Starburst, the Pegasus stallion, slowly came back to his senses. The first thing to register was that he was in a world of pain. Every single muscle in his body felt as if it were cramping simultaneously. He groaned and tried to move... the keyword being 'tried'. His limbs wouldn't respond and when his muscles tensed he felt the abrasive scratch of rope against his skin. It seemed that something had happened to him, but he couldn't remember what. He had been scheduled to work safety watch and he had taken a comfortable spot on a random cloud then... the rest was foggy.

"He's awake. Let's see what he knows." a masculine voice said.

Starburst's eyes shot open and he looked around fearfully. The rest of his recent memories came flooding back. Seeing the giant monster flying through the air, watching as strange armored creatures disembarked from atop the beast, and the sight of an Earth Pony mare dressed in heavy looking armor. Starburst also remembered the jolt of electrical pain that had rendered him immobile, then unconscious. His eyes fell onto the creatures standing over him. Their heights varied widely, but they all appeared to be fairly similar in frame and musculature. Many wore armor, some didn't, but almost every one of them either held or wore a weapon of some kind.

Starburst began to fear for his life, "What... what do you want from me?"

One of the creatures pulled an old looking trident from its shoulder and held it in both hands, "We want information. We would much rather have you tell us, but if you decide that you don't want to... we have ways of acquiring what we need." The creature spoke evenly, but the way it glanced at its trident suggested that it had a notion to use it, "Those methods are... not so pleasant for you, though. How about we bypass the unpleasantness and you just tell us what we want to know?"

Starburst wasn't sure he wanted to know what the creature was referring to, "What is it you want to know?"

The creature looked around to the armored faces of the others then back down to Starburst, "Are you a Bloodmage?"

Starburst was aghast at the question. Admitting to being a Bloodmage, or having any sort of association with them was a death sentence, at least according to the Grand Magus. While Starburst could imagine that the creatures standing over him might be ignorant, he was certain that the Earth Pony mare knew full well what a Bloodmage was. He figured that he had been caught and that these creatures meant to either arrest him or execute him on the spot. In either case, his life was over. He figured he might as well be truthful, perhaps the creatures would be merciful. The Pony wouldn't be though.

"No. I'm not a Bloodmage. I'm an Acolyte. I study Bloodmagic. I grew up here." Starburst admitted. His muscles still burned but he was far more afraid of what kinds of terrible things the creatures might do to him. He was silently glad for the ropes binding his legs and wings, otherwise he would have been shaking. As it was, he was having trouble keeping fearful tears from his eyes.

The creature who spoke to him before nodded its head slightly, "Alright. How many living things are in the caves below us?"

Starburst's blood ran cold as his mind conjured up images of these creatures storming through the safe haven and the massacre that entailed, "Please," he begged, "Most of us aren't bad Ponies. We just want to study our magic..."

One of the other creatures shifted its weight, "Tell that to the dozen or so of our people who you murdered in cold blood last night. Or maybe tell that to the mother and baby or any of the other people you kidnapped."

Its voice was cold and harsh and Starburst instinctively tried to shy away from it, "Th... they did no such thing!" he claimed fearfully, "They only went for supplies! They said that a bunch of monsters attacked and killed them!"

The creature emitted a sound akin to a snarl and drew a knife out of a shoulder sheath, "You lying sack of..."

"Cool it Darryl." the first creature said calmly, "There's a chance he may be telling the truth."

The one called Darryl seemed to glower at the first speaker, though Starburst was not certain. It was impossible to see beyond those reflective visors. The first speaker then turned its head back toward Starburst, "What is your name?"

"S-Starburst."

"Well Starburst, allow me to explain what happened last night. Some of our residents were kidnapped last night and when we went to chase down the culprits, they immobilized us. They took turns using us for target practice and murdered nearly all of my officers, and they cut and bled the Arch Magister and Princess Luna. We used Blood Magic to track our kidnapped friends to this location. We will get our friends back one way or the other. Now, you can either help us and be taken prisoner -OR- you don't help us. I wouldn't recommend the second option personally. We are not in good moods and many, many things might happen to you if you refuse to help us."

Had Starburst been paying attention and not let his fear take control of his mind, he might have realized that there was no actual threat in the words. Captain Joyner intended that on purpose. He knew that a person's imagination always conjured up scenarios that were worse than real life. It was a psychological game of strategy and Michael Joyner was no beginner.

"You're lying!" Starburst exclaimed, "Nopony is allowed to know Blood Magic in Equestria! It's a guaranteed death sentence!"

One of the other creatures spoke up next. It sounded female, "The Arch Magister taught me. She knows Blood Magic. With a few drops of blood, a circle, a bit of willpower, and a connection to the being I want to track, I can find anything. I'm only allowed to use it under special circumstances and I'm not allowed to tell anybody how to do it, but if you know anything about Blood Magic then you also know I'm telling the truth."

"But... the Grand Magus said that it's illegal to practice Blood Magic in Equestria. I don't understand. The Unicorns and the Princesses hate us because we have magic that isn't theirs... we were told that the Arch Magister was a Unicorn... why would she know Blood Magic? Why would she teach you?" Starburst asked in confusion.

"We need to find and rescue our friends and the Arch Magister was too badly wounded to help us. When that Pegasus mare bled her, she also stabbed her and punctured one of her lungs. She had to have surgery to save her life." the female creature said.

Starburst's eyes widened, "Wait... Pegasus mare? What did she look like?"

"She was dark red in her coat with light grey mane and tail." the female creature said.

"Did any of the others call her by name?" Starburst asked. He feared the answer.

"Midnight Haze." Mike answered.

"No..." Starburst whispered, "No! She wouldn't do that!" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. In his mind it was impossible, "You're lying! She would never do a thing like that! My sister is a good Pony!"

"How else would we know her name?" Mike asked calmly, "How else would we know any of this? Why is this so hard to believe? Bloodmages unleashed a disease on a Diamond Dog City/State. The disease killed thousands of innocent civilians, why is this so hard to believe?"

"We never did that! They said it was an accident!" Starburst exclaimed, "It can't be true, it can't!" He squeezed his eyes closed, "No! It can't be true! I won't believe it!"

A deep rumbling voice suddenly cut in, "I have't known these Humans for long, little Pegasus, but they are honest and kind. They gave us a place to stay and YOUR KIND MURDERED MY SISTER!"

The, now named, Humans stepped away from Starburst revealing the monster they had been riding on. It was a thing straight out of nightmare, "What is that!?" Starburst asked.

"That's Rifin. He's a Changeling." Mike said.

Starburst had thought he was beyond surprise. He was wrong. His anger evaporated in the face of the colossus, "B-b-b-but Banebloods aren't even intelligent. They're unthinking beasts... that's why we fought them... to keep the world safe..."

* * *

Mike silently resigned himself to break the law again. He reached up and lifted his helmet off his head and set it on the ground. Starburst looked up to him and studied his face curiously. Mike slowly reached his right hand down. Starburst gasped and tried to shy away from the touch, wincing with clenched eyes. The stallion could barely move though and Mike had no difficulty placing his hand on Starburst's head. He couldn't transfer memories and he had no idea how to control a mind, but he did know how to transfer feelings. Starburst's mind lit up with feelings of profound loss, of fear for others, of honor, of wanting to do the right thing, and with a sense of justice tempered evenly with mercy and understanding. The Pegasus gasped and shook his head from side to side trying to dislodge the feelings. Mike let go of Starburst's head and lowered his hand. He took a small step back and met the eyes of one very startled Kavim.

The Pegasus stallion blinked up at Mike in a mixture of fear and confusion, "What was that?"

"I let you feel what I feel. I broke the law so you would understand. We're telling the truth." He turned and waved his hand, "The evidence is right in front of you... a mountain of it. Changelings ARE intelligent, your sister was responsible for the kidnappings and she was involved with the murders." Mike turned back to Starburst, "You seem like a good Pony, Starburst. I'm sorry but you've been lied to." He knelt down beside the stallion, "I can help you though. I can say that you didn't know what was going on. If you help us, we can help you."

Starburst lapsed into silence, staring up at Mike's helmet visor. His world had been shattered by strange beings and his emotions ran raw from hurt and betrayal. He didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was right in front of him. He was conflicted. Despite the evidence of being lied to, he couldn't betray the others. He did see that there had to be some truth to what they said though and he couldn't live with himself if he had helped beings who murdered and kidnapped, even if they were ones he had known all his life. His mind played the conversations again and again, weighing the options back and forth until he came to a decision.

"I..." he started, but then it felt like his tongue tried to resist his commands. He tried again, "I... I'll help you. I can't tell you much though. Despite what they MAY have done, I won't betray them... but if you ARE really telling the truth then... I have to help you."

Darryl stepped over and whispered into the side of Mike's helmet, "No he can't. Remember Cessily said that they swear some kind of oath that if they talk, they die. Whatever he tells us, will be a lie."

Mike nodded then turned and faced Starburst, "Go ahead."

Starburst swallowed hard. He couldn't believe what he had promised to do, "I need you to make me a promise. If I help you, what little I can, you have to promise that you won't hurt any of the families down there."

Mike smiled behind his helmet. Whatever the stallion was about to say would certainly be a blatant fabrication, "I promise, as commanding officer of this group, none of us will intentionally harm any innocents down in the caves. If anybody goes to attack us, they will he dealt with appropriately."

"In that case it's a good thing I was on watch tonight and not one of the actual Bloodmages. They all have to swear a Blood Oath. If they say anything about us they die. The ones like me, researchers and scholars, we aren't under oath." Starburst explained.

The team shared looks which were hidden under their visors. A voice spoke up from beyond the group suddenly, "You guys aren't going to believe this, but they've got whole families down there. Heck, most of the Ponies and other races look like they're non-combatants." Andrew Masonete had returned from his exploration.

If you see any typos, tie truss them up and interrogate them.