At first, I didn’t know what to think of the instructions. My brain had trouble trying to figure out what kind of ingredients each were. What didn’t help was that they weren’t labeled properly. I had to keep recasting the spell at least six times before I could even figure out which was which. After pulling down what I believed to be the ingredients, I went to work. I have never worked potions or herbs when being taught to be a courier. We didn’t have to worry about all that.

All we did was learn the necessary skills needed to have at our disposal. I quickly glanced between the instructions and putting in the amount I needed for each ingredient. I left a beaker boiling with herbs while I smashed what looked like a claw and more plant like organisms in a bowl. The smell was disgusting. I had to hold back from gagging so much. At this point, I was subconsciously casting my disguise illusion. I checked my PipBuck. I saw a small pegasus with letters in a bag. But I ignored it. I had other things to handle.

While I was slaving away at creating a concoction that was supposed to hide my scent so I could go find the star metal and get out, I was also planning a way to see if I can get the three headed king off of the throne and into capable paws. From what I could tell, those dogs that went in, never came back out. Which made me have a sneaky suspicion that Scruffy had done something to them after they were done. I would assume that this place also had a dungeon. And after seeing Scruffy for myself, I could understand why Scruffy wanted Dogger out of the picture.

He had enough heads telling him what to do. If he had another, he would bring the wrath of the Empire onto everyone. In a way, it was the cerberus’s way of keeping himself sane, which I found strange. The heads shared different personalities and thoughts. The middle head acted like the wisest of the bunch. The other two just seemed to nag constantly at each other. Maybe Scruffy wasn’t a cerberus and was made to look like one. But that sounded like a silly idea. I’ve read stories about cerberuses.

The original Cerberus is a guard dog to the gates of Tartaros. A place where Equestria’s evil beings of the land were locked away. But Cerberus wasn’t the only one. There were others that were his kind. But no records showed of any being around. But seeing one here now, even after the war, I questioned if Scruffy was the last remaining cerberus alive. And if there were others out there, then they would have been either killed or mutated. Thinking all of this made me feel sorry for the king.

The beaker whistled and I turned just in time to see it pop and change color. I furrowed my brows, mashing the last of what I could in the bowel, took the contents and dumped them in. I took a small clear stick and stirred the beaker, making it change into a grossly green color. Looking back at the instruction, I found I just needed to add one last thing. I scanned the shelves. It seems that the last ingredient was missing. Or maybe it wasn’t and the poorly labeled contents were right in front of me. Suddenly, Cream burst into the rooms, tears streaming down her eyes.

“Cream? What’s wrong?” I asked. She ran over to me and sobbed.

“I-it’s auntie! Some ponies got captured with her! King Scruffy plans to execute them tomorrow!” she sobbed. I blinked.

“Other ponies got captured?” I asked. She sniffled and nodded.

“They rushed in, demanded that their friend would be released. But King Scruffy saw Dogger with them and… and they took her! They took her down into the dungeons with those ponies!” she sobbed more and I hugged her. What the hell were my friends thinking!? I didn’t expect them to be back so soon. I gritted my teeth. I have a third thing to do now. Get my friends and Dogger out of prison before they got executed. I looked at her as she sniffled.

“I don’t know why my friends thought it would be a good idea to attack Scruffy head on.” I said. But then again, I had a feeling Silver Iris believed Dogger handed me over. And being the instinctive pony she is, she rushed in to try and save me. But I guess my friends weren’t expecting a cerberus. I put my stuffed wolf claws on her shoulder and looked her square in the eye. “Cream. We are going to get them out of there. I promise you that. I’m missing a last ingredient that I need to hide my scent. And it doesn’t seem to be anywhere in here. If you can find it and give it to me, I’ll use the concoction to get them out and acquire the star metal as well.” I smiled. “If we put our minds together, we can accomplish this.”

Cream looked at me, tears still streaming. She nodded, wiping her tears.

“What’s the last ingredient?” she asked. I showed her the parchment and she scanned it. “I know where one is. It’s back at my house. I’ll rush over and get it.” She looked worriedly now. I gave her a reassuring smile.

“We can do this, Cream. I know we can. If we pull this off, you’ll not only be saving your family, you’ll be saving innocent ponies as well. You won’t have to watch another execution. As for the king.” I winked at her. “Leave the poor mutt to me.” Cream gave me a sad look before nodding.

“I-I’m holding your word on that, Courier.” She said. She turned and galloped out of the room, leaving me to think of how I was going to handle Scruffy. I had to find some way to dethrone him without causing the Empire any grief. I also wanted to save Dogger and my friends. Dogger is the only family Cream has. And I wasn’t going to let her watch her only family be executed along with my friends. It took two hours, giving me enough time to know what to do now, when Cream returned with a jar in her teeth. She trotted over to the beaker and poured the contents in and stirred. I gapped when it went from the sickly looking color to a bright pink. She took the beaker and gave it to me. “Drink it.” I frowned and looked at the concoction. I’m doing this for my friends. Come on, Courier!

I took a deep breath and drank. Too my surprise it had a bubble gum after taste. I looked back at my body. Nothing seemed to change.

“Did it work?” I asked. Cream sniffed my wolf head costume.

“Well, you definitely don’t smell like dog anymore.” She said. I blinked. Was that supposed to mean something? I shook away the thought.

“It’ll have to do.” I said as I reached into my bag and pulled out a Stealthbuck. “If Dogger says the Snow Dogs are as stupid as she says they are, then their eye sight must be bad as well as their brains.” Cream shook her head.

“They can hear and smell better though.” She said. Good point. I looked at her before speaking.

“Still, it’ll have to do. Lead me to the dungeons.” I said as I activated the Stealthbuck. She nodded, adjusting the big book on her back before turning and leading me out the door and down the hall. I kept quiet as we passed guards that watched Cream go by, with me right behind her. We turned down a hall and made our way out onto another crystalline bridge that lead to a towering stalagmite. The guards stepped aside as Cream and I (still in the Stealthbuck) went through.

“Geez, you would think that this place wouldn’t be as big as the Crystal Empire.” I whispered. We followed the spiraling stair case down and came to a door where a big brute looking dog stood in front of the door.

“Halt. Pony have business?” the brute asked.

“Scribe Cream. I am here to talk with the recent prisoners about their execution day.” She said. The brute narrowed his eyes.

“King want no pony visit. Pony must leave.” He said.

“You are talking to the executioner herself.” Cream said with a hoof stomp. The dog shook his head.

“Executioner need not worry.” He pounded his chest. “Hound keep prisoner in cage.” I crept low and squeezed my way past him. I saw the keys dangling from his belt and I plucked them with my magic. I quietly unlocked the door and slid in. Cream must have noticed and kept talking, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying as I was already making my way down the hall of cages. I heard howling and banging all around me. Dogs protesting that they shouldn’t be here. I passed by a cage and gapped as I noticed them being the dogs that were ahead of me in the audience roster. I gritted my teeth and kept looking for my friends. I smiled when I heard a familiar voice shout.

“Mangy mutts! When I get out of here you are going to get it!” I turned and saw three Snow Dog guards laughing at Silver Iris as she swung her power hoof against the barrier. It bounced off harmlessly, making her fall back into Brick.

“Keep trying, pony. Pony stupid. Pony know nothing.” The middle guard dog said. I crept low as they kept laughing at Iris’s attempt at breaking free. I conjured three clones and got in low. I commanded them to pull out Sinful, as did I, and sprang up high, whipping the dogs in the back of their armored heads. They fell to the crystal floor, seeing stars. My friends looked confused as to what had happened.

“You honestly have to think of a better way to save me, guys.” I said with a smile. They blinked in confusion.

“Courier? Is that you?” Comp asked. I nodded, realizing I was still invisible before speaking.

“Yes.” I said. They beamed.

“You are okay!” Comp cheered. I felt the Stealthbuck dissipate and they blinked in more confusion. “Err… what are you wearing?” It was my turn to blink and look at myself. Oh right, I forgot I was disguised as a “Snow Dog”. I reactivated the spell before continuing.

“Unfortunately, this is my oh-so-genius plan to pass off as a Snow Dog.” I said. I looked back at them and saw them stifling laughter. I frowned. “Yes, yes. Ha, ha, ha.” As they finally laughed. “Do you want to be let out or not?” that got them to stop. “Listen, there is a vital ingredient needed for my leg. And the only person we know that can help us is Dogger. And right now, I promised her niece that I would save her from Scruffy.” Shining Star arched a brow.

“That cerberus has a name?” he asked. I nodded.

“Long story short, Snow Dogs here are under the rule of the Empire of Europa that is run by the King Scruffy, who appears to send a lot of dogs to his dungeon. The key ingredient we need is called Star Metal and the only way to get it is to get it from the king himself. So I snuck myself in here to get it.” I rubbed my wolf head. “I wasn’t expecting you guys to be back so soon.” Now that I look at them, they do look a bit battered and bruised. But it seems they came out okay in the end. “Why did you guys even barge in without taking the necessary steps to know your enemy?” my friends looked at Silver Iris, who flushed and gave a sheepish smile.

“I err… got carried away.” She shrugged. “In my defense, I honestly thought Dogger gave you up for something.” She said. I nodded.

“Uh-huh. Figures.” I said with a smile. She bowed her head.

“I’m sorry. I just thought… I was going to lose you again.” She said. I pounded a stuffed wolf claw to my chest, ignoring the small squeak it made.

“I guess we both are underestimating each other. I’m a tough mare. Now listen, we need to get Dogger out of here. Scruffy doesn’t like her one bit and will do anything to make sure she is out of the picture.” I said.

“Why on earth do they hate one of their own?” Goldenlee asked, rubbing her chin. I smiled.

“Because out of all the Snow Dogs here, Dogger is the only one with brains. King Scruffy is afraid that she will use that smarts to over throw him.” I said. “And that’s what I’m going to do. But I need Dogger’s help.” I tossed them the keys. “Come on, we need to-.” I didn’t get to finish. I noticed something looming over me and I quickly hopped to the side as something blunt came crashing down to where I once was. The big brute Hound snarled at me.

“Traitor dog. Hound kill traitor.” He said. He lifted up the hammer in his paws and was about to swing down again when a silver blur flung open the cage and tackled the brute. I saw Silver Iris roll with the dog before kicking off of him and flew back.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go overthrow an Empire!” Silver Iris smirked. I shook my head.

“We need Dogger! Where did they take her?” I asked. Shining Star looked to me.

“Scruffy said something about taking care of her himself.” He said. I gapped. No, I’m not going to fail Cream! I quickly bolted past them.

“Courier? Wait for us!” Comp shouted. I shouted back to them.

“Catch up to me when you are finished here! I need to save Dogger!” I said as I turned the corner. I stopped when I saw three more Snow Dogs rush in, halberds at the ready. I pulled out both Sinful and Malice and took aim. I planted my hooves as I fired. I smiled when I wasn’t blasted back, but the recoil was still overwhelming. But the magnums did their job. The dogs fell to the floor, their armors dented. I wasn’t going to kill them. Some of them had families. And I didn’t want to have too many casualties. If anything, the bullets knocked the wind out of them and I was glad they had sturdy armor. I holstered the guns before making my way up the stairs. I saw a worried looking Cream at the crystalline bridge.

“Are your friends okay? Is auntie okay?” She asked. I looked at her.

“My friends are fine. But Dogger wasn’t with them.” I said. She gapped. “Don’t worry, I know exactly where she is. Take me to Scruffy’s quarters.” I said. She bit her lip. I smiled at her. “I promised you I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. And I’m following through.” She looked at me worriedly before nodding.

“This way.” She said. We galloped across the bridge. More guards saw us running down the bridge and were going to confront us. I fired Sinful and Malice at them, being slowed as well but picking up speed as I recovered from the recoil. Three of them went down with dents in their armors, but two more that I had missed rushed us. I blinked as I watched Cream take the strap of the giant book on her back and swung it around, knocking the dogs into each other and they went barreling over the bridge. I smiled as she slung the book back onto her back and she gave me flush and a sheepish smile.

“Dogger sure raised you right.” I said. That made her flush more, but we kept going. More dogs had gotten in our way, but we made quick work of them. I hoped my friends were doing okay. I know they could take care of themselves, but Goldenlee wasn’t lying when she said they could be vicious. And stubborn too. I had thought I knocked one out, but he got back up again and nearly cut my head off with a claw. I retaliated by picking up a halberd and swung the flat of the axe against his helmeted head. His head made a clang and I saw his head vibrate comically as he swayed and fell to the floor. I kept the halberd handy with me as we galloped our way up a set of stairs and racing down the hall.

More guard dogs moved in our way, but this time, I conjured my copies. Taking the halberds, they swung it over their heads, either tripping or hitting the dogs, as me and Cream galloped by. We had turned the corner when we stopped and saw another brute looking dog with a giant double headed battle axe standing between us and the twin doors behind him. The heavily armored giant swung the axe into a ready position. I twirled the halberd in my magic and brought it around, resting the pole on my back and took a step forward.

“Get back.” I said to Cream. She nodded and stepped back as I circled with the giant armored brute. He roared, swinging the axe around and down. I hopped to the side as it came crashing down and I rushed forward. I spun the halberd around and brought it down. The pole axe bounced harmlessly off of the armor. I blinked and gave him a sheepish smile. He reared back, bringing the axe up again and I quickly dashed around him when he swung it down again. I saw the straps of his armor on the back. I smirked and swung the axe blade up, cutting one of the straps. The dog growled before swinging a giant paw and hitting me with the back of it. I sailed across the room and bounced off of the wall, falling to the floor with a thud. I coughed for air and wobbly stood. The dog brought a giant paw down on me and lifted me up, my hooves trapped in his paw. I gritted my teeth and tried to break free, but the dog squeezed.

I screamed in pain as I heard my bones cracking. The dog chuckled and then suddenly stiffened. He looked behind him and I saw Cream with the halberd in her teeth. Her eyes widened as the dog dropped me to the floor and roared, bringing the axe around. I quickly brought out Malice, entered S.A.T.S. and fired at his plated arm, making his swing go over the mare’s head. He spun on one hind leg and stopped, swaying. I winced as I stood, keeping Malice out and rushed to her.

“Are you okay?” I asked. She blinked.

“That’s what I should be asking you!” she said. I smiled but quickly looked back to the armored giant dog as he finally regained his sense and brought the axe up. I pulled out Sinful now and fired both magnums one at a time at the dog. The weight of the axe plus the armor he wore and the force of the magnum rounds, I smiled as the math did the work and gravity did the rest. The giant dog fell onto his back and taking the halberd in in my magic, keeping Sinful and Malice out as well and jumped onto the giant dog’s chest. I cut the shoulder straps of the dog’s armor and jumped off when he stood up. His armor fell off of him and he looked down. I arched a brow when the dog flushed and covered himself.

I spun the halberd around again and galloped. The dog snapped out of his embarrassing moment and gripped the axe. The good news is that he was no longer armored. Bad news is, the weight the armor made the dog slower. He swung the axe with ease now, making me stop and duck as the heads of the axe swung over me. He then quickly brought it down, making me scramble out of the way. When I did, he quickly grabbed me by the head. My vision was blinded and I felt myself being lifted up off the ground. I concentrated. I pinpointed where his armored face should be and swung Sinful out. I fired multiple times into the head of the dog and he let me go, making me stumble, my regrown leg clacking with the brace as the dog backed away, rubbing his head.

I reloaded the two magnums with fresh clips and smirked at the dog. He snarled and brought the axe around again. Only this time, I stayed. I noticed something move behind him and when he swung, the axe suddenly vanished. He spun around comically and stopped, scratching his armored head in confusion. I saw Silver Iris fly above him with his axe in tow. She shifted it with ease and brought the pole to her shoulders as she smirked.

“Better think again if you wanna start crushing on my mare-friend.” She said. I gapped when she locked her forehooves on the axe’s pole and spun around in the air, bringing the flat of the axe heads straight into the dog’s unarmored chest. I was even more stunned that the force sent the dog crashing into the wall, leaving a mark upon impact. She hovered in the air, brought the head of the axe down on the ground and propped her forehooves and head on the bottom tip, smiling. “Perks of being the ‘Perfect Super Soldier’. My strength is incredible.”

I smiled as my friends galloped over to me and Cream. We watched as the dog groaned, swayed and fell forward with a crash onto the ground.

“Are you alright, dear?” Goldenlee asked. I nodded and holstered the magnums.

“I’m fine… I think?” I wiggled my legs and body, wincing when I felt a pain at my chest. “Other than a broken rib, I’m fine.” Goldenlee handed a health potion to me and I drank it, feeling the bone mend. “Come on, we have an aunt to save.” I looked at Cream, who nodded.

Together with my friends, we galloped to the door, Rex bolting ahead and bashing through the door. He slid and snarled, crouching low as we caught up. I looked to see King Scruffy, one head snarling at his paw and the other two looking at us.

“Pony betray king.” The middle head said as his gaze fell to Cream. “Dogger suffer by my paws. You die next.” I looked to his paw and saw Dogger unconscious underneath it, bloodied and beaten. I stepped forward, with Cream next to me.

“You’re tyranny ends here, King Scruffy.” I said. “This Empire needs a better king. One that is fair. One that is clever. One that can make sure your people live in peace.” I aimed Malice at him. “You’ve sent plenty of innocent families to their deaths that they didn’t deserve. You took a caring parent away from the child.” I looked at a determined looking Cream before looking back at the three headed dog. “This Empire needs a better king. Or maybe a queen.” Scruffy growled and put pressure onto Dogger, making her groan in pain.

“Pony mad. Pony overthrow king? Impossible! I’m king! No pony or dog dare!” The middle head said.

“Then I dare you to face me. I’ll show you what a pony is capable against a creature like you.” I said with a determined smirk. The dog snarled.

“Pony is stupid. Pony die before chance.” The middle head growled.

“Then we double dog dare ya’!” Iris said with a grin. The heads looked at us.

“Pony will die.” The middle head said. It was Cream’s turn.

“I triple dog dare you.” She said. I blinked in confusion. King Scruffy growled and stepped off of Dogger. He took two intimidating steps forward and growled.

“Very well.” One head said.

“Snack time~!” the other sang.

“Pony shall die!” the middle head barked. Me and my companions readied ourselves as Scruffy crouched low, snarling.

“Umm… Courier. What exactly do ponies do to creatures like him?” Star gulped. I looked at him. We’ve never really fought something as big as Scruffy.

“Easy.” I said. “We run.” Scruffy howled. Me and my companions bolted down the hall, Scruffy barreling down after us. We raced down halls, corridors and across bridges. When we turned another corner, we came to the throne room.

“Everypony, break!” I said. And we did. My companions split and went down into the many halls. Cream went with me and I looked back to see Scruffy still coming after us. I guess he was still mad about me tricking him. I swung Malice around and fired at the cerberus. I saw the bullet’s puncture, but Scruffy shrugged it off and gained more speed. I reloaded a fresh clip into Malice as we turned a corner. I felt my newly regrown leg shoot a new course of pain in me, but I kept galloping.

We found ourselves galloping across a crystalline bridge that led to the towering stalagmite. We skidded to a halt as guard dogs raced out and pointed pikes at us. I looked back and saw King Scruffy, his heads laughing with glee. One head licked its’ lips. We were trapped.

“Snack time!” the three heads said in unison. King Scruffy lunged at us. I saw Cream pull a jar out and heaved it at the king. The jar shattered, making Scruffy stop and blinked. He began scratching, lightly at first and then roughly. Now he growled and scratched furiously. I blinked and looked at Cream, who was flushing at me and rubbing the back of her head.

“Err… fleas.” She gave a disgusted look. “I caught a lot of them around the library from other dogs. I figured I’d collect some for experiments.” I smiled and hugged her.

“Dogger raised you right!” I said. I looked back at the itching mutt of a king and smirked.

“Step down from rule.” I said. Scruffy growled, but kept scratching as he spoke.

“Fools! I’m king! I never die! I never surrender!” he said. Cream reached into her bag and pulled out another jar, but with goop in it.

“I have here the formula for treating the flea problem, King.” She said. The three heads looked at the mare. “I’ve had it for a while now. I can treat them if you leave my family alone.” She said. She looked at me before speaking again. “And you quit being a big jerk to everyone!” Scruffy laughed but then stopped and itched more furiously.

“I… won’t give… throne up…” he growled.

“You will. A tyrant like you has treated his people poorly.” I said. “You need to step down. Let someone else take over. That someone will treat her people with respect. Treat them like equals. I know that deep down, you are afraid of her. You hated her because you feared she would outfox you.” I smiled. “You proved to her brute strength beats a mind. But look at you now. From your expression, you didn’t even know Cream had a cure for your flea problem. My weapons didn’t work against you, but you’ve been beaten by small insects. And the only one who actually had a cure for the problem is this mare and her aunt Dogger. They created a lot of concoctions for the problems of their home. While you sat there, sending families to their deaths.”

Scruffy couldn’t move towards us. His flea problem was getting worse and his fur was beginning to tuft up. One head bit a hind leg.

“Instead of finding ways to take care of the problems, you sent anyone with their problems to their deaths. You threatened people with your might. But in the end, it was the mind that won, King Scruffy. You’ve been beaten by someone who didn’t even have to lay a claw or a hoof against you.” I saw my friends coming from behind him out onto the bridge with Brick helping Dogger walk. “Step down. You’re tyranny is over.” The middle head growled.

“Guards! Kill them!” he barked. No one made a move. We looked to see the guard dogs glare at the king.

“King hurt family.” One dog said pointing a claw at him.

“King yelled at us.” Another said.

“King threatened us.” Another one said. Soon, there were growls and murmurs not just coming from the guards, but chatter from the town. I looked over and saw that families had gathered at the edges, protesting for the king to let their families go. I looked back at the king. He seemed utterly confused. His heads looked around.

“No! I’m king! Ponies bad! Ponies hurt us!” he barked. Dogger limped forward.

“Ponies not hurt us. Ponies save us. Years of torment. Years of grief. By your paws. No longer. King killed last king. Last king good. Last king kind. You king bad. No want.” Dogger said. The crowds began chanting.

“Down King Scruffy! Down King Scruffy!” they chanted this over and over. King Scruffy growled and barked at the protesting crowds. He kept scratching and all his heads fell to me. I blinked and backed away.

“Pony die!” he growled and lunged. I braced myself and without thinking, galloped forward twice and slid under the lunging cerberus. I stood up and looked back to see him slide across the bridge… and fall into the chasm below. He howled as he fell. I looked away, knowing that tyrant king fell into the sharp stalagmites below. I smiled at Dogger, who smiled back.

“Dogger.” I said. She nodded. I was about to say what I wanted when the guard dogs pushed past us and stood in front of the battered Snow Dog. She looked each in the eye. Then, to her surprise, they bowed.

“Dogs sorry we treated Dogger badly. Dogger one of us. Dogger no stranger. Dogger nice. Dogger kind to us.” The lead guard dog said. Dogger narrowed her eyes. Then she patted the dog’s helmeted head.

“Dogger forgive. Dogger glad own home know. Dogger one of you.” She looked over to Cream, who smiled and galloped over to her for a hug. I smiled as I trotted over to my friends. They smiled at me and we looked to watch.

“So, Queen Dogger.” I said. She turned. “What’s your first order of business?” Dogger rubbed her chin.

“Dogger helps pony.” She reached into her cloaked sleeve and pulled out a small shiny metal piece. “Star metal. Last ingredient. Pony help Dogger home. Home shall return favor.” She said. I smiled. “Dogger also help ship. Home help ship. Pony trade supplies.” She held out a paw.

“Deal.” I said and held a hoof out. She took it and we shook. Cheers erupted from the town and the chanting started.

“Long Live Queen Dogger! Long Live Queen Dogger!” they chanted. Dogger sighed.

“Snow Dogs.” She said, making a swirling motion to her temple. I chuckled before trotting over to my friends. Silver Iris smiled and was about to say something when Cream cut in.

“Umm… Courier?” she said. I looked to her and I saw her flushing. “W-well… I didn’t think you were going to follow through on your promise… So… I just wanted to say… I’m sorry.” She said. I smiled.

“No biggie. It’s what friends do.” I said. “And now you get to be a princess. Or… something.” I rubbed my chin. “I’m not really sure how the Snow Dogs handle that type of royalty. But either way, you no longer have to watch anymore innocent families die in brutal execution. You finally get to be with Dogger again and live happily. No more hiding. No more running. No more-.” I couldn’t finish. She suddenly threw her hooves around me and kissed me. I stiffened. I felt myself flushing. I saw Silver Iris looking shocked as well. When Cream pulled away, she smiled, still flushing.

“Thank you… I-I mean it. I’m truly grateful for what you have done for my home.” I couldn’t say anything. I was utterly stunned in confusion. And what’s more, I haven’t tasted such soft lips! I blinked and looked at my friends, who were giving me cool looks. It was Silver Iris that broke the awkwardness.

“You still keep impressing ponies.” She said with a sly smirk. I flushed. I wanted to pull my hood down, but it was back in Dogger’s cave. Maybe the wolf hat? Nope. Sometime in the chase, my spell vanished and I was out in my usual fire streak colored mane and charcoal hide. So, I bowed my head. Oh Goddesses. I wasn’t expecting that at all. And what’s worse, Silver Iris watched it! I wanted to tell her I’m sorry and that it was completely unexpected when she threw her hooves over me and leaned into my ear. “I won’t mind a threesome. She’s pretty cute after all.” I must have steamed from the ears. Oh karma, why me!? Why did things like this happen to me!?

I laid onto a table in the castle’s lab. My friends were gathered around. My right foreleg was strapped as well. Dogger and Cream worked effortlessly over the beakers and mixers. When they were finished, they came over with two colorful beakers.

“Auntie and I have to cut the regrown leg.” She said. “In your carelessness with the brute, you managed to fracture the bones. Auntie wasn’t kidding when she said it was temporary and the bones were fragile.” She looked to my friends. “Does she have something to knock her out?” I held up my left fore leg.

“I do. I have a memory orb in my bags from the carrier.” I said. Comp went to my bags and ruffled through them before pulling out a glassy memory orb. He trotted over to me and I took it in my magic. I took a deep breath and looked at the duo. “Ready.” I put the orb to my horn and made the connection.

I felt myself soaring through the sky again. Only this time, I was flipping and twirling through obstacles. I felt myself getting sick, but my host remained determined and focused as she flew through the obstacles. She broke through a cloud and landed on a floating rainbow ring. She looked to see three pegasi scientists scribble something down, one of which I recognized from the portrait. The straight mint colored mane and lilac hide pegasus with the bow in her mane looked up after stuffing the clip board under her wing.

“Well, Cloudchaser. You beat an all-time record. Heck, you even beat Lightning Dust’s record of six seconds. Cloudchaser smiled, stretching her wings.

“Well, what can I say? I aim to be the best.” Cloudchaser said with a smirk. “But honestly, I was kind of hoping for more than thunder clouds and moving rings, Flitter. How am I going to be the best if I don’t actually have a challenge?” Flitter rubbed her chin in thought.

“Well, that was just the flight course. You still have to do the weight testing. The battle testing. Survival testing. A race with Rainbow Dash herself and then finally be debriefed by Thunderlane.” She said. Cloudchaser suddenly stood up on her hind legs and bent herself backwards and began stretching. Wow, if Cloudchaser was this bendable, I wondered what Iris was capable of. Perverted image aside, I continued to listen.

“Well, I’m ready for anything.” Cloudchaser said.

“Are you sure about that?” a voice said. Cloudchaser brought her body over her, stood up straight and looked up at a flying rainbow mane pegasus. Rainbow Dash gave her a challenging smirk.

“Ministry Mare? What are you doing out here?” one of the scientists asked in suprise. Rainbow Dash cracked her neck.

“It’s been a while since I had stretched my wings. So I thought I might practice a little.” She arched a cool brow at Cloudchaser. “Maybe a little competitive racing?” I felt my host smile.

“You’re on!” Cloudchaser said. Flitter bit her lip.

“But Rainbow Dash. Don’t you have some papers to go over?” she asked. Rainbow Dash seemed to ignore her as she took a position next to Cloudchaser. They both crouched low, wings at the ready.

“First one to that cloud, wins.” Rainbow Dash said. Cloudchaser must have picked out which cloud they were going for because I couldn’t see which cloud they were aiming for. “On the count of three…. Three!” In a blink of an eye, Rainbow Dash took off. Cloudchaser blinked before taking off as well. I was utterly amazed at their race. Cloudchaser soon caught up with Rainbow Dash and was neck and neck with her. They both turned sharply over poles, dove into cloud rings, zipped quickly in a zig-zag motion through a line of small spaced out poles, raced against wind turbulence, snaked over a lake before finally ending their race through a cloud with a tie. Rainbow Dash laughed with joy with Cloudchaser.

“Now this is what I’m talking about!” Cloudchaser said. Rainbow Dash smirked more before looking back at the rainbow ring.

“Wanna race back to the ring?” Rainbow Dash said with clear competitive joy. Cloudchaser smirked and adjusted her goggles. “On the count of three…”

“Three!” Cloudchaser said before taking off. She quickly looked back to see the confused look of Rainbow Dash before she finally caught up with her. Again they were neck and neck, pulling off intense maneuvers, turns and dives before breaking through the cloud with the rainbow ring. They landed softly on the ring and were laughing. Suddenly, Thunderlane flew towards them and landed.

“Ministry Mare. A message from Princess Luna.” He said before handing Rainbow Dash a parchment. Rainbow Dash scanned it and blinked.

“She can’t be serious, can she?” she asked. Thunderlane shrugged.

“I was told to give it to you without looking.” He said. Rainbow Dash rubbed her face with a groan.

“Great. Just when things were finally starting to look up.” She said before turning to Cloudchaser with a smirk. “Let’s do this again sometime. I’m always down for a race or two.” She held out a hoof. Cloudchaser smiled and bumped her hoof.

“Definitely.” Cloudchaser said. They watched Rainbow Dash take off into the sky and disappear into the clouds. Flitter sighed.

“I’m honestly worried about her.” She said. Thunderlane looked at her.

“She’s a tough mare.” He said. Flitter nodded.

“I know. It’s just that… after Little Big Horn, she hasn’t been acting like herself at all. I caught her drinking down pain pills with alcohol. That’s not healthy for a mare like her.” Cloudchaser narrowed her eyes.

“Has she been doing anything else other than that?” she asked. Flitter shrugged.

“Sometimes she just disappears for no apparent reason and comes back feeling more depressed.” Flitter said. Cloudchaser sighed.

“Well, if we know Rainbow Dash from flight school, she can pull through. We’ve seen what she’s capable of.” She said. “She led us to get water up to Cloudsdale. So she’s perfect for this job.” It was Thunderlane’s turn to sigh.

“Actually, Rainbow Dash made the Ministry of Awesome just because she thought it would be a cool name. She wasn’t expecting to work at anything other than helping her friends and the war effort.” He looked at the two. “She thought she would also be helping the Wonderbolts out. But you know what happened to them.” Cloudchaser and Flitter both looked grim. Suddenly, Cloudchaser broke the silence.

“I think I know how Rumble died…” she said. The two looked at her with a startled expression. Thunderlane went from startled to suspicious. Cloudchaser looked around and leaned in to whisper. “When I got accepted to be a Shadowbolt, Rainbow Dash was in one of her drunken states. She forgot that she had her files and paper work on her desk before taking off. In her drunken stupidity, she forgot to turn off the traps. So I thought I would go behind the desk and turn them off.” She looked around even more before leaning back in. The two pegasi had to lean in closer to hear. “I found a file about Rumble.” Thunderlane looked grim now.

“Cloudchaser! Why are you going through the Ministry Mare’s files?” Flitter balked. Cloudchaser narrowed her eyes at her.

“She was drunk. Not my fault she’s a complete dimwit when drunk.” Cloudchaser retorted.

“Do you still have it?” Thunderlane asked. Cloudchaser nodded. “Show me it.” Cloudchaser sighed.

“Listen, Thunderlane, I know how much you care, but I can’t show it to you yet. I still haven’t read the file completely. This training has been cutting into my time. I need a moment to look through it.”

“Then how do you know Rumble died exactly?” Thunderlane retorted. Cloudchaser seemed surprised by the light charcoal pegasus’s retort.

“Thunderlane, please. I don’t-.” Thunderlane cut her off.

“Don’t act like you know something about my brother. If you know about it, then spill it. Don’t even toy with me on this.” he said.

“Thunderlane, I’m not toying with you!” she said with minor annoyance. “Just give me time.” Thunderlane shook his head before turning.

“Don’t even bring it up if you don’t have anything to say.” He said before taking off into the sky. Cloudchaser held a hoof out to stop him, but he was already gone. Cloudchaser groaned in frustration before turning to Flitter. “Why is he being like that?” Flitter looked at Cloudchaser with worry.

“Stormwalker, you know why. What happened to Rumblelane… it was unexpected.” She said. Cloudchaser gritted her teeth before bowing her head.

“I know… but…” she said. Flitter put a hoof on her shoulder and Cloudchaser looked back up at the cute mare.

“We all miss him, sister.” She said. Cloudchaser looked into her rose colored eyes. Cloudchaser drooped her ears and brushed a foreleg. “Thunderlane has to remain strong. For Rumble. For us.” She said. Cloudchaser said nothing but nodded. I felt sorry for them. I wanted to comfort them. Reading that file from the previous memory, I could tell that they all treated him like a brother of their own. Flitter sighed but smiled at the lilac colored pegasus. “Come on. Maybe a break will help ease your mind. It’s been a while since we actually hung out.” Again, Cloudchaser said nothing and took off into the air with her sister.

They flew back to a station near the Shadowbolt tower. Pegasi left and right had the Enclave armor and were chatting amongst themselves. The duo picked up a tray of vegetables and trotted over to sit by a cloud tree. Cloudchaser didn’t even touch her food. She just looked up into the sky and stared. I wondered what she was thinking. Was she telling herself something? Was she trying to find some way to get Thunderlane to understand? What was going on through this Shadowbolt’s head?

“Cloudchaser?” Flitter asked sounding worried. Cloudchaser must have been crying or something. She blinked and with a wing, rubbed her eye.

“Sorry, just got something in my eyes is all.” She said. Cloudchaser then bowed her head. “He’s changed. He’s changed so much, Flitter. He’s not the same pony I know.” She said. Flitter threw her hooves around her sister and laid Cloudchaser’s head onto her chest. I could hear the pegasus’s heartbeat.

“We are both hurting, Cloudchaser. You were his foalsitter. He looked up to you.” Cloudchaser looked up to see Flitter smiling. “You were the pretty cool mare to him.” Cloudchaser said nothing and let Flitter stroke her spiked white and cerulean colored mane.

“I guess so…” Cloudchaser said. Cloudchaser then blinked and rubbed her mane. She looked up to Flitter, who was still smiling at her. “I felt that, you know.” She said. Flitter flushed and rubbed the back of her head.

“S-sorry. I just… I wanted to… you know… be pretty cool myself.” She said. Cloudchaser smiled before laying her head back down on her sister’s chest. I felt for them. I wanted to comfort the pegasi. Like I said, I sometimes wish I wasn’t as astute. But I guess that’s just me. But what I couldn’t shake the feeling was the look Flitter had given Cloudchaser. She sounded… sad. Guilty even.

Whatever it was, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that something had gone down.

When I awoke from the memory orb, I found myself still on the table. I still couldn’t get the look Flitter had given her sister out of my mind. Why did she sound so guilty? What had happened to them? I moved my hoof and blinked. Looking over, I saw my right foreleg was covered in a bandage. Another bloodied stump that was my old regrown leg laid on the counter, making me gulp and shudder. I looked away quickly. When I did, I couldn’t help but feel… strange. I put a hoof to my chest, feeling my heart beat. Perfectly normal heartbeat. But why was it feeling so strange? I lifted my head slightly and looked around. The room was dimly lit now. Candles flickered around the room. I glanced at my PipBuck and saw that it was night. I had been out for three hours.

I shifted my bandaged hoof. It felt intact. New even. I smiled. Dogger and Cream knew what they were doing. I sat up, feeling dizzy in the process before looking around fully. I saw Cream curled up with Dogger in the corner. Had they finished so quickly that they had time to sleep? I noticed my friends weren’t in the room either. But I saw some of their gear next to mine. They must be exploring the castle. I hope they won’t cause too much trouble. Dogger stirred and opened her yellow slit eyes at me.

“Pony awake. Pony new.” She said. I blinked. I held up my leg and wiggled it. Was she saying that my leg is new or that I was brand new? Maybe I am brand new because of my leg?

“What do you mean?” I asked. Without waking up Cream, Dogger shifted her gently and laid her down before limping to me.

“Dogger not fix pony leg. Dogger fix everything.” I blinked.

“I thought my leg was just going to be fixed?” I said. Dogger shook her head.

“Pony bones broke. Brute crushed bones. Dogger fixed bones. Star metal fix bones.” She said. I gapped. Wait… did she just say that she had replaced my bones??? I looked me over quickly. I still looked the same. But I did feel different.

“A-are you saying… that you replaced my bones with the star metal??” I asked. Dogger rubbed her chin. Apparently, she hadn’t planned it either.

“Unexpected. Metal shaped bones. Mended everything. Pretty pony saw. Bones now metal.” She said. I dropped my gaze. Well… shit. That is unexpected. “Dogger planned new leg. Not bones. Star metal fixed leg. Fixed bones.” She unwound the bandage around me and I saw my charcoal fore leg looking brand new. As if it hadn’t been touched at all. I moved it slightly, then lightly. Then, I took a swing at the air. I felt… lighter. When I had swung my hoof, it was quicker than it should have been. I didn’t feel any strain on my bone or muscles. What had the star metal done to me? I slid off of the table and looked utterly confused.

I did feel lighter on my hooves. I even felt a new surge of energy course through me. I arched a brow. What could star metal do? I’ve heard it’s a pretty durable metal. But it could also be sharper than Prince Blueblood’s own sword. I reared back, balanced myself on my hind legs and made quick boxing motions. My strikes were quicker than normal. Precise too. Next, I fell onto my legs and began walking. I crept, jumped, trotted and galloped. It felt so strange! The Star metal must have made me lighter. And if my bones were now star metal, then that meant that it would take more than Iris’s Super Soldier power hoof punch to break me. But that was the problem.

The star metal had only altered my bones. Not my flesh. I could still be cut or mutilated, but my bones would remain untouched. It was a scary thought. But then again, I could move more quickly than I could before. I blinked and looked back at Dogger who was giving me a studying look.

“How pony feel?” she asked. I rubbed the back of my head.

“Strange. I feel as if I could move faster than I normally would.” I said. Dogger made small grunt in thought.

“Magic?” she asked. I cocked my head.

“What about magic?” I asked. Dogger held up a claw.

“Metal magic. Pony magic. Double magic?” Dogger said. I rubbed my chin. Huh, I hadn’t thought of that. I closed my eyes and concentrated. I imagined myself splitting into four separate bodies. When I opened my eyes, I saw my copies looking at me with a smile. I arched a brow… then blinked? Wait… usually, when I do make four, I get the light headedness after it. But I wasn’t feeling lightheaded at all. I furrowed my brows, closed my eyes and concentrated again. I imagined splitting myself more. Not into four but into eight. When I opened my eyes, I gapped.

I didn’t know what to think. I had eight copies looking at me. I shuddered. Then smiled. This. Is. Awesome! I gave a small cheer that was enough to wake Cream. She blinked and looked at us through tired eyes. She suddenly perked when she saw eight of me. Nine, including myself.

“W-what is this? Is this the same illusion trick?” she asked. I nodded.

“But better! I could have been able to do four, but now I can do eight! Or maybe even more!” So I tried. I could do more, but when I reached eleven copies, I began to feel light headed. Cream curiously extended a hoof and placed it on one of my copies. My copy turned and smiled with a wave, making her flush but look back over to me. I canceled the magic and suddenly felt the surge of energy come back to me. This is incredible! Not only has the star metal altered my bones! It increased the potency of my magic! And this illusionist wanted to see how much mischief she could pull off with my friends.

“Dogger know look. Pony planning?” she asked. I gave a mischievous grin. I pirouetted on my hoof and cast an illusion of myself in a magician’s tux and a top hat. I felt a little giddy.

“Are my friends still in the castle?” I asked with a grin.

I looked at the throne. The massive crystal chair that the King Scruffy once sat in, judging innocent families for years. But this time, it belonged to Dogger. I asked if I could sit on the throne. Dogger didn’t care. I arched a brow at the velvet pillow. Other than the dog hair, it still looked comfortable. I flipped the pillow over and climbed up. Sitting down, I smiled and looked around the room. I wanted to surprise them. I gathered some of the loose crystals and gems and placed them in calculative places. I conjured eight clones. I needed to keep some magic to make the other illusions work. I nodded to them and they gave a salute before splitting into twos and going down the halls. I tipped my top hat over my eyes and closed them.

I focused on finding one of the copies. My mind pictured two copies trotting down the hall. I could hear the faint voice of Comp and Goldenlee talking.

“…I just don’t know what to think? How can you organize all this junk?” Goldenlee said. One of my copies motioned for the other one to hide behind a curtain to the window down the hall. The copy hid behind the curtain where the hall split, continuing forward and then splitting again. My copy peeked in.

“Honestly, I don’t know why you want to think it.” Comp said with a bored expression as he shifted through junk in front of him. Goldenlee was examining the shelves.

“Well, it’s just incredible. I’ve never seen such a well-organized sense of mind. I mean, have you’ve seen the way Shining Star stuffs the things we find.” She sighed. “So unorganized.”

“So tell him.” Comp said matter-of-factly. Goldenlee blinked before arching a brow at the colt.

“A lady doesn’t tell a stallion as adventurous as him how he handles it.” She said.

“But you have no problems expressing it to me.” Comp said with a cool arched brow. He did have a point. Goldenlee glared at the colt. “What? You set yourself up for it.” My copy nickered and they looked. Comp smiled. “Hey Courier. Feeling better?” he asked. My copy said nothing. The two looked at each other.

“Dear, is everything alright?” Goldenlee asked. My copy said nothing. She motioned for them before bolting down the hall. Having altered bones and solid copies, I was surprised at how fast my copy galloped down to the split at the end. She looked back and waved at the confused duo. They galloped after me. I shifted my concentration onto the copy hidden behind the curtain. She peeked out to see my copy waved again before turning and galloping down the hall and turning left down another hall. As soon as Goldenlee and Comp galloped by, she quickly hopped out and whistled at them. They skidded to a halt and looked back, looking even more confused. My copy turned and galloped down the hall ahead of her. I left them to figure out which one to follow. They were all going to end up here in the throne room anyway.

I switched my focus onto another group. I saw my copy motion for Shining Star, Brick and Rex, who seemed to be just trotting down the hall.

“Courier? What is it?” Star asked. My copy ducked back around the corner she was peeking out of and down the hall next to the other copy. She turned around and waved at the three, motioning for them to follow before the two of them split in opposite directions of a long hall.

“Is she trying to tell us something?” I heard Star ask. My copy turned to make sure they were following. I smiled when they indeed took the bait. I switched to the next pair. I was going to feel really bad for doing this to Iris. My copies found her looking down over a balcony, looking bored. One of my copies trotted over to her and looked out with her, while the other one stayed close but behind Iris. Iris beamed when she saw my copy.

“How are you feeling, babe?” she asked. My copy smiled. Apparently she was waiting for me to speak. When I didn’t, she flushed and rubbed the back of her head. “Err… how’s the leg?” I’m so sorry Iris. My copy turned and gave her my best seductive look. It worked. She flushed more now. “Ah… uhm… so I take it as a yes?” she said. My other copy behind her nibbled her ear, making her flinch and look confused. Time for a little pay back for teasing me like that on the bridge. My other copy brushed the fire streaked colored tail under her chin, making her shudder and her wings straightened. “O-okay… I guess this is fine too.” She said as my other copy kept nibbling her ear. Then, they both pulled away and the two motioned with their tail to follow. She flushed. “I-is… everything okay?” They winked at her before trotting off. One of my copies glanced back and Iris, flushing ever so brightly, followed.

When they exited out into the hall, they winked at each other and galloped down the hall.

“Huh? Hey, wait!” Iris said as she flew after us. I smirked. Coming back to me, I looked at the crystals that lit the room above. I dimmed them with an aural blanket. I didn’t have to wait long when my copies entered the room and stood in a circle, facing my companions that had followed me. They looked confused.

“Courier? What are you up too? And since when can you do more copies?” Comp asked. I then changed the magic into birds and in perfect synchronization, their bodies quickly turned into flocks of doves and began flying around the room. A small wind made my friends stare in awe at the birds. They still haven’t noticed me yet. I moved the birds with my mind into figures. A happy face. A ship. A pig. As those birds were distracting my friends, I made the rest circle around me. I was soon fully covered in a pile of my magical doves. I projected my voice and opened a part of the aural blanket so they focused on the gems I have placed. I moved them like spots light as I spoke.

“Fillies and gentlecolts. Here, live in the heart of the Empire of Europa! The one! The only! And the positively new and improved. Courier!” At my name, I focused the spotlight gems at the bird pile before they fluttered up and around my friends. I heard my friends gasp as I flicked up my top hat and grinned at them. “Now watch and be amazed at my new found tricks.” I conjured my eleven copies to jump out from behind the throne and bow to them. I smiled as my friends beamed and hoof stomped. I have never felt this giddy at all! I felt like I was finally a master illusionist. Of course, I knew I really wasn’t. But I guess I was trying to say “thanks” to my friends for what they have done with a performance that I only do with my siblings. Not as flashy as this, but hey. A sister has gotta' entertain the kids somehow. I hopped down, trotted up and in between my copies, bowing again with them as Silver Iris whistled and the others hoof stomped.

I had such great friends.

Footnote Max Level!
Perk Added: Illusionist (Rank 3): Your mind can think the unimaginable, leaving ponies to question whether you are a magician or an artist.