I opened the door without much ceremony, not really expecting anyone other than one of the nurses, or possibly the doctor, impatiently waiting for my sample cups. That being said, and with me being about two feet taller than most of the natives, it should come to no one’s surprise that my eyes were looking downwards when I left the bathroom.

Instead of being greeted by a smiling face, or a business-like expression, though, I was instead met by an unending wall of blue. I took a few steps back in alarm, the cups I was carrying accidentally slipping from my hands, only for the wall of blue to resolve itself into the belly of Rainbow.

She had been hovering in front of the bathroom at about eye level, her hooves crossed in front of her, and a slightly amused expression on her face. A quick glance around allowed me to spot the cups I had been holding, safely being levitated onto a tray by a nearby doctor, his expression less than pleased as he looked up at the blue pegasus. The doctor said something stern, which the pegasus seemed to just blow off with a grunt and a wave of her hoof.

I blinked in confusion, and in the time that it took me to blink, the pegasus had disappeared, and I could feel two hard somethings pressing against my back. I turned my head, somewhat perplexed, to see the pegasus pushing at me from behind, eager to get me moving.

“Wait, what are you doing?” I said as I took a couple of steps in the direction that she was pushing. She didn’t seem to care, nor were the doctors trying to stop her, so I dutifully played along, completely confused at how I reached my current predicament.

As I stumbled out through the open door of my room, I felt the pressure on my back disappear, only for the pegasus to zoom around me at a breakneck pace. She gave me the once over, her expression clearly not impressed as she took in my form. She said something; something that sounded almost as if it were a challenge, but somehow the subtlety of whatever she said was lost in my blank incomprehension.

“I’m sorry, I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tried to reason with her.

Instead of being dissuaded, her smile gained a cocky air as she landed, almost as if she couldn’t care less about the language gap. She then turned around and cantered away from me, but stopped only after a few steps to turn and look at me, a puzzled expression on her face.

It took me a few seconds, as well as a few very obvious motions from the colorful pegasus, but I eventually got the message and started to follow her.

Except… as I walked behind her, her pace increased, forcing me to speed up if I wanted to keep up. At first, I thought nothing of it, since the speed up was so gradual that I didn’t even notice it was happening. Though... I did notice when our speed increased to the point where I had to jog along just to keep her in sight.

“Hey, what’s the rush?” I asked. I wasn’t even breathing heavy, since my… changes, gave me a few advantages over the normal man, though I was feeling a little uneasy about the rainbow pony’s behavior.

Her only response, though, was to turn her head and flash me a mischievous grin, all while cocking an eyebrow at me.

Wait a second…

The rainbow haired pegasus then took off in a flash, quickly outstripping me, and leaving me in the dust as she tore down the long castle hallway.

I don’t even know what happened next, or why I did what I did. By all rights, I should have just shrugged a bit, then turned around and walked back to my room, all while muttering something about aliens being weird.

“Nuh-uh, you did not just call a race!” Is what actually came out of my mouth. Without another word, I took off after her, trying to recover some of the lost ground before she managed to get too far ahead.

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Carrot Top asked, a little exasperated with her husband.

“Yes, I’m sure of it. Pinkie told us to take a right at the painting with the sun and the moon. Now, hurry up! We’re going to be late for… whatever it is that mare has planned,” Written Script answered as he sped up to a quick canter.

“Wait, you don’t know?” Carrot Top asked, a little bemused at her husband’s lack of information.

“Of course I don’t know. I was barely able to make out the instructions before her excitement got the better of her,” Written Script said with a grin. “If memory serves, her exact words near the end there were ‘Isgonbthebesaliapartiever!’”

Carrot Top looked confused, but didn’t say anything. After all, it was best not to question Pinkie Pie.

That road led only to madness.

As they walked, Carrot Top slowly became aware of some sort of ruckus coming from down the hallway to their left. She paused for a bit, quite confused when she saw Rainbow Dash tear around the corner and charge them, giggling like a maniac the whole way. Her confusion turned into alarm, however, when she saw a creature that was both familiar, yet completely alien round that same corner, practically running along the wall in an effort to reduce the corner’s impact on its speed.

As it turned to charge down the corridor, though, it threw out both of its long, lanky arms to either side of it, using the walls to help it slow down when it saw Carrot. After a few brief moments it came to a complete stop, its soulless black eyes staring at her.

It had no eyebrows, but it did have an eyebrow ridge, which was currently furrowed into an expression that Carrot couldn’t quite place. Its lips were peeled back a little, and though they weren’t the sharpest teeth she’d ever seen, they were still clearly not designed for a herbivorous diet.

Despite all of these oddities about its appearance, Carrot Top found that she was unafraid. In fact, she already had a pretty good idea about who this was. She just wasn’t prepared for how radically he had changed since the last time she had seen him.

She also wasn’t really expecting him to be able to wander the halls without an escort.

“Woah, there, Rainbow, what’s the hurry?” Carrot asked as the blue pegasus screeched to a halt.

Rainbow Dash looked at Carrot and Script, somewhat confused. “Um… what are you guys doing here? This wing’s supposed to be off limits right now.”

Carrot Top raised her eyebrow at this. “Off limits? Why? And why is he out and about? I would think that the Princesses would want to keep him under close watch, especially after-”

“Hey, since when were you guys brought into the loop?” Rainbow interrupted her as she raised her eyebrow at the two. She shrugged it off, though, and looked back at the confused-looking creature. “Well, whatever. And to answer your question, the big guy here can take care of himself. Ain’t that right, ~Alex?~”

Written Script cleared his throat at that. “Be that as it may, it would probably be better if he had his own guards.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes at that. “Dude, chill. There are guards behind every door and corner, I’m actually surprised that none of them have tried to stop you, yet.”

Before Carrot, or her husband, could respond to that, there was a shout from further down the hall. “Pinkie came through here earlier, telling us they were coming to the party. They’re supposed to be here, though they weren’t really supposed to interfere with the test.”

“Yeah! She also invited us to the party. Though to be honest, it kind of conflicts with the duty roster, so…” another voice agreed from down the same hallway.

This just caused Rainbow Dash to roll her eyes again, exasperation clear on her face. “Of course Pinkie did that…”

“Um… excuse me, but what test?” Written Script asked, his curiosity piqued.

Rainbow looked around at that. “Well… Let’s talk as we move. After all, Pinkie will hunt us down if we’re not over there in time, and you know how Pinkie can be, sometimes.”

Rainbow turned and motioned to Defender to follow. He looked even more confused, but still fell in line behind the blue pegasus. “The eggheads had an idea about something or the other. Something about his adrenaline and how it works in the brain and stuff like that, so they wanted to test it. Stuck something in his arm to allow them to measure him, and told me to get his blood pumping.”

“They came to you, Dash?” Carrot asked as she raised her eyebrow.

Rainbow didn’t answer at first. Instead, she took off and flew a couple of lazy circles around the group. “Nah, I went to them. Felt like getting off my butt and actually doing something, you know?”

Although she said it very nonchalant, Carrot could tell that the rainbow pegasus was hiding something. What that was, she wasn’t sure.

But what she did know was that it wasn’t any of her business.

“Uh-huh. Well, anyway, why the sudden need for a party?” Carrot Top asked curiously.

Before Rainbow Dash could respond, though, the conversation was brought to a screeching halt when Princess Celestia suddenly appeared in front of the group. This had the primary effect of causing everyone present to jump back by about a foot, and the secondary effect of causing Written Script to drop in a dead faint.

“Uh, hi, Princess, um…”

“Hello, my little ponies. While I would love to know what you are doing here, and why ~Alex~ is out and about without an escort, I have more pressing issues at the moment,” Celestia said as her horn began to glow.

While this wasn’t the weirdest morning I had ever experienced, it was still easily in my top ten. First, I started the day by giving out stool and urine samples: never a good sign. Then, a multi-colored pegasus whom I know can break the sound barrier challenged me to a race, and then I randomly run into the pony who was responsible for my current way of life.

Well, really, it was the tree’s fault, but that guy wasn’t really around to be congratulated or anything, so he didn’t really count.

And to top it all off, freaking Sun Goddess pops out of nowhere and scares the bejesus out of us. “Seriously, you guys with horns need to start wearing bells, or something,” I said as I tried to get my heart back under control. “I mean, make a sound, anything, just give a guy a little warning when you appear like that...”

As it turned out, Scroll appeared to have the same notion, because as soon as Sun appeared, he dropped into a dead faint. Before I could comment, or even think about that, I saw Sun’s horn glow, which was immediately followed by the now familiar tingling sensation in my throat and ears.

“Greetings, Alex. Could talk secret? Need tell something. Need ask,” she said, motioning towards a nearby room.

I shrugged a bit. It didn’t really matter to me if she wanted to keep some secrets; after all, this was her nation, and if she didn’t want some of her subjects knowing something, that was fine with me. “Okay, whatever you say.”

The rainbow one looked like she wanted to object, but didn’t say anything as Sun led me into the adjoining room and closed the door. As soon as we were alone, she took a deep, steadying breath, and looked at me. “How is doing?” She asked carefully.

Now, I might have been out of touch with society for a while, and we might be using a somewhat garbled translator to communicate, but I knew a loaded question when I heard one. Besides, no one jumps out in front of a group of people just to ask you 'how are you doing?’

Well, no one I know does that. But they might do things differently here in ponyland.

“I’m doing alright. Robert can be repaired, and the bug was stopped, so everything’s good,” I said with a smile.

I don’t think she bought it, though.

“Alex, you know not by self more, right? If feel bad, tell. We help.”

I let out a sigh at that. “No, I’m fine, really. It’s not like this sort of thing hasn’t happened before. I’m fine, I swear.”

She gave me a really hard look at that, but, thankfully, let it slide. “Alex, have something need talk. Someone ask see. To talk. But not talk, not see, unless say yes. Understand?”

I scrunched my face up at that. I had a suspicion about who she was talking about, especially right after what just happened between me and that bug, and what she just asked me about, but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. “Who is it?” I asked, bracing myself for the worst.

She looked away, took a deep breath, then looked me in the eye again. “Right when bug attack you, other ship come. It bring bug, but also bring alien not know. Bring alien like snake. Seen before?”

Even though I was expecting it, even though I knew they were coming to parlay, I still couldn’t help but feel a shiver of dread run down my spine. Figures... though, snake aliens? The only things that came close were those lizardfolk from that one planet… I thought, but trailed off as the unpleasant memory surfaced. With a shake of my head, I quickly brought myself back to the present before I went too far down that rabbit hole. “No, I don’t think I ever saw anything like that. Why are they here?”

“They say here fix mess. Say what happen you, what happen to you people, all because rebels. Say no want fight, no want hurt, just fix,” Sun said, her lips turned down in a frown.

“...But you don’t believe that.” It wasn’t a question.

“I not sure. Not know. Expect to betray, expect to lie, but hope tell truth. Because, to honest, would not survive if alien attack. Weapon not ready,” she said, her expression unchanging. “Will not force, if not want talk. But if do want talk, please, no kill. Can trust not kill?”

Yeah, I knew what she was asking, and it went against every instinct in my body. Seriously, the things responsible for what happened to me and my friends want a nice, polite sit down? Yeah, right. And I’m the lead singer for Guns N’ Roses.

But even with my misgivings, I could still see the wisdom in what she was saying. If we were going to be bold-faced lied to, it would be best if we could get a little bit of truth out of the bargain. And fortunately, because of my last run in with one of their kind, I knew just how to do that.

“I promise not to kill anyone,” I said as I tried to keep the look on my face neutral. “I won’t even touch them, I swear.”

She gave me another piercing look at that, but seemed to see something that allayed her fears. “Okay. Will take see, but first, think important look part,” she said as she eyed my Awesome Pants of Wonder. “From listening, Wonder finish clothes. Let get dressed, think better impression.”

“So, what do you think of the decor, captain?” Akitesh asked.

Hazalk briefly looked at her, then went back to studying the impressively crafted, stained-glass window. “It’s flashy, opulent, and detailed.”

“You don’t approve?” Akitesh asked curiously.

“No, I approve very much. It’s what I would have done,” the captain said with a wave. “This is obviously where the ruler meets with foreign dignitaries: It’s supposed to give the impression of wealth and power, while at the same time the lighter colors set the visitor at ease. It sends a very clear message.”

“And what is that?”

“Don’t screw with the person sitting in that chair,” Hazalk said, pointing with his upper right hand towards the throne. “It may have cost the taxpayers a pretty credit, but I would say it’s worth every piece. On my planet, more wars were averted simply by looking powerful, rather than having the actual might to back it up.”

“Is that why your ships are shaped and painted the way they are?”

“Exactly. The wing design is to make the ship appear like a bird of prey, while its transformation is supposed to make the enemy think twice about attacking,” the Krin said as he scratched under his chin. “In reality, the weapons are always ready to fire; we just roll out the transformation sequence as an intimidation tactic.”

“I knew about the weapons, but I was unsure at the reason behind the display,” Akitesh grunted. “I haven’t really had too much time to study your culture, a fault that I am regretting more each hour.”

Hazalk shrugged off her half-apology. “Learning to command takes precedence, as does learning the ins and outs of your ship. Truth be told, I only know as much as I do about your people because it was made mandatory by our new government after the war. Hiarch Perivel did not want to make the same mistakes as our old emperor.”

Akitesh was about to answer, but was prevented by the sound of the huge, double doors opening. She and the captain quickly turned towards the sound, though the sight it revealed thoroughly confused the young priestess.

Standing in the doorway was the White Queen, as well as the victim from the Krin science vessel.

Only, it wasn’t the victim.

Akitesh had pored over every video file that the Krin had on the matter, and the victim on those screens only bore a passing resemblance to the thing quickly striding towards them. This creature had a much fuller-looking face, short red hair, and actual cheeks and lips that covered and protected his teeth. His skin tone looked far too pale for some reason, and the eyes were enough to give anyone nightmares. He was dressed in a dark green coat, which was open in the front to reveal a white, pressed shirt. His legs were covered in tubes of green cloth, which also served the purpose of covering his nether regions, and were long enough that they went all the way to his shoes. The shoes themselves had an odd look to them, since they were bigger in the front, almost as if his feet were larger at the end.

Despite the victim’s new look, as well as the new clothes, Akitesh knew that this was him, if only by the sheer hatred and loathing that filled the creature’s incredibly expressive face. The look it was giving wasn’t directed at her, thankfully, but rather at the Krin Captain next to her.

The creature’s shod feet made a rather ominous clicking sound with each step he took, raising the tension even further, until finally he stopped, his soulless black eyes boring into the captain.

“What have you done to him?” Akitesh asked the White Queen, remembering to turn on her translation rune before she spoke.

“We heal, damaged. Damaged bad, not work right. Bring back self, but turn slowly, changing something between,” the White Queen said stiffly.

Akitesh wasn’t quite sure she understood, but before she could voice her concerns, the victim spoke. In perfect Krin, no less, though his accent was a bit strange.

“Why are you here?” He asked, venom dripping from every word.

“...Captain?” Akitesh said, her confusion increasing by the moment.

“The traitors would have wanted their creations to understand their orders,” Hazalk explained. “Not only that, but part of the… controller, would have had to have been inside his head. In order for them to make it work right, though, they would have had to replace-”

“Part of my brain? Yeah, no duh,” the victim then called Hazalk a name, one that must have been in his native tongue, because Akitesh couldn’t understand whatever it was that he said.

Whatever it was, though, it sounded like the Qual-Kek words shuur, to break apart, and look, to return together.

Captain Hazalk took the insult in stride, though, and recovered marvelously. “May I ask your name?”

Despite the simple nature of the question, though, it seemed to have a profound effect on the victim. “W-What?” He asked as he took a staggered step backwards.

“Your name. I usually find it best to know how to call someone before I begin a conversation,” Hazalk said cordially.

Whatever the victim was expecting him to say, it probably wasn’t that. “...N-No… You… You can’t...”

“I’m sorry if I caused offense. Maybe it would have been better had I introduced myself, first,” the captain said with a bow. “My name is Hazalk, Captain of The Bastion.”

The victim took a deep, steadying breath, closed his eyes, and stopped.

He stood stock still for quite some time. A less… sensitive, person would have been wondering what he was doing, but Akitesh, who had the training of the Void Knights behind her, had picked up on his gift quite easily.

The victim was probing Hazalk, though not in the way that Akitesh was familiar with. He wasn’t looking through the captain’s mind, or aura, or anything of the sort.

Rather, he was concentrating on the captain’s datapad.

“Uh… Are you alright?” Hazalk asked, worry registering in his voice.

The White Queen also looked worried at this development, though she, too, seemed to realize what the creature was up to. “Defending one, not do, what try?”

“Don’t do anything, don’t say anything, and just let him work,” Akitesh said as she put a single hand on Hazalk’s shoulder.

“I don’t understand… What is he doing?” Hazalk asked, his worry growing.

“Shh… he’s learning about you,” Akitesh said, as she watched the victim with more than just her eyes.

So far, he had burrowed through every layer of protection that Hazalk’s computer, and ship, had to offer. Within seconds, the victim had gained complete control over every piece of software that the ship possessed, at what Akitesh had to admit was an incredibly alarming rate.

Not even the most skilled of the Quzin’s mages could crack a system that fast, and the unassuming creature had made it look easy. As impressed as she was, though, what happened next was what truly astonished her.

She could feel a multitude of voices, each different, fragment out from the unassuming creature. He didn’t seem to notice them, though, almost as if he didn’t even realize they were separate entities. But when he asked for something, such as the captain’s personal logs, or top secret information, they scurried to perform the task as fast as they could.

Akitesh, however, with her outsider’s perspective, could easily tell that these fragments were completely separate beings.

She knew of this kind of technique, but had only ever seen it performed by her own people. With but a thought, she took a memory engram of the creature’s appearance, determined to match him against the Quzin archives, and figure out where he hailed from.

Whatever his race was, they clearly had great spiritual potential.

After what felt like hours, but was probably much shorter, the victim seemed satisfied, and recalled his influence over the Krin’s computers. His eyes fluttered open, and he honestly looked like he was going to be sick.

The creature took in a deep, shuddering breath and shakily raised a single, outstretched hand towards the Krin Captain. “Hello, Hazalk, Hero of Thana,” the creature said, a trembling, disbelieving grin settling on his face. “My name is Alexander Cunningham, and I really have no idea how I’m supposed to think about you.”

Author's Notes:

Well, I thought I was going to bed, but after lying awake for about an hour, I decided to get up and finish editing this sucker so I could publish it.

Anyway, if you missed my blogpost, you would have also missed a pretty crucial piece of information: Namely, that this is probably the last real chapter of this book.

This book.

The sequel: What I Am, is going to come out soon. First thing's first, though, I need to write up an epilogue for this book, as well as a prologue for the next one. Don't worry, they'll be put out at roughly the same time, so you won't miss the sequel unless you stopped following this story.

If you did, then there's really nothing I can do to help you.

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