Chapter 20: Reconnect.

Strong Shield stood at the entrance of the hanger, looking around at the damage and chaos that Dave was causing, the enraged human charging between groups of retreating guards. The guards that were caught by Dave were quickly dispatched.

“Why are you doing this to him?” Strong Shield glared as he looked back up at the hooded figure beside him. “He wasn’t meant to go into Tartarus, he isn’t a criminal and he doesn’t deserve this!”

Warden looked down at Strong Shield, the empty space under the dark hood sent chills down Strong Shield’s spine. “He entered my domain and began causing problems so I decided that he will suffer until he returns to Tartarus and stops resisting against my control.”

The pair of spectators looked back at Dave to see him throw a guard through a window and leap in after him. Warden stood silently as machines and people were thrown from the building and they began to litter the ground.

A large silver container bounced across the damaged runway and popped open, revealing Dave’s crystal sword. Strong Shield saw his chance and charged for the blade, it was too valuable a tool to simply leave on the ground.

As he neared the blade the wall of the building burst open and Dave rushed out, heading for Strong Shield. He managed to close the gap between them with ease and he tackled Strong Shield to the floor.

“Dave stop!” Strong Shield groaned as he felt Dave’s hand wrap around his throat and saw his son’s fist rise into the air. “Dave you have to resist his control over you!”

Warden appeared behind Dave and rested a grey hand on his shoulder. “See Strong Shield? I can even make him murder his own father in cold blood if I chose to.”

“If you can control him then why can’t you make him walk back into Tartarus?” Strong Shield spat at the smug warden. “Why do you make him go out of control? WHY?”

“I don’t need to explain anything to a pathetic pony!” Warden shoved Dave aside before slamming his grey palm onto Strong Shield’s chest, the resulting blast of magic sent Dave rolling down the runway and his sword landed beside him.

Warden looked down at Strong Shield; his body was turned back into his pony form, his human clothes burnt away from where Warden had struck him. Strong Shield coughed as he looked up at the black cloak that glared down at him.

“So you know a few magic tricks,” Strong Shield growled as he rolled onto his front, grunting as he pushed himself to his hooves and faced the warden. “You may act like you control Dave but you won’t be able to use him forever.”

“You truly are worthless,” Warden growled as he raised his arms into the air. “I conquered Tartarus and you are nothing compared to that.”

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Dave roared as he dashed forwards and stabbed with his sword, the point of the blade sliding into the dark hood before coming to a stop and the Warden tumbled backwards.

When Dave’s feet hit the ground he began to charge and pushed the blade further in, his roar growing louder as the glowing mark on his arm faded and was replaced with the dull black letters.

Eventually both Warden and Dave collapsed to the floor, the large blade still stuck in Warden’s head. Dave groaned as he rolled away and clutched his arm, the mark still causing him pain, even as Strong Shield limped over and placed a hoof on Dave.

“I am proud you didn’t kill me,” Strong Shield sighed as he looked at the black mark. “How are you doing?”

“Glad I finally got a hit on that… bastard,” Dave’s groans turned into laughter before he sat up. “W-were you a human?”

Strong Shield rolled his eye, “Yeah I came to get you out of this place so we could go home.”

“Are the other’s worried?” Dave rubbed the back of his neck. “Is Nox ok?”

“Nox is fine and the only one who knows you were captured is Celestia,” Strong Shield sighed as he helped Dave to his feet. “Now we can go home at least.”

Dave nodded before turning to retrieve his sword from its resting place, his hand grabbed the handle but before he could lift the blade free, a grey hand grabbed his head and pulled him down to Warden’s hidden face.

The sword fell free on its own as Warden’s hood turned to face Dave. “You show promise Dave, but your soul will always be tethered to Tartarus for as long as I wish.”

Dave yanked himself free from Warden’s grip and looked back to see the cloaked figure had disappeared. Strong Shield was already looking around for the warden but stopped when Dave tapped his shoulder.

“Leave it, he is not gonna come back,” Dave grunted as he picked up his sword and looked around the wreckages. “I’m just gonna find my stuff before we go.”

Strong Shield helped Dave rummage through some of the rubble before noticing all the healing wounds on his body. “Did Warden do anything to you?”

“Dad I don’t want to talk about it,” Dave took a few steps further away as he lifted some broken rocks out of the way and found his coat caked in mud. “Warden is my problem.”

Meanwhile…

Mike yawned as he sat up in his comfortable bed, the soft covers slowly encouraged the tired human to lay back down as he enjoyed a few moments of relaxation. But unfortunately his rest was cut short as loud knocking forced him awake again.

“Who is it?” Mike called as he hurried to find his clothes and pulled them on.

“It’s Ch… Celestia,” The disguised changeling called. Mike sighed as he walked over and unlocked the door, allowing the queen inside and locked it again before she dropped her magical disguise.

“We have a problem,” Chrysalis whispered. “A very bad problem.”

Mike groaned as he sat back down on his bed and stretched his arms. “What is it this time? The maids said hello too nicely?”

“No Princess Cadence and Shining Armour have arrived for a royal visit,” Chrysalis explained, hoping to get some form of reaction from Mike. “Now do you see the problem?”

The human shrugged as he looked at the panicked changeling, “Just say hello as Celestia and make some excuse for you to leave.”

“No these ponies are special, Cadence is an alicorn and Shining Armour is head of the royal guard,” Chrysalis shook her head as she went to the window and peeked out the curtains. “They will ask questions and they will discover our secret, and because Celestia herself isn’t here to explain they won’t trust anypony else.”

“Not even all the guards?” Mike sighed as Chrysalis shook her head frantically. “Alright so what do you want me to do?”

Chrysalis froze as she stared at Mike, her eyes locked onto his as her brain struggled to work out a solution. “I don’t know.”

“Great so you mean we are screwed?” Mike stood up before heading to the door. “Well can you at least tell me why these two are going to cause a problem?”

“Well I…” Chrysalis paused as she activated her disguise again. “I don’t want to tell you.”

Mike rolled his eyes as he opened the door for the princess. “Fine but this will only make it that bit harder to deal with.”

“I’m sure we can come to a solution,” Chrysalis whispered as she left the room and walked with Mike to the throne room. The small group of ponies standing outside were moved aside by the guards as the royal leader entered the throne room and took her place on the golden throne.

Mike sat on a wooden chair beside Chrysalis as she made herself comfortable, “Alright you remember the excuses?”

“Yes you are learning politics and as a favour I am allowing you to be present during the hearings,” The disguised queen sighed before nodding towards one of the guards. As the guard walked in he was followed by the entire group of ponies that were waiting outside.

“Your highness, these ponies represent a growing political party that have been growing and they wish to explain why they should have a seat in the Canterlot Council.” The guard bowed before stepping to one side and the leader of the pony group stepped forwards.

The Pegasus bowed before standing, sending a glare at Mike. “Your majesty, I represent the Protection Party, my name is Nitro and I would politely request that the human present leaves the hearings.

Mike and Chrysalis froze before exchanging glances, the changeling gulped before giving a smile. “I’m afraid that request is something I won’t permit because Mike here is a friend and is here for learning purposes.”

“Fine,” Nitro sent Mike another dirty look before clearing his throat. “I was falsely imprisoned by a human that took the law into his own hands and the city of Manehatten was damaged by a human.”

“What is the point of all this?” Chrysalis asked as she stared down at Nitro, recreating the disapproving stare Celestia would use.

“Your majesty I am here to push for a seat on the council to help solve our… human crisis,” Nitro declared, staring at Mike. “More humans are appearing and chaos follows in their wake, obviously due to their actions.”

Chrysalis stood up and slammed her hoof into the floor, “I will have you know that humans have contributed more to the protection of Equestria than most ponies I have known.”

“Calm,” Mike whispered, hiding his mouth with his hand. “If your disguise is dropped now then we will be in trouble.”

As the changeling settled back into her seat she stared down at Nitro, “I apologise for this Nitro but I will have to refuse your request, seeing as it is a personal vendetta that is the reason behind the request.”

“Your highness I have multiple signed petitions that agree that humans are causing destruction and it is only a matter of time before they cause something horrific,” Nitro protested and was backed up by cheers from his group. “Even your husband Dave Shield attacked Canterlot before becoming your husband.”

Chrysalis held back a snarl before taking a deep breath. “Well I would also like to remind you that Dave was being controlled by an evil spirit named Odio, and Dave gave his life to save the city.”

Mike smiled at Chrysalis’ self-control, knowing that if she kept calm then this problem would be solved. But unfortunately for the group they didn’t count on the throne room doors bursting open and a pink alicorn came skipping in followed by a smiling white unicorn.

“Uh oh,” Mike and Chrysalis whispered in unison as Cadence trotted over. The unicorn behind her saluted to the guards, signalling to Mike that this was Shining Armour the Captain of the Royal Guards.

“Auntie Celestia!” Cadence sang as she walked around the group of disgruntled ponies and walked up to the throne. “Oh, who is this?” The princess of love smiled as she looked at Mike, extending a hoof.

“My name is Mike,” The human bowed before gently shaking the pink hoof. “You must be Princess Cadence and Shining Armour.”

Shining Armour shook Mike’s hand as he stepped up beside his wife, “We thought we would come visit seeing as the Crystal Empire is quiet for a couple of weeks.”

“Oh how nice,” Chrysalis said as sweetly as she could to mask her nervousness. “Well unfortunately I am in the middle of a hearing so…”

Cadence stepped closer to Celestia and raised a hoof to her face, “You look a bit flustered, are you feeling alright?”

“What?” Chrysalis glanced to Mike for help before putting on a brave smile. “Oh I’m fine, just a rough night’s sleep.”

“Oh I see... Dave kept you up again didn’t he?” Cadence laughed before staring back at Chrysalis, narrowing her eyes. “Speaking of Dave, you aren’t wearing your wedding ring.”

Mike froze when he saw Cadence was right, the white horn that magically hid Chrysalis’ jagged horn had no golden ring. Chrysalis stammered before sighing and shaking her head, “Oh I must have taken it off before going to bed and forgot to put it back on, silly me.”

“But you told me you would rather let Equestria fall before losing that ring,” Cadence frowned as she continued to hover nearer to Chrysalis. “And that is a strange perfume you are wearing.”

“I uh… It’s just that…” Chrysalis turned to stare at Mike for help but was only given a shrug in return. As her head was turned, Cadence’s horn glowed and she gently tapped it against the illusion and quickly dispelled Chrysalis’ disguise, resulting in a yelp from the Changeling Queen.

“OW!” Chrysalis growled as she stood, freezing as she looked down and saw her regular black hooves. “Oh no…”

Cadence’s eyes flared in anger as she saw Chrysalis, Shining Armour quickly placed himself between the queen and princess before flaring his nostrils and lowering his horn. “Don’t worry, I’ll get her!”

In a flash Mike was on his feet and tackled Shining Armour, sending them both tumbling down the marble stairs before crashing into the floor. Mike didn’t give Shining Armour a chance to recover before climbing on top of the pony and tried to restrain him.

Mike paused as he saw a flash of a camera; he looked up to see the group of ponies that had come in to complain about humans had a camera and were taking pictures of the brawl. Shining Armour saw his opportunity and broke free from Mike’s grasp.

Shining Armour grunted as he managed to hit Mike across the face with his hoof and rolled to safety. “GUARDS ATTACK!”

The royal guards exchanged glances before stepping between Mike and Shining Armour as they attempted to calm the situation. Cadence teleported to her husband’s side and lowered her horn as Chrysalis rushed to Mike’s side and helped him to his knees.

“Mike are you alright?” Chrysalis asked in a panic as she saw a trail of blood running from Mike’s nose. “You’re bleeding.”

“Stay back Chrysalis, these two weren’t told about the rescue mission so it is understandable they are upset,” Mike stood; his balance was slowly returning as he shook of the dizziness that Shining Armour’s attack inflicted.

Nitro and his gang watched as the two opposing pairs glared at each other, the guard’s barely managing to maintain any order. Eventually more showed up to escort the group of ponies out and left the two pairs of confused rivals alone.

“What are you doing here Chrysalis?” Cadence growled. “What have you done with Princess Celestia?”

“She asked us to pretend she was still here while she went away,” Chrysalis explained as quickly as she could. “It was going fine until you both ruined it!”

Shining Armour smirked, “Like we would believe that excuse! You just recruited your own human and found a way to take over like last time.”

“Shut up!” Chrysalis growled as her horn glowed. “Not another word!”

Mike turned to the changeling, holding his hand out in front of her, “Don’t attack idiot, then they will never listen.”

“Listen… Mike,” Cadence glared at Chrysalis before turning her attention to the human. “Chrysalis is only evil; she tried to take over Canterlot before by keeping me prisoner, pretending to be me and feeding off the love of my husband and this was all on the day of my wedding.”

“Is that true?” Mike glanced back at the Changeling Queen before moving his focus back to the angry unicorn opposite him. “You know what… I don’t care, I was tasked with protection Chrysalis by Dave himself and I don’t intend to let him down.”

“Where are Dave and Celestia?” Shining Armour growled as he began to edge closer.

Chrysalis sighed as she sat down, “They have gone to Earth, the human home world because some humans took Nox and all the ponies you trust have gone to save him.”

“That’s convenient,” Cadence stepped closer to her husband as she whispered into his ear. “The guard’s must have been under her control, which would explain why they didn’t help us.”

“We are not your enemy,” Mike dropped his aggressive stance as he stood up straight. “We aren’t going to fight you because it won’t solve anything, you may ask all the guards, use spells to check them and us, we are telling the truth.”

Shining Armour growled, “Knowing that changeling behind you… I am still hesitant.”

“Princess Celestia said she would only be a day or two, so she will be back any time now,” Mike crossed his arms before turning to Chrysalis. “We will stay in our rooms but we will come outside if necessary, you can investigate all you like until Celestia arrives and verifies our story.”

Shining Armour and Cadence exchanged a few quiet words before nodding, “Fine but we want to talk to Mike in private.”

“What for?” Chrysalis sneered as she stepped beside the human, her horn lowered slightly.

“We want to make sure he knows what trouble he is in for helping you,” Cadence glared. “We are going to let him know what crimes you have caused in the past.”

Mike looked at Chrysalis, seeing the panic in her eyes, the changeling’s fear apparent. He didn’t really know a thing about the Changeling Queen or her past, but seeing the way Chrysalis was so protective over it swayed his decision.

“I will have to deny that request,” Mike stared at the confused stares, smiling at Chrysalis’ sigh of relief. “It is her past to share, so it is her choice if I find out what she has done.”

“Do you really know who she is?” Shining Armour protested, stamping his hoof on the ground. “You are underestimating her evil.”

“Well…” Mike scratched his chin. “I definitely know she is rude.”

Chrysalis covered her face in her hooves, “Oh not this conversation again!”

“All I am saying is that you could thank ponies sometimes!” Mike complained. Cadence and Shining Armour exchanged confused looks before slowly leaving the pair to quarrel.