It’s funny, really. I haven’t had a full blown panic attack since I was seven. It was just before they anesthetized me in order to operate on my right eye. I had never done anything like it before and was freaking out. I was told later by my parents that it had taken eight nurses to hold me down so that the doctor could knock me out.

Funny… this time it only took one alicorn.

I sat there on the floor of the throne room, rocking back and forth, clutching myself in the fetal position. My breaths were coming in short gasps, like I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs. That, coupled with the fact my heart was beating like it was going to explode out of my chest, was enough to make me feel sick to my stomach.

As I sat there, trying to keep hold of my slipping sanity, I was barely aware of the world around me. There was a flurry of movement—swirls of colors passing by in a frenzy of activity. Blues, yellows, oranges, whites, and pinks. The only constant was the large pair of lavender wings that were wrapped around me, holding me close to a warm body nestled against my back.

I could feel her chest vibrate as she spoke, the soft neighing noise muffled, as though we were underwater. A great white blob in front of me responded with a low snort, which just caused the lavender wings to tighten around me. A loud nicker sounded off right next to my ear, causing me to flinch in pain. The lavender blur gasped and a second later I felt something soft and warm rub against my cheek. The scent of lavender filled my nose.

I wasn’t sure how long it had been since I had been blasted with the Elements. A few minutes, a half-an-hour, or several hours; I had no real way of knowing at the moment. Not that I cared, either. I was quite content to remain safe inside of my lavender feathered fort of comfort.

Rubbing my trembling hands together, I snuggled back into the warm body behind me and tried to calm my nerves.

“Are you happy now?” Twilight asked, glaring at Celestia. Adjusting her wings, she pulled Max closer to her, trying to cover as much of him as she possibly could with her feathers. She could feel his heart frantically pounding in his chest through her wings, and she gave him a worried look. He just continued to stare off into the distance, his mouth open slightly as he gasped for breath.

He had been this way since the Elements had blasted him halfway across the throne room. Watching in horror, Twilight had thought something had gone wrong with the Elements at first, causing them to attack Max. She had breathed a sigh of relief when he had gotten to his feet and turned to give her a smile. However, the relief had disappeared almost as soon as he had opened his mouth. She had hoped, prayed, that the Elements would work, but it wasn’t words that had escaped Max’s mouth. It had been a low series of chirps and whistles.

The same noise Equestrian humans made.

Max’s smile had disappeared as he continued to chirp, his happy expression morphing into one of confusion and panic. He had then proceed to, as Rainbow so aptly put it, “freak the buck out”, dashing back and forth while letting out a high-pitched keening noise. This had gone on for several minutes until Twilight had finally managed to tackle him and wrap her wings around him. After that, he had curled up in her embrace and went still, except for the occasional tremble.

“I don’t understand,” Celestia said, her face scrunched up in confusion. “This doesn’t make any sense at all. The Elements were supposed to help him, not revert him to an Equestrian human. Why—”

“Well, that’s exactly what they did!” Twilight growled loudly. Beneath her wings, Max flinched. Alarm quickly spread across Twilight’s face and she leaned down to nuzzle his cheek, murmuring softly to try and calm him. The last thing she wanted was for him to start freaking out again.

“We don’t know that he’s become like our humans,” Rarity said, only to flinch back when Twilight’s glare was suddenly directed at her.

“He doesn’t respond to any of our attempts to talk to him,” Twilight snorted, her eyes narrowing. “He clearly can’t understand us.”

“That doesn’t mean that he’s been reduced to the same state of mind as an Equestrian human,” Rarity huffed. “Just because the ponies in places like Prance don't understand us, doesn’t mean that they’re unintelligent.”

Well, it should be easy to test if that’s the case,” Celestia said with a hum. “We’d just have to cast a translation spell and see what happens.” Taking a step forward, her horn began to glow softly as she prepared to cast the spell. Before she could, a rosey barrier surrounded Twilight and Max, blocking her access.

“No, you don’t!” Twilight snarled, her pupils mere pinpricks. “We have no idea what the Elements did to him. There is no way I’m letting you cast any spells on him until we've figured that part out. For all we know, you could make things worse than they already are! I am not risking it!”

Celestia reared back as though she had been slapped, the magic gathering around the tip of her horn spluttering and dying out. She took several steps back, and her ears folded against her head as a hurt look crossed her face.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room as Twilight continued to glare at Celestia, the others shuffling around nervously. After a few seconds, her expression softened and she exhaled shakily.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, her tail unconsciously wrapping around her and Max. “It’s just… I finally confessed to him and now we’re together. I don’t want anything bad to happen to him and change that.” Her wings tightened around Max, pulling him closer to her.

“I don’t want to lose him,” she whimpered.

“Twilight,” Celestia said, taking a tentative step forward. When the tip of Twilight’s horn glowed brighter, she paused before snorting in frustration. “We don’t know what’s changed within him. How do you expect us to figure it out without casting a spell? It needs to happen.”

“Just like the Elements needed to be used on him?” Twilight snarked, her nostrils flaring.

Celestia snorted again, her ears pinned against her head. “I didn’t know they were going to do that.”

“Yeah, well, they did,” Twilight huffed, repeating herself from a few minutes ago, “and now we don’t know if he’s still in there or not.” She frowned, her ears splaying backwards as she subconsciously rubbed her cheek against Max’s head.

There was a brief moment of silence before Fluttershy cleared her throat quietly. As everyone glanced at her, she squeaked and hid behind her mane, blushing softly. “Um, I… I may have an idea.”

I blinked in surprise as a piece of paper and a charcoal stick floated down and hovered in front of my face, suspended in a golden aura. Swallowing thickly, I glanced up, only to blink again when I saw Celestia staring down at me, a concerned look on her face.

She smiled weakly before motioning towards the paper with a tilt of her head.

With trembling hands, I reached out and took the paper and charcoal from her magic. Unsure of what they wanted me to do, however, I just sat there with a blank look on my face. This seemed to caused Twilight to tense, and I glanced over my shoulder at her.

She had a nervous look on her face, and she was watching me closely.

Celestia sighed, drawing my attention back to her. She blinked once before her eyes lit up and she smiled. Lifting a hoof, she pointed at the paper before she mimed writing something with it. Upon seeing my confused look, she repeated the processes, all while giving me a hopefully look.

I glanced around at everyone else, noticing that all of them were giving me similar looks of hope. My brow furrowed and I returned my gaze back to the paper in my hands. Licking my dry lips, I hesitantly placed the tip of the charcoal against the parchment. Hands still shaking slightly, I scratched out the first thing I could think of. +I have no idea what the hell is going on+

Placing the charcoal in the band of my ponytail, I turned the paper around and presented what I had written to Celestia.

As she glanced at the paper, her smile disappeared, replaced by a look of confusion and worry. She snorted, before backing up a step. Nickering softly, she looked over my shoulder at Twilight.

Rainbow squealed softly as she hovered over and glanced over Celestia’s shoulder. Her eyes narrowed, and she neighed.

Whatever she said, it caused Twilight to whimper and I glanced back at her. She was trembling, tears slowly gathering in the corners of her eyes. As I watched, one began to slide down her cheek, matting the fur.

Frowning in concern, I reached up and wiped the tear away. Twilight flinched, a startled look crossing her face before she blinked and glanced down at me. I gave her a small smile, which caused her eyes to widen.

“I can’t read what he wrote,” Celestia said, frowning. She glanced over at Twilight and shook her head. “It looks like nothing I’ve seen before.”

“It looks like a bunch of scribbles to me,” Rainbow said, hovering over and glancing at the marks on the paper. “Kinda reminds me of a foal’s writing, actually.”

Twilight swallowed thickly, her throat feeling like it was constricting, making it harder to breath. She whimpered softly, tears starting to form in her eyes. She stared forward, trying her hardest not to cry.

It just wasn’t fair. After months of fretting, she was finally able to confess to Max and have him return her feelings, only for this to happen. Why did the Elements have to do this? Why did they have to take her human from her?

She was startled out of her thoughts by something gently touching her cheek. Glancing down, she saw Max looking up at her, having just brushed a tear from her cheek. She hadn’t even known she was crying.

Upon seeing her looking at him, Max smiled.

Twilight stiffened, her eyes widening as her heart skipped a beat. H-he smiled. Slowly, hope began to well up in her chest as she stared down at the smiling human in her wings. He smiled. More tears began to streak down her cheeks as her bottom lip trembled. An alarmed look crossed Max’s face, but before he could act, Twilight threw her forelegs around him and pulled him into a hug. He smiled!

Max froze for a second before awkwardly returning the hug. He had to twist around in order to get his arms around her, but he somehow managed.

“It appears that his mind is still in there,” Celestia said softly, smiling at the display of affection, “even if we can’t understand one another.”

“Meh,” Rainbow meh’d, leaning back and placing her hooves behind her head, “I really couldn’t understand him to begin with. All that clapping and snapping and flicking. That was more Twilight’s shtick.”

Both Twilight and Celestia froze, their eyes widening as they stared at each other. Twilight was the first to speak.

“Why didn’t we think of that first?” she cried, startling Max.

“It should hopefully work,” Celestia said thoughtfully, nodding her head. “After all, it’s practically a language all it’s own.”

“Rainbow, if this works, you’re a genius!” Twilight said, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Yeah, I know,” Rainbow said with a snicker, “I’m pretty awesome.” She closed her eyes, only to crack one open a few seconds later. “Wait, if what works?”

Twilight said nothing. She just closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then pushed Max back slightly in order to give herself room. As he gave her a confused look, she began to sign.

~Max, can you understand me?~

I stared at Twilight for a few seconds, blinking dumbly. She had used hoof-language, that much I was sure. However, I wasn’t exactly sure what she had said. Not only was her version the actual version and not my frankensteinian one, but I wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of it.

Frowning, I bite the inside of my cheek as my brain processed what I had seen, working through the motions. After a second, it clicked and my eyes lit up. Smiling, I replied.

~It took me a moment, but yes. I can understand you~

I had barely finished signing when the breath was suddenly squeezed from my lungs as Twilight crushed me in a massive hug. As I gasped for breath, she sobbed into my shoulder, her tears dampening my shirt. She nickered softly, repeating the same sound over and over again as she cried. Around us, various neighs and snorts could be heard as the others broke out in relieved smiles.

Celestia approached, a weak smile on her face.

~I am happy to see you are okay mentally~ she signed, and I had to resist the urge to snicker. It looked weird to see someone as gracefully as her signing in hoof-language; she looked almost drunk.

~I’m assuming you can’t understand what we are saying, correct?~ Celestia signed again.

I shook my head before replying. ~Nope. It’s nothing but animal noises to me~

~Same with us, too~ she signed before taking on a troubled look. Rainbow floated over to her and squawked something while waving her legs about. Celestia shook her head before nickering softly. Rainbow groaned loudly, pulling her hoof down her face before motioning towards me with a snort.

The whole thing brought a smile to my face, and I felt myself calming down. It wasn’t as bad as I first thought. Despite what had happened, we could still communicate, albeit through a very limited medium. Whatever was wrong with me, though, I’m sure that Celestia and Twilight could figure something out.

Celestia snorted once before she whinnied, looking at Twilight. Twilight’s ears splayed back, and she glanced down at me before quickly returning her gaze to Celestia. Her nostrils flared before she nodded her head.

I eyed Celestia curiously as she approached me, her horn glowing softly. Twilight tensed as she stopped in front of me, only to relax a second later. Celestia exhaled loudly through her nostrils, before clicking her tongue. The magic around her horn flashed, and there was a sudden pressure in the back of my head. It last for just a brief moment before fading, as did the magic around Celestia’s horn.

She gave me an expectant look, her magenta eyes searching mine for something. After a few seconds, she snorted before letting loose a low neighing nicker before giving me a questioning look.

I gave her a blank look. “I have no idea what you just said.”

Her ears splayed back, and she snorted again. Twilight replied with a whinny, and the two began to converse back and forth with one another. This went on for about a minute before I cleared my throat to catch their attention.

~What happened?~ I asked when Celestia finally looked at me.

~I tried casting an understanding spell on you so we could speak together~ Celestia signed. ~For some reason, it did not work~

Understanding spell? I thought, scratching at my beard. Does she mean a translation spell of some kind. I wonder why it didn’t work.

Twilight snorted in my ear, glaring up at Celestia. Her tail flicked once before wrapping around my body in a possessive manner. Celestia just sighed, nodding her head in agreement before turning to look at me again. She had an ashamed look on her face, mixed with guilt.

~It appears that my meddling has just made the situation worse for you, and for that, I apologize~ she signed, as well as nickered. Probably so that the others could understand her as well. ~I could claim that I was just trying to help you, but in truth I panicked and tried to rid you of chaos magic in order to keep my ponies safe. This is all my fault~

~It’s not your fault~ I signed with a scoff. ~Yes, I’m kind of annoyed that this has happened, but you had no way of predicting it. I’m more upset with the Elements than anything else. You were just trying to protect your subjects~

Celestia snorted, her ears splaying back. ~But I didn’t extend the same courtesy to you. I told you when you first arrived in Canterlot a few days ago that I viewed you as a citizen of Equestria, but then I go and do this without even thinking of your safety~

~I agreed to this, they agreed to this~ I signed, motioning towards the others, ~I can talk now, so it technically worked. We just have to figure out why we can’t understand one another~

Frowning, Celestia nodded her head absentmindedly before glancing at Twilight. She nickered, to which Twilight replied. With that, Celestia stood back up straight again and gave a shrill whistle. A few seconds later, two unicorns dressed in glowing cobalt armor entered through the throne room doors. Celestia turned to them and said something, to which they saluted and took up position on either side of the doorway.

As they stood at attention, Celestia snorted once before turning and trotting off.

I watched her disappear around the throne dais before turning to glance at Twilight. ~Where’s she going?~

Twilight’s wings tightened around me before she answered.

~To find the Doctor~

I rested with my back against the wall, rubbing my sore arm. It had taken about twenty minutes for Celestia to return with Mac Griffon in tow. Testing had started almost immediately, the three-legged griffon limping across the throne room, with his two changelings close behind pushing a large gurney with dozens of various devices. I had been feeling uneasy about all of this, but the minute I saw that some of the objects on the gurney had sharp, pointy components, I had tried to make a run for it. If Twilight hadn’t had a firm hold on me with her wings, I would have been gone before any of them could have blinked.

While Mac Griffon didn’t end up using any of the spiky tools, the experience still wasn’t pleasant. I was poked and prodded, had a bright light shone in my eye, was stripped naked in front of everyone and scanned, and had a long metal tube practically shoved down my throat.

During the examination, I had quickly discovered that I couldn’t understand a thing the large griffon was saying either. Instead of words, he squawked and chittered like a bird as he studied me closely. Everyone else seemed able to understand him, as Celestia was nodding every few seconds, and nickering softly whenever Mac Griffon paused his chatter.

Luna had walked in shortly after the examination had started. Judging by the level of noise, as well as the expression on everyone’s faces, she had torn Celestia a new one after learning what had transpired. After the loud nickering and screaming match, Luna had taken a seat on the throne, where she had remained, watching Celestia with narrowed eyes. Celestia had retreated to stand beside Mac Griffon, her ears folded against her head.

After the altercation, the others had gathered around the dais, talking quietly to one another while occasionally glancing over at me. Even from the distances, I wouldn’t have been able to hear what they were saying even if I could understand them. Twilight paced back and forth, her eyes almost never leaving me. Whenever I glanced over at her, she was staring right at me.

I wasn’t sure whether to be nervous about that, or thankful she cared so much.

The examination lasted for a couple of hours before Mac Griffon appeared to have gathered enough information. The last thing he did was—to my horror—draw a enormous needle out of somewhere and stick it in my arm in order to get a blood sample. The needle was huge, and I about had a second panic attack at the sight of it. Twilight had to come over and wrap her wings around me in order for Mac Griffon to get his sample.

I hate needles. I mean, what if they break off inside of you, or push through to the other side of the vein and you begin to bleed internally? Or they push the needle in too far and it hits bone!

N-no… no needles.

I rubbed my arm, glaring at Mac Griffon as he packed up his things. He ignored me, chittering away with Celestia, who had a frown on her face. Still rubbing at my arm, I glanced out the high windows at the night sky. The moon was hanging high in the sky, and I estimated that it was around midnight. The Royal guards and their golden armor had been replaced by Lunar guards outfitted in dark purple. The only ones that hadn’t changed were the Battlemages positioned nearby who were still watching me intently. I didn’t recognize either of them, and with their helmets on, I couldn’t pick out any real discernible details other than coat and mane color. All I really knew was that one of them was a mare, and the other one was a stallion.

I eyed the pair out of the corner of my eye, curious as to their purpose. The stallion—a dark blue unicorn with white hair—was surveying the room, his eyes slowly roaming from pony to pony as he stood at attention. The mare’s attention was focused directly on me. She had a pink coat, and what little of her mane I could see protruding from the crest of her helmet was purple with lightish blue highlights.

Her eyes narrowed slightly when she saw me eyeing her, only to suddenly glance away and begin to scan the room. The stallion’s eyes locked on me, as it was apparently his turn to watch me.

Feeling the hairs on the back of my neck beginning to stand up, I turned my gaze away, only to blink in surprise when I saw Twilight drawing near. As she passed Mac Griffon, he turned his head and squawked something that Twilight replied to with a nicker. He chirped before returning to putting away his instruments.

As Twilight approached, I could see that she looked tired. Her head and wings drooped slightly, and she seemed to be dragging her hooves. Stopping in front of me, she pushed her head into my chest—being mindful of her horn—and proceeded to crawl into my lap. I waited for her to get situated before wrapping my arms around her and settling back against the wall.

Twilight cooed softly before suddenly yawning, her tongue poking out as she squeaked. I laughed softly as she blinked blearily up at me before leaning down and kissing her on the forehead, just below her horn.

Leaning back, I rested my head against the wall and closed my eyes. A sudden wave of weariness washed over me and I yawned as well, my jaw cracking loudly.

Twilight giggled sleepily. Spreading her wings out, she draped them over my body like a warm, feathery blanket. I could feel myself slowly drifting off as the scent of lavender filled my nostrils. The scent was comforting, and I could feel my muscles slowly relaxing.

The gentle sound of animal noises played in the background as the others conversed with one another. The ‘click’ of approaching hooves caused my furry blanket to twitch, and I was dimly aware of someone standing in front of me. I was too tired to open my eye and see who it was. It didn’t matter, though. I doubted whoever it was was malevolent. Even if they were, there were enough ponies around me that they wouldn’t have any chance to try something. There were three alicorn princesses in the room with me—one of which was currently lying on top of me—two Battlemages, as well as a handful of Lunar Guards. That, and Applejack and Rainbow were currently several dozen meters away. I felt relatively safe in my current state.

I heard the unknown presence shift on their hooves, before a low whinny sounded by my head. I didn’t know what was said, but the warmth and comfort in the voice was clearly audible. Twilight said something in a low nicker before a light tinkling noise filled the air. With that, I gently slipped off to sleep.

As Luna quietly made her way away from the slumbering forms of Max and Twilight, Celestia turned her attention back to Mac Griffon. He was currently running Max’s blood through a small machine, eyeing the read-out carefully. The corners of his beak were turned down, and he stroked his neck feathers with a claw.

The changelings sat nearby, one watching Mac Griffon closely, waiting for the next order, while the other one was staring in Max’s direction, it’s head cocked slightly to the side. Ever so often, it would chirp lightly and blink, before tilting its head to the other side.

Celestia allowed the griffon to muse silently for a few more seconds before asking, “Is there any indication of what has happened?” She kept her voice at a near whisper, not wanting to disturb the couple sleeping nearby. After the stressful last few hours they had had, they deserved the respite.

Mac Griffon continued to stare at that the device for a few more seconds before shaking his head. He sighed, clicking his beak softly before answering.

“No, there is not,” he chirped. “I have no clue as to why yonder human can not understand us.”

“Did the Elements purge the chaos magic from within him?” Celestia asked. “We were at least successful in that endeavor, were we not?”

“That’s the thing, my dear,” Mac Griffon replied as the device he was holding chirped. “He still has chaos magic within him.”

“What!?” Celestia exclaimed loudly, causing all eyes to shift to her. Twilight twitched before snuggling deeper into Max’s lap. Blushing softly, Celestia lowered her voice as she gave Mac Griffon a look of disbelief. “B-but that’s impossible. The Elements of Harmony were used on him. That’s what led to our current predicament. He shouldn’t have any foreign magic within his system. Why does he still have chaos magic?”

“Because, it’s not foreign,” Mac Griffon squawked, showing Celestia the blinking green light on the device. “It’s natural.”

Celestia froze, her eyes widening.

“W-what?” she muttered weakly, her ears splaying back, “but… I thought… Discord.”

“You misunderstand,” Mac Griffon said, placing the device back on the gurney and maneuvering his body around to face Celestia. He wobbled slightly on his one hind leg before leaning against the gurney. The locked wheels protested weakly against the sudden weight, but held.

“There is chaos magic still residing within him, yes,” Mac Griffon continued, “but the purge was a success.”

“But you just said—”

“The chaos magic within him right now is natural,” Mac Griffon said, clicking his beak as his head swiveled to the side. “It’s his natural magic, although it is very, very miniscule. It barely showed up on the scanner. Barely worth mentioning, really. I’d wager that there are birds out there with more magic in them than the Anomaly has right now.”

“Is it safe?” Celestia asked, glancing at Max. His mouth was open slightly, and her ears could just barely make out the sound of snoring. “His chaos magic, is it safe?

“I don’t think you understand how miniscule the magic is, Celestia,” Mac Griffon huffed, giving her a bemused look. “It’s almost non-existent. It’s stable, so it won’t grow or spread to others. Actually, I’m not entirely sure it is chaos magic,” he said with a frown, stroking his neck feathers again. “It looks similar to chaos magic, but there are some differences.”

“Could it be what’s causing the language barrier?” Celestia asked hopefully, her ears perking.

Mac Griffon shook his head. “No, it’s not. Something else is causing the gap in understanding, and, honestly, I don’t know what it is. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I’m sorry, Celestia,” he sighed, shaking his head in defeat, “but at the moment, there is nothing I can do.”

“I see,” Celestia said, her whole body seeming to droop in defeat. Her flowing mane and tail slowed to a crawl. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. “Thank you, my friend, for coming at such short notice. I am sorry for waking you.” She opened her eyes again as Mac Griffon placed a claw on her shoulder.

“Worry not, Celestia,” he said, the corners of his beak perking up. “I may have been defeated this time, but first thing in the morning, I’ll take another look at it. After I’ve gotten some sleep, that is.”

A weak smile touched Celestia’s lips, and she nodded.

Unlocking the wheels, Mac Griffon began to push the gurney along, heading for the door behind the throne’s dais.

“Might I suggest trying to teach him the language the old fashioned way in the meantime?” he called back over his shoulder as he went. Both changelings stood up and followed after the griffon, the trio quickly disappearing through the door.

Celestia sighed again as the door close. Head lowered, she slowly made her way over to the throne. During her conversation with the Doctor, the other Element Bearers had fallen asleep as well. Pinkie was passed out belly up, a dopey grin on her face, tongue poking out from between her lips. Rainbow was using her stomach as a pillow, a trail of drool rolling down her cheek and disappearing into the pink fur. Applejack was leaned up against the dais, in a similar position as Max was. Her hat was pulled low over her face, and her chest was rising and falling gently. Both Rarity and Fluttershy had fallen asleep curled up next to one another on the bottom step of the dais.

A small smile spread across Celestia’s muzzle as the Bearers slept. She watched them for a moment or two before the sound of someone softly clearing their throat snapped her out of her observations. Turning her head, she saw Luna standing behind her, a blank look on her face.

The two sisters stared at one another in silence for several long seconds before Celestia fidgeted and looked away.

“So, how is he?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

“Much better than he was earlier, I believe,” Luna replied, her tone neutral. “Twilight’s presence seems to calm him. Their bond is truly remarkable. Nonetheless, I still cast a slumber spell over them both. They shall not dream tonight, but will wake up feeling refreshed.”

“That’s good,” Celestia said, not meeting Luna’s eye.

Silence fell over the pair again before, in a blur of motion, Luna’s wing suddenly snapped out and cracked Celestia over the muzzle.

Celestia stumbled backwards, clutching at her nose with a hoof as her eyes widened in shock. It took all of her control not to whinny aloud and wake the room’s sleeping inhabitants.

“What were you thinking?” Luna hissed, her blank expression dissolving into a snarl. “Using the Elements on Max, have you gone mad? What could you have possibly been thinking, sister?”

“The Elements have worked in the past,” Celestia muttered, still rubbing at her muzzle.

“On villains, yes,” Luna grunted, her eyes narrowing. “They have managed to save Equestria several times against creatures who were inherently evil, Celestia. Unless he is some devious, superintelligent criminal mastermind who’s managed to fool us all these past months, Max is not evil.”

“But, the chaos magic within Max was a threat to those around him,” Celestia defended, her nostrils flaring.

“To the point of using a weapon on him?” Luna asked, an eyebrow raising. At Celestia’s indignant look, she nodded her head. “Yes, Celestia, a weapon. We have only ever used the Elements as a means to defeat the villainous few who dare to try and bring harm on our ponies, or disharmony upon our kingdom. Max is neither of those. He is a victim of circumstances out of his control. He neither asked to come to Equestria, nor for his body to be consumed by chaos magic. Yet he has made the best of the hand he has been dealt. We’re just lucky that the Elements have only done this much damage. They could have easily turned him to stone, imprisoned him in some celestial body, or some other outcome unforeseen.”

Celestia’s ears drooped as Luna talked, and her head lowered. She looked similar to a foal who had just been caught with a hoof in the cookie jar.

“I was only trying to help,” she muttered weakly.

“I know, sister,” Luna said, her expression softening, “but sometimes in your haste to help, you get so caught up in worrying if you can help, that you don’t stop to think if you should.” Leaning forward, she nuzzled Celestia's neck, humming softly.

Celestia returned the gesture before asking softly, “What should we do then, Luna? I don’t want to make things worse.”

“Let them all sleep for now,” Luna said, not breaking the embrace. “It’ll do them good, especially Twilight and Max.”

“Alright,” Celestia said with a nod. “We’ll let them sleep, and figure things out tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, sister,” Luna said, pulling away reluctantly from her sister’s embrace. “I am sure that we’ll figure out what went wrong before you know it. In the mean time, try and relax. It’s not like something bad is going to happen.”

“You’re sure that the information is correct this time?” Stacker asked, tightening the straps of his armor. Fastening the buckle, he glanced over at Ivory, who was putting on her own armor. “The last time it was a setup. We don’t need another buck up like that.”

“Unless the mare has more mental prowess than Princess Celestia or Luna, the information is correct,” Ivory growled, her red eyes flashing.

Around the room, the two dozen or so Coming Dawn guards were donning their armor, sharpening their weapons, or double-checking their supplies. A large circular table in the center of the room was covered in various maps, diagrams, and other information relevant to their upcoming mission.

The guards prepared in semi-silence, hushed conversations percolating through the room as they worked. A pair, having finished preparing, sat on a bench together, playing cards. Another guard was asleep in the corner of the room, fully armored with her helmet pulled over her face and her hind hooves up on a bucket. Soft snoring could be heard coming from the helmet. The medic was sorting through her medical supplies, making sure that she had everything. Lifting a scalpel up to her eyes, she studied it closely before sliding it into a special-made sheath.

Every guard prepared themselves with near perfect professionalism.

And then there was Sunny.

“I still want to know what you did to the mare,” she grumbled, struggling with her own armor. Several parts were upside down, and she had a strap wrapped around her hind hoof several times. She tettered on three hooves, the fourth tangled within her armor. Tugging on a strap with her teeth, she whipped her head back and forth, trying to get the clunky armor to fit. However, despite her best attempts, she just couldn’t get her wings through the wing holes, and she was beginning to grow frustrated. After trying in vain to adjust the armor, she threw her hooves into the air and gave up.

Turning to Ivory, she continued, “We were trying to get her to talk for several hours before you showed up and made her squeal in under a minute. And she’s a member of the Blackhoof clan, too. How’d you do it?”

“I have my ways,” Ivory said, putting the final touches on her armor. She gave Sunny an amused smirk before moving towards the table.

With a huff, Sunny returned her attention back to her armor. Growling softly, she tugged and pulled on the stuck strap only to give a startled yelp as she tipped backwards. However, before she could fall over, a hoof grabbed her and steadied her.

“Here, ma’am,” Stacker chuckled, “allow me.” Taking the strap from Sunny, he began to work it through her armor, untangling it and fastening it properly in only a few seconds.

A light blush slowly spread across Sunny’s muzzle as she watched Stacker work. He was close enough that she could feel his breath on her muzzle. The feeling caused a small shiver to run down her spine, and her blush grew darker. Slowly, her gaze drifted up and she stared into Stacker’s eyes, the sea blue color drawing her in. She dimly noted that her armor suddenly felt a little tight.

Finishing with the strap, Stacker suddenly reached out and grabbed Sunny by the shoulders. With a grunt, he lifted her into the air a few inches, before yanking her armor down with a quick jerk of his hooves. The sudden movement caused Sunny’s armor to slide into place, and her wings successfully slipped through the wing holes. With a soft ‘thump’, they unfurled fully and stood at attention.

Tightening the final strap, Stacker gave Sunny’s armor another, smaller tug, double-checking to make sure it was positioned properly.

“There ya are,” he said with a grin, patting her chest plate. “All nice and snug.”

Sunny squeaked once, her cheeks a deep crimson, before clearing her throat.

“T-thanks,” she stuttered, before attempting to close her stiff wings. Her blush spread to her neck as Stacker chuckled softly. Whimpering, Sunny struggled with her wings, finally managing to fold them.

“If you two are finished, we have some things we need to discuss,” Ivory called out from her place at the table.

Sunny glanced up, only to have her ears splay back when she saw most of the guards were watching her and Stacker. Mortified, Sunny quickly ducked her head and slunk forward, her tail tucked firmly between her legs. She kept herself as low as possible as she approached the table, only her eyes peeking up over the edge. Her face felt like it was on fire, and the sound of snickering didn’t help.

“Sorry, lieutenant, just trying to help out,” Stacker said, unaffected by the laughter.

“I’m sure,” Ivory said with a roll of her eyes. Her gaze then hardened, and her smik vanished. Clearing her throat, she called out, “Windbreaker!”

In a flurry of paper, a pink head popped out of a hole in the middle of the table. Windbreaker blew her orange mane out of her eyes before glancing around until she spotted Ivory. Sticking a hoof through the opening as well, she saluted awkwardly. “Yes, ma’am?”

“I really wish you wouldn’t do that,” Ivory growled, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Shaking her head, she sighed before straightening up. “Corporal, I need you to collect some special supplies for the operation.”

“Whatcha need, ma’am?” Windbreaker asked. Suddenly a pad of paper appeared in front of her. She took a pencil from behind her ear, and gave Ivory an expectant look.

“We’re going to need several coils of rope, some hoof claws, blasting stones, breaching gear, tracking scrolls, and a couple dozen magic-dampening rings,” Ivory listed off. She paused, scrunching up her face before adding, “Plus anything else you think we might need.”

Tongue sticking out of her mouth, Windbreaker finished scratching down the things Ivory had requested. Running her eyes over the list one last time, Windbreaker stuck the pencil back in her mane before nodding. “All right. I think I’ve got everything. It should take me about half-an-hour to gather all of this, although I might have to break into the Battlemages’ supply in order to get the blasting stones and tracking spells.”

“That’s fine,” Ivory said with a nod. “Just don’t get caught again.”

“No, ma’am,” Windbreaker said, shaking her head. She grimaced, a shiver running through her body. “I don’t want to be stuck on the ceiling for a week again.” She shivered again before she ducked back down the hole and was lost to view.

Confused, Sunny leaned over to Stacker and muttered, “Stuck on the ceiling?”

“Each Guard has their own stockroom assigned to them. Lunar, Royal, Battlemage, and Coming Dawn. The Battlemages don’t like us taking their stuff for our missions,” Stacker whispered. “The last time we ‘borrowed’ something, Windbreaker got caught and one of the Battlemages casted a reverse-gravity spell on her. She was forced to walk around on the ceiling for a week before we were able to figure out how to dispel it. She couldn’t go outside during that time, because if she did, she would have shot straight up into the sky.”

“But she’s a pegasus,” Sunny whispered.

“You ever try flying upside down?” Stacker asked, his eyes twinkling with mirth. “There’s only one pegasus I’ve ever seen fly upside down successfully for any extended period of time, and that was my cousin in Ponyville.”

“Point taken,” Sunny muttered. She frowned, her ears splaying back. “Isn’t that dangerous, though?”

“It’s fine,” Stacker said, patting her shoulder. “This type of thing happens all the time. We got them back a few weeks later. Snuck into their barracks and glued all their furniture to the ceiling.”

Sunny had to jam a hoof into her mouth in order to stop herself from laughing.

“Right, here’s what we know so far,” Ivory said loudly, shooting Sunny and Stacker a bemused look. “From what we could gather from our… informant, Darkflare and his gang are staging themselves in the cave systems beneath Canterlot.”

“I thought we already scanned those after the jailbreak,” a guard interrupted, raising her hoof as she spoke.

“There are hundreds of cave systems within the mountain,” Stacker answered. “It would take too long to scan them all, so we just searched the one that was connected to the dungeons.”

“Correct,” Ivory grunted, nodding her head. “However, our informant has revealed that they are located in one of the lower cave systems, near the middle of the mountain. She was even kind enough to give us the location of an entrance on the mountain side. There’s an opening about halfway down the mountain, hidden beneath the waterfall.”

“Ma’am, do we know how many tangos are going to be present?” another guard asked.

Ivory shook her head. “No, we don’t, because the informant didn’t know herself. She also couldn’t tell us what Darkflare is planning, because that information hasn’t been shared.” For whatever reason, this statement caused hushed conversations to break out throughout the room, the guards muttering to one another. Ivory allowed them to talk, her eyes slowly drifting over the table.

“Whatever he’s offering them, it must be worth it if they’re following him so blindly,” Stacker whispered to Sunny, leaning close so that he could be heard.

“All Darkflare cares about is money,” Sunny muttered back. “Whatever he’s planning, money will be involved.”

“With all the humans he’s stolen, do you think he’s trying to start up another human fight ring?” Stacker asked, glancing down at her.

Sunny shook her head. “No, he’s not that stupid. He’ll try something else, something new. What that will be, I don’t know.”

“Our informant did confirm one thing, though,” Ivory continued, her voice cutting above the noise. Silence fell over the room again as the guards returned their attention to her. “It appears that Darkflare is taking orders from somepony. There is somepony else that’s pulling the strings.”

“Do we have a name?” Stacker asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Unfortunately, no,” Ivory answered, her ears splaying back. “Our informant was going to tell us that information, but before she could, her mind was wiped. It appears that she had an enchantment placed on her that activated the minute she tried to say the name. We weren’t able to get any more information out of her after that. She’s now a blank slate, her mind completely empty.”

The guards grumbled at that, some of them shaking their heads. Stacker had to raise his voice in order to be heard above the noise. “What’s the plan then, ma’am?”

“It’ll be dawn in a few hours,” Ivory said, pointing to a large map of Equestria unrolled across the table. Placing her next to a red circle drawn around a point on the mountain just below Canterlot Castle, she continued, “Come first light, we’ll be making our way down to the cave, where we will infiltrate into the caverns and attempt to detain all those we find inside. Darkflare is our primary target. Force is authorized, as is deadly force.” She glanced up, looking at all of the guards assembled around the table. “We have to be on our game, here. Sergeant Major Barricade of the Battlemages will be joining us again, but other than that, it’s just us for this mission.”

“Ma’am, the Princess didn’t see fit to give us more guards for this mission?” Stacker asked, his brow furrowing.

“No, she didn’t,” Ivory said, closing her eyes and exhaling. She was silent for a moment before adding, “because she doesn’t know about it.”

Sunny expected a general outcry from the guards at this, so she was surprised when the room remained quiet. All of the guards were staring at Ivory with grim expressions.

“Ma’am?” Stacker asked, ears perked.

“After the Human Research Facility incident, Princess Celestia felt it was in the best interests of this operation that we go dark, remain isolated as possible when it comes to outside interactions. As of right now, only the ponies in this room know what is happening when it comes to the Coming Dawn.”

“Which means…?” Sunny asked nervously.

“Which means that the only way that Darkflare could know that we are coming, is if we have a mole in our midsts,” Stacker said softly, nodding his head.

“Precisely,” Ivory grunted. “Now, that doesn’t mean that I think that a member of the Coming Dawn is working with Darkflare. This is just to prevent any possible leaks before we manage to catch Darkflare.”

“Ma’am?” one of the guards suddenly said, raising her hoof. “You said earlier that Darkflare was our primary target, but what about his unknown benefactor?”

“Since we don’t know who that is at the moment, our main focus is Darkflare,” Ivory said as the guard lowered her hoof. “We don’t know who this benefactor is, so we have no way of recognizing them. For now, we’re going after Darkflare. Once he’s in custody, we’ll focus on the benefactor.” The guard nodded in understanding, and Ivory glanced around. “Are there any other questions?” When no hooves were raised, she nodded and took a step back, away from the table. “Alright then. We have about four hours before we need to get moving. We have a big day ahead of us, so get something to eat, and rest up while you can.”

She glanced over at Sunny, her stoic expression dissolving into a smirk. “That means no flirting with my guards, Ms. Breeze.”

Sunny’s face exploded in a dark blush, and her head fell onto the table with a resounding ‘thunk’. Beside her, Stacker burst out laughing.

Ears perked to detect any sounds, Monochrome quickly leafed through a pile of papers on the Archmage’s desk. She was looking for something—anything—to prove that the Archmage was up to something.

When Princess Celestia had first approached her about the issue several weeks ago, she hadn’t wanted to believe that the Archmage could have been behind the mass breakout of Canterlot’s dungeon. Monochrome was one of the administrators for the Academy, as well as a low-level Battlemage, and as such, was loyal to the Archmage. He was a father figure to her, as well as the other Battlemages, much like Celestia was to the School of Gifted Unicorns.

The fact that the Princess would dare to insinuate that the Archmage was working against Equestria’s best interests was enough to enrage Monochrome. However, the longer she thought about it, the more uncertain she became that Celestia was in the wrong.

Although she didn’t want to admit it, the Archmage had changed over the past year. When she had first joined the Academy, it was nearly impossible to see the Archmage without a smile. He was jolly in nature, always ready with a joke or pun to lift the spirits of downhearted students or teachers.

And then he had begun to change. The ever-present smile had faded, and the mirth had left his eyes. He interacted with the residents of the Academy less and less, preferring to remain locked within his office, muttering to himself. He began to take less interest with the education of those who attended the school, and took more interest in the political side of Canterlot.

At first, Monochrome had just ignored the behavior, attributing it to stress, or possibly the fact that the Archmage was getting older. However, now that the Princess had brought his change of behavior to light, she had made it her duty to find out what he was up to.

Flipping quickly through the large stack of paper, Monochrome frowned. Most of the papers were just applicants wishing to be accepted into the Academy. Honor students from the School of Gifted Unicorns, Canterlot’s Elite Schools, and some from schools as far out as Manehattan. Definitely not what she was looking for.

She had just reached for one of the drawers beneath the desk when the door handle began to jiggle, suddenly surrounded in a sickly-yellow aura. Monochrome’s eyes widened in horror as she let out a startled gasp. Moving quickly, she reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a large folder. She had just moved to place it upon the desk when the door swung open, and the Archmage slunk inside.

He froze upon seeing Monochrome standing behind his desk, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“Monochrome?” he asked slowly, his voice emotionless.

Monochrome blinked once before putting on a look of faux surprise. “O-oh, Archmage! There you are. I was looking for you.”

“What are you doing in here, Monochrome?” the Archmage asked, his voice quiet. Still, there was a coldness behind it that caused a shiver to run down Monochrome’s spine.

“I have the latest report from the dig site,” Monochrome said, waving the folder around. “I was looking for you to give it to you, but I couldn’t find you, so I figured I’d just leave it here for you to find later.” She tittered nervously, placing the folder down on the desk. Moving out from behind the desk, she trotted towards the door the Archmage had just entered, keeping up her weak smile.

“I'll leave it there for you to review. Now, if you’d excuse me, I must really be getting back to my coltfriend,” she said as she made to walk past the Archmage. She was stopped, however, by a hoof on her shoulder.

“What’s the rush?” the Archmage asked, giving her a warm smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Turning her around, he escorted her back to his desk and sat her down in one of the visitor chairs.

“It’s been too long since we’ve had a friendly talk with one another,” the Archmage continued as he moved to sit down in his own seat. His horn flashed once and the paperwork on the desk flew into the air, only to organize itself perfectly into a nearby filing cabinet.

“I would love to catch up with you, sir, but maybe tomorrow would be better? I had plans tonight, after all, and I really must get going,” Monochrome said, swallowing weakly. She could feel sweat beginning to trickle down her neck, and she had to resist the urge to wipe it off. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, the sound thumping loudly in her ears.

“Oh, you wouldn’t deprive an old stallion of some company, would you?” the Archmage asked, leaning a foreleg on the now-clean desk. He smirked as he watched Monochrome squirm slightly in her seat. “Besides, I’m sure your coltfriend will understand if you’re a few minutes late. It wouldn’t be the end of the world now, would it?”

“I g-guess not,” Monochrome stuttered, licking her suddenly dry lips.

“Splendid!” the Archmage chirped. His horn light up, and with a flash of light, a large marble board appeared on top of the desk, covered in white and black glass pieces.

“Now, my dear,” he said, a large grin spreading across his muzzle, “how about a nice, friendly game of chess?”