Stalwart eyed the trio at his doorstep, his caution and need to care for Violet on his mind before he decided to open the door to admit them.

"I'll let you come in for now, at least enough to explain yourselves." He said as he stepped aside, hoping Violet had the sense to stay disguised.

"Thank you." The unicorn who seemed to be in charge said before walking in, followed by the other two.

Stalwart continued to watch them carefully, trying to be mindful of them as they walked by.

"Jeez, I thought he'd never let us in." The mare said with some annoyance. "Asking us a bunch of questions like that out in the open on a hostile world, seriously?" She looked at him with annoyance.

"Easy corporal. I'm sure he didn't mean to endanger us." The unicorn said.

Stalwart narrowed his eyes, not enjoying the accusations being thrown his way especially the idea that his world was ‘hostlile,’ "Considering I'm the spouse and Captain of the Guard to a princess, yes. I have very good reason."

She rolled her eyes, annoying Stalwart a bit more, even though he wouldn’t show it.

"Forgive my companion here, she is a bit hot headed." The unicorn apologized, giving them a disapproving stare.

"Hey!" She protested before being cut off.

"So I'll ask again,” Stalwart said, preparing to be more firm and bring some semblance of order to his home, already suspecting the answer. “Who are you that a 'queen' would be sending you?"

The three of them became wrapped in green flames, and in a moment, three changelings in the same clothing stood in front of him.

"Answer your question?" The former unicorn asked.

"Yeah," he nodded, letting out a small sigh and relaxing as the door closed. "So, she told you to meet here?"

"Yes. Only place we could be sure was safe." The male said. "Would have told you, but standing out in the open and announcing you are changelings in a world none too friendly to us isn't the best move."

"I can understand, though considering we live a good twenty or so minutes’ walk away from anypony else, I hope you understand why I wasn't too concerned." He said, shrugging.

"And all it takes is one person walking their dog." They replied simply.

He sighed and walked over to the dining room, trying to figure out what to do next. "Can I get anypony a drink?"

"Water will suffice." The male said.

He nodded, going off to get three glasses of water. He was followed behind by Violet.

"Guess this means no park?" She asked.

"We'll probably be holding that off, yeah. Do you know these changelings?" he asked, filling up the glasses with water as he talked.

"Not personally, no, but they are from Sire's hive." Violet nodded.

"How can you tell?" He asked, curious.

"Changeling remember? It's instinct. Plus the EDF uniforms two of them are wearing gives it away."

"Those were uniforms?" he asked, looking back, "Huh, never seen any like that before though. What is that Equestrian Defence thing?"

"Equestrian Defence Force." She said. "It's mom's army."

"What about the royal guard though?" he asked, putting the drinks on a tray.

"They are primary law enforcement and handle most incidents."

He hummed, wondering why one would need two different armies as he carried the tray with his mouth with surprising dexterity out to the dining room, laying it down at the table for the three guests. No sooner than he set it down than the trio picked the drinks up.

"So, I suppose introductions are in order yes?" The male said.

"That would be a good idea." Stalwart nodded agreement.

"This is Private Deval. He worked in a motor pool in Fillydelphia." He said, pointing to the other male, then pointed at the female. "Corporal Ghan. She was infantry, stationed near Appleoosa." He paused and then looked at Stalwart. "And I'm Tere, an Operative of the Military Intelligence Division."

"I'm Stalwart Shield, husband to Meadow Dawn, Princess of Hope." He replied, struggling to recognize the names given. So much of it was foreign to him.

"Pleasure to meet you Stalwart." Tere said

"So how long ago did you arrive?" Stalwart asked, trying to make conversation.

"About five days ago. We all just appeared in Manehatten. Luckily, it was in a deserted alleyway rather than a busy shop or something."

"Ah, but you were told to come here right? How was the trip?"

"Uneventful. Just three ponies traveling on a train. The hardest part was getting the bits for the fare."

"How did you get the bits needed?"

"Probably best you don't ask."

"So you're here. Now what?" He frowned, not asking, but not thrilled at that answer’s implications.

"We wait for the others. This was the only place the queen could guarantee our safety." He shrugged.

"Hm." He hummed, considering what they said, while thinking back to the plotting Violet had about taking over Equestria. To cover, he shrugged, "Well, Twilight and Chrysalis had set up their bedroom in our basement. The upstairs mostly just has our bedroom and a spare room we were going to use as a nursery when Dawn... well, it'd be cramped if an adult tried to sleep in there.”

"Don't worry, we can take up very little room." Tere said chuckling.

"Oh?" he asked, curious from not expecting that answer, "How's that work?"

Tere was wrapped in green flame as soon as he had asked. In a moment there was just a small pebble. It was then wrapped in green flames and the changeling returned to his normal form.

"Shapeshifters." He answered simply.

Stalwart blinked, shuffling in place as he tried to figure out what to say before finally answering, "T-that's a new trick..."

"Not really. We can be any object as long as it doesn't have more mass than us." Tere shrugged.

He took a deep breath and quietly let it out, trying not to be frustrated at the differences from what he thought he knew. It didn’t help his plans for the day have been thoroughly derailed, and now that this came up, he wasn’t sure what to do with them, or what to tell Dawn either.

"Is something wrong?" Tere asked.

"Just trying to figure out my plans. I didn't expect any company, but I get restless if I stay in one place." Stalwart answered

"Oh, don't mind us. Feel free to go about your day." he encouraged. Stalwart snorted, then chuckled briefly, causing Tere to tilt his head and ask, "What is it?"

"Just finding the idea of letting strangers who just came into my home, telling me how fine it is if I go 'about my day,' funny. It's definitely not how I was raised." he said, while privately thinking 'among other things, like actually housing changelings, much like the ones my father would have fought against in his time, yet here we are befriending them...'

"Well, you know our Queen, and there isn't anything about her ordering to bring down the house or cocooning you in the link."

He stiffened, as if he had felt slightly threatened. Just because they didn’t have any orders now didn’t mean there weren’t going to be any later on after all. The factual nature of Tere, without any signs of empathy, caused him to feel very insecure at their presence.

"Well, that's good to know." Stalwart chuckled nervously, trying to consider what could be done.

"Yes, and we would never harm a friend of the Hive." Tere added.

"Oh?" he said, intrigued at the idea of being called a 'friend of the Hive' after the prior almost-threat. It was such a contrast it took him by surprise, uncertain if it was simply a way to disarm him or genuinely felt.

"Yes. The Queen wouldn't have told us to meet here if you were not."

"Hm." Was all he said, causing him to question himself all over again. The idea that he had that much trust was one thing, as was how they were strangers, and a multitude of other things. He wasn't sure what to listen to any longer, at least until he got a chance to take a break and reflect. He found himself walking over to the couch, staring past it out the rounded window, wondering how much longer it'd be before Dawn comes back.

"Are you ok Mr. Stalwart" Violet asked, landing on his back.

"Hm? Oh, just thinking about Dawn and wondering when she'd come back." He answered.

"I'm sure she's ok, mom and sire would never let anything happen to her."

"Yeah, doesn't mean I can't miss her." He said, adding that quietly.

Violet hugged the back of his neck.

He chuckled, feeling slightly better in spite of his doubts, at the idea that some foal was pitying him and giving him sympathy. Violet nuzzled the back of his head, causing him to chuckle louder. He was starting to feel like he was being tickled, but he enjoyed it. He knew he wanted to be a father of a foal or two, hopefully one who was going to join the guard like he had, and his father, and his grandfather. Violet may not be his own, but it gave him that taste, and his thoughts turned toward such daydreams quietly.

Violet held him as best as her little hooves could. Stalwart sighed, still smiling as his concerns seemed to fade. Perhaps he was overthinking it like his wife did. He found it funny that it took another person’s foal to realize that.

"Violet,” Stalwart said after a brief pause, “if you're not careful, you're gonna steal a few hearts while you're at it."

"I don't even have a surgical kit.” She blinked, not understanding. “And what would I do with them anyway?"

"It's a figure of speech Violet. It means you're cute enough or sympathetic enough or something to become the center of somepony's emotions for a bit."

"Never heard of that." Violet blinked again in confusion.

"Now you have."

"I see." She said still holding on.

"I don't suppose you three have heard of the phrase, have you?" he chuckled turning back to them as he enjoyed the hug continuing.

"Not at all." Tere said. "Though it seems the Princess has taken quite a liking to you."

"Oh really?" he said, smiling along with them as he turned around. "What clued you in?" he smirked, hoping his sarcasm was a bit more obvious this time

"Just a lucky guess." Tere said with dry humor, their expression unchanging.

"Sure." He said, trying to feign ignorance with more sarcasm, even as Violet continued to hold his neck.

"Anyways, if you had plans with the Princess then it is not our place to interrupt them." Tere said

He reconsidered yet again. They seemed to be friendly enough, and on his side, seeing as Chrysalis did act like a well behaved guest. He still paused, not feeling like it was appropriate to leave the home with guests in it however.

"Something wrong?" Tere asked.

"Just raised by my parents to think it's rude to leave guests in your home alone. Trying to think of what my options are."

"Leave us alone in your home and take the princess where she wants to go?" He offered.

Stalwart shook his head, deciding against it. It was odd to him to repeatedly be told that he should leave, and his instincts were telling him something will happen if he did. "I think we'll hold off for now. We'll-" he paused as he heard another knock on the door.

The three changeling were instantly back in their disguises.

Stalwart went over to the door and opened it, "Oh, Charred! Good to see you again."

"Hey Stalwart," The red pegasus with his trademark red handkerchief around his neck replied with a broad smile, "Got some packages for you 'n Dawn, and I wanted to make sure you got 'em!"

"How's the Patrol still treating you?"

"Very nice! I mean, Storm's finally stopped calling me 'ratite' and Gallade's been wonderful." He replied, clutching his scarf lightly to his neck, a little bit of frost visible on a few tufts of fur around it.

Tere looked out to see who it was from his place in a chair, while Violet peeked over Stalwart’s head, t his back and now standing on it.

Stalwart chuckled, "I'm glad to-"

"Oh hey there little foal! I didn't know you and Dawn had your baby yet!" he said excitedly, not recognizing Violet from the last time because of her disguise.

"But, we hadn't-" Stalwart protested before being interrupted again.

"Hiiii! I'm Violet. What's your name?" Violet said, waving happily and not correcting the pony, acting like she hadn’t met them before.

"I'm Char, the Everfree Patrol’s mailpony!" he smiled, looking excited and happier to see the filly, "Violet's a pretty name."

"Thank you! My mom and dad chose it for me!" She proclaimed hugging Stalwart's head. "What's a Everfree Patrol?"

"You're so adorable~" Charred said, smiling wide at the filly perched on Stalwart’s head, "It's a guild, a place you work at. I’d love to tell you more, but I'll have to visit you later, otherwise I'm gonna be late with my other deliveries! I'll be sure to visit later ok?"

Char smiled back at them before turning around, waving, and flaring up his wings to take flight.

"See you later Char, take care." Stalwart said, holding the two small sized packages.

"He seems nice if weird." Violet said after he left, waving from Stalwart's back and smiling back.

"Well, he's picked on a lot, but he loves foals and is a gentle pegasus. I hear he can't handle hot weather whatsoever though."

"That's weird. Though I’m not sure how he thought I was your daughter when I'm too old to be so." Violet said.

"I have no idea..." He chuckled, "Maybe he thought we adopted. They do tend to be busy after all."

"Well, he thought Dawn had her foal." Violet countered.

"Well... I don't know what to tell you, other than he's a good pony." He said, having closed the door and set the packages down on the endtable, the clattering suggesting they were books.

"Tell me about this guild." Tere said, now standing by the door.

"Huh?" he barely replied, turning to them before realizing it was a question, "Oh. Nightfall leads a group called the Everfree Patrol. Says the guild is a group of ponies who have a headquarters by the Everfree Forest who pick up a lot of odd jobs. We were told in the guard to send anything that we wouldn't handle, things that happen outside of our districts for example, over to the Patrol, and they only take what payments ponies can afford."

"So they are mercenaries?"

"I... maybe?" he said, raising a hoof to rub the back of his head, "I don't know what that is."

"Soldiers for hire."

"I suppose so... though there's bits in the budget to cover some things, in case they have clients with a need but nothing they can pay with."

"So yes, they’re mercs.” Tere confirmed, “Are they paramilitary?"

"W-wha?" He blinked, standing confused and in place at the answer.

Tere sighed at that answer, only to turn to the next speaker.

"Oh come on! Don't tell me the ponies in this backwater universe don't even have a remotely proper military or any clue about anything." Ghan said with annoyance.

"That's enough corporal.” Tere said firmly.

"Come on! He doesn't even know what the hell mercs are, and he is a damn Captain of a Princess’ guard!" Ghan said. "I bet he doesn't even know which end of the sword go into the other guy."

"Corporal, outside. Now! Laps, 20 of them, from here to town. Maybe then you'll learn to be polite to someone who let us into his home." Tere said with only a hint of annoyance.

"But-" Ghan said before she was cut off. Tere glared at her and she facehoofed. A moment later, she was in disguise and out the door as fast as her legs could gallop.

Tere sighed and looked at Stalwart. "I really must apologize for her. She's not the most… diplomatic."

He frowned, at first from the annoyed soldier, but after they were out the door, commented, "I think it's clear things are done very differently between where you're from and here." he sighed, considering what was said and what he knew so far, "I can't argue that it would put us at a disadvantage though. Although, if I were to give any ideas, I wouldn't have minded a chance to have a hoof to hoof match or three, see if they'd keep it up if I shook off their attacks and showed them a thing or two."

"Maybe so, maybe no. Doesn't matter, as her behavior was unacceptable of a soldier in the Equestrian Defense Force. The Commander or the Queen most likely will be having a word with her and I doubt she will be doing it again."

He hummed quietly. It wasn't his place to try to override them, guide them, or change their position on things. He already made one offer to correct it, they turned it down. He decided he would show them a little trust after that display and said, "You know what, I think we will head to the park. What'll you two be up to?"

"Holding down the fort. Stop any burglars who try something, make sure the place doesn't burn down, the usual." Tere said, shrugging.

He blinked at the response, then laughed, "Well, I rather doubt that'll happen here, but make yourselves comfortable I guess. We're off to the park."

Tere smiled, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth. "Have a good time. Take care of the Princess."

"Yaaaay!" Violet said happily from his back.

He stepped toward the door and went out, feeling slightly better about the situation though he didn't quite know why, and headed to the park with Violet in tow. On the way, they passed Ghan who was running back, but didn't even look at them as they passed.

Stalwart briefly glanced their way, but otherwise continued on toward a lightly fenced area in the distance, about five minutes away from them, roughly fifteen from their home. "So, first time going out and actually trying to play with other foals huh?"

"Nope." Violet replied.

"Wait, I thought you said you only observed them or something." Stalwart asked, now confused.

"That's because all the times I tried to join ended badly."

"And I'm going to help be there to help you along." He chuckled, oblivious to her difficulties. He was going to find out exactly what the issue was and help her understand.

"Ok." She responded simply.

He continued to walk until they were just outside the park. A couple adults were around, as were about four foals, running around and playing tag.

"So just go up and say hi?" Violet asked.

"Well, we'll probably be approached by the adults, I'll make small talk, and foals usually get bored so they go off to see what the other foals are doing. That’s when you see about joining what they're doing." he said. As he continued his approach, the earth pony and unicorn noticed and turned toward him and waved him over.

"Ok." Violet said as she watched the foals.

The children were a pair of earth ponies and a pair of unicorns, who continued to cheer and yell out raucously as Stalwart got within talking range of the two adults.

"Well hello there, haven't seen you around here before!" The earth pony mare started.

"You’re right, I don't usually come to parks," He chuckled in reply. “But this one needs to get out and play more.”

"Ahhh, well welcome! I'm Trove." She said.

"I'm Glacius." the unicorn added, "Nice to meet you. And who's your filly?"

"I'm Violet!" She said as she stood on Stalwarts back to look over his head, front legs on top of his head for balance.

"Oh that's just adorable!" Trove said, raising a hoof to her chest for a moment before putting it down, "It's nice to meet you Violet. How old are you?"

"I'm 4 in a half." Violet said factually.

They giggled, Glacius commenting, "Oh, they always love touting that 'half' when they're so young. It's adorable."

"Yes, mine still do it too and I don't know if lil' orange even realizes what that means!" Trove agreed.

"Well, it means I'm approximately half way to my next birthday in 5 months, 3 weeks and 6 days." She said. "So 4 and a half, more or less."

They blinked in surprise, the one mother intending that to have meant their own younger child, but then laughed again, "Well, you've got quite the smart little filly there mister..."

"Stalwart, Stalwart Shield."

"Oh really?" she said, eyes opening up a little bit in recognition, "Do you perhaps mean that you're the husband of that princess I keep hearing about?"

"That's right." He nodded, seeming to puff out his chest slightly.

It was at this point Violet did as Stalwart had instructed and hopped off his back to walk over to the foals, noticing the others had lost interest and went back to playing.

The foals continued to play tag, the second youngest being 'it' and the youngest one just continuing to chase after whoever was the chaser.

Violet took a seat on her haunches and waited to be noticed.

One of the foals runs past them and the one who's 'it' touches Violet and yells out, "Tag! You're it!" and dashes off.

She blinked and looked down at the spot she was touched and then back up.

They ran away at first, staying at a minimum distance, a couple of them calling out for her to give chase.

She looked back up. "So the point is to catch you?"

"Of course, silly!" the oldest of the group said before running off to behind one of the trees.

"Ok." She said simply and took a step toward the closest.

They took a step back, active and eager looking to avoid her.

She took another step.

They took another step back, already starting to look bored before the oldest one, about 5 1/2 years old, called out, "Come on, are you gonna tag us or what?"

Violet galloped forward. They whooped and ran away, trying to evade her with both speed and agility in turn.

She tried to catch them, but kept missing and finally stopped. She frowned as she thought about what her mom and sire told her all the time.

“Brute force isn't always the answer. Outsmart them, and use everything you have to your advantage..." she muttered.

They giggled and continued to call out to her, calling her a catter-filly and such.

Her horn lit, and suddenly the back of their necks were all seized. She grabbed them hard enough to keep them from being able to move from their spots, and she started to calmly walk over.

They yelped out, the younger ones starting to cry at the grip while the oldest one called out, "Hey! What'd you do? Let us go! You're cheating!" gathering the attention of the adults.

Violet calmly walked over and tagged one of them before letting them go happily. "Tag you’re it!"

She grumbled and then started to chase after one of the other foals, who got tagged and looked over to Violet, as if thinking of chasing them.

Violet readied herself to run.

The second oldest foal, just slightly younger than Violet, smiled broadly and chased after her. "I'm gonna getchoo cheater!"

Violet galloped away.

She chased for a bit, then changed to go after the oldest and got her, who went straight for Violet.

Violet sidestepped them, then ran back the way the oldest had come.

The oldest grumbled and chased after them exclusively, the other foals whooping and cheering them on.

Violet did her best to dodge, but it was quickly becoming apparent the oldest had the advantage over her and she was beginning to tire. She needed to gain some breathing room. She ran past a small tree, grabbing one of its branches as she did so, bending it back so she could pass and then let it snap back.

The foal ran straight into it, yelling out in pain as she got hit square in the face, devolving into a crying fit as the adults came over.

"What's wrong?" one asked.

"What happened?" the other echoed.

"She hit me with a sti-hi-hiiiiiick" the oldest cried to the two adults.

Violet blinked from a safe distance away so she couldn't be tagged.

The adults turned to her, then turned to Stalwart, who approached her slowly, "Violet, What happened?"

"She was trying to tag me." She said, still ready to run to avoid getting tagged.

"How did she get hurt?" he asked.

"I used the branch to slow her down."

"I think we'd better go home for now then." he said quietly to her, before more loudly turning to the other adults, "I'll make sure she understands her behavior when we get home. Sorry for the trouble ladies. Come Violet."

She blinked. "Why?"

"Because you hurt a foal in a game. We'll be back later once we've had our talk." He said, trying to be a bit firm.

She blinked clearly not understanding.

"Violet, I said come." He said more firmly, the parents looking at her expectantly in between checking on the sniffling foal.

"Ok." She said, walking over to him and still not understanding why he was mad.

Stalwart wasn't mad, but he was concerned, and as they walked away from the rest he sighed, "Well... there's lesson one. When playing with other foals, don't let them be hurt."

"I didn't let them get hurt." She said

"Then how did she get hurt, and say that you hit her with a stick?"

"Because I used my environment to my advantage."

"So how does hitting her with a stick not hurt her?"

"Oh it does hurt her. That was the point."

"What happened to 'I didn't let them get hurt?'" he asked as they continued their walk home

"I didn't let something hurt her. I did it."

"You missed the point." He took a deep breath and started again, trying to stay calm as he fathomed how in the world hurting them directly didn’t Violet not letting them get hurt. "So, you were playing tag with them, were running, and you used a tree branch and swung it into her... what if the tables were turned, would you like getting a branch to the face?"

"No, not really, and that's the point. I'd be concerned if anyone liked getting hit with a tree branch."

"Ever heard of the golden rule?" he asked, slightly surprised she'd do something knowing she wouldn't like it.

"The what?"

"Do to others what you would want them to do to you." He said, "Or in this case, if you don't like it, don't do it to them... Foals don't know how to handle pain."

"But that is a part of life. Why shouldn't they learn about how to handle it?" She said. "As for not liking it, as I said that was the entire point."

"If you cause pain to others during play, you're taking advantage of their trust, and that's one of a few reasons why you probably don't play with others as often. If you're going to fit in, you have to learn the rules of social interaction." he lectured.

"But the point of the game is to not get caught and that's what I was doing." Violet said, "Also this is the first time I ever played with any other foals. They usually react negatively to me. "

"Well, your disguise helped. Much more than that, dunno. Maybe they were too busy playing to worry about you being different." Stalwart said, intentionally ignoring that she said she had played before, just never ended well.

"If running, screaming for their parents or throwing rocks at me, or calling me names that are not my own is playing, then I don't think I want to play with foals."

He laughed, "No, it's not playing, but that's part of growing up."

"Yes, well, mom says if the only way people will like me was for me to have to hide what I look like, then they aren't worth being friends with."

"Well, true, but you're dodging the issue. You intentionally hurt a foal. Most homes would give you a punishment for doing that, but I'm not your parent." He said.

"She was trying to tag me." Violet protested, "It was the only way I could keep from getting tagged."

He stayed quiet for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain it without losing his temper as home came into sight. "The issue, is that not hurting other ponies is a rule that applies whether you're playing a game or not."

She tilted her head. "But mom and sire hurt ponies often."

"There's a time and place to do that. The simple way I could put it, are you protecting someone you care about from harm by hurting somepony else?"

"I was protecting myself and using my environment to my advantage like mom taught me."

He sighed, going quiet as he tried to figure out what to say and address it. It wasn't his foal, and it was clear they were raised in a very different way. He wondered whether it was appropriate to keep trying to show how things worked here to help with how they didn't fit in, or to just let Twilight take care of that.

Violet continued to walked beside him starting to hum a cheerful tune.Stalwart opened the door to his home and stepped in when they arrived, still lost in thought, wondering if he'd have that problem with their firstborn, and hoped not.

He could hear the sound of cooking from the kitchen. He sniffed the air, coming over that way, curious about what was being cooked. It smelled of soup

"Hm, smells nice in here. What are you all making?" he asked as he headed to the kitchen, and found Private Deval at the stove.

"Just what I could find in your fridge, sir. I hope you don't mind." He answered formally, looking at Stalwart ears starting to droop in anticipation of disapproval.

"No no, not at all. When was the last time you got to eat?" Stalwart quickly replied, noticing the ears drooping.

"On the train ride over." He said perking up only slightly. The private looked about nervously toward Stalwart, his expression reflecting his poor nerves.

"Ok..." Stalwart said, noticing the behavior and began to suspect him, "Mind telling me the truth? You're looking guiltier than some foals I caught last week who tried to eat some candy without paying."

"Truth? What truth?" He said jumping.

"Why are you so nervous? What are you up to, really?"

"Making soup?"

"So why are you nervous?

"I… I work in the motor pool. I've never really been off the base… I mean, I literally just graduated from training 2 months ago."

"At ease, I won't bite.” He chuckled, realizing what was going on now with that explanation. A green recruit not experienced in the world was at fault, not anything else. “How's the guard treating you?"

"Not in the guard. I'm with the EDF and…” Deval answered much more readily, much of his nervousness disappearing. His pause to think wasn’t the same now at all. “I guess it's alright. I mean, the guys in the barracks are nice enough, and the LT isn't so bad."

"Oh, right... I guess I forgot you had more than just the guard there. What do you do then?"

"I work on vehicles in the motor pool."

"I... don't know what that means." He said, hesitating at first.

“Um, self propelled carriages?"

"Huh." he said in slight realization, "Only really see those things in Fillydelphia or in some of the ritzier parts of Van Hoover."

"You have cars?"

"They're really expensive, Dawn and I would rather hoof it." He chuckled.

"Oh. They are very common back home."

"Oh? Why's that? We've got four perfectly usable legs..."

"Because they are faster, can carry more and traveling further distance is easier?" He said.

He hummed, clearly thinking and having his own reservations. He was a bit old fashioned, but it just made him wonder out loud, "I wonder what else is different over there..." He sighed and walked over to the kitchen to get a drink before turning to keep an eye on Violet.

"A lot of things.” Deval answered as he stirred the soup, “I mean I haven't ever seen a real steam power train in my life. I think there is only 4 left running as a sort of novelty sort of thing."

"I…” Stalwart answered, hesitating as he considered where Violet went as well as what Deval was bringing up, “Well, what else would make trains work? It's the best long distance travel fuel there is."

"Diesel." He said simply. "More powerful, takes up less space, and less risk of something going wrong."

"The hay is diesel?" he asked, confused at the new word.

"Refined oil."

He blinked and rubbed his head with a hoof briefly before drinking the water. "Yeah, this is beyond me. I have some reports to look at, but we'll talk later probably. Enjoy your soup." he said after he set the glass back down and headed to his work desk.

"You won't be wanting lunch?" Deval asked as he left.

"I'll eat it in a bit. Thanks." he said, calling out as he sat down.

"Oh, ok…" Deval said as his ears dropped and he went back to cooking.

Stalwart was unaware of the drooping ears of the private as he looked over the reports, one of which stating that the head investigator would look further into Violet's observation. It didn't take him much more than 10 minutes before he finished it up and got down off the chair to head back to the kitchen.

"So what are the other two up to?"

Deval was putting the soup in the fridge as he walked in. "Ghan is going for a walk and I don't know where Tere went."

"Ah. Aren't you going to eat any of what you made?" he asked, confused as to why he was seeing soup go back into the fridge.

"You weren't hungry." He said.

"That's not what I said." he chuckled in turn, giving him a firm pat on the back before reaching for the container, "I said I'd eat in a bit. You hungry?"

"I suppose I could eat as well." He said

"But are you hungry?" Stalwart repeated.

"Not especially. I ate on the train ride here." Deval reminded him.

"So what made you start cooking then?" he asked, sipping the cooled off soup.

"It was close to your ponies normal time to eat lunch?" Deval replied nervously.

"Well, you have a point there." Stalwart smiled before patting them on the shoulder again, going to the table, and continuing to eat the soup, the changeling taking a seat at the table with him. "So what do you do in your spare time? What hobbies do you have?"

"I tinker."

"With what?"

"Old machines and electronics."

"Ah. Do you just fix them or do you change them or what?" Stalwart asked, again looking around for Violet as he finished.

"Little of both." Deval answered, noticing how Violet came through the door drawn by the smell of food.

"Ah, that's where you went!" Stalwart chuckled, going off to get some more of the soup, "This guy here made some soup that's pretty good. Hungry?"

She nodded and buzzed up onto a chair, no longer disguised since arriving home. Stalwart warmed up the soup again, put some into a bowl and set it in front of her. Violet started to eat as Deval looked on, as if worried she may not like it. Stalwart watched as well, but more to know if she needed anything else.

"Thirsty at all?" he checked.

"Juice if you have any?" She answered.

He nodded, going to the fridge to get some apple juice. Violet waited, eating as she did under the watchful eye of Deval. Soon enough, Stalwart bought her the juice and looked over to Deval.

"So, what does it look like we're low on and need to get from the markets?"

"Huh?" He asked looking at Stalwart

"Food. Notice anything I need to add to the shopping list?" Stalwart asked, since he took the effort to cook they likely knew what more they would end up needing or wanting.

"Um, I don't know what you usually have, so not really."

"Let me put it this way," he said, looking over to him, trying a different way to get through to this pony, "is there anything that you all might want me to get so you can make things that you enjoy?"

"Um… best ask Ghan. She's the one who enjoys cooking."

"Ah, fair enough." he said, shrugging as he gave up on that line of discussion before pausing to try and think of something else to talk about.

Violet ate her food as Deval just sort of scratched the back of his head awkwardly. It was clear the young soldier was not used to social interactions.

Stalwart looked over to the living room and out the windows, starting to wonder when the other two would return. He hoped to hear more from them and about their plans, while seeing if they knew about the land Celestia agreed to set aside. If nothing else, it may help to have them get a place of their own.

In a minute, Ghan walked through the door panting a bit as she wiped sweat from her brow. "I'm back Private." She called as she made her way towards the bathroom.

Stalwart looked, then noted their destination by the path they took, and looked to Deval to see what reaction he would have. He didn’t seem to react however, and soon the sounds of shower was able to be heard faintly in the home.

"Nothing like a good shower after a workout." Stalwart chuckled quietly. He spoke up, turning to Violet, "So, how was the food?"

"It was good." She said cheerfully and tilted her head. "Are you wondering what Ghan looks like in the shower?"

"Huh? what makes you say that?" He blinked.

"You taste a bit like lust." She said. "And you didn't till after the shower started."

Stalwart blinked again, completely caught off guard by the thought. He started thinking about it unintentionally and while he blushed slightly at the suggestion, he shook his head in reply. "I really don't know what you're talking about. I didn't think about it till you mentioned it."

"Oh, ok." She said hopping off the chair and yawning.

"Tired already? Does some-filly need a nap?"

"Nnnoooo." She whined

"It is usually this time of day when the Princess is put down for a nap, yes." Deval said

"Well well, trying to hide naptime from me hmmm? Come on, definitely naptime then." Stalwart chuckled.

"But I’m not-" She yawned. "Sleepy."

"Yes you are, come on, let's get you to bed." He said, nudging her backside toward the stairs.

Violet reluctantly went. He soon took her up to bed, and pulled a sheet over her up to her neck, "Night Violet." He said as he closed the door behind him and headed back downstairs

She was already asleep before he finished speaking and he found Deval outside in the hall. "Is she sleeping ok?"

"Yep. she conked out really quick after she was put in. You seem really attentive to her. Everything ok?"

"She's the Princess." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ok, I get it, she's your princess, and I'm the husband of one, and we've been doing ok so far." He smiled.

"You're married to a Pony Princess." He said. "Not a changeling Princess. There's a difference."

"If you say so." He shrugged, looking over to the bathroom briefly before heading down to the living room couch, grabbing a book from a shelf nearby.

"It's different. We are driven to keep her safe and ensure her well being on a genetic level."

"Ah..." he said, only barely understanding that he couldn't help it, and not much more than that. "Well, I'm going to do some reading, unless you like playing Hoof and Horn." he said, smirking as a drive for a little competition started to surface.

"Playing what?"

"Card game, Hoof and Horn. You don't have it where you're from?"

"Maybe? I don't really play a lot of cards."

"You don't know what you're missin.'" he chuckled before laying down across the couch and opening his book.

Deval didn't say anything. He wasn't sure what to say. He turned away and began looking for a book for himself as the shower shut off in the bathroom. Stalwart continued to read his western, getting readily engrossed in it.

The bathroom door opened, billow of steam coming out along with Ghan, wearing just a towel around her neck, and her uniform held in her magic.

Stalwart looked over to the steam that was let out into the home, and genuinely wondered just how hot the water was that it would be that billowing. Soon enough he shrugged, as it didn't cost them much at all thanks to Dawn being a princess. Perks of royalty come in handy sometimes. They haven’t seen utility bills so low otherwise.

Ghan still had water running down parts of her body, and she had her wings extended, slowly flapping to dry them and her tail still slightly damp. Stalwart considered commenting, considering Dawn had similar issues drying off adequately, but decided against it. He wasn’t sure a good way to say it and it might be taken poorly, if his wife was any indication.

"What is it?" She asked, noticing a shift in his emotions and turning toward him.

"Oh nothing. Just looks like you rather enjoyed the shower, that's all." he said, shrugging.

"I did. Glad to know you all have hot water heaters here."

"Well, that's what it's there for." He started to smile.

"Where can I put my clothing so it can be washed?" She snorted.

"We have our hamper up in our room, but the washer and dryer is over by the bathroom.” Stalwart answered, his smile disappearing at her snort.

"I'll store it in the washer till there is a load." She said going where he indicated

"That's fine by me."

She returned a moment later and looked around. "So what do you even have to do around here?"

"Mostly books and games. Dawn and I play Hoof and Horn a couple times a week. Other nights we play other board games or card games. We have a radio, but she doesn't really listen to it."

"What is this, the stoneage?"

"Care to rephrase that?" he asked after a half second of silent surprise, sounding quite annoyed, unaware of much more that they all seem to be taking for granted.

"Seriously, this is a Princess’ place. Isn't it supposed to be a castle or something?"

"She opted to have a home in a tree. The other princesses have castles, but she hasn't wanted one yet." he said, narrowing his brows slightly, "Just what is it that you want to do that we apparently don't have?"

"Something not boring?"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then turned back to his book, quite tired of the passive aggressive attitude already. If she was going to goad him into responding for entertainment, he wasn’t going to give her that pleasure. His ears flicked when she scoffed and could almost hear her rolling her eyes.

"Typical guard." She said, heading for the door as she put on her pegasus disguise.

He felt his frustration intensify and he badly wished once again that Dawn was here, if anything to help him keep calm or handle it. She was far better with guests than he was when they weren't easy to work with.

Ghan left the house. He started to calm as he let her words fall away in reading his book. Her entertainment wasn't his issue, not at the moment anyway. After a bit, the door opened to admit Tere.

"Ah I see you returned from the park how was it?" He asked as he dropped his unicorn disguise.

"Well," he said, pausing as he remembered the events, "it could have gone better, but not a bad start."

"Something happen? Is the Princess ok?" He asked concerned.

"Of course she's ok. She just thought it was a good idea to use a branch to hit a foal that was trying to play tag with her." he said, shaking his head.

"What's wrong with that?" Tere asked.

"You too huh?" he said, eyeing Tere before shaking his head, "Around here we raise our foals not to hurt each other unless they're being hurt by a bully or if they have to protect somepony."

"A little pain never hurt anypony. Teaches them to be ready to react and to be stronger." He said. "That foal will now pay attention and be ready, should someone try to hit them again."

He sighed, disagreeing a great deal with that approach, "You really do things differently over there don't you."

"Well, when your race has been pushed to the brink of extinction by every other race on the planet a dozen times, you tend to have very specific priorities."

"That's," he paused briefly, "a very good point actually."

"Strength means survival." Tere nodded.

He frowned, not liking that sentiment and yet felt unable to explain why that was wrong or how it felt wrong. "Well, either way... What do you do for fun?"

"Dig into people's secrets, also keeping track of the latest fashions."

He chuckled, "Oh really? Guess Dawn and I won't be going out on walks as often as she'd like then."

"Why do you say that?"

"No reason at all..." he said vaguely, a smile on his face as he tried to go back to reading his book, despite not actually focusing on it.

"Ah, alright. By the way I think you have a theft ring in town." Tere answered.

"What makes you say that?" Stalwart asked, clearly concerned as he sat upright.

"Just a few things I observed in town is all."

"Hm. What have you noticed?"

"Oh, just a few people casing out certain stores is all. Real professional too. " he said.

"That's not good. Got any evidence I can use to have my guards look into it further?" he asked

"Just my particular skill set that I doubt is valid here."

"Why?" he asked, not sure how their skills wouldn’t be valid just because it’s another world.

"Because my job doesn't exist here?"

He nodded, though feeling his irritation return at how they weren't giving straight answers. Just because it’s a different world or his job doesn’t exist doesn’t mean his skills are invalid.

"I see..." Stalwart finally answered, still frustrated as he failed to see how they didn’t understand simple logic. What was worse, without details he couldn't act, evidence being necessary for the accusation thrown. "Well, might as well ask you too, what things do you want to see for meals, or have you not looked in the kitchen yet?"

"We eat emotions Mr. Stalwart." Tere said. "We use your pony food to make building material."

He blinked, "Oh, guess we'll not worry about going shopping then..."

"Yes, we are fine so you needn't worry." He said smiling to show he appreciated the gesture.

He went back to reading, thinking about this crime ring that both he and Violet have now mentioned, and worried about what he could do about it.

"If you would like, and give me official clearance with your rank, I could maybe look into this matter if you desired."

He furrowed his brows at the mention of using his rank, "What do you mean, you'd act like me or what?"

"Well, depending on what you clear me to do… anything really, from observe and report to pacification and removal."

"What do you mean, 'clear you to do'" he asked, clueless before suddenly he realized they were asking for permission to act, and getting clarity on what he’s allowing them to do. "Sorry, I guess I'm being a bit slow. Before I give you any degree of authority, what is it that you would do about this 'ring'?"

"As I said, that is all up to what you'd clear me to or want."

He bit back a sigh, growing intensely frustrated at their lack of communication skills before repeating, "But what would you do about this ring if given the chance?"

"Either just observe it, gather evidence, attempt to bring it down from the inside or simply remove it. As I said, up to you." Tere said "not sure what's so complicated about it that you'd need to ask the same question multiple times."

"Because I don't know what you were going to do if given the power." He said, again trying not to let his frustration show. He was reaching the end of his patience, "And I don't know what options you have. I'm fine with you gathering evidence and observing them, but they need to be arrested if they're found guilty."

"Then that is what I'll do if you'd like." He said. "Mr. Stalwart, you and I basically have the same job. You are captain of the guard. Your job is to protect people from bad people and uphold order to the best of your abilities. My job is to protect people from those same bad people and keep order. The only difference between you and I is that while you work on bringing them down and dragging them away, slowly chipping away at their little empires, I do that from the inside out. Gutting their operations and removing all the people who keep everything running and then allow the rest of it to just collapse in on itself like a house that just lost its main supports."

Stalwart paused, clearly not having thought of it that way before. After half a minute he replied, "I understand, but we don't have anything like what you just described. I can't give you the authority needed because we don't have anything to attempt it. On the other hoof... I can see where that'd be effective. How long would it take for you to do it?"

"Not long. I can either get in on the ground floor or observe and replace someone higher up the food chain."

He paused a bit longer, clearly considering it before nodding, "I want you to observe the ring in your spare time, get some evidence and I'll authorize you to go further if needed."

"As you wish." Tere answered.

Stalwart went back to his book before closing it, unable to focus on it as he absorbed what he just learned.

"Something wrong?" Tere asked

"Just bothered. How would you feel if something like that were spotted by a newcomer, that you've been unaware of for the last year?"

"I'd be glad someone noticed, so it could be dealt with and not allowed to continue." He said. "Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes are able to see what has gotten lost in the shuffle of normalcy."

"I'll try to look at it that way. I guess I thought I was more on top of it than most."

"You most likely are Mr. Stalwart, but doing the same tasks day after day can numb the mind to the task and make you miss things. It can also allow those who wish to trick you to learn your patterns and plan around them. Then you introduce a new element, someone who has different views, different skills, isn't used to the normal grind so is sharper, and suddenly their patterns that work for the ones they know mean very little."

He hummed, then smiled, "This is going to be interesting working with you... Tere right?"

"Yes. And why is that Mr. Stalwart?"

"Because you're absolutely right... and you put it in a way that was respectful. Thank you." he said, bowing his head briefly, appreciating the change in attitude from before.

"Why wouldn't I be respectful? We are both on the same side and have the same job." Tere said.

"Not everypony is."

"You mean Corporal Ghan."

He took a breath, then admitted, "That is an example."

"Yes. She is very… dedicated to the EDF and sees all other groups as inferior, though she is an excellent soldier who generally can put aside her views when the task demands so."

"Ah..." was all he said at first, "So what kind of things was she wanting that I was not told about?"

"What do you mean?"

"She scoffed at our entertainment. Just what was it that she wanted to do that she couldn't be bothered to say?"

"Oh, she loves soap operas." He said smirking.

"What are those?"

"Stories full of drama and characters constantly seeming to want that drama such as love quadrangles and just generally drama for the sake of drama."

He raised his brow, "Isn't there plenty of that in life as it is?"

"Nowhere near like this, trust me. I don't think anyone actually behaves like they do on those shows."

"Hm. I don't get it, but i get the feeling there's going to be a lot of that..."

"I don't either and why do you say that?"

He shook his head, "Just a hunch. You learn to listen to those."

"True." Tere said nodding. "So what are you reading?"

"Enh, a southern Appaloosa settling story. Something different than the stories my father told me. I'm not a big fan of it normally, but it's new and seems to be doing a good job."

"Ah yes, surprised they have stories about it, since it's only been what, 3 or 4 years?"

"It focuses on some sort of alternate history, if it were settled a couple hundred years ago."

"Ah an AU." He said. "Or a what if story. Those are fascinating."

"I guess. I mean, it makes you wonder what things would be like now if it happened that way, but it also didn't, so I dunno."

"Yes, a ‘what if’ story. I am quite fond of those. It's interesting to think about how things could be different."

"It's hit or miss for me. Dawn loves those, but it goes over my head sometimes."

"You've never just sat down and though what your life would be like had you chosen a different path? Become a curator rather than a guard? Or a farmer?"

"Not really. I knew since I was a colt I wanted to be a guard, like my father and his father."

"And if something prevented you from doing that? An injury perhaps?"

He blinked, looking at him quite surprised and then thought back, wheels clearly turning as he remembered several accidents where he nearly broke a limb or got pushed around, wondering what would have happened if he gave up.

"Ahh… There, now the wheels are turning." Tere said smiling.

Dawn let out a quiet sigh after the last officer left the room, "This is a lot harder than I ever imagined." She said, before adding, "Both the finding him, and the inspiring them."

She had been able to confirm several consistent markings of magic as older style and consistently reminding her of Svikopi, yet she waved it off as impossible. Each time she pointed out how similar they were, she had to admit with Nightfall still being the host for a sealed Svik, she always came back to how it might somehow be somepony else that took a huge interest in Starswirl's works due to the two being so similar.

"Yeah. As I said, he isn't like anyone they have really dealt with before. He is very good at covering his tracks and staying one step ahead of those after him." Twilight agreed, still in disguise as Stonewall. "And without the same resources as back home, coordination is hard. For all we know he left the city last week."

"Yeah. It's a mess all right. The reports of stores missing magical ingredients isn't his style. Having not just one, but two issues to deal with already is a nightmare."

"Yeah, but till we find signs of him being anywhere else, we just need to keep searching." Stonewall reminded her.

Dawn nodded, then stretched, "Still no word from Celestia or Twilight on tracking magic either. I know it's a long shot, but I still think it's our best bet for the Starswirl fan theory." She then sighed and added, "Call me impatient, but there has to be some trail or something with this or them slipping up somehow."

"It took us 11 years to get this guy and that was from a lot of luck." Twilight said, they were the only one in the briefing room that had slowly become a sort of command center for this entire operation to the point it was no longer used for anything else. "I'm just worried the men are starting to think we are chasing a ghost who doesn't exist."

"What if we found this other one, who seems to be sloppier and tell them they're connected, and use that for a morale boost? I mean, that is something Starlight and I can confirm, that the magics limited to here." Dawn offered, figuring a small bit of misdirection to keep them motivated by thinking they are making progress would help with the issue.

"Hmm… perhaps."

"Actually..." she said, looking at the map and walking to it, noticing the pins. "These are all magical related stores right? I mean, there’s a library in the mix, but..."

Twilight looked up. "Yeah so?"

"That's a pattern... Can you get me the reports about the break-ins and the items stolen? It might just be that Starswirl fan, but if we can narrow what they're after, we might figure out what their next move is right? I mean, that's how it always goes on tv shows and books anyway..."

"Sure. Should be able to pull it. Give me a couple hours." Twilight stood up and headed for the door.

"I'll wait here for Chryssy and see if there's any other possible patterns."

"She should be back soon." Twilight said, leaving the mare alone in the command center.

Dawn looked over the map intently, wondering how she missed that before, and looked at the other locations, wondering why, if she was right, there were traces of the starswirl magic at a few other places, including the dock warehouse to start...

"See something?" Chrysalis asked behind her.

Dawn turned to her and smiled, "Oh! Yeah, at least, I think I have. She's gone off to go check for me, but do you see how over half of these pins for the Starswirl fan seem to be connected to magical stores or supplies?"

"Yes, I did. Been keeping an eye on it to see where it's going."

"I've asked Twilight to check on what things were reported at those spots, if there's anything missing, stolen, broken, so we can double check it for a pattern. I know it's silly, but... I don't know why we didn't notice this before."

Chrysalis changed her voice to Twilight’s. "Nothing is silly as anything can lead to something of value."

"But if it's so obvious, I mean... how did we not notice it before if it was that straightforward?" Dawn said, giving a small smile at the perfect voice imitation.

"Because we are focused on Flare, and it's not something that is usually his style, as it’s too obvious."

"Well, one thing I thought might work, is we could tell the guards that the two are related, and when we catch the more obvious one, that will encourage them. Granted, it has the flaw of deceiving them slightly, as well as not actually helping with Flare if I’m right and they’re not related, but she's afraid they're starting to view this as a ghost hunt... I'd call it a witch scare but close enough."

"Hmm, they are. Many think this is some sort of joke. Still if it turns out to be something big, we can stop it and that will improve their mood."

"We really need that..." Dawn agreed.

"Yes we do. Flare thrives on being a ghost, the one you don't know is involved till there is a blade between your ribs, and he tells you he is."

"Yeah.” She shuddered, “I was hoping to make more progress in my lessons by now, having always been a quick study, but all i feel like I can do now is use my hooves on not so delicate objects and hover in place without panicking. I don't want to be caught off guard or unable to act if... well..."

"And that is a major improvement from before Twilight started teaching you. Those nightly lessons are helping."

Dawn sighed, "I guess it's more a, ‘I had higher hopes for myself, and I'm not reaching them.’"

"Perhaps talk to Twilight, I'm sure she won't mind keeping you longer." she then smirked. "She may even keep you all night long if you do well."

Dawn laughed, "I get back to my room and fall asleep within half an hour as it is. I could try, but I don't know if we could dig into our daytime investigation, or her need for rest."

"She's gone a week without sleep before." She said.

Dawn blinked in astonishment, "But... that's...."

"She's a soldier, remember. She's adapted to where she only needs about 4 hours of sleep a night to function. Not to mention short 10 minute naps if she needs to."

Dawn shook her head again. She thought back to various things she had heard about a human’s need for sleep and assumed it carried over to here. There was one thing she had watched a long time ago that pointed out how soldiers back home would struggle when they were kept up 48 hours straight… here Twilight was going an entire week without a proper rest? It seemed excessive.

"That's... I don't think I could do that... even back home 4 hours of sleep only works on a short term. Trying to maintain it for longer than a few nights leads to sleep deprivation."

"Well, she's been doing that for the last 50 decades without any drawbacks."

Dawn figuratively jaw-dropped in her stunned surprise.

"You can train your body to get completely restful sleep. It's very common among soldiers. Same with how she can sleep literally anywhere without issue."

"Well the sleeping anywhere, I can get." she said, shaking her head before refocusing on the map as she tried to not think about how Twilight was able to function contrary to what she knew. "So, what other things do you see that might be pattern based, or that we might have noticed in some of the more criminal parts of the city?"

"Not sure, it seems some of the criminal elements seem to be up to something, but not entirely sure what or if it's related in anyway. I've been watching it though, as Flare isn't above using low level thugs to achieve his ends."

"And probably intimidation to keep them from telling... is there any magic that lets you read minds or memories or something?"

"No, just interrogation." Chrysalis shook her head.

"The most I know of is our telephone spell that we use to talk sometimes..." Dawn sighed, disappointed, “It’s not any good for retrieving information.”

"Yes, and besides, I'm sure such spells would be illegal and or not admissible as evidence."

"True... though as far as he's concerned, I doubt we're going to need it. If it's a matter of principle though, I understand."

"Correct.”

She looked down at the map, slightly defeated, yet trying to distract herself from that defeat with thoughts on what else to do.

"I'll talk to Twilight about you two getting a day to practice and train with."

Dawn hummed, trying to hide that she felt disappointed, even though she knew that she will be told she shouldn't feel that way.

"All work and no play makes Twilight on edge." Chrysalis said, as if on cue.

"Heh, is somepony hoping for an outlet?" she asked, trying to tease, "Well, either way..."

"She could really use some sex, yes." She said.

She chuckled, thinking how she wasn't the only one. She yawned and then shook her head, grabbing a book and flexing in the interim, as a way of fidgeting and training at the same time

"Perhaps. But I don't think she's to the point of a three way." Chrysalis said

Dawn snorted, "Yeah, I'd say give her a good few years for that."

"Or months. Depends on how long it take to get her to really act on her desires fully, like I know she wants to."

She blushed, realizing that Chryssy really could tell more accurately what Twilight's desires would be. "Well... we can hope." she said, starting to feel a little nervous but otherwise curious about it. "S-still, we can talk about that in private."

"We are the only ones here."

"T-true, though I never know when somepony will walk through that door..."

"I will." She said

"O-oh..." She said, now wondering if that meant that she'd try something if there was nopony who came along... She missed Stalwart, or most of her usual fun. Her drive was as strong as ever, even though she wanted even stranger combinations of food, like chocolate syrup and hot dogs, though she knew she couldn't get it here didn't stop the craving.

"Ok yes, tomorrow you and Twilight are spending the day together, even if I have to lock you both in her room together."

She blinked, looking over to her in surprise, "H-huh? Why? what'd I do?"

She looked at her flatly. "Empath. If not for years with Twilight, I'd run the risk of getting intoxicated right now."

She blushed, closing her eyes and replying softly, "And here I thought I was being well behaved." She chuckled, though wondered just what they were sensing then since her own desires had been under wraps last she knew, "I mean, I had that pretty buried lately, save for just before bed anyway."

"You are well behaved. The fact you're not lifting your tail for any random person is very good, and I'm sure Twilight will enjoy helping you." She said smirking

"I’d hope so. It's no fun if only one pony likes it."

"Oh trust me, you just continue being your little submissive self, and it won't take long till you two are in bed again with you being shown you place."

Dawn blushed, though not against the idea at all. She took a step back from the map and went to a chair, pretending to look over the nearby board with pictures of the scenes of the case. She wasn't focusing on them, her mind elsewhere.

"I'm glad I met you both." Dawn said quietly, knowing that she had said that often before.

"Oh? And why is that?" Chrysalis asked.

"Because I learn a lot, while also feel pretty satisfied around you both. Because it's always nice to meet new ponies and be friends with them, and then to have them also be amazing considerate mentors? Oh, and that doesn't count the benefits." she chuckled, winking at Chryssy, "I mean other than that, no reason at all."

Chrysalis chuckled. "Spoken like a true pony, though not sure how I'm a mentor… but yes the benefits are nice." She said. "I look forward to trying them out at some point."

Dawn giggled and shook her head, "I know it's a pony thing, but I at least was human at one point. Sometimes, I wonder if it just meant I should have been a pony all along... either way, You're an effective mentor Chryssy." She said, laying on her side, shifting until she felt comfortable and draped a blanket from her saddlebag over herself.

"But I didn't know I was a mentor." She said blinking. "I'm not sure what I mentor you in."

"Effective, concise thinking." she said, before shrugging, "Not sure really, it just... feels that way. Though your digging into the things Twilight told me when we were training alone on repeat didn’t help."

"What now?" Chrysalis blinked, sounding confused.

"The 'just listen to my words' thing. I'm starting to stay conscious through some of it since last week when she does it now.”

"The what?" Chrysalis repeated, still not understanding.

Dawn looked at her concerned, then opened the link, trying to replay a bit of it carefully, not wanting to be affected by Twilight’s intonations.

Chrysalis blinked more, as if seeing this for the first time. Her interest was piqued as she reviewed the audio, delving into the memory. Dawn felt herself slow down, and with great effort, slowly closed the link to avoid being subdued.

"Y-you don't remember this?" Dawn asked breathily.

"No.” She blinked when the link was closed. “Should I? I've never seen it before."

"Weird…” Dawn said, puzzled. “You've asked to dig into this several times, and each time we linked, we pass out until she claps her hooves. Though I’d get restless if it goes too long."

"I remember the clap, but not ever seeing that." Chrysalis said, thinking.

"Well, either way..." She sighed and let her voice trail off, looking at the map and letting her mind wander back to home.

A few minutes later, Twilight walked in with two boxes. "Alright, got the info on the case, was a bit difficult and my jaw is now sore, but the clerk gave it to me."

Dawn looked on in surprise and used her magic to help alleviate the weight, "Welcome back."

"What is it?" Twilight asked, looking at her as she put the boxes on the table

"Nothing, nevermind..." she said shaking her head. "Let's see what they all reported."

Twilight nodded, taking out the files. Dawn tried to take them and place them near the pins for organization. Twilight helped and soon they were all in place.

"Hmmm. This site reports having a missing book, 'Great Olde Magicks' by Blue Star... this site further south is missing finely powdered diamonds, a component store..."

Twilight write it down on a clipboard.

"This store is missing 'Runic Magics Volume 3.' Estimated age is 500 years old, collector's item. The next library had vandalis-" she paused, looking at the picture, which had a larger thick book with Starswirl's cutie mark, but someone altered it to a mark she knew well, looking half as stunned as she felt.

Twilight looked up. "Something wrong?"

She laid the picture down, showing the extra filled star inside the center of the mark. "This is Svikopi’s mark, and only Starlight, myself, and Nightfall have been connected with him, and Nightfall had written a letter saying he would be back in the guild just for this threat."

Twilight looked at her." Are you sure?"

"Positive. That is Starswirl’s mark, with the one change. The star is full. When he tried to take over my body, his cutie mark was replacing my own and as he got stronger, that star filled in.. That’s how we knew we were losing, I had to build up my power to shatter my horn when it was halfway to break it in time."

Twilight was silent for a minute, thinking before saying, "We need to talk to that friend of yours about this."

"He's the only other one that could be related. If he's taken over, his fur will be fully dark. If he's lost Svikopi fully, then his coat will be back to his original light grey. Last I got to see him, he had a darker hindquarters and legs, with occasional spots in other places. His letter said he'd be back by tomorrow."

"Where was he going to be?"

"At the guild. If you fly, go around to Ponyville's side of the Everfree Forest. There used to be an inn long ago, and they rebuilt it to be their headquarters, though they were working on a tower for a while after I had my coma. It might be done by now."

"Might be a good idea if you come with. A familiar face might make him willing to talk then a stranger off the street." Twilight said.

"I can do that.” Dawn agreed. “I'll make sure when Char comes along for mail tomorrow that we let him know to expect us."

"Alright, I'll leave Chryssy here to run things while we follow up on this lead. Might also swing by your place and pick up a couple troopers too."

Dawn tilted her head before remembering, "Oh yeah, Chryssy did say that some of the hive were back at my place... I wonder how Stalwart's holding up."

"Don't know. He has about a dozen house guests now, most of them from the hive and a few ponies."

"Oh wow... Yeah, he's probably going a little insane." She chuckled, "He does well with guests for a bit, but last time we had some of his extended family over, he was going nuts about not having his space by the time the month was up."

"Most likely they are just camping outside and doing their best to give him space"

"Perhaps. We have that space set aside to found a city. Is that underway at all?" she asked, turning to chryssy, being the more likely to know.

"Not that I've heard no. I redirected my hive to meet in the city and get in hotels." Chrysalis said.

"It's a shame we don't have that underway. It's land that's been set aside for it, yet... well, I don't suppose you've been creating any blueprints for the city and it's expansion yet eh?"

"Not really, we haven't gotten word yet. These things take time. Granted we have basic designs already in mind even if they aren't on paper." She said

"I'd be happy to help you get some sketches going if you want, even conceptually it might help out..." Dawn offered.

"Yeah. Though we will mostly just be using preset designs that we use when building FOBs."

"Ah... I see." She said, trying to infer what FOB meant.

"Yes. No reason to get fancy for temporary housing."

"I get it... though we don't know how temporary it is. So what are we going to do about this Svikopi thing?"

"If he is lose, stop him."

She nodded, looking back over her wings to her mark on the map before letting out her breath quietly, "Yeah... if it's him, he wants to go after Starswirl, but since he's not alive anymore, he'll go for Celestia and Luna, since they've said they studied with him before."

"And seeing as they've been decent to us, and if anything happens to them it will have a drastically negative effect on us… we will help." Twilight said.

Dawn frowned, knowing that their competence was being questioned by them, and now herself as well. She stayed quiet, considering the frustrating yet fearful idea of Svikopi being out in the world once again and so soon after they had been sealed.

Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder. "Don't worry Dawn. You aren't alone, and I'll be damned to tartarus before I let someone like him get his hooves on you again."

"I know. Worst case is he wants to maybe take the foal growing in me and take over them since they can't resist, and probably know that I wouldn't give up raising them anyway."

"Oh he can fucking forget that! That ain't happening as long as I'm still breathing."

"Thanks... I just... he's bad news for anypony with enough magical potential. He said I had a lot for a unicorn, which is why he went for me in the first place. He didn't want to be a mare, but figured he could change it later and..." She took a deep breath and let it out, refocusing, "Yeah, not letting him take on someone else."

She pulled her into a hug. "Then if he wants power, let the bastard come for me and try to play in my head."

"If he's met Flare, then he'll probably go after Flare.” Dawn shook her head before realizing something, “... Wait... something's not right." she said, looking at the map. She really enjoyed the hug, but she had to follow this train of thought, "If Nightfall's headed to the guild, and he's avoided major cities so he won't be bothered or risk Svikopi getting out.... why would Svikopi appear here?"

She stopped. "Recon?"

"But, Nightfall's relatively well known because of his leadership in the guild. He wouldn't have done any 'recon' at all easily I don't think."

"Then… I don't know. You're the expert on this guy."

Dawn hummed, worried, then paused, "You've said there's other realities before right? and there's now two Twilight's in this world, yes?"

"Yes many."

"I know I have no evidence, but, what if it's not our Svik... What if there's another one?"

"That… is possible yes… but why would he come here?"

She shook her head, "I have no idea... we need more information, but... it would explain why it felt that way, and no pony's magic has reminded me of him before."

"Ok, then we focus on what is being stolen and why. If we can figure out the endgame we can get ahead of him."

Dawn nodded, "If I had to guess, he's gathering materials for a spell or research, same goes for any books taken."

She nodded and grabbed the list. "And if we figure out the spell, we know what he's up to."

"Exactly. There's a copy of nearly all these books between Twilight's castle in Ponyville and the two sister's castle.”

She nodded. "Then we head for the Eyesore to do some research."

Dawn looked between Chryssy and Twilight both, wondering what they meant about the 'eyesore'

"Send a letter to the Princess. Let her know you are on the way and bringing a friend."

Dawn nodded, pulling out the ink and scroll to do so. Twilight waited.

"Tomorrow, it's a road trip." Twilight said, while Chrissy sighed as her plan fell apart.

Dawn looked over to them, noticing the shift in mood, linking with Chryssy, ‘What's wrong?’

'I was going to lock you into a room tomorrow remember?' She said as images of her and Twilight going at it filled the link.

Dawn blushed, trying to keep herself behaved as she was filled with the queen’s desire, and then mischeviously replied in the link, ‘And who's to say we can't reserve a private cabin or two?~ It's still a good chunk of the day.’

'Hmm. True, you are a princess after all.' Chrysalis said perking up as the images changed to a private train car.

Dawn tried to calm herself, Chrysalis making it difficult as various buttons were pushed before shaking her head before turning to Twilight and said out loud, "I'll make sure we have our tickets for travel."

Twilight nodded. "Good. See that you do."

"Yes ma'am." she said, sending off the ticket by magic and heading toward the door to do so.

Twilight went back to looking over the files as Chrysalis smiled. 'Good girl.' She said through the link in Twilight's voice.

Dawn shivered and almost thought it was Twilight replying, before realizing it was Chrysalis and laughed, thinking about how deceptive that was before replying by the link, playing along 'I look forward to your training tomorrow mistress.'

Chrysalis laughed in the link. 'Be sure to do all that tomorrow."

‘Yes mistress. It'll be as you say.’ she replied by spell, having only just reached the bottom of the stairs, ‘Shall we test how far my spell's reach can be today?’

'Lets.' Chrysalis said in her normal voice.

Dawn only nodded in her mind, and headed over toward the station, keeping the link open with moderate ease.

Author's Notes:

I'd like to take this moment to thank my editor and co-author Meadow Dawn as for without her this fic wouldnt exist much less be published at the rate it is.

This is both our project but she deserves a round of applause for all the hard work she foes behind tje scenes.

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