Author's Notes:

Welp, I am a little drunk while writting this so expect some crazy stuff.

A big warning, the second half of the chapter will contain some very disturbing scenes for some readers and a whole lot of mind-fuckery. I loaded it with metaphors and I hope it works as well as i think it has.

Also please donate to the Traumatised Alicorn Fund by calling 1800 665 656, thankyou.

Chatter jolted awake, his chest heaving as he gulped in air desperately to avoid suffocating under the Diamond dog. He could still taste the creature’s filthy fur in his mouth; the last thing the changeling remembered was being crushed underneath the large canine.

“Hey, calm down soldier,” a voice spoke, Chatter feeling a metal object pat him on the back as his right bounced up and down on a hard surface. The changeling calmed down a little when he realized that he was no longer trapped under the dog, instead he observed long tracks of white snow and a darkening sky. He turned his head to look down towards his hooves, Chatter finding out that he was suspended off the snowy ground, much higher up then the height of a pony or changeling.

His breathing returning to normal, Chatter noticed that sections of his armour had been removed leaving just the woolen underclothes he had been issued before departing the city. The bouncing motions were kind of soothing actually; his body still aching from the prior squishing he had been subjected to so not having to walk was a relief. The changeling glanced up with his eyes, his blood stained-horn in easy view. Chatter shivered a little, not because of the cold but at the memory of the feeling of his charged horn sliding into the dog’s chest right before he had been crushed. Chatter kept on telling himself that it was him or the dog, the canine a slaver as well so why did he feel so… guilty?

“You still with us?” the male voice from before sounded again, Chatter’s eyes widening as he recalled who it belonged to. He moved his head to stare at the voice, finding the Emperor’s face smiling back at him. Chatter, thrust back into full alertness at the discovery that the Emperor himself was carrying him was quite pressed to reply.

“Y-Yes sir Commander sir!” Chatter hastily responded, his legs starting to kick as he attempted to move, “you can put me down Emperor, you don’t have to carry me and I’m sorry for the inconvenience sir!” The Commander chuckled as the changeling struggled much to Chatter’s confusion.

“You act like I haven’t carried a wounded comrade before, don’t worry about it. Besides, you must only weigh about sixty kilos with that armour on.” The changeling ceased his thrashing as the Emperor responded light-heartedly. Chatter could see that the Commander seemed genuine, the changeling only now noticing the scar that the Emperor had on the left side of his face. The mesmerized Chatter watched on as the cut seemed to have fresh skin grow over it completely in seconds, the line fading until no trace of the wound remaining.

“Wow,” was all the surprised soldier could say as the Emperor ran a metal finger over the patch of new skin.

“Good as new,” Chalmers stated with satisfaction, once again turning to Chatter as the human continued to trudge along at the head of the column of ponies. “The wonderful advantages of a high rank,” the Emperor explained, not doing a single thing to help the changeling’s befuddlement.

“So you can regenerate?” Chatter questioned, having given up on attempting to convince the Commander to let him down, the Emperor giving a light shrug that Chatter could feel due to being on the human’s shoulders.

“Only small wounds really, nothing like entire limbs or that kind of regeneration.” The Commander explained as the changeling listened with interest, “it’s a basic improvement upon standard modifications that are fielded by UIP troops. Normally it’s just improved blood-clotting and rapid blood production to stop soldiers bleeding out during battles, mine’s usually reserved for officers and is a little more advanced. While I’d like to be an unstoppable super-warrior able to instantly heal anything done to me I’m still a few promotions away from that.”

“Promotions?” Chatter questioned, not many knowing about the Emperor’s prior life or occupation, all Chatter knew was that he was a military officer for some foreign empire and that aside from a close circle of advisors nothing personal was known about the human.

“Yep,” the Emperor continued talking as the column of soldiers and civilians moved ever forward, “the more important you are the more upgrades and privileges you get access to, it serves as quite a motivator to drive success.” Chatter pondered this, the Emperor looking behind him as he saw that they had surged ahead of the main group. “Especially of course,” Chalmers continued on as he slowed down a little and looked forward again, “if immortality’s on the table.”

This caused Chatter to do a double take, the changeling gazing at the Emperor in disbelief at the mention of un-ending life. He was about to call the human out on the outrageous claim but paused when he saw the look in the Emperor’s eye, the glint of someone who had something driving them accompanied by large amounts of desire. Chatter gulped as he watched the human stare longingly into the distance ahead of him, the changeling unable to figure out how such a goal could be achieved.

“Well, no point in hoping for something that’s not going to happen anytime soon,” the Emperor laughed lightly as he snapped out of his trance, Chatter however could tell that the topic meant a lot more to the human then he was letting on. The changeling dropped the subject, the pair continuing to travel in silence for a while as the rest of the group caught up, light conversations mostly consisting of the guards attempting to encourage the rescued ponies able to be heard.

“So…” Chatter started as he hung from the Commander’s shoulders, the changeling finding that conversing with the Emperor dulled the memories of what had happened back in the Diamond dog den. “Do you have any hobbies?” He couldn’t believe that he was asking his Emperor about such trivial matters like they were friends. Chatter did have to admit that the human didn’t really act like a ruler when he spoke to him, the changeling feeling relaxed and at ease.

“Don’t have the time for much really,” Chalmers replied casually as he stepped over a rock in the path, “work and other duties are fairly intensive not to mention the whole ‘wind up on an unknown planet’ thing. That can sure put a dampener on your job-advancement plans. So how about you Chatter, what sort of things do you enjoy in your free time?” Chatter was caught a little off-guard by the question, the changeling having to think for a moment before answering.

“Well… in the hive I never had any time to myself except for sleep, us drones weren’t really expected to do much more than work.” Chatter moved an armour-clad foreleg in front of his face, the guard staring at the shiny metal. “Now look at me, no longer a drone but a soldier,” Chatter scoffed as he moved his leg back, “not much of a soldier am I?”

“Everyone has bad days,” the Emperor comforted, “you, me, every other guard and every single civilian made it out alive. That right there is a great success and I myself am very pleased with how you and the rest of the guards have handled things today.”
“Thanks Commander,” Chatter responded gratefully, “that means a lot.”

“That’s what I’m here for. Now back to extra-curricular activities, surely you have something to occupy your free time?”
“Nothing major, I just read the occasional book from time to time. Not really much else interests me that I’ve seen.” The Emperor glanced side-ways at the changeling with a smile on his features.

“What about ‘other’ distractions?” Chatter was easily able to deduce what the Commander was implying, the changeling’s armour clinking as he shifted uncomfortably.

“Queen Chrysalis didn’t allow anyone lower than the nobility to have any relationships so I guess that I’m just not used to having that freedom, “ Chatter sighed with annoyance before continuing. “Some of us haven’t had any problems however.”

“Problems?” Chalmers questioned, interested at the tone that Chatter had adopted.

“My roommate, Muddle, another drone who now works at an art store in the city got a new marefriend, a crystal pony called Vibrant,” Chalmers took note that the changeling had used the pony term as Chatter continued. “Last week she was at the house constantly whenever I was there, I swear those two don’t actually seem to do any work it’s that bad. She’s always fawning over him and he does the same with her, I just can’t wrap my head around getting into something like that.”

“You’ll get used to it after a while,” Chalmers replied, “and look at it this way, after you come back to the city, wounded in action during a heroic rescue against fiends most foul you’ll have all the ladies mad for you.” Chatter did have to admit that the Emperor had a point; maybe he just needed to socialize a little bit. As one could guess, Chatter was not too well versed in the art of interaction considering he had spent most of his life in the hive.

“I’ll give it a shot I suppose, not like I have much else to do.” Looking behind him, facing the column following them Chatter spent a few minutes glancing over the Equestrians that the group had saved. The twenty-three ponies were all shuffling along in a line covered with assorted coats and blankets that had been provided by the changeling’s fellow guards. From what he could see the ponies all looked extremely starved, far worse than he and the other changelings had been when the Emperor had granted them citizenships.

“Commander,” Chatter began, the biped once again looking at him, “what are we going to do with the Equestrians?”

“First off get them to the hospital, who knows what diseases or infections they have after spending so long in captivity,” the Emperor answered without hesitation, “after that feed them, find temporary shelter and try to help with the more psychologically damaged ones. Then we need to look at returning them to their own country, I’m sure that they have families that miss them and it would earn us brownie points with the Equestrians.”

Chatter merely hummed in agreement, the Emperor seemed to have everything worked out in regards to the Equestrians so he resigned himself to examining the scenery as the group marched onwards.

The Emperor didn’t speak for ages, Chatter also content to just wait in silence as they drew ever-closer to their goal. The entire column had paused for a few moments to light lanterns once night fell, instead of oil the devices all had a small enchanted crystal in the center that emitted a soft, warm glow.

“Finally,” Chatter heard the Emperor mutter, the changeling following the human’s gaze to lay eyes upon the shimmering barrier around the Crystal Empire. Breathing a sigh of relief that he was only a few minutes away from a warm bed Chatter stretched and found that most of the pain plaguing his limbs had disappeared.

“I’m pretty sure I can walk now sir,” Chatter observed, the Emperor lowering the changeling to the ground. Chatter shakily got to his hooves, finding that indeed he was able to walk fine although his wings still hurt to move. Around the two, numerous guards and civilians gathered to share in the sight of sanctuary. Guards and Crystal ponies let out relieved sighs while the Equestrians stood amongst the locals with barely noticeable smiles on their weary faces, the long-time captives recognizing that there long-awaited destination was in reach. Emperor Chalmers turned around to address them all, ice forming on the bloodstains that adorned his armour.

“We’re almost home soldiers, only a small amount of distance left to go until we can finally be out of these wastes. You’ve done incredibly well so far so let’s not stop now.” The guards all let out a cheer at the short speech, all of them ready to be done with the events of the day. “As for you Equestrians,” the human continued, the rescued ponies glancing up at the biped, “I assure you that we will go to all lengths to ensure that you are well looked after. As soon as I am able I will contact your Princesses and hopefully arrange your return to your country.” Less cheers where uttered and those that were lacked energy, the Equestrians were grateful but drained.

Satisfied that he had given everyone a final motivational boost the Emperor resumed his march back to the city, Chatter following behind him as the rest of the crowd also restarted their movement. Everyone moved quickly, all of them able to taste a hot meal and feel a warm bed already as they covered more and more ground at a steady rate.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Ahhhhhhh yeah,” Nigel stretched his back as the armorer removed the last piece of plate, Nigel having to seek assistance due to his inexperience with armour that wasn’t powered by an in-built reactor. The unicorn, one of the stragglers that had been found earlier on who’s name escaped Nigel rushed away to stow the last piece in storage in preparation for cleaning.

The Emperor had come straight to the armory to have his protection removed almost as soon as they had arrived back in the city to the crowd of cheering civilians who had been anxiously awaiting the return of the rescue group and their fellows. After a brief and uncensored explanation of events the Crystal ponies who had been rescued were re-united with their families, everyone thankful that no-one had been hurt badly. Except for the slavers of course, the news that the den would no longer threaten the city was meet with wide-spread approval.

The Equestrians had been welcomed much like the changelings had, Crystal ponies even offering to shelter them in their own homes until new ones could be built, Sergeant Opal Blitz even raising her hoof to look after a lone filly. These offers had been accepted gratefully but the Emperor stressed that all of the participants in the day’s events had to first be checked out first.

After organizing a slightly increased night-watch he had praised every single guard for their duties during the day, not one citizen having lost their life during the attack and while there was wide-spread property damage it would be easily replaced. Chalmers had instructed the guard that the cleanup would commence the next day after a good night’s rest had been had. All immediate concerns dealt with Nigel’s next destination had been the armorer.

Chalmers paused his walking for a second as he emerged from the military district into one of the main city streets, stretching once more as he relished his decision to have that armour removed. It was pretty great and all but he had been wearing it all day, now that it was gone he felt so relaxed. The sun had gone down and street lights were lit providing light along with the windows in many houses as the silhouettes of his subjects could be seen moving back and forward. The Emperor, clad in nothing but his white undershirt and pants took a breath of the cool night air and started to walk along the cobbled road with a calm smile on his face.

If anyone was to look out their window they would no doubt be surprised to see their ruler strolling down the street by himself in such simple garments however no one did. The cobbled road was cool to the touch, Charmers moving along the surface with his bare feet as he headed to the city hospital. The memory of his comfy bed was tantalizing but the Emperor wanted to get a few things out of the way before he granted himself that pleasure.

Not much time had passed when he made it to the gleaming-crystalline structure that was the local medical center, an advantage of such a simple city design with only eight major inter-connecting roads was that it was easy to navigate without much aid. The building appeared to have been untouched during the attack, the majority of the damage having been focused around the market district. Briefly wiping his hands on his pants the Emperor walked into the building, pushing through a clear crystal door to emerge inside the warm reception area.

The inside of the building was smooth and neat, the properties of the crystal building material only adding to the overall clean look of the hospital. Chalmers spotted a lone nurse, identifiable by the red-cross on her white hat dozing on the front desk with her head turned away. Chalmers chuckled as he approached the sleeping pony, evidently it had been an exhausting day for all.

“Excuse me Miss,” Nigel stated after loudly clearing his throat. The nurse groggily awakened from her sleep, the azure mare lifting her head to glare at whoever had disturbed her slumber. Due to the height of the desk she ended up staring at a white cloth-clad chest, the nurse moving her vision upwards to lay her eyes on a hairless face, ice-blue eyes staring back at her as the owner smiled warmly.

“Good Evening, I’m sorry to interrupt your nap but I was just after a report on how everyone’s holding up if you don’t mind.” The nurse blinked her eyes rapidly as her sleep-addled mind put the pieces together and figured out that the plain-garbed creature standing in front of her was in fact the Emperor.

“Right away your Highness!” she blurted out as she scrambled to gather the requested information.

“No hurry,” Emperor Chalmers responded as he watched the mare with amusement. The nurse’s onyx mane became ruffled as the pony dived under her desk rustling around with stacks of parchment flying behind her before she returned with a stack of papers and placed them down on the desk with a thump.

“Here it is Lord,” she stated breathlessly as she flicked through them, “everyone except one changeling in the guard has been released, it says her that most injuries today where mostly minor cuts and scrapes. I believe that most of the guard had their own medics look at them so we only had a few admissions to deal with.

“One changeling you say,” Chalmers asked with a raised eyebrow, “he wouldn’t happen to be admitted because of damage suffered by having something large fall on him, would he?” The nurse flicked through more pages, Nigel waiting patiently as he thought about how computers would make this so much easier. The nurse paused her searching, her other hoof holding the page in place as she scanned the information.

“Yes he was, he came in reporting that his wings were still not working so a doctor had a look. Wings aren’t really a familiar subject but I think the doctor said that they just were a little strained and just needed some rest. The changeling, a Private-“

“Chatter,” Nigel interrupted, the nurse a little surprised that the Emperor knew the name glanced at him before returning to her records.

“Right again sir, anyway it says here that doctor Stoneheart ordered that he stay over-night, much to the displeasure of the patient.” The mare closed her records and replaced them under the desk, returning to look back at the human waiting for her. “Is there anything else Emperor?”

“Yes actually, could you please inform me to the room number?” In response the nurse pointed a hoof down towards a corridor to the left of the desk.

“Number fifteen, forth door on the right.”

“Thanks for the help,” Chalmers acknowledged as he headed in the allocated direction, walking through the plain corridor until he came upon the room he was searching for.

Inside on the bed lay Chatter, the changeling perking up in surprise as he spotted the Emperor at his doorway.
“Commander sir! It’s so great to see you, listen, could you do me a favor and convince the doctor to let me go? I’m bored to death in here.”

“I thought you needed bed rest?” Chalmers answered as he entered the room, looking around at the plain crystal furnishings as the changeling sat up on the bed.

“All I wanted was to make sure that I didn’t break anything,” Chatter grumbled, “but doctor Stoneheart certainly lives up to her name, the pony won’t let me go home until tomorrow.”

Nigel scratched his chin in thought, considering the request. He wasn’t a doctor but he figured that Chatter seemed to be okay and he trusted that the Private was smart enough to not go and try to fly off a building or anything like that. He doubted even he could convince the doctor to let the changeling go early if his prior dealings with medical personal were anything to go by.

Looking for a solution his gaze came to rest on the window set into the wall, just high enough that a non-flight enabled equine would find it difficult to climb out. Chalmers faced Chatter, the changeling staring at the window after having seen the look on the Emperor’s face, already guessing what the plan was.

“Oh hell yes,” Chalmers stated eagerly, “we are so doing this.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Thump*

“Fuck!”

Chatter was startled as the Emperor fell out of the window and landed on the ground heavily, uttering the strong curse as he did so. The human’s pants had caught and caused him to lose his balance, resulting in a very undignified position outside the window as Chatter looked on from inside the room. With a grunt Chalmers righted himself and brushed dust off of his clothing, turning to look at Chatter before reaching his arms in through the window towards the changeling. Chatter stared at the offered limbs, starting to regret his agreement to the plan.

“Hurry up, do you want to leave or are you going to puss out like a bitch?” the Emperor taunted, Chatter finding himself getting incredibly pissed off with his commander. To prove that he was indeed no one’s ‘bitch’ Chatter moved towards the outstretched limbs with a determined look on his face. This grin quickly fell as he felt himself hoisted up as Chalmers placed his hands under Chatter’s fore-legs, picking the changeling up like a puppy. The Emperor pulled the nervous changeling through the window and out into the street, Chatter unable to move as his hind legs dangled a metre off the ground as the Commander looked at his guard with a cruel smirk on his face.

“Awww, he’s so cute, who’s a good changeling? Who’s a good changeling?”

Chatter was not pleased with this humiliation, glaring at the Emperor as the human started to move him up and down in the air like a parent would with a child. The changeling might have attempted to break free with force if it wasn’t for the fact that the human was an Emperor. Well, that and the fact that the Commander was able to lift him up effortlessly without any signs of tiring. As such he had to wait until Chalmers had grown tired of treating him like a child; Chatter just hoped that no one was watching for both of their sakes.
The Emperor finally lowered the changing to the ground, immediately walking off down the street. Chatter, having re-gained the feeling of solid ground beneath his hooves raced to catch up.

“Emperor, my house is in that direction,” Chatter informed and pointed back in the opposite direction to where they were going as Chalmers stopped and started to scan the houses on the right side of the street.

“I know, I ordered it to be built remember?” the Emperor quipped back, his eyes lighting up as he found what he was trying to pinpoint. “You can go if you want; I just have one more visit to pay before I myself can turn in.” Chatter was keen for his own bed as well, however he was enjoying hanging out informally with the Emperor and becoming friends with the being in overall charge of the military couldn’t hurt future promotion prospects.

“I’ll guess I can spare a few minutes,” the changeling replied as the Emperor already had begun to move towards a plain house numbered three-six-one. Sighing as he wondered what he was getting into Chatter followed the enthusiastic ruler against his better judgment.

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“See, I told you that it was good.”

Opal Blitz was sitting at the table opposite Flora, the filly that had followed her ever since the incident at the Diamond Dog den as the foal continued to eat her dinner, assorted vegetables that Blitz had arranged in a small salad. After she had volunteered to take the foal in Blitz had made fast progress with gaining the young pony’s trust, the filly finding the courage to speak once Blitz had shown the foal her house.

Flora was five years old, having turned five while a prisoner of the Dogs. The pony said that she had been travelling with her parents in-between towns when a group of dogs had snatched them. Flora had been taken away from her parents after a few days, the dogs from the den that had just been destroyed having taken her along in order to train her to be an obedient worker. Blitz was thankful that they had managed to free the captives in time but felt incredibly sorry for Flora when she heard about her parents.

The filly was under the impression that they were dead, having reportedly seen a few Equestrians die during her captivity. Blitz had been unsure about how to respond to this, her own parents were certainly dead but she didn’t want to raise the filly’s hopes only to have them crushed later on. Opal decided that returning the filly to full health would be the most pressing concern, the foal still looking more like a skeleton than pony.

Both ponies turned to look at the front door, a short burst of knocks sounding on the hardened wood. Blitz was unsure of the precise time but it was incredibly late at night so visitors were a surprise. Sliding off her short wooden chair the guard approached the door as Flora watched on nervously. Taking a breath Opal un-latched the door and slipped her hoof into the large metal ring that served as a handle and opened it, a cool breeze coming in from outside.

She took a few moments to comprehend that yes the visitors were indeed the Emperor himself and a changeling, Opal swearing that the changeling looked a little familiar.

“Emperor, my Lord, if I may ask what it is that you’re doing at my house at this time at night?” Blitz slowly scanned the human, the ruler clothed in simple white cloth that was very informal considering his newly acquired array of military-style suits and clothing. The changeling seemed oddly at ease standing beside the human, his eyes fixed on Blitz with a strange look.

“Well I was just in the neighborhood and I thought I’d pop in to see how you and the child are holding up,” Chalmers turned to the changeling beside him. “Chatter’s here because he needs to hide from a doctor.” Blitz’s memory was refreshed by the name of the changeling, recalling him to be the guard that had been pulled out from the Diamond dog. She also relised that she had neglected to invite her visitors in while cold air swirled around them, the faux par even more serious considering that her Commander was one of them.

“Would you like to come in, sorry for not asking earlier,” the diamond-coated Sergeant offered in the hope that her slip-up would be forgiven.

“That would be lovely, thank you,” Chalmers replied as he entered the house followed by Chatter, both looking around as Blitz shut the door behind them. “You’ve got quite the house,” the Emperor said as he ducked to avoid a low beam, the tall biped able to fit in the building nicely despite his height.

“Thank you sir, it used to belong to my parents.”

Chalmers noticed the way the mare spoke in past tense, neglecting to pursue the topic in fear of opening up old wounds. Chatter was also admiring the inside of the structure, the space not that large but it was incredibly cozy with multiple chairs and decorations filling the area. Opal’s armour was neatly placed in the corner on a stand, the guards preferring to store their armour in their houses as they used to do in the old days. It was about this time that Chalmers noticed the foal sitting at the table staring at him and Chatter with fear.

“Hello there little one,” the Emperor greeted as he waved at the red-maned child, the pony relaxing a little bit at the human’s soft tone. The foal gave him a small smile and waved a hoof back from the table as Blitz and Chatter watched silently. Blitz trotted up to the table where Flora was sitting and beckoned the Emperor closer, Chatter joining the human as they both approached.

“Emperor Chalmers, this is Flora,” Blitz introduced, “Flora this is Emperor Chalmers; he’s the ruler of the Crystal City that I told you about.” Flora glanced down at the changeling beside the Emperor, Blitz noticing the filly’s new focus of attention. “This is Chatter,” Opal informed as the changeling nodded in response. All three of the adults noticed that the foal hadn’t spoken a word since they had arrived, the Emperor gesturing for Blitz to follow him to the front door.

“Well, it seems like everything is going okay and it is rather late so we best be going,” all three moved to the door, Chalmers and Chatter stepping outside. The foal watched them then went back to her meal, Chalmers lowering his voice so she didn’t overhear.

“So she’s spoken to you Sergeant?” he inquired, Blitz glancing back inside before nodding her head.

“It took a while sir but she has started to act more… well normal. I’m sorry that she didn’t say anything while you were there.”

“Completely understandable,” the Emperor responded, “with these things you just have to give it some time. You’ve gained her trust and she obviously feels comfortably around you so I say good job. I’ll even give you the rest of the week off, paid of course,” Chalmers raised a hand as Blitz made to protest, “nope, you’re currently the only one that Flora trusts. I recommend you try to introduce her to some more citizens, maybe try to find some foals her own age.

Once she is confident enough then we can move on to different things. Good work so far Sergeant, good night.” With that the Emperor turned and walked away, Chatter giving Blitz a wave goodbye before following the Commander, Opal watching the two continuing to chat as they walked down the street before shutting the door.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel ascended the stairs leading up to the floor that held his sleeping quarters, probably one of the only times he had actually chosen to sleep in his room rather than on his throne.

After his visit to Sergeant Blitz’s house he and Chatter had parted ways, the changeling wishing him goodnight as he made his own way home. Nigel had enjoyed his time with the private, for a short time he had felt the weight of responsibility off of his shoulders even if it had only been for an hour. The changeling seemed to be more relaxed around him compared to many of the guards, while Chalmers appreciated their professionalism he wasn’t really the type for all of that pomp twenty-four seven.

He reached his door, opening the sturdy oak barrier as he entered the darkened room. Formerly Sombra’s, it was the largest bedroom in the castle, the walls adorned with Crystals and numerous paintings of stairwells. Red rugs adorned the floor and the curtains were also a rich-shade of crimson, bringing some colour into the room. Yawning Nigel removed his shirt and pants, leaving just his plain white under-shorts on as he placed his discarded clothes in a wash basket. His task complete he ambled over towards the bed and prepared to clamber into it, stopping however when he noticed the lump under the covers which already occupied his normal space.

The Emperor was puzzled; it wasn’t like anyone could mistake their room for his with the incredibly large four-poster bed studded with gems dominating the room. He moved in a little closer trying to not disturb the sleeper, a dark green mane all he could see with the sleeper facing away from him. Chalmers could already guess who it was however it couldn’t hurt too much sure. Tapping the slumbering intruder on the shoulder he felt smooth chitin, the bedroom lurker rolling over in response to the tap.

Nigel sighed as Reflection rolled over onto her back, the changeling’s mouth open with her tongue hanging out. Well, it seemed like she had decided that his bed was now hers. Great, what next, his crown?

Throne?

Sense of self-worth?

Nigel shook his head, reminding himself that he had not married the changeling so his self-worth was still safe. He briefly thought about leaving and finding another room to sleep in that night but thought better of it. After all he had been promising Reflection more of a commitment and knowing her she would just continue to sleep in his chambers whether he wanted her to or not so he might as well just roll with it.

Gracefully he lifted up the corner of the red bed sheets and slipped into the bed, his movements not awaking his sleeping partner as he settled in for the night. He adjusted his position, the bed large enough to accommodate him fine but his pillow felt off. He turned and rotated it, laying his head down on the opposite side of the red pillow.

‘Note to self: get some different coloured stuff,” he thought, finally feeling the welcoming embrace of sleep come to take him as the changeling next to him mumbled in her sleep. As he dozed off he thought about the clean-up efforts he would have to co-ordinate tomorrow, a part of him looking forward to another chance to interact with his loyal subjects.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chalmers found himself standing in snow, still in his underwear that he had gone to bed in. He looked around him, crystal structures on fire or reduced to rubble as the sun was concealed by thick black smog. He recognized his position as standing on the edge of one of the main roads leading into the city of his empire; however he couldn’t locate his palace in the center. He began to move towards the inner city, cries and screams resonating from the ruined landscape as he trudged onwards the surrounds lit by the lights of multiple infernos. He failed to notice the shadowy figure that materialized behind him, the vaguely equine-form hesitating before following the Emperor.

The coldness of the snow was soon replaced by soothing warmth, when he looked down Nigel could see that his bare feet were standing in an ever-growing river of blood flowing down the road. Walking forward he entered the market district, the normally bustling and happy area trashed and destroyed, Chalmers able to make out multiple signs of violence such as energy weapon impacts on stone and blood splatters covering almost every surface.

He halted as the sound of crying sounded to his left, coming from an alley blocked off by a market cart tipped on its side. He was just about to move towards the noise, the sobs of what sounded like a young child ringing out around the square when the rhythmic drum of boots on pavement grew audible. From around the corner emerged a ten-soldier squad of UIP troopers, the all-encompassing tan armour covering the ground forces concealing their faces behind dull-silver visors as the troops moved towards the alley.

Chalmers watched as each soldier lined up facing the alley as the sobbing exploded in hysterical cries, the solitary voice joined by a crowd of others. The UIP infantry raised their laser-pulse rifles to their shoulders and took aim down at the unseen voices. At an unspoken command blue light lit up the darkened street as the troops opened fire, glowing blue projectiles cutting off the cries as all sound was replaced by the discharge of the weapons.

Nigel watched for a few minutes, the soldiers only pausing their assault to reload their weapons despite the fact that if anything was in the alley it would have been dead in the first volley. Walking past them he craned his head to look at the contents of the alley way however it was obscured with darkness with the laser projectiles being swallowed up by the black void. Chalmers continued on, none of the troops paying any attention to the wandering Commander.

As he left the area Nigel found himself in the Residential district, an anomaly considering that the two areas were not next to each other normally. He walked down the rows of houses, no signs of life in the burnt and broken structures. Movement caught his eye in a window that belonged to a fairly intact home. Nigel saw a brief image of a large pair of blue eyes peering out the glass before heavy thuds appeared out of no-where from behind him.

The Emperor watched as a UIP shock trooper ambled past him, the large armoured form hefting a large tube attached to a pack on its back. The weapon was coloured the same as the wielder, a burnt-gold with three vertical blue strips on the top. The strips on the eight-foot tall armoured soldier were located on each shoulder instead while the tan armour showed signs of scorch marks.

The curtains of the window formerly occupied shut violently all of the way, followed by shutters as the shock trooper approached a window at the bottom of the house. The tip of the soldier’s weapon was thrust through the glass, the window shattering into multiple pieces as the trooper depressed the trigger.

Bright flames exploded out of every single escape point on the house, every window and door blown out with flame as Nigel’s view of the soldier was obscured by the flames that engulfed it. The scent of burnt meat and fire wafted as the flames kept on coming, the house itself catching alight under the continued application of the incendiary weapon.

Once again ignored, Chalmers continued towards his destination, the palace in the middle of the city. He would appear to be oddly calm to an outside observer, the sights that he had witnessed having no visible effect on the expressionless human. Behind him the shadowy stalker halted at the burning building, acting as though it was terrified of what it was witnessing. As the Emperor left the street of houses joyful electronic laughter could be heard from the window of the burning home that was the prior location of the shock trooper.

Rounding a bend Chalmers found himself staring at a gruesome scene, the Emperor having reached his goal.

Upon and around the shattered ruins of the Crystal Palace lay piles of corpses, thousands of Crystal ponies with a few smatterings of changelings all heaped in piles of gore and viscera in varying states of dismemberment. The pile was largely focused in the middle of the ruins of the palace, a lone black-clad human figure seated atop the mound of broken bodies like a King would sit upon a throne. Chalmers stopped at the base of the mound, by now his feet were covered in a layer of gore that went up to his bare knees. The figure seated on the mound began a slow clap, the human leaping down from his perch to land before Nigel with a thump.

“Well, it’s about time I showed up,” the armoured human spoke as he removed his faceless helmet, revealing a mirror image of Nigel’s face.

“Starwars already did that,” the real Nigel replied, facing Chalmers number two with no surprise.

“Aw, come on buddy,” the doppelganger responded as he picked the body of a young colt out of the bleeding pile, armoured fingers tearing through yellow fur-coated flesh as the still beating heart was extracted. “It’s been like two, three weeks since we last had a good chat?” the copy paused briefly to take a large bite out of the extracted organ, chewing the portion contentedly as he dropped the remainder of the heart to the ground and squished it under a black boot.

“A month actually,” Nigel answered, the clone smiling at the reminder.

“That’s right; we caved that unicorn’s skull right in!” Fake Chalmers burst out into laughter, blood running down his chin from his finished snack, “that look on his face was priceless, Fucker didn’t know what hit him!” Nigel patiently waited for his double to stop laughing; he had grown used to the often tedious interactions. “It was almost as funny as that dog that got maced in the face today, that was a Kodiak picture moment right there.”

“Get to the Bloody point,” Nigel pushed, the copy giving him a mock hurt look.

“Why so serious Hombre? Why does it have to be ‘Tell me this now’, ‘Stop talking you Imbecile’ and ‘I have work in three hours’? Before we even arrived on this planet it was so lively, almost every night I would be treated to that wonderful figure and that oh so delicious verbal barbs.”

“Because you’re annoying and you never seem to bathe,” came the response. Both beings paused as a low drone rang out, the two copies looking up into the sky as the fat rectangular form of a UIP naval Escort Destroyer came into view in the sky. Beams and bolts of blue energy accompanied by swarms of missiles flew out from its underside to impact beyond the horizon, the light of miniature suns being birthed in the distance lighting up the darkened sky. Fake Chalmers breathed in deeply, making a scene of enjoying the smell of the air.

“Oh yesssss,” the clone stated ecstatically as he moved his groin back and forth, “nothing turns us on more than a virgin planet being bathed in the glow of nuclear fire and anti-matter particles,” a particular bright flash grew from the general direction of Canterlot. “Oh yeah! That there had to be at least a few million! You can just feel their souls being torn piece-by-piece from their bodies…”

The copy trailed off as he realized that Nigel wasn’t paying attention, the underwear sporting human inspecting his nails for dirt as his double stopped his grinding.

“Nothing you can say or do will get that reaction you so desperately want from me, just give up and let me be.” Nigel spoke with a condescending tone, the fake scoffing as he reached his black-coated arm into the closest corpse pile and began to rummage.

“Maybe, but this time we’ve got two things that may change that,” as he spoke his other arm also joined its brother in the pile, Fake Chalmers’s enthusiastic movements causing blood to fly everywhere coating him in even more gore, the human double licking up as much as he could off of his face. “Ah ha!” he exclaimed, his arms with drawing two large objects from the death mound. Both were tossed to the floor, Nigel able to see that they were two bound equines somehow un-touched by the red fluid that seemed to coat everything.

The copy picked one up with a hand, Nigel seeing that the pony was in fact Sparkling Scroll. The assistant’s mouth was gagged with what appeared to be a spleen and her hooves were tied with ropes of intestine, her eyes looking at Nigel pleadingly as she screamed trough the improvised gag.

“Personally this one is a favorite,” Fake Chalmers stated as scratched the struggling mare behind her ears, “such sorrow that she hides inside of her, it really is great to see that we can have such a positive effect on those which seem to so perfectly reflect us,” the doppelganger started to pace back and forth, withdrawing a combat knife from his armour as he continued. “Shame that we’ve seen to have been neglecting her lately, one must wonder how she feels to being pretty much demoted to coffee-fetcher.”

The clone is one swift movement sliced the throat of the mare and tossed the body on the ground, Sparkling twitching until she lay still. Instead of blood small paper squares with primitive drawings of her and Nigel sitting together in court or addressing the Crystal ponies spilled out of the gaping wound, the papers catching alight in seconds after exiting. The clone picked up the other equine, Nigel still not reacting as Reflection, identically bound and distressed as Sparkling had been was held up by the neck.

“At last we have reached the main show, isn’t she a beauty?” Fake Chalmers caressed the crying changeling’s fore-head with a gore-splattered hand, none of the blood transferring to the changeling herself. “I can see why we like her, after all even though she is an alien we’ve done worse right? Remember Roxslasta?” Nigel remained silent, the copy rolling his eyes at the refusal of his guest to play along. He’d have to up the ant a little.

“In fact she’s got a great complementing personality and for an alien bug horse not that bad looks wise,” the double moved his hand from the changeling’s head and slid it slowly down the front her body, Nigel not looking away even as the armoured digits reached below the stomach and the Changeling let out a gasp through her morbid gag. Chalmers knew that it wasn’t the real Reflection and to look away would only award victory to his doppelganger. The copy didn’t mind, his hand moving around quickly as the changeling panted and moaned. The shadow figure however raised what appeared to a hoof to its featureless face as it sat in the same spot it had frozen in when it had first seen the nightmare square in which the shocking drama was playing out.

“It’s funny really,” he continued as he violated Reflection in front of Nigel, “we know that she wants us badly, I mean who wouldn’t? We don’t mind the attention and I know that she would do pretty much anything for us and yet we still hold back; guess we still have those wonderful commitment problems just like always. What is it this time? Afraid that upper-management won’t approve of an agent sharing a bed with a potential information leak? Scared that months away on assignment will sink the love boat like so many before it? Or maybe it’s the terror that she’ll be denied that marvelous life-extension that we’ve been blessed with? How long until she withers and dies while we endure do we think? Fifty years? Sixty years? Maybe she’ll even be around when we finally get that Assistant Director job and un-ending life so that the pain of losing her can last forever!”

The copy ceased his lewd actions, withdrawing his hand leaving the blushing changeling hanging both literally and figuratively. He waved his glistening fingers in front of Nigel’s face, provoking no reaction apart from the clenching of fists.

“Huh,” the clone stated as he dropped the changeling roughly to the floor, “normally by this time we would have currently killed us five times already, we’re almost missing the feel of our fists beating us to a pulp.” The copy waved a hand, Nigel beginning to fade out as the clone turned away.

“Isn’t this the part where you impart some nugget of wisdom or self-insight that helps me slay the goblin king and rescue the Princess?” Nigel asked, determined to fire the last shot in the battle of wills. The copy merely rotated his head one-hundred and eighty degrees around before placing his helmet on.

“Sure, we have the most important information in the history of man, wisdom and knowledge so critical that only the sagest of creatures can withstand their minds from imploding at the sheer mention of it." Nigel waited, his fading having stopped for the time being. Fake Chalmers’s head rotated until it was upside down as his arms shot out backwards, two middle fingers raised firmly at Nigel’s face.

“Eat more Fucking Vitamins!”

With a comical poof Nigel disappeared leaving the doppelganger alone with his tarnished world, well, alone except for the shadowy figure that was staring at him in shock.

“I can see you over there,” Fake Chalmers calmly mentioned as his body re-aligned to what it was supposed to be, the biped twisting around the face the stalker. He zoomed towards it seemingly moving on air, the shadow forming into the shape of a tall blue pony with both a horn and wings.

“What manner of demon art thou?” the alicorn shakily questioned as the clone snapped his fingers, the entire square becoming consumed in fire as blood and organs rained from the sky from great vents resembling maws that had opened up on the underside of the hovering ship. “Dreams end when the dreamer has left, how dost it continue!?” the pony asked in a panic as it franticly looked for an exit. The copy chuckled, picking up three rapidly-decaying pony bodies from the pile next to it as it began to juggle.

“Why, those questions can be answered in one go,” the human laughed as he leaned in towards the alicorn, the pony jumping back in fright. “You may think me to be an evil twin, a personal demon made to plague my own mind, a representation or metaphor for inner turmoil and angst that is vile and vulgar in mind and taste. The truth however is far more terrifying, my little pony.” The alicorn shrieked as the biped suddenly tore open his own armoured chest, layers of metal, electrical wires and a strange muscle-like substance giving way to flesh and blood that was also rent apart, exposing a steadily beating heart within a crooked ribcage. The heart alternately pulsed bright crimson to black, laughter and screams that seemed to come from everywhere accompanying every beat.

“We are the same,” the clone stated mirthfully.

“We are the dreamer.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Luna jolted, finding herself sprawled on the ground and not on the throne that she had been sitting in when she had started her attempt to see this new Emperor’s dreams.

Needless to say, it hadn’t turned out to be a very wise move.

‘Princess, you’re awake!” a frantic bat-pony guard called out as Luna rose from the floor, ten of the soldiers crowding around the fallen Princess while another one was at the main doors about to rush out.

“What happened?” questioned Luna as she sat back in her throne, her guards taking a few steps back as the one near the door returned to join the concerned group.

“You were just sitting there like in every night court when you just started to convulse,” the highest ranking guard replied worriedly, “we were about to fetch medical help when you fell off the throne and started to scream. You suddenly stopped and woke up, your Highness, are you okay and is something wrong?”

“I am fine,” Luna reassured even though her words were hollow, “I just encountered a… bad dream that may have affected me more than I expected.” The guards glanced at each other in response to the reply, returning to their positions as they made sure to keep a watchful gaze on the princess. It was probably for the best to not dwell on what kind of nightmare could affect the normally stoic Princess so. Luna didn’t provide any further information on the matter, content to just sit and attempt to forget what she had witnessed.

She didn’t visit anymore dreams that night.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nigel woke up in a sweat in his bed, the sheets sticking to his soaked body as he breathed in deep while subconsciously reaching out a hand beside him to make contact with a smooth face. He glanced beside him, the sleeping Reflection mumbling in her sleep with a frown on her face, her hole-riddled hooves reaching up to grab Nigel’s arm. She hugged it to her chest, snuggling into the warmth that it provided as the frown disappeared to be replaced with a content smile. Nigel lay back in the bed, allowing the changeling to cuddle his arm as attempted to go back to sleep. As he started to drift off again one thought pushed its way to the front of his mind.

‘Wow, dream-version of me is a total dickhead.’