“No, that store isn’t supposed to be closed sir!” A poshly dressed mare complained. “I want to file a complaint, I had a dress that had to be completed by today and they have most certainly completed it, I see it through the window.”

“Ma’am,” The guardspony replied, barely holding back a sigh, frustrated by the mare’s insistence. “No place of business is required to be open every day of the week. Sometimes, things happen, and-”

“No!” She said, getting more agitated, almost baffling the guardspony further. “I refuse to accept that. I have the receipts for purchase, you’ve already admitted they agreed to a service, I’ve paid for it in full! I’m not leaving here until I can get my gowns from the shop.”

The guardspony took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as silently as he could, told her to wait, then went into the back.

“What’s the situation?” the sergeant asked as he came in.

“We’ve got Prim Rose complaining up a storm about a gown she was supposed to get and the store is closed for the day when it normally isn’t. I’ve already told her there’s nothing we should do about it, things happen, but she is refusing to accept anything other than her own goals.” He relayed, adding a quiet, “of course” under his breath.

The sergeant groaned and looked at the roster before letting out a short sigh of his own. “All right, go to the place with Packet and Dust, take the master keys for the place filed away, and just get her gown and leave a message for the owners explaining what happened.”

“But sir, that-”

“No buts. She contributes so much to the mayor’s funding that the mayor will breathe down our necks for not assisting a citizen in need and then the Captain will be all over us for it. It stinks, but bits talk and it isn’t worth our time to fight it. If we’re going to go in, at least we can get it done right. No arguing,” he added when he saw the pony open their mouth to protest. “Get it done and over with, now.”

====

The three ponies moved to the store, none of them voicing their complaints, but after working in the guard so long, they all knew when something was wrong yet they had to obey orders anyway.

It didn’t take long for them to go to the storefront and check on the place, knocking first per protocol, then pulling out the master key when no answer was had.

“Make sure you wrap it up Nail.” Dust said, “Don’t want to look like you’re wearing it.”

“No kidding.” Nail said dryly, ignoring the smirk forming on Packet’s face.

Nail was quick to otherwise open the door, get in, and closed the door behind him. He knew the other two would stand guard over the entrance just fine. He walked over to each item and quickly scanned for names on the tags like the place was reported to do, trying to get it over with as quickly as possible.

“Rose… Rose… come on, where the buck is it?” He muttered, going through most of the front of the store. “How the buck she see it ready and it isn’t here?”

He grumbled, looking away as he skimmed past a few gowns, missing not just one but two labelled for Rose as he turned toward the back.

“Maybe they came anyway and decided to avoid the hag.” he continued muttering, enjoying the favorite pastime of complaining.

He looked around the building, still looking at the shelves and boxes when his hoof hit something soft, heavy, and cold.

‘That’s odd… why is my hoof wet-’ he thought before he looked down and froze.

He stared at the dead body of one of the owners of the facility, throat clearly cut out and blood everywhere, still not yet dried. He gasped and pulled back instinctively, looking around until he saw a faucet and rinsed his hoof off, then left the building.

“Whoah, Nail, what-” Packet tried to ask before being interrupted.

“You don’t want to know.” Nail said, re-locking the place. “Both of you stay here, I’m getting investigations here pronto.”

The two guards looked at him surprised, then their surprise turned to concern as he didn’t seem to be joking this time. It was common procedure not to say anything so they couldn’t give away details of a case before investigations could tell them what they could and couldn’t say. It was about to be a long day, Nail decided as he turned to gallop back to the station. It was barely half an hour before investigations was inside and looking over the strange case of murder, with no goods appearing to have been stolen at first glance.

=====

A couple hours later, a green unicorn in Manehattan walked the streets, wearing a simple black cloak that fell to the knees. They seemed to be mindful of the others, always watching what they were doing, and keeping to themselves as they headed to their usual place of business.

They were intent on getting a new set of clothing before exploring their surroundings. A pair guard stood at the entrance, blocking them while flashes of light could be seen at the door leading to a back room.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but this store is off limits for an investigation." A guard spoke, holding up a hoof.

They sighed, as if irritated by something said, "And that would be for what exactly?"

"I'm not allowed to discuss it at this time." He said officially, looking at another passerby briefly before that pony walked past.

Their horn glowed before a smile crept over their face, "Ahhh, a murder... And they stole the outfit I had purchased... most unfortunate."

"M-murder?” The guardspony asked, growing slightly nervous at the strange occurrence of a pony guessing so accurately without information, “N-no, nothing of the sort. Please, be on your way. The shop will likely have your goods available when we're done."

"We shall see." They said as they took their cloak, folded it, and made it vanished in a blink of magic before walking down a little ways.

They seemed to pause, deep in thought as their horn glowed, before a particular set of hoof prints appeared only to his eyes. He smiled and followed them, considering how it was they should deal with this new circumstance. Having someone willing to kill could be an asset to some ends, but such ties would often backfire in the end.

"It really is unwise to mess with the affairs of others, murderer and thief. You had best hope you prove yourself useful to my goals, or you can suffer a fate similar to my last test subject…” he said quietly, making sure no pony could hear.

A quiet mare’s voice cried in a dark space as a memory was triggered of watching a stallion with a cutie mark of a tower getting mauled by timber wolves before its soul was put into a young wolf. The green pony chuckled, hearing the sobs from the golden bracelet he wore around his foreleg, “I still don’t understand why you cry about it. He was a useful experiment was he not?”

‘I hate you Svik… why do you have to make my life so miserable?’ the mare asked between sobs.

‘Well if you like little Meadow, I could let you be a timber wolf and see if you both remember each other afterward.’ The pony said by spell.

The mare grew quiet, still feeling horribly alone as her awareness of the outside world continued to persist since they had arrived, and yet she had no power to act on it.

The guard on duty turned to report this incident to the one in charge of the case. The unicorn frowned and started scribbling a note to the Princess, before making it disappear with a pop of magic

Dawn let the spell fade, looking at her and considering what they meant. Considering the last thing talked about was the foal magic, she assumed it must be that. She looked up and noticed Celestia herself had opened the door, seeing them and nodding appreciatively.

"Good to see you all, I know it's early, but we have much to discuss." She said, waving them in.

Twilight nodded and entered, both she and Chrysalis still fully disguised. Dawn and Stalwart soon followed, and the door closed behind them.

"To start, we'll give you the good news. I believe we've found a spot that's suitable for your village as you recover your citizens." She said, using her horn magic to make a small beacon of light on a map lying on a broad table, indicating a circled area just due east of Van Hoover. "It's remote, but close enough for trade and regular life until your help arrives."

"Yes, I'd say that would be a good area." Twilight said after she looked over the map. She then looked at the princess, "And the bad news?"

"The bad news..." She said solemnly, shifting her magic to place a dark colored beacon near Manehattan, "I've received word of rumors of changelings in the city, but worse, murder."

"That's... rare." Stalwart said, flabbergasted, staring openly. “What happened?”

"What’s worse is one of the guardsponies were approached by a mare matching your description," she said to Twilight, pausing to look at Dawn, "who seemed to be interested in them."

"The changelings were members of my Hive appearing. At least, some of them were. They have gone to ground and are making their way to a rally point." Chrysalis said.

"However, the murder is not normal and concerning." Twilight said. "Unless they were defending themselves, Chrysalis’ hive wouldn't have harmed anyone. What can you tell me about it?"

Celestia shook her head, "Not much. A couple of well-known fashion mares who owned a side street tailor store didn't open their store, and when a guard was asked to investigate it, they found blood, and eventually their bodies... rather well hidden at that."

"Did they find anything else?" Twilight asked.

"Yes. One of them was wrapped up in an orange suit with an emblem we didn't recognize." She said, looking at Twilight, "It's why I wanted to bring this to your attention, rather than just my guards."

"Why me?" She asked.

"The words 'Irongate Prison Complex' mean anything to you?" Celestia asked, brow raised. Both Chrysalis and Twilight sat up straighter.

"That’s the EDF’s military prison. It houses some of the most dangerous people in Equestria. To dangerous for the dungeons, but not bad enough for Tartarus." Twilight said.

"Twilight, Chrysalis," Celestia said formally, "I believe we have good grounds for an agreement here. We will help fund your city, materials, food, amenities, whatever you wish there, and you will be in charge of handling this case, and any other cases of this nature that arise. I would also appreciate your advice on our policy to keep knowledge of other worlds a secret... I fear if this is an indicator of what’s to come, it might not be achievable."

"You didn't need to ask, we’ll be going after anyone from Irongate with or without your consent as they are people you are not equipped to handle. Normally criminals I could care less about as your guards are more than capable of taking them. Irongate required the army to take these people.”

Dawn and Celestia both look stunned at the news. Dawn was surprised that Celestia was actually considering changing a policy on keeping the knowledge of other worlds quiet. After all the fuss that had been made over the mirrors, she thought nothing would change their minds. Celestia recovered first however, and cleared her throat.

"Well, if that is the case, it should work out in the end. The hard part would be knowing how to help distinguish your citizens from our own. Considering the grave nature of the criminal however, I assume we will need to postpone our conversation." Celestia said.

"Numbers." Twilight said.

"What do you mean, ‘numbers?’" Dawn asked, trying to help save Celestia the effort of asking.

"The numbers on the jumpsuit. All prisoners are assigned a number so the system can track them for paperwork. What were the numbers on the suit?"

"I don't have them, but my captain in Manehattan will be able to help you further." Celestia said, taking a medal off the table that was lying face down and hovered it in front of Twilight at a respectful distance. "Here's my crest, which will act as your proof of authority. I also must point out Princess Twilight normally attends to... other matters."

"Is there anything I can do?" Dawn stepped forward slightly toward Twilight as they took the medal. She asked timidly, unsure of herself, but wanting to be there to help any way she can.

"I won't be Twilight. Best if she isn't associated with this business as it will most likely get messy before it's over." Twilight explained and looked at Dawn. "I could use a guide from someone I know I can trust."

"I'll do my best. It's been a while, but I somewhat remember the place from when I went to the museum." Dawn nodded,

"I'll keep an eye out at home then I guess." Stalwart said, with the slightest sigh.

"Thanks hun. You go out all the time to help ponies, now it's my turn eh?" Dawn said with a small smile.

"With a murderer... joy." Stalwart said, his concern evident.

"There were murderers back in my birth world too stalwart, before you get too upset." Dawn reminded him before being interrupted.

"Regardless," Celestia said, clearing her throat, "We've made arrangements to get you there as soon as possible. The train would be too slow for what we need here, and I have given permission for you to use our chariot to travel there. They can arrive in Manehattan in only two hours. We can’t spare the energy for a teleport of this distance."

"How much can I brief the guards in Manehatten on things?"

"I'll leave that up to you. If you think it would be best for the safety of our citizens, I'll allow almost whatever measures are appropriate. I ask that you inform me of any important items as you can and updates about once a week, should this take longer.” Celestia informed.

"Understood." Twilight said. "Need to know for the guards and regal reports. Once a week unless something of importance happens." Twilight said. "I'll try to keep exposure to a minimum."

"Is there anything else you can think of that you might need?" Celestia asked, concern clear in her tone, though relief at keeping exposure to a minimum still could be heard.

"Not at this time. I'll need to assess things on the ground first." She said and looked at Stalwart. "I'd like for you to keep an eye on and help any of our citizens who reach the rally point, which is currently yours’ and Dawn's house. There are a few soldiers going there who I can place under your command to assist you if you'd like."

"Then go.” Celestia ordered, Stalwart giving Twilight a nod of acknowledgement. “Luna offered her personal guard and her chariot, but they will be asleep until moonrise. My chariot's on standby in the back courtyard."

Twilight nodded and stood as she became the gray unicorn once more. "Then by your leave?"

"Go. Please, protect my ponies." She said, her face stoic but her eyes betrayed a note of sadness she was trying to keep under control.

"We'll get them Celestia... Don't worry." Dawn said trying to cheer her up. "Let's drop Violet and my twin off to our room before we go." she offered to Twilight.

"I think it's best if Chrysalis comes with. We need people experienced with these sorts of situations. You know this world and I know generally what we are dealing with." She looked over at Stalwart. "Can you watch Violet for me?"

"I... guess? No picking her up or moving her when she's sleeping, learned that one just watching." Stalwart nodded, a bit hesitant from the encounter earlier.

"Yes, I'll leave a list of useful things. Once the others arrive, they can help." Twilight said as they reached the room.

"This is why I wish we had invented telephones." Dawn chuckled.

"Depending on what happens I may set up video communication." Twilight said.

"Oh wow, you have that already?" Dawn asked, looking at her as they walked down the hall.

"We have a complete satellite network in orbit around Equus. I didn't tell you, but we detected one communication satellite in orbit that seems to have come with us." Twilight said as she started to pack.

"Well, not surprising if others beyond you are coming over. We had satellites back in my home, and I believe we discovered you were a bit more advanced."

"Quite."

Dawn opened the door to her room when they arrived, letting Twilight go in first.

"Grab anything you think you might need." Twilight instructed.

"I... don't know what I might need... other than bits and spare clothes or something. What would you suggest?"

"That should be fine." Twilight said.

Dawn shrugged, donning her saddlebag and taking a few books out, "Well, I can leave these behind, to make it a bit lighter just in case. Stalwart, need anything from me before I go, or from Twilight for that matter?"

Twilight looked at him, noting the foal still riding his back.

"Just advice for watching your foal.” Stalwart shrugged, “Any idea how long it might take?"

"No clue. We don't exactly have access to the same level of communication or resources as back home." She said, starting to write on a piece of parchment.

"I'll start delegating so I can plan around a longer stay.” Stalwart nodded, “All I ask Dawn, is that you come visit if it takes more than a month."

"Of course!" she said cheerfully.

"Don't worry, she will. And if things start to get bad, I'll send her home." Twilight said as she handed him the parchment.

Stalwart carefully took the parchment and put it in his own saddlebag, "That's comforting... As helpful as you try to be Dawn, I still say you can be a bit clueless..."

"Hey! Only sometimes." She said, trying to feign offense

"Relax, I'll do my best to keep her out of danger." Twilight smirked at them.

Dawn chuckled at them both as another door knock echoed through the room. Twilight looked at the door.

"Enter."

A guardspony came in and looked at everyone briefly before spotting Dawn and announcing to her, "I was instructed to guide you to the chariot, as well as deliver your meals for the flight. Are you ready?"

Twilight looked to see if Dawn was ready, she herself having been fully packed right away.

"We're ready. Lead on guardsman." Dawn said, nodding before she turned to stalwart and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "See you when we're done."

Twilight nodded and walked up to Stalwart. "Take care of my daughter. I'm trusting her safety to you."

"I'll look after her as if she were my own." Stalwart nodded.

"Good. And I'll look after Dawn." Twilight said leaning around to ruffle Violet’s mane and whispered in Stalwarts ear. "Don't worry, she will be back before you grow too desperate for a good rutting."

"Yeah, that probably won't take long, but I'll manage." Stalwart said, a light blush crossing his face as he laughed his reply.

Dawn left to follow the guard, only actively listening to the sound of her husband’s voice. She was going to miss him, but would do what she could. Twilight followed her, putting her saddle bags on, Chrysalis doing likewise.

The guard walked onward, a box balancing well on his back as he continued to the outdoors, efficiently leading them to the chariot at a quick pace. A couple of pegasi with clearly strong muscles around their wings and chest were strapped in, one of which seemed to have a little bit of sauce on the corner of his lip from a recent meal.

Twilight ignored it, they were not her soldiers and she had far more pressing concerns as she boarded the sky chariot.

Dawn boarded, taking the box the guard offered and storing it in a slot by the front. The stallions looked back to the trio as they boarded, "Are you ready? We were given orders to take you to Manehattan as fast as our wings could carry you."

Twilight sat and looked to Dawn as if deferring to her.

"We're ready, thank you for taking us." Dawn nodded, sitting down and bracing her legs against the rear board.

They nodded and gave a short running gallop before taking off, seeming to effortlessly pull the chariot and the contents of it with them as they rose to a moderate height. Dawn closed her eyes and started her calming routine of breathing. It was clear she meant it when she did not do well with heights like she had explained before. She winced and turned away from the strong winds that were whipping about in the chariot and tried to ignore it.

"Calm yourself my little pony." Twilight instructed. Despite the wind, her voice could still be heard clearly.

Dawn shook in place for a second then nodded, trying to calm, "Y-yeah... sorry. Even after getting wings, I'm still rather afraid of heights. I didn't mind it quite as much in a plane, but this is... it's easy to fall..." she said, looking back behind them and then wishing she didn't. She looked forward and shut her eyes until Twilight grabbed her head and turned her attention only onto the disguised pony.

"Relax, don't think about it."

Dawn nodded, took a deep breath and then settled down onto the floor of the chariot, so she didn't have to feel the wind quite so much.

"That's it. Relax. Slow even breaths." Twilight intoned as she followed Dawn down, making sure Dawn’s vision was only seeing herself.

Dawn nodded, obeying and looking up at her trainer, gradually calming down as she did the regular breathing.

"Good just breath and focus on my voice. There is no reason to be afraid, I'm here."

Dawn smiled slightly, giving a small nod as she calmed, realizing her heartbeat was almost to normal.

"Good. Relax. Slow breaths. Just focus on my words, don't think about anything else remember your training."

Dawn continued, settling down and chuckling a little at their behavior.

Twilight smiled. "Good girl."

Dawn smiled broadly at that, even as the wind tried to whip their hair about a bit.

"Oh my, I didn't expect this." Chrysalis said happily.

Dawn blinked, looking over to her and tilted her head, clearly confused.

She saw the currently pony-queen smiling broadly.

"What? What didn't you expect?" Dawn finally spoke up, curious.

"Twilight to take a lover so soon." Chrysalis answered, and Twilight’s cheeks grew dark.

"I didn't!" Twilight protested.

"Yes, you did, and you've already started work on showing her who is in charge." Chrysalis said triumphantly.

"No I didn't." Twilight said firmly.

Dawn blinked, looking between them. Her first reaction was to cut in, but almost immediately in her mind it crossed that she shouldn't intervene, that it wasn't her place. She didn't know why, but it was a compulsion she couldn’t ignore.

"Admit it, you've already made her rather obedient and your first action was to take control of her." Chrysalis said.

"No I was just calming her." Twilight argued.

"By speaking to her as if she belonged to you."

Dawn shrugged, looking up at them both and just watching contentedly, as if oblivious to how they might be fighting.

"I mean look at her, she is calmly waiting for instructions and remaining in her place." Chrysalis said, gesturing with a hoof before smiling, "I wanted you to take a lover but I never expected a princess."

Dawn blushed, then tried to shrug, enjoying the breathing rhythm and leaned against the chariot's wall, appreciating how smooth their ride was.

"It's not-" Twilight blushed hard before being cut off by her mate.

"Come now Twilight, I recognize your training anywhere."

Dawn felt a rumble in her stomach and looked down at the box, wondering what food was prepared. She briefly grabbed the lid of it, then decided against it. It might be too early for it after all, but then again, it was getting close to when she might eat otherwise.

"Oh! Did you two have sex yet?" Chrysalis asked happily.

"N-no.” Dawn blinked, looking up at her alarmed, “I haven't cast the gender change spell on myself except for that one time."

The pair of them turned to look at her, Chrysalis with a small look of criticism, and Twilight with surprise. Dawn gasped quietly and looked down to the corner, feeling guilty at answering for them, even if she tried to tell herself she did nothing wrong.

"Hmm, seems she still needs training, but it's clear she has some as she feels ashamed she spoke. And also, you can have sex between two mares." Chrysalis explained before getting a wide smile as Twilight blushed. "Ah-ha! You two did!"

Dawn blushed deeply, looking down as if she gave away something she shouldn’t have.

"Well if you won't tell me." Chrysalis said to her mate before she looked at Dawn. "Link with me now." She ordered.

Dawn blinked, looking up at Chrysalis and immediately used the spell in question, though still not sure what was going to be asked of her.

Her mind clearly was in a pet like state, her memory of being half awake and being commanded like a pet and being called as such being most clear, with bits of her being hypnotized nearly forgotten except a vague memory of what was said and done.

Eventually, before that, the point where she was requested to inspect Twilight and be inspected, what led from it, and the conversation afterward came to light in her memories.

Chrysalis delved into it all and when she found the hypnosis she focused on it, curious as she hadn't seen it before and so dredged up those memories to the surface to see them from start to finished, letting them play out in Dawn's mind.

Dawn grimaced, as if noticing more how there was something going on with the link, but her memories under her trance were mostly not present in her memory, as if her conscious mind had only kept it in short term and disposed of it.

Chrysalis delved deep into Dawn deep into her mind finding her subconscious and what was there allowing it to to play again inside the mares mind exact as it had before only there was no time between all of it. It was ever session being played out at once as the queen watched and absorbed the memories, eyes starting to droop.

Dawn whimpered quietly, eyes closing as the process she was undergoing hurting her head slightly. She wanted to stop the link, but knew instinctively she shouldn't, even as Twilight's words echoed around her, so many of them that it was almost overwhelming

The sessions kept playing over and over without pause as Chrysalis laid down on the chariot. Watching as the last session happened and then they began again from the first one as she was no longer controlling her own mind.

Dawn started to droop into a kind of sleep posture as she had her first session play again. Because of her relaxation, mind now stuck in the loop as well, her link gradually faded, causing Chryssy's volume to seem more and more distant while Dawn continued to hear her instructor tell her to be calm and relax, to obey her commands.

Chrysalis horn glowed faintly as her mind opened the link as well when it got to the point and they continued to watch the sessions and hear the words, listening and obeying Twilight's commands.

Dawn laid down fully with her eyes closed, mind numbing itself slightly to the pain as they both sunk into the loop.

Chrysalis followed suit as the world faded away and all that remained were Twilight's words.

After a while, Twilight set her book to the side, having decided to read and let them talk in the link spell. "Are you two going to talk just to each other the entire trip?" She asked as she pulled her legs back into the charrior, having let them tangle as she read

Dawn laid there still comatose, unable to escape the loop and still wincing on slight occasions as chryssy's mind delve got too strong.

"Hey! You two! I’m talking to you." Twilight clapped to get their attention, the familiar clang of metal ringing in the air.

Dawn fluttered her eyes as she heard the familiar waking clap, the spell breaking. She looked weakly up at Twilight.

"Is training over now?” she mumbled, “I lifted all the books...."

Chrysalis eyes fluttered similarly and she looked around did the same, looking like she were half asleep. "Must have dozed off." She said, rubbing her eyes.

"Damn that hurts.” Dawn groaned, rubbing her head, “I... Wait, I vaguely remember… Chryssy, w-what did you want to talk about... I never heard you answer..."

"I’m… not sure." Chrysalis replied, imitating Dawn with some head massaging of her own.

Dawn shook her head to try and clear it, wincing as it failed to do so. She looked over to Twilight, then seeing the emptiness behind her, she regretted it, feeling like she was going to be sick from the fear of heights she saw behind them.

"Relax Dawn." Twilught said.

Dawn nodded, starting to relax slowly, and focused on getting her breathing into a pattern like before

In the industrial part of Manehatten, inside an abandoned warehouse, a pony in a fine suit with slicked back white mane was looking over a map of Equestria and eating fast food. He hated having to have resorted to cleaning out a register like some common criminal but he did not have any of his assets anymore.

Svikopi successfully tracked the criminal in charge of stealing his outfit, and had observed him for a time. He seemed capable, and yet not quite so capable as to be a risk. He desired information, a project of his to develop a certain spell, among other things. Revenge was still on the back of his mind, though after having removed Celestia and Luna, it had abated. He could no longer learn more from observation, and lit his horn subtly to produce an apparition of his former self to appear from a small distance away, letting it speak his words for him.

"Are you lost, thief?"

A knife appeared from no were held in a white glow that matched the unicorn’s horn glow.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He with a clearly educated voice an accent that showed higher education

The form chuckled, as if completely unintimidated by the blade.

"I am a guide for those without direction," He said, intending to use this vague good natured statement to test this new prey.

"Then move along as I am not lost, merely… displaced is the term I believe."

"An interesting term, though not inaccurate." He said sympathetically, "What goal do you have for yourself if you are not lost?"

"That does not concern you." He said as he rolled up the map.

He chuckled again, "Oh, it most certainly could. You see, I have a vested interest in not disturbing the balances in place. Being responsible for the deaths of those ponies back there... Well," He said, pausing and seeming to look at him with a knowing smile, "I'd hate to think someone like yourself would get in the way."

"I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about." The pony said as he finished rolling up the map and it vanished. "Now if you excuse me I have places to be." He said starting to walk towards the door.

Having cast his protective magics against both blade and magic, he stepped out into the light by the door, "Perhaps I haven't made myself clear." He said, taking a form looking stand. Their voice sounded deeper than their body belied, still having the body of a mare.

"No, you have, you are a nuisance and possibly mentally-ill individual who seems to think they know that which they don’t." He said stepping around them.

He chuckled, "That's a good joke child. Let me tell you one." He said, his horn glowing and rather quickly and readily picked up the pony two feet off the floor, and pushed him back into a container to the side, attempting to pin him with sheer force as an intimidation factor, "There was this one pony who seemed to think they could defy me. After having offered them my aid at that..." he began, letting himself monologue while keeping a close eye on them

The pony’s horn lit and there was a shock along the magic grip and it shattered, the pony dropping to the ground. "You're as foolish as the royal guard it seems." The pony said getting up and dusting himself off. "Don't even know how to defend from a counter-telekinesis spell."

He looked at them slightly intrigued, "Well, I'll admit you have some small skill..." he said, before forming a hand with his magic and gripping them firmly that way, "And what is the right counter for this spell then?"

The pony vanished in a flash of light appearing on the other side of the room fixing his tie shirt collar which had become winked when gripped.

He hummed, "Perhaps I'd been taking it too easy on you..." he said, teleporting himself to in front of his target, "Do not think your teleportation will get you away... I wrote that spell."

"Sure you did, seeing as I wrote my thesis paper on this spell and designed it myself I highly doubt it seeing as I am me and you are you."

He narrowed his eyes at this, "Is that so?" He said, a green and dark blue circle of various complex magical runes appearing below them. The sound of guardsponies voices starting to come near the door.

The pony looked at the door. "Blast, how did those fools track me so fast?" He said with annoyance as he moved towards one of the other windows.

"Get back in the circle you damned fool." He said, using his own telekinesis to pull him back in. His magic was released as soon as the unicorn was brought into the circle. "As long as you stay inside, you will remain undetected and unheard, at the expense of temporary lack of magical power. Now shut up and let the guards pass!"

The guards looked around, turning to see the warehouse, looking at the dimly lit place for a few minutes before moving away

"Silence spells don't require runes." He said.

The pony chuckled, "You're right... but binding spells do.. attempt to leave the circle again without my permission, and you forfeit your magic to me, and I'll put it to good use." He said confidently.

"What?" The pony asked looking at him skeptically. "You habe been reading far to many science fiction books."

"As you wish... Test my words... I'll be sure to store it in my bracelet temporarily until you come to your senses."

He snorted and walked to the end of the circle and seemed to be reading the runes.

The strange pony waited, observing the unicorn and smiling in approval "Do you know the ancient scripts?"

"A little, dead languages were not my strong suit."

"It gets easier when you grow up with it..." he said, "Now, I could have use for someone of your skills.... but old magics always require an even trade. So I ask again, what goal do you have?"

"I am not in the habit of making deals with those I have just met, it's bad business sense."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, considering his options as his mark was clearly more intelligent than he had accounted for. Then he chuckled for a moment.

"Very well..." he said, dissolving the runes and the binding agreement spell he had established. "In that case, at least allow me to give a parting gift."

He took his hoof and slid off the golden rune etched bracelet with a larger opalescent gem as its centerpiece, holding it out, "I understand from a certain relic you left behind that having your magic cut off can be.... quite inconvenient. This will be a minor, albeit useful, way around it."

He looked at it then back at the strange pony then back at it before slowly taking it. "What is it?"

"A minor telekinesis spell this host body prepared in her training for me. It lets even earth ponies move lighter objects with ease, and is immune to other magics attempting to limit it."

"Can it withstand a disruption grenade?"

"I have yet to have had my magic fail in any scenario." He said confidently, staying quiet to avoid being overheard.

"Good. Now then, what do you mean host?"

"In good time," he said, walking past him slowly, "after all, what does a random unicorn need to know of it? I have business to attend to. We shall speak again."
And with that, he teleported away.

The pony snorted once more before moving to the door, if the guards found this place then it was time to move on.

=============

Dawn stepped down out of the chariot , carrying the packed lunch, and thanked the charioteers before they flew off.

Twilight looked around only for a moment before she headed straight for the entrance to the guard station they had landed on top of. Chrysalis following her just a step behind.

A recruit soon opened the door as they approached, "Oh! You’re the specialists Celestia sent? Brilliant! The captain sent me to fetch you" he said in an british-like accent.

Dawn linked with Chrysalis briefly to make a james bond joke, "calm down there agent 624..."

Chrysalis chuckled in the link. 'Wonder if Q is running around here somewhere?' She said.

"Yes we are, take me to whoever is in charge." Twilight said.

The guard soon led them to the office, where he and two lieutenants were reviewing information with intense focus. The captain was older and had a grey beard and light blue coat with a round shield for his mark

"You in charge here?" Twilight asked approaching the captain.

The bearded one looked over to Twilight in annoyance then spotted the medal of Celestia's seal and shifted his attitude immediately to wave her on over, "Name's Buffalo Shield, and don't ask me how I got my name. Now, you ready to get your hooves wet?" He asked, seeming to almost ignore Dawn and Chryssy.

Twilight ignored his question. "I'm agent Stonewall and this is my assistant Chrissy. I need to know everything you know about these murders." She said with authority.

"Hmp." He huffed, clearly reluctant at giving up the case to someone else. He mumbled in a barely audible to himself voice, "Not like I ain't seen somethin’ like this before..."

He straightened himself up and waved them over, "Should already know most of it already. The murder happened here," he gestured, pointing to one pin in the map, "there were no witnesses, and we were reported it happened when a patron insisted on picking up a package. Her political standing made it hard to ignore, so my guard looked around for it, only to find the bodies. We found a severe cut to their throats and some weirdo outfit. It's in evidence storage, downstairs one level. We don't know where they went, can't seem to trace em, and despite the recruit Horseshoes or whatever, told me about a green mare who seemed to be happy at... the..." he paused, looking over to dawn suspiciously.

"Trust me Captain, I can guarantee you haven't faced anything like this before." Twilight said as she followed along. "And I can guarantee it was not Princess Dawn here as she was in Canterlot at the time of the murders. Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight can confirm." She said. "Is there anything else I should be made aware of or do we move onto the evidence?" She asked arching a brow.

"I wouldn't dream a princess would do something like that to her citizens. Besides, my recruits know the difference between a unicorn and an alicorn princess." he chuckled, having shaken his head at first at the accusation, even if it had crossed his mind, "Still... the resemblance is uncanny from his description..." he shook his head slightly again and refocused, "Nothing else to really say, here's a set of keys to the evidence, you'll find it in locker 31-D."

Stonewall nodded taking the keys and heading for the door without hesitation. Dawn followed, rather perturbed at the idea that there was a pony out there just like her... if she wasn't careful, could she be mistaken for them?

"Relax Princess,” Stonewall said as they walked to the lockers, “if there is a resemblance that will actually work to our advantage."

"What makes you say that?"

"Someone looking like a Princess will be noticed a lot." She said. "And everyone will talk about seeing the Princess in such and such area."

"Perhaps…” Dawn hummed, “I'm not quite as widely known at the moment."

"At least you think." She said as they reached the evidence room. "Also can tell I'm going to love working with this Captain." She said sarcastically as she unlocked the door and walked in.

"I know exactly what you mean." she said as she followed, looking for the locker before pointing it out along the back wall.

Twilight nodded and opened the locker and removing the box of evidence before moving to the table.

Dawn courteously closed the door, to ensure they weren't as easily overheard or seen. The box barely held anything beyond the soiled jumpsuit and a couple of sharper items with blood on them, included as the guards thought might have been used as a weapon.

Twilight looked them over and pulled put the scissors. "How they missed this as the murder weapon I'll never know as its drenched in blood." Twilight said and set it to the side before pulling out the Jumpsuit and looking it over as well as the inhibitor ring. "Definitely from Irongate." She said and looked at the numbers. "Oh no....."

Dawn looked apprehensively at Twilight. After all, if she was reacted that way, it must be bad.

"I need to get a message to Celestia and then read in the guards. We are dealing with a major threat." She said dropping the Jumpsuit and heading towards the door forgetting the evidence even exists in comparison. This was far too important.

Dawn looked at her really concerned, before quickly grabbing the evidence and putting it away and scampering off to follow her, not wanting to miss out on the details herself.

Twilight was already writing on a piece of parchment as she walked. "What I wouldn't give to have Spike here to send this." She muttered as she wrote.

Dawn chimed in, hoping to help, "I can get that sent to Celestia if you need it there fast. She'd taught me how to teleport things to her since we were so far away."

"Yes, do it now." Twilight said shoving the parchment at Dawn without looking as she made her way back to the office, almost breaking out into a full sprint but remaining at a very fast walk.

Dawn nodded, using her magic to make it happen as quickly as she dared, then dashed after her, fear growing in her heart as she realized the situation just hit the fan.

Twilight threw open the door. "Captain, assemble whatever guards you have working this case in the briefing room, now. I'm calling an emergency briefing."

The captain looked at her in skeptical surprise and confusion, "All right... I know that look. Give me three minutes." he said moving over to the radios, giving the command for all the applicable units. One of the speakers in the room echoed his words. "All of them are nearby," he said as he finished his message, "investigating leads. How bad is it?" he asked as the guards gradually filed in, a team of about 15 or so.

"Like nothing you've ever faced." Twilight said grimly and then stood at the head of the room, face expressionless.

"All ponies working the case present." The captain said, moving to close the door, "What are you going to tell us?"

Her horn flashed and the walls of the room glowed for a moment. "The pony you are looking for is named Solar Flare and he is like no one you have ever tried to apprehend before."

The guardsponies looked at each other, confused about the walls glowing. One started to whisper to their colleague but stopped when he was elbowed to pay attention.

"What I am about to tell you does not leave this room. If you tell anyone about this, friends family, anyone you will be arrested for high treason and be treated as such. Do I make myself clear? I need your oaths you will not discussed this case in the open."

Everyone looked in surprise at her then started turning to each other before the captain nodded, "All right, you have my word." and soon after, the rest of the squad present agreed.

Twilight waited a moment before speaking again. "What we are dealing with is an escaped Prisoner from another reality's maximum security military prison."

Everyone in the guard dropped their jaws in their own way, one lower ranking recruit chiming in, "I'm sorry miss, but perhaps you could run that by us again."

"She said that there's a dangerous criminal from an alternate world present and the cause for the murders." Dawn said as a matter of fact, trying to give Twilight backup from authority.

"But... but that's..." he stammered stepping back.

"Impossible? If it were, I wouldn't be here right now or for the last two years." She said, more interested in what Twilight had to say. She was nervous and scared herself, but she needed to know what she was up against, and it didn't help starlight was influencing her to help shelve her emotions right then so he could chip in.

"She's right. Other realities exist, some not much different from this one, others beyond alien where physics itself could be different in every way. Solar Flare is from a world that is somewhat different then your own."

They muttered various statements of disbelief before the captain barked, "Let the specialist speak her peace men, or have i not trained you all well enough on that yet?" he said, bringing them into rigid attention once more.

"Solar Flare is a ruthless, efficient, highly educated and charismatic, and above all else, completely sociopathic individual who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal."

They narrowed their eyes, though one unicorn was jotting down notes in their notepad now, looking up when they heard the 'goal' mentioned.

"And that would be?" the captain asked after a suitable pause.

"The complete destruction of the Equestrian government as it is now and the removal of the alicorns from power."

Nearly everyone froze, Dawn included, before one recruit thought to ask, "W-why would they want that?"

"Because in his mind, he is a patriot, and the alicorns and those under them are holding back the country and in fact hurting it, rather then helping it."

The men started looking between each other, then Dawn asked, "So how do you recommend we pursue this? Is there some way we can use this to our advantage?"

"With careful planning, try to get ahead of Solar Flare. Right now he doesn't have his organization but he is most likely working towards changing that. Our best bet to stop him is to find him before he begins to build. However, he is most likely in hiding and won't make a move till he has pieces on the board. It took the other worlds, military almost 13 years to finally capture him. In that time, he found those who thought as he did or those he could manipulate and mold into what he needed, killing those who were no longer of use and tying up loose ends without a second thought."

The captain hummed, clearly taking this all in stride, "Then how do we get ahead of him?" he asked, looking over to Dawn in a new light.

"By trying to predict where he'd go. He has no resources or allies here, only the money from a single cash register. He is most likely armed by now. He also is most likely in a very little traveled area or learning what he can about this world to plan his next move."

The captain stepped forward, looking at the map, "Well, in that case, he's likely somewhere in these three sections of the city." he said, pointing to the warehouse district, the older segments of downtown, and the northern newer developments.

"Then that is where we should search. But tell the men out there only to report if they see him. Do not try to apprehend, as he graduated at the top of his class from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and won't hesitate to use his education."

"Then there we have it." The captain said. "Stallions, split up to three divisions and stay together at all times. If attacked, your first priority is to get news of this villain to us. Watch each other's flanks, but if all of you fall, then more will after you. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!" the group announced, and moved closer to the table to review what areas they were going to split among each other, already appointing the three most experienced ones of the group a leader role as they picked teams

Twilight watched them with a stoic expression

Dawn turned to Chryssy, opening up her link and tried to confirm with them, ‘Chryssy? As much as I hate to suggest this... but... if he hates alicorns ruling and so on, wouldn't that mean that I could be used to pull him out of hiding if I look like an easy target? I mean... it's a really scary thought but-‘

'He won't make a move till he is good and ready and by then everyone on the board will be a target.' Chrysalis replied grimly

‘Oh... what can I do to help? I mean, I came along, and apparently I can help get messages to and from Celestia readily, but... there's got to be more I can do, right?’ she asked

'We will see, right now we need intel."

Dawn nodded, stopping the link and looked over to Twilight for further orders, trying to think of what could be done, or if she knew of a way to look up tracking spells. Twilight was ignoring the pair as she watched the guards file out before approaching the captain.

"Captain, I would like somewhere I could set up in order to coordinate this from." She asked.

"I'll let you have my office.” The captain offered, “We don't have any rooms to spare at the moment." he said, turning to the back half of the building where his office took up 1/4 of the space, which shows how tall but narrow the building was. It was about 15 by 15 feet of working room available.

Twilight looked around, inspecting the place before nodding approvingly.

"This will work. Thank you Captain."

"Considering if we go with the threat being as big as you say it is, I'll live without my office for a bit. I can always move it into my home if needed."

"Captain, I feel I should show the guards later today exactly what they are up against but it will take time to set up what I need so we will have a meeting upon their return."

"You set the time and place and I'll make sure they're there, sick or otherwise."

"I'll let you know."

He shrugged, grabbing a box and placing it on his back as he left his office.

Dawn turned to them and spoke out loud, "What do you want me doing?"

"For now, I need to know everything you know about this world. The government, it's fighting ability, magic, disposition of the people, everything. The letter I sent to Celestia told her basically what I told those guards."

"I'll tell you everything I can. The fighting ability of the guards seems to be basic physical fitness training, with a great deal of focus on disabling opponents rather than causing permanent harm. They work well in groups, but seem more easily picked off when alone from an exercise Stalwart went through and told me about.

"The ponies of Manehattan seemed rather standoffish to me, more caught up in fashion and higher end meals in some ways. They tended to be less friendly than what I'm used to in Canterlot and Van Hoover."

"I see.” Twilight said, readily digesting the information, “Then Solar will most likely try and find an ally here. Someone he can either manipulate and mold, or someone of a similar view."

"I could see that from what you’ve said.” Dawn nodded, “As far as the government, what do you want to know?"

"How it works, its procedures, emergency protocols, security. Anything you know."

"There's really not much to it as far as I was made aware of.” Dawn shook her head, “It was one of your complaints. It appears to be a version of monarchy, but I know nearly nothing of its procedures, protocols or security measures."

Dawn paused her explanation as a flash of light popped in her saddlebag, causing her to jump in place from surprise. She pulled it out, then upon seeing the intended recipient, held out the newly appeared letter to Twilight, who took it and began to read.

Dawn started drafting a letter indicating the items being asked by Twilight in anticipation while they read, indicating what items had also been answered so if she were wrong, they could be corrected. She paused her letter writing when she felt a small bit of heat and noticed a glow, looking up to see the old letter having been burned.

"Alright then. Now we wait and set up a screening." Twilight said looking at Dawn. "You can help with that, but first how strong is your… aversion to death?"

Dawn looked at her with a mixed feeling of trepidation and curiosity, as if fairly sure where this was headed, "I very much do not want to die, but I faced subzero temperatures for a whole week and despite family giving up on me, dedicated myself to life and helping others not go through the hells I go through... or is that not what you meant?"

"I mean seeing others die, seeing panic as they run for their lives." Twilight clarified

"I have not seen another die, but if I had the power to help those that run live, I would hope I stand my ground..." she said, wondering if she was as ready as she tried to say she was.

"What I'm going to show the guards isn't pretty. And not something many should see much less have to go through."

"You're going to show the results of one of his attacks aren't you..." Dawn pieced together.

"Yes."

Dawn took a breath, steeling herself, and nodded, "That's probably for the best. The question is, is it a good thing or a bad thing to have me run? I don't want to become a liability doing the wrong thing." she said firmly, looking at Twilight with a clear degree of trust

"I don't know. It's a video but if he starts building then I will be sending you back home for safety."

Dawn nodded, slowly, and a bit disappointed, "I can't say I blame you, even if... nevermind."

"You're pregnant Dawn. The only reason you're even here now is as someone I trust."

"Ah." She said quietly, nearly forgetting that she was pregnant in the heat of the moment. "Right..."

"Yes, and I won't put you in danger."

"Very well, I understand. But... perhaps once my foal is born, would you continue training me so I could help you with things like this?” Dawn asked, feeling a bit deflated from not being able to help, she paused then added, “I, I hate feeling helpless."

"Of course Dawn, I will do my best to train you even now." Twilight said.

"I just... don't want to be thought of as a liability.” Dawn explained, trying to make her case, “I've always worked to empower others, so it's just... It’s not easy at all to stand back and let others do something if I can."

"Dawn you are an alicorn. One of the most powerful beings on Equus, to think you a liability is foolish."

"But right now, I'm barely the power of one and a half unicorns, and that's just as much because of Starlight Dusk chipping in as needed." She protested.

"Dawn, even if you don't have access to the power it's still there."

"And you said my power was not nearly as much as what other alicorns you know could do... right? Do you know why that is? Am I just... limiting myself somehow?"

"Most likely. It takes proper training in the magical arts and from what I understand you were barely given any."

"I mean, you’re right. I've only been self-taught, and a lot of what I do is reliant on instinct... If you don't mind, maybe after we've trained for a while, could you give me a reevaluation?" Dawn asked, then shook her head, "Nevermind, we have bigger things to do. Want any help setting up your equipment?"

"Yes, I will." Twilight said as she started to head back to the briefing room.

Dawn looked to Chrysalis, wondering what she should do now.

"Stay close to me." Chrysalis replied as she followed Twilight.

Dawn nodded, following Chryssy closely as instructed. The two of them entered the room to see computer equipment appearing on the table, clearly designed for ponies.

"Find a flat surface Dawn. Something that can be projected onto." Twilight instructed as she assembled the machines.

"Yes ma'am. Wall or table?"

"Wall, the projector will be on this table."

Dawn nodded, starting to clear an appropriate wall, carefully moving objects aside. "Figured I'd ask in case you had tech that could put it on any flat surface."

"No, just normal projector." Twilight said, plugging in several cables.

Dawn nodded again, having cleared everything table level and above to be placed below the table, keeping the same organization in case it mattered. She saw Twilight was hooking up a laptop to a projector and it was plugged into a battery pack to power them both. Dawn hummed and moved to a spot, moving two boxes aside to make room.

"Power source here" she called, pointing.

"You have an electrical grid?” Twilight blinked in surprise.

"Looks like some places do. I do at home. Did you notice the refrigerator and oven?" she asked, trying to help her recall.

"I thought it was an icebox like in the old days." She said. "We have all our stuff running on battery packs."

"Well, when we get home, we might need to get an electrician to come help safely turn off the power and run you whatever voltages or whatever you need... I'm not very savvy about it, but you get what I mean.”

"Yeah." Twilight nodded as she got out a tester and hooked it to the plug. "Alright, this barely meets the minimum requirements for our equipment. I'd rather not rely on this old wiring for long though." Twilight said as she started plugging things in.

"If anything, it could be used to recharge the battery packs in downtime right?" Dawn offered.

"Perhaps. I'm just afraid of surges. These old wiring jobs weren't exactly the safest." Twilight explained as she finished.

"Fair enough. Next task?" Dawn asked before gasping as she realized she had almost forgotten something. She pulled out the unfinished letter, asking "What other things did you want to know before I send out the letter?"

"Nothing for now, However, warn her to add some extra drills for the Canterlot Guard. Invasion drills and assassin drills."

"I'm not sure if she'll even know anything about how to prevent those, but I'll make sure she knows." Dawn replied, writing out her letter quickly over the next several minutes. She soon finished, made sure the ink dried before rolling it up and sending it away in a poof of green light.

"And now we wait." Twilight took a seat. "Perhaps we can practice some magic."

Dawn sat down on a seat, one of the three that was present, and said, "What kind of magic shall I practice?"

"Well you know telekinesis, what other spells do you know?" Twilight asked, eying the mare.

"Well," she paused, trying to think, "I know telekinesis, it's my most used one day to day, I know how to cloud walk, water walk, using my horn as a projector for music or video of memories, but it's not perfect because my memories aren’t... What else, I guess you could say voluntary telepathy, it's supposed to make a small tone like a telephone that the person's allowed to answer or deny but I never got that to work right. I know light magic of course, can't forget that. I know how to accelerate healing, and with the help of Starlight Dusk more advanced healing can be performed, as it's advanced level stuff. I was able to build up enough power for a laser strong enough to shatter my horn once, but I haven't tried it again since... And I've researched how to do a gender change and temporary age change spell, but they're both rather complex and require a lot of power."

"So some basic spells and some very advanced spells." She said. "Basically you have a random grab bag of spells. Definitely no formal training…"

"I hope it helps you know what I'm capable of at least..." She nodded, feeling a little ashamed at how much trouble she would be to teach in that event.

"It does, and also annoys me to no end you weren't given formal training. Basic spells are fine to self-learn, but others require formal training as they can be extremely dangerous, least I assume. A few you mentioned I've never heard of."

"I did receive some training, before he tried to betray me. That’s if you count Svikopi though, who ended up being sealed away after he tried to take over mine and Nightfall's bodies. What ones have you not heard of?"

"Yeah, training from evil entities don't count. Chances are they taught you wrong, so best ignore what they told you." Twilight said. "And that gender spell, I mean I made up that existing a long time ago but there is no actual spell to do it."

Dawn smiled mischievously, "I wouldn't be so sure. After all, from what Chryssy has told me, my telephone telepathy spell didn't exist either, yet I've demonstrated it a few times, have I not?"

"What I mean is, there are no spells like them in our magic system." She said. "So they don't exist and I can't give you any training on such spells."

Dawn opened her mouth and made a small "ah" sound before asking, "That makes me wonder, would we be able to cast each other's magical spells, or do you think magic would somehow work differently based on the world? I mean… but that'd be like suggesting gravity would be different between similar worlds... from what I'd guess, only the actions the worlds/individuals take is what's different. Am I at all close?"

"Well, my magic works here, and yours probably would work in ours. But honestly who is to say?"

"Perhaps if we found a spell that existed here but not over there, I can try to teach you or show you where to go to learn it, and if it doesn't, we have our answer?" Dawn offered.

"Don't you have such a spell?"

"I know the telephone spell, and in theory I have the materials for the gender and age ones, but is there another I mentioned you'd rather try?"

"Those are the only two we don't have and I'd rather avoid the "telephone" one."

"I'll still respect that decision.” Dawn nodded, only needing to be told once. “So, which materials do you want me to share then?"

“For now, we should focus on you getting some basic training rather than you teaching me advanced spells"

"As you wish.” Dawn bowed her head, “Where should I begin?"

"Well I know you've mastered telekinesis so why don't you show me a light spell." Twilight said.

Dawn lit her horn, bright enough to be a handheld LED flashlight, though not quite focused when it was first turned on, and slowly focused it to point upward, her brows furrowed slightly.

"Sorry, it's a bit stronger than I remember... focusing the light was the harder part for some reason to me."

"That's because you have more magic behind it now as an alicorn."

Dawn hummed, dimming her light down slowly, trying to demonstrate her control over it. It successfully dimmed to halfway before Twilight nodded her approval.

"Good, you are doing well."

Dawn focused quite hard, and narrowed the light into the width of a laser pointer, though with difficulty. After holding it like that for three seconds she let the light dim and took a deep breath and let it out slow.

“Well, seems you don't need any training in that spell as normal practice will work. How's your dexterity with telekinesis?"

She blinked, "I... don't quite understand. I can be reasonably precise with it if that's what you're asking. I often handle utensils and cutting items with my magic..."

"How many items, and what can you do with them?"

She lifted four items off the table, the projector, battery cell, and a couple lighter things and held them a foot up. "I find it's proportional to the amount of weight I'm handling. So far, I've strained to do much more than 100 pounds very clumsily, 50 pounds I can somewhat manage, and 10 lbs is most comfortable. if it's just a pound or three, I can be quite precise with it. Sadly I struggle to hold much more than four at once, and even then, i often end up grouping them into two groups... It was easiest to think of it as an extension of an arm or a hand that I couldn't see or feel, but that might be limiting me..."

"Ok, that's weight not dexterity."

She blinked then decided rather than repeat herself, she dug into her pack, got a needle and thread, and proceeded to thread the needle at a reasonable distance away while letting her see clearly, and then for good measure, threaded it two more times.

"Precision." She said and then proceeded to pick up four random objects and suddenly each item was doing a completely different task, one was spinning g around her head, one appeared to be being carried by an invisable pony, one was acting like a dog and another seemed to be dancing on the table, all of it was held in TK. "Dexterity."

She dropped her jaw after she carefully set everything down and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I call that multitasking. Very different definition of dexterity than what I knew... Having said that, I'm horrible at multitasking."

"It's fine. Terms for magic are a bit different." She said as she set the items down.

She shook her head, trying to wrap her head around it, "I-i see... what else should I demonstrate for you?"

"Well cloud walking isn't a spell anymore so that's out."

She blinked, "What are you talking about, of course it is."

"No, it’s not. You are part pegasus now. It's an innate magic like your ability to pick up things with your hooves or your ability to grow things well and natural strength and endurance."

"And it works on other ponies, like my husband..." She blinked as she realized what she was told, "Wait, grow things well?"

"I meant for you. You don't have to cast the spell on yourself anymore. Just land on a cloud. And yes, you are part earth pony which means you have their magic as well."

Dawn paused and thought quietly to herself, as she hadn't taken the idea of planting a garden seriously. Then again, she also was scared of bees and spiders and insects in general.

"You are a blending of all three tribes. You have their abilities."

"I... Guess I just never really thought about it is all. Gods, I have so much to learn..." she sighed, "Sorry, that's why we're talking about this after all, so you know what I can do and what I need work on. Please continue?"

"Well, as I said, for you cloudwalking is natural now, same with higher strength and endurance, as well as a magical boost. Also, were you taught magic is influenced by emotions?"

Dawn shook her head, "Taught no, but I've figured it out on my own a little. It's been a mix of instinct and study for me so far."

Twilight sighed and rubbed her temples, it was clear by her movements she was using her unseen fingers.

She cringed visibly, as if she had been reprimanded. She had no desire to have her trainer/owner be frustrated with her training, or lack thereof.

"I’m not mad at you.” Twilight clarified, “I'm mad at those who were responsible for you. They should have given you a proper teacher. Not this half assed work that could have gotten you or others killed."

"Still..." Dawn said before she stopped herself from apologizing again and took a deep breath, "I'm going to do what I can so you don't have to feel that way again in the future. That, I can promise you."

Twilight nodded and patted Dawn's head. Dawn let out a purring noise and closed her eyes, pushing her head into the pattings. Twilight chuckled at their behavior and stroked Dawn's mane.

"That feels good..." She mumbled, moving a bit further into the stroking as she let herself enjoy it.

Twilight smiled as she continued to stroke her mane. Dawn let out a sigh once again, moving forward and closing her eyes as she let herself relax, eyes closing.

Twilight marveled at her behavior, noticing it shift. Another small test was in order she decided as she scratched under Dawn's chin, the mare able to feel her fingers easily.

Dawn let her eyes close, unaware of the sound she made indicating her enjoyment of those scratchings. It had been so long since she had felt a proper scratch that it was heavenly to the point she forgot Chrysalis was present, raising her chin and lowering her back half as she received the relief it brought.

Chrysalis watched on, both with pride that her mate that finally took a new lover, and yet also jealous for how that lover was getting attention. It was not her place to question Twilight on such matters however. Even the thought of jealousy felt odd to her for some reason, as she knew her place.

Dawn let out another quiet sigh and let herself lay down where she was in front of Twilight, feeling drained after the attention. Even if she wanted to complain about the hardness of the floor, she wasn’t about to, even as Twilight looked down at her, marveling at her behavior, then chuckling as Dawn almost appeared to take a nap.

Dawn flicked her ears at first from the chuckle before opening an eye and looking up at her, "What?”

"Just… how you are acting." Twilight said smiling down at her.

"Huh?" she mumbled, looking around before pausing, "Wait... when did I lie down on the floor?"

"A few minutes ago, why?"

"I... oh..." She said, pausing as she realized what happened. She blushed deeply, then even more so when she saw Chrysalis still in the room.

Chrysalis was looking at her with a proud smile.

Dawn blushed a little less and quietly asked, "Would you like me to stay put or should I get up?"

"Probably should got up before someone comes by."

"As you wish..." She said, slowly getting up and linking with chrysalis, trying to be subtle, ‘S-so... why are you smiling?’

'Because Twilight has finally taken on a lover instead of thinking she has to be only with me, despite the fact I know she looks at others.'

Dawn tilted her head away shyly, but chuckled mutely in her mind, "M-maybe not lovers yet, but... she seemed to be exploring the idea."

'Close enough, and I've been with her long enough to know she will take more control of you and eventually take you to her bed. She is close to that point.'

Dawn blushed again but then smiled as she thought, ‘Think she'll go at it when we let her try her hoof at being a stallion, or would she rather be a mare?’

'Most likely a mare but… I see her enjoying being a stallion as well.' She said and shivered, Dawn feeling arousal through the link and had a few glimpses of images of a male Twilight showing the Queen her place in bed.

Dawn giggled a little at the idea, still feeling a little awkward but trying not to be, ‘Well, I would have to give the proper respect due to an owner's mate and let them be the first to experience it. After all, it'd be rude for a mere pet to take her male virginity, wouldn't it?’ she tried to say suggestively, blushing as memories of Stalwart dominating her and training her to have a degree of sexual stamina was thought of, accidentally being relayed.

Chrysalis smiled at her. 'Very good, I see she is training you well.'

Dawn blushed, “T-thank you.” she said out loud on accident, bowing toward chrysalis as she stretched out a leg or two to distract herself from the attention she perceived.

Twilight had started reading once she saw the telephone spell in place so it was just them. ‘No need to thank me, I know how good Twilight is at what she does.'

She blushed, realizing she spoke instead of thinking her response, ‘oops... does she not like that i talked and interrupted the silence or does she really not like us using this spell?’

'It's this spell. She really doesn't like anyone in her head. She doesn't even allow Luna into her dreams.'

‘Well yeah, but... we're not doing that to her right? Why would it bother her if it's not done to her, and it just seems to imitate the link you have naturally anyway?’

'Because there is no indication when I'm using my link. There are a few things that fall into the ‘definitely no’ category and anything that can enter her mind whether she wants it to or not is firmly in that category.'

She hummed mentally, careful not to actually make a noise, "I wonder if there's a way to not give away that i'm using magic then..."

'It’s fine Dawn. She just reads. It's not like you are putting her in a biology lab or talking about biological science in detail. It’s just something she avoids do to not liking it. She's fine just reading and letting us be while we talk.'

‘Well, I don't want her to feel uncomfortable, but... so how are you feeling about her trying to take me on?’ She asked, smiling a little as her brain suddenly switched topics

'Happy, I've been trying to get her to take lovers for years now as I know she looks at others but she has refused do to her upbringing.'

Dawn laughed in the link, ‘Well, anything I should know about or expect?’

'She knows what she wants, and she will get it.'

‘Ah…’ She thought, looking over to her as if she didn't already know this, imagination starting to run scenarios where she is told to obey and she does so without question, sexual or otherwise.

'Yes pretty much like that. But nothing harmful or interfering with your duties.'

‘I wouldn't dream of it, though if she ever did, I would blatantly disregard that order out of respect.’

'Yes, don't worry. Most of her domination won't leave her bedroom.'

‘Oh we'll have to work on that then. I doubt she'd want to lose to Stalwart, and he's already taken me out on 'walks' several times.’

'Twilight doesn't really do that sort of thing.'

‘Well, we'll see.’ She replied, ‘She has a lot of inhibitions by the sound of it, but as she gets comfortable, I can definitely see her experimenting under the excuse of 'training' for us, rather than herself.’ She sighed and then opened up the box of the boxed lunch and started looking to see what was inside. “Ooo, broccoli and cheddar soup and bread bowls, my favorite... looks like there's some food for you both too. Anyone hungry?" she said out loud, forgetting to close the link.

'She does. Ponies have a lot of them, though here, they don't seem to exist at all which is… Strange and throws off everything I know' Chrysalis said in the link.

"Yeah, I could use some food." Twilight said, marking her place in her book."

‘What do you mean? Of course there's still some... .... I might not be able to think of them right now but i'm sure there are.’ She replied by link, filling up a bread bowl and preparing it as she liked it most, showing Twilight the box of foods that remained.

'Not any I recognize, since no one practices monogamy from what I've learned as well as aparently it's acceptable to display sexual fetishes in public.'

Twilight looked through the box

‘It's actually not acceptable to show fetishes in public, or in front of children. Monogamy is generally practiced, it's just not strictly maintained by about a third of the ponies here from what I've been able to research.’ she replied

'Back home it is. And you already said, you've been taken on walks outside.'

‘Ever heard of exhibitionism?’ she blushed, ‘I don't go out blatantly doing it or I’d be stopped by the guards, though probably with a slap on the wrist as a princess. I have a collar that will match whatever outfit I wear, and the lead Stalwart holds is very thin but strong, so it won't break when he leads me and is nearly invisible to the casual observer.’

‘Still that isn't exactly some ponies do back home.’

‘See? We do have inhibitions then.’ She chuckled, ‘though I suspect some of the quirks I have are from being human... you know, this link thing is really handy. I get to talk while I eat and not be rude"

'Not really no.' Chrysalis said as she ate the same thing ad Dawn, the same meal had been packed for all of them as the guards were in a hurry.

‘I can't help but wonder,’ Dawn replied in a more solemn tone, ‘I seem to remember talking about something about how Twilight's dealt with humans before... have you dealt with humans or have them back home?’

'I have met a few and Twilight has told me of her time with them.'

Dawn’s mind seemed to hum, wondering if that meant humans would turn to ponies like she had, or the other way around, but she stopped herself, mind going quite rapidly through emotions of how she enjoyed being a pony now, and being a human would be giving up her magic and flight as an option, which led her to wonder why she had changed in the first place, if it really was due to magic or otherwise.

'The humans were still humans when they arrived.'

Dawn seemed to take this thought in as if it were one of her own and continued to dwell, if there perhaps was some purpose to her being a pony, and developing into an alicorn, or if it was just blind chance and she had to make the most of it, or something else at play. She ate slowly, getting consumed by the thoughts to an extent, and reached in for a second bowl, since they packed 4 total.

'The mirror was designed to change you to the dominant species of the world you were going to. That's most likely why you are a pony as you didn't arrive do to random weakness of the barrier but a stable tunnel.'

She looked up at Chrysalis and tilted her head confused, realizing that didn't come from herself. ‘So, I'm this way because of stable travel... is that a good thing or a bad thing or what?’

'Depends on your own opinion. It does allow you to blend in.'

‘Well, I keep trying to tell myself that it's a good thing... have to admit, immortality? It's going to sting, watching others die while I live on, but I'll be able to learn so much and help others from my own experiences and advice...’

'Yes, most are not cut out for it. Twilight remains sane by telling stories of those she knew, things the history books don't talk about.'

‘How do you know if you're cut out for it?’ Dawn asked

'By not going insane after a couple centuries.'

‘Ah.’ She paused solemnly before curiosity forced her to ask, ‘just from grief or something else?’

'Sort of. More the inability to deal with watching people die and no longer wanting to live. Most spend centuries trying to end their own lives.'

‘Is... Is there any way to fight that?’ Dawn asked, rather mortified at the idea of succumbing to such an outcome, hoping she could avoid it early on by having the right mindset.

'As I said, it depends on the individual. Twilight and Celestia tell stories of those long past. Luna practices with her blades and spars. Discord is Discord, I manage my hive, Cadance has her shipping. Flurry her love of architecture and structural engineering. We all have our ways.'

‘So coping or escape mechanisms then. I see... I'd better start figuring out something ahead of time then...’

'Pretty much yes.'

Dawn sighed and finished off her meal, settling into her chair and commenting back to Chryssy, ‘On the other hoof, in a way, I'm just a child all over again, and that could be like, the rebellious teenage years all over again.’

Chrysalis burst out laughing. Dawn looked over to her in surprise, wondering what in the world she found so funny.

'Sorry, sorry, that analogy is quite accurate for the time before you find what helps you cope.'

‘Ah... you have my sympathies then.’ she replied mischievously, ‘After all, you had to go through it once, and I might rely on your knowledge for my own time through it.’

'Oh that won't be a problem. I already help Twilight.'

‘Ah, is she in rebellious years right now then?’ she asked, already imagining Twilight as what she understood as a ‘punk-gothic style’ pony and giggling mentally.

'No. She's still young.'

‘Ah... well, I look forward to your guidance, Chrysalis.’ she replied, mentally bowing gently in her tone. ‘If it's any consolation, I was generally obedient and far too trusting of my parents when I was younger, to the point of being brainwashed.... In other thoughts, what else should we do, ‘cause she hooked up her stuff, has eaten, but I don't see her doing much with it..."

'Threeway?' Chrysalis suggested.

‘Three way call? But she said she hated me being in her mind...’ she replied, feeling lost.

‘You're kidding.’ Chrysalis stared at her. ‘You're kidding right?’

‘Oh!’ Dawn exclaimed in realization before chuckling weakly. ‘You meant sex. Sorry, wasn't on that track.’

'You are so innocent.' She said chuckling. 'You remind me of a young Twilight.'

‘I'll take that as a compliment.’ Dawn smiled back, ‘I look forward to your guidance anyway, and my eventual corruption."

'Oh it will happen, Twilight hasn't been that way in decades.'

‘Well, I guess we'll see how long it takes.’ She chuckled. ‘But seriously, isn't there something we could be doing to help with the present?"

‘‘Till the guards report in, not much. We don’t exactly have communication like back home.'

‘We still have radios, isn't that something? Or do you have more advanced things? Like, obviously your link, but-‘

‘From the looks of it, radios from the time of its infancy. Not the most reliable and should be used sparingly.’

‘Oh.’

‘Yes. We've had radios for several decades and they are reliable.’

‘As has my birth world... so if there's TVs, you probably have video games right?" she said, smiling broadly at the idea.

'Yes, it's a popular industry."

‘What are they like, how do you play?’ she asked excitedly, nearly starting to get up before laughing at herself quietly as she settled back down, ‘Gods, I really am like a child...’

'Um...they are games. I don't really play them.' She said.

‘It's fine. I love them, possibly too much. It's one of the only times I was ever happy when I was with my parents or brothers... Playing games with them, or against them. It ended up being a big escape from things at times.’

'It is alright, you don't need to worry about that anymore.'

‘What does Twilight like to do in her spare time, or you for that matter?’

'She reads, studies, trains, maintains her firearms or runs the occasional experiment, also reads reports, and of course sex.'

‘Ahhhh, of course sex.’ Dawn chuckled, thinking about the other things. ‘I'm going to have a lot of time to develop some hobbies then...’

'Yes you will.'

‘So, how will Twilight handle this villain if we find them?’

'Kill him if she can.'

‘Ah... since we can't imprison him normally and put him away properly right? How did you keep him subdued in the first place?’

‘Irongate Prison Complex.'

‘But you had to have prisoners that were stupidly strong physically or magically right?"

‘Yes, inhibitor rings, but Solar is smart and far too dangerous to be held here. We don't have the resources needed to hold him.’

‘What do you think happened to his ring?’

'It was in the evidence box, so he must have had one of those mares remove it.'

‘So is there a way we can use that to our advantage?’

‘Maybe, the problem is he isn't dangerous just because of his magic.’

‘Right... still, that would help right?’

‘I don't think there is a facility on this planet that can hold him till we are evacuated."

‘I- let me explain differently. If we had difficulties in apprehending them, getting them to wear that ring would make it easier, yes?’

‘Perhaps, but I don't think Twilight will risk Solar escaping custody here. It took over a decade to apprehend him the first time and in that time. Well, you'll see soon enough what he did....."

‘That... nevermind, I get the feeling putting the ring on to make him easier to capture so you can get to that point is not an option.’ she replied, sighing as she tried to go to a different train of thought. She wanted to be helpful, but she just didn't know what to do to contribute further.

'It's alright Dawn. I know what you are trying to do, but Solar won't just put the ring on and even still, he'd just get it off again somehow. As I said, he isn't like a threat this planet is used to.'

‘I just’ Dawn paused, putting her thoughts together, ‘I hate feeling like there's nothing I can do to help... there always has to be something, either training or learning or action, but I don't want to ask for more and push too hard and hold everyone back, or distract Twilight from her efforts.’

‘Dawn, by being someone we can trust, you are helping. When dealing with someone like Solar, that is a luxury.’

‘Well, I'm glad.’ Dawn replied with a small smile, though not fully understanding, ‘Plus my being one of a few that knows how to do this linking spell means you have a way of verifying my identity if they tried to imitate me right?’

‘True.’ Chrysalis replied, smiling. ‘Speaking of which, I was wondering if I may come by tonight so we can talk?’

"I don't see why not..." She replied, looking at her with intrigue, "We're talking now though aren't we? Even if it's just by the link..."

'Yes, but I mean in a more relaxed manner. Plus after what we see this evening I'd rather you not be alone.'

‘That-’ Dawn nodded, looking down at the ground as she realized she was about to see something disturbing then, ‘would be welcome. If I had to guess based on the past, I'll be quite all right during, focusing on what I have to," she replied, thinking less strongly, 'probably rely on Starlight to stay calm' before continuing, "and then be emotionally unstable as I dwell on it..."

'And that's why I'll be with you. We could talk about your training. That should help get your mind off it.'

‘That would be greatly appreciated. My empathy can get... out of hand.’ Dawn admitted.

'I know.'

‘Oh?’ Dawn asked, curiosity readily piqued.

'Just something I’ve observed.'

‘Oh... ok, don't tell me" She replied, trying to tease with a pouting response.

'Ok I wont.' Chrysalis said with a smile.

‘Dammit Chryssy!’ She laughed, barely keeping it from coming out loud, ‘You know what I meant.’

Dawn tried to huff and turn to one of her books, which happened to be the materials on the gender swap she hoped to surprise Stalwart with at some point, letting the spell fade. Chrysalis only smiled at her as Twilight looked up from her book at the pair. Dawn shrugged and began focusing on her reading again.

It was some time before the sound of approaching hooves from the returning guards was heard.

Dawn heard the sounds and tried to ignore them until a knock was heard and the Captain stepped in, "nothing found so far today." he reported, the others following in.

"That is both good and bad." Twilight said standing up.

The Captain simply nodded, where one of the unicorn mares of the guard chimed in, "There was traces of magic in th-" they started to say before the captain waved them off.

"We don't know if it's tied to the case yet. It's too early to make assumptions."

"No I want to hear this. No telling what might be useful." Twilight said, giving the guardsmare her attention.

The mare spoke up again, adjusting her glasses, "There was a circle of magic still left in one of the warehouses. Typically when others go there for-” she cleared her throat before continuing. “other activities, it leaves more of a clue of what was used, and how long ago. This time, it was just an area, and it seemed," she paused, as if trying to find the right word, "much older than it should have been. We had swept that area last week and it wasn't present then."

"Mark it on the map. It could be worth a second look tomorrow." Twilight said, gesturing to the map.

She nodded, hovering a different colored pin, green, and pinned it in the warehouse in question.

"Thank you." Twilight said stepping to the head of the room, speaking calmly and clearly. "You all did well today and I'm glad none of you were injured. While you were out, I set up something to show you exactly who it is we are hunting." She paused to look at each of them in turn. "If any of you wish to back out on this investigation and be reassigned, this is your last chance. It won't reflect on you poorly. I know some of you have those who are important to you and may wish for an assignment that won't be putting them in danger. Once I show you what we are after, you will be committed to this mission, and there will be no going back even if you or your family are in danger. I'll give you all a few minutes to think about it."

They seem to murmur to each other, and two of the squad approach her to be excused from the investigation after the allotted time. The captain cleared his throat loudly, cueing the others to be quiet to await their investigator's next segment if they were not going to step forward.

Twilight thanked the two of them and wished them well. Once they left, she asked for the captain to find suitable replacements, and she wanted a list with information about the guards so she could hoof-pick them later. She then turned to the rest of the room.

"Any others? This is your last chance." She called.

The captain nodded at the instruction, going out to gather the next two best candidates with that warning in mind.

The remaining guards looked between each other and then straightened up, one asking, "So what's that thing on the table?" pointing at the equipment and battery pack on the table.

A couple minutes later, the captain returns, a pegasus and a unicorn, both stallions, "Here's the recruits." he said, to their nodding and taking up positions.

"Did you explain they were about to get into some confidential territory?" Dawn asked, closing the door behind him.

"No, but we can do that now."

"Ok, so while Tw- Our specialist is working on setting up her equipment, here's the ground rules she's said so far." She said firmly, trying to fill in as Twilight setup, "Nothing that is said in this room is to be repeated outside it under almost any circumstances. This case, involves things that are not known except by the princesses, myself included. You also run the risk of having your family involved by the suspect, as leverage against you. Are you both prepared for that outcome?"

They nodded, getting more rigid like the palace guards.

"Our target, is from another world entirely, and is a dangerous criminal who took the leadership of that world over a decade to find and capture. If you find the target, you will NOT apprehend them. If you try, he will kill you." She said, emphasizing the last four words to everyone before turning over to Twilight, "Are you ready to show them?"

She nodded. "Yes." She said as she turned off the lights and the projector clicked on...

The screen light up and showed a pretty unicorn mares face frozen on the screen holding a microphone that had a stylized 7 around the top and she wore a rather nice suit jacket. At the bottom of the screen was a 00:00:00 showing this was raw footage from a camera.

Author's Notes:

Don't really ahve anything to comment on here.

I have a PATREON with fair rewards. Every bit is greatly appreciated and helps me out.