“Give those bugs a good stomping, Lero!” shouted Thunderlane from above.

The human offered a half-hearted smile and waved back to the charcoal pegasus. “Still can’t believe how well that cover story is working,” he quietly muttered to Rarity, out of the side of his mouth.

“Well, darling,” said Rarity, who was offering Thunderlane her own much more elegant wave, “the alternative wouldn’t be very productive, now would it?”

“True, Rarity,” said Lero and the two continued through the town.

Ever since the Guard arrived that morning and had made an official announcement, Lero and his herd had been stopped almost every ten steps by the town’s citizens with questions, well-wishes, and occasional gifts. The official statement had been announced in the town square by Mayor Mare and was quickly spread around the town. By noon, the Ponyville Press had printed a special edition covering the day’s extraordinary events.

At that moment, Lero unfolded his copy of the Press, and reread the front-page headline.

=Changelings in Ponyville!=

-Infiltrators Captured in Small Town-

By Ink Spot
PONYVILLE, Everfree Provence - The small town of Ponyville was rocked to its core yesterday afternoon when three changeling infiltrators, impersonating a trio of school-age fillies, (Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle) carried out a savage attack at the local elementary school, critically injuring a student. The victim, Diamond Tiara, 11, was immediately taken to Ponyville General thanks to swift action by the school’s headmistress, Cheerilee. Ms. Tiara remains in intensive care but is stable.

The three infiltrators were exposed by none other than Twilight Sparkle, faithful student of Princess Celestia, and were captured through the valiant efforts of the Elements of Harmony and the Night Guard, under the command of Princess Luna.

In a press conference this morning, Sgt. Night Shade of the Night Guard revealed that the three impostors had in fact foalnapped the fillies whose identities they had assumed, and have taken them somewhere beyond Equestria’s borders.

“We do not believe that this is part of a larger operation by the Swarm, nor is it a prelude to any kind of major attack,” assured Sgt. Shade. “This appears to be an isolated incident carried out by amatuer spies.”

News of this incident comes as a surprise to every official in the government, as their has been no word of the insectile invaders since their dramatic but doomed raid on the capital last spring. That attack, under the command of the villainous Queen Chrysalis, was repelled by Captain Shining Armor of the Royal Guard and his then-fiancée, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the currently reigning monarch of the Crystal Empire.

“There is a plan underway to rescue the three fillies and return them safely to their homes and families. Princess Luna has made it clear that no incursion by any evil power shall go unpunished and that any innocents caught in the crossfire shall have the protection of the Crowns.”

Sources in Canterlot have confirmed that the Night Court has assumed full financial support for the victims of the attack, including all medical bills and compensations for the kidnapped fillies’ families.

The next article, also starting on the front page, then continuing onto the second, was just as juicy.

=Daring Rescue Mission Underway!=
-Former Viceroy Promises to Spearhead Efforts In Returning Fillies Home-

[Above both the headlines and a picture of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Lero saw a photo of himself dressed in very formal attire; a dark red jacket and pants, polished brass buttons, gold braids and lampasas. Pinned to his chest was a Medal of Distinguished Service and the Badge of the Office of Viceroy. He was surrounded by his herd: Twilight, Lyra, and Rainbow Dash, all in very formal dresses meant to complement Lero’s own attire. He recognized it as an older picture taken before the Swap, during the celebration of the ending of the Blank Plague. Discord’s bewitchment would ensure that everyone looking at it would see Rarity in Rainbow Dash’s place.]

[The caption below the picture reads “Viceroy Bellerophon Michaelides and herd during his award ceremony after the events of the Blank Plague. (left to right: Lyra Heartstrings, Grandmaster of the Still Way, Leadmare Rarity, Element of Loyalty, Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic.)”]

by Hard Copy
PONYVILLE, Everfree Province - Following yesterday’s horrific events, former viceroy to the the Royal Sisters and resident human, Bellerophon Michaelides, will lead a rescue mission to retrieve the three fillies foalnapped by a group of changelings, (Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.) This news was announced this morning in a press conference given by Sgt. Night Shade of the Night Guard.

Mr. Michaelides will be accompanied by his herd and friends first to the Everfree Forest, then beyond Equestria’s borders to confront the Changeling Swarm. The herd, which has made national headlines in the past for its unique choice of stallion, will be accompanied Rainbow Dash, caretaker for the Ponyville wildlife and Element of Kindness, who has recently started to court the herd.

Concerns for the odds of success for this rescue were put to rest by Sgt. Shade. “Mr. Michaelides has very unique talents and insight that will see this mission through. He will be accompanied by two of the most powerful unicorns in all of Equestria, one with extensive martial arts training, as well as an expert in all wildlife, who has proven herself against a full grown dragon not two years ago.”

The herd and its stallion were unavailable for comment, but it is of the opinion of this reporter that the human, who has selflessly served Equestria so well in the past, will undoubtedly succeed in this dangerous endeavor. We here at the Ponyville Press wish Herd Bellerophon all the best of luck and a swift and safe return home!

Mayor Mare had given instructions not to disturb Lero or the others while they readied themselves for the rescue mission. Her instructions, of course, were promptly ignored by every citizen of the small town she governed over.

“Still,” said Lero, putting the Ponyville Press away, “I guess it’s the most convincing story the princess could come up with on such short notice.”

“Indeed, my prince,” said Rarity. “It also gives us all a more plausible excuse for us all to put our duties on hold." Rarity had spent some time that morning informing her weather supervisor about her imminent departure. Valley Breeze had been fairly critical of Rarity in the recent past, given her old propensity for her more “creative” forms of weather (and the subsequent mountain of complaints) but when news reached her of the Crusaders’ foalnapping, she was all too understanding.

Rarity had made arrangements with Cloudkicker, giving her second-in-command full authority until her return.

“I just hope the dear can handle things on her own,” said Rarity. “Then again, she does have Blossomforth to help her out. Cloudkicker may be an excellent team leader put her paper-working skills leave something to be desired.” She lifted the flap on her saddlebag and pulled out a piece of parchment. “Now then. Dear me, our sweet Sparkle-kitten and her lists. Do you think there is anything she hasn’t put on here?”

Lero took the list from her magical grip and held it up to eye level. The parchment proceeded to unroll down past his waistline. “She does realize that we have to carry all of this, right?”

“Oh don’t be silly,” Rarity laughed as she leaned close. “You’ll be carrying most of it, what with those big strong shoulders of yours.”

Lero smiled and rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner. He flexed his biceps and spoke in an very laughable Austrian accent. “De puny luggage iz no match for my mighty biceps!” he declared, adopting a muscle builder’s pose, with his arms curled in opposite directions. Rarity laughed and clapped her hooves.

“There he is,” came a voice. Rarity and Lero turned and saw a small group of ponies approaching them. Golden Harvest, Berry Punch, Caramel, and Amethyst Star all came up to the couple.

“Hey, Lero,” said Caramel, “is it true? Are you really going after a bunch a changelings?” The poor stallion looked very nervous, as the mere mention of the insectoid parasites caused him to break into sweat.

From their friendship together, Lero had come to learn that Caramel had a phobia of insects, which was ironic given that one of his mares was a local beekeeper. Lero’s tales of everything he’d gone through on the day of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence’s royal wedding had caused more than a few spilled drinks during their “guys’ nights”, which had lead to many jabs from their other friend, Widescreen.

“Yeah, that’s right, man,” said Lero.

“Wow,” said Caramel in amazement. “Gosh, Lero. I don’t know if I could ever do that.”

Berry Punch giggled and ruffled her stallion’s mane. “That’s cause you’re a big ol’ scaredy-cat, sweet cheeks.” Caramel looked like he was ready for a retort but shut his mouth when Golden Harvest and Amethyst Star stepped forward.

“You mean you’re really going after those monsters?” asked Golden.

“And going to save those foals they took?” said Amethyst. Lero nodded his head firmly. The two mares swooned, then rose back up and came along his sides.

“Oh, what a brave stallion you are!” Golden gushed. “Risking life and limb to save a group of fillies! It’s like something out of a fairy tale!”

“And so big and strong too!” sighed Amethyst, who eyed Lero as though he were a piece of candy ready to be gobbled up. She reached up with a hoof and ran it up and down the human’s leg. “I bet those mean monsters don’t stand a chance against somepony like you.” Lero raised an eyebrow, unsure of how to react to the sudden display of affection.

Rarity cleared her throat in a very conspicuous manner and stalked close. “My prince certainly is that, ladies,” she said, her head held high and her chest puffed out. Overhead, the few clouds in the sky seemed to come together and emit a quiet rumble. “That is exactly why I decided to make him my stallion.” The other two mares backed away at the display of dominance, their heads low and tails tucked. Rarity moved forward next to Lero, placing herself between him and the other mares. Berry Punch openly laughed at the whole show while Caramel quietly chuckled.

“Well, good luck, buddy,” said Caramel with an outraised hoof. Lero smiled, knelt down and hoof-bumped his friend. “The first round’s on me when you get back.” With that short farewell, the group set off down the road, Rarity’s icy glare never leaving Golden Harvest or Amethyst Star. She only stopped when she heard Lero trying to contain his own laughter.

“And what are you laughing about, mister?” said Rarity, her annoyance very clear in her voice.

Lero kneeled down and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re so cute when you get like that,” he said with a wink.

“Hmph! Well if those two little hussies think they act like that around my stallion, I have half a mind to ‘misplace’ some of my paperwork and have snow clouds over their properties for the next month!” Lero only laughed harder.

The two continued along their way, slowly checking off items from Twilight’s list. They carried most of their store-purchased gear on their backs. But some of the other stuff was packed onto cloud platforms and floated off towards Rainbow Dash’s cottage, which had been designated as their meeting point for the next morning, as dictated by Twilight, taskmistress extraordinaire.

They had prearranged that Rainbow Dash would keep an eye out for these platforms, while she was at her cottage. Since Rarity had shaped the cloud platforms all like large, exquisitely-detailed swordfish, they’d be easy for Dash to spot.

Lero smiled to himself and shook his head. That morning had found them all resting comfortably in bed. Lero had half-woken to find himself cocooned in a tangle of legs, wings, and hair. The gentle breathing and sleepy murmurs of his bedmates brought a content smile to his face as he had once again drifted off to peaceful slumber.

Then, suddenly, Twilight happened.

“Wake up, everypony! We have planning to do!”

The rest of the morning, over many, many cups of coffee, had been a whirl of maps, reference books (many of which Lero didn’t have the heart to tell her would be worthless), and lots and lots of lists. Everyone had their own assignments, leaving Twilight at the library to make her own arrangements with the princesses through Spike’s fire mail.

Around noon, Lero and Rarity had stopped at the café for a bit of lunch. Lero set down his share of the load and took a seat at the low mushroom tables with Rarity. They were pleasantly surprised when Haute Cuisine, the owner and head chef for the little restaurant, came to to their table. He was a tan earth pony with a slicked-back black mane and a pencil mustache.

“Ah, Madame Rarity,” he said in his Phrench accent, “Et Monseigneur Lero! Welcome, welcome! Today, I ‘ave a very excellente soupe de jour; Provençal Soupe au Pistou!”

“Oh merci, Monseigneur Cuisine,” said Rarity with a smile. “I think that is just what we will need right now.”

“But of course, mes amis. And you must all come tonight for dinner! I shall prepare you all a grande feast tonight! Sans frais!”

“‘No charge?’” Rarity gawked. “Oh Monseigneur Cuisine, we insist-”

“Non-sens, Madame, j’insiste! Anything for L’Élément de Loyauté and her brave chevalier! I ‘eard the two of you and your ‘erd are going after zose ‘orrible changelings zat took our petites croisés. Zis ‘umble gesture is ze least I can do.”

“That’s very generous of you,” said Lero. “We’d be happy to come. Er… shall I bring my entire herd…?”

“But of course, Monseigneur Lero, but I have a favor to ask.” The earth pony looked around then leaned in conspiratorially, raising his hoof to hide his mouth from Rarity. “Give zose bâtards de merde manger a good thrashing for me, eh?”

Lero knew enough French to get the the general gist. “Consider them thrashed, Monseigneur Cuisine,” he said with a firm nod.

Haute Cuisine laughed, grabbed Lero by the shoulders, then gave him a kiss on each cheek, much to Lero’s surprise and Rarity’s amusement. “Ah très bien, mon frère!” He stepped back and gave the couple a bow. “I shall return with your soup, mes amis!”

Rarity giggled as Lero recovered from his stunned expression. “My dear prince, you seem to be attracting all sorts of attention today.”

“Apparently,” said Lero, absent-mindedly wiping a cheek. “Still it was very nice of him to offer us dinner like that.” He gave a short laugh. “Perhaps we should go on dangerous missions more often. I’m sure we could get free meals at every restaurant from here to the Manehattan.” Rarity laughed again.

Cuisine soon returned and they enjoyed a very well-made vegetable soup together. After a while, Rarity looked up from her bowl, daintily wiping the corner of her mouth with a cloth napkin.

“Lero,” she said, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“Yes?”

“It’s about last night. About something The Lost said.”

Lero hesitated with his spoon halfway to his mouth. “What about?”

“Well, I was wondering. You... no, I mean he, became very upset when I mentioned something.”

Lero’s eyes widened for moment. “Did he…?”

“Oh no, he didn’t try anything, darling. I mean, he gave me a bit of a fright, that’s true.” Rarity reached across the table and placed her hoof on Lero’s hand reassuringly. He squeezed her soft hoof, running his thumb along her smooth fetlock.

“So, how did you upset him?”

“Well, I asked about… Her.” Rarity admitted hesitantly. “The Lady.”

Lero’s thumb stopped moving.

“He said that she knows when her name is called. He strongly implied that simply speaking, well, the L-A-D-Y word was sure to invite disaster.”

She drew in a breath.

“But how can that be? I’ve used the word ‘lady’ countless times before in casual conversation, all throughout my life! Like ‘the lady who owns the flower shop’ or ‘the lady over there with the tacky earrings’. Even I am often called a lady by others! Me and practically every other girl that’s ever lived, over and over again, and nothing bad has ever happened to any of us. For the most part, we all take pride in being ladies! So why…? Lero?”

Lero’s hand was gripping her hoof very tightly. Rarity looked up at Lero and felt her heart quicken when his eyes flashed an icy blue.

“It is because Her Ladyship knows when she is the one being spoken of,” he said.

Lero screwed his eyes shut and covered his brow with his hand. Sweat trickled down his forehead and his jawline tightened. After a few heart-pounding seconds, his eyes shot back open, hazel and darting.

“Rarity?” he asked, unsure.

“I’m here, Lero,” said the white mare as she moved around the table next to him. “I’m right here. It’s alright now, my prince.” Rarity pressed up against her stallion and nuzzled Lero under his chin. Lero returned the gesture, rubbing his cheek against her and planting a gentle kiss on the top of her ear.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

They two stayed close together for the remainder of the meal.

“Star Light,” said Luna, “I would have you keep record of any petitioners that would come to my court while I am away. Most, if not all, will no doubt seek an audience with my sister after they hear of my absence, but I would have knowledge of names and issues when I return. You are to disregard any who have sought Celestia first and then turned to me in an attempt to curry favor. But please pay special attention to any that sought me first.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” said the major domo. The unicorn mare was trotting close behind her diarch, one of many who followed Luna like a tenuous litter of young following their mother.

“Should I fail to return within a year,” continued Luna, without a glance back, “I have prepared instructions for my Night Guard and for my staff. They are kept within the sealed silver box in my study. Do not break the seal on it until a year and a day after my departure. Distribute the named envelopes accordingly and follow any instructions contained within to the letter.” The Princess of the Night halted and turned on the stunned mare. “Is that clear, Dame Star Light?”

“C-Clear as spring water, Your Highness,” stammered Star Light. “Um, where exactly-”

“Nowhere that need concern you, Star Light,” said Luna. The princess turned back and continued down the hallway. When she reached the winding staircase at the heart of her tower, she turned her attention to one of her thestrals. “Captain Night Song, have you acquired the items I requested from the armory?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” said the officer. “A few were in some state of disrepair but the master of arms has been able to work his magic. They shall be ready for you by dawn.”

“Excellent,” said Luna. “Now, before I depart, I must speak with my sister. Star Light? Be swift and bring word to my sister that I have some important matters to discuss with her.”

The other mare bowed and turned, leaving the small group just as Luna arrived at the main door of the tower. “The rest of you, be about your tasks. I do not wish to be disturbed, lest it is my sister.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the remaining ponies said with deep bows. With a single flap of her great wings, Luna launched herself upwards, soaring up through the heart of the Night Tower.

Celestia had ordered the tower’s renovation before Luna had ever first set hoof in Canterlot. On the morning after the Summer Sun Celebration, all those years ago, Celestia had sent a dispatch to the castle, commanding that the tower be cleaned spire to foundation and prepped to receive royal occupants. And while the town of Ponyville celebrated the return of Celestia and the defeat of Nightmare Moon, a crew of no less than fifty servants scoured the old tower and had converted it into a living space fit for a Princess.

Before then, the tower had been home to the Royal Astronomical Society, an order dedicated to the study and charting of the night sky and all its heavenly bodies, which, coincidentally, counted one noteworthy duke among its ranks: Lucent Noctis de Smaragdvea, father of Twilight Sparkle. It came to no surprise to Celestia the next day when the head of the Society, a wrinkled crone of an unicorn mare named Nocte Quaesitor, arrived the very next day to submit her full-hearted disapproval for the situation. Celestia had politely listened to the mare’s grievances and, with the practiced grace from more than a millennia of ruling, told the mare that she would “take her objections under consideration”.

That night, Celestia held a small “Welcome Home” dinner for Luna and had completely put the R.A.S. out of her mind.

For the first year, Luna had spent almost all of her time in the Tower, venturing out only to dine with Celestia or to Canterlot Archives to study the history for the past thousand years; catching up on all the major events she had missed during her banishment had consumed her for the first few months.

Luna had also spent a considerable time redecorating the tower to suit her own tastes. The marble walls of the interior had been transmuted into lazulite, the white and gold motifs replaced with dark blues, purples and black that she found more pleasing.

Those were very difficult times for Luna. She felt completely isolated; any friends or lovers, every pony she ever knew were long dead and turned to dust. The world had moved on without her, only remembering her as a scary story to frighten foals with at night, her position fading in the annals of myth and legend. When she had finally felt ready to take on more official roles in court life, the nobility had shunned her, seeing her as either a pretender, a poor, frail copy of Celestia, or as an unrepentant monster that would bring about eternal night at the first possible chance.

After one ill-fated meeting, where several nobles had called for her imprisonment or banishment, and a particularly foul duchess had only referred to her as “Nightmare Moon” or “the Night Mare”, Luna had retreated to the Night Tower and refused to emerge for a whole month.

Celestia had been there, of course, and had reacted as any big sister would: the nobles soon found themselves quite out of the sun princess’s favor and the duchess in question soon took a permanent leave to her Maribbean retreat. Celestia spent the month counseling her sister, spending all of her free time with her.

“They still hate Us, Tia,” Luna had said. “After a thousand years, they still hate us.”

Celestia had suggested that Luna should spend some time in Ponyville with her student and friends, away from the pressures of Canterlot. And so it had finally been Twilight Sparkle’s efforts on Nightmare Night that had fully brought Luna out of her depression. Luna was extremely grateful to her and her friends.

The events of the Blank Plague had brought them closer together, but it was Lero that had truly helped her through the worst of it. While Lero took care of Celestia’s and Cadence’s needs during the day, she had visited him in his dreams to thank him and diminish his anxieties about his duties and his mares, whom were also stricken with the magic-eating plague. After a while, it had been Lero that ended up soothing her own worries, when the pressures of running the struggling country had begun to take their toll on her.

Then, when it was her turn to suffer the fever’s crucible, Lero had cared for her as well, while the other Element Bearers had taken on her aspects and duties. For this, Luna felt she was indebted to the human and the Elements. When Celestia had sent Starswirl’s spellbook to Twilight and the madness of the Swap had come down on the human and his herd, Luna felt another heavy burden on her shoulders; Celestia had forbidden Luna from aiding Twilight in finding a cure.

Luna could only watch as the ponies that redeemed her and the human that was one of her few friends slowly descended into despair and madness. And for this, a new rift had opened between her and her sister.

Even if Twilight did eventually find a cure, Luna did not know if she had it in her to forgive Celestia for putting all of them through this trial.

Her thoughts drifting back to the present, Luna opened the door to her private chambers. She stopped mid-step when she saw another pony sitting at her desk; tall of frame, white of coat, and even more regal than she, herself.

“You’re leaving,” whispered Celestia. It was not a question, more of a statement of fact.

“Indeed, sister,” said Luna tersely, as she walked over to her library and started to reshelve several loose books. “You are no doubt aware of the situation in Ponyville.”

“I received a letter from Twilight first thing this morning, spelling out the real story,” said Celestia. “Can you imagine my surprise when I learned of this plan from her instead of my own sister?”

“I knew your student would inform you and I had to make other preparations.”

“Preparations?” asked the elder alicorn.

“Equipment to ready. Instructions for the servants and the Guard to be carried out when I leave, and the like.”

“And do you have a plan for when you confront… them?”

Her eyes were full of such sisterly caring, it made Luna’s heart ache. Yet, at the same time, those eyes also showed patronization. Lofty underestimation. In those eyes, Luna ranked somewhere above a convicted criminal who’d served her sentence dutifully, and a beloved child with deep-seated socialization issues.

Luna walked over to an ebony boudoir and opened it. There, arranged in ordered splendor, was her battle armor, polished to a mirrored shine. After the Changeling invasion at her niece’s wedding, Luna had commissioned its creation, infusing modern smithing and enchantmenting techniques into the ancient military designs.

It was a thing of beauty, a stunning vision of silver trimming and midnight blue steel, patterned with designs honoring her mighty comets. The centerpiece was a white moonstone as large as a human fist, polished and sculpted to represent her fullest moon, and surrounded by pearl inlay to mirror the moon’s halo. Hanging beside the armor was a pair of shining wing blades, sharp enough to cut through the strongest steels and enchanted to never dull nor break.

Luna lifted the polished helm with her magic and examined her reflection.

“Punishment, dear sister,” said Luna firmly. “The plan is to exact a very harsh punishment on them and their followers.”

Celestia felt her breath catch at something she saw in Luna’s eye. An old spark she had not seen since before the unification wars over a millennium ago. She knew that this wasn’t Princess Luna, the Keeper of the Moon, she was looking at right now.

That cold stare, that steel voice, the features like a statue of living lazulite, no.

This was the mare that humbled the great dragons of the south, the alicorn that sank Marelantis beneath the seas, whose presence sent ripples throughout all of creation.

This was Luna the War Mistress, the Oncoming Night, the Tide Reaver, the Nightbringer, the Dark Death from the Heavens, the Bringer of Eternal-

“You can’t go,” whispered Celestia, planting herself in front of the doorway.

Luna raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon, sister?”

Celestia pleaded, “You can’t go! What about your duties? Have you forgotten your responsibilities to your subjects?!”

“I have left instructions. The few who attend my Night Court will be taken care of.”

“What about their dreams? Who will protect them?”

“They have survived for a thousand years without me to guide them through their existential and emotional crises. I think they can survive another brief departure.”

“Would you have me lift the sun and moon by myself for another thousand years?”

“You were always the more powerful one, Celestia, and I have all the faith in the world that you can easily fall back into your old routine.” Celestia was quiet for a moment before approaching Luna.

“Please, sister, hear me out on this,” said Celestia, using the most motherly voice she could muster. She came close to Luna and placed a pale hoof on her sister’s shoulder. Though white alicorn was trying to maintain an air of dignity and calm, her sister could feel the faintest tremors running through her sister’s hoof.

“The world’s different from how it was a thousand years ago,” said Celestia. “Nopony expects you to make a personal appearance on the front lines! We are the rulers of this kingdom. As such, I have access to no end of specialist task forces. Elite organizations whose members are all tough, capable, combat-ready ponies of astonishing intelligence and accomplishment, loyal to the crown, and sworn to safeguard our secrets. Let them send their best agents to accompany Lero in this rescue operation you’re so set upon! I would gladly declassify their personnel files for you, so you could hoof-pick who to send! Should they fail, they are ultimately far more expendable than you, Luna. No three fillies are worth losing my sister over.”

Luna stiffened and pushed the white hoof from her shoulder.

“You would only succeed in giving these interlopers more ponies to turn into toys, sister,” she said. “No pony alive is able to deal with them, save the two of us. And between us, I am by far the more expendable one.” Celestia’s jaw dropped and Luna knew it was time to press the matter home.

“However much they call me ‘princess’ or ‘diarch’, dear sister, this is still very much your kingdom. It always has been. I even dare say that there would be a great many ponies that would celebrate my disappearance.”

Luna stared into her sister’s magenta eyes. She spotted something that could have been tears collecting in their corners. “You speak of me abandoning my duties, dear sister.” She removed the wing blades from the boudoir, allowing the shining metal to catch the light. “This has always been my duty.”

“So what’s left on the list?” Lero asked, as he walked out the restaurant’s front door.

Rarity examined the remainder of the list. “Let’s see,” she mused. “Dried food. Check. Tents. Check. Water jugs. Check. Now all that we need is to pick up the-”

“-aitors!” came a distant voice. “That’s what the two of you are! A couple of monkey-loving traitors!”

Rarity perked her ears up. ‘That voice,’ she thought despondently. ‘There’s only one mare I know that shrieking could possibly belong to.’

Sure enough, further down the street, positively screaming her head off, was Honeydew. She was trailing behind two other mares, a pegasus and another earth pony. Rarity recognized them both. They were Honeydew’s two younger sisters, Honeybee and Honeysuckle.

Honeybee was draping one of her yellow wings over Honeysuckle, who leaned in close to her big sister and kept her head low. Bee cast a very dirty look back at Honeydew.

“Oh sure,” shouted Honeydew, “just try to ignore you big sister and run off to the ape and his nags! I’m sure they’ll be overjoyed to let you join their little freakshow! You’ll get to feel those bald, oversized rat claws of his clinging to the fur of your coats! He’ll disembowel the fattest pig from Sweet Apple Acres, and you can all gorge yourselves on its entrails together! Hey, monkey boy! Honeysuckle likes it when you take her up the-”

“Shut up, Dew!” Honeybee yelled over her shoulder. “I have half a mind to come over there and break your damn jaw!” She turned back to her younger sister, speaking in a soft and comforting voice. “It’s okay, little flower, just ignore her.”

The eldest Honey sister stopped in her tracks. She clenched her jaw tight as she tried desperately to hold in an ear-splitting shriek, then stomped off into a nearby alley. A moment later, a large and partially caved-in trashcan came flying out into the street, followed by a hail of incoherent screaming (except for the occasional “ape” or “bonobo”) and splintering wood. Several onlookers hurried to give the area a wide berth.

Ever since an accident a couple years ago where Lero had saved Honeybee from drowning, the younger Honey sisters had abandoned their habit of harassing his little herd, which in turn had led to a severe falling-out with their eldest sibling. Honeybee went as far as bringing Lero’s family a large package of salmon specially flown in from the coastal city of Typhoon as a sort of peace offering, while Honeysuckle had become quite friendly with the ponies of Herd Bellerophon, though she still acted a little nervous around Lero.

“Oh my, what a surprise,” whispered Rarity. “Honeydew seems to be, ahem, off her tosser again.” Before Lero could respond, Honeybee and Honeysuckle had stopped in front of them.

“Um, hey, Lero,” said Honeybee. “Uh, sorry you guys had to see that.”

Lero raised an eyebrow as something expensive-sounding broke in the distance. “Uh, no worries, Honeybee.” He knelt down and regarded the shaking earth pony in front of him. “Are you okay, Ms. Honeysuckle?” he asked gently.

The trembling mare nodded once then looked up at the human with teary eyes. “I-I’ll be okay,” she whimpered.

“Oh, you poor dear,” soothed Rarity. “I’m so very sorry.”

“Please don’t be,” said Honeysuckle. She stood up a little straighter and wiped her eyes with a forehoof. “After everything we did to you and Mr. Lero, we’re the ones who’re sorry.”

“Hey now,” said Lero. “We all buried that hatchet long ago.” At the confused looks the other two mares gave him, he quickly amended, “Er, I mean it’s all water under the bridge.” Another piercing scream sounded in the distance. “For most of us anyways,” he added under his breath.

Honeysuckle offered a little smile and nod. Honeybee looked up at the couple and said, “We heard about what you guys are doing.” The pegasus pawed the ground. “And, well, I gotta say, that’s pretty damn cool. I hope you all stay safe.”

Lero offered a smile. “Well, thank you, Honeybee.”

“Um,” said Honeysuckle. She reached into a pair of saddlebags and removed a small cloth bag. “‘e ‘ot ou somefing,” she mouthed around the bag.

Honeybee mirrored her sister’s action and placed a small bag of her own in front of Rarity. “Consider it a ‘good luck gift’,” she told them.

Rarity, who was quite surprised by the acts of kindness, said, “Oh! Well, thank you, darling.” She lifted the small sack with her magic and opened the drawstring. Inside was a small bottle of golden honey.

“I know it’s not much, but whenever we used to go out for camping trips, I always brought some honey,” said Honeybee. “It’s the perfect treat in the morning. Plus it won’t spoil! So, um, yeah. From my own beehives.”

Rarity beheld the little bottle and smiled warmly at the pegasus. “Oh thank you, darling.” She moved forward and surprised the pegasus with a gentle hug. Honeybee stiffened a little but smiled nonetheless and returned the gesture.

Lero opened up the sack Honeysuckle gave them. Inside was a small amount of sweet-scented white flowers. Lero picked one out of the bag and recognized it.

“Honeysuckle blossoms?” he said. The earth pony mare kept her gaze down and fidgeted.

“I-I know you, um, don’t eat flowers, L-Lero,” she stuttered quietly. “I-It’s more for, um, Rarity and th-the others.” She closed her eyes tightly. “I’m sorry! I should have gotten something you all would have enjoyed together but I didn’t ‘cause I’m just a dumb-”

“Honeysuckle,” said Lero, his voice low and gentle. A gentle hand on her shoulder snapped the poor mare out of her ramblings and she looked up at the human. “It still means something for me.” At the mares’ confused looks, he continued, “My mother grew these same flowers in her garden.”

This surprised the earth pony. “You’re saying that honeysuckle blossoms also grow in that other world you were born in? The Human World?”

Lero nodded. “I grew up with their smell in my house for years. So, yes, I cannot eat them, but I can still appreciate their fragrance and their beauty. And I know that the girls will enjoy them. They are a very lovely gift.” Lero bowed his head slightly. “Thank you very much, Honeysuckle.”

Honeysuckle genuinely smiled and nodded her head. “Y-You’re welcome!” she beamed. “Good luck, Mr. Lero!”

With that, the two sisters departed, leaving Rarity and Lero on the street corner waving. “That was very kind of you, my prince.”

“She’s really a nice mare,” said Lero. “I just hope she will eventually stop being so nervous around me.”

Rarity rubbed her cheek against Lero’s. “I think, you’ve made a very good impression on her today. Both of them, in fact. It’s a wonderful start.”

“I won’t let you,” came a harsh rasp. Both Rarity and Lero turned and saw Honeydew standing before them. Her breaths were coming out in gasps and sweat matted her mane and coat. She pointed an accusing hoof at the pair.

“I know what you’re doing, you freaks,” she seethed. “You’re looking to corrupt my baby sister, turn her into one of you deviants! Oh yes, I can see through your lies and schemes. Start by acting all sweet and nice, get them both to give you gifts, and then BAM! She’ll be on her fetlocks in front of you, begging for your… your bonobo bits!”

Honeydew slammed both her hooves into the cobblestone street and the ground shook, nearly causing Lero to lose his balance from his crouch. The stonework under the raging mare’s hoof had cracked, webbing outwords a good two feet.

“Well you won’t get to her! You hear me, you freaks?! Not ever!” Honeydew panted and bored her eyes into the couple, as if willing that all of her hate would somehow cause the two to burst into flames. “So is it even really true that you’re going off to ‘rescue’ those three brats?”

“Yes, it is,” Lero told Honeydew, with cold courtesy. “My herd and I will be venturing into wild lands far from the safety of pony civilization to find those girls and bring them back home. We may all very well die.”

Her breath caught at the sincerity in his voice. Intense emotion gleamed in her eyes.

“Well then, here’s my farewell gift to you and your little group of perverts.”

Honeydew drew in a lungful of air.

“I HOPE YOU ALL DIE OUT THERE!! I HOPE NONE OF YOU EVER COME BACK TO PONYVILLE AND YOU ALL JUST DISAPPEAR FOREVER!! AND AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED, THOSE THREE ROTTEN DELINQUENTS HAD IT COMING TO THEM FOR A LONG TIME! SO DO ME A FAVOR, AND GET YOURSELVES EATEN BY CHANGELINGS AND GET CRAPPED OUT IN THE BADLANDS FOR THE DUNG BEETLES TO STUFF THEIR LITTLE FAT FACES WITH!!”

And with a harsh, hoarse snort, Honeydew then turned and stalked off, ignoring the conspicuous glares and harsh whispers from the surrounding ponies.

“Damn them, damn them, damn them, damn them, damn them, damn them, damn them,” she muttered to herself.

Somewhat stunned by the level of hostility, Rarity took a moment to compose herself.

“Well,” she said as she elegantly coiffed her purple mane back in place with a touch of magic, “that should have been expected.”

“Uh, yeah,” said Lero, still a little shaken. Rarity took notice of her stallion’s state.

“Oh don’t you bother with that nag, my sweet prince,” she said. “Come along. We’ll finish up the list, go home and pack, then settle down for a nice dinner at M. Cuisine’s.” Rarity suddenly had a devilish look in her sapphire eyes. “Then afterwards, my dear, sweet prince…”

Rarity brushed her long tail under Lero’s nose, the mischievous look never leaving as she stalked away with her tail still hiked up, giving Lero a very clear look beneath. Lero stared, blinked, then grinned ear to ear.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, walking off with an extra spring in his step.

“Now, are you sure you have everything you need, Ms. Tenderpaw?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Mr. Wiggums has some very particular issues. You need to-”

“Rainbow Dash,” said a yellow earth mare with a deadpan look. She had sky blue and white mane that was held in a tight bun. Her cutie mark was a trio of a dog, a cat, and a bird. “I didn’t spent six years in veterinary school for my doctorate, and not know how to treat a doberman with high blood pressure.”

The cyan pegasus shrunk a little. “Oh, um, right, sorry Ms.- I mean Dr. Tenderpaw.”

The other mare smiled then playfully hoofed the pegasus in the shoulder. “Ah, don’t sweat it, Dash,” she said. “I know you’re worried about your animals and all. But rest assured, I’ll look after each and every one of them with every ounce of my professionalism!”

Rainbow smiled a little but still nervously tapped her hooves together. The following morning had seen the town vet had arriving at sunrise, exactly on time as requested, to help Rainbow with the animals. Since the caretaker would be gone for some time, she knew that she had to make sure every one of her animals were well tended to in her absence.

“So, um, you’ll take care of all of them, right?” asked Rainbow. The trio of butterflies on her flank began to vibrate. “You have the space? Do you need more money?! I-I’m not saying you can’t or don’t have the resources or anything like that, but, well if you need anything more-” The tirade was suddenly halted by a yellow hoof.

“Dash,” interjected Tenderpaw, “relax. You can trust me. I’m a doctor. And on top of it all, you’re a national hero. Believe me, I’m happy Princess Celestia is paying me to care for your animals while you’re out rescuing fillies from changelings.”

Rainbow Dash nodded her head once and then slowly breathed, mimicking the exercise Twilight had once showed her.

In then out. In… then out.

“Okay,” she finally said. “Thanks, Doctor Tenderpaw.”

The vet smiled. “Anytime, Rainbow Dash.”

The two mares exited the small cottage as Rainbow continued her brief tour, having already shown the vet where everything was stored: all of the food, the staggering amount of supplies, toys, cleaning implements, and other important pet care equipment. Now she was showing Tenderpaw around the cottage’s exterior: the chicken coup, the birdhouses, and some of the dens where the other animals liked to stay.

Just after she had wrapped up and Tenderpaw had said her goodbyes, Rainbow Dash spotted several other ponies coming down the path to her cottage, along with the tall and lumbering silhouette that instantly set her heart aflutter.

“Lero!” she called out. She pushed her wings into motion and instantly sped towards the human, her arms finding themselves around his neck in a heartbeat, though the large backpack he wore made it a little more difficult than she would have liked.

Lero laughed and returned the gesture, planting a kiss on Dash’s cheek. “Good morning, Rainbow Dash,” he said. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Kinda,” she said, rubbing the back of her head bashfully. “I have to admit, I didn’t get as much sleep as I should have. I’d’ve loved to have slept at your place again, but I was just so nervous last night! I must have packed and repacked my kit a dozen times.” She then looked up at Lero then landed on her hindquarters. “What about you guys? Did any of you get much sleep?”

Now it was Lero’s turn to rub the back of his head. “Well…”

A flashback to a mass of tangled sheets, sweating bodies, lustful moans and seeking tongues came to the forefront of his mind.

“More or less,” he admitted through a blazing blush.

Rainbow tilted her head in confusion, then felt her own cheeks burn and her wings stiffen slightly. “Oh. Oh!” She quickly averted her gaze, failing miserably from picturing herself in that bed right alongside him and the other mares.

Rarity, who had watched the whole exchange with undisguised amusement, moved herself alongside Rainbow, giving the embarrassed pegasus and quick nuzzle on the cheek.

“Oh it’s quite alright, darling,” she said. The white unicorn then moved closer, whispering into her friend’s ear. “There’ll be plenty of time for more of that when we all return.”

Rainbow’s pupils shrank to pinpoints as her wings fully extended with an audible “pomf!”, her cheeks blazing so brightly they matched a part of her mane. Lero used every bit of his willpower to prevent from simultaneously dying of embarrassment and laughing his head off at Dash’s discomfort.

Behind them, Twilight and Lyra both watched the whole thing but did not bother to hide their own amusement, quietly laughing behind raised hooves.

“So, Rainbow,” said Lyra, snorting one last time, “do you have everything you need?”

The question finally caused Rainbow’s brain to reboot from its embarrassment-overload induced crash, and she nodded, “Yeah! We got all the things you guys sent over and everything is all packed up!” She took to the air and led the small group around the side of her house to her backyard.

Lero whistled in amazement. A small army of mice, squirrels, and raccoons crawled around a pile of packed camping bags. Each one contained a supply of dehydrated food, water canteens, and other assorted bits of gear, all expertly packed as only the surprisingly dextrous and intelligent pack of rodents could do.

“Red Tail, there,” said Rainbow, pointing a particularly large squirrel, “has a lot of experience with getting things to fit like that. He helps all the other squirrels out with their own stashes whenever winter comes. He can fit an entire year’s worth of nuts in a single den!”

The squirrel puffed out his little chest at the praise but then quickly shrank back down as Dash leaned forward. “And he knows exactly how important this is for his Momma, don’t you, Red Tail? He knows how important it is that all of these supplies are packed perfectly, right?” The squirrel nodded his head so fast that Lero swore he could hear something rattling before turning back to the other animals, squeaking out fervent commands for them to hurry.

Rainbow nodded once, still proud of how well the animals retained their strict discipline, then turned to the rest of the herd. “Everything is just about ready here,” she said chipperly, completely ignoring the looks of shock the other mares were giving her. “I guess we’re just waiting on the others and Princess Luna now, huh? Hey, have you guys had breakfast yet?”

“Er, some tea would be fine, thanks,” said Twilight, still flabbergasted at the display.

Soon enough, all five members of the not-so-little herd were gathered around Rainbow Dash’s table, sipping rosehip tea and making small talk.

“So,” said Dash, “how long before the others get here?”

“Soon, I think,” said Twilight. “I wanted to get everypony over here to say… goodbye.” Twilight looked down, her ears drooping. “We may never…”

“Oh Twilight,” tutted a voice, “always such a stick in the mud.”

Everyone at the table stared at the unexpected voice. Twilight glanced down at her teacup just in time to see her teacup glance back. The scholar shrieked, and the teacup soared through the air before stopping mid-flight. An eagle talon emerged from the cup and grabbed the handle, tipping the cup down as something poured out of it.

That something formed itself into the familiar, mismatched shape of Discord.

“Only you could make this whole affair sound so dreadfully dismal,” said the chaos god. Discord lounged back in midair as a stream of tea poured out of the still-resting teapot and took a twisting path upwards to his cup. He cast a smug glance over to Lero. “Well, you and Captain Cuckoo over there.”

Lero furrowed his eyebrows and swatted away a tiny bird now circling his head, cheeping “cuckoo! cuckoo!”

“Discord,” he gave the chaos god a smirk. “if anyone here suffers from insanity, it clearly must be you.”

“Be nice, Lero,” Dash implored, (ignorant of how well the draconequus and human already knew each other.) “Discord’s been really helpful! He’s given me a lot of really good advice.” She tapped her hooves together, blushing softly. “On a lot of things,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Indeed, Mr. Human,” said Discord, taking a sizable bite out of the teacup, allowing its newfound caramel center to trail thin strings of sugary deliciousness into his mouth. “Besides, I resent the implication that I am suffer from any sort of mental abnormalities when I am clearly enjoying every moment of them!”

With a hearty laugh, the draconequus popped the remainder of his teacup in his mouth, chewing it obnoxiously before blowing a large porcelain bubble. He then took the mass and affixed to the cottage’s ceiling, turning it into a ceiling lamp with the snap of his fingers.

“Well then,” said Rarity, who was still offput by the reformed spirit’s antics, “why don’t Rainbow and I go see what we can do about getting the rest of the supplies ready, hmm?”

Lero nodded. The two swapped mares then departed, leaving only “exempt” individuals now occupying the room. “So,” said Lero, “come by to see us all off then?”

“Is that sorrow I hear in your voice, ol’ chum? I never took you for one to get all teary-eyed for goodbyes.” Discord shrugged. “Well at least this version of you probably would. That other guy would probably just stalk off into the sunset, acting all mysterious and brooding.”

Then he leaned in closer. “Though, if you ask me, I think he only acts that way because he knows chicks dig tall, dark, and brooding.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Wait a second,‘the other guy’?” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “You know about The Lost?”

“Well, I’ve had my suspicions,” admitted Discord, “though to be perfectly honest, I didn’t imagine it was a whole other personality. What do you think, Lero? Could I borrow him a little? Think of it!” Discord grabbed Lero around the shoulders. As a fedora appeared on the draconequus’ head and a cigar in both his and Lero’s mouths, he waved his lion’s paw out in a sweeping gesture. “Two cats out on the town, tearing up the night, hitting all the scenes-”

His rant was suddenly cut off when Lero’s hand wrapped around his muzzle, closing it with a cartoonish ‘squeak’. “Maybe next time, buddy,” said the human as he pocketed the cigar. His good-natured laugh was only slightly forced.

Suddenly, Discord whirled on him, his yellow manic eyes growing wide and watery. “But what if there is no next time?! You’re all going off to the edge of reality, venturing into the very heart of madness itself! I could never see any of you ever again!”

Lero, Twilight, and Lyra suddenly found themselves in a spine-crushing hug. Doleful violin music was playing in the background. “WHO WILL I BARE MY SOUL TO?!”

A sudden scratching of a record ended the violin strumming, along with Discord’s sorrowful tone. “Well, should you guys ever find yourselves a day’s travel north of the heart of madness, there’s a lovely little cabin by the lake you should stop and visit. I have a timeshare there. Nice view, but the neighbors leave something to desire.”

He pulled a brochure out of nothing and flipped it open, revealing a nondescript log cabin by a picturesque lake with a smiling, (if somewhat creepy-looking), human man standing out front. “For more information, call Stanley” the brochure encouraged, just above its e-mail address. Before Twilight could question how Discord could possibly have such a thing, the brochure snapped out of existence. “Key’s under the the skull by the front door. I however cannot recommend diving in the lake.”

“So what does bring you here then?” asked Lyra, who seemed to be taking it all in stride as only a grandmaster could.

“Aside from the goodbyes?” said Discord. “I came by to ask Twilight for a favor.”

“What?” asked Twilight.

“Since our lovely Rainbow Dash is moving out and has made arrangements for all her little animal friends to stay with the local vet, I was wondering if I could take care of those other critters you’ve been using in your little mad scien- I mean, completely ethical experiments of yours, dear Twilight.”

Discord once again took on his version of the ‘sad puppy eyes’. “Pleeeeeeeaaaaase, Twilight!” he whined. “I’ve always wanted a chicken I could play fetch with!”

Twilight looked away with exasperation. “Well… they need to go somewhere, I guess it’s okay...” Then her eyes lit up with a profound thought, and she turned to face Discord again.

“On one condition: you have to take the whole rest of the cloud house with you as well. All my files, all my research notes, every shred of evidence… no one else can ever find them!” Twilight jabbed a purple hoof into Discord’s chest to emphasize each point. “No one can ever know! No one must ever try to replicate my experiments! Discord, until I’ve come back from this rescue mission and am ready to resume my search for a cure, you have to move that cloud house someplace very far away… completely unreachable by all the Swapped and Bewitched and… and their descendants. In case I should fail to return.”

She licked her lips nervously.

“Oh marvelous!” said Discord, squishing both his paws into his cheeks, causing the three he had just been holding to fall to the floor. “I think that cloud house will look simply smashing next to the graviton fountain in my house!”

“The what fountain?” stammered Lero.

“And DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING in there!” the purple unicorn bellowed. “That place is NOT your playground! When I come back, I want everything INTACT, just the way I left it!”

“Oh Twilight, after all I’ve done for you and your herd, you should know by now that you can trust me,” said Discord, his palms held together as a halo appeared above his head.

“Well, yeah, I guess,” admitted Twilight. “But still!”

Discord blew a raspberry at the purple unicorn. “Oh please! Besides, what’s the worse thing that could happen? I switch places with old sun butt?”

Twilight nearly had a heart attack at the sheer thought of her beloved mentor being swapped with the draconequus. “I’m… I’m going to go help Rainbow and Rarity,” she told the others.

Discord simply laughed.

As Lero made the last adjustments to his backpack, now loaded with a sizeable portion of the supplies, he glanced upwards as a shadow fell over the yard. The heavy beat of great, flapping wings and the impact of a carriage on the ground announced the arrival of Princess Luna, along with several Night Guard sentinels. The thestrals wore fully-covered helms, their eye slits encased with tinted glass which protected their sensitive eyes from the morning sun. Each one was carrying their own personal saddlebags.

As soon as Luna had stepped onto the ground, her guards proceeded to unload several more bags from the black sky carriage.

“Good morning, my friends,” Princess Luna greeted. “Tis good to see you all.”

“Princess Luna!” said Twilight, trotting over to the alicorn, only to stop short. For Luna was no longer wearing her customary regalia.

Her royal ebony chestpiece, her silver shoes, even her crown was missing, allowing the night princess’ mane to flow freely around her. In their place was a new set of accoutrements: a blue steel chestguard with a stone centerpiece, matching gauntlets that protected her legs from fetlock upwards, with similar arrangements made along Luna’s sides and flank. Twilight caught sight of something silvery lining the alicorn’s wings and recognised them as wing blades.

Twilight was unsure how to react. Seeing the princess, whom the scholarly unicorn now counted among her closest friends and confidantes, dressed so… militarily, evoked brief flashbacks to when she had first encountered the dark alicorn as Nightmare Moon.

“My goodness,” spoke Rarity. Twilight looked behind her to see the alabaster unicorn staring at Luna, her eyes positively sparkling. “You look simply fabulous, Your Highness!”

Luna could only raise her eyebrows at the other mare’s praise. “We, er, I thank you, Dame Rarity,” she said in surprise.

“Oh please, Princess Luna,” said Rarity, casually trotting over to Luna, “call me ‘Rarity’, darling. After all, we’re going to be spending so much time on the road together, there’s no need for such formalities.” Rarity took in the sight of Luna in her armor. “I must say, I simply adore your new ensemble. It’s so… so… commanding! It’s like something straight out of a classical saga!”

Luna regained her regal pose. “Quite right, Rarity,” she said. “Equestria was a completely different world, back in the days before my banishment. You’d have loved living in it, I daresay. I had this new armor fashioned in the stylings which were popular back then. I once owned a similar set many centuries ago.”

“What happened to it?”

“Lost to the ravages of time, I fear.”

“Well, it is a great loss, especially if it was half as lovely as this new piece that you are so… very graciously sporting.”

Luna tittered while Twilight could only stare at the surrealness of it all. If not for the Rainbow Mark on her flank, she would’ve sworn that the white mare in front of her was Rarity the Fashionista.

Then again, despite being swapped with Rainbow the Weathermare, Rarity was still Rarity and would always have an eye for the finer things, from clouds to breastplates.

Lyra’s sly remark from two nights ago suddenly came to the forefront of her brain as she continued to watch the two mares... well not quite flirting, but it was pretty darn close.

Wishing to steer their conversation in another direction, Twilight glanced curiously at Luna’s guards. “Are all those things coming with us?” she asked, eyeing the trunks they were continuing to unload.

“No,” said Luna, “not all of them. Most of those are going to remain here with my Night Guards.” She motioned to the half-dozen thestrals around them. “I have instructed them to construct an observation post around our enemy’s gateway in the forest, once we’ve found it.”

Lero looked rather dubious. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Princess?”

Luna turned her attention to the human. “Indeed, Sir Michaelides,” she said. “I believe that we should have constant vigil on whatever path of incursion these creatures may take. Tis simple military strategy.”

Lero was about to say more when something else caught his attention. Trotting up the path to the cottage was a larger group of ponies. Lero recognized them all immediately: Fluttershy, the Apple Family, Herd Magnum, Spike, Quickfix, and even Cheerilee, who was walking very closely with Big Macintosh.

“Sorry we’re late,” said Spike, hopping down from Applejack’s back and waddling over to Twilight and Lero. “Had a little trouble with somepony.” He whispered, jerking a clawed thumb back towards the shivering pegasus mother. Poor Quickfix looked even more anxious than before; her main was full of split ends, her coat was matted, and her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, all pointing to gigantic amounts of stress and lack of sleep.

“Cut her some slack, Spike,” Lero quietly growled. “Her daughter’s been foalnapped!”

The young drake only crossed his short arms. “Yeah, well, doesn’t mean she has be such a bi-”

“Spike!” hissed Twilight. “That’s enough!”

Spike held onto his petulant look for a moment longer before he sighed exasperatedly. “Right, sorry, it’s just… well, this whole thing sucks.” He looked up at both of his adoptive parents, his demeanor shifting to his usual childishness. “We were just starting to make some real headway! Everything was starting go back to the way it should be.” He gave a quick sniffle. “And now you’re all leaving…”

“Oh Spike...” Any annoyance melted away as Twilight bent forward and pulled the baby dragon into a motherly hug, his stubby arms clinging to her middle. “I’m so sorry about this, but you know I can’t take you with us. It’s far too dangerous.”

Spike gave a muffled sniff from the unicorn’s chest. “I know,” he said.

“But I promise you,” said Twilight, pulling back, “We will be back. We are coming home, mister.” She smiled warmly, but both Lero and Spike knew that Twilight was on the verge of her own tears.

Lero put a heavy hand on the drake’s shoulder. “You’re going to have to hold down the fort for a while, little dude,” he told him. “You’re going to have to take care of both Fluttershy and Applejack while we’re gone. It’s a really big responsibility. We’re all counting on you now.”

Spike nodded his head. “You got it, bro. No matter what happens, I promise I’ll take care of Fluttershy and Applejack until you guys return.”

“And remember,” said Lero, pointing a strict, parental finger, “no wild parties and no girls after 9 pm.” Spike only laughed and the two of them fist-bumped.

All the others were also saying their goodbyes. Lero saw Pearl and Magnum give Rarity a warm hug.

“You take care of yerself, eh?” said Magnum. “Don’t go takin’ any big risks.” The white stallion maintained his trademark fatherly grin as he spoke to the other unicorn. “Yer a nice gal, Rarity. I’d hate to see anything happen to ya, eh?”

“I understand perfectly, Mr. Magnum,” said Rarity, looking from the stallion to his wife. She couldn’t quite fathom why she seemed to feel twice as emotional, whenever she happened to be around these two.

Sure, she had occasionally come across the pair as they stopped in Ponyville during their many, many travels. They seemed like a nice enough couple. She could appreciate why Magnum and Pearl had such a strong connection with the Apple Family, and thus felt a sort familial bond with them, despite not being related to the pair by any sort of blood.

And yet…

“Oh, look at you,” said Pearl, cupping Rarity’s cheeks in her hooves. “I remember when you first came to Ponyville. I looked at Magnum and said, ‘Dear, that there’s a mare whose going places, don’t cha know?’ I said it!”

Rarity laughed. “Oh Pearl,” she said, “you didn’t!”

“I did! I said, ‘That Rarity, she’s going ta do big things!’” The plump unicorn sighed heavily. “Who knew that she’d be off rescuing our little goirl.” Pearl drew Rarity in for one last big hug. “You bring her back, ya hear? You bring my Sweetie Belle back ta us.”

Rarity suddenly felt very overwhelmed. “I-I promise, Mo-” She stopped herself. Why had she-

“But Ah brought mah stuff an’ everythang!” came a sudden whine. Rarity snapped herself back to reality and turned to the source of the disturbance.

Pinkie Pie looked like she had just lost the biggest rodeo of the season. Her eyes and voice, so full of pleading, fell on deaf ears as she stood before Lero and Twilight. Pinkie carried a set of overstuffed saddlebags, amateurly packed to the point that even Rarity could tell she had all of the wrong things with her.

“I’m so sorry, Pinkie,” said Lero, who knelt before the pink farm mare, “but you can’t come with us.”

“But she’s kin!” wailed Pinkie. “She’s mah sister! How can y’all stand there an’ tell me Ah can’t go an’ protect mah sister!”

The trio of apples on her flank were twitching at an alarming pace. It wasn’t that long ago that Lero Michealides was able to show Pinkie how her mark actually represented her love for her family far more than anything farm-related. Now he would have to choose his next words very carefully, otherwise all that might very well blow up in his face, right here and now.

“Because…” He turned his gaze to both Granny Smith and Big Mac. “Because your family needs you here.”

Pinkie’s eyes grew wide.

“Big Mac can’t manage the farm by himself, now can he?” Lero asked. “And Granny Smith needs a lot of help too. How do you think they would feel if they had to deal with two missing Apple girls, huh?” Lero lifted Pinkie’s head with his hand. “They need you, Pinkie. Your family needs you now more than ever.”

“But…” whimpered Pinkie, “But Bloomy…”

“I promise you, Pinkamina Diane Pie,” said Lero, grasping Pinkie’s hoof with both of his hands, “I promise that I will bring Apple Bloom back safely. I swear it.”

Pinkie stayed quiet for a moment then, “Ya swear?”

“I swear.” Lero brought Pinkie’s hoof to his lips and gave it the briefest of kisses. Pinkie couldn’t help but giggle slightly at the feel of the human’s lips on her hoof.

“Ah’ll hold ya to that promise, Lero,” she told him.

Part of him felt guilty. Perhaps if this were a different type of enemy, Lero might well have gone ahead and welcomed Pinkie The Farmer as another companion. Pinkie was a fierce fighter, loyal friend and a fun girl to be around. She was also blessed with an uncanny sixth sense, an astonishing inventiveness, and had grown strong enough to buck apple trees all day alongside Big Macintosh.

Alas, this was the Fae who had kidnapped the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Extra companions translated to extra opportunities for tragedy.

Foreknowledge and familiarity with the Fae’s bizarre world were among the most indispensable traits one could have for surviving it, even if Lero seemed to only glimmer secondhand knowledge from his other half. Then again, the Lost did seem to have the ability to surface whenever the occasion called for it, so maybe there odds weren’t quite as bad. Of the mares who would be accompanying Lero, only Princess Luna seemed to truly understand what they were going up against. That, alone, increased Luna’s survival odds tenfold… even if she’d been an earth pony instead of an alicorn.

Rarity, Twilight, and Lyra... yes, they were courageous and loyal. Yes, they were magical powerhouses. Yes, they were no strangers to adventure, or dangerous enemies. That would all be very, very helpful.

‘Assuming they can adapt,’ whispered a quiet thought.

Otherwise, bringing them into the Fae’s world would be equivalent to finding the three hardest-hitting prizefighters in women’s boxing, and dropping them straight in the heart of a jungle. Or the southernmost part of the South Pole.

And then there was Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash the Animal Caretaker. Rainbow Dash the shy and tenderhearted. Rainbow Dash who had once come this close to perishing beneath the paws of her own bunnies.

‘It’ll be okay!’ Lero struggled to assure himself. ‘You just… you just gotta think positive thoughts! Things will work out, you’ll see!’

Unconsciously, Lero felt his hand drift down to his waist and felt something cold. He glanced down and saw the dull shine of a pommel protruding from his belt.

The small knife was among one of yesterday’s acquisitions. When he and Rarity had stopped at Steel Tong’s, the local blacksmith, to build a customized frame for Lero’s backpack, Lero had allowed himself to wander around the shop and take in all of the items for sale. Among the racks of farming and gardening tools, was a large selection of knives. Though ponies didn’t make it a habit of eating red meat, there were enough fish-loving pegasi, (not to mention large-sized foodstuffs) in town to warrant a wide assortment of larger cutlery. Filleting knives, salmon knives, chef’s knives, bread knives, tomato knives…

One knife in particular had caught Lero’s eye. It was rather plain by all accounts, little more than a slightly larger-than-average paring knife. Useful for such culinary tasks as slicing the green tops off of strawberries or peeling apples; it was scarcely half-longer than his palm. But when picking it up, a little voice seemed to speak to him.

He needed this.

“Oh you don’t want that one, sir,” Steel Tong had said. “That shouldn’t even be out on the racks.”

“Why not?” replied Lero.

“Well, that’s just a guide, sir. Just a bit of iron meant to serve as a model meant for proper steel.” Steel Tong then mumbled under his breath, “Where is that colt? I’d ought to have him sweeping the floors for a week for putting trash like that out on the shelves.”

“Did your apprentice make this?”

Steel Tong gave him a questioning look. “Yes, sir. It’s just a bit of practice iron, really. Not fit for customers, I’m afraid. If you’d like, I’d be happy to sell you some-”

“No,” interrupted Lero. His voice had taken on a hardness of its own that threw the stallion for a moment. He then handed the iron knife back to the blacksmith. “While you make the frame for my pack, have him reforge this. I want both sides to hold an edge. And have it sharp too.”

And so when Lero and Rarity arrived later that afternoon, Lero was the proud owner of Ponyville’s first and only biped backpack, (aside from Spike.)

And one iron dagger.

‘When everything else fails,’ came that same voice, ‘it’s always good to have a backup plan.’

Meanwhile, behind the cottage, Rainbow Dash was making her own last adjustments to her packs. Red Tail and the other animals had finished packing all of the supplies they would need for a few weeks of traveling. Twilight had suggested that she could enchant a small cart with the “Make It Move” spell, the same spell she had used on her snow plow during her first Winter-Wrap-Up in Ponyville, which would allow the group to carry more supplies and extend their travelling time. However, the logistics of doing so were more trouble than it was worth; any cart they could have found in a timely manner would have been ill-suited for any sort of rough terrain and given Lero’s description of the Hedge, it seemed like nothing but.

This forced the group to carry all their gear on their backs, a prospect that Rarity had voiced worries about, given that so few of them had any real endurance training or much camping experience.

“I’ve been camping before!” Twilight had objected the night before. “Just, well not in the woods… Okay so I spent a night with Shining and Cadence in a sheet tent in the backyard once. But the principles are still the same!”

She had then proceeded to slip “A Beginner’s Guide to Camping”, “Wilderness Survival 101”, and “I’m a Bookworm, Get Me Out of Here!” into her kit.

‘Don’t know how much those books will help us,’ thought Rainbow, just as she secured the last strap on her saddlebags.

She was just turning as a regal voice spoke out, “Are you prepared, Rainbow Dash?” Dash looked up and saw Princess Luna walking over to her, alongside Captain Night Song.

“Yes, Princess,” said the pegasus with a confident pat on her cyan bags. “Got everything we’ll need and then some!”

“Then perhaps you would be willing to accept one last item.” Luna nodded once to the thestral captain who pulled something from his own saddlebags and laid a wrapped bundle before Dash.

Rainbow felt a strange mix of emotions once she’d unwrapped this bundle and saw its contents: a shining pair of sharpened wingblades.

Part of her was frightened; she knew that these things were meant for harming other ponies, to cause pain and suffering, something that she was so fundamentally against that the mere thought of it would have sent her cowering in a tiny ball. But another part of her — a newly discovered part which enjoyed the Wonderbolts and racing against Lero when he was a stallion — couldn’t help but feel awed by the weapon and marvel at its design.

‘These are so awesome!’ this tiny portion of herself crowed.

“Why, uh,” said Rainbow, “why are you giving me this, Princess?”

“We are about to venture into very dangerous territory, Rainbow Dash,” explained Luna, “so I thought to err on the side of caution and provide you with a suitable means of defense. Since Rarity, Twilight, and Miss Heartstrings are all capable magic users, I thought more mundane means will have to suffice for yourself.”

“But I’ve never used anything like this before,” pleaded Dash, the trio of butterflies on her flank beginning to spasm. “I don’t think I could- I couldn’t possibly...k-ki-”

Luna could read the other mare like an open book. It had been a gamble on her part, offering Rainbow Dash such a weapon. The Moon Princess knew that the true Rainbow would have happily taken these wingblades without a second thought, while the true Fluttershy would have rejected them just as quickly. Luna had wagered that there was enough of Rainbow Dash the Stuntmare still inside, that the Swapped pony would not flat-out refuse the weapon. But in order to appease her Caretaker side, Luna knew she would have to play her cards very carefully.

“I understand, Rainbow,” Luna put a comforting hoof on the shivering pegasus’ shoulder. “And I pray that you never have to use it. But we are all going to a very dangerous place. And there may come a time where you will have to defend yourself.”

“But what if I choke? What if I’m too scared to-?”

Luna tilted her head and gave her gentlest smile. “Sweet Rainbow Dash,” she said softly, “if you must act, I want you to remember this: true courage is not knowing when to take a life. It is knowing when to spare it.”

Rainbow looked back down at the blades, then nodded her head. Luna used her magic to rewrap the blades before securing them on Rainbow’s saddlebags, then draped one of her soft wings over the pegasus mare and steered her towards the rest of the group. “Come now, gentle Rainbow, let us say the rest of our goodbyes.”

The others were all saying there own farewells. Lero had taken time to assure each of the families that he would do his utmost to ensure the Crusaders’ safe return.

“I guess this is goodbye, Big Mac,” said the human, who knelt before his friend. Despite the work horse's reputation for being the largest pony in town, with the exception of Bulk Biceps, the stallion only came to eye level with the kneeling human.

“Eenope,” said the stallion with a friendly but wary smile. “Don’t go makin’ it sound like none o’ y’all are never coming back now.”

Lero gave a chuckle then patted the big stallion on the shoulder. “Guess this means you’re in charge of Guys’ Night, huh, big guy?” He glanced over to Spike, who seemed to be buried under layers of mare as the girls squeezed in around him. “Do me a favor and be sure to keep bringing Spike along with you whenever you guys head out. He needs more stallion friends in his life.”

“O’ course, Lero,” said Mac. “The little guys become one o’ us now. He’ll always have a place at the table. And we’ll keep a chair ready for when ya get back.” Lero smiled and the two of them gave a brotherly hug, roughly patting each other on the back.

Two feet away, Twilight and her friends had gathered around each other.

“Don’t seem right,” said Pinkie as she held onto Twilight. “We always did everythang together.”

“I know,” whispered Twilight, rubbing the other mare’s back. “I really wish you guys could come.”

“So do we, Twi,” said Applejack. “But, well, Ah guess somepony’s gotta hold down the fort.”

“Oh darlings,” said Rarity, wiping away her tears as she held onto Fluttershy, “I shall ever miss you all so dearly.”

“Us too, Rarity,” murmured Fluttershy, who did not bother to hold in her own tears. After breaking the hug, Fluttershy lifted the flaps on a pair of saddlebags she had brought and pulled out a battered old camera.

“I thought,” she began, “well, I thought that we could take some pictures with everypony here.”

The rest of the girls nodded in agreement. First, the Element Bearers grouped together for a picture. Twilight could remember taking a similar picture together with her friends, many years ago when Twilight had first moved to the quiet town and the group had bonded during that fateful Summer Sun Celebration. Twilight had sent a copy to her mentor and had seen the picture proudly framed on Celestia’s desk.

The purple unicorn was doing her best to try not to break down into tears on the spot. Thoughts of how everything had come full circle, that this was the last time she would ever see all of her friends together, that somehow her very doom was lying somewhere beyond that forest in some-

“Twilight?” said Lero. Despite Twilight’s efforts, a silent pair of tears ran down her lavender cheeks.

“Sorry,” said Twilight, as she wiped away some tears, “I guess I just got caught up in the moment.” Lero only gave a gentle smile as he leaned down to tenderly kiss Twilight on each cheek.

Rarity moved in next to her and gave Twilight a reassuring nuzzle. “It’s quite alright, Sparkle-kitten,” she said. “Come now. We should be all smiles for the camera.”

Using her magic, Rarity passed Fluttershy’s camera over to Magnum, whom she knew had lots of experience with taking excellent pictures. He’d even invited her over his house, once, and sat through a vacation slideshow of his.

The six friends gathered around each other, forelegs hooked and smiles bright. Magnum snapped a few pictures, each time fumbling with the camera’s settings and mumbling to Fluttershy how they were all completely off of where they should be for a good photo.

“Okay,” he eventually said, “why don’t we get one o’ just Lero and his herd, eh?”

Lero knelt down and squared his shoulders. He had a sudden, rather random memory, of seeing a picture of Theodore Roosevelt while he was still in elementary school. The image of the stout man, decked out in what could only he could describe as “adventure gear” caused Lero to crack a wide smile as he remember old tales of how the great president hunted Earth’s most dangerous predators through the Rocky Mountains and the darkest depths of Africa. Despite himself, it was enough to suddenly fill Lero with a boyish thirst for adventure, and he suddenly wished for a set of Roosevelt’s trademark hat and boots.

‘Then again,’ thought Lero, ‘I bet even Teddy would think twice about heading where I’m about to go.’

Rarity, who was completely oblivious to her stallion’s internal musings, sat squarely in front of him, allowing his right arm to comfortably rest on her shoulder. Twilight took position to Rarity’s right while Lyra sat to Lero’s left, her front hooves atop Lero’s raised leg.

Just as Magnum was preparing to line up the shot, Spike gave Rainbow Dash a not-so-gentle tug, forcing her to stumble forward into the picture’s field. Dash froze, not sure what to do, but a human hand on her shoulder helped her make the decision. Lero used his left hand to guide her to sit next to Lyra, who smirked knowingly. Spike took his own position next to Twilight and the little family of six smiled brightly.

“Ok then,” said Magnum. “1, 2, 3…”

*click!*

Another picture was taken, this time with the herd and the Element Bearers. As Applejack and Fluttershy settled in by Lero, he couldn’t help but feel guilty; despite two months of hard work, he had not been able to help bring all of the Swapped Five to proper equilibrium.

He had only begun to help Fluttershy and hadn’t even made it to Applejack yet, who he knew was still fairly miserable, despite Spike’s best efforts. Out of all of them, only Pinkie Pie seemed truly and decisively “saved”, the most likely to be guaranteed to enjoy a productive future.

‘Well, one out of five still is better than zero.’

True, Rarity and Rainbow Dash were both helped. But he felt like by dragging them along with him to this place, he would be undoing all his work. And then some.

‘No,’ he thought to himself, ‘this is their choice. They chose to come with me.’ It was a small consolation.

After a few pictures were taken, Magnum suggested that they have one of just the rescuers. Princess Luna, who had been patiently waiting to the side during all of this, hesitated only a moment before nodding. The midnight alicorn walked over, taking up position at Lero’s side. Luna did not smile. She projected an air of power and regality that seemed to permeate the air. Lero straightened his back further and felt similar reactions from the mares around him.

He had a sudden vision of a grainy copy of this photograph they were posing for, appearing on some sort of documentary. The narrator would declare in a deep and academic voiceover, “This image, finally declassified for public viewing after one hundred years, is the last known photograph of Her Majesty, Princess Luna, before disappearing from our world, never to return.”

He shook his head. Now was not the time to let his imagination get the best of him.

With the last of the photos taken, the group broke up to give each other one last round of hugs.

“Don’t you worry, girls,” Spike was telling Rarity and Twilight, thumping a hand over his heart. “I’ll be sure to take care of everything while you’re gone.”

Much to the young drake’s surprise, Magnum came in from behind and swept Spike into a fatherly sort of hug, crushing him against his loud and tacky shirt.

“You’re a real good little guy, ain’t ‘cha, Spike-o?” said the white stallion.

Spike, who had never really had many personal dealings with the stallion, could only give a befuddled response. “Uh, well, I try to be, Mr. Magnum, sir.”

Magnum was, of course, completely oblivious to the dragon’s reservations and continued to speak with fatherly pride. “These days, my Applejack’s always telling me how helpful you are to her.”

The orange mare could only smile and shyly prod the dirt beneath her. “Ain’t nuthin’ but the honest truth, Pa. Thanks ta Spike, Ah’m only up ta mah eyeballs in trouble, ‘stead of drownin’ in the undertow!”

Spike beamed at Applejack’s praise, then turned towards Magnum. “Mr. Magnum...” he started to say.

“‘Mr. Magnum?’” The unicorn gave a hearty laugh. “Oh shucks, you’re gonna make me feel like your landlord or something if’n you call me that, Spike-o!”

“Huh?”

Pearl Necklace placed one of her slightly pudgy hooves on Spike’s shoulders. “Now, of course,” she said, “this isn’t anything permanent, but until your herd comes back to Ponyville safe and sound, Spike, you’ll need a home, so we’d like you to consider yourself part of our family! One of us!”

Magnum matched his wife’s beaming smile. “An honorary member of Herd Magnum!”

Spike was silent for a moment then felt his eyes widen at the implications. “Are you serious?” he asked.

Magnum slung a forearm around Pearl as she said, “Feel free to think of us as your Temporary Mom and Dad!”

Magnum then reached out and pulled Spike into a threeway hug. Lero, who was watching the whole thing out of the corner of his eye, could barely contain his own laughter as Spike’s face displayed a startling range of emotions, from happiness to surprise to mild discomfort.

“Oh, we’ll have such FUN, playing hoofball with each other, going to hoofball games… you can be the son we never got to have!”

Applejack tried to pull down her stetson to hide her own embarrassment at her parents’ actions. “Ma, Pa, yer comin’ on a mite bit strong ta the lil’ guy,” she murmured.

“No!” piped Spike as he shook his oversized head. “No, I’m totally cool with this!” He looked over towards the grownups of his own herd, who already seemed to grinning be in full approval. Maybe this had even been pre-arranged between both herds.

Eventually, Pearl and Magnum, (or would they want him calling them Mom and Dad?) released him from the mushy hug and moved on to say the rest of their goodbyes to the others. Applejack took the opportunity to sit next to him.

“Jest a heads-up, Spike,” she told him, “Ah love mah folks dearly, but Ah know how they are ‘bout thangs. Yew’ll prolly be livin’ with me at the Boutique a lot more than with Ma ‘n’ Pa. It’s how they were with Sweetie Belle, too.”

Spike’s eyes took on a distant, glazed look as he leaned forward against the earth pony, letting his stubby arms hang limp in front of him. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, AJ,” he said dreamily.

Applejack smiled sincerely down at Spike and pulled him into a hug.

Nearby, a different sort of goodbye was taking place. Rainbow Dash had called out all of her animals and lined them up in front of the cottage, forming a set of straight lines that any drill sergeant would have been proud of.

“Now all of you are going to be staying with Dr. Tenderpaw for a while,” said Rainbow Dash, adopting her commanding voice once again. “Now some of you might be thinking that this would a time for you to slack off on your discipline. Well, guess what? That isn’t going to happen! I want you to treat every word that comes out of her mouth like it’s coming straight from me! Got that?!”

Several of the animals stood straighter and seemed to mouth off, “Ma’am, yes, ma’am!” in a cascade of barks, meows, squeaks and chirps.

Rainbow dropped her drill sergeant demeanor and nuzzled several of the closest animals. “I love you guys so much. I’m going to miss all of you.” She received several appreciative nuzzles back before scooping up a particularly confused (borderline terrified) white rabbit. “And I’ll miss you most of all, Angel Bunny. I want you to take care of everyone else, okay?”

The white rabbit nodded, barely containing his dastardly smirk. Soon he would have his chance! Now that the overmare was leaving, he would soon lead his furry army once again! They would rise up in glorious revolution, right while the unsuspecting fools were secure in their victory and-

Then the human knelt in front of him, his eyes gleaming in an insidiously predatory grin. “And remember, Angel Bunny,” Lero showed off his sharp white teeth, in a quiet grin. “Hasenpfeffer.”

This was no idle threat, either. Lero had learned the recipe when he was fifteen. He had rehearsed it countless times in his imagination during the first month of the Swap, whenever he’d come to visit Dash’s cottage.

And so, tragically, all thoughts of glorious revolution died in flames for the rabbit.

Though it was just past noon, very little sunlight seemed to penetrate the forest canopy. The group had set out hours ago, first following the path that led through the forest before veering north. While Lero and his herd were mostly grounded, Luna asked some of her sentinels to take to the air and act as scouts. When they asked what they were looking for, Luna had only responded with, “Anything unusual.”

And so it was that the group wandered the Everfree forest for the entire day until the sky turned a burnt orange. They had switched directions several times, retracing their steps, crossing back over familiar territory trying to follow Twilight’s search strategy. She had taken one of her many maps and assigned a grid to it. She gave copies to the sentinels in the air, asking them to search sections ahead of them in an effort to cover more ground.

Each time the thestrals returned with the same answer: nothing. Each time Twilight crossed of a section of the grid with an “X” and they moved on.

By sunset, the only thing they had to show for their efforts was a map covered in ‘x’es. Twilight buried her nose in her maps, frantically turning from one to the other. “This can’t be right,” she worried aloud. “We should have found something by now! A clue, a portal, just something!”

“Twilight,” said Lyra calmly, who had set her pack down in anticipation of breaking camp, “it’s only been less than eight hours. Canterlot wasn’t built in a day.”

“But Red Handed wrote that the first twenty-four hours are the most important time for looking for a lost foal in his book of ‘Red Handed’s Wrongdoings Made Right’!” Twilight began to hyperventilate. “If we can’t find any trace of them now, we may never find them at all!”

“Still yourself, Twilight Sparkle,” said Princess Luna. “There is still time. I shall order my sentinels to search your maps again while we rest. It has been a long day after all, and I think we’d do well to eat something. It should be interesting to see what ponies eat as field rations these days.” The princess gestured to Sergeant Night Song, who dutifully stood beside his princess.

Twilight danced in place anxiously a few seconds longer before coming down from her near-panic attack. She passed the maps over to Sgt. Night Song, who then went about ordering his fellow thestrals into action. Twilight had just opened up her pack, when something caught her eye.

Lero was just standing there, at the edge of the group, his back turned to them all. He didn’t move, just stared off into the the darkening woods.

“Lero?” Twilight called out to him. The human didn’t respond.

Rainbow Dash also took notice of his behavior. She gingerly trotted up beside him. “Big guy?”

“It’s out there,” said Lero, his voice grown cold. Rainbow’s mouth gaped as his eyes changed. Hazel-in-white was swept away by icy blue-in-black. Without any further warning, the Lost trudged out into the growing gloom.

“Wait, Lero!” called out Twilight. “Or Lost or-!”

“Both work,” he said, without stopping.

“Hey! We need to stick together!”

“Then try not to fall behind, Twi,” The Lost replied, without bothering looking over his shoulder.

Twilight gave an irritated huff and called back to the others. Soon they were all trudging through the dark forest. It amazed the purple unicorn how lively the forest still was at this hour. Bats flew among the trees, feasting on the myriad of insect life that flittered through the air, while a cacophony of frogs, crickets, and other creatures filled the area with their music. Rainbow Dash stayed on the ground, sticking close to Rarity. Nervous though she was, her eyes were sharply peeled, expertly picking out all signs of nocturnal predators.

“I don’t like this,” the pegasus whispered, looking from an old dry bloodstain splattered on a tree trunk, to scraps of shaggy fur caught on some bush branches. “We should definitely not be out in the Everfree at night.”

Rarity pressed herself against Rainbow’s side. “It’s alright, darling,” she soothed. “We’re all here.”

Luna, however, could not share the unicorn’s sentiments. “Lost,” she said, “We demand that thou cease thy wanderings! Thou shalt get us all lost in this wood if we continue this course.”

“Precisely,” said the Lost, making a sudden left turn.

“WHAT?!” screeched Twilight. In a purple flash she teleported herself in front of the Lost, finally causing him to stop. She angrily pointed a hoof at him. “You mean you want us to be lost in the woods at night?!”

“Of course,” said the Lost, as he knelt with an amused look on his face. “How else would you expect to find something that isn’t meant to be found?”

“But- wait, wha-?”

“I get it,” piped up Lyra. All eyes turned toward the mint unicorn, her golden eyes glinting mischieviously. “If you want to find something that can’t be found, then you have to become lost to do so.” She trotted up to Twilight’s bewildered form. “Otherwise anyone could find it.”

Twilight sat heavily down on the ground, steam almost coming out of her ears. “But- that’s- you- what?!” she sputtered.

“Fae logic,” stated the Lost, as if it were the most obvious thing world. He patted Twilight’s shoulder. “Takes a while to get used to. Try not to wrap your mind around it too tightly, though, Twi. You’ll just end up like me.” He stood and continued to walk ahead beside Lyra.

The other unicorn gave the Lost a seething look. “Don’t think that gets you off the hook, Blue Eyes.”

“‘Blue Eyes?’ What happened to ‘Fingers’, Horny?” asked the Lost.

“Lero is ‘Fingers’. And only he gets to call me ‘Horny’.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

Her gaze hardened distrustfully. “I am not too happy that you suddenly hijack my stallion, with no warning. And I especially don’t like when you withhold information from us, especially Lero.”

The Lost dropped any hint of amusement. “I’m not doing this for fun, Lyra. In fact, may I remind you that withholding information from Lero is the whole reason I exist in the first place? I’m the bedrock of ‘your stallion’s’ psychological stability. Believe me, Lyra, I’d love nothing more than for two of us to be one unified whole, like it was in the old days. But it has to be this way. Without me, Lero would be a broken soul.”

That gave Lyra pause. “Maybe so. But it’s still a bitter pill for me to swallow.”

“I’m trying to protect you all,” the Lost reminded her, sounding downright hurt. “That’s what I do, that’s all I have ever done.”

Lyra gave the alter ego one last hard look before falling back towards her herdmates, leaving the Lost alone to lead their group.

They continued like this for many hours. At one point, Luna stopped to raise the moon, perhaps for the last time for a while. Twilight had been trying in vain to keep track of their progress, using the stars they occasionally gleamed through holes in the canopy for navigation, but every time she glanced upward, the stars had seemed to change positions in the sky.

This did not sit well with Luna at all when Twilight pointed it out, if the grinding sound of the alicorn’s teeth was any indication. She eventually called her sentinels to ground level, not wanting to risk them getting separated by whatever sorcery was at hoof.

‘Sorcery’ was an apt description of what Twilight was feeling right now. The hypersensitive unicorn was doing her best to keep her own unease in check as they walked. The air felt wrong here. Some unnatural form of magic permeated the air around them, growing stronger as they moved forward. The last time she felt something like this was when she had cast the detection spell on Apple Bloom’s fetch back in Ponyville. It wasn’t as severe as that had been. But the faint pain she was feeling at the base of her horn was enough to set her on edge.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash also grew more nervous as they marched on. The forest, which had once been alive with activity had suddenly fallen quiet. Gone was the nightly symphony of wildlife. The pegasus swerved her sensitive ears in every direction, but no matter how hard she listened, no signs of life could be heard. ‘Where are all the animals?’ she wondered.

The moon had finally passed its zenith when the Lost abruptly stopped. He crouched low, his hand motioning the others to do the same, before slowly moving forward. They all mirrored him, their furry bellies becoming slightly damp from the forest floor.

The Lost parted some bushes and uttered a soft curse. They had arrived at their destination but they were not alone.

In the center of an open meadow, standing impossibly atop a mirror-still pond, was a creature unlike any the ponies had seen. It resembled a human, in that it was bipedal with two arms ending in hands, but that was where the similarities ended. The dark brown horns, the yellowed and mummified skin, the sightless eyes, the great pair of wings that spread out behind it, all spoke of something monstrous, something alien.

Inhuman.

“Wha-what in Equestria is that?” breathed Twilight, trembling at the sight of the creature. Had it sensed their presence?

“Something that has no right being in Equestria,” seethed Luna. The alicorn moved to ready her wingblades, but was halted by a hand from the Lost.

“No,” he told her.

“No?” hissed Luna. “Sir Belle- Lost, it’s one of them! I should smite it solely on principle!”

“Any other day, I would agree with you, Princess Luna, but not this one.” The Lost’s blue eyes mirrored the firmness of his voice.

“Then what should we do?” asked Lyra.

The Lost looked at each one of the ponies, their expressions ranging from fear to anger. Finally, he took a deep breath and set a reassuring hand on Luna’s plated shoulder. “I need you to trust me,” he said at last. “All of you.”

“How-”

“Please, Princess.” Luna looked into the Lost’s pleading eyes for any sign of treachery. Though she saw no hint of deception, she still felt wary.

“Very well, Sir Lost,” she said, folding her wings and the hidden blades. “But know that I shall not tolerate any sort of betrayal. If you put any of us in danger, I will not hesitate to act.”

The Lost smirked. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Princess Luna.”

“Pray tell, how do you intend to deal with that creature?” the alicorn asked.

“Diplomacy. I can be very persuasive.”

“Are you so sure of that?”

“I got you all to follow me, didn’t I?” With that he stood and walked into the clearing.

As the human strode off, Rainbow Dash looked worryingly up at Luna. “You, um, you weren’t really going to do anything to him, were you, Princess?” she whispered. “It may be the Lost in control right now, but that’s still Lero. You weren’t really going to hurt him, were you?”

Luna only remained silent.

As the Lost drew closer to creature, he moved his coat open and loosened the dagger in its sheath. Diplomacy was only as good as the backup plan.

The creature lifted one of its wings slightly higher above its head, allowing the four golden eyes to open along its length. “It took you long enough, Ridire,” it spoke in its alien language. “I had almost begun to wonder if you would find this place at all.” The Messenger moved atop the still water, not even sending a ripple across its surface. Its feet never seemed to touch the ground as it smoothly glided closer to the Lost.

“It wasn’t easy,” replied the Lost, “but mercifully, we have your stench to thank for leading us here.”

“You sensed the magic in the air and it drew you here,” said the Messenger. The eyes along its other wing opened and turned towards the group hiding at the edge of the clearing. “My, my, it seems we have an audience. I cannot help but wonder what they must think of this little performance. You sparing me from attack, so that we can converse in our own private language. What must we be plotting between ourselves? Can you truly ask them to trust you after this?”

“I trust every one of them with my life, Messenger.” The Lost put a hand on his own chest. “I’d gladly give anything to see them safe. I love them.”

“I wonder, though,” mused the Messenger, his tone mocking, “do they love you? Are any of them truly worth it, Ridire? You do not need to go after those three urchins. You certainly don’t have to bring your… ‘women’ with you on this chase of yours. Not to such an oh-so-very-perilous world as My Lady’s. You have your cure, so why-”

The Lost’s dagger was out of its sheath in an eyeblink. The iron blade hovered a hair’s breadth from the creature’s throat. “Don’t you speak to me of cures, thing. What you ‘gave’ me-”

“Was exactly what you needed,” insisted the Messenger, his smile never wavering. “Not now, not tomorrow, but soon. I gave you exactly what the scholar needs to know. It may not have been what you were expecting, but it is the information you bargained for.”

The Lost hesitated. He knew better than most how the Fae operated. They often played games with mortals, with strategies that sometimes spanned generations. Gifts and rewards were often given at some steep price, but they always did what they were advertised to do, just not always in the way one would expect.

‘So if that little tidbit was supposed to be a cure for the Swap,’ mused the Lost, ‘then how-?’

“You still have not answered my question, Ridire,” said the Messenger. It calmly raised a bony finger to the Lost’s wrist and moved the offending weapon away from its neck. “Are they worth it?”

The Lost didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely.”

“And your wives? Are they worth re-enslavement? Are they worth dying for?”

“You know the answer to that, creature,” spat the Lost. “Why do you persist wasting my time with your asinine questions?”

The Messenger laughed, the sound carrying to the edge of the glen, causing the ponies there to shiver as something cold trickled down their spines. Rarity held onto Rainbow and Twilight while Lyra positioned herself between them and the thing in the clearing.

“Very good, Ridire,” said the Messenger. “You have not lost that sense of chivalry we instilled in you.”

“I was always like this, Messenger! I never lost sight of the man I used to be, not even after all the things you made me do!” The Lost pounded his own chest in emphasis. “This is the kind of man I am!”

The Fae merely laughed again. “Oh Ridire, you truly are ‘The Lost,’ aren’t you?” It leaned forward and the human could smell its breath, like dried and decayed flesh amongst ancient paper. “I told you once before, Ridire: Bellerophon is the mask you wear. But this...” It made a vague gesture to all of the human’s face. “This is your true face.”

Lero’s blue-in-black eyes burned holes in the Messenger’s dried flesh, his knuckles turning white around the dagger’s hilt. Something popped and began to move under his hands’ skin. Something bulged and tried to come to surface as the Lost imagined plunging his weapon into the creature’s chest, ready to carve out whatever shriveled thing served as its heart.

“Now now, little human,” mocked the Messenger. “You would not want to have your women see that, would you?” The Lost held his breath as he cast a sidelong glance back to the group. After a few tense moments, his grip relaxed and he resheathed the dagger.

“There is time enough for that, Ridire,” said the Messenger. “You may have suppressed your true self well enough here, in this world. But nothing ever truly becomes free from Arcadia’s touch. Denial has been you ally here, but time shall be your enemy, once you cross over. The ambient energies of the Hedge will find their way home to your body, like water soaking into dried earth.”

It pointed to the Lost’s distinctive eyes. “The little amounts you have encountered thus far have proven that. Three little fetches and my humble self… and already you are altered so vastly. I wonder how long it will be until your true shape is regained. Won’t that be an interesting sight for your wives to see?”

The Lost felt his teeth grind. “Did you come here just to mock us?” he seethed. “Or is there a point to you befouling this place?”

“Always to business, Ridire,” said the Messenger, shaking its eyeless head. It reached into one of its many pouches and produced a small bronze object. It was an amulet, bearing some strange, eldritch crest upon it, some kind of pale and twisted parody of a sun. The Lost instantly recognized it.

The Lady’s Crest.

“I have come bearing a message and a gift,” said the creature. “The Silken Harpist you seek was last spotted near the Frozen Marshes, close to the hobtown of Gladesrest. This insignia will help you enter the town.”

The Lost studied the crest in his hands very carefully, as though trying to see if it had little fangs anywhere. “If I come bearing the crest of a Faelord to a hobtown, I’m going to be painting a target on my back. And my family’s.”

“Then you will have to rely up your razor wit, now won’t you? If you come within a hundred paces of the walls with no sort of passport, their guards will cut you down.” It motioned to the crest with a skeletal hand. “This will prove that you at least have some purpose being there. The hobs are always willing to do business. Just not with vagabonds.”

The Messenger turned and was gliding back towards the pond when the Lost called out, “Why do this, Messenger? Why help us?”

The creature stopped for a moment, as if trying to come up with an appropriate answer. He turned around and gave a laugh that sounded like dry leaves, his cracked lips widening in a parody of a smile.

“You are mistaken, Ridire,” said the Messenger. He spread his gnarled hands in an encompassing gesture. “I am not doing this to help any of you. I am merely protecting Our Lady’s investments.”

The thing continued to laugh as he faded from view, leaving Lero and his companions in the glen. The Lost cast a look back at the group of ponies at the edge of the clearing. He smiled then closed his eyes. “Alright, buddy,” he whispered, “you get to take it from here.”

His brows furrowed together and he grit his teeth. A piercing pain entered his skull for a moment before Lero snapped open his hazel eyes with a gasp and heaved forward, almost retching on the spot.

“Lero!” called out Rarity, who broke cover and dashed forward into the clearing. Twilight, Lyra, and Rainbow Dash were quick to follow, Twilight disappearing in flash of violet before appearing next to her stallion.

Lero woozily leaned forward, his hands on his knees. “Ugh,” he moaned, “there has got to be an easier way to hand over the keys, man.”

“You okay, Fingers?” asked Lyra.

“Yeah, just dandy, Horny,” said Lero, standing up straight and giving his neck a pop. “I remember most of it.” He looked around the clearing before settling his gaze on the pond. “Yeah, that looks about right.”

“Wait,” said Twilight, “the pond is the portal?”

“Stillwater, middle of a glen, surrounded by carved stones. Yeah, this reeks of Fae magic.”

Luna strode forward, her thestral soldiers coming up behind her. “Can you tell us what the Lost and that thing were speaking of?” she said. “What was that creature?”

Lero squinted then looked down at the bronze object still clutched in his hand. The symbol reflected the moon’s pale light from above. For some reason, Lero felt a heavy sense of dread build within him as he gazed at it. Something was desperately trying to claw its way to the front of his mind, screaming that he should just start running now and never look back.

But just as easily as the feeling had come to him, something else welled within him; a surging confidence that he could face anything that might be thrown at him.

I got your back, it seemed to say.

“I think,” he said, looking back at the pond. “I think that thing just gave us our first clue to find the girls.” He slowly walked over to the pond, slipping the crest into one of his pockets.

Seeming to read his intentions, Rarity chimed in. “Shouldn’t we wait, my prince?” she asked. “We have been walking an awfully long time now.”

“We can set up camp on the other side just as easily,” replied Lero. He squinted at the pond’s reflective surface. Then he knelt a reached forward with his fingertips, causing only the faintest of ripples.

“I dunno, big guy,” Rainbow Dash said dubiously, swirling a hoof in the water. “Looks to me like if we step in there, all we’re gonna do is get wet. In fact, I’m pretty sure I can make out the bottom of the pond. Looks muddy. You sure that’s the way to Fae-land?”

“I… I can open it,” said Lero. “I can open the portal.”

“You can?” asked Twilight bewilderedly. “But… But you have no magic! You always said so yourself! You’ve been subjected to every known thaumalogical test known to ponykind and we never once found any evidence of-”

“Oscail,” said Lero. Twilight was stunned at the alien word, but any further questions were halted at what happened next.

The pond’s surface glowed with a bright, white light that lit up the glen, illuminating the surrounding treetops. Everypony’s eyes grew wide when they looked into the water and found themselves looking up at a colorful evening sky. The tops of white barked trees swayed in an invisible breeze as distant, pink toned clouds caught the last light of a sun.

Luna felt the breath catch in her throat. There, above the clouds, surrounded by unfamiliar stars, were two full moons. The larger was a pale, cerulean blue while its sister satellite was a fiery red. And there, just at the pond’s edge, Luna could spot the misshapen form of a third moon.

Lero leaned forward, his hand sinking passed the surface. When he removed it, he found that his skin and sleeve were completely dry.

Twilight continued to gape. “Tha… that’s… not possible,” she breathed.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned, Twi,” said Lero, “it’s that ‘possible’ is always up for being redefined around us.”

Luna leaned back, whispering to her Captain. “Have your soldiers ascertain this place’s true location, then send word back to those in Ponyville. Bring the supplies here and immediately lay grounds for an observation post. I want this place watched every hour of every day.” She hesitated a moment then added, “Inform the Royal Guard as well.” The thestral commander nodded once, then took to the air with several of his comrades.

Luna looked back at the group. Curious Twilight Sparkle. Gentle Rainbow Dash. Fair Rarity. Enigmatic Lyra Heartstrings.

And Noble Bellerophon.

Lero looked at each of the gathered mares. No words were exchanged but there opinions were stated clearly. Each one nodded with confidence. They were all together now. Nothing would ever get in their way from saving Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.

Lero leaned forward again until he fell straight into the portal.

Author's Notes:

Well, this was a long time coming. Then again this chapter was twice as much as my usual stuff. Consider it a bonus for the delay!

Special thanks to Mike Teavee for being an awesome editor and for putting up with my shenanigans.

Leave me a comment! Do it! My dried husk is solely sustained through your words!