I stood there frozen.

Hundreds of cyan globes lined the top of the cliff. Each pair of eyes was surrounded by the silhouette of their owner. The dark figures stood defiant to the light pink sky, all of which were starring down at us with eyes that lacked any depth, feeling or empathy. Just empty gazes. Like they weren't even alive.

Every ten or so shadowy figures, was a larger one. They stood one and a half times taller than the figures around them. Thick-bodied with glowing red eyes, even from the bottom of a cliff they looked like power-houses.

"Feather?" I whispered through grit teeth, not taking my eyes off the cliff. "What's with the eye colors?"

She responded in a similar manner, "Red, warrior. Blue, scout or drone. Those are mostly scouts, drone-blue is slightly lighter. Mage, yellow-ish green, like dying grass. Be careful, mages have been known to disguise themselves as scouts so they are not considered a ranged threat. We could be looking at a hundred mages right now for all we know."

A thin line of smoke began emanating from Feather's horn. I had read, in Ebony's entry's in my journal, about something similar happening to her horn. As far as I'm aware, it's not normal. I should ask her about that some time now that I think about it.

At the time though, I didn't take any notice.

I had more pressing matters on my mind, as you could imagine.

The gentle breeze filled the long silence as they looked down upon us, no one dared to move a muscle. Well... except for Dawn. In the distance, I could see her bouncing side-to-side in some sick form of excitement. Steve had the decency to at least attempt to keep her still, but even with his hulking figure holding her down, she still managed to maintain her eager swaying.

Celestia's disembodied voice echoed through our heads once again. "Hold! ...Hold." She said quickly as a single changeling jumped from the ledge.

It fell, free falling, for 4 or 5 seconds, before extending it's wings and pulling up into a smooth yet bumbling glide, almost hitting the ground. It leant backwards and hovered still for a second, half way between the cliff and our front lines. It stopped its wings and dropped onto it's hooves then looked past our lines with it's yellow-green eyes and straight at the distant balcony that housed Celestia, Luna, Viss and Eb. It lowered its head in a quick yet sincere-looking bow while doing some strange movements with its front hooves.

"Lower your weapons, but be on guard." Celestia said after a small silence. "It is requesting entrance, a messenger." There was a short ruckus of wood and metal as most of the ponies on the field dropped their weapons, or at least stopped pointing them at it.

The changeling stood there, unmoving. It was probably slightly bigger than Ebony, had a slightly larger, more angular, horn and had lime-green saddlebags on either side of it's body. It's eyes were a shade of green that reminded me of those early morning woodland-walks I used to take, the pale sunlight piercing the leaves above. From Feather's description, I could tell this was a mage. And magic scared me in the hands of Celestia.

After another long silence, Celestia spoke up again. "I would like the troop with the most experience handling changelings to walk to them, alone, and introduce themselves then lead them to me." I crouched down and placed my crossbow on the floor upside down, as to not set off the trigger. I stood, looked to the changeling and crossed my arms. "You know who you are." Celestia added.

I sighed. Why do I have a feeling I'm being watched all of a sudden? I thought to myself sarcastically as I began my slow walk across the frozen battlefield. I trudged with a bored look on my face, but on the inside, I was terrified. Magic is not exactly something I'm confident around. Especially magic I can't see.

The ponies all turned to watch me walk past them as I proceeded though the first and second line of defense, weaving in and out of the bundles of armored troops. Some gave me encouraging smiles, some just stared in some indecipherable expression.

The dry stones and dirt crackled under my shoes as I exited the front line, leaving the protective barrier of ponies behind and entering the upcoming battle's equivalent of no-mans-land. I swallowed nervously as I approached the changeling, it had gone from a spec in my vision to a being not a couple feet from me in what felt like a blur.

I attempted to put on a formal and welcoming exterior as I stopped just in front of the changeling. It looked up at me with a neutral expression. I put my arms behind my back and cleared my throat. I noticed there was already sweat on the back on my hands. "Hello... there. I am Dan." I said awkwardly, extending my hand for a shake.

It looked to my hand impassively, then back to me. It didn't move an inch.

I slowly returned my hand to my side as I tried my best to not just run away out of sheer awkwardness. As if the magic this thing could wield wasn't reason enough to run already...

"Alrighty then... Erm..." I thought for a second, but rushed my words out, trying not to cause an awkward silence I couldn't recover from. "...I will guide-... Er... If- If you want I-... They tol-... Um... F-... Well if... Um... F- Follow me please." I said, turning slightly, relieved I eventually managed an actually coherent sentence. Looking back... god, magic screws me up. "You... probably know more about what's going on that I do..."

It nodded, it's expression remaining stoic. "Clearly. Lead." She said.

My brain stopped functioning for a second when I heard her voice. I was so very close to asking 'Wait, you're a chick?' But given the circumstances, I decided that wasn't the best of ideas and simply shut up and did what I was told. I began walking back towards the main gates, cutting through the two large groups of ponies. They created a path for us a we walked by them. The changeling behind me was getting some less-than-savory looks from some of the troops.

I ignored that fact that Dawn had to be pinned by at least 5 stallions including Steve to get her to remain still as we passed by her. I really see what Feather meant a while ago, she really does just have a 'switch' in the back of her mind... 'Normal, sweet (and only sometimes disturbing) mode' and 'All-out war mode'...

As I walked, I checked behind me every so often, just to make sure she was still following me.

I walked her through the front gates, through the city and into the palace. She followed me without question, she didn't say a word. And from what I could tell, she didn't even have a look around, despite being in a new place. She was rude, but the fact she was following me so willingly suggested some form of trust. I couldn't say that I trusted her, but that's probably because she likely specialized in magic.

As I entered the palace, Celestia's voice spoke yet again. She said that only I could hear her now, then gave me the directions to the room in which they wanted to meet the messenger in. I followed them as she gave them, then, sure enough, we arrived outside of some double doors.

I stopped outside of them and turned to the changeling. "They are expecting you." I said, gesturing to the door.

Without a word, not even a confirming nod, the changeling opened the door and walked in. I quickly followed her, crossing my arms as I walked so I could rest my hands on my knives.

The room we entered was fairly small. Desks lined the walls and had various maps, scrolls and tools set atop them. The only light in the room came from the open balcony across from the doors. Through the balcony's archway, I could see the distant cliff face and the changelings surrounding it's ridge. Celestia was staring out of the balcony's archway while Luna was hunched over a desk, pouring over what looked like paperwork in a panicked manner. Viss was in the corner, facing away from the room. She had her head hung in thought, her horn scratching at the wallpaper. Ebony was like a sentry, standing like a statue beside his queen, scanning the room with his eyes as if every object in the room was conspiring against him.

They all shot their heads towards the door was we entered.

Celestia's previously stern expression turned into a calm, kind smile as she laid eyes on the changeling and me. I could tell her expression was very forced.

Luna's eyes widened in shock but then, after taking a couple glances around the room, replaced her look of shock with one that was more stoic, attempting to restore her composure.

Viss looked over her shoulder at us, sighed quietly and turned her whole body to face us. There was a look of undecided emotion on her face. Ebony looked up at her, then copied her reaction, only hindered by the small smile he gained when he saw me.

I gave him a quick smile in return, but quickly returned my attention to the more dangerous parties in the room.

Now that I think about it... At least 3 magical powerhouses in one room... That was one dangerous room to be in, even from the start.

The changeling took a single glance around the room, before settling her eyes on Celestia's. She did however linger on Ebony for longer than I was happy with. Viss also didn't seem to like this, but became more curious than angry. Her thoughtful expression returned as she glanced between the two changelings. It was as if she was trying to make a connection.

Celestia grinned. "Welcome to-"

"My Queen has requested to speak with you." The changeling said, interrupting her.

Luna looked more offended than her sister did and looked to Celestia, searching for a response. Celestia glared for a second, but recovered with a forced smirk, "Straight to the point," She nodded. "I can understand that. I would be happy to-"

"All of you." The changeling interrupted a second time.

Luna looked like about ready to burst and Celestia's expression quickly flattened. "...Okay then." Celestia continued, "We would be happy to speak with your queen. How would your queen like to-"

"Comscroll." The changeling said, pulling a scroll out of one of her bags and holding it in the air with her magic. Her neutral expression filling with a barely detectable smirk as she cut her off for a third time.

Luna, who had seemingly had enough, rose from her desk and was practically nose-to-nose with the changeling in an instant. It looked like Luna had scared me more than she scared the changeling, since (as much as I hate to admit it) her sudden movement had caused me to flinch backwards and lose my balance. If the door were not closed behind me, I would have fallen over.

Luna glowered down at the changeling. "You think you can just freely disrespect my sist-"

"I'd watch your tongue, pony." The changeling said, completely unfazed by the princess infront of her that easily doubled her height. "All I have to do is give the signal, and this castle of yours is rubble."

There was silence. Everyone but Viss was glaring at the changeling. Either in anger, fear, or a mixture of the two.

I watched Viss closely, she had been thinking for a long time. Her eyes started to widen as a look of clarity covered her face. Clearly, she had figured something out.

Her face flattened as she cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention. She looked down to Ebony. "Ebony, dear, could you get your Queen a refreshment? Strawberry tea would be great."

Ebony nodded obediently. "Of course. I will be back as soon as I have made it." He said as he made his way across the room, passing by the changeling slowly and slipping through the door.

"Take your time." Viss called after him.

There was another silence. This time, everyone was looking at Viss, the changeling infront of me seemed to become uncomfortable and shuffled awkwardly, looking around the room at the three large ponies.

Viss waved a hoof to Luna, instructing her to back away from the changeling. Luna looked to Celestia, who nodded to her. Luna cautiously backed away from the changeling. I did the same, pressing myself against the door slightly in the process. If Luna had to get away from her, I sure did.

The changeling queen slowly approached the mage until the changeling had to look directly up just to meet Viss's gaze. Viss kept a confident expression. The smaller changeling couldn't help but step back slightly, even I was threatened by Viss's stature and I wasn't even the smallest one in the room, neither was I the one who she was at war with.

"Isn't it strange," Viss said, "how when a hive's population drops to zero and stays there for more than 5 years or so... the Queen's body shuts down the region responsible for telepathic communication between her and her subjects, since it believe's that, by that point, it will never have a hive again and wants to conserve energy."

Viss slowly began moving towards the changeling further, forcing the mage to back away. "And isn't it interesting that that particular region is also responsible for the detection of other telepathic communications and most changeling magic." The changeling had a very panicked expression, and was looking to Celestia and Luna, as if they would help her. The comscoll still hovered beside her, unopened.

Viss stopped advancing on the changeling and glared at her. I noticed Viss had just pushed the mage out of the view of the changelings on the cliff. "As you just saw. My hive still has a member, despite what your Queen believes. So I can detect other telepathic communications..." The mage looked close to tears. "So why would a Queen, who had perfectly good scouts and drones... very well suited for a message delivery, send a mage instead? Was it because the mage was bad at magic? Was it because they were expecting for the messenger to be attacked and they needed to defend themselves?..."

Viss leaned down to the changeling, snagging the scroll away from the changeling with her magic and tossing it to the other side of the room. "Or maybe... Just maybe... The mage was defective and wasn't able to send or receive telepathic orders, so was useless in a full-on assault... so they sent her... on a suicide mission disguised as a message delivery!"

The mages eyes widened. She whipped her neck, firing a short laser at the changeling queen infront of her. The laser only managed to travel about an inch or two before it was shot down by an opposing laser. The exchange only lasted a split second, that was the nature of the weapon I guess. Startled, I grasped my knifes, but Celestia, from the other side of the two changelings, shook her head at me. I kept my hands on the handles, just in case.

"My Queen would never-" The mage's voice tapered off when it realized it's projectile had been blocked. She sneered and lowered her horn, firing three more at the queen before her. Viss stood unfazed as each laser was blocked, I could not see what by, but from what I could tell, it must have been a similar spell to the one Celestia used to block my punch a while ago.

"Stop firing." Viss said calmly.

The mage looked up to find that Viss was still unharmed. Her eyes filled with panic as she shot more at her. I say 'more' because there were too many to count and each had it's own trajectory, making the whole room look like a scene straight from a Pink Floyd concert. All of the lasers met a similar fate as the first few. Viss looked slightly strained but somehow managed to block them all. She didn't block the ones that would have missed her anyway though, leaving them to hit the wall behind her. The small craters on the wall created a vaguely Viss-shaped outine in the middle of the wall.

While the barrage of lasers was unleashed, I had pressed myself up against the door behind me, trying to distance myself from the two. It was best if I didn't get involved. By the looks of it, Celestia and Luna were thinking the same thing.

The mage looked up in shock. "My... My Queen would never... She'd never do that to me!" She said, squeezing her tears away. "This isn't a mission! It's a message run! That's all!"

"Stop. Firing." Viss said. "Your Queen has lied to you. That scroll is a trap. Explosive."

The mage looked to the ground, shook her head and spread her hoofs on the floor, as if she was fighting for grip. She lifted her head back. Celestia and Luna both looked shocked at something, but then I realized that since I couldn't see changeling magic, this chick probably had a giant ball of magic charging or something. By the way she had her body positioned and how the pages on the desks were fluttering slightly due to a breeze I couldn't feel... It must have been something pretty big.

Viss's expression turned cold with concentration. She lifted the mage off the ground with her magic, the mage gasped and a large hole opened up in the wall behind her, presumably from the attack she had just charged and accidentally fired as she lost concentration. Viss ignored the rubble littering the room and lifted the mage above her head by her torso, almost touching the high ceiling, then brought her down in an arching motion, slamming her onto the cold stone.

The changeling limply bounced against the ground as she hit the hard floor. Viss approached the motionless changeling, rolled her onto her side and reared back, raising a hoof. Celestia and Luna both lurched forward, but stopped themselves halfway as Viss crushed the mage's horn against the ground with the bottom of her hoof. They both flinched at the sound. It was like someone had dropped an anvil on a walnut.

The door behind me attempted to open, but I jammed the handle. I took my first excuse to look away from the scene infront of me and faced the door. "Who is it?" I asked before coughing rather heavily, the room had filled with dust from the busted wall.

"Let me in! It's Ebony. I heard an explosion! Is my-"

"Everything's fine." Viss called from the middle of the room. "Go and get that tea, like your Queen asked. Please."

"O-of course!" He called, before quickly making his way back to... wherever he thought he could find strawberry tea. The kitchens maybe? I wouldn't know where to start.

I turned back to face the room and walked towards the changeling that was left in a shallow crater. "Is... is she okay?" I asked.

Celestia grimaced at the shattered remains of the mage's horn. "She's far from okay..." Celestia's horn lit and the mage disappeared. "But she'll live. Whether that's good or bad... we don't know." She sighed. "She will get medical attention in the high-security section of the dungeons."

"Oh... okay." I said as Viss huffed and turned, picking up the scroll left by the mage. "Can someone explain what just happened?" I asked.

Viss stared at the scroll, but didn't open it. She looked like she was doing magic or something, since she was very concentrated. In a strained voice, she said, "Their Queen, she still believes what I used to believe, that my whole hive is gone. So she figured she could send in an explosive scroll on a practically useless mage without me noticing, since as far as she knows, I can't detect changeling magic or their telepathic communication links. But I can. So I knew she was just trying to get rid of both me, and a disconnected mage at the same time." She shrugged. "There was no way for that mage to call for help and from what I can tell; her Queen didn't even tell her it was a suicide mission." She thought for a second. "Then again, she could have been acting."

"Hm." I said, slightly impressed. "Smart. So, if she really didn't know it was a suicide mission... the 'signal' was a bluff?"

Viss nodded as she continued to toil over the scroll.

Luna backed away from the scroll slightly. Celestia stood her ground. "You say that's explosive?" She asked.

"Ah!" Viss said as she looked away from the scroll, she seemed satisfied with something. "Yes, it is. Even more-so than before. I just over-charged the spell."

Celestia peered closely at the scroll. "So whoever opens it..."

Viss shook her head. "No, before it would have only affected a small area. But now, if I'm right, when opened, this thing will take out an area ten times the size of this room." The room wasn't really that big, but still, the prospect was rather scary. "Not enough to take out the whole army, but enough to take out the Queen." She said, baring her teeth with a wide grin that I was thankful wasn't directed at me.

Luna's eyes widened at the scroll. By the look on her face, I'm sure she could have kissed Viss, but chose to rush over to her piles of paperwork instead, unfortunately. "Yes!" She said. clearing the papers away to reveal a large map. "They probably think the explosion from the mage's last spell was the scroll, so we could send the scroll back in response and say-"

"Stop." Celestia said, raising a hoof. I looked over to her, she was looking out of the balcony again.

"What?" I asked, "What's-"

She shushed me, before turning back to the distant horizon.

Me and Luna approached the balcony as Celestia spoke. "She was bluffing... But wasn't lying."

Viss watched curiously as we all stared out, over the balcony. "What do you mean?" She asked from behind us, stepping towards the balcony.

"Luna was right, they think that the explosion of the changeling's magic was the scroll." Celestia said as Viss finally looked out over the horizon. "The scroll's explosion... The one she didn't even know existed... was the 'signal'."

We all stood in silence and watched. Our front lines hardened. Our last lines prepared and primed. From the balcony, I could see the outer wall of the city, and how the medical teams were all scrabbling into their teams and peering over their small battlements atop it.

The changelings, once standing like monoliths, were now pouring down the cliff, while some of them were flying over the battlefield.

Due to the cliff being so steep, I could not see where the changelings ended, so there could have been any number of them hiding behind the ridge.

They just kept coming.

But none had fired.

And none had reached the front lines.

Celestia and Luna stood at the edge of the balcony. I was stood behind them.

Viss walked up beside me and, due to her size, effortlessly peered over the alicorns to watch the stampede. Her face turned thoughtful again, scanning the oncoming troops.

Luna turned from the spectacle and looked to Viss, concerned. "What are they doing?"

Celestia narrowed her eyes at the cliff, as if she couldn't see clearly. "They're not attacking..." She mumbled.

"They're baiting us." Viss said. "If you let them get close, they will wait, standing just shy of the front lines until someone takes the first shot." She shrugged. "Changeling method."

Celestia sighed and turned to face Viss. "So what is there to do? Do we wait?"

Viss shook her head and began heading back into the room, we all followed. "No, I've been in this position before. And I'd say that attacking before they get settled is more... preferable. But the fighting would be sporadic."

Celestia looked to the floor, a hoof to her chin. "But letting them prepare themselves will lower our chances of winning..."

Viss nodded. "I'd also suggest that, due to their numbers, and the... affliction you both share..." She said, gesturing to the two alicorns, "You should don your armor and be down there when you give the order."

Neither of them seemed particularly happy with her suggestion

I glanced between the three of them, "...'Affliction'?" I asked.

Luna and Celestia shared a long glance. Making a silent conversation by the looks of it.

Celestia glanced to me and said, "There's no time for that now." Before looking back to Viss, "We'll do it, but what about you?"

Viss smiled and patted her chest with a hoof, it was like stone-on-stone. "I, of course, will be by your sides. This is my fight as much as it is yours." As she said this, a thought occurred to me. She gave me a quick glance, looks like she noticed. "You two go and prepare what you need, get to the front lines as quickly as you can. Me and Dan will meet you there momentarily, we have some things to discuss."

Celestia and Luna both gave me a superstitious look, to which I shrugged. They both slowly walked over to the door and left in silence. Which left me alone with Viss.

I watched the door close then turned to Viss, who was smiling idly. "Wow, Celestia and Luna being told what to do. I thought I'd never see the day."

She smirked. Scary. "As much as I find it amusing, now's not exactly the time." She sighed. "You had something to say?"

I took a second to remember. "Ah, yeah, actually. What about-"

The door slammed open.

I span to face the door, while Viss remained unfazed.

Ebony walked in, panting. He had a teapot placed ontop of his head and his hooves were slick with berry residue. "I made the tea, sorry it took so long, I had to..." His words tapered off as he saw the state of the room. "What... did I miss?"

Ebony looked to me for an explanation, I looked to Viss. She smiled. "Nothing Ebony." She so expertly explained. "Did you see the princesses on your way here?"

He looked slightly confused. "...Yeah? Why?" Judging from the steam coming from the teapot, his helmet was saving him from third degree burns, but he still looked slightly pained.

Viss waved a hoof, causing me to flinch slightly, those things were big, "Follow them, tell them I sent you. They'll tell you what's happening."

"Oh, er, okay." He said, awkwardly shuffling in the doorway. "Do you want your tea?"

The queen shook her head, "I'm... not thirsty anymore."

I shrugged. "Just go give it to Celestia, she could use the sugar... Oh wait..." I said jokingly. I'm fairly certain I felt a telepathic slap on the back of my head after saying that.

Ebony gave us both a concerned look before heading back down the hallway.

Viss turned back to me, "You were saying?" She said expectantly.

Again, I took a second to remember. "Oh, yeah. What about Ebony? What'll he be doing in all of this?" I asked.

"He will be defending me." She said, matter-of-fact-ly. I narrowed my eyes at her slightly. She huffed in response and leaned down slightly, almost matching my eye level. "I won't let anything happen to him, don't worry." She said in the most tender voice I had heard come from her thus far, it wasn't so comforting. "I want to keep him safe as much as he wants to keep me safe. And I'm sure you know how much that is."

I nodded. "He's more protective of you than he is of me. Said he'd give his life."

She sighed. "That's what happens when there are not many hive-members and another Queen's nearby. Hormones go crazy. Makes them go into overdrive in the 'protect the queen' department. It also makes them a little more 'needy' when it comes to love. I hope he hasn't given you much trouble." She said, looking genuinely concerned.

"No, the worst he's done is get a little 'touch-y'. But he seems fine now that he's been with you for a while."

She smiled. "That's good to hear, but as I was saying... I would give my life for that scout, just as he would for me. Trust me, he's going to be fine."

I sighed, "If you say so... Won't stop me from worrying though."

"Of course it won't." She said, stepping closer to me. "But enough of this, we have a war to fight."

She turned abruptly and walked onto the balcony, looking down at the soon-to-be-battlefield. I walked up beside her and found her tracking two alicorns being tailed by a changeling with a teapot on his head, they were making their way through our troops, towards the front lines. "We should get down there quickly." She looked to me, lowered herself to the floor then gestured to the two princesses, "Care for a ride?"

Frankly, I was speechless for a couple seconds, both due to the awesome mental image I got, and the sightly suggestive tone in her voice. Even though it was clearly sarcastic, it still shocked me slightly. I was about to respond when I realized something, "...But you have a broken wing." I said, pointing to the torn wing which was blowing limply in the breeze. "You can still fly?"

She smirked, "I can't, not like this..." She said as she enveloped in a green flame briefly. "But like... say... this, I can."

A wide smile slowly spread across my face.

Now, before me was Celestia. She gestured to her back, then gestured to the alicorns on the ground.

"I am more that okay with this." I said as I stepped over her neck and sat just infront of her wings.

She shook her head, laughing softly. Then spread her wings and, with one beat, launched us from the balcony. Panicking, I latched my arms around her neck to keep myself from losing balance or being bounced off.

She performed a short nose dive, then pulled up into a smooth glide, on course for the two alicorns still making their way to the front lines.

The changelings had slowed from their original speed, presumably because two princesses had just joined our battlements. They were still yet to meet the front lines.

As we glided over the heads of our troops, I thought to myself. I can't let a chance like this go to waste. So I threw out my arms and yelled "Equestria! I am your new leader now! Do you not see me upon my mighty steed?!"

The troops all looked to one another in confusion as we gracefully landed beside Celestia and Luna, who had since stopped a couple feet outside of the front lines. Ebony stood awkwardly behind them, looking and (by the looks of it) feeling rather out of place.

Both of the royal sisters looked at me and Viss with unimpressed glares, though Luna's was hiding a large grin.

They were both wearing some strange armor. It consisted of many layers of metal, all bunched up at their joints creating thick, heavy-looking rings of metal. It didn't look very protective, it left basically their entire bodies visible.

I beamed at Celestia as I dismounted my ride. I now stood between two Celestias. One looking rather happy, the other... not so much.

Viss chuckled slightly as she turned back into her normal form. "I can tell you've wanted to do that for a while, Dan."

I turned to her and smiled, "Yes, yes I have." I said before turning back to Celestia. She didn't look too happy. I did.

Celestia huffed and lowered her horn. Luna rolled her eyes and did the same, placing her horn across her sisters. Viss also did this, I had to back up to avoid being crushed between the two, this placed me next to Ebony behind the three. Their horns all glowed, their faces all neutral, as if they were asleep.

Ebony and I looked to eachother. "Any idea what they're doing?" I asked, taking a look behind us, it was a sea of day and night guards, speckled with the odd regular pony, though most were decked with the same armor.

One of Ebony's ears, while swiveling to focus on me, made contact with the side of the teapot still placed on his helmet. He flinched and rubbed it with a hoof. "I... ouch... I think they're having a private conversation."

I looked to the three larger ponies in offence. "Private enough that I can't listen in?" I said in a hushed tone. "That either means it's about me, their planning something I wouldn't like, or both."

Ebony shrugged, "Or maybe they just don't want the enemy hearing them."

I snorted. "Like they could hear them from- OH JESUS!" I exclaimed as I turned and saw that the changelings had stopped moving, and were now only 10 meters of so from our front lines, closer still to the three alicorns and us. I inched closer to Ebony and placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back slightly. He took the invitation and shuffled behind me slightly, lowering his head and peaking around my legs.

The wall of changelings parted slightly infront of us, creating a short path, and emerging from it, as if from nowhere, was another changeling queen. This one was... actually quite small, perhaps an entire head shorter than Celestia. A little shorter than me infact. Her dark and green colors were grossly saturated and the smile that bared her teeth was sickening, awash with what I assumed to be unpure intentions. Everything about her just seemed... unstable. Her facial muscles were jittering and her legs moved almost robotically.

But there was an elegance about her...

Ebony looked angrier than I had ever seen him, and by that, I mean his face was a little stern. Celestia, Luna and Viss separated their horns and nodded to eachother. They all jumped back slightly at the sudden appearance of the other queen, who was now standing a few feet from Celestia. Personally, I was wondering where my crossbow was. I left it by the rock with Feather... If this second queen makes any moves, I can't even attack from a range. I guess my best bet is to try and resolve what's...

Wait...

"Okay, guys..." I said, shuffling my way past Celestia and Viss as Ebony tracked my heels. I stood infront of Viss, making a placating hand gesture, "Before we start throwing words at eachother, do you mind explaining to us normal folk what the hell is actually going on? Like... what are we even fighting for?" I looked to Celestia for an answer.

Celestia saw my gaze and turned to Luna.

Luna raised an eyebrow at her sister, then gestured to Viss.

Viss looked around at the group, then pointed a hoof at the second queen.

The second queen glanced at Viss as she moved, but then her eyes moved back to their previous target, Ebony. Turned out, the two had been having an impromptu staring-contest. The queen didn't know Ebony existed until then, which justifies her staring.

Ebony looked up at me, peaking around my legs.

Now they were all looking at me.

I set a hand on my face and sighed. Okay, gotta start a conflict to stop a conflict. "You." I said, pointing at Celestia's face, "Why are there ponies out here?"

She glanced about slightly. "To... stop her from taking Vicissit? Why else?"

In an instant I was forced to the ground by a yellow aura. As I hit the ground I heard two distinct metal clangs then a fairly blunt impact from behind me. I checked my daggers, they were both still in place.

Eb helped me to my feet.

I turned around, looking back to Celestia. She was face-to-face with the other Queen.

Celestia and Luna were both covered head-to-hoof with metal that seemed to lay flush against their bodies, as if the metal I saw bunched up around their joints had spread evenly around their bodies, creating a thin exoskeleton.

Celestia and Luna both had a large magical shield floating above Celestia's head. Both shields were shifting back and forth slightly, as if they were resisting pressure. All four large ponies had strained expressions, so I assumed at Viss also had a shield up there and the other queen had some form of magically summoned weapon pressed against them which I unfortunately couldn't see.

The troops behind us and the changelings ahead of us both ground their hoofs into the dirt in anticipation, their bodies swaying as if building up momentum or waiting for the right moment. The changeling horde seemed... oddly in-sync.

The other queen's eyes were wild. "You cannot take her from me, it is for her own good." She hissed through grit teeth. She had a very... what I can only describe as a 'european' accent, but it was a little different since, you know, there being no 'Europe' here and all. Clearly she wasn't from anywhere near here. Wherever 'here' is... I need to find a world map.

"You imprisoned her!" Celestia responded in a similar tone.

The queen became more frustrated. "It was for her own safety, I would do anything for my sister!"

The shields both buckled slightly under the pressure of the invisible instrument for a second, before recovering slightly closer to Celestia's horn.

Celestia pushed the shield towards the queen, shoving her back slightly.

"Your sister?!" Both princesses asked at the same time.

The queen took a step back and glared at the two. "That's right. Now step away from her and release her from your invisible restraints!"

I sighed and put a hand on Ebony's head, he looked up at me, worried and shocked. "You stay here." I said. Before walking inbetween the queen and Celestia.

I looked at the four large ponies, all had wide-eyes except for Viss. "Okay, fight-time's over." I said, before turning to the other queen, "Name?"

She put a hoof to her chest, "I don't have t-"

"Don't make this harder than it has to be." I said, "Name."

She glared at me. "Mar-"

"Marmalade." I said. "Your name is Marmalade now." I pointed over my shoulder at Viss. "That's your sister?"

She looked at me in shock. "How did you know my name?"

Your fucking kidding me. Her name is fucking... Goddamnit. "I'm fucking Psychic." I said, completely done with the day already. "Is that your sister?"

She was looking at me with a mixture of curiosity, fear and anger. "...Yes, she is."

"Mmm, yeah she er... she kind of came here willingly." I said, shrugging. "She isn't a prisoner here. You can leave now."

She looked over at Viss in shock. "Wait, you're with them?"

Viss rolled her eyes, "Of course I am. And even if I was 'captured', I could easily escape from here." Celestia and Luna both gave Viss a concerned look.

Marmalade... seriously, Marmalade? She looked to the floor and scuffed a hoof along it, "I really screwed up, didn't I?" Marmalade said quietly.

"Not you biggest 'screw-up' mind, that would be the time you killed my entire hive, except Ebony here, then took me prisoner." Viss said, patting Ebony on the... well... the teapot.

Marmalade sighed exasperatedly, "They were conspiring against you! I could tell by the way they were acting when I visited."

"No, they were acting weirdly because I was conspiring against you when you visited!" Viss returned sharply.

Marmalade froze, as if she had been stabbed. Her face turned cold as she shook her head, "You don't deserve my help."

"Then leave." Viss said, the two were glaring at eachother ferociously.

Then, from behind our front lines, "OH COME, ON JUST FIGHT ALREADY!" The voice of a familiar pink pegasus sounded.

I turned around, looking in the general direction of the voice, "SHUT UP DAWN, YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" I turned back to the two queens, who were now both looking at me. "Sorry about that, continue."

They both looked back to eachother. "Fine." Marmalade huffed. "I'll leave." She raised a hoof, "On one condition."

"Name it." Viss said.

The smaller queen pointed in Ebony's direction. "I take that with me."

Viss turned to me, "Dan, give 'it' to her." She said with a very stern expression.

I nodded to her, then reluctantly walked over to Ebony, grasped the teapot's handle and walked back to Marmalade. "Here." I said, holding it out to her. My grip was shaky, my mind awash with unconfirmed suspicions and 'could be's.

She looked at me, as if I was an idiot. "I meant the scout." Suspicions confirmed.

I turned around, facing away from her and looked to Ebony, who slumped in acceptance. Viss placed a comforting hoof on Ebony's shoulder. "Oh, yeah, sure." I said, as I turned back around to face the queen behind me, this time however, I held out the pot. I struck her with the bottom of the teapot as I turned, the base meeting the side of her head.

The teapot didn't break, but it did spill it's contents onto the ground.

Marmalade's head froze in the turned position the teapot had forced it into, she stared blankly for a couple of seconds before blinking rapidly and putting a hoof to her head. Her eyes became more distant and her hoof slowly dropped to the floor, which was soon followed by the rest of her body as she fell completely unconscious.

I almost stopped breathing once I had realised what I had done. Turning towards the princesses and queen behind me, I prepared to be punished and gawked at. Luckily, I only got one of the two. Everyone, even the troops were all staring past me with wide eyes.

"Come on guys, it wasn't... that..." My words trailed off as I realised that they were not looking at me, but at the changelings.

Or should I say, the lack of.

The army was gone, save for four changelings watching from the cliff-top. I only got a glimpse before they turned tail and ran.

I turned back, looking at Celestia. We were both equally shocked.

There was a long silence.

... "SERIOUSLY?!" Dawn yelled from crowd. "THAT'S IT?!"

***

That night, I was sat in a small, warm meeting room with Celestia, who was explaining to me, after having a very long discussion with Viss, what exactly happened.

"So let me get this straight." I said, setting my 'victory hot coco' on the small table between us and reclining in my chair slightly. "Marmalade is Viss's over-protective sister, who killed her entire hive because she suspected they were planning a coup. Then imprisoned Viss to keep her safe. Viss escaped years later, then came here. Once Marmalade found out that Viss was here, she assumed she was being held prisoner, and came to save her. And Viss didn't tell us she was her sister, or that she was here to 'save' her because..."

Celestia nodded, "Because she was hoping we would kill her to 'get her sister off her back'."

I sighed, "Damn that's cold... And the army of changelings?"

Celestia shrugged, "I presume they were all fake, considering they vanished the second Marmalade fell unconscious. The few we saw atop the cliff were likely the ones producing the illusion, which disappeared when they panicked." She sighed. "We don't know much at the moment, we will probably get more information from Marmalade once she wakes up, she's still out cold."

After the 'battle', Marmalade was dragged off to the infirmary, despite Viss's complaints. All changeling prisoners were released and given a choice, 'go back to the hive and wait for their queen to return', 'stay with the queen then follow her back to the hive' or 'make a life for yourself in Equestria'.

"Well, I hope she get's better." I said, standing from the chair and grasping the hot coco, wrapping my hands around the mug, savoring the warmth. "This was all just a big misunderstanding."

"One that could have been avoided if Viss had told us the whole story." Celestia said, looking to the floor as I walked to the door.

I stood in the open doorway for a second, looking back at the solemn alicorn. "Tell her to stay away from Ebony." I said as I turned and walked out into the chilly hallways.

I walked through the palace hallways in relative silence. Through the windows passing by me, I saw the crowded streets full of ponies all returning after the battle was called off. Many impromptu family re-unions were taking place, worried partners returning to their spouses and foals hugging the parent or parents they feared to lose.

As much as it frustrated me that all that preparation for war was for nothing, it was better that way. Both sides were left with little-to-no damage done.

Plus, I got some magically-resistant cloth to wear under my regular clothes. Breathes pretty well for something that was designed to be armor.

I walked for at least a minute before I reached my destination, allowing me to finish my coco and give the empty mug to a passing guard (You'd be surprised at the things you can place on a unicorn's horn without it noticing). Once I was there, I hesitantly knocked on the door. Three steady knocks, soft yet powerful.

The door opened a crack, there was a chain-lock stopping the door from opening the whole way.

A blue eye peaked through the gap, "Oh, hello Dan." Luna said, before closing the door, unlatching the chain, then opening the door fully. "What brings you?"

I smiled. "Hey Luna, I wanted to see Chrome, to-"

She lifted a hoof, a soft smile on her face. "I was just leaving. You two talk." She said, before walking past me. The door limply closed as she left it.

I caught the door in preparation.

"Oh, and Dan." Luna said from behind me, I stopped in the doorway and turned around, finding her scarily close. She pulled me into a hug that was so sudden I yelped slightly. She had a hoof over one of my shoulders and her head over the other. This placement caused her hair to completely cover my field of view. I blindly placed my hands on her back, returning the surprising hug.

Her head shot up infront of me, her horn grazing me as she did so. She was staring at with widened eyes, her pupils twitched momentarily as if she was trying to look behind her but couldn't break eye-contact.

"What?" I asked, panicking slightly, "What's wrong?"

She blinked and opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came. She closed it again and gulped silently, then whispered something so quietly I couldn't even hear it. I had to read her lips. Even then I had some trouble deciphering what she had said.

...Wigs? ...She doesn't have a wig...

What else could it have been...W-gs ...W-gs ...W-gs ...oh ...that

"Shit, sorry." I said slightly too loudly as I quickly moved my hands from her wings and onto her shoulders. "Didn't realize."

She smiled weakly and cleared her throat quietly, trying to vanquish the small blush that had formed on her face. "...Thanks for setting him straight." She said quietly, "Even I couldn't get through to him, but now, after you knocked some sense into him... he's finally improving. And sober."

I took a second to gather myself, then shrugged slightly, smiling. "No problem, he's a good friend."

"You are too," She said, smiling, "Thank you." And with that she leant forward, gave me a quick peck on the cheek, then, with a flash, teleported away.

I stood there frozen.

Did she really just...

I shook myself awake when I heard a slight shuffle of movement from down the hall. I turned towards the noise, looking for a source. My eyes landed on a guard, who was staring at me in surprise from down the hall.

I blinked, figuring he must have seen the whole interaction, but, judging from the distance, didn't hear a word of it. I called, "It's not-"

He gasped and ran.

"...what it... looks like..." I sighed, "Damn."

I stood there in silence for a while. I hope nothing comes from this.

"Dan?" Chrome called from inside his room. "You still out there? If so, you can continue waiting creepily outside of my door. But, if you'd like, I'd rather if you-"

"Fine, fine I'm coming in." I called through the door as I opened the door and closed it behind me a little too hastily.

The room was well-lit. The carpet was clean, clear of any clutter. Shelves lines the walls, housing trinkets and odds and ends, all neatly lined up and dusted. Chrome was sat on one of the sofas, his back legs propped up on the table and a book in his lap. "You wanted to see me?" He said, smirking.

"Yeah," I said as I walked past the gleaming kitchen and sat on the seat opposite him, he took his legs off of the table, set down his book and leaned towards me politely. "Sorry I was out there for so long, Luna wanted to... talk."

He scoffed, "Yeah, I know how that is." He said, rolling his eyes. "So... what did you need?"

"I wanted to apologize." I began.

Chrome shook his head, "Dan, come on..."

I continued, "For yelling at you last night, and for... kicking you."

Chrome smiled, leant across the table and patted me on the shoulder. "It's exactly what I needed. I realize now that you can handle yourself and that your actions are in your hooves, not mine. What happened outside the city today just serves to prove that point." He smirked. "And might I add, you were awesome out there."

I snorted and shook my head.

"No, really." He said, "I hear their making a statue. Imagine it, you, dressed in armor, smiting the evil queen with an improvised weapon just when she least expects it! Set in stone!"

"Chrome, no."

"I hear their making a holiday for it too." He lifted his hoofs into the air dramatically, "Teapot day."

"Chrome." I said. "Stop."

He scoffed and pointed to himself. "I'm the special somepony of a princess, I could make it happen if I wanted to!" He said in mock authority. A wide grin spread across his face as he realized something, "I bet she'd agree too!"

"Chrome, please." I said, laughing. "I don't need a-"

"I'm totally asking her right now." He said, leaping form his chair and sprinting out of the room, giggling gleefully.

I laughed, shaking my head as I slumped back down into my chair. "There's the Chrome I know..." I sighed.

I took a look around the peaceful room. It was like it wasn't the same room I was in the night before. Kitchen utensils and decorations alike were placed with imaculate precision and care.

He had had new lights installed by the looks of it, six spotlights in the main room, four in the kitchen and one lighting the entrance. An old lamp stood by the bedroom door, it's shade equally distributing it's light around the room. It was like even the shadows were slightly lit.

I looked over to the book he was reading. Something written by one "A. Ein-Holsteiner". By the look of it, it was some sort of science-y book I would probably get a nosebleed from just trying to understand.

I sat in thought.

...

"...God I hope he doesn't call it 'teapot day'."

Well.

That certainly happened.

I planned deaths. I planned... a lot of things. Oh well. I kind of like how it turned out.

This chapter opens a lot of doors for me, even I don't know where this'll go.

Next chapter is going to be like... a long time, like, a long-ass time. Actually caring about quality and consistency kind of slows me to a halt sometimes.