Vaiawa led Sineria and Bremma through New Humansville and into the hospital. Morris kept having to stop and trying to explain what purpose the various different structures served. The two red Changelings watched everything with wonder. They had never seen such odd structures and architecture. Being designed by Humans, the hospital was the very epitome of odd for them. Vaiawa led them up the stairs and into the Maternity Ward. Alana's room was not difficult to locate. Changelings sat on the floor, stuck to the walls, and clung to the ceiling just outside her room. There was enough space to walk or push a rolling bed, but that was it. More than a hundred pairs of curious blue eyes watched as Vaiawa led her procession down the hallway and into the room where her fellow Queen was resting.

Alana was lying on her bed with two small, jet black infants nursing from the teats which rested low on her stomach. Dr. Jewel was in the room with his wife, watching his twin boys nurse. The twins themselves were an odd sight. Vaiawa had not seen many Human babies, but even she knew there was something unusual about them. Each one sported a shock of ice white hair on their heads and their ears were long and pointed as if somebody had pulled on the tops of their ears and then stapled the elongated upper ends together.

Bobby looked up sharply as Vaiawa gracefully strode into the room, "Two healthy males. Congratulations Alana." She said with a wholesome smile.

Alana smiled back, "Two red Changelings arrive on the same day as my boys. This is a momentous occasion."

"What are their names?" Vaiawa asked.

Bobby huffed, "She hasn't said yet. She says she has to wait for the Natural Magic to tell her."

Alana turned her head and regarded her husband fondly, "Are their names really so important right now?" She gestured to the happily nursing babies, "These are our sons. They have names though. I knew them the moment they left my body: Romulus for the elder and Remus for the younger." Everybody was so busy with one thing or another, they missed the surprised glance exchanged by the two red Changelings.

Bobby suddenly went still as if frozen. Vaiawa noticed his odd behavior and stretched out her neck toward him, "Dr. Jewel?" She asked quietly.

Alana looked worried, "Bobby?" She called. He did not respond so she tried again, "Bobby!"

Bobby jerked as if he had been slapped. He shook his head and shot a very concerned look toward his wife, "How do you know those names?" He asked, "Did somebody tell you?"

Alana blinked in confusion while poor Morris was writing for all he was worth, trying to communicate with Sineria and Bremma. Vaiawa held her head back up straight, "I am not familiar with those names, Alana. Where did you hear them?"

Alana let out a disgruntled sigh, "It's from Chrysalis' memories, or I should say, from the memories she took from the old Queen when she took over. The memories have been passed down so many times, I am not sure how old they are. The memories are originally from an ancient Queen who found two babies in the wilderness when she was out exploring. She had her entire hive with her at the time, all of them having taken various different forms. Fearing discovery by the actual parents of the two infants, she kept the disguise she already had, a wolf. She fed the two from her own teats, nursing them until they were old enough to fend for themselves. She remembered their names and I recognized the body shape from her memories: Humans. Their names are right."

Bobby slapped his palm against his face, "Well did the old Queen stick around long enough to see Romulus MURDER Remus?" He pointed to his twins emphatically, "That is NOT going to happen with my boys."

Alana shushed her husband, "You're going to wake them." Her eyes softened and she reached her foreleg out toward her husband. Bobby took her foreleg and held it in both of his hands, "You have no need to worry, love. With you as their father, I know they will grow up to be good men."

"Or Drow." Darryl said from the doorway. All eyes turned to the Marine. Darryl pointed to Romulus and Remus, "The white hair, the long ears... I'll bet they have white eyes too."

Bobby furrowed his eyebrows, "Yeah their pupils and irises are all white... how the 'hell' did you know that?" He asked.

Darryl nodded, "I guess you never played D&D. I'm not sure where the legend comes from before then, but the traits match. I hope you're ready to have them stay boys for a looong time. According to D&D, Drow are a type of Elves... and they reach adulthood at a hundred years old."

Bobby was thunderstruck, "Wha... I don... HUH?!"

Darryl shrugged, "With everything else crazy going on in this world, this isn't much of a shock to me. Congrats, Alana. You too, Bobby. You've both had a part of giving birth to a whole new race." So spoken, Darryl simply walked away.

Alana pulled Bobby close and nuzzled his chest, "I don't care what he calls them. What do you want to call them?"

Bobby snapped out of his daze and looked down at his baby boys fondly. He rubbed his nose and absentmindedly scratched Alana behind her ears, "I'm just going to call them our sons. It's as simple as that."

Alana smiled and turned her eyes toward the two red Changelings, "Now, since New Humansville is sovereign territory and I have permission to bend a few laws for the purposes of communication in regard to all Changelings. Let's see about helping your two friends, shall we, Vaiawa?" Before anybody could say a word, Alana lit up her horn and fired a green beam of magic at Sineria and Bremma.

The two red Changelings gave a start and nearly panicked, but it was over in half a moment. They looked at one another and licked their lips nervously. Their comprehension widened and they realized Alana had done something that had been outlawed in their hive for as long as anyone could remember. They had mixed feelings about being the recipients of such a spell.

Alana leaned her head down to them and smiled, "Now," she said calmly, "Let's get to know each other."

* * *

The Grand Magus tripped over his own hooves and fell against the wall of the subterranean corridor he had been running down. Behind him, the sounds of battle echoed through the cavern. He panted heavily as he pushed himself into a stumbling gallop once more. His thoughts raced and bitter, hateful tears streamed down his cheeks as he came closer to his destination, 'Curse those Peacemakers, CURSE THEM!'

He felt the cavern shutter as a loud explosion sent a shock-wave down the corridor. The Grand Magus stumbled, but remained upright, 'They're all dead,' his thoughts were heartbroken, 'They killed them all, even the foals!' He gritted his teeth and forced his legs to carry him down the final stretch of hallway, 'The world is under the power of the Unicorns now.' He shoved open the stout wooden door and all but fell into the chamber beyond, 'They'll enslave the entire world now. We were the only thing standing in their way... and now we're all dead... all except for me.'

The chamber was in the farthest recesses of the cavern and it promised a final solution to the Unicorns. It was one of the first Blood Magic rituals the original Bloodmages had uncovered and it was their most heavily kept secret. Past Grand Magi from all of history had added a bit here or there and it only needed a single additional component to be complete. It had been ready for ages, but the need to use it combined with the fear and trepidation of completing the ritual had always kept them from finishing it. There was no certainty of success and even less certainty of everything going according to plan. The Grand Magus alone knew how the ritual was performed and that secret was passed down from one Grand Magus to the next.

He staggered into the vast chamber and inhaled the heavy scent of iron which saturated the air. His eyes flickered all around the chamber, taking in the rusty color of the walls and the wet, red condensation dripping from almost every surface. He wobbled over to the small alcove set into the right wall and removed the ancient, preserved skull resting there. The skull was inscribed with archaic runes of power and mystery. The Grand Magus could almost feel the vibrations of raw power echoing from the artifact. He sat down and slit his right forehoof against the ancient teeth, the tips still sharp even after eons of age. He set the skull down on the ground and sprinkled his blood onto the skull, coating it with his own sanguine life essence.

"Wait!" A masculine voice called from the corridor beyond the open door. The Grand Magus turned his head, fear coursing through his body, 'They killed the others that quickly?'

Running down the corridor was a dark-skinned Human. His baggy pants and lose fitting shirt ruffling in the wind as his feet ate up the distance. He skidded to a halt panting heavily, "Wait... please!"

The Grand Magus quickly turned back to finish the ritual as the Human spoke, "Just stop and think!" He yelled, walking quietly toward the Grand Magus' back, "They surrendered. We only kill when we need to. Whatever it is you're doing, it's not worth it! All we want is for you to stop harming innocents!" Running steps behind him heralded the arrival of other members of the team of Peacemakers, "Blood Magic is legal now! You don't have to hide any more! It's a viable course of study in the Canterlot University! You got what you wanted! Please just stop and surrender!"

Back in the main chamber where the battle had taken place, the Peacemaker reinforcements were caring for the injured Bloodmages and taking others into custody while the main strike force had gone after the Grand Magus. A young Minotaur cow added her voice to that of her comrade, "It's true! I'M a Bloodmage and they accepted me into the Peacemakers! Grand Magus, we can do so much good! We can help teach them about Blood Magic! We can use our gifts freely in the world!" She panted as she subtly cut the fingers of her right hand, preparing for a spell if it was needed, "It's a different world than the one you knew! All you have to do is accept it!" To her left a Diamond Dog bitch quietly slid a throwing knife out of her sleeve.

The Grand Magus finished the ritual, 'Now the only thing left is to slide it into the blood.' Without raising his head, he raised his eyes. Sitting before him was a colossal pool filled with the blood of countless numbers, collected throughout the ages. Bloodmages who died of old age, Unicorns, and any other creature that had outlived its usefulness had been drained into the pool. The circle surrounding the pool was made out of bones and through a lost ritual, had blood constantly pumping through the marrow of the connected bones. The pool held millions of gallons of blood and served as the power for the final ritual.

The Grand Magus slowly rose to his hooves, "Do you swear?" He asked suddenly.

R.J. Brinsin could not believe what he was hearing. It was one of his most fervent hopes that the Grand Magus would surrender. Through the Minotaur cow Peacemaker, he had come to understand exactly how useful Blood Magic could be. She bore hundreds of scars all across her body, signs of the sacrifices she had made of herself to save the lives of others. Four of her scars were things which he knew he owed his own life. Blood Magic was not evil, it was just a tool. The cow had explained that the Grand Magus knew rituals that were the most powerful but were never taught to others. R.J. did not wish to see that knowledge lost, nor did he wish for the Grand Magus to die, despite his heinous and innumerable crimes. He did not want to kill or fight anymore. He had seen too much of it already. He was tired of the constant death, his soul sagged against his physical body yearning for release and peace from the war. He had kept himself tightly to the task of ridding the world of the evils of hatred, but in his core, he was sick of it. He wanted to die.

It had taken time, but he felt that he understood why the previous Peacemakers had strayed from a course of preserving life. Having seen so much death, it was only too easy to fall into the mindset of constant death. He understood that the mind was not meant to endure seeing so much suffering and death. It altered one's perceptions of life. Any argument could be stopped if one just killed the person arguing with you. It was so easy, it was too easy. He had kept himself sane by attending therapy sessions from the counselor provided by the crown. He knew the sessions had saved not only the lives of thousands, but his own. Suicide had been on his mind for nearly a year. The temptation was held at bay by the lone voice of his therapist. The entire strike team had endured the same hardship. They had all fought the temptation to opt out of life, to start killing and never stop, to fall to the twists of their minds. He knew they felt the same way he did. They were all tired of the killing.

They had spoken of it often. Each one wanted the same thing: peace. They longed for it in much the same way a drowning man longs for air. They hated themselves and each other for the things they had done. Yet at the same time, they loved one another as well. Each and every one of them had saved the lives of the others many times over. They were more of a horribly broken family, than a team. They wanted peace and they had fought and suffered in the effort of making it a reality. Which was why the willingness of the Grand Magus to talk was such a relief to them.

Suddenly there was a chance for all the killing to end, for peace to be achieved. R.J. held onto that chance like a life preserver, "Yes!" He cried, "It's all true! We swear it!" He felt as if he would collapse, "Give us a chance to prove it! You can see it for yourself! You can see the Bloodmages we've captured! They're treated well! All we want is an end to all this killing!"

The Grand Magus slowly turned his entire body toward the Peacemakers, leaving the skull behind him on the ground. He took half a step forward but stopped, "This was our last safe haven." He said plainly, "There are no more of us after this."

His words confirmed what the Peacemakers already knew. R.J. took a step forward, "Please," he was nearly begging, "We... we only want peace."

The Grand Magus locked eyes with the young man. In those eyes, he saw the soul of one greatly aged by what he had seen. He saw sorrow and longing. R.J. fell to his knees, his hands outstretched toward the older Earth Pony stallion, "Please..." he was openly begging at that point, "There's no need for any more death or pain. Let's just put an end to this, an end to this conflict." He took a ragged breath, "Right here," he gestured to the ground in front of him, "In this cavern. We can stop all of this. Please... let us end this."

The Grand Magus closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath, "Yes," he said quietly.

The Peacemakers were dumbstruck. Joy and elation filled them to their cores. It was over.

The Grand Magus's eyes suddenly snapped open, his voice became a hateful snarl, "Let us end this." With a single motion, he kicked the skull into the pool of blood. Before he even set his hoof back on the ground, a throwing knife sprouted from between his eyes. He froze, poleaxed by the shock of the injury and slowly fell over, dead.

R.J. wailed at the sight, "NO!" He balled up his fists and beat the ground, "WHY!?" He cried, "Why couldn't you let go?!"

The Diamond Dog bitch lowered her head and knelt next to her comrade. She placed her paws gently around his shoulders, "Shh," she soothed him, "It over now. Pony was too wicked to see truth. His heart only know hate."

The Minotaur cow slowly stepped forward, peering into the cavern, "But what did he do?" She scanned the room, but nothing was happening, "He completed some ritual... but it doesn't look like it did anything."

"I recognized that skull." The lone Gryphon tom of the group spoke up quietly, "Every home in Gryphonvale has one."

The Minotaur bull of the group arched his left eyebrow, "Balzac?" He asked.

The Gryphon nodded, "Any Gryphon would recognize one."

"EEEEK!" The Minotaur cow jumped and stumbled back falling onto her bottom, crawling away from the edge of the pool of blood. The other Peacemakers were with her in an instant, all ready for a fight if necessary. Every one of them halted, eyes wide as a blood covered, reptilian claw reached up and scratched at the stone surrounding the pool.

Author's Notes:

New chapter! Do not worry, the entire world is not going to change just because there are two twins who look like Drow. There will be no significant changes to the world at large. Just wanted to clear that right up before anybody decides to rage-quit on me.