Earlier...

The portal sealed off closed as Celestia stood by the activation lever, staring back at the begrudging human. On her face was a stoic look while the mature man glanced around the room for a while. He took in the sights and shook his head in disbelief. "All of this just feels too much like a damn fever dream. How do you even hide an entire world in a girls closet?"

Celestia sat there, looking back at the portal. "How does one hide their emotions for so many years? The answers are sometimes the most elusive, yet greet you from the moment you wake up each morning."

The man shrugged at her comment. "Whatever that means... Little Melanie said you wanted to talk to me again. I just thought you had us on blacklist or something."

"I'm afraid that I would not be showing the qualities of a leader should I decide to make that decision. Even in war, it is imperative to maintain the lines of communication. It is how we avoid the worst of casualties." Celestia replied.

"Huh, I guess y'all didn't have many wars then." The man retorted.

"Why look for trouble when the citizens call against it? It is only when they are threatened should you ever make such a declaration. And even then, I don't see you going to war with us."

"It could very much happen." He answered quickly. "If you got gold and oil, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few armies walking up on your front porch. And I gotta say this place does makes a nice front porch, ain't gotta deal with nearly as many mosquitoes."

The princess took a more stern tone as she gave a heavy reply. "Then I'm afraid that will be a war your son will be fighting in to defend us."

The man paused for a moment and crossed his arms. He dropped his head with a somber silence before he could speak. "I don't think my son is ready to see the horrors of war. Fighting you ponies and whatnot, that's pretty tame."

"Then I'm sure the stories he'd tell you would prove otherwise."

The man remembered the train ride he took on the way from Ponyville and nodded. "Yeah... I've heard one of 'em. At least what I got from that one is why he doesn't like riding trains."

"Then I'm sure you can understand that war, battle, skirmishes, fighting in general, those things are hard on any participant." She said as she walked towards him.

"That's something I wouldn't know. I never fought in a war, didn't want to, that's why I chose to get a job coming out of high school." Harold revealed.

"You chose not to further your education?"

The man shook his head. "Didn't have the grades for it. I was what you'd call a 'slacker' with a knack for picking up chicks. Got kicked out of the house when I was eighteen, told to go make my own way in life. My parents wanted to push me into the military because I didn't do well in school. When I said no, I got the boot anyways."

"So what did you do?" Celestia asked.

"I was good with cars. Fixing 'em, tweaking, buying parts, selling cars out the lot, you name it. Started at a little 'ol place, got picked up from a tiny fish bowl and thrown to a lake, swam downstream and got into one of those big-name manufacturers. I joined a union, got my benefits, and was working for a respectable dollar in three years time. Those first few months, I went from homeless to a two-room apartment, went from eating Spam and crackers to ordering a pizza on occasion."

"You sound like you had quite the success story." She said with a light chuckle.

"If you could call it that. I had to struggle because I decided that studying was for 'nerds and wimps'. But figures, the first thing I got married to was one of those things. And I had a kid with one of those things... three of 'em. And my first born happen to take so much after her, it's funny to think about it. Stanton took after me, but his mother made sure to keep a level head on him.

"And Nondis?"

"...That boy is a man of his own mold."

Celestia looked up to the man, extending a hoof to him. "And you believe he's too different for you?"

"No, he's that rebellion I had when I was younger, coming to get back at me for my mistakes. I just wanted to push for him to be better and fend for himself."

"Because you had to, right?" Celestia surmised.

The man nodded. "Yeah. But my wife was the one to keep me from doing what my parents did to me."

"That seems to be the better thing to do." The princess stated. "Though I can understand Nondis' feelings at the moment when it comes to her speaking so harshly on him."

The man closed his eyes and thought back on the events of his early years. He could already see the resentment on his face from when he had to spend another day sleeping behind a YMCA in his car. He remembered the days leading up to his first paycheck, how much he had to sacrifice to keep from going hungry, how many times he ran the heater until the battery drained dry. When his eyes opened, he recalled the image of his own son on that newspaper clipping, fighting a beast three times his size, seeing the fear in his eyes.

Harold finished reflecting and spoke. "I think it's my turn to look at things from her perspective." He began, causing Celestia to remain focused in on him. "I didn't like the military being an option for my sons, especially with that whole Iraqi War business. But I didn't want him to keep relying on others to fight his battles for him. I wanted to see him succeed, being a good Christian man who'd raise his children with that same moral principle. But when he decided to go about his own way of doing it, I just said to hell with it and wanted that to be the end of it. But Martha came to me and told me that we should be a little more forgiving. He ups and disappears for several months, making me see exactly where I went wrong as a father, so I prayed to God if he came back alive, that I would be given the strength to change my state of mind."

"...And?" Celestia muttered.

"Well, he woke me up this morning and started me on my way. If he's doing the same for Nondis, in spite of his beliefs, then surely I can pass a test such as this."

"And that test is?" Celestia asked.

"If I can show a father's love."

Present...

"Dad?"

The man chuckled lightly as he walked into the room. "Boy, you look like you seen something scary. Don't tell me I'm what's giving you the spooks."

I quickly turned to Celestia and questioned her. "How did he get here?"

"I summoned him." She replied flatly. "Well, I asked Melanie to invite him over so that we could talk. I wanted to do my part and help a family on the mend. And before you start asking me any more questions or bring about any complaints, I know this is out of my jurisdiction. But I refused to allow for it to end the way that it did, without you saying a proper goodbye."

Seriously, I told him and mom 'Thanks for visiting, come again' and left. How was that not a proper sendoff when I was being as polite and restrained as possible? At the very least, I was ready to lash back out at her with something mean. But I guess that doesn't really matter now, with him actually being here again. So I glanced back to dad, who was standing silently at the end of the table. "Well... welcome back, I suppose."

Dad tried to break the ice with a dry attempt at humor. "So get this, apparently there's a mirror in Mel's closet that somehow lets you enter into an alternate world. I'm like 'Is she hiding her little feelings for you in there too?' Heh heh heh."

Considering Mel trying to seduce me into going home, I was the least bit amused. "You tried to convince her to sleep with me."

Dad dropped his head with a sigh. "Yeah... I just thought she'd be able to remind you of what you are, how you could feel with an actual woman. I mean, you liked her so much─"

"I introduced you to my girlfriend already..." I said before promptly correcting myself. "...Well, ex now. You talked to her, said she was pretty cute, how lucky I was to have her."

Dad lifted his head to speak directly at me, with a slightly firmer tone. "That was before we found out what she really was."

"And that's supposed to change things?" I asked.

"It changes a lot, son. She's one of them, and you're you."

"Yeah, that's true." I bluntly admitted.

He tapped his fingers on the table as he took a moment to convince me otherwise. "But haven't you ever thought about the future? I know there's gonna be a time where you're gonna want to experience the other parts of life, like you know... raising a child."

I sighed to myself and mumbled. "And here we go."

"Son, you can't have that if you're here being intimate with something that ain't standing on two legs and look like you."

"And that's my business. I'm sure Alex and Vanessa would be happy to give you grandkids within the next four years." I replied sarcastically. "Besides, mom said that I died in the gulf over in Galveston. So why not just take that blue pill and live your merry life."

"Because I know something in our life would be missing." He answered strongly. "Now I know what you mean, your mother found her experience frustrating at that final stretch and said some things she never meant to say."

"That doesn't change the fact that she said it, dad." I rebutted.

Dad didn't answer me right away, instead taking a moment to compose himself while he tried to negotiate with me. "Nondis, look at me." He said calmly. "Now you know your mother ain't too keen on you being a soldier of any kind. And I didn't approve of any of this. But I am gonna say that all of this is your choice."

"And I chose to stay here." I replied, almost cutting his sentence short. "Wasn't that my choice?"

Dad sighed and sat down at the end of the table. "I'm not stopping you, Nondis."

"Then what are you here for?" I asked, starting to become defensive and angry. "Why do you wanna be here? To tell me that I made a mistake? To say that you're sorry for things being the way that they are so that you can say 'goodbye' to me one last time? Or is it to convince me to do something different with my personal relationships, that YOU don't approve of? So because you consider it 'ungodly' that I have to turn away from it? You probably think I'm a joke. I'm already sandwiched between 'Pride' and 'Joy' back home. Stanton's the pride of our family, pro-athlete in the making, sure as hell gonna make it to the NFL now that his leg's fixed, but you ain't say thank you for that not once. Your joy, your first-born son Alex is gone off to be happy with his beautiful wife, set to make you some beautiful grandkids you can take care of whenever they gotta go to work on the weekends. But I'm the one you had to drag out of the room, the one you yelled at, the one you thought was never gonna be anything special, the one you kicked out when I said I was done being a 'Christian' cause Christ ain't do shit for me but make it harder to understand life. You didn't even want me to have that apartment, mom convinced you. You screamed at her over the fact that she took money out of your joint account to take care of me."

I didn't exactly know why I jumped out of my chair, but I did. By that point, my emotions were running on an all-time high. I screamed at him, my tears starting to well and fall from my eyes. All he did was stare at me while I went on and on.

"But you never liked that I wanted to become my own person! You never took the time to tell me that you were willing to be patient with me! You only did what you felt was best for my interest without even talking to the one person who you need to talk to! You proved that by trying to get Mel to FUCK ME INTO GOING BACK HOME! You fought me for not standing up for myself, and then argued me down whenever I did! Not ONCE did you ever tell me that I did good! It always had to be mom to tell me that! But guess who's not here, mom. Guess who is, YOOOOUUUU!!! IT'S YOU!!! You always thought of me as a disappointment, that I was fucking crazy, like I had no place in your little neatly-framed world!... Each time I felt like I was on my deathbed, I always dreamed of a world where you took the time to say 'Son, I'm proud of the work you've done' and close my eyes to wait for the end of it all! I've watched innocent lives get snuffed out, the resignation and hopelessness in their eyes and it keeps me up at night, while somewhere in my mind I fear the thought that the two of you are going to be just fine without me! But you know what, MY MOTHER WISHED I WAS DEAD SO WHO FUCKING CARES!? You'd probably feel the same..."

Dad stared up at me as I panted a few more times, trying to catch my breath. But instead of doing that, I was losing strength to stand. The weakness in my legs started to cause my knees to buckle, my eyes clenched shut as my view of the world became drenched in tears. I finally fell to my knees, feeling a depression so weighty that I swore that there was no oxygen in the room. The beautiful world I was sworn in to protect didn't feel like it did when I first arrived, but a harsh mix of grays and despondency. I know I had finished eating my food already. Instead of feeling full, I was left feeling so empty that it made sense to me why my stomach felt it was justified to swallow every bit of what resided in my chest. Nothing I felt could make my heart feel complete, and all I wanted was to give it something to nurture on to get healthy. But my arms were empty, my hands were touching the cold marble tiles on the floor, my tears made miniature puddles beneath my face, something akin to a lake for my sorrows to reside within. My pain became scores of fish swimming in a lake far too small. Something, a lot of it, was missing.

Next, something tugged at my arm, pulling me off the ground with such a force that could've yanked it clean out from the socket. My blurred vision was treated to the world suddenly shrinking again. Instead of my hands touching the cold ground, they were pressed against the warm back of my dad. I looked at him as he embraced me, feeling some surprise as he spoke. "Son, when have I ever said that I was not proud of you?"

At that moment, as soon as he said that, I felt awash with anger... but something else entirely that wasn't. No, it wasn't anger, it was frustration. And as it boiled to a climax, I felt my arms stiffening around my dad. The other soon joined it, and I was buried into my dad's shoulder, unsure as to why I felt the need to cry even more. He rocked from side to side as he held me in place.

"If I ever simply said that I was proud of you, then those words would be a cheap gift, son. Is this what you were feeling for all these years?" I couldn't stabilize myself enough to speak, instead producing incoherent babble. "I'll take that as a 'maybe'. But I never once thought of you as lesser than your brothers. Even when I said the things I didn't mean, I was always hoping you'd find it in you to fight back. Since your grandmother died, your mom and I were scared that you'd just go into the world and let it do whatever to you, that you'd start getting into the wrong things, looking for trouble as a source of validation. I didn't want to see you going out and about, only to get consumed by something that would've hurt you and everyone else, picking up bad habits. I didn't want you to isolate yourself because you'd start thinking of things that ain't good for your happiness. I knew your brothers had something about them that people gravitated towards, and I knew that you struggled to find what it was to make you stand out. That's why me and your mom were so hurt when they pulled your car out the water, cause somewhere in us we felt that we failed."

As a servant was about to reenter the room to check on the commotion, Celestia eyed the door as it started to open. She quickly used her magic to shut it and seal it off so that no others would come in. She then continued to watch as dad spoke.

"And I know Martha's not happy with you enlisting. I know why, we all do. But I know your grandfather would be remiss if he didn't take into the account the lives you saved or changed for the better. He didn't tell you those stories to scare you, he told you those stories so that you wouldn't make the same mistakes. He wanted to impart some wisdom, so that you didn't suffer like he did. You got blood on your hands, but it ain't the wrong blood. You're fighting to defend the lives of others, not to take it from them. And to see you standing here knowing what all you've done and why you do it, I can't ever say that I could ever be disappointed. But instead, you surpassed my expectations and honored me the privilege of calling you my child. Sure I guess Stanton's the pride of the family and Alex is the joy to come, but you're the heart of this family, the spirit of us all. You're the thing that's best exudes the strength and fortitude where we'd end up falling flat. You're the reflection of everything in our name, and you're the main one to make the hard decisions in spite of the stress. You know how many families don't have that?"

After so long, unable to stop myself from clenching my teeth, I pulled away for a second to argue with him. "I'm not any of those things, dad. I'm not strong enough for anything. I even tried to─"

Dad placed his hands on my shoulders as he tried to convince me otherwise. "Nondis, you've been away from home for almost a year now, fighting monsters, saving families when you could, and here you are telling me that with all you've gone through that you don't have the strength to endure hardship. Boy, let me tell you something, had it been me going through what you did, I would've put it down and walked away. And if I went through the pain you had, I would've begged God to take me out. I would've thrown in the towel, son. I've already had my days of hardship and I'm well over fifty, and they don't hold a candle to you. You're a man I could never be, that your brothers couldn't be, and it shows. You've got the heart to make it no matter what, and to simply say that I'm proud of you ain't good enough. You beat me, I lost this one. I'm at the top of the mountain tryin' to tell you where you need to go, but your peak is much higher than mine. You can say my world is little, but don't you EVER say that you don't fit."

Dad grabbed one of the cloths used to wrap the utensils off the table and gave it to me to wipe my eyes. As I was cleaning myself off, I started to realize what it was that I was feeling as soon as he hugged me. It wasn't really anger, or even frustration. It was the sense of closure, the feeling of knowing that my father was not going to condemn me to fire and brimstone like I've been thinking about for months, what I felt he was ready to do for years. Instead, I felt loved. I would've never thought that he'd be the one to stand in for mom on this one, it went against my expectations. I assumed because of religion and past experience that I was gonna go through a tough time with him, but it turns out that he's just being dad. We fought more than once, and one time we even got physical. But in all my years of life, I never felt more secure than I did today. It still hurts to know that mom rejected me, but seeing him here to greet me was probably the greatest thing in my life so far.

"There's always a place in my heart for you, and that was from the moment your eyes opened to the world. You're my son. Now when I get back, I'm gonna have a word with your mother. Martha's a bit emotional, but she prone to thinking things over. I'll keep in touch with you, but you gotta learn how to answer the phone or reject a call, something to let me know you're functioning. Cause a world where any of my boys ain't functioning right is a world of hurt."

"Thanks, dad." I said, wiping my eyes while trying to dry the tears again. "Ugh, I haven't cried like this since I was a kid. What the hell happened to me?"

"Well we didn't go see Lion King this time, so it's not that. Your grandmother's been gone for years, so it ain't that. You were pretty stoic when we had your grandfather's funeral, so it ain't that. Eh, I'm sure you'll figure it out, ya big baby."

I was pretty uncertain at first, not really knowing how I smiled or even laughed at his insult. "Oh shut up! I am not a baby!"

"Does it go 'waah?' Cause I swear you were talking some baby gibberish a moment ago." He said playfully, poking fun at my breakdown.

"Oh man, you are a terrible parent." I muttered back at him.

He laughed off my comment. "Oh yeah, your mom told me that the day she had Alex. So you're not wrong."

Celestia brimmed with satisfaction as she unsealed the door. The servant quickly rushed in, panting wildly as he spoke. "Your majesty... *huff* ...I tried to get to you... *oof* ...as soon as possible. You're twelve minutes late on your duties..."

The solar princess seem unfazed by her lack of punctuality. "It's an extra twelve minutes of daylight, I wouldn't expect anypony to complain."

"You know that I am incapable of doing your end of the work, sister." Luna stated, walking up from behind the servant. "Your assignment is much heavier than mine."

Celestia chirped back at her younger sister. "Then maybe you should rule Equestria for a thousand years."

"I've tried that, and we know how well that went for me." Luna retorted sternly. "Now can you stop gorging on cake long enough to get your duties out the way?"

"Ugh... fine." Celestia said before looking to me and dad. "Would you two gentlemen mind escorting us to fulfill our daily duty? It would honor us if you could watch our work."

Dad looked at me nervously and pursed his lips. "Hey son, ain't that you? You're the bodyguard."

Luna smiled as she agreed with her sister's suggestion. "Oh, but surely one human is not nearly enough to accommodate for the safety of TWO princesses."

"And I'm certain that your father would be incapable of navigating the castle on his own, you got lost on the first day if I recall. It would be better if you were to have him join us this evening." Celestia added.

I shook my head realizing they had valid arguments. "Can't win that one. Well dad, you're coming with us."

"For what!?"

We finally reached the end of the hall, leading to something akin to a chapel. The princesses guided us to an open balcony where they ordered us to watch for the sky. Luna stood by us as she tapped her hoof impatiently. Dad looked to me and whispered under his breath. "Psst, Nondis, what's this all about?"

Celestia, with keen ears flicking back to us, turned back to speak to him. "I'm sure you've noticed the mark on the side of my derriere here."

My dad looked away nervously. "I-I-I'm sure I did."

Luna giggled as she tapped me in the side. "At least I know where you get your bashfulness, captain."

"Far from, ma'am." Dad quickly answered. "I just try not to pay attention to anyone's hind quarters."

I shrugged as I started to explain myself to dad. "Well in this case, it's more than warranted. Sometimes the identity can be surmised by one's mark. Each individual pony here in this world has a unique mark. Under no circumstances are they to be the exact same, even for twins. When your achieve a Mark of Destiny, it's considered to be your special talent."

"Nowadays, the call them Cutie Marks." Celestia added, giving my dad an opportunity to deadpan me.

"...Tramp stamps?" Dad muttered.

"No dad! Way different concept. You can get a tattoo removed, you can't remove a Mark of Destiny, or M.O.D. for short. Their talents are something that can be a positive contribution to society, it's just the manner of how they use that talent." I explained further.

"And who's to say that there aren't any marks to indicate a talent for the not-so-family-friendly occupations?" Dad questioned.

"They do exist after all." Luna confirmed. "There aren't that many in existence, but there are some who resort to wearing dresses to hide some of the more obscene marks, that or cover them with makeup. It happens."

"Tramp stamps." Dad reaffirmed.

I covered my face as I sighed with disbelief. "I can't have an innocent explanation of this with you, can I?"

"Nope." He answered.

"Well either way..." I said trying to push the subject forward. "Those MODS are not sexualized. They're a perfectly normal part of their body that everyone can see daily. Just don't be a douche and hike up anyone's tail or you'll get kicked. Back to the topic, just take a look at Princess Luna's mark."

He did as I instructed and described what he saw. "Okay, a partial moon."

"Now look at Princess Celestia's." I instructed.

Staring back at her, trying to shield his eyes from the stationary setting sun, he made out the vague shape of her mark. "It looks like a sun, almost like those stamps and sigils we see all over the palace."

"Right." I confirmed. "Now tell me what you think her mark means to you."

Dad looked back to Luna, namely at her mane and quickly came up with a solution. "So they're siblings, but one has some affinity for the sun and the other with the moon. It's like the two of them are so different, like night and day."

"Precisely." Celestia said as she stepped forward on the balcony. "It is as you said, the difference between us are as if we were night and day. To simplify things further, I am the day." Celestia's horn illuminated with a bright flash before stabilizing into a much softer golden glow. As her head bowed slowly, as did the sun proceeded to sink below the horizon. And it continued until the very moment where the princess' chin could almost touch the ground, where the sky completely transitioned into total darkness. Our only source of light was the lights from around the city and the castle itself. The sky was pitch black, devoid of any scenery and light.

Dad's jaw fell to the ground as he stared back at Celestia with amazement and reverence. Soon, Luna approached from the side of us. She looked back to me as her horn started to glow a dim white. "And I am the night."

Celestia broke her silence as her sister stepped forward to the edge of the balcony. "Nondis, isn't this the first time you've had the opportunity to watch us perform our birthrights?"

"It is, and it's not a disappointing experience to say the least." I answered. "I wish I was recording this."

Luna hummed softly as she continued to cast her spell. Meanwhile Celestia smirked at us. "Luna has always had a desire to showboat, so I'm guessing she's going to put all of her effort into this night."

"Is that so?" I asked.

Luna smiled and turned to me. "For you, captain, I give you my most beautiful night. Gaze into it and marvel at it's secrets beyond the veil."

Luna's head bowed before us, touching the tiles of the balcony. Slowly it rose to reveal a sparse amount of stars appearing in random order. And as her head rose higher, so did the the crest of the moon from over the horizon. More and more stars started to gradually appear in the sky until what we saw rivaled some distant nebula. Her head rose higher until her neck could no longer afford the ascent. But to compensate, she stood on her hind legs, revealing to us a great full moon, compliment with an astounding amount of stars that by right shouldn't be visible. Her forelegs kicked out as she reached the apex of her rising. From there, the moon was locked into place, and the nebulous clouds subsided into the normalized, but incredibly starry sky. She fell to her hooves again, looking up to take pride in her work.

Dad seemed like he was about to fall off his balance staring into the sky. He danced around in a circle, trying to glimpse at it all. Even I admit that I was doing a bit of a dance myself. But the longer I stared, the more disoriented I got from trying to perceive how many stars were up there. So I actually lost my balance and fell to the ground, earning both the princesses' laughter.

"Luna, I think you might have overdone it." Celestia said pointing at me.

"I was being lenient this time. Can't let him have my absolutely best night so soon. I think a commitment would be in order for that to happen."

Dad gawked back at the two mares and spoke. "So... what part of heaven did you two drop from?"

Luna looked back at me, using her magic to help me get back on my feet. "I see your flattery is very much an inherited trait."

"Well I knew you two could do this, I just never had the time to stop and pay attention." I answered.

"Then would it be fair to say that our performance satisfied you?" Luna worded dubiously, causing dad to snap out of his stare.

"Now wait a minute! My son ain't on the market!"

"Well he's single, so he's for sale." Luna joked. "Besides, I'm sure if we had a say, he'd be accounted for."

"Luna, would you stop messing around?" Celestia chided. "Or would you like for me to send for Stanton also?"

The night princess looked at the sky with a slight blush. "Oh goodness, would you look at the time! I should commence to my duties now! Somewhere around there are young little fillies sleeping and I need to give them good dreams for the morrow! Good evening to all!" She said before breaking into full gallop. The only thing to follow her was the sound of her hooves clattering down the hall. Celestia looked back at dad, seeing he was even more confused.

"Don't worry. Stanton has no intentions of pursuit. But he will find the time to properly mock her for her inexperience."

Dad turned to me and pointed back to where Luna ran to. "Son, what's between you and her?"

"She's a bit of a flirt who wanders into my dreams on occasion. She stops the nightmares from escalating and then taunts me over what I dream about and their hidden meanings... including the... graphically robust ones."

Dad winced at my answer. "Well that's a bit unusual."

"She's incredibly perverted." Celestia stated. "Avoid any semblance of alone time with her should you wish to avoid trouble."

Both dad and I sounded out in unison. "Noted."

The Next Day...

Shortly after our conversations on the balcony, dad was allowed back home and my phone practically blew up. Seemingly out of nowhere, I had around twenty missed texts and five voicemails. After taking the time to go through each of them, I made the decision to turn it in for the evening. Even if the night was still young, I had other things to worry about in the morning, like the state funeral. My dreams were peaceful, my sleep was sound, my eyes were well-rested, and my mind was at ease from the emotional release I experienced earlier. The only thought that woke me up was the fact that I felt I could've apologized to dad for the way I came at him.

Unfortunately, I can't wake him up at five in the morning to let him know that, he'd be just as cranky.

The moment I got up, took my shower, brushed my teeth, washed my face, combed my hair back, and put on some nice clothes befitting for a funeral... all white everything. White dress shirt, white slacks, white dress socks, white dress shoes, and even a white trilby hat with the gray ribbon at the base. Of course, it was an outfit I had to quickly jump from my world to this one in order to get, thanks Walmart for being open 24/7. I had it all planned out, my being dressed to somewhat celebrate the fact that one of my adversaries─who plotted to forge my signature and give my body to science─was the one sitting lying in state... closed casket affair, of course.

Oh yeah, I was about to go in like I was trying to hit the club for an all-white affair. And for a while I stood in the mirror and took the time to revel in my own vanity, if only for that one instant. I felt like I could take this day, finish my duties, and go back to doing the usual guard things shortly after, maybe even talk to a few friends while I'm somewhat free after. I had it all planned out.

Then there was a knock on the door. I checked my phone to see the time was set at approximately 6 a.m. and opened the door. Standing in the way was none other than Princess Celestia, who appeared surprised by my particular choice of attire. "Morning, Captain... I see you've gotten the jump on me."

"Your highness, I dress to impress." I said with a smirk. "Is there anything wrong?"

Celestia didn't smile back at me, instead being a lot more somber. "I see that the color of your outfit would be a tad-bit controversial."

To be fair, that was what I was going for. "I can understand, but it was the only thing I had set up for something like this."

She didn't seem convinced, and for good reason. "I don't think you going through the portals to your world for a quick costume change is something you intentionally did for your particular color scheme. And white is not what I would assume to be a respectable color for any event considering a period of mourning."

"I understand, your highness." I said with a bit of a groan.

"Furthermore, it would look offsetting when the priests and cardinals are wearing their white while you, a commanding officer, were to show up at such an event with the same colors as those over the pulpit. It would not only be controversial, but incredibly offensive."

Woof... guess that throws my idea out the window. I only chose the outfit to be a bit petty for a final farewell, my way of saying I celebrate life, or the fact that I continue to celebrate life while you're probably getting an earful from your maker. But even then, I would have to go back to my world and get another outfit. "Sorry. I didn't know that it was going to be such a taboo thing to do."

Celestia levitated a black suit bag with the Equestrian emblem on it. She unzipped the case and introduced to me a black ceremonial coat with a white broad stripe, similar to the design of the shirt Twilight introduced me to wear the day I brought my parents over to Equestria for the first time. And instead of being a crest embroidered into the stripe, it was a silver shield with Equestria's royal emblem sitting within a coat of arms. The slacks she passed on to me were also a bit thicker, but had the white stripes going down the outside of the legs. With it was a plain black belt that appeared to be relatively thick and sturdy. She also summoned a black and gold straight-bladed cutlass, holding a blade length of 30 inches. All of the items she held in her possession were levitated onto my bed as she spoke sternly.

"I understand that most of your tenure has been without a proper uniform, even your basic training garments were adapted from griffon attire. I have elected to produce you an outfit for your ceremonial dress. I commissioned Rarity to handle the details regarding the appearances, and I also dug up a little bit of research while in your world in regards to an appropriate sword size for ceremonial purposes. Melanie placed the order for the sword, Rarity did the rest."

I looked at the outfit on the bed with some curiosity and started to feel around for the texture. It felt much like how a uniform should feel; rough, rigid, defined, and prominent. And for it being Rarity's line of work, it was definitely lacking any of her usual trademarks and implications. "Oh yeah, this definitely feels like a uniform."

"The shirt you're wearing is fine underneath, but the slacks and shoes will need a change. Proceed to look towards the uniform I provided for you, and report to your position at your designated time."

Looking back at the doorway, I could see Celestia was quick to dismiss herself before I could say anything else. I walked over and closed the door so that I could get myself changed without the prying eyes of the maids trying to take a peek at my goods. After changing my outfit, I walked into the bathroom to see that most of it was pretty slimming. I then moved a bit to get a feel of the material, realizing that it was far more comfortable than what I would've imagined. Nothing was constricting about the outfit and I could do most of what would be required for me to do in any situation, be it mundane or combative. Even if my pants felt a bit uncomfortable on the left side, it only turned out to be a pair of white cotton gloves resting neatly within. I had to give Rarity credit, I didn't think she go so far as to get my hands right, but I supposed that's to be expected by now.

After sizing up my new wardrobe, I soon found it desirable to rock the new look as opposed to my original vengeance get-up. But there was more to this look than what I was giving it currently. My face was clean, but not quite clean-shaven. My hair was a tamed wildness as it was, but the look called for something a tad more conservative. So I went in the complimentary grooming cabinet and nabbed me a razor and a black ribbon used to adjust pony manes.

Around thirty minutes later, I was rocking a slick comeback into a neatly-pulled half-up ponytail, the business from the sides and back just flowed down. My beard was trimmed to give off a rough but clean look. My sideburns were a lot tamer, my brows a little more arched, and my eyes approved of the man staring back at me in the mirror. And in that half-hour, I started to realize that my hanging around Rarity for a month made me quite adept to adjusting my own appearance, it was another thing I had to thank her for.

I walked out of the bathroom, grabbed my phone and slipped it in my pocket. My ceremonial sword was quickly fastened onto my waist and my left hand rested comfortably on it's hilt. Probably the first time where I could call myself the Captain of the Royal Guard and completely look the part while not complaining. And after making sure that I also had a gun on my belt for good measure, I glanced back at the white pair of slacks and shoes on my bed.

I suppose that outfit will be used for something else.

Walking the halls this time was a completely different experience. Instead of just simply looking at me, the maids gasped as I passed by. The guards standing on duty saluted even faster and for even longer until I passed by. The other politicians who roamed the hall even stopped to take in my new appearance, their faces wrought with stubbornness and approval. And by the time I arrived to my post, even my superiors glanced me up and down, gave a solitary nod, then walked off while inspecting the others.

One of them even walked up to me, his chest completely covered in gaudy medals and colorful ribbons with a firm smile. "That's the new standard, captain. I would see nothing less." His magic flashed around my silver emblem and tilted it slightly. "Now that's a guard of her majesty's standard."

"Thank you, sir." I replied with a salute.

He gave one back and he dismissed me so that I could get to my second position in the royal auditorium. Already waiting for the service to start was none other than Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance with princes Blueblood and Shining Armor sitting quietly beside them. Twilight didn't seem to be present and neither were any of the girls.

"Captain Nondis." I looked around for whoever called my name, only to see a distinctively familiar face looking at me as he approached. "I don't believe that you came here to mingle."

For a while, his name escaped me and I could only greet him as formally as possible. "No sir, I'm on assignment."

The stallion sighed and shook his head as he placed a hoof on his chest. "I don't believe you forgot who I am. It's me, Alabaster. We met at the garden party for the celebration of Canterlot's anniversary."

The night when Cadance and I got into it in front of everyone. "Oh right! Honor to meet you again! How's everything on the city board?"

"Well things have changed a bit. Some coalition came up in the recent days, just a group of lobbyists trying to advocate for more public funding for larger private industries to cut away a portion of property on the lower end to build an industrial complex."

"Sounds like a good idea. But what's the catch?" I asked.

"Uprooting residents living in the area who are either grandfathered in or property owners trying to keep their locally-funded businesses afloat. I mean it would be a benefit to clean up that part of the city for once, but I fear to disrupt the filth would only provide an outsourcing to the upper tiers of the city, wealthier clientele who would pay a shiny bit to keep the muck alive and do better in keeping it all hidden. And of course, that's where the real trouble begins."

"Let me guess, increases accessibility to those with the money because what's a walk down the street to get your drug fix."

Alabaster hummed quietly as he looked at the coffin ahead. "I fear it is much worse than that. The only thing that is keeping a lid on the accessibility rate is the reputation of the surrounding area, known formally as Canterrot. As much as I despise the idea of allowing such a place to remain in existence, it is a necessary evil to ward off any curious adventurers in the midst of a midlife crisis. Let that place get completely cleansed, and you're looking at far more organized gangs, politicians getting their hooves in the midst of it all, more dissenters and critics going missing only to end up being found on the mountainside."

I couldn't help but to feel my throat get dry from the thought of that chaos ensuing. "Well that's not fun." I looked back to the coffin at the front and mumbled. "I wonder if he was involved in any of that."

"Probably so." Alabaster answered quietly. "Prostitution there is rampant, and he's been known to be a flirt of the hands-on variety throughout the course of his life."

I glanced back at the stallion. "You seem to know a lot about the guy."

"I only happen to know the catastrophic mess that is his son." He replied brashly. "That is all I know."

"How's he?" I questioned.

"You'll find out when he marches in with the family. From there, you will know how he's doing." He said one last time, giving the coffin a long stare before walking away.

For a moment, I walked up towards the casket and saw the portrait of him smiling behind the dark brown box. At the lip of the handles, I could see a golden square with his mark at the center. I looked back to the portrait, seeing his still-whole face while the ghost of it's ghoulish counterpart started to manifest itself over it in my mind.

"Nondis!" I heard a loud whisper from behind me, startling me as I jumped back to see Shining waving me over.

I clasped at my chest, taking a few breaths before I walked over to speak. "Dude, you damn near spooked the shit out of me."

The young prince chuckled as Blueblood joined with him. "Don't tell me you're getting the creeps." Blueblood said. "If anything you should be happy with your current circumstances. You're out here, he's locked away in there."

"Still can't get his face out my head all the way." I replied, glancing back at the large picture. "Sure that photo up there may have him looking unassuming like a proud upstanding citizen, but I know how he looked when his face hit the ground. The smell of blood is still fresh to me."

"Well then again, you had a lot to distract you in the recent days." Shining spoke up. "Planning for the funeral, your duties to protect the castle and it's inhabitants, the city, your family coming to visit. It's just a lot to think about when something like that happens to be taking an intimate back seat."

I looked away from Count's picture and turned my attention to Blueblood. "So what now? He's out the way."

"It does makes our plans a bit easier. Did you ever talk to anyone who could be able to make a few changes to your fortunes?"

"I'm still working on it. Though I could be a little faster, couldn't I?"

"A little bit of speed wouldn't hurt." Shining answered.

"Patience, Shining. When the funds are right and we are completely clear from any financial obligations. The paper trail mustn't lead towards us. Last thing you want to happen is for there to be a royal scandal."

"So what about Cadance?" I asked. "Should we still be feuding?"

"Of course." Blueblood confirmed. "Your feud will pose the image that the royal family's dynamic is unstable and incapable of producing efficient results in our endeavors. The more the distraction, the easier to work in the shadows."

"I'm wondering if Cadance should be allowed in on our plans now." Shining stated.

"Only when she realizes just how dire the stakes are for the life she holds within herself. I'll have to do a bit of poking and prodding on my end to leak that information." Blueblood replied.

I cringed at the idea of what could happen if any of the politicians would find out that Cadance was pregnant. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"We have to reveal their colors sometime. If I bait them into it, then I can bring the awareness to the front lines. From there, we may be able to bolster our support to a more unified front. It's a risk with an ugly consequence should we fail, but I don't believe failure is much of an option nowadays."

"Shining, are you okay with this?" I questioned the young prince.

"If it happens to move things along where we can increase our chances of removing this law, then I'm all ears."

"It's going to put the life of your unborn foal at risk." I warned.

"When Cadance gives birth, it's going to be made public. Her pregnancy will be made public eventually. It's only a matter of time before this happens on it's own. Might as well fan the flames so we can get this train moving. The sooner, the better."

"Shining, I don't know if I could put my own kid on this one."

"Why not? Rather this than before they start checking to see if she's a virgin at the end of every month when she's twelve."

...Double woof.

The halls started to fill with a multitude of faces, some from associates, others from business representatives to offer the family condolences. However, in terms of family members, there was only one stallion standing in the hall weeping openly as he tried to hide his tears behind a pair of sunglasses. The stallion garnered well-wishers while two ponies entered and found their attention towards another part of the hall. A unicorn mare with a peach coat and red hair done in a bun. The other was a lanky unicorn stallion dressed in studs and black leather with a long black mane.

The two walked behind a pillar and then proceeded to speak at a low volume. "Okay. We're in the castle." The stallion said with a low droaning voice. "What's next?"

"Well I suppose the first thing we should do next is infiltrate as one of the guards." The mare whispered cheerfully. "All I need is a profile to assume and we should be as good as right then."

The stallion looked past the mare, focusing in on her posterior. "Well I'm sure you can detect love and lust as well as any other. You tell me where we can start."

"I still don't feel right doing this." The mare whispered.

"C'mon ThorAss. Just use what the queen gave you. You're a passive male anyhow, you're biologically built to take it."

"Pony name, Dream Slayer. We're in their court." The disguised changeling replied, ears peeling back with disapproval.

"Ugh fine, Sun Dancer." Pharynx said begrudgingly. "Now go scout out a guard or something."

"What do you think I'm trying to─" Thorax stopped himself short as he started to use his nose to pick up on a slight hint of musk. "Hold on..." He took another sniff and quickly surmised the direction of the smell. He peeked his head from behind the pillar and saw a stallion standing by a broom closet, trying his best to hike up his hind leg to hide himself. Thorax's tongue slithered out as he confirmed his target. "Bingo."

"Great news. Now go get that ass smashed to size or something." Pharynx said with a chuckle.

The disguised changeling rolled his eyes as he adjusted his feminine appearance slightly. "You'd still be outside without me, remember that."

With an unassuming trot towards the frustrated guard, Sun Dancer could already hear the earth pony guard's rumblings. He appeared to be stood up and was left to try and calm himself. "Goddamn it. I should've known a maid with the name 'Cherry Picker' would be trouble. 'Meet you here at eleven' she said. 'I'm gonna show you a good time' she said. If it wasn't for peer pressure, I wouldn't even be here."

"Um... excuse me." The unassuming mare mewled out to the guard.

The young stallion turned to the mare and stopped himself from answering harshly. He instead, straightened his helmet and put on his best smile. "Yes, m'lady."

Sun Dancer shifted her hind legs, crossing them as she spoke sweetly. "I don't mean to interrupt you, but I was wondering where the nearest bathroom was."

The stallion then leveled his expectations and simply pointed to the other direction further down the hall. "Third door to the right, next to the stained glass mural of Starswirl the Bearded. Can't miss it, his hoof is pointing directly towards it."

The mare giggled at the stallion as he continued to cock up his hind leg to hide himself. "Okay, thank you so much. But now I'm pretty curious why you're standing over here like this."

"It's just nothing." He answered, starting to feel a blush on his cheeks.

She stepped forward to pry further into the matter. "Is your leg hurting?"

"O-oh, well YES, yes! S-sprained my hoof, drilling for hours on end yesterday and now I'm feeling the burn."

The mare blinked seductively as she put a hoof on his chest. "I know what you're hiding." She whispered.

The stallion gulped as he felt himself being backed into the door of the broom closet. "Do you now?" He asked nervously.

The mare bit her lip as she pointed at the door behind him. "What's in there?"

The guard looked at the door's label, reading out loud. "Uh, supplies?"

"Surprise, it is." She squeaked softly, igniting her magic to wrap around the length of the stallion's sex. His eyes rolled back as he drew a sharp breath followed by a throaty moan. Her magic quickly quenched itself and the stallion dropped his hind leg. With gusto, he reached for the knob and turned it, only to find that it was locked the entire time.

"Oh COME ON!" He shouted angrily. "I should've known that damn bitch wasn't gonna let me get any! Fuck her!"

"You said the bathroom was third door to the... left?" Sun Dancer inquired.

"Colt's room." The stallion grabbed the mare and pulled her towards the very place he gave direction to, leaving himself to hang in all of his aroused glory. He pushed the door open and smiled primitively before yanking her inside.

Pharynx shook his head as the disguised Thorax quickly subdued his target into a trap. "Ugh, I don't see what they see in him. He's just a passive drone who's only good for infiltration tactics." As soon as he finished that statement, he saw two unicorn maids walking down the hall. One with a light blue coat and a bright orange mane, the other with a red coat and a blonde mane. He hid himself and waited until the two got closer, overhearing their conversation.

"And you just left him here? Wow, Cherry, you're cruel."

"He was asking for it! He was begging me all week to spend some time with him. And now he's gonna get that big fat NO he's been begging for. If he wanted it so bad, he'd just fuck any other maid around here."

"Are you kidding? He's got like three different reprimands for public indecency. If anything, none of the maids are interested because they've already seen what he's got."

A loud short moan was heard from the bathroom, followed by a long groan of released pleasure. The two maids covered their mouths as the continued speaking.

"Hey Cherry, was that him!?"

"Oh yeah, I recognize his voice. Guess he figured out the door to the supplies closet was locked the entire time and vouched to make a mess in the bathroom."

"Ew, I am not cleaning that this evening!"

"Well you'll get to be the one to make fun of him for it."

"I am telling everypony about this."

The stallion slowly emerged from the bathroom, checking if his helmet was on straight. Pharynx squinted to closely observe the stallion, confirming that it wasn't the guard who was originally standing in the hall earlier. The 'guard' then glanced back at the two mares and walked about his business, but not before being confronted by the two maids.

Cherry started off. "Ew, you're so disgusting. Like, why a public restroom?"

"You're gonna get in so much trouble over this, abandoning your post, soliciting sex from a royal worker, and yet another count of public indecency!"

The stallion carelessly replied. "...Okay."

The two mares stared back with shock, seeing how nonchalant he was. Cherry then spoke. "So you don't care about what I think about you?"

"Honestly, you're just another manipulative bitch who's mad her high-school sweetheart dumped her for someone else in public. So you validate your humiliation tactics by dragging someone along for the ride to laugh with you. You're just as empty as a politician's smile before reelection. My last nut was way better thinking about me than it was thinking about you. It's better a million potential kids get wasted on the floor of a public restroom than somehow find it's way up your chute to become friends with your abandonment issues. But then again, abandonment requires you to belong somewhere at first before being cast aside, so I doubt your daddy ever got involved in your life. But hey, someone's gotta hold your mane whenever you get drunk and start crying in the toilet over how sick you get every weekend."

The two mares and Pharynx standing in the corner gawked wildly as Thorax threw on one more insult for good measure.

"Don't have kids, they'll just get kidnapped into a better standard of living."

"FUCK YOU, YOU ENTITLED PRICK!" The mare shouted before galloping down the hall in tears. The other chased after her, leaving only the two disguised changelings to stay behind.

"Thorax, I'm impressed."

The disguised changeling looked back at the bathroom sadly and said. "She was torturing him. She did it for weeks on end, he's just a young teen trying to start life."

Pharynx groaned with frustration. "Just when I thought you were growing a spine when you said all of that. Boy how I was wrong."

"I didn't bite him, but I did manage to knock him out and feed on him a little. He'll be out for around thirty minutes. But let's try to find another guard to use."

"No, we use that one. He's just another pony, so just run with it and cast the illusion spell on him." Pharynx demanded.

Thorax watched for a few seconds as his brother tried to storm into the bathroom before stopping him short. "Listen, we're in this castle because of what I'm doing. You're not doing much but standing around. If anything, I can be the one to give us the fighting chance to find the queen. So just follow my lead this time, after we find her and start planning for her escape, then you can start calling the shots."

"You're only good for sleeping around, ThorAss."

"Well my butt is getting the job done, so maybe you should just hear me out and work with me until it's all said and done. The last thing you need to do is get the attention of every guard here, or worse, the human's."

"I thought we were sneaking in here today to bypass the human and the security detail."

"Yeah, because of the funeral. Now just follow me, I think I may know where she's being held." Thorax wasted no time after the small argument, trotting down the hall as Pharynx quickly disguised himself as a simple palette swap of the stallion resting in the bathroom. He trailed behind his brother as he complained quietly.

"Oh like you taking advantage of a teenager's hormones is gonna help us find the queen."

While the funeral was an hour's length, the processional and recessional added fifteen minutes each until we could meet with the family. The son, an only child from what I was told, was quite upset with the circumstances. Though he didn't seem to approve of my being there so much because of our feud, he did apologize for the situation on Sunday and wished me well in the matters of my family. He also thanked me for being there in his final moments, doing what was within reason and offering what little virtue I could give him. It's unfortunate, that a person like Count could produce a mild-mannered son who was willing to offer their thanks and apologies in his stead. It makes me regret the fact that I ever came to insult him as a means of getting to Count.

And of course, we marched his coffin right to the graveyard a la street parade. There were some viewers, not overwhelmingly so but there was a numerous amount. Some were just curious of how lavish the escort was, there were also a fair share of protesters who threw fruit at the casket while screaming the names of their departed children, friends, neighbors, and lovers going on that Arimaspi Mountain assignment years prior─personally I was on that float. And then there were some sympathizers who made mentions of my presence being unwanted for the funeral. There were even some who tried to tell me off, saying that I was unworthy of being in my current position.

That went on for around an hour until we reached the gates of the cemetery. And of course, the pallbearers were getting anxious, wanting all of this pomp and circumstance to end. Again, I empathized. By the time we reached the private mausoleum, the six pallbearers were already awaiting my command to dismiss. And inside the small chapel were around twenty faces, including royals, family, a city council member, and a few other randoms I couldn't identify.

One of those randoms happened to be a face from the dinner party Rarity held at the Sun Cryst Resort. She wore a black dress with sunglasses, wafting a fan before her face. Quietly, she walked up and greeted me. "Captain Nondis P, Haines, it's been a while."

"And if I can recall, I have a card with your name on it in my wallet." I said, reaching for my wallet only to discover I had left it in the other pair of slacks I planned to wear. "And I am without said wallet. I remember you went by the name Blue."

The mare giggled as she levitated my hand out to meet with hers. "I'm happy to know that my introduction was memorable to you. I do want you to see me more often as opposed to gatherings such as this."

"In speaking of gatherings, why are you here exactly?" I questioned.

"Oh, just putting some long-term issues to rest." She said proudly. "Some adversaries you have watch as they put them down."

My eyes bucked wide open as her statement cut fiercely through the air, providing a complete shift in the atmosphere. "I never took you for being somewhat vindictive."

"Well, I got into business because of my mother. And that bastard being lowered into his grave, he hurt her in ways unimaginable. So it's personal for me. When I figured he was targeting you for much of your young career, I thought you'd feel the same."

I tapped my fingers against my arms upon folding them while I asked. "So what happened between him and your folks?"

"A history I'd much rather not speak on. I'd rather celebrate his death. If I can say anything, he is a scourge to mares. He hurt my mother, terribly. That is all you need to know for now."

Probably explains the sunglasses indoors. She's hurting and expressing the content in seeing him being lowered in his grave. I can understand her pain, just never thought I'd see someone go even further than I would in seeing him getting buried. "...I'm sorry for your pain."

"My pain is joy now." She answered silently.

As they started the ceremony of internment, I watched as the son weeped quietly to himself, standing beside his father with his hoof on the casket. His face wrought with sadness as the priest gave the final rights and read an excerpt from a book called the Faustian Tomes. The mare next to me started to speak again.

"No point in reading for his salvation. He knows where he's headed."

I knew I could have a murder boner for this man at times, but hers was a totally different level. Whatever Count did with her mom, she's dishing it back out in spades, and it's honestly scaring me. I can only hope that I didn't piss anyone off to this degree. "I'm sure your mom is at peace now."

She continued. "Oh, that's not even the worst of it. He's getting buried next to his wife, the one he drove to suicide."

...I'm sorry, WHAT!? "Um, are you sure that isn't some kind of rumor─"

"He had maids in the house, one of them told me everything that happened a few years back. My mom worked the grounds but she never told me anything, why she was so sad all the time. I don't know the reason for it, but he didn't like his wife, and he treated her worse than he did my mother. From the stories I was told, he was cruel and ruthless, doing what he could to appease himself. Then one day, she hung herself from the rafters of his private study. They even said that he refused to attend her funeral, despite her family's call to do so in honor of her. But here he is, getting just deserts."

Holy fuck, I knew death had a way of showing the ugly side of things, but this is a new level I'm not used to. "Well that's some heavy stuff."

"I can even imagine him screaming in that coffin. 'No, don't put me next to her. Anything but that. I'll do anything, how much do you want? I'll give it to you, just not this. Please.' All of that crying and he's getting put right back in the hooves of the mare he forsook to her own death." She then started to breathe unsteadily as she whispered, grabbing at her chest. "Mom.... he's gone. You're free now."

Softly, she sobbed and wiped the tears from her eyes. I patted her on the back and offered her some way I could comfort her. "Do you need anything? If you need an escort to someplace in particular, I can make sure you get there in a timely manner."

"I'm fine." She answered, trying her best to smile. "I'm leaving as soon as it's all done and they put a lid on him."

As she was clearing up her face, I looked back towards the casket, catching two faces staring back at us. The first one I saw was Alabaster, who was standing next to the priest. He threw a rose on the coffin and walked away immediately after. Celestia was the second, but she quickly looked away as if she wanted to avoid being seen staring at us. She stood up, laid her rose, and walked out of the mausoleum. Luna followed behind her. Shining simply looked at the coffin and walked off. Blueblood smirked and left. Anyone else just left the place. The son walked off to a corner as he took the time to mourn the passing of his father. I then approached the coffin, but veering my sights towards a marble plaque adjacent to the stone tomb he was going to be placed in. On the plaque read the name 'Amber Grain' with a picture of a single grain of wheat.

"Captain!" I heard Celestia call loudly from outside.

I took a moment to put my hand on the coffin and sigh softly. "...Upstairs ain't where you're going, bruh. Have fun."

After that, I quickly ran out to meet with the princess. She waited patiently, allowing me to fall into place as she pointed towards the six pallbearers. "I believe their efforts for today were commendable. They acted in accordance to the protocol of their profession and handled a sensitive matter with outstanding decorum. What do you recommend, captain?"

"I say they earned the rest of the day off. My legs are feeling a little bit of it so I know they're probably more tired having to march Senator Count from the morgue to the castle, down the city streets and into his final resting place. At least in our world the transportation is a lot more convenient. So you six have my highest praise." I stood myself at attention and performed an about face. "Squad, attention!" Each of them snapped up, their heads leveling with one another. "Present arms." They saluted the mausoleum. I raised mine quickly with a mental shout.

Time flew by after I got back to the castle, finally free from having to march in step from one place to another. Now I could walk from one place to another freely. And it only served to remind me just how vast the city is area-wise. I just wanted to go out to eat today instead of eating straight vegan-style. I caught wind of a pretty interesting bistro on Restaurant Row, and I opted to visit the place. It apparently had a high rating and felt like I was going to treat myself this once.

I was wrong.

The food I got had tiny portions you could throw on a cracker for spread, and the cracker itself would probably be the main dish. The main dish wasn't even the main dish, it was like a tiny sample of a sampler tray. And if you thought the dessert would be a sweet treat to savor and save the meal, then you'd be better off saving your money. Quoting a dissatisfaction with the food, I received a full refund and was sent on my way to another restaurant. Again, same place with a different face. All of the food seemed lifeless here and without color. I just settled for a place nowhere near the row, visiting Gustav Le Grand's place.

Sadly, they caught wind of my dietary restrictions and turned me away out of royal decree from the princess herself. So I vied for something simple, a cup of tea at the next place over. My drink was a welcome-back party into exotic taste. Coco, caramel, cream, and a hint of pumpkin, my tea was positively reminiscent of something you'd get from Starbucks.

Well to be fair, it was also a pony version of Starbucks I went to.

As I sat at the table, sipping down my tea, I went through my phone for some escapism. Thankfully, I still had Twitter on my phone and could keep up with whatever was going on. So I snapped a selfie, making sure that there weren't any ponies in the picture. I looked up at the camera and captured the image of me holding my cup of tea to my lips. To mask the reason for the outfit, I simply wrote on the post "Nothing like a day in cosplay. #ExpressYourself #Mood"

The first reply I got was from Cliff. "Boy u 💇 up" His way of saying I was cut clean today.

The next one was Rickey. "👌👀" His way of saying 'Okay, I see you.'

Mel threw in her comment. "💓 OMG lemmie see the full"

Rickey chirped back. "Lucy getting the extra run 2nite 🔋"

Mel promptly replied. "Lasts longer than u 💀"

I couldn't help but to have a hearty chuckle while Stanton chimed in. "SHOTS FIRED MAN DOWN"

Surprisingly, dad also chimed in with a response of his own. "Looking great, son. I can see the confidence. #Proud"

I typed in a response to him. "U active on Twitter? #Impressed"

Alex then typed in below me. "When you see it..."

I grew a little confused by his post and scrolled back up to the picture. I took a moment to examine it, then felt my heart rate skyrocket as soon as I saw the peeping eye of a blue unicorn mare poking out from behind my seat. As soon as I noticed it, my notifications went off. Mel being the first to reply. "Busted."

Cliff came in after. "Delete this, fam."

I looked back behind my chair to see a cute blue freckly face staring right back at me. "Hello."

I jumped up and reached for my saber before coming back down to earth. "Fuck's sake, you can't just be chilling behind me like that!"

Getting a good eyeful of the screen, she took notice of the image at the top of the post. "Hey, that thing can take pictures?"

"Yeah, and you weren't supposed to be in it." I said with a groan, trying to find the 'Delete Post' option.

"Aww, why not?" She questioned.

"Because my world isn't ready for ponies to make an appearance." I stated as I got a response from an unfamiliar name in the feed by the name of... Goddammit... Twilightlicious.

"Perhaps discretion should be a matter of when and where you take your photos." At the very least she's using a picture of her being human.

Not unlike Shining going full-dork with his profile picture, also going by the name EquestriasFinest. "Yikes, then maybe it's too late for me to change my profile picture?"

Cliff simply replied. "Nigga... 😂"

Shining then replied. "Also there seems to be a lot of girls asking me if I live in the local area."

"SHINING NO!" Stanton replied frantically.

"Forreal finals been killin me I been needed this laugh 😂😂😂" Cliff said. I can only imagine him having the time of his life right now.

"WHO FUCKN GAEV THEM ACCOUNTS? 😠" I angrily typed back, not even minding the typo.

And then I had my answer. "😈 uᴉƃǝq soɐɥɔ ǝɥʇ ʇǝ˥" By someone with the name of DrinkGlassTossMilk.

"Damn, he beat me to it." Mel answered.

"Dizzie, dude, control yourself." Alex wrote.

And right behind me, I could hear Blue Royal squeeing with childish gusto. "Oh my gosh, you can use that thing to take pictures AND communicate with other humans!?"

"You're a far cry different from earlier at the funeral." I noted while locking my phone.

The mare folded her ears back as she sheepishly confessed. "Yeah, sorry you had to see that. It was just an emotional time for me."

"It was an emotional time for a lot of people. You could just be one of the ones in the crowd throwing tomatoes at the guy's casket. Probably would've been more cathartic."

"I mean sure, if you didn't know exactly what all he did. But I had my time to scream and cry over it all, I did most of my outpouring at my mothers' funeral a decade back."

"Again, I'm sorry for your loss." I replied. "But what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to apologize for my acting out back there." She answered with a nervous smile. "I ended up giving you some baggage that you really weren't supposed to see. But I am happy that you took the time to see if I was doing well and if I needed anything. It speaks volumes about your character."

"Ma'am, with all due respect, I was just doing what any person would do when they see someone going through a tough time. I'm not special."

"First human to be named Captain of the Royal Guard in Equestria?" She replied with a jovial smile. "I'd think that crest on your chest would be pretty telling of how special you really are."

I took another sip of my tea. "You're also here for something else."

Her eyes perked open as she summoned a small pamphlet. "Oh right! I was supposed to give you this the other night!"

I grabbed the leaflet and read the details to myself. "Huh, so your organization is set to have a get together on this Friday evening?"

"And literacy is not a weakness of yours." She joked lightheartedly. "I want you to be our guest of honor. You may not want to come, that's fine. But it would honor me if you would. We have so many opportunities to create for your species in regards to your rights and privileges. And it's also unfair that some medical insurance agencies are taking the high road on you. You're just as alive as the rest of us, only you just happen to put your life on the line a little more often."

"And what would I get out of making an appearance to this meeting?" I inquired.

She placed her hooves on my shoulders as she whispered in my ear. "You could use some assistance in removing Law Processu Approbatio."

I cut my eyes back at her with a low murmur. "What you know about that?"

"I know law requires labor, and that labor can be done through a strong powerful group of lobbyists. With your main roadblock dead and buried, I'd think this would be a great opportunity for us to clean up a lot of mess left behind."

"Who put you on to this?" I asked.

"You did." She answered coyly.

"Excuse me?"

"You did, when you asked me to do just that."

"I don't recall asking you for anything." I stated.

"Well let's just say a good associate of ours put in a good word with you and made it known that you might need some legal and financial help."

"That associate being who?"

"Well you'll have to drop by on Friday to find out." She answered flatly. "We will be expecting you. And the uniform you're wearing will be just fine." She said in a semi-seductive tone before snapping back to her cheerful self, pressing her hoof against my nose. "Boopies!"

As she started to walk away, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled back up Twitter and saw that the conversation quickly progressed. Leading up to Shining's reply to read out. "This is Cadance, tell me more about these girls asking my husband about where he lives."

Well at the very least my day will remain interesting on this post.

Meanwhile in the Canterlot Dungeons...

Hours have passed since the two changelings sank themselves into the depths of the Canterlot castle, effectively working their way from the halls of the castle, through the checkpoints, and into the castle dungeons. Pharynx continued to reap the benefit of Thorax's ability to subdue the guards standing in the way. And one such guard had the keys to the lower levels in his possession. But instead of killing every guard they met, they instead shoved them into closets and kept moving forward.

As Pharynx was busy enjoying himself to a recent victim in the lower levels, Thorax stood guard outside to make sure there were no others coming. The meek changeling remained in his adopted form from the first guard he subdued. Meanwhile, Pharynx changed his form so frequently to every guard they captured and was feeding off another guard who was standing outside the checkpoint. The aggressive changeling snarled with delight as he absorbed the love energy of their subdued victim.

"Are you done?" Thorax questioned.

"Shut it. I haven't fed in weeks." Pharynx snapped back before biting into the stallion's neck.

As one brother proceeded to pump his victim full of changeling venom, the other tapped their hoof impatiently outside. "We don't have time to overindulge. We need to keep moving."

Pharynx finished with the guard, dropping him carelessly while the paralyzed stallion stared into oblivion, unable to move himself while barely being able to breathe. "Why, we know where she's being held. The only thing to do now is get into her cell and break her out."

"And how do you suppose we go about that without having an escape plan?" Thorax questioned.

"We have an army down here. Fifty is more than enough to bust out of here and there's at least a hundred, if not more."

"Should I remind you that the humans wiped out two-hundred of us in a matter of twenty minutes?" Thorax asked before noticing the blood around the other's mouth. He turned away, feeling squeamish at the sight of the disguised guard's muzzle being coated in crimson.

Noticing the elder's discomfort, the younger rolled his eyes and wiped his mouth. "That's not my problem, should've brought the strongest of our soldier drones."

Thorax sighed in response. "Is this about you not being able to leave the hive?"

Pharynx stepped against his brother and scoffed. "And you did? You're the weakest drone out of the whole hive! Explains why you ran and left the queen for dead."

Growing frustrated, the older brother groaned with disbelief. "If I would've died back there, would you still find anything to say that would berate me any more than you already do?"

"A ton of stuff, like how you should've been stronger and been able to fend for yourself better." Pharynx answered nonchalantly.

The older changeling felt a tinge of sadness as he broke his image to levitate a helmet to his younger sibling, a means to help hide the blood on his cheeks. "Sometimes, I wonder if you even care if something happens to me."

"Thorax, look. What I do and say have everything to do with the betterment of the hive. And if I see something out of place, then my job is to mobilize and enforce. If I had to, I'd resort to physical force and work you from the ground up. I do everything to protect the hive and ensure it's future."

"But have you ever thought of what you wanted to protect?" The older brother asked, trying to press the issue of compassion.

"Thorax, we're changelings. We're all we got." The younger brother said, trotting past and moving down the hall.

"But if we do something wrong, then are we not turning against one another? Is that what we really want for our future?" Asked the older, trotting faster to catch up with his brother.

"If it keeps us from making any mistakes that could cost us our hive and queen, then I'm all ears."

"But there's more to us, Pharynx, just like there are more to them." Thorax argued, bringing up the guards they subdued on the way in.

"More to us? Well thanks for the nansy-pansy pep talk." Pharynx said, dismissing his older brother with a tone of disappointment.

"I really do try, Pharynx. I only try my best."

"Then try harder. Being soft does nothing but leave you and everyone around you dead."

Thorax looked back to the day when the remnants of his contingent watched from a safe distance as the human contemplated an impromptu execution of Queen Chrysalis. After rejecting the idea, he among others could hear the changeling queen call the human she summoned a murderer. He could hear the anger in her voice as she remained powerless from an unseen blow to her horn, causing it to break. Already in his mind, he wanted to make amends for that day. "...I wonder if mom will be happy to see us."

"Keep the soft out of it. We're saving the queen, no questions asked." The grumpy changeling scolded.

"But isn't there more inside that makes you want to see her?" Thorax inquired.

"Yeah, it's called loyalty to the queen and hive. Can't go feeling sappy because we're a purebred strain. There are literally thousands of us, what would we look like to all of our enemies if we called her anything but our queen? She's just the head of the hive, no one's special, not even you."

"I just want her to see me like that, you know." Thorax thought aloud.

"Let me guess, the ponies you watched us feed off of were all clinging on to their lives, begging for their parents and kids, and you decide to have a change of heart?"

"It's not that─"

Pharynx interrupted his brother as he held a hoof up to his face with a raging scowl. "Don't be weak, Thorax. I don't mind knocking some mean into your passive pansy ass."

From there, the conversation between the two was brought to a minimum. As Pharynx took lead, Thorax lingered four steps behind. While Pharynx kept marching forward, the older sibling stopped at a particular corridor calling out to him. "...It should be at the end of this hall."

The younger brother backtracked to the hall Thorax pointed to and saw a door at the end of it with several runes and even two horn slots. With satisfaction, the younger said to himself. "Finally, now we can drop these stupid pony forms."

As they started to approach the door, the heard a voice call out from one of the cells to the left. "Psst! Over here!"

Thorax stopped again to identify which cell the voice came from and quickly pounced to the cell where the voice was coming from. Pharynx quickly recognized the voice and leaned against the cell door. "Well well, if it isn't our scouting commander Guto. Guess you found out how bad you fucked up, didn't you?"

"I only did what I did for the hive. We needed to be the strongest to keep the supply rolling." The fallen commander answered.

"You sent us some really bad goods. About ninety-five percent of the ones you sent in were already dead or dying." The changeling prince stated.

"We tried to sustain them as long as possible." Guto replied.

"Don't try to lie to me. You were upset because of that damn ritual to get the human here ended up backfiring, so you took it upon yourself to become the next changeling king. An off-breed, no less."

"And how good have you Purebreds been lately? If I remember the rumors correctly, Pupa's dead, Petiole's dead, you're deemed too hot-headed, and Thorax is too passive to do anything. Who's gonna take after Pupa, the hatchling Ocellus? Queen might as well start over." Guto answered with a chuckle. "Probably better off using a real specimen like me."

"You can tell that to her face, you damn grub. How many of you are there down here." Asked the younger prince.

"Some hundred. I know about fifty of us were tried, thirty of us were judged and executed the following day. They're mostly working from the bottom feeders on up."

"And your second in command?" Pharynx questioned.

"Tried, judged, and taken topside to join the rest of them. Though, Padrig's been getting special treatment. If you want a traitor to the cause, look him up."

The bit of news made the young prince quite visibly upset, even hissing at the idea. "Padrig was always for himself anyhow. He faces the world alone, he'll die alone."

"But what if he decided to help them instead?" Thorax brought up, causing the younger brother to look at the elder with disbelief.

"What did I just say?"

"I'm just saying this could completely change our dynamic with the ponies. Maybe then we can somehow convince them to share their love willingly at least."

Guto scoffed with a chuckle. Pharynx replied. "As if."

"Still dreaming of a world where changelings can point at the stars without a worry or care, huh? Just as weak as ever." The fallen commander commented, making fun of the elder prince.

"What did I just say to you?" Pharynx said to his older brother, bringing his hoof up to vehemently punch his younger sibling in the side

"Hey! Nevermind me, how are we getting the queen out of her cell?" Thorax brought up, wincing from the powerful blow he took.

Guto bashed against the cell door. "Why don't we start with getting the rest of us out. I'm sure a hundred of us can swarm a few guards without them getting to the alarms. And if we want to, we can even take a few hostages to make sure we get out safely."

"There's a guard in the other room they can feed off of. Thorax knocked him out, I literally venom'd him into next week. But other than that, Thorax has been pretty useful for a change."

"How, by shoving their dick up his ass again?" Guto joked.

"Ha ha, very funny." Thorax said, completely unamused.

"As long as he's useful for something." The younger brother joked along.

"PHARYNX!" The older prince called out with indignation.

"Oh shut it and grow a thicker hide." The younger prince ordered to Thorax before turning back to Guto. "So what's the plan?"

Before Thorax could speak, Guto quickly took charge as he laid out a suggestion. "I've been thinking of this one since the queen got in. We break the locks of every cell on this block, wait in our cages until dawn. By then, four of their guards will chain down around three changelings and have them walked up to get their sentence. As they're walking out of the cells, we break out of our cells, ambush them, take their weapons, strip their armor, and drag two of them to the cell where our queen's being held. The door holding her inside has an enchantment spell on it that will need two of their guards to crack open and dispel the runes on the inside. From there, we break her chains, get her out, use the four guards and any others we run into as feed. From there, we become strong enough to fight off a small contingent. Escort the queen out, break out of here, and we're flying off into the sun before the clock hits noon."

A fang-riddled smile appeared on Pharynx's face as he rubbed his hooves together. "My kind of plan."

Now feeling insecure and small, Thorax whimpered to himself as he realized that he couldn't come up with any other plan sooner. "I guess if it works."

"You're just jealous that he came up with a cooler plan than you." Pharynx said to his older brother with a shove.

The berated changeling closed his eyes and wished for the day to end. He then offered the words that no one would speak to him, the words he wanted to hear in order to continue moving forward.

"...Keep trying, Thorax."

Later...

After a lengthy explanation of how the internet works in my world to a more-than-livid Princess Cadance, I then proceeded to tell her about the many dangers of said internet. But being the fact that much of these things were still fresh to her and some of the more complicated topics would go sailing over her head, I explained it in the best way she could understand.

"See, these aren't 'real girls' as much as they are made up. What some people will do is that they will try to take advantage of your naïvety and try to get information from you so they can sometimes steal your identity. Think of them as changelings you can't tangibly hunt down."

Cadance continued to hold her husband hostage as she sat across from me at the dinner table. "Very well then, continue."

"So even if there are a bunch of 'girls' saying that they want you to meet 'hot singles in your area', that's just people trying to junk up your phone so they can take what's yours."

Cadance turned to her husband with a stern expression. "Did you hear that, Shining? They're humans trying to take what is yours."

Shining still appeared confused. "I still don't see why they would. I mean I would if I put out there that I'm a prince of a sovereign nation."

"Yeah, don't put that in your bio." I warned emphatically. "People will either think you're crazy, or they'll start to try and see if you're the real deal."

"The only crazy thing I saw was an egg telling me, and I quote, 'DIE FURFAG YIFF IN HELL YOU UGLY PIECE OF SHIT'. When I replied, they just told me to 'KYS' which I don't know what that is. Is 'kys' is a totally different way of saying kiss or keiss?"

"Let me see your phone for a minute." I asked. Cadance quickly surrendered the device on her husband's behalf and I scrolled down to check his statuses. I saw a bunch of photos of him posing up against the wall, one in bed with a rose in his mouth, and even a selfie where he held his foreleg out like he's holding up the entirety of Canterlot in the frog of his hoof. From what I gathered, some people thought this was some artist page and it had around thirty-some-odd followers. I noticed there were also comments on each of the pictures. The one where he selfied the castle, he had a few comments of 'That's so awesome.' 'I love your work, collab with me sometime.' 'If you start putting your name out, you'd have a thousand followers easy. Keep it up.' 'Your work is so pretty, so lifelike. How do you do it?' 'Your OC is so cute, looking at him doing little things like this brings me life.'

I can already attest to the fact that this was going to be a problem.

I swapped off to the one where he laid in bed with the rose in his mouth, and as such, the comment chain he spoke of appeared as he claimed it. I wandered into his settings and quickly changed his Twitter to a protected status and blocked the majority of followers who seemed really interested in his account, much to mass disappointment. I then sent out follows to only the ones that I deemed trustworthy, that excluded dad for the time being. I handed Cadance back the phone and answered Shining's question. "KYS is a crude abbreviation, it's an insult."

"I don't get it." Shining replied.

"Let's just say for example my disliking Count. If I wrote him a sticky note and put it on his desk to 'KYS', then Sunday would've been a grim way of saying he did just what that sticky note said to do."

Shining then became wide-eyed. "Oh... So KYS is another way of saying 'commit suicide'."

"Literally, Kill Your Self." I concluded. "Guy was a troll trying to get a rise out of you. And seeing your rather naïve web personality, I'd say you got the better of them by not replying any further."

"The human world is a weird place." Shining said.

Cadance eased up on Shining's metaphorical leash and turned to her husband. "Next time, you be careful. I don't want anymore surprises like today."

Shining nodded while acknowledging his wife before turning back to me. "In speaking of surprises, you took a picture and there seemed to be some pretty little mare behind you. What was that all about?"

Cadance went from taking her leash off of Shining to latching it on me. "Now this, I want to know."

"Just a random pony from that Hooves-for-Humans fanclub looking to get an autograph. I didn't really understand why she was sneaking around me until they gave me an invite to their next meeting. Guess they really want me to make an appearance to their little social club and mingle."

The pink princess shook her head and folded her forelegs. "I know they probably mean well for you, but something seems off here. How would one of them know where you were and why would they sneak into your pictures? Furthermore, why were you away from the castle when you could've had tea here?"

"I went to a place whom's selection kinda reminded me a little of home. That's all."

"Homesick, huh?" Shining questioned.

"Not really, I was home for almost a week. I don't think that matters, just wanted something simple on the palette."

Shining tapped his hoof and smirked behind his wife. "Hey honey, in speaking of tea, could you go get some for me?"

Cadance didn't quite oblige her husband's request. "Waiter! My husband would like some tea!"

Shining, forgetting that she was royalty, opted for another command. "Cadie, can you also go get the files off my nightstand? I kinda forgot to do some paperwork."

The pink princess shrugged. "Why not get a maid or someone else to do it? I'm spending my time with you."

"That would be fine, but I don't think I can trust the maids here." I said coming to the young prince's rescue. "They told a half-truth to the newspaper about my parents and now I can't hear the end of the stories telling everyone that my parents disowned me and called Celestia out of her name."

Cadance groaned and rolled her eyes. "Fine, but you two better not do anything stupid. I can't keep my eyes off of either of you without the both of you devolving into a pair of goofballs."

The princess quickly trotted out and one of the servants walked past her with Shining's tea in tow. He placed it down at the table for the young prince's consumption. Shining quickly dismissed him and the other servants in the room before speaking again. "So, what's this meeting all about?" He asked quietly.

"Apparently someone we know blabbed to her about what I was going to ask before I could even bring it up." I confessed.

"So she met up with you today of all days?"

"Actually we met during the afterparty for Rarity's fashion show last weekend, the one before this past one. And she was kinda being coy about the thing now that I look back on it. Perhaps she knew about what I wanted then." I stated.

Shining grabbed his phone off the table and went to my status, taking note of the mare in the back of the picture. "She looks familiar, I think I saw her before."

"You probably did." I answered. "She was at the funeral. From what I could gather, Count did her mom dirty and she was there to make sure he got lidded off before she left."

"I wouldn't even be surprised at this point." Shining said, closing his eyes to think. "He did a lot of bad to ponies who didn't deserve it. And the fact that he did what he did on Twily's birthday, I would've stayed there to make sure he stayed underground, probably would've asked the directors to dig a few more feet for good measure."

"She wants me to meet up with her on Friday evening." I said while giving him the pamphlet I received. "It feels like I'm walking into a trap."

"A sex trap, more likely." Shining mumbled as he noted the time. "This is a branch meeting, she's looking to get you around a few friends so they can chat it up, break the ice, and then the money starts rolling in with the more you're willing to do."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, consider yourself lucky that you're eating healthy. I hope you aren't planning to get your rocks off anytime soon."

"You really think this is what's gonna go down on day one, huh?"

"Better to be prepared with that expectation than not to and be caught by surprise. You need to make sure all your bases are loaded. Because the moment they start talking money, that's when you need to start losing clothes."

"Have you done something like this before?"

"Cadance doesn't know of how I 'talked' my way out of an international conflict during the first month of our engagement. It was a Zebrabian queen offering to ignore Equestrian operations as long as I satisfied her fetish.... She liked sitting on my face for hours while talking to her subjects' pleas, a situation that had my superiors call me 'urine cake'."

...Errugh. "Oooohhh... she didn't... you know?"

"No, the commander we had thought she pissed on me during an orgasm, but he was a dunce who didn't know the difference between urine and female ejaculate. But as a plus, it did teach me how to foreplay my way past Cadance on her more active days of estrus, might as well chalk it to 'basic training'."

I started to laugh at the absurdity of his story. "You have a story for everything, don't you?"

"This life's never uneventful." The young prince declared proudly. "But I found out months after our first honeymoon that she likes marathons. So every year around that time, it feels like I'm going to war."

The two of us laughed for a while, cracking a few other jokes along the way. As we started to taper off, I glanced back at the picture and remembered Blue's comment about what I should wear. "You know, she wanted me to show up in this uniform."

"By the way, that doesn't look half-bad on you. You should really go with that as your image from now on." The prince commended.

"Yeah, but then again, I don't want to wear something special on the daily, otherwise it becomes a mundane look. Don't want to spoil the novelty." I replied before getting back on track. "Anyhow, I wonder if I should prepare any kind of suggestions for negotiation. I'm worried if sex is the only thing on the menu, I'll have little else to offer in any other capacity."

"Well you are asking them for favors, I'd say it's better to be ready to offer what's easier to give away. If that club president's as rich as what we were led to believe, then I'm sure a rout in the sheets will be the least of your contractual obligations. Remember that wealth and power goes hoof-in-hoof, and if that's all she wanted, she'd get it from someone else."

Cadance walked through the doors soon after Shining's comment, ending our discussion on the matter immediately. The pink princess then laid out her husband's paperwork on the dining table and sat down next to him. "These are all matters pertaining to the Crystal Empire." Cadance stated. "We're going to look over them together and make a few amendments so that we can make way for our little addition." She also levitated a few other books in, most of them on the subject of childbirth and childcare. "Also, we'll be giving these a read over the next week, so pay attention."

Shining grimaced and looked at me, non-verbally begging me to bail him out of this one.

"Sorry Shiny, you're the one who put your dick in crazy."

The Next Morning...

The streets were a lot less controlled and traffic moved as freely as ever. The faces of the citizens were a mixed bunch, some varying between blissful smiles and knowing grins to forlorn frowns and modest attempts to hide the stress of private life. After a day of tense political elbow-brushing and jarring accounts pertaining to the body we marched to it's final resting place, normalcy seemed to have returned.

Unfortunately, that's only for the morning.

Meanwhile in the deepest parts of the Canterlot Dungeons, five guards was already well on their way to pick up some prisoners for their due sentencing. Following them were two other guards, who appeared to be steel-eyed and sensitive to the sounds around them, they lagged behind to ensure the safety of the security patrol. The guard leading the party pointed to three cells with the intention of quickly fulfilling his duties. The others did as instructed and opened the cages of the three cells where the changelings were held.

However, the two guards in the back quickly approached and pointed out to the patrol leader that the locks of the cells did not tumble as they normally would. The leader didn't seem to care that much and went about business as usual. The three guards approached the leader with their changeling prisoners standing beside them, all ensnared by their chains. The changelings looked to one another before being forced to keep their eyes down to the ground. As the leader ordered for their blinders to be put on, the second-in-command levitated a scroll of parchment and began to read aloud.

"Prisoner I.D. 59Q6E0, for the crimes of abduction, foalnapping, physical abuse, rape, and second-degree slaughter of more than twelve Equestrian citizens, the judge has issued that your sentencing is to be carried out in the efficiency for the punishment assigned. The jury has found you guilty of all sixty charges, to that effect your punishment will be hanging by the neck until dead. There will be no appeals made in your defense."

The guard rolled up his first piece of parchment and unraveled another one to read.

"Prisoner I.D. 59Q7X3, for the crimes of abduction, foalnapping, physical abuse, sexual abuse, battery, those previous accounts applied to that of seven victims, and the murder of four E.U.P. officers, the judge has issued that your sentencing is to be carried out in the efficiency for the punishment assigned. The jury has found you guilty of all forty-one charges, to that effect your punishment will be hanging by the neck until dead, followed by beheading for the account of the guards slain. There will be no appeals made in your defense."

One of the changelings muttered to himself. "Sheesh, overkill."

"Shut it!" The guard beside him ordered with a hit to the top of his head, forcing the changeling to bow down while the second-in-command put away his scroll and pulled out the final one for reading.

"Prisoner I.D. 52Q9B1, for the crimes of abduction, battery, physical abuse, assault, sexual assault, those previous accounts applied to that of four victims, impersonating a royal official, evading arrest, destruction of property, and operating a locomotive without a proper license, the judge has issued that your sentencing is to be carried out in the efficiency for the punishment assigned. The jury has found you guilty of all twenty-four charges, to that effect your punishment will be a double-life sentence and prison labor upon the relocation to a maximum security prison. There will be an appeal process available to you upon a period of twenty years of good behavior."

"If I'm not mistaken, shouldn't I be hung like the rest?" The third changeling questioned.

"The judge decided this, I'm just reading the parchment." The second-in-command replied.

"Oh..." The changeling took a deep breath as he exclaimed. "Phooey!"

Without warning, every cell door broke open and changelings stormed out in droves. The seven guards looked on in horror as they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a horde of changelings. The patrol leader looked back to the two guards who warned him in horror. "I probably should've listened to you there."

One of the guards chuckled as he nodded his head down. "You fuckers are always overconfident, sloppy, corrupt, and completely incompetent."

The other steel-eyed guard simply looked away. "If this is the state of your guard considering who's over your royal division, I probably gave him too much credit."

"What?" The patrol leader questioned as the other guards stared back at the two.

Before their very eyes, the two rear-most guards dropped their disguises and hissed at the five, forked tongues in full lashing. Thorax and Pharynx had a small group of changelings secure the end of the hall as they stepped closer towards the patrol, who found themselves backing into the throng of changelings. Guto stepped out of the shadows and pulled the second-in-command's helmet off of his head.

"Prisoner Y-O-U, for the crime of being Equestrian scum and a unicorn, the judge has issued that your sentencing is to be carried out in the efficiency for the punishment assigned. Has the jury reached the verdict?"

"GUILTY!" The entire hall rang out with changeling voices as they closed further in on the unlucky party.

"Well that settles it." Pharynx decreed. "Your punishment will be to feed our queen until she deems herself satisfied. And if you know what's good for you, you'd probably put your shitty pony magic to some good use and let her out for a lighter sentence."

The second-in-command snarled back. "We will never betray Princess Celestia. You lot will be thrown off the mountain to get intimate with the stones below, at least then you'd have another queen to worship: DEATH!" Shortly after the guard's rant, Thorax's horn ignited and the pony who opposed soon found himself changing his tone of voice, his eyes glowing green as he spoke again. "For the good of the hive, for my queen will I serve."

Thorax looked to one of the other unicorn guards and cast the same spell on him. And the two guards walked towards the end of the hall where Chrysalis' door lied. Almost with complete obedience, the two slotted their horns to the locks and activated their spell. The runes of the door shone white before cracking open. And without further incident, the queen was revealed before them. While the two hypnotized guards marched eagerly to free the queen, the other changelings looked at Thorax with amazement and surprise.

Guto chuckled to himself. "So that's your special little stunt. Here I was thinking you were just a passive brood of some sort."

The changeling prince rolled his eyes. "Not everything has to be done with violence, guys."

The entire throng of changelings looked back as the now-freed queen stretched her limbs, finally free from the chains that held her down for the better part of a month. The entire hall bowed with the exception of the three remaining guards in captivity. The three readied themselves to the best of their abilities, fighting off five changelings before being bitten by Pharynx, Guto, and another. And as quickly as they mounted their comeback, they fell to the ground only able to speak for a little while longer before the massive amounts of venom wrecked havoc on their nervous system.

Thorax walked up to the queen with a meek smile. "It's nice to see you're doing okay. I honestly expected them to treat you worse than this."

The queen glanced at the young changeling prince and scoffed. "Nothing's more agonizing than to hear Cadance talk while I'm the one weak and without magic."

Thorax glanced at her horn. "At least your horn's okay. Is there anything else you nee─"

"Pharynx, tell me what you have planned for getting us out of here!" The queen abruptly demanded, slicing through Thorax's question.

"Well I say we fight our way out. We got the numbers to throw at them so you can escape."

"We could initially disguise ourselves as guards and infiltrate their ranks. As soon as we get topside, we secure a route through the castle and disguise ourselves as guards." Guto added. "The only problem is getting through the checkpoints without causing any suspicion."

Though the queen looked at the changeling commander with ire, she did not lash at him when he responded. Instead, she turned her attention to the two hypnotized guards standing beside her as if they were her personal escort. With a quick about-face, she bore her fangs and hissed loudly. The two guards rose into the air as their bodies glowed brightly in a lime-green aura. A pinkish-white stream of concentrated love was then siphoned into the back of her throat. For moments she stood until the two stallions snapped out of their trance, realizing what was happening to them. But it was too late as they felt the energy from their bodies drown out completely and the aura around them dimmed to almost nothing. The two unicorns fell limp and even withered into prunes while the queen shut her mouth with a satisfied hiss. "Ah... sweet love. Humble revenge."

The two newly-created corpses were tossed aside while the queen's body was wrapped in green flames. The brightness of the transformation flashed brightly throughout the halls with a tremendous energy. The ripples from the raw power from her display blew out every candle light and torch in the hall, leaving only a pair of glowing green eyes standing high above the others... much higher than usual.

Thorax illuminated his horn and grew fearsome of the face that stared back at him. Meanwhile, the others simply displayed shock and awe of her new appearance. And when she spoke, her voice became distinctive to the face she wore. "Not bad, if I say so myself. I could easily pass as one of them."

Pharynx smirked as he replied. "I see what you're going for, but you're missing a few scars. A small one down the cheek on the right, other all the way down to the left, a cut on the neck at his throat."

The queen seamlessly adjusted, the scars popping up as if they were a missing texture in a buggy game. The queen smiled coldly as she spoke to the three other guards, now wearing the captain's face.

"Now... about these really annoying checkpoints."

The past month and some change has been incredibly taxing so I do apologize for the late post. But I am hopefully getting back on track with the next chapter or so. I do hope that all is well with you all and I shall see you next chapter.

At least my last month, much like Count, is dead and buried.