> Seeking A Quiet Afternoon
>  by Tired Old Man
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Ch. 1-1: A New Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A small rolling suitcase could be heard skipping along stones on a dirt road. This sound was faint, however, compared to the thudding hoofsteps of its carrier as a stallion walked along the winding path leading to his new home.

He passed by a large fence, beyond it a forest of apple trees as far as the eyes can see. For some reason those apples looked particularly appetizing, as if these same apples have pleased the mouths of the nearby townfolk for many generations. Considering the size of the place from what he could see, there was no doubt his thoughts were accurate on that matter.

The stallion had arrived quite early as the moon still floated in the sky, though only just so. The purplish-pink sky above lit up with bright stars signaled a new day on the horizon sometime soon. It was refreshing to see the skies so clear here compared to Fillydelphia, where smoke and light pollution were so rampant one would be lucky to see even a single star up above.

He could get lost staring at the sky for hours, but he had a more important purpose of locating the shack he bought somewhere near his location. The stallion couldn't believe his luck stumbling across that ad in the Filly Tribune. 100 bits for a small shack on the outskirts of a peaceful town? One might as well have told him he won the Canterlot Lottery while they were at it!

He couldn't suppress a small chuckle to himself at the thought, still baffled that the price in that ad wasn't a joke. That chuckle stopped, however, as soon as he laid eyes on the shack. Suddenly, that hundred bit pricetag was beginning to seem accurate instead of a dealmaker.

The shack, if one could even call it that, stood at the top of a small hill. One would easily wonder when it would topple, as it seemed apt to anytime soon. All the wood on this shack was old and greyer than the coat of the stallion, looking to be well over 200 years old...with no signs of significant upkeep. It had a small attic with a round window at the top, two of the quarter-panels broken. 

The front looked no better, having a small grey wooden porch with two half-steps leading up to it. The front door was...intact, mostly. It had apparently been kicked in at least once, as it hanged loosely on just one of its two hinges. The window to the right of the door was broken as well, with the curtains inside catching the outside breeze.

Abandoned was the first thought that came to mind. His stomach curled at the thought of finding something in there he didn't want to see. What if there was some horrible monster hiding in it? Would there be bones lying around inside, or worse yet, a fresher corpse of a victim? Fear gripped his mind for a moment before he shook it off in disgust. It was all crazy, irrational, and stupid to think this way. With freshly renewed confidence, he trotted up to the shack.

The steps groaned and creaked under the stallion's weight as he ascended onto the porch. A light push from his forehoof opened the door to a dark room. He stopped and opened his suitcase, fumbling around until he found a small flashlight. He turned it on and grasped it in his mouth, then proceeded into his new home.

The interior looked marginally better compared to the initial exterior view, by the stallion's standards. A small kitchen was to his right, with decent countertop space, a sink, and cabinets lining the countertop below and the space above it. It came complete with a round dining table and three chairs in the center of the room. He briefly wondered why there wasn't a fourth chair at the table, but didn't think too hard on that matter. 

A glance to the left revealed the living room, complete with an old, dusty sofa backed up against the wall adjacent to the kitchen. The stallion kicked it once, and a large cloud of dust flooded the air. A brief fit of coughing followed soon after. As he walked away, he set his suitcase next to the wall with the set of stairs leading up to the attic.

He checked the stairs at the back of the house, with two doors near it. He opened the first nearest the steps to find it leading down into a basement. The flashlight suddenly began flickering as it shone down into the basement, forcing the stallion to shake the light a bit to get it working.

"Damn thing," he spoke to himself, "It's always bugging out on me at the worst of times."

It shined solid after more rigorous shaking, and at that point he shut the basement door, opting instead to check the other door to the right of the basement. 

It revealed a small bathroom. A very small bathroom. There was barely enough room to stand in it, much less move around easily. It had a dusty mirror hanging over a sink, a toilet off to the left of the sink, and beyond that a small shower. None of this looked to be used within months, and a small feeling of dread bristled the stallion's mane hairs.

The owner of this house clearly hasn't been here in months. This place looked abandoned in every sense of the word, and the stallion began to wonder if he should even stay in here at all. No sooner had that thought completed in his head when he caught a shadow moving in the corner of his eye.

He wasn't alone.
> Ch. 1-2: A New Pet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It dashed under the dusty living room sofa and sat there. The stallion directed the flashlight under there, and saw something that made his heart thump at a rapid pace.

Under the sofa was a dark creature of sorts. It looked like a young filly, but its coat was pitch black. The eyes were the color of the sea, and as it opened its mouth to hiss, four gleaming white fangs reflected off the flashlight beam. It sat under the sofa with distrusting eyes at the intruding stallion.

"Great. Not only is this place abandoned, it even has this...wild thing residing in it." The stallion remained calm upon seeing this creature. He had dealt with far worse pests back in his Fillydelphia apartment, the least of which were the actual pests. If anything, the other tenants were far more dangerous than whatever this creature could throw at him.

He was about to make a move when a growl echoed in the room, followed by a whimper as the creature closed its mouth and frowned. The stallion didn't have to be a genius to recognize the sound of hunger. Almost immediately, his own stomach growled in agreement. Reacting on instinct, he reached for his suitcase against the stairwell. He opened it and started sifting through its contents as the creature observed him carefully, albeit with a slight curiosity as well.

He found it. A small bag of dried apple chips, a snack he packed for the journey. He opened it, flicked a chip in the air, and crunched down on it with his teeth. Another audible growl crossed the room from underneath the sofa, and the stallion reached into the bag and slid a chip over to the creature.

The flashlight was set down near the stallion toward the sofa to get a better view, revealing the creature sniffing the chip a few times. A small red tongue touched the chip, and a moment later the fangs crunched down upon its hapless fruity victim. 

Time passed by peacefully, though not quietly as crunching noises alternated from both sides of the living room. At some point, the noise escalated between the two, as if a small competition between the two started as to which could crunch the chip the loudest.

Finally, it came down to the last chip in the bag. The stallion beckoned the creature over with a gesture, but it stayed put under the sofa, glaring back at him. A resigned sigh and a shrug came from the stallion as he slid the last chip over to the creature. The loudest crunch followed soon after, and the stallion thought he saw the creature smirk at him before it curled up into a ball. A small chuckle was the last noise he made toward the creature before he got up off the floor and looked toward the front door.

The sky no longer lit up with stars; instead a brilliant blue graced his eyesight.

Morning had come. The stallion looked back and saw the creature's body rising and falling at a steady rhythm. He thought back to that last chip, and the loud crunch the creature made with it. The thought lingered in his head just a moment longer before he broke the silence with a yawn. 

He didn't feel like moving from that spot. Exhaustion from the journey had finally caught up with him, and he didn't feel like fighting against it further. Lying his head down on one of his forehoofs, he let sleep take him upon the grey, wooden floor.


-------------------------------------------------------


The stallion was running as fast as his legs would carry him. A pounding heart drowned out any noise he could hear. He didn't care, he had to keep running.

Fear flickered across his eyes in brief flashes under a moonlit sky as he ran across a cobblestone pathway within a grove of trees. Glancing to his sides, he saw the trees slowly begin to decay, their vibrant moss-covered bark turning a dark tan, then grey as he continued along the path. The scent of decay hit his nostrils at this time. The forest around him was dying.

He reached the house at the end of the path. Smoke was billowing out from the windows on the second floor, an unmistakeable sign of fire. Panic was all he felt, he knew other ponies were in that house. Running up to the door, he turned around and bucked it open.

In the hallway stood three ponies, one a mare, the others two little fillies. They were all pitch black, the only color visible from their eyes. He stood there in silence, tears welling up in his eyes as some small relief came to his heart. That relief then shattered as one of the fillies spoke.

"Daddy? Where are you?"

"I'm right here! RIGHT HERE!" Hot ash burned his throat as he screamed to his daughter.

"He's not here. Dad's NEVER here for us!" The other filly's words stabbed the stallion's heart like an icepick.

"That's not true! I-I'm always-"

"NEVER!" The young filly's voice boomed in the burning home, and above the three clustered ponies a beam was breaking from the heat around it.

This did not escape the attention of the stallion. "Please," he pleaded, "we need to go! This house is coming down any minute!"

A loud crashing noise came from behind. He turned his head and saw a crumbled, burnt door frame blocking the entrance he came from. Smoke continued to fill the hallway, and soon he found it as hard to see as it was to breathe.

The three other ponies still stood there, oblivious to the closing inferno around them. It was then that the mare spoke, her voice clear despite the crackling sounds of the house as the wood continued to burn.

"Children, please calm down. He will come. I know it. Your father will come...he must." Her voice was firm, but he could sense doubt in her tone.

The stallion tried to speak again, but the smoke and ash filled his lungs after opening his mouth, reducing any noise he would make into coughing fits instead. His strength began to give out in his legs as he collapsed onto the floor.

The last sight he saw burned into his eyes. The support beam above the three gathered ponies broke, bringing the weight of the burning roof down upon all in the hallway. It impacted with the mare first, knocking her down. She instinctively pushed away the two fillies away before she vanished under all the burning rubble. The door frame collapsed inward behind him as the wood struck him on the head, fading his vision into a deep darkness.


------------------------------------------------------


Cold sweat, panicked eyes, and rapid breathing shook the stallion from his nightmare. For a moment, the sight of his family in the burning home flashed across his eyes, and he tried to blink it away. Shaking his head fared better as the image faded, revealing the grey shack's living room once more. That wasn't what caught his attention as soon as he awoke, however. The dark creature under the sofa was gone.

A slow exhale of breath reached his ears, and he looked down between his legs and saw the creature, bundled up against his belly in between his outstretched legs.

He briefly considered the notion of running, what with being so close to a creature he knew was on its guard some time ago. He remembered the white fangs it bared at him, and a thought crossed his mind of those same fangs piercing his neck. He couldn't feel more vulnerable in that moment in time.

Seconds passed, though they felt like hours. The creature continued its steady breathing, and the stallion began to realize that if this creature wanted him dead, it had all the opportunity to do so the moment he rested his eyes. But the creature did not take it. Maybe those shared apple chips saved his life...but was his life ever in danger at all?

Contemplation on the matter was cut short when the creature yawned, rousing from its slumber. The teeth still stuck out in the stallion's mind as it turned its head and faced him.

Under the morning sunlight, the features of the creature began to stand out more. The creature could be best described as a serrated, jagged weapon in and of itself. A small horn on its forehead was mere inches from his face, beyond it a pair of wings which visibly looked no different than broken glass. Its legs were riddled with large gashes and holes, as if someone took a butcher knife and a hole-boring drill to them. With such wounds upon its legs, it should have died from all the blood loss...but something told him these were not wounds. They looked natural, and that caused an emotion to surface within the stallion that he had not felt in decades.

Pity.

This creature was so young, yet it looked as if it came out of a battle with a manticore and lived...barely. The apparent injuries caused his mind to flash back to a time when such wounds were commonplace in the middle of a war. This was hardly the time to wade in such memories, however.

The stallion extended his hoof and started petting the creature's head. A low growl was heard, but he continued to rub its head in calm, circular motions before moving down to its back. The wings buzzed a bit in irritation, but stopped as its back was stroked repeatedly. Soon, any noise relating to anger faded as the creature purred lightly, clearly enjoying the impromptu petting session. A smile formed on the stallion's face as a name surfaced in his mind, inspired by the meal they shared moments ago.

"Crunch," he said, "I think I'll call you Crunch."
> Ch. 1-3: A New Neighbor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The stallion spent the afternoon that day cleaning the shack from top to bottom. Crunch was careful not to get in his way, seeing purpose and determination in the stallion's eyes as he cleaned with a vigor that rivals a whole team of cleaning mares.

He started with the bathroom. As badly as the rest of the shack needed some TLC, Celestia help him if he responds to nature's calling in a disgusting bathroom.

A flurry of hooves, a duster, and a wet rag assaulted the restroom. The mirror was first, the cake of dust upon it completely preventing any meaningful reflection to be earned from it.

As he cleaned it, the mirror began to reveal the features he's been familiar with since he hit 55 just three months ago. His silver fur coat lacked its usual gleam it had, more or less due to the dusty environment. His mane was short and unkept, the color a deep dark crimson reminiscent of the color of deoxidized blood. He remembered it being amber at one point in time, but then...

No, this wasn't the time to dredge up such memories. As he finished wiping the mirror clean, he caught a set of wrinkles forming under his royal blue eyes, reminding him of the many sleepless nights he's had over the years. The eyes went upward towards his horn, with two long cracks running up three-quarters of the length of the horn. He hadn't used it for a long time...nor did he want to. He's been out of practice with magic for over a decade, and he's learned to adapt in that time. Now his horn sits there as a mocking reminder of his foolishness in his youth...mistakes he had no intent on repeating once again.

He finally rested his eyes upon the cutie mark, a pair of surgical sutures over a lacerated heart. A heavy sigh left his mouth, followed by a slam of his forehooves on the sink. 

"This damn mark doesn't deserve to be on my flank. Not...not anymore."

A knock on the door broke him out of his melancholic trance. He set the rag and duster on the floor.

"Who is it?" The stallion's voice called out to the front door.

"Howdy, neighbor!" A mare's voice called back, her accent thick with country tones.

He rounded the corner and was greeted by an orange mare, with freckles adorning her cheeks. Her eyes shone a brilliant green, and an image of granny smith apples flew into his head at the sight of them. She wore a striking stetson covering a flowing blonde mane. A saddlebag sat on both sides of her body, both brimming with green and red apples. Her cutie mark, three red apples arranged in a triangle, all but solidified the image of an ideal farm girl in the stallion's mind.

"Oh, er...uh, h-howdy," the stallion stammered, taken back by her smile and cheerful demeanor. He hasn't seen smiles like that in some time.

The faint scent of apples came off her coat and mane, and it was a slightly soothing smell. It snapped him out of his momentary confusion. The orange mare noticed this as the stallion regained his posture.

"Ahem. Judging from your scent and appearance, I take it you come from that apple orchard I passed by on the way here?"

"Yep, Sweet Apple Acres is th' name. Been in my family for generations," she proudly declared.

"Ah, and I imagine your name is as delightfully fruity as the land you work?" he asked, a slight tone of bitterness in his voice which she didn't seem to notice.

"Yessir, th' name's Applejack. If ya don't mind my askin, what's yours?"

He paused for a moment. He wanted to lie about his name, he hated it. It didn't suit him, he kept reminding himself of that. But there was...something about this mare. He couldn't quite place it, but something told him he couldn't lie to her, for she would see right through it. He briefly imagined her as a walking lie detector before clearing his throat.

"It's...Mender. Able Mender, miss Jack."

"Oh, ye don't have to be so proper 'round me. Others like to call me AJ too, if that's easier for ya."

"No no, miss Ja-er, AJ," he said. "Sorry, force of habit being so proper and all."

"Hm, if I didn't know any better I'd peg ya as one o those proper Canterlot folk with yer nice manners."

"Hah, I wish. Being one of those stuffy prim and proper nobles sounds like a slice of heaven compared to what I do," Mender quipped.

"Why do ye say that? Er, I mean, what do ye do for a livin, anyway?" AJ asked.

Another pause. This time Mender strongly considered lying.

"...I'm sorry, but...I'd rather not say."

"Aren't you a doctor or somethin, Mender?" Her question was blunt.

"What makes you think that?"

"Yer cutie mark." She made a gesture to the sutured heart on his flank. "Looks like somethin medically related to me."

"It is, in a sense..." Mender's voice trailed off.

Applejack could sense no lie in his words, but felt a deep, scarring pain in his voice. This was clearly a subject he didn't want to talk about. As much as she wanted to help, prying would get her in more trouble than she wanted.

"Well, that's good enough for me, I guess. So, uh...why did ye move to Ponyville?"

Mender's ears perked up at the question, happy to move on to a different subject. "Oh, well, I wanted to move out of Fillydelphia. Living in an apartment complex around violent, unstable tenants is a pretty good motivator to find somewhere else to live. I read in an ad a week ago about this shack being sold for 100 bits."

"Whoa, this shack was that cheap?!"

Almost on cue, a wooden blind on the kitchen window fell off and clattered onto the porch deck.

"...I take it I don't need to explain why that price is so low now, given this shack answered that for me," Mender remarked, a slight tone of irritation hanging in his voice.

"Yeah, I could already tell. This place looks worse than when our barn was wrecked by bats at our last family reunion."

"Wrecked by bats?" Mender's eyes widened at the notion.

"Yep, fruit bats ta be precise, all in a rainbow of colors too."

"Er, should I be concerned with these fruit bats wrecking my shack?" Mender inquired, now genuinely concerned for the safety of his ramshackle home.

"Naw, you don't have ta worry about them. Heck, I'd be more worried that anything else would topple your home!" Applejack spoke, a small smirk forming on her face.

"I suppose that is true," he spoke witha sigh, "I really do need to get this shack repaired...assuming it doesn't fall down the moment I try to fix it."

"Well, if ye ever need any assistance with that, just gimme a holler and I'll come help. No sense bein a stranger to a friendly neighbor, after all!" She smiled with a sincerity that warmed Mender's heart, just for a moment.

...wait, AJ just called him a friendly neighbor. Hah, this place is already ten times better than his old Fillydelphia apartment, just from those words alone!

Clearing his thoughts. Mender nodded to the offer. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some cleaning to do."

"Sure thing, Mender...oh! A little welcoming gift for ya." 

She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out three apples, setting them down in the doorway. With a nod of thanks from Mender, she turned around to resume her duties. Mender closed the door to resume his cleaning in turn.

"Shoot. There's somethin else I needed ta tell him about," she mumbled to herself as she walked away. "Ah well, he'll figure it out sooner or later."
> Ch. 1-4: A New Headache
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three young fillies stood at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. Their eyes all focused upon the old shack at the top of the hill.

"Are we ready to go ghost hunting, Cutie Mark Crusaders?" An orange pegasus filly with a purple mane spoke first.

"A-are you still sure about this, Scootaloo? I mean, ghost hunting? Doesn't that sound like an odd talent to have?" A white unicorn filly with a purple and pink mane responded.

"No, Sweetie Belle. I mean, come on, who're they gonna call when somethin strange is in their neighborhood?" Scootaloo shot back.

"But we don't even know if ghosts are real!" The last filly pitched in. She had a light yellow coat and deep red hair, coupled with a comically large ribbon.

"Ghosts ARE real, Apple Bloom. Listen to that shack over there. Don't you hear noises coming from it?" Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom swiveled her ears carefully. After some silence, she heard a yelp of pain from inside the shack.

"Aaaah, I heard something! It sounded like somepony cried out in pain!"

"I-I don't think we should check it out now, girls," Sweetie Belle squeaked, her body starting to shake in fear.

"That could mean...somepony's in trouble in there! C'mon girls, are we cowards, or are we Cutie Mark Crusader Ghost Hunters?!"

Scootaloo's voice was akin to a battle cry, and in turn, the three fillies stormed the shack on the hill.


------------------ 5 minutes earlier -------------------


Mender finally cleaned most of the shack. With the exception of the still-gray walls and flooring, the rest of the furniture began to show their bright, vibrant colors. Crunch was busy resting in the basement, the little creature did enjoy dark places a lot. He decided to skip the basement while it rested, which left one room to clean. The attic.

He ascended the stairs. Every step creaked under his weight, yet another sign of how old this shack was. These groaning steps needed new wood planks, badly. Mender wasn't sure if he could tolerate these steps for long if he didn't.

His eyes rested upon that broken round window as he finished climbing the stairs. Man, did this place need a miracle in repair work. Maybe help from Applejack didn't seem like a bad idea. Although...he had a feeling he'd owe her if he took that offer...and he hated owing favors. The entirety of Fillydelphia knew this very, very well...but this isn't Fillydelphia anymore.

He sighed, and turned his attention to a bed resting in a corner opposite the stairs. It was just the mattress, a single sheet, and a metal frame. Rustic, basic, and reeks of mold. After seeing the rest of house, his expectations were low enough to be thankful that a mattress was even in this shack to begin with.

He tried pulling on the frame with his teeth, but it was screwed into the floor. Undeterred, he grasped the mattress and tried lifting it, but the springs blew out from the bottom and got tangled in the metal frame underneath. One spring caught his face and left a cut along his nose. 

He yelped in pain and reeled backward, blood now seeping out from the cut. "AAAAA, son of a-FINE! At least the sheet will be mine, you bastard of a bed!" He angrily grabbed the sheet and pulled it. It gave way easily, maybe too easily as it flew over Mender and covered him. He cursed under his breath as blood started to stain the sheet around his nose.

Suddenly, he heard a slamming noise below him. It sounded like someone broke in from the front door! Angry, he charged down the stairs and wrapped around to face the door. It was at that point he realized he could barely see two feet in front of him as the blood began to stain the area near his eyes, and he couldn't use his mouth to speak very well on account of holding some of the sheet in it. 

Unable to speak or see, things went from bad to worse in...roughly five seconds. 


----------------- 5 Seconds Ago -------------------


The Crusaders were treated to a frightening sight. A blood-soaked ghost was in the hallway, grunting menacingly at the fillies. The seconds passed by slowly, but Scootaloo put on a brave face in front of the others.

"Charge!"

The ghost backed up a little, but by then it was too late. The fillies jumped the ghost and brought it to the ground. A stampede of tiny hooves rattled the old shack as they beat down the hapless ghost in the name of ghost hunting.

This continued for a minute until the ghost stopped moving. They all cheered at their success, then looked at their flanks for confirmation, but to their surprise (or was it really a surprise at this point?) no cutie marks appeared on any of them. They all sighed, sad that none of their futures involved any ghost hunting, though it was fun while it lasted.

Then the ghost underneath them moaned again, and they all jumped off it in fear. The sheet slid off as the "ghost" rose to reveal a badly beaten stallion, showing bruises all over his body. The cut on his nose continued to bleed as Mender shook his head, still dizzy from the filly beatdown he received.

"Oh Celestia, why did I have to be run over by a herd of buffalo? WHY?" He angrily shouted and waved his hoof in the air, caught up in the melodrama.

It was then he directed his gaze downward and saw the three fillies in front of him. Every one of them had a look that was a mixture of shock and guilt. It dawned on Mender that these fillies were the ones that turned him into a pony punching bag. He was none too pleased at this notion.

"What...the...HELL is wrong with you fillies?!" 

Mender's voice shook the house and the fillies' legs quivered in fear. He briefly considered going on a tirade before his rational half reminded him that HE was the one under a bloody sheet coming down the stairs. He stopped himself, and took a large breath to calm himself. He addressed the scared fillies once again, in a stern but calm tone.

"You three. Names. Now."

A second of silence followed before each responded individually.

"Apple B-B-Bloom."

"S-Sweetie Belle."

"Scootal-loo, sir."

There was still fear in their eyes. He didn't feel like leaving a bad impression on these fillies. The last thing he wanted was trouble just one day into living in Ponyville. He relaxed his shoulders and forced a small smile as he spoke.

"What brings you three into my home?"

Scootaloo stepped forward, much more relaxed at seeing the smile on Mender's face. "Sir, we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders. We've made it our goal to figure out what our cutie marks are, and we all do the same activity to figure out if they get us our marks."

Her eyes fell downward as she continued. "We were trying to be ghost hunters, sir. We were close to the house when Apple Bloom heard a scream of pain. We rushed in thinkin somepony was in trouble...eheehee, sorry about your door, mister."

His eyes momentarily left the filly to inspect the doorway...minus the door, which was now lying near the kitchen floor. Anger returned to Mender's eyes for an instant, but left as quick as it came. He figured the door needed replacing anyway. His gaze returned to Scootaloo, and he motioned for her to continue.

"We all saw you...well, we didn't know it was you. You were wearin a bloody sheet. We thought you were a real ghost, mister, and as ghost hunters, we...well...you know the rest."

As she finished, clarity shined in the silver stallion's eyes. He closed his eyes to collect his thoughts for a moment, then spoke.

"I understand, little filly. I was as much at fault as you three were. I cut my nose trying to get a bed moved out of the attic and screamed in pain, as you heard. I took the sheet and covered my nose with it, but then I heard the front door slam hard. I thought someone was breaking in, so I rushed down the stairs to confront the intruder...rather, intruders. I clearly failed on that front, ugh..." He coughed, and a bit of blood left his mouth. 

This startled the three fillies, but he wiped his mouth with a forehoof and continued. "Jeez, I must be getting old if I can't handle a shakedown from three fillies. This body isn't what it used to be...hurk." 

Another cough, and more blood flowed from his mouth. There was no doubt in his mind, he had some internal bleeding from the scuffle. He collapsed onto the floor as shock ran through his body, then down to his legs.

"F-fillies, do me a favor. Get...get me some help, hm?"

This was the last question he asked before he slipped into unconsciousness.
> Ch. 1-5: A New Savior
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dream came back again.

Mender ran, his hooves pounding across the cobblestone path through the same decaying forest. He had to get home. His family needed him right now. His heart slammed against his ribcage repeatedly, in sync with a new sound that caught his ears.

beep...beep...beep...beep...

It sounded familiar. A heart rate monitor? He didn't hear this the last time he was here. No matter, he continued running until he reached the house.

As he approached the doorway, a shadow caught his eye as it fled from the side of the house. Against the billowing flames, the silhouette of a small pony ran from the burning house, down the path he came from. He wanted to chase after them, but he wouldn't abandon his family. Not now.

The doorframe was collapsed, there was no way he could get in from there. He looked around, and to his left was a closed window. Flames danced and twirled in the room beyond, burned beyond recognition. 

He didn't have time to think before he backed up, and ran towards it as fast as his legs carried him. He tacked the window, glass fragments cutting into him all the while. Mender winced as some fragments remained embedded in him, but he blocked out the pain. 

The roaring flames drowned out the beeping he heard before. His attention was directed toward the burning doorway that led into the hallway. Running through it, his head turned to left as he entered.

He knew what he would see, but it gave him no less comfort in thinking about it. His wife was collapsed on the floor, buried under the burning beam. She was knocked out from the blow the beam struck upon her. 

An odd thought of relief crossed Mender's mind. She wouldn't be conscious when she died. She wouldn't suffer as her body burned to ashes, along with the rest of the house. 

Realization of this thought caught him by surprise. Mender violently shook his head in disagreement. What was he thinking?! He shouldn't be thinking like this! 

Panic took him as he tried lifting the beam. His hooves seared with heat on contact. The beam was too hot to even touch. No, he had to do this differently, but how? His horn?

...no, no! He couldn't use that. He couldn't. The last time he did, he...he...

He curled into a ball on the ash-covered floor. Grasping his head, Mender rocked on the floor violently as painful memories tried to surface from within the deepest recesses of his mind. The pain was head-splitting, to put it lightly. An image of his dead wife under the burning beam imprinted heavily into his mind before he woke up out of his nightmare.


-------------------------------------------


"Carol!" he shouted. His eyes were frantic, darting around for his wife's figure. It was then he noticed he wasn't in the shack.

He was in a patient room in a hospital. The bright white walls and the pungent odor of sanitizing cleansers assaulted his nose, which sported a fresh gauze bandage over the cut.

He moved the sheets downward and saw many more bandages wrapped around his body. Crap, he really must have taken some bad hits to be wrapped  so thoroughly. For a moment, he entertained the thought of having died and coming back as a mummy...

He realized that would probably be a better explanation for his ego as opposed to telling others he was trampled by three fillies in his own home.

He heard a window open off to the side, and a sky-blue mare with magenta eyes poked her head into the room. Her mane was prismatic, shining brightly with the colors of the rainbow.

"Oh, thank Celestia! You're awake."

A small nagging pain began to form in Mender's head as he recalled the earlier events today. "Ugh...how long was I out for?"

"About an hour," she said. She flew into the room and touched down on the floor. Her cutie mark was a cloud with a tri-colored lightning bolt coming out from below. She looked at the bandages covering most of his body and chuckled. "Those fillies really did a number on you."

"Yeah. Turns out dressing up like a bloody spectral spirit around three prospective ghost hunters wasn't the best of ideas." Mender chuckled, but winced as his lungs ached from the sudden change in breathing.

"So you're telling me you intentionally dressed as a ghost?" she asked, a bit of surprise visible on her face. "It's not even Nightmare Night yet!"

"You're not one to pick up on sarcasm easily, are you?" he wheezed. "No, it was all a series of unfortunate events, really. Pretty sure I got it all sorted out with those fillies before I enjoyed an impromptu nap session." A small smirk formed on Mender's face.

"Hah! Well, anyone who can survive a Crusader trampling as bad as this earns some respect in my book...oh! Name's Rainbow Dash, and I took you here, in case you were wondering." She extended a hoof, and Mender obliged her.

"Able Mender. It's nice to make your acquaintance, miss Dash." She seemed trustworthy enough, and he didn't feel like lying to the mare responsible for his transport.

She stared at him for a moment, then rolled on her back and started laughing. "Hahahahahahaha, Able? What kind of a first name is that? Sounds like a girly name to me!"

"I-It is not! It is so masculine! It means I'm ready and willing to serve!" he shot, with a bit of nervousness in his voice.

"That's what she said." 

"...Augh! I'm not dealing with this. I need to recover from the pounding I got earlier today," Mender whimpered,

"She said that too!" Dash couldn't stop giggling at this point.

"Uuuuuuugh," he sighed, "now my head's throbbing. I need to rest."

Dash laughed again. "Seriously, Mender, you're making this too damn easy for me!"

He groaned and pulled the sheets over his head. This mare was getting to him, and he knew it. He began to regret even having this conversation with her. Then he heard her speak, not in a mocking tone, but a concerned one.

"But...I understand. I was in this hospital once too, you know. I was recovering from a wing injury myself, so I know how it feels to be stuck in a hospital bed. Wasn't a happy feeling, but I got through it."

Mender pulled the sheets off his head. "Hah, I can see that. You don't seem like the type to stay cooped up in a place like this. What did you do to pass the time, read Daring Do?"

Dash stumbled back a bit, genuinely shocked at the question. "H-how did you know?"

"How did I know what?...oh, OH! Wait, I was right?" The shock spread to Mender's face upon learning of this revelation.

He then laughed heartily, ignoring the pain in his lungs as Dash cringed slightly. "Oh, now this is rich. A free spirited bookworm? I'm keepin this in my ammo belt for later, hee hee."

"Don't tell anyone, please," she pleaded, "n-not a lot of other ponies know about my reading habits. If this gets out, I won't be able to maintain my awesome reputation!"

Mender stopped laughing. She was shaken up from this, vulnerable and weak. He could be a dick now, he had all the opportunity to do so. But...he thought better of it.

"...nah, I won't do that. I may want to get even on you later for those jabs you gave me, but there's lines I don't want to cross unless I have to. This little Daring Do secret's safe with me, miss Dash."

A smile returned to her face and her eyes gleamed bright at the news. "Thanks, Mender...um, you know, you don't have to be so formal around me. You sound a little like those snobs from Canterlot."

Mender blinked a few times. "Whoa, dèja vu...um, I mean, you're not the first to say somethin like that to me, mi-...just Dash is fine, right?" 

"Yep, works for me!" She grinned widely. Sheesh, that smile could be a beacon for trade boats in the ocean.

"Well, I need to get to work now...oh! Before I go, I should mention that the Crusaders are hanging out in the waiting room. Want me to send them up here?"

Mender wondered for a moment why they were still here. He thought they sorted everything out before he fainted. They said sorry for breaking down the door too...

It dawned on him in an instant. Those fillies didn't apologize to him for their little accidental assault.

"Thank you, Dash. Go ahead and send them up."
> Ch. 1-6: A New Recovery
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender had decided to rest his head for a bit. Meeting Rainbow Dash, as nice as it was, tired him out immensely. He needed real sleep soon, but he had to stay up for one more matter to deal with.

Soon, he heard a voice outside the door. He couldn't make out the words, but the tone in the voice suggested it was a mare. He lifted his head and looked towards the door as it opened, confirming his suspicions as a near-white mare with a light pink mane held in a bun shape entered the room. She wore a nurse's cap with a red cross, four hearts resting in the inside corners of the cross. An odd thought crossed his mind as his eyes saw the same symbol on the hat as the mare's cutie mark. Who wears clothing that has the same symbol on it? Doesn't that seem redundant?

"Ah, Mister Mender. You're finally awake, I see," she spoke. Her voice was smooth but refined, a clear sign of her care and compassion she's no doubt had caring for the many patients in this hospital.

"Yep. These injuries do love to remind me I'm still alive with regular intervals of pain as I breathe, miss." A few coughs came from Mender, and he winced in pain at each, further illustrating how bad his injuries were.

A small smile formed across her face, happy to see he had some humor in him after his ordeal. Laughter may not be a cure, but it couldn't harm him in here, at least.

"I'm not surprised at this. I've seen your x-rays. You had 5 fractured ribs, and 3 more were broken as well. Your body was badly bruised, and that cut on your nose didn't help things either. You're lucky miss Rainbow Dash got you here as fast as she did, otherwise you would have been in some serious trouble."

"Heh, don't I know it. She came in from that window over there," gesturing to the window as he spoke, "She wanted to congratulate me on surviving an assault from those Crusaders. I'm not so sure my body thinks that as a victory, though...actually, speaking of the Crusaders, are they in here?"

"No, but I have them waiting just outside the door."

"Ah. Would you mind bringing them in for me? I need to speak with them about...well, this." Mender pointed to his bandages.

"Of course." The nurse walked over to the entrance and stood there. "He's ready to see you all now."

Twelve hooves clacked against the floor as the Cutie Mark Crusaders entered the room. Instead of the fast pace he remembered, they moved slowly across the floor. Guilt was still visible in their eyes.

"Oh come now, there's no need to look so somber. This is a hospital, not a graveyard." Mender smiled genuinely, and it lifted the moods of the fillies noticeably.

"So...you're not mad at us, mister?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Nah, if anything I'd say you three made great ghost hunters...or at the very least, bouncers."

"Cutie Mark Crusader Bouncers?!" Scootaloo's eyes glimmered at the idea, despite not knowing what a bouncer was.

"Mister Mender," spoke the nurse, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't share bad ideas with these young fillies."

"Oh, right right...um, ignore that suggestion I made, Crusaders. You don't want to be bouncers. You'd be doing, well, what you did to me to other unruly ponies, only intentionally."

Their ears all shrunk at that thought, and their eyes fell upon the bandages wrapped around Mender's body.

It was Sweetie Belle who spoke next. "Yeah, we don't want to be bouncers if we had to do that...and speaking of that, we all wanted to say we're deeply sorry about causing you so much pain."

Mender's grin widened at the apology. "Oh, don't worry about at all anymore. That's all in the past, and I don't like holding onto past errors and mistakes like that."

He lied. Mender knew damn well that wasn't true in his heart, but he didn't want to cause any further worry and concern from these fillies.

It seemed to satisfy them, though, so he continued. "Just be careful coming around to my home next time, hm? The last thing I want is to come back here again after another Crusader activity." Mender chuckled, but coughed again as pain came from his lungs again.

"Sure thing, mister Mender!" Scootaloo's eyes lit up with purpose and determination as she turned to face the other fillies. "Alright Crusaders, time to move out!" In a renewed storm of vigor and youth, the stampeding fillies left the room. The nurse wisely stood away from the door as they left, then came back to the room and stopped near the bed.

"You know, you're better with children than I took you for, mister Mender."

"Comes with the line of work I do. I'm sure you have an idea of what that is after seein my cutie mark, miss...?"

"Redheart. Nurse Redheart...and yes, I'm aware of that mark you carry. You're a medic, aren't you?"

"It's that obvious, huh?" Mender scratched the back of his head and spoke. "Yeah, I was a medic that served under Princess Celestia's army for...about 30 years, if I recall correctly."

She blinked her eyes blankly at his statement. "I see...but, you said you were a medic. Does that mean-"

"Yes," Mender interrupted, "I was discharged from her service."

"Honorably?"

Mender bit his tongue. "...no."

Silence stayed in the room for 30 seconds. Mender broke the silence. "If you're looking for an answer as to why, my horn should tell you enough of what I did...what I tried to do."

She didn't have to ask anything else, not now at least. Redheart didn't want to bring up the problem with his horn...not like this. She had seen other horns like it from some of the other patients she had over the years, and from what they told her...no, he couldn't have done that, could he? 

Mender broke her train of thought. "Nurse Redheart? Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine. You need your rest, so I'll leave you be." She shuffled out of the room at a fast trot.

Mender didn't have to ask why. He knew why she was so shaken up the instant he told her about his horn. That was...inevitable. She was a nurse, there was no sense in hiding the truth from her. She would have seen through it as plainly as Applejack would have. He sighed, bundled up under the covers, and slept once again.

No dream haunted him this time. It was a good rest, heck, one of the best he had in years.


----------------- Two weeks later -----------------


The treatment Mender received was nothing short of top-notch in quality. Ponyville Medical sure knew their way around the block. This was nothing like the field hospitals he worked under, where everything was carefully rationed. 

Rehabilitation concerning his lungs was notable to him, especially. Nurse Redheart taught him some breathing exercises so he could breathe better without putting unnecessary pressure on his ribcage during his recovery. He had a feeling these exercises would be useful elsewhere, perhaps in cramped spaces or in areas where air was thin or in small quantities.

"Mister Mender! Focus on your breathing for a moment longer," Redheart said. 

He winced slightly as his lungs pressed against his ribcage. He took slow, controlled breaths of air in carefully, and the pressure subsided. He would have sighed in relief, had he not known that would reapply pressure again.

"That's much better. Excellent work, mister Mender." She was satisfied with the rhythm of his breathing. His progress was remarkable...well, it would have been if he wasn't a prior medic.

"I take it I no longer need my hoof held through this?" he inquired.

"No, not now. I'm very certain you can handle yourself outside of the hospital now."

Smiles were on both the stallion and mare's faces at this time. Mender enjoyed Redheart's assistance through his recovery. He even made enough progress to have most of the bandages removed...with the exception of the cut on his nose. Now a small cross bandage was all that remained.

The fillies also stopped by many times during his recovery. A small headache came every time they showed up, but he learned to tolerate them enough to find their apparent nonstop energy...entertaining. 

Nurse Redheart didn't share his sympathy since they always made a mess every time before leaving. It was funny, seeing her frustrated like that. He didn't think she would get so frazzled, but he thought better on it considering what those same fillies did to him when he was caught off-guard. He tried to suppress his laughter during such moments, mainly due to his recovery...and also to avoid the glare the nurse gave him every time he did laugh at her situation.

However, he was slated to be released today at the request of Nurse Redheart. She apparently had some great confidence in his recovery, and Mender understood this. He didn't want to take up any more of her time, not when she had more patients that needed her assistance more than he did.

The goodbye between them was brief. She led him to the waiting room at the entrance and helped him finish the forms at the desk. He waved goodbye as she trotted off to resume her duties. 

Satisfied that his business was concluded here, he walked to the front door and exposed himself to the fresh air outside. He took a deep breath, then winced slightly. 

A few slow, steady breaths later, he began to walk back to his home at last.


> Ch. 1-7: A New Migraine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender started his walk down the main road of Ponyville. Many buildings lined both sides, all painted bright with vibrant colors. Most of them were homes, which wasn't too surprising. This town was relatively small, and stores were sparse here. Some market stands dotted the path as some ponies sold their goods.

Yep, he definitely wasn't in Fillydelphia anymore. This was nowhere close to the tightly packed and modernized space of his old town. Neither did it carry as many volatile denizens...Mender wondered if there were any that existed in this town. It looked way too nice to have any terrible ponies living in it.

As he reached a crossroad, a sweet-themed bakery caught his eye. It had a gingerbread-theme as its exterior, and smelled of sinful, sugary confectionaries. Mender's mouth turned moist as he momentarily dreamed of feasting upon the sweet treats inside it...but that would wait until later. He needed to get home, he hadn't finished unpacking yet!

He passed the bakery, but as the sweet scent faded, a stronger scent of sugar flooded his nose. Mender looked around, but didn't see anything as the source of the smell, and he ruled out the bakery. That smell was different.

The sickly sweet scent was getting closer, and Mender felt his stomach knot in agony. He looked back towards the bakery, and he heard somepony...bouncing?

A pink female pony was indeed bouncing around the bakery at the corner. She was the source of that smell. Upon seeing her, Mender's stomach twisted even harder. 

She stopped bouncing, and turned her head to face him. Suddenly she sported a wide smile to match her very excited blue eyes.

Oh Tartarus. He knew that whatever she had planned before seeing him was immediately abandoned. Instead, her focus of attention was now completely on him. Mender didn't like it one bit, so he closed his eyes and turned around. 

It took him precisely one second to realize that was a mistake as her sweet smell suddenly heightened tenfold, forcing his eyes open. Her face was two inches from his, and he reeled backward, falling on his rear. His breathing was momentarily forgotten as pain rushed into his chest and head.

He could barely register her figure. Her mane was a curly, frazzled mess akin to the look of cotton candy. Her tail was in the same state as her mane. Her cutie mark was three balloons, two yellow ones with a blue one in between.

"Hi! You're new here, aren't ya?" 

Her voice was high pitched and squeaky. Mender involuntarily ground his teeth at the sound of her voice.

"Uh...you could say that. I guess. I've been here for two weeks, but haven't really talked to a lot of ponies here yet."

She gasped loudly. "Ohmygosh, we HAVE to fix that! You know what I can do to fix that?"

"Somethin tells me I won't like it," Mender grumbled as he rose from the ground. Her overly cheery attitude starting making his stomach flop around in agony.

"A...PARTY!" She stood on her rear legs and stretched upward, a shower of confetti inexplicably exploding behind her.

"...no." Mender was blunt. He hated parties.

"Aw come on, don't be such a sour stallion. It'll be fun! My parties are always fun!"

"I haven't even finished unpacking yet," Mender grumbled. He really wanted this conversation to end quickly.

"But you said you were here for two weeks! You haven't unpacked after all this time? Sheesh, not even Rarity takes that long, and she usually takes like twenty bags with her when she goes to Canterlot on business," she quipped.

"Who's Rarit-...never mind. I couldn't finish unpacking because I was recovering from an accident."

"You mean from the fillies that busted you up thinking you were a ghostie?"

Mender blinked. "How, how did you know that?" As far as he knew, that news didn't leave the hospital. He wanted to keep that little incident a secret, at least until he was more settled in to living here.

"How did I know what?" She turned her head, confused.

"But you said...gah, never mind. I must be imagining things."

She gasped again. "YOU imagine things too?! I thought I was the only one!"

Mender felt a migraine coming. This mare was going to turn his brain into oatmeal at this rate, and he very much preferred to keep his sanity. He quickly changed the subject...well, he tried to.

"So-"

The mare interrupted. "Oh silly filly, I haven't even told you my name yet! Pinkamena Diane Pie, though everyone around here calls me Pinkie Pie for short, or Pinkie for even shorter!"

He felt a very strong urge to facehoof at this point, but resisted instead. "Able Mender. A pleasure to meet you, miss Pie."

Pinkie gasped again. "Wow, that's a new one! I've never been called a miss before! That sounds so...so gentlecoltly!"

"W-w-wait a sec. You're fine with being called miss Pie?" Mender was genuinely shocked at this.

"Sure! Other ponies have called me worse things than that. Nuisance, Creepy, Pleasegetthebuckawayfromme...you know, names that sound bad to say to somepony."

He was about to say that those weren't actually names they gave her, but he didn't feel like going off on another tangent again.

"Well, I think I'll just call you Pinkie then. Miss Pie sounds too...formal for you anyway."

"Okie dokie lokie! Oh, and can I call you Mendy?"

"Mendy?!" Dammit, that sounded even worse than his first name!

"Yeah, Mendy the Medic! Sounds catchy to me! Easier to remember than boring old Mender too. Makes you sound old."

Mender's eye twitched at that remark. "Old? OLD?!" He suddenly didn't care that she knew he was a medic. He hated being reminded of his age.

His yelling caused Pinkie to take a few steps back. She swore she could see smoke streaming from his nose.

"Now now, uh, calm down Mendy....OH! I know what'll make you feel better!" Pinkie dashed off to the bakery.

Mender's pain in his lungs snapped him out of his anger. He almost toppled. Sheesh, this damn mare was really starting to tick him of-

"I'm back!" Pinkie zoomed back, holding a bag of flour. She immediately dumped it on herself as Mender watched, bewildered by what she just did.

...and then he started doing something unexpected, even to him. He laughed.

For a moment, he could care less about his recovering ribs. He laughed long, hard, and hearty. He didn't know why it was so funny...but that wasn't all he was laughing at.

Mender was laughing at the absurdity of everything that happened so far. He laughed at his barely standing home. He laughed at his injuries and fillies responsible for them. He laughed at his long stay in the hospital. He laughed at Pinkie, Dash, and AJ. 

He laughed at how nice and innocent this town and its citizens were, even after all it has gone through. He heard about Nightmare Moon's return...and everyone knew of Discord's antics throughout Equestria. But here this town remained, well above the evil influences that befell it. 

It all seemed so foreign to him now, and Pinkie made him see that truth with a simple practical joke. She may not have known it, but she broke down a wall Mender had been building in his heart for years. 

It was a cold wall that stood as a reminder that there were still all sorts of problems in the world that couldn't be ignored. Pinkie took a hammer to that wall, showing that all that focus on those problems prevented him from seeing the bliss that was ignorance in places where such problems were not his concern anymore.

His laugher slowly subsided, and he looked back to Pinkie and saw a worried expression on her face. He realized that his laughter didn't sound as funny to her as it was to him.

"Hahaha...haaaa...thanks, Pinkie."

"For what?"

"For reminding me that I could laugh...even when I thought I couldn't anymore."

> Ch. 1-8: A New Doorway
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender and Pinkie talked for at least 10 minutes. Their discussion wasn't so much an actual conversation as it was them poking fun at each other. 

She kept bringing up a welcoming party when she could, however, and Mender was still adamant in not wanting a party. Especially not a surprise party, not while he was still recovering. Regardless, Pinkie persisted relentlessly, forcing him to cave to a party sometime after he recovers. When this was going to happen, however, Pinkie wouldn't say. He couldn't figure out what was behind her smile at the thought of throwing him a party, but he thought he detected a bit of deviousness in her eyes. That sealed it for him. He WAS going to hate that party...he just didn't know how much he'd hate it.

Pinkie started bouncing off when the conversation finished, saying something about making cupcakes at Sugar Cube Corner. That must have been the name of that bakery he passed by. Hm...it was a fitting name. He wasn't too sure about Pinkie being around that many sweet treats, though. That thought was unsettling to him, though he couldn't figure out why.

Mender began his walk home once again. For the first time since he came here, he finally felt calm and collected. Granted, he should have been calm in the hospital, but the stress of the rehab made sure he wasn't completely comfortable there...well, that and the Crusaders' visits always put him on edge every time they came.

Before Mender knew it, he came home at last as he got lost in his train of thought. Only when he saw the aged gray wood of the front porch did he snap himself out of his thoughts. The shack still looked hideous, but he knew the interior at least had some color in it now. He sighed at the sad sight. This place really needs some serious repairs, maybe a paint job too, but he would worry about that later.

His target was the suitcase the moment he opened the door. That quickly changed as he heard a growl come from the hallway. He knew who it belonged to, and spoke.

"Crunch, I'm home."

The growling stopped immediately. Mender breathed a small sigh of relief before the wind was knocked out of him as a black blur slammed into him from the other end of the hallway. He fell backwards and was sprawled out on the floor, unaware of Crunch's smiling, joyful face looking down over him for a brief moment as pain shook his body and clouded his vision. Celestia dammit, did that hurt!

Mender quickly started his breathing routine to dull the pain slightly, but Crunch's face went from happy to worried in an instant as he heard the stallion's breathing rate change. Crunch got off of him and sat near him, waiting patiently for a response.

Crunch wouldn't wait long. Mender controlled his breathing well enough after about 15 seconds, and afterward he extended a hoof and started rubbing the creature's head. He knew Crunch didn't want to harm him, it was just unaware of his condition. Two weeks alone in the house certainly didn't help him learn any restraint around Mender, either.

As he got up off the floor and started to look around, the first thing he noticed were three apple cores lying in the hallway. They were eaten all the way down to the stem and seeds. He didn't need to guess where it went to, as he looked down at the creature and smiled.

...perhaps those apples are also why Crunch wasn't as hostile to him as he should have been. He was only around this creature for about a day after all, and the only moment they shared was eating a bag of apple chips. Suddenly, he was quite thankful for Applejack's welcoming gift. It looked to have saved him his status with the small dark creature.

Mender collected what was left of the apples and disposed of the stems, but kept the seeds, and set those down on the kitchen counter. He guessed it couldn't hurt to have an apple tree of his own, and it would help to have his own personal snack tree to keep both him and Crunch satisfied...though that would be quite some time from now. He hoped Applejack wouldn't mind, as he didn't plan on being competition for her...and he had a feeling he shouldn't get on her bad side.

He went to his suitcase as Crunch walked under the sofa and curled up for a nap. Mender briefly wondered if the creature didn't sleep the entire time he was gone...

He shook his head and finally started unpacking. He pulled out a small knife set and placed it near the kitchen sink. These were the only cooking tools he needed, as he had no pots, pans, or skillets with him when he came here. He was somewhat happy that there wasn't an oven or stove in this kitchen. He was terrible at cooking. 

Back in the army when he had to work the food line, he was frequently bothered by the joke that said he only knew two ways to cook food: Burnt, or charcoal. Those young colts were asses...so to speak, but they didn't take any more jabs at him beyond that. Potentially being their savior out in the battlefield served as a small grim reminder that you shouldn't piss off the medic saving you...and he was very thankful for that reminder.

He procured plates, bowls, and some forks from his suitcase and set them in some drawers and cabinets as he finished unpacking his kitchen essentials. It wasn't much that he added, but simply having that knife set on the counter was a good start at making this place feel more like home.

He then moved to the living room and set up a small folding table. On top, he set a large, cylinder-shaped candle. Given there was no electricity going to this place, candlelight would keep him moving around in the evening without stumbling over Crunch or any furniture. Even though the sun and moon both gave a fair amount of light for the kitchen and hallway enough so candles wouldn't be needed there, the rest of the shack was hard to navigate in the dark. He didn't want to be dependent on that flashlight every time he needed to do something in the evening.

Mender's next target was the bathroom. He took out a large shampoo bottle, a towel, and a few other vanity items and set them all in appropriate locations. He then returned to his suitcase and placed a candle on the toilet. He was careful as to where he put the candle there, for he didn't think it wise to start burning his mane as he did his business...though if that did happen, he wasn't exactly in a terrible spot to fix the situation.

He hoisted the suitcase over his back and ascended the stairs to the attic bedroom. Daylight shone strongly through the small, rounded broken window, lighting up a small portion of the room. He set up another folding table near the bed and placed the last candle he had on top of it. He left everything else in his suitcase, which by now just amounted to his old helmet and medic uniform. He needed a more appropriate spot for those, but for now, he's finished unpacking.

He descended the stairs, but as he rounded the corner, he stared at the basement door. An odd thought struck him in that he hadn't actually explored this room yet. Well, now that he finished unpacking, taking a look in there now seemed as good a time as any.

He went to the living room and fumbled around for the flashlight, and found it near Crunch, its body rising and falling as it breathed steadily. Sheesh, this creature really missed him. He knew the flashlight wasn't there last time he was here.

Mender turned on the flashlight, and it still shined strongly. Perfect. He walked over to the basement and started his descent.

These stairs creaked and groaned even louder than the ones leading to the attic. If there was anything living in this basement, he was sure he made enough noise to wake them...but nothing came out once he reached the bottom. Mender laughed at himself, what could be worse than that creature that tackled him when he got back?

He glanced around the basement and noticed a few things. In a corner of the basement sat two chairs, thickly caked in dust. One vaguely resembled the shape of the other chairs in the kitchen. He wondered why it was even down here...and then he realized something.

This chair was telling a story of its own. These chairs were clearly meant for a family of four, probably one of this shack's previous owners over the years. But this chair had been gathering dust for a long time. It must have been the chair used by one of the family members, and them alone. It was a disturbing sight, to say the least.

...either that, or a family of three that never expected guests just moved this chair down and let it sit here for a while. That seemed much less likely, however, as one should always expect guests to come around sooner or later.

His gaze then moved to the second chair, and his heart skipped a beat. It was a rocking chair. Mender would never admit this to anyone, but as much as he hated being called old, he had to respect these rocking chairs as some of the most comfortable chairs in the world. And he LOVED rocking chairs ever since he was a young foal.

He could always sleep soundly in those chairs, no matter what position he was in. It was the perfect way for him to get rest when he needed it, and more reliably so than beds half the time...and since his current bed was out of commission at the moment, this chair would be a great substitute, for now.

His gaze turned further past the chairs and rested upon a strange sight, an ivory door inside a frame. He walked up to it and saw that it wasn't mounted to the wall it was resting upon. It was also exuding a strange magical aura that Mender felt through his horn. He tried opening the door, expecting something to happen, but nothing did, because it was locked...wait, a locked door that wasn't attached to anything, and it's pulsing with magic? If his suspicions weren't high before, they were now.

It stood out way too much from the rest of the shack. It didn't have a layer of dust on it unlike the other chairs, meaning this was probably put here recently...or that magic made sure it was never dusty. If that was the case, this door could be as old, or even older than the chairs. But why? It wouldn't fit the front door frame...not like it mattered. The fact that it was locked bothered him immensely. Who would bother to lock a door that led to nowhere, even if it had magic seeping out of it?

He desperately racked his brain for an answer, but found nothing. He mindlessly kicked the door, and it didn't budge an inch...but he heard something else. 

It sounded like a...yelp? 

He wondered where it came from, but decided that thinking further on it was a waste of time. He walked over and took the rocking chair, and left the basement to the darkness it thrived in.
> Ch. 1-9: A New Library
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender set the chair down on the porch, then shook himself to free any dust that had gathered on him from carrying the rocking chair. Dear Celestia, the chair was caked with dust. He stifled a sneeze as he went back inside to fetch his duster.

As soon as he found it, he went back out, held his breath, and began sweeping off the dust. A small blanket of dust settled around the chair when Mender finished, but didn't stay long as a light breeze picked it up before it could settle. Being on a hill like this did have that small benefit...though the thought of a tornado hitting this shack had Mender shudder a bit.

He couldn't help but admire his completed work. The chair looked old still, but had a feeling about it that said it was like new, though he couldn't pinpoint why.

He figured he earned the opportunity to sit on that chair...but then his thoughts wandered back to that basement...and that door. Augh, that door still bothered Mender immensely. It was a curiosity that mocked him in his own home, and it made him angry. He hated not knowing things that seemed so close within his reach, but just beyond his understanding.

He stood there for a moment, pondering his options. He could always chuck the door in the nearest trash bin and forget the whole ordeal, but it was just too strange to toss out so easily. A second option was to ask around town about it...which seemed less than helpful considering this door was sitting in a basement in an old shack for Celestia knows how long.

That left the third option, which was researching it. A good point to start from, to be sure, but Mender had no idea where to begin...but he at least knew of a place where he could get some answers.

The Ponyville Library.

As he trotted back into Ponyville, he discovered the library was pretty hard to miss, what with it being the largest tree he had ever seen. He wondered how he missed it before when he left the hospital, but a small headache came back when Mender remembered a pink frazzled mane and a scent thick with the smell of sugar. Pinkie was quite the distracting force, he reasoned to himself.

The large tree had two rounded windows, one on the first floor and one on what was presumably a second floor. The second floor idea was more prevalent as he spotted a balcony on the left side of the tree near the window. A planter stood on both sides of the door with various bushes coming out of them. It seemed like a quaint, quiet place, but a nagging thought at the back of his mind told him this place had seen more action within its walls than any other place in Ponyville.

He knocked on the door, and heard something crashing inside. He swore he heard grumbling and some shuffling steps as a small purple dragon with green eyes and spikes opened the door.

"What do you want, dude?" The baby dragon asked.

"Is this the Ponyville Library?"

"Yes, it is. Why, are you new here?"

"I guess you could say that...even though I've been here for a little over two weeks. I haven't exactly adjusted to this town yet, on account of a personal injury I had to recover from in a hospital for most of that time."

"Whoa, you serious? What happened?"

"Let's just say I was roughed up in my own home by three attackers, who have since been caught and they have apologized to me for their rude behavior." Mender wanted to be vague about this, as he didn't feel comfortable admitting to anyone but himself and those in the hospital that three fillies had caused the damage to him.

"Ah, well, I'm glad to see you're still standing. The name's Spike, and welcome to the Ponyville Library!" The dragon extended a claw to greet him.

Finally, he thought. Someone who made that gesture to him first. He reciprocated by extending his own hoof. 

"Able Mender, glad to meet you, Spike."

"Great! Now that that's out of the way, what brings you here?" The dragon walked inside, and Mender followed and took in the sight before him.

Books, books, and more books. Books on shelves, books in stacks, books on the table carved out in the center of the room. If this didn't scream to him that this was a library, he didn't know what was. To the left of the entrance was a door that led to what he presumably thought was a storeroom for more books...until the scent of food from beyond it told him it was a kitchen. A set of stairs rounded the interior of the tree near that door, leading up to a small bed. He didn't peg a library like this to also be a home, but it made this place all the more comforting to him in how seamless the two seemed to mesh within this tree.

The sight of the place almost completely had him forget why he came here...almost.

"Oh, well, I've kinda got a door problem."

"...dude, the town locksmith lives near Sugar Cube Corner," Spike said, an annoyed look on his face.

"Not that kind of problem," Mender growled, "I mean, this door is locked, but it isn't even attached to anything anyway!"

"The carpenter lives next to the locksmith." Spike was getting more annoyed, and Mender sighed.

"...again, not that kind of problem. It's a magical door." Mender thought for a moment before continuing, "You know, I didn't expect the the town librarian to be so snippy about this. I came here for help, you know."

"What? Oh no no, I'm not the librarian. I'm her personal number one assistant!"

"Number one personal assistant?"

Before Spike could respond, the kitchen door swung open. Mender's eyes glassed over as he turned and saw a purple alicorn enter the room. Her mane and tail were straight, a deep dark blue color with pink and dark purple highlights on both. Her eyes kept with the theme with those being a different shade of purple, and her cutie mark was a six-pointed pink star with smaller stars surrounding it.

"Hello Spike. Who's your friend?" she asked.

"We're not really friends yet, but this is Able Mender," Spike replied. He left the room to go to the kitchen, probably for a lunch break, Mender thought.

"Well then, hello, Able. I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, but please, call me Twilight. I'm still not used to this whole Princess thing." Mender caught a slight blush in her cheeks. He didn't think she could sound any more modest at that point.

"A pleasure it is then, Twilight. Please, call me Mender though. I haven't been called by my first name in a long time, and I'd rather not have that change now." Mender rubbed his neck and sheepishly smiled.

"Alright then, Mender. So, what brings you to the library?" she asked.

"Well, it's a door problem."

"Oh, but the locksmith lives near Sugar Cube Corner," Twilight remarked, her head tilted slightly.

Dammit, not this again. "No no, it's a magic door. One that's attached to a door frame, but not to anything else."

"Magic? Really?!" Her eyes lit up with excitement, which caught Mender off guard a bit.

"Uh...yes, it's a magic locked door. It's got a keyhole, but I don't know where the key is."

"Hmm...well, if it's a magic door, maybe it needs a magical key?" Her reasoning was sound, if somewhat obvious.

"Yep, sounds like a decent conclusion, but I was wondering if there was any other way to open it. Blasting it with a surge of magic, maybe? Maybe even breaking the door down?"

"I'm not so sure those ideas will work," Twilight responded.

"Oh? Why not?"

Her horn glowed magenta as she lifted a book titled "Magical Crafts and Curiosities" off one of the shelves and started sifting through the pages. She stopped at a page in the book and floated it in front of his face, which detailed the use of magical doors.

She began her explanation. "Magical doors are an enchanting spell many ponies have yet to fully understand. What they do is they create a space somewhere in the world, and this door essentially acts as a gateway to that area. I've actually dealt with a similar doorway like this before. The door I used was built into the wall, but had no keyhole. I had to use magic to open that door, which let me out on the other side past the wall."

"However, yours isn't built into anything, and has a door with a lock on it. Ideally, doors like this were used to carry personal rooms for their owners to use at will, but it's very sensitive magic. If the door is forced open using a magic spell, it will sever the link between the door and the space that is created. Physical force can be used to break down the door, but that's difficult as the doors themselves are usually magically reinforced to prevent that from happening."

"Instead, these doors can only be opened with the use of an enchanted key specifically attuned to the door. More than one key is usually made by the owner, since without a key, the door cannot be opened. Even if they knew the counter-spell to dispel the barrier they placed on the door, that doesn't work because it's so attuned with the room's location that it also severs the link if it's attempted."

Her voice turned cold as she spoke these words. "It also goes to reason that if the connection is severed when a pony is in there...they are trapped forever in that space. This is why this enchanting spell is used so little here in Equestria. If improperly used, it can act as a permanent prison for the pony...or ponies inside of it, completely isolated from the rest of the world."

Mender tried to digest all this information carefully before he posed a question. 

"Is it possible to reestablish this link at all when it is severed?" Mender asked.

"Well, if the owner is outside the space within the door, then yes. They can sever the link and reestablish it at will...but if they're inside the space, then no. Inside that space are all objects created with that pony's mind...but he didn't create a real door for that space, only a 'fake' door that's bound to the 'real' door. If the link is broken, the 'fake' door vanishes, trapping the pony inside completely."

"Wait. How do they know that, anyway? That doesn't sound like information that comes from just theory alone."

She pulled out a second book from the shelves titled "Important Magical Discoveries Across Equestria, Thirteenth Edition." Twilight flipped through the pages again, and stopped at a point talking about the magical doors and set the book on the table as she continued her explanation.

"An experiment was conducted using these enchanted magic doors by two ponies, Old Mindley and Sagely Thinker. Mindley made the doorway and enchanted it, and Thinker entered the space created by Mindly. Mindly took the key from inside the space and locked the door, then severed and recreated the link to that room. When he reopened the door, Thinker was still in there, safe and sound."

Mender showed great concern about the experiment. "Wait, how was Mindly so sure of this? What if when he severed the link, he destroyed the space with his friend in it? And when he reestablished the link, what if he remade his friend in there and none were the wiser?" 

Twilight shook her head. "When Mindly and Thinker proposed this experiment to Princess Celestia, she had those same concerns. However, the two proposed a solution to the problem. Celestia would take Thinker aside, and he gave her certain questions and their correct answers. She was then to ask him those same questions that only he knew the answer to, but Mindly did not. Therefore, if he came back and gave the wrong answers, or didn't have any, she would know that Mindly had lied."

Mender was baffled. "Damn, that's a genius solution...if still a bit crazy. I mean, Thinker was putting so much trust in Mindly. His life was in Mindly's hooves at that point!"

"True, but Thinker had faith that his friend wouldn't take his life. If he didn't, they never would have proposed the experiment to Celestia in the first place."

"I...suppose that's true. So...what happened next? They did the experiment, she asked the questions, and Thinker got them right?"

"That's the basic gist of it, yes. For the most part, the experiment succeeded." Twilight's voice trailed off at the end.

...wait a second. "For the most part?"

"While he was indeed the real Thinker, Mindly added extra questions to confirm his friendship with him...and to everypony's surprise, Thinker had no knowledge whatsoever about Mindly at all...he completely forgot they were even friends."

The shock was plain as day on Mender's face. "How did that happen? That's impossible!"

"Nothing's impossible, Mender. It's just that nopony has been able to explain that loss of friendship between them. It's been theorized that taking the created key out of the room was a possible factor that was responsible for that loss of memory, or even that time functions differently within that space, but nopony knows for sure...not that they can find out anymore. Celestia forbade any other experiments on the matter. She realized at that point how dangerous these enchanted doors are, and banned their use throughout Equestria. This was not only due to the potential dangers of trapping ponies in them for eternity, but also for erasing all the memories of those inside of the one who created the room. Those two negatives alone far outweighed any benefits she could see from using these rooms for any good to come from them."

She finished her explanation at last, and Mender was deep in thought, processing all this data into his head.

He spoke after a minute of thought. "So Twilight, you're telling me that I am in possession of an illegal enchanted door that I can't open because I don't have the key...and if I somehow did find the key, it's illegal for me to use it to open the door?"

"More or less."

"Alright...okay...small question." He cleared his throat, then snapped. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT FIRST?!"

She was taken back by Mender's sudden outburst. "I-I-I-"

"Twilight, you may as well have told me that I'm bucking sheltering POW's from the Lunar Rebellion!" he snarled.

She suddenly straightened up firmly. "MENDER!"

Twilight's yell was much louder than his, and it snapped him out of his momentary rage. His figure wilted as he saw smoke begin to trail from her mane and tail...which faded as she spoke calmly.

"Mender...I'm sorry. I wanted to save that bad news for last. I thought it was important that you understood how dangerous these doors were. Tell me, what you would have done with that door if I simply told you that it was illegal?"

"I...would have tossed it out or burned it immediately."

"Precisely. Now you should know that there may in fact be a pony just past that door. If you tossed it out, the pony might come out and be confused as to what it's doing there...and if it was burned, you would have doomed the owner to a fate worse than death."

Mender couldn't say anything. Despite all he learned from Twilight about this door, he could still hardly believe that he may have come -this- close to trapping a pony for eternity. He remembered that yelping noise that sounded so strange to him back then, and realized she could be right. His insides twisted and coiled at the thought.

"Well then, what...what should I do?"

Twilight's mood went from sad to hopeful at the question. "Well, like I said, you'll need the key to open the door, of course. But if there's a pony in there, you can still talk to them."

"I can? How?"

"It's a side effect of the link tethering the space to the door. It carries sound waves quite easily as if the door were hollow. That will be the only way to communicate with anypony inside, assuming they are even in there," Twilight finished.

"Well then, I guess it can't hurt talking to a magic door then, for better or worse. Sounds crazy to me, but I've seen and done crazier," Mender chuckled. "Thanks for the help, miss Twilight."

"Anytime, Mender!" She called out after him as he left her in the library. 

She was quite the smart cookie, and was very rational. Heck, she even managed to calm him down while he was sputtering mad! The only other pony to do that was his superior back in the army...but that was under different circumstances.

...and then he remembered how she introduced herself. She said it so calmly he didn't catch it at first, but as he left, his stomach did a barrel roll.

He got mad at, and possibly ticked off, a Princess.

> Ch. 1-10: A New Fashionista
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A fresh breeze greeted Mender as he left the Ponyville Library and started home. Mender was satisfied with the answers Twilight gave him, and now his curiosity in that ivory door only amplified with every second that passed and every step he took. If there were any answers that she didn't give him in there, he would find them with whoever...or whatever was beyond that door.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a scream whose source came from a large, colorful building. It radiated with splashes of color all around it, with what looked like ponies suspended on the sides of the second floor overlook and another hanging just above the door. This building looked to have just as many windows in it as it had actual support structures and walls.

Thinking somepony was in trouble, he rushed over to the building and ran into the door, forcing it open in an instant.

His eyes were treated to yet more color as he entered what looked like a mixture between a salon and a modeling agency. Chairs with mirrors sat at the end of the room next to an open entryway. To his right sat a yellow flower modeling floor with three mirrors in the back, clearly a spot to carefully examine any clothing being worn there.

He spotted a ponnequin or two lining the left of the room, one of them wearing a hip looking design for a mare. If the pony in here is anything like the clothing they design, they have an eye for detail that's lost on an army pony like Mender. His job as a medic demanded a uniform where functionality was key. He wasn't too interested in how it looked so long as it got the job done.

Mender then noticed all the jewels woven into the dress on the ponnequin, and hoped there would never be a day where he'd be caught wearing something as bedazzled as that dress.

...wait, what was he doing? He heard a scream in here, there was no time to take in the sights! He didn't see anyone in the room he entered, so he rushed into the entryway at the back. To his left was a set of stairs leading up, and to his right led to another entryway where he saw sketches and strips of fabric scattered around the room in what appeared to be a chaotic mess.

Another scream came from the stairway. Reacting on instinct, he climbed the stairs and found a door at the top. He opened it without haste, and shouted heroically as he entered.

"I'll save y-" His mouth was greeted with the taste of cloth and feathers as a pillow flew into his face.

Two ponies, one filly and a mare in the middle of a pillow fight, stopped what they were doing to look at Mender.

Mender spat the pillow out of his mouth and looked back at the ponies. One he immediately recognized as Sweetie Belle, but the other he didn't. The blindingly white unicorn mare before him stood in shock, her flowing blue-violet mane and tail complementing her equally sapphire eyes. Her eyelids were tinted a light sky-blue when she blinked, and her cutie mark stood out as three glimmering diamonds.

"Mender!" Sweetie Belle ran up to him with a cheerful smile on her face. He felt a tinge of pain in his lungs, but ignored it.

"Mender?" The mare asked. Mender ignored her question.

"Hello Sweetie Belle. Trying to get a cutie mark for pillow fighting?"

"Hah, as if! Already tried doing that with the Crusaders a month ago. No, this time I'm just playing with my sister."

"Oh? Who is your sister?" he inquired.

"That would be me. My name is Rarity," the other mare spoke.

"Ah. Able Mender. I moved here about two weeks ago. It's a pleasure to meet somepony as...strikingly beautiful as you, miss Rarity." Mender wasn't joking, she looked gorgeous. He began to wonder if she was already taken with looks like those, but thought better than to ask.

"Oh, you're too kind, Mender...but why are you in my boutique?"

"Well, uh, I heard screaming as I walked by here and thought somepony was in trouble. I'm an army medic, you see, so my instincts sorta kicked in at that point."

She gasped. "You're an ARMY pony?" Rarity swooned at the thought. "I've never had the pleasure of talking to an army pony! Tell me, what was your service like?"

Mender's tone turned cold as he spoke, noticeable to both Rarity and Sweetie Belle. "It...wasn't a good service for me." He pointed to his horn's two cracks with his hoof. "If you don't mind, I'd...rather not talk about it."

Rarity understood and quickly changed the subject at that point. "Oh, alright...but if you don't mind my asking, how do you know Sweetie Belle?"

Great, another question he wanted to skirt around. He noted a bit of fear in Sweetie's eyes before it vanished with his next words. "Oh, I met her while she and the Crusaders were doing one of their...usual activities."

"Hunting for cutie marks," Sweetie Belle huffed.

"Yeah, that."

"I see. She and her friends do get into all sorts of adventures looking for their cutie marks," Rarity said.

"Yeah, and I'll bet none of them involve sending a pony to the hospital..." Mender muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Nothing...so, uh, what do you do here, miss Rarity?" Mender already knew the answer...sort of.

"Oh, I'm glad you asked, darling!"

Mender winced at that word slightly, but let her continue. "I'm a designer of dresses, suits, and other fabulous accessories to make anypony look their best! I also do hairstyling on occasion for some ponies that just have trouble getting their manes and tails to look right. You wouldn't believe how many clients I have that request my services, they're that impressed with my work."

"You don't say."

"Oh, but I DO, darling...and if I may be so bold, I want to offer you that chance too!" Rarity's eyes sparkled.

"Uh...come again?"

"I want to make YOU look handsome! Oh my goodness, I just thought of some great ideas for you!" She grabbed Mender and yanked him down the stairs and set him down in the entrance room of the boutique. Sweetie Belle giggled as Mender was screaming for help. No aid would come to him, he was in Rarity's hooves now.

If Mender could describe what happened to him in the next twenty minutes in a single word, he'd call it "confusion." Rarity quickly found a measuring tape and started taking measurements of his body. Every light squeeze of the tape around his chest hurt his lungs enough so that he wouldn't object. He felt violated as her nimble hooves seemed to measure everything with the tape...including a few measurements he thought were too close for comfort.

When she finished, she dashed off into the back entryway and came back with a rack of outfits for Mender to try on. She dragged him over to the modeling stand, and behind a curtain that Mender swore he didn't see anywhere in the boutique before, she quickly dressed him up in new outfits in what felt like mere seconds.

"Too short! Too poofy! Too modern! Too old! Not enough gems!" Wait, gems?! Oh Celestia, help him!

She continued for about ten minutes before throwing her hooves out in the air in defeat. "Oh, it's hopeless! I don't have anything good for you to wear! This is just the worst...possible...thing!" Rarity fell back dramatically as she dragged a couch underneath her using her magic.

It was at this moment that Mender could speak, finally out of the tornado that is Rarity in her boutique. He desperately wanted to leave, so he thought of an idea that could get him out of there before she whisked him away into fifty more outfits.

"Um...if I may say something, miss Rarity? I actually do have an outfit that I wear, but it is in dire need of, uh...a new look."

Rarity jumped off her couch, her eyes sparkling with a new determination. "Oh? What outfit is that, darling?"

"My medic uniform. I was discharged from the army, so maybe they won't mind if you make a few changes to it now," Mender said. A small smile formed across his face, his plan was working!

Rarity gasped. "You...you want me to change your medic uniform?"

"Yeah, like I said, it's an old uniform, and I think it could use your gifted touch, miss. You seem to know your way around things here, so I'll trust you with making it look great!"

"Well, when you put it like that...of course I'll work on it for you!" A smile that could reflect the sun's rays formed on Rarity's face. She was really excited about this...almost as much as Mender was at the thought of escaping.

"Perfect! In that case, how about I give you my uniform, uh, tomorrow, sometime in the afternoon? I hope you won't have any appointments by then."

"Darling, I'll MAKE time just to get this done for you!"

Okay, that sounded creepy. That was his cue to leave. He waved goodbye and quickly left the boutique, leaving Rarity to start her brainstorming of how to make his uniform outstanding.

> Ch. 1-11: A New Caretaker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender swore he had enough of today. He envisioned just a small trip back into Ponyville to speak with the librarian there about that odd ivory door, who turned out to be Princess Twilight Sparkle. 

That bombshell was still throwing him for a loop. He had no idea a Princess was living here! She'd always be a good source of conversation...even if a few things she talked about flew over his head to time to time.

But then as he left that library, the next thing he remembered was a blur of ribbon and fabric as Rarity dragged him into her Boutique. She worked at a blinding speed, and he vaguely remembered trying on over 20 different outfits. Sweet Celestia, when it comes to fashion with her, she may as well be just as energetic as Pinkie!

However, when she wasn't tossing him outfits to try on, her conversational skills no doubt gleamed with a sense of refinement and...posh. It worked well in her favor that her beauty matched her noble-like demeanor, as it made her all the more tolerable to Mender...somewhat. He hated nobility that stood on a high perch above others, so it was pleasant to find an exception to the rule he self-imposed on himself.

It all still gave him a headache, though, and that rocking chair's been calling to him as soon as he left the Carousel Boutique. It had barely been an hour that passed, but it felt like six. He didn't even feel like examining the door further right now, for his body ached for rest. It was a feeling Mender was all too happy to oblige as he stepped on the porch of his shack and took a seat in the chair on the deck.

The chair groaned a bit under his weight, but held firm. To his surprise, it made little noise as it moved, and combined with the sound of a light breeze flowing through the porch, it served to be the most relaxing spot he could be in at this moment. Happy that he finally has some time to rest after a hectic two weeks, he closed his eyes and began to rest...

...for about six minutes.

He felt something tugging at his leg. The sound of glass shattering echoed in his mind. He opened his eyes and looked down to find a small snow-white bunny. It was waving its paws frantically in the air. He was already annoyed that something managed to interrupt his rest so quickly.

"Hmph. What's the matter, bunny? Your carrot fall down a well?"

The bunny's face looked mad now. He thought it was cute...until the bunny kicked his hoof. Hard.

"Ow! Son of a-okay, okay! What do you want, ya little puffball?"

The bunny was still mad, but made gestures resembling what looked like walking.

"You want to...go somewhere?"

The bunny shook his head.

"You want me to go somewhere?"

It nodded.

"Can I say no?"

The bunny promptly facepawed, then pointed toward what looked like a cottage sitting near a forest. It looked like it had a serious overgrowth of moss on top of it from this distance.

"You want me to go to that cottage? Why? Your owner lock you out of the food cabinets in there?" Mender smirked at the thought of this rabbit furiously scratching at cabinet doors.

The bunny kicked him again, interrupting his thought. Now Mender was getting irritated.

"Okay, kick me again, and I'll seriously consider punting you into those apple acres over there."

The bunny was not amused, but didn't respond with a kick. Instead, it got into the cutest pleading stance Mender had ever seen. Dear Celestia, it knew how to get its way when it needed to.

"Gah, dammit, fine! You win this round, bunny."

The bunny stood proudly, then started hopping off toward the cottage. Mender sighed, and got off the rocking chair. That nap would have to wait...and he wanted to get back at that bunny at his earliest convenience.

The walk looked long from his chair, but was surprisingly shorter than he expected. As he walked the path bordering the forest, he couldn't help but look in once or twice. He felt the presence of dark, sinister creatures in there that would easily rip him to shreds. Yep, avoid that place whenever possible...but then he remembered the cottage sitting right at the border. Who in Equestria would be crazy enough to live near a forest like this?!

...apparently the same kind of pony who keeps a kicking bunny as a pet, he remembered. They have to be tough...or whipped, owning a pet like that rabbit.

As he approached the cottage, the bunny started pawing at the door, trying to reach the doorknob. Mender opted to knock instead. As much as he wanted the bunny out of his mane, he didn't want to be intrusive doing so.

A few seconds passed with no response, so he spoke.

"Uh...hello? Got a bunny here that interrupted my nap, is it yours?"

Still no response. Now he tried the handle, and was surprised to find it unlocked. Seriously, near this forest? Ponies are way too trusting here, he thought to himself.

Thinking about how unsafe this was started making his head hurt, so he pushed the door open. The bunny entered, then beckoned for Mender to come inside.

"...I swear, if this is a trick, I'm going to figure out a way to shove a stick of metal into your next carrot without you noticing."

He walked into the small cottage and got a feel for the place. It oddly resembled his shack in a way, but mirrored, less old, less filthy, and certainly more colorful. However, there was no basement door that he could see, and the living room was a large space that you step into as soon as you walked in. It was quite inviting as his eyes gazed up to a bunch of pictures the owner had hanging on the walls of the house. Most of them were of birds, small woodland critters...and a bear?! Okay, now he knew the owner was tough...until he saw another photo sitting on a table.

In it was the bunny, with a small name under him that read "Angel." The irony of that name caused Mender to physically groan in response. But holding him was a baby yellow pegasus pony with straight, long locks of pink mane hair. Her deep emerald eyes were both a spectacle of wonder and...fearsome? An odd thought, as she looked so nice in the picture. The cutie mark was barely visible, but it looked like a small cluster of butterflies.

Instinctively he reached for the photo and flipped it around. Two names were on the back. Angel and...

"Fluttershy." He was almost unaware that he spoke her name out loud, as it sounded so unusually smooth coming from his mouth. So...effortless. It was a nice name that didn't invoke any ill thoughts in his mind.

"Eep!"

He turned to the doorway and saw her standing there, holding a bag of groceries. He found himself fumbling with the photo he was holding before he set the picture down on the table.

"Uh...h-hi there." Why was he stammering in front of this mare? 

He straightened himself up and continued, "Please, pardon my intrusion. Your bunny came to my house earlier and wanted to come into your cottage. I take it he's yours?"

She said nothing. This unnerved Mender a bit, so he continued some more. "He interrupted my nap with a few kicks, but it's no problem since he's here now, right?"

Still nothing. "Uh...my name's Able Mender. I live in that old shack on the edge of Sweet Apple Acres." He extended a hoof. "What's your name?"

She didn't extend her hoof, but instead backed off a bit. This time he got a response...barely. 

"F-flutter..." He didn't hear the rest, but he didn't need to.

"Fluttershy, what a nice name. Well, it's nice to meet you, miss. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should go. I've a pet at home that needs to be fed."

As he started to walk past her in the doorway, her eyes lit up at the word "pet." She turned around as he walked past and spoke softly to him. "T-thank you, mister Mender. Tell me, what kind of pet is it?"

After hearing her voice, he suddenly became convinced that the bear photo he saw wasn't one that existed just because she was tough. That voice could calm down a Hydra if she put enough effort into it, or so he believed.

Mender turned around and answered her. "Actually...I don't know what it is."

She seemed confused. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean what I said. I don't know what it is. It was just in my house. I fed it apple chips, then actual apples, and it likes me now. I don't know anything about raising...whatever it is."

She was still confused. "Maybe I'd have a better idea of what it is if you describe it to me."

"Hold on then...well, I guess the best way I can describe it is it looks like an alicorn pony, but small and black. Has sea green eyes, tattered wings, sharp fangs, and holes in its legs."

Her eyes widened at his description, which now confused Mender. "What? You know what it is?"

"I...I have a very good idea of what it is, but I'm really worried if it's true. Can I see it?"

"Oh, well, certainly. Whatever helps me figure out how to take care of that thing."

Her concern radiated off in waves that washed over Mender as they both approached his home. She was scared as she got a better look at the house, so Mender had to spend a minute reassuring her that there were much worse things out there than his apparently scary house. His mind flickered back to three fillies for a moment before he took her inside.

"Crunch! I'm home!"

A black blur tackled Mender to the ground as the creature rounded the corner. This scared Fluttershy as she stood on top of his kitchen table, looking at the scene before her. Her eyes didn't lie to her as she saw a young changeling seemingly attacking the silver stallion. She gritted her teeth and was about to intervene when she heard...laughing?

"Crunch, Crunch, easy boy. Easy!" Mender spoke in between the licks the changeling gave him, and at these words Fluttershy visibly became less tense at the scene.

"Alright, alright, settle down. We have a guest." Mender rose from the floor and pointed to the yellow mare. "Say hello to Fluttershy."

Crunch looked at her and for a moment, it hissed at her. Mender gave the changeling a hard look at the sound, and it stopped hissing, instead nervously shuffling its legs.

"Alright, Fluttershy, care to tell me what this is?"

Fluttershy was still baffled at the scene. She didn't even consider that a young changeling could warm up to a pony like it did to Mender, but her previous experience with them didn't exactly have a great starting point either, and certainly not at the young age this one was at. She was so lost in these thoughts, she barely heard his question, but she answered calmly.

"It's a changeling, Mender."

"Changeling? Can't say I've heard of them."

This shocked Fluttershy somewhat. "Really? Did you hear about the wedding at Canterlot some time ago?"

"Yeah, I heard of it. Between some Royal Guard Captain and a Princess, right?"

"Yes, Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. She changed it to Princess Cadence during the wedding though."

"Hah, I'll bet. Her full name's quite a mouthful," he quipped.

She giggled a bit before continuing. "Well, the wedding was interrupted by this mean old queen called Chrysalis. She was the leader of the changelings, and even managed to have complete control over Canterlot at that time."

"Whoa, seriously? This is the first I've heard of this. I thought security was very tight during that wedding."

"It was, thanks to Shining Armor. But the queen came in disguised as Princess Cadence, and did something to him that...I'm now concerned will happen to you."

Mender could feel a chill creep down his spine as he asked a question he would regret having answered. 

"Oh? And what...what would that be?"

Her answer was direct. "Changelings feed off of love, Mender. Love that they forcefully draw out of you with their horns. That's how they feed."

At first, Mender did nothing...but after a few seconds, his laughter boomed throughout the shack.

"Haaaaaahahahahahahaaaaaa.......A-are you sure about that, Fluttershy? Crunch has done no such thing to me! Hah, forcefully taking love, it just sounds so ridiculous! Haaaaa.....miss Fluttershy, if anything, I've been willfully giving it love of my own accord. If it really must eat, I feed it apples, which it enjoys! Look at him right now and tell me he's some evil creature that's out to siphon away my love!"

They both looked at Crunch, who was sitting on the floor and licking in between his legs, clearly preoccupied.

Mender broke off from the sight. "...okay, maybe he's got personal issues that need sorting out, but seriously, does it look like he wants to harm me?"

"I...I guess not, mister Mender. Still, I'd be careful if I were you. Everypony in Ponyville is at least aware of changelings existing and how much trouble they caused in Canterlot, so they won't react too kindly to Crunch here if you take him out into the town."

"...would it improve the image if I bought him a pink leash or something?"

"No, that would just make both of you stand out more...and probably make you look strange," she said.

"Fluttershy, I live in a creaky old shack on the edge of town thought to be haunted by spirits, own a pet that's of a species that is apparently widely feared in Equestria, and I'm still recovering from a filly trampling that happened two weeks ago when I barely moved into Ponyville. I AM the epicenter of strange right now," Mender listed all of this off manner-of-factly. He briefly forgot about keeping his injury a secret, but she didn't seem to catch it.

"Be that as it may, Mister Mender, there's no sense bringing a pet into town that everypony perceives as a threat at the moment. This is the sort of situation that they need to be slowly introduced to, for example, to a few ponies at a time...oh! I know how to get him better integrated into Ponyville!"

"What idea would that be, introducing him to your animal friends?" He laughed once, but felt a chill as her eyes bored into his skull. "Er...sorry. Continue." Yep, he didn't like those eyes, not when they're angry like that.

Her gaze softened enough to give him room to breathe. "We introduce him to my friends first. They've all had firsthand experience dealing with changelings...the bad ones at least. If we can convince them that Crunch here is no threat, then you can take him around Ponyville as much as you like."

"Oh thank Celestia, that sounds like a great idea!" Mender wasn't joking, this really wasn't a bad idea as far as he knew. 

"So...uh...who are your friends?"

He suddenly felt his stomach knot up before Fluttershy even spoke.

"Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie."

"...you remember what I said about this being a great idea? I take that back, it is now a terrible idea."
> Ch. 1-12: A New Conversation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Terrible? What do you mean, Mender?" Fluttershy asked.

"I mean, I've met all those ponies before."

"Oh, well, that should make things a lot easier then...but why do you think that's terrible?"

"Well, I dunno about introducing so many ponies to him at once. I mean, look at how he reacted to just you, Fluttershy, and you're the nicest pony I know right now. How do you think he'll react to the others, and not just one at a time, but all at once? I'm telling you, it sounds like a recipe for disaster."

"Hmm..." Fluttershy stood there, deep in thought. Mender had presented a valid problem. Crunch didn't take to her too nicely, not until Mender calmed him down. That changeling had perceived her as a threat...though that's most likely due to it being territorial in addition to having never met her before...maybe that's the problem, then? If so...

"How about you take Crunch out of the house to meet my friends instead of having them come inside the house? We usually take time at least once a month to take our pets out with us at a tree that's close to a river near my cottage. It's the perfect gathering spot since it'll be outside of town, and if Crunch gets nervous around us, he can hang out with the other pets!"

Mender was now the one in deep thought. That sounded like a lot of pets and ponies that Crunch was going to be around...but if the pets are nice, maybe he'll warm up to them. And he can warm up to the pets...he can warm up to the ponies. That's the best case scenario.

The worst case scenario is every pet is scared of him...or he fears all the pets. The same goes for the ponies. And under all that pressure, he won't know what Crunch would do in that situation. 

He needed to ask. "Are the other pets nice towards each other?"

"They're all comfortable around each other...but the only pet that could be a problem is Opalescence, Rarity's cat. She's usually fine around the other animals, but sometimes she can get aggressive."

"Hrmm...and what about the pet you're bringing? I saw a lot of framed pictures in your house of all sorts of animals." He really hoped it was any other animal. She could even bring the bear, it looked less harmless than-

"Yes, I'll bring Angel with me to the meeting."

Celestia dammit, not that rabbit again. He stifled a groan and continued. "I'm still not so sure about this. I mean, I see it as a pretty large gamble. Either Crunch adjusts to the ponies and pets right there on the spot, or he doesn't and freaks out, causing a panic and giving me a headache...scratch that, I'm already getting a headache thinking about this."

Fluttershy spoke calmly, "Mender, Crunch needs to adjust to the other ponies and pets. If you want to take him outside of your home, something like this needs to be done. How do you think he'll handle other ponies in Ponyville if he can't handle a small group outside of it?"

Mender tried to find fault in that point, but failed. He realized that if Crunch couldn't handle a small group like that, what chance would he have of keeping calm in a town?

"I...suppose you're right, Fluttershy. When will this gathering take place?"

"Tomorrow. I'll go let the other ponies know about it in town, so can you tell Applejack about the gathering while I go off and let the other ponies know? It'll start at noon."

"I guess it can't hurt now that it seems set in stone," Mender remarked.

He waved Fluttershy off from his home, then told Crunch to stay inside as he left towards the apple acres nearby.

------------------------------------------

As he walked along the road to the acres, Mender's gaze wandered over to Fluttershy's cottage next to the dark woods that gave him bad vibes. He stopped for a moment and almost facehoofed, he wanted to ask Fluttershy how on earth she can live next to that forest! Aaaagh, he'll ask her later at the gathering tomorrow, he didn't want to try and catch her at her house again when she was done. This wasn't because of that forest, no, it was that damn bunny...even though he became totally unaware of Angel's presence while he spoke with Fluttershy. 

She was a curious pony to Mender. She had that odd effect where one can forget all the terrible things in the world just by being in close proximity to her, more so by talking with her. She reeked with the invisible stench of innocence...but something told Mender that being around so many animals means she's probably been around some of them dying as well. 

He had a feeling at that moment that he could relate to her more than anypony else, but his train of thought interrupted as he found himself walking past the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. 

The cloying stench of the namesake fruit hung in the air as he walked along the road in between two groves of apple trees. He briefly wondered how Applejack even harvests this many app-

Before his thought finished, he saw Applejack bucking a tree, knocking every apple off. The apples fell neatly into buckets scattered around underneath the tree. He then remembered she was an earth pony, and considered smacking his head at asking such a silly question to himself.

Applejack noticed him walking down the road, and stopped to greet him.

"Well hiya Mender! What brings ya down to the acres?"

"I came to pass along some information from Fluttershy. Something about a gathering tomorrow with pets?"

Applejack's eyes blinked, then came to realize what he asked her.

"Oh! You mean our monthly pet gatherin! Well shoot, I was wonderin when that was going to happen this month. I'll be sure to make time then."

"Perfect, it'll happen at noon tomorrow. I'll be coming along too."

She seemed shocked, Applejack didn't peg Mender as the type to own a pet.

"Really? What kind of animal do ye have?"

Aaaaand there's the million bit question. "It's...a surprise? Yeah, totally a surprise!"

He felt her eyes narrow. "Mender, the last time I got treated to a surprise involving a pet, Gummy was bitin my tail thanks to Pinkie."

"Gummy?" What an odd name, Mender thought.

"Pinkie's pet baby alligator."

The buck? An alligator?! 

His shock was plain, and Applejack giggled. "Oh, forgot to mention he's got no teeth."

This just confused him further. How does it even eat? When it bites, does it drool all the time? What does it even feel like to be gummed by an alligator?

He cleared his head of this storm of thoughts momentarily as he remembered her original question about his pet.

"Well, I don't know if it'll be THAT surprising, but I wouldn't worry about it."

Applejack remained unconvinced, so he changed the subject.

"Oh, thanks for the welcoming apples, by the way. Turns out my pet really enjoys them."

"Aw, don't mention it, Mender." She had a nice smile on her face.

"...I suppose you wouldn't mind givin a few more? My pet sorta got to all of em before I did...considering I've been out of the house for two weeks and all."

"I was about to ask ye where you've been, actually, but you seem busy, so I'll ask later." She flung a few more apples at Mender before she smirked. "Oh, and this is the last time I'm givin ye apples for free, ya hear? Next time you gotta pay with bits or hard labor...and you don't exactly look the type to do the work we do here on the acres."

"Hah, I'm tougher than I look, you know, but I'll consider the offer." He took the apples in his mouth and waved to Applejack. As he left, she resumed bucking more apple trees, the sounds of rustling leaves following Mender's ears as he left the acres.

-----------------------------------------

"Crunch, I'm ho-"

Another tackle to the floor. Mender dropped the apples as Crunch licked his face in excitement. 

He sighed. He pushed Crunch off and got up off the floor before looking at that empty front doorway. Dammit, he really needed that fixed...or not. It was one less thing for him to open to get in his home, and considering the open door policy everypony seems to have, it started to bother him less and less the more he thought about it.

Instead, his thoughts took him to the other door sitting in his basement. Despite his short nap earlier, he learned how to make the most of his sleeping in his time in the army, and he figured he had maybe two hours left before needing to rest again.

He tossed an apple to Crunch and gathered the rest off the floor, then set them all on the counter before grabbing one for himself. The sweet juices danced on his tongue when he took a bite. These were different from the apples in the hospital. They were fresh, crisp, and refreshing.

He looked to Crunch, who seemed to savor it as much as Mender did. He chuckled a bit before going down to the basement.

There sat the door against the wall, just where it was left before. 

This was it. If Twilight was right and his suspicions were correct, this was an enchanted door with a pony on the other side of it. He felt a bit nervous as he stepped up to the door and knocked on it.

Dèja vu struck as he heard something crashing, and some grumbling on the other side. Then all turned silent.

"Uh...hello?" Mender asked.

The silence broke with a yell so loud it sent Mender to his back in an instant.

"NO SOLICITORS!"

Mender was stunned, and still on his back as he responded loudly in return.

"What?!"

"I told you, no solicitors!" The voice creaked and groaned with as much noise as the shack did. It was raspy, probably from the outburst from earlier. It sounded like it belonged to a very old stallion.

"I'm not a solicitor!" Mender shouted in defense.

"That's what all the solicitors say."

Mender facehoofed. Dear Celestia, he was stubborn. 

"What kind of solicitor visits you in a basement?"

"The same kind of solicitor that's intruding in my home!" The stallion barked.

"Wait, your home? Sorry to break the news to you, but it's my home now."

"Impossible! I never sold my home!"

"Well, I bought it from somepony that was selling it for a hundred bits."

"100?! Son of a-this house is at least 20 times as much as that!"

2000? That price baffled Mender. How in Equestria was this place worth that much? 

"Yeah, well, I don't know if you've seen the state of this place, but it was old and practically abandoned when I got here."

"Old and abandoned?" The stallion's voice was a mixture of shock and sadness at this statement. "...tell me, when you came down to the basement, was there a rocking chair?"

"Yeah, there was. Was maybe over fifty years old and covered in dust. I took it out to the porch and cleaned it, though."

Silence followed for a brief moment, then...

"...that chair is mine...well, more specifically, it was my father's, and before him it was his father's, and his father's and so forth. Also, fifty years is a bit off. Try 500."

500?! That number shocked him even more! That's a damn old chair, and by extension, this was a damn old house! Mender was surprised the wood didn't break down on contact.

"...wow. So, uh, how old does that make you?"

"Keeping track of age is difficult and boring past one hundred, so I stopped counting around then."

Well, that was blunt, but Mender thought it made sense. Heck, he doesn't even know Celestia's exact age, but it caused another question to creep to his head. 

"Wait, how long have you even been in that room?"

The tone was neutral, but the answer vague. "I wish I knew the answer to that myself. Time loses meaning in a place like this."

"...wait. If you don't even know how long you were in this room, how have you not gone crazy? I mean, you sound normal to me."

A brief silence came before an uproar of laughter as the stallion beyond the door laughed until he was in a fit of coughing.

"Haaaaaahahahaha, ME, the crazy one? Coming from a pony who's talking to a door that's not even mounted into a wall?!"

"Hey, YOU are on the other side of the door, you know!"

The stallion in the door chuckled. "Am I? What if I went silent, but you kept trying to talk to me? Doesn't that sound crazy? Oh! Even better! How crazy would you be if you tried to prove to somepony that I existed?"

Mender said nothing, so the stallion continued.

"Furthermore, you and I both know that this door is illegal. As far as the law is concerned, this is YOUR enchanted door, not mine. I also know you don't have the key either, or else you would have opened the door by now. That would just make you all the more incriminating to anypony who found out, hmm?"

Mender bit his lip in frustration. He knew the stallion was right in every way. There was no way to prove that the door wasn't his, nor could he prove that it belonged to somepony else...and if he tried, he couldn't exactly make a convincing case.

That didn't mean he lacked a counter. "Well, I'll just have to find a key then, won't I?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you didn't deny that a key is somewhere outside this door."

"Hah! You can't prove that! I have the key to this door, you know."

"Keys," Mender corrected.

"Excuse me?"

"I know you know about these doors. There's no reason you wouldn't have a second key to this door. The experiment done with these doors mentioned two keys being made, one on the outside, and one inside."

"Ah, you're aware of the experiment done by my grandfather then." The stallion paused, realizing he let a detail about his life slip out, but continued. "Yes, I've made a second key, but what if I told you that I took the outside key inside this room with me?"

Mender could sense self-doubt in the stallion's words, and pounced. "If that's the case, why do you sound so concerned that I can open this door?"

"I-I'm not worried! Not at all!"

Mender caught that stammer. "AHA! There is a key out here!"

"............bah, fine! I...made a third key. However, I have no idea where it is."

"What? You lost it?"

"I...may or may not have been experimenting with teleportation and sent that third key out of my space in here. The other two keys ARE with me in here, however, and I don't plan on losing those either. Nor do I plan on opening the door from my side for you. Not now, not ever."

Mender wanted to feel baffled at the stallion, but the gears started to turn in his head with this new information. 

"...but if I found this third key..."

"I suppose you WOULD be able to open this door, yes. Good luck with that errand, though. It could be anywhere within a thousand meters of this door...above or below ground, even. And don't even get me started on how screwed you are if someone found this key already. It wouldn't open anything to them, so it could be sitting in a trash can for all you know!"

Damn, when the stallion put it that way, he really did make it sound like Mender was searchin for a needle in a very large haystack.

"...wow, you're a real optimist, you know." 

"Thanks, I need to be when dealing with a potential intruder."

"I told you, I'm not an intruder...well, not yet. I will open this door though, just you wait!"

"Hah, if so then I'll await the day when that happens. In the meantime, can't we at least be cordial to each other until then? After all, you do hold my life in your hooves, as I'm sure you've also been made aware. I don't plan on leaving, so that choice is yours."

Mender forgot he had that ability as well. He could just do away with the stallion by destroying the door, or he could keep it until he found the key. Either way, the stallion did say he wouldn't leave, and Mender believed he was telling the truth on that.

"Hmm...well, can't I get a name from you at least?"

"...I suppose I owe you that much, what with my life in your hands now. You may call me...Young."

The irony in that name hit Mender like a sack of bricks.

"If you stayed in there as long as you say you have, that's so contradictory I can't put it into words."

"It's better than my grandfather's first name. I can't figure out how he dealt with being called Old all the time." Young had lied, for he shared his grandfather's name.

"Well, I'm Able Mender...Young. A pleasure talking with you, ever under odd circumstances like these."

"No problem, Mender. Hope you don't mind me being like this, haven't talked to anyone in over a hundred years at least, you know...oh!"

Mender heard shuffling past the door, then for the briefest of moments he saw the door crack open, a brilliant white light coming from inside, blinding him in the basement. Before he could react, a small ring slid out through the crack and the door closed immediately.

He looked at the ring. It was a thin, black band. It certainly didn't look like a weddif or engagement ring he had seen some ponies wear before...but that gave him a mean idea.

"You're a unicorn, aren't you? Go ahead and slip that ring on your horn," Young said.

"...you know, I didn't expect us to take our relationship so fast like this."

"What th-oh shut up, it's not like that! Just put the damn thing on!"

"Seriously, ponies are going to think I'll be taken if you wear this."

"SHUT UP! It is NOT a wedding band! It's a communication device I made in here!"

Mender was laughing up until he heard it was a communcation device.

"....wait, why did you make this? I thought you wanted to be alone and all."

"Well, I did, but since we've gotten to know each other a bit, I want to learn about how the world has changed outside of here...without actually leaving this space."

"Lazy," Mender quipped.

"...Just work with me on this, please. I need to get adjusted slowly. Can you do this for me without being an ass...so to speak?"

"Fine fine, I suppose I can manage that." Mender put the ring on his horn. "How does this thing work, anyway?"

"Oh! Well, it transmits any sound it picks up outside of it to my mind. Your horn acts as a signal amplifier, and it also lets me talk to your mind as well as read your thoughts!"

Mender realized this thing was crossing all sorts of lines of privacy with him. "Read my thoughts? That seems a little...intrusive."

"I didn't mean it like that! I mean, I'll only be able to read thoughts that you direct to me personally. I can't read thoughts you don't want me to read."

This put Mender at ease somewhat, but he had one interesting concern.

"...so if I sent unpleasant thoughts to you, you wouldn't be able to block those?"

"I trust that you won't do that, since I can send thoughts like that to you, too...and when you've been in here as long as I have, you get used to having a very...vivid imagination."

Ew ew ew ew, he did NOT want thoughts like that going to his head. 

"Okay okay, you made your point. No real nasty thoughts between us, deal?"

"Deal."

"...How about suggestive thoughts?"

"I'm fine with those if you are."

"Good, I could use more things to chuckle to." Mender smirked, suddenly not caring if anyone was seeing it. As paranoid as Young was, it was refreshing to meet a pony who would put his life in Mender's hooves so willingly. 

This was different than when he was a medic. There he was in charge of saving lives...yet here he stood with the option to save a life over time or end it at will...and he had plenty of time.

"Hah, you and me both, Mender. Now then, I've got other things to do in here that require my attention, but if you need to talk to me, you don't have to come to this door anymore...not unless you have to, which I doubt now."

"Yeah yeah, I'll leave you and your door in peace, Young," Mender said, ending the conversation as he ascended the stairs.

"Testing, testing, one two. Ooh, this'll be so much fun!"

Suddenly Mender realized this may be a more annoying arrangement than he originally believed it to be.
> Ch. 1-13: An Old Memory
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender ascended the stairs out of the basement. He looked to his right and saw Crunch resting under the sofa in his usual spot, an apple core near his sleeping face. That looked so damn cute.

"Hey, I just realized something."

Mender sighed. "What is it?"

"I get to be a voice in your head!"

Yep, Mender was going to hate this arrangement. That damn black band on his horn would be his downfall...but then an idea struck him.

"Say, if I took this band off, you wouldn't be able to bother me like this, you know."

"Aw, please don't do that. I still need you to get a feeling for the outside world."

"Then I'll need to add one more condition. Stop pestering me when I don't want any pestering...like right now. I want to take a nap, so don't bother me."

"Alright...wait. What? Already? You just finished talking to me through the door!"

"...what did I say about pestering me?"

"Fine, fine, enjoy your nap. I can wait a bit longer before you talk to other ponies, I suppose."

Young's voice went silent, and Mender smiled. He rounded the corner and walked out onto the porch, where that wonderful rocking chair awaited him.

The gentle breeze flew through his mane and the faint sound of creaking wood underneath him was a lullaby to his ears as he rocked the chair. The sun began to set and change the sky to Applejack's coat color as he finally felt sleep get a grasp on his body and mind. Mender let his eyelids fall at last as he dozed off in the chair.

20 minutes had passed before his ears picked up on the faint sound of galloping hooves. One, two...no, three sets all rushing toward his home at a rapid pace. Oh dear Celestia no, please don't be those fillies. PLEASE.

He kept his eyes shut, desperately clinging to his rest as best he could as the hooves fell silent as they neared the porch.

"See? There he is in the chair!" Mender recognized Scootaloo's voice.

"Who are those young fillies?" Young asked.

"The Terrible Trio," Mender replied.

He heard giggling. Not a good sign. They're not going to do something, are they?

The next hoofsteps were quiet as the fillies gathered around him on the porch. He felt a hoof tug on his hindleg. 

Celestia dammit. His eyes shot open and stared at the three Crusaders sitting in front of him.

"Ugh...what do you three want? I was napping, you know."

"We know, mister Mender, but we really need some help," spoke Sweetie Belle.

"Couldn't you have asked, I dunno, anypony else still awake at this hour?"

"But we wanted to ask you somethin! We're tryin to be Cutie Mark Crusader Interviewers!" Applebloom chimed in.

"Interviewers?" Mender didn't like where this was heading. It sounded like he'd be doing a lot of talking.

"Oh, this is gonna be good. Hang on while I get some snacks."

"Yeah! We sorta realized that we don't know much about ya Mender. That's why we're interviewin ya for the school paper!"

"Ugh...can't this wait until a better time? Say, tomorrow morning, maybe?"

The three fillies shook their heads, then Scootaloo spoke up.

"We need to have the interview today so we can get it all straightened out for the paper tomorrow!"

"...no." Mender was blunt.

"Please?" All three said it at once, and started with those begging eyes. Augh, those eyes. He HATED those eyes and their overflowing cuteness.

"Aaaaaaaaaagh, fine! Just put those eyes away before you hurt someone with em!" His voice sounded pleading, and the three fillies turned off their cute faces.

"Hah, what a pushover."

Mender grimaced, but shook it off and asked, "Okay, Crusaders. What do you want to ask this old stallion, hm?"

Sweetie Belle spoke up. "Confidential sources have told us that you were an army pony. Is this true?"

"...you got that information from your sister, didn't you?" His eyes fell down on the off-white pony.

"Wha-h-how did ya know?" Her shock confirmed it.

"The look on your face, obviously...but yes, I was an army pony."

"Did you participate in any fighting during your service?" Scootaloo asked.

"Not unless I had to. I was a medic, and medic's don't usually go to the front lines of battle to fight...erm, maybe I ought to explain how the army categorization works first, just so you understand why I became a medic there."

The three fillies nodded and pulled pencils and notepads out of seemingly nowhere. 

Mender continued. "So, first I should say that not all ponies are enlisted into the army. It's all predominantly male, much like the castle guards are in Canterlot. Very few females are accepted into the service, and even then they are given jobs meant to keep them out of as much danger as possible. The army gives very high regard to the safety of mares and their children all over Equestria, and they try to keep mothers out of their ranks if at all possible, instead enlisting any single females that have no children. Naturally, I didn't have those sorts of problems, but perhaps that serves as another reasonable explanation as to the abundances of mares here."

"Now then, onto the jobs assigned to the enlisting ponies. Earth ponies usually serve as the strongest ground forces of Equestria, and rightfully remain so. Their penchant for endurance and stamina can have them cover large distances of land in just a day or two, and they know how to take a hit and keep going without stopping. I would admire them more for their stamina if I didn't have to keep up with them myself on some deployments. My hooves ached keeping up with them half the time."

Mender took a small breath.

"Most infantry wear similar armor to that seen worn by the royal guards, but none of it was as fancy looking. It was all crafted out of strong iron, easily capable of shrugging off arrows. Each was given either a sword and buckler, a spear and heavy shield, or a crossbow, depending on their personal preference. Others that weren't part of the main force found themselves in the midst of infiltration and sabotage behind enemy lines. They wore little to no armor, gambling their safety on stealth and subterfuge in heavily fortified positions, and were usually given shortbows and daggers for personal defense. Overall, they formed the backbone of the army, more or less, by far having the largest numbers...and the largest death toll."

Mender muttered that last part to himself, and the fillies didn't hear it. They did hear a touch of sadness in his voice however, but that faded as he continued.

"Most pegasi were put into the Air Raiders task force. Since pegasi needed to be fast and nimble in the air, most wore leather armor for protection as iron armor was too heavy and cumbersome. They were all trained in the art of divebombing, and given a large partisan spear as their main weapon. I must say that seeing a swarm of diving pegasi devastate an enemy force was something not taken lightly by anypony in those times...but some pegasi were different. Any particularly fast ones were made into messengers instead to ferry messages back and forth between the front lines and the command center. They too were highly valued, given the task assigned to them and all. It was not without risk, however, as most messenger ponies did not wear armor to give their bodies as much speed as they could...and fast they were. We called em Dashers in the army."

Scootaloo giggled at that name. Mender briefly wondered why before he recalled the pony Rainbow Dash. Hee, he could understand why she giggled at that.

All the while he could hear the fillies furiously scribbling on their notepads, but was also surprised to hear no sound coming from Young. Apparently, he was as attentive to the story as the fillies were.

"Lastly, there are the unicorns like me. Unicorns were separated into three groups based upon the magic they were most adept with. Those particularly in tune with large destructive forces were given artillery positions, responsible for bombarding the enemy with large surges of magic. Given the right time, preparation, and placement, these ponies could level hills with their power...in addition to any untimely foe caught in the wake of such a storm. They've rightly earned the name of Stormbringers in that regard. Those more familiar with small destructive forces, and in particular illusions, were usually paired up with saboteur earth ponies to assist them with their missions. The illusions they could conjure would keep the saboteurs safe at night, in addition to detecting any nearby threats with more precision than an earth pony ever could. In short, they were the cloak to the earth ponies' dagger, and were respectably called the Shrouds."

"Finally, there's the last group of unicorns where I fell into, the Medics. We were particularly useful for our magical healing capabilities, and as everypony knew at that time, the medic is the biggest support beam behind any half-decent military might. A platoon could march for a week and lose half their numbers if a medic wasn't there to patch them up along the way...though the other ponies sure don't want to admit that. They want to think their fighting is what keeps the war machine moving, and in a way that's true. However, somepony's gotta make sure the machine's running properly, and that's our job. We do what we can to save ponies lives...even if what we have to do isn't pretty for the one we're trying to save."

Mender caught his voice trailing off as he saw the fillies stop writing while they processed his last words, trying to imagine what he meant by them. He wondered if he should clarify what he meant by that...but that would be too graphic for these fillies.

"A-anyway, Crusaders. I believe that's an accurate enough description of the jobs the ponies in Celestia's army do. I figure that's enough information for you to write a story about, at least."

"But we didn't come here for a general summary, Mender. We want to hear about YOUR experiences." Scootaloo said, slightly mad that he tried to end the interview early.

"Hah! These fillies are sharp tacks, Mender. Good attempt though."

Dammit...well, at least he tried. He sighed and continued. 

"Well then, how about I tell you about how I got enlisted in the army? Hey, it even covers how I got my cutie mark!"

"Ugh, not another cutie mark story!" This time the words came from Applebloom. All three made a slightly sour face, and recalled to him how they got wrapped into learning about the cutie marks belonging to Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Twilight just trying to find out how Rainbow Dash got hers.

Mender laughed. That must have been painful to them...at least if his impression of those six was accurate. 

"Girls, I promise, this story won't be as cutesy as any of the other stories you've heard, I'm sure of it."

Their ears perked up at those words and their eyes widened a bit as they readied their notepads. They were now quite anxious to hear his story.

"Well, truth be told, I got this cutie mark before I signed up. See, before I became a medic, I wanted to be a surgeon. I originally lived back in Scoltsdale with my parents at the time. My father was a surgeon at the time, and my mother a nurse. Both of them had an amazing work dynamic about them whenever I hung out in their offices when I was little. I guess you could say my parents were my biggest inspiration to be like them."

"However, when I actually started my studies into the field of medicine, I found it rather difficult to grasp some of the concepts taught in the books. I had asked my father to help me on some occasions, but he waved me off, stating that if I wanted to be like him, I had to learn like him. He learned all of his knowledge from the books I was reading, and somehow had no trouble understanding the information inside them."

"It made me all the more frustrated, but all the more determined. I continued my studies extensively until I had memorized everything in those books by the time of my 25th birthday. However, nothing in those books prepared me for what happened on my birthday...of all possible days."

"That day during dinner, I told my father about all the things I studied, and he quizzed me on what I had learned. I had answered them all correctly, but he still looked unimpressed. I asked him why. He told me, 'Your head's in the right place Mender, but your heart isn't.' I asked him what he meant by that, but he wouldn't clarify, instead telling me that my heart will know what's calling to it. That cryptic statement bothered me heavily at the time, but my mother insisted that I not worry about it, as the answer I was looking for would come in time...nopony told me it would happen that night, however."

Mender paused a moment to gather his thoughts on how to carefully explain the next part to the fillies.

"I walked on the outside to the right of my mother and father on the way home. We were walking by a house on the left when it suddenly exploded. All three of us were caught in the blast."

He heard small gasps and the pencils stopped writing.

"I don't know when I woke up, but when I did, both of my parents were badly burned, and some glass shards were embedded in their bodies. I had taken the least damage, only some minor burns and cuts from the few glass shards that passed both of them. My mother was conscious, but barely breathing. My father...fared worse. He wasn't moving."

"At that point, my medical knowledge kicked in and I started assessing their injuries. I checked my father's pulse first. It was faint, but he was alive. His body had large glass shards and deep cuts along his body. Considering the damage, he most likely had glass shards inside him as well. My mother was in a better condition, with less burns and glass shards, but she was also in an unstable condition as her breathing became labored."

"I had to think fast. I looked around for a store that had anything resembling surgical tools, and my eyes honed in on a seamstress who opened her door, curious about the explosion no doubt. I rushed over to her and asked if I could borrow some needles, thread, and some cloth. She went back in and came out twenty seconds later with what I asked without hesitation. I thanked her, and asked her to quickly contact the nearest hospital before I ran back to my parents."

"My mother's condition was getting worse, and blood was starting to pool under her. In that instant, I knew she was coming close to passing if I didn't do something fast. I started treating her exterior wounds, suturing up all the cuts I could. I carefully removed the glass fragments on the outside of her body using my hooves, then sutured those wounds as well. This stabilized her somewhat as the blood flowed less freely outside of her body. I finally took the cloth sheets I was given and bunched them up against the larger wounds that resisted the suturing I had done before I had finished. I could do nothing else for her until she was in a proper hospital room, so I tended to my father next."

"Unbeknownst to me, a small crowd gathered around us. They would later recall to me that I had moved as a blur, a flurry of rapid hooves and careful precision as I tended to my parents with the limited tools I had at my disposal. When emergency responders came to the scene, they noted the wounds I had fixed and asked for my assessment on their injuries, which I promptly relayed to them. As they digested the info and prepared gurneys to get my parents to the hospital, I was asked to come along. I apparently gave the impression I was a surgeon without actually telling them that, but I came with without any objections."

He stopped for a moment to observe the fillies and saw fear in their eyes at this moment.

"I...should stop. This next part is...probably not for your little ears to hear."

The three fillies shook their heads, the fear in their eyes replaced by determination in an instant. Hah, they were either braver than he pegged them to be...or very foalish.

"Very well then. I was taken to Scoltsdale Medical along with my parents. It was there that I was recognized as their son, and congratulated on my efforts thus far by some of the resident nurses there. However, my father was the only doctor on staff that week, which meant that my evening wasn't over just yet. Both were set up in operating rooms as I found myself orchestrating the nurses' actions in preparation for emergency operation on my parents. I patiently sat in the waiting room, trying to catch my breath after all that has transpired thus far."

"I sat there for about five minutes absorbing what I had done...and thinking about what I'd have to do next as my parents were prepped for surgery. The nurses had enough training to properly treat the burns on ther bodies, but that didn't concern me. No, it was those glass shards I knew still resided in their bodies. Those shards...those would be my real test in the next few minutes to come."

"One of the nurses came by and told me they were ready. Both had been stabilized, but my father was still barely clinging to life. My mother, however, had somehow declined into a worse state. Her body was more fragile than his, so I made the decision to operate on her first."

"...I'll skip some major details here, but my mother had a substantial amount of glass fragments in her chest cavity. Some had come close to her heart, but didn't actually pierce it. I was thankful for that as I went to work removing the glass fragments with little effort. Satisfied with my work, I closed her up and asked the attending nurse to monitor her as I prepped to handle my father next."

"My father wasn't as fortunate as my mother. His body had less glass than my mother's, but the fragments were much larger...much more damaging. One particularly large fragment struck his heart. I felt raw, unfiltered fear at that very moment...but I had to steel myself. There was no way I was going to let him die like that!"

"I removed all the fragments I could save for the one in his heart. That one I had to save for last, and I only had one chance to get it out without causing any further damage...and I'll admit it, I was very scared. My father's live was in my hooves, after all, but I couldn't just stand there and watch him die."

He paused for some time, prompting the fillies to ask the question he wanted them to.

"...s-so? Did you...succeed?" This came from Sweetie Belle, though he barely heard it.

"I did."

The fillies smiles turned wide...but quickly faded away. Mender wasn't finished.

"I removed the large shard and sutured his heart up. I was confident the operation was finally over. I had saved both of my parents, and a huge feeling of relief washed over me. It was then I noticed a faint glow on my back, and the cutie mark showed up. It was quite a literal interpretation of what I did to save my father..."

"A day later, my mother woke up. She was so happy to see I was safe, and even happier after I told her what I did to save her...and my father. She had asked me how he was doing, and I told her that he was recovering, but had not woken up like her. In the days to come, I cared for my mother, and patiently waited for my father to wake up. One day became two, two became four, then a week had passed with no noticeable sign of improvement. In the meantime, I kept busy doing my father's work as best as I could manage, occasionally consulting with my mother when I had to."

"It would be a month before something would change. My mother had recovered enough by then to start watching over my father while I acted as a substitute surgeon in his stead. Practicing medicine was quite different than simply reading about it, as I came to discover. The trust ponies put in your hands was refreshing, far from the panic I had dealt with when I first started doing his duties. One day, she had told me that father had finally woken up...but there was a problem."

"The shockwave from the explosion caused severe damage to his brain. He couldn't remember his name, who he was, or even us.  He couldn't even acknowledge the fact that I saved his life without sounding so...detached. It sickened me. All that work I did to save him, and he can't remember me anymore. Fate had put a cruel twist in on my life...and it was now a life I didn't want to be a part of anymore, not when it hurt so much like this."

"I told my mother I was enlisting in the army. She protested heavily, but I didn't listen. I ran, and left her with my amnesiac father. Forgetting this tragedy was all I wanted to do...guess that didn't work too well if I'm remembering it, huh?"

Mender was silent for a moment, feeling judging glances from the fillies near him.

"Not a day goes by that I regret making that choice, you know. I've regret making a lot of choices in my life, and this was one of the biggest ones. I would go back even now and apologize...but I can't, not now...nor ever. They...both passed away while I was in service."

Mender said nothing more, trying his hardest to hold back his tears. He looked down and saw tears in the Crusader's eyes, the most coming from Scootaloo.

Mender got off the chair and hugged the three crying fillies. He could swear he felt sad emotions radiating off of Young as well during that hug.

"Now now fillies, don't you go and make this a sad story in your paper, you hear me? I saved my father, and that's how I got my cutie mark, and that's all this town needs to know."

"The-then why d-didya tell us the rest, Mender?" Scootaloo blubbered.

"I...don't know. I haven't told this story to anypony before. Nopony bothered to ask until you three did. I guess I'm terrible like that, and I should have ended it before then. I guess...I had to let it out somewhere, and I'm terribly sorry it had to be you three."

Now it was Mender's turn to cry. He felt the fillies cling tighter to him as his raw emotions filtered out after being bottled up for so long.

After five minutes, Mender began to realize he was soaking the fillies' coats, and broke off the hug. He urged them to tell the story minus the sad ending. He didn't want ponies to pity him, not while he hasn't made a big impression on the town yet. The fillies agreed, and gathered their notes and left. Mender figured those fillies wouldn't be asking him for another story for a long time now.

He settled back into the chair, wiped away his tears, and rested his eyes as a long sleep awaited him at last.
> Ch. 1-14: A New Gathering
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pounding hooves raced across the cobblestone once more as Mender found himself within the dream that haunts him once again. The smell of ash and decay in the trees and the orange glow of the fire to his house urged him forward in what felt like an endless, hopeless loop of repeating tragedy. 

Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he couldn't save his family. They were dead, he reminded himself every time he ran down the path, and yet he continued to struggle in the vain hope of saving any of them, if he could at all.

He stopped in front of the burned front doorway and saw his wife there under the burning mass of wood. He remembered smashing the window the last time he was here, but as he turned to the left, he saw that same dark pony figure dashing out into the woods and away from the house.

A thought snapped in his head as they ran. They must be the culprit! But...what about his family? He HAD to save them, he had always tried to every time he was here, but...

A scream from inside brought his attention to the house. He hadn't heard this before last time. It came from the window to the right instead of the left, and he rushed over and saw one of his daughters in the living room. The unfiltered fear and panic in her eyes wrenched and tugged at his heart. Without thinking, he backed up and charged through the right window and landed in the living room.

His daughter didn't seem to hear the window break...or acknowledge his presence. He quickly dashed towards her to pick her up, only for her to fade as he slammed into the wall. He shook it off and saw her figure standing in front of another window at the side of the room, frantically scraping against the window pane, but stopped as the glass began to burn her hooves. 

She squealed in pain and backed off from the window, her eyes frantic in seeking another exit. Mender was torn over his helplessness and actions at that moment. He knew she wouldn't acknowledge the window he broke through, or him. She couldn't go back into the hallway as the heat intensified even further there with the collapse of the beam.

Suddenly, she darted under one of the couches and held her front hooves over her head, a final desperate maneuver to survive given there was no way to escape as the flames began to creep further to her and Mender.

He then heard his daughter's voice clearly among the sounds of crackling wood and the buckling support of the roof above them.

"Daddy, help us!"

Those were the last words she spoke before a violent surge of flame shot from the hallway and enveloped the entire room in searing heat.

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Mender awoke from his chair in a cold sweat. He looked up at the sky, and noted the moon was still visible...barely. Morning was coming...and yet despite him getting a few solid hours of rest, his limbs felt sluggish and flimsy.

His gaze fell downward and saw Crunch resting near the chair. This changeling was getting closer to him than he thought, as Mender remembered the little guy resting underneath the living room sofa before he slept. Sooner or later he'd probably wake up to find Crunch resting in his lap...not that he wouldn't mind it.

Mender yawned, and Crunch woke up at the sound, yawning in apparent response. In his head, he had heard Young yawning as well. Apparently he still needed sleep like anypony else.

"Morning."

"Yeah yeah, morning. Your story sucked, you know. Why'd you have to go and be so depressing in front of those fillies?"

"I didn't intend to! It just sorta...slipped out."

"Hmph, well, color me skeptical. I personally think you wanted it to come out."

Mender bit his lip. He wanted to deny it, but Young wasn't wrong.

"Well...yes, I did, but not in front of the fillies, and certainly not in the way I wanted it to come out."

"You thought it would get them to leave you alone, didn't you?"

Mender was angered by the question. "NO! That's not why I told them!"

"Don't lie, Mender. You wanted to be left alone with your regrets and your thoughts. The best way to get those fillies out of your mane was to tell them, and it worked, didn't it?"

"That-that's not why I-"

"Then WHY, Mender? Why did you tell them?" Mender could sense irritation in Young's voice.

"Because..." Mender hated his answer, despite it being true. 

"Because they would understand me best. They wouldn't judge me as...as harshly as other ponies would have if I told them the same story."

"Using children as a proxy through which to vent your sorrows, simply because they can't process it with as much judgement as adults?"

"Hah, yeah...I'm a terrible stallion, aren't I?"

"...not necessarily. You simply haven't put enough trust in other ponies yet like you have those fillies. Otherwise, you wouldn't have told them that terrible truth of yours, isn't that right?"

Mender couldn't deny it, but said nothing.

"Silence, huh? Don't worry, I'm certain that in time, you'll find you can trust other ponies with your secrets, Mender. After all, you shared it with me, so you trust me as well."

"Well, you're a recluse who refuses to leave their room. Pretty hard to share secrets with others like that." Mender chuckled.

"Hah, you got me there, but you confirmed my theory anyway...and I thank you for putting such trust in me."

Mender smiled. "Don't mention it. Now then, I need to get ready for...something today. A gathering at noon with six ponies and their pets, if I remember right."

"A gathering? Ooh, with other ponies? How exciting!"

Mender groaned. "Yep, pretty sure it'll be exciting for you...not so much for me, unfortunately. I expect a rain of headaches in today's weather forecast."

"Aw come on, it isn't that bad, is it?"

Mender paused. "You have no idea."

"Hah, in that case, I look forward to this gathering then."

Mender briefly contemplated leaving the black communication band at home, but realized that Young's voice might be the only thing keeping him from going nuts around those six ponies.

...it dawned on Mender immediately that a voice in his head was going to help him stay sane around six ponies that can and would drive him insane. He swore he couldn't think of a crazier situation than this.

-----------------------------------------------------

Mender had spent the morning trying to teach Crunch some simple commands, using small apple bites from the last apple he had as positive reinforcement treats. He had managed to teach Crunch to sit, stay, and shake...barely before running out of apple bites. If for some reason Crunch started to panic, he had hoped those first two commands would work...though at the same time, he hoped they failed. If the pet changeling ran, he'd have an excuse to get away from those six ponies, and he smiled at that thought. This was an odd situation where he saw success as failure and failure as success, at least in attempting to keep his sanity.

But soon, the sun rose to high noon and Mender had one last preparation. He hadn't secured a collar for Crunch yet, but looked in his suitcase for something similar and found a small coil of thin rope. Ah, rope was something he had found useful when descending down steep areas in the battlefield. He quickly fashioned it into a leash with a few careful knots and slipped it over Crunch's neck.

Crunch resisted immediately. He didn't like the feel of the rope and started chewing at it. Mender had stopped him before he got a quarter of the way through, and he reluctantly obeyed. Mender saw it in his eyes, and knew he needed to get Crunch a proper collar before long...maybe Rarity could-

NO! He'd...rather not try that until after the gathering...if at all.

Mender tugged on the rope leash, and Crunch started to walk with him, fear still in his eyes.

"Everything will be fine, Crunch. Trust me," Mender reassured.

It didn't wipe the look of fear off of Crunch's face, but the changeling started walking at Mender's pace, staying close to his master and protector, as it were.

As they left the old house, Mender heard something fly by his head, but it missed. He quickly looked around for whatever flew by him, but didn't see anything. He shrugged, and continued on his way.

...but elsewhere, a pony holding a small blowpipe cursed under its breath as it hid in one of the apple acres' trees nearby.

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Mender had come to the spot Fluttershy had mentioned for the gathering. Upon his arrival, he saw Fluttershy with Angel and Pinkie already there with Gummy latched onto her tail. Upon seeing the new ponies and pets, Crunch hid behind Mender, careful of keeping its distance.

Mender felt his stomach knot up already, and knew it was going to get worse from here, but he swallowed and took a spot underneath the tree. The shade was refreshing as the leaves rustled overhead, complementing a relaxing setting which helped Mender keep his cool. Crunch took a spot behind the tree out of view of the other ponies and pets, though the rope leading to him was still visible.

Pinkie Pie noticed Mender first, set down Gummy next to Angel, and began bouncing over to him. 

"Hiya Mendy!"

And so it begins...

"Afternoon, Pinkie. I see I'm not the first here to the gathering...though I'm thankful I am not the last."

"Hee hee, I can see why! Your pet's a shy one, isn't it?" Pinkie pointed to the rope around the tree.

"Yep, very shy. It's only been exposed to me, you kno-" Before Mender had finished, he saw Pinkie go behind the tree.

Aw hay.

"EEEEEEEEEEKK!" Upon hearing the scream, both Fluttershy and Mender stopped what they were doing and rounded the tree.

...Mender had expected that to be a scream of fear, but walked around the tree and saw Pinkie hugging the life out of his pet. Crunch was futilely struggling against her grip, unable to even open its mouth to bite the pony holding him.

"it's soooooooooooooooo cute, Mender! What is it? What is it?!"

Mender was stunned. Fluttershy had made out changelings to be very terrible things, and here was Pinkie, just hugging one without any idea of what it was...or did she and simply not care? Either way, Mender thought she was crazy.

"It's...a young changeling."

Pinkie suddenly let go of Crunch, who quickly hid behind Mender and bared its fangs.

"You mean those meanie things that took over Canterlot during Shining Armor's wedding?!" Her mouth hung open in surprise.

"Yep, or so Fluttershy has told me, isn't that right?"

"Correct, Mender."

For the first time since Mender saw Pinkie, she stood there and digested this information carefully. Pinkie was well aware of how changelings function, and she wore a face of concern.

"Mender, are you sure you know what you're doing? They thrive off of stealing love!"

"Pinkie, I'm sure. It hasn't eaten me yet or whatever they do to steal love, considering I'm still standing here and the changeling's hiding behind me, clearly afraid of you. Does it look like it wants to harm anything right now?"

"Maybe the rope around its neck."

"Wha-" Mender turned around and saw Crunch chewing at the rope again. "Crunch, NO."

Crunch stopped halfway on the rope. This wasn't good. At this rate, he'll get through that rope and leave by the time the fourth pony gets here.

Suddenly, a large gust of wind blew by as Dash came to the gathering. Trucking behind her was...a flying...turtle? The buck?

He found himself repeating it out loud. "Is...that a flying turtle?"

"Tortoise," Fluttershy corrected.

"That's not what I was questioning. I mean, a slow animal for a fast pony?"

Dash spoke up. "He may be slow, but he's loyal as ever! I tried looking for a fast flying pet like an eagle or hawk once, and I raced them and a few other animals down a ravine...but I got stuck under a rockslide. None of those fliers came back for me...but the tortoise there did. His name's Tank, by the way."

"How appropriate...but now it's my turn for a shocker." He gestured to Crunch at the end of his rope.

Dash's mouth hung low enough to hit the grass. "Are you INSANE, Mender?!"

No, but at this rate he might be.

"No, I'm not. It's a young changeling. It's name is Crunch, and no, it hasn't been sucking away my love. It enjoys apples. There, now we're all caught up."

This just seemed to anger Dash. "Mender, these changelings are cunning, manipulative creatures. How do I know you're not under its spell?"

Mender sighed. "Dash, if I was under its spell, could I do this?" He turned to Crunch. "Sit, boy."

Crunch sat down on the grass, and all three ponies' jaws hung wide at the control Mender had over the changeling.

"Stay, Crunch." Crunch didn't move an inch. "Alright, I want you to be calm while Dash pets you, okay?" Mender gestured for her to do so. 

She was clearly quite reluctant...but if he had such control, it wouldn't be a problem, would it? Dash slowly approached the changeling and extended a hoof to its head. She began to rub its face, and the fear in the pet's eyes faded, replaced by a small bit of happiness as its stubby tail wagged.

Soon, the other two ponies followed suit as Fluttershy and Pinkie started rubbing its back underneath the tattered wings. Mender stood back a bit and let the ponies warm up to his pet as he communicated with Young.

"Well, things are going so much better than expected so far. I truly thought this would be disastrous."

"Actually, from the sound of things, looks like you got the three easiest ponies to deal with. I wonder if the other three will be more difficult to convince?"

Mender's eyes shot wide open at the thought. Dammit, he hadn't thought about that. How would that librarian Twilight react? Or what about that crazy fashion pony, Rarity? What about his neighbor, Appleja-

Oh, speak of Tartarus. Applejack was walking down the road now, coming with a small brown and white dog, which he recognized as a border collie. He wasn't worried about the pet she brought at that point, but HER on the other hand...

He had been hiding the fact that Crunch had been in his house when Applejack first visited him. He really hoped she wouldn't ask any question related to that, but he knew better than to lie if she did ask.

She approached the group of ponies, unable to see Crunch as Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were still petting him, all somewhat entranced by the thought of a nice changeling for once.

"Howdy, ya'll!"

Her voice snapped them out of their petting session and they all turned to face her, revealing the changeling in the middle.

Oh boy, here we go.

Applejack tensed up immediately, and by extension so did her dog. Both leered at the changeling in the middle, who now escaped the circle of ponies and hid behind Mender.

"Mender, get away from it!" she barked.

"...no." His response was blunt, which threw her off guard.

"Wha-what? Mender, it's a CHANGELING!"

"That's right. It's also my pet."

The news clearly shocked her. Mender sighed. Would he have to explain this to everypony at this rate?

"And before you go and make accusations, Applejack, no, it's not controlling me or whatever you think it's doing. It's not controlling them, either. I can assure you of that." Mender gestured to the other three ponies before continuing.

The hard look in his eyes convinced Applejack he was telling the truth, but she was still skeptical. She had been fooled before by changelings, and wasn't about to let up just yet.

Mender glanced back and saw Crunch chewing at the rope again. He quickly issued a command.

"Sit, boy." Crunch obeyed. Mender then turned back to AJ. "Applejack, Crunch is harmless. Would he really follow my orders if I wasn't in control of him?"

"What if he's lettin ya control him to lead you into a false sense of security?" Her tone was still accusing.

"That I doubt, as he hasn't sucked out any of my love yet."

"Maybe he's waitin for the right time."

"The best time for him to do so would be while I slept, but he hasn't done anything of the sort."

"Mender, they live off of love. How are you keeping that changeling alive, then?"

"Apples. He likes your apples."

Suddenly, AJ calmed down. A changeling, enjoying her apples? She almost let that thought dissipate all her worries before she resumed her stance.

"...Mender, answer me this. If I were to trust you, can I trust that creature?"

Mender shot back with his own loaded statement, his body tensing as it readied for a fight. "Applejack, if you truly consider my pet a threat, you will have to consider me a threat as well. I will not let harm come to Crunch, and if you insist on harming him, I will respond accordingly. Remember, Applejack, that I was an army pony. Is this a fight you really wish to go through with?"

The tension eased up on her body as she contemplated his response. He was truly prepared to fight for the changeling, and if that changeling had total control over him, then Applejack would foresee this going very badly between everypony involved here. She didn't want to hurt Mender, however. He was still getting used to this place, and a situation like this would only make whatever relationship he had with the town burn away as they fought.

...she couldn't risk it, not now. Maybe if her other friends were here, she would be very well inclined to fight Mender. She would go in knowing there was enough backup behind her...but was that really the right way to go about this? Destroying a potential friendship out of fear of securing the safety of her friends and Ponyville? Did she really have the authority to make that decision?

No, she didn't. All the tension left her body as she became calm and smiled. "No, Mender, I don't. I trust you...but I still don't trust that changeling of yours. I can't...not yet."

Mender let the tension leave his body as well. "...hmph, fair enough. I never expected you to warm up to it in just one day...or either of those three, for that matter. Regardless, I'll figure out how to make you see that Crunch here isn't as evil as his appears to be."

He paused for a moment before repeating his threat. "...but if you're still not convinced, don't think I won't follow through with my response if you or anypony else chooses to bring harm to him. For all intensive purposes, he was the first one to welcome me into his heart, and that's a trust I will not betray. I believe that the rest of you will acknowledge that fact, if not now, then in time."

Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Dash all nodded to his statement, while Applejack slowly nodded last.

Mender quickly changed the mood. "Good! Now that hostilities are over, what's your pet's name, AJ? You know mine's called Crunch."

"Damn, that was a sudden change. I mean, props to you for handling it how you did, but do you think she'll really change gears that fa-"

"Winona's her name! One of the best ranchin dogs in Equestria, I reckon," Applejack replied.

"...agh, I hate it when I'm wrong."

Mender grinned. "Ranching? You mean you do more than just growing apples?"

"O course! We've had to round up cattle that were runnin towards Ponyville once. Even had to round up a swarm of bunnies and...Pinkie Pies."

Mender blinked at that last statement. " A swarm of...Pinkie Pies?" Oh Celestia, what in Equestria even happens in this town?!

"Yep, that was a crazy day, but all those Pinkies were fun to be around!" Pinkie Pie chimed in.

Mender couldn't process that being fun at all. He briefly imagined a swarm of him all over the town, and shuddered at the thought. One sarcastic sad old medic was enough, but twenty or thirty would just piss everyone off, including him!

He shook his head to clear the thought. "So, uh, is Winona a nice dog?"

Winona responded by running up to Mender and licking his face, then going behind him to sniff Crunch a bit. She seemed bothered by the smell of him, but looked happy and playful as she attempted to egg Crunch on into playing with her. Crunch remained still, eyes focused on his master, looking for some kind of response.

Mender removed the leash around Crunch's neck. Now that he had gotten used to ponies, Mender thought it was high time for Crunch to get used to their pets, too. Happy at being released, Crunch ran around and started to play with Winona as Tank, Angel, and Gummy watched from where they had gathered near the river.

Applejack smiled as her dog played with Crunch. She was still guarded, but doubt started to form in her head as she considered the thought that she was wrong about the changeling.

-----------------------------------------------

As the pets played and basked in the sunlight, the girls stood off nearby as Mender rested under the tree, content with simply watching the pets and ponies getting along. He found himself talking to Young quietly.

"Man, I expected this to turn out horrifically. I had thought of ten thousand ways this could all go wrong, but so far it's all going fine."

"You worry too much, you know. Probably comes from your job, but still."

"I know I do, but it's a healthy worry, isn't it? This is all so new to him...and to me."

"That is true...but is it not something that you merely need to adjust to?"

"You make that sound so much easier than it actually is, you know. It's different adapting to times of war than it is to times of peace. That need to fight, to do something to protect your land...it's very difficult to get rid of that."

"I wouldn't know, but I'll take your word for it. Regardless, this is your home now, isn't it? It's about time you get your head out of that grim mindset and start taking in the happy times around you while you can."

"Again, you make that sound so easy."

"I make what sound so easy?"

He looked around and saw Twilight standing near him with a confused look on her face.

"Nothing, nothing, Twili-I mean, Princess Twilight."

"Didn't I tell you to just call me Twilight?"

"You did, but I've got a large respect for authority. I forgot to tell you I was an army medic before."

Her eyes widened slightly, but receded as she spoke. "I...think I understand then. I hope you don't mind if I ask about your army experience later."

"...I know you'll pester me endlessly if I try to refuse, so I'll agree to that. At a later time, though. Sorta busy watching my pet."

"Ooh, you found a pet already? Where is it?"

"The changeling playing with Winona over there."

"Oh, okay, the changeling." She paused for a moment, then her eyes shot wide open. "A CHANGELING?!"

Mender sighed. This was getting old fast. 

"Yes, a changeling, Twilight. Please calm down, my voice is getting raspy from explaining this so much already. Just know that I have things under control. It doesn't want to steal my love or anything. Also, your four friends over there have already accepted that I will defend my pet with my own life if it is harmed. I now extend that warning to you, princess...as foalish as it sounds."

"But Mender, why?"

"That changeling was the first thing to accept me in this town without knowing anything about who I am or what I was. I know how dangerous it is, and yet it does not seek to harm me. I am thankful for its trust in me as I trust it now."

Mender paused, careful in choosing his next words. "I know that I probably don't stand a chance against you, Twilight. You could probably have me banished just for harboring such a dangerous pet, for similar reasons involving the illegal magic door I have in my home. I thank you for not telling anypony about the door...but I must also ask you to do something you probably would never consider were I not in such a precarious position already."

"And what is that, Mender?" Twilight's voice sounded somewhat regal, fitting considering her alicorn status.

"To give that changeling a chance. Fluttershy has told me all about your encounter with the changelings in Canterlot, and how violent they were. I understand your reservations in thinking that this changeling is no different. However, I am telling you it IS different. If it wasn't, I probably wouldn't be sitting here talking to you right now."

Twilight was still unconvinced. Mender gestured out to Crunch playing with Winona. Angel and Gummy decided to get in on the fun too...well, he couldn't actually tell with Gummy, but the alligator wasn't sitting where it was before. Tank still sat there and watched the other animals play.

"Look, Twilight. My pet is playing with your friend's pets right now. No violence, no need to enslave, just pure unfiltered fun. Crunch is even trying to be careful with his horn around them, he understands it's a sharp object not to be swung around wildly. If he were as dangerous as the rest of the changelings, would he not be that careful around them, or worse, attempt to hunt them down?"

"I suppose not...but Mender, this is different from the door in your basement, you know. It's easy enough to keep that a secret, but a pet changeling? If he's even seen anywhere in town, there will be a report sent to Canterlot about this...and the other princesses may come down to confirm it themselves. If that happens, what will you do?"

"...I will not hide it. Instead, I will issue the same threat as I have to you, Twilight.," He replied. 

Twilight gasped in complete surprise. She hadn't seen anypony blatantly threaten the princesses before outside of Chrysalis and Discord

"I am so confident that Crunch is different, I'm willing to stake my life on it. You may interpret that as you wish, though I imagine Celestia and Luna won't see things my way. Not after the attack on Canterlot. And if my life becomes forfeit in the process of protecting the first friend I have made in this town...then so be it, as foalish as it sounds. That's the creed of an army medic, to protect life that's worth preserving."

Mender was adamant, and Twilight stood there with understanding eyes, despite her disbelief. She could feel his need to protect this young changeling radiating from his body, and it was strong...stronger than the feelings her friends felt for their pets, even.

"I understand, Mender. I don't like this one bit, however."

"You don't have to like it. Understanding is enough for now. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask, where's your pet?"

"Oh, he's up in the tree." She pointed a hoof towards an owl roosting on a branch. "His name's Owlowiscious."

"Al Wishes?"

"Owlowiscious," Twilight corrected.

"...erm, couldn't it be a more normal sounding name that's easy to remember, like Winona, Gummy, Tank, Angel...Crunch...oh! How about I just call him Al?"

Twilight facehoofed. "I'd rather you not call him that."

"Too late, it's already stuck in my head...unless you'd prefer I call him Al Wishes."

Twilight sighed. As phonetically close as it sounded, she'd rather have him butcher one part of the name than the whole thing. "No...I guess Al is fine."

"Perfect! Nice to meet you, Al!" Mender called to the owl.

"Who?"

"Al."

"Who?" 

"You, the owl, named Al. AL is YOU!"

"Who?"

Mender groaned. "...your pet is impossible, Twilight." Twilight merely giggled at his frustration.

"Nope, you're just an idiot." Mender glared at the band on his horn.

"Oh, I hope I'm not too late, everypony!" called a voice from behind the tree.

Oh Celestia, not her. Not the crazy fashion mare!

He craned his head around the tree and saw Rarity trotting along with a white cat on her back, adorned with a small ribbon...and jewelry? Damn, even her cat is posh-looking...but that somehow barely registered any surprise on Mender's face. The cat had hopped off her to join the other animals in the grassy field nearby, settling next to Tank.

"Oh, hi Rarity! I was just telling Mender about Al-I mean, Owlowiscious."

"Mender's here? I didn't know he had a pet!"

Twilight bit her lip. She considered explaining it to Rarity, but she figured that Mender should be the one to tell her. It was his pet, after all.

Mender sighed. "Yes, see that dark thing playing with the other animals over there? That's my pet changeling, Crunch."

"Crunch, what a masculine-sounding na-" She caught her breath, almost unaware of what he had just said it was.

"A changeling?! Mender, are you mad? Those things are brutes! They WRECKED Canterlot during an important wedding between Shining Armor and Princess Cadence!"

Mender couldn't resist facehoofing. He groaned loudly, but was thankful that this was the last explanation he would have to give.

"Rarity, Crunch is not a brute. He's nice, loves me, and doesn't feed off of me. I couldn't ask for anything more, not that I had to."

"But it's a changeling, Mender!"

"I've had that line drilled into my head many times, Rarity. I am fully aware of the implications of having a changeling, including all the risks that are involved. However, he will not bring harm to anypony in this town, of that I am certain."

"Well, if you can keep it on a short leash...I suppose it's fine, then. You seem to know what you're doing, after all."

Mender was actually winging it, but smiled at the comment anyway.

"I know about the wedding, and that everypony is on edge now about changelings thanks to it. Therefore, I don't plan on taking Crunch into Ponyville just yet...not without some sort of method to disguise the fact that he's a changeling."

Mender received dumbfounded looks from both Rarity and Twilight. He had the feeling he said something idiotic, but didn't know what it was.

Twilight spoke first. "...Mender, you DO know that changelings can disguise themselves to look like other ponies, right?"

Mender vaguely remembered something about the queen looking like Cadence when Fluttershy told him of the wedding, but decided to play dumb and have them explain it to him.

"Nope, not at all."

"Have you been living under a rock?" Rarity asked.

"Or locked yourself in a room for Celestia knows how long?" He thought to Young.

"Ha ha. Laugh it up there, Mender, but I'm not the one being insulted here."

"No, I've been too busy dealing with angry neighbors back in Fillydelphia to be aware of any big news. That's why I hadn't heard much about the wedding other than what Fluttershy told me about it...and she didn't go that much into changeling detail herself."

"Well, changelings have the ability to transform themselves into a pony that's roughly the same size and shape as them. That's how the changeling queen could look like Cadence, and how her army could change themselves to look like us when we fought them. In the case of your little one, however...I'm not even sure if he can transform. If he can, it would have to look like a young foal or filly, and the last thing this town needs is doppelganger children," Twilight said.

Mender understood the problem as he thought back to the three fillies. Having another one of those around would cause panic in the town easily...then he had an idea as he faintly remembered the ponnekin in Rarity's boutique.

"Rarity, would it be possible to make a fake pony for Crunch to try and copy?"

Rarity blinked for a moment, then understood what Mender was driving at. "Ah, I see. You want to have Crunch disguise himself as a new foal."

"Bingo. I get to take him around as my 'son' and nopony will be the wiser. The only questions are if he can transform to look like one, and how long he can maintain the form."

"Well, the changeling queen could maintain her form for at least a full day or longer, though I'm certain that length of time had something to do with the love she had absorbed by then."

"Ah, and do you know if Crunch can transform?"

"I...can't tell you for sure. I haven't encountered a young changeling before now, Mender, so I don't know if they're capable of transforming or not."

"...could I teach it like a trick or something?" Mender was joking, but Twilight didn't seem to catch it.

"Actually, that just might work, assuming you're familiar with disguising magic."

Mender had sorted through his memories of old, trying to remember where he heard of that magic before. His mind settled on a memory where he remembered a Shroud in one of the many units he was assigned to that was particularly fond of using it. The Shroud was arrogant, but favored survival as she taught him how to conceal himself more carefully using that magic. Yet...he foresaw problems. Not only because he wasn't an expert at illusion magic like her, but...

"I am...somewhat. I've had experience using it some time ago in my service, though that time is long gone now. In addition, my horn isn't exactly in the best of condition here."

Rarity and Twilight both looked at his horn in more detail. Both opened their mouths in shock as they noticed the two cracks in his horn. How had neither of them noticed that before? Anypony who even bothered to give it two seconds of thought would have seen it...and yet they didn't. They had assumed it was normal, yet he simply didn't use unicorn magic as often as they did...or at all, in front of them. That should have made it stand out more, though at the time he had no reason to use such magic.

A few seconds of silence lingered before Twilight spoke. "Mender...what happened?"

The bookworm didn't know? Mender was slightly surprised at this. Regardless...

Mender's response carried little emotion. "A pony once asked me that same question, to which I shall give the same answer. If you know about my job as a medic, you know what I did to 'earn' these cracks...I have nothing further to say on the matter at this time."

Rarity didn't seem to understand this answer, but Mender could see that Twilight was probing his words for the underlying meaning behind them. It wasn't long before her eyes grew cold as she seemed to realize exactly what he did, just like Nurse Redheart, though it took Twilight more time to do so.

"You didn't." Her voice reeked of nervousness and fear. "You didn't try to-"

"I SAID...that I have nothing further to say. No more probing, Twilight. You are delving into matters that are NOT your own to deal with," Mender hissed. His emotions fluctuated between irritation at her persistence and anger at her tenacity to attempt to understand.

Twilight struggled to find words to say. Instead, she nodded, a small understanding that Mender took to mean that this conversation was over...at least, for now. He had a feeling she'd pry again, but this was not the time nor place for such discussion to occur.

Loud noises came from the field as everypony stopped their chatting to observe the scene. The white cat had attacked Crunch in a maelstrom of claws. Crunch's eyes were held shut as he ran off into the forest...NO! 

Mender quickly got up from the tree and scrambled to catch Crunch before it entered those evil woods. His hooves pounded against the grass, then the small road as he called the changeling's name, but it didn't seem to hear him.

Mender was too late. Crunch ran into the dark forest that extended beyond the pathway. Before he could follow, he felt teeth dragging him back as both Applejack and Rainbow Dash were pulling him away from the woods, their intentions to keep him out. He wouldn't have it, so he spun back and forth, shaking their grip loose and sprinting into the trees before him.
> Ch. 1-15: An Old Forest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender could hear screams echoing behind him, pleading him not to go in. He refused, he had to get Crunch. He didn't know the name of this place, but the threat this forest posed escalated in an odd magical pressure on his body the further he ran inside. His breathing became more labored, his hooves heavier, and before he knew it, he had stopped sprinting and started walking.

"Crunch! Cruuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnch!"

The forest did little to carry his voice more than a few meters from his position...where WAS his position? He looked around, slowly realizing he didn't even remember which direction he came from. He didn't even hear any of those pony voices from the edge of the forest as a cold, eerie silence coalesced around him.

No light dared to intrude through the dense leaf canopy above him. This place was dark, and Mender found himself barely able to see. He was lucky he didn't run into any trees as he should have. Minutes passed in that silent spot until his eyes adjusted enough to see...which still didn't help much.

And then came the voice.

"Right, judging from your screaming earlier, you lost your pet, didn't you?"

Mender sighed. "Yes, I did. It ran off into this dark, evil forest...which I am now lost in."

"You're in the Everfree forest?! Hahahahaha, oh man, you're so screwed."

"Your vote of confidence is always appreciated, Young. My pet is in here too, you know."

"Most likely dead, too." Young could feel Mender glaring at the band. "What? I'm trying to be realistic here. The Everfree Forest is a terrifying place."

"You know these woods?"

"Mender, there are ancient creatures that thrive among the shadows and the trees. Predators that predate peaceful times thrive in this place, devoid of the kindness that extends outside its borders. None of them will hesitate to kill you or your pet if given the opportunity...for when you are here, you are always prey."

A howl from an unknown distance or direction seemed to punctuate that last word. Prey. Mender was prey...and something caught his scent. Young had heard the howl as well.

"Timberwolves. Run."

Mender didn't hesitate. He ran off in a direction he didn't know or care about...he simply ran.  

Regardless of the path he took or how many turns he added, the forest only seemed to get darker and the howls louder as his hooves ached under the rough terrain below him. He ran across thick tree roots and small creeks, small hills and bumpy walkways. He ran until his body refused to run, choosing to trip him as he fell into a bush.

The snapping of twigs and branches within the bush might as well have been a dinner bell for the Timberwolves behind him now. Mender got up and snapped around to see three sets of burning emerald eyes looking back at him. He could barely make their figures out in the deep darkness of the forest. Their bodies were made out of wood chunks from the very trees surrounding him, though they were cut into pieces that seemed to make a shape of a wolf. Nothing seemed to be holding the wood together, which meant these creatures used magic to keep their bodies together. A thick, dark green mossy pelt covered their backs. Finally, packed within their mouths were carefully sharpened wooden fangs, dripping with thick sap as they imagined savoring the meal in front of them.

Mender rose to his feet to face the beasts before him. He was no fighter. In fact, during the war he vowed to never bring harm unless it was absolutely necessary to save another life...or his own. But that was different from this. Here he faced creatures fully intending to kill, and Mender had nothing to hold him back.

In a split-second, he assessed his immediate options as time seemed to freeze for that instant in his mind.

Running he discarded immediately, as they outpaced him, plain and simple. They were close enough so that their stench assaulted his nose, and if he ran, he may keep them at bay for seconds, a minute at best before they came upon him to rend his flesh from his bones. And if he tripped again at any point during that run...

No, he had to fight. He studied the positioning of the wolves figures. Each one seemed tense and ready to strike, though he saw a twitch of impatience in the wolf to his left. That one would strike first. The middle would come next, as that one would notice the movement first, leaving the one on his right to go last.

He considered the fighting styles available to him, which were unicorn and earth. Unicorn he discarded as well, he couldn't cast magic. He knew this, and trying to do so would get him killed. Thus, he thought like an earth pony would fight.

His peripheral vision told him of the tree near the bush he tripped on, and he used it to unfold a scenario in his mind. That tree would give him leverage to strike the first wolf down with ease. The second would pick up on his motion toward the tree and strike there. It would miss. 

That would leave the last wolf, the most dangerous one. After assaulting the first, Mender could either translate that momentum into dodging the bite from the third, or turn and buck it in the face. Both had their risks. 

The dodge would leave him no time to counter, and by that point the second wolf would recover from hitting the tree, leaving two threats to deal with...and no leverage would exist where he would have to dodge to, which would be the bottom of a small hill. Low ground was always a terrible disadvantage, and if both wolves attacked, he would need to keep dodging...and sooner or later, that would fail unless one of them separated from the other enough to go on the offensive. He had no way of knowing if that would happen, as it would boil down to guessing the moment he went down that hill. Too risky.

The buck was slightly different. Mender knew where he would land the wolf would strike. If his buck missed its mark, those teeth would end him. He wouldn't miss. The buck would hit the snout dead on. It would be nowhere as strong as an earth pony's would, but it would have to do. 

That would leave just one foe, who would just finish recovering from the tree. He would have to go on the offensive at that point, jump in a use his horn in an entirely different purpose. He would stab the wolf in its burning eye as hard as he would manage, then uppercut its head to free himself.

That was it. That was his plan now. The split-second faded as the left wolf dashed in first.

The moves felt rehearsed in his body as he dashed up the tree and ran up it slightly. The first wolf had already made its lunge, and the second lunged toward the tree, the third lagging slightly behind the two. Mender kicked off the tree and landed on the head of the first wolf with both front hooves, shattering it as the rest of the body crumbled to logs and branches in response. The third jumped where he landed, just as he predicted it would. He spun slightly on one hoof and bucked into the air.

The plan deviated slightly. His hooves struck true, but one of them caught a sharp fang in the wolf's mouth. Mender winced as it drew blood, but he had still mangled the creature's wooden face enough so that it crumbled as the first did. Mender removed his rear hoof from the fang, confident in his last assault plan as the second wolf shook away its daze. It looked up to find a horn piercing its right eye, and yowled in pain. The yowl didn't last long as Mender followed through with an uppercut, breaking the wolf's wooden jaw and freeing its head from the rest of its body. The green flame in its eyes sputtered and died as it crumbled just like the rest.

Mender finally took a large breath of relief, which suddenly cut itself short as he felt sharp fangs sink into his body from behind. He could barely wrench his head back as he screamed in pain to see his assailant. A fourth timberwolf.

Mender realized how foolish it was to only assume that there were three following him, and his plans gambled on that number. In that moment he cursed himself, he should have considered the option that more were out there, waiting for his move...and he fell right into that trap.

There was no time to plan now. On instinct, he brought his elbow back to strike the wolf's face, and it connected. The grip on his body relented slightly, and Mender took that opportunity to free himself from the wooden jaw that held him. The wolf's daze was brief, and it readied itself for another strike.

Mender was but a few paces away as the two circled each other, sizing up the others' strengths and weaknesses. 

His advantage: years of experience. The wolf's advantage: His wounds and knowledge of the layout of the forest.

Mender decided to strike first. He didn't want the wolf to have an opportunity to think and act first. Mender quickly closed the gap and landed a blow to the wolf's face again with his left forehoof. The wolf reeled for a moment before striking back with an outstretched claw. Mender ducked the blow as the claw sheared away some of his mane hair. He drove his head upward into the wolf's chest, the horn piercing a few inches into the wood. He removed the horn and spun around as the wolf recoiled, landing a buck square in the wolf's chin. 

The impact was enough to render the wolf inert at last, but instead of breathing, Mender looked around quickly and saw nothing else coming. He then heard an odd noise that didn't fit this forest. It sounded like...clapping?

"Bravo! Bravo, Mender. You've managed to disable four timberwolves in less than ninety seconds."

He forgot Young was still with him...in a sense. But one word he said caught his attention.

"Disabled?"

"They're not dead, you know. They reassemble themselves in minutes. You best make tracks while you still can."

Mender obliged without hesitation. He did NOT want to try and fight those things again, not with the wounds he sustained. Blood was slowly leaking out from the holes and stained his grey coat the same color as his mane. So long as his wounds seeped his life away, they could track him easily...not that they needed that to get him last time, but it makes it much easier for them.

He stopped for a moment to gather moss from the trees, and shoved it into the bleeding wounds on his body. Moss was quite useful in the medic world, acting as a bandage and a sponge as it plugged up whatever wounds leaked blood. This moss was no different. It stung as he placed it in the wounds, but it faded in moments as the moss held firm. It wasn't the best he could do, but it was certainly better than nothing.

He picked up the pace again, but he was careful not to dislodge the moss as he went. Soon he came across a small lit clearing in the forest. It wasn't a path, and the clearing didn't seem to lead anywhere, but it looked much more inviting than the darkness behind him. He gleefully entered the clearing and basked in the light coming from above.

Apparently he had been in the forest for some time, as the light above him was a deep magenta, a signal of nightfall coming. This wasn't good. He still needed to find Crunch in here before the stars came out. He thought the forest was terrible enough being as dark as it was...and if it got darker...

Rustling in a nearby bush broke his thoughts.

"Crunch?"

He turned to face the sound, and his limbs grew heavy, his breath cold and heaving. He tried to turn his face, move his legs, but they were frozen in place. A pair of red eyes stared at him from the bush, and he couldn't stop staring back.

"What's going on?"

"I-I can't breathe. Can't move."

"Cockatrice. You're being turned to stone, Mender."

STONE?! Out of his peripheral vision, he could see his rear legs indeed turning to stone, and as it spread along the rear half of his body, he was losing all sense of feeling there. He couldn't feel his legs...and his lungs refused to take in air as the petrification crept closer to his chest.

His options were limited to one now. He had to use magic while he could. He tried to focus whatever latent magic was still in his body into his horn, and a very faint glow began to show up. 

The cockatrice noticed this and glared harder, breaking Mender's concentration as the stone reached his neck. 

He felt so...cold. So helpless. He couldn't save himself anymore as the red eyes burned deep into his own. He felt nothing in his ears, and could hear nothing, not even in his head as the nerves in his brain solidified. This was it. This was how Mender was going to die, alone in some forsaken woods with a pair of cold eyes staring him to death.

A black blur swatted the eyes away, and suddenly Mender could take in breath. He couldn't move his eyes yet, but the magic stopped working on him. This was it. This was his opportunity. He could barely think, but he could think, and that was enough.

He slowly tried to form a spell in his head, one of heat, one of warmth to bring life back to his stone body. He needed a memory to get that spark ignited, and it came from an unlikely source.

He thought back to the burning house in his dreams, to the fire that engulfed his family, and his own raging desire to save them despite the risks. He had to live. 

He had to live.

His horn gleamed a brilliant white as the stone began to crumble off his body. He immediately felt exhaustion. Not using unicorn magic for 5 years had put him severely out of shape, but he was free.

He wouldn't be using magic again for a while, but he looked over to the cockatrice and the black blur fighting it.

It was Crunch.

Crunch either knew about how cockatrices work, or didn't care. He made sure to always keep moving and his eyes focused on the body instead of the head. He lunged in and bit the creature, leaving deep holes in the snake-like body. The cockatrice shook him off, but not before Crunch tore a chunk away, hindering its mobility.

It realized at this point it would lose if it fought further, and it slipped away into the bushes outside of the clearing.

Mender hardly recognized his pet at first. It was the first time he had seen Crunch look so threatening. It didn't help when its gaze locked onto his face, anger ever present in its eyes.

Then its look softened as it once again tackled Mender onto the grass, happy he found his master. For the first time, Mender didn't even care about the impact. He was just happy Crunch was safe.

They laid there in the grass, basking in the happiness of the moment when he heard a voice coming from above the forest canopy.

"Mender? Where are you?"

It was Dash. He'd nearly forgotten about the six he left at the entrance to the woods. He pushed Crunch off lightly, and rose up from the ground.

"Down here!" His voice was hoarse, but loud enough for Rainbow Dash to pinpoint his location.

He saw a sky blue figure descend into the clearing. She clearly looked agitated.

"What the hay, Mender? Do you know how dangerous this forest is?!"

"Didn't...but I do now."

"Liar. I told you how dangerous this forest was the moment you got lost. You didn't believe me?"

"I did, but would SHE believe that I learned how dangerous this place was thanks to a voice in my head?"

"She would call that voice common sense, you know."

Mender grumbled, and started examining his moss-covered wounds.

"Well, at least you two are okay," she said, her anger fading into a small smile.

"If 'okay' describes me being bitten, bleeding, and sluggish from surviving a cockatrice stare, then I must have been fan-bucking-tastic before I entered here."

"Hey, you survived a three filly trampling. What's a bite and a near-stoning compared to that?"

Mender grumbled. He forgot she knew about their attack. "Yeah yeah, enough of the jokes. I'm actually seriously hurt, you know. Those teeth sunk in deep, and the moss I put over the holes is about to come off soon."

Dash chuckled. "Eh, you'll live." She then looked to Crunch, who was still holding a piece of the cockatrice in its mouth. "Uh...Mender? Your pet is-"

"I know. He saved me. If it wasn't for him, you'd probably find me as a statue." Mender stroked Crunch's head as he spoke.

Mender coughed and tasted iron. "Damn, looks like a tooth punctured my lung. I suppose you don't mind carrying me again?"

Dash became frustrated. "What am I, a flying taxi to you?"

"Unless you'd rather have me hang out here and die, flying ambulance, we really should get going," Mender joked.

Dash didn't appreciate the joke, but there wasn't time for complaining. She grabbed hold of Mender, who in turn grabbed Crunch as she began to beat her wings to fly them all out of the clearing.

Mender didn't like being in the sky like this. The forest underneath him, while large, began to shrink as they all ascended higher into the magenta sky. He felt like vomiting, but that would do neither their carrier or his pet any favors, so he held it back as she flew to the edge of the Everfree Forest.

The other five ponies waited patiently outside Fluttershy's cottage. Dash's sky blue body stood out against the sky, and Pinkie was the first to notice, bouncing up and down like a pink beacon. Dash didn't go that way, however. Mender told her to go to his home instead so he could drop off Crunch. It was on the way to the hospital, and considering the severity of the bite wound, she obliged him.

They touched down just in front of the porch. Mender ushered Crunch inside, telling him to stay home. Crunch had enough adventure for one day, and so did Mender...but he still needed to get into Ponyville Medical. Dash grabbed him again and they began their ascent when Dash began to talk.

"You're seriously going to owe me for this, you know."

"Yeah...I know. I've no idea how I'm supposed to repay you, though."

Dash thought about it for a moment before an idea came. "Hey, how about-ow!"

Something had hit Dash. Mender turned his head and noted a small dart sticking out of her flank...a dart?!

"Dash, DASH! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." She was yawning. 

Mender knew it was a tranquilizer dart for certain now. He noted they were about twenty feet off the ground. A fall from this height would be lethal for him. He had to act fast.

"Dash! You need to fly lower. Slowly though, okay?"

"Sure...thing...Mender..." She angled her wings down, and Mender saw the ground slowly coming closer.

Then the ground was coming faster. She was going into a dive.

"Dash! DASH! RAINBOW DASH!" 

It was no use, she was out cold. Mender saw a hill coming up underneath them that was higher than the rest of the ground. He slowly shifted his body weight forward to angle her toward the hill.

He was going to break his ribs again on the landing. He knew that, but he still had to minimize damage to both of them as much as he could. As the hill came upon them, he closed his eyes and awaited the sound of his bones breaking from the fall.
> Ch. 1-16: A Debt Repaid
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender woke up, sprawled out on top of the hill. The impact didn't do him any favors as he had trouble breathing almost immediately. He then thought back to the breathing exercises from two days ago. He would need them again now.

He started with the small, rapid breathing, being careful not to put any more pressure on his chest. He was certain his ribs were broken again, but that couldn't be helped now. He had to look for Dash. If the impact did this much to him already, then Dash would be in no better shape.

He didn't have to look far. A tree at the bottom of the hill had a large branch torn from it from her impact...but that didn't worry him. 

What DID worry him was that she was impaled on a branch that extended out from the one she broke.

Despite the immense pain, he set aside the rapid breathing exercise. Dash was in a more dire situation than him right now.

As he approached the damaged tree, he silently cursed that dart for putting them both in this situation. He felt his stomach sink as he took in Dash's condition. 

The offending branch pierced her through her chest and out between the wing joints. It barely missed her heart, but the damage would be mortal if he didn't do something fast. Blood was beginning to pool under her slowly, and removing the branch as it is now would certainly kill her from all the excess blood loss it would cause. She wasn't breathing, and Mender wasn't sure if it was due to the dart, the impact rending her unconscious, or both.

He hated the option he had to do, but there was no choice in the matter. He moved behind the impaled Dash and quickly bucked the small branch off the larger one. She fell to the ground, and he was careful in hoisting her upon his back and began to run.

Nightfall had come by the time he reached Ponyville Medical. It wasn't a long time, maybe five minutes, but it felt like thirty. His lungs were burning as his loose ribs bounced against them, but he didn't care about how much he was wrecking his body. He wasn't the one in mortal danger, Dash was.

He burst through the doors immediately, and his darted around for somepony, anypony. They fell upon Nurse Redheart, who heard the noise and looked upon the two in shock.

Mender strained to speak, but his words were clear. They were not a request, but an order. "Operating Room. Prep it for immediate surgery."

Redheart dashed off and started the preparations as Mender carefully laid Dash on the nearest gurney. He wheeled her to where Redheart was gathering the materials required and opened the double doors into the room. It was at this moment that his body gave out as he crumbled to the floor. Nurse Redheart was upon him in an instant.

"Mender, you're hurt too! We need to get you into a room, now!"

"Redheart, where is the resident surgeon?"

"He-" She realized the surgeon pony wasn't here. "He's...not here."

"Then I will NOT take a room." Mender stood up and took small breaths to regain his focus and dull the pain in his chest. "I will have to operate, then."

"Mender, you can't! You're not a registered-"

"Nurse, if I don't do something right now, she WILL die. She has already lost a significant amount of blood and further debate will doom her. Do you understand?"

Nurse Redheart turned quiet...but nodded in response.

"Good. Are the tools ready?"

Another nod came from her as she brought forward all the equipment necessary. Scalpel, forceps, sutures, and other tools were mentally checked off in Mender's mind, but of special note was a small power saw. Everything was there, everything was ready. 

Mender took a large breath, ignoring the pain it caused. HE was now ready. He looked to Nurse Redheart, who began procedures to stabilize the patient in front of her. She was ready.

He hoped Dash was ready too.

----------------------------------------------------------

The longest hour had passed in that small operating room. Dash was no longer lying on her side as she lied on her chest in the gurney. Meanwhile, the branch that pierced her sat on a tray off to the side, cut into three pieces. Two of which were the extreme ends that stuck out of her, and the last was the one directly inside her body.

The damage inside was extensive as the bark and small twigs stripped off the branch and caused lacerations across multiple organs in the open cavity that was her thrashed back. Mender had spent much of that hour suturing the cuts and removing the bark and twigs carefully from the gaping hole in between her wings. Nurse Redheart had a tray at the ready every time he plucked a piece out of Dash's body, and soon all the fragments that were left of the branch were gone.

The suturing was Mender's magic touch. His hooves flew through the air with extreme precision as the cuts inside closed in the blink of an eye. Redheart stood back as he worked, worried that her interference would break his concentration.

The heart-rate monitor was the only thing making any sound in the room. Rainbow Dash's heart was still pumping. She was still slowly breathing. She was living.

Mender finished up the operation with a final suture to the hole in between her wings. Redheart produced a small medical salve and a bandage, which he applied in order on the wound. The operation was finally complete.

As Mender took a large breath of relief, his body gave out and he collapsed. The last thing he heard was Redheart's worried voice, but he was unable to make out the words.

---------------------------------------------------------

Mender didn't know how long he was out when he woke up in a familiar looking bed, with a familiar clean smell. He rose slightly upward from the bed, looking down to see similarly wrapped bandages covering his chest once again. Most likely Redheart's work, no doubt. She was there when he fell in that operating room...but how long has it been since then?

He looked to his left and saw a second bed with a pony in it that was resting. Her prismatic mane hairs told him it was Dash in an instant, and the rising and falling sheets confirmed her life was still within her. He glanced at a calendar beyond her bed that was marked with X's across the days that have passed. It had been a week since that operation, then.

Suddenly, a pink blur shot out from his peripheral vision to his right as he heard a voice that induced a headache instantaneously.

"OH MY GOSH YOU'RE FINALLY AWAKE!"

If Mender had any hearing capabilities in his ears, that was gone thanks to Pinkie's voice. He placed a hoof over her mouth in a simple way of telling her to be quiet. She acknowledged and closed her mouth, waiting for Mender to recover enough to speak.

"Is she alright?"

Pinkie's cheerful demeanor was toned down enough for her voice to be low, yet still squeaky.

"Yeah, she's fine. You did a wonderful job, Mendy."

At this, Mender smiled, then turned his head to the right and saw Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy sitting on chairs against the wall. All of them were jolted awake by Pinkie's voice too, Mender though. An odd thought crossed his mind, and he inadvertently spoke it out loud.

"How long have you five been sitting there?"

Pinkie spoke up for them, as they were still waking up.

"They've all been here since a day after the operation, Mendy."

"That was a week ago! Didn't they have THINGS to do during that time?" He thought for a moment. "Didn't YOU have things to do during that time?"

"We...all did, Mendy. We all had plans, but when we all heard about you and Dash in the hospital, we knew it was serious. Then Nurse Redheart told us about the surgery you performed on her." 

It was at this point Mender noticed that Pinkie's mane wasn't poofy, but straight. Dull...and bland. It wasn't like her, he thought.

"They all tried staying up, waiting for either of you to respond. They were all surprised to see Dash wake up first, which was two days ago. Dash tried staying up too, but all of them fell asleep about six hours ago waiting for your sleepy head to wake up."

"I'm guessing you simply stayed up that entire week, then? How did you not sleep?" Mender asked

Pinkie tilted her head to the side. "I'm not sure, I guess it's just me."

Mender didn't even bother trying to figure out what that even meant. His headache still lingered.

Finally, Twilight rose from the chair she was on and approached him.

"Mender, I'm glad to see you and Dash are okay."

"Eh, it was no biggie. Just had to remove a tree branch from a dying pony, is all. Happens maybe twice a month for me on average."

"Your sense of humor hasn't gone away, I see." Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Hey, don't mock my jokes. Sarcasm's my lifeblood."

She shook her head. "Mender...what happened back there? Dash didn't remember anything other than something biting her."

Mender closed his eyes. "It wasn't a bite. It was a tranquilizer dart."

He didn't see it, but could sense Twilight's eyes widen. "What?!"

"A tranquilizer. Someone attempted to kill me on the way to Ponyville Medical."

"You?" She wondered about his choice of words before Mender clarified and removed any lingering doubts.

"Yes, me. I was the target. She was collateral damage, I'm sure of that."

"...how do you know this?" Her voice was cold.

Mender considered lying again, but Applejack finished waking up along with Rarity and Fluttershy in the back of the room. No...he would need to delay the explanation until later.

"Twilight, as important as this conversation is, it must be saved for another time. I can't tell you everything now, but I promise I will as soon as I recover?"

She mulled it over for a moment before asking, "Pinkie Promise?"

"Pinkie what?"

Pinkie chimed in. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" She crossed her chest, then put a hoof over her eye.

"...I'm confused."

"It means it's a promise you can't break...and if you try to, Pinkie will come and gently remind you not to try. Should you break that promise, Pinkie will come for you..."

A chill flew down Mender's spine as she trailed off. "...and?"

"Nopony knows what happens, but nopony has lived to tell." Twilight's voice sounded very sinister for a moment.

"...can I not make that promise then? I hate making potentially lethal arrangements."

"MENDER!"

"Dammit, fine!" Mender swallowed as he recited the words. "Cross my heart and...hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." 

Mender mimicked the motions Pinkie made, simultaneously thinking he was signing his life over to some unknown cosmic forces at that very moment. Cosmic forces that would be VERY displeased should he break that promise. Pinkie's eyes seemed to glass over for an instant before she returned to her bubbly, cheery self.

"Well then, now that this little situation is settled, I think I need some alone time. You can all go back to doing what you need to, I can make sure neither Dash or I die from here on out."

Mender chuckled at his own words, and that seemed to lighten the mood enough to get the other ponies out of the room, leaving just him and Dash.

Mender sighed, the headache was still there. "Ugh, my head's pounding thanks to Pinkie's mouth."

"That's what she said." Dash sat up in her bed, wearing a soft smile.

Oh great, that joke again.

"Shouldn't you still be resting? You took more of a beating than I did."

"Hey, I wasn't aware of how bad my injuries were until I woke up in here two days ago! You're the one who takes their sweet time getting up."

"Hey, I'm brittle you know. I savor my resting periods."

Dash huffed in slight frustration, and Mender laughed. The chest pain came back, and Mender started taking small breaths.

"Heh, looks like the impact hurt you more than it did me, old timer."

Ugh, this mare. "If I wasn't busy making sure my lungs were functioning, I'd punch you for that quip."

"Hey now, doctors shouldn't be harming their patients." Dash's face went from happy to slightly angry.

"Oh, so I'm a doctor now, huh? Last I checked, I was still a retired army medic."

"I don't care what you were!" Her shout silenced whatever Mender was about to say. Her demeanor changed to thankful in that moment. "I mean...I wanted to say thanks for saving my life."

Mender couldn't help but soften up. "Don't mention it, Dash. Saving lives is my job...was my job, but still is, in a way. I still owe you, though."

"What? Why?"

"I still haven't repaid the debt from the first time you airlifted me here."

"Oh, that? Please, that's way in the past now...and from what I heard about my injury, I think I'm the one that owes you now."

Dash? Owing him something? He smirked.

"Oh, well in that case, I want some pristine clear skies over my house for a month, two cases of Cloudsdale Ale, and two of those nice showmares from the Mile High Club I've heard so much about."

Dash laughed, and so did Mender. They both knew that wasn't a serious request.

"Haaaaa...seriously though, I hate owing ponies favors, but I hate ponies owing me favors even more. I insist that our debts be even, then."

"Hee hee, deal."

Mender was about to extend his hoof, but he added one more condition. "Oh, and no more of those 'she said' jokes."

Dash smirked and extended hers. Neither could meet, but it didn't matter. "No promises."

At that moment, Nurse Redheart entered the room. She smiled at Dash, but glared at Mender. She approached his bedside and smacked him across the face.

"Ow! What did I do?"

"Barely two days have passed since you last came here, and you're already back in a hospital bed for a week!"

Redheart was fuming. He wasn't surprised.

"Hey, it's not like I go off and purposefully get myself injured so I keep coming back here, you know!"

Redheart calmed down slightly, but was still clearly mad. "I know that, but you somehow keep ending up in danger, Mender!"

"That's not true!" Mender paused. He wondered if that was actually the case...nah. "Danger just keeps finding me. There's a difference."

Redheart sighed, then asked a barbed question. "You haven't even paid your last bill. How do you expect to pay for our services if you're not even working yet?"

This caught Mender off-guard. "I...I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?! Did you forget what you did last week?"

"I saved Dash's life. What of it?"

"Well, our resident doctor came back while you were out. He examined Dash's recovering injuries, and he was very impressed with your work, Mender. He was even more impressed considering how badly you were injured while you performed, though I personally thought that was reckless. He thinks otherwise, and has an offer for you that you can't refuse."

Oh no, she isn't about to suggest-

"He's formally extended a job invitation to you to work at Ponyville Medical as a resident field surgeon. It's already been approved by the Mayor, so all we need is for you to accept."

Yep, she did. A job offer from Ponyville Medical.

Mender thought about the offer carefully. He still hasn't established himself in Ponyville yet outside of being the one who owns the creepy house near Sweet Apple Acres...and he still hasn't found a job yet on account of being in the hospital for the better part of over half a month. He then remembered that he still hasn't formally bought any food for his home yet, still reliant on handouts from Applejack, which she clarified as now being gone. 

He needed steady funds now, and in comes a job related to his field of expertise flying in on a silver platter. That, and having a reputation as a surgeon couldn't hurt him. As far as he was aware, he had no reason to refuse.

"I accept."

Mender's stomach began to inexplicably knot up as those two words left his mouth.
> Ch. 1-17: A Frustrated Foe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the discussion of details of the job between Nurse Redheart and Mender ended, Dash took the opportunity to rest again. Mender noticed she was straining to stay up, but said nothing. He didn't think hurting what little pride she had would be beneficial at this time. About five minutes after she went to bed, Redheart left, needing to tend to other patients in the hospital. Evening had creeped in through the window as moonlight lit up the room.

Finally, some peace and quiet, even if it's in a hospital bed instead of home. He looked over his bandages again to check for any bleeding. None was seen, and he smiled. His body was getting used to being injured like this...and Mender wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He leaned towards good, considering what he was able to do when he was in worse shape than how he is now.

He then remembered the entire time this happened, he hadn't heard a single word from Young. Realization set in as Young was probably very concerned for him, and sure enough, he looked to the nightstand sitting in between his bed and Dash's, and there it sat. He reached for it, and promptly placed it around his horn.

"Young? You there?"

"GAH!"

Mender thought he heard something crashing very far away.

"Where in Tartarus have you been? You had me worried! The last thing I heard was a large impact, then everything went quiet!"

"Somepony tried to kill me on the way to Ponyville Medical. They tranquilized Dash to get her to crash, hoping the impact would do me in."

"Mender, how are you not dead then? That impact sounded terrible, you know."

"I guess the universe seems to think I should live where most would die. I feel special."

Mender smirked.

"Well, glad to see your humor isn't dead. That would make these conversations painfully boring. Anyhow, do you know who attacked you?"

Mender thought back to that promise he made. Technically, he only promised to tell Twilight about it as soon as he recovered. That didn't mean he couldn't tell it to other ponies...or voices in his head, as it were. Hah, even Pinkie Promises can have loopholes.

"An assassin that's been after my life since a year ago. I knew from the design of the dart that hit Dash."

"Aha...wait, a year? They haven't killed you in a year? That sounds like a crappy assassin."

"They're not terrible for lack of trying. My last count was fifty attempts on my life before I came to Ponyville."

Mender heard a gasp. Young was apparently shocked at that number.

"Fifty?! How in the world did you survive fifty attempts on your life?!"

"I guess the universe seems to think I should live where most would die," Mender repeated.

"...I would ask you about all those attempts, but that's saved for a better time when you're not bedridden...wait. Why haven't they killed you yet? You're stuck in a bed, an easy target!"

"They won't do so. This assassin has an...unusual respect for places of healing, be they physical, mental, or spiritual. Thus, this hospital is my sanctuary...so to speak."

"Those are some odd morals your assassin has."

"I know, yet they have no problem watching me the entire time I'm in a hospital, though."

"Wait, what?"

Mender glared at a corner of the hospital that appeared completely empty. "You can come out now."

The corner seemed to crumble away as a pony in a dark blue full body suit appeared to creep out of the hospital wall itself. The pony had pegasus wings that were smaller than most other wings Mender had seen.

"Able Mender." The voice was young, male, and irritated.

"Knife Point. So nice to see you again after your latest attempt to kill me. What does this make, 51 times now?"

"57!" Point seemed insulted.

"Wow, you tried six more times to kill me? I didn't even notice."

"AAAAAAAAAGH!" Point approached the bed in the blink of an eye, holding a serrated knife to Mender's throat. Mender didn't seem to acknowledge it as he continued to lock eyes with the young assassin. Dash was woken up by the yell, and turned to view the scene before her.

"Mender!" She was about to get out of the bed and tackle the blue-garbed pony.

"Dash, keep still." Mender's voice was stern, but calm. Dash desperately wanted to move, but his tone of voice suggested that was the worst thing she could do right now, so she reluctantly stayed in the bed.

Mender's eyes locked back onto Point's. "You won't kill me here, you know. Holding that knife up to my neck means nothing."

"Hmph." Point pulled the knife away and tucked it into his suit. "Your luck will run out one day, Mender. On that day, you WILL die from my hooves!"

"So you've told me every other time I've ended up in a hospital thanks to your shenanigans. When are you going to man up and kill me in here already?"

"You KNOW why I can't do that, Mender!"

"And that is why I get to gleefully abuse your psyche every time you stalk me within these walls. You'd best leave before I hurt your precious ego any further, Point. We'll settle this later, in my house. I'm sure you know where that is by now, don't you?"

Point bit his tongue. "Very well. Prepare yourself, Mender. The third day after you leave the hospital, I will be waiting there. Don't keep me, or you'll regret it."

"Honestly, I regret this conversation ever taking place. Plus, you'll try to kill me even if I don't show up, so I might as well know when it happens than not know."

Point simply grunted, then jumped out the window and glided away.

Dash was dumbstruck. It took her a minute to fully understand what in the hay just happened.

"Mender? Who...who was that?"

"That was the pony responsible for our little crash, Dash."

At this, Dash got quite angry. "What?! Ooh, when I get my hooves on him, I'm gonna pound him into next year!"

...did she really say that? "That's what she said."

The joke caught her off guard, and Mender laughed heartily.

"Mender, this is no time to be joking!" The ironic humor was lost on her.

"I could say the same to you, Dash." Mender's laughter died down, and he took a serious tone. "By that I mean I hope you're joking when you say you can take him on."

"I'm not! I'm DEAD serious, and I've gotten into fights before and come out still breathing!"

"You won't be if you fight him. He may have failed to kill me many, many times, Dash, but this does not mean he isn't skilled."

"Hah, I'm skilled. Did you know I took on three pegasi stallions at once and won?"

Her boasting was lost on Mender. "Knife Point has taken on thirty at once, while trying to kill me in a bar back in Fillydelphia. That was one of his earliest attempts to end my life, and he was...less subtle about killing me as he is now."

She recoiled at the number. "T-Thirty?"

"All dead. Some of them were even unicorns."

Her fear could not be more visible as her fighting spirit died. Her eyes became pleading.

"...and you're going to fight him?"

"I am. I didn't want to include you or anypony else here in his little warpath, Dash. I know if I refuse, he'll come after me, and he won't care who is in the way. If it's not in a hospital, it's fair game to him."

"So why not just hide in the hospital for the rest of your life then?"

"Hah, and be like me? Yeah, I foresee that going great for you, being cooped up in a hospital for eternity."

"That's impractical. I fully intend to have a life outside of this hospital."

"But-"

"Dash, that is enough. He nearly killed you trying to kill me. Until a week ago, I didn't even know that we had become friends...and I'd rather make sure that my friends stay alive, even if I don't. This is a problem that is my own, and nopony else's."

Dash was irritated by how narrow-minded Mender was. She was going to resolve that.

"Mender! Do you have any idea who we are? We are the Elements of Harmony! We've taken on Nightmare Moon and Discord! We've stopped an evil king from regaining his empire! We've even saved Ponyville from the Everfree Forest when it tried to invade!"

Mender was indeed shocked by the flood of information that came from her mouth, but his resolve would not shake so easily.

"But have your lives been threatened as often as mine has?"

She was taken back. "N-No...the closest we've come to losing someone was Twilight in the Everfree Forest when it invaded. She was constricted by thorny vines, and nearly suffocated."

"Then despite how heroic you make you and your group of friends out to be, none of you have come close to death as much as I have. I know what dying feels like. Do you?"

Dash had no response but one. "No."

"Then any help from you or your friends is not only a bad idea, but it's liable to get you all killed. I told you once, and I'll tell you again. This is MY problem, MY fight, not any of yours. You will stay out of it if you know what's good for you."

Dash desperately wanted to say something to make Mender think otherwise, but if this assassin is as deadly as he says it is...maybe it WAS a bad idea to get involved. Still, she wouldn't stand not being able to tell somepony this...and she knew just who to tell it to.

"I...understand, Mender. I won't tell anypony what you told me about this."

Mender could see her lips quivering. She absolutely lied to him. In that case...

"Pinkie Promise?"

Dash cursed under her breath. So much for her telling Twilight about this. She would now have to hope Mender would tell her before their fight in his home.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." She made the motions, sealing her lips on the matter for good until Mender was ready to talk.

"Glad that's settled, then. Time to get some rest while we can." He slipped under the covers and began to rest. Dash grumbled and followed suit.

-------------------------------- Ponyville Library -------------------------------------

"Spike, take a letter."

Spike promptly fetched a piece of parchment and a quill dipped in ink, ready to jot down Twilight's words.

Twilight wanted a short and concise letter sent to the princesses. With knowledge of an assassin being in Ponyville, she needed to get the word out to them, and fast.

Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna,

A new pony has moved into Ponyville last month. His name is Able Mender, a retired army medic who claimed to serve in your military.

A week ago, Mender was wounded in the Everfree Forest involving an incident with his pet. Rainbow Dash found him, and was taking him to Ponyville Medical when they were attacked by an unknown assassin. The attempt on his life failed, and both Mender and Rainbow Dash are recovering from the incident. I must also state that without Mender's medical expertise, Rainbow Dash would surely have died from the assault.

He seems to know who this assassin is, but refuses to give any further information on the matter until after he recovers. I cannot stand idly by waiting for him to give information on this assassin when it could be a potential threat to Ponyville. 

I would like to personally request that Princess Luna delve into his dreams to figure out what he is hiding. This assassin must be stopped before any more lives are threatened.

There is also another matter that must be discussed regarding his pet. This I need to discuss with you two in person, as this is a very private matter he wishes to keep secret. I respect his wishes in this regard after seeing his pet firsthoof, though you two must know of it in order for me to have a better idea on how to handle this delicate situation.

Your Former Student,
Princess Twilight Sparkle

Spike's curiosity increased tenfold upon hearing word of this assassin. He was also curious about Mender's pet, but he realized how important this letter would be.

"Send it, Spike."

A gout of green flame enveloped around the parchment and whisked away out the window.

Twilight felt a pang of guilt, almost demanding that Luna pry into their new friend's dreams, but she determined that it must be done. The risk was too high to wait.

----------------------------- Canterlot Castle -------------------------------

Celestia began ascending Luna's Tower in the castle. Ordinarily, her visits to Luna during her evening watch would be friendly and enjoyable, but this visit would be different. The letter she received from Princess Twilight would make this trip carry a different purpose than usual.

Celestia reached Luna's room and magically opened the doors. Her sister's room was dark, lit up only by the moon and stars outside. Dim blue magelights were neatly arranged in the spaces where the moonlight would not reach, giving a calming, soothing vibe about the room.

Luna was out on the balcony, carefully monitoring the moon and stars above, in addition to looking down below towards Ponyville. Celestia made sure her presence was known by making her hoofsteps slightly louder than usual.

Luna turned at the sound. "Tia! What brings you up here this evening?"

Celestia smiled, but that faded quickly. "Princess Twilight sent us a letter, Luna. By the sound of it, trouble is forming in Ponyville."

Luna's disposition gravitated toward concern in an instant, but she refrained from speaking to let Tia continue.

"An assassin seeks to harm a pony by the name of Able Mender in Ponyville. Princess Twilight has told me that Mender knows who the assassin is, but refused to tell her, and she has requested your aid, Luna."

"My aid? Surely she didn't ask to-"

"I'm afraid so. She wants you to enter his dreams to figure out who this assassin is, and I am compelled to agree with her request. However, the decision is still yours, Luna."

Luna had to think this over. She was tasked to watch over the dreaming citizens of Ponyville for some time, but was asked to do so less frequently on account of many of the townsfolk still fearing her due to her once being Nightmare Moon. It was understandable, but this pony's life is in danger...and others could potentially be in danger as well.

"In addition, she wants to speak with us personally about another matter regarding Mender's pet."

Luna huffed. "Do we look like veterinarians, Tia?"

"I'm certain that Twilight wouldn't send us a letter like this just to do a check-up on his pet," She chuckled. "No, it's probably much more important than that. I'll arrange for us to meet her at the library. As much as I want her to leave, it seems better if we visit instead. It's been some time since we've last visited Ponyville, anyway."

Luna was unsure of visiting Ponyville, but since she was going with Tia, she thought things would be fine. "Very well. Send her a letter involving the details of our visit. I've decided that I will enter this pony's...Mender's dreams. If I learn of anything, Tia, I'll let you know as soon as I'm done."

"Thank you, Luna." Celestia nodded and walked off the balcony and through Luna's bedroom doors. She would write a letter explaining they would be coming tomorrow afternoon, but she would need to have all her duties in order so that a free afternoon could be opened up.

Meanwhile, Luna looked down into Ponyville and began casting a spell, her horn glowing a deep blue. Her eyes closed, and a dreamscape spread out before her in the exact same image of Ponyville. She stood out near Princess Twilight's library, and began her search for the pony called Mender.

She recalled from the letter that Mender was injured along with Dash, so she quickly located the Ponyville Medical building and flew over to the entrance. Her horn glowed blue once more, and she sensed Mender along with Dash in a room two floors up. She phased through the floors of the hospital to the proper level, and entered the room.

Dash was peacefully sleeping, dreaming about impressing the Wonderbolts again. Luna smiled at such a pleasant dream, happy to know that the Element of Loyalty was not bothered by the events that happened to her recently.

The pony next to her, however, was thrashing about in his bed. So this is Mender, she reasoned. His dream was dark and violent, and Luna felt a small tug in her heart asking her not to enter his dream. She was strong, however, a reformed Princess of the Night.

She took a deep breath, and dived into Mender's dream.

Luna was met immediately with the taste of hot ash in her mouth. She had landed just outside a house that was violently consumed by fire.

The heat was intense, and forced her to back off, but as she did so, a pony ran by her towards the home with a panicked look on his face. It was the same pony thrashing in the bed just moments before. It was Mender.

Luna observed Mender as he ran about the front porch, looking for a way in. She was careful to make herself not known until an appropriate time. She needed to understand his dream, and the best way was to not interfere.

Suddenly, Mender crashed through a window to the left of the front door. Despite the heat, she followed him inside and took in every detail of the scene before her.

A dark pony was crushed under burning debris in the hallway. She thought it to be a mare based on the body shape. None of the details could be made out, as they were badly deteriorated memories. Mender could barely recall their physical shapes, either from memory loss...or repression. Mender was panicking, lifting the burning beam off of the mare, but to no avail.

Luna heard a scream coming from the kitchen she entered through, and Mender ran inside from the hallway, desperately seeking the voice. It belonged to a small filly, shrouded in shadow like the mare was, except for the eyes.

The eyes were brimming with fear. Luna was not surprised, though still moderately disturbed. Mender called out to the filly, but there was no response. Suddenly, she could feel the fire threatening to burst through the room. If this happened, Mender would surely wake, and she couldn't have that happen.

Luna revealed herself and teleported them both away to a spot outside the house, just as the flames came forth and blazed the room into nothingness.

Mender was confused, to put it mildly. The fire usually ended his dreams last time, but he was outside the house? He turned and saw a dark blue alicorn looking back at him. Her mane reflected a sea of stars, which captivated him for a moment before realizing he should ask what just happened.

"Who are you?"

"I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of Canterlot and Protector of Dreams."

"Hah, well, you did a bang-up job of saving my family," Mender snarled.

So that's who they were. That would explain all of his actions.

"It is not my purpose to interfere with how dreams are meant to pan out, Mender. Instead, I provide counsel so as to prevent such nightmares from recurring ever again."

"Good luck with that, Princess. This dream's been haunting me for years now. I doubt a few nice words of comfort will whisk my troubles away on a rainbow anytime soon."

Luna didn't appreciate his sarcasm, but refrained from using the Royal Canterlot tone of voice. He didn't seem like the type of pony to enjoy loud voices.

However, she was not here to provide counsel. She had a task to accomplish.

"Mender, news has reached mine and Princess Celestia's ears of a threat on your life. As much as I want to help you through your nightmare, this threat is of much more immediate of concern to me."

Mender paused, then smirked. Somehow, he knew after telling Twilight of the assassin, she wouldn't just let it go that easily.

"So Twilight told you about that, did she?"

"She has. She also fears that this assassin will seek out other citizens of Ponyville if left to their own devices."

Mender scratched his chin with his hoof. "Her suspicions are expected, Princess Luna, but you need not worry. This assassin only seeks to kill me, and no others."

Luna didn't buy it. "Do you deny that this assassin has harmed Rainbow Dash in an attempt to kill you?"

"I do not." His reply was firm. "However, I am to assume that this assassin was unaware of the extensive injuries he caused Dash when he attempted to kill me. I tried to have us land on a hill, but beyond that hill their view was obscured."

"Why did this assassin not follow you there to finish the job?"

"Again an assumption, but I believe they were too far away. When I got up and saw Dash, my first instinct was to get her to the hospital. I encountered no threat during that time, but Dash was leaking blood badly. They could have followed the blood trail to the hospital easily enough, but I had already reached the hospital. This assassin has an odd moral dilemma about killing their targets in hospitals, and will NOT kill anypony else. Just me, and I have made sure of this."

Before Luna could ask how, Mender continued.

"I have confronted him this evening, and we have agreed to settle our score at my home in three days from the time of my release from the hospital. I insist...no wait, that's bad wording. I implore you, Princess Luna, that nopony interfere with our business."

"Mender, the threat is too great. You cannot guarantee that this assassin will not harm any other ponies should they succeed in killing you."

Mender considered her point. True, he really had no way of knowing that wouldn't happen, but...

"...you misunderstand, Princess. I have no intent on losing. I won't lose. They have tried 57 times to kill me and failed on every last one. It will only be a real surprise now if they DO manage to succeed."

Luna flinched. How could Mender casually shoot off such a large number and not be phased by another threat on his life? Was the assassin that incompetent?

...no, they weren't, as Luna remembered the injuries he and Dash had taken from the last attempt. They knew what they were doing, but Mender was still confident.

Somehow, this confidence exuding off of him was enough for her to understand that everything was going to work out, despite her reservations that there should be some interference otherwise. Regardless, she would not leave Mender to deal with this threat alone should his little "arrangement" fail. This news would be relayed to Princess Twilight Sparkle immediately.

Mender could see in her eyes that she had every intent on spreading this information. Time for a gag order.

"Oh, one last request, Princess Luna. You are not to tell Twilight Sparkle what I have just told you. You may relay this news to Princess Celestia, but not to Twilight or anypony else. I Pinkie Promised that I would tell her myself after my recovery, and there is no need to spread panic among the townsfolk when it's liable to get them killed. I won't ask that same promise of you, as that seems like way too high of a demand for a lowly retired medic like myself to make. However, I wish that you keep this secret guarded to those not involved until I tell her myself."

Luna considered the request, then nodded. "Very well, Mender. I agree to your terms." She smiled, and that seemed to put him at ease.

Before she left, she had one small bit of advice. "Oh, and Mender, try dreaming about happier times right now than what's stuck in the past. You are living in a new town, where there are new memories and new friends waiting for you. If you think you have trouble fitting in, recall that I was once Nightmare Moon. Most of the ponies here still fear me, but I'm trying my hardest to fix that every day and every night."

Mender smirked. She was naive, but her words were earnest. "I'll keep that in mind, Princess. I'll try not to think of this burning house as much, but I can't make any promises. This memory of mine is...one of my worst. It's not so easily forgotten for me."

Luna nodded in sympathy, then flew off and left Mender to his dreams.

As she left, she heard an odd laugh echo in the dry, ash-laden forest air. It was a...familiar laugh, but she couldn't place her hoof on who it belonged to. When she left, the laughter vanished, and Luna felt a small shiver go down her spine.

There was something...wrong about Mender's dream, and she silently promised to herself that she would figure out how to resolve it as she opened her eyes to the familiar balcony she stood on back in Canterlot. The moon glimmered off her mane as she resumed watching the stars above.
> Ch. 1-18: A Pink Party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning had started to creep up upon the land of Equestria. The magenta sky was the signal for Luna to go get her sister, so she began descending her tower to reach Celestia's room.

The path she took was well worn with familiar hoofsteps along the crimson carpet in the well-lit hallways of Canterlot Castle. As she approached a door adorned with a sun crest, Luna mentally prepared herself. What she had learned would no doubt concern Celestia, but it might be difficult to convince her to not tell Twilight about it. She was her former teacher, after all.

With a light telekinetic force, the door opened with a small creak.

Celestia's room was a polar opposite to her own. The room was very bright, strongly lit with golden magelights scattered all about. It was almost blinding how bright the room was, even during the day. 

Luna giggled to herself for a moment thinking that Celestia was protecting herself from Bedbogs, fictional little creatures that hid under the beds of naughty children.

Her giggling was loud enough to rouse Celestia from bed. Her tricolored mane was slightly frizzy, and she blinked her eyes frequently.

"Morning, Tia." Luna smiled. She didn't get to see her sister like this often.

Celestia yawned. "Morning, Lu."

"I've brought some news regarding Mender...and you're not going to like it."

Celestia was levitating a comb through her mane to straighten it. "What do you mean, Luna?"

"Well, there are three things I can tell you. The first is about his dream, the second about the assassin, and the last is a request he has given us. Which do you want to hear first?"

Celestia didn't need to think about it. "The assassin."

Celestia finished prepping herself for the day, her mane flowing in a nonexistant wind. She stood in front of Luna, keen on hearing every word she was going to say.

Luna took a deep breath before proceeding. She would be talking for some time.

"Mender has been dealing with this assassin since approximately a year ago. To date, this assassin has tried to kill him 57 times."

Celestia blinked at that number. Granted, there have been many assassins out for her life, and she has survived them all, but that was over the span of a millenia.

Luna caught the look of shock on her face. "I wish the assassin was incompetent so as to make that number less shocking, but that is not the case. They are a professional, and the damage Rainbow Dash and Mender have sustained speaks for itself. However, Mender insisted that he was the lone target, and she was not. According to him, the assassin could not have predicted the damage Rainbow Dash would sustain from the fall, and as unfortunate as her injuries were, they were not intentional on the assassin's part. I took this to mean they didn't wish to kill her."

"How considerate of them," Celestia muttered.

"Yet when I asked him why the assassin hasn't killed him in the hospital, his answer was...odd. The assassin has an unusual respect for hospitals, enough to not kill him in it."

"Spare life where it can be saved, spill blood when it cannot," Celestia thought out loud.

Luna blinked. "Tia?"

"It's an old saying from a group of ponies who had a moral code in their killing. I think I'm getting an idea of where this assassin came from...or who taught them, but please, continue."

Luna was slightly confused, but nodded. "Anyway, this assassin is dangerous, but seeks to only harm Mender. That was the gist of what he has told me. Now I'm down to the other two things I mentioned, his dream and his request."

Celestia wanted to hear the request, but decided to indulge her little sister for now. She was clearly seeking counsel for it. "His dream."

Luna was taken back slightly, but continued.

"Mender's dream was a nightmare in and of itself. He was trying to save his family from his burning house, but couldn't. He tried to save his wife, but could not. He then tried to save his child, but could not. It was a dream of ash, fire, and...despair, helplessness."

Celestia could sense her sister's voice quivering slightly at her recollection.

"But that's not all. After I left the dream, I heard laughter, sis. Sinister laughter. Not only that, but the laughter sounded...familiar. I want to say it's laughter we both have heard."

"I've heard it?" Celestia pondered this statement. Sinister laughter they both heard? There were two laughs that came to mind, but one was when Luna wasn't present, and the other...

...could it be him? No, he has since been reformed, but she had to be sure. "Discord?"

Realization was in Luna's eyes in an instant. "Yes, Tia! It was Discord's laughter!"

At that moment, both of them shared the same concern. If Discord was indeed haunting Mender's dreams, a far bigger threat than the assassin would have to be considered now.

"We will need to inform Princess Twilight and her friends about this," Celestia spoke. Luna nodded in agreement, they couldn't take risks when Discord was involved.

"I'll finish up with Mender's request quickly then. He is asking us to keep this information about the assassin a secret, even to Princess Twilight. He wishes to not cause panic in the town, and considering who he's dealing with, I agree with his judgment. As for keeping it from the Princess, he's made a Pinkie Promise to tell her when he's done recovering."

Celestia was silent, carefully thinking his request over. Keeping the population ignorant of an assassin isn't ideal, especially if the attempt is a public one. "How is he going to deal with the assassin?"

"Three days after his release from the hospital, he will confront the assassin in his home. The house is out at the outskirts of Ponyville, away from the main town, so as to minimize any unnecessary bloodshed."

"And he wishes to handle this alone?" Celestia didn't like this arrangement at all.

"Correct. He doesn't want any outside interference from anypony."

At this, Celestia grinned. "In that case, what if he received help and didn't know it?"

Luna picked up on what her sister was driving at, and shared her grin. "Magic? Tia...that's a grand idea."

"And I know just what we'll do, Lu. But first, I think I should send a letter to Twilight concerning our plan. I will abide by Mender's request and not tell her any details about the assassin yet...although I'm sure she's trying to find out what she can as we speak."

---------------------- Ponyville Library ----------------------------

Twilight was busy reorganizing the books in the library for the third time. Spike was losing track of how many books she looked through last night and this morning, impatiently waiting for a response from the Princesses in Canterlot about the assassin

"Twilight, give it up already. You're not going to find anything about this assassin in these books, you know. None of them are related to war."

"Well, I have to do SOMETHING while I wait for them to write back! Do you expect me to just sit back and relax while a pony we know is likely about to die?"

Before Spike could respond with a quip, be burped an ember of green flame, and a letter materialized bearing the Canterlot seal. Twilight grabbed it with her magic, unrolled it immediately, and eagerly began reading the words.

	Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

The news of this assassin you mentioned in your letter has troubled us most dearly. I thank you for bringing this to our attention. I'm certain that Mender will understand your concern for his safety regarding this matter.

As per your request, Luna has delved into Mender's dreams last night. There are some interesting details we have uncovered from Luna's findings, but unfortunately we have not found anything out about the assassin.

However, rest assured that we have a plan to deal with them. Luna and I will be coming by after Mender's recovery is complete to discuss the details with you in person. In addition, we will share the details we have uncovered from Mender's dreams at that time. 

We request you send a letter when he is a day away from leaving the hospital so everypony has time to prepare for our arrival.

Keep an eye on Mender if you can, but keep your distance. If this assassin is as dangerous as you think them to be, then it is important to keep out of his affairs if you think your life will be on the line.

Stay safe, Princess Twilight.

Your former teacher,
Princess Celestia

"So, they didn't find out anything about this assassin either?" Spike asked.

"I guess not. I am curious about what they uncovered within his dreams, though. Princess Celestia made it sound very important."

"They also sound like they have a way to deal with the assassin, but that will all be explained as soon as Mender's out of the hospital, right?"

"I guess so. It's all down to how long it takes for Mender to recover, then..."

Twilight couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen to Mender...even with the plan the Princess mentioned. Regardless, she could do nothing but wait.

------------------------------ Ponyville Medical ----------------------------------

Four more days have passed since Mender woke up from the Everfree Forest incident and Knife Point's attempt on his life. The recovery process was just as long as his last one, though he had company in the form of Rainbow Dash.

After some prodding, Rainbow Dash started getting him into the Daring Do series, and Mender found himself eagerly anticipating Dash reading the stories to him. It was better than being bugged endlessly by Nurse Redheart and the three fillies, at least.

That wasn't to say that Nurse Redheart didn't stop bugging him. She would consistently remind him about his breathing exercises while tending to his puncture wounds, in addition to the bruising he had suffered from the crash landing. He swore her treatment of him was rougher than last time, though he was afraid of commenting on it due to Dash and that pesky joke of hers.

Despite her handling, Mender figured he was going to have to get used to her treatment of him like this. Honestly, he didn't mind. He'd suffered worse at the hooves of his Commanding Officer back in the army. Plus, considering he got a job here as a field surgeon, it would no doubt benefit him to learn how to be cooperative with the other staff working here...even if one of them was giving them a hard time.

However, the biggest difference between this stay and the last was Young. When Dash was busy resting, Mender would stay up and catch him up on the earlier events he had missed before "accompanying" Mender. This included Mender's impression of the six ponies, the Crusaders, and the "Ghost Hunter" incident which still gave him chills. Young had laughed basically the entire time, and Mender wondered if he would die from lack of oxygen intake. He didn't, much to Mender's dismay.

Today was the day he was going to be released. Dash wasn't leaving, as she had sustained far worse injuries than he did from the crash landing. However, the resident doctor, whom he had learned was called Doctor Stable, assured him she would be able to leave not long after he did. This was great news, considering none of the damage done to her seemed to carry any adverse side effects one would normally expect from being impaled so grievously.

As Mender rose out of bed, he promised himself that today would be a day of rest and contemplation. His duel with the assassin would be in a few days from now, and he needed time to mentally and physically prepare himself. He waved goodbye to Dash in the room, and nodded to Nurse Redheart in the hallway as he descended the stairs to check out of the hospital.

He didn't expect Twilight to be there as well. Damn, she really wanted to make good on his promise to her.

"Afternoon, Twilight."

"Hello, Mender. I heard you were leaving the hospital today, so I thought I'd help you get home."

Hah, cute. She thinks that assassin will strike sooner than expected. Not that Mender blamed her for it, but she's way too protective of others. A fatal mistake that is...well, would be were it not in a town like this.

Mender decided to indulge her. There would be enough time to fill her in on the details on the way home.

"Very well, Princess. Just give me a minute to check out."

There was nobody at the desk. Odd, but he didn't think about it long as he signed his name on a release form nearby, and left it on the counter. Somepony was bound to notice it there when they came back.

Just like last time, the clean air inside was replaced with fresh, earthy smelling air as he exited the hospital. The skies were partially cloudy, and Dash had told him that some rain was scheduled for later this week. He would need to see how well his home held up against rain, but he bet that he would need a few buckets, just in case.

Twilight spoke up as they began to leave the hospital.

"So...uh...I heard you got a job at Ponyville Medical."

Small talk? Mender knew she was nervous now, as she was beating around the bush.

"I have. Field surgeon. If the injuries I've sustained here so far indicate what I have to deal with, I'm going to have some rough days ahead."

Twilight giggled, relaxing a bit. "Nah, I don't think anypony gets injured as badly as you or Dash do, at least not frequently. You should be fine."

"I hope so, Twilight. Now then, onto business. You want me to talk about the assassin."

Twilight stopped. She didn't expect Mender to get to the reason why she was here so quickly.

"Oh, don't look so shocked. I know you came here for that, so I'll explain on the way. I've a promise to uphold after all."

Mender resumed walking home, and Twilight kept his pace, waiting for him to speak.

"This assassin has been after my life for over a year now. 57 times they have tried to take my life, but they have failed every time. This number includes their most recent attempt, of course, so if you think them incompetent based on that number, I'll just refer you to this incident to show you they are a serious threat."

Twilight had considered asking about that number, but remained quiet.

"A few nights ago, I encountered him in the hospital room.  We have agreed to a duel that will take place three days from now, in my home at the outskirts of Ponyville. This was to minimize damage to the town and its citizens, which I'm sure you'll agree is of the utmost importance."

She shuddered a bit at hearing the word "duel." Mender wanted to guess why, but he wasn't finished talking yet.

"In regards to this duel, I respectfully request that neither you or your friends interfere in this matter. This assassin is deadly, and has no qualms about killing any interlopers in our affairs."

At this, Twilight finally objected.

"Mender, if this assassin is so dangerous, why are you fighting them alone?"

"Because I don't want others to die defending me. I've had that happen enough in my life as is."

Twilight considered his words, and realized he was referring to his past in the army.

She was about to respond, but Mender cut her off. "Besides, I don't plan on losing. They've tried to kill me 57 times and couldn't. Frankly, I think it's more likely that I'll kill myself first doing something stupid before they get to me." Mender smirked.

This eased her worries briefly, but she still had a question. "What about using magic to help you from a spot far away?"

"Two things. One, this assassin has killed unicorns that have used magic against them. Two, they're a master of closing the distance between them and their target. In the time it would take you to cast a spell from thirty meters away, they could approach you in less than two seconds."

"Even if they didn't know where the spell originated?"

"This assassin has a very keen perception, Twilight. They can detect how far away a unicorn is when their offensive magic comes upon them, and what direction the spell came from, within a second of the spell's impact."

Twilight was baffled. She hadn't heard of anypony that well-trained, except for Rainbow Dash. But she was a pegasus, so her senses were already quite keen as she used the wind patterns in the air to predict some of the moves used against her...wait. 

"They wouldn't happen to be a pegasus, would they?"

Mender was taken back slightly, but nodded. "Very perceptive of you, Twilight. They are indeed a pegasus."

Twilight smiled. That did explain their speed and reflexes enough to satisfy her curiosity about their strength.

"You can also see now why my home is our dueling site, then?"

They approached Mender's small home as he asked this question.

Twilight thought for a moment. "To restrict their movement as much as possible to even the playing field."

Mender grinned. "Precisely. That already gives me an advantage unless they force the fight outside. Then I might be in trouble...but I doubt that will happen. Staying indoors is one of the many things I'm good at doing."

Twilight chuckled, but she still had reservations about this duel. Mender noticed this, and said one last thing to ease her worries.

"Twilight, I won't lose this duel. If I do, who would tell you all about the war stories you still want to hear about, hm?"

The last of Twilight's worry finally faded. His confidence was exuding off of him in such a way that made her feel that things were going to turn out fine. Her concern was still there, however.

"Alright, Mender. I trust that you'll live, but you better Pinkie Promise to tell me those stories later. Dying won't save you from the promise."

"Well, when you put it like that, I really can't die now, can I?" He crossed his chest and placed a hoof over his eye. "Pinkie Promise."

Twilight hugged Mender. He was caught completely off guard by her gesture, and awkwardly hugged back. Twilight giggled, and Mender grumbled. He wasn't the hugging type.

Mender broke the hug, and waved off Twilight. She began to walk away as Mender opened the door to his home.

...wait, when did the door get replaced?

He didn't have time to think further past that, as a few things happened that he was barely able to process.

First, when he opened the door, he noticed a cannon pointing at him in the hallway, just past the door.

Second, there was a string coming off the cannon's trigger at the back.

Third, he just pulled that string taut from opening the door.

The next few seconds were a blur as Mender was sent flying into the air away from his home. Twilight observed his sudden flight, and noted that he was followed by streamers and confetti as he sailed through the sky.

Mender noticed the party favors as well, and immediately screamed the name of the pony responsible.

"PINKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Twilight doubled over in laughter as Mender continued his unexpected flight.

Young, having heard about Pinkie's antics recently, had laughed as well.

--------------------------------------------------------

Mender's voice grew tired and raspy from screaming for what felt like hours. He envisioned his landing to be as terrible as the crash he and Dash suffered before that thought faded as he landed on a plush cushion that was set down precisely where he landed. The scent of sugar flooded his nose as he realized what he landed in was a giant pile of cotton candy. He was too dazed to even bother asking why.

He opened his eyes and saw Pinkie's wide grin and blue eyes staring down at him.

"Hiya Mendy! I TOLD you I'd give you that welcoming party as soon as you recovered!"

Mender was still dazed, but managed to speak in a quiet voice. 

"...Pinkie?"

"Yeah?"

"I hate you so much right now."

Pinkie laughed. "Silly filly, you don't mean that!"

Mender grumbled as he rose out of the cotton candy. "I wish I did."

Mender shook off his daze enough to gather some sense in his head. "What in Equestria was that thing that sent me here?"

"One of my Pinkie Patented Party Cannons!"

Party Cannons? What an odd thing...but it is Pinkie. She's the textbook definition of odd...wait. One? She had MORE?

"Where are all of these...Party Cannons?"

"Oh, they're everywhere! See?" Pinkie pulled another Party Cannon out of nowhere and set it down next to her.

"Did she just pull out another cannon?"

"Yep. Out of nowhere, too."

Silence came for a brief moment before Young spoke again.

"I think I may have figured something out. Gimme a minute while I go check something."

Mender was curious. What had Young found out?

"Mendy? You okay? You're kinda spacing out."

Pinkie's voice broke his trance-like state. "Sorry, Pinkie. Just making sure my head's all in one place."

"Oh, I have to do that sometimes too. You wouldn't believe how many things go through my head at once!"

Surprisigly, Mender believed her. She was certainly scatterbrained most of the time he's been around her.

"Right, so, this is my welcoming party?" Mender finally took time to take in his surroundings.

The cotton candy he landed in was curiously shaped in the form of a catcher's mitt for Buckball. It looked like a puffy oven mitt. Trees with streamers surrounded the small field he landed in, but no other decorations were laid out.

"...erm, Pinkie, this doesn't look like a party."

Pinkie just grinned. "Of course it's not, I haven't laid out the spread yet!"

She pushed a button on the Party Cannon, and Mender witnessed a whole different kind of magic. In a flurry of confetti, tables had set themselves up in the field, and upon them landed paper plates and utensils. One table received a ladle and a punch bowl, which miraculously didn't spill a drop of its precious fluids. Another two tables received two different cakes, while cookies and assorted pastries landed on a fourth table. The last thing to come out of the cannon were chairs, carefully spread around each table except for the one with the punch bowl.

Pinkie looked at Mender, and giggled at the sight of his mouth hanging wide open. He was in complete disbelief as to what had just unfolded in front of him.

"Alright, I'm back. What did I miss?"

Mender was almost too stunned to respond, but he managed to think one word back. "Everything."

Mender didn't hear Young respond for some reason. His mind was too busy trying and failing to process what just happened.

Twilight finally approached the tree circle in a purple flash of light.

"Hey Twilight!" Pinkie bounced over to greet her friend.

"Hi Pinkie." Twilight then looked at Mender's aghast face, still frozen in place, and giggled.

"He hasn't seen one of your parties, has he?" She had trouble asking between her giggles.

"Duh!"

Twilight finally gathered herself enough to approach Mender, who barely acknowledged her by looking in her direction, his mouth still locked open.

"Mender, a word of advice. Don't try to think about how Pinkie does what she does. I tried figuring out her Pinkie Sense once. Her body would do these involuntary actions which would accurately predict certain specific events happening. I tried to research it, and...it nearly drove me crazy. I was also injured a lot trying to figure it out, so I suggest you not do the same."

Mender finally managed to close his mouth and keep his rationale and ask Twilight a question.

"What conclusion did you come to?"

"It's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie."

"That's a crappy conclusion."

"You have a better one?"

"I do, and I'll explain it to you later. For now, just play along."

Mender frowned, and Twilight noted his dissatisfaction. However, he nodded, accepting her words...for now, she thought.

Mender spoke. "Okay, I accept that Pinkie is...Pinkie, but this party is sort of...lacking in guests, isn't it? Don't get me wrong, I'm not surprised. I've barely made a dent in the town so fa-"

"SURPRISE!"

Pony heads all shot out of the trees surrounding the party setting. Mender jumped and fell onto his back. He heard laughter from Pinkie and Twilight as he rose to his feet to look at the guests in the trees.

He recognized a few faces. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and the Crusaders were easily apparent to him. Some other faces he saw as familiar, but couldn't place a name...probably due to him having not asked.

The head count was about a hundred, give or take five. Mender froze in shock as he would likely have to memorize everypony's name at this party.

Mender sighed. So much for today being a time where he could be alone and rest in peace in that old rocking chair.

-------------------------------------------------------

Much like the cannon that shot him here, the party itself was a blur to Mender. Pinkie kept dragging him around the party, making all sorts of introductions with all the other ponies. He barely had time to register their name and say hi before Pinkie either took him to another pony, or took a pony to him.

When she wasn't flinging him about and tending to the other party guests, Mender actually took enough time to remember a few names. He had met such ponies like Lyra and Bon Bon, who worked at a restaurant called the Gilded Griffon. He had enjoyed a small conversation with the Mayor, who was happy to see a new face in Ponyville. DJ P0N3, who went by the name Vinyl Scratch, was the pony in charge of the music. She had a nice roommate called Octavia who was a cellist that Mender had heard of before. Mender wasn't a gigantic fan of music, though he had heard some pieces by Octavia in his last army days, and they were quite soothing to him in those times.

He had socialized with Applejack and Rarity for small moments during the party. Applejack was happy to hear about his new job, and Mender saw an odd grin creep across her face now that she knew his pet loved apples. Mender cringed, he had a feeling she might be charging him more for her apples, but she laughed when she saw his fearful look. She claimed that her prices would be fair, sometimes even with a small discount when she could afford to give it, and Mender breathed a small sigh of relief.

Rarity was surprisingly not the crazy fashion pony Mender remembered her as before. Sure, she wasn't that at the pet gathering, either, but Mender barely had time to talk to her before Crunch had an incident with her cat named Opalescence, or Opal for short. Mender silently cursed the cat's name at causing him so much grief, but beyond her shop and her pet, Rarity could carry on a nice conversation with him for hours if he let it. She was quite curious as to the fashions the army had been using, and Mender had spent a good deal of time going over the finer details of the armor worn by the ponies during wartime with her. She was slightly disappointed that none of the armor sounded fashionable in the slightest, but Mender reminded her that fashion didn't outrank function at that time, and that some of the "flaws" she had pointed out were actually intentional for a reason. 

That concept seemed to baffle her, so Mender had to spend even more time stating that such flaws were actually not flaws, and served the purpose of looking like weak points when they were actually more reinforced than the rest of the armor. Deception was one of the most powerful tools of warfare, and armor was no exception to this rule. She still seemed confused, but accepted his explanation on the matter.

Twilight was also peaceful to socialize with, though she had to leave the party early. Mender asked why, and she stated she had some business to attend to with the Princesses in Canterlot. Mender nodded in understanding, thinking she would relay the information he had told her about the assassin, but considering that he told Princess Luna in his dreams, he chuckled at the thought of Twilight telling the Princesses information they already knew.

Twilight WAS going to tell them what she learned, but she was also going to tell them about his release from the hospital. Their meeting would need to happen very soon, at the very least by tomorrow.. She teleported to the library posthaste and had Spike begin writing the letter.
> Ch. 1-19: A Royal Plan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ugh, I was done with that party three hours ago."

Mender was unquestionably tired as he began walking home from the circle of trees where the party finally came to a close. He had to admit, Pinkie knew how to throw a party...almost too well. It dragged on for far longer than he anticipated, and he didn't want to hear anypony else talk to him tonight.

"You're telling me. I got sick of hearing all those voices four hours ago."

...except for Young. Hearing his sympathies was nice.

"I'm surprised you held up that much, Young," Mender remarked.

"I'm surprised you haven't torn off your ears."

Mender had considered that two hours ago, but thought better on it.

"I'm surprised you never asked me to remove this band."

"Hah, you say that as if I could get a word in among all that chatter. Did you know Pinkie was speaking about a thousand words a minute at how fast she was introducing you to the other ponies?"

Mender shuddered. "Please don't remind me of that. I'm having trouble remembering half the ponies' names as is."

"Actually, I'm not that concerned. Odds are that even though the party was thrown for you, I doubt half the ponies remember your name...though they have seen your face, so you should be recognizable in Ponyville now, at least."

That...actually sounded like a good thing. Better a stranger they kind of know than one they don't know at all. Plus, given his job, odds are he would meet everypony in that hospital at least once, so seeing a friendly face would always be guaranteed...he hoped.

"Thanks, Young. That was a useful reminder."

"...was that sarcastic?"

"No, you think it is because I'm tired. I'm being honest, I think this party was a success, despite how much I...WE hated it by its end. That, and you got to hear everypony at least once, so you should be able to distinguish who I'm talking to easy enough, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so. It'll take a lot more time for me to get used to recognizing voices than you can recognize ponies by sight. I feel like a blind stallion, you know. It's a terrible handicap."

"Well, it's also your idea, unless you've reconsidered opening that door to see those ponies for yourself?"

"Yeah, nah, I'll pass on that."

Mender shrugged. "Worth a shot."

He heard Young chuckle to himself as Mender approached his home. The front door was open, but the cannon was gone, and so was the string. The rocking chair remained untouched, but Mender was so tired he needed a bed to sleep in, not a chair.

He stepped through the doorway...and realized that there should have been a pet greeting him.

"Crunch? Where are you, bo-"

No sooner had he spoke than a familiar black blur tackled him.

Mender was too tired. He pushed Crunch off of him. He needed to ask his pet something rather important.

"Crunch, how did Pinkie get in here?"

At the mention of Pinkie's name, Crunch's ears wilted slightly, a guilty look plain on his face. Mender then noticed that there were flecks of icing on Crunch's lips. He took a good long look at the floor and noticed crumbs scattered about in a small trail, leading to a paper cupcake holder lying near the bottom of the stairwell in the back of the house.

Mender's emotions were a mixture of amusement and anger. He had only one guess as to what happened, and he was sure he wasn't wrong.

"You were bribed by a cupcake from Pinkie, weren't you?"

Crunch slowly nodded.

Mender sighed. "You're a terrible guard pet...but at least it was Pinkie. You enjoyed it, right?"

Crunch held a smile and nodded again.

"Good, because that's the last one you'll be getting from her while I'm not here. I need to start bringing food here for the both of us now, so no more freebies for a while."

Crunch shrunk a bit, disappointed by the news. Mender smiled, and said one last thing.

"However, if she comes by with more treats while I'm here, you can have some more of them, ok?"

Crunch responded with a smile and a stubby tail wagging. Satisfied with this response, Mender closed the door behind him and cleaned up the crumbs and Crunch's mouth with a rag he hung in the kitchen. The paper cupcake holder near the stairs was discarded as well.

Mender then climbed the stairs to the attic bedroom, and was surprised by one last thing. The bed in the corner opposite the stairs was neatly fixed, with no spring sticking out from underneath it.

Mender spent some time thinking on who fixed the door and his bed. Was it Pinkie? It seemed possible, but she didn't strike him as the handymare type. 

Applejack, then? She did promise to help him on any affairs regarding improving his home, but might have had trouble with Crunch...unless she brought apples. Regardless, he never took up that offer, so he saw no reason why she would extend such a gesture to him without his permission first.

Hmm...Fluttershy, perhaps? Again possible, she would no doubt have gotten past Crunch easily with how kind she was, and she met Crunch here at Mender's home, making her all the more welcome. However, he couldn't see her fixing his bed or the door for similar reasons to Pinkie.

He immediately dismissed the thought of Rarity coming by to fix his home. That was obvious, as she had made her distaste for filthy places clear at the party, and tension between him and her hadn't quite settled yet on account of her cat attacking his changeling back at the gathering.

What about the Crusaders? Mender briefly laughed...though he admitted it was possible for them to fix the door. Maybe not the bed, as Crunch hadn't met those three fillies yet and would likely be protective, and he never saw the fillies bring food with them whenever they arrived.

That left just one suspect. One pony who had plenty of time to fix the door and his bed, and could reasonably get past Crunch ever since the gathering happened. Princess Twilight. He made a mental note to ask her that tomorrow as he climbed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.

---------------------------- Canterlot Castle ----------------------------------

Celestia had sent a letter back to Princess Twilight Sparkle a few hours ago after receiving her letter detailing what she learned about the assassin, and notifying her of Mender's recovery. Naturally, the assassin information was not important to her considering Luna had filled her in on the details already (although the information that the assassin was a pegasus was new, she admitted,) though she admired her former student's attention to detail in taking down most of his words in verbatim in the letter.

However, after learning about the date in which the duel was to take place, Celestia sent a response back stating she and Luna would be there tomorrow afternoon, requesting that the other Elements of Harmony be there when they arrive. It wasn't a day's notice like she wanted, but Twilight accounted for her late response by detailing the events of her escorting Mender home. She giggled upon reading that Mender was shot into a party the moment he opened his door.

She and her sister Luna had spent the next few hours getting their affairs in order in order to make time to visit Ponyville. Celestia gave permission to one of her most trusted advisers to oversee her daytime affairs, while Luna had done the same with one of her loyal Night Guards to keep an eye on the evening sky. Both of them would still coordinate the rise and fall of the sun and moon in Canterlot, but as far as any other plans or duties, they had all the bases covered to enjoy the afternoon and the next day without any notable concerns.

Celestia, however, tasked one of the Day Guards with the job of relaying any important matters the adviser would have trouble resolving. Being away from the castle did not excuse her from her duties as a benevolent and just ruler. Should the news be important enough, Celestia would return to handle matters herself while Luna stayed behind to keep an eye on Mender. Both of them agreed this was the best course of action should that situation arise.

However, if things went according to their plan, then they would have little to worry about. Mender would be safe and none the wiser to the magic they'll use to aid him in his fight.

A bigger concern still remained, however. Both Princesses were concerned as to whether or not Discord was up to his old tricks again. They had hoped this was not the case, but if so, everypony needed to be prepared.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender had a fantastic rest that night. Ever since he spoke with Luna in his dreams, the nightmares had not come to him once. It felt great waking up not in a cold sweat, though it took Mender longer to wake up today on account of having survived one of Pinkie's parties.

He heard Young yawning through the band. Hm, so he had slept as well.

"Morning Young."

"Morning, Mender. Whew, that was quite a party last night."

"I agree. Pinkie may be an odd pony, but she knows how to throw parties."

Upon thinking about Pinkie, a detail came to him last night regarding something Young did concerning her. Mender figured now was as good a time as any.

"Say, Young, what did you figure out last night about Pinkie?"

He heard Young clearing his throat for a moment.

"Well, I didn't learn anything about her specifically...but from what you described, I think I figured out what happened to my Versabox."

"...what kind of box?"

"Versabox, Mender. It's another invention I made, like the band you're wearing to talk to me."

"Ah...and what does this Versabox thing do?"

"Anything you can imagine."

Mender was confused. "What?"

"Imagine, if you will, that you had the ability to place anything, of any size, into a small box you carry on your person. Imagine that you can also take out those objects of any size at will. Imagine that this box has a universe in it that can compact or expand at your desire, to hold as much or as little as you need, at the time you need it. The ultimate storage container."

"Okay..." Mender wasn't sure where he was going with this, it already sounded impossible.

"Now imagine that you yourself can enter that little universe box anywhere, and exit anywhere else you wish to be. Like if you could enter it now and whisk yourself away to Twilight's Library in an instant, without using the slightest inkling of magic. A whole new kind of teleportation."

This time Mender voiced his thoughts. "That's impossible!"

"Mender, I live in a space where it is only limited by my imagination. In here, one can willingly break the rules of reality imposed on the world, and unlearn everything one thought they knew. In here, one can make the impossible...possible. Under such a mindset, I have created many things, like the communication band you wear that substitutes for telepathy. Is it not possible, then, for me to create a box that has a universe tucked away in it?"

"I...I can't even begin to fathom how such a thing can exist."

"That's because you're thinking differently. You're thinking in a way where reality determines how much you can fully understand. I told you, in here, reality doesn't matter. It's not a limit anymore."

Mender was still woefully confused, but decided to pass on figuring it out considering he still couldn't figure out Pinkie.

"So...this box...what's it called, a Versabox? What happened to it?"

"...you remember how I told you about that third key that's outside of this room?"

Mender came to a realization. "You didn't."

Young sighed. "I did...and I think Pinkie found it."

At that moment, everything Pinkie was doing started to make sense to Mender, in a way. He still didn't fully understand this Versabox, but from how Young described it, it seemed to match up with how Pinkie was able to summon things from nowhere, most notably those Party Cannons and all the surprises stored within them.

"So...what's your plan? You want me to do something concerning this Versabox thing?"

"As much as I want it back...I think she's grown too attached to it now. It's a dangerous object in the wrong hooves, but from the sound of things it's in the hooves of the happiest pony in the world. That, and it's incredibly unlikely you'll be able to take it from her anyway, since you know how it works. Plus, removing it from her would probably break her spirit...and we wouldn't want to break the spirit of the happiest pony, would we?"

Mender shuddered at the thought of Pinkie not being her cheerful self. He briefly imagined her hair straight like it was in the hospital, but her color was dark and faded and she had a crazy look in her eyes. That was something he did NOT want to deal with.

"Nope nope nope, don't want that at all."

"Glad you understand now...oh! I left something for you down in the basement. Another one of the nifty tools I made while I was in here. After hearing about your little duel coming up, I think you needed an...appropriate edge."

"I don't need any help, Young. I got this all planned out." Mender was slightly irritated that Young thought he would die.

"Well, I don't want you to go off and die on me. Just...just humor me, if you will. I promise it won't hurt to at least look at the thing."

Mender sighed. "Fine fine, I'll take a look. I hate having an unfair advantage, though."

Mender walked down the two sets of stairs to the basement. Sitting in front of the door was a small black knife, no larger than four inches altogether. It reminded him of the knives he had seen some ponies in the war use for stealth operations. Easily concealable, and versatile for most close combat situations.

"A knife? Young, I have knives already, in my chopping block in the kitchen."

"That's no ordinary knife, Mender. It's made out of a material that's directly attuned to the willpower of anypony that holds it. The more willpower you project into the knife, the longer it gets, the more it changes shape, and the more powerful it becomes."

"So...it's that kind of knife?" Mender asked suggestively with a smirk plain on his face.

"What do you mea-OH SHUT UP, that's not what it's like!"

"I disagree. That's totally what it's like."

"SHUT...UP!"

Mender laughed, considering the implications of such a weapon.

"You know that if Dash gets wind that I have a blade that can extend and retract at will, I'm never going to hear the end of it."

"That's YOUR problem, not mine, remember? Sheesh, I'm trying to help you here, but you're just busy cracking jokes about a weapon that's as long and strong as you want it to be!"

"That's what she said," Mender said in a voice he tried to make sound like Dash's.

"...you know what? Just leave the blade at the door. I thought you were mature enough to wield such a thing, but I was clearly wrong."

"Oh no, you left it outside the door, it's mine now. You want it back, open it and get it yourself." Mender snatched the blade up into his hoof.

Suddenly the blade of the knife extended outward and molded itself into a sharply pointed dagger about eight inches in length. The handle of the knife also molded itself into a more comfortable shape within his hoof, and he swung the dagger forward, surprised at how natural it felt in his grasp. The black coloration seemed to give off a light sheen of reflection in the blade itself.

"Whoa."

"What, you didn't believe me when I said it could do all of that? After I just told you about the Versabox?"

"Well, I didn't think this would be such an interesting weapon until I held it. You got any more of these?"

"No, I don't, and I won't be giving any more to you, even if I had any. Frankly, I still don't think you're ready to wield that blade, but now that you have it...I guess we'll have to wait and see. Fair warning though, anypony else can use that blade as well, so you better keep a good eye on it."

"Very well." He thought about putting the blade away, and as if responding to his thoughts, the blade returned to its normal shape.

"Say, what did you call this blade, anyway?"

"A Versablade!"

Mender groaned, but an idea struck him for one last jab. "Lemme guess, you sleep on a Versabed too?"

"Why yes, it's one of the best comfort inventions I've ever ma-...oh, you're joking, aren't you?"

"Your naming of things is terrible."

"No it's not! Everything I make in here is versatile in some way or another!"

"And that gives you the excuse to name things like a Versacube, Versabed, or Versablade? Do you have a Versadesk in there? Are you writing notes on a Versanotepad with a Versapencil?"

"Agh, shut up. You think you have a better name for the Versablade then?"

Mender thought about it for a minute. The shape-shifting ability of the blade was no doubt its unique feature...so what would be a good name that expressed that? Shifter? Forme? Morphus? 

Wait, the blade would be nothing but ordinary without willpower. Maybe a name more internally empowering? One that's personal to him?

The name came to him in a flash of inspiration so fast he spoke it out loud. "Celle."

"You plan on selling that blade? Are you insane?!"

"No, not that kind of 'sell.'"

"Well, it's not a biological living thing, either, although cells are quite versatile in their morphing capabiliti-"

Mender interrupted. "No, not that kind of 'cell' either...actually, it's spelled like that, but with a silent 'e' at the end, like a name. Celle."

"...I don't get it. Is it a name important to you?"

"It is. It was the name of one of my daughters. Celle Mender."

At this, Young was silent for a moment. Mender had described his dreams to him in the hospital, and the image of Mender's burning home from his description hit him in an instant.

"I...I'm sorry, Mender."

"What are you apologizing for? You didn't know until I brought it up. Plus...it's fine. It's a name that I still hold dear to me, like the rest of my family. I don't mind passing it onto a blade that feels like an extension of me...like she was."

Suddenly, Young thought Mender was capable of holding that blade if he gave it enough sentimental value to name it after his daughter.

"I understand. It's a fine name, easily outclassing that Versa tag I seem to throw on everything."

Mender chuckled. "Good. Well then, I'll just be going n-"

"Now wait just a minute. Did I say that I was giving that to you for free?"

No, he didn't. "What, so you want me to trade you something then?"

"Well, yes, in a manner of speaking. There is a book I am seeking, a journal belonging to my grandfather."

"Old Mindly?"

"Correct. I believed that since the experiment with the door, Mindly had taken all of his research away from Canterlot and ran off with it here. I have most of it with me, but his journal was not among the items he brought. I'm positive it was something I didn't send away via teleporting, so it's probably somewhere in Canterlot. Much like you have sentimental value in that blade, I have sentimental value in that journal. I wish to ask that you locate it and bring it to me when you visit Canterlot."

"What makes you think I'll be visiting Canterlot?" Mender wasn't sure about this request at all. Something about it seemed...off.

"You've spoken with Princess Luna about an assassin after your life. What makes you think you WON'T be going at some point?"

Damn, he had him there. "That is true...but I still don't know when I'll be going. Could be days, could be months."

"I've been waiting for over half a millennium, Mender. What's a few more months to me?"

Bah, he was good. Now he really had no reason to refuse. "Fair point...very well, I accept. When I go, I will look for your grandfather's journal."

"Thank you, Mender. Now then, don't you have anything to do today?"

"Well, I do need to run some errands in Ponyville, like securing an advance pay before my first day of work. Haven't picked up food for this place in over a month, and I barely have twenty bits left after all my travel expenses."

"I'll let you get to that, then. I've some more things to tinker with myself."

Mender ascended out of the basement still holding his newly named blade. He went to his suitcase and found a leather holster for the knife in his uniform's pocket. He unfolded it and slung it around his neck and chest, placed Celle carefully inside the holster, and braced it against the right side of his chest with another leather strap. It wasn't subtle. As it stands, most ponies would know he was carrying a weapon. Maybe Rarity could help it blend in with his grey coat better.

...speaking of Rarity, she still wanted to spruce up his medic uniform. He took that out of the suitcase and set it into a saddlebag that was still in the suitcase. He heard bits jingle in a small bag inside the saddlebag, the twenty bits he still had from coming here. He was set as he placed the saddlebag on his left side, saying goodbye to Crunch as he left his home.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight had a rough time that morning. She had dreamed about this dangerous assassin slaughtering Mender in his home before waking up out of shock. She almost screamed.

She descended the stairs, then entered the kitchen. Spike was busy making a breakfast of toast and leafy greens when she entered, and noticed her enter. She had bags under her eyes, a sign that she had a hard time sleeping.

"Not a good night, huh?"

"One of the worst in a long time, Spike."

Spike took a guess as to why she couldn't sleep that well. "The assassin?"

Twilight nodded. Spike didn't ask anything else as he began to prepare some lavender tea for her. It was a remedy he had learned Twilight liked to drink after times of stress.

Spike set the table with toast, leafy greens, and some apple juice to start her off while he continued to work on the tea.

"Thanks, Spike," Twilight acknowledged before she began to eat.

"You're welcome, Twi...er, not to further pile on the stress, but the Princesses sent a letter while you were still resting. They're going to be coming in less than half an hour."

Twilight's eyes shot open, as wide as the moon. "SPIKE! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!"

"I didn't want you to panic! Plus, you needed the rest. Don't worry, I asked all of your friends to come over as per Celestia's request in the letter. What she wants to say is very important to all of you."

"Ohgoshohgosh my friends are coming too?!" She looked up at her mane, a tangled mess from last night. "I have to get ready!"

Before Spike could object, having just finished with the lavender tea, Twilight vanished back to her room, trying to get herself prepared for Celestia, Luna, and her friends. Spike sighed in frustration, and began cleaning up the table.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Spike had finished up cleaning the kitchen when the first knock on the door came. He opened the door to see Fluttershy and Applejack waiting outside. He greeted them and had them both walk inside to gather around the table.

They asked where Twilight was, and Spike simply gestured to the bathroom to the right, where Twilight was still getting herself ready. They all giggled, quietly enough so she wouldn't hear.

A few minutes later, another knock came. This time it was Pinkie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, who was walking instead of flying. Rarity explained that she was released from the hospital today. Spike breathed a small sigh of relief that she was released at a good time, but was still concerned for her considering she wasn't flying. Dash seemed to dodge his questioning gaze, though he decided not to press her.

Finally, enough commotion was happening in the main room for Twilight to open the door and see her five friends gathered around the table. She had finished getting ready by then, and was walking out of the bathroom, greeting her friends as she took her place at the center table.

A brilliant flash of golden light happened outside the library at that moment, followed by a final knock at the door. Twilight answered immediately, and there stood Princesses Celestia and Luna. She bowed slightly and greeted them both, and the Princesses repeated Twilight's gesture to her. She was slightly stunned, but remembered she was a Princess now as well.

"Good afternoon, my little ponies. I'm glad you could all make it this afternoon." Celestia's voice was soothing, removing any tension the Elements of Harmony had from their entrance.

"Indeed, thou hast come in a timely manner befitting us." Luna's voice boomed slightly.

"Luna, there's no need to speak the Royal Tone in a library," Celestia teased.

"Aw, Tia, I was just trying to have some fun," Luna pouted slightly. All the ponies giggled.

"So then, Princess Celestia, what news do ya bring regarding the situation with Mender?" asked Applejack.

"There is much to discuss, Applejack, but the first thing we should speak about concerns something Luna found in Mender's dreams," spoke Celestia.

"His dreams? Hah, that's gotta be a snorefest. What's so important about his dreams, anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We believe his dreams have been tampered with by Discord," Luna said.

All the ponies fell silent at the mention of his name. Fluttershy spoke up first.

"Discord? But Princesses, he's been reformed! I am certain of that ever since I became his friend."

"Yeah? Well, he wasn't so helpful when his thorny plants nearly took over all of Equestria," Applejack hissed.

"And forced us to give up all of our Elements of Harmony!" Dash added.

Tension was building in the room, and Twilight stomped her hooves on the table. "Everypony, calm down!"

They all stopped bickering, and Twilight continued. "I don't trust Discord myself, but I also trust Fluttershy's judgment. Luna, how are you so sure of this?"

"I heard Discord's laughter as I left Mender's dream that night. I was not mistaken in hearing this."

"Then if that is true..." Twilight paused, "...we'll need to summon Discord and ask him ourselves."

"Twilight, how are we going to accomplish that? We lost those fabulous Elements of Harmony by giving them to the Tree, remember? That's how we summoned Discord last time, if I recall," Rarity chimed in.

"Um..." Fluttershy spoke up quietly, almost unheard by the other ponies. "Actually, Discord has been staying with me for the past week now."

Everypony stared at Fluttershy, earning an "eep!" as she tried to take cover under the edge of the table.

However, Twilight smiled at the news. At least Discord was close by. "Then we have a plan. We'll ask Discord what this means after this meeting is over."

"Actually, Princess Twilight," spoke Celestia, "we have another matter to discuss. The original one we came here to talk about. This assassin."

"Oh yes. You mentioned that you two have a plan for dealing with them?" Twilight asked.

"Not directly, no." Luna spoke. "We'll just be assisting Mender discreetly using magic."

Twilight's eyes shot open. "But you can't do that! Mender said that this assassin has killed unicorns who used offensive magic against them! They can close gaps at frighteningly fast speeds since they're a pegasus!"

"A fast pegasus, eh? Hah, not with me around, they aren't!" Dash boasted. She earned hard looks from everypony except the co-rulers of Equestria.

Celestia simply grinned and said, "Twilight, we're alicorns, not unicorns. We've lived for over a thousand years and haven't died. Also, when did I say we were going to use offensive magic?"

Twilight bit her lip. "You...you didn't say that."

"No," Luna spoke next, "we plan on using illusion magic to assist him indirectly. For this, we'll need to get a good look at his home so we can properly cast the spell to help him."

"Therefore," Celestia added, "when you all go speak with Discord, Luna and I will get the dimensions to Mender's home at that time."

Twilight was baffled. She didn't expect the Princesses to set aside this much time just to deal with an assassin in Ponyville. However, stranger things have happened, she reminded herself.

There was one last thing Twilight had to bring up, however. "Alright, that sounds like a plan. However, do you remember how in my first letter I mentioned Mender's pet?"

"Oh, you mean his changeling named Crunch?" Pinkie Pie finally spoke up.

At the sound of the word "changeling" Celestia's coat bristled slightly. She remembered the attack on Canterlot in an instant, and how she failed to protect her subjects from their queen. Luna wasn't as shaken, but she remembered the attack as well, and was also visibly distressed, though not as badly as her sister was.

"Mender has a CHANGELING?!" Celestia's voice boomed, and shook a few loose books off the shelves. All the ponies around the table quivered in fear.

Twilight was the one caught off guard the most, however. Suddenly, she thought she wasn't going to be able to explain this to her at all.

She didn't have to. A knock at the door came, followed by Mender's voice.

"Hello? Twilight, you in there? I'm looking for Rarity and she wasn't in her boutique. You know where she i-"

Celestia's horn glowed, and Mender found himself floating in a yellow cloud of magic as he was pulled into the library by force.

"Oh buck."
> Ch. 1-20: A Royal Pain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Young? Young, are you there?"

"I am, Mender. Is something wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. Just probably floating to my imminent death, is all."

"Ah, okay...wait, WHAT?"

"Maybe you should get a little background info first. I was over at Rarity's Boutique earlier, but she was nowhere to be found. So, I went over to Twilight's Library to find out where she was. I knocked on the door and asked where Rarity was, and now I'm being held in a yellow cloud and being pulled inside the library."

"A yellow cloud? Telekinesis?"

"Not just any yellow cloud. This one is strong. Alicorn strong. Princess strong."

"...Princess Celestia?"

"Yep."

"Oh, you're so screwed."

"Again, thanks for the vote of confidence, Young."

Mender closed his eyes as he heard the door open. He felt himself floating inside, and knew that a lot of eyes were looking at him right now.

"Twilight, are you there?" Mender asked.

"I am, Mender," she responded.

"Are there any ponies staring daggers at me?"

Twilight looked at the other Princesses, both of them boring holes into him with their eyes, Celestia's twice as hard as Luna's.

"There are. The other Princesses are here."

"Ah. Can I keep my eyes closed then? I'm afraid if I open them I'll die from having my eyes gouged out from the Princesses looking at me like I'm a timberwolf that just killed a filly."

"MENDER!"

"Are you trying to go for famous last words? Cause that was a crappy and long-winded effort."

Mender sighed. "Princesses, before I die, could I at least know why you're holding me like this? I'm pretty sure this isn't the way I wanted to deal with the assassin."

"This isn't about the assassin, Mender. You're harboring a changeling in your home!" Celestia snapped.

Mender chuckled, eyes still closed. "Oh, so that's what this is about, huh? Well then, I can explain that...but, uh, Princess Celestia, could you please put me down first?"

Celestia was still fuming, but set him down. Mender opened his eyes and saw Twilight and the Elements in seats opposite the entrance, while Luna and Celestia were near the door he had come through. He was set down next to Pinkie near the door side of the table.

Celestia's glare bore down upon him like an entire ocean was going to capsize him.  Luna's glare was the equivalent of a large lake in comparison. He wondered how in the world he was going to explain this to the co-rulers of Canterlot. 

Mender took a deep breath and tried to relax. If he could convince Twilight, he had a shot at convincing the other Princesses.

"Okay. Firstly, Princesses Celestia and Luna, so nice to see you this afternoon. Same to you too, Twilight, Elements." Mender nodded to each as he spoke. "Now that greetings are out of the way, time to talk about my changeling."

"First off, his name is Crunch. He enjoys apples, especially the ones from miss Applejack's farm. He likes me, and I like him. The other ponies here are aware of him as well, and have learned to tolerate and/or accept him. So have their pets...for the most part."

He felt a small glare from Rarity, but shook it off. He took another deep breath. "Any questions?"

"...that was without a doubt the stupidest question you could have asked."

As soon as he asked, Celestia spoke up immediately, her tone furious. "Why do you have a pet changeling?!"

"Princess, I didn't even know Crunch was a changeling until a little less than two weeks ago, when Fluttershy told me about what he was. And before that, the little guy was guarded around me when we first met. Hay, I was guarded too, the damn thing scared me a little as well, but ever since I fed him that first day I moved into Ponyville, Crunch has been nothing short of happy to see me whenever I come home. I don't understand what the big deal is, he's harmless to me."

Luna piped up, speaking in the Royal Tone, "Mender, they feed off of thy love! Fluttershy should have told thou this! How doth this information not bother thee?!"

Mender was unfazed by the loud, booming voice. "Crunch hasn't fed off of my love. I'm not even sure if he knows how...but it's not like that matters. I've been giving him love and apples for the few moments I've shared with him at my home, and I'll be damned if that's going to be taken away from me."

Celestia's eyes narrowed at those last words. "Mender, are you suggesting that you will protect this changeling?"

"With my life, Princess." Mender's tone was firm, shocking everypony but the Princesses. "Crunch was the first creature to accept me here in Ponyville. He is NOT as evil as you suppose him to be. He is young, and certainly not like the changelings you had to deal with at wedding."

Neither Princess changed their threatening expression, while the other ponies continued to eye Mender, curious as to what his next words would be.

Mender's voice calmed down, and he spoke rationally. "Listen, Princesses, Elements. I understand that you all had a terrible experience with changelings back at the wedding, which I'm still a little fuzzy on knowing all the details. However, I know enough about my pet to say with complete confidence that he is nothing like those changelings. From what I gathered, all the changelings there were probably full grown and probably under the control of the changeling queen. This changeling is not. I have no explanation for why Crunch was residing in my home, but I don't care. He is young, and he is learning how to be comfortable around other ponies and animals besides me. These six can attest to this."

He gestured over to the other six ponies at the table before continuing. "Princesses, I implore you to give me a chance to monitor and watch over this changeling. I believe he will turn out to be much different from what you know, and I want the opportunity to prove this. However, if at this time you deem him to be a threat...I will not stand for it. Crunch is and will be the first friend I have made in Ponyville, and a bond of friendship is something both of you surely agree is something not easily broken. This bond is no different, and I will personally see to it that he will not turn evil...but if he does, I have no qualms in putting him down myself."

Everypony gasped at that statement, including Luna. Celestia's eyes even blinked in surprise, her anger finally fading.

The table was silent as everypony began processing his words, every minute detail carefully taken in and analyzed.

A full minute passed before Celestia spoke, her voice firm, but not angry. "Mender, how can I be certain that you are not under that changeling's spell, trying to make a convincing case for you to keep them here in Ponyville?"

A valid question, Mender thought. "I just stated that I will have no problems killing him. If I were truly under the thrall of his spell, surely Applejack would have spoken up and called me out on my lie."

At that moment, all the eyes focused on Applejack. "He's...telling the truth. He wasn't lying," Applejack responded.

At this, Celestia and Luna visibly calmed down, confident in the Element of Honesty's words.

"Very well, Mender. Understand that I still have my reservations about your pet, but since you are telling the truth, I only have one request of you regarding the changeling," Celestia said.

"Lemme guess, you want to see him yourself, don't you?"

Both Princesses nodded. At this, Mender rose and opened the door to the library. "Alright. I understand you two want to see him immediately, but I need to visit the market first. I'm clearly going to be having royalty entering my home, and I don't have any food in there to feed even a mouse." Mender chuckled.

"Right, I'm not even going to ask how you survived this."

"A silver tongue helps. I learned it from one of the best in my unit in the army."

"The Shroud pony?"

"Indeed."

His lighthearted mood at last eased the tension within the tree's hollow interior at last. Mender remembered he had one last thing to say before leaving.

"Oh, and Rarity? I left my medic uniform in your Boutique. I hope you didn't mind my intrusion."

"That's no problem at all, Mender. My doors are always open to my friends," Rarity responded.

Mender smiled, and began walking out the door. The Princesses decided to follow him out, leaving Twilight and the Elements to sort out what in the world just happened. Both of them were shocked at his strong stance, but Celestia was more surprised than Luna. Nopony outside of Discord, Nightmare Moon, and Chrysalis had stood up to her so...defiantly. She then remembered he was in her army, and decided to ask.

"Mender, I'm surprised you would stand up to your former Commander-in-Chief like that."

"Princess, I've been out of your service for five years now, so forgive me if I was not as formal as I should have been. Also, one year before I came to Ponyville, I lived in Fillydelphia. I'll just say that spending that length of time in a city that doesn't give a damn about anypony living in it has toughened me more than your army ever could."

Celestia was baffled at that statement. "Is Fillydelphia really as bad as you claim it to be, Mender?"

Mender smirked. "You want me to confirm this with Applejack again? We're still near the library."

Celestia shook her head. She didn't like the idea that Mender was using Applejack as a lie detector to back his claims...though she had to admit it was an effective fallback. Still, she didn't appreciate how Mender had used her like that.

"Mender, do not use the Element of Honesty like a tool," Celestia spoke.

Mender chuckled. "A tool? She's not a tool, Princess Luna. She's a friend, and a friend that will back me up when she chooses to. Now, this knife I have here?" Mender pointed to his holster. "This is a tool. This can cut open whatever I choose to cut. Apples, oranges, or a pony attacking me as I use it in self-defense. This requires restraint to know when and how to use it."

Celestia was quiet, but understanding. Luna had paused for a moment herself, then spoke up. "Mender, why are you carrying a knife around?"

That was a silly question, Mender thought.

"Personal protection. I'm sure the both of you know why."

They both recalled the assassin, and visibly tensed slightly as they reached the marketplace.

Mender approached an apple stand, tended to by a rather large red pony with a green cut-open apple on his flank.

"Afternoon, Big Mac."

"Afternoon, Mender. Come ta buy some apples?" Mac asked.

"Mmhmm. I'll take six, if you don't mind. That's six bits, right?" Mender began to pull out his satchel.

At this point Big Macintosh noticed the Princesses behind him, and bowed on reflex. The Princesses looked around and noticed they were making a scene being here.

Mender had noticed this too, and had a small idea form in his head.

"Actually, Big Mac, I'm treating these Princesses to a meal in my home. We've had a nice conversation back in Twilight's Library and they're interested in seeing my house." Mender leaned in closer to him and whispered, "Maybe if I got a few apples for free, they might praise your acres, hm?"

Mender heard young laugh, and smiled a wicked grin. Having a silver tongue was very useful indeed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender was wheeling a cart full of food back to his home. He was surprised how well that strategy worked, for as soon as Big Mac announced he was giving free apples to Mender, the other vendors followed suit. His shelves would be stocked for months.

The Princesses however were displeased, and kindly reminded Mender that he should pay them something for their troubles. He didn't want to argue again, not after the Library meeting, so he used all his bits to pay everypony something. Mender grumbled, he was used to having SOME spending money, but he wouldn't have to worry about starving, so it all panned out.

The Princesses used their magic to lighten Mender's load, and he was thankful for that as they climbed the hill to his home.

Celestia spoke up first upon seeing the place in its woeful, old state. "Well...this is a...home."

"Well, that was rude. I took great care of the place before I went into my space!"

"Yep, it's a real fixer-upper. I've grown accustomed to it, though." Mender set the cart down near the front porch and climbed the steps to open the front door.

Celestia looked at the rocking chair to the left of the door. She couldn't explain it, but something felt...off about that chair.

Mender continued inside. "Crunch! I'm ho-"

Celestia and Luna were stunned as a black blur tackled Mender to the ground. They both tensed as they recognized the telltale features the changelings had on the creature...licking Mender's face? Their minds blanked, temporarily failing to process the scene before them.

"Okay, okay, settle down. We've got two very important guests with us today. Say hello to Princesses Celestia and Luna."

Crunch stopped licking Mender's face and hopped off of him to look at the new guests. He looked at both Princesses with inquisitive eyes. He felt a tug within him deep down within his heart, telling him he should hate the Princesses with every fiber of his being. Despite now natural it felt, it seemed so foreign to him, so Crunch ignored it, and smiled at them instead.

At his smile, Luna calmed down first and smiled back. Celestia was uncertain of the young changeling before them, but forced a smile back.

Mender rose from the floor and shut the basement door near the stairs. He remembered that there was a special door down there that would only serve to tick off the Princesses even further. He had enough Princess rage for a lifetime, and didn't want any further ire against him.

"Alright, Princesses. Feel free to look around the place...but, uh, basement's off limits."

Celestia glared at him. "Mender, is there anything else we should know that you're not telling us?"

"...I'll just say that I have a few closet skeletons down there. Surely you have your own skeletons tucked away in the castle somewhere, Princess Celestia?" At this, Celestia bit her lip. "However, I will freely admit that there is nothing down there that is as mind-blowing as me owning a changeling, don't you think?"

"Wow, you really know how to compliment somepony."

"Oh, so you'd rather I not save both our necks?"

"...good point. I'll be quiet, then."

"I suppose that is true. It's...still difficult for me to accept, you know."

"In time, Princess, all things change," Mender remarked.

Mender had no idea how true those words rang for Celestia and Luna. He seemed unfazed by their stunned looks as he went outside and began fetching the goods from the market.

The Princesses began to observe the small house and started taking in all the necessary details they needed to cast the illusion spell. They memorized the placement of the cabinets, the sink, the bathroom, and even the attic above. They both then went outside and started memorizing the exterior details on and around the house. If the fight somehow went outside, Mender would need that advantage.

Mender, meanwhile, was quickly throwing together two bowls of salad, one of fruit and one with assorted greens and other fruit he didn't use for the fruit salad. He thought it wasn't exactly to the standards that were whatever they had up in Canterlot, and hoped it would be enough.

Crunch was following the Princesses around, bounding around with energy rivaling Pinkie's. For some reason, he felt energetic being around Celestia, and Celestia noticed this. She tried not to be bothered by him, but the wedding events kept flashing back to her mind, preventing her from really accepting Crunch as a safe creature. She tried to shake it off as she continued to survey the exterior for the illusion spell. 

The plan was now in action, and tomorrow, Mender would be thankful for it, she thought. He's got a lot to live for now...more than he's aware of.

------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight and her friends recovered their senses by the time Mender had reached the market. They had no idea Mender could be that strong in the face of a pony who had banished Luna to the moon for a thousand years.

That was even after consideration of him owning a changeling, they all thought...and a magic door, Twilight thought to herself. She really wondered if he'd be able to show them his home without that door coming up...because if it did, Celestia would be even more furious than learning about the changeling. She shuddered at the thought, but gathered herself. They had a task to do.

Mender must have escorted them to his home already, since they didn't run into him as they passed through the market on the way to Fluttershy's cottage. Curiously, most of the vendors had little left in their stalls, and Twilight briefly wondered what happened here. Applejack went up to Big Mac at the apple stand and asked what happened. When he told her what happened, she mumbled angrily about Mender wheeling a cart of food out from the market. 

The other ponies giggled at her frustration, Pinkie giggling louder than the others, which earned her a hard glare from Applejack. Pinkie continued to giggle anyway.

After they had all calmed down enough, they finally found their way to Fluttershy's cottage.

"Alright, Fluttershy, where's Discord?" Twilight asked.

Fluttershy took to the air and went to a spot in the sky above her cottage. Inexplicably, she made a knocking motion in the air, hitting what sounded like a wooden door.

"Discord, are you in there? I need to speak with you," she said.

A door opened up to a room that none of the ponies below could get a good view of. Discord flew out of the doorway, stopped, and went back in, shutting the door. Suddenly he materialized with the other ponies below near the cottage, Fluttershy eeping softly as she was somehow being held by him. He set her down next to her friends before addressing the group.

"Well hello, my little ponies!" Discord extended his arms outward in a showy fashion. "What do I owe the honor of your visit today?"

Twilight grumbled before responding. "Discord, we need to speak with you about the time you took over Equestria recently, when we sealed you away using the Elements of Harmony."

Discord poked his head out of her horn, earning a gasp from everypony but Twilight, who was visibly annoyed. "Aw, I thought that was in the past. Why can't you ponies seem to let go that? I apologized for that, you know."

"It's not about us, it's about another pony you caused trouble for. A new pony that moved into town about a month ago."

"Oh?" Discord had appeared in his full form in front of the ponies again. "Well, I did mess with many ponies across Equestria in that time, and it was so much fun! Oh, but I'm terrible with names. What did you say his name was?"

"Able Mender," Twilight said.

"One moment, please. We appreciate your patience as we process your request." Discord reached into the back of his head, and made a sound like opening a file cabinet to sift through its contents. A look of disappointment came on his face.

"Hmm...I'm seem to have run into trouble again. Do you know where he was living at the time I messed with all of you?"

"Fillydelphia," Twilight responded.

"Oh, goodness me, I'm in the wrong cabinet then!" He snapped his fingers, and a gigantic file cabinet showed up out of nowhere near the ponies.

"You ruined Fillydelphia that badly?!" Rarity exclaimed.

"On the contrary, my Rarity," Discord spoke as his head stuck out of her tail, "Fillydelphia was already a chaotic mess when I went there! Instead of doing anything, I just kept a record of how much chaos was there! Ha HA!"

Everypony blinked in shock. Mender was living in a chaotic down so crazy that Discord didn't bother with it? That thought sent shockwaves of concern through all of them. Applejack was so stunned by his answer she didn't know it was a lie.

Still, Twilight wasn't convinced. "Discord, are you sure you didn't meddle with anypony from Fillydelphia named Able Mender?"

Discord stroked his goatee, then began sifting through the giant file cabinet. "Well, I may have messed with a few ponies there that had a level head, more level than everypony there at least...aha!" He pulled out a file from the cabinet, and summoned a pair of oddly shaped reading glasses to his eyes. 

"Here we are. Able Mender. Retired medic, last I checked. Served for thirty years in Celestia's Army. Parents had died shortly after he entered service. Blames himself for being one of two survivors of his squadron in the Bleeding Hooves War that took place over the last five years of his service. Stricken by guilt due to the loss of his family in a house fire two years ago in Trotsdale. Spent a year living as a drunken transient before stopping at Fillydelphia. Lived there for a year before coming here. Tragic story, really." Discord had read all of this off like a doctor reading a patient's psychological profile.

It was unsettling to everypony. Rainbow Dash was on the verge of flying off, not intent on hearing any other details Discord wanted to share. Fluttershy was sitting down, a small tear sneaking out of her one visible eye. Pinkie's mane had gone straight and she had stopped bouncing, her colors darkening slightly. Applejack stood up firm, but couldn't hide that she was bothered by the description Discord gave. Rarity seemed the most composed, but she had flicked her mane over her eyes to hide them from the other ponies. Twilight's wings were tucked in tighter than usual, and bit her lip as she fumbled with her front hooves slightly.

Twilight was stunned he had such information on him, but her next question was blunt as she regained her composure. "Did you do anything to harm him?"

"Harm him? What more harm could I do when he was already punishing himself, Princess Sparkle?" Discord lowered his reading glasses as he spoke.

Applejack nodded when Twilight looked to her. Discord was telling the truth? Mender really had that bad of a life?

"What's the matter, Princess Sparkle? Did Mender not tell you about his sad little past?" Discord sneered.

Twilight's response was almost a mumble. "I...had planned on asking him, and he seemed fine with telling me about his past in the army...but this..."

"This is terrible," Fluttershy spoke up. "I...none of us had any idea about this."

At the sight of Fluttershy's tear rolling down her cheek, Discord softened and picked up Fluttershy, cradling her. "There there, my little pony. Not all lives are as happy and carefree as yours. Some lives are darker than others...some like Princess Celestia's. She puts on a brave face in front of everypony herself, and she can do so easily. Mender is much the same as her, in that regard."

All the ponies were still recovering from their sadness to catch the comment Discord made about Celestia. Twilight barely acknowledged it herself, but this was not the time to ask...and especially not to Discord. She made a mental note to ask Celestia herself later.

Breaking the moment, Discord dropped Fluttershy, who caught herself in the air before landing. He snapped his fingers and the file cabinet and reading glasses vanished. "Well, that's all for now, my ponies. I do believe your questions have all been answered, hm? After all, there is only so much truth you can learn before it hurts...isn't that right, Applejack?"

The question struck at Applejack's heart, and she looked down at her hooves, understanding the implications immediately. He had not meant it as a jab for what he did to twist her Element of Honesty, and she knew that. The other ponies took offense thinking otherwise, however.

"Hay, that wasn't fair!" Rainbow Dash yelled, getting into Discord's face. She was about to hit him-

"It's fine, y'all. He...he didn't mean it like that," Applejack interjected.

Discord wore a cocky grin as Dash retracted her extended hoof, huffing at him in frustration.

"Is that all, Princess Sparkle?"

Twilight thought for a moment, then spoke. "Yes, Discord. Thank you for your assistance."

Discord bowed, then vanished in an instant. Twilight felt a chill rush down her spine at that very moment he left, for when he did, his eyes opened and glinted slightly as he stared at her.
> Ch. 1-21: A Nightmare Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender's afternoon lunch with the Princesses went over well. They tried to have a normal conversation that stayed away from the assassin, instead talking about his army service, how Celestia's been ruling the country ever since Luna's return, little things like that. Celestia decided to avoid talking about his time in Fillydelphia as he seemed adamant on not talking about the town beyond what he had told them already.

Crunch, meanwhile, was happily resting under the table in the kitchen. Celestia and Luna had finally warmed up to the creature sitting at their hooves, though Celestia kept her reservations firm about her. Luna was more relaxed, even reaching down to pet the resting changeling.

The conversation then turned into one of merriment and laughter as Celestia decided to talk about Twilight and her friends. It was an interesting concept, those letters of friendship she had her student write to her. It seemed to strengthen her bonds with her friends, in addition to contributing to her magical abilities that eventually turned her into an alicorn as she was tasked with solving a magic spell that Starswirl the Bearded couldn't solve himself.

"Hah, that old coot couldn't figure out something in magic, the field he was pioneering? Hah, I guess even the great ones can hit a brick wall."

Mender ignored Young's comment, and tried to focus on the conversation instead. He was met with limited success as talking about Starswirl had led to them talking about magic theory for an hour. His head swirled with concepts he had trouble understanding, but Young was keeping pace with the Princesses.

It was around that time that they had asked about Mender's horn.

"My horn? Oh, you mean these two cracks?"

Celestia nodded. "Indeed, Mender. Luna and I have noticed it since we brought you into the Library, but we haven't had an appropriate time to ask about it until now."

"Understandable, Princesses. Well, as you no doubt remember, I served in your army for thirty years, if I recall. It was during that service that I got these cracks working as a medic."

Celestia narrowed her eyes, but still had a soft smile on her face. She knew what he had tried, and she decided to confront him head on. "You tried performing a resurrection spell, didn't you?"

Mender's eyes opened slightly, but his face didn't change. He wasn't that surprised that Celestia knew of the spell.

"Correct, Princess. I had used it to...try and save one of the ponies in my unit. A Stormbringer pony who...was a bit of a show-boater," Mender weakly chuckled.

Celestia paused for a moment before responding. "Do you remember his name?"

Mender groaned. "Humerus. He was always a joker and a prankster...but he was dependable. You needed something out of the way, he could do it while laughing merrily. Creeped out the other ponies in my unit sometimes, including myself, but he was a proud soldier."

Mender took a small breath before continuing, Luna and Celestia silent and listening. "He would always talk about his family back home, about how he was going to see his wife and their daughter when his service was over. He had learned their daughter had taken up stage magic lessons, wanting to be some fancy Magician. He...he was so proud of her. I could hear it from his heart how much he loved his family."

Celestia and Luna opened their eyes wide, knowing what Mender was going to say before the words left his mouth.

"It was one of the last battles of the Bleeding Hooves war. Our unit was tasked with taking out some heavily fortified bunker positions behind enemy lines. Artillery unicorns were hammering at the main force and tearing into the ranks below...the damn foal had one job. Just blow up the positions as the rest of the unit cleared them out."

"The plan was going smoothly until the fourth bunker position. Humerus decided to be bold and try to blow up that bunker before we had a chance to clear it out. Another Artillery pony saw him and unleashed their blast at the same time he did his, and they collided in the bunker."

Celestia shivered slightly. She knew what would happen when offensive magic of that caliber connected with another. Luna looked at her sister and saw her slightly shaking, and knew what Mender was about to say would cause her to shake as well.

"Princess Celestia, I don't think even you could replicate the explosion that happened afterwards. A third of our unit was outright reduced to ash by the blast. Everypony in that bunker was...decimated, a large hole now existing where the bunker would have been. The rest of us sustained heavy injuries, but nothing I couldn't fix at the time...except for one pony. One stupid, stupid pony."

Mender was caught in a flashback of his own as his mind took him to a time where bloodshed was common and the smell of decay never left his nostrils.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The smoke that rose from the explosion was ominous in shape. Mender swore he saw a skull in the cloud of magic residue hanging in the air.

Why did that idiot Humerus charge forward?! We had a plan, dammit, and it was working great so far! Why'd he have to play the hero?

Mender tried to stand, but his left front leg was broken. His horn glowed crimson as he snapped the bone loudly back into place, wincing as he healed the pain away for a moment. The rest of the wounds on him were superficial, and wouldn't hurt him, but he needed to get moving.

He started to survey the aftermath. By his count, not including the ponies cleared from the other bunkers, at least twenty ponies were dead. Six of them were from his unit. That foalish fool.

Mender kept cursing Humerus until a Shroud revealed herself in front of him. They removed their hood to reveal themself to be a peach-colored mare with a dark forest-green mane. Her eyes shone a deep emerald color.

"Mender, what happened?" she asked.

"Carol, it was Humerus. That idiot charged the fourth bunker before we had a chance to clear it out."

She paused. "Have you found him yet?"

"No, I haven't. He probably sent himself off to Tartarus for his foalishness."

Carol slapped him. Hard. "Mender! Find him! You know this idiot has saved our flanks for years now!"

"I know! I know...but he's still an idiot." Mender smirked weakly.

They both searched for Humerus again among the many bodies they found. A few more new ones came up. Some recognizable...some not. Mender's count of the lost ponies in his unit rose to ten after the search...and then he found him.

Humerus was more of a wreck than usual...but this time, things looked grim, even for him. The explosion sent him into some iron rebars that once held the exploded bunker firmly in place. A few bars pierced his legs, and two went through his chest. He coughed as Mender approached him.

"H-hey...Mender. Guess...guess I got carried away, huh?"

Mender fought an urge to punch him in the gut. All that would do was kill him. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

Mender's horn glowed as the lengths of rebar sticking out of him snapped, Humerus wincing in pain slightly every time one of the bars broke. Mender slowly tugged his body off the bars and tried to seal up the wounds, but something stopped him. Humerus.

"What are you doing, Humerus?! I'm trying to save you!"

Humerus tossed him aside. Some enemy ponies rose from the ashes, somehow having survived the explosion. Blood continued to leak from the holes the rebar left in his body as he charged his horn up with lightning, and struck the rising ponies, killing them. One shot missed against an enemy unicorn, who had charged their horn and released a cold blast towards Humerus that hit him square in the chest, just as Carol uncloaked and slit the unicorn's throat, felling them instantly.

The ice spear sticking out of Humerus shocked Mender. It was rare magic that he had only read about, as not many ponies could master it. This was the first time he had dealt with ice magic...and for the first time, he didn't know what to do.

Humerus's body was getting colder every second. Mender tried pulling the spear out, but to no avail as it had attached itself to him by freezing the blood around the entrance wound like a hard glue. He didn't know any fire magic, so melting it wasn't an option, and Carol didn't know it either.

Humerus was going to die, Mender thought. All Humerus could manage was coughing up blood now. Any words he spoke were barely whispers at this point as he lay on his side, the cold slowing his heart down at a frightening pace.

"Celestia dammit, Humerus! You could have let me heal you before shoving me out of the way! I could have-"

"No...you could...not..."

Mender couldn't say anything. What could he say? Somepony, one of the strongest and most faithful Stormbringers he knew was dying right there. He could do nothing. He...he...

He failed.

Mender crumpled into a heap, tears flowing from his eyes as Carol approached. She knew the moment that spear hit Humerus he was doomed, but seeing Mender like this...seeing so much of his unit die, the same unit he had kept running for years and years, despite all the crap he took...it hurt her.

"M-Mender? So...so cold..."

Mender looked up. Humerus's eyes were beginning to glass over now.

"Yeah...you idiot?"

"Find...my...daughter...my........family. Tell them-"

"I will, Humerus. I'll tell them you loved them with all your heart...that they were the last thing you thought of."

Humerus nodded, then became still.

Mender cried out in rage. His horn glowed furiously in a bright red light as a glow began to take over Humerus's recently deceased body.

"Mender?! What are you doing?!" Carol cried out.

"This Celestia forsaken idiot promised to see his family again! I won't let him die that easily!"

He focused more healing magic into his horn. Carol realized what Mender was trying to do, and tried to grab him.

"NO, Mender! You can't! It defies the life cycle! You KNOW that!"

Mender shoved her off. "I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!"

Mender's horn began to crack on both sides as the pressure built up in it. Mender was two seconds from finishing the spell...

---------------------------------------------------------------------

"...and I fainted. Everything went black before I could bring him back. I was out for a solid month in the field hospital, and when I woke up...these cracks were there. Humerus has long since been buried by the rest of our unit. I wasn't there for the little funeral service they set up two weeks in. I was infuriated...but Carol came to calm me down. I took three weeks in the field hospital before I could return to duty, though my magical abilities had...severely diminished. Had to start using my hooves to do some of the work like I did when I first started, and I was back on duty ever since..." Mender finished.

Luna and Celestia both had a tear in their eye. Celestia had received the report of that battle, and knew of the explosion Mender spoke of. Luna didn't but she could feel the pain in his words as he recalled that memory. That couldn't have been easy for him to recall.

Celestia recovered first, and spoke. "So...did you keep your promise to Humerus?"

Mender nodded. "I did, told his family about his passing...and I haven't heard from either of them until I left the service. When I did and found his wife back where he said she lived, she had told me their daughter had left to go and pursue her magician dreams on the road. I don't know where she is...but I want to find her. That's...that's not selfish, is it?"

"No Mender, it isn't." Luna spoke, finally recovering. "You want to find her and make things right. That's a noble thing, one that...we both respect."

Celestia simply nodded. Mender smiled and looked outside, noting that nightfall was coming. 

"Well, that's enough storytelling for me. Also...erm...Princesses, I do hope you have a place to stay here in Ponyville, if your business here isn't concluded. Only have one bed in here, and it's a single."

"Wow, hopping off a sad story like that and already trying to bed royalty on a guilt trip? You cad."

"Crack one more joke like that, and I'll crack your door into firewood."

Young was silent. Good.

The Princesses, meanwhile, sensed an internal conflict going on in Mender's head for a moment. Their eyes narrowed on the black band around Mender's horn for a moment before shaking it off. For some reason, they both giggled afterwards. 

"Alright, Mender. We'll let you enjoy your evening. As it turns out, we do have some business left to do here, right Lu?"

"Lu?" Mender asked. Celestia froze, and Mender grinned. "A little nickname for your sister, is it?"

Celestia blushed slightly, an emotion Mender thought he'd never see in his lifetime. He pumped his hoof under the table, and mentally checked off "Make Princess Celestia Blush" on his bucket list.

Luna was also flustered. "Uh...Tia, we should get going now."

"TIA? Did I get a twofer?" Mender smirked widely now. Luna froze, and she looked to her sister, then they both looked back at Mender.

Both Princesses sheepishly grinned, and fled out his door, not wanting to say another word to him.

"You're going to start calling them that for fun, aren't you?"

"Hah, you bet your ass I am. Sure beats using the Princess formality all the time."

"Aren't you the least bit worried that may get you killed by them?"

"Nope, I'm only that worried for my life the second your door is discovered."

"Eh, makes sense to me. Enjoy your name badgering."

Mender's grin couldn't be wider if he tried. "Make Princess Luna Blush" and "Make Both Princesses Blush" were checked off on his bucket list, and Mender laughed heartily.

Meanwhile, Knife Point was camping out in an apple tree, and saw two very flustered Princesses fleeing his home. 

"What in Tartarus did that stallion do to spook them?" 

Point suddenly felt fearful. If he could get the co-rulers of Equestria to flee his home like their tails were on fire...would he even live?

NO, Point thought. He couldn't be negative. He had a duel to win, and he was going to win it, no matter what.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Two streaks of white and blue light flew through the sky towards the local Ponyville Inn.

"Tia, do you get the feeling he's going to start calling us by our short names now?"

"If he does, we need to call him a short name back, Lu."

"Why not Mendy?" Pinkie interrupted, riding on some odd helicopter contraption made out of candy.

The Princesses didn't have to time to question it, as they both liked the name. They smirked at each other, and landed at the inn, leaving Pinkie behind.

"Aw, wish I got to go with," Pinkie whined as she lowered herself back to the ground.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the old gray house, Mender felt a small chill go down his spine, as if his short name idea would backfire in a way he wouldn't expect. He shrugged it off, nothing was going to stop him from using those short names now, despite any humiliation that may come.

He yawned. He heard a small yawn underneath him. Crunch was ready to sleep as well.

Mender cleaned up the dishes from the lunch they had. They had so much interesting conversation he didn't feel like eating dinner, so he climbed up and entered his bed. Crunch followed him up and curled up at the foot of the bed. Dear Tia...nah, not quite the same ring. Dear Celestia, this changeling was cute.

He felt his eyelids close as sleep came to whisk him away to a land of dreams...or so he thought.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender had woken up in his home. He yawned, and got out of bed. Crunch wasn't at the foot of the bed...but no matter. He was going to have a great day, and a quiet afternoon.

He didn't even feel like eating breakfast, so he decided to take a seat in the old rocking chair outside.

Just as he sat down, he began to fall. The world he saw vanished in an instant, and nothing but black darkness spread out before him.

Then visions came. Visions came of...him, doing things he would never foresee himself doing.

Applejack was hung on one of her own trees with a lasso around her neck. He was pulling the rope tight.

Twilight would be found bloody and beaten to death under a pile of books, him holding a bloody one that looked like a diary.

Fluttershy would be eating rabbit stew he cooked for her, and force-fed her it against her will.

Pinkie Pie would be cut up like a skinned pony, used for the latest batch of cupcakes he would serve the town.

Rainbow Dash would struggle against a net that Mender was magically binding her in, her bones crunching as it constricted her further.

Rarity would have a dress sewn INTO her, an outfit she could never remove without tearing off her skin.

All of these visions haunted him, while a laugh cackled in the background. It was a laugh Mender recognized.

"DISCORD!"

The visions shattered in an instant, and reformed into the draconnequs.

"Able Mender. So good to see you again." His voice was sinister.

"What do you want? Haven't you tortured me enough?" Mender asked.

"Torture? No, that little stunt was just something to get your attention. You DID become friends with them after all, right?"

"So what if I have?"

"Well, they all came up to me yesterday. Showed some concern for you, you know. Can't imagine why, since after I told them about your sad, sad little life story, they shed tears for you, even though they barely know you. Sometimes I don't get how emotional you ponies can be," Discord huffed.

Mender blinked. Discord told them about his life.

"...how much did you tell them?"

"Enough so that they'd stop asking me about you. They seem to think I hurt you." Discord grinned.

"You DID hurt me, Discord!" Mender snarled.

Discord chuckled. "Did I? Think carefully, Mender, for I did nothing of the sort."

Mender tried to think...but he couldn't. He couldn't even remember if Discord HAD hurt him...but it felt like a gut instinct.

He had to push that instinct away. "...so if you didn't hurt me, what made them think they did?"

"Luna seems to think she heard me laugh after she left your dream, Mender. I have no idea what she's talking about."

Mender thought back to that night. He didn't remember hearing any laughter. Was Luna hearing things?

"I think she was." Discord said, seemingly hearing Mender's thoughts.

"Don't do that. That's creepy."

"Fine...spoilsport." He crossed his arms and looked disappointed.

"So...why did you pull me in here?"

"Well...I came to make a deal with you."

"A deal?" Mender didn't like this one bit.

"I know you don't trust me, but hear me out, hm?"

Mender remained silent. Discord grinned and spoke.

"You're having trouble with that little dream again, aren't you? The one where your family burns, and you fail to rescue them?" He sneered.

"...it has been coming back, but get to the point."

"I can make it go away, Mender. Make it so that it stops haunting you." Discord had appeared close, holding him with his lion's paw.

Mender backed off. "No way. I know there's a catch, Discord. There's always a catch with you."

Discord laughed. his talon hand flashed with a catcher's mitt now covering it. "Oh Mender, you know me too well. Fine, there is a little catch...and because I'm a good little sport, I'll tell you what the catch is."

Discord threw a baseball at Mender, which stopped just in front of his face and turned into Discord's head, his body still in the background with the catcher's mitt.

"The catch is this: Sometime in the future, you will visit Canterlot to look for an item."

Mender froze. He had an idea of what Discord was referring to.

"You simply bring that item to me, and your nightmare about you failing to save your burning family will disappear forever."

"No." Mender's response was immediate. Discord didn't even look the slightest bit annoyed.

"Very well, Mender. My offer still stands all the way up until you get that item. I can remove the nightmare earlier, though, but you must promise me to give me that item first."

"I said no, dammit!"

Discord snorted. "Very well Mender, in that case..."

Discord snapped his fingers, and Mender found himself on the cobblestone road in a wilting forest. Ash filled the air as heat came down from one end of the road. Mender found himself running down the road, leaving Discord behind. Discord grinned, and said just two more words.

"Pleasant dreams."
> Ch. 1-22: A Daring Duel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender had woken up in a cold sweat. That horrible, horrible dream had taken him again. This time he was too late, the house had caved in on itself before he even had the chance to enter.

Damn Discord and his meddling, Mender thought. If he hadn't distracted him, then the house would still be standing, and he'd have a chance.

But...every time he has that dream, he can feel his grip on reality slipping every time he wakes up. Maybe...maybe Discord's offer didn't sound that terrible after all.

NO! You're kidding yourself, Mender. Discord's catch was huge. He somehow knows about the journal belonging to Old Mindly...the one Young wants in exchange for Celle. Mender had promised that he would give him the book...but how much use would he have for a blade right now as opposed to ending his everlasting nightmare?

Mender's eyes shot open and he rose from the bed. The duel was today, and he wasn't even the slightest bit physically or mentally prepared for it. He went to the circular broken window and noted the position of the sun. It wasn't high in the sky, could be somewhere between nine or ten in the morning. He would have a few hours to prepare.

Mender couldn't afford to waste any time as he began his preparations for the duel within his home.

---------------------------------- Not far away from Mender's home --------------------------------------

The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat in a field, brainstorming their next task to hunt for their cutie marks.

"Knitting?" Sweetie Belle asked. The other fillies shook their heads.

A pause. "Lumberjacks?" Apple Bloom asked. Again the other fillies shook their heads.

An even longer pause...and then Scootaloo's eyes beamed open wide.

"Archers?"

Both fillies looked at Scootaloo, then grinned mischeviously. Archery it was. All the fillies ran off in separate directions. Apple Bloom went to fetch some hay and branches from the farm to start making targets. Sweetie Belle would go get some cloth from the Boutique to hold the targets together, and Scootaloo went to the playground to go find anything that looked like a bow Mender had described when he told the ponies about the weapons and armor ponies wore at that time.

------------------------------------ Ponyville Hotel ---------------------------------

Luna had woken from her rest in one of the two beds in a suite room reserved specifically for her and her sister. Celestia was still resting, having had to stay up later to raise the sun after Luna had lowered the moon.

Luna began grooming herself when Celestia had woken up. She was slightly tired, but they couldn't afford to get any more rest. 

They had their own task to fulfill today, and had gotten a fair layout of the house, safe for Mender's basement. 

They would make sure Mender wouldn't die today. They both got themselves ready quickly and flew off the balcony towards Mender's home, horns glowing as they prepared the illusion spell. They would land in Sweet Apple Acres, not far from the house so as to minimize strain in holding up the spell. 

Everything was planned. Everything was set.

-------------------------------- A Tree near Mender's Home -------------------------------

Knife Point had woken himself up with a yawn. He stretched back too far on the branch he was resting on, as it snapped and sent him tumbling down to the ground. Point had angled his wings enough to catch what little air there was to land on his hooves instead of a crumpled heap. He was ready. 

Today was the day he was going to finally kill that Medic which had eluded death for so long. Point grinned as the sun began to rise up to its midpoint. Afternoon had come. It was time.

Point approached Mender's house carefully. That stallion knew how to be a sneaky bastard of a pony, and Point wasn't going to take any chances this time, especially from a pony who managed to scare off two alicorns. He opened the door slowly, and noted that Mender was nowhere to be seen. Did he really skip out on this duel? The thought of it had made him angry.

He then heard the sound of running water from behind the stairs, and...whistling? Point observed the room and found a suitable hiding spot in a high corner near the bathroom entrance. He flew up there and looked below, waiting for something to change.

Mender opened the door, and Point saw him walk out the bathroom, still whistling as he made his way to the kitchen. Point noted that he didn't seem to be carrying any weapons. Was he playing him for a fool, or was he that stupid?

Point stayed to the roof, silently flapping his wings to stay out of sight of Mender. He had made his way to the knife block, and selected a chef's knife. Point grinned. He was ready to strike, as Mender was not defenseless now.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

An arrow smashed a kitchen window as Mender pulled the chef's knife from the knife block. He instinctively ducked his head down as the arrow stuck itself into a cabinet door.

At that instant, he turned his head to see Point trying to stab him with a black kunai dagger. He instinctively rolled out of the way and rounded himself to place the kitchen table between him and his assailant. Both held their knives out pointing at each other as they circled the table.

"Point."

"Mender."

"Ooh, is it time for the fight? I just finished making popcorn."

"Now's not a great time to be interrupting me, Young."

"Tried to get me with an arrow with a leaping stab as a back-up plan? That was a nice touch, Point."

Point was irritated. "That arrow wasn't mine!"

Mender turned his head. "It wasn't?"

"SORRY!"

The voice came from outside, and both ponies turned their heads to the sound. Scootaloo was a ways away from the home, running up a hill...and was she holding a bow?

"We're trying to be Archers, Mender! One of our arrows went rogue!" spoke another filly, this time Sweetie Belle.

"We're really sorry, Mender!" Apple Bloom added.

Point was baffled. What in the world were those fillies doing using bows?!

Mender sighed. "It's alright, you three! Just try not to aim at my house next time, okay?"

"OKAY!" They all ran down the hill again. Mender turned back to Point, who had an incredulous look on his face.

"Are those fillies insane?" he asked.

"No," Mender replied, "they're Crusaders."

Point was still stunned, and Mender took his chance. He leaped over the table and swung at Point. He failed as Point managed to just barely back off in time, the blade less than an inch from his nose at mid-swing.

Mender had followed up with a few more swings, each one dodged by Point. Then Mender made a swing that was too wide, and Point's eyes glinted. Point ducked and stabbed his kunai forward in a solid, swift counter.

Mender noticed this and lifted his left side up on his right legs, dodging the knife as it scraped by his belly, drawing a slight bit of blood. Despite the imbalance, he jumped back to right himself as Point began to string together his own attacks. Mender had to back off from the flurry of swings. Blocking them was an option, but Point was adept at turning a blocked strike to his advantage, and Mender decided he'd rather not be cut into ribbons trying to block any of that.

His attacks felt...different though. Mender could sense that Point's swings and stabs were...less accurate than they should be. Those that should have missed by an inch missed by three, stabs would fall shorter than usual. Was Point deliberately toying with him?

This was not the case. Point was beginning to become labored from the relentless assault. The fight had become one-sided by that time, and Mender knew it. Point wasn't going to kill him at this rate. Mender even took a small bit of time to survey his surroundings, looking bored...then he noticed the air flickering around him.

Point's attacks were a force to be reckoned with, but they weren't nearly strong enough to affect the air in his house like this. There wasn't even any wind today...so why was the air so disturbed?

A few seconds of thought later, and Mender's eyes shot open in realization.

"STOP!"

Mender's shout was enough to catch Point off-guard. He stepped back and breathed heavily.

"Suh...stop?" Point asked.

"I need two minutes to take care of something. You're not going to kill me like this," Mender stated as a matter-of-fact.

Point became irritated. "Why not?!"

Mender sighed. "Just give me two minutes, and I'll set things even."

"Why should I?"

"Point, you trusted me enough to stage this duel in my home, and I obliged you. Can you at least oblige me a bit of time while I even the playing field?"

Point bit his lip in consideration. He didn't understand what Mender meant by it, but he was having a hard time hitting him at all. He nodded. "Fine, but you better not take long."

Mender nodded, and stuck the chef knife in the front door frame as he stepped onto the porch. As soon as he did, the air flickered around him less, and he knew what was going on.

It was an illusion spell. Not only that, but it was a very powerful illusion spell, one that was created to make combat easier for other ponies by deliberately messing with the senses of other ponies in the area where the fight took place. It wasn't a foolproof spell, but it would always turn the fight in favor of the one getting assisted.

Mender knew all of this thanks to the Shroud in his unit. Dear Celestia, he was thankful for her teaching him about these illusion spells. However, he wasn't skilled enough to detect the pony (or ponies) responsible for putting up the illusion field. Therefore, he tried a much more...primitive tactic.

"TO WHOEVER IS CASTING THE ILLUSION SPELL, KNOCK THAT CRAP OFF RIGHT NOW!"

Hidden within the grove of apple trees beyond the fence, two alicorn Princesses stood with mouths agape and disbelieving eyes. How in Equestria did Mender know about the illusion spell?!

Celestia was the first to shake off her daze. She turned to her sister, forcing a weak smile.

"Well Lu, I guess we've been caught."

Her words shook Luna out of her stupor, and she turned to face her sister, matching the weak smile at her with her own.

"I guess so, Tia."

They ran over the options of trying to keep the spell up, or even altering it, but if Mender knew of the spell, he'd still notice if it was up. 

Both conceded that removing the barrier was the only option, then. Their horns stopped glowing, and the illusion field dissipated.

Mender noticed as the air stopped flickering, and smiled. He turned to reenter the home, but before he did, he shouted a warning to those responsible.

"IF THIS FIELD COMES UP AGAIN, I WILL FIND YOU! AND I WILL KICK YOUR ASS!"

Mender entered the doorway and removed the chef knife from the frame, completely unaware that two alicorns were on their backs, laughing almost in a hysterical manner. Oh, if Mender only knew who he had just threatened! 

As their laughter subsided, both of the princesses wore a sheepish grin. Now they definitely had something to hang over his head after this.

Meanwhile, Mender spoke, unaware of where Point was as he talked. "Alright Point, fun's over. Time to fi-"

A knife had flown by his cheek as he dodged just in time. He didn't dodge the follow-up punch from Point that sent him flying into the kitchen. He lost his knife mid-flight as it sailed out the window, and crashed into the dining table, breaking it in two.

Point's grin couldn't be wider. "I agree, playtime's over."

Mender had looked up to Point, and spoke as he rose from the splintered remains of his table. "Now THIS is the fight we've been looking for!"

Before Point could pull out another kunai knife, Mender charged forward and tackled Point back into the hallway, sending him to his back. Mender followed up with two solid punches to Point's face before he was bucked off into the living room. He landed nimbly on his hooves and spun around.

He had to roll further back into the room as two kunai landed where he just stood, and Point was preparing more to throw at him. Thinking fast, Mender ducked behind a chair as another kunai embedded into the wall behind him, and held the chair up as a makeshift shield.

Point had launched three more knives into the chair, each penetrating the wood enough to have small tips come out on Mender's side. As he flung the third kunai, Point dashed forward and pushed the chair against Mender, intent on driving the knives through him.

Mender held his own against the force Point was putting up, and tried to shove back. However, Point had a different strategy. He drew a hoof back and punched one of the kunai through the chair with enough force to get it flying again, forcing Mender to jump to avoid the knife. 

Point's eyes glinted. Big mistake, Mender.

Point flew up and grappled Mender mid-air and directed his wings downward, intent on using Mender's momentum to propel him into a seismic slam. He had strongly gripped Mender's front hooves to his chest, intent on seeing this move through to the finish.

Mender countered by angling his horn towards Point's neck. If the impact landed this way, his horn would go clean through on impact. Point noticed and drew his head back, loosening his grip slightly. Mender took his chance and quickly punched Point in the chest.

The sudden loss of air forced Point to lose his grip, and Mender shifted his weight just in time for Point to take the full impact directly onto his back. The living room floor creaked and groaned as the ponies collided with it. Mender heard cracks as Point's wings took the majority of the damage from the fall. He was crippled now, and Mender had a very good chance of winning. He smiled briefly as he looked down at Point.

This was met with a punch to the face that sent him off of Point, and before he could fully recover, Point had smashed a glass vial of powder on the floor, caking the area in gray dust.

Mender tried to back out of the cloud of dust, but it was too late. His vision was heavily obscured by the cloud.

Then a voice cut through the cloud. Point was in his element here, and he knew it.

"That...was a solid hit, Mender. Ruined my wings with that reversal...but now..." Point spoke as he punched Mender in his left eye, "...it's MY turn."

The next few moments were but a blur to Mender. In this thick cloud, he couldn't see any hits coming, much less defend against them. Point was striking him in the face, neck, chest, flank, forelegs, hindlegs...everywhere. If he didn't know better, he would guess five ponies were beating the crap out of him right now.

An uppercut from Point finally sent Mender out of the cloud and back towards the front door. Mender was badly beaten and bruised from the assault, his face a swollen mess and his chest battered and black. Freshly healed ribs were now injured once again, and he briefly imagined somepony in that hospital giving him grief over it...if he lived long enough to see her again.

Point emerged from the cloud and looked upon his victim. Finally, after over a year of trying, 57 miserable failures against this troublesome pony, he would finally claim his long-delayed victory.

Point pulled out a kunai, but this one was wrapped with a red cloth around it hanging loosely. This knife was special. Point had used it before as his killing knife for all of his victims. It had long been delayed Mender's blood, and there was nothing stopping him from slitting his throat and letting his blade taste the red fountain that would come from the wound.

Point had taken the knife to Mender's neck. Feeling generous now that the duel was his, he deigned to give Mender a few final moments.

"Any last words, Mender?"

"Just...just two," Mender spoke, blood leaking from his mouth. The knife against his neck began to cut.

"Crunch...bite."

A black blur had tackled Point off of Mender. The knife miraculously had not cut further than it did already, as Point had let go of it from the tackle he received.

Point was screaming in pain. Crunch had latched onto his flank, the fangs sinking deep into his body and drawing blood easily. Point had tried to buck whatever was biting him, but he was failing. Crunch had bitten too deep into him and would not let go so easily from one who would dare hurt his master like this.

Mender by this time had rose from the floor, taking small breaths so as to preserve what little strength he had left as he observed the scene. He had told Crunch to wait until this moment, when Point would be completely off-guard. His pet protested the idea strongly, but Mender had somehow convinced him this was the best option to take...and by the looks of things, Mender was right.

Point was wasting energy trying to get Crunch off of him as he continued to buck and flail about. He tried to refocus his assault on Mender when he realized this thing wasn't going to let go of him when he looked and saw a long, slender black rapier pointed toward his face, and froze immediately.

Mender was holding the blade in his hoof. Point was certain he didn't see a weapon like this when he entered...so where did it come from?!

He didn't have time to think past that as Mender brought the tip of the rapier to his neck and looked at him with cold eyes. The eyes of a killer. Mender spoke a few words to him while he was at his mercy.

"There's something you've yet to learn, Point. Something that has you failing time and time again, like right now."

"And what...what's that?" Point replied, careful to keep the tip of the rapier from driving into him as he spoke.

"If during battle you have time to boast, you'll be dead before you finish, at most," Mender responded in a Zebrican rhyme.

An image flashed by in Point's eyes of him being skewered by Mender's blade at that moment.

Instead, Mender looked back to Crunch, who then bit harder again and caused Point to rear up in pain. Mender brought the rapier down off to the side, and to the ground. He smashed his elbow into Point's neck, and Point's eyes rolled into the back of his head as the blow knocked him out instantly.

The duel was over, and Crunch had finally let go of Point. Mender had won...but barely.

It was at this point his injuries decided to remind him how close to near-death he was, and he collapsed from the sudden rush of pain throughout his body.

Crunch noticed immediately and started to lick Mender's face clean of all of his dried blood. Mender weakly smiled at his pet's efforts as he allowed himself a moment to rest.

As he closed his eyes, he heard two sets of hooves climb up on his porch. He was still conscious...and recognized the sounds of the steps as they reached the front door. The state of his body prevented him from looking back to acknowledge the two who entered his home. It was time to use those names.

"Tia, Lu...so glad you two could make it for the clean-up."

Mender then coughed a few times before he allowed himself to slip into a small nap right there on the floor.
> Ch. 1-23: Negotiations and Demands
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender could feel a warm glow encasing his body as he was slowly lifted from the air. The warmth turned into searing heat for brief moments as the wounds on his body from the beating began to heal at a rapid rate, far outpacing his healing methods by all standards. It hurt like he was being scorched with fires from Tartarus, but when the pain receded, he felt nothing wrong with him.

Mender touched the ground when the healing was finished and looked himself over. Not a single scratch was on his body, although his horn was still cracked. He finally turned around to see Celestia and Luna standing in the doorway, with concerned looks on their faces.

Mender became concerned as well. "Uh...you two didn't heal me, did you?"

Celestia shook her head. "No, Mender. We were going to, but somepony got to you first."

Mender was confused. "Wha-...but, but who?"

"Yoohoo!"

"Wait, that was YOU?"

"I learned a lot of things beyond this door, Mender. Even advanced healing magic. I've got a short range from my door beyond which I can cast magic, with the exception of teleportation spells, of course."

Mender had to hide a look of anger from the Princesses in front of him.

"...and you decided to bring this up NOW, instead of during the fight?!"

"Two things. One, in case you didn't notice, that healing magic leaves you suspended in the air while your wounds are healed. Not exactly ideal to use in the middle of a fight. Second...it sounded like you had things under control."

The Princesses still stood and watched Mender in silent contemplation. Their perceiving eyes noted that he kept glancing up toward his horn in thought.

Mender noticed, and wore a sheepish grin. "Well, I'm fixed up due to some generous pony's deeds, and my adversary is disabled. A happy day for all, with no mysteries left to solve!"

Celestia's gaze hardened. "Aren't you the least bit concerned as to who healed you, Mender?!"

"Frankly, I'm more concerned for Cuts McShank on the floor over there." Mender went and lifted Point's limp body onto his back, startling the Princesses.

Luna spoke first. "Mender, what are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing? This idiot's hurt, and needs medical attention. Both of his wings are broken and my elbow to his neck didn't do him any favors."

Celestia was outraged now. "Mender, he tried to KILL you!"

At this point Mender was getting annoyed. "Yep, and right now I'm trying to save him. I'm sure you two have plenty of questions for him, but he's in no state to answer them. He needs treatment in a proper facility, and that's not here in my house. It's at Ponyville Medical. Unless you two have any further questions, I need to get moving."

Both Princesses did not budge as Mender approached the door. Celestia spoke again, less in an angry tone and more one of concern.

"Mender...why are you saving him then?"

His answer was firm. "It's the duty of a medic to save lives, Princess. Nothing more, nothing less."

Both were stunned. They had not met a pony with such resolve to commit to their duty since Shining Armor. It warmed their cold hearts to see such dedication, and an idea struck Celestia.

"In that case, Mender, we can heal him here."

"Yeah, no. I don't want this house to get more wrecked than it is right now, thank you."

"Then I will restrain him while he is healed," Luna added.

"I see two problems with that. First, I'd rather not turn my home into a personal clinic for dangerous ponies with the intent to kill. This place has a bad enough reputation as is looking like a haunted house right now. Second, I would feel MUCH more comfortable if I put him in a place where I know he won't kill me or anypony else, which is a hospital. I'm sure you two remember I mentioned this, correct? I won't deny that you two healing him is a good idea to get him up and moving, but I'd rather it take place there instead of here."

The Princesses thought for a moment and nodded in agreement with his plan. They finally yielded and let Mender through, but they followed close behind the medic and his would-be killer as the group traveled to Ponyville Medical.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The look on Redheart's face was a mixture of relief and disbelief as Mender walked in through the front doors carrying an injured pony on his back, the two Princesses following closely behind.

"Mender, what happened?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing. This pony just tried to kill me, is all."

Her look of shock had him chuckle a bit. "Don't worry, Nurse Redheart. This pony's been after my heart for years...though that's more in the terms of wanting to stab a knife through it as opposed to-"

"Enough, Mender. We have work to do," Celestia sternly reminded.

"Yeah yeah, Tia, I know," Mender said as he cast a glance back toward the slightly irritated Princess. "Nurse, prepare a stretcher with some heavy-duty restraints. When he wakes up, he'll be fidgety, and not in a nice way."

Redheart's look of shock finally faded as she ran into the hallway to get the stretcher Mender requested. They waited just a few moments before she tore around the corner with a stretcher that had three thick leather straps across the middle. 

Mender set Point down onto the stretcher on his side carefully so his wings wouldn't further be bent out of shape. He secured two of the straps to his chest, saving the last for when the wings were healed so the third strap would bind them as well.

He then wheeled Point into a nearby empty operating room, with enough space to hold him, Point, the Princesses, and Redheart on standby as she prepared a sedative in case the patient would get too unruly. Mender smiled at this, he didn't need to ask her to do that. He was going to, but was rather surprised at her preparation as if she had done this before.

He didn't bother to think further on it, however. Point needed help, and it was time he received it.

"Alright, Princesses. The patient is ready. Go ahead and do your thing."

A part of Mender hated that he wasn't working on Point himself, but he reminded himself that Point would probably just hate him further if he did.

Both Princesses stood near the assassin's unconscious body, their horns glowing yellow and dark blue as they prepared the same healing spell Mender had received from Young. Due to the straps, Point couldn't levitate like he did, but the wounds he received reversed upon his body, starting with the wings. As soon as both wings were restored, Mender hopped in and wrapped the strap tightly around them, securing them to Point's body. He then backed off to let Luna and Celestia finish the healing spell.

It took mere seconds before it was finished. Point's breathing became stable, and he was now peacefully resting. The Princesses' horns stopped glowing as they completed the spell at last.

"Is he healed?" Mender asked. Both Princesses nodded.

"Alright, time to wake him up." Mender dropped a hoof onto Point's head, waking him up immediately.

"OW! What the-YOU!" Point began to struggle, but Mender had tied the leather straps down hard. Point wasn't going anywhere.

"Easy there, Knife Point. You're in a hospital AND in the presence of some very powerful royalty...and a nice nurse with a sedative in hoof." Mender had gestured to Luna, Celestia, and Nurse Redheart as he spoke, Point's gaze following his hoof.

Point calmed down as soon as he saw the sedative. He recognized the color, for he had used that sedative a few times before for some of his assignments. That stuff could knock out a full-grown dragon in minutes.

"Hmph. Thought all of this out, did you? Even that little snake thing of yours?" Point barked, remembering the thing that had bit him just moments before.

"It's not a snake, for one. It's a changeling." Point's eyes widened at that word, and Mender grinned. "Yep, I'm quite the animal tamer. Second, I did think most of this out, but it was the Princesses' idea to have you healed in a speedy manner so as for us to have this nice conversation."

"How thoughtful. Thank you very little, Princesses," Point spat.

Both Princesses gave Point a hard glare, and he simply glared back. "Oh, don't think I fear you two for a moment. I've killed an alicorn, you know. Very difficult, though not impossible." An evil smile crept across Point's face.

"And yet now you are at our mercy, assassin," Celestia harshly reminded him.

"We could end thee in an instant, foal!" Luna added in her Royal tone.

This did nothing to break Point. "But you won't do so. You have questions. Questions that you think I have the answers to. Answers that I may or may not have. However, I most certainly won't be sharing such answers with you!"

Both Princesses bared their teeth, but Mender stepped in front of both and asked Point an odd question. "Say, remember how you and I first met?"

This caught everypony off guard as they all stared at Mender, wondering what he was doing. Point was shaken the most, however. "O-Of course I do! Why in the world are you bringing this up now?!"

"Do you remember how much I humiliated you that day? I wonder if that powerful little ego of yours will stand up as strong if I told them about your...ahem, 'mishaps' during your first attempt to kill me."

"You...you wouldn't dare!" Point was visibly shaken, his wingtips quivering slightly despite the straps holding his wings down.

Celestia and Luna looked to Mender with amused looks on their faces.

"Oh, do tell, Mender. What has this assassin done that's gotten him so ruffled in his feathers?" Celestia asked.

"Indeed, we are quite curious," Luna added.

"Well, if I remember right, it was-"

"STOP! I...I'll..."

"You'll what, Point?" Mender asked, holding a wicked grin.

"...a deal. I will answer...three questions, but no more."

"Five," Mender said.

"Three," Point retorted.

"Five!"

"Three!"

"FIVE!"

"THREE!"

"THREE!" Mender yelled.

"FIVE!" Point responded.

"DEAL!"

"FINE, FIVE IT I-...dammit!" Point screamed in frustration.

Mender merely grinned. Both Princesses chuckled, and Redheart, who was silent during this whole exchange, had to hold a hoof to her mouth to hide her smile.

"Did you seriously just do that?"

"Sometimes it's the silliest things that are the most effective at getting a task completed."

Over in Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie Pie smiled wider than usual at that instant, and for some inexplicable reason she knew why.

"So, five questions then. I've done my part, Princesses. Fire away," Mender said, Point grimacing at how easily he was tricked.

Celestia began with her first question. "Are you a member of the Luminus?"

Everypony was confused but Point, who wore a small grin at the question. "Indeed I am, Princess Celestia. There goes your first question."

Celestia took a step back. She did not expect Point to be so brazen with his answer.

Mender spoke up afterward. "Luminus?"

Before Point could speak up and try to get the second question done, Celestia spoke first. "It's a group that's been after my throne for a little over three centuries now. This is not the time to discuss this, so I'll explain it later."

"Four and a half centuries," Point corrected.

Mender huffed. "I didn't ask that question to you, Point."

"No, but I do hate when ponies have the wrong details. That was a freebie. Next question, please."

Luna stepped forward next. "Why have you been after Mender's life for over a year now?"

"In addition to the incident Mender mentioned earlier, I was hired by somepony to kill him. That's all I have to say until you ask me to clarify, and that is another question," Point smirked.

Luna scowled, but stepped back.

Mender stepped forward and asked an odd question. "What is your favorite color?"

Point blinked at Mender for a moment, unsure if that question was serious. He answered anyway. "Crimson."

Both Princesses glared daggers at Mender. He meekly responded, "What? I think it's better than what Lu asked."

"Silence, Mendy," Luna quipped.

Mender took a step back, his eyes shrinking in an instant. "Where did you learn that name?"

"Pinkie came by on a candy helicopter and told us about it."

Mender rolled his eyes. Of course it was Pinkie. Damn, now he'd have to be careful about using their short names mockingly. He still hated being called Mendy.

Celestia grinned, but stepped forward to ask the fourth question. "Do you intend to harm Mender now, even though he has saved your life?"

"He did what?" Point was genuinely shocked.

Mender was shocked too, until he saw a glint in Celestia's eye. He then knew what she was trying to do for him.

"Yep, you tried to kill me, and I saved your sorry flank. Problem?"

"There's a BIG problem. Why in Equestria did you save me?!"

"It's what medics always do, Point. I thought you knew that by now."

"Well, sure, but..." Point was very uncertain as to how to proceed. Mender saved him? He had all the difficulty in the world trying to process this fact.

Celestia was unfazed. "You have yet to answer my question, Point."

Point looked to be having an internal conflict with himself. A medic who he had tried to kill just under sixty times had saved him for no discernible reason behind him just doing his job. What was his angle?

Point then did something that shocked everypony in the room.

"I...will not kill him for some time. Not until I figure out the REAL reason why he has saved me. I don't buy his hogwash for a minute, so as soon as I learn the truth, he's dead."

"Oh goodie, that means I get to troll you mercilessly with a list of bullcrap reasons why I saved you without ever telling you the real reason. You just locked yourself into a bad situation there, Point." Mender grinned widely at this revelation. Point simply scowled.

"Laugh all you like, Mender, but I WILL learn the reason why. Now then, the last question. Most of your questions have been a waste of time with simple answers and such, so make this a good one."

Mender stepped forward, the smile vanishing from his face as he asked a final question.

"Who hired you to kill me?"

Point cursed himself for his last words. This question he couldn't answer as easily.

"I...don't know. An unknown benefactor managed to send a letter to our group, containing a large sum of bits and a single name on it that they wanted eliminated. Yours. The Luminus had sent me to kill you, as we don't refuse contracts with enough money behind them. Clearly we all know how well that went."

"Has this benefactor contacted you after any of your attempts on my life?" Mender asked, his expressionless face betraying the concern that more assassins may now be after his life besides this one.

"Ah-ah-ah. That question I refuse to answer. You used them all up, foalish pony!" Point grinned.

Both Princesses then glared at Mender, remembering his question about the color Point liked. He shrugged in response to their glares.

"Welp, Q&A's over then. Enjoy your rest, Point. I imagine you'll need to stay and get used to your wings again."

Point scowled. "Just you wait, Mender! Once I'm out of these straps, I'll beat you to within an inch of your life until I learn why you saved me!"

"But you won't kill me, and that's enough to make me happy for a month," Mender smiled. 

Point began to thrash against his bindings, but Nurse Redheart came in to inject the sedative before he could harm himself. The slack-jawed face Point made as soon as the sedative hit earned a fit of giggles from everypony except Mender, who laughed at the scene.

"Right, he'll be out for a few hours. Get him a room, Nurse. I think the Princesses and I have a few final things to discuss."

Redheart nodded, and wheeled the sedated Point out of the room. As soon as she did, the mood of the room turned serious.

Celestia spoke first. "Now that this assassin's been dealt with, I have a question for you, Mender. You shrugged it off back at your home, but now I must ask. You know who or what healed you, correct?"

"...I do, and I understand your concerns regarding it. Rest assured, what healed me is no more a threat to this town than my reformed pet changeling. I cannot reveal any further details at this time."

"Even if I ordered you to tell us?" Celestia bluntly asked, her eyes narrowed.

"He will not."

Mender's eyes glowed a bright white, and the black band around his horn vibrating violently. A voice that was not his own resonated throughout the room, with the presence and delivery befitting a hundred kings. This startled both princesses immediately, their coats bristling at the sound of the voice.

The magic radiating off of his body was thick, pulsing with power that the Princesses had not felt since the time of Discord's reign. It was choking and congestive, and both of them had to use most of their inert magic to even stand in the presence of such magical outbursts.

"Princesses, thou shalt cease this line of questioning at once."

"Who art thou?" Luna boomed, trying to match the overbearing tone with her own. She failed miserably.

"Irrelevant. Instead, I give thee warning to thine future endeavors."

Celestia was shaking, but stood her ground. "What...what warning do you have for us?"

The unknown voice laughed and coughed, then began to speak in a sing-song tune.

"Three threats of past encounters shall rise again in rebellion. 
For each of these, I request of thee, to include this stallion.
The first is a queen scorned, her desire to steal love from thee.
The second, draconnequs reborn, chaos his mastery.
The third is I, the last test, beyond the door of mystery.
Conquer them all, and this stallion shall ascend to victory.
If you do not, your kingdom and its loyal subjects shall fall.
Ponykind will no longer exist, and darkness will rule all."

As soon as the rhyme had finished, Mender collapsed and fell unconscious on the cold floor of the operating room. Both Princesses merely stood there, processing what just happened before them in silence.
> Intermission
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hiya folks! Old Man here.

This here's a little break section I'm taking to answer any burning questions the readers have as I wind down for a spell and clear my head for the next story arc. Pretty straightforward, isn't it?

Also, to assist me in answering such questions, I've decided to pull Mender out for a bit to help me if for some reason I'm not the appropriate one to answer. Say hi, Mender!

"I hate you so much."

Wonderful, that means we're ready to get started! Now then let's just see how many questions I've got here...

"You have one."

One question?

...Just one?

"Yep."

No questions about the blatant loose threads I've left hanging? Nothing about Discord, the prophecy...anything?

"I guess these folk trust you enough to resolve all those loose threads when it's time. This is for more immediate loose threads, remember?"

*sigh*...I guess you're right. What's the one question, then?

"It's about Redheart not saying anything after learning about my pet changeling as the Princesses and I interrogated Point."

OH! Well, that's an easy one.

"Well then, do explain. I sorta expected an outburst from her. She tends to yell at me a ton as is for my injuries anyway, and hanging around a changeling would certainly be cause for alarm."

Fair point. In that case, let me ask you this: Would you interrupt an interrogation involving an assassin, his would-be victim, and two Princesses for the sole purpose of learning about a pet?

"It's a pet changeling. Fairly certain it's still a good question to ask, even in that setting."

I accept that that's true, but was it need to know at that very moment? Surely she noticed how the Princesses were unfazed by your casual remark about it...and a bit of your boasting concerning it.

"What, are you saying Nurse Redheart didn't ask about it at that moment because the Princesses weren't shocked by it?"

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it? If the Princesses weren't showing concern, why should she? Also, she had to keep her focus on that assassin as well, what with having to sedate him should he get unruly and all.

"I...guess that makes sense."

Damn well it should. In any case, more pressing questions were being asked at that time, as I'm sure you remember. 

"Yeah yeah, learning about who's out to get me and who Point worked for. I get it, those were more important to learn about."

I do imagine she'll ask you about it later once you wake up from that nasty little spell that took hold of you at the end there, though. I hope you're prepared for that.

"Aren't I always?"

...Sometimes I wonder if you are.

"...hay, speaking of that spell, what in Tartarus was that about?"

Hm? Your little possession? Ah, well, that was a warding measure I took to protect the door. I was certain that refusal of a direct order from the Princess regarding that little secret wouldn't make you look good in anypony's eyes.

"So you saved my ass from a bind by causing a little scare?"

Basically. It worked, didn't it?

"I wouldn't know."

Wouldn't kno-oh right, you were unconscious as soon as the spell left. Well, don't worry, the Princesses bought into the prophecy. Hook, line, and sinker. Plus, it wouldn't do to have them ruin the fun I've got planned.

"Fun?"

In due time, Mender. Can't spoil everything here, else it would ruin the surprises in store for you!

"...great. I'll be looking forward to those, I guess. Actually, I have another question to ask you."

Do you now? Well, I guess I have time for one more before I need to sleep.

"You only answered two questions! How are you tired already?"

...you ARE aware of my name, correct?

"Stupid question, got it. But anyway, back to my real question. Why am I suffering so much in Ponyville, physically AND mentally?"

Stress relief.

"...Seriously?"

Eeyup.

"No other reason?"

Well, for fun of course! Stress relief is a bonus that I happen to enjoy the most, though.

"You're terrible."

I'll take that as a compliment. Anyway, that's the end of this first intermission! Oh, and Mender, one last thing before you return to your tale of wonder and adventure.

"You're hamming this up way too much."

I'm taking my moments as they come. Still, you should know something very important. 

"And what in Equestria would that be?"

You'll forget this entire conversation ever happened. Oh, but you'll still hate me, as I'm sure you know from how this started.

"...fine, but before I go, I just want to let you know that I'm always going to hate you."

Keep on hating, Mender. Just makes the story all the more interesting to write for you.
> Ch. 2-1: A Reluctant Stallion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------Two days after the Prophecy----------------------------------------

"Help...please...help..."

A pony was wandering a dirt road in the dead of night, just outside a town whose citizens have long since fallen asleep. Luna's bright moonlight was the only illumination the path received.

Despite this, the pony's features were difficult to distinguish. They had the body shape of a mare. The mane was curled, as was the tail. However, her body was pale grey, showing no signs of any color. It was reminiscent of how most ponies looked when Discord attacked Equestria, but this was slightly different.

Where her cutie mark once stood, a basket with some peaches in it, one could barely see the top of a peach and a few inches of handle. Covering the rest of the mark was a black, pulsating mass indistinguishable in the moonlight.

The mare wandered the road aimlessly, her eyes clouding up with the same dark black mass that covered her cutie mark. She could only guide herself using the sounds of her hoofsteps on the ground, carefully distinguishing between the grass and the dirt path as she desperately walked towards the quiet town.

"Somepony...help...me..."

Her voice was raspy and weak. Her strength was fading quickly, and she needed to find somepony, anypony, to help her.

Help would not come. She collapsed about thirty steps away from the nearest building in town. The pulsing black mass crept up and covered up what remained of her cutie mark. As it did so, the grey color intensified further, leaving the dying mare gasping in pain as she took her last breath. The cold soil beneath her offered no comfort as she passed away under the moonlight.

Far beyond the outskirts of town, a hooded figure observed the entire scene as it unfolded. As soon as the mare fell, the figure began to approach the body. However, whatever plans the figure had for the dead mare were dashed away as two local guards patrolling the town noticed the mare's corpse and investigated it immediately. One had left soon after the discovery, probably to alert the other guards and get a doctor if there was one in the town.

All the figure could do then was sink back into the darkness of the night, cursing under its breath and dreading the news it had to deliver to the one that was above all. Above ponies, above dragons...

Above gods.

-----------------------------Four Days after the Prophecy--------------------------------

Twilight was sitting in the room where Mender was resting in the hospital. She was reading the latest Daring Do novel, occasionally glancing towards the gray unicorn in the bed, watching the sheets rise and fall as he slept.

She still couldn't believe that what the Princesses told her was true. Mender being possessed by something of considerable power, power strong enough to match Celestia and Luna's...outside of her own abilities, she wasn't sure anypony could be that strong outside of the Changeling Queen or Discord.

But to think that those two would be mentioned in the prophecy that Mender had uttered...just thinking about them bringing havoc back to Equestria sent shivers down her spine.

As she finished that thought, Mender groaned as he shifted the sheets to raise his head. Twilight smiled and set the novel down, and slowly approached the bed.

"Ugh...is that you, Twilight?" Mender asked.

"Yes, it is. Afternoon, Mender," she responded.

"My head feels like it got bucked by Applejack. What happened? She didn't actually buck me, did she?"

"No Mender, she didn't," Twilight giggled. "But something else happened."

"Remind me, my head isn't in the best shape to try and remember things on my own here," Mender grumbled.

Twilight nodded, then spoke. "Mender, after you interrogated that assassin...Point, you called him? Anyway, when the Princesses had asked you about a healing spell that neither you nor the Princesses performed in your home after you fought with Point, something strange occurred."

Mender racked his head trying to remember, and he did...sort of. "I remember...saying words in a voice that wasn't mine."

"You spoke a prophecy, Mender...well, more specifically, whatever possessed you did."

"Possessed? I was possessed?!" Mender blinked in confusion, and grabbed his head as a headache began to form.

"That's what the Princesses and I believe happened, yes. Do you remember anything that you said in that time?" She asked.

"Sort of...I remember a queen, a draconnequs, and a final trial or something. Then everything went black. I think I passed out."

"That's not surprising, Mender. The magic that was used to possess you was incredibly powerful, and usually leaves the victim incapacitated for some time after the possession. Looks like you weren't an exception to that."

"I see..." Mender really didn't, but talking about this while he had a headache seemed like a bad idea, so he changed the subject. "So I take it the Princesses aren't here then?"

Twilight nodded. "They took that prophecy very seriously, Mender. As soon as you fainted, both Princesses Celestia and Luna came to me and told me of the events that happened that day. How you had fought Point and barely won, then took him to the hospital to get him fixed up for interrogation. The interrogation didn't go...as smoothly as they had hoped it would, Mender."

Mender sheepishly grinned at that last remark, but said nothing. Twilight continued.

"But back to the prophecy. After they told me about all the words you spoke, we set out to translate it as to what it really meant."

"You make it sound like that was difficult."

Twilight smiled. "It really wasn't...though I guess I made it sound that way, didn't I?"

"You tend to do that with a lot of things, Twilight."

Twilight frowned and gave him a small glare, which Mender shrugged off.

"Seriously though, were you able to make any sense out of what I said?" Mender asked.

Twilight nodded again. "Assuming the prophecy will happen in chronological order, I'll talk about the queen first. The queen you mentioned is a threat that Equestria has not seen for some time. She is Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the changelings."

"Chrysalis? Can't say that's a name I'm familiar with...though Fluttershy did mention a queen when she told me about the changelings. I assume this is the same creature, then?"

"Correct, Mender. She initially tried to take over Canterlot during a royal wedding between my brother and my foal-sitter."

Mender blinked. Did she say what he thought she said?

"Your...brother and foal-sitter?"

Twilight clarified, "Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza...er, Princess Cadence for short."

Mender's stomach must have flipped ten times at this information. He had heard about the wedding between the Captain of the Royal Guard and royal nobility while in his army service...but to hear that he was Twilight's brother and the Princess her foal-sitter?!

"Wow, so he really did get married. Lucky bastard."

Twilight cocked her head at the statement. "You know my brother?"

"I had met him a few times before in my service. He had a knack for inspiring the troops in a way that Princess Celestia couldn't sometimes. He also knew how to make a mean veggie stew."

Twilight's eyes narrowed a bit. "...that doesn't sound like information you'd learn from meeting him 'a few times,' Mender."

Mender chuckled. "That's because you don't know him like we did in the army. He cared about our well-being quite a lot back then. Even helped with making a meal for us one time, hence the mean veggie stew I said just a moment ago."

Twilight blinked in response. "Wow...I didn't know he cared that much for his fellow soldiers."

"You ought to be proud of your brother, Twilight. Without him, I doubt even half of our numbers would have had the morale to fight for their Princess...especially during the war."

At this, Twilight smiled. However, she needed to refocus the topic at hand. "I am...but we're leading ourselves astray with this tangent."

"Yes yes, I know. Just thought you should know that I respect your brother for all that he's done for us." Mender grinned.

"...anyway, back to Queen Chrysalis. She nearly took over Canterlot back at the wedding."

Mender was surprised at how calm she stated that. "Nearly? You mean, she almost succeeded?"

"Yes...and there was nothing I or my friends could do to stop her. We tried to get the Elements of Harmony at that time, but we were overwhelmed. Princess Celestia was...defeated by Chrysalis at the time."

"Whoa whoa whoa, the Princess LOST?!" Mender couldn't even fathom that being possible.

"Changelings feed off of love, Mender. She had been stealing my brother's love for Princess Cadence for some time by using her form as a disguise. It was enough to easily overpower Celestia...and even Chrysalis was surprised at how strong she became from it."

"Wow...now I understand why the Princesses were so concerned with Crunch...but wait, it sounded like she had everything set in her favor then. How did Chrysalis lose?"

"I brought the real Cadence with me to the throne room after I helped her escape from the caves beneath Canterlot...where Chrysalis had sent me as well prior to her attack. Then...after Princess Celestia was beaten and my friends and I were brought back to the throne room, I had freed Cadence from some webbing holding her to the floor while Chrysalis was singing about her victory."

"...wow, that's pretty bold of her to do. I'm guessing that was the moment you needed to free Cadence?"

Twilight nodded. "Cadence then went to Shining Armor and they locked horns, freeing him from Chrysalis's hypnotic spell. Chrysalis noticed and mocked their loving gesture...that would prove to be her downfall."

"...I don't get it. What happened?"

"Shining Armor and Cadence conjured a joint barrier spell with all the love they had for each other, and it was powerful enough to force away all the changelings and their queen far away from Canterlot."

The shocked look on Mender's face was all that he could muster as words failed to come from his mouth. Twilight noticed and giggled as she continued. "Then the real wedding took place, and everything went perfect for the rest of the day."

"Waitwaitwaitwait wait a minute." Mender finally found his voice. "So...she was arrogant enough to think she had won, and by all intents and purposes, she did. Then she LET those two embrace each other and...did nothing to stop it? Why? And where was Princess Luna all that time?"

"I'm...not sure why she didn't act on stopping them outside of mocking them. Maybe she thought she had taken enough love from my brother to think they could do nothing to her. As for Luna, she was busy tending to some diplomatic relations with the Griffin Kingdom at that time. She deeply regretted not being able to make it to the wedding."

"Ugh...I guess both of those made sense. Still can't believe she would be arrogant enough to let that gesture slide despite all the planning and infiltration she did to take Canterlot like that."

"I'm not sure what else I can say, Mender. I'm not Chrysalis...and I don't think you would want to ask her yourself."

"No, I wouldn't. She sounds like a tough customer to deal with, with or without any love she steals. Think I'll try and stay away from her, then."

Twilight looked at him with concerned eyes. "Well...see, that's where there's a problem."

Mender blinked. "Problem? There's a problem with me wanting to stay away from a dangerous threat? Twilight, I'm beginning to think you took a hit to the head yourself."

"That prophecy you spoke, Mender. Whoever said it mentioned that you need to be present for these threats...like they're challenges for you to overcome."

Shock set in almost immediately for him. "Oh no. No no no. NO! I came to this town to find some peace and quiet, which I have gotten NONE of so far, and you're telling me I have to face a threat that took down Princess Celestia and nearly took over Canterlot?! Twilight, have you any idea how insane this sounds?!"

Twilight glared at him for a moment, but softened as she spoke. "It sounds less insane if I told you you wouldn't be doing this alone."

"What do you mea-" Mender caught himself mid-sentence. He suddenly realized exactly what she meant by that. "...Twilight, you and your friends are going to help me with this?"

She nodded.

"All of them? Even Pinkie?"

Twilight glared, but nodded again. "We're your friends, Mender. Friends always look out to help each other, and we've fought against Chrysalis's changelings before. We...didn't win on account of them having sheer numbers, but we gave it our all and certainly hurt plenty. Plus, I've become an alicorn since then, so fighting them will be much easier than it was before...in theory."

Mender was unconvinced. "Theory is nice and all, but if I'm really slated to deal with this queen...which I still want to heavily refuse, then theory just doesn't cut it for me. If they're as dangerous as you state them to be, I don't imagine they'll have a problem killing as well."

"They don't kill, Mender. Not unless they have to. They always try to take their victims alive to feed off their love. It's their main food source."

"I get that, and that sounds even worse compared to dying. I certainly don't intend on becoming an all-you-can-eat buffet for those things."

"Mender, I promise you that won't happen to any of us." Twilight's words were firm and brimming with an unusual confidence about them.

Mender noticed...and finally relented. "Bah, fine. I guess I have to do this, don't I? If this so-called prophecy wants me to be present for this crap, then so be it. I have a feeling the co-rulers themselves would drag me out of this hospital bed to get me to do this anyway."

Twilight chuckled at the thought of that happening. "Well, I'll let you get to your rest then. The Princesses have promised me they'll send a letter soon regarding how they want to handle the queen. I'll let you know as soon as I receive it, okay?"

"Fine by me, Twilight."

Their conversation concluded, Twilight left the room. 

Probably to go back to her books again, Mender thought.

He then glanced at the familiar nightstand and saw the band resting there again.

...nah, he didn't want to talk to Young yet. He had enough of a headache as is trying not to think about what he'd have to do to help with this changeling queen business. He rested his head on the pillow and fell fast asleep right then and there.

----------------------------------Same Day, Location Unknown-------------------------------------

The hooded figure approached a rather large cave entrance guarded by two burly earth ponies wearing hoodless cloaks. They both glanced at the figure, and let it step inside.

Beyond, the sounds of battle-tempered steel clashing and grunting greeted the figure's ears as it crossed a bridge suspended over a small lit-up mineshaft. At the bottom of the small mineshaft, ponies battled each other with ferocity. Not for killing, no, this was training. The swords were dulled and the tips blunted so that the blows wouldn't cut, but would still hurt. The figure smirked, it sounded like progress was going well for the trainees below.

The figure crossed the bridge and entered a passageway beyond a thick steel door. There in front of him sat a male unicorn in a blood-red cloak upon a shimmering silver throne. The eyes were black as a moonless night, his iris barely distinguishable in color. The mane was cut short, and rusty orange in color. Their coat was maroon red.

The pony on the throne acknowledged the figure, and began to speak with a voice that sounded like a close-up whisper to the figure's ears, carrying a tone that marked benevolence and sinister intentions at the same time.

"Ah, Nile, you've finally returned. Five days you've kept me waiting, and you're a unicorn, so either you're keeping me in suspense with some wonderful news to tell me...or your purposeful delay has a different reason behind it. I do hope it's the former."

At this, the hooded figure pulled off their hood to reveal themselves to be a female unicorn. Her mint green mane hair flowed down to the side, straight and uncurled. Her coat was fuchsia in color, and her eyes were as blood red as the throne pony's coat.

"Lord Locus." Nile stated firmly. "I bring news regarding the experiment."

"Oh, splendid! It must be the former, then! Go on go on, do tell. I'm all ears." Locus leaned in towards Nile and turned his head to illustrate that point.

"The death was as fast as you predicted to be, my Lord. Three days the mare lasted, and no longer."

"Excellent. However, I must ask. Where is her body?" Locus's eyes narrowed and his tone deepened slightly as he asked the question.

Nile's face showed no change to the question. Her tone changed instead, a note of fear present as words left her lips.

"It was discovered by guards patrolling a town she tried to get into. I attempted to get her corpse as per your request, Lord Locus, but I was too late."

"But you are a unicorn, are you not? Surely you could have teleported to her and obtained her body that way."

"That would have made a scene. I know you don't like scenes, so-"

"And I ALSO don't want evidence of our operation to be discovered!" Locus slammed his hoof on the throne, leaving a small dent in the armrest. Nile flinched at his anger as his eyes and nostrils flared, but then he calmed down and went to his neutral, sinister state.

"Yet...I am not worried. I believe you can correct this little problem with ease." A wicked grin spread across his face as he continued. "You know the procedure that is followed when a new disease is discovered. Intercept the corpse before it gets to Canterlot. Bring two pegasi with you. Ensure no survivors, and bring the body back to me. Do so, and you shall get back into my good graces."

Nile quietly nodded, and turned around to head for the door.

"Oh, and Nile? I can forgive once, but not twice. I need not tell you what will happen should you fail me again, but if so...I would hope to think you accept your punishment with honor."

As Nile left the throne room, another robed pony passed her by with a panicked look in his eye.

"Lord Locus, sir!" The pony stood at attention in front of the red unicorn.

"What news do you bring, Recruit? I hope it's good news, I've already had my fill of bad news today."

"It's about the assassin hired to kill Able Mender, sir!"

"Knife Point? What of him?"

"One of our Watchers has relayed information to us. He...has not killed Mender yet."

"Ugh...that idiot still hasn't accomplished that task?" Locus facehoofed, and held his hoof there. "I gave him one job. ONE. JOB." Anger and frustration was clearly present in his whispering voice.

"There's unfortunately more, sir. He's stopped trying to kill Able Mender."

"WHAT?!" The recruit pony found himself lifted up by a dark veil of magic and held directly up to Locus's face. To say that the recruit was scared at that moment would be an understatement of the year.

"I-I'm sorry, sir! Please, don't kill me, sir! I'm only relaying the message that was given to me!" Even in the thick veil of magic holding him, the recruit pulled out a note and held it in front of him.

Locus floated the note to his face and read it. As he did, his anger faded, replaced by a smile of amusement.

Then he laughed. As he did so, the pony held in the dark veil began to nervously laugh along with Locus.

A snap was heard as the pony's neck was broken in an instant. 

Locus stopped laughing. "Nopony laughs with me. Ever."

The body was tossed down into a shaft to the left of the throne from where Locus was sitting. The tumbling of the body against the walls echoed through the shaft before a thud came, followed by a brief moment of silence.

"Next recruit!" Locus clapped his hooves together once, and ten seconds later another recruit pony in a hood approached.

"Recruit, relay a message to Long Shot. Tell him he now has two targets to eliminate. Able Mender, and Knife Point. That is all."

Locus clapped his hooves again, and the recruit left immediately. 

Locus wore another wicked grin and muttered to himself. "What's your game, old one? Why give me that information? I know you've something planned...in that case, let's see how things turn out, then."
> Ch. 2-2: A Mother's Child
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------Canterlot Castle------------------------------

Princess Celestia was pacing about the floor in her room. The prophecy Mender spoke troubled her. Chrysalis coming back to take her castle again, when she almost did so before? That was a scenario she would NOT repeat.

She had doubled, no, tripled the number of active guards posted within the castle's exterior walls. She had sent a letter to the Crystal Empire requesting that Shining Armor and Princess Cadence come to Canterlot immediately. Their barrier spells would be necessary to keep the changelings at bay, just as before. In the meantime, increased guard count would have to suffice until they can get here.

If this prophecy was true, and she had no doubt in it being a lie, then Canterlot would be facing a danger it was unprepared for last time. This would not be the same now.

It also helped that her sister Luna was here to assist in preparations. She doubled the active night guard without delay as soon as they entered Canterlot. Although her guard was smaller than Celestia's, their ferocity in battle would be most useful for the invasion that seemed inevitable.

Until Shining Armor and Princess Cadence arrived, Luna decided to put up a barrier herself. This barrier was a midnight blue in color, and enveloped the entirety of Canterlot in less than a minute. Being powered by an alicorn, its strength easily surpassed that of Shining's barrier. However, even an alicorn barrier paled in comparison to the joint barrier that both Shining and Cadence put up. Luna had only heard of it, but its power was undeniably strong, according to Tia. If such was the case, then if both came here, both Princesses had no doubt that the changeling attack would fail.

Celestia had also sent a letter to Twilight just after their arrival in Canterlot Castle a few days ago. She had asked that Mender be taken to Canterlot as soon as possible after he has recovered. The prophecy wants him present, so he must have some role to play here. 

She could only hope that whatever Mender would do, it would be to save Canterlot...neigh, all of Equestria. Time was of the essence now, and they couldn't afford to wait for long.

------------------------------------------Mender's Home-----------------------------------------------

Fluttershy, at Mender's request, was asked to care of Crunch ever since he woke up from the hospital after Point attacked him. Mender initially expected to pay for such a service, but Fluttershy's fascination with the pet changeling was so monumentally large since she learned about it, she refused payment in favor of studying Crunch instead. Mender didn't object...though he did warn her that his bite's quite strong.

As she approached the old house, fear began to set in. She clenched her lip as her eyes noted the broken windows and the overall eerie feeling she got from the place. As scary as it was to her, she had an animal to tend to, and she'd braved the Everfree Forest. This should be no problem for her...she hoped.

She opened the front door. The creak it let out from the hinges caused her to "Eep!" in surprise, and she backed away a few steps. When nothing came out to jump at her, she took a deep breath and entered the house.

"Crunch?" she called out in a whisper.

The changeling didn't hop out like it did for Mender. Instead, she heard a whimper from the second floor. At that sound, her fear dissipated in an instant. She flew down the hallway and up the stairs.

Crunch was lying at the foot of the bed...but it was holding its forehooves over its head and whimpered again. Then it tried to run, its legs feebly kicking in the air.

Fluttershy realized that the changeling was having a nightmare...or at least it looked like one. Instinctively, she placed a hoof on Crunch's head and began to pet him softly. She didn't want to try anything else, lest the changeling decides to bite her...or worse.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Crunch was running down a dark, green-lit hallway. The walls and the roof looked eroded, brimming with holes and holes and more holes.

The buzzing of bug wings filled his ears. He looked behind and saw a massive wave of changelings chasing him. The droning buzzing noise was so loud he couldn't hear his own heavy breathing, his heart pounding as he continued to run away from the mass of teeth and wings.

It would be futile. The changeling horde easily outpaced him, and in an instant he was surrounded. Buzzing and hissing became louder and louder in his ears as he felt hundreds, no thousands of eyes bearing down on him. Crunch feebly closed his eyes and curled up into a ball, a final escape

Then in an instant, the noise vanished. Crunch opened his eyes, and the changelings were all gone. There, now standing in the hallway, was a large changeling...but this one was different. It was a large female, roughly the size of an alicorn, albeit skinnier. She bore the same features as other changelings. Tattered wings, holes in the legs...but her eyes and facial features were more reminiscent of a pony's. Her eyes were a mix of emerald and bright lime green, and her horn was jagged in shape.

This changeling then did something that caused Crunch to shiver. She smiled, the tips of her fangs showing as Crunch began to hear a voice in his mind.

"My son, I've finally found you."

Son? What did she mean? Was she his...

Mother? The thought came out as a word he could voice in his mind.

"Yes, my son. I am your mother, your queen. I am Chrysalis."

Crunch took a step back. This wasn't right. Her voice was all too familiar...but he had someone else now. Someone who cared for him where she did not.

No! You're not my mother!

Chrysalis's smile faded, but she remained calm. "Son, I know this is difficult to understand. I have been looking for you for many years now...but now I've found you. I want you to know that Mother Chrysalis is coming for you, okay?"

Her voice was strangely soothing to him, but it still felt wrong. Being pacified by her words was something Crunch was NOT comfortable with. Again he resisted, and took a few more steps back.

Stop talking to me! You're NOT my mother!

Now she became angry. "INSOLENCE! What ill thoughts have entered your head to think I am not your mother?!"

The force of her thought was overpowering, and Crunch found it difficult to stand. At that moment, he felt a different kind of soothing feeling, and a light was glowing behind him in the hallway. He couldn't turn around to figure out what it was, but the look in his "mother's" eyes made it clear. Whatever was there, she was scared of it.

In this light, Crunch found his inner strength and stood tall, and proudly proclaimed...

"I already have a mother!"

The light behind him intensified, consuming the holey hallway and Chrysalis. Her scream was the last thing he heard before he woke.

And there in full view of his eyes was a yellow pony with long, pink locks of mane hair.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy was relieved to see that Crunch was alright. Whatever happened in that nightmare was something he triumphed over as she noticed him smiling.

What she didn't expect was his horn touching her forehead soon after he woke up, and suddenly she could hear his thoughts as his horn glowed a light blue-green, matching his eyes.

"You're the nice animal loving pony!"

Fluttershy's surprise couldn't be any larger. The changeling was talking to her, even if it's through thoughts.

"How...how can you talk to me?"

"I dunno, it's just something I learned from the dream I just had! It was a bad dream, too. Some nasty old ladybug tried to tell me she was my mother!"

Fluttershy's shock was now replaced with concern. If that "ladybug" was who she thought it was...

"But then I told her she WASN'T my mother, and this warm, soothing light came behind me and sent her away!"

"She...wasn't your mother?" Now Fluttershy was confused. "So then...who is?"

"The pony that's as nice to me as you are!"

Fluttershy thought about that for a moment...and realized Crunch was talking about Mender. She had to suppress a giggle before asking Crunch for confirmation.

"You mean Mender, don't you?"

"Is that her name? It IS! I know mama's name! Mama Mender! Mama Mender!"

Fluttershy weakly smiled, trying her hardest not to laugh now. However, she now had a dilemma.

She had to now consider whether or not to tell Crunch the truth about-

"Crunch? Is that what that noise is that she uses to call me? Is that my name? Oh boy! I LIKE that name! Did Mama Mender come up with that name?"

Fluttershy blinked, then pushed Crunch away so that his horn was no longer in contact with her head. As soon as she did so, she no longer felt his presence in her mind. She could now guess that he could read thoughts using his horn like that, even if she didn't want him to.

But back to her dilemma. Fluttershy now had to consider the option of telling Crunch that Chrysalis was really his mother while Mender was his adoptive father...for lack of a better term. Crunch seemed so adamant about believing that the changeling queen wasn't his mother...and was there any harm in thinking that? Fluttershy didn't think so...but what about Mender?

It would harm Mender for certain...but it sounded like a much better alternative than admitting to Crunch that Chrysalis was indeed his mother. A little white lie this would be then, just for his safety. She touched her head to his horn again.

"Yes...Mama Mender gave you that name. Mender cares for you so much, you know."

"I know! Mama feeds me those round things that taste so delicious and sweet!"

It was at this point that Fluttershy realized that Crunch really didn't know much about the world around him. The poor thing, he couldn't sound more lost and confused if he tried. That must have been why he ran as soon as Opalescence attacked him...though that was more understandable for more obvious reasons than this.

"You seem to trust Mender so much...but you don't know what you've been fed?"

This gave the changeling a moment of pause...then he smiled widely. It was a smile of blissful ignorance. "Nope! I don't need to know what it is to know that it's tasty!"

Fluttershy smiled, and pet Crunch a few more times. He purred. Dear Celestia, that's cute.

She didn't want to distract herself too much, however. This changeling should have some common knowledge of the world...and if Mender would allow it, she could teach Crunch like she had her many other animal friends.

"Well then, how about I get you one of those apples then?"

"is that what they're called? Apples? I like the sound of that!"

Fluttershy giggled, and removed her head from his horn. She beckoned for him to follow, and he giddily pranced after her as they made their way down the stairs for a delightful lunch. Mender had given her permission to use his food for their meals. He complained he had too much anyway.

------------------------------Ponyville Medical----------------------------------

Nurse Redheart was making her rounds in the hospital just as she was passing by Mender's room. She stopped, and looked through the small window to see him sleeping, as usual.

Ordinarily, she would let him rest, but something she heard back at that interrogation a few days ago bothered her, and it wasn't the prophecy Mender spoke.

She opened the door and walked inside. She stopped near the bed and looked him over. She realized this was the first time she saw him in this bed without him having sustained any serious physical injuries. Something in the back of her mind told her this would probably be the last time too, considering his track record so far.

She gently nudged him a few times with a forehoof to wake him. He turned his head and looked over her with glossy eyes.

"N...Nurse Redheart?"

She responded with a slap.

"OW! What the buck was that for?!" Mender yelled, placing a hoof over his cheek.

Her face remained surprisingly calm and collected, but her tone was angry. "How many times am I going to see you this hospital bed, Mender?"

"I don't know...but if that's how you're going to greet me every time I come here, maybe I should ask to be transferred to another hospital! Gah, son of a buck, that hurt!"

"There's no other hospitals around for miles, Mender. You know that."

He did know that. Still, his cheek stung like it was burned by the fires of Tartarus. He wasn't sure he wanted that again. Scratch that, he definitely didn't want that again. Earth ponies knew how to hit, and she might hit harder next time. He gulped at the thought.

"I know, I know...and I'm sorry. I'll try to cut down on my patient visits here, but I can't help it if I get seriously injured protecting my pet or suddenly become possessed by some mad prophet pony."

At this, Nurse Redheart tensed slightly, her tone less angry than before. "Actually...that's the reason why I came here, Mender."

"What? Come to talk to me about my mad prophecy? It's fine, Twilight came in here earlier and told me about it. I'll be going to Canterlot as soon as I recover here, which looks like it'll be tomorrow."

"NOT that." Her slight yell made him stop whatever he was going to say next. "It's about your pet."

"...oh, OH! Right, you haven't heard yet, have you? I kinda...let that slip in there, didn't I?" Mender sighed. "Well, I guess there's no denying it now. Yes, I own a pet changeling."

He couldn't tell whether or not Redheart was shocked by this, but she asked what he thought was an odd question. "Why a pet changeling?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"Changelings have been considered a threat ever since the wedding in Canterlot. Why did you take this one in as a pet?"

Mender took a small breath before speaking. He dreaded having to tell this explanation over and over again, but she deserved it.

"I had heard news of the wedding at the time, but not of the changelings that attacked there. I didn't even know what a changeling was at the time, either. I was busy traveling to Ponyville, and didn't have time to catch up on recent events. I found my house here, and there a young creature resided. I treated it well, despite how fearsome it looked, and it decided not to kill me. I was thankful for that. Things went...well, you know. After I recovered from the filly attack, Fluttershy told me that it was a changeling I was harboring within my home...and by that point, I didn't care what it was anyway. It was friendly to me, and that's all that mattered then. That's all that matters now."

"However, I understand that this town still bears some ill will towards changelings, which is why I want news of this to be gagged until I figure out a way to better incorporate him into the town. I don't really know when or how this will happen (I've got ideas, but they may not pan out,) but I've been able to convince Princess Twilight and her friends...not to mention Princesses Celestia and Luna, that I can prove them all wrong in that all changelings are evil. If necessary, I'll prove this to you, too. Until then, I want news of his existence here to be kept on the down-low."

Redheart looked to be deep in thought for a while...then smiled, though she still showed concern. "Mender, I trust your judgment in this...I just hope it's the right one. Also, your secret's safe with me. Doctor-Patient confidentiality, remember?"

"But you're a nurse."

"Nurse-Patient confidentiality then."

"I'm not sure that's an actual thing...but it's good enough for me." Mender chuckled, then winced when his cheek burned again.

Redheart shared his chuckle. "Alright...but if I may ask, what's your business in Canterlot so soon after your recovery?"

"Like I said, it's about the prophecy. Princess Celestia wants me in Canterlot to further discuss any plans as to the first threat I mentioned in it. I currently have no reason to refuse...even though I want to badly. Thus, I'm taking the train tomorrow to go there as soon as I am recovered."

At this, Redheart winced. "Mender, if you get hurt out there, how are you going to get yourself fixed up?"

"I'm a medic. The first rule to being a medic is Survival. Keep yourself alive in order to keep others alive. Don't take risks to save lives if you don't have to. You're no good to others if you end up dying yourself. Martyrdom is highly discouraged. That last part I added in for myself."

"In any case, I definitely don't plan on being as lax there as I am here. Once I'm in Canterlot, I'll be serious and on my guard at all times. I won't die, Nurse Redheart. I can promise you that...but I won't promise I won't get hurt."

"I'm going to slap you again if I find you here in this hospital bed, you know." Her eyes narrowed.

"And I'll probably have suffered worse by then, so by all means, hit me if you wish. Just...maybe a few days after I've recovered from the worst of it, alright?" Mender grinned carefully so as to not cause his cheek any more pain.

"No promises there, either." Redheart smirked, then left the room. Mender understood, he had distracted her from her duties long enough.

As Nurse Redheart left the room, she spotted three fillies outside the door. The Crusaders were talking amongst themselves, and giggling in between sentences. Redheart knew they were up to something. They were always up to something that usually ended up with one or more of them in this hospital. She sighed, knowing she could do little to stop them from whatever they were planning anyway. She quietly reminded herself to order more bandages and braces this afternoon.
> Ch. 2-3: A Mad, Mad Medic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender knew today was going to be the worst day of his waking life.

Worse than his horrid childhood. Worse than his army service. Tartarus be damned, today was going to be worse than everything he had experienced in Ponyville thus far.

He knew how bad it was going to be since yesterday afternoon during his rest. He woke up to his stomach flipping roughly twenty times. Something horrific was happening that involved him at that very moment, but he couldn't figure out what. He somehow managed to go back to sleep soon after he woke, but it wasn't a good sleep.

He had woken up to Nurse Redheart taking him his morning meal. Oats, a banana, and lime gelatin with a glass of orange juice. Not exactly fine dining, but Mender had no reason to complain. That would earn him a slap, and he didn't want that.

As Mender ate, he remembered that he had asked Fluttershy to take care of Crunch yesterday afternoon. She seemed very eager to do so, but he guessed that would change as soon as she got near his home. He had hoped everything was alright over there. Crunch wouldn't harm her...would he?

Nah. Mender looked around the room again despite wanting to rest, and his eyes stopped as soon as he saw the same black band resting on the nightstand. Near it was Celle, back in its military knife form. The leather casing and the strap were hanging off a corner of the stand.

He had about an hour to spare before he had to check out of the hospital. He had plenty of time to tolerate Young for a bit. Mender reached over and placed the band around his horn, fixing the mental connection he had with his paranoid friend.

"Young? Are you there?"

More familiar crashing sounds were heard in his head. Hah, that will never get old.

"WHERE in Equestria have you been? I was worried sick!"

"I know you were. Always keeps you on edge, it seems. Miss me that much?"

"No jokes, Mender. What happened?"

Mender was taken back somewhat. Young was absolutely serious...so Mender decided to be serious as well.

'According to Twilight and the Princesses, I guess I was possessed and muttered some odd prophecy that involves me."

"So I wasn't imagining things then."

"What, you heard the voice too?"

"How could I not? I was right there on your horn, you know...in a manner of speaking."

Mender was concerned. He detected hints of fear as Young spoke...and wondered...

"Young, did you recognize that voice?"

A pause came before he responded. "I...think so. It sounded like...like it was my grandfather."

"Old Mindly? How?"

"How should I know?! I haven't heard from him in ages!"

Mender was quite confused. He just assumed that the old stallion died as the record of his experiment in that textbook Twilight showed him stated it occured at least 400 years ago. He hadn't heard of anypony who had lived that long outside of the Princesses.

...but how old was Young then?

"Young, mind if I ask how old you are?"

"Hm? Why do you want to know?"

"Well, something just clicked in my head. Your grandfather's at least 400 years old. If you're his grandson as you claim to be...then how old are you?"

"Mender, Mender, I do hope you don't ask that to any mares on the first date."

Mender groaned. "Shut up and answer the question, Young. Please."

"Hmm...nope. I refuse to answer. As for why, since I know you'll ask that...I've been sworn to secrecy on it by my grandfather the last time I saw him. He told me it was for my protection. This space I live in is for my protection too."

Protection? From what? Now Mender was even more confused...but one last question hit his head at this information.

"Young, if you're under such protection...then why risk that protection on me? Why tell me there's a key out here that will open the door? Why give me that blade in exchange for your grandfather's diary? If I was under such protective measures, I wouldn't gamble said protection on a pony that just moved into your prior home. It doesn't make any sense to me."

A long, awkward silent pause followed before Young gave an answer.

"Mender, do you remember how you met me?"

"I knocked on your door after I learned that it was magical, then you yelled at me."

"Before that. Before you learned about that door, what did you do to it?"

"I...kicked the door out of frustration since I couldn't figure out how to open it." Mender didn't know what Young was driving at here.

"Tell me, did you hear me yelp in fear when you kicked that door?"

"I...did. After I asked Twilight about the door, that yelp...!"

"Precisely. That yelp confirmed for you that a pony was indeed on the other side of that door. It's why you knocked that second time, and sounded so...concerned when we first met."

"I thought I sounded more annoyed when we first met that way."

"You did. Regardless, by the end of that conversation, you agreed to be my ears for the outside world, Mender. It was a request I was sure you would refuse after I told you I wouldn't open the door for you...but you did it anyway. It was at that point that I knew I could trust you."

Mender had to take a moment to process this. He didn't think about his actions having that strong of an effect on Young. Sure, he thought Young was a bit naive and perhaps a bit too trusting at the time, but after hearing how he explained it from his end...it all seemed to make sense.

"Thanks, Young. Never saw it that way."

"Save the sappy talk for later. Don't you have something to do today besides talk to me, anyway?"

"That I do, Young. I sadly do. You should know what it is about already, so I won't bother repeating it."

"That prophecy? Yep, I'll pick up on any details I missed in time, then."

Satisfied the conversation was over, Mender set the food tray on the nightstand and picked himself up from the bed. His limbs felt a bit stiff, so he stretched a bit and paced in place on the floor to get the blood flowing to his legs. As soon as he did, Mender walked around and grabbed the knife off the stand and placed it in the holder, which he strapped onto himself before he moved for the door.

Mender opened the door, and Nurse Redheart was just outside the doorway wheeling around more medical equipment. With a wave, he let her know he was checking out and bound for Canterlot. She simply nodded and resumed her business. Mender had to stop for a moment and admire her dedication to her job. It's certainly much more than what he's been contributing so far to the hospital...which so far has been nothing. He really hoped that would change after this whole changeling queen business was concluded.

His thoughts continued on the matter as he came to the first floor. There he spotted a blue nurse pony working the front desk. He greeted her with a smile, and let her know that he was leaving. She seemed to giggle as he signed out, and he wondered why.

Mender left through the front doors again to take a deep breath of the afternoon air. So fresh and clean was the scented that he decided to drown himself in it for a moment, closing his eyes as he stepped forward to take in the moment before he left for Canterlot.

He heard a string snap underneath his hoof. His eyes shot open and his brain registered a few words.

Oh no...OH BUCK! He had to move!

Too late. A Party Cannon placed to his left was set off, sending Mender flying into the air in a shower of multicolored confetti.

------------------------Ponyville Train Station----------------------------

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack were all waiting at the train station. The Friendship Express bound for Canterlot had arrived just a few minutes ago. As they waited, Pinkie had set up her cotton candy catching mitt near the platform.

"Pinkie, are you sure your Cannon will get him here in time?" Twilight asked.

"Abso-tuta-lutely, Twilight! My Party Cannons always work!" Pinkie responded, bouncing as she spoke.

"I could've flown him over here, you know," Rainbow Dash piped up. She had been practicing using her wings most of the day, and was almost back up to the wingpower she was at when it was time to move the water reservoir into Cloudsdale.

"But that's not as fun, Dashie!" Pinkie grinned widely.

"Pinkie dear, are you sure Mender sees it that way?" Rarity asked.

"Of course! Mendy said he hated me last time when I used my cannon to get him to his 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, but he didn't seem to mean it since he enjoyed the party anyway!"

"I dunno, sugar cube. He may have enjoyed the party, but I dun think he enjoyed the way he was delivered to it, Pinkie. Ya gotta admit, Mender don't seem like the kind of pony to enjoy your...explosive personality," Applejack added.

"Aw, c'mon girls, don't be a buncha neighsayers!" Pinkie frowned slightly, but her hair and color remained poofy and vibrant pink.

Almost on cue, they heard Mender screaming Pinkie's name as he approached the train station.

The cotton candy mitt did its job as it did last time, catching a very winded Mender whose lungs had emptied from his scream. Heavy breathing was heard from inside the mitt as Pinkie bounced over to greet Mender.

"Hiya Mendy! Enjoy the flight?"

Mender barely registered her voice over his own breathing, but he managed to respond in between breaths.

"Pinkie...I swear to Celestia that one day...I will stuff you in that cannon...and aim it at the Moon."

"Mendy's fine, girls!" Pinkie called out to the others. They collectively released a sigh of relief as Mender freed himself from the cotton candy.

He looked over at the other four, and a question came out instantly.

"Where's Fluttershy?"

"Oh, she should be coming aaaaaaaaaanytime now!" Pinkie responded. 

Everypony stopped whatever they were going to say to look at her. She didn't mean-

A high-pitched scream was heard as Fluttershy was flying against her will toward the same catcher mitt that caught Mender.

As soon as she landed and the screaming stopped when Fluttershy realized her impromptu flight had ended, Mender was the first to speak up.

"...okay, maybe I can understand using the cannon to get me here, but she's a PEGASUS, Pinkie! Why in Equestria did she need a cannon ride?"

"I had a spare cannon set up at your home just in case you missed the first one! I guess Fluttershy set it off on accident!" Pinkie responded.

"...so you're claiming that was a happy accident that she got shot by your cannon?"

"Yup yup!"

Somewhere in Mender's head, this whole situation made a surprising amount of sense. He would have gone home to say goodbye to Crunch and pick up Fluttershy if she was still there at his home before they headed off to the train station. If she wasn't there, he would have assumed she would be waiting at the station with the other mares, and headed off as soon as he was finished at home.

Pinkie managed to make that entire situation, sans the goodbye to Crunch, go significantly faster with her cannons. Mender smiled. Somewhere in that crazy mare's head was a genius of a mind. 

Still, Mender felt something was left unresolved, so he went to get Fluttershy out of the cotton candy glove.

"Hiya Fluttershy. Nice of you to drop in the same way I did."

"Oh...afternoon, Mender," Fluttershy said.

"So...how's Crunch?" Mender asked as he pulled her out of the sweet tangled mess of sugar.

"Oh! He's doing fine, Mender. Very well. He misses you, though."

"I expected as much. Anything happen while you tended to him?"

"Well...um...yes."

"...go on." Fluttershy was hiding something. Normally she isn't this indirect to Mender, and he noticed immediately.

As he urged her on, the other mares gathered around, suddenly curious as well to what Fluttershy was hiding. Applejack was the most concerned out of the group. Fluttershy swallowed as she struggled to find words. With Applejack there, she couldn't lie.

"I...I don't want to say," Fluttershy spoke in almost a whisper.

"Fluttershy, this is MY pet changeling we're talking about here. If something happened, tell us now," Mender bluntly stated. She "eeped" in response...but then she found some words to say after all.

"Whe-when I came by your house, Mender, Crunch was having a nightmare. He...he saw Chrysalis."

Everypony opened their mouths in shock at this news. The changeling queen was making her move already?!

"She claimed she was Crunch's mother...but he seemed to deny it. He then mentioned something about a light that helped him drive the queen away."

"Wait a minute, denied?" Mender asked. He found that very odd. If anything was Crunch's mother, it would most likely be Chrysalis, so what did that even mean?

"Well, I...I think you should hear the rest first," Fluttershy responded.

Mender didn't like this. She was delaying something...but she clearly had more to tell, so he nodded to let her continue.

"After his dream, he was happy to see me," Fluttershy spoke, smiling at last. "He was even so happy he touched his horn to my head."

For a moment, Mender considered making a very ill-thought joke on that statement, but passed. This wasn't the time for jokes anyway.

"That's when he spoke to me."

Everypony opened their mouths again. Pinkie's was still hanging open from the last shocking bit of news, but it seemed to drop even lower.

Again, Mender recovered first. "Spoke? Crunch can talk?!"

"Sort of. He spoke to me through his thoughts when his horn was in contact with my head. We had an interesting conversation, but he was real happy when his nightmare was all over!"

Mender caught that "interesting" word in her statement. That confirmed it for him, she was glossing over something now. Applejack seemed to catch it as well as her eyes narrowed in synchronization with Mender's own eyes.

"Define 'interesting,' Fluttershy."

"Well, he told me about his dream, and how happy he is to be under your care, Mender."

"That's not everything though, is it?" Mender's tone turned accusing, and now both him and Applejack were glaring daggers at Fluttershy while the other mares held confused looks. All but Pinkie, she was still locked into her shocked face.

"It...It..." Fluttershy desperately wanted an out, something to keep her from saying something she knew would anger Mender. But it seemed that her time had run out.

"It...isn't everything," she confessed.

At that very moment, Mender felt his stomach flip. Whatever she was going to say wasn't going to be good. Not at all.

"Mender...Crunch thinks you're his...his mother..."

"What was that, Fluttershy?" Mender faintly heard her say something he wished he heard wrong...but he had to be sure.

"Crunch thinks...that you're his mother."

Silence existed for precisely half a second before everypony but Mender and Fluttershy burst out in laughter.

Fluttershy said nothing, not wanting to embarrass Mender any further.

Meanwhile, Mender's brain cracked at the statement. Any attempts to process it failed as the girls continued to laugh as they rolled around on the floor. Mender could feel his blood boiling. His stomach decided to practice a bucking gymnastics routine.

A color redder than Applejack's shiniest red apples graced his face. His teeth were grinding, his eyes filled with unbridled fury. Smoke began to rise from his horn.

Mender was absolutely, undeniably PISSED.

"Fluttershy?" He spoke through his rapidly shrinking teeth as he began to grind them into stubs. The laughter from the girls around him made it clear that they didn't notice how Mender was about to explode in front of them.

She said nothing, and was completely frozen in place. That look in his eyes was very much akin to her own Stare, and her legs and wings gave out beneath her as her eyes remained locked onto his.

"I'm going to give you fifteen seconds. You either use them to run, or give me the best damn explanation of your life as to why my pet thinks I'M HIS MOTHER!" Mender yelled, his fury almost being drowned out by the laughter around him.

Fluttershy panicked, and decided to say the truth as best as she could manage through her stammering.

"He-he denied Chrysalis as his m-mother, Mender! I-I told him that you-you were his mother be-be-because it would have hu-hurt him otherwise!"

"Fluttershy, I can state for a Celestia damned fact that NOTHING could hurt him as much as I want to hurt you right now for this!"

"Mender, it was for hi-his protection!"

"YOU'RE going to need all the damn protection when I'm done with you!"

"That's what she said!" Dash chimed in.

"AAAAAGH!" That was enough to redirect his rage at the other five mares. A sudden surge of heat stopped their laughter as Mender erupted into a column of fire. At that moment, they all felt fear as the pillar of flame pierced the blue sky above.

That fear dissipated as soon as the fire ceased. Mender was covered from head to toe in ash, and he coughed as he inhaled the smoke left in the aftermath, coughing as a result.

This caused a second bout of laughter for group of mares, except Fluttershy, who was still scared out of her wits. He also noted that he heard laughter from another source. Young was laughing too.

"This is-cough-NOT funny!"

"Oh, this is totally funny."

"You shut up or I burn your door."

"And abandon your prophetic quest? I don't think so. I'll just keep laughing until you get home."

"...you are a sick bastard of a pony."

"And you are currently the biggest source of comic relief I've ever heard in years!"

The last thing he heard was more laughter. That's it. That door of his was at least getting a brand new dent in it...or maybe a new coat of paint. Mender made a mental note to ask Young what color he hated the most. He had a feeling that would pay off later.

For now, the other mares finally stopped laughing as they all rose from the floor. A voice over a loudspeaker cut through the giggling Mender was hearing from them as they recovered.

"This is the final call for the Friendship Express bound for Canterlot. I repeat, last call for the Friendship Express bound for Canterlot. All passengers, abooooooooooooard!"

----------------------Friendship Express----------------------

Mender decided to clear his head in a separate train car from the rest of the mares. He wanted to be alone and far, far away from Fluttershy and her giggling companions right now. Twilight understood despite her giggling, and ushered her friends into another car to give Mender whatever peace of mind he could claim.

He still couldn't believe it. He's an apparent mother to his pet. His head was still a wreck, trying to piece together exactly how he was going to properly tell his pet that he was more like an adoptive father. He resolved that the truth would be best to tell him as soon as he was able.

Despite his rage from earlier, Fluttershy mentioned she did it for Crunch's safety...and a small, rational part of him says she should be forgiven for that. That part understood why she did it, and it all seemed to make some semblance of sense.

He stomped that rational part into the dirt and swore various obscenities at it. She would have to make up for this in some way later. He was too mad to figure out how, but later he'd come up with something. He swore to Celestia he would.

At least the train ride was smooth and unusually quiet on the way there. Maybe now was a good time to rest and clear what he could in his head so he could at least be focused by the time they reached Canterlot.

That wasn't going to be the case as he heard more giggling from inside his own car. Oh, this was NOT the sound he wanted to hear right now. He rose from his seat and looked around. Who was making that damn noise?

The car fell silent. He knew then that the giggling indeed came from within the car...but where? It didn't take long to figure out where as he looked underneath the seats in the train car.

There, underneath one of the seats in a corner of the car, sat three fillies with shocked and fearful looks in their eyes. 

Oh no. Not those three. This was NOT a good day for him to be around those three. He only prayed those three weren't there to hear that damned motherly crap.

He tried to play it cool as best he could. A twitching eye betrayed that notion as he spoke.

"Well, hello Crusaders. Care to explain why you're hiding on this train?"

All three of them stumbled over their words for a moment as they got out from their hiding spot.

"Uh, we're-" "-tryin to be-" "-Cutie Mark Crusader Train Conductors?" All three weakly smiled.

That was the most painful lie he had heard them tell. Ever.

"...Right, let's just cut to the chase. I know you three aren't here for something as boring as that. You're Crusaders that threatened my life twice now as it is! Why did you follow me?"

"Well, we...kinda overheard about you being a mother to a changeling and-"

"I'm just going to stop you three RIGHT...THERE." Celestia dammit, they did overhear that whole conversation. It took whatever was left of Mender's rationality to keep himself from blowing up that train car...and he managed to...barely.

"Yes, I own one, he's harmless, and if you even THINK that this motherly crap is true, you're all out of your minds. I do NOT want to hear any more about this for the rest of the train ride, understand?"

The three fillies quickly nodded in response. They did not want to anger Mender any more than how he was now.

"That's not th' only reason we're on this train, though," Apple Bloom added.

Suddenly, Mender's anger had defused itself. "It's not?"

"Well, we also wanted to help you with whatever you're doing in Canterlot," Sweetie Belle spoke.

"What in Equestria for?! You three have been nothing but trouble for me and-"

"Mender...we still feel bad for what we did to you. Both times we nearly hurt you real bad, and we want to make it up to you somehow," Scootaloo said.

Oh no. No no no. Mender didn't care how bad these fillies felt for almost killing him. The only thing he saw worse than the Crusaders trying to kill him were the Crusaders trying to help him.

"No way that's happening. As soon as this train reaches Canterlot, you three stay here and go right on back to Ponyville. I've already got a mind-numbing headache from everything that's happened today, and the last thing I need is to keep my eyes on you three while I'm here."

"But Mender, we promise we won't get you hurt this time!" Scootaloo rebutted.

"I don't care if I get hurt, I still have to watch over you three if you plan on sticking around! I don't want that to happen, so-"

The train passed through Luna's blue barrier at that moment. Mender could feel the cold energy as he passed through it. The fillies seem to have felt the same, as all three shivered slightly as they passed through it.

"What the, a barrier?!" Mender yelled. 

This was enough noise to grab the attention of the six mares in the next car. Mender soon saw a stetson bobbing and coming over from the adjacent car. Applejack was coming to check things out.

Mender considered the situation. He was in a train car with the Crusaders in plain sight, uninvited little guests on a train ride not meant for them to take towards a very safeguarded location. They got on this train because they wanted to make up their antics to him by being helpful in the worst way possible. This was going to look all kinds of awkward, and Mender would be right in the middle of it.

As Applejack opened the door and saw the fillies in front of him, a thought passed through his mind.

All that information would have to come out in front of that lie detecting pony, and somehow he could feel that she would blame him for this as much as she would blame the fillies for following him.

Could this Celestia forsaken day get any worse?!

-------------------Mender's Home--------------------

Crunch awoke to the sound of something bashing against the front door. 

Intruders breaking in?! He was going to have none of that while Mama Mender was away!

He ran down the stairwell just as the door was bashed in, and Crunch shriveled up in fear as he rounded the corner. There, standing in the doorway, were two changelings like the ones from his dream.

The last thing Crunch remembered was them smiling. Then a loud buzzing noise filled his ears as the changelings pinned him to the ground.
> Ch. 2-4: A Furious Fire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A flying chariot bound for Canterlot was moving at higher speeds than it normally did. Two pegasi pulling it were frantically flapping their wings to give as much speed as they could as they were being chased by two other pegasi and a unicorn riding one of them. The unicorn was firing bolts of magic at the chariot, trying to hit one of the pegasi pulling it, but to no avail. 

The pegasi pulling the chariot knew precisely how important this delivery was, and so they deftly dodged every magic bolt that was fired at them. The second pegasi proved to be a bigger problem, as they were now gaining on them. 

Canterlot was less than half a mile away, surrounded by a midnight blue barrier. With those three chasing them, the two pegasi realized they probably wouldn't make it to the checkpoint stationed on the ground outside the barrier. There wasn't any time left for following standard procedures.

No, they had to make a beeline for Canterlot's Medical Research Facility. If they went down with this delivery, it may as well be near a hospital. They both wore magical amulets bearing the Royal Canterlot Seal, which would allow them and their chariot access. They hoped the ponies chasing after them would stop at the barrier.

The two pegasi picked up the pace as their wings seemed to flap harder than ever before. The unicorn noticed this, and screamed in anger. Nile charged up her magic for a large beam of raw energy. No more little bolts that were easily avoidable. It was either now or never.

This would not miss.

------------------------Friendship Express-----------------------

"What in tarnation's goin on in here?!"

Mender stood there along with the three fillies in the middle of the train car. All of them were avoiding Applejack's accusing eyes as she glared at the group.

Mender considered telling her what was happening, but before he could, Apple Bloom spoke up first. What he didn't expect was for her to tell the truth, though.

"We wanted to help Mender, sis!"

Applejack's accusing look turned to shock in an instant. "WHAT?" she asked.

Before the fillies could speak and make this situation more of a headache for Mender, he spoke up to clarify things.

"Applejack, these fillies feel bad for almost killing me twice," Mender stated.

"Twice? I thought they only did it once!"

At this, he turned around to face the fillies, casting a hard glance at the group. 

"You three didn't mention your little archery incident to anypony, did you?" 

They all nervously smiled, saying nothing in response. Of course they didn't say anything about nearly killing him a second time.

Mender turned and nervously smiled at Applejack. "Uh...it was twice. Remember that assassin that I fought?"

"Uh-huh...what about it?" Applejack asked.

"These three...may have decided to try archery around that time."

"ARCHERY?!" She turned to look at the fillies. "Are you three crazy? You could have gotten somepony kill-"

Applejack paused for a moment, then her eyes opened in shock. Realization hit her hard as she knew exactly what happened at that time. Mender rubbed the back of his neck while the fillies nervously looked around as they fiddled with their forehooves.

"Yep, that's what happened. They apologized for it already. I forgave them right in the middle of the fight, too."

Applejack was stunned, and said nothing. This made Mender nervous a bit, so he continued to talk.

"I-In any case, I'm alive, the assassin's been dealt with, but they still feel bad and want to help me somehow. So they sneaked onto the train, and I just found them here. That's all that happened, honest."

Applejack shook her head and processed his words carefully. He wasn't lying, that much was certain, but she was still mad at the Crusaders for sneaking along like this.

"Mender, I believe ya. However, these Crusaders shouldn't be here." She turned to face the Crusaders. "As soon as this train stops, you three are going home!"

"Aw, but Applejack-" They all started. 

Mender interrupted. "I agree." He turned to face the girls again. "Sorry Crusaders, as much as you want to help, I think you'll actually be in more danger here than back in Ponyville."

At that moment, a voice over a loudspeaker on the train spoke.

"Attention passengers. We are now arriving at Canterlot Station. All passengers departing for Canterlot, please double-check that your belongings are with you before you leave the train."

---------------------Canterlot Station-----------------------

The station was packed tightly with Celestia's royal guards. One could hardly see the exit to the station past the blue mohawks and golden armor and helmets.

As soon as the train stopped, the guards began to comb the train in a quick and secure manner. Guards outside were checking the exterior for any unwanted passengers above or below the train, handled by pegasi or earth ponies respectively. Unicorns boarded the train with glowing horns passing over the passengers.

Mender figured they were checking for changelings. Given the shield that they passed through, this was unsurprising to him. Still, as a unicorn colt passed his horn over him, Mender felt slightly violated at the probing magic. However, he shrugged it off, and the guard walked past without casting him a second glance. The fillies and Applejack were given the same probing treatment as well, but it set off no alarms to the guard there, either. That was of some small relief to Mender, surprisingly.

After a few more moments of thorough inspection, the guards gave the all-clear, and all the ponies finally got to leave the train and enter the station. 

"Sheesh, these guards are uptight, aren't they?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"They're just doing their job, Rainbow Dash. After the changelings nearly succeeded in their invasion, it's no surprise to me they upgraded their security procedures," Twilight responded.

"Augh, but did they have to be so uncouth with their searching? They had to sift through all five of my bags!" Rarity complained.

Mender blinked. "Wait a minute, you brought five bags?"

Rarity giggled. "Oh, Mender, this is nothing. When I came here to mingle with Canterlot royalty some time ago, I brought twenty bags with me! Though I was also busy doing some clothes designing too, so that makes it sound MUCH more reasonable, don't you agree?"

Twenty bags?! Mender silently offered his condolences to the bellhop who dealt with that.

Mender narrowed his eyes. "I've only ever had one suitcase, Rarity. The army's taught me to keep the essentials and forgo little else. Was it really essential for you to bring twenty bags?"

"Of course, darling! Whatever would I be able to accomplish if I didn't bring everything in case some inspiration struck me while I was there?"

Mender sighed and gave up. Her definition of "essentials" vastly differed from his, and he didn't feel like arguing about that right now.

"Nevermind. Twilight?"

"Yes, Mender?" she replied.

"What's the quickest path to the castle?"

"Right down the main street as soon as we leave the station, why?"

"What's the matter, Mender? Don't feel like sightseeing?" Dash asked.

"We were summoned here by the Princesses," Mender bluntly stated. "I'd like to get that business sorted out first before I even consider looking around."

"Good point," Dash conceded.

Before leaving, Mender decided to approach one of the guards who had inspected the train. He wanted to know when the train was going back to send those Crusaders home.

"Hey, when's this train going to get back up and running?" he asked.

"Train's shut down for the rest of the day," the guard gruffly responded.

Mender blinked. "...Come again?"

"The Friendship Express won't be making any departures for the rest of the day, sir."

Oh no. NO! The guard didn't say that. He did NOT say that!

"WHAT? Listen, we had a few...stowaways come along on this train uninvited, and they need to go back to Ponyville ASAP."

At this point the guard was getting annoyed. "Well, they won't be going back on this train. Not today. Princess's orders. Now, sir, I've got duties to tend to, so if you'll excuse me..." The guard left, leaving Mender flabbergasted at this development.

Princess's orders?! Oh Tartarus, were they serious?

"Mender, what's wrong?" Twilight asked as she and the other mares came up to him. Fluttershy was wisely keeping her distance.

He slowly turned with wide eyes, still processing what he had just heard. He then closed his eyes and held a hoof to the bridge of his nose.

"The Crusaders...have to stay," Mender spoke.

He didn't need to see the faces of those six to know they were all surprised to hear this. "WHAT?!" Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, even Pinkie shouted in shock.

"I honestly wish I was telling the worst joke in the world, but I'm not. The train's not going back to Ponyville today due to an order from Princess Celestia."

Mender swore he heard jaws dropping to the floor of the station. However, he heard something else that flipped his stomach again.

Cheering from the three Crusaders.

"Woohoo! We get to stay in Canterlot!" Scootaloo was beaming at this development. They were all bouncing around in merriment.

Mender felt a headache forming yet again. Yep, this day just got worse.

-----------------------------

As they all left the station, they saw that even with the shield up, the city of Canterlot still seemed to function normally. The buildings all looked wonderfully regal in design, safe for a few street vendors with painted wooden stands set up with ponies peddling their wares. The bright cobblestone road sounded loudly from the hoofsteps that landed on it. There were a few nervous ponies walking around looking up at the shield, but not many seemed all that concerned. Mender shook his head. These ponies knew how to live carefree if the shield didn't bother them that much.

The fillies were told to be on their best behavior as they walked. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle split up to move with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity respectively as they moved through the town. Rarity was wearing three of her bags and gave Sweetie Belle the other two as her own form of punishment for the filly, which Mender appreciated. Rainbow Dash decided to walk with Scootaloo as opposed to her usual hover to make the filly more comfortable. Twilight led the group as they traveled, Mender close behind her. Pinkie and Fluttershy brought up the rear, leaving the filly-mare pairs in the center where they could be watched carefully by their guardians and two extra pairs of perceptive eyes.

Mender breathed a sigh of relief. With so many eyes bearing down on the Crusaders, he was convinced they wouldn't harm him any more than they already had today. The fact that nothing happened as they walked up to the castle gates was refreshing news as well. Mender was sure they'd get distracted doing something ridiculous, but the mares were focused on the task at hand and made no detours.

As soon as the guards at the gate saw Princess Twilight, they bowed their heads in acknowledgement.

"Good afternoon, Princess Twilight. What brings you to Canterlot Castle?" a guard asked.

"Princesses Celestia and Luna have summoned me, Mender, and the Elements for a meeting."

"Ah...and what of those three fillies?" the other guard asked.

"Extra baggage." The mares shot Mender a hard glare at that statement. 

"What? I can't be sarcastic at a time like this?" He responded with a sheepish grin, and they all sighed in response.

"Could we please have some rooms prepared at the castle? The train's shut down for the day, and my friends and I could use some time to rest," Twilight requested.

"Of course, Princess." One of the gate guards bowed, then left through the gate to tell the servants inside to begin preparations. The other guard merely nodded and opened the gate the rest of the way, letting the group through into the castle.

The walk toward the castle was pleasant. Expansive gardens lined a very intricate concrete and stone road leading up to the castle front door. Outside of Pinkie bouncing around and giggling every so often, this was the first time in this city that he didn't hear the hustle and bustle of the town. He admired the Princesses for that moment, having such a quiet setting beyond those golden gates.

That would be short-lived as a loud explosion was heard in the sky. Everypony in the group directed their heads toward the sound.

The sight before them was shocking. A flaming chariot had just come through a rather large hole in Luna's barrier. Whatever hit that barrier was incredibly powerful to blast such a hole. Was the attack happening already?!

Apparently not, for nothing was coming through that hole outside of the chariot, which was now aiming for a crash landing right in the middle of the Canterlot Castle gardens.

-------------------------------

Nile had taken far too long in setting the spell up. Casting such a large beam while in high-speed pursuit was a stressful affair, but she succeeded in striking the chariot. She didn't expect it to put a hole in a barrier surrounding Canterlot, however.

Regardless, it was too late. The chariot, despite the damage, flew through and began to land. It wouldn't be a good landing as they observed carefully through the hole that it was going to impact in the gardens.

Nile cursed to herself. Royal guards would be on that scene in mere minutes, and that meant there would be no time to go down there and get the body before this barrier would reform itself and seal off their escape.

She had one last shot to salvage what she could of this situation, and that was to burn the chariot and the body. If the body wasn't recovered, Locus would want it eradicated, she reasoned. 

She cast a spell that struck the chariot as it fell through the hole, igniting it in a blaze. The barrier then closed at that instant, and she prayed it was enough. Lord Locus wouldn't like this one bit...but if she was to be punished, she would accept it. Nile's loyalty to him was too strong.

With a small, silent gesture, the unicorn and two pegasi began their return back to the mineshaft.

--------------------------------

As the chariot impacted within the gardens, the blaze upon it began to spread like wildfire to the bushes and flowers surrounding the area. A brief flashback came to Mender showing his burning home, which he quickly pushed away. Smoke quickly began to rise from the chariot, and in that instant, Mender found himself delegating orders to the mares.

"Fluttershy, take the fillies inside the castle and get them to safety. Rainbow Dash, if there are any clouds in here, gather them for some rainwater to put out the blaze from above. Rarity and Twilight, if either of you know any water or wind conjuring magic, use it to help make a path towards the chariot so I can get close enough to pull out any survivors. Applejack and Pinkie, gather dirt and use it to smother the fire extending out to the surrounding area. Crusaders...don't do anything stupid."

He expected objections, but received none. Fluttershy acted first and gathered the fillies, ushering them toward the castle's front door. They didn't bother resisting as they moved of their own accord toward the castle. 

Dash took off immediately to begin rounding up clouds. Pinkie disappeared as she drilled a hole in the ground to kick up dirt (Mender didn't bother questioning how she does things anymore) while Applejack pulled off her stetson to use it as a makeshift bucket. 

Twilight dashed off towards the fire, her horn glowing as she prepared a wind spell. Rarity was the only one slightly reluctant (being the only one to care about her looks) but understood the situation. She had set her bags down on the ground and joined Twilight by preparing a wind spell of her own.

Mender followed after the alicorn and unicorn, waiting for them to finish their spells before he made his move for the chariot.

--------------------Canterlot Castle Interior-----------------------

Princess Celestia heard the explosion and the impact of something landing outside the castle. She knew Luna's barrier was breached, so the first thing she did was check on her sister's well-being. The guards would update her later as she had just sent them out to quickly let her know of the situation.

She quickly ascended the steps leading to Luna's bedroom in her tower, and thrust open the door with a strong telekinetic force.

Luna had hastily repaired the damage to the hole in the barrier, but was visibly sweating a bit. Her stance was slightly wide as well, another indicator of her tiredness.

"Lu, are you okay?" Celestia asked.

"I'm...fine, Tia," Luna responded as she took a few breaths. "It's just...been a thousand years since I've had to repair a barrier so soon after putting it up."

At this, Celestia smiled and nuzzled her sister. It warmed her heart to know that she's put Nightmare Moon behind her enough to even joke about it at a time like this. Despite that, Luna was tense and tired, and Celestia knew it.

However, the touching moment was short as two guards entered the Luna's room. They both promptly saluted before one spoke.

"Princesses, we have an update on what breached Princess Luna's barrier. It appears to be a royal escort chariot that was attacked and set on fire as it approached Canterlot. As to who or what attacked, we haven't been able to determine yet, but nothing has breached the barrier other than the chariot. As I speak, Princess Twilight and her friends are working to contain the blaze. Other guards are scrambling to help them right now."

"Thank you. You are dismissed," Celestia spoke. The two saluted and went back to helping with the fire containment.

Still, a royal escort chariot attacked just as it was reaching Canterlot? Celestia thought that either the Changelings were very bold, or something else was ahoof with this assault. There wasn't time to dwell on it, however.

"Lu, I'm going to help Twilight contain the fire. You stay and rest, alright?"

Luna wanted to refuse, but she knew her limits.

"...alright, Tia. Be safe."

Celestia nodded, and left Luna in her bedroom as she flew out the balcony window to survey the scene.

The fire in the gardens below was spreading rapidly. Rainbow Dash had collected a few sparse clouds to get some rainwater to contain any fires that were branching too far outward. Twilight and Rarity were using gusts of wind to maintain a clear path to the burning chariot, where she could see Mender pulling out a badly wounded pegasus from the wreckage. Applejack was using dirt to put out embers that had spread to the bushes, while Pinkie was digging trenches along the edges of the fire to cut it off before it could ignite anything else. She couldn't spot Fluttershy, but it seemed like the fire was being contained at a good rate.

However, one branch of fire was spreading rapidly, long before Rainbow Dash or Pinkie could move to cut it off. Acting upon it, Celestia dove downward and blasted the stray flames with a gust from her wings, which she then turned into a larger windstorm by amplifying it with her horn as she touched down on the ground. The storm blew out most of the fire, save for a few small embers.

The windstorm caught the attention of all the Elements and Mender, who stopped what they were doing momentarily to watch Princess Celestia assist in tackling the fire. The moment was awkward for Mender the most, who was surprised to see the Princess getting her hooves dirty. He figured the guards would be doing most of the grunt work containing the blaze.

It didn't take long for the guards to come, bringing with them buckets upon buckets of water to fling upon the remaining embers that had survived the windstorm Celestia had summoned. Mender continued to pull out a second pegasus from the wreckage and set them down next to the first pegasus.

Confident in that her guards would finish containing the fire, the mares stopped what they were doing and cheered for Celestia, causing her to blush slightly. Mender caught the blush she had and smirked as he went back to the chariot a third time. It was then that he noticed a grey hoof sticking out from one of the sheets. A third one?!

Mender quickly lifted the sheet off...and took a few steps back in shock, his eyes reflecting a fear that had long since been buried.

"No...NO! It...it can't be!" 

Princess Celestia and all the Elements turned at Mender's words. They all saw the fear in his eyes, and their smiling, cheering faces quickly turned to ones of concern.

What he saw on that dead mare...this was not the same nightmare that had claimed his family's lives. No...this was something deeper and darker that had reared its ugly head in Mender's past.

The black, pulsating mass on the corpse's flank was the last thing Mender saw before he did something nopony expected.

He fainted.
> Ch. 2-5: Dark Discussions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia and the Elements rushed over to the chariot as soon as Mender fell. Whatever he saw must have been startling enough to cause him severe duress, so they turned their attention to the body.

It was a grey and black colored mare, that much was noticeable. However, her eyes were clouded with darkness and her cutie mark was consumed by a dark, pulsing mass.

While the Elements exhibited confusion at the sight, Celestia realized that this was clearly a delivery toward Canterlot's Medical Research Facility. No illness she had seen looked like this before, but if Mender fainted to it after such a fearful look in his eyes...

Celestia concluded that he had to know what it was. Either that, or he was squeamish around dead bodies, which seemed very unlikely in his field of work. No, Celestia had a strong suspicion that Mender knew something about this corpse that she did not. 

Considering how long she has lived, this was a surprising revelation to her. She has seen and personally assisted in the curing of every discovered disease in the time of her rule. It has helped her kingdom thrive to this day, and she believed that time has come again.

Her questions on the matter would have to wait. This crash site needed to be cleaned up, and Mender clearly needed a place to recover before he would be able to answer.

"Princess Twilight, take Mender to one of the prepared rooms in the castle so that he may rest. Take the wounded pegasi in as well. I will organize the disposal of the chariot and figure out what to do with the body."

Twilight nodded. She and Rainbow Dash lifted Mender off the ground and began to move him, the other mares following slowly behind carrying the two pegasi. Rarity wanted to complain about the blood trickling down into her brilliant white coat, but that would have been selfish, so she didn't. Fluttershy had just opened the castle door, and when she saw Mender's unmoving yet uninjured body, she felt a small pang of guilt inside her. She held the door open to let her friends inside.

Meanwhile, Celestia had ordered a few of her Sun Guards to start disposing of the chariot pieces. Two guards were instructed to follow Celestia toward the Medical Research Facility while carrying the corpse of the mare in a stretcher. If this spooked Mender, she would treat it with the utmost care.

She briefly wondered if Luna would be alright in the castle, but remembered that Twilight and her friends were there. There was nothing to worry about as far as she knew, so she began her escort of the body towards the facility based just outside the castle gates.

--------------------Several Hours Later--------------------

Nile and the two pegasi she had chosen had landed outside the mine just as the moon began to rise. Immediately she felt a sense of dread as she walked past the burly earth pony guards keeping watch outside. The pegasi, satisfied that their duties were fulfilled, had returned to their usual tasks inside the mine, flying over the guards' heads as they entered. Nile thought she heard sounds of pain, but shrugged them off as sounds of battle from the training grounds below.

She crossed the bridge handing over the center of the mine, but the noises she had heard of fighting and training had stopped for the moment. Odd, there was usually some ponies practicing at every hour...or at least the ones where she had been here instead of doing field work for Locus.

,,,wait, if that was the case, what did she hear as the pegasi flew in?

The thick iron door opened with a grinding noise as Nile made her way into Lord Locus's throne room. She heard sounds of a struggle from inside, yet she showed no concern as the second door opened to reveal Locus choking a recruit to death before disposing of their body down the mineshaft near the throne.

"Ah, I love it when I can get my hooves dirty. Such a wonderful feeling it is!" Locus had stood on his back hooves and raised his forehooves into the air, bearing a wide, cheerful smile on his face.

"Was that the tenth recruit this week, Lord Locus?" Nile asked.

"Twelfth. Those two pegasi that were with you didn't make it far when they returned," Locus corrected.

Nile blinked in shock. "What? Lord Locus, if you keep killing our recruits, how will we have a standing army ready?"

"Oh Nile, Nile, Nile, you misunderstand. I'm weeding out the weaker ponies so that they do not harm our current competent numbers. I want warriors, not mindless grunts that serve only as cannon fodder. I'd rather have one pony bear the strength to kill ten before falling than taking ten ponies to slay one foe."

"Plus...I still have use for the dead yet." The smile grew even wider as Locus said this, and Nile felt a small chill flow down her spine.

The smile then left Locus's face as his eyes narrowed and his mouth formed into a small frown. "But enough about that. Tell me Nile, have you recovered the mare's body like I asked you to?"

Nile bit her lip. "No, Lord Locus. I could not. The pegasi pulling the chariot were faster than expected."

"Expected?" Locus tilted his head to the side in a small confusion. "Did you not pick the two fastest pegasi for this assignment?"

"I...did not," Nile admitted. "I had planned on ambushing the chariot as it neared Canterlot, but they had taken a different path than was anticipated."

"Did they now?" Locus was unconvinced, but let Nile continue.

"Yes, and I had to give chase. I had struck them with a beam from my horn, but they had entered Canterlot and crashed into the castle gardens."

Locus gritted his teeth. "So you couldn't recover the body. Did you at least have the good sense to destroy it?"

Nile smiled. "Of course, Lord Locus. I had set the chariot on fire before it crashed. I imagine it left quite the blaze in its wake."

Locus's tone turned angry in an instant. "You 'imagine' it left quite the blaze? Nile, I'll ask again. Did the body burn to ashes or not?"

Nile took a step back as her face reflected fear. "I...I...couldn't see. Luna had put up a barrier which I destroyed with my beam, but as I lit the chariot on fire the barrier had repaired itself."

Her admission to the truth did nothing to dissuade Locus's furious look. "So you're telling me that you didn't fly through that barrier to ensure the body was destroyed?! Nile, it landed in the castle gardens. That means guards and probably even the Princesses would step in to control the fire you set. While I do not doubt your ability to burn things well, I doubt they would sustain long enough to outpace a Princess and her guards putting them out!"

"I-I'm sorry Lord Locu-"

"DO. NOT. APOLOGIZE." Locus's voice boomed and echoed inside the room. "You do not have the privilege of doing so, Nile. You have failed me yet again. It is only by your own dignity, or is it stupidity...in that you have come back to humbly accept your punishment."

"....yes, Lord Locus. I...am ready to accept your punishment." Nile hung her head low, awaiting whatever Locus had in store for her.

Locus stepped forward and tilted her head up, forcing her to stare into his eyes. His spiteful, burning eyes. Her heart was pounding, screaming for her to run, but she would not.

Suddenly, Locus smiled. "Nile, Nile, Nile, I believe you did everything you could considering the circumstances. Well...not everything, but mostly everything. While normally I would impose death on such a grievous blunder, I have already killed enough ponies for today. However, that is NOT why you live this evening."

Nile was shocked, and found herself asking out loud, "Why?"

A wicked smile formed on Locus's face. "I...will simply say that new information has come to light that has saved you from my wrath today. As to how long this information shall keep you alive, that will be determined at a later date as I have it verified by my informants. You are dismissed...for now."

Nile stepped back and bowed deeply before she quickly turned to trot for the door. Just what information could Locus have possibly learned that made her life valuable enough to not lose it just now?!

"Oh, and Nile? Deliver the bodies of the pegasi here. You'll not walk away without some kind of punishment. I believe carrying the corpses of your cohorts for your bungled task to the shaft will suffice for the time being."

Nile shuddered as she closed the iron door leading to Locus's throne room before stepping out to the mineshaft. She looked down below and the bodies of the pegasi she picked sat at the bottom of the torchlit mineshaft. She would have to walk all the way down and drag the body all the way up back to his throne room twice over before her punishment was completed. Nile grit her teeth as she began the long descent down.

-----------------Canterlot Castle, Exterior Gardens------------------

Celestia had returned from dropping off the corpse at the Research Facility, and she had left her escorting guards at the entrance gate to help bolster security for the evening. Luna had just raised the moon as Celestia lowered the sun to usher in nighttime.

The ground was still charred around the crash site as she approached the castle door. It clashed with the natural beauty of the garden for now, but it would grow back in time. She shook her head and opened the door. Hopefully Mender was awake by now.

Just as she opened the door however, she heard buzzing. Instinct took hold as she stood in a combat stance, ears swiveling to pinpoint where she had heard the sound.

Another buzzing noise. This one came from inside the castle. Then another noise from outside. 

The changelings were already here?! Her horn glowed in preparation for a fight as her eyes darted around between the door and the immediate area. The buzzing seemed to intensify as she did so.

She saw a dark figure make a move between the two columns, lit up against Luna's moonlight. She took aim at the figure and fired.

The shot had struck true, dropping what she now confirmed to be a changeling down to the ground.

Buzzing was all around her now as the sound of rapidly flapping wings filled her ears. Her horn glowed again as she prepared herself for the swarm of changelings creeping out from the doorway and behind the columns.

She fired off another shot at the swarm in the doorway, intent on escaping inside the castle to alert everypony she could find to their presence.

-------------------Canterlot Castle. Interior Guest Room--------------------

"Tell him, Mender. Tell that dependent little prisoner in there that nopony is coming for him." A shadowy stallion garbed in a general's uniform spoke.

"What? NO! That will kill him! You've seen how needy he is! He's already told us everything he knows!" Mender pleaded.

"That he has. However, now is the time to BREAK him. It's time to see what this curious little disease you found is capable of, Mender. It's already shown us so much, but I must know if it is lethal."

"General, please, he doesn't have to die!"

"My order is FINAL, Mender. Break what little hope he is holding onto. Do it NOW."

--------------------

"NO! I WON'T!" Mender woke up from his nightmare screaming these words. 

This startled everypony in the guest bedroom, who had all jumped up a few feet at his scream. Pinkie was a few feet higher than the others.

Fear was still in Mender's eyes as they took in the scenery around him. He was in a bed in a rather large, ornate room. Twilight and her friends were lying on the floor, while Rainbow Dash was still flying in the air with a panicked look on her face. It was about that time that Mender realized he spooked them all with his scream, and sighed.

Twilight was the first to raise to her hooves, so she approached the bed first.

'Evening, Mender."

"Evening, Twilight. Sorry for the scare. Had another bad dream again."

Twilight blinked, then asked him a question. "Was...was it related to that body you saw?"

Mender groaned. Tonight was NOT a night he wanted to spend answering a ton of questions. Tomorrow he would but for now...

"Yeah, nah. I'm going back to bed. Somepony wake me when Twilight isn't grilling me with questions like she always does."

"Mender!"

"You know she won't leave you alone, sugar cube," Applejack said as she approached.

...Sugar cube? "Okay, don't call me that, AJ. I'm nowhere close to being that sweet. Seriously though, I still refuse to answer. No more questions for tonight."

Before Twilight or Applejack could respond, Pinkie shot up between them and the bed. "Girls, I think Mendy needs his space."

Mender slowly peeked his head out from under the covers. Pinkie standing up for him by respecting his need for peace and privacy? When did THAT happen?

Twilight sighed, and Applejack rolled her eyes as they gave up their questioning session...for now. Mender knew they would ask him later, but right now he needed a clear head.

"Well, you heard the Energizer Pony. I need my space. Don't worry, once I get things sorted out in my noggin, I'll come out and start explaining things to you all...and Princess Celestia."

They all nodded, and began to leave the room. Fluttershy was second to last, still looking at Mender with guilt-stricken eyes. She was having a hard time letting that incident at the train station go. Mender grumbled, he would need to talk to her about that later when he wasn't in a foul mood.

Pinkie was last, probably to ensure the other ponies would leave first, Mender had reasoned. Before she left, however, Mender had to ask her something.

"Pinkie?"

She zipped over to the bed in an instant. "Yeah, Mendy?"

"I'm confused. You of all ponies stood up for me while Twilight was busy pestering me with a question I didn't want to answer. Why?"

Pinkie smiled, but it wasn't her usual wide grin. No, this was a softer smile. It threw Mender off-guard. "I know when ponies need personal space, Mendy. I learned that while I was trying to make friends with a donkey that was crankier than you were."

"Was he so cranky that his name was Cranky?" Mender chuckled.

"Cranky Doodle Donkey was his name." Pinkie confirmed. Mender blinked. There was seriously a donkey called Cranky?

"I kept being persistent with him because it was foreign to me at the time that somepony out there didn't want to be friends with me. It was only after he told me his story of how he came to Ponyville that I realized he was somepony that valued his time alone."

"So...did you leave him alone?" Mender asked.

"Nope! I found his special somepony and became friends with him that way!" Pinkie cheered.

Mender gave her a vacant stare. "...Pinkie, I hope you know that since I'm already your friend, I don't want you going around looking for a hookup for me so that I get to be more of a friend to you."

Pinkie giggled. 'Silly filly, I don't need to do that! You've already got a special somepony!"

Mender blinked. "What in Equestria do you mean by that?!"

Pinkie merely smiled. "You'll see, Mendy. Now, I know you need your space, so I'll just go now."

Before Mender could gather his thoughts and ask Pinkie about a dozen or so questions about what in Tartarus just came out of her mouth, she had zoomed out and shut the door to the room.

"Sheesh, one moment I think I figure that pony out, the next she goes off and says something that throws it all for a loop."

Mender sighed. "Don't bother trying to solve the mystery of Pinkie's personality, Young. You may have explained how she does things, but you'll NEVER figure out why."

"Hah, is that a challenge, Mender?"

"No, it's a warning, and it's one I suggest you take seriously before your head explodes."

"Sheesh, fine. Twilight's a more interesting one to listen to, anyway."

"The bookworm? What about her?"

"She's very...inquisitive."

"Where I come from, I call it intrusive."

"Says the subject of her pointed questions when you're awake. I've listened to her speaking to Nurse Redheart in the hospital, you know."

"What? How? I thought the band didn't work unless it was on my horn. "

"Mender, I stated that your horn acts as a signal booster. Have you not considered that the band wouldn't work just by itself in a local area like Ponyville?"

Mender actually hadn't considered that...but if so, that meant Young had heard much while Mender was recovering in the hospital.

"Anyway, Twilight has asked various...interesting questions, Mender. Medical questions, to be precise.

"Medical? I thought she was already some magical prodigy, what with her being an alicorn and all."

"One would think so, and yet she's been asking questions anyway. I'd even venture to guess she would be reading whatever medical textbooks she has in her library as well."

Mender pondered what this meant until it hit him as hard as a sack of bricks.

"She's learning how to cast healing magic, Young."

"I agree. I also know when and why she started asking such questions. Do you?"

Mender had to think about this for a minute. What would cause Twilight to suddenly take up such a vested interest in healing? It certainly wouldn't be due to just him, would it?

...just him? That's when it came to Mender.

"...it was when Rainbow Dash and I were attacked by Knife Point. That's why she's learning healing magic, in case one of her friends gets harmed again."

"Right on the bits, Mender. You know what that means, don't you?"

This wasn't good. Mender didn't care if she was a magic prodigy, or even that she was an alicorn. Magical healing takes months to mend even small cuts and scrapes, and years to learn how to mend broken bones, heal large exterior cuts and burns, and fix internal organ damage.

But what worried him more was the penultimate in healing magic that he had attempted and failed once before: Revival. Bringing a pony back from the dead, or ponies whose wounds were immensely severe and mortal, yet they still lived for a short time. Mender was only aware of one pony who had mastered that specific spell, and the legends had spoke of them taking over a hundred years to do so. The name of that pony escaped him, but that length of time for mastery did not.

There was also the problem that the magic had been banned by Princess Celestia. Mender didn't need to think to see why. Reviving ponies was a dangerous spell that not only put severe magical strain on the user, as he had experienced firsthoof, but there was also the simple fact that it could be used to resurrect very dangerous creatures that could easily threaten the peace Celestia has kept during her rule.

If Twilight was pursuing this forbidden magic in case one of her friends' lives were threatened...!

Mender shot out of bed as soon as that thought crossed his mind. He shoved the door open as he began his frantic search for the purple alicorn that evening.

He would find something else instead as a scream for help echoed in the castle halls.

It came from Celestia.
> Ch. 2-6: Persistent Pests
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender ran down the hallway where he heard Celestia's scream. He heard a blast of magical energy go off, and he picked up the pace.

He had entered the throne room and saw Celestia flying around escaping a large swarm of changelings following closely behind her. She couldn't shake them, and they were slowly gaining as she devoted what little strength she had into flying.

A stupid, stupid idea formed in his head. He didn't have a better one as he pulled out Celle from the leather holster, and focused its shape into a gladius short sword.

"Hey, bug brains! Why don't you pick on something your own size?!" Mender taunted.

That worked a little too well. Half the swarm broke off from pursuing Celestia and dived towards him instantly.

Mender did the only sensible thing at the time. He fled back down the hallway he came from.

"Shit shit shit shit shiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" Mender had to gallop hard to outpace the swarm, but came up with an idea as one of the changelings had broken off from the pack to reach him first.

As soon as he heard the buzzing wings of the individual changeling come close enough, he stopped for an instant to turn around and slash at the offender making the noise. His slash struck one of the wings and sliced it clean off, causing the changeling to crash immediately. Mender smiled, the idea worked wonderfully. However, he had to keep running, taking down just one changeling wouldn't get rid of an entire swarm.

It was a simple tactic that Mender would repeat as he ran. Take on the swarm one at a time to reduce the chances of getting beaten to a bloody pulp by the group. He had taken down two more using this method, cutting for the wings to quickly disable their pursuit. 

The tactic had to stop being used as soon as he hit the fork in the hallway. He chose left, toward the room he came from, but he stopped as soon as he rounded the corner.

There was another swarm of changelings there, and they sure as buck noticed him, as they now began to charge at him. Mender doubled back and chose the other path instead, barely avoiding the first swarm as they almost overwhelmed him. Unfortunately, both swarms decided to merge into a ridiculously large cluster of changelings before beginning their pursuit of Mender.

Dammit dammit! Where did all these changelings even come from?! Now there were way too many in the newly fused swarm to even consider taking down one at a time. He would tire out long before he could deal with them all...not like he was being tired out as is already just running from them.

Everything was made exponentially worse when he tripped on a bump on the carpet covering the hallway. If he had any slim chance of escaping, that vanished as he fell head-first to the ground.

The buzzing swarm came upon him in an instant...only for it to suddenly be silenced. Mender turned around to see the swarm struggling against a large piece of cloth tied up into a bag. A faint white violet glow surrounded the bag.

"Mender, are you alright?" Rarity asked. She was behind him, her horn glowing the same color as the aura around the cloth bag.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Remind me to tell the Princess to straighten out the carpets in this place."

Rarity smiled, then winced as the changelings struggled against the large cloth bag. 

Mender noticed, and realized they didn't have much time. "Rarity, we need to move, now!"

"Darling, you don't have to tell me twice." Rarity dropped the bag, and both ran down the hallway as fast as they could. As they rounded the next corner, the sound of tearing fabric echoed through the hallway to their ears. Time was running out, but safety was within sight as they spotted a door. Mender opened it and ushered Rarity inside before closing it.

Mender had to take a moment to breathe. Rarity was clearly tired out, too. She was breathing as hard if not more than he was.

"So...I take it that cloth...came from one of your bags?" Mender asked mid-breathing

"Yes...darling. Why...do you ask?" She inquired back.

"Nothing...I'll just never...question your baggage...ever again." Mender chuckled. Rarity seemed to enjoy the humor since she smiled at his statement.

Both of them finally returned to breathing normally. It was then that Rarity's eyes fell upon his sword. Her eyes lit up in an instant.

"Mender, where did you get that gorgeous sword?"

Mender blinked, and realized he was still holding onto Celle in its gladius form.

"Oh, uh...it was a gift. From a very close confidant of mine."

"Confidant, am I? I feel honored."

"Is there a better word to describe this relationship, or am I missing something?"

"No, it's perfect...but you DID remind me that you still owe me for that blade, you know."

"Can you bug me about that at a later time? Kinda dealing with changelings at the moment."

"Can do...and will do."

"Oh, that must be quite the gift! It's so...brutish, yet elegant!" Rarity's eyes were practically glimmering as she continued to stare at his sword.

Mender shook his head in confusion. "I didn't peg you as a fan of swords, Rarity."

"Only the beautiful looking ones. Sometimes I walk by the local blacksmith's in Ponyville and I just marvel at the sheen of his blades. They're almost as stunning as my gems, dear."

So that's where she gets her fascination. It compares to the beauty of her gems. Makes sense...in an odd way. Shiny things are shiny things are shiny things, he guessed.

There was little time left to talk, however as they heard buzzing outside the door. Both of their voices turned quiet as they began to whisper.

"So, uh...any ideas on how to take on a giant swarm like that?" Rarity asked.

"Well, we could use that door as a choke-point to filter them all in. You happen to have anything to use as projectiles?" Mender asked.

"Projectiles? Hmm..." Rarity rubbed her chin before her eyes opened as an idea came to her. 

"Mender, I did bring a collection of gems with me! Though...I do hate using them against such brutish creatures like changelings..."

Mender narrowed his eyes. "Would you rather have said creatures draining you of your love?"

Rarity sighed. "No...I wouldn't."

"Alright then...so where are the gems?"

"They're in the room right next to this one." Rarity had pointed to the wall to the left of the door they came through.

Mender still heard buzzing in the hallway past the closed door, somewhat in that same direction as where she had pointed.

"...So we have to go through the swarm...in order to get projectiles to fend off the swarm?" Mender sighed.

"Yes...that does sound like a bad idea, doesn't it?"

"All ideas can sound terrible to some degree, Rarity. It just takes the right ponies to see them as good ideas...and great ponies to make them better ideas." Mender smiled as an idea came to him.

--------------------------------

Mender had no idea why he said that weird inspirational phrase. By his own admission, this was still a terrible idea he came up with.

He ran out the door and whistled to grab the attention of the swarm. As soon as they gave chase, Rarity would run off in the opposite direction to get her gems weaponized in the room next door. That was the idea in its entirety, Mender had no way of going back outside of cutting through the swarm, and that would be suicide...or at least to him, it was.

Then everything changed when he spotted Twilight as he rounded the corner.

"Twilight!" She turned toward Mender's call as he ran up to her with a panicked but appreciative look on his face. "Oh, thank goodness you're fi-"

'Twilight' responded with an evil smile and punched him hard in the cheek, sending him into the wall.

Mender nursed his cheek for a moment before looking back towards 'Twilight', who was still holding that evil look on her face.

"Okay, I probably deserve that, but not from you." Mender responded with a dash and a quick slash to the horn with Celle, cutting it clean off. The disguise faded as the changeling grasped at its stump in pain. He followed up with an uppercut to the chin, knocking it out instantly.

"I'll take the next hit from the REAL Twilight, thank you very much." Mender snidely remarked.

He then remembered that there was still a swarm on his tail, so he ran off back toward the main throne room. He was certain the opposite pathway at the fork still had some changelings patrolling there, and he didn't feel like getting cornered again.

Unsurprisingly, his previous idea to distract the changelings chasing Celestia seemed to work. She was standing over a mass of changeling bodies, panting heavily. She had suffered a few cuts and scrapes from her scuffle, her coat of fur only slightly stained with her own blood.

"Hope you're ready for round two, Tia!" Mender shouted. 

Celestia nodded amid her breathing as she charged her horn. Mender knew that was a good time to hit the deck.

The concussive spell shot out from her horn and impacted the swarm as it tried to enter the throne room. They were all slammed against the walls, floor, or roof from the explosion, safe a few lucky ones in the back who were simply sent back down the hallway. Mender got up and rounded himself as he began to take on the stunned changelings recovering on the ground.

Learning from his first successful assaults, Mender went for attacks that disabled either their wings or their horns. Preferably both, if he could manage. As much as he felt like killing these bastards for making tonight even worse for him, Mender had always made a point of trying to kill as few of his foes as possible. Being a medic, he swore to preserve as much life as he could manage, even if they were pesky bugs like these.

By his count, he had severed at least twenty wings and fifteen horns, all on different changelings, before some began to rise up and bare their fangs at him. Mender winced slightly as the memory of a timberwolf sinking their wooden fangs into him entered his mind. He didn't want a repeat performance of that, even if their mouths were significantly smaller.

By this point however, Celestia had decided to join in the fight once again. Just as two more were beginning to rise, she had firmly planted her forehooves on both, pinning them to the ground and knocking them out cold. As she did so, she shot another concussive blast out at seven changelings, scattering them against the walls and disabled them all at once.

Mender responded with a nervous grin before running off to slice at more changelings. It was at that moment that he knew he shouldn't cross her...ever. Not that he had any reason to before...he just had even less of a reason to now.

A few minutes passed as Mender and Celestia took on the remaining changelings. Sounds of pained changeling screams filled the throne room and echoed down the hallway. No reinforcements came after those screams, and Mender was thankful for that. As soon as he cut the last changeling's horn off, he had to lean on Celle and catch his breath. Celestia, already being tired, took a few more deep breaths, yet kept her balance better than Mender did.

"Thanks...Princess."

Celestia said nothing. Instead, she went and hit Mender in the cheek. Not as strong as the changeling that copied Twilight's look, but it still hurt.

"OW! What was that for?!"

"For doing something stupid to save me!" Celestia barked.

"Hey now, stupid things work. You're still alive and kicking, and we took out maybe two swarms of changelings! How do I deserve a hit for that?!" Mender shot back.

Celestia thought about it for a moment, and smiled for the first time tonight. "I guess...you didn't deserve that, Mender. I am sorry."

"I hope I don't deserve any more from you, Tia. That hurt, you know," Mender grumbled as he nursed his now slightly blue cheek, having taken two good hits to it tonight.

Celestia shook her head before asking, "Where are the others, Mender?"

"Rarity's down here on the first floor gathering her gems for projectile weaponry. I don't know where the rest are, though I would imagine they're all back down that same hallway somewhere."

She nodded. "Then we should find them before any more trouble befalls them tonight."

"Gee, and I thought we ought to make a break for the front door and flee while we can." This earned him a hard glare from Celestia. He had no idea how he shrugged that off, but he did. "What? I was kidding!"

Celestia just shook her head and flapped her wings as she took to the air. Mender galloped to take the lead as they reentered the hallway he came from.

He took a right at the fork in the path, intent on checking to see how Rarity was doing. He had heard no noise as he rounded the next corner, which was either a good thing or a really, really bad thing.

He stopped at the second door he saw, and knocked on it.

"Rarity? Are you in there? It's me, Mender!"

Mender barely had enough time to get out of the way before gems of all colors shot through the door. Celestia observed the scene with a small look of shock.

"GET AWAY, YOU RUFFIANS! AWAY WITH YOU!" Rarity screamed as more gems tore what was left of the door into nothing but splinters.

"RARITY, CALM DOWN! IT'S ACTUALLY ME!" Mender yelled.

The shots stopped, but Mender sensed she still had her gems trained on the doorway as he slowly poked his head around. 

"How...how do I know it's you?" She asked.

Mender narrowed his eyes. "You have yet to give me my uniform back...and I have Princess Celestia with me."

Celestia walked in front of the doorway to help confirm this, and Rarity released the telekinetic grasp she had on her gems.

"Oh, thank goodness the both of you are alright!"

"I almost wasn't, but thanks for the sentiment," Mender bitterly remarked.

"Do you know where the others are, Rarity?" Celestia asked.

"Fluttershy went into a room farther down this hallway. I don't remember how far, though."

A collection of screams pierced their ears, echoing down through the hallway and through the open doorway. Without any hesitation, Mender, Rarity, and Celestia all ran out of the room toward the sound.

A slam was heard as three changelings were gathered in front of a door, trying to break it down by tackling it. Mender had tried to close the gap, but three gems sailed past him and scored a hit on the changelings, all of them headshots. They all fell down, knocked out cold as Rarity had pulled the gems back toward her and stuffed them into a satchel he didn't notice her carrying before.

"Damn Rarity, you're a good shot," Mender commented.

Rarity blushed slightly. "Oh, it's nothing really."

"Keep your guard up, though. I've had just about enough of changelings for tonight, and I know it's not over yet."

Mender approached the door, and knocked on it. "Fluttershy, are you in there?"

No response, though he thought he heard whispers coming from inside. "Is anypony in there? Please come out. The changelings are gone."

"No...you're still mad at me." She finally responded through the door.

Mender sighed. "What, about the whole Mama Mender thing? I've gotten over it, okay? Now please, come out. I promise I won't hurt you."

He heard shuffling noises on the other side. Fluttershy must have stacked furniture against the door, he thought.

"Mama Mender?" Celestia tilted her head to the side.

Mender winced as he turned his head to acknowledge her question. "Long story, Tia. Please don't ask me about it right now."

Finally, Fluttershy unlocked the door latch and opened it. She had a fearful look on her face which was unsurprising, considering changelings tried to break the door down.

What WAS surprising were three fillies charging out and tackling Mender to the floor. "MENDER!" They all screamed, causing his ears to ring for a minute.

"OW! I mean...uh, glad you three are safe."

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity had pulled her sister off of Mender and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

Mender managed to speak some words of gratitude now that he only had two fillies on top of him. "Thanks for...keeping them safe, Fluttershy."

"Oh Mender, it was no problem at all. I've taken care of them many times before, you know."

Mender blinked. "How?"

Fluttershy smiled. "Oh...well, I have this...Stare of mine that I use sometimes. It keeps all the animals under my care under control when I need to calm them down."

"It's also really scary!" Scootaloo added.

So THAT was the chilly feeling he got when he first met Fluttershy. Mender was happy to know this information should he somehow anger Fluttershy. In a moment of clarity, Mender nodded before he ushered the fillies off of him so that he could stand. He walked over to Princess Celestia while Fluttershy and Rarity kept an eye on the Crusaders.

"Alright. Changelings are probably still patrolling this castle, and now we've got three more to escort to safety. What's the plan, then?"

Celestia thought for a moment before coming to an answer. "I need to find Luna. These changelings had to have come in through her barrier, and I need to find out if she's alright."

"Understood, Princess. You sure you don't need me to come along so I can bail you out again?" Mender asked with a small grin.

Celestia scoffed. "I'll be fine, Mender. You just need to worry about getting those fillies to safety."

"Yeah yeah, I know. Stay safe, Tia."

"You too, Mendy." This time Celestia grinned, while Mender scowled slightly.

Celestia flared her wings, and took off down the hallway toward Luna's tower.

Rarity noticed and spoke up first. "Mender, where's Princess Celestia going?"

"To find Luna. Meanwhile, we have to get the Crusaders to a safer location."

"What about our friends?" Fluttershy asked.

Mender thought about that for a moment. He acknowledged that they could be in danger as well, but safety of the fillies was top priority for him. Hmm...

"In that case, Fluttershy and Rarity, you two go off and find your friends. I can get these fillies out of the castle through the main entrance. Celestia and I already cleared that path out, so there should be no problems escaping that way."

Fluttershy nodded in response, but Rarity had to think it over. She knew that Fluttershy was a capable caretaker for the fillies, but Mender?

He noticed her uneasiness, and made another statement. "Rarity, you and Fluttershy know this castle better than I do. If you're going to suggest that Fluttershy take them to safety again like I had her do before, this time I disagree. Changelings are about, and you need somepony that can fight to protect the fillies during their escape. That's either you, or me...no offense, Fluttershy."

"None taken." She quietly responded.

"That said, you would also know where your friends would most likely be here, which is either in their rooms or at some gathering spot that I'm unaware of. I don't imagine Fluttershy to be my best tour guide while these buzzing bugs are around. Thus, you go with her to find your friends, I get the fillies out on a path I'm familiar with already."

Rarity tried to find a fault in his argument...but couldn't find one. "I understand. That really is the best plan, then."

"Military tact at work, miss Rarity. Now then, let's not waste any more time discussing this."

Silent nods were made all around. Rarity and Fluttershy ran down the same direction Celestia went. Meanwhile, Mender began to guide the fillies back towards the main entrance, laying down a few ground rules as they walked.

"Alright you three, it's time for a field trip. I have three very specific, very important rules for you to follow. One, don't leave my sight...ever. Two, don't touch anything. Three, if changelings find us, hide while I take care of them, and come when I call you as soon as they're gone. Nod if you understand everything I just told you."

The Crusaders nodded as they tried to put on a brave face, but Scootaloo asked a rather simple question.

"What if we have to go to the little fillies' room?"

Mender sighed. Buck me. Just...buck me.
> Ch. 2-7: A Midnight Mirror
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna's tower was oddly quiet as Celestia carefully ascended the steps leading upwards. She was certain the tower would be filled with the same buzzing sound in the castle, but was surprised to discover that wasn't the case.

Had Lu taken on all the changelings in her tower and won? It wasn't an impossible notion...and if so, she would be thankful for not having to deal with any more changelings for now.

As Celestia approached Luna's bedroom, she noticed that there were no guards present.

...come to think of it, she hadn't seen a single guard anywhere in or around the castle since she was attacked at the main doorway. Where were her Sun Guards and Luna's Moon Guards? 

She barged in through Luna's bedroom door, not even bothering to telekinetically open it like she had before.

The sight before her was terrifying. Luna was unconscious, encased in a sickly green cocoon on the floor of the tower. She immediately rushed into the room, intent on slicing a hole in the cocoon with her horn to free her sister.

However, a green bolt of magic struck her from behind and sent her towards Luna's balcony. The bolt was very powerful, and threatened to bring the Princess to unconsciousness as the green magic sent spasms of pain through her body.

Chrysalis laughed as her body slipped out from the shadows near the bedroom door. "Hello again, Celestia."

"Chrysalis," Celestia spat. "Why are you here?"

"Why? Isn't it obvious? I wish to take over Canterlot once again!" She stood on her back hooves, wings buzzing to hold her up as she cheered for herself.

Celestia rose to her hooves, finally able to shake off the remains of the bolt spell. 

"I won't let that happen, Chrysalis. I will protect my ponies!"

"I very much doubt that. You couldn't even take me on last time I was here!" Chrysalis wore a very smug grin on her face, which only served to anger Celestia.

"Besides," Chrysalis added, "I had thought Shining's love was powerful...but Luna's love for you was incredible."

Celestia's eyes opened wide as she absentmindedly looked upward towards the sky. Luna's barrier was still active, and showed no signs of being broken outside of the incident earlier today.

"How did you get past her barrier?" She asked.

"I had...help," Chrysalis admitted, a tone of bitterness present as she spoke. "However, who helped me won't matter when I'm finished with you!" 

Chrysalis fired another bolt at Celestia, but this time the Princess was prepared as she took to the sky and dodged the shot. Before Chrysalis could fire again, she was tackled to the ground by Celestia. Celestia raised a hoof and brought it down on Chrysalis's face, only for it to miss by less than an inch as Chrysalis struck the hoof coming down with her own, deflecting the blow. As soon as she did so, she fired another bolt at Celestia from point-blank range.

It didn't miss. Celestia was blasted off of Chrysalis and hit the ceiling from the force of the shot. She had recovered and was now flying in the air.

"It seems I've underestimated your tenacity, Princess Celestia," Chrysalis spoke as she too took to the air, her wings buzzing as she lifted off the ground. "However, I won't let you stop my plans again, or anypony else for that matter!"

"I've underestimated you too, Chrysalis. That almost doomed my kingdom last time. I won't make that same mistake again!"

Both of them flew towards each other and collided hard, sending a shock wave that rippled throughout the castle.

------------------------------

Fluttershy and Rarity had made their way over to another hallway filled with bedrooms. They had opened the first door and spotted nopony inside when the shockwave hit.

"Eep!" Fluttershy yelped as a loud boom echoed through the castle hallways. She hid feebly behind Rarity, who sighed at her actions.

"Fluttershy, now isn't the time to be scared of everything you hear, dear."

She slowly inched her way out from behind her. "I'm sorry, Rarity. It's just that changelings are so...so..."

"...scary?" Rarity asked.

"Yes..."

"I know dear, I don't like those brutes either, but we need to find our friends. There's nothing we can't do when we're all together, so have faith. We'll find them."

This seemed to lighten Fluttershy's burdens as she managed a weak smile. "Okay, Rarity."

They reached the second door in the hallway and opened it, only to find nothing in it. However, they heard a small explosion go off...and the sound of a kazoo?

Both mares yelled at the same time, though Fluttershy's was less a yell and more like somepony telling a secret to another far away from them.

"Pinkie!"

Both mares scrambled towards the sound, and heard laughter coming from a large area Rarity recognized as the dining room.

The scene before them was almost worthy of Discord's approval. Pinkie was firing her cannon at clusters of other Pinkies, Applejacks, and Rarities while a blue streak was zipping around in the air taking on Fluttershy's, Twilights, and Rainbow Dashes in the air.

Pinkie noticed them immediately, and as she fired off another burst of confetti at a group of Applejacks that got too close, she screamed out to them.

"Hi real Rarity and Fluttershy! You're late to the biggest party EVER!" 

The real Rainbow Dash punched a Twilight in the face, and stopped to greet the two. She knew she could trust Pinkie's judgement on them despite the many look-alikes in the dining room.

"Great timing, you two! Care to join in on the fun and lend a helping hoof?"

Fluttershy was still scared, but tensed her body as she prepared her Stare for action.

Rarity responded by pulling out a hoof full of gems before levitating them around her. Rarity spoke words that need not be spoken, but she did so anyway.

"Gladly, girls."

------------------------------------

"Mender, what was that?!" The fillies almost screamed as a shockwave shook the castle.

Mender took a deep breath before responding. "With any luck, something we don't have to deal with on our way out of here."

Unfortunately, the main entrance was a no-go. He heard another swarm of changelings coming from the hallway opposite his from the throne room, and realized the sound was coming closer. There weren't many places to hide in there to get past them, so he had to double back and take the fillies toward the hallway that held his room. With any luck, that hallway might lead them to another exit that would at least get them outside.

To keep the girls safe, he had sheathed Celle back in the leather holster. As much as he wanted to protect the fillies, he didn't want to be responsible for any errant cuts that came their way that would cause harm to come to them.

Mender had made sure that they all kept quiet as they moved. The fillies were huddled together with their sides pressing against each other, following closely behind Mender as he led them through the dark hallways. Mender knew that deep down he was as scared as they were, but he had to keep calm for them. Celestia knows he would be helpless if he were to panic right now.

They came across another branch path that seemed to lead to another parallel hallway, a thin wall separating the two. He heard a noise come from the other side, and stopped.

He turned to the fillies. "Wait here, and don't touch anything."

They quietly nodded, so Mender broke off to investigate. He sneaked up to the entrance and stuck his head around. A changeling looked right back at him.

He quickly removed his head from the corner and heavily prayed he didn't actually see that. He peeked his head around again...

...only for him to stare at himself.

He jumped from the wall in a small fit of panic, only to find that 'he' had done the same on the other side. Was this actually a mirror?

Mender slowly approached, and this mirror reflected his actions precisely. He thoughtfully stroked his chin, then turned to check his flank in the mirror. Yep, there was his cutie mark, plain as day.

This was surreal. He swore he saw a changeling look back at him earlier. Now this was just plain confusing. If this really was a mirror, he needed a way to find out.

He decided to try something ridiculous. He stood up on his back hooves and proudly declared, "I'm king of the castle!"

The mirror duplicated everything exactly right down to his mouth movements., though he wasn't sure he heard another voice. Damn, that didn't work.

Meanwhile, the fillies had slowly approached as soon as he shouted, only for a most confusing scene to be in front of them as Mender appeared to be shouting at a mirror.

"What's Mender doing?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I dunno...I think he lost his marbles," Apple Bloom responded.

"Your mother is a liar and a cheat!" He shouted while pointing accusingly at 'himself.' Again his movements were copied. They were good...real good.

"Mender? Is everything okay?"

He turned his head, as did the mirror reflection. "Just checking something, fillies. I'm just about finished here."

He turned back to the reflection and tried to look for another detail. Everything looked fine, he didn't seem to be missing anything...wait a minute. If this was a mirror...then where was Celle?

He grinned widely. "Gotcha."

In a flash, he brandished Celle still in its military knife form and swung at 'his' cracked horn, cleaving it off cleanly. The illusion broken, the changeling was on the floor writhing in pain. Mender smiled as he felt proud of himself.

That pride faded as soon as he heard buzzing wings come from past the 'mirror' hallway. His eyes shot wide open as he screamed to the fillies a single word.

"RUN!"

They tore past the parallel hallway entrance just in time before a swarm of about twelve or so changelings came pouring out of it. They were gaining quickly. The fillies weren't able to cover as much ground as Mender could, and he knew it. Thankfully, a corner was coming up and they all rounded it and saw a large doorway ahead that led to a wide open ballroom space.

"Fillies, in there, NOW!" he screamed. He got no response outside of heavy breathing as they kept his adjusted pace. Good, they didn't need to talk, they needed to not waste energy and time responding to him. They all made it through the entrance before Mender stopped and brandished Celle in gladius form once again.

However, something worse scared him as the buzzing stopped...and turned into a stampede of hooves. What rounded the corner were copies of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. A swarm of Cutie Mark Crusaders. 

Mender froze in place at the sight. His ears rung as he failed to hear the real Crusaders' screams to get him to move. This was one of his worst nightmares turned reality.

He shook his head, desperately thinking of some easy out to tell him this was all just a bad dream. He considered pinching his forehoof with his teeth, as silly as it seemed. However, he managed to snap back to reality when he saw the evil grins on the fake Crusaders' faces.

As much as those fillies have put him through Tartarus and back again, they wouldn't dare hold such menacing looks about them. Not to him.

"Fillies, I need you to find an exit and leave. I'll take care of these changelings."

"Mender, no! You told us you'd get us out of here!" Scootaloo objected.

"No, I told you I'd get you out of the castle. There should be a door leading outside here." He looked around for such a door, and found it, gesturing to it with his free hoof. "Leave through there."

"But-"

"NOW, Crusaders! That's an order!" Mender yelled...then a silly idea hit him in order to ensure their cooperation.

"...or are you three not Cutie Mark Crusader Soldiers?"

Any trace of fear left their eyes as they all shouted, "Yes sir, Mender!" before running off to the door.

Mender sighed before readying himself for the swarm of fake Crusaders. Some of them had transformed into Menders now, but he didn't care. The fillies would get out of here.

He would ensure that happened.

---------------------------------

Twilight had met up with Applejack just a few minutes ago. Applejack was less wary of Twilight than the other way around when they found each other, the most obvious reason being that she was the Element of Honesty and knew that was her real friend right from the start.

Both of them were on the other side of the parallel hallway when they heard a stampede through the wall...and Mender's voice.

The mares didn't hesitate one bit. They tore down the hallway as fast as they could manage, Twilight taking to the air while Applejack galloped on the ground. 

As soon as they saw the point where the parallel hallways connected, they saw a changeling writhing on the ground in agony, its horn sliced clean off. Both wondered how that happened considering they heard Mender just a few moments ago. Did he find one of the guard's swords and use it against the changelings?

They would rather find out for themselves first before thinking too hard upon it. They ran through the parallel hallway entrance and back down the direction where they heard the stampede. Both of them hoped they wouldn't be far behind, and they wouldn't be wrong once they rounded the next corner.

The distance between them and the chaos they saw was long, but they could still make out a few details. A crowd of Menders and Crusaders were openly fighting in the middle of a ballroom. Screams of pain were ever constant as one of the Crusaders or Menders fell, turning into a changeling with a missing horn or a wing. However, there were at least nine active bodies fighting in that room, and amid the battle it was still very difficult to spot the real Mender.

Twilight wondered for a moment why they saw the Crusaders fighting until she realized he must have brought them along with him. Weren't they with Fluttershy last she checked? Why did Mender have them now?! A cold feeling gripped her heart as she realized Applejack was thinking the same thing when she looked over to her. Her eyes were filled with fear, mostly for Apple Bloom's well being, but for the other Crusaders as well. If they were still in that room, both of them had to act fast.

Both of them burst into the ballroom without a moment more of hesitation. Twilight cast a powerful telekinetic spell that grabbed everypony in the room still fighting, and froze them all in place, leaving them unable to talk for now. She then categorically arranged the ponies left. Three menders, and two of each Crusader remained as she aligned them all in a single-file line, all facing towards her and Applejack.

"So...how do you want to do this, Twi?" Applejack asked.

Twilight thought for a moment how she wanted to go about this. "Ask them a question first. Start with the Menders. I'll release the hold on them long enough so they can answer your question."

"And if they lie?"

"Do what you do best, AJ."

AJ smirked, and the Menders all gulped in unison. She walked up to the first Mender as Twilight released her grasp on him.

"Have you met my brother, Big Macintosh?" she asked.

"Yes," Mender responded.

AJ turned around, and bucked the first Mender hard in the groin. No scream was heard, but they immediately transformed back into a changeling and fell to the ground, completely disabled by the kick.

She moved to the second Mender next. "What did you get mad at Fluttershy for back at the train station in Ponyville?"

"I refuse to answer!" Mender stated obviously, and somewhat angrily.

Applejack smirked. That IS something Mender would say, but it was still a lie to her. The second Mender received the first's exact same painful kick, and another changeling was revealed.

Twilight released her hold on the third Mender, who was sweating gallons. They were very much unnerved by what had happened to the first two changelings. Applejack gave him a long look, and realized he had taken much more of a beating than the other Menders so far. There were even bite marks on his legs, probably from the Crusaders next to him.

Applejack smirked. This was the real Mender...but she still wanted to ask him a question.

"Where's my sister and the other Crusaders?"

"I sent them outside through a door back there to give them time to escape! The ones next to me are all fakes!"

Honesty at last. She knew without a doubt this was the real Mender now.

"Take down the other changelings, Twi. This is the real Mender," she stated simply.

Twilight obliged by raising the six 'crusaders' up in the air high, then slamming all of them down on the ground hard enough to break their disguise and knock them all out.

Mender wiped his head with a forehoof. "Oh, thank Celesti-"

At that moment, Applejack bucked Mender in the crotch hard enough to split one of her apple trees in half.

If Mender could scream, it would have reached every room in the castle, out through the exterior gardens, and a small distance out into the town outside the gates. The force of the kick alone should have sent him clean through the roof and into Luna's barrier, and yet he still stood there.

"-aaaaugh......." was all that Mender could squeak out from his mouth before he collapsed onto the ground.

"Applejack!" Twilight yelled. "What was that for?! You said that was the real Mender!"

"It is," she said with a smug smile on her face. "That was for lettin' the Crusaders outta his sight."

Twilight simply facehoofed in response.
> Ch. 2-8: An Unexpected Ally?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mender felt an oddly familiar warm glow envelop around him, and found he could breathe normally again as he was held aloft in the air.

If he didn’t heavily suspect Twilight was researching healing magic before, that was completely confirmed now. He saw her horn glow as he was healed from a kick that probably devastated the chances of any future children of his existing.

She finished the spell and set Mender down on the ground. The first words to come out of his mouth were absolutely expected.

“AJ, you owe me SO much right now.”

“The hay do I owe you for?!”

“For saving those damn fillies! Would you think it to be a good idea to keep them around others that look like them AND expect me to keep track of them while fending off over ten changelings?! Have you ANY idea how reckless that sounds compared to sending them away to escape?”

Applejack was taken back, realizing that would be quite difficult to do. “You...You’re right. I’m sorry. But still, we need to find them!”

“I know that! I just sent them out toward the gardens. Hopefully they’re on their way toward the gates no-”

A high-pitched scream from outside cut him off, and they wasted no more time moving outside. AJ took off first toward the door, with Mender running next to Twilight as they both followed closely behind. He had one thing to say to her as well as they ran.

“You and I are going to have a very important conversation later.”

Twilight nodded and said nothing, knowing he was referring to her healing spell. Wasting breath talking about it now was wasting time.

AJ kicked the door open with her front hooves, almost knocking it off its hinges as she looked around the evening garden for the source of the scream. As Mender and Twilight joined her, It didn’t take long to figure out who it came from.

The Crusaders were corralled and huddled in front of a statue as a swarm of changelings was about to descend upon them. Sheesh, they escape from one swarm only to get caught by another outside? Mender hoped they would make it to the main gate, but they ran in the opposite direction, probably headed off by this swarm. Why did he think it was any safer outside if the inside was so dangerous as is?

AJ ended up being right after all. HE was the one at fault here. Maybe not at fault enough to deserve that kick, but still at fault despite his noble intentions. There was no time left to dwell on it, however...but it already seemed too late. The fillies were trapped and the swarm was too close to them for the group to reach them in time.

Suddenly, a changeling in the back of the group screamed in pain before it fell to the ground, causing the swarm to cease its advance. A second fell, then two more, and the swarm scattered, trying to find whatever was attacking them.

This proved to be a worse strategy as stragglers were picked off one by one in rapid succession, ten of them falling in less than eight seconds. This visibly caused the remaining changelights to panic and flee, thinking it to be the best option. 

AJ, Mender, and Twilight were stunned at the scene. In this darkness, all they saw were the changelings falling and not knowing why. There were no bright lights indicating magic bolts being used, so what took them down?

Mender rushed in while the mares stood aghast at the scene, and immediately knew who was responsible as he saw kunai sticking out of the bodies of the changelings.

Mender began to sniff around the nearby bushes closest to the statue while the mares got out of their shock and tended to the very frightened fillies. 

Then, almost instinctively, he walked over to a nearby bush and punched it. The bush crumpled into a heap as a yelp of pain came from it, and Knife Point burst out from behind the thin wooden board painted meticulously to look like the bush.

“Point.”

“Mender.”

“How the buck did you get in here?” Mender asked.

“I came here on the train, in the same car you were in of course,” Point replied.

He was? How did Mender not notice him-oh, right. The fillies and AJ were heavily distracting him at the time. But…

“How did the guards not spot you then? They were very thorough in looking for changelings.”

“Exactly, they were only looking for changelings. If they had bothered to do a half-decent inspection with their eyes instead of their horns, they might have seen me. Idiots,” Point remarked with a confident smirk.

Mender sighed. Celestia’s security measures were horribly lax if Point could get through such a tight checkpoint right under their noses.

“Well, what are you doing here, anyway?”

“Simple. Making sure YOU don’t die on me.” Point pointed at Mender as he said “you” to emphasize it.

“What? Why?” Mender asked, slightly dumbfounded at Point’s apparent change of heart.

“So I can kill you as soon as you tell me why you spared me!” he huffed.

“...seriously?”

“Seriously?”

“You didn’t need to echo that.”

“What, I can’t voice my own disbelief? This assassin’s a nutjob!”

“Yes, dead serious,” Point continued. “Until you tell me or I figure out why you let me live somehow, I need to make sure you stay alive long enough to tell me!”

Mender strongly resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but decided to ask a different question.

“Well, why did you save the fillies then?” He gestured over to the fillies, who were still recovering from shock and fear as Twilight and AJ tried to get them under control.

Point shrugged. “I have a soft spot for kids.”

Mender narrowed his eyes. “That can’t be your only reason. They fired an arrow into my house at me the last time we fought!”

“That’s also the other reason they’re alive. They make your life miserable.” Point grinned widely, chuckling at his own joke.

“Heh, he’s got a point Mender. Those kids DO make your life entertaining to follow, at least to me.”

“Shut up, Young! Don’t agree with the enemy!”

“Well, he’s not really an enemy if he saved the fillies from the changelings, right? You know, enemy of my enemy...”

“NO! The last thing Point or I would DARE admit is that we’re friends! I’m pretty sure if I suggested that, he would-”

“NOT kill you, remember? Pretty sure you could use that to tick him off, though.”

Mender smiled in a way that instantly made Point uncomfortable. “Young, you’re a genius. A dirty, devious little genius.”

“Well, thanks for saving the fillies, Point. I think you just upgraded to ‘friend’ status.”

Point’s eyes shrunk, and a drop of sweat fell down his face. “W-WHAT?!”

Mender’s smile widened with glee. He knew he was getting under Point’s fur now.

“Oh, don’t play dumb. You’re making sure I’m staying alive, and you saved some young fillies that we couldn’t! Far as I’m concerned, we’re buddies now!” Mender walked up and wrapped a forehoof around his neck, only for him to slink out of the grip and back off instantly.

“We are NOT friends!” he objected, loud enough to get the attention of the other ponies gathered around the statue.

“Hmm...yeah, I’ll go ahead and think we are. All the more for me to torture you with, after all.”

“I-I’ll refute it every time until my death!” Point weakly objected.

Mender laughed. “Hah, go ahead and do that. Until you kill me, I won’t stop.”

“AAAAAAAGH!” Point pulled out the kunai with red cloth tied around it and brought it to Mender’s neck in a flash.

Mender narrowed his eyes again, and stared at Point defiantly as the mares and fillies watched with a fearful look in their eyes. He decided he would be very blunt with his statement.

“Careful now, Point. You wouldn’t want to spill my blood in front of the fillies you just saved, would you?”

“Tch,” was all that came from Point before he withdrew his weapon and holstered it. The mares breathed a sigh of relief before tending to the fillies.

“That’s a good boy. Now then, how about we all go for a nice walk back into the castle and find Twilight’s friends, hm?”

Point scoffed. “Hah, no way. You expect me to willingly walk into a deathtrap for other ponies I don’t know or care about?”

“I figured...though I should let you know I’m going in there. If nothing else, you said you were looking out for only me. What if I decide to get reckless and start trying to kill myself in there?” Mender smirked.

“You wouldn’t.” Point grit his teeth.

“Considering I was just in there and managed to live so far, yeah, I think I can go back in again.”

Point shrugged, which confused Mender for a moment. “Fine, but I’m not going along with your merry menagerie of mares. I work solo.”

Mender sighed. “I expected nothing more or less from you, Point.” He turned to the other ponies, who had finally calmed down despite the commotion from earlier. “Alright, we’re moving back into the castle.”

Applejack immediately objected. “What? No way, yer not puttin’ my little sister or her friends back into that castle, y’hear?!”

“Applejack, they nearly got captured by changelings out here. At this point, I’m very concerned that they won’t even make it to the gate by the time more changelings show up...actually, changelings could be at the gates right now, making sure that there’s no pony escaping to alert the town.”

AJ was about to interrupt, but Mender held a hoof up to stop her as he continued. “Also, leaving them outside here in the gardens will only invite more trouble for them, as they’re left wide open out here without somepony to watch them. Unless you’re feeling confident in taking down an entire swarm of changelings that notices you, and we all know how well that worked for me, I very much doubt staying out here is a good idea.”

“W-well, it’s not like the castle is any safer!” AJ objected again, albeit a bit weaker now. She knew Mender was making good point, but she still thought the castle was a bad spot to bring the fillies into.

“...actually, the castle might be better to stay in after all.” Twilight added, earning a look of surprise from Applejack. “The corridors and hallways, in addition to the bedrooms, force the changelings to fly in a tight cluster. With proper magic spells or wide physical attacks, it’s much easier to directly assault changelings that way as opposed to an open area where they can fly around more freely.”

Mender smiled. “See? Even Twilight thinks it’s a good idea, AJ.”

“Can I vote by saying it’s still a terrible idea?”

“It’s the least terrible idea, Young. That automatically makes it a good idea.”

“I’m not sure that’s a proper way to think of things, Mender.”

“There’s a certain phrase I know, Young. If failure is assured, fail in the best way possible.”

“Hah, I see where you’re going with that...but you think you’re going to lose, then?”

“I would hope not...but this attack is too well planned and coordinated. Most of the guards have been disabled or dealt with, and the attack happened during nightfall which helped mask their approach...however they got in here. This is a far cry from how bold and brazen their first attack was in broad daylight during a wedding.”

“Sounds like they’ve improved their tactics dramatically from last time. They went from cocky to conniving rather quickly...I wonder...”

“Something on your mind, Young?”

“...nevermind. Just had some wandering thoughts, is all.”

“Mender!”

He shook his head to see that AJ, Twilight, and the Crusaders were all waiting at the ballroom door. He looked around for a moment and noticed that Point had vanished...only now, Mender was very aware of his stern gaze watching him from the shadows.

Without any further delay, Mender ran over to the group and followed them all inside as Twilight held the door open for everypony to get in. While she didn’t see Point, she quickly picked up on the fact that he was probably following them anyway, so she shut the door to join her friends.

-----------------------

Point had taken the high ground, scaling a wall that led to a window he had opened on the second floor of the ballroom. It was from this vantage point that moments ago he had seen Mender valiantly fighting a small swarm of changelings...and naturally the nut-smashing kick AJ delivered to him. That made him grin in delight.

His eyes fell on four unlucky changelings that happened to follow him onto the balcony overlooking the ballroom. Unlike Mender, Point had no qualms about killing changelings as opposed to disabling them. Leave it to a medic to save and preserve lives, and an assassin to take them away as quickly as possible. Point was no slouch, despite his many failed attempts to kill Mender, as each changeling either suffered a mortal slash or stab wound to their head or torso. Their body structure didn’t really differ much from a pony’s, which made it all the easier for him consider he knew every vital point a pony had.

Point looked down at the group of ponies below him, including his rather irksome target, Mender. He noted that the orange mare with the stetson (he never bothered to remember their names) was nervously looking around, though he believed she wasn’t looking for changelings. No, she was looking for him. Hah, she’s wasting her time. He never intended to follow them anyway, as he had his own agenda to accomplish besides following Mender.

As soon as he saw the changelings patrolling the gardens in swarms, Point knew something was wrong. Lord Locus had recanted to him and others when he was but a young Recruit about the foolish attempt that Chrysalis made for the throne. It was during such a rare but grand speech of his that he had gone over how the changelings had fought...and comparing that knowledge to how they acted now, there was no doubt in his mind. 

These changelings had outside help to get them this far, and he wanted to know who did it and why. If this unseen hoof of influence was able to get the changelings this far in, they could prove to be a threat to Lord Locus. While Point himself doubted it, he knew that doubt like that would only invite underestimation of a future opponent, and that would prove far more fatal in the long run.

Point walked back into the second floor hallway from the ballroom balcony and saw six changelings patrolling in a three wide, two high rectangular formation, their backs facing him. He smirked. This would go rather quickly.

He pulled out two kunai and chucked them at the changelings. One scored a direct hit to the back of the neck of the bottom-left changeling, killing it instantly. The other went to the top-right changeling’s wing, severing it and causing it to collide with the other two that were flying below it, sending the three to the ground.

The remaining two changelings stopped and turned to face their opponent, only to see nothing there. Curious, one changeling separated to investigate, leaving the other to help the three changelings untangling themselves.

The lone changeling saw nothing out of the ordinary as it slowly flew forward, its wings buzzing all the while. Point had hidden himself behind his wooden camouflage board, brandishing his red-clothed dagger. When the buzzing came close enough, Point rewarded the intruding changeling with a strong stab through the bottom of their skull before bringing them down to the ground.

The still-flying changeling noticed and hissed at Point, who had now folded up his screen and took a combat stance. By this point the changelings on the ground untangled themselves, and they had all transformed into other clones of Knife Point while the changeling above remained flying for air support.

Point’s smirk grew even wider. Copying his appearance was a huge mistake, one that he was gladly going to rectify. He pulled his red cloth kunai out of the changeling he’d just stabbed and held it up to his nose, sniffing the blood on it. It reeked a foul odor of bile and something else Point couldn’t identify. Then he licked the blade, tasting iron and what felt like hot, burning acid on his tongue, and as terrible as it was, he forced a malicious smile towards his foes as he grasped the blade in his teeth.

The changelings that observed his actions were visibly horrified. The pony before them had just tasted their blood, and seemed to be enjoying it. This display both angered them and gave them pause for thought as to whether or not they should fight him.

Point made their decision for them as he charged forward. Out of instinct, they rushed toward him. Exactly as planned.

Point pulled out one of his dust bottles that he had used when he fought Mender and slammed it on the ground not two seconds before the changelings would have come upon him. The sudden smoke blinded the changelings, causing the flying one to ascend above it and the ground ones to scatter in panic. He then pulled the kunai blade out from his mouth and sliced into the cloud, scoring a deep cut along the neck of one of his clones. He rushed into the cloud and found a second disguised changeling, but he wanted to make this one suffer. He brought the kunai down onto the changeling’s back seven times, then severed the wings and horn before leaving them to bleed out. 

Suddenly, he felt the third grounded changeling latch onto him from behind. Despite the weight on his back, Point flared his wings and flew into the air a few inches off the ground. He then inverted himself and shut his wings, going into a small drop that crushed the changeling underneath him. This loosened the grip long enough for him to roll out and gut his foe as they laid on their back.

Point had to take a moment to breathe. He didn’t expect a changeling to find him in the dust cloud he summoned, but it was of little consequence now. There was only one changeling left to deal with, and he decided to be quick. Point chucked his red cloth kunai up into the air above him.

THUNK

The last changeling fell to the ground, the kunai embedded in their head right between the eyes. The fool was looking down for the rest of his squad instead of flying away from the cloud to find help. Well, that saved him the trouble of chasing the changeling down, at least. The last thing he wanted was more reinforcements bearing down on him.

As soon as he removed his red cloth kunai from the changeling’s skull, he ran back toward the bend in the hallway he passed by earlier to deal with the threat in front of him. Rounding the corner, he continued to run down the dark, dimly lit corridor.

It would only take a few minutes for him to find a tower stairwell. On intuition, he ascended the stairs quickly but quietly. He had a feeling by now that if the princesses weren’t incapacitated, they were surely fighting off the swarm...or their leader, Chrysalis. Given how infested this place was, Point assumed the latter was taking place as he approached Luna’s bedroom door. As she was responsible for keeping the barrier up, Point thought it best to check on her first, as she would no doubt be the most vulnerable out of the two.

There was no noise coming from the room through the closed doors. Point carefully looked around for any patrolling changelings, and noted that none were present. He then carefully opened the door, and slowly poked his head inside.

Luna was encased in a green cocoon, and she was either resting or unconscious judging from her closed eyes and her collapsed body within. Gazing upward, he spotted Celestia hanging from a similar cocoon on the ceiling, along with a third occupant in the room buzzing around and applying what appeared to be a green sap-like substance to the cocoon.

Point grinned, and noisily opened the door. This caused Chrysalis to flinch and look down at the intruder, who smiled and began to speak to her in a slightly condescending tone.

“So, you must be Queen Chrysalis.”

> Ch. 2-9: A Pilfered Pony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Who are you?” Chrysalis hissed as she landed in the center of Luna’s bedroom.

“A little colt who got lost trying to find a bathroom,” Point sarcastically remarked, which irritated her quite easily as her wings buzzed in annoyance.

“But...to be more serious, I’ve come to ask you a few questions on behalf of my Lord.”

Her face twisted at the sound of the word “Lord.” Point raised an eyebrow as he waited for her response.

“...this Lord of yours wouldn’t happen to be called ‘Locus’, would he?”

Point grinned. “Precisely. I was unaware that my Lord had an operation going underway here that involved you, Queen Chrysalis. Was he the one that helped you get in?”

She scoffed. “Hmph. I was familiar with the caves of Canterlot long before he told me about them! I was completely aware of the entrance he proposed that I lead my army through to get past Luna’s shield.”

“Ah ah, don’t be so uppity. I was the one that told him about the caves in the first place. I didn’t expect Lord Locus to pass that information onto you, however. I wonder what deal he’s struck with you in my absence...mind if I ask?” Point paced the floor near him as he spoke, careful not to approach the Queen as he did so. 

The Queen grinned at Point’s question, which made him cringe slightly. “He offered me Canterlot and free reign to do with its citizens whatever I desire! In exchange for information on how to take Canterlot as swiftly as possible, he asked for two very small things. The first was the capture and transferal of a certain pony in this castle tonight, and the second a mere fang from one of our changelings! I must say, your Lord is a very generous pony to offer so much in return for so little from us.”

Now it was Point’s turn to grin widely, which wiped the smile off Chrysalis’s face. Lord Locus was a cunning and conniving mastermind. Though Point did not know his plan, he knew this fang Locus acquired would be very instrumental for it, and that Chrysalis was but a mere pawn in his little game.

However, the fact that Locus wanted a pony was news to him. Lord Locus usually had other ways to acquire followers that didn’t involve capture...which meant that the pony he sought was either one of the captured Princesses in the room, or somepony else that he knew would be here in Canterlot Castle at the time of the attack. 

As much as Point wanted to think on this, he began to feel like he’s overstayed his welcome, so he decided to wrap things up.

“Is that so? Very well. In that case, I’ll leave you to your conquering then.”

The door slammed shut in front of Point, covered in a poisonous green glow. Point tipped his head downward toward the ground.

“...I take it we’re not finished here?” Point asked without turning around. Instead, he closed his eyes and began to plan an escape route, just in case a struggle was imminent.

Her voice was both sultry and venomous as she spoke. “I have another question, assassin.” Point flinched at the last word, and she sneered. “Don’t think I didn’t recognize that garb of yours. I’ve seen such clothing on other ponies during my meeting with Locus, and he happily clarified that they wouldn’t kill me if I didn’t make a move for his life.”

Point slowly turned around and raised his head defiantly. “Then ask, Queen Chrysalis. At this point, you are wasting my precious time, and surely you know how important that is to me.”

Her question was blunt. “What are your Lord’s plans for the rest of Equestria?”

Point smirked, and gave a confident answer. “He didn't tell you? Well, I wouldn’t worry about that. If he has struck a deal with you, then he means no harm to you or your followers, regardless of what plans he may have for the rest of Equestria. However, this is not to say that he will leave you alone. My Lord is a patient pony, and when the time comes, he will seek you out again. This, I am certain of.”

Point knew all of this was a lie...but it was also a well-constructed one. Chrysalis was hesitant, believing firmly in her heart that she wasn’t getting the whole story...but so long as her changelings wouldn’t be harmed, then all was well with her. She released her grasp on the door to the room, and Point opened it with ease, releasing the tension he had built up from her antagonizing response moments earlier.

“Thank you, my Queen. Lord Locus sends his regards.”

With a flick of his tail, he shut the door behind him and flew off into the dark hallway, ears keen on picking up any sounds of battle, for that is where he reasoned Mender would show up next.

-------------------

“C’mon you three, don’t fall behind!” Applejack spoke as she cast a glance back on the ponies behind her.

Mender took the rear spot of the group to keep the fillies in between him, Applejack and Twilight. All of the ponies were on their guard, with their ears tuned to pick up on any sound they might constitute as a threat. They still had no idea how many changelings were left, and didn’t want to take any chances by splitting up. They would find their friends as a group, and pray that they didn’t get into a fight.

The hallways felt longer than before for Mender. His body was already getting exhausted from so much movement (and he was still recovering from the kick from earlier). This was the other reason he took the rear spot, just to stay away from Applejack as much as possible. 

He didn’t slow down the group, however, as he made sure to keep their pace as they traversed the dark hallways toward the hallway branch that led to the throne room. They passed by it after Mender mentioned that Fluttershy and Rarity should still be on this side of the castle. There was little need to investigate the other castle wing.

Twilight wanted to be more prepared, however. At the branch, she cast a small detection barrier across the hallway entrance leading to the throne room, in case any changelings from the other wing decided to cross into this one.

Applejack wondered why they stopped, so Mender quickly explained what it was. This was one of the common spells he had seen used in conjunction with an illusion spell during infiltration missions his squad had been tasked to handle. 

Applejack seemed to understand, though she shook her head when he had finished, indicating that she didn’t completely understand his explanation. It wouldn’t really matter, however. She’s seen Twilight cast spells that confused her before and didn’t bother asking questions about them. She did that once some time ago and immediately regretted it, as she nearly got drawn into a long discussion on Magical Theory. What kind of sense would it make for an Earth pony to learn about Unicorn magic, anyway?

Twilight finished her casting, leaving a very faint fuchsia haze around the entrance that acted as the detector for her spell. She nodded to the group to indicate she was finished, and they all proceeded down the hallway where Fluttershy and Rarity had gone.

It took a few minutes, but they had rounded a corner and faintly heard the sounds of battle from afar...and the sound of Pinkie’s Party Cannon going off, which Mender involuntarily flinched at upon hearing it. They were close now.

The sounds radiated from behind a closed set of large double-doors that Twilight knew led to the dining room. With a magical shove, the doors opened up, revealing the chaos inside.

Changeling bodies covered the ground to the point where one could barely make out the marble floor and red carpeting underneath. In the center of the dining room stood Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity, while Dash was hovering just above them in the air. Pinkie aimed her cannon upward, and Rarity held about twenty gems suspended in her magical aura. All of them had their eyes directed upward toward an uncountable amount of changelings that obstructed any view of the roof outside of the corners of the room. 

Their fighting had become so clamorous that it must have summoned almost every changeling to the room, and Twilight and company had just burst in during a brief intermission in the battle. All of the mares were panting, very clearly exhausted from the fighting they had done thus far. Given the hundreds of changelings lying on the ground, Mender had to wonder why they didn’t collapse from exhaustion even now. He certainly would have.

Naturally, when the door was slammed open all eyes fell on the new group of ponies to enter the brawl. 

“Hee, glad you guys could make it,” Dash weakly said as she took in deep breaths to ready herself for another battle.

Before anypony else could react or say anything else, Twilight conjured a barrier around the four ponies in the center of the room. She then did the same for her group of ponies as a hemisphere dome formed around them.

WIth careful precision, she began to walk forward, taking the barrier with her slowly. Mender, AJ, and the fillies quickly got the idea that she wanted to move toward her friends. She had said nothing as she devoted her concentration to maintaining the barriers she had summoned...but she didn’t need to say anything.

It was then that the giant swarm of changelings began to attack the barriers Twilight had put up. Driving their bodies into the shield with all the force they could muster, the changelings impacted into the shield in a mostly uncoordinated manner. Twilight was able to buffer the blows with little hindrance as her group continued to make progress toward her friends, though beads of sweat were starting to form on her head as she did so.

The minute it took to reach the center of the room felt like an hour for Mender and the Crusaders. The fillies flinched every time a changeling impacted their small barrier, but Mender urged them on from behind as they moved. He knew that if even a hoof were to stick out from this barrier, they would swarm to it and drag the helpless victim out kicking and screaming to do Celestia-knows-what to them. 

Most of that fear dissipated as the two groups finally reunited in the center of the room. As soon as the barriers connected, Mender rushed forward and began inspecting the mares up close for any major injuries.

He checked Rainbow Dash first, who stopped flying for the time that Mender inspected her. Her body showed some bruising and a few primaries were all bent out of shape from her aerial assaults. She winced in pain as Mender carefully bent the feathers back so that they would not hinder her flight. She tentatively flapped her wings as soon as he had finished, before flashing him a smile signifying that she was ready for more action.

Rarity was next. Her mane and tail were frazzled, and exhibited similar bruising to Dash along her body. What bothered Mender more, however, was that she had suffered a gash to her head, the blood covering one of her eyes and staining her white coat. He asked Rarity if she had packed a needle and thread in her satchel, and she nodded.

It took him a bit of time to sift through her belongings, but he soon pulled out a sheet of cloth, black string, and a sewing needle.

“I’m not going to lie, this is going to hurt a bit,” Mender spoke as he began to thread the needle.

“Darling, do your worst. These changelings have given me far more pain than you will inflict,” she huffed.

Mender rolled his eyes at her statement before he started suturing the wound over her eye. It took him only a few seconds, and he used the cloth to wipe away the remaining blood as best he could. The blood flow did not cease, though it did slow to a point where it wouldn’t be much of a hindrance to her eyesight now. She gave Mender a grateful smile for his hoofwork before he moved on to Pinkie next.

Unsurprisingly, Pinkie had suffered minimal damage, suffering only a few scrapes from the “lucky” changelings that somehow managed to get past her Party Cannon. None of her wounds seemed life-threatening, and Mender was thankful for that. Her mane did appear less poofy than usual, though, but that didn't really bother Mender enough to warrant further inspection. He was looking for wounds, not split ends.

Fluttershy was last. Mender had her pegged as the one to suffer the most, as she didn’t exactly make herself out to be as tough a fighter as Dash, or a versatile one like Rarity and Pinkie. However, the complete opposite of his prediction happened...and that bothered him immensely. She didn’t have a single scratch on her. No bruising, no cuts or grievous wounds...nothing to indicate she even remotely participated in the fight.

Without warning, Mender struck Fluttershy in the face. Dash was the first to react and pulled Mender away before he could hit Fluttershy again...but she let go when she heard Fluttershy hiss in anger.

Rarity quickly fired two gems into “Fluttershy” just as she lunged at Mender. She crumpled to the floor and her yellow fur vanished to reveal the chitinous covering of a changeling, freshly knocked out cold.

The collective sigh of relief of everypony soon changed to a gasp of fear. If that Fluttershy was fake…

...then where is the real one?

-------------------

“Let me go...please!”

Fluttershy’s cries for help fell on deaf ears. Only minutes ago was she taken from the dining room outside one of the many glass windows that lined the wall overlooking the gardens. Four changelings had to restrain her as they carried her writhing, resisting body up to Luna’s tower.

The changelings had caught a break. They had managed to separate Fluttershy from the rest of her friends long enough to pin her down and whisk her out of the room, replacing her with a duplicate before anypony noticed the switch was made. The changeling that transformed made sure not to speak and to look as feeble as the real pony, and the illusion worked like a charm.

Now they had a prisoner, and they decided to bring her to their Queen.

The balcony was filled with the sound of buzzing wings. Chrysalis heard the noise and walked out to see Fluttershy, held by her hooves as she weakly flapped her wings trying to squeak out what little resistance she could manage.

She waved a dismissive hoof towards Fluttershy and the changelings as she spoke. “Take her to the mines where Lord Locus resides, my children. Use the caves, for we must not alert the town to our takeover yet.”

Just as quick as the group visited Queen Chrysalis, they vanished, flying off into the night toward the caves they had used to infiltrate Canterlot undetected.

Fluttershy could barely make out her words, but she did catch the name. She had said, “Lord Locus.” This was not a name she was familiar with...but since she couldn’t escape (however hard she tried), she had a feeling she would find out who they were soon enough.

Meanwhile, Chrysalis began the next step of her plans. With Celestia and Luna out of the picture, the next step she needed to take was to convince the ponies in the castle that she was Celestia long enough for her remaining changelings to integrate into Canterlot. She may need to take the entire town hostage if the situation escalated to the point where that would be necessary. 

Already a few of the changelings she had brought had begun to integrate into the town. She reasoned it would take but a few hours for her to completely have Canterlot under her control.

With a sickly green glow of her horn, her image began to change. Her long, hole-filled legs turned solid and shimmered a bright white glow, with golden slippers forming upon her hooves. Her deformed horn straightened itself and turned as white as the rest of Celestia’s body. 

The biggest problem was Celestia’s tricolor mane and tail that seemingly defied gravity. Chrysalis cursed herself slightly, as she would need to maintain a slight magical glow around her horn to keep them both in fluid, constant motion. Beyond that, the illusion was complete as she finished the facial features to look like the trapped Princess hanging from Luna’s roof. 

All that was left now was to practice the Royal Canterlot Voice and appear regal enough to fool Princess Twilight. She made the mistake of not knowing who Twilight was after she had taken the place of Cadance. This was not an error she was willing to repeat, not when her victory was so close...so very close now.

Chrysalis just had to hope that the changeling that replaced Fluttershy would play their part long enough to keep Twilight and her friends calm as she greeted them tonight. That would make things so much easier for her.

-----------------------

Locus was irritated. He kept fidgeting, trying to find a relaxing way to sit on his throne. The throne wasn’t uncomfortable to sit on (to the contrary, it was fantastically plushy), but something else was bothering him so much it was impossible to find a good spot on his throne as he thought about it.

Ever since Nile had pointed out that his constant killing of Recruits might weaken his numbers, his defense that he wanted strong warriors seemed suitable...at first. Yes, he needed merciless killers...but could there be merit in having those that aren’t?

...perhaps as meat-shields. Bodies to fall on the swords of their foes in place of the killer instead, so that they may continue their bloodshed unimpeded. Locus preferred that his ponies did not die...but he knew that since death would be an inevitability, the ones that die might as well be ones that were near-useless anyway.

Locus decided then and there that he would not kill any further Recruits unless they had wronged him or insulted him in such a way so as to be deserving of death, and no longer from mere stupidity. Finally, even idiots have a place in his army now.

...but now there was another problem. Killing Recruits had also been his twisted little method of stress relief, but since he is now limiting himself on how many die by his hoof, he needed an alternate way to relieve his mind of the compounding tension from presiding over a group of ponies fully intent on conquering the whole of Equestria. Hey, nopony said it wouldn’t be a stress-free job.

Lord Locus clopped his hooves together in a deafening boom that resounded throughout the mining structure. He had used this signal many times before to indicate an announcement, and the mine shaft, which had been bustling with activity prior to the boom, fell completely silent before Locus’s voice echoed throughout his lair. His voice was firm and demanding of attention.

“Attention Recruits, Assassins, and Judicators. I request the presence of one of your burliest ponies from each group to convene within my throne room for a new...personal assignment. I need not explain the details, only the requirement. You have one hour to decide, so don’t keep me waiting. You all know how much I hate waiting.”

Locus paused for a moment before speaking again, this time sounding bitter and carrying thinly-veiled hints of anger.

“Oh, and if any of you are feeling like being a merry prankster and decide to send me a skinny-stick pony instead, I will personally skin half your group alive, within your own barracks. Do not disappoint me with any childish antics. That is all.”

Locus clopped his hooves again to indicate his announcement had finished, and the dead-quiet mine shaft began to spring to life once again, as training, eating, and socializing resumed within mere moments.

Locus snickered to himself. This personal assignment of his was not one to be taken lightly. After all, he needed a pony that knew how to take a hit...or a hundred. He was going to be the one delivering them anyway.
> Ch. 2-10: An Inconvenient Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The changelings began attacking Twilight’s barrier as soon as the fake Fluttershy was revealed and taken care of. Amid the constant collision of changeling bodies against the shield, a conversation took place.

“Well, how do y’all reckon we’re going to get out of this one?” Applejack asked.

“Duh! We kick flank until there’s no flank left to kick!” Rainbow responded with a confidence belying her appearance.

Applejack gave her a concerned look. “Rainbow, in case ya haven’t noticed, we’re outnumbered over a hundred-to-one here; and by the looks of things you, Rarity, and Pinkie are all exhausted.”

“But we need to find Fluttershy! I don’t know how I lost track of her, but I feel it’s my fault she’s gone!” Rarity added, her voice sounding desperate.

“Girls!” Twilight interrupted, “What we need right now is a plan that will get us out of here first before we can go after Fluttershy. Do any of you have an idea that will do that? I-” a changeling struck the barrier, forcing Twilight to recoil slightly from the pain “-can’t really think since I’m keeping this barrier up, and I don’t know how long I can last.”

“Why not use my Party Cannon?” Pinkie asked.

Everypony gave her an incredulous look...except for Mender.

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea.”

“WHAT?!” Everypony responded, even Pinkie, even though she was the one who suggested that idea.

“Well, I don’t mean sending everypony out of here. That would be counter-productive since all we would be doing is changing the venue. No, what I’m suggesting is that we send one pony out to find Fluttershy while the rest of us find a better spot to fight this swarm off.”

“One pony? Mender, are ya insane? This swarm will be all over them!” Applejack objected.

“Not if it’s the fastest flier in all of Equestria...unless Dash over there is overstating her abilities a bit,” Mender smugly grinned at Rainbow Dash as he spoke.

“Not on your life, Mender!” Dash huffed, annoyed that Mender would even make that suggestion.

Mender continued, “See? She’s ready. Plus, it helps that she’s the only other pegasus here that could track her down thanks to her speed.”

“What about Twilight?” Rarity asked.

“True, she has wings and magic, so she would be better equipped for an aerial fight...but that’s also the point of why she’s staying here. We need her to help fend off the changelings that are still in this castle. Without her protection, we would endanger ourselves even further than we are now. I don’t know about you, but I do NOT plan on losing sight of the Crusaders again, and that seems all the more likely to happen if Twilight isn’t here.”

Rarity and Applejack nodded in agreement the moment Mender mentioned the Crusaders. Twilight’s barrier magic would be incredibly useful in keeping their little sisters and Scootaloo safe; their safety was among their top priorities right now.

“Are we all in agreement, then?” Mender asked.

Dash flew into Pinkie’s cannon, and its respective owner pointed it toward the broken windows leading outside.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

Pinkie pressed the red button on her cannon, launching Rainbow Dash out of the safety of Twilight’s barrier with enough speed for her to start a Sonic Rainboom just as she cleared the window. The resulting prismatic shockwave blinded the swarm of changelings long enough for the rest of the ponies to quickly make their way out of the dining room and back into the hallway. 

By the time the changelings recovered, the last thing they saw was Rarity smirking as she quickly slammed the door shut behind her, jamming some of her gems into the ground as a crude doorstop. Satisfied with her work, she ran off to join the rest of the ponies as they ran down the hallway toward Luna’s tower. They needed help right now, and finding Princess Celestia would offer some extra protection they could not afford to pass up.

--------------------

Rainbow Dash did not expect to perform a Sonic Rainboom.

Sure, she’d seen Pinkie’s Cannon in action before, but she’d never been fired out of it...and it was AWESOME! She needed to remember to tell Pinkie how cool that was, and maybe ask her to try it again when there wasn’t some impending invasion or world-threatening disaster happening.

She couldn’t double-back to see if her friends had escaped, but somehow she knew they were alright. Besides, she had to find another pony that needed saving: Fluttershy.

Wasting no time, she took to the skies above Canterlot, directing her eyes toward the ground and around the airspace. Her intent was to quickly locate Fluttershy, kick the flanks of the changelings holding her captive, then escort her back to the castle. It was a simple plan.

Execution proved to be a different matter. Rainbow realized she didn’t know how much time had passed between when Fluttershy was captured and now, which meant that she could be almost anywhere within Luna’s shield protecting Canterlot. Worse, if the changelings had some way in and out that bypassed the shield, she could be long gone, and Rainbow Dash had no way of tracking her down if that was the case.

NO! She shouldn’t think like that. She couldn’t think that it was too late! 

With her intense speed, she traced a path along Luna’s barrier, starting from the ground and working her way around the perimeter. She saw nothing. Undeterred, she flew into the town, darting her eyes around for any sign of her shy friend as she flew through the streets, down alleyways, and around large buildings at blinding-fast speeds. Still nothing: no signs of any changelings attacking the barrier, no changelings within the town...no Fluttershy. 

Still, there was no way that the changelings could get through the barrier. That meant Fluttershy HAD to still be somewhere within Canterlot...right?

Rainbow Dash couldn’t find her outside...so perhaps she was being held captive somewhere inside the castle?

She made a beeline for Luna’s tower as soon as the thought crossed her mind. The balcony doors were open, and she hoped she would locate a Princess within to help her find Fluttershy.

As she flew near the tower, she heard ponies conversing within. One voice belonged to Luna, but the other didn’t sound familiar...at first. After a few seconds of hearing his condescending speech, however, the name came to her in an instant.

--------------------

Knife Point was busy making his way down Luna’s tower to the first floor of the castle. He had heard galloping come toward him, however, and flew upward and attached himself to a dark spot within the tower.

His patience was rewarded as he had seen the two mares from before when he had saved those children climbing up the steps, followed shortly by two other ponies he didn’t recognize. Mender and the fillies were the last in the group. 

Point decided it was better if he didn’t join their group, but instead he kept watch on them from a distance. Using his hooves for balance and his wings for propulsion, Point stuck to a high viewpoint from within the tower, making sure to keep Mender within his sights at all times.

Point ended up backtracking as he ascended the tower again, toward Luna’s bedroom. However, as he followed behind Mender, the group stopped to look at something. Altering his gaze upward, he saw Celestia leaving Luna’s bedroom with a forlorn look on her face.

He immediately knew it was Chrysalis, but the group of ponies below him did not. This was an interesting situation for Point. If he decided to attack ‘Celestia’, it would no doubt illicit a response towards him that wouldn’t exactly be an accepting and understanding one. However, if he did nothing and merely observed in secrecy, Chrysalis might do something to them that would endanger Mender. 

However, he didn’t have enough time to think about a plan. Not long after the group met her, ‘Celestia’ teleported the entire group away elsewhere in a flash of bright light. This was a worst-case scenario Point did not see coming...and he needed help to find Mender. 

He left his hiding spot and approached Luna’s bedroom door. Opening it with ease, he eyed the two targets he needed to save in order to have a shadow of a chance of locating Mender.

Approaching Luna first, he noticed that she was awake, and actively struggling against the cocoon encasing her. Brandishing his red cloth kunai, he cut the cocoon open with ease. Luna stumbled out, coughing and sputtering as she regained her senses.

Next was the real Celestia. Point flew up and severed the connection binding Celestia to the roof, dropping her to the floor with a resounding THUD. One cut later, and she too was freed from her prison.

Point calmly waited for the Royal sisters to adjust for a minute before speaking in a snide, mocking manner.

“Good evening, Princesses that failed to best a Queen.”

Luna glared at him, but Celestia looked disappointed at herself.

“We were caught off-guard!” Luna shot at Point.

Point brushed away her pitiful defense. “I didn’t free you to hear your excuses for failing. Instead, I require your assistance regarding the whereabouts of Mender.”

“Why? So thou can kill him, assassin?” She bitterly asked.

“Eventually, but not no-”

“KNIFE POINT!”

Rainbow Dash flew in and tackled Knife Point to the floor, knocking the wind out of him as he fell.

Celestia finally responded, her eyes wide with shock. “Rainbow Dash?”

“Princesses, stay away! This pony’s an assassin!”

“We know, Rainbow Dash. He has also freed us from imprisonment moments ago,” Luna informed, albeit bitterly.

Dash turned to face the pony held underneath her. “Is this true?”

“...A Princess just told you this, and you’re asking me for confirmation?” Point mocked.

“Well, uh...spur of the moment?” Dash joked.

“Har har, now get off of me. I have a question to ask.”

“Nuh uh, not until you tell me where Fluttershy is!”

“Who?” Point asked.

“FLUTTERSHY! Pale yellow pegasus with pink straight hair!”

“I don’t know them! What makes you think I had anything to do with them going missing, anyway? I only came here for Mender, and nopony else! And right now, he’s gone missing too, along with the rest of your friends!” Point quickly explained. He wanted to deflect her accusations as quickly as possible, and this seemed like the fastest option.

It worked. He felt Rainbow Dash get off of him, and her voice began to crack slightly. “Wh-what do you mean they’re all missing?”

“I mean exactly that. I saw them vanish along with Celestia just a minute ago as they were all teleported somewhere.”

“What? But I never left this room!” Celestia objected.

“And what do you suppose that means?”

He could see everypony’s eyes widen as the realization dawned on them.

“Chrysalis,” Celestia spoke through gritted teeth.

“Well, that’s just perfect, the changeling queen captured them. So, is there any chance that either of you know where Chrysalis may have teleported them?”

Point actually had a very good idea of where Chrysalis had taken the ponies, but he did not want to reveal that information to the Princesses. That would have caused many undue questions to surface at this time, none of which Point would be willing to answer.

Luna shook her head, but Celestia closed her eyes and thought back to the wedding when the changelings struck last time, and after a minute, she found an answer.

“The caves-”

-------------------

“-beneath Canterlot!” Twilight exclaimed. “But...why here, Celestia?”

“My dear Twilight, these caves are the perfect location for us to have this conversation. Nopony but the most daring or foolhardy would enter these caves, due to the many dead thieves in here that had searched in vain for untold riches.”

“I’m not convinced. Why in Equestria are we down here when we should be looking for Fluttershy and Luna?” Mender asked.

Celestia stiffened up slightly before speaking. “I’ve actually brought you all down here to discuss something concerning my sister. I believe Luna is staging a coup by allying herself with the changelings.”

“WHAT?!” came from everypony, echoing loudly within the cave structure.

Twilight recovered first. “I thought you two had made amends already, Celestia!”

Celestia turned her head to the side. “I had thought so as well...but tonight has proven otherwise. They struck during the night, under the cover of darkness. Her shield remains undisturbed, yet hundreds...nay, thousands of changelings attacked the castle. There is also the fact that I did not find Luna in her tower tonight. All of this suggests that my sister has committed an act of rebellion against the throne.”

Rarity spoke next. “But I thought you and your sister made up already!”

“I thought we had as well,” - Celestia turned her head back to face the group of stunned ponies - “but a thousand years of exile is something not easily forgotten, Rarity.”

Silence hung in the air for a few minutes as each pony processed Celestia’s words. Was it truly possible that Luna would turn on her older sister like this?

Twilight was very conflicted on the matter. She had spent the most time with Princess Luna after the Nightmare Moon incident, specifically on Nightmare Night when she had helped integrate her into Ponyville. She seemed truly genuine in accepting her sister’s friendship after she was purified by the Elements of Harmony, so she should have tossed any notion of betrayal out of the confines of her mind…

...but when she drank the Alicorn potion offered by Zecora, she had seen how Luna had betrayed her sister. That lingering memory told her that it was entirely possible she could do this again. The arguments for both sides waged war in her mind, one believing in her maintaining her friendship, and the other calling her a deceptive backstabber looking for the right opportunity to strike again.

Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash leaned more in favor of Luna’s betrayal, however. None of them had been around Luna as much as Twilight had, but Nightmare Night left a very different impression on them when Luna had used her Royal Canterlot Voice to instill fear into the town. They also thought Pinkie’s screaming was more serious than joking that night. To them, Princess Luna was still very much a threat to be wary of, and a betrayal under these circumstances Celestia presented seemed very likely.

Mender, Pinkie, and the Crusaders thought otherwise. Pinkie was the only one to know that Luna was trying hard to be nice and relatable that night. She just cried wolf every time Luna showed up because Nightmare Night’s supposed to be a scary night! The Crusaders also enjoyed the nighttime festivities, and to them Luna only added to the entertainment. Getting wrapped up in Pinkie’s screaming and fleeing only added to their exciting evening, so they had little reason to fear Luna after that night.

Mender’s stance on Luna was probably the most positive, however. He had heard the tale of Nightmare Moon’s return during his stay in Fillydelphia, but thought there were more pressing concerns for him to deal with in that town...like the crazy tenant neighbors in his apartment complex. He didn’t really have much of an opinion on either Princess at the time, outside of respecting Celestia as the ruler and all.

However, after meeting the Princesses face-to-face, he believed that both Luna and Celestia were enjoyable to be around. They seemed calm, refined, and rather humble considering their royal heritage…well, when they weren’t grilling him about his secrets, at least. Then they had become rather frightening.

Yet, what stuck out the most was that they loved each other. Those two had reconciled whatever differences they may have had, and it was ever present on their faces when they cast little glances toward each other in the conversations he has had with them. There was no way that in such a short time Luna would turn on her sister so suddenly…

...and that meant that either something happened in Canterlot before he arrived to destroy the love and trust they had built up, or something was very “off” about Celestia’s accusation, despite all the sense it had made.

Mender needed a second opinion.

“Young, are you there?”

“When am I not, Mender?”

“Ha ha. Listen, you’ve heard everything concerning Princess Celestia’s accusation against Luna, correct?”

“I have. I think it’s...an interesting one.”

“Interesting? Please clarify.”

“Right. I’m only going off of suppositions here, so feel free to fill me in on any details that I didn’t catch. First off, when we heard Celestia’s scream, do you remember how she appeared?”

“Hmm...panicked. She also looked like she had been in a scuffle, no doubt with the changelings that she had fought with when I arrived.”

“Tell me, does she still look injured?”

“...no, she doesn’t. Clean as a whistle, actually.”

“No blood on her, correct?”

“Nope, not a dro-”

It was at that moment that Mender realized she should have something on her. Changeling blood. He had seen her get very physical with the changelings, and much of the blood from her beatdowns had gathered on her hooves and torso. 

“She should have changeling blood on her, but she doesn’t. Maybe she cleaned herself up sometime in between when she left Rarity, Fluttershy and I to go find her sister?”

“It’s a possibility, but you know how unlikely that sounds. Strike one.”

“Strike one? Wait, you’re doing a three-count for Celestia being a changeling? That’s not really necessary, since I’m already starting to believe you.”

“It’s not for you, Mender. It’s for the other ponies. You may have convinced them with your spontaneous hit on Fluttershy earlier, but I doubt that same strategy’s going to work on a goddess.”

“...right, I see what you mean now. In that case, I’ve got a few ideas that’ll flush her out.”

“Then by all means, go ahead. I got you started…”

“...and I’m going to finish.”

“I don’t buy this for one damn second.”

Everypony who was staring at Celestia snapped their heads around to gaze at Mender.

“Celestia, I’ve barely known you and Luna for roughly two days, and I can already tell that’s a bald-faced lie.”

“Mender, how can ya be so certain of that? Her accusation makes sense! It’s the only way the changelings coulda entered Canterlot!” Applejack countered.

Mender turned his head and locked eyes with her. “Is it? I can think of two events that disagree with that. Remember the burning chariot and the assassin? Both have breached her barrier. One did it with force, and the other with stealth. 

“Assuming brute force is the method they used, they would have struck at the same time the flying chariot entered Canterlot. They would have had plenty of opportunity to enter through that hole, yet they did not. It was daytime, and some of us had kept watch on the hole for any potential attackers, which meant that we’d be more prepared for a fight than how we are now. That would put them at a severe disadvantage right from the start, and even if they picked another opportunity to brute-force her barrier, surely somepony would have noticed and alerted the castle immediately.

“They instead focused on stealth to enter Canterlot. Now, a barrier like this is one that’s very interesting to note: It only covers all the obvious entrances, like the train station or any path through the sky.” Mender turned to Twilight to ask her a question. “Twilight, does the barrier spell conjure a perfect sphere around the user or intended target when cast?”

She had to shake her head for a moment before responding, for she was slightly lost in following his explanation. “Only if the target is in the air, Mender. This is a spell based on efficiency, so it stops whenever it hits a solid object.”

“Meaning a mere tunnel can circumvent this spell, correct?”

Twilight shook her head. “Possibly, but it’s impractical for changelings. They don’t have the digging capabilities of Diamond Dogs, nor do they bear the strength of an Earth pony. Such a task would no doubt require a group effort, and surely that would be noticed by the guards patrolling the borders of the barrier.”

Mender nodded in agreement. “Exactly. That means there are two ways they could have entered without detection. The first is if Luna indeed sided with the changelings and simply let them through her barrier. The second...is that they already had an entrance into Canterlot that ignored Luna’s barrier entirely.”

Celestia decided to intervene. “That is impossible, Mender. I know of no other way to enter Canterlot other than the ways you have outlined earlier.”

“You don’t? That’s strange...Twilight, you’ve been in these caves before, correct?”

She nodded. “I have. Chrysalis sent me down here when I had come close to discovering the truth behind her facade, but I had escaped with Cadance and confronted her before her wedding ceremony had completed.”

“In that case, is it true then that Chrysalis would have intimate knowledge of these caves?”

“Yes, but I don’t know how she would-!” Twilight lost her voice as she came to a sudden realization. “Mender, you don’t mean that-”

“I do, and I strongly believe there is a way to enter Canterlot through these very caves. If they had this knowledge beforehoof, there would be no need to use Luna to enter.”

Celestia scoffed. “I...suppose it’s an interesting possibility, but that’s all it is. Even if there is some passageway through these caves, accessing Canterlot through Luna is simpler and more effective to achieve.”

“I agree. This is nothing more than a possibility...but that wasn’t my plan, Tia.

“In fact, this brings me to my next point: Why exactly are we down here in these caves listening to your accusation? Far as I know, you had little reason to not tell us immediately after leaving her room, when you told us it was empty.”

This question stunned Celestia, leaving her speechless for a moment before responding. “I simply wished for a more secure location where I could reveal such information without fear of any changelings assaulting us...or if Luna found us and attacked us instead!”

“Oh, so you’re protecting us now? Where was your help during the WAR then, hm?! I don’t seem to recall you offering up your assistance to the towns that had suffered and pleaded for help!”

The mares at this point had grown very concerned for the intensity of the argument between Mender and Celestia. Their voices had escalated to the point where the fillies had grown quite scared, forcing Pinkie to try and calm them down as best she could. 

“I do what I can...what I must for my subjects, Mender! I cannot be there for all ponies when they are in danger or in times of need!”

“Then why are you hiding such tragedy from the ponies that don’t know what war is?! How dare you claim to sit idly by and wait for ponies to die while simultaneously telling those that thrive that everything is fine!”

“Everything is NOT fine! My subjects are starving and-”

“Gotcha.”

“Starving? I never said ‘starving’, Princess.”

Mender’s tone cooled down, and Celestia could feel the questioning looks of all the ponies around her.

Mender took a determined step forward. “You’re also looking very clean, Princess. This bothers me considering I remembered how tired and drained you were. Perhaps you cast healing magic on yourself in that time to rejuvenate yourself...but that shouldn’t have cleaned up the changeling blood I should be seeing on your hooves.”

Rarity’s eyes opened wider as he spoke. She DID remember thinking that Celestia looked rather filthy at the time, but it didn’t register in her mind how different the Princess looked until now.

Celestia took a few steps backward. She could feel the pressure piling on her, and her voice failed to respond in a meaningful way.

“Time for the finishing blow.”

“One last thing I wish to ask of you, Princess. Tell me my nickname; the one you learned and used on me when you, your sister and I had lunch together.”

Silence passed for but a few seconds before she squeaked out an answer.

“Mender-p?”

Pinkie couldn’t hold back a small fit of giggles, but Mender’s gaze did not break from Celestia’s eyes as he brandished Celle once more, its familiar Gladius form taking shape as he leveled it at the exposed Princess.

“It’s Mendy, but nice try.”

Without further hesitation, Mender charged forward, bringing Celle down upon ‘Celestia’.
> Ch. 2-11: A Queen's Preparation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Celestia’ conjured a wave of force that blew away all the ponies surrounding her, doing so with such intensity that it sent everypony against the cave walls.

Mender received the worst of it, as he was the closest. He was launched upward and hit the roof of the cavern headfirst, robbing him of his consciousness in an instant. Applejack, Twilight and Rarity were thrown against the sides of the cave, though the resulting impact they suffered was the same as Mender’s.

Pinkie had acted as a body shield for the Crusaders, leaving them unharmed. However, Pinkie’s small sacrifice had left her disabled, as she too was thrown over the fillies and into the cave wall like the others.

The farce now revealed, Chrysalis did away with her disguise in a plume of green fire. Her wings buzzed to life as she returned to her normal self, scaring her only conscious victims, the fillies.

After a brief look around to assess the damage of her blast (and happy with the results of it), Chrysalis approached the cowering fillies, who were huddled together.

She had expected the fillies to stay frozen in fear, but as she took another step forward, they ran off in the other direction.

Chrysalis smirked. She had intended to simply capture the fillies like she would the others in a moment, but if they wanted to doom themselves in these caves, so be it.

Her ears swiveled around as they caught the familiar sound of more buzzing wings as a few changelings flew onto the scene.

“My Queen, are you alright?” One of them asked.

“Fine.” She gestured to the unconscious ponies scattered around the area. “Get them ready for transport back to the castle dungeon. The sooner I see these ponies behind bars, the better.”

Most of changelings nodded at her order and flew off. One stayed behind however, for it had some news to relay.

“Oh, my Queen. I was part of the swarm assigned to capture the youngling. I flew ahead of them to let you know that they are on their way to the cave entrance now.”

A wide, joyous grin spread across her face. “Excellent. I will meet them at the mouth of the cave then. Assist the others with transporting the ponies.”

With a quick bow of their head, the changeling flew off to help its brethren, while Chrysalis trotted through the cave, mentally preparing herself for the insolent child that dared to refuse his mother’s dear embrace.

-----------Fifteen Minutes Later-----------

“Let me go!” Crunch yelped as he struggled against the webbing that bound his hooves. Two changelings held him aloft in the webbing as they flew towards Canterlot with all the speed they could muster while carrying the resistant child.

“Quiet, you little whelp! We’re almost at Canterlot, where your mother is waiting,” the first of the two changelings spat. 

“No! She’s not my family! I know who my mama is!”

“Ugh, he’s still going on about that stallion. Can’t he tell the difference between a male and a female?” the second changeling asked.

“Don’t you talk bad about my mama!”

“Apparently not.”

The second changeling sighed for a moment before the flight came to an end when they touched down at the mouth of the cave entrance leading into Canterlot. Queen Chrysalis was waiting, and held a joyous smile on her face upon seeing the young changeling face-to-face.

“Evening, child. It is so good to see you up close for the first time,” Chrysalis observed as she approached, taking in the dimensions of the young changeling with care.

“S-stay away from me!” Crunch struggled against the webbing harder than before, but the result was the same. He wasn’t going anywhere.

Chrysalis smirked. “Now now, child. This isn’t how you should treat your mother.” She gestured to the two changelings that carried Crunch. “Hold him still, and one of you keep his eyes open. It is time for the indoctrination.”

Crunch had no idea what that last word meant, but when the changelings obeyed by doing as she instructed, he knew he was in danger.

Despite the added weight of two changelings on his body, Crunch continued struggling against his bonds with what little strength that remained in him. Chrysalis didn’t seem to notice or care, however. She closed her eyes for a moment and brought a sickly green glow to her horn as she lowered it to touch Crunch’s horn.

When the horns touched, searing heat and pain rushed through Crunch’s body, as if he were being cooked from the inside out. As the magic worked its way through him, his resistance ceased, and his body slumped limply in the webbing binding him.

Chrysalis angled her head to keep the horns locked in position as she scryed his brain for the memories of the one who raised him. It took her a few moments to locate the memories among others Crunch had around that time, and upon discovering them she saw something surprising there.

She saw Mender, the pony who had cornered her minutes ago within the cave, raising this changeling with love and tenderness like that of a caring father. The moment they first met where Mender shared a bag of apple chips in a dusty old home. She saw her changeling stand up for him deep within the Everfree as he tore into a cockatrice to protect his so-called mother.

Chrysalis originally intended on destroying these memories as part of the indoctrination, but she realized that would be a folly. Now she had a different plan, one that would twist these memories of his into raw, unfiltered power. 

She still had a task to accomplish, however. The green aura around her horn intensified as she dug deeper into his mind, and she found a memory, one that would undeniably shatter Crunch’s notion of that pony being his mother, and solidify her rightful title.

It was the day that Chrysalis gave birth to him.

------------------

“Girls, I’m tellin ya, we’re lost.”

“Apple Bloom, stop being such a worrywart. Scootaloo knows where we’re going...right, Scootaloo?”

“I thought you were the one leading us, Sweetie Belle!”

“So...we’re lost.”

“No, Applebloom. We’re close to an exit. I just know it!”

“You kept saying that the past five times we passed a rock that looked like Rarity, Sweetie!”

“Wasn’t she carrying something on her back, or was that just me?”

“Scoots, you know my sister doesn’t want to talk about him, so don’t ask. She already feels bad enough telling me about it.”

“Shh, quiet you two! Somepony’s comin’!”

At Applebloom’s words, all three huddled close to the cave wall, swiveling their ears as they picked up the sound of hoofsteps and voices echoing down the dark cave corridor.

“Princess, are you sure you know where we’re going? I don’t like flying around in cramped places like this.”

“Of course I do! It’s just been a long time since I’ve walked in these caves.”

“Yes, it has. We’ve looped around that rock formation of a pony carrying a rock at least twice by now...and I think we’re on our way over there for the third time.”

“Assassin, do not mock our sister!”

“Oh, like you’re any help. You’re the master of the night and can’t even get us through a dark cave. Have a thousand years on a celestial hunk of rock dulled your senses, Princess Luna?”

“...Tia, we ask for permission to kill this assassin as soon as we find Princess Sparkle.”

“You are free to try as soon as I find Mender, Luna. Until then, hooves off.”

Luna growled in irritation as Point taunted her. Rainbow Dash had enough of it, while Celestia remained focused on leading the group through the caves.

“Knife Point, knock it off. We have to focus!”

“Nopony asked you for a comment, cyan mare.”

“The name is Rainbow Dash! And you still haven’t apologized to me for what you did to me when I carried Mender to the hospital out of the Everfree!”

“Hah, an apology? From an assassin? You’re better off pulling teeth from a manticore. An assassin doesn’t apologize for doing their job!”

“BE QUIET!” Luna’s royal voice boomed, echoing loudly through the caverns. The noise was amplified as it reached the fillies’ ears, causing them to scream out in pain.

Celestia gasped when she heard the scream, and ran toward its source. Relief washed over her as she spotted three fillies covering their ears and eyes.

“Everypony, over here! I’ve found survivors!”

Luna, Dash, and Point all rushed the scene. Celestia gently shook Scootaloo’s shoulder, and when she looked up and saw the sun princess grinning at her, she instinctively backed away, thinking it to be the changeling queen again.

However, when she saw Rainbow Dash hovering in the air, she jumped with joy at the sight of her idol. Scootaloo shook Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, alerting them both to the presence of the other ponies that had arrived.

Seeing Knife Point in the group further enhanced their relief as the Crusaders vaguely remembered him as the one responsible for saving them before he vanished. Instinctively they rushed him and tackled him to the floor. Point wanted to yell out some very creative swears, but refrained because they were children. This didn’t stop him from shooting threatening looks at Luna and Dash, who chuckled at the joyful moment.

Shaking the fillies off him as he rose to his hooves, he addressed the Crusaders. “Okay, that’s one problem solved. But where’s the rest of the ponies, kids?”

“They were captured by a changeling impersonating Princess Celestia!” Sweetie Belle answered. The other two nodded in unison.

“As I thought..but do you know where they’ve gone?”

“Uh...no,” Applebloom replied.

Upon hearing this response, Point moved his head from facing the children to the Princesses. “Well? Do you think Mender and the other ponies are still in these caves?”

Celestia and Luna shared a glance before shaking their heads in response.

“If they have been captured by the changeling queen, she would have taken them back to the castle.” 

“So we gotta backtrack? Aw man, I was really hoping we’d find Fluttershy and the others down here,” Rainbow Dash chimed in.

“Alright then, back to the castle. I hope you two know the way back,” Point directed toward the Princesses.

Luna spoke up. “Hah! Of course we remember! It’s...um...this way! Follow us!” Luna dashed off in the direction opposite the way they came from when they found the Crusaders. This caused Celestia to facehoof in response to her younger sister’s brashness.

“Oh, for the love of--”

-----------Twenty Minutes Later-----------

“What is taking them so long?”

Locus paced back and forth in a line in his throne room. He had been walking for so long that a trench was now carved into the floor, the evacuated dirt piled up at the ends of the line. 

Was it truly that hard for his three main groups of ponies to come to a consensus on who to send him? He figured his army would show a little more spine than this.

The iron door creaked loudly as a Recruit rushed into the throne room with urgent news to relay.

“Lord Locus, I-”

“Ah, finally. You’re the Recruit that was nominated, correct?” Locus continued to pace the floor, not acknowledging the Recruit’s presence beyond hearing their voice.

“What? No, but-”

“Have you any idea how long you’ve kept me waiting? I’ve been wearing down a damn trench in the floor in the time it took for you to get here!”

“Lord Locus, if I may interru-”

“Although I am happy that somepony went and stallioned up to the task. It’s also nice to know the Judicators and Assassins are taking their sweet, precious time coming to a deci-”

“SIR! I’m NOT here for that!” The Recruit loudly objected.

Locus finally stopped moving, and turned his head sharply to face the recruit. “Then what are you here for? Go on, spit it out!”

“A-a letter has just arrived, Lord Locus. Two, in fact.” The Recruit produced the letters from his saddlebag and held them in front of Locus, who snatched them away with his dark aura.

The first letter caught his eye, as the recognized the hoofwriting. Shredding the envelope to bits, he read the paper tucked inside.

Lord Locus,

I thought you should know that you’re doing a bang-up job of finding me. Seriously, it’s been over forty years and you STILL haven’t found me! What in Equestria are you doing with all that spare time of yours in that dingy little cave? Planting daisies and planning world domination?

Anyway, I thought you should know that my piece is in play, and he’s currently dealing with that ridiculous Changeling invasion you helped out with. I don’t know what you got out of the bargain, but it’s of no consequence to me.

Your plan WILL fail, Locus. I don’t know how many times I’ve warned you of this already. You’re dabbling in magic that should never be touched, and you KNOW this ever since you invaded-

Locus crumpled up the rest of the note and torched it immediately. Reading letters from Old Mindly that started off with an insult always got under his skin, and this was no exception. The Recruit watched the scene of barely contained anger before him and began quivering on the spot. Locus didn’t notice this, for he moved on to the second letter.

Locus’s eyes shot wide open as he read the words on the parchment. Then, ever so slowly, a grin spread across his face in a display of elation and malice.

“Recruit, do you know what this is?” Locus asked.

“Yes, sir. It’s a letter that came from Canterlot that was sent earlier this afternoon,” he responded.

Locus sighed. “No, Recruit. I’ll ask again. Do you know what this is? Do you know what this letter has just told me?”

“Uh...no, my Lord. I don’t.”

“This letter was sent by the Benefactor that sought out our services to kill Able Mender a year ago. This same Benefactor has eluded my spy network for a full year through a method I’ve yet to ascertain. 

“But now, this Benefactor has made a foalish mistake that I intend to capitalize on immediately. Recruit, you stated that this letter came from Canterlot, correct?”

“I did, Lord Locus.”

“Well, Canterlot is currently under lockdown due to a threat posed by Queen Chrysalis. A shield has been put around Canterlot that has remained standing since yesterday morning. If this letter truly came from there, then nopony is allowed outside of the town until the situation is resolved,” Locus explained.

“M-Meaning what, sir?”

“Meaning that our dear Benefactor is trapped within Canterlot right now. I do not wish to let this opportunity pass me by. Send a message to the spy network set up within the town. Let them know that the Benefactor is there, and that I want a list of anypony leaving the town once the situation is resolved.”

“Sir? Pardon my asking, but doesn’t that sound like Queen Chrysalis will fail?”

Locus snorted. “Recruit, I never had much faith in the changeling queen. I have all I need from her, and if she’s held up the rest of the deal, the other item I require is on its way here. If by some chance she succeeds, then I will deal with her in time. Now, is there any more news for you to share?”

“Nothing else to report but a memo, sir. It’s from the other assassin you sent out.”

“Long Shot? Very well, what is his status?”

“He’s set up camp on Frostpeak, the mountain Canterlot is built on. He’s currently waiting for the shield to go down before he begins his mission, sir.”

“Excellent. Thank you, Recruit. You may go.”

The Recruit nodded and quickly galloped out of the throne room. As he opened the door, three ponies of varying size and appearance were gathered outside. He recognized them as the strongest ponies Lord Locus had summoned, and held the door open for them. Receiving a nod from each as they entered in a single-file line, he shut the door before heading off to the communications room within the mining structure.

“Lord Locus, apologies for the delay. The Recruits were still taking their sweet time finding a nominee, so we waited for them before entering, sir,” The Judicator informed.

Locus waved a dismissive hoof. “I care not for any of your excuses. All of you came later than expected. If there was a delay, punishment should be handled individually, not as a group.

“However, I thank you for the information that it was the Recruit who took the most time coming here.”

The Recruit’s legs buckled slightly as they thought of all the various punishments Lord Locus would inflict upon them. At this sight, Locus chuckled loud enough for all of them to hear.

“Fear not, little Recruit. You were chosen as the strongest out of your group, so no harm will come to you for wasting my time. No, that is now reserved for the ones that nominated you.

“Now then, Recruit, Judicator, and Assassin. You have been selected for a most important task to undertake. However, there is only one spot available for this job, and there are three of you. Do you know what that means?”

The three ponies began to cast wary glances at each other, anticipating a fight between them about to occur.

“This means I have a challenge for you to undertake. This is not a challenge of brawn or brains, but one of...devotion.”

Locus reached into his cloak and pulled out a long, sleek, black katana. What little light the room had within it was absorbed by the blade, replacing it with pulses of a dark violet aura, illuminating the area with its distinctive hue of color. A chill emanating from the weapon stole away at the warmth the three ponies had within their bodies, causing their breath to come out in misty clouds as the temperature plummeted within the room.

He took a few steps forward before driving the blade into the dirt ground hilt-first. With a strong hit from his forehoof on the guard of the blade, the sword was now firmly rooted in place at a 45-degree angle. Satisfied with the placement, he issued a challenge to the three ponies before him.

“Behold the blade called Wither as she eagerly sucks at the life around and within you. The unnatural cold she is responsible for, your shortness of breath she steals away. If she could taste the sun, she would swallow it whole in a day. Fear her, but revel in her majesty, for she will be the one to taste your blood and deem you worthy of my time.

“Each of you will step forth and score your hooves upon the tip of her delicate lips. Let her savor the taste for a few moments before withdrawing your hoof. If Wither is pleased with your faith, I will know. If not...well, you’ll find out soon enough if it happens.”

Frost began to form in the corners of the room, and all the ponies save for Locus visibly shivered as their body temperature sank like stones in water. The Recruit was having the worst of it; his legs buckled underneath him from shaking so much as his muscles contracted in response to the cold. The Judicator and Assassin remained more composed, though their legs shook as well.

Locus noticed this and scoffed. He walked up to the blade and softly whispered to it, “Now now, Wither. It won’t do me any good to freeze them before my challenge has started. I believe you’ve made your point clear as to how intimidating you are.”

A faint screech of protest sang from Wither before she stopped freezing the room. Locus gave the ponies a minute to recover as their body temperatures returned to normal.

“Now then...let us begin.”

-----------------------
-----------------------

Hiya folks! Old Man here.

Sometimes I wish I could see the look on Locus’s face when he gets my letters. I keep imagining him getting pissed. Am I right? I hope I’m right.

Also, I lost track of Mender the moment I heard the cocoon being formed around him. Changeling silk is nasty business, I tell ya.

I imagine my grandson is freaking out right now about losing the connection on that band of his. Mender better get out of that cocoon soon, or he’s going to get an earful from him.