*Note: Max is not in this chapter, but he is mentioned near the end. Just getting that out of the way now so no one is butthurt later… even though there will be somepony who is butthurt about it anyways...

Sunny was jerked awake by somepony touching her shoulder. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she looked around blearily. A soft smile touched her lips when she saw Stacker standing next to her, shaking her shoulder gently.

“How’re you doing, ma’am?” he asked, keeping his voice low, a kind smile on his face.

“Tired,” Sunny replied, stifling a yawn. She stretched, unfurling her wings. “Where are we?”

“Just west of Baltimare. We’ll be stopping soon, so you best get ready.” Sunny nodded and stood up from the train bench, running a hoof through her mane. She dimly noted that it was getting rather long. I’ll have to see about getting a manecut next time we’re in Canterlot.

As her hooves touched the metal floor, it rumbled beneath her hooves, indicating that the train was speeding along the tracks.

Stifling another yawn, she rubbed her eyes with a hoof. “What time is it?”

“Around two in the morning,” Stacker said. Sunny winced; she had only been asleep for three hours. “Come on, you should get suited up. The second lieutenant wants to brief everypony before we arrive, and that includes you. Your armor is in the locker over there,” he said as he gestured at a locker on the far end of the compartment. “Just head into the other car when you’re ready.”

Sunny nodded and Stacker left the car, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Walking over to the locker Stacker had pointed at, Sunny lifted the latch and swung the door open. She blinked in surprise when she saw the armor inside. Sometime during her brief nap a unicorn had come along and changed the color of her armor. Instead of the gray-beige color it had been before, the armor was now pure white with splotches of light gray here and there. The inner layer was a darker shade of gray.

Winter camouflage, Sunny mused as she donned the armor, struggling to strap the gear onto her body.

“How do they make this look so easy?” she growled as she fought with a particularly troublesome strap located at the small of her back. When she finally managed to get the armor on, she shifted her shoulders, trying to get it to settle on her back comfortably. She gave her wings a couple of experimental flaps, just to make sure that they weren’t restricted in any way. Picking up her helmet, she hooked it to a clip located on a side plate of her armor.

Satisfied, Sunny closed the locker and headed towards the other end of the train car. Opening the door, she quietly slipped into the next car.

As the door closed behind her, she saw that all the other guards were already there, dressed in similarly colored armor. Most of them were just standing around, whispering amongst themselves.

Second Lieutenant Ivory was standing with her back to the door, crouched over the large table in the center of the car. As the door clicked shut, her ears perked up and she turned her head back to glance at Sunny. When Ivory’s red eyes landed on her, a small smile spread across her muzzle. “Ah, Ms. Breeze. I was just about to come and get you. We’ve almost reached our destination.”

“So I hear,” Sunny said as she walked up to the table. Glancing at the papers scattered across the surface, she noticed that most of them were blueprints of another warehouse, slightly larger than the one near Dodge City.

As Sunny studied the papers, the other guards began to gather around the table as well.

“Alright,” Ivory began when everypony was in position. “Here’s what we know so far. Our intel indicated that a hideout has been located within Baltimare’s market district. It is believed that Darkflare used this particular warehouse to ship humans up the coast to Manehattan, and vice versa. Our job is to go in, search the place and seize any and all assets we can find. If any humans are still alive, we take them as well.” Turning to look at Sunny, Ivory inclined her head towards the blueprints on the table. “Would you happen to know anything about this particular warehouse, Ms. Breeze?”

Sunny leaned over the table, taking another look over the blueprints.

“I’ve been to this warehouse only once,” she said, shaking her head, “and I stayed outside for the visit.”

“So you can’t tell us anything useful?” the pegasus, Sergeant Cutter, growled, glaring at Sunny.

“She didn’t say that,” Stacker said, eyeing the other pegasus coldly. “Don’t put words in her mouth.” Cutter glowered at Stacker, but kept his mouth shut.

Turning back to Sunny, Stacker motioned for her to continue with a small smile on his face. Out of the corner of her eyes, Sunny saw Ivory smirk. Well, it’s good to see that some of them are starting to warm up to me, she thought, smiling inwardly to herself. Returning her attention to the table in front of her, she picked up a photo.

“If I remember correctly, Darkflare booby-trapped the upper windows, just like the other warehouses, but he also booby-trapped some of the doors.”

“Are there any doors we can use?” Ivory asked.

“I believe that the front door was left untouched, mostly to avoid suspicion from the dock manager. One accidental death and the guards would be all over that warehouse. The bay side entrance was also left untouched so that the ships could enter and leave even when Darkflare wasn’t there. That was also the entrance we used when we visited, so it should be relatively safe. Some of the side entrances may be safe as well, but I couldn’t actually tell you which ones.”

“Anything else?” Ivory asked.

“Not that I can think of at the moment.”

“Alright then.” Turning her gaze from Sunny and back to the table, Ivory pulled a manila folder out of a side pocket underneath the edge of the table. Throwing it onto the table, she flipped it open and began sorting through the paper.

“Right, here’s the deal,” she said, glancing up at the surrounding guards. “We don’t expect to run into any of Darkflare’s crew while we’re here, but that doesn’t mean we’re in the clear. Changelings have been spotted in the area.” A collective shiver went around the group of guards at the mention of the creatures that had attacked Canterlot. Sunny felt her pulse quicken and she swallowed nervously.

“I thought we had taken care of those bastards when we got their queen,” one of the guards muttered, her ears splaying back.

“These particular changelings are believed to be part of a splinter group, rogues that were flung far away from the main horde. Even so, we should be very careful not to let our guard down,” Ivory said, tapping a hoof on the table. “That being said, I had sent a request to Canterlot. They graciously sent us Sergeant Major Barricade to help us.” Ivory motioned to a pony on the far side of the table. Sunny glanced over at the pony in question.

Sergeant Major Barricade was a small unicorn mare, standing nearly a half head shorter than the rest of the guards. She had a pale yellow coat and a bright red mane that hung down in front of half her face. She was adorned in cobalt blue armor that glowed with a faint pink light in the dark train car. Sunny didn’t know how she had missed the mare when she had first entered the car; the glowing cobalt armor stood out horribly against the new white armor of the Coming Dawn.

“She’s on loan to us from the Battlemages to help combat any changelings we may run into,” Ivory explained as Sunny eyed the new mare. “Stacker, you’ll be taking your squad, and Sergeant Cutter and his squad, through the side entrance here.” Ivory pointed at one of the small doors located on the side of the warehouse. “I want you to be careful and watch for booby-traps. Basher, Chaser, your squads are with me. We’ll be going in the back entrance. The rest of you will be heading in the main entrance with Barricade. She’s in charge during this operation.”

The train lurched slightly when Ivory finished giving directions, and it began to slow down. Ivory glanced up before returning all the papers to the file and slipping them back under the desk. Grabbing her helmet, Ivory strapped it on. Wordlessly, the guards began to group together within their squads, everypony double checking their armor and supplies.

Ivory moved to stand beside the compartment’s side door, but was stopped by Sunny.

“I-I’m sorry,” Sunny stuttered, her ears splaying back, “but, um... I didn’t catch who I was supposed to go with.” She trailed off, wringing her hooves nervously.

“Ms. Breeze,” Ivory said softly, causing Sunny to glance up. When she saw the white unicorn was smiling warmly at her, she blinked in surprise.

“I apologize, I thought you had been told,” the white unicorn said, chuckling. “You’re part of Stacker’s squad now.”

“I am?” Sunny asked, confused.

“Yes,” Ivory nodded. “He asked specifically for you to be made part of his squad. I had no problem with it, so I agreed.” Sunny stared at her, shocked. Ivory just chuckled again, shaking her head. “Welcome to the crew, Ms. Breeze. Don’t let us down.”

With that, Ivory turned and made her way to the side door’s handle, leaving Sunny standing there, a stunned look on her face. She blinked when she felt somepony bump her shoulder.

Glancing over, she saw Stacker standing there, a twinkle in his blue eyes as he chuckled, “You alright, ma’am?”

“You requested for me to be in your squad?” she asked quietly. “Why?” He shrugged, the smile still on his muzzle.

“The rest of my squad seems to like you, and I was asked by Corporal Windbreaker over there if you’d been joining us for this mission.” Sunny glanced at the pony he was pointing at and realized it was the same mare who had kept her from tripping back at the first warehouse. She smiled at Sunny and waved. Sunny returned the wave, a blank look on her face.

“You weren’t expecting a warm welcome when you first started working with us, did you?” Stacker said, chuckling at Sunny’s expression. She shook her head, still dazed.

“No,” she said softly, tears welling up in her eyes. “I figured me being an ex-criminal would cause you all to hate me.” Stacker’s face softened, and he draped a wing over Sunny.

“You may have been part of Darkflare’s gang originally, but the fact that you left and are now trying to make up for your mistake is enough for us. Well, maybe not some of us,” Stacker added, shooting a dark look over at Sergeant Cutter, who was playing around with his helmet on the other side of the compartment.

Sunny sniffled slightly, a small smile on her face. “Thanks.”

“Alright,” Ivory called out above the noise, catching everypony’s attention. “Get ready, everypony. We have a short walk to get to the warehouse.”

“Better cut this short,” Stacker muttered, slipping a hoof into one of his many pouches. He pulled out a small iron device that looked similar to a hoof guard one of the princesses would wear. It glowed softly with a yellow aura.

He handed it to Sunny, who took the device and looked at it curiously.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s called an ‘Iron Hoof’,” Stacker explained. “It’s used for close combat situations. It’s been enchanted to release a kinetic pulse whenever you hit something, increasing the power of your strike threefold.”

“Why are you giving this to me?” Sunny asked, glancing up from the device and looking at Stacker.

“Just in case,” Stacker said quietly before giving Sunny a wink and slipping away. She studied the Iron Hoof for several more seconds before slipping it carefully into one of her side pouches. Unfastening her helmet, she slipped it on and approached the side door along with everypony else. A few seconds later, the train slowly slid to a stop and Ivory opened the doors.

The Coming Dawn began to leap out of the train, landing in the snow drifts around the train tracks with soft thumps. The night sky was overcast, and more snow was falling quickly to the ground, already covering the guards’ tracks as they slowly began to move towards a group of buildings nearby.

As the guards slipped into the alleyway between two apartment complexes, they paused for a second. Ivory turned her attention to the Battlemage. Unlike The Coming Dawn, whose armor let them blend in with the snow background, Barricade’s armor made her stand out against the white substance.

“Can’t you do anything about your armor?” Ivory hissed at the unicorn. If it wasn’t for her red eyes, Sunny probably wouldn’t have been able to see the lieutenant against the snow.

The Battlemage just gave Ivory an even look before lighting up her horn. The unicorn immediately vanished into thin air. Where the Battlemage once stood was now just a slight shimmer in the air.

“Is that better?” asked a quiet voice from the shimmering mass. Ivory just rolled her eyes and huffed, “Mages.”

The Coming Dawn made their way slowly through the back alleys, taking care to stick to the shadows. The only life form they encountered was a stray cat who was picking through the dumpster behind one of the apartment buildings.

Within a few minutes, their target was in sight.

“Alright,” Ivory said quietly, motioning with her hoof. “Everypony remember: move slow and be careful. We don’t know what’s in there, and we don’t want any surprises tonight.” There was a murmur of understanding before the guards began to spread out, each group heading to their assigned door.

Sunny followed behind Stacker, making sure to keep close to the steel gray pegasus. The group rounded the corner of the warehouse, hugging the side of the building as they made their way towards the side door. Reaching the small entrance, Stacker motioned with a wing. “Cutter, check the door.”

“Yes, sir,” Cutter growled, moving forward. Grabbing the bottom of the door, Cutter slowly lifted it up several inches, just enough to get his head underneath it. Lying down on his back on the frozen ground, the gray pegasus started to wiggle under the door. He paused halfway through, however. There were several seconds of silence before his muffled voice could be heard. “There’s something here.”

“Whatcha got?” Stacker asked, moving closer to the door.

“Low-grade explosives, secondary by the look of it,” came the reply. “It looks like it’s designed to trigger if the door opens too far.”

“How much is too far?” A dark chuckle came from the other side of the door.

“Let’s just say an inch more and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Stacker chuckled as well, shaking his head. Sunny’s eyes widened and her heart flipped in her chest. She glanced around at the other guards, her ears splaying backwards. How can they be so casual about this?

“How long do you think it’ll take you to disarm it?” Stacker asked.

“Ten seconds,” he responded. “Maybe more.” A hoof slipped under the door, and waved about. “Somepony give me a knife.” One of the guards produced a knife and handed it to Cutter, handle first. The hoof and the knife slipped back under the door. A few more seconds of silence and then there was an audible click.

“Got it!” With a grunt, Cutter rolled over onto his stomach and pressed his back into the door, shoving it open the rest of the way. Flipping the knife around, he handed it back to its original owner. As he did so, Stacker stuck his head in the now open entrance and glanced around.

“We’re clear. Saddle up, we're moving out,” he said, motioning with a hoof. The guards slowly slipped one by one out of the snow and into the warehouse.

Sunny was among the last who entered the warehouse. Glancing around, she saw that they were in a small storage room filled with crates. The guards were slipping between the crates, being careful not to touch the wooden boxes. Some of them were even eyeing the crates nervously, as if expecting them to explode at any minute.

“It’s okay,” Sunny said, causing several nearby guards to jump. “None of them are booby-trapped. Darkflare wouldn’t risk damaging anything that he could make bits off of.”

“Are you sure?” one of the guards asked. Rolling her eyes, Sunny walked over to one of the crates and cracked it open. Glancing inside, she scrunched up her face when she saw several packages of spoiled meat. Luckily, the plastic packaging kept most of the smell at bay, but she still had to hold a hoof over her nose to stop from gagging.

As she looked down at the meat, Stacker appeared beside her.

“Whatcha got?” he asked her as he glanced in the crate. The pegasus grimaced when he caught a whiff of the meat.

“I found what Darkflare was feeding the humans he threw in the fighting rings,” Sunny said thickly as she closed the lid of the crate. A quick check in the other crates confirmed that they all held the same thing.

“Looks like there is nothing else here,” Stacker said, ruffling his wings. “Move on. We’ll come back to get it later.” The guards headed towards the door at the rear of the room, making sure to be a silent as possible. Cracking open the door, Stacker stepped out into a dim hallway, glancing both ways before motioning for the others to follow.

As the guards filed out, Barricade and her group rounded the corner and headed down the hall towards them. When they were close enough, Barricade shot Stacker a quick glance before motioning to a nearby stairwell. “Check the upper floors, if you would be so kind.” Stacker nodded, and the Battlemage slipped past, leading her group of guards further down the hall.

As Stacker’s team trotted up the stairs, Sunny’s ears perked up. “Do you guys hear that?” All the guards froze, straining their ears.

“Ma’am?” Stacker asked, trying to keep his voice as quiet as possible. Sunny shushed him with a wave of her hoof, her ears swiveling around as she concentrated. There was a brief moment of silence, where none of the guards even breathed. Then they heard it.

It was faint, so faint that at first Sunny thought it was just the wind. A soft scuttling noise came from somewhere above the guards. The guards’ heads whipped up and they stared up at the ceiling of the stairwell. As soon as it started, the scuttling noise ceased. It was several seconds before anyone moved.

“Everypony keep your eyes peeled,” Stacker whispered, still staring up at the ceiling. “Windbreaker, take Private Ratchet, head back downstairs and find the Battlemage. Escort her back up here.” The two pegasi nodded before slipping by the rest of the guards and heading back down the stairs.

As the two guards left, Stacker motioned to the rest of his team. “Everypony else, go silent.” Reaching the top of the stairwell, Stacker placed his shoulder against the door and cracked it open. Once there was enough room, he took a small mirror out of one of his pouches and slipped it through the crack.

Once he was sure the coast was clear, he returned the mirror to his pouch and swung the door open. Exiting out onto a catwalk, the team made their way towards one of the rooms on the far side of the warehouse.

Reaching the door, Stacker repeated his mirror trick.

“Well, this is new,” he muttered before swinging the door open. Sunny blinked in surprise as she entered the darkened room. It was a large room, running the entire length of the warehouse, and filled with cages and crates. The only light was from a street light filtering through the boarded up windows.

“Spread out, but stay in pairs,” Stacker hissed. “Check the crates for anything useful, and check the cages for any humans. Give a shout if you find anything. If there’s anything in here, it already knows we’re here. Keep your eyes open.” As the guards began to spread out, Stacker turned towards Sunny.

“Any thoughts on this, ma’am?” he asked softly.

“If I had to hazard a guess,” Sunny said, looking around at the crates and cages, “I would say that Darkflare used this room for human storage. The large cages indicate that humans kept here were used for fighting.”

“Large cages?” Stacker deadpanned, glancing at a nearby cage. It stood barely four feet high, and looked like it could barely hold an adult human.

“Yeah,” Sunny said, not seeing Stacker’s look, “but something’s off.”

“What do you mean?”

“Darkflare never stored the humans with their food.” Sunny motioned at a stack of crates nearby. “Somepony’s moved them up here after Darkflare’s gang was here last.”

“Why would somepony do that?” Stacker asked, eyeing the crates suspiciously.

“I’m not sure, but that’s not the part that concerns me.” Sunny lowered her voice, as she leaned closer to Stacker. “These are food crates, and they’re empty. Somepony brought them up here to feed something.”

“Do you know how long this has been happening?” Sunny shook her head, an ear twitching.

“No, but judging by the meat downstairs, they ran out of useable food a few months ago.”

“So, then what—” Stacker began before being cut off by one of the guards on the other side of the room.

“Sir, you better come take a look at this!” The sergeant and Sunny exchanged glances before hurrying off, weaving their way through the maze of crates, boxes, and cages towards the guard who shouted.

As they approached, the mare turned and motioned to an empty cage at the bottom of a large pile of cages. Why are they interested in an empty cage? Sunny wondered, scrunching up her face. As she neared the cage, however, she realized with growing horror that it wasn’t empty at all.

“Maker preserve us,” Stacker breathed as he looked into the cage.

Behind the bars there was a human, a young unbranded male. He was propped up against the far side of the cage, his head hung low, his shaggy, matted brown hair hanging down low in front of his face. His body was in a horrible state, his skeleton clearly visible beneath his dirt-covered skin. Old pus-filled scratches covered his weak frame. Bone and skull fragments were scattered around him, and dried blood caked the floor of the cage.

At the sound of the pair’s approaching hooves, the human lifted his head, staring out at the group, his eyes peering out of sunken sockets. His chest rose and fell weakly with each ragged breath.

“How can this guy still be alive?” Stacker asked, looking at the human with pity. Shaking his head, the pegasus turned and motioned to the two guards. “Get the cage door open.”

“I’m not going near that thing,” one of the guards said, pointing a hoof at the bones. “Just look at what happened to the last pony that messed with it!”

“Those aren’t pony bones,” Sunny said, her voice cracking slightly. Reaching a tentative hoof through the cage’s bars, she pulled out a nearby piece of bone; a cracked mandible. She studied it closely before glancing back at Stacker. “They’re human bones.”

“They’re fresh too,” Stacker observed, eyeing the bone in Sunny’s grasp. Glancing back at the human in the cage, he chewed on the inside of his cheek as he eyed the remainder of the bones. “It seems that when the meat in the crates went bad, he had to find his own…”

“A cannibalistic human?” the guard that had called them over asked, cocking an eyebrow. Stacker just shrugged.

“You got to do what you got to do.” Eyeing the human for a few more seconds, Stacker clicked his tongue before turning back to the guards. “Get it open, and get the human out. He needs medical attention.” When neither of the guards moved, Stacker rolled his eyes.

“Do you really think he has enough energy left to be a threat?” he asked, earning a pair of sheepish smiles from the guards.

“Right, sorry, sir,” one of them said, stepping forward and pulling a lockpick out of her pocket. She had only taken a few steps towards the cage when a loud screech filled the room, causing all ponies to cover their ears in pain. The human perked up, pulling the skin of his lips back to reveal his teeth in a silent snarl. He turned his head and glared at something on the other side of the room.

A loud clatter echoed from the direction the human was staring in, followed shortly by a guard screaming, “CONTACT! EAST CORNER!” Stacker and the guards were off down the aisle in a heartbeat, Sunny following close behind.

Reaching the far end of the room, the group skid around a corner of crates. Sunny stumbled, her heart skipping at the scene before her.

Sergeant Cutter was lying atop a smashed crate, struggling against a creature that sent shivers of fear down Sunny’s spine, her wings spreading wide as her fight-or-flight instincts told her to run and not look back.

The changeling’s black chitin glinted in the gloom, its bug-like wings buzzing as it struggled with Cutter. It strained its neck, snapping its mouth as it tried to sink its fangs into Cutter’s neck.

“Get off of me, you overgrown bug!” Cutter snarled, bucking the changeling with his back hooves. It hit the changeling’s underbelly with a dull thud, the hardened chitin protecting its fragile organs. Its monotone blue eyes narrowed, and it hissed at the pegasus beneath it. A slit under its abdomen opened up, and a long, thick stinger-like appendage slid out.

“Shit,” Stacker growled, rushing forward. “It’s a Breeder!” Before any of the guards could respond, the changeling stabbed its ovipositor into Cutter’s chest. The appendage smashed through the armor’s chest plate, sinking into the flesh underneath with a sickening crunch. Cutter’s cry of pain echoed around the room.

Sunny watched in horror as the ovipositor began to pulse, pushing egg after egg from the changeling’s abdomen, down the organ, and into Cutter’s chest. The pegasus wheezed, his lungs beginning to compress as the eggs began to fill his chest cavity. Blood began to flow from his mouth as his internal organs were smashed together. A loud crack filled the air as his ribs broke from the pressure.

Cutter’s struggles weakened as the changeling continued to pump its eggs into the downed pegasus. By the time Stacker reached the pair, Cutter’s entire body had fallen limp, his blue eyes glazing over.

With a snarl, Stacker slammed, shoulder first, into the changeling, ripping its ovipositor out of Cutter’s chest. Blood dripped off the appendage as the changeling turned and hissed at its attacker. Sunny could only watch, frozen in fear, as Stacker and the changeling glared at each other.

The changeling hissed at Stacker again, causing the pegasus to smirk. “Well, I'd be pretty angry too if I looked like a roach!” This just caused the changeling’s eyes to narrow.

“Medic,” Stacker barked, keeping his eyes on the changeling as it began to circle him. “Check the sergeant!” A pegasus mare with a red cross on her armor dashed by Sunny, heading for Cutter’s still body.

Placing a hoof on Cutter’s bulging throat, the medic began to rummage around in her medical bag. “He doesn’t have a pulse!” she called as she began to peel Cutter’s armor off piece by piece, revealing his lumpy and broken chest.

There was a clatter of hooves as another pair of guards arrived, jumping from atop a pile of cages. They sailed through the air towards the changeling, their wings spread, knives in their hooves. Crouching, the changeling snarled as green fire ran up its horn. There was a burst of green and the two pegasi fell, crying out in pain as their wings crumpled. Another flash of green and an armorless Cutter stood in the center of a charred ring, glaring at the fallen guards.

With a shout, Stacker lunged at the fake-Cutter, drawing a hunting knife from within his armor. The disguised changeling swatted Stacker out of air, causing the sergeant to slam into a stack of empty crates with a grunt.

The grinning Cutter-changeling then turned its attention towards the medic, who had her back to the fight. Leaned over the still body of the actual Cutter, she didn’t see the changeling approaching.

Gritting her teeth, Sunny forced her terror-stricken body to move. Rushing forward, she placed herself between the medic and the changeling. She glared at the faux Cutter, trying to look intimidating all while her legs were trembling horribly.

The changeling stopped, giving her a deadpanned look. Suddenly, with a snarl, the fake Cutter’s hoof lashed out faster than Sunny’s eye could follow. Her cheek exploded in pain as the changeling’s hit sent her flying into a cage. Her head cracked against one of the bars of the cage, the skin splitting open and blood beginning to flow down her face. Stars erupted in front of her dazed eyes.

Pushing herself up with a groan, Sunny rolled over, rubbing her aching head with a hoof. As she glanced up, she froze when she found Cutter’s face inches from her own, his ice cold eyes glaring into hers, his lips drawn back in a vicious snarl.

“You will not,” it snarled, mimicking Cutter’s voice perfectly, “take my meal from me!” Sunny’s eyes widened as her mind registered what the changeling had just said. It’s the one that was feeding the human. It’s trying to use the human as a food source!

Sunny shrank back as the disguised changeling raised its hoof into the air. As the changeling brought it swinging down, Sunny rolled out of the way with a squeak.

The changeling moved to strike again, but was interrupted by Stacker jumping on its back. The changeling shrieked as it tried to shake the grey pegasus off, but Stacker clung gamely on, wrapping his forelegs around its neck. Producing a second hunting knife, the sergeant jammed it into the changeling’s shoulder. Green blood burst from the wound, dribbling down the fake pegasus’s gray coat.

As the steel blade sank deeper into the changeling’s flesh, its disguise failed with a flash of green flame.

“Ew!” Stacker sneered as the changeling’s true form was revealed again. “You make my mother-in-law look pretty!” With a snarl, the changeling sunk its fangs into Stacker’s leg, causing the gruff guard to yelp in pain. His grip on the changeling’s chitin slipped, and with one last forceful shake, the changeling threw him off. Stacker hissed in pain as he landed on his wing, the appendage crumpling underneath him.

Ripping the knife out of the soft chitin of its shoulder, the changeling tossed the blade aside before turning its attention back to Stacker. Sunny watched in horror as the slit on its abdomen opened again, and the ovipositor slid out, still covered in Cutter’s blood. As the changeling took a step towards Stacker, Sunny, ignoring her pounding head, leapt forward with a shout. “STACKER!”

Having caught her movement out of the corner of its eye, the changeling moved instinctively, one of its rear legs whipping out and catching the pegasus under the chin. With a crack, Sunny’s head was flung back and she was tossed through the air.

Sailing over the sea of cages, Sunny crashed down into a large crate, which shattered underneath her weight. Staggering to her hooves, Sunny blinked, trying to clear the stars from in front of her eyes, and keep the darkness creeping in around the edge of her vision at bay.

Spitting a glob of blood from her mouth, she took several shaky steps before collapsing against one of the nearby cages.

Shaking her head to try and clear it, Sunny could pick up the distinct sounds of combat coming from across the room; Stacker was fighting the changeling again. Where the hell is that Battlemage?! Sunny thought as her vision slowly cleared.

A clanking sound from beside her caused the mare to jump. Glancing over, she saw that the changeling had launched her back over to where the human’s cage was resting. During the fight, the human had gotten to his feet and was now standing by the cage door. He was smashing his hands against the bars, a snarl on his face.

As the human’s eyes locked with Sunny, he whimpered slightly, hitting the bars again. The shriek of the changeling filled the room, and the human replied with one of his own before redoubling his efforts to get out.

“Humans can sense changelings,” Sunny muttered, her voice slurred slightly due to her head injury. As she stared at the human in the cage, something Princess Celestia had said to her when the princess had bought Max flashed through Sunny’s head.

“Humans... don’t like being in close proximity... to changelings,” Sunny muttered, her breaths coming in short bursts, her chest tight. “Disguised or otherwise…” Staggering across the aisle, Sunny slumped against the human’s cage, clinging to the bars. The human just looked down at Sunny with a confused look before letting out another whine.

“Gotta… help Stacker,” Sunny muttered, fumbling with the cage’s rusted padlock. Grabbing it in her hooves, she shook it weakly, trying to break it, but to no avail. It remained steadfast and unyielding.

Leaning against the cage, Sunny looked around for something to break the lock, but there was nothing she could use. Shifting against the cage, the pegasus froze when she felt something in one of her pouches press against her chest. Reaching a hoof into the pouch, Sunny pulled out the Iron Hoof that Stacker had given her back on the train.

“‘Increases the power of your strike threefold’,” she muttered as she slipped the device onto her hoof, fumbling with it slightly. Swinging her hoof weakly, she brought it down upon the lock. The device let out a yellow flash and the sound of cracking metal rent the air. The padlock fell to the ground, split cleanly in two.

Grabbing the cage door in her hooves, Sunny fell to the side, using her body’s weight to pull the door open. As she collapsed onto her back, the human stepped out of the cage, staggering slightly on weakened legs. He glanced down at Sunny, cocking his head to the side, a soft chirp coming from his mouth.

Sunny just looked up at the human, breathing heavily, before growling out, “...sic ‘em.”

With a snarl, the human turned and stalked down the aisle, heading towards the sound of conflict. Sunny couldn’t help but smile slightly as her vision slowly began to narrow.

“Don’t worry, Stacker,” she muttered. “Help’s... on the way…” Sunny’s head lolled to the side as she sighed heavily and closed her eyes. “I just need... a few minutes,” she breathed, the Iron Hoof falling from her grasp and landing on the ground with a clack.

Sunny had just begun to black out when the clatter of hooves reached her ears. She felt somepony shake her, urgent voices talking in her ear. A pair of hooves grabbed her head and forced it around. Sunny opened her eyes, and blinked blearily at the pink face that was looking at her with concern.

“Ms. Breeze,” a voice spoke up as if from far away, “are you okay?” Sunny blinked again, staring into the yellow eyes in confusion.

“Windbreaker?” she muttered, trying to focus.

“Don’t worry ma’am,” the young corporal said, holding Sunny’s head steady. “Reinforcements are here.” A second face appeared in Sunny’s vision, the pale yellow face framed by a cobalt helmet and light red mane.

“Hang on,” Barricade said, her voice sounding just as far away as Windbreaker’s, “let me try something.” The unicorn’s horn glowed softly, bathing the surrounding area in light. A wave of warmth washed over Sunny, and she felt a small burst of energy begin to flow through her. Instantly her vision began to clear again, and she was able to lift her head slightly.

As she moved to sit up, Windbreaker pressed a hoof against Sunny’s shoulder. “Take it easy, ma’am.” Keeping the hoof on her shoulder, Windbreaker helped Sunny to her feet. She wobbled slightly, wincing as the cut on her head flared with pain. The area around her right eye was already starting to swell.

With her head clear again, Sunny could feel all the injuries she had sustained returning in force.

“What happened here?” Barricade asked as Sunny sagged against Windbreaker.

“Changeling Breeder,” Sunny groaned, motioning towards the sound of combat. “Got Cutter… was attacking Stacker. I released a human... that was kept up here…and he headed that way...”

The Battlemage glanced up as another shriek from the changeling filled the air, followed by the snarl of a human. “Yeah! Get some!” Stacker’s voice called gleefully as a cage was tossed into the air. Without a word the Battlemage started towards the disturbance, a determined look on her face.

Sunny moved to follow, leaning heavily on Windbreaker. The corporal carried her along, keeping her from falling flat on her face. Sunny’s hoof hit something as they walked, and, glancing down, she saw it was one of Stacker’s knives. Windbreaker bent down and picked the weapon up, slipping it in between two of her armor plates.

As Sunny and Windbreaker rounded a pile of destroyed crates, they almost ran into Barricade, who was standing there, staring at the scene before them with an open mouth. Upon seeing what was happening, Sunny and Windbreaker’s jaws fell open as well.

The human and the changeling were locked together in combat, green and red blood mixing together as the two fought. The human had somehow managed to rip both of the changeling’s wings off, leaving behind two bloody stubs on its back. The changeling had managed to land some hits of its own, fresh cuts adorning the human’s body from where the sharp chitin had cut into his flesh.

Stacker was positioned well out of the way of the fight, sitting atop a large cage, observing the scuffle as he held onto his shoulder, wincing in pain. The wing he had landed on hung limply by his side, several of the feathers bent at odd angles.

As the ponies watched, the human lunged forward, grabbing a hold of the changeling as it tried to get away. Lifting the squirming creature above his head, the human snarled again as he threw the changeling against the ground. The resulting crunch sent shivers down Sunny’s back, and the changeling writhed in pain.

Raising its head, the changeling’s horn glowed green before it launched a burst of green magic at the human. As the human dove to the side to avoid the attack, the changeling staggered to its hooves. It made to leap over the cages and beat a hasty retreat, but was stopped once again as the human grabbed onto its back leg. The changeling let out a yelp of pain as it crashed to the floor.

As the human reached down to grab the changeling by the throat, it turned, lashing out at the human with its sharpened teeth. The fangs sunk into the human’s arm, causing a torrent of red to spill out around the changeling’s lips. The human screamed in pain as he ripped his arm from the changeling’s maw and staggered backwards.

Tearing her eyes from the fight, Sunny looked at the motionless Battlemage.

“Do something!” she said, waving at the fight with a hoof. Barricade just shook her head, her eyes locked onto the human as he advanced towards the changeling again.

“And get in the way of a human? I don’t think so. I’ll step in if things start going south, but until then, the human can handle himself.” Sunny returned her attention back to the fight when the human screamed again. Somehow, the changeling had managed to get its mouth around the human’s shoulder, its fangs sinking into the bony flesh.

Reaching a hand up, the human grabbed a hold of the changeling’s horn and pried the black creature off of him. Holding the struggling bug-pony up by its horn, the human snarled at it before throwing it to the ground.

Before the changeling could recover from the blow, the human had slammed his foot into the changeling’s back, pinning it to the ground. As the changeling wiggled, it let out a high pitch series of chirps as it tried to get free. Ignoring the sound, the human reached down and hooked his hands around the changeling’s bottom jaw.

Keeping his foot pressed down on the changeling’s back, the human began to pull back with his hands, jerking the changeling’s head back. The changeling’s struggling increased as it started to make horrific gurgling sounds. The human stopped pulling for a second, relaxing his grip on the changeling. Adjusting his stance, the human moved his foot from the changeling’s back to the base of its neck. With that, the human’s muscles began to tense again, and a silent snarl appeared on his face.

It was a split second before it actually happened that Sunny realized what the human was about to do. Unable to look away in time, Sunny watched in fascinated horror as the human gave a mighty heave, pulling the changeling’s head back as far and as hard as it could go.

The changeling let out a shrill, gurgling shriek as the muscles in its neck began to tear. Panting from the exertion needed, the human gave one last heave. A grotesque ripping sound filled the air, followed by a crack, as the human tore the changeling’s head clean off of its body.

Staggering backwards, the human held up the changeling’s decapitated head, staring at it blankly as green blood dripped from the stub of the changeling’s neck. With a huff, the human tossed the head aside, and it rolled along the floor before coming to a stop beside a destroyed crate.

Silence fell over the room as the human just stood there, red and green blood dripping from his gore-splattered body. Slowly, he turned and headed towards Sunny, Windbreaker, and Barricade, limping slightly as he walked.

As he approached, Barricade lowered her head, her horn glowing softly. The human ignored her, focusing solely on Sunny. Reaching the pegasus, he crouched down in front of her. Sunny’s ears folded against her head nervously as the human stared at her.

Jerking his head forward suddenly, the human surprised everypony as he nuzzled his cheek against Sunny’s, cooing softly. Blinking in confusion, Sunny returned the nuzzle hesitantly. From beside her, Windbreaker laughed softly, shaking her head. “Looks like you made a new friend.”

A low groan caused everypony except the human to jump. From with a pile of debris, a guard emerged, holding his head.

“Did anypony get the number of that carriage?” he asked as he stumbled to his hooves. His armor was charred and smoking slightly, filling the air with an unpleasant burnt smell. A moment later, another guard emerged from within the wreck around the scene of the fight, a large cut on her cheek bleeding.

She looked at the headless changeling body for a few seconds before her gaze turned towards the human, a blank expression on her face. Her eyes then landed on Stacker and she sneered, pulling herself from the wreckage.

“‘Do you really think he has enough energy left to be a threat?’” she snarked, mimicking Stacker’s gruff voice as best as she could. This just caused the sergeant to chuckle weakly.

“Can’t say I’ve ever been this glad to have been wrong before,” he said, shaking his head. “A few more seconds and the changeling would’ve gotten that egg-laying spear into me. Though, how did the human get out?” he asked as he limped forward, favoring his front right hoof.

Sunny blushed, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.

“I… kinda let it out,” she said softly, a sheepish smile on her face. Stacker looked at her, his eyebrows raising.

“You?” he asked, sounding incredulous. “How in the name of Tartarus did you manage to get the lock open?”

“I smashed it with the Iron Hoof you gave me,” she said, not looking Stacker in the face. Stacker stared at Sunny for several seconds, causing her blush to intensify, before a large smile spread across his face.

“Well, thank the Maker for that,” he said. “Your little jailbreak there saved my flank, ma’am.” Sunny just muttered something inaudible, her ears splayed back, her face burning. Beside her, Windbreaker was biting onto her lip to stop from laughing at the poor mare’s situation.

“You don’t get many compliments from stallions, do you?” she whispered to Sunny when Stacker turned his attention elsewhere. Sunny shot the mare an annoyed glare, pouting slightly. This only caused Windbreaker to laugh harder. Her laughter died down, however, when Stacker approached the broken form of Cutter.

“How is he?” he asked the medic quietly, his voice sober. The medical pegasus looked up, shaking her head grimly.

“It’s no good, sir,” she said sadly. “There was nothing I could do. Even if I somehow managed to remove all the eggs from his chest cavity, the damage to his internal organs is too extensive.”

“Is he…” Stacker started to ask, but didn’t finish. The medic just shook her head.

“He passed a few minutes ago,” she said. Reaching down, she removed a pair of dog tags from around Cutter’s neck and slipped them into her bag.

“Damn it,” Stacker swore, staring down at the lifeless pegasus before him.

“We need to burn the body,” Barricade spoke up, her face emotionless. Stacker wheeled around, glaring at the unicorn. However, before he could yell, Barricade held up a hoof in a placating manner. “I realize you guards have a thing about bringing your dead back with you to return to their family, but we can’t do that in this case.”

“Why not?” asked one of the other guards, glaring at the Battlemage.

“Because he is currently carrying an entire brood of changeling eggs inside of him,” Barricade explained, staring at Cutter’s broken body with a strange look on her face. “If one single egg survives, we could have an entire changeling infestation on our hooves. We need to burn the body, just to be sure.” Stacker continued to glare at Barricade for several more seconds before sighing explosively and nodding his head.

“Strip his body first,” he ordered. The medic saluted before getting to work removing the remaining ruined armor from Cutter’s body. As she worked, Stacker turned his attention towards the headless body of the changeling.

“This is gonna be a nightmare for the cleanup crew,” he muttered, shaking his head.

Once the medical pegasus had managed to remove all of Cutter’s armor, everypony could see the extent of the damage done to his body. There was a bloody hole just below his rib cage where the changeling’s ovipositor had entered his body. His chest was bloated, the cracked ribs clearly visible underneath his skin. Odd round lumps poked up through his fur, evidence of what the changeling had pumped into him. Blood and bile had pooled around Cutter’s lips, his tongue lolling from his mouth.

Sunny felt sick just looking at him. Fighting back the bile rising in her throat, she turned her head away, blinking back tears. Cutter may not have liked her, but she would never wish this fate on anypony… except maybe Darkflare.

As she fought back her emotions, Sunny glanced at Windbreaker. The corporal was just staring at Cutter, a blank expression on her face.

“Does it ever get easier?” Sunny asked her, her voice quiet. Windbreaker was quiet for several seconds before sighing.

“Sadly, yes,” she said, hanging her head.

As Stacker and the medic dragged the discarded armor out of the way, Barricade approached Cutter’s body. Her horn glowed brightly for a brief second before the dead pegasus went up in flames. Blue fire crackled across Cutter’s body, filling the entire room with the smell of burning feathers and flesh. Another flash of her horn and the Battlemage blasted a hole in the ceiling, giving the smoke that was slowly filling the room an escape route.

The battered survivors watched silently as the pyre consumed their fallen comrade. Pulling a half chewed cigar out of a pouch, Stacker clamped it in his teeth. He patted his armor, looking for a lighter.

Glancing sideways, Barricade lit her horn up and an instant later the end of the cigar glowed red.

“Thanks,” Stacker muttered before puffing on the cigar.

After several minutes of silence, the clatter of hooves filled the air, causing the group to perk up. From down a nearby aisle between the wreckage of the fight Second Lieutenant Ivory and the rest of the Coming Dawn stepped out of the gloom. The approaching guards paused when they caught sight of the aftermath of the fight with the changeling.

Silence fell across the room again, broken only by the crackle of flames, as the new arrivals stared at the ragged group.

Ivory's eyes darted around the scene, starting at the blue pyre that consumed the charred-body of Sergeant Cutter. She noted the headless body of the changeling, the battered group of guards (most of whom were nursing injuries) and the medic covered in blood that wasn't hers. Ivory stopped looking once she saw the blood-soaked human nuzzling against a weary Sunny, who in turn leaned against Windbreaker.

Mouth opening and closing wordlessly, Ivory stepped forward, slowly approaching the group. She eventually found her voice. “What the buck happened here?” she asked quietly, the anger in her voice growing with each step. The entire group was silent, nopony wanting to answer the enraged unicorn.

When she didn’t get an answer, she turned her glare towards Stacker. He just stared into the crackling blue flames, chewing on his almost used up cigar.

Finally, he spoke. “A lot of bullshit happened,” he grunted, flicking his cigar into the blue flames.

“Hold on, we’re almost done,” Sunny cooed softly to the human, tugging on the bandage to make sure it was secure. The human winced as she put slight pressure on the wound, but remained still. The rest of the train car was silent, a medic checking over the guards who had been injured in the fight against the changeling.

The Coming Dawn were back on the train after several hours of clean up. The sound of fighting and the smoke rising from the warehouse had alerted the local authorities. Upon arriving, the “inbred yokels” had tried to arrest the members of the Coming Dawn, believing them to be a new local gang.

Reporters had shown up soon after.

At the request of the lieutenant, Barricade had erected a large magical barrier around the warehouse to keep the cops, the reporters, and the gathering civilians out. As they pounded on the outside of the dome, the Coming Dawn worked feverishly on the inside, sorting through the hundreds of crates and boxes, searching for anything useable. Most of the supplies were spoiled, or destroyed.

During the search, a pair of guards had come across another dead pony, one of a teenage unicorn stallion. A brief examination showed that his chest was full of changeling eggs as well. Barricade had to be called over to burn the body.

Once the cleanup was done, Ivory and Barricade had teleported the remaining supplies that hadn’t been spoiled or damaged from the warehouse to the train’s storage compartment. While they had done that, the rest of the Coming Dawn and the human had slipped out the back, using the frozen bay to cover their escape from the local authorities as they rounded the city and headed back towards the train tracks.

Once everypony and everything was onboard the train, Barricade had lowered the magical barrier around the warehouse. As local law enforcement swarmed the warehouse, the Coming Dawn’s train was already speeding down the tracks, heading back towards Canterlot.

“It looks like your wing is just bruised,” the medic said to Stacker, who had the majority of his armor removed. The sergeant nodded, absentmindedly playing with bandage that was wrapped around most of his foreleg, covering the changeling bite. “No flying for a couple of days, and it’ll heal just fine.”

As the medic moved on to the next guard, Stacker stood and shakily made his way over to Sunny, swaying on his hooves as the train rumbled down the tracks. Leaning on the wall of the compartment, Stacker cocked his head, eyeing the human.

“How’s he doing?” he asked softly. Sunny glanced up, giving the sergeant a weak smile. The side of her face was swollen, causing her right eye to swell shut.

“Obviously he’s extremely malnourished,” she said, slowly running a wet washcloth over one of the human’s main wounds, cleaning the pus off of the injury. “He has several infected injuries across his body that the medic looked at, and she was able to take care of most of them. I just have to go and clean them up.

“It looks like the wounds themselves were made by humans. If I had to guess, I’d say that he got them when they were fighting over who was going to eat who.” Sunny chuckled nervously, ruffling her wings before continuing.

“He’s got a slight fever, possibly due to the infections, perhaps due to another reason, although I can’t really be sure right now. He’s also missing several teeth, as well as a few… fingers and toes.” Sunny grimaced, her ear twitching. “Other than that, he just needs some tender love and care and hopefully he’ll get better. He’s actually extremely docile, considering what he’s gone through.” Stacker nodded, keeping his eyes on Sunny.

“And how are you doing?” he asked. Sunny bit her lower lip, wringing the washcloth out in a small basin of warm water. Washing her hooves off, she swallowed thickly. The pegasus knew he was asking about what had happened with Cutter, and she felt herself shiver as she thought back to the image of his broken body. She had seen death and bloodshed before, but it had always been humans, never a pony.

“Truthfully,” she said, her voice cracking, “not so good. I’ve seen some horrible stuff before during my service with Darkflare, but it was always with humans. I’ve never seen something like… that happen to a pony before.”

“Yeah, there is a difference, isn’t there?” Stacker said, nodding his head in understanding.

“There shouldn’t be!” Sunny cried suddenly, causing Stacker and the human to jump. As she choked back a sob, she turned to look at Stacker, tears starting to run down her cheeks. “There shouldn’t be a difference depending on who died! Why should we feel worse about a pony dying than a human dying? Why do ponies deserve more sympathy than humans?!” Gritting her teeth, Sunny tried to wipe her eyes, but only succeeded in getting her hooves wet; the tears continued to flow. “I’m not trying to say we shouldn’t be sad about what happened to Cutter… it’s just… it’s j-just… why am I getting more worked up over his death than all the humans I’ve seen before?”

“Because it’s who we are,” Stacker said as Sunny fought to stop her tears. When she gave him a questioning look, Stacker sighed heavily. Sitting down beside Sunny, he leaned against the wall of the compartment and pulled a flask out of one of his pouches. Unscrewing the cap, he took a swig from it before offering it to Sunny.

She took the metal flask in her shaky hooves. Lifting it to her lips, she gulped down a mouthful of the liquid. It burned as it flowed down her throat, causing her to gasp and more tears to roll down her face.

As she lowered the flask, she squeaked in surprise as the human grabbed a hold of her and gently pulled her onto his lap. Wrapping his boney, bandaged-covered arms around the distraught pegasus, he nuzzled the top of her head, cooing softly.

Sunny hiccuped slightly, a small smile touching her face.

“He likes you,” Stacker commented dryly.

As she returned the flask to him, Stacker continued where he had left off. “Species association, I believe is what the head doctors call it. It has some long scientific term that I can’t remember at the moment, but to put it bluntly, it’s a mental condition that every intelligent creature supposedly has. It causes us to sympathize more so with creatures that look like us than creatures that don’t. It’s the reason some guards are able to kill griffins without batting an eye while others have mental breakdowns.”

“R-really?” Sunny asked, looking up at Stacker as she tried to wipe her eyes again.

“Yeah,” Stacker said, staring off into the distance, a hard look in his eyes. He chuckled darkly, shaking his head. “Hard to imagine, but those griffin chicks are too similar to foals for my liking.” The look intensified slightly, and Sunny caught something that almost looked like sorrow in the sergeant’s eyes, but when he turned his gaze back to her, it was gone.

“Anyways,” he said, taking another swig from the flask, “that’s probably the reason most ponies don’t feel as bad about a human dying than another pony. At least, that’s what my bits are on. It probably doesn’t help that humans are unintelligent.” Stacker rolled his eyes, taking another pull from the flask.

Sunny looked down at her hooves. “Not all humans,” she said softly, a small smile playing across her muzzle as her mind wandered to one particular human that was currently living inside of a tree.

A snort caused her to glance up. Stacker was smirking at her, a knowing look on his face.

“You’re talking about the Desert Anomaly, aren’t you?”

“The what?” Sunny asked, blinking as she looked at Stacker in confusion.

“Half a year ago, Princess Celestia felt a massive energy surge out in the middle of the desert. Not sure what it could be, she scryed the area, hoping to discover the cause. Just to be on the safe side, she put the Coming Dawn on high alert. Imagine our surprise when, through the scrying table, we saw a human wandering the desert.”

“Did… did you see…” Sunny stuttered.

“Did we see you pick him up?” Stacker asked, a smirk on his face. Sunny nodded, her ears splaying back. The human chirped, cocking his head to the side before nibbling happily on Sunny’s ears. She flicked her ear, trying not to giggle.

“No, we didn’t see that,” Stacker continued, passing Sunny the flask again. “When we couldn’t find anything else besides the human in the vicinity of the magical surge, Princess Celestia stopped the scrying. That was the last we heard of it, before—”

“Before we showed up on your doorstep,” Sunny finished, her eyes widening.

“Bingo,” Stacker chuckled.

“That’s why the princess was so surprised to see Max,” Sunny breathed.

”A human you watched wandering around the desert after a magical surge shows up outside the palace?” Stacker inclined his head, shrugging his shoulders. “That would cause anypony to do a double take.”

“That also explains why she paid so much for him… what?” Sunny asked, looking at Stacker as he burst out laughing.

“That’s not why she spent so much to acquire him. She’s the princess; she could have just ordered you to hand him over.”

“Then why did she give us two million bits?”

“Because she had recently received four million bits of blood money from the griffins due to a territorial dispute amongst the clans,” Stacker explained, shaking his head and smiling. “She had already spent half of it on various charities earlier that day, and decided to get rid of the second half as well. In her hurry to give the bits away, however, I don’t think she realized what would happen if the group she had given it to had been an illegal organization. Needless to say, that kicked us pretty hard in the flank later on.” Stacker winced, as if the memory caused him physical pain. “Not one of Her Majesty’s best moments.”

“Oh…” Sunny’s ears splayed back again, and were immediately attacked happily by the human’s teeth.

“Also,” Stacker added, “the fact she saw him in the desert had nothing to do with her buying him.”

“It doesn’t?!” Sunny asked, shocked. “Then why the buck did she take an interest in him?”

“She said that there was something strange about him that just seemed to draw her to him, a kind of magical field that she hadn’t seen before. After she spent a few minutes with him and couldn’t determine the source or the reason, she just passed it off as residual magic from whatever happened in the desert. With that, she sent him to her protégé in Ponyville as a gift.”

“She paid two million bits for a human she didn’t even want?” This caused Stacker to laugh again.

“After working for the princess for as long as I have, you begin to see that she has a rather large playful streak, and an odd way of thinking about things,” he chuckled, his eyes twinkling. “After living as long as she has, things such as money and possessions don’t draw her attention. Instead, laughter and smiles, especially from foals, tend to be what she seeks out. Drives the nobles crazy sometimes, actually. Anyway, her student was sad, and here was a strange human; why not kill two birds with one stone¹?”

“So, it was just sheer dumb luck that saved Max?” Sunny asked nopony in particular. As she hung her head, the human tightened his grip around her.

“You could call it sheer dumb luck, you could call it divine intervention, you could call it fate, or you could call it whatever you want,” Stacker sighed, shrugging. “From what I’ve heard, that kid has the luck of the Maker with him.” He took another swig from his flask, but paused when he saw Sunny giving him a blank look.

“He went five rounds in a fighting pit without prior training and survived,” Stacker explained. “The fact that he was going up against veteran pit fighters makes it more impressive in my book. Then there’s the fact that he got chased through the Everfree by three manticores while carrying three little fillies and a baby dragon, and survived. I know some guards that couldn’t even do that.

“Like I said—” Stacker chuckled, taking one last sip from his flask before slipping it back into his armor “—Luck of the Maker.”

Silence fell over the pair as Stacker stifled a yawn. The medic came around again, passing out mugs of hot soup to everypony. The human whined softly as he looked down at Sunny’s steaming cup. Laughing softly, she handed it to him, and he began slurping happily at the soup, oblivious to how hot the liquid was.

“So, when did you find out he was intelligent, if you don’t mind me asking?” Stacker asked suddenly, giving Sunny a curious sideways look. Sunny chuckled wearily, not lifting her head. She felt the human hum happily against her back as he continued guzzling down the scalding soup.

“You want to know if I knew he was intelligent when we were transporting him, don’t you?” she asked, folding her ears against her head.

“I didn’t say that,” Stacker said blankly, before sipping at his own mug.

“That wasn’t a no.” Sunny chuckled weakly, shaking her head slowly. Stacker just inclined his head, blowing on the soup in his mug.

“How about this,” Sunny reasoned, raising her head to look at the sergeant. “I’ll tell you, if you tell me when you discovered that Max was intelligent. Deal?”

“Deal,” Stacker said, a smile touching his face. Sunny sighed, snuggling deeper into the human’s lap before she began.

“I’m not sure if you are aware, but I left Darkflare’s gang shortly after we sold Max to the princess. I wasn’t kicked out, or anything; I simply left voluntarily one night when we were staged in Manehattan. Everypony else was busy organizing a human fight, so nopony noticed when I grabbed a bag of bits and slipped out the backdoor. Although, apparently I didn’t leave fast enough to avoid having a warrant out for my arrest,” Sunny said bitterly, staring at a point on the floor just between herself and Stacker.

“I spent the next four months or so jumping from town to town, searching for Max. The reason—” she said, holding up a hoof to forestall Stacker’s unasked question “—was because there was something about him that just stuck with me. After spending two weeks stuck in a train car with him, I had grown attached to him more so than any other human I’ve seen before. Once I had left Darkflare’s group, I felt that I should at least make sure he was in a decent home.

“Needless to say, I found him in Ponyville, along with the princess that owned him.” Stacker chuckled as Sunny scrunched up her face.

“Weren’t expecting that, were ya?” he teased, smirking at her. Sunny just shook her head.

“No, can’t say that I was,” she answered. “And even though we had some… misunderstandings when we first met, she luckily didn’t call the guards on me, and let me explain myself to her. However, I think she was still slightly unconvinced afterwards. It was shortly after that when I discovered that Max was actually intelligent.”

“What gave it away?” Stacker asked, taking another sip of his soup. The human had long since finished Sunny’s mug, and was now eyeing Stacker’s with growing interest.

“The fact that he was using hoof-language to talk with Twilight.” Stacker burst out laughing, having to place his mug down on the ground to stop from spilling it. The minute the mug left Stacker’s hoof, the human reached down and snatched it up, cooing happily as he began to slurp at the contents.

Sunny moved to take the mug back, but Stacker stopped her. “No, no,” he said, wiping his eyes. “Let him have it. He needs it more than I do.” Chuckling softly, Stacker shook his head. “That definitely wasn’t what I was expecting.”

“What were you expecting?” Sunny asked.

“Something more… well, more. I guess I just didn’t expect that you’d discover an intelligent human just because he was using hoof-language to communicate with his owner.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think I was supposed to see it,” Sunny said, a smile touching her lips. “But in the end, I was glad I did.”

“I can imagine,” Stacker said with a warm smile. There was a brief pause before Sunny turned to look at the sergeant.

“How did you find out he's intelligent?” The smile left Stacker’s face, and he gave Sunny a calculating look.

“Princess Luna,” he said eventually.

“She told you?” Sunny cried out, shocked. At her cry, the human flinched slightly and gave her a confused look. When nothing else happened, he returned to the mug in his hands.

“But Twilight said that Princess Luna wasn’t going to say anything after she discovered Max in the hospital.”

“Did you really think that Princess Celestia and Luna would keep information about an intelligent human just to themselves?” Stacker asked, giving Sunny a bemused look. “No, of course not,” he continued when she slowly shook her head. “The Coming Dawn knew about Max less than an hour after Princess Luna returned from the hospital. We were on constant alert for five days straight afterwards, just in case he tried something. Why he would try something then, after living amongst the ponies of Ponyville for so long, I’m not sure, but he was being monitored during his stay in the hospital, as well as when he was released.”

“You were monitoring him afterwards?” Sunny asked, cocking her head to the side. The human finished off Stacker’s mug, and was licking his lips, trying to get all traces of soup off of them.

“Indeed,” Stacker confirmed with a nod. “We continued monitoring him until such time as Princess Celestia was able to pay him a visit.

“It was actually during our monitoring that our first lieutenant took an interest in him,” Stacker chuckled. “It was during his run in with the manticores. We had guards already flying towards Ponyville as fast as they could, but we were positive that we were going to have to explain to three families what had happened to their fillies. However, as I said before, that human’s got the luck of the Maker on his side. After he managed to outrun the manticores, and save the fillies and baby dragon, the first lieutenant had this creepy smile on her face. The kind that’s gotten us into trouble more often than not.

“Later, when we learned that Max was coming to the palace, the lieutenant was adamant about being one of the guards to escort him from the train station to the throne room. And when Max decided to stay in Equestria, she was the first pony to volunteer, even before she knew what the assignment was.”

“Wait,” Sunny said, her ears perking up. “What do you mean ‘when Max decided to stay in Equestria’? I thought the reason he’s still here is because the princesses couldn’t send him back!”

“Nope,” Stacker chuckled. “It turns out that the old boy stopped them mid-spell and told them he wanted to stay. Why he decided that, I don’t know, given the way most ponies treat humans here, but it was his decision and his alone to make. The princesses agreed, and thought it best to provide him with some level of protection. There are currently three guards staying with him and Princess Sparkle at the library in Ponyville: the first lieutenant, a Battlemage, and a Lunar Guard.”

Sunny was silent, rubbing the side of her head with a hoof as she stared at the floor.

“Ma’am?” Stacker asked after several minutes. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Sunny said, distracted. “Just… just remembering some things.” Stacker’s face softened, and he gave the mare a small smile.

“Don’t worry, ma’am,” he said, leaning back against the wall. “Once we’re finished searching for Darkflare’s hideouts, you’ll be free to visit him again. With your help, we’ll be able to finish up with them faster than…” He trailed off as the sound of approaching hoofsteps reached the pair’s ears.

Ivory Pyre looked tired: she had dark bags under her eyes, and had a look on her face that told Sunny that the mare was fighting off a growing headache. She was muttering darkly to herself as she approached, her red eyes glaring intensely at her hooves as she walked. Her ear would twitch every couple of steps and her tail swung back and forth restlessly.

Stopping just in front of the two ponies and the human, Ivory snorted before looking up. She paused for a second, giving the human a bemused look, before turning her attention to Stacker instead.

Sighing, she shook her head, “I just received some bad news from Canterlot.”

“Worse than a KIA guard, a dead civilian, and the scene we left behind?” Stacker asked, cocking an eyebrow and chuckling humorlessly. The look Ivory gave him silenced the sergeant quickly.

“Twenty-nine hours ago, Darkflare and his gang broke free of Canterlot’s dungeons in a massive jailbreak. The number of escapees are currently unknown, but judging by the remains, not many prisoners opted to stay behind. During the escape, a young guard was taken hostage.”

A stunned silence fell over the group for a brief second before Stacker swore explosively. As the sergeant growled to himself, Sunny turned and gave Ivory an unsettled look. “You said something about 'judging by the remains'. What does that mean?”

“It appears that Darkflare went around and offered his fellow prisoners a chance to escape. Any prisoner that didn’t accept was torched alive in their cell until only charred bones remained.” Sunny felt bile beginning to rise in her throat. She swallowed thickly, her ears splaying back.

“How is that possible?” Stacker growled, leaning forward and glaring at Ivory. “There’s no way he could have gotten free without outside help!”

“Exactly,” Ivory replied, her face expressionless. Stacker blinked in surprise before his eyes narrowed.

“They suspect somepony on the outside helped him escape?” he asked.

“No,” Ivory said, shaking her head slowly. “They know somepony on the outside helped with this breakout, they just aren’t sure who it is yet.”

“They have a suspect?” Stacker asked, his eyebrows raising.

“The princesses have an… idea of who might have helped with the breakout,” Ivory said hesitantly. She paused, her eyes flicking over towards Sunny briefly before returning to Stacker. “But they're opting to play this one close to the chest.”

At this information, Stacker winced, “That bad, huh?”

“Yeah,” Ivory said, nodding grimly. “As of right now, we are being called back to Canterlot. We’ll wait there until Princess Celestia figures out what her next move is—”

“No.” Both guards blinked in surprise at the word. Turning, they gave Sunny confused looks. The pegasus had her forelegs crossed, a determined look on her face. The look was made somewhat less intimidating by the fact that the human whose lap she was in was currently nuzzling her head.

“No?” Ivory asked, tilting her head to the side slowly.

“No,” Sunny repeated, chewing on her bottom lip. “We have to get to Manehattan.”

“Manehattan? No, our orders are to head to Canterlot.”

“No,” Sunny said more forcefully. “We have to get to Manehattan as quickly as possible!”

“Ma’am,” Stacker said slowly, trying to calm the mare down, “our orders are to—”

“Screw your orders!” Sunny yelled suddenly, causing the two guards and the human to jump. “We need to get to Manehattan before Darkflare does!” Both guards paused, their gazes hardening as the looked at Sunny.

“And what makes you think that Darkflare will go to Manehattan?” Sunny took a deep breath, fidgeting with her hooves as her eyes darted back and forth between the two guards.

“There… is a warehouse in Manehattan that we need to get to before he does.”

“Ms. Breeze,” Ivory said, holding up her hooves in a placating manner. “Relax. We’ve already found the warehouse in Manehattan. The Search and Seizure squad hit it several months ago. They cleared it out completely. There’s nothing left.”

“Which one did they hit?”

“Pardon?” Ivory asked, blinking several times.

“Which warehouse did they hit?” Sunny repeated, looking unblinkingly at the unicorn.

“You’re saying that there’s more than one?” Ivory asked, her eyes widening and ears splaying back.

“Yes,” Sunny said with a nod. “So, which one did they hit? The one that contained all the humans, the one that contained all the found artifacts, or the one that contains… him.”

“'Him'?” Stacker asked, eyebrows raising.

“Van, Darkflare’s personal human,” Sunny said emotionlessly. “A machine of flesh and bone, bred specifically for killing. Darkflare has entered him in ten separate human pit fights. He stopped because it stopped being fun for him to watch his human slaughter the competition. When he isn't ‘in service’, Darkflare keeps him in a warehouse in Manehattan. He pays a pony to feed Van, so there’s a good chance he’s still alive.”

“What?!” Ivory shouted loudly, causing everypony in the train car to pause and look over at the small group. Ivory ignored them, choosing instead to glare down at Sunny. Her red eyes flashed menacingly, and her ear flapped wildly. Grinding her teeth together, Ivory growled at the pegasus, “And you’re just thinking of telling us this now?!”

“Van will only listen to Darkflare,” Sunny exclaimed, pounding a hoof onto the metal floor. “Since Darkflare was in custody, Van wasn't a threat until right now!”

Ivory snarled at Sunny, and for a brief second Sunny saw something feral in the second lieutenant's eyes. For only a moment, the pegasus felt like she was in the presence of a predator.

Then, it was gone.

Closing her eyes, Ivory took a deep breath and exhaled explosively. Opening her blood red eyes again, she studied Sunny with an expressionless look.

“Basher,” the unicorn called over her shoulder to a nearby guard. “Go tell the conductor that we need to go faster.” The guard in question saluted, before hurrying off towards the front of the train.

“Ms. Breeze,” Ivory said once the guard had left, “you have been nothing but helpful since joining us, despite the clear difference in who we are. You are an ex-convict; we are the Coming Dawn. Still, you have been providing us with information, helping us locate warehouses and hideouts, and even helped take down a changeling in the process. You have more than proved yourself in my eyes.

“However,” Ivory said coldly, moving her head till she was nose to nose with Sunny. “I am not pleased with this turn of events. That was information that we needed to know before Darkflare got free. I’m willing to overlook this, but that will require some work on your part.” The pegasus stared into the unicorn’s eyes, swallowing nervously as a bead of sweat rolled down her neck.

“A-and what is that?” she squeaked, sinking farther into the human’s lap.

“You are going to spend the rest of the trip giving me every… little... bit... of information that you have about this ‘killing machine’ of Darkflare’s. What he looks like, what he can do, what he eats, where he sleeps, if he’s sired, I don’t care. I want it all.

“Then, once we get back to Canterlot, you are going to personally brief Princess Celestia and Princess Luna on the situation, as well as where we are going, why we are going there, and what we can expect. You will leave nothing out. Is that clear?”

“C-crystal,” Sunny stuttered, her voice barely above a whisper. Satisfied, Ivory leaned back and fixed Sunny with a tired look.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Breeze, I really am, but as you’ve seen tonight, we’re risking our lives out here. Any and all information is needed to allow us to do our jobs as safely as possible. Information like this is high up there, and we needed to know this weeks ago. What if this ‘killing machine’ was in this warehouse and one of the guards released him accidentally?”

Sunny hung her head, her ears splaying backwards. She wanted to say that any guard would be able to tell that Van was dangerous, but thought better of it.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Ms. Breeze. I like you, you’re willing to try and make up for your crimes. I have to put the safety of my guards first, though. I can’t let you put those under my command in danger simply by withholding information you don’t think is necessary at the time.” Pausing, Ivory sighed again before continuing.

“I’ll give you a couple of minutes to compose yourself, and to remember anything else that might be useful, before we talk.”

Turning around, Ivory took several steps before pausing.

“Oh, one more thing,” she said, causing Sunny to flinch. Glancing back over her shoulder at Sunny, Ivory gave the pegasus a weary smile. “Thanks.”

Sunny blinked in surprise, her mouth opening in a small ‘o’. Chuckling, Ivory elaborated.

“According to Sergeant Stacker’s report, I’d have a lot more dead soldiers on my hooves if you hadn’t released that human when you did.” Ivory nodded at the human in question, earning a chirp from him. “Your quick thinking and resourcefulness saved lives, and for that you have my gratitude.” With that, Ivory turned and was gone.

Sunny just sat there, trapped in the grasp of the human she had saved, as she stared after the unicorn mare. Beside her Stacker began chuckling softly. Sunny just opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to do.

Standing up, Stacker ruffled her mane wordlessly with his hoof before limping off, leaving Sunny feeling guilty, confused, and happy, all at the same time.

“Stacker was right,” she said finally, glancing up at the human. He looked back down at her, tilting his head to the side. “A lot of bullshit happened.”

Author's Notes:

¹An old griffin saying that came about many years ago when an assassin, wielding only a sling with one stone, was able to kill not only the wayward emperor, but his fledgling as well.

Sidenote: Never say around Fluttershy. That particular stallion is still in rehab.