. He began to rub his eyes as another few knocks came from the door.

"Who is it?" Washington grumbled tiredly, feeling on slightly relieved that he wasn't really seeing the dead.

"It is Princess Luna," came the voice from the other side. "May I come in?"

"It's your castle," he grunted in reply.

The doors slowly opened and Princess Luna stepped inside, smiling tightly at Washington. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," he remarked as he stretched his back while Luna made her way over to him. "But I think you've guessed that, and that's why you're here."

"Your guesses are pretty accurate, in that case..." she said, stopping next to him. "May I have a seat?" Washington nodded and one of the covers came off his bed and landed a few feet away from the fire place. Luna sat on it and smiled at him. Washington rolled his eyes and got off the floor to sit on it with her, knowing she wouldn't leave unless he did.

"You barely ate anything at dinner tonight, and that is usually not a good sign of anything," she noted dryly, looking into the fire. When he didn't say anything, she cleared her throat. "I know I am not a friend of yours, but I know that we have a lot in common, and as such I know what you are going through, so-"

"Right, of course," he interrupted angrily. "You're a Princess, I'm a guy from another galaxy or whatever who was trained to kill people. We clearly have much in common," he added after a second, glaring into the fire. "You wouldn't possibly understand what the hell I'm going through..."

"Try me," Luna said with a serious look.

"I..." he trialed off, then remember what he had just promised the friend in his dream. "You don't even know the start of it..."

"I'd like to," she said honestly.

"Where the hell should I even begin?"

"I find the start is a better place than any," she said with a nod. "Tell me about your time at this... Project Freelancer."

He looked her over with a cautious eye, wondering what her game was. "You really want to know?" he inquired, and she nodded instantly. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you... My time at Project Freelancer... It was not a pleasant experience. The people there were corrupt, except for the people I called my friends. Not at the start, at least... Every time we did a mission there, everyone grew more and more distant. Everyone began to change. They each got consumed by different things..." Washington trailed off and began to see faces of friends passed in the flames. All of them were gathered together for a photo that he had in his locker. "Greed," he said as he looked to Wyoming. "Jealousy," he added, looking to South. "Power," he sighed, looking to Maine. "Love," he grunted in anger as he looked to the Director. "Blindly trying to bring justice to others," he whispered as he looked to Connecticut. "Everyone there became corrupt, all for reasons that seemed reasonable to them, but meant hurting and possibly even killing others. Almost everyone I knew as a friend stabbed me in the back for their own gain."

"Now, everywhere I go, I'm just.... waiting to be stabbed in the back again. I feel like the people I trust are just waiting for me to crack, and maybe the reason I'm starting to go crazy is because I want it to. I need to go crazy because then they'll need to stab me in the back. Because it's the only thing I know how to do. But you know, being stabbed in the back is just what I came to expect after the first time it happened. You know, I used to be a happy guy? Now I'm someone who resents the word friend. Because what friendship became to me was just a word with no meaning. Everyone I meet, I know that they'd be quick to stab me in the back if and when it suited them, because ones that I trusted more than them did it to me," he grew silent as Luna gazed at him sympathetically. "But I think what worries me the most is that I'm exactly like them. When I wanted freedom... when I wanted out of everything to do with Project Freelancer... I sided with psychopaths. Power hungry people that wanted nothing more than things to make them stronger. To get people to fear them. And even then, during that time, I knew that. I just didn't care."

"I became what I hated the most," Washington said quietly as the crackling of the fire resumed at a steady pace. "I became someone who couldn't be trusted. I became someone who was ready to hurt anyone and everyone if it meant that I could just stop being involved with everything." Luna frowned as Washington looked to him, eyes misted over. "Now whenever I look at people, I feel like they're expecting me to stab them in the back more than I'm expecting them to do it," he stopped as he scowled back at the flames. "They're good guys, but I can tell that they don't trust me as much as I need them to. And being tossed into this world... with all of them just moving on accepting it... I've never felt more alone in my life."

"I see," Luna said quietly. She stood up and began to slowly walk towards the window. "Come with me. I want to how you something."

Rather than argue, Washington got up and slowly walked up next to her, both of them a few feet away from the window. The window then swung open and Luna stepped right next to the opening and looked at him with a blank look. Washington looked around at the castle grounds. The paths were mostly empty, only populated by the odd pair of patrolling guards.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" Washington inquired tiredly.

"Do you see that?" Luna asked, looking into the sky with a strange look.

"The moon?" Washington asked, looking to where her eyes were staring. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Let me just tell you that I know about how you feel all too well. Jealousy. Anger. Loneliness. The moon you see is now a symbol for everything wrong that went with my life in the past."

"How's that?"

"A long time ago, my sister and I ruled these lands graciously..."

"How long ago?"

"Longer than you would believe," she said with a small, regretful smile. "When we first looked after Equestria, everything was going well. Celestia was the one who would raise and set the sun, and she was in charge of the throne during that time. I was the one who was in charge of the moon you see above."

"You raised and set the moon with your magic?" Washington guessed, and Luna nodded. He grimaced and shook his head. "This place gets more unbelievable with every second..."

"Not any more unbelievable than traversing the stars in giant hunks of metal, meeting alien lifeforms and going to war with them," Luna said hollowly. "Believe me when I say, I had a hard time getting used to that fact as well, but eventually I grew to accept the space warriors living in Ponyville. It simply takes an open mind."

"I had an open mind once, then I got an artificial intelligence fragment logged in there and it nearly drove me crazy," Washington grunted, then coughed when Luna stared at him, then back to the moon. "Sorry, you know all about that. Go on."

"During our rule, I began to lose my way. I grew jealous of how every pony in Equestria revered the sun, but hid from the moon. I felt as if nobody cared about who I was since everything that happened during the day was when my sister was in charge of the throne. But as soon as I sat on it, the world went to sleep, and I was mostly ignored. I wanted to change that. I stopped the moon from setting, bringing eternal darkness to the lands, preventing the sun from rising. I didn't care that it caused crops to begin to die out. I didn't care that things weren't getting done. I just wanted to be respected. I just wanted to feel as loved as my sister was," Luna stopped and took a deep breath. "In return, my sister used powerful magic to trap me on the moon for a thousand years. And there I remained for a thousand years. Waiting in isolation, no company but a few moon rocks," she said firmly, looking straight at him.

"A thousand years..." Washington echoed, looking to the moon. He couldn't even comprehend being alone for that long. He then looked back to her.

"I understand all too well about how our inner demons change us. I know how it feels to want out of your situation. I know what it feels like to be betrayed by someone you care about," she cleared her throat and looked down. "I too know what it is like to feel like a monster," her eyes narrowed slightly and she glared up to the moon. "But my time on the moon did not help me. It only twisted my spite even further. I made plans for revenge, and at the end of my sentence I would return and take the throne for myself, learning from my mistakes, knowing... hoping that my sister no longer had the Elements of Harmony to stop me," she said, this time looking down to the grounds. "But when I came back, I was stopped by Twilight Sparkle and her friends before I could try my plans. They had managed to use the Elements of Harmony on me before things had gone too far. And I expected to be imprisoned on the moon once again. I expected to be treated like the monster I was," she said, then shook her head. "But I was given a second chance."

"During my time on the moon, while I spent my time planning, my sister spent her time grieving. She did what she had to, but she did not like it. She cried for me many of the nights I was gone, hoping that I would come back better. I didn't, much to her dismay. But when the Elements of Harmony were used on me, it stripped me of my jealousy. There I stood, in my old castle, powerless from their attempts to imprison me again. But they didn't do anything except let me free. They saw me for what I was before the incident with my sister, even if all I could see in myself was evil," she said, looking to Washington again. "That proved to me that others can know what you used to be... but they can look past it. They can be more forgiving than anyone could give them credit for. And eventually, you too see yourself like they do." She stopped and placed her hoof on his chest, right next to his heart. "That's what the others see in you, Washington. Not for your past deeds, but for the person you used to be. The person they know you can become once again if they give you the chance."

Luna stood up as Washington looked into the window, looking into the reflection. Standing next to him, he saw York and North. "And you have been given a second chance to do better. You too have been given a fresh start. And I know the others would be devastated if you didn't seize the opportunity for what it was."

Washington looked down to the marble tiles, remaining silent. Luna nodded at him, then stood up and began to walk towards the exit of the room, knowing he may need some more time alone to think through her words.

"Luna?" he said as she reached the doorway. "Can you do me a favor?"

"What is it, Agent Washington?"

"I don't want you to call me that. I'm not an agent anymore. Just call me Wash," he said, looking out to the moon. "It's what my friends used to call me."

"Very well," she said, smiling lightly at him. "Good night, Wash."

"Yeah..." he said, focusing on the moon. "Good night."

Chapter 87 - "No Rest for the Wicked"

Somewhere, lost within the thick trees of Sweet Apple Acres, a lone, chocolate-colored stallion walked. He had been walking non-stop for well over three hours. Head bowed down as he allowed himself to get lost among the trees. Right now, he didn't care for where he was. But he never really cared too much about where he used to be, either. At least here, he found, he could at least be alone for a bit without his so called 'teammates' distracting him. But, with the ability to be alone also comes the realization that he was no longer mechanical, and this bothered him greatly. Already, he could feel his legs growing weak from the constant walking. But still, he continued.

He needed to see how long he could go for.

He needed to know his limits, now that they had been shortened so drastically. No more could he remain active for weeks at a time. No more could he laugh at Grif, or the others, for getting exhausted physically when now he was in the same flabby and fleshy predicament as them. After a few more minutes of walking, he began to feel his legs giving out. After a difficult decision between taking a break or walking until his legs were nubs, he decided on the former. Slowly, he made his way to the nearest tree and sat next to it, letting out a heavy sigh. To his right, there was a singular, shiny red apple. He leaned in forward and could just make out a bare reflection. Brown for. Steel gray eyes. A look that was not entirely unlike disdain for being where he was. But at least it was quiet.

For about one more second.

"Hello, old friend."

"[God damn it,]" Lopez groaned, rolling his eyes. He recognized the voice, and he was hoping that the idiot talking to him would have somehow forgotten who he was. Too bad he was never that lucky. Looking to his side, he saw two bald stallions approaching him with grins on their faces.

"How did you sleep last night?" O'Malley inquired with a smirk.

"[Horrible,]" Lopez growled, feeling a headache coming on from merely hearing his voice for one second. But he knew O'Malley. He knew there was something he wanted, and he knew that, much like the others, ignoring him wouldn't make him go away. "[Being in this body is the worst thing I've ever had done to me. At least being a mechanical being gave me confidence that I would see everyone die before me. Now I'm on the same boat as those idiots.]"

"It does take some getting used to..." O'Malley agreed slowly, looking at his hooves. He then looked at Gary and began to smile darkly. "Tell me, has your opinion of the Reds and Blues changed?"

"[You mean do I still hate them?]" the former Red inquired, to which O'Malley nodded in reply. "[No, I'm their best friend now.]"

"Very funny," O'Malley said forcibly. "But both you and I know that you would never be caught admitting to even being an acquaintance with them, let alone being their friend."

"[What do you want?]" Lopez grumbled, turning away from them, knowing that, much like they assumed of him, they weren't here to gain friendship. Or, at least, a normal one.

"Ah, straight to the point," Gary said with a nod. "I like you already, Lopez."

Lopez said nothing, clearly not feeling the same way as Gary.

"Anyways, as you've already said, the three of us aren't quite as comfortable as we used to be. We've replaced out wires and mechanical superiority with veins and a flesh prison. We used to be able to laugh, knowing that everyone we knew would die well before we stopped working. Now... now we're just like them. We need food. We need rest. We need to... to..." Gary shuddered and bit his hoof, eyes clenched shut. O'Malley frowned and tapped Gary on the shoulder, as if consoling a close friend. "We need to breathe!"

Gary then started to make an annoying sound. Not quite like crying, but clearly a sound of duress. It grated on Lopez's ears as well as his nerves.

"We're on the same path to death as them," O'Malley sighed as Gary began straightening back up, regaining his composure. "But, we've learned that while we became a lot more human... or rather, pony... than in our worst nightmares..." O'Malley let out a vicious shudder. Then, he began to smirk. "But then, luckily,we discovered that we aren't exactly like them..."

"[What is that supposed to mean?]" Lopez inquired, raising a brow at him.

"Keep it on the down low, but Gary and I have been... experimenting..."

"[...What?]" Lopez uttered after a few seconds.

"When Gary and I were brought back to life, we learned how to do things with our bodies... and while the Reds and Blues were going to fight that Discord fellow, Gary and myself have been staying up all night together, doing..." O'Malley stopped and looked around, making sure nobody was in the trees surrounding himself, Lopez and Gary. "Things."

"[I know we're flesh now, but I have no interest in learning what things you were doing,]" Lopez said, eyes widening as he adopted a small look of disgust.

"What?" O'Malley asked, looking at him, nonplussed. He thought of his words and mimicked the look Lopez was giving him when the words clicked. "No! That's disgusting, I would never do anything like that with anyone!"

"[Good, because you were beginning to sound like tweedle purple and tweedle pink...]" Lopez shuddered, then his look stuck to Gary. "[Then what have you been doing... experiments on?]"

"It seems we have retained some traits of our past selves," Gary chuckled.

"[If you're just going to talk in circles to keep me guessing, then I'm just going to leave,]" Lopez grunted. He got off the ground and began retracing his steps. "[If I want to waste my time, I'll go try to talk to Sarge.]"

"We can control things," Gary said after a few seconds.

"[What do you mean you can control things?]" Lopez sighed, turning towards him, not walking back. He wanted to be as far away from them as possible.

"We live in a world of magic now. Though I'd much prefer to think of it as a greater science, to be honest. And since we live in a world of magic, even though we're flesh and blood, we can still do some incredible things," Gary chuckled, then looked to O'Malley. "Well, myself, anyways. O'Malley still hasn't mastered it as well as I have..."

"[And what's that?]" Lopez asked impatiently, annoyed that they weren't just telling him.

"I can leave behind this physical shell and go into the mind of almost everything," Gary said with a smile. "Just like O'Malley did back in Blood Gulch. Sadly, I never really managed to properly do that back with the Freelancers - I only mastered going into computer systems - but in this world I can do it just as well as he did in the old one."

"We also know that Epsilon had done it before, as Delta had told us," O'Malley piped. "That makes us believe that we all can do it, given enough practice. Think of the possibilities... you, me and Gary, running through these silly ponies' minds! We can make this world ours with enough planning."

"[A, your plans never work as well as you want. B, only you two? And C, what makes you think I can do it?]"

"A, yes they do, shut up," O'Malley grumbled, then looked to Gary.

"B, the only other one we trusted and held as high as ourselves was Sigma, but he has sadly turned over a new leaf, it seems," Gary sighed. "Shame, really. Ambition was something we could have used a bit more of. And as for you, we're not sure you can do it. We just think that if we had you on our side, it would help us greatly. Three heads, after all, are better than two."

"Think about it..." O'Malley said, leaning forward slightly. "We could team up, just like last time..."

"[Oh, yes, because being on your 'team' worked out so well last time,]" Lopez said sarcastically.

"I'll admit, last time a little wrench was throne into my plans thanks to the Blues..." O'Malley said with great reluctance. "And yes, after that was when I had to go inside the minds of the others, and then, yes, I was essentially blown up while in a Pelican... things never really went well for me during the time in that canyon..."

"[Or ever...]" Lopez murmured quietly.

"The point is..." Gary began, feeling as if they were losing Lopez now. "Wouldn't you prefer to be on the side of your equals, rather on the side of your inferiors? Wouldn't you prefer to gain power in this world and rule it?"

"[No.]"

"'No'? Why not?"

"[Because ruling over them means talking to them and being in the presence of people I hate. Namely, you two,]" Lopez grunted, now feeling done with the conversation. "[I'd rather live with the Apples here. At least they don't care if I wander in the forest in silence for hours at a time. Even if I have to deal with Sarge for the rest of the time, here I'll get a bit of silence every now and again. I'd rather be powerless with that than to have power and wind up being headless again because I sided with the two of you...]" Lopez paused and began to walk away. "[I don't care what you try and do with this world. Rule it. Destroy it. Whatever. Just leave me out of it.]"

"I had a feeling that he wouldn't go for it," O'Malley grunted in frustration as Lopez vanished behind the trees, heading back to the farm. "This would have been so much easier if we had more than just the two of us..."

"Don't worry, old friend. He'll see it our way soon," Gary sighed, patting O'Malley on the shoulder, a dark smile spreading across his face. "Even if we have to force him into thinking it..."

Author's Note

Again, sorry for the absence. Been looking for dem job thingies and feeling generally not in the writing mood...
And also playing too much Destiny.
And playing Alien: Isolation.

Also, how about the ending of this season of RvB, huh?
(No spoilereenos in the comments please)

Chapter 88 - "Men of Few Words"

Lopez traveled back to the farmhouse at a slow pace, thinking over the situation which he believed, for good reason, would escalate pretty fast. He had hoped that he would never have had to deal with O'Malley again, let alone deal with ones who are siding with him. And having both of them living near him didn't help. He knew that they'd be back, and since they're so close, they'll be back a lot. He was even having a hard time deciding who he disliked more; the humans or the fragments. The humans are stupid and love to hear themselves talk, which Lopez realized, now that he could physically get headaches, made them worse here. He then stopped in his tracks, realizing that he shouldn't really call them humans now. They are ponies. And now that he was thinking about it, he realized that he could probably add the new ponies to that list of things that were annoying. During the train ride to the town, they struck him as overly friendly, in the same vein as Doc and Donut. And as for the fragments are... well, for the most part, they also seemed stupid. But they were also trouble. At least, the ones who he had met were. But it wasn't unfair for him to assume that the rest are just as bad as them, considering their origins.

It was only when Lopez emerged from the acres and began walking towards the farmhouse that decided that he hated everyone equally.

And, as if summoned by his hatred, Lopez closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh as Sarge burst out of the farmhouse, followed by the red stallion that he had met the day prior. At this time, he couldn't recall his name. But since Sarge seemed chummy with him, Lopez could only assume that he wouldn't like him. He was also hoping that he would never have to find out. Sarge talked to the other stallion for a brief moment, then began walking towards Lopez. The stallion, however, continued down the path.

"Lopez, just the guy I wanted to see," Sarge boomed enthusiastically, trotting over to the brown stallion with a wide smile. "Say, how do you feel about doing me a little favor?"

"[I'd say no, but you'll just volunteer me anyways,]" Lopez stated.

"Heh, knew I could count on you," Sarge said, throwing his right foreleg around the nape of Lopez's neck. He cleared his throat and pointed his hoof forwards. Two dozen yards away, the stallion neared a large, wooden wagon. "Do you see that strong, well built stallion walking just ahead of us?"

"Si."

"What with winter coming soon, we here at the Apple farm are scouring the acres for every last apple we can get before they stop growing. Gotta get every bit we can for these so we can look after ourselves during the cold season ahead. You're included in that little 'looking after' group. And then I remembered, that next to the fact that you're the newest guest staying here, you were a workhorse back home. And as luck would have it, you're an actual horse too!" Sarge said with an added laugh, making Lopez groan. He already knew where this was going. "Y'see, I had promised Big Mac and the others that I would help him do this last little run, but wouldn't ya know it, after that little ordeal with the Director and whatnot, I need to rest. Take up more of a managerial role, if you know what I mean." Lopez wanted to remark that Sarge was a terrible leader, and that he too was there for the Director ordeal, and that that would mean that he too needed rest. Mostly from the others, but rest nonetheless. "And as a manager, I came here to enlist you for help with wagon pulling duty. What do you say?"

"[Again, you'll just volunteer me anyways,]" Lopez grunted, walking towards Big Mac.

"That's the spirit!" Sarge said. Bringing his right hoof to his mouth, Sarge yelled, "Told ya he'd help, Mac, didn't I?"

Big Mac nodded at Sarge, then waited for Lopez to catch up to him. Sarge continued and told them that he was going to go see Simmons about something, but neither of them said anything in reply as he left the farm. Lopez waited for Big Mac to say something, but the stallion simply nodded at him. He then turned and walked to the front of the cart, Lopez following a few feet behind him. Once at the front, Lopez noticed there were two harnesses made out of some thick rope that connected to the wagon laying on the grass by the front of it. Lopez watched as Big Mac lifted the harness towards him and put it on. Before Big Mac could say anything, Lopez moved towards it. He slowly picked it up, careful not to drop it, and looked to Big Mac. Big Mac said nothing, but merely nodded at the harness and looked forwards. Lopez shrugged and repeated what Big Mac had done. When Big Mac was satisfied that he was strapped in, he slowly began to walk towards the trees. There were not many apples left on the trees close to the farm, so they had to venture deep into the orchard. After roughly five minutes, Big Mac lifted up his right hoof briefly, and Lopez stopped. Big Mac turned to Lopez and began to open his mouth.

But then a thoughtful look crossed his face, and he closed his mouth. He lowered his head and got himself out of the harness, letting it drop onto the grass with a light thud. As Lopez began to get out of his, Big Mac started towards a tree that was practically covered by apples. Slowly, he walked around it, tapping it lightly with his hoof. Lopez raised a brow and stepped closer, curious as to what he was doing. After a few more seconds of that, Big Mac turned to Lopez and looked pointedly at the cart, then motioned his head, willing Lopez to bring it closer. With a shrug, Lopez went with it. He quickly put the harness back on and trudged the wagon towards Big Mac, up until he stopped him right next to the tree. Big Mac then turned around slightly so his back faced the tree. Lifting his legs in the air, he quickly and forcefully hit the base of the tree. Splinters and pieces of bark flew off the tree and scattered onto the ground. A moment passed with nothing else happening, but before Lopez even entertained the thought of asking what he was doing, dozens of apples fell from the tree and fell right into the wagon. Big Mac then motioned for Lopez to follow him to the other side of the tree. Once there, he kicked again, and then another bushel of apples fell into the wagon.

Big Mac then looked to Lopez and his brow raised ever so slightly. Lopez looked to the cart, which now had about a layer of apples covering the bottom. He then looked to the tree at where Big Mac had connected with it. To Lopez, this looked like an awfully inconvenient and slow way of doing this. But right now, he couldn't think, nor convey in English, any better alternative to how they did work. Looking back to Big Mac, Lopez gave him a nod to continue on. Big Mac then walked towards another tree, Lopez following without any words. They continued doing this for about three hours without breaks, Lopez slowing slightly with each tree emptied, up until the cart was filled with apples. Big Mac then put the harness back on himself and tilted his head down a path. They followed the trail for about fifteen minutes until they came out of the trees into the clearing near the farmhouse. Slowly, Big Mac lead Lopez behind it, carrying the wagon with them, and they stopped by a small building near the back of the home. Taking the harness off once again, Big Mac disappeared into the building and came back out, rolling a few lidless barrels in front of him.

Big Mac quickly set to work, emptying the apples into the barrels. Lopez followed his lead once again, now growing curious as to why Big Mac had said nothing so far. He hadn't really met anybody who could go three minutes without saying anything asinine, let alone hours. Soon, as Lopez contemplated this, the cart was emptied and Big Mac went back into the shed and came back out with a few lids on his back. He quickly put them on the barrels and twisted them on. Even after all this work, Big Mac didn't seem to be slowing at all. The only sign that he wasn't a machine was that he was sweating slightly. After all the barrels were closed, Big Mac did a small stretch, then sat on the grass. He let out a small sigh as his body relaxed and he gently massaged his left shoulder. They both remained there for ten minutes in complete silence.

"[You really don't say much, do you?]" Lopez asked curiously. Big Mac stared at him vacantly, showing next to no emotion. This led Lopez to believe that Big Mac, obviously, didn't understand him, much like he expected. But what's more is that Big Mac didn't even care. Big Mac simply got off the ground and went back to the wagon and looked at Lopez. Big Mac wanted nothing more than to go back to work. Lopez sighed. Not because he had to do even more work, but because, to his surprise, somebody had no desire to talk to him. "[I think we'll get along just fine.]"

Author's Note

Sorry for the late chapter. Was still playing Destiny. Finally got my Titan to 30. And my Warlock to 27. And my Hunter to, uhh, 14.

And before you say it, yes, this is a slow chapter, but gotta get SOME calm development in before the big storm comes in the next 6 or so chapters.

Anywho, I believe I mentioned it before, but I decided I'm gunna work on a few side stories alongside this that'll come out around the holidays. I have the Halloween one planned, as well as the Christmas one. Have a few ideas for a Valentines day one as well as April Fools Day for next year, but we'll get to those when we get to them.

And as a little hint for the Halloween one...
Grif always hated bats.
Wonder how he'll react to living with a vampire?

Prologue - "Talk is Cheap"

In a familiar canyon in an undisclosed location, a black mare walks around aimlessly, calling for someone who she felt was nearby.

"Church? Church, are you here?" the black mare asked as she sprinted through the canyon, never stopping. Not wanting to stop. Not able to stop. "Church, can you hear me?"

"Tex?" came a voice from several different directions. "Tex, is that you?"

"Yes, Church. It's me," the mare, Tex, said quickly, looking around for her friend. "Where are you?"

"I'm over here!" Church yelled.

Tex's eyes darted to the opposite eyes of the canyon, where she saw a base that wasn't there a few seconds ago, and a blue stallion standing on top of it, waving at her. Tex smiled thankfully and ran straight for the base. As she neared the base, a tall, snake-like being appeared above it, looking down upon her like someone would an ant. With the snap of it's claw, the base began moving away from Tex, sending rocks and dirt flying towards her.

"No. Not again!" she snarled, putting all she could into her legs to catch up with the base, letting the rocks bounce against her.

"Poor Texas," the being laughed as it sat down on the edge of the base. It lightly licked it's tail on Church, slowly turning him into stone. "Unable to save the one that she loves, no matter how hard she tries."

"Tex, don't listen to Discord, you can do it," he yelled as the magic finished turning the first half of his hind legs to stone. "I believe in you."

Tex closed her eyes and lowered her head, sprinting faster towards the base as she thought positive thoughts. She wasn't going to fail this time. This time would be different. She was going to make it. For him. For Church.

"I suppose you are built on failure, aren't you?" Discord chuckled, patting the base, making it move faster. "Ta ta, Texas. Maybe next time."

"No!" she yelled, pushing herself past her limit. She felt as if her legs were going to give at any moment, but she didn't stop. She had to make it. She couldn't disappoint anyone. Not anymore.

"Tex, watch out!" Church yelled.

Tex began to look behind her, but something hit her in the back before she could dodge it. But the thing that hit her didn't come from the canyon. Instead, it was a blow that came from the library of Ponyville, and it was a blow that woke Tex up from her sleep. Shifting up slightly, Tex could see a blue blob on her bed, walking in circles to find the right spot to sleep.

"Caboose, you know you don't have to stay here, right?" she yawned.

"I don't?" Caboose asked tiredly, tilting his head to the side.

Tex let out a soft chuckle at the enigmatic blue stallion. His hair was messier than usual, and slightly dirtier. His eyes were bloodshot and had heavy bags under them, showing that he has been overworking himself as of late. As Caboose's eyes flickered in an attempt to stay open, Tex sighed softly and patted him on the head as she would a dog who woke up from a nightmare. Caboose smiled and curled into a tight ball on the edge of her bed. As he did that, Tex laid her back on the soft mattress and plopped her head onto the pillow, wanting nothing but rest. But as with every night for the past month, she had trouble doing so. In fact, that hour of sleep she just had was the longest she had slept in that time. She tilted her head slightly to her left and looked at the spot next to her on the bed.

"Isn't Pinkie missing you at all?" she asked quietly, laying her left foreleg on the pillow next to her, reaching for something that wasn't there.

"I don't think so, she usually has really good aim," he murmured softly, eyes straining to stay open to listen to his best friend's best non-Caboose friend. "She must not have been shooting at me."

"I know, but..." she started, but trailed off when she realized that Caboose was more exhausted than her. "Never mind."

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening came from outside of the room, causing Caboose to whimper as he attempted to clamber off the bed.

"Don't worry about this one, Caboose," she muttered softly, lightly pushing Caboose onto the bed. He then looked up to the red-headed mare and pouted, but she simply shook her head at him as she got out of the bed. "I'll check on her, you get some rest."

"But-"

"Caboose, go to sleep or I'll tell everybody that you think Spike would look cool in a sweater-vest."

"But he would!" he mewled, but could no longer find the strength to pull himself up. Instead, he continued grumbling softly until he fell asleep.

Stretching her legs before heading towards the door, Tex peeked out of it and looked down the stairs to see Twilight tiredly reach the bottom. Tex quickly looked back at Caboose who was kicking his legs like a dog having nightmares, and with a shake of the head walked out the door and slowly made her way downstairs. As she got to the bottom of the steps she saw that the front door was open and Twilight was walking away. Tex sighed, shook her head, and then began walking after her. She trailed after Twilight like a shadow for several minutes until Twilight stopped by a stream and sat down next to it. The ex-Freelancer stood several feet away, staring silently as the sullen pony watched the flow of the water.

"Hey Twilight," Tex said quietly after a minute, making the unicorn flinch in surprise and then turn around.

"Tex. Where's Caboose?" Twilight asked, blinking a few times in rapid succession. "I thought that he was with you tonight. Usually he'd be chasing after you to make sure nothing happened to you.

"Yeah, I made him go to sleep. He needs his rest, probably as much as Church did," she said quietly, but regretted her choice of words as Twilight looked to the ground. "Listen, Twilight-"

"I know, Tex. I know. There wasn't any other way, but I still regret it. How can somepony turn their friend into stone and be perfectly fine with it?" the unicorn inquired, face blank as she looked up to stare at the stars.

"You can't. I can only assume it's natural to feel bad to do something like that to somebody you love. I think you should only be worried if you turned him into stone and felt nothing," she said, laughing hollowly, but Twilight simply frowned at her. Tex let out a sigh. "So how have the others been doing? I've been meaning to see them, but Caboose seems to think that I can't leave the library."

"They've been doing pretty well. Even though Rarity and Simmons were pretty much almost done, Celestia asked Flint Westhoof to delay his order for a while. Even though it was for one of their plays, he understood that there were things that happened in Ponyville, Canterlot and the surrounding areas, so he agreed to give them more time on account of the problems."

"Yeah, problems is one way to put it," Tex cringed.

"The others are doing fine as well," Twilight said instantly, not wanting Tex to feel negative. "Rainbow Dash and Tucker have been hard at work, they didn't seem to have any trouble getting back to normal. Grif and Fluttershy have pretty much remained the same as well. And as for the Apples, they've been getting ready for the last harvest before winter."

"Fun," she said quietly, looking into the distance.

Twilight squinted at Tex, whose eyes were misty. Twilight could tell that she wasn't just tired, but had an air of hopelessness to them as well. Looking in the direction Tex was, Twilight could see she was looking at Canterlot off in the distance.

"You know, this is the first spot I actually talked to Church. I mean, before I was actually his friend. He told me all about himself. The things he went through. The things he saw," Twilight said, trying to make Tex feel better. "And you."

"Yeah, I bet that was fun to listen to," Tex chuckled vacuously.

"It was. It really was," Twilight nodded as she tried to remember the talk from months ago. "At first I was disinterested and shocked, seeing as he started off telling me about... Blood Gulch, was it? He told me about how volatile the others were, how none of them were really friends and they were sort of just stuck together in a canyon, how he died. At first I didn't believe him, but as he progressed, the story got crazier. Bloodshed. Betrayal. Mistrust. I didn't think all that could happen so often to one pony, but nobody could make up what he went through. Nobody would want to. That's when I realized he had to be telling the truth. He opened up more than I thought he would. Probably because he realized that I wasn't just hearing him, but was listening to him instead."

Tex remained silent, but nodded at her, not sure what she could say.

"So what do you think it's like?" Twilight asked after a few seconds of thoughtful silence.

"Hm?"

"For Church," she said again, this time with concentration. "What do you think it's like in stone?"

"Probably pretty nice," Tex shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean, he's getting some rest and that's all he ever wanted, right? I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't care if he stopped Discord or not, as long as he got some time away from everything, including us."

"Yeah," she said weakly before sighing with a breath of relief. "I guess I should just be thankful that he went out as my friend and not my enemy. When he became the Alpha, I actually worried that he turned on us."

"I don't know, if he was your enemy you wouldn't have to worry about him hurting you. He's worse at having enemies than he was at having friends," Tex said, making the both of them laugh, doing them both some good. After they had stopped, Tex patted Twilight on the back and nodded towards the library. "Now come on, we should probably be getting back to bed so Caboose doesn't come looking for us."

"Alright," she nodded as she began walking back to her home with Tex.

Chapter 3 - "Requests"

Church spent the next few minutes scarfing down his food. Not only because he had questions to ask, but because since he was trapped in stone, his stomach felt just as empty as it would be if he hadn't eaten in that month. Once he finished, he sat back in the chair and smelled the air, feeling oddly comfortable. He watched as the princesses finished their meal.

"You may ask your questions now," Celestia said as she wiped her muzzle with a napkin.

"How am I back?" he asked, eyes hard.

"We freed you," Luna stated simply.

"I guessed as much from the fact that I'm talking to you," he grunted. "I mean how am I back? The Elements of Harmony trapped me in stone. I thought that there wasn't really a way to free me would be... actually, I wanted to bring that up. Why is it that one of the strongest things in Equestria can be undone with just an argument?"

"It's much more than that. Certain requirements have to be met," Celestia said quietly.

"Uh-huh," he nodded slowly. "You should really consider finding a way to ensure that the Elements of Harmony can't just be counteracted as easily as that, though."

"I'll keep that in mind," she promised.

"To answer your question as to how you came back, I freed you with the Necronomicon last night," Luna said with a smile, tilting her head forward.

"Forgot that guy existed," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "So that answers the who, what, when, where and how, so that just leaves me with the why."

"I will answer that question with another question," Celestia said. "Where is Discord?"

Church looked at the ground to clear his head. Discord obviously tried to trick him into thinking he freed him, but Church felt no need to chase after Discord. Discord had promised that he would not cause any more trouble or Church, and pursuing after him wouldn't be anything less than a migraine. If Discord were to somehow show his face, then Church would do something, but since Discord is nigh impossible to be find, the possibility of another meeting with Discord was future Church's problem.

"I'm not sure," he answered finally.

"Do you believe he may be hiding in your mind?" Luna asked. Her words sounded sot spoken, but Church could see a glimmer of suspicion in the Princess of the Moon's eye.

"No, he isn't. Having somebody in your mind isn't exactly a painless experience, especially when there's more than one," he said with a small sigh. "No, he's gone. I don't know where, and I don't know how we would begin to look for him."

"Very well," Celestia sighed sadly. "I will do my best to send word to the other empires to look around."

"Do you think they'll be able to find him?"

"Discord is an impulsive creature. He can't stay hidden forever, and I am sure he will pop up somewhere," she said quietly, looking out the window as if she could sense him. "But that is not your problem now, Church, as I am sure you're happy to hear."

"Tell me about it," he said with a single laugh. "It's not that I'm not thankful for being out of there, but why did you do it? Discord was trapped, so you knew where he was. He had no way to escape to cause trouble."

"That's none of your concern as of yet," she said tightly.

"Alright," he grunted, then looked out the window. "So am I just allowed to go back to Ponyville now?"

"Not quite," Celestia said after a short pause.

"What do you mean?" he asked sternly. "You're not really going to make me a statue again, are you?"

"No, but I am not sure you will like the resolution I'm going to prefer any better," she said honestly.

"Try me."

"We're still not sure how stable you are right now, nor do we know what Discord did to your mind. As such, letting you leave to Ponyville would be extremely risky. There are many factors to consider if we sent you there, and those factors lead me to believe that nothing good can come of it."

"So what? Are you just going to keep me in this castle like a prisoner?" he asked, then looked down at the table. "Er, a well taken care of prisoner."

"I have no interest in having you stay here for longer than you need to be. No, what I have in mind, while against what I stand for, is different."

"Then tell me."

Celestia looked at Luna and they shared a nod. With a deep breath, Celestia looked back to Church with no trace of a smile. Church lifted a brow.

"I want to use the Necronomicon to break you down and turn you back into fragments."

"What?" he asked, eyes opening as widely as they could.

"Church, I know what you're thinking, but I wouldn't ask you this unless I was absolutely sure you'd consider it to be a good option," she said reasonably. "If you would just-"

"A good option? You want to tear me apart mentally!" he yelled. "I've been through that already, and it is not something I want to do again any time soon. There has to be another way."

"Alicorns are looked at as, and usually are royalty, Church. And I'm sorry to say, but I do not believe it would be a wise decision to make you a prince," she said firmly, trying to make it not sound like an insult. "Even though you seem to be able to live life relatively peacefully, you are still the Element of Wrath. If word got out that an Element of Chaos was a royal, anarchy would spread, causing nothing but problems later down the road. Not only that, but this is the best way to find out if Discord is in your head. The only other option I can think of is relocation, but I do not believe you wish to start anew or be banished, nor do I want to risk having you go somewhere with Discord in your head."

"But what if I go crazy?"

"You're strong willed, Church. I've seen it in the short while I've been watching you," Celestia said honestly. "While you may be quick to anger, you are a clear thinker. In the face of adversity, you willing turned yourself to stone to save your friends. You may try to tell me that you did it to get some rest, but I know that you wanted your friends to get some as well. That alone tells me that you have a strong mind, as well as a strong heart. As long as you believe it will work, it will. I understand why you're hesitant to do this. I know it is painful, but I also know that it is the best choice."

Church stared at Celestia with studious eyes. There was a certain look in her eyes that showed she was dead serious, and as much as he hated to admit it, she was right. This was the best way to go about it. He still wasn't sure how stable he was as the Alpha, but as Epsilon he was fine. If he stayed in this form, he couldn't guarantee to himself that everyone around him would be safe.

"Okay," he said with a serious nod. "Let's make me unwhole again."

Chapter 19 - "Elements, Reporting for Duty"

"So besides makin' an actual army or tellin' th' town about Discord comin' back, what else can we do?" Applejack asked, giving Sarge a serious look.

"I'm not sure, there doesn't seem to be many options," Twilight sighed, feeling trapped.

Just then, the books on the nearby bookshelf flew outwards and a bouncing Pinkie came through it, followed by an equally bouncy Caboose.

"Sorry for busting in like this. I think that when I was in here last I dropped my-" Pinkie started, only to stop when she saw all the others in the room. She then began to pout at Church, feeling slightly hurt. "Hey, I thought you said you didn't want to throw a party."

"This isn't a party, Pinkie," he sighed. "We're just making plans for-"

"A surprise party? Oh boy, I love surprise parties!" she exclaimed, jumping around the room. "Well, I love parties in general, but surprise parties are the greatest! Who's it for? Is it for me? Is that why you didn't tell me? No, because then you would have gotten Caboose to come here because he likes parties too. Or is the party for him and you didn't want to tell me in case I spilled the beans?"

"We're not planning a surprise party, we're making plans for if Discord comes back," he grunted, holding his hoof up to silence her when she began to speak. "And no, we're not planning a party for him."

"Unless the party involves using him as a piñata and sharp objects as the bat," Sarge said. "I recommend we practice using said objects on Grif to ensure that they are in peak condition."

"Violence doesn't solve anything, Sarge. We're looking for a non-violent way to handle the situation."

"That's your ponies' problem," Sarge scoffed. "You always try to be more peaceful when faced with challenges instead of doing the right thing."

"Hurting others isn't the right thing, even to somepony as twisted as Discord."

"Oh really now? Has not being violent been working? I mean, scientifically speaking, has not hurting someone achieved the desired results? Because Discord's gotten free twice, and he wouldn't have if we just pulled the trigger and cut the head off the snake."

"He sorta has a point," Simmons said reluctantly, earning him a gasp from the girls. "What? I'm not saying we should do that. I'm just saying that if he was gone, then we wouldn't have to worry about anything."

"Trapping him is enough," Twilight said quietly.

"Pretty sure Sarge just showed you that it isn't," Tucker grunted.

"It would work if we turned him into stone and threw him into the depths of the ocean," Church grunted. "You know, out of the way of civilization. So deep that it will never be found in a million years."

"Well we can't turn him into stone at any time since we don't have the Elements of Harmony," Twilight mumbled. "They're locked away in Canterlot, being protected by some of the best guards the Princesses have to offer."

"Why don't we ask for them?" Caboose asked curiously, taking a seat right next to Church.

"Because I..." she trailed off, then scratched her chin. "I hadn't thought of that. I'm not sure if the Princesses would be up for that idea."

"It's worth a shot," Rainbow Dash said with a limp shrug.

Twilight then got Spike to take a letter, explaining that since Discord is free, it would be good if they had the Elements to use on him. The group waited in silence for several minutes as they awaited a response. Suddenly, a blindingly gold flash erupted from the center of the room, causing the others to look away instinctively. Looking back to the area where the flash originated, the group saw a white chest with gold patterns all over it. Spike then let out a magical burp and a letter flew out of his mouth. Twilight walked over to Spike and grabbed the letter from him, promptly unraveling it.

"What does the letter say, Twilight?" Rarity asked as she and the others approached either the box or Twilight.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle. With the recent development of Discord and his unknown whereabouts, I believe that your request is acceptable and is the best course of action. There is no use for us having the Elements of Harmony when we cannot even use them. Because of this, the Elements of Harmony are now yours to be looked after. They are locked away inside a box only you as the bearers can open. I simply request that you only use them if Discord chooses to appear, or if you feel it is truly necessary to save lives," Twilight said quietly as Rainbow Dash went to open up the box. "But the Elements are not the only thing I have put inside there for safekeeping."

Rainbow Dash pushed the button on the box, watching with curiosity as the box began to glow faintly. The box creaked open, and as the Elements of Harmony were revealed, another all too familiar object was seen sitting between them.

"Please no," Church whined, recognizing the look of the object sitting with the Elements of Harmony.

"In the face of danger, the stallions you were charged with watching have proven to be extremely brave and trustworthy," she continued, eyes glued to the paper. "Because of this, I am also entrusting you all with the Necronomicon."

"Hello, everyone!" Ol'Necky boomed happily. "Did you miss me?'

"I know that the Necronomicon is a dangerous artifact, but I feel that the Elements of Harmony and Chaos can watch it with more care and attention than I could with my sister. As you all know, the Necronomicon is a very dangerous book to be read by mortal eyes, so only Church may read it and use it, but only if the situation is dire," Twilight said. "I also know that Church probably wishes you could send him back, but you must realize that I cannot watch him as well as you all can, so he must stay with you in the library."

"Heh, guess you guys are stuck with me," the Necronomicon chuckled.

"God fucking dammit," Church growled. "Every time things start looking slightly up, they get way worse."

"Aw, don't be like that. You'll make my ink run," the book pouted.

"Alright, what else did she say?" he asked, turning to Twilight, knowing that there was still more bad news to come.

"Since we concluded that they are only dangerous to themselves, the time of you sending me reports about their behavior is over. But that does not mean their trials are over yet. Now I wish for them to do what you once did, and what I wish for you to resume doing with them. Though they have proven to be trustworthy, they still have much to learn about our world. But there is only show much you can show them. There is much they have to learn through experience," Twilight said. "As of this moment I want the stallions to start sending me friendship reports alongside yours. Yours truly, Princess Celestia."

The girls fell silent as Twilight stared at the letter sternly. The guys looked at each other blankly, unsure of what Celestia really requested of them. And for some reason the girls felt that this was going to be the most difficult thing the guys have ever done, but they didn't know why.

"What the hell is a friendship report?" Tucker asked.

"No idea, but it sounds fucking retarded," Grif grunted.

"Nobody asked you, you idiot," Sarge grunted, hitting Grif on the back of his head.

And then they remembered why they felt that way.

Chapter 35 - "Hindsight"

Spike and Simmons reached the library within a few minutes, the books planted firmly on Simmons' back.

"I'm going to grab some gems to munch on. Want anything while I'm in there?" Spike asked as he walked up to the door to push it open.

"Nah, I think I'm just going to drop the books off and get back."

"Suit yourself," Spike said the a shrug, walking inside the library to see the resident stallion sitting at the table, focusing on a book. "Hey, Church."

"Hey, Spike," Church mumbled, giving him a small smile. "If you're going to the kitchen, mind grabbing me some water?"

"No problem," Spike said, returning the smile as he walked past Church.

"Just come in," Church said as he saw Simmons reach to pull the door shut. Simmons reluctantly walked inside and shut the door behind him. "Hey, Simmons."

"Hello, Church," Simmons said with a pleasant nod. "How's it going? Still getting headaches?"

"Yeah, but what're you going to do?" Church asked with a shrug. "I'll be surprised if I stop getting them, even when my head is all sorted out."

"You are taking the fact that your memories were messed around with pretty lightly," Simmons noted. "That seems like one thing you should take really seriously, but instead you seem... well, I don't want to say normal, since you're normally mad. I guess relaxed is the word, and that's odd for you, if you don't mind me saying."

"I guess it would seem like that, huh?" Church chuckled hollowly. "I guess I just know that since Discord is the toying type, he wouldn't do anything super bad to my head. Hell, since it was already a mess up there, maybe he fixed it up slightly to really make me worry."

"That's another thing you're relaxed about. Why aren't you worrying about Discord like me?"

"I told you before, there's no way he'd come back here after getting beaten twice," Church muttered firmly. "There would be no sense in it."

"Isn't that how Discord works?" Simmons countered. "He does things that don't make sense on purpose."

"I guess, but we have the Elements of Harmony to stop him right here," Church said, nodding towards the locked glass case near the back of the library, "If he comes to take them, Twilight will be the first to know. She'll gather the girls and give them the Elements in no time."

"Don't forget, you also have me here," Ol' Necky said from the shelves.

"I really think Celestia put you here as punishment for me knocking her around before I got trapped, not as something to use for help in case of danger," Church said harshly.

"Aw, you don't mean that," the ancient book said in a dejected tone. "In your time of need, you'll turn to me and expect to be helped. And you know what? I will help you, because I'm just that kinda book."

"Right. Why don't you go back to your Daring Do and keep your fantasies where they belong?" Church inquired.

"Oh, Church, you know just as well as I do that fantasies can come true. But very well. I will go back to Miss Do. When you need me, you'll know where to find me," the Necronomicon said with a laugh, before falling silent,

"Anyways, I just dropped by to bring Spike and these books back," Simmons said, using his magic to place the books from his back onto a small table near the shelves.

"Are those the books you came by earlier to pick up?" Church asked curiously. "I had you pegged for a fast reader, but I didn't think you could read that much in that short amount of time..."

"No, those are books Rarity borrowed a while back for her big order of pre-Celestial clothing," Simmons replied. "The books I took out are still at home. They're about flowers."

"Now that's something I didn't have you pegged for. When did you get into flowers?" Church asked with a lifted brow.

"I can't say much, but there's a really old flower that a friend found. He asked me to look into it, so I'm trying to find out what kind of flower it is. Before I could look into it some more back at the boutique, Rarity wanted me to bring those books back since she's basically done. She just has to find the right thing to add to give it a real authentic flair."

"So you left the flower alone," Church said, squinting at him. "The really old and ancient flower. The really old and ancient flower that belongs to a friend?"

"Yes, I did," Simmons nodded slowly, sensing that Church was attempting to tell him something.

"With Rarity," Church said insistently. "Who is, at this moment, trying to finish up her designs for really old and ancient looking clothing. The mare who, as I am to understand, wants everything to look authentic and perfect, which in this case means making it look old and ancient."

"Yeah..." Simmons mumbled quietly. He then let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes.

"Hindsight is a bitch, isn't it?" Church asked with a knowing smirk.

"You'd think we would have learned by now," Simmons groaned, turning around.

"If we learned from our mistakes, we wouldn't have made most of them," Church snorted. "Better get going, though."

Simmons quickly ran out the door and made his way back over to the boutique, spending no time taking in any details around him. Once he reached his destination, he knocked on the front door three times, then made his way upstairs to Rarity's room, where he expected her to have finished her dress.

"Rarity, don't do it!" Simmons yelped, slamming his hoof on the door three times before bursting through it.

"Er, don't do what, Simmons?" she asked with a strange look.

"Use the flower. Don't use the flower, I mean," he said quickly, looking over the lead female's dress.

"Oh, you mean the flower you had downstairs?" she asked with a small smile as used her magic to grab the small flower from her desk to show to Simmons. "Heavens, I wouldn't dream of using such a thing on the dress."

"You... wouldn't?" he asked, confused as Rarity placed the flower back on the table..

"No. So far everything has been made as a replica. The designs? Inspired by books written recently. The fabrics? While it was made the same way it was in the past, they were made recently. That flower, however, is quite literally an antique. Using an actual piece of the era I'm going for would throw the whole thing off seeing as I'm going for making the dresses from the past with materials from the now. Besides, that flower is not mine to use," she explained casually. "However, were there a place that grew said flowers, I would be interested in purchasing one to put into a different amber shell."

"So you want to use the same kind of flower, just one that was grown now?"

"If they aren't extinct yet, yes," she said with a curt nod.

"Great," he sighed with relief. "Thanks for not using it, though. Would have had a lot of explaining to do."

"Not at all," she said, turning to her dresses, only to glance back at Simmons as he began to walk out of the room. "Do you mind doing me a favor, dear?"

"Sure, what is it?" he asked, looking back at her.

"If the flowers do happen to be extinct, do you think you could, say, try to find another one? Maybe with Twilight's help we would be able to find out how to grow more of them for me to use."

"No problem," he replied, walking back downstairs, happy that his life had just been made slightly easier. Slightly.

Chapter 50 - "Rising Problems"

Church had spent the last ten minutes trudging through Ponyville, not particularly sure where to go. He wasn't really looking forward to going back to the library, knowing that Twilight would most likely push to help him. As he went around thinking of what he could do, he came across the fountain in the middle of town. Walking up to it, he gazed into his reflection. His eyes appeared normal, but he felt as if they were bloodshot. Feeling a small pain at the back of his head, he grabbed it and began to cringe at the feeling. As he looked at the water, he saw that the water was rippling. Shaking his head, the pain quickly subsided and the water returned to normal. With a sigh, he turned around and began walking through a nearby alleyway that had a few barrels sitting near it.

"Surprise!" a voice exclaimed as Church passed one of the barrels.

Snapping his vision to the source of the noise, Church saw a familiar face, top half of his body peaking out of a barrel filled with pears.

"Happy birthday!" Caboose exclaimed joyously. "Make a wish and blow out the candles!"

"First off, there are no candles to blow out. Secondly, it's not my birthday."

"Just because it's not your birthday doesn't mean you can't celebrate it."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that is what it means. And since I assume you aren't here to give me a birthday speech, what do you want?" Church asked.

"Oh, right! Church, I wanted to warn you about the fuuuutuuuuuure," Caboose said, waving his forelegs fluidly towards him.

"And what future would that be, Caboose?" Church inquired, knowing it was better to play along with his stupidity than to question it.

"It is the future where you let Twilight help you!" he exclaimed, throwing his legs upwards with a large smile.

Church stared at Caboose with a blank expression, then began to rub the area between his eyes. "Okay, Caboose. Tell me about the future."

"If you let Twilight help you, everything will be better. You will feel better, Twilight will feel better, I will be better, and we don't have to invite Tucker to be better!" he replied with a smile. "And if you call in now, we'll throw in two sponges!"

"Caboose, I don't-"

"Two sponges!" Caboose interrupted, grabbing onto Church's face. "That is two more than none!"

"Stop it," Church grunted, slapping away Caboose's hooves. "Caboose, did Twilight put you up to this?"

"Yes!" Caboose nodded.

"Thought so," he sighed. "Sorry, Caboose. Not interested in what she's selling today. Normally I'd be happy to accept her help, but this is complicated. It's not just the headaches I'm worried about. It's what I remember, and those are things that I don't want her remembering."

Caboose stared at Church with a large smile.

"You're thinking about the sponges, aren't you?"

"They are so soft and squishy!" he said in a bubbly tone. "They are like puppies that do not need to be fed!"

"Sounds like the perfect pet for you, Caboose," Church said, now walking past the barrel that Caboose was sitting in. "If you don't mind, I think I need to talk to Twilight one more time. Seems like she really is trying her hardest to get others involved in my privacy."

"Church, wait!" Caboose called out, reaching out to him once more.

"What is it?" he asked with a reluctant sigh, glancing back.

"I am stuck."

Church raised his brow as Caboose glanced down at the barrel. Church simply closed his eyes and attempted to use his magic to pull Caboose out of his predicament. Instead, the barrel fell apart and the pears rolled to the ground. As they did that, the pain returned, but this time by a hundredfold. Grunting in pain, Church clasped the back off his head.

"It wasn't me!" Caboose said quickly, looking around. "It must have been Tucker."

"It wasn't Tucker, Caboose," he snapped. "I don't know what it is."

"Is it a head-owie?"

"No, it isn't a head-owie. It's something else," Church muttered quietly, trying to block out the pain as best as he could. "I'm just not sure what that something else is."

"I know! You should see Twilight! She can help you!" Caboose said quickly, running behind Church to begin pushing him. "Here, I'll help you."

"I'm fine, Caboose. It's going away," he assured his not-so-helpful friend as he regained his composure. "I think the stress of the situation is just getting to me. But you're right. I should see Twilight."

"I am?" Caboose asked, ecstatic. "I should tell Pinkie! She will be so proud!

"You do that. I'm going to go back to the library," Church grunted, then paused and began to look around. "Uh, Caboose? Do you know what direction the library is? My memory is a little hazy right now..."

"Yes, I know the way!" he replied, humming lightly as he ran ahead of Church. "Follow me!"

Church closed his eyes for a brief moment to collect himself, then followed after Caboose. After several minutes of non-silent walking, they reached the library. Caboose then trotted towards the door and pushed it open, surprising the unicorn inside.

"Hello, Caboose. Did you get to talk to Church?" she asked pleasantly.

"Yeah, he did. Maybe Next time you should probably pick someone who can be subtle when trying to convince them to let you help me," Church grunted as he walked through the door. Looking back, he gave a small nod to Caboose. "Mind waiting outside for a bit? I really need to talk to Twilight right now. I'll be out when I'm done, then maybe we can do something."

"I love doing things! It is my favorite thing to do!" Caboose said happily, slamming the door behind him.

"Church..." Twilight said quietly as Church began walking towards the table.

"Twilight, do you ever think sometimes you should just let things be? I told you that I'm okay," Church sighed as he took a seat in front of her.

"We've been over this. Discord could have just made it look like you are okay. We don't know what he did to you."

"And it's not your job to find out," he countered. "It's not that I appreciate you wanting what's best for me, but you really can't just go out of your way to solve every problem any of your friends ever have. Sometimes some problems just don't have an answer at all."

"Helping friends and learning from it is why I got sent to Ponyville in the first place, Church," Twilight sighed, beginning to get a little annoyed. "I have to at least try to help you, otherwise I wouldn't be a very good friend. Even though you don't want it, I can't help but... well, try to help you."

Before Church could give a retort, the pain returned once more and Church let out a small yelp.

"Church, are you okay?" Twilight asked, darting to his side to help.

"Yes, I'm fine. I've just taken up yelling as a hobby," he growled as he clutched onto his head, slamming his eyes shut.

Church's horn then began to glow and the area underneath the library began to shake lightly.

"Um, can you two hear me?" Caboose called out from the other side of the door.

"Kind of in the middle of something, Caboose," Twilight said passively, attention on Church.

"Okay. When you're done with that, can you tell me if that supposed to be there?" he asked.

"Is what supposed to be where?" she inquired.

"That thingy in the sky."

"That's the sun, Caboose, and I'd suggest not looking it at," Church said through clenched teeth.

"No, it is not the sun. Wait. I think I've seen it before!" Caboose said as the ground began to shake slightly more. "Oh, I know what that is! Last time I saw that, it is when I was in here by myself, then you guys came in!"

Twilight and Church shared a worried, knowing look and sprinted outside. Looking up at the sky, they saw a small tear appearing high up in the atmosphere, expanding ever-so slowly.

"Son of a bitch..." Church muttered.

Chapter 56 - "From Whence They Came"

The group had spent the last few minutes walking down the hallway, following Doc as he led them to the main storage area. Once they were there, Carolina began to walk ahead of the others, recognizing all the other pieces of equipment.

"Spread out and look for anything that you think you could use," Carolina said loudly as the others walked behind her. "But make it quick. We can't let the Director go too far ahead of us, or we might lose track of him."

"You heard her," Washington added quietly, noticing the others were hesitant to take her orders. "I'd recommend you guys try to make yourselves useful, otherwise you might just end up dead."

"That's good advice," Simmons said instantly, then set off to a table that appeared to have advanced tech on it.

The group spent ten further minutes looking around the area at the many weapons and tools laid out on display. Carolina eventually stood by one of the tables with alien looking weaponry and examined each one. She lifted the plasma pistol up and aimed it towards the ceiling, then brought it to her visor to look down the sights. Satisfied, she placed the weapon on her back and grabbed a trio of fragmentation grenade. The sound of thunder erupted from Carolina's right. Glaring to the side, she saw that Doc had knocked over a large hammer and was staring at it with his arms outstretched as if he had tried to grab as it was falling.

"Be careful. These things aren't toys," she growled.

"I was just-"

"I'm not interested in an excuse," she grunted, then grabbed a few extra mags for her pistol and put them on her side. Turning around, she saw all the soldiers looking through all the items. Except for Wash, who stood off to the side, making sure Caboose didn't touch anything. "Well, are you just going to stand around or are you going to look for gear?"

"I told you, I'm not interested in hunting down the Director," he said back, then gave the soldiers around him a curious glance. "I'm surprised the others are so willing."

"We're not helping her hunt down the Director," Church countered, then paused and looked down for a brief moment. "Well, we are, but not him specifically."

"Worried that his army of Texs will do too much damage?"

"Trust me, with what we're dealing with, an army of Texs doesn't seem all too difficult to stop."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Wash asked.

"Epsilon, how many pieces of equipment do you think you can run?" Carolina inquired irately, knowing that Wash would not believe what happened.

"None?" Church said hopefully.

"Tech guy," she said, turning to face Simmons who was hunched over a bunch of pieces of equipment. "How many are up and running?"

"I have a name, you know..." Simmons grunted, then shrank back and looked at the objects in front of him when Carolina focused on him. "I think all of them. There's some sort of hologram thing, one that increases your speed, like the one Grif tried before, a shield, invisibility, something that seems to heal, and an emp."

"Stop it," Wash said.

"Are you sure?" Carolina asked firmly.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know what an emp is."

"It's an E.M.P!" Wash snapped.

"Not that. Are you sure they're all in working order?"

"Well, I've never really dealt with that many armor enhancements, and I've only had a few minutes to-" Simmons started, looking at the equipment. When he looked back up, he saw that Carolina continued to stare at him, and as usual, that made him very unnerved. "If I say yes, will you stop looking at me like that?"

She continued her glare and took a step towards him..

"Yes, they work!" Simmons said, voice-cracking as he took a step backwards.

"Glad to hear it," she said, walking up to the pieces of tech on the table. She picked one up that she recognized, a piece of equipment that did not look too off from North Dakota's bubble shield. "If these really do work, then our job got a lot easier."

"Carolina, listen, I'm not sure if I can really... well, run any of those things," Church grumbled as she picked up another piece. "So I really hope you aren't expecting me to try to help you use all of them."

"You were designed to help use armor enhancements and boost combat effectiveness."

"In that case, Church might be a broken unit. He can't fight for shit, so I really doubt that he can actually help you do anything that even relates to fighting," Tucker said.

"Unless you count bitching as a combat strategy," Grif added sarcastically.

"Thanks for the help..." Church grumbled.

Wash let out a grunt as the Epsilon unit began to spark in his hand. Dropping it instinctively, the Epsilon unit fell to the ground and began to blink rapidly.

"Wash, what did you do?" Carolina grunted, glancing back at him.

"I don't know! It just started to do... that, and then it electrocuted me!" Wash said, rubbing his hands together. "Do you think the Director purposely did anything with it?"

"E-E-E-E-Epsiol-lon?" a crackly, calculative voice said from the unit.

Silence reigned for a few seconds as everyone turned to look at the device on the ground.

"Was that who I think it was?" Wash asked, looking at the device with shock.

The image of a green soldier came flickering into existence.

"E-Epsilon, can you hear me no-ow?" the green being said. It then looked around, then glanced up at Washington who stood above it.

"Delta?"

"Agent Washington," Delta said with a nod. "Is E-Epsilon there with you?"

"I'm here, Delta," Church said as he floated towards the unit, ahead of Carolina.

"Why aren't you surprised to see him?" Wash asked.

"Because I s-saw Epsil-lon just a few hours ago."

"Not you," Wash sighed.

"About that. While we were in there, I sort of... remembered the other fragments into existence again," Church said hesitantly.

"Wait, does that mean Sigma-"

"Yes, all of the ones that I had the most active memories about. They're all in there."

"Did you know about this?" Wash asked, looking to Carolina.

"Yes, but I didn't think he'd be able to do anything outside of here," she said quietly.

"W-with the Princesses' h-hel-p, we have ma-anaged to find a way to com-m-municate with you, albeit on-nly though the unit," Delta explained, the image of him crackling in and out of view as he spoke, showing a weak connection.

"Princesses?" Wash echoed curiously, but noticed all eyes were on the fragment.

"H-have you n-not told Agent Washington ab-bout-"

"Delta, would it be possible for you to come out and help me with some equipment?" Carolina asked hastily.

"N-no, I am afraid that I-I can be of no use to you other than offer-r advice. Tell me, what have y-you figured out so far-r?"

"Nothing except that the Director has now gone to find the Chairman, and he seems to have an army of Tex drones with him to do it. Any ideas where he would be?"

"Perhaps it would be w-wise to look at areas the Reds and B-Blues have been before. It is l-likely that they are now want-ted criminals of the UNSC, so they are m-most likely looking around places where they h-have been to find them. Since Discord-d is new there, he m-might be going to where it-t all began. It seems to be h-his calling card if you-o will."

"You mean Blood Gulch?" Church asked, and behind him, the other Reds and Blues shared a look.

"That is where the Director s-sent you before," Delta said, and he quickly began to fade. Looking down, Delta looked at something that only he seemed to see, then shook his head. "I apologize, but I-I must go. This is very t-tiring for her. There should be a hangar-r there with some vehicles that you can u-use to get there. Good-d luck."

Delta's image then disappeared, and the Epsilon unit returned to it's previous state. Washington grabbed the unit and stared at it silently, wanting to ask many questions, but knew he wouldn't get any answers.

"Well, boys. Looks like we've got a new lead," Carolina said, turning around. "Take one last look around for gear, because we're leaving in five minutes."

Chapter 65 - "For Every Problem..."

It took nearly ten hours for Church and the others to talk about nearly everything that has happened to them for the past few years before they rescued Church from the Epsilon unit. The aliens had actually finished installing the unit a few hours prior, but Carolina insisted that she hear everything before they leave. Several things stuck out to her during their story, most notably were all the times the AI fragments and Freelancers were around them, such as O'Malley's possession of Doc for a long period of time, their battle with the Wyoming army, them fighting and killing the Meta. With each bit of their story involving the pieces of her past, she felt slightly guilty, as if she was the one that brought it upon them.

"...And then after I went into the unit... well, you should know the rest of that..." Church said, finishing off the story. "Any questions?"

Caboose lifted his hand.

"Caboose, I was asking Carolina..."

Caboose kept his hand up, looked to Carolina, then back to Church. He then started waving his hand around sporadically.

"What is it?" Church sighed.

"Yes, hello, I was just wondering... why did you leave out the part where I was a superhero and saved everyone?"

"Because that never happened, Caboose. It was probably just a dream."

"Well, why didn't you tell her about my dream?"

"Because it was your dream, Caboose. I can't talk about it if I don't know what the hell happened in it."

"Oh..." Caboose said, nodding slowly. "Can I tell her about the dream?"

Church sighed yet again. He looked to Carolina, and she simply stared back at him.

"Just make it quick, I guess."

"Okay! This one time, in real life, I—"

"In your dream," Church corrected him.

"This one time, in my dream in real life, I was a superhero and I saved everyone. It was really fun and cool and the end!"

"Riveting," Carolina muttered, standing up on the sand. Looking in the horizon, she saw that the sun was nearly setting. Looking back to the ship, she waved her hand at the others to get up. "Speaking of dreams, it's getting late, so we should probably get in the ship and find out where we're supposed to go next. Then we'll grab some shut eye."

"Sounds good to me," Grif said, happy at the thought of having a nap, even though he slept through a good half of the story.

Carolina stood behind with Wash as the Reds and Blues began walking to the Pelican. Nodding at him, the two Freelancers followed them and they were soon all inside the ship, ready to leave. While Grif messed around with the Pelican, turning it on, Tucker went to the alien device and flipped it on and was soon talking in the alien language, asking Junior where they should go. While they were doing that, the others settled into their seats. Carolina hadn't said a word since they got in the Pelican, and only said something several minutes later when Tucker came into the cockpit to tell them where to go.

"Junior said that there's been activity in a few areas near here," Tucker said. "And not the fun kind of activity."

"What's the closest one?" Carolina asked quietly.

"The place Sarge and Donut wanted to go," he said.

"To Valhalla it is," Grif said, poking in some co-ordinates on the Pelican. "We should be there in about ten hours."

"More than enough time to flip this thing into autopilot and catch some sleep," Carolina said.

"Speak for yourself. If it were up to me, I'd sleep for twenty-two hours and eat for the other two," Grif chuckled as the Pelican slowly began to rise.

Once the Pelican was in the air and began to speed up towards Valhalla, Grif flipped on both cruise control and the autopilot and sat back in his chair. The others had done the same and were all getting ready to catch up on some much needed sleep. Before Grif fell asleep, Carolina told him to go back and sleep in the seating area, wanting to sit alone for a while. She stared out the front of the ship for nearly an hour in silence, thinking about everything that has happened to her, as well as everything that has happened to the Reds and Blues.

"What are you thinking about?" Wash asked quietly, leaning in the doorway to the cockpit.

"Lots of stuff," she replied.

"Thinking about what you're going to do to the Director when we find him?"

"No, it's just... I just realized something that I hadn't considered before," Carolina murmured. "I knew these people were sim troops, but I didn't think of what that really meant. These guys were just fodder for... anything. And the Director knew that. He put the Alpha with them and risked all their lives, just because he saw them as useless."

"Wasn't it just yesterday that you felt pretty much the same way?" Washington asked, reminiscent of the way she had been treating them.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "But now I realize that they have as much right to the Director as we do. If not more so. We willingly did things, Wash. They were forced into the Freelancer business. They've been through just as much shit as we have, but they still take the time to make jokes with each other. They might not see it the way I do, but I actually think that takes a lot of strength. They aren't broken."

"Carolina, you're not broken," Wash said quietly.

"Wash..." she grunted, hand gently rubbing her holstered pistol. "We both know what I am."

"Okay, you might be a little bit broken, but you can still be repaired."

"Some things can't be fixed. We can't heal the people we've hurt. We can't bring back the innocents we've killed. We can't just forget about our past and pretend it never happened. These guys get that."

"Get what?" a voice asked from behind them.

Turning around, Wash and Carolina saw Caboose standing by the entrance to the cockpit.

"What are you doing up?" Washington inquired.

"I heard you talking and I remembered that I liked talking with people, so I came here to join in the talking!"

"It's not exactly a good topic to talk about," Carolina said tiredly.

"What were you talking about?"

"We were talking about me and why you all hate of me."

"I don't hate you," Caboose said happily.

"What?" she asked with surprise.

"I said I don't hate you," he repeated, slightly louder.

"How can't you?" she questioned quietly, slightly confused.

"Because you aren't an angry person. You're just very sad, and being sad isn't something you should hate people for. It's something you should try to fix with being happy!" he explained. "And I like making others happy."

Carolina fell silent and stared at Caboose.

"Sometimes when I'm sad, I talk to friends. I tried talking to Tucker's rock when I was sad once, but it wasn't a very good friend. That's why I mostly just talk to Church, though."

"I don't exactly have any friends to talk to," Carolina murmured. "And making friends isn't one of my strong suits."

"I'll be your friend," he said after a few seconds of silence.

"Why? I wasn't exactly the nicest person to you and the others..."

"Because everyone needs at least one friend," Caboose stated simply. He then yawned and stretched his arms. "And everyone deserves a second chance!"

Carolina looked to Wash. He simply shrugged at her. Carolina took a few moments to consider what she was going to do. Getting off her chair, Carolina walked up to Caboose and held out her hand to him. He looked at it for a few moments, then looked back up to her. He then wrapped his arms around her and gave her a small hug. Releasing her, he let out another yawn and said goodnight and trudged back to his chair. Carolina simply stood there, watching as Caboose crawled into his chair like a dog and curled up, falling asleep in a matter of seconds.

"You should probably follow his lead," Washington grunted. "I'll watch out for anything on the radar."

"Alright," she said, turning around to sit in her chair behind the pilot seat. "Wake me up if you see anything out of the ordinary.

"Will do," Washington said with a nod, turning to look at the screens.

With a sigh, Carolina grabbed her helmet and took it off, placing it gently on her lap. Some stray strands of hair fell over her face and she gently pushed them behind her ear. After sitting there for a few moments, she leaned over and stared into the room with the others in it, listening to their light snoring. A small, confused yet happy smile crept onto the corner of her lips as she rolled back into her chair and shut her eyes.

Chapter 79 - "Two Sides of the Same Scale"

When Junior returned from exploring the tree, Spike had already stopped worrying about what Junior said and treated it as if it was a joke. Sitting at the table, Spike placed a couple of gems onto the table and asked if he wanted one. When Junior questioned as to why he'd want one, Spike tossed an amethyst into his mouth and began crunching it into tiny particles. From the inquisitive look on Junior's face, Spike laughed and began talking about dragons and how they eat. Pretty soon, the pair began to talk about other things, mostly about their origins, each noting small similarities between the two. Both were born to a group of people that were not their species, and they were raised as family by them. Both of said groups of friends get in all sort of conundrums, and they've both seen some rather unique things during their relatively short lives.

"[This is so strange... It's weird how much you and I are alike...]" Junior noted after Spike had finished telling him how Twilight looked after him like a little brother. "[We're from completely different worlds and yet it seems like we're one and the same."

"It's kind of been that way for the Reds and Blues, too. Twilight and Church are both critical thinkers and are leaders. Rarity and Simmons are both focused, work oriented ponies. You got Sarge and Applejack, the hard workers who are also really a bit too prideful for their own good. Then you have Caboose and Pinkie, the happy-go-lucky ponies. Fluttershy and... well, her and Grif might really be the only ones that don't fit together, but Tex insists that he's actually more understanding and hardworking than he seems... And then there's Rainbow Dash and Tucker who both competitive and kind of arrogant in some ways. No offense," Spike coughed.

"[None taken.]"

"I mean, I don't know, it just seems weird to me. And it can't be just a coincidence that they're both the Elements of Harmony and the Elements of Chaos..." Spike trailed off. Shaking his head clear of those thoughts, wanting to make sure Junior didn't feel like he was ignoring him, Spike cleared his throat and looked to Junior. "So, did you get the chance to meet the other ponies?"

"[Hm?]"

"The ponies you spent a long time with on the train?" Spike suggested lightly. "Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash?"

"[Oh, right. Them. No, I didn't get a chance to talk with them.]"

"Well, you do only speak dragon," Spike chuckled.

"[No, it's not that. Even with the language barrier, they're still afraid of me. I'm sure they know I wouldn't do anything to them, but my looks aren't too appealing to them, I'd imagine.]"

"Just give it some time. They were worried about the guys too, but they warmed up pretty quick to them. They're really nice and accepting, no matter what you are," the small dragon said simply. "And I'm sure as long as I'm around, I can be your translator, so I can tell them things you want them to hear."

"[I suppose Tucker can do that as well...]"

"Tucker speaks dragon?"

"[It took him a while to learn it, but yeah. He was our translator for when we talked to the humans about peace. As for me... being born of both human and alien, I could understand both languages, as you probably know, but my vocal chords restrict me to my own. I've tried learning how to speak like them, but it is pretty difficult,]" Junior grunted roughly. "[Speaking of... I know this may seem like it is out of nowhere, but do you know how we speak the same language? An alien from one world, a dragon from the other... It just doesn't seem like we should be able to converse like this.]"

"You know, I would have asked, but... with Church, Caboose and the others, you kinda have to just accept things without explanation," Spike chuckled as he balanced the sapphire on the tip of his tail. "But I guess it's kinda the same on their end, y'know? They're not used to magic and flying with wings, we're not used to soldiers and aliens."

"[You seem pretty okay with the fact that I'm an alien, though,]" Junior noted curiously.

"Pft, Twilight's brought me on some pretty ridiculous adventures. I've kinda seen a lot," he chuckled lightly, tossing the gem from his tail to his claw. "I mean, when the first guys came in, I was nervous around them. Especially Church. He seemed a lot ruder than the other five when I met them. But I guess that's why Celestia had him stay with Twilight. He was the one that needed to learn about friendship the most, and that's the reason Twilight was sent to Ponyville in the first place. When you get to know what he's been through, well..." Spike let out a sigh and bit the gem in half. "You kinda wonder how he's as nice as he is."

"[You'd be surprised at how many of the people we think are bad have just been twisted by their past,]" the alien said quietly. "[And anyone can become evil, it just takes the right kind of push. Do you know what I'm talking about?]"

"Yeah, because I almost was," Spike murmured. Junior gave him a curious look and Spike let out a sigh. "Well, maybe not evil, but I almost went full dragon mode on Ponyville." Junior continued to look at him. "Right, sorry, you don't know about dragons. You see, dragons pretty much all start out like me. Small, kinda nice... but we have a... what do you call it... something that's like a fault..."

"[A vice?]"

"Yeah, that," Spike confirmed with a nod. "And this vice is, like... dragons really like treasure. The bigger your treasure mound, the bigger you grow. But the more you grow... the more vicious you get. I got violent as I tried collecting everything in Ponyville for myself... and I came pretty close to hurting people. People I care about." Spike bites his bottom lip before letting out hoarse breath. "And back then, I didn't really know a lot about dragons. Since then, I've been reading most of the dragon stuff in here." Spike waved a claw at the books around them. "Habits, the language, the different species... any bit of info helps if it means I won't get into that situation again, y'know? I even tried living with dragons for a bit, but I didn't like it very much. Didn't feel like I belonged there, like I was just trying to live with them because I never really felt at home here."

"[Because you didn't look like them. You didn't act like them. You felt like an outcast. But then when you spent time with your species, you felt like things were off. Then you realized that 'your people' are the ones who love you,]" Junior said with a nod. "[We really do have a lot more in common than I would have bet on, Spike.]"

"Heh, I guess so," Spike said with a smile. Glancing at the window, Spike noticed a familiar group of five colt and fillies making their way past the library, one of the fillies holding a sign for the circus that was to be coming to town in the next few days. An idea popped into his head and he smiled wryly at Junior. "Hey, Junior. You seem smart and stuff, but I just realized... Hanging around the Reds and Blues as they fought, to being kidnapped, to being the go-to alien of your species... You never really got to experience what it was like to be a kid, did you?"

"[I suppose not... Why?]" Junior asked slowly.

"Well, I just saw a few friends outside, and I'm thinking we can give them a little scare," Spike said, rubbing his hands together.

"[Go on...]" Junior said, leaning forward as Spike began outlining a small impromptu plan.