At the bottom of the screen displayed on the wall was a counter, starting at 00:00:00, showing this was raw footage from a camera. The guards in the room blinked and whispered quietly to each other at the sight of this, but grew quiet as a moment later, the image began to move.

“Alright, camera is set. Looking good Velvet.” a male voice behind the camera said.

“Thanks Scoop, after this I think we can head out to eat, I know a great little place on 22nd.” The mare, Velvet, said with a smile.

“Do you know a place to eat in every city?” The voice behind the camera chuckled.

“Just about, when you've been reporting as long as I have it pays to know where the best places are.” The mare chuckled back.

“I hear that.” the cameramen replied and both shared another laugh before the mare placed a hoof to her ear, then adjusted her blouse as she put on the common ‘reporter smile.’

After a few moments she spoke. “This is Blue Velvet for Channel 7 news reporting from downtown Fillydelphia here on this beautiful afternoon. We are outside the new Aeronautical and Space museum for its grand opening.” she said as the camera panned over a crowd of ponies with their families all gathered outside a large modern looking building with steps leading up to it and a fountain with a statue of a shuttle with a plane flying around it. Before that was a large stage with other reporters gathered around it, the news crew filming being the further having chosen to be in the crowd, rather the before the stage.

The camera moved back to being on the reporter. “We are just minutes away from the main event and can expect speeches from both the city mayor and Council of Nobles.”

The mare talked about how this was the first museum dedicated to aeronautics and space in Equestria, though how it was the Saddle Arabians who opened the first one on Equus. She talked about how the museum was being built for the last 3 years and that Fillydelpia was chosen as the site for it as much of the materials that made the achievements the museum is dedicated to wouldn't have been possible with the factories and manufacturing plants of Fillydelpia.

After a few minutes of talking, a pony stepped onto the stage and wearing a nice suit approaching the podium. The crowd quieted down. The camera showed there were other ponies in very fine clothing waiting nearby in a blocked off area surrounded by ponies that looked to be dressed as police officers but their uniforms were the color of the Royal Guard.

The camera moved back to the pony behind the podium. “Ahem, thank you all for gathering today on such a special event for this city.” The pegasus pony said clearly yet somewhat quietly almost as if shy. “As you know I am Mayor Windsblow and it is a pleasure to be the one to-”

The Mayor never finished his sentence as the entire stage exploded into a massive fireball, the camera went flying through the air and crashed down hard as the sounds of screams filled the air. The camera was focused squarely on the pretty mare Velvet as she laid on the ground in a spreading pool of crimson, eyes no longer staring at anything.

The guards watching the video watched on, and as Twilight turned to look at their expressions, she noticed how some were unfazed, a couple frowning, and a couple in shock. Their expressions hardened as they continued to watch, as all of them realized this had only just begun. Twilight mentally nodded to herself in approval before returning her gaze back to the video she knew so well.

Coughing was heard getting close to the camera. “Oh gods, Velvet!” the male voice from before said and an earth pony in a ball cap, wearing a vest filled with pockets, was suddenly over her grabbing her. “Come on Velvet, wake up.” he said shaking her before setting her down and pressing his ear to her chest.

A few seconds later the sound of automatic weapons fire echoed and the screams grew louder.

“Fuck!” camerapony said as he grabbed the camera. it was placed onto his shoulder as the automatic weapons fire was answered by more gunfire.

The camera began jostling as the camerapony ran. In moments, he was out of the smoke and running with other panicked ponies as the gunfire grew more intense.

Sirens were fast approaching, and in seconds a gold, police-style cruiser skidded to a stop in front of the camera. The doors opened and two more guards got out starting to draw pistols a moment before the windshield became racked with bullet holes and one of the guards went down as the other took cover behind the vehicle.

The camera skidded to a stop and turned back as gunfire echoed from the cruiser. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!” the camerapony was saying over and over as he ran.

“Over here!” someone yelled from the doorway of a small café.

He needed no second encouragement, and the camerapony dove inside. The place was filled with other terrified ponies some tending to wounded, one dressed as a paramedic.

“What's going on! What's happening!” someone yelled.

“Stay calm, the guards are dealing with it.” another yelled.

The camera was picking up the panting from the camerapony as he moved to the windows and looked out at the chaos. He could see black clad figures, some ponies, some griffins, and others from other nations firing on Royal guards who were pinned down all over the square but trying to fight back.

A van skidded to a stop outside the café with the words S.W.A.T on the side, and ponies in full combat gear poured out the back, firing on the black clad people.

“Yeah get the bastards!” someone yelled.

A moment later from a window across the way, there was a flash, and a smoke trail sailed from the window. A moment later, the rocket hit the van, and it was engulfed in flames as the window of the cafe shattered from the proximity of the blast.

“Where the hell did they get rockets!” someone yelled as another rocket was fired at a group of guards.

“Everyone out the back! Come on, move!” a voice yelled and the camera tore away from the scene outside as was quickly heading to the back, the paramedic directing everyone. In seconds, the camera was in the alleyway behind the cafe and running down it, away from the gunfire.

The camera suddenly shifted to an above shot with the words “KVTS” in the corner as a somewhat panicked voice spoke.

“What you're seeing is the site of the grand opening of Fillydelpia Aeronautical and Space Museum grand opening where the scene has erupted into a war zone between the Royal Guard and an unknown force.” the voice said as the angle showed gold of the Royal guards fighting the heavily armed black-clad soldiers all over the square and the side streets. Occasionally a smoke trail launched from the window previously seen and a group of guards was gone. The guards numbers were quickly being whittled down as they were outnumbered and outgunned. The square was dotted with the unmoving forms of multiple civilians.

“We still don't know the identity of the gunmen, but it's clear their goal is to cause as much damage as possible. We are getting reports of multiple civilians casualties and…” the voice cut off as pinging was heard. “Ok, ok, they are taking shots at our helicopter, Firnal take us higher.” the voice said.

“Roger.” another voice said.

The camera watched the carnage below. As the reporter continued to give information as it came in. “Ok, ok. We have reports the EDF is in the area and... yes, yes, there they are!” the reporter said as another helicopter came into view flying low.

It hovered in front of the window where the rockets had been being fired from and a moment later the gun on its nose opened up, the shots ripping through the building before it was turned into the soldiers on the ground who were beginning to retreat. Dark green trucks and hummers entered the square, opening fire on the retreating figures as soldiers poured from the trucks and started to evacuate what remained of the Royal Guard and take over the situation.

“Ok, it looks like the EDF is taking control and the gunmen are on the retreat.” the voice said as the camera showed the drastic shift in the battle below. After a few more seconds the video shut off.

The guards present looked at the wall where the video was projected just seconds before. Several were still in shock, others confused about what they saw, and a couple of the older, more experienced guards looked on grimly.

It was quiet, and even the sounds of Manehattan outside seemed to be muted. Dawn had watched the video in full, tears trying to form as she empathized with the loss of life. She slowly, silently turned to face some of the guards after taking a deep slow breath and letting it out as quietly as she could.

"What you just saw was the assassination of the Mayor of Fillydelpia and half the Council of Nobles, even while attended to by hundreds of civilians. In total, 328 ponies lost their lives. While the guards tried to avoid them, the others didn't care. This was all orchestrated by the suspect we are looking for. I wanted you to see this, as it shows his complete lack of hesitation when it comes to civilian casualties." Twilight explained. "This was his first attempt to bring down the leadership." She said.

She had their undivided attention, three of whom gave nods in her direction, indicating their understanding of what was just said. The captain took a half step forward.

"So, what would you have us do against... all that, whatever that was?"

"Right now, we don't have to worry about that. He doesn't have access to that level of equipment here. But what it does show you is exactly what he is capable of, and the fact he won't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in his way, even those not involved, as well as his level of planning and ability to influence. The reason this attack was able to happen, was he had members of the Royal Guard as part of his organization who helped his men get into place for that attack. He is extremely dangerous, and right now he is loose in this world only slowed down by the lack of his organization."

"Not to be rude, but ye didn't answer my question." The captain said, "What would you have us be doing then? What's our role so we stop that from happening here?"

"Find him." She said. "Where he is hiding. And then I'll handle the rest."

"What kind of ponies is he most likely to find useful?" Dawn asked as a matter of fact, for the benefit of the group, "And is it better to gain his trust or act clueless?"

"With him? It can be anyone, from a simple drug addict to a highly trained soldier to a housewife. Right now though, he most likely will be trying to find a base of operations and a way to find things as he rebuilds."

"How do we know we've found him?" One guard asked.

"What things does he look for?" asked another.

Twilight walked over and type on the laptop and in a moment an image of a dark blue unicorn with slicked back white mane was on the screen. It was clear this was a mugshot as he wore an inhibitor ring as he stared at the camera.

"This is the suspect we are looking for."

The group looked him over, Dawn once again chiming in, "Does he know any disguising or illusion magic?"

"Probably." Twilight said. "He was valedictorian of his class at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns."

The two newbies pulled in last shook their head at the news, as if unable to believe it.

"He majored in spells that allows one to move from one place to another, so teleportation, among others." She said.

The captain frowned, a couple other guards starting to show signs of feeling overwhelmed or outmatched.

"Your position in this, to remind all of you," Dawn said, hoping to inspire them, being seen as a princess, even if lesser known, "is not to go after this enemy. Your lives are valuable to us, and we don't want to see anyone end up like they did, or his victims. Your role is to find out information, get clues, and act like detectives. If you do end up having the misfortune to meet him, it's sounding like the best course of action is to act ignorant, and report back when you safely can. Right?" she asked at the end, turning to Twilight.

"Yes, if you do find yourself face to face with him, you do not know who he is. You have never seen him before in your life. Your very lives will depend on making that believable." She said. "He has a strong habit of tying up loose ends… don't be one."

"That means killing you." Dawn added with finality, "Just in case you think it means bribery, family being held hostage, or anything shy of that. He, Will, Kill, You. I want this to be over without a single loss of civilian or guard's life. Everypony, I believe in you." Dawn said, ending on a kinder note before adding more, "It's dangerous, but you have the power to help us protect the citizens of Manehattan. Time to put all your training and experience to work, but in the meantime, go home to your families when your shifts end. Hang with your buddies, and ask yourself what you'd do if you lost that. You'll find more than enough strength to get it done once you do. Any last questions?"

The group looked at each other and shook their heads, looking among each other and giving a grim kind of smile. The captain was nodding his head approvingly, a small twist of the corner of his lips being his only clue that he was supportive of how this was handled. Dawn looked on, hoping that they weren’t just building a naïve view of the situation.

"Anything else you two want to say before we end this meeting?" The captain asked.

."No, I think the Princess summed it up well." Twilight said. "Go home and relax, be with your friends and families. Tomorrow, the work begins."

They nodded and slowly as a group, exited the door and left the three of them alone. After the door closed, Dawn sighed as the tension became too much for her to stay quiet longer.

"Honestly, my biggest fear right now is if one of them decided, in order to protect their family, defects. I don't know how we can get around that, but I hope we got off on the right hoof..."

"By limiting what they know," She said." and Solar has gotten more than one person to join him for that reason."

"I see. I hope you didn't mind my trying to chime in there for you. I know it was your show, but… I just couldn't help it."

"No you did great." Twilight said and patted her head.

"Thanks, I try..." Dawn giggled, unable to stop a chuckle from escaping at the pats.

"Anyways, tomorrow you two don't need to be here as I'll be going into the field." Twilight said. "Chrysalis will be staying with you till that evening sometime."

"Ok.” Dawn nodded, “We'll go ahead and find an inn we can st- oh wait, we need to find that now, sun's going to set here in about half an hour by the look of it..."

"Yeah." Twilight said, heading to the door after grabbing her gear.

Dawn followed, looking over to Chryssy and smiling broadly at the praise she received.

"I'll be having Chrissy stay with you tonight in case anything comes up." Twilight said

"I appreciate that." Dawn nodded, ignoring it had already been said just seconds before.

"If this is anything like old Manehatten back home, then a decent hotel is this way." Twilight said as they left the building, starting to walk and then stopped. "Um....did Celestia send bits?"

Dawn tilted her head, surprised at the concern, "I have some, and we have the allowance that I had passed on to you for your spending, remember?"

"True, just thinking this may take a while." She said as she started walking again.

Dawn shrugged, "We can always ask for more as needed, as long as we keep receipts for money spent and why. The treasurer is very... stingy, but good with her bookkeeping."

"Same back home."

Dawn sighed and started to think out loud, "This probably means I'm not staying very long, doesn't it..."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, looking back at her.

"Just remembering you saying that you'll send me back home in the near future, due to how much of a risk he poses... and yet-"

"That won't be happening any time soon." She said. "And what you did back there, I think you may be a great morale booster."

"Oh?" she asked, perking her head up considerably, already getting up to a bit of a smile from sensing something good about to be said of her.

"Yes. You did good at boosting their morale. They aren't used to things in my world, so they needed it, and having a princess around will help them."

"Good.” Dawn sighed, relief apparent on her face as she let the complement sink in, “I still foresee a risk being here, if he goes after alicorns, I become a target he'll watch, but on the other hoof, it'll be easier to keep the guards on our side when they see that I'm not just delegating the task, right?"

"In theory." Twilight said. "Sometimes that's not enough."

"True, but that’s why we take what we can get, make what we can, and plan around what we can't, right?" She said, sounding less confident by the end, "Sorry, was making that up as I went.”

"No, I get the meaning, but I know how people behave and I've seen half the castle’s royal guard turn on the Sister because of what a charismatic pony said."

"So we need another charismatic pony to counter them? Where will we find one of those?" She chuckled, "But seriously, I'll do my best..."

"Yeah, I'm just saying why I am worried." She said as they walked.

"I get it, but for now, we need to work on what we have control over, and I need to get my training done so I don't become a liability..." Dawn offered.

"True, though tonight and tomorrow we won't do any. Resting is what you need." Twilight said as they reached a hotel. "Always glad to see this place." She said walking up the steps of the Meridian Hotel.

Dawn bit back a noise that was about to come out of her throat, wanting to argue back yet holding back instinctively, following her lead into the hotel. Now was not the time to argue. Twilight entered and walked up to the front desk where a stallion dressed in a nice uniform waited.

"Two rooms next to each other please." She asked. "The higher the floor the better."

The pony looked them over before opening a book and looking for vacancies. "We have two rooms across from each other on the 14th floor miss..."

"Stonewall, escorting Princess Dawn along with guard Chrissy." She said.

The stallion nodded and wrote their names down as Twilight put bits on the counter. Very shortly, two keys were passed back. Scooping the keys up, Twilight headed for the elevators.

Dawn followed into the elevator and sighed contentedly, "I'm going to miss my bed, but I think I'll have to deal more with the heights." she chuckled nervously, feeling apprehensive about the elevator going up, knowing that when it stopped was always the worst part for her. It always invoked the feeling of weightlessness that preluded a fall to her.

"The height is both for defense and possible escape." She said. "Not many can reach the upper floors from outside."

"And in an emergency, we can fly, though he probably would have a flight spell." Dawn said, thinking.

"Yes, maybe, but still knowing your exits is not a bad thing." She said smiling.

"We've made good progress today then," Dawn said, letting her voice end there as she thought, 'But what am I supposed to do tomorrow? I barely rest for half an hour to an hour when alone and I'm bored I don’t feel like reading. How can I pass the time alone unless I'm sleeping?'

"We did, we got a possible lead." Twilight said. "And Chryssy will be with you, I’m sure both of you can find something to do."

"If you need me, let me know, please. I know a thing or two about the magic of this world after all." Dawn offered before the elevator stopped its upward climb. She looked down the hall and asked, "So what were our rooms?"

"1413 and 1433." She said walking down the hall. "Rooms right across from each other."

She nodded, turning to their room and following. "Seems good to me. Why two rooms though instead of one?"

"Privacy." She said. "I doubt you want to be woke up by me at 430 AM."

"Ah, assuming I'd wake up at 4:30 from it." she chuckled, "But thank you, and thank you for letting me have Chryssy for company."

"No problem." She said as they reached their room and she handed Dawn one of the keys.

She accepted the key offered with her horn magic, using it to unlock her door and stepping inside, standing aside for Chrysalis to enter. Chrysalis entered and as soon as the door was shut she dropped her disguise. "Ah, it's so nice to be back in my own chitin."

"I can only imagine..." Dawn chuckled then walked over to the beds, starting to think about what all happened that day, starting to get quiet and solemn.

"So, tell me about your training." Chrysalis said, moving to sit down on the bed, seeing what Dawn was aiming to do.

Dawn climbed up onto the bed and sat by her, "Well, we got the book lifting done, I remember doing that a lot. It was boring as heck, but it's a necessary step I guess. We did a bit of flight, but I don't remember anything beyond hovering in place a bit… And you were there for my magical assessment."

"And your pet training?"

She blushed and smiled broadly, "I... Don't really remember much about it. I mean, she'll say to start listening to her voice, to tune out everything else and focus on it... and I just, blank out it seems like."

"Oh?" She said. "Hmm… open the link with me."

Dawn rubbed her forelimbs together for a second before lying down, starting up the spell, ‘Ok... now what?’

‘Just relax.’ Chrysalis said, deciding she would pursue an experiment of her own. 'Also, Twilight will most likely leave us be till she gets back tomorrow evening or whenever she returns since we aren't going with her so it will be just to two of us all day.’

Chrysalis was curious about the limits of this spell, and wanted to see if she could pull specific memories she was looking for from the pony, much like she would with her drones. She ignored how Dawn laid there, getting the strangest feeling of déjà vu as she used some of her own magic to slide the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door. She felt like being in her chitin for a while.

Dawn nodded, shivering a little at the statement to relax, but laid down and leaning slightly on Chrysalis as she tried to let go of the feeling of déjà vu. She took a deep breath and let it out, feeling a fair bit of trust and even gratefulness toward her.

‘So, I know she said I should rest, but I doubt I can sit still... what will we do tomorrow then?’

‘Sex, lots and lots of sex.' She said with all seriousness.

‘I see,’ Dawn laughed, getting a bit fidgety but smiling, thinking it was probably a joke, ‘and what varieties of it in that case?’

'All kinds.' She said. 'I’m a shapeshifter remember? The sky's the limit.'

She hummed, thinking of a few examples and then chuckling, ‘Well, that will certainly be interesting.’

'Yup,' She said and chuckled, the spell confirming with a strong feeling that Chrysalis was joking. The queen used her own magic to open the connection more, as she was having trouble finding the memories and wasn’t about to let it go.

Dawn looked up at her, intrigued as she felt the spell shift, in a way she couldn't easily explain, ‘W-what did you just do? The spell feels different now.’

‘I cast it with my magic.’ Chrysalis said as she found a hint of the memories deep inside Dawn, and followed them with a key phrase she observed in the chariot.

‘I don't feel too different... what exactly are you doing?" Dawn asked, not feeling anything beyond a strange sense of vulnerability. She tried not to move from her spot, since she was quite comfortable.

'Just opening the link is all.' She found the memories deep in the mare. She thought it a strange place for them but she started to pull them out to the front slowly and let them play in the back of the mare’s mind.

She initially wanted to ask what she meant, then started to hear echoes of a memory and closed her eyes, trying to focus and identify what that memory was, curious as to what was happening. Chrysalis played the memories, watching Dawn as her own eyes started to droop as she took the information in her magic holding the link wide open.

Dawn sighed, tired out and enjoying hearing Twilight's voice again, but also feeling a sort of dreariness and a hint of exhaustion, even though she thought if they were sharing the spell’s power, she shouldn’t feel tired. Dawn shifted herself slightly to stay closer to Chrysalis, and started to let herself relax. A yawn escaped her lips and she felt like she was about to doze off, using Chrysalis as the substitute for her husband she would sleep next to on his days off.

The memory of her training and Twilight’s instructions played on repeat in the minds of Dawn and Chrysalis, somehow skipping the usual waking clap as it played. Dawn whimpered quietly in her sleep, feeling content in the memory and remembering the feelings she had back then, and it was enjoyable to still have someone to share warmth with while away from home.

Chrysalis fell asleep shortly after Dawn had, laying near her as the pair continued to have the memory play even in their sleep. While Dawn’s magic fizzled out as she lost consciousness, Chrysalis’ magic continued to keep it going throughout their sleep.

===o===

Dawn woke sluggishly, having been filled with strange dreams about time travel and an old west adventure and a cell phone. She groaned as she heard Twilight’s voice and went to get a drink of water to quench her almost painfully dry mouth. She shook her head wearily on the way, trying to drown out the memory that still seemed to be playing without her intent. Once in the restroom, she checked her horn, trying to make sure the spell had ended.

She frowned as she took her drink and rubbed her head. Dawn could see her spell had ended but couldn’t figure out why the memory still played on loop. Dawn let out a sigh and climbed back into bed, trying to gather her thoughts and memories about yesterday’s events, but the training memory looped yet again and she tried to resist.

Dawn shook her head, trying to shake the instruction to relax so she could think. She knew she felt rested, if a bit stiff, and relaxing just didn't feel like something she'd want to do for too much longer. She sighed, looking over to chrysalis and laid her head on their side gently.

Chrysalis seemed to be in a very deep sleep as the words continued to speak in Dawn's mind. Dawn found herself moving close to Chrysalis, then paused, thinking back to that point where Violet had bitten her. The memory almost broke the loop as she watched Chrysalis closely for a few seconds, worried if they had the same instinct and if the damage would be even worse. The words played yet again and she could not resist laying back down against them to let her mind wander, starting to feel boredom set in unhappily.

Dawn was surprised to find out as her head rested on their back, that the queen was surprisingly soft for being covered in chitin, and very curvy by pony standards. She sighed contentedly as she decided to use them for a pillow like Violet had with herself.

Chrysalis shifted to curl around Dawn, as if used to sleeping alongside someone smaller than herself. Dawn enjoyed their closeness and thought in her clouding mind that it was Stalwart, and planted a kiss on chrysalis’ side, thinking of her mate.

Dawn almost considered how much nicer it would be to be foal sized, but as soon as she had the thought, it was gone again as the queen held the princess close.

For the longest while, Dawn rested, not quite asleep, not quite awake. Even as her ear was against Chrysalis she felt their heart beating, slow and rhythmic. Her stomach rumbled as she shifted some time later, moving in closer to the queen. She had dreamt, invoking feelings like she was a child nestled up to her parent, even as she was repeatedly being told to simply relax.

Dawn felt energy start to flow into her, feeling like it was difficult to put words to what it was like, unsure what it was, yet feeling like she was being fed something. She felt her brows shift closer together, as if unsure why that was happening, but soon relaxed. She told herself that after all, it didn't matter.

After an unknown amount of time there was a loud metallic clap. "Wake up!"

Dawn jerked her head up groggily, feeling stiff and out of place as she opened her eyes, wondering what happened, where the fire was, and when breakfast was. It was dark outside, the windows drawn and showing the night sky beyond in the slit that was visible. Dawn saw Twilight looking at them both as they woke up.

"You two ok? Didn't expect to find you sleeping."

"W-What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes, then heard her stomach rumble loudly

"930." She said.

"Oh... that's not bad... but... why is it dark if it's 930 in the morning?" She said, standing up slowly, legs wobbling a little.

"It's 9:30 at night." Twilight said.

"WHAT?!" she half yelled, getting quieter after as her ears flinched at the loud voice she used, "But, but that's not... I mean yesterday we settled in, and Chryssy seemed to want us to use my spell for something. She said she was opening the link, and then we kept hearing your voice and it wouldn’t stop… I got some water and only went to lie down for five minutes… how could it be?”

Twilight blinked, looking at the gradually quieting confused mare, growing confused and quiet herself.

"I… um, ok." She said after a small pause. "Strange dream. Anyways you two up for dinner?"

"Yes" Chrysalis replied immediately

"Absolutely!" Dawn said happily afterward, not quite as fast as Chrysalis

Twilight nodded still disguised as Chrysalis took her own usual disguise. Twilight headed for the door as Dawn followed obediently, stomach rumbling loudly once again.

Twilight stepped onto the elevator and clicked for the ground floor.

"So Chryssy, what... what exactly happened?" Dawn asked as the door closed.

"I’m...not sure...." She said.

"Did any of what I said seem familiar at all?" Dawn asked, worried something happened they knew nothing about.

"Maybe?"

"Well, I certainly didn't keep the spell open... wait, does that mean you can actually link up with me when you want to too?" Dawn asked, looking surprised by the discovery.

"I don't think so. I can only use it when you've linked with me as I just tried." Chrysalis said.

"But... I wasn't maintaining the spell..."

"And I think I started using my abilities on it. The link is naturally open for me, so I think that the link kept the spell going."

"Ahhh..." she said, thinking out loud. “We really need to find a way to let that end naturally if need be... I hate missing meals."

"It's possible you were sustained by my love at least in part."

"What?” Dawn asked, confused, “But I'm not a changeling? How?" Dawn asked, looking at her surprised.

"Well you were linked to one. I don't know. Remember, back home your spell doesn't exist." She said.

"Well yes, but it also didn't do much more than play telephone I thought..." Dawn nodded, stopping as the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

Dawn followed after Twilight, being led to the Hotel’s own restaurant. The place was comfortable but showed signs of some class to it with the nature of the decorations and comfort of the seats.

"So tell me what did you both do today?" Twilight asked as she read the menus they were given.

"Absolutely nothing.” Dawn sighed, trying her best not to grumble. “It was honestly disappointing after what Chryssy tried to tease me with before. She wanted me to link with her, so I did, and then suddenly I started to remember what you would tell me during our training, and ... I kinda blanked out until you came and woke us up. Well, outside of one moment where I had to get some water."

"The training?” Twilight looked over the menu, thinking behind it about what she heard. “Um, how do you feel?"

"Really tired and a bit unfocused. " she said simply, looking over the menu. "I wonder if they've got something with salt... and some bananas..."

"I’m sure you can add that to something, they are very good about custom meals here." Twilight said, allowing the subject to change. She would have to experiment later, and talk with her mate.

"What would you recommend?" Dawn asked, looking over it and not feeling sure what she should pick, almost overwhelmed.

"Sarous is very good, it's a Saddle Arabian dish that had a lot of fruit." Twilight recommended.

Dawn hummed, considering it for a moment, frowning slightly as she didn’t quite feel like having only fruit, but she nodded, deciding to listen to Twilight’s recommendation.

"I'll give it a try then. What are you having Chryssy?"

"Um, I'm not entirely sure." She said looking over the menu with indecision.

"You always liked this place’s grilled kabobs, so get that." Twilight looked at her confused.

Chrysalis nodded. "Yes I think I will”

"Oooo, now I want some of those too... I'll get ‘em both!" she said definitively, not see why she couldn’t have both.

"Um, sure. Sounds fine to me." Twilight said, watching the odd behavior of the mare.

"I'll be sure to pay you for it though, I just feel famished right now." Dawn explained.

"That's fine." Twilight said as she looked over her menu and sighed. "Sadly I'm not known here, so can't order from the griffin menu."

Dawn tilted her head, "Why not?"

"Because ponies don't eat meat." Twilight explained

"True, I guess it is rather rare for that to be prepared for ponies as far as I know. I certainly haven't had any since coming to Equestria."

"That's because you need to be somewhere that caters to griffins."

"Ahhh, and this is a place that does so..." She said, humming her understanding.

Twilight nodded. "But as you said ponies don't eat meat, so if I want to blend in I can't eat it."

"Not publicly..." She replied quietly with a smirk. "Though, now I may have to act on my own advice."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Bacon... two years without bacon." She smiled mischievously, "That should say plenty... well, not counting what you've shared."

"True, but it will be a while before we are in a position to have the privacy to do so." Twilight reminded her

"Fair enough, it won't hurt for me to wait a bit longer after all." Dawn accepted.

"True." She said as a waiter came by and Twilight gave their orders, ordering stew for herself.

Dawn sighed contentedly as the waiter headed off with the orders, chuckling, “I almost wanted to chime in with a request for Violet, but she's back home..."

She nodded. "Yeah. Wonder how Stalwart is doing with her."

"I'd like to hope he'd be doing fine, but I can't really say. Sadly, I can't link with him so easily at this distance."

"It's fine. We can write to him tomorrow morning." She said. "Going to be in the office mostly tomorrow as I think we do have a lead."

"Ah? What can you share about that, or should it wait until after dinner?"

"Not much to share. There was clear signs someone stayed there, and also the trace magic was old.... not old as in been there a long time but old high level magic. Not many could pull of such magic so it's a pretty good chance it's him."

Dawn paused, wondering why it sounded familiar, "Is that something he is prone to using?"

"Not usually but he can as he did study ancient magic. Not entirely sure why he'd use it but as I said not many can."

"Could you tell what the magic felt most like, out of the old unicorn spells out there?" Dawn asked, wanting to get rid of the nagging feeling she had.

"It was an old style silence spell mixed with a spell that bends light. Hasn't been used in centuries back home as there are simpler spells that take far less effort."

"Weird... Any markings or anything you could make out?"

"Burn marks in the floor as if someone used runes. Also very old style of doing magic." Twilight explained.

Dawn blinked then seemed to go deep in thought, looking down to the table. This sounded so similar to something, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.

"You ok?" Twilight asked, noticing her change in behavior.

"That... just sounds really familiar. When I had to fix relics when I arrived in Equestria, I fixed the relics by re-etching the runes in them then recharged it with a gem and magic operating on the same frequency... this... seems too familiar. But it couldn't be Svikopi, he's been imprisoned."

"That's the entity that tried to take you over?" Twilight tried to confirm.

"Yeah... He had ties to Starswirl, but was outside Equestria till I arrived, and he sought to take me over and failed because I shattered my horn. Then he tried to take over Nightfall’s body, but failed when he was sealed away by Twilight and her friends by the elements and Nightfall went off into seclusion."

"Hmm.” Twilight considered, looking at Dawn for a moment before giving her a nod, “I think tomorrow we should go by the place and have a second look."

Dawn nodded, "So I’m coming with? I'd be able to tell you if it's the same as his work or not, if that's your concern."

"I believe I just said that?" Twilight said, blinking at the mare’s not understanding.

"Oh... we... right. Sorry..." Dawn apologized, looking away as it sunk in.

"Anyways, enough about work. I can brief you tomorrow on the way to the site."

Dawn nodded, "Alright. So, what would you like to talk about instead?"

"Hmm, not sure." Twilight said, then after a pause, asked, "So, what all you do in this city?"

Violet sat at the dining room table, staring at Stalwart without blinking as she had the entire time during dinner.

Stalwart ate, though slightly perturbed at the lack of blinking, trying to stir up conversation by asking, "I remember Dawn said something about how you like biology when she talked. Do you enjoy other things in school?"

"Yes, but I mostly study biology. The body is a fascinating place. So vital, and yet just one small, seemingly insignificant thing, and the whole system falls apart!"

"Oh?" he seemed to ask, not aware of much on the subject.

"Yes, change a single nerve ending placement and you can stop the heart, or cause the lungs to no longer process oxygen, or even the entire body to no longer receives impulses from the brain, effectively trapping the person inside their own body, unable to even blink till they starve or die of dehydration." Violet explained as she ate without looking, her unblinking eyes still locked on Stalwart.

"I... didn't understand most of that... but, that sounds dangerous. So are you going to be a medical pony then?"

"Don't know, and it is very dangerous. I read about a virus that literally turns your internal organs to liquid." She said cheerfully.

He paused his eating, feeling and looking quite uncomfortable, "Ok, but what about things other than... that. do you like any sports?"

"Not especially."

"Arts? Crafts? Any other hobbies?" he asked, seeming desperate to change the subject, while trying to keep his composure

"Oh, I like to draw diagrams and plans."

"Oh? What of?" he asked eagerly, ready for a change in subject to something he could handle.

"How to conquer Equestria."

"W-what? Why?!" he asked in complete surprise

"Something to do. Mom won't let me try though." She pouted.

"P-probably for good reason... How would you do it though?" he asked, feeling like he should be preparing a defense against it.

"First, I'd release a plague into Canterlot castle to deal with the Royals, then most likely the same in the Empire to take care of Cadence. While everyone is dealing with the outbreak, I'd have drones slowly start replacing key government officials. Then someone would find a treatment in late stages and barely save one of the princesses. Only it'd have assumed the form of that princess while the real ones have been removed. And with anyone close to them being drones, I'd have no trouble playing the grief card and having them step down and appoint me as ruler in their place. Or have it where they got into seclusion and appoint me as their regent."

He blinked at first then shook his head, "I... don't know how to feel about that... It’s... that's a tragedy... would you really sacrifice so many ponies for your goal?"

"Sacrifice the few for the many. A few would die yes but in the end the country would be under my rule and I'd be able to improve it as I saw fit." She looked at him still not blinking.

"That's incredibly selfish. Even if your ways were somehow better, there's far better ways to improve everyone without risking their lives or yours, I'm sure of it."

"Conquest is in my blood." Violet shrugged.

"So consider it a challenge. Come up with ways to lead the kingdom with as little loss of life as possible."

"Oh I have a dozen plans. That's just the most recent and easily the simplest to pull off."

Stalwart could only shake his head, still at a loss for why someone so young would so casually suggest loss of life.

"Changeling." She said answering his unsaid question.

"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Conquest, domination and submission is part of who we are."

"But... does it have to be that way?"

"It's part of our genetics, as is our desire for knowledge and deception abilities."

Stalwart grew quiet, eating his food slowly while taking it in, feeling a disappointment settle in. It felt like there was no way to get along with changelings in the end, if that's just how they were. Even with a pony for a mother, she would accept such actions without remorse? He couldn’t accept it.

"What's wrong?" Violet asked, sensing a change in his emotions.

"Hm? Oh, nothing." He said shaking his head.

She tilted her head, blinking for the first time since dinner started.

Stalwart continued to dwell on the issue, not sure how to feel about the circumstances. After all, it was also a child of Twilight, even if it was one from another world. Violet finished her meal and sat waiting for him. He gathered their dishes and put them away, wondering what he should do, and how much longer it would be before Dawn comes back home.

When he turned around, he found Violet eyes only a couple inches from his own, her little wings buzzing.

He jumped up and gasped, reaching for them to pin them to the ground out of instinct. Her wings buzzed furiously as she dodged backwards out of his reach. Stalwart fell over, and then started to laugh at himself, letting a foal get the best of him, even emotionally, is not something he would let happen.

"Violet, you startled me there." He finally managed to say.

"You're laughing?" She blinked, confused.

"At myself, for getting so easily startled." He said, starting to get up.

She blinked several times. "Ponies usually get angry and yell."

"I would if you were a stranger, but you're just a little filly, and I should know better..." He said, dusting himself off.

She blinked and landed on the floor tilting her head as she stared at him.

"What?" he asked, looking back at her with a small grin

"You're weird."

"Silly filly." He said, patting her on the head, "you have much to learn."

"I do?"

"Yup. I have some work that needs doing." He said, heading over to his desk, "I'll have to teach you later."

"Like what?" She followed, now curious why this pony was acting differently than she thought.

"Violet, after the reports. I've been procrastinating doing them enough. I have to have them ready by the time the mailpony comes.” Stalwart explained.

"Oh, ok." She said, sounding disappointed.

"You want to watch or are you going to get out one of your books you seem to like?" He chuckled, offering something for them to do while also trying to learn more about them, possibly try his hoof at turning her toward good and harmony.

"I'll watch." She buzzed up and landed on his back.

He walked over to his desk where a stack of reports laid, as well as a couple forms for the next few weeks' assignments. Violet moved up so her front hooves were on his head as she looked over his head.

"I've never seen a foal that interested in paperwork before..." he chuckled as he grabbed his pen and started to write.

"As I said, changelings desire to know things, and while I'm a hybrid, I have the same instincts." Violet explained.

"Well, if you say so, just don't use this to try and conquer Equestria... otherwise I'll have to send you to your room." he said, intending it as a tease, but said with seriousness.

Violet’s eyes widened and she nodded gravely.

"Good girl." He smiled, feeling reassured at her being so easily defeated by threats of punishment, and then got to work.

Violet read the reports with him, and after the reports were done, he stretched then put things away and got out a bunch of balls.

"So, time for some games. You've been inactive for most of today, gotta get you up and moving!"

"That one report from about 12 back is lying." Violet said.

"Oh? What makes you say that?" he said, looking at her analytically

"Well, the guard says they responded to a report of suspicious activity and found nothing. They explain the place was a jewelry shop, and none of the glass cased had been tampered with." She looked at him. "Why didn't they mention the safe? Or the owner letting them in? Or is it common for jewelry stores to be left unlocked, with the most valuable pieces just left in glass display cases?"

"No, things usually stay locked up, but if the glass wasn't tampered with, and the doors were locked, there shouldn't be a way in then, right?"

"Exactly. So why didn't they mention the owner let them in, or that the safe wasn't tampered with? That's something that should be in the report, as well as which door they entered."

"I... hm." Stalwart said, pausing. It wasn't usually something they'd report on in his guard, but now that she mentioned it, that made sense to include it.

"So either the guards are bad at proper reporting, or they robbed a jewelry store claiming to respond to a report of suspicious activity, which is vague to begin with, but does give them reason to be at the store. Even if they were in it, anyone coming by asking them what was going on, they just report seeing something suspicious or that the door was open or something that wouldn't seem odd to have two guards there."

"Hm. I'll have to get that looked into then. I'd like to think it's a reporting issue, like they were tired or something, but... just in case." he said, making some notes on the report.

"I recommend checking other reports filed by the two guards, with special attention to reports pertaining to high value merchandise shops, and see if there is a pattern of vague reporting."

"I know that much little filly,” He chuckled, “but thank you for bringing that to my attention."

"Anytime Captain Stalwart." She said happily.

"Now, enough stalling, on to the play time!"

"Ok!" She said happily, wings buzzing, then stopped and looked at him tilting her head. "Uh, what are we going to play?"

"Well, I was thinking kickball could work, juggling if that's too simple."

"Juggling?"

With a couple of balls before him, he rolled one up onto his hoof, seemed to toss it up, and does similarly with the other one. He used each leg as appropriate or his body to bump the balls back up, trying not to let them touch the ground. He failed after three bounces, but he chuckled as the last one hit his head and rolled off to her feet, "Something like that anyway."

Violet’s eyes were as big as dinner plates. "DO IT AGAIN!"

He laughed and let her have the ball that stayed by her, the smaller one, and proceeded to bounce the other one around several times, looking between it and her. He was a little surprised when he noticed she watched with wide eyed wonderment.

"You can do it too, it'll be a great way to build up some muscle, some flexibility... give it a try." he said, deliberately letting the ball bop him on the head and fall to the side.

She grabbed it in her magic and held the other before tossing them into the air... only to have both land on her head and her blink in confusion

"Let's not use magic little one and just focus on one at a time.” He chuckled gently, “You have to see where it's going to be, and move your leg there to help bop it gently back up.”

Violet did as she was told and missed the ball.

"Let's try again. it takes a bit of getting used to." He said, trying to encourage her.

She nodded bringing the balls back with her magic before grabbing them with her hooves.

"There you go, just do small bounces at first, see if you can keep it at smaller distances before you go to higher ones."

She did as instructed, catching the ball four times before missing

"There you go! And that's how you get closer to do your juggling." Stalwart nodded approvingly.

She nodded grabbing them again and starting back up. He watched over her, letting her have her fun as the sun set. After a minute he frowned, she looked more like this was something important then that she was having fun.

"Everything ok?" He asked, noticing the wide eyed nature of the filly had changed, and there wasn't the usual excitement he had come to expect.

"Yes." She said starting to toss the ball again.

"Are you having fun though?" he asked

"Work isn't fun." She said as she missed the balls again and caught them before they hit the ground with her magic.

"Why are you calling it work? I introduced you to this to have fun, to pass time or something."

"Because I am having to learn it." She said as she bounced them again, missed and caught them once more.

"Violet... you missed the point." he said, sighing as he walked closer, "What do you do to have fun?"

"Play." She said starting to practice again.

"And what do you do to play?"

"Fun things." She said as she missed and caught them again. She was getting better each time.

He looked at her with sympathy, even though he was remembering the things she said she would plot for taking over the world... He started to wonder if he could help her see fun, maybe she wouldn't be so callous toward other's lives if she could just learn to have fun. She continued to practice completely focused on the task

"Haven't you played with other foals your age?"

"Other foals run from me and call me names that are not the name I give them." She said. "Sometimes they push me or strike me." She said as she practiced.

"Ouch... Just because you're different huh?"

"Don't know, I've asked they didn't answer. Had foals under observation ever since to understand."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, strict psychological study, non interference."

"And how has that worked for you?" he asked, not having a clue what they meant

"So far, it has yielded very little information."

"I think I know what we're going to do tomorrow then." he said, already planning something, thinking about whether it'd work, or if it'd be a good idea.

She stopped her practice and looked at him

"What?"

"You'll find out later."

She blinked, wanting to find out more.

"That's all I'm saying about it for now." he said, looking up at the sky to figure out the time, noticing the sun was nearing the horizon.

"Well, looks like it's time for dinner. What are you in the mood for?"

"Edible biomatter." Violet said simply.

"What?" he asked, looking at her confused and surprised, "I... what?"

"Anything’s fine." She giggled.

"Ah, time for nachos then~" he said, going over to the kitchen.

She followed, watching him preheat the oven and started to get some chips placed into the pan. She started to fly, buzzing her wings to hover beside him. He sprinkled plenty of cheese on the chips, then got out some veggies, spreading them out on the counter before putting the pan into the oven.

Soon enough a bunch of appropriately crunchy crisp veggies were finely cut, and he grabbed a mitt, carefully pulling the pan of now-melted cheesy nachos out of the pan. Violet flew out of the way with a small warning from Stalwart while he dealt with the heat, and he set it up on the counter to cool a little, before getting a couple bowls, sprinkling veggies on the chips evenly.

"Nachos, my favorite junk food. Dawn showed it to me once, and I'm hooked." He grinned.

"No beef?"

"What's that?" Stalwart asked, not recognizing the world

"Um...meat?"

He blinked a couple times, "What, are you a gryphon today?"

She opened her mouth revealing her pointed but dull teeth.

"Oh.... I... didn't realize. We don't have any, but... maybe Dawn will get you some when she visits? I don't know how to prepare... well..."

"It's fine, I don't need meat, I just like it."

"Ah" Stalwart said as a pause, thinking about what it meant to be a creature that ate meat. He looked over to the food and realized he needed to take it over to the table. He carefully balanced them on his back on a hot-pad and walked over to the table to serve it there.

She buzzed behind him. "Isn't that hot?"

He set it down quickly, chuckling, "Yes, which is why I put it down. Come on filly, eat up."

She took her seat and waited for him

He sat down and started to dig in, watching her to see if she liked it. Violet once again ate quickly, yet with clearly well refined etiquette.

"Come on, don't be afraid to get your muzzle messy, dig on in. I can tell you want to." he said, trying to egg her into enjoying herself instead of inhibiting herself from being a foal.

She blinked at him confused. "I am?"

"You're a filly, fillies like getting messy. Well, some of em anyway." he chuckled, "haven't you seen that before?"

"No, I've never observed foal eat yet as it’s hard to get inside their houses unnoticed."

Stalwart sighed and shook his head, chuckling, "Sounds like we need to let you have a sleepover."

"A what?"

"A sleepover. You know, where a bunch of foals come to have fun, like a party, and spend the night, often getting snacks through the night and so on? Waking up late and having fun until the parents come over to pick them up?"

She blinked at his without any form of recognition.

"Yeah, we're going to have to do that at some point..." he said, finishing off his nachos.

Violet finished hers and he put their dishes away and stretched, considering what to do next out of his duties. He heard Violet yawn behind him and nodded.

"Ah, right, bedtime for you. Come on little filly." He said, gesturing to the bedrooms.

"But I'm not tired." Violet said as she hopped off the chair.

"But you yawned."

"No I didn’t." Violet protested.

"I heard you." he chuckled. "Come on, do you have any bedtime stories you have read to you at night?"

"Mom usually tells me a story." She said. "Not from a book"

"Ahhh, well, I don't know what stories you like, so we'll have to go with a book for now then."

"Oh, ok." She said ears dropping.

"Sorry, I don't have too many stories to tell you other than what my dad told me when I was a foal..."

"Mom usually tells stories of her and her friends."

"Well, I could tell you the stories my father told me, but he... well, fought changelings sometimes..."

"So did mom."

"Ah... well, I guess we can talk about that then... will that be better than from a book?"

"I don't know?"

"Well, let's give it a try. Let's get you into bed."

"Uh, where do I sleep?"

"Well, you can sleep in the guest room, we've already gotten a crib in there, if you don't mind it." He offered.

She blinked. "Do I look like I sleep in a crib? I'm 4 and a half."

"You asked what was an option... do you have a bed downstairs or no?

"I have a cot yes."

"Is that comfortable for you?"

"Sort of"

"... Will you bite me if I share my bed with you?" he asked, a little hesitant.

"No?"

"Good, then we'll let you come up to sleep in our bed, since Dawn's not here tonight. Come." He said, walking up the stairs.

She followed along behind. He opened the door and brought her up to a rather comfortable cushiony bed, climbing up into it, pulling back sheets to give her some room. She buzzed up onto the bed and looked around the room.

"So, where to begin," he said, considering the stories his dad told him, getting ready to share

She sat on the bed and stared at him with full attention. "Most stories start at the beginning." She pointed out.

He chuckled, "Of course... We'll start with when my father first went exploring as a colt..." he began, telling the story of his father's heroic explorations and make-believe sessions.

==========MEANWHILE========

In a nightclub in downtown Manehatten, a pony was lead into the backroom by another large pony. "Hey boss, this colt wants to talk to you." The large pony said. The backroom was well set up with amenities, and the thumping music from the dance floor could barely be heard in here.

In the room was another large pony standing beside a booth, like the one who just entered he was an earth pony, both wearing relatively nice suits.

In the booth sat a pegasus stallion in a fine suit with two pretty mares on either side of him, one earth pony and one unicorn and both very close to the Pegasus, who looked up with annoyance at being disturbed. "What do you want?" He asked.

"My name is Solar Flare and I wish to discuss business with you..." He paused as he eyed the mares. "In private."

The pegasus snorted and waved the mares away who pouted, but left the room.

"Alright Flur what do you want?"

"Flare." Flare said without a hint of annoyance.

"Whatever."

"Now Mr. Skyfall I understand you control a good portion of this cities underground activities yes?"

The pegasus sat up straight. "Perhaps?"

"Well, how would you like to control the entire city if not the country?" Flare offered.

The pegasus burst out laughing as did his two guards.

"Look who thinks he's Sombra." Skyfall said as he grab a drink of the alcohol on the table. As he slowly got the laughing under control. He set the drink down. "Look, I don't know who you think you are, but if you think you can come into my club and try to sell me some muleshit then you got another thing coming. Why don't you run back to your buddies in the royal guard?"

"I can assure you I am not with the royal guard." Flare said.

"And I told you to scram. Lugnut, Boulder, show our guest the exit." Skyfall said.

The two goons began moving and Flare sighed. "I had hoped to do this cleanly..." He said before he lunged.

Grabbing the glass from the table, he broke the top of it and then dragged the sharp edge across Skyfall’s neck, who fell back clutching his throat as the two goons stared in shock. A moment later Skyfall went limp, and Flare looked back at the two goons dropping the glass and adjusting his collar.

The goons looked at each other and then back at Flare. "So, what do you need… boss?"

And hour later, Flare was alone in the penthouse of one of the many hotels that dotted Manehatten. It wasn't the greatest hotel, but then, that didn't matter as it was a step in the right direction towards rebuilding his Organization.

"Quite an interesting take on things..." Svik's voice echoed from a bracelet on the couch.

He sat on one of the large sofas and looked at the bracelet. "Excuse me?"

"Your actions... they are not that which I have seen before, not in a while at least... From what I gather, you wish to overtake the kingdom as well, among other things," he said vaguely.

"I wish for the betterment of ponykind."

"Interesting... I would not have expected so noble a dream." he said, voice practically bowing to him before continuing, "And how do you intend to make ponykind 'better'?"

"By removing what's holding us back."

"And that is?"

Flare was silent for a while, if this mare was able to hear everything then that meant he heard all the unpleasantness, and judging by the fact law enforcement hadn't tried to grab him yet…

"The alicorns and the government they built up."

"Then we are in agreement of a kind," He said, seeming to smile, "for you see, I have a bit of a quarrel with them myself."

"Oh?"

The bracelet stayed silent, as if he were waiting on more of a response. None came, it was clear Flare was waiting for more

"Not one to speak more than needed, good." It ended up speaking after the silence, "Simply let it be known that I find the students of Starswirl unfit of that title, and have sought to alleviate them of it, and the power they've borrowed." he replied cryptically

"Students of Starswirl?"

"You might perhaps know them as Celestia and Luna." He replied slowly.

"Suppose so."

"The question becomes, what will you do once they are out of the picture." He said, implying they should reply.

"Forge a better way that doesn't hold us back from our potential."

"Ahhh, wonderful... I propose a pact." Perdias speaks, "I desire their removal, or removal of limits on magical studies so I may finish my work of old. In exchange, I shall aid you in that mutual goal. What say you?"

"A pact?"

"A promise, with a little insurance of course." He chuckled, "Should either of us make a move contrary to what our agreement is, the other knows about it and is strengthened with the betrayer's power. Simple, but effective."

"Interesting, I am not usually in the habit of using magic to keep everything in line....it is a sign of a poor ability to keep one’s affairs in order."

"Call it an antiquated habit I have yet to have gotten rid of. For rather important items, it is rather useful." The bracelet commented

"A bad habit that reflect poorly on abilities."

"Hm." The voice huffed, "When you're as old as I am, you stop taking needless risks just for someone’s perceptions of abilities."

"Or you’ve grown senile and incompetent, and I have no use for the incompetent."

"Perhaps in time you will see." he said, "For now, it will be enough that your plotting amuses me."

The magic fades, and with it, the conversation.

Flare snorted before getting up. He was in need of a shower after days without it, and tomorrow the real work begins as he'd look over what he had to work with as the start of his organization.

Svikopi was not lying when he said he was interested in them or their goal, and decided he would continue to monitor this pony. It was well and good to have a pony whose goals aligned with his own, but such power unchecked made it much harder for him to anticipate moves and act. Such lack of trust, and the accusation that his work is beyond necessary... He knew what he was working with after observing this pony for a while, and he would not enter a deal without some kind of protection against such a devious Unicorn.

==========the next day=======

As Stalwart slowly woke and opened his eyes he found his vision filled with two pink draconian eyes. He yelped and pulled back instinctively, closing his eyes before taking a breath.

"Dang Violet... trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Morning Mr. Stalwart. How did you sleep?" She asked smiling happily

"Decent... though the wakeup scare got the blood flowing..."

She giggled

"That's not funny." he chuckled, then started to laugh quietly, "Ok, maybe a little"

She laughed with him before standing on the edge of the bed. "So what's the plan?"

"Well, check on the reports again, get breakfast going, help you learn what fun is..." he said, listing them off

"I know what fun is."

"Do you feel like you're having fun though?"

"When I’m having fun yes." Violet nodded.

"Ok, when do you have fun?" he asked

"When I’m doing something I enjoy."

"Well, that went full circle, twice." He said, shrugging, "What do you feel like having for breakfast?"

"Food."

"... Right..." he said, remembering the conversation from the prior night. "All right, salad it is."

She hopped off the bed, and Stalwart headed down to the kitchen to get a simple salad together, a little bit of ranch, and plenty of strawberries for violet. Violet watched throughout, and soon enough, Stalwart served her the bowl with extra strawberries of course.

"Here's your breakfast. Extra strawberries too, a pixiepony told me to put them in."

"A pixiepony? … I'm not familiar with that race..." She said as she tried to think.

He chuckled, "We'll have to show you next time they migrate."

Violet blinked.

"So, gonna eat your salad? or do you want a slice or three of cheese in it?"

"Oh! Sorry I was searching my memory for any mention of these pixyponies you mentioned." She said starting to eat.

He chuckled, "maybe you call them something else."

"Don't know. What do they look like?" She ate.

"Oh about a hoof high, big wings like butterflies, sometimes you can see through them. They say that if you leave out a glass of their favorite drink, they'll leave you a good luck charm." he said, sounding like he was telling a foal a good story. Truth was, it was only a rumor that his mom often told him when he was younger and more naïve, but he enjoyed it and hoped to tell it to his own foals as they grew up.

She blinked. "No there is no record of a race like that as far as I know...maybe sire would know since she has the Link."

"Perhaps." he said, chuckling as he ate his salad.

She ate hers in silence as she thought.

He continued to eat and then nodded to himself, having come up with a plan of attack for the day's events. Violet soon finished eating and he finished up his own meal soon after.

"I think we need to have you go play with some other foals your age."

"But I don't have my observation equipment."

"Time you do your own hoofwork and join the other fillies and colts. I'll be there in case there's any bullying though." he said, chuckling."

"What's a bully?"

"A pony who tries to tease you or make you feel helpless, powerless, or unhappy. Sometimes just so they can have fun at your expense.”

"Tease?"

"Yeah, definitely need you to play with others...” He blinked and shook his head, “So, when the other fillies go on recess, homeschooling ponies bring their foals to play together in parks and things."

"What's recess?"

Stalwart stood speechless, wondering how in the world she got her schooling. He shook his head once, then said, "It’s a point when foals go and play 'cause they need a break from learning."

"So after the lessons."

"You'll find out." he said, "They try to have their first recess about 10ish."

"Oh." She said blinking.

He nodded and headed off to the living room, expecting her to follow out of curiosity, "You'll learn more if you play with other foals instead of just watch them."

"I try, I told you what happens." She said following behind.

"In disguise or no?"

"Mom says I don't have to be in disguise when home unless I want to be."

"Oh?"

"Yes. She says I don't have to hide myself when we are home."

"But we won't be at home, we'll be at a park..." Stalwart said, confused as to why now was a time when she wouldn’t disguise herself yet the castle was before.

"True..." she agreed, and in a flash of purple flames, she was a normal unicorn filly.

"Is it possible the disguise is what made it hard?" He asked, "Does Twilight not want you disguised when with other foals?"

"She wants me to be who I am and not hide myself. The nymphs don't hide themselves."

"Ahhh... Well, then maybe we should hold off till we hear from her again... I don't want you to do something your mom said you shouldn't"

"It's fine to be disguised here as it's not home."

"It is home for now though is it not?" he asked, looking at her intrigued

"More like a vacation." She explained, “To a place not so friendly to changelings."

He felt a pang of guilt and nodded, "Yeah… fair point."

"So we were going to the park?" She asked

He nodded slowly, "Sure, we can do that still." He headed over to the door, wondering if it was a good idea anymore, but it was too late to back out now.

When he opened it he found three ponies, a unicorn in a suit jacket, a pegasus in a dark green jumpsuit, and an earth pony mare in dark green jacket and cap. The unicorn had his hoof raised about to knock, not blinking.

"Well that was convenient." The unicorn said.

He blinked a few times and looked at them, "Uhm, can I help you?" he asked, clearly caught off guard.

"Yes, we were told to meet here." The unicorn said.

"By who?"

"Our queen."

"Ah. Are you changelings then?" He asked, opening the door further.

"No." He said. "Do I look like one?"

"Who's your queen then?" He asked, starting to feel a bit more guarded.

"Can we please come in? It's far easier to talk when not standing on your doorstep."

He looked over them carefully, as if analyzing them as best he could. He looked back to see if Violet was still disguised before replying, "I'd like to know your business here first if you don't mind. Do you know where you are?"

"We are where we were told to meet."

"Ah... So you don't know who I am or my wife?" he asked

"You appear to the ones living at the meeting point."

He took a breath and let it out slow, trying to think. He wanted to be accommodating to the guests they now had, but he didn't want to leave his home or Violet open to a danger from their world that he didn't know about either. Finally he decided there wasn't much he could do without taking a risk and nodded, "I'll let you come in for now, at least enough to explain yourselves."

He opened the door further, stepping aside and hoping Violet had the sense to stay disguised for now with how careful he had tried to be, let alone feel.

Author's Notes:

Violet is adorble.

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